August 17

OT -- Nehemiah 12:27-13:31
Remember Nehemiah, O God for the following sins he fixed:
1. Nobody was bringing offerings to the Temple and the priests had all gone home. He threw out the foreigner who had taken up residence and called the priests back to the Temple and exacted a Temple tax a.k.a a tithe
2. Nobody was keeping the Sabbath and they were selling on the Sabbath. Nehemiah put guards (doesn't sound like they got a Sabbath, but who is counting?) on the gates and said he would beat them up if he caught them again selling on the Sabbath.
3. Men of Judah married foreign women and had babies with them. Nehemiah pulled out their hair, sent away the high born ones and threatened violence if they let their children marry foreigners.

Somehow, in the midst of all the awful things that were happening, these were the corrections that Nehemiah wants God to pat him on the back for. Go Nehemiah.

NT -- 1st Corinthians 11:3-16
This is one of the most inane arguments Paul makes in any of his letters. It is about hair. Please.
Oh. And also how men are the authority over women which is why women have to pray with their heads covered so that God sees the mark that they are under authority.
The next time someone tells me that Paul was not a chauvinist, I am pointing them to these scriptures. And the fact that they come two chapters before the "Love Chapter" is almost ludicrous.

Proverbs 21:17-18
He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

This is one of the proverbs that the Puritans would have etched over their doors in their homes. A lot of us have Puritan leanings. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. But to not take pleasure at all, is to ignore the beauty and the goodness of life. And wine and good food in moderation are one of life's chief pleasures.
Today, for example, we had green beans right out of the garden, stewed okra with fresh tomatoes and garlic, all grown here, cucumber, onion and tomato salad, ditto and the most amazing honeydew melon I have had in a long time. We shouldn't relish that?
The Good News translation has a different spin on it:
Indulging in luxuries, wine, and good food will never make you wealthy.
That makes me feel better. Indulging seems 'to excess'.
I guess there is a fair balance between 'indulging' and 'relishing'.

May we also know the difference.