An Appropriate Proverb

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

Saturday, March 31, 2012

April 1

Psalm 73
This psalm opens with the word ‘Surely’. Today on my Facebook, one of my friend’s status updates was about the surely. Here it is, courtesy of Mickey:
Things look really bad today? Fall in love with Surely. Psalm 23:6, Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. :)
Thank you Pastor Scott Johnson!
And that brought me to question, what does surely really mean? Here is a great Hebrew website:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/
In it, you can type any word that appears in your Bible and it will give the Hebrew translation including the “Strong” word number. This Hebrew word is Kiy. (That, of course, is a transliteration of the Hebrew. I do not have a Hebrew keyboard. My next purchase. Just kidding, Don! I would actually have to take Hebrew to know what letter I was striking….)
By knowing this number, you can see all the places that your word has been used. In Surely’s case, it is number 3588. It was used 71 times and translated as surely. But it was translated much more often as other words. For example:
also 1, although 11, although* 1, because 409, because* 18, case 2, certainly 1, either 1, even 3, even though 3, event* 1, except 1, except* 21, how 12, however* 1, if 169, if* 2, inasmuch* 6, indeed 61, indeed* 1, last* 1, more of her than* 1, more than* 1, more* 1, moreover* 1, much more* 8, much* 10, nevertheless 1, nevertheless* 4, nor* 1, now 3, only* 7, or 1, rather 5, rather i indeed 1, rather* 12, seeing 1, since 38, since* 1, so 2, soon 1, still* 1, surely 63, surely* 8, than 1, than* 2, then 2, then* 1, though 37, though* 2, truly 5, unless* 10, until* 5, what* 1, when 241, when* 1, whenever 1, while 2, without* 2, Yea 1, yes 2, yet 7
And this word in Hebrew is a conjunction. According to School House Rock, a conjunction is used to ‘hook up phrases, and clauses that like’.



In our psalm, what is being hooked up? And what does the ‘surely’ mean?
Dictionary.com says:
1. Used to emphasize the speaker's firm belief that what they are saying is true and often their surprise that there is any doubt of this.
2. Without doubt; certainly.
And it is an adverb. Used to modify a verb. Which verb?

Translations are slippery. Someone, at sometime had to make a choice as to which word was used since the original psalm was written in Hebrew. Without vowels.
This is why the rabbis argue over everything. And the meanings of the words and phrases.
Let me just say, I would rather be on the rabbi team than on the translation team.
Substitute one of the other meanings of Kiy in that psalm. Does it change the meaning for you?


Sorry to go off the deep end on the word. This is really an incredibly lovely, moving psalm. I can so relate to everything the psalmist is saying. I especially like the image of God holding me by his right hand. Next time I am in trouble – probably tomorrow – I am firmly keeping that image with me.

Luke 9:28-50
The Transfiguration, again.
But check out this video. If your email doesn’t display the YouTube, click here.





OT – Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20
How will we know that a prophet is from the Lord? Well, according to Moses, if what he is saying does not come to pass, then he is not from God. And should be put to death.
In our current culture, that is horrifying. But when you think of the people that continue to support these supposed ‘prophets’ and their lifestyles, maybe we should reconsider? Actually, I am not in favor of that. As the mother of the ‘after-prom’ party told me, ‘the social downside of being singled out for STUPID is worse than any punishment you or I could devise’. Now, anytime Oral Robert’s name is brought up, people say ‘isn’t that the guy who said he was going to die if he didn’t raise some millions of money?’ instead of the good ministries that he DID do.
Maybe, communication was not as good in Canaan as it is in 21st America and Moses could not afford having charlatans going from village to city spouting nonsense.
Unfortunately, just like the king problem, Moses saw it coming that the people would follow false prophets, gods of the conquered peoples, doing evil sacrifices and turning away from the Lord. After all, if he, the greatest prophet of them all, could not keep them from straying, who could?

Peace and Grace to you all.
And no bad April fool’s day jokes.

Friday, March 30, 2012

March 31

OT -- Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20
How sad it made me to read chapter 17:14-20. Moses could see the dangers of being king. I am sure that he would have liked his sons to have had powerful position and probably did what he could to encourage them. But he knew that eventually, the people would demand a king and he could see the pitfalls.


NT – Luke 9:7-27



Check out this skit from Grace Community Church. If your email doesn’t show the YouTube, click here.

Psalm 72
Could this psalm come at a more appropriate place? For David was a good king. He loved the Lord. He tried to do God’s will. He was a man and a sinner. But he admitted his problems, asked for forgiveness, not spin, and moved on. He was praying this prayer for his son, who would succeed him. And for a while, Solomon was a good king. But he obviously did not write Moses’ admonition on his scroll and read it daily. For he had too many horses, too many wives, and way, way, way too much gold and silver. And eventually, his foreign wives corrupted him and the kingship began its decline.

Proverbs 12:8-9
Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.
This one is all the rage right now. The movie The Help has just come out on DVD and it is sitting beside my TV waiting on me to finish this blog post to come watch.
I grew up in Atlanta. We had ‘help’. Everyone I knew had ‘help’.
I am still listening to The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (in my defense, it is a very, very big book) and everyone there, even lowly lieutenant wives like Janice Henry have ‘help’.
Nowadays, no one has ‘help’. Oh, you might have a cleaning service. And maybe a company to take care of your lawn. But no one has a Sarah or a Betty who came most every day, cleaned, took care of the children, washed and ironed and cooked. Why is that? Why don’t I have help? Okay, my house is smaller than my mother’s and I have half the number of children. But I work outside the home and she did not. I think that is a clear tradeoff.
What about the flip side of that proverb? I know people like this. Especially now after all the fallout from the economic crisis. Nice cars, nice house. Big fat debts.
What do I do when I am feeling less than? Do I look for a servant, someone to be with me? Or do I try to fill my world with empty things and glossy touches? Do I try to be that servant? Or am I too busy impressing others with how ‘okay’ everything is.
Would anyone prefer the nobody status unless it is counterbalanced to the no food? Truthfully, I had never put them as opposites.

It is raining here this evening. For this, I give great thanks as all of us have red, itchy eyes and sneeze constantly. We are now 1/4 of the way through the Bible. Keep studying, keep meditating. May your day be filled with peace, joy and love.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

March 30

OT – Deuteronomy 13:1- 15:23
I have found it all too easy to be an ‘armchair quarterback’ of the invasion of Canaan. *I* wouldn’t have killed everyone, *I* wouldn’t put people to death for trying to lure someone to another religion, *I* would not corral the people like Moses did.
But *I* don’t live in 1400 BCE, *I* don’t have 600,000 people depending on me for EVERYTHING, and *I* don’t know that I am about to die and hand these wayward, stubborn, ordinary people off to a 60+ year old man who has been #2 his entire life. Sort of like Prince Charles only with more military experience and less of an accent.
It does not mean that I LIKE the way Moses handled the invasion because I don’t. But it is nearly impossible for me to put myself in Moses’ position and imagine how I could accomplish what he did.
All this to say, I have an amazing respect for Moses. Much more so than I did when we popped into Exodus on January 25th – 2 months ago. Other than Jesus and Paul, we spend more time with Moses than we do with any other person in the Bible. And even in the Jesus and Paul parts, Moses constantly pops up.
In today’s lesson, I realized that Moses treats the Children of Israel as if they really were Children. With kids, you need repetition. You need structure. Punishment and reward. Accountablitity and clear, stated rules and regulations. Go here, do that, don’t play with them, don’t eat that. Do it and this is going to happen to you.
And he doesn’t appear to have politic’d. I think he said what God told him, regardless of how the people would feel.
If we assume that we are just as wayward, just as stubborn, and certainly, just as ordinary as those folks were, how would it play for us to have a ‘Moses’? And where would he lead us?



If your email doesn’t download the YouTube video, click here.

NT—Luke 8:40-9:6
When we read that Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach and drive demons, my first question has always been, why? (Of course, that is *my* question to anything….)
But since this is the third time in 3 months that we have read this, I have come up with a possible answer. Jesus, being God, knew that the Twelve would do this after he was gone. And he knew that they would face rejection. I think he sent them out while he was still alive as a training mission. And then they could come back, talk about what had worked (or didn’t!), when they went hungry and when they had success. It was sending them out with smaller consequences and having backup.
My study Bible has an interesting note about shaking the dust off your feet. It says, “Jews returning to Israel from a foreign land would shake the dust from their sandals and clothing to avoid defiling the land they considered holy. The disciples were delivering a similar warning to the people of Israel. If they rejected the message of Christ, they would face the same future judgment as unbelieving foreigners.”

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 29

OT – Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32
One of the great Sages of Judaism is Maimonides.
This is from Wikipedia:
“Although his writings on Jewish law and ethics were met with acclaim and gratitude from most Jews even as far off as Spain, Iraq and Yemen, and he rose to be the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, there were also vociferous critics of some of his rulings and other writings particularly in Spain. Nevertheless, he was posthumously acknowledged to be one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history, his copious work a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries canonical authority as a codification of Talmudic law. In the Yeshiva world he is known as "haNesher haGadol" (the great eagle) in recognition of his outstanding status as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah.”

My Stone Chumash refers to him as Ramban which is a conflagration of his true name: Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon. He frequently disagrees with Rashi, the other preeminent Medieval rabbi whose work is primarily collected in my Stone Chumash.
However, today’s scripture is all Ramban. He refers at length to his 13 principles of Judaism which I have never read (until today). Here is a link to a translated page. I found several points to be very illuminating.
But to our scripture today, Ramban explains that there is a basic difference between the goodness of an individual and that of a collective people. He says that service to God from the whole will result in God’s providence and miraculous intervention in human affairs. These interventions can only take place in the merit of multitudes of peoples but not for individuals of ordinary righteousness. There are exceptions, of course for people of ‘overarching’ greatness like Abraham , Moses or Joshua.
Forgive me for straying from the topic, but this may explain why righteous people have troubles as well. It also is a basic difference between Judaism and Christianity. We would do well to remember Ramban’s words as we walk through the pages of Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. It is hard for me, as a Christian to understand why the ‘badness’ of the king results in the oppression of the ordinary people. I suspect, like people following movie star trends today, that the kings and close-knit nobles set the tone for Israel and that if the king were Godly, then more people would emulate that. And if they were NOT, a lot of folks would emulate that.

Also, a comment about vs. 11:26-32. My NIV translates that the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord. My Stone translates it The blessing: that you hearken to the commandments of Hashem, your God. (Hashem is the transliteration that Rashi uses to denote God. Being a devout Jew, he would not use the name of the Lord or any letters YWH to denote God).
Hearken is an old word meaning to hear. But not just to passively hear, but to absorb into your very being. The ‘blessing’ is to hear what is truly essential and to pick out the Word of the Lord from the ‘welter of competing messages’ which the Children of Israel, just like us!, are inundated. For me, the word obey has something of a ‘blindness’ to it. My mother said it, I obeyed. (Only, I usually didn’t…) Hearken has the tone that you ‘choose’ because you understand the word, you believe them, and because you have a stake in making the right decisions, because you LISTENED. I am sure that I am picking on these two words because clearly, this is an area that I need to work in.

NT – Luke 8:22-39
Like so much in the Bible, there is a HUGE back story in this passage. When Jesus says “let’s go over to the other side of the lake,” that is code for let’s go to the Gentiles. We don’t understand that, but Luke’s audience would have known that in a flash since the people kept pigs. No, they would not have welcomed the Jewish rabble rousing rabbi even if he hadn’t destroyed their herd of swine. The clear enmity between Jews and Gentiles was immense. Jesus wants to go to the Gentiles? A clear slap to the Jews who don’t believe in him.
When Jesus is met by a naked man, a naked man, who knows immediately who he is, as opposed to the disciples who freak out when he CALMS the wind (that is such a big deal compared to raising dead people and fixing lepers and cripples????????), there is another slap. The naked man (and Jewish people do not like nakedness ) falls at Jesus’ feet. Identifying him. Then, when healed, Legion wants to leave and follow Jesus. Right away. When Jesus says no, his response is immediately to go praising Jesus. A healed, formerly naked Gentile. Fervently evangelizing. Big disciples slap. Luke telling this story is a show as to who the true believers are.

Proverbs 12:4
This one hurts.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

March 28


OT – Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
Wow, did you catch 10:12-13? “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways , to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
Doesn’t that sound like Micah 6:8 – beloved faith statement of so very, very many Christians:
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Moses said it first.

Psalm 69:19-36
A continuation of yesterday’s glorious psalm. I LOVE this one. Next time I am overwhelmed by someone or under attack, I am going here! Because when you feel persecuted, don’t you want a big strong guy to come along and beat the stew out of the bullies who are oppressing you? But that is not what this psalm advises. Oh, you get to wallow in the picture of them getting their just deserves. But after you have set your timer and imagined maggots on them for 2 minutes, you have to stop, and praise God’s name. Praise him for all of his mercies and generosities even if they are 300 years old! This is how we shift our focus off poor, little o me and get to the right attitude of God, not the bullies and certainly not me, is in control. And He has a plan.

NT – Luke 8:4-21
It is planting season here in Georgia. The temperature in the afternoon is in the mid 70s, the lows are in the high 40s and 50s and we have rain nearly every week. Springtime in Atlanta is gorgeous and the pollen is everywhere.
Reading these sentences of scripture are powerful metaphors to me for several reasons:
1. I am gardener.
2. I am a teacher.
3. I am a Christian.
When you put the 3 together, this parable really is a faith statement for someone like me.

Planting a garden is always a risk. There are bugs, varmints and diseases. There is too much water or not enough. Too much sun or not enough. And then there is stupidity. Like planting tomatoes in March. Or watermelons in July. Or not planting a second crop of bean when your first ones start to run up the poles. Mother and I do all the above almost every year. But we keep on going.
Teaching is also risky business. You cannot teach someone who does not want to learn. You can’t teach someone who does not have the prior skills necessary to absorb your materials. You don’t know that what you say or how you say it will penetrate. Basically, you just have to stand up there and throw your spiel out.
The Christian part. That is where the risk evaporates. Paul (oh Paul, just wait til we get to you…) said “I have planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase.” Corinthians 3:6 All we are asked to do is to put the message out there – to broadcast the seed. God will take care of the rest. I know, it is hard not to want to manipulate the outcome. But this is what Jesus is calling me to do.
Yesterday, at dinner, we were having a conversation about how many hits this blog gets. Matt asked me why I was doing the blog. And the truth of the matter, it is to keep myself accountable and on task. Never have I ever done anything like this for this long of a period of time. Your comments, emails and support at church and the grocery store are so encouraging. And I hope that I encourage you to go into the Word. In Matthew’s worldview, it doesn’t matter how many hits I get because just to get one is a privilege. And he is right. So, for today, here is my seed broadcast.

Monday, March 26, 2012

March 27

OT – Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20
When I was a teenager, my dad had several ‘conversations’ that went like this. Don’t date anyone you wouldn’t marry. Don’t date someone your parents don’t like. But the best one was:
Don’t marry someone who is not Southern, Protestant, Middle Class, White, or has less education than you have.
At the time, I thought my dad was a bigot.
No, I was sure he was a bigot.
I have to say, I did not follow my dad’s advice about dating. Many awful boyfriends later, I met and married Don. He fit most of my dad’s requirements. The one he missed was that he was, in the words of my grandmother, A Yankee. Forgivable, I guess.
I had my own list and it did not match my dad’s. Mine was 1. Not married 2. If divorced, no children. 3. Have a job.
Now, 20 years later this coming June, I see that my dad was not really a bigot. He was and is a realist. Marriage is damn hard enough without adding the stressors and strains of different to it.
I have lots of friends in ‘mixed’ marriages. Everything from race to religion to class warfare. It is always the different that causes the arguments. Oh, not at first. But after the ‘glow’ is vanished, there is always some compromising to be done and that is where the rubber hits the road.
In Moses’ defense, he was also being a realist. If you want your faith to stay pure, the mamas have to be Jewish. They are the first and the best teachers for the children. If the girls marry Gentiles, the children ‘should’ be Jewish but the Gentile father will lead them to his gods and his way of doing things. You’ve lost those children. And if a Jewish boy marries a Gentile girl, well, those children are automatically not Jewish. Jewish comes through the mother.
Moses needed the Children of Israel not to assimilate. Set apart. And while Shakespeare had not been born nor had Romeo and Juliet, the world’s worst play been written, Moses knew all about the boy in the next tent who is not like the little Jewish girl. Some stories have no beginning and continue to repeat themselves over and over and over again. Thus the admonition to destroy everyone else in Canaan.

Psalm 69:1-18
Love the imagery in this psalm. Up to his neck in deep water, the author calls out again and again for God to save him. So many things threaten to overwhelm him. God knows what he did wrong and he is asking for forgiveness. Also, and this is the first time I have noticed this, he is asking that his folly not reflect on others who believe in God. I hope that whatever the problem the psalmist faced, God delivered him from it.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

March 26


OT – Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25
D 6:4-9 is called The Shema.
Shema is the transliteration of the Hebrew word that means “Hear” as in Hear, O Israel. These 6 verses are the faith statement of Judaism. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he was quoting this verse. In every orthodox Jewish household, all doorposts have a Mezuzah like the image above placed in it with a tiny scroll imprinted with The Shema.
In Night by Elie Weisel which is the story of his imprisonment with his father in the Nazi death camps, Weisel tells of how his family left his home when they were being deported by the Germans. His devout mother began to pull the mezuzah off the door frame and his father said “Leave it. God is not greater than Hitler.” To which his mother said, “Oh, not in front of the children, not in front of the children.” Nothing is more important to a Jewish mother and father than passing along The Shema, according to my rabbi friends.
I found this lovely YouTube of The Shema being sung. If your email does not display it, click here.



Luke 7:11-35
Knowing what we know about dead bodies and cleanliness from Leviticus and Numbers, what should Jesus have done once he touched that coffin?
He should have been unclean for a week. He should have gone and taken a bath, had all his clothing cleaned, and made sacrifice in the Temple for accidentally breaking the law against dead bodies.
That is not what the scripture says. It says he went on curing many with diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits to the crowds.
In truth, there is a great deal of wisdom in the not touching of the dead. Decomposition of bodies is minefield of bacteria, fungus and germs. And that is the case whether or not the person died of a disease that can be spread by contact.
Granted, the Jews took it to another level with their mikvahs, but it is a good bit better than the ‘cities of the dead’ that the Egyptian mummification factories were producing.
I guess that because Jesus was divine, he did not get sick. But the Pharisees did not believe that he was divine, only that he was gruesomely ‘sinning’ and not making atonement for his sins. Flouting social customs, once again.

Proverbs 11:29-31

The Message (MSG)
29 Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live.
30 A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;
a violent life destroys souls.
31 If good people barely make it,
what's in store for the bad!

Friends come and go but your family (good or bad!) is in your life forever. Ann Landers wrote a daily advice column when I was growing up and at one point she wrote that most of her letters boiled down to “we just can’t get along with one another.” But that is whole lot different than exploiting or abusing. Those seem to be really strong words. The Message says it is stupid. I would say, ungodly. Moses would probably answer "Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you.” D 6:18

Saturday, March 24, 2012

March 25

OT – Deuteronomy 4:1-49
I woke up this morning with the burning question “what does Deuteronomy mean?” in my head. Unfortunately, I have had to wait through a whole cheese market, an hour in the garden, getting ready for a party and getting Cole and Matthew off to their various escapades to find out.
Here is a short and quick version:
“Deuteronomy' comes from two words in the Greek language: deutero, which means 'second', and nomos, which means 'law'.

This is not talking about another new set of Laws, but a reiteration of it. When the Ten Commandments were given in Exodus 20, they were given to the first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea with a huge natural show of God's power, camped at Sinai and heard the Ten Commandments for the first time. With the Ten Commandments are 613 laws of Moses. As we know, the people sinned and the consequence of it were the 40 years wilderness experience in the desert until the whole generation of those above 20 years old at the time of the escape died (except for Moses, Joshua and Caleb). They never had the privilege of taking possession of the Promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey!

The new generation were only little children when they crossed the Red Sea and camped at Sinai. Most would barely remember after forty years what had happened and certainly would not recall the reading of the law at Sinai. So, here's the purpose of the reading and explaining of the law for the second time, hence Deuteronomy, 'second law' to this new generation.”
http://hungryforgodsword.blogspot.com/2009/07/deuteronomy-what-does-it-mean.html

In the Hebrew, the name of Deuteronomy is Devarim. It means ‘second thoughts’. The Sages say that Moses (or in their name for him – Moshe) received these words in a wide wake fashion rather than in the trance he apparently was in during the receipt of the first set of commandments at Sinai. They also say that these are Moses’ last communiqué to the Children of Israel, delivered over a 3 day period as a sermon, imploring them not to go astray and to fulfill their destinies.
Just as we talk about the Gospels having a ‘certain’ audience, I think Moses was clearly dealing with certain problems. Look at vs. 15-19. All around them were peoples who were worshipping idols or images of the sun and moon. If Moses left Egypt during the time of Ramesses II which is the current accepted date, the big upstart religion was the renewal of Sun God (Ra) worship. Ramesses came to the throne 20 years after the dethroning of Akenaten who tried to introduce monotheism to Egypt. Ramesses had all traces of Akenaten removed and made a big show of the reintroduction of Amun-Ra as head of the pantheon of Egyptian gods.
This would explain why Moses goes to great lengths to forbid the sun/moon worship and idol worship. It might well explain the first and second commandments. I would say that the people heeded the sun/moon worship prohibition. The idol worship, well, that is a different matter.
Second thoughts. The second time the commandments are given. Moses’ last words. Surely, this is a book worth digging into. Don’t give up on me now.

Luke 6:39-7:10
Vs. 45 “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evile stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.”
Sounds like the proverb from yesterday, doesn’t it?
When Jesus says stuff like that in the midst of all this other symbolic talk, do your eyes just skip right over that? Mine did. It wasn’t until I started really looking at the gardening imagery (you know me!!!) that I noticed that little nugget. The overflow. What we dwell on, what we spend our time on, this is what fills our heads and our hearts. If we dwell on the negatives, the how I have been hurt, wronged, taken advantage of; we overflow with ‘bad vibes’. If we look for the positives, the times we have been helped, the times we help someone else, we overflow with Godliness.
We cannot produce good fruit (the fruits of the Spirit -- Galations 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”) without having an overflowing good heart.
Dwell on the good things, let the bad stuff go. Do good works, don’t return evil for evil. Stay in the Word.

Much love, peace and joy to you.

Friday, March 23, 2012

March 24

Proverbs 11:27 Luke 6:12-38
He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
George Carlin said, “some see the glass as half-empty, others see it as half-full. I see it as twice as big as it needs to be.”
When you visit old people, you quickly learn if they are half-empty or half-full people. Don’s mother is a half-full person. She always saw the bright side of everything. She was sweet, affable and kind. Even in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, she is cheerful and sunshiney. I visit another little old lady and *she* is definitely a half-empty person. Nothing makes her happy. If I want to walk, it is too hot or cold. She hasn’t done her hair or she is too dressed up. She is ready for lunch or really full. This is true about everything. When we talk, she always says that I will come to rack and ruin believing the best about people because they will take advantage of me. I usually laugh about that. I have fallen for so many, many lines. But I do usually believe the best of people. I assume, and you know where that can get you, that if someone says they will do it, that they will. Until they have blown off the task. I will give you the first opportunity and maybe the second. After that, I’m not going for it. Does this make me a half-full or half-empty girl? There are moms at school that I will not be on a committee with. They don’t pull their weight or they commit and then don’t follow through. The second is worse.
But back to our proverb. If you go looking for goodness, do you always find it? What about miracles? God’s providence? Is this just like the researchers who are set on proving something about a substance and so they design the experiment to prove it?
Is the reverse true? The second little old lady says I make her ‘cross’ because I am so ‘RELENTLESSLY cheerful. ‘ Isn’t she expecting bad things?
What happens when we do mission work and no one is saved? Or we are not what was needed? Or things are not improved at all? Keep plugging along?
Want one more quote? This is from Teddy Roosevelt, my son Cole’s most hated president. Cole blames Teddy for World War II.
“Speak softly and carry a big stick. You will go far.” I believe that Teddy was a twice as big person himself.

OT – Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29
The space of 40 years is summed up in 13 verses. Moses is not always so terse.
Here is what Rashi has to say about Deuteronomy:
The Sages refer to Deuteronomy as Mishneh Torah which is commonly translated as “repetition of the Torah. Since all the commandments were given to Moses at Sinai or the Tent of Meeting in the first year after the Exodus, the question remains on what basis the narratives and commandments contained in D. were chosen. This book was Israel’s introduction to the new life it would have to forge in Eretz Yisrael. Once they crossed the Jordan, the people would no longer see God’s Constant Presence and daily miracles, as they had in the Wilderness. They would plow, plant and harvest. They would establish courts and a government. They would forge social relationships and means to provide for and protect the needy and the helpless. They would need strong faith and self-discipline to avoid the snares and temptations of their pagan neighbors and false prophets. To stress these laws and vlues and exhort Israel to be strong was the function of D., its laws and Moses’ appeals.
Stone Chumash p. 938
What we read today was part of sermon that Moses gave, apparently more than once as a reminder of where they had been in the Wilderness. I think we also see Moses’ human side as he really, really wanted to cross the Jordan. God had given into him so many times as he intervened. I am amazed that he did not on this one issue.
Moses, in this sense, is a lot like Jesus. He really had a special relationship with God. The give and take and the acquiescence that God occasionally provides Moses is amazing. It is no wonder that the apostles see Moses with Elijah at the Transfiguration. He was clearly the savior (small s) of the Jewish people until God sent Jesus as the Savior (big s). And, just like Jesus, Moses clearly had a bunch of rabble-rousers who were bent on doing him harm and stirring up trouble. I even see some of Moses’ plaintiveness in Jesus’ Garden of Gethsemane prayer.
I really hadn’t noticed all the similarities between them until I started to study them simultaneously with this study.

Friends, have a lovely weekend. Rest, relax and rejuvenate. But stay in the Word.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

March 23

NT – Luke 5:29-6:11
I have this vision of Jesus and his disciples walking along a dusty road, chatting and laughing. Behind them lurks these men with staffs and black robes, whispering and pointing. Whenever Jesus stops at rock to speak to a gathering, these black robed men press forward, with their tablets, waiting for Jesus to make a mistake.
Does that resonate with these verses to you? Doesn’t it seem like these dudes were just following Jesus around, trying to find something on him? I sort of feel like they were the Press of 1st century BCE, trying to catch Jesus without his makeup and cool clothes on, with a bit of a hangover and some lamb between his teeth!

OT – Numbers 36:1-Deuteronomy 1:46
We leave Numbers and enter into Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the last book in the Torah – the five books of Moses. It records Moses’ final thought, laws, dispensations, and challenges. It also, I am sure you won’t be surprised to hear, contains a listing of the festivals that the Israelites were to observe. I have sent a query off to one of my rabbi friends as to WHY the list keeps coming up over and over again. It doesn’t change. It is almost word for word. Why the repeat? I haven’t heard back yet. Stay tuned.
My study Bible has this to say about Deuteronomy:
‘This book deals with hardship, testing and doubt, but also with promise, hope and trust. It reminds us that faith is not automatic or mechanical. Faith becomes personal and active when it springs from a living relationship with a loving God. The message of Deuteronomy can be summed up as follows: “Devote yourself wholeheartedly to God.” This book’s message is especially relevant for the church today. ‘
Brace yourself. I think we are in for a ride.


Psalm 66
Well, this really isn’t about that psalm at all. It is about Furman Bisher.
I don’t like sports. I don’t like to sweat. I really don’t like competition in physical things. I especially hate all the hoo-rah and hoop-lah about college sports.
But I loved Furman Bisher.
He was THE sportswriter for The Atlanta Journal Constitution. He knew every statistic about every sport known to man.
I loved to read his columns.
What I know about sports could barely fill a page. But all that I do know, I learned from him.
Furman Bisher died on Saturday. He was 94.
He ended every column that he ever wrote with Selah. When someone asked him what it meant, he said, ‘your guess is as good as mine’. And that is the truth. We don’t know what it really means.
I think, and this is just my humble opinion, is that it means, until the next time we encounter you, God. I think Furman Bisher would agree to that as well.
In our psalm today, there are multiple Selahs. Each one ends as a petition to God for his greatness. “they will sing praises… let not the rebellious rise up… I will offer bulls and goats”.
I like to think Furman Bisher is in heaven interviewing the Babe, Joe DiMaggio, and all the other greats. Furman Bisher. Selah

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

March 22

NT – Luke 5:12-28
Vs. 26 says ‘Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”’
The seeing remarkable things phrase was everywhere evident in my life today. It was meeting up with a group of ladies I studied Bible several years ago with and it was like no time had passed. It was running into a neighbor at Publix who said that she remembered a flyer I had done *2 YEARS AGO* about supplying our church’s assistance program with toilet paper. Publix has a decent sale on toilet paper but her buggy was full! She was on her way to CAC to drop it off. It was sitting at dinner tonight with two chatting, affable teen boys who were interested in each other and in what had happened to Don and me during the day. And then it is reading a Bible story that I am sure was in my Children’s Bible and finding new meaning of God’s grace.
I haven’t ever actually beheld a healing. At least not one that happens right on the spot. But Jesus’ miracles are everywhere evident if we slow down enough, quit twirling enough, open our eyes and hearts enough to look.
What did you see today that was remarkable and did you give the praise to God?

Proverbs 11:23
This one is personal to me since unfortunately, many of my desires are wicked. I am headed for wrath. With that in mind, is it possible to shift the desire to something that is Godly? Is the reason that it will have a good end enough? Maybe in the beginning. Further along, I think you really have to change your heart. And that, I think, is my answer to the age old question of the deathbed conversion. It is okay and it IS good enough for the brand new. But we KNOW better and God expects more from us. If I know it is wrong, then I HAVE to shift my focus.

OT – Numbers 33:40-35:34
Go to this website for an excellent website on the Cities of Refuge. I love how the author ties the cities in with Jesus.
http://www.sermonnotebook.org/joshua/Josh%2020_1-9.htm

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

March 21

NT – Luke 4:31-5:11
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when the OJ Simpson verdict came down? I was at work and we had a little tv in one of the offices. My mom kept saying over and over again, “OJ didn’t do it. He wouldn’t have left those kids alone in that house with their dead, butchered mother outside.” That was her reason. He wouldn’t have left his kids alone.
Which is why the story of the calling of Peter, Andrew, James and John has always rankled at me. I knew that Peter was married because of the problem with the mother-in-law’s fever (which also rankled my feminist soul. Just wait until we get to the Mary and Martha story. I preached on that one, too.) And if he had a wife, he probably had kids though none are mentioned.
Regardless, that Peter would up and leave his wife and presumably his mother-in-law to follow a roving preacher struck me as the epitome of irresponsibility. And then not to even know who or what he was???
Matthew and Mark both record the calling of the first disciples. Neither mentions the big fish catch. Luke is the only one. He knew that there would be people like me, fretting over how poor Mrs. Peter would feed her family and how Zebedee would make it on his own. The big haul does make me feel better.

OT – Numbers 32:1-33:39
Moses makes a deal with the people of Gad and Reuben then he calls his head priest and general at arms to witness the deal.
Rashi said it was a good thing otherwise the Children of Israel wouldn’t have occupied both banks of the Jordan and there would be constant conflict over water rights with pagans.
We think it was a good thing because one of the best funeral hymns would never have been created – The Balm of Gilead.
If your email does not show the YouTube video, click here.



In all seriousness, both Moses and Joshua think and act like great leaders. They definitely have to make some really unpleasant decisions. We know some of the back stories but not all.
One of the marks of a great leader who does not fall prey to bad negotiations is to employ the strategy that Moses uses with the Gadanites and the Reubenites. You have to have witnesses (impartial or close to) and the carrot needs to be before the horse. Once you pay someone, it is darn hard to get them to complete the work.
And one more learning thing for today and then I am done.
Here is what Rashi had to say about chapter 33:
“In this chapter, The Torah summarizes the entire route followed by Israel from the Exodus until they stood poised to cross the Jordan to enter the Promised Land. The list of journeys emphasizes God’s compassion, because it shows that notwithstanding the decree that they wander in the Wilderness for forty years, the people enjoyed extended periods of rest. In all, there were forty-two encampments, the first fourteen of which were before the mission of the spies and the last eight encampments were in the fortieth year, after Aaron’s death. “ Stone Chumash p.918
This means that in 37 years, the children of Israel moved 20 times.
For some reason, I had it in my head that they moved every day.

Proverbs 11:22
“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”
Preach it, Solomon.
If you grew up on a farm, you know this but I am a city girl. Pigs have rings in their noses not to catch them but to keep them from doing what pigs love to do – root around and make wallows. Which is okay if they are in woods or by a stream or lake. Bad for pasture land. They literally root up your perennial grasses and their roots and cause runoff.
A ring in a pig’s nose causes some discomfort and while it doesn’t eliminate rooting, it does slow it down some.
No one, not even a pagan king would put a gold ring in a pig’s nose because what do pigs like to wallow in? Mud and poop. Bad use of a really precious metal.
All this to say, the equation of an indiscreet woman with a pig’s ring is really disgusting. And I am not a Jewish mama with kashrut laws hanging over my head.

Many blessings to you and your meditations.

Monday, March 19, 2012

March 20

NT – Luke 4:1-30
If you were a Roman or a Greek who lived during Luke’s day, you would hear all sorts of myths and legends about Hercules, Zeus, Apollo and all the other great ones. The great ones were all tested but came out on top, usually unscathed. Glorified, put into epic poems and carvings, we still read about their exploits today.
By comparison, all Jesus had to do was go hungry and tell the devil no three times. Which he did as a result of his power and fullness of the Holy Spirit given at baptism (thanks, Kim!). But his reward? Epic poems? A large marble bust in the Nazareth courtyard?
No, they ran him out of the town, intending to toss him over the cliff. Fortunately, he had the means to walk thru the crowd unimpeded and escape.
The positioning of these two stories about Jesus, when he could have had it all and when his own hometown shoved him out, back to back and at the beginning of his public ministry makes clear that Jesus did not come as a Super Hero.
Matthew Henry’s commentary makes much out of the fact that while the devil took him to the desert, and to the top of the highest point in Jerusalem, Jesus had to get himself down. He apparently can fly. He apparently either has an invisibility cloak or can perform the Jedi mind trick “these are not the Jesus you are looking for” as he passes through crowds undetected. While much is made of his healings, it is the ‘other’ powers that Jesus has that set him firmly in the Hero seat. He just doesn’t use them often and hops right back out.
So, you are this relatively well-educated Greek in Tyre in 90 CE and you hear about this Jesus dude setting the devil on his butt. This is going to pull me in?
You are a teen in the techno age with all sorts of electronic wizardry that can levitate cars, send messages wirelessly around the world, and you hear about this Jesus dude setting the devil on his butt. This is going to pull me in?
What makes this a compelling story?
Why is this Luke’s jumping off point for Jesus public ministry?
What makes Jesus human? God?

Psalm 63
Which makes me grateful that this psalm was with the above reading. Quiet. Unimposing. But full of the confidence that God is God and he is wonderful. Always there. Always great. He doesn’t need the 12 Labors to shine out his power. He is.

OT – Numbers 30:1-31:54
This is Rashi’s basis for saying that Balaam caused the sexual immorality of the Israelites. I should have known better than to quarrel with an 11th century rabbi with no cell phone distractions.
The harshness of God towards the Midianites is hard for me. Right now, I am just suspending my judgment until I have more information and can process the whole destroy everyone except the virgins idea. I guess the Midianites should have let the Israelites pass through on the road…



Have a wonderful day and keep in The Word.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

March 19

NT – Luke 3:23-38
I have to admit it. I was prepared for the cursory “I read it” of the genealogy. But then I decided I would see if the women were named in Luke’s lists just like Matthew’s. Can I just say I was blown away??
Not only are there no women – the names are not the same!! Solomon was not mentioned. So then I had to bop to 2nd Samuel 5:14-15. No, Nathan is one son and Solomon is listed after him.
To the internet with the question “why are the names different in Jesus’ lineage?”
(Where is Rashi when you need him?????)
There are 4 theories that hold the most prominent place among Bible scholars.
1. These are all made up names anyway so it really doesn’t matter whether the names are accurate or not. They were listed to prove a purpose. Since the purposes of Matthew and Luke are different, the genealogies are as well.
2. Luke is recording Mary’s genealogy and Matthew is recording Josephs’s.
3. Remember Levirate marriage? This goes back to Tamar who coincidentally (?) is mentioned in Matthew. All the brothers left her childless and so when Judah didn’t pony up the last son, she took matters into her own hands. But even if Tamar had conceived with brother #2, brother #1 would have been listed as his ‘father’ for purposes of inheritance. And as we read yesterday, the inheritance was Law. ‘
4. The genealogy in Matthew is actually through his maternal grandfather.
Here is my problem with each one.
1. If Matthew wrote in 70 CE and Luke 10-15 years later, there would be people who knew the answers to these questions and they would have yapped about this and LOUDLY. Genealogies are really, really important in the Middle East. You have to know whose tribe you come from so that you can tell if someone who approaches is friend or foe. And Luke was talking to family. We have too many details about him as a human. (Remember, Luke was trying to counteract Gnosticism which said Jesus wasn’t really a human.) Humans have fathers. I think this theory is definitely out for me.
2. This one is a maybe for me. But then you have the problem of 3:23 ‘JOSEPH, the son of Heli’.
3. If this were the case, every single one from David to Joseph would have had to have been a Levirate marriage. Highly unlikely in my opinion. And for it just to have been Joseph’s father’s Levirate, that would not have worked since the brothers would have had the same father. This one is also out for me.
4. Matthew already skipped a bunch of people to make the 14 generation thing work so why not money around with who is the line through? Except that 1:16 says that Joseph was the husband of Mary and Jacob was his father. Problems with this theory as well.
I guess I left out another theory. But this one is definitely out for me. I just put it down because if you look very far at all, it comes at you.
5. This is a flat out reason not to believe as people writing 30-100 years after someone’s death can’t even get their parents’ names right.
6. And then there is this one from my dear 85 year old friend Mary Earle. “I don’t care who his earthly daddy was. I just care who his heavenly daddy IS.”
You decide.
http://www.theology.edu/ap10.htm
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html
http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/geneal.htm


Psalm 62
Do you love that last verse as much as I do?
Vs. 11-12
One thing God has spoken,
Two things have I heard,
That you, O God, are strong,
And that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
According to what he has done.

May you start the week in The Word, with the grace of God beaming from your countenance.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

March 18

NT – Luke 3:1-22
Did you realize John had his checklist too? I didn’t. Here is the checklist that John, the Baptist, gives in response to what should we do in order that we not be thrown into the fire:
1. Share clothing with the ones who have none.
2. Share food with the ones who have none.
3. Don’t abscond with other people’s stuff even if it is legal to do so.
4. Don’t use power to gain wealth and prestige
5. Don’t accuse people falsely
I am sitting here, patting myself on the back because on paper, I look pretty good. I do the whole Goodwill, Food Pantry thing. I think I keep my hands off other people’s stuff and I haven’t accused many people lately. But #4. That is sort of vague, don’t you think? What does that really look like? Is it possible to be an American consumer and NOT use/abuse our power?
I am thinking about what we ate for dinner tonight. Now, granted, the hamburgers were from a steer from my Uncle Dick. And the asparagus came from my friend Vicki’s farm. But those strawberries. The strawberries came from CALIFORNIA. I live in Georgia. 3,000 miles. And the strawberry fields were irrigated with water, fertilized with who knows what, picked by migrant workers who are paid poorly. Then trucked that 3,000 miles to my Costco. But I ate them. And accepted the high praises from my men. I think on the John scale, I came out just as poorly as I did on the Jesus scale.

OT – Numbers 26:52-28:15
Do you find it interesting that a group of women! bring about the laws of inheritance? I assume, based on the whole Jacob/Esau blessing stuff, that before this, the father could choose anyone he wanted to choose for leaving his possessions. Maybe if this law had been prevalent before now, we wouldn't have had the whole brother issue that seems to run through Genesis.
At any rate, the claims of Zelophedhad’s daughters cause God to spell out the laws that allow women to inherit. (Only if there are no sons.) Presumably, the sons were supposed to take care of their sisters. However, having read Jane Austen and her Sense and Sensibility several times, I don’t think that brothers were always that gracious to their sisters regardless of whether they lived in 1830s England or 1000 BCE Israel. Today, we have reverted back to the father gets to pick who and what is inherited. Does that cause the same problem in families as it did prior to Torah?
Click here and go read this funny essay from my friend Chris who is a Baptist pastor in Charlotte, NC. Wills are tricky things. And speaking of Wills, how long has it been since you updated yours? Matthew is now 18 so Don and I put that task on the calendar for summer. What about you?

Blessings on your Sunday.

Friday, March 16, 2012

March 17

OT – Numbers 26:1-51
Another census, another list of names. But in it are several items of interest.
1. The number of the people, despite the wars, plagues, the opening of the earth, the exploding lanterns, remains very close to the same. A few of the tribes have lost a lot –Simeon – since his leader Zimri had the gall to parade his Midianite floozy in front of Moses, and others grew quite a bit. But the overall numbers stayed about the same.
2. Being the ardent feminist that I am, the little note – Asher had a daughter names Serah (vs. 46) intrigued me. Serah is JACOB’s only living granddaughter. The tradition, according Rashi, was that when the news came to Jacob that Joseph was still alive, he fell into shock and his granddaughter Serah was sent for to play her harp and comfort him. So great was her playing that Jacob said “if your uncle is still alive, may you live forever” and she did. Eventually after many years in The Promise Land, she went to the Garden of Eden and was received alive by the cherubim who guard the entrance.
3. The other women listed as children of a man that has no sons is the beginning of the next story of whining. Stay tuned.

NT—Luke 2:36-52
Jump over to Luke 3:23, which says, “He (Jesus) was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph” and then it proceeds to list Joseph’s geneology. Back in our scripture for today, Mary makes the scolding comment to Jesus “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” to which JESUS replies “Didn’t you know I had to be my FATHER’s house?”
I have to think that the whole issue of who was Jesus’ true father is enormous in Luke’s readership/congregation. He addresses several more times than these comments and don’t forget, he has already addressed it earlier with Gabriel’s visit to Miss Mary. You just don’t get all that trash talking without some sort of issue.
That aside, even before I became a mother, I knew what MY mother would have done if I had ‘stayed’ behind, regardless of my reason. MY mother would have beat me with a broom, the yardstick she kept on the dash and beside the refrigerator, and a belt and THEN she would have told my dad and he would have whipped us all. Lollygagging is a cardinal sin in the Cole household.
So, if this is the case, and I can’t believe we were at all unique, what was Jesus thinking? And why was Luke telling this story at all?
I have theories. The first one is Luke wanted his readers to know he got his material from a primary source. He either talked to Mary or one of the other children. This is a family story. You know the ones. There are no time limits and probably at my funeral they will be telling about me falling in the trash cans and learning how to ‘swim’ at UGA. I am sure your family has them too.
The second theory has to do with the whole idea that Jesus wasn’t really human. Many people during the time that Luke wrote his gospel believed in Gnosticism, a form of Christianity that Paul rejected. One of the main tenets of Gnosticism is that Jesus was fully God, not human. Luke clearly follows Paul in rejecting that idea. Luke knew that parents everywhere fear losing their children. This really was bad behavior on Jesus’ part, no matter what he said. Jesus was clearly a human 12 year old boy who wanted to stay (for whatever, even Godly, reasons) and did. He should have told his parents.
But I have no Rashi to comment so if you feel I am going down the wrong path, feel free to challenge.

Psalm 60
My study Bible has this as the title of this Psalm:
For the director of music. To the tune of The Lily of the Covenant. A miktam (literary or musical term) of David. For teaching. When he fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
This psalm goes with 1st Chronicles 19:6-19 which is the story of one of David’s campaigns that did not go well. And that in and of itself is unusual. To the victor go the spoils. At least that is the idiom. For example, there is absolutely no mention of the Israelite departure from Egypt. The Babylonian record for Nebuchadnezzar is very different. No madness is listed. Kings don’t like their defeats and mistakes recorded. Today is no different. In China, their history books don’t list Mao’s violent killings and deportations. In Russia, little mention is made of Josef Stalin’s purges.
But David was not that way. We have just as many “I’ve made a mess” psalms as we have “the glorious victory” psalms. Maybe more. What king/leader do we know that admits he was indiscreet? None that I know of. Everything hangs out with David and for this, I am grateful. It so helps to know that I am not alone in my ups and downs and the wrongs and rights that happen to me and I cause.

Many thanks for taking the time to read and follow this blog. I cannot tell you how much I am learning and growing from reading scripture daily and having to pull my thoughts together instead of the wild tangle they normally are. I hope that you are being enriched as well.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

March 15


Sorry, couldn't resist. Don't you think Lego Balaam looks slightly like Lego Darth Vader????

NT – Luke 1:57-80
Did you notice the little family argument about John’s name? “They” came to circumcise him and “they” were going to name him Zechariah after his father.
For a long time, I did not really understand this passage. A big part of my hangup with it was the ‘naming after his father’. When I was in college, my freshman roommate was Jewish. Pam’s sister had married a Gentile (her words) and they had a baby boy while we were living together. They committed the unspeakable (and evil eye calling upon) act of naming him after his father. Pam explained that no good Jew names after a living person.
So, I couldn’t understand why this was so in John’s case. But the idea of not naming after fathers is not Biblical. This was actually a medieval custom that has persisted especially among Jews of Eastern European descent.
As a matter of fact, Josephus, the early 1st century CE Jewish turncoat of Roman writing fame, had a brother and a father, both named Mattias that he writes on and on about.
So what was the deal with the name?
One of the commentaries that I read said this was actually a way to point out that John would not be following in his father’s footsteps.
http://bible.org/seriespage/why-john-was-not-named-little-zach-luke-157-80
Having just read all the stuff in Leviticus and Numbers regarding Aaron’s descendents and the things they do and don’t do, John clearly did not follow the correct route. Even his seclusion to the desert growing up is a direct challenge to Jewish society and priestly training in the Torah which is studied in groups of youngsters, not by one, alone in the desert.

OT – Numbers 22-:21-23:30
Wow. All I can say is that Balaam must have been some kind of mighty prophet to have made Balak kill 21 bulls and 21 rams for him to divine the will of a God who is not his god. And Balaam continues to bless the Israelites.
Rashi claims that Balaam, as a sop to Balak, probably to keep his own head on his shoulders, told Balak that he could lead the Israelites astray by women instead of by force. That is tomorrow, well, yesterday for me but March 16 for anyone who knows what day of the calendar it is.
I don’t see that. Instead, I see someone who saw an angel, recognized the angel for what it? he? was, and then continued on to have a pretty serious interaction with God. I am sorry. I don’t see Balaam selling the Israelites out after having these intense meetings with God.
My personal opinion is that the Israelites needed no help going astray. They do it just fine all on their own.

Proverbs 11:12-13
The neighbor stuff. Don’t we all have issues at one time or another with our neighbors?
I am blessed with two lovely ladies on each side of me. Miss Barbara Ann babysat my boys when they were little. She has continued to love on both of them, remaining interested in their lives and what they are doing. Miss MaryBeth also has been a stalwart for us. She has shooed chickens AND TURKEYS! from her backyard with aplomb. When we were having some vandalism, she actually volunteered to take a shift watching in the night (we settled on cameras, being the high-tech group we are. Once the cameras went up, the vandalism stopped.).
But with each, we definitely have our fences. I guess fortunately, none of the three of us are party people but I can see how that might put a crimp in a relationship.
Both have prayed for my children and loved on Don and me through good times and bad. Both have loved the regular ‘gifts’ of vegetables.
Others in my neighborhood aren’t so lucky. One neighbor who definitely has mental challenges has a backdoor neighbor who will not cut down dead trees that loom over his house. Another claims that her next door neighbor’s husband is trying to seduce her. All of this stuff is lived out in the public arena of streets.
I can definitely see the wisdom of this proverb.

Blessings on your weekend. May you have rest and rejuvenation.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

March 16

Okay, I am sorry. I just realized that I had read the scripture for Friday rather than Thursday. As it is 9:45 and I am still reeling from Daylight savings time, well, this will just have to do. I will go back and read the scripture for March 15. If you feel like it, you could read the scripture and either comment on the blog or email me your comments and I will post them as the commentary for March 15. So very sorry!
My email: sylvia.mcadam@yahoo.com
NT – Luke 2:1-35
Such familiar words. I felt like I could have the capacity of simply going, well, yeah, I’ve heard those a time or two.
I decided to focus on the action verbs. Here is a partial list:
Issued, belonged, register, pledged, expecting, gave birth, wrapped, placed, keeping watch, appeared, shone, were terrified, Do Not Be Afraid, lying, praising, peace, see, found, spread, amazed, treasured, glorifying, circumcise, name, completed, present, offer, called, revealed, moved, promised, dismiss, prepared, marveled, blessed, destined, pierced.
This is another reason why I love Luke. Things HAPPEN in this gospel. In the space of 35 verses, the above and MORE happens. And it seems like each one of the verses has antecedents in books of the OT that we have already read.

Proverb 11:14
“For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.”
I am still listening to Herman Wouk’s Winds of War. Today, I listened to the section where the fictional German Commander gives his explanation of the invasion of Norway. He makes the statement that Hitler took over the army, constantly meddled in the affairs and objectives of the army and when high ranking officials contradicted him, he had them dismissed and /or killed. He also makes the statement (which our protagonist Victor Henry denies) that Churchill was the same way.
Thus, his megalomania was never challenged.
Is this true of all situations? Or is there ever a case where the leader and the leader alone should make the decisions? What if we extrapolate that all the way to God? Who advises him?
In our OT – Numbers 24:1-25:18, it seems that Moses frequently advises God. God gets really mad and Moses either falls face down or makes atonement for the sin. In this case, the men of Israel were ‘indulging’ with Moabite women and another in the leadership of the Children of Israel intervenes with God. I am not sure that I would call them advisers, but clearly, God is listening to humans.
You will recall that Moab was created when Lot got his two daughters pregnant after Sodom fell and they ran off to the caves. In his defense, the girls got him drunk but really, that isn’t an excuse.
The Moabite women tried to seduce the masses but their allies, the Midianites, aimed really high. They went after the leaders of Israel. The law says that cohabitation with a gentile is punishable by death. Moses apparently forgot this but not Phinehas. Thus, Phinehas was elevated to his grandfather Aaron’s spot. This was a clear transfer of power. Tomorrow, we will read of Moses’.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

March 14

NT: Luke 1:26-56
Even after I have read Luke a MILLION times, especially the birth story, I just realized today that Mary was not pregnant when she went to visit Elizabeth. For some reason, all these years, I had assumed that she was and the reason she had gone to Elizabeth was the time honored tradition of sending the pregnant young girl to visit her aunt.
Here is a lovely rendition of the sung Magnificat as well as beautiful imagery of the visit of Gabriel to Mary.


Click here to go to the home page of Bible in a Year if your email does not download YouTube.
Gabriel is mentioned in only one other book of the Bible – Daniel 9:21. However, the Talmud and Midrash talk about Gabriel, the Archangel of God, extensively. Just another hash mark for Luke being a good Jewish scholarly boy.

OT -- Numbers 21:1-22:20
The story of Balaam clearly resonates with the rabbis. There is page after page after page of commentary on this one gentile ‘prophet’. Later on, in the Talmud, Balaam is mentioned again as one of the seven prophets (others include JOB!!! and his four friends (did you realize they were gentiles?)) and is held in great esteem. After all, he thwarted the plans of kings to destroy the Children of Israel. Still later, Balaam is mentioned in the letter of John and also in the extra-Biblical sources of Josephus. I plan on doing more research for tomorrow’s post.

Psalm 57
“I am in the midst of lions, I lie among ravenous beasts”. While I do not currently feel that way, I have on occasions. I’ve marked this psalm as one when under assailment. And I don’t think it necessarily has to be physical. Sometimes it is emotional or mental. Maybe even spiritual.
I am really glad to have had this time to simmer in the psalms. I did not really have a good working knowledge of them and where to turn in times of trouble or despair.

I have been planting my garden this week and my body is full of aches and creaks that I don’t normally have. But it is good to be out in God’s wonderful creation of Atlanta spring and I wish you the joy of the loveliness that I have immersed in.

Monday, March 12, 2012

OT – Numbers 19:1-20:29
Fascinating text today. Of course, I didn’t understand much but once I had read my Stone Chumash and then reread the text, I think I am beginning to see.
The Red cow, according to Rashi, is the mother cleaning up after her son, the Golden Calf. She is red because that is the color of sin, hyssop cleanses (it also is an antiseptic), the red thread is made from a worm representing the sin and repentance, the use of cedar as the wood shows the height of sin and the depth you must go to receive atonement. The cow was originally burnt outside of the camp while the Children of Israel were wandering and then outside the city of Jerusalem when the temple was built. As an aside, remember where Jesus was crucified and who claimed his body. Outside of the city and a very high ranking Jew(s). Think how incredibly unclean they would have been but were willing to take on that task for Jesus.
Although it doesn’t come out and say it, 38 years pass between chapters 19 and 20. We know this because ‘the whole assembly’ (the ones who were going to enter the Promised Land) arrived. Having spent 2 years up to the time of the Red Cow, 38 years will have passed and all the elders would have died.
Here is part of the Midrash that I could not find source of in our Biblical text. Miriam was the source of the water for the whole wandering of the Children of Israel. Here is a fascinating Midrashian text about her life and purpose. Thus, when she died, the water well that had followed the Children miraculously dried up, forcing Moses to ‘speak’ to the rock. Of course, he spoke really sharply i.e. he hit it twice thus causing his own demise.
At one of the interfaith dinners that I went to this winter, one of the rabbis was talking about WHY they have all the Midrash and the commentaries. He said the early rabbis used Midrash, the myths and legends, as sermon illustrations. The commentaries, he said, were another story. He said the rabbis would get together and argue for hours over one brief line of text. Sometimes, 1000 years would separate one arguer from another.
The commentary that I am using, the Stone Chumash, primarily follows Rashi, one of the wisest of the rabbis from the early 11th century CE. There are few others who appear in my commentary like Ramban, or Or Hisch. My rabbi friend from interfaith says that my Stone is like ‘commentary lite’. I don’t care. I have learned more and dug deeper into these words as a result of this commentary and I highly recommend one for you.
Just as a reminder, the people of Edom were Esau’s descendants. Guess who they did not want to pass through their land? Right, Jacob’s descendants. Even here, the ancient enmity as a result of bad parenting on the part of Isaac and Rebecca is still causing problems.

NT – Luke!!!!! 1:1-25
I love this YouTube of comedian Steve Harvey
“How would you introduce Jesus”.


Click here to take you to the main page of Bible in a Year if the YouTube does not appear in your email version.

Luke is the first of two, some say three volumes. The second volume is The Acts of the Apostles. Because Acts ends rather abruptly with Paul sailing off to Rome, it has been speculated that Luke intended to write a 3rd volume but it has either been lost or he died before he completed it.
Many people say that Luke was a physician and certainly, there are lots of details in Luke that are absent from Matthew and especially Mr. Spare, Mark. Whoever the author was, he was probably a Jew due to his extensive knowledge of Jewish history and law. However, who he is speaking to is probably a good mix of Gentiles and Jews. He is concerned with the Messiahship of Jesus, like Matthew, but not overly so with proving via the Prophets. He explains and examines Jewish customs in the way that Matthew simply assumed his readers knew and understood. The story telling and the parables that are elaborate and detailed point to an audience that was familiar with Greek stories, myths, and plays. And also with an audience that already had a rudimentary knowledge of Christianity but he wants to ‘know the certainty’.
Of all the gospels, Luke is my favorite. I love his treatment of women, I love the stories and I love the parables. I am looking forward to these days of study.

Peace and Grace to you all.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

March 12

OT – Numbers 16:41-18.32
What did I tell you? Sure enough, the next stinking day, the Israelites are grumbling against Moses! And they get a plague and killed 14,700! Is that enough to stop the grumbling? Well, you know it isn’t.
Same Bat time, same Bat channel. More dead Israelites.

NT – Mark 16:1-20

This video is about the added on ending for Mark.


As an aside, I have noticed that YouTube videos don't download in my email copy of this post, if that is the case, go to the main page so you can watch this YouTube.
Click here for the main page of Bible in a Year

Psalm 55:1-23
How well I know the feeling of this psalmist! I live more in my head than I do in the real world, I think. My fears in my head can sometimes overwhelm me as they do the psalmist. Let’s look at what keeps the fears at bay for him.
1. He is praying. Rather than simply stewing about all of his problems, he has listed them out for the Lord.
2. He is aware that he needs to flee to a place of safety and he has decided that the safest place is not ‘out there, somewhere’, it is with God.

Blessings on your week

Saturday, March 10, 2012

March 11

NT – Mark 15:1-47
Our scripture today is the crucifixion of Jesus. In Mark’s gospel, as in most of the rest of his gospel, the telling is spare, with few elaborations and few details. One detail that struck my interest was the passage about Joseph of Arimathea.
Arimathea is not located on any map. It is referred to as a ‘city in Judea’ and the town of Ramatha (the birthplace of Samuel) is often mentioned as the actual town.
Many legends surround Joseph but here is what is known from the scripture. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Grand Council of Jerusalem. He was wealthy and politically well connected. This was because the Sanhedrin was composed of 71 of the ruling elders of Israel. Since the Sanhedrin were the ones who prosecuted and recommended to Pilate that Jesus be killed, we can assume that Joseph was acting in direct opposition to what the Council wished. The gospel of John says that Nicodemus helped Joseph with the wrapping of the body but Matthew, Mark and Luke only mention Joseph.
Okay, now here is what is legend. Joseph of Arimathea was reportedly Jesus’ great uncle, the brother of Anna the prophetess who sees Jesus when he is brought to the Temple for his consecration on the eighth day. After the resurrection of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea supposedly left for his tin holdings on the coast of Cornwall, Great Britain, the source of his wealth. There he supposedly established the church at Glastonbury, the oldest church in Great Britain.

Psalm 54
Here is another example of the power of names in the Bible. The Psalmist asks God to save him ‘by his name’. Remember the passage in Leviticus where the son of the Danite woman and the Egyptian man (Leviticus 24) used the name of the Lord as a curse and God had him stoned to death. In this case, the psalmist wants the Lord to destroy his enemies by using the name of the Lord.

OT – Numbers 15:17-16:40
I do not know what to say about chapter 16 in Numbers. In my pride and arrogance, I can see how the elders would challenge Moses. He is constantly making new decrees and the micromanagement of the Children of Israel would drive me crazy! But then I think about what it would take to move that many people that far, feeding everyone, settling the squabbles and the trials and tribulations, and I feel great admiration for Moses. And I get the whole concept of a challenge to Moses is a challenge to God. It just seems incredibly harsh to have all the wives, children and possessions swallowed alive by the earth. And all the 250 men burnt alive. If I had witnessed that, would I ever have challenged Moses again? I would think not. But I know it is coming and coming fast.

I hope you have a Blessed Sunday filled with family, friends and the nurture of Scripture.

Friday, March 9, 2012

March 10

Proverb 11:4
I read the proverb “wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” did my usual head bob as in ‘yes, yes, that is so true. Let’s move on.” But then I got to thinking about it. For one thing, why would righteousness deliver you from death? Plenty of really good, loving people are killed every day. I am listening to The Winds of War by Herman Wouk and having already read the book several times, I know what is going to happen. I know people I care about are going to the concentration camps and they are going to die. Being good didn’t save them or any of the other devout 6 millions. And what about those nuns that were killed after being kidnapped and raped? Weren’t they righteous? The surviving one said they were. She said they absolved their killers of the sin of killing them as it was happening. Didn’t save them.
That must not be what the proverb means.
So I went back to the first part of the couplet. Remember that Hebrew poetry and epigrams are frequently in direct contradiction with one another as a means to illuminate.
Maybe the key is ‘day of wrath’. If Solomon or one of his advisors wrote these proverbs, the day of wrath would have been a military take over. Maybe even a coup. So during a military takeover, your money will not save you but being good, will. And if this is true, why? Would people be more likely to help you and your family during a military crisis if you had been good to them or theirs? Possibly.
I still do not think I understand what the proverb means.
Maybe the direct contradiction has to do with worthless wealth vs. righteousness. Maybe this is the OT version of ‘money won’t buy you love’?
Righteousness means living within the accordance of God’s will. Inability to sin. Morally upright. Is wealthy person incapable of being righteous?
I am still perplexed. On the surface, this one seems logical. Maybe it is that I, a wealthy person, do not want it to be true? But I am fully aware of how very far from the mark I am on righteousness. But when I think of people like Truett Cathy or Dorothy Day, Bill Gates, among the wealthiest people in the world, I think of them as righteous. I really do.
Let me know what you think.

OT – Numbers 14:1-15:16
This is the infamous passage where the entire crew is set to wandering for 40 years to wait out the death of the above 20 year olds. Maybe this is not a problem for God but always, when I am punishing Matthew and Cole, I have to wonder, how much this is going to cost me in time and effort. In God’s case, He had to stick it out over the tent for those 40 years and listen to all their boo-hoos. And did you notice! Those bozos didn’t make it one week before they were going full throttle ahead and trying to enter the promised land on their own. This is after watching all the spies drop dead from plague because they spread ill rumors. Rashi says that while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, there was not illness except illness brought on by being out of sync (like Miriam yesterday) with God. No normal measles, mumps or colds. The children of Israel were divinely protected on this journey. Except when they were bad. Then, they died of the diseases like wildfire.

NT – Mark 14:53-72
Even to the end, Mark’s Jesus is secretive, non-disclosure. He will not give up his identity to his adversaries. And did you notice, the girl called Jesus a Nazarene but Peter was a Galilean. (vs. 67-70).

Friends, at this time of the year, so many things are happening in our lives. If you need to miss a day from the reading, go with God. But come right back to it and pick up where we are. Don’t give up. We have so much fascinating material ahead of us.
And I would love it if you would pass along this blog to others who might like to join us.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

March 9


NT -- Mark 14:22-52
I love this.



My Bible Dictionary has an interesting note about 14:51-52. "Early church history suggests that the naked young man was Mark, the gospel writer himself. Perhaps he - in his night clothes - had followed the disciples from his home where Jesus and the Twelve had earlier celebrated the Last Supper (inferred from Acts 12:12). He may be including a bit of his own biography, however shameful, right in the middle of this dramatic story." Then, of course, I had to go to Acts 12:12. I could not infer that from the text which was about Peter escaping from prison and going to Mark's home as an escapee. But it was interesting none the less.

Psalm 52
Now this is appropriate today. I read in the paper today about The New Orleans Saint football team that put bounties on opposing players. If that isn't evil, I simply do not know what is. And this is bound to bring down a bunch of people's careers and lives.
Check out this link. And prepare to see Psalm 52 play out in front of us on the TV and newspaper.
Saints Football Team

Proverbs 11:1-3
Nowadays, we pick up a package of hamburger and it says 1 pound and we believe it. In Bible days, they used weights and measures. Dishonest merchants had shaved or hollow weights. You had to know your seller in order to be sure you weren't being cheated. And in some cases, the merchant was honest for one, dishonest for another. These are not Godly virtues.
I remember reading Centennial years ago by James Michener and one of the 'measures of a man' that Levi Zendt believed about his older brother Mahluf whom he despised Mahluf's weights and measures were 'true'. And if he didn't add a pinch on, neither did he take a pinch off with bad weights. As an aside, that was one of the first books that I read that I recognized the Jacob/Esau struggle in literature. When I wrote a paper about it for my tenth grade teacher Peggy Dyer, she gave me a D for using 'worthless trash' as my book choice. Humph.

OT -- Numbers 11:24-13:33
See what I mean about reading ahead? I was totally taken aback by God's response to the people eating the quail. But a little poking around on the web made me realize that nobody said thank you. My Stone Chumash said it was only the whine instigators who were killed.
I also did not understand why only Miriam got the leprosy but the Stone had a comment about that as well. Moses was not having marital relations with Zipporah because he had to remain ritually pure at all times in case he had to hear God's word. Zipporah by chance remark let Miriam know who told Aaron. She was concerned that Moses was incorrect. God himself appeared to chastise them and put Moses' prophesy was of a higher order which meant he had to remain ritually pure. This exchange is the basis for all the rules and regulations against slander by the the Jewish people.

May you hear all the story. Peace and grace to each of you as you read and meditate on the Word.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

March 8


Mary Magdalene

Psalm 51
This is what the title in my Bible says about this psalm: “For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.”
For such a familiar psalm, reading it this evening I thought of several new things. The first is how PUBLIC this whole repentance thing was for David. When I think of ‘damage control’ for leaders today, they don’t jump up and admit what stupid fools they were. Instead, what we get is spin. This was NOT what David did. He is practically debasing himself here. The second is the mention in vs. 11 of the Holy Spirit. As in, don’t take it from him. I don’t recall another instance when it is named that way. And clearly David had the Holy Spirit with him. Do you? Third, when I checked out what hyssop was (vs. 7), it is a varietal of oregano and has massive antibiotic and antiseptic properties. It is used extensively in herbal medicines to control and eradicate diseases. Which led me to the thought – did David think he would get whatever killed the baby? And that is why he is cleansing himself with hyssop? http://www.hyssophealth.com/
Finally, it is only GOD who can make the clean heart. Not you, not me. Only God. Another in the long line of faith not works hash marks. But do you get one (clean heart) just because you ask for it?
Listen to this lovely rendition of the hymn, Create in me a clean heart:


NT – Mark 14:1-21
Just in case there is still lingering doubt, notice that the woman is NOT Mary Magdalene. She is unnamed in Mark and Matthew. In John, she is named Mary but it is at Lazarus’ home in Bethany this happens and Martha serves dinner. So it is THAT Mary, not the Magdalene. I do not know nor do I buy Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code why everyone thought it was the Magdalene who poured the perfume. So much so that there are countless pictures of Mary the Magdalene with her red dress on and her jar of perfume.
I was struck that Judas’s betrayal came immediately after the anointing. Kings are anointed but I guess not by women. And kings don’t get anointed and then say they are about to die. So was the final straw the woman, the anointing or the declaration of a rapidly approaching death? I find Judas to be one of the most enigmatic characters in the New Testament. I just simply do not understand him or his actions.

Numbers 10:1-11:23
This is actually an observation from yesterday but it carried over to today as well. Did you notice that the Israelites WAITED for the Lord to move before they did? Even when they were griping and complaining, they waited. I don’t do that nearly enough.
The whole issue of not having meat and that whole exchange with Moses about the meat coming out of their nostrils is way funny to me. So much so that I had to read ahead to March 9 just to see how it turns out. Don’t do it. Leave some suspense.

I hope that you are finding Numbers more enjoyable than Leviticus. In an email exchange today with one of my rabbi friends, I said as much. His response is to enjoy it while you can because Deuteronomy is coming (but not until March 23). Fie on that sentiment. I am loving where we are and besides, I am on the watch list for Jesus.

Blessings to you and yours this lovely, almost Spring evening.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

March 7

Before I even get started, let me say how very much the internet has helped me in this Bible Study. I could not have done it without its vast resources. That being said, I always try to get more than one website to corroborate what the meaning is because I have to say, there is a lot of sketchy stuff about the Bible out there on the internet.

NT – Mark 13:14-17
The phrase ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ is a reference to Daniel 9. In specific, it is to the coming of the Messiah after the destruction of Jerusalem. Here is a great website that explains all of that.
abomination
When I read these parts of the Bible and I do not know what they mean, they tend to frighten me. Once I have read some commentary, I settle down and can think rationally.
I do believe that the apocalyptic literature in the Bible is meant to frighten us. But in a very specific way. Just as the Nazirites yesterday were using their vows to draw closer to God, so is the material that talks about the end times. God is searching for us so desperately and although we THINK there is all the time in the world, there really isn’t. Our time may be up in 5 minutes. This may be all the chance you get. This is the reason for Jesus’ urgency. Get ready. Watch. You don’t know when. It could be NOW.
But what if it isn’t, asks the incessant brat in my head. As a child, this would have caused me to just go crazy and wild. As an adult, I just think it is prudent planning. We plan for house repairs because, while the dishwasher may not break today, it certainly will in the near future. After all, Don and I have lived in this house 19 years and we have yet to go 24 months without a huge dishwasher repair bill or a new dishwasher. This is true about faith as well. Get ready!

OT – Numbers 8:1-9:23
Reading about the age limits on the Levites made me ponder the question of Eli and Elizabeth from the Luke. I marked this spot and intend to come back to it when we start Luke in a few days. When you are reading these really obscure (at least they are obscure to me. I have never really simmered in any of this material), do you start wondering about how this parlays into Jesus’ story? My ADD mind starts jumping from gospel to gospel trying to figure which one it is in. Do you do the same?
Which then leads me to the web and I get drawn down into a million other exciting and interesting paths. None of which helps me with the scripture that I am supposed to be studying and blogging about. But before I return to that, let me give you a website that I found that while it is not publishing new reviews, has a bunch of recent reviews of books that I intend to read.
Second Pass
But back to the scripture. I realize that we rarely come into contact with a dead body. At least most of us don’t . But apparently, this was a very common occurrence in Exodus times since they had a whole provision for Passover for those who were ceremonially unclean due to the dead. You have to feel sorry for the housewife who has to do all that cleaning more than once. When I looked into my Stone Chumash, it , of course, offered a totally different take. The dead body that the Israelites were in contact with was Joseph’s. All those who took turns carrying Joseph’s remains were unclean for the period of time after their turn was over. (Remember that Joseph had asked his brothers to take his body home to Israel when they went and the descendents remembered and brought his bones.) Rashi says that they may also have come upon an unidentified corpse in the course of their wanderings and this would also trigger the second Pesach (Passover). But the reason for the exception granted was because carrying Joseph’s body was REQUIRED of them and thus, the contamination was not their fault. Truthfully, I had forgotten all about Joseph. Thank goodness I was not in charge.

Psalm 50:1-23
How interesting, since we are constantly dealing with sacrifices in Numbers, that this Psalm says God doesn’t need them. “since every animal of the forest is mine”. I realize I have a 21st century take on it, but it does seem like a lot of good meat wasted burning up for the smell to please God. Or in my cynical mind, to feed the priests. You will have to excuse me. In my real job I am paid to be a cynic and it is hard to suspend this when it comes to my children (just ask them “don’t you believe me??? (when I lie….)) or when I read certain passages in the Bible. I do try but really – so many bulls just to get the Levites ‘clean’?
In reality, this psalm is a 2 stanza poem. One that is addressed to the righteous “just offer thanks” and one stanza addressed to the wicked “I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face”. The coda is the last 2 verses and you get a clear choice – either be on the righteous side and you will get salvation or on the forgetting God side and you will be torn to pieces. For goodness sake, let’s all choose the righteous side.

May God have mercy on us all as we try to remember Jesus’ urgings to Watch and the Psalmist request that we go to the Light.