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NASB | James 2:25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 2:25 In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? [Josh 2:1-21] |
Bible Question: In Joshua 2:4, why should Rahab lie to her tribe to protect people outside her own in fact their enemies. Did she not realize that time that she is sinning? |
Bible Answer: Dear edna, Welcome to the forum! Here is a repost for someone who asked a very similar question. I hope it helps you in your understanding. Noah, was a drunkard, Abraham, was a liar, his son Isaac, was a liar, his son Jacob, and his wife, (Jacob’s mother) conspired to tell a lie; Moses killed a man perhaps in anger, which would make him a murderer. We see many sins and lies being committed in Scripture, and we also know from Scripture that they all were justified by their faith in God. Yet, we often will focus on Rehabs’ lie; and ask the question: was it wrong for her to lie? And: was she justified for telling this lie? Now first of all, we know she was not justified by the lie, but by her faith in God, as was all the others that have been before mentioned. Just for illustration sake, and perhaps for a little better understanding, let’s look at the nature of the lie itself. It was not a lie told for self-gain, nor was it told to cause hurt to others, but it was a selfless act to protect others and may well have put her in great danger. It was not a malicious lie. The ninth commandment says: Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Technically, it does not say: thou shall not lie. So perhaps there are two kinds of lies? There are lies one might tell for the purpose of causing hurt, or to gain something we do not rightly deserve, or to get ourselves out of some kind of trouble. And there are lies we may tell to protect others from someone who may want to hurt them in some way. We see in James 2:24-25 where it says: You see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way was Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Wasn’t that “selfless” lie, told by Rahab, part of the action she took that was considered the works that James says she was justified? When I was twelve years old, one of my sisters came to me with a rifle in one hand, the bolt for that rifle and ammunition in the other hand, and asked me to show her how to put the thing together. I asked: "why?" She said she was angry at our brother. I said: “give me the bolt and I’ll show you.” She did, and I ran away until things cooled down. Now, I didn’t think so then, nor do I think so now, that I did something wrong by lying to my sister. And no one will convince me otherwise. They are now in their late sixties, and though they still don't like each other very much, he is still alive and she is not in prison. John |