Wednesday, December 10th

Read Matthew 1:4-6a- 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,6 and Jesse the father of King David.

Some of the Jewish readers would have been okay with Ruth being mentioned because it was a great story. Another story of the Kinsmen Redeemer. But they would have said, “wait, back up. Why is Rahab on the list?” Everyone would have known, there are two issues with Rahab. First, her name was traditionally known as “Rahab the prostitute.” Second, her ethnicity was an issue. She was a Canaanite, which was an ethnic catch-all, more importantly, she was a gentile. A prostitute and a gentile and she is in the line of Jesus.
I won’t get into all of it; you can read it for yourself if you want Joshua 2 and Joshua 5:13-6.
But 200 years after Tamar and 1300 years before Jesus the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians, were rescued by God, traversed through the desert, crossed the Jordan River, was ready to take the land but 10 spies said no, living in fear, so God had them wander another 40 years. Joshua sent two more spies to investigate the promised land. When the spies got to Jericho, they snuck in and stayed in Rahab’s home. The king of Jericho found out and put out a search for them, but Rahab committed to protecting them.

Because of her faithfulness in protecting the spies, she asked for the spies to protect her as well. Because she knew full well that they were going to be coming back to take the city.
Notice this exchange.

Joshua 2:10-14- 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt… 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

Days later the Israelites approached Jericho and through the miraculous were able to defeat Jericho, enter the promised land and Rahab and her family were saved. Not only was she saved, then Salmon, one of the spies ended up marrying Rahab, whose son is Boaz and the eventual great, great, great …. Grandson was Jesus.

What is Matthew showing us? The best of the best can still use the worst of the worst in improbable ways. Who would have thought “Rahab the prostitute” would be the hero of the story for the Israelites to go into the promised land? That’s gritty, powerful, raw, and glorious, it is not nice and neat and tidy. That’s the story that Matthew wove into the story of the coming of Christ.

How often have you disqualified yourself from doing the improbable because of your past? Or because of your “gifts”? How can we see that God invites us to doing the improbable, despite our chaos?

Take a moment today with the song Made for More by Josh Baldwin