-Numbers 21:8. Why, why, why did God tell Moses to make a graven image after He so specifically forbade that sort of thing?! On top of that, God had Moses tell the people to look toward the serpent (graven image) for healing. What's with that?!
-Numbers 22:29 always amuses me. Balaam wasn't phased AT ALL by his donkey talking to him. No. As a matter of fact, he entered into a conversation with it! Makes me wonder if animals talked at various times or if he was just SO angry that the strangeness of the situation blew past him.
-Numbers 31. Now THAT'S an impressive conquest! When you have thirty-two THOUSAND people left over... not just people; virgin women! All the men, all the boys, all the married women had been killed leaving 32k female virgins. How many did they kill?!
I also wonder if Moses had to kill in-law family members, seeing as his wife came from Midian.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Day 11: Numbers 8:15 - 21:7
-Numbers 9:10. The thing I find so fascinating here is that Passover is SO important that even if you were considered unclean and/or physically absent, you were still required to keep the Passover.
-Numbers 10:22-23 has an interesting bit. There really isn't a tribe of Joseph, but there are tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. What I found curious is that Joseph's sons' tribes are listed in reverse birth order, just as they had been blessed by Jacob; Ephraim first and Manasseh second.
-Numbers 10:29 makes a reference to Moses' father-in-law as Raguel the Midianite. Wasn't his name Jethro in Exodus?
-Numbers 11:21-22 proved Moses to be still human. After all the first-hand witnessing and execution of God's awe-inspiring miracles and provisions, he STILL questions God's ability to provide - in this instance, meat for the complaining children of Israel. "And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou has said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?"
-Numbers 14:24 made me question something. What does it mean when God said, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully..." What is this other spirit? Or is it possibly a reference to the fact that Caleb did not follow along with the Israelites general rebelling and murmuring.
-Numbers 20:14. Wasn't Edom where Esau was; Jacob/Israel's brother? The one whom Jacob was afraid to come back to? The one who now refused Jacob/Israel's descendants to pass through the land? Hmmm....
-Numbers 20:24. Aaron was the first to die because of when Moses struck the rock to get water instead of speaking. It makes me wonder what Aaron's part in that tableau was, for him to die before Moses, who committed the actual act of rebellion.
-Numbers 10:22-23 has an interesting bit. There really isn't a tribe of Joseph, but there are tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. What I found curious is that Joseph's sons' tribes are listed in reverse birth order, just as they had been blessed by Jacob; Ephraim first and Manasseh second.
-Numbers 10:29 makes a reference to Moses' father-in-law as Raguel the Midianite. Wasn't his name Jethro in Exodus?
-Numbers 11:21-22 proved Moses to be still human. After all the first-hand witnessing and execution of God's awe-inspiring miracles and provisions, he STILL questions God's ability to provide - in this instance, meat for the complaining children of Israel. "And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou has said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?"
-Numbers 14:24 made me question something. What does it mean when God said, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully..." What is this other spirit? Or is it possibly a reference to the fact that Caleb did not follow along with the Israelites general rebelling and murmuring.
-Numbers 20:14. Wasn't Edom where Esau was; Jacob/Israel's brother? The one whom Jacob was afraid to come back to? The one who now refused Jacob/Israel's descendants to pass through the land? Hmmm....
-Numbers 20:24. Aaron was the first to die because of when Moses struck the rock to get water instead of speaking. It makes me wonder what Aaron's part in that tableau was, for him to die before Moses, who committed the actual act of rebellion.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Day 10: Leviticus 26:27 - Numbers 8:14
-Numbers 1:3 states that 20 is the age which is considered as battle-worthy; and the age at which census counting begins... men only.
-Numbers 2:12 showed me something interesting; don't know if it means anything. Aaron was the firstborn in his family and is the father of the Levites, whom God took for Himself instead of the children of Israel's firstborns.
-Numbers 2:39-40 has male firstborns counted from one month old up, as opposed to the 20 years of age everyone else was counted at. It is also interesting to note that the Levite one-month-olds were matched up against the rest of the one-month-olds.
-Numbers 7. Why, why, why is it so necessary to list each of the twelve princes' offerings in such detail when they're all exactly the same?? Exactly. Not only that, but at the end of the chapter, the twelve offerings are summarized, making sure the reader knows the total of the twelve identical offerings.
-Numbers 2:12 showed me something interesting; don't know if it means anything. Aaron was the firstborn in his family and is the father of the Levites, whom God took for Himself instead of the children of Israel's firstborns.
-Numbers 2:39-40 has male firstborns counted from one month old up, as opposed to the 20 years of age everyone else was counted at. It is also interesting to note that the Levite one-month-olds were matched up against the rest of the one-month-olds.
-Numbers 7. Why, why, why is it so necessary to list each of the twelve princes' offerings in such detail when they're all exactly the same?? Exactly. Not only that, but at the end of the chapter, the twelve offerings are summarized, making sure the reader knows the total of the twelve identical offerings.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Day 9: Leviticus 14:33 - 26:26
Fascinating topics, this reading has(!).
-Leviticus 19:19 brings up an interesting point; one which I'm sure many of the companies out there would not like to hear. "Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee." Do you have any idea how many diversification and mingling there are out there?! To say nothing of mixed-fiber fabric!
I do know one little tid-bit. Mixed-fiber fabric doesn't allow skin to breathe as easily as un-mixed fabric fibers. Guess God knew what he was talking about.
-Leviticus 19:28 makes me wonder if this is a holy injunction against tattoos. What about writing notes on your hand? Hmmm....
-Leviticus 20:6 states that anyone who turns after those who have familiar spirits (mediums) and wizards will have God's face set against them. How should we apply this to today's popular reading culture of wizardry, sorcery, magic, and vampires? Will God's face be set against those who read Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Twilight? Something VERY important to think about. I, for one, am turning my face from these.
-Leviticus 20:27 goes back to the issue of turning after mediums and wizards. What is interesting to note here is that God says they should be put to death; no discussions or beating around the bush - a very direct consequence.
-Leviticus 19:19 brings up an interesting point; one which I'm sure many of the companies out there would not like to hear. "Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee." Do you have any idea how many diversification and mingling there are out there?! To say nothing of mixed-fiber fabric!
I do know one little tid-bit. Mixed-fiber fabric doesn't allow skin to breathe as easily as un-mixed fabric fibers. Guess God knew what he was talking about.
-Leviticus 19:28 makes me wonder if this is a holy injunction against tattoos. What about writing notes on your hand? Hmmm....
-Leviticus 20:6 states that anyone who turns after those who have familiar spirits (mediums) and wizards will have God's face set against them. How should we apply this to today's popular reading culture of wizardry, sorcery, magic, and vampires? Will God's face be set against those who read Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Twilight? Something VERY important to think about. I, for one, am turning my face from these.
-Leviticus 20:27 goes back to the issue of turning after mediums and wizards. What is interesting to note here is that God says they should be put to death; no discussions or beating around the bush - a very direct consequence.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 8: Leviticus 1:1 - 14.32
So many details...
-Leviticus 2:11 says not to burn honey. I wonder why.
-Leviticus 6:28 talks about breaking earthen vessels that became unclean. It is interesting to note that non-porous vessels were scoured and reused having become clean. Porous vessels, which are impossible to completely clean by scouring, were to be broken; completely destroyed.
-Leviticus 7:24-26 tells what not to eat of meat and I find it interesting to note that fat and blood were specifically forbidden. Did you also know that the life of any being is in the blood? Did you further know that the toxins of any being are stored in the fat? Something to think about.
-Leviticus 12:2-5 had me wondering. Why is it a woman is unclean for only 40 days after giving birth to a male child, but is unclean for 80 days (twice as long) after giving birth to a female child? I wonder indeed... it seems so strange.
-Leviticus 2:11 says not to burn honey. I wonder why.
-Leviticus 6:28 talks about breaking earthen vessels that became unclean. It is interesting to note that non-porous vessels were scoured and reused having become clean. Porous vessels, which are impossible to completely clean by scouring, were to be broken; completely destroyed.
-Leviticus 7:24-26 tells what not to eat of meat and I find it interesting to note that fat and blood were specifically forbidden. Did you also know that the life of any being is in the blood? Did you further know that the toxins of any being are stored in the fat? Something to think about.
-Leviticus 12:2-5 had me wondering. Why is it a woman is unclean for only 40 days after giving birth to a male child, but is unclean for 80 days (twice as long) after giving birth to a female child? I wonder indeed... it seems so strange.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Day 7: Exodus 29:1 - 40:38
They say the Devil is in the details, but I would have to disagree.
Anyone, spending even the briefest of moments perusing the book of Exodus would be compelled to notice the intense level of details God imparts to Moses regarding something as small and simple as a snuff dish or a curtain rod!
-Exodus 29:20. Of great curiosity to me is why the right ear, thumb, and great toe had to have blood sprinkled on them to consecrate Aaron and his sons to be priests in the new tabernacle.
-Exodus 30:23-24 gives the recipe for making the holy ointment to be used in the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies... and it was apparently a big recipe! It calls for, by my best calculations, 37.5 POUNDS of spices and about five LITERS of olive oil! That's a lot - but then, God called for a lot of holy ointment usage.
I also find it interesting that God explicitly states this ointment is NOT to be used or poured on human flesh because it is holy.
-Exodus 30:38 carries the commands for the holy ointment a bit further by commanding that no "rip-off" scents be made; nothing that even smelled a little like the holy ointment was to even be attempted.
-Exodus 31:2, 6 seems to indicate that only two men did all the actual building and making of things for the tabernacle. I see many people made the fabrics, threads, etc., but it appears only the two men Moses named actually did all the work for the building of the tabernacle
-Exodus 32:23 paints Aaron in a rather silly light (or guilty, as the case may be). When accosted by Moses to give account for what he had done with respect to the golden calf, Aaron not only blamed the people for demanding and idol, but said that after he had thrown all their gold into the fire, "there came out this calf." What?!
-Exodus 32:19 is yet another example of Moses losing his temper and ruining something God had for him. In Egypt, he killed a man in his anger, putting a forty-year hold on God's plan for releasing the Israelites. On Mount Sinai, Moses' fury at the Children of Israel was revealed as he broke the tables of the new law, just given and engraved BY GOD.
Later, Moses' anger would eventually be his undoing when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it. For this mistaken choice, Moses would never get to set foot in the Promised Land.
-Exodus 33:1-3 tells just how angry with the Children of Israel God was; He sent an Angel before them in lieu of being with them Himself. Why? He was so angry with them, He seemed to think He might just kill them all for their stiffneckedness and flip-flopi-ness. It seems His Angel was a good solution; the people would be led, God would not have to endure their heels.
Anyone, spending even the briefest of moments perusing the book of Exodus would be compelled to notice the intense level of details God imparts to Moses regarding something as small and simple as a snuff dish or a curtain rod!
-Exodus 29:20. Of great curiosity to me is why the right ear, thumb, and great toe had to have blood sprinkled on them to consecrate Aaron and his sons to be priests in the new tabernacle.
-Exodus 30:23-24 gives the recipe for making the holy ointment to be used in the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies... and it was apparently a big recipe! It calls for, by my best calculations, 37.5 POUNDS of spices and about five LITERS of olive oil! That's a lot - but then, God called for a lot of holy ointment usage.
I also find it interesting that God explicitly states this ointment is NOT to be used or poured on human flesh because it is holy.
-Exodus 30:38 carries the commands for the holy ointment a bit further by commanding that no "rip-off" scents be made; nothing that even smelled a little like the holy ointment was to even be attempted.
-Exodus 31:2, 6 seems to indicate that only two men did all the actual building and making of things for the tabernacle. I see many people made the fabrics, threads, etc., but it appears only the two men Moses named actually did all the work for the building of the tabernacle
-Exodus 32:23 paints Aaron in a rather silly light (or guilty, as the case may be). When accosted by Moses to give account for what he had done with respect to the golden calf, Aaron not only blamed the people for demanding and idol, but said that after he had thrown all their gold into the fire, "there came out this calf." What?!
-Exodus 32:19 is yet another example of Moses losing his temper and ruining something God had for him. In Egypt, he killed a man in his anger, putting a forty-year hold on God's plan for releasing the Israelites. On Mount Sinai, Moses' fury at the Children of Israel was revealed as he broke the tables of the new law, just given and engraved BY GOD.
Later, Moses' anger would eventually be his undoing when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it. For this mistaken choice, Moses would never get to set foot in the Promised Land.
-Exodus 33:1-3 tells just how angry with the Children of Israel God was; He sent an Angel before them in lieu of being with them Himself. Why? He was so angry with them, He seemed to think He might just kill them all for their stiffneckedness and flip-flopi-ness. It seems His Angel was a good solution; the people would be led, God would not have to endure their heels.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Day 6: Exodus 18:19 - 28:43
Yay! I'm finally caught up! It seemed as if I was reading, thinking, and writing ALL DAY yesterday. Not a bad thing, mind you, but draining.
Today's insights:
-Exodus 15:27 provided me with my most amazing "Whoa!" moment. In this verse, it is explicitly mentioned that the particular place where the Israelites stopped had twelve wells and seventy palm trees. Why is this necessary or relevant?
Then I had a thought. What if the children of Israel, having exited Egypt, made specific mention of these things because they signified their origin as a nation. Perhaps the twelve wells represented the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), each a head of the twelve tribes of Israel. Taking the comparison further, what if the seventy palm trees were significant in that when Jacob entered Egypt for the first time, he brought sixty-nine others with him... a total of seventy people were the start of the great nation of Israel.
-Exodus 18:1-6 I don't think I ever realized that Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, wasn't with him during the exodus from Egypt. He shows up, having tracked Moses down, and returns Moses' wife and two sons to him, who also had not been with Moses during the exodus.
-Exodus 20 is the giving of the Ten Commandments. What I found interesting was that God devoted so many more words to describing the command against graven images and the command to keep the Sabbath day holy. All the other commands are bare minimums.
-Exodus 21:6 talks of ear piercing as a mark of permanent servitude. I wonder if pierced ears still carry this stigma(?) of slavery to this day and we just have forgotten it.
-Exodus 22:28 struck me particularly as God, in the middle of a bunch of other instructions and laws, explicitly commands that we are not to make fun of the false gods and not to say derogatory things about our rulers. So mocking and deriding the gods of other religions is right out, as is criticizing our President and elected officials. Something to think about next time you want to forward that political cartoon or anecdote.
-Exodus 25 has what I would refer to as a translation inaccuracy, not necessarily mistake. The word "cherubims" is unnecessarily plural. In Hebrew, to make a word plural, the suffix "-im" is added. Therefore, one cherub, two cherubim... not cherubims. [even the spell check picks it up]
Today's insights:
-Exodus 15:27 provided me with my most amazing "Whoa!" moment. In this verse, it is explicitly mentioned that the particular place where the Israelites stopped had twelve wells and seventy palm trees. Why is this necessary or relevant?
Then I had a thought. What if the children of Israel, having exited Egypt, made specific mention of these things because they signified their origin as a nation. Perhaps the twelve wells represented the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), each a head of the twelve tribes of Israel. Taking the comparison further, what if the seventy palm trees were significant in that when Jacob entered Egypt for the first time, he brought sixty-nine others with him... a total of seventy people were the start of the great nation of Israel.
-Exodus 18:1-6 I don't think I ever realized that Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, wasn't with him during the exodus from Egypt. He shows up, having tracked Moses down, and returns Moses' wife and two sons to him, who also had not been with Moses during the exodus.
-Exodus 20 is the giving of the Ten Commandments. What I found interesting was that God devoted so many more words to describing the command against graven images and the command to keep the Sabbath day holy. All the other commands are bare minimums.
-Exodus 21:6 talks of ear piercing as a mark of permanent servitude. I wonder if pierced ears still carry this stigma(?) of slavery to this day and we just have forgotten it.
-Exodus 22:28 struck me particularly as God, in the middle of a bunch of other instructions and laws, explicitly commands that we are not to make fun of the false gods and not to say derogatory things about our rulers. So mocking and deriding the gods of other religions is right out, as is criticizing our President and elected officials. Something to think about next time you want to forward that political cartoon or anecdote.
-Exodus 25 has what I would refer to as a translation inaccuracy, not necessarily mistake. The word "cherubims" is unnecessarily plural. In Hebrew, to make a word plural, the suffix "-im" is added. Therefore, one cherub, two cherubim... not cherubims. [even the spell check picks it up]
Day 5: Exodus 1:1 - 15:18
Wow! Through Genesis already! Can't remember the last time I read through Genesis that fast; it was like reading a favorite book - very pleasant.
-Exodus 1:16 shows an early use of population control by Pharaoh, through the use of the medical profession, nonetheless!
-Exodus 2:2 tells how Moses' parents hid him away until he was three months old. Being the mother of an eighteen-month-old and a two-month-old, let me tell you how hard it is to keep an infant under wraps... especially as he starts to "talk" and gurgle and want to play - to say nothing of crying!!
-Exodus 3 interested me because in it, God clearly outlines to Moses everything that will happen along the way to freeing the Israelites. The plan was laid out from the beginning.
-Exodus 4:10 I find extremely amusing. Moses, not wanting to be God's voice to Pharaoh, plays dumb and inarticulate by saying, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Dunno. Sounds fairly eloquent to me.
-Exodus 4:24-26 seems stuck in here for some reason I cannot decern. First off, Moses must have been pushing God's buttons because "it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him [Moses], and sought to kill him." It is then that Moses' wife, Zipporah, does something very odd: she circumcises her son and tosses the foreskin at Moses' feet. What is even more bewildering is the fact that "he [the Lord] let him [Moses] go."
Moses was surely circumcised himself, but would he have known to circumcise his sons as part of God's covenant with the descendants of Abraham? He was raised in the house of Pharaoh and possibly never learned a whole lot about the traditions and customs of his own people.
How would Zipporah have known circumcision was one of the things God required of His people? Her father was a priest, though the Bible never says what kind of priest he was. I believe it is fairly safe to assume he was not an Israelite.
-Exodus 6:9 gives an example of just how disheartened the children of Israel were upon receiving Pharaoh's command of less straw. When Moses once again tried to cheer them up and paint a glowing future picture, the Israelites could not listen to his words for "anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."
-Exodus 7 marks the beginning of the plagues God sent on Egypt to punish the Egyptians for not letting Israel go. An interesting note about the plagues is that each one, in some way, mocked or defamed one of the gods of Egypt.
Blood - god of the Nile (was a water bearer)
Frogs - goddess of fertility, water, renewal (has head of a frog)
Lice - god of the earth
Flies - god of creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth (has head of a fly)
Cattle plague - goddess of love and protection (depicted with the head of a cow)
Boils - goddess of medicine and peace
Hail - goddess of the sky
Locusts - god of storms and disorder (animal head)
Darkness - the sun god
First Born - pharaoh, ultimate power of Egypt
-Exodus 8:10 shows Pharaoh asking for one more night with the frogs, asking Moses to take them away on the morrow, not immediately. Dude must have loved him some frogs! :P
-Exodus 8:25-26 states Pharaoh was on the verge of letting them leave, until Moses pointed out they needed to take everyone and everything with them, so as not to "sacrifice the abomination fo the Egyptians to the Lord... before their eyes." It is interesting to note that Egyptians held every shepherd to be an abomination as well as cows and oxen, which were held as sacred and thus considered to be sacrilegious to kill.
-Exodus 11:2 has everyone "borrowing" from their neighbor. The original Hebrew loosely translates this passage to mean that everyone asked or demanded things from their neighbors. Controversy still reigns as to whether the previous version is true or whether this verse is a very tongue-in-check command to spoil the Egyptians. Nice back wages for 400 years of slavery!
-Exodus 1:16 shows an early use of population control by Pharaoh, through the use of the medical profession, nonetheless!
-Exodus 2:2 tells how Moses' parents hid him away until he was three months old. Being the mother of an eighteen-month-old and a two-month-old, let me tell you how hard it is to keep an infant under wraps... especially as he starts to "talk" and gurgle and want to play - to say nothing of crying!!
-Exodus 3 interested me because in it, God clearly outlines to Moses everything that will happen along the way to freeing the Israelites. The plan was laid out from the beginning.
-Exodus 4:10 I find extremely amusing. Moses, not wanting to be God's voice to Pharaoh, plays dumb and inarticulate by saying, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Dunno. Sounds fairly eloquent to me.
-Exodus 4:24-26 seems stuck in here for some reason I cannot decern. First off, Moses must have been pushing God's buttons because "it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him [Moses], and sought to kill him." It is then that Moses' wife, Zipporah, does something very odd: she circumcises her son and tosses the foreskin at Moses' feet. What is even more bewildering is the fact that "he [the Lord] let him [Moses] go."
Moses was surely circumcised himself, but would he have known to circumcise his sons as part of God's covenant with the descendants of Abraham? He was raised in the house of Pharaoh and possibly never learned a whole lot about the traditions and customs of his own people.
How would Zipporah have known circumcision was one of the things God required of His people? Her father was a priest, though the Bible never says what kind of priest he was. I believe it is fairly safe to assume he was not an Israelite.
-Exodus 6:9 gives an example of just how disheartened the children of Israel were upon receiving Pharaoh's command of less straw. When Moses once again tried to cheer them up and paint a glowing future picture, the Israelites could not listen to his words for "anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."
-Exodus 7 marks the beginning of the plagues God sent on Egypt to punish the Egyptians for not letting Israel go. An interesting note about the plagues is that each one, in some way, mocked or defamed one of the gods of Egypt.
Blood - god of the Nile (was a water bearer)
Frogs - goddess of fertility, water, renewal (has head of a frog)
Lice - god of the earth
Flies - god of creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth (has head of a fly)
Cattle plague - goddess of love and protection (depicted with the head of a cow)
Boils - goddess of medicine and peace
Hail - goddess of the sky
Locusts - god of storms and disorder (animal head)
Darkness - the sun god
First Born - pharaoh, ultimate power of Egypt
-Exodus 8:10 shows Pharaoh asking for one more night with the frogs, asking Moses to take them away on the morrow, not immediately. Dude must have loved him some frogs! :P
-Exodus 8:25-26 states Pharaoh was on the verge of letting them leave, until Moses pointed out they needed to take everyone and everything with them, so as not to "sacrifice the abomination fo the Egyptians to the Lord... before their eyes." It is interesting to note that Egyptians held every shepherd to be an abomination as well as cows and oxen, which were held as sacred and thus considered to be sacrilegious to kill.
-Exodus 11:2 has everyone "borrowing" from their neighbor. The original Hebrew loosely translates this passage to mean that everyone asked or demanded things from their neighbors. Controversy still reigns as to whether the previous version is true or whether this verse is a very tongue-in-check command to spoil the Egyptians. Nice back wages for 400 years of slavery!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Day 4: Genesis 40:12 - 50:26
Just a couple "Huh. Interesting" comments for today's reading:
-Genesis 41:46 tells us Joseph was 30 when his true life's work began, just like Jesus later on in history.
-Genesis 42 seems to indicate that Joseph's brothers must have not liked him a great deal. True, it had been fifteen years since they had last seen him, but to not recognize him AT ALL?! Genesis 43 shows that Joseph recognized his brother, Benjamin, even though he disguised it. How much would you have to avoid a family member not to recognize them AT ALL?!
-Genesis 48 gives an account of generational blessing styles. Jacob had been the second-born, yet he received the blessing of his father and of his people. When passing the blessing on, Jacob chose Joseph's sons to receive it. Not only that, but Jacob purposefully blessed the younger of Joseph's two sons.
-Genesis 50:2 states Jacob was embalmed at Joseph's command even though it seemed to me that Jacob didn't really want anything to do with Egypt; he wanted to be buried in the land of Canaan. I wonder if Jacob was feeling badly for how he had treated Leah during her life because he asked to be buried with her, not Rachel.
I find it further interesting that the triad of patriarchs were all buried in the same place with their first wives: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.
-Genesis 41:46 tells us Joseph was 30 when his true life's work began, just like Jesus later on in history.
-Genesis 42 seems to indicate that Joseph's brothers must have not liked him a great deal. True, it had been fifteen years since they had last seen him, but to not recognize him AT ALL?! Genesis 43 shows that Joseph recognized his brother, Benjamin, even though he disguised it. How much would you have to avoid a family member not to recognize them AT ALL?!
-Genesis 48 gives an account of generational blessing styles. Jacob had been the second-born, yet he received the blessing of his father and of his people. When passing the blessing on, Jacob chose Joseph's sons to receive it. Not only that, but Jacob purposefully blessed the younger of Joseph's two sons.
-Genesis 50:2 states Jacob was embalmed at Joseph's command even though it seemed to me that Jacob didn't really want anything to do with Egypt; he wanted to be buried in the land of Canaan. I wonder if Jacob was feeling badly for how he had treated Leah during her life because he asked to be buried with her, not Rachel.
I find it further interesting that the triad of patriarchs were all buried in the same place with their first wives: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Day 2: Genesis 17:1 - 28:19
In today's reading, I didn't have as many insights as yesterday... But then, of course, those first sixteen chapters of Genesis cover A LOT of ground and history.
-I was first struck by how long Abram/Abraham had to wait AFTER Ishmael before Isaac came along... fourteen years!! He was 86 when Ishmael was born and 100 when Isaac was born. That's a long time to wait on a promise. Abram waited a total of 24 years before he saw God fulfill His promise!
-Genesis 19:17-30 tells an interesting story about Lot and his family. Before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels told Lot, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Lot's response was to beg to go to Zoar, a little city nearby. "I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die... Oh, let me escape thither [to Zoar], (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
The angel listened to Lot's plea and spared Zoar for Lot's sake. It took all night to get there, but when the sun rose, Lot and his family were safe at Zoar when God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. Shockingly, Lot's wife, already safe and protected in Zoar, "looked back from behind him [Lot], and she became a pillar of salt."
Now pay attention here. Lot, having received permission to live in Zoar because he was afraid of living in the mountain, now leaves Zoar and "dwelt in the mountain... for he feared to dwell in Zoar." Lot never struck me as a firm character, but this kind of cinches his pusillanimous way of dealing with life; always taking the easy and comfortable path.
-Genesis 24:34 seems to indicate one of two things: either men didn't get married very early in those days, or Isaac was a bit of a mama's boy and had not gotten a wife by the time he was 40! And even then, Isaac doesn't look for a wife or initiate the search for her - his father does!
-Genesis 20 tells the story of Abraham and Sarah lying to Abimelech, king of Gerar, because Abraham feared being killed for his wife's sake. And yet, he really didn't completely lie, because Sarah really was his sister, "the daughter of my [Abraham's] father, but not the daughter of my mother.]
Many years later, in Genesis 26, we find Abraham's son, Isaac, living in the land of Gerar still ruled by, you guessed it, Abimelech. Immediately, Isaac tells the men who lived there that Rebekah was his sister because he, too, was afraid of being killed for her sake. Isaac flat out lied and thankfully, Abimelech figured out what was going on and reproached Isaac for his dishonesty, pointing out he could have brought ruin on the land.
I wonder if Abimelech knew Abraham and Isaac were related and if he realized they had done the same thing to him. Regardless, he wasn't taking any chances and placed in effect a death penalty for anyone who even so much as touched Isaac or Rebekah.
-Genesis 27:46 is sad and funny at the same time. I guess Esau's wives were giving Isaac a hard time because he mentions, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth... what good shall my life do me?" It is also interesting to note that the "daughters of Heth" were descendants of Canaan, Ham's son, who had been cursed by Noah. Isaac was a descendant of Shem, who had been blessed by Noah.
-Genesis 28:6-9 seems to indicate that Isaac didn't exactly do his part in raising his sons in a godly manner or teach them important things they should have known. It would seem Esau had no clue that he was not supposed to marry Canaanite women. Until, that is, he "saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away... to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters for Canaan."
Esau "seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father... took unto the wives which he had" daughters of Ishmael. Apparently, Esau was trying desperately to do the right thing, but had never been instructed what the right thing to do was.
-One interesting parallel I found was in how Isaac and Jacob's wives were found. They were both discovered at the well with their flocks. I'm not sure how Abraham found his wife, but wouldn't it be funny if he found her at a well, too?
I
-I was first struck by how long Abram/Abraham had to wait AFTER Ishmael before Isaac came along... fourteen years!! He was 86 when Ishmael was born and 100 when Isaac was born. That's a long time to wait on a promise. Abram waited a total of 24 years before he saw God fulfill His promise!
-Genesis 19:17-30 tells an interesting story about Lot and his family. Before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels told Lot, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Lot's response was to beg to go to Zoar, a little city nearby. "I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die... Oh, let me escape thither [to Zoar], (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
The angel listened to Lot's plea and spared Zoar for Lot's sake. It took all night to get there, but when the sun rose, Lot and his family were safe at Zoar when God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. Shockingly, Lot's wife, already safe and protected in Zoar, "looked back from behind him [Lot], and she became a pillar of salt."
Now pay attention here. Lot, having received permission to live in Zoar because he was afraid of living in the mountain, now leaves Zoar and "dwelt in the mountain... for he feared to dwell in Zoar." Lot never struck me as a firm character, but this kind of cinches his pusillanimous way of dealing with life; always taking the easy and comfortable path.
-Genesis 24:34 seems to indicate one of two things: either men didn't get married very early in those days, or Isaac was a bit of a mama's boy and had not gotten a wife by the time he was 40! And even then, Isaac doesn't look for a wife or initiate the search for her - his father does!
-Genesis 20 tells the story of Abraham and Sarah lying to Abimelech, king of Gerar, because Abraham feared being killed for his wife's sake. And yet, he really didn't completely lie, because Sarah really was his sister, "the daughter of my [Abraham's] father, but not the daughter of my mother.]
Many years later, in Genesis 26, we find Abraham's son, Isaac, living in the land of Gerar still ruled by, you guessed it, Abimelech. Immediately, Isaac tells the men who lived there that Rebekah was his sister because he, too, was afraid of being killed for her sake. Isaac flat out lied and thankfully, Abimelech figured out what was going on and reproached Isaac for his dishonesty, pointing out he could have brought ruin on the land.
I wonder if Abimelech knew Abraham and Isaac were related and if he realized they had done the same thing to him. Regardless, he wasn't taking any chances and placed in effect a death penalty for anyone who even so much as touched Isaac or Rebekah.
-Genesis 27:46 is sad and funny at the same time. I guess Esau's wives were giving Isaac a hard time because he mentions, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth... what good shall my life do me?" It is also interesting to note that the "daughters of Heth" were descendants of Canaan, Ham's son, who had been cursed by Noah. Isaac was a descendant of Shem, who had been blessed by Noah.
-Genesis 28:6-9 seems to indicate that Isaac didn't exactly do his part in raising his sons in a godly manner or teach them important things they should have known. It would seem Esau had no clue that he was not supposed to marry Canaanite women. Until, that is, he "saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away... to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters for Canaan."
Esau "seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father... took unto the wives which he had" daughters of Ishmael. Apparently, Esau was trying desperately to do the right thing, but had never been instructed what the right thing to do was.
-One interesting parallel I found was in how Isaac and Jacob's wives were found. They were both discovered at the well with their flocks. I'm not sure how Abraham found his wife, but wouldn't it be funny if he found her at a well, too?
I
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Day 1: Genesis 1:1 - 16:16
Observations and interesting bits from Day 1:
-Genesis 1:30 states, "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
Assuming God made all the animals to include dinosaurs... dinosaurs initially ate plants! Could that explain the shallow root system of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex? Perhaps the extinction of many dinosaurs was caused by insufficient plant life to feed these large creatures who were not designed to eat meat? Just a question.
-Genesis 2:1 says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them."
Perhaps this could be referring to the creation of all the angels and human souls?
-Genesis 3:14 indicates that snakes once had legs, "...upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." That would certainly account for the pair of seemingly unnecessary "hip bones" found in snakes today.
-Genesis 6:3 makes me wonder if humans were already living forever or if the breeding with angels (sons of God) was causing indefinite longevity because of what God said; "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
Maybe another way to look at this was that God was giving humankind 120 years to straighten things out before He wiped them out in the flood. Or perhaps He knew that in 120 years, mankind would become SO corrupt that it would NEED to be completely wiped out with the exception of some choice human seed.
-Genesis 6:1-4 speaks of the sons of God taking daughters of men as wives and generating giants and "mighty men which were of old, men of renown." Could these half-human, half-angelic offspring be the fodder for numerous tales, fables, and legends of gods and demi-gods who possessed amazing powers, yet were bound with such human emotions?
-Genesis 7:1-2 very clearly indicates that there were clean and unclean animals BEFORE God directed the Israelites what to eat/sacrifice as clean... "Of every clean beast though shalt take... and of beasts that are not clean... Of fowls also of the air..."
Another interesting question pertains to the number of clean and unclean animals taken aboard. Why seven? It doesn't seem right to have an "odd man out" when repopulating the earth. Did God mean seven PAIRS of clean and two PAIRS of unclean animals?
Or maybe, just maybe, the seventh animal taken into the ark was the sacrificial animal which Noah sacrificed upon exiting the ark?
-Genesis 9:2 seems to indicate that animals had not been afraid of people up to this point: "And the fear of you [Noah and his sons] and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;" Good call! Especially since the next verse directs Noah and his sons to use the animals as food now, instead of just plant life.
-Genesis 9:22 speaks of Ham's son, Canaan, and makes me to wonder if this son is the one whose descendants would be overcome by the post-Egypt Israelites.
-Genesis 9:25-27 has an account of Noah cursing Ham's son, Canaan for Ham's disrespectful wrongdoing. I find it interesting that Noah didn't curse Ham, but cursed his son. It is the descendants of Canaan who would fill the Promised Land (i.e., the land of Canaan) and who would become so wicked that the Israelites would drive them out.
It is interesting to note here that Noah, while cursing Canaan, also blessed Shem and said Japheth would live in his tents. Later, we find that Abram/Abraham, the father of many nations was a direct descendant of Shem. It would be his descendants that would wipe out the land of Canaan.
-Genesis 10:6 refers to a son of Ham as being named Mizraim... this is the Hebrew word for Egypt.
-Genesis 10:9-10 tells us that Nimrod, the grandson of Ham and "a mighty hunter before the Lord," was the founder of Babel - the beginning of his kingdom. I wonder if this is the same Babel where the infamous tower was built.
-Genesis 10:15 foreshadows issues with children of Heth, as bemoaned by Isaac later. Heth was the grandson of Canaan, who was cursed by his grandfather, Noah.
-Genesis 11:4-7 has always amused me. In the King James Version (KJV), the people are quoted as saying, "Go to, let us make brick and burn them thoroughly... Go to, let u build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven..." God comes down to see the city and says, "Go to, let us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." And who says God has no sense of humor?!
-Genesis 14:18 introduces a mysterious character, Melchizedek. I'm still not sure who he is, but he appears suddenly, with no lead up, and he is the high priest of the city of Salem, which means peace. Not only this, but Abraham promptly gives him a tithe of all the spoil he had just obtained. Curious.
-Genesis 15:16 states that the Amorites weren't wicked enough for Abram to destroy, but "in the fourth generation they [Abram's descendants] shall come hither again."
-Genesis 16:3 showed me something I'd never really thought of before. Previously, it seemed to me that right after God promised Abram a son (and it didn't happen), that Ishmael came along. This verse contradicts that idea, stating Abram waited TEN YEARS before Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wive.
-Genesis 16:11-12 is one of the most historically provocative verses from today's reading for me. "I will multiply thy [Hagar's] seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude... thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael... And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
God's promise to Abram's descendants applied literally to his descendants. God kept his word, even though Ishmael was a result of human action, rather than waiting on God's timing. That simple act of impatience has resulted in one of the most turbulent and long-lasting conflicts in history; the Arab/Jew conflict in the Middle East.
Something to think about, huh?
-Genesis 1:30 states, "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
Assuming God made all the animals to include dinosaurs... dinosaurs initially ate plants! Could that explain the shallow root system of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex? Perhaps the extinction of many dinosaurs was caused by insufficient plant life to feed these large creatures who were not designed to eat meat? Just a question.
-Genesis 2:1 says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them."
Perhaps this could be referring to the creation of all the angels and human souls?
-Genesis 3:14 indicates that snakes once had legs, "...upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." That would certainly account for the pair of seemingly unnecessary "hip bones" found in snakes today.
-Genesis 6:3 makes me wonder if humans were already living forever or if the breeding with angels (sons of God) was causing indefinite longevity because of what God said; "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
Maybe another way to look at this was that God was giving humankind 120 years to straighten things out before He wiped them out in the flood. Or perhaps He knew that in 120 years, mankind would become SO corrupt that it would NEED to be completely wiped out with the exception of some choice human seed.
-Genesis 6:1-4 speaks of the sons of God taking daughters of men as wives and generating giants and "mighty men which were of old, men of renown." Could these half-human, half-angelic offspring be the fodder for numerous tales, fables, and legends of gods and demi-gods who possessed amazing powers, yet were bound with such human emotions?
-Genesis 7:1-2 very clearly indicates that there were clean and unclean animals BEFORE God directed the Israelites what to eat/sacrifice as clean... "Of every clean beast though shalt take... and of beasts that are not clean... Of fowls also of the air..."
Another interesting question pertains to the number of clean and unclean animals taken aboard. Why seven? It doesn't seem right to have an "odd man out" when repopulating the earth. Did God mean seven PAIRS of clean and two PAIRS of unclean animals?
Or maybe, just maybe, the seventh animal taken into the ark was the sacrificial animal which Noah sacrificed upon exiting the ark?
-Genesis 9:2 seems to indicate that animals had not been afraid of people up to this point: "And the fear of you [Noah and his sons] and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;" Good call! Especially since the next verse directs Noah and his sons to use the animals as food now, instead of just plant life.
-Genesis 9:22 speaks of Ham's son, Canaan, and makes me to wonder if this son is the one whose descendants would be overcome by the post-Egypt Israelites.
-Genesis 9:25-27 has an account of Noah cursing Ham's son, Canaan for Ham's disrespectful wrongdoing. I find it interesting that Noah didn't curse Ham, but cursed his son. It is the descendants of Canaan who would fill the Promised Land (i.e., the land of Canaan) and who would become so wicked that the Israelites would drive them out.
It is interesting to note here that Noah, while cursing Canaan, also blessed Shem and said Japheth would live in his tents. Later, we find that Abram/Abraham, the father of many nations was a direct descendant of Shem. It would be his descendants that would wipe out the land of Canaan.
-Genesis 10:6 refers to a son of Ham as being named Mizraim... this is the Hebrew word for Egypt.
-Genesis 10:9-10 tells us that Nimrod, the grandson of Ham and "a mighty hunter before the Lord," was the founder of Babel - the beginning of his kingdom. I wonder if this is the same Babel where the infamous tower was built.
-Genesis 10:15 foreshadows issues with children of Heth, as bemoaned by Isaac later. Heth was the grandson of Canaan, who was cursed by his grandfather, Noah.
-Genesis 11:4-7 has always amused me. In the King James Version (KJV), the people are quoted as saying, "Go to, let us make brick and burn them thoroughly... Go to, let u build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven..." God comes down to see the city and says, "Go to, let us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." And who says God has no sense of humor?!
-Genesis 14:18 introduces a mysterious character, Melchizedek. I'm still not sure who he is, but he appears suddenly, with no lead up, and he is the high priest of the city of Salem, which means peace. Not only this, but Abraham promptly gives him a tithe of all the spoil he had just obtained. Curious.
-Genesis 15:16 states that the Amorites weren't wicked enough for Abram to destroy, but "in the fourth generation they [Abram's descendants] shall come hither again."
-Genesis 16:3 showed me something I'd never really thought of before. Previously, it seemed to me that right after God promised Abram a son (and it didn't happen), that Ishmael came along. This verse contradicts that idea, stating Abram waited TEN YEARS before Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wive.
-Genesis 16:11-12 is one of the most historically provocative verses from today's reading for me. "I will multiply thy [Hagar's] seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude... thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael... And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
God's promise to Abram's descendants applied literally to his descendants. God kept his word, even though Ishmael was a result of human action, rather than waiting on God's timing. That simple act of impatience has resulted in one of the most turbulent and long-lasting conflicts in history; the Arab/Jew conflict in the Middle East.
Something to think about, huh?
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