Wilderness & The Law.
Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Their pursuers, the Egyptians, are no more. Now God is testing them, and they are grumbling. But God is still faithful. He feeds and waters them, and they grumble still. He delivers them in battle.
Moses father-in-law visits Moses and gives him wise council - delegate. Don't do everything yourself, let other able people step in and get involved too.
Now they arrive at Mt. Sinai. God is there and Moses goes and meets with God on the mountain. The people are afraid. They won't enter into God's presence.
God gives laws to Moses for Israel.
Modern Christians tend to step away from the Old Testament law because it is confusing and apparently contradictory to the way of Jesus. Many of these laws carry punishment of death. This seems severe to us. "Would Jesus kill these sinners?", we ask, "What would Jesus do?" I know we are under a new covenant - the wages of sin are still death, but that has been paid by Christ's blood. So my thought is that these rules should not be disregarded, I believe that there is still reason to study the law, because it reveals something about God's character. It also shows how far we fall when we attempt to be holy on our own. I think there is even merit in saying that the principles of these laws may be valid still.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Exodus 10-15
The end of the plagues and Israel leaving Egypt.
God continues to plague the Egyptians, but Pharaoh still will not let all of the Israelites go. The passages repeatedly say that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. This is a little troubling, but the main point here is not Pharaoh - but what God is doing for the Israelites. The text says that 600,000 men left Egypt, plus women, children, and animals. There is no way that group was going to leave Egypt without a fight. The Egyptians depended on the Israelites as laborers. Not only that, but Israel also left with gold and silver from Egypt.
Again, there is no way that this happens unless the Egyptians are so broken that they will not put up a fight.
Finally, God leads Israel into the desert and leads them by cloud or pillar of fire. When the Egyptians give chase on chariots, God delivers Israel through the Red Sea and smites the Egyptians. All this to show Israel who He is.
God continues to plague the Egyptians, but Pharaoh still will not let all of the Israelites go. The passages repeatedly say that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. This is a little troubling, but the main point here is not Pharaoh - but what God is doing for the Israelites. The text says that 600,000 men left Egypt, plus women, children, and animals. There is no way that group was going to leave Egypt without a fight. The Egyptians depended on the Israelites as laborers. Not only that, but Israel also left with gold and silver from Egypt.
Again, there is no way that this happens unless the Egyptians are so broken that they will not put up a fight.
Finally, God leads Israel into the desert and leads them by cloud or pillar of fire. When the Egyptians give chase on chariots, God delivers Israel through the Red Sea and smites the Egyptians. All this to show Israel who He is.
Poverty
Pastor Richard just got back from Africa. He blogs about his realization of relational poverty in America. I think he is right. People in the states are continuously bombarded with distraction. Even if you are conscientious of it, there is still plenty of distraction from all the omnipresent technology that surrounds us, so we have to make it a priority to focus on a single thing.
Relationships require time and they require communication. It is hard to communicate if you are distracted.
Relational Poverty - In what ways?
Sideways Man to Man - We shelter ourselves most of the time so that we don't have to be vulnerable with each other. "I'm fine" is our response when asked how we are doing. For men, we don't want to be weak and show too much emotion. We build our fortresses so that we are well defended from the world.
Up Man to God - As humans, I think that we personify God. Not purposefully as a limiter, but rather so that we can understand him in a relate-able way. Can you conceptualize the infinite? I can't, most of the time I approximate with something large, but finite. So, if we don't relate well to other people, it will be hard to relate with God too.
Down Man to Nature - The first charge of Man in Genesis is to care for nature. I would say we are not doing well here either. Just look around when you are outside.
Relationships require time and they require communication. It is hard to communicate if you are distracted.
Relational Poverty - In what ways?
Sideways Man to Man - We shelter ourselves most of the time so that we don't have to be vulnerable with each other. "I'm fine" is our response when asked how we are doing. For men, we don't want to be weak and show too much emotion. We build our fortresses so that we are well defended from the world.
Up Man to God - As humans, I think that we personify God. Not purposefully as a limiter, but rather so that we can understand him in a relate-able way. Can you conceptualize the infinite? I can't, most of the time I approximate with something large, but finite. So, if we don't relate well to other people, it will be hard to relate with God too.
Down Man to Nature - The first charge of Man in Genesis is to care for nature. I would say we are not doing well here either. Just look around when you are outside.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Exodus 1-9
Jacob's family multiplied in Egypt, and the new Pharoah feared them, and made them slaves. He also ordered the male sons of the Jews be killed but the midwives feared God and did not kill all the boys.
God does not forget the Israelites. He goes to Moses and tells him that he will be the one to deliver Israel.
Moses has many reasons not to go, but eventually he does. But Pharaoh is not willing to hear from Moses and does not fear God.
God tells Moses to expect Pharaoh to be obstinate, because God has hardened the heart Pharaoh, that God might display his power through the coming events.
So many plagues of nature occur because Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go. Many of the plagues are replicated by Pharaoh's magicians as well causing Pharaoh to doubt in the power of God.
I wonder if today we are in similar mindset as Pharaoh regarding supernatural signs. I think my default position is to explain things as just natural phenomena, rather then looking for divine explanation. However, just because we can pinpoint a scientific cause should not be a reason to discount God's revelation. God, may I have eyes to see, really see.
God does not forget the Israelites. He goes to Moses and tells him that he will be the one to deliver Israel.
Moses has many reasons not to go, but eventually he does. But Pharaoh is not willing to hear from Moses and does not fear God.
God tells Moses to expect Pharaoh to be obstinate, because God has hardened the heart Pharaoh, that God might display his power through the coming events.
So many plagues of nature occur because Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go. Many of the plagues are replicated by Pharaoh's magicians as well causing Pharaoh to doubt in the power of God.
I wonder if today we are in similar mindset as Pharaoh regarding supernatural signs. I think my default position is to explain things as just natural phenomena, rather then looking for divine explanation. However, just because we can pinpoint a scientific cause should not be a reason to discount God's revelation. God, may I have eyes to see, really see.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Gen 34-50
Jacob and Joseph.
Jacob's daughter is raped by a Hivite man and Jacob's sons hear about it, so they go, decieve the Hivites into getting circumcised, then slaughter all the men in the village. Jacob rebukes them for this but they are defiant.
God appears to Jacob and tells him to go to Bethel. Jacob then tells his house to destroy all there foreign gods and go with him. Interesting that prior to the move, Jacob allowed the people of his household to have the gods, but the movement prompted him to cleanse his house.
While they move, the neighboring people are afraid of Jacob because of what they have heard about the slaughtering.
Jacob's favorite son's were Joseph and Benjamin, who were Rachel's sons. He was particularly fond of Joseph. This made his other brothers jealous. When he was 17, Joseph had several dreams pointing to his time in Egypt which made his brothers even more resentful. So they plotted to kill Joseph, but in the end they sold him to slave traders and then told Jacob that they had found Joseph's coat and it was covered in blood.
Joseph was sold to an Egyptian, he was put in charge, but then was falsely accused of rape and was thrown in prison. But he again was put in a favorable position within the prison. Joseph interprets dreams for some of the servants of Pharaoh, so when Pharaoh has dreams he needs interpreting, Joseph is brought because no one else can tell Pharaoh their meaning. Joseph does the job, and Pharaoh is so impressed, that he puts Joseph in charge of the grain storage for the upcoming years of famine.
Jacob and his sons are also affected by the famine. So Jacob sends all his sons except Benjamin to Egypt to buy grain. In the end, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and their whole family moves to Egypt and are blessed greatly because of Joseph.
Jacob's daughter is raped by a Hivite man and Jacob's sons hear about it, so they go, decieve the Hivites into getting circumcised, then slaughter all the men in the village. Jacob rebukes them for this but they are defiant.
God appears to Jacob and tells him to go to Bethel. Jacob then tells his house to destroy all there foreign gods and go with him. Interesting that prior to the move, Jacob allowed the people of his household to have the gods, but the movement prompted him to cleanse his house.
While they move, the neighboring people are afraid of Jacob because of what they have heard about the slaughtering.
Jacob's favorite son's were Joseph and Benjamin, who were Rachel's sons. He was particularly fond of Joseph. This made his other brothers jealous. When he was 17, Joseph had several dreams pointing to his time in Egypt which made his brothers even more resentful. So they plotted to kill Joseph, but in the end they sold him to slave traders and then told Jacob that they had found Joseph's coat and it was covered in blood.
Joseph was sold to an Egyptian, he was put in charge, but then was falsely accused of rape and was thrown in prison. But he again was put in a favorable position within the prison. Joseph interprets dreams for some of the servants of Pharaoh, so when Pharaoh has dreams he needs interpreting, Joseph is brought because no one else can tell Pharaoh their meaning. Joseph does the job, and Pharaoh is so impressed, that he puts Joseph in charge of the grain storage for the upcoming years of famine.
Jacob and his sons are also affected by the famine. So Jacob sends all his sons except Benjamin to Egypt to buy grain. In the end, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and their whole family moves to Egypt and are blessed greatly because of Joseph.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Some Thoughts
Two somewhat related thoughts from separate blog posts the other morning:
Not in Theory but in Practice
“The purpose of the church is not to prove Christianity is true, but to demonstrate what the world is like if it is.” - Stanley Hauerwas
This is absolutely true. Thinking a bit about the proof part of that statement: Having faith in God is something not provable by it's nature. It is an assumption. Thus attempting to "prove" it will always fail, even if all the logic of your argument is perfect. Unlike science, where you first examine the evidence, test it, re-test it, replicate it, etc. then come to a conclusion; with faith in God you have to first make the conclusion, and then you get the evidence.
Anyway, the above link is to a blog post on Pastor Rob Fairbank's blog. He is teaching a course at Whitworth University this Jan term about the missional church, and his students are sharing his blog space this month. Rob was the pastor of the church I attended in college.
Does God Laugh at our Resolutions?
Another interesting post. There is a great mystery in scripture between free will and God's sovereignty. I don't know exactly how that all plays out, but i'm becoming more convinced that even though God may be moving us all the time, we don't always know it and our paths are not always crystal clear. In fact, I would say that most of the time, from my own perspective, I could choose many directions, all good and ultimately have to make a step on my own. I think point 3 is the important one. God is not going to make us go out and live into our calling. We have to take initiative and do the walking and the work. Yes, sometimes this involves risks, and sometimes we will screw up, but trying and failing is better than doing nothing at all, because at least you learn what doesn't work.
Related in the following way: Living the Christian life is about living each small step of our lives following Jesus and reflecting that to those around us.
Not in Theory but in Practice
“The purpose of the church is not to prove Christianity is true, but to demonstrate what the world is like if it is.” - Stanley Hauerwas
This is absolutely true. Thinking a bit about the proof part of that statement: Having faith in God is something not provable by it's nature. It is an assumption. Thus attempting to "prove" it will always fail, even if all the logic of your argument is perfect. Unlike science, where you first examine the evidence, test it, re-test it, replicate it, etc. then come to a conclusion; with faith in God you have to first make the conclusion, and then you get the evidence.
Anyway, the above link is to a blog post on Pastor Rob Fairbank's blog. He is teaching a course at Whitworth University this Jan term about the missional church, and his students are sharing his blog space this month. Rob was the pastor of the church I attended in college.
Does God Laugh at our Resolutions?
Another interesting post. There is a great mystery in scripture between free will and God's sovereignty. I don't know exactly how that all plays out, but i'm becoming more convinced that even though God may be moving us all the time, we don't always know it and our paths are not always crystal clear. In fact, I would say that most of the time, from my own perspective, I could choose many directions, all good and ultimately have to make a step on my own. I think point 3 is the important one. God is not going to make us go out and live into our calling. We have to take initiative and do the walking and the work. Yes, sometimes this involves risks, and sometimes we will screw up, but trying and failing is better than doing nothing at all, because at least you learn what doesn't work.
Related in the following way: Living the Christian life is about living each small step of our lives following Jesus and reflecting that to those around us.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Gen 25-33
Issac and his sons, Jacob and Esau.
Jacob steals the birthright and blessings of the firstborn; meant for Esau, with the help of his mother. Jacob then goes to live with is relatives to find a wife. On his way to the house of Laben, he has a dream and sees a ladder into heaven. And God tells Jacob he will bless him. Jacob is afraid, but he builds an alter there and anoints it.
When he arrives to the house of Laben, he is told to work 7 years so that he can marry Laben's younger daughter, Rachel. But, Laben then gives him his older daughter, Leah to marry. So Jacob has to work another 7 years to earn Rachel.
Jacob is also put in charge of the herds of sheep and goats. But Jacob makes sure that his flock ends up being the strong flock, and Laben's flock is the weak one. Jacob is afraid that Laben will take back what he has given, so he flees with his family and possessions, but Laben gives chase.
Laben catches up, and they make an agreement to be peaceable with each other and Jacob and his family continue towards the land of Issac.
Then they approach Esau's land, and they hear that Esau is coming to meet them with 400 men. And again, Jacob is afraid. So he divides up his company, and sends in front of them several large gifts of livestock for Esau.
In the night, Jacob wrestles with "a man". Jacob will not let go until he is blessed. So the man tells Jacob that God he will bless Jacob. But, he also injures Jacob's hip.
Finally Esau arrives, but is not coming to attack Jacob, and they reconcile.
Jacob works very hard to get himself blessings, and then is reluctant and even fearful of losing them. Even when God directly reveals to him that he will be blessed, Jacob still clings to what he has. And yet, God has chosen him to be the father of great nations.
Jacob steals the birthright and blessings of the firstborn; meant for Esau, with the help of his mother. Jacob then goes to live with is relatives to find a wife. On his way to the house of Laben, he has a dream and sees a ladder into heaven. And God tells Jacob he will bless him. Jacob is afraid, but he builds an alter there and anoints it.
When he arrives to the house of Laben, he is told to work 7 years so that he can marry Laben's younger daughter, Rachel. But, Laben then gives him his older daughter, Leah to marry. So Jacob has to work another 7 years to earn Rachel.
Jacob is also put in charge of the herds of sheep and goats. But Jacob makes sure that his flock ends up being the strong flock, and Laben's flock is the weak one. Jacob is afraid that Laben will take back what he has given, so he flees with his family and possessions, but Laben gives chase.
Laben catches up, and they make an agreement to be peaceable with each other and Jacob and his family continue towards the land of Issac.
Then they approach Esau's land, and they hear that Esau is coming to meet them with 400 men. And again, Jacob is afraid. So he divides up his company, and sends in front of them several large gifts of livestock for Esau.
In the night, Jacob wrestles with "a man". Jacob will not let go until he is blessed. So the man tells Jacob that God he will bless Jacob. But, he also injures Jacob's hip.
Finally Esau arrives, but is not coming to attack Jacob, and they reconcile.
Jacob works very hard to get himself blessings, and then is reluctant and even fearful of losing them. Even when God directly reveals to him that he will be blessed, Jacob still clings to what he has. And yet, God has chosen him to be the father of great nations.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gen 22-24
Revalation: Gen 22:2
"Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Issac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you:
Response:
So Abraham rose early in the morning... and went to the place God had told him.
Ultimately, at the moment Abraham is about to kill Issac, God steps in and provides a ram for the sacrifice and again blesses Abraham, for he has proven himself ultimately faithful.
"Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Issac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you:
Response:
So Abraham rose early in the morning... and went to the place God had told him.
Ultimately, at the moment Abraham is about to kill Issac, God steps in and provides a ram for the sacrifice and again blesses Abraham, for he has proven himself ultimately faithful.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Genesis 19-21
Trying a new format today.
Revelation:
Gen 19:15
And when the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying "Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."
Response:
Lot hesitated.
Next steps:
The angels took Lot and his family by the hand and took them out of the city.
I find this to be a very interesting response. Lot lived in an evil place. Obviously, the people of the town did not treat his guests well, but still there was something in the place that caused both Lot and his wife to hesitate leaving.
There are so many examples early on in the scriptures about God calling people, but the people instead stayed put. The revelation to me is that I need to be a person who is willing to move when God asks.
Another interesting bit from today's passage is that Abraham again enters a new land, and again tells the leader there that Sarah is his sister, not his wife. So the leader, Abimelech, takes Sarah and is cursed. Abraham's reasoning is that if the person knew Sarah was his wife, they would kill Abraham. Again we see the doubt of Abraham.
Then Sarah has a son, Issac. After this, she tells Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away in to the wilderness. Perhaps I don't understand all of the cultural aspects here, but it seems that Sarah is very unkind to Hagar throughout this story. Especially since it was Sarah's idea that Abraham try to have a child with Hagar. Despite this, God is faithful to Hagar on behalf of his blessing to Abraham, and promises to make Ishmael into a great nation as well.
Revelation:
Gen 19:15
And when the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying "Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."
Response:
Lot hesitated.
Next steps:
The angels took Lot and his family by the hand and took them out of the city.
I find this to be a very interesting response. Lot lived in an evil place. Obviously, the people of the town did not treat his guests well, but still there was something in the place that caused both Lot and his wife to hesitate leaving.
There are so many examples early on in the scriptures about God calling people, but the people instead stayed put. The revelation to me is that I need to be a person who is willing to move when God asks.
Another interesting bit from today's passage is that Abraham again enters a new land, and again tells the leader there that Sarah is his sister, not his wife. So the leader, Abimelech, takes Sarah and is cursed. Abraham's reasoning is that if the person knew Sarah was his wife, they would kill Abraham. Again we see the doubt of Abraham.
Then Sarah has a son, Issac. After this, she tells Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away in to the wilderness. Perhaps I don't understand all of the cultural aspects here, but it seems that Sarah is very unkind to Hagar throughout this story. Especially since it was Sarah's idea that Abraham try to have a child with Hagar. Despite this, God is faithful to Hagar on behalf of his blessing to Abraham, and promises to make Ishmael into a great nation as well.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Genesis 1-18
The creation narrative reveals God's power over the universe. I don't understand the timing of creation nor the physics of it. I believe that debates regarding the nature of creation or it's time line will always be tainted by the suppositions of the reader, so there is little value in this discussion. What is revealed here is the power of God. God is outside of time as well, so i'm not sure our framework of understanding is even capable of understanding what that might be like.
We see that one of the first commands from God is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As soon as Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they realized guilt and shame, and their response was to first hide, then when confronted, they point the blame on others.
The next event is the story of Cain and Abel. They both bring sacrifices to God, but Cain's is rejected by God, while Abel's is accepted. As a result, Cain is so angry that he kills Abel. God then sends Cain to be a vagrant and a wanderer. Cain fears this, but God offers him protection. But instead of wandering and relying on God, Cain leaves and settles down and has a family and builds a city where he can rely on himself.
Noah and the flood is a well known story. I thought it was interesting that after the flood was over, God tells Noah that animals are now ok to be eaten as food.
Another well known story is the Tower of Babel. After the flood God told Noah's descendants to go and populate the earth. However, they move to Babel, decide they don't want to scatter and instead they want to make a tower and a name for themselves. I think it is revealing that both this event and the case of Cain show that people tend to want to settle when they are called to go out.
I'm not convinced that God calls us to comfort. This is where the American Dream and the Christian life diverge. I don't really know what this means for me, though, but i'm trying to learn.
In contrast, we have Abram. He is living comfortably with many possessions and is an he old man. But God calls him to go and live into something greater. And Abram goes. Interestingly, we see both Abram's belief and his doubt.
25 years pass from the revelation and still Abram has no children. Then God returns and gives Abram the covenant of circumcision. Finally, three visitors come and reveal that Abraham and Sarah will have a child in the next year, and Sarah laughs at this.
Then God speaks to Abraham and tells him about planning to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. At this, Abraham pleads with God not to destroy the city if there are at least 10 righteous people in the city, and God agrees.
We see that one of the first commands from God is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As soon as Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they realized guilt and shame, and their response was to first hide, then when confronted, they point the blame on others.
The next event is the story of Cain and Abel. They both bring sacrifices to God, but Cain's is rejected by God, while Abel's is accepted. As a result, Cain is so angry that he kills Abel. God then sends Cain to be a vagrant and a wanderer. Cain fears this, but God offers him protection. But instead of wandering and relying on God, Cain leaves and settles down and has a family and builds a city where he can rely on himself.
Noah and the flood is a well known story. I thought it was interesting that after the flood was over, God tells Noah that animals are now ok to be eaten as food.
Another well known story is the Tower of Babel. After the flood God told Noah's descendants to go and populate the earth. However, they move to Babel, decide they don't want to scatter and instead they want to make a tower and a name for themselves. I think it is revealing that both this event and the case of Cain show that people tend to want to settle when they are called to go out.
I'm not convinced that God calls us to comfort. This is where the American Dream and the Christian life diverge. I don't really know what this means for me, though, but i'm trying to learn.
In contrast, we have Abram. He is living comfortably with many possessions and is an he old man. But God calls him to go and live into something greater. And Abram goes. Interestingly, we see both Abram's belief and his doubt.
25 years pass from the revelation and still Abram has no children. Then God returns and gives Abram the covenant of circumcision. Finally, three visitors come and reveal that Abraham and Sarah will have a child in the next year, and Sarah laughs at this.
Then God speaks to Abraham and tells him about planning to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. At this, Abraham pleads with God not to destroy the city if there are at least 10 righteous people in the city, and God agrees.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A new year
It has been a few years since I last read through the Bible, so I think it is time to do that again. The goal is to read through cover to cover in 365 days.
The pastor of our Seattle church, Richard Dahlstrom, has really been pushing the coupled ideas of revelation and response in his fall sermon series, as well as thinking about the Christian life not in the macro sense, but rather as one step at a time. Using these concepts as a theme, I intend to blog a couple of times weekly through this next year sharing revelations, responses, and next steps I read about, as well as my own.
I'd love comments / questions / feedback, so fire away!
The pastor of our Seattle church, Richard Dahlstrom, has really been pushing the coupled ideas of revelation and response in his fall sermon series, as well as thinking about the Christian life not in the macro sense, but rather as one step at a time. Using these concepts as a theme, I intend to blog a couple of times weekly through this next year sharing revelations, responses, and next steps I read about, as well as my own.
I'd love comments / questions / feedback, so fire away!
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