Honestly, Joshua 3 has left me a bit annoyed. I have been trying for a while to verbalize the thoughts running through my head; but my words falter and my finger tips fail to move. There are so many things that should be worthwhile to ruminate over in this passage. For goodness sake, the waters of the Jordan just piled up so that Israel can pass through on dry land. Yet with all this fodder for dialogue I can't move past verse 5.
5Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
I feel as though my life of faith gets exposed so easily in the simplicity of this verse. The expectancy Joshua instills in the people drives his call for them consecrate themselves. He doesn't want any of the people of God to miss out on the move of God. And so he implores them to set themselves apart to the service of and for the knowledge of God. I am humbled. So, I can do nothing other than whisper the prayer my heart groans.
"Lord, I am sorry. I have not asked you to transform me with the expectation that you would do the amazing among this life of mine. I have been asking you to grow and change me to be more like you, but I have not come asking in a way that is befitting of who you are. Remind me that you are the lavish Father who wants do good by His kids. Remind me that you have never given me anything begrudgingly; but that you give out of the overflow of Your nature which is merciful, loving, and extravagant. Remind me of how you bent over broken through the gift of Jesus on the cross so that I might have a means to expect that You will do the unimaginable in my midst. Tutor my heart to expect You to show up as I pray with honesty... Lord consecrate me, in Jesus name, amen."
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
A Prostitute's Pad: God's Perfect Provision (CJ2)
The title of this entry probably allows too much room for speculation and even some juvenille humor. No matter how fitting that might be that is not where I am going today. Actually, since I reflected a bit on Rahab already in a previous blog, I have been captured by another thought about Joshua 2.
Just take a second and look at verse 1. Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitue named Rahab and stayed there. When I read this last week I couldn't help but laugh. For this time in my life I noticed a reality that escaped me before. So, I don't want to talk about Rahab, or even Joshua. I want to talk about those two cats that Joshua sent to spy out the land.
What the sin were they thinking!?!?!?! (If you are wondering, yes, I said "What the sin?" If you are wondering why, I ask.. why not?) I mean, for real? The first place you go is the local bordello? I guess I missed that opening day lesson in Counter-Intelligence 101. At least I know the screenwriters of most any Bond movie seem to have read at least one part of the Bible.
Seriously, in all the times I have read this story I have never noticed that the way the writer of Joshua notes that these spies went to the house of a prostitute and then stayed there. They didn't go anywhere else. They did not pass go, and they did not collect $200. I am not here to speculate about outlying issues that this may cause to come up in a person's mind. That is a waste of the little time we have. But through this little nuance of this story, I have come to realize a truth that gets lost in the church's black and white world.
The Lord is willing to use the least likely of settings to steal back the glory that is rightfully His ALONE!
You see, God thought it best to redeem what was a traditional bastion and stronghold of the enemy. In that moment two spies were led to find safe haven in the home of a woman who financially benefitted from adultery. The Holy One of Israel thought it best to team His covenant children with a prostitute who lived in enemy territory.
I do not purport to know why God chose this means, but it does cause me to pause and wonder if we as the church haven't discounted His work in someone's life who may not be His "usual" vessel of grace. If that doesn't make sense, let me put flesh to the statement with some examples.
An openly gay man says that He wants to start giving financially to the work of God. Do we allow him or do we say "get right everywhere else first"? A known adulterer begs a wife for a second chance because he says he has encountered Jesus. Does she take a chance or does she close him out? A bar owner says that he's willing to let a church plant use his facility on Sunday mornings since he's not. Does that plant accept the offer?
I am not sure that God wasn't speaking indirectly to these types of moments when this account in Joshua 2 was penned.
In verses 8-13 Rahab speaks of how she knew that the Lord was moving on Israel's behalf. She spoke this way because of what she heard. And an honest and appropriate fear of the Lord left her yearning for mercy. Who are we to say that God isn't doing the same in the life of those that may be a little rough around the edges. We the church, His covenant people, have too often relegated His work so that it can only be done in a sanitized manner. We like our sanitary standards so much that we forget the goal is sanctification. Do we heap to many things on a person's first move in response to the God who is calling them to Himself?
I guess all I am saying is that God led His kids to find shelter in the residence of a woman who many would call an unfit ally. Yet, when I see the story as a whole, His heart to redeem her shone through as He was leading His people forward. So, I am left simply saying that a prostitute's pad was God's perfect provision in that moment for those followers; maybe, we shouldn't overlook any and all vessels of His grace in our life of following.
Just take a second and look at verse 1. Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitue named Rahab and stayed there. When I read this last week I couldn't help but laugh. For this time in my life I noticed a reality that escaped me before. So, I don't want to talk about Rahab, or even Joshua. I want to talk about those two cats that Joshua sent to spy out the land.
What the sin were they thinking!?!?!?! (If you are wondering, yes, I said "What the sin?" If you are wondering why, I ask.. why not?) I mean, for real? The first place you go is the local bordello? I guess I missed that opening day lesson in Counter-Intelligence 101. At least I know the screenwriters of most any Bond movie seem to have read at least one part of the Bible.
Seriously, in all the times I have read this story I have never noticed that the way the writer of Joshua notes that these spies went to the house of a prostitute and then stayed there. They didn't go anywhere else. They did not pass go, and they did not collect $200. I am not here to speculate about outlying issues that this may cause to come up in a person's mind. That is a waste of the little time we have. But through this little nuance of this story, I have come to realize a truth that gets lost in the church's black and white world.
The Lord is willing to use the least likely of settings to steal back the glory that is rightfully His ALONE!
You see, God thought it best to redeem what was a traditional bastion and stronghold of the enemy. In that moment two spies were led to find safe haven in the home of a woman who financially benefitted from adultery. The Holy One of Israel thought it best to team His covenant children with a prostitute who lived in enemy territory.
I do not purport to know why God chose this means, but it does cause me to pause and wonder if we as the church haven't discounted His work in someone's life who may not be His "usual" vessel of grace. If that doesn't make sense, let me put flesh to the statement with some examples.
An openly gay man says that He wants to start giving financially to the work of God. Do we allow him or do we say "get right everywhere else first"? A known adulterer begs a wife for a second chance because he says he has encountered Jesus. Does she take a chance or does she close him out? A bar owner says that he's willing to let a church plant use his facility on Sunday mornings since he's not. Does that plant accept the offer?
I am not sure that God wasn't speaking indirectly to these types of moments when this account in Joshua 2 was penned.
In verses 8-13 Rahab speaks of how she knew that the Lord was moving on Israel's behalf. She spoke this way because of what she heard. And an honest and appropriate fear of the Lord left her yearning for mercy. Who are we to say that God isn't doing the same in the life of those that may be a little rough around the edges. We the church, His covenant people, have too often relegated His work so that it can only be done in a sanitized manner. We like our sanitary standards so much that we forget the goal is sanctification. Do we heap to many things on a person's first move in response to the God who is calling them to Himself?
I guess all I am saying is that God led His kids to find shelter in the residence of a woman who many would call an unfit ally. Yet, when I see the story as a whole, His heart to redeem her shone through as He was leading His people forward. So, I am left simply saying that a prostitute's pad was God's perfect provision in that moment for those followers; maybe, we shouldn't overlook any and all vessels of His grace in our life of following.
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