Are some sins unforgivable?

God seems to think so:

Isaiah 22

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.

13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"

14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for," says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Or is God kinda like us where he just gets so angry sometimes that he might say some things he doesn't really mean? Seems like God should be above that sort of thing. And does this jive with the all-things-are-forgiven God/Jesus of the New Testament?

Is this being too nit-picky? Do you just toss something like this out because it's a specific case and not generally applicable?

Song of Solomon

Finished Song of Solomon. This book is a bizarre one for me as well. It's seems like a non sequitur - it doesn't seem to have much to do with God. I've heard that it can be a metaphor for God's love for us, his church, his bride. Sorry, that's just weird for me, and maybe kinda creepy. Or it could just be an endorsement for romance and sex within a marital context - although I don't think Solomon (with all his dozens or hundreds of wives and concubines) is such a great spokesman for such things.

Other thoughts and ideas are welcome on this topic.

(Pictured - gazelles - Song of Solomon 3:5: "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.")

There is nothing new under the sun

I finished Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

You gotta love Proverbs - lots of great one-liners and practical, useful advice. Such as:
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man." (6:10-11)
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." (12:1)
"Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult." (12:16)
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." (14:30)

Ecclesiastes really resonates with me. I love this book. There's a jadedness and introspection to it that help me identify. This one also has some nice, quotable one-liners, like "there is nothing new under the sun". I like this verse too as a summary:

"A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" (Eccl. 2:24,25)

Finished Psalms

Let me see if I can sum up: some nice poetry in there, David and/or other psalmists do a good bit of complaining and asking God to do all manner of bad things to their enemies, some reminiscing about God's past accomplishments and miracles, and a fair bit of praising God. Sound about right?

No deep insights for me here. I think because this book is all songs and poetry it's not so great for theology; one shouldn't try to read too much into it.

Glad to be done with that one. Looking forward to Proverbs.

Psalms and Memories

In reading through the Psalms I'm having a lot of flashbacks to going to church with my family as a kid as Ashland Brethern in Christ Church. We sang a lot of the Psalms, or at least parts of them. I can picture Harriet Conrady up on the stage with the mic, the overhead projector shining the words on the wall above the organ, and the strip of stained glass window behind the pulpit that usually garnered more of my attention than the sermons.

Some songs I remember:
"LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth..." (from Psalm 8)
 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God..." (from Psalm 20)

I think Psalm 8 is my favorite so far (I'm up to 50) for its poetic qualities. Psalm 22 is interesting in that some of it parallels, and is maybe prophetic of, Jesus' death. Psalm 23 is a classic of course. "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing."

Creation/Adam & Eve

Check out the following articles. Where does this leave us in regard to Genesis account of creation? Does the Genesis account of Adam & Eve need to be literally true for Christian or Jewish faith?

NASA: DNA Found on Meteorites Indicates Life May Have Originated in Space
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/195073/20110809/nasa-dna-meteorites-building-blocks-life-on-earth-from-space.htm

Evangelicals Question The Existence Of Adam And Eve
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/09/138957812/evangelicals-question-the-existence-of-adam-and-eve

Job - Why Is This Book in the Bible?

To begin with, from ch 1, why does God feel like he has something to prove to Satan? God first tries to show off with Job because he's such an upstanding citizen. Satan suggests that's only because God spoils him. Then, to prove Satan wrong, God gives him permission to mess up Job's life.

Why does God feel the need to one-up Satan? Suggests insecurity to me. I would think the almighty God of the universe would just say, "Who cares what you think. Nobody invited you here anyway. Now bugger off." Doesn't make God look very good to me.

The next disturbing thing is that this story suggests God gives Satan, and presumably other fallen angels (demons), permission to screw with our lives - destroy our property, kill people we love, give us disease, etc. I guess God can do what he wants, but it kinda sucks for us. Especially because Satan is invisible to us and we can't even see that it was him that did it. Job never knew it was Satan that did all this stuff to him. Indeed, Job and his friends spend a tedious amount of the book wondering back and forth what he did to deserve the misery he was in. So we're just left wondering if it was God directly, random chance, bad luck, consequence of sin, or maybe interference by invisible evil gremlins.

Then there's the whole issue of God treating Job like a lab rat. "Hmm, let's see what happens to a good person if we torture him to the point of death." Again, I guess God can do whatever he wants, but again it doesn't make him look good. And while God didn't do all of these awful things to Job directly, he knew what Satan was going to do and he allowed it. The story implies that Satan wasn't allowed to do bad things to Job until God gave him the go-ahead. So to me it's just as if God hurt Job himself.

Whether the story of Job is literally true or just an allegory, it's included in the canon of the Bible to make a point. I just don't think it makes a good one.

I realize I'm very cynical. I'd love to hear some positive spin on this book if you've got it.

Who Gets Punished for Who's Sins

2 Chronicles 25

[Amaziah] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD... he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.” [ref. Deuteronomy 24:16]

And yet in Exodus 34:

⁶ And [the Lord] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

 And Numbers 14:18

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.

So the Deuteronomy rule makes sense and seems fair enough. The other two do not. But God is just. What gives?

I suppose the implication with the Exodus and Numbers quotes is that there may be consequences to sin that have a lasting impact on your family. And that's probably how most Christians (and maybe Jews) would rationalize it. However, that's reading a good bit between the lines that may not be there because that's not really what it says. It reads as an active thing that God does - he punishes - not a passive thing in that he allows the consequences to perpetuate.

Thoughts?

Will God Forsake Us, Or Not

2 Chronicles 15

¹The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you...”

Deuteronomy 31

¹ Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: ² “...⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13 also quotes that verse from Deuteronomy (for a new testament ref.).

Not sure what to make of this seeming contradiction. But I feel like these sorts of problem verses typically get ignored and swept under the rug by Christians. I'm just thinking, really? Does nobody read this stuff and have problems with it? Where's the discussion? Why does there appear to be discord in the message here?

The Holy Grail

I just so happened to be watching another show on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons and they claim that Christopher Columbus was not the first person to settle/find the Americas. It was the Knights Templars looking for a safe place to hide the Holy Grail. There was alot of info I am trying to research but their claim is that the Holy Grail is actually hidden somewhere on this continent. I will see what I can find out and post more later.

Sodom and Gomorah revisisted

I recently watched a documentary on the events of Sodom and Gomorrah as they may be related to the Kofels Impact.
A planisphere dating back to 700 BC was found in 1850 by an archaeologist in the library of a royal palace in Nivea that is now known as Iraq. The tablet is said to be an astronomical observation of the fall of an asteroid which took place in 3123 BC. The recorded projection of the asteroid is amazingly accurate, within 1 degree. The projection puts the asteroid in the path of Kofels, Austria. The recorded observation suggests that the asteroid is one that orbits close to the earth and was 1 kilometer in diameter. The angle of decent had it striking the mountain of Gamskogel causing it to explode and the fireball created damage to the Kofels valley which is observed by modern geologists. The resulting plume of the asteroid would have been about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to ignite and disintegrate everything in it's path, which would have been the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. The resulting impact would have also caused widespread changes in climates as suggested by northern Africa was once a lush tropical environment that turned into desert.
I believe the show is still running an NatGeo if you are interested.

Satan

1 Chronicles 21:1 - This seems to me the first mention of the name Satan. It took me by surprise because he hasn't been part of the conversation since early in Genesis as far as I recall. Am I forgetting something?

And, yes, I realize I have fallen very far behind in my reading at this point. But I'm at least continuing.

2 Kings 10

2 Kings 10:30 NIV

The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."

What Jehu accomplished was slaughtering everyone in the house of Ahab, in cold blood - there was no war going on. And he got a nice pat on the back from God for that.

Should we revise commandment #6? You shall not murder... unless God tells you to.

What do you think?

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A bit behind...

Ok, I knew I was a bit behind on my reading the Bible straight thru. I hadn't entirely neglected reading the Bible, I had taken a tangent on reading the first 3 lessons in the Life Principles Bible (courtesy of Charles Stanely) The first lesson was Our intimacy with God-His highest priority for our lives-determines the impact of our lives. Genesis 1:26. Each lesson is followed by excerpts from Charles Stanely about What the Bible Says About... Answers to Life's Questions... and Life Examples. Life Principle 2 was Obey God and leave all consequences to him. Exodus 19:5. And the third was God's word is an immovable anchor in times of storm. Numbers 23:19. I have really enjoyed them all so far. The excerpts are all good.

As far as reading thru the Bible in a year I am about 50 pages behind currently camping out in Nehemiah. I should be at Job 42. Yikes. I feel confident I can make up for lost time. I am aslo very excited that I am only 500 or so pages away from the New Testament. Yea Me!

Ezra: I am so enamored with the whole concept of the Kingdom of David, to Solomon, to the Babylonians invading and now the rebuilding of the temple. It is a story filled with drama and intrigue. I can't help but notice the total absence of the Ark of the Covenant from the things the Babylonians took, to what Cyrus King of Persia gave back. The other thing that interests me is the lack of talk of Love. What I mean is that at the end of Ezra, the men who were guilty of intermarriage with pagan women rescinded the marriage and left their wives and children. It seems so impersonal, a lack of commitment and relationships. I have a hard time with the fact that these men were giving up responsibilities that they entered into when they had children. I understand the reason, but wouldn't you want to stay and try and change certain behaviors? I may be interpreting this all wrong. What are your thoughts?

Info on King Solomon

I got most of the content from wikapedia, by typing in King Solomon. The reference to the bird is from a Rabbinical account (e.g Targum Sheni)

King Solomon's Death

King Solomon is said to have died of natural causes at the age of 80. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as King. Historical evidence other than the Bible is minimal for King Solomon. Josephus, citing Tyrian records and Menander in Against Apion, give a specific year in which Hiram 1 of Tyre sent materials to Solomon for his Temple.

In Feb 2010 an archaeologist announced a dig at the site she claims is the wall of the famous Temple.

In reference to the Queen of Sheba: King Solomon was said to have been given power over all living things. He would often have them dance and perform for him. One day he noticed that the mountain cock was missing so Solomon summoned the Bird. The Bird told him that he had been searching for someplace new and found a land of great wealth and riches. The land was Kitor who's ruler was the Queen of Sheba. Solomon sent the bird to request the Queen of Sheba. The Queen arrived with many riches and riddles. Solomon is said to have answered all she desired and she left satisfied. The Queen of Sheba is never mentioned by name and there is no historical record of her.

What happened to King Solomon's Temple?

The question was asked so I did a little research to try and find out why we have never found the Temple. We can't talk about the Temple without reference to the Ark. Let's start with the journey of the Ark of the Covenant. We know the David wanted to build the Temple but because he angered the Lord by taking a count of his people God let the task of building the Temple fall to David's son Solomon. Solomon went into dept so bad that he sold 20 villages to help pay for the construction. The Temple is/was to be a final resting ground for the Ark. That place is Mt Moria in Jerusalem. It is the highest point in the city and also is said to be the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, where Jesus is said to have been crucified, and also it is holy to the Muslims because they say Mohammad ascended from there. The center of the temple was called the Holy of Holies because it is where the Ark rested. Some deeply religious people will not even set foot on the Mount for fear of stepping on the actual place the Ark sat. In 587 BC the temple was over run by King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians. Babylonians kept carefully detailed notes of what they looted and the Ark was not there. Speculations swirl from the Queen of Sheba's son sneaking it out, (Queen of Sheba is said to have had a son with Solomon named Menelick), to priests arranging to hide it, to it being hidden in the tunnels under the original Temple. Anyway, King Nebuchadnezzar built a second temple over the first one which was destroyed by the Romans in around 70 CE. There is a religious group devoted to reconstructing the temple exactly as Solomon had built it down to the last nail. They are waiting for the return of the Ark to do this. The return of the Ark will fall in line with the second coming of Christ and they want to be ready. Some say the return of this religious artifact will also spark WW3. There is strong reason to believe that the Ark is housed in a church Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia. It is the only country in the world to base it's entire existence around a single religious artifact. Every church contains a replica od the Ark. I tried to add pictures but they are apparently copyrighted. Fascinating stuff!

God's smile

More Lost Books?

2 Chronicles 12:15 refers to the records of Shemaiah, 2 Chronicles 13:22 refers to the annotations of of the prophet Iddo, 1 Chronicles 29:29 refers to the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer. I am curious who these people are and what, in Biblical times, seer and prophet refered to. I haven't had much time to research but will submit my findings once I have.

Kingdom of Judah vs Kingdom of Israel

I am not sure I get where the separation of kingdoms starts. I guess I started to notice the differences in kingdoms in Judges, but never really put much thought into it because I was trying so hard to follow the people and the stories and glean what I could out of what the books where trying to say that I missed why there even was such a separation. I thought it was "one for all all for God" kinda thing.

BGOTB: Woman at the Well, John 4

I find it interesting that the writer picked another no named woman as a vessel to convey a message. I find it even more interesting that this was the start of a lengthy conversation the longest found in Scripture between Jesus and anyone, as the writer says.
Most of what the book reviews of the conversation lost me until the "what lessons can we learn from the woman at the well" section. Never be afraid to ask questions. Hadn't thought about it that way, but she does have a point. Sometimes we are afraid to tread more deeply into theology with someone more knowledgeable because we don't want to appear foolish by the questions we ask. If the Lord has provided a teacher, be a willing student. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. I like it. I am always praying that God grant me wisdom to make wise choices in my everyday life and relationships I have with co-workers, friends and passing acquaintances and that those "wise" choices reflect God's work in me. So this part really hit home for me.

The only other thing I have to comment on is that the last lesson was: water is meant to be shared, not hoarded. I don't think I need to go into detail on that, especially if you have been following along. Acts 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
No group next week, I have to close down at work. The next bad girl is Delilah. Judges 13-16. I love it, I blogged earlier this year on him and her, I can't wait....

The lineage of kings

Here is a link that could prove to be very useful in sorting out the kings of goodness and badness and who's kingdom they belong to: www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/israel-kings.html.

The Book of the Law (2 Kings 22)

2 Kings makes several references to The Book of the Law, I was wondering if it referring to a lost book of the Bible or if it is referring to Deuteronomy.

Stonybrook's Sermon

Today I went to Stonybrook United Methodist Church and really enjoyed the sermon and I really gave me so much food for thought that I decided to blog about it. The sermon title was "Resurrection Victory: Now What?" To be completely honest, I usually go to church and hope that I don't have lipstick on my teeth when I smile broadly at complete strangers, I try not to let my mind wander so far that I lose track of the message and start the head bob that signals I didn't get enough sleep, and I definitely try not to be too judgemental of anyone with a microphone. Today I didn't have to worry about any of that. The pastor was definitely on to something. Where do we go now that Christ is risen? Usually it's a build up until Easter, then we tend to not bring it up again until next year. I especially liked his timeline leading up to Christ's death: Jesus and the disciples enter Jerusalem under grand terms, then Jesus kicks butt at the temple. You gotta think that the disciples where high-fiving themselves. Then they get to the last supper, do you think they had any idea of what was going to happen? They are kinda having this great week, then Jesus gets arrested and we all know what happened. On Saturday, what do you think the disciples did? What were they thinking? Were they scared? What or where were they going to go without their teacher? And then we have the 40 days until the ascension. This is a fantastic story. I started thinking about how Jesus had been preparing the disciples for this moment. I think Jesus' death was definitely a catalyst to push the disciples in the direction they needed to go on and preach the word without Jesus. I think all of this gave them the confidence they needed to go on. The sermon definitely generated alot of thought for me, not to mention that most of the diciples became martyrs themselves. I hope I am not losing something in my paraphrasing. I went to the church's website but the sermon wasn't uploaded yet. When it is, I will post it.

Easter Service

I cannot let this very special day go by without reflecting and jotting a few notes about the service I attended. If for any reason at all, just to reflect later to see if I still feel the same way or view it differently.

I went to M&D's church North Campus of FCC. They are doing a series called Crosswords that Puzzle. The Pastor Ken Brown led the sermon. He began with Jesus' last words. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" Luke 23:46. I thought this was going to be a very interesting sermon. The Pastor asserted that Jesus resurrected himself. Basing this on John 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. I think these word may have been taken out of context. The Pastor goes on to give several examples of how God raised Jesus from the dead. I wrote down at least 7 such examples from the Bible and he went on to give what seemed like 28 more. (I think each power point slide had at least 7 examples) I personally think too much time was spent hammering the point to home, but that is me. The Pastor ended with an interesting thought. In the bulletin where you can make notes for the sermon the heading for the last thought was "What does it all mean?" Resurrection = God's signature : Satisfied. His last thought for the day was that God was satisfied that sin was paid in full so he resurrected Jesus. After mentally reviewing the sermon where Elton John was referenced along with Gomar Pile, spraying cookies with raid before throwing them away, Aaron Rodgers, Buddha, and Jimmy Hoffa, I thought that last statement lent a hand to a mob boss saying to someone with a surmountable debt, that he was off the hook. Which is the case, I just prefer not to think of it that way.
Lesson learned: We are forgiven.

How to deal with bullies the Old Testament way.

Considering all the bullying that goes on these days and the tragic consequences that fall on ones who experience it, I could not help but take special notice of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23-25.
Paraphrasing...Elisha was walking along the road and some youths from the town came out to jeer at him saying "hey baldy, hey you with the baldhead, git on now." Elisha called down a curse on them and 2 bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youths. Lesson for the day: don't be a bully.

BGOTB Lot's Wife

It has taken alot of thought, and I am not sure I still have solid thoughts for Lot's wife. I grew up with the story of Lot's wife turning to a pillar of salt but I don't think I ever thought about what that meant. I think I thought that she was told not to look back, she did, and wham, pillar of salt. I didn't think of the implications that maybe she didn't want to leave her luxurious life style. After reading the commentary and hearing that she did not utter a single word, I almost wonder what her purpose was. What I was able to come up with was that she probably had no dialogue with her husband or God for that matter. 1 Peter 3:5-6 implies that wives be submissive to their husbands. Be seen and not heard, your actions are what makes you beautiful. (I hope I summed that up OK) But...! I don't know that her actions were beautiful, it never really said. I am assuming that she went along with the lifestyle, accepted it whether she thought it was good or not. It almost reminds me of so many domestic abuse cases. Women stay in relationships because the don't know any better or don't know how to get out. It doesn't sound like domestic abuse but could she have taken a stand? What did she believe in? Another thing that got to me was that Lot was waiting at the entrance of the city, almost like he felt a bit guilty of being there, knowing he was better/ could do better, and he is just waiting to scope up visitors because he knew what they would be subjected to. He pretty much pleads and begs these Angels, Angels of the Lord, to please come to my house, like he can potentially talk his way into saving them if need be. This is another thing that got me... The town came calling, they wanted to do despicable things to the strangers, and he offered his virgin daughters. What? How does that make sense. I just don't understand why Lot would stay in such a place if he felt so strongly that unfortunate things were going to happen. That is an anxiety attack ready to happen. And then, when they Angels plead for him to leave, there is the fact that he complained that he couldn't make it to the mountains but he could go to the small town of Zoar. Hey, if God is setting you free from imminent danger, do you compromise? Anyway, some food for thought I hope. Here are some of my favorite suggested Bible verses: 1 Peter 3:5-6 2 Peter 3:9 Deuteronomy 8:5 Hebrews 12:10-11 Proverbs 6:23 Proverbs 13:19 2 Corinthians 7:10

The wicked...

I did some resaerch to try and keep all these "ites" straight. Moabites: descedants of Lot thru incestral relations with his oldest daughter. They are said to have made human sacrifices. Their god was named Chemosh Ammonites: also descendants of Lot thru relations with his youngest daughter. Their god was Molech Hittites: descendants of the Caananites, served as high ranking officers in David's army. Storm gods were prominent in their pantheon. One of the gods was the symbol of the bull

Man of God from Judah, I Kings 13

I think this is an example of watching out for false witnesses. I kinda feel bad for the guy. He seemed very steadfast in what God told him to do, yet an "old prophet" came and found him and told the man from Judah that the Lord told him, old prophet, that he was to bring old guy back. How confusing would that be. He seemed innocent of any wrong doing except for not following God's message to the very letter to the end. An intercessor comes along claiming he also has been given instruction from the Lord. What would you do? He was obviously punished, and "old prophet" felt bad. Why is it the good guys finish last? Seems to me old guy should have been punished in some way also.

I Kings 10

I had to go back a bit to find it but I blogged New Thoughts on Leviticus and I was commenting on how medicine, law, and geography have Christian ties, and now I see King Solomon had quite an import/export business going. He did pretty well for himself. I wonder if any marketing major ever used that story as a case study.

Human Sacrifice? (2 Samuel 21)

I hope nobody glazed over this little gem of a story. The Gibeonites wanted to kill 7 men from Saul's family as revenge or atonement for Saul having virtually wiped out their family/tribe (2 Sam 21:5-6). They arrived at this brilliant idea as a way to stop a 3 year famine that had been plaguing the land. Sounds like crazy "pagan" superstition to me.

From v.14, "After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land." God didn't seem to object to this or try to stop it. Actually, it was acceptable to him because he apparently ended the famine afterward.

Thoughts?

BGOTB Potiphar's Wife

My Bad Girls of the Bible brought me to Potiphar's wife this week. The writer of the book, Liz Curtis Higgs, makes a great deal about the fact that she had no name, she was simply referred to as Potiphar's wife. She had a great deal to do with bringing down one of the best good guys and she didn't even get her name mentioned. I don't think it is that big of a deal because I don't think she deserved to be known by any other name. Probably if she were still alive she might be more angry that she didn't even merit a name reference, which would be fair punishment given all she was trying to do. I also think that in everyday life, we use titles similar to that to be able to categorize our acquaintances. How often do you find yourself asking someone what they do? Why do we do that? Why is it we identify them by their job before anything else? Her job was to be the wife of the head of pharaohs bodyguards. Maybe there needed to be some role clarity next to that. Maybe she should have read the fine print before she took on that job if she wanted something else out of the relationship. Another question is what was the relationship like before he became so great (Potiphar)? Like so many relationships we hear of these days, did she help/watch him rise to this glamorous position and they just grew apart? If that is the case how does one keep a relationship fresh and new and continually growing with one's experiences and life goals that may or may not change as time goes by? I will leave you with that question to ponder. There may be more to come on Potiphar's wife....A challenge I will lay out also is to try not to ask a new friend what they do or where they work. The next lady of interest is Lot's wife. Looks like it is Genesis 13-19. See you next week.

I really needed a visual of the temple. It sounded very grand and ornate. This is one picture I found. Some of the others were just architectural sketches.

God and David (2 Samuel)

David sees Bathsheba - "Heeeey, how you doin'?"

David amazes me that way he maintains his humility and respect for God despite his power and influence. I'm sure that's a big part of why he and God had such a good relationship.

I found a couple of peculiar (interesting) things about the way God dealt with David though. So after David breaks 2 of the 10 commandments (don't covet your neighbor's wife and don't murder), God punishes him by killing his baby? Granted there's a certain poetic justice in not letting him keep the child from the illicit union, and David accepted it as such. But it's still seems odd to think of God disciplining in that manner. Especially since then, God goes on to not only allow them to have another child, but then that child (Solomon) becomes king and comes to be regarded as one of the wisest men to ever live. Just an interesting mix of harsh consequences, grace and love in this story.

To be honest, a lot of what is attributed to God in these stories seems like superstition; like people trying to make sense of good and bad events by saying God did it because it was deserved because of this or that. I know that's a cynical outlook, but then how do you make sense of good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people. Do you attribute it all to God specifically blessing and cursing individuals? Are people dying of AIDS in Africa because God's upset with them about something? I don't know. Would love to hear thoughts...

Supplimental Books

I'm starting a couple of supplemental books to my Bible reading:

One book on each side of the story, although not necessarily on opposite sides of the same argument. I feel strongly that you need to hear all sides of a debate in order to have a clear understanding of your own position and reasons for holding that position.

Bad Girls of the Bible (BGOB)

I have taken on a side project of reading BGOB and the first one up is Eve. Some random thoughts on the subject: Genesis 2:18 God said it is not good for man to be alone, I will make a suitable helper for him. Was this to keep Adam's mind off the forbidden tree? To help with the gardening? or in response to Adam's human longing for a companion? God first tried pets, not just cats or dogs, but the whole group of animals that was in the garden. I mean, how fun would it be to get to name all the creatures of the earth. So when no suitable helper was found God created woman. I was secretly wondering if there were actually other people, not living in the garden, that didn't necessarily live up to God's expectations that could have been considered. Anyway, the book I am reading says that God chose a bone nearest the man's heart as a gentle reminder to keep his help mate close by his side (when he created woman) I like that. But it makes me ask the question of where was Adam when the snake was tempting Eve? Another thing that struck me from this lesson is that the serpent asked Eve "Did God really say you must not eat from the tree?" If she didn't hear this for herself, or Adam just paraphrased what God said the interpretation could be all wrong. It is very important not to misquote what God is saying to us. One more thing...I know this is getting long winded....How did the serpent know what would tempt Eve. She is by all accounts innocent. I find it interesting just in the fact that what may be a temptation to one is not a temptation to another. I kinda feel sorry for Adam in this whole thing because when he happened along, Eve simply said here, try this. He didn't question where it came from, he just ok. Big dummy. But this is a good lesson in how we often get sucked into messes in our own lives. We go along with the crowd, or in his case, the only other person on the planet, it gives new meaning to "everyone is doing it" I'd be interested in your thoughts.

2 Samuel

Hold up, I guess I don't really understand the relationship Saul and David had because as soon as David hears Saul is dead he goes into mourning. Then he kills the messenger. It sounds to me like the messenger did what he thought he had to do out of compassion. He came across Saul who was mortally wounded by his own sword, not quite dead yet, and to facilitate the who process the messenger puts him out of his misery. At the very least I would say the messenger deserved to be sent to one of those towns for people who accidentally murder other people.

Tail end of 1 Samuel

Saul was one crazy dude. When I think of him I think of the old king in the last of the Lord of the Ring series. The old guy who was going to burn his son who just so happened to still be alive....anyway, crazy stuff. I am struck that he so relentlessly pursued David from town to town for years. And several times David could have killed him but didn't, and he (Saul) knew this and still kept coming at him (David). When Saul finally died in the last chapter by his own hand because he didn't want the uncircumcised fellows to kill him and abuse him, the Philistines find him and do it anyway by cutting of his head and then fastened his headless body to a wall. Gross. This Old Testament has crazy drama in it.

Back to Genesis

I am going thru a study of bad girls of the Bible and Eve is the first girl to study and while I was reading related scripture I came across Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said "The man has become like on of us, knowing good and evil. Who is us? I am really stuck on that. Any ideas?

Philistines Weren't Too Bright (1 Samuel)

After reading 1 Samuel 4 & 5 I was left thinking the Philistines were perhaps a bit mentally challenged. So they beat the Israelite army and ran off with the Ark of the Covenant and took it home. They're thinking, "Cool. Now we have two gods. Let's stick him in our temple with our other god." Then they come back to find the statue of their god bowing down in front of the Ark and eventually broken and left on the threshold of the door. Then God afflicts them with "devastation" and tumors as well. And all they come up with is: let's get rid of this ark and this god.

Did anyone stop to think, hey, this God is more real and more powerful than that statue we've been worshiping. Maybe it's time for a change. So they were willing to add him to their temple as a second-stringer, but not willing to engage with God when the hard truth became apparent. Instead they just wanted him out of there so they could go back to the status quo, back to their comfort zone. The paradigm shift of changing their beliefs was more than they could handle. So they just wanted it to go away. Not such an uncommon attitude I suppose.

Thoughts?

Judges: Jephthah

Judges 11:30-31:

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

Then who comes out of his door when he comes home in triumph? His daughter. Ugh! What a knucklehead! What kind of a moron makes a promise like that? I can only guess that in that time it was typical to keep animals in the house and he must have expected a goat to walk out the front door. But it was still a house. Obviously a person could just as easy be the first thing out, right? Really bizarre story.

The other interesting thing about it is that it doesn't say that God tried to stop this sacrifice in any way. I had some hope that, like in the case of Abraham and Isaac, God might step in and say, "Hang on. Don't really do it. Here's a ram instead." Or something like that.

I'm just not even sure what to do with that story. Why is it in there? The author makes no comment on the event one way or the other, which doesn't help.

The Book of Ruth

I really liked this book. I have to admit, as a fan of Fried Green Tomatoes, that when I read Ruth 1:16-17 it reminds me of the movie. I think it is a good story about staying true God. Naomi felt like God had left her empty, and I can imagine how she felt. her husband died and then her two sons died, that is just tragic. But she persevered and with a little bit of patience she was again rewarded. I think that Ruth gave her strength and with their friendship she was able to get over her past and see that the future is bright. It was almost as if Ruth was her project that kept her busy.

Side Bar

Don't know if you have seen the movie The Book of Eli with Densel Washington but if you have I have a question for you to ponder. Remember at the end when evil bad guy gets his hands on the book, realizes that it is in brail and calls his wench forward to put her hands on it. When she puts her hands on it, you see the light come into her eyes, did she actually "read" something that made her smile and if she did what do you think she "read"? I can't remeber if her fingers traveled the page but it is still one of the interesing movie puzzles that could leave you wondering.

Samson

There are a few directions I could go on Samson, first, I think this is the first time we have seen an angel of the Lord deliver a message. When Manoah asked his name the angel basically said you don't need to know is it is beyond your understanding. Interesting.

Second, Samson seems to have a few character flaws, he likes prostitutes, his picks for marriage are questionable, one was given to another by her family because they thought he didn't love her because he fooled them all with a riddle. A riddle? Then there's Delilah. She basically badgered him wanting know ways she could harm him and make him weak. It almost seemed like a cat and mouse game. Who was the cat and who was the mouse? After Delilah I wonder how smart he really was.

Third, there almost seems a message in here about talent. If you use your God given talent correctly, God can overlook some of those character flaws? Are we in charge of our own destiny? I am just questioning the fact that once Delilah cut his hair, God left him. But, Samson didn't cut his own hair, it wasn't his fault. Or do you think God thought "what a dumbass. he deserves what he gets"? I think Samson must have been a challenging person to deal with. One of those bad boys of the Bible.

Prayer

This is a side bar that was the topic of the sermon on Sunday at church. I know Mom, don't fall off your rocker...I went to church. I just wanted to put food for thought into your heads. How do you pray? When do you pray? Do you pray when you need something? or do you pray everyday? Do you pray silently in your head or do you pray out loud?

I almost feel like prayer is like reading the Bible, it should be done every day. With that said, I find on many days that I don't think about it until there is something that is upsetting me or nagging me that I feel the need for extra guidance and support. I have been thinking about this in terms of the relationship we have with God. For many relationships to be healthy you need good communication, the good and the bad. I am really trying to strengthen my relationship with God. FYI: I like to do it in the car on the way to work, I turn the radio off, and speak out loud. How about you?

G.I. Josh

I'm a little behind and just finished Joshua. What struck me most was the violence. The whole book is about an aggressive campaign to establish a territory for the national of Israel. It was an offensive, not a defensive, war. How would such a thing be viewed today? Granted it was ordained by God, and, ostensibly, these were bad people being slaughtered. But slaughtered they were. Wiped out. Men, women, children, sheep, goats... What would the SPCA or PETA say? (Just being facetious there.) Seriously though, it was very violent and much of it was without mercy. It's an odd thing to attribute to the God that we're typically taught about in Sunday school in America. The God we are taught is all about being nice to others, being peaceful, turning the other cheek, all that stuff.

The other thing that struck me was the common refrain of "be strong and courageous" that keeps coming back in Joshua. It's an inspiring word of encouragement to keep coming back to.

And I thought Judges would be boring...

Oh the drama, there seems to be several women to contend with in this book. Deborah has emerged as one of the judges of Isreal, and Jael, who drove a tent peg thru Sisera's temple. Ouch.

Deborah is interesting because she is the first woman to lead Israel. I would really like to know a back story on her. It is equally interesting that she ordered a warrior, Barak, to go at God's command and overturn the Jabin army, and Barak didn't want to do it unless she went with him. Why is that? Did he not trust her or did he feel more comfortable that she would be with him to help command? if that is the case, this is the first time in the Bible I have seen such a powerful woman emerge. She probably was a kick-butt-Angelina Jolie type of person.

I find Jael interesting because she only occupies 6 versus of chapter 4, but I wonder at her motivation and intensity to commit such a violent attack. I almost feel like it deserves more discussion.

In chapter 7 I was intrigued by the fact that Gideon gave his people the option of not going to was and 22,000 men said "o.k, I don't want to go, I am scared" That was more than half of his army. Not to worry because God said it was still too many people, but they have God on their side, what exactly are they trembling in fear from? I may be taking some of this too literally. I am assuming anyone who has God on their side shouldn't be fearful. I have to admit, I wouldn't be too thrilled to go into battle myself.

And last but not least...The end of chapter 7 verse 13 they are interpreting dreams. I think this happens alot in the Bible but I always put this in a category along with fortune telling, and horoscope, etc, and I was pretty sure God doesn't care for these means of directing lives. Discuss please.

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan 3/11/11

With the days current events, I can't help but equate them with things that have occurred thus far in our Bible journey, Genesis thru Joshua. With the technology we have available to us these days it is so easy to dismiss most events with a simple "plug into the equation and there you have it, it was bound to happen." But, take that away and how do you explain it. Back in the days of the plagues, the exodus, everything was explained as the wrath of God. Where do the current events fall? Is this a punishment of some sort? Is this one of God's promises that all your generations will suffer if you fail me? To be perfectly honest, if I hadn't been reading thru the Bible, I might have casually thought about this event in terms of what God has to do with it, but with the current books (6 of the entire Bible) I can't help but take more of a pause to contemplate the works of God. The effects of the earthquake not only affected Japan, but potentially the U.S west coast, and don't forget the nuclear reactors that could have massive impact if their coolant completely fails. How would that impact the entire world?

Beyond all that, I have to say a prayer for all that are suffereing from this massive devistation. I really don't have words that could match anything that someone who is going thru this could say. God give them strength...

Just finished Joshua

Not too much stands out for me from this book as far as questions, I do wonder who, if anyone will replace Joshua. Or for that matter, is this considered the end of the exodus out of Egypt? I took a peek at Judges and I see they have trials and tribulations. Maybe they need a figure to stand out as their leader to help guide them. Or is that the point, they have the Book of Laws handed down from Moses, is this where we see what the people can really do on their own? ( no spoilers please )

I do find it fascinating that they would designate towns, not one, but several, to be refuge for murderers. Sounds like everyone better be watching their backs.

Deserters?

Something that just occurred to me as I was reading in Joshua, I have to wonder if people were deserting Israel and the whole promised land campaign. I can see it getting pretty tedious at times with all the rules and regulations and sacrifices etc etc. Wonder if some just decided they'd had enough and went their own way. There had to have been some of that going on, right? And then I would wonder if God would be mad at those people and kill them with an illness or snakes or something.

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Lost Books of the Bible

I just want to note that Joshua 10:13 makes the first reference to the Book of Jashar, one of the lost books of the Bible. In hebrew it means the Book of the Upright.

Joshua

I just finished chapter 10 and two things stand out. 1. This book seems really bloody with war and attacking all these cities and slashing down every last person. When I got to chapter 9 The Gibeonite Deception, I thought "haha these guys can't fool Joshua, they will get theirs" but looking back on it, they may have been very smart to form a treaty. 2. I don't know that Moses could have been as competent at commanding the armies in such a quick, and effecient turn around as Joshua. It seems like the journey has been in two parts, one before they cross the Jordan and the second after they cross the Jordan. Hmmm, two different leaders, if I ever find time it might be interesting to look at each ones strengths and weaknesses.

There also seems to be alot of alters and reminders being left that "are still there to this day". From a religious artafact stand point, are they? There were the 12 stones the priests constructed after they crossed the Jordan, the rock pile at the gates of Ai, the stone pile over Achan in the Valley of Achor, and the stones at the entrance of the cave where the 5 kings hid. It would be an interesting quest to follow.

One more thing...Chapter 5, are we back on that again? Must be very important to God.

Path Moses took out of Egypt

I took a look at a map of the route Moses took out of Egypt and I was a little disappointed that they didn't cross the Red Sea at the widest part like I imagined in my mind's eye. Regardless, still a fantastic feat. Looking at their route it also looks like the back tracked a bit on the north eastern part of their journey. I tried to copy and paste a link of the route but my "Blogging for Dummies" book is still in the mail. There are some great links out there that really helped me clarify the path.

back tracking a bit...

Anyone care to discuss the difference between migration and exodus? (reference the Book of Exodus) what was really going on?

Just Finished Deuteronomy

I just finished Deuteronomy and I thought it was a beautiful book eloquently written by Moses. He very clearly reviewed what had happened and what will happen if the people don't follow God's commands.

An item I was curious about was in chapter 29:29 when he said the secret things belong to God and the things revealed belong to us. I wonder what secret things he's talking about.

32:51...I tried to find it with no luck, I just can't remember what Moses did to break his faith before God. I aslo find it interesting that God is telling Moses that you can see the land you led the people to but you will never see it. It seems almost cruel to keep rubbing Moses's nose in it, but at the same time Moses seems very resigned, to his fate, almost like he was just, well, tired. I guess it shows just how special the relationship they had together was. I don't know if cruel is the word to use, but almost as if God is just stating in black and white the rules and consequesnces of Moses' actions. (Matt, if you read this, it reminds me of the emails from Bible Bangers this week on nice, but not nice)

33:13-17...I thought the way he described Joseph was beautiful to read. It made me want to be part of Team Joseph. That is in contrast to some of the other's described in chapter 33. They were all nice, but this was nicer.

Abraham Cursed?

Here's a head-scratcher for you:

Deuteronomy 27:22 says "Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother."

In Genesis 20:11-12 Abraham says of his wife Sarah, "...Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife."

So the great father of the Israelite people was a cursed man by God's own declaration?

Deuteronomy 20-29

Deuteronomy 20...I find it interesting that they address the idea of war and whether or not to send someone out because they have built a new house, or because they may have planted a vineyard and not yet been able to enjoy it, or become newly wed and not yet been able to enjoy marriage. Also I am taken with the word "plunder" that is used in D 20:14 God seems to say it is okay to plunder. I have always taken this word to be a bad action, but when seeing it on paper I have to question. What is the deeper meaning. Or is it simply one of those "an eye for an eye" kind of things where you have to decide for yourself whether or not the crime warranted the action?

D 21&22 Whoa! more laws, second laws for sure.
On a side note, I thought it was kinds funny that in there were so many what if contingencies...if you see your brother's sheep astray, if you have a roof build a parapet so if someone accidentally falls you will not be blamed. And...I founf it equaly interesting that in D 22:5 a woman must not wear men's clothes and a man must not wear a woman's. In retail, boy do I have stories on this.

D27:21 This isn't the first time I have seen this in the Bible and I am disturbed to think why it has to be mentioned numerous times.

D 27 The Alter on Mt Ebal...I was wondering if there was a tomb raider out there that was searching for these stones?

D 28 Whoa!. After reading that I have no question that I should follow his word. Not that I was questioning, I am just saying, it is layed it in black and white pretty much, and the consequesnces are tremedous.

Oh and 23:12-14 kinda funny. I would second that request.

The names of the books of the Bible

Growing up I remember memorizing the names of the books of the Bible but I never thought about the name itself. When you read alot of other regular books, the name of the chapter gives you a clue as to how the chapter unfolds. I was thinking about it today and as we have gone thru almost 5 books, Genisis (the begining), Exodus (the leaving Egypt), Leviticus (maybe because we are to think more of the Levites?), Numbers (the census) and Deuteronomy (the second law, rough dictionary description), it is just an interseting subject note.

Balaam's Ass (Numbers 22)

The story of Balaam and his donkey is one of my favorites of the whole Bible. Why? Because it's quirky and weird. I love how the text makes it seem like a donkey talking to a dude is an unremarkable event. You'd think that after Num 22:28, after the Lord opens the donkey's mouth and she speaks, that the next verse might be something like: "And Balaam exclaimed, 'Holy f^@#*ng $#*t! You can talk?!'" No, he just answers the donkey's question.

The other thing that makes this story odd is that, like Melchizedek the king/priest from Salem back in Genesis 14, Balaam is a guy who comes out of nowhere and seems to have an intimate relationship with God. It doesn't seem like Balaam and God had a great relationship, but they clearly listened to each other and Balaam respected God's power. We don't get much history on him, but it indicates that God had relationships with other individuals outside of his chosen people. I think there's a message of hope in there, that God isn't overly concerned about your ancestry, race, nationality or whatever. He cares about your interest in talking to him and listening to him and having some sort of relationship. It seems to say that God doesn't limit himself to a particular group of people (Jews, Christians). He'll do whatever he wants with whomever he wants, and that's ok.

New thoughts on Leviticus

I thought I blogged about it previously, but couldn't find it, on how out of the Old Testament came medicine and law, and now I'd like to add geography. Moses had to take another census and designate an alottment of land to the tribes depending on how many they represented. So at some point they needed to do some kind of mapping, geography, plotting, whatever it took to have a calculation of who got what piece of land. If you look at it that way, we now have medicine, law, and geography now prefaced by religion.

Deuteronomy

I love this book as a recap of what happened in Numbers. I especially love the passion in Moses's voice as he lays it out for everyone. God has said that Moses is going to die and why, and Moses, with conviction, goes on to say remember all this, take it to heart, and live it every day. I get the feeling that God and Moses had a unique relationship, I think God really enjoyed his company, but because Moses sinned, unfortunatley, he had to pay just like everyone else. Sounds like he just did not trust enough. But God was kind enough to ive him a heads up so he could impart wisdom on future generations. Let me know what you think.

Finishing Numbers

This is just some free flow thinking...After finishing Numbers I feel like there was alot of complaining going on. I get a feeling that God was very frustrated with the amount of complaining that was going on. I don't say that I blame him. He promised these people a land of milk and honey and what do they do, they defy him, build alters to idol gods, complain some more. On the other hand, when they left Egypt, did they really know what they signed up for? How many years did they roam the desert? A family that left Egypt, would never see the promised land, only their descendants. It is interesting that a group of people would leave Egypt possibly knowing that not they, but their 4th or 5th generation would be the ones to benefit from the move. In the same way that is God was unhappy with someone, their family would suffer for generations. It kinda makes you wonder about a Christian life today. Are we suffering for the sins of the figures from our previous generations? An interesting question that the New Testament might answer very easily. I don't feel like I am suffering, is this how the generations the Lord punished felt. Punishment becomes the norm.? You don't notice that you are being cursed? I am sure M or J3 will have some interesting comments to this. I would love to hear it. Let's discuss.

Numbers 14-15

It struck me as interesting that in 14:15 Moses is giving advice to the Lord. This is the first time I have caught this fact and if I recall I think Moses has been doing that for some time. It show what an significant relationship the two have together. So what would you take it to mean in terms of what kind of relationship God wants to have with each of us?

I am also beginning to see how God wants us to trust him implicitly, suffering may be a symptom of what great things can happen if we have faith. Thoughts?

In 15:32 The Sabbath Breaker put to death...I was just wondering how much of the world population would be depleted if that were true today. For that matter, I remember growing up and there were businesses, like Hawkins grocery, that were not open on Sundays. I know there were others so when did big business decide that it was completely acceptable. Was it when they saw their books falling into the red, did they not have enough faith? On the other side of it, A whole business can decide to be open on Sundays, but an individual has the right to say it is their religious belief not work on Sundays or Saturdays. I feel like I might be on the verge of rambling so I will leave it at that.

Numbers

I think it is interesting in Numbers 5 that there is a test for an unfaithful wife but nothing for an unfaithful husband, unless I missed it or haven't gotten that far yet.

Also Numbers 6, what is a vow of separation?

Numbers 11:20 really shows how angry the Lord can be, telling them they will have meat until it comes out of the nostrils and they loathe it. Yikes!

Related Book

Reading about all these rules for the Israelites reminds me of a book I read (listened to on CD actually) that was written by a guy who was part Jewish and tried to live by all the old Jewish laws for one year. His reason for doing it was just to give him material for writing a book about, so it's not super deep or philosophical. It's an entertaining read - part funny, part serious. But it showed how odd and difficult it would be to try to live by those rules all the time in our society. It's easy, casual reading. Check it out if you get a chance:

The Year of Living Bibilically by A.J. Jacobs

Leviticus in a nutshell

Leviticus: not such an interesting book (and I can't say I'm looking forward to Numbers). But the value of it is in learning about what God's holiness requires of sinful people in order for them to connect with God: blood. Each person needed to redeem their own life with the life of an animal. This of course sets the stage for the life of God's own son Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice and the last one ever needed in exchange for everyone's life.

How's that for succinct? Should fit nicely in any nutshell.

Different Perspectives

I was wondering how one would go forward with a conversation with someone who said they thought of religion as a form of therapy, and you could take it or leave it, depending on who, (you or your spouse) needed it most, and a conversation with a catholic who said it is all in how you interpret the Bible. Both have very different points of view and have very different conversation points.

This is, of course, a side note to the readings we are having but as we have a blog I thought it might be interesting to get points of view.

Catching up a bit in Leviticus

I have had some catching up to do....but I think I have broken thru all the tedious-ness. It is interesting to me in Leviticus 11 Clean and Unclean Food: verse 7, for some reason I never really trusted pork. I love bacon, put I just always felt like pork was a "dirty" meat. It is amazing to me how it goes on about creatures of the sea and birds that you should and should not eat. Alot of it seems socially acceptable, on the other hand I know there are alot of weird societies out there or for that matter starving people in wilderness areas that take full advantage of their food options. How literal do we take this?

Leviticus

I wonder how body conscious the priest were. It sounds like they may have eaten alot of offerings.

It is equally curious as to how they treated famine. It sounds like if certain criteria were not met, the offering wasn't allowed to be eaten, if it wasn't eaten it went to waste. I think we waste alot in our society, but back then it should have been a crime to waste prepared food. On second thought if it was food prepared for sacrifice for sins or fellowship offering was that ok?

Exodus

Exodus was supposedly written by Moses. Why then is Moses referred to in the third person? Kind of odd. Wonder if he talked about himself in the third person in the course of normal conversation. That would be obnoxious.

What's with the specific instruction, repeated twice in Exodus (ch 23 & 34) and again in Deuteronomy 14, that a goat should not be cooked in it's mother's milk? Must be some cultural thing, but why not provide a little context? That would be helpful.

Another thing on Exodus

Something else that struck me was that God knew people would have grievences and appointed people to take care and make desicions on such matters. To me, this means that people were behaving badly. If people are behaving badly where does that put God's tolerances?

For me, reading the Bible and learning about God and his lessons it seems impossible that I will ever be that "good" person God wants me to be. Maybe if he is tolerant of people having jeolousy or arrogance or other behavioral issues, maybe there is hope for me. I hope I am expressing this correctly.

The other thing I wrote down last night was just to mention that Aaron was a good prophet but a bad manager of people.

Oh, and why is yeast so bad. There are some specific notations about bread being made without it.

A few things from Exodus 25-30

I was wondering why God seems to be so specific in his directions for building the ark, and the table, and the tabernacle and the lamp, and the priestly garments. Is this a test to see how well they listen? and what would have happened if they screwed up? Would if they made the courtyard 90 cubits long instead of 100 because they ran out of room?

I was also wondering about Aaron wearing the bells so they sound when he enters and leaves God's holy place so that he will not die? What is that about? (Exodus 28:35) The verses that follow lead me to think this is sounding like catholic tradition.

There also seems to be alot of sacrificing of specific animals. Any idea as to the sybolism in each animal?

Just Curious

I think I missed who Aaron was to Moses. Not sure I remember the relationship.

Secondly, I was thinking of the Israelite people, they were in Egypt for 430 years, (Exodus 12:40) how long do you think it took for each of God's plagues to hit. I mean, was it instantaneous, or was it a process that took some time. I seem to recall from Genesis that the question of time came into view. What exactly is a day in the calendar of God who is omnipresent? (I am not sure that is the word I want to use) If you are God, who has been around for a very long time, is a day to him like 6 months or a year is to us? I am not questioning his miracles by any means. I had to take a few moments to look it up, but I think I am going by Max Lucado's book also. The entry for Jan 5 is: Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! Genesis 18:14 "The God of surprises strikes again. ...God does that for the faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned, ...The lesson in three words is Don't Give Up. Is the road long? don't stop. Is the night black? don't quit. God is watching. For all you know, right at this moment, the check is in the mail. An apology might be in the making. The job contract may be on the desk. Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers. "

I would mlike to think the message is patience, and if that is true, how patient did Moses have to be before his miracles affected, then hardened the heart of Pharaoh?

these are things I've been thinking about today, It is late and I hope I have delivered to the extent I wish it be recieved. Ciao

I was thinking about this because I wondered if this applies to us now. It says to be applied for generations to come in Exodus 12:17. I am thru Exodus 13 and I feel like he applies and re-applies the rules. Very specific. How are we to interpret some of the requests in modern day times?

Thoughts on Genesis

I finished Genesis yesterday. Big picture: I'm amazed and reassured by how delightfully imperfect God's chosen people were, and how tolerant God was of them. Right off the bat Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate from the wrong tree and thought they could hide from God. Then Cain kills Abel, then the whole world is so evil it needs to be purged by flood, then there's johns and prostitutes, liars, cheaters, manipulators, incestuous relationships, etc. etc. God was obviously not looking for perfection, just general trust and obedience.

The creation story begs a lot of questions for me though. First there's two accounts of the creation of man (ch 1 vs ch 2). They sort of work together but mismatch a bit. Then you get into who was Cain afraid of when God banished him? And where did Cain find a wife (that wasn't his sister)? And who were the "sons of God" (ch 6)? Angels? Or were Adam and Eve and their descendants the "sons of God" and other people that God may have created were the sons and daughters of men?

And don't get me started on the age of the earth question. According to the Bible the earth is less then 10,000 years old, but that doesn't jive with geological evidence which seems to suggest the earth is billions of years old.

The flood and Noah's ark... just doesn't seem plausible from a logistical standpoint. Thousands of animals couped up on that boat for almost a year? With enough food for everyone? Nobody is eating anyone else? Then they repopulate the whole earth in a very short period of time (this was only a few thousand years ago). How'd they get to Australia? This story especially gives me a hard time.

Ok, Exodus 4 specifically around 24. I feel like God is having a crisis about Moses. He choses him to lead the people, then he's fed up, then he meets him at a lodging and is about to kill him, then he's blessing him. Seems more like an irrational parent that needs his kid to buck up and take the responsibility head on. What do you think?

Just finished Genesis. Loved the whole book. Some thoughts more specifically concerning the last few chapters...G 42:22, Reuban and his brothers are speaking and Joseph is using an interpreter. How did it come about that he could not understand their language. Or am I over thinking it?
Also Pharaoh seems like an enigma. Who's side is he on? Does God favor him? I feel that he may play some other roles to be revealed in other books.

I do like the fact that Joseph saw the greater good in the fact that his brother's sold him and he could have become very bitter towards them, but he forgave them knowing that where God put him helped save thousands of lives. The greater good. It is a good lesson because I think we often get caught up in the moment and don't see that down the line things will work out. I am definately guilty of this.

Welcome!

This blog will be all about Jennifer & John's journey through the Bible in 2011. We are going to read through the whole thing this year and try to process as much as possible. This will be a place where we can post our comments, thoughts, questions, etc. about what we're reading. Feel free to follow along and leave comments!