Unashamed by Francine Rivers Page A

know the letter of the Law, but she obeys the heart of it. She has repented and made God first in her life.”

    “Who?” a child said, only to be ignored.

    Amminadab was not mollified. “We shouldn’t have foreigners among us. They bring their foreign gods with them. They bring trouble!”

    “I agree,” Salmon said quietly. “Foreigners do bring trouble. But they cease being foreigners when they cast off their false gods and worship the Lord God with all their heart, mind, and strength.”

    Amminadab’s eyes flashed again. “And how do you know if they are sincere in what they say? How can you trust a woman who has prostituted herself to other gods—not to mention other men?”

    “Who?” another child piped in.

    “As our fathers and mothers prostituted themselves to the golden calf?” Salmon said, restraining his own rising anger. “How quick you are to forget our own weaknesses and see those of others who have not had the blessing of God’s very Presence.”

    Setting his nephew aside, Amminadab rose. “You risk us all by saving this woman and her relatives!”

    The children looked back and forth, confused and frightened. Salmon looked from them to his older brother. “God has given us Jericho, Brother. I don’t know how He’ll do it, but He will hand it to us. If Rahab and her relatives survive what is to come, it’s because death passed over them just as it passed over us. The red cord hanging—”

    “Red is the color of a harlot,” Nahshon said.

    Feeling attacked from all sides, Salmon refused to withdraw. “Red is the color of blood, the blood of the Passover lamb.”

    “You are so sure of her, Salmon?”

    “Leave it to Leah to ask the gentle question,” Amminadab mocked when their sister quietly spoke up.

    Salmon faced Amminadab again. “The heart of this woman belongs to the Lord; I’m sure of it. She declared her faith as strongly as Miriam, the sister of Moses, did. And do you not wonder? Of all the thousands in that city, the Lord singled out Rahab for our attention. Why would God do that unless He meant to rescue her?”

    Salmon spoke to the children. “The Lord didn’t save our people because we were worthy. Look how our fathers and mothers turned away from God! They witnessed the ten plagues; they saw God open the Red Sea! They were still faithless and rebelled. And some of our own people turned away to bow down to the baals of Moab. No, we are not worthy. Only the Lord is righteous. No other but the Lord is worthy of praise.”

    “And yet, God saved us, ” Amminadab said firmly.

    Salmon rose and faced the others. “Yes, God saved us. The Lord delivered us because of His great mercy. He plucked us out of Egypt just as He will pluck Rahab out of Jericho. This night we must remember the Lord our God freed us. The Lord delivered us. The Lord redeemed us. The Lord took us to be His people. Our salvation depends not on who we are but on who He is.”

    “Who’s Rahab?” the children persisted.

    “No one important, dear ones,” one of the women said softly.

    “Just an Amorite woman in Jericho,” Nahshon said.

    Salmon restrained his anger. “Rahab is a woman of faith. She hid Ephraim and me when the king of Jericho sent his soldiers to capture us. She told us that the Lord our God has given us the city.” He smiled at the children and at his sister. “And you’ll meet her soon.”

    “God willing,” Amminadab said.

    Ω       Ω       Ω

    Rahab looked out at the plains of Jericho, where thousands of campfires flickered beneath the starry night. Jobab came and stood beside her. “What is that sound?”

    “Singing.”

    “They’re celebrating as though they’re already victorious.”

    “They are victorious. Their God is on their side.” And soon, she hoped, soon, she and her relatives would be with them, aligned with the Lord God of heaven and earth.

    “Why do you think they wait?”

    “I don’t know. Perhaps their God told them to