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June 25th, 2022

6/25/2022

This Sunday continues our ‘walk’ through a significant portion of the Gospel according to Luke, and the Sunday has an important Old Testament text that relates to that very important account regarding the Savior of the world. And this Sunday is ‘Proper 8’ of the ‘C Series’.

This Sunday the Old Testament text is from 1 Kings 19[:9b-21], and this is the start of the transition between Elijah and Elisha. There are many similarities between these two that could be made with the John and Jesus of the New Testament. Even their names have some similarities.

What is also an important aspect is to look at some of the negative things that have happened to some of these prophets. We often picture those on God’s side as having no problems or difficulties. Jesus certainly had an EXTREMELY negative time when he was on the cross, paying for the sins of all! There was no other more important time. And John the Baptist had some of his disciples come and ask Jesus if he was the long-expected Messiah or should they start looking for someone else—although John may have sent those disciples just to get them used to following Jesus instead of himself. Some of the prophets of the Old Testament basically had a terrible time for a significant amount of time.

At the start of 1 Kings 19, right before the text for this Sunday, Elijah was having a very terrible time and was ready to retire—permanently. There was just a great victory over the prophets of Baal, a false god, but then things turned quite badly rather quickly. Elijah thought he was about to be killed by an extremely powerful person, queen Jezebel—the wife of Ahab, the current king of Israel. And many other extremely negative experiences with other prophets in the Old Testament could be mentioned as well.

Going back to the extremely negative event of Elijah’s depression in 1 Kings 19, it is interesting to follow the progression after that event. Brief summaries of the various sections are given here:

1 Kings 20:1-12 Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, starts a war against Samaria. [Bad news.]
1 Kings 20:13-22 Ahab, king of Israel, defeats Ben-Hadad in battle. [Good news.]
1 Kings 20:23-30 Ahab’s army AGAIN defeats Ben-Hadad’s [More good news.]
1 Kings 20:31-34 Ahab and Ben-Hadad make a treaty. [Is this good news?]
1 Kings 20:35-42 Ahab did something wrong; Ben Hadad SHOULD have been killed.
1 Kings 20:43 Ahab, the king is ‘stubborn and angry’.
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1 Kings 21:1-2 ‘And it was after these things’, Ahab, the king, wants Naboth’s vineyard.
1 Kings 21:3 Naboth refuses to give it to him.
1 Kings 21:4 Ahab is, again, ‘stubborn and angry’.
1 Kings 21:5-16 Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, gets it for him, and Naboth is killed.
1 Kings 21:17-26 Elijah’s job is to confront Ahab.
1 Kings 21:27-29 Ahab repents, and the LORD delays his punishment.

With these two narratives there is both a significant similarity and a significant difference. The similarity is that the king is described as both ‘stubborn’ and ‘angry’. The difference is very significant. In the first narrative, an evil person should have been killed and was not. In the second, a nice person—one who valued his ancestors and his inheritance—is killed.

Now it is interesting that the translation of these two narratives into the Greek language, which happened sometime between the rise of the Greek Empire (and its language) and the rise of the Roman Empire (which was the time of Jesus’ birth), this translation is in their opposite order. The narrative in chapter 21 becomes chapter 20, and vice versa. That is a strange thing and there may have been many reasons for this change.

One change that should NOT be considered is a chronological change. In the Hebrew text, the first event in chapter 20 is before the second in chapter 21. At 1 Kings 21:1-2, the text says, ‘And it was after these things….’ But ultimately a chronological order is only the most important when the scriptures are primarily a history lesson. Other things should be considered to be more important.

Another difference that the Greek translation has is that there have been considered to be two translators of the four books of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. It switches after a while to a different translation, a more literal one (and without historical presents), and then it goes back again, and then goes back one more time to the different translation at the end. [For those who are interested in such a thing, this more literal, Hebrew translation is sometimes called KAIGE.] An EXTREMELY approximate pattern is like this [and each letter is very approximately about 5 pages of text]:

OOOOOOOOOO XXXXX OOOOOOO XXXXXXX

Another proposal has been that the same person or persons who translated these chapters have also turned these chapters around. But there could also be another reason that the switch of the two chapters has been made. There may be a literary structure in the text that fits better with switching the two stories around.

It is obviously difficult to see something within such a structure, but it may be helpful to remember two important things: First of all, it is important to remember that the progression of an ancient book is not found within a separate outline before the text begins. That happens in our modern age since the price of paper is incredibly cheap. A second thing to remember is that the form of an ancient book can imitate the structure of the tabernacle or temple that gave a visual piece of theology, what it means to come into the presence of the LORD—since these words are so important.

The first set of X’s is a starting point, the point of a sacrifice, a negative experience (especially toward the animal or thing that was sacrificed), and that event allows the progression to continue. The next set of X’s is the point of the building, either the tabernacle or the temple. And that is the special place where the presence of the LORD becomes a significant thing. And, therefore, the point right before that change is important.

This is the approximate point where chapters 20 and 21 change in the Greek translation of these books. A nicer entrance at 2 Kings 22 is made regarding the LORD’s presence. Instead of the Israelite king killing an innocent person, the Israelite king fails to kill an evil, foreign king. When a less-terrible thing is done, that makes it easier to enter and be with the King of the Universe.

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June 18th, 2022

6/18/2022

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The title for this Sunday is the Second Sunday after Pentecost. And depending on the date of Easter, the readings begin a ‘walk’ through most of the Gospel according to Luke. For those who are more familiar with this setup, the texts for this Sunday are also called ‘Proper 7’ of the ‘C Series’.

The Old Testament text is designed to fit together with the reading from the Gospel, and that Old Testament reading may not only be unfamiliar, but its connection to the Gospel text may not be very clear. Looking a bit closer at the Old Testament text may therefore be helpful to understanding its connection to both the Gospel text and the Gospel itself. You might call this a short ‘bible study’ (or ‘a Sabbath Day’s Journey with a text’). There may also be an appropriate connection, not only to the Christian Church found in Acts, but to the present Church today.

The Gospel text for this Sunday is Luke 8:26-39, Jesus healing a man with demons. The Old Testament text is from Isaiah 65[:1-9], and this is very near the end of the entire book. Some people think that later parts of the book were written later in history, mainly because they are filled with such good news when Isaiah the prophet was in the middle of such bad news. This text also has both good news and bad news in and around it.

The previous chapter to the text, chapter 64, might be a good chapter to read sometime, especially because of the use of the name ‘Father’ when referring to God within that chapter. That title is extremely rare in the Old Testament. And the last couple of lines [the verses are numbered differently in the Hebrew] before the Old Testament reading may also be helpful in getting a proper context. In a somewhat-literal translation, the text reads in this way, and this is basically Israel’s perspective when talking to Yahweh, the LORD:

House of our holiness and our beauty, where our fathers praised you, it is as burned of fire, and all of our desirable things, it is as a ruin. Will you, upon these things, restrain yourself, Yahweh? Will you be silent and afflict us to an extreme?

Those verses end with Isaiah asking Yahweh if he will be silent. And chapter 65 starts with Yahweh’s answer. He ends up not being silent. But how he reveals himself is different from what a person might expect. Here are the first couple of lines of the text (and, again, in a somewhat-literal translation), of his answer:

I revealed myself to not they asked; I was found by those who sought me not; I said, “Here I; here I,” to a nation not he was called by my name.

If you would compare other translations to the above text, you might notice a slight difference. In the text above, negatively stated of course, he WAS CALLED by my name. In other readings, he basically CALLED on his name. Those other readings make the second line similar to the previous one, again negatively stated, those SEEKING the LORD (not those who are BEING SOUGHT by him). To make a long story short, in the Hebrew language, the meaning could be either way. (To be more specific, for those who are familiar with the Hebrew, when the vowels were added, the meaning was declared to be ‘he was called’.)

You may appreciate the fact that, in the end, there is no difference to being called or to call. Whether a person is called by the LORD’s name or calls on his name, from what we know of ourselves and our good works—which could be called ‘forgiven’ works, and THAT’s the reason they could be called ‘good’—we do not deserve any attention from the Lord of the universe. Anything that happens is ultimately a gift—although sometimes it CERTAINLY does not seem that way. As the man possessed by demons needed help, so do we. And he does. And everything is suddenly different because Jesus enters the picture, since his name means ‘savior’ or ‘rescuer’.

Perhaps that is the reason why the name of Jesus is so important in the early church in Acts. It is even said that people are baptized in the name of Jesus (see Acts 2:38). The preposition is not the same though, as was given at the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, where Jesus tells his followers to baptize INTO the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The preposition, when dealing with the name of Jesus, means basically ‘UPON’, on the basis of, and the position is the important thing with this preposition. And Jesus/salvation/rescue is a great position for the work of something that encompasses the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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June 12th, 2022

6/12/2022

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This is the first Sunday after Pentecost, and the title for this Sunday is usually considered to be ‘The Holy Trinity’. It is basically the only Sunday when a teaching of the Church is the theme, although the teachings of the Church certainly play a significant role EVERY Sunday.

Now I am not saying that the doctrine of the Trinity is simply something to be learned, but it basically describes the way things are. The word ‘trinity’ is an extremely brief description of who God is—he is three in one, ‘tri’ and ‘unity’. So I can certainly understand why a special word was formed to show how special our God is.

This teaching is meant to be a positive thing in Christianity, although it is certainly not meant to be understood or comprehended. We do not say that we ‘understand’ God, we say that we ‘believe’ in him. In other words, we are ready to receive the gifts that he gives. And that usually happens after hearing the Law.

The reading from Acts 2 for this Sunday [14a, 22-36] basically continues where the previous Sunday left off. In this text, Peter continues preaching, and at the very end of the text for this Sunday, there is a powerful message of Law from God through the mouth of Peter to the various Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem (and what follows is a somewhat-literal translation of verse 36):

Therefore, assuredly, let all the house of Israel know that both Lord and Christ—God made him, this Jesus, whom you yourselves crucified.

The response of the people is noteworthy and will be our focus for a short while. The text says that they were ‘stung in the heart’ (verse 37a). And they want to know what they should do.

This word, to be ‘stung’, only appears here in the New Testament. It may be difficult to understand what that was like or what they were feeling.

The original language of the New Testament is Greek, and the Old Testament was originally in Hebrew, but then it was translated into Greek when the Greek language was important—right before the Roman Empire became important. It may be helpful to see how the word was used in the Old Testament after it was translated into the language of the New Testament. Here the word is used in a few historical situations, and this may help to give you an idea of its significance and meaning. It should be noted that the following descriptions are based on the Greek translation of the text.

In Genesis 27:38, the word is used when Isaac found out he unknowingly blessed Jacob (the younger son) instead of Esau (the older son).

In Genesis 34:7, the word is used when the sons of Jacob found out something REALLY bad happened to their sister. (This is a chapter that is usually left out of the Bible story books.)

In Leviticus 10:3, after Aaron’s two sons die because they offered a ‘strange fire’ before the Lord, Moses said these words of the LORD to Aaron: ‘For those who come near to me, I will be sanctified, and in all the congregation, I will be glorified.’ And Aaron’s response was to be ‘stung’. (This is also a negative chapter.)

In 3 Kings 20:27-29 [1 Kings 21:27-29] The Lord’s prophet told King Ahab of Israel that some REALLY bad things are going to happen to him. Ahab ended up being sorry for what he did, and the Lord sent the prophet again to say that these things would happen during the reign of Ahab’s son instead.

Is this positive to be ‘stung’? It certainly is, because that is not the end of the story. Something gets done after these people were stung. The people repent and believe. In Acts 2, the hearers of this message are described as no longer ‘far away’ (see Acts 2:39). The Lord, our God, calls the repentant to himself. That is certainly describing Christianity in a positive ‘Way’ (see Acts 9:1-2).

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June 4th, 2022

6/4/2022

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This Sunday is Pentecost. We moved forward from the season of Easter. But we are NOT moving away from Jesus.

In a way, the main text could be considered to be Acts 2. And this ends up being one of the most difficult readings, not in the sense of understanding—although that may certainly happen—but in the sense of simply READING it. Several of these countries are hard to pronounce!

Below are all the nations or people groups that are mentioned, as they are given in the text [Acts 2:9-11; a somewhat literal translation here and with what follows], with a phonetic spelling after the ones that are the most difficult to pronounce:

Parthians [PARTH-ee-uhnz] and Medes [meedz] and Elamites [EE-leh-mights] and those living in the Mesopotamia [mess-uh-puh-TAY-mee-uh], both Judea [joo-DEE-uh] and Cappadocia [kap-uh-DOH-shee-uh], Pontus [PON-tuhs] and the Asia, Phrygia [FRIJ-ee-uh] and Pamphylia [pam-FILL-ee-uh], Egypt and the regions of the Libya, the against Cyrene [sye-REE-nee], and the temporarily residing Romans, both Jews and proselytes [PRAH-suh-lights], Cretans [KREE-tuhns] and Arabians….

This is not an order from which we can get a lot of information, but generally speaking, it moves from east to west, and Rome is in the west. And that is where St. Paul is eventually headed.

Someone may point out that since there are more than twelve countries listed, the gift of speaking in tongues was given to more than simply the twelve apostles. Now I am sure that, if this miracle was a gift of the Holy Spirit anyway, one apostle could speak in YET ANOTHER language that he did not know after he was done with the first one, since he was simply speaking ‘the great deeds of God’ (Acts 2:11), and that may have taken just a very short time.

The number of people speaking in tongues could have been as high as one hundred and twenty, and all the languages were simply not listed here. Imagine trying to read through all of them! This number is mentioned earlier within the book of Acts (1:15). These two numbers, twelve and one hundred and twenty, are numbers that are given within this text or are nearby. And both numbers point back to the one who started this whole thing, with twelve brothers in the Old Testament and twelve apostles in the New. This is a God thing.

With this event, Christianity is definitely being spoken in favor of. The responses given in the text for this event are notable (Acts 2:6-12). The Jews who were ‘devout men from every nation of those under the heaven’ became a multitude that came together. First, they were ‘confounded’. Then they are described as ‘amazed’ and ‘marveled’. Then it says that ALL were ‘amazed’—it IS the same word as before—but this time, they are also ‘troubled’. And the question that is given is this: ‘What wishes this to be?’

After that question of a ramification, it is then that the negative opinion is also given, that these people are drunk. It is interesting that there seems to be no middle ground.
The ramifications of Pentecost are significant. A gracious God continues to work miracles in hidden ways so that the wonderful gifts of Jesus are received. ‘What wishes this to be?’ What is Pentecost? It is about a gracious God who wishes his gifts of Jesus to be given.

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