Matthew 11

Chapter 11 of Matthew is a bit of a mixed bag. We have Jesus preaching on His own, after sending out the twelve, and some interesting things come up. John the Baptizer, imprisoned at this point, sent some of his followers to make sure Jesus really is the One who they had been waiting for. Jesus didn't answer directly, but made it very clear by His response: the miracles He was doing and His preaching of good news (gospel) was evidence enough of His identity.

Jesus follows that up with a bit of info about John, quoting from a prophecy in Malachi 3:1 which foretold of a messenger to precede the Messiah and prepare the way for him. One very insightful thing from the end of this section is when Jesus points out that those who do not want to see the truth in that generation refused to listen to either John or Jesus, for exactly the opposite reasons.

Following this, Jesus talks about how the cities He ministered in which did not repent will have a harder judgement than pagan cities who never had the chance to see such miracles, signs, and wonders. This is a sobering reminder for those who have the opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus and choose not to act on it!

Finally, the chapter wraps up with Jesus further identifying God as His Father - more proof of who Jesus claimed to be - and inviting those who heard his preaching to come and follow him. May we all hearken to that in our time, and submit to Him.

1 Samuel 5

This is a relatively short chapter, focusing narrowly on the effects that the Ark of the Covenant had upon the Philistines who took it. They initially put it in the temple of one of their gods, only to find the statue of the god toppled over the following day - and broken the next. In addition there was devastation, panic, and outbreaks of tumors in the various cities they attempted to keep the Ark in; quite obviously God's judgement upon them. Eventually they decide to send it back to the Israelites, which I assume will be covered in tomorrow's reading.

We aren't given a death toll here, but I am curious as to how the Philistines' losses compare to those of the Israelites at the battle in chapter 4. I also really like the image of the Philistine idol fallen on the ground and bowing before the Ark.

Genesis 38

Well, I guess my post yesterday was a bit presumptuous - the meat of Joseph's story doesn't start until chapter 39. Today we have an odd account, in which God kills a man for being evil (we don't get an explanation of what he did), and then kills another man for withholding a child from the first man's wife. These were both sons of Judah, who then goes and pays a prostitute for sex who turns out to be the woman in question: his daughter-in-law! That, though, does not seem to warrant God's wrath - or at least not the same level of punishment. This seems odd to my sensibilities, but I suppose that is just further proof that God alone should be the judge of people's actions and motivations.

Genesis 19

Wow - there is a lot that could be said about this passage. It is one of the most disturbing chapters I know of, on several levels. It deals with attempted rape, homosexuality, incest, and extremely destructive judgement. If I had the time I could write pages on all of this, but for now I'll just list off a few of the oddest and most surprising (and disgusting) things I noticed.

- Lot lives with the people of Sodom, which he selected because of the nice land quality in that region (earlier in Genesis). Here he appears to actually live in the city, though he apparently does not participate in or condone the activity that the others there take part in. I guess the old adage of "location, location, location" is not strictly true: your neighbors and their moral compass (or lack thereof) should also be taken into consideration!

- The passage says that all the men of the city came to try to rape the angelic messengers, so it makes me wonder if the men engaged to marry Lot's daughters were also there. If so, did they not speak out when Lot offered his daughters to satiate the crowd? Did they care? They certainly didn't heed the warning that Lot gave them to leave, which leads to the next observation...

- Lot's daughters were planning to marry before Sodom was destroyed. They don't seem to have had kids yet, which likely means that they weren't simply sleeping around as appears to have been the norm in the area they lived. That speaks well for Lot and his parenting, but I guess he hadn't mentioned that incest was a bad idea - left to their own devices the girls didn't say "lets go find new husbands", but instead got their dad drunk and raped him (effectively). That seems to be the opposite of many abusive family relationships these days, and seems just plain weird... and wrong! I wonder how much wine it took to get Lot so far drunk that he didn't even know they were taking advantage of him. I'm also curious what the conversation looked like nine months later when his daughters gave birth, and Lot thought back to the three of them being alone in the mountains :/

- Lot's wife looking back on the destruction - and so bringing judgement on herself - and the actions of the daughters later on seem to be very influenced by the culture of Sodom that they lived in. I wonder if the wife was actually from that area, and married Lot after his arrival in the area. That would explain the resulting tragedies a bit more, if they felt that they were loosing the only home they had known (whereas Lot was still considered a foreigner).

Genesis 18

The passage I read today is split into two sections, but the two are tied together by the appearance of three men - one of whom is clearly identified (mid-way through the passage, in verse 13) as the Lord - to Abraham. At first they talk with Abraham about the covenant God has with him, making a very personal impression on him as well as his wife, Sarah. She also tries to sneak in a lie, but God calls her on it. We've all lied at some point, and though many of us have been caught at some point or another it usually isn't in quite such a dramatic and straight-to-the-point way. Plus it generally isn't the God of all the universe doing the (very literal) rebuke. Ouch!

The second half of this chapter deals with the Lord's investigation of Sodom and Gomorrah for the evil deeds that He has heard they've committed. It is rather interesting that God is taking the time here to physically check out a situation when He certainly knows exactly what has and has not happened everywhere; given the way that He broaches the topic I suspect it was done just so that a dialog is opened with Abraham on the subject. Abraham pleads with God for Him to spare Sodom (but maybe not Gomorrah?), arguing that if there are some godly people living there it would not be 'right' to kill them along with the wicked. I presume this is Abraham trying to save the life of his nephew, Lot, who went to live near Sodom - but if so he falls short. I wonder why Abraham left the discussion standing at the presence of 10 godly people being enough to spare Sodom; did he think there were that many living there? Was he afraid to narrow all the way down to the one he did know was there (Lot)? Hmm...

This chapter in:
New America Standard, New King James, New International

Genesis 6

This chapter contains the prelude to the Flood, and right before it an interesting reference to "the heroes of old". They are given the name of Nephilim here, and while the name doesn't really bring much with it the description does. The idea of "sons of God" marrying daughters of men could be a simple reference to humans, but if that was the case then why the special name? And what would have set them apart as men of renown compared to others? No - there must be something else here. I think that these were angels who left their proper station and because of their actions brought forth quite powerful men. It is actually mirrored in the Greek account of Hercules, and would go a long way to explaining many of the myths of the ancient world. Goliath, the giant who David slays, may have been descended from such a bloodline; after all, this passage said that they were on earth in those days (before the Flood, presumably) and also afterward.

The main focus of this chapter is on Noah, though, and the preparations God instructed him to make for the impending judgement. It is noteworthy that Noah "walked with God" - the same phrase that is used of Enoch in Genesis 5. It must have taken a lot of faith in order to go building a boat like the ark, presumably a long distance from any major body of water. I suspect that Noah went through a lot of ridicule from his contemporaries for that, and I don't know how well I'd have stood up to something like that... but "thus Noah did".

This chapter in:
New America Standard, New King James, New International