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22 October 2011
Rahab is the mother of Boaz, husband of the faithful Moabite woman Ruth – Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 1
1 Roll of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram,
4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
5 Salmon fathered Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse;
6 and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa,
8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah,
9 Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah;
11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place.
12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor,
14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud,
15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob;
16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.
After note:
Yahweh God had instructed Joshua to put the City of Jericho into total destruction as the sins that were committed by them were too great with the people remained unrepentant. However, the repented harlot Rahab and her family were saved from this disaster and she later became the ancestor of Jesus Christ. I’m sure this is something that Rahab would never have expected in her lifetime… 8-)
By repentance and turning to good, Rahab had changed bad luck to good luck for herself and her family. By inviting God into her life, she started to receive peace, grace and numerous blessings in her lifetime, these included having a good son Boaz and having a faithful daughter-in-law Ruth ... God who is faithful and gracious will reward each of us generously according to our deeds, no matter what’s your religion. 8-)
Extracted from Joshua, Chapter 2:
Joshua’s spies at Jericho
1 From Shittim, Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men to reconnoitre. He said, 'Go and explore the country and Jericho.' They left; they went into the house of a prostitute called Rahab, to spend the night there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, 'Some men have come here tonight from the Israelites, to reconnoiter the country.'
3 The king of Jericho then sent a message to Rahab, 'Send out the men who came to you and are lodging in your house, for they have come to reconnoiter the whole country.'
4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. 'It is true,' she said, 'the men did come to me, but I did not know where they came from.
5 When the city gate was about to be closed at nightfall, the men went out and I cannot say where they have gone. Follow them quickly and you will overtake them.'
6 She had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax which she had laid out there.
7 The men hurried in pursuit of them towards the Jordan, as far as the fords, and the gate was shut once the pursuers had gone through.
The pact between Rahab and the spies
8 The two men had not yet settled down for the night when Rahab came up to them on the roof.
9 She said to them, 'I know that Yahweh has given you this country, that we are afraid of you and that everyone living in this country has been seized with terror at your approach;
10 for we have heard how Yahweh dried up the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under the curse of destruction.
11 When we heard this, our hearts failed us, and now no one has any courage left to resist you, since Yahweh your God is God both in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12 So, swear to me now by Yahweh, since I have been kind to you,
13 that you in your turn will be kind to my father's family; and give me a sure sign of this: that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them, and will preserve us from death.'
14 The men replied, 'We pledge you our lives, provided that you say nothing about our mission. When Yahweh has given us the country, we shall treat you kindly and faithfully.'
15 She then let them down from the window on a rope, as her house was against the city wall and she actually lived in the wall.
16 'Make for the hills,' she said, 'or you may run into your pursuers. Hide there for three days, until your pursuers have come back, and then go on your way.'
17 The men said, 'This is how we shall fulfill the oath which you have made us swear:
18 when we invade the country, you must tie this scarlet cord to the window from which you let us down, and collect your father, mother, brothers and entire family inside your house.
19 If anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head and we shall not be to blame; but the blood of all staying inside the house with you will be on our heads if a hand is laid on any of them.
20 But if you divulge our mission in the meanwhile, we shall be free of the oath which you have made us swear.'
21 She replied, 'Let it be as you say.' She let them go, and they left. She then tied the scarlet cord to the window.
The spies return
22 They left and made for the hills. They stayed there for three days, until their pursuers had gone home, having scoured the countryside without finding them.
23 The two men then came down again from the hills, crossed over and, going to Joshua son of Nun, told him everything that had happened to them.
24 To Joshua they said, 'Yahweh has put the whole country at our mercy, and its inhabitants are all panic-stricken at our approach.'
Extracted from Joshua, Chapter 5:
The Conquest of Jericho
Preclude: a theophany
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him, grasping a naked sword. Joshua walked towards him and said to him, 'Are you on our side or on that of our enemies?'
14 He replied, 'On neither side. I have come now as the captain of the army of Yahweh.' Joshua fell on his face to the ground, worshipping him, and said, 'What has my Lord to say to his servant?'
15 The captain of the army of Yahweh answered Joshua, 'Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so.
Extracted from Joshua, Chapter 6:
The taking of Jericho: Yahweh had instructed them only to march round the city for 7 days and utter a mighty war cry and the city wall then collapsed. This could be the “Resonance Phenomena” in Physics, where the marching and war cry actually produced the same frequencies as the “resonant frequencies” of the city wall, causing it to oscillate with large amplitude and finally collapsed.
1 Now, Jericho had shut and barricaded its gates (against the Israelites): no one came out and no one went in.
2 Yahweh then said to Joshua, 'Look, I am putting Jericho, its picked troops and its king, at your mercy.
3 All you warriors must march round the city (go right round the city once, doing the same on six successive days.
4 Seven priests must carry seven ram's-horn trumpets in front of the ark. On the seventh day, you will go seven times round the city and the priests will blow their trumpets).
5 When the ram's horn sounds (when you hear the sound of the trumpet), the entire people must utter a mighty war cry and the city wall will collapse then and there; the people will then go into the assault, each man straight ahead.'
6 Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, 'Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram's-horn trumpets ahead of the ark of Yahweh.'
7 To the people he then said, 'Forward! March round the city, and let the vanguard march ahead of the ark of Yahweh!'
8 (Everything was done as Joshua had given orders to the people.) Seven priests, carrying seven ram's-horn trumpets ahead of Yahweh, moved forward blowing their trumpets; the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came behind them,
9 the vanguard marched ahead of the priests, who blew their trumpets, the rearguard followed behind the ark; the men marched, the trumpets sounded.
10 Joshua had given the people the following orders, 'Do not raise a war cry, do not let your voice be heard (not a word must pass your lips), until the day when I say, "Raise the war cry." That is when you must raise the war cry.'
11 He made the ark go round the city (going round it once), then they went back to camp, where they spent the night.
12 Joshua got up early, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh.
13 Carrying the seven ram's-horn trumpets, the seven priests walked ahead of the ark of Yahweh, blowing their trumpets as they went, while the vanguard marched ahead of them and the rearguard behind the ark of Yahweh, and the march went on to the sound of the trumpet.
14 They marched once round the city (on the second day) and went back to camp; and so on for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched (in the same manner) round the city seven times. (This was the only day when they marched round the city seven times.)
16 At the seventh time, the priests blew their trumpets and Joshua said to the people, 'Raise the war cry, for Yahweh has given you the city!
Jericho placed under the ban
17 'The city and everyone in it must be devoted to Yahweh under the curse of destruction; the life of Rahab the prostitute alone must be spared, with all those with her in her house, since she hid the messengers we sent.
18 But beware of the curse of destruction, yourselves, for fear that, moved by greed, you take something lying under the curse; that would put the camp of Israel under the same curse and bring disaster on it.
19 All the silver and all the gold, everything made of bronze or iron, will be consecrated to Yahweh and put in his treasury.'
20 The people raised the war cry, the trumpets sounded. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a mighty war cry and the wall collapsed then and there. At once the people stormed the city, each man going straight forward; and they captured the city.
21 They enforced the curse of destruction on everyone in the city: men and women, young and old, including the oxen, the sheep and the donkeys, slaughtering them all.
22 October 2011
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