Where Are You, God? 30 First Encounters With Godنموونە

Day 6: Rahab - Faith Found in Jericho

The walls of Jericho were massive—archaeological evidence suggests they were 12 feet thick and 25 feet high. But the most impenetrable barrier wasn't made of stone—it was the wall between the holy God of Israel and the Canaanite people.

Rahab lived literally within Jericho's walls, her house built into the fortifications themselves. As a prostitute in a pagan city, she was doubly separated from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet when Israeli spies arrived to scout the city marked for destruction, something extraordinary happened.

Faith Born from Fear

"I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us," Rahab told the spies who came to her house (Joshua 2:9). Rahab had heard the stories—the Red Sea parting, entire armies defeated, kingdoms conquered. While her neighbors trembled in terror, Rahab saw something different: the hand of the one true God—and she risked her life to hide His people.

The Risk of Faith

Hiding enemy spies was treason punishable by death. Yet Rahab chose to trust in Israel's God rather than her own people's gods. "The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below" she declared (Joshua 2:11). Her confession of faith was clearer than many Israelites could articulate.

The Scarlet Cord of Salvation

The spies gave Rahab a scarlet cord to hang from her window—a sign that would spare her family when judgment came. When Jericho's mighty walls collapsed with a thunderous roar, Rahab and her family were spared.

From Outcast to Ancestor

Rahab's story didn't end with survival. She married into Israel, and Matthew's genealogy reveals a stunning truth: this former Canaanite prostitute became an ancestor of King David—and ultimately, of Jesus Christ himself. The woman once separated from God by the thickest possible barriers was woven directly into the lineage of the Messiah.

Walls Still Fall Today

What walls seem too thick for God's grace to penetrate in your life? What barriers feel too high to climb? Rahab's story declares that no wall—whether built of stone, sin, race, class, nationality, or reputation—can withstand the power of faith. God's salvation can reach anyone, anywhere, transforming outcasts into ancestors.

The same God who brought down Jericho's walls is still in the business of breaking through impossible barriers today.