Three Steps to Change Your Life: Lessons from Rahab

@carol_mcclain

Is your past unforgivable?

Definitely not.

Consider Rahab, one of the ancestors of Jesus, mentioned in Matthew 1:5. She was a prostitute. No little girl–or boy–decides as a child, “I’ll be a prostitute.” What forces one into this lifestyle?

Drugs?

Abuse?

Poverty?

They say this is the oldest profession, and indeed, we read about prostitutes in the Bible. In ancient Israel, women found few avenues of employment. If unmarried or widowed, they very often had to turn to prostitution to survive.

Who wants to have non-stop sex with strangers?

According to the Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women:

No one’s fallen so low that God can’t redeem.

“Rahab, who begins as triply marginalized—Canaanite, woman, and prostitute—moves to the center as bearer of a divine message and herald of Israel in its new land. Even though later generations of readers have been squeamish about her occupation, preferring to think of her as an “innkeeper,” she is remembered in Jewish tradition as the great proselyte, as ancestress of kings and prophets, and, in the New Testament, as ancestress of Jesus” (Matt 1:5).

This is quite a feat for a person despised on so many levels. And she becomes the ancestor of Jesus!

What was your life before Christ? Mine was wayward. Apparently, it wasn’t as bad as Rahab’s because the sinfulness of my past is never tacked on to who I am. I’m never known as Carol “the …” (Oops. I’m forgiven. Not any of those epithets any longer.)

It doesn’t matter if you were a descendent of someone odious, or if you were a drunk, a cheat, a liar, fornicator, ordinary citizen, a bully, a wus, a coward, fill in the blanks. Look at Rahab. She became a herald of a new nation.

How do we overcome? Three easy steps

  1. Faith. Rahab heard the story of the Israelites camped outside their walls. She believed in their history.
  2. Action. When the spies arrived, she hid them at great peril to herself and her family. Faith without works is dead according to James 2:17.
  3. Change. Rahab married Salmon, and gave birth to Boaz (Ruth’s hubby) the father of Obed who’s son was Jesse. We know Jesse fathered King David. Never does she prostitute herself again. The forgiven past creates a clean slate and a future..

Who are you now? God can take your bad choices or directions or fate and create beauty.

Rahab didn’t stay a whore. Faith redeemed her.

Available Now!

In my newest release, Prodigal Lives, we continue with the lives of Meredith Jaynes and Bean–now called Pearl. Pearl, descends into a sinful life like Rahab and reaps the consequences. Righteous Meredith is not immune to suffering. How do they find solace? Check out the story and the reviews. Prodigal Lives.

 

4 Comments

  1. Carol, Elk Lake will soon (spring probably) a Bible Study on Praying Women of the Bible. I believe you will find it interesting.

  2. Carol, I appreciate the way you give us the women of the Bible and their likeness to today’s world. We truly need the reminder that the past is the past and we need to leave it there–which we can do under the umbrella of God’s forgiveness.

    • Carol McClain says:

      Thank you, Peggy. I have extensively studied the women of the Bible. The church has a lot to learn from them.
      And sometimes I receive notifications of comments. I think I need a new web designer.

Leave a Reply to Peggy Lovelace Ellis Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.