An Appropriate Proverb

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Proverbs 21:30

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

February 1


OT – I got my new book! This is the Artscroll Stone Chumash. Just to see if it is of any value, I looked up Lisa’s question regarding the circumcision of Moses’ sons by Zipporah from a previous reading. Lisa, you will not be happy to know that Rashi does not speak to this. What he does comment on is that the baby is the cause of the bridegroom (her husband, Moses) and his bloodshed. Humm….. Already I am arguing with the greatest rabbinic commentator. At any rate, I think this book will be of great help to me during the readings.

Just as aside, The Stone Chumash uses the word “HASHEM” in the place of our Bible translation of LORD. The Stone uses God where ours uses God. Many of the orthodox Jews object to the use of capital G-o-d as they think this still names God, God. They print it as G-d. There is a special Orthodox and Hasidic Stone Chumash just for them with the G-d. Accommodation is the name of the game.
HASHEM is literally “The Name”. It represents the Tetragrammaton, the sacred Hebrew Four letter Name of God (Y-H-W-H). (Remember, ancient Hebrew had no vowels.) We sometimes translate this as Yahweh. (In my own mind, this gives God a name and for me, he really has no name. That would imply that I had somehow boxed him in or given him shape. Much like hearing the girl’s name Bambi. It just brings up a certain implication to how she is and how she will act. I remember hearing Yahweh for the first time when we started going to St Andrews Presbyterian when I was 7 and wondering who the heck they were talking about! We were Baptist before the move North.)

But to the reading. Do the miracles trouble you? I remember hearing how the parting could have happened with a hurricane force. Or some other natural phenomena that was explainable. Here is my take on it. God is absolutely capable dropping some bread and birds. Killing a bunch of livestock. Sending frogs. Raising someone from the dead. Why on earth would I question whether or not he could move some water? That one seems pretty easy on the miracle scale, if you ask me. Here is what Rashi says: “God’s reason for bringing the miracle about by means of a wind, rather than through an undeniable, obvious miracle was to allow the Egyptians room for doubt. In their wickedness, they insisted that the waters had been moved by wind ((sound familiar????)), not by God – even though it would be clear to any objective observer that the sea had never before been parted by a wind – therefore, they plunged into the seabed to their eventual doom.”’

Psalm -- Whoever wrote this is much different than I am. I am never blameless and I am afraid that verses 4-7 do not apply to me. The title in my real Bible says this psalm is “Of David”. That made me laugh. Well, okay. If David can say this, maybe there is room in this psalm for me, too?

NT – Even then, the politicians were spinning their words. Look at vs. 25-27. They won’t answer truthfully because to them, the truth doesn’t matter. They were busy trying to trap Jesus. Surely, at least one of them had a belief, a valid, honest true-blue belief as to what John’s baptisms meant and did for people. We read these words and think Jesus is being cryptic. He was just playing their game. His parables clearly indicate that he is anointed one, the son of the landowner.
So, think of today. When today did you come straight up and say what you believe? Or did you dance around, trying to think what would play best in whatever circumstances you happen to be at the time? Are you acting like the Pharisees? How would Jesus have responded to you?

I leave you with the song Moses sang – not to himself – but to the PEOPLE he had brought out of slavery. And you have to remember, *they* didn’t hear God. They only heard Moses and felt Pharaoh’s wrath and the wretchedness of the plagues that they did not escape from.
Vs. 11,13 “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? … In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”
May HASHEM redeem YOU, and guide YOU to his holy dwelling.

Monday, January 30, 2012

January 31


Proverbs – This is from Matthew Henry’s commentary:
If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described. He says and does every thing artfully, and with design. His ruin shall come without warning, and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God. Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God, which are hurtful to the comfort of human life. These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices, and watch and pray against them; and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank.

I had to go back and reread yesterday’s proverbs to understand what Henry was talking about. Hebrew poetry and wisdom writing love couplets. Even couplets that are several stanzas long.
Yesterday’s was all about sleeping in and being lazy. Today, we have someone who IS NOT lazy. Far from it! But what he is instead is deceitful. And that is worse to God. “Suddenly destroyed”. Bad news for the scoundrel.
http://bible.cc/proverbs/6-12.htm

NT – Is it hard for you to imagine that we are already at Jerusalem? It really does not seem like that long ago that Jesus was a baby escaping to Egypt with his mom and earthly dad. But Matthew spends almost a quarter of his time with us in Jerusalem and that last week. We will get day by day detail. In a book that just romps along, the pace slows way, way down. And I think this is deliberate on Matthew’s part. He was telling stuff that was important, yes. He had messages like the Sermon on the Mount and messages about what the kingdom of Heaven was about. But what Matthew really thinks is important is the time Jesus spends in Jerusalem. We get to know what he wore, what he wanted to eat, who he spent time with and where, and details about his days that we never got before. And in loving, devoted detail, we get the betrayal, arrest and trial and crucifixion. Prepare yourselves for the way of the King.
Please also take a minute to look at the map I have for you. Print it out and when Matthew says Jesus went to Bethpage, locate that on the map. If we can’t go to Jerusalem physically, we can at least follow his footsteps on the map.

This is the last day of January. I have 31 stickers on my calendar and a really big huge GO ME! for the month of January. I am not sure if I will change anything for February but I encourage you to find what motivates you to STAY IN THE WORD. For me, it is stickers. For you, it might be 2 solid weeks of Bible study and a massage. I don’t know. But think about your goal and your reward. Reading the Bible should be reward enough. But I have been a mom long enough to know that sometimes you need a little push. No matter what you have done in January, be proud of that and look forward to February. You can do it!!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

January 30

Proverb – I should go ahead admit that if I lived in a perfect world, I would never have to get up before 7 AM. I am not a morning person. Early on, my children learned that the smaller interaction they had with their mother early in the morning the better. I do try really hard to be nice but it is really best not to talk to me at all until about 8 am. Don, bless him, has never learned this. He is a morning person and gets up, on his own, at 6 AM every day. Ready to go. Me, not so lucky.
So this proverb hit especially close to home. I do get up early. Matthew has to be at school just before 7 AM every day for weight training and this has been true since he entered into high school. I also have chickens to feed, a dog to walk, dog and cat to feed, breakfast to make and some laundry to accomplish before Cole and I get out the door at 7:45. In the summer, I usually have some gardening chores to do as well. Maybe when Cole starts to drive himself to school this will ease a little and definitely when Matt goes to college. But it seems to me that I get more done in the 2.75 hours before I leave for work than I do in the 5 hours after I get home. Is it just that I am on a time restriction or do I really have more energy and enthusiasm (well, not that!) at 6 AM. Our proverb says that sleeping in, or napping as the case may be, is a sure way to poverty. And we should be more ant-like in our storage practices. Maybe in our day and time, it would be load up during the Buy One Get One Free at Publix offers.
If you went into my pantry, what would that tell you about my ‘ant’ qualities? What would yours? If you listen to my friends who are “preppers” – click here for a sampling – they would tell you to have at least 6 months supply of your stuff. Do you? If you do, why? Is it the fear of not having enough? Or being unprepared for the ice storm that is surely to come?
OT – Exodus 12:2, according to Rashi, is where the Torah should have started. It is where the very first commandment that God gave all Jewry resides. And it is about the Passover. The original one. Now, Rashi’s claim that this should have begun Torah here is that the Bible is a book of laws and since this is the first one given to all, this is where it should have begun.
(Rashi was a medieval French rabbi who is famed as the author of commentaries on the Talmud as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh (which is what the Jewish people call their Bible). If you want to read his commentaries, they are still available in what is called the Artscroll Chumash (Five Books of Moses). Wikipedia says that “his commentary on the Chumash (Five Books of Moses) – is an indispensable aid to students of all levels. The latter commentary alone serves as the basis for more than 300 “supercommentaries” which analyze Rashi’s choice of language and citations, penned by some of the greatest names in rabbinic literature.” I was hooked. I ordered one from Amazon today.)
Having said that, I have pondered for several hours if I agree that the Bible is a book of Laws. Maybe it is my age, maybe it is my rebelliousness, maybe it is just how I perceive the Bible but it is not a book of law to me. True, it contains them. True, if I follow them I live so much better and my relationship with God is so much better. But more than that, it is a continual story of humankind’s reaching for God and God searching for us. Much more of a puzzle book, to me.
NT – Which brings me to the NT passage. Oh, the vineyard story. That one. Madam Fairness here. When I am the first worker, I dislike this story. When I am the last to be rounded up, I LOVE it. If this were laws, wouldn’t this be straight forward? Pay everyone such and such. But I get that this is not how God works. And I get that I do not get to impose my belief system (whether I am #1 worker or the last) on God. After all, it is God’s kingdom of heaven, not Sylvia’s.
And that brings me right back to the Proverb. Because it is so much easier and less trouble and work not to prepare or to sleep in or to not have my lamb ready for Passover. Or at least, I think it is. Until the bad times come and there is nothing I have in reserves. So maybe it is a law book in the sense that you are supposed to live one way and here all these examples of folks who didn’t and this is what can happen. Or, here is how much God loves you that he gave you this structure for your own benefit. Disregard it at your peril. In some cases, your eternal peril.
So, Rashi, I buy your argument. I am however, glad, that we had all the familiar Genesis stories to start our year off reading. It eased us into the daily reading and contemplation of the Word.
We are now officially 1/13 of the way through our study. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am. Peace to you and yours.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

January 29

It is amazing what you think you know. I had somehow assumed that all the plagues happened to all the people of Egypt including the Israelites. I did a chart to figure out what happened to whom.
the Plagues


1. Water to blood Everyone got it The magicians could replicated it Pharaoh's response was hardened hearts
2. frogs Everyone got it The magicians could replicated it Pharaoh's response: if moses took them away, the people could go but after relief, P hardened heart

3. dust gnats Everyone got it The Magicians could not replicate but they said it was the 'finger of God' P has hard heart


4. flies Everyone got it except those who live in Goshen Not recorded as to Magician's response P go sacrifice here in Egypt, then go sacrifice far from here, when removed P hardened his heart

5.terrible plague on livestock Everyone got it except Israelite livestock Magician response not recorded P heart unyielding

6. soot to boils everyone got it The Magicians couldn't replicate it but they couldn't stand for the boils! Lord hardened heart

7. Hail All got it except those who listened to Moses and Goshen Magician response not P said he sinned. Pray for him and go. When it was gone,he hardened his heart to Moses

8. locust everyone got it Magician response not recorded Lord hardened P heart

9. darkness that could be felt everyone except the Israelites got it Magician response not recorded Lord hardened P heart

10. firstborn's death everyone except those with blood on their door got it Magician's response not recorded P said up and leave Bless P also!


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NT – another placement story. I have heard the little children come unto me loads of times. There is even a lovely painting of it as you walk down the stairs to the children’s area at Mt Vernon Presbyterian. I always loved that image of Jesus. I also have heard the story of the rich young man/ruler dozens of times. It is one that always causes problems during pledge time at church.
But what I didn’t realize was that these two little vignettes were placed back to back. That gives the stories an entirely different approach to me. Children, especially the little ones, really have no concept of what money is. As long as they had their Batman pjs, mac n cheese weekly and Pokemon cards and cousin time, my kids were basically set. With Don and me, it was much more complicated. Credit cards, car loans, mortgages, and are we going to have ‘enough’ for retirement. Those were and are grave concerns for us. Every year, we do a budget and every year, we wrangle over line items. I don’t recall us having God talk during any of those budget sessions except where it came to discussions about our church pledge. I guess for me, the question is – do I spend more time worrying and focusing on “me and mine” than I do on following Jesus? How can I become more childlike? (Don’t worry – I won’t be buying the Batman PJ set at Target…)

Proverb – Well, today, we finally move off the sex but land squarely on money. I find it surprising that the very first thing we hear is not to sign for someone else. But in a time where you could be thrown into prison if you didn’t pay your debts or whoever you pledged for, I guess it could truthfully be a life or death situation for giving someone surety.

Have a lovely, rejuvenating Sunday.

Friday, January 27, 2012

January 28


Psalm – You would think by this time, this cradle Christian would know all there is to know about the 23rd Psalm. It is the first thing I memorized on purpose. I memorized it for my mother’s hairdresser and she gave me a gold star (even then, O Lord!) to put on my wall. Her name was Elzaree and my mother went every Friday to get her hair done. (Why, I recently asked? Mother said it was just what nice ladies did. Everyone had a standing weekly appt…)
Almost every Christian funeral I have been to and at least 2 of the Jewish ones have read this Psalm. I have participated in and even taught this Psalm at Sunday School.
Tonight, when I started to study this, it was like I had looked at this with new eyes. I know this is because of the Beatitude study we are doing in Presbyterian Women. I saw this Psalm has 2 stanzas with the coda. Just like the Matthew Beatitudes. See if you agree:
The first stanza is vs 1-4. Here the imagery is all about God being the shepherd and we are the sheep. Okay, classic metaphor and one that Jesus uses all the time. God provides plenty of food, a lovely place to rest, plenty of water that won’t sweep away my babies, and a place to recover from the turbulence of life. He is watching over me so that the ‘wolves’ and ‘lions’ won’t take me down and providing me with the structure I need in my life i.e. the rod and the staff.
Vs 5 is the second stanza. I think here the metaphor changes from shepherd to kingmaking. Kings have feasts, even with their stated enemies to show dominance. Kings get anointed with oil when they are made – even currently. As aside, I recently finished reading Mark Logue’s account of the real Lionel Logue and King George VI (The King’s Speech by Mark Logue) and there is a section there that talks about the placing of oil on the king’s head at coronation. The cup imagery is definitely kingish. We know all about the cupbearers and their responsibilities from the Joseph story. The king’s glass should never be empty and never be poisoned.
The coda wraps it up with a great view of how wonderful life is/will be for God’s own.
Even vs 4, at the end of it has the transition. Shepherds have staffs. Kings have rods. I looked up the Hebrew word that is used here. It is Shebet and it is primarily used in the Psalms to denote ‘scepter’ of a king.
What do you think of my analysis? Agree, disagree? A different viewpoint?
I find it amazing that something I have heard HUNDREDS of time can still teach and inspire me.
OT – this section of Exodus is a conflagration of 2 different sets of translations. This is why it seems confusing and repetitive. Even then, scholars were arguing.
As always, when I read this part of the Bible, I become frustrated with the whole ‘hardening of Pharaoh’s heart’. If you have an idea as to why this is even a remotely good thing, feel free to posit it. I get that God wanted to do something grand and big but it seemed like the hardening part just caused a lot of people and animals to die unnecessarily.

And on a personal note, I covet your prayers. My younger son Cole turns 16 today. When I called my insurance agent earlier this week, Marilyn at State Farm said, “I will add him to my prayer list”. He is not quite finished with all the paperwork for his license but he is close and will probably go next Saturday to do the driving test. He is a good driver but he is 16.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

January 27

I read the other readings and was moved by them but the Proverb hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.
Drink your water from your own well.
Last week in Sunday School when we were talking about Joseph, I asked the class if there was anything they couldn't forgive. Being older and wiser than me, they gently reminded me that holding grudges only hurts the holder. But then I asked them if they were either divorced themselves (no, being from the Greatest Generation and for the most part, that just wasn't done) but if they had children who were divorced, were they able to forgive the 'ex-law'. This was so much harder for them, particularly when there were children involved.
And I see that all the time with my friends.
What wise counsel for a man to give his sons. Keep your pants zipped. It is tempting. But the consequences are unbelievably harsh.
Tonight, at the Saint Francis talent show, one of the students sang Garth Brooks' Thunder Rolls. Every time I hear that song, I just want to cry for the people who chose badly and ruined others lives, especially the children.
Jesus spoke to that as well in our NT scripture. he thinks you ought to drown yourself before you go doing things that rip up little kids faith. And for a dad to leave a child's mother, what worse thing could there be in a kid's world.
I have 2 boys. I think I need to put "Drink from your own well" on their bathroom mirrors. Or maybe play a whole lot more country/western songs.

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Answers to the Genesis Quiz

1. The earth was not created prior to God's creation. The very first things God created were the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty.
2&3. Adam and Eve had multiple sons. The first set were Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd. Cain killed Abel. To comfort Eve, God gave her Seth. We don't know what he did. Adam had 'other sons and daughters' in his 930 years.
4. Enoch walked with God and then 'he was no more, because God took him away.' No death for God's walking buddy.
5. Noah was chosen because he was righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. All the rest were corrupt.
6. Shem is the ancestor of Jesus. Ham saw his dad naked after drinking and Shem walked a cloak backwards to cover him up. Noah blessed Shem 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. May Canaan (Ham) be the slave of Shem'. There is also conjecture that Melchizedek is actually Shem (the one Abraham gave a 10th of the booty).
7. Names were changed to protect the innocent. Oh wait, that is from Dragnet and The FBI. Sorry. Names were changed when something dramatic happened in their lives. For Abram and Sarai, when they got the word they were going to have a baby at 100 and 90 respectively. For Jacob, well that is murky. Because he really doesn't change his name. The Bible is constantly flipping between Jacob and Israel. I think that God wanted him to be Israel but he just kept being Jacob, the trickster. Makes you think what we would do if God changed our names. Would we live up to the new nature that God is calling us to be or would we slip back into old patterns and behaviors. I think this is why we need Jesus. He truly makes us into a new creation.
8. I have no answer to the barren women issue. I just know that it runs through the whole Bible. We will see this over and over again. The Godly women don't have babies while the not so good ones get pregnant in a flash. Seems to me that God would want babies to be born into houses of faith and loyalty and not so much into the other -- sort of a cosmic weeding out -- but clearly, my way is not God's.
9. Noah got the covenant of not destroying humankind again. Abraham got 2 covenants -- the multitude of descendents and the land. Isaac got reaffirmed this and so did Jacob/Israel.
10. Jacob is the trickster because he just couldn't get things done without wheeling and dealing. He inherited it from his mother, Rebecca, who was barren until God intervened. It has ugly ramifications all the way to present day.
11&12. Jacob was partial to Joseph because he was the son of Rachel, the wife he loved. None of his other children except for Benjamin who was way too little to understand appreciated this and as a consequence, Joseph ended up a slave in Egypt. But while the brothers meant it for evil (to get rid of Joseph), God meant it for good (to save the family during the famine).

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

January 26


The word ‘groan’ is in all three OT readings today. Naturally, I went and looked it up. It means to utter a low, guttural sound as a result of pain or suffering. Its origins are from the Old Norse word grenja meaning ‘to howl’.
What is really unusual to me is that a different Hebrew word is used for each one that is translated ‘groan’. The King James version of the Proverb uses ‘sigh’ but my NIV translates all of them – Exodus 2:24, Psalm 22:1, and Proverbs 5:9 as groan. The synonyms in English are Cry, gripe, grouse, grumble, grunt, objection, sigh, sob, whine, complain. But none of them elicit the same feeling as the ‘groan’. It is almost an alliteration word. Why do you think Hebrew has so many different words for what we call groan?
I took each of the sentences:
Exodus: During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
Psalm: Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
Proverbs: At the end of your life, you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
The imagery in all of them is powerful. It is not just whining. People are in real trouble and there is possible loss of life. It is OPPRESSION. Some sort of tyranny is involved and the odds do not look good. A savior is needed.
And of course, our NT reading responds. How awful to have to witness your son falling into fire and water and not being able to help him. I am sure he and his wife did some major groaning over their child. It is no problem for Jesus even though the disciples could not heal him. He is clearly and unequivocally the Savior.
But that brings up an intriguing question. Why did the man bring him to the disciples first for healing? Did that mean that the disciples were healing some people but not others? In an earlier reading (Matthew 10:1-16), Jesus gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and heal people. But I don’t recall them doing anything like that. Why wouldn’t the man just bring his son straight to Jesus? Was he afraid? Was that why he ‘knelt’? Or was it in homage to Jesus as ‘Lord’ and ‘Savior’?

I was also intrigued with the whole issue of the Temple Tax and I found a really neat article that does a good job explaining why.click here

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Genesis Quiz

Genesis Quiz
Rules: Try this without looking first and then you can use your Bibles to check or change your answers. Please either post or email me your responses so I can tell how we are doing.
1. According to Genesis 1, what was the earth like before God began creating?
2. How many sons did Adam and Eve have and what were their names?
3. What were the professions of Adam and Eve’s sons?
4. Who was Enoch and what is he famous for?
5. Why was Noah chosen out of all the men?
6. Which of Noah’s sons has the line that leads to Jesus and why?
7. Why were Abram, Sarai, and Jacob’s names changed?
8. What is the significance of the barren women in the book of Genesis?
9. What are some of the covenants made in Genesis?
10. Why was Jacob called the trickster?
11. Why was Jacob partial to Joseph and what consequences did this have on his family?
12. What did Joseph mean when he said ‘you meant it for harm but God intended it for good’?
Reflection:
What was the most important thing you either learned or relearned during the study of Genesis and why?
What troubles you the most about your readings in Genesis?
What did you read that brought you closer to God?

January 25

OT Today we finish Genesis and begin Exodus. I have posted a separate post with a quiz for the whole book. It would be great if you would either post your answers or email them to me. I would like to know how we are doing.
I once had a class for lay teachers with Walter Brueggeman of Columbia Seminary. He is a remarkable scholar and an incredible teacher. I left that class thinking I was ready to leave my job and go back to school. Fortunately for my family, when I got home, there was a stack of bills to be paid and dinner to cook for two wild boys. Maybe when I am sixty… At any rate, the lecture was on Moses and the strangeness of the birth of Moses story. I had an answer for it but Walter didn’t buy my argument. Here is what he said.
Pharaoh and his court did not go to the Nile for bathing. They were rich beyond belief and had their water carried to them in their palaces. Which was a good thing as there is a parasite that lives in the Nile river that enters the body through cuts and scrapes. This parasite causes the disease Schistosomiasis or Bilharzia. When infected, the parasite lodges in the liver and bladder and causes all sorts of problems and eventual death. Now, we have drugs to treat the parasite. Then, patients developed running sores, fever, swelling, and eventual death. There are some mummies that show evidence of the parasite. There are a lot of hieroglyphs that describe the disease, the awful treatment (bathing in the Nile with your running sores, just infecting yourself more….), and the horrible death.
Pharaoh and his court would make some religious pilgrimages to the Nile but for the most part, people who were bathing in the River were the poor. Why was Pharaoh’s daughter down there in the first place?
Another mystery is that she knew immediately that the baby was Hebrew. How? The Bible does not state that Moses was circumcised. There are veiled references both ways. Both in his son’s lack of circumcision and in the use of uncircumcised ‘lips’ for his speech. So, maybe, maybe not. But Pharaoh’s daughter knew right away that this was an ‘abandoned’ baby, she took him up and asked for a wet nurse who happened to be standing right there. But if she knew, why didn’t her father who commanded that they be killed know? Either right away or later on?
And she was able to speak to Miriam, the sister? And call him Moses? (By the way, in my research, I discovered that another version of Moses is Moshe. Gives a whole new look to Moshe Dayan, the Israeli general of our age, doesn’t it??) Does that mean that the sister spoke Egyptian or that Pharaoh’s daughter spoke Hebrew?
Walter Brueggeman did not have answers for any of this and to be sure, this is the mark of a great teacher. He drops the mystery in your lap and lets you puzzle it out for yourself. For me, here is what I think:
I think that Pharaoh’s daughter could not have children of her own. Having known many women who could not conceive or carry a baby to term, I know how desperate they can be and the things they will do to get one. I think she was desperate for a baby and someone told her that there were babies in the Nile. Hebrew babies that her father had ordered killed. I think Moses’ mother was not the only one who had hidden her baby and then floated him while she worked. I think Pharaoh’s daughter went down there IN SPECIFIC to get a baby.
When I told Walter this, he laughed and said there was no basis AT ALL for my theory. Later on, I told this to a rabbi at a wedding Don and I went to and he also laughed. But then he told me that I should read the Midrash surrounding the birth narrative of Moses and I would be right at home.
Please click here for some wonderful examples of the Midrash. Midrash is the stories and the myths that the rabbis use to illustrate the Bible stories to their congregants. Sort of like sermons although these have been preserved for, in some cases, 2000 years. Midrash is still occurring.
What about you? Does the story of Moses puzzle you as much as it does Walter and me? What does it say to you?

Proverbs: When I popped into one of my favorite farming blogs this morning, she had a picture of children’s hightop sneakers on her page. They were hand-me-downs from her children and will eventually make their way to her granddaughter. My comment to her post was that so many, many of the proverbs have straight paths and walking imagery. This is a family that walks with the Lord. What a great example they will be for the little girl. And that is what the Proverbs are. A pathway to the Lord. Our job is to put on our hand-me-down hightops and stay in the straight and narrow. That is the hard part. But the reward is so great. Here is her original post.

Friends, I am proud of you for sticking with it and getting Genesis behind us. We have made a great start. Now is not the time to falter. Peace to you and blessings on your readings.

Monday, January 23, 2012

January 24

Pharisees and Sadducees

In the NT, these two groups are frequently lumped together. In our reading for today, 16:1 says ‘the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.’ This makes it sound like these are two allied groups and perhaps they were in the quest to get rid of Jesus, either by discrediting him or by having him killed.
However, these two groups were almost never in agreement about anything. The Pharisees had their origins in the Babylonian conquest of Judah. With the Temple destroyed and the upper class Jews removed to Babylon, the religious leaders created houses of study and prayer. These are the precursors to the synagogues. Study, debate, memorization, and the rise of interpretation from respected leaders (known as rabbis) were the trademarks. Even after the Persian king Cyrus allowed Nehemiah and Ezra to rebuild the Temple, these houses of study and prayer continued in the outlying areas as well as the other centers of learning. When Alexander conquered Persia in 332 BCE, the Jews spread even further and bumped into the Hellenization of conquered peoples. It was then that the Pharisees coalesced and named themselves Pharisees which has a Greek root meaning Separatist.
The Sadducees evolved from the ruling classes that formed after the Maccabean revolt of 161 BCE. They supported the monarchy and strict interpretations of the written Torah. They rejected the writings of the rabbis and insisted on following the letter of the Law. The Sadducees were heavily involved in the Priestly realms of the Temple and insisted that the Temple was the one true place of worship.
“Sadducees rejected the Pharisaic tenet of an oral Torah, and created new interpretations based on a literal understanding of verses.[citation needed] In their personal lives this often meant an excessively stringent lifestyle from a Jewish perspective, as they did away with the oral tradition, and in turn the Pharisaic Jewish understanding of the Torah. An example of this differing approach is the interpretation of, "an eye in place of an eye". The Pharisaic understanding was that the value of an eye was to be paid by the perpetrator.[14] In the Sadducees' view the words were given a more literal interpretation, in which the offender's eye would be removed.[15] From the point of view of the Pharisees, the Sadducees wished to change the Jewish understanding of the Torah.”1

After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Pharisees became the dominant force in Judaism and this is the basis for the rabbinic Judaism as we know it now.
Some common differences between the two groups:
Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. Sadducees did not.
Pharisees believed in God having forethought as to what will happen in the future although people do have free will. Sadducees believed only in free will.
The Pharisees believed in the coming Messianic age while the Sadducees totally rejected that.
Pharisees believed in study, argument, and interpretation of the law on the local level. The Sadducees rejected this stating that only the Priests in the Temple had the right to perform rituals and recite Torah.
The Pharisees were zealous observers of the Law, prominent among the people and especially concerned with ritual purity, tithing, and correct observance of the Sabbath with emphasis on rabbinic interpretations. The Sadducees rejected all rabbinic interpretations and were considered ‘Hellenized’.
The Sadducees were involved in the governance of Israel from the Hasmonean monarchy all the way through until the destruction of Jerusalem. They were also involved in collecting taxes and administering the army. The Sanhedrin was probably mostly Sadducees.

Jesus was probably taught in a Pharisaic synagogue. He certainly uses the story, advice, and argument that are so prevalent in the Mishnah and the Talmud, two key Pharisee writing collections. Paul was a Pharisee having studied under Gameliel, on e of the most prominent Judaic scholars of the day. When the Christian Councils were working on canonizing the Bible, the OT books that were used were the ones that the Jewish Rabbis had canonized and preserved through their use of memorization and study.
Sources:
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees
Harper’s Bible Dictionary copyrighted 1985

Sunday, January 22, 2012

January 23

I know this is conceit. But I had not realized how often the terms ‘bread and wine’ were used in the Bible other than to talk about the Last Supper or Passover. But in our Proverb today, here it is again even though it is in the negative sense of wickedness and violence. This is clearly the OT version of ‘watch who you pick for friends’.
Barley and wheat were the first domesticated plants in the Fertile Crescent. They were cultivated approximately 10,000 years ago and this is what allowed the population to settle in one place rather than the nomadic people they had been. Even domesticated animals such as the herds of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob owe their existence to the domestication of wheat. It is the ability to overwinter herds in one area due to the growing of specific grasses and pastures that allowed them to accumulate the animals. Prior to this, mankind existed as a hunter/gatherer. Any society that was able to produce a surplus of grain was rich in that time period. Silos and grain storage houses were built in Egypt and in the larger cities in Mesopotamia. Smaller city-states or unattached tribes would suffer greatly in a drought.
Joseph, being the clever man that he was, extended Pharaoh’s power and wealth (and consequently his own) by taking all the people’s money, then their land and finally the people themselves as the famine progressed. I guess the 20% to Pharaoh was better than our current tax rate. This Joseph is in stark contrast to how he treated his family. Today in Sunday School, we also discussed Joseph and one of the members in my class said she had read that Joseph is as closer to Jesus in character than anyone else in the Bible is. Do you agree or disagree?
Even our NT passage refers to the ‘children’s bread’! It is everywhere in our reading today. But I am grateful that Jesus healed the daughter. Do you think that he would have healed the woman if she had been asking for herself? Or was it just that she was willing to be humbled?
At the end of our Psalm is the phrase I have heard hundreds of times from pastors before preaching. I knew it was from the Psalms but I had no idea which one. I am going to pray that before I start my blog each time for the next little while.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Janyuary 22


Psalm – Well, it didn’t take long for the ‘slewing’ now did it? Maybe I should read a couple of days ahead so I can make sure I won’t be biting my tongue.
To be incredibly blunt, and I know there are readers out there who will take issue with this, the theology in this last part of Psalm 18 about God killing the enemies of David is not something I believe. I do not believe that God kills other people on behalf of his O Favored One. Mostly, because I think we are ALL his O Favored Ones.
My study Bible notes say this Psalm is in response David’s great slaughter of Saul’s descendants. Here are the main verses that lays me out: 2 Samuel 21:1 During David’s reign, there was a severe famine which last for three full years. So David consulted the Lord about it, and the Lord said, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder; he put the people of Gibeon to death. ..vs 9 David handed them (the family of Saul except for Jonathan’s son)to the people of Gibeon, who hanged them on the mountain before the Lord.
There were 5 women involved in this slaughter. Now, I have watched the Connie of the Godfather movies and I know that women are just as culpable as men in the grand scheme of murder. And maybe these women were bad. But they weren’t killed for their own sins, they were hanged for their FATHER’S. And at the behest of the Lord, according to David.
Okay, I am pressing on.

Proverbs – The term ‘stumbling block’ or ‘ feet stumble’ was a contribution of William Tyndale to the English translation of the Bible. In his day, the word ‘block’ meant a tree stump. What men were stumbling over in his day were tree stumps. Not the current image we have of stumbling blocks with our smooth sidewalks and lovely asphalt highways. However, in ancient Israel, the roads and pathways were even worse than 15th century England. Rutted, washed out, jagged cliffs, boulders and wadis that at the merest mention of rain would overwhelm you. You lifted your eyes from the path at your peril. One of the constant images from Proverbs, Psalms and much of the other Wisdom literature in the OT is of life being a journey or a walk. Stumbling, straying, tripping or just plain going the wrong way on the path are likened to disobedience to God’s ways. I love this spiritual. I hope to follow its message. http://books.google.com/books?id=qjEYEjVVEosC&pg=PA823&lpg=PA823&dq=stumble+feet+in+bible&source=bl&ots=IsP508yJuQ&sig=ept3bRecN19n47QwzcrKogDK5EA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dWwbT4LIKoihtweg0_iZCw&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=stumble%20feet%20in%20bible&f=false



NT -- I have always loved the image of Jesus walking on the water. But I had forgotten it followed Jesus finding out about John and feeding the 5000. If you have ever seen my Bible cover, it is a lovely fabric depiction of the feeding. My sister Debbie bought this for me and everywhere I go, it gets compliments. Tonight, when I was reflecting on the feeding, it struck me that one of Jesus’ most profound miracles (it is one of the 7 stories that are in all 4 gospels) comes immediately after he receives the blow of John’s death. And he held his own grief in check until the people were healed, the people were fed and he had gotten his disciples set for the trip back. That is amazing self-control. But then, he ALLOWED himself the private time to grieve and be with God. What a clear model we have in Jesus for grief and so many, many other things.

May your Sunday be a day of rest and rejuvenation. Blessings on your readings.

Friday, January 20, 2012

January 21


NT -- Just in case you missed the post from Jan 2, there is a good bit about Herod there. But this is not the Herod of Jesus’ birth. This is the son. And I have to tell you, the daughter of his wife dancing for his guests is not a good thing. Nice, unmarried Jewish girls (and Herod pretended to be Jewish) did not mix with men. And they definitely didn’t dance in a way that would ‘please’ her stepfather so much that he would give her anything. Her mother is his dead brother’s wife. The whole thing is icky. I suspect that the National Enquirer would be all over this household.
And to back up just a bit, verse 55 is the only reference to Joseph being a carpenter in the NT. Mark 6:3 names JESUS as being a carpenter but Joseph is never mentioned at all in Mark. Of course, most sons followed in their father’s profession so I guess you could assume that . It is strange that such a small mention in such an obscure way would give rise to the whole idea of Jesus the carpenter rabbi.
http://thamno.com/blog/?page_id=2051
OT – Once again, I get mad at Jacob. He just LEFT Simeon in Egypt. Did anyone notice that? I suspect that if they hadn’t run out of food, they would not have gone back! Even then, he was not plotting and planning to get Simeon, he wanted to make sure that Benjamin returned safely. Jacob is definitely a cautionary tale about having outright favorites amongst your children.
Last night at the Interfaith Dinner I went to, the moderator said that at some point, the rabbis were questioning why Genesis began the Hebrew scriptures. After all, the story of the Hebrews is the return to the land. Exodus should have been the start. Why have all these creation narratives and patriarchal narratives? Of course, I didn’t think this when I was sitting there but in the night, I decided that we as humans NEED Genesis. We need to know that parents make mistakes and some of them are whoppers. And there are reasons why you don’t show your favoritism. Or flaunt your oh so incredible gift of dreams. It causes problems in the family. And we need to know that even when we make the whopper mistake, God is there in his providence fixing our famine messes. That is my take on why Genesis belongs. What about you?
But clearly, clearly Joseph has grown up and has a tender heart. He weeps at the mere sight of his brother. His constant provision for them is so very different from how you would expect him to behave. What a model for us when we have been wronged by our families. And that is really the deepest hurt of all. When your FAMILY throws you under the bus, it is like no other pain.
Click here if you did not read the post about the Egyptians and the bread on January 19. There are a lot of nuances that are present in this story that this webpage illuminates.

The Psalm today reminds me of the passage in Ephesians with the armor of the Lord. In our culture today, it is not politically correct to talk about being a warrior for God. (Even writing that makes my skin creep around with images of the Muslim Jehad.) But in OT and NT times, being a warrior was just about the only way to come out on top. Pacifists got their teeth kicked in and their land taken away. I am uncomfortable with a lot of the ‘slewing’ that is about to come up. I am going to attempt to just 'be' with my feelings as I know that God has something to teach me about all this. As my Aunt Launa told me yesterday, “you just have to pray about it and then press on”.

If you have done all the readings we are 1/17 of the way through. Keep reading, keep meditating and please, feel free to pass the link on to someone who might want to join in. (This is an easy way to evangelize….Over email.) You don’t have to catch up. Just start where we are. The previous passages will be there for another reading.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

January 20

OT – Just as a clarification, and you may not have been tripped up by this like I was, Joseph was thrown into prison by Potiphar. He was given the daughter of Potiphera. 2 separate people. Okay, now that I have gotten that off my chest, here is something that has always driven me crazy. Why didn’t Joseph just kill those brothers of his? I would have held onto such a grudge against them. Or sent them away with no grain? Why the whole subterfuge? Or just sold them the grain and been done with them. Depending on where he is in the hate cycle, of course. I get that it has been at least many years since the selling occurred but do you ever get over that??? No matter how self-aware you are, you still smart over the O Favored One from childhood. This YouTube is from Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I had to choose the Donny Osmond version. I am sorry but I spent way too many years watching the Donny and Marie Show and reenacting the “I’m a Little bit Country, I’m a little bit rock ‘n roll” not to choose that one!

NT – as a gardener, I can tell you, even if you do pull up some of the wheat, you have to pull the weeds. If you don’t, the weeds will literally overtake the good plants and you will get no harvest. There are even people who believe that weeding aerates the soil and is good for that specific purpose, if for no other. So, I don’t understand Jesus’ parable.
In our own lives, don’t we need to pull the weeds out? Push away the ones that would cause us to sin, or to use yesterday’s terminology, to allow the demons into our clean houses? Or just to turn this on its head, maybe some of us are the weeds. Can I just say, I hope it isn’t me.
Psalm -- I continue to be fascinated and intrigued by the imagery in Psalms. I have no idea why, now, these are appealing to me when NEVER before have I cared a whit about them. Oh, I liked the saving ones. I liked the ones that comforted me. But I wasn't really interested in the images they put forth until this study. Which is really weird for me since I profess not to like poetry!
But today, the image that struck me was the 'horn of salvation' (vs. 2). What kind of horn? Like trumpet? Bugle? Then I thought, well, look it up. So I did and the very first website I popped into had incredible insight. Please go check it out by clicking here. Be sure to read through some of the comments. I found them more fascinating than the original piece.

Friends, I am grateful for the ones who are reading this blog. Thank you for your dedication and your love and praise whenever I bump into you.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

January 19

Psalm – I know I inserted the clip of Rob Bell a few days ago but reading the Psalm tonight, I couldn’t resist putting in the first part of that preaching. If you can, fast-forward to minute 6 and listen to his explanation of the wings of God (our verse 8). The rest of the clip is excellent as well.
But spend a little time with this Psalm and I think what is happening is that the psalmist is having a nightmare. That little tagline at the end tells me that in his dreams, God is saving him from all the awful things his mind can conjure up.
And nightmares they certainly are. With lions, wicked men, and hungers besetting him, the Psalmist doesn’t want to betray God even in his dreams. “(you)examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing;”.
What is interesting to me is that scientists and doctors still do not know WHY we dream. There are a lot of theories but no concrete, empirical evidence as to why we dream. Or even why we dream as we do.
http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/dream-theories.htm
And of course, tracking our readings, there in the OT, Joseph, the many colored dreamcoat dreamer.
I was curious as to why the dreamers in prison were cupbearer and baker. Please click on this link here and go look at this fabulous website. It provides so much illumination both for this passage as well as for future passages especially when we come to Moses.

Many blessings on your readings and meditations. Thank you for your faithfulness and your desire to stay in the Word.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

January 18

OT – The story of Tamar. We have read of her before. In Matthew’s genealogy, Tamar is one of the women listed. Her son Perez is one of Joseph’s, Mary’s husband, ancestors.
When I read this story, I don’t know whether to be proud of her for scheming and pursuing her plans or to be disgusted at Judah’s casual dismissal of her – he just didn’t want to be a laughingstock. But I would like to know how he KNEW the babies were his. I get that he had sex with her. But if she was a shrine prostitute (at least in his eyes), how did he know that he was the father since presumably she had sex with lots of men? Oh, the things the Bible does not explain!!!

NT – I thought I would list some of the names that Matthew calls Jesus. Today, it was Son of David. Previously, Lord of the Sabbath, Son of Man, the Son, A Prophet, Christ, Lord, Teacher, Son of God, Jesus, Immanuael, God with us. And we are only on chapter 12! When I look back at this list, it occurred to me that even the writer of Matthew wasn’t exactly sure who or what Jesus was/is. Oh, I think he had descriptors and stories and sayings. And thank goodness, he wrote them down for us to have as yesterday’s proverb said “like an ornament around the neck”. (Just as aside, I think of all the women I know who wear beautiful crosses around their necks. That is their talisman. Their reminder of the Wisdom in their world. At least, I hope it is…) I think if I had to guess, the writer of Matthew was really trying to coalesce his thoughts which is why we get so many, many names.
In today’s Matthew reading, Jesus goes to great lengths to determine logically that he simply cannot be from Satan that he must be from God. He does this by a series of images. By far, my favorite one is the swept clean house that is unoccupied. In an NPR story about keeping resolutions, the doctor they interviewed was the doctor appointed by Nixon to figure out how to get the returning soldiers from Vietnam off of heroin and to stay off. He has been researching behavioral changes ever since. His comment about the best way to change your behavior is to ‘interrupt the sequence’. You have to change the environment in order to accomplish your goal. Listen to the 5 min podcast here.
In Jesus’ analogy, it is not enough to have swept the house clean of demons. You have to fill it with angels.
In my own little world, I find that to be so true. My Weight Watchers leader, Jan, once had us write 10 things down that we love to do that do not involve eating but take 5-10 minutes. We cut them into slivers and put them in an envelope. She then asked us when we started down that path to bingedom, pull out the envelope, reach in and do one of those things. It is amazing how that can break the pantry sweep that I can do.
Thinking of your demons, what is it that is not of the angels? Do you gossip? Exaggerate, lie? It isn’t enough to merely not do that. You have to fill your mouth with positive things, true things, accurate things. And it takes practice. Just ask me. Back at Weight Watchers trying to lose the same 30 pounds.

Monday, January 16, 2012

January 17


NT – I read the passage about Jesus and the disciples eating heads of grain in the field. All I could think about was the time we were supposed to be picking sweet corn and sat down in the field and ate an ear straight off the stalk. It probably was a dare from someone. My stomach has never hurt that badly before or since. The after effects were particularly bad as well.
I decided to look up eating raw grains and what I found surprised me. There is a whole community of folks who eat raw grains. It is called ‘eating raw’ and they cook none of their foods. They do this in an attempt to maximize the nutrient benefit of the fruits, vegetable, nuts and grains. Most of the websites suggested sprouting the wheat before eating it. In Los Angeles, there are even restaurants (are you surprised?) that cater to the ‘raw food’s crowd’.
Planet Raw
This website was wholeheartedly against it. “Completely raw wheat can be dangerous. It swells in the stomach and can lead to bowel obstructions. An overnight soak should fix that. There's also some concern that the phytate in raw wheat can reduce vitamin absorption, but again, soaking seems to fix that…Corn and rice are particularly problematic. Quinoa and barley contain bitter toxins that make them very unpalatable raw (and dangerous if you could choke down enough of them).” Askville

Which brings me back to Jesus and the disciples eating the grain heads. They must have been so incredibly hungry to even consider eating the grain, much less picking it on the Sabbath. They certainly knew better. But they were walking somewhere anyway so I guess they were really intent on breaking the Sabbath. They should have been safely in someone’s home that Sabbath. Who was supposed to extend hospitality and didn’t?

Another intriguing phrase for me tonight was the ‘foot stumble’ in Proverbs. We seem to hear that a lot. This also surprised me. I just assumed that if you went everywhere on your feet, you surely wouldn’t want to have a sprain or, God forbid, a break. You might never recover. However, my Harper’s Bible Dictionary says that is really not what is meant at all. In Hebrew, the word foot is often a euphemism for the male genitalia. “Foot stumbling” is a euphemism for adultery. It gives that Proverb a whole new meaning.

Keep reading! I am proud of all the work you are doing. I have already learned so much and I hope that you have as well.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

January 16

NT - As a disclaimer, I first learned about Rob Bell from my friend Margaret who is an incredible Bible teacher. She told me the story of Rob Bell’s yoke and I didn’t believe it. I’ve read that passage in Matthew a lot – I come from farming stock, you see, and I thought it meant just what it says – to be yoked like oxen or in the case of poor Georgia sharecroppers, mules.
But I’ve watched Rob’s videos and I find them fascinating for his historical information. This is part two of this sermon. I highly recommend part 1 and 3 as well. When you do a search for Rob on Google, please be aware that there are loads of people out there saying ugly things about him and his theology. I popped into to a few of the blog posts but I don’t think I want to hear more. I am much more interested in learning myself than tearing others down.



Psalm 14 hits really close to home with the No God idea. I have recently watched a PBS special with the Stephen Hawking discussing whether or not there is a God. I also have people I love saying those things. I said those things. It is really hard for me to think that they are ‘vile’ or ‘not doing good’. This is a really hard conundrum for me and one I am glad I do not have to solve. Can you be a good person and say and believe there is no God? And what, exactly, am I supposed to do or say when those ideas are presented? For right now, my response has been mixed. The older I get, the less I feel I have to defend but I do really want to share how awesome it feels to have God present in my life. I hope you feel the same comfort. May your readings and meditations be a blessing to you.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

January 15


The phrase “Tree of Life” in the Proverb today intrigued me. While poking around on the internet, I discovered that almost all religions have some sort of Tree of Life. One that I found fascinating was in the 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights that had our hero searching for immortality, finding it in the garden of paradise in a jewel encrusted tree but coming away empty handed due to an inability to defeat the guard. http://www.scribd.com/doc/60789388/12/The-Tale-of-Bulukiya
But in our Proverb, it is attaining Wisdom that leads to the Tree. Which then brings up the question, how do you attain Wisdom?
It does not seem that Jacob was very wise. He didn’t manage his household well and we know this will have consequences well down the path. He never seemed to strike a good deal – he didn’t claim his stolen birthright, got the wrong girl and got her pregnant, and kept having to connive and wiggle to get his wages. He also put his family in the path of a really angry man. Not smart.
Or was he? Because he always seemed to see and hear God. Remember when he was leaving Isaac and Rebekah? He lay his head on the stone pillow. Most of us would have been dreaming (if we slept at all!) of our piles of rugs and sheepskins. Not Jacob. He dreamed of the stairway to heaven. He needed an out from his father-in-law. God shows up to tell him to leave. God tells Laban to keep his mouth shut. The angels of God met him before Esau. Jacob is going to wrestle with God in tomorrow’s reading. Clearly, God was ever-present with Jacob. Doesn’t that make you wise? Or just needy?
Back then to my original question – i.e. how to you get wisdom. And that, I think, is my problem. You don’t ‘get’ wisdom. It comes to you through time and experience. Through, I am sorry to say, the hard parts of life.
Jesus knew this but he did not have the 50 years of teaching with his disciples. That’s why he gave them all those pithy sayings. The ones that you can remember but don’t understand until you are in the middle of the situation and you think, oh, now I know! And we really have to remember that his disciples did not have the benefit of Sunday School. Alfred spoke yesterday about how he remembered the story of Rachel and Leah differently from childhood. But he has studied this stuff for 50 years. Peter was getting sound bites while he was trying to figure out how to feed the motley crew. We can simmer, read a bunch of different translations, read what the commentators have thought throughout time. Let’s don’t judge our poor wandering disciples as they get it wrong, question and have failure to communicate. I think they ultimately ended up pretty wise and fairly far up the Tree of Life.
This is a lovely song by Rosanne Cash that mirrors our subject today. Enjoy.

Friday, January 13, 2012

January 14


I am on the left, my sister-in-law Kim, and Debbie is on the right

I have one sister, Debbie. We are 13 months apart and as children, we fought a great deal. One gruesome battle in our teens left us with no pantyhose to wear to church, a broken hairbrush and one scarred cousin Dexter who still dramatically tells the tale. By the time we were in college, much of that fighting seemed to have passed. We lived together for 18 months in a tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment with 4 other girls. I don’t recall fighting but I do remember many funny games of Boogle and laughing over infatuations with the pizza delivery boy.
Now, at 48, I consider Debbie to be my closest friend. There is precious little that I can’t tell her and those are things that I generally just can’t bring myself to voice aloud. Our children are very close as well and have repeated arguments with me as to whether their future children will call them by their names or will they get the title of aunt and uncle. They absolutely despise the whole concept of second cousins or first cousins, once removed.
Which is why I have such a hard time with the Rachel and Leah story. They never seemed to have left the adolescent arguing behind them and matured into friends and companions. In tomorrow’s readings, Gen 31:36 tells us that Jacob had been there 20 years. Even if Rachel was 14 or 15, she would have been 35. Yet, she and Leah were still wrangling for power. Neither seemed to rejoice when the other had a baby. I cannot imagine Debbie not being thrilled for me.
And I get that they shared a man. But he seemed largely uninvolved in the dispute. They tell him to lie with so and so, and he does it. Even if he favors Rachel more than Leah, everyone gets their babies and it seems that everyone got their own space. So why all the drama?
And what are we supposed to learn from this story? Not to be a sister-wife? (I must admit to a certain fascination with that TLC show. I have never actually watched it but it certainly seems to be sort of stupid to be on TV if you are committing about 6 felonies and stand in jeopardy of losing your million children.) I don’t think that is the answer. I think we are supposed to reflect on the destruction that holding a grudge or trying to one-up one another will do. We will continue to see the ripple effects in the Joseph story. Who in your life are you trying to outdo?

NT Look at vs 7-8. What a mission statement! To the point. I did not realize that Jesus had given the disciples the power to raise the dead. I know it happens in Acts with Peter and Paul, but I thought those were really special acts. I especially love that he wants this to be done because they HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THEIRS. Do we think about this when we do mission work?
I help with the funeral luncheons and one little old lady told me that she did the luncheons so that when she died, she would get one for herself and it would be nice. I hugged her and told her that she had already more than earned her luncheon with all her church work over the years. Yes, she said, but folks forget. I think we have already gotten the luncheon, dinner and the after-dinner drink. We have received ABUNDANTLY God’s mercy and grace. It shines all over us. It is up to us to reflect that back into a world that desperately needs to see the Light of God. It has always been so, according to our Psalm but it surely seems that right now, loads of people are hurting in so many different ways.

After today’s reading, we will have finished 1/26th of the Bible. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and continue to stay in the Word. Many thanks to all who have stopped me at church or emailed to say they are reading but not ready to comment. The reading is the most important thing. May God bless us on our journey.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

January 13

Psalm 11 -- The Message
A David Psalm
1-3I've already run for dear life straight to the arms of GOD.
So why would I run away now
when you say,
"Run to the mountains; the evil
bows are bent, the wicked arrows
Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness
at every heart open to God.
The bottom's dropped out of the country;
good people don't have a chance"?

4-6 But GOD hasn't moved to the mountains;
his holy address hasn't changed.
He's in charge, as always, his eyes
taking everything in, his eyelids
Unblinking, examining Adam's unruly brood
inside and out, not missing a thing.
He tests the good and the bad alike;
if anyone cheats, God's outraged.
Fail the test and you're out,
out in a hail of firestones,
Drinking from a canteen
filled with hot desert wind.

7 GOD's business is putting things right;
he loves getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we're standing tall,
we can look him straight in the eye.

I admit it. I read the first 2 verses of the Psalm and could not decide who the ‘you’ meant. I am not an English teacher but it really gets me when there is no clear antecedent. I flew straight to my new favorite website:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
and asked for The Message version. Isn’t it fabulous?
But the real reason why this Psalm spoke to me is because the ‘sky is falling, the sky is falling’ mantra that I hear nearly every day from someone. Yesterday, it was a possible roofer. Yes, we have to have a new roof. But the real story is – when he was up on my roof, looking over my backyard that looks pretty bad right now due to winter and chickens, he said, ‘well, when the world as we know it ends, you’ll be able to feed your boys the chickens.' Nothing about hail damage. Only the end of life as we know it.
If you listen to the Democrats, it will be the end if a Republican is elected. To a Republican, if Obama is reelected. To a lot of elderly folks, if they cut out or increase the Medicare medicine Part A,B,C, or D again, it will end all life. Don’t extend the jobless benefits, do extend the jobless benefits. Fix the food system, don’t do away with cheap food. You name it, people are out there ranting and raving about what will end the world. Buy gold, stockpile food and fuel. The Preppers. The Fear mongers.
Even in Bible times, this was happening. Look at Psalm 11 verse 3. In the NIV, it says the foundations are being destroyed. And in Jesus’ time: the harvest is plentiful, what we need is for God to send more workers! (The harvest being the ill, maimed, broken, and oppressed that were following him.)

Most of the Psalms are arranged strangely, at least to our Western way of thinking about poetry. If you ever had to write anything in English class you will recognize the importance of staying on topic. Pick what you are going to write about and stick to it. Hebrew poetry is not that way. It is more compare and contrast. Bible researchers call this Parallelism. The Hebrew poets loved to deal in couplets – with opposing viewpoints. To our Western way, we see this as abrupt shifts. The ancient Hebrews just saw them as answers. If we were reading in Hebrew, we would notice the meter and the constant alliteration but that is lost in translation. Except, of course, if you read it in the King James! http://www.bible-researcher.com/hebrew-poetry.html

And the answer to the destruction of the foundations is this: “God is in charge”. Will there be wicked people ruining others? Oh YES. But will they triumph in the end. No. The Lord loves justice. The wicked people will suck burning sulfur.

Blessings on your readings and meditations.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

January 12

I read in a recent blog post from Remarkable Wrinkles that posited the idea that we not do New Year’s Resolutions. Instead what we should do is pick a word for the year. Maybe this is a word of encouragement, maybe a challenge, but the word should choose you. Sort of like the wand choosing the wizard in Harry Potter, I guess.
Now, why would *I* be even remotely taken by this since my New Year’s resolution is to read the Bible in a Year. You know this or you wouldn’t even be here! But I went to the word list anyway and yes, lo and behold, a word did jump out at me. It was Abundance.
In our Proverb for today, that seems counter-intuitive, that if you give away the first fruits, your barns will be overflowing. But, I have experienced this over and over again. Write the first check off the payroll to church and everything else comes into balance. Hold all your money close and it seems as if there isn’t enough.
The Abundance theme is swirling around our reading today. Isaac is in the hold mode – he doesn’t think he has enough blessing for both sons. Which is crazy since just before this, we read of all the wells he dug and how God told him that he was going to be blessed as well as his descendents and how people were terrified of him since he was so well-to-do. Why couldn’t he have at least saved part for the lesser of the sons? I think it was the Abundance theory again. Hold on really tightly since you don’t think Mr. TentDweller is worthy.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were also in the hold mode. As in, don’t share the good stuff like healings and the grand party with the unworthy. And then there are John’s disciples. They gave away too much and are resentful of what others have. My theory on that is also Abundance. They didn’t give, they ceased, period. I am with Jesus, for goodness sake, if you have a new dress and great wine, don’t make it look ugly or taste bad just because others may not have everything. Enjoy what you have and then remember to share.
Here is the original blog post and here is the word list that she references. Maybe you will want to check out the word theory. As for me, I am trying keep lessons and remember the Abundance of Bible verses I have already read!
http://remarkablewrinklies.com/2012/the-power-of-words-new-years-resolutions-finally-get-real/
Christine Kane is the author who compiled the word list. It is in her blog post from December 28, 2007
http://christinekane.com/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/
The List
Compassion
Delight
Generosity
Effortlessness
Wealth
Gratitude
Abundance
Creativity
Willingness
Change
Growth
Freedom
Mastery
Kindness
Health
Presence
Acceptance
Courage
Confidence
Self-Love
Action
Forgiveness
Forgive
Release
Trust
Knowing
Patience
Friendship
Fun
Grace
Laughter
Love
Expansion
Exploration
Adventure
Openness
Discipline
Awe
Awareness
Risk
Gentleness
Choice
Spirit
Prayerfulness
Power
Allow
Artfulness
Attention
Beauty
Joy
Focus
Ritual
Heal
Order
Clarity
Pioneer
Peace
Laziness
No
Yes
Deliberateness
Commitment
Savor
Integrity
Listen

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

January 11

OT – The stew that Jacob tricked Esau with is a classic dish in the Middle East. Lentils are the convenience food of the legume world and cook in less than 30 minutes. We have eaten this dish multiple times and my boys especially love it if there is some leftover roast from Nanny’s chopped up in it.
Combine in a soup kettle:
1 c lentils
4 c water
½ tsp cumin
Cook until lentils are soft, adding water if necessary for good soup consistency
Heat in skillet
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Add and sauté until soft
1 chopped onion
At very end, add one clove garlic minced
Blend in
1 tablespoon flour, cook for just 2 minutes
Add to lentils and bring back to the boil.
If adding meat, add now
From: More with Less, a Mennonite cookbook c2000

Regarding the Birthright, what is really interesting to me is that the Birthright was not Esau’s to sell. It was something the FATHER decided. Just earlier in the passage we read today, we read that Isaac inherited all of Abraham’s wealth although he did gift to his other children of concubines. Ishmael was the elder. He should have received the birthright. Abraham decided, rightly or not, that Isaac would be the one. Later, we will read of Jacob passing over Reuben for bad behavior and David passing over Adonijah for Solomon. In any event, Jacob doesn’t appear to have received anything other than his brother’s enmity for the whole escapade as he never gets anything of Isaac’s. Sounds like so many of the brother arguments I have heard in my life.
http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/B/Birthright/

NT – I have always wanted to know what happened to the men. Since everyone else in the town wanted Jesus gone, were they angry with the demon-less men for having destroyed their herd of pigs? Did they get to go home and go back to their ‘real’ lives? Or were they outcasts?
How do we think about these demon healings in light of our culture today? I personally am well acquainted with someone who has some serious mental issues to the point of paranoia and delusions. When this person is in the midst of an episode, she IS demon-filled. She calls names, behaves very badly, refuses help, and is clearly not in her right mind. I wish Jesus would heal her. When she is ‘normal’, there is practically no one that I would rather be around. Even if she were stabilized, there are wounds that she has created that will never heal. They go too deep. Did the men in Matthew experience that as well? Or does Jesus’ healing salve all the wounds?

And the Proverbs: I am still sick so clearly I am ‘wise in my own eyes’. I will try my best to be more humble although the Lord knows, that is a hard task…

Monday, January 9, 2012

January 10


NT -- That phrase 'under authority' has been in and out of my mind for the last several days. In Matthew 7:29, Jesus is the one who had authority. Now it is the centurion stating that as well. Just as a reminder, the story of the centurion would not have gone down very easily to Matthew's listeners. Matthew was written after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and NO ONE was despised more than the occupying soldiers who had obliterated the most sacred landmark for the Jewish people. The Romans conquered Judea in 63 BCE but 30 years later, when Augustine rose to power, it was still considered 'one of the unsettled regions'. It really was not until Herod (of the baby killing fame) really put the hammer to the Jews that there was relative peace in Judea. Herod, of course, did this by having spies, killing those who even sounded like they opposed him, and by appeasing the upper classes with all things Roman and glorious.
So, here we have a CENTURION of all people showing up after Jesus' magnificent sermon and asking for healing for his servant because clearly Jesus is 'under authority'. And Jesus really praises this guy. 'No one in Israel...' I know the authority to be God but did the centurion?
And the healings. This has special significance to me today as I am running a fever myself. Always before when I read that verse about the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and how she jumped up and started serving Jesus and his followers, I had an bit of an attitude about it. But today, having suffered all day long from what I think is the 'flu, I would be more than happy to jump up and start serving Jesus if he would heal me. Never before has that verse meant so much to me.
OT -- I do love this story. I love that Abraham really had thought out who he wanted Isaac (at least 37 years old!!!) to marry. I love that this unnamed servant loves his master so very much that he is willing to travel and do this task. I love that clearly, Rebecca is of Abraham's hospitality bent. And I do so especially love that Isaac loved her. (I know that is tomorrow but I just had to finish the story).

And the last verse in Proverbs -- Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
May we all let go and lean on the Lord.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

January 9

I am reading an incredible book on my Kindle. It is called Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture, an Agrarian Reading on the Bible by Ellen Davis. I heard about it on a podcast that I download weekly called On Being. Krista Tippett interviewed Ellen and you can listen to the podcast here.
Much of what we are reading today has relevance with Prof Davis' book. The Land is everything. Success in Agriculture meant God was with you, famine, drought, destruction meant God was not. Please click on the podcast and listen or upload it on your own device.
And don't listen ahead! Krista has a remarkable interview with the amazing Biblical scholar Walter Brueggeman that I will want you to listen to when we come to the prophets.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

January 8


OT- I love the story of Abraham negotiating with God but tonight, because I am so tired from my busy, busy day, it struck me differently. Do you think God was willing to negotiate with Abraham because he KNEW there wasn’t 50, 45, 40,30, 20 or even 10 good men? That there was only one and he planned on saving him? Aren’t there times when we deliberately set up a system for our children when we KNOW they will fail so it really doesn’t matter if they negotiate? We will never have to provide the new car because we know they will never get all As. Or am I just sticking a bad parent strategy on God?
I continue to think that this whole story, the one that started yesterday with Abraham’s all day feast and end with the destruction of Sodom is about hospitality or lack thereof. Either Abraham had taught Lot well or the customs of the men of Ur were just so much more gracious than the norm. Is the moral of the story – bad manners will get you killed? Isn’t that what our Proverb says? “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men.” Or the very last two verses of NT today, “…For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, not only a few find it. “
The Pearls before swine allusion made me go info hunting. Here are some tidbits I found:

“Aphrodite's tears of joy, dew drops filled with moonlight, Krishna's wedding gift to his daughter, Cleopatra's love potion. The legends abound but one fact is undeniable, pearls are the oldest known gem, and for centuries were considered the most valuable. So valuable that the Roman General Vitellius allegedly financed an entire military campaign with just one of his mother's pearl earrings.
The Romans were particularly enamored of this gem of the sea and Rome's pearl craze reached its zenith during the first century BC when upper class Roman women (the lower ranks were forbidden from wearing them) wore their pearls to bed so they could be reminded of their wealth immediately upon awakening. They also upholstered couches with pearls and sewed so many into their gowns that they actually walked on their pearl-encrusted hems. The famously excessive Emperor Caligula, having made his beloved horse a consul, decorated it with a pearl necklace.
Pearls have long been considered ideal wedding gifts because they symbolize purity and innocence.”
http://www.generousgems.com/i/education/pearl-information/
“The pearl in Judeo-Christian recordings refer to the pearl as symbol of Purity, Harmony, and Humility St. Augustine... after realizing that the pearl was not among the gems which signified the twelve apostles... declared that the pearl was reserved in this manner by God for Jesus Christ Himself”. http://www.karipearls.com/symbol.html
Does this mean we aren’t supposed to cast Jesus before non-believers? I am making the assumption that swine means non-believers since Jesus in Matthew was talking to a Jewish audience who would know that pigs were not to be anywhere near a good Jewish person. Sounds a little non-inclusive to me… How would non-believers ever learn about Jesus if we didn’t cast him before them? Aren’t we supposed to have thick skins when it comes to spreading the Gospel???
******If you have made it this far, we are 1/52 done with the Bible. Give yourself a big round of applause and know that you are doing good work. Do you know someone that could use a daily dose of the Bible? Please forward the link. They don’t have to catch up. They can start right where we are. God will honor all their work in the vineyard just as he does yours. A Blessed Sabbath to you all.

Friday, January 6, 2012

January 7

I continue to find it amazing how the scriptures ‘track’ one another. In today’s Matthew section, the Sermon on the Mount ends with these quick bites of sayings. Vs 19-21 is the storing up treasure quote. Then in the Proverbs, we again have storing but this time it is not monetary treasures, it is God’s commands. This is a ‘hidden treasure’, not the kind moths and rust destroy.
And the Genesis passage is all about being pregnant or not as the case may be while the Psalm uses the ‘pregnant with evil’ analogy. It feels strange to me how the scriptures intertwine.

In the OT passage, it is all about how important Sarah, The Princess, is. Clearly, even in her old age, she was exceedingly beautiful. Pharaoh took her in a previous passage and in day after tomorrow, a king of Gezar is going to take her again. But she was flawed. She had no children. She also did not command her slaves very well. Later, we will see with Jacob how each of his wives handles the pregnant servant girls without a Biblical commentary. What was wrong with Sarah? I am not sure it was Sarah. I think it was really Abraham. He was the one who did not see her importance. Heck, he keeps giving her away! He didn’t take her part when Haggar treated her badly. He is the first one to laugh about Sarah having the baby. She got chastised but he laughed first. God told him Sarah was the mother of the blessing and he is still worried about Ishmael. What about gratitude for the gift she is going to be given?
But what would you expect from a man that is told by God/angels to leave his home, so he does. To circumcise himself and all the males, so he does. In a little bit, to kill his son and so he does everything but the slash. In my 21st century worldview, I am glad I am not married to him.

A tiny bit about the hospitality scene: notice that when Abraham addresses them, he addresses the one who has prominence with the uncapitalized words ‘my lord’. If we were reading Hebrew, it would be very obvious that he did not know that he was entertaining God. This apparently is how Abraham treated everyone. In desert hospitality, the water and the shade were what were expected. Abraham goes all the way with the milk, the cheese, the bread and later the calf. He had an all day feast for these strangers. Clearly extraordinary behavior. From Letters to the Hebrews 13:2, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”. Something to ponder in this day and age when we seldom bring anyone into our homes. Probably, because you might see dog and cat hair on the floor, some unmade teenage boy beds, books and computers scattered about, and possibly a large amount of unfolded laundry. So, just in case an angel shows up tonight, I am going to fold the wash and put it away.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

January 6

Psalm 6 is really an amplification of the first stanza of the Beatitudes that we read yesterday. Even in our worst moments, the Lord is there with us. I find that really comforting. I have had some really bad moments and I have to say, lots of them come during the night. I do not know why that is but 3 AM is my witching hour. I can really work into some majoring worrying, self-arguing, self-deprecation at 3. Here is a trick that someone in my Sunday School class told me years ago. He said that when these times come upon you, claim whatever it is that is troubling you as a blessing and give thanks for it. Most of the time, I can do this. The death of my brother Nathan is one I haven’t yet been able to be grateful for.
Then, after you have given thanks for that blessing, start listing your other blessings. You will fall back asleep and the moment will pass as you lie in God’s arms. That is what I think Psalm 6 says to us.

And after feeling all snuggly and warm from that wonderful Psalm, I bumped into the Matthew passage. Vs 38-42 really punched a hole in my feel-good attitude. How hard is that? Who can hold their hand to their side when someone punches them, symbolically or not? Or the giving thing. Today, I talked to one of our chain operators who had to fire someone for stealing. She said that if the employee had asked, they would have loaned her the money. That they had never refused an employee loan. When I asked her why, she said this “Grady (that is the owner) follows the Gospel. “ I think she was talking about this passage. But do I do that? What about all the charities that call? Or the beggars at the MARTA stations? I pass them by. Not without a pang, I assure you. But I expressly don’t do that.
I think I have read the Sermon on the Mount probably 50 times. I once heard my preacher give the Sermon without any notes. Now that was amazing. But the words and the images and how far I am from walking the path of Jesus still rumples my soul. I seem no closer than I was at 20 when I first studied this section of the Bible.

And just a couple of points about the OT reading: Vs 18 with Melchizedek is an important passage. Doesn’t that look like Communion to you? So I looked up Melchizedek and here is some of the information I found:
1. Many of the early rabbis quoted in the Midrash (the Jewish book of commentary written in the early 1 and 2nd centuries on the Torah), think Melchizedek is Shem, Noah’s son. And that the place that he is king of “Salem” is actually Jerusalem. If that were so, Shem would be 465 years old (still alive according Genesis 11:11) and Abram would have been 75. They think this because of the Hebrew word Kohen which is given to Shem by Noah after the wine incident. That same noun is what is translated as ‘priest of God Most High” in 13:18. Shem was the first priest according to some rabbis. Others argued for Adam although he was never given that title.
2. Melchizedek is also mentioned in Psalm 110 which was comparing King David to Melchizedek as far as being a High Priest. Why this is so fascinating to the rabbis is that neither Shem nor David is of the Aaronic priestly line. Even in early 1st century commentary, the rabbis were arguing against the whole priestly regime in Jerusalem and did not mourn its passing after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Were the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem not worthy? Sure sounds like it! Something to remember when we get to the Jerusalem scenes with Jesus and his followers.
3. Melchizedek is mentioned one other time, this time in The Letter to the Hebrews in the NT. That compares Jesus to Melchizedek as High Priest. You will also note that Jesus is not of Aaron’s line and therefore did not qualify to be a priest in the Temple.


And as a side note, please comment. My page count is showing views but few comments. There is much debate at the McAdam dinner table as to whether the page views are real or ‘bots’. Since I don’t know what a ‘bot’ is and really don’t want to find out, let me know that you are out there and reading. There are instructions for posting in a previous post or if you would rather, you can email me at : Sylvia.mcadam@yahoo.com

For me, I am going to fall back to lovely Psalm 6 in the comforts of my Lord’s loving care. Blessings to you.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

January 5

The New Testament scripture is the first of 3 parts of the Sermon on The Mount. This part of the scripture contains the Beatitudes. First a disclaimer. I worked all summer long on the Beatitudes since I am teaching this to the Women of Mt Vernon Presbyterian all year long in Presbyterian Women. I know way more about these 8 verses than I do lots of books of the Bible. So this is a cheat.
First, this is a poem. It is definitely one of the "Sayings of Jesus" that constitutes the Q part of Matthew and Luke. There are 2 stanzas and a coda. The poem is about 2 different people. The first stanza is verse 3-6. It is describing a person who is in terrible crisis. They are extremely poor, mourning a loved one, beaten down by the powerful, and longing for justice. God loves this person and will lift them up. Maybe not in this life, but God has not forgotten or abandoned them in their crisis. The second stanza (verses 7-10) is about someone who is in relative stability. But in order to be blessed by God, the person has to show mercy, work on renouncing sin, making peace rather than discord and helping the ones who are looking for justice. At various times in our lives, we are either one of these peoples. At no time are you abandoned by God. But if you are a stanza 2 person right now, you've got obligations. Stanza 1 people just have to hold on.
The word Beatitude is a conflagration of two words -- beatify and attitude. Beatify means to glorify God. So a Beatitude is glorifying God no matter what your circumstances. You might not be able to avoid being oppressed but you can praise God. Easy to say, hard to do.
And just a thought on the finish of the Proverb that arched from yesterday to today -- I cannot help but think of the folks in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York this summer who ignored the storm and didn't prepare. Or how they ridiculed the City of New York for shutting down the subway. "Nothing happened..." (Would they rather have a train operator injured so they could have the possibility of getting to their deli on Saturday???) We seem to have a mental block about being prepared. I personally know people who would rather die than leave the Emerald Coast of Florida even when a hurricane shows a direct hit. Wisdom would have us prepare and even, yes, evacuate when the powers that be say go. That is why She was busy waving her arms and yelling at us. This is true about much of life. Sometimes, just the prep work is a teaching moment for us and/or our children. Planning, budgeting, scheduling, having an escape plan. You hope you never need it but it is great to know that you have a Plan B and you've practiced it enough times that everyone knows their part and how to execute it. I am thinking I am going to jump up and do a fire drill.