Day 7: Joshua

Back on track today with the book of Joshua. Aside from a somewhat tedious listing of which tribe got what lands, there is good stuff here.

No Need to Be Greedy

In the latter half of the book, Joshua is involved in doling out to each tribe the portion of the Promised Land that would be theirs. He gives land - including towns to each tribe, making sure that there is enough there to support the people. At the end of this time, Joshua was given the chance to choose what his allotment would be.

Because of the role he had played as leader of the people, God permitted Joshua to select whatever town he wanted to be his personal domain and the domain of his family for generations to come. Any town at all - Joshua could choose Jericho, Jerusalem, Hebron or any other major city in the Promised Land.

Who could have blamed him if he had chosen Jerusalem or Jericho - a large, well-known town as his inheritance? After all, he had earned it. Joshua chooses not to select any of the "famous" towns, though, opting instead for a town called Timnath-serah. He opted for an out of the way town - leaving the best of the conquered lands for others. There's a leadership lesson in there somewhere.

Fight for Your Brothers (and Sisters)

There were three tribes that, before the Israelites conquered the promised land, asked for permission to have the conquered lands East of the Jordan river as their inheritance. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were large groups with large flocks and they coveted the pastures East of the Jordan. So they asked if they could have the land East as their inheritance.

The leaders - Moses and Joshua - were concerned about the request, fearing that granting the three tribes land East of the river would prevent those three tribes from crossing the Jordan and fighting with their brothers to conquer the actual "Promised Land." Yet Moses and Joshua responded favorably, if conditionally. They told the leaders of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh that they could have the land East of the river, as long as they agreed to help the other tribes acquire their land. Already having plenty of land was not an excuse for not helping their fellow Israelites who did not have any land.

When I read that, I can't help but think about the church. How many churches have settled onto their "promised land" and stopped worrying about their fellow men and women who do not have land on which to settle? How often do we look at the struggles of other churches or denominations and say, "I'm glad it's not us" rather than getting up and helping in the fight. The Israelites were ultimately successful because God was on their side, but they also displayed a remarkable sense of unity that I think today's church would do well to adopt.

Getting Back on Schedule

A good friend - who happens to be an Episcopalian priest - reminded me yesterday that Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent. So in order to get back on schedule, I'm going to skip a day and pick up with Joshua tomorrow.

The posts will be back on track tomorrow!

Day 6: Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is another one of my favorite books. There is just so much in its 34 chapters that speaks to the world in which we live. A couple of the highlights:

Not Because of Us (Deuteronomy 9:6)

Much of Deuteronomy consists of Moses listing the great things that God had either already done or would do for the people of Israel. The escape from Egypt, the years in the wilderness, the conquering of the Promised Land...and on and on and on. When hearing Moses list all of the great things God had done and was going to do for them, the temptation must have been fairly strong for them to think, "God must love us because we are so good." It must have been easy to start thinking that somehow they deserved all of God's goodness.

This is where Deuteronomy 9:6 comes into play: "You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not--you are a stubborn people."

Just in case the Israelites were tempted to think more of themselves than they should, God - through Moses - puts them in their place. All that had happened or will happen was because of God's grace, not because of any inherent goodness within the people of Israel. Moses even goes so far to point out that they are not inherently good, but inherently stubborn.

How often do we fall into the trap of thinking that we "deserve" God's blessing? Think about it for a minute. When was the last time God didn't answer one of your prayers the way you wanted? How did you react? Did you think - even for a moment - "But God, I've done all these good things, I deserved that blessing?" Be honest. I know that I have acted and thought that way, and still do on occasion.

Those kinds of thoughts are a trap. The fact remains that, no matter how "good" we are, we will never deserve the grace and kindness of God. We will never reach the point where we have earned God's mighty work on our behalf. The truth of the matter is that, as Moses says, "We are not good--we are a stubborn people."

Avoid at ALL Costs

One of the hardest things for many people to get past in Deuteronomy is the lack of mercy towards the inhabitants of the land(s) the Israelites were going to conquer. Indeed, the fact that God repeatedly tells the Israelites to annihilate entire peoples - men, women, children, livestock - is so unpalatable to some that they just ignore those verses and/or pretend that God "didn't really mean" it.

In context, though, those commands had a purpose. Reading through Deuteronomy, one can easily see a concern that the Israelites would be tempted and convinced to worship the gods of the peoples they were conquering (and history will show that this concern was well-founded). Multiple times in his speeches, Moses warns the people not to worship the gods of the natives. So great was the concern that the people were to take a no-holds-barred approach to the battles. If the peoples were totally wiped out, there would be no one left to tempt the Israelites to go astray into idolatry.

I do not mean to diminish the awful nature of those commands or to dismiss lightly the challenges they present to the (post)modern reader. However, if there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that idolatry is so dangerous that we should avoid it at all costs. Even today, we would be well advised to take a no-holds-barred approach to idolatry in our lives. For example, if one knows that television or internet has become an "idol" in one's life, one would be better off getting rid of the television and/or canceling the internet connection, rather than merely attempting to limit one's exposure.

Idolatry is a pervasive and insidious temptation. It must be avoided at all costs, and we must be aggressive in our efforts to stamp it out and prevent it in our lives with God.

Day 5: Numbers

As much as I love Leviticus, I may dislike Numbers that much. It just doesn't do it for me. There is one part where the author lists the leader of each of the tribes and then provides an itemized list of the offerings that leader brought to the tabernacle. In and of itself, that's not too bad - but each and every one of them brought the exact same offering. Why couldn't the author have listed the leaders' names and then said, "each of them brought the same offering(s), which were:" and then listed it once? Seriously, the author of Numbers needs an editor.

/end rant

Moving on to the observation of the day from Numbers

An Open-Theists Paradise

Several incidents occur in Numbers that make it a big asset for open theists. Briefly (and if you want more information, google or wiki it), open theism is a position held by some theologians in which God self-limits His knowledge of the future. According to the position of most open theists, God knows only what can be known and - this is the important part - the outcome of a future free will decision cannot be known until the decision is made. Put more simply, if you ask me whether or not I want to go get a pizza, God does not know whether I will say yes or no until I make the decision. (NOTE: the preceding was a very inadequate and all too brief summary of open theism. If you would like a more detailed explanation, drop me a comment w/your e-mail or facebook me)

Anyway, open theism is a position in the debate about predestination and God's knowledge of the future. It attempts to faithfully deal with the Scriptures that indicate God knows everything about the future and those scriptures that indicate God might not. The bellwether question for most open theists is, "Can God change His mind?"

In Numbers, then - yes, all of this relates back to Numbers - we find multiple occurrences of God seeming to do just that. The pattern is always the same: the Israelites do something stupid, God says He is going to destroy them altogether, Moses and/or Aaron intercede for the people and God relents from total destruction. It happens at least twice in Numbers (as well as in other places in the Old Testament).

Here's the thing - I don't know where I stand vis a vis open theism. Part of me thinks it is a legitimate way of understanding how God could know the future and still allow humans to exercise free will. Another part of me, though, wonders if we are meant to understand how God's knowledge of the future works and is afraid that open theism represents too much "anthropomorphizing" of God by humans (i.e. "making God in our own image").

What it boils down to for me is this: reading Numbers, it is clear that God changes His mind on a couple of occasions. How exactly that works is a mystery to me. How it plays into our understanding of God, predestination and free-will, I don't know. I just know that God is love and that I am not meant to completely understand God.

Day 4: Leviticus

This is going to make me seem quite strange to the average reader, but I thoroughly enjoy the book of Leviticus. If I were to make a list of my five favorite books of the Bible, Leviticus would definitely be on it (just for fun, in no particular order: Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, Luke, Psalms). I love Leviticus because I can see love within the somewhat tedious listing of sacrifices and rituals. I love Leviticus because I can see what can only be called parental concern behind many of the laws at which we often raise our eyebrows. But mostly, I love Leviticus because it makes it clear that God has always been interested in having a relationship with humans - He's not a God who hides or who makes the way to him a mystery. He lays out exactly what we have to do...and I love that.

On to the observations:

A Harsh Punishment

If you have any question that God is interested in relationship and in community, just take a read through Leviticus and focus on the punishment for violating many of the laws. The New Living Translation uses the phrase "they will be cut off from the community." This was the punishment ordained for violating the majority of the laws recorded in Leviticus. Cut off from the community - ostracized, forced to leave one's family, forced to leave the camp, forced to strike out on one's own.

In our (post)modern world, where we value individuality above all else and prize things such as "alone time" and "striking out to find our way in the world," this idea of being cut off from the community might not resonate as strongly. In the world of the Old Testament, though, the community was the defining force in life. Individual identity as we understand it didn't really exist - one's identity came from one's family and one's community. Thus, when Leviticus demands that violators be cut off from the community, it is saying that violators of the law will be stripped of their identity as God's people.

Jack-of-All-Trades

I never noticed before how involved the role of priest was in Old Testament Jewish culture. Reading Leviticus, I noticed that priests were tasked with everything from offering sacrifices to basic medical care (evaluating skin diseases) to property assessment (checking for mold). The priests were pastors, doctors, inspectors - essential to every part of community life.

Quite the difference from today, when pastors (and church in general) are often reduced to a "wherever I have time and space to spare" role, isn't it?

Day 3: Exodus

Allow me to begin by saying that I can understand why people have a hard time reading through the entire Old Testament. The last half or so of Exodus is really, really difficult to read. It consists of the Biblical equivalent of a technical manual - specifying techniques and dimensions of each and every piece of the Tabernacle. Let me tell you, it's a real snoozer. Nevertheless, I made it through and have two observations:

I Want To Remember

After the Israelites, through God's intervention, escape from Egypt, they are given very specific instructions. They are commanded to celebrate and commemorate God's rescue every single year on a specific day with specific meals and specific rituals. The Passover, as it is known in Jewish culture, is still celebrated in Jewish households around the world today.

I got to thinking about the importance of remembrance. Our modern culture seems somewhat obsessed with it. We build memorials all over the place. There is the Vietnam Wall. There is the memorial here in Oklahoma City to those who were killed in the Murrah building bombing. There is the forthcoming memorial to the dead from the terror of 9/11.

Each of those memorials - along with many of our memorials - share one common characteristic...they memorialize and foster remembrance of bad things, of wars and other horrific events. We don't often create memorials for the good and, when we do, these good memorials tend to not be as well-known.

In the whole scheme of things, I think we should be much better off if we were more like the Israelites after the escape from Egypt. It is important to remember not just the bad things that have happened in our history, but to also remember the great things that God has done on our behalf.

A Different View on Immigration

It seems as though God has a slightly different view on immigration and immigrants is somewhat different from the position held by many Americans. You see, God reminds his people in Exodus that they were once immigrants in a foreign land and, thus, that they should always be careful to treat immigrants well. More than that, they should give preference to those immigrants.

I was somewhat aware of this position but had forgotten how strongly emphatic God is about fair and judicious treatment of immigrants. I won't belabor the point with excessive political comment. Just let it be food for thought.

Day 2: Genesis 31-50

It took less than 24 hours for my body to start rebelling against the lack of caffeine. My head is a little fuzzy with a dull ache this morning. Someone please explain to me why I insist on going caffeine-free every year for Lent.

Anyway, on to the big observation from Genesis 31-50

A God Who Warns (Genesis 31:24)

Today's reading continues the story of Jacob and Laban. Laban was the father-in-law who deceitfully "stuck" Jacob with Leah as a wife when Jacob wanted to marry Rachel instead. Laban was also the father-in-law who, when Jacob worked for him as a shepherd, tried to cheat Jacob out of his fair wages. Laban was, in other words, a real winner of a guy.

In Genesis 31, Jacob decides to take his two wives (Laban's daughters) and all his family and possessions and return to the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham had lived. They sneak off in the middle of the night, worried that Laban might try to force them to stay. Once Laban realizes that they are gone, he gets angry and decides to go after them with force.

This is where the story gets interesting. As Laban and his army near Jacob's encampment with their bad intentions, God intervenes. In 31:24 - God tells Laban, "I'm warning you - leave Jacob alone" (NLT). No threats of destruction or anything like that, just "leave him alone."

God didn't have to warn Laban. In fact, given Laban's history of deceitfulness, it would have been at least somewhat justified to let Laban attack Jacob and get soundly defeated. But God doesn't do that - in warning Laban, God shows yet again that He is a God of mercy. God would rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed and violence, and so he warns Laban to back off - and Laban does.

I am only two days into this project and already my assumptions about the Bible are being rattled. As I mentioned yesterday, the militant God of the Old Testament doesn't seem quite as militant as I read through it this time. Perhaps I was just looking in the wrong places before, but it seems more and more clear to me that God is love - Old Testament and New Testament.