Did God commend or approve of Rahab’s lie?

[stunnedbygrace]

We can be certain that if Jesus is God revealed, lying and murder are not part of his game.

Now regarding the accounts we have in the O.T. of genocide attributed to Gods orders, floods to drown people and fires to burn them or even language like bathing your feet in the blood of your enemies...there is something amiss either in how we understand, or who the writers thought were responsible for these things.
One thing is certain, this behaviour taken at face value attributed to God is not the God Jesus came to reveal.

We call the scriptures the word of God when in fact it is the account of the writers.
THE Word of God is Jesus as clearly stated in the first chapter of John's Gospel. We further have the voice from the cloud on the mount of transfiguration instructing us to 'listen him'. In other words, Jesus's approach, his words, his behaviour trumps anything preceding which attempts to give us a picture of God.

....and finally, if Lucifer managed to bring billions of unfallen angels over to his side.....angels who where in the service of God for who knows how long, then he has well and truly taken humanity by the short and curly's by painting God with a picture of himself.....even Christians.

Mmm…something is wrong in this (to my ear).

First of all though, the problem of this whole thread is related to a lack of understanding between
1. what God expects of men
2. what men God accepts and shows mercy to in the end.
3. what God expects of men He takes into His holiness.
Every problem always comes back to not understanding the difference between righteousness in the OT and holiness in the NT and that God ACCEPTS some men and is VERY PLEASED with some men. It’s the key that leads out of Babel. It really is.

Anyway, it’s your thought that you have about the WRITTEN word from God that doesn’t sit in my ear as correct.

 

[quietthinker]

Mmm…something is wrong in this (to my ear).

First of all though, the problem of this whole thread is related to a lack of understanding between
1. what God expects of men
2. what men God accepts and shows mercy to in the end.
3. what God expects of men He takes into His holiness.
Every problem always comes back to not understanding the difference between righteousness in the OT and holiness in the NT and that God ACCEPTS some men and is VERY PLEASED with some men. It’s the key that leads out of Babel. It really is.

Anyway, it’s your thought that you have about the WRITTEN word from God that doesn’t sit in my ear as correct.

Regarding your concern echoed in your last line 'Anyway, it’s your thought that you have about the WRITTEN word from God that doesn’t sit in my ear as correct.'

I think what has happened in the Community of believers is that we have become entrenched in certain assumptions without really thinking about the implications of those assumptions.....the primary one is that we literally take the scripture (written accounts) as 'the word of God'

I'm proposing we think about that assumption in some detail and hold it up to the light of scrutiny.
There is too much written which is questionable as being the literal word of God. I wont labour the details but I think you know what I'm talking about.

Am I saying the scriptures are not inspired? No, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is the only account we have of the literal WRITTEN word of God are the Ten Commandments.....not written on parchment but burned into stone......and again, to reiterate, that's the only literal element, if I can call it that.

Throughout this history of gathering records from Kings or prophets or other holy men their meanings have been debated and fought over.
Finally God sends his Son to clarify its/ their meanings because he saw the mess men were making. Jesus tells a story to that effect......and the Son gets killed and thrown out of the vineyard. Consider the implications.....isn't that what the 'believing' community has done?

We need to interpret using God's revelation of himself in Jesus, not interpret using an abysmal history record irrespective of the pathetic behaviour our long-suffering God has put up with. Is this record profitable for correction and reproof and learning? absolutely! ......but let us learn what it is teaching and not what we 'imagine' it is.

 

[stunnedbygrace]

I think what has happened in the Community of believers is that we have become entrenched in certain assumptions without really thinking about the implications of those assumptions.....the primary one is that we literally take the scripture (written accounts) as 'the word of God'

I understand. That’s why I have adopted the practice of calling scripture “the word from God” as I did in my post, rather than calling scripture “the word of God.”

 

[Mark51]

Did God commend or approve of Rahab’s lie?

James 2:25
“Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?”

Joshua 2:4-6
4 “And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.”

I cannot believe otherwise because the is part of Jesus' linage.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

2 Peter 1:5
”….add to your faith virtue;…”