Acts
Paul's story begins in earnest now. Chapter 15 covers the conflict in the early church that often crept up. The followers of Jesus were all originally Jewish, and did not see themselves as starting a new religion, but a new movement within Judaism. The questions was, for a person to be a member of this Jewish community, how were they to be Jews. The standard answer is that they should be circumcised, but Paul argues that these Gentiles have joined the family of Abraham without circumcision. It is confirmed by the many works the Holy Spirit has done among them. The Jerusalem church and the twelve accept this point and ask that they simply not eat meat sacrificed to idols and follow the Noaich covenant, which forbids consuming blood.
16 covers Paul's missionary journeys. There are several miracles and people are drawn to Paul's message about the Good News.
Galatians
This early letter of Paul is sometimes called the mini Romans because of the similar subject matter. Paul is arguing against a group of people in the community who are holding onto the Jewish Law as the way of salvation. Paul argues that it is God's grace that saves us and brings us into God's family where there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, woman nor man.
Philippians
One of the most beautifully written of Paul's letters, also rather early. The subject of this letter revolves around a conflict that has arisen between two leaders (likely pastors of house churches) Euodia and Syntyche. These woman had divided the larger church community of the town, and Paul urges them to find unity in love. It contains one of the key passages of theology about Christ, the poem (likely a hymn) found in 2.6-11. The identification of Jesus as divine in such an early work of well known hymnody points to a very early understanding of Jesus as God in the first century church.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
2 Ki 17-25/Psalms
Psalms
See my main for the psalm readings.
2 Ki 17-25
17: Tells of the fall of Israel and it's capital Samaria to the Assyrian King. The Assyrians deport all the Israelites far away throughout their kingdom and import people from various cultures to live in Israel. The people who live there want to appease the god of that place (Yahweh) and bring in priests. Essentially they add Yahweh to their pantheon of gods. Most of the chapter is a retelling and indictment of the people of Israel from the time of Jeroboam on.
18-19: King Hezekiah's story begins with his reformation. He tears down (finally) the one thing that so many rulers left, the high places were people would sacrifice to Yahweh or other gods.
He then faced his greatest test. The King of Assyria, Sennacherib, conquerors many towns of Judah. Hezekiah responds by sending tribute, but Sennacherib, perhaps b/c he heard that Hezekiah was seeking an alliance with Egypt, lays siege to Jerusalem.
His messenger makes many threats, upsetting people. Finally, Hezekiah prays before Yahweh, and hears the promise of God through the prophet Isaiah. Sennacherib will flee and in three years time the agricultural cycle will return.
20: Hezekiah is ill. He prays and receives a reprieve of 15 years. But we all die eventually. He shows an envoy from Babylon all his wealth, and is told that is will be taken. His response seems to be rather short sighted - at least there will be peace in my day.
21: Two of the worst kings - Mannasseh, who rebuilt the temples to foreign gods, practiced child sacrifice, used augury and built altars to the "hosts of heaven," (sun, moon, stars) in the temple of Yahweh. Yahweh becomes just one other god among many. Because of these acts God condemns Judah to the same fate as Israel, which is the same fate as the people the Israelites displaced in Joshua and Judges. Exile. His son Amnon was apparently just as bad. He was murdered by his own servants.
22 - 23: Josiah is considered the greatest reformer - greater even than Hezekiah, if only because he rediscovered the books of the law (likely some form of Deuteronomy) and held a great passover, a ritual that had been ignored by the Israelites for many centuries. He tore down all the buildings as well as the institutions of worshiping other gods, though his reforms were larger bloodless in comparison with some other previous rulers. More than any other leader Josiah is given credit for shaping the zealous monotheistic and law oriented Judaism that survives into the Babylonian exile.
Josiah - apparently foolishly - tries to stand in the way of a meeting between Pharaoh and the King of Assyria (who is probably starting to feel the heat from Babylon). Josiah's defeat by Pharaoh allows Pharaoh to receive tribute and put some one more acceptable on the throne.
24: Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (Babylonians are also called Chaldeans), ascends to power. The King of Judah Jehoiakim pays tribute, but then rebels. Jehoiachin follows him. Pharaoh is no help anymore for the Babylonians now rule from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates in modern day Iraq.
Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, captures it, takes most of the royal family and their wealth and servants in to captivity. Nebuch. then puts Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, on the throne.
25: Zedekiah doesn't last long. He quickly rebels and incurs wrath of Babylon. They destroy the city, the temple and drag the people away. Even the few that are left flee to Egypt because of the violence of the Babylonians. There is a fairly detailed account of the furniture in the temple, but not a word about the ark of the covenant, which seems to have disappeared from the narrative. This has fueled countless conspiracy theories and at least one block buster.
The final epilogue seems to offer some hope that the people might be preserved.
See my main for the psalm readings.
2 Ki 17-25
17: Tells of the fall of Israel and it's capital Samaria to the Assyrian King. The Assyrians deport all the Israelites far away throughout their kingdom and import people from various cultures to live in Israel. The people who live there want to appease the god of that place (Yahweh) and bring in priests. Essentially they add Yahweh to their pantheon of gods. Most of the chapter is a retelling and indictment of the people of Israel from the time of Jeroboam on.
18-19: King Hezekiah's story begins with his reformation. He tears down (finally) the one thing that so many rulers left, the high places were people would sacrifice to Yahweh or other gods.
He then faced his greatest test. The King of Assyria, Sennacherib, conquerors many towns of Judah. Hezekiah responds by sending tribute, but Sennacherib, perhaps b/c he heard that Hezekiah was seeking an alliance with Egypt, lays siege to Jerusalem.
His messenger makes many threats, upsetting people. Finally, Hezekiah prays before Yahweh, and hears the promise of God through the prophet Isaiah. Sennacherib will flee and in three years time the agricultural cycle will return.
20: Hezekiah is ill. He prays and receives a reprieve of 15 years. But we all die eventually. He shows an envoy from Babylon all his wealth, and is told that is will be taken. His response seems to be rather short sighted - at least there will be peace in my day.
21: Two of the worst kings - Mannasseh, who rebuilt the temples to foreign gods, practiced child sacrifice, used augury and built altars to the "hosts of heaven," (sun, moon, stars) in the temple of Yahweh. Yahweh becomes just one other god among many. Because of these acts God condemns Judah to the same fate as Israel, which is the same fate as the people the Israelites displaced in Joshua and Judges. Exile. His son Amnon was apparently just as bad. He was murdered by his own servants.
22 - 23: Josiah is considered the greatest reformer - greater even than Hezekiah, if only because he rediscovered the books of the law (likely some form of Deuteronomy) and held a great passover, a ritual that had been ignored by the Israelites for many centuries. He tore down all the buildings as well as the institutions of worshiping other gods, though his reforms were larger bloodless in comparison with some other previous rulers. More than any other leader Josiah is given credit for shaping the zealous monotheistic and law oriented Judaism that survives into the Babylonian exile.
Josiah - apparently foolishly - tries to stand in the way of a meeting between Pharaoh and the King of Assyria (who is probably starting to feel the heat from Babylon). Josiah's defeat by Pharaoh allows Pharaoh to receive tribute and put some one more acceptable on the throne.
24: Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (Babylonians are also called Chaldeans), ascends to power. The King of Judah Jehoiakim pays tribute, but then rebels. Jehoiachin follows him. Pharaoh is no help anymore for the Babylonians now rule from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates in modern day Iraq.
Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, captures it, takes most of the royal family and their wealth and servants in to captivity. Nebuch. then puts Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, on the throne.
25: Zedekiah doesn't last long. He quickly rebels and incurs wrath of Babylon. They destroy the city, the temple and drag the people away. Even the few that are left flee to Egypt because of the violence of the Babylonians. There is a fairly detailed account of the furniture in the temple, but not a word about the ark of the covenant, which seems to have disappeared from the narrative. This has fueled countless conspiracy theories and at least one block buster.
The final epilogue seems to offer some hope that the people might be preserved.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
2 Ki 9-16/Amos/Jonah/
2 Kings
First up is the end of Ahab (at least his son) and Jezebel. They end as Elijah spoke. Jehu is their downfall, a son of Jehosaphat. He also kills the king of Judah, leaving a huge power vacuum. Jezebel calls him "Zimri," referring to a usurper who was on the throne all of a week.
Jehu outlives Jezebel's pronouncement and brings and end to Baal worship (or so you might think) through lots of bloody destruction. His is a bloody reign, though he receives a promise that his sons will reign for four generations.
11: A queen in Judah. Yes, and not a good one. The priest, Jehoida, who is hiding the crown prince brings loyal troops and guards (Carites) to the temple, then they crown Joash. The queen finds out, visits the temple (not a smart move) and is arrested and executed. The kingship is reaffirmed in a particularly Jewish way - covenant between king and people. Baal temples are torn down.
12: Joash grows up and is called Jehoash. He is a relatively good king who tries to do a restoration of the temple, which is not terribly successful. During his reign the people are also paying tribute to King Hazael of Aram (Syria). The violent death of Jehoash may be because of a turn to wickedness mentioned in 2 Chronicles)
13: Jehoahaz and Jehoash (also Joash) - kings of the North. We're back to Israel, don't let the names confuse you. There were two kings, neither of which were very good, but when Joash sought him out he promised he would have some victory over Aram. They indeed are able to fight back with their reduced army...for a while.
14: Battle between Israel and Judah, who is fresh from a successful campaign does not go well for the South. Israel is on the rise and Jeroboam II reestablishes their former borders. He is the King of Amos and Hosea, and Jonah is mentioned, but Jonah is a non-historical drama.
15-16: Starting with the brief description of King Azariah (sometimes called Uzziah) of Judah, who had leprousy, we embark on the downturn of Israel. The sons of Jehu are replaced and they begin to lose the land. Then Assyrian comes into the picture. These will be the people who finally conquer the northern kingdom of Israel. At first Menahem buys them off (King Pul). This will not always work. During the rule of Pekah of Israel, Assyria makes incursions in the north and carries a great many people away.
Then we move back to Judah: Jotham takes over, though he has been ruling in all but name. Verse 37 refers to a conflict that we will read about again in Isaiah 7-9 (a maiden shall conceive and bear a son etc.).
vv. 5-20. What's going on here? Pekah, king of Israel and the Arameans (modern day Syria) form an alliance and attack Jerusalem. King Ahaz of Judah, not a good king, sends money and asks for help from Assyria. Assyria destroys Aram (Syria) and takes Damascus, "saving" Jerusalem. Ahaz visits and makes copies of things from pagan temples and places them in the temple in Jerusalem. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing to do.
Jonah
Jonah is a great story. One of the greatest. However, it did not happen. It is a non-historical story, perhaps even a drama, that shows the open hearts of the Jews arch-enemies, the Assyrians, who were oppressing them, and compares them to the hard hearts of the Jewish people. It would be like if I gave a sermon in which I told of how Osama bin Laden turned to Jesus and laid down his arms while we in America still like to sleep in on Sundays. In some ways, it is amazing it survived, since I'm sure it made a lot of people angry.
Amos
Our first minor prophet. Amos was active during the reign of Jeroboam II, King of Israel. His reign was peaceful and prosperous, however it was full of incredible inequities. By manipulating debt and credit, wealthy landowners got richer while impoverishing small farmers. The smallest debt served as a wedge to separate people from the land their families rightly owned. Amos prophecies that Israel will fall to Assyria and be taken into exile.
First up is the end of Ahab (at least his son) and Jezebel. They end as Elijah spoke. Jehu is their downfall, a son of Jehosaphat. He also kills the king of Judah, leaving a huge power vacuum. Jezebel calls him "Zimri," referring to a usurper who was on the throne all of a week.
Jehu outlives Jezebel's pronouncement and brings and end to Baal worship (or so you might think) through lots of bloody destruction. His is a bloody reign, though he receives a promise that his sons will reign for four generations.
11: A queen in Judah. Yes, and not a good one. The priest, Jehoida, who is hiding the crown prince brings loyal troops and guards (Carites) to the temple, then they crown Joash. The queen finds out, visits the temple (not a smart move) and is arrested and executed. The kingship is reaffirmed in a particularly Jewish way - covenant between king and people. Baal temples are torn down.
12: Joash grows up and is called Jehoash. He is a relatively good king who tries to do a restoration of the temple, which is not terribly successful. During his reign the people are also paying tribute to King Hazael of Aram (Syria). The violent death of Jehoash may be because of a turn to wickedness mentioned in 2 Chronicles)
13: Jehoahaz and Jehoash (also Joash) - kings of the North. We're back to Israel, don't let the names confuse you. There were two kings, neither of which were very good, but when Joash sought him out he promised he would have some victory over Aram. They indeed are able to fight back with their reduced army...for a while.
14: Battle between Israel and Judah, who is fresh from a successful campaign does not go well for the South. Israel is on the rise and Jeroboam II reestablishes their former borders. He is the King of Amos and Hosea, and Jonah is mentioned, but Jonah is a non-historical drama.
15-16: Starting with the brief description of King Azariah (sometimes called Uzziah) of Judah, who had leprousy, we embark on the downturn of Israel. The sons of Jehu are replaced and they begin to lose the land. Then Assyrian comes into the picture. These will be the people who finally conquer the northern kingdom of Israel. At first Menahem buys them off (King Pul). This will not always work. During the rule of Pekah of Israel, Assyria makes incursions in the north and carries a great many people away.
Then we move back to Judah: Jotham takes over, though he has been ruling in all but name. Verse 37 refers to a conflict that we will read about again in Isaiah 7-9 (a maiden shall conceive and bear a son etc.).
vv. 5-20. What's going on here? Pekah, king of Israel and the Arameans (modern day Syria) form an alliance and attack Jerusalem. King Ahaz of Judah, not a good king, sends money and asks for help from Assyria. Assyria destroys Aram (Syria) and takes Damascus, "saving" Jerusalem. Ahaz visits and makes copies of things from pagan temples and places them in the temple in Jerusalem. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing to do.
Jonah
Jonah is a great story. One of the greatest. However, it did not happen. It is a non-historical story, perhaps even a drama, that shows the open hearts of the Jews arch-enemies, the Assyrians, who were oppressing them, and compares them to the hard hearts of the Jewish people. It would be like if I gave a sermon in which I told of how Osama bin Laden turned to Jesus and laid down his arms while we in America still like to sleep in on Sundays. In some ways, it is amazing it survived, since I'm sure it made a lot of people angry.
Amos
Our first minor prophet. Amos was active during the reign of Jeroboam II, King of Israel. His reign was peaceful and prosperous, however it was full of incredible inequities. By manipulating debt and credit, wealthy landowners got richer while impoverishing small farmers. The smallest debt served as a wedge to separate people from the land their families rightly owned. Amos prophecies that Israel will fall to Assyria and be taken into exile.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
1 Ki 13-22/2 Ki 1-8/Acts 12-14/James 1-3
1 Kings
There are a lot of bad kings and they do a lot of bad things. The king of Israel in the North sets up an altar at Bethel and Dan where they worship Yahweh (instead of Jerusalem where it is supposed to be).
The worst of the lot of Ahab and his notorious wife Jezebel. They are worshipers of Baal, the primary rival of Yahweh in the region.
We also have the story of Elijah. Here is one of the greatest prophets of Israel, who stands up against the evil kings and queens. Well...mostly. After his victory at Mount Carmel, he is on the run. However he performs great miracles and speaks for God to the people struggling at the time.
Ahab himself has an ambiguous loyalty to Yahweh. He seems to be convinced at times, but at others is apathetic.
The deaths of these kings is often bloody. The reference to being eaten by dogs is pointed at the lack of proper burial. Such a thing was shameful to the person and their family. Several of the kings are not succeeded by descendants, but are cut-off.
2 Ki
2 Kings is a simple continuation of 1 Kings. In the Hebrew Bible they aren't even separated. 2 Kings tells the story of the fall of the nation of Israel - first Israel in the north to the Assyrians in 721 BC and then Judah in the south to the Babylonians in 586 BC. However, while the people in the north are lost to history, the people of the south maintain their identity in their exile.
This first part centers around Elisha, who succeeds Elijah. He asks for a double-portion - the proper inheritance of the first born. He repeats many of the miracles of Elijah, and if anything seems to be even more spectacular than Elijah.
The Kings are a mixed bag in Judah - some, such as Jehosaphat, not so bad (though not great either). Others as bad as their evil parents.
Acts 12-14
A funny story of Peter's rescue then the beginning of Paul's missions. Notice the shape - at first Paul is welcomed, then later his enemies and rivals stir people up and they are persecuted.
James 1-3
A break to read the epistle of James and some of Paul. The two are about to meet in conflict in the next chapter in Acts. James and Paul might seem to have opposing view points on faith and works. But I think they both would see that the two are connected and inter-related.
James epistle (which Luther almost tossed out of the German Bible as an "epistle of straw") is written to Jewish Christians and very much in that vein of thought. It is a kind of morality sermon as well as containing a fair bit of wisdom literature, like the Proverbs. Throughout James concern is about justice and living peaceably in community and care for the poor. He also has one of the most famous passages about the tongue in chapter 3 (gossip is not a new problem).
There are a lot of bad kings and they do a lot of bad things. The king of Israel in the North sets up an altar at Bethel and Dan where they worship Yahweh (instead of Jerusalem where it is supposed to be).
The worst of the lot of Ahab and his notorious wife Jezebel. They are worshipers of Baal, the primary rival of Yahweh in the region.
We also have the story of Elijah. Here is one of the greatest prophets of Israel, who stands up against the evil kings and queens. Well...mostly. After his victory at Mount Carmel, he is on the run. However he performs great miracles and speaks for God to the people struggling at the time.
Ahab himself has an ambiguous loyalty to Yahweh. He seems to be convinced at times, but at others is apathetic.
The deaths of these kings is often bloody. The reference to being eaten by dogs is pointed at the lack of proper burial. Such a thing was shameful to the person and their family. Several of the kings are not succeeded by descendants, but are cut-off.
2 Ki
2 Kings is a simple continuation of 1 Kings. In the Hebrew Bible they aren't even separated. 2 Kings tells the story of the fall of the nation of Israel - first Israel in the north to the Assyrians in 721 BC and then Judah in the south to the Babylonians in 586 BC. However, while the people in the north are lost to history, the people of the south maintain their identity in their exile.
This first part centers around Elisha, who succeeds Elijah. He asks for a double-portion - the proper inheritance of the first born. He repeats many of the miracles of Elijah, and if anything seems to be even more spectacular than Elijah.
The Kings are a mixed bag in Judah - some, such as Jehosaphat, not so bad (though not great either). Others as bad as their evil parents.
Acts 12-14
A funny story of Peter's rescue then the beginning of Paul's missions. Notice the shape - at first Paul is welcomed, then later his enemies and rivals stir people up and they are persecuted.
James 1-3
A break to read the epistle of James and some of Paul. The two are about to meet in conflict in the next chapter in Acts. James and Paul might seem to have opposing view points on faith and works. But I think they both would see that the two are connected and inter-related.
James epistle (which Luther almost tossed out of the German Bible as an "epistle of straw") is written to Jewish Christians and very much in that vein of thought. It is a kind of morality sermon as well as containing a fair bit of wisdom literature, like the Proverbs. Throughout James concern is about justice and living peaceably in community and care for the poor. He also has one of the most famous passages about the tongue in chapter 3 (gossip is not a new problem).
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
1 Ki 8-13/Eccl/Acts 8-11
1 Kings
The fall of Solomon. He proves to have a divided heart and after dedicated the temple he also worships other gods than Yahweh. It proves his undoing. The kingdom is torn from him and given to another. Here is an important and vital turning point for the rest of our story. The kingdom is torn in two. 11 tribes in the north called Israel. 1 tribe in the South called Judah - preserved for the sake of David. You'll quickly see: all the king of the north are bad and a few of the kings of the south are good. The remaining story of kings will relate the tale of each king, both north and south.
Ecclesiastes
Many interpretations here, and much wisdom. This is the opposite side of the coin from the book of Proverbs. There everything works together for the wise and industrious. Here in Ecclesiastes, all is vanity and chasing after the wind. Which view do you find more compelling? Perhaps the greatest wisdom in the Hebrew Bible is the Song of Songs, a poem in which love is the purpose of all life.
Acts 8-11
The ministry of the Twelve is recounted in several stories. We also have the conversion of Saul - who is just as zealous about spreading the news of Jesus as he was about persecuting his followers before. Most of this section however relates to the ministry of Peter and the fullness of the revelation of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The disciples are amazed at this - but they are also pleased.
The fall of Solomon. He proves to have a divided heart and after dedicated the temple he also worships other gods than Yahweh. It proves his undoing. The kingdom is torn from him and given to another. Here is an important and vital turning point for the rest of our story. The kingdom is torn in two. 11 tribes in the north called Israel. 1 tribe in the South called Judah - preserved for the sake of David. You'll quickly see: all the king of the north are bad and a few of the kings of the south are good. The remaining story of kings will relate the tale of each king, both north and south.
Ecclesiastes
Many interpretations here, and much wisdom. This is the opposite side of the coin from the book of Proverbs. There everything works together for the wise and industrious. Here in Ecclesiastes, all is vanity and chasing after the wind. Which view do you find more compelling? Perhaps the greatest wisdom in the Hebrew Bible is the Song of Songs, a poem in which love is the purpose of all life.
Acts 8-11
The ministry of the Twelve is recounted in several stories. We also have the conversion of Saul - who is just as zealous about spreading the news of Jesus as he was about persecuting his followers before. Most of this section however relates to the ministry of Peter and the fullness of the revelation of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The disciples are amazed at this - but they are also pleased.
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