- Rahab
The book of Matthew begins with Jesus’s genealogy - an account of his family lineage stretching back 42 generations to Abraham.
Ancient family trees typically included only men. In fact, this whole family tree shows Jesus’s lineage through Joseph, his earthly father, even though (according to scripture) Joseph was not Jesus’s biological father. Nevertheless, in patriarchal societies, it’s all about the men.
However, four women do appear on the list.
The first woman to appear - Tamar - I talked about last week. On the banner behind me, you can see the cord, seal, and staff that belonged to Judah, and perhaps be reminded how Tamar used these items to secure for herself a place in Judah’s household. Tamar’s boldness, her audacity, and her persistence kept her from oppression and destitution.
The next woman to appear among the generations in Matthew 1 is Rahab.
The story of Rahab is in the 2nd chapter of the book of Joshua.
Rahab appears in the story when God’s people are about to cross over the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. They intend to take over the city of Jericho, where Rahab lives, but first, Joshua sends two spies into the city to check things out.
And the scripture says that these two spies “went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there.”
But the king of Jericho was tipped off about the activities of these spies inside his city. He sent men to Rahab, who said to her: “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house.” But Rahab hid them, then helped them escape by lowering them out of her window with a rope.
I’ve often wondered: why did Rahab do this? Why did she betray her own king and her own city?
Scripture says she did it because she had heard how the Lord had been with the people of Israel, how God had led them through the Red Sea and helped them escape from Pharaoh, and how God had given them victory wherever they went.
So naturally, Rahab figured that God would give them victory again, and surely it’s better to side with them now, and perhaps secure some protection from them in return, for herself and her family, rather than suffer when they invaded and took over the city… and indeed, the spies told Rahab to tie a red cord in the window, so that when they came back and invaded the city, they would know to spare her and her family.
But I think there is more to the story. Let’s remember back to last week’s story, about Tamar, who disguised herself as a prostitute. She disguised herself as a prostitute, and, in fact, became a prostitute, if only for a day.
And why did Tamar resort to prostitution, for a day? Because she was desperate. Because she had no other options. Which, I think, is why most prostitutes become prostitutes.
They’re desperate. They’re trapped. And they see it as the only way out of their oppressed situation.
Society often places blame upon prostitutes for their situation, but more often than not, prostitutes are victims of an unjust, sexist society.
That was the case for Tamar. And I can only assume that was the case for Rahab - that she was desperate, and had no other options. Life had trapped her. It wasn’t the life she dreamed of growing up. She was a victim. She was oppressed. And she was willing to do anything she needed to do to try and find her way out of that oppression.
A sexist, patriarchal society may blame her for her choices, but they are choices made out of desperation.
And if there is one thing we know, it’s that Jesus always sides with the oppressed, with those who were desperate, those who had been trapped and victimized by an unjust world.
And so when Rahab saw an opportunity to find her way out of this entrapment, this captivity, she pounced on it. When she saw a way to perhaps start putting her broken life back together, she took it. She grabbed hold of that opportunity, because she saw in it a path to freedom. She was willing to side with the invading Israelites to secure peace and freedom for her and her family.
- Questioning the Answers
Certainly, there is a lot to wrestle with in this story. Israel intends to commit genocide against the Canaanites, and that genocide appears to be God-ordained. In fact, God orders the destruction of the Canaanites to be so complete, that not one is left alive. That should make anyone question the nature of God.
On the other hand, remember that Rahab - a Canaanite woman - is a part of Jesus’ family tree. Not only did she survive, but she is included in the list of Jesus’s honored ancestors in Matthew, chapter one. What does that tell you?
It is good to wrestle with these stories. To ask questions of these stories. Too many find a Bible verse and plunk it down in any setting, without paying attention to the context, as if that verse can settle any argument or answer any question in any time known to humanity.
That’s crazy! Most Bible stories don’t answer our questions, they question our answers. Just like when people asked Jesus, he often responded with a question… most Bible stories don’t answer our questions, they question our answers.
And the story of Rahab does that.
Here’s a question I have: why did ancient people tell this story? Why did they repeat this story to their children, and why did early church leaders include it in the canon? What is the point that they want us to remember?
Rahab was a prostitute, yet she is lifted up as righteous. She is lifted up as righteous and is one of only four women to make it onto Jesus’ family tree. Why?
As I think about this question, I wonder if it’s because she never took her eyes off of what was right. She never stopped searching for that path to freedom, that path to peace. And once it appeared, she took it.
She didn’t live a perfect life. She lived a life of desperation. Yet in that desperation hope remained. She never stopped hoping. And when the opportunity presented itself - the opportunity to grab hold of peace and freedom - she took it.
For us, reading this thousands of years later, it sounds like a no-brainer. Side with God, escape your oppression, live in freedom. But we see too often that this choice is not as easy as it sounds.
- Into the Unknown
For example: After God led God’s people out of Egypt, they repeatedly longed to go back. They longed to go back to captivity. Why? Because the change to a whole new way of living was just too much. Going to the Promised Land was heading into the unknown. That Unknown may have been filled with blessings, but it was still unknown. That better future was radically different, and different is scary.
How many people today are afraid of making the radical changes that they need to make? Some might think that alcoholics just need to put that bottle down - it’s that easy. A better future is as simple as that.
But it’s not.
And I wonder if, years from now - after climate change has created a drastically different planet, one that is much harder to survive on - people will look back to us and wonder: why didn’t they just stop using fossil fuels?
Why did they keep driving those gas-powered cars and keep flying those gas-powered airplanes and keep using coal and oil to provide their energy needs? Why didn’t they switch over to public transportation powered by clean energy? They knew fossil fuels were destroying the planet, yet they kept using them. The solutions were available to them, why didn’t they choose them?
And I'm quite aware of the irony that, when Greta Thunberg refuses to travel unless a non-polluting, non-fossil fuel-using method is available to her, I think, “Good for her!” … and then I get in my gas-powered car and drive across town.
I think Rahab’s decision to welcome those spies and help them was not an easy one. It was the right choice, but it was still difficult. She knew that doing so meant a whole new life for her and her family, a radically different life. It meant a journey into the unknown. It would have been so easy to say, “Yeah, I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
And we might be tempted to do the same. But God didn’t send Jesus to earth so that we can keep doing what we’ve been doing. God sent Jesus to earth to radically change things, to radically change us. We keep making the same destructive choices over and over and over again.
But Rahab kept her eyes open for a break in that destructive cycle. When she saw it, she acted on it. She didn’t sit around and wait for freedom to come. She didn’t sit around and wait for peace to show up. She didn’t sit around and wait for a new life.
She acted on it.
God provides a way, but we have to choose to follow that way. The new opportunities we want are just outside our door, but we have to get up and open the door, and step outside.
- Faith Statement
Perhaps there is one more reason why Rahab did what she did. When the Israelite spies are about to leave, Rahab says to them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Terror over you has overwhelmed us. The entire population of the land has melted down in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord was with you and has given you victory wherever you go. This is because the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.”
This is a profound theological statement. It contrasts with the fear and reluctance of the people of Israel. And it comes from a surprising source.
The Israelites before her made no such confession. Rather, it was this Canaanite woman - a prostitute - who so beautifully describes their God, who recognizes that God is the God not only of heaven, but also right here on earth.
Likewise, in the life of Jesus, we see statements of great faith coming from surprising sources. It was expected that great statements of faith would come from the pharisees and the priests and the scribes - those who knew God’s laws and who studied the Torah and who were revered for their holy ways.
But instead, throughout the gospels, the most profound statements of faith come from the places least expected. A Syrophoenician woman. A Roman soldier. A group of uneducated fishermen. A tax collector. A good Samaritan.
All of them - like Rahab - were able to speak or act in ways that demonstrated the true kingdom of God. And all of them - like Rahab - were willing to radically change their lives to follow the way of Jesus. They may have not all been baptized in water, but they were all transformed by the Spirit.
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers
The second Sunday of Advent is traditionally about peace. The world longs for peace. No more wars. No more violence. No more genocide. No more weapons of mass destruction aimed at us and at our enemies.
We long for peace. We long for the day when predators and prey live together and no longer hurt or destroy each other.
Jesus came bringing peace, and yet the wars rage on. Jesus shows us the way to peace, but we have chosen to not follow that way. Because we have only known the way of war, and peace is too radical a change.
To have peace, we must have justice. To have peace, we must live sustainably. To have peace, we must balance the needs of all people of all nations, as well as the creatures, the plants, the air, the land, and the sea. All are interconnected, so to have peace, we must live in solidarity with the rest of the planet.
If we want peace, we have to act. We have to change radically. We have to reorient our lives and pay much closer attention to all that Jesus taught us.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Not those who wait for peace, but those who actively make peace.
Making peace means building bridges instead of walls. Not long after Rahab helped those spies, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. We need to tear down the walls and build bridges of understanding between us and our neighbors - especially those neighbors who are most different from us.
What are you doing to build a bridge of understanding with your neighbor?
What are you doing to actively make peace in your neighborhood?
God has shown us the path to peace. Jesus has told us how to bring peace. That is a great blessing. But we must make the bold decision to pursue peace - even and especially when it means drastic lifestyle change.
What radical changes are you willing to make, so that Christ’s peace may come to earth this Christmas?
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