The Pastor’s Pen

Sarai lived around 2000-1825 BC, and married Abram.  Sarai and Abram had the same father, making them half brother and sister (Genesis 20:12). They were the perfect match; both tended to behave badly at critical times. Neither of them had any idea of the extraordinary life God had determined for them when they married. Nor did they realise the impact they would have on all of humanity for the future.

While Sarai was an excellent wife and life companion to Abram, she made a few shocking choices along the way. Genesis chapter 12 records Sarah’s first stumbling. Due to a famine, they moved to Egypt. Abram, realising Sarai’s beauty, and fearing that the men of Egypt would kill him to get Sarai, devised a plan. He instructed Sarai, “say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you” (Genesis 12:13), after all, they were half related. Abram was wrong in so many ways, his intent was to deceive. Equally wrong was that Sarai obeyed. Most likely out of fear, possibly from cultural pressure of a male dominant society, but she wrongly perpetuated the lie.

Well, it happened, Pharaoh conscripted Sarai into his harem (Gen 12:15-16). Eventually, in response to the Lord afflicting “Pharaoh and his house with great plagues” (Gen 12:17), Pharaoh confronted Abram. Sarai was returned, and the whole family was escorted out of Egypt (Gen 12:20). If only Sarai had stood up to her cowering husband and spoken the truth, things would have turned out quite different. However, unbeknown to either of them, God was also involved.

In Genesis 15 the Lord appeared to Abram and made a covenant with him. Included, was to give he and Sarai a son, even though Sarai was unable to bear children. Thinking she could help God, Sarai gave her maid to Abram, who foolishly slept with her. The maid conceived, then became bitter with contempt for Sarai, who then treated the maid harshly, and eventually kicked the pregnant girl out. Genesis 16 tells how the Lord miraculously fixed this terrible botch-up.

Later, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord returned. Again, making another covenant with Abram which again included Sarai having a son. Foolishly “Abraham fell on his face and laughed” at God in disbelief (Gen 17:17). Here, God renamed them to Abraham and Sarah.

Shortly after, the Lord visited Abraham again repeating the promise of a son to Sarah.  Sarah, 90 years old, and listening from the tent door, “laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’” (Gen 18:12). Afterward Sarah denied having laughed, but she soon turned her laughing into faith. For right or for wrong, Sarah again followed the wrong example of her husband. “The Lord… did to Sarah as he had promised. ² And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son… ³ Abraham called the name of his son… Isaac” (Genesis 21:1-3). And through Isaac, the nation of Israel has descended to this day.

Despite Sarah’s intermittent failings, God blessed her greatly. For those of us who have ever mocked, laughed at, doubted, or complained to God, Sarah shows us the blessings of having hope in her loving God. Sarah was not dependant upon her ability to please God, or the behaviour of her wayward husband. Sarah was relentless in her faltering but genuine faith in God. Sarah’s life places the beauty of God on display. For this, and other character traits of faith, Sarah appears in Hebrews 11:11, the hall of faith, as an example “since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

Jephthah was the victim of a misguided family and his own equally misguided decision-making process.

Gilead was Jephthah’s father, but not by his wife. Rather, Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute (Judges 11:1-2a). He lived between approximately 1200-1125 BC.  As Jephthah’s half-brothers “grew up, they drove Jephthah out” (Judges 11:2b) because they considered him an illegitimate child. Moving to the land of Tob, Jephthah gathered around him a band of raiding renegades who helped him gain the reputation of being a great warrior (Jdg 11:1, 3).

Sometime later, the Ammonites made war against Israel. So, Gilead’s elders sent for Jephthah, “come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites” (Jdg 11:6). To which Jephthah replied, “did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” (Jdg 11:7). Well said Jephthah! To which they had no sensible answer. Following some negotiation, “Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them.” Notice also, that “Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah” (Jdg 11:11). Jephthah had not totally excluded the Lord from his thinking or in his commitment in leading God’s people.

Despite a detailed negotiation attempt with the king of Ammon, “the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah” (Jdg 11:28). Although he was an accomplished warrior, Jephthah did his best to preserve Israel through negotiation. But, war with Ammon became inevitable. Jephthah, forced to lead Israel into war, and desperately wanting victory, made an outlandish vow to the Lord. Judges 11:30-31 records that vow, “if you will give the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹ then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Good grief man, what have you done? Was he hoping a pet animal would come out to greet him?

Well, Jephthah warred with Ammon, “and the LORD gave them into his hand. ³³ And he struck them… twenty cities, …with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued” (Jdg 11:32-33). “Then Jephthah came to his home…. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child” (Jdg 11:34). What would he do? He had vowed to the Lord, and the Lord had answered favourably with a great victory over Ammon.

Jephthah grieved deeply as he explained his vow to his daughter. However, his daughter responded with an amazing attitude towards the Lord and her father. She said to Jephthah, “do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth…” (Jdg 11:36). As requested by his daughter, Jephthah allowed her 2 months with friends to grieve. Then, “she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow” (Jdg 11:39).

“Jephthah judged [lead] Israel six years,” then he died (Jdg 12:7). During that time, he also attempted to negotiate peace with his offended cousins, the Ephraimites. Again, words failed, and he led another victorious battle, killing 42,000 Ephraimites.

Woven into Jephthah’s complex life was faith in God, earning him a place in Hebrews chapter 11. He along with others “through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises… were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war…” (Heb 11:32-34). Despite inconsistencies, Jephthah was a man of his word, who honoured his vows no matter the cost. He preferred negotiation to war but was not afraid of war when words failed. For these qualities, God used Jephthah to fulfill His divine will for the nation of Israel.

Haggai was born a Jew during the nation’s exile in Babylon. He lived between approximately 550-475 BC and recorded his prophecy in about 520 BC. By the time of Haggai’s prophecy, the Lord had returned His people from exile to their homeland, and they now lived in the luxury of the finest houses (Hag 1:4), while God’s temple lay in ruins. Sadly, they resisted all invitations to rebuild the Lord’s temple (Hag 1:2).

So, the Lord spoke to them through Haggai, reminding them that even though they had all that they wanted, they were still not satisfied. “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. ⁷ Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways” (Hag 1:6-7).

Courageous Haggai spoke the word of the Lord to people who were not interested. Even so, He did not dilute or smoothen out the message to prevent discomfort or a poor self-image within his hearers.

Similarly, when God wants our attention because we are ignoring Him, He often introduces difficulties, problems, and even pain. He was the same with Israel, the Lord “withheld the dew, and the earth withheld its produce. ¹¹ And I (the Lord) have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth.” “I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord” (Hag 1:10-11; 2:17). The problem was, Israel did not have the spiritual ability to do what the Lord asked of them, and God understood this.

Realise that this is what a loving God is willing to do, instead of leaving sinful people to isolation and independence from Himself, He graciously engages with them, turning up the volume to get their attention. Then look what happened: “Zerubbabel…  Joshua …with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God …and the people feared the LORD. ¹³ Then Haggai… spoke to the people with the LORD’S message, I am with you, declares the LORD” (Hag 1:12-13). What changed? What happened to cause this radical turn around?

It was the Lord who happened. First, notice where God was during this whole affair – He was with them. Even in His disapproval, the Lord did not abandon His people. Second, notice that it was the Lord who “stirred up the spirit” within every person, from the common community person to the highest-ranking leader, God happened within them. Haggai 1:14, “the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel… of Joshua…  and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God”

Haggai was willing to be the mouthpiece of God’s message. Many would have looked on and said, “it’s too late, you are wasting your time Haggai.” But then God happened! Today as you, and the people close to you, face uncertainty and feel as if you are drowning in your lostness, invite God to happen. Acknowledge that despite your lack of spiritual sight, God is present. Invite the Lord to stir up your spirit and the spirit of those close to you, to work in your hearts the things that only Almighty God can do in turning people to Himself.

Rahab lived a colourful life as one of only a handful of Jericho residents who God spared when He destroyed the city. She lived approximately 1425-1350 BC as a resident of Jericho which was one of the oldest cities of that era with a population of approximately 2500. Her home was incorporated into the structure of the main outer city wall.

It all began when “Joshua sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there” (Joshua 2:1). As the story goes in the book of Joshua, Rahab hid the spies under cover on the roof that evening. Meanwhile, the king of Jericho had heard about the spies and sent men to Rahab’s house to hunt them down. But Rahab lied to them about how she had sent the spies away. So off they went on a wild goose chase in search of the spies.

Rahab explains to the spies that she had “heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites… whom you devoted to destruction. ¹¹ And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Jos 2:10-11).

Fear had rightly ignited faith within Rahab. She understood that persisting in unbelief would only end in certain death by the hands of Israel’s army. Her mixed fear of the Lord and Israel’s army motivated her to do something that no one else in Jericho had thought of – negotiate. That night Rahab made a deal with Israel’s spies that in return for her hiding them and later helping them to escape, they in turn would spare her and her family when Israel attacked Jericho. “Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall” (Jos 2:15).

God orchestrated Israel’s most unusual victory over Jericho. Israel’s priests and people marched around Jericho exactly as the Lord had instructed for a week. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, then “the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown… and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, …and they captured the city” (Joshua 6:20).

All except the section of the wall where Rahab lived fell.  The “spies went in and brought out Rahab and …all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it” (Joshua 6:23-24). Rahab lived in Israel for the remainder of her life.

According to James 2:25, “was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” James’ point is this, Rahab combined her belief that Israel’s God was the only one true God (Jos 2:11) with her actions by assisting Israel’s spies. Her belief motivated action. That is a sign of true faith which also qualified Rahab to be included in the list of faith heroes of Hebrews 11:31.

Rahab stands out as a monument to God’s indiscriminate grace. The same mercy that stepped into a prostitute’s life, transforming her to become an ancestor of Christ, is still available today. Rahab’s story is one of courage rising above fear, of faith in action, and determination in never turning back to her old life.

The name Ezekiel means “strengthened by God,” and as we shall see, Ezekiel’s life was a testimony to God’s strength and provision. He grew up in Jerusalem and served as a priest at the temple. He was also part of the second group of captives taken to live in Babylon. There he became a prophet of God. His ministry period was between approximately 593 to 570 B.C. with his name appearing nowhere else in the Bible other than his own book.

Throughout his prophetic ministry, the Lord spoke through Ezekiel communicating His desire to be known by His people. Approximately 70 times Ezekiel records the Lord saying, “and they shall know that I am the Lord.” This is amongst the greatest truths for all people, from all cultures, and from all times to realise, the Lord God Almighty wants to be known! He has not hidden Himself from mankind. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father…” (John 1:14), “no one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). 

Ezekiel experienced things of God that few others had or could even imagine. By our way of thinking, the Lord took Ezekiel through some bizarre and extreme events in life. Through every extremity, the Lord was faithful and honoured His Word. Here are just a few of the many highlights:

• Ezekiel had the rarest of experiences. As he testified, “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Eze 1:1).
• The Lord sent Ezekiel “to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me” (Eze 2:3),
  “and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ ⁵ And whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Eze 2:4-5). Regardless of Israel’s hateful reception of Ezekiel, he was to speak God’s Word.
• The Lord informed Ezekiel that He was about to take the life of his wife, which God did. However, God also instructed Ezekiel, “you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead” (Eze 24:16-17).
• Ezekiel ministered under the highest accountability imaginable to the Lord. “If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand” (Eze 33:8).
• The vision of the valley of dry bones is bursting with certainty of hope, promising the Lord shall breath new life into His people. The Lord God said “…when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD” (Eze 37:13-14).

Against all the odds, and despite a nation in opposition to him, Ezekiel faithfully delivered the Word of the Lord. His God given tenacious character inspired obedient loyalty to His Lord. His prophecies stretch over millennia, many already fulfilled, but the best is yet to come, when every future prophecy shall literally come into being. Ezekiel stands as a powerful motivating example for us today. The Lord of Lords is worthy of nothing less than our all, our everything, every day of our lives. May God make our lives a testimony to His sovereign grace.