No Small People
I was teaching a class on Genesis yesterday. In reading the chapter and preparing for class I noticed what I thought was a great lesson out of chapter 35. There is one verse, written almost in passing (God doesn't really write anything in passing, does He?) about Rebekah's nurse, Deborah. It says, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."
Here was a lady who died almost in obscurity. She is mentioned only twice in the Bible (24:59 and here) and her name is mentioned just this once. So the truth is, we know almost nothing about her. I'm assuming she was like Rebekah's nanny and was involved with her life from beginning until Allon Bacuth. It seems to me, that though we have to speculate if we are to guess anything about Deborah, the name of the place of her burial gives us some insight. The place was named "The Oak of Weeping." Now, perhaps I'm making too great a distinction here, but weeping tells me there was a great depth to the feelings of those weeping. Crying seems, to me at least, to be that momentary thing done at the appropriate time, but is quickly over, while weeping is found in deep emotional mourning. Don't you find it better said that "Jesus wept," rather than "Christ cried"? And why would they name the place Oak of Weeping? Could it be that they were all feeling the great loss of this woman? That she wasn't just hired help or even slave, but she was family. She was involved with all that they did. But more than this, she must have been loving and kind in her dealings with Deborah and her people, if not then there would have been no real weeping.
In addition to this, it seems important to me that God mentioned her. Who was she? No one, really. At least not in the grand scheme of things. She was no Abraham or even Sarah. She wasn't Deborah the Prophetess, she was just Deborah the nurse. Yet the God of heaven chose to tell us about her. I love this. She is like the widow with two mites; another nobody, but Jesus points her out and speaks of her wonderful gift of faith. Dorcas, there's one for you. Just an old lady who sewed things for people and when she died they wept and God mentioned her. I think He's telling us something wonderful in these mentionings. He's saying that there are no small people nor small lives. We are all important and carry some influence in the lives of others. We can make a difference if we choose to and God will know it.
Picture a great gathering in heaven as all kneel around the throne and the God of the universe calls your name and asks you to step forward. Up you go and God tells everyone, "This is Mary Smith. Her neighbor was dying from cancer and Mary went to her house every day to clean it and get her two children ready for school. She made their breakfasts and packed their lunches." Mary might think, "What? It was just a little cleaning and helping out once-in-awhile, but nothing worth mentioning." That's what we all might think, but remember the scripture said, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."
Here was a lady who died almost in obscurity. She is mentioned only twice in the Bible (24:59 and here) and her name is mentioned just this once. So the truth is, we know almost nothing about her. I'm assuming she was like Rebekah's nanny and was involved with her life from beginning until Allon Bacuth. It seems to me, that though we have to speculate if we are to guess anything about Deborah, the name of the place of her burial gives us some insight. The place was named "The Oak of Weeping." Now, perhaps I'm making too great a distinction here, but weeping tells me there was a great depth to the feelings of those weeping. Crying seems, to me at least, to be that momentary thing done at the appropriate time, but is quickly over, while weeping is found in deep emotional mourning. Don't you find it better said that "Jesus wept," rather than "Christ cried"? And why would they name the place Oak of Weeping? Could it be that they were all feeling the great loss of this woman? That she wasn't just hired help or even slave, but she was family. She was involved with all that they did. But more than this, she must have been loving and kind in her dealings with Deborah and her people, if not then there would have been no real weeping.
In addition to this, it seems important to me that God mentioned her. Who was she? No one, really. At least not in the grand scheme of things. She was no Abraham or even Sarah. She wasn't Deborah the Prophetess, she was just Deborah the nurse. Yet the God of heaven chose to tell us about her. I love this. She is like the widow with two mites; another nobody, but Jesus points her out and speaks of her wonderful gift of faith. Dorcas, there's one for you. Just an old lady who sewed things for people and when she died they wept and God mentioned her. I think He's telling us something wonderful in these mentionings. He's saying that there are no small people nor small lives. We are all important and carry some influence in the lives of others. We can make a difference if we choose to and God will know it.
Picture a great gathering in heaven as all kneel around the throne and the God of the universe calls your name and asks you to step forward. Up you go and God tells everyone, "This is Mary Smith. Her neighbor was dying from cancer and Mary went to her house every day to clean it and get her two children ready for school. She made their breakfasts and packed their lunches." Mary might think, "What? It was just a little cleaning and helping out once-in-awhile, but nothing worth mentioning." That's what we all might think, but remember the scripture said, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."
posted by Josiah Tilton at 8:20 AM
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