Texts:
1 Samuel 23-24
2 Corinthians 3
Samuel:
How much more likely would you be to set out on a new adventure if you knew, ahead of time, that God wanted you to do it?
It is interesting that David seeks God's counsel (approval? direction?) before any and every military campaign.
How do we seek God's counsel today?
In chapter 24, Saul finally comes to understand that David will be king. Saul rarely seems to get much compassion, but I feel for him here.
Corinthians:
This is a tough chapter. In "selling" the new life, the new covenant, Paul makes the "old" covenant seem out of date. Not to accuse Paul of being a salesman, but if you have a washing machine, you aren't going to buy a new one unless someone convinces you that you need it.
How does Paul compare the "new" and the "old" covenants here?
September 29, 2009
Texts:
1 Samuel 20-22
2 Corinthians 2
Samuel:
Chapter 20 seems to be at odds with much of chapter 19--in terms of how David and Saul came to such disagreement. Jonathan's knowledge of his father's feelings seems different here too.
Some people want to read into David and Jonathan's relationship. Quite frankly, it doesn't really add up. While there was homosexual behavior in those days, there was not the same sense of sexual identity as we have it today. Shouldn't men be able to be close friends without making it about sex? People do the same thing with Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings. I don't see it.
When Saul yells at Jonathan in vs 30, I think it is more about the fact that Saul knows that if David is alive, his son Jonathan will never be king.
Chapter 21 is difficult. It is a good illustration of how faithful people get in the way of political scheming. The priest Ahimelech didn't know that David had fled from Saul. How could he have known? And Saul's soldiers seem to agree with him when they refuse Saul's order to kill him. Even today, innocent people suffer because of political wars.
The violence in Honduras comes to mind....
Corinthians:
In v 3, he talks about writing this tearful letter to them. Is this a letter we have? Is it chapters 10-13? Is it part of 1 Cor?
V 14-17 seem to have a different tone than the first half of the chapter, to my ears at least. What do you think?
And compare vv 16 and 17 with the opening lines of chapter 3. What do you notice?
1 Samuel 20-22
2 Corinthians 2
Samuel:
Chapter 20 seems to be at odds with much of chapter 19--in terms of how David and Saul came to such disagreement. Jonathan's knowledge of his father's feelings seems different here too.
Some people want to read into David and Jonathan's relationship. Quite frankly, it doesn't really add up. While there was homosexual behavior in those days, there was not the same sense of sexual identity as we have it today. Shouldn't men be able to be close friends without making it about sex? People do the same thing with Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings. I don't see it.
When Saul yells at Jonathan in vs 30, I think it is more about the fact that Saul knows that if David is alive, his son Jonathan will never be king.
Chapter 21 is difficult. It is a good illustration of how faithful people get in the way of political scheming. The priest Ahimelech didn't know that David had fled from Saul. How could he have known? And Saul's soldiers seem to agree with him when they refuse Saul's order to kill him. Even today, innocent people suffer because of political wars.
The violence in Honduras comes to mind....
Corinthians:
In v 3, he talks about writing this tearful letter to them. Is this a letter we have? Is it chapters 10-13? Is it part of 1 Cor?
V 14-17 seem to have a different tone than the first half of the chapter, to my ears at least. What do you think?
And compare vv 16 and 17 with the opening lines of chapter 3. What do you notice?
September 28, 2009
Texts:
1 Samuel 18-19
2 Corinthians 1
Samuel:
The story of David just gets better and better.
Poor Saul. His son loves David. His daughter loves David. The people love David. Even God loves David.
Corinthians:
Welcome to Second Corinthians. As you may have heard me say in Sunday School last week, many scholars believe that this is a compilation of at least 2 letters by Paul to the church in Corinth. It is also possible that this letter (or parts of it) pre-date the one we know as "First Corinthians". In any case, chapters 10-13 seem to have a different tone than the earlier chapters. Think about these possibilities as you read this letter.
One interesting note at the end of chapter 1 is verses 17-22 is this idea of saying "yes" and "no". Paul points out here that Jesus is in the "yes" business. Another way of saying that is that in Jesus Christ, God's word to us is always YES! What does that say to you?
1 Samuel 18-19
2 Corinthians 1
Samuel:
The story of David just gets better and better.
Poor Saul. His son loves David. His daughter loves David. The people love David. Even God loves David.
Corinthians:
Welcome to Second Corinthians. As you may have heard me say in Sunday School last week, many scholars believe that this is a compilation of at least 2 letters by Paul to the church in Corinth. It is also possible that this letter (or parts of it) pre-date the one we know as "First Corinthians". In any case, chapters 10-13 seem to have a different tone than the earlier chapters. Think about these possibilities as you read this letter.
One interesting note at the end of chapter 1 is verses 17-22 is this idea of saying "yes" and "no". Paul points out here that Jesus is in the "yes" business. Another way of saying that is that in Jesus Christ, God's word to us is always YES! What does that say to you?
September 23, 2009
Texts
1 Samuel 7-9
1 Corinthians 14
Corinthians:
The people who advocate speaking in tongues as a spiritual practice would be wise to read all of this chapter and not just the beginning of it. Because Paul makes clear that if you are speaking a language that nobody else understands, you are just making noise. "Let all things be done for building up" (v26). And what, again, does Paul want to see built up? The BODY OF CHRIST.
Many scholars believe that vs 34-36 were later additions. It contradicts his instructions in chapter 11, for example. And in other places, Paul refers to women as apostles. Also, notice how vs 35 leads straight into v 37, continuing the argument.
And, v 40 is the favorite verse of all presbyterians--"but all things should be done decently and in order".
1 Samuel 7-9
1 Corinthians 14
Corinthians:
The people who advocate speaking in tongues as a spiritual practice would be wise to read all of this chapter and not just the beginning of it. Because Paul makes clear that if you are speaking a language that nobody else understands, you are just making noise. "Let all things be done for building up" (v26). And what, again, does Paul want to see built up? The BODY OF CHRIST.
Many scholars believe that vs 34-36 were later additions. It contradicts his instructions in chapter 11, for example. And in other places, Paul refers to women as apostles. Also, notice how vs 35 leads straight into v 37, continuing the argument.
And, v 40 is the favorite verse of all presbyterians--"but all things should be done decently and in order".
September 10, 2009
Texts:
Judges 5 and 6
Psalms 40 and 41
Judges:
The Song of Deborah (ch 5) is likely one of the earliest examples of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Notice how it functions in a culture of storytelling. The key names and stories that need to be remembered are included here.
And notice again the cycle of "Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." How does that speak to you? Is it comforting to know that we aren't the only ones who repeatedly make mistakes? Does it depress you that people never seem to learn?
Judges 5 and 6
Psalms 40 and 41
Judges:
The Song of Deborah (ch 5) is likely one of the earliest examples of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Notice how it functions in a culture of storytelling. The key names and stories that need to be remembered are included here.
And notice again the cycle of "Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." How does that speak to you? Is it comforting to know that we aren't the only ones who repeatedly make mistakes? Does it depress you that people never seem to learn?
September 9, 2009
Texts:
Judges 3-4
I Corinthians 4
Judges
Are you again noticing the different perspective of Judges, as compared to Joshua?
In 3:2, war is explained as being necessary so that people who had no experience of war would learn about it, ostensibly so they could then have a chance to obey God in the midst of war. Perhaps I'm reading this wrong. What do you think?
I'll be preaching about these two chapters on Sunday, so I'll save most of my comments for then.
I Corinthians:
Have you noticed the parental imagery in this letter? In chapter 3, Paul "fed you with milk", which is a maternal/nursing sort of image. In chapter 4, he calls them his children and refers to himself as their Father. What does this family language mean for you?
Judges 3-4
I Corinthians 4
Judges
Are you again noticing the different perspective of Judges, as compared to Joshua?
In 3:2, war is explained as being necessary so that people who had no experience of war would learn about it, ostensibly so they could then have a chance to obey God in the midst of war. Perhaps I'm reading this wrong. What do you think?
I'll be preaching about these two chapters on Sunday, so I'll save most of my comments for then.
I Corinthians:
Have you noticed the parental imagery in this letter? In chapter 3, Paul "fed you with milk", which is a maternal/nursing sort of image. In chapter 4, he calls them his children and refers to himself as their Father. What does this family language mean for you?
September 8, 2009
Texts:
Judges 1-2
I Corinthians 3
Judges:
Did you notice how Judah and Simeon are referred to here? They are referred to as brothers, and in the singular, as if it is actually telling the story of these two men. Of course, this is hundreds of years after these brothers had died, so Judah and Simeon should be read as the Tribes of Judah and Simeon.
In verse 7, the conquered king, Adoni-bezek (which means "Lord of Bezek") has his thumbs and big toes cut off as punishment. He says, "seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has paid me back". What I noticed in that is how horribly everyone (not just the conquering Israelites) treats their prisoners. What did you notice?
Corinthians:
Paul uses the word "flesh" in different ways than we do. Usually, it is a word for our earthly life and existence, in contrast to "spirit". Are we children of the Spirit? Or are we children of the flesh?
Because once you understand the gift of new life in Christ, you should be living differently than you were before. So here, when he says, "Even now you still are not ready for you are still of the flesh", it means that you have not really internalized the Good News of Jesus Christ. Because if you had, he implies, you would not be fighting over this nonsense and you'd be listening to Paul!
Judges 1-2
I Corinthians 3
Judges:
Did you notice how Judah and Simeon are referred to here? They are referred to as brothers, and in the singular, as if it is actually telling the story of these two men. Of course, this is hundreds of years after these brothers had died, so Judah and Simeon should be read as the Tribes of Judah and Simeon.
In verse 7, the conquered king, Adoni-bezek (which means "Lord of Bezek") has his thumbs and big toes cut off as punishment. He says, "seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has paid me back". What I noticed in that is how horribly everyone (not just the conquering Israelites) treats their prisoners. What did you notice?
Corinthians:
Paul uses the word "flesh" in different ways than we do. Usually, it is a word for our earthly life and existence, in contrast to "spirit". Are we children of the Spirit? Or are we children of the flesh?
Because once you understand the gift of new life in Christ, you should be living differently than you were before. So here, when he says, "Even now you still are not ready for you are still of the flesh", it means that you have not really internalized the Good News of Jesus Christ. Because if you had, he implies, you would not be fighting over this nonsense and you'd be listening to Paul!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
