2001 Christy Award winner! Book 2 in the Lineage of Grace series by best-selling author Francine Rivers. In her trademark style, Francine tells the compelling story of Rahab from the book of Joshua. Readers will gain a fresh understanding of God's work through the life of this unlikely woman in the lineage of Christ.
"Once, she was Rahab, the beautiful eldest daughter or a rug seller--and secret believer in her dead mother's cherished Judaism. But when her hateful stepmother accused her of witchery, Rahab was banished to live off the streets in Jericho. Now the girl known as Rahab the Outcast has no choice but to mingle with the city's untouchables--and join its ranks of prostitutes ... Even in the mire, Rahab keeps alive her faith in God. Then two Jewish spies for Joshua appear on her doorstep, begging her to hide them. Now, Rahab faces the biggest decision of her life: stay safe and slam the door in their faces--or help her fellow believers and transform herself from harlot to heroine ..."--Flyleaf.
What do you do when you can relate more to Jezebel, Ahab, or Eve than Esther or Mary? To her surprise and joy, author Autumn Miles discovered most of the heroes of the Bible were plagued with the same problem. They were ordinary people who sinned, but God's love, mercy, and truth proved greater. I Am Rahab provides a better understanding of God, with a focus on the breadth of his reach to use and redeem all things for the good of his purposes, and for their benefit as his beloved children. You will find comfort in relating to Rahab and to Autumn's own raw story of surviving domestic abuse and will be encouraged to know you are not alone in a life disrupted by bad choices, nor are you meant to stay there. You can move forward from your past and have an abundant future.
Christianity Today 5-Star Review Publishers Weekly Review Foreword Reviews Indie Awards Finalist Gain a greater understanding of gender in the Bible through the eyes of a diverse group of evangelical scholars who assert that Christians have missed the point of some scriptural stories by assuming the women in them were "bad girls." Did the Samaritan woman really divorce five husbands in a world where women rarely divorced even one? Did Bathsheba seduce King David by bathing in the nude? Was Mary Magdalene really a reformed prostitute? While many have written studies of the women in the Bible, this is a new kind of book--one in which an international team of male and female scholars look afresh at vilified and neglected women in the Bible. The result is a new glimpse into God's heart for anyone, male or female, who has limited social power.
Everybody needs to be rescued.How would you describe a woman chosen to showcase God's redemption? Faithful. Courageous. Steadfast. But a prostitute? God's Word says yes! God is faithful to rescue and restore sinners with the gospel of grace. Sinners like Rahab, the prostitute-- and sinners like us. No matter your past and no matter your situation, hope is possible, because Jesus has made redemption possible. See the proof through the life and legacy of Rahab, a woman who God redeemed. With this six-week study on Rahab's life, renew your sense of awe for God's redemptive work in your life. This study contains memory verses, daily study, and group discussion questions to guide you deep into Joshua 2 and the beauty of God's saving grace.
The Hebrew Bible is permeated with depictions of military conflicts that have profoundly shaped the way many think about war. Why does war occupy so much space in the Bible? In this book, Jacob Wright offers a fresh and fascinating response to this question: War pervades the Bible not because ancient Israel was governed by religious factors (such as 'holy war') or because this people, along with its neighbors in the ancient Near East, was especially bellicose. The reason is rather that the Bible is fundamentally a project of constructing a new national identity for Israel, one that can both transcend deep divisions within the population and withstand military conquest by imperial armies. Drawing on the intriguing interdisciplinary research on war commemoration, Wright shows how biblical authors, like the architects of national identities from more recent times, constructed a new and influential notion of peoplehood in direct relation to memories of war, both real and imagined. This book is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Rahab's rescue during the destruction of Jericho is only the beginning of her spiritual journey in this Biblical narrative. And she isn't the only Canaanite to make a deal with Hebrew spies, either. Two of her Canaanite acquaintances, merchant brothers from Gibeon and Bethel, plan their strategies for handling the Israelite invaders. And while Rahab adjusts to her new lifestyle, learns more about the Creator-God, and tries to win acceptance among God's people, a romance blossoms during the Israelites' early attempts to settle in the Promised Land. Judy Savoy enjoys reading, writing, teaching, making music, playing badminton, doing aqua-robics, and studying the Bible, not necessarily in that order. Formerly of Massachusetts, she and her husband Frank now live in Midlothian, VA, near three of their grown children.
Reading the Women of the Bible takes up two of the most significant intellectual and religious issues of our day: the experiences of women in a patriarchal society and the relevance of the Bible to modern life.
Some biblical scholars maintain that Rahab, the woman who hid Joshua’s two spies, was a harlot or prostitute. So how did she become one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ? Wouldn’t the Father ensure a pure lineage for His Son? In this historical fiction, author Diana Wallis Taylor offers a beautiful story of intrigue that suggests Rahab was a descendent of Ephraim, one of the ten lost tribes of Israel. With no available Jewish men in her town, she marries Radames, a young Egyptian officer who is the new governor of Jericho. When the Israelites approach Canaan with their army, pharaoh sends word that he is withdrawing his troops. Radames fabricates a story to tell Jericho’s king, but Hammurabi doesn’t believe it…and he has his eye on the beautiful Rahab. What will happen to Rahab after the lecherous king poisons her husband? How can she save her family from the invading Israelites? God parted the waters of the Jordan River for them—will He likewise provide miracles and blessings to her Ephraimite clan if they can rejoin their people?
Six-year-old Jael and her entire family gather at the home of her Aunt Rahab, who sheltered Israelite spies in her home and was promised, in return, that the God of Heaven will protect everyone under her roof when the city of Jericho is destroyed.