Wednesday, March 24

Hi-o. Welcome to blog time. I had a really great day, today actually. A lot of stuff hit me at once with regards to certain things I'd been struggling with - specifically the slaughter and genocide of the Midianites that God not only allowed, but ordered in the book of Numbers. While I don't have an answer to make that OK yet, I know I am in good company with others.

On Sunday, I was telling my wife, Jilly about the difficulty I was having with that passage. She definitely encouraged me by putting things in context. We talked about how even though the Bible has been divinely inspired, it has passed through many, many hands. And things could have been altered to fit the political need of that time.

Today, I had three separate run-ins with people who gave me a good deal of encouragement. I had lunch with a good friend who told me that if something isn't sitting right with me, then it's probably wrong. Not necessarily what the Bible says is wrong, but maybe the eyes I'm using to interpret that section.

Then I got an email from another good friend who was kind enough to give me the story of how he converted from outright atheism to becoming a hardcore Christian - and now he is planning on attending Seminary next year. His story helped me to put my faith in context, and gave me hope not to give up.

Both of these people - completely independent of each other - reminded me that the Bible is a living document. The words stay the same, but the meanings apply themselves to different time periods. I just thought that was pretty interesting that they both said the same thing.

Then I heard that Dashboard song on Pandora that totally encapsulated what I was thinking and feeling - THEN someone commented on that to remind me that even some of the disciples - Jesus' disciples doubted his resurrection. Even seeing his resurrected body, still doubted. He said that I'm in good company...

So to all my friends, my wife, and my sleepy puppy who is dozing on my lap right now - thank you.

Reading for March 24
Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29
The recap continues...

Moses (at least I think it's Moses) continues the recap of the Israelites journey so far. But while this does encompass much of what had occurred in the book of Numbers, it isn't just a rehash - there are some new details in this. Not very interesting details, but new nonetheless.

There was an interesting bit about the Israelites encounter with the descendants of Esau. Remember Esau? Jacob's brother? Also known as Israel's brother? It's weird to think about how Esau's descendants are not considered Israeli, and just that one branch out of all those people in the Old Testament is God's chosen people. At the same time, this group still seems very well taken care of by God. God tells Moses not to disturb any citizens of Esau's people, and that God had already given them a large piece of land as inheritance, so the Israelites could forget about taking any of it.

Could this be the first sign that God cares about other peoples besides the Israelites?

Luke 6:12-38
You know I never made the connection that there were 12 Tribes of Israel and also 12 Disciples? These Disciples are just as important as the tribes. This is who they are:

¹⁴Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Two Simon's, Two James', Two Judas's, Andrew, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas (Doubting version)

 ³⁷"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

This seems to be very important to Jesus. This comes right after the beatitudes (Blessed are the hungry, etc), and also after the famous "Turn the other cheek" line. Jesus is tearing down the rules and customs of old. I would imagine that the audience listening would have been raised their whole life with the eye for an eye mentality. Then Jesus comes and says if someone takes one of your eyes, give him the other. That is some radical thinking - not to mention the exact opposite of God's original rules. No wonder the Pharisees wanted to kill him - he was condemning everything they stood for...

I wonder though - if the plan all along was for Jesus to die - could he have done all of these controversial things to provoke the Pharisees? He had to know it would piss them off big time. 


Psalm 67:1-7 ⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;
       may all the peoples praise you.
 ⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest,
       and God, our God, will bless us.
 ⁷ God will bless us,
       and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Back to the fear of God thing...Doesn't that last line appear to be out of context? Praise, praise, bless, bless, fear. I don't get it...

Proverbs 11:27  ²⁷ He who seeks good finds goodwill,
       but evil comes to him who searches for it.

That'll do it for me, kids. Thanks again to everyone who was an encouragement in this doubtful time. Peace out, homies.

Dear God,

Thank you for making yourself known through the work of friends. Thank you for quelling my anger against you, and I apologize for turning away so angrily. God, I still have a need to understand why you chose to do that to the Midianites, but for now I can live with it. Please help me to find the right answers about that.

God, I pray that you open my eyes for opportunities to do good in your name. And give me the courage to act on those opportunities. Help me to live outside my bubble, and in the world. Help me to get inside other people's bubbles who may be struggling with something.

Thank you God for a good day, and I pray for another tomorrow.


In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.