Rahab...the mother of Boaz

Joshua 1: 21"I agree," Rahab replied. "I'll do as you say." So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the bright red rope in the window.

Math.1:5 5Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was Boaz's mother

When we left Tamar, she had just given birth to her twins Zerah and Perez...the mix up in the womb was that Zerah, stuck his fist out so the midwifes thought he would bet he first born so they put a scarlet thread around his wrist only to go back in and Perez came out. For those who have had children...OUCH. From a scarlet thread around the wrist to a scarlet rope out the window. No other significance maybe except that the story of Tamar ends with a red thread and then when we get to know Rahab, the red rope/big thread is significant to the her own rescue from the hand of God in the swords of his people.

In Mathew, she is no longer Rahab the prostitute, but Rahab the mother of Boaz, who for all intents and purposes is the Prince Charming of the Old Testament and Ruth his Princess.

In short, Rahab hides the spies from the oncoming hordes of Israel upstairs under the flax bushels and then lies about their whereabouts. Because of her faith in the God of Israel, she ends up saving her whole family and marries Salmon, and is grandmother to Jesse, who is the father of David...but more importantly, in the story of Jesus. No wonder she had no problem with Boaz marrying Ruth, the Moabite. She was also an outsider and a gentile.

In chaos, fear and uncertainty...she had faith to rescue not only herself and family but to start a whole new other life. No longer the prostitute but mother. This is the story of Jesus...always the story of Jesus...Rescue, redemption and resurrection..of all that we want not to be, to what we can finally become.

I think we forget that Christmas is about a great rescue from the gates of our own Jericho's.
With any enemy stronghold...you send in small. What can a baby do in a manger? What can a prostitute do?

A prostitute...saved her family, saved the spies, loved Salmon and raised a cross-cultural aware son Boaz, who married  Ruth..one of only 2 books in the bible all about a woman.

Then...through her, that baby in the manger.

A kind of creepy story in Christmas...

Gen 38: A chapter stuck in between the saga of Joseph, a weird, kind of creepy story of prostitution, incest, running with the wrong crowd, death by God and redemption.  Most commentaries believe that the only reason this story is in here is so that we have the back story to Tamar and ultimately the birth of Jesus. To those unfamiliar...here it is in short.

Judah leaves home, hangs out with a Canaanite, Hirah who is from Adullam.
Marries a Canaanite has 3 sons, Er, Onan and Shelah.
Er, marries Tamar...is evil...God kills him.
Onan is to produce a child by Tamar, being the brother-in-law, lets his seed miss...God kills him.
Judah is nervous to see his last boy die ,though he promises Shelah to her, sends Tamar back to her home.
Judha' wife dies, he mourns, goes to the Sheering festival..sees a prostitute...sleeps with her.
In the meanwhile, Tamar realized the promise of son #3 is not coming to past..goes by the road and is that prostitute Judah sleeps with. She asks for his signet ring and walking stick in lieu of the goat(payment).
Tamar gets pregnant, this was her plan. Judah hear, roars his offense...BURN HER !!!!
Tamra sends the signet ring to Judah, you are the father.
Ummm...she is better than I....
She gives birth to Perez and Zerah...a mix up in the womb with who comes first...Perez, in the line of Jesus.

Soooo, what can you glean from something like this. Definitely a 'skelaton in the closet' kind of story. I can imagine sitting around the dinner table and hoping  no one starts telling that story...it is just kind of embarrassing and R rated. It really is a story about Judah and his leaving home and becoming entangled with Hirah, who plays a role in the whole saga. A story of bad company corrupting good morals etc. I like Tamar, though.
Tamar, she lives at the whim of her father and father-in-law. She slept with everyone in the family except the last son. She fought for her heritage with craftiness and tenacity. She very well could have stayed at home and lived out her life in widows clothing but she would have none of that. She fought for her rightful child, her place as a mother.
God's role in this story is judgment on Er and Onan and then seeming quiet. Tamar does not seem to have any relationship with the God of Judah, nor does Judah seem to have a relationship with God. He walks in his own way but even in this far away place, God writes His story. Even in the midst of awful compromising sin....God writes His story.

We often think we can derail God with our disobedience. That He is subject to our whims of choice. We live in the consequences of our sin, but we can not derail God's purpose for us. 
That's Tamar's story, justice, tenacity and Sovereignty. God's got this, whatever your 'this' is.

Those Christmas Women

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Elizabeth, Mary and Anna..

2 Prostitutes
1 Adulterer
4 Widows
3 Pregnant with children not their husbands
3 Gentiles
2 Barren
2 lost their first born to violent deaths
1 lost their baby because of their sin
2 mothers of Kings
1 mother of the King of Kings

What an amazing group of women listed and named in the story of Jesus' birth. I will be wondering with you, the significance of these women and what we can learn from their stories.

Tamar...Tenacity for Justice
Rahab... Survival in Chaos
Ruth..Loyalty in Suffering
Bathsheba...Beauty in Ashes
Elizabeth...Honor in Humility
Mary...Ferocity for Righteousness
Anna...Worship in Waiting

Advent/Christmas

I will start my yearly musings on this most emotive of holidays. I hope you enjoy and share with friends if you are so inspired. I will begin on Sunday...

the enemies chew toy

#1. Put on as if it is clothes, humility.
#2. God opposes pride..anywhere.
#3. Place yourself under God's mighty hand
#4. He will honor you at the right time.
#5. Roll your worries over to him/He cares for you.
#6. Control yourself
#7 Be on your guard
#8. The enemy prowls, roars and looks to chew up and swallow.
#9. You can stand against him.

1 Peter 5

A prayer

Your word is a light to my path, and since I have placed myself under your hand…I have been assuming you would feel the need to use me because of my amazingness. Forgive my arrogance and my pride, for who am I but clay in your hand. Who am I to tell the potter, when and where you should use me. You are the one who honors me by using me…if I am not being used in my perceived areas of strength; it is because I am full of pride. Not only are you not using me, you will oppose me. I have not clothed myself in humility and I seek your forgiveness again this morning. I have been chewed on, it is interesting that pride and the enemy's chews are not far apart from each other.  Pride is the enemies chew toy. I like that …. I can beat myself about this…I think you would rather me just humble myself and get on with it.

Amen

beautiful bits...

 I am being chiseled down to the beautiful bits.  http://karavanderbijl.com/

If you have not read my Niece's blog, you need too. She writes so well and today, she said this and it struck me. This is what is happening to me...I am being chiseled down, but I am hoping they are beautiful bits.  My Dad turns 83 today, what a beautiful man in all his beautiful bits.  See, maybe we don't become whole and balanced as we age but the things that seemed to matter so when we were younger are chiseled away and we sparkle in our bits. I would like to think there are things in which I sparkle...I think it is in the things most unselfish that I do.

Wise Woman...Foolish Woman

Wise woman builds her house. But a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands Prov. 14:1

It has been awhile since I have posted and lots has happened in the world since the last time. We still have the same president...and some  men in power seem to have an inability to be faithful.  What I am thinking about though, is the foolish women, the ones who tore down their homes with their own hands.  It seems these women  get a pass when it comes to infidelity in high places. No jobs seem to be lost or ugly photos seem to be shown.  They only  know who fired the first shot across the cheating deck but neither said a simple no.
I am musing about this because I wonder what foolishness  we women do in our own homes that tear down protective walls but don't go as far as unfaithfulness. What do we do that builds...what do we do that tears down/busts.

Loving our husbands and protecting our marriage = builders
Watching our tongues=builders
Holding sacred our marriage bed by not reading what others seem to do better =builders
Not controlling by moods, anger, pettiness, insecurities =builders
Trusting God = builders
Loving but not idolizing our roles as mothers =builders
Confronting and being a peacemaker =builders
Making a home = builders


Self-centered whining = busters
Comparing anything =busters
Holding tight to rigid rules of expected behavior =busters
Unrealistic expectations for what  he should do, what I can do =busters
Letting ourselves go = busters
Holding sacred the idea of control by worrying = busters


This verse seems to say that we hold a lot in our hands...we builders and destroyers of homes.

PS. Goodness knows that men have their equal  share...but then I am not a man and cannot speak to that.