Title: Save My Parents First
Contents
1. Background of the text
- Before they followed Joshua to conquer Canaan, the Israelites sent spies to spy out Canaan. But the spies were soon discovered by the Canaanites, and Rahab then hid them and saved their lives from the Canaanites.
2. Rahab's Faith
- Rahab's hiding of the Israeli spies was an act of betrayal against her motherland. Nevertheless, what he did was the work of the faith in his heart. The news of God through the rumors brought him faith in two facts.
① Belief in the majesty of God
- Hearing God's great work with the people of Israel, faith in God's majesty was born in his heart. God sent Israel to the land of Canaan for the purpose of judging the fallen Canaan. And Rahab firmly believed that God had given Israel this land of Canaan because he was mighty, great, and strict about sin. He also heard about God's work of parting the Red Sea and what God had done to the Amorites Sihon and Og, through which he had faith in God's severe judgment of saving those who saved and forsaking those who were left behind, and that the land of Canaan was restored by God. I have a firm belief that God has given to Israel.
② Faith in God's salvation
- In addition, Rahab had a saving faith that God would save those who depended on him. And because of his faith in salvation, he betrayed his country and stood on the side of Israel because of the God who was with Israel. This was a belief in God wholly and a faith that depended only on God. Even today, God is on the side of those who have a heart of dependence on God and who have faith that He will save those who take refuge in Him. So he grants them the grace of salvation.
3. Seeking Grace in Destruction
: "Do good to my father's house .... deliver my parents from the dead"
- Rahab asked the spies she had hidden for the grace of salvation so that she might do good to her father's house during the destruction, and spare my parents, brothers and sisters, and everyone in them. When he became aware of God's judgment, he thought of his father's house first, and earnestly requested that his brothers and the family members with them be saved. Rahab also sought a mark to observe this, not because she did not trust the two spies. This shows how earnestly he wanted his father's house to be saved.
- And Rahab lowered the red cord outside the window to help the spies get out of the city. This shows that Rahab's house with the red rope will be saved, just as the Israelites were saved through the blood of the lamb that was shed when they escaped from Egypt. was an example of
4. Best filial piety
- The news of God's power through the rumors lit a bright light in Rahab's soul, and she began to want to rely entirely on God, who had only faintly realized it. And when he thought that he would be saved by God's grace, the first thing that came to his mind was his parents.
- Those who do not love their visible parents cannot love the invisible God. If you truly love your Heavenly Father, you will be compelled to think and obey the commandments God has given you to honor and not despise your parents. We should be filial to our parents. However, the reason we do our duty, respect and love deeply is not to reveal ourselves, but so that the whole family can live as the heavenly family while they live on this earth.
- However, you cannot become a member of the heavenly family with only the resources on this earth. Therefore, it is not enough just to receive filial piety from children, and what parents really need is for them to be saved. No matter how much we honor them with good things, the body that was given to us will soon rot away. If the blessed child does not cry for his or her unsaved parent, think about who will weep for the parent.
5. Application and Conclusion
- The reason we don't tell is because we don't have a heart to think about what our unbelieving parents will be like, and we don't have love. Love your parents deeply. So, my parents should be a matchmaker to open their hearts to the God I believe in. Filial filial piety offered by a person who loves the soul of his parents and does not mourn for them is an abomination. The greatest filial piety we can do is to let our parents meet our Heavenly Father.
The problem is not that the souls of our parents are strong, but that we do not love them and pray earnestly with a heart of sorrow. 2004-05-02