Bethlehem

In Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, we see five women listed. The first four are within the context of the first 14 generations. Mary is in the last fourteen. They have so many things in common. 

In their stories we see pictures of forgiveness, redemption, the blood of Jesus, the extravagant grace of God, the marriage of the bride and Redeemer, the death of the lamb, and the engrafting of the Gentiles into the vine (see Romans 11). But, while I was studying, and asking questions, I found what I believe is another connection. 

I don't think God does anything randomly. He does things with purpose. He wants to answer our questions.

In chapter 2 of Matthew's Gospel, he repeats the prophecy of Micah 5:2. It says,

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’

This prophecy made me realize that they are all connected to this place, and the house of David in one way or another.

The descendents of Tamar produced the land of Judah. The land of Israel was divided into portions according to tribes. Bethlehem is in the portion assigned to Judah. Rahab would have lived in Bethlehem upon moving into that land after leaving Jericho with the Israelites. Ruth came to Bethlehem from Moab. David came out of Bethlehem and was married to Bathsheba, producing two sons through whom the kingly lineage would continue. And Mary and Joseph had to travel back to Bethlehem for Jesus to be born because they were both of the house of David.

From Darkness to Light

In Matthew's genealogy of Jesus there are four women mentioned, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, all with seedy pasts. Yes,  even Ruth. She was a Moabite. They sacrificed babies to their gods and their people was a product of Lot and one of his daughters, an incestuous relationship.

Today, I heard a minister, (someone I love), say that if he were writing the genealogy, he would have thought Sarah or Rebecca would have been more appealing to include. But they both were sinners too.

Sarah had her husband sleep with their slave, Hagar. And that created a huge division and strife in people groups. Rebecca conspired with Jacob to deceive her husband, Isaac, and steal the blessing that was supposed to belong to his brother Esau.

Those girls were no better than the list in Matthew's genealogy.

We are all in one of two places. We are either in Adam, or in Christ. We either belong to darkness or light.

And, truth be known, Jesus has already (past tense) reconciled you to God. You might just be finding out about it right now, in this moment. And that is so you can receive his payment and become part of the light, part of the Kingdom of God, part of Christ.

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,- 2 Corinthians 5:18 (NKJV)

No other human is better than you. You were the same before Jesus, and you are still on the same level playing field with the rest of the Body of Christ, when you step out of the dark and over into the Kingdom of Light.

All it takes is a moment of faith.

to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.-Acts 26:18 (NKJV)

Women in the Genealogy of Jesus

Did you know that there are only 5 women listed in the genealogy of Jesus? Don't you think that is interesting? I mean, men cannot have babies, right? So, why did God choose those five women to include?

The first woman tricked a man named Judah into sleeping with her, and God gave her two babies out of the union. Her name was Tamar. When one of the babies is born, the midwife ties a scarlet thread on his wrist, and is the first time we see the scarlet thread in the Bible.

The second woman was a prostitute named Rahab in the city of Jericho. She hid two spies, and helped the people of God. Her household was saved through the process. We also see the scarlet cord in her story.

The third woman was an outsider named Ruth. She was a Moabite. They were wicked people, but she followed her mother-in-law to be with the people of God. God gave her a husband who was, amazingly, the son of Rahab. I wonder if Rahab and Ruth ever met??

There has been much controversy surrounding the fourth woman. She was married to an outsider. He was a Hittite, but he was part of David's army, and mighty men. My personal belief is it wasn't her fault. (The prophet Nathan backs me up.)  David took something that wasn't his, and thus an adulterous situation ensued. Bathsheba's name isn't even mentioned in many translations in Matthew's genealogy. It just says the wife of Uriah the Hittite. But God took their story, and redeemed it, and out of the union of David and Bathsheba came Solomon, who was also called Jedidiah, or loved by God.

The fifth woman was his mother Mary. Her name means bitter. She was a wonderful girl, out of whom came our Savior. But she was still in need of Him too. Grace comes along and redeems the bitterness.

So, back to my original question, why did Matthew, and the Holy Spirit choose to include just those women?

Wouldn't it be better to choose women who seemed upright, and didn't have any blemish on their record?

In reality those women just don't exist. I don't care how good you think you are, or how good other people think you are. We are all like these women.

These women are a picture of the church. They are in need of a savior. And when Jesus steps in, they are redeemed. We also need a Savior. Jesus redeems our stories too.

Many blessings ad you grow in grace and the knowledge of Him,
Beth

Women in the Life of Jesus: Rahab

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, 

Matthew 1:1-5

Scriptures where she is mentioned: Joshua 2:1-21, Joshua 6:17-25, James 2:25, & Hebrews 11:31

Her story:

Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.  And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)  Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,  and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.  And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for theLord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.  Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you"  Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.  And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,  unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home.  So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will beguiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

The story continues in Joshua chapter 6 when the Israelites take the city of Jericho.  Rahab and her entire family are saved as the city is destroyed.

My thoughts:

Rahab was a harlot. The Hebrew and the Greek words seemed to indicate this as being accurate, which is good news. It means there is forgiveness and redemption for those who are caught in that life. Some sources have indicated that she was an innkeeper, but that is not what the original text says. The scriptures repeatedly refer to her that way.

Rahab was a very brave woman.  She welcomed spies into her home.  And when the King of Jericho (who knew who she was) sent men to bring them out, she lied to them. (Yes, I know lying is not good, and I don't condone it.)

She already knew who the Israelites were.  But most importantly she knew who God was.  She had heard heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea, and she says in verse 11:

...for the Lord your God, He is god in heaven above and on earth beneath.

She believed in God.  She knew who He was and she had faith in Him.

In Hebrews 11:31, she is listed in the "Hall of Faith" with many other men and women of God. It says of her,

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

In the New Testament book of James, James is discussing faith and works and how they are connected.  In James 2:25, James commends Rahab, indicating that her actions demonstrated her faith, and she was justified.

I think her actions and the fact that she listed in both of those passages of scripture should cause us to pause and rethink what faith is.

As I was reading her story, it occurred to me that Rahab's story is another picture of Jesus.  She's symbolic of the Gentiles being engrafted into the Jewish nation through the scarlet cord. That scarlet cord she hangs in her window to signify to the spies that she wants to be saved, is symbolic of Jesus.  He is our salvation.

Her story also reminds me of the scripture in Acts 16:31,

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."

Rahab is the second woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus.

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus.

This Scarlet Cord

"I think He has a plan for you, Rahab.  He put you into the hands of the slavers and He put you into the hands of someone who could teach you the truth about Him.  Now He has saved you from the dissolute rites of a false god.  You are important to Him, Rahab.  You must just wait and see what it is He wants you to do.  Wait and listen."

-excerpt from This Scarlet Cord

I think we all have images in our minds of what the Biblical accounts we have read are supposed to look like.  This one was no exception for me.  The story of Rahab is not one that I have read a lot, but I am familiar with it and where she fits into God’s story.  This Scarlet Cord is the fictional account of the story of Rahab by author Joan Wolf.

In her notes to the reader at the end  of the book, Joan Wolf states that she has take the story of a Rahab which, in the Bible, equals about 5 paragraphs, and lengthened it into a book of about 85,000 words.  That is not an easy thing to do, I am sure.  After reading Wolf’s last novel about Queen Esther, A Reluctant Queen, I was very eager to read this one.

The story begins with Rahab as a young girl and ends shortly after the fall of Jericho.  Both the beginning and ending are plausible because the Bible doesn’t really include that information.  There are some areas in the middle that I would consider more fiction than Biblical.   That being said, I am simply going to share some things I liked about the novel, and a few that I didn’t.

I am not a Bible expert.  I am supposed to write a review, so these are my feelings toward the parts of the book I didn’t like.  The story doesn’t follow 100% of the Biblical account of the story of Rahab.  The Bible mentions in several places that she is a harlot, and the author changes that fact, which kind of skews the way  she helps the Israelite spies.  Also, Wolf places Israelites in other cities and not with the rest of the Israelites coming out of Egypt during the Exodus, which is where Sala comes from, and is how he comes to know Rahab before the siege on Jericho.  I find this extremely hard to believe.  I realize this is fiction, but this is one point I had issue with.  It has however pushed me to my Bible to do some further research. 

Another portion of the book that was difficult me to read, was when Rahab’s family comes to Jericho and there is A LOT of explicit discussion about Baal worship and the sexual connotations surrounding their religious rituals.  It is not severe, but I really would rather not read about these things and skimmed over a large portion of this section of the book. 

That being said, there were some things I did like, and I thought the author did a wonderful job weaving into the story.  I liked the love story between Rahab and Sala.  What girl doesn’t like a love story?  It was very sweet and pure and I enjoy reading about how it grew.  I really loved how Wolf revealed the conversion of Rahab to Yahweh as a process in the story.  The Bible doesn’t say anything about that either, but we know it must have happened at some point because she became a part of the Israelite family and her name is in the lineage of Jesus.  That part of the story was a beautiful thing.  The last thing I really liked was how the author rehearsed the Battle of Jericho and how the walls fell down.  I thought she was very creative and descriptive in the development of how the Israelites took the city of Jericho.  It appeared to stick to the Biblical account but was developed in areas where we have no information. 

The last parts of the story was redeeming for the book.  If you enjoy Biblical fiction, this will be an interesting read for you.  I would recommend it for 18+ though because of some of the sexuality found in the book. 

Many blessings as you read and I hope you find Jesus and His story in whatever you read.

*Disclaimer-I received this book free from Booksneeze as part of a free books for bloggers program.  I was not required to give a positive review.  The thoughts and opinions found here are entirely my own.