Rahab

This post is way overdue.

I read about Rahab.

I learned that her name meant storm, arrogance, broad and spacious. I found this interesting because she was a prostitute.

Her story is found in Joshua 2:1-21, and 6:17-25
Matthew 1:5
Hebrews 11:31
James 2:25

Rahab lived in Jericho. She saw the Israelites march around the city. She had faith that she and her family would be saved.

Walls are a sign of strength and protection around a city.

God wants to be our wall to protect us from outside invaders. God's wall around us is stronger than any wall that any man could build. God's walls are inpenetrable by the enemy but inviting to a brother or sister in Christ.

Rahab feared the Lord. She, along with everyone else in Jericho, had heard of the feats of God that accompanied the Israelites. She helped out the spies. She asked for favor of God to spare her life and the lives of her family. The spies promised but only if they stayed in the house. So that makes me wonder, when the walls of Jericho fell was Rahab's house the only section that stayed erect.

See always more questions.

My Husband Rocks

My Husband Rocks because He supports me in any decision that I want to do. He is also my voice of reason when an "opportunity" comes up that is not the best decision.

Thanks Honey.

I LOVE YOU MORE TODAY THAN THE DAY BEFORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miriam Sister of Moses and Aaron

Exodus 2:1-10 Miriam "watched" over her brother. I wonder if the daughter of the Pharoah thought it was weird that there just happened to be a Hebrew girl right there to help. I wonder if Miriam was scared to approach the Pharoah's daughter.

She must have been an independent child.

Exodus 15:20-21 Miriam was the first prophetess listed in the Bible. I wonder what implications that meant. Did God speak to her like He spoke to Moses and Aaron. Did the people listen to her? She must have been a respected leader among the women or the women would not have followed her into the streets playing tambourines and dancing.

She is only listed as Aarons sister, why wansn't Moses listed? Did they not consider Him a brother because he was not raised with them but in the court of the Pharoah?


Numbers 12:1-15 Miriam obviously had a problem because of Moses' wife, the cushite woman, it was so much of an issue it is mentioned twice in the same verse. She also seemed jealous of the relationship Moses had with God. Miriam was talked to by God but Moses had a very nearly face to face meeting with God and lived.

When the Lord called them out and scolded Aaron and Miriam, it was just like a father scolding siblings. Miriam got the brunt end of it. When the cloud of God lifted from the three (Moses, Aaron, and Miriam), Miriam had leprosy. God was punishing her for (I think) her selfishness and pride and spoiledness. Moses and Aaron plead with God to heal her, God "banished" Miriam from camp for seven days. After that she was healed and allowed back in to the camp.
I wonder what went through her mind during that week of solitude. I bet she watched her mouth and her attitude after that.

I thank God that He does not do that to his children now when we start acting like that. There would be a lot of leprous people walking around.

Finding my place

Ok so last week was kinda rough for me. I had been dealing with issues about my place in this family. Long story and something I really do not care to rehash again. So I was doing my devotions last week on the mother's (yes plural) of Moses. Some questions arose. One why am I reading this becasue technically I am not a mom and, unless God changes both Matt and My mind, I never will be a biological mom. I digress. I had a hard time reading this weeks devotion because I felt like it did not apply to me (again long story) so I wonder How Moses felt when he found out that he really had a different mom than the pharoahs daughter.

Then I was reading this morning in church that Jochebed (Moses' biological Mom) was his "nursemaid" for him until he grew up. So how old was he when he grew up.

Did he learn Hebrew and then have to learn Egyptian when he got to Pharoah's court to be taught as a prince.

Every time I read God's word I always have more questions.

Still trying to find my place.

Focusing on being my husbands wife. It is the only constant.

Potipher's Wife

You have got to love the women in the Bible that all you know about them is who they were married to.

This woman was classic. She was the epitome of women using their womanly wiles to try to get what she wanted.

She wanted Joseph. The handsome Hebrew slave.

Joesph was the one she wanted because He did not want Her.

That really got under Potipher's wifes skin.

She really did not like the fact that Joseph rejected her. So she told on Him. She was a tatlle tale. (Don't we teach our children not to tattle???) Anyway, she could not get Joseph to do what she would like him to do so when he ran and left his cloak in her clutches she called rape. She was totally a liar.

There is not much else to say about Potipher's wife except that she did not get her way so she decided to pout and make someone else pay for her trying to be unfaithful to her husband.

Tamar

So this past week I was reading about Tamar. Her life, what we know of it, was a very interesting one. Tamar was married to Judah's oldest son. God saw that the oldest son was wicked so God killed him. So after that the culture said that the next son was to carry on the line of the husband that passed away. Well the second son did not want to do that so when Tamar and the second son had sex he "spilled his seed" on the ground. That is wicked in the Lords eyes so the Lord killed him too. Then Tamar was supposed to be given in marriage to the third son when he became of age. So Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house to live until the third son became of age to marry. So Tamar went back to her father's house and lived dressed in widow's clothes.

In this time frame Judah's wife had passed Judah went through his time of mourning and then procedeed to bring his sheep to the shearers. Tamar heard about this and also heard that the third son was of age to marry, and Judah had not sent for her.

So Tamar dressed in clothes that covered her face, and made her look like a shrine prostitute. She stopped Judah, who wanted to have blessing on his crops and flocks, and in that culture having sex with a shrine prostitute made the men feel like they are going to be blessed by the gods. This just shows that the peoples faith was not in the One True God but in many gods. So if one did not answer your prayer then you would have the "assurity" that one of them would.

So Tamar got pregnant by Judah, all to secure a son for her first dead husband, and she got items of Judah's that would not be mistaken for any one else's items. After she got those items she went back to her father's house and changed back into her widows garments. When Judah found out that Tamar was pregnant he wanted her killed. So to ensure her life she sent word and items to Judah and told him that I am pregnant by the person that owns these.

At once Judah knew hat Tamar had doen a more righteous thing than he had done by with holding his third son from her.

So now my question is. Why did Tamar not get punished by doing something that was morally against God. I was wondering what I was supposed to learn from this story. At first glance it almost looks like if some one else wrongs you it is ok to take matters into your own hands. But if you are taking matters into your own hands how is that relying on God and waiting on Him and His plan.

Can't wait to see what I will learn from the next woman from the Bible.

Sisters

So I have been reading about Rachel and Leah. The devotional book I am reading puts them in that order. Rachel was the youngest daughter of Laban, Leah the older. Jacob met up with Rachel at a well close to her house when she came out to water her father's flocks. He was so smitten with her that he came up and kissed her and decided right then that he was going to marry her. (should have checked with her father first). Laban liked the idea of giving his daughter to a kinsman, but the culture in that time was that the older daughter married first.

So here comes the deceit on the deceiver. Laban promised to give Jacob Rachel after 7 years of service. Which he did, he just gave him Leah first.

Jacob did not love Leah, did not want to be married to Leah, he only wanted Rachel.

Thank goodness there is only one wife per husband in this culture.

Reading about the sisters, and last Wednesday we talked about watching our words and this started me thinking about what comes out of my mouth and what comes out of others mouths.

It also started me thinking about what kind of words would have been exchanged between Leah and Rachel. Rachel had the love of her husband and she knew it. There are times recorded in scripture where you can tell the words that were recorded between Rachel and Leah were probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Instead of Rachel empowering her sister and using the power of her husbands love to make her sister feel loved she used it to push a wedge between herself and her sister.

Rachel had the love of her husband but no children. Leah did not have the love of her husband but gave her husband 6 sons and a daughter.

The sisters were using what the other did not have to make the other sister jealous. I am not sure if Leah was doing it at first to make her sister jealous or to grab some love from her husband. In the scripture after the first son was born it was recorded that Leah said maybe my husband will love me know that I have given him a son. It did not work.

Jacob ended up living with Leah longer than Rachel. Rachel died in childbirth with Benjamin, Leah lived on to see Benjamin and Joseph grow up.

Our words are powerful. We need to make sure that we lift others up instead of tear them down.