Why is Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus even though she was a Gentile harlot?
Rahab appears in Jesus’ genealogy even though she was a Gentile harlot because God, who never changes, was showing that His plan includes Gentiles, not only Jews. Although Jews were mandated to have nothing to do with Gentiles, Scripture records Rahab in the ancestral line, pointing to God’s wider purpose.
In Matthew 1, the genealogy moves from Tamar, who played the prostitute, to Rahab, identified as a harlot, a Gentile, a non-Jew. Israel had been mandated to have nothing to do with Gentiles, yet Rahab is in the line. Then Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, a Moabite; Moabites were taboo, descended from Lot and his daughter, and Jews were to have nothing to do with them, yet Ruth is also in the genealogy. Les teaches that this points to the same unchanging God, even under the Jewish economy and Law. God has never changed; what changes is the responsibility He places on the human race. Les references Romans 5:20 as the best explanation, though the transcript does not quote the verse.