The next grandmother recorded by Matthew could be nicknamed Fancy. She reminds me of a song by,,,,,,,, well never mind. Let’s just let her tell her own story. Matthew calls her Ra’-chad and every Jew who ever sat in a synagogue knew she was a woman of ill repute.
Ra’-chad is better known as Rahab
Biblical references: Joshua 1:1-8; Joshua 2:1-24; Joshua 3:7-17; Joshua 6:1-25; Matthew 1:4-5; Ruth 4:21; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25
Background
It’s been well over 300 hundred years since Jacob, also known as Israel, died in Egypt. Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Israel, brought a family of seventy to Egypt so they wouldn’t starve. Joseph too has long since been buried and the new Pharaoh is no longer happy to have this clan that has grown into hundreds of thousands if not millions overtaking his country. These Israelites took God seriously when He said, “be fruitful and multiply filling the earth.” Moses became the leader of these nomadic people made up of twelve tribes. These people are weird! They followed a cloud in the day and fire at night, rivers open and dry up and they use them like a bridge, they eat crackers that fall out of the sky and quail that land in their laps six days a week, and they carry around this golden box that has some kind of power no one can explain. For 40 years, they wandered aimlessly in the desert setting up camp in the shape of a cross. They serve only one God and they call Him Yahweh. This band of monotheistic people is now camped just outside the city of Jericho. Let’s listen to her story.
Rahab
“I am Rahab and I live in Jericho on the western side of the Jordan. It is a fortified city and my residence is in a prime location. Some call it the high-rent business district.
I agree with Ta’mar. Do parents ever consider the legacy they are hanging on their children when they name them? Rahab means violence. Pride. Arrogance. But, a girl in my line of work needs all three of these qualities to survive. And trust me, I am a survivor.
I am told I am listed as a grandmother, because some men I never met, Matthew, Paul, and James, wrote about me. They say I had faith because of my actions. Well, you might think differently when you hear the whole story. It has been said, “sometimes we must do wrong, to accomplish a greater good.” I will let you decide about this……..I am here today, thanks to God, because of the choices I made.
Unlikely Request
My story begins when two Israelites showed up at my door. They were banging on my door like they were being chased by the devil himself. I opened the door as I always did for paying clients. They wanted not my services but a place to stay and hide. I tried to explain this was not the Hilton but I could provide MANY services I was certain they would find appealing.
The next thing I know the king’s guards are about to break the door down demanding I hand over these very nice men. I am not sure how they knew they were at my establishment but the king’s guards are everywhere. They proceed to tell me my “guests” are spies. The light bulb goes off in my head that these are Israelites with the great God on their side. In my line of work, you hear things! I am no idiot! This is not going to go well for Jericho.
I took my guests up to the roof where I have taken many a client whose wives showed up and I hid them under the flax I keep ready for such emergencies! It works every time! People are so dumb. They walk right past them hidden in plain sight.
Two Wrongs Equal Right?
After I quickly got this done, I went and let the king’s men in. I explained, “Yes, those spies were here earlier but they’re gone and I have no idea where.” I also reminded the kings’ men, it was about dark, just before the gates of Jericho were shut. So, they really should hurry along if they want to catch up with them. So, out the door, they went in hot pursuit. Clever! Right?
Yes, I know it was a lie! What would you have done?
You are probably wondering why I didn’t turn these spies over to the king’s men. They certainly would have paid me for my intel. Why did I protect these men intent on destroying my city, my livelihood? As I told the two Hebrew spies: “I know that God has given you this land, and your terror has fallen upon us. Everyone feels hopeless because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea, and that you destroyed the two kings of the Amorites. The LORD your God, He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath.” I told you: I watch, I listen, I learn. This was not the time to be dumb.
Operation Save Myself
Jericho was on borrowed time. I had to think about myself and my family. So, I struck a deal. My help for their protection. They agreed to the proposition for my vow of silence. Like who was I going to tell? The king? Hardly. He would have put my head on a platter.
I let the spies down the outside wall of the city using a rope I kept on hand for such “contingencies.” This was not my first time helping someone escape unseen from my perch on the tower. I directed them to go into the mountains and hide for three days. This gave the search party time to give up and return to Jericho.
They promised me and mine safety and no harm. I was instructed to tie the same rope to the window I let them down by, and to have my entire family in my house. Anyone not in the house would die. If I spoke a word of any of this, all agreements were null and void. After I watched them safely scamper into the night, I gathered my family, secured the red cord to the window and awaited the fate of Jericho.
God’s Ways Do Not Make Sense
Now, I am going to illustrate for you just how peculiar these Israelites are! They lined up and just marched around the city wall one time a day for six days. Silent. Not making a sound. They carried horns and the golden box but the only sound was footsteps. Of course, the people of Jericho chided them incessantly. Then, on the seventh day, they marched around seven times and at the end of the seventh round trip the priests in the front all started blowing these horns and when they did the people started shouting at the top of their lungs. The earth began to tremble and the entire wall except for the tower of my house fell to the ground the Israelites came rushing in and the city was completely destroyed! They gathered all the silver, gold, brass, and iron, slaughtered everything that breathed, and then, their leader, Joshua, instructed them to “go to the harlot’s house and bring her and her family out.” Thank you Joshua for sharing with everyone my occupation. After we were clear of the city, they set fire to it.
New Beginnings from a Sordid Past
My family and I became members of the house of Israel. Then, as Matthew wrote, I gave up my lucrative business and married a man named Salmon and we had a son named Boaz. This made me the great great grandmother of King David, the son of Jesse who was my great-grandson, who was the son of Obed my grandson, the son of my sweet Boaz. Not Bozo. Boaz!
Did my lie, the language of the devil, make everything right? OF COURSE NOT! According to the Torah which I was to learn about, sin is always wrong and causes death. God simply used my mustard seed of faith that I put into action and in the process, I was saved. By protecting God’s chosen people, I found favor. I gained a new identity. No longer a harlot but a wife, mother, and great-grandmother to kings: Part of the tribe of Judah.
Who would have thought God Almighty would use a fancy, lying woman of ill repute with a red rope from Jericho in His Grand Scheme of Redemption? I wonder, how will He use you? You see it is not what you have done or what’s been done to you. It is not who you know. What matters is WHO knows you! God is always working for your good and His glory. Don’t forget this!”
Rahab’s Lullaby (God Above, God Below by Integrity Music
This is the song Rahab may have sung to her son, Boaz of God’s faithfulness. All she experienced God used in a mighty way! Never give up! In God’s economy, all our life experiences are valuable.
Another woman of questionable background learned the same lesson. Her name was Mary of Magdala
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