FRIDAY 8 July, 2016
Dangerous Inquiries
And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” So the woman said to them, “They have gone over the water brook.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. - 2 Samuel 17:20
The servant woman not only hid the priest’s sons but was able to survive the probing inquiry from Absalom’s servants. They had come to the very door of her house looking for them. However, she redirected Absalom’s men to search for Ahimaaz and Jonathan over the water brook; when the coast was clear they would escape.
Once again there is an identical comparison found in the story of Rahab. When she hid the spies Joshua sent, she cleverly redirected the men, who were sent by the King of Jericho, who inquired after them. She told them:
… “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them” - (Joshua 2:4-5).
During World War II, the Nazi’s raided and made inquiries at the homes of people who may have hidden and aided Jewish men, women and children. Many were trying to escape German persecution. Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who saved an estimated 800 lives before being arrested and sent to jail along with her family.
We are living in a time where Christian persecution has escalated especially in the Middle East. If you were faced with a similar situation would you do the same?
It is not the blood but the cause that makes a martyr.
~Thomas Brooks~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!