Reading between the Lines: Rahab, Ruth, & Bathsheba

Each of these stories shows how the definition of who is included as part of God’s people continues to expand throughout the generations, pointing us ahead to the New Testament where people across the world are included in God’s people. Including these women in the genealogy of Jesus means that their entire identities and story is included, even the parts that make our stomachs churn. This points to God’s presence in the midst of hard and awful things and in the events that follow. It reminds us that there is nothing God’s people can do that will sever the relationship between God and God’s people. Their stories invite us into a practice of remembering the history of our ancestors of faith, locating ourselves and the events of our time within these ancient stories, and discerning how God is calling us to be faithful in loving, caring for, and serving our neighbors now.

CW: genocide, sex trafficking, rape, and child loss

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