I’ve always been proud of my name, and every kid knows the story about the battle of Jericho. I’ve known most of these stories from a young age. And somehow, by God’s grace, the fact that the story prominently features a prostitute didn’t sink in until I was much, much older.

But as we continue surveying Joshua, we meet her right away. Her name is Rahab, and she is not only the main character in chapter 2, she’s the hero. Joshua sends spies to scout out the land and gain intel, and she takes them in, hides them, and covers for them. What’s more, she feeds them information: her people are terrified of them and their God.

But the best part is this: unlike the other Canaanites, Rahab recognizes not only that God has given them the land (v9), but that He is “God in heaven above and on earth below” (v11). So she wants to defect. She wants to be on God’s side.

And she’s not just in it for herself; she bargains with the spies for the life of her family—”father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them” (v13). She’s risking everything for her family.

We don’t know anything about Rahab’s former life, except her occupation. But if you read the books of Moses, you would know what God thinks of that line of work.

• “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.” (Leviticus 19:29)
• Priests are not to marry a prostitute (Leviticus 21:7, 14)
• “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.” (Deuteronomy 23:17)

Perhaps more to the point, there are many laws governing sexual ethics, and prostitution routinely breaks them. The penalty for that kind of thing wasn’t jail time like today; it was death. What’s more, prostitution usually had religious significance, so her work was probably devoted to one of the very false gods the Israelites have come to wipe out. Idolatry was also prohibited and punishable by death.

So all we know of her past is something terrible about her. On paper, she is not the kind of person who is a good fit for God’s people. And yet, by taking in the spies, helping them, and bargaining for her family, she demonstrates that she believes what she has said about God: He is God of heaven and earth (i.e. everything).

In fact, her faith is mentioned alongside the likes of Abraham and Moses in the epic list found in Hebrews 11.

Do you see what’s happening? Rahab should be the kind of person the Israelites have come to eliminate. But because she believed what she heard about God, believed that He is the one true God, and acted on that belief, she is spared.

In fact, later on we find out she isn’t just spared but welcomed, and not just as a resident alien but as a crucial person in God’s plan of salvation. She marries into the people of Israel. (The prostitute got married? Yes. Rahab joined the family.) Her great great grandson becomes the most famous king in Israel’s history: David. And if you know anything about Bible history, it should come as no surprise that as King David’s ancestor, she is also an ancestor of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This is what I love about Scripture. The Old Testament sometimes gets a bad reputation, but over and over again we see pictures like this. God showed Rahab kindness because of her faith. Because of the works that evidenced this faith, He forgave all the despicable works that came before it. This is the God of the Bible, one who gives laws and seeks justice in the land, but then welcomes the sinner who turns and places her faith in Him.