Then I Arose, A Mother....

 

My sweet niece, Ellyn, asked for some encouragement on social media last week.  She's a young wife and mom, and I've grown to love her.  (She's married to my nephew, Samuel, who I love so much.  I've met her exactly once at their wedding.  But praise God for social media, where we've been able to connect!)

I've been listening to a series of podcasts by Elizabeth Woodson called "Church Mothers".  I'm not quite through the series, but the idea has intrigued me.  When I tried to come up with a working definition that I could think through, I came across this from AI overview...

"A church mother is a title of respect for a mature woman in the church, typically someone who is age 55 or above.  This role is often based on the biblical principles found in Titus 2:3-5, which encourages older women to teach "good things" and provide instruction to younger women on matters of faith, life, marriage, and family." 

(This must have become top of mind because I recently turned 55. 😊)

I long to be these things, but I'm hesitant.  I tried wading into the waters recently, but I'm not good with follow-up.  Satan sends soldiers of discouragement that march through my thoughts--"Someone else could do a better job."  "If they wanted my input, I've offered."  "I know they're busy, and I hate to bother them."  

So when Ellyn sent out a request to her friends and family on social media, I didn't stop to let those thoughts get ahead of me.  I went right to one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible--Judges 5.

Deborah's song.  Deborah is the only woman mentioned as a judge in the early history of Israel.  The Israelites were in the downward cycle of doing evil in the sight of the LORD, and found themselves owned by a foreign king.  Deborah, a prophetess beside being a judge, would sit under the palm tree and settle disputes.  She called for Barak and reminded him that the LORD has commanded him to rise up some troops to help rescue Israel from their oppression.  Barak said he will only go if Deborah goes too.  She is glad to go, but warned Barak he will receive no honor from this conquest, because it will be a woman who takes down Sisera, the commander of the enemy's army.  Sisera found himself in the tent of Jael, the wife of someone he considered a friend.  But instead she drove a tent peg through his temple and killed him.  (The Bible can be brutal as it tells the real life story of humanity.  Imagine teaching this in children's church....) That day, God subdued the Canaanite king, and empowered Israel increasingly until he was destroyed.  

On that day, Deborah invited Barak to sing with her. She praised everyone--leaders to volunteers--for blessing the LORD for their service.  She called everyone--kings, princes--to listen and pay attention as she sings.  She gave a line of the faithfulness of God for her listeners to trace, rehearse, and remember.  He has been on their side!!  She reminded the people that there were surely bad times, but that made the good times sweeter.  She warned them (rightly so because they were prone to wander) against choosing new gods and the consequences of doing so.  Deborah's heart was with the leaders and volunteers, and she wanted their country to be in prayer for them.  And as a call back to what she sang about the faithfulness of God, she commissions her audience to tell the righteous acts and deeds of the LORD! 

The people got so used to hearing her encouraging song, they would go down to the city gates and say "Awake! Awake, Deborah! Awake! Awake, sing a song!" They came from all around to draw encouragement from her.  

Deborah wasn't afraid to see the truth of what was happening around her, good and bad.  She praised the faithful tribes and questioned the distracted, unfaithful ones.  Deborah also sang the praises of another woman--Jael-- for what she had contributed. She added a whole verse to her song just to praise Jael for her bravery.  (That's hard for me. I think it's maybe hard for us as women, as if another woman's light takes from ours.  This is a lie from the enemy and I need the reminder.)  

Deborah also had compassion for the mother of Sisera, even though he was evil and an enemy.  She imagined and felt her pain, although she had just praised the one who had unalived Sisera.  Sometimes it's hard to hold both of these emotions in our hands as women.  Knowing something is God's will, yet also being able to see the pain of humanity in that. 

I think the "hinge" verse in the whole song--the verse all other thoughts in this chapter hang and move on--is verse 7.  

"Villages were deserted, they were deserted in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel." 

Deborah was a prophetess and a judge.  She was a woman of great wisdom, talent, influence.  But when it came time to identify herself, to identify the turning point in her leadership, it's when she rose up as a mother.  

I once told one of my girls "You will be lots of things in life. A daughter.  A sister.  A friend.  A girlfriend.  A wife.  A mother. But not one of these things are ALL you are or will ever be."  When I look at all the things I am and have been, I have loved being mother to my kids, nurturing them, singing to them, loving them, even disciplining them.  But as the pink of youth is overlayed with gray that comes with age, I am ready.  To be an encouraging influence to the leadership of our church. To be a loving nurturer to the beautiful girlies God has placed in my circle. To be compassionate and brave.  To sing a trustworthy song.  Please God, let it be for Your glory.  

Lapis Lazuli

 

Every year, Mike buys me a gift for trapping season.  It's basically a "I'm a trapper.  You knew that when you married me, so no griping and see you in March" hush gift.  🤣 He lets me decide what I want and it's usually not more than $20.   

This year, I chose a bracelet made of lapis lazuli.  Lapis lazuli captured me this year.   When I listened through the Bible a few years ago, I loved how the narrator pronounced it.  (According to google, he was pronouncing it wrong 🤷) This year when I encountered it, I decided to take a deeper dive to consider it's significance.    

Lapis lazuli is a rock. Below is a picture of it in rawest form  It's known for its blue, sometimes violet color.  The most high quality lapis lazuli is found in Afghanistan and has been mined for around 6,000 years.  The book of Job, considered to be one of the earliest books in the Bible, mentions it...

"Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.  It's rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold." Job 28:5-6

It is easily tumbled and polished, making beautiful jewelry--rings, earrings, pendants, amulets, necklaces, bracelets.  It can also be used for carvings and mosaics; or ground to be used as pigment in paint. 

In ancient times, lapis lazuli was highly prized by pharoahs and other royalty.  King Tutankhamun, ancient pharoah of Egypt, lies in a stone coffin that is inlaid with lapis lazuli. The  funerary mask of King Tut has lapis lazuli in the eyebrows and eyelids.  The ancient world believed that lapis lazuli represented divinity, power, and the heavens.  

Today, lapis lazuli is used for meditation and is thought to bring about clarity and spirituality.  A stone tumbled smoothly can be used as a "worry stone"--something to fidget with to calm sress and anxiety.

It's believed by some to unlock the energy center involving the throat, calming sore throats and enhancing voice when worn as a necklace.  It's also noted to offer protection from negative energy and presence.  When I showed Landon and Easton my new bracelet, they both recognized it as a stone that can be mined on Minecraft!  On this game, its used for decoration, it has enchanting power when used certain places, and can be used as blue dye.  (You can impress the gamers in your life by regaling them with all you know about lapis lazuli!!) 

Modern day Afghanistan--the region where the highest quality of lapis lazuli is mined--was part of the ancient Persian kingdom.  Persia is a key kingdom in several books of the Bible--Ezra, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai.  But most famously in the book named after Esther, Queen of Persia!! Queen Esther likely wore something dyed with lapis lazuli, she might have had mosaics or statues in the palace, she might have even worn the beautiful blue powder as eye makeup.  But there are far more important, weighty mentions of lapis lazuli in the Bible, which is the  inspiration for my choice of bracelet.  

In Exodus 24, Moses has already gone up Mount Sinai to receive the words from God for the people, the Ten Commandments.  Moses returned to tell the congregation all he had heard from God.  The people united around the promise of obedience--"We will do everything that the LORD has commanded." vs 3

Moses built an altar and set up 12 pillars for the twelve tribes.  He sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrifice.  Moses again read the scroll on which the covenant was written, and the congregation doubled down on their first vow: "We will do and obey all that the LORD has commanded." vs 7

Then Moses, Aaron the high priest, and his sons Nadab and Abihu, were joined by seventy of the elders of Israel. (In Exodus 3:16, we learn that the elders of Israel were likely some kind of leadership group, as Moses assembled them to lay out the plan for their rescue from Egypt and slavery.) 

This group of 74 men SAW the God of Israel.  Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.  The word here (and in other instances) is sometimes translated sapphire; however, sapphires were unheard of in this time period.  

In Exodus 28 when God gave the pattern for the priestly garments, their breastpiece was covered with 12 gemstones--one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel.   The second stone in the second row is a lapis lazuli, with a turquoise on one side and a diamond on the other.  

All throughout the book of Ezekiel (the one book I dread reading every year), Ezekiel told of the visions God sent him.  There is so much happening in this book that I could not even BEGIN to understand or explain in one post.  There are living creatures with wheels, wings, fire, animal faces, human hands....It's all important because it's in God's Word, but it's hard to read.  The living creatures have an "expanse" over their heads, and from above the expanse comes a voice that stops them in their tracks.  Something like a throne with the appearance of lapis lazuli was above the expanse over their heads.  Ezekiel is seeing in a vision the throne room of God, and the throne itself is made of lapis lazuli!  On it sits the pre-incarnate Christ, eternally victorious, in all His heavenly glory.  

In Revelation, John is seeing very similar visions to Ezekiel.  (If you did the Revelation study last summer, you might remember that Jen Wilkin's catchphrase was "look behind", and we spent some time in Ezekiel to explain the events of Revelation.)  In Revelation 21, John sees 

"a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more." 

John hears and sees so many beautiful words and sights.  (Read Revelation 21 through to understand.)

He also sees the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, prepared like a bride for her husband.  One of the angels gives John a tour of the new holy city.  The city was arrayed with the glory of God, like a precious jewel.  There is a massive high wall, with twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel guarded by twelve angels.  The city was a square with twelve foundations, each one labeled with the name of the twelve apostles.  The foundations were adorned with every king of jewel, and the second foundation--lapis lazuli.  

Do I think lapis lazuli is magical?  Do I think it has healing powers?  Because it's in the throne room of heaven, can I call down a voice from heaven using my bracelet?  The answer is no.  There are no powers within the stone itself.  The worship of gems, jewels, stones, crystals is a sign of Romans 1:25--

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever.  Amen."

Lapis Lazuli cannot grant me intuition and truth.  It cannot give me wisdom and inner peace.  It canot promise me health my whole life through.  It is not divine, but is intended to point to the One who IS!

When I wear my bracelet, I will see the lapis lazuli and think of the One who hid the precious stone to be mined from the earth. I will think of Esther, whose adopted homeland was gifted with this precious stone that's meant to point us to the divine.   I will think of those--past and present--who see the beautiful blue that matches the heavens and miss the One who dwells there.  I will think of Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders who met with God on a sea of lapis lazuli.  I will think of Ezekiel, who saw someone who looked like a human sitting on a throne of lapis lazuli. I will think of John and I'll be thankful it was no ordinary human sitting on the throne, but it was and is still Jesus and forever more will be Jesus.  I will meditate on Him, who brings all clarity, calming stress and anxiety.  He is praised forever.  Amen.

  

 

All Scripture is God-Breathed

According to a WSJ article--published October 20, 2025--"Bible sales jumped 36% in September 2025, as compared to a year earlier." *

This was attributed in part to the death of Charlie Kirk, and according to the article, "indicates a religious revival for some."

It's no secret that fellow Christians have found this to be so bittersweet.  Bitter of course because of Charlie Kirk's horrific murder.  But sweet because as followers of Christ, we long for our lives to draw others to Him, whatever the cost.  

Erika Kirk said it best in her speech at her husband's memorial--"There will be so many who come to Jesus Christ because of Charlie's death.  It is our job as Christians to shepherd them." There were 2.4 million bibles sold in September 2025.  This number reflects at least a portion of people who had no idea why they felt compelled to buy a bible, and have no idea what to do with what they just bought.  (Similarly, many felt compelled to go to church for the first time in months, years, or ever.)  They are looking for answers and sense the Bible is a logical place to start.  So, fellow Christian, are you equipped to shepherd them?  

2 Timothy 3:16-17 is a good place to start.  

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

This passage describes the Bible--also called Scriptures--as a texbook for potential learners and followers, inspired by The kind, firm, compassionate, loyal God of the universe.  Kind because through the scriptures He teaches us how to live for our good.  Firm because when we stray from His path, He says "No, not like that." Compassionate because He doesn't leave us where we fall; He doesn't stop with the "No, not like that!" but gently says "Like THIS.  THIS is the way." And loyal because He walks beside us as we train, over and over, developing muscle memory for the race before us.  He doesn't teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and then leave us to our own devices.  He loyally guides us to completeness.  Equipped for every good work.  Not work that elevates us, but lifts HIM high so others can see Him.  For His glory and for our good.  Under the authority of a boss, a teacher, a parent who displays these qualities, we thrive. Kind teachers are the ones who tell us what we are doing wrong, who explain how to do it right, and are always willing to jump into the mess with us again and again and again.  This is our God.  This is who He is.  He loves us.  

Buying and owning a Bible is not a magic key into a secret club.  You have to read it, study it.  It's not the easiest thing in the world to understand.  That's why Jesus often said "He who has ears, let him hear."   After reading it all the way through, you may think "WHAT DID I JUST READ?"  

Jesus Himself said in John 5:39

"You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about Me."  

We read the Bible so we can meet Jesus, know Jesus, and be known by Him.  

"For God loves the world in this way: He gave one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."  John 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16-17 wraps up a dismal chapter.  The chapter warns of hard times in the last days.  It paints humanity as selfish, proud, demeaning, ungrateful, unholy, disobedient, traitors, unloving, brutal, reckless, conceited.  They are wormy, deceptive, corrupt. And before we get all judgy, we all are bent that way. We all have within us to be the worst of the worst.   But the teaching of the Scriptures points to a better life.  Right living.  A pivot from bad to good.  When the world offers selfishness, God says choose loyalty.  When the world offers unloving deception, God says choose compassion.  When the world offers demeaning unholiness, God says stand firm in the opposite.  When the world offers brutality, God says choose kindness.  Why would He care?  Because when we are kind, we reflect the kindness of God.  

"Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"

All throughout the Bible, we see God use situations, families, people, nations as a screen on which to display His faithful, loyal, stubborn, unwavering love and and compassion.  It's our turn.  Let's learn from the Best and teach Him to others.  💓

*  Wall Street Journal Article (This is behind a pay wall, but I could get the gist of the article from the preview.)

 

Touch Grass

 "You should go outside and touch grass." This has become a common  advice/insult aimed at people who show signs of being online way too much.  They have been so drawn into all of the opinions, conspiracies, truths, lies, and rumors of the Internet that the lines between illusion and reality are blurred, if not erased all together.  "Touching grass" is an idiom meant to advise you to ground yourself in reality.  

Another trending word that's caught my attention is "grounding" or "earthing".  It is possibly the root of the advice to touch grass.  It is the practice of walking barefoot--or sometimes even laying-- in the dirt. There are supposed health benefits to this--reduction in stress, anxiety, and inflammation by absorbing the Earth's natural charge.  I spent a lot of time barefoot as a child, and I'm interested in getting back to that.  

The Bible says that God cursed the ground when humans sinned. (Genesis 3:17) Yet Jesus made mud out of the dirt at his feet and healed a blind man.  (John 9:1-12) God is so steadfast, loyal, unwavering in His love for His creation; and He is faithful to His own Name and promises (because there is no higher name to swear by Hebrews 6:13).  Even in the curse--a ground that requires much work to produce what we need--there is the blessing of minerals, nutrients, medicinal qualities.  The ground suffers because of man's sin-- then and now. But the Gift is greater than the trespass.  God is so, so kind to us, giving us more benefits than we deserve.  

So I sleep on a grounding sheet.   When I go outside (if you know me, you know it's not often) I try to be barefoot when I can.  I am guilty of needing to "touch grass" occasionally for a reality check. But I will find my reality, my grounding, my nourishment in my Creator first, all while thanking Him for His creation.  Praise Him.  ♥️

The Weight of A Day

 

I am kinda on summer break. 

 I have my schedule perfected for summer--work one week, off the next. It's a beautiful thing to wake up in the morning without an alarm to a blank calendar.  I help my two guys get their stuff together so THEY can get out the door on time, but after that, I am free as a bird.  But I don't really use my freedom for flying like a bird does; I use mine for inside stuff.  Sitting, reading, laundry, scrolling, drinking coffee, talking on the phone, paying bills.  When I'm not cleaning houses for my clients, I'm usually piddling around in my own house, organizing something or working on little projects. I rarely turn the TV on when I'm home alone, although I'm almost always listening to an audiobook or podcast.  I "drew up" a graphic depicting a regular day with me at home:

Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, couch, laundry, bathroom, kitchen, couch, front porch, couch....on repeat over 20 days a month.  It may not sound like a dream day, but after years of running an in-home day care, having the house to myself is a treat!  (Side note--I am now a babysitting Grammie during the school year, so there is also sadness in my quiet house.) 

It's easy, though, to lose yourself in the mundane.  The laundry only needs to be done a few times a week.  I can only sit on the couch so long.  I have one person--myself-- to feed throughout the day.  The neighborhood is too quiet to keep my attention from the front porch.  Before I realize it, it's 3:34 on a Thursday afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas with nothing much accomplished.  Some days I meet my 10,000 step goal; some nights all my smart watch has to report is that I managed to stand 10 times and I breathed the whole day.  😑

 The days I thought I longed for when raising kids and running a busy household are sometimes boring and unfulfilling.   But I have found treasure and failure in both days--busy and restful.

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The Israelites had worked for over 400 years as slaves in Egypt.  By the time God sends Moses to them, each Israelite had spent his/her LIFETIME as a slave.  They've known nothing but work. Moses tells the slaves that God intends to rescue them and take them to the land He'd long promised, one flowing with milk and honey.  The exodus story is famous--signs, plagues, death, stubbornness, arrogance, parted sea, deliverance.  Getting the Israelites out of Egypt seemed easy compared to getting Egypt out of them, because they mourned and longed for a return to the life they lived before, a life of slavery.  They worshiped false gods just like their captors, and what should have been an 11-day journey turned into a 38-year wandering. 

If I compared this map (the condensed written version of which you can find in Numbers 33 ) to the map of my daily dally, it wouldn't look that much different.  We have both been piddlers, gripers, wanderers.  We both have been unfocused and ungrateful.  No matter what obstacle comes our way--real or imagined--when we do the math, WE are the common denominator to our failures.  But yet, we both find ourselves under the guidance and protection of the LORD, the One who loves us more than we can think or imagine.  

 How is all this reconciled? There's nothing wrong with a lazy, loungy day.  There's nothing wrong with a day filled with work.  God, in a cloud by day and a fire by night, led His people through the wilderness.  They stopped when He stopped.  They packed up and followed when He moved.  The stopping days might have felt lazy and unfocused.  The moving days might have felt exhausting and pointless.  Moses, while in the middle of the wilderness, wrote it best:

"Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts." Psalm 90:12

There is weight and value in a restful day, if that time of  "lounging" is spent in God's presence.  There is weight and value in a busy day, if the work you're doing is done with integrity--working for the Lord. Mary and Martha are cited as examples of this all. the. time. We make it a point of contention and comparison, when the Bible says both are good, there is just a proper time for each.

Summer is flying by, like it does every year.  Moses felt it too.  Psalm 90 is full of wistful language--"all our days ebb away"; "a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night"; "even the best years are struggle and sorrow; they pass quickly and we fly away".  Teach us, LORD, to feel the weight of a day.  Teach us to make our days count--carefully, intentionally--in the lazy and the busy.  Teach us so that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.  

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands--establish the work of our hands!" Psalm 90:17

 

 

The Rescue of a Brat--A True Story

I almost died here.  I found a 1970's polaroid picture of the place where I almost died as a child due to fear and stubbornness.  

I don't know if this picture is from  the actual day, but the elements are all exactly as I remember them.  A little sandy entrance into grandma Quigley's lake.  The photographer would've had grandma's house behind him, the big red barn to his right, and the biggest part of the lake to his left.  Also to his left would've been a big mulberry tree.  I can still smell the mulberries, feel their squishiness, and see the blue and red stains on our fingers and toes.  I loved to sit and read or nap in Grandma's front porch swing and feel the breeze coming across the lake.  There was a big pecan tree beside the house that offered all the shade you'd need on a warm day.   There were two tire swings hanging from it's enormous branches--one regular sized, one person tire swing; and one big tractor tire swing with a plywood bottom for all the grandkids.  Grandma Quigley's house was one of my very favorite places to be.  

 I don't know who is in THIS picture, but on the day in my memory, it was me, my brother Justin, and my cousins Becky and Chad.  I rarely ventured into the water because there were fish and little biting mussels in the dark, slimy mud bottom. My cousin, Chad, who is my age and my best childhood buddy, loved to feel the same fish and mussels with his feet and on his legs.  He was way braver for only being 5 months older.  On this day, we had innertubes to help us float out a little farther than we could wade. We would be able to venture out away from the mud and muck, the fish and mussels.  Seems like the perfect solution--the chance to enjoy all the lake had to offer beyond the things that scared me.  

But not for little, fearful, anxious Alicia Dawn Wilks.  I told my uncle Steve, one of my mom's older brothers,  that I would just sit on the side of the innertube so less of my body would be in the water in case there were even scarier creatures in the deep.  (A few years later, my dad caught some sort of an alligator gar from the far shore of the lake, so I rest my case.)  My uncle Steve, who I loved and trusted, said this was a bad idea because I would tip over and my Whole Body would end up in the lake.  For someone so little, fearful, and anxious, I was also very stubborn, because off I floated, my bottom on the side of the innertube, my legs wrapped under the side.  About 10 seconds into my maiden voyage across grandma Quigley's lake, uncle Steve's forecast came true and I found my whole self in the dark waters. I remember the feeling of sinking and darkness, until uncle Steve's strong hand reached out, grabbed me, and pulled his scared, soaked, shaking, undeserving BRAT niece to the sandy shore.  

Uncle Steve, Hero!

My uncle, a Vietnam veteran, was a rough guy, but he was soft with us. My brother and I would sing silly songs to him and he would laugh and laugh.  He moved away when I was 10, and we became pen pals. We picked him up once when he was hitchhiking.  He temporarily moved back when I was a young mom with two little girls and they loved him, too.  One evening, he and grandma Quigley babysat the girls for an hour or two. When I came to pick them up, there was little 5 year old Kayla, standing out on the sidewalk with him while he smoked his cigarette. He died later that same year, homeless by choice on the streets of Helena, Montana.   

I did not need to almost drown.  I had received instruction from a trustworthy source, one who had swum in this lake his entire life.  He taught me the right way to face the dangers--real or imagined--because he loved me and wanted me to experience the water in all it's glory. Uncle Steve fought demons --real and imagined--his whole life, but on this day he was my hero.  My rescuer.  On this day, when I was at my most stubborn, the man who once told me he would never follow Jesus, became the truest     picture of Jesus to me.  

The Bible is full of instruction.  People might believe that it's an ancient book on how to get to heaven, and that is true.  But it is also a book of how to live NOW.  It is written by our Creator, the One who knows how our best life should be lived, one for our good and His glory.  We are stubborn, fearful, anxious, know-it-alls who get it so wrong.  God loved us before we even knew Him, and He knew we were all things rebellious and arrogant.  He knew we would demand to do it our own flawed way.  And He knew our way would send us to the muddy, murky, biting, darkness of sin and death.

  "What a wretched (wo)man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24) 

So He rescued us.  His Son, Jesus, Rescuer, Hero. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!!"

My uncle Steve only needed to save me that one time.  I learned my lesson--sitting on the innertube is a terrible idea.  But in real life, there is more than one lesson to learn.  And little, fearful, anxious, stubborn Alicia Dawn Wilks grew up to be bigger, fearful, anxious, stubborn Alicia Dawn Millikin. I still want to do things in my own flawed way.  So I open His Word and I find the best way from the One who loves me and wants me to experience life in all it's God-Given and God-Giving glory.   Jesus saved me once, and He saves me every day, and--someday--He will save me forever and for always.  Rescued.  Grateful.  

"He has rescued us from such a terrible death, and He will rescue us.  We have put our hope in HIm that He will rescue us again." 2 Corinthians 1:10   

 

 

Flax & Barley Part 4--For us and for them.

 

Exodus 9:31 "The flax and barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding."

For Egypt, their refusal to listen to the word of God brought by  Moses--Let my people go!" brought about the destruction of the plants that symbolize salvation and redemption.  Yet for the kindness of God, and His unwillingness that any would perish, there was still hope in the midst of the destruction--

"Those among Pharaoh's officials who feared the word of the LORD made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, but those who didn't take to heart the LORD's word left their servants and livestock in the field."  Exodus 9:20-21

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Joshua 2:6,9-11 "She had hidden the men among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof...She said to them 'I kow that the LORD has give you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.   When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below."

For Rahab, choices were made--by her or by those over her--that brought her to an ungodly vocation in an ungodly city.  Yet God revealed the truth to her, because how else could she have known? She takes the spies and their survival into her hands, and extracts a promise from them to rescue her.   Her declaration of God as LORD was her salvation, and no doubt her life, taken from Jericho and brought into the midst of God's chosen people, was a process of sanctification---flax to linen.  

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Ruth 1:16-17 "Don't plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you.  For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the LORD punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

For Ruth, the choice to leave her life in Moab behind seems easy.  She has a love and respect for her mother-in-law that leads to an obligation for their survival--hers and Naomi's.  She trusts that God can save her from a life of godless living forever.  She takes Naomi's plans, lays them at the feet of her kinsman-redeemer, and extracts a promise from him to rescue her.  Her declaration of God as her God was her salvation, and no doubt her life with her husband--a man of noble character--was a process of sanctification--chaff removed from the barley.  

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These accounts are not just stories.  They are filled with proof of the steadfast and loyal love and faithfulness of God to the ones who declare Him as above all.  

Rahab uses a scarlet thread in her window to mark her room as set apart for rescue. Scarlet--the color of blood, the color of sacrifice.  Jesus. 

 

Ruth sits with Boaz during harvest.  He has rescued her from the general population as laborer; he shows her favor.  He gives her bread and wine.  A foreshadowing of another supper.  The body and the blood, broken and spilled out for us.  Jesus.  

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For us.  What are our choices?  Are we content to stay with the flax, keeping it in it's unfinished state?  Are we content with woody, stalky reeds, when there is linen to be developed?

Are we content to be covered in chaff, unwilling to be shaken free of the discard and debris of sin, never knowing the fresh barley underneath, waiting to be revealed?  

Revelation 19:7-8 "Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.  She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.  For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints."

"His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn.  But the chaff He will burn with fire that never goes out."  Matthew 3:12

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The choice seems so simple, but it's not easy.  It's a commitment every day to the commitment of the  first day.  It's working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  It's hanging the scarlet thread in full view as testament to the blood of Christ that has purchased and covered your sin.  It's taking the Lord's supper, identifying  yourself with His sacrifice for you, as often as you do this-remembering.  It's letting go of the chaff that so easily stunts our maturation, and letting it blow away by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It's taking your flax to God, and letting Him process it into linen.  He is so noble, so absolutely set on redeeming us. For now.  Forever.  

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The rest of their story...

.Rahab married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz. 

 Boaz married Ruth and gave birth to Obed.  

Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David. 

 

Rahab got a new life with a new people.  

Ruth got a new life with a new people. (And a new mother-in-law!!!)

But from their line--messy, twisted, saved, made new, -

 we ALL got Jesus--our Kinsman-Redeemer-- who is called the Messiah.  

Matthew 1

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"I will praise my dear Redeemer, 

His triumphant power I'll tell; 

how the victory He gives me,

over sin and death and hell.

Sing O Sing of my Redeemer!!

With His blood He purchased me;

on the cross He sealed my pardon,

paid the debt, and made me free!"

Flax & Barley Part 3--Barley and the Story of Ruth

 

The main thing I knew about barley before beginning this study--it's a grain.  The end.  I really like it, but rarely think of making it.  I probably make beef and barley soup (Mike's favorite) once a year, and only if he reminds me. 

 The ancient Egyptians, who saw their crops destroyed in the 7th plague in Exodus 9:31, mostly used barley for cheap bread and beer.  It was also used as a cheaper option for feeding livestock, especially horses.  Today, it's still brewed as beer and baked in bread; it's also used as cereal, in soup and stew, is a good replacement for rice in recipes, and is making a comeback as a caffeine-free coffee substitute!! 😕 It has many health benefits--it is a good source of fiber, it aids in digestion, it can help control appetite and blood sugar.  

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Barley is mentioned 37 times in the Bible (more or less, depending on your translation.)  It was used as a bartering or purchasing tool; it was used as a grain offering for the feast of firstfruits, kicking off the harvest season.  When the Israelites are in their final days of wandering in the wilderness, God recalls how He led, loved, and provided for them all of the 40 years they wandered.  He reminds them to keep the commands of the LORD, walking in His ways and fearing Him.  Then He reveals the land they are going in to, the Promised Land-- a "good land, a land with streams, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper.  When you eat and are full, you will bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:7-10 

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There are some strange narratives involving barley in the Bible-- 

The first one is headlined as a "jealousy ritual".  If a husband suspects his wife is unfaithful, although he has no actual proof, he is to bring His wife to the priest, along with two quarts of barley flour.  He is not to pour olive oil or frankinscence over it, since it's a jealous offering, meant to draw attention to guilt.  (This is found in Numbers 5.  I could go on, but I'm afraid it would be me chasing a squirrel again.  If you want to know what I think about it, I'll be glad to tell you in another platform.)

The second strange situation involved Ezekiel in chapter 4.  I was on my third reading through the Bible when this story really hit me, and I haven't been able to get over it.  Ezekiel is commanded by God to play-act all that's happening or will happen in Israel.  He's supposed to draw the city of Jerusalem on a brick, then attack it.  Then he is to lie down on his left side and place the sins of the house of Israel on the platform.  He will lay down on his left side for 390 days, corresponding to the years of their sin.  Then he will switch to his right side for 40 days, a day for each year of the sin of Judah. (Israel at this time is divided into the northern kingdom, still called Israel, and the southern kingdom, called Judah.) "Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself.  You are to eat it during the number of days you lie on your side."  

{See Below} The loaf he will make is about the size of his fist, and he will drink approximately a 20 oz bottle of water a day.  God tells him to bake the bread over HUMAN EXCREMENT (capitalization mine, because obviously it needs to be screamed....) Ezekiel pleads his case to God, this is too much to ask.  God relents and says he can bake the bread over cow dung instead.  (Thanks??) I cannot get over it.  Old Testament prophets put in the work to get God's word to the people.  Thankful for their faithfulness.  

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But my favorite, and arguably the most famous account in the Bible involving barley is the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman.  The Good News about the Moabites---they descend from Lot, the nephew of Abraham.  The Bad News about the Moabites---they were born to Lot's daughter who got pregnant by her own father after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The Moabites quickly became known for their worship of false gods and their sexual immorality.  ("Attitude reflects leadership.")  The Israelite men started prostituting themselves with the women of Moab, and eating offerings given to a Moabite god, Baal of Peor.  This sin infuriated God and became part of the lore that Israelites would tell as a standard for the "worst" sin.  Psalm 106:28-31

Yet, here we find Ruth, a Moabite woman married to an Israelite man, the son of Naomi.  Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons have taken refuge in Moab from a famine in Bethlehem.  Elimelech died, the sons married Moabite women, and then both sons died within 10 years of their planned "for a while" time in Moab.  Naomi, with her men gone, started longing for home. (A woman alone then is different than a woman alone now.) Her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, started on the journey home with Naomi, but Orpah turned around and went back home

.

  [side note--did you know Oprah Winfrey was originally named Orpah after this story, but it was mispronounced so often that Oprah finally stuck?]  

But Ruth clung to her mother-in-law, begging that Naomi not ask her to return home.  I doubt Ruth knew when she said this to Naomi that it would become a pledge through the ages, given most often between a bride and groom...

Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)  Naomi allowed Ruth to continue with her to Bethelehem, and they arrived at the barley harvest.  

The whole town was excited to see Naomi!  But I wonder how they felt about Ruth, a stranger from a strange land?  Ruth feels responsible to provide support for herself and Naomi, and finds a lowly job as a gleaner.  It's a job for the vulnerable, and one God Himself provided...

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes.  Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the LORD your God."  Leviticus 19:9-10

While Ruth works, Boaz--the owner of the field and a well-respected relative of Ruth's former father-in-law, Elimelech--notices her and gives her special harvesting privileges and protection.  Ruth asks "Why would you care about me, a foreigner?"  Ruth's reputation for loyalty to her mother-in-law and her willingness to become "one of them" has been reported to Boaz and he is impressed.  Boaz invites her to share his lunch and instructs the bosses to let her harvest deeper in the field.  

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This is where the story gets a little saucy.  Naomi increases her match-making efforts, telling Ruth to put on perfume and get dressed in her best clothes.  As was the custom, during the feast of firstfruits, the harvesters would process all day, celebrate all evening, and then sleep on the threshing floor for all 7 days of the harvest.  Naomi tells Ruth to make note of where Boaz is, then when he lies down, Ruth is to uncover his feet and lie down.  

Boaz was shocked to find Ruth at his feet in the night.  She explains that he is her kinsman-redeemer, the close relative in charge of providing for the widows in their tribe.  Since he was believed to be the closest, Boaz might even be required to marry Ruth and provide a son in her deceased husband's name.  There are some loose ends to tie up before they can marry, and Boaz quickly takes care of it all.  

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Ruth and Boaz on the threshing floor.  During the winnowing of the barley.  Romantic, right? 

Yes, I think so.  Ruth comes from a questionable background, from a land that worships and sacrifices to foreign gods.  All around them, the leftover chaff would be swirling on the threshing floor, the parts of the barley plant that were useless blowing away with the wind.  We are brought to this stage to see the beautiful picture of Ruth's salvation and sanctification.  The process of becoming holy, set apart, used by God.  From leaving her home behind, to proclaiming that she would follow Naomi and her God, to trusting her life in the hands of this noble man, God has been blowing the chaff out of Ruth's life.  The useless, the debris, the discard taken away with the wind.  And the gift from her kinsman-redeemer? Six measures of barley, freshly harvested, a generous gift of promise from the one who will purchase her life and make her his own.  💖

 

Flax & Barley Part 2-- Flax and the story of Rahab

 

I was so inspired by what I learned about flax that I ordered myself a packet of seeds to plant.  

These are scarlet, but the most common blooms are light blue.  (Featured in the letters in "flax" in the study graphic.) They grow to be 1 to 3 feet tall, and 9 to 18 inches wide. Some varieties can grow even taller.  (Learned all this from a simple google search...) 

 A few things I already knew about flax before I started this study-- 

--Flax seeds can be eaten and added to smoothies or yogurt for added nutrients and fiber.

--Flax seed flour and oil can be used in baking and cooking.

--Flax seed can be mixed with water and be used as an egg replacement in baked goods.  

--Flax seed can be sewn into fabric and placed in the microwave to warm you and soothe aching muscles.  (My personal favorite!!)

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 However, when I was studying the background of linen in Exodus, I learned something I didn't know and you could've knocked me over with a feather.  Flax is processed into linen.  (I know that didn't have the dramatic effect since we just talked about it yesterday.  But at the time, I was stunned.)  We spent a whole day on linen as related to the tabernacle, Linen, but I saved a lot of info for this study.  

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I watched a video on youtube of a lady from California who made linen from planting flax seeds to spinning the dried flax on a spinning wheel.  It took her a year, start to finish.    I was getting antsy during the hour long video, I can't imagine being committed for a whole year!  It is an elaborate process involving  harvesting, pulling, stooking, rippling, retting, breaking, scutching, hackling, spinning, weaving, bleaching.  (Vocabulary words for your homework 😉)

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While linen is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible, flax is only mentioned around 10 times.  Here are a few examples.

Hosea rescued Gomer from a life of prostitution and married her at the LORD's command.  She ran back to prostitution again and again, thinking --

"I will follow my lovers, the men who gave me my food and water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink." 

Hosea says "She doesn't know that it was I who gave her all of this..."  Hosea 2:5,9  (A picture of God and His love for Israel as much as a picture of Hosea and his love for Gomer.)

 The Proverbs 31 Woman, the famous wife of noble character, is known by one of her many positive attributes--

"She selects wool and flax, and works with willing hands."

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From the above accounts, we learn that flax was a valuable commodity.  It was a treasured gift;  it was a necessity for covering and clothing.  It was spun and woven into linen through an intricate working of the hands.  But this next story is my favorite flax story....Joshua 2 and 6.

When the Israelites are finally ready to leave the wilderness behind, they are leaving their leader- Moses- behind too.  He died in the wilderness and God Himself buried Moses somewhere only He knows.  Joshua, Moses's right hand man, is the obvious pick for the next leader.

 (for me, this is the stand out proof--"The LORD would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua the son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent." Exodus 33:11)

God commissions Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land. This 11 day journey had taken them 40 years and I can't imagine the excitement and apprehension the crowd of millions must have felt.  To get to the promised land, though, the group had to fight for the right to pass through enemy territory.  The gateway city was Jericho. 

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First order of business, Joshua sent two men as spies to scout out the land.  Their first stop? The house of Rahab, the....prostitute.  And they STAYED there!!  Their stay was so suspicious that the king of Jericho reached out to Rahab and told her to turn the men over.   She tells the king that they WERE there, but they left when it got dark, and maybe if he hurried he could catch them.  But Rahab had hoodwinked the kings' men, because she'd actually hidden them under the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.  

Rahab goes up to the roof to tell the men they are in the clear for now.  She asks them to do her a favor in exchange for their safety--when Israel comes to defeat Jericho, they need to promise that she and her family will be spared.  The sign of the promise between them will be a scarlet thread hanging from her window, and she and whoever in the room with her will be saved.  After the conquest of Jericho, the men keep their promise and Rahab and her family are saved.  

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Flax is mentioned one time in Rahab's story.  Flax that is drying--or stooking-- on her roof, step 4 on it's way to become linen.  Linen, the cloth worn by priests and kings, in the hands of a prostitute.  Why?  What can we learn from Rahab and her flax?  We can find the answer in what she said to the men as they lay under the flax, future linen.  

"I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.  When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below." Joshua 2:9-11

It's no accident that Rahab is drying flax when these spies seek refuge in her house. We are meant to see the process of flax into linen as the process of salvation and sanctification in Rahab's story.  She knew the LORD is in control of the Israelites' march across Jericho and into the promised land.  She believes that it was the LORD's miraculous power that dried the Red Sea for the Rescued to cross.  She trusts that God is God in heaven and on earth.   God is working on Rahab, whose identity has been wrapped in her sin.  He is taking her brave, strong, resilient, stained, impure stalk of flax--symbolic of rebirth and perseverance, and  He is in the process of working her into linen--pure, holy, righteous.  Salvation.  Sanctification.  For a sinner like Rahab.  For a sinner like me.    

Flax & Barley Part 1--Introduction

 

This is the process of how some of my Bible studies come into existence--

--Be actively working on a Bible study. 

--Get distracted by a verse/phrase/thought/idea while researching another part of the text of the active study.  

--Start making notes on the distracting verse/phrase/thought/idea so I don't forget. 

--Struggle to finish active study because all my thoughts are now wrapped up in what distracted me. 

--Power through original study and move to new study!!

The idea to learn about flax and barley came to me during our last study on Heaven's Royal Sacrifice

When I was reading in Exodus about the tabernacle, I came across this verse--

"The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding."

Exodus 9:31

This destruction of crops came from the 7th plague--hail. The description of these two plants and where they were in their lifecycle when they were destroyed is so helpful in dating the timeline of the 10 plagues.  Flax is usually in it's budding stage in Jan-Feb, and barley is ripe at the same time.  We know that Passover happened in the month of Abib/Nisan (It was called Abib originally, then changed to Nisan after the exile.) Abib/Nisan corresponds with modern-day April so we know that the 7th plague fits into the proper timeline.  

𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘

 Each of the plagues is a show of strength by Jehovah God against the gods that Egypt worshiped. (Squirrel alert....) Nut was the goddess of the sky, Isis and Seth presided over agriculture, and Shu over the atmosphere.* God Almighty was victorious over these false gods in their own domain by bringing a hailstorm of epic proportions, never before seen in Egypt. (Exodus 9:18)

𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘

The loss of their flax crop would have been a low blow to the Egyptians because the flax plant is processed to make linen for clothing, bedding, burial fabric.    Linen was practical to wear because it was cool in a hot climate.  It was a favorite among royalty and nobility.  (God also clothes His priests in linen in the wilderness and beyond.)

𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘

Barley was also a very important crop because they would use it to feed their horses.  It wasn't a diet staple for humans, as any bread made from it was considered inferior to bread made with wheat.  (The wheat and the spelt--two grains that were necessary for human diet survived this plague according to verse 32, but then were destroyed in the plague of locusts in chapter 10.)

𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘𐩘

I hope you aren't tired of your AG lesson, because there is more to come!!  We will spend the next lesson studying flax--its uses, how it's processed, its symbolism--all through the lens of one Biblical account.  Then we will take a day and study barley--its uses, how its processed, its symbolism--all through one Biblical account.   Finally we will tie them together and realize that Flax & Barley are for us, too!!! 

*   Understanding the 10 plagues