Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

How comfortable are we as grasshoppers?

Isaiah 40, a well-known text in itself, is an explanation of comfort for God’s people. We, the insects down on the ground, while God is up on His high throne, are just happy to be hopping in God’s glory. I’m okay with being called a grasshopper. If my country is a mere ‘drop in the bucket,’ a dime a dozen, I feel pretty important as the bright green/black ever-present multitude of ground covering in Waco come late September or so each year. I’m okay with being crushed for my faith, my annoying sound, and silly appearance. Perhaps this is the form we must take to most effectively do the will of God.

But perhaps this grasshopper reference is just a joke, or a mere term passed by and never meant to be reflected upon and overanalyzed. Perhaps we’re more than a mere grasshopper. We have voices to speak, places to hop, and things to do among our green and black fellow insects. Perhaps He will give us strength, if we hope in Him.

I’ve been reading Ezekiel for what feels like years this semester. I have a lot of respect for Ezekiel’s call, visions, and relationship with God. However, I am not so sure about Ezekiel the man.

I have seen articles from “experts” in the study of Ezekiel referring to his life from his childhood abuse by his parents, his erupted marriage and own family, as well as the violent manner in which he refers to women. I am not sure where some of these theories came from–the text, or an idea with justification by finding text to bring power to their surprising ideas about Ezekiel. Who is the real Ezekiel? Does it really matter? Did God use his colorful life, his past, and his present situation in exile to bring filters in which he wrote down his visions? (assuming he did some of the ‘writing’ or oral sharing of these visions accurately to the point that what we are reading in 2009 is similar to God’s original message to Ezekiel)

There is so much confusion in the church surrounding Ezekiel the book. What did he say about Jerusalem? Why did he go into such great detail of the raping, torturing, and crude punishment that will be brought on the city? Why does Ezekiel reference the city gates to the ’secret places’ of a female? What is all of this about?

Well, I have few answers, but I do know that Ezekiel’s visions bring hope (the river of life in chapter 47), the severity of God’s people’s hate and sin (throughout), and the punishment and justice brought down in detail (chapter 16, etc.). There is no room for calm, peaceful waters in this book…Ezekiel favors action movies over romantic comedies, if his work was in film form. This text is not for the weak of heart, the weak of stomach, or even the easily offended. Graphic violence, blatent sexual references, and purging and misuse of God’s blessings paint bright, heavy strokes of color on the canvas of this text. Even possible idolatry in the form of the cherub in chapter 28 brings questions to Ezekiel’s loyalty to his Zadokite priestly, “YHWH centrality” lifestyle commitment. Does Ezekiel condone idols?

There is much too much to chew on to simply understand and live through in a one semester reading of Ezekiel. But, thankfully, Ezekiel is not all of the canon. The visions continue, and the purpose of God’s people is still being carried out. Perhaps Ezekiel isn’t so bad of a guy after all.

Another great day that pasts through my head. I exist inside the world before me as I hold the Bible in front of my face. I remember spending so much time with this Book of Bible: Ecclesiastes. Many people call it the existentialist book of Scripture. I’ve had discussions of how some consider it post-modern literature crafted in a pre-scientific world. While I would argue for the post-modern ideas inside this literature, I understand the reservations some would have about making this declaration. I am not calling the author or authors of Ecclesiastes post-modern thinkers that were born thousands of years before their era. What I would like to say is that post-modernism is mind-set that had been rediscovered. Existentialism is under the same belt.

The narrator of the Book denounces the greatness of materialism. Nothing in this world matters, not even wisdom. There is no point to anything at all. We are insignificant. We may become rich, yet, what good will it do once we are six feet under? I may love in this life, marry and bear many children, but what will that do? I will die, so will my wife, as well as my children. The people of this world live for now, yet everyone that comes to open their eyes in the morning will close them in death. So what is there? There is God. There is the great Deity that began this cycle of life and death.

In this rather dismal book, I see the greatest hope of all. What is the point of life??? GOD!!! It is God that matters and anything I do should be for God and not myself or anyone else. It gives me such great encouragement. By no means am I perfect or by many standards even a good man. But as long as I am working for God and reaching out to God I am rich and wealthy where it matters. This is the relationship that many cannot see because they do not look into the text deep enough. The fact that God and dealings with the heavenly realm are the only things that matter makes the relationship between man and God incredibly important the MAIN point of Ecclesiastes.

1. This passage has been quoted in many heterosexual weddings, despite its dialogue between two women.

What is Ruth chapter 1:16? (What is “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”?)

2. The book of Esther is read annually at this event, full of tradition.

What is the Celebration of Purim?

3. Pinpointing the date that the book of Ruth was written is difficult, because of this form of writing, which causes text to look older than they might actually be.

What is archaizing?

4. This scroll in the Ketubim does not mention “God” once.

What is the book of Esther?

5. Because this type of Hebrew was used 800 years after Solomon’s death, it is thought by many that Solomon did not write Ecclesiasted.

What is Mishnaic Hebrew?

6. In relating to Song of Songs, these are four theories of interpretation.

What is Allegorical/typological, Dramatic, Secular love poetry, and Cult theory?

7. When Song of Songs was publicized, it caused a rift in which ancient OT writing, having to do with clothing modesty and immodesty. It was also responded to by Phyllis Trible.

What is Genesis 2–3?

Another great day that pasts through my head. I exist inside the world before me as I hold the Bible in front of my face. I remember spending so much time with this Book of Bible: Ecclesiastes. Many people call it the existentialist book of Scripture. I’ve had discussions of how some consider it post-modern literature crafted in a pre-scientific world. While I would argue for the post-modern ideas inside this literature, I understand the reservations some would have about making this declaration. I am not calling the author or authors of Ecclesiastes post-modern thinkers that were born thousands of years before their era. What I would like to say is that post-modernism is mind-set that had been rediscovered. Existentialism is under the same belt.

The narrator of the Book denounces the greatness of materialism. Nothing in this world matters, not even wisdom. There is no point to anything at all. We are insignificant. We may become rich, yet, what good will it do once we are six feet under? I may love in this life, marry and bear many children, but what will that do? I will die, so will my wife, as well as my children. The people of this world live for now, yet everyone that comes to open their eyes in the morning will close them in death. So what is there? There is God. There is the great Deity that began this cycle of life and death.

In this rather dismal book, I see the greatest hope of all. What is the point of life??? GOD!!! It is God that matters and anything I do should be for God and not myself or anyone else. It gives me such great encouragement. By no means am I perfect or by many standards even a good man. But as long as I am working for God and reaching out to God I am rich and wealthy where it matters. This is the relationship that many cannot see because they do not look into the text deep enough. The fact that God and dealings with the heavenly realm are the only things that matter makes the relationship between man and God incredibly important the MAIN point of Ecclesiastes.

It has taken me a LONG TIME to read the Psalms. This is not due to the length of each psalm, or even the ability to read for 5 or 10 minutes at a time and easily pick up where I left off. The hardest part for me is putting them all together in a “mental hymnal,” in order that I may more clearly understand the laments, joyful times, thanksgiving, and all of the emotions in between. And there is one part that I completely underestimated about the Psalms…there is so much personal history embedded in them. Not just the daydreams I would have as a child of David playing on his harp and singing his lungs out for the Lord, but the quiet, still times. Those times when it was read from a Bible storybook right before a child’s bedtime, the long years that is has lived in the heart of my grandmother who can recite many psalms from childhood memory, the tearful reading of a famous psalm at a funeral, and even the reciting of a joyful psalm at a wedding or celebration. The psalms remind me of home and comfort, for some of these (besides John 3:16 and Amazing Grace) are oftentimes a person’s only link to a personal God. I hope this isn’t the case, but I am so grateful for this hymnal that brings people together, in sad and glad times, and can be heard and read and understood and spoken off the lips because it was hidden in one’s heart as a conversation with God, the most personal and most profound relationship we can ever have, the one with our Maker.

One last thought…I recently visited with an ill woman who only wanted to hear Psalm 91. Her eyes were weak and, in one of my wiser moments (a rarity) having brought a Bible when I visited her, we bonded over Psalm 91 together. I read, she recited. That was a very powerful moment, reading about the Lord’s faithfulness in mighty battles and storms. This particular psalm is from a third party, talking about the Lord’s great might–a testimony in the greatest of storytelling form. She and I relished in the mighty words of this psalm together, we fully let ourselves free of distraction and interconnected into the psalmist and the Lord we were praising. It was such a powerful moment that I’ll never forget. Not only was I reminded of the deep meaningfulness psalms have in people’s lives as they converse with their Lord, I learned of the great power that comes from these words in the psalms. This was a great lesson.

I see something playing out in Leviticus 2 where the laws for the grain offering were given. This thing that I hadn’t ever seen before. I may be over reading here, but it is cool anyway. On one hand we see God telling the people that they should bring the grain offerings to the priests and they would make a cake out of a portion of the flour, oil, and all of the frankincense, then offer it to the Lord at an alter of fire. This offering goes up in smoke, and it is seen by everyone in and around Israel for miles. On the same note, there is a correlation between this and corporate worship, it is seen by all and it is from an overflow of our life and work. The next part is what amazes me though, where God says the most holy part is the part offered to take care of the priests of God. In the same way Jesus says to Peter, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” I see a correlation to this sacrifice also.