Theology 7372, Fall 2009

The five books in the Ketubim. What are Esther, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs?

I have read Ruth and Song of Songs as of yesterday.

Let’s take a moment to think on all those sermons that ridicule the Greek gods, those anthropomorphic beings that play chess with human lives.  Now lets celebrate that the Christian God is nothing like that.

But wait…

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” -Job 1:6-12

In this passage, God seems to have some kind of debate going on with Satan, though the nature of the debate is not stated.  In order to bolster his case, God offers up Job as an example of a god-fearing individual.  When Satan offers his counter argument, God basically gives him free reign to do anything to Job except kill him.  All to win an argument?  I thought that God didn’t play chess with human life for his own purposes.

For the reasons above, I find Job to be an extremely problematic book.  What are we to do with a God who trivializes human life in this manner?  This conundrum is furthered when one considers the massive loss of life that the story represents in a culture that did not believe in the after life.  How many people will God allow to die to make his point?  And to what extent must Job suffer?  Rather than offering a tenable answer to the question of theodicy, I can’t help but think that the book of Job actually furthers the problem.

Suffice it to say that I struggle greatly with God as he is pictured in Job.  I’m simply not sure what to do with a God who would trivialize human life in this manner.

Q: What restriction does God put on eating animals from the Sea (in Leviticus)?

A: Leviticus 11:10 – But anything in the seas that does not have fins or scales…you shall not eat.

Soul competency and individual autonomy are staples of Baptist life and in the war against fundamentalism they are highly emphasized.  It seems that in an effort to combat legalistic conservatism some have sworn blind allegiance to individual freedom that liberalism can offer.  But what is the liberated Baptist to do with lengthy lists of laws, commands, and punishments as listed in Leviticus 8-20?  Certainly the liberating and fulfilling actions of Christ must be taken into consideration, but OT commands certainly cannot be dismissed without consideration.  How do we as Baptists deal with seemingly black and white/yes or no statements?

In Deuteronomy 6 the relationship that God desires to have with His people is very clearly spelled out.  God desires to have the Israelites follow his commandments and teach their children of his commandments.  God promises to bless them for obeying him and that he will drive out the nations before the Israelites.  This chapter is very much instructional about what God will do if the Israelites obey God, but it is also a very relational chapter because in the last verse it says they will be righteous if they follow these commandments.  I think it is always comforting to see God work in a relational way to people because we do not deserve the grace he gives us.

I did all of the assigned reading in Proverbs and Job

As I read about sacrifice in places like Leviticus Chapter 8, a question was ringing in my mind. What do we do as believers that amounts to the type of sacrifice required in the Old Testament? Truthfully, I don’t think there’s anything we (I) do that amounts to this. Is dropping some money in a plate really sacrifice? Is giving up my time to do something I love (playing music) really sacrifice? I mean, these people were giving up highly valuable animals without blemish for Yahweh. I bet it took great diligence and devotion for these people to give up such a prized possession for Yahweh. I guess I need to start thinking of what my prized possessions are and if I’d be willing to give them up.

Quick thought:
Wouldn’t it be great if people knew us for what we stand for and not for what we stand against? I’m just sayin’……

Just click the link. This makes me cringe a little.