Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. ”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, October 13, 2020
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
So many things had to converge in order for the Israelites to come, finally, into the promised land. So many things could have gone wrong. Joshua sent spies who entered the house of a prostitute in order to spy on the land. But their presence didn’t go unnoticed, and the king sent men to capture the spies. Here it could have gone horribly wrong. If Rahab had not been willing to hide and protect them, the entire mission would have ended then and there. But God was able to work through a prostitute to save the men and their mission. (‘Cause God doesn’t value any human over another, despite how we rank ourselves.)
The men did escape and were able to report that Jericho was terrified of their presence in the land, and of the things their God had done to bring them home. If Rahab had not informed the men of Jericho’s fear, the Israelites might not have found the courage to attack. Again, God knew just what they needed to hear, and just who to send to deliver the news.
Finally, the Israelites were faced with a monumental task – to attack a city fortified with a large, powerful wall with a community who, just one generation ago, were all slaves, not soldiers. But God knew that sound waves had the power to take down such a wall and instructed the Israelites exactly how to bring it down – by marching around the city day after day, and then shouting against the weakened wall.
Finally, the Israelites were in the city fighting face to face against Jericho. Despite their history as slaves and more recent history as wanderers, it might have seemed an unlikely victory against a powerful city with an experienced army. But God led the way, and the Israelites finally were home.
I continue to be surprised when God orchestrates highly unlikely events all to converge so as to make God’s will a reality. How many times in my own life have I looked back on a series of events and stood in amazement that they all came together as they did! In hindsight, I didn’t need to be surprised. God knows just what God is doing. And if some of the things don’t work as they should, God finds another way.
Thank heavens we have a God that is clever, resourceful, and persistent.
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