2 Little-Known Bible Stories With Big Lessons

Here are two little-known Bible stories that hold big lessons for us.

The Scarlet Thread

Perhaps you have seen that the Bible, from cover to cover, is not only about history but it is His-story. That is, Jesus Christ is interwoven throughout the Bible and He is seen in symbolism if you look hard enough or if you know what you’re looking for. For example, when the Joshua-led Israelite army was about to conquer and destroy Jericho, Joshua sent out spies and Rehab, a prostitute, hid them when the enemy came looking for them. To reward her, the spies told Rehab to hand a scarlet or red cord from her window so that the Israelite army would spare her. That scarlet thread is symbolic of Jesus Christ and like the lambs blood that was put over the door posts of the Israelites so that death would “passover” them, the red cord pointed to Jesus’ blood that saves those who put their trust in Him. For all those who have repented and put their sins under the blood of the Lamb of God, you can see Jesus as the common thread of all Scripture that is interwoven throughout the Bible. The more you read the Bible, including the Old Testament, the more you are able to see the thematic message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Jews that “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). After Jesus’ resurrection, He walked with two men on the road to Emmaus saying “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:26-27).

The Majority Is Often Wrong

When Israel was about to cross over into the Promised Land, Moses sent out 12 spies to find out what they were up against. When the spies returned, 10 of the men reported that they thought it was impossible to take the land because the enemy was so huge. They say themselves as grasshoppers compared to what the men of Israel looked like (Num 13:33). Ten of the spies reported “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan” (Num 13:27-29) but Caleb said “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Num 13:30). The more you read the Bible the more you will realize that the majority is often wrong. Just reading the Book of Jeremiah you discover that the entire nation, including all the prophets, didn’t expect the judgment of God to fall upon Israel and said that they were safe. Jeremiah was the one, lone voice that declared God’s judgment was coming. God often shows that only a small number of the majority are right and that even if the greater number of people says something different, that doesn’t necessarily true. The reality is that often the majority is wrong and God frequently uses the smallest of numbers to show that He is God and that the battle belongs to Him.