Who Would Have Guessed They'd Have Anything in Common with Rahab?

There are people in the Bible who I have been able to connect with; many that I could see myself reflected in their stories, their fears, their failures, and even the way God moved in their lives. One person I never thought I had all that much in common with is Rahab. Yesterday, I realized that I do have something in common with her; I think most of us do.

Rahab had an unrealistic faith in a God she had only heard stories about. She was the only one in the whole city of Jericho who believed in this God and that He was all powerful. She asked to be saved from the impending doom that was coming; from the complete destruction of her people. She hung a scarlet cord out her wall-dwelling window and waited. Waited for the Israelites to cross over the Jordan, on dry land. Waited as they marched around the city over a seven day span. Waited as the walls began to creak, shift, and crack. Waited while fear spread throughout the city. Waited while walls crumbled around her home. Waited while the Israelites spread out through the city to capture it. Waited until they came and saved her and her family from all the death and destruction around them.

I never really thought about her waiting before. I never thought about the worry and fear that she must have felt. I never thought about how her rational mind must have fought with the deep knowing of her heart that the God of the Israelites was the One True God. I never considered how it felt to live in the midst of Jericho falling. I honestly never thought about it at all. Somehow in my mind I saw it all as the Sunday School lesson: she hid the spies, she helped them escape, the Israelites walked around Jericho, the walls fell, and she and her family were saved. Neat and tidy. No fear. No worry. No massive crumbling stones. No death screams. No need to escape through a battle.

I may never face a real life situation anything close to hers, but spiritually, that's a different story. Take any step of significant faith and a battle will begin. The battle within between my rational thoughts and a deep heart believing faith in His Promises. The battle to believe when others won't. The battle of hearing satan's lies and trying to ignore them and shut them out. The battle to take doubt and fear thoughts captive. The battle of waiting and waiting and waiting. The battle to wait and see how God will win.

I realized that I am a lot more like Rahab than I would have ever thought. I hope that my faith is like hers. She might have had doubts, I don't know how she couldn't, but she stayed inside her home and believed even as the unthinkable raged around her. I want to believe what my mind can't fathom. I want to hang out my faith cord and stay firmly standing in the place He has me in while I wait. I want to come out of the battle, free and seeing the familiar around me as more than just my home, but as my Promised Land. I want to be more like Rahab and be a woman who believes in God above all else.

Pearl in the Sand

Can I recommend a good read? I had to buy some books to fulfil one of those book club deals. One of the books I bought was Pearl in the Sand. It is a story of Rahab and Salmon (spelled Salmone in the book). I thought it would be a good book, at least I hoped it would be. I wasn't prepared for it to be more than just a simple historical fiction novel.

The book is very well written and the characters are very real. The story taught me a little bit that I didn't know about the history and culture of the Canaanites and Israelites. I was able to visualize the story taking place. I felt for the characters and enjoyed the triumph they experienced. Yet none of those things are why I am recommending the book.

The reason? It is full of nuggets of wisdom and personal revelation. There were plenty of times when I had to stop and talk to God about what I was learning. There were times that I had to stop and ask Him to forgive me. There were times when I had to stop and thank Him for how He loves me.

One nugget that I loved was a picture that Salmone made for Rahab and her pearl earring that was lost in the sand. I can't write about it here because well it's called Pearl in the Sand for a reason. One that I can share is actually about Joshua when he stood outside the walls of Jericho and the Commander of the Lord visited him.

"As he raised his eyes, he gasped with shock. A few paces in front of him stood a man with a drawn sword in his hand...Who was this man and what was he doing here? Joshua clenched his jaw and steeped forward.

'Are you for us or for our enemies?' Joshua asked....

'Neither,' he replied.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. Neither friend nor foe? Who was he then? The man's next words wiped every thought from Joshua's mind.

I am the commander of the army of the Lord,and as such I have now come.'

...'What message does my Lord have for His servant?' he asked.

'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.'

...Slowly, Joshua came to his knees. What did it mean? Why had God sent him this visitation? If God had sent him the commander of His own army, why had He not said that He was on the side of Israel?

Then it dawned on Joshua that God was not on Israel's side; He beckoned Israel to be on His side. Joshua couldn't claim God for himself or for his own interests the way the people around them used their idols. Rather the Lord claimed Joshua and His chosen people for Himself."

I skipped a lot, you will just have to read it for yourself. :)

Just like Joshua, we need to realize that God isn't on our side. We need to be on His. We tend to thank of God for us. Not that he isn't, but when we think that way we are focus. He needs to be the focus! I have to remember this all the time. I focus on me and how God loves me. (Once again, He does.) I focus on me and what God does for me. Me, me, me. But the commander of the army of the Lord was telling Joshua, and each of us, that it's about being on His side.

That is just one of the many lessons, words of wisdom, and thought provoking nuggets in the book. So if you want to read a good story, that has realistic characters, and nuggets in it then get Pearl in the Sand. (I so felt like an advertisement!)