Backpacking through Joshua - Week 2

This week was a very busy week for me. My Christmas break ended and I flew back to the US. I thought a lot of last weeks' backpacking adventure while I was on the plane and the words "be strong and courageous" keep on ringing in my ears like a tune that I just can't get out of my head.

And as it always is after a break, I was greeted by tons of work...but also by a new chapter of Joshua (yay!). It's a little bit of a story, if you want to stick with me, but for me, this week was all about Rahab.

Did I mention that I am a German instructor at a college? For me this is like a calling. It's what I like to do and what I am good at. But I don't do it just for myself. I get in contact with a lot of students and teaching them a foreign language is a little bit like opening a new door for them. Speaking a foreign language and knowing about a foreign culture is not just preparation to travel abroad, but it helps people to reflect back on their own lives and can (not just physically) lead them into new directions that would otherwise be hidden from them.

Anyway, teaching is my way of serving the Lord. I'm single, I have no children and I am not a very important person at all. Unlike other researchers, I doubt that I will find a cure for cancer or that there is any other huge accomplishment for human kind in my future. But maybe there is for one of my students. They are so smart and full of ideas and energy. I am sure the Lord has big plans for their lives. My job is it to prepare them for these big plans by teaching them German. As I see it, I am serving the Lord by serving my students. That is what makes me part of God's big plan.

{Are you still following my story? I promise I'll get to Rahab soon!}

Due to the bad economy, my current school combined two positions. In other words, I am working two jobs and only get paid the bare minimum that one job would usually pay. In addition, I am often asked to do extra jobs on the side without earning any form of recognition (which would be important for an academic career) or any compensation. It is bad. Very. But during these times, I am glad that I have a job at all.

At the moment, I have a group of very intelligent and motivated students. Because I feel responsible and committed to my students, last semester I promised them something for this semester. When I came back this week, I learned that my department had found out about this promise and is now trying to twist it into a completely new direction, making me work extra time each week without getting paid for it.

You wouldn't believe how upset I was when I found out about it! I felt used and taken advantage of. I shed tears of anger and frustration. I felt caught between the commitment to my students and my own interests.

What am I supposed to do?

The entire situation basically burns down to two options: (a) I could keep my promise and be taken advantage of, or (b) I could break my promise and protect myself from being taken advantage of.

And while I am still pondering my options, I get contacted by a student of mine who is scared that I will break my promise. What am I supposed to do? And in my ears it still rings: Be strong and courageous, Mimi, be strong and courageous!

And this is when I met Rahab!

Rahab was a harlot. She knew what it was like to be taken advantage of in much, much, much worse ways than I ever experienced. As if this wasn't dangerous enough, she hid three spies, before she was even promised anything in return. What if the spies had been found? What if Joshua had not agreed to a deal with her, a harlot? After all, she was a person that had just broken one of God's laws by lying! Rahab faced dangers from all sides. Can you imagine how she must have felt, when they came searching for Joshua's men in her house?

As I see it, this is not reflecting back well one Joshua and his people. I mean, what are your men doing in a house of a harlot in the first place? Seriously, Joshua!
Then having someone else like Rahab lie for you. Come on, Joshua, you know better than that!
On top of this, God had just told Joshua to be strong and of good courage and what do his men do? Hide like a mouse!
I don't mean to be too critical, but way to reflect on God's character here, Joshua!
To be honest, "the deal" Joshua's men make in verses 17-21 also sounds more like a threat than a promise. Just like bank robbers, like criminals, they tell Rahab to stay put in her house, to not move outside, to not have anybody of her family come after them or else they would be killed. Hmmmm.
And what do these men do when they get back to safety? These men who just hid for days, having a woman, a prostitute protect them, go and tell their friends that the people of Jericho were afraid of them. Uhm, somebody is hiding some crucial parts of the story just to keep face in front of their friends.
Oh well, let's hope they will at least keep their promise to Rahab in the next chapters.

As I see it, this chapter is not exactly a shining example of God's people presenting his charakter. I think the true heroine here is Rahab!

Rahab is the one who is strong! She is the one strong enough to admit her weaknesses, her fears the respect that she has for the Lord after she heard about what he did in Egypt.
Rahab is the one who is the true believer and follower by risking her life for the Lord and his men!
Rahab is the one who is courageous by hiding the spies!
Rahab is the one who is faithful trusting in God even before she received a promise from Joshua's men!

Go Rahab!

Rahab is strong, faithful, courageous, and loyal to her promise. What might look like she lets Joshua's men take advantage of her, using her house as a hiding place and risking her life, is actually her way of serving the Lord. Even though, it might first look like she is being taken advantage of by Joshua's men, it is quite the opposite: She is being used by the Lord.
The annotations of my bible say that she was given a place in the lineage of the Messiah (Matt 1:5). The promise she received was not just about immediate benefit and protection for her and her family, but she received the promise of being saved for eternity.

Rahab made a good deal!

At the beginning of this blog post, I wrote about my situation and the two options I have: (A) keeping a promise and being taken advantage of, or (B) breaking a promise and protecting myself from being taken advantage of.

Since I really believe that I am serving the Lord through my teaching and that God is keeping his promises and not taking advantage of me, but using me for his big plan, there is really just one option for me.

Be strong and courageous, Mimi!