Articles
The Shock of Switching Gods
Rahab’s faith is shocking! Pagan “gods” were territorial, yet this pagan prostitute said, “I don’t have faith in the gods of my territory at all. I trust the one true God of Israel!” Unless you were moving, it was unheard of to switch to a god of someone else’s territory! She had no way to be sure Yahweh was more powerful than her gods because they never went head to head. Yet after hearing about the Red Sea and Sihon and Og (Josh. 2:10), she abandoned her false gods, switched to Yahweh, and was saved! (Josh. 6:17, 23)
The Israelites’s lack of faith is even more shocking! They saw Yahweh’s deliverance firsthand. Their fathers were at the Red Sea, at the battles against Sihon and Og, and to see Canaan given into their hands. Yet within one generation, “they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them…” (Judges 2:12). The Israelites switched gods too. A pagan prostitute switched to Yahweh and Yahweh’s own people switched to the “gods” of pagan prostitutes. It’s a shocking truth, but all humans have the ability to switch gods. On one hand, it’s comforting to know there are more Rahab’s out there willing to switch to Yahweh for salvation. On the other, it’s a warning for us to be on guard lest we abandon Yahweh like the Israelites. Both switches are shocking, but only one switch saves!
