Rahab, Manoah's Wife, and Samson - Faith Bible Study

I am currently leading a Bible study on faith, in which we are looking at men and women in the Bible who have exhibited faith.  This past week, most of our group was unable to attend.  I wrote up my notes into a devotional form, intending to post it as a note on Facebook for everyone to read.  But Facebook's note input form is having issues.  I can't type anything into the text box, and Facebook doesn't seem to be in any hurry to fix it.  So, I'm posting it here with a link in the hopes that my Bible study ladies can read it over if they would like to do so.  And, as always, it is my prayer that this post will speak to anyone who reads it, and that it is God's words that are heard and not mine.  If I get some time, I will try to write up my notes from other sessions into devotional form and post them as well. 

We are going to begin our study this week by looking at the example of Rahab. Before you dive on in, read her story in Joshua 2, Joshua 6:15-23, and then read what the author of Hebrews had to say about her faith in Hebrews 11:23.

Rahab was not only a prostitute, but a pagan as well. She had not grown up knowing God. More than likely, the religion she had been born into had many gods with one “patron god” for the city she lived in. However, she had heard the rumors about what the God of the Israelites had done. She had heard about the plagues brought upon the Egyptians. She had heard about how God had parted the Red Sea. She had heard about the incredible victories the Israelites had won over powerful armies when the odds seemed against them. And this pagan woman came to the conclusion that the God of the Israelites must be the one and only God in heaven above and on earth below.

Joshua, who was the leader of the Israelites at the time, sent two spies into Jericho ahead of the army's arrival. They went into Rahab's house. Why they turned there instead of elsewhere, we do not know. Perhaps the nature of her business would have made their entrance into her house less conspicuous. What we do know is that Rahab did not turn them away. Instead, she risked the wrath of her own government officials and her own people and turned traitor by hiding the spies and lying about their presence when Jericho's soldiers came looking for them. Then, she told the spies exactly what they had come to find out (that her people were all melting in fear because of what they had heard about Israel's victories), declared that she believed their God was the one and only God, and pleaded with them to spare her life and the lives of her family when they came back to destroy Jericho. Her request was granted. The spies gave her very specific instructions regarding what she was to do on the day of Jericho's destruction, and she in turn gave them very specific instructions about what they were to do in order to ensure they returned to Israel's camp unharmed. Then she helped them escape the city by letting them out of her window, which was part of the city wall. She believed that the spies would keep their word, and she made preparations for their return. Some time later, the Israelite army returned en force, and made their famous conquest of Jericho. They marched seven times around the city each day for seven days, and when the final march ended, they shouted and blew trumpets, and the city walls fell down! Every single person in the city was killed except Rahab and those who were in her house with her at the time. Joshua gave very specific orders regarding Rahab, telling the spies to go into the city as soon as the wall fell in order to bring Rahab and her family out of the city to a safe place outside the Israelite camp. Thus, Rahab saved not only herself, but her family as well. And she was given a new life among the people of Israel, who accepted her as one of their own. She married, had children, and we read in genealogies later on in scripture that she was actually part of the family line of King David and of Jesus!

When you look at Rahab in depth, you will find an amazing picture of faith. I find it absolutely incredible that this pagan woman who had not even heard of God prior to the rumors that began trickling in from Egypt came to the conclusion on her own (surely by God's design, as she was part of His plan) that the God of the Israelites was the one and only God. While her own people were melting in fear, she acted upon this realization, knowing she and her family were doomed to destruction. She decided to place her faith in God and in the compassion of the Israelites, and out of desperation to save herself and her family, she turned traitor and jumped upon the opportunity to help the nation of Israel when it was handed to her. In the end, that act of faith in the character of God and in that of the Israelites saved her and her family.

But it is not only this faith that amazes me. As a recent college graduate, I interned for one summer with a mission organization called Global Women, which is dedicated to helping women all over the world overcome oppression and poverty. One event we attended was a conference in Wisconsin for recovering prostitutes. While there, we presented the Gospel message to them, reassuring them that God could turn the dark tragedies of their pasts into beautiful victories that would glorify Him. I have to say this was quite possibly one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. I think many of us have this idea that prostitutes choose their profession and that they can get out of it at any time. That simply is not the case. Most of them are sold into prostitution as sex slaves. Those who aren't sold into it typically come from a background rife with sexual abuse. They have been led to believe that this is the only thing they are capable of doing. They enter the profession from a position of desperation. I remember hearing one woman's heartbreaking testimony. She had grown up in an abusive home, and had been told all her life that sex was the only thing she was good for. As an adult, she thought she had finally escaped her torturous situation, but found herself utterly poverty stricken and unable to find a job. Without knowing the God who provides, she saw selling herself as her only means of putting food on the table. Her first customer paid well, and when the money from that job ran out, she did it again. Before long, she found she had a group of regulars and a steady income. She tried to get out time and time again. But each time, found herself incapable of leaving the lifestyle she had made for herself. It was as though she had created a trap for herself. In the end, successfully leaving the trade took the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, leaving her home country, and gaining the skills necessary to market herself for a different type of job. Other women who are sold into prostitution have no say in the matter. Poverty-stricken parents sell their young daughters in order to survive. These girls have no way out unless they die or somehow escape. 
 
Regardless of the way they get into the profession, it is incredibly damaging to a woman emotionally, as well as physically. Think about the guilt you feel when you do something wrong. Sometimes it takes years before you are able to forgive yourself. These women have spent years trapped in a cycle of sexual immorality, often forced upon them against their will. They have been told for years by respectable, moral people that they are dirty and the scum of the earth. They have been led to believe that they are worth something only when they are being used by men. They have come to believe that they only way they are capable of supporting themselves (and their children in some cases) is to practice prostitution. No prostitute enjoys her profession. At some point, they all try to get out. Some succeed. Many more do not. Why? Because when they do attempt to get out, they find those who know their pasts continue to throw it into their faces, their own consciences refuse to allow them to move past the guilt and shame of their dark histories, and if they have heard of God at all, they simply cannot believe that a righteous, holy God who cannot look upon sin would forgive them, let alone truly care for them.

Rahab had this history. Her story is the same as any modern prostitute when it comes to abuse and low self-esteem. We have no reason to believe that she was any different from the many prostitutes that came before her or the many that followed. The fact that she had the faith to believe that God would have compassion on her is even more incredible when viewed in this light. Not only that, but she had the faith to believe that God could and would give her a fresh start in life and rewrite her story. God honored her faith in a HUGE way. Not only was her life spared, but she was given a husband and children . . . and God honored her further still by singling out her family line as the one from which the kings of Israel and Messiah Himself would come.

We learn several lessons from Rahab. First, the lesson we learned last week regarding the fact that faith takes risks is confirmed. Faith takes risks. Rahab had no assurance that the Israelites would have compassion on her. She had no assurance that they would keep their word. Furthermore, she had no assurance that the Israelites would indeed prevail or that she would not be found out before they returned. Had they failed or had her betrayal been discovered before their return, she would have been executed by her government for treason. But she took that risk, believing wholeheartedly that the God of the Israelites was the one true God, that He and His people would have compassion on her, that they would conquer Jericho, and that they would keep their promise to her. Our second lesson is that God honors faith. Trusting God pays HUGE dividends because He will NEVER let us down. If we will place our faith in Him, He will bless us beyond our wildest dreams. Thirdly, our past does not dictate God's likelihood of answering our prayers. We can come from the darkest of circumstances, having committed the grisliest of sins. Yet God, who sees into the dark spaces, longs to gather us into His arms, fill our hearts with His light, heal the wounds we have inflicted upon ourselves or which have been inflicted upon us by others, and reassure us of His love for us. If we will have faith in Him to heal our wounds, forgive our worst sins, and lead us into a better life, He will honor that faith and will not let us down.

Our second example of faith for this week is that of Samson's mother. We are never told her name, as she is referred to as “Manoah's wife,” but her example of faith is such a blessing to see! Read her story in Judges 13 before you read any further.

Her first display of faith comes when she took the angel of God at his word. She did not ask his name or where he had come from, and he did not give it. He just told her what would happen to her, and she believed him in spite of years of hoping for a child yet receiving none. She ran to tell her husband, insisting that the man she had just spoken to was a messenger sent by God, and wholeheartedly believing that his message was true and that all would turn out the way he said it would. But Manoah did not believe her. Instead, he prayed to God to send the man to tell HIM the same thing he'd told his wife. God listened, and sent His messenger yet again. The angel of the Lord told Manoah the exact same thing he'd told his wife, yet still not believing he was really sent by God, he asked the man to stay for a meal. The angel refused to eat it, telling him to offer it to God instead, and as the fire burned the offering, the angel ascended to heaven in the flame. Then and only then did Manoah begin to believe that this man was truly sent by God. He panicked, saying “we have seen God! We're going to die!” But his steady, faith-filled wife spoke such wisdom and encouragement to her husband! She told him that if God had intended to kill them, He would not have gone to the trouble to send someone to tell them all these things that were to happen to them.

While Samson's mother's simple faith in the angel's first message bears an example for us in and of itself, I just love that last bit where she tells her husband exactly how it is! Here her husband is panicking because they saw the angel of the Lord and he is certain they will die because of it, but she speaks so confidently, just as she did when the angel first appeared to her! She knew that God would not have revealed all of this to them had He intended to kill them. She was certain not only that she and her husband would live, but she also had faith that God would keep His word and she would have a son exactly as the angel of the Lord had said she would.

I think Hebrews 11:1 sums up the lesson we learn from Manoah's wife perfectly. “Now sfaith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” She could not see the future. But she had hope that she would indeed have a son. She was assured of God's trustworthiness and compassion, knew the man she had seen was really, truly sent by God, and knew everything would turn out exactly as she had been told it would. 
 
Her conversation with her husband reminds me of conversations I have had with my own husband. At the moment, we are still waiting to hear whether or not my husband has received the promotion he needs in order to remain in the military. If he has not received it, he has to get out. And we have no idea where we will go or what we will do if that happens. If he does receive it, we will have exactly three months in which to secure new orders and move. Either way, the future is very much uncertain and poses very real difficulties when you have a family to support. I have had so many conversations with my husband in recent days in which he has gone back and forth between hoping he doesn't get the promotion so that he doesn't have to deal with the politics or separations that come with a military career, and asserting that he NEEDS this promotion because he doesn't know how else he will support us if he doesn't get it. I have told him time and time again that we need to have faith that God will provide for us no matter what happens. He knows our needs, He knows our desires, and He also has a plan for our family that is a perfect fit and beyond our wildest dreams. My husband knows this too, but sometimes, he needs that reassurance that God will take care of us . . . that God has indeed promised in scripture that He will provide all our needs, and that He can be trusted to keep those promises. Indeed, we all need that reminder at times. It is hard to have faith when things are uncertain or look bleak. But we know that God cares about the sparrow that falls from the sky, and that He clothes the lilies of the field. We must have faith that He will take care of us as well.  Matthew 6:25-34 is among my favorite passages of scripture.  We can lean upon these verses when the going gets tough, and rest in the knowledge that God will provide all our needs.
 
As Christian women, I think it is so important for us to strive to think and speak with an attitude of faith in God. Our husbands, children, family, and friends all look to us for encouragement when the going gets tough. It is up to us to speak God's wisdom and encouragement into their lives as crises develop, not to put more pressure upon them to perform to our own standards. As our husbands strive to provide for us and hit points in their careers where adequate provision for a family seems difficult, if not impossible, we should encourage them with our own unshakable faith in God's promises. How many of us put pressure on our husbands to get or keep a job, get that promotion, get that raise, etc.? Perhaps we should instead be encouraging them to look to God for the answers and for provision. How many of us put pressure on our kids to perform to their best in academics, sports, music, whatever they put their minds and effort to? Perhaps we should instead be encouraging them to look to God for strength, for direction in the activities they are to pursue, and for the wisdom that only He can give. It is easy to encourage a friend who is going through a crisis, but I think we are hardest on those closest to us, expecting them to perform at their best, relying on themselves rather than on God in order to meet our expectations. Manoah's wife knew this fact, and knew that what her husband needed to hear when he was certain they would be struck dead on the spot was that she had faith that God would have mercy on them and would keep His word. 
 
While we are in Judges, let's take a look at Samson. I think most of you know his story, but let me fill you in on some back information before I send you to hunt for his story in the Bible. Samson is now a grown man, and quite possibly the strongest man who has ever walked the earth. This was a man who could kill a lion with his own bare hands, defeat an army with only the jawbone of a donkey, catch foxes and tie their tales together single-handedly, and tear out the enormously heavy, solid gates and posts out of a city wall and carry them a mile before setting them down. This was a man who had not met a challenge he could not overcome. He was prideful, conceited, arrogant, a bit spoiled, and boastful. Then he met Delilah. She proved to be his undoing. She coaxed him to tell her the secret of his great strength. After numerous attempts and failures, you'd think Samson would have caught on to her tricks, but he eventually caved and told her the truth. She cut off his hair, and then set the Philistines upon him. Samson's strength was gone, and he was easily detained. The Philistines tied him up, gouged out his eyes, and threw him in prison. Some time later, the Philistines were celebrating their victory over Samson in the temple of their god, Dagon. They were all drunk and brought out Samson so they could “watch him perform” and laugh at him. This is where we find Samson in the part of his story that highlights his faith. Take a moment now to read Judges 16:23-31.

Samson was completely defeated. He had been utterly humiliated and completely humbled. He had once been the strongest man on the face of the earth, and this strength combined with his numerous victories had puffed him up with pride. Now he found himself defeated by his enemies, his strength gone, and he was standing before his enemies, probably attempting to pick up heavy things and failing, and they were laughing at him. Any mom of boys, sister of brothers, wife, or indeed any woman who has ever worked with boys, knows that the absolute worst thing you can do to any man or boy is to laugh at his weaknesses. When they fail, they are keenly aware of it. To point out the obvious or to make fun of their failings is to crush them and nurture a fear of failure that will render them incapable of taking risks or trying something new later on down the road. Samson was in such a spot as he stood in that temple. He was at rock bottom. He was keenly aware of his shortcomings, his failure, his mistakes, and the fact that he was now as weak as any other man. He was hurting. His spirit had been effectively crushed and he had been completely humbled before his enemies. But while most of us would likely sink deeper and deeper into despair during a situation such as this, fearing for certain that God had abandoned us because we'd been led off the narrow path, Samson knew God was still watching out for him. He prayed, knowing God would hear and would grant his request. And God gave him enough strength to knock down a building, bringing his enemies down with him, and ushering him into God's presence!

Samson's story reminds me of Psalm 139:1-12. Take a moment to read it. Even when things look bleak, we should cling to the knowledge that no place is too dark or too deep for God to see and reach us. We must have faith that God will hear and answer even when we feel He has turned His back on us because we have failed Him in some way. We are God's children. God will never turn His back on us as long as the Holy Spirit resides within us. God hears our prayers and will answer them no matter how low we sink or how bleak our circumstances seem. Yes, we still have to bear the consequences of our sins. But God can and will take our failings and turn them into victories that are glorifying to Him if we will but have faith in His ability to rescue us and allow Him to work in and through us.

As I close, I want to do a quick recap of these three faith-filled individuals. First, from Rahab, we learn that faith takes risks and that God honors faith by blessing our socks off! Secondly, we learn from Manoah's wife, Samson's mother, that faith believes God's promises even when the future is uncertain and our past or the world around us seems to scream that God's truth is a lie. We also find a poignant example in Manoah's wife for those of us who are married, leading us to encourage our husbands with the truth of God's promises and faithfulness. Finally, we learn from Samson that God hears our prayers when we cry out to Him in faith, even from the darkest of places. We also learn that God can take our worst mistakes and turn them into incredible victories that are glorifying to Him if we will trust Him to work in and trough us.

John 10:22-30

Originally posted on May 6, 2010

The reading from the church service a couple of Sundays ago really touched me.  So much so, that I feel I have to share my revelation with everyone I know!  I also have to say that I was SO disappointed when the chaplain who preached that morning did not even touch on what I perceived to be THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!  He did talk about miracles and making a daily commitment to walk with God, but I couldn’t help but feel that he missed the whole point of the passage.  And no, for those of you thinking my husband let me down, he was not the one standing in the pulpit that morning. 

Allow me to share this Scripture passage with you.

²²Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe.  The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, ²⁶but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  ²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.”

Wow.  “No one can snatch them out of my hand.”  I was almost moved to tears as I followed along as this passage was being read from the pulpit that morning.  I continued to meditate on it most of the day, and another passage in John came to mind.  John 15:1-8 says this:

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

At first glance, these Scriptures seem to contradict each other.  At least they did in my mind.  How can Christ claim that no one can snatch one of his followers out of his hands in one passage and then assert that believers who do not bear fruit will be cut off and cast into the fire in another?  This almost seems to say that our salvation is not certain.  If we go through a dry spell and do not bear fruit for a while, do we then lose our salvation?  Is there any way of gaining that back once we’ve lost it?  This just did not sit right with me, as I’ve always believed that believers do not lose their salvation once they have placed their faith in Christ.  So I had to do a little digging and praying.

As I nursed my son before bed that evening, I prayed.  Even before I had fully silently voiced my thoughts to God, I felt an answer begin to formulate.  Perhaps Christ was speaking of those who were never true Christians to begin with in John 15?  Those who pay lip service to God and claim to be Christians, and yet never truly die to sin or to their flesh?  We all know people who claim to follow Christ and yet live as though they are not Christians.  Are these the people Christ was referring to?
Once the baby was asleep, I decided to check out some commentaries on the topic.  I looked up both references in several online commentaries and came to the exact conclusion I have outlined above.  One in particular says it better than I ever could.
W. Hall Harris III states on Bible.org that

We conclude, therefore, that the branches who do not bear fruit and are taken away and burned are not genuine believers. They are those who profess some sort of allegiance to Jesus but who in reality do not belong to him. In the Gospel of John, the primary example of this category is Judas. In 1 John 2:18-19 the “antichrists” fall into the same category; they too may be thought of as branches that did not bear fruit. They departed from the ranks of the Christians because they never did really belong, and their departure shows that they did not belong.

I would encourage you to read the full exegesis, which I have linked to above so that you can see how Harris arrived at his conclusions.  He backs all of his statements up with Scripture references from other books of the Bible, including Old Testament references.  Everything checks out for me, and definitely agrees with the answer I was sensing from God as I prayed this evening.  I wish I could post the whole thing on my blog, but it would make this post entirely too long, and I really don’t want to plagiarize Harris’ work.

With that issue resolved, I am able to delight in the reassurance I received from today’s reading at church.  “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”  Wow.  Just wow.

Brothers and sisters, take heart.  Take comfort in the words Jesus Christ speaks in these passages.  You belong to him.  And NO ONE can separate you from God once you have been adopted into his family.  You are his.  If you fail to produce fruit and leave the body, it is because you were never truly a child of God to begin with.  If you are going through a dry spell, as I was a short time ago . . . a dry spell which lasted for over 8 years, no less . . . please know that God has not given up on you.  If you feel that tug or that inkling of guilt every so often that reminds you you are neglecting your Bible study or that you haven’t talked to God in a while, that’s the Holy Spirit prompting you.  And it means you God is still working on you.  Pruning you.  You haven’t been cut off from the vine.  God is propping you up and cutting off the dead spots in the hopes that you will begin to one day resume bearing fruit.  We may rebel for a time, but if we are true believers, we eventually run back to God, without fail.