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:
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:
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