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 (ESV)

In this account you have two distinct types of people, the Israelite spies (who were the people of God) and a prostitute, Rahab. I can’t imagine an encounter that would have been more odd, until we add this small detail; these three people worked together to assist in accomplishing God’s plan. Can you imagine? Two individuals from a Holy Nation, called by God Himself as His people, working with a prostitute from another nation – on the verge of destruction – for and honor God! That is truly amazing.

Now, because this is such an unusual circumstance, it is tempting to try to rationalize this account so that it makes logical sense to us. We could say that Rahab wasn’t really a prostitute, but that would go against scripture (Joshua 2:1, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). We could also try to over spiritualize Rahab to belittle her vocation. We know that Rahab was the mother of Boaz, making her King David’s great great grandmother. And, making her a part of the lineage of Christ (Matthew 1:5). But, to be true to the Word we must take it for what it says; Rahab was a prostitute who helped the Israelites, saving herself and her family from death.

How could people that are so different work together? The obvious answer is, because they were working for the same God. Faith was their common denominator. It is obvious that both the Israelite spies and Rahab had been pursuing God and were being directed by Him. Rahab already knew that God had delivered her land to the Israelites (Joshua 2:9), she could not have known this unless it was revealed to her by God Himself. So, we know that all three of them were working toward the same vision that God had placed on their hearts.

This should be the goal of the body of Christ, to work toward the vision that God has placed on our hearts as we pursue Him. The church is made up of different people, with different backgrounds, different ideas and different ways of doing things. And, though we are all different, we must all have this in common; that we follow God where ever He leads, at whatever the cost to us personally.

This is what Rahab did. In hiding the spies she was betraying her people to death. She was a key player in the destruction of her own city! This could not have been easy and was likely one of the most painful decisions of her life; but she did it in faith. She had to let go of what she wanted and embrace what God had for her, which was a greater gift than she could have ever imagined.

In the church we must do the same. We must put aside personal preference; I’m sure Rahab would have preferred that her city not be destroyed. We must put aside personal differences, letting go of our baggage that works to separate us. We must put aside ourselves, denying ourselves, so that we can take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24).

Let us all seek the Lord’s vision for the church and tirelessly work towards it!