Joshua 2: God’s Yardstick – Rahab
Promise Found in Surprise
Sunday, January 8, 2023
In these opening days of a new year, we look for ways to better see God’s yardstick in our lives, and for ways to leave the world’s yardstick behind.
When we rely on others to tell us about the stories the Bible holds we might miss this gem: the great-grandmother of Jesse, father of David, is a prostitute in Jericho. We might ask how we have missed this woman who welcomes spies and barters with them in order to save her family – a family that will later save the faithful. In God’s plan, the promise so often hangs on slender threads.
We too often set humans apart in tidy groups characterized by facile, overt characteristics while we ignore the hidden treasure that God has promised us. We too frequently listen to the opinions of others rather than the quiet song of the heart. We repeatedly miss humble gifts that give life while searching for the truth that lies in our own openness to others.
We find Rahab’s story in Joshua 1-6 and Matthew (1:5) includes her in Jesus’ family tree. James reminds us of her actions when he tells us: You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. (James 2:24-26)
This is God’s yardstick that is presented to us today through the life of the harlot, Rahab. Might we not have passed her by in our rush to live as the world asks of us? Might we not pause to take a closer look at her life today to see how our own lives might measure up to hers?
Use the scripture link, enter the name Rahab into the blog search bar, or click on the images in this post to learn more about this woman who agreed to enter into God’s plan as an unexpected and surprising measuring stick.
Images from: https://chongsoonkim.blogspot.com/2017/11/rahab-tied-scarlet-cord-in-window-to-be.html and https://www.alyoung.com/art/work-rahab.html
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