Rahab

“ We know that the love of our country, which is as it were our common mother, has been implanted in us by nature. When, therefore, Rahab knew that the object intended was the overthrow of the city in which she had been born and brought up, it seems a detestable act of inhumanity to give her aid and counsel to the spies. ”

“ It would be quite as fair to claim that God approved of Rahab's harlotry, in this case, as to claim that he approved of her lying. Rahab was a harlot and a liar, and she was ready to practice in both these lines in the service of the spies. She was not to be commended for either of those vices; but she was to be commended in that, with all her vices, she was yet ready to give herself just as she was, and with her ways as they were, to Jehovah's side, in the crisis hour of conflict between him and the gods of her people. ”

“ How strange for any one to love a book—a book! Though not so strange in him!”
And she shuddered for an instant and closed her eyes. Then she opened the little volume at random and began to read, standing where she had picked it up, and straining her eyes to see whatever it could be about.
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. ”

“ There is mention of two women only in this book, though a casual reference is again made to the daughters of Zelophehad, as described in a former chapter.
In saving the spies from their pursuers, Rahab made them promise that when Jericho fell into the hands of Joshua, they would save her and her kinsmen. From the text, it seems that Rahab fully understood the spirit of her time, and with keen insight and religious fervor, marked characteristics of women, she readily entered into the plans of the great general of Israel. ”

“ Even those that through grace have repented of the sins of their youth must expect to bear the reproach of them, and when they hear of their old faults must renew their repentance, and, as an evidence of that, hear of them patiently. God's Israel, for aught that appears, had but one friend, but one well-wisher in all Jericho, and that was Rahab a harlot. God has often served his own purposes and his church's interests by men of different morals. Had these scouts gone to any other house than this they would certainly have been betrayed and put to death without mercy. ”

“ It has been conjectured that Salmon may have been one of the spies whose life she saved, and that gratitude for so great a benefit led to their marriage. But, however this may be, it is certain that Rahab became the mother of the line from which sprang David, and eventually Christ.
Distasteful as it may be to goody-good people, the fact remains that Rahab believed God, and when He delivered her out of her heathen surroundings, she entered upon a pure life. Whom God pardons, He justifies. ”

“ For a lie is always a sin. Therefore even if Rahab was not actuated at all by the desire to save herself and her family from destruction, and the motive from which she acted had its roots in her faith in the living God (Heb 11:31) , so that what she did for the spies, and thereby for the cause of the Lord, was counted to her for righteousness (“justified by works,” Jam 2:25) , yet the course which she adopted was a sin of weakness, which was forgiven her in mercy because of her faith. ”

“ From the text and what we know of humanity in general, it is difficult to decide Rahab's real motive, whether to serve the Lord by helping Joshua to take the land of Canaan, or to save her own life and that of her kinsmen. It is interesting to see mat in all national emergencies, leading men are quite willing to avail themselves of the craft and cunning of women, qualities uniformly condemned when used for their own advantage.
There is no more significance, as one of our critics says, in commentating on the myths of the Bible than on Aesop's fables. ”

“ For they shall be full of leprosy, and expelled from the camp of the righteous. Thus also did Rahab the harlot, while condemning herself, inasmuch as she was a Gentile, guilty of all sins, nevertheless receive the three spies, [315] who were spying out all the land, and hid them at her home; [which three were] doubtless [a type of] the Father and the Son, together with the Holy Spirit. ”

“ It was generally believed that the old attic over the dining-room had long been a place where "Radicals" had been wont to meet in solemn conclave to "plot against the whites." A thousand things were remembered which confirmed this view. It was here that Hesden had harbored the detectives, as Rahab had hidden the spies. It was quite evident that he had for a long time been an emissary of the Government at Washington, and no one could guess what tales of outrage he might not fabricate in order to glut his appetite for inhuman revenge. The Southern man is always self-conscious. ”

“ The soul of Rahab transmigrated into Heber the Kenite, and afterward into Hannah; and this is the mystery of her words, "I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit" (1 Sam. i. 15) , for there still lingered in her soul a sorrowful sense of inherited defilement.... Eli possessed the soul of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.... Sometimes the souls of pious Jews pass by metempsychosis into Gentiles, in order that they may plead on behalf of Israel and treat them kindly. For this reason have our Rabbis of blessed memory said, "The pious of the nations of the world have a portion in the world to come." ”

“ Gunkel translates “the breaking to pieces” as “violation.” Tiâmat or Rahab as the mother is also the whore. Gilgamesh treats Ishtar in this way when he accuses her of whoredom. This insult towards the mother is very familiar to us from dream analysis. The dragon Rahab appears also as Leviathan, the water monster (maternal sea) .
Psalm lxxiv:
(13) “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
(14) “Thou brakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. ”

“ They are governed by a sheik, whose influence among them is more like the authority of a father over his children than that of a magistrate; and who is, moreover, checked in the exercise of his power, by the knowledge that he would instantly be deprived of life and station were he to exceed the bounds which, in all rude countries, are opposed even to the caprices of despotism. It is remarkable that the name of this village corresponds to Rahab, the name of the hostess who received into her house the Hebrew spies, and signifies odour or perfume ”

“ Instinct led them to the house of Rahab, the harlot. She proved a very good friend; for when messengers came from the king in the morning to inquire about them, she said that they had gone, and advised the messengers to go after them, which they did. ”

“ I haue another in my tables, that handling that place of Iosua where Rahab entertained his spies, would needes conclude all Inkeepers to be harlots, because Rahab the harlot was an Inkeeper. I shall run my penne out of breath, if I articulate all the examples of their absurdeties that I could. Haue not Trinitie Hall men in Cambridge a preaching brother in Bury yet in sute, for saying all ciuillians were papists. ”

“ Israel must keep within doors when the destroying angel is slaying the first-born of Egypt, else the blood on the door-posts will not secure them. So must Rahab and her family when Jericho is being destroyed. Those are most safe that are least seen. ”

“ Traders coming from Mesopotamia, or Egypt to Phœnicia, would frequently pass through Jericho, situated as it was near the fords of the Jordan, and, according to the customs of the times, these travelers would seek a public inn.
These men, coming and going, would naturally enough carry the news of current events with them. Rahab therefore had opportunity to be well informed with regard to the events of the Exodus. As we learn from her own story, she had heard of the passage through the Red Sea, of the utter destruction of Sihon and Og, and of the irresistible progress of the Israelitish host. ”

“ But it must be some recommendation of any typical application, to say the least, to find it struck out in that early age, when those who had conversed with apostolical men were living: and where we find a number of writers agreeing to adopt any one type, (as, for instance, Clement of Rome, Justin and Irenæus, make Rahab's scarlet line typical,) it will, I suppose, appear to most minds to have a very high probability. And it is only by noticing the types in each early writer, that we can arrive at this species of authority for any one particular type. ”

“ There was more of God seen in the taking of Jericho than of any other of the cities of Canaan, and therefore that must be more than any other devoted to him. And the severe usage of this city would strike a terror upon all the rest and melt their hearts yet more before Israel. Only, when this severity is ordered, Rahab and her family are excepted: She shall live and all that are with her. She had distinguished herself from her neighbours by the kindness she showed to Israel, and therefore shall be distinguished from them by the speedy return of that kindness. ”

“ Christ obserued the same number, and alwayes sent two disciples togither. 3. What the spies undertooke and promised according to their commission was firme and ratified by Joshua; whose synnes the disciples, and nowe the ministers, according to their power, remitt or binde on earth, shalbe remitted or bound in heaven.
There are enough of Rahab's profession in euery place; a man may finde a greate many more then a good sorte. "I would not give a penny for an 100 of them," said he.
Rahab beleeved and shewed it by hir workes. ”

“ As long as it is sealed in a bottle, it does not emit any smell; but when the bottle is opened, and the oil poured into a vessel, the smell is diffused. The maidens love thee. Jethro, hearing of the wonderful doings of God in Egypt, confessed the God of Israel (Exodus xviii.) ; so Rahab, when she heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Red Sea, became a proselyte (Joshua ii. 11) . By the maidens are meant the Gentiles; they are so called because God is represented as a youth. ”

“ It has often happened, that even when good men have endeavoured to keep a straight course, they have turned aside into circuitous paths. Rahab acted wrongly when she told a lie and said that the spies had gone ”

“ No doubt there is much truth in this statement, for we can not entertain the thought that two pure-minded young men sent out by a leader like Joshua would pass by an inn and purposely seek an house of ill repute. It is also possible that to a woman of the age in which she lived, such a calling may have implied a far less deviation from the standard of morality than it does with us, with nearly two thousand years of Christian teaching. We must not forget that Rahab was a heathen ”

“ Rahaba listens, but she shakes her head. She tries to understand and learn anything that Miss Roper teaches her. But it is only to please her mistress that she does this; and as yet she is no nearer to being a Christian than when she was in her own country.
Directly after breakfast this morning we hired donkeys to take us to the second cataract. All was still and silent as we rode over the loose, shifting sand of the desert. Nothing living was to be seen. ”

“ Mr. and Miss Roper took her with them to England. The prayers of us all are offered daily that God would send a blessing on Miss Roper's labours to make Rahaba a Christian. We believe that our prayers will be heard, for Jesus Christ's sake, and that Rahaba will learn to love the gracious Saviour who died to save us. For he has said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
LONDON: R. K. BURT AND CO., PRINTERS.
Transcriber's Note:
A List of Instructions has been added for those illustrations that were captioned. ”

“ Luve looked through the golden flame of an old table, of two candles, burning within the blackness of her room. There ... not of the mellow flame, not of the dark ... a young man speaking of small matters. Where the flame touched him he glowed; where the night touched him his body withdrew harsh into shadow. What is this encaverned boy, talking of small matters?
—He is plump: he is a boy: he has no strength of his own. He is very strong and he is very old. Blond hair curls from bland brow. They are Jews ... he was straight like steel, hard, sure. ”

“ Her body endured like a bar of steel. It was solid death in a melted world that was dying.
There were days and there were nights. There were nights and there were days. The world winked open, the world winked shut. Rain dribbled into her window: sunbeams deflected lay like gold dust against it. Below, in the houses, feet fell; voices rose, fell; shadows of human will writhed up the twisted stairs to her white room: no substance followed. ”

“ There is no god but He!” When Jamrkan heard these words, the ears of his heart were opened; his skin shuddered with horripilation and he said, “O my lord, what shall I say that I may become of you and that this mighty Lord may accept of me?” Replied Gharib, “Say:—There is no god but the God and Abraham the Friend is the Apostle of God!” So he pronounced the profession of the Faith and was written of the people of felicity. Then quoth Gharib, “Say me, hast thou tasted the sweetness of Al-Islam?”; and quoth the other, “Yes;” whereupon Gharib cried, “Loose his bonds!” ”