Rahab And Mary

Feature 2 –May 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Rahab & Mary
Two Women In The Lineage Of The Lord Jesus

Rahab The Harlot
As the children of Israel marched toward Canaan, their happy land, there stood in their path that dreadful city called Jericho – standing for everything opposing God. With its very high and intimidating walls, so broad that I am told two chariots could race on them, it seemed dangerous just to draw near to it, much less to try and enter it by force. But Jericho was one of the many cities in the land of Canaan that was marked by God for judgment, and Israel was to be God’s instrument of judgment on it and on the seven nations of Canaan.

To spy out the land, Joshua sent two messengers to this city. Far greater, although Joshua did not know it at the time, their mission was to save one young woman, Rahab, and her household. Because of the report she heard this woman declared, “I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Josh. 2:9-11 KJV).

Rahab, whose house stood on the walls of Jericho, was now the object of grace and mercy, despite her sordid past. Peter declared, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him” (Acts 10:34-35). Unlike others in Jericho, Rahab believed the report she had heard and was full of fear and trembling. Her sinful, empty heart ached for something more: lasting joy and true fulfillment. Therefore God directed the path of the two messengers to her house; what grace! Regardless of how well Rahab may have been thought of by the people of Jericho, she should have been shunned by all Israel as she was nothing but a common harlot.

Yet Rahab’s faith became strong enough to defy her king, the king of Jericho, because she heard the words of the King of Kings. She begged for kindness (grace) and for a true token regarding deliverance for herself and her family. The messengers informed her that in order to guarantee all these blessings she must keep their business secret and bind a scarlet thread in the window. To place that scarlet thread, or rope, in her window was like placing Israel’s flag there. For whatever number of days that scarlet thread was hanging there, those were the days in which she proclaimed her faith and allegiance to God and to Israel, while waiting in Jericho for deliverance.

I understand that in former days scarlet dye was made from worms, bringing to mind the One of whom it is declared in Psalm 22:6, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” That scarlet thread spoke of Christ and His work on Calvary’s cross. From her window, therefore, Rahab proclaimed Christ and the gospel of Christ.

The scarlet thread hanging from her window also served as a mark indicating that this household was under the protection of the God of Israel and that God had chosen it for blessing. When the walls of Jericho fell down flat there was one part that did not come down – the part where Rahab’s house stood. Before a sword was raised against Jericho, an arrow shot or any fire set to the city, Rahab was safe in the camp of Israel, among the people of God. “For Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Josh. 6:22-25).

But we find much more than this when we read Matthew 1:1-6: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham ... And Salmon begat Booz of Rahab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begot David the king.” What grace and blessing this harlot from the doomed city of Jericho came into: She became the great, great grandmother of King David and therefore she is in the lineage of the Christ!

If anyone harbors any doubt as to whether the Bible is the Word of God, doubt no more; for no man would allow such negative things to be written about the family of the hero of his book. Because of her faith, Rahab married into the most important family in Israel and the world, and God placed her in His hall of fame as we can see in Hebrews 11:31: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.”

Mary The Mother Of Jesus
It would seem quite logical to go on to speak of Ruth the Moabitess, however I wish to focus on Mary, the mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Turning our gaze from Rahab to Mary, we see great contrast. One was so morally impure, the other so morally pure. Rahab was a stranger in Jericho, but Mary was a daughter in Israel. Of course we remember that the first was a harlot, the second a virgin. Yet, both were the objects of divine love and grace.

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Lk. 1:26-27). Doubtless, there were many young ladies and virgins in Nazareth, but the angel Gabriel was sent only to this young lady. No wonder the angel could greet her with such wonderful words, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (v.28). Yes, Mary, unlike others of her time in Nazareth, lived a life of moral purity in love for the Lord. Since the dream of many Jewish virgins was to be Messiah’s mother, it may even have crossed her mind a few times that she might be the one of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). But quite apart from the many good, moral and spiritual qualities that she apparently possessed and practiced, I believe that she came into this blessing because of God’s sovereign grace, for Scripture says, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured” (Lk. 1:28).

There is something most blessed about Mary’s reaction which is instructive for us. Having passed her fears and questions, she presented herself at the Lord’s disposal, saying to the angel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (v.38). May we too, like Mary, be “vessels unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21).

Did Mary remain a virgin all the days of her life? The answer to this question is “no.” Read Matthew 1:24-25: “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” This clearly shows that she remained a virgin until after the birth of the Lord Jesus. Then Joseph and Mary lived as man and wife and had children of their own, for we are told in Matthew 13:55-56: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this Man all these things?” Also consider Psalm 69:8: “I am become a stranger unto My brethren, and an alien unto My mother’s children.”

Some say that Mary was “immaculate,” meaning that she had no sin. But this was not so. Mary was a great and blessed, young virgin woman, but she was neither sinless nor immaculate. She, like all other persons except the Lord Jesus, came from Adam’s race in which “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). However, she, like all believers, found grace.

From the story of the wedding in Cana that we read in John 2, we can say that Mary was a:

• Sociable person, for she was seen at a wedding (v.1),
• Perceptive lady, since she observed that there was no wine (v.3), and
• Good counselor, telling the servants that “whatsoever He saith unto you, do it” (v.5).

She was also supportive, standing by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (19:25). Could it be that this was the time when a sword pierced through her soul (Lk. 2:35), according to the words of the prophet Simeon? Mary had kept so very much in her heart without telling her story, as we are told: “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” and, “But His mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (Lk. 2:19,51).

She was truly loved and cared for by the Lord Jesus. From His cross the Lord committed her to the care of the beloved disciple John. It seems that by this time her husband, Joseph, had died. John therefore took her to his own house and cared for her as a son with his mother (Jn. 19:26-27).

The last time we see Mary in Scripture is in Acts 1:14. In that passage we see that she was among those waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We thank God for this detail.

Some people ask, “Did Mary die or was she caught up to heaven?” We are not told in the Scriptures nor from history, but it is right to believe that she died as it is the appointment of all (Heb. 9:27). Whenever God makes an exception He tells us, as with the cases of Enoch (Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5) and Elijah (2 Ki. 2:1-11). I believe that Mary died and is absent from the body and is present with the Lord, now waiting for her Lord’s return as all Christians do.

Are you waiting for His return? Are you a Christian?

By Milton Jamieson