Daily Bible Reading: Tobit 7-8 and Luke 21

Tobit 7 – They go to Raguel’s home and are well-received. Raguel learns that Tobias is son of his kinsman, Tobit. Raguel responds warmly to Tobias’ appeal to marry his daughter, and he tells the whole story about the seven husbands. They are given in marriage and Sarah’s mother goes to prepare the place where they will come together.

Tobit 8 – Tobias does as he was instructed and burns the fish’s organs on the incense. This drives the demon to the “remotest parts of Egypt” where he is bound by Raphael “hand and foot”(8:3). Tobias then, joined by Sarah, offers prayer to God. He makes reference in his prayer to the story of Adam and Eve:

                                    It was you [O God] who created Adam,

                                    You who created Eve his wife

                                    To be his help and support;

                                    And from these two the human race was born.

            It was you who said,

                                    ‘It is no good that the man should be alone;

                                    let us make him a helpmate like himself’.

                                    And so I do not take my sister

                                    For any lustful motive;

                                    I do it in singleness of heart.

                                    Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me

                                    And bring us to old age together (8:6-7).

Meanwhile, Dad is not so sure Tobias will make it. He goes out and digs a grave – just in case. When a servant tells him that Tobias is fine, he goes out and fills in the grave before they wake in the morning. They celebrate the marriage for fourteen days thereafter. Raguel gives Tobias half of all his property. No specific reference is made to the silver Tobias came for, but perhaps it is included in “all the property.”

Luke 21 – Jesus compares the religious offerings of the rich and the poor and praises the poor widow who offers just two small copper coins; “poor as she is, [she] gave all she had to live on” (21:4).

As for the rich ornamentation in the Temple, Jesus reminds them that the Temple will soon be a pile of rubble.  They ask him when this will occur, and Jesus turns his teaching to the destruction of the “last days.” Do not believe those who come and say the time is near.  Do not follow them.  Do not be afraid when you hear of wars for the end will not follow immediately (21:9). First, there will be persecutions “because of my name” (21:12). It will give you a chance to testify to the gospel. “I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict” (21:15). Parents and friends will betray you “but not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls” (21:19).

                 

When Jerusalem in surrounded by armies, you must flee to the mountains.  There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.  “Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in a cloud with great power and glory” (21:27). The time of your redemption will be near. Jesus likens these mysterious happenings with the simple signs of summer that we can read from just looking at a fig tree when its leaves begin to appear in spring. “in the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the Kingdom of God is about to come” (21:29-31). This generation “will not pass away until all things have taken place” (21:32). Be alert, therefore, at all times, praying that you may have strength to endure to the end. Jesus spent all day teaching things like this in the Temple. Then at night he would go back out to the Mt. of Olives. 

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 16-17 and Luke 13

2 Kings 16 – King Ahaz of Judah is 20 when he becomes king and rules for 16 years (732-715). He does what is not right, walking “in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrifices his own son as a burnt offering, imitating the practices of the ancient Canaanite people of the region (16:3-4). During Ahaz’ reign, the kings of Syria (Rezin) and Israel (Pekah) join in an alliance against him – they are angry that he would not join with them in an alliance against Assyria - but they do not conquer him.

The King of Edom recovers Elath (Aqaba) and drives the Judeans out. Ahaz turns to the king of Assyria for help against them all, saying “I am your devoted servant. Come and rescue me from the kings of Syria and Israel, who are attacking me” (16:7). He even gives tribute of gold and silver from the Temple to win him as an ally. It works - the King of Assyria, who is known as one of the most warlike and feared of all rulers of the region, comes and defeats the Syrians at Damascus, carrying off its inhabitants to Assyria (to Kir). This assistance of the king of Judah to the building up of Assyrian power HAS to be one of the worst things Ahaz could have done in the sight of God.

Ahaz visits Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) in Assyria and admires one of the altars he has. He sends the priest Uriah to study it so that he can have one built like it before he returns to Jerusalem. He makes sacrifice on this altar, removes the bronze altar that was there before, moving it to the north. All the blood sacrifices that were traditional are now to be offered up on the new altar.  The old one will just be for the king “to inquire by” (16:15). He made changes in the bronze altar and in the inner sanctuary as well. When he dies, he is succeeded by his son Hezekiah (715-686).

                 

2 Kings 17 – KEY CHAPTER: In Israel, Hoshea, son of Elah comes to power. “He did what was evil. . .yet not like the kings of Israel who were before him” (17:2). King Shalmaneser V (727-722 BC) of Assyria comes against him, and Hoshea becomes his vassal, paying him tribute. But when Hoshea seeks Egyptian help and stops paying the tribute, Shalmaneser has him imprisoned (17:4).

Assyria invades the land again and besieges Samaria for three years. In 722, Samaria falls and the Israelites are carried away to Assyria—to Halah on the Habor and to the cities of the Medes. Later the Assyrians will also move people from other Mesopotamian cities and settle them in Samaria, so the ethnic, cultural and religious unity of the region will be destroyed permanently.

                 

“This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. . .They had worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. . .The people of Israel secretly did things that were not right against the Lord their God. . .they served idols. . .They would not listen but were stubborn, as their ancestors had been who did not believe in the Lord their God. . .They went after false idols and became false; they followed the nations that were around them. . .They rejected all the commandments of the Lord. . .and made for themselves cast images of two calves; they made a sacred pole, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. They made their sons and their daughters pass through fire; they used divination and augury; and they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah alone” (17:7-18).

This has to be the centerpiece of the entire book of Kings—the prophetic explanation for the failure of the Promised Land project begun by Moses. The next paragraph also warns that Judah is not being faithful either.

                 

“Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced” (17:19). The writer repeats in brief the history of the kings. After carrying the people of Israel off, the king of Assyria settles foreigners on their land—people from Babylon, Cathah, Avva, Hamath, etc. “When they first settled there, they did not worship the Lord; therefore, the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them” (17:25). The king is warned that the misfortunes they are suffering there are due to the fact that people there “do not know the law of the god of the land” (17:26), so Shalmaneser orders a priest in exile to be returned to Israel, to Bethel, so that he can teach the settlers how to worship the Lord.

                 

Still the worship that comes is not pure. The customs of the foreigners mingle with the Yahweh worship on the “high places.” The various gods set up there are listed: Succoth-benoth (Bablyon); Nergal (Cuth); Ashima (Hamah); Nibhaz and Tartak (Avvites); Adrammelech and Anammelech (Sepharvaim), with child-sacrifice. But they also worship Yahweh and appoint priests for his worship. “So these nations worshiped the Lord, but also served their carved images; to this day their children and their children’s children continue to do as their ancestors did” (17:41).

Luke 13 – Jesus moves on to tell the crowds that when you see people who are killed by the powers that be, you should NOT think that those people have somehow brought God’s wrath down on themselves. It’s easy to see the pain others suffer as the consequence of some sin they have committed. We all kind of assume that people who are punished by those in power MUST have done something bad, but all of us suffer and all of us will die. We should not assume always that these things imply some misdeed. But then he says something that seems to undercut this message. He says, “If you do not turn from your sins, you will all die as they did” (13:5). Does anyone understand how all of this is consistent??

                 

Then comes the parable of the fig tree:  The owner of the fig tree comes to see if it has born any fruit, but even after three whole years, there is none.  So the owner tells the gardener to cut it down.  The gardener asks him to be patient and give him a little more time to fertilize it and encourage it.  If after that it still bears no fruit, then he will cut it down. Here, I think, Jesus is the gardener, asking God for just a little more time for him to get the tree to bring forth fruit.

                 

Jesus on the meaning of the Sabbath: A woman with an evil spirit that had kept her crippled her for 18 years, unable to stand up straight, is cured by Jesus on the Sabbath.  He is criticized for “breaking the Sabbath” by “working” this miracle. Jesus puts his critics to shame for their superficial righteousness.  “You hypocrites,” Jesus says, “ . . .ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” (13:16)

                 

Jesus’ teaching on God’s Kingdom: Jesus compares God’s Kingdom to a mustard seed – a tiny plant that eventually will grow into a tall tree that will be able to “house” many “birds” (13:19).

                 

Then he compares the Kingdom to “yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (13:20). Though tiny, the presence of God’s kingdom, will leaven our reality and change it fundamentally over time.

                 

On entering God’s Kingdom: Teaching in villages on the way to Jerusalem, someone asks if only a few will be saved. “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” (13:24). Once the owner has shut the door, you will stand outside and knock, but he will say “I do not know where you come from” (13:25). “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God” (13:28-29). These are very tough words directed in a prophetic voice to the people of Israel who are not accepting Jesus—I think.

                 

Jesus’ yearning for acceptance by his people: And yet another plea: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing” (13:34). This combines both the hard edge and the loving plea.  The hard edge comes from a recognition of the great love that is behind Jesus’ appearance and the hurt and frustration that comes from seeing it rejected by those who looked forward most to its coming.

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 12 and Mark 11

2 Samuel 12 – The Lord sends his prophet, Nathan, to afflict David.  Don't you wish every "ruler" had an honest prophet to keep him on the straight and narrow! Nathan tells David a story—about two men in a city, a poor one and a rich one, one with many sheep and one with only one.  When a traveler comes to the rich man requiring hospitality, the rich man is loath to sacrifice even one sheep to feed the man; so he takes the poor man’s one lamb and uses it.  David becomes outraged at the injustice of the story and says, “the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity” (12:6).

           

Then Nathan tells David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more.  Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?” (12:8-9)

He then imposes a penalty—“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife . . .I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. . .” (12:10-13). David realizes his terrible sin and confesses it to Nathan.  The Lord forgives him, but the child born to David and Bathsheba shall die (12:14).

There is, of course, a lot to be taken from this great story.  David is not above the law of the Lord even though he is king, even though he rich and has many wives.  When it comes to the moral law, all men are equal before God.  Also, even though God’s forgiveness comes readily to David, the punishment for sin remains.  The little baby will die, showing us also that the consequences of sin pour over onto the most innocent when we transgress.  Is it God’s will?  It is God’s will for there to be a moral order, and it is in the nature of this order for the evil we do to spill over onto those who are nearest and dearest to us. The woes Nathan speaks of here will come to pass in 16:20 - three of David’s sons are murdered, two by their own brothers. Absalom takes over his father’s harem. The real repentance of David is revealed not here in this story, however, but in the psalm he wrote, number 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.  Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me

wisdom in my secret heart.  Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit with me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit (51:1-12).

David is inconsolable at the penalty exacted upon the innocent child.  He fasts and prays that God will spare him, but when he dies, David accepts it.  He and Bathsheba will have another son—Solomon.

           

Joab, meanwhile defeats the Ammonites at Rabbah and its king, Milcom.

Mark 11 – Approaching Jerusalem, at the Mt. of Olives, Jesus sends his disciples into town to get a donkey colt for him to ride into town on.  People lay their cloaks down on the ground before him and others leafy branches (palms?). He goes into the Temple and looks around.  Then they go to Bethany together. The next day they come back and Jesus sees a fig tree without fruit (it is not the season for the fruit), but Jesus curses it anyway (11:14).

In Jerusalem, at the Temple, he drives out money lenders (11:15) quoting something from scripture (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 combined). At this point we hear that the chief priests and scribes are out to kill him, but they fear the crowd. They pass the withered fig tree, and Jesus tells them anything they pray for will come to them if they do not doubt (11:22).  And he tells them to forgive if they want God to forgive them (11:25).

           

When they come into Jerusalem again, the leaders ask him “by what authority” he does the things he does.  He confounds them—knowing their fear of going against the crowd—where they think John the Baptist’s authority came from. They are afraid to say his power came from God because they never had respect for John and saying he had been sent by God would show them disrespectful of God. And they are afraid of saying that his power did NOT come from God because they fear all the people who followed John. They fudge it and say they don’t know. 

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 1 and Matthew 21:23-46

Deuteronomy (Introduction) - The ancient name for this book was “mishne tora” or “copy of the Torah. But it goes beyond that according to Schocken. The whole mission and destiny of Israel is “recast” here. Here the man who thought of himself as halting of speech gives a series of eloquent speeches. Though Moses died on the steppes overlooking Jericho, its outlook seems to entail a knowledge and reverence for the monarchy established years later and the centrality of Jerusalem. Scholars have place origin of the book to around the time of the reign of Josiah (640-608 BC)—when he was trying to reform his kingdom, destroying “high places” of pagan worship. 2 Kings reports the “discovery” of the scroll in chapter 22. Schocken points out that scholars have remarked on internal references to the traditions and point of view of the northern kingdom (affinities to Hosea), so some think some of the book represents traditions carried south when the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians. It may later have been further edited and written down at similar crisis points (is he referring to the later Babylonian exile?)

Deut 1 – Moses addresses people in the 40th year of the exodus journey as they stand just outside the land God has promised them. He retells the story of their journey, of God’s promises and how they came to the new lands. He reminds them of how he could not bear the weight of the task of settling their problems alone (a recurrent theme from the beginning). He has the tribes name leaders whom he makes rulers and judges to hear controversies. It is hard to read them and NOT see the impact these ideas have had on the world we live in: “Judge every dispute fairly, whether it concerns only your own people or involves foreigners who live among you. Show no partiality in your decision; judge everyone on the same basis, no matter who they are. Do not be afraid of anyone, for the decisions you make come from God. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will decide it” (1:16-17).

Then they go through the wilderness to Kadesh Barnea to the Mt. of Amorites. They send out scouts who report the enemy’s strength. They grumble against the Lord because they are afraid of the conflict ahead. Moses tries to reassure the people that the Lord will fight for them as he did back in Egypt, but he could not get the people to trust the Lord. The Lord gets angry at their unfaithfulness and swears no one will enter except for Caleb and Joshua. [Schocken says only Caleb and Joshua encouraged the invasion when others cautioned against it] The people finally decide to make the fight, but now God is NOT going to help them because they doubted Him. The Amorites whip their butts. They cry out to the Lord but He pays no attention to them.


Matthew 21:18-46 - In the morning he returns to the city and is hungry. He sees a fig tree by the road with nothing on it but leaves. He curses it and it withers. The disciples ask him how that happened. He makes it into a lesson about the power they may have too if they have faith. “[I]f you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done” (21:21).

When he goes into the Temple to teach this time, the chief priests and elders ask him by what authority he teaches and does these things. To confound them, knowing their fear of the people who have a high opinion of John the Baptist, he asks them where John’s authority came from. They claim not to know about John, so Jesus says he will not tell them by whose authority he ministers.

Then he tells them the parable of the man with two sons, one of whom defies his father when he asks him to do something but then obeys; and the other who outwardly complies but does not follow through and do what he said he was going to do. Which of the sons is doing his father’s will? They go with the one who gives the right response initially, but Jesus says no, the ones who actually DO the task are the ones who will be rewarded. It is not enough to “know” the father’s will or say you will do his will. The important thing is DOING the father’s will, and this the leaders are not doing.

Then he tells them the parable of the landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it out. The tenants continually abuse the agents of the absent owner. Finally he sends his son to collect his share thinking they will respect him. But they do not. They kill the son. Jesus tells them the owner will “put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time” (21:41). So Jesus wishes to penetrate the blindness of the Pharisees who threaten the life of the Son of God, owner of the vineyard of Israel. If they do not repent, the kingdom will be taken away and “given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (21:43). They know he is speaking about them and want to arrest him; the trouble is they fear the crowds who see Jesus as a prophet.

The biblical parables are designed to inspire a respect in the reader for the narrative of God’s dealings with the world seen over the long-term. As Joseph’s traumatic destiny in his family was really part of God plan to preserve and care for his people and not simply the sordid tale of brotherly jealousy and treachery, so the persecution of the prophets, the sending of the son Jesus and his rejection by the tenants (the Jews) must be seen as part of a greater plan God has to extend his salvation to all men.