Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 21 and Mark 15

2 Samuel 21 – A drought-induced famine hits for three years.  David learns from the Lord that it is because of the sin Saul incurred when he put the Gibeonites to death. 

David goes to the Gibeonites to ask what he can do to expiate Saul’s guilt.  They ask that seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to them to be “impale[d] before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord” (21:6). The king cannot give them Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, so he turns over two of the sons of Rizpah (daughter of Saul’s concubine Aiah) and five of the sons of Merab (Saul’s oldest daughter) and her husband Adriel. Rizpah keeps watch over the impaled bodies of her sons day and night, so they would not be carried off.  In response, David gathers the bones of Saul, Jonathan and all the seven sons and grandsons of Saul and buries them in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father.  After that, it rained.

           

Again war breaks out with the Philistines, “and David grew weary” (21:15). His men finally convince him to stay away.  He attracts gallant attempts of the enemy to kill him.  Men of great size, descendants of a race of giants (such as Goliath) are mentioned.

Mark 15 – In the morning, the chief priests and others consult and decide to turn Jesus over to Pilate.  He asks if Jesus is “King of the Jews,” and Jesus says, “You say so” -- an ambiguous response to say the least.  He does not talk further to Pilate. Then the crowd refuses Pilate’s offer to let him go.  The writer makes it clear that it is the chief priests who are behind the crowd’s refusal (15:11). 

Jesus is flogged and handed over for crucifixion.  The soldiers cloth him in purple, give him a crown of thorns and a reed, mocking him.  On the way to his death, the soldiers compel a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene (father of Alexander and Rufus) to carry the cross.  They come to Golgotha, offer him wine and myrrh but he refuses it.  They crucify him and cast lots for his clothes.  Above him is a sign that reads “king of the Jews.” Beside him are two bandits.  He is mocked and taunted even by the men crucified with him. There is no story of a good thief here.

           

From nine to noon, he languishes.  At noon darkness covers the land and lasts until three.  Then he cries out in a loud voice “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in Aramaic.  The women looking on “from a distance” (15:40) were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome—other women are there as will.  Joseph of Arimathea comes at dusk and body asks Pilate for Jesus’ body. He receives it and lays the body in a tomb hewn out of rock.  A stone is rolled against the door.

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 13-14 and Matthew 27:27-54

Deuteronomy 13 – Moses warns the people not to add to or take from the command he gives them. If “a prophet or dreamer” performs signs, don’t let that lead you to worship strange gods.  Yahweh tests us to see if we love him. “. . .his voice you shall obey, him shall you serve, to him shall you cling. . .”  (13:5). And if someone tries to turn you to away from the Lord, that person should be “put to death” (13:5). We tend to forget that God’s chosen in our long tradition once held to this very harsh standard.

Even if someone closest to you – mother, father, son, wife, etc. tries to turn you aside, you must “be the first” to raise you hand to stone that person (13:9).  God will be served singly and without exception.  No other loyalty can be put first.  Jesus says this too –he does say he comes to separate father from son, wife from husband, etc. Even the closest human bonds should not separate us from the Lord our God. But Jesus turns his back on the violence.

The penalties here are very severe, very violent The dangers are people from within who pretend to be prophets and dreamers, people close to you by blood whose influence may be strong, and the danger that comes from internal corruption, which, when brought to light, induce whole groups (towns) of people to break unity, then vengeance is to be brought onto the whole place, not only the instigators (13:2, 7 and 14).

One interesting thing to note about the prophets and dreamers part is that here even if the fruits of their prophecy (the signs they are able to perform) are powerful, it is the message itself that condemns them.  They are preaching disloyalty to God.

Deuteronomy 14 – Warnings against pagan rites, the eating of unclean things—animals with only cloven hooves (but who do not chew the cud) or who chew the cud (and do not have cloven hooves—both must be present); water animals that have only one (fins/scales—both must be present); birds of prey are unclean; and winged insects; animals that are found dead.  Milk and meat (life and death) are not to be eaten together.  Foreigners and aliens among you may eat these things (14:21).

When the Lord finally chooses his “place” you shall bring tithes.  Every third years’ tithes shall go to the Levites and widows, aliens and orphans.

Matthew 27:27-54 - Jesus is taken to the Praetorium, residence of the Roman governor, clad in a scarlet cloak and crowned with thorns to mock his claim of kingship.  Simon, the Cyrenian [Northern Africa], carries Jesus’ cross.  The guards cast lots for his clothes.  “If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross” (27:40) – these words echo the temptation Christ had early on in the desert.  Also here both of the men Jesus is crucified with, real revolutionaries or “bandits”, “abuse him” along with the Roman soldiers.

Around noon, the sky goes dark—see Amos 8:9--and remains dark for 3 hours.  Around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus cries out his last words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(27:46 from Psalm 22). Jesus dies and immediately “the veil of the sanctuary is torn in two from top to bottom (27:51). The earth shakes. The bodies of saints are raised and appear to “many” (27:53).  The three women said to be in attendance are Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.