By T.C. Lo 盧天賜 (11/17/2012)
In the book, <Grasping God’s Word>, the authors, Duvall and Hays, make an interesting juxtaposition between two Bible characters (Ref. 1): One was a recipient of God’s grace; another was an abuser of God’s grace. Their lives and how they ended up may serve as an important spiritual lesson for us all.
Rabab was best known for her prominent role in the capture of Jericho during the days of Joshua (Josh. 2:1, etc. Matt. 1:5; Heb. 11:31; James 2:25).
Achan was an Israelite who took a garment, silver and gold, part of the spoil of Jericho. (Josh. 6:17-19)
|
Rahab喇合 (Joshua 2) |
Achan 亞干 (Joshua 7) |
| woman | man |
| Canaanite | Hebrew (tribe of Judah, the best) |
| prostitute (disrespectable) | respectable |
| should have died, but survived and prospered | should have prospered, but died |
| her family and all she owned survived | his family and all he owned perished |
| nation perishes | nation prospers |
| hides the spies from the king | hides the loot from God and Joshua |
| hides the spies on the roof | hides the loot under his tent |
| fears the God of Israel | does not fear the God of Israel |
| has only heard of God, yet believes | has seen the acts of God, but disobeys |
| her house survives, while the city burned | his tent is burned |
| cattle, sheep, and donkeys of Jericho perish | cattle, sheep, and donkeys of Achan perish |
| she becomes like an Israelite and lives | he becomes like a Canaanite and dies |
This reminded me another juxtaposition illustrated by Charles R. Swindoll. Through his illustration, Swindle points out that Christians are the chosen ones out of God’s amazing grace (pp.63-64 of Ref.2):
Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan; grandson of Saul; crippled in accident; honored and provided for by David (II Sam. 4:4; 9:6-13; 16:1-4; 19:24-30; 21:7)
|
Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:1-10) |
Christians |
| Once Mephibosheth enjoyed fellowship with his father. | And so did the original couple, Adam and Eve, in the lovely Garden of Eden. |
| When disaster struck, fear came, and Mephibosheth suffered a fall that crippled him for the rest of his life. | And so it was when sin came, humanity suffered a fall which has left us permanently disabled the earth. |
| David, the king, out of unconditional love for his beloved friend Jonathan sought out anyone to whom he might extend his grace. | In the like manner, God the father, because of His unconditional acceptance of His one and only Son’s death on the cross, continues to seek anyone to whom He might extend His grace. |
| The disable man had nothing, did nothing, and deserved nothing. He didn’t even try to win the king’s favor. All he could do was to humbly accept it. | So we—sinners without hope and totally undeserving, in no way worthy of our God’s favor—humbly accept it. |
| The king restored the cripple from his miserable existence—a place of barrenness and desolation—to a place of fellowship and honor. | God, our Father, has done the same for us. From our own personal “Lo-debar” (v.4) of brokenness and depravity, He rescued us and brought us into a place of spiritual nourishment and intimate closeness. |
| David adopted Mephibosheth into his royal family, providing him with uninterrupted provisions, nourishment, and blessings. | We, too, have been adopted as sons and daughters into His royal ranks, surrounded by ceaseless delights. |
| The adopted son’s limp was a constant reminder of the king’s grace. | Our imperfect state keeps us from ever forgetting that where sin abounds, grace super abounds. |
| When Mephibosheth sat at the king’s table, he was treated as one of David’s own sons—no less than Absalom or Solomon. | When we feast one day with our Lord, the same will be true. |
Contemporary Bible scholars’ perceptions on grace are worthy of noting here:
Grace focuses on who God is and what He has done, and takes focus off ourselves. But people easily think that we need to do something to earn God’s favor, as though grace is too good to be true (Ref.2).
What is “Grace”? Pastor Ed Lin said it right, “Grace is an undeserving gift given by un-obligated giver offered unconditionally.” Muslims have the code of laws, Jews have the covenant, Hindus have the Karma (因果報應), Buddhists have their Noble Eight-fold Path (of right views), but Christianity has grace. In short, GRACE is: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense (quoted from one of his sermon).
In his classic, <The Holiness of God>, RC Sproul said, “We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to His patience and forbearance.” So, grace on one hand is the purifying fire to turn everything into beauty, but on the other hand, it burns all that which are in nonconformity with the character of God. (Ref.3)
References:
Ref.1: “Grasping God’s Word” by Duvall and Hays; p. 298. (The author of this article did not quoted directly from the book but through a sermon of Dr. Jeffrey S.Lu (呂紹昌) of the LOGOS Evangelical Seminary (正道福音神學院) at a special church meeting in 2007. The Chinese title of his sermon was <在恩典中被神提拔的喇合” 與 “從恩典中自甘墮落的亞干>.
Ref.2: “The Grace awakening” by Charles R. Swindoll, pp.63-64.
Ref.3: “The Holiness of God” by RC Sproul; p.184.
