Matthew 1:4-5a

Posted by DJL on Dec 5, 2013 in Advent Devotions | 2 comments

…and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab…

And then comes the story of Rahab.

Rahab lived in the city of Jericho during the time that historians often call “the conquest of the land.” This is the period of history after Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, had brought them the Ten Commandments from the Lord, and had guided them to the Promised Land. And then something went terribly wrong, as the Israelites, afraid of the tribes that lived in the Promised Land, did not believe the Lord’s promise to give them this country and did not want to go any further. In response, the Lord granted their wish – after a manner – and had them wander in the wilderness for forty years until every member of the disbelieving generation died.

Moses then led their children, now grown to adulthood, to the edge of the Promised Land before he died, and Joshua, Moses’ companion and lieutenant, was chosen by the Lord to lead the people. But those tribes and clans the Israelites feared were still there, and so the book of Joshua is one of unrelenting battles, sieges, and bloodshed. One of the great sieges happens at Jericho, the city whose great walls “came a tumblin’ down” after Joshua sent the army of the Israelites around it once a day for seven days, each time carrying the ark of the covenant with them and blowing their mighty horns.

Before taking the city of Jericho, however, Joshua sent in spies to see what kind of resistance they might face. And this is where Rahab comes in (Joshua 2). Her home is built into the wall of the city and is the place the spies seek refuge when they are being pursued. In fact, when the Jericho soldiers come to Rahab’s house and demand that she turn over the spies, she hides them on her roof under some sheaves of flax set out to dry, and then she lies to the soldiers, telling them that the spies had already come and gone and sending them on a wild goose chase into the hill country to seek them.

But in exchange for her collaboration, Rahab asks that when the Israelites come to sack the city they spare her and all of her family. Rahab, you see, has heard the story of God rescuing the Israelites from Egypt and believes the Lord will continue to deliver towns and cities to Israel. The soldiers gratefully agree to Rahab’s request, telling her to tie a red cord from her window so that the invading Israelites will mark her household and spare her family. She then lets them down the wall by a rope and sends them back to Joshua by a different route than she’d sent their pursuers.

And that is the story of Rahab. Except for one more thing: she is described as being a prostitute. Quite honestly, I’m never quite sure how much that detail should matter. It’s usually the detail that is given significant attention in later stories and art about her. And I suppose it matters in that to do Rahab justice we should know and honor all that we might learn about her. But I don’t think that should define her, and I don’t Matthew remembers her because she’s a prostitute but rather because she, a foreigner to the Israelites, nevertheless risked herself and her family because she believed in the Lord.

Think about that for a moment. The previous generation of Israelites – the people God had delivered from Egypt and brought across the Red Sea – did not believe that God could keep God’s promises. But Rahab, who was not herself an Israelite and had only heard these stories at a distance, nevertheless trusted and believed. That’s faith. That’s courage. That’s someone who you’d want to remember.

Prayer: Dear God, let us remember Rahab and be inspired by her faith and courage, that we also might risk ourselves for the sake of others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.