READING THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

PART II

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2:24

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1:1-5 addresses rulers–not just Jewish 0nes, but mainly Gentiles.  Recall, O reader, that Pseudo-Solomon cast a broad net and sought to appeal to as many people as possible by fusing Judaism and Platonism in a Hellenistic context.  (FYI:  Platonism, influential in Christianity since the earliest years of Christianity, is less influential in Christianity than it used to be.  History tells us that Sts. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas helped to raise the profile of Aristotle and his philosophy in Christianity in the Middle Ages.)  Based on 1:1, what does Pseudo-Solomon encourage those in authority to love?  My survey of sixteen translations–fourteen in English ad two in French–indicates the following results:

1. Righteousness–seven translations,
2. Justice–seven translations,
3. Uprightness–one translation, and
4. Virtue–one translation.

The survey reveals a tie between righteousness and justice, terms where are interchangeable in the Bible.  Recall, O reader, that righteousness is right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation.  Allowing for the separation of religion and state–which I, as a devout person and a student of history, favor–governments must still respect human rights and liberties, as well as live in harmony with nature.  They are failing.

The germane notes in The Jerusalem Bible (1966) and The New Jerusalem Bible (1985) define righteousness/justice slightly differently:

…perfect accord of mind and act with the divine will as manifested in the precepts of the Law and the injunctions of conscience.

That definition assumes that someone has a conscience, of course.  Some in positions of leadership are narcissistic, pathological predators devoid of a conscience.

For perverse thoughts separate men from God,

and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish;

because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,

nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin.

–Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-4, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

Historical accounts and current events confirm those words.

As we continue to read, we find that

…the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world….

–Wisdom of Solomon 1:7a, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

The Spirit of the Lord is impossible to avoid, we read.  It knows what people say, we read.  Furthermore, people doom themselves.  God, who does not delight in the death of the living, favors righteousness, which is immortal.  We also read all that through 1:15.

Yet godless/ungodly people–the fools/benighted men of Psalms 14 and 53–summon death upon themselves.  Their atheism, in context, is practical atheism; they reject divine interest in human activities, as well as any divine retribution.  They sound like Ecclesiastes minus the piety.  They lack all compunction against oppressing people–a violation of Biblical mutuality.  They know that they are predators, and target the inconvenient, righteous people.  These godless/ungodly people lack a conscience.  They even martyr some of these righteous people.  The wickedness of these godless/ungodly people blinds them morally.

To come full circle, 1:1-5 tells rulers not to be like that.  No, those in authority should feel ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness/injustice.

I choose my words carefully in these weblogs, for i seek to make my meaning plain.  However, even the plainest and most direct language cannot prevent all misunderstandings.  Nevertheless, I continue to try to be clear without attaching a lengthy disclaimer to every blog post.  Such a disclaimer would be ridiculous and not worth my time and effort.

With all that in mind, I state that people of good conscience may disagree about whether a given policy is just or unjust.  Some people are bound to be mistaken, and all of us possess moral blind spots.  Yet an evidence-based person with a conscience may admit error in the pursuit of righteousness/justice.  And such a person may change his or her mind regarding a given policy.  Results matter.  I, as one trained in historical methodology, affirm that evidence and objective reality matter.  I reserve my harshest condemnations for those who do not care about righteousness/justice.  I summon my fiercest moral outrage and tear into those who lack a sense of morality.  Their tribe is legion, unfortunately.  To paraphrase Jon Stewart, a shameless person commits the most shameful deeds.

Chapter 2 concludes with a bridge into chapter 3.  That bridge reads, in part:

…for God created man for incorruption,

and made him in the image of his own eternity,

but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,

and those who belong to his party experience it.

–Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

The alternative translations of God’s “eternity” are “nature” and “likeness.”  This definition fits with “eternal life” in the Gospel of John, where “eternal life” pertains to the nature of God and has no relation to time.  In the Johannine tradition, “eternal life” is knowing God via Jesus.  So, eternal life begins in this life and continues in the afterlife.  Elsewhere in the New Testament, though, “eternal life” refers to the afterlife.  Regardless of the translator’s choice in Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24, the meaning is that God created people for immortality yet they are not immortal.  Human ethical conduct–defined by righteousness/justice–is full life in God.  The opposite–“death”–is total separation from God and virtue.

In the arena of the history of theology, I note that, by the time of the composition of the Wisdom of Solomon, the influence of Zoroastrianism upon Judaism had reached full flower.  Chapter 2 indicates that “the Satan” has completed his transformation from a loyal servant of God (as in Numbers 24) into a rogue.  This chapter, combined with the previous one and the next one, also affirms reward and punishment in the afterlife.  Sheol is out; divine retribution in the afterlife is in.

The history of theological development is a matter of evidence–written evidence, especially.  One can state objectively that theology has changed.  This fact upsets some people; I know this, based on their reactions to me after I have explained this.  Yet this fact need not upset anyone, unless objective reality upsets that person.  The truth of theology at any given stage of its development is not so easy to settle, however.  The question of theological truth–insofar as fact checks can neither confirm nor refute them–resides in the realm of faith.  Fact checks aside, history cannot evaluate many claims of faith.

Now I move into that realm of faith.  I step outside the territory of fact checks.  I hold that, by the time of the composition of the Wisdom of Solomon, Jewish theology had made strides in the direction of understanding Satan and divine reward and punishment in the afterlife correctly.  I agree that God condemns nobody to Hell; people condemn themselves.  Yet the story of Jesus preaching in Hades/Hell between the crucifixion and the Resurrection sticks in my mind.  What was the point of such preaching if damnation is necessarily permanent? So, I also affirm that those in Hell can still find salvation if they will accept it.  They can still go to Heaven if wickedness ceases to blind and bind them.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 2, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORG WEISSEL, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ANNA BERNADINE DOROTHY HOPPE, U.S. LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF CARROLL O’CONNOR, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC ACTOR AND SCREEN WRITER

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN GOTTFRIED GEBBARD, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, ENGLISH MORAVIAN BISHOP, LITURGIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, THE SERVANTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, AND THE PRIESTS’ EUCHARISTIC LEAGUE; AND ORGANIZER OF THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

PART XVII

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Proverbs 30:1-9

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Book of Proverbs concludes with four appendices, which fill chapters 30 and 31.  My plan for the rest of this book is to blog about each appendix in a separate post.

The superscription (30:1) attributes verses 2-9 to Agur, son of Jakeh, son of Massa. (Or does the Hebrew text mean something else?  The meanings of words are not always clear.)  These verses contain utterances; 30:1 describes Agur as an oracle.  Therefore, we have first-person speech atypical of the Book of Proverbs.  “Massa” may refer to an Ishmaelite people in northern Arabia (Genesis 25:13-14).  1 Kings 5:10 indicates Hebrew respect for the wisdom of the peoples of the East.  Of course, ascribing 30:1-9 to Agur may be as dubious as ascribing many psalms to David and proverbs to Solomon.  If this is the case, the purpose of the erroneous ascription may be to demonstrate that pious obedience to the words of God supercede all human wisdom.

The oracle of Agur opens with obscure Hebrew words.  Translations reflect the obscurity of the text.  Some versions have Agur address Ithael and Ical/Ukhal.  The Hebrew text which Robert Alter has translated as “utterance of the man, to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ukhal” may also come across in English as:

The man solemnly affirmed, “There is no God!

There is no God, for I can[not know anything.]”

–R. B. Y. Scott’s translation

Translators and degreed exegetes cannot agree regarding how to translate and interpret those Hebrew words.  I have no idea how to make sense of these Hebrew words either.  Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 5 (1997), summarizes the situation well:

This opening verse abounds with difficulties.

–251

Van Leeuwen rejects R. B. Y. Scott’s translation as being “less plausible” than alternatives.

Ithiel means “God is with me.”  It also occurs in Nehemiah 11:7.  With that meaning in mind, The New Revised Standard Version (1989) has “the man” say:

I am weary, O God,

I am weary, O God.  How can I prevail?

The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) follows that path:

The pronouncement of a mortal man:

“I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and I am exhausted.”

The formula, “thus says the man,” occurs in Proverbs 30:1; 2 Samuel 23:1; and Numbers 24:4, 15.  Van Leeuwen cites the irony of Balaam “son of Beor” (literally “son of Stupid”) in Numbers 24 and links Balaam to Proverbs 30:2:

I am more brute than human being,

without even human intelligence.

—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

This hyperbolic language opens a section in which the author admits the limits of human existence and understanding.  It reminds me more of Ecclesiastes than anything else.

30:7-9, the only prayer in the Book of Proverbs, beseeches God to preserve the author from all that is false and to provide daily necessities.  Everything here is tangible.  The daily necessities are tangible, of course.  So are truth and falsehood.  Biblically, truth is activated integrity; truth is how people should live.  So, falsehood is the opposite of activated integrity.

Every word of God is pure,

A shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Do not add to His words,

Lest He indict you and you be proved a liar.

–Proverbs 30:5-6, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1999)

One may recall Genesis 3:2-3, in which Eve, speaking to the shrewd serpent, misquotes God (see Genesis 2:16-17).  This mythical story exemplifies the principle that adding to the words of God constitutes detracting from them.  Those who do this expose themselves as liars or as people who have misunderstood.  One need not lie to misstate reality, for a lie is an intentional deception.  By grace, may we hear God and understand the divine words correctly.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 28, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE PIONEERING FEMALE EPISCOPAL PRIESTS, 1974 AND 1975

THE FEAST OF ANTONIO VIVALDI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, COMPOSER, AND VIOLINIST

THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GRAHAM, SCOTTISH-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN EDUCATOR AND PHILANTHROPIST

THE FEAST OF MECHTHILD OF MAGDEBURG, GERMAN BEGUINE, MYSTIC, AND NUN; SAINT MECHTHILD OF HACKEBORN, GERMAN MYSTIC AND NUN; AND SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT, GERMAN MYSTIC AND ABBESS OF HELFTA, SAXONY

THE FEAST OF NANCY BYRD TURNER, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING THE BOOK OF JOB

PART I

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Job 1 and 2

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS

The introduction to the Book of Job in The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), describes this ancient text as a

complex and composite work.

That is an understatement.  For example, the flow of the story at the end of chapter 31 leads directly into chapter 38, but someone interjected chapters 32-37.  Furthermore, chapter 28 seems to belong to the Elihu material, also.  Even if chapter 28 does not belong to the Elihu cycle, it still comes out of left field relative to what surrounds it.

The Book of Job, which most likely dates to after the Babylonian Exile, fits into the regional literary motif of the pious sufferer.  More than one ancient text reflecting this motif exists.  So, once more, the Bible contains literature similar to writings from neighboring cultures.  This should surprise nobody; cultures influence each other, especially when they are near other.

I have no interest in dissecting the Book of Job line by line; rather, I stand back and look at the big picture.  I choose to focus on the forest and to zoom in on some trees.  Besides, this project is not the first time I have blogged regarding the Book of Job.  One hundred-nineteen lectionary-based posts at this weblog contain tags that link them to the Book of Job.  This project is, however, the first time I am blogging my way through the Book of Job from the first verse to the last one.

My translations and guides for this journey through the Book of Job are:

1. The Jerusalem Bible (1966).  This is my primary translation because J. R. R. Tolkien worked on the translation of this book in that version.
2. TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985, 1999), as contained in The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014).
3. Robert Alter’s translation in The Hebrew Bible:  A Translation with Commentary (2019).
4. Samuel Terrien and Paul Scherer, writing in The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 3 (1954).
5. Carol A. Newsom, writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 4 (1996).

Now, without further ado, I turn to the Prologue of the Book of Job.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GOD, HASATAN, AND JOB

The Book of Job opens with a prose prologue, just as it closes with a prose epilogue.  The prologue establishes the setting in the Transjordan, during the age of the patriarchs.  Yet the Book of Job mimics an archaic literary style and indicates familiarity with Second and Third Isaiah.

This story, told as a folktale, is not historical.  It, theological, is mostly poetic.  The Book of Job is, in the highest meaning of the word, a myth.  The Book of Job is not literally true, but it contains truth.  Part of the interpretive complexity of the book comes from nauseating gas bags (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) sounding like passages from the books of Psalms and Proverbs.  They are obnoxious pains in every part of human anatomy, but they do speak a truth on occasion despite themselves.

We read of the lavish lifestyle of Job and his family.  They are spectacularly wealthy.  Banquets that continue for day after day are commonplace.  The siblings live harmoniously with each other and their parents.  The story tells us that Job performs a priestly function on behalf of his offspring; he sacrifices in case any of them have sinned.  Job is a devout monotheist who cares deeply for his family.

We read also of the “sons of God”–in this case–angels, members of the heavenly court.  This is a rewritten vestige of pagan divine councils, commonplace in that part of the world in antiquity.  In this context we meet the Adversary, hasatan (the Satan), who had yet to transform into a rogue in Jewish theology and to become the archenemy of God in apocalyptic literature.

One may recall the story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24.  The story about the talking donkey in 22:22-35 is intriguing, to say the least.  In that story, the donkey, sees the Adversary/the angel of YHWH standing in the road in 22:22-27.  Then Balaam sees the heavenly figure in 22:31. Balaam and the Adversary converse afterward.  Hasatan works for God in Numbers 22.

The Book of Job comes from a time in the history of theology when the Adversary/the Satan was a loyal servant of God.  The job of hasatan in Job 1 and 2 is to test the loyalty of the people of God, modeled here after a King of the Persian Empire, a man who employed loyalty testers throughout the realm.  The Book of Job comes from a transitional time in the doctrine of Satan; hasatan seems to derive too much satisfaction from his job.  Robert Alter points to the Satan’s

cynical mean-spiritedness.

Yet the Satan does nothing without divine permission.  He still works for God.

Hasatan continues to fulfill the role of accuser in Zechariah 3:1, also from the Persian period.  However, Zechariah 3 indicates a shift toward the Satan as rogue:

He showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of Yahweh, with Satan standing on his right to accuse him.  The angel of Yahweh said to Satan, “May Yahweh rebuke you, Satan, may Yahweh rebuke you, he who has made Jerusalem his very own.  Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?”

–Zechariah 3:1-2, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

During the Persian period, the Satan came to resemble Ahriman, the evil one in Zoroastrianism.  One culture influenced another one.

The history of the doctrine is objective, documented, and not subject to dispute.  The question of the truth behind the doctrine is theological.  Truth with a capital T does exist regarding this matter.  I think I know what that truth is.  Whether I agree with God is a matter for God to say.

For the record, I think that Jewish theology, under Zoroastrian influence, finally got the doctrine right.

The Book of Job tells us that YHWH allows Job to suffer and innocents to die.  The Book of Job tells us that YHWH permits all this to happen as part of a wager with hasatan, the overzealous, cynical loyalty tester.  Job 1 and 2 portray YHWH negatively.  This is anthropomorphic understanding of YHWH.

Anthropomorphizing God is unavoidable; we mere mortals have our cultural perspectives and carry assumptions.  Yet me must, if we are spiritually honest, acknowledge that God is far greater and far more than we can imagine.

The Prologue to the Book of Job raises a question germane to each of us:  Why do we revere God, if we do?  Do we practice a quid pro quo faith life?

“Yes,” Satan said, “but Job is not God-fearing for nothing, is he?”

–Job 1:9, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

The omniscient narrative voice in the Book of Job does not ask why the righteous suffer.  No, it tells us why Job suffers.  The alleged friends think they know why Job suffers.  The titular character rejects their theory and knows who is ultimately responsible for his suffering–God.  The Book of Job does ask each of us why we are devout, assuming that one is pious, of course.  Is this faith relationship that one that mistakes God for a vending machine or a sugar daddy?  Or is this faith relationship one that survives crises and other hardships.

The ending of the prologue introduces us to three friends–Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.  One of my favorite puns tells me that Bildad the Shuhite was the shortest man in the Bible.  (I did not make up that joke.  I do groan at it, though.)  Seriously, though, the subsequent poetic chapters reveal that a famous question applies to the Book of Job.  That query is,

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

I invite you, O reader, to remain beside me on this journey through the Book of Job.  We will hear from Job–the man himself–in the next installment.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 22, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROBERT SEAGRAVE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANNA KOLESÁROVÁ, SLOVAK ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1944

THE FEAST OF DITLEF GEORGSON RISTAD, NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, LITURGIST, AND EDUCATOR

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING REVELATION, PART IV

Above:  Ruins of the Acropolis, Pergamum, Between 1888 and 1910

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-03770

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Revelation 2:12-17

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pergamum, a prominent city, was the seat of the local Roman imperial Provincial Council.  Zeal for enforcing emperor-worship was great.  In the worldview of Revelation, Pergamum was on the short list of places where Satan was enthroned.

Nevertheless, the church there persisted in faith, even after the martyrdom of one of their own, Antipas.

The story of Balaam fills Numbers 22-24.  In that account, Balak, the King of Moab, afraid of the Israelites, hired the soothsayer Balaam to curse and weaken the Israelites.  Numbers 22-24 reveal that God prevented Balaam from doing that.  The Jewish tradition upon which Revelation 2:12-17 relied expanded on that story, making Balaam the prototype of evil people who taught Jews to commit idolatry and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Numbers 25:1-3).

The Nicolaitans favored accommodation to the dominant culture, the one John of Patmos considered evil.

The text of Revelation 2:12-17 is vague about the sins of some of the Christians there.  Some guesses are reasonable, though.  One may surmise that some Christians were eating food sacrificed to idols, for example.  One may recall 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 regarding that matter.

Revelation 2:12-17 concludes with a divine promise to the faithful–a blessed afterlife with spiritual manna.  This conclusion is similar to a passage from Second Baruch, from the Pseudepigrapha:

And it will happen at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will arrived at the consummation of time.

–2 Baruch 29:8, translated by A. F. J. Klijn

The white stone was blessed because it was white.  (White symbolized holiness in Revelation.  Jesus had white hair.  The martyrs wore white robes.  Et cetera.)  The stone bore a new name, perhaps that of Jesus.  The faithful, having remained faithful to Christ, received a positive afterlife.

Not conforming to the dominant culture can be difficult when one belongs to a powerless minority.  When that dominant culture oppresses one’s religion, conforming is an easy way out of persecution.  Human beings are inherently social creatures.  Conformity, therefore, is a powerful pressure.  When nonconformity is righteous, conformity is sinful.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 9, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT DENIS, BISHOP OF PARIS; AND HIS COMPANIONS; ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, CIRCA 250

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF LUCCA; AND SAINT JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS

THE FEAST OF PENNY LERNOUX, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC JOURNALIST AND MORAL CRITIC

THE FEAST OF ROBERT GROSSETESTE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOLAR, PHILOSOPHER, AND BISHOP OF LINCOLN

THE FEAST OF WILFRED THOMASON GRENFELL, MEDICAL MISSIONARY TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART XI

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2 Peter 1:1-21

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The pseudonymous author, of the second century C.E., presenting himself as St. Simon Peter, followed a practice his culture accepted.  This author, in the first chapter of Second Peter, made some timeless points.

I like the translation of verse 4 in The Jerusalem Bible (1966):

…to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.

The variation of this line, in the Vulgate, translated as:

…the corruption of the vice that is in the world.

My survey of other translations yields mostly “lust” in lieu of “vice.”  However, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) offers:

…after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

In textual context and the cultural context of Hellenistic Judaism, the soul that escapes from this corruption participates in the divine nature and becomes incorrupt.  Christians, therefore, escape the fate of those who abuse their freedom and fall prey to corruption.

“Lust,” “vice,” or “evil desire,” depending on the translation one reads, indicates desire for the forbidden.  This desire may be sexual some or much of the time, but is not solely sexual in nature.  “Evil desire” is a fine translation, in this context.  Forbidden fruit is frequently the most popular kind of fruit.  My experience teaches me that forbidden fruits become boring relatively quickly.  The satisfying path for the long term is the road of the godly and the merely decent.  It is the road 1:5-11 explains.  Divine law does not forbid building up each other in mutuality.

The targets of 1:19-21 were false teachers.  Their class of people has existed at least since the days of the Hebrew Bible; prophets of God clashed with false prophets.  In the context of eschatology, apocalyptic expectations, “Peter” condemned false teachers who argued against the parousia.  The scriptural context of 2 Peter 1:19-21, replete with allusions to Numbers 24:17, Revelation 2:28, Revelation 22:16, Jeremiah 23:16-22, Ezekiel 13:1-7, Genesis 40:8, and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 10:43, made the points of eschatology and the divine source of prophecy plain.

False teachers and prophets persist.  Many identify themselves as orthodox Christians.  Some of these retain audiences despite having made predictions of the Second Coming and lived long enough to witness the failure of their predictions.  I leave details of the parousia entirely to God.  Trying to live properly one day at a time can prove sufficiently challenging much of the time.  I have no time to spare to obsess about prophecy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING HAGGAI-FIRST ZECHARIAH, PART X

Above:  Icon of Zechariah

Image in the Public Domain

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Zechariah 5:1-4

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The contents of Zechariah 1:7-6:15 date to early February 519 B.C.E. (1:7).

The sixth vision (5:1-4) was of a flying scroll about 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide.  The scroll was about the size of the portico of the Great Hall of the First Temple (1 Kings 6:3).  The purpose of the curse on this remarkable scroll was to remove all crime–namely, theft and perjury–from the land.  There was no room such transgressions in the ideal society to come–in either Judah or the world, depending on the translation of 5:3.

Zechariah 5:1-4 get us, O reader, into the realm of curses.  I, as a modern person grounded in science, give them barely a thought, except to dismiss them as superstitions.  I do not think, therefore, as the authors of Zechariah 5:1-4; Judges 17:2; Numbers 5; and Deuteronomy 29:19 did.  The importance of a curse, Biblically, relates to that of an oath.  (See Leviticus 5:20-24; Proverbs 29:24; Exodus 22:9-11/22:8-10; Judges 11:29-40; Matthew 5:33-37; et cetera.)  The importance of curses also relates to that of blessings, as in Numbers 27:1-45; Numbers 22-24; et cetera.

The emphasis on maintaining the integrity of the community of Zechariah 5:1-4 is a timeless principle, though.  May more people act according to mutuality, one of the pillars of the Law of Moses.

The importance of blessings, curses, and oaths in the Bible points to another timeless principle:  words matter.  Notice the mention of perjury in Zechariah 5:1-4, O reader.  One may recall Daniel 13, the story of Susanna, in which perjury almost cost an innocent woman her life.  The penalty for perjury in the Law of Moses is:

If the witness is a false witness, and has falsely accused the other, you shall do to the false witness just as that false witness planned to do to the other.  Thus you shall purge evil from your midst.

–Deuteronomy 19:18b-19, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

For more commentary about the importance and power of words, read James 3:1-12.  That which the author of that epistle wrote goes double or triple in the age of social media.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 14, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN DE JACOBIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY BISHOP IN ETHIOPIA; AND SAINT MICHAEL GHEBRE, ETHIOPIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT CAMILLUS DE LELLIS, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND FOUNDER OF THE MINISTERS OF THE SICK

THE FEAST OF LEON MCKINLEY ADKINS, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MATTHEW BRIDGES, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAMSON OCCUM, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO NATIVE AMERICANS

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING MICAH, PART VII

Above:  Map of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Micah 6:1-7:20

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A motif in Hebrew prophetic literature in God making a legal case against a group of people.  That motif recurs at the beginning of Chapter 6.

Another motif in the Hebrew Bible is that God is like what God has done.  In other words, divine deeds reveal God’s character.  Likewise, human deeds reveal human character.  We read reminders of divine deliverance in Micah 6:4-5.  These verses call back to Exodus 1:1-15:21; Numbers 22:1-24:25; and Joshua 3:1-5:12.  God, who is just, expects and demands human justice:

He has told you, O man, what is good,

And what the LORD requires of you:

Only to do justice

And to love goodness,

And to walk modestly with your God.

Then will your name achieve wisdom.

–Micah 6:8-9, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Not surprisingly, no English-language translation captures the full meaning of the Hebrew text.  For example, to walk humbly or modestly with God is to walk wisely or completely with God.  Doing this–along with loving goodness and doing justice–is more important than ritual sacrifices, even those mandated in the Law of Moses.  This theme occurs also in Hosea 6:4-6.  One may also recall the moral and ethical violations of the Law of Moses condemned throughout the Book of Amos.  Micah 6 and 7 contain condemnations of such sins, too.  The people will reap what they have sown.

To whom can they turn when surrounded by corruption and depravity?  One can turn to and trust God.  In the fullest Biblical and creedal sense, this is what belief in God means.  In the Apostles’ Creed we say:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth….

In the Nicene Creed, we say:

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

Sometimes belief–trust–is individual.  Sometimes it is collective.  So are sin, confession, remorse for sins, repentance, judgment, and mercy.  In Micah 7:7-13, belief–trust–is collective.  Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance in the case of Jerusalem, personified.  The figure is Jerusalem, at least in the later reading of Micah.  The reference to Assyria (7:12) comes from the time of the prophet.

“Micah” (1:1) is the abbreviated form of “Micaiah,” or “Who is like YHWH?”  That is germane to the final hymn of praise (7:18-20).  It begins:

Who is a God like You….

–Micah 7:18a, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Imagine, O reader, that you were a Jew born and raised in exile, within the borders of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire.  Imagine that you had heard that the Babylonian Exile will end soon, and that you will have the opportunity to go to the homeland of which you have only heard.  Imagine that you have started to pray:

Who is a God like you, who removes guilt

and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;

Who does not persist in anger forever,

but instead delights in mercy,

And will again have compassion on us,

treading underfoot our iniquities?

You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;

You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loyalty to Abraham,

As you have sworn to our ancestors from days of old.

—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

Imagine, O reader, how exuberant you would have been.

As R. B. Y. Scott wrote regarding the Book of Hosea:

[The prophet] speaks of judgment that cannot be averted by superficial professions of repentance; but he speaks more of love undefeated by evil.  The final word remains with mercy.

—The Relevance of the Prophets, 2nd. ed. (1968), 80

Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey through the Book of Micah.  I invite you to join me as I read and write about First Isaiah (Chapters 1-23, 28-33).

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 27, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PAUL GERHARDT, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ALFRED ROOKER, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST PHILANTHROPIST AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS SISTER, ELIZABETH ROOKER PARSON, ENGLISH CONGREGATINALIST HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF AMELIA BLOOMER, U.S. SUFFRAGETTE

THE FEAST OF JOHN CHARLES ROPER, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF OTTAWA

THE FEAST OF SAINT LOJZE GROZDE, SLOVENIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1943

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.

Above:  Bread Line, by Nicolae Tonitza

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Fifth Sunday after Easter, Year 2

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O God, from whom all good things do come; grant to us thy humble servants,

that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right,

and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 173-174

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Numbers 24:10-23

Psalms 135:1-18

James 1:22-27

John 16:23-33

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

God is in control, despite appearances to the contrary.  The prophet Balaam could not speak anything other than what God commanded.  This upset the men men paying Balaam to utter blessings they wanted to hear.  The author of Psalm 135, praising God for being good, recounted instances of God smiting enemies of Israel.  Jesus went to the cross, but somehow he had already conquered the world.  Jesus also did not stay dead for long.

James 1:27 leads into a section (in Chapter 2) on respecting the poor with these words:

—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

I do not know about you, O reader, but I live in a society that does not respect the poor.  The Letter of James teaches that faith without works is dead, and that works reveal faith.  By that standard, my society does not respect the poor.   Even many of the poor do not respect the poor.  The teaching of various Hebrew prophets regarding such disregard for the impoverished concludes with divine judgment.

How is that for justice?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH

THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING 2 KINGS 22-25, 1 ESDRAS, 2 CHRONICLES 34-36, EZRA, AND NEHEMIAH

Above:  Jerusalem at the Time of Nehemiah

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART XX

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Nehemiah 13:1-31

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her;

she shall not be overthrown;

God shall help her at the break of day.

The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken;

God has spoken, and the earth shall melt away.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

–Psalm 46:5-8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This chapter contains separate elements.  I will write about each one in order.

13:1-3, pertaining to the ban against intermarrying with Ammonites, contains allusions to Deuteronomy 23:3-5 and Numbers 22-24.  One may also look forward to Ezra 9-10.  Perhaps one mistakes such an order for xenophobia.  Yet, if one reads the Hebrew Bible and notices how after intermarriage with Gentiles (with their own gods) led to national idolatry.  Then perhaps one will understand the reason for the ban.

The events of 13:4-9 predated those of 13:1-3.  (Consistent chronology is not the organizing principle in Nehemiah.)  Housing trouble-maker Tobiah (from the readings for the previous post in this series) in the Temple was a terrible idea.  Evicting Tobiah and purifying the rooms was necessary and proper.

Restoring the distribution of the means of supporting the Levites was also crucial.

The Sabbath is a day of essential rest.  The Sabbath is an indication of freedom.  The Sabbath is a gift.

Old, bad habits are difficult to break.  Human beings are creatures of habit.  May we nurture good habits.

Literally, the Book of Nehemiah ends with 13:31.  However, given that consistent chronology is not the organizing principle of Nehemiah, we will proceed chronologically to 9:38-10:39.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 11, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THAUMATURGUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC OF NEOCAESAREA; AND ALEXANDER OF COMONA, “THE CHARCOAL BURNER,” ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 252, AND BISHOP OF COMANA, PONTUS

THE FEAST OF SAINT EQUITIUS OF VALERIA, BENEDICTINE ABBOT AND FOUNDER OF MONASTERIES

THE FEAST OF MATTHIAS LOY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR’ AND CONRAD HERMANN LOUIS SCHUETTE, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAURICE TORNAY, SWISS ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY TO TIBET, AND MARTYR, 1949

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Save us from weak resignation

Above:  The Calling of Peter and Andrew, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year 1

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Almighty and Everliving God, mercifully look upon our infirmities,

and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy right hand to help and defend us;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 129

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Numbers 24:10-17

Psalm 33:6-22

Romans 5:1-5

Mark 1:14-28

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To the evils we deplore;

Let the search for Thy salvation

Be our glory evermore.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,

Serving Thee whom we adore,

Serving Thee whom we adore.

—Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969), “God of Grace and God of Glory” (1930)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

God is sovereign, despite appearances to the contrary.  Innocent and faithful people suffer.  Many of them died unjustly.  Yet, ultimately, that world order will pass away and the fully-realized Kingdom of God will replace it.  The Gospel of Matthew, which uses “Kingdom of God” four times, calls the fully-realized Kingdom the Kingdom of Heaven.  (See:  Jonathan Pennington.)

Do we accept the sovereignty of God?  Doing so is difficult much of the time, after all.  “The sovereignty of God” becomes an empty platitude too easily and frequently.  I understand why.  Perhaps you, O reader, also understand this.

One challenge of faith is to move beyond what is and to hope for what can be.  This requires imagination sufficient to act positively, therefore, to improve the world, if only slightly.  This is one task of a covenant people–to cooperate with God, to leave the world better than we found it.  We have no excuse for folding up our arms in resignation and despair when we should reach them out to others.

God will save the world.  God is sovereign.  Thanks be to God!  May we not forget our duties, however.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 17, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND

THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”

THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAN SARKANDER, SILESIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND “MARTYR OF THE CONFESSIONAL,” 1620

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA BARBARA MAIX, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++