1/30/10

Exodus 12-14

In chapter 12, God tells Moses how to prepare for the coming of "the destroyer," that will take all of the firstborn of Egypt while "passing over" the Israelites. He describes how and when they are to prepare a lamb, eat it, dispose of the leftovers and put blood on the tops and sides of the doorframes. He tells them they must prepare a feast with unleavened bread, and clean any yeast out of their houses. These are all instructions for what is still celebrated today as Passover. The LORD tells Moses to "obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants." The Israelites did what the LORD said, and at midnight, the LORD strick down all the firstborn of Egypt - "there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead."

Pharoah summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to "take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go." The Israelites did and also "asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold," which the Egyptians provided. The Israelites, six hundred thousand men plus women and children, traveled from Rameses to Succoth. They had been 430 years in Israel, "to the day." The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the regulations for the Passover.

In chapter 13, the Lord tells Moses that the Israelites must consecrate every firstborn male to God, and that the "first offspring of every womb...belongs to [God], whether man or animal." The Lord then led them with a pillar of cloud to guide them by day, and a pillar of fire to give them light by night.

In chapter 14, the Lord parts the Red Sea, and the Israelites pass between walls of water. First, they wandered in the Egyptian desert for a time. During htis period, Pharoah and his officials changed their minds, and decided to take their chariots and bring them back. All of Pharoah's horses, chariots, horsemen and troops caught up with the Israelites camped by the sea. The Isrelites were terrified, and cried to Moses, "was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" Moses told them that "the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." So, at the Lord's instruction, Moses reached out his hand over the sea and the wind drove the sea back, "and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground." As the Egyptians followed, the Lord "made the wheels of their chariots come off." When the Israelites reached the far side, Moses stretched out his hand again, and the waters flowed back, and covered the chariots, "the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• It's interesting that the Egyptians are accommodating when the Israelites ask for "silver and gold." If that's really true, it's hard to come up with a legitimate reason other than "the LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people."
• Six hundred thousand seems like an awfully big number. But it also says that they were in Egypt for 430 years. Assuming that a new generation is born at approximately 20 year intervals, we're talking about 69 men growing to 600,000 in 21 and a half generations. Through the miracle of compound interest, we see that that represents growth of about 52% per generation. That works out to just over 1 1/2 procreating sons per man. Which actually seems conservative.
• One of the key components to the bible story is the people of God repeatedly turning away from him, doing what they are not supposed to do and not doing what they are supposed to do. Sometimes, it's more understandable than others. That the Israelites would cry out to God from the edge of the sea is neither surprising nor disparaging. That their first reaction is to blame Moses for getting them in trouble is indicative of a problem. This is a people that has just watched as God has done miracles to free them from bondage. A little bit more faith would have been appropriate. And, as subsequent acts were to show, justified.

Proverbs 17:15-28

It's a modern cliche to say that "better for 10 (or 100 or 1000) guilty to go free than one innocent man to go to jail." Proverbs seems to say otherwise.

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
the LORD detests them both.

Of course, later in the same chapter, it says

It is not good to punish an innocent man,
or to flog officials for their integrity.

Not that anyone would debate it.

01/29/10

Exodus 9-11

The plagues which came upon Egypt in chapters seven and eight continue in chapters nine through twelve. The plague of flies is followed by a plague on livestock - "all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died." Pharoah investigated and found that all of the Israelite animals were all right, but still did not relent. Next, Moses tossed soot from a furnace into the air in the presence of Pharoah, "and festering boils broke out on men and animals." When this did not work, the next plague was hail. Lightning and thunder filled the sky, and rain and hail pelted down, destroying all of the crops in the fields, and killing men and animals who weren't under cover. Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was spared in all of Egypt. At this point, Pharoah relented and told Moses that the people of God could go. But after Moses raised his arms and the hail stopped, Pharoah "hardened [his] heart" and refused, again, to let them go.

In chapter 10, a plague of locusts descends on the land after Pharoah refuses to take the advice of his officials to let the Israelites go. Pharoah agreed to let the men go and pray and sacrifice in the desert, but not the women and children. So "Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt" and the Lord brought swarms of locusts, that "covered all the ground until it was black," and "devoured all that was left after the hail." Pharoah called Moses and Aaron and agreed to let them go, and the Lord ended the plague, but "the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go." Then Moses stretch out his hand toward the sky and darkness descended on the land, "yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived." So again, Pharoah agrees to let them go, and again "the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart." Pharoah tells Moses to leave his presence, and that if he sees him again, Moses will die.

Chapter 11 is very short, and God tells Moses that he will bring one last plague on Egypt, after which Pharoah "will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely." He tells Moses to tell the people to ask their neighbors for gold and silver. The text then informs us that the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and that Moses was highly regarded by the Egyptians, including Pharoah's officials. Moses tells Pharoah that the firstborn sons in Egypt will die, "from the firstborn son of Pharaoh...to the firstborn son of the slave girl...and all the firstborn of the cattle as well." He tells Pharoah that his officials will come to Moses, bowing and down and telling him to go, with all of his people. "Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh." "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Modern day people living in Israel - Israelis. Ancient descendants of Israel living in Egypt - Israelites. I'm not sure why, but every time I'm tempted to write "Israelis," I recognize that it isn't right.
• The plagues sent on Egypt:
  
  1. The Nile turned to blood (Ex 7:19-24)
  2. The plague of frogs (Ex 8:5-15)
  3. The plague of lice [KJV]/gnats [NIV] (Ex 8:16-19)
  4. The plague of flies (Ex 8:19-29)
  5. The plague of livestock (Ex 9:1-7)
  6. The plague of boils (Ex 9:8-12)
  7. The plague of hail (Ex 9:13-33)
  8. The plague of locusts (Ex 10:3-20)
  9. The plague of darkness (Ex 10:21-29)
  10. The plague on the firstborn (Ex 11:1-12:30)
  
  
• From the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, John Martin's "The Seventh Plague of Egypt
  

  




• Ex 9:6 says that "all of the livestock of the Egyptians died," but the plagues of boils affect "men and animals" and the hail "will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in." One could interpret that as meaning that not all of the Egyptian livestock was killed.



• Several of the plagues end the same way. Pharoah agrees to let the Israelites go, the plague is removed/relieved, "but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go..." This, then, is the "why" question I refered to yesterday: why does God keep "harden[ing] Pharoah's heart?" I know that he gave a reason.
  
  

  "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." (Ex 9:16)
  
  "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD." (Ex 10:1-2)

  
  So it's the "shock and awe" method of message delivery. But why? Aren't there miracles which would "show [God's] power" and tell the people of Israel that "[HE is] the LORD" without the destruction and despair inflicted on the Egyptians?
  
  God is the creator of the universe, and created man in his own image, so the Egyptians are also men in the image of God. God created the Israelites, but he also created the Egyptians. To choose a people to use as an example for others seems more acceptable than choosing a people to reward above others. The plagues in Egypt don't feel fair.
  
  If Pharoah won't listen to the word of God, as we all fail to listen, that's one thing. But in the events portrayed here, Pharoah does listen, and then God "hardens his heart" just to continue making an example of him. It seems sadistic. It seems unfair, unjust and cruel, none of the things that we want to think of as being characteristics of God.

Proverbs 17:1-14

I'm going to refrain from making a political comment here.

A lesson that most of us need, and don't take very well, from verses 13-14.

If a man pays back evil for good, evil will never leave his house.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Obviously, there are some things that need to be dealt with. But quarreling about unimportant things, quarreling just because you're irritated, that's not a productive behavior.

01/28/10

Exodus 5-8

Chapter five begins with Moses and Aaron addressing Pharoah. They tell him that the God of Israel says to "let my people go," so that they can hold a festival in the desert. When Pharaoah claims ignorance of the God of the Israelites, they tell him that the people want to take a three-day journey into the desert to make sacrifices and offerings, otherwise he will bring plagues upon them. But Pharoah just berates them for taking the people away from their labor. After Moses and Aaron have left, he tells the slavemasters not to give any more straw to the Hebrews making bricks, to make them find it themselves, but not to reduce the quota. When this happens, they cannot meet the quota, and are punished. The people complain to Moses and Aaron that they have brought this increased punishment upon them. And Moses "returned to the LORD," echoing the complaint.

Chapter six reveals, for the first time, the name of GOD, as he once more reminds Moses that he is listening and will deliver the Israelites. He tells Moses that he will make his power known and that "because of my mighty hand he [Pharoah] will drive them out of his country." He instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that he (GOD) will bring them out of bondage in Egypt. Moses delivers this message, but the Israelites didn't listen because they were discouraged. The Lord then told Moses to go back to Pharoah but Moses, again, resisted. "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?" The rest of chapter six is taken up with the genealogy of the house of Levi down to Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons, and then, again, Moses question for God about "faltering lips."

In chapter seven, God tells Moses that he has been made "like God to Pharaoh," and that Aaron is like his prophet. Moses is to say everything that God tells him, and Aaron will tell Pharoah to let the Israelites go. They tell Pharoah, and when he demands a miracle, Aaron throws his staff to the ground where it became a snake. Pharoah's priests threw their staffs to the ground where they also became snakes, but Aaron's snake swallowed the others. Pharoah still would not listen. Next, God tells Moses and Aaron to meet Pharoah at the banks of the Nile in the morning. They do so, and when Aaron holds out his staff and strikes the water with it, the Nile turns to blood. But Pharoah still would not listen.

Chapter eight continues the now-established pattern. Moses and Aaron demand that Pharoah let God's people go, Pharoah refuses, and a plague ensues. First is a plague of frogs, followed by gnats and then flies. After the plague of flies, Pharoah allows them to go to the desert to pray, and implores Moses to pray for him. But when they left his presence, and God removed the flies in response to Moses' prayer, "Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• One of the things that is difficult, conceptually, in dealing with passages like Ex 5:2 is understanding exactly what the phrase "God of Israel" would mean to an Egyptian at the time. He was certainly a pagan, polytheist of sorts, but, while I've read and heard many things about Egyptian religious belief and the trappings thereof, that's different from actually thinking that way. Would Pharoah think of the "God of Israel" as a real being with real power? As an icon or symbol? As a mistaken belief? Certainly, he doesn't, by any of his responses, indicate that he has any fear of this entity.
• In chapter six, we see, for the first time, the name of God. Prior to that, in dealings with Abraham and Isaac, the terms have been "adonai" or "elohim," but now the tetragrammaton יְהֹוִה ("Yahweh" or "Jehovah") makes its first appearance, as God tells Moses who he is, and tells him that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob did not know him by this name.
• The geneaology of Moses and Aaron (Ex 6:13-26): Israel->Levi->Kohath->Amram (father of Moses), Israel->Levi->Jochebed (mother of Moses.) So Levi was the paternal great-grandfather, and maternal grandfather, of Moses and Aaron.
• The Hebrew word which the NIV translates as "faltering," עָרֵל means, literally, "uncircumcised." The KJV uses that.
• I have to confess that there are parts of this story that I don't believe. I can believe that God turned Aaron's staff into a snake, but not that Pharoah's priests could do the same thing with theirs. I can believe that God turned the Nile to blood, but not that "the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts."
• There's a big question, of course, about all of the trials and plagues in Egypt. I'm going to save it for later (but is starts with "why").

Proverbs 16:17-33

A couple of verses from this section is echoed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

Pv 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."

Mt 7:13 "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

Pv 16:17 "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

Mt 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

01/17/10

Yes, I skipped yesterday.  There are 3-6 days of slack built in to each month's schedule, and I used one of January's yesterday...

Genesis 47-50

In Genesis 47, Joseph brought five of his brothers before Pharoah, who asked their occupations.  The explained that they were all shepherds, from a line of shepherds.  Pharoah tells Joseph to settle his family in Goshen, and if any had "special ability," to put them in charge of Pharoah's own livestock.  Joseph then introduced Pharoah to Jacob, who blessed him.  Joseph then settled his family in "the best part of the land, the district of Rameses" and provided them with food.

The famine was still in effect, and the people of Egypt came to Joseph.  First, Joseph "collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying," then he took all of the livestock of the people in exchange for food, and then Joseph "bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh."  Joseph established a law - "still in force today" - that one fifth of all of the produce in Egypt belonged to Pharoah.  And "the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen...acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number." 

As Jacob aged, he made his son Joseph swear to return his body and bury him where his fathers were buried.

In chapter 48, the dying Jacob called Joseph to him, and told him of the promises of God Almighty to "make you fruitful" and to give the land of Canaan "as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you."  He said that Joseph's sons would be reckoned as sons of Jacob "just as Reuben and Simeon" were.  Any subsequent children born to Joseph would be Joseph's, "reckoned under the names of their brothers."  And then Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, but he crossed his arms to give the right-hand blessing to the younger brother.

Chapter 49 shows Jacob's blessings for his sons.  After giving those blessings, and instructing his sons to bury him where Abraham and Sarah are buried, he dies.

Genesis concludes in chapter 50 with the burial of Jacob.  He is mourned in Egypt, then Joseph informs Pharoah of his (Joseph's) oath to bury Jacob in Canaan.  A large group goes up, they mourn Jacob, and bury him.  With their father buried, Joseph's brothers are concerned, again, that he will take revenge upon them for their actions selling him into slavery.  He reiterates that while the meant ill, God meant well by it, and that he holds no grudge.  Joseph lived to 110 years old, and was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Thoughts, questions, issues
• It seems as if Joseph was personally responsible for selling the entire population of Egypt into slavery under Pharoah.  Before the famine, the people had money, livestock and land - afterwards, they had nothing.
• There is a parallel between Isaac's blessings on Esau and Jacob, and Jacob's blessings on Manasseh and Ephraim.  In each case, the younger son gets the blessing that "should" have gone to the older.  Unlike the case of Isaac, Jacob knew and understood who he was blessing.
• The odd statement that I noted in chapter 35 about Reuben and Bilhah leads directly to Reuben's blessing.  Jacob tells him that "you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it."
• Some of the blessings don't seem much like blessings.  Such as "Simeon and Levi...cursed be their anger...I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."  Or "Issachar is a rawboned donkey...he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor."

Proverbs 13:1-12

The in this set of verses, the focus on the speech continues, as well as truth and integrity.  Verse 7 is one that, unlike so much of the book of Proverbs, does not have an obvious surface meaning.

"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth."

I don't know what to make of that.  It does not appear to be an instruction.  If describing particular conditions, it is not clear to me what those conditions would be, not with any specificity.  It's just an odd verse, and uncharacteristically obscure in this context.  I strongly suspect that there are cultural and linguistic barriers that leave this less clear than it would have been at the time.

01/15/10

Genesis 43-46

Genesis 43 starts with the continuing famine in Canaan.  Jacob's sons, other than Simeon, have returned, but the food they brought back is running out and Jacob implores them to go back to Egypt and buy more.  His sons resist, protesting that the overseer told them they would not see him again if they did not bring back their youngest brother.  Judah tells Jacob that he will stand as guarantor for Benjamin's safe return, and that he is willing to lay down his life if Benjamin does not come back.  Jacob relents, and the 10 brothers take the silver that was returned to them on their last trip and enough for purchase of more grain, and head to Egypt.  When Joseph sees them, he instructs his steward to prepare a meal for them at his residence.  They gather at Joseph's house, where Simeon is brought out to them.  Joseph sees Benjamin and inquires after their father, then retires to his private quarters to weep.  Then he came out and feasted with them. 

The story continues in chapter 44 when, following their feast, he has the stewards fill his brothers bags with grain.  He also has their silver placed back in the bags, and one of his own silver cups into Benjamin's bag.  His brothers head back to Canaan, but Joseph sends a his steward after them, and when he overtakes them, accuses them of having stolen a silver cup.  They deny it, and agree that if any one is found to have taken it, that one will become a slave to Joseph.  They all drop their bags and the steward finds the cup in Benjamin's.  They all go back to Joseph's house, where his brothers fall down and bow before him, acknowledging themselves as his slaves.  He says that only the one found with the cup is his slave, the rest are free to go.  Judah pleads with Joseph to keep him instead, as Benjamin is the youngest, the only remaining son of the wife their father loved, and the loss of him would kill their father.

Finally, in chapter 45, Joseph acknowledges his identity to his brothers.  He sends everyone else from the room, and tells his brothers who he is.  They are frightened, but he tells them not to be frightened and not to be angry, that they hadn't sent him into slavery, but GOD had sent him ahead into Egypt to prepare for the time of famine.  And after they all threw their arms around one another and wept, he told them to go back to Canaan and get their father.  Pharoah gave Joseph and his family the land of Goshen, so they took carts and donkeys and returned to Canaan where they told Jacob that Joseph was still alive and the ruler of Egypt.

In Genesis 46, we get a genealogy of Israel as it entered in to the land of Goshen at the behest of Pharoah.  After packing up, they headed towards Egypt.  At Beersheba, they stopped and Israel prayed to the LORD, who told him that he would bring him back out of Egypt.  The list of direct descendants of Israel, not counting sons' wives, is said to be 66, and, with Joseph and the two sons born to him in Egypt, 70.  They settle in, and tell Pharoah that they are shephards.

Thoughts, questions, issues
• I'm hesitant to call Joseph a jerk, and certainly they warranted some punishment for having sold their brother into slavery, regardless of how well it turned out, but his treatment of his brothers was cruel.  Keeping Simeon and then framing Benjamin were frightening and unpleasant acts.
• "Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.  He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.'" (Gen 37:5-7)
  "Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him." (Gen 44:14)
• When he finally acknowledges his identity, Joseph does demonstrate that he has handled his experience well.  Rather than recriminations, he expresses to them that GOD has sent him in to Egypt, that what has happened in his life has been done for GOD's purposes.
• The entire story of Joseph's exile to Egypt, his reconciliation with his brothers, their return with Israel to him, is as easily understandable as anything in Genesis, and much more so than most of it.  Even the actions of his brothers, selling him, is understandable, albeit reprehensible.  This whole section (excluding the Judah/Tamar interlude) is straightforward history.
• I count 71 male descendants, three of which (Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim) were already in Egypt and two of which (Er and Onan) were dead.  So that does make 66 that went down to Egypt.  And three makes 69, which is not exactly 70.

Proverbs 12:15-28

The last 14 verses in chapter 12 extol honesty, truthfulness and discretion, while condemning laziness, dishonesty and imprudence.  13 of the 14 are antithetical parallelisms.

01/14/10

Genesis 40-42

In Genesis 40, Joseph is joined in prison by the Pharoah's cupbearer and chief baker, both of whom have displeased Pharoah.  During their first night they each of a dream, which they share with Joseph the following day.  Joseph interprets the dreams (saying "interpretation belongs to God") and informs them (correctly) that the cupbearer will be restored to his position in three days, and the baker will be hanged.  The cupbearer promises to remember Joseph, but promptly forgets him upon being restored in his position.

Chapter 41 starts with Pharoah's dreams.  He dreams of seven fat cattle being consumed by seven skinny cattle, and seven full ears of corns being swallowed up by seven thin ones.  He sends for his wise men and magicians but no one can interpret the dreams for him.  Then his cupbearer remembers Joseph.  Pharoah calls for him from the prison.  Joseph says that he can't interpret Pharoah's dreams but that God will give Pharoah the answers that he wants.  He then says that the dreams represent seven years of plenty which will be followed by seven years of famine.  Pharaoh needs to go throughout the land and stockpile food during the years of plenty to survive the years of famine.  As Joseph clearly has the support of God, Pharoah appoints him to be the overseer of this effort.  Joseph becomes the most powerful man in Egypt (other than Pharoah) and gathers huge stores of food during the next seven years.  He also marries and has two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.  And then the famine begins, and he opens the storehouses and sells food to Egyptians.  "And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world."

In chapter 42, some of the men from other countries turn out to be Joseph's brothers, all of whom other than Benjamin have been sent to Egypt by their father to buy grain.  He recognized them and spoke to them harshly, accusing them of being spies looking for weakness in Egypt.  He told them that to prove they were not spies, one of them would be held and the others must go get their youngest brother.  He had Simeon taken and bound, then gave the rest of them grain and sent them back, holding Simeon hostage until they returned with the youngest brother.  In each of their sacks, he also placed the money which they had used to buy the grain.  Jacob/Israel refused to let them take Benjamin to Egypt, as he had already lost Joseph, and now Simeon.

Thoughts, questions, issues
• Each time that Joseph is asked to interpret a dream, he gives essentially the same response - I can't do that, but God can.
• The dream interpretations are in keeping with everything else that we know about Joseph in Egypt.  God is helping him, providing for him, supporting him.  In other words, preparing him and using him.
• On the surface it might seem strange that Joseph recognizes his brothers but none of them recognize him.  But there are legitimate reasons for this to be the case.  For one thing, he was the youngest of that group and likely changed more than any of the others.  For another, he was seeing them in a group, as he had seen them before, whereas they were also used to seeing him in the group.  And there was no reason for him not to expect that travelers from Canaan might be his brothers, but they had sold him into slavery and he was now a figure of great power and authority.
• Joseph's brothers are in fear when they see that they've got both the grain they bought and their money, too.  It seems a strange response, but he kept their brother Simeon, and they are, I suspect, frightened simply because they don't know what's going on.  Do they think that they just effectively sold Simeon into slavery in Egypt?

Proverbs 12:1-14

It occurs to me, as I go through this process, that I don't recall ever hearing a chapter of Proverbs read in a service, or a sermon preached on a chapter of Proverbs.  And I think I see why.  There are a couple of meta-messages - wisdom is good, the righteous are better than the wicked, God loves righteousness and wisdom - but no narrative structure and no message cohesion.  There are a lot of pithy sayings, some good imagery and metaphorical and poetic language, but not much that builds on what came before or prepares for what comes next.  The lessons all come in little chunks, and they are almost all surface lessons, valuable, yes, but not warranting much in the way of commentary.