Women in the Line of Christ Rahab

Transcription

1 Women in the Line of Christ Rahab Rahab [1] is the name of the third of the women in the line of Christ. Rahab became the wife of Salmon. [2] Before her marriage, she and her family were the only ones who survived the destruction of Jericho. At that time, she was both a prostitute and a Canaanitess. She was under a curse because the Canaanites were under a curse, and prostitutes were under a curse. Hers is one of the great stories of God's grace. The curse on the Canaanites is recorded in the following passages: Genesis 9:24-25 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." [c] Deuteronomy 7:1-3 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations--the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Can aanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-- and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 1 / 15

2 Deuteronomy 23:17 No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Yet we know that she is in the line of Christ: Matthew 1:3-5a 1:3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whos e mother was Rahab --- 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Before we get into the story of Rahab, we need to look at her husband Salmon, and his family tree. 2 / 15

3 I believe that Salmon the husband of Rahab appears in the Bible as both Salmon the son of Nahshon, and Salma the son (or descendant) of Hur. Why? Because the two men really have the same name and also, nearly the same noble lineage. They both appear in the Bible as major figures in the little village of Bethlehem. All of the Hebrew lexicons make clear that the names "Salma" and "Salmon" are in fact two slightly different forms of the same name. Both forms mean "garment." Also, on one side, the circumstances and age of Nashon argue that he was unlikely to have fathered Nashon at near the end of his life. On the other hand, the line of Hur is so prominent in episodes which speak of Christ types, that it is hard to resist the idea that they are not the source of the biological line of Salmon, who is in the line of Christ. How could "Salmon" be both the son of Nashon, and the descendant of Hur? I believe he was the product of a Levirate birth. We looked into Levirate births in the story of Tamar, so I won't go into that again. However, in contrast to the Levirate birth of the twin sons of Judah and Tamar, which was expressly stated, this Levirate birth has to be deduced from facts we know. Considering that we know of at least five other Levirate births in the line of Christ, I don't think we should find it unlikely to find one here. Who was Salmon the son of Nahshon? We know that he was descended from Judah through Perez and Hezron and that his grandfather was Amminadab from the following. Ruth 4:18-22 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Na hshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. 3 / 15

4 The next question is: Who was Salmon's father Nashon? We know from the previous verse that Nashon was descended from Judah through Perez and Hezron. Nashon was a very important man, he was the leader of the tribe of Judah when Moses led Israel out of Egypt. He was also the leader of Judah up to the rebellion of the tribes against the commands of God at Kadesh Barnea. This is documented by the following verses: Numbers 1:3-7 You (Moses) and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army. One man from each tribe, each the head of his family, is to help you. These are the names of the men who are to assist you: ---- from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab; Numbers 2:3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. Numbers 7:11-12 For the LORD had said to Moses, "Each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar." The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah. 4 / 15

5 Numbers 10:11-14 On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. They set out, this first time, at the LORD's command through Moses. The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command. On the other hand, who was Salma son of Hur? We know that he was also descended from Judah through Perez and Hezron. The sons of Hezron included Ram, the grandfather of Nashon and the great grandfather of Salmon. The third son of Hezron was Caleb, the father of Hur from whom was descended Salma. 1 Chronicles 2:9-11 The sons born to Hezron were: Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb. Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, the leader of the people of Judah. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 1 Chronicles 2:19 When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 5 / 15

6 Who was Hur? He was the lieutenant of Moses, and the cousin of Nashon. According to Jewish tradition by the account of Josephus, he was also the husband of Miriam, Moses sister. [d] According to 1 Chronicles, written nearly at least 500 years after the Exodus he was also the ancestor of three men who were famous in the founding of the nation of Israel. Salma, who founded Bethlehem was one of them. 1 Chronicles 2:50-51 These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur [e] the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim, Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader. Hur was one of the two key lieutenants of Moses as attested in these passages: Exodus 17:10-12 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 6 / 15

7 Exodus 24:13-14 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them." We know from the only genealogy of Hur in Exodus the he was also the grandfather of the man who made the Tabernacle and its furniture. Exodus 31:1-5 Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. To repeat, who again was Salma? Salma founded Bethlehem: 1 Chronicles 2:51 Salma the father of Bethlehem 7 / 15

8 1 Chronicles 2:54a The descendants of Salma: Bethlehem 1 Chronicles 4:4b These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah [f] and father of Bethlehem (through Salma). So we know that the man named Salma the descendant of Hur helped found Bethlehem. We may assume with confidence that the man named Salmon the son of Nashon was also a chief in Bethlehem because his son Boaz was a "a man of standing" in Bethlehem. Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. Bethlehem was just one small town in Judah. In the Book of Joshua (Josh. 15:20-63) there is a list of 112 major towns belonging to Judah in which Bethlehem is not even listed, probably because it was not founded yet. It would seem odd that the sons of two princes of Judah, Salma the descendant of Hur, and Salmon the descendant of Nashon, lived in the same small town. Nahshon, was the leader of the tribe of Judah, and Hur was the right hand man of Moses and his brother-in-law. Could it be that Salma and Salmon were the same man? Was Hur the Levirate father of Nashon's line in the person of his biological son Salmon through Nashon's 8 / 15

9 widow? That raises the question, Why would Nashon need a Levirate birth to have a son? We know that Salmon married Rahab at least 38 years after the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea because that was when the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Both Caleb and Joshua had been about forty when they had spied out the land before Kadesh Barnea. If Nashon was about the same age or younger he would have been born after Kadesh Barnea. What could have been the occasion of Nashon's need for a son from a Levirate birth? His death after Kadesh Barnea without an heir. Why would he have died about that time. We know that he was the leader of Judah at the time of the Kadesh Barnea disobedience, so we also know that he must have been under the curse described against those who disobeyer the LORD below: Deuteronomy 1:42-44 But the LORD said to me, "Tell them, Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.'" So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the LORD's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. Deuteronomy 2:14-15 Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. The LORD's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp. 9 / 15

10 It seems likely to me from this evidence that both Salmon and Salma [g] are the same man. What possibly happened was that Nashon died childless because of his part in the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. Possibly any sons he may have had died in the same disaster. To preserve his line, his widow needed the office of a kinsman redeemer. Who would have been more likely than one from the family of his cousin Hur to raise up a seed for him though his widow. Hur was not only a relative, and in the upper hierarchy of Israel, but was also related to Nashon's family on another account. By Jewish tradition (See Josephus) he was married to Miriam, Moses' sister. According to the Bible, Miriam's sister-in-law was Nashon's sister, [h] so Hur was Nashon's brother-in-law. When one remembers the significance of Levirate births as a pattern of the virgin birth, and the other number of times it appears in the line of Christ, it seems even more likely that Salma/Salmon was born just this way. And, if you realize that Hur was in the biological line of Christ, his appearance on the hill helping Aaron hold up the staff of Moses against the Amalekites becomes one of the great Christological types in the Bible. It is my contention that both Aaron and Hur are in the line of Mary (the humanity of Christ) and standing together on that hill they symbolizes the Kingship (Judah)-Priesthood (Aaron) of Christ. And who would have been most likely to perform the office of kinsman-redeemer from the line of Hur. It could have been Hur or his son Uri. Hur would have been about the age of Miriam, in his eighties at the time of Kedesh Barnea. His son Uri is also a possibility, however, it strikes me most likely that it was Bezalel, Hur's grandson who built the furniture of the tabernacle. He would have been about the right age, young and vigorous, and who better to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle (which symbolizes the person and work of Jesus Christ) than the one who served as kinsman redeemer to raise up the line of Nashon and the line of Jesus Christ himself. Now that we understand who Rahab's future husband Salmon was, we can now return to the story of Rahab as told in the Book of Joshua. As the story opens, Joshua and the children of Israel were waiting on the east bank of the Jordan across from Jericho waiting for the LORD's instruction to cross and take the land. The time was near the end of winter at the time when the winter rains had brought the Jordan to flood stage. At this time, the river stood as an impenetrable barrier between Jericho and the children of Israel. Jericho had to be the first city the Israelites tackled as it was the only major city on the west side of the lower Jordan River valley and guarded the main road into the eastern plateau: 10 / 15

11 Joshua 2:1-24 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land." But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. [i] We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death." "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land." So she let them down by a rope the section [j] through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. Now she had said to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way." The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down you shall bind this scarlet cord [k] in the window which you did let us down by, [l] and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear." "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us." 11 / 15

12 In retrospect, this mission takes on a completely different light. Joshua was moved to send these two spies. But why? Consider how the Israelites actually took Jerusalem. Joshua 6:1-5 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." [m] Knowing how the LORD took the city of Jericho, we have to conclude that this mission was militarily useless. The state of the siege supplies of Jericho were a moot point. Israel didn't lay siege to Jericho except for six days. The strength of the wall, or the weak points of their defenses were also useless pieces of information. The wall fell down at the blast of the trumpets. Why then were these men sent to Jericho? The answer is simple. Although neither they nor their commander knew it at the time, it was to rescue the life of the one woman in the city who wanted to know the LORD, Rahab (and perhaps the members of her family). According to some traditions, one of the two spies was Salmon, who married Rahab, who then gave birth to Boaz (Matthew 1:5). The romantic in me likes that version. Salmon probably entered the house of Rahab at the first of the siege to protect the inhabitants. From that couple came the "scarlet cord" of salvation. 12 / 15

13 Joshua 6:25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to this day. [n] So Rahab was redeemed from the curse of her birth through her faith in the Great Redeemer that would come. She little knew that He would be her descendant, but it was the hope of every mother in Israel. It is instructive, that while Israel, as a nation, became a prostitute running after other Gods and was severely judged, God is always willing to redeem the individual prostitute who will seek after Him. [a] The name Rahab bjÿ;r: is thought to mean "spacious or broad." It comes from the root verb which means "to enlarge." [b] Salmon (also known as Salma) was also the product of a Levirate birth. It is quite possible that he was one of the two spies. At least the romantic in me likes to think so. [c] It is important to note several things about this statement. First, the exposure of Noah's nakedness was not the fault of Canaan, but of his father Ham. Second, Canaan himself was never a slave (Genesis 10:15-19). What is this about then? Evidently, God made this an occasion to have Noah issue a prophecy (through the Holy Spirit) that the descendants of Shem (Israel) would dispossess the Amorites (who were Canaanites) from their land some 1000 years later when the iniquity of that generation had reached critical mass. This prophecy was confirmed to Abraham, the descendant of Shem in Genesis 12:6-7, and again in Genesis 15:16 where Abraham is told that possession would take place in 400 years, after "the sin of the Amorites --- reached its full measure." The pattern revealed here is important for understanding how God speaks in prophecy. He often uses the names of an ancestor to refer to entire people groups (examples - Jacob, Esau, Ephraim, and many others). [d] Antiquities of the Jews, Flavius Josephus, Book III, Chapter 2, Verse 4. " And indeed while Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven the Hebrews were too hard for the Amalekites: but Moses not being able to sustain his hands thus stretched out, (for as often as he let down his hands, so often were his own people worsted,) he bade his brother Aaron, and Hur their sister Miriam's husband, to stand on each side of him, and take hold of his hands, and not permit his weariness to 13 / 15

14 prevent it, but to assist him in the extension of his hands." [e] Remember, according to the pattern of genealogies in 1 Chronicles, these were probably the most famous descendants of Hur, and could have been a generation of so removed from him. However, the only literal "son" named in the genealogy in Exodus was Uri, who was the father of Bezalel, who crafted the furniture of the Tabernacle. [f] Evidently, the name "Ephrathah" which was applied to the region around Bethlehem was derived from the grandmother of Hur. Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." [g] Also, according to one Jewish tradition, Rahab married a "son (or descendant) of Hur" which would make Salma and Salmon the same man. [h] Exodus 6:23 "Aaron (Miriam's brother) married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar." [i] The survival, and even thriving, of 2 to 3 million people in the barren, lifeless desert of Saudi Arabia for 40 years could not have escaped the attention of the people of the middle east. Not to mention the stories that must have come out of their Exodus from Egypt. Most of the Canaanites merely feared the supernatural power behind it. Rahab had a different mindset and saw that a God who delivered a nation of slaves might be willing to deliver a prostitute. [j] The Hebrew word here is lb,j&, {kheh' bel} which in all the other early books of the Bible is translated "section" or "part." It later came to be translated 14 / 15

15 "rope" as ropes were often used for measurement of sections or shares. Since the rope which was used is called in the Hebrew fwj {khüt} or "cord" in verse 17, I have to believe the translation in this verse should be "section" referring to the part of the city wall that her house adjoined. [k] In other words, the one they were using. [l] I have substituted the literal translation which agrees with the KJV, the Darby, and the ASV. This makes it clear that they are talking about the scarlet cord which they used to escape. The same scarlet cord signaled the deliverance of Rahab from the destruction to come. [m] It is easy to identify this as a symbol of the times of the earth. The first six days as the first six millennia of human history, and the seventh day (millennium) beginning with the seven years of the tribulation which ends with the final victory. [n] We learn in Matthew 1:5 that Rahab married Salmon who was possibly one of the spies, and entered the line of Christ. Also Jewish tradition recorded in Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, BOOK V. CHAPTER 1. Verse 7 states "And when she was brought to him, Joshua owned to her that they owed her thanks for her preservation of the spies: so he said he would not appear to be behind her in his benefaction to her; whereupon he gave her certain lands immediately, and had her in great esteem ever afterwards." 15 / 15