RAHAB (Hebrew Scriptures)

RAHAB

The walls of Jericho—
‘You’ knew the mighty fortress…
each tunnel, each corner,
every nook and cranny.

You, Rahab, they called a Prostitute.
Is it really who you were?
Or were you so much more?

You worked the tavern…’translation’ Inn Keeper?
All the men ‘confided’ in you.
You earned their trust
and they shared with you because
You ‘listened’…
a depth within you
unspoken—
unacknowledged.

Two strangers
of the Chosen people came to ‘your’ door.
What did that mean?  Aren’t we all
Chosen?  You knew this…
How?  Prostitute!
That is why you helped them escape…you helped them.
First, hiding them from the king and his men seeking only to destroy.

A rope out the window..
You helped them escape in a bucket.
Yes a bucket…which holds water.
YOU Rahab, let the story flow—
Down, down, down into the depths still not perceived.
All you asked in return
You, and your family be spared.

A scarlet cloth dangled from your
window so that when they returned they
would come for you.

Yes…
They did come for you.
They kept you outside the camp…
after all, you practiced pagan acts.

Whose acts more out of line?
Yours filled only with ‘love,’ Rahab.

Silently you moved…
A spirit within you
whispered.

Rahab…Prostitute?
I think not
Rahab…Wisdom’s Daughter.

The walls came tumbling down
but the river inside you moved on.

“We save the world by being alive ourselves…”    —Joseph Campbell