February 5, 2010, Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 7:6-23

Lord, use the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts to your Glory and the furtherance of your Kingdom! 

Response to Exodus 21:22-23:13

What is your filter as you read scripture? Do you see a God of wrath and judgement, or do you seek out Love, Joy, Peace etc. When you recite John 3:16-17 where it says ("For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."), do you imagine "Him" to represent God the Father, or God's Gift through the Son, or His Holy Spirit? Is having everlasting life a thing of grace from this God, or is it a thing of works based on whether or not we believe correctly or say the right words? First, I feel that if it is "works", I don't think any of us know the exact answer - and that can be a cause of great worry - or it can be based on grace and offer great joy and peace, based on His Love.

Before I explain what this has to do with today's reading, let me share Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Ok, how in the world does this relate you might ask: Check this out and respond in kind:

We read some very confusing stuff today. If we pull these verses out of context we will be doing some bad things in regards to this God of Love we seek:

Exodus 21:22-23 "If damage is caused to a woman causing premature birth  resulting in death of the woman or her fetus, you are to take life for life! Wow, how many forms of birth control does this cover? (I hear a bunch of religious folks saying 'yeah!') I hear multitudes saying "Oh great, just another guilt trip!" So, let's move on.

Exodus 21;26-27 talks about violence to a slave. For bodily damage, set the slave free. We see a lot of eye for eye and tooth for tooth.

Exodus 21:28-36 are a bunch of agricultural laws that probably made a lot more sense in that culture than they do in our urban societies today. Again, life for life, property for property, etc.

Exodus 22:2-3. if you kill the thief in the night when you can't see him, no problem, but if it's after sunrise and you are aware of what you are doing, you are guilty of bloodshed and there are consequences.

Read the passage to hear more - there are a lot of laws here that certainly can be used against our fellow man and justify individual rights and use of cruel consequences for errors or acts of irresponsibility on the part of our fellowman. One can use these laws to gain the upper hand over their neighbor.

And yet, I choose to place this in the context of our Christian/Islam struggles of today. We are in the midst of a battle over ideologies with the infidels across the sea (the thoughts of both sides mind you).  In the western world, we see the inhumane acts of Sharia Law and too often claim the Devil made them do it! But as a brother recently said to me, "80% of Sharia Law comes right out of the Old Testament." I have not checked those figures, but you get the point after reading this passage!

So, that leaves us a question.  If Sharia Law is from the Devil, who dictated this law to Moses? How do we deal with these laws without an understanding of the culture that generated them through men seeking God? How can we then look at them and say it is God in the Bible and the Devil in the Quran. I venture that this is an unfair assessment feeding hate and bloodshed worldwide. I feel there is a better way.

Perhaps it is time to talk to one another in Love and understand one another's cultures and work towards peace. The radical Muslim must read the rest of the Old Testament and see how these laws were disected throughout Jewish culture. The prophets - many who are revered by the Islamic faith found the God represented in Exodus 22:27 "When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." You can't escape the fact this law was first given to the Jewish culture!" How can you then say death to the Jew!" One prophet cannot say about another prophet - both esteemed in the culture - you were of the Devil because you were not a Muslim!" Based on the verses we read as we entered this discussion, the radical Christian cannot say; "Although it is obvious you seek God, your God must be the Devil - look at your law, you misrepresent scripture!" Perhaps all of our ideologies are flawed. Perhaps it's time to read these books again and Love our brothers. Do you believe God has the power to change the world? Do you think that power just might be "Love?" How does that look?

There is a lot of bloodshed and hate in this passage. Thank goodness the gospel does not end here. The ideologies shared in Exodus were torn apart throughout scripture as the Jewish nation, The Way, and the early Christian churches grappled with "the will of God" in scripture. That grappling did not end in scripture, it must continue today as we learn to Love one another.  Allow religion, scripture, and our consciousness to change our lives from within. Allow Governments to protect societies from radical religious thought, and protect humanity allowing peace to grow worldwide.  Ok, there's thought for discussion.

Before we leave this subject, let me mention Exodus 22:22; "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry." Estimates are that over 600,000 Muslims and Afghani's have died in the present conflicts in the Middle East. Does whether that is by Western military or by radical Muslims really matter? That's a lot of widows and orphans! Out of this entire passage, this concept - care for the afflicted "widows and orphans" is the concept that keeps returning throughout the Bible.  My feeling on this is that "War is wrong when there is no talk of Peace!" Besides, Talk of Peace when you have the military strength is much cheaper than squandering your savings and losing that strength. Therein lies the battle. Is that Biblical? Talk softly, but carry a big stick!

Response to Matthew 24:1-28

Wow, yesterday's readings were a lot more fun! This is a difficult passage for sure. I like the last verse "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather." Taken in reference to verse 27, this could mean when Christ comes again there will be a lot of dead bodies around, or it could be a simple reference to the fact that when the Son of Man rose from the dead, there was no dead body to be found!

As I read the rest of this passage, I am reminded much of Revelation. This passage is filled with Jewish history from the time of Daniel through the time of Jesus and beyond. Personally, I am left feeling there is no timeline involved. I am thinking if I understood more about Hanukkah and history shared in the books of Maccabees, I would have a better understanding of this passage. Having found a God of Love and Salvation for all of creation throughout the Bible, I am left to wonder as to the use of the word 'elect' here as that has become such a theological hotseat.  I am open to your thoughts of how the Hebrew word here is related to the word for "remnant".

We continue to be alarmed by wars and rumors of wars - surely the end must be now, right! Jesus says "Watch out that no one deceives you...see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."

Mat. 24:10 "...many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and may false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Every time war is mentioned, hate is mentioned, and false prophets - Jesus says "the end is not yet - this is only the beginning" Then "the love of most will grow cold - but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." So, "Love" remains in a remnant of those who stand firm. This testimony is then preached to all nations and then the end will come. Unfortunately, that "end" is not placed at the end of the passage, but Jewish history steps back in bringing us to what I feel is the Son of Man raised from the dead on the third day - no vultures gather. Of course, that is what made the end day of Love when God is reunited with creation possible, isn't it.

Response to Psalm 29:1-11

Let me start with verse 11; "The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."

Back up a moment to verse 9; "And in his temple all cry, "Glory" I love that word "all" I see it all the time.

Now, back to verse 1 and following; Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength."

my thoughts; He does not need our strength. He does not need our might. If we ascribe to Him the glory due His name, we will conquer the nations. I have absolute faith that Love, Joy, and Peace will conquer the errors of our ideologies and through our healing from that separation that started in Genesis, God will redeem all of creation. He's just waiting for us to become one in the Spirit so that we can witness the (Awe-Full) power of His Love.

Response to Proverbs 7:6-23

A reality of life is that even devout religious folk step into the snare of the temptrous numerous times in their lives. Whether it be in our actions or attitudes; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride we carry about our own lives entices and lures us over and over. Pain, heartache, disension, and despair often follow.

Fortunately, we can rely on the Love of God which says "Nothing Shall Separate you from the Love of God" and "Love keeps no record of wrongs." (Romans 8:38-39 & I Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)) and The tough part is forgiving ourselves and that the beauty of salvation by grace does not take away the pain, heartache, disension, and despair we or our fellow man suffer with as a result of our errors. Forgiveness from God might just be easier than we imagine, but our mortal pain lingers and should force us to give Him the glory and Honor mentioned in today's Psalm.

Until Tomorrow

Rick