Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

No, it’s not a bonfire gone bad.  It’s the presence of the Lord.  Sounds like it’s straight out of the movies!  In Exodus, we have God appearing to Moses via a cloud on a mountain and a fire.  It makes me wonder if I would have even noticed God.  Do I notice Him now?  God is giving Moses some big-time responsibilities here, and it seems as if it would have been so easy to simply not notice it.  But more than that, how crazy must it have been for the Israelites.  Here their God has brought them out of Egypt, only for them to die in the process (according to them!), and now he appears in a cloud and fire!  Seriously?  I can’t imagine the surprise and confusion that they must have felt.  And of all people to have a level-head, Moses plays into it as well! This story is setting us up for great happening, but I can’t help but put myself in the shoes of the Israelites when reading this story!

In reading Proverbs, I don’t see it as a do “X” to obtain “Y” for that would signify one’s ability to control or manipulate God. Yet, I see Proverbs as a guide for righteous living. Proverbs provides a steady compass which to guide one’s journey. Does every child that has been given righteous instruction grow up and follow the path? No, but many do return back to the foundation of God that was instilled in them as a child. Proverbs, filled with wisdom and understanding, shapes the mold of modern day common sense and thereby would benefit all to take notice. For I must admit, common sense does not appear to be that common. So although A + B = C may not always be the case, if one does A and B the possibility of C occuring is far greater than never doing A and B from the start.

The palmists are not afraid to let their emotions flow through and have a one-on-one talk with God. I think a valuable lesson is demonstrated by the psalmists. We can strive to have a real and personal relationship with God through Christ by not placing artifical boundaries between ourselves and God. Everday is not filled with the pleasantries we desire and there is no need to bottle the disappointments of life inside. It’s OK to have a heart to heart conversation with God, letting him know our hopes, hurts, struggles and pains. After all if we can’t be real with our risen Lord and Savior, who can we trust?

I’ve been thinking this week about Exodus, obviously, but especially 10-19.  What has captured my attention this week is the cry of the people to Moses, “why have you brought us out of…..”.  I think about how we as Christians willingly follow ideas, concepts, people, or movements because our lives are easier if we do this.  We follow God’s call for our lives and suddenly find ourselves in the wilderness, unable to catch our footing.  As the Israelites cry to Moses, “why have your brought us out of Egypt to die.  Were there no graves in Egypt?”, I can’t help but think of times in my life when it seems that God had brought me thus far only to leave me for the birds!  How unsure the Israelites must have felt during the transition process out of Egypt.  While we as the reader understand the purpose of the movement, the people, and even Moses at some point, must have felt confused and neglected.  Aren’t these emotions we feel as well?  In a story that seems so far out of reach for today’s society (I mean, afterall, God is not moving us to Canada!), we can indeed find commonalities to the Israelites.  This is when the story comes alive.  It’s no longer about Israelites, but God’s people universal.

Just finished reading Genesis.  Wow.  I’ve never read Genesis from cover to cover and I was completely amazed at how much I had missed.  While there was plenty there on it’s own, I’m excited about what is to come.

Who would have thought Genesis and I could have gotten along so well……

In two of my undergrad classes and in one course at Truett I have had professors assign the task of pretending that something historically noteworthy did not happen or that someone did not exist as it is traditionally understood.  For example, I was asked to imagine in research format what the future of the church would have been if Benedict had not been born.  This often requires more intense investigation and reflection than direct study.  This was an interesting experiment for me as a class discussion direction when I taught Baptist history for Howard Payne as my internship experience.

As I reread Genesis, some of the most familiar and some of my favorite passages, I am using this technique to look at the narratives in a different light.    What if Cain had simply turned away from God and the family instead of killing his brother?  What if Abram had not acknowledged God’s sovereignty and had refused to “sacrifice” his son?   What if Isaac had resisted fought his father and turned away from God in anger?

This can be enlightening and frustrating but it allows me to consider God’s timing, creativity and force me to look at more difficult issues such as election and the preordained sovereign presence of a God I do not completely understand.

If I had my preference in ministry, I would prefer to live in peace with all humanity. Yet as Nehemiah 2:10 painfully points out, when one is focused on doing the will of God there will always exist opposition. During these times of conflict, we may find ourselves taking personal inventory of what we said or did wrong. Yet there will be times when it is not the wrong you have done, but rather the right you have done that brings about your adversary. So perhaps here is a nugget to take with all of us who serve in ministry. If you are serving God in ministry and there are no haters to oppose you, are you really serving God? Perhaps we should make a personal declaration to set an appropriate expectation in the beginning. “Calling all haters, I’ve come to do what thus says the Lord.” In doing so, may we maintain the resolve of Nehemiah and finish our own God given assignment of rebuilding the wall.

I found it interesting how the author of I Chronicles paints an extremely impressive linage of David to Solomon minus all the baby momma drama beginning with I Chronicles 20:1-3. What takes approximately ten chapters to express in 2 Samuel 11-20 (the Bathsheba event and the domino effect that follows) is summarized with a nice bow for easy consumption and authorial intent. It reminds me of a code of conduct I learned from my mom growing up: “Son if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” In my mind, I Chronicles 20:1-3 is truly dressed to impress.