I am doing a Bible Study on Women of the Bible & it takes one person & focuses daily for a week on that person. The past week has been on Rahab...So I've been looking at this woman more in depth then ever...
Yes, she was the prostitute who lived in Jericho - the land that God said he would hand over to the Israelites. Spies came in & Rahab protected the men. She told the men they had heard of all the Lord had done & she even claimed to believe God WAS the God in heaven above & on the earth below (Joshuan 2:11)
The part I wanna know more about... Rahab's family....
She is living in a place that did not believe in the Living God... did her family also not believe?
She was a prostitute... did her family shun her for that or accept her for what she did?
She apparently was making a living for herself... where was her family's support?
But in exhange for protecting the Spies, she asked for kindness for her & her family because she showed kindness to them (Joshua 2:12) - she wanted to make sure her father, mother brother & sisters & all of THEIR family would be safe from death... & it was agreed upon.
When the Fall of Jericho happened & all the men & women, young & old were killed, Rahab & her family were safe...
But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitue, with her family & all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho - & she lives among the Israelites to this day. -Joshuah 6:25
The actions of this one woman changed the lives of her family. Did they believe now? Did they have gratitude towards their daughter, sister, aunt, for protecting them? Did they have a new respect for a woman who could have before brought shame to their family? Most imortantly, did they NOW believe in the Living God?... what happened to them ... I wanna know!
We do know Rahab ended up living among the Israelites & had a son... after all, she's mentioned a few times in the Bible because of her faith - the most important, in the lineage of Christ!
We also see she married & the study I am doing suggests that it could have even been one of the spies that saved her who she married..... now there's a love story the movies could make! The story of this woman's life...pretty cool....
But what a reminder that YOUR actions can affect others so strongly - protect them - possibly help them find Faith themselves in a Living God....
Awesome post!!!
ReplyDeletewe I first looked - I thought the lesson was on rehab - as in where Jesse James is today - doh!
ReplyDeleteGood report!
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday..
ReplyDeleteI have wondered about Rahab's family as well.
ReplyDeleteHave you read those books Francine Rivers wrote about the women mentioned in the lineage of Christ?
great work
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I thought about Chris Rice's song "Power of a Moment." If you're not familiar with it, you might want to look up the lyrics. He talks about wondering what people are going to write about him when he dies. Makes me think about the legacy we will leave.
ReplyDeleteRahab left an incredible testimony of faith. She was also quite bold, much like the woman at the well with Jesus as well as the one who sought healing from her blood disease (even dogs eat the scraps from their masters' tables).
Every decision we make is a piece of the legacy we'll leave one day. Winning souls for Christ should be our number one goal. That's a legacy that will stand the test of time and the fires of judgment.
Hugs to you, my Friend, for another well-written, thoughtful, and wisdom-packed post.
I like how you think! I think of those things too. Her story has always fascinated me.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that really, really bothers me about the story of Rahab is that I hear a lot of people using this story to justify lying. They say that Rahab did it, so God must approve...how do you feel about this?
ReplyDelete