It's over a month since my last post, which means a lot of stories have come and gone. I won't try to review all, by any means. In the broad sweep of the Old Testament, we have been reading about a people forming an identity. We have seen the conquest of Canaan, when the wandering Israelites stopped wandering and started occupying land. We have seen the period of the judges, when Gideon winnowed his troops by watching which ones lapped up their water like dogs. Only 300 remained, and that tiny number of warriors prove that God gave the victory. (Judges 7:5-7)
Sampson roared his way through his world flaunting his muscle and squeezing the juice of life with his bare hands. The Sampson stories are as close to Paul Bunyan tales as the Bible ever gets. His exploits celebrate the presence of a God who raises up heroes when they are needed. He is a likeable lug even if he did tie torches to fox tails.
(Judges 15)
After the loosey-goosey era of charismatic judges, the people begged for a king. God said the people would probably get what they deserved. The same thing has been said of democracy. Saul was that first king of Israel, and Saul won victories but lost his way. Young David did what he could to placate the bi-polar rages of Saul. Sometimes his music worked, and sometimes not.
David went from plucky pencil-necked shepherd to national hero, to outlaw, to anointed king, to lusty corrupted politician. The episode with Bathsheba shows us that the best can fall prey to their own ego, and coveting leads to cover-up. (2nd Samuel 11:1-12:23) Uriah was murdered because he was too loyal to his battle buddies to enjoy the comforts of home. Bathsheba became the King's consort, but I bet she would trade a lifetime of honor and luxury for more time with her decent, grounded Hittite husband.
God forgave David, but left him with the curse that the sword would never leave David alone. He had to fight his own son Absalom to retain the throne, and winning that fight only brought him abject grief.
This long section of the Bible tells a long string of battle stories. In one war after another the blood flows freely and God commands ruthless destruction. It is disturbing. These are some of the passages people cite when talking about the seeming split personality of the Supreme Being; the Old Testament one pitching wrath, and the New Testament one pitching love. To the contrary, the long arc of biblical witness insists there only ever was -and is- One God. God hung his bow in the sky for Noah to see, and swore off killing. So what's all the nationalistic bloodshed for?
I have a pet theory about this that has no real scholarship or authority behind it, so take it with a train of salt. In the pre-historic, pre-biblical world, the gods seemed capricious. One day there is a good crop and life seems abundant, the next day a grass fire wipes out the crop. Both would have been attributed to the kind of gods who use humans as pawns.
The One True God speaks with a still small voice, and it takes a while for hard headed humans to hear. To think that a god might be FOR US is a revolutionary thought. Thinking that a single, powerful God is on 'our side' in a war is crude, but nevertheless a step up from thinking the gods harass everyone for no reason.
It is a very long hike from "The gods hate us" to "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16). We are still on that journey, and we stand on the shoulders of our religious forbears going back to the mists of earliest time. Our God did not switch identities. God has been saying the same message all through time, but it takes a long time for humans to hear, believe, consider, and realize that God loves our enemy as much as ourselves.
The Bible is a record of the small slow gains in human awareness of divine love that happen through the unfolding plot that is the world. Israel was chosen and preserved in order for the One True God to have a sturdy platform for speaking to all the earth.
When the right time came, Jesus took to that platform and changed the world.
Sampson roared his way through his world flaunting his muscle and squeezing the juice of life with his bare hands. The Sampson stories are as close to Paul Bunyan tales as the Bible ever gets. His exploits celebrate the presence of a God who raises up heroes when they are needed. He is a likeable lug even if he did tie torches to fox tails.
(Judges 15)
After the loosey-goosey era of charismatic judges, the people begged for a king. God said the people would probably get what they deserved. The same thing has been said of democracy. Saul was that first king of Israel, and Saul won victories but lost his way. Young David did what he could to placate the bi-polar rages of Saul. Sometimes his music worked, and sometimes not.
David went from plucky pencil-necked shepherd to national hero, to outlaw, to anointed king, to lusty corrupted politician. The episode with Bathsheba shows us that the best can fall prey to their own ego, and coveting leads to cover-up. (2nd Samuel 11:1-12:23) Uriah was murdered because he was too loyal to his battle buddies to enjoy the comforts of home. Bathsheba became the King's consort, but I bet she would trade a lifetime of honor and luxury for more time with her decent, grounded Hittite husband.
God forgave David, but left him with the curse that the sword would never leave David alone. He had to fight his own son Absalom to retain the throne, and winning that fight only brought him abject grief.
This long section of the Bible tells a long string of battle stories. In one war after another the blood flows freely and God commands ruthless destruction. It is disturbing. These are some of the passages people cite when talking about the seeming split personality of the Supreme Being; the Old Testament one pitching wrath, and the New Testament one pitching love. To the contrary, the long arc of biblical witness insists there only ever was -and is- One God. God hung his bow in the sky for Noah to see, and swore off killing. So what's all the nationalistic bloodshed for?
I have a pet theory about this that has no real scholarship or authority behind it, so take it with a train of salt. In the pre-historic, pre-biblical world, the gods seemed capricious. One day there is a good crop and life seems abundant, the next day a grass fire wipes out the crop. Both would have been attributed to the kind of gods who use humans as pawns.
The One True God speaks with a still small voice, and it takes a while for hard headed humans to hear. To think that a god might be FOR US is a revolutionary thought. Thinking that a single, powerful God is on 'our side' in a war is crude, but nevertheless a step up from thinking the gods harass everyone for no reason.
It is a very long hike from "The gods hate us" to "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16). We are still on that journey, and we stand on the shoulders of our religious forbears going back to the mists of earliest time. Our God did not switch identities. God has been saying the same message all through time, but it takes a long time for humans to hear, believe, consider, and realize that God loves our enemy as much as ourselves.
The Bible is a record of the small slow gains in human awareness of divine love that happen through the unfolding plot that is the world. Israel was chosen and preserved in order for the One True God to have a sturdy platform for speaking to all the earth.
When the right time came, Jesus took to that platform and changed the world.
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