Today’s Scripture Reading (November
23, 2015): Joshua 2
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| Beret Wearing "Maquis" in France |
Star Trek’s resistance fighters “The Maquis” received their name from
real life French resistance fighters during World War II. The original Maquis
were active in Brittany and Southern France during the war. The name simply
means “bush” (maybe a description of their ability and need to hide as they did
their work) and is actually Italian in origin. The Maquis were active and
highly effective in frustrating the efforts of the German army as well as
helping downed airman and Jews get out of Nazi controlled territories.
The real Maquis
often wore berets in order to identify each other. The idea was that the beret
was common enough not to arouse suspicion but unique enough to serve as a
signal to other resistance leaders in the area. The Maquis served as just one
of the many resistance operations during World War II. Resistance operations
were found in every occupied nation during the war. They were eclectic groups
of people bound together by persecution and working toward one common goal – to
end the German occupation in the areas where they operated.
Rahab
symbolizes the resistance movement that was present in Canaan as Israel entered
into the land. There was evidence that the people of the land were expecting
them, and many feared their arrival. Some, like Rahab, decided that it was
better to fight on the side of Israel rather than to campaign against them. And
so Rahab became an integral part of the taking of the city of Jericho by
Israel. She saved the spies from discovery as they scouted the city, and as a
result Rahab and her family were saved from the destruction when the city fell.
Her identifying mark was to be a red chord hanging from her window. As long as
the chord hung from the window, anyone who was inside the house would be safe. But
they couldn’t leave the house until the fighting was over. The red chord was
their “beret,” and they would only be safe as long as they were within its
vicinity.
Bible scholars
have been quick to note the similarity between this story and a couple of
others in the Bible. One such story was the first Passover. The people of
Israel, the resistance fighters in Egypt, were commanded to kill a lamb and
place its blood (red) on the doors of the house. Then the angel of death would
pass over the house leaving the inhabitants unharmed. But they were instructed
not to leave their houses until morning – that was the only way that their
safety could be guaranteed.
For the
Christian, the parallel is found in the cross and the death of Jesus. The idea
of the hymn writers of being “washed in the blood” really indicates that this
is the way that we are to be identified as belonging to God. It is not our
doors that bear the blood of the Lamb, it is our lives. The blood has been
symbolically placed on us and it is that blood that both justifies and saves
us. The blood becomes our “beret” marking us out as followers of God. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him (Romans
5:9)!
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua
3
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