But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.Once again, the Lord's work is done through sin. A harlot (prostitute) takes in spies (treason, though I don't blame her for that part) and lies about them. Yet this woman is chosen as a direct ancestor of David, and through him Jesus.
These stories where people sin "to do God's will" always bug me, but I think this one may be near the top of my annoyance list. In most of the cases, it's somebody sinning because they thought God wasn't going to help them, so they had to take care of it themselves. This one at least makes some sense, because Rahab isn't an Israelite, doesn't know the Law, and is doing this to save herself and her family from God's direct condemnation. However, I have to wonder what would have happened if she had told the truth? Would the spies have escaped, or been caught and executed? If they had gotten away, how? What would have happened to Rahab as a result? Would God have saved someone else from Jericho, or would David's genealogy just have been a bit different on the descendants list?
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