God so often chooses the most unlikely of people to play major roles in Salvation History. God chose Rahab, a Canaanite woman and prostitute in Jericho, to not only save the two Israelite spies seeking to find the weaknesses in that city state, but she would be one of many women who would give birth to children in a line of ancestry that will stretch from David to Jesus.
COMMENTARY
In my research for both the music and poem, I consulted a resource written by Phyllis Bird, entitled,”The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presuppositions in Three Old Testament Texts.” The title of this article illustrates clearly that the scandal which we often assign to people because of their past actions, their culture, their place in society, or the work that they do, is not scandalous to God. God is always inclusive, and never exclusive. Christians, of all people, should be aware of the inclusiveness of Jesus, who welcomed into his intimate community of friends and followers, tax collectors, prostitutes, armed revolutionaries, along with those plying many trades. Jesus’ own religious leaders were scandalized by those who kept Jesus company. It should also be noted that it was the one who was the most prominent among his company who would ultimately plan in collusion the death of Jesus and betray him.
THE STORY
Rahab, a Canaanite woman and a prostitute (according to Hebraic Biblical sources), invites into her home two Israelite spies. She knows well the path of destruction that this army of nomadic people had caused throughout Canaan, city after city, king after king, destroyed and occupied by the Israelites. With the Israelites outside his city wall, the king of Jericho is greatly alarmed and orders the death of the Israelite spies. Rahab, hides the spies and tells the king’s soldiers that she does not know where they might be hiding. She negotiates with the spies that she will lead them to safety if they will spare her and her family when they take the city. They agree and tell her that she must gather all who are important to her within her house. From the mantle of her door, she must hang a red thread. Israelite soldiers seeing the thread would pass by her house and not cause her and any within harm. She lets them out the window of her home, which is part of the wall of the city. The red thread hanging from her mantle, spares Rahab and her family from death and destruction, just as the Angel of Death passed by all Israelite homes whose mantle was painted with the blood of the paschal lamb. The genealogy of Matthew mentions Rahab as one of the great women in the ancestry of David and Jesus.
THE MUSIC
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Composed in three part form (ABA), there are two distinct melodies. The melody and tempo of the first part invoke a sense of peace and tranquility. This is Rahab’s theme, representing the peace and safety that Rahab and her home provided all people. The middle section of the song, changes from a major key to a minor key and the tempo increases greatly. The melody represents the fear, chaos, and violence that exist outside the door of Rahab, prior and during the battle for Jericho. Rahab’s theme is repeated in the third section of the song, again representing the mantle of peace and safetly that Rahab extends to those in her company.
THE POEM
CANTICLE FOR RAHAB
A proud Canaanite woman,
you are a professional.
A member of the ancient trade,
your home, your place of work,
the intimacy of your bed and body
providing needed comfort to men,
weary from travel, seeking solace
and peace in your arms.
Unlike the bawdy houses of yore,
your home is a safe haven
from the chaos that exists
within the human heart
and outside of its walls.
In the quiet that follows passion,
whispered stories,
of a nomadic army of former slaves
from a foreign land, invading,
leveling, and occupying cities in Canaan.
Two men not your normal clientele,
their language and customs,
their clothing and manner foreign to you
appear at your door.
As with so many of your clients,
you invite them into your home.
The secrets of body and soul shared,
they seek, more perilously,
to explore the secrets of your city.
Their army lay outside the city,
a wild fire of fear and alarm
spreads like a plague in the streets
outside your home.
A woman of business,
hiding them from the King’s police,
you negotiate a price for your silence,
safety for yourself and your family.
Like the mantles painted red
with the blood of the paschal lamb,
protected their people from the Angel of Death,
a mere red thread hanging from
the mantle of your door
protects you and all within the home
from the scourge that will reign
in the streets of the city.
Your home, the peace within
a stark contrast to the violence outside.
Who could have foreseen
that a woman of your profession,
a Canaanite woman, at that,
from the safe, peaceful haven
of your womb would be born
the ancestor of not only David,
but the ancestor of the Messiah?
(c) 2021 by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
