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Autumn 2026: The Book of Joshua
- Saturday 10th October – Joshua 6:22-27 & Matthew 1:5-6 ‘Rahab’s destiny’
Our week began with Rahab. It’s fitting that it ends with Rahab, too – as she is indeed spared, along with all her family. Her courage and faith were rewarded, not just with life, but with a place in God’s people: ‘she lives among the Israelites to this day’ (v25).
As we reflected yesterday, this is a beautiful story of grace and redemption in the middle of a robust narrative of conflict. Somehow Rahab had grasped who the Lord was – despite, as far as we know, never having encountered the Israelites directly before – and was prepared to risk her life to serve this Lord. It is a wonderful reminder of how God’s grace is at work in all kinds of places and all kinds of people. No-one is beyond God’s love, or reach.
But there is a beautiful post-script to this story – one we don’t learn in Joshua, but only many centuries later, at the start of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 1:5-6). After the events at Jericho, Rahab is freed from prostitution and marries a man called Salmon, one of the Israelite settlers. They have a family, including a son called Boaz. This is the Boaz who marries Ruth in the Old Testament story who bears her name. Boaz is King David’s great-grandfather… in other words, Rahab is King David’s great-great-grandmother! And therefore also, by definition, a direct descendant of Jesus himself.
It is fitting that a woman of such faith and courage should have a bigger part to play in the story of scripture. It also reminds us that when God rescues us, he also gives us a new purpose in life. We all have a valuable part to play in God’s kingdom coming: there are ‘good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ (Ephesians 2:10) We may be aware of (some of) those things which God has planned for us; we may even feel we have largely fulfilled them, one way or another; or we may still be wondering. Perhaps God is pointing you in a new direction, or stirring something new in you?
Grace saves us as we are. But it doesn’t leave us as we are. We journey with the Lord, in faith and hope. May Rahab’s story inspire us this week, and renew our desire to live fruitful lives, for God’s glory. Grace is truly the fuel for life.
- Monday 12th January – John 11:28-37 ‘If you had been here…’Read more...
‘If only I’d been there…’ I wonder if you’ve ever found yourself thinking something like that? Sadly, many of us have, usually with a sense of loss at something we missed out on. It can also work the other way round: ‘if only you’d been here,’ someone might say to us – maybe an event we’d have enjoyed, or maybe because ...
- Saturday 10th January – Matthew 2:1-12 ‘They presented him with gifts’Read more...
One last reflection before we put our biblical crib scene away this year! Few characters in the bible grab people’s attention like the Magi. Who were they? Where did they live? What exactly was the star? And those gifts…?
Let’s start by reflecting that the Magi’s gifts of gold, incense and myrrh were all things they used in ...
- Friday 9th January – Matthew 2:9-12 ‘They were overjoyed’Read more...
I wonder what emotions you associate with the Magi? Most likely the first things that come to mind are curiosity, wonder, maybe courage? We might also think about fear – fear of Herod, of the danger they might be putting themselves (and Jesus) into.
One detail we often overlook is that one of the primary emotions the Magi ...
- Thursday 8th January – Matthew 2:1-8 ‘We have come to worship’Read more...
I love the wise men. They’re probably my favourite nativity characters (apart from Jesus, obviously). Why? It’s not just the sense of the exotic or their strange gifts, though that helps: the wise men remind us that the good news of Jesus’ coming into the world is for everyone – God meets all of us where we are, and leads the ...
- Wednesday 7th January – John 11:17-27 ‘The resurrection and the life’Read more...
Whenever I read today’s passage, I have this sense of walking on holy ground. It’s such a well-known encounter – Jesus and his friend Martha, a shared grief, a conversation about life and death – and yet always somehow ‘other’: holy, mysterious, awesome. A passage to make you take off your shoes and kneel in wonder.
At the ...