Rahab- a journey from shame to honour

Yesterday we read of the call to Joshua to be strong and courageous- and in the early chapters of the book of Joshua we meet a woman who showed great courage, with unexpected consequences.
Rahab was a prostitute living and working in the city of Jericho. She is introduced in Joshua 2:1 by her occupation, with her name added almost as an afterthought as though she only existed to offer a service, to be used as a commodity. Her job defined her, in a way that brought her only shame.

And yet, she found the courage not only to offer shelter to the spies Joshua sent into Jericho, but even to hide them in her house at considerable risk to herself. Because of her actions, she and her family are spared when Jericho falls.

"But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved. Her family has lived in Israel ever since." Joshua 6:25

Not only does Rahab survive, but she thrives in her new community. She marries Salmon, and they become the parents of Boaz...and she finds her place in the family tree of Jesus in Matthew 1:5. What a long way she has travelled! And who knows what small acts of courage today might be the start of a transformational journey for us?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peter- walking a rocky road

Sometimes reading self help books or well-meaning blogs can make us feel that adopting a regime, a mantra or a new habit will lead to measurable results in a steadily increasing way. We feel as if we should be drawing a progress chart that climbs steadily upwards- but real life is just not like that. Maybe that's why so many of us find Peter an encouraging character in Scripture. When Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, meaning the Rock, we cheer for him as we see Jesus recognising his strength of character. Jesus replied,  ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,   and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [  will not overcome it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be   loosed in heaven.’   Then he ordered his disciples not to tell any
Read more

advent day two

Advent Day TWO~ Every one of you, hide among the rocks and in the ground, Because the LORD is fearsome, marvelous, and glorious. When the LORD comes, everyone who is proud will be made humble, And the LORD alone will be honoured. The LORD All-Powerful has chosen a day When those who are proud and conceited will be put down Isaiah 2: 10-12 What are we waiting for? Its good to remind ourselves  of who God is. What words would you use to describe God? Glorious?...Marvellous?...Fearsome? Try to spend some time today in a place where you can see something of God’s glory– it might be at the sea, under a starry night sky, watching a sunset or down on your hands and knees with the insects. God created this world we live in. He controls it, orders it, sustains it. He breathed life into our bodies– and He will decide when life leaves us. This is the LORD we worship. And he has chosen a day to return to earth in unmistakable power and glory. The angel choirs who sang to shepherds
Read more

advent day fifteen

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice; Tender to me the promise of his word; In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice. Do not be afraid! When Gabriel appeared to Mary, she was confused and frightened. He had to reassure her by reminding her how much she meant to God: “You’re beautiful with God’s beauty. Beautiful inside and out! God be with you.” And then he told her of her part in God’s plan…. We can’t begin to guess what her first reactions were. Whether it even made sense to her. She could hardly talk it through with Joseph– so she went off to visit Elizabeth, the only one who might begin to understand, to help her make sense of what was happening to her. Three months later, Luke lets us see what Mary is thinking. Is it a tear soaked page of her diary? Is it anger and outrage at God? Is it despair as she works out what to say to Joseph? No– God has brought Mary to a place where she can sing. We call her song the Magnif
Read more