Hooker To Holy

 “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.” Matthew 1:1&5

Hanging just a few limbs lower in the line of Jesus is lady named Rahab.  The term is used loosely because Rahab was the one momma warned you about, not the one you wanted to bring home to momma.  Her business was good, but her reputation was bad.  I’m sure Rahab didn’t begin life planning to be a prostitute, but she ended up running Jericho’s most famous Hole-In-The-Wall Motel.  Visitors didn’t have to settle for room and board when they could pay for someone to share the bed.  Whatever turns her life had taken, nothing compared to the day two Jewish spies walked through Rahab’s door followed by demanding soldiers in hot pursuit.  She was faced with two choices: turn the spies over to the king or turn herself over to the spies.

Rahab knew Jericho’s walls were no match for the God who split the Red Sea and routed powerful kingdoms, and she wasn’t just concerned—she was terrorized.  She admitted her idols were fake and that the God of Israel was the only real deal, so in a jumbled mixture of fear and faith, she lied to the soldiers and hid the spies on the roof.  They, in turn, spared the lives of her family when the city was later destroyed. To finish the story, Rahab moved in with the Israelites, married a leader of the tribe of Judah, and became a mom!  Had her husband been one of the spies?  If so, was it love at first sight?  We won’t know all the juicy, joyful details until heaven, but what we do know is that God picked up a scared streetwalker, held her close as Jericho’s walls and her world crumbled around her, and gently set her down in the center of His special family. 

In the middle of her fear, Rahab found God to be a mighty fortress.  She was scared, but He was strong.  She was terrified, but He could be trusted.  And in the middle of her failure, Rahab found God to be her forgiveness. She was a harlot, but He was holy.  Her life had been full of lust, but He filled it up with love, and when she was nothing to write home about, He recorded her story for all eternity.

No wonder Rahab glistens with grace on Jesus’ family tree. She deserved nothing, yet God gave her everything. And isn’t that what Christmas is really all about?