Dr Paul Allen

Inside the walls of Jericho lived a woman who has forever been nicknamed by those who know of her as Rahab “the prostitute.” History has a strange way of remembering people, but in Christ, Rahab “the prostitute” would eventually become Rahab “a daughter of Zion,” and we can be confident that in heaven she is known by that better name. But the transitions from life in sin to salvation often happen on dramatic stages, and Rahab is no exception. Hebrews 11:30 actually records the destruction of Jericho before the salvation of Rahab. Jericho was something of the Las Vegas of the known world in Rahab’s era. The inhabitants of Jericho were violent, murderous, and idolatrous in the extreme. The evil of the city’s inhabitants was such that God had placed the entire city under His punitive ban; the whole city was to be destroyed.  Joshua 6:17 says, “The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.” This particular type of judgment was the most severe. The Heb...

Inside the walls of Jericho lived a woman who has forever been nicknamed by those who know of her as Rahab “the prostitute.” History has a strange way of remembering people, but in Christ, Rahab “the prostitute” would eventually become Rahab “a daughter of Zion,” and we can be confident that in heaven she is known by that better name. But the transitions from life in sin to salvation often happen on dramatic stages, and Rahab is no exception. Hebrews 11:30 actually records the destruction of Jericho before the salvation of Rahab. Jericho was something of the Las Vegas of the known world in Rahab’s era. The inhabitants of Jericho were violent, murderous, and idolatrous in the extreme. The evil of the city’s inhabitants was such that God had placed the entire city under His punitive ban; the whole city was to be destroyed.  Joshua 6:17 says, “The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.” This particular type of judgment was the most severe. The Heb...

Inside the walls of Jericho lived a woman who has forever been nicknamed by those who know of her as Rahab “the prostitute.” History has a strange way of remembering people, but in Christ, Rahab “the prostitute” would eventually become Rahab “a daughter of Zion,” and we can be confident that in heaven she is known by that better name. But the transitions from life in sin to salvation often happen on dramatic stages, and Rahab is no exception. Hebrews 11:30 actually records the destruction of Jericho before the salvation of Rahab. Jericho was something of the Las Vegas of the known world in Rahab’s era. The inhabitants of Jericho were violent, murderous, and idolatrous in the extreme. The evil of the city’s inhabitants was such that God had placed the entire city under His punitive ban; the whole city was to be destroyed. Joshua 6:17 says, “The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.” This particular type of judgment was the most severe. ...

Scripture both describes the Israelites exterminating the Canaanites in cities like Jericho (Josh. 6:21) and also presents this as the command of God. This is what the Israelites are supposed to do when they enter the Promised Land and encounter its inhabitants: "devote them to complete destruction . . . and show no mercy to them" (Deut. 7:2, ESV). The Hebrew word for "devoting to destruction" is 'herem'. It is not an ordinary kind of massacre but something sacred, a way of giving things totally to the Lord. It includes property and livestock as well as men, women, and children. And it has the effect of cleansing the land of abominations. The procedure looks very much like an ethnic cleansing demanded by the holiness of God. Is this what holiness looks like? Is this what we are supposed to imagine when we read, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44, ESV)? How can we possibly read and teach the genocide accounts in our churches today? To answe...

Most people in life really do battle with the bitterness of a past that seems to creep into their minds seemingly out of nowhere. And when that happens, all too often people will allow their history to rob them of their destiny. It doesn’t have to be that way!!! It should NOT be that way!!! Here are five thoughts I wanted to share with those of you who battle with the pain of a past where you did something (or something was done to you) that dominates your mind and emotions. #1 – We cannot go back in time, but we CAN move forward in Christ ! ( II Corinthians 5:17 ) #2 – Only Jesus can take the pain of our past and turn it into progress in our lives ( Romans 8:28 ). If He can take a blood stained cross and turn it into an empty tomb then NOTHING is impossible for Him!! #3 – Your past may be what you did, but it is not who you are in Christ! ( John 3:17 ) #4 – God never used perfect people. Abraham was a pagan, Moses was a drunk, Rahab was a ho, Peter cussed, Thomas doubted, Paul k...

English: By Rembrandt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 1:2–11 “Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab , and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth , and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king” (vv. 5–6). It is not difficult to understand the reasons why Matthew and John were the most widely quoted gospels among the early church fathers. John, for example, writes some of the boldest words about Jesus ’ divinity in the New Testament. Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ teaching ministry, and sections like the Sermon on the Mount (chap. 5–7) were widely memorized early on in the life of the church. In fact, Matthew was read aloud more often than even the gospel of John in the years immediately following the death of the last apostle. Matthew’s gospel is placed first in the New Testament canon largely because of its clear connection to the Old Testament . Certainly, the apostles all wanted to show how Christ and His church fulfill God’s prom...

Jesus  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon , and of Barak, and of Samson , and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel , and of the prophets." ( Hebrews 11:32 ) Hebrews 11 is a thrilling catalog of the faithful servants of God in all the ancient ages. There were Abel, Enoch, and Noah before the Flood; then Abraham , Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in the patriarchal age; followed by Moses , Joshua, and Rahab in the time of the exodus and conquest. Finally, today’s verse summarizes the periods of the judges (Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthae), the kings (Samuel, David), and the prophets. All these were men and women of great faith, though each had to endure great testing. They, as the writer says, "stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword . . . had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they...

Madonna of humility by Fra Angelico, c. 1430. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Buried in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter one is a gospel treasure. That treasure is five women. Their inclusion in the list is notable because it’s a patrilineal genealogy — a record of fathers and sons. Their inclusion is also notable because they were among the most notorious women in Biblical history. Tamar The first mentioned is Tamar ( Matthew 1:3 ). Remember her? Tamar entered the royal bloodline of the Messiah by disguising herself as a prostitute and seducing her father-in-law, Judah, so he would make her pregnant. Honestly, Judah had it coming because he had denied her justice, but it was an ugly affair all around (see Genesis 38). Rahab The second is Rahab ( Matthew 1:5 ). She didn’t have to disguise herself. She had been a prostitute. And a Gentile! A Canaanite, no less. Not a desired pedigree. She and her family were the only survivors of Israel’s conquest of Jericho because she hid th...

F rom: Hans (Jan) Collaert (Antwerp, 1566-1628), Rahab (Hol. 13-32). Engraving after Marten de Vos, c. 1581. Plate 8 from a set of Celebrated Women of the Old Testament consisting of twenty engravings (plus frontispiece) by Hans or Adrien Collaert and Carel van Mallery published in Antwerp by Phillip Galle (1537-1612) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee." ( Joshua 2:18 ) These words were spoken to Rahab by Joshua's spies after she had protected them from discovery by the officials of Jericho. She had testified to the spies that "the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" ( Joshua 2:11 ). Therefore, "by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the sp...

From: Hans (Jan) Collaert (Antwerp, 1566-1628), Rahab (Hol. 13-32). Engraving after Marten de Vos, c. 1581. Plate 8 from a set of Celebrated Women of the Old Testament consisting of twenty engravings (plus frontispiece) by Hans or Adrien Collaert and Carel van Mallery published in Antwerp by Phillip Galle (1537-1612) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. For forty days these men did just what Moses asked. They scouted the land and returned with encouraging reports: The land was “flowing with milk and honey,” and was flush with produce. It was every bit as rich and ...

Image via Wikipedia "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ , even we have believed in Jesus Christ , that we might be justified by the faith of Christ , and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." ( Galatians 2:16 )   Some have argued that James contradicts Paul at this point, since James emphasized that both Abraham and Rahab , among others, were justified by works ( James 2:21, 25 ). In fact, this seeming conflict between Paul and James has often been cited as one of the "contradictions" of the Bible.   There is no contradiction, however. Neither Abraham nor Rahab could have been justified by the "works of the law," and James never said they were. Abraham lived before God even gave the law to Moses, and Rahab lived in a pagan culture which knew nothing about it. Furthermore, James himself knew that no one could really be saved by the law, for he sai...