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Wednesday August 3, 2016

 

People tend to judge their relationship with God based on their sins or lack thereof. All one needs to do is to ask a non-believer to come to Christ and they will tell you “I am not ready, or there are things I need to change first”. Now, watch the reaction of a believer who knows they have done wrong before the Lord; their immediate reaction is to run from God instead of running to God. However, when they feel they have done “good”, then they feel it is safe to approach God. We have the tendency to approach our relationship with God in this manner, however this is not the way God approaches His relationship with us.

 

God parted the Red Sea and Moses and the Israelites crossed over into the desert on their way to the Promised Land. After forty years journeying in the desert the time came for the people to enter into the Promised Land, however it was Joshua (Moses’ protégé) who lead the way and not Moses. Standing between the Promised Land and Joshua, was a fortified city called Jericho, into which Joshua sent spies to scout it. Once inside, the spies were spotted entering the Inn of a prostitute called Rahab. When the King heard that the spies were in the city, he sent orders to Rahab to turn them over. Rahab however, told the King’s men that the spies had recently departed when all the while she hid them under some bundles on her rooftop.

 

Joshua 2:8-9, 11-14 NLT

Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land… …For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed.

 

Shortly after this event, Joshua and the people entered Jericho to destroy it. Of all the people in the city, only Rahab and her family were spared. 1400 years later, in the Book of Hebrews, listed among the Hall of Fame’s men and women of faith of the Old Testament, we find this Gentile woman, Rahab.

 

How amazing! Rahab, who was not Hebrew and on top of this was a prostitute, finds herself listed as a woman of faith alongside people like Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The reason being is that Rahab, contrary to how many people approach God, did not approach him based on who she was or was not. No, Rahab approached God based on God’s character and not her own. Rahab understood what so many fail to understand; that your sins may distance you from God but they will never distance God from you.

 

To walk in Rahab’s shoes is to understand that no matter who you are, your sins are not an impediment for God to save you; instead, they are the reason God sent His son to save you.