BOOK STUDY: Twelve Extraordinary Women / Rahab--A Horrible Life Redeemed

Continuing with John MacArthur's book Twelve Extraordinary Women...Just posting once on this book this week since I will be flying out on Thursday for my mother's funeral.
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Chapter 3

Rahab:  A Horrible Life Redeemed

It's funny how some Bible stories are so familiar that any alterations from what you're used to seems very strange.  The story of Rahab the harlot in Jericho would seem odd if she and her family had NOT been saved when the walls came tumbling down but oh, what a different illustration that would have been for us.  Just another "you get what you deserve" story rather than one of God's amazing grace.   It is always comforting to remember that in our lives, when the culture or job or neighborhood or even churches sometimes, seem their worst, there is usually still a remnant of people whom God has drawn and is drawing to Himself.  Perhaps you are, or have been one of them.

Rahab had always been a willing participant  in her civilization's trademark debauchery and had profited from the evil that permeated that whole society...why shouldn't Rahab also receive the just desserts of her own deliberate sin?

How is it that she appears in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1?  

It's interesting to me that Rahab even hid the two spies at all.  She had heard stories of YHWH (God) as had her kinsmen who were somewhat  fearful of Him.  John M. believes that she had probably never met anyone who actually knew Him personally, particularly having lived in Jericho all of her life.  Just that one night of conversation with the two spies changed her heart and led her to hide them from the city guards. Her home high upon a wall was the only part of it that did NOT fall down (remember that children's song?).  Rahab only asked that she AND her family be saved.  She turned her back on her former lifestyle of prostitution and walked away from the corrupt place where she had been for so long.   Amazing.   Even more amazing is that she apparently lived our her life quietly with the Israelites, married and is in Christ's genealogy as well as in the book of Hebrews as an example of faith to us.  Not because of WHAT she did in protecting the spies (remember, she lied about them), but because of God's extraordinary grace and apparent choice of her in His plan.

This story a wonderful example of how telling others (some of whom we may never see again) our own story and who God is from the scriptures, can be used by Him to change someone's heart in dramatic ways.  For myself I know this is true since I had heard most of my life about the Lord, been to church periodically,  sang in the choir, read the Bible stories (and parts of the Bible itself), been through the "plan of salvation", etc.  Still, I only knew these as "stories"  and experienced them as "activities".  Most people thought I was a Christian long before I ever truly believed.  I had never met anyone who knew Jesus personally until I was a senior in college just about to graduate.  A young man whom I met and dated for several months after college, who assumed I was a Christian at the time, talked about the Lord regularly, prayed with me, studied with me and introduced me to a singles group with many young people my age who did the same and were serious about their faith and living for Him.  God used his life and our relationship to lead me to a good church home and be nurtured by others both my age and much older.  He and I eventually went our separate ways, both married and both have sons, all six of whom are also believers and followers of Christ.  33 years later... I will forever be thankful.

2Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; 

the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.