Faith or Fear

To read the whole passage click here

I am always intrigued when two of the unconnected readings that we read daily happen to have the same person or concept. Today it is Rahab of Jericho. Scripture Union Closer to God is doing a study on the book of Joshua. Today we were at the Rahab episode. The online version is Wordlive. The epistle reading for the Episcopal Church is Hebrews and today we happened to be at the reference to Rahab.
The writer of Hebrews commends Rahab for her faith but I have always had a little doubt about that. Rahab was a Canaanite. Presumably she worshipped the gods of her nation and followed the practices of her family. Along come Joe and Fred, Israelites who take advantage of her profession to gain entry to her house. It was even conveniently against the city wall so they could view the surrounding countryside from within. As an Israelite, an impending invader,  it was easier to visit a prostitute than a wheelwright.
Everyone in Jericho knew or feared that the Israelites were going to invade their city. They had been camped across the river for a while. Nobody knew when they day they would make the crossing. Rumour had it that the Red Sea had dried up and let them across. Their God was powerful. They were a fearsome people. The Jordan would be no problem. Rahab feared for the safety of her skin, and that of her relatives. But to take that fear seriously presumably meant that she really thought that the God of the Israelites was powerful.
Perhaps there is little to distinguish between faith and fear. Those whom we love we want to please.