Tag: Noah

Problematic acts of violence in the Old Testament

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 11 – The Kingdom Enters

Problematic acts of violence in the Old Testament

[Bible references: Genesis 4:26; 6:5-22; 9:1-1; Exodus 15:1-21; 17:16; 20:5:34:6-7; 14:18-19; Deuteronomy 5:9-10; 33:27; Joshua 6:15-19; 8:1-2; 10:20, 40-43; 11:16-23; 13:1; 15:63; 16:10; 17:16; 21:43-45; Judges 3:1-7; 1 Samuel 17:45-47; 25:28; 1 Chronicles 21; Isaiah 28:21; Jeremiah 6:23; 42:11-12; Ezekiel 8:17; 23:19; Habakkuk 1:6-7]

The Flood

Human violence made God grieved[1] that he had made humans and He was filled with pain. God sent a flood as a judgment on the violence and evil of humanity, but in His mercy, God spared Noah and his family. In addition to that, after the flood God imposed a penalty for murder and gave the rainbow as a sign of his covenant to never flood the earth again.

The conquering of Canaan

God’s instructions to Joshua for conquering the land of Canaan along with and the language that summarized some of results can make is seem genocidal, like all the Canaanites were wiped out. However, reading more carefully, we can see that the language is being used hyperbolically. For example, at the end of Joshua and the beginning of Judges we still see all the Canaanite tribes still exist, that there was still Canaanite land waiting to be possessed and that there were still many Canaanites around that God intended to remain in order to bother the Israelites. Also, as we look at the language God used for driving out the Canaanites in Deuteronomy 33:17, it indicates that Yahweh had a prior relationship with the Canaanites just like He had in primeval times with Adam’s son, Seth, and Seth’s descendants.[2] What is not often linked to the demise of the Canaanites is the curse that Noah placed on Canaan (Genesis 9:18-25).[3]

Intergenerational violence

Many people are disturbed by the statement made in a few locations in the Old Testament, about punishing the children for sins of the fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation. Some clarifications need to be addressed in this statement.

  1. Some translations use the term “punish” but other versions use the better translation “visit,” That is to say that God will witness the effects of the sins of one generation on the following generations. Since family structures in Old Testament times included up to four generations living in one location, it would be natural to see the effect of the oldest generation affecting the others.
  2. Setting the effect of sin to just 3rd and 4th generations also needs to be seen in contrast to the mercy shown to thousands of generations. Yahweh’s mercy is greater than sin.
  3. This statement also needs to be set in contrast to Ezekiel’s statement that the penalty for sin would only be applied directly to the sinner.

Yahweh’s abandonment of Israel

Just as Yahweh had disciplined Assyria, Babylon, and other nations for their excessive violence towards Israel, Israel’s continued practice of violence and evil warranted the same violent discipline. Yahweh allowed the capture and exile of Israel and Judah by Assyrians and Babylonians. This violence by Yahweh towards Israel was in contrast to the continued mercy shown by God to Israel in the past. For that reason, this abandoning Israel to the violence of Assyria and Babylon would be referred to as his “strange” work (Isaiah 28).

During that abandonment, much of the suffering Israel and Judah experienced, including extreme starvation that led to cannibalism, was due to their failure to surrender during the siege of the cities. Of course, if Israel and Judah had been obedient from the beginning, Yahweh would not have brought in the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

When Israel successfully evaded the Egyptians during their exodus, a song was created in which Yahweh received the title, “the Warrior God.” After that, Yahweh was described as a warrior fighting for Israel. But that sentiment disappeared after Israel went into exile because Yahweh turned the tables and fought against Israel.

[1] From Genesis 6:6. Some Bible translations use “regret” or “repent” to translate the Hebrew nacham which also encompasses grief or sorrow.

[2] Mariottini, Claude. Divine Violence and the Character of God, Wipf & Stock, 2022 (p.329-330)

[3] Fischer, Bryan. “What did Ham do when he ‘saw the nakedness of his father”’” American Family Radio www.afa.net/the-stand/family/2014/08/what-did-ham-do-when-he-saw-the-nakedness-of-his-father/ This curse has been misused by Europeans and Americans who wanted to justify enslaving the Africans by insisting that the curse was put on Ham from whom the Africans were descended.

Observe

Read 1 Chronicles 21. Would you prefer to be disciplined directly by God or by image-bearers commissioned by God to discipline you?

God’s fullness, his followers’ emptiness

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 7– Settlement

God’s fullness, his followers’ emptiness

[Bible references: Numbers 33:55-56; Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 12:2-3, 29-32; 6:17; Joshua 3:3; 4; 6; 10:1-15; 23-24; Isaiah 65:6-7]

God’s provision though was going to require their involvement. It would start with the way they crossed the Jordan River where the people carrying the ark needed to get their feet wet in the river before it would stop flowing. And since this time, the river would now be the boundary of their new land, the people were instructed to set up a monument of twelve stones to be a reminder God’s provision. The next miracle which came soon after was the crumbling of the walls of Jericho which occurred after seven days of marching around the city. That miracle would be followed by others as the people of Israel continued to capture the cities.

According to the message that Yahweh shared with Abraham, the entry of Israel into the Promised Land meant that the sin of the Amorites had now reached its full measure. As with the time of Noah, that full measure would now end in the destruction of the inhabitants of the land, this time by the people of Israel. The danger to Israel would be, that if the current inhabitants of the land with their idolatries and atrocities, which included sacrificing their children to be burned alive, were allowed to live among the people of Israel, the people of Israel would be tempted to also turn from God.

So, beginning at Jericho, the people of Israel to instructed to “totally destroy” (Hebrew cherem)[1] the inhabitants of the city. This instruction would be repeated other times as well. The problem that would appear is that Israel did not always follow these instructions with the consequent result that Israel would continuously get drawn into the idolatries of the current inhabitants.

Before Joshua died, he challenged the people to serve Yahweh and the people responded that they would choose to serve Yahweh. Joshua replied that they could not serve Yahweh, the God who is so holy. Nevertheless, the people responded that they would serve Yahweh. Joshua then said that they were “witnesses against themselves.” They would be. In the end, they did not follow God’s commands to defeat the tribes in the Promised Land. They did not “completely destroy” the cities as they were told. Israel therefore allowed themselves to be subject to continual temptation to sin by turning from worshipping God and towards worshipping idols, participating in the same atrocities that God found so reprehensible.

[1] Lyon, William L. “Between History and Theology: The Problem of H9 Erem in Modern Evangelical Biblical Scholarship” Florida State University, dissertation Spring 2003

Reflect

Our culture has traditions like New Years’ Resolutions where we promise to make changes in our lives, yet 85% of resolutions fail.[1] What make us unsuccessful so often?

[1] Tabaka, Marla. “Most People Fail to Achieve Their New Year’s Resolution. For Success, Choose a Word of the Year Instead” Inc.com  www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/why-set-yourself-up-for-failure-ditch-new-years-resolution-do-this-instead.html

Observe

Read Deuteronomy 7:1-5.  Why do you think that the Israelites did not follow God’s instructions about destroying their enemies?

Walk of faith

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 5– Patriarchs

Walk of faith

[Bible references: Genesis 12:1-20; 15:1-6; 16:1-5; 17:1-14; 20:1-13; 22:1-18; 24:7; 28:16; 50:24; Romans 4:9; Hebrews 11:17]

Sometime after the scattering of nations, from the line of Shem and Noah, Yahweh called a man named Abram to leave his country in the Euphrates River Valley and go to a land “I will show you.” As Abram left his home country, at the age of seventy-five, God promised not only to bless Abram and his descendants but to bless the entire world though Abram. Despite his occasional failures, Abram (later named Abraham) is noted for his faith because he believed God and showed this by being obedient in following God’s instructions even when they didn’t make sense.

When Yahweh called Abram to journey to another land, we don’t know what particular experience Abram and brother and father had with Yahweh, but Genesis 24 and 31 indicates that they all knew of knew of Yahweh, even if they thought of Yahweh as one of many gods.[1] Even so, Abram must have had great faith when he took that journey to the Promised Land?[2] Then after Abram arrived in the Promised Land, what further questions may Abram have had when he experienced a deep drought in that same land, such that he needed to take a brief trip to Egypt?

After Yahweh told Abram, that he would make a great nation from him, Abram initially expressed his faith by his obedience when he took that journey to the Promised land. Again, when Yahweh showed him the stars and told him that his descendants would be as numerous as those stars, Abram believed, and Yahweh credited that to him as righteousness. Then Yahweh reiterated the promise again when Abram was 99 years old and changed Abram’s name (which meant exalted father) to Abraham (father of many nations).

God told Abraham that a great nation would come out of him and Sarah. Yet, this did not look promising when the only son born to Abraham and Sarah was Isaac who was not even born until Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. No wonder that Isaac was given a name that means “laughter.”

[1] Garris, Zachary. “Did Abraham Worship Yahweh Before His Call in Genesis 12?” Knowing Scripture knowingscripture.com/articles/did-abraham-worship-yahweh-before-his-call-in-genesis-12

[2] Although the term “Promised Land” is not used directly as the place of where Abram and his descendants were called to settle down in, there are several references to the “land that is promised you.”

Observe

Read Genesis 12:1-20. This renowned Patriarch of faith, Abram, believed Yahweh, and left his homeland to some destination that Yahweh would show to him. When Abram arrived at the place Yahweh led him to, he built an altar and set up his tent. Good start at a life of faith. Sometime afterwards, Abraham winds up in Egypt where he is now afraid for his life and asks his beautiful wife Sarah to say that she’s his sister instead of his wife, so that they people won’t kill him to get her. This does lead to complications we won’t discuss here but just to point out that we, never mind Abram, are subject to a wavering faith. Do you have incidents in your life where your faith wavered?

The Temple Maker

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 2 – The God who created

The Temple Maker

[Bible references: Genesis 1-2; Exodus 26; 1 Kings 6; Job; Psalm 8; 95; 100; 104 and others; Proverbs 8:22-31; Isaiah 44:21-28; 45:5-12; 51:4-12; 55:6-13; Matthew 26:61; I Corinthians 6:19-20; Revelation 21-22]

There has been much debate about how to interpret the creation account. There have been various attempts to understand creation as physical processes that had occurred (over shorter or longer periods, depending on your analysis) because in our current cultural context we default to thinking of creation in physical, scientific terms. But what if (surprise! surprise!) we consider the biblical text to be a theological text instead of a scientific one, about functional origins and not about material origins.[1]

The cosmos can only function as sacred space once God has inhabited it and people in his image are there. God is declaring purpose for the cosmos as an ordered space for people and as sacred space where he will dwell. This is what defines the divine activity …Adopting and promoting a vision and mission statement will not change how the institution operates. But it articulates a purpose and identity that may not have been realized or present before and proclaims that as its purpose. Genesis 1 is doing something similar. It is articulating a purpose through a mission statement (people living out their designated role as the image of God) and a vision statement (seeing the world around us as sacred space where God is living among his people and being in relationship with them). .[2]

In the last few decades, research has uncovered much more about the culture in the Ancient Near East than ever before. It has been discovered that in Ancient Near East cultures, the Genesis account would not have interpreted the creation account in terms of physical processes but rather in terms of assigning meaning and purpose. So, as we read the Creation account in Genesis 1, on the first three days the spaces of light and dark, waters above and below, and the land are being assigned a purpose. The next three days the populations of those spaces are assigned a purpose: the sun and the moon and stars, the birds and fish, the land animals.

In this perspective, the story of creation is seen more as a story about the dedication of a temple, where the universe and the world were dedicated as a sacred space, a space where God would dwell with his people. Therefore, the seventh day is when God rested from the act of dedicating the earth, which would now be the place where He would now live with his image-bearers. If you read Genesis 1-2, you will see that, unlike the other days, there is no “there was evening and there was morning.” That is because we are living in the seventh day.

The completion of God’s temple would be later remembered by the seventh day celebration of the Sabbath. Although God’s temple was completed by the seventh day, it was not a time where God ceased to do everything. The still continuing seventh day is the time when the “temple” which is our “home” is completed so that God and we, as his co-regents, can settle in and do the things that our home was designed for. Jesus in John 5:1-7 clarified this idea where he explained, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” Living into this sacred space would entail us taking part with God in his continual acts of creating and sustaining the universe. That is the perspective of Eve, when she gave birth to Cain, she recognized that “I’ve created a man with Yahweh.”[3]

In Genesis 2, the focus moves to the humans God created and how they were to function in that sacred space where the Garden of Eden is the center. Genesis 2 is also where God’s name, “Yahweh,” begins to be used. Genesis 1 introduces the God as the Creator of the universe whereas Genesis 2 introduces the God who in establishing a personal relationship with the people he created uses a personal name.[4]

The cosmos that God created was intended to be a temple, the place where He would meet with his people. The temple/creation imagery permeates and unites all of scripture from the first book, Genesis, to the last book, Revelation. The temple/creation theme shows up in places like in the stories of Noah, Moses, and Abraham, in the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple, in Job’s dialog with Yahweh, in the poetry of Psalms[5], in prophecies of Isaiah, in the body Jesus and in us as his Body and finally in the depiction of reuniting of heaven and earth. Each instance shows its own unique aspect of the temple, so that when combined with each other, they show a more complete picture of how God meets with us and provides for us and what he has intended for us. We see a complex picture of the temple as a physical place in Creation and at the same time the temple is within us, inside the bodies of all of those who call on his name. In both those cases we can see the provision of God who 1) abundantly fills all of Creation in ways that exceed our imagination and exceed the capacity of any book to tell and, 2) abundantly fills us with His strength and His Spirit so that we can fulfill the desire He has for us to “cultivate and keep” the abundant place He has provided for us.

One of the benefits of considering only the theological aspects of the Creation accounts, or the why of creation, is that we don’t have to be as highly concerned about the how of creation, or the scientific/physical accounts of creation. When scientific creation accounts are proposed and are not perceived to be correct because they don’t seem to theologically fit, we don’t need to despair. It may be that the various proposed scientific explanations simply don’t theologically fit because they just don’t or because we just don’t understand just how they could theologically fit. We know that the sciences are limited and that theories will change as more discoveries are made. Sometimes those theories may seem to move closer or further from our limited theological understandings, but our theology is not constrained by whatever the current science may indicate. In the meanwhile, we are free to explore the science and wonder in awe and marvel at just how God managed to do it all while humbly admitting that we don’t have the mind of God and how much higher his ways are than our ways.

[1] Walton, John. “The Lost World of Adam and Eve,” Proposition 3, InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition. pp. 35-45; Driver, Cory. “Commentary on Genesis 1:1-5” Working Preacher 10 Jan 2021 www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/baptism-of-our-lord-2/commentary-on-genesis-11-5-5; Carlson, Reed. “Commentary on Genesis 1:1-2:4a 12” Working Preacher Sept 2011 www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/creation-by-the-word/commentary-on-genesis-11-24a-5; Throntveit, Mark. “Commentary on Genesis 1:1-2:4a; or 1:1-5,26-2:4a 1 Working Preacher 1 Sept 2011 www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/creation/commentary-on-genesis-11-31-21-4

[2] Walton, John. “Material or Function in Genesis 1? John Walton Responds” Biologos 3 Apr 2015 biologos.org/series/reflections-on-the-lost-world-of-genesis-1-by-john-walton/articles/material-or-function-in-genesis-1-john-walton-responds

[3] Friedman, Richard Elliot, Commentary on the Torah, Harper Collins, 2003 Location 6942 of 37412

[4] There will be more discussion on that name in “Hope in the Brokenness,” Chapter 4

[5] Muran, Alexej. “The Creation Theme in Selected Psalms” Geoscience Research Institute 1 May 2015 www.grisda.org/the-creation-theme-in-selected-psalms

Reflect

Does viewing the universe as a temple affect the way we look at it?

Observe

Read Proverbs 8. This proverb personifies God’s wisdom. Read how God is describing how His wisdom is built into the very framework and fabric of this temple we call Creation. How can we sense God’s presence with us because of how His wisdom should be speaking to us?

The genealogies

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

The genealogies

[Bible references: Matthew 1; Luke 3]                              

There are not many passages in the New Testament that the average person tends to gloss over, but there are two places where that happens the most. Two of the Gospels have genealogies that look very different from one another, telling the story of Jesus from different perspectives. Neither genealogy is comprehensive, they are there to establish who Jesus is through particular relationships and to give different messages. It is typical for the average reader to skip over the genealogies when they read the Bible, but sometimes the stories attached to each name make a significant point, and sometimes the names themselves give a particular message. The genealogies are designed to give particular stories.

Matthew[1]

Matthew’s genealogy tells a three-part story that begins with Abraham, uses both Jews and Gentiles, includes women, and ends with Christ.

The list

  • Waiting for the Kingdom – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and Tamar, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon and Rahab, Boaz and Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David and Bathsheba
  • The Kingdom – Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jeconiah
  • Waiting for the re-established kingdom – Jeconiah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus

Items of note:

  • Matthew’s genealogy, starting from Abraham, traces a line to Judah to establish royal bloodline. Matthew shows Christ as the Messiah, by tracing the legal line from Judah and then to Joseph. This genealogy established Jesus’ legal rights to the throne through Judah.
  • The genealogy includes women with interesting stories:
    • Tamar was raped by Judah.
    • Salmon had children by Rahab a Gentile who was a prostitute in Jericho.
    • Boaz’s wife was Ruth who was a Gentile.
    • David had an affair with Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah.
  • Includes all the kings of Judah. Jeconiah appears twice (was last king before exile, then was part of exile) Zerubbabel (governor of Jerusalem after the return).
Luke[2]

Luke’s genealogy tells a story that starts with Adam, the son of God and ends with Jesus, the Son of God. Luke establishes Jesus as the Son of Man and goes back through Mary’s line to Noah and then to Adam. Ancient Greek genealogies traced the father’s lineage not the mother’s—but what do you do with the unique virgin-born Jesus? Certainly, Joseph was not his father, so the only logical male name available was that of Jesus’ maternal grandfather, Heli, for he was the last man involved in the genealogical process which led to Jesus. So Heli was the father of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus.

The list

  • God, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Cainan, Shela, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah
  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Aminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David
  • Nathan, Mattatha, Menna, Melea, Eliakim, Jonam, Joseph , Judah, Simeon, Levi, Matthat, Jorim, Eliezer, Joshua, Er, Elmadam, Cosam, Addi, Melchi, Neri, Shealtiel
  • Zerubbabel, Rhesa, Joannan, Juda, Joseph, Semein, Mattathias, Maath, Naggai, Esli, Nahum, Amos, Mattathias, Joseph,  Jannai, Melchi, Levi, Matthat, Heli, Joseph, Jesus

Items of Note:

[Bible references: Genesis 5:25; 11:12-26; Jeremiah 22:30; Matthew 1; Luke 3]                             

  • Starts from Adam instead of Abraham, traces Mary’s line to establish Son of God, includes 4 generations born in captivity,
  • Methuselah (oldest recorded age), Shem (the Semitic race),
  • If we translate, instead of transliterating the first 10 generations from Adam to Noah we can read: Man (is), Appointed, Mortal, Sorrow (but), The Blessed God, Shall come down, Teaching, His death shall bring, The despairing, Comfort and rest
  • There is an interesting prophecy in Jeremiah, where it appears to refer to termination of David’s legal line to the throne from Jeconiah onwards. Jeremiah 22:30 implies a BLOOD LINE curse on Solomon’s line. This separation of the genealogies from David resolves the prophecy. With Mary being of David’s blood line through Nathan, the Messiah is from the House of David yet avoids the curse, whilst still claiming the legal claim through Solomon’s line, through Joseph his adopted and legal father
  • The values of the letters in David’s name (dalet=4, vav=6, dalet=4) add up to 14. Matthew’s genealogy is set up in groups of 14.
  • Jeconiah was the last operative King and the first waiting King, he ends the second group, and starts the third.
  • The name Zerah: Meaning: Rising, Dawn; Etymology From the verb זרח (zarah), to rise or break out.
  • The name Perez: Meaning: A Breach: Etymology: From the verb פרץ (paras), to break through.
Mark

[Bible references: Mark 9:35]                                        

Mark is portraying Christ as a servant and so does not use a genealogy.

John

[Bible references: John 1:1-2]                                         

John shows Jesus directly to be the Son of God.

[1] In Hebrew, the Hebrew word translated as genealogies, ‘toledoth’ always denotes father/son relationships, always works forward.

[2] In Hebrew, the word ‘yaghash,’ is used to establish legal rights or obligations; in contrast, it always works backwards tracing an individual’s legal right or duty back to its source.

Observe

Read John 21:15-25.  Which disciple do you identify more with and why, Peter or John.?