Psalm 59

David is once again facing his enemies. It's amazing just how strong David's faith was in the midst of his trials. And following the psalms, especially from 52-59, it is easy to see how David was strengthened through the Holy Spirit. He comes away from every cry of despair with a renewed sense of hope.

In this psalm, David is again asking for deliverance from his enemies. They have risen up against him. They are bloodthirsty. They are waiting to attack David, planning to do him in even though he has done nothing to offend either these men or King Saul, whom they represent. David asks that God arise to punish the "wicked traitors." He describes them as dogs -- not gentle pets, but howling scavengers, looking for something or someone to tear apart. His enemies are all about violence against David, but his God laughs at those who look to destroy him.

At verse 5, David pulls out a list of God's names. Lord, God Almighty, God of Israel.

David calls them "nations" instead of simply men. Boice suggests that David actually wrote this later in life, as times when nations were threatening Israel may have reminded King David of the times when he was on the run from Saul and his men. It could be that these men represented far more than simply a soldier of Saul to David. It's hard to say. But David regarded them as enemies.

The psalm's refrain is found in verse 9, then slightly altered in verse 17. David gets through these tough spots emotionally and spiritually because he is taking refuge in God. As he writes in Psalm 57, David is taking comfort in the shadow of God's wings.

In verse 10, again David addresses the Almighty asking Him to bring down his enemies, but not to kill them. Rather he wants those men to live in defeat. Killing them is too good for them, he seems to be saying. Then he asks God to make an example of them so that the world will know the power of David's God -- "that God rules over Jacob."

The dogs return every evening and howl and shriek until they can be satisfied. But David will lift his voice to God in the morning. His enemies will not win. Praises are reserved for God, as David knows He will deliver him.

The refrain in verse 17 is changed so that instead of watching for God, David now is singing praises to Him. According to Boice, the Hebrew word for watch and for sing have only one letter difference. For David it is a progression to the point of singing praises to the One whom he watched for all night.

Genesis 44-47

The brothers are sent back to Jacob, but along with their silver, Joseph instructs his men to hide his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they have been gone a short time, he sends his men after them, accusing them of stealing the cup. It's odd that Joseph talks about using that cup for "divination" since I would assume that to be forbidden, even back in those times for the patriarchs. Again in 44:15, Joseph leads the brothers to believe that he found out the cup was gone by means of divination. (How he divined that without his cup, he doesn't say.) Was this simply a ruse, playing into the brothers' stereotypes about Egyptians? For that matter, why was Joseph going through all this trickery anyway? Why does he continue the act up until chapter 45? He seems to have found out all that he wanted to know before this latest ruse.

Judah is adament about taking Benjamin's place rather than going back to Israel without his beloved son. It is at this point that Joseph can keep up the act no longer. He sends out all the Egyptians from the room and tells the brothers his true identity. His question is if Jacob is still alive, but his brothers have almost literally seen a ghost. They can't speak.

Joseph reassures them that he is not angry, and encourages them not to be angry with themselves. Much more forgiving than most of us would be in those circumstances. But in 45:5 we see Joseph's mindset -- it was God who sent him ahead of the family. And Joseph knows why: to save not only himself, but his family, and in fact, all of Egypt. Joseph was the savior in God's hands.

Joseph sends the brothers back to fetch Jacob amid lots of tears. The family will settle in Goshen to ride out the famine (and years to come as well). Pharoah goes one better and tells the family to take empty carts back to Canaan to haul their belongings back to Egypt. But the Pharoah tells them they shouldn't bring everything, for they will have everything they need in Egypt! A great promise from the leader of a country deep in famine.

Jacob is beside himself when he finds out that not only is Joseph still alive, but that he will get to see him before he dies. On the way to Egypt, God gives him reassurance again in a vision at Beersheba, after Jacob had offered sacrifices to God there. Jacob was indeed a thankful man. Judah is sent ahead to get directions to Goshen. Joseph is ready to see his father again, and again the tears flow.

Including Joseph's sons in Egypt, the Israelites now numbered 70 direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they settle in the land of Goshen.

Five of the brothers are sent to Pharoah to insure that the Hebrews will be able to live in the prime portion of Goshen. Joseph tells the brothers to be sure to tell Pharoah that they are shepherds and have been all their lives. Egyptians wanted nothing to do with shepherds, so this must have been the best way to get the best land. Pharoah even asks Joseph to find one trustworthy to be in charge of Pharoah's own livestock. I wonder whom Joseph thought to be the most trustworthy.

Finally Jacob meets Pharoah. The NIV text says that he "blessed" Pharoah at meeting him and leaving him, but the footnotes make me think it wasn't so much a blessing as a polite greeting like, "May the Lord be with you," or something to that effect.

Beginning at 47:13, we see Joseph dealing with the hungry Egyptians in the midst of famine. He sells them reserved food in exchange for their livestock, then finally in exchange for their freedom. By selling them this food, the Egyptians have been sold into slavery to Pharoah, and Pharoah owns all the land except for that which was owned by the priests.

It was a benevolent slavery as the people could still work the land and keep 4/5 of what they grew, with the other 1/5 going to Pharoah -- a 20% tax bracket.

Finally Jacob is turning 147 and is preparing to die. He makes Joseph promise that his bones will go back to Canaan to be buried along with his family.

Psalm 58

David's focus in this psalm is upon the wicked judges and rules. The corruption at the top of government. How incredibly frustrating this problem is. It's no surprise that this psalm is an impreccatory psalm, calling for real justice to be meted out to the unjust judges.

Boice reports that there are many problems in translating this psalm, as the variants between English translations attest. The first two verses in some form or another focus on evil leaders who seem to keep silent about the injustice or even participate in the injustices themselves. David's words are spoken directly to these evil men.

He further describes these men in verse 3-5 as being evil since birth -- not just having a sin nature, but beyond that. They do not listen to arguments of those who oppose their decision. They are like snake which cannot be charmed, for they cannot hear the music (reason).

So David calls upon God to end their evil. He asks God to break the teeth of these lions, to wash them away like flood waters, to blunt their evil deeds like blunted arrows, to melt them away and to kill off their evil at its first breath, as a stillborn child. All this is to be done to show men that the righteous are rewarded and that God does judge the earth. While that is certainly true, God does not always reward and punish people while they are living on earth. Oftentimes judgment comes after death, confusing some people who do not wish to think of a judgment beyond earth.

1 Corinthians 5-6

Paul brings up the rumor that a gross sexual sinner is being celebrated within the Corinthian church! Not even the heathens were this bad! And that's tough to accomplish! Paul calls for the believers to put this man out of the fellowship. Church discipline. The purpose is so the man can be saved after the sinful nature is destroyed. Paul tells them that the only way this man is going to repent is if he is humiliated instead of being celebrated. At present he has no reason to change. And his corruption ruins the name of Christ in Corinth.

Paul points out that just as a little yeast works its way through all of the dough, so sin does the same thing. Allowing that sin is a corruption of the church itself. We are not told about a situation where repentence occurs before discipline can take place. This example is strictly about a man who perversely doesn't think he needs to repent and a church who, for some reason, brags about this man's sinfulness among itself and presumably to the world.

Paul uses much Passover imagery to show the keeping of that Festival through keeping our "bread" pure and unleavened. The Passover Lamb is Christ.

At 5:9, Paul returns to his talk of judgment by reminding the believers that they have been warned not to associate with the sexually immoral. He clarifies this statement so that we understand Paul is not calling us to cloister ourselves away for purity's sake. Paul is calling for church discipline. A Christian should not be someone known as sexually immmoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk or a cheat. These are not Christian characteristics, and those who display these characteristics should be dealt with as Scripture tells us. We are to keep our brothers and sisters pure. God will judge those outside of the church.

The line between the godly and the ungodly is further marked in Paul's discussion of lawsuits. Why would believers take this to unbelievers for judgment? In 6:2 he tells us that the saints (presumably all believers) will judge the world! We will even, and we're not given details, be judging angels! Certainly trivial cases can be judged by those who are going to judge the world.
That's a qualification I'm not sure we all realize we are to have. And frankly, there are many within the church whom I'm not sure should be allowed to judge. But that's for God to decide. I'm to encourage those people in the faith and away from the attitudes described at the end of chapter 5.

The need for lawsuits is a sign of immaturity in the faith. Paul tells us that we should rather be cheated than to take a brother to court in front of unbelievers. Yet the worldly behavior is still a part of the Christian brotherhood in Corinth and it not supposed to be there. Paul reminds them that many were called out of very sinful lifestyles and washed clean. Those dirty habits should not be the hallmarks of their current lives.

The final section of chapter six again deals with sexual immorality -- a hot button issue in Corinth and the Corinthian church. The proverb at 6:12 is curious by its inclusion here. Is Paul saying that all sex is permissible, but not all sex is beneficial? It seems he is quoting other sources. Perhaps the Corinthians were using this proverb as an excuse for continuing to behave badly. Many times we seek only to do what is permissible without regard for what is best. But Paul writes that we are not to be mastered by anything, and sexual appetites can master even the strongest of people. Paul downplays the "needs" and "urges" by pointing out that food and stomachs will each be destroyed by God.

Paul continues by telling the believers that the body is not made to be used to be immoral. Sexual sin is the one sin committed against one's own body. That body, which is a house for God, is defiled by sexual sin. Joining my body with a prostitute's body is like joining God's house with a house of prostitution. The holy linked with the sinful. It is not right. Especially when we consider
that the body we have is not ours. It is worthless if not redeemed from sinfulness. We were bought at a price. Therefore what was purchased should honor the Purchaser.

Mark 1-2

I've always tended to neglect Mark, as each of the other synoptics seem to expand so much on the events while Mark keeps things brief and to the point. The story of Jesus' life reads a little differently at this speed, and I think that's important to see. I mentally tend to fill in some of the details found in Luke and in Matthew, but I am trying to resist that urge to see what Mark wrote and why he chose these events and these details in particular.

The account of John the Baptist gives many details in a short couple of paragraphs. Mark cites the prophecy of Isaiah and gives the best physical description of this strange looking man. John's baptism was for repentance - for forgiveness of sins. Baptism was not a new practice. It was the standard way for Gentiles to join the Jewish faith. What was shocking was that John was baptizing those who were already Jews! This went beyond the atonement through animal sacrifice and called people to publically declare their own sinfulness and repentance. The people were baptized as they confessed their sins. Probably not simultaneously, but the two events were tied together. Yet John was pointing the way toward Someone greater.

The prelude to Jesus' baptism is missing here. We have only a note of the baptism itself and of the Spirit's descent and the voice from heaven -- Son, Spirit, Father. Immediately after the baptism, Jesus is led into the temptation in the desert. No more details are given here.

At 1:14, we begin the accounts of the calling of disciples. Mark carefully notes that Jesus didn't begin calling disciples until after John was imprisoned. At least His ministry didn't begin until that time. Natural reading of the text would seem to point to the callings as taking place after Jesus began preaching, although that wouldn't have to be the case.

The fisherman brothers are called. All four leave their nets at once. James and John leave their father and the workers and walk off the boat. We read nothing more of disciples until Levi is called in 2:13-17. However, we do go to Simon and Andrew's house in 1:29-31.

Jesus is seen as different by those who hear Him. His teaching has authority. Apparently the teachers of the Law didn't teach this way, making me wonder how those men taught. Then the testimony of the evil spirit adds more of a stir about this Galillean teacher.

Crowds begin to follow Him. Jesus ducks out to a solitary place to pray one morning and the disciples have to go looking for Him. When informed that everyone was looking for Him, Jesus sets off for new territory to share with more people. It is this struggle which is intriguing all through Jesus' ministry. People seek after Him, usually for selfish reasons, and He spends part of the time trying to stay out of the limelight. The evil spirit is told to "Be quiet!" in 1:25. The healed leper is told not to tell his story to anyone in 1:44. Mark explains the reason for Jesus' insistance upon silence -- the crowds are keeping Him from doing what He is sent to do. Mark closes chapter 1 by writing, "As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places." The mobs seeking healing kept Jesus from teaching and walking openly in the towns.

We see the crowds figure into the first story of chapter 2, as a group of friends trying to get a paralytic to Jesus have to lower him through the roof to get to the Master. Jesus uses the occasion to start in on the Pharisees. He forgives the man of his sins, then, sensing that He has touched a nerve, explains that He can do that as well as do the physical healing! The people are amazed. The Pharisees are seething.

Jesus taught while walking along the lake. Being forced out of town, Jesus found some who would not have ordinarily sought Him out. One of these is Levi, the tax collector. I hadn't previously noticed that Levi is the son of Alphaeus (2:14). Lists of disciples do not note Levi, but they note Matthew the tax collector and James, the son of Alphaeus. Was there another set of brothers within the Twelve or was Alphaeus a common name? I've read of many possibilities of Matthew and Bartholomew being the same person (since "Bar" means "son of") but I can't remember any theory about James and Levi being the same person. A little more research is needed here.

Jesus again uses the party at Levi's to work on the Pharisees a bit. His reply in 2:17 could be seen as saying that the Pharisees don't need Jesus' words, but that's not it at all. The Pharisees simply saw themselves as healthy and the sinners as sick. Jesus is using their terms, essentially.

Through the rest of chapter 2, Jesus is pointing out that He is not like anyone else. Fasting is not for times of celebration, and Jesus likens His life to a time for celebration. The Sabbath is not above the Son, and so Jesus could designate how the Sabbath should be celebrated. The Pharisees, lost in their legalism, could see nothing but law breaking. Jesus was pointing out the purpose of the laws.

Landmarks on the Journey - 3/28/06

Wow, what a month it's been. I hit my first roadblock on the journey -- real life. For two weeks, I neglected this journey, only managing to read bits and pieces of a few passages. My heart was involved in other areas. Some of it was my own fault. Some of it was the demands of the occasional family emergency. But I'm refreshed now and back on track.

My unstated goal of reading and commenting on the whole Bible by the end of November is in jeopardy at this point. But that's alright. I'll make up a little extra time. Plus I was already about ten days ahead of the one year pace anyway.

Even with the extra burden of blogging my thoughts after each passage, I missed sitting and reading God's Word in this fashion. Certainly I still was in the Word in preparation for Sunday mornings anyway, but this is a unique type of study. I'm glad to be back at it once again.

Psalm 57

Another in a string of psalms where David is in deep trouble after being betrayed at every turn. The description tells us that this psalm was written while David was hiding in a cave -- the same cave where his band of loyal supporters was formed. But at this point, David is likely still alone except for the fact that he is hiding in the Lord spiritually and emotionally while physically living in a cave.

Boice dissects this psalm a pattern with three topics and a refrain. David begins with a call out to God in verse 1. This call is for mercy. Verses 2-3 speak of God's faithfulness and steadfastness toward him. God fulfills His purpose for David. At verse 4 is a specific complaint about David's enemies. He is surrounded once again. Then the refrain found in verses 5 and 11.

After the first refrain, verse 6 again focuses on David's enemies but this time his enemies have found themselves trapped by their own methods. Verses 7-8 speak of faithfulness and steadfastness again, but this time it is David who is steadfast toward God. David's faithfulness causes him to break out into a song of praise. By verses 9-10, David again addresses God, but again the focus of his address has changed. He is not calling out for mercy, but crying out in praise. Then the final chorus repeats the call for God to be exalted. Exalting God should excite any of His children, just as men are excited by the exaltation of celebrities and the like.

Overall, the psalm is laid out A/B/C/Refrain/C/B/A/Refrain. Jewish parallelism at its best.

The striking picture of taking refuge in the shadow of God's wings is something which can ring true in the live of the believer. Certainly God doesn't have wings, but the theme of God's wings are found throughout Scripture. Boice calls attention to the wings of the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, but the shadow of God's wings refers to more than God's presence -- it speaks of God's protection. We are to "hide in God" rather than simply hiding with God.

Psalm 56

What can man do to me? Well, plenty, if we are honest with ourselves. But none of it is of eternal consequence. Even in David's darkest hours, his trust was in God. When enemies twisted his words and looked for a place to murder him, David trusted in the Lord.

This psalm was written at a time after David had been chased and betrayed. He had gone to the hometown of Goliath, the champion he had killed a few years earlier, for protection but found none. David was a desperate man. He was alone. And he was also afraid. Yet twice in this psalm he writes, "What can mortal man do to me?"

David was confident of deliverance. Again he promises to present thank offerings for the deliverance which he knows is coming. Faith wins the victory, even before a physical victory is provided.

Isaiah 56-61

The words of God continue to be given to all in chapter 56. A picture is given of those outside Israel reaching out to Him and God receiving them. "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations," (56:7) is the verse recited by Jesus while cleansing the temple. Clearly God is not simply a national God. It is the righteous He is calling while the wicked are punished -- but not always in the way the world expects. God explains in 57:1-2 that many righteous die to be spared from further evil. It is victory which is found at death for them. But the wicked will continue to be tormented on earth. Even their good works will be exposed as having bad motives (56:12). The idols which lured the evil are not saving gods. They are not able to rest (56:20-21). There is no peace for the wicked.

However those who are contrite will live with the Holy One forever.

The falseness of the fasts are exposed in chapter 58. Why is God ignoring their fasting? Because their heart isn't in it. They refrain from eating, but not from their evil lifestyle. But true fasting is described in 58:6-14. It is not a lack of food, but standing for the oppressed and hungry and poor and homeless and naked. It is eerily reminicent of Jesus' parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

A new set of charges begin in chapter 59, but it is the same theme. God is holy. Man is evil and his deeds are corrupt. Those craving justice go unsatisfied until the Lord takes matters into His own hands beginning in 59:16. Two pieces of the armor of God are mentioned in this description: the breastplate of righteousness (technically He puts on righteousness as a breastplate) and the helmet of salvation. God will mete out justice. But His promise is that His Spirit will not leave.

Chapter 60 begins a section foretelling the glory of Zion. It is a time where all will recognize the light of Israel - or more accurately, Israel's God. The city walls are rebuilt by foreigners and their kings will serve Zion. There is a sense in which this is fulfilled in the resettlement of Jerusalem, but there seems to be much more to it than I would have imagined. Chapter 61, of course,
begins with the passage Jesus claimed to fulfill in declaring the year of the Lord's favor.

1 Samuel 1-5

We begin with a new story with a familiar plot. Two wives, one barren and ridiculed. This wife is the one who is most loved by the husband. It's not Jacob, Leah and Rachel this time, it's Elkanah, Peninnah and Hannah. Hannah is barren, but stands at the tabernacle, offering a silent prayer for a child whom she promises to give to God. Why does she want a child only to give it away? The shame of being childless in a culture which treasured children. Hannah wanted her shame lifted. Is this a legitimate reason? Apparently God thought enough of the request to grant it -- seemingly right away. The next year, Hannah has a small baby, preventing her from making the journey to Shiloh. Instead she goes after the baby has been weaned and presents him to Eli. In 1:28 Hannah tells Eli her testimony and it causes Eli to worship God. It is a powerful answer to prayer and a faithful woman to keep such a vow. Hannah's prayer at the outset of chapter two is a touching tribute to the the sovereign God. The prayer sounds like it is plucked straight from the Psalter. Hannah's joy is complete.

The narrative takes a turn to focus on Eli's sons who are revealed as wicked men -- stealing from the Lord by taking whatever they felt like taking, rather than receiving only what they were entitled to. The fact that they took their share "by force" only reinforces the picture of renegade, selfish individuals. Contrast this with the picture of the boy Samuel, dressed in an ephod made by his mother. It is a touching scene of Elkanah and Hannah seeing the boy only at festival time, but being rewarded for their sacrifice with five other children.

Eli is portrayed as being uncaring about the corruption in his children. He rebukes them, but does nothing to stop them. At 2:25 we see God hardening the hearts of the two corrupt priests for the reason that the Lord wanted to put them to death. God hardens whom He wants to harden. This isn't exactly double predestination, but it shows a consequence to thumbing one's nose at God too many times.

An unnamed prophet then brings the word of God to Eli. His family would be cut off. This is God going back on a promise because of the disobedience of not only the sons, but also the father. Eli will die, and Hophni and Phinehas will perish on the same day.

The call of Samuel in chapter three is a well-told story. Samuel mistakenly goes to Eli three times before Eli figures out what is going on. We are told explicitly that Samuel did not yet know the Lord at this point (3:7). The message for Samuel is that God is about to carry out the sentence which Eli already knows well.

"The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering," (3:14) shows that there is no real repentance present here.

As Samuel grew all Israel recognized him as a prophet.

Meanwhile, we return to the story of Eli and the boys. The Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant after the Israelites stupidly bring it near the battlefield. In the battle Hophni and Phinehas die. The word of their death causes more trouble. A messenger passes along the news of the Ark's capture to Eli who falls backward off his chair, hitting his head and breaking his neck. Phinehas' wife dies in labor upon hearing the news.

Finally, chapter five tells us of the hot potato that the Ark became for the Philistines. Wherever the Ark was taken, the people were afflicted. First their god Dagon kept falling on his face before the Ark, then the people of the areas where the Ark was present began to be infested with tumors. Finally, the Philistines send the treasured Ark back to Israel to keep more people from being stricken.

Genesis 40-43

Joseph is still in prison, seemingly lost and wasting away. Although he has some authority, he is stuck in prison with no foreseeable release. When he interprets the dreams of two of Pharoah's servants (check that -- as Joseph points out it was God doing the interpretation), Joseph seemingly has a ray of hope. Sure the baker is going to be executed, but the cupbearer has promised to remember him upon regaining his position with the ruler. Despair slowly reenters Joseph's life as he is literally forgotten, as is the promise the cupbearer made to him.

It was more than two years before Joseph is remembered. It takes the occasion of Pharoah's dream to jog the memory of the cupbearer. Again, when called to interpret, Joseph is careful to note that he cannot interpret dreams but that God can. It must have seemed like a minute distinction to Pharoah and his staff.

Joseph was allowed to shave and change clothes before being presented to Pharaoh. How much "shaving" was necessary for a Hebrew? Did all still wear beards at that point?

God gave Pharoah parallel dreams. He was repeating Himself. Joseph states that the dream came in two forms because "the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon." (41:32) Many commentators point out that when God repeats Himself in Scripture, we should pay even closer attention than normally.

The dream is interpreted and Joseph is the one to come up with a plan of action. Pharoah is taken with the Hebrew and puts him in charge of everything. At 41:40 we see a telling verse: "Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." That's quite a comment from one with that kind of power.

Pharoah renames Joseph and gives him all the authority in the realm. All this at the age of 30. During the next seven years, Joseph puts his skills to work. Egypt is well prepared for the coming seven years of famine. The storehouses are not even opened to Egyptians until the famine had spread and was being felt all over Egypt. Then Joseph provided relief. He sold the grain -- he didn't give it away.

Word of the presence of food in Egypt reaches Jacob, so he sends ten of his remaining eleven sons off to buy food. He was afraid of something happening to Benjamin, the last remaining son of his beloved Rachel. The loss of Simeon would be bad, but the loss of Benjamin would probably mark the loss of Jacob.

Jacob's treatment of his family is curious. Is he exacting a little revenge? Is he thinking that the brothers will reject him and keep him from his father? His questioning of the brothers seems like he is putting on a front, but certainly if he had revealed himself at the outset, the brothers would have been happy to have brought the rest of the family to Egypt, wouldn't they?

The brothers take the rough treatment and Joseph's insistence upon seeing Benjamin as punishment for what they did to Joseph years earlier. Reuben is even using the "I told you so" approach with the others. Joseph, who had been speaking through an interpreter could hear the "private" conversations and what he was hearing was enough to bring him to tears, but not to reveal himself.

Simeon is bound and jailed while Joseph tells the servants to plant the silver back in the bags of grain, rather than to take them into the treasury. Mind games once again. The nine brothers who return to Jacob are scared to death at finding their payment returned to them in such a way as to suggest they had stolen what they had received. Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go to return, counting Simeon as good as dead, apparently. Finally when the food runs out, Jacob is forced to allow his youngest to accompany his brothers back to Egypt, as Joseph had told them he would not see them again without Benjamin. First Reuben, then Judah promises his father that Benjamin would be safe. Reuben even tells his father to kill Reuben's own two sons if Benjamin doesn't come back safely, in an effort to reassure Jacob of the brother's true intentions.

A double portion of silver is packed along with some gifts and the boys head back to Egypt to buy more grain. Joseph sends instructions to take the family to his own private residence for a meal. The brothers are reassured that the silver they found in their sacks is not stolen, but that God has blessed them.

The brothers bowed low to Joseph -- just as in his boyhood dream -- upon his arrival at home. The meal was served to Joseph by himself in one room, to the brothers as a group in another room, and to the Egyptians in a third location. For some reason, Benjamin got five portions to his brothers' one.

Psalm 55

Once again David has been betrayed, this time by a close friend (v. 13). The pain of betrayal is bitter, especially when the betrayer is someone who has been trusted. At least Jesus saw His betrayal coming. David seems to be taken off guard; so much so that the first eight verses of this psalm are quite angry and emotional. He even expresses a wish to escape his problem and fly away -- something David had never before expressed. Was this an older man, tired of dealing with a life of war and pain?

David calls for God to act in verse 9, to confuse the speech of the wicked in language reminiscent of Babel in Genesis 11. He describes the wickedness of the people in the city: violence and strife, malice and abuse, threats and lies.

Finally at verse 12 we see the reason for David's emotional state -- betrayal. This situation is different for David. He has faced betrayal before, but not by one so trusted. He lament continues to its depth in verse 15 where he calls upon God again to take his enemies -- not simply his betrayer -- to the grave. The language in verse 15 is similar to that of the rebellion in the desert when Korah and his group were swallowed up by the earth.

Job 21-24

Job counters Zophar's argument by pointing out the many wicked living on with seemingly no punishment from the Lord for their actions. It is not a brief joy as Zophar has asserted, it is a lifetime. At 21:15b, Jov says something very telling. Quoting the wicked, he says, "Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?" (emphasis mine.) For the wicked it is all about getting something for themselves. "What's in it for me?" Job sees and hears that wretched excuse for ignoring God. And it seems to him that God is not bothering to punish them as He has punished Job.

At 21:19, Job quotes a proverb of the time, "God stores up a man's punishment for his sons." Job considers that injustice and wants the guilty to pay himself. He of course is forgetting the whole idea of punishment after death. But so too, Zophar's contention is aptly proven false by Job's experiences.

Eliphaz then reenters at the outset of chapter 22. He brings with him a series of accusations which sound much like Jesus' words to the "goats" in Matthew 25:41-43. The charges seem to be made up, considering it took Eliphaz and the others a while to travel to see Job in the first place. Yet the Temanite claims that Job has been cheating people and not being charitable to those in need.

Amazingly, Job ignores Eliphaz's accusations when he resumes in chapters 23 and 24. His response is an extension of his case -- Job wants a face to face meeting with God to find out why he is being punished. But Job laments that he cannot find God. What a contrast to the psalmist who can find no escape from the Holy Spirit! Job cannot track God down, though he follows Him closely. He wonders when his final judgment will occur, and dreads it.

In his argument, Job lays out many sins performed regularly by the wicked of the world and the conditions in which the poor are forced to endure. The evil will not help those who need such help, and they are not punished for it. Job's words foreshadow Jesus' teaching about the evil hating the light and loving the darkness, as told in John, chapter 3.

Psalm 54

Again David is trapped among evil men. The description gives the setting as a time when David had been betrayed by the Ziphites. This ties in well with Psalm 52, where David has been betrayed by Doeg the Edomite. These two betrayals happened in a short period of time, and by the setting of this psalm, David is ready for God to inflict His vengeance.

Yet after three verses of calling out to God for salvation from his circumstances, by verse four David is remembering where his help comes from. He calls for a right judgment upon those who gladly would betray him in verse five. But the psalm closes with David being assured that God will not let him die here. David promises to bring a freewill offering to God after he has been delivered -- not as a bribe, but as a promise, since knows that God will do as he has asked. Once again, David is praying with incredible confidence that God's will is for him to survive and to thrive. Knowing that he has been chosen to be Israel's king is certainly a key to David's amazing confidence and faith. He knows that God has promised and that He will deliver.

1 Corinthians 3-4

Paul calls the Corinthians "worldly" and likens them to infants in the family. We all take that first step toward Christ a little reluctantly, I think. It's hard to change your entire worldview, and that's what Christianity calls us to do. There is no shame in being an infant, if you are growing in faith. Paul, though, is telling the Corinthians that they are not growing as they should. The world still has its hooks in these baby believers. The first sign of this is the divisive nature of the church. Paul recaps his complaint from chapter one here and uses it to illustrate the need for all kinds of workers in the Kingdom of God. Paul planted. Apollos watered. God gave the growth. All is supposed to be for God's glory, not for the people or the leaders. I think many in the ministry need to be reminded of this on a regular basis.

The right foundation is the key. Paul writes that no matter how good or how bad your work is, it must be on the only true foundation. If you build on that foundation, the quality of your work will be shown for what it is. The testing fire will determine the quality. We hate to think of going through the fire, but God says that we will all go through in one fashion or another. If our work is destroyed by the fire, we will know it was not good. Yet if it is on the right foundation, we still
will be saved -- in heaven, but smelling like smoke.

At 3:16 I have seen interpretations of my single body being God's temple, and others saying that the church is God's temple. Is "you, yourselves" plural or referring to a plural? I cannot say. The common interpretation is that our single bodies are temples, but are we not also as a church a Temple of God? More research is needed here.

Paul closes the third chapter by reminding the believers that what the world calls "wisdom" is but foolishness to God. He uses what the world thinks is foolish to trap the wise. Wise people rely on their own understanding, not the Lord's. This is a constant trap.

Paul now calls attention to his own plight and his own status compared to that of the Corinthians. Although the world considers Paul a fool and someone to be ridiculed, Paul is fully aware that the only opinion which matters is that of God. The Corinthians are rich. They have possessions, and they didn't come after their conversion -- their earthy treasures had already been accumulated. However Paul reminds them that everything they had was received from God. We have no reason to boast about wealth because it is all a gift from God.

The only true judge is God because He sees motives. He knows what is in a man's heart. He is not fooled by outward appearances. This is the way we are to judge.

The Corinthians will be receiving Timothy to show the church what Paul is writing about. Perhaps Paul is trying to wake up the Corinthians because they seem to have thrown off any respect they had for Paul, thinking they would never see him again. But Paul is adamant that he will get back to Corinth, if it is God's will. He asks if they want him to show up to whip them into shape or with a gentle spirit. The choice is up to the Corinthians, depending upon their obedience to Paul's teaching. If they imitate Paul, as he instructs them in 4:16, all will be well and Paul will continue to encourage them. If the believers don't mature, Paul will have to take stronger measures.

Genesis

Genesis 1-3

Well, let's see... the creation of the universe and the fall of man all in one day's reading, eh? Just another bland day! I'll see if I can find something to write about!

It seems that the first thing God created out of nothing was water, as we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters even before light hits the scene. And that light has no apparent source until Day 4. Yet there is day and night,evening and morning. On Day 2, God spearates the waters and inserts the sky in the midst of it. That means above the sky was a whole bunch of water. That will come into play when we hit the Great Flood. Plants and trees come in on Day 3 once dry land appears. Light, sky and sea, land and plants so far.

The sun and the moon show up in Day 4, although the moon isn't referred to by name. The purpose of these two are to separate day from night, to serve as markers for seasons, days and years and to give light. On Day 5 we get sea creatures and birds. The sea animals are instructed to be fruitful and multiply. Then on Day 6 the land animals appear just before man is made. Sun and moon, sea animals, land animals. A bit of symmetry between Days 1-3 and Days 4-6.

Man is created in God's image. Not a physical image, obviously as God is spirit. And both male and female are in His image. Man is also told to befruitful and multiply and all green plants are given as food to man and animals.

Day 7 is holy, not because God rested His tired bones, but because He stopped His creating.

Chapter 2 gives us more detail about man's creation and the Garden of Eden. It's rather amusing that we are told that God had planted a garden "in the east"like we would try to figure out where exactly east is. New York? Jerusalem? Tokyo? Obviously it's east of the setting for much of the Bible, and with the Tigris and Euphrates running out of it, Eden must have been somewhere around Northern Iraq.

The two trees mentioned in the garden are special trees. The tree of life gives some kind of life-sustaining fruit because the possibility of sinful man eating from this tree and never dying is the reasoning behind Adam and Eve's banishment and the guarded entrance to the garden mentioned at the end of chapter three. The tree of knowledge was the one with the tasty-looking fruit.

It is striking that Eve wasn't made like every other animal -- from dust. Perhaps she was taken from Adam's side (or rib) is so that Adam would seeher as an equal, not simply another animal, albeit a special one. It's pretty evident that God has a one woman - one man arrangement based on 2:24.

Chapter three reads like a bizarre story. Talking snakes will do that.

Eve exaggerates what God told them about the fruit of the tree of knowledge. God didn't ban them touching the fruit, although it would have been a good idea based on what happened. Satan's lie is a contemporary one. We all want to be like God. How different our life would be if we didn't have to worry about good vs. evil!

The first thing the couple realized when their eyes were opened was their nakedness. They felt shame, apparently about their differences physically? Why do we have an inherent shame over our bodies? For Adam and Eve it wouldn't have been lust, I wouldn't think. What is immediately shameful about a naked body in that context?

I wonder what the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day sounded like.

Adam, then Eve play the blame game.
Adam: Well it was that woman you put here with me.
Eve: Well, it was that serpent.
The serpent didn't have anyone to blame it on.

Man's punishment is the curse of the ground. Woman's punishment is the pain of childbirth and being "ruled over" by the husband. The snake's punishment is interesting. Did the snake have legs originally? Or just the talking ones?

The protoevangel in 3:15 is the reminder of Jesus' eventual victory. It was the scene in The Passion of the Christ preview where we see Jesus' foot crush the snake when I began to take that movie seriously. That's what it's all about and here we see just a whisper of the plot of salvation.

Adam and Eve's clothes were provided by God, assumedly from the skins of animals which gave their lives at this point. Death has entered the picture.

Genesis 4-7

Another meaty section. We always assume Cain is the first baby ever born and Abel is the second, but nothing really suggests that except the absence of recording any other births. "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a son," which is said to be the reason for the name "Cain" seems like it might be a new experience for Eve, but it really doesn't have to be. Of course we never get to read about the birth of any daughters, nor do we hear another female named until 4:19 when he read about Lamech's wives. Cain's wife would be his sister or niece -- one of the unmentioned children we see in 5:6 and 5:8.

Abel's sacrifice was the fat of some of the firstborn, while Cain's sacrifice was simply some of the fruits of the soil. It seems that Abel put God's portion first while Cain gave "leftovers". Abel put God first while Cain thought of himself and his interests first.

Seth is a "replacement" child to Eve. The genealogy of chapter five is interesting in the details given and the details omitted. The math tells you that Methuselah died the same year as the flood (although not necessarily IN the flood). Besides the long life spans of these people, it looks odd that these men were still producing children at age 90, 105, 162, etc. Not to say that these were their first children, but one wonders how many children these people had, how early they started having them and how long they continued conceiving children. All this and we're not even thinking about Noah being 500 when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japeth. Were these the only three righteous sons or were they his only children?

The Nephilim, the heroes of old. Legends in their own time. I don't think they were angels because angels are not reproducing beings. Nowhere else is anyone thought to be the child of an angel. The NT tells us that angels don't marry, etc. The Nephilim must have been heroic people. They are not mentioned post-flood (that I'm aware of), so the thought of 9 foot, 9 inch Goliath being descended from Nephilim doesn't make sense.

Every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil all the time. That's evil, friends. Is that worse than today? Hard to say.

Noah builds the ark, but God brings the animals to him and it's God who shuts the door. Many claim it didn't rain at all before the Big One. It's possible, although what really makes the flood is not simply rain, but the springs of the great deep and the floodgates of heaven opening up.

Seven of every kind of clean animal, two of every unclean. Gotta have food on the voyage. Seven of every kind of bird also. No allowances for sea creatures. They are never mentioned. Some have argued with me that the sea creatures would have died in the polluted waters. I'm sure many did, but not all (obviously).

Forty days and nights of rain. 150 days of flood. Five months.

Genesis 8-11

Noah and the family spent a whole lot of time on that ark. The boat hit Ararat on 7/17, but they didn't get out until 2/27. That's over 6 months just sitting there landed, most of that time with no waves or water even touching the ark. Understanding that they didn't get out until all areas of the earth were available to be inhabited.

The first animal sent out of the ark was a raven which kept flying back and forth. I assume it lit on top of the ark or something for a while and didn't remain flying for weeks. The dove which finally brought back an olive branch showed that not only was the earth drying, but vegetation had started growing once again.

Some of the clean animals who rode the ark for just over a year (The ark was closed on 2/17) were offered as a sacrifice after the landing. The springs of the deep were closed as were the floodgates of the heavens. And God's sign of the covenant, the rainbow, must have been a new sight for the humans -- again giving credence to the idea that rain hadn't happened before the flood.

Meat with blood is prohibited in chapter nine. No rare steak. Although everything is given to the hands of man.

The account of the drunken, naked, passed out Noah is odd. Had the boys really never seen Noah naked before? Shem and Japeth went through dramatic means to be sure they didn't see anything embarrassing. And Noah didn't curse Ham, but his son Canaan. Why? Was Canaan the only child at this point? Was he conceived on the ark or are we talking years later? Certainly Noah was around for 350 years, so there's no real timetable here.

The geneaologies of chapter ten seem rather edited for length. The Japheth line is remarkably short. Only two sets of grandkids are mentioned. The mention of "Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord" is quite odd. I wonder what the Hebrew looks like there at 10:9. The Canaanite clans were the people conquered later in Genesis.

In 10:25, we see mention of Peleg (meaning "division") so named because "in his time the earth was divided." I wonder what this refers to. Continental drift? Civil war?

A short mention in 10:31 that these are "the sons of Shem by their clans and languages..." -- this occurs right before the whole Babel narrative in chapter 11.

Genesis 12-14

Abram is called from Haran where he, Sarai, Lot and his father Terah had been living. In chapter eleven they tried moving to Canaan, but stopped at Haran, coincidentally the name of Lot's father who had passed away in Ur. Abram receives God's call and must have wondered about becoming a great nation even at that point, having no children. Now at the age of 75, Abram is off to wherever the Lord is telling him to go. After a brief stop at Shechem, he moved on to somewhere between Bethel and Ai. He had built an altar at Shechem, then again at Bethel. Then he took off for Egypt. I wonder what was spurring him onward. The Lord had appeared to him already, but Abram keeps going.

The sister/wife lie in Egypt eventually catches up to Abram, although it doesn't turn out as poorly as it could have. Pharaoh could have easily just had Abram killed, but the diseases probably convinced Pharaoh to letAbram and Sarai live. Hard to believe that a pillar of faith like Abram could let his wife be taken and used by another just to ease his fears of being killed.

Lot takes the greener pastures in chpater 13. Greener pastures, but lousy neighbors! Abram goes to Hebron and builds yet another altar. Lot's neighbors get him into trouble, as Sodom is sacked by a bunch of kings under Kedorlaomer. Abram becomes a mighty warrior -- something that doesn't usually come to mind when thinking of Abram. In 14:14 we are given an exact count of Abram's make shift army -- 318. Odd bit of detail.

The mysterious Melchizedek, King of Salem/Jerusalem makes his quick apprearance at this point, blessing Abram and honoring God. Abram gives the priest a tithe -- the first tithe mentioned in Scripture. I wonder what possessed Abram to do this. The part where Abram refuses help from the king of Sodom seems logical though.

Chapter fifteen features a recounting of God's call upon Abram and this time it is in the form of a covenant. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" at 15:6, which of course pops up again in Romans 4. The Lord confirmed the covenant with an elaborate scene of birds and carcasses cut in half. This was a normal setting for a human covenant with the two parties walking through together. This time the only one to pass through was God, indicating that God alone could keep such a covenant.

Genesis 16-18

"OK. I get it, God. You need us to help You out in this whole "father of a great nation" business, eh? So let's get another woman involved in all this. What could go wrong?"

Hagar. A maidservant of Sarai who was thrust into a tough situation. She's not exactly blameless here though. By 16:4, she was getting nasty to her mistress -- apparently holding her pregnancy over Sarai's head, as it were. She probably didn't begin all the bitterness, but she gave it its first voice. From there, the roof begins to cave in. Sarai complains to Abraham, Abe washes his hands of the whole problem and Sarai mistreats Hagar until she runs off. I found it interesting that in 18:3 it says that Sarai gave Hagar "to her husband to be his wife." Bigamy. Not just an out-of-wedlock birth. I'd like to look in the the translation of that verse.

What a comment to make about a person: "He will be a wild donkey of a man," said the angel of the Lord to Hagar about Ishmael. The Bible doesn't tell us a lot about Ishmael, but his story is probably very interesting. The Westerner in me wonders if the Middle Eastern trouble isn't rooted in a conflict between a stiff-necked people (Jews) and the descendants of a man whose "hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Doesn't sound like a promising situation, does it?

Chapter 17 screams one question: Why circumcision? Of all the signs God could have come up with, why would the removal of penile foreskin be the chosen sign? Does this speak to male pride and sexual dominance? Maybe God taking men down a peg? I get the image of a slave being purchased by Abraham, then being told what had to happen to him to be a part of Abraham's household!

Abraham laughed, Sarai laughed... names were changed. When God changes your name, watch out! Abraham had Ishmael at the age of 86, yet he thought that being 100 was over the hill? How long had it been since the days of Genesis 5, when people lived to be 900 and were having children into their 600s? The perspective on Sarai/Sarah I can understand though.

At chapter 18, the three visitors arrive. The text announces them as "the LORD" and Abraham hurredly is making preparations to feed them. Part of this could be the culture to take care of travelers, but somewhere early on Abraham realizes he is speaking with God. I'd be tempted to call the three "men" Father, Son and Holy Spirit except that chapter 19 begins by talking about "the two angels" who go to Sodom. The angel of the Lord is usually agreed to be a reference to the Second Person of the Trinity -- a pre-incarnate Jesus. I'm not sure exactly why the Second Person is singled out rather than the Third or First. In any case, Abraham addresses the angel of the Lord as deity.

The "bargaining session" looking for a few good men in Sodom is fascinating. Abraham realizes that there aren't many good folk in that town. The Lord knows it too. Abraham doesn't go down to four people which would have covered Lot, his wife and two daughters.

Genesis 19

What a strange chapter! On so many different levels this passage is disturbing. First we see the two angels headed to Sodom, only to be spotted by Lot at the city gate. Lot knew there was something special about these two -- just as Abraham sensed something about his visitors a chapter earlier. The angels said they were planning on spending the night in the town square -- what a scene that would have been! Odd enough the way it turned out. Lot strongly persuaded the two to spend the night at his house. He fed them, but before bedtime, a crowd gathers outside the house. I get weird flashbacks to watching "Night of the Living Dead" when I was younger from this passage. The text says that "All the men from every part of Sodom -- both young and old -- surrounded the house." They called on Lot to send the two men (angels) out to be raped -- technically sodomized.

Lot knew there was something about these two, as I doubt he would have gone to such lengths to protect two ordinary visitors. Still it's surprising what he offered the mob outside. Two virgin daughters were not a good enough trade for the crowd. 1) What an offer! and 2) How disturbed were these Sodomites, anyway?

It was the angels who pull Lot to safety in the house, then they struck the mob blind. When the mob broke up (apparently) Lot went to recruit his "sons-in-law" to flee with the family while the city would be destroyed. The two who laughed him off. So Lot, his wife and two daughters head for Zoar after convincing the angels that Lot couldn't handle the trip up to the mountains. The next morning the fire and brimstone fell, not only on Sodom, but on Gomorrah and in the entire plain region. A large meteor? Perhaps. Whatever it was, it did the job.

Job's wife looks back on the city as she runs and "she became a pillar of salt." Here's another place I'd love to study the Hebrew. Whatever the exact context, Lot's wife hesitated, looked back in identification with that city. When she did so, she disobeyed the instructions given by the angels in 19:17. Oddly, the instructions were given just after Lot hesitated to leave in 19:16. Now, with the plain charred and smoking, Lot and his two daughters are the only survivors. Lot's wife was dead, perhaps buried by falling debris and buried -- thus causing the pillar of salt reference.

Lot and his daughters left Zoar because Lot was afraid to live in that city. We're not told why. Perhaps he was identified as a Sodomite and the people of Zoar wanted to get rid of him. In any case, Lot takes his daughters and lives in a cave in the mountains -- hermit style. The daughters then devise a plan to keep the family line going. On sucessive nights, the girls get Dad drunk and each sleep with him, conceiving a son. It's hard to get past the "ick-factor" on this one. Comparisons to Abraham and Sarah's plan with Hagar spring to mind. Each plan worked. Ishmael became the father of the arabic peoples. Lot's new children were the fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites.

Genesis 20-23

The account of Abraham and Abimelech is a rerun of Abraham's mistake with Pharoah years earlier. Interesting that Abraham feared that king taking Sarah from him. With Pharoah, it was that Pharoah would see Sarah's beauty and take her for himself. With Abimelech, Sarah is 74 years old -- hardly the picture of a beauty queen! Yet the same thing happens, only God keeps Abimelech from sleeping with Sarah -- thus saving his family.

The admission that Abraham and Sarah are really half-sisters shocks us in today's culture, especially with all the birth defects from close marriage these days. But those laws weren't given until Exodus, a good 400-500 years later. When a spouse was needed, the family was the first place to look at that point. (Although the bit with Lot's daughters and Lot is still a bit much.)

Isaac finally comes and Hagar and Ishmael are sent away. The boys were having a real sibling rivalry. Ishmael will become the father of a nation also. The reason Ishmael will be a nation is because of Abraham according to 21:13.

Chapter 22 is often read and seen as a precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The emotions of Abraham are hard to gauge. Certainly he must have been overwhelmed at the hearing of God's instructions of 22:2, yet by 22:5 he tells his servants that "we" will go worship and "we" will come back. The faith of Abraham. Isaac must have shared that faith, or at least had a strong confidence in his father.

Abraham's obedience is given as the reason why all nationss on earth would be blessed through Isaac in 22:18.

At Sarah's death, Abraham finally buys some land. He has been, since leaving Ur, a nomad living in tents, even though he became "like a prince" to the surrounding peoples. Ephron tries to give Abraham a grave for Sarah, but Abraham insists on paying the price. His time is almost over.

Genesis 24-27

We read precious little about Isaac in the Scriptures. This passage contains almost all of the details of his life, aside from the time on Mt. Moriah in chapter 22, and the report of his death in chapter 35. What we find out is hardly impressive.

Chapter 24 deals with the finding and bringing back of Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. A nameless servant of Abraham is given the duty, and his specific prayer request is answered as asked. Abraham has apparently heard from God about where to obtain a wife. Either that or he has great confidence that God will approve of finding a wife for Isaac among Abraham's family rather than among the Canaanites.

One of the more interesting characters in chapter 24 is Rebekah's brother, Laban. Of course we know he'll pop up again, but he's already displaying a need to be in charge of the situation.

The servant gave costly gifts to Rebekah, her mother, and to her brother Laban, but not to her father?

It's interesting that we assume the servant is traveling alone until verse 32 when the other men are mentioned, as well as the number of camels.

Abraham's third wife is mentioned briefly in chapter 25. Six more children, but the entire estate went to Isaac. The other children were packed off and sent away from Isaac. At 25:6, the text mentions "concubines." Hagar was a "wife" according the to earlier text, but could it just have been "marital relations"? Keturah is described as a "wife", so I wonder who we're missing. It is possible that Keturah and Hagar are who is meant, but the text as translated is vague.

The twins are born in chapter 25 as well. It's apparent they aren't identical! It's also apparent they won't be getting along well. The account of the birthright seems so odd. How hungry can a person be? If a bowl of stew means that much, then Esau truly did despise his birthright. Of course I wonder what made Jacob think to ask for the birthright in the first place.

In chapter 26, we see Isaac getting the Promise directly from God, as his father had also. Sadly, we read also that Isaac didn't learn from his father's mistakes. Again a patriarch tries the "she's my sister" line to avoid danger, only to narrowly avoid horrible consequences. We also see that Isaac has his father's financial skills, eventually becoming so powerful that he is sent away as too
big of a threat.

At 26:34-35, we read of Esau's two Hittite wives and that "They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah." Certainly an in-law situation is tough, but it seems that these two women really rubbed Isaac and Rebekah the wrong way -- so much so that Rebekah is the one to be sure that Jacob's wife is from the family.

The thievery of the blessing is a well-told story. The deception of Rebekah foreshadows the trickery of her brother, Laban in the next passage. "Let the curse fall on me," says Rebekah when Jacob fears a curse if Isaac discovers the deception. When Jacob brings in the "tasty food" he lies to his father directly three times: "I am Esau, your firstborn," "The Lord your God gave me success," and "I am [really Esau]." The trick is well thought-out, taking into account Esau's hairiness and his scent -- two things a sightless man would instantly recognize. Only the voice is a giveaway, but still Isaac believes his hands and his nose instead of his ears.

The blessing itself seems irrevokable. Isaac cannot take it back, as he admits in 27:33. The cry to "Bless me -- me too, my father!" is heartbreaking in a way, as Esau has nothing left to hope for. Except revenge. The idea of a blessing or a curse seems so foreign to me... especially one that is irrevokable.

Genesis 28-31

We resume Jacob's story as he is sent off to find a wife by his parents, although Rebekah's reason to send Jacob away is to save his life from his brother, Esau. Jacob is sent back to Laban, his uncle, to find a wife from his daughters. Of course Jacob winds up with two of Laban's daughters, but that comes later. Even Esau buys the story of looking for a "family" wife, as he takes another -- this one from the family of his relative Ishmael. On the tip to Paddan Aram, Jacob stops for the night and is given a vision of a staircase or ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Then above it was the Lord, who affirmed the covenant with Abraham and designated it to Jacob, promising him to watch over him and bring him back to the land he is to inherit. Jacob thinks this is the gate of heaven itself and calls it Bethel -- house of God. He vows to make God his God since he has been promised safety and care. He also promises a tithe, although I have no idea how he is planning to offer this tithe to God.

When Jacob finally arrives in chapter 29, he is immediately taken with Rachel. Laban comes out to greet Jacob and welcomes him. After a month, Laban tells Jacob to stop working for free and to name his wages. Jacob then asks for Rachel in exchange for seven years' work. It seems like Laban is taking advantage of Jacob at this point, and probably is. He gets seven years worth of labor for his daughter. Meanwhile at the wedding feast, Daddy Laban pulls the old switcheroo and instead sneaks in the daughter with the "weak eyes" without Jacob's knowledge. How it was that Jacob didn't figure out it was the wrong sister until after a honeymoon night with her is mysterious. However there was some poetic justice in that Jacob was deceived just as Jacob had deceived his own father. Jacob could only be partly outraged. He had reaped as he had sown.

Leah was put in a no-win situation. She was immediately the unwanted wife. She was likely put up to it by her father. Had she not done so, she would have been shamed in Paddan Aram and wound up an old maid. But she was now married to a man who would take good care of her. And she had children -- six boys and a girl. However in the naming of the boys, Leah reveals that she is still seeking her husband's favor, which she never really gets.

A week after the first wedding comes the second and Jacob finally has his Rachel. The first seven years worked to get her seemed like only a few days. In 29:30 we are explicitly told that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. From his actions throughout his lifetime, it is obvious that Rachel is the ONE for him.

The fight over the children in chapter 30 seems so bizarre to a monogamous man like myself. Bartering for who gets to sleep with the husband is strange. So is the practice of giving a woman's maidservant to be her husband's concubine. In today's culture, that's almost instant divorce! But this is a blended family. Four birth mothers, two wives who are sisters to one another, two servants who have slept with the master, and children everywhere. Only Dinah is mentioned, but it seems that there are some unmentioned daughters in the household as well.
Eleven of the sons are there with only Benjamin yet to come as Rachel dies in childbirth in chapter 35.

After Jacob's fourteen years of service to Laban are up, Laban manipulates him into staying in Paddan Aram, as Laban has gotten richer with God blessing Jacob's efforts. So Jacob outfoxes the fox and through some mystery of animal breeding, builds his own flocks while Laban's power is diminished. Jacob found (or is told) a way to insure that flocks would have streaked, speckled or spotted offspring by using tree branches cut in a certain way. The stronger animals he would
breed to produce offspring for himself and the weaker animals would be bred to produce offspring for Laban. Jacob became rich and powerful and Laban and his servants were resentful.

In 31:3, God tells Jacob to get back home, so Jacob calls the wives to the fields and explains the situation. Here we see that Laban has been trying to get the best of the deal for years, but only Jacob knows the secrets. This is payback for Laban's dirty dealing. The more he tries to manipulate, the more he fails.

Jacob and family and their entourage while Laban is off shearing sheep. Rachel also, for some unknown reason, steals a "household idol" from her father. By the time Laban gets back home, Jacob and company have been gone for three days. Laban goes off in pursuit for seven days until he catches up to Jacob. But on the night before he met with the family, Laban was given a dream telling him to behave himself, essentially.

At the meeting, Laban pleaded for the folks to return. He complained that they sneaked off without notice and didn't allow him to kiss the kids or have a big sendoff party. Certainly Laban was lying about his intentions, as he would have never willingly let anybody get away. He had tried hard to get his sister, Rebekah, to not go with Isaac. In 31:29, Laban says that he has the power to harm Jacob but is only holding off because of his dream from God. But there is one thing Laban thinks he can be indignant about -- his missing "god". Jacob is sure no one stole it, not knowing that his beloved had done it -- and swears to kill anyone who took it.

Laban searches everywhere. Everywhere except the camel's saddle which Rachel was sitting on. Rachel had hidden the idol there and claimed not to be able to get up to let Laban search because she was on her period! It actually worked!

Now Jacob is tired of Laban's excuses and recounts all the injustices he has suffered at the hands of Laban. Laban still doesn't get it, calling the wives, the children and the flocks belonging to Jacob as "mine" in 31:43. However, he does get the fact that he is without any power and offers to draw up a covenant to keep the two families from hostilities. Jacob's oath is in the name of the
Fear (capitalized) of his father Isaac. Back in 31:42, Jacob referred to "the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac" as well. I need to do a word study on the Fear of Isaac.

The two families depart in peace concluding chapter 31.

Genesis 32-35

Jacob now departs as well, headed for a meeting with Esau. Jacob is scared to death of the brother he had cheated and prepares to "soften him up" a bit with a stream of gifts. Interesting that in his prayer of 32:11-12, Jacob feared for not only himself, but for the mothers and children also. Yet Jacob remembers the promise God made to him. in 32:10, he remembers how much more he has than the last time he made this trip, some twenty years earlier.

The night before the big meeting, Jacob wrestles with "a man" who is later known to be God. Jacob wants to know the wrestler's name -- it is to be a hollow victory for Jacob if he could find out his opponent's name. Instead, Jacob receives a new name, Israel. Instead of being "the deceiver", he is to be known as the one who "wrestles with God". It is interesting how the narrator uses this new name sparingly for Jacob. After all, his old instincts as a deceiver continue to play out in his life.

Jacob now has a limp because of a damaged hip tendon. I wonder the significance of God doing this. The Jews saw something almost deserving of respect for this tendon in other animals as well... another weird reaction.

By chapter 33, Jacob sees Esau coming, so he divided up the family into groups with the most expendible put in the most vulnerable position. The concubines and their children were placed first. Leah and her children were behind them, then Rachel and Joseph (Jacob's greatest treasures) as far away from harm as possible. But the preparations prove unnecessary as Esau comes in friendship, accepting Jacob's gifts only at his brother's insistence.

Jacob still is deceiving Esau as he sends him back home, promising to come. Instead Jacob travels to Succoth instead of to Seir. Eventually he settles near Shechem, where he buys a plot of ground.

The story of Dinah in chapter 34 is ugly no matter how you look at it. When Shechem violates Dinah, it is considered tanamount to rape by her brothers. The Bible is silent on Dinah's willingness in all of this, but that could be nothing. In any case, Shechem falls in love with the woman he has violated and now has his father try to broker a deal for her. The brothers take after Dad and trick the men of Shechem (the city) to be circumcised. While they are still sore from the procedure, Dinah's brothers exact their revenge by killing all the men in the town and plundering all that is left. Soon, God tells Jacob to go back to Bethel, and the family left for that place. According to 35:5, God prevented anyone from the surrounding towns to go after Jacob's family because of the whole affair with Dinah and Shechem.

Jacob's response to the brother's revenge is odd. His fear is for himself and his household, not for the honor of his daughter. His sons obviously disagree with Jacob's sentiments.

God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel in 35:9-12. He again pronounces the name change from Jacob to Israel and speaks the promise which was given to Abraham.

The death of Rachel in 35:19 also marked the birth of Jacob's last son. The boy Rachel had called Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my trouble", his father renamed Benjamin, or son of my right hand. A marker was set up to mark Rachel's grave on the road to Bethlehem. How horrible it must have been for Jacob to see his beloved die, especially in childbirth. The other women of the promise lived to old age, but Rachel would not.

Jacob is finally called Israel by the narrator in 35:21. Has Rachel's death changed the deceiver?

A strange story of Reuben sleeping with his father's concubine, assumedly either Zilpah or Bilhah, is mentioned in passing at 35:22. Jacob mentions it again at the time of his blessings to the family in 49:4.

Finally Isaac dies at the age of 180 and is buried by both Esau and Jacob. In the passage where Jacob steals his father's blessing, Isaac is portrayed as old and feeble (and indeed blind) at that time. Yet he lives at least another twenty years more -- probably many more years than 20.

Genesis 36-39

Chapter 36 is a genealogy of Esau, along with a note that Esau had to move away from Jacob as each were too rich and powerful to be too close together. Sounds like the sibling rivalry never went away.

The account of Jacob beginning in 37:2 is actually the account of Joseph, who is so often presented as a precursor to Christ. Right off the bat, we read about Joseph bringing back a bad report about his brothers. As the baby of the family, the only (at that time) son of Jacob's beloved wife, Joseph had to have annoyed his brothers. Apparently it went far beyond that, with most of the young men willing to kill their kid brother at one point. Joseph's recounting of his dreams were putting the brothers off, as well as even his father. 37:11 says that the brothers were jealous, but "his father kept the matter in mind." It's likely that Jacob didn't know what to do about the whole matter, especially in light of his "most favored child" status already.

Joseph has to look in an unexpected place for the brothers and the flocks. They moved on without unexpectedly. Was it this type of behavior which the "bad report" dealt with earlier on? Were the brothers doing something that they knew Joseph would take back to his father to get them into trouble? Something was up, because they had already planned Joseph's murder between the time they saw him walking on the horizon and the time he actually arrived. Rueben seems to be the voice of reason, but in reality it looks like he wanted a special notice from his father. In 37:22 we see that Rueben wanted to take Joseph back to his father. Somehow I read an ulterior motive into that sentence -- perhaps I'm wrong.

Instead of murder, the boys decide to make a little money for their brother. So they sell him to a band of Midianite merchants -- Ishmaelites -- distant relatives. The price is 20 shekels of silver. Not exactly 30 coins, but strikingly similar. Reuben isn't around to keep his brothers from selling Joseph. It is doubtful he could have even convinced them. So the cover story is concocted, and Joseph's fancy coat is covered in goat's blood and given to Jacob to give him the impression that Joseph has been eaten by wild animals. Note the careful words of verse 32. They don't come out and lie, but they present their father with only the facts they want him to see.

The passage with Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar is an interesting insertion into the narrative. Judah is caught acting in an unhonorable way regarding the giving of his youngest son in marriage to his oldest son's widow. Again, this seems to be a story with no "good guys" and only people of questionable virtue.

Noteworthy is that God put to death Er, who was wicked in the Lord's sight, and his brother Onan, who practiced contraception with his wife to avoid the very reason he was married to her in the first place -- to provide children in the name of his brother. Since this was wicked, God killed Onan also. This is the kind of justice we all dream about until we realize the effect it would have on our lives!

Judah sends Tamar away, thinking his youngest son, Shelah, would probably end up the same as his brothers. Years later, after Shelah had grown and become eligible for marriage, Tamar was forgotten and plotted revenge, of sorts. Posing as a prostitute, she seduced her father-in-law and became pregnant. Judah's efforts to pay for her service came up empty, as Tamar disappeared back into her widow's clothing. Finally, when it was found that Tamar was pregnant, she was to be executed. But she sent a message to Judah -- showing him the staff, seal and cord he left with the "prosititute", signifying that he was the father of the babies.

She gave birth to twins, and the odd story of one hand coming out, then the other twin being born first is shared.

I wonder why finding out that the father was Judah stayed the execution of Tamar. What status did he have to prevent it (and his own execution as well).

We return to Joseph in chapter 39. Twice in this chapter he is put in charge of everything so that his master doesn't even have to worry about anything. Joseph is a very trustworthy person. Of course, Potiphar didn't think so, but that story was false. It is rather amazing how Joseph was able to avoid the attempts at seduction from Potiphar's wife, even leaving his cloak behind to avoid the temptation of being with her. The reason Joseph gives the woman is that it would be a wicked thing to do a sin against God. It would have been especially wicked because Potiphar trusted Joseph so much.

I find it odd that Potiphar's wife referred to Joseph as "this Hebrew" in 39:14, and "that Hebrew in 39:17. There weren't many Hebrews at that time, so I wonder where she would have learned the term to use it, especially perjoritively.

In prison, Joseph became the inmate in charge. Why was Joseph so trustworthy? His integrity for one thing, but the text specifically says that when Joseph was in charge, everything went right for his master. First with Potiphar, then with the prison warden. God gave Joseph success.

Genesis 40- 43

Joseph is still in prison, seemingly lost and wasting away. Although he has some authority, he is stuck in prison with no foreseeable release. When he interprets the dreams of two of Pharoah's servants (check that -- as Joseph points out it was God doing the interpretation), Joseph seemingly has a ray of hope. Sure the baker is going to be executed, but the cupbearer has promised to remember him upon regaining his position with the ruler. Despair slowly reenters Joseph's life as he is literally forgotten, as is the promise the cupbearer made to him.

It was more than two years before Joseph is remembered. It takes the occasion of Pharoah's dream to jog the memory of the cupbearer. Again, when called to interpret, Joseph is careful to note that he cannot interpret dreams but that God can. It must have seemed like a minute distinction to Pharoah and his staff.

Joseph was allowed to shave and change clothes before being presented to Pharaoh. How much "shaving" was necessary for a Hebrew? Did all still wear beards at that point?

God gave Pharoah parallel dreams. He was repeating Himself. Joseph states that the dream came in two forms because "the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon." (41:32) Many commentators point out that when God repeats Himself in Scripture, we should pay even closer attention than normally.

The dream is interpreted and Joseph is the one to come up with a plan of action. Pharoah is taken with the Hebrew and puts him in charge of everything. At 41:40 we see a telling verse: "Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." That's quite a comment from one with that kind of power.

Pharoah renames Joseph and gives him all the authority in the realm. All this at the age of 30. During the next seven years, Joseph puts his skills to work. Egypt is well prepared for the coming seven years of famine. The storehouses are not even opened to Egyptians until the famine had spread and was being felt all over Egypt. Then Joseph provided relief. He sold the grain -- he didn't give it away.

Word of the presence of food in Egypt reaches Jacob, so he sends ten of his remaining eleven sons off to buy food. He was afraid of something happening to Benjamin, the last remaining son of his beloved Rachel. The loss of Simeon would be bad, but the loss of Benjamin would probably mark the loss of Jacob.

Jacob's treatment of his family is curious. Is he exacting a little revenge? Is he thinking that the brothers will reject him and keep him from his father? His questioning of the brothers seems like he is putting on a front, but certainly if he had revealed himself at the outset, the brothers would have been happy to have brought the rest of the family to Egypt, wouldn't they?

The brothers take the rough treatment and Joseph's insistence upon seeing Benjamin as punishment for what they did to Joseph years earlier. Reuben is even using the "I told you so" approach with the others. Joseph, who had been speaking through an interpreter could hear the "private" conversations and what he was hearing was enough to bring him to tears, but not to reveal himself.

Simeon is bound and jailed while Joseph tells the servants to plant the silver back in the bags of grain, rather than to take them into the treasury. Mind games once again. The nine brothers who return to Jacob are scared to death at finding their payment returned to them in such a way as to suggest they had stolen what they had received. Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go to return, counting Simeon as good as dead, apparently. Finally when the food runs out, Jacob is forced to allow his youngest to accompany his brothers back to Egypt, as Joseph had told them he would not see them again without Benjamin. First Reuben, then Judah promises his father that Benjamin would be safe. Reuben even tells his father to kill Reuben's own two sons if Benjamin doesn't come back safely, in an effort to reassure Jacob of the brother's true intentions.

A double portion of silver is packed along with some gifts and the boys head back to Egypt to buy more grain. Joseph sends instructions to take the family to his own private residence for a meal. The brothers are reassured that the silver they found in their sacks is not stolen, but that God has blessed them.

The brothers bowed low to Joseph -- just as in his boyhood dream -- upon his arrival at home. The meal was served to Joseph by himself in one room, to the brothers as a group in another room, and to the Egyptians in a third location. For some reason, Benjamin got five portions to his brothers' one.

Genesis 44-47

The brothers are sent back to Jacob, but along with their silver, Joseph instructs his men to hide his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they have been gone a short time, he sends his men after them, accusing them of stealing the cup. It's odd that Joseph talks about using that cup for "divination" since I would assume that to be forbidden, even back in those times for the patriarchs. Again in 44:15, Joseph leads the brothers to believe that he found out the cup was gone by means of divination. (How he divined that without his cup, he doesn't say.) Was this simply a ruse, playing into the brothers' stereotypes about Egyptians? For that matter, why was Joseph going through all this trickery anyway? Why does he continue the act up until chapter 45? He seems to have found out all that he wanted to know before this latest ruse.

Judah is adament about taking Benjamin's place rather than going back to Israel without his beloved son. It is at this point that Joseph can keep up the act no longer. He sends out all the Egyptians from the room and tells the brothers his true identity. His question is if Jacob is still alive, but his brothers have almost literally seen a ghost. They can't speak.

Joseph reassures them that he is not angry, and encourages them not to be angry with themselves. Much more forgiving than most of us would be in those circumstances. But in 45:5 we see Joseph's mindset -- it was God who sent him ahead of the family. And Joseph knows why: to save not only himself, but his family, and in fact, all of Egypt. Joseph was the savior in God's hands.

Joseph sends the brothers back to fetch Jacob amid lots of tears. The family will settle in Goshen to ride out the famine (and years to come as well). Pharoah goes one better and tells the family to take empty carts back to Canaan to haul their belongings back to Egypt. But the Pharoah tells them they shouldn't bring everything, for they will have everything they need in Egypt! A great promise from the leader of a country deep in famine.

Jacob is beside himself when he finds out that not only is Joseph still alive, but that he will get to see him before he dies. On the way to Egypt, God gives him reassurance again in a vision at Beersheba, after Jacob had offered sacrifices to God there. Jacob was indeed a thankful man. Judah is sent ahead to get directions to Goshen. Joseph is ready to see his father again, and again the tears flow.

Including Joseph's sons in Egypt, the Israelites now numbered 70 direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they settle in the land of Goshen.

Five of the brothers are sent to Pharoah to insure that the Hebrews will be able to live in the prime portion of Goshen. Joseph tells the brothers to be sure to tell Pharoah that they are shepherds and have been all their lives. Egyptians wanted nothing to do with shepherds, so this must have been the best way to get the best land. Pharoah even asks Joseph to find one trustworthy to be in charge of Pharoah's own livestock. I wonder whom Joseph thought to be the most trustworthy.

Finally Jacob meets Pharoah. The NIV text says that he "blessed" Pharoah at meeting him and leaving him, but the footnotes make me think it wasn't so much a blessing as a polite greeting like, "May the Lord be with you," or something to that effect.

Beginning at 47:13, we see Joseph dealing with the hungry Egyptians in the midst of famine. He sells them reserved food in exchange for their livestock, then finally in exchange for their freedom. By selling them this food, the Egyptians have been sold into slavery to Pharoah, and Pharoah owns all the land except for that which was owned by the priests.

It was a benevolent slavery as the people could still work the land and keep 4/5 of what they grew, with the other 1/5 going to Pharoah -- a 20% tax bracket.

Finally Jacob is turning 147 and is preparing to die. He makes Joseph promise that his bones will go back to Canaan to be buried along with his family.

Genesis 48-50

Jacob is nearing death and Joseph and his two sons are summoned. Word of Joseph's arrival strengthens Jacob to actually sit up. It probably took all he had to do it. His announcement that Ephraim and Manasseh would be equal to his own sons is confusing. Why would Jacob make such a move? Certainly the two each became fathers of "half-tribes" so the number 12 is unchanged. And Jacob switches the first born and the second born, to Joseph's displeasure. We aren't told why, except that in the blessing Jacob declares that Ephraim will be the greater of the two. Is it that Jacob still has to have some sense of control? Was he working through God?

Interesting that Jacob makes a big deal of seeing Ephraim and Manasseh in 48:11, as if he has never seen them. Could it be that Joseph never brought the boys to meet their grandfather before this time?

I hadn't really thought about it before, but Jacob tells Joseph to be sure he is buried in the tomb with Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah and with Leah. Rachel was buried along the road, but Jacob chooses to be buried with the "other" wife -- probably simply because his parents and grandparents were there and because of the historical significance.

Jacob's blessing of his sons begins with three bad blessings -- Reuben will no longer excel because of his sin with his step-mother in Genesis 35:22. Simeon and Levi will be scattered and dispersed because of their murderous revenging of Dinah in Genesis 34. Judah's exploits with Tamar (Genesis 38) are not mentioned by the patriarch. In fact the best blessing of all is saved for Judah. His tribe is to be the ruling tribe, in the person of the Messiah. Zebulun will be on the sea, Issachar will get good land, but will become slaves. Dan and Gad are each described as biting and striking heels. Asher will make rich food. (?!) Naphtali is set free? Joseph became strong because of God, who blesses him. He inherits all Jacob's blessings and is called the prince among his brothers. That dream of everyone bowing down to Joseph makes even more sense now. Benjamin is a wolf and a scavenger.

Then Jacob dies some time after telling Pharoah he is 130. We're not given his exact age. Joseph has his father embalmed and petitions Pharoah to allow him to take Jacob back to Canaan for burial. The Egyptians mourned for 70 days. Joseph observed a seven day mourning while near the Jordan. The burial party looked to be mostly Egyptian to the locals, calling the spot where Joseph and company stayed in mourning, "mourning of the Egyptians."

After Dad was gone, the brothers feared Joseph's retribution, but Joseph reassures them once again in 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." One might think that the brothers would realize their family line was safe after Jacob's blessing, but fear can make a person believe most anything.

Finally Joseph dies, after getting his brothers to swear that his bones would be buried in the promised land. Joseph was the first of the twelve brothers to die, at the age of 110. That would have to have put Reuben somewhere near 130 at that time.

Isaiah

Isaiah 1-6

Wow! Blood and guts and destruction galore! Isaiah is a book I've been wanting to dig into deeply for about a year now. This reading is only going to open up more questions and desire for further study that I probably can't take on right now. I know that a cursory reading of the book will not do it justice. In this passage I found myself thinking, "Has this happened already or is it still to come?" Figuring that prophecy can be proleptic, I'll allow for the possibility of future fulfillment, but most seem to be focused on the coming fall of the nation of Israel.

The Lord begins with a statement of repulsion with the empty religion being practiced in Israel. Boy, some of these accusations sound applicable to many in the Church today! To wake them up, God even refers to His people as Sodom and as Gomorrah, which should have stirred at least some indignity among His people. His instructions are to

"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

Social responsibility, put simply. Of course, Israel was essentially a theocracy, but still Christians today could learn something from what God wanted done.

The terrible judgment. Israel being laid low. In 3:8-9 the accusations again take a familiar turn:

Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the Lord, defying His glorious presence. The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.

And so the punishment will come. More woes in 5:20-24:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Again, awfully familiar. How does God restrain Himself?

Finally chapter 6! An incredible vision of heaven itself. After seeing all that, how could Isaiah say anything but, "Here am I, send me!"? A touch of a coal to the lips has allowed guilt to be taken away and sin to be atoned for. At least in the same sense that any animal sacrifice atoned for sin. The real atonement came later.

Isaiah 7-11

The prophets aren't always easy to understand at first read, and although it's not really my first read much of the detail here will take a lot more research. However, I'll toss out a few observations.

Isaiah's son is named for a warning for the nation. It's reminiscent of Hosea's children. Many of Israel's prophets were given the job of being living examples and living illustrations for the people of Israel to understand. I wonder how many of the people really "got it". The virgin with child of 7:14 is said to be Mary, according to Matthew, but a certain level of fulfillment takes place with Isaiah's child as well. It's a time frame for the coming destruction for Isaiah. Assyria destroys Israel and eventually Assyria is destroyed as well.

A great passage of warning at 8:19-21.

The prophecy of Messiah in chapter nine segues into a prophecy of warning for Israel. God judges, yet there is hope. One of Isaiah's son is named, "a remnant will return". The promise comes in 10:20. Many have taken this to be future as well.

The eleventh chapter of the Branch from Jesse. There is the fulfillment at the incarnation and also at the "end of the world". Sorting out the details is tough work and far too intricate to outline in this fashion, especially without a month of two of research.

Isaiah 12-17

Chapter 12 is a song of praise, reading like it was taken straight from the Psalter. "The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation." This is the cry of Israel when the Lord shall reign.

The prophecy against Babylon predicts the entired kingdom being overthown "by God" and the city itself becoming desolate forever. Current scholarship places the city of Babylon somewhere in northern Iraq -- in a desolate area.

In the midst of the Babylonian prophecy, we see Lucifer's sin described in 14:12-17. Lucifer's sin and fate must be reminiscent of the Babylonian ruler. It would be easy to overlook that passage as simply part of the prophecy against Babylon. The phrases "fallen from heaven" and "cast down from the earth" are clues, as are the names "morning star, son of the dawn".

The shorter prophecies against Assyrian and the Philistines end chapter 14. Moab is mourned over in chapters 15 and 16 -- it will be gone in three years. Then Damascus' future is foretold in chapter 17. "You have forgotten God your Savior...

Isaiah 18-22

Wow. Tough stuff to read without a complete commentary or two. Various prophecies against the nations. However the prophecy toward Cush of chapter 18 sounds like there will be conversions from among those people. Same with at least five cities of Egyptians in 19:18 and following. Yet those who trusted in their own nation would be put to shame and carried off.

Isaiah performed the task of living prophecy as well as living prophet. In 20:3 we learned that Isaiah walked around buck naked for three years to illustrate what would happen to these peoples. Tough work being a prophet...

Babylon's prophecy is written in an interesting way -- the surprising defeat of Babylon learned from the report of the lookout.

The Edom prophecy features a play on words -- Dumah means silence and the prophecy is about Edom being completely quiet, presumably because it has been destroyed.

The people of Jerusalem met with a fierce anger from the Lord. The final segment is about Isaiah's replacement, it appears, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and his eventual end as well.

Isaiah 23-28

I wish I had a lot more insight into these chapters. If anything, this passage shows me how little I've paid attention to these prophecies. I was reading on another blog about many pastor's refusal to preach on OT texts. My response was that I believe most pastors don't know the OT texts as they do NT texts. I'm afraid I'm probably accurate on this count. These prophecies speak to the power of God and His foreknowledge, yet the specifics escape us. Are these prophecies fulfilled in Christ? in the end of the exile? yet to be fulfilled? How literal are the prophecies of Chapter 24 concerning the devastation of the earth? Is this the destruction of Jerusalem or a future event? Many questions begging my research.

Chapter 25 is a mighty psalm of praise... "let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

Again I wonder when the prophecies of chapter 26-28 are fulfilled. I recognize the cornerstone prophecy of 28:16 which applies to Christ.

Isaiah 29-33

I noticed three passages in chapter 29 which are quoted in the New Testament. 29:13 is quoted by Jesus in Mark 7:6-7 as pertaining to the Pharisees, mostly. 29:14 comes back in 1 Cor. 1:19 when Paul is writing about the foolishness of man. Then 29:16 is brought back by Paul in Romans 9 in his discussion about God's sovereignty. It's odd to see three so easily recognizable in that short portion of Scripture.

The image of God as a consuming fire is repeated at least three times in this passage. There is much language of judgment and power regarding God and His reaction to the sins and rebellions of the people. Chapter 30 tells the people not to depend on Egypt for protection, presumably from the coming judgment. More hardship, distress, destruction follows until 30:18:

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

An oasis of hope within a sea of despair. His love for Israel is shown throughout the rest of chapter 30. Then by chapter 31, we return to the warnings about relying upon Egypt.

The picture of the ruler of the Kingdom of Righteousness of chapter 32 is yet another oasis. But with it comes a description and warning about being a fool. Then chapter 33 reads like a psalm of King David. God's love for His people is cherished. His power is celebrated.

Isaiah 34-39

More judgment. The Lord is angry with all nations. That's not good. Many images of blood and dismemberment throughout chapter 34. Edom seems to be taking the brunt of the assault. The place will be a wasteland after God gets through with it. Yet by 34:16, we see those in the Lord's favor are protected. Continuing through chpater 35, there is joy for those whom God saves. The ransomed of the Lord will return, singing as they come.

We return to narrative in chapter 36 with the story of Sennacherib's seige of Jerusalem. King Hezekiah has wisely thought ahead to keep his own citizens from getting into a shouting match with the Assyrians. The people on the wall heard the boastful threats of the commander, but said nothing, as per instructions.

The boast were based on Assyria's accumulated victories. If the other gods couldn't stop them, then why would Israel's God be able to? The commander taunts the people on the wall in Hebrew to be sure they understand. He tries to persuade them to turn against Hezekiah. It sounds like the captivity will be better than the current conditions, and perhaps it would have been.

The administrator, the secretary and the recorder report back to the king. Hezekiah sends them to Isaiah the prophet for instructions. The king asks God to avenge those who insulted the Living God. Isaiah's message for the king is to ignore the Assyrians. As prophecied, the Assyrian forces are to be called home to deal with the Cushites. But Sennacherib still tries to convince Hezekiah
to surrender.

Hezekiah prays sincerely and honestly. This is a great example of how we should approach the Living God. The king's answer is a favorable one because of this honest and humble prayer. The angel of the Lord kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight. Sennacherib broke camp and went home. Assumedly, the troops went as well. Sennacherib, as predicted, is cut down in another battle.

Chapter 38 deals with the king's severe illness -- an infected boil, it appears from 38:21. In any case, Hezekiah's death is imminent until he prays. Isaiah sends word that God has granted the king 15 more years. Hezekiah's prayer of thanksgiving is touching.

I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.

That is compelling. If only we would learn without all the anguish.

The good will party from Babylon is shown everything in the palace. Perhaps Hezekiah is showing off. In any case, Isaiah gives Hezekiah the bad news and the king takes it well -- after all, he thinks, "it's all going to happen after I'm dead." What a poor way to go out. It is not clear whether this punishment is because of Hezekiah's antics, although the way it is phrased, we are led to believe that the particulars of the exile are chosen because of the king's bragging.

Isaiah 40-44

Finally, another familiar chapter of Isaiah as we come to chapter 40. And what a chpater it is! Comfort is coming for Israel in the person of Jesus Christ, but first comes the one preparing the way. Israel has paid for her sins -- double in fact. Now the herald is calling out that the deliverer is coming. Even though man is just a temporary life on earth, God's word doesn't die. It doesn't fade. Now is the time to see the Lord coming in power.

We go from the power of God in 40:10 to the tender, caring shepherd in 40:11, then into a description of the incredible God beginning again in 40:12. This passage is reminiscent of God's speech at the end of the book of Job. The nations are but nothing. Idols are a waste of gold and wood. God is beyond anything else imagined. His holiness is called to mind in 40:16, His majesty in 40:22, His power in 40:23-24. There is no one like our God.

Not only is He powerful, but He is our hope. Our strength is renewed in Him. So many people use 40:31 as their life verse, urging a constant faith and hope in the One who strengthens us.

At chpater 41 we see the power of God intimidating the idol worshipers of the islands. Although they encourage one another, the fight is in vain. God has come for His Israel. Poigniant is 41:10, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." This is the God who was
King David's strength and shield. This is the God who takes up Israel's cause.

The image of God creating water and shade in the desert for a hot and thirsty people dominates 41:17-20. The God who provides.

Next is a taunting of false gods in 41;21-24. The God who judges justly.

The Suffering Servant makes His entrance in chapter 42. He is not a conquering hero, but a quiet judge. He will destroy those who trust in idols, but will uplift those who call on Him. God has sent tragedy upon Israel for their sins were great. But in chapter 43 redemption comes and Israel is gathered together once again.

At 43:10b we have a statement of God's uniqueness, "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me, I even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior." It is all plain to see.

Even as Israel is being gathered, we see the nature of God's mercy. He is a forgiving God, remembering sins no more. Israel did not earn mercy -- indeed one cannot earn mercy -- for the people have been sinful and unfaithful since day one.

Again in 44:6b we see that there is but one God and no other. This is a common theme throughout this section of Isaiah. We shall see more in coming chapters. Also in 44:8 we have another instance. The prophecy then turns to a discourse about the foolishness of idols. This has always seemed like the obvious argument to me -- you use half the wood for a fire and the other half you worship? Foolish. God is redeeming Israel and as chapter 44 is closing we see that Jerusalem will spring back to life as well as the Temple of the Lord.

Isaiah 45-50

Chapter 45 continues the prophecy of the resettling of Jerusalem after the exile (presumably). Again with prophecy, it is hard to get a full-orbed understanding without extensive research. Shining out from the verses is the repeated proclamation from God that He alone is God and that there is no other like Him. This would be an important passage for the Latter-Day Saints to grasp. We will not become gods in any sense, as God Himself tells us that He is the only God and that there never has been another or will be another like Him. Five times in chapter 45 the words are given by God and in 45:14, even the foreigners admit such to Israel.

The foolishness of the Bablylonian Gods are mentioned in chapter 46. Again, the uniqueness of God as the only deity is taught. Babylon's eventual doom is predicted in chapter 47. This must have seemed impossible both to the world and to the Babylonians themselves.

God's attention turns back to Israel in chapter 48 and to their stubborn refusal to turn completely from idolatry. In 48:12-13 is a reference used in Revelation of God being the first and the last -- Alpha and Omega. This is an important passage in defense of the deity of Jesus Christ, and in His part in creation as laid out in 48:13. Finally Israel's release from Babylon is foretold in the final portions of chapter 48.

The Suffering Servant returns in chapter 49. He is "the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel... despised and abhorred by the nation..." Israel is to be restored because God has not forgotten His people. Chapter 50 is a call to obey the Servant who is not so weak as to be unable to redeem Israel. Obedience is key. 50:10-11 are illustrative of how it is to be: those in the dark are to trust and rely on God, but those who are content with their own imitation lights are told to stick to the imitation and await the coming punishment.

Isaiah 51-55

Chapter 51 begins with a promise from God to restore Israel once again. Even though the things of earth, and even earth itself, will wear out, the salvation of God is forever. Israel has been drinking of the Lord's cup of wrath and in 51:23, God promises to give that cup to Israel's enemies.

The reason for Israel's restoration is for God's glory. His enemies have been mocking Him and soon they will see their mistake. God will bring His people out of Assyria as He brought them out of Egypt, but there will be no need to hurry, as God will be bringing up the rear as guard.

The Suffering Servant appears once again at 52:13, leading us into the incredible 53rd chapter of Isaiah. The beautiful poetry of this chapter becomes even more beautiful once one knows the identity of the Servant. So much prophecy is so obviously fulfilled from within this chapter. He was despised and rejected. He was not beautiful so that everyone would want to be with Him. He took our punishment and yet it appeared that God had turned His back on Him. The "we are healed" of 53:5 is a spiritual healing. The parallelism of the verse makes this plain with
the first part of each line being physical and the last part of each line being spiritual.

The fulfilled prophecy keeps coming line by line. His silence, His lack of decendents, His grave... all these things noted as fulfilled in the Gospel accounts. Over and over we are told that He bore our burden for us and that He is our intercessor.

At 54:5, we see another reference to the deity of Christ. The Redeemer is called the God of all the earth. The description of God's actions being emotional in nature is interesting. Certainly God doesn't act capriciously. He has a plan and a reason for everything, but the best way for us to understand is to compare His actions to normal human reactions.

God promises to rebuild Jerusalem with precious stones and jewels -- an allusion to the incredible value He sees in that city.

Even the wicked will be forgiven if he repents and turns to God. Although that doesn't seem right to some, God tells us in 55:8-9 that His ways are not our ways. We don't have His understanding or perspective. He sends out His word and it accomplishes what He wishes. And those who trust Him will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Certainly everything isn't singing mountains and clapping trees in a believer's life, but God is with us. It is all for the Lord's renown. For His glory.

Isaiah 56-61

The words of God continue to be given to all in chapter 56. A picture is given of those outside Israel reaching out to Him and God receiving them. "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations," (56:7) is the verse recited by Jesus while cleansing the temple. Clearly God is not simply a national God. It is the righteous He is calling while the wicked are punished -- but not always in the way the world expects. God explains in 57:1-2 that many righteous die to be spared from further evil. It is victory which is found at death for them. But the wicked will continue to be tormented on earth. Even their good works will be exposed as having bad motives (56:12). The idols which lured the evil are not saving gods. They are not able to rest (56:20-21). There is no peace for the wicked.

However those who are contrite will live with the Holy One forever.

The falseness of the fasts are exposed in chapter 58. Why is God ignoring their fasting? Because their heart isn't in it. They refrain from eating, but not from their evil lifestyle. But true fasting is described in 58:6-14. It is not a lack of food, but standing for the oppressed and hungry and poor and homeless and naked. It is eerily reminicent of Jesus' parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

A new set of charges begin in chapter 59, but it is the same theme. God is holy. Man is evil and his deeds are corrupt. Those craving justice go unsatisfied until the Lord takes matters into His own hands beginning in 59:16. Two pieces of the armor of God are mentioned in this description: the breastplate of righteousness (technically He puts on righteousness as a breastplate) and the helmet of salvation. God will mete out justice. But His promise is that His Spirit will not leave.

Chapter 60 begins a section foretelling the glory of Zion. It is a time where all will recognize the light of Israel - or more accurately, Israel's God. The city walls are rebuilt by foreigners and their kings will serve Zion. There is a sense in which this is fulfilled in the resettlement of Jerusalem, but there seems to be much more to it than I would have imagined. Chapter 61, of course,
begins with the passage Jesus claimed to fulfill in declaring the year of the Lord's favor.


Isaiah 62-66

Chapter 62 again speaks of the raising up of Jerusalem until it becomes the crowning jewel of earth. The land is to be healed and all is to be well. The people are to reap what they plant instead of having it taken by other nations. God is sending His Savior to redeem Israel. The vengeance of the Lord will come at that time. The picture of the Savior wearing clothing soaked in the blood of His enemies is vivid.

The text turns to praise at 63:7. It reads like one of David's psalms calling for the Lord to redeem His people. It is a time where the Israelites do not possess the land they were promised. At 63:18 we see that the land is occupied no longer and that enemies have overtaken it. The call for God to act continues in chapter 64, as the author recounts the many times when God came to save His people, Israel.

I love the beginning of chapter 65 because it a) is quoted in the New Testament, b) it tells of God bringing Gentiles to Himself and c) it sounds so much like what God has done for us. He revealed Himself to nations who did not ask for Him. He was found by those who didn't seek Him. God makes it easier for us in our current culture because it is easy to find out about Him if we are looking. Those without access to all we have must follow the light of creation and conscience to find Him. With us, we have revelation all around us. Yet 65:2-3 is also very true. "All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations -- a people who continually provoke me to my face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick..." How common it is for us to reject God in spite of all God does for us. We wallow in our sins but yet tell others, "Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!" What foolishness! Yet God knows and justice will be served.

God will not abandon His people because of the failures of some. He will provide for the righteous, but will punish the ungodly.

At 65:17 we begin the final promise of the prophecy, that of a new heaven and a new earth, where everything is peace and love and wolves and lambs will share stable space. 66:3 is important to remember. "This is the one I esteem; he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." But all this will not happen overnight. (Indeed it has been over 2500 years already!)