The Inclusive Remnant (Advent 23, 2022)

Continuing our look at the remnant through Jesus’ genealogy, we’re at verse 32 in Luke 3:  32 “the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon”.

Now we’re getting to some familiar names and people whose lives we know with more detail, if only for the children they bore.  “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab” (Matthew 1:5).  It would appear from Scripture that Salmon’s two claims to fame are having Rahab as his wife and Boaz as his son.  And in both cases, God highlights exemplary redemption of a remnant.

Who exactly was Rahab?  According to Scripture in Joshua 2, she was a prostitute. (Yeah, just as Tamar pretended to be, as God worked behind the scenes to preserve the faithful Messianic line).  She was not just any prostitute though; she was from Jericho (of the “walls come tumbling down” fame).  It happened by faith according to Scripture in Hebrews 11:30 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

And here again, as with Tamar who was a Canaanite, we see the beauty of God’s working those outside the Israelite community into the faith remnant, and though they are all sinners, they are included among the redeemed in the line of Christ.

Questions for further thought:

Many scholars have tried to sanitize Rahab’s occupation to being a simple innkeeper.  How does that action betray their view that prostitution is a worse sin than the sin of Adam?

In the eyes of God, is any sin worse than the sin of Adam which has consequences lasting to this very day?

Every person in the lineage of our sinless Messiah was a sinner.  This is now the second woman whose sin is known, but whose faith was of importance to God.    How does the Hebrews passage above highlight her faith while not whitewashing her sin?

Prayer:

Thank You, Father that You don’t demand that we clean up our act before You will redeem us and save us from our sin. We thank You, Lord, for the testimony provided in the lineage of our Savior–that You can use people who are sinners; that You can give them extraordinary faith; and that by Your power and by Your Spirit (and not by our works) You provide redemption for all who would come to You by faith. We thank You, Lord, that this remnant is and has always been a faith remnant and not a simple genealogy remnant. Oh “what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). We praise You, Lord, and we thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us. Give us this day, hearts and actions of faith as we eagerly look forward to the day of Jesus return. For Your glory Amen.

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Advent began Sunday, November 27, 2022 and continues to Saturday, December 24th as we explore the remnant spoken of in Scripture and awaken as the end draws near.

 By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily “Awaken, Remnant” devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
• 2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.