Rahab was a biblical businesswoman who lived in the city of Jericho. She was a Cannanite who also operated an inn where the town’s visitors (probably mostly men) stayed. She worked with flax, a type of fiber used for rope and fabric. This woman from the Bible would have been in a non-traditional business for women during those days. You can find Rahab mentioned in several areas of the Bible, but the main story of her is found in Joshua 2:1-22 and Matthew 1:5. Rahab was a quick thinking business woman who kept her ears open and communicated with her clients. This is how she learned vital information that eventually enabled her to save the lives of two Israelite spies, resulting in saving her own life and the lives of her family when her homeland was captured.

Rahab’s story is powerful about a biblical businesswoman who experienced God’s grace in a dangerous situation because of her faith and wise actions. Although she had been a prostitute, she had faith in God. As a result, she became the mother of Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, and eventually the mother-in-law of Ruth. Rahab was the great-great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. She has much to share with the modern woman of God in business. Here are seven pieces of advice from the woman of the Bible, Rahab, for today’s Christian business woman.

1. He succeeded despite his past. Rahab was a woman who was given a negative label of a prostitute in the Bible, probably because of her lifestyle or other undisclosed reasons. Even so, she had the courage to successfully operate a non-traditional business and face a dangerous situation by faith in God. Many women have experienced difficult situations in life. Some have been tagged with a negative reputation or called names that may or may not be deserving. Often, it could mean withdrawing from society to avoid being hurt or ridiculed. But God is bigger than a title or a sorry past. If he has a calling on his life, he doesn’t let a rocky past keep him from a successful future.

2. Learn to communicate with others. Rahab kept her ears and eyes open as he operated his business. When customers came in, she watched them; when they talked, she listened as much as she needed to. Thus she saved her life and that of her relatives. Business women need to know how to look and listen while doing business. Pay attention to others so that you understand their professional needs and can obtain the necessary information for your business.

3. Acquire negotiation skills. Rahab knew how to negotiate with tough soldiers and spies in a life and death situation. Having operated a non-traditional business in his town, he had acquired skills in dealing with all kinds of people. Businesses may require engaging in difficult conversations with competitors or adversaries. Practice the right business skills so you’re ready to use them when needed.

5. Be flexible and ready to change. Rahab could have tried to ignore the information he learned about the upcoming attack on his city or refused to believe that the True God’s army would succeed. Instead, he quickly decided to change his comfortable life to respond to what was to come. A businesswoman of God must be flexible. She must be willing to make changes in her life and business in accordance with God’s leading, even when it may seem difficult at first.

6. Remember your priorities when things change. Rahab could have saved herself and never looked back. But she had her priorities straight; she remembered her family and saved them all too. Very difficult circumstances can create a lot of stress. It is possible to forget your priorities during these times if you are not clear about your values. What would you do in case of a highly stressful situation? A savvy businesswoman thinks of various ways that she can avoid being caught off guard by unexpected events that can occur in business.

7. Use the resources you have. Rahab used plants that he had on his roof to do what he promised by protecting the Israelite spies from being captured by the soldiers. What do you have around your location that may seem useless or without multiple uses? Take a fresh look at raw materials to see possible creative uses for them or consider creative marketing strategies to move the business forward. You may have access to more inventory, ideas, and potential than you first imagined to run your business in new ways.

Rahab is a woman from the Bible who went from living a life of sin to becoming one of the matriarchs of the Christian faith. She used strong business skills in difficult times and offers lessons for the modern businesswoman on how to think quickly when a bad situation seems almost impossible to overcome.