Cockroaches, Nests, and Heebie-Jeebies

I'm a bit squeamish. Actually, that might be an understatement. In middle school, I dreaded labs that had to do with dissection of anything - worms, frogs, and later, grasshoppers and pigs. I tried to make sure I always had an unsqueamish lab partner, so I could take the notes and my poor lab partner could do the cutting. There was one very memorable insect collection I was required to complete that I dreaded for three years when my older brother had had to do the same project. I used to pray that the Lord would return before I needed to actually touch the gross critters. In the end, I pulled off the assignment without touching anything through the help of tweezers and a patient and grace-filled daddy who helped me place the tiniest bugs on the cards. 

Hebrews 4:12-13 cuts right into my squeamish mind and lays out a vivid mental picture: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow (dissections!); it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

I worked in Phoenix, Arizona for a few months at a youth ministry some years ago. The center was a large, older church building in southwest Phoenix, and at that time, there were a lot of small odd-jobs to do around the place to fix it up. A closet in the basement of the center needed to be cleaned out; it had no electricity, and there was a grate in the ceiling that opened up to the parking lot outside. Sand and dirt sifted through the whole dark room as a result. Someone had stored some cabinets in there. Since it was Phoenix, two-inch long cockroaches were... a thing. A horrible, nightmare-inducing thing. Ugh. I still get the heebie-jeebies thinking about it.

I had to clean out that closet. I went in with fear and trembling, but I was determined to do the job. It was dark (no electricity, remember); the only light was what filtered in dimly through the doorway. You could hear the scuttles of cockroaches if you stood still for a moment. I had a broom, and I spent a good bit of time ramming it into the inky-black cabinets and slamming it back and forth to drive out creepy-crawlies before I had to wipe the shelves off with a soapy wet rag. 

Somehow I got through the task, though the ick-factor stained my mind so indelibly, I still remember that experience vividly today. When I was finished, the closet was spick and span. Not a single cockroach anywhere. Every nook and cranny of the cabinet I'd cleaned out was free of sand and dust. Naturally, the grate had to be covered so the inevitable sandstorms didn't refill the closet, but I was proud of the work I'd accomplished (I wouldn't want to do it again, though, for the record).

Y'all, there are some creepy-crawly nests in our nation today that need to be uncovered. Darkness hates light. Critters of night flee the sun. Evil, when exposed before the light of God's righteousness, cannot stand in place. It must flee!

So. Back in Genesis 24, Abraham's servant, Eliezer, heads back to Abraham's homeland to find a wife for Isaac from Abraham's people. He reaches the town of Nahor (likely named after Abraham's brother) and stops at the well. Unsure of the next step, unsure which girl to choose (because there were likely more than one), he prays for guidance. 

I'll paraphrase: "Lord," Eliezer says, "whoever the girl is that You've got for Isaac... give me a sign. I'll ask somebody a drink of water, and if she not only agrees to give me some, but also offers to water my camels (there were ten of them) as well, then I'll know she's the one You've chosen."

Here comes Rebekah, out of her house, holding a jug on her shoulder. She's beautiful, and she catches Eliezer's attention. He watches her walk down to the spring and draw some water, so he approaches her. "May I have some water?" he asks.

Rebekah immediately slides the jug from her shoulder and offers it to him, and - kind girl that she is - says: "Let me also water your camels." Now... I don't know the set-up around the spring. I imagine troughs were already set in place nearby for shepherds and travelers who needed to water thirsty animals. The Scriptures say: "She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again." I'm already out of breath thinking about that fact alone. And then camels can go for long periods of time without water and, as such, are quite useful for desert treks. But when they do drink... they drink a lot. A quick Google search says that a thirsty camel can drink up to 30 gallons of water! Multiply that by ten... Land-o'-Goshen, that's a lot of water!

So, Rebekah isn't just offering to do a nice thing. This likely takes her quite a bit of time, especially if she only has one jar). She takes seriously the hospitality of the culture and bends over backward to show kindness to a stranger (see my earlier post about Abraham's bending over backwards to be hospitable to the three strangers). This is the sign Eliezer has asked for.

In Genesis 24:48, he says: "I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road..."

Eliezer is unsure of his path... until God confirms it. He doesn't know the way... until God shows him.

God is faithful to show us where we need to go, what we need to do. "Show me Your ways, oh Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long!" (Psalm 25:4-5)

Why does God show us the way? Because He can see when we can't. When we're in the dark, He is in the light. He can see every step of the path in front of us. He can see every nest of evil that hides in the darkness, and He can expose them, show them for what they are, and guide us through the pitfalls set up by them.

I get frustrated when I can't see. In my closet adventure, when I first stood inside the room, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cleaning to do. I whacked that broom back and forth in those cabinets for a long time before I was satisfied that no creepy-crawlies huddled there anymore. I wanted to leave the closet, but I stayed because it was my job, and I had to do it. I took the longest shower ever after it was done. 

The creepy-crawlies have come out in 2020. They've lived here for a while, but they've been nesting, and the nests have been producing all sorts of horrific things. The roaches are swarming, and you can hear the scuttling when you take the time to stand still and listen. How frustrating it is to know the nests are there, but to be unsure even where to start on the cleansing.

Habakkuk 1:2-4 expresses this frustration so well: "'How long, oh Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen? Or cry out to You, 'Violence!' but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.'"

Listen to what God says. I love this. "Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." 

I can't see. I pray, as Eliezer did, "Lord, show me the way." And God did. Eliezer walked the path God laid out for Him, even when he was unsure. 

I can't see, but God can. Why? Because "everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." He can see every last nest, every scuttly, gross, crawling, heebie-jeebie, disgusting nest. And where God sheds light, the darkness must flee. 

So... look at the nations. Watch. Be utterly amazed. God is doing a thing. Something so mind-blowing, we wouldn't believe it even if He told it to us ahead of time. 

Lord, "be exalted among the nations, be exalted in the earth!"
Let Your "justice roll down like a river, Your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
Cut through the nests, wash them away.
Cleanse this land, cleanse your people.
Free us from the evil things that clog the dark corners.
Bring Your clear light of justice and truth.
Dark things cannot stand in the light.
Lies cannot stand before Truth.
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Father, cut to the joints and marrow!
Do surgery on this broken nation, Lord.
Then bring healing.
Suture us up...
But only after the bones are set.
Do the painful work before the healing, Lord.