Now in the concluding part of our series on our Lord’s benevolent radar and Rahab’s great faith, we shall focus on these subjects…
Reward II — Rehab
“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” (Matt 1:5-6)
The Rahab rehab story has all the trappings of rags to riches soap opera–in the spiritual realm that is. Rahab, after her miraculous deliverance, may have initially found herself quite alienated in the new-found Jewish society in Canaan (Joshua 6:23), wondering where the Almighty, on whom she reposed so much faith, would eventually lead her. While her life had been spared during the conquest of Jericho, would she be a desolate outcast, forever in the Jewish society? Would there be any who would throw the protective marriage cloak around her? But how many takers in a Jewish society for the role of a husband of a Gentile lady whose reputation had been permanently slurred by her trade? Now throw in the risk of contracting contagious terminal venereal disease usually found in those of “flesh trade” (Proverbs 5:11) and the magnitude of God’s second reward in her life by way of a wonderful rehabilitation program emerges with no shades of doubt! He moved the heart of Salmon of the tribe of Judah to accept her as his wife. God’s reward of faith for Rahab went way beyond merely sparing her life.
Before tying the nuptial knot, doubtless, the large-hearted Salmon would have encountered his own natural inhibitions and the apprehensions expressed by his “concerned well-wishers” with a focused conviction of man driven by Divine energy. His unwavering stand would have been “if the Almighty judge of the entire world has Himself absolved the sins of Rahab, who has the right to treat her with prejudice borne out of spiritual shortsightedness. And if the divine doctor of soul and body had cleansed her soul of sins, would He not have healed her physically too?” Hence, his bold exemplary step of faith in marrying her!
What a powerful lesson, this conviction of Salmon, which spurred him to accept Rahab as his wife holds out to us of contemporary generation, who sometimes still tend to look at forgiven sinners (from a dubious background) in our Churches with jaundiced eyes.
Reward III — Royalty
“Salmon, the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David…Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah” (Matt 1:1-16).
I reiterate that God’s reward of faith for Rahab went way beyond merely sparing her life. Now we come to the ultimate reward in Rahab’s life, which overshadows her previous rewards of rescue and rehabilitation…that of figuring in the lineage of the matchless, peerless Redeemer Jesus. There we see in the above-captioned Scripture portion how her name stands out amidst other heroes of faith.
Coming back to where we started, that is when God by virtue of His omniscience saw reverence and faith oozing out of Rahab’s heart, He decided then and there to feature her in the genealogy of the Saviour Himself…in His master plan of Salvation for the whole World. Hey, Rahab was in God;s radar, for her heart was full of faith for Him. Dear Reader, do not go missing like the Malaysian airline. Have faith and be on His radar!
Finally, how about identifying ourselves with the Psalmist’s declaration, “I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.” (Psalm 139:7) and mouthing a loud Hallelujah!
Prayer: Father, out of awe we simply worship you for not only Your omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience but also for Your immeasurable love You shower on all those who reverence You. We praise Thee once again in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Suresh Manoharan
An unworthy servant
J and SM Ministries
(To access the entire “Of Rahab and the Lord’s Radar” mini-series, please click here.)