Ruth & Rahab: When God Redeems the Outsider
Some women in the Bible entered the story with status, lineage, or influence. Ruth and Rahab were not those women. They were outsiders; women on the fringes, living in cultures far from Israel, carrying stories that didn’t look holy, polished, or impressive. And yet God took both of them; a former prostitute from Jericho and a widowed Moabite woman, and wove their lives into the most important genealogy in Scripture:
The family line of Jesus Himself.
Their stories remind every woman who has ever felt disqualified, overlooked, unworthy, or “too far gone”:
**God doesn’t pull from the elite. He redeems from the margins.**
Let’s look at how these two unlikely women, separated by decades but united in destiny, reveal the heart of God.
Rahab: The Woman with a Past God Refused to Waste
We meet Rahab in Joshua 2, a woman described openly as a prostitute living in the walls of Jericho. To everyone around her, Rahab’s identity was sealed by her past. But God has a habit of reading stories past the chapter others get stuck on. When two Israelite spies entered Jericho, Rahab hid them on her roof, risking her life for men she just met. Why? Because Rahab feared God more than she feared her king.
She tells the spies:
“I know that the LORD has given you this land…
for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
(Joshua 2:9,11)
Rahab didn’t grow up knowing God. She didn’t have a religious background. She was raised in a pagan city full of idols and violence. But faith sparked in her raw, real faith and she acted on it before she fully understood it.
Rahab’s courage wasn’t polished. It wasn’t churchy. It wasn’t perfect. It was messy obedience… and God honored it. When Jericho fell, Rahab and her family were saved (Joshua 6:22–25). Not only saved, but welcomed into Israel.
This is the part people miss:
Rahab didn’t just escape destruction. She entered covenant. She married into the people of God. She became the mother of Boaz. (Matthew 1:5)
And Boaz? He becomes a major part of Ruth’s story. God was already preparing the future.
Ruth: The Woman Whose Loyalty Became Legacy
Now enter Ruth, a Moabite woman.
Moabites were not admired by Israel. They were the result of a shame-filled past (Genesis 19:37)
and were often excluded from Israel’s worship (Deuteronomy 23:3). So when Ruth married into an Israelite family and then lost her husband, she wasn’t expected to stay. In fact, Naomi, her mother-in-law, begs her to return home. But Ruth speaks one of the most beautiful declarations in Scripture:
“Your people will be my people
and your God my God.”
(Ruth 1:16)
Her story begins with loss, but continues with loyalty. With nothing guaranteeing a better future, Ruth steps into uncertainty with faith. She goes to Bethlehem and humbly works in the fields to support herself and Naomi. And whose field does she “just happen” to end up in? Boaz’s. Rahab’s son. The outsider redeemed by faith… becomes the mother of the man… who redeems the outsider redeemed by loyalty.
You can’t make this stuff up. God is intentional like that. Boaz sees Ruth’s character, honors her, protects her, and eventually marries her. And from their union comes:
Obed → Jesse → David → Jesus
(Matthew 1:5–6)
Two foreign women. Two unlikely stories. One perfect plan.
What Ruth & Rahab Teach Us About God
1. Your past is not your identity.
Rahab’s past didn’t disqualify her. It positioned her for faith that changed her future.
2. God welcomes the outsider.
Both Ruth and Rahab came from nations Israel despised, yet God welcomed them, honored them, and wrote them into redemption’s story.
3. Faith looks like action.
Rahab hid the spies. Ruth clung to Naomi and went to Bethlehem. Both women moved toward God even when they didn’t know what came next.
4. God values character over qualification.
Ruth’s loyalty and Rahab’s courage mattered more than lineage or status.
5. Redemption is God’s favorite theme.
The prostitute and the foreign widow become grandmothers in the Messianic line. If God can redeem those stories, He can redeem any story.
The Threads God Weaves Together
Think about it:
Rahab, a woman with a broken past gives birth to Boaz. Boaz becomes the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth, a woman with a painful present. Their son becomes the grandfather of David and their lineage leads to Jesus, the Redeemer of the world.
Two outsiders. Two women the world wouldn’t choose. Two women with complicated stories. God wove their lives into salvation’s tapestry. Because He always writes from the margins inward.
Scriptures for Reflection
Joshua 2:1–21
Joshua 6:22–25
Ruth 1–4
Matthew 1:1–6
Final Encouragement
Ruth and Rahab remind us: You don’t have to come from a perfect background
to walk into a God-written future. You don’t have to have the right pedigree, the right history, or the right reputation.
All you need is a heart that says:
“Your God will be my God.”
“Your way will be my way.”
“I choose faith over fear.”
God specializes in redeeming the outsider, the overlooked, the unlikely, the imperfect. Because that’s where His glory shines brightest. If He could use Ruth and Rahab… He can use you too.
