Walking into your calling unaware
Notes
Transcript
Matthew 1 (NASB95)
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Rahab the Prostitute)
RAHAB THE PROSTITUTE A Canaanite prostitute who aided Israelite spies in Jericho. As a result of her belief in the God of Israel, she and her family were spared during Joshua’s conquest of Jericho. Included in Jesus’ genealogy and praised in the New Testament for her faith and her actions.
Rahab in the Old Testament
In Joshua 2, Rahab plays a critical role in the Israelite conquest of Canaan by rescuing two of Joshua’s spies, whom he had sent to Jericho prior to battle. Joshua 2:1 introduces her as “a prostitute named Rahab.” The two Israelite spies spend the night at Rahab’s house or inn. When the king of Jericho learns of the spies and sends a party to arrest them, Rahab hides the spies and deceives the searchers. Then she delivers a powerful speech to the spies describing how her people had heard of the great victories of the Lord and how their hearts melted with fear before the Israelites. Hess notes that this is “one of the longest uninterrupted statements by a woman in a biblical narrative” (Hess, Joshua, 88). Rahab secures a promise from the spies that, in return for her kindness to them, she and her family will be spared in the imminent battle (Josh 2:8–14). She then lets the spies escape through her window, which was in Jericho’s outer wall.
Joshua 6:25 later records that Joshua and the Israelites saved Rahab and her entire family because she had hid the spies, “and she lives among the Israelites to this day.” This last statement generated a good deal of discussion among later Jewish interpreters.
New Testament
The New Testament contains three references to Rahab:
1. Matthew includes her as one of four women in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt 1:5), identifying her as the mother of Boaz.
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
2. The author of Hebrews includes her among the great examples of faith “because she welcomed the spies” (Heb 11:31).
By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
3. The letter of James offers Rahab and Abraham as examples of faith and action combined. James 2:25 asks, “was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (ESV).
In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Interpretation of Rahab
Interpreters throughout history have tended to treat Rahab very favorably. According to the Talmud and Midrash, she became Joshua’s wife (b. Megillah 14b; compare Matt 1:5), had legendary beauty, and was the mother of prophetesses, prophets, and priests (Midr. R. Ruth 2.1, b. Megillah 14b). One rabbi considered her strong words of faith in Josh 2 to be a reproach to Israel for its own waywardness (Pesiqta Rabbati Kahana 13). She has often been seen as an ideal proselyte.
Joshua 2 (NASB95)
Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
It was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
“It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
“For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
“When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
“Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth,
and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”
So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.
She said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.”
The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,
unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.
“It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
“But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.”
She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
They departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them.
Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them.
They said to Joshua, “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.”