So, I had this idea that every Monday I would write a summary of the life of one of the Heroes of the Faith that have encouraged me. This Monday's hero is my favorite heroine in the Bible, Rahab. The story of Rahab in the scripture is less that a chapter long, but her name is repeated throughout the Bible as a Old Testament believer and as one of the five women listed in the line of Christ. I have also read this short little incredible book by Francine Rivers called Unashamed about Rahab, I know is historical fiction but it aligns with the Bible story and has captured my imagination nontheless.
Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, but despite the secular, pagan culture she lived in, she heard the Stories. She knew the things that God had done in delivering His people from Egypt and she recognized Him for who He was, even though she probably stood totally alone in Jericho as the only one believing in the God of Israel. When the two spies from across the Jordan came in to see the city, Rahab took a step in faith without expecting anything in return, risking her life to serve a God who she knew was the True God. She tricked the guards, hid the spies, and lowered them out of her window in the Wall of the city where she lived (which indicates that she was a woman of consequence) by a scarlet cord. She and her family's lives were spared because she had faith and the Lord had mercy on her (Joshua 2). Forgiven, Rahab was accepted into the Covenant, a daughter of Israel, one of the Chosen people, and one of the five recorded women in the ancestral line of Jesus (Matthew 1:5) In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews lists Rahab as an example of one who "did not perish with those who were disobedient" (Hebrews 11: 31) but instead "died in faith, not having received the things promisd, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowleged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11: 13).
Rahab, like Abraham, Moses, Abel, Noah, and all the other faithful Old Testament believers were saved by faith through grace just like we are. We look back on the death of Christ and see our salvation by the Cross. They had to do something perhaps even harder, they looked forward. But in the same way all of the believers have been saved by grace through faith, it is not of our own doing, it is a gift from God (Ephesians :8) who died once for all mankind for all time.
I love Rahab's story because it isn't her story, it is God's story. The story of Rahab shows God's perfect plan being fufilled through the most unlikely of people. His redemption and His forgivness are the theme of Rahab's adventure.
I can't believe that my little brother turned 13 today. 
