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.