Childbearing

I hear many crazy things, but some things put extra cherries on my ice cream. Here’s a verse to start things off:

“And they will be saved through the childbearing, so long as they persist in faith and love and holiness with modesty.” – 1 Timothy 2:15d (my personal translation).

I know that most of your translations will not place an article in front of childbearing. Let’s explore that for a second. If you say that, from a strictly textual viewpoint, you can see how it seems as if men can be saved when they have faith in Christ, but women would be through childbearing. This seems a little off, however, since Paul has said that there is no male nor female in the kingdom. This doesn’t make theological nor biblical sense.

Look at it in the greek (if you can). There is an article in front of the word for bearing children. Let me give some 101 information on how articles are used in greek. If you do not see an article, there is a chance that the noun could be a general idea, but it can also be specific in idea, but that needs context. Here this is not the case. There is an article. If there is an article, then it has to be more specific. It cannot be general in a syntactical sense.

Here is what I propose. There is a specific birthing idea that Paul wishes to bring into mind. Considering how Timothy was a Christian in leadership, what would be the infamous birth that got the snowball rolling in this era of salvation history? You guessed it, the birth of Jesus the Christ. If you consider that all that Paul has said that although wives are subject to husbands, he is implicit and explicit in greek that women in general are free to participate in Church life. Even Luke in his book “The Acts of the Apostles” seems to imply this as well.

Although this may be what some of us were thinking all along, here is the ammunition you need to do effective ministry.

Grace and Peace to you all.

 

Beginning the Semester

I am starting off my semester off with a blast. I am taking an interesting mix of classes: Exegesis of Galatians, Theology and Practice of Healing, Life of Prayer, and Non-Canonicals (auditing that one). I can say that the one I am reading for today is the Healing class. The book is Authority to Heal written by Ken Blue. I find it very helpful that he has described the fallacies of theologies of “name it and claim it” healing and the ones that accept sickness as the will of God. (He actually makes a distinction between the words suffering and sickness, which he claims is not the same to the Biblical writers.) He also points out that the modern western world is too “secular” and that our infatuation with science as the savior has dismissed God and the miraculous. His proposition is that science and healing is not incompatible, but that secular humanism and Christianity is. There are many cases where the turn away from death is unexplainable and at this point is only explained as an act of God.

I think he might be wrong in saying that the western world is completely that way, though this was written 1987. There is too much spirituality involved in the current setting (just watch Oprah). I have to say that people still understand that death is a negative thing. The overarching point of the entire Bible is that Death is defeated. It points out that 1) we must seek things that move away from death (healing, peace efforts, medicine, counseling) and 2) we do not use death to push our agenda as Christians (war, abuse, degradation, rape).

My challenge here is that if you believe in a physically risen Jesus, the first of Humanity, and our same resurrection in the end (which is part of the Christian hope), then you must defy death and hope that despite death we have a hope of bodily resurrection (though we will be glorified and will actually rule over the earth in a way becoming of love and peace as commanded by God).

So go out and seek to make life better, despite your urges fed to you by Satan himself to use death.

Grace and peace to you all.

 

Point 4: Marriage and Homosexuality

Here is another point. I listed it due to the intense focus of the Church on the issue. I can’t help but think that the Church has an unhealthy fixation on the issue compared to other sexual issues. Not only that, but it tends to place it’s views on America. I think it probably has to do with this view that the Church and the state have made the distinction between the two fuzzy. Biblically speaking, the world (which includes America) is something that is not quite what Heaven (which includes the Church) is. Such an idea leads me to search Christianity. The Church is it’s own political entity with it’s own agenda. The Nation is only included when we consider that it will one day fall under God’s rule, but that is not yet. In the church we follow God, but in America, the constitution and the leaders of the nation are the rulers.

Most solid Christians have to admit that Israel was a nation under God, the only geo-political nation to ever attain such a title. But the faith has changed its course. Since Christ rose from the dead, we no longer fight for a geo-political entity. We know that at Christ’s return, and the resurrection of the saints, the geo-political entity we wait for will be made reality. In a sense our politics are already existence, but not on the scale of what will follow the Judgment.

If you read Scripture, you will see a motif of a people who, although they mean no harm to current powers of the world, they oppose them and their anti-Christ agendas (which is more tied into thoughts of men over the ages and is not some crazy being in the future, Revelation doesn’t even mention the word anti-Christ).

Now to the topic at hand, marriage and homosexuality. I start with marriage, since I hold a highly Christian view of it. I believe marriage between male and female is sanctioned and protected by God as a means of survival (Deuteronomy 22:16, 25:5). However, I think that is a Judeo-Christian ideal (I also admit other religions have the same view). To place this expectation on the people of the world I think is a little ludicrous. (A side remark on marriage in heaven [Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:34-35], marriage is used to mock the Sadducees. I don’t think that marriage is the point here. I also think that maybe any point on marriage is that it will not be needed, since marriage is a custom/law issue for people who would not remain with those whom they promised to be with, and those evil people will not inherit heaven when it come here.)

What people need to realize with these verses is that the institution of marriage is not the primary recipient of protection, the people that are married are. That means that the ones currently taking advantage of the marriage situation are just as guilty as homosexuals are…no…they are more guilty. Oppression is always more devastating than simple sexual deviance from the law.

Homosexuals are obviously not highly favored in Scriptures (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Many use the Sodom and Gomorrah and tie in homosexual motifs (Jude 7; 2 Peter 2:6 [this one is an example of when that is not done]). It is usually a later development. The first writers, and the writer of 2 Peter, probably had bigger issues with taking people out of their homes to rape them, and homosexuality was the straw that broke the camels back. Ancient Israel would have looked at the creation account and said that since God’s first creation was between man and woman, and since there is a command to multiply, that homosexuality defied God. They saw God as moving them towards life, and homosexuality was not a move toward life. Since Christ rose from the dead, furthering the point that death is the enemy, Christians would have kept that point, and should still do so today.

But since we don’t use death or move towards death, we do not bring death to our enemies, since we are enemies to death…PERIOD.

The end of Revelation is explicit about letting the evil do what they must. We know that vindication will come. And what if God was to change his mind in the end? Although you can’t condone here on earth what they do, should you not be kind and admit their worth before God? What if America was to allow homosexual marriages? Is American a nation of God? No. There can only be one nation of God, and that is the Kingdom of Heaven, which is represented by the Church.

If you want to follow God, worry about how we are following His will.

Don’t commit adultery.

Don’t seduce and rape young women or men.

Stay away from incest, beastiality, and prostitution.

Don’t steal what’s not yours.

Do not murder with the gun or the tongue.

Do not split apart a community of God with your agendas.

Do not hold money higher than God.

Do not take in excess when others have nothing

Follow his will as is expressed in the Law, the prophets, Jesus, and others.

If you follow His will you will inherit heaven.

But if you willingly oppose him, you will inherit hell.

And surprisingly, some of the ones condemning homosexuals to hell, since they are not faithful to the terms God has listed, or probably closer to hell the any self-respecting gay person.

Grace and peace to all of you. I love you all, even my friends I don’t agree with in lifestyle.

(This is derived from the NRSV Bible, IVP Bible Dictionaries, and The Anchor Bible Dictionary)

 

July 4th (America and the Church)

I wanted to post on this again, since we just got past the Fourth of July. I struggle with the idea that America is the nation of God. It doesn’t seems to make much sense to me. I have been looking at references to the Kingdom of God/Heaven in the New Testament and there are a few things that stand in the way of calling this nation the nation of God.

1) America wasn’t around during the time that scripture is spoken of. If Jesus was representing the Kingdom of God, Heaven (which is defined as the place where God dwells), and America had not been born, then it would have to follow that there might not be parallels. The events leading to America started much later in world history. Jesus also was speaking to the only political entity to ever be given such a title, which was Israel. The title has changed, since Israel is not necessarily the nation of God, since that has fallen to the Church, which has opened the membership to everyone across nations, kinships, races, etc. God has merely favored America, but the frightening question is why He has done so.

2) The Kingdom in the times referred to in the Bible is ruled by God. There is nothing in the founding documents, or in current American law that gives God the ruling of President of the USA (God can actually only be totalitarian since His rule is conditioned on the complete obedience of those under him).

3) The Prophets, Jesus, and the writers of the letters continually mention or reference the kingdom coming. If the Church has fulfilled the messianic hope of the new kingdom, then it must follow that America can fall in line and recognize our commissioning by God (my apologies to the Republican platform). Although I am American, I must say that when it come to representing either this country or the nation of God, I choose God.

This is not a post of rebellion, but of perspective. I do not condone anyone seeking to use God as an excuse to defy what is not evil in itself. God has told us that governments are meant to promote order and peace (though they fail, and that is the exception) in Romans 13. Although it is assuming the correct actions of the governing, it still stands as a testament against fulfilling your selfish desire for anarchy or pointless liberation.

In Revelation 21:24, John shows us that God is not about destroying the nations, but having them follow him (and that would mean one world government ordained by God for the ones who thing one world government is evil). Also in 22:1-7 states that the end times are a time of healing the nations, which means that we should be about healing the nation with the healing we have to offer. If a nation is being heavily taxed, lets offer advice of mercy. When it is oppressing, let’s bring words of challenge. When the people are violent against their rulers, let’s offer creative consequences that teach and do not kill. And remember…

The Church

Not America

is the Nation of God,

and we will see vindication and glory.

So go out and do the gospel to the world. I hope we see many great things in these end times (which, to clarify, has been that last 2000 years, give or take).

Grace and Peace.

 

Interruption

I have to take a break from the book I have been reading in order to respond to an article found in Wesleyan Life by Den Guptill. This is not to attack his character, I still have respect for people who choose not to drink due to the covenant membership requirements found in our Discipline and this man seems quite respectable. What I do not agree with is trying to substantiate it by using poor biblical studies in order to make it look like the responsible form of Christianity. I will list out some of the things he says that are in need of dire peer review. I will also cover some of the issues that I may or may not be against.

(Sources will be listed in asterisks)

1. They drank wine 2000 years ago because there weren’t many options…

This is a tricky claim, so I’ll hit it first. Wine itself is hard to define, since there are references to new wine (tiros) 38 times in the Old Testament. This “wine” would have had less alcohol, although it still had intoxicating capability. Also juice (asis) in the Old Testament actually does exist. Although hard to store, it was an option. It’s even trickier that the term for festivals and celebrations had the connotation of being based around the consumption of wine. The common alternative is milk. There are multiple animals to gain milk from. Two examples would be to use goats or cows. What animal to use would depend on where you are from.* It seems ironic that juice and milk are mentioned by the article as part of the options, since my source says that those two options were available in the days of Christ and even further back into the Old Testament.

Another point is to attack the statement of clean tap water, which is not necessarily true due to the astounding amount of synthetic pesticides used for plants finding their way into tap water all the time with effects lasting for multiple years. This also implies that the people who drank wine in the places that had clean water (which is a fact here and there**) were not faithful.

2. When the Bible speaks of strong drink, it’s referring to unmixed wine…

This is false. According to my source, the “strong drink” is different from wine altogether. It is closer to a beer brewed from barley. So wine is actually still a hands on drink, which is funny, because beer has a lower alcohol content than wine.*** If one is to substantiate this claim, they are going to have to prove it by going into biblical scholarship and deny the common consensus among the scholars.

3. The Alcohol Industry “destroys lives, wrecks marriages, and kills people”…

This is one I can’t disagree with simply put. I have heard how the industry works and how there are macro-brews (large producers of alcohol) that produce a massive amount of alcohol, to which I say shame on them. It’s bad enough that we have a problem with consumption and want more for our buck when the responsible thing to do is to face the facts that a more expensive product sometimes is the more responsible way to go, and that money is needed in places other than our selfish wants. If you drink, I don’t condemn, I have known men that drink that in all honesty I would nominate for sainthood before many that I know that do not drink. But I will say that you should buy responsibly, drink responsibly, and realize that alcohol is like a firearm. Danger is found in ignorance and lack of control. The author is well within his rights to use the fact that alcohol has had connection to death and abuse. I personally do not drink, but I do not connect it with evil. I also do not connect with those party-goers that drink to escape and feel the buzz. As one of my friends in seminary once said, “Drunk people give alcohol a bad name.” That was probably truer than many of us realize.

3. If you so badly want to drink, ask yourself why. And ask yourself what would be missing if you gave it up…

To the ones who are not part of a church body that says not to drink, ignore this part. You obviously are good to go.

This challenge is surprisingly a legitimate question. You do have to ask yourself that question if you are part of an organization that prohibits your consumption of alcohol. I agree that to sign on to an agreement to not drink and turning around to drink is detrimental to the drinker in this case. It’s okay not to drink, and you’re not going to be any less of a man if you do not. I have had people tease me for not drinking, but they will not be able to say I went back on what I said I would do. This is not simply an alcohol issue, but an issue of honor and respect and integrity. If you want to push change and wait, I respect that. If you want to switch denominations, I respect that too. But just be honorable with your promises.

I do not post these points to discount any notion of the Holiness Movements incentive to abstain from alcohol. Nazarites in biblical times were the same thing. They would take upon themselves to abstain, and it was respectable. It is still respectable today. But such vows are holy in that they actually bring one closer to God and others. There are many drinkers who understand this. There are many non-drinkers who do not. Instead of trying to simply substantiate our views so that we may look holier, let’s respect each other and move toward the important things that actually ail society, like lack of responsibility, inclinations to hate, having jealousy, dwelling in greed, and pursuits of violence, as well as the lack of pursuit of God…at least in the Church.

Respect,

Love,

Hope,

Joy,

Communion…

With God…

and the saints.

Grace and peace to you all.

*King, Philip J., Lawrence E. Stager; Life in Biblical Israel. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville. 2001. pg. 101-103.

**King, Stager, Life in Biblical Israel pg. 122-129.

***Green, Joel B., ed.; Scot McKnight, ed.; Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL. 1992. pg. 870-873.

 

Reflections on the Holy Spirit

I was reading through John for that reference on the Holy Spirit being sent to followers of Christ. It was in John 14:15-16. It’s an amazing verse. Most Christians today have no idea how amazing it is. I glanced at a couple things and noticed something, this is not the first time that the Spirit or the Angel of God is mentioned. In John there is this wonderful picture of God revealing himself as this mysterious guide that you have to follow. This has major implications for a Jew, but hold on to that thought. It also begins to talk about the followers of God following obeying the commands of God, if you have them. In verses 23-24 goes into a talk of obeying God all over again. He was kind of responding to Judas asking why he would not reveal himself to the world. Essentially that is probably getting into the idea that Christ would make himself known through liberating the Jews from the rule of others. That was not what Christ wanted. But that is another entry.

I am seeing something very familiar in this passage. Something old and very definitive to the Jewish nation. Look in Exodus and you’ll start to see something familiar. You have to start reading into the Law of Moses. I know it’s initially a boring section, but amazing things open up if you study this law and deeper understanding of Christ comes to your mind. Look in Exodus 23:20-23. Do you see it yet. Simply amazing. Christ was using the past Jewish experience to create a new exodus for His following. The Jews needed guidance to journey to the promised land. They did not know where they were going and they were constantly in need of reminders as to what God had done in freeing them. They would forget the Lord’s works. They would even want to turn back to Egypt. So God says, “Hey, did you forget what I did? Have you forgotten what slavery was like for you? I tell you what, my Spirit/Angel is going to lead you home. It’ll be awhile before you get there, but hang in there. I love you and you love me, and if that is the case, nothing can stop you.” Compare that to what Jesus said to his disciples. It sheds a whole new meaning to what Christ was trying to do. Remeber that Christ was speaking a plural you to these disciples. He was telling them that the Spirit was a guide to all of them. Moses wrote the same way in the Law. I am giving you (all) a guide. God has always been in the business of guiding those who want to take part in the journey. The Spirit is all about a community moving on a journey to reach the promised place of rest.

So what could this possibly mean. Well, we all know that it was only through the journey that the nation could reach it’s goal. They would finally reach their place of rest and that is the end of that chapter of the Jewish story. The same can be applied to us. We are all on this journey. And I am wanting to emphasize the fact that I say ALL(People following God). ALL are on this journey. ALL have forgotten and will forget the Lord at times. ALL will always struggle with obstacles on this path. ALL WILL NEED THE GUIDANCE OF GOD’S SPIRIT. None of us are so in love that we could skip a desire to sin. It’s part of our history. It’s part of our hearts and minds. But the Spirit guides the failing man. The successful man needs no guide. So just as the Jewish nation had a guide the promised land, so do we.

 

Staying in Love with God (Community vs. individualism)

I’ve been looking at Matthew 23:1-12, and if you look at this passage you begin to see one of God’s dream for the Jewish nation. Many times the Pharisees get a bad reputation as being completely evil and vile. Jesus said that that is not the case. He gives them the honor of being the ones to decide the meaning of scripture to the people. You will hear people say do not be a Pharisee or a religious leader, but we have to be careful with this. The point Christ wanted to get across was what the Pharisees did not do. They understood what was written and what was taught in the Law. They understood the Way of Life. They told everyone else to live in that Way. They just did not live it. They were very lenient on themselves and strict with everyone else. It is a sad sight, a dangerous existence that only brings hell. All of us are to do everything with love for God and not just love ourselves.
Famous author and pastor Rob Bell once wrote on being a super-godly yet fake leader. “I can’t begin to describe what it was like because it was happening so fast. One minute you have these ideas about how it could be and the next minute you are leading this exploding church/event/monster. All of a sudden there are all of these people who know who you are and want something from you and think you’re a big deal, and you are the same person you’ve always been. I think of people who never before cared if I existed who suddenly wanted to be my friend. And that’s why I tell you all of this. Because there’s a dark side. I was moments away from leaving the whole thing. People were asking me to write articles and books on how to grow a progressive young church, and I wasn’t even sure I was a Christian anymore. I was exhausted…burned out…done.”
One thing that can be so easy to fall into is that we need to love ourselves. Some of you are saying, “No, not me.’ But if you are taking conveniently look good over responsibly living what God teaches; if your wanting your very own works and leadership instead of humbly being someone who is broken and can be healed like every one else;
Now, let’s look at the Pharisees. They were people who knew the Law of God, or the Way of God, very well. They could tell you every single command that God had given his people. They had been to every temple or synagogue event. They had been faithful in the sacrifices. They claimed to be like spotless lambs with God’s ultimate favor. Jesus noticed that they were sitting in the seat of Moses, which was a position of great authority in the religious community. Here they could be presented with new and confusing issues and would decide how they should be handled. The Pharisees were basically interpreting the Law for the people. Jesus said to follow that. Do what your leaders say when they give you something that is from God. What Jesus said not to do was what they were doing, which was living a life for their own comfort and pleasure.
A life lived answerable to me is a dangerous one. It is here we find separation from God, which is known as Hell. Pharisees were imposing this severity of the Law on all the people who were lesser in knowledge of the scripture. The one person that they forgot was the Pharisee. This is probable the most serious power crime of the time and culture. Imagine a judge going out and murdering a man right after he had sentenced a man to prison for the same crime. It makes no sense. Imagine a police officer stealing some money from a bank. There is something wrong with that picture as well. The point is that imposing a way of life on someone and not following that same way of life is the very heart of what living a life not in love with God. All the kindness and justice and worship found in the Way of God taught by the Pharisees were meant for the Pharisees as well as the common man in Israel. The Nation of Israel as a whole had made the marriage covenant with God, no exceptions.
Another thing was killing the Pharisees, or any religious leader for that matter, was the desire to be noticed. These men wanted everyone to know that they were the holiest men in Israel, when even they messed up just like the common people did. It was not that they were sitting in the seat of Moses, it was that put off the face of perfection and did not live it out. Jesus said that they “tie heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” They simply did not live what they preached. They also loved the terms Rabbi, Father, and Master. These terms were common for someone who was superior to you in religious training. The people who were not religiously educated would use these intimate terms for these leaders. They loved being loved for their knowledge, leadership, and perfection.
One last thing that the Pharisees had was a draw to impress. Remember what Jesus said when he talks about the phylacteries, the tassels on their prayer shawls, and the seats of honor in the Synagogues. Phylacteries were boxes wrapped around the head or the arm of a Jewish man during their daily prayers. It was a tradition put into place by the Jews to honor and remember God. It was not a bad tradition until the religious leaders began to demand that people look how big their phylacteries are, and oddly enough, they seemed to keep getting bigger. The tassels come from the Old Testament command to have tassels on the end of their prayer shawls so that they would remember God, and these same guys’ tassels kept getting longer. So we can see that the tassels became something to remember the men wearing them instead of remembering the God who ordained them. They also relished the receiving of seats of honor in the synagogues. Seats of honor were probably special seating places in the synagogues for speakers or special guests. In these places they would be either closer to the place set aside for the reading of the scripture or they would be sitting in chairs while everyone would be on mats on the floor. Their need to be seen as holy led them to impress everyone with their clothes positions. The power over people and the fear from the people drove them to be some of the most hypocritical leaders of their time. They just wanted to impress, and not live out the Way of God.
Rob Bell discovered what the Pharisees never saw at all. He saw the detrimental effects of being the super leader, the holy man who is never wrong.
Another chapter of the same book describes his healing process. “I meet so many people who have super whatever rattling around in their head. They have this person they are convinced they are supposed to be, and their super whatever is killing them. They have this image they picked up over the years of how they are supposed to look and act and work and play and talk, and it’s like a voice that never stops shouting in their ear. And the only way to not be killed by it is to shoot first. Yes, that is what I meant to write. You have to kill you super whatever. And you have to do it right now.”
Rob Bell is seeing something profound but old. He has discovered the most important concept of life, and that is to love God. Jesus wanted the nation of Israel to see this truth. He wanted the people to have a draw to practice the Way of God. This draw to practice is more than knowing the law or being educated enough to tell people how to live life. The draw to practice the Way is to live out what God has willed in his covenant with you as a community. Loving God is living out what you say you believe in.
Jesus also said the best way to live included being drawn to be humble. The Pharisees wanted so bad to have their power and that attention and the fear. They were not willing to live past themselves. They were not willing to let that lifestyle of living for God overtake their desire to be above everyone else. But that is what you are called to do, to live past yourself, to kill your super whatever. Christianity is not just about getting it right with the rules and traditions; its about something more.
The last thing he wanted people to see was the draw to live out their faith. The leaders were. But they were not doing it with their lifestyle. They wanted the severity of law to be lived out by the people because it defined their position and power, but when it came to their own hearts desires, they did not even lift a finger. To live with the draw to live out your faith means to live the same message you preach. It means to smoke what you are selling. Your faith and your belief are not just defined by what you say, but also what you do.
When people start to fulfill this desire of God, they will see what eternal life is, what true humility is, and what it means to truly be a person who guides others to life. Maybe you are being called away from being just a judge who tells people what to do, and are being called to learn to also obey. Maybe you are being called away from being noticed through your knowledge or special events and positions that you are over, and being taught to also be humble through not leading and not contributing the most noticeable things. Maybe you are being called away from just living to impress others with what you seem to be, and being called to be someone in love with God. Rob Bell says something else in the same book that describes what a community healed from being a community of a bunch of individualists. He says, “I say the system has to be changed. It has to be destroyed and replaced not with another system but with an entirely new way of life. I see it happening and it gives me great hope. I see leaders getting help and refusing to stuff it anymore. I see communities embracing their brokenness and the brokenness of their leaders, and healing is taking place. I see honesty. I see people who want to be fully alive. I see people who want the life Jesus promises and who are willing to let go of ego and prestige and titles to get. I can’t begin to tell you how much better my life is today than it was several years ago. I continue to dig things up and process new insights and learn about my insides. The journey continues.”
I wonder if any of you want to know if Christianity can be saved from this, and the answer is yes. God wants it. Sometimes we just do not get what it means and we are constantly in need of new insight to our insides. Other times we just do not want to give up the things we have to get what God has planned for us. We are constantly in need of saving, even as Christians. Over and over we may fail, but by the grace of God, it is the one who lives in love with God who will be saved, not the one living infatuated with the self. If you want to see the staff positions; if you want to lead in the worship team or the choir; if you want to be the one who directs all the events and plays; if you want to be someone who keeps coming up to the pulpit and sharing, or even share testimonies in the congregation, think about it before hand. Have you thought that you might be doing it for you? Have you thought about not doing that job, but doing something behind the scenes? Have you thought about giving it up period? Maybe God is asking you to reconsider your part in this community. Remember that God wants your heart to match His heart. Live in the community mindset and not the individualistic mindset. Live in love with God and His creation instead of just you. Go, live out what you believe, and do not just be one who only seems Godly anymore. Be wrong every once in awhile instead of fighting to just be right and make everyone else wrong. That’s not trust or love. Let go of yourself. Then and only then will you see God’s kingdom here on earth and start your eternal life.

 

Journey Through Genesis

So I have been reading through Genesis the past week, and I must say that it is an amazing book. I know what you’re thinking. It’s not as boring as you think. It is at least an amazing story book. I know that there is much debate over the historicity of the book, but regardless of that, it still holds very strong truths (a side note, considering that this cultures existed very close to the beginning of time than us, they do seem to have the upper hand on anything we could “make up”. Even if they derived their stories from the origins of earlier cultures, they still have the upper hand in facts because the early stories would have to hold some form of truth about the beginning considering their proximity to the time that things began.)

It all started when God created man. That is when the story truly starts its crescendo upward. The climax at the fall defines men now. It at the very least reflects what is known about humanity. But the story does not stop there. We see that men start to divide by good and evil, and evil seems to start winning the battle. God out of misery decides to destroy all but a segment of creation. Out of this humanity regrows itself and God reestablishes the knowledge of His existence. We go on to Abraham (Abram). This man led a life of adventure because of God. The Covenant that was made changed the world forever. A nation was created that would exist and bring hope. Things get weird though because Abraham was a scared man. He was not a mass of people, but was just one man. His sleeping with his wifes servant proved this. Through this we get Ishmael (did you know that for a very long time the descendents of Ishmael and Isaac got along and even intermarried. Kind of funny that Muslims claim lineage to Ishmael and then try to pit themselves against Jews. The Jews do the same act of lunacy but claiming Isaac.)

Isaac’s story led to Jacob, who was later called Israel. This one fact confuses me, Israel wrestled with God. I read in a commentary for the NIV Study Bible (Zondervan) that he finally recognized the God gave blessings, but the problem is that he prays to God and recognizes God’s mercies. I cannot help but wonder if there is something else at work. Maybe a picture of what all Israel would do with God. What did asking for the man’s blessing mean? It’s just seems like there is something deeper is going on here. This is a good thing to study.

So do you see how the story is. It’s almost to good. I love hearing the richness of what Judaism offers when reading scripture. We have to turn to them often. Jesus existed in this kind of setting and we do His words no justice if we do not understand what He wanted to say to those people at that time. Now I’m not saying that you have to do exactly Jewish things or think strictly in Jewish terms when living life, but to know what God wants us to hear is important and there are truths embedded deep in their theology. Just reading with literary analysis alone may prove faulty at times, historical analysis is needed. If you have questions, look it up. Life is filled with questions. You will not find all the answers, that is so that we will trust God, but it is necessary to chase God.