Rahab - Women in Jesus geaneology

As we look over the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1, it is striking to see the names of 5 women. This was unheard of in the culture of that day. Women wouldn’t usually get a mention. What is even more striking is that these women mentioned are the most unlikely women we would expect to see in our Lord’s ancestry.
 
Last Sunday we heard about Tamar who tricked her father-in-law into laying with her to carry on the family line. This Sunday we will hear about Rahab, a Gentile prostitute who lived in the city of Jericho 1000 years before Jesus was born. Rahab’s story can be read in Joshua chapter 2. In summary, she had heard a little bit about the LORD and chose to be associated with God’s people rather than her own people, so she helped the spies sent in by Joshua. She then asked to be spared when the Israelites come and conquer Jericho in return for the help she gave them. The Israelite spies agreed that she and her household would be saved if she leaves a red cord marking her house. Do you hear the echoes of the blood covering on the door frames which saved the Israelite children on the night of the Passover in Egypt, before the exodus?
 
By hanging the red cord, and by acting in faith, and choosing to be associated with God’s people, Rahab was saved; despite being a prostitute who lied to her own king’s men. There’s much in this story for us to grapple with and learn. In particular, how God chooses to call and use, and love and save the most unlikely people. Rahab’s story shows us that God loves and has great plans for liars and prostitutes. This story may challenge our thinking as God doesn’t always seem to reward morality or punish what we think is evil, as we’d expect from a Holy God... But he consistently loves people and rewards when he sees real faith.  
 
Rahab is not only included in Jesus’ genealogy; she gets 2 more mentions in the New Testament as well (James 2:25 and Hebrews 11:31). She is listed among those such as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and Joseph: commended for their faith and surrounding believers as a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 11-12:1). All of these people became righteous by God’s grace, through faith, just as we are. It is my prayer this week that we may all be moved to have even greater faith in the LORD, like the faith of Rahab.  
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