HOPE TO THE IMPERFECT

“And Joshua spared RAHAB the HARLOT, her father’s household, and all that she had” – Joshua 6:25a

God’s Word reveals how the Perfect God gives HOPE to the IMPERFECT: “And Joshua spared RAHAB the HARLOT, her father’s household, and all that she had” (Jos.6:25a). Sometimes God doesn't choose the "Perfect" person for His assignment. God qualifies the Disqualified! He saw something admirable and redeemable in this prostitute, Rahab, and by grace, selected her to be the vehicle to save His people. He went further to spare her entire family, decorated her as a person of faith, and included her into the ancestry of Christ (Mt.1:5-16; Heb.11:31). The God of Hope gives His beauty in exchange for our ashes! He turns our mess into His message, and our scars into eternal stars.

Jericho was a great city which God told the Israelites to conquer. Jericho’s inhabitants were not following God, but had heard of Him and how He helped the Israelites win many battles. When they learned the Israelites were camped outside their city, they were rightly concerned. As part of the reconnaissance, as recorded in Joshua 2, he sent two spies into the city, who made a beeline into an unusual place of refuge: Rahab's home, a prostitute who lived within the walls of the city of Jericho. Why would God choose one with such ignoble reputation to help the spies? Whereas other people might have underestimated her potential based on her past and present circumstances; but not God!

We usually assume that if God needed an important task done, He would call someone with a perfect pedigree – the certified expert, or hyper-spiritual, thorough, and meticulous perfectionist. Rahab’s story shows it’s not always so. Her story gives us Hope that sometimes the best person for God's job doesn't have a perfect life or a perfect faith. On that day, inside the walls of the city, facing warrior spies in danger, no such person was available. Sometimes, God chooses individuals with rough resumes, tough past, but resolute attitudes to get a hard job done. When He needed a brave and bold person to protect His warriors, He chose Rahab. She had guts and grit. When the spies arrived, instead of quivering in fear, she thought fast and hid them on her roof, then redirected the king's men, making a way of escape for the spies.

In the divine scheme, Rahab was in the perfect position, with the perfect disposition, to do the best. God must have seen something tender in the heart of this life-hardened woman and knew He could trust her. Looking at Rahab, God didn't see her profession or her past. He saw her potential. In spite of the challenges and choices of her life, there was a part of Rahab's heart that was open to God. And Rahab did not disappoint. She didn't send the spies away, explaining that she didn't have the best track record with men. Instead, she used her smart, quick mind to devise a plan. She used her boldness to defy the king's men. She drew from her bravery to protect her family. She risked greatly, and it paid off. The story ends with the spies escaping and God destroying Jericho and everyone in it – except Rahab and her family.

God can use the most unlikely individuals – the despised and the outcast. Rahab displayed qualities that put her among a list of great people of faith in Hebrews 11: “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace” (Heb.11:31). Her story encourages us to hand over to God every disqualifying reason, including the less-than-pleasant aspects in our personality and experiences. Of course, He will not leave us as we are, but refine us. In His hands, our mess has meaning. If we’ve stamped “disqualified” on ourselves due to personality flaws or a warped past or present, there is renewed Hope to serve God’s Plan and Purposes.