Mothers of Jesus - Rahab
Genealogies never seem the most exciting part of Scripture. Of course, as the book of 2 Timothy tells us, “all Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. Often, however, we don’t know how to juice a list of names to produce a revelation about God’s character.
But each of these lists in the Bible is holy and powerful, and the opening of Matthew builds a portrait of the lineage of Jesus. Each name included here is intentional, and shows us the nature of God, particularly through the variety in who he chooses to build his kingdom.
Take Rahab for example. When introduced in Joshua 2, the first thing we learn about her is that she’s a prostitute. And yet, God uses her to protect these Jewish spies. It’s significant enough that a non-Jewish woman is proclaiming that “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below”; it’s even more significant that she’s a prostitute. This is a woman selling her body, living in sin and shame, and she is changed by fear and reverence for the Lord.
It is in a pact of mutual compassion towards each other that the spies offer her family protection. Her faith allowed her family to live. Without it, we wouldn’t have the many generations that come after Rahab’s mention in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus. It even earned her a spot in the list of ‘Faith Heroes’ in Hebrews 11. However, it also required the faith of the Israelites. Were they going to be willing to trust this prostitute from Jericho?
As powerful as Rahab’s faith is, I think the Israelites’ faith is a bigger challenge to us. Because it reminds us that God uses unexpected people for his glory. Are we willing to let Him? Are there women that we have written off because they dress a certain way or have a promiscuous reputation? They are not exempt from the saving power of the gospel. They are capable of seeing God for who He is and acting accordingly in response to that.
We live in a culture that is loud about sexual freedom, and while we are to hold firm to the Biblical design for sex, God is still able to speak into that culture. Think of Rahab: a prostitute who lied to protect the people of God. Think of Mary: an unwed teenager who got pregnant and gave birth to our Lord in a cold, dirty stable. The women that could so easily be judged, become vessels for God’s promises.
Let’s rejoice in that this Christmas, and let’s pray that God would be at work in the women we’re inclined to neglect.
Written by Rehanah Nurmahi