And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
— Joshua 2:1
Call her what you like, give her whatever title you will: harlot, hooker, prostitute, streetwalker, whore. Call her shameful, disgraceful, vile, nasty, repulsive. These, along with other such words and titles would not only define Rahab’s profession but surmise the sentiment of most people as well. Fortunately for her, however, how we look upon others is way different from how God does.
For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.
— 1 Samuel 16:7
In spite of the dark stories their pasts would tell, God knew David would be a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), and Saul of Tarsus would become a dedicated follower and apostle (Acts 9), penning 14 of the 27 New Testament books. So too, he knew that, within a prostitute’s chest, a heart was beating to trust him in securing the safety of the two spies Joshua had sent.
The world called her a harlot, but God called her a woman of great faith (Hebrews 11:31). The world saw a prostitute, but God saw the ancestral great-grandmother of his son (Matthew 1:5). The only question left to be asked then is this one: What does God see in you? Far more than what you see in yourself, I’m quite certain. Rest assured my friend, the contribution you will make in obedience to God is of eternal importance. It counts forever.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.
— 1 Corinthians 1:27–28