If you're actually following my posts on Read Through The Bible in one year -- in alphabetical order -- you'll notice that Nahum is out of order. My last post was Hosea and I am reading Isaiah. So, why an "N" entry?
I was so taken with Habakkuk a few weeks ago that I decided to use it for a Sunday School lesson. As I prepared the lesson, I realized that Zephaniah and Habakkuk were contemporaneous, and decided to teach Zephaniah the following week. Then I realized that Nahum was written perhaps half a century earlier, but still under the same set of circumstances. I needed three lessons for May-June, and voila -- three minor prophets all writing about the same time. You, dear reader, probably don't really care about all that. I'm just saying there's a reason for jumping out of alphabetical sequence.
Nahum (and I like to pronounce it NAH chum, with the ch as it's pronounced in Bach) means "comfort." The prophet wrote about 635 BC, not too long before the conquest of Judah, the southern kingdom.
The book is an oracle against Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. This is the same Nineveh mentioned in Jonah. That prophet was instructed to go preach to Nineveh and he did everything he could not to. Why? Because he just hated the Assyrians for their military brutality and their pagan religion. Surprisingly, after Jonah gave up and obeyed God, his terse message ("Repent or else") brought results. The people of Nineveh did repent. But apparently not for long.
Flash forward to Nahum, maybe 100 years after Jonah. He, too, delivers a rant against Nineveh. The three chapters of Nahum make it clear that God will destroy Nineveh as punishment for their wickedness.
What I really like about the book of Nahum is the poetic language. It is crammed with vivid images and interesting literary devices, such as repetition, staccato phrasing, and compelling metaphors.
Although Nahum seems to be addressing the city of Nineveh, it was probably intended for the people of Judah. I bet the Judahites loved the poetic rant as much as I do. Perhaps it was the 7th century B.C. version of Rush Limbaugh.
The Judahites may have seen Nahum's prophecy as Good News: Those awful, evil Ninevites are going to get it! After all, God is righteous and just, and cannot tolerate wickedness and disobedience.
I wonder if they recognized Nahum's words as also bad news -- for them. If God would destroy the Ninevites for their gross wickedness as a way of demonstrating His righteousness, justice and sovereignty, then would not God also be prepared to punish Judah for their disobedience? After all, that was the fate of the northern kingdom, Israel, in 722, only about 65 years earlier.
History shows that the people of Judah did not mend their ways by whole-heartedly trusting and obeying God. Within a few years, Habakkuk and Zephaniah had to deliver their own dire prophecies that Judah would fall at the hands of the wicked Babylonians (who by then would have overthrown the Assyrians).
To be perfectly honest, I didn't glean very much out of Nahum. It did, however, move me to brush up on the history of the time. For my Sunday School lesson on Nahum, we spent most of the time studying what I like to call "Ancient Near Eastern Geopolitical Pac-Man." That is, Syria was gobbled up by Assyria, which was gobbled up by Babylonia, which was gobbled up by Persia.
Through reading Nahum, I also gained a better understanding of how the messages of these three prophets tied together.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Hosea: Memorable metaphors
If I were to describe the book of Hosea in just a few words, I guess I'd say it has a huge, graphic metaphor comparing the people of Israel with an unfaithful, harlot wife followed by lengthy poetic passages condemning Israel's sinfulness.
It's not pretty. The first three chapters, about God telling Hosea to take Gomer as his wife, even though she continues in adultery, are so graphic, it's almost hard to pay attention to the rest of the book.
Most of the rants against Israel and Judah are in colorful metaphors. I wonder if the people of the day understood what the metaphors represented. We have the same sins and transgressions in today's world: corruption in government, indifference to God, immorality among people, seeking political allies instead of trusting in God, worshiping false idols. I wonder what metaphors a godly poet/prophet might use today.
I think Hosea must have been a favorite book for New Testament writers. There are several quotations from Hosea in the New Testament:
Hosea 2:23: "I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'" (Ro. 9:25).
Hosea 6:6 " For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Mt. 9:13, 12:7).
Hosea 10:8 "Then they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' and to the hills, 'Fall on us!" (Luke 23:30).
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Mt. 2:15)
Hosea 13:14 "Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?" (1 Co. 15:55.
You have to hand it to Hosea. He had a gift for imagery. The graphic imagery reverberates through the ages. If only God's people would take it to heart.
It's not pretty. The first three chapters, about God telling Hosea to take Gomer as his wife, even though she continues in adultery, are so graphic, it's almost hard to pay attention to the rest of the book.
Most of the rants against Israel and Judah are in colorful metaphors. I wonder if the people of the day understood what the metaphors represented. We have the same sins and transgressions in today's world: corruption in government, indifference to God, immorality among people, seeking political allies instead of trusting in God, worshiping false idols. I wonder what metaphors a godly poet/prophet might use today.
I think Hosea must have been a favorite book for New Testament writers. There are several quotations from Hosea in the New Testament:
Hosea 2:23: "I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'" (Ro. 9:25).
Hosea 6:6 " For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Mt. 9:13, 12:7).
Hosea 10:8 "Then they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' and to the hills, 'Fall on us!" (Luke 23:30).
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Mt. 2:15)
Hosea 13:14 "Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?" (1 Co. 15:55.
You have to hand it to Hosea. He had a gift for imagery. The graphic imagery reverberates through the ages. If only God's people would take it to heart.
Hebrews: Faith Deconstructed
I'm a little backed up on writing my Read Through The Bible (RTTB) in one year in alphabetical order blogs. I think that's because of the two very short H books -- Haggai and Habakkuk.
It was good to read Hebrews again. There was a time when this book just flummoxed me. I guess when I took the time to study it carefully (probably in Seminary) it became clear. Now I love it because of its cogent theology, especially the way it ties back to Old Testament Judaism.
One of the "tentpoles" of Christianity is that Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins--substitutionary atonement. If you're like me and you want to really dig in and understand what that means and how that "works," Hebrews is probably the best source. Chapters 7 through 10, and especially chapter 9, track back to Leviticus and the regulations for worship and sacrifice. The Hebrews passages explain how Christ superceded and perfected the old thinking.
Hebrews encourages us when we sin by reminding us that we have been made holy by Christ's sacrifice. "But now Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:26-28).
I understand Hebrews 10:26-29 as a passage about "unpardonable sin." It's not suicide or any other number of heinous sins. The unpardonable sin is rejecting salvation when it's offered to us in a way we understand, that is, consciously deciding not to believe and accept salvation. The only way to be pardoned of your sin is to believe that God is able to do so and has done so through Christ. If you don't believe that, then what other recourse do you have for pardoning your sin?
The unpardonable sin is not irreversible. If you change your heart and accept Christ, your sins may be forgiven.
I never have been very good with this issue. It's too profound for me and I get tangled up trying to explain it. I think that's why Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). Little children don't go through all the existential questioning that adults do. They just believe.
Everyone likes Hebrews 11, the "Hall of Fame of Faith." It starts, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Then in verse 6, "And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Again: Faith is believing [what God tells us] absent of "proof."
I also love the passage, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). Thinking about all the great saints who have gone before us or who are watching us even now is inspirational.
As I was reading Hebrews this time, I was struck by a couple of new thoughts.
In 12:4ff, the text reminds us that some suffering is the Lord's way of disciplining us. Remember that "discipline" is different from "punishment." I think that may be the best way of viewing bad things that happen to us. Somehow, God is using it to his purposes and is molding and shaping us. That's much more helpful than just wondering, "Why me?"
The day that I read 6:10, I had to text it to some of my Young Lives co-workers. It was very heartening: "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." I imagine anyone who tries to serve in God's kingdom gets weary and discouraged; wondering if anyone really appreciates all they do. This verse reassures us that even though other people may not be aware of how very much we do, God is and he remembers it.
Great stuff, Hebrews. I also love the mystery about who actually wrote it. Paul? Barnabas? Apollos? Priscilla?
When my Sunday School class debates what to study next fall, Hebrews will be on the top of my list of candidates.
It was good to read Hebrews again. There was a time when this book just flummoxed me. I guess when I took the time to study it carefully (probably in Seminary) it became clear. Now I love it because of its cogent theology, especially the way it ties back to Old Testament Judaism.
One of the "tentpoles" of Christianity is that Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins--substitutionary atonement. If you're like me and you want to really dig in and understand what that means and how that "works," Hebrews is probably the best source. Chapters 7 through 10, and especially chapter 9, track back to Leviticus and the regulations for worship and sacrifice. The Hebrews passages explain how Christ superceded and perfected the old thinking.
Hebrews encourages us when we sin by reminding us that we have been made holy by Christ's sacrifice. "But now Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:26-28).
I understand Hebrews 10:26-29 as a passage about "unpardonable sin." It's not suicide or any other number of heinous sins. The unpardonable sin is rejecting salvation when it's offered to us in a way we understand, that is, consciously deciding not to believe and accept salvation. The only way to be pardoned of your sin is to believe that God is able to do so and has done so through Christ. If you don't believe that, then what other recourse do you have for pardoning your sin?
The unpardonable sin is not irreversible. If you change your heart and accept Christ, your sins may be forgiven.
I never have been very good with this issue. It's too profound for me and I get tangled up trying to explain it. I think that's why Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). Little children don't go through all the existential questioning that adults do. They just believe.
Everyone likes Hebrews 11, the "Hall of Fame of Faith." It starts, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Then in verse 6, "And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Again: Faith is believing [what God tells us] absent of "proof."
I also love the passage, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). Thinking about all the great saints who have gone before us or who are watching us even now is inspirational.
As I was reading Hebrews this time, I was struck by a couple of new thoughts.
In 12:4ff, the text reminds us that some suffering is the Lord's way of disciplining us. Remember that "discipline" is different from "punishment." I think that may be the best way of viewing bad things that happen to us. Somehow, God is using it to his purposes and is molding and shaping us. That's much more helpful than just wondering, "Why me?"
The day that I read 6:10, I had to text it to some of my Young Lives co-workers. It was very heartening: "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." I imagine anyone who tries to serve in God's kingdom gets weary and discouraged; wondering if anyone really appreciates all they do. This verse reassures us that even though other people may not be aware of how very much we do, God is and he remembers it.
Great stuff, Hebrews. I also love the mystery about who actually wrote it. Paul? Barnabas? Apollos? Priscilla?
When my Sunday School class debates what to study next fall, Hebrews will be on the top of my list of candidates.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Haggai: Give careful thought
I was thinking Haggai is the shortest book in the Old Testament, but Obadiah is. Haggai deals with the singular issue of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem in 520 B.C. The Jews had returned after the Exile and laid the foundation for the temple in about 536 B.C. Their "neighbors," the Samaritans, who feared a reconsituted Jewish state, opposed the plans to finish the temple and complained to the Babylonian authorities. The building was halted until Darius gave the go-ahead in about 522.
Let me digress for a moment. I just wrote that paragraph based on reading the introduction to Haggai in my NIV Study Bible. I could have figured it out by combing through Ezra-Nehemiah, but the Study Bible explanation is much more succinct. The moral of the story here is that you can gain a lot by reading through the Bible text. However, you can learn even more if you read it with the assistance of a good study Bible or, if you really have time and commitment, good commentaries. I love my NIV Study Bible.
Back to Haggai. In some ways, Haggai is extremely specific. It comprises prophecies from about a four-month interval and its main purpose is to exhort the Jews to finish the temple. What resonates with Haggai, though, are the timeless points it makes.
For example, it is wrong-headed for people (or congregations or societies) to build our own "houses" while neglecting God's, and then expect blessings. In Haggai, the houses are exactly that: fancy domiciles with paneled walls. Metaphorically, what are our "houses" that we work on while neglecting God's? Building a career, prestige, wealth? Pursuing pleasures or amassing amusements? Constructing buildings, cities, empires? And, metaphorically, what could be "God's house" that we neglect? A place of worship? A healthy, sustainable environment? A healthy, educated, empowered, free populace?
I don't think God cared that much about the temple; He was concerned about the people's sense of priorities. He still is, and proper priorities should still be a daily concern for each of us. There's a time and a place to build our own "house," but never at the expense of neglecting God's house and His kingdom.
Evidently, the rebuilt temple was so much smaller than the original Solomon's temple that many of the Jews were disappointed. Since this dates to 520 B.C., some of them may have remembered the temple before it was destroyed in 586, some 66 years prior. But God promised to bless this new temple and fill it with His presence, just as He had the temple and the tabernacle in the olden days.
Haggai 2:6-7 is one of those passages that shows up in Handel's Messiah. The lyricist, Charles Jennes (according to Wikipedia), certainly knew his Bible! That, plus Haggai 2:8-9, are God's promises to "shake the heavens and the earth" before filling the house with glory greater than before and with peace. The phrase "the desired of all nations will come" is customarily seen as a prophecy of Jesus the Messiah.
The passage 2:10-14 has an interesting argument. The subject is clean and unclean according to Jewish law. The point is that it's hard to transmit holiness but it's very easy to defile something. That is, a clean thing doesn't very often make something unclean clean, but an unclean thing instantly defiles something clean. Most of us know how very easy it is to get in trouble, to sin, to slide down a slippery slope. As for becoming "holy"? Going to church doesn't do it; hanging out with good people, even Christians doesn't do it. Doing good works doesn't cut it. The only way to be "holy" is to accept and trust in Christ's free gift of salvation. He paid the penalty to wash away our sins so we can be holy.
The next to last point in Haggai is that God ties blessing to obedience. Before the people got around to working on the temple, they didn't have plentiful crops. God says, "I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me." Once the people devoted themselves to God's priorities, He promised, "From this day on I will bless you."
The final prophecy goes specifically to Zerubbabel, the governor. It's a promise of victory and blessing, and a reversal of a curse on the deposed King Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 22:24). It's kind of neat, because Zerubbabel is recorded as an ancestor of Jesus (Mt. 1:12 and Luke 3:27).
That's about it for Haggai, except for one little literary motif I love. Four times the book repeats the phrase, "Give careful thought." That may be the best advice for reading Haggai. We shouldn't just whip through its 38 verses. Rather, we should give careful thought to what the ancient, specific prophecies mean for all of us believers through the ages.
Let me digress for a moment. I just wrote that paragraph based on reading the introduction to Haggai in my NIV Study Bible. I could have figured it out by combing through Ezra-Nehemiah, but the Study Bible explanation is much more succinct. The moral of the story here is that you can gain a lot by reading through the Bible text. However, you can learn even more if you read it with the assistance of a good study Bible or, if you really have time and commitment, good commentaries. I love my NIV Study Bible.
Back to Haggai. In some ways, Haggai is extremely specific. It comprises prophecies from about a four-month interval and its main purpose is to exhort the Jews to finish the temple. What resonates with Haggai, though, are the timeless points it makes.
For example, it is wrong-headed for people (or congregations or societies) to build our own "houses" while neglecting God's, and then expect blessings. In Haggai, the houses are exactly that: fancy domiciles with paneled walls. Metaphorically, what are our "houses" that we work on while neglecting God's? Building a career, prestige, wealth? Pursuing pleasures or amassing amusements? Constructing buildings, cities, empires? And, metaphorically, what could be "God's house" that we neglect? A place of worship? A healthy, sustainable environment? A healthy, educated, empowered, free populace?
I don't think God cared that much about the temple; He was concerned about the people's sense of priorities. He still is, and proper priorities should still be a daily concern for each of us. There's a time and a place to build our own "house," but never at the expense of neglecting God's house and His kingdom.
Evidently, the rebuilt temple was so much smaller than the original Solomon's temple that many of the Jews were disappointed. Since this dates to 520 B.C., some of them may have remembered the temple before it was destroyed in 586, some 66 years prior. But God promised to bless this new temple and fill it with His presence, just as He had the temple and the tabernacle in the olden days.
Haggai 2:6-7 is one of those passages that shows up in Handel's Messiah. The lyricist, Charles Jennes (according to Wikipedia), certainly knew his Bible! That, plus Haggai 2:8-9, are God's promises to "shake the heavens and the earth" before filling the house with glory greater than before and with peace. The phrase "the desired of all nations will come" is customarily seen as a prophecy of Jesus the Messiah.
The passage 2:10-14 has an interesting argument. The subject is clean and unclean according to Jewish law. The point is that it's hard to transmit holiness but it's very easy to defile something. That is, a clean thing doesn't very often make something unclean clean, but an unclean thing instantly defiles something clean. Most of us know how very easy it is to get in trouble, to sin, to slide down a slippery slope. As for becoming "holy"? Going to church doesn't do it; hanging out with good people, even Christians doesn't do it. Doing good works doesn't cut it. The only way to be "holy" is to accept and trust in Christ's free gift of salvation. He paid the penalty to wash away our sins so we can be holy.
The next to last point in Haggai is that God ties blessing to obedience. Before the people got around to working on the temple, they didn't have plentiful crops. God says, "I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me." Once the people devoted themselves to God's priorities, He promised, "From this day on I will bless you."
The final prophecy goes specifically to Zerubbabel, the governor. It's a promise of victory and blessing, and a reversal of a curse on the deposed King Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 22:24). It's kind of neat, because Zerubbabel is recorded as an ancestor of Jesus (Mt. 1:12 and Luke 3:27).
That's about it for Haggai, except for one little literary motif I love. Four times the book repeats the phrase, "Give careful thought." That may be the best advice for reading Haggai. We shouldn't just whip through its 38 verses. Rather, we should give careful thought to what the ancient, specific prophecies mean for all of us believers through the ages.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Habakkuk: Yet I will rejoice
Continuing on with Read Through The Bible (RTTB) in one year, I am starting the H'es with Habakkuk. I have noticed one downside of RTTB in alphabetical order: It's hard to tell if I'm on track or not for finishing in one year. I use a printed schedule on which I check off the three-chapter-a-day readings, so I would have to go and count up the number of days. Pretty tedious. And it doesn't really matter all that much if I go past twelve months, does it, dear reader?
So. Habakkuk. It's a very short book, only three chapters. The prophet lived in Judah, the southern kingdom that remained after the collapse of Israel. The prophecy probably dates to about 605 B.C., not long before the demise of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians in 597.
Habakkuk starts by crying out to God about the evil in Judah. His words in the first few verses could be ours today. Many of us are appalled at the violence, wrong, strife and injustice that mark our nation(s). We, too, wonder how God can let it go unpunished.
Imagine how we would feel if God replied to us as He does to Habakkuk: "I will punish the wrongdoing of My people--and I will use a foreign, hated, godless nation (Babylon) to do the punishing."
Just think about that for a while. Feel your blood run cold.
Habakkuk cries out again, asking how God can use a people even more unrighteous than the Jews to inflict the punishment. God answers that Babylon will also be punished in due time. I suppose that's comforting. The prophecy also rants with woes against the Babylonians and their wickedness. Also comforting, sort of.
Still, Habakkuk is a poem of steadfast faith. I have a couple of favorite verses underlined in my Bible:
2:4b "...but the righteous will live by his faith." If I'm not mistaken, that was the verse that got Martin Luther's attention and was seminal to his reforming the Church away from works-based theology to faith alone.
2:20 "But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
The best is 3:17-19, a beautiful passage of faith:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls -- yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
That may the bottom line of faith. Even when all we have left is faith, it is the strength that comes from trusting God that enables us to go on.
So. Habakkuk. It's a very short book, only three chapters. The prophet lived in Judah, the southern kingdom that remained after the collapse of Israel. The prophecy probably dates to about 605 B.C., not long before the demise of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians in 597.
Habakkuk starts by crying out to God about the evil in Judah. His words in the first few verses could be ours today. Many of us are appalled at the violence, wrong, strife and injustice that mark our nation(s). We, too, wonder how God can let it go unpunished.
Imagine how we would feel if God replied to us as He does to Habakkuk: "I will punish the wrongdoing of My people--and I will use a foreign, hated, godless nation (Babylon) to do the punishing."
Just think about that for a while. Feel your blood run cold.
Habakkuk cries out again, asking how God can use a people even more unrighteous than the Jews to inflict the punishment. God answers that Babylon will also be punished in due time. I suppose that's comforting. The prophecy also rants with woes against the Babylonians and their wickedness. Also comforting, sort of.
Still, Habakkuk is a poem of steadfast faith. I have a couple of favorite verses underlined in my Bible:
2:4b "...but the righteous will live by his faith." If I'm not mistaken, that was the verse that got Martin Luther's attention and was seminal to his reforming the Church away from works-based theology to faith alone.
2:20 "But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
The best is 3:17-19, a beautiful passage of faith:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls -- yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
That may the bottom line of faith. Even when all we have left is faith, it is the strength that comes from trusting God that enables us to go on.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Genesis: Getting it started
Gosh, I love Genesis. Such great stories! What's better is that the more deeply you dig into them, the more profound they become. It is so much more interesting to learn what God has to say to His people by reading Genesis than by, say, memorizing catechisms.
One thing I love about Genesis is trying to imagine what certain recorded events were really like. For example, in Genesis 26:19-22, it talks about Isaac's herdsmen, the herdsman of Gerar, and the ownership of some water wells in the desert. My NIV translation uses the word "quarrelled." Without doing a big-deal word study, I have to wonder what constituted "quarrelling." Was it trash talk? Fisticuffs? Or could it be full-on warfare between two large groups of nomadic tribes, sort of like skirmishes among Arabian tribes of today?
Some stories are hard to believe. Forget about the Garden of Eden or Noah's Ark stories. I'm talking about Genesis 27, when Jacob and Rebekah, his mother and accomplice, deceive Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau. The text says Rebekah covered Jacob's hands and neck with goatskins to trick aged, blind Isaac into thinking he was Esau. Really? Goatskins? Makes you wonder how hairy Esau was.
There's a lot of ambiguity in Genesis about what is Right and what is Wrong, and a lot of it has to do with marriage and families. Without any judgmental comment, the Bible shows that Abraham, Jacob, and a few other people had more than one wife. Yet, the dysfunction in the families seems to demonstrate the problems with that. Or in Genesis 28:8-9, it says that Esau, who had irritated his mother by marrying a Hittite woman, went and married his cousin Ishmael's daughter. I have no idea whether this would have better or worse than a Hittite!
Perhaps these accounts are a set-up for Exodus and Leviticus, where God gives the Law to Moses as a way to delineate Right and Wrong.
This time as I read Genesis, I was struck by how much deception takes place. Some of the deception is people tricking others--such as Jacob and Isaac, or Jacob and Laban, Jacob and Esau after their "reconciliation," Jacob's sons and the men of Shechem, Eve and the serpent, Cain who tricked Abel into going to the field with him, Lot and his daughters, and so on.
Even more fascinating is the number of incidents where someone deceives someone by concealing his or her identity. Sara in Egypt and later Rebekah in Egypt. Leah on her wedding night. Jacob with Isaac. Tamar and Judah. Even Joseph and his brothers in Egypt.
So many stories, so many life lessons. I never get tired of reading Genesis. But how many people, committed to read through the Bible in a systematic fashion, have zoomed through Genesis and maybe even Exodus, only to get bogged down in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Sigh.
One thing I love about Genesis is trying to imagine what certain recorded events were really like. For example, in Genesis 26:19-22, it talks about Isaac's herdsmen, the herdsman of Gerar, and the ownership of some water wells in the desert. My NIV translation uses the word "quarrelled." Without doing a big-deal word study, I have to wonder what constituted "quarrelling." Was it trash talk? Fisticuffs? Or could it be full-on warfare between two large groups of nomadic tribes, sort of like skirmishes among Arabian tribes of today?
Some stories are hard to believe. Forget about the Garden of Eden or Noah's Ark stories. I'm talking about Genesis 27, when Jacob and Rebekah, his mother and accomplice, deceive Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau. The text says Rebekah covered Jacob's hands and neck with goatskins to trick aged, blind Isaac into thinking he was Esau. Really? Goatskins? Makes you wonder how hairy Esau was.
There's a lot of ambiguity in Genesis about what is Right and what is Wrong, and a lot of it has to do with marriage and families. Without any judgmental comment, the Bible shows that Abraham, Jacob, and a few other people had more than one wife. Yet, the dysfunction in the families seems to demonstrate the problems with that. Or in Genesis 28:8-9, it says that Esau, who had irritated his mother by marrying a Hittite woman, went and married his cousin Ishmael's daughter. I have no idea whether this would have better or worse than a Hittite!
Perhaps these accounts are a set-up for Exodus and Leviticus, where God gives the Law to Moses as a way to delineate Right and Wrong.
This time as I read Genesis, I was struck by how much deception takes place. Some of the deception is people tricking others--such as Jacob and Isaac, or Jacob and Laban, Jacob and Esau after their "reconciliation," Jacob's sons and the men of Shechem, Eve and the serpent, Cain who tricked Abel into going to the field with him, Lot and his daughters, and so on.
Even more fascinating is the number of incidents where someone deceives someone by concealing his or her identity. Sara in Egypt and later Rebekah in Egypt. Leah on her wedding night. Jacob with Isaac. Tamar and Judah. Even Joseph and his brothers in Egypt.
So many stories, so many life lessons. I never get tired of reading Genesis. But how many people, committed to read through the Bible in a systematic fashion, have zoomed through Genesis and maybe even Exodus, only to get bogged down in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Sigh.
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