Job 26: Bildad Gets Jobbed

Job 26:14 "And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

Job rebukes Bildad. His response is along the lines of "No poop, Sherlock." (This being a Bible site.) Bildad's mastery of the obvious does not slip by Job. Of course God is powerful, awesome, and amazing.

I don't know what Job means by saying Rahab in verse 12 (also mentioned in chapter 9). Some research uncovered that Rahab is apparently the name of a sea monster. I don't know if Job is referring to a local tradition, or if he really thinks Rahab is real. 

This is presumably not the same Rahab who helped the spies escape Jericho in Joshua 2. She was not a sea monster.

Anyway, I like to have this notion of God that Job offers in verse 14. We can behold all these incomprehensible powers and amazing attributes of God, but these are still mere whispers of his power. Which is pretty amazing. I can imagine a lot.

Jos. 2: I Spy

Joshua 2:11 "When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."

One of the first cities Israel set its sights on was Jericho. Joshua sent two spies to go check it out. And these spies go and stay at the house of a prostitute. Did they choose this house of ill repute? Maybe it was the only place to stay...maybe it was more like a hotel. At any rate, the concern for their reputations was dwarfed by their need to see what the city was like. I also find it very interesting that the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab, the prostitute, telling her to be on the lookout for spies that are in the area. Why would the king send a message directly to her? Was she singled out? Maybe all the hotel owners got this message, I don't know. Maybe she was the most well known...hostess.

I also don't know why she helped the spies. She misdirected the king's messengers, while hiding the spies under some flax on the roof. That night, she goes up to the roof to tell the spies about how the entire city is in fear of Israel...as God promised Israel would happen. Israel's military exploits and miracles had preceded them. Rahab figures she can make a deal with these spies that when (not if) they destroy the city, Israel will leave her and her family alive...provided she places a scarlet cord in the window as a sign of an oath. The spies are then let down through a window with a rope. They went to Joshua after a few days when everything settled to tell him the news. It made Joshua happy to know that the people were "melting in fear" because of them.

And this scarlet cord...we have seen that before...Around the wrist of the twin who busted out first but was born second in Genesis 38, woven into the tabernacle curtains in Exodus 26, and used in the process of cleansing...whether from infectious skin diseases or mildew in the home in Leviticus 14. The latter probably the most related to the sign of the oath Rahab and the spies made.