Reading from Friday, October 29

Hey buds.

Reading for October 29
Starting fresh on two new books. I'm excited about Lamentations - it's sort of in that same category as Job and Ecclesiastes.
 
Lamentations 1:1-2:22
So just a little background on this book. It is believed that it was written by Jeremiah during Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Jerusalem. So in this book he is "lamenting" the destruction of this former great city.

So reading this in context really gives it a different feel. I used to read this book because I thought it was "emo" and sad and thought it would help me write better songs. I would try to shoehorn the ideas of a group of people lamenting the loss of their great city into my ideas of being sad about being dumped. Clearly in context, Lamentations is even more powerful. If it actually was written by Jeremiah, it means that the man who had written a fabulously complex book of prophecy and history about God was feeling betrayed by him which would cause him to write something like this:

 ⁵ The Lord is like an enemy;
   he has swallowed up Israel.
He has swallowed up all her palaces
   and destroyed her strongholds.
He has multiplied mourning and lamentation
   for Daughter Judah.

My problem with this idea is that the writers of the Bible assigned every thing that happened to God. Whether its good or bad, God had a hand in it somehow. And its frustrating to read that a group of jerks known as the Babylonians attacked and burned Israel and the Israelites blame God for it. Of course I believe that God can have whatever influence he wants to over the world, but I don't think people should assume he is responsib;e for every single thing that happens. Sometimes people are just buttholes.

Philemon 1:1-25
This book is only the one chapter and its a short one. Basically, Paul reveals that he has a son and asks for Philemon to prepare a place for him. That's pretty much the gist of the book. Why include this in the Bible?

Psalm 101:1-8
I can't tell if this is from God's perspective or David's...

  I hate what faithless people do;
   I will have no part in it.
⁴ The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
   I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

I think its more powerful if its God...

Proverbs 26:20
 ²⁰ Without wood a fire goes out;
   without a gossip a quarrel dies down. 

Yeah.