A Safe Place for Rahab, Part 2

What makes a conversation unforgettable? I can't remember what I did last week but this morning I remember a conversation I had as a twenty-three-year old pastor's wife, almost forty years ago.

"You are such a kind, gentle, peaceful woman. I love spending time with you." My new friend's response to my genuine encouragement confused me. She paused and spoke quietly, "Still waters run deep." I asked her what she meant.

"Just because I appear peaceful don't conclude that my actual life is peaceful." When I asked her to explain, she gently refused and changed the subject. Rather than feeling rebuked by her words, I felt taught. As the old saying goes, you can't tell a book by its cover. This morning as I thought about this long ago-conversation I remembered how Rahab is always called Rahab the Harlot, in scripture. Everyone has a story and if we dig deep enough, we find out that every person mentioned in scripture also has a story that is pregnant with life application.

I have often wondered if Rahab herself insisted on using that title as her way of declaring God's story in her life. You know, "Once I was a harlot. Now because of my faithful God's love, I am a princess!"

In our book, Treasures of Faith, Living Boldly in View of God's Promises, we wrote about Rahab:

Among God's people Rahab found a safe place in which to learn the ways of Yahweh and His people. Rahab was given a second chance; she was able to put her past behind her and enjoy a whole new life. She was eventually brought into the family of no less a person than Nahson, head of the entire clan of Judah (Numbers 1:7, 16; 7:10-17; Matthew 1:405). His son, Salmon, would eventually marry Rahab; their son Boaz, in turn would marry another outsider,the incomparable Ruth. Their family line would continue unbroken on to King David and, eventually, to Christ Jesus Himself. What a marvelous demonstration of the transforming grace of God! We watch with awe the rise of a woman who overcame, by faith, a sordid and ugly past to become royalty, a forebear of the very King of Kings. (Page 215-216)

I have a feeling that anyone who met Rahab didn't have to guess about any still waters in her life. She most likely had no qualms about her past because God clearly saw her through the eyes of His grace.

Rahab and Salmon gave birth to a son, Boaz. Boaz married Ruth, the Gentile. When I studied the life of Ruth and her romance with Boaz, I wondered if one reason Boaz had no problems marrying Ruth, a Gentile, is because his own mother, Rahab, taught him to see each person through the eyes of God's amazing grace. He didn't see Ruth as the Gentile outsider. He saw Ruth as a person of worth. His mother's life story impacted him in an eternal way.

When Chuck and I are at the mall, a restaurant, or just walking along a city street, he will often muse, "I wonder what that person's story is. Everyone has a story."

What is your story? Does it include God's amazing grace? If so, be on the alert for an opportunity to share your story with someone today, praying that your story will help turn another person's heart toward our faithful God. If your story does not include His amazing grace, I would love to share with you how you can experience His grace, too.

In His grip, Sharon