i was in the library a couple weeks ago and had a goal in mind: 2 books to read in february. it was on my list of goals for february. where to start? i went the fiction section and started alphabetically. i didn't get very far before i spotted a pearl in the sand.
do you know the story of rahab, the harlot? i know the truth of God's words about rahab. she is a harlot. she is used by God to secure safety for two israelite spies sent into jericho. she asks for her and her families freedom before the israelites destroy her city. she is the mother of boaz - and in the book of matthew we find the geneology of Jesus, the Christ. and there she is - rahab; worthy to be in the geneology of the Savior of the world. and in Hebrews, chapter 11 there she is again - accredited for her faith.
one of the frustrating things about the word of God is his mystery. one of the amazing things about the word of God is his mystery. we, in our finite minds limit God so often. even when we ask how can a harlot be thought worthy to be in the lineage of Christ, our Lord.
the author, tessa afshah, of a pearl in the sand has no other information regarding rahab than what God has laid before us in his Word. it is enough that we know what she was and who she became. but afshah weaves a story of possibility for the life of rahab. a story of faith, of forgiveness, of unconditional love. i had to smile when fairly early in the novel, one of the characters (one of the spies actually) speaks to rahab about her faith. he tells her that she will someday be known for her faith; but, all she wonders is will everyone always see her as a harlot.
because i enjoyed this book so much i was intrigued by what others thought. amazon had a plethora of reviews but i was struck by the words written by one of the reviewers; i saw exactly what she saw but could not express it so poignantly. these thoughts are in regards to the latter part of the story, "the couple can't figure out how to chip through the bricks of pain and insecurity that Rahab has erected, fortified by Salmone's judgment. Metaphorically, the fate of Jericho's and Rahab's walls are the same when God razes years of history and purges the past. It isn't until the dust clears that Rahab can see herself as a treasure, just like the pearl in the earrings given to her by her husband - a gem formed by years of protective layers protecting an initial hurt' (yarger, 2010).
i love how afshah infuses biblical truths throughout the story. she takes each situation, each sin, each nugget of possibility and places it at the feet of the cross for us to see through the eyes of the Lord. just like when joshua, the leader of israel says to salmone,'"Pride is the bane of the righteous; on the outside you may seem more upright than a woman with such a past, but God sees us from the inside." we might have heard something similiar from nathan regarding david, the king, 'man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart'. because God has told us in Hebrews 11 rahab was remembered for her faith, generation after generation knew her as such. they might have known what she once was, a harlot, but they know, more importantly who she became in the Lord.
