Sunny Wednesday Part 2

Wow! "Here comes the sun, do-do-do-do. . . "

Went into the church (basement) for Bible Study and a meeting and came out to sun, not rain!

Reflection of the Day:
Rahab (Josh 2) has to be one of the most fascinating characters we have come across so far in the Year of the Bible. She may be one of the most fascinating characters in all of the Bible.

We had a lively discussion at Bible Study about this passage, including all the, uh, shall we say sexual innuendo that fills this passage. But that's not what I wanted to talk about here.

I wonder how we Christians (and Jews too) feel having Rahab as such a heroine of the faith. She is known for her cunning and wit, her powers of deception and misdirection. Not the usual characteristics that biblical characters are lauded for, right?

Yet Hebrews includes her in the "Faith Hall of Fame" in chapter 11 and James calls her righteous "for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction" (James 2:25). Rahab is even included in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1.

Another fascinating aspect of her character, as we read in Joshua 2, is something Jerome Creach points out in his commentary on Joshua. Creach points out the similarities between "the wife of noble character" (Prov 31:10ff) and Rahab the prostitute, particularly in the details of the crimson thread and flax on the roof (presumably used for making clothes for her household in both cases).

Though Rahab uses rather unorthodox means, at the heart of her intent is to provide for her family, to ensure their deliverance in the face of the invading Israelites. I can't say that I blame her.

Allison