By Faith Rahab

This is the fifteenth post in a series from Hebrews 11. You'll find all the posts done so far in this series listed here.

After he describes the faith of the Israelites in the story of the fall of Jericho, the writer of Hebrews mentions the faith of Rahab. Rahab has a part in the story of the fall of Jericho, too.

By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace. (Hebrews 11:31 NET)

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Rahab, or even just a little rusty on the details, you can read it in Joshua 2. Rahab hid the Israelite spies on the roof of her house when the King of Jericho's men were searching for them in the city of Jericho. She explains to the spies that she protected them because "the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! (Joshua 2:11 NET)" She put herself at great risk because of the conviction she had about the God of the Israelites.

She is not the only person in Jericho who understood the power of the Lord. Rahab explains that they are all scared of the Israelites, for they are all aware of the works God has performed on their behalf:

We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you. For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. When we heard the news we lost our strength and no one could even breathe for fear of you. (Joshua 2:9-11 NET)

However, while the rest in Jericho cowered in fear of the Israelites and their God, Rahab allied herself with them. She trusted the God of Israel and the rest did not. Rahab was the one who showed faith, and her faith is vindicated. When Jericho fell

....Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's family, and all who belonged to her. (Joshua 6:25 NET)

Rahab lived the rest of her life in Israel, and is one of the ancestors of Jesus listed in the geneology in Matthew. And she gets her own mention here in in Hebrews in the list of the faithful people of old, too.