Melting heart
When we were young, many of us hear the story of Joshua the mighty warrior who brought the people cross the Jordan River and break down the wall of Jericho. It is quite interesting and exciting when we hear those story or even watch from the cartoon. I’m not sure if now a day they still show the cartoon of the story of Jericho and how it falls. It was very exciting. Do we also remember that part when the two spies were sent into the land to watch over them and while they were spying somehow they ended up in a prostitute home? And they met the owner. The owner’s name was Rehab. In the cartoon, it would show how she begged for mercy and the spies gave them red string to hang on their window and they were saved during the Jericho collapse. So dramatic and such a happy ending don’t you think. But as I’ve been studying this text, the story should be the opposite. The spies should be the one begging for Rehab’s mercy. Let us take a look at different evidences.
Prostitution is one of the oldest professions of all time. Since the book of Genesis, prostitution existed. The story of Judah son of Joseph, he was on vacation before he got trick by his own daughter in law. Even the time of Christ, the first person who saw Jesus after the resurrection was a prostitute. Do you know her name? Yes, Mary Magdalene was the one.
This profession is generating a lot of income sometimes more than regular worker in one company. Many of the college students take this profession as a part time job for them to go to school. There is a lot of money in this thing.
The other fact about this kind of business is that the owner of this business is either politicians or some high power people. They often have guards and sometimes police is always come around and check up for their safety because they were ordered by some high rank officers. This job is quite good because 1. we are rich when we do and 2. we don’t have to worry about the danger from other people because always have protection.
Let us take a look in Jericho. Jericho is a city that is well protected. It has double walled. The inner wall is protect and separate between the commercial area and official area. Most likely the king and officers are living inside the inner wall. The outer wall is where the protection from the enemy and where they do most of the battle. Between the wall, that is the place where they do all the trading and business. And that is where Rehab’s shop located. It is in the commercial area where the traders come and finish their business they would come look for a good time. The money is flowing inside her shop. Beside that how would you think the soldier knows where the spies located inside the shop? Yeah, perhaps it is own by some government official or spies secret service is in the shop as the protectors. Rehab has both money and power why would she need to beg for mercy from the spies.
If we look at the spies, they just came out from the wilderness. Most likely, they are not very clean, smelly. The old leader Moses just died. And now they are being chased by the soldiers. Who should be begging for mercy? Memory is the part of the brain which difficult to be erase. If we still remember the first time when Moses sent spies to Jericho, what was the result? The result is found in Deuteronomy 1. it recorded that the spies came back and told them that the people in the city is bigger than the giant. We know that memory is difficult to be erased so the spies were frighten because of this memory, too. Only two of them, how would they fight the giants? Nothing from the spies could make Rehab beg for mercy. Absolutely nothing.
It is true that nothing can the spies match with Rehab; wealth, power, or even connection. But the bible recorded clearly in the Bible Rehab begged for mercy from the spies. But why is that? Let us take a look at the text this morning: Joshua 2:8-11. Please read together
“2:8 Now before the spies went to sleep, Rahab went up to the roof. 2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you. 2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. 2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!”
When we examine the scripture this morning we can there are two words that repeated and through out the book of Joshua, too. The word is “Melt. 1 is found in verse 9 and 2 is found in verse 11. Let take a look closer.
The two melts are different. The first one is actually means something like scattered, no one to lean on, or even helpless. It is similar to what Jesus was talking about scattered sheep.
The second melt means dissolving. It uses the same with Manna; how manna dissolved or melted.
I have a riddle for you; please shout it out. What is harder than the diamond, the gold, metal, or bone? If you have the answer please shout it out loud. …… The answer is heart. Diamond can be cut and make smaller, gold and metal at certain temperature could be melted. Bones could be crush and break. But our heart could hardly be broken. I have a question to ask you. When you have the answer please shout it out ok. What don’t u like the most? Can I convince you to like it in about 5 hours? Well can I convince you to like it in an hour? Or I think you should like this in about 5 minutes? Or even now? No, it just show how hard the heart is.
Both melts are use with Rehab. How is that possible? The text said they know. This word means learn to know. Rehab learned to know through hearing how God has been with the Israelites when He brought them out of Egypt, provide food for them, and even the two pillars in the morning and night. Rehab learned how God of Israel was with them all the time. She learned how God would hand the enemy into their hands including the city that she lives in now. Through hearing and learning, her heart and the people’s hearts are melted.
Currently I am working with the project call Hope for Big Cities by the General Conference. The idea of the project is to open an out-reach center in various places in Bangkok. We teach English for the community; those who are interested. My center is located on the west side of Bangkok in a city call Bangkruai, Nonthaburi. I got there 6 months after the center was opened. There is an English teacher who is there before me. The first week I observe, the students were happy and most of them speak some English. There is one lady had already begun her Bible study. I was surprised, how is that possible when a teacher who can’t speak Thai can communicate and convince for a Thai to study the Bible. I went to her shop and began to ask her. Her name is Kannikar. I asked “What make you decide that you want to know about Christianity and Jesus. She would not answer me directly but she told me the story of my partner. He would give his best in teaching English to the students and trying to explain with his little Thai he knows. He never complained that students are giving him a hard time. He is just simply smiling and laughing all the time. She was telling me about how hard he try to do his lesson plan; because of English barrier, he works extra hard by getting the English Thai dictionary and open every word that he would use the next morning in teaching. By his caring and loving, her heart melted. After her heart melted, she began to study the Bible. Her life becomes better. I’m not talking about financial status but she would become better student both in English class and the Bible. She is a better mother. She is a better friend. She is a better wife. People were amazed how much she was changed. She shared how God has loved her and care for her, from that their hearts are melted, too.
There are many stories for me to tell about how God is melting the heart of people in Bangkok. It will take many days to listen story after story but it all starts from our hearts. Are our hearts melted? Are our heart melted to let God works miracle in our lives? Or are we willing to go all out to risk ourselves like Rehab risk her life in helping the spies? It all starts from our own hearts.
Each of us has our own area in the heart that need to be melted. Changing heart is not a small matter. Rehab’s heart was not easy to melt. She has what we can call certainty in life; money, power, or connection. But she learned to know how God was taking care of Israelites, and how much God loves them. By this her heart was melted. Today I would like to invite you to close your eyes as I pray. While I was praying I would like you to think of the area where our hearts need to me melt. As I pray, I would like you to ask God in your own heart that he will melt your own heart, too. So that, we may become better students of God, better parents, better workers, better church members, and most of all better servant of God. Let us pray.
