Crushing Rahab: Divine Order, Chaos, and the God Who Reclaims

“You crushed Rahab like one slain; with the arm of your strength You scattered Your enemies.” — Psalm 89:10 (Hebrew v. 11)

There are passages in Scripture that, at first glance, seem to be poetic embellishments—colorful language meant to enhance a point about God’s power or sovereignty. Psalm 89:10 might appear to be one of those. But the more we reflect on it, the more we find something deeper—a portrait of cosmic rebellion and divine order, of spiritual death and the judgment of scattered bodies.

As I’ve studied this verse and its surrounding context, I’ve begun to see Rahab not merely as a mythic or poetic symbol of chaos, but as a real spiritual being, possibly the one behind the serpent in Eden, and perhaps even more—a spiritual body, a coalition of disordered love, set in opposition to the Body of Christ.

The Identity of Rahab: Chaos Incarnate

In the Hebrew Bible, “Rahab” (רָהַב) isn’t just a poetic word for “arrogance” or “pride”—though it carries those connotations. It also serves as a symbolic name for a cosmic adversary, a personification of chaos, disorder, and rebellion against divine rule.

Rahab is mentioned elsewhere in the Scriptures:

• Job 26:12–13 – “By His power He stilled the sea; by His understanding He shattered Rahab.”

• Isaiah 51:9–10 – “Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?”

These passages paint Rahab not merely as an abstract force but as a kind of cosmic serpent or dragon—an echo of Leviathan, and perhaps the “ancient serpent” in Revelation 12:9. This creature is not imaginary; it is an enemy of divine order, the embodiment of disordered love and rebellious pride.

And importantly, Rahab is associated with the sea—a recurring biblical symbol of untamed chaos and resistance to God’s creative will.

Yahweh and the Sea: Not a Struggle, but Sovereignty

The verse immediately preceding Psalm 89:10 reads:

“You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them.” (v. 9)

In many ancient Near Eastern myths, the creation of the world required a battle between gods and chaotic sea monsters:

• In Babylonian myth, the storm god Marduk slays the sea-dragon Tiamat and uses her body to form the heavens and the earth.

• In Canaanite lore, Baal defeats Yam, the god of the sea, to establish order and reign.

• In both, the sea is chaos personified, and creation emerges from divine violence.

But in Psalm 89, Yahweh does not struggle—He reigns. He rules the sea, not with effort but with sovereign command. He crushes Rahab “like one slain,” as if dispatching a defeated enemy already brought low. This is not mythic parity—this is divine supremacy.

Rahab as a Spiritual Being—and a False Body

Here’s where my recent reflections have taken me further: What if Rahab is not just a lone cosmic rebel, but a head over a spiritual body—a team, a coalition—akin to what the Bible calls “the sons of God” or “the holy ones”?

• The language of scattering in Psalm 89:10 implies division and dismemberment, not just the defeat of a single being.

• Isaiah 51:9 describes Rahab being “cut to pieces.” That’s not just defeat—it’s dismemberment, possibly of a collective.

• The phrase “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter” (Zech. 13:7, Matt. 26:31) gives us a precedent: when the head is struck, the body dissolves.

Could it be that Rahab was once a spiritual prince, a set-apart one in the divine council, who rebelled and became the head of a counter-body—a structure of disordered love, pride, and chaos? Could this be the origin of what Jesus refers to in John 8:44 when He tells the Pharisees, “You are of your father the Devil”?

We are called the Body of Christ—a spiritual unity, ordered by love and led by a head who was slain and raised. But perhaps there is also a body of Rahab, bound together by disorder, pride, and rebellion, whose end is not resurrection but scattering and death.

The Spiritual Pattern: Broken Bodies and Scattered Members

The biblical story is filled with bodies that are broken, but their ends differ drastically.

True Body (Christ)	False Body (Rahab)
Christ is the Head	Rahab is the Head
Broken to give life	Cut to pieces in judgement
Scattered and regathered	Scattered and dismembered
Unified in ordered love	Unified by disordered desire
Death leads to resurrection	Death leads to dissolution

When Jesus is struck, His disciples scatter, but they are later gathered by the Spirit into one body—restored, unified, glorified.

When Rahab is struck, his “team” is cut up and cast down. There is no resurrection for this body—only judgment and dispersal. It is a perverse imitation of the Body of Christ.

Rahab in the Garden?

If Rahab is the symbol of disordered love and cosmic rebellion, could it be that Rahab was present in the garden of Eden, disguised as the serpent who led Adam and Eve astray?

After all, “Satan” and “the Devil” are not personal names in the strictest sense—they are titles, descriptors of role and function. The being described in Revelation 12:9 as “that ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” may well have had another identity known earlier in redemptive history—perhaps Rahab.

If so, consider the theological weight of this suggestion:

• Rahab, once one of the “holy ones,” rebelled not merely in the heavens but also within the very sanctuary of Eden.

• There, Rahab sewed disordered love into humanity, persuading Adam and Eve to abandon trust in God and seek autonomy—to love themselves over their Creator.

• This rebellion resulted in spiritual death for humanity—and perhaps for Rahab himself, whose fall would have been immediately obvious to the other heavenly beings, even if veiled to us.

In this light, the fear and awe that the “sons of God” have toward Yahweh (Psalm 89:6–7) might be read not merely as reverent submission, but as trembling recognition:

“This is the One who crushed Rahab.”

God’s Reversals: Crushing Chaos with Itself

One of the most striking patterns in Scripture is how God doesn’t just destroy evil—He reclaims its tools and territory to bring about good. This shows up repeatedly:

1. The Flood as Rest Through Chaos

   1. The flood is a return to the chaotic waters of Genesis 1:2—the tehom (deep), linguistically related to Tiamat.

   2. But this flood, an agent of judgment, also becomes the means by which Noah (“rest”) is preserved, and creation is renewed.

   3. Thus, God used the abode of Rahab to bring about peace.
      

2. The Grave as Gateway to Life

   1. In Jonah 2, the prophet prays from “the belly of Sheol” and is restored.

   2. Jesus applies this typology to Himself in Matthew 12:40: He will spend three days in the heart of the earth.

   3. Thus God used the grave, the abode of Death, as the birthplace of resurrection.
      

3. The Cross: Death Turned to Glory

   1. The cross—Rome’s tool of shame, pain, and fear—is transformed into the throne of Christ.

   2. By dying, Jesus destroys him who holds the power of death (Hebrews 2:14).

Each of these moments echoes Psalm 89:10 in spirit: God scatters His enemies not by brute force alone but by subverting their domains, taking Rahab’s sea and Death’s grave and making them serve His redemptive purpose.

A Theology of Reclaimed Realms

Psalm 89:10, then, is more than a line about divine strength—it is a poetic doorway into the whole drama of redemptive history. God crushes Rahab and scatters His enemies, not merely to win, but to reorder the cosmos around His perfect love and faithfulness.

Rahab is the symbol of all that is proud, chaotic, and disordered. But God does not merely exile Rahab—He subdues him, reverses his work, and reclaims his territory.

And in doing so, God proves Himself to be not only mighty, but utterly trustworthy. The same God who ruled the sea, crushed Rahab, and scattered the rebellious ex-hosts is the God who made a covenant with David, and through Christ, offers us a share in His eternal, ordered Kingdom.

Conclusion: Love Is the Order

If Rahab is the cosmic symbol of disordered love, then Yahweh is the Lord of properly ordered love—love that gives rather than grasps, that creates rather than consumes, that blesses rather than deceives.

The victory over Rahab is not merely a historical or mythic event—it is a pattern for all of God’s work in the world. Wherever chaos reigns, Yahweh enters, subdues, and reorders. Sometimes through judgment, sometimes through redemption—but always with sovereign purpose.

This is the choice laid before every soul: Which body will you belong to? Whose head will you follow? Whose order will shape your love?

In the end, Rahab will be scattered, but Christ will gather His saints. The sea will be no more, and the Lamb will reign. Let every soul hear, and every heart decide.