An Adoptive Apron String to Jesus
We have no idea what ethnic roots the Bible's Rahab (Raah-hob) carried. We only know she was a Caananite: living in a multicultural part of the ancient Middle East . Her Caanan was similar to Egypt in being a cultural crossroads, but was geographically close to today's Turkey, which was the Asia Minor of ancient times. We also know her to have been redeemed by believing God, and redeemed by the fact that God weaved her ancient faithfulness into the unfolding of Jesus' adoptive birth . (Illustration a product at Etsy ) It's Advent, the season when we anticipate Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth. It's an odd time for a sermon that reminds us of some of ancient Israel's gruesome history; but some pastors - past and present - have turned to the story of Rahab, the Caananite, to remind us that the family history leading up to Jesus' earthly adoption was not an easy history. Rahab, in ancient Caanan, was a harlot or prostitute. She lived in a city, Je...