I’m reading this wonderful book right now; a life-changing book in fact and I’ll share more about it down below but first…I was reading a chapter today and it linked Rahab, an Old Testament prostitute, to the line of Jesus. As much as I’ve read the Bible and listened to sermons, I’m not sure I ever knew that, and if I did, it’s not something I remember. It made me realize how little I know about some of the people in the Bible and I want to fix that. So, I designed a new set of Bible journaling printables specifically for learning more about the figures in the stories of the Bible. There are more Bible journaling printables here, but since I’m breaking these out separately, they are all new. These are free for email subscribers.
The book I’m reading right now is, Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small. In chapter three the author mentions the Battle of Jericho as one of the most significant turning points in the Jewish storyline. “It was the first victory in the Promised Land, but the key to victory was an act of kindness. And that act of kindness is the key to your salvation.” Wow! “…the key to my salvation?” Tell me more.
The author then introduces Rahab; wait! An Old Testament prostitute is a key to my salvation? I obviously kept reading and as I was reading, I kept wondering how I didn’t know this or didn’t make the connection. I hate when I miss something like this, but really, in all the books and in all the passages of the Bible, sometimes it is hard to make these connections, especially if I’m just reading through.
Although I have a set of free Bible journaling printables already available, I wanted to spruce them up and break them out individually. I also added some specific questions to help you and me dig a little deeper into their life.
Rahab is the perfect example of why character sketches can be an important part of our Bible journaling. This little mentioned, harlot of Jericho turns out to be more important than what meets the eye. She is listed in the Gospel lineage of Jesus, one of only three women mentioned.
It’s important to be at least somewhat aware of the lineage of Jesus, if only for the sake of connecting the dots. But also because His ancestors can be an important example for us. I know looking back into my family lineage, there are some characters there for sure! And I’m sure many of you have the same. And there’s always something to be learned from even the most colorful of characters!
I think if having colorful ancestors was something to be vehemently ashamed of, Rahab would have been left out of the writings of Jesus’ lineage. Instead, she’s mentioned not only in the Old Testament but also in the New and like I mentioned above, she is one of a handful of Old Testament women mentioned in His lineage in the New. And I think all we can do is say, “But God…” Had it not been for God’s amazing plan of grace and salvation, Rahab would have gone down in history as the harlot of Jericho, if even that.
My plan is to use this Bible journaling printable to learn more about the characters in the Scriptures and then think, “But God…” Because, our past may be checkered and our ancestors seemingly undesirable, but God didn’t make a mistake placing them in time and eternity and in our lineage.
So what can we learn from scandalous characters in our family tree? And by family tree, I mean our Biblical lineage as well as our immediate lineage. The last two section to be filled out on the Bible Journaling Character Sketch is a “Lesson” and an “Application” section.
One of the biggest lies of the enemy when it comes to reading our Bible is that it is irrelevant for us today. That’s a bunch of hooey (as my father-in-law would say). If the stories, lesson, and instructions were irrelevant, we would not have the Scriptures, it’s as simple as that. God doesn’t do anything by accident and He didn’t leave an inspired set of writings out of forgetfulness. The Scriptures are relevant, “living and active” and meant to be read, studied, hidden in our heart, and shared with all.
These Character Sketch Bible Journaling Printables are free for email subscribers.
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