Unashamed: Rahab

Lineage of Grace #2

by Francine Rivers

2001 Christy Award winner!
Book 2 in the Lineage of Grace series by best-selling author Francine Rivers. In her trademark style, Francine tells the compelling story of Rahab from the book of Joshua. Readers will gain a fresh understanding of God's work through the life of this unlikely woman in the lineage of Christ.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Biblical Fiction, Historical, Faith

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2000

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers continues to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her numerous bestsellers include Redeeming Love, A Voice in the Wind, and Bridge to Haven, and her work has been translated into more than thirty different languages. She is a member of Romance Writers of America's coveted Hall of Fame as well as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

www.francinerivers.com
www.facebook.com/FrancineRivers
Twitter: @FrancineRivers

Reviews

[Jules Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been intending to read this series of novellas for several years now, but as I read them this summer I realize that I may not have been ready earlier for all God is now teaching me. I have been learning much in recent years about the times of the patriarchs, and these small books focusing on the five women noted in the genealogy of Christ have given me greater insight than I ever imagined. From Tamar’s desperate attempts to awaken Judah’s sense of obligation, to Rahab’s great faith in the midst of an approaching war, to my current read of Ruth and Naomi and the unbreakable bond between them, the Lineage of Grace series is enlightening and provocative and filled with historical context that somehow previously escaped me. Completion of each book brings an urgency to dive into the next one, and that’s my hope for every book I read.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story of Rahab. This book, in particular, out of the whole series was my favorite.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars still for this one. It's one of my favorites in the Lineage of Grace collection and Rahab is one of my favorite Biblical stories. I decided to listen to this one on audio while struggling through COVID because all I can do is read pictures and listen to audio. This one has great suspense, but I took the redemptive story of Rahab's heart more than the destruction this time around on reread.


5 stars. Rivers depicts the story of Rahab with nail-biting suspense and a beauty that is surprising. One of my favorites in the A Lineage of Grace series. Review to come.

[Ieva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rahābas stāsts man bija pazīstams - zināju stāstu par prostitūtu, kura, pirms Jēriku iekaroja, sagaraujot tās mūrus ar bazūnēm, savā mājā paslēpa 2 spiegus, un arī es aizdomājos, kas viņai lika tā rīkoties. Riversas versija man patīk.
Vēl 2 grāmatas sērijā man ir plikušas, jo pamanījos sākt ar vidējo, nezinot par pārējām.

[Sherri Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet story! Francine Rivers brings a story to life! Although based on Rahab, I found myself focusing on how much God loves us and how he goes to extremes to rescue us and bless us beyond our wildest dreams.

[Gohnar23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a beautiful read from start to finish, a simple yet impactful retelling and expansion of the story of the walls of Jericho with interesting characters and an interesting plot which revolved spies and the faith of Rahab to the Lord and savior.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these books. This was one of the shortest, but it was about Rahab and her faith in the one true God despite it being very counter cultural. Because this book was so short, the connection to the reader wasn't as strong as others, but overall it was still very good!

[Wendy Sparkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

#2 Lineage of Grace


This is definitely my favourite retelling of this series by Francine Rivers. The book of Ruth is my favourite story from the Bible, but while I liked some aspects of the author's retelling of that story, there were others that I just didn't. Not so with this retelling of the story of Rahab from the book of Joshua.

I really liked how her faith was portrayed and how she held fast against all the odds, and how she dared to reach out to the God of Israel, despite her past, and because of that she became a woman with a great future. To end up in the Messianic line ~ wow! God redeemed her in a powerful way! While knew all this before, this story brought it out in a vivid way that really spoke to me afresh.

The only niggle I had was that the author wrote about Joshua talking that "The Lord has commanded..." In the Old Testament KJV, NKJV and ESV (and several others too) the LORD is always written in capitals, referring to the Lord God Almighty, not the Lord Jesus Christ. I would have preferred that she either wrote LORD in capitals, or said Lord God so that it was very clear who it was Joshua was talking about, particularly for people who aren't familiar with the Bible story, but that is just my personal opinion.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THIS was a much better book in the series than the first one about Tamar. Rahab's story showed the sometimes mysterious way that the Holy Spirit creates faith in unexpected places (unexpected to us, not to the Lord) and her desire to have a fresh start and new place with her spiritual family. Her past is not glossed over or ignored, rather she expresses regret not only for the choices forced on her, but those she made of her own free will since that time. We see her struggle with her family, desiring for them to saved not only physically -- which she did accomplish -- but also spiritually. Sadly, they were unable to give up their idols of wood and stone, instead crediting Rahab with their salvation instead of the Lord. I enjoyed the description of the march around Jericho, the thousands of thundering feet, almost as much as I did when I was a child in Sunday school. Quite different to consider it from the perspective of someone on the inside of the walls...

[Seoulstice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series is amazing!!! God used these women regardless of what others thought of them. He saw through to the heart of each of them (right past their sins & faults), and used the gifts and talents that He gave them to bring us a Savior that we despearately need/needed. It speaks to God's capacity to love and forgive us! It shows the humble beginings from which Christ was born.

[Carrie Daws · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of Rahab as seen through Francine Rivers's eyes. It is an easy and enjoyable telling, but gave me a new way to consider parts of the story of Jericho that I hadn't thought of before . . . which ultimately puts a yearning in me to go back to the Bible to read again what God has told us. I love it when a book does that!

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally can relate to Rahab and God's knowing all I would be a part of and STILL He loves me and drew me to Him. He is a good good Father!! This is my favorite so far from the Lineage of Grace!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just mediocre for me.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Rahab although this book had a bit of a slow start. I know there were details in the book that were imagined and not recorded in the Biblical record. However, they fit in quite nicely with the facts of the story.

I like to try to picture day to day life for these great characters of the Bible, their thoughts, their struggles, their dreams. These imaginings make them more relatable in my mind. I think that's what Francine Rivers does with the Bible stories she retells with the unknown details. She makes the characters come to life and seem more relatable.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This account of Rahabs faith will stay with me for a long time! Part of me wants to binge the rest of this oh so good series. And the other part knows I’ll be thinking about this one for a while, and wants to give space to that before moving on to the next one. I loved the courage Rahab demonstrated in believing she could be one of Gods children, and how God used her faith and her life in such an incredible way. The rich descriptions of the cultural settling definitely made me feel like I was there! I love everything by this author and this was no exception.

[Kirsty Lickfold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of these biblical stories written in Novel form. Really helpful for thinking of the Bible as a real history as opposed to it being so ‘mystical’ ect

Also just cool to be reminded of Gods goodness in saving everyone and being encouraged by her faith 🤩

[Elizabeth Dragina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again with the fresh perspective ✨

So uplifting and inspiring. Highly recommended.

[Reneè Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[Maggie Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

not to be dramatic but these books are a must read for any Christian woman. They are just beautiful stories of grace, hope, & faith. And no one tells a story better than my girl Francine!

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel mooi! Beeld van bijbelverhaal verandert wel altijd een beetje..

[Makenzie Muñoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good!! I loved the approach Rivers took to Rahab's story. She was alert, keeping an eye out, waiting for the spies so that she could help them. Her faith was new and fierce!

[Sara Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this whole series has been great so far but this one may have been my favorite. Just the faith of Rahab alone was amazing and then add in the falling of Jericho and Salmon... wow. Beautiful story well captured.

[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I love Francine Rivers’ writing with all my heart.

She is so on FIRE for Christ and you can see that buried in her words.

This series is an interesting one that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the Bible and those stories about women. She puts her own twist on her versions on this story, but she doesn’t take out any truth to the story. What I mean by that is even though we don’t know it happened the way she wrote it, doesn’t mean it didn’t actually happen the way she wrote it. She didn’t take anything out of the Bible.

So this whole series is about women in the Bible that are in the line of Christ.

WOMEN.

That’s important because the Bible doesn’t talk about girls too often because back then all us women were good for is babies and sex.

*a very dramatic eye roll in inserted right here in this review*

RAHAB IS MY FAVORITE GUYS I REALLY LOVE HER.

Out of this whole series: She’s my girl.

She seems kind of sassy, don’t you think?

Girls back then were used for two things: baby making and sex.

So how does a girl work for a living? You become a prostitute because that’s all someone will pay you for.

Poor lady.

She wanted to know the true God though, and knew she lived around wicked people.

So she did her part and helped hide traitors of the city, men of the Lord, and helped them not get killed and things. Which in returned they said they wouldn’t kill her and anyone in her house when they come and take over the city.

How about that, right? I’m a prostitute, rejected by my city and deemed dirty, but men of the Lord are going to save me and not those who are praised in the city. How about that?

Welp, hope it went well and everyone in her family got out safe. And that she didn’t get killed for treason. And that she married one of those guys she saved.

You should read it and find out because I absolutely love this book.

Francine girl, you win again.

[Rhonda Smallwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, as a Christian, I know that Jesus would have died for me even if I was the only one that needed him to. But that's also an impossible event as everyone sins. That thought is beautiful but I can't wrap my head around it because of the impossibility. It's hard for that to be real to me. But this story about Rahab depicts how God help up the entire army of Israel for one single woman. I realized things that I never realized before. How God told Joshua what his plan was before the spies even came back from Jericho. Sending spies into the city was unnecessary. The plan was to march around the city. There was very little hand to hand fighting that was necessary, and only after the walls fell and the Jericho army was already weak and afraid. Why did they need to know about the army if they were going to defeat the city without even entering the city? They didn't need to know those details. The spies had to go in for the purpose of securing Rahab. If that one woman, and a prostitute at that, was that important to God, how important must I be to him? This book really did change my relationship with God. Profound effect.

[Ella あいみ M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The woman with a past to whom God has given a future." - Salmon

It still amazes me, the faith Rahab had. She had never even seen the things that the Israelites had seen, yet she still believed that God was the One true God. I love how persistent she was and how passionate she was to become one of God's people, and it's so like God in His indescribable grace to honor her by including her in His Son's lineage. He's so gracious towards us, and this story really matches the name of this book series.

I liked Salmon, too, but every time I read his name, I couldn't help but think of sushi or something fishy. I can't say anything as to whether the opposition Ephraim had towards him concerning Rahab was veracious or not, as very little is written of the two spies that Joshua sent. Even their names aren't mentioned. However, the opposition the Israelites showed him regarding her was highly plausible, even likely, given the attitude many Hebrews had towards "gentiles" and those they considered repudiated and shunned from the kingdom of God.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and I am looking forward to reading the rest. I'm not a fan of the cover of this one, though.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neat perspective from a woman's point of view. The prositute Rahab hides two Israelite spies because she believes in their God, not the false idols made by man's hands. She knows that the God who sent ten plagues in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and other miracles she's heard is a most powerful God to fear and behold.

The faith and patience she had to deal with her family and the perseverance after days waiting and also after they were delivered to want to follow and be with the Israelites if they wanted her or not.

A little love story thrown in between her and Salmon! ooh la la.

One thing that gave me a wow moment was when Joshua was out in front of the gate with the angel leader of God's army! This older Joshua is a reverent character and to see him prostrating himself in front of him....when only Rahab sees this. What a thing for God to do to remind her that she's doing the right thing and that he is the ONLY true God.

[Tiff (fictionaltiff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't even realize that Salmon and Rahab were part of the line of Christ until I started this book a while ago. I'm glad I came back and finished this. Francine Rivers hasn't disappointed me yet with her works of fiction. This short novel was an awesome way to tell the story of a seemingly small portion and character of the Bible. This would be a great book to use for a book study!

[Cortney Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focused on Rahab, a woman of the Bible chosen by God chosen to demonstrate great Faith to God in a land of where all worship idols and false gods.

Excellent book...this whole series is FANTASTIC!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rahab is one of my favorite women of the Bible! I loved this book the best so far! What else can I say? If you know the story of Rahab from the Bible, then this book is basically just that. But I love Rahab the way she just KNEW that God is supreme, and never waivered. Love it.

[Leah Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was fine. In my opinion, if you're going to turn a true story into a novel, you might as well take some more risks than she did though. Give me MORE history, MORE character development with other characters, MORE plot, etc. It was remarkably safe.