Rahab: The Canaanite Prostitute In The Genealogy Of Jesus — And What That Says About Who This Story Is For | By Name Part 1

There are four women in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Matthew chose them deliberately. And they are not the obvious choices — not the matriarchs, not the queens. One of them is Rahab. A Canaanite woman. A prostitute. A person who by every measure the ancient world applied had no standing in this story at all.And she is in the line of Jesus.In Part 1 of By Name — a series about six women the Bible knew by name — we look carefully at Rahab's actual story. What she did when the spies came to Jericho. What she said to them on the roof — a confession of faith more theologically precise than most of what surrounds it in the Old Testament. For the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. She heard what everyone in Jericho heard — the reports of the Red Sea, the defeats of the Amorite kings — and while the whole city's hearts melted in fear, she drew a theological conclusion. And then she negotiated, protected her family, lied to the king, sent the spies out safely, and tied a scarlet cord in the window.We look at why Hebrews 11 puts her name alongside Abraham and Moses in the hall of faith. Why James uses her as one of only two examples of faith that produces works. And what it means that Matthew opens the gospel with her name in the genealogy of Jesus.The gospel begins with a statement about who this story is for. Not the already-qualified. Not the people with the right background. The person on the outside who heard something, believed it, and tied a scarlet cord in the window and waited.Is there something about your history — your background, your past — that makes you feel like you are on the outside of this story looking in? Leave your honest answer in the comments. We read every one.Scripture from the World English Bible (WEB). Serious but warm. Accessible to believers and non-believers equally.📺 https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy🎧 https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD🌐 www.biblechapterbychapter.com#Rahab #ByName #BibleStudy #BibleChapterByChapter #WomenOfTheBible #Joshua #Hebrews11 #Faith #Genealogy #Matthew1