Christianity or Bust

It has been a long time since I wrote anything. In many areas, life has continued to be a struggle but in different ways.

Reading the books of Chronicles and Proverbs has been difficult. It’s also taken months.

I wish someone told me earlier to try to read Kings at the same time as Chronicles. They do cover a lot of the same period of the Israelite’s history. Much of this isn’t that exciting to read. The parts that I found boring were genealogy (like usual) and a recap of the history of Israel. I’m assuming that details such as army sizes were important historical information at the time.

I think one reason that reading Kings and Chronicles at the same time would be better than reading them consecutively would be to compare the different accounts. Some of the sins that David and Solomon committed aren’t mentioned, for example.

Yet, it still records Israel’s history of turning away from God and returning to Him. As in Kings, it’s also exciting how at various stages, the King of Judah repent and God blesses them again, particularly the story of Josiah, their rediscovery of the Book of Law and determination to obey God. Yet, amongst these, there are cases of a king’s pride and arrogance causing downfall.

I found 2nd Chronicles easier to read. It seems to deal less with genealogy and there is much more flow in reading about just the kings. Best of all, the book ends on a high note: the exile is over and the Israelites are allowed to return home to build the second temple.

Side note: Someone mentioned something really interesting last week during a performance of selections from 1 Samuel by The Backyard Bard. That Samuel has some really interesting parallels with the Gospel of Luke. Off the top of my head, these would include:

• an upset barren woman praying to God for a child and the child being an important prophet of God
• the Israelites demanding a king like the other nations, being warned that the king would mistreat them and receiving the king
• the people of Earth receiving a king unlike the other nations - a king that would be a perfect servant and leader and who the Jews would reject

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Proverbs is book that needs to be read gradually, in my opinion.

There is a lot of wisdom in Proverbs (I know I am stating the obvious). However, it’s a bit too much to take in at once and feels dense with wisdom. At times, things feel repetitive in the topics and that common phrases appear throughout.

Notes: I actually finished reading the Book of Ruth not long after reading the Book of Judges… like my previous disclaimer, it’s been a few weeks. It’s such a short book, I’m not going to bother linking anything up.

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Summary

Prologue: Apparently, this was set during the time of Judges.

Naomi, her husband and two adult songs leave Israel because of food shortage. The two sons marry non-Israelites, one of whom is Ruth. Naomi’s husband and two songs die before the sons have children. Naomi is pretty depressed because her husband’s line is dead. She decides to go back to Israel to be with her old tribe and survive and tries to convince her two daughter-in-laws not to come with her but Ruth decides to accompany Naomi anyway.

Naomi decides to change her name to Mara because of her misery but the Bible keeps refering to her as Naomi. 

Naomi and Ruth survive by remembering the Law of Moses where the Israelites are commanded not to plough a field to its edges and allow foreigners, widows (etc) to pick those areas. A rich land owner Boaz is compassionate and guarentees Ruth’s protection and helps her out. Naomi instructs Ruth on how to offer herself for marriage to Boaz. Boaz agrees to set Ruth up for marriage so that Naomi’s line can be reestablished via some old Jewish custom where any offspring are treated as if Ruth’s dead husband gave birth to them and Boaz agrees to marry Ruth if any of his friends won’t. Boaz marries Ruth. They have kids and are eventually become ancestors of King David. Naomi is happy.

Everybody lives happily ever after. 

Cool Bits:

The whole thing! It’s like an Old Testament romance story. The girl gets the guy. The guy gets married. Everyone is happy at the end.

The foreigners get treated nicely. 

Although Naomi decides to change her name, the storyteller knows it’s going to end up okay so the book never refers to her as Mara.

Painful Bits:

None

Bits I still don’t understand:

None

Misc:

If I recall correctly, there’s not a lot of explicit involvement from God in this story.

Current Day Relevance:

Maybe elderly Christian ladies need to spend more time encouraging the youthful congregation members to marry!

Final Thoughts:

We need to treat old ladies nicer.

Notes: I actually finished reading the Book of Judges a few weeks ago but have been extremely lazy in writing this. Thus, you shouldn’t expect my memory to hold up too well. Anyway, I’m trying out this new structure…

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Summary

Prologue: Well, the Israelites have settled into the Promised land at last and two great prophets, Moses and Joshua have died. Before their deaths, a convenant was made between the Israelites and God where the Israelites promise to be faithful to the Lord and in return, the Lord will bless them and protect them from their enemies. However… if the Israelites are unfaithful, God will make their lives miserable and they will suffer in many ways including occupation by the enemy surviving Canaanites.

I guess, things sound like a simple choice when put that way. However, you know human nature.

So the Book of Judges is a series of stories about how the Israelites become unfaithful, their lives are made into misery by military occupation of other nations in Canaan until God sends a person (a judge) to tell them to repent. The judge leads them to reaffirm their faith and defeat their enemies for decades… then usually the judge dies and the Israelites begin to worship pagan gods. The cycle repeats.

According to the study notes, the book was written stylishly. It’s strange because the final two stories actually occur before the other stories. They give more insight and detail into the moral and spiritual decay of Israel.

Cool Bits:

The stories of the judges are pretty interesting for many reasons. One of those reasons is how some of the stories have pretty gruesome natures. Even better yet, some of these stories have made into popular culture, particularly with songs by bands I like.

• Where the fat enemy king is stabbed in the stomach with a short sword and the wound closes up upon itself. (Judges 3:22)
• The story of Deborah is very impressive because it is another example of a great woman in the Bible. She is a judge, great military leader and prophetess, no less (that rhymes). (Judges 4 -5). Then Sisera is greeted with hospitality by the heroine Jael who nails a tent peg into him when he sleeps Judges 4:22. Song: The Resident’s “Tent Peg in the Temple”
• The story of Samson and Delilah. Song: Pixies‘ “Gouge Away“
• The story of Gideon and how God keeps sending off most of the army until a truly tiny army of Israel goes to war so that God can prove that it’s Him doing the work.
• The story of Jephtha making a dodgy promise to God to sacrifice whatever comes through his tent if God helps him win a battle. His daughter walks through. What was he thinking? Well, from the Wikipedia page, you can see there’s quite a bit of debate about that. Song: The Resident’s “Burn Baby Burn“)

Painful Bits:

The book captures moments in Israel’s moral and spiritual degradation. This happens with Gideon’s sons for instance and how the concubine’s son conspires to have the legitimate heirs whacked. Let’s not forgot Gidon and the ephod.

Another major example is the Tribe of Benjamin and how their gang rapists seem not that different from the sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah and how the householder offers up his concubine and daughter to appease them. It also distressing how the entire tribe don’t just hand over their gang rapist brethren for justice but will go to war against the other eleven tribes to defend them. God is pretty angry at the whole lot of them and even the “good guys”’ tribes get butchered… and they are still in a mess because they have to let the Benjamites steal their young virgin daughters as their wives (and presummable even more rape).

One of the emphasis of the book in those stages is how the people of Israel did as they saw fit in their own eyes… and just look at the mess.

Bits I still don’t understand:

I can’t remember any. I did feel a little overwhelmed towards the end of the book because there’s a large influx of new people and situations described. Even with the study notes, I found it a bit confusing.

Misc:

Well, Judges 8:27 mentions:
Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Is this an example of what some preachers talk about when it comes to “generational curses” in the Bible

Also, the story of Samson isn’t quite as fun as I remember from Sunday School or that Pixies song.

Current Day Relevance:

Well, the state of Israel reminds me of what a society that is separated from God is like. It’s Hell on earth! I guess, it reminds me how society really would be if there were no police or army to enforce it. It also reminds me of present-day Iraq and how unsafe women are there.

The people in Judges are flawed yet God uses them. I really ought to elaborate on that but can’t be bothered at time time of night.

Final Thoughts:

I’m tired of making the effort to link everything up with Wikipedia or song lyrics.

It’s taken me a lot longer than expected to finish reading the Book of Joshua. The main reason for this has been I’ve basically struggled with my faith and when I backslide, I really stop reading.

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My study Bible has an entire page as additional prologue to this book, in addition to the standard stuff about various aspects of the book found with other chapters. It discusses war and genocide.

You can’t get around the fact that there is a lot of war and genocide in this book. There really is a great deal that can be taken out of context and I’m sure the Muslim apologesticists do it. However, someone once commented that Islam is like the Old Testament but without the redemption and end to conquest and bloodshed.

Let’s not forget that case where the Israelites were conned into a peace treaty by the Gibeonites (Joshua 9). So it’s not all doom and gloom.

Anyway, everything must be put in context with the whole redemption of mankind through the Chosen People history.

I’m not really sure what to say about this. I always comment about how enjoyable it is to read. In many ways, I felt comfort in this book, despite all the death.That’s because you know how invincible the Israelites were with God’s support. This reminds me of a sermon I once heard about how if God has a mission for you, He’ll make sure you live to complete it! I’m also reminded of the opposite when even an individual rebels against God’s orders and it has disasterous consequences. (Joshua 7) There are also some very long boring bits - the details about which tribe received which chunk of the Promised Land. Once again, I’m guessing this is for some historical record and perhaps archaelogists have dug up evidence of these things and verified parts of the Bible.

At some point while reading this, I wonder if modern day Israel got their loyalties right with God, whether they would be an unstoppable force. Would they need the Ark of the Covenant back to do that?

I also usually comment about bits that are “cool”. I like the bit where the Israelites march all night and win because they have God’s support. (Joshua 10:9)) I’m still not sure why the sun stood still (Joshua 10) and how that was particularly important to the battle. Maybe it’s just cool that God controlled the sun and earth (etc) - powers beyond anything else has done.

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If anything sounds incoherent, it’s because I’m writing this at 2:35 am while waiting to drive someone home.

Last night I finished reading Deuteronomy.

Man, that was boring. It was not as bad as Leviticus but it was unpleasant. Deuteronomy feels largely like a recap of the events leading up to it - that’s the main reason it’s a bore. It also suddenly halts the story of the Israelites (and similarly, halts their continuation into the Promised Land). What a way to kill a flowing storyline!

If there’s a key point to be taken from Deuteronomy, it’s this: if you are faithful to God, he’ll bless you; if you turn on him, he’ll curse you.

Anyway, not much new happens in this book except Moses finally sees the Promised Land and dies at the age of 120.

I finished reading the Book of Numbers last week.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than Leviticus. Numbers is more interesting because it continues the story of God’s relationship with his chosen people, the Israelites, and ultimately this is part of the grander story of hope for mankind through the redemption provided by Christ. Also, Numbers has less tedious parts but it still has lots of lists, particularly when listing the offerings and sacrifices of each of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. I have to admit: I kind of skim-read such sections and didn’t check to see if all the tribes provided equal contributions. (If you know the answer to this, please answer this blog.) I wonder if there is a reason for this eg if they did provide equally, there would be no bragging over who did the most.

There is something I find a little depressing about Numbers. All of the Israelites, other than those born in the two years after their freedom from slavery in Egypt, would have been personal witnesses to what God has done for them. Yet they grumble, rebel and seem to forget what God has personally done for them. (Sadly, I feel that way too so I’m not much better.) It’s also sad how all the original members of the exodus are destined to die in the desert before their descendants settle in Canaan.

There is a lot of emphasis on the character of God in Numbers. This is particularly in the emphasis on how God cared for the Israelites by rescuing them from the Egyptians and looks after them and how He keeps His promises. It’s a reminder that Christ rescued us for a reason and purpose and that He isn’t going to neglect us - however, sometimes it’s easy to forget that - and it’s also a reminder that the promise of eternal life can be counted upon. There is also emphasis on God’s mercy, particularly how often the Israelites stuff up and God provides mercy after Moses pleads for it. Of course, there are numerous cases where God has to kill people - I’m guessing that if He didn’t, there would have been even less respect for Him from the Israelites and there’s be even more grumbling.

If I remember correctly, God never explicitly tells the Israelites that He loves them He usually expresses his love through acts of service. (Yes, I’ve been reading Gary Chapman’s Five Languages of Love for singles edition book). In our society, we do place emphasis on hearing explicitly that we are love but not all families or relationships are verbally expressive of love but are still loving.

Another thing I find interesting is the bit where the Israelite men are corrupted by the Moabite women (Numbers 25) - a practical reminder why we should never hook up with unbelievers and how unbelievers will bring us down rather than us bring them up.

There’s also a case where the Spirit of God does something for a purpose: in this case where it descends on the Elders (Numbers 11:25) so they can prophesize.

Cool things that happen include the story of Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:21-33) is which really funny and how God answers the Israelites’ complaint about not having meat by delluging them with a three foot layer of dead quails.

Heh! Heh! Some of those Israelites thought they could still take on Canaan without God’s support and the Ark of the Convenant. I’m still looking forward to the parts of the Bible when they unlease the power of the Ark!!

Wow. This is one long post! Before I end it, here are a couple of last minute random thoughts:

• Is anyone else annoyed the narrative jumps from the 2nd year to the 40th year in the desert? What happened during that time? More grumbling?
• All the celebrations of the Israelites focus upon God and what He has done. There’s no patriotic holidays.

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I understand why it’s good for me to write these Biblical book reviews.

I think that for most of our lives on this planet, God will never speak to us with the clarity and directness Moses does. For me, the main way I listen to God is through reading the Bible, listening to sermons, reading books and interacting with people. I guess this means, these are the records of my conversations with God. (I’d be really interested to know if this is also how people experience God. Christians often talk about how they “have a personal relationship with Jesus” - is what I am experiencing the same as them? Is there more?)

On an even more personal note, I’ve had a really depressing week. I even made a prayer similar to the one Moses makes at Numbers 11:15. I doubt God ever grants that one. He certainly didn’t do it for Elijah. He also didn’t do it for Black Francis (see Pixies‘ Levitate Me) or Roger (see the story “Almost Collosus”). I’m really struggling with believing that God considers me important despite everything He has done. I know my purpose for being alive is to serve and love God but I want to know more details. I also want to believe that my life will not be filled with decades of emotional wandering.

It’s so strange to be at this emotional state again even though I’ve been here many times. I was going through a fantastic period before all of this! I felt God was answering my prayers and things were going somewhere.

Got to keep hanging on, I guess. I’m not sure if any replies on this will help my feelings. I’ve heard so much rhetoric from people in the last week, even from myself.

Well, I finished reading the Book of Leviticus on Saturday.

My initial impressions were that it’s pretty tedious. The bulk of the book is God setting laws for the Israelites so they are set apart from the pagans and the pagans that live around them so the Israelites can be God’s chosen people. Many of the laws seem very repetitive.

My other early impression was how lucky we are that Jesus was a perfect high priest and that we no longer need to follow all those laws, particularly animal sacrifices.

After pondering how these laws related to the times and life of Jesus’ incarnation, I found reading this book particularly interesting and rewarding. For example, it increased my understanding of how devastating leprosy and unclean bleeding could devastate a person from the separation from their family and community. I also thought of that time when Jesus becomes angry at the people in the Temple, particularly those selling clean animals for sacrifice at extremely inflated rates.

There was also the impression that Jesus was a great revolutionary. Particularly how he enters the home of the dead girl and touches her hand (Mark 5:21 - 43) - two things that were considered extremely unclean.

Last of all, I find the concepts of Jubilee years (Biblical) and Sabbath years to be very interesting. In this modern day and age where everyone feels busy, you couldn’t imagine people stopping farming for a year. Also, people are so obsessed about money these days that you couldn’t imagine debts being relieved.