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Behold the Handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38)
(Posted 1/17/05)

Our lives overflow with activity and complexity. Worry, ambition, and a multitude of activities consume our time and our thoughts. We are busy. Very busy. We are so busy that when certain significant events, certain moments, come along, we are completely surprised and often unprepared. These moments manifest themselves in very different ways, appearing variously as calls for help, crises, joyous announcements, or sometimes silent pleas, but despite their obvious differences, they do have something in common. These moments are the times when we reveal ourselves for who we truly are.

I was recently reading the first chapter of Luke and came across the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary. There is no doubt in my mind that for Mary this was a moment. Her response to his incredible news is one I will not forget. After asking how this extraordinary event would take place, her response is simply this, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

Upon reading this small, clear statement, I was stunned. How many people would respond to such news in this way? Let me be clear. The veneration of Mary as something more than human is wrong, and I do not encourage it. Still as an example, we can learn from Mary, and this one statement teaches us so much. The meaning found in Mary's answer to Gabriel is both rich and full, and the more I meditate on it, the more I see its deeper implications.

"Behold, the handmaid of the Lord." Mary displays many virtuous qualities in those few words - knowledge of God and that his ways are higher than man's ways, recognition that God is in control of all things, and a deep humility of heart to accept this news of glory and honor with the response of a servant. I am reminded of John 13 in which Jesus as our Lord and Master humbles himself to do the task of the lowest servant - that of washing his disciples feet. How difficult it is in our egocentric world, to understand where we belong. Yes, we are redeemed children of God who have been granted adoption and are even called his friends, but when God speaks to us, it is our place to submit and to say, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord."

This is no mere expression or figure of speech. This is a confession of faith. It reveals the spirit with which we serve God. When Mary uttered this phrase, our Lord had not come, and we still dwelt in darkness, but even at that time Mary humbly submits to the will of God. How much more should we whom God has bought with a price - the price of the perfect blood of Christ - whom God has translated out of that darkness into his marvelous light? How much more should we with gratitude and humility say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord"?

Imagine if at every moment in our lives, we have the grace to respond with this confession. If when we see a brother or sister in need, we say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" and stretch out our hands to help them. If when we talk with a friend and see that her soul is lost, we say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and lovingly open up God's word to teach her. If when we face the departure of our loved ones into death, we say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and bow our heads to pray to Him. If when we are led by our own desires and are tempted to veer from the path, we say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" and resolutely return to our Father. Imagine! How the love of God would be seen in this world. How the peace of God would hold our hearts. How the true knowledge of God would spread growing and encouraging growth in one another.

Yet there is more. Unbelievable as it may seem, there is more to this beautiful, humble thought: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." What if this was not merely our response to the moments in our lives, those times of tragedy, joy, or opportunity? What if, instead, this was the motto by which our entire lives were guided? Think how different a life becomes when its sole purpose is to do the will of another. How simple. How uncluttered. How noble when that other is Almighty God. We would find that we would indeed be busy, but it would be doing His work. We would find ourselves letting go of all the things that do not serve God. We would find a simplicity and peace to our lives and rejoice in the knowledge that we serve the most high God.

I challenge us to hold up every piece of our lives to these questions: As God's handmaid what would he have me do? How does this activity serve God? What can I change right now to serve Him better? When we come to understand God and what it is He looks for in us, then these thoughts can do more than change a day, or an hour, or a moment. We will completely change our very lives, both now and forever. We will truly be able to say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

Bonnie M. Hagan
Colorado

Rahab Lights a Path for Us

When I feel totally unfit to accept all the glories of Jesus' gifts to mankind, when my sinful life makes me feel absolutely below the possible notice of my glorious Father and our Savior, let me look to Rahab for learning some important lessons. God, our Father, and Savior look at our inward parts not our position in life. Am I willing to work? Am I willing to serve where I am? Do I elevate His way above my daily concerns? What does Rahab do? Let us look and see:

Rahab may have felt some of these negative debilitating emotions herself, yet opportunity makes her act for the powerful God of whom she hears great things. And now look at her rewards! She is one of God's people, she is in Jesus' genealogy. What greater physical service can any woman perform for all of mankind? (Well, by being Mary, perhaps.)

Rahab is a harlot. Do any of us know a lower esteemed life choice? In our day and in Bible times this profession breaks up families and sends men on the road to infamy. (Look at Proverbs 7:6-23) However Rahab is where some concentrated action begins to happen and she performs her help well. Actually Rahab's house is a prime location for anyone to get information about people coming in and out of the city: Joshua 2:15 , "...for her house was on the wall, she dwelt on the wall."

Joshua sends two men to see the land and the city of Jericho . They come to Rahab's house and lodge there. Obviously someone in Rahab's house has contact with the king of Jericho or someone in and out of her house. (Perhaps the one who sent them to her house sent word to the king also or someone near that person) For the information of the two men reaches the king while the men are still there. The king sends for the two men. This could be a really exciting fiction story if that were all it is. But this is truly happening and this is history is in the making!

By this time in the conquest of Canaan Rahab has heard many great things of our God. She knows His power by what He has done for His people. She tells the two men, "…I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (Josh. 2:9-11). With these words and risking her own safety by saving God's messengers, Rahab changes her life forever by casting in her lot with God's people. She makes a wise choice as those do today who choose to follow this same powerful God through the newer law given by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament.

Rahab hides the two men, and tells them how to avoid capture, then gets them down the wall and they go to the mountains for three days to avoid the king's men as she tells them. Then they go back to Joshua with their report of a fainthearted city ripe for taking.

Isn't the story of Jericho a terrifying one for the people in the city there? Here comes a whole nation of people marching around them for six days without sound, then seven times around the seventh day. Then after a deafening shout from all these people, the walls come down. Even Rahab is probably shaking, but she still obeys the spies' words and saves her possessions, her household, and her family. The same men she helped bring her out of the city and keep her safe while all the rest in the city are killed (Josh. 6:22,21).

Rahab is one of only two women mentioned in the "faith" chapter for the work she does in Joshua 2 (the other one is Sarah). Rahab performs a great service for all of us from perhaps little knowledge of God. Her heart is open and she responds with help to the people who serve the powerful God she learns of by hearing of His great deeds for His people (Josh. 2:9-10).

And one more perhaps extraordinary thing to remember about Rahab of Jericho: She is a great, great, great...great grandmother of Jesus. So she benefits us all by helping God's people conquer one city in Canaan and by being our Savior's foremother.

Then also Paul and James both use Rahab as an example to teach us some necessary lessons for our spiritual living from Hebrews (ch11) and James (ch 2) on faith and works. Isn't Rahab a really memorable person for our Bible Study plus a good example for our spiritual paths on earth? I believe so.

Jerri Hamilton
Alabama