I blogged about Joshua chapter 1 a while back, see my posts here: A Homily on Joshua Chapter 1 and here: Joshua 1: Be strong and courageous.

Joshua chapter 2 features two spies who are sent to Jericho to gather information about the city prior to the Israelite invasion.  Their job, blend in to a culture foreign to them, one in which they didn’t belong.  As Christians doesn’t life in the workplace sometimes seem just like this; different ethics, language, and temptations we’re not prepared for.

The spies encounter Rahab, a pagan prostitute and owner of the establishment.  Her house, an inn, was the best place to gather information, that is, until they were labeled spies.  In a startling turn of events, Rahab not only agrees to hide them from the authorities, she lies to protect them.  Her motivation: she fears God and believes He is the one true God of heaven and earth.  In the most unlikely of places the Israelites encounter a person of faith.

…for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.  Joshua 2:11 NLT

In exchange for harboring them, Rahab asks for a guarantee she and her family won’t be destroyed when the Israelites invade.  She is given a red cord to hang in her window, a symbol she has chosen to side with the God of Israel.

One has to wonder, how will Rahab be remembered after she is gone.  After all, she’s a prostitute and a liar.  Yet, the Bible chooses to remember her as a person of faith.

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Hebrews 11:31 NLT

D.R. Davis in his commentary on Joshua states, “Genuine faith never rests content with being convinced of the reality of God but presses on to take refuge in God.”

How will you be remembered?  Will people remember you by an occasional good deed or will you be remembered for your faith in God, your refuge?