Thought for March 15, 2024

•  44 BC: Julius Caesar stabbed to death
• 1862: General John Hunt Morgan begins 4 days of raids near Gallatin
• 1869: Cincinnati Red Stockings become the first professional baseball team
• 1892: First escalator patented by Jesse Reno
• 1906: Rolls Royce LTD formed
• 1907: Finland is the first European country to give women the right to vote
• 1912: Cy Young retires from baseball [511 wins]
• 1913: First Presidential press conference
• 1919: American Legion forms
• 1937: First state sponsored contraception clinic opens in NC
• 1945: Billboard publishes its first album chart
• 1954: CBS Morning Show with Jack Paar and Walter Cronkite premiers
• 1960: Key Largo Reef Preserve established--first underwater park
• 1966: Race riots in Watts
• 1972: "The Godfather" premiers
• 1985: First internet domain name registered--symbolics.com
• 1998: Nazarene evangelist Matthew Sabwela preaches in Malawi and 2400 are saved at one service
• 2018: Toys R Us announces closing of all stores
• 2020: European countries close borders and restrict gatherings due to Covid
• Born: Saint Nicholas, Andrew Jackson, Harry James [bandleader], Norm Van Brocklin, Alan Bean, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, Sly Stone, 
• Died: Henry Bessemer, Duncan Hines, Abe Saperstein [Globetrotters], Ari Onassis, Tom Harmon, Benjamin Spock, Ann Southern, Bowie Kuhn. 

Thought:

As I mentioned yesterday, our class is studying the Book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings. I am reading chapter 11 and focused on 11:30-31 this morning. In the roll call of the faithful, we find the harlot, Rahab. She and her family survived the destruction of Jericho by faith. You recall the story from Joshua chapter 2. The two spies lodged in the house of Rahab, but they were seen and reported to the king. The king ordered Rahab to bring out the men, but she told the king they had left even though she had hidden them on her roof. She let the men down on a rope and they escaped and returned to Joshua. At the direction of the spies, Rahab placed a cord of scarlet on her window and she and her family were saved.

What about the faith of Rahab? In Joshua 2, we read her testimony:

• The Lord has given you [Israel] the land. [2:9]
• The Lord dried up the Red Sea [2:10]
• The Lord gave you victory over the kings--Sihon and Og. [2:10]
• The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below [2:11]

Now look at 11:31--by faith, Rahab did not perish like those who were disobedient. How were the residents of Jericho disobedient? The scripture does not say. However, consider that the Lord had the Israelites march around for 7 days. Consider that Rahab told the spies that "we" have heard how the Lord dried up the Sea and gave victory over the kings. Notice that the people's hearts melted because the God of Israel was the God of  heaven and earth. If the people knew this, they had seven days to proclaim the God of Israel as Lord just like Rahab did. God in His grace and patience gave ample opportunity for the people of Jericho to repent and acknowledge God, but they refused. 

Most of the time what we learn from Rahab is that God can save anyone--a harlot living in a pagan city in Canaan. This is especially striking when you see the list of the faithful that precedes Rahab in chapter 11--Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph. Then rather than talk about the faith of Joshua [one of the two faithful spies that Moses sent out], the next name is Rahab. And then she ends up as an ancestor of Jesus. 

Rahab risked her life for the spies. Rahab confessed God as supreme. And Rahab was rewarded. What can I learn--confessing God as King may involve risks but always results in a reward--now and/or in eternity. Maybe I need to take more risks for the Lord today.

Blessings

Larry