40 Days of Faith
"By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe,
when she had received the spies with peace."
Hebrews 11:31
We are taught by Scripture that God is no respecter of persons. He in His love looks on the heart of each individual and not the things that we tend to judge people on. Most of us make our judgments about people on the superficial things that we see. We most definitely judge people by their appearance. We think that we know every thing about a person based on the color of their skin, the way they wear their hair, what kind of clothes they have on, etc. If we know a little about someone's past, we also like to "pigeon hole" them into that past and never let them out.
Rahab was most definitely not among the "who's who" of the righteous. She had lived a life that was anything but pleasing to God. What drove her into such a profession is not known, but it was most definitely a choice that brought shame upon her life. However, somewhere she made another choice. She heard of all that Jehovah God had done for and through the Israelites. She recognized God to be the source of the power and strength upon this people, and she chose to believe in the living God. She professed Jehovah to be the true God to the spies, and her faith saved her life and the life of her family.
Rahab's life was not spared because she hid the spies. She hid the spies, because she had already put her faith in God. We are not changed through the power of God by what we do. We live out a life of righteousness because of the change that Christ made in us when we came to Him by faith. We must always look beyond our present circumstances and see what God can do in us as we trust Him through faith.
To say that Rahab's life was changed is an understatement. Not only was her life spared, she embarked on a journey that would lead this "harlot" into an incredible lineage. She would eventually have a son named Boaz who would marry a woman named Ruth. They had a son named Obed who in turn had a son named Jesse. Of course, Jesse became the father of the eventual king, David. David was promised that out of his line would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ. How fascinating what God does with changed lives! I guess you can't judge people by their appearance or past; you have to see with spiritual eyes what God can do.
May you see those around you differently today!
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