Life for prostitutes is usually difficult. In the minds of most they inspire some form of the question, "What kind of person becomes a prostitute? What has them in that line of work?" And the hypothesized answers are rarely flattering. The truth is, they are as human as any, but usually dealt a difficult hand in life. Rahab had no husband. She did have an extended family, though whether they supported her or she them or some combination is not known. We do know that in the an

We tend to be optimists as Christians, even the most pessimistic of us. For all our talk of human depravity and divine judgment, we expect converts to swell our ranks and wonder what is wrong if they do not. We pray daily for opportunities to share Christ, expecting those to bear fruit. We expect our churches to be positive agents of transformation in our communities. Our prayer is invariably, "How do we reach our community for Christ?" I readily confess that I am one of thos

"A beautiful woman delights the eye; a wise woman, the understanding; a pure one, the soul." So said Minna Antrim. So was Rahab. The Talmud extols her physical beauty. We will content ourselves here with her understanding and purity. What kindled the faith of Rahab? What formed its basic content? These are fair questions: she is the first Canaanite convert of the newly arrived Israel under Joshua. She is paradigmatic. Her conversion is a model conversion. The way she comes to

And so we come to Joshua 2 and the second woman highlighted by Matthew in the genealogy of Jesus. And surprise, surprise, she is a prostitute, yet another "sinner" who winds up in the mainstream of sacred history. Here comes another sermon on the gospel, Jesus, and prostitutes. Or is she? The NIV adds a footnote to the word "prostitute" in Joshua 2:1, "or possibly an innkeeper." Could it be that this dear woman has been mislabelled for more than two millenia and, countless se