So, the first part of today's reading, Nehemiah 7:61-73, is pretty much word for word the same as Ezra 2:59-70. Boring!
The rest is not much more interesting. Ezra reads the law of Moses to the people, they paid attention and worshiped the Lord, celebrated the festival of shelters, and then listened to a recap of the adventures of the Israelites from Abraham to the 40 years of wandering.
The idea of a festival where you build yourself a shelter still entertains me, so at least that bit was interesting.
New Testament
Paul discusses how it was within his rights to expect the support of the churches he founded, but he never took advantage of that right. Reminds me of Nehemiah.
Psalms and Proverbs
I do not think I get this proverb:
If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise;The second part is pretty clear, but the first part confuses me. I am guessing the author is saying that people learn from seeing others punished? I suppose so although there is much proof to support that punishment is among the least effective ways to regulate behavior.
if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser.
Yeah, I think the proverb is essentially saying that foolish people have to learn the hard way, while wise people listen to advice and avoid the mistakes in the first place.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I also find the booths to be strangely entertaining. Not sure why.
Sorry to jump in so late; I'm still catching up on my reading.
ReplyDeleteThe festival of shelters is called Sukkot ("sue-COAT"), and it's a harvest festival. Modern Jews talk about how the sukkah (shelter) is much more useful if you're a farmer, because during the harvest you can build it in the middle of your field and then you don't have to trek all the way home in the evening; you can stay right where you are and continue harvesting in the same place the next day. Now that most people live in large cities, the sukkah is much more symbolic than functional. I have no idea how historically accurate that is, but that's the modern explanation.