Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

I wonder if we would “get it” if God struck us with pestilence?  We’re accustomed to reading words like this in the New Testament, I mean, just read something in Mark.  But more this might be the first sign of frustration in the Old Testament.  In Numbers 14:11 we read of God calling out to Moses, “how long…”.  Does God still cry out this same plea today?  It’s a question that I often wonder as we continue to become a society moving further away from religion and spirituality.  Is God sending signs to us that we are ignoring him and his way for our lives?  Would we recognize it if he was? Just something to think about.

This Year of Jubilee concept has always been on that gets the wheels turning.  It’s not that I don’t understand the concept, it’s explained pretty clearly in the scriptures.  It’s that I really like what God has laid out.  Can this be applicable to today’s life?  I think it can.  Think about it – after seven years, we can move from a passion toward God and our ministry to a point of stalemate and impassibility.  I can’t help but think about my own life, and how about every two years I am ready to move on to something new and better.  What if we allowed a year of Jubilee in our Christian walk that allowed us to come to a new focus on Christ.  One might ask, “what’s keeping us from doing that now?”.  It’s not that we have to have a time set aside, but what if we recognized that every (insert time frame here) years, we come together as a body of believers to review our gifts/talents or passion in life.  I think this would allow Christians to come together, reaffirm our calling in life, and build community at the same time!  Who says the OT is boring??

I have read Exodus many times but this is the first time I remember reading in Chapter 4:24-25 about the Lord coming to kill Moses son.  I think it is very interesting that Moses son had not been circumcised and it took Moses wife to see it instead of Moses.

In Ezra 1:2, it is recorded that king Cyrus the king of Persia, attributed his move to allow the Jews to go and rebuild the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to the God of heaven who is the God of the Jews. It is this same God that Nebuchadnezzar said he did not fear. Does not mean that God or Yahweh is not the God of only the Jews? We also read that it is this same who instructed Jonah to go and proclaim the message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. Is this God the exclusive God for the Jews. Because it fascinating to note that God can chose an idol worshiper like Cyrus to execute His plans. We also read that king Darius actually asked prayers be offered for him and his children…… Ezra 6:10. In 7:11, we also read of king Artaxerxes sponsoring the reaching of the word of God in Jerusalem. There so much evidence to support the claim that Yahweh is not the God of Israel only but for all people who choose to serve him. Is not an encouragement for the continued spread of the gospel wherever possible?

In Ezra 8: 24, we read that when the king Artaxerxes was sending Ezra and the leaders off to Jerusalem, he gave them gold and resources for the building of the Temple. Some of the Israelite also gave resources for the work in Jerusalem. When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, it was reported in 8: 34, they weighed all the money and accounted for every money that was given them. Does this not mean that there should be proper accountability in the ministry of God. We also recall that Daniel was a good administrator in Babylon to admiration of Darius the king. Does it give credence to demanding good accountability on the part of minister of God?

Michael Gelly

Would God continue to allow “our enemies” to continue to harass  us whiles He sits unconcern? In Psalms, there are so many  implicatory Psalms. In Psalm 3, 5, 7 among many others. For example, in Psalm 7:15,he said that “he who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made “e e

In the book of Job nestled between the Deuteronomistic History and the wisdom literature found in Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, one finds God being placed on trial. Armed with the DtrH notion of the good will prosper and the wicked will suffer, Job questions the justice of God. Why do good things happen to bad people? Such a question will repeat itself in the Psalms. Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous perish?

However an examination of the source of the question reveals the irony of the question. Job, a mere man and not creator, questions God’s justice as if somehow God and justice are two separate and discrete things. Can one question the peacefulness of peace or the righteousness of righteous? Since God is justice, how can justice itself be questioned? Such folly or lack of wisdom sets the stage for the books to follow in Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom does not derive from man, rather its source springs from God. God’s ways or not our ways and therefore Job confesses “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know (Job 42:3b).”

Yesterday I attended a diversity forum for one of my social work classes.  The panel included a Jewish gentleman who serves as  the rabbi of a local Jewish synagogue.  A student asked the rabbi what the Jewish community’s general view of a social worker was.  He said that the Jewish community generally viewed social work in a positive light, as they as a people affirm God’s mandate to take care of the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. Today I read the following scripture:

You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. -Exodus 23:9

It is interesting that God calls His people to not oppress foreigners that reside in their land as that He recalls to the Israelite’s mind that they too understood what oppression in a foreign land was like. As I was thinking about this verse, a few lyrics from a song by Derek Webb came into mind:

who’s your brother, who’s your sister you just walked passed him i think you missed her as we’re all migrating to the place where our father lives ’cause we married in to a family of immigrants

I remember when I first realized what this verse meant, as it was very impacting to my worldview. We as Christians are part of a family of people who have migrated to our faith.  Each of us has fallen to sin and has been saved by God’s grace.  There isn’t a single one of us who has inherited their Christianity.  Sure, one may have grown up influenced by the faith of the environment around them but in the end, that person still must choose to accept and follow God or not. That leaves not one of us with a claim of entitlement to the gift of salvation. We who have received so many blessings spiritually and materially are called to bless others.  Jesus called us to love and take care of our neighbors as we love and take care of ourselves. I believe this includes the modern immigrant to America.    I know that I do not deserve ANY of the blessings that have come my way, therefore there is no reason for me to feel entitled to any of them.  This includes the country that I happened to be born into.  I would like to encourage anyone who may actually read this to love your immigrant neighbor as you do yourself. Blow past the sterotypes you may have and seek ways in which you can love the foreigner! After all, you come from a family of immigrants -physically and spiritually.

Again, Exodus speaks to my life.  I love this passage.  Here we see Moses, giving his all, really trying hard to be the servant God believes he can be.  And Aaron, bless his heart, is just trying as hard as he can to please the people.  We read of the crowd becoming anxious, demanding a sign.  We all know the story.  Aaron caves and makes an idol of gold and silver for the people to worship.  You know the rest – God gets mad, sends Moses back down the mountain threatening to kill them all.  (Kind-of reminds me of my father – “don’t make me pull this car over”!)  And so the story goes…

What I find most interesting about this story is that even though I know the story, I continue to be the Aaron in the story.  I am continuously seeking what God has placed right in front of me and when I can’t get it or see it, I make something for myself!  What does it take to be still and know?

This story is remarkable for so many reasons, but most of all because it takes into consideration the humanness of Moses and Aaron and allows the readers to come into the story at a very crucial point.

Upon further contemplation, and urging from Dr. Reid, I have thought more about the Exodus 1-19 passage in light of my current work situation – working with children in displaced home due to abuse. I think for me, this passage becomes even more relevant for the people of today’s churches to read and understand.  So often we hear the same cry – not only from children, but also adults suffering under the unemployment rate, joblessness, and economic disparity.  How do we as Christians answer this call?  What do we say when they ask these hard questions? For me, this is harder than one might think.  It’s not easy looking someone in the eye and telling them that God has a purpose in their life and that He works for the good.  Do I even believe that?  We must come to a better understanding of God’s past to understand his future in our lives.  As we will see, God was working for the good.  We have to cling to that.  It’s what we do.