The Problem with Rahab’s Future –
Spiritually, Rahab was no different than the other citizens of Jericho. She was not only a participant in the pagan culture; as a prostitute, she was a contributor to it. Rather than being raised in the Jewish heritage, under such spiritual leaders as Moses and Joshua, Rahab was raised in an ungodly culture, where sex orgies were a part of their worship of Ashtaroth, the Phoenician goddess of fertility, and where newborn babies were thrown into the fire as a sacrificial offering to the Canaanite god of Moloch.
The Hebrew word “sanah,” which is translated “harlot,” can mean “innkeeper,” but the Greek word “porne,” which is also translated as “harlot,” is the root of “pornography,” which is the portrayal of shameful sexual behavior.
- Rahab was a prostitute – whether she was forced into it, or she had no other choice if she wanted her family to survive, Rahab sold the use of her body for money.
- Rahab had no hope of ever being anything other than what she was – a woman to be used up and wasted by men, but God had other plans for Rahab, and the fact that she is now in heaven only magnifies the grace of God even more.