Week 4: Abraham, Levites and Lepers

Week 4: Abraham, Levites and Lepers

      Paul continues in Romans Chapters 7 and 8 to hone the definition of salvation, moving away from salvation through strict adherence to the Law of Moses to salvation through belief in the Risen Christ.  In Chapter 7 he compares the Christian to a widow who has been released from the law of marriage by the death of her husband.  Rom 7:4: "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God...; and 7:8:  "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."  Paul goes further in Chapter 8 (8:2): "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death."  He concludes this chapter with the very familiar "If God is for us, who is against us? (8:31)."  Human weakness is sustained by the Spirit's intercession and by the knowledge of God's loving purpose.

   Genesis 12 begins with God's call to Abram, telling him (12:1): "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."  So aged Abram, acting in faith in his Lord, takes his wife, his nephew Lot and all of his possessions and heads off to Canaan, a land which them God tells him "To your offspring I will give this land."  As soon as Abraham gets there, though there is a famine, so he picks up again and moves to Egypt.  Then follows a curious story where Abram tells his wife Sarai to act like they are sister and brother so that the pharaoh won't kill him.  Sarai, apparently very beautiful, becomes part of the pharaoh's harem. The Lord doesn't react well to this, sending a plague on the Pharaoh.  God then tells Abraham to take Sarai, Lot and all of his accumulations back where he came from.  Upon re-entering Canaan, Abraham gives Lot first choice of land and Lot takes the more fertile land which, unfortunately for Lot, is near some seedy characters in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot is taken prisoner by armies invading from the East and is then rescued by his Uncle Abram.  In Chapter 15 God again promises Abram (who still has no heir) that his descendants shall inherit the land of Canaan and that the people living there then will be displaced.  Karen Armstrong in her book In the Beginning explains this part of Genesis as a story of faith.  In the story of Abram, faith requires bold new starts ("Go from your country..."), a reliance upon God and a constant questioning.  Armstrong states that "Genesis indicates that it is the role of faith to make us more productive and more at ease with the world."

     The next four chapters of Joshua (16-20) relates the division of the land according to tribe.  Asimov notes that these allotments are very small in most cases and were made according to instructions which Joshua recorded as having received from God.  Asimov also points out the importance of the fact that the tribe of Levi received no actual land grant.  Their central role was that of serving as a priesthood and for that purpose it was considered enough that its members be granted a number of towns scattered through the tribal areas.

     Psalm 9 is one of thanksgiving and in verse 9 we read: "The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."  In Psalm 10 the psalmist praises God: "O Lord, you hear the desires of the afflicted, you will strengthen their heart;  you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that the man who is of the earth may strike terror no more."  In Psalm 11: "In the Lord I take refuge."   Further, "The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence."  

   Job continues his lamentations in Chapter 7, becoming even more pitiful (Job 7:3): "So I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me."  Job's buddy Bildad then gives the first of his three speeches in the Book of Job, this one calling on Job to repent (Job 8:6): "If you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation."  As if this couldn't make Job feel bad enough, Bildad continues (8:13): "Such are the paths of all who forget God.  The hope of the godless shall perish."   Incidentally and totally unrelated, Bildad is also the name of one of the owners of The Pequod, Ahab's whale ship in Melville's Moby Dick.

The Pequod

     Isaiah chapters 18 through 22 predicts the fall of many nations.  Asimov points out that the following chapters (24 through 28) are referred to as "The Apocalypse of Isaiah" (more on this next week) and that these chapters are a forecast of a more generalized destruction for Earth.  In Chapter 18 Isaiah uses the figure of the harvest to remind us that God determines the course of earthly events and that we must wait for God to decide what happens when.  In Chapter 19 Isaiah predicts disaster for Egypt.  God's judgement is seen as civil turbulence and that "The Nile will dry up."  He notes unrest between Egypt and Assyria and that Israel will become a mediator and a blessing for these troubled nations.  Isaiah feels so strongly about this that in Chapter 20 he walks around barefoot and naked for three years as a portent and a sign to Egypt and Assyria.  In Chapter 22 readers are reminded that military preparedness does not replace faithfulness to God.

    Chapter 8 of Matthew contains many familiar stories of Jesus' ministry in Galilee.  His fame is spreading as a healer.  Matthew relates the stories of the leper, the Centurion's paralytic servant and the demoniacs.  The story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples during a storm also appears here.  Jesus calming the storm evokes this memorable observation from the disciples: "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"  (Matt 8:27).  Chapter 9 has Jesus being accused of blasphemy and his challenge of contemporary religious views: "I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners." (Matt 9:13).  Matthew 10 has Jesus commissioning and instructing his disciples: "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."  (Matt 10: 6),  He also gives them specific guidelines for how to conduct their mission work.

Week 3: Rainbows, Alphabets, Lucifer and The Sermon on the Mount

Week Three: Rainbows, Alphabets, Lucifer and The Sermon on the Mount

     Week Three had fewer surprises and a tremendous amount of depth.  Paul ties Christ to Adam in Romans Chapter 5, Verse 18: "Just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all."  In Chapter 6 he asks the rhetorical question: "How can we who died in sin go on living in it?"  He assures us that salvation is entirely a gracious and undeserved gift.  

     In Genesis this week, the Great Flood subsides and God makes a covenant with Noah to not do that again.  The symbol of this covenant was a rainbow.  God further instructs Noah to "Be fruitful and multiply."  Noah becomes a man of the soil, plants a vineyard and apparently enjoys the fruits of his labors.  In Gen 9:22, "He (Noah) drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent."  I wonder if that will be in the movie?  The ancestors of Noah are then outlined and Asimov points out that the three sons of Noah represent the three great divisions of humanity that were known to the ancient writer.  Shem's descendants are traced through Terah to Abram and Sarai.  What follows next is the curious story of the Tower of Babel in Chapter 11.  Asimov tells us that this story may have been based on the largest Ziggurat (tower) ever built in ancient times by Nebuchadenazzar (King of Babylon) around the sixth century B.C.   I find this a curious story where God decides to "go down and confuse their language, so that they may not understand each other's speech" in order to foil human attempts to build a tower into heaven.

     Joshua is busy this week with military victories.  In 11:23 we read that "So Joshua took the whole land, according to all the Lord had spoken to Moses."  Asimov's commentary includes some very interesting geographical tidbits as they relate to this segment of Joshua.  He notes that in Joshua 11:8 there is mention of Zidon (or "Sidon") whose people were famous for producing a purple-red dye.  The Greek name for this region in "Phoneicia" from the word meaning, appropriately enough, "purple-red."  At the time of Joshua the Phoenicians had already invented the alphabet which was adopted by many of these Hebrew tribes.  

Phoenecian Alphabet

Asimov also points out that Joshua in actuality failed to take "all of the land."  The Philistines, recently escaped from Egypt, occupied the southern-most coast of Canaan and remained there.  This area is now known as "The Gaza Strip" and its occupation has caused many a modern political problem.

     The Psalms continue to inspire.  In Psalm 6 the author implores God: "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing.  Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled."  In Psalm 7 God is referred to as a "righteous judge" and in Psalm 8 the glory of God is manifest in the night sky and in the songs of children.

     In Job 5 and 6 advice is given as to how Job should appeal to God.  Job becomes a bit piqued at his tedious friends but does note that "the terrors of God are arrayed against me."  In 6:11 and 12 Job asks "What is my strength, that should wait?  And what is my end, that I should be patient?  Teach me, and I will be silent;  make me understand how I have gone astray."  Job is searching for answers to questions he can't comprehend.

     Isaiah 12 through 17 begins with songs of deliverance and thanksgiving (Ch. 12) and "Oracles" against foreign nations, the most emphatic regarding the fall of Babylon (Ch. 13) and peace falling on the settled peoples.  Asimov has an interesting explanation for Isaiah 14:12: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the morning."  He notes that the Hebrew word for Lucifer is helel which literally is "The Shining One".  This is thought to refer to the planet Venus (the morning star).  The use of the term Lucifer here in connection with the pride of the Babylonian King is the writer of Isaiah using a metaphor to describe the Babylonian King's (Nebuchedanazzar?) fall from absolute power to captivity and death.  These verses came to mean more to later Jews.  Lucifer, a fallen angel, evolves into Satan.  The early Christian church fathers considered this statement in Isaiah to be a reference to the eviction of Satan from heaven and Jesus is quoted in Luke 10:18 "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."

     Matthew Chapters 5 through 7 dive into Jesus' teachings.  Chapter 5 contains what has become to be known as "The Sermon on the Mount."  Asimov believes that this is a collection of Jesus' favorite themes and does not actually represent one sermon.  The title "Sermon on the Mount" is attributed to St. Augustine whose commentary on Matthew in A.D. 394 he titled "Concerning the Lord's Sermon in the Mountain."  There are many references in this sermon to Psalms.  Matthew, the most "Jewish" of the four Gospel writers, is stressing Jesus' belief in the supremacy of the Law of Moses.  In Matthew 5:17, Jesus is even quoted: "Iam not come to destroy, but to fulfill."  Jesus is seen here to not only adhere to the Law, but to exceed the letter of the Law in matters of morals and ethics.  Jesus also denounces ostentation in piety and in Matthew 6 gives us "The Lord's Prayer."  Also in Chapter 6 Jesus has harsh words for wealth and the wealthy.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus urges us to care less for the gathering of material riches and give more care for the gathering of the ethical riches valued in heaven.  Chapter 7 has a definite slant towards Jewish oriented Christianity, again revealing the bias of the writer of this Gospel.

     This concludes Week 3 of the Bible in a Year challenge.  A challenge it is!  I find myself being less certain of my "knowledge" of the Bible and a tremendous respect for those who have a command of it.  Thank you for following along!

Week Two: Cain and Abel and... Seth?

Cain and Abel and...  Seth?

     I am reminded of an interview I saw years ago on "The Tonight Show."  Johnny Carson was interviewing actor Jimmy Stewart and they were reminiscing about comedian W. C. Fields, whom Stewart had been great friends with.  Stewart recounted visiting W.C. Fields in his declining years in a nursing home.  He said he quietly entered the comedian's room and he was sitting by the window, sunlight pouring in on him, and he was reading a Bible.  Realizing that this was fairly out of character for W. C. Fields, he cautiously asked him "Bill, what are you doing?"  Fields looked up and in his rascally voice replied "Looking for loopholes."  So, maybe that's my motivation for this exercise as well.  We could all use some loopholes.

   Paul continues in Romans 3 and 4 to grapple with this issue of adherence to the Law of Moses as requisite for Christianity.  He begins by pointing out that even though the Jews are advantaged by having possession of the Law, both they and the Greeks are under the power of sin (Rom 3:9).  In verse 19 he states further that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who come under the Law, "so that every mouth shall be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God."  He expands this thought to say that all are now justified by his (God's) grace as a gift through the redemption that is Jesus Christ.  True righteousness for Paul rests not upon obedience to law, but on faith in God's act of  redemption in Christ.  God's promise to Abraham to inherit the world did not come through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.  Abraham became more strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.  Romans 4:13-25 proclaims that the true descendants of Abraham are those who have faith in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles.

     Genesis 4 through 7 has familiar stories as well as some surprises.  Most people are know the story of Cain and Abel.  Asimov feels that Cain represents herdsmen who in ancient times were nomadic.  Abel represents farmers who were of the more civilized culture.  He notes that the Cain and Abel tale more than likely is a remnant of some nomadic lament over what he calls  the "all encroaching tentacles of settled civilization."  Then Adam and Eve have more children, including Seth.  I've never heard of Seth.  Who the heck is Seth?  Is he like other people no on has heard of such as Peter Best (the original drummer for The Beatles) or Shemp, the guy who replaced Moe in The Three Stooges?    The writer of Genesis follows the genealogy following Adam and Eve through Seth, all of the way to Noah.  Which, of course, gets us to the Great Flood.  God noted that  with a lot more humans around, things had gone askew.  "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and the earth was filled with violence."  (Genesis 6:11)  He then instructed Noah ("a righteous man") to build his ark of gopher wood with very specific dimensions and fill it "with every living thing of all flesh."  Chapter 7 goes on to describe the torrential rain and ensuing flood.  Asimov lists a lot of archeologic evidence for a great flood in the area of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in about 3000 B.C.  The flood was more than likely secondary to the combination of heavy rains and a tidal wave ("Fountains of the great deep burst forth." Genesis 7:11).  There was no specific Mount Ararat in ancient times, although there is one now in modern Turkey.  Personally, now that I've read the book, I can't wait to see the movie starring Russell Crowe as Noah.

     Joshua is a busy guy in week two (Chapters 6 through 10).  There is the fall of Jericho and then a defeat for the Israelites at Ai.  God reveals the reason for this defeat: the evil done by the victors at Jericho.  Joshua is eventually victorious at Ai and builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal, including writing upon it the Law of Moses.  There follows a treaty with the neighboring Gibeonites and more victories.  In Joshua 10 we are told that Joshua "defeated the whole land because the Lord God fought for Israel."  There were two stunning natural events during these victories.  Once, God sent hail onto the enemies ("the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven") and during the battle to protect Gibeon Joshua commanded "the sun stand thou still", which it did.

     Job has a particularly tough week.  In Chapter 3 he spends the whole time pitifully lamenting his own birth:  "For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.  I am not at ease, nor am I quiet.  I have no rest but trouble comes."  Yikes.  One of his friends replies in Chapter 4: "Is not your fear of God your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope?"  What are friends for, I guess.

     In Isaiah 7 through 11 we see that  evil times are at hand, hopefully to be succeeded eventually by better times.  This is the theme of most of the Old Testament prophets.  In Chapter 9 there are rhapsodic praises for an ideal king ("Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace").  Asimov sees this as the evolution of the vision of an ideal future.  The Jews were despondent over the reality of a triumphant Assyria in Isaiah's time and are longing for their perfect ruler.  Isaiah 11 says "Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.  He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

     Matthew 3 and 4 begins the descriptions of Jesus' public ministry.  Interestingly, this is where Mark's Gospel starts off.  John the Baptist's activity is described and connected to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 40:13).  We learn of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.  Jesus has a defining spiritual experience and He has a "surge of certainty and self-understanding" (Asimov).  He understands and accepts His role as the Messiah.  The baptism is followed by the temptations of Jesus in the dessert and His refusal to let his mission be influenced by concern for safety or mere practical interests.  Asimov notes that the interchange between Jesus and Satan described here in Matthew 4 is actually a verbal "battle of Old Testament quotations."  In the final temptation Jesus rejects the traditional interpretation of the Messiah as a powerful and ideal King who overthrows the enemies of Israel by force and establishes his rule over all the world in the fashion of a super-Alexander.  This is a conscious decision to be a Messiah of peace rather than one of war.  Jesus then begins his early travels, to Nazareth, then Capernaum, beginning to call disciples along the way.

     That ends week 1.  For those who want to see the template of daily readings we are using for this "Bible in One Year" exercise, here it is:

Week One: Circumcision, Gilgal and Virgin Birth

St. Paul

Week One: Circumcision, Gilgal and Virgin Birth

Day One: Epistles: Romans 1 & 2

Day Two: The Law: Genesis 1-3

Day Three: History: Book of Joshua 1-5

Day Four: Psalms 1-2

Day Five: Poetry: Book of Job 1-2

Day Six: Prophecy: Book of Isaiah 1-6

Day Seven: Gospels: Matthew 1-2

     This whole "Bible in a Year" project is going to be revealing.  I feel like I'm reading a book that I read years ago and only remember parts of.  I'm trying to read through the assigned readings as well as learn some of the background from Isaac Asimov's commentary.  Asimov concentrates on the secular, historical context of the books of the Bible, lending valuable perspective to the readings.

    Starting off with Romans is a bit daunting.  It turns out that these epistles are not presented in chronological order but in order of length.  Romans, the longest, was written about 58 AD by Paul, who was finishing up his mission in Corinth and before he had ever actually traveled to Rome.  Romans represents the most complete exposition of Paul's theology and his theme is that the Gospel represents God's power for salvation to all who believe: who have faith in Him.  He spends a good bit of the first two chapters rattling on about circumcision, mainly to differentiate between the ritualistic aspects of the Law of Moses and its ethical concepts.  His main concern here was whether Gentiles who converted to Christianity had to be circumcised and observe all of the rituals of the Law.  Paul's conclusion was that lack of circumcision and adherence to the rituals of the Law should not be considered as grounds for losing salvation for people who are otherwise righteous.

    Moving on to Day 2 and the first three chapters of Genesis, I learned some more interesting things.  The first is that there are hints of polytheism in the creation story (Gen. 1:26: God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness").  Also, in Genesis, the talking serpent is one of only two episodes of talking animals in the Bible (the other being Bakam's ass in the Book of Numbers - can't wait for that one).  So, there's no Mr. Ed in the Bible.  The name Adam is translated from the word for "man" and Adamah is the word for "ground".  This stresses the relationship of humankind and the soil from which it was formed.  I am reminded that one of my father's favorite Scripture quotes (which he trotted out after every family funeral) was (Gen. 3:19) "you are dust and to dust you shall return".    Another interesting concept culled from these chapters is that for man to be fully human he must be in relation to others.  This is interesting to think about as we all become more isolated in our technology, busy tapping away into our blogs and smart phones rather than actually relating to other human beings.  Finally, the temptation story was fun to read through.  It is interesting to me that eating from the tree of knowledge led to guilt, then shame and anxiety.  This led Adam and Eve to hide from God in the Garden.  A large  portion of today's pharmaceutical industry and psychiatric practice would not be necessary if Eve hadn't eaten that apple!

     The Book of Joshua is part of the larger story of Israel's life in its land.  Asimov explains that this is an idealized historical narrative.  It shows how an obedient Israel under God's chosen leader (Joshua) can bring into existence a society based on justice and freedom.  Joshua finally leads the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan by parting the Jordan River and parading the Ark of the Covenant ceremoniously into the new land.  Twelve stones are taken from the parted riverbed and placed in a ring at Gilgal.  Gilgals (or stone circles) were built by ancient civilizations probably for astrological reasons.  Many were built in Britain, including Stonehenge.

     The first two Psalms didn't do a lot for me.  The first contrasts the fates of the righteous versus the wicked and the second notes that monarchs in the ancient world regarded themselves as adoptive sons of the native gods.  Psalm 2 is interpreted by some as having significance in defining a future messiah as a son of God.

     The tough sledding really began for me with Job and Isaiah.  The Book of Job does not attempt to explain the mysteries of suffering or justify the ways of God.  It does, however, probe the depth of faith in the face of suffering.  It's tough to watch Job lose everything in these first few chapters (including the lives of his family) on what seems to be a celestial bet between God and Satan.  Satan in this book is not seen as a demonic figure but actually a heavenly being who patrols Earth checking on the righteous.  Sort of a celestial hall monitor.  I was reminded here of Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People, which is a very accessible and understandable treatment of the same issues. 

     Isaiah is tough for me to decipher, even with Asimov's help.  This book deals with a period of history known as the "Syrian Ascendancy".  In describing the culture of the times the author of this book speaks against the tendency of the rich of those days to squeeze out the poor farmer and to multiply their own holdings.  So far this book has taught me that greed is nothing new and that the disproportionate distribution of wealth is not a modern concept. 

     The week wraps up with the Gospels, starting with Matthew 1 and 2.  Finally something I think I know a little something about!  Apparently I don't.  Matthew is described as "a manual of Christian teachings".  The first chapter emphasizes Jesus' divine lineage from David (through Joseph's ancestors).  This would imply to all that Jesus is the legitimate heir to the royal House of David.  It isn't problematic to the writer that Joseph actually isn't Jesus' biological father, that distinction going to the Holy Spirit as revealed in Matthew to Joseph in a dream.  It is interesting to me that there are birth narratives in just two of the Gospels (Matthew and Luke) and here all we have is Joseph's dream and, in Chapter 2, the story of the wise men and Herod's slaughter of the innocent children.  Christmas Eve pageants would certainly be a lot different if we didn't have Luke's version which includes the Annunciation, Mary"s "Magnificat", the census, Jospeh and Mary's trip to Bethlehem, Jesus' birth in a manger, angels and shepherds.

      So that puts a wrap on Week One.  The main thing I have learned so far is that I don't know very much about the Bible at all.  I hope that my determination to follow this through the entire year holds up.  Stay tuned!

Introduction to The Bible in One Year

     Our pastor (John Scholer) at First Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg, Virginia challenged our congregation to read the Bible in one year.  He handed out a nifty, organized method to accomplish this which involves daily readings in seven different categories.  The week is organized the following way:

     Sunday: Epistles (stating with Romans)
     Monday: The Law (starting with Genesis)
     Tuesday: History (starting with Joshua)
     Wednesday: Psalms (starting with Psalm 1, obviously)
     Thursday: Poetry (starting with Job)
     Friday: Prophecy (starting with Isaiah)
     Saturday: Gospels (starting with Matthew)

     Completing each days readings for 52 straight weeks accomplishes the lofty goal of reading the entire Bible in one year.  I like the way this is organized, challenging the reader each day with a different area of the Bible.  My wife and I decided to accept the challenge.  I found myself furiously scribbling notes as  I read and decided to blog the experience, mainly as a way to keep everything organized.

     I am using The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV), edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Roalnd E. Murphy and also reading Asimov's Guide to the Bible by Isaac Asimov and Rafael Palacios (illustrator).  I have found Asimov's book very helpful in uderstanding the historical context of these different parts of the Bible, in particular the Old Testament books.

     I will try to write a weekly blog post with our progress and thoughts.  If this blog stops or disappears, you will know that I failed in my goal!