“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given This land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in This country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’“

Joshua 2:8-11

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December 2, 2025 

God often uses people whom we consider unlikely to accomplish His work on earth. A woman was living in Jericho, either so desperate for intimacy or in such financial straits (or both) that for a period of her life she sold herself to men. This lady named Rahab heard rumors about the God of the people of Israel and what He had done on their behalf. The report of the drying up of the Red Sea’s waters to permit escape from Egypt was impressive, but the incident had happened forty years before. Of greater concern was the recent defeat and utter destruction of two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, and their kingdoms just on the other side of the Jordan River. These events had struck fear into her heart and those of the people of Jericho and the surrounding territory. 

It is one thing to recognize an unprecedented threat to one’s city, but it is something else to look beyond the imminent danger to seek to understand what was really happening. God had spoken into the heart and mind of Rahab and revealed Himself to her as the “God in heaven above and on the earth below.” She realized that resistance to such a One was futile. And now, a slim possibility of rescue for her and her family had entered her house. 

Nevertheless, Rahab was a woman in crisis. What was she to do? As a citizen of Jericho, she certainly could have reported the men who were in her house to make sure of their being apprehended, thus absolving herself of any immediate danger. Hiding the men put her and her family at risk, as traitors would very likely be put to death. But the God of the Israelites had revealed Himself to her as the living God who ruled over all creation. Although her knowledge of Him was minimal at This point, she could not ignore This One who had manifested Himself in such powerful ways in His provision for His people, Israel.  

We are all unlikely candidates for citizenship in the kingdom of God. What did you or I bring to the Lord when we first heard of His rightful claim upon our lives? It was only the grace of God that drew Rahab to Himself, and it is the same for us. God loves lost people and will go to great lengths to bring them home. God exalted a pagan Gentile woman of ill repute and placed Rahab within the earthly lineage of His Son. There are also “unlikely” people in our lives whom God is ready to exalt. Are you and I willing to take the risk to be used by our God in His wonderful work of redemption?  

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • Who is an “unlikely” lost person in your life? Begin praying regularly for that individual specifically by name.  
  • How should God’s love for the lost encourage us to love them also? What are some specific ways you could love the lost?  

Church Reading Plan: 2 Chronicles 1; 1 John 1