Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 7-8, Proverbs 2-3 and Augustine's Confessions 15

1 Samuel 7 – The people take the ark to Kiriath-jearim [thought by many to be today’s Abu Ghosh, 10 miles west of Jerusalem], to the house of Abinadab on the hill. His son Eleazar was given charge of it.  It remains there for 20 years. 

There is a period of revival during this time.  “Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only” (7:4). Samuel called the people together at Mizpah to do penance and fast.  When the Philistines hear of this, they come against them there.  Samuel makes a sacrifice to the Lord and the Philistines are routed (7:10-11).

The “hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel” (7:13). And there was peace with the Amorites as well.  Samuel was judge all his life.  He went on circuit—from Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah and then home to Ramah.

1 Samuel 8 – When Samuel gets old, his sons rule—Joel and Abijah—but they “turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice”(8:3). 

The elders come to him and beg him for a king “to govern us, like other nations” (8:5). Gideon refused a request to make himself king in Judges 8:22 on the grounds that it would be unfaithful to YHWH, but the Jerusalem Bible points out that the offer pertained only to his clan and not to the whole of Israel.

When Samuel asks the Lord what he should do, the Lord replies sadly: “’Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.  Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are going to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them’” (8:7-9). So Samuel does—he tells them it is the way of kings to take away peoples’ sons and make them military troops and servants; to take away their daughters and make them cooks and bakers.  He will take the best of their lands and tax their harvests.  He shall, in effect, return them to a condition of slavery.

But the people “refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel” (8:19).  They want to be like other nations.  And the Lord acquiesces to their wishes (8:22).

Proverbs

Proverbs 2 – “My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. . . . Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord and you will gain knowledge of God” (2:1-5)

The Lord “is a shield to those who walk with integrity” (2:7).

Evil people “take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil” (2:14). God will plant the people who are good in His land, but the wicked will be uprooted.

Proverbs 3 – Beautiful words: “My son, do not forget my teaching, Let your heart keep my principles, For these will give you lengthier days,longer years of life, and greater happiness. Let kindliness and loyalty never leave you: tie them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart (3:1-3).

He tells his son to trust in God, not in his own view of things. And do not “scorn correction” from God (3:11). He corrects those he loves.

“Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly. By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens” (3:18-19).

“Do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it, if it is in your power to perform it (3:27). Do not pick “groundless quarrel[s]”. God blesses the home of the virtuous.

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

15 - Is there any one, Lord, with so high a spirit, cleaving to You with so strong an affection— for even a kind of obtuseness may do that much— but is there, I say, any one who, by cleaving devoutly to You, is endowed with so great a courage that he can esteem lightly those racks and hooks, and varied tortures of the same sort, against which, throughout the whole world, men supplicate You with great fear, deriding those who most bitterly fear them, just as our parents derided the torments with which our masters punished us when we were boys? For we were no less afraid of our pains, nor did we pray less to You to avoid them; and yet we sinned, in writing, or reading, or reflecting upon our lessons less than was required of us. For we wanted not, O Lord, memory or capacity, of which, by Your will, we possessed enough for our age—but we delighted only in play; and we were punished for this by those who were doing the same things themselves. But the idleness of our elders they call business, while boys who do the like are punished by those same elders, and yet neither boys nor men find any pity. For will any one of good sense approve of my being whipped because, as a boy, I played ball, and so was hindered from learning quickly those lessons by means of which, as a man, I should play more unbecomingly? And did he by whom I was beaten do other than this, who, when he was overcome in any little controversy with a co-tutor, was more tormented by anger and envy than I when beaten by a playfellow in a match at ball?

It is hard for me to relate to Augustine’s thoughts here, for as a child I was never beaten, never abused or neglected and the learning I was asked to do was my great pleasure and joy. Were all of the adults given authority over me loving and good? No, but by seeing their faults and experiencing their imperfections, I learned that there were choices to be made out there, models to follow and examples to avoid.

What I think he is saying is that it is not only the boys fixed on playing ball who are not tending to vital matters, the men who punish them for not attending to things they deem important – learning the arts and skills that will make them successful adults – are also obsessed with things that are ultimately unimportant: worldly success, money, power and influence. I don’t think teachers today are motivated by the same worldly values, but call me naïve. Many have. I spent most of my working life as a teacher, and the teachers I worked with were not “worldly” in their focus. I think that is what made it such a wonderful vocation. This is not to say that they always were absent a desire for “success” and “status” as teachers; I guess that was and remains a temptation for anyone.

Daily Bible Reading: Judith 8 and Hebrews 9

Judith 8 - Judith, model of all things Jewish, is a widow. Her husband, Manasseh died some years ago of sunstroke. She is beautiful, virtuous and quite wealthy. When she hears of what the elders told the people about waiting five days, she calls them in and rebukes them, saying that God cannot be manipulated or coerced in this way. We must trust that God will not desert his nation. We must give thanks to God and allow him to test us as he tested Abraham and all our ancestors.

They praise Judith’s wisdom and virtue but ask her to pray that there may be a downpour to fill their empty cisterns. She tells them “God is not to be coerced as man is , . . Rather, as we wait patiently for him to save, let us plead with him to help us. He will hear our voice if such is his good pleasure” (8:17). She thinks the people have been faithful in recent days and that she feels they “may hope he will not look on u s disdainfully or desert our nation” (8:20).

She says to her people, “let us set an example to our brothers, since their lives depend on us and our most sacred possessions—Temple and altar—rest on us” (8:24).  They should remember how he treated Abraham and all the patriarchs. They too must be willing to be tested. Judith, who is recognized by Uzziah and the people for her wisdom tells them her plan: “I shall make my way out with my attendant. Before the time fixed by you for surrendering the town to our enemies, the Lord will make use of me to rescue Israel. You must not ask what I intend to do” (8:34). 

Hebrews 9 – The Old Covenant was a covenant of outward worship, sanctuary, map-stand, table, loaves, Holy of Holies, incense, and golden items. Priests performed “acts of worship” and once a year offered “blood . . . for his own faults and the people’s” (9:7). But none of these things could “possibly bring any worshipper to perfection in his inner self” (9:9). They were “rules about the outward life . . .intended to be in force only until it should be time to reform them” (9:10). 

I must note here an experience I had when I first returned to the Catholic Church back in 1991 – the plan being to bring what I had learned of the “Inward” Gospel of Christ to Catholics and appreciation for the imperfect but continuous traditions of the Church to Friends – that I spoke to Catholics about the “outwardness” of their rituals. I can’t tell you how strongly they pushed back, telling me that if I thought their sacraments and practices were merely “outward” I had another think coming. And I have found this to be quite true myself. The things Friends see as “outward” in traditional Christian worship or back in the apostles’ day in traditional Jewish worship were most likely quite “real” and authentic and inward too to the people who were serious about their faith. And sitting in silent worship, observing the rules for speaking in Meeting, being “Quakerly” in everything you do can also be “outward.”

But returning to Hebrews - now that Christ has come, “He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order” (9:11).  He has “entered the sanctuary once and for all” (9:12), taking not the blood of a sacrificial animal but his own blood and has “won an eternal redemption for us” (9:12). He “offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit , . . [to] purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God” (9:14).

He compares the death of Christ to the death of a “testator” whose “will” becomes effective only after he has died. So with Christ, his death brings to man the “will” he made for our benefit – a will that makes the “new covenant” our gift. Once is enough. He need never offer himself again (9:25). He “has made his appearance once and for all” (9:26).  When he next appears, it will be not “to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him” (9:28). And they call John the Quaker gospel!

Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 128-134 and Matthew 18:21-3518:21-

Sticking to a fairly demanding schedule of scripture readings can seem a bit challenging. I am trying to stick to a schedule that has worked for me over the years since I discovered it. It was first published in 1952 and is published by the Liturgical Press of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. I am not a scripture literalist, but I have found over the years that the advice given by the "cloud of witnesses" that have gone before us - from the earliest years to the present day - is true: that a close knowledge and meditation on the biblical narrative is very nourishing for the spiritual life. One of the "draws" of Quakerism to me over my whole life has been the sense that the "theology" of Friends provides a way of seeing our daily lives, our daily steps in faith as a way of "consecrating" our lives. In the Catholic Church, the idea of consecration has typically been the province of the "religious" - those who dedicate their lives wholly to the spiritual. They have always been around from the earliest years of Christianity, but over the years, came to be seen mostly as those who do not marry, who do not involve themselves in the secular world on a day to day basis. But I am involved in all the affairs of human life - marriage, children, grandchildren, work, politics, etc. Yet I still seek a way of making my life "consecrated" to Christ. Consecration is defined as a formal dedication of one's life to a divine purpose. Quaker worship and Quaker practice is a way I have found helps me to do this.

Most of the people who have chosen the consecrated life have developed a "rule" that helps them further the practical sense of achieving that purpose. After nearly 30 years, I am still working on the rule I need to adopt. I do not have a neat and tidy set of habits, but the scripture reading is probably the one thing that has been a constant with me - fairly constant, not perfectly constant. I hope it helps others as it has helped me. But it can be a lot to fit into the day. I am finding that it helps to break it down - reading the Old Testament readings at night and taking a few notes on them, reflecting on what I find meaningful in it. Then in the morning, I read the New Testament reading. But the notes I post here are from both. With all of this in mind, here is the post for today - January 10, 2012:

Psalm 128 – “Happy are those who obey the Lord, who live by his commands” (128:1). You will work and your needs will be met; you will be prosperous and happy. Your wife will give you children and “your children will be like young olive trees around your table”

Psalm 129 – The story of Israel’s persecutions. They have cut deep but the Lord has freed them from slavery. May all Zion’s enemies be defeated and may they not prosper at all.

Psalm 130 – “From the depths of my despair I call to you, Lord” (1). Hear my cry, please. Our sins are endless but you are a forgiving God and we are in awe of you. I wait in hope that the Lord will respond to my cry. Trust in God. His love is constant.

Psalm 131 – I have turned away from my pride. “Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me.”

Psalm 132 – Do not forget David and all he endured, all he promised and did the “provide a place for the Lord” (132:5). In Bethlehem they learned of the “Covenant Box” [the Ark of the Covenant]. It was found in the “fields of Jearim.” I read that this psalm is called a “song of ascent” because it was read or recited as people went up the hill to the Temple at Jerusalem. It is about David’s devotion to getting the Ark installed in the Temple. Though he himself was not permitted to build the Temple, his son Solomon fulfilled the promise and hope of David. “The Lord has chosen Zion; he want to make it his home: ‘This is where I will live forever; this is where I want to rule” (132:13-14).

Psalm 133 – This psalm celebrates the wonders of peace – God’s people living in eternal harmony.

Psalm 134 – Raise your hands in praise of God – everyone who serves him in his Temple. Raise your hands in prayer.

Matthew 18:21-35 - Peter asks how many times he should be willing to forgive a member of the church who sins against him—seven times? Jesus says, “’No, not seven times, . . .but seventy times seven’” (18:22). Jesus compares the kingdom of God with an earthly kingdom where the king deals with people who owe him money in a generous way: one man who owes the king 10,000 talents is brought to him, and when he tells the king he cannot pay and begs the king to be patient with him, the king forgives him the debt. But then this same man goes out and deals with a man who owes HIM money in a ruthless way – having him thrown into prison. When the king hears of this, he becomes furious and says “’You worthless slave! . . . I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you’” (18:33). Jesus says, “’That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother form your heart.’” (18:35).