Some thoughts on Jeremiah

Kathleen Norris, in her book Cloister Walk, remarks that reading Jeremiah is not for the faint of heart. Some of you, I believe have discovered this as you have been reading through the prophets words.

So, here is a little prospective, background and thoughts on this prophet.

Jeremiah’s prophetic career occurred between the first deportation of the Israelites to Babylon in and about 597 B.C.E and the 2nd deportation in 587 B.C.E. when Jerusalem was destroyed.

Jeremiah’s call is found early, Jeremiah 1:4-10, and in verse 10 you find the summary of his message/call:

Pluck up.... \
Pull down... \ each of these first four
Destroy....... / have to do with judgment
Overthrow. /
Build up.... \
Plant......... / these last two have to do with salvation

As you read through the keep these words in mind, you will find them in one form or another throughout the entire book – these words are the crux of prophet’s message.

It can be said that Jeremiah is a prophet of repentance. That is, the people must acknowledge their guilt, that is those places and the ways that they have not been faithful to God before they can return.

Here’s a brief synopsis of some of the important points that you may find in Jeremiah.

God: God is a god of action, God does not forget
Humans: Humans are not loyal to God, they continue in ways of idolatry and injustice to others, in many ways, humans are hypocrites.

Theology: theology is rooted in the mystery of the Exodus. You will find, as you read, a relationship espoused that is similar to Deuteronomic theology… “if you do good, you will get good, if you do bad, you will get bad.” The people had done evil and this overturns (breaks) the covenant…but the people have a choice, they can acknowledge their guilt and return.

New covenant: the new covenant, written on the hearts of the people will be so clear that the people will know what they need to do.

Issues surrounding Exile and Restoration:
Repentance must happen before they can return
The initiative is with the people. “search and you will find me”
Purpose of the exile is to get the people’s attention.

Lamentations is next, and then Ezekiel...hope you are old enough to read Ezekiel!! :)

InJoy,
Suzy

Kings and Chronicles ~ A History in Theological Perspective

Wow – all of you deserve a pat on the back! Let’s look for a moment at where we’ve been and what we’ve read.

Prehistory – the very early stories of our beginning with God
The history of the Patriarchs
Abraham
Isaac and Jacob
Joseph
Moses and the Exodus story
The story of the Judges and the Kings
The retelling of the history in 1st and 2nd Chronicles

"King David"

1 and 2 Kings
The Book of Kings is organized in a cyclical pattern, similar to that of the Book of Judges. While the first eleven chapters tell various traditional stories of Solomon, from 1 Kings 12 and onward, the stories are organized according to a strict outlined history of the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Remember as well, they are told from an explicitly theological perspective.

I. Structure
A notice of accession to the throne, along with the length of the reign – based on the reign of the king in the opposite kingdom.

II. A theological assessment of the king’s reign
For the Kings of Israel, that is the kings in the breakaway Northern Kingdom, this assessment is always negative. This is one of the places that allow us to hear the explicit theological perspective from which the text is written. The only place to worship God is in Jerusalem – thus any worship that happened in the Northern Kingdom was wrong and thus all kings are assessed as bad.

The Kings of the Southern Kingdom were seen both positively and negatively. If they were assessed as positive, they are compared in a favorable manner to King David.

III. Various stories about the kings.
The content varies but often has to do with the problem of setting up shrines, idols or high places to worship pagan gods. This then, adds to their negative assessment.

IV. A closing rhetorical question
The wording goes like this…”The rest of the acts of _____, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?”

"A depection of Solomon's Temple"
Dates that are important to remember
721 BCE – the fall of the Northern Kingdom
586 BCE – the fall of the Southern Kingdom and the exile to Babylon

1 and 2 Chronicles
In the Hebrew Bible, 1 and 2 Chronicles are called “The Events of the Days.” The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were written after the exile and in Jerusalem probably in about the 4th century BCE.

Because the world changed for Israel after the exile, the priestly leaders felt the need for an updated version of Israel’s history. Scholars believe that one of the reasons they rewrote the history was to explain the proper role of the kings over Israel in the past now that they were gone and to emphasize the temple for religious worship.

Chronicles often follows the books of Samuel and Kings word for word through whole chapters. However, we get a sense of its distinctive message when we compare the many places where it either leaves out or adds in material. For example, the entire story of David and Bathheba and the revolt of his son Absalom is not mentioned. For the Chronicler, David was a holy and dedicated leader who followed Yahweh faithfully.

InJoy,
Suzy

Face to Face Meeting - Sunday March 8th

It's time to meet face to face! The date is set, Sunday, March 8 in D127 right after the 11am worship services. We'll meet at talk about what we've been reading - and even discuss some of those questions that I've not yet answered...like the sad, sad tale of King Saul. Hope you can make it!

A quick tour through history with the Deuteronomists as our guides

Sometimes in life, we look back from our current location and try to understand how we managed to get ourselves in the place where we are. Usually it’s because where we are is not where we want to be. That’s exactly the place where the Israelites found themselves during the exile in 586 BCE. Living in Babylon, away from all that was familiar to them, the Israelites are trying to understand why God breached the covenant – why they are no longer in the land that God promised them.

The Deuteronomistic History was written during the time of the exile (circa 586 BCE) and includes Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd Kings. Its basic purpose is to explain theologically why Judah fell to the Babylonians in 586 BCE and to illustrate the relationship between sin and punishment. Other points of Deuteronomic theology include the understanding that the Covenant can be broken by disobedience to the Law and that God is free to choose the place to worship, (Dtr. 12: 2-7) the primary mediator (prophet) between God and humans (Dtr. 18: 9-22) and the primary political leader (king) (Dtr. 17: 14-20).

Joshua is the story of the quick taking of the land. But, by the time we move to Judges, we find not only a story of the gradual taking of the land, but a slow downward spiral. In Judges, as I am sure you have discovered by now, you clearly see the theological implications of the Deuteronomist theology of “do bad/get bad.”

Here’s a quick review of the book of Judges:
1. Sin (then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…)
2. Oppression (so the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over
to plunderers…)
3. Repentance (then the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning…)
4. Deliverance (finally…the Lord raised up judges for them…)
5. Sin…again!!! (But whenever the judge died, they would relapse and behave worse than
their ancestors)

And finally, the saddest of all statements…we read in Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25 “in those there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.”

Get ready…a king is coming!

InJoy,
Suzy

Housekeeping!

Just a few notes of housekeeping.

The next two weeks are now listed, internet problems kept them from being there more quickly! We're headed deep into the Deuteronomic History, I'll write more about that tomorrow, but in the meantime, the Deuteronomic phrase for the next few books that we'll be reading goes this way..."Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad." As you read, see if you can hear how this phrase relates to what is happening.

Happy Reading!

Suzy

Boundary Crossings

More than 3,000 years ago a group of weary travelers were poised to make significant boundary crossing – from a long and at times dangerous wilderness existence to a life in a land that held promise and hope. No one who had begun the original journey from Egypt, except two – Joshua and Caleb – would make the crossing. Even their leader, Moses, well loved and revered, special prophet of God would not be allowed to enter this new land of promise.

In the book of Joshua, there are a variety of boundary crossings; both physical and communal. First is the transfer of leadership – from Moses who brought the people out of exile – to Joshua, son of Nun who had, until this point been Moses’ assistant.

As we each know, transfer of leadership – sometimes also referred to as the transfer of power, is not always easily accomplished. Tensions mount on all sides as groups vie for the thought of that very power. Will every one follow the new regime, will the old covenants and promises be upheld or will new negotiations need to take place?

As we enter the time in our country where leadership is transferred from one president to another – it is a timely question to ask and reflect on boundary crossings that involve leadership. Joshua’s leadership is defined from the model set and practiced by Moses. As you read the first chapter of Joshua, this is abundantly clear. Listen for a moment to the first three verses:

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, 2“My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. 3Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses.

Four times in three verses the narrator refers to Moses; only once is mention made of Joshua. But, even more important is the understanding of what God expects out of God’s people. Joshua and the people are called to live under the law of Moses, it is only through obedience to God and following the law that the people are able to enter the land of promise.

Other words garner our attention in this book of promise and conquest. Twenty-three times the phrase “crossing over” is used. And it is inextricably tied as well to the Hebrew word that is translated as “standing still.”

How is it that we cross boundaries and yet stand still?

For the book of Joshua, it has to do with God’s steadfast love for God’s people and the steadfastness of the priests, the leaders and the people and their faithfulness to God’s covenant.

This covenant calls for the people to act with justice; to remember that once they were slaves and that is was God’s hand that brought them out of Egypt. To remember when they are in the land that God has promised them that they shall love the stranger for they were once strangers in the land of Egypt, this love is exhibited in acts of justice for the orphan and the widow and the stranger.

Remember it was Rahab (dare I remind you that she was…how shall I say? A harlot?) who as an outsider, a woman, a foreigner, because a member of God’s people during the conquest of Jericho?

As the years pass, the prophets, continually remind the people, first as the Northern Kingdom falls and then as the temple is destroyed and the southern kingdom falls…that they are not remembering all that God has required of them? Micah reminds the people in words that many of us can recite today…what does the Lord require of us? To do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.

On Tuesday, as a nation, we will make a boundary crossing as Barak Obama, is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. And yet, just as during the time of Joshua we will, at the same time stand still by holding steadfast our beginnings. He will recite those same words that each president before him as recited:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Let us pray that as we cross boundaries on Tuesday that we continue to hold steadfast to what originally brought us into being as a nation…the establishment of justice, welfare and the blessings of liberty to all who are seeking a better way to live.

InJoy,
Suzy

"Malolo"

Last week, when we were in Hawaii, one of my hopes was to spot a whale. So we booked a catamaran for a day of fishing and whale watching. As we left the harbor area and got past the breakers, the water began to turn from a greenish blue, to a beautiful dark almost navy blue. One of the guides looked out and said – "ok, now that we’re into the deeper water, you’ll want to be on the outlook for a variety of fish. One of the things that we are likely to spot is a flying fish…”

And then, as if on cue, one of those very fish leaped out of the water and literally flew several hundred feet before it dove back into the waves.

“Did you see that?” He asked. “The Hawaiians call them ‘malolo’” then he paused and said, “The word means confused.”

Flying fish, confused? Quite possibly an accurate description of how we humans understand the difference between fish and fowl.

It seems the early Hawaiians had an affinity and understanding that was similar to those early Israelites. That is in terms of how animals, fish and birds are supposed to behave and for the Israelites, this is understood in terms of holiness, cleanness is the way to be. Skin irritations, blood not remaining in your body, eating food like shrimp, or pigs, these are ways that defiled yourself and make you unclean.

Why? well, Leviticus says it this way, “You shall not defile yourselves and so become unclean. For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.”

Now let me be clear…Cleanness not should not be confused with what is good and unclean is not an analogy for what is bad. Leviticus is not saying that shrimp are bad, or if you cut yourself and you are bleeding that you are bad. On the contrary, it has more to do with confusion of who we are created to be. Like the flying fish – confused – after all fish swim and birds fly.

So it was for the people of Israel. The laws on diet and sickness reflect Israel’s understanding that all of life is befitting of praising the God who created them. And this God, is a God of order and goodness.

Think back with me for a moment to the first story of creation from Genesis 1. God has given order to the world by establishing plants on the ground, birds in the air, fish swimming in the sea and animals that graze on the plains. All of the forbidden foods in Leviticus fall under failure to keep this established order.

Shrimp live in the water but walk on the bottom of the sea floor, pigs do not graze on the land, osprey’s do not fly in the air. Or for that matter, blood should remain in the body not outside of it, skin should be free of rashes or impairment – for that is how our bodies were created. Inside things should remain inside!

So, taking a closer look we discover that Israel’s outlook on food and the body was not just about nourishment and health but is a reflection of God’s goodness in creation. Looking at the world of Leviticus with our modern eyes, we do, indeed have trouble at times wondering what these archaic and terribly outdated rules have to say to us today.

But, I submit to you that they continue to have much to say that is relevant to our everyday life. Because the essence of Leviticus and the holiness code is about living in a way that reflects who God has created us to be. For the Israelites, the call to holy living was a way to set them apart from the culture around them. Remember, too, that it is in Leviticus that we learn holy living is also about living together – in community.

Caring for the poor, not taking advantage of those who are deaf or blind, administering justice with impartiality. This understanding then is summed up in Leviticus 19 by this simple “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, don’t be Malolo, strive for holiness because God is holy and you are created in God’s image.

InJoy,
Suzy

One, Two, Three, Four; tell me what you’re counting for?

Nine days, 25 checked bags, 20 carry ons, 4,004 flight miles, 14 family members, 3 males 18 and upward and of eligible draft age, 3 males employed on a full time basis and 2 males semi-retired. OK, OK I’m counting the women! Four women employed on a full time basis and 2 women semi-retired.

Thus is the full accounting of our trip to Hawaii. Well, sort of, there were also whale sightings, beach walking, sun rises, family dinners and lots and lots of pictures.

As I read through the book of Numbers, the CPA in me relished reading the myriad of ways that families, property and leaders were accounted for. What was important and what was not considered not important enough to record.

But as you know from your reading, Numbers is more than just numbers. There are stories of wilderness wanderings, stories of grumbling and discontent among the people. There is the promise of land on the horizon and yet, the lack of confidence and trust by the people that YHWH will indeed provide. There is the “old” generation that is disobedient (that is those who were part of the original exodus from Egypt) and the “new” generation with a different spirit (Joshua and Caleb) who are the wave of the future.

Remember also, that most scholars believe that this book, in its final form is an exilic document (that is a text written down during the time of the 6th century exile) and the writers have used these older materials as a way to offer hope and theological reflection to those living in Babylon after the fall of the Temple in 586 BCE.

The Priestly writers remind the people to take seriously the disciplines of holiness and ritual cleanness. It is through the disciplines that the presence of the life-giving God is made known in the midst of the people. And, Walter Brueggemann says that, “the only way the Holy Land of the holy God can be securely entered is by a holy people.” The vision of the land of promise is a vision of the land as a place of holiness and purity. Thus, the concerns of these disciplines are integral to the people of Israel. For the people waiting to enter the Holy Land for the first time and those in exile who are remembering and waiting to renter the land of promise, holiness, cleanness and purity are the ways to receive a land from the God who brings them forth into this land of milk and honey.

InJoy,
Suzy