Oct 31

Reference links:

Lamentations 4:1-5:22 Hebrews 2:1-18 Psalm 103:1-22 Proverbs 26:23

Overview of the Book of Lamentations Overview of the Epistle to the Hebrews Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today we finish Lamentations. Both of today's poems are rather despairing. The first describes the starvation and loss of health of those who remain in Jerusalem. The images, especially the ones about the starvation of children, are heartbreaking. The poet explores the reason this happens. It was, he believes, the Lord pouring out well deserved anger. As a result of this, the Lord has brought destruction and scattered his people. The poem ends on a vengefully hopeful note: Jerusalem's punishment will end, but Jerusalem's historical enemies will also be punished.

The second poem focuses on the reverse of fortunes of the people of Jerusalem. Slaves have become masters, plenty has been replaced with starvation, and the women and girls of Jerusalem, once praised for their virginity, are raped by their enemies. Jerusalem is a terrible place to be. The poem and the book end on a note of sadness and rejection.

To bring things back in context a bit here, this is set sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, or so it is believed. Thus, when we read about things like widespread rape by the enemies, it seems most natural to suppose that these enemies are the very officials and soldiers of Babylon that Jeremiah was encouraging the people to submit to. No wonder there were guerrilla leaders who were trying to murder the representative of the king and reclaim power. What right minded person would submit to a conquering nation that was allowing its women to be raped and its children to starve?

New Testament

Today's reading contains a discussion of Jesus' relationship to God, his relationship to man, and his affect on man's relationship to God. Continuing yesterday's theme, the author contains more quotations from the psalms and treats them as if they were about or spoken by Jesus.

We also see the start of the comparison of Jesus to the ultimate High Priest.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's proverb is, essentially, don't judge a book by it's pretty cover, but with clay pots and glaze.

Oct 30

Reference links:

Lamentations 2:20-3:66 Hebrews 1:1-14 Psalm 102:1-28 Proverbs 26:21-22

Overview of the Book of Lamentations Overview of the Epistle to the Hebrews Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today's reading starts by finishing the second poem from yesterday's reading. Before I mention the content, I want to say that it annoys me that the editors who chose the daily Bible divisions could not have kept the whole poem together; it would only have added three more verses to the previous reading. It's not as bad as that proverb which was divided in the middle of a sentence, but it smacks of a lack of intention when dividing up the books.

The poem from yesterday finishes with some rather disturbing imagery meant to convey the desperation of those in Jerusalem: mothers eating their own children, priests dying in the temple, the bodies of boys and girls killed by the sword lying in the street. This poem does not end on a note of hope. It seems to express the sorrow of one who feels completely betrayed by their protector.

The next poem, the middle one of the book, is much longer and much more hopeful. Like the first two poems, this poem expresses sorrow over the fallen fortunes of Judah. However, it is much more personal. The author talks mostly of his own hardship and sorrow rather than that of the people. The author's sorrow is tempered by hope that the Lord has not completely abandoned him. Because of the personal nature of the hardship described and the mix of sorrow and hope, the poem sounds a lot like many of the psalms attributed to David in his times of trouble.

New Testament

Yet another new book: Hebrews. Let's see what Harris has to say about it:

The work of an accomplished stylist who combines allegorical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible with elements of Greek philosophy, Hebrews argues that Jesus was both a kingly and priestly messiah. The final and complete revelation of God's purpose, Christ now serves in heaven as an eternal High Priest and mediator for humanity.

An old tradition that Paul wrote Hebrews, which was disputed even in the early church, is now generally discounted. ... most scholars now conclude that the work is anonymous.

... scholars are also unsure of its intended destination ... The date of composition is equally problematic, with estimates ranging from about 65 to 100 CE.

In short, we don't know when this was written, who it was written by, or who it was written to. However, from the content it can be inferred that

The Book of Hebrews was written by an anonymous Christian scholar who was equally well acquainted with Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible and with Greek philosophical concepts. ... the writer presents a dualistic view of the universe in which earthly events and human institutions are seen as reflections of invisible heavenly realities. Employing a popular form of Platonic thought, the writer assumes the existence of two parallel worlds: the eternal and perfect realm of the spirit above, and the inferior, constantly changing world below. 

In case you're not familiar with Platonic dualism, it's worth noting the dualism espoused by Plato was not simply that this world is imperfect and there is another perfect world. Rather, the idea is that everything in this world is an imperfect version of something in the eternal world of perfect forms. As Wikipedia puts it:

The objects that we see, according to Plato, are not real, but literally mimic the real Forms.

Thus, everything that is and happens in the here and now has, according to this view, a perfect counterpart in the realm of forms.

The bulk of today's reading quotes the Hebrew scriptures out of context to show that Jesus is better than the angels. It's really blatantly obvious in this instance of random use of scripture that the author is just combing the scriptures for statements that support his point and then assuming that they do, regardless of the original context.

Yes, I know this was a traditional way of working with the Hebrew scriptures, but I still find it annoying. If it is valid to use isolated quotations to build whatever case you want, then the Bible is as free of objective meaning as any other subjectivism.

Psalms and Proverbs

Proverbs against quarrels and gossip seem to be the current theme.

Oct 29

Reference links:

Lamentations 1:1-2:19 Philemon 1:1-25 Psalm 101:1-8 Proverbs 26:20

Overview of the Book of Lamentations Overview of the Epistle to Philemon Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today we start lamentations. Sounds like it's going to be a cheery one, doesn't it? Lamentations comes in a a mere five chapters, about an order of magnitude less than Jeremiah or Isaiah. Let's see what Harris has to say about it:

Ascribed to Jeremiah, Lamentations is a collection of five poetic dirges and laments about the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. The lyrics explore the causes of evil and suffering and Yahweh's reasons for permitting the triumph of unbelieving nations.

... While the prophetic books record public pronouncements of doom against the Judean capital, Lamentations embodies the private anguish of individuals who witnessed the fulfillment of Yahweh's harsh judgment.

Although a relatively late tradition assigns Lamentations to the prophet Jeremiah, its authorship is unknown. The book itself does not mention the writer, and many scholars believe that it is the work of two or three different poets. 

The book is annually recited in Jewish tradition.

On to the actual reading. It is exactly what you would expect it to be given the above: two poems mourning Jerusalem. The first poem, chapter 1, contrasts Jerusalem's previous state to its defeated state. Before she was like a queen, now a slave; before the roads were filled with celebration, now they are filled with mourning. It then goes into the sinful nature of Jerusalem and its people. This admission of guilt leads to the poet pleading for the Lord to acknowledge Jerusalem's pain and punish those enemies who defeated Jerusalem.

The second poem focuses on God's anger and lack of mercy towards Jerusalem. This resulted in complete destruction which the second half of the poem mourns.

This section also contains the lines:

Her prophets receive
no more visions from the Lord.

I wonder if this is the basis of the belief that prophecy ceased at the time of the exile or after it ended or sometime not too long after the fall of Judah.

New Testament

We also start (and finish) a NT book today: Philemon. It's super short. According to Wikipedia, it was a mere 335 words in the original Greek. However, the letter covers a big topic: slavery. Sadly for us moderns, the letter does not say what we moderns would expect of the word of God meant to be relevant for all times. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Here's what Harris has to say about it:

In his only surviving (undisputed) personal letter, Paul urges Philemon to treat his runaway slave Onesimus as a brother in Christ. Perhaps because he believes that the present world system is soon to end, Paul does not question the social institution of slavery , even among Christians. 

... Although Paul does not condemn the practice of buying and selling human beings -- probably because he believes that the Greco-Roman world order will soon end -- he does argue persuasively for a new relationship between master and slave. He asks the slave-owner, Philemon, to accept his runaway slave, Onesimus, "as a dear brother," thereby establishing a new bond of kinship between Christian owners and their human chattel.

Unfortunately for enslaved persons, the divine intervention into human history that Paul expected to occur in his down day did not happen. ... The historical consequences of Paul's brief missive to his friend Philemon give this personal note an extraordinary importance.

... Most readers today are deeply disappointed that Paul does not reject slavery outright as an intolerable evil. Instead, he advises slaves not to worry about their station, advising them to remain in whatever social "condition" they had when the first became Christians. [more details]... Following Torah regulations -- and the institutions of Greco-Roman society at large -- New Testament writers neither condemn slavery nor predict its abolition.

There's not really much more to say. Now that we have gotten to the point where we realize that slavery is evil, the message of this letter does not seem to have terribly much relevance. Like the readers Harris mentions, I am deeply disappointed that the Bible does not make a strong case against slavery, one of the clear evils of human history. It is just one of the many pieces that weigh against this being the revelation of any being that could be considered perfectly moral.

Oh, and I found this bit entertaining (emphasis mine):

So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it. And I won’t mention that you owe me your very soul!

Paul's being a little passive aggressive here. The very sentence where he claims that he won't mention that Philemon owes Paul his very soul does, in fact, serve to remind Philemon of that fact.

Psalms and Proverbs

A good proverb.

Fire goes out without wood,
and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.