1 Chron. 10-16
You will notice that Chronicles is short on history and long on names. Chronicles in some ways supplements what is in Kings with the names of the secondary and tertiary characters. There are times where it contradicts or puts a very different spin on the same stories.
Chapter 10 is the short version of Saul's life and kingship - basically it begins with his ignominious ending.
Chapter 11-12 starts the tale of David, and it would be an understatement to call it glowing. Gone are the ugly tales of Bathsheba and Urriah and the internal problems of David's family. What we get here are the military stories of David's conquests and the prowess of his warriors.
Chapter 13-16 picks up David's work to unite the religious life of Israel as well as the political. It is interrupted by invading Philistines, but David quickly returns, brings the ark to Jerusalem (without the intervening story of how it was missing in the first place), and throws a gigantic party.
1 Cor. 8-12
8: This chapter needs some explaining, b/c everything after relies on understanding it. The thing you have to understand is that if you were eating meat in Corinth (or just about any Greco-Roman town or city) you were eating meat sacrificed to an idol.
See - that was were all the butchering happened, b/c the important thing was that the deity (or deities) got their cut, and got it first. So if you went to a food stall to buy meat a part of it had already been used in some kind of worship ritual of a god other than the Christian God. Think of it as a kind of sales tax that supported the temples of the gods. By the way - the same thing was true in the Hebrew world before the temple in Jerusalem. There are sections of the law prohibiting the slaying of any animal outside the tabernacle.
So the dilemma was - do I eat meat, knowing that idols are false, and therefore irrelevant - or do I stay away from meat altogether rather than risk supporting (or even technically engaging in) the worship of false gods.
Paul gives a good answer: first, it's no big deal - you know the gods are false and are powerless, and you want meat in your diet, we are "free" to do so. However, second, if my brother or sister does not and is offended, then don't do it for the sake of that brother or sister. We have rights and are free to not exercise them. Love trumps knowledge (8.1-3)
Chapter 10 continues the discussion - Paul does not want them to think devotion and ritual are empty. The sacramental aspects of the Jewish people and the sacraments of the church are important and have real consequences in the real world. Meat sacrificed to idols does as well...bear with me through the contradictions. Notice at the end of chapter 10 - if someone gives you meat and tells you it was sacrificed - ie wishes to include you in that ritual don't do it. On the other hand - don't fret about every cutlet that floats onto your plate. People are more important to God.
11: Well this starts off with a bang (no pun intended) all about hairstyles. For whatever reason, people at different times have taken Paul more seriously than he did himself. v. 13 says, "Judge for yourselves." I don't think this is simply rhetorical. Paul was concerned that the assembly wasn't being deviant for the sake of being deviant. The radicalness of Jesus Gospel was about faith and community, not hairstyles - it was about how life was lived and what was important - not challenging social norms - today Paul would probably say, "Leave that to the teenagers."
The second half of 11 is pointing to the celebration of the Lord's supper. In the very early church, this celebration was more like an actual meal. This changed very quickly into the kind of meal we have today, and some people think Corinthians points to why. Rich people (who owned houses and didn't have to work as long) got there first and ate and drank, leaving nothing for the poor (who worked much longer). Paul admonishes them to cease this practice, and that the meal was a special meal that was not just about filling bellies. This issue probably led to the transition of Holy Communion to that little bread and little wine - the excess of which was then distributed to the poor.
12: is the well known discussion on spiritual gifts. The point here is not to give a listing of gifts or even their definitions, but to point out that each assembly, or congregation, is an assembly of these gifts that form a whole body, a body that fits together and cannot operate on its own. There are no parts more important than others. It is of note that the chapter immediately following this one is all about love.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
1 Chronicles 1-9/1 Corinthians 1-7
1 Chronicles
The first part of this book is genealogies. Yes...all of it. Don't kill yourself. Just move through it as painlessly as possible.
1-2 Chronicles will seem familiar. It retells the stories you first read in Kings. In fact, several sections are very close retelling of some of the events. However, the story does diverge in places. The writer(s) of Chronicles is more interested in the Southern Kingdom of Judah than the Israel in the north. We also get the occasional detail filled in. Perhaps it's not a bad thing to re-read the most complex part of the story of God's people from different perspective.
1 Corinthians
Corinth was a bustling city in 1st century Rome. Paul founds the church in one of his missionary journeys which we just read in Act 18. The church itself seems to have been a hotbed of controversy and scandal. They seem to languish under pagan hedonism and in fighting. Paul pleads for unity, and, in one of the most inspired passages of Pauline writing, takes an entire chapter (13) to explain what love looks like. Apparently the Corinthians needed the lesson.
After an introduction and thanksgiving, he launches into their first problem which is unity. This comes up again and again and is a major theme in the book. He speaks of his own ministry with them and defends the truth of the message he proclaimed.
He then turns to more practical matters, obviously ones which were troubling the Corinthians - lawsuits; sexual issues. Then in chapter 7, one of the most confusing and double-talking passages of scripture Paul tries to explain how he thinks Christians should live with one another when it comes to marriage and and sex. It is important to note that for most part Paul is here giving his own advise, not proclaiming the Gospel. The best part of the advise probably comes in verse 32: I want you to be free of anxieties.
The first part of this book is genealogies. Yes...all of it. Don't kill yourself. Just move through it as painlessly as possible.
1-2 Chronicles will seem familiar. It retells the stories you first read in Kings. In fact, several sections are very close retelling of some of the events. However, the story does diverge in places. The writer(s) of Chronicles is more interested in the Southern Kingdom of Judah than the Israel in the north. We also get the occasional detail filled in. Perhaps it's not a bad thing to re-read the most complex part of the story of God's people from different perspective.
1 Corinthians
Corinth was a bustling city in 1st century Rome. Paul founds the church in one of his missionary journeys which we just read in Act 18. The church itself seems to have been a hotbed of controversy and scandal. They seem to languish under pagan hedonism and in fighting. Paul pleads for unity, and, in one of the most inspired passages of Pauline writing, takes an entire chapter (13) to explain what love looks like. Apparently the Corinthians needed the lesson.
After an introduction and thanksgiving, he launches into their first problem which is unity. This comes up again and again and is a major theme in the book. He speaks of his own ministry with them and defends the truth of the message he proclaimed.
He then turns to more practical matters, obviously ones which were troubling the Corinthians - lawsuits; sexual issues. Then in chapter 7, one of the most confusing and double-talking passages of scripture Paul tries to explain how he thinks Christians should live with one another when it comes to marriage and and sex. It is important to note that for most part Paul is here giving his own advise, not proclaiming the Gospel. The best part of the advise probably comes in verse 32: I want you to be free of anxieties.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Acts 17-18/1-2 Thessalonians
daily text
As I mentioned before, information on the Psalms can be found on an earlier post.
Acts
17: Paul arrives in Thessalonica. He founds a church there in the typical way, which becomes a formula. Paul arrives and goes to the synagogue to teach. He is either welcomed or not, but there is usually at least some faction there that gives him trouble. Here they beat the person at whose house he was staying.
Of course we are reading 1-2 Thessalonians in relation to this section.
Paul then goes to Athens and delivers his famous discourse at the Areopagus. The Athenians were famous for their curiosity, education, and philosophical discourse. Paul shares the gospel with them in terms they can understand, even quoting their own philosophers. However, when the issue of the resurrection comes up they find it strange. We often forget what an unusual idea the central idea of Christianity is when compared to most religious thinking in the world.
18: Paul's adventures in Corinth. Next week we start reading the two Corinthian letters.
1-2 Thessalonians
Most scholars agree that 1 Thess. is the earliest letter written by Paul, somwhere in the late 40's early 50's. It is thus the earliest writing in the New Testament. It is a friendly letter of encouragement to a church that was suffering from persecution by other Jews in town (remember the first part of Acts 17).
2 Thessalonians is almost certainly written quite a bit later. It's concern again is to encourage the Thessalonians and warn them of people who are spreading false ideas. Paul tells them that the day of the Lord - that is Jesus return - has not occurred yet (as apparently some one was telling them). He is also apparently signing all his letters with a particular mark. Evidence that there were forgeries floating about. Paul, you may remember, did not actually write out his letters but dictated them to a secretary. Occasionally he will mention the secretary, and will also sometimes write part in his own hand.
As I mentioned before, information on the Psalms can be found on an earlier post.
Acts
17: Paul arrives in Thessalonica. He founds a church there in the typical way, which becomes a formula. Paul arrives and goes to the synagogue to teach. He is either welcomed or not, but there is usually at least some faction there that gives him trouble. Here they beat the person at whose house he was staying.
Of course we are reading 1-2 Thessalonians in relation to this section.
Paul then goes to Athens and delivers his famous discourse at the Areopagus. The Athenians were famous for their curiosity, education, and philosophical discourse. Paul shares the gospel with them in terms they can understand, even quoting their own philosophers. However, when the issue of the resurrection comes up they find it strange. We often forget what an unusual idea the central idea of Christianity is when compared to most religious thinking in the world.
18: Paul's adventures in Corinth. Next week we start reading the two Corinthian letters.
1-2 Thessalonians
Most scholars agree that 1 Thess. is the earliest letter written by Paul, somwhere in the late 40's early 50's. It is thus the earliest writing in the New Testament. It is a friendly letter of encouragement to a church that was suffering from persecution by other Jews in town (remember the first part of Acts 17).
2 Thessalonians is almost certainly written quite a bit later. It's concern again is to encourage the Thessalonians and warn them of people who are spreading false ideas. Paul tells them that the day of the Lord - that is Jesus return - has not occurred yet (as apparently some one was telling them). He is also apparently signing all his letters with a particular mark. Evidence that there were forgeries floating about. Paul, you may remember, did not actually write out his letters but dictated them to a secretary. Occasionally he will mention the secretary, and will also sometimes write part in his own hand.
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