DO IT AFRAID

DO IT AFRAID

This is a Preach Letter from the past that I was inspired to put out for today. Enjoy 😊

 

I was scared. I don’t preach in front of people in a regular church. I minister to individuals and I reach out to people through my “preach letters” on the internet. But the Lord snuck up on me. He inspired me to go the Las Vegas Writer’s meeting a couple weeks ago. I hadn’t been since last August, but when God wants something, He gets it! So I went.

 

The talk was really great, but even more motivational for me, as far as the Lord was concerned, was that I heard about the workshop going on yesterday: “Presentation Skills Workshop.” OMG! “Too scary,” I thought, “but oh boy do I need it!” I knew Jesus wanted me to go. My roommate Jane is the one who knows how to talk to anyone and everyone, just off the cuff, without any problem at all. I’m not that person—I shrink and shrivel.

 

In fact, when I approached the man who gave the pitch on the workshop, I refused to even look at him. I just asked for the information on the workshop and wrote it down. He was trying to be friendly and asked me if he could share something he was thinking about lately. I let out a curt, “NO” and I left. I was soooo rude! God forgive me.

 

By last Wednesday, three days before the workshop, I was so nervous about having to speak about my writing, that my stomach closed up and I had sharp shooting pains; it was so awful that I had to call in sick. Jane asked what was wrong and I told her about how afraid I was to have to talk in public about my writing. It was like a huge unclear jumble in my mind and I was in pain.

 

I’m sure all of us have things we know we must face and we just don’t want to. We don’t know what the results will be and it’s just too darn scary.

 

What really helped me to assuage the fear, was to expose it. I had to let it out. It was eating me up. As soon as I told Jane how afraid I was, and how jumbled and cloudy my emotions were and my mind, I knew what to do—get organized, get clear.

 

Once things are defined, I can do much better. Instead of staying frozen in fear, I got moving. I got out my folders of notes on what my stories are about. I printed out some of the things I had already written in the Introductions to my books; I looked at how I talked about my books on Amazon, and other places where I had to write a short summary of my works. Then I printed out what I had and I worked on how to present these to the group.

 

We were also supposed to be ready for a mock radio/public interview that would be taped (yep, really scary). We would be answering questions like: What is your book about? Would you be willing to read an excerpt from your book for our audience? Can you tell us about yourself? Where did you get the idea to write this book? And the last one: If you were presenting to an agent or publisher looking for new clients, what have you got?

 

All of this was frightening, but I knew the Lord was sending me, so I determined to volunteer for everything, even the live interview. I practiced a little and did it even though I was afraid. A preacher I used to listen to coined the phrase “DO IT AFRAID.” It’s a good one.

 

When the workshop leader asked for a volunteer, I raised my hand and he motioned for me to get up. I read my story of the googly-eyed man in Starbucks and the story of Peanut, my dog, jumping into the bathtub with me in it! As I looked out into the group, I looked from person to person like you’re supposed to do, but I didn’t see any friendly faces. “OMG, they hate me!” flashed across my mind.  But I plowed ahead anyway and finished my talk.

 

There were things I definitely could have done better, but I got some good feedback—some really helpful hints on things I could do better. There was only one woman who was really annoyed by my talk: “That sounded like a sermon in church,” she sniped. To which I calmly replied, “They ARE preach letters after all.” (like what did she expect, a romance novel?). Oh well.

 

When Jane picked me up, I told her about the event and I felt like a success just showing up and participating. I ended up with four out of ten people saying complimentary things about my presentation, the one lady who was totally offended (who by the way didn’t read any of her work) and the rest who were just quiet. Then I realized, “Hey, I was the only one to get invited to speak at another event!” I guess it wasn’t that bad after all and I’ll definitely do it again. Watch out Vegas, here I come!

 

After I calmed down from the workshop, I got to thinking about where in the Bible someone had to do something afraid. I was reminded of one of my favorite guys, Ananias.

 

Ananias was not one of the twelve famous apostles. He was just a regular guy like you and me. But Jesus knew He could trust Ananias to do what He asked. Ananias had to do it afraid. Jesus told him to go down and minister to Saul, who was well known as a murderer of Christians. He was the one who was “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1).

 

Ananias did like I did, or rather, I did like Ananias—he expressed his fear. He told Jesus he really didn’t want to do this. He was afraid of this guy Saul. But once he got it out in the air, Jesus told him it would be okay and Ananias got it together and went and did what he needed to do. He did it afraid. And just this regular guy, Ananias, was the one who got to mentor one the greatest Apostles of all time, Paul of Tarsus.

 

We all face those situations that make us afraid, but we know we have to do them anyway. Don’t be afraid to admit fear. It’s a fact of life. But we don’t let it rule us and ruin us. If the Lord wants us to do it, He will get us through it. And we will be successful.

 

Love, Carolyn

(painting I did of myself 1989 LOL!)

More good truths from God’s Word and how to apply these truths in everyday living—get your copy of WINGS: A Journey in Faith 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wings+carolyn+molica&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&tag=jmbcsds-20&ref=as_li_ss_tl

 

FREE BOOK - FEB. 5 THROUGH FEB 9

One of my books is FREE today through Tuesday (2.9). Check it out if you’d like. Thanks, Carolyn

https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0BV4GC859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2J9ZOB4D13F87&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6aeruomY26afE8-NpMYYZuR_x_u9s8pBVP8ZlriH9cyOvs7tLSSFejV7_j16DUCikQkgFKLctpsIbsLpEliizZUo7HsLKDSXoHOgNdZn8O3rt1eJO1J01vvjz-MbSurdRSznQ8ZKH8Q2nonGE0tEjA.p-jTrO-QUCNfo62sgwsUNMIdn1I9nltySElQk8XPh0w&dib_tag=se&keywords=BIBLE+LESSONS+FROM+NATURE+VOL.+1&qid=1770316694&sprefix=bible+lessons+from+nature+vol.+1%2Caps%2C447&sr=8-1

 

"GOD LIKES ME"

“GOD LIKES ME”

In my last Preach letter I referred to what David says in Psalm 17:15b: “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” The definition of the Hebrew word for “satisfied” is “to be filled, sated, and enriched with abundance.” And what is David satisfied with? God’s likeness. But what is God’s “likeness”?

 

In looking at some of the other Bible versions, I found “likeness” translated as “to see you as you are, see you face to face.” But these are not accurate.

 

Likeness is not a word we use very much, but here’s an example of how most people would recognize it: If I was to meet my friend Helen and she introduced me to her mother, I might say to her, “WOW, I can definitely see the likeness,” and you would know that I’m talking about some physical way Helen resembles her mom. It’s obvious that Helen is not her mom, but a progeny of her mother, a human being produced from her mother’s womb.

 

And that’s how the Hebrew word for “likeness” is being used in the Bible. It’s things we can see with our eyes. The actual Hebrew word for “likeness” is “temuna” and it means “something fashioned, an image, a form, a representation, an appearance, a manifestation of favor.”

 

In the context of Psalm 17:15 and in the other places the word is used, it is referring to physical things, things you can see.

 

In the earlier verses of Psalm 17, David talks about the wicked enemy that was surrounding him. They were all wealthy and very much satisfied in the natural realm with all of their valuable possessions and their high-end living, but they had no salvation from God. Verse 10 says: “They are inclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly.”  The Hebrew word for “fat” is “chelb,” and it means “to be fat, whether literally or figuratively; hence, the richest or choice part, the best, finest, grease, and marrow” (Strong’s Concordance). 

 

Then a few verses later, in verse 14 we’re told that these men are filled with hidden treasures, their children are satisfied, and they leave the rest of their wealth to their babies—all talking about physical things you can see. They had it made in the world, but David had something better. He was fully satisfied, enriched, filled, and overflowed with the physical things sourced by God. And we are to be that way too. But we need to expect to see those things that our God is giving us. We look for them, recognize them, talk about them, and give God the glory He deserves for favoring us with them. What we see God do for us in the physical realm is Him showing us that He likes us! (His Likeness!)

 

One of the keys to understanding the Bible is to take a look at the first place a word is used and look at the context. The first place we find “likeness” is in Exodus 20:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness.”

 

And this is the context:

 

“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

 

The people were physically making their own images of what they thought their pagan gods looked like, so they could admire those images and worship them. We, on the other hand, don’t worship the physical things, but only worship the true God. And He’s the one who gives us the physical things, not the other way around!

 

The next place the word for likeness is used is in Numbers 12:8. Here “temuna” is translated “similitude.” “With him [Moses] will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold.” Notice that God said He would speak to Moses and He would show him something as well.

 

Numbers 12:8 takes place during the Israelites’ trek across the wilderness. The people had already seen with their eyes what God did in Egypt. Remember, God’s likenesses are those physical things which He produces, forms, and fashions. God told Moses what He was going to produce, Moses told Pharaoh, and all the people saw the Nile turn to blood; they saw plagues of frogs, lice, physical diseases on animals, boils, darkness for three days, and the death of all the first born. Then in the wilderness there were many more things that God gave to Moses, and Moses shared them with the people. But in spite of that, the people rebelled.

 

They started complaining about everything and even talked about wanting to go back to Egypt. God provided everything for them, and even when He produced quail for them to eat when they complained about manna, they still complained. But the final straw was when Moses’ brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, started badmouthing Moses and griping about his leadership and the fact that he married an Ethiopian woman.

 

Now, God was going to do another physical show of what he could do as a manifestation of His favor for Moses. He, God, called for Moses, Miriam, and Aaron to come out to the Tabernacle. “And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, ‘Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation.’ And they three came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth” (Num. 12:4-5).

 

“And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous” (Num. 12:9-10).

 

So, there it is. God told them He was going to show Moses another “similitude,” a “likeness,” something they could see with their eyes, something that would show God’s manifested favor toward Moses. He did it to teach them a lesson, and then because Moses asked, God reversed it, and in 7 days Miriam was completely healed.

 

Another place where “temuna” is used is in Deuteronomy 4:12. “And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no “similitude;” only ye heard a voice.” From this reference we learn that God wants us to receive more than one of the benefits of what He has to offer. He wants us to not only hear His voice, but He wants us to see with our eyes what He produces for us. The people here in Deuteronomy were God’s children, but they had turned to making their own things to worship. They could still hear God, but for some reason they couldn’t see His fire.

 

I think we can step up our spiritual enlightenment and blessing by expecting to see with our eyes the physical things God is more than willing to show us. We want to see the fire, and we want to see God’s favor like he showed to Moses, and we want to see more of things David was so delighted to see when he awoke in the morning and knew that he would see the likeness of God.

 

Pray with me, “Lord, let your mercy and grace be on me and show me some of those things this week.”

 

And remember to tell yourself, “GOD LIKES ME!”

 

Love, Carolyn

 

You can find my books on Amazon, with more teachings from God’s Word and HOW TO APPLY these truths in everyday life—

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wings+carolyn+molica&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&tag=jmbcsds-20&ref=as_li_ss_tl

 

 

NIGHT SEEDS

 NIGHT SEEDS

It’s been cold in the mornings here in Vegas, and we don’t like that. Most of the time we’re spoiled with beautiful sunshine, so when it’s gray and cold outside, sometimes I get gray and cold inside, and that’s how I’ve been feeling most mornings lately. BUT GOD! One of the names for God is Jehovah-jireh. It means He sees and He provides, and that’s what He did for me. He saw that I was struggling a bit in the mornings, even though I was quoting a scripture first thing about “this is the day the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” So, what was I to do?

 

Well, the Lord saw that it wasn’t working, so He popped into my mind another way to fix the situation: Night seeds! And it’s working perfectly! The thing with our God is that He loves us so much, He’s not satisfied with us being unhappy or struggling. He’s got a million ways to fix things and always has a perfect answer for every possible mess we can get into! We just need to be flexible and be willing to listen to what He downloads to us and then do it.

 

He just had to drop it in my spirit once again and I had to pull out the Preach Letter, read it, and do it.

 

NIGHT SEEDS

“Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psa. 121:4). That verse is talking about our God who is Spirit, and He doesn't sleep. When we get born again of God’s gift of holy spirit, that part of us doesn’t sleep either, but it's our body and soul that do need the sleep while we're here on earth. If we sleep eight hours out of 24, that’s a third of our day taken up! How can we make those sleeping hours count spiritually? One way is to plant night seeds.

 

The thing that is so amazing and awesome is that Spiritual faith can work through the night, uninhibited by our doubtful, fearful, and oh-so-rational minds! Things are working in our unconscious, spiritual hearts, freely.

 

The two following sections of scripture are vital to us in getting great results from planting night seeds:

 

Jesus taught this: Mark 4:26-27: “And he said, ‘So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” Notice that Jesus said the man planted the seed, then he immediately went to sleep! I just love that.

 

Night seeds are prayers that we put out for God, Jesus, angels, and our spirit to be working on while our bodies and minds sleep. If we plant seeds right before we go to sleep, no rationale or emotional reaction can get in the way to block our faith! Who we are spiritually as sons and daughters of God Almighty, and our relationship with His son Jesus goes ahead to work while our bodies and souls take a rest, and the solutions come as the seeds sprout.

 

Then the second vital verse is Psalm 17:15: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” I looked up the Hebrew word for “likeness.” It is “temuwnah,” and it means “what You [God] have fashioned,” what You [God] have formed,” “the manifestation of Your favor.”

 

So, this verse is saying that when I wake up, I can feel blessed by what the Lord did in the night or otherwise. He works with our seed and helps it to get sprouting. So, I planted some prayer seeds last night and when I got up this morning, first thing I did was go outside. I fed the two kitties and I noticed it was way warmer this morning, and it was so quiet and peaceful all around. I walked my property and was filled with awe that the Lord had picked out this house and yard for me thirty years ago. I do really love it here. He made me happy this morning with His love and I’m not disgruntled like I was several mornings this past week!

 

Here are some other results I recall from utilizing God’s blessing of night seeds:

 

It was Christmas time, and I got a last-minute invitation to a Christmas party. I’d already scheduled a hair appointment for several days after the party. When I called to reschedule, there were no appointments available. After more than a week went by, I started getting a little worried. I decided to try out my new discovery of planting a night seed. In light of the worry I was feeling, I knew I needed peace about whatever the result would be with my hair. So, I claimed John 14:27, which says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 

Even though I was feeling stressed, I prayed and planted this peace seed. When I opened my phone first thing in the morning, I had a text from my hairdresser offering to do my hair on a Saturday. Not only did I get an appointment, but it was on a perfect day, so I didn’t have to miss any work.

 

My best friend Jane also planted a night seed. Her seed was concerning the promotional business she does for my writing. Facebook was blocking the usual routes of her promotions. It was as if they were trying to starve her out and get her to quit, and she knew it had to be changed around.

 

Jane didn’t get out her Bible and read the scriptures, but she told God His own story back to Him about the lepers outside the wall in Samaria. (It’s in 2 Kings 7). There was a great famine in the city because it was surrounded by an enemy army, cutting off the food supply. The lepers did as they were inspired by God, and He did a miracle. The enemy fled, leaving all the food and goods behind. The next day, the famine was gone and the commerce thriving!

 

When Jane woke up the next morning, there were more downloads on her promotion than there had been in the last three promotions!

 

These results may seem small, but it just goes to prove that our God is concerned about every little detail of our lives, and He cares so much that He’s with us every minute of every day and every night too!

 

This stuff works. Remember, Spirit continues to work while we sleep. Let’s make the hours of our sleep count in a spiritual way to enhance our lives and the lives of others. Plant a few night seeds this week and let me know about the blessings you experience.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

You can find my books on Amazon, with more teachings from God’s Word and HOW TO APPLY these truths in everyday living—

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wings+carolyn+molica&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&tag=jmbcsds-20&ref=as_li_ss_tl

A POWERFUL WEAPON YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT

I’m sharing my response to one of my friends on FB regarding all the bad things going on now in our country. I have something to share that many Christians don’t know about, so I believe God is urging me to bring it forward now. Originally to one friend, and now to all you, my friends, as well:

 

“I'm not a bit surprised. It's about time people wake up to the fact that the devil has manipulated many many people. When he saw a way to open our American doors to Satan worshippers and other groups who worship demonic idols, and the American Christian church was taught to be doormats and taught many other contaminated ideologies, everything was setup to demolish the spread of true Christianity, in America specifically.

 

Unfortunately, we are in a huge war that lots of people don't even know about. Each of us does what we can, to do our part for our God and our Savior and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and it's messy for sure. But God will not let us fail. It's just taking more time than anyone ever expected!

 

I remember hearing about 7-year wars, 10-year wars, etc. etc., but I never expected we would be in one, but WE ARE, physical and spiritual. The presidents, kings, and other country leaders don't seem to want to call it war, but that's what makes it even harder.

 

WE WILL ABSOLUTELY WIN, because we know our God is greater than any other. He's the one who created Lucifer and the Bible says in Psalm 8 that the devil is less important than mankind, and that's what really pissed him off.

 

I don't pretend to play chess (if you know what I mean). I did before, but it's not my longsuit, so what I know is what I know, but I focus on Ps 149:8 binding the kings and nobles of the demonic realm, the ones who work in people at the highest levels.

 

The Bible tells us that binding these high-level demons is our privilege, “this honor have all the saints. Praise ye the LORD” (Ps.149:9). If we bind them "in chains and fetters of iron" like the Bible says, then that tells me they can't operate like they would like to, not bound up like that. They can't go where they want, communicate with who they want, organize and torture like they want, etc. Just visualize a chain gang or someone bound in chains in a dungeon and you get a bit of a visual of what those verses in Ps. 149:8-9 are saying we can do to the top-level demons.

 

God gave us a big job with this binding, so I hope others will join me in this spiritual warfare. I know each of us has a mission in this war, and the binding is just one thing I wanted to share because I don't think a lot of Christians even know that it's available. In every war, new weapons get exposed, and this is an important one for Christians.

 

Love you, Carolyn

 

NOTE: I learned about this spiritual ability and honor many years ago in a book by Dale Sides.

 

 

NEW GROWTH - A BUTTERFLY BUSH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

Photos 1.Seed pack and new growth   2.Butterfly bush blooming 1.17.26

NEW GROWTH – A BUTTERFLY BUSH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

It was sunny and cold when I went out to look around in my backyard and see what was new. There were a few bright yellow daffodils smiling, but what caught my eye was when I looked at my butterfly bush and saw that it was already putting out new green leaves and flowering in the top branches. (In the photo the butterfly bush is the one on the left, as tall as my redbud tree on the right!)

 

It’s been a few years now, but when I first planted the tiny seeds, I hadn’t looked at the back of the package that said it took 365 days for it to bloom! What?! And truthfully, I forgot about it because it didn’t even send one sprout up out of the ground until a whole year went by—a whole year for the seed to start to wake up and grow. But the result is beautiful and I love that bush. Instantly I was struck with how the growth of this bush is similar in some ways to how the spiritual seed of Christ grows in us as individuals.

 

We received a miraculous spiritual package when we got born again. We renounced our past and confessed allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we believed that God raised him from the dead, all for our sake. At that moment, God planted a spiritual seed in us. And we began a new life in Christ and we now look to Jesus Christ as the one who shows us God’s way to think and live. The seed gets planted right away, but like the seed of a butterfly bush, the different aspects contained in that seed, sprout, grow and blossom at different times, not all at once.

 

As Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 

There are so many wonderful surprises and blessings that are a result of that one seed, they show up and manifest in varied amazing ways over the expanse of our whole lives!

 

Recently I’ve experienced new spiritual insight on some of the names of God, that has changed my life entirely. And I’ve begun to recognize demons and demon teams that I was unaware of before. Just because we grow older, doesn’t mean we stop learning spiritually. In fact, Abraham didn’t even begin his venture into a spiritually dynamic life until he was 75 years old!

 

Whatever the Lord Jesus is showing you now, and whatever the holy spirit is teaching you, embrace it, remember it, record it, because the whole rest of your life will be filled with many new and wondrous spiritual sprouts, leaves, and blossoms.

 

Endeavoring to walk by the spirit is sometimes quiet, but it’s never boring. We keep seeking new insight and understanding, and there is always more.

One of the scriptures I pray every morning is Isaiah 43:19, where God says: “Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

 

Every season, my beautiful butterfly bush sends up new sprouts from its base, and they grow new, bright green leaves. Then later on, they start sprouting small white flowers to feed the bees, butterflies, and birds. And the process continues.

 

As we walk with God in our daily lives, continuing to seek him and serve him, we grow spiritually, and new things are continually being revealed to us. The seed of Christ-in-us lets us embrace those new things and we continue to grow in the kingdom of our God all the days of our lives.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

More TEACHINGS from God’s Word

And HOW TO APPLY these truths in everyday living—

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wings+carolyn+molica&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&tag=jmbcsds-20&ref=as_li_ss_tl

 

 

 

RAHAB BELIEVES IN OUR GOD'S REPUTATION

RAHAB BELIEVES IN OUR GOD’S REPUTATION

In Psalm 46:10 God says: “I will be exalted among the heathen.” The record of the Israelites when they first came into God’s promised land is a great example of how that verse was manifested in real life.

                                                                         

“Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, ‘Go view the land, even Jericho.’ And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, ‘Behold, there came men in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country.’ And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, ‘Bring forth the men that are come to thee’” (Joshua 2:1-3a).

 

But Rahab knew that the king would kill the spies, and she chose to hide them instead, on the roof of her dwelling.                                                                            

 

“And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; and she said unto the men, ‘I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you’” (Joshua 2:8-9).

 

All the inhabitants of the land were terrified! Remember, in Canaan was where the Israelites first saw the giants, and just their size alone scared the Israelite leaders so much that they wouldn’t go into the promised land back then, and ended up wandering in the desert many more years! I wonder if the Canaanites back then weren’t really as scary as the Israelite leaders thought they were!!

 

But now it was different. The Israelites, led by the younger leaders, Joshua and Caleb, had come to the edge of the land God had given them. And the inhabitants were very afraid! Why? Because when Rahab spoke of the Israelite’s God, she used the name Jehovah (Yahweh), which indicated the Israelites’ covenant relationship with their God. 

 

Rahab and the Canaanites understood what covenant meant. It was in their culture. And not only that, but they’d heard about what happened in Egypt with the battle between the gods of the Egyptians and the covenant God of the Hebrews!  And that’s where it gets interesting.

 

Each of the ten plagues in Egypt was a direct hit on one of the Egyptian gods! And the Canaanites worshipped some of the Egyptian gods as well! Hapi was the god of the Nile, their source of water. He was supposed to bring fertility, but when the plague came, the water turned to blood. It’s interesting that the magicians, who were a type of priests in the Egyptian culture, could also turn the water sources to blood and they did so to challenge the power of our God.

 

Heqet was a frog-headed goddess and she was the goddess of fruitfulness, but in the second plague there were so many frogs everywhere: “ And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs” (Exodus 8:3). Then just to prove they were powerful too, “the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land” (Exod. 8:7). (Not too bright, those magicians!).

 

Set was the god of the desert and foreigners. He was represented as lice or gnats. But when that plague came, “it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt” (Exod. 8:17b). And the priest magicians tried to bring lice as well. They “did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast” (Exod. 8:18). 

 

So, up through the first 2 of 10 plagues, the magicians who called on their gods to compete with the power of our LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh), the God in covenant with Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrews, could mimic our God’s plagues, but they were stymied with the third plague and could not do it!  

 

Then comes one of the greatest confessions of failure: “Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God’” (Exod. 19a). They had to admit that Moses’ God was more powerful than theirs.

In fact, the word ‘God’ in that scripture is ‘Elohim’, which means the ultimate creator of all things, and the Supreme God, higher than, and more powerful than any other god!

 

It’s worth noticing at this point that the magician priests of Egypt could do the first and second plagues, turning all the water to blood, and bringing the frogs up on the land and into every place, even the bedrooms and kitchens. They were only able to bring the bad, but they weren’t able to get rid of it. They couldn’t get rid of the blood, nor the frogs. Only our God could do that, and the magician priests weren’t able to bring on any of the other plagues either, nor could they stop them.

 

The reputation of what our God would do for His covenant people spread far and wide. And the fact that other nations knew the rules of a covenant, they then knew that the Hebrew God would be able to do anything necessary to protect and prosper His own. Pharaohs, Kings, High priests, nor any other person should even try to call on their gods to compete with ours!

 

So, back to Rahab and the two Hebrew spies that were coming to claim the land God promised they would occupy. Rahab said, “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed” (Joshua 2:10). 

 

^“And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh) [who is in covenant with you] your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). The last two “Gods” in this verse are the Hebrew word Elohim, meaning He is the Supreme God and Creator of heaven and the whole earth beneath.

 

Rahab told the Hebrew spies that the people of Jericho were terrified, not of the Israelites, but of their God! They heard the stories. The blessing and power was proven; she recognized it and said so.

 

^“Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.’ And the men answered her, ‘Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee’” (Josh. 2:12-14).

 

Moses and Aaron let God’s light shine in Egypt because they obeyed Him, and wow did God shine on their behalf! It was never about what Moses or Aaron could do, or on a bigger scale, what the Hebrew nation could do. It’s always been about what God does. And it’s still that way. We point to what God does and we obey Him.

 

The good we do comes from what God created within us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). People should know that we’re always going to point them to our God.

 

We get to shine because of God. We remember that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17a).

 

Love, Carolyn

 

NOTE: The story about Rahab was in a teaching by Sheila Hitchcock and was on a video that my friend Kathy Stiles sent me about a month ago. I thought Sheila made some really good points, and what caught my attention was when she mentioned that Rahab told the 2 Israeli spies that the people living there (the “ites”, the giants) were afraid, not of the Israelites, but of the extent of the power of the covenant they had with their God, who had the reputation of being THE SUPREME GOD! I’d just studied the importance of covenant with Abraham and then with Moses, and how respected it is in Eastern cultures, so it caught my attention with her mentioning what happened later in Biblical history with Rahab and the Canaanites in Jericho.

 

MORE BIBLE LESSONS AND STORIES TO EMPOWER OUR LIVES:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wings+carolyn+molica&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&tag=jmbcsds-20&ref=as_li_ss_tl