The semester is beginning. What a way to begin a blog post. This semester I am teaching a course on Hebrew Narrative, what we at Truett call Christian Scriptures 1 Genesis through 2 Kings. I am also teaching Prophets and Writings, what we call at Truett Christian Scriptures 2. Today we have two speakers coming in to introduce us to the possibility of learning through blogging.
The semester is beginning. What a way to begin a blog post. This semester I am teaching a course on Hebrew Narrative, what we at Truett call Christian Scriptures 1 Genesis through 2 Kings. I am also teaching Prophets and Writings, what we call at Truett Christian Scriptures 2. Today we have two speakers coming in to introduce us to the possibility of learning through blogging.
So he brought the troops down to the water and the Lord said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths, you shall put to the other side.”
-Judges 7:5
Today if we were trying to decide which army to take to battle from the way they drank from a stream of water, I think most of us would choose the group that knelt down cupped the water into their hands and up to their mouths. If someone laid on the ground and lapped the water up like a dog, we would think they were crazy! Cupping your hands to drink seems like the logical, most intelligible thing to do. However, when the Lord was dividing the army up to attack the Midianites with Gideon, He chose the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. To some, this may come as a surprise, but not to me. God always seems to choose the ‘path less taken’. God can always look at our faults and see perfection. Where we see failure, God sees victory. He sees inside of our heart and not the outside that the world sees. He doesn’t judge us they way we judge ourselves and others. We may see a homeless man and his dog, God may see a future influential leader and a top championship breed dog! We cannot look at the outside and judge people on their actions. We must leave that to God to see inside the person’s heart. 
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post on presence. You can read it here. (For those of you reading from our Scriptures 1 class, it was a post I did not tag for class.) In that post, I share my thoughts on the presence of Jesus with us specifically when we pray. Perhaps this is why the presence of God at the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8 stood out to me.
In 1 Kings 8, Solomon has finally completed the temple, and the time has come to dedicate it. The author tells us as the ark was brought to the temple Solomon and the people were “sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered” (1Kings 8:5 NRS). What a joyous day in the life of Israel. They had finally constructed a permanent dwelling place for God. After the ark was installed in “the most holy place,” the inner sanctuary of the temple, “a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:10-11). What an amazing theophany of God’s presence among God’s people!
Sometimes I wish God would show up in such a visible way. Often, our experience of God’s presence while tangible, is nearly indescribable. However, I wonder, if God did show up in a visibly tangible way, would we recognize Him? Or would our western, scientific brains have some explanation for the theophany? Is our view of God big enough to allow for such unexplainable events?
A quick story. One summer during camp, rain was threatening our last night of worship which was to take place in an amphitheater overlooking a lake. Rain was imminent according to the radar and the clouds. Swimming and other outdoor activities had been rained out several times through the week. So I prayed for God to hold the rain until after our service which on the last night of camp could be quite lengthy. We started our service with the distant rumble of thunder, but as we watched the clouds (and the radar) the rain split and went right around us. It was raining nearby, but not at the camp. We were able to finish our worship service, time of response and prayer, and eat s’mores around the bonfire. The rain came right as our campers headed back to their cabins. One of the workers at the camp facility tried to tell me the lake had some impact on preventing the rain, but I choose to believe God acted on our behalf protecting our time of worship and displaying his glory for all to see.
At times I feel as though my wounds are too deep to be able to minister to anyone. Being a chaplain in a hospital constantly serving those families who have lost loved ones can be very humbling. There are moments where my own grief and sadness washes over me revealing all my wounds in front of a person or family who is also grieving. I am supposed to be their rock, their place to lean on. I never thought that my own wounds could make me a better healer.
Jacob wrestles with the Lord and ends up walking with a limp the rest of his life. Wow, how humbling. The father of nations, the strong fortress of his family wounded and mamed. Jacob continued serving the Lord with his limp and God continued to use him for great and wonderful things.
24And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
I always thought that wounds were a sign of weakness, that people would see my scars and think that I am not capable. But when I shared my story of my father’s heart attack with a twenty-three year old man who just lost his mother, the healer in me truly came out. This young man’s stoic expressions dissapeared and tears roled down his face. Sharing my wounds allowed this man to recognize his own wound of his mother’s death and thats the beginning of the healing process.
Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.” 25So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, 26and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. 27And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day. — 2 Kings 10
As I read the text about Jehu destroying the followers of Baal, I am deeply struck by the powerful message contained in the story. Regardless of what Jehu did before or after this incident, I am impressed with him in this moment. I read the passage and I hear the lyrics of Yearn, a song written and sung by Shane and Shane. Specifically, I am hearkened back to the stanzas that state:
Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn
Your joy is mine
yet why am i fine
with all my singing and bringing grain
in light of Him
Jehu was caught up in a zealous moment for his Lord. His actions were merely a response to the extreme passion he discovered for YAHWEH. You and only You. This is what Jehu is saying. Not Baal. Not the golden calf. Not the false prohets. You and only You.
While I’m not prescribing Jehu’s actions as an accepted means of demonstrating one’s love and fervor for God, I am acknowledging the tremendous amount of passion and courage it took Jehu to possess in order to carry out such a significant act.
Through the utilization of a different means, may we be called to possess a similar, fervent love of God.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
The story of David fearlessly responding to the insults hurled upon him by Goliath is particularly interesting for one particular reason: clarity. David demonstrates an abundant amount of trust in his purpose in that place and at that time. To complicate matters, it just happens to be a story about war. Clarity and war, for postmodern folks, are two ambiguous conversation pieces.
Clarity in this story, however, manifests itself in two ways: the side which God is on; and, clearly defined results (one winner and one loser). Regardless of your views on war, this story, along with many others in 1 Samuel are appealing because they are neatly wrapped up in a bow that says God is on this side, and this side/that side is the clear winner/loser.
There are no honorable defeats. No adverse ramifications of winning the war (economics; post-war effects on the warriors; unjust causes; etc.). There is never even a hesitation about whether war is necessary. It happens. Over. And over. And over again.
David, however, knows exactly what he’s fighting for. He states this clearly in the aforementioned verses. David finds clarity in his purpose and acts accordingly.
Admittedly, clarity, especially in relation to war in this global world we live in, is hard to find today. There are no neatly defined lines in the sand. What is considered just by one is determined unjust by another. In the instance that war does occur, there are rarely outright winners. Those deemed to have ‘won’ suffer as many consequences as those that ‘lost.’ Not to mention, God is claimed to have been on both sides leading up to and following the conclusion of the battle.
Perhaps the loss of clarity is directly proportionate to our misunderstanding of God. Perhaps our lack of clarity is due to the pluralistic society we live in.
This nicely structured story makes clarity look easy. It seems too easy.
Is this the postmodernist in me? Or, is it the New Testament in me?
As I await the kickoff of the Baylor A & M football game I spent some time scanning blogs that deal with biblical studies. Here is a smattering of what I found that might be interesting to you. It also will introduce you to blogs you might want to check out.
I looked at the Ancient Hebrew Poetry blog and happened on an interesting and thoughtful reflection on the gender in translation issue that focuses on the Revised New American Bible Old Testament. Whether you are new to Hebrew or work with English alone this entry will be worth your time. You might begin with his discussion of How Ancient Hebrew Poetry Works. I was thinking he answered the syntactical question but it is really about how the blog works but it was still not a disappointment. John F. Hobbins has an impressive background in biblical languages. He teaches at University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. I continue to work through his blogroll.
Charles Halton of Southern Seminary presents a well curated website that is also part blog. Awilum.com
Pete Bekins of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. His posts are a little irregular but his short piece on An Introduction to Linguistics for Students of Biblical Hebrew is well worth the time.
Now the game is over and we lost. I need to go mourn.
The first stanza of Amazing Grace:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
The stories from the Book of Judges echo this understanding of one’s self and community. There is something inherently wretched within us all. Put a lot of wretched people together that God, for some reason, dearly loves and the story of Judges unfolds.
There is something both alarming and comforting about these stories. It just so happens that what I find to be alarming is comforting; what I find to be comforting is alarming. The comforting and alarming part of these stories is that the Israelites (or, insert my name, your name, etc.) consistently fall into the trap of sin. They fall into the trap almost immediately after God intervenes and gives them victory over their enemies.
In each story, though, through the ‘forgetting of God’ and the worship of other gods, He responds to their cries for mercy. He responds to their desperate cries for help. The wretched, idolatrous, disgusting people He loves so dearly–even in the deepest depth of their sin–simply call out and He responds.
I find my behavior not all that dissimilar from the Israelites. It is alarming in the sense that I am aware of my depraved, fallible nature. It is comforting in the sense that the God of creation deemed them worthy of redemption. I have to assume He deems me worthy of redemption as well.
I wish I was a Deborah or Barak. I’d love to say I’m a Gideon or an Ehud. The truth is that I’m really an Israelite. My sin is just as great, and that’s alarming. God’s redemption is even greater, and that’s comforting.
I’ve read the stories and know the pattern: sin. redemption. sin. redemption. I leave the text and the words of Amazing Grace echo in my mind.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
There are a lot of ways to visualize the narratives in the Bible. Even some of the commandments in the Torah provide strong mental imagery. Somehow I found this: The Brick Testament
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New Book!
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 The Brick Bible 266 pages, 1,400 images $19.95″A curiously powerful graphic novel.” -Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)It’s the illustrated Old Testament in all its glory, from Adam and Eve to David and Solomon, all in one beautiful and action-packed book. |
If you have ever wondered what the Bible looked like here is funny take on it. There quite a few of the illustrations from the book online. Makes me take a whole new look at my childhood toys. Also, it really brings parts of the law to life.
Some of my favorite depictions are:
What to do with the false prophets