June 24, 2009

Texts:
Genesis 49 and 50
Matthew 18

Genesis:
If chapter 49 is a death bed blessing by Jacob, I'm glad I'm not his kid. There's far more cursing and judgment (largely deserved) here than blessing. Look at this poem as an explanation for why the tribes are where they are--their "creation" stories, if you will. This poem likely dates from the time of David. If you trace David's genealogy, he's descended from Judah.
In 49:26, Jacob says, "The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains...." Even at the end of the book, we are being reminded that family matters, that blessing matters, and that we are our brothers (and sisters) keepers.
In chapter 50, Joseph and the household of the Pharaoh take Jacob's body back to Canaan for burial. Real estate still matters too. Read this last chapter as if you were an Israelite in exile, or shortly returned from exile. The stories of Joseph in Egypt give meaning to future generations for their own experience. "Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear for you and your little ones."(v. 20)

Matthew:
This chapter is problematic for people who claim to take scripture "literally". Because Jesus' teachings here are not much fun if they are literal. Cutting off your hands and feet? Tearing out your eyes? No thanks. Why do you think Jesus gets so graphically figurative here?
And, if you need more thoughts on the rest of this chapter, I preached on it in September 08. You can find it at www.spcboise.org