12 July 2010
Psalm 25; Joshua 2:1-14; Rom. 11:1-12; Matt. 25:1-13

Joshua sends out spies just as Moses had done years before but with a very different result. The spies stayed with a prostitute who was becoming a God –fearer based on what she had heard, and she acted faithfully and righteously with the spies, providing not only hospitality but also protection. After all these years in the wilderness because they had been afraid of the inhabitants of the land it must have been incredibly ironic to hear from Rahab how fearful the people of the land were concerning the Israelites. “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you.” What they had heard was about the Red Sea. They had known, even at that time, that the Lord was with them and had been expecting them for forty years! What a wonderful opportunity for Rahab that these men had come to her by divine appointment, she who had come to believe in the Lord as God of heaven and earth. She got her chance for a new start in life and she made the most of it.

The bridesmaids here are unprepared for the delay in the coming of the groom. They would be the party who processed with the groom to the wedding banquet and other festivities and all were expected to carry a torch. Those who accompanied the party and who were not carrying torches would be presumed to be party crashers and turned away. Both the wise and foolish slept during the delay but the wise ones had brought oil enough for the delay while the foolish were unprepared and as the procession got to the banquet these foolish ones were nowhere to be seen and therefore were not in time to join in. We must always be prepared for the coming of the Lord.

Paul assures the readers that God has not rejected the Israelites, that the same door of faith in Jesus is open to all. Grace is required to enter that door, however, and it is the only door. Paul recognizes himself in the passages he cites, that God gave them eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear. He knows that unless the Lord opens our eyes we cannot see and unless he unstops the ears we are deaf to Him. Grace is the key to the door, the grace of God poured out in our lives enabling us to come to faith in His Son. Preparation for the coming of Jesus is anxiously waiting for Him in prayer and all such good works as He has prepared for us to walk in.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.