Then Joshua sent two men secretly as spies...

Read or hear the story from Joshua 2:1-24

Read excerpts from JOSHUA and the Promised Land
Rahab
Women and Land

When you scan your memories of biblical stories, what women do you see? Why do you remember those women?
Click here to add your response and/or read others' responses.

The first tale in the book of Joshua stars a woman -- an unlikely heroine -- who is an enemy (non-Israelite) and a prostitute. Her name is Rahab. Like the scarlet cord she put in her window as a sign of loyalty to God and God's people, Rahab is a sign of the faithfulness which is found in unexpected places and in unexpected persons.

Joshua told two spies, "Go! See!" So they went to Jericho and "saw" a prostitute. (Isn't that what spies normally do?) They were observed by the king's men, which could have been the end of the spy mission.

But Rahab deceives her king and saves the enemy spies because she discerns the power of God. This Canaanite woman:

Lies to the king's men

Hides the spies on the roof under stalks of flax

Tells them what she knows God has done for Israel

Helps them escape down the wall on a rope

All this Rahab did in exchange for the spies' promise to spare her and her family when Israel attacked Jericho. Rahab made a covenant with the spies.

Because of Rahab, Joshua would learn

Israel's enemies were afraid

They feared the power of Yahweh

Israel could defeat them and receive the land

Rahab is so important to the story of God's people that she is named in the New Testament as one of four women ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 2).

Like the window through which she hung the rope, Rahab's story is a window into the story of other women in the Bible.

The Bible was written by men from the perspective of men in a culture dominated by men. Despite the subordinate place of women in ancient times and writings, many women's stories in the biblical tradition affirm the essential role of women in salvation history.

"Go and see" stories of women in the biblical tradition that have connections with Rahab's story, women who:

Convert and change sides:

Ruth, Syro-Phoenician/Canaanite mother (Mark 1, Matt. 15)

Use their sexuality to further God's purposes:

Tamar (Genesis), Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11-12; 1 Kings 11), Samaritan woman (John 4), woman who anointed Jesus (Luke 7)

Tell stories of God's deeds:

Miriam (Ex 15), Mary (Luke 1), Mary Magdalene (John 20)

Defy civil authorities:

Shiprah and Puah (Israelite midwives, Ex 1), Jael (Judges 4), Judith, Esther, and the women who hid David's spies (2 Sam 17)

What stories do you know of women today who in one way or another were like Rahab? What about you???
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Organizations working on behalf of marginalized people against power structures include:

* These links jump to several outside sites for further information on land issues and organizations working with marginalized persons. Links do not constitute an endorsement by the Women's Division of the information on other web sites. These links expose United Methodist Women to diverse perspectives, afford us an opportunity to compare them to United Methodist positions, and, encourage United Methodist Women to critically analyze the issues raised by the Joshua web pages.

Amnesty International*. An organization that plays a specific role in the international protection of human rights. Its activities focus on prisoners. These universal rights include the right to freedom of expression, conscience and religion; the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; the right to a fair trial; the right to life, liberty and security of persons; the right not to be tortured. Amnesty International works to protect these rights by its efforts to secure the release of prisoners of conscience, fair and prompt trials in political cases and an end to torture and executions.

 

ACORN*. Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a grassroots organization composed of community groups made up of low and moderate income families. ACORN's goal is to organize to win a fairer share and a greater voice for low and moderate income Americans - 70% or more of the US population. The fundamental issue for ACORN members is who has the power to control what happens in neighborhoods, cities, states, and the nation.

 

Isabella Gardner Museum's History of Comfort Women* an organization publishing information and history on comfort women. "Comfort women" were primarily Korean women, many of them teenagers, who were taken by the Japanese during the Pacific War and installed in "comfort stations" throughout occupied Asia for the pleasure of Japanese soldiers. If interested in this site, you may want to also look at the panel from "Comfort Women: Suffering and Dignity in Asia During World War II".

Read the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church

What do you think?
Why does Rahab decide to cooperate with the Israelites and betray her own people? Was she right or wrong?