Genesis 35-36 and The Letters of Ignatius [Ephesians 1-3]

Genesis 35 - Jacob is led by God to go to Bethel to build and altar “to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau” (35:1). He tells everyone to get rid of the household idols he has permitted to be carried by his family.  Bethel is south in Shechem (half way to Jerusalem)—the place where Jacob had his dream on his way to Haran in flight from his brother.   Earrings worn as amulets associated with the worship of these idols are also buried under a great tree near Shechem.

God “appear[s] to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, saying, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.’ So God renamed him Israel” (35:9-10). God – El-Shaddai – blesses him yet again: “’Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Israel. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you’” (35:11-12). He sets up a stone pillar to “mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil” (35:14).

On the way to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel dies in giving birth to Benjamin.  There is some confusion in places here because Rachel’s tomb is in Ramah, just north of Jerusalem and Ephrath is to the south.

Reuben offends his father by sleeping with Rachel’s maid (mother of Reuben’s half-brothers Dan and Naphtali).  They end up in Kiriath-arba (Hebron-Mamre) where Jacob grew up.  Jacob dies at 180.

Genesis 36 – Genealogies of Esau’s descendants are given. Esau’s family moves away from Jacob and his household. “There was not enough land to support them both” (36:7). Esau [Edom] settles in the hill country of Seir.

There were kings in Edom before any king is named to rule over the Israelites (36:31). Their line is given is great detail.

The Epistles of Ignatius

Introduction to Ignatius:

Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch during the reign of Trajan (r. 98-117 AD). He was like Polycarp a student of John the Apostle.

According the Catholic Encyclopedia, “in the ninth year of his reign, Trajan, flushed with victory over the Scythians and Dacians, sought to perfect the universality of his dominion by a species of religious conquest. He decreed, therefore, that the Christians should unite with their pagan neighbors in the worship of the gods. A general persecution was threatened, and death was named as the penalty for all who refused to offer the prescribed sacrifice. He was condemned as a Christian and sent to Rome where he would be martyred” (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07644a.htm).

On the way to Rome, he wrote a series of seven letters: four when he was at Smyrna – to Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome; three when he was at Troas – to Philadelphia, Smyrna and to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna.

When he got to Rome, he was martyred in the Flavian amphitheatre by being thrown to beasts. Accounts of his actual martyrdom were all word of mouth. No documents exist describing it in any detail.

Ignatius’ letters were preserved by Polycarp and were widely known throughout the early Church. 

 

The editor notes too that another “striking thing about Ignatius is the way in which he seems to foreshadow the language of later Gnosticism (or reflect incipient Gnosticism): the ‘redemption machine’ in Ephesians 9 has a Gnostic ring about it, but more important is the significance he sees in sige, silence. Since, or the abyss that dwells in silence, is in some later Gnostic systems the ultimate origin from which everything proceeds. For Ignatius, silence is whence Jesus the Word comes (Magnesians 8); the silence that characterized his life is its creative source, and the indispensable quality of those who seek to understand him (Ephesians 15). It is also the characteristic of bishops, and in this way it seems that the authority of the bishop reflects directly the silent majesty of God (Ephesians 6, Magnesians 6, Philadelphians 1). There does not seem to be in Ignatius any idea of apostolic succession legitimizing ecclesiastical authority such as we find in Clement; rather Episcopal authority represents directly the authority of God. Much of this ‘gnostic tinge’ can be found in a form similar to Ignatius in apocryphal Jewish and Jewish-Christian writings, where the origins of Gnosticism itself may well be found” (56-57). There is no question that Ignatius rejects Docetism though.

It is in Ignatius that we find the “first extant use of the expression ‘the catholic Church’” (57). “In that Ignatius was prophetic, for the second century saw the establishment of Episcopal authority as the guarantee of unity and orthodoxy: it buttressed by an agreed canon of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, the rule of faith, a creed-like summary of the Christian faith, and faithfulness to the sacraments” (57)

Ignatius to the Ephesians

Introduction to the Epistle: Ephesus was one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire. It had a magnificent Temple to Artemis – one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.” En route to Rome with Roman officials, there was a stop-over in Smyrna, forty miles from Ephesus. Some representatives from that church, led by their bishop Onesimus, came to visit him when he was there and he gave them this letter to take back.

1 – “Your visit to me was a godsend. The warm affection your name inspires is yours by right of nature, as well as by virtue of your faith and your love for our Savior Jesus Christ. Taking God as your pattern and example, you have indeed fulfilled to perfection the duties of brotherliness, with an ardor kindled into flame by the Divine Blood. For as soon as you heard that I was on my way from Syria, as a prisoner for the Name and the Hope we all share (and trusting through your prayers to be granted an encounter with the wild beasts at Rome—a boon that will enable me to become a true disciple), you were all eagerness to visit me” (61).

He praises Bishop Onesimus for his “endearing kindliness” in visiting with him, and tells them they are blessed to have him as their Bishop.

2 – He asks them if it might be possible for Deacon named Burrhus to remain with him. And he mentions other individuals who have been helpful and “shining examples” of their concern for him.

“Now, since Jesus Christ has given such glory to you, it is only right that you should give glory to Him; and this, if sanctification is to be yours in full measure, means uniting in a common act of submission and acknowledging the authority of your bishop and clergy” (61).

3 – “Not that this is an order I am issuing, as though I were someone of importance. It is true that I am a prisoner for the Name’s sake, but I am by no means perfect in Jesus Christ as yet; I am only a beginner in discipleship, and I am speaking to you as fellow-scholars with myself” (62).

He expresses his views because of his love for them. “For we can have no life apart from Jesus Christ; and as He represents the mind of the Father, so our bishops, even those who are stationed in the remotest parts of the world, represent the mind of Jesus Christ” (62).

Genesis 24:1-32 and Early Church Writings [Polycarp to Philippians] Introduction through 2

Genesis 24:1-32 – Abraham is now a very old man. He asks his oldest servant, “the man in charge of his household” (24:2) to take and oath “by putting [his] hand under [his] thigh” (24:2) and swearing that he “will not allow [his] son [Isaac] to marry one of these local Canaanite women” (24:3). He wants his steward to find a woman from the house of Abraham’s father in Haran. He makes it clear he does not want Isaac to travel there EVER. The steward is to go there on his own and find the right woman. The steward swears he will do as asked.

The steward travels a long distance to the northern parts of Mesopotamia. He arrives at a well outside the town and prays to the Lord to show him the woman he has been sent to find by having her respond to his request for a drink of water by saying “’Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ – let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master” (24:14).

Before he is finished with his prayer, a young woman named Rebekah comes out with a water jug on her shoulder. She is “very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin” (24:16). She does all the right things, says what the Lord has told the steward she would say.

The woman is Abraham’s nephew’s daughter, Rebekah (Rivka).  She runs home and tells her family everything. Her brother Laban, goes out to meet the man. He asks him to come to their house to stay. They offer him generous hospitality.

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians [c. mid-2^nd century) – Introduction through Book 2

Introduction from the Ethereal Library Edition and from the Penguin Edition (1987):

Polycarp (69-155 AD) was born later than Ignatius (35 or 50 to 98-117 AD) and lived to a much later age (86 or so) but his epistle is usually made a kind of preface for the letters of Ignatius; we will look at the letters of Ignatius after reading Polycarp. They were both pupils of the apostle John.

Polycarp [Bishop of Smyrna--seaport town on west coast of Anatolia] was a teacher of Irenaeus, and Irenaeus often spoke of the conversations Polycarp had had with the apostle John and with “others who had seen the Lord.” The church of the Philippians to which he is writing here was the first in Europe

The manuscript scholars have worked with is not perfect in any of the Greek manuscripts, which contain it. But Eusebius had a Latin copy of the text – not as good as the Greek version.

Polycarp was a Christian from early childhood. He was appalled by the distortions of the faith brought by the Gnostics, and according to Eusebius, told a story about John the Apostle being so horrified by the presence of Cerinthus, an early Gnostic, in a public bath-house in Ephesus, he told everyone to flee from the place (Early Christian Writings, 115). Polycarp traveled to Rome to consult with the Bishop there – Anicetus (Pope ca. 154) – over a disagreement that existed as to when Easter was to be observed: on the Jewish Passover or the Roman custom of always celebrating it on a Sunday. They agreed to disagree (115).

Chapter 1

“I have greatly rejoiced with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because you have followed the example of true love [as displayed by God], and have accompanied . . . those who were bound in chains, the fitting ornaments of saints, and . . . the diadems of the true elect of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. . . .” This is a reference to Ignatius and prisoners who were with him on their way to Rome.

“In Him, endurance went so far as to face even death for our sins; but God overruled the pangs of the grave, and raised Him up to life again. Though you never saw Him for yourselves, yet you believe in Him in a glory of joy beyond all words . . . knowing that it is by His grace you are saved, not of your own doing but by the will of God through Jesus Christ” (119).

Chapter 2

“So gird up your loins now and serve God in fear and sincerity” (119). Avoid the useless sophistries of the pagans, the myths of the Jews and the “theosophy” of the Gnostics (124). Put your trust in Him who raised Jesus Christ from the grave. “All things in heaven and earth have been made subject to Him; everything that breathes pays Him homage” (120).

“He that raised Him from the dead will raise us also, if we do His will and live by His commandments, and cherish the things He cherished – if . . . we keep ourselves from wrongdoing, overreaching, penny-pinching, tale-telling, and prevaricating, and bear in mind the words of our Lord in His teaching, Judge not, that you be not judged; forgive, and you will be forgiven; be merciful, that you may obtain mercy; for whatever you measure out to other people will be measured back again to yourselves” (119-120).

Genesis 18 and Early Church Writings [Mathetes to Diognetus] 1-3

Genesis 18 - This chapter shows us Abraham sitting at the entrance to his tent near a small tree called a Terebinth at Mamre.  It is just getting to the hot part of the day, when three strangers appear.  Abraham runs over to them and begs them to accept hospitality from him. 

He enlists Sarah’s help and arranges for meat and cheese to be offered.  While they are eating, they ask where his wife is and one of them says “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son”  (18:10). Sarah, inside the tent, laughs to herself for she is well beyond child-bearing age and knows it.  But the speaker, now identified as “the Lord” repeats to Abraham what she has only said to herself. Sarah tries to deny that she laughed, but of course we all know that Sarah is having trouble really believing that this promise will ever be brought to pass—that is why she resorted to the scheme with Hagar. 

The three men then set out from there, and Abraham goes with them a ways toward Sodom.  The voice changes back and forth from that of the men (or one of the men) to that of YHWH himself (18:9 and 18:13) and later again at verses 18:16 and 18:17.  It is clear that they are to be seen as His voice. He does tell him he plans to destroy Sodom.

This is an interesting passage both for its content and the point of view it pretends to speak from.  Here the writer presents to us the inner workings of the Lord’s mind concerning not only Abraham, but the whole plan of the future he has initiated through Abraham.  The conferring of the redemption promises on Abraham brings him into relationship with God in which God seems to acknowledge that he [Abraham] has a right or need to know how God will deal with men, to understand God’s justice and even to mediate mankind’s needs to God.  That this spurs Abraham to intercede for Sodom flows naturally from God’s including him in the divine reflection, which ultimately effects the action God takes. 

There is an inter-action between the divine intention and man’s response to that intention, which ultimately shapes what happens, what God puts into effect.  Also interesting is the point that God is going to punish Sodom because he is responding to an outcry against their wickedness.  In all this, the inter-involvement and interplay between God and man, not simply God’s omniscience and omnipotence, seem to be that which shapes events. 

Abraham pleads with God not to destroy the innocent with the guilty.  Noah didn’t do this (presuming that there were other innocents destroyed in the flood), but Abraham, like Moses and Jesus after him will take the part of man at least to a point and intercede for us.  In a sense this makes Abraham God’s first “prophet.”

The Lord finally does agree to spare Sodom if ten righteous men can be found there, and perhaps would have gone further, but Abraham does not presume to push Him beyond ten.

Epistle of Mathetes [Disciple] to Diognetus

From Christian Classics Ethereal Library - http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.html

Introduction: First published in 1592 as an epistle ascribed to Justin Martyr, it is now acknowledged that we do not know who the author was; Mathetes means simply "disciple" [anonymous].  The editor at the site includes it because it is thoroughly Pauline [and I would say Johannine] and primitive. The recipient of the letter is also uncertain. There is a Diogetus who was a tutor to a future emperor and stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, but there is no solid foundation for assuming this the same man. It was written when Christianity was still a “new thing” in the world.

I would think that these early Christian documents would be especially interesting to Quakers, inasmuch as they have long proclaimed that their Christian witness is one of “primitive Christianity revived” (Wm Penn, 1696).

Chapter 1 – He writes to one he sees as “exceedingly desirous to learn the mode of worshipping God prevalent among the Christians . . . what God they trust in, and what form of religion they observe.” They “despise death” and do not esteem “those to be gods that are reckoned such by the Greeks . . . “; and they do not hold to what he calls “the superstition of the Jews” either.

Chapter 2 – Free yourself from “all prejudices possessing your mind”; “you are to be the hearer of a new [system of] doctrine.” He must free his mind of the thought that the idols people worship as gods can actually be such gods. They are merely stone, brass, wood, silver, iron and earthenware – all “corruptible matter.” They were all formed by the arts of man. They are deaf, blind and without life.

Chapter 3 – He writes that “the Christians do not observe the same forms of divine worship as do the Jews” either. They offer sacrifice “to God as if He needed them. . . “, but this is cannot be true. “For He that made heaven and earth, and all that is therein, and gives to us all the things of which we stand in need, certainly requires none of those things which He Himself bestows” on us.