Day 17 – Monday -- The Book of Esther

Day 17 – Monday

The Book of Esther

This book of the Bible is read by the Jewish community during the Feast of Purim. It is a story of survival. It takes place in Persia. The hero is Esther.

The cast of characters:
• King Xerxes (some versions use another form of the name: Ahasueras)
• Queen Vashi
• Esther (a Jew)
• Mordacai (a Jew and Esther’s cousin)
• Haman – close official of the King

The plot: Queen Vashi disobeys the King and is disposed of. The King holds a beauty contest and Esther wins, becoming Queen Esther. Haman hates all the Jews and plans to have them all killed. Mordacai finds out about the plan and asks Esther to intervene. Esther tells the King of Haman’s plan and asks for his intervention. The King has Haman hanged from a tower that Haman had built to have Mordacai hung from. The King declares the Jews are to be respected. With their new found freedom the Jews begin to defend themselves by force. They first kill 500 people, including the ten sons of Haman. Then they broaden their defense and kill 75,000 people. Mordacai establishes the two-day annual Feast of Purim (which happens around March 1) to celebrate the survival of their race.

The Jewish people have had a unique experience in history. They sensed that they had a sacred purpose as a people. The claim to have been given a sacred spiritual and ethical vision for living, summed up in the Ten Commandments. Yet, they have been persecuted and harassed more than any other people. They survived Haman; and they survived Hitler. They also survived the Church, whose teaching of contempt for the Jews grew out of a misreading of the Christian Scriptures and the sinfulness of the human heart. The Jews were excluded from society. They were expelled from nation after nation. They were herded into ghettos. They were lied about, slandered, beaten, tortured, and massacred. They were made to wander the earth. And yet, they still exist as a people.

The State of Israel is a political entity created by the result of World War II. It gives the Jewish people a homeland. Unfortunately, the powers that be after WWII were not careful and set up an impossible geo-political situation for Israel and the Palestinians. We should not equate today’s Israel with the Israel of Biblical times. The Jewish community of faith exists within Israel and in many other parts of the world. It seems to me that the fact of the continuing existence of the Jews as a scattered community of faith bears witness to their unique and sacred mission to the world. The Church needs to continue to repent of its anti-Semitic attitudes and actions, while not confusing the State of Israel with the community of faith.

The famous verse from this book is when Mordacai says to Esther: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (4.14, KJV)

Have you ever the feeling that God put you at a certain place at a certain time so that you could do something important?

A peculiar thing about the Book of Esther is that God is never mentioned. In one sense God is absent. But in another sense, God’s presence pervades the book in a hidden way. God works behind the scenes. As James Russel Lowell put it:

Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.


God was indeed standing in the shadows throughout the Book of Esther. Not on center stage, but there nonetheless.

Finish this: As I look back on my life, I can now see that God was with me when…

Day 16 – Saturday -- The Book of Nehemiah

Day 16 – Saturday

The Book of Nehemiah

This book reads like a diary. Nehemiah, a Jew living in Persia, and a personal assistant to the Persian King, Artaxerxes, gets word about the bad shape Jerusalem is in. Getting permission from the King to go to Jerusalem and help rebuild it, Nehemiah arrives twelve years after Ezra’s book ends.

Under his direction the people get to work. They repair the gates and start rebuilding the walls. But there is opposition. Nehemiah has to put armed guards around the construction sites so that the building can progress.

News gets to Nehemiah that the ordinary people are being charged interest on their fields and grain. He orders all those in power to stop charging interest and to return any land that has been taken.

Like Ezra, Nehemiah is enraged about the mixed marriages. So he rounds up the guilty men, curses them, beats them, and pulls out their hair (13.23-25).

The wall is completed around 444 BCE. In chapter eight Ezra shows up and gathers all the people for a reading of the Law. Ezra builds the first pulpit. The Levites explain what Ezra has read. So we have Ezra the lector and the Levites as preachers (the explainers). There is much crying. And when the people returned to their homes, they celebrated by eating and drinking and by sharing their food with those in need, because they had understood what had been read to them (9.12, CEV). Now, that’s the kind of response any preacher hopes for.

Soon afterward they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles (Feast of Booths). On the eighth day the stood and listened to the Law being read for three hours, then confessed their sins for three hours. There is a long and poetic prayer in chapter nine which recounts God’s mercy, followed by Israel’s rebellion; the Lord’s mercy, followed by Israel’s unfaithfulness; God’s mercy, followed by Israel’s stubbornness; the Lord’s mercy…well, you get the picture.

Next comes the renewal of the Covenant. They recommit themselves to their partnership with God and promise to stay separate from foreigners.

What are we to say about the extreme insular attitude of the Jewish community at this time? Well, we have to remember that different measures are called for in different circumstances. It was a time for walls. It was a time when outward “markers” were needed to form a new community. These markers were circumcision, rituals, feast days, the temple, songs, prayers, genealogical purity, ethnic consistency, tradition, homogeneous marriages, and official roles.

The Exile was a devastating event. The Jewish community of faith had to re-establish and redefine itself. The harsh measures taken by the leadership would be quickly condemned by us today. But remember, we’ve been there too. Look back at American history or Protestant history. Remember what we used to do. We’ve come a long way.

Nehemiah was a builder of walls. Psychologically speaking, we take about the need for boundaries. Sexual harassment and sexual abuse in churches are the result of someone in authority not taking boundary issues seriously.

Finish this: I maintain psychological and ethical boundaries by….

Day 15 – Friday -- The Book of Ezra

Day 15 – Friday

The Book of Ezra

In the Jewish Bible Ezra and Nehemiah are one book. I’ve been using the phrase “Hebrew Scriptures” for these reflections because I’m referring to the part of the Christian Bible that was written in Hebrew—what many people still call “the Old Testament.” I try to stay away from using the phrase “Old Testament” because it can imply an unconscious denigration of the first part of the Christian Bible. But now I must be a little more accurate and acknowledge that the Hebrew Scriptures also contain some passages in Aramaic. So, if I wanted to be technically accurate I would refer to the Hebrew & Aramaic Scriptures. But let’s not get picky. Let’s just acknowledge that the “Hebrew Scriptures” also contain a few Aramaic Scriptural passages.

Originally, parts of Ezra were written in Aramaic; namely, parts of chapters 4,5,6, and 7. (Other Aramaic passages are found at Genesis 31.47, Jeremiah 10.11, and in Daniel 2.4 through 7.28.) About 250 verses of the Bible are in Aramaic out of about 23,000 verses altogether. Aramaic and Hebrew are both Semitic languages; Aramaic was the official language of the western Persian Empire in the time of the Jewish Exile in Babylon.

At the beginning of the Book of Ezra 50,000 people return from Babylon to Jerusalem. They immediately begin to rebuild the temple. They literally lay the foundation while priests play trumpets and Levites play cymbals. (There is no mention of a bass player or a pianist.) But there is opposition. It is as if some neighbors get a petition together and ask the zoning board to stop the Jewish project. And it is put on hold for two decades. In spite of the delay the temple is finally competed in the year 515.

At chapter seven Ezra returns to Jerusalem. The year is 458 BCE. Ezra is taken aback at how Jewish men have married foreign women. Ezra says: The situation of mixed marriages made me so angry that I ripped my clothes and tore out the head from my head and beard. Then I just sat in shock (9.3). Mixed marriages are anathema at this period in Jewish history. The people are trying to regain their identity as a distinctive people. This is to be a new beginning as Israel. Not a political entity, but a people living in covenant/partnership with the Creator of the universe.

Ezra leads a movement to require all mixed marriages to be dissolved and the wives and children sent away. And that is what happens. Around one hundred marriages are dissolved. The actual names of the priests, Levites, musicians, and temple guards who dissolved their marriages are listed at the end of this book. Perhaps they were all published in the newsletter.

The Bible is full of new beginnings. Finish this: If I were to make a new beginning right now, it would be…

Day 14 – Thursday -- The Book of Second Chronicles

Day 14 – Thursday

The Book of Second Chronicles

The Chronicler continues his revisionist history in this second volume. The notable scholar Julius Wellhausen once wrote: One might as well try to hear the grass growing as hope to learn anything about history from Chronicles. (Look through your many prolegomenas at home and find Prolegomena to the History of Israel, Cambridge University Press, 2013. You’ll find this quote on page 215.) The first volume presented King David as the ideal king. This second volume presents Solomon as an idealized king too.

By the way, the two books of Chronicles were originally one “book.” But they had to be divided into two scrolls. One scroll would have been so big that you would be in danger of dropping it on your foot and breaking a toe or two.

Temple worship is central. The Jewish community is portrayed foremost as a worshiping community rather than a political entity. Details about the temple and the roles of priests and Levites play a significant role.

Once again Judah (the southern kingdom) is highlighted as the true “Israel.” The worst king of all—Manasseh—in this retelling, is given a chance to repent and be forgiven. A nicer God.

In chapter 30, Hezekiah asks God to go easy on some outsiders who were coming to the Passover celebration, and God answers his prayer. A softer God.

Chronicles ends with Jerusalem being destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the people being taken into exile into Babylon. But it goes further than 2 Kings which stops there. Chronicles reports the edict of the king of the Persian Empire, Cyrus, who allows the Jews to return to their home and rebuild the temple. The writer says that this is God’s doing. God chooses Cyrus to bring the people home. As a chosen one, Cyrus is literally a temporary messiah—a chosen one. God makes use of a pagan king to liberate her people! So, Chronicles (which in the Hebrew Bible is the last book) ends in hope. You can go home again.

Finish this: The outsider God used to help me along my faith journey was…
 

Day 13 – Wednesday -- The Book of First Chronicles

Day 13 – Wednesday

The Book of First Chronicles

The next four books are written by the Chronicler, who could be Ezra. They are: First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. They were written after the Exile, perhaps around 350 BCE. The two books of Chronicles look back at the history of the Israelites before the Exile and tell the same story that 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Samuel have told, but from a slightly different point of view.

Want to have some fun? Read the first nine chapters of 1st Chronicles out loud. Names, names, names. If you ever write a short story or a novel and want unique names for your characters, here is where to find them. The Jewish and Christian faiths are not about abstract ideas or impersonal forces. They are personal faiths. God is personal. And she deals with real people. You and me. And David and Machijah and Jahath and Uzzi. That doesn’t mean that God is some Big Person in the sky. But it means that the Source of life and the Wisdom that guides us has a personal dimension that is relational and dialogical. To speak of God as a “person” is to speak of a transcendent personhood beyond our understanding.

Like many people today I have been dabbling in genealogy. I’ve found that I am a distant cousin to Davy Crockett, whose ancestors came from France. My seventh great grandfather was Antoine Desasure Peerronette de Crocketagne, born in 1643 in Montauban, France. The family were Huguenots and fled France for England, then to Ireland before coming to America. When arriving in the U.S. they shortened their name to Crockett.

The nine chapter genealogy is the longest one in the Bible, but other genealogies appear in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels. Connections are important. None is us is a pure individual; we are all part of a larger and longer history of memory, DNA, and geographical movement. Our ancestry both limits us and empowers us. God calls us by name at our baptism. In the garden by the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene did not recognize the transformed Jesus until he said, “Mary.” When God speaks your name, you know who he is and who you are.

David and the temple are central to First Chronicles. Functions and roles are delineated: Levites, priests, gatekeepers, musicians, etc. Whenever you see such organization you know that the writer is from a time somewhere down the road after much development has taken place. This is a much later writing than the stories in Samuel and Kings.

David is the hero. The writer whitewashes him. There is no mention of the Bathsheba incident; no mention of David’s mercenary days with the Philistines; and no mention of his conniving to get rid of Saul.

The very first mention of “Satan” in the Bible is found in First Chronicles 21.1. It says, Satan incited David to take a census of Israel. Pop quiz: who told David to take a census in 2nd Samuel? If you said “God” you are correct. Which poses a problem for believers in Biblical inerrancy. Was it Satan or God? Don’t worry—the believers in the inerrancy of the Bible will find a way to explain the apparent discrepancy. But for the rest of us, placing the blame on Satan rather than God clearly marks a new interpretation of events. The Chronicler has a different theology than the author of 2nd Samuel. Whereas some parts of the Bible see God as the cause of everything, other parts are more squeamish about presenting such a direct cause-and-effect picture wherein the Lord micro-manages every detail of life.

The author of 1 & 2 Chronicles does what we all do. He remembers what he wants to remember, and forgets what he wants to forget. He interprets his past in light of his present interests.

Finish this: What I remember about my life that bothers me is….

Day 12 – Tuesday -- The Book of Second Kings

Day 12 – Tuesday

The Book of Second Kings

Elijah names his successor—Elisha. Elijah sings “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and is taken up to heaven without dying. It’s easy to confuse Elijah and Elisha. I don’t know why Elijah didn’t pick someone like Joram or Gehazi; then we wouldn’t be confused. And another thing. How do you pronounce Elisha’s name? I’ve heard it with a short ‘i’ and a long ‘i’ and another kind of ‘i’ that I don’t know the name of. Take your choice.

Anyway, there is a weird story about Elisha in the second chapter. Some teenage boys make fun of him because he is bald. They call him “baldy.” Instead of practicing some active listening skills toward those boys, he curses them in the name of God, and two mother bears come out of the woods and eats the boys. The point being: don’t mess with God’s prophets. But hey! Isn’t that a little extreme?

Second Kings is mainly about kings. The writer paints virtually all the kings of Israel (the North) as evil. The kings of Judah (the South) are alternately good and bad. The author seems to be biased against the North. And the North is the first to go. In 722 BCE Assyria invades and conquers Israel. Never again is there a kingdom of Israel. (There has been much written about the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Where did the people of the Northern Kingdom go? Who are they today? Recently DNA studies have been done to prove or disprove who their descendants are. Don’t ask me. If these questions interest you, go google.)

Kings. Lots of kings. A good one is Hezekiah. (Don’t fall for that trick question: Have you read the book of Hezekiah in the Bible?) His son Manasseh is the worst. Later there is another good one—Josiah. He restores the temple, discovers the Law in the temple, and there is a revival.

But in 598 BCE Emperor Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invades Jerusalem and takes its treasures and many of its leading families back to Babylon. Zedekiah is set up as King. But in 587 he rebels, and after a year-long siege the Babylonians take Jerusalem. They destroy the city and the temple; and virtually all the citizens are taken into exile in Babylon. It is the end of the world.

Remember the Covenant? The writers of these histories say that the tragedies that befell Israel and Judah are the result of the Jewish community’s failure to keep up their end of the Agreement. They have been unfaithful to God, their Partner. Therefore, they have been punished. This part of the Bible is big on rewards and punishments. If you are good, you will be blessed. But if you are bad, you will be cursed. What do you think about that?

Finish this sentence: To be in partnership with God means that I will…

Day 11 – Monday -- The Book of First Kings

Day 11 – Monday

The Book of First Kings

David is senile and is tricked into anointing Solomon as King. Solomon is wise. Remember the baby he almost cut in half because two women claimed it as their own? But he wasn’t wise in other ways. He accumulated too much. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And he forced his subjects to work long hours, encouraging them with a whip. He also flirted with other gods. The author of First Kings blames his foreign wives. (It’s always the women’s fault, isn’t it?)

But Solomon accomplished something great. He built the temple. Three chapters describe the process of building it—chapters 5-7. In chapter eight Solomon dedicates the temple. It gives a “location” for God. People are to turn in its direction to pray wherever they are. Of course a building cannot contain or limit God. But God says his Name will be there.

May your eyes be open night and day toward this temple, the place where you said your Name shall dwell. (8.29, my trans.)

David wrote a song which says, Lead me in the paths of righteousness for your NAME’S SAKE. And Christians pray, Hallowed by Thy NAME.

The temple gives specificity to God’s presence. We might call the temple a Jewish sacrament. That’s where you find the Real Presence.

But after his great achievement Solomon’s faith goes downhill. Finally, Solomon expires.

Solomon’s son Rehoboam becomes king. He works the people even harder, and the kingdom breaks up around 926 BCE. Rehoboam keeps the South (Judah) while Jeroboam becomes king of the North (Israel). The North and the South fight each other. Eventually Omri becomes king of the North (Israel). He establishes Samaria as the capitol of Israel. (You’ll remember that Jerusalem is the capitol of Judah.) In the Bible the northern kingdom is referred to variously as Israel and Samaria and Ephraim.

The prophet Elijah plays an important role in First Kings. He does miraculous things. He multiplies food for a widow. He brings her son back to life through prayer and CPR (see ch. 20). He has a contest with the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (see ch. 18). Baal’s prophets try to call down fire from heaven, but nothing happens. Elijah makes fun of them and suggests that perhaps their god has gone to the bathroom. Then Elijah calls down fire from heaven which immediately lights the wood for the sacrifice.

There is an evil, wicked woman named Jezebel who is married to King Ahab. Jezebel puts out the word that Elijah is meddling too much in political affairs and needs to be snuffed out. Elijah goes into hiding. Jezebel has really gotten to him. He feels like a failure. He wants to die. But God is not through with him. God comes to Elijah. There is tornado-like wind; then an earthquake; then a wild fire. But Elijah did not feel God’s presence. Then there was the sound of silence. And in that silence Elijah heard God speaking. The still, small voice. Have you heard it? Have you been quiet enough to hear it? Have you slowed down enough to hear it? Have you turned down the volume of your ego and your fears so that you can hear it?

Finish this sentence: What keeps me from hearing God is…

Day 10 – Saturday -- The Book of Second Samuel

Day 10 – Saturday

The Book of Second Samuel

As in America, there was a North and a South in David’s day. David quickly became king of the South (Judah). But being coronated in the North (Israel) was more difficult. The North tried to secede twice (see chapters 15-18, and 20).

Now Michal, the daughter of the late King Saul, had gone and married Paltiel, even though she had been engaged to David. Instead of a diamond ring, David had given her one hundred foreskins of the Philistines (2 Sam. 3.12-16).  (How she wore them I do not know.) David agrees to make an official connection with the North if he can have Michal as his wife. Michal is snatched away from her husband and taken to David. With this gesture of loyalty to the North (now being Saul’s son-in-law), the elders of Israel meet and agree to crown David king of the North. He was thirty years old when he was anointed king. Jesus was also thirty years old when he was anointed by the Spirit at his baptism.

Now David is king of a united kingdom; the North and the South have one king. David makes Jerusalem the capitol of the united kingdom.

Chapter seven is a key chapter. God tells Nathan to tell David that a son of his will become the king and build God a house.

He shall build a house for my name,

 and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  

I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. 

Here is the declaration of the continuance of the Davidic dynasty. (Remember, Jesus will be called the Son of David.) And God uses covenant language: I am yours, and you are mine. This covenant statement runs throughout the Bible in varied forms. Most often: I will be your God, and you will be my people. When Thomas sees the risen Lord he says, My Lord and my God. That is a variation of the covenant statement. You are mine, and I am yours. At the end of the Bible the author of the Revelation says that the One on the throne says,

See, the home of God is among mortals. 

He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, 

and God himself will be with them;

 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. (Rev. 21.3-4)

They will be his peoples. They will belong to each other. The covenant partnership will be fulfilled. It is in Second Samuel that God designates the Kingdom of David as the conduit through which the Divine-Human marriage will be consummated. When the angels announce to the shepherds that a child has been born in the city of David (Bethlehem), the message is not meant to be subtle. This child will carry forward the dynasty of David.

David is the great hero of Israel. But heroes are flawed. In chapter eleven we read, It happened, late one afternoon… 

It begins innocently enough. David is strolling around with nothing to do. He’s seen all the reruns. He looks out from his balcony, and sees that someone has forgotten to pull down the shades. There is a woman, a beautiful woman, taking a bath. David watches. He is not as disciplined as Jimmy Carter. He sends for the woman. Her name is Bathsheba. They have some drinks. She stays late. And you know what happens. His adultery is followed by murder. He has her husband killed. In chapter 12 Nathan tells David a parable. At the end is that famous line: Thou art the man.

It is downhill from there. David’s daughter is raped. His son Absalom tries to take the throne, but is killed in battle when his hair gets tangled up in a tree limb (which Billy Graham always liked to remind us of—in those days when boys began to grow long hair like the Beatles). Bathsheba and Nathan conspire to make Solomon the next king.

There is a famine that lasts three years. One of David’s men kills a relative of Goliath who has six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. In chapter 22 David composes a beautiful psalm. In chapter 23 the last words of David are reported. We also have the names of thirty-seven courageous warriors who are part of The Thirty—an elite fighting force. (Well, if the Big Ten can have twelve teams, I guess The Thirty can have thirty-seven men.)

In the last chapter God suggests to David that he take a census of the people to see if David would take the bait. David does. A census is taken. Then David realizes that he has made a mistake in counting the people.

In the twentieth century, when the Nazis took Jews to concentration camps, they tattooed numbers on their arms. To be made into a number is to dehumanize a person. Census-taking in ancient Israel was forbidden. Well, sort of. Anyway, by separating individuals out from the group, counting people destroys the unity of the community of faith. David knew he made a mistake.

It seems to me that the philosophy of libertarianism makes the same mistake. It focuses so much on the rights of the individual that it ignores the communal nature of justice and equality.

God is not so much interesting in counting us as she is in being able to count on us.

Finish this sentence: I know I can count on God because…

Day 9 – Friday-- The Book of First Samuel

Day 9 – Friday

The Book of First Samuel

Enter Hannah, Samuel, Saul, and David. Hannah sings a song of praise in chapter two for the birth of Samuel—a “miraculous” birth. Turn over to the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel (1.46-55) and notice Mary’s song of praise (we call it the Magnificat) which is patterned on Hannah’s song. God raises up the poor…lifts the needy.

Remember the story of Samuel? God speaks to him, but Samuel thinks it is Eli calling him. This is repeated. The third time Samuel says, Speak, your servant is listening. God tells him that something is going to happen that will make everyone’s ears “tingle.” Sometimes it is difficult to know if the voice we hear is God’s voice or one of the many other voices inside us. Becoming familiar with the Gospels and being part of a community of faith are necessary for discerning the divine voice.

Ichabod (ch. 4). The Philistines capture the Ark. (No, not Noah’s ark. This is the Ark of the Covenant; a box that contains the two stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. You know—“Read two tablets and call me in the morning.” The sacred box represents the presence of God.) In the process, Eli and his son die. Eli’s daughter-in-law is dying in childbirth and names the baby “Ichabod”—because the “the glory has departed from Israel.” Chabod (or Kabod) is the Hebrew word for glory. Ichabod is the negated form: without glory. Is this where Washington Irving got the name for Ichabod Crane? I’ll bet he did. Anyway, St. Paul says that all of us are somewhat Ichabod-ish: we have all “fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3).

“Everyone else has one. Why can’t we have one?” Sounds like a ten year old child, but it is the voice of Israel. They want a king. Why? Because every other nation has one. Their Mother—the Lord—says “Okay.” But she tells Samuel to warn them about what they are getting into. They don’t listen. They want a king. At least that’s the way the Northern storytellers tell it in chapter eight.

The Southern storytellers have a different version in chapter nine. They view the anointing of Saul as king as God’s choice. “See,” says God, “that’s the man who will save my people. Anoint him as king” (9.15-17).

Like other books in the Bible, 1st Samuel weaves together different versions of the same story. (I probably didn’t mention that there are two versions of the story of Noah in Genesis 6-9. One says that Noah was to choose two of each animal. That’s the version we tell the children. But look closely and you will see another version that says Noah shall choose seven of each animal. Then, of course, the first chapter of Genesis tells one story of creation, and chapters two and three tell another version.) These different points of view in the same book of the Bible are not contradictions to be explained away. They are honest presentations of varied perspectives that have been retained to show the subtle and nuanced ways that the world moves forward. The Eternal One’s scheme will not be thwarted. Even through messy political maneuverings if necessary.

Enter David. Anointed as king, but Saul is still on the throne for a while. David played a mean lute. He performed music therapy for King Saul when Saul got down in the dumps. Music is one of the great gifts of God. We should listen to more music; play more music; sing; dance.

Nearly ten feet tall: Goliath from Gath. His armor weighed 126 pounds. The tip of his spear weighed over fifteen pounds. David just had a sling shot. David & Goliath has become a sacred cliché. God roots for the underdog, the little man, the trampled-upon. Whole movies are based on this plot line. And we cheer for the underdog.

For forty days and forty nights Goliath steps forward and challenges the army of the Israelites. David picks up five smooth stones. When Goliath moved toward David, David “ran quickly toward the battle line” (17.48). Then he slung. Right between the eyes! The bigger they are, the harder they fall. (Note: David cut off Goliath’s head. That was the custom. The terrorists of our day did not invent decapitating.) The point is that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s (17.47). But we would be crazy to base our national defense on such a notion!

In chapter 28 Saul goes to a séance. Not a good idea.

In chapter 31 Saul and his sons are killed. Exit Saul.

Finish this sentence: The giant I face right now is….

Day 8 – Thursday -- The Book of Ruth

Day 8 – Thursday

The Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is about Ruth. And Naomi. And Orpah. (Let’s get this out of the way: Oprah Winfrey was named after Orpah; but they misspelled the name on her birth certificate.)

Here’s the story. Naomi and her husband are Jews. They have two sons who both marry women who are Moabites. The husband and the sons die. That leaves three women: one Jew and two Moabites. Naomi plans to return to Judah (they had been in Moab because of a famine). Ruth, out of loyalty, decides to go with her. They go to Judah. Ruth hangs around a wheat field to get the leftovers for food. A man named Boaz owns the field. Ruth flirts with Boaz and they get married. Boaz (a Jew) marries Ruth (a Moabite). It so happens that Ruth becomes the great grandmother of King David.

This little pamphlet is written to remind the zealously nationalistic Jews that King David himself had non-Jewish blood. Therefore, let’s not be so xenophobic.

You probably recognize these words of Ruth:

Where you go, I will go; 

where you lodge, I will lodge; 

your people shall be my people, 

and your God my God. (1.16)

The Book of Ruth is a love story—a double love story—i.e., Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law, and the love of Ruth and Boaz. But the larger story is about God’s love for all people, not just one nation or one race.

Why is it that people get so uppity about their own country or their own race? And why is it that Christians so often forget that Jesus was a Jew? And why does skin color matter so much? Why can’t we see our common humanity and treat each other as sisters and brothers of the human race? Huh?

Finish this: I can broaden by circle of friends to include people of other races or religions by…

Day 7 – Wednesday-- The Book of Judges

Day 7 – Wednesday

The Book of Judges

A book about judges? Well, not really. The people called “judges” were not magistrates or judicial figures. They were leaders. The setting is a time when Israel has conquered the Promised Land (though it isn’t complete). Israel has evolved into a federation of twelve tribes (sort of like the Thirteen Colonies). There seems to be a desire for a more centralized government for practical reasons.

We meet a female “judge” and prophet named Deborah (4.4). The Song of Deborah in chapter five is one of the oldest pieces of writing in the Bible.

Jephthat makes a vow and ends up killing his daughter because he believes keeping a vow is more important than the life of his daughter (Ch. 11). This is a screwed up ethical or moral belief.

And we all know the story of another judge named Samson and his girlfriend Delilah. (Of course before he met Delilah he was already married to Timnah and had just had sex with a prostitute in Gaza.) Samson is a kind of Jewish Hercules; his feats are amazing. He dies like a suicide bomber; except instead of using a bomb he pulls down a building (a temple) with his bare hands in order to kill his enemies. In the Letter to the Hebrews (chapter 11), Samson is named as a member of the “Hall of Faith.”

And of course we all know about Dodo’s grandson in chapter 10.

Have you stayed in a motel lately? Was there a Bible in the drawer? If so, it had the name of another “judge” on it: Gideon. The first Gideon Bible was placed in the Superior Hotel in Iron Mountain, Michigan in November, 1908. Three men got together in 1899 and decided to put Bibles in hotels. One of them, Will J. Knights, suggested they call their new organization the Gideons, and they agreed. Knights chose Gideon’s name because the Biblical character was a courageous and faith-filled man who just wanted to do God’s will. (They ignored the fact that Gideon slave [cf. 8.29-31; 9.18].) The Beatles promoted the Gideons in their song “Rocky Racoon”: Rocky Raccoon checked into his room // Only to find Gideon's bible // Rocky had come equipped with a gun // To shoot off the legs of his rival… And in a later verse: And now Rocky Raccoon he fell back in his room // Only to find Gideon's bible // Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt // To help with good Rocky's revival…

The Book of Judges is a messy part of Israel’s history. Each of us has gone through times in our lives when we were trying to put things together and figure out who we were and how to move forward. The psychiatrist Carl Jung taught that the major task in life is “individuation.” By that he meant that our goal is to put all the pieces of our lives together; to become whole persons. The God of Israel is the one true God, and the God who is the One. As we work on becoming unified selves we become more one with God.

Finish this: What I need to do to become more whole is…

Day 6 – Tuesday -- The Book of Joshua

Day 6 – Tuesday

The Book of Joshua

Moses dies and God appoints Joshua to take the lead. Just as the people had to cross the sea to escape enslavement, now they have to cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. The crossing of the river has become a metaphor for death in Western culture. A number of Black Spirituals use this metaphor, such as “Deep River” and “Roll, Jordan, Roll.”

This book is about conquest—taking the land by force. Once again the principle of herem, also called “the ban,” is followed: complete destruction of the Canaanites. Christians will later follow the concept of holy war during the Crusades of the twelfth through thirteenth centuries. Have we grown beyond any idea of a holy war?

In the sixth chapter we find the story of a prostitute named Rahab who helped the Israelites capture the city of Jericho. In the eleventh chapter of the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews, Rahab the prostitute is named as a member of the “Hall of Faith.”

Remember hearing about the day that the sun stood still? Well, that is in the Book of Joshua, chapter 10. It is part of the account of the Israelites defeating the five Amorite kings. Joshua commands the sun and moon to stop in the heavens, and God makes it happen. We all know that stories about heroes commonly give the hero special powers and end up exaggerating heroic abilities. We also know that the sun does not revolve around the earth as Joshua’s story implies. Ancient tales are not meant to be read or heard as exact reporting on what happened. We are not being unfaithful to Scripture if we don’t take all of these tales literally. Rather, we are using good common sense and being informed by literary forms.

When do you remember something that happened to you when it seemed that “time stood still”?

Probably the most well-known verse in Joshua is toward the end where Joshua says, Choose this day whom you will serve (24.15). Once again the covenant (the partnership) is being renewed. In Deuteronomy, Moses said, Choose life. Joshua says, Choose… Part of the Biblical message is that we are free to make choices, which also gives us responsibility.

What choices have you made that you would change if you could?

In spite of the past, how—by the grace of God—will you choose to go forward?
 

Day 5 – Monday -- The Book of Deuteronomy

[We skip Sundays because they are not counted as part of the Forty Days]


Day 5 – Monday

The Book of Deuteronomy

The word Deuteronomy means “second law.” The Ten Commandments are given to the people by Moses a second time in chapter five. (Remember, the first time was in Exodus 20.) There is a new generation since the first giving of the Law. So, Moses presents it again, with only a slight change. The fourth commandment, about keeping the Sabbath, is given a different rationale.

In Exodus the reason for the Sabbath goes back to the creation story where God rests on the seventh day. But in Deuteronomy the reason given is based in Israel’s experience of enslavement and freedom. Just as God showed compassion for you and set you free, you should be compassionate and allow your servants/slaves, animals, and foreigners to rest just as you do on the Sabbath.

Notice that as the Bible progresses the laws, codes, and customs change. Different reasons are given for what is expected or no longer expected. There is an evolution of ethics and morality in our Scriptures.

Jesus says that the most important verse in the Bible is found in Deuteronomy:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

and with all your soul, and with all your might. (6.4-5)

Still today, when Jews gather to worship on the Sabbath, they repeat this verse. (And every day if they pray the daily prayers.)

Yet, in the same book which speaks of our love for God and God’s compassion for us, the herem is set forth—the instructions to destroy and slaughter the indigenous peoples of Canaan. This violent exclusivity in certain parts of the Bible is an embarrassment to many of us. We sometimes forget that our spiritual heritage is just as violent as other religious traditions such as Islam. Both of our sacred Books (Bible and Qur’an) contain holy war traditions as well as commandments to take care of the poor and needy and to love each other.

Even Gandhi, the great proponent of non-violence, treated women as inferior to men and had other inconsistencies in his life and teachings.

All religions are mixtures of good and less than good. It could be because religions go through a process of maturation just as individuals do. Each religious tradition has to grow up over time. We should remember that Islam is a much younger religion than Christianity or Judaism.

A beautiful passage is found in chapter 32:

As an eagle stirs up its nest,

    and hovers over its young;

as it spreads its wings, takes them up,

    and bears them aloft on its pinions,

the Lord alone guided him;

God is compared to a mother eagle that will “bear you up” on her wings. Have you ever experienced God that way? Has she (mother eagle) ever borne you up on her wings?

And there is the well-known challenge in chapter thirty: Today I set before you life and death…Choose life.

Finish this: Today I choose life by….

Day 4 – Saturday -- The Book of Numbers

Day 4 -- Saturday


The Book of Numbers

Israel is still in the wilderness, between Egypt and the Promised Land. This book is concerned with numbers, names, tribes, and locations. There are laws about inheritance, offerings, vows, punishments, duties, the place of worship, the Passover, and so on. There is the strange story of the talking donkey (Balaam’s ass) in chapters 22-24.

Moses gets mad at the people. God gets mad at the people. Moses intervenes and keeps God from destroying them. In chapter 12 Aaron and Miriam get mad because Moses married a black woman (a Cushite). God gets mad at Miriam and gives her leprosy, saying in effect, “You like white skin—I’ll give you white skin.”

Probably the best known verses from Numbers are found in chapter six:

The Lord bless you and keep you; 

the Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;

 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

                                                                                      (6.24-26)

This is called the Aaronic Blessing because God authorized Aaron and his sons to bless the people with these words. These words are used as the Benediction or Blessing at the end of worship in many churches.

Try this. Each morning for a week say the Aaronic Blessing for yourself, speaking directly to God: O Lord, bless me and keep me. Make your face to shine upon me. Be gracious to me. Lift up your countenance upon me, and give me peace.

Then during the day, choose one phrase from the blessing and silently say it over someone you see. For example, for the police officer you observe: Lord, bless her and keep her safe. Give her your peace.

Finish this sentence: Lord, I want to be a blessing today for…

Day 3 – Friday -- The Book of Leviticus

Day 3 -- Friday

The Book of Leviticus

The word Leviticus refers to the Levites. From the tribe of Levi come the priests. This book is concerned with sacrifices, rituals, purity, and cleanliness; dealing with diseases, and maintaining distinctiveness.

There are many laws about purity. Chapters 17-26 are called the Holiness Code. God wants the Jews to be a holy (qadosh) people—different from and separate from other people. At this stage in Israel’s history there is a need to form a separate identity in order to be an “advertisement” for the One true God. It is part of God’s marketing plan. Israel is to be God’s avant-garde for his dream for the world.

According to Jesus, the second most important verse in the Bible is in Leviticus:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (19.18)

The whole verse says: You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. In the context of Leviticus one’s “neighbor” is a fellow Jew. But centuries later Jesus expanded the meaning of “neighbor” to include all races and nationalities, and even “enemies.” A good point to remember is that the Bible is always expanding our understanding of God, neighbor, and morality.

The very next verse says: yourself: You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.

Obviously, that is a verse most of us ignore. And we should. It is important to be able to distinguish which verses in the Bible are ongoing and which are temporary. Many parts of our Scriptures were written for a particular time or situation, not intended to be set in stone. If we do not separate out those verses that are not intended for us in our time, we create an irrational, oppressive, and, quite frankly, an immoral religious mindset.

A wonderful idea is set forth in Leviticus 25 – the Jubilee Year – when all debts are cancelled, land is returned to its original owners, and indentured servants are set free. Could such a principle inform the way a democracy works?

Here is a point to ponder: It doesn’t say “Love your neighbor instead of yourself.” It says, “as [much as] yourself.” But could it also mean, “Love your neighbor as part of yourself”?

Finish this sentence: The person I have the most trouble loving is…..

Day 2 -- Thursday -- Exodus

Day 2 -- Thursday

The Book of Exodus

The word Exodus means “a way out.” At the beginning of Exodus the Jews are slaves under Pharaoh. But God gives them “a way out” by dividing the Red Sea. In Exodus God is the Liberator. He opposes oppression and sets people free.

An important passage in this book is chapter three where Moses finds a bush that is burning, but not burning up. Out of the bush comes the voice of God. It is here that God reveals her name, which is I Am. The Hebrew word is Yahweh, originally without vowels—so, YHWH. Jews consider this Name so sacred that they do not say it or write it. Instead, they substitute the Hebrew word Adonai, which is translated as “LORD.”

There is a history of understanding I Am philosophically as Being. God is That which gives “being” to all things. We are human beings because we come from Being-Itself, and we are part of Being-Itself. Without Being we would not be.

In Exodus 20 God gives the Ten Commandments. God has already given the people the gift of freedom and identity. The Ten Commandments are the Instructions that come with the gift. “Here,” says God, “is how you shall live as the people who are partners with me.”

Since God is the Liberator, any time you see people (or animals or any part of the creation) being set free, you may confidently assume that God is at work.

Finish this sentence: God, I still need to be set free from…..

Day 1 -- Ash Wednesday -- Genesis

DAY 1 – Ash Wednesday

The Book of Genesis

The word Genesis means beginning. The creation at the beginning of Genesis is described as God creating order out of chaos. God gives structure and purpose to the material world. Please remember: this story of creation is not a scientific account. It is a theological account. If we used scientific language we might say that God the Creator initiated the Big Bang. He/She is behind it all.  But the importance of Genesis is the theological assertion that the world is good, and was created by a Good God.

On Ash Wednesday we receive the sign of ashes on the forehead to remind us that “You were made from dust, and you will return to dust” (Gen. 3.19). In doing so, we acknowledge our fragility and mortality. We remember that we are not the ultimate source of our being, and that our lives are a gift from a divine source.

Genesis tells a story (chs. 2 and 3) about humanity’s broken relationship with God. It recognizes that something is awry in the world. Our world is like Humpty Dumpty. We have had a “fall,” and our brokenness is the result. Our natural anxiety about death and security is deeper than biology. It is our spiritual condition.

Chapters 6-9 reaffirms God’s determination to bring about his goal for the world. It is as if the world’s hardware has been infected with a dangerous virus, and God has to reboot the creation through a flood, saving a few people to start over, i.e., Noah’s family.

Chapter 12 is a key passage. God calls Abraham and Sarah to leave their home and go out into the unknown with only God as their GPS. This is the call to faith. From that point on, we are all called to take the leap of faith.

God makes a covenant with Abraham and Sarah and their descendants. A covenant is an agreement, a partnership based on promises, and a relationship of being bound together. We are all meant to be partners with God. She binds us to herself. She will not let us go. We are united in a kind of spiritual marriage.

Genesis goes on to tell the stories of Hagar & Ishmael, Isaac &; Rebecca, Jacob &; Rachel, and Joseph.

When I was an active pastor and led Ash Wednesday services each year, I found the placing of ashes on the forehead with the accompanying words quite moving. Especially when I placed the ashes on the heads of someone I knew was terminally ill, and folks who were way up in years, and little children—it was difficult to say, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Facing our mortality is not easy. Ash Wednesday is the most real of all Reality Shows.

Stand in front of a mirror. Take some substance and smudge it on your forehead and say to yourself, “I am dust, and to dust I shall return.” How do you feel about that?

Finish this sentence: Because I am mortal…..