RAHAB the prostitute, ancestor of JESUS CHRIST

From the walls of Jericho to the genealogy of Jesus 

Joshua chapter 2

1Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 2And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

3So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

4Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” 6(But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 7Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

8Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me true token, 13and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

14So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

15Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 16And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

17So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. 19So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

21Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

Joshua chapter 6

22But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. 23And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.

Matthew chapter 1

1The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her ho had been the wife of Uriah. 7Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot  Asa. 8Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot  Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

YOUR JESUS MUST BE TRUE

‘I sought GOD with all my heart’ 

As a young Muslim girl, I sought GOD with all my heart. But the more I tried to please Him, the more I felt a void inside me. I suffered from the absence of GOD.

One day, after school, I heard some young Christians sharing their faith: "Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the FATHER except through him" (John 14:6). This message moved me deeply. Suddenly, I realised how important it was to believe in JESUS CHRIST in order to draw closer to GOD.

Later, I went to a church. The preacher spoke about the same Bible verse I had heard a few weeks earlier on the street. That day, I believed in JESUS CHRIST.

But how could I tell my parents? I was apprehensive about their reaction.

One day, I broke my silence and told them about my faith in JESUS CHRIST. My father immediately asked me to leave home. Overnight, I found myself alone on the streets of Abidjan (Ivory Coast). I wondered how I would survive. But a Christian couple took me in as if I were their own daughter.

A few years later, a friend encouraged me to reconnect with my family.

It seemed impossible! But I decided to write to my father; as soon as he received my letter, he agreed to see me again.

When I arrived, he spoke in front of the whole family and said, ‘I ask your forgiveness for all the harm I have caused you. Despite all these trials, you have continued to believe in your JESUS. Your JESUS must be real.’

Since then, several members of my family have come to believe in the Lord JESUS CHRIST.

Fati (Source: La bonne semence 2025)

WITH GOD WE'LL DO GREAT THINGS

 My story with a frightening illness!  

I had a feeling that 2019 would be a turning point in my life, but I didn't imagine it would be an illness.

It all started in January: I had spent a week at my son's house. I began to feel diffuse pain in my pelvis and back, fatigue and other symptoms. I didn't think it was anything serious, so I wasn't worried. Then, as the pain continued to increase, I made an appointment with my doctor at the end of the first trimester. Routine tests were carried out, but the results were negative. The doctor then sent me for a CT scan. After reading the results, the radiologist immediately booked me in for an ultrasound scan a few days later and, without telling me why, asked me to see a gynaecological surgeon as soon as possible.

Here we are at the end of April: the obstacle course has begun!

I meet with the surgeon who, after examining me, informs me that he will need to perform a biopsy. This takes place on May 7th followed by an MRI scan on May 20th. Up until this point, I still don't understand what is happening, except that it is serious. The only thing that concerns me is relieving the pain, which is getting worse and worse.

On May 25th, I will meet again with the surgeon, who has received the biopsy results and MRI findings.

"You have advanced cervical cancer. The lymph nodes are affected, as well as two other organs. We cannot operate; it would be too risky. I don't want to give you false hope," he told me.

The verdict is in!... I leave his office crying... I'm 57.

After leaving the clinic, I phoned my mum to tell her the news. Then I do the shopping I'd planned to do in this area, while holding back my tears. As I walked, my thoughts raced: how would I tell the people around me? (I was afraid of being confronted with self-pity, which could be fatal to my faith). Is there a sin that I haven't confessed to the Lord Jesus? Why is God allowing this? Am I going to die?

Then I think of Jesus who said to Peter: "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and went wherever you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you and take you wherever you do not want to go". (John 21:18) I don't know where I'm going, but I have to keep moving. The situation is completely out of my control. One thing's for sure: I have to choose how I'm going to move forward! I want to see the Lord Jesus in all his beauty, even in this trial. I also think of Daniel's friends who replied to the king: "Behold, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the fiery furnace, and will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. (Daniel 3:17-18) Clearly I must not allow despair to take hold and overcome my faith.

When I got home, after hugging my mum tightly and crying with her, I went up to my room and started talking to the Lord Jesus. Then I sent a message to the pastor to tell him. As soon as he received it, he called me back. He was shocked, but he told me that it's in adversity that you can see the glory of God! That's so true. I explained to him that I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me and that, at first, not many people should know about it. He prayed for me.

On 18 June, I was admitted to hospital for a lumbo-aortic lymphadenectomy (lymph node removal) and the fitting of an implantable chamber that would be used to inject chemotherapy. I was off work for a month, but this was extended to a year and a half.

I then met the oncologist who set up my treatment: chemotherapy, radiotherapy and then brachytherapy at the Gustave Roussy Institute.

In the meantime, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to manage the pain, which has been going on for months, day and night. It will only disappear after a few sessions of radiotherapy. A sister of mine, a pharmacist, gave me some good advice on combining painkillers and avoiding overdosing.

From then on, my career was punctuated by numerous MRIs, PET scans, CT scans, medical visits, analyses, etc.

I began chemotherapy with cisplatin (a product that is highly toxic to the kidneys) and, at the same time, radiotherapy in July. Cortisone injections were also added to limit the side effects. This will last until August.

In mid-September, after a 15-day break, I was sent to the Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif for brachytherapy. This took place over 5 days and 4 nights, during which I was absolutely unable to get out of bed: everything had been planned to adapt my diet. Apart from the medical, paramedical and maintenance staff - who visit every half hour, day and night, when the machine is not beaming - there are no visits. Given the distance and the time available, I preferred to ask my family not to be disturbed.

At the end of September 2019, the treatment was completed. Regular check-ups lasted until 2025, when I saw the surgeon again to have the implantable chamber removed.

I have chosen to talk briefly about the illness and its treatment, because behind these lines lies a more important path of life in victory: it bears witness to GOD's Love for me and for the world.

As I said above, I had to take a stand and decide how I was going to live through this period, whatever the outcome. The first step was to check whether anything was interfering with my relationship with God.

The first few days were difficult: I wanted to stay in life, but the pain, which I found increasingly difficult to relieve, reminded me that there was a problem. It made me think negative thoughts. I had to fight: this battle was spiritual.

Did I trust God?

If it was God's choice to take me back at that moment, was I ready?

Did I accept?

I told God that I would accept death as long as I was with Him. From that day on, I was able to experience this period differently.

My body was breaking down inside, my strength was diminishing with the chemotherapy injections, I had side effects from the treatments... but I had peace. I continued to attend church meetings almost to the end and, despite the immense fatigue caused by the chemotherapy, I put all my heart and all my strength into praising God. My life as a child of God had not stopped. The Lord always gave me the ability.

When I didn't feel like praying or had the strength to do so, God was there, in my heart, with his word that encouraged and strengthened me: it always came at just the right moment. I felt supported. My mum and the loved ones in my congregation prayed for me, asked about me, gave me practical help, came to sing praises at home; the young people visited me.

The medical staff I met were always very kind and the taxi ambulance, which took me to Gustave Roussy twice, was also a great help.

When I came across other sick people being cared for, I felt deeply privileged to be able to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear of any harm, because Jesus Christ was with me (Psalm 23:4), unlike those who had no hope.

It is painful to see that the solution exists, but that the world rejects it and prefers to remain in suffering.

Many put their trust solely in treatments. But these offered no guarantees: if the blood test was poor, the patient had to go home and wait to see if the next session could take place. And sometimes the disease recurred or spread. So these people lived with a veritable sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

I had the opportunity to bear witness to Jesus Christ to many people throughout this period: surgeons, oncologists, patients, doctors ...

Some might say:

"Where is God's Love in all this?"

"If your God loves you, why did he allow this illness?"

"If He is all-powerful, He could have healed you!"

I saw His Love everywhere - and I can't describe it all, because that would take too long.

My God allowed me to walk on high, to enter into a dimension of faith, into His dimension. I have experienced that when we abandon ourselves into His hands, we can go through anything, because He takes over within us. He made me experience His presence at every moment (2 Corinthians 4:8), He gave me joy and peace in spite of everything. I was able to live through this illness without suffering from it. If He had healed me without treatment - because, in the end, it's always God who heals (Psalm 103:3) - that would have been wonderful. But I wouldn't have experienced this victory over myself, or met all the people to whom I was able to testify about the real solution to evil: Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17).

This ordeal has brought me closer to God.

You could still argue by saying:

"The treatments destroyed parts of you." 

Imagine if God had allowed me to experience what most men fear most - and to do it without being destroyed. My God is sovereign and infinitely wise (1 Corinthians 1:25). I have certainly suffered losses in my flesh, proof that man, within his limits, cannot produce anything perfect. Only the Creator embodies perfection. But in exchange, I have gained precious spiritual treasures. Our bodies, doomed to corruption, fade with time... but our spirits are destined for eternity (Matthew 6:19-20).

God loves us and He has opened His arms of love for you too, who are reading these lines, through Jesus Christ. Don't miss out on such a great salvation.

Mireille

MIRACULOUS HEALING : "HE saved my leg"

“within 24 hours, we'd have to consider an amputation”.   

When I was 18, in 1957, I was living with my mother and working in a cotton mill in the north of France. One day, I contracted a serious infection from a faulty shoe. We were poor, and my mother was very strict: sick or not, you had to go to work. Over the next few days, my foot turned black and was extremely painful. A friend my age even came to pick me up, because the bus couldn't go up to our house because of the risk of landslides in the mines. She helped me walk to the main road to catch the bus to the factory.

That morning, the forewoman noticed my condition and refused to let me work. I was considered to be a hard worker, so she put apprentices on my machines before sending me to the infirmary. Once there, the nurses found that the infection had spread to my groin; my leg was gangrenous. They told me that if the infection didn't clear up within 24 hours, amputation would have to be considered. The nursing staff did everything they could to save my leg. I was given a course of antibiotics and my leg was immersed and kept in very hot water - a common method at the time, even though the pain was intense. I was kept in the infirmary. The next day, I received the same treatment and the infection began to subside, giving hope to the carers who continued the treatments until I was cured.

Given the state of my leg when I arrived at the infirmary, I realised that it was miraculous that I had kept it, and I was convinced that it was God who had intervened: it is He who forgives all my iniquities. Who heals all my diseases, psalm 103:3.

Rolande