Provided to me as a complimentary copy by Booksneeze, The Scarlet Cord by Joan Wolf fleshes out the life of Rahab, the Old Testament heroine who saved the spies in Jericho and whose life was spared in return. Ms. Wolf depicts Rahab as a young, innocent beauty who is mistakenly assumed to be a harlot by the Israelites since she is a Canaanite. Rahab and Sala (the Hebrew man, Salmon) fall in love, but are thwarted by their differing backgrounds and resulting family resistance. Due to Rahab's role in saving the spies, she wins Sala's father's grudging acceptance, and her family, too, comes around when it becomes obvious that Yahweh is the one true God as Jericho's walls fall.
I appreciate Biblical historical fiction because it allows me to imagine what the men and women of the Bible we're thinking and feeling as the drama of major Biblical events plays out. Usually these types of fictional works motivate me to reread the Scripture passage with a greater awareness. Unfortunately, author Joan Wolf's interpretation of Rahab fell so far off the mark of the Bible narrative that I didn't even bother to revisit the Biblical account. The Bible clearly states that Rahab was a harlot, not once but several times. This is one of the beautiful examples in Scripture of God redeeming people who are unworthy. It is a story of forgiveness and redemption, of saving to the uttermost. Wolf's depiction of Rahab as a virginal young girl not only misses a key point of the Biblical account but also seems to call into question the veracity of the Scriptural description of Rahab. For this reason, though the story was well written and an interesting read, I can not in good conscience recommend The Scarlet Cord.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Jacie Milestones
Changes happen so quickly. The cooing baby become the babbling toddler; then the babbling toddler becomes the semi-articulate little girl. At 2 1/2 years old, Jacie seems to be in the latter stage mentioned. Lately, every sentence out of her mouth, every conversation has amazed me. So this entry is my attempt to record some of her recent statements and developments.
One of my favorite recent revelations occurred as we pulled into the garage and I turned off the car, shutting off her Bible songs CD in mid-verse: "Believe in the....." From the backseat, Jacie's baby voice chimes in, finishing the verse, "...Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Word for word, just like that! I'm astounded and humbled by the great responsibility of keeping her little mind alive with God's Word.
Jacie has picked up on adult conversation quite well. She politely asks our international student at dinner time, "So, Yunah, how was school?" She loves to use her manners, unfailingly exclaiming, "Bless you, Mommy!" whenever I sneeze. When I reply with a slightly startled, "Thank you, Jacie," she cheerfully chimes back, "You're welcome, Mommy!" This little vignette plays out as many times in a row as I happen to sneeze.
Pronunciation at this age is adorable, too. "Please" comes out "Queeeeze" most of the time, "Joseph" is "Jophus," "Mickey Mouse" is "Gickey Mouse," and this morning "More sausage, please" came out "More os-tich, queeeze!"
One of the most recent heart-warming moments happened yesterday when I went in her bedroom to get her up from her nap. Upon my entrance into the room, Jacie exclaimed, "I'm so happy to see you, Mommy!"
Jacie loves to joke and laugh. Her sense of humor is corny and contagious. She interjects "Are you kidding me?" into dinnertime conversation whenever she wants us laugh with her. She points to items and asks an absurd question like "Is that Dora?" Then crinkles up her nose and crows with laughter, saying, "Noooo, that's not Dora!"
Naptime lately means at least an hour of laughing, jumping, singing every song she knows, reciting every phrase from her favorite show ("O Toodles" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and "We did it; we did it!" from Dora) until she sometimes tires herself out enough to fall asleep. I don't care; I'm not giving up on naptime. I need that time for me!
One of my favorite recent revelations occurred as we pulled into the garage and I turned off the car, shutting off her Bible songs CD in mid-verse: "Believe in the....." From the backseat, Jacie's baby voice chimes in, finishing the verse, "...Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Word for word, just like that! I'm astounded and humbled by the great responsibility of keeping her little mind alive with God's Word.
Jacie has picked up on adult conversation quite well. She politely asks our international student at dinner time, "So, Yunah, how was school?" She loves to use her manners, unfailingly exclaiming, "Bless you, Mommy!" whenever I sneeze. When I reply with a slightly startled, "Thank you, Jacie," she cheerfully chimes back, "You're welcome, Mommy!" This little vignette plays out as many times in a row as I happen to sneeze.
Pronunciation at this age is adorable, too. "Please" comes out "Queeeeze" most of the time, "Joseph" is "Jophus," "Mickey Mouse" is "Gickey Mouse," and this morning "More sausage, please" came out "More os-tich, queeeze!"
One of the most recent heart-warming moments happened yesterday when I went in her bedroom to get her up from her nap. Upon my entrance into the room, Jacie exclaimed, "I'm so happy to see you, Mommy!"
Jacie loves to joke and laugh. Her sense of humor is corny and contagious. She interjects "Are you kidding me?" into dinnertime conversation whenever she wants us laugh with her. She points to items and asks an absurd question like "Is that Dora?" Then crinkles up her nose and crows with laughter, saying, "Noooo, that's not Dora!"
Naptime lately means at least an hour of laughing, jumping, singing every song she knows, reciting every phrase from her favorite show ("O Toodles" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and "We did it; we did it!" from Dora) until she sometimes tires herself out enough to fall asleep. I don't care; I'm not giving up on naptime. I need that time for me!
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