Hey now. Playing catch up cuz I fell asleep right after I started this last night. Here we go.
Reading for April 28
Judges 8:18-9:21
This section is so confusing. There are too many names and I don't know who's who. Can someone who's smarter than me read it and summarize it for me in the comments? Just click the "Reading for April 28" thing above. Thanks.
Luke 23:44-24:12
So emphasizing what I said in yesterday's post about sin being the main villain of the Bible - there is a scene here during Jesus' death that is pretty well known, but I think a lot of people overlook the significance of it. When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn in half. This curtain was there to keep God separate from people and only the highest of high priests was allowed beyond that curtain and only on specific days at specific times. The curtain tearing in half is EXTREMELY symbolic of the relationship between God and man. With the death of Jesus, God and man could finally co-exist again - something that hadn't happened since the beginning of time.
Imagine the joy God felt at this moment - he could finally be with his creation. Sin had been defeated and could no longer separate him from his beloved humans. Jesus' death is the manure truck of the Bible. Is that sacrilegious? You know what I mean right?
Also, can someone who's smart tell me if Joseph of Arimethea is Jesus' father?
Psalm 99:1-9
8 O LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel [a] a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
Here again we see the light and dark sides of God I mentioned a few nights ago. And I've given some thought to that as well and it's not as new of an idea as I thought. The reason we see the two different experiences with God is the dual nature of God - perfectly loving and perfectly just. We interpret the 'just' part as God being a jerk and not letting us do or have what we want. But this is simply instruction and correction to strengthen us for future events.
Does that make sense? Then, of course you run into conflict with this theory when babies start dying and innocent people die in earthquakes. Think think think...
Proverbs 14:9-10
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
but goodwill is found among the upright.
10 Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can share its joy.
I love verse 10 there. No one knows what its like to be me, and no one knows what its like to be you. So don't judge eachother, fools.
K - peace.
Tuesday, April 27
Hi now. How are you, friends? I had a nice little 3 mile walk with my babe this evening. But we walked to Dairy Queen and I got a Oreo/Cookie Dough Blizzard, so it probably canceled out.
OK - so I fell asleep last night when I was doing this. Let's catch up. I read all the content today so all I need to do now is write about it.
Reading for April 27
Judges 7:1-8:17
This section is exceptionally cool. The Israelites are getting ready to take back the land that was claimed by the Midianites. God doesn't want them to attack the Midianites using the full army because he doesn't want the Israelites to think it was by their own power that they won. He wanted it to be clear that he was their God and he alone was responsible for their victory over the Midianites. So God thins their numbers down to a certain amount - actually that certain amount is 300.
Shortly after the 300 were all selected they started doing situps and pushups like crazy. Then they all got sweet battle gear and put oil all over their bodies. Then God was all like "SPARTANS!" Then Gerard Butler was the new Judge of Israel and Frank Miller made a comic about him.
Wait...is that how it happened?
Anyway, the real story is the 300 men went to the Midianites camp late at night, made a lot of noise to scare the crap out of the Midianites and the Midianites fled. Yay Jews.
As I was reading this section today, I started thinking about "bad guys". Clearly in the Bible the Israelites are set up to be the "good guys" of the story, while it seems like every other nation is the bad guy. But then I thought, "well if the Midianites are the bad guy, I'm not getting that same sense of justice out of their defeat that I get like when Biff drives into the manure truck in Back to the Future." Right? I'm always so pumped when stupid Biff is covered in manure. "TAKE THAT BIFF!" I always yell. So why don't I feel that same thing when God leads Israel to a victory over a nation - here's what I realized:
The main villain of the Bible is not the other nations. The main villain of the Bible isn't even Satan. The main villain of the Bible is sin.
Put sin in an 80s movie and sin is that stupid sweater wearing jerk who steals the nice guy's girlfriend and tries to take her away in his boat but at the end the girl realizes he's a butthole and comes back to the nice guy. Then sin is covered in manure and says, "Manure! I hate manure!"
Kidding aside - that feeling of justice that's missing when I'm reading about victories over various nations, is fully present when I read about Jesus' conquering sin once and for all through his sacrifice. "TAKE THAT SIN!" I yell.
Luke 23:13-43
This account of Jesus' crucifixion really goes into detail about Pilate's attempt to let Jesus go. He pleads with the crowd three times saying that he's found no crime to charge Jesus with, nor has Herod. Eventually he gives into the crowd's cries for Jesus' death, but washes his hands of the decision as we read about in other gospels.
What's interesting is that Pilate seems like the honorable, good guy in this story, while the religious leaders and the rest of the crowd are often demonized. But in actuality Pilate was working against God's plan here. Pilate was actually standing in the way of what God had planned to carry out for a long time, while the awful religious leaders who demanded blood were actually aiding Jesus in carrying out his ultimate goal.
There's a line somewhere in the Bible that says "What you intended for evil, God used for good." Just looked it up - it's in Genesis. Boom.
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Love this:
Proverbs 14:7-8
7 Stay away from a foolish man,
for you will not find knowledge on his lips.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.
Word up.
OK - so I fell asleep last night when I was doing this. Let's catch up. I read all the content today so all I need to do now is write about it.
Reading for April 27
Judges 7:1-8:17
This section is exceptionally cool. The Israelites are getting ready to take back the land that was claimed by the Midianites. God doesn't want them to attack the Midianites using the full army because he doesn't want the Israelites to think it was by their own power that they won. He wanted it to be clear that he was their God and he alone was responsible for their victory over the Midianites. So God thins their numbers down to a certain amount - actually that certain amount is 300.
Shortly after the 300 were all selected they started doing situps and pushups like crazy. Then they all got sweet battle gear and put oil all over their bodies. Then God was all like "SPARTANS!" Then Gerard Butler was the new Judge of Israel and Frank Miller made a comic about him.
Wait...is that how it happened?
Anyway, the real story is the 300 men went to the Midianites camp late at night, made a lot of noise to scare the crap out of the Midianites and the Midianites fled. Yay Jews.
As I was reading this section today, I started thinking about "bad guys". Clearly in the Bible the Israelites are set up to be the "good guys" of the story, while it seems like every other nation is the bad guy. But then I thought, "well if the Midianites are the bad guy, I'm not getting that same sense of justice out of their defeat that I get like when Biff drives into the manure truck in Back to the Future." Right? I'm always so pumped when stupid Biff is covered in manure. "TAKE THAT BIFF!" I always yell. So why don't I feel that same thing when God leads Israel to a victory over a nation - here's what I realized:
The main villain of the Bible is not the other nations. The main villain of the Bible isn't even Satan. The main villain of the Bible is sin.
Put sin in an 80s movie and sin is that stupid sweater wearing jerk who steals the nice guy's girlfriend and tries to take her away in his boat but at the end the girl realizes he's a butthole and comes back to the nice guy. Then sin is covered in manure and says, "Manure! I hate manure!"
Kidding aside - that feeling of justice that's missing when I'm reading about victories over various nations, is fully present when I read about Jesus' conquering sin once and for all through his sacrifice. "TAKE THAT SIN!" I yell.
Luke 23:13-43
This account of Jesus' crucifixion really goes into detail about Pilate's attempt to let Jesus go. He pleads with the crowd three times saying that he's found no crime to charge Jesus with, nor has Herod. Eventually he gives into the crowd's cries for Jesus' death, but washes his hands of the decision as we read about in other gospels.
What's interesting is that Pilate seems like the honorable, good guy in this story, while the religious leaders and the rest of the crowd are often demonized. But in actuality Pilate was working against God's plan here. Pilate was actually standing in the way of what God had planned to carry out for a long time, while the awful religious leaders who demanded blood were actually aiding Jesus in carrying out his ultimate goal.
There's a line somewhere in the Bible that says "What you intended for evil, God used for good." Just looked it up - it's in Genesis. Boom.
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Love this:
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
Proverbs 14:7-8
7 Stay away from a foolish man,
for you will not find knowledge on his lips.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.
Word up.
Monday, April 26
Hey friends. Rainy day today, no? Pretty good all around though...
Reading for April 26
Judges 6:1-40
So again the people of Israel turn away from God and begin worshiping Baal. I need to do some research into a little more about who Baal was and what was so attractive about worshiping him. So because the Israelites turned away from him, God actually gives favor to none other than the Midianites. That's right - the very nation his people slaughtered so mericilessly has found favor in the lord. Perhaps its just favor by default because of the Israelites screw up, but its still favor nonetheless.
The Lord sends Gideon this time to remind the Israelites of where they came from and what they were doing. He tears down the altar to Baal and the people freak out and try to kill him. Josash, Gideon's father says this:
Luke 22:54-23:12
There's some interesting little details in this telling of the gospel. After Jesus is arrested he is brought before Pilate and the Pharisees accuse him of quite a few things - all of which are false. Pilate says "I don't see what he's guilty of." So then Jesus is brought to King Herod as Herod was the ruling king of the nation at that time. Herod was excited to see Jesus and was expecting to see a miracle or two. Herod kept asking Jesus questions but Jesus didn't say a word. Eventually he started mocking him along with the rest of the soldiers and sent Jesus back to Pilate.
It's funny that Herod was expecting a miracle, but thinking he didn't see one. If he only knew what would happen a couple days later...
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Dig it:
12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
I've always liked the idea of nature singing praise to God. It's like when Jesus said the rocks would cry out praise for him if his people could not.
Proverbs 14:5-6
5 A truthful witness does not deceive,
but a false witness pours out lies.
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
Alright, goodnight yo.
Reading for April 26
Judges 6:1-40
So again the people of Israel turn away from God and begin worshiping Baal. I need to do some research into a little more about who Baal was and what was so attractive about worshiping him. So because the Israelites turned away from him, God actually gives favor to none other than the Midianites. That's right - the very nation his people slaughtered so mericilessly has found favor in the lord. Perhaps its just favor by default because of the Israelites screw up, but its still favor nonetheless.
The Lord sends Gideon this time to remind the Israelites of where they came from and what they were doing. He tears down the altar to Baal and the people freak out and try to kill him. Josash, Gideon's father says this:
"Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar."Pretty cool.
Luke 22:54-23:12
There's some interesting little details in this telling of the gospel. After Jesus is arrested he is brought before Pilate and the Pharisees accuse him of quite a few things - all of which are false. Pilate says "I don't see what he's guilty of." So then Jesus is brought to King Herod as Herod was the ruling king of the nation at that time. Herod was excited to see Jesus and was expecting to see a miracle or two. Herod kept asking Jesus questions but Jesus didn't say a word. Eventually he started mocking him along with the rest of the soldiers and sent Jesus back to Pilate.
It's funny that Herod was expecting a miracle, but thinking he didn't see one. If he only knew what would happen a couple days later...
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Dig it:
12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
I've always liked the idea of nature singing praise to God. It's like when Jesus said the rocks would cry out praise for him if his people could not.
Proverbs 14:5-6
5 A truthful witness does not deceive,
but a false witness pours out lies.
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
Alright, goodnight yo.
Sunday, April 25
Alright. Caught up.
By the way - here's the video of the song I sang for the Bennett's wedding day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM3Rv6CTYh8
Reading for April 25
Judges 4:1-5:31
So in this section a woman named Deborah rises up to lead Israel and she is completely badass. She drove a tent peg through the face of this evil guy. I can't type much more because my laptop's almost dead - click the "Reading" link above if you want to read it - it's a sweet story.
Luke 22:35-53
Jesus in the garden of Gastheneme. Great scene, read it. (6% battery left, sorry)
Psalm 94:1-23
19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Boom.
Proverbs 14:3-4
3 A fool's talk brings a rod to his back,
but the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.
Sweet. 4% left. Goodnight.
By the way - here's the video of the song I sang for the Bennett's wedding day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM3Rv6CTYh8
Reading for April 25
Judges 4:1-5:31
So in this section a woman named Deborah rises up to lead Israel and she is completely badass. She drove a tent peg through the face of this evil guy. I can't type much more because my laptop's almost dead - click the "Reading" link above if you want to read it - it's a sweet story.
Luke 22:35-53
Jesus in the garden of Gastheneme. Great scene, read it. (6% battery left, sorry)
Psalm 94:1-23
19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Boom.
Proverbs 14:3-4
3 A fool's talk brings a rod to his back,
but the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.
Sweet. 4% left. Goodnight.
Reading from Saturday, April 24
Hello. Just got back from a huge Italian dinner at a place called Sanducci's by my apartment. Delicious, but extremely filling. I have a tendency to overeat so I'm not feeling too great right now...ugh...
Reading for April 24
Judges 2:10-3:31
So, just based on what I've read so far - it seems like Judges is an extremely fast paced book - covering dozens of years in a single paragraph. So after the reign of Joshua ended, and all the people who lived with him died, the next generation turned away from God and began worshiping Baal. So, as God promised, they lost their favor with him and he did not help them when armies attacked. Eventually they began to cry out to him and God would send "judges" who would lead the people. These two chapters talk about several judges who rose up and led the Israelites to victory over their enemies.
One particularly interesting story is the story of Ehud the judge. Because of Israel's disobedience, God gave them over to the control of a king named Elgon. Elgon was fat and kind of a jerk. He was a fat jerk. So the Israelites cried out to God and he sentthem Ehud. Ehud went up to Elgon's chambers and told him he had to deliver a secret message - instead he took a 18" sword and shoved it through Elgon's belly - it says that even the handle plunged into the fat king's stomach. Ehud got away and the people were free - but then they turned away from God again, were given over to another nation - again - and God sent someone to bail them out...again.
Something else about the character of God - he is extremely patient and forgiving, at least it seems like he is starting to be. Then again, its a little easier to see here because this book is happening in fast forward so it describes his punishment, but then immediately shows his forgiveness. But there were many years in between the punishment and forgiveness.
Luke 22:14-34
So once again here is the last supper. Here's a neat little detail though. Right after Jesus describes that someone will betray him, he says this:
The last line though about turning back and strengthening your brothers - Simon Peter does just that as he is the foundation of the original Christian church.
Psalm 92:1-93:5
3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.
Nothin special to say about this - I just dig it.
Proverbs 14:1-2
1 The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD,
but he whose ways are devious despises him.
So a little more about fearing God. It seems like the opposite of fear is hate in this case...so I can play a little reverse engineering and say that - in this case - fear = love or despise = not afraid. I would say fear = love...
Fear all the time.
Reading for April 24
Judges 2:10-3:31
So, just based on what I've read so far - it seems like Judges is an extremely fast paced book - covering dozens of years in a single paragraph. So after the reign of Joshua ended, and all the people who lived with him died, the next generation turned away from God and began worshiping Baal. So, as God promised, they lost their favor with him and he did not help them when armies attacked. Eventually they began to cry out to him and God would send "judges" who would lead the people. These two chapters talk about several judges who rose up and led the Israelites to victory over their enemies.
One particularly interesting story is the story of Ehud the judge. Because of Israel's disobedience, God gave them over to the control of a king named Elgon. Elgon was fat and kind of a jerk. He was a fat jerk. So the Israelites cried out to God and he sentthem Ehud. Ehud went up to Elgon's chambers and told him he had to deliver a secret message - instead he took a 18" sword and shoved it through Elgon's belly - it says that even the handle plunged into the fat king's stomach. Ehud got away and the people were free - but then they turned away from God again, were given over to another nation - again - and God sent someone to bail them out...again.
Something else about the character of God - he is extremely patient and forgiving, at least it seems like he is starting to be. Then again, its a little easier to see here because this book is happening in fast forward so it describes his punishment, but then immediately shows his forgiveness. But there were many years in between the punishment and forgiveness.
Luke 22:14-34
So once again here is the last supper. Here's a neat little detail though. Right after Jesus describes that someone will betray him, he says this:
31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you[a] as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."Again, a direct mention of Satan being an influence over the people of this world. Luke is the only gospel I'm aware of that makes Satan such a prevalent figure in the idea of faith. The other interesting thing is that Jesus uses Peter's original name of Simon as he addresses him. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter after he decided to follow him. So him calling him by his original name is a reminder that he is a sinful man, just like everyone else, and that he too will betray Jesus by denying he knew him.
The last line though about turning back and strengthening your brothers - Simon Peter does just that as he is the foundation of the original Christian church.
Psalm 92:1-93:5
3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.
Nothin special to say about this - I just dig it.
Proverbs 14:1-2
1 The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD,
but he whose ways are devious despises him.
So a little more about fearing God. It seems like the opposite of fear is hate in this case...so I can play a little reverse engineering and say that - in this case - fear = love or despise = not afraid. I would say fear = love...
Fear all the time.
Reading from Friday, April 23
Yes - so once again I'm way behind, thanks to one Tim Bennett's wedding. The wedding was absolutely incredible - the location, the decoration, the people, it was all unreal. I was asked to give a speech during the reception which I delivered in song form - I brought my guitar and we had a good ole call and response sing along...It's Bennett!...It's Bennett! I think someone videoed it so I'll post a youtube link when its up.
Alright - let's start the catch up.
Reading for April 23
Judges 1:1-2:9
This is really another summary of Joshua. I suppose when these books were written they weren't originally bound together and right next to eachother, but rather separate documents. So the summary of Joshua would be appropriate if that was the case. There really isn't any new information in these first two chapters so we can just move along.
Luke 21:29-22:13
All of the story components from this section have been written about in previous gospels, but there is one little detail that sticks out here:
"Hey Babe, we're out of milk."
"Arg! It's the devil at work! Tryin to tear me down..."
The other thing that makes the example of Judas so interesting is something I've mentioned before: Jesus being given over to be killed led to his crucifixion, which was the plan from the beginning. Without Judas' betrayal, we wouldn't have been redeemed through Christ's sacrifice...right?
Psalm 90:1-91:16
Oh wow - this chapter starts "Book IV" of Psalms. And these are by Moses.
A really great line here:
There are some extremely awful times for people and there are some gloriously wonderful times for people. Think about Christ's crucifixion. Over the course of one weekend we see the whole character of God encapsulated. Through the terrible, awful disasters - he brings miracles. I would encourage you to consider this in your own life - if you're having a hard time right now, one thing I've learned to bee true is that God always delivers on his promises and that the hard times will pass away and yield towards wonderful times. The hard times may return, but know that it's cyclical.
Proverbs 13:24-25
On the other hand, if he takes the gun away and disciplines him so the son learns to stay away from machine guns, that is the mark of a loving father. Now, its debatable that genocide is taking it too far in terms of disciplining - that would be like the father killing the son for playing with a machine gun. But with the larger "son" of humanity, sometimes it takes the death of a few...or a few hundred thousand for God's son "humanity" to learn...
It's a tough issue for sure, but let's give some thought to that, yeah?
Alright...love, friends.
Alright - let's start the catch up.
Reading for April 23
Judges 1:1-2:9
This is really another summary of Joshua. I suppose when these books were written they weren't originally bound together and right next to eachother, but rather separate documents. So the summary of Joshua would be appropriate if that was the case. There really isn't any new information in these first two chapters so we can just move along.
Luke 21:29-22:13
All of the story components from this section have been written about in previous gospels, but there is one little detail that sticks out here:
1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.This is the first account time we read that Judas was not acting of his own free will when he betrayed Jesus, but rather was possessed by a demon - specifically Satan. This is an issue with Christianity I used to think about a lot. There is a thought amongst many Christians that whenever they do something bad, or whenever something bad happens, that it is the devil or Satan at work. And while I believe there is a Satan and that he may have some influence over this world, I don't think it's smart to assign every inconvenience in our lives to him.
"Hey Babe, we're out of milk."
"Arg! It's the devil at work! Tryin to tear me down..."
The other thing that makes the example of Judas so interesting is something I've mentioned before: Jesus being given over to be killed led to his crucifixion, which was the plan from the beginning. Without Judas' betrayal, we wouldn't have been redeemed through Christ's sacrifice...right?
Psalm 90:1-91:16
Oh wow - this chapter starts "Book IV" of Psalms. And these are by Moses.
A really great line here:
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,This is very much in line with the rest of the pslams. There always seems to be this conflict between affliction and gladness - or trouble and peace. And I think - as I continue to read this same message over and over again - from multiple different Pslamists, this message of darkness and light is the very nature of God. The psalms give you a very condensed picture of this dichotomy of God's character, but as I'm seeing the larger picture of the Bible, this is exactly what he does. He does some things - as I'm reading now - that would make most people throw up with disgust, then he does some things that would make people throw up with joy. I've never "joy barfed" but I'm sure it happens...
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
There are some extremely awful times for people and there are some gloriously wonderful times for people. Think about Christ's crucifixion. Over the course of one weekend we see the whole character of God encapsulated. Through the terrible, awful disasters - he brings miracles. I would encourage you to consider this in your own life - if you're having a hard time right now, one thing I've learned to bee true is that God always delivers on his promises and that the hard times will pass away and yield towards wonderful times. The hard times may return, but know that it's cyclical.
Proverbs 13:24-25
24 He who spares the rod hates his son,Verse 24 there is interesting in the light of the Old Testament awfulness that I've been reading. I know this is probably more geared towards the earthly father son relationship, but think about it from Godly father point of view. He punished Israel - and many other nations - for their disobedience. He did this not because he hated them, but because he loved them. Think about it - if a father sees his son playing with a machine gun and says, "Ah, let the kid do what he wants" - the son would likely kill himself or someone else.
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.
25 The righteous eat to their hearts' content,
but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.
On the other hand, if he takes the gun away and disciplines him so the son learns to stay away from machine guns, that is the mark of a loving father. Now, its debatable that genocide is taking it too far in terms of disciplining - that would be like the father killing the son for playing with a machine gun. But with the larger "son" of humanity, sometimes it takes the death of a few...or a few hundred thousand for God's son "humanity" to learn...
It's a tough issue for sure, but let's give some thought to that, yeah?
Alright...love, friends.
Thursday, April 22
Oh yeah. Caught up on this piece. I got the rehearsal dinner tonight for my best friend, Benny - so I figured I would go ahead and do today's entry now before the night got too crazy.
Reading for April 22
Joshua 24:1-33
Ah - the last chapter in Joshua, and another book complete. Let's see what she says.
Wow - what a way to finish. This chapter is so rich with theology and details and heart. It starts with a retelling of everything that has happened so far - from Abraham to the present. This seems to be something the authors of the OT tend to do pretty often - which I think is great.
After the summary, Joshua begins to once again instruct his people to serve God alone and no other.
The people reply, "Of course we will serve God."
Joshua says "I don't think you can - you've been so unfaithful before."
They reply, "No, we promise. This time its for real."
Joshua then says that they are a witness to their own demise essentially, because if they step out of line, they know exactly what will happen. The text does go on to say that Israel was faithful to God throughout the entire 'reign' of Joshua, which is pretty cool because Deuteronomy ended with Moses and God predicting Israel's betrayal - more evidence that God does not know the absolute future, but perhaps potential outcomes...that's a strange thing to think about. It's like knowing all the endings to a video game, but not knowing which one will end up happening.
Then the coolest capstone of a book so far closes out Joshua. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery in Egypt? The reason Israel was enslaved in Egypt (debatable)? Joseph probably died (total guess) 500 years prior to this scene in Joshua. Well, the nation of Israel kept his bones for all these years and buried them in the promised land where they were living. Specifically they were buried at Shechum - which was purchased by - who? - Jacob all the way back in Genesis.
Full circle, indeed.
Luke 21:1-28
Dude - the signs of the end of the age are freaking intense.
Here, Jesus launches into one of the bigger - if not the biggest - lectures on the end of the world. The way he describes it is so vivid and palpable that it really rests in your mind after reading it. Especially these last few verses:
Psalm 89:38-52
Wow - this is freaking intense. So this is the second half of the psalm which I read last night that was all happy and praisy and I was all like "Hey I've never seen a psalm that was all good without any sort of dissonance in it. I like that." Well I didn't realize that the second half was that dissonance that seemed like it was missing - but man, what a way with words this guy has.
Verses 38-45 sound make this sound almost like someone we should all know pretty well by now:
38 But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken through all his walls
and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
Selah
I think the psalmist is talking about himself here, but it does sound an awful lot like Jesus, no?
After this he goes into perhaps the most honest look at man vs God so far in the Bible:
Let's say for a moment that everything in the Bible was made up. It's all false crap. What would the purpose of it be then? There doesn't seem to be any monetary gain to a specific place (tithing is debatable). It doesn't make you swear any allegiance to any nation or king, except God, but if it's all false that that's irrelevant. If this whole thing is a lie, I believe it was made up to give all of us a sense of meaning to our lives. I mean, this is the oldest question in the world - 'why am I here?' The Bible tries to answer that question by creating a God that created us and loves us and has a plan for our lives.
But then you see something like 'for what futility you have created all men' in a book that's supposed to be about the opposite of that, that really stands out. I'm not sure what to make of it, but its just such an honest, real human emotion.
I suppose if this psalm is in fact autobiographical, then it would make sense. He has been completely decimated, friends gone, power usurped, glory trodden over - who wouldn't feel worthless and insignificant at that point in one's life?
Proverbs 13:20-23
20 He who walks with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm.
21 Misfortune pursues the sinner,
but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children,
but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.
23 A poor man's field may produce abundant food,
but injustice sweeps it away.
Take from those what you will.
Now it's time for the wedding of the year! Love all the time, friends!
Reading for April 22
Joshua 24:1-33
Ah - the last chapter in Joshua, and another book complete. Let's see what she says.
Wow - what a way to finish. This chapter is so rich with theology and details and heart. It starts with a retelling of everything that has happened so far - from Abraham to the present. This seems to be something the authors of the OT tend to do pretty often - which I think is great.
After the summary, Joshua begins to once again instruct his people to serve God alone and no other.
The people reply, "Of course we will serve God."
Joshua says "I don't think you can - you've been so unfaithful before."
They reply, "No, we promise. This time its for real."
Joshua then says that they are a witness to their own demise essentially, because if they step out of line, they know exactly what will happen. The text does go on to say that Israel was faithful to God throughout the entire 'reign' of Joshua, which is pretty cool because Deuteronomy ended with Moses and God predicting Israel's betrayal - more evidence that God does not know the absolute future, but perhaps potential outcomes...that's a strange thing to think about. It's like knowing all the endings to a video game, but not knowing which one will end up happening.
Then the coolest capstone of a book so far closes out Joshua. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery in Egypt? The reason Israel was enslaved in Egypt (debatable)? Joseph probably died (total guess) 500 years prior to this scene in Joshua. Well, the nation of Israel kept his bones for all these years and buried them in the promised land where they were living. Specifically they were buried at Shechum - which was purchased by - who? - Jacob all the way back in Genesis.
Full circle, indeed.
Luke 21:1-28
Dude - the signs of the end of the age are freaking intense.
Here, Jesus launches into one of the bigger - if not the biggest - lectures on the end of the world. The way he describes it is so vivid and palpable that it really rests in your mind after reading it. Especially these last few verses:
25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."At the same time, that last verse is almost comforting. It's like having the knowledge that the scary things that will happen are actually good provides a pretty good sense of ease about the whole thing. Plus its kinda like a call to arms too - "stand up and life your heads because your redemption is drawing near." sounds like the title of a turbo core song.
Psalm 89:38-52
Wow - this is freaking intense. So this is the second half of the psalm which I read last night that was all happy and praisy and I was all like "Hey I've never seen a psalm that was all good without any sort of dissonance in it. I like that." Well I didn't realize that the second half was that dissonance that seemed like it was missing - but man, what a way with words this guy has.
Verses 38-45 sound make this sound almost like someone we should all know pretty well by now:
38 But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken through all his walls
and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
Selah
I think the psalmist is talking about himself here, but it does sound an awful lot like Jesus, no?
After this he goes into perhaps the most honest look at man vs God so far in the Bible:
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.Check out that bolded line. 'For what futility you have created all men!' What a statement. This is the psalmist pondering the meaning of life, and finding nothing - calling it futile.
For what futility you have created all men!
48 What man can live and not see death,
or save himself from the power of the grave ?
Selah
49 O Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
Let's say for a moment that everything in the Bible was made up. It's all false crap. What would the purpose of it be then? There doesn't seem to be any monetary gain to a specific place (tithing is debatable). It doesn't make you swear any allegiance to any nation or king, except God, but if it's all false that that's irrelevant. If this whole thing is a lie, I believe it was made up to give all of us a sense of meaning to our lives. I mean, this is the oldest question in the world - 'why am I here?' The Bible tries to answer that question by creating a God that created us and loves us and has a plan for our lives.
But then you see something like 'for what futility you have created all men' in a book that's supposed to be about the opposite of that, that really stands out. I'm not sure what to make of it, but its just such an honest, real human emotion.
I suppose if this psalm is in fact autobiographical, then it would make sense. He has been completely decimated, friends gone, power usurped, glory trodden over - who wouldn't feel worthless and insignificant at that point in one's life?
Proverbs 13:20-23
20 He who walks with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm.
21 Misfortune pursues the sinner,
but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children,
but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.
23 A poor man's field may produce abundant food,
but injustice sweeps it away.
Take from those what you will.
Now it's time for the wedding of the year! Love all the time, friends!
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