LESSONS FROM RAHAB THE HARLOT

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And the city shall be cursed, even it, and all that therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house: because she hid the messengers that we sent.  

Joshua 6:17.

  1. Treasures in a Stained Vessel

Rahab was a harlot; even the Bible identified her by that appalling trade, but she was a good person at heart, and very hospitable too.  She had probably been forced into the sex trade by the difficulties of life.  She hid the men that came her way, and would not deliver them to harm.  Every harlot is not a devil; some of them are great souls merely stained by the constraints of a hard life. 

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PRINCE CHARMING

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And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Genesis 34:2.

  1. Eyes that Shouldn’t See You

That is the story of Dinah, the only known daughter of Jacob (although Genesis 34:16 speaks of “daughters”).  During the 600-mile journey from Mesopotamia (where Jacob had been on exile for about twenty years) back to Canaan (as instructed by the Lord), the family passed through Shechem, a city (or “country”) that bore the same name as its iconic prince. 

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Dissecting Delilah

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  1. Languishing

There is one female gender name that has entered into history with all the connotations of disdain and shame; a pretty-sounding name that no decent mother would call her loving daughter.  The name is Delilah, which, according to some Bible dictionaries, means “languishing,” and by others is translated as “delicate” – the delicate one.  It is next of kin to another kindred female name, Jezebel.  Delilah’s story is told in the Bible book of Judges, chapter 16, in the episode that saw the strong Samson ignobly put out of service by that woman’s soft touches.

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Bedroom Terrorism

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And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death (Judges 16:16).

All terrorists do not carry bombs and swords; some merely carry words.  All terrorists do not blow up public planes and strike off ‘heathen’ heads; some merely blow up intangible souls and decapitate dreaded dreams.  One gang bleeds the body and publicly prides itself in the goriness that we cringe at in Christian civility; the other slashes the soul in dark romantic rooms with Judas kisses.  Because our ears hardly hear the cry of dying souls, because the soul bleeds a blood that mortal juries do not always see, we are prone to pamper the bloodless dangerousness of swordless terrorists while we fry those that dare to publish their bloodlines in promise of a perverted paradise.  It is blind and complicit partiality, but some call it justice for the ‘weak.’

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UNTITLED GENERALS 

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Preface 

I was preparing to speak at a prayer retreat of prison evangelists this evening when the words came to me during the worship: “Untitled Generals.” I instantly had a glimpse of what was meant, and quickly took down the first notes.  I share here with you the rest of the message as it subsequently and more fully dawned on me.  

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ENMITIES FROM THE GOD OF PEACE (Part 3 of 3)

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  1. Troubles that Liberate 

When the time came for Jacob to leave Laban and move on to the covenant-location of Bethel, God allowed a crisis between ‘Executive Director’ and ‘Manager’; between father-in-law and son-in-law (Genesis 31:2-3).  It took that ‘quarrel’ between both parties for Jacob to move on to where Covenant was waiting for him.  Imagine some ‘concerned’ priest or anyone trying to settle that quarrel!

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ENMITIES FROM THE GOD OF PEACE (Part 2 of 3) 

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2.      Manipulated Relationships 

It seems clear from our primary text that emotions and relationships are manipulable by spirit forces, and they can be weaponized.  So, sustaining smiles or avoiding wars may not altogether depend on the meticulous adherence to textbook rules on relationship and romance (Genesis 11:7-8).  One can sow all the right relationship seeds and still reap enmity if there is a spirit-cause unknown or ignored. 

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ENMITIES FROM THE GOD OF PEACE (Part 1 of 3) 

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 1.      The Paradoxical God of Peace 

It is traditional to think of God as the “God of love,” the “God of peace.”  That is correct, for, according to 1 John 4:16, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (NLT).  In other words, according to that passage, love is God’s nature, and love is His ‘address.’  God is such a God of love and peace that He also urges His children to be like Him, to “Do all that you can to LIVE IN PEACE with everyone” (Romans 12:18, NLT). 

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The Path to the Promise 

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1.     Keep your Focus 

The path to the Promise sometimes leads through places that do not look like it.  To lose sight of the Promise and focus on the passage is to distress the soul and be likely to miss the Promise.  It happened to many on their way from Egypt.  Their vexing present seeming a far cry from the promised future, they were bitter and chose to die.  They did, and quickly so – before the Promise had been reached.  Along the passage, they strove with Moses and demanded, 

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