My guess is that when you read the genealogies in the Bible, you say to yourself, ‘what is all this here for?’ That is actually a great question. One of the reasons they are there is to root the Bible in time and history. These were real people who lived real lives. But genealogies also reveal other nuggets of truth. Take the genealogy of Jesus, for instance. You will notice that Rahab is listed. She was the mother of Boaz who was the father of Obed who was the Father of Jesse who was the father of King David. (See Matthew 1)

Does the name Rahab ring a bell? You will find her story back in Joshua chapter two. After wandering in the desert for 40 years due to the stubbornness of the Israelites toward God, the nation had finally reached the promised land. Joshua, who was now the leader, sent spies into the land to find out what they were facing, especially Jericho which was a fortified city. So the spies went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab because her house was part of the city wall. If you remember the story, she hid the spies from the king of Jericho and when Jericho was conquered, her life was spared.

It’s a great story but what does this have to do with advent? And why is Rahab’s name found in the genealogy of Jesus? After all, they could have left her name out of the list. Is it not an embarrassment for Jesus to have a prostitute in his lineage? Actually no. God’s heart has always been to redeem, forgive, and reclaim us from our brokenness and Rahab’s name is intentionally found in the list of Christ’s ancestors. He is not the least bit embarrassed by her. 

I want you to think about your life for a moment. Each of us has things in our past that we are not proud of. Regrets that we regret, if you will, and there are no do overs. We cannot erase our past but here is the truth of Advent. Jesus came to redeem our past. He came to redeem our hearts and to take all of our biography, good, bad, and ugly and use it for His purposes. That is what He did with Rahab and that is what He wants to do with us.  

There are many Christ followers who hang back in the shadows, believing that God cannot use them because of sin and failure in their past. Living with shame is not how Jesus wants us to live. He came to redeem us of our sin and shame and use us in His divine story as He did Rahab. He wants to use you regardless of your past. We are all broken and in need of His healing touch.

There is no sin He will not forgive, no person He cannot use and no past He cannot redeem. That is why He came: To re-image us after His image. When Jesus was accused of hanging around sinners, scoundrels and the riff raff of society, He said “Of Course. I came to heal the sick, not the healthy.” He came for the Rahab’s of the world which includes you and I. The next time you feel inadequate or believe that God cannot use you, think of His lineage and why He showed up for us on that Christmas night so many years ago.

Father, thank you for including Rahab’s name in your list of ancestors to encourage me that there is no sin you will not forgive, no person you cannot use and no past you cannot redeem. Thank you for doing that for me. Help me to live in the grace you have extended to me because of your Advent. Amen.