Reading for January 9
Genesis 20:1-22:24
I've decided that one of my main goals of doing this is this:
Know what it means to 'fear God.'
We hear the term 'God fearing Christian' a lot and I'm not sure if it's in the right context in the modern day. Here in Genesis, there is a legitimate, palpable fear of God. There are a couple examples just in this section of text alone.
The first is when Abraham and Sarah go to a new town and once again pull the "She's my sister" bit. The ruler of that region takes Sarah into his house with the intention of sleeping with her, but then finds out that she's Abe's wife. Well this guy FREAKS OUT! Like no-joke, red light mode terror. He goes out of his way to give stuff to Abraham to make sure he will not be on God's bad list. Is this the kind of fear I should be feeling towards God? Ever since the sacrifice of Jesus, God doesn't dole out the pain like he did in the Old Testament...but I think the idea of fearing the Lord is still valid, maybe from a different angle though. I'll need to think about that.
The second example is a much more famous one. God asks Abraham to kill his only son, Isaac - the one that God had promised to him and Sarah at such an old age. Abraham does it without flinching - he doesn't actually kill Isaac, God stops him just before it happens, but he was prepared to do whatever God asked of him without question. There is also an obvious strong parallel to the Christ story here. I wonder if God was kind of watching Abraham, knowing that He Himself would have to suffer the same thing many years later.
I think the difficulty with fearing God these days is that His presence in the world is not as obvious, even if you're a Christian - if you're not a Christian, and you're not looking for it, you may never see Him at all. So to add to my goal: Look for images of God, and know what it is to fear him.
Matthew 7:15-29
One of the other goals I mentioned is taking responsibility for my faith and for what the Bible says. Here is an example of something I have trouble accepting, and would typically brush under the rug of a conversation in favor of the more humanitarian aspects of the Bible:
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’There is a point where God's patience runs out. In the Old Testament, God could judge and cut you down at any point in your life, now with Jesus, you have your entire life to make the right decisions, but if you don't make the right decisions before you die, you will not be allowed into heaven. How do I tell that to my friends who aren't Christian?
I think this is where a lot of the modern 'God fearing' comes from. I know a few Catholics who said they were terrified of God as a kid - that if they messed up, they would end up in Hell. Although, I don't think this is the correct direction for modern fear of God either. There is a lot of emphasis in the
Christian church about acting right so you can go to Heaven. So much of Christianity is focused on a life after death, that people forget about life. Jesus not only gave us a path to Heaven, but a guide for a rich and rewarding life on Earth. How would this Earth ever become a better place if we all only focused our efforts on getting into Heaven?
Psalm 9:1-12
Wow, I was wrong. David's tune did change because God took out the enemies who were oppressing him. This is another God praising psalm, and it gives a reason for the praise:
3 My enemies retreated;I have a lot of preconceived notions and beliefs that I need to manage while reading the Bible. Add it to the goals:
they staggered and died when you appeared.
4 For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with fairness.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
6 The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
Read the Word for what it is, and don't try to shoehorn my belief system into the text.
Proverbs 2:16-22
Hey check this out
22 But the wicked will be removed from the land,Similar theme and language used as the Psalm above. Who wrote Proverbs? (Checking Google...)
and the treacherous will be uprooted.
Ah, interesting. King Solomon wrote the Proverbs, or at least this section - guess who Solomon's dad was?
David.
Alright. I gotta admit, I'm a little worried. I was hoping that reading through the Bible would confirm a lot of the beliefs I have adopted as an adult Christian. Things like - leading by example, God loves everyone, Care for others, Come as you are, Everyone is welcome by Jesus. So far what I'm seeing is a message of vengeance and exclusionary practices. Granted, I'm only 9 days in, and I'll be curious to see how I feel when I reach the end...but what if I walk away from this journey with a new insight that I don't like? An insight that doesn't match with my ideas of what it means to be a Christian? What if this pushes me away from my own faith? What if I'm being super over-dramatic?
I posted about what I think about God's vengeance and wrath in a earlier post. Read it!
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Psalms are chronological, so it's not as if one follows the other.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
What is important about that passage is the one right before it : "Beware of false prophets, who come to yo in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." The people that Jesus says He never knew are not simply the ones who make bad decisions, but the ones who are hypocrites -- the ones who say they are righteous and holy and yet are rotten inside.
In some senses, this is actually very comforting to the non-Christian, because Jesus is explicitly indicting not the messed up non-believers but the ultra righteous "believers" who don't follow through with what they say.