Resurrection Life

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 21: Ruth - 1 Samuel 9

The story of Ruth is popular and well-known to many people.  It is in the relationship between Ruth and Boaz that we will eventually get to David.  This is the story of Jesus' family.

In 1Samuel I was struck mostly by Hannah's song today.  Read it and then read Mary's Song in Luke 1: 46-55... aren't there some amazing similarities here?  What do you think is going on?

 

 

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 19: Judges 1-9

Judges takes over where Joshua ends.  The tribes of Israel have moved into the land and have made many conquests.  But there is a failure to complete teh conquest and in efforts to get along with the current inhabitants the Israelites begin to intermarry and take on some of the religion of the other people.  God raises up Judges over Israel in order to keep them bound to their covenant.  In these chapters we meet Ehud, Deborah and Gideon.  Those stories are phenomenal and there are reasons you do not learn them in Sunday School... read them now!  Swords plunged into flesh so fat the the handle disappears!  A woman judge in leadership of Israel... who says women are not to lead?  I'd love to see you win an argument with Deborah, or perhaps Jael would be the one to avoid?

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 16: Deuteronomy 21-34

I've had several parents ask me over the years if there was a good resource for raising children, "according to the Bible".  There are but Deuteronomy is probably not one of them.  The cure for rebellious children, according to this part of the Bible, is to stone them to death.  Oh, there are temple prostitutes as well.

These kinds of things are the ones that make me raise an eyebrow towards Biblical literalists.  Oh, really?  

The deepest takeway in these chapters, for me, is the idea of the hidden and revealed God.  The God who created us has revealed to us all we need to know about him in his Son.  Everything else is for God to know and God alone.

 

 

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 15: Deuteronomy 8-20

More rules and regulations abound here folks.  At the risk of picking and choosing the rules I wish we would still live by I do want to raise up the idea of a sabbatical year.  "Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts." Deut. 15: 1

How would that work in our society?  Was it practiced in ancient Israel?  I wonder how any lenders could make a living if they knew that after seven years the debt was forgiven.  In contemporary culture the large interest rates that are placed on credit cards, for instance, have been shown to keep people permanently in debt.  They actually repay the principle several times over the life of the loan if they only make minimum payments.

Would it do our country and economy better if we freed people from debt every seven years or put a seven year length on all loans?  How might that look?

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 11: Numbers 1-11

Welcome to Numbers.  This is the book that most often sidetracks folks who are attempting to read the Bible cover to cover.  Persevere my friends!  

 

Today we hear of the first census, several more commandments concerning rituals and clean/unclean things.  We also get to meet Eldad and Medad.  These two men began prophesying amongst the complaining Israelites and this made people nervous.  What about the place of Moses?  Who are we to listen to if more than one guy has the authority to prophesy for God?

Moses' response is telling, "Would that everyone in Israel prophesyied for God."  

Would that each of us would do the same!

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 9: Leviticus 7-16

Offerings were very important to the Israelites, and to God!  How does your congregation treat stewardship and giving?  I'm in my first year of being the senior pastor of a larger congregation and I have had a crash course in talking about offerings and money.  It is a telling thing that folks will let me talk about just about anything as long as it doesn't have to do with their purse or wallet!

In the time not too long ago the support of a pastor and the upkeep of the church was seen as a necessary part of life since people wanted to know for certain that on Sunday mornings there would be a preacher (the pastor) in a place(the church) to give them food for the journey.  How has that perception changed (or not) in your opinion?

A word on clean and unclean foods and persons: Luther pointed out that making distinctions about food was a burden to people's consciences and that these were very much the visible laws that Jesus came to fulfill.  His ministry was proof of that.  However, taken from God's viewpoint regarding Israel, why would these distinctions be necessary for them?

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 7 Exodus 27-33

How is everyone doing on this challenge?  We are nearly finished with Exodus so in the span of one week we have covered everything from creation to the leaving of Sinai for the wilderness!

Todays readings encompass more of the fallout from the bringing of the law to the people.  We see the establishment of the altar, the vesting of the priesthood, etc. etc.  In short, it turns out God is kind of a micromanager.  We wanted rules, well we got them.  The altar shall be so large, the vestments should look like this... etc. etc.  Whew.  I get tired just reading it!

But it also appears that God does not demand something of us without also providing for it's accomplishment.  We are introduced to Bezalel and Oholiab who will build and make the things God requires.  I give God a hard time here but I must also say that I am thankful for his artistic eye.  Often times the aesthetic considerations of worship get left behind as too costly but they do add quite a bit to the eye and the other senses when done right in worship.

Two final things: the Golden Calf appears here.  How quick have you been in turning from God when the wait for results has gone on too long?  But notice one other thing: Moses gets God to change his mind.  How about that?

 

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 6 Exodus 14-26

The well known story of the Crossing of the Red Sea occurs here as the Israelites escape the Egyptian army.  They are fed by bread from heaven, manna.  Moses does several miracles including getting water from a rock and the section culminates with the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath laws.  Did you find anything that you hadn't known before in these chapters?

Reading the Bible in 90 Day 4: Genesis 40 - Exodus 1

The story of Joseph and his brothers is an amazing account.  The conspiring of jealous siblings, the dreams in Pharoah's court, the elevation of Joseph to rule over Egypt.  It is an inspiring picture to imagine what it must have been like for all of Pharoah's household and the elders of Egypt to accompany Joseph and his brothers back to Canaan to bury their father Jacob!

I intentionally moved into Exodus 1 rather than wait a day because it is the first signs of the simmering tensions between the Egyptians and the Israelites.  The Israelites were quickly outnumbering the Egyptians and so they began to treat them harshly, basically as slaves.  Can you think of any modern day equivalent to this kind of behavior?

How do you react to threats rather real or perceived?

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 3 Genesis 29-39

The standout early on in this section of Genesis is the life of Jacob.  From his marriage to Rachel, to the jealousy of Laban and his kids, we are starting to see how the sin that was brought into the world at Eden was permeating relationships all over the place.  

 

I love the story of Jacob wrestling with the man until daybreak.  The man turns out to be God!  Jacob wrestled with God and so he is renamed Israel, literally "The one who strives with God".  Israel was created in a wrestling match with God, a match that some would say continues today!

Names are very important in the Bible.  When you know someones name you have some kind of power over them vs. if they were anonymous.  How powerful are names in our culture today?

The rape of Dinah happens in here along with the revenge of her brothers.  There is some harsh and tragic language here but it bears us well to keep with the text.  This is the reality of human existence and the violences that we continue to visit upon each other day after day.

Joseph makes his appearance in Chapter 37 with his dreams of greatness as he tended the flock of his brothers, who later sell him into Egypt.

Finally we are reminded of Judah and Tamar and how Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute in order to get pregnant by Judah.  People magazine would have had a hayday.