Somewhat rather strangely, Matthew 27:51-53 is the only place in the Bible where we get the story of "many saints" rising from the graves at Jesus' death (or probably, more specifically, after His resurrection). In the Bible, "many" could be a reference to thousands (although it is most likely not so in this case).  However, even if it was 20, it seems odd that this was left out of the other gospel accounts.  

Perhaps this is the reason, of all the stories of people rising from the dead, this one seems to be glossed over the most.  If it is important, then why is it only mentioned one time?  How significant could it be? Well, If you remember, the disciples didn't even believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until He stood before them and rebuked them for their unbelief.  So maybe it is understandable that, even if they had heard the story, they didn't all feel compelled to investigate or add it to their accounts... which, honestly, it is nice that God gave us four accounts of the life of Christ as we get a multi-dimensional overview of what was going on; as opposed to all four accounts repeating all the same stories... what would be the point?

So, I want to explore this story and give a few thoughts to consider about this event that you may not have even heard a sermon about before:

1.  These bodies were not glorified and did not ascend to Heaven like Jesus.


How do we know this?  Because Jesus is the "firstfruits" of them that slept (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23), and no one else rises (in the same way Jesus rose) until after His return (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). In fact, the title "only begotten Son" does not imply that the eternal Son was brought into existence from nothing. Jesus was the "first begotten FROM THE DEAD" (Colossians 1:18), and it is about His resurrection that God says "This day have I begotten thee (Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5).

Therefore, everyone who was ever risen from the dead (like the widow's son, Jairus' daughter... Lazarus...) did not remain alive in the flesh but were only temporarily brought back to life (similarly to someone who is brought back with a defibrillator or CPR).  Of course, you have Lazarus being dead four days and you have Elijah and Enoch being translated without dying in the natural way that one dies, but they still went to Heaven without receiving glorified bodies (I believe their bodies did not physically go with them into Heaven).These "many saints" wouldn't have been any different.  They would have only temporarily been brought back to life.  

2.  These bodies would most likely have only been recently deceased. 

This is sort of just "my opinion," but I feel it is a reasonable conclusion.  First of all, I don't think these saints could have been from previous generations because they would have obviously not have been recognized by people who knew them (they didn't have photographs back then, so it wouldn't be very convincing for a person with an unfamiliar face to claim they were your long lost relative risen from the dead).

Secondly, there is no other case (that I can think of) where someone is brought back to life after a considerable amount of time dead (Lazarus being the longest at four days).  That isn't to say God couldn't do it; obviously He WILL rise up people from all generations one day, but if the idea is simply to revive a body (rather than creating a new body), then it would make sense that there was something to work with.

3.  These bodies were apparently not witnessed until after Jesus' resurrection.

At first glance, it might seem as though the bodies came out of the grave immediately after Christ "gave up the ghost."  However, the text specifically says that they came out of the grave AFTER Jesus' resurrection.  Here are some possible explanations:

• They revived at His death, and then just sat around for three days waiting (this seems unlikely), 
• They were resurrected at His death, but remained sleeping until Jesus' resurrection (This seems unnecessary),
• The graves were opened, but they hadn't yet been resurrected (This one seems most plausible to me).
  
  

Regardless of the many opinions we might come up with on the specifics of this event, there is no reason to doubt it happened any more than there would be reason to doubt any of the resurrections recorded in the Bible... or even Jesus' resurrection itself.  Of course we can trust the Scripture!  Most importantly for us, we trust that in the end we too will be resurrected as our Savior to be with Him bodily for eternity! 

Introduction:
This is a question a visitor might have who attends our church around Easter time, as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper.  Also, this question has been asked by members of our church who simply do not feel “worthy” to take the Lord’s Supper.

Before answering this question, let’s talk about what the Lord’s Supper is.
 
The Christian practice of taking “the Lord’s Supper” (a term used in 1 Corinthians 11:20; also called “Communion” in 1 Corinthians 10:16) can be a bit of a controversial subject.  At best, many churches differ on the manner and frequency in which it is taken.  Some churches take it every service, some take it monthly, some take it on Christmas and Easter… etc.).  Some churches are “closed communion” (meaning only church members can partake) while others are “open” or “close” (meaning like-minded believers are welcome to join their church for the occasion).
 
A more concerning controversy is a church’s reason for taking the Lord’s Supper.  To some it is the mode or means to salvation.  To others, it is an obligation which keeps one in the good graces of God.  Some believe that taking the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin will send a person to Hell.  What a scary situation people would be in to think that, on one hand, they might not be allowed in Heaven if they don’t take the Lord’s Supper; but on the other hand, they might go to Hell for taking the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin in their life!
 
We believe that the Lord’s Supper, though it is an important and solemn ordinance that we practice, has nothing to do with whether or not we go to Heaven.  It is simply a reminder of what the Lord has done for us in shedding His blood for us on the cross.  The practicing of this ordinance is a commemoration of this symbolic meal that God commanded His disciples to keep after sharing the final Passover meal with them in the upper room (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).  In instituting this practice, Jesus was putting an end to the Jewish feast day [John 2:13, 1 Corinthians 5:7] which would be fulfilled by Jesus’ death on the cross).   
  
For the above mentioned reasons, our church observes the Lord’s Supper once per year (during the week before Easter), and here are the prerequisites for partaking:
 
Are you saved?
Salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone!  Anyone who is looking toward water baptism or the Lord’s Supper for the salvation of their soul is missing the mark entirely.  We would certainly not want to contribute in any way to someone ignorantly taking the Lord’s Supper in this lost condition.  It is the most literal application of someone being “unworthy” to partake (1 Corinthians 11:29).  So, if you are not sure you are saved (eternally secure), this needs to be your first course of action.
 
Are you baptized?
Again, water baptism is not a part of one’s salvation.  It is a picture of one’s salvation that was received by faith in Jesus Christ.  However, this is something Jesus instituted and it seems closely related to one’s reception into Christ’s church and becoming a disciple of Christ (Acts 2:41-47).   Before a person takes the Lord’s Supper, I believe they should take what we call the “first step of obedience” by being baptized; then they can be taught to observe all things as is taught in God’s word (Matthew 28:18-20).
Based on this belief, baptism is a prerequisite for joining Iola Baptist Temple.  If you were not baptized after you placed your faith in Jesus, we would be happy to lead you in taking this step.
 
Are you united with your local church?
This is a point of contention among many believers, but we believe you should only receive the Lord’s Supper with your local church body (not meaning the closest in proximity, but the church to which you belong that assembles at a certain “location”).  Of course there are people in other churches who are your brothers and sisters in Christ, but we believe that they should be observing the Lord’s Supper under the governance of their own local church.  It is great to fellowship with believers from other churches, and it is perfectly fine to attend other churches from time to time; but the governing of a local church body, and the implementing of certain rules and customs within that body, necessitates that we participate in our own church services with our own church family.  Other churches could have some customs and practices that are similar to ours, or they might differ (1 Corinthians 11:16).   And also, a local church should know better if its members are in good standing with the church or not (1 Corinthians 5:7-13).
 
Are you living with unconfessed sins?
Obviously, if every sin prevented us from being able to take the Lord’s Supper, then there would be no one to take it; and that seems pretty counterproductive!  That isn’t what we are talking about.  The idea here isn’t that we are without sin, but that we recognize our sinful state and are willing to judge ourselves and try to make the right choices rather than being puffed up and prideful about our disobedience (1 Corinthians 11:31).  Reoccurring sins that mar our testimony in the community should be judged within the local church and proper measures of church discipline should be taken for the overall health of the church (1 Corinthians 11:27-30, James 5:14-16, 1 John 5:14-17.  However, not every sin is open and public.  We know our hearts and we know our struggles.  Again, if we humble ourselves and desire to do right, we should be able to focus on what the main purpose of the Lord’s Supper is—to unite together as a church body in remembering the sacrifice of our Lord. 
 
We don’t want to be flippant or irreverent about this.  Neither do we want to hold ourselves to an unreasonable standard that would keep us from ever taking part in this wonderful practice.  If you know in your heart that there are sins you need to deal with in order to be in good fellowship with your church and with God, then decide you are going to deal with them!  God is a patient and forgiving Father, and is always waiting for you to come to Him. 
 
The Lord’s Supper is a wonderful, meaningful service to receive.  Jesus wants you to “do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25), so I encourage you to take part in this great memorial service.  You shouldn’t be too fearful to receive it, but neither should you take it in a flippant or irreverent manner.  

Following is a harmony of the gospels from the resurrection to the ascension.​

Witchcraft, necromancy, demon possession, haunted houses, curses, death, monsters... Regardless of what someone might claim to be the origins of the day, and regardless of what some people might do as "alternatives" to these types of things associated with the day, I see absolutely no reason why a Bible-believing Christian would want to have any part in Halloween. 

I'm going to give you some reasons I feel this way, but honestly, I realize it will probably fall on deaf ears. To many people it will all come down to "But I like candy, I like dress-up, and I don't want my kids to have to miss out."  Well then, I suppose there will be a whole lot of struggles for you when it comes to raising children, and I would imagine this is pretty tame compared to some of the things you'll let your children do in the name of "fitting in" and "just having fun."

That being said, here are seven reasons why I do not feel like Halloween is appropriate for Christians:

1.  We are supposed to abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

2.  Witches, necromancers, and the like are an abomination to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

3.  We should love God, but the Bible says that it is the "haters of God" that love death (Proverbs 8:36).

4. We are supposed to think on things that are pure, just, lovely... (Philippians 4:8).

5. The religious origins some refer to are filled with superstition and false beliefs that are not biblical (such as warding off evil spirits with Jack-o'lanterns); and we should not adopt religious practices from false religions (Deuteronomy 12:30).

6.  Publically taking part in the events of this day (even if we don't call it Halloween or promote evil) can be confusing and even become a stumbling block to others (1 Corinthians 8:9). 

7.  And beside all this, eating too many sweets will make you sick! (Proverbs 25:16).

​

I grew up with altar calls.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with that.  I mean, as a pastor, I don't conduct altar calls (it isn't within the scope of this article to spend time explaining why), but that doesn't mean preachers who insist on them are "out of the will of God."

The problem is, I have also seen many "saved" people go forward to the altar to get "saved."  At youth camps and rallies I have seen some kids get "saved" every year.  Now, of course there can be false professions.  Paul says about these people that they have "believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:2). The people who made said professions may know in their hearts that there has never been a genuine faith in and acceptance of Christ for their salvation. 

​I would never tell someone who wants to get saved, "You are already saved, go sit down."  But one must wonder why so many people make multiple professions.  More specifically, why do so many people doubt their salvation?  So, if you ever feel yourself doubting your salvation, I want to give you a few reasons I believe this might be happening:


1.  You truly aren't saved.

With as much bad preaching that is out there in regards to salvation, it makes sense that many people are confused.  It could be that someone keeps "getting saved" over and over because they have never clearly understood the gospel.  It isn't because they "haven't repented enough," or they "haven't believed enough," or "there hasn't been an outward change."  These are all confusing takes on the foundation of one's salvation.  Salvation is based on the righteousness of God, and it is a "free gift" (plainly says so 3 times in Romans 5) through Jesus Christ.

2.  You are living in sin and grieving the Holy Spirit.

The Bible makes it very clear that we all sin (even after our salvation).  However, when we do so, we are grieving the Holy Spirit and He isn't as clearly identified in our hearts when He wants to communicate with us (Romans 8:16).  A person who continues a life of sin, with little regard for God's will on the matter, is not likely to feel saved because they will not have that intimate relationship in which they would be constantly reminded of His presence. 

3.  You are not involved in evangelism.

Now, I'm in no way saying that you have to go soul-winning in order to be saved.  There are many saved people who will bear very little fruit in their lives, yet they still possess eternal life.  However, when you are involved in explaining the clear plan of salvation to other people, you are not only pleasing the Lord and walking in the Spirit, but you reminding yourself of why you know you are saved.  The simple act of telling others will keep you from being deceived by those who "frustrate the grace of God" (Galatians 2:21), or by your own evil thoughts that would cause you to doubt your salvation.

​
I hope this helps.  And if you are not sure what the "clear plan of salvation" is, please go to the SALVATION page on this website.

(Based on Sunday School lesson handout.  Underlined words were blanks in the handout)

​
There is a whole field of study called Hermeneutics that deals with the study and interpretation of Scripture.  However, studying your Bible doesn’t need to be complicated.  I believe God has provided us His word in such a way that any generation from any culture should be able to have it, read it, and understand its meaning (to some degree). 

In this study, I want to give a basic overview of how we can study the Bible and get the most out of it.


1.  Commit to a systematic Bible reading  plan

Simply put, God’s people should be taking in God’s word, and the best way to take it in is simply to read it! (Acts 17:11,
1 Timothy 5:13-16).  We don’t have to understand bread in order to eat it, or water in order to drink it.  We just know we are thirsty!

I recommend a reading plan where the focus is on regularly reading the Bible through without stopping to study what you are reading (any further study should be additional).  As with anything, it is best to have a systematic plan and to stick with it.  Remember; commitment leads to discipline, which leads to habit, which leads to growth (Psalm 37:4-6).


2.  Compare cross references and parallel passages
     
There is a saying I learned long ago that goes, “Scripture interprets Scripture.”  How true I have found this to be.  It is no wonder that God has given us so much of the Bible in redundancy (two tellings of the Creation story, two tellings of the Law, Kings and Chronicles, prophets, four gospels, to tellings of the judgments in Revelation...).

By simply comparing these, we often find the explanation in the text.  Often, words will be defined by other words in the text (synonyms).  This is a good way to do word studies.  There are plenty of resources out there that will simply show you every time certain words are used in the KJV.  Copy and past all of those verses and then begin comparing them to each other.  You will most likely figure out what the word means without even turning to Greek and Hebrew lexicons or Bible dictionaries.


3.  Consider the Context
This is where we have to do some detective work.  Research history and archeology to find out the manners and cultures of the days surrounding the text you are studying (taking with a grain of salt, of course, as no one living today was there).
It is very important to admit to the “unknown.” It is okay if you spend your whole life considering God's words and have still not got the answers you are looking for (Isaiah 55:8-11).  This is part of having faith!  God will reveal things to us, through the Holy Spirit, in time (1 Corinthians 14:8-12).

Often I have heard my soul-winning partners tell the people to whom they are witnessing (and, ok... I've said it myself), "Well, we aren't trying to take people from their churches..." I've often thought to myself, as I hear it come from their mouths (or hear it come from mine), "Are we lying to these people?"  The truth is, I DO ultimately want people to come to our church and become a part of the work; and if the people to whom I am speaking are going to a bad church that teaches poor doctrine, I DO want them to stop going there.

So here are some points that I think we should clarify:

1.  What we really mean is, "We are here with the sole purpose of giving you the gospel.  Though we would love for you to come check out our church, let's get to the heart of why we are here."

2.  If a person hears the gospel and chooses to put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation (contrary to what they have been taught in their church), it should be pointed out that their church is probably not teaching the same thing.  Whereas it is not our goal to "take people from their churches," we don't want people to go where false doctrine is taught.

3.  If a person is saved, and their church is teaching the right gospel, I still want them to know about our church and what it teaches:

• We use the KJV Bible.
• We are big on soul-winning.
• We love preaching/teaching and are less focused on "programs."
• We encourage the family to worship together with the whole church, and though we have a "mother/baby room," we don't provide nurseries and children's classes.
  
  

Now, to some this might sound like we don't want people to come to our church at all.  However, we want to be very up front about our church and what they can expect if they visit.  It could be that some are in a church that is not a good fit for them and they are looking for a church more like ours.

I personally have no problem with someone finding another church if we aren't meeting their needs and they can serve the Lord better elsewhere.  It isn't usually a good feeling to know someone doesn't "like" our services, but it is a reality.


So, are we trying to take people from their churches?  I would have to say...no.  That isn't our goal.  If it happens, it happens; but that isn't why we go out door to door and talk to people.  We are not in competition with other churches.  We don't figure out what they are doing and try to do it better.  We don't base our programs and special events with the mindset of drawing church goers from their churches.

The Bible says "go into all the world and preach the gospel."  So, they don't have to come to us, we are going to go to them.  And if anyone is interested in joining up with us, and if they can grow and serve the Lord better with our assembly than they can were they are... come on!

Introduction:
 
  It is good that, from time to time, we are reminded of the Holy Ghost/Spirit (notice those two words are interchangeable).  We often speak of the Father and the Son, but neglect to speak of the Holy Spirit. This is probably due to our lack of understanding when it comes to the Holy Spirit, especially with many modern day confusions regarding His role.
 
In studying the Holy Spirit in the Bible, we find other names such as:

• Spirit of the Lord
• Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2)
• Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9)
• The Spirit
• The Comforter (particularly in John 14-16)

 
The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity (Ex: Luke 3:22, 1 John 5:7), and as such He is sometimes (as with all three persons of the Trinity) simply referred to as “God.”
 
The Holy Spirit comes upon people

He works miracles and fills a person with special wisdom and ability.

• Birth of Christ (Luke 1:35)
• Saves our souls and keeps us

            - “Living water” (John 7:37-39)     
            - Renews (Titus 3:5)
            - Seals (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, )

• Baptism of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 3:11, Matthew 28:19)
• Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5, Romans 14:17, 2 Corinthians 6:6)
• Skills or “gifts” (Exodus 31:3, Luke 11:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4)
• All throughout the book of Judges, for example, the Spirit comes upon warriors to give them strength and ability to fight.
• He inspires prophecy    

             - In various individuals (Mark 12:36, Luke 1:67, Acts                       1:16)
             - In those by whom we have received the Bible (2 Peter
               1:21)
 
The Holy Spirit speaks to people and leads them

• He sends (Acts 13:4)
• He forbids (Acts 16:6)
• He selects/calls (Acts 13:2, 20:28)
• He impresses on us to give (Exodus 35:21)
• He teaches (1 Corinthians 2:13)
• He helps us to pray (Romans 8:26, Jude 1:20)

 
Certain works of the Spirit can be resisted

• "Resisting" the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51)
• "Blaspheming" the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:29)
• "Quenching" the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

1.  Blasphemy  ("impious or profane speaking of God or               sacred things," early 13c)

• Interestingly, if you consider what we call it when someone says a “bad word,” it pretty much always has a religious origin (“Swear,” “curse/cuss,” “profanity,” “vulgarity”…).
• When the Bible speaks of blaspheme, it means "to ascribe to someone or something else that which belongs to the Lord."
  - The enemies of the Lord blaspheme because of David’s      sin (2 Samuel 12:14).
  - Rich men blaspheme the name of the Lord (James 2:7)
  - Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:29)
• Ways we can blaspheme with our words:
  - Taking the Lord’s name in vain.  
  
    Exodus 20:7  “Thou shalt not take the name of the              LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him        guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

 
          - Claiming something is from God when it actually goes                  against God’s word.
          - Claiming something that came from God is evil

            Isaiah  5:20 “ Woe unto them that call evil good, and                    good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for 
            darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for   
            bitter!”

2.  Cursing ("to wish evil to; to excommunicate," or "to                   swear profanely, use blasphemous or profane language" is         from early 13c)

•  James 3:10 “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things
  ought not so to be.
  
  
  • Cursing mother and father (Mark 7:10 [from Leviticus 20:9])
    - “I hope you die”
    - “Damn you!” (a curse, and also “damn” can be              wrong because it is profane
    
  • “Taking something sacred and making it common and meaningless.”) 
    
  • This is why, if your kid uses such words flippantly,    they need to be chastened. 
    

                    - We decided not to allow our kids to say “dang or                          darn”… or “gosh” or “geez”… (doesn’t mean if                                someone else does they are necessarily sinning)

3.  False witness

• Obviously, “Thou shalt not bear false witness” is another commandment given by God.
• Isn’t it interesting that 2 out of 10 commandments have to do with words we say (taking the name of the Lord in vain and bearing false witness).
• In the OT, if you intentionally bore false witness, you would be punished as if you had committed what you said someone else did.

4.  Self Praise

• Proverbs 27:2  “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips
  
  
• Proverbs 25:27  It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.”
  
  
• 2 Corinthians 10:12  “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measure in themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." 

​

• 2Co 10:18  “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”          

​

• 2Co 12:11  “ I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.”

• These may not necessarily prove that self praise is a sin, but I think we can all agree that pride is sinful, and thinking we are praise worthy is pride (if we say we have no sin, we lie… and that is a sin!)

5.  Inappropriateness

• (Ephesians 5:4) – Filthiness, foolish   talking, jesting (mocking/railing)

                - This would include “locker room banter”
                - This would include racial slurs
                - This would include making fun of people (fat jokes,                      bald head jokes)

6.  Flattery

• Flattery is a tool to get something out of someone else. 
• Don’t think flattery is a virtue!

                - Pr 29:5  A man that flattereth his neighbour                                  spreadeth a net for his feet.
                               
                - 1Th 2:5  For neither at any time used we flattering
                  words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God
                  is witness:
   

• It is also important that we speak the truth rather than “flattery” (which is false witness anyway.)            

 
                 -Pr 28:23  He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall                        find more favour than he that flattereth with the                          tongue.
 
7.  Silence (when a word SHOULD be spoken)

• When we know we need to say something and we  quench the spirit

                               

•  Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

               

•   When we fail to pray for one another (1 Samuel 12:23 –      notice “sin against the Lord”)
• This is what some call the sin of omission.
• What about failing to preach the Gospel with our lips?

                               
                - Eze 33:6  But if the watchman see the sword come,                      and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not                   warned; if the sword come, and take any person                          from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity;                      but his blood will I require at the watchman’s                                hand.
                               
                 - Eze 33:7  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a                         watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou                       shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them                         from me.


Conclusion:
We are going to misuse our tongue and our words all the time.  Sometimes it might seem pretty minor, and sometimes it will be an abomination to God.
 
Let me clarify, that what comes out of the man is a matter of what is in the heart!

Mt 15:19  “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

​So, the main thing is to keep working on the heart, not trying to clean up the outside to impress people.

I've never watched Harry Potter.  When it first came out I remember it being strongly preached against in my Bible-believing circles.  I heard how it glorified witchcraft, which is strongly condemned and forbidden in the Bible.  It was claimed that the author herself was a witch (although, after doing a quick research, it looks like she claims that she was only interested in the dark arts and extensively studied them in order to write the books).  Anyway... that isn't the point of this article.

Recently, as I was researching mandrakes for a sermon I was preparing, I discovered that Harry Potter apparently used some of the folklore of the mandrake by creating these characters such as the one shown above.  Without watching the movies or reading the books, I can form a few ideas about these characters based on the history of mandrakes.

First, in case you aren't sure, let me explain the background of the sermon.  I preached a message called "Trying to Get Ahead of God" where we briefly looked at the story of Rachel and Leah and their battle over who would bare the most children for Jacob.  In this story, Rueben finds mandrakes in the field and brings them to his mother, Leah.  When Rachel finds out Leah has them, she tries to make a deal with her to use the mandrakes for her own benefit (Genesis 30:14-16). 

I always assumed there was some sort of superstitious belief, or an old wives' fable that made her think that these mandrakes were going to help her situation.  After all, this same Rachel later steals her father's idols before leaving his house.  Admittedly, I don't know why she stole them, but it leads me to believe she was superstitious.  When you compare that to the part where Jacob is pealing white spots on sticks in hopes that the cattle that looked at the stick would produce offspring that were spotted, ringstraked, and speckled; you have to assume superstition was a pretty common thing in that family.

Before studying it out, I really had no idea what a mandrake was.  All I could think in my head was "mangrove" (a tree whose roots grow down into the water), and I never really looked that deeply into it.  Then, when I decided to look it up, I saw a few things immediately:

• The reason it is called a "man" drake is that the root resembles a man.
• It is a potent stimulant whose side-effects can include: blurred vision, dilation of the pupils, dryness of the mouth, difficulty in urinating, dizziness, headache, vomiting, blushing and a rapid heart rate, hyperactivity and hallucinations.
• They were often formed into amulets which were believed to bring good fortune, cure sterility, etc.
• There are legends that claimed that people who pull up this root will be condemned to hell. 
• And there were claims that the mandrake root would scream and cry as it was pulled from the ground, killing anyone who heard it.

One can quickly see why modern day fiction writers would be interested in this folklore... especially when it comes to Hollywood and visual effects.  And, for obvious reasons, this became a popular ingredient for witches to use in their concoctions (brews, ointments... "magic potions").  Because of its hallucinative properties, it was apparently used in witches' "flying potions" (I'm not sure where the notion of witches flying on brooms came from... but maybe some hallucinated and were convinced that is what they were doing).

​This doesn't necessarily prove that Rachel was superstitious or that she believed these plants had "magical power," but it seems to validate the notion that she was seeking help outside of God and taking matters into her own hand.  Like Rachel, we are often tempted to turn to the advice of worldly "doctors," drugs, old wives' tales, or (even worse) superstitious practices and "curious arts" to help get us out of a situation or to gain something that God didn't necessarily intend for us to have.

Doctors have their place, medicine has its place... but let's try not to get ahead of God and seek after things without first seeking Him and being content with such things as we have.


I'm reminded of King Asa:

2Ch 16:12  And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.