04/22/10

Judges 19-21

Judges 19 starts with a Levite taking a concubine from Bethlehem, "but she was unfaithful to him," left and went back to her father's house. After four months, he went to get her, and stayed for a few days at her father's behest. Leaving, and headed towards Jerusalem, he stopped for the night in Gibeah rather than a city of the Jebusites because he said that "we won't go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites." In Gibeah, an old man welcomed them in to his house, but that night, "some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house" and demanded that the traveler come out so they could "have sex with him." The man sent his concubine out instead "and they raped her and abused her throughout the night" and she was found dead at the door the next morning. He took her body, when he had reached his home, and cut it in to twelve parts "and sent them into all the areas of Israel."

In chapter 20, the Israelites all demanded to know what had happend, and when he told them, "all the people rose as one man," saying that they would "go [against Gibeah] as the lot directs...[to] give them what they deserve for all this vileness done in Israel." The other Israelites sent men amongst the Benjamites demanding that they "surrender those wicked men of Gibeah" but the Benjamites refused. So the Israelites went up to Bethel and asked who should go in first to fight the Benjamites, and God replied "Judah shall go first." When the battle began, the Benjamites killed many Israelites durig two days of battle, so that the Israelites went back to Bethel to ask the LORD whether they should battle them, and the LORD replied that "tomorrow I will give them into your hands." They set up an ambush, and while the Benjamites thought they were winning as before, "the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel." And the Israelites put all of the towns of Benjamin "to the sword...all the towns they came across they set on fire."

In chapter 21, the Israelites wept at Bethel, for "why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?" They had taken an oath not to any of them give their daughters in marriage to a Benjamite, but decided that they wanted to "provide wives for those who are left." When they realized that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp, they sent twelve thousand warriors to kill all of the men and all of the women who were not virgins in Jabesh Gilead. They brought back four hundred young women to Shiloh in Canaan, then sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites. They returned, but there were not enough women for all of them. So they told the Benjamites that they could kidnap girls dancing in the vineyards at the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh. They did that, then returned to their inheritance and rebuilt their towns. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• The whole book is summarized in the last line - "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."
• The language issue is a serious problem here. What, for example, does the word which is translated "concubine" mean? Because the Levite is then referred to as her "husband."
• I mentioned earlier that I got some time with Dr. Hugenberger last fall about this book. It's this utterly horrifying story of the Levite's concubine which sent me asking questions. What is it doing here? What is the point? His answer made sense, but I don't believe that I can do it justice. Part of it, though, is that he believes that the story was recorded during the time of David and Saul, and that part of the point (and also with Micah's idols) is to praise Judah while condemning Dan and Benjamin and Gibeah, where Saul was from.
• There's clearly an echo of the angels' visit to Sodom when the Levite reaches Gibeah.
• The book opens with the Israelites asking who was going to lead into battle and the LORD answering "Judah," so Judah leads Israel against the Canaanites in the conquest. The book ends with Israel asking who is going to go first against the Benjamites, one of their own tribes, and the LORD answering, "Judah." During the reign of the Judges (when "Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit") they moved from attacking the Canaanites and taking the land that God had promised them to attacking one of their own tribes.

Proverbs 27:15-27

Nothing really leaps out of this set of verses at me today.

Proverbs 27:15-27 (New International Version)

15 A quarrelsome wife is like
a constant dripping on a rainy day;

16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.

18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who looks after his master will be honored.

19 As water reflects a face,
so a man's heart reflects the man.

20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
and neither are the eyes of man.

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but man is tested by the praise he receives.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
grinding him like grain with a pestle,
you will not remove his folly from him.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;

24 for riches do not endure forever,
and a crown is not secure for all generations.

25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
and the goats with the price of a field.

27 You will have plenty of goats' milk
to feed you and your family
and to nourish your servant girls.

04/21/10

Judges 16-18

Judges 16 contains the well-story of Samson and Delilah. Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, and the rulers of the Philistines promised her great wealth if she could find out the secret of Samson's great strength for them. He first told her that if he were tied with seven fresh thongs, then if he were tied with seven new ropes, then if his hair was woven and pinned, but each time, when bound, he snapped the restraints easily. She kept asking, though, and "with such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death, so he told her everything." When he was sleeping, she had his head shaved "and his strength left him." The Philistines took him, gouged his eyes out, and took him to prison. Then they arranged a sacrifice to their god Dagon, and brought Samson in to entertain them. He prayed to the LORD to strengthen him just once more, and he pushed the center pillars apart, bringing the temple down, killing everyone there, as well as himself. "Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived."

Chapter 17 starts with a man named Micah, out of the hill country of Ephraim, who admits to his mother that he took the eleven hundred shekels that she was missing. He returned the silver and she took some to the silversmith and had made an image and an idol, which he put in his house, making a shrine. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." A Levite from Bethlehem, looking for a place to stay, agreed to stay with Micah and be his priest.

In chapter 18, five Danites, looking for their tribe's inheritance. They stopped at Micah's house and the Levite priest told them that their journey had the LORD's approval. They went into Laish and saw that the land lacked nothing and the people living there did not expect an attack. So six hundred Danites started towards Laish, but stopped in Ephraim, and took Micah's priest, and his idols and household gods. Micah challenged them, but recognized that they were stronger than he, and let them go. They took Laish, and renamed it Dan. "There the Danites set up for themselves the idols... they continued to use the idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• I'm sorry, but how dumb is Samson? Every time he tells her the false secret of his strength, she ties him up and calls the Philistines. What did he expect to happen when he told her the real secret?
• Samson is the last of the Judges in the book. The story of Micah and his household idols is the first of the two epilogues I spoke of earlier.

Proverbs 27:1-14

Some of the things that are in this book make me chuckle. Like this one - "If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse." True, of course, but the kind of thing that seems almost too trite and obvious to be in here.

Proverbs 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.

7 He who is full loathes honey,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.

10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father,
and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you—
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.

14 If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse.

04/20/10

Judges 13-15

In Judges chapter 13, "again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years." Toward the end of that time, a childless couple was visited by the angel of the LORD, who told them that they would have a son, and that "no razor may be used on his head" because he was to be a Nazirite. And when he was born, they named him Samson.

In chapter 14, Samson saw a Philistine woman and wanted her for his wife. While he was going down to Timnah to see her, a lion attacked and "the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands." Later, when he went back to marry her, he look at the lion's carcass and saw that bees had nested there, and he scooped out honey and ate it. When he made a wedding feast, he gave a riddle to the 30 companions he had been given, to which the answer was the honey, but no one could solve it. His wife pressed him for the answer, and he finally gave it to her, and she explained it to her people. They then answered it before the deadline, and he had to give suits of clothes to the 30 companions. He struck down thirty in Askelon and gave those clothes to those who had answered the riddle and returned to his father's home. His wife was then given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.

In chapter 15, Samson went to see his wife and found that she'd been given to his friend. He was mad and got even with the Philistines by catching three hundred foxes, tying their tails together, tying lit torches to each pair of tails and setting them loose in the Philistines' grain. When the Philistines found out who had done it and why, they burned his wife and her father to death. Samson vowed further revenge on the Philistines. Three thousand men from Judah came to him and asked why he was doing what he was doing (because, after all, the Philistines were rulers over Israel.) They told him that they had come to tie him up and take him to the Philistines and he agreed as long as they promised not to kill him themselves. They tied him up, but as they approached Lehi and the Philistines came towards him shouting, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands." He grabbed the fresh jawbone of a donkey and struck down a thousand of them. He then prayed and the LORD opened up a well from which he drank, and his strength returned. "Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Samson's parents are told by the angel of the LORD that he is to be a Nazirite. This is the second time of three times that the term is used in the Old Testament. The first time it appears is in Numbers 6, when the Nazirite is described, and the third is in the writings of the prophet Amos, who talks about Israel's treatment of prophets and Nazirites. The Nazirite is set apart for God.
• Obviously, Samson shouldn't be marrying a Philistine. The Israelites are supposed to have driven out the Philistines. Of course, the scripture says that the LORD wanted this because he "was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines."

Proverbs 20:15-25

Words, words, words - much more here about words.

I thinks this is an amusing verse: "Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own." Very descriptive.

And that frequent theme of the proverbs, "fervent lips...disguises with his lips...a lying tongue...a flattering mouth..."

Proverbs 26:17-28 (New International Version)

17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

18 Like a madman shooting
firebrands or deadly arrows

19 is a man who deceives his neighbor
and says, "I was only joking!"

20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.

21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to a man's inmost parts.

23 Like a coating of glaze [a] over earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.

24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,
but in his heart he harbors deceit.

25 Though his speech is charming, do not believe him,
for seven abominations fill his heart.

26 His malice may be concealed by deception,
but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.

28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.

04/18/10

Judges 10-12

Judges ten starts with brief descriptions of two minor judges, Tola and Jair, who "led Israel" for 23 and 22 years after the time of Abimelech. Then Israel turned away from God and he put them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites. The Israelites cried out to God, acknowledged their sin, "got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD."

Chapter eleven tells the story of Jephthah, a son of Gilead by a prostitute, who was driven away by his legitimate brothers. But he was a mighty warrior and when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead begged him to be their commander. They promised that he would be their leader if he agreed, even after the battle, some he came to Mizpah and agreed to lead them. He sent word to the king of the Ammonites asking why he had attacked Israel, and was told that when Israel came out of Egypt, "they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably." Jephthah answered that Israel had requested passage through Edom and Moab and been refused, and so had skirted those territories and then been attacked anyway. "The LORD...gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands" and they took all that land. And no one had even tried to take it back in three hundred years. "I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me." But the king of Ammon ignored him. "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah." He made a vow to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his door when he returned home if the LORD gave the Ammonites into his hands, which he did when he went to fight them. When Jephthah returned home, the first thing that came out of his door was his daughter, his only child. He cried and tore his clothes, and she told him that he must keep his vow to the LORD, but asked for two months "to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." And when she returned, he did as he had vowed.

Chapter twelve starts with an altercation between Jephthah and the men of Ephraim. The men of Ephraim threatened to burn Jephthah's house down because he had not called them to fight the Ammonites. He called the men of Gilead together and fought against them. The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim and killed and Ephraimite that tried to cross. Jephthah led Israel for six years. The chapter ends with brief notes on three more minor judges, Ibzan (seven years), Elon (ten) and Abdon (eight).

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Does Abimelech count as a judge? I'm not sure. In any event, it's easy to see the parallels between he and Jephthah. Each is the son of a prominent man, but not by a wife (and it might be interesting to do a study of what the difference is between the usage of the words translated as "concubine" and "prostitute"). Each is a warrior, shunned by the prominent man's other sons. But they certainly did not follow the same path.
• The LORD told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and he prepared to do so, but the angel of the LORD stopped him. No one told Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter - he made an extravagant but stupid vow, and while one can understand that he felt a need to complete it, it's hard to make much sense of this story. How does one honor the LORD by committing an act which is objectively evil? Was not one of the evils of the culture of Canaan the act of child sacrifice to Baal or Moloch? I cannot make this one work.

Proverbs 26:1-16

I'm not sure what to make of this:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.

Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Yes, they are not directly contradictory, because the secondary clauses are not opposite. But the first verse says don't answer a fool, the second verse says, essentially, that you should.

There are several more proverbs by analogy in this section.

Proverbs 26

1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.

2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

3 A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!

4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

6 Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence
is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

7 Like a lame man's legs that hang limp
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

8 Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10 Like an archer who wounds at random
is he who hires a fool or any passer-by.

11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.

12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.

15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer discreetly.

04/17/10

James 3-5

In chapter seven, Gideon (who is also called Jerub-Baal, because he tore down Baal's altar) was told by the LORD that he had too many men, because if they defeated Midian with that many, Israel might boast of its own strength rather than the LORD. So Gideon told his many that any who were afraid should go home, and twenty-two thousand left, leaving ten thousand. The LORD told Gideon that there were still too many, so they went down to the spring, and separated "those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Those who got down on their knees were sent home, leaving Gideon with three hundred men. That night, the LORD told Gideon to go down into the valley where the Midianite camp was and "listen to what they are saying." When he did, he heard a man tell another of a dream which they interpreted as meaning that God had given the Midianites and the whole camp into Gidon's hands. He divided his three hundred into three companies, and all took trumpets and empty jars. They approached the Midian camp and blew their trumpets and broke the jars and the Midianites all fled, and the LORD caused the men in the camp to attack each other with swords. The army fled and Gideon sent messengers into the hill country calling the Ephraimites to take the Jordan ahead of them. They did, and captured and killed two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb.

In chapter eight, the Ephraimites are resentful of Gideon not calling them at the beginning, but he praise their grapes and said that God gave Oreb and Zeeb into their hands, and their resentment subsided. As Gideon and his men chased the remains of the Midianites, they were exhausted and asked for bread in Succoth, but the officials refused and Gideon promised to "tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers." In Peniel, the same refusal was made and he swore to tear down their tower. Gideon caught up to the armies of Zebah and Zalmunna (two kings of Midian) and routed their forces. As they returned through Succoth, he punished the men with desert thorns and briers, and he had said he would. "He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town." He told his oldest son Jether to kill the two kings, but he was only a boy and afraid so he did it himself. Then the Israelites wanted to make him a king, but he refused, saying that "the LORD will rule over you." But he asked for one earring from each from their share of the plunder. He made all the gold into an ephod which he plaeced in his town, Ophrah, and "Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family." So during Gideon's lifetime, Israel had forty years of peace. He went home to live and seventy sons by many wives, and a son Abimelech by a concubine in Shechem. But as soon as he died, Israel turned back to Baal, and failed to show kindness to the family of Gideon for all that he had done.

Chapter nine tells of how Abimelech, son of Gideon by a concubine in Schechem, went to his mother's brothers and clan and asked whether they'd rather have seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over them or just him, their own flesh and blood. The Shechemites agreed to follow him and gave him silver, with which he hired "reckless adventurers" and went to Ophrah and killed the seventy sons, other than Jotham, the youngest, who escaped by hiding. Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizima nd called out to the people of Shechem a story of trees seeking a king, which ended with a warning or prophecy. He told them that if they had "acted honorably and in good faith" when they had made Abimelech king, "may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!" But if not, "let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you...and let fire come out from you...and consume Abimelech!" And then Jotham fled. Abimelech governed Israel for three years and then "God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem." Gaal moved with his brothers into Schechem and he asked, "who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?" News of this reached Abimelech who gathered his troops and took up position outside the city in four companies. There was a battle and Gaal and his brothers were driven out of Shechem. The next day, Abimelech took the city, destroyed it and salted it. He burned the tower of Shechem, killing the people who had taken refuge there. Then he moved on to Thebez, and repeated the process. As he tried to set it on fire, however, a woman dropped a millstone on his head and cracked his skull. He told his armor-bearer to kill him, so that it couldn't be said that "a woman killed him." "Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• The citizens of Succoth and Peniel were not particularly accommodating or helpful to Gideon and his men, but it's hard to see that the response of killing them all is justified.
• The story of Judges, again, is the repeated failure of the people of Israel to follow God. They are repeatedly seduced by the culture around them. And every time, God saves them, and then they turn away. Again.

Proverbs 25:15-28

This section features several analogies. "Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble....Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." I once heard someone in a speech say something that I like, and have thought of many times - "I like analogies, because they create a picture in the mind." We can understand intellectually that false testimony is bad, but we can also try to justify or rationalize it. The comparison to a "club or a sword or a sharp arrow" makes it a lot hard to rationalize away.

Proverbs 25:15-28 (New International Version)

15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16 If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.

17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house—
too much of you, and he will hate you.

18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

20 Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on soda,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.

23 As a north wind brings rain,
so a sly tongue brings angry looks.

24 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

25 Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.

26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

27 It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.

28 Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control.

04/16/10

Judges 4-6

In chapter four, we find out that "after Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD." (This is, of course, the theme of the book.) The LORD put Israel under the reign of Jabin, "a king of Canaan," who oppressed them for twenty years. Deborah, "a prophetess... was leading Israel at that time." She sent for Barak, the son of Abinoam and told him that the LORD commanded him to take 10,000 men "and lead the way to Mount Tabor." He said that he'd go only if she when with him and she agreed, but said that "because of the way you are going about this," the LORD was going to hand Sisera (the command of Jabin's army) "over to a woman." During the battle, "the LORD routed Sisera" and he fled, and stopped at the tent of Jael, wife of Heber (a Kenite). She gave him milk and put a cloth over him, then, while he was sleeping, drove a tent spike through his temples into the ground, killing him. When Barak came looking for him, Jael showed him lying dead on the ground.

Chapter five features the Song of Deborah, a song that Deborah and Barak sang praising the lord, and telling the story of their suffering under Jabin, the battle that they won, and the deeds of Jael. "Then the land had peace forty years."

Chapter six begins with, "again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD." This time the LORD raised up Midian as an oppressor, and "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help." The LORD sent an angel to Gideon to say that "the LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon was resistant to the call, saying that he was the weakest in his family, and his "clan is the weakest in Manasseh." The LORD told him that he would be with him. Gideon offered a sacrifice, and was afraid when "fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread." The LORD then told him to tear down his father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole, and he did it in the night as he was afraid of the reaction of his family and the men of the town. In the morning, when the others saw what had been done, they asked who did it, and investigation reveals that it was Gideon. When the town's people wanted to kill him, his father Joash defended him, ask "are you going to plead Baal's cause?" So "the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon" and he blew a trumpet, gathering people to join him. He then asked the LORD to give him more signs, first asking that he leave dew on a fleece while the rest of the ground was dry, and then leaving the fleece dry with dew on the rest of the ground, each of which the LORD did.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• One of the things about the judges is that almost all of them are people who are, or come from circumstances which are, unexpected. Gideon was the weakest member of the weakest family of one of the tribes, Ehud was crippled in his right hand, Deborah was a woman, but each was called and led.
• It's interesting that, no matter how much evidence the LORD gave Gideon, he kept asking for more. Yet he is remembered as one of the major judges.

Proverbs 25:15-25

There's an interesting note to this passage, as these are alleged to be proverbs of Solomon, but they were "copied by the men of Hezekiah" who ruled much later. Were they added to a book late, creating the book of proverbs we know? Were all of the proverbs gathered in the time of Hezekiah? I seem to have a vague recollection of books of the law being rediscovered during one of the reigns, maybe Hezekiah's. It's something that I'll try to keep in mind when I get to Kings...

Proverbs 25
More Proverbs of Solomon
1 These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

4 Remove the dross from the silver,
and out comes material for the silversmith;

5 remove the wicked from the king's presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.

6 Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence,
and do not claim a place among great men;

7 it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here,"
than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.
What you have seen with your eyes

8 do not bring hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you to shame?

9 If you argue your case with a neighbor,
do not betray another man's confidence,

10 or he who hears it may shame you
and you will never lose your bad reputation.

11 A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

12 Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear.

13 Like the coolness of snow at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the spirit of his masters.

14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give.

04/15/10

Judges 1-3

Judges chapter one begins after the death of Joshua, but immediately "flashes back" to the middle of the conquest. The chapter starts with the Israelites asking the LORD who would be first to go up and fight against the Canaanites and being told that Judah would go. The Simeonites went with them to fight for Judah's territory after being promised that Judah would help them fight for theirs. Judah attacked and "the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands." At Bezek they fought against Adoni-bezek who fled, but they captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes, which he said he had done to seventy kings, and by which he also said, "God has paid me back for what I did to them." They took Jerusalem and then went to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country. After taking Hebron, Caleb offered his daughter Achsah to "the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher" and Othniel, his younger brother did so. (This story is repeated verbatim from chapter 15 of Joshua.) Judah took the hill country "but they were unable to drive the people from the plains." Likewise, "the Benjamites ... failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem" and "Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements" and all of the other tribes had people that they failed to drive out.

In chapter two, the angel of the LORD came to Bokim and told the Israelites that they had disobeyed the LORD, as they had not driven out all of the people. "Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." The "people wept aloud" and offered sacrifices to the LORD. It then goes on to tell of Joshua's death and burial. "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel." It describes the process which is repeated throughout the book, in which Israel drifts away from the LORD, is punished, cries out for help, the LORD raised up judges, the judges save the people and they follow the LORD until the next generation after the death of the judge, and then the process repeats.

Chapter three starts with a list of some of the nations "the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan," which he did "to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience." The Israelites then "did evil in the eyes of the LORD" and he "sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim." After eight years, Othniel became Israel's judge and went to war and freed them, and there was peace for forty years until Othniel died. Then, again, "the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD," and he "gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel." Again he raised a deliverer, Ehud, who slew Eglon and led Israel in battle against Moab. "After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Unlike most of what I'm commenting on this year, I've read the book of Judges recently. I spent some time last fall reading it (as well as 1 and 2 Samuel). In addition, Dr. Gordon Hugenberger, who is our Senior Pastor at Park Street Church, a noted Old Testament scholar, and a man who is currently writing a commentary on the book, has been preaching on it for the past couple of months. Not only that, but he gave me twenty minutes of commentary on a very difficult passage at the end of this book last fall when I read it. So a) I have more background information on this book as I get into it than I've had on most of them and b) a lot of what I'll probably be saying is Gordon's interpretation. It will be much better coming from him, and I'm very much looking forward to the commentary, assuming that he can bring himself to consider it done and let it get published.
• Structurally, the book has essentially two prologues and two epilogues, with stories of twelve Judges in the middle. It is placed historically post-conquest, as the Israelites have occupied the promised land, but before the establishment of the Kingdom.
• The first prologue covers the conquest, and the failure of the Israelites to remove the various Canaanites peoples that they left in the land. It runs up through the death of Joshua at the beginning of chapter two. The second describes the process of repeated evil, subjugation and redemption which takes place in the book.
• The book can be summed up by this line, variations of which appear in several places: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."
• It is difficult to tell exactly where the flashback in chapter one begins. Certainly, the story of Caleb, Achsah and Othniel is a verbatim copy of the same story from Joshua fifteen. Whether it was a "flash-forward" then, and Joshua was dead when it happened, or a "flash-back" here, I don't know how you'd tell. There's enough reference to events which were, or at least may have been, previously referenced in Joshua, that my inclination is towards the latter, but I'm certainly not sure.
• One of the reasons I believe that is that chapter two recounts Joshua's death and burial again. I believe that most, if not all, of the action from chapter one takes place before Joshua's death.
• The story of Ehud is far more interesting than I made it sound. (The link is to a recent sermon from Dr. Gordon Hugenberger, and I highly recommend it. I am really looking forward to the commentary.)

Proverbs 24:23-34

This passage contains a couple of back to back verses that address things I've written of frequently or recently.

Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive. Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did.

Proverbs 24:23-34 (New International Version)

23 These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judging is not good:

24 Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"—
peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.

25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come upon them.

26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.

27 Finish your outdoor work
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or use your lips to deceive.

29 Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did."

30 I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man. [a]

03/23/10

Deuteronomy 17-19

Deuteronomy 17 begins with a reminder that the offerings to the LORD must be without "any defect or flaw," and continues with instructions to stone to death "a man or woman living among you...found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD you God in violation of his covenant," specifically with regard to worshipping other Gods. The punishment is only to be imposed, however, on testimony of more than one witness - "no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness." Moses then discusses the judging of difficult cases, telling the people that if cases come to court which are "too difficult for you to judge," take them to the priests and they will give you the verdict.

He tells them that when they have taken possession of the promised land and say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," to be certain that the chosen king is the one that God chooses. He must be "from among your brothers." And then he says that the king must not "acquire great numbers of horses for himself...take many wives...[or] accumulate large amounts of silver and gold." The king must "write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law...He is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God."

In chapter 18, Moses reminds the Israelites that the Levites "are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel," and that they "shall live on the offerings made to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance." He emphasizes, again, that they are not to "imitate the detestable ways of the nations" whom they are driving out of the promised land. He tells them that though the Canaanite nations "listen to those who practice sorcery or divination" but that the Israelites are not to do so. But the Lord "will raise up for a prophet like me from among your own brothers" and they must listen to him. But a prophet who would speak in God's name without God's word "must be put to death." They would know the truth or falsehood because "if what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken."

Deuteronomy 19 talks about the sanctuary cities, the "cities of refuge," which were first described in Numbers 35. Three of them are on the east side of the Jordan and there are to be three more in the promised land. They exist to offer a place of refuge for one who accidentally, "without malice aforethought," kills his neigbor. If Israel obeys the Lord and prospers, such that their territory is enlarged, they are to add three more. "Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land." And he tells them again that "one witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed." And if someone perjures himself in order to injure another, the man guilty of perjury should be punished the same way that he tried to have the other man punished. They are told to "show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Over 200 years ago, our ancestors threw of the yoke of a king, and we feel that monarchy is a bad and outdated idea. The Israelites, however, lived in a time when that was considered to be an acceptable and desirable form of government. This will come up again, as the book of Judges continuously tells us that "everyone did what was right in his own eyes because there was no King." And Moses and the LORD knew that the Israelites would expect and want a king. So there were instructions left for him, and requirements for him.
• I have always tended to think of the Old Testament prophets as ... well, I'm not sure how to say this. Outside of societal norms, I guess. Someone that the average person would look at and tend to ignore. Here, again, we see that the context for those prophets is something that we need to understand. It's actually an official title for the LORD's messengers, and the Israelites know that they'll be coming and that they need to be listened to.
• I have always been a "well, the New Testament is where Christ is so that's the important part" Bible reader. But as I go through these Old Testament books in a more careful (and, hopefully, more thoughtful) way, it seems to me that everything here either points to Jesus or prepares the ground for his arrival. The whole of the law, it seems to me, creates a context in which Jesus can come to earth as a man and perform the act of redemption which enables us to know God, and we would be able to see and understand it. There had to be a sacrificial system for him to fit into. We had to have a context for understanding the "lamb of God." There had to be prophets for us to see that God could talk to man. The Old Testament is the history of the Israelites, but it is preparation for everyone for understanding the ministry and mission of Jesus.

Psalms 43

A psalm of supplication and praise. The psalmist is oppressed and prays God's help ("plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men") and feels cut off ("Why have you rejected me?"). But still, he has faith in God's will, and that God will help and he will praise God ("Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.")

Psalm 43

1 Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?

3 Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

4 Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.