Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Judges chapter 6 verses 25 through 27:
25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
This is a deeply archetypal story, outlining one generation's struggle to live out from under another generation's destructive religious practices and social mores. The struggle is always with the cultural gods of the community -- oftentimes spoken of in terms of custom, heritage, or "way of life". The antipathy towards these "false gods" is always at first held only in secret and the protest is at first subversive, non-direct, and oftentimes passive-aggressive. In short, this is how we rebel against our parents -- if we do.
But the rebellion usually does not last long. Social pressure is brought to fore to keep the community in order and its conventions intact. Those who step out of line are punished -- usually socially in myriads of ways and sometimes even physically. The rebellion which takes place under cloak is found out; social punishment is swift and often harsh. What is seen to be open rebellion is punished with even greater social force. What happened to Jesus in his own town among his own people is a case in point.
In today's story about Gideon's rebellion against his father's gods, we see the archetypal cycle. Gideon’s revolt against his father’s religion is found out by the community. "It was Gideon the son of Joash who has done this," they say, then go to Joash's house to demand his son.
But then, beautifully, the father refuses to give up his son. He tells the villagers demanding Gideon that if the gods are upset then they can come themselves and get his son.
Here the social convention is overturned. When confronted with the possibility of losing his own son Joash is made to admit the inadequacy and even falsehood of his own gods and customs. He stands up with his son in defiance of the community's expectation and custom and against its hostility. Reformation takes root.
And it holds, until later in the book it is Gideon himself whose religion is corrupted.
This is a 3,000 year old story; but it also an ongoing story. History is cyclical. We are always forming and reforming. The religion of the past is not suitable for the religion of the day. Reformation is necessary. And every successive generation must cut down the false gods of the former.
NOTE: We’re reading the Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Judges chapters 8 and 9.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
On Preaching Amidst a Pandemic
I have been thinking about preaching in such a time as this.
There is no room for silly jokes, gimmicks, off-topic intros, or any of the other stuff that has made for “successful” sermonizing in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries.
No, we, like all the preachers who preached before the advent of modern obstetrics and penicillin, stand now before a whole congregation of people collectively wondering if this could be their last Sunday.
In the age of COVID-19 we all know the weight of a single breath — let’s not waste it.
There is no room for silly jokes, gimmicks, off-topic intros, or any of the other stuff that has made for “successful” sermonizing in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries.
No, we, like all the preachers who preached before the advent of modern obstetrics and penicillin, stand now before a whole congregation of people collectively wondering if this could be their last Sunday.
In the age of COVID-19 we all know the weight of a single breath — let’s not waste it.
Daily Lesson for March 30, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Judges 4verses 1 through 10:
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years.
4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him.
In these pages of the book of Judges the women take charge.
I’m grateful to the brilliant Brite Divinity School scholar Wil Gafney for this insight, and for the knowledge that “Deborah . . . wife of Lapidoth” could also be read “Deborah . . . fiery woman”.
Isn’t that interesting? It’s Dr. Gafney’s understanding that in a critical time in the history of ancient Israel, as the nation was falling apart, God gave them a fiery woman to lead, but then later translators gave them a wife of Lappidoth.
In either case, called in the crisis, Deborah rose to the occasion and brought her fire to light the torches of others — male and female.
So let it be.
NOTE: We’re reading the Bible through this year. Tomorrow is Judges chapters 6 & 7.
ATTRIBUTION: Unidentified. Deborah with weapons and palm tree, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56001[retrieved March 30, 2020]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_Basilica_of_Saint_Clement,_Tenancingo,_Mexico_State,_Mexico04.jpg
Sunday, March 29, 2020
How Does It End?
I’ve been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to the boys at bedtime. Tonight the White Witch worked her evil powers on the young, naive boy Edmund deceiving him into giving up his siblings. After we were done with chapter Bo looked up and asked me, “How does it end?” I told him it’s a Christian story; and all Christian stories end well because God always works everything for good in the end.
That seemed to be enough to let him sleep for at least another night.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Rev. Joseph Lowery Passes
Another casualty amidst COVID is the proper recognition of the passing of Joseph Lowery.
No other troubler of Israel has ever spoken such truth with such mischievous joy.
May you Rest In Peace, Rev. Lowery, now that you’ve finally come to the place for which your fathers sighed.
Friday, March 27, 2020
PSALM 91 and COVID
Does anyone else find it interesting that this is the Psalm the devil quoted when he tried to get Jesus to do something so obviously dangerous as jump off a building?:
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Does Jesus’ response have something to say to us when some would have us to tempt fate and come out amidst our own deadly pestilence?:
“Do not put the LORD your God to the test!”
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Does Jesus’ response have something to say to us when some would have us to tempt fate and come out amidst our own deadly pestilence?:
“Do not put the LORD your God to the test!”
Daily Lesson for March 27, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 20 verses 1 through 6:
Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Say to the Israelites, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person without intent or by mistake may flee there; they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 The slayer shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and explain the case to the elders of that city; then the fugitive shall be taken into the city, and given a place, and shall remain with them. 5 And if the avenger of blood is in pursuit, they shall not give up the slayer, because the neighbor was killed by mistake, there having been no enmity between them before. 6 The slayer shall remain in that city until there is a trial before the congregation, until the death of the one who is high priest at the time: then the slayer may return home, to the town in which the deed was done.’”
Today we are given the appointment of what were six cities of refuge in ancient Israel. These cities were set up in order to stem the blood feuding which marked law and order in the pre-civilized, clan-oriented society. The establishment of these cities of refuge is seen as a major societal development and a significant mark in that of jurisprudence as well. A distinction was now made between murder and manslaughter, and more could a blood relative freely avenge or “redeem” the loss of a loved one without due process, and trial, and mitigated punishment. And the death of a high priest meant a general amnesty for those who had killed without malice aforethought or intent. All this was done to limit bloodshed in the land and protect life in the community.
The Talmud, an ancient Jewish commentary, says the roads to these six cities were double-wide and well-groomed. Nothing was to stand in the way of someone seeking refuge.
Which raises a few questions: How wide are the raids to your city, or to your church, when it comes to those seeking refuge? And are the doors open? And is amnesty seen as a Biblically justified practice?
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we will finish up Joshua and begin the first five chapters of Judges.
Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Say to the Israelites, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person without intent or by mistake may flee there; they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 The slayer shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and explain the case to the elders of that city; then the fugitive shall be taken into the city, and given a place, and shall remain with them. 5 And if the avenger of blood is in pursuit, they shall not give up the slayer, because the neighbor was killed by mistake, there having been no enmity between them before. 6 The slayer shall remain in that city until there is a trial before the congregation, until the death of the one who is high priest at the time: then the slayer may return home, to the town in which the deed was done.’”
Today we are given the appointment of what were six cities of refuge in ancient Israel. These cities were set up in order to stem the blood feuding which marked law and order in the pre-civilized, clan-oriented society. The establishment of these cities of refuge is seen as a major societal development and a significant mark in that of jurisprudence as well. A distinction was now made between murder and manslaughter, and more could a blood relative freely avenge or “redeem” the loss of a loved one without due process, and trial, and mitigated punishment. And the death of a high priest meant a general amnesty for those who had killed without malice aforethought or intent. All this was done to limit bloodshed in the land and protect life in the community.
The Talmud, an ancient Jewish commentary, says the roads to these six cities were double-wide and well-groomed. Nothing was to stand in the way of someone seeking refuge.
Which raises a few questions: How wide are the raids to your city, or to your church, when it comes to those seeking refuge? And are the doors open? And is amnesty seen as a Biblically justified practice?
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we will finish up Joshua and begin the first five chapters of Judges.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 26, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 17 verses 3 and 4:
3 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun and the leaders, and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our male kin.” So according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the kinsmen of their father.
For those reading along in the Bible with me this year, this story may sound familiar. Earlier in the book of Numbers, when the Israelites were still wandering the wilderness and the division of the Promised Land was being determined, the daughters of Zelophehad came before Moses and Eleazar the Priest and asked them for inheritance rights in order to keep their father’s property in the family after he died sonless (chapter 27 verse 1 and following). Moses ruled on their behalf, a word he said that came from the LORD.
But now, in the distribution of the land, these same daughters are made to go again before Moses’ successor Joshua and the Priest Eleazar, to ensure the ruling was honored and the property was rightfully distributed to the family, in spite of there being no male heir.
Some important points can be drawn here.
1. At every turn women have had to fight for their rights as people
2. These women did not leave things in the hands of the powers that be, but took it upon themselves to be their own advocates — an early form of Feminist engagement
3. Knowing ones rights is necessary and empowering
4. Leaders must be held accountable for promises made, and not just assumed to act appropriately — even if the leaders are great generals or high priests. Vigilance is necessary to protect and defend the rights of all, and especially the powerless.
There is some interesting and relevant stuff in this Bible, which I’m reading all the way through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Joshua chapters 19-21.
3 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun and the leaders, and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our male kin.” So according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the kinsmen of their father.
For those reading along in the Bible with me this year, this story may sound familiar. Earlier in the book of Numbers, when the Israelites were still wandering the wilderness and the division of the Promised Land was being determined, the daughters of Zelophehad came before Moses and Eleazar the Priest and asked them for inheritance rights in order to keep their father’s property in the family after he died sonless (chapter 27 verse 1 and following). Moses ruled on their behalf, a word he said that came from the LORD.
But now, in the distribution of the land, these same daughters are made to go again before Moses’ successor Joshua and the Priest Eleazar, to ensure the ruling was honored and the property was rightfully distributed to the family, in spite of there being no male heir.
Some important points can be drawn here.
1. At every turn women have had to fight for their rights as people
2. These women did not leave things in the hands of the powers that be, but took it upon themselves to be their own advocates — an early form of Feminist engagement
3. Knowing ones rights is necessary and empowering
4. Leaders must be held accountable for promises made, and not just assumed to act appropriately — even if the leaders are great generals or high priests. Vigilance is necessary to protect and defend the rights of all, and especially the powerless.
There is some interesting and relevant stuff in this Bible, which I’m reading all the way through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Joshua chapters 19-21.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
John Donne on the Secret Evil of the Plague
Here is John Donne, amidst the Black Plague of 1623.
This is why we are staying home.
This is why we are staying home.
Daily Lesson for March 24, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 15 verse 63:
“But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.”
The great preacher of Riverside Church in New York City Harry Emerson Fosdick once said, “Nobody comes to church dying to know what happened to the Jebusites.”
Probably nobody reading this is dying to know that either. But I’m going to tell you regardless.
The Jebusites were the ancient people who lived in Jerusalem before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. As the whole of the land was parceled out, the tribe of Judah was given ancient Jerusalem. But they, unlike most of the other tribes of Israel, were unable to vanquish and drive out the former inhabitants — the Jebusites. So, instead the two made peace.
That’s right; Jerusalem has been split as a city from the very beginning. And, apparently, the tribe of Judah made peace with that fact.
There is a time for war and a time for peace. And there are times for sheer acceptance. So the Jebusites live among us — so what? Isn’t it better to live together in a thriving city than alone in a destroyed one?
So what happened to the Jebusites? Maybe, in the end, they became our neighbors and even friends.
A Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson comes from Joshua chapters 16-18.
“But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.”
The great preacher of Riverside Church in New York City Harry Emerson Fosdick once said, “Nobody comes to church dying to know what happened to the Jebusites.”
Probably nobody reading this is dying to know that either. But I’m going to tell you regardless.
The Jebusites were the ancient people who lived in Jerusalem before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. As the whole of the land was parceled out, the tribe of Judah was given ancient Jerusalem. But they, unlike most of the other tribes of Israel, were unable to vanquish and drive out the former inhabitants — the Jebusites. So, instead the two made peace.
That’s right; Jerusalem has been split as a city from the very beginning. And, apparently, the tribe of Judah made peace with that fact.
There is a time for war and a time for peace. And there are times for sheer acceptance. So the Jebusites live among us — so what? Isn’t it better to live together in a thriving city than alone in a destroyed one?
So what happened to the Jebusites? Maybe, in the end, they became our neighbors and even friends.
A Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson comes from Joshua chapters 16-18.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 24, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 10 verses 12 and 13a:
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13
So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies . . .
I have a pastor friend who woke up the other day to the sound of the birds outside her window. She turned to her husband and said stoically, “They don’t even know.”
“Maybe they do,” he said, “and they’re trying to help.”
The March full moon just passed. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls it “The Full Worm Moon” because with it comes the earth worms.
The earth worms bring the robins.
The robins bring the song at daybreak.
They are trying to help. Believe it. Earth, sun, moon, and stars, and all the rest of creation are doing their best to try to help us.
May their song bring you joy and peace this morning.
NOTE: We are reading the Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Joshua chapters 12 through 15.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13
So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies . . .
I have a pastor friend who woke up the other day to the sound of the birds outside her window. She turned to her husband and said stoically, “They don’t even know.”
“Maybe they do,” he said, “and they’re trying to help.”
The March full moon just passed. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls it “The Full Worm Moon” because with it comes the earth worms.
The earth worms bring the robins.
The robins bring the song at daybreak.
They are trying to help. Believe it. Earth, sun, moon, and stars, and all the rest of creation are doing their best to try to help us.
May their song bring you joy and peace this morning.
NOTE: We are reading the Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Joshua chapters 12 through 15.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 23, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Joshua chapter 3 verses 1 through 7:
Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
I see parallels in this Scripture to the times in which we are living. Surely we now, like the Israelites before, are walking unknown paths and “have not passed this way before”.
Yet the good news is the ark of God’s presence promises to go with us.
Yes, in the Scriptures too, there is social distancing. No one can come within 2,000 cubits of the ark. (A cubit was the measure of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. So that’s about 2,500 feet depending on the hands. Ha!)
But even though no one can come close. The ark travels with the people. It goes in front of them and it crosses over the Jordan with them, drying up the raging waters and allowing the people to make it over the Jordan on dry land.
No; none of us have been this way before. But the promise of God’s presence goes with us, making a way out of no way, and a dry foot path amidst a river of troubles.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Joshua chapters 9-11.
Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
I see parallels in this Scripture to the times in which we are living. Surely we now, like the Israelites before, are walking unknown paths and “have not passed this way before”.
Yet the good news is the ark of God’s presence promises to go with us.
Yes, in the Scriptures too, there is social distancing. No one can come within 2,000 cubits of the ark. (A cubit was the measure of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. So that’s about 2,500 feet depending on the hands. Ha!)
But even though no one can come close. The ark travels with the people. It goes in front of them and it crosses over the Jordan with them, drying up the raging waters and allowing the people to make it over the Jordan on dry land.
No; none of us have been this way before. But the promise of God’s presence goes with us, making a way out of no way, and a dry foot path amidst a river of troubles.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Joshua chapters 9-11.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 20, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 23:
“Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, ‘Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.’”
Joshua was the young Lieutenant of Moses, who suddenly found himself chosen to be the head of the people at a seminal moment in their history, just as they were to cross over the Jordan and face the grave dangers of Canaan.
I know so many who feel like Joshua must have felt, uncertain, scared, completely ill-equipped, yet somehow at the helm of hospitals, and businesses, and churches, and cities, elderly care facilities, and critical governmental agencies. And the refrain I keep hearing from pastors sums it up for all of us, “They didn’t teach us this in seminary.”
No; they didn’t. We’re in Canaan now, COVID Canaan. We’ve never been here. But regardless, we are called now to lead.
And the Lesson this morning comes as a promise and encouragement that we are not alone in this our hour of need, as we suddenly find ourselves in Canaan Land, with everybody expecting us to know what to do in order to survive.
Here the words again:
“Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we will finish up Deuteronomy, read Psalm 91, and begin the book of Joshua, chapters 1-8.
“Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, ‘Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.’”
Joshua was the young Lieutenant of Moses, who suddenly found himself chosen to be the head of the people at a seminal moment in their history, just as they were to cross over the Jordan and face the grave dangers of Canaan.
I know so many who feel like Joshua must have felt, uncertain, scared, completely ill-equipped, yet somehow at the helm of hospitals, and businesses, and churches, and cities, elderly care facilities, and critical governmental agencies. And the refrain I keep hearing from pastors sums it up for all of us, “They didn’t teach us this in seminary.”
No; they didn’t. We’re in Canaan now, COVID Canaan. We’ve never been here. But regardless, we are called now to lead.
And the Lesson this morning comes as a promise and encouragement that we are not alone in this our hour of need, as we suddenly find ourselves in Canaan Land, with everybody expecting us to know what to do in order to survive.
Here the words again:
“Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we will finish up Deuteronomy, read Psalm 91, and begin the book of Joshua, chapters 1-8.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 19, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 28, selected verses:
If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; 2 all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field . . . 7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you . . .
15 But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field . . .
20 The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until it has consumed you off the land that you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will afflict you with consumption, fever, inflammation, with fiery heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
The writer of Deuteronomy lived in a fragile time. The world around him was very unsettled and unsure. He never knew what tomorrow might bring. Calamity might befall the community at any time.
I think we now understand better what kind of world this writer lived in.
The Deuteronomist’s answer was to seek control and order. So he ordered his world with rules and laws which he hoped could control what he thought of as God’s blessings and God’s curses. Do good get blessed. Do bad get cursed. Simple as that.
But what we are facing now we know is not so simple. The war, famine, and pestilences, the Deuteronomist imagined all had a kind of ethnic or national boundary to them. If the Jews did well they would be blessed above their neighbors, but if they did poorly then a pestilence might be sent and their neighbors come and attack them and strip them of their land.
But we now know pestilences do not respect national or international borders. And neither do storms of any kind. The illusion of control really doesn’t make sense in the face of bacterial science or meteorology or a world now so much more interconnected.
Here is the truth about the age we are living in. It is beyond our control now how or why this disease we are living in came along. Is it a judgment? Was there something we could have done to avert it? Who knows? It is here now. It is here everywhere. And in that sense it is beyond our control.
What is within our control is how we respond. Pointing fingers and blaming and trying to quell our anxieties by theologizing this disease’s meaning does nothing to help.
What does help — and is truly within our control — is staying home, not hoarding food and other essential goods, and demanding that our local and federal government do what is within its power to alleviate suffering, protect and defend the vulnerable, and finally create a true safety net for us all.
We’re all in this together — curses and blessings. We are here. And what the Deuteronomist says is basically true, if we do well now then perhaps we as a community will climb out, but if we do poorly we will all fall deeper and deeper into this terrible curse called COVID-19.
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible together this year. As you can see, there is very relevant stuff here for the times we are living in. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 30 and 31.
If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; 2 all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field . . . 7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you . . .
15 But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field . . .
20 The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until it has consumed you off the land that you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will afflict you with consumption, fever, inflammation, with fiery heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
The writer of Deuteronomy lived in a fragile time. The world around him was very unsettled and unsure. He never knew what tomorrow might bring. Calamity might befall the community at any time.
I think we now understand better what kind of world this writer lived in.
The Deuteronomist’s answer was to seek control and order. So he ordered his world with rules and laws which he hoped could control what he thought of as God’s blessings and God’s curses. Do good get blessed. Do bad get cursed. Simple as that.
But what we are facing now we know is not so simple. The war, famine, and pestilences, the Deuteronomist imagined all had a kind of ethnic or national boundary to them. If the Jews did well they would be blessed above their neighbors, but if they did poorly then a pestilence might be sent and their neighbors come and attack them and strip them of their land.
But we now know pestilences do not respect national or international borders. And neither do storms of any kind. The illusion of control really doesn’t make sense in the face of bacterial science or meteorology or a world now so much more interconnected.
Here is the truth about the age we are living in. It is beyond our control now how or why this disease we are living in came along. Is it a judgment? Was there something we could have done to avert it? Who knows? It is here now. It is here everywhere. And in that sense it is beyond our control.
What is within our control is how we respond. Pointing fingers and blaming and trying to quell our anxieties by theologizing this disease’s meaning does nothing to help.
What does help — and is truly within our control — is staying home, not hoarding food and other essential goods, and demanding that our local and federal government do what is within its power to alleviate suffering, protect and defend the vulnerable, and finally create a true safety net for us all.
We’re all in this together — curses and blessings. We are here. And what the Deuteronomist says is basically true, if we do well now then perhaps we as a community will climb out, but if we do poorly we will all fall deeper and deeper into this terrible curse called COVID-19.
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible together this year. As you can see, there is very relevant stuff here for the times we are living in. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 30 and 31.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 18, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 24 verses 10 through 15:
10 When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not go into the house to take the pledge. 11 You shall wait outside, while the person to whom you are making the loan brings the pledge out to you. 12 If the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the garment given you as the pledge. 13 You shall give the pledge back by sunset, so that your neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless you; and it will be to your credit before the Lord your God.
14 You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. 15 You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.
The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the vast fragility of our entire economic framework as it relies so heavily on cheap labor. After years (decades?) of depressed wages which kept laborers from financial robustness, and then the stoppage of work altogether, what happens to those people?
Today’s Lesson shows the Biblical concern for the well-being of the laborer and borrower. There is obligation the employer and the lender each take on for the care and responsibility of the workers, the borrowers, and the whole community at-large.
The current crisis we are in has exposed so much of the fragility of the entire national and international economy. When you’re competing against a place like China for production, then you’re tempted to exploit your workers just like they do. And who cares if they lose their shirts in the meantime?
But now we will have to pay the piper. This is looking like giant governmental bailouts because we can’t afford for everybody to lose their shirts at the same time. And though that will eventually mean more taxes for a lot of people, it will also mean it’s our chance to truly see that we are a community — our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and our workers’ kindred, and should have been all along.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 28 and 29.
10 When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not go into the house to take the pledge. 11 You shall wait outside, while the person to whom you are making the loan brings the pledge out to you. 12 If the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the garment given you as the pledge. 13 You shall give the pledge back by sunset, so that your neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless you; and it will be to your credit before the Lord your God.
14 You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. 15 You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.
The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the vast fragility of our entire economic framework as it relies so heavily on cheap labor. After years (decades?) of depressed wages which kept laborers from financial robustness, and then the stoppage of work altogether, what happens to those people?
Today’s Lesson shows the Biblical concern for the well-being of the laborer and borrower. There is obligation the employer and the lender each take on for the care and responsibility of the workers, the borrowers, and the whole community at-large.
The current crisis we are in has exposed so much of the fragility of the entire national and international economy. When you’re competing against a place like China for production, then you’re tempted to exploit your workers just like they do. And who cares if they lose their shirts in the meantime?
But now we will have to pay the piper. This is looking like giant governmental bailouts because we can’t afford for everybody to lose their shirts at the same time. And though that will eventually mean more taxes for a lot of people, it will also mean it’s our chance to truly see that we are a community — our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and our workers’ kindred, and should have been all along.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 28 and 29.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 17, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 23 verses 24 and 25:
24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in a container.
25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
This Lesson may seem a bit grim at this time. And I don’t want to cause any additional panic to readers. But it’s important to note that in the Bible, sustaining life is a preeminent value — and the right to life supersedes all other values, including those of private property.
So while hoarding is strictly forbidden, the foraging of food from others’ excess is permitted in order to sustain life.
According to William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury, early Christian Fathers, St. Thomas, Lactantius, and Ambrose, each affirmed and clarifying this rule, declaring that “theft” to be “no sin if it is committed to relieve genuine need,” so long as the need is “real and urgent, and other means of meeting it lacking” (William Temple, “Christianity and Social Order).
I pray we don’t come to a point when the means to feed ones’ family are utterly lacking. But the shelves are barren. And too many people have taken too much. This is the real robbery, and a far more grievous sin than simply taking to survive.
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. And it’s apparent that there’s a lot of very relevant stuff in this Book. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 24-27.
24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in a container.
25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
This Lesson may seem a bit grim at this time. And I don’t want to cause any additional panic to readers. But it’s important to note that in the Bible, sustaining life is a preeminent value — and the right to life supersedes all other values, including those of private property.
So while hoarding is strictly forbidden, the foraging of food from others’ excess is permitted in order to sustain life.
According to William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury, early Christian Fathers, St. Thomas, Lactantius, and Ambrose, each affirmed and clarifying this rule, declaring that “theft” to be “no sin if it is committed to relieve genuine need,” so long as the need is “real and urgent, and other means of meeting it lacking” (William Temple, “Christianity and Social Order).
I pray we don’t come to a point when the means to feed ones’ family are utterly lacking. But the shelves are barren. And too many people have taken too much. This is the real robbery, and a far more grievous sin than simply taking to survive.
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. And it’s apparent that there’s a lot of very relevant stuff in this Book. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Deuteronomy chapters 24-27.
Sermon Manuscript
I wanted to share the Sunday’s sermon manuscript, as I offered some guiding principles to live by in this extraordinary time.
Peace to all. God is with us.
Ryon
Peace to all. God is with us.
Ryon
Monday, March 16, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 16, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 16 verses 1 through 8:
Observe the month of Abib by keeping the passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You shall offer the passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You must not eat with it anything leavened. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it—the bread of affliction—because you came out of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days; and none of the meat of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall remain until morning. 5 You are not permitted to offer the passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you. 6 But at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name, only there shall you offer the passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. 7 You shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose; the next morning you may go back to your tents. 8 For six days you shall continue to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord your God, when you shall do no work.
Today we are given the command for the remembrance and keeping of the Passover, a yearly festival which for us takes on eery meaning in the age of COVID-19.
Now we see new and perhaps ancient meaning in a yearly festival to help a nation of people remember how to stay safe and indoors in a clean house in the midst of a plague which worsened due to the nation’s leaders’ — Pharoah’s and his court’s — unwillingness to take it seriously.
“Be warned,” the Lesson seems to say, “this is what you will have to do should such affliction arise again.
“And this, the Passover, is your practice.”
Be warned indeed.
And be spared . . .
NOTE: We are continuing to read the whole Bible through this year. As you can see, there’s a whole lot of timeless stuff in there. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 21 through 23.
Observe the month of Abib by keeping the passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You shall offer the passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You must not eat with it anything leavened. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it—the bread of affliction—because you came out of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days; and none of the meat of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall remain until morning. 5 You are not permitted to offer the passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you. 6 But at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name, only there shall you offer the passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. 7 You shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose; the next morning you may go back to your tents. 8 For six days you shall continue to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord your God, when you shall do no work.
Today we are given the command for the remembrance and keeping of the Passover, a yearly festival which for us takes on eery meaning in the age of COVID-19.
Now we see new and perhaps ancient meaning in a yearly festival to help a nation of people remember how to stay safe and indoors in a clean house in the midst of a plague which worsened due to the nation’s leaders’ — Pharoah’s and his court’s — unwillingness to take it seriously.
“Be warned,” the Lesson seems to say, “this is what you will have to do should such affliction arise again.
“And this, the Passover, is your practice.”
Be warned indeed.
And be spared . . .
NOTE: We are continuing to read the whole Bible through this year. As you can see, there’s a whole lot of timeless stuff in there. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 21 through 23.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 13, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 10 verses 12 through 22:
12 So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 14 Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, 15 yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. 16 Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.
The New Revised Version translation of the Bible calls this section of Scripture “the essence of the Covenant”.
The essence of the covenant, the heart of these vows of the people before God and God’s vows before them is a command of humility before the LORD and kindness and even love towards the stranger.
“You were strangers in the land of Egypt . . .”
We were all strangers once. We were immigrants, and refugees, and slaves, and “huddled masses yearning to breath free”. We were fleeing persecution, and pestilence, and famine, and capture, and war, and who knows what all else. We came here on ships, and by horse, and by buggies, and in the arms of older sisters, and on the bread and kind direction of strangers. We did not make where we are alone. The LORD provided. We are not self-made men and women. We are here by the grace of God and good neighbors.
And so to whom much is given, much is required. This is the essence of the Covenant: to fear and follow in the ways of the LORD, to watch after orphans and widows and give a hand to those who need it, and to never ever forget that we too were strangers and someone was kind to us.
So let’s look after each other now friends; it’s in the hard times that it really matters . . .
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 11 through 20.
12 So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 14 Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, 15 yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. 16 Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.
The New Revised Version translation of the Bible calls this section of Scripture “the essence of the Covenant”.
The essence of the covenant, the heart of these vows of the people before God and God’s vows before them is a command of humility before the LORD and kindness and even love towards the stranger.
“You were strangers in the land of Egypt . . .”
We were all strangers once. We were immigrants, and refugees, and slaves, and “huddled masses yearning to breath free”. We were fleeing persecution, and pestilence, and famine, and capture, and war, and who knows what all else. We came here on ships, and by horse, and by buggies, and in the arms of older sisters, and on the bread and kind direction of strangers. We did not make where we are alone. The LORD provided. We are not self-made men and women. We are here by the grace of God and good neighbors.
And so to whom much is given, much is required. This is the essence of the Covenant: to fear and follow in the ways of the LORD, to watch after orphans and widows and give a hand to those who need it, and to never ever forget that we too were strangers and someone was kind to us.
So let’s look after each other now friends; it’s in the hard times that it really matters . . .
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible through this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 11 through 20.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 12, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 6:
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
“Honor your father and your mother . . .” This is a Biblical command often quoted by parents of unruly teenagers in the most vexing of parental moments. Sometimes it is used manipulatively by even older parents. Almost always it is intended to saddle a burden of conscience upon the next generation.
But in a time like this, with a disease like COVID-19 (Coronavirus) rampaging it’s way around the world and striking hard especially against the aged, perhaps we have a more clear look at the intent and meaning of the verse.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, SO THAT YOUR DAYS MAY BE LONG AND THAT IT MAY GO WELL WITH YOU IN THE LAND THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU.”
Wow; to read such words in such a time as this is eye opening. Who even remembered that second part of the verse about longevity and wellness? And why is that? Because the context of the Scripture has been so lost to us, but now comes nearer in a time of global pandemic.
The original context for the Biblical injunction was the giving of the Law after the Israelites fled Egypt. In Egypt the aged — fathers and mothers — were of low value and easily discarded. Pharaoh literally worked people to death; and in times of anxiety, or scarcity, or pestilence (there is much about the pestilences of Egypt in chapter 7 of Deuteronomy) the elderly were simply abandoned — forced by Pharaoh in fact to be abandoned for the sake of His greater economic holding, the whole edifice of a slave labor system.
But not so in the new land that the Lord their God was giving the Israelites. In the new land the aged would not be discarded or abandoned or simply left behind. They would honored, meaning cared for, always and to the end, so then it would indeed be possible for everyone’s days to be long and decent even into very old age.
So then, the prophet Isaiah said, in the vision of the new community there would be no person who would live not into the ripest of age; and a person who died at 100 years would still be like a youth.
Now is a time for caring for our mothers and fathers and the rest of their generation. Coronavirus is striking the elderly and other vulnerable people at an especially alarming rate. It is the duty of the young to honor our parents by practicing good hygiene, appropriate social distancing, and by continuing to look after their needs when they need our help and when they need first access to our medical resources.
It is in the face of disease that we read and learn again the import of the command to honor our fathers and mothers. Their lives matter. And we honor their lives by our conscientiousness and care. We honor their lives so that we can be a community different from Pharaoh’s Egypt, where everyone was made to look after only themselves and no one looked after the aged and most vulnerable. We honor their lives so that in the promised land of mutual aid and communal care we all can live long and well lives together — even in such a time as this.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
“Honor your father and your mother . . .” This is a Biblical command often quoted by parents of unruly teenagers in the most vexing of parental moments. Sometimes it is used manipulatively by even older parents. Almost always it is intended to saddle a burden of conscience upon the next generation.
But in a time like this, with a disease like COVID-19 (Coronavirus) rampaging it’s way around the world and striking hard especially against the aged, perhaps we have a more clear look at the intent and meaning of the verse.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, SO THAT YOUR DAYS MAY BE LONG AND THAT IT MAY GO WELL WITH YOU IN THE LAND THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU.”
Wow; to read such words in such a time as this is eye opening. Who even remembered that second part of the verse about longevity and wellness? And why is that? Because the context of the Scripture has been so lost to us, but now comes nearer in a time of global pandemic.
The original context for the Biblical injunction was the giving of the Law after the Israelites fled Egypt. In Egypt the aged — fathers and mothers — were of low value and easily discarded. Pharaoh literally worked people to death; and in times of anxiety, or scarcity, or pestilence (there is much about the pestilences of Egypt in chapter 7 of Deuteronomy) the elderly were simply abandoned — forced by Pharaoh in fact to be abandoned for the sake of His greater economic holding, the whole edifice of a slave labor system.
But not so in the new land that the Lord their God was giving the Israelites. In the new land the aged would not be discarded or abandoned or simply left behind. They would honored, meaning cared for, always and to the end, so then it would indeed be possible for everyone’s days to be long and decent even into very old age.
So then, the prophet Isaiah said, in the vision of the new community there would be no person who would live not into the ripest of age; and a person who died at 100 years would still be like a youth.
Now is a time for caring for our mothers and fathers and the rest of their generation. Coronavirus is striking the elderly and other vulnerable people at an especially alarming rate. It is the duty of the young to honor our parents by practicing good hygiene, appropriate social distancing, and by continuing to look after their needs when they need our help and when they need first access to our medical resources.
It is in the face of disease that we read and learn again the import of the command to honor our fathers and mothers. Their lives matter. And we honor their lives by our conscientiousness and care. We honor their lives so that we can be a community different from Pharaoh’s Egypt, where everyone was made to look after only themselves and no one looked after the aged and most vulnerable. We honor their lives so that in the promised land of mutual aid and communal care we all can live long and well lives together — even in such a time as this.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 11, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 3 verses 18 through 22:
18 At that time, I charged you as follows: “Although the Lord your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin. 19 Only your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—shall stay behind in the towns that I have given to you. 20 When the Lord gives rest to your kindred, as to you, and they too have occupied the land that the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you.” 21 And I charged Joshua as well at that time, saying: “Your own eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not be afraid, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.”
Though I have not counted them myself, I have been told that in the Bible there are exactly 365 appearances of the words, “Do not be afraid,” — once for every day of the year. (If you count them and find another number please don’t tell me, because 365 preaches a whole lot better than 364!)
In any case, it’s pretty much true that every day of the year we need these words at least once to encourage us and give us strength: “Do not be afraid.”
At least since the early church Father Origen, the church has taught us to read the Old Testament allegorically. There is a lot of stuff in there — mass slaughter, pillage, enslavement of girls — that is literally repugnant. We simply cannot take those commands literally. For the letter of the law killeth”; and guaranteed anyone who says they follow the letter of the law literally only follows some of it — the part that confirms all their prejudices.
The Letter killeth, but the Spirit gives life.” And understood spiritually, or allegorically, we can read Scripture like the one we are given today and take the message to heart, again and again: “Do not be afraid.”
No, we aren’t called to go to war with the Midianites; and the Bible shouldn’t be used as pretext for war with anybody else either. But a guarantee is we do have a battle at hand. And we are called to fight the good fight. And the words from today’s Lesson still have something spiritually true to say to us today, and every day:
“Do not be afraid, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.”
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 5-7.
18 At that time, I charged you as follows: “Although the Lord your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin. 19 Only your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—shall stay behind in the towns that I have given to you. 20 When the Lord gives rest to your kindred, as to you, and they too have occupied the land that the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you.” 21 And I charged Joshua as well at that time, saying: “Your own eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not be afraid, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.”
Though I have not counted them myself, I have been told that in the Bible there are exactly 365 appearances of the words, “Do not be afraid,” — once for every day of the year. (If you count them and find another number please don’t tell me, because 365 preaches a whole lot better than 364!)
In any case, it’s pretty much true that every day of the year we need these words at least once to encourage us and give us strength: “Do not be afraid.”
At least since the early church Father Origen, the church has taught us to read the Old Testament allegorically. There is a lot of stuff in there — mass slaughter, pillage, enslavement of girls — that is literally repugnant. We simply cannot take those commands literally. For the letter of the law killeth”; and guaranteed anyone who says they follow the letter of the law literally only follows some of it — the part that confirms all their prejudices.
The Letter killeth, but the Spirit gives life.” And understood spiritually, or allegorically, we can read Scripture like the one we are given today and take the message to heart, again and again: “Do not be afraid.”
No, we aren’t called to go to war with the Midianites; and the Bible shouldn’t be used as pretext for war with anybody else either. But a guarantee is we do have a battle at hand. And we are called to fight the good fight. And the words from today’s Lesson still have something spiritually true to say to us today, and every day:
“Do not be afraid, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.”
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 5-7.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 10, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 1 verses 6 through 8:
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Resume your journey, and go into the hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighboring regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that I swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.”
Have you stayed long enough where you are at now? Is it time to move on? Is it time to take a faithful step? Is it time to act?
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They were busy organizing, and planning, and setting down the Law. But they were also busy being scared. And they might still be there in the wilderness acting busy but really being scared, if God had not said, “It’s time; you’ve been here long enough. You gotta go.”
We can plan for 40 years. We can can plan for 40 more. Still, we may never feel like we’re really ready. But then God says, “Go.” And we get up, and we head out, and we trust that God is going with us . . .
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 3 and 4.
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Resume your journey, and go into the hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighboring regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that I swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.”
Have you stayed long enough where you are at now? Is it time to move on? Is it time to take a faithful step? Is it time to act?
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They were busy organizing, and planning, and setting down the Law. But they were also busy being scared. And they might still be there in the wilderness acting busy but really being scared, if God had not said, “It’s time; you’ve been here long enough. You gotta go.”
We can plan for 40 years. We can can plan for 40 more. Still, we may never feel like we’re really ready. But then God says, “Go.” And we get up, and we head out, and we trust that God is going with us . . .
NOTE: Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 3 and 4.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 9, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 33 verses 50 through 56:
50 In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 51 Speak to the Israelites, and say to them: When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places. 53 You shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 You shall apportion the land by lot according to your clans; to a large one you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small one you shall give a small inheritance; the inheritance shall belong to the person on whom the lot falls; according to your ancestral tribes you shall inherit. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they shall trouble you in the land where you are settling. 56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.
Another difficult passage from the Old Testament.
These chapters in Numbers give instructions on what to do with the nations which lived in the Promised Land before the Israelites arrived. Depending on which scholars you read, it is either a story of dispossession and genocide or civilizing conquest. Justifications can be made: the Land was first promised to Abraham, the former inhabitants filled the Land with war and slavery. But in whatever case there were 7 nations driven out in all to make way for the 12 tribes of Israel.
Which leads me to an interesting New Testament point. Almost everyone remembers Jesus fed the 5,000 and there were 12 baskets of bread left over, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. But a lot of people forget another large feeding — 4,000 people — in which 7 basketfuls were left over. And the really interesting thing is that the feeding of the 4,000 happened in a Gentile area where many of the descendants of the nations which were supposed to have been eradicated from the Land by the Israelites had taken refuge.
It is an interesting point. Like maybe the Bible is saying that a new vision must be embraced, and that former command about dispossession and annihilation must be replaced with a new command of salvation and provision.
And the latter word is greater than the former . . .
Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 1 and 2.
50 In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 51 Speak to the Israelites, and say to them: When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places. 53 You shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 You shall apportion the land by lot according to your clans; to a large one you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small one you shall give a small inheritance; the inheritance shall belong to the person on whom the lot falls; according to your ancestral tribes you shall inherit. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they shall trouble you in the land where you are settling. 56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.
Another difficult passage from the Old Testament.
These chapters in Numbers give instructions on what to do with the nations which lived in the Promised Land before the Israelites arrived. Depending on which scholars you read, it is either a story of dispossession and genocide or civilizing conquest. Justifications can be made: the Land was first promised to Abraham, the former inhabitants filled the Land with war and slavery. But in whatever case there were 7 nations driven out in all to make way for the 12 tribes of Israel.
Which leads me to an interesting New Testament point. Almost everyone remembers Jesus fed the 5,000 and there were 12 baskets of bread left over, symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. But a lot of people forget another large feeding — 4,000 people — in which 7 basketfuls were left over. And the really interesting thing is that the feeding of the 4,000 happened in a Gentile area where many of the descendants of the nations which were supposed to have been eradicated from the Land by the Israelites had taken refuge.
It is an interesting point. Like maybe the Bible is saying that a new vision must be embraced, and that former command about dispossession and annihilation must be replaced with a new command of salvation and provision.
And the latter word is greater than the former . . .
Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Deuteronomy chapters 1 and 2.
Friday, March 6, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 6, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 30 verses 1 and 2:
1Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the LORD has commanded. 2When a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
In ancient Israel vows were extremely important and to be taken very seriously. Any promise made to or before the LORD in the solemn act of a vow was absolutely binding.
Later, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said a person’s word ought to be his or her bond even if they don’t make a solemn vow. A yes ought to be a yes and a no ought to be a no — regardless.
So how are we living out our promises? Have we done what we said we would do before God and each other? Is our word our bond? Can our pledges, and our promises and our yeses be counted on? Or are our yeses really nos, or maybes, or we’ll sees, if nothing more exciting comes along . . .
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Numbers chapters 31 through 36.
1Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the LORD has commanded. 2When a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
In ancient Israel vows were extremely important and to be taken very seriously. Any promise made to or before the LORD in the solemn act of a vow was absolutely binding.
Later, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said a person’s word ought to be his or her bond even if they don’t make a solemn vow. A yes ought to be a yes and a no ought to be a no — regardless.
So how are we living out our promises? Have we done what we said we would do before God and each other? Is our word our bond? Can our pledges, and our promises and our yeses be counted on? Or are our yeses really nos, or maybes, or we’ll sees, if nothing more exciting comes along . . .
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Monday’s Lesson will be from Numbers chapters 31 through 36.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 5, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 27 verses 1 through 11:
The he daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2 and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.
8 “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Here is the beginning of equal rights in Israel.
In ancient Israel, property rights were passed down patrilineally. But that system showed its imperfection when there was no male to inherit the property. The alternatives were for either the property to be given to close clan groups, thus dispossessing the descendants, or for the property to actually be handed down through, gasp, a woman.
And when the LORD spoke to Moses about this the word was woman.
It was not equal. Sons were still privileged over daughters; but it was a beginning to the long, hard road we’re still walking towards what is know as equal rights for all sexes and genders. And we wouldn’t be watching “The Crown” on Netflix without it . . .
NOTE: I’m reading the whole Bible this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Numbers chapters 28-30.
The he daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2 and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.
8 “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Here is the beginning of equal rights in Israel.
In ancient Israel, property rights were passed down patrilineally. But that system showed its imperfection when there was no male to inherit the property. The alternatives were for either the property to be given to close clan groups, thus dispossessing the descendants, or for the property to actually be handed down through, gasp, a woman.
And when the LORD spoke to Moses about this the word was woman.
It was not equal. Sons were still privileged over daughters; but it was a beginning to the long, hard road we’re still walking towards what is know as equal rights for all sexes and genders. And we wouldn’t be watching “The Crown” on Netflix without it . . .
NOTE: I’m reading the whole Bible this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Numbers chapters 28-30.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 4, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 25 verses 1 through 9:
While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 Thus Israel yoked itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel. 4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
6 Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, 8 he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. 9 Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
When we read the Bible we have to understand that we are witnessing a kind intra-textual debate and even sometimes outright fight between the varying schools and factions who wrote the Bible.
The Lesson today is a disturbing one. It represents the worst in religion and ethnic clannishness. As Christians it is imperative to note that this was exactly the kind of ethno-religion Jesus rejected. How sad then that so many Christians have used this passage or ones like it to justify the evils Jesus abhorred!
But look also at the text. Apparently, Moses had misgivings about this kind of brutishness also. In the text Moses refuses to carry out the order to kill all the chiefs of the people who had consorted with foreign women. This became a point of derision in the power play between the later followers of the Moses school and their rivals in the lineage of the priest Aaron, whose grandson Phinehas carries out the butchery of the Israelite and his foreign wife without even a hint of squeamishness in the story.
See there is a debate going on within the text, a struggle and outright fight. Whoever the Aaronide-School writer of today’s Lesson was clearly had a more narrow and harder-edged version of what Israel should be than he thought the Moses tradition could tolerate. He thought the Moses tradition would lose the nation’s sense of itself through too much toleration. So, he gave the people this story to justify what we might today call ethnic cleansing.
So what is the point? Again, beware of those who use sacred texts for the purposes of violence. For even the clearest of sacred texts there is often nuance, and disagreement, and a context in writing, and perspective of authorship.
But woe unto those who dare to say and believe that it was the LORD and not human beings who gave the command to kill.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Numbers 26-27.
While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 Thus Israel yoked itself to the Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel. 4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
6 Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, 8 he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. 9 Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
When we read the Bible we have to understand that we are witnessing a kind intra-textual debate and even sometimes outright fight between the varying schools and factions who wrote the Bible.
The Lesson today is a disturbing one. It represents the worst in religion and ethnic clannishness. As Christians it is imperative to note that this was exactly the kind of ethno-religion Jesus rejected. How sad then that so many Christians have used this passage or ones like it to justify the evils Jesus abhorred!
But look also at the text. Apparently, Moses had misgivings about this kind of brutishness also. In the text Moses refuses to carry out the order to kill all the chiefs of the people who had consorted with foreign women. This became a point of derision in the power play between the later followers of the Moses school and their rivals in the lineage of the priest Aaron, whose grandson Phinehas carries out the butchery of the Israelite and his foreign wife without even a hint of squeamishness in the story.
See there is a debate going on within the text, a struggle and outright fight. Whoever the Aaronide-School writer of today’s Lesson was clearly had a more narrow and harder-edged version of what Israel should be than he thought the Moses tradition could tolerate. He thought the Moses tradition would lose the nation’s sense of itself through too much toleration. So, he gave the people this story to justify what we might today call ethnic cleansing.
So what is the point? Again, beware of those who use sacred texts for the purposes of violence. For even the clearest of sacred texts there is often nuance, and disagreement, and a context in writing, and perspective of authorship.
But woe unto those who dare to say and believe that it was the LORD and not human beings who gave the command to kill.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will be from Numbers 26-27.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 3, 2020
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 21 verses 4 through 9:
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
It is our deepest fears which must be faced square on as we make our way through the wilderness of life. Otherwise what hides in the holes of our subconsciousness manifests itself in anger and resentment and all kinds of displaced forms of negative energy. It can even literally make us sick inside. Our lives become snakebite and we, like the Israelites, get stuck, wandering around and around but not really getting anywhere and alienating all our friends and allies. This is sin at work.
The way out of this wilderness is to dare to take a look at our anxieties and fears and hold it up before ourselves. A good therapist or pastoral counselor can help us with this. It's scary to think about; but it's really the only way to wholeness. We have to see the serpent on the way to salvation; and the snake that poisons us must become the symbol that sets us free.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible together this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Numbers chapters 23-25.
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
It is our deepest fears which must be faced square on as we make our way through the wilderness of life. Otherwise what hides in the holes of our subconsciousness manifests itself in anger and resentment and all kinds of displaced forms of negative energy. It can even literally make us sick inside. Our lives become snakebite and we, like the Israelites, get stuck, wandering around and around but not really getting anywhere and alienating all our friends and allies. This is sin at work.
The way out of this wilderness is to dare to take a look at our anxieties and fears and hold it up before ourselves. A good therapist or pastoral counselor can help us with this. It's scary to think about; but it's really the only way to wholeness. We have to see the serpent on the way to salvation; and the snake that poisons us must become the symbol that sets us free.
NOTE: We’re reading the whole Bible together this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from Numbers chapters 23-25.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Daily Lesson for March 2, 2020
Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Numbers chapter 20 verses 1 through 13:
The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 8 Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.
9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and by which he showed his holiness.
The Israelites are traveling through the wilderness and as they do there is much quarreling and dissension and everyone in the pack is frustrated and tired and also scared. They wonder if they will ever make it to the Promised Land, if they can survive the desert, and why on earth they said yes to leaving Egypt in the first place. They are pretty sure they are going to die of thirst right here. A part of them wishes they would die.
But then Moses pulls out his staff and strikes the rock; and what the Israelites discover are resources buried deep within that they never would have discovered without all the frustration and fear and desperation.
It is in the wilderness that we find the water within; and in the times of uncertainty and fear that we look inside and discover the resources God buried long ago for just such a time as this.
NOTE: We are reading the Bible together this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from Numbers 21-22.
The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 8 Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.
9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and by which he showed his holiness.
The Israelites are traveling through the wilderness and as they do there is much quarreling and dissension and everyone in the pack is frustrated and tired and also scared. They wonder if they will ever make it to the Promised Land, if they can survive the desert, and why on earth they said yes to leaving Egypt in the first place. They are pretty sure they are going to die of thirst right here. A part of them wishes they would die.
But then Moses pulls out his staff and strikes the rock; and what the Israelites discover are resources buried deep within that they never would have discovered without all the frustration and fear and desperation.
It is in the wilderness that we find the water within; and in the times of uncertainty and fear that we look inside and discover the resources God buried long ago for just such a time as this.
NOTE: We are reading the Bible together this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from Numbers 21-22.
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