Exodus 8:9-10 - Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile."
"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said.
Tomorrow?! Did he say, "Tomorrow"? What in Amon-Ra's (I think) name is he doing? Why didn't he say, "Now"? Right this instant! Did he consult any of us before making this rather important decision? Nooo! That's our job. That's why we're called advisers.
I wonder if any of the Pharaoh's officials were thinking (or saying) anything along those lines. Given a choice, wouldn't you want the plague stopped ASAP?
I wonder how many days passed from the time Moses and Aaron met with the new king (not Moses step-father -- he was dead) until the night of the Passover. Did the plagues come one right after the other? Many of them only lasted a day or so. The darkness lasted 3 days. Little indication is given as to how much time elapsed between them though. If each plague lasted 2 days -- one day on, the next day off -- they would have covered about 3 weeks.
I wonder what people in other countries heard about what was going on in Egypt. Even if news travelled slowly, over a period of 3 to 4 weeks most everyone for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles around could have at least heard vague rumors about it.
I don't know my world history that well anymore, but I think Egypt was considered a powerhouse at that time -- before the plagues, that is. I wonder if anyone else was thinking, "If that can happen to Egypt, are we next?"
5/30/2006
5/29/2006
New king in town
Exodus 1:8-10 - Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
I wonder how this new king could "not know about Joseph." Did he maybe not want to know about the history of the Israelites? Didn't the king(s) before him all know? Wasn't this king taught about Joseph in history class? Where did he think the Israelites came from? Why did he think they were there? Did no one explain it to him? Or did he just not want to listen?
The king made at least 3 huge assumptions:
Assumption #2 is not. I wonder why he thought they would fight on the side of someone who was attacking what had been their homeland for 400 years. Perhaps he saw them as a subversive power, but what reason he might have had for this is not obvious.
Assumption #3 is perhaps his real reason for action. He seems to want to keep the Israelites in Egypt. They were probably good workers in general and had become a significant and important part of the society and economy. Losing them could be disastrous. If this was something he was worried about, then I wonder why he took the action of turning them into slaves with harsh masters. Wouldn't that have the opposite effect from what the king wanted?
I wonder if this wasn't all the king's idea. Did he have lobbyists pressuring him to contend with?
I wonder how this new king could "not know about Joseph." Did he maybe not want to know about the history of the Israelites? Didn't the king(s) before him all know? Wasn't this king taught about Joseph in history class? Where did he think the Israelites came from? Why did he think they were there? Did no one explain it to him? Or did he just not want to listen?
The king made at least 3 huge assumptions:
- If he did nothing, the Israelites would increase in number.
- The Israelites would fight on the side of Egypt's enemies.
- The Israelites would leave the country after a war.
Assumption #2 is not. I wonder why he thought they would fight on the side of someone who was attacking what had been their homeland for 400 years. Perhaps he saw them as a subversive power, but what reason he might have had for this is not obvious.
Assumption #3 is perhaps his real reason for action. He seems to want to keep the Israelites in Egypt. They were probably good workers in general and had become a significant and important part of the society and economy. Losing them could be disastrous. If this was something he was worried about, then I wonder why he took the action of turning them into slaves with harsh masters. Wouldn't that have the opposite effect from what the king wanted?
I wonder if this wasn't all the king's idea. Did he have lobbyists pressuring him to contend with?
5/28/2006
Good steward
Genesis 43:23 - "It's all right," he [Joseph's steward] said. "Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
I wonder if Joseph's steward could say this with a straight face. Joseph himself was putting on a show and obviously had clued his staff in on how to act too. I wonder how good an actor this steward was. Did he have a hint of a smile on his lips? Did he wink after explaining the silver problem? Notice that he didn't have to lie to them; he had received their silver. He just neglected to mention that he also gave it back to them.
I wonder if whoever seated the brothers at the table according to age fully understood the significance of what he was (or they were) doing. It was completely obvious to the brothers that this was no accident. You might randomly get 3 or 4 brothers lined up by age, but not 10 who were probably close enough in age to prevent getting it right by visual clues alone.
I wonder how much the interpreter that Joseph was using knew about the charade. Did he know he wasn't really needed? If so, he could have said anything (respectful and fitting) that he wanted to when "translating" the brothers' speech for the vice-pharaoh.
I wonder if Joseph's staff ever called him "Joseph" in person or when speaking to others about him. Or did they always use his political title or the name "Zaphenath-Paneah" that Pharaoh had given him?
I wonder if Joseph's steward could say this with a straight face. Joseph himself was putting on a show and obviously had clued his staff in on how to act too. I wonder how good an actor this steward was. Did he have a hint of a smile on his lips? Did he wink after explaining the silver problem? Notice that he didn't have to lie to them; he had received their silver. He just neglected to mention that he also gave it back to them.
I wonder if whoever seated the brothers at the table according to age fully understood the significance of what he was (or they were) doing. It was completely obvious to the brothers that this was no accident. You might randomly get 3 or 4 brothers lined up by age, but not 10 who were probably close enough in age to prevent getting it right by visual clues alone.
I wonder how much the interpreter that Joseph was using knew about the charade. Did he know he wasn't really needed? If so, he could have said anything (respectful and fitting) that he wanted to when "translating" the brothers' speech for the vice-pharaoh.
I wonder if Joseph's staff ever called him "Joseph" in person or when speaking to others about him. Or did they always use his political title or the name "Zaphenath-Paneah" that Pharaoh had given him?
Distressing situations
Genesis 42:21 - They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."
These words were spoken amongst 10 of Joseph's brothers (not Benjamin) approximately 21 years after they had sold him to the Ishmaelites and lied to their father Israel about what had happened to him. Joseph had been 17 at the time. He was 30 when Pharaoh promoted him to vice-pharaoh. (30-17=13) There had been 7 years (13+7=20) of plenty under his time of command, and now there probably had been at least a year of famine. (20+1=21) So it was for at least 20 years that the brothers' consciences had bothered them -- some days more and some days less, I suppose. I wonder if they had ever used this line of reasoning to explain something bad that had happened before.
I wonder if it bothered some of them more than the others. Maybe Judah at least a little more? It had been his idea to sell Joseph and make it worth their while to get rid of him.
Later when they had to bring Benjamin to Egypt, it was Judah who told his dad, "...you can hold me personally responsible for him." I wonder if he was thinking about Joseph when he said those words.
I wonder how many people have something stupid they did long ago come back to bite them 20 years later.
These words were spoken amongst 10 of Joseph's brothers (not Benjamin) approximately 21 years after they had sold him to the Ishmaelites and lied to their father Israel about what had happened to him. Joseph had been 17 at the time. He was 30 when Pharaoh promoted him to vice-pharaoh. (30-17=13) There had been 7 years (13+7=20) of plenty under his time of command, and now there probably had been at least a year of famine. (20+1=21) So it was for at least 20 years that the brothers' consciences had bothered them -- some days more and some days less, I suppose. I wonder if they had ever used this line of reasoning to explain something bad that had happened before.
I wonder if it bothered some of them more than the others. Maybe Judah at least a little more? It had been his idea to sell Joseph and make it worth their while to get rid of him.
Later when they had to bring Benjamin to Egypt, it was Judah who told his dad, "...you can hold me personally responsible for him." I wonder if he was thinking about Joseph when he said those words.
I wonder how many people have something stupid they did long ago come back to bite them 20 years later.
5/25/2006
Joseph and dreams
Genesis 40:7-8 - So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"
"We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them."
This exchange between Joseph and the king's officials is somewhat surprising. They are all in prison, albeit a minimum security facility (or so it would seem), and this one day in particular they are noticeably sad. Aren't you sad virtually all the time in prison? I wonder if this was even less than minimum security and more like a group house arrest or a halfway house. Maybe some of them could even come and go to a limited extent. At any rate, life couldn't have been too, too bad if it's a dream that makes you so obviously sad.
Perhaps these men put a lot of stock in dreams. Maybe even more than the average person in that society, and that added to their sadness at the lack of an interpreter.
Joseph was no stranger to dreams that could be interpreted. Years ago he'd had some of his own that were easy to figure out. He would be a ruler, and the rest of his family would bow down before him. Now dreams become important again as he provides God's reasons for sending them first to the cupbearer and the baker and then 2 years later to the king himself.
I wonder why the king's magicians and wise men couldn't interpret Pharaoh's dreams. In hindsight, they don't seem that difficult. I wonder if some of them did have the right answer in mind but were too afraid to give their boss the bad news. If they didn't know for sure, I wonder why no one would even hazard a guess. Hm, maybe that speaks for itself -- it would have been too hazardous to guess and get it wrong.
Here's another quotation that could use stage directions. I wonder which words Joseph emphasized when he said to Pharaoh, "I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I can't do it [pregnant pause...but not too long, Joe!], but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I wonder how many dreams I can remember are supposed to be interpreted.
"We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them."
This exchange between Joseph and the king's officials is somewhat surprising. They are all in prison, albeit a minimum security facility (or so it would seem), and this one day in particular they are noticeably sad. Aren't you sad virtually all the time in prison? I wonder if this was even less than minimum security and more like a group house arrest or a halfway house. Maybe some of them could even come and go to a limited extent. At any rate, life couldn't have been too, too bad if it's a dream that makes you so obviously sad.
Perhaps these men put a lot of stock in dreams. Maybe even more than the average person in that society, and that added to their sadness at the lack of an interpreter.
Joseph was no stranger to dreams that could be interpreted. Years ago he'd had some of his own that were easy to figure out. He would be a ruler, and the rest of his family would bow down before him. Now dreams become important again as he provides God's reasons for sending them first to the cupbearer and the baker and then 2 years later to the king himself.
I wonder why the king's magicians and wise men couldn't interpret Pharaoh's dreams. In hindsight, they don't seem that difficult. I wonder if some of them did have the right answer in mind but were too afraid to give their boss the bad news. If they didn't know for sure, I wonder why no one would even hazard a guess. Hm, maybe that speaks for itself -- it would have been too hazardous to guess and get it wrong.
Here's another quotation that could use stage directions. I wonder which words Joseph emphasized when he said to Pharaoh, "I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I can't do it [pregnant pause...but not too long, Joe!], but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I can't do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
I wonder how many dreams I can remember are supposed to be interpreted.
5/24/2006
The LORD was with Joseph
Genesis 39: 2, 6, 20-23 - The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
I wonder if Joseph actively worked at climbing these ladders -- first, to the top of Potiphar's household, and second, to the top of the king's prison -- or if most everything just kinda fell into his lap. He seems to have behaved himself very well all the way along. He probably did whatever he was told to -- and that without complaining. When he had choices to make, he must have almost always made the right one. He did the right thing day after day when Potiphar's wife tried to put the squeeze on him, so to speak. Joseph was a hunk, but I wonder if Potiphar's wife was all that desirable. I wonder if it really was that difficult for Joseph to resist.
The prison was obviously not a maximum security facility. The 3 prisoners we know of -- Joseph, the king's cupbearer, and the king's baker -- were all there because their bosses got mad at them. Hardly makes them hardened criminals in need of tight security. Still I wonder why the warden decided to put one of the prisoners in charge instead of one of his own guards on staff. What can a prisoner do to show he's worthy of being promoted to administration over other prisoners? It's a prison! The inmates are there for punishment, not training for white collar jobs. I wonder what the other prisoners thought of Joseph.
Obviously God was using these two situations as training for Joseph because he (God) had an even bigger leadership role in store for him not too many years out. It's easy for us to see the pattern here. I wonder if Joseph could see it while he was living it.
So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
I wonder if Joseph actively worked at climbing these ladders -- first, to the top of Potiphar's household, and second, to the top of the king's prison -- or if most everything just kinda fell into his lap. He seems to have behaved himself very well all the way along. He probably did whatever he was told to -- and that without complaining. When he had choices to make, he must have almost always made the right one. He did the right thing day after day when Potiphar's wife tried to put the squeeze on him, so to speak. Joseph was a hunk, but I wonder if Potiphar's wife was all that desirable. I wonder if it really was that difficult for Joseph to resist.
The prison was obviously not a maximum security facility. The 3 prisoners we know of -- Joseph, the king's cupbearer, and the king's baker -- were all there because their bosses got mad at them. Hardly makes them hardened criminals in need of tight security. Still I wonder why the warden decided to put one of the prisoners in charge instead of one of his own guards on staff. What can a prisoner do to show he's worthy of being promoted to administration over other prisoners? It's a prison! The inmates are there for punishment, not training for white collar jobs. I wonder what the other prisoners thought of Joseph.
Obviously God was using these two situations as training for Joseph because he (God) had an even bigger leadership role in store for him not too many years out. It's easy for us to see the pattern here. I wonder if Joseph could see it while he was living it.
5/23/2006
Joseph sold
Genesis 37:12-35 - Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them."
"Very well," he replied.
Happily (sort of) for Joseph, the brothers cooked up Plan B and only sold him instead. I wonder what they spent the money on.
Finally, there's Reuben. He seems to have had a lot to do with dissuading the others from killing Joseph. But where was he at lunchtime when they were selling him? If his plan was to rescue Joseph from the cistern later, shouldn't he have kept an eye on it at all times? We don't know the exact terrain, but they did have the sheep grazing in the fields. Where could Reuben have been or what could he have been doing that he totally missed
I wonder if the brothers knew any of Joseph's buyers. They may have been 2nd cousins of some of them. Ishmael and Midian were both sons of Abraham.
I wonder which (if any) of the stupid things I've done God plans to use for someone's good.
"Very well," he replied.
So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?"
He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?"
"They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' "
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing- and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?"
Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."
He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him.
Here is a wonderful example of how God can take our sheep-like stupidity and turn it into something good. It shows his glory and wisdom.
Warning: Do not attempt such stupidity at home or anywhere else on purpose!
I wonder what they were thinking. Not just Joseph's brothers but Israel (Jacob) and Joseph as well.
First, Israel sends Joseph to the field where his brothers are tending sheep asking him to bring back a report about them. Hm, where have we heard this before? Ah yes, not too long ago (probably the same year) pretty much the same thing happened. And what good had come of that? Joseph royally ticked off his brothers.
Second, Joseph goes as asked...wearing the flashy symbol of his father's favoritism, the infamous coat of many colors (aka technicolor dreamcoat)! Did he realize this would amount to rubbing his brothers' noses in it?
Then the brothers plot to kill him. Kill him! Why? Because they were jealous? Because Joseph took advantage of the situation whenever possible? Were the brothers afraid of losing out on something if Joseph remained alive? Sure, they were really his half-brothers, but that wasn't all that uncommon. And did that really play into this at all? Would they have felt the same if they were all full brothers? Was the situation really that bad that murder was warranted?
Remember Cain.Happily (sort of) for Joseph, the brothers cooked up Plan B and only sold him instead. I wonder what they spent the money on.
Finally, there's Reuben. He seems to have had a lot to do with dissuading the others from killing Joseph. But where was he at lunchtime when they were selling him? If his plan was to rescue Joseph from the cistern later, shouldn't he have kept an eye on it at all times? We don't know the exact terrain, but they did have the sheep grazing in the fields. Where could Reuben have been or what could he have been doing that he totally missed
- the entrance of a caravan of camels,
- the brothers pulling Joseph out of the cistern (shouting and screaming at them?),
- the cutting of the deal, and
- the Ishmaelites and Midianites riding off into the sunset?
I wonder if the brothers knew any of Joseph's buyers. They may have been 2nd cousins of some of them. Ishmael and Midian were both sons of Abraham.
I wonder which (if any) of the stupid things I've done God plans to use for someone's good.
5/22/2006
Joseph's bad report
Genesis 37:2 - Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Maybe I shouldn't wonder about this one, but I do. What was in the bad report? These guys are out in the fields watching sheep -- trying to keep the wild animals and thieves away and rescuing the sheep from their stupid selves. How much trouble can you get into doing that? Apparently enough, if you work at it.
I don't want to speculate too much on what could have been in the bad report. Maybe it was just that the brothers were picking on Joseph. After all, "they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."
I wonder if Joseph trumped up the charges against his brothers in return. Perhaps (humanly speaking) what the brothers were saying or doing wasn't all that bad, and Joseph blew it out of proportion, knowing that Dad was sure to believe him.
What I really should be wondering about is what Dad did after hearing the bad report. Did he check it out? Did he take it at face value? Did he punish anyone? (These sons are generally in their 20s and 30s though.) Did he at least reprimand anyone who had done wrong? In other words, I wonder if he was trying to be a good father in this particular instance. I know how tough that can be at times.
Maybe I shouldn't wonder about this one, but I do. What was in the bad report? These guys are out in the fields watching sheep -- trying to keep the wild animals and thieves away and rescuing the sheep from their stupid selves. How much trouble can you get into doing that? Apparently enough, if you work at it.
I don't want to speculate too much on what could have been in the bad report. Maybe it was just that the brothers were picking on Joseph. After all, "they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."
I wonder if Joseph trumped up the charges against his brothers in return. Perhaps (humanly speaking) what the brothers were saying or doing wasn't all that bad, and Joseph blew it out of proportion, knowing that Dad was sure to believe him.
What I really should be wondering about is what Dad did after hearing the bad report. Did he check it out? Did he take it at face value? Did he punish anyone? (These sons are generally in their 20s and 30s though.) Did he at least reprimand anyone who had done wrong? In other words, I wonder if he was trying to be a good father in this particular instance. I know how tough that can be at times.
5/21/2006
Rachel the thief
Genesis 31:19 - When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods.
Exactly when Rachel stole these gods is not completely clear. The sequence of events that does seem clear is this:
Somewhere in the sequence, all the children were gathered together too. If any were still back home, maybe Rachel stole the gods while collecting the rest of the family and whatever else she thought was needed for the trip.
My big wonder here is this: Why did Rachel bother to pack Laban's households gods along for the trip? My question has nothing to do with the idolatry that must have been involved. Jacob was a rich man; they could have made more idols if they wanted them. So again, why take Dad's?
Were they cute? Did she want them as a remembrance of home? Did they serve some practical purpose like bookends or paperweights or bottle openers? Were they a unique color? Did she want to make her father angry?
I wonder if Jacob ever did find out that Rachel stole them. I wonder if they were ever used -- for anything -- again.
Exactly when Rachel stole these gods is not completely clear. The sequence of events that does seem clear is this:
- Jacob sees the attitude change in Uncle Laban.
- God tells Jacob to go back home to Isaac.
- Jacob calls his wives out to the fields.
- Jacob puts his family on camels.
- They all begin the journey toward Isaac.
Somewhere in the sequence, all the children were gathered together too. If any were still back home, maybe Rachel stole the gods while collecting the rest of the family and whatever else she thought was needed for the trip.
My big wonder here is this: Why did Rachel bother to pack Laban's households gods along for the trip? My question has nothing to do with the idolatry that must have been involved. Jacob was a rich man; they could have made more idols if they wanted them. So again, why take Dad's?
Were they cute? Did she want them as a remembrance of home? Did they serve some practical purpose like bookends or paperweights or bottle openers? Were they a unique color? Did she want to make her father angry?
I wonder if Jacob ever did find out that Rachel stole them. I wonder if they were ever used -- for anything -- again.
5/20/2006
Forgetfulness
Genesis 27:45 - "When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there."
These are the words of Rebekah to her son Jacob spoken some time after Jacob had stolen the blessing that his father Isaac intended to give to Jacob's brother Esau.
I wonder if Rebekah had memory problems here. First, she seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was her idea to deceive her husband Isaac and take the blessing from Esau.
Second, just how poor of a memory does she think Esau has? Does she really think he'll forget all about this in a few weeks, months, or even years? Even if Esau didn't truly care that much about the blessing (just as he despised his birthright), surely he wouldn't forget about this incident any time soon.
Then again, I wonder if Rebekah did realize this, and this was a tactful way of saying goodbye to Jacob forever. I wonder if she thought she would never see him again. It may be that this was the last time. Looking ahead to the time when Jacob does return, Isaac is found to be alive yet, but no mention is made of Rebekah.
These are the words of Rebekah to her son Jacob spoken some time after Jacob had stolen the blessing that his father Isaac intended to give to Jacob's brother Esau.
I wonder if Rebekah had memory problems here. First, she seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was her idea to deceive her husband Isaac and take the blessing from Esau.
Second, just how poor of a memory does she think Esau has? Does she really think he'll forget all about this in a few weeks, months, or even years? Even if Esau didn't truly care that much about the blessing (just as he despised his birthright), surely he wouldn't forget about this incident any time soon.
Then again, I wonder if Rebekah did realize this, and this was a tactful way of saying goodbye to Jacob forever. I wonder if she thought she would never see him again. It may be that this was the last time. Looking ahead to the time when Jacob does return, Isaac is found to be alive yet, but no mention is made of Rebekah.
5/19/2006
Birthright for sale
Genesis 25:31 - Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
The birthright was a really big deal in those days. It involved the passing of the bulk of the inheritance from father to son and more.
I don't think Jacob's insistence on the birthright deal was something he thought up on the spur of the moment.
"Bowl of stew? Sure. No, wait. Uh...." [Thinking to himself] "What can I get out of this? His best bow and quiver full of arrows? No. That fancy robe Mom made for him? Nah. Got it...birthright!"
I just can't see him making the leap like that without having considered the possibility earlier and having built up the desire for it too. I wonder how often Jacob had thought of a way to get the birthright before this. Had he devised schemes of his own? Had he considered wheeling and dealing for it? If so, then Esau just played straight man to Jacob's punch line. Esau set it up; Jacob knocked it down.
"So Esau despised his birthright." I wonder if he ever gave it a second thought. Did he think, "Ach, no big deal. Dad will set things straight when the time comes. He likes me best. I got what I needed for now, and Jacob thinks he got what he wanted. I'll show him later!"
I wonder if the boys knew the prophecy about the older serving the younger that God had told their mother Rebekah before they had even been born. It's not something I would have told my kids.
The birthright was a really big deal in those days. It involved the passing of the bulk of the inheritance from father to son and more.
I don't think Jacob's insistence on the birthright deal was something he thought up on the spur of the moment.
"Bowl of stew? Sure. No, wait. Uh...." [Thinking to himself] "What can I get out of this? His best bow and quiver full of arrows? No. That fancy robe Mom made for him? Nah. Got it...birthright!"
I just can't see him making the leap like that without having considered the possibility earlier and having built up the desire for it too. I wonder how often Jacob had thought of a way to get the birthright before this. Had he devised schemes of his own? Had he considered wheeling and dealing for it? If so, then Esau just played straight man to Jacob's punch line. Esau set it up; Jacob knocked it down.
"So Esau despised his birthright." I wonder if he ever gave it a second thought. Did he think, "Ach, no big deal. Dad will set things straight when the time comes. He likes me best. I got what I needed for now, and Jacob thinks he got what he wanted. I'll show him later!"
I wonder if the boys knew the prophecy about the older serving the younger that God had told their mother Rebekah before they had even been born. It's not something I would have told my kids.
5/18/2006
Nose rings
Genesis 24:22 - When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka [about 1/5 ounce] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels [about 4 ounces].
There's nothing wrong with earrings, bracelets, necklaces, nose rings, and so on. Some of those types of ornaments I don't particularly care for -- on a woman or a man -- but that's just my personal preference. You like 'em? Fine with me. I wonder who first thought it would look cool to wear these things though.
Many types of adornments and piercings are back in vogue in some circles these days. Again, nothing wrong with them -- though I do wonder how easy it is to live with some of them. I'm guessing that none of these "modern" attachments are really new at all. Nose rings, as you can see here, were possibly very common at Abraham's time and probably were around many years (decades? centuries?) before that.
I wonder if there were piercing specialists back then or if you just found a friend with enough courage to do it for you.
There's nothing wrong with earrings, bracelets, necklaces, nose rings, and so on. Some of those types of ornaments I don't particularly care for -- on a woman or a man -- but that's just my personal preference. You like 'em? Fine with me. I wonder who first thought it would look cool to wear these things though.
Many types of adornments and piercings are back in vogue in some circles these days. Again, nothing wrong with them -- though I do wonder how easy it is to live with some of them. I'm guessing that none of these "modern" attachments are really new at all. Nose rings, as you can see here, were possibly very common at Abraham's time and probably were around many years (decades? centuries?) before that.
I wonder if there were piercing specialists back then or if you just found a friend with enough courage to do it for you.
5/17/2006
Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 18:20-21 - The the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
We usually think of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah as the reason for their destruction. And it's true that that was the root cause. But notice what else God mentions as a sort of side effect of their sin and an additional reason for their demise. There was a great outcry against the cities. I wonder where that outcry was coming from. Apparently not from within the cities themselves. After all, God couldn't even find 10 righteous people there -- righteous in the same sense as Abraham who believed in God's promises.
So the complaints that reached God's hearing must have largely come from people of the surrounding cities and countryside. With no TV or radio or anything else resembling modern means of swift communication, the news had travelled over the years, probably by word of mouth, about just how bad life was in the Terrible Twin Cities. (No offense, Minneapolis and St. Paul.)
More than once God has condescended to see what people are up to. He did it at Babel and does it again here. He didn't need to "go down and see" what was going on there, but for the sake of Abraham and Lot (and us) he did it anyway.
We know he ended up destroying the whole area with "burning sulphur...out of the heavens." I wonder what this really was. God sometimes uses "natural" means to carry out his will. What this could have been, if natural, I don't know, nor have I read others' ideas about it. I often wonder how many of today's natural disasters -- hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and the like -- are God's carrying out of his judgments on the unrighteous.
We usually think of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah as the reason for their destruction. And it's true that that was the root cause. But notice what else God mentions as a sort of side effect of their sin and an additional reason for their demise. There was a great outcry against the cities. I wonder where that outcry was coming from. Apparently not from within the cities themselves. After all, God couldn't even find 10 righteous people there -- righteous in the same sense as Abraham who believed in God's promises.
So the complaints that reached God's hearing must have largely come from people of the surrounding cities and countryside. With no TV or radio or anything else resembling modern means of swift communication, the news had travelled over the years, probably by word of mouth, about just how bad life was in the Terrible Twin Cities. (No offense, Minneapolis and St. Paul.)
More than once God has condescended to see what people are up to. He did it at Babel and does it again here. He didn't need to "go down and see" what was going on there, but for the sake of Abraham and Lot (and us) he did it anyway.
We know he ended up destroying the whole area with "burning sulphur...out of the heavens." I wonder what this really was. God sometimes uses "natural" means to carry out his will. What this could have been, if natural, I don't know, nor have I read others' ideas about it. I often wonder how many of today's natural disasters -- hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and the like -- are God's carrying out of his judgments on the unrighteous.
5/16/2006
Shem
Genesis 11:10 - This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
This is, in part, an update to my Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth post of a few days ago.
Since Shem was 100 years old 2 years after the Flood, that means he was 98 when the Flood occurred. He (and likely Ham and Japheth) would have easily been old enough before the Flood to have helped with preparations. Shem was born when Noah was 502. That left plenty of time for Shem to mature, get married, and do what he could to prepare for the disaster.
I wonder how the conversation(s) went when Noah had to tell his family what God had told him about the future. Did they think he was crazy at first? A lot of other people must have, including any other close relatives he may have had.
I wonder if he ran into any legal problems during construction of the ark. Or how about when all the animals -- including the wild ones -- started gathering at Noah's place?
Were Shem and his brothers workers or foremen? I really can't see the 4 (or 8, including the women) of them doing all this by themselves, even if they did have 70-80 years to get the job done. (I'm calculating based on Shem's teenage years.)
Was ark-building the only job the boys ever had? Noah was a farmer, a "man of the soil," so food may not have been a problem. Did they make enough profit from farming to pay for the building of the ark? How big of a farm did Noah have? Did he have hired hands there to take care of as well?
Since he was a farmer, he probably at least had enough acreage on which to build the ark and didn't need money to rent space for that.
This is, in part, an update to my Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth post of a few days ago.
Since Shem was 100 years old 2 years after the Flood, that means he was 98 when the Flood occurred. He (and likely Ham and Japheth) would have easily been old enough before the Flood to have helped with preparations. Shem was born when Noah was 502. That left plenty of time for Shem to mature, get married, and do what he could to prepare for the disaster.
I wonder how the conversation(s) went when Noah had to tell his family what God had told him about the future. Did they think he was crazy at first? A lot of other people must have, including any other close relatives he may have had.
I wonder if he ran into any legal problems during construction of the ark. Or how about when all the animals -- including the wild ones -- started gathering at Noah's place?
Were Shem and his brothers workers or foremen? I really can't see the 4 (or 8, including the women) of them doing all this by themselves, even if they did have 70-80 years to get the job done. (I'm calculating based on Shem's teenage years.)
Was ark-building the only job the boys ever had? Noah was a farmer, a "man of the soil," so food may not have been a problem. Did they make enough profit from farming to pay for the building of the ark? How big of a farm did Noah have? Did he have hired hands there to take care of as well?
Since he was a farmer, he probably at least had enough acreage on which to build the ark and didn't need money to rent space for that.
5/15/2006
8 people
Genesis 7:13 - On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I will not worry or seriously complain about how bad my situation is until I know I'm one of the 8 people known to be Christians left on earth.
Eight people! Count 'em: Noah, Mrs. Noah, Shem, Mrs. Shem, Ham, Mrs. Ham, Japheth, and Mrs. Japheth. That's all. You can name more Christians than that (whether you're one yourself or not) without much thought, can't you?
I wonder if there were more people who claimed to believe in the promised Messiah -- but really didn't -- than these 8. Apparently there weren't any closet believers left.
Don't get the idea that everyone else was so nasty you couldn't stand being around them. I'm pretty sure there were still nice people around. Noah's family probably had many friends. They were likely nice folks.
If you've been told
Assuming you've hired people to help you build the means of salvation, do you tell them why you're building it when they ask? And you know they're going to ask. What do you tell the network news reporters? What do you tell the Mesopotamian Inquirer? (Men in Black comes to mind here.)
Again assuming Noah hired someone to help with construction, I wonder if he paid them normal wages or fees. He could have paid them whatever he could afford (maybe even more if he got an extra loan from the bank) -- even something much higher than the going rate -- if he wanted or needed to. After all, he wasn't going to need the money where he was going.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I will not worry or seriously complain about how bad my situation is until I know I'm one of the 8 people known to be Christians left on earth.
Eight people! Count 'em: Noah, Mrs. Noah, Shem, Mrs. Shem, Ham, Mrs. Ham, Japheth, and Mrs. Japheth. That's all. You can name more Christians than that (whether you're one yourself or not) without much thought, can't you?
I wonder if there were more people who claimed to believe in the promised Messiah -- but really didn't -- than these 8. Apparently there weren't any closet believers left.
Don't get the idea that everyone else was so nasty you couldn't stand being around them. I'm pretty sure there were still nice people around. Noah's family probably had many friends. They were likely nice folks.
If you've been told
- the fate of rest of the world
- to build something that will save your family from that fate, and
- (possibly) how long it would be until that fateful day arrives,
Assuming you've hired people to help you build the means of salvation, do you tell them why you're building it when they ask? And you know they're going to ask. What do you tell the network news reporters? What do you tell the Mesopotamian Inquirer? (Men in Black comes to mind here.)
Again assuming Noah hired someone to help with construction, I wonder if he paid them normal wages or fees. He could have paid them whatever he could afford (maybe even more if he got an extra loan from the bank) -- even something much higher than the going rate -- if he wanted or needed to. After all, he wasn't going to need the money where he was going.
5/14/2006
Rain
Genesis 7:4 - "Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
Some have put forth the idea that this was the first time it rained anywhere on earth. Before this, they say that the climate was much different; springs and mists did the job for plants and animals, so rain was not needed. I don't know if that's correct or not, and it doesn't matter.
But let's assume for now that this was the case. I wonder then if Noah even understood what God told him when he said it would rain for over a month. If it had never rained before, how would Noah know rain when he saw it?
And think of all of the other thousands (millions? billions?) of people who hadn't heard this message. I wonder what they thought as the skies got dark and menacing. Assuming the entire sky clouded over worldwide, I think it would have been almost dark as night during normal daytime hours.
How frightening would it have been to suddenly have water falling from the sky when it had never done so before? Did they even realize it was only water? Water wasn't supposed to come from up there! They got water from lakes, rivers, the local watertower and treatment plant -- not from the sky!
And what about the half of the world that first experienced all this in the middle of the night? Did the neighbor lady who couldn't get to sleep run outside when she heard something hitting the roof? Did she run back in and wake up her husband and tell him to call 911 because something really weird was happening? Could he even get through because everyone else was calling too? Did they wake up the neighbors to see if they knew what was going on? Were the Walter Cronkites and Ted Koppels of the day at a loss for words?
Was there time for anyone to begin implementing their disaster plans before "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened"? I think that besides the mercy shown to Noah and his family, God was mercifully quick (when the 120 years were finally at an end) in ending everything for everyone else.
Some have put forth the idea that this was the first time it rained anywhere on earth. Before this, they say that the climate was much different; springs and mists did the job for plants and animals, so rain was not needed. I don't know if that's correct or not, and it doesn't matter.
But let's assume for now that this was the case. I wonder then if Noah even understood what God told him when he said it would rain for over a month. If it had never rained before, how would Noah know rain when he saw it?
And think of all of the other thousands (millions? billions?) of people who hadn't heard this message. I wonder what they thought as the skies got dark and menacing. Assuming the entire sky clouded over worldwide, I think it would have been almost dark as night during normal daytime hours.
How frightening would it have been to suddenly have water falling from the sky when it had never done so before? Did they even realize it was only water? Water wasn't supposed to come from up there! They got water from lakes, rivers, the local watertower and treatment plant -- not from the sky!
And what about the half of the world that first experienced all this in the middle of the night? Did the neighbor lady who couldn't get to sleep run outside when she heard something hitting the roof? Did she run back in and wake up her husband and tell him to call 911 because something really weird was happening? Could he even get through because everyone else was calling too? Did they wake up the neighbors to see if they knew what was going on? Were the Walter Cronkites and Ted Koppels of the day at a loss for words?
Was there time for anyone to begin implementing their disaster plans before "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened"? I think that besides the mercy shown to Noah and his family, God was mercifully quick (when the 120 years were finally at an end) in ending everything for everyone else.
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth
Genesis 5:32 - After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Did Noah have any other children before the Flood besides Shem, Ham, and Japheth? It doesn't sound like he did. No children for 500 years? Sounds strange to our ears. Yet that was only mid-life for Noah's day. Still, to wait 500 years?
Sometime after he was 500, he and Mrs. Noah had these three boys. Probably in fairly quick succession. Why three all of a sudden? It's easy to see God's plan in hindsight, but what was going through their minds?
When Noah was 480, God decided that mankind had another 120 years to get it right or be removed from the scene. God may have mentioned this to Noah at that time, but the Bible doesn't specifically say he did. In any case, God did tell Noah to build the ark sometime before he reached his 600th birthday. I wonder how old the boys were when God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark. I've always assumed that they were old enough -- say, 20 years or so -- to help with the construction. [Update: See my Shem post.] Did Noah hire anyone else to help? Maybe some of Cain's best craftsmen?
If you've read some of my previous posts, you'll notice I've hinted that I think these ancients may have had what we consider modern inventions at their disposal. And why not? How many years has it taken for modern man to go from basically nothing gadget-wise to automation of all sorts, machines of all kinds, and conveniences that were almost unimaginable not too long ago? 200 years? 400 years? 600 years? That would take us back to about A.D. 1400 -- long before 1492 even. Tell me again how old Noah was when the Flood came. "600 years," you say? Hm. So my real question is: Did Noah and his crew have a Binford 6100 gas-powered chainsaw to cut the timber for the ark?
Did Noah have any other children before the Flood besides Shem, Ham, and Japheth? It doesn't sound like he did. No children for 500 years? Sounds strange to our ears. Yet that was only mid-life for Noah's day. Still, to wait 500 years?
Sometime after he was 500, he and Mrs. Noah had these three boys. Probably in fairly quick succession. Why three all of a sudden? It's easy to see God's plan in hindsight, but what was going through their minds?
When Noah was 480, God decided that mankind had another 120 years to get it right or be removed from the scene. God may have mentioned this to Noah at that time, but the Bible doesn't specifically say he did. In any case, God did tell Noah to build the ark sometime before he reached his 600th birthday. I wonder how old the boys were when God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark. I've always assumed that they were old enough -- say, 20 years or so -- to help with the construction. [Update: See my Shem post.] Did Noah hire anyone else to help? Maybe some of Cain's best craftsmen?
If you've read some of my previous posts, you'll notice I've hinted that I think these ancients may have had what we consider modern inventions at their disposal. And why not? How many years has it taken for modern man to go from basically nothing gadget-wise to automation of all sorts, machines of all kinds, and conveniences that were almost unimaginable not too long ago? 200 years? 400 years? 600 years? That would take us back to about A.D. 1400 -- long before 1492 even. Tell me again how old Noah was when the Flood came. "600 years," you say? Hm. So my real question is: Did Noah and his crew have a Binford 6100 gas-powered chainsaw to cut the timber for the ark?
5/12/2006
Methuselah
Genesis 5:27 - Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
Most people who know something about the Bible (and many who do not) will probably have heard the name Methuselah and recognize it as the name of the oldest man in the Bible. He is not, however, given credit as the oldest person ever to have lived. I wonder who that was. And how long did he or she live? My guess is well over 1000 years.
You have trouble imagining eternity? Me too. But then I have trouble imagining 900+ years on earth too. Nowadays anything over 100 is amazing. Could you imagine having been alive to see the Battle or Hastings? It occurred a mere 940 years ago. Besides not having indoor plumbing for many centuries, another down side of such a long life would have been living through the Middle Ages. It might not have been too bad if you were among the nobility. Point is: That's a long, long, long time to live.
How many jobs does a 900-year-old have in his lifetime? I've heard that the average these days is seven. Over 900 years, was is more like 70? Talk about a jack-of-all-trades!
Most people who know something about the Bible (and many who do not) will probably have heard the name Methuselah and recognize it as the name of the oldest man in the Bible. He is not, however, given credit as the oldest person ever to have lived. I wonder who that was. And how long did he or she live? My guess is well over 1000 years.
You have trouble imagining eternity? Me too. But then I have trouble imagining 900+ years on earth too. Nowadays anything over 100 is amazing. Could you imagine having been alive to see the Battle or Hastings? It occurred a mere 940 years ago. Besides not having indoor plumbing for many centuries, another down side of such a long life would have been living through the Middle Ages. It might not have been too bad if you were among the nobility. Point is: That's a long, long, long time to live.
How many jobs does a 900-year-old have in his lifetime? I've heard that the average these days is seven. Over 900 years, was is more like 70? Talk about a jack-of-all-trades!
5/11/2006
Cain Construction Corp.
Genesis 4:17b - Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
Adam -> Cain -> Enoch. And already there are enough people on the earth to fill a city! It seems that Cain was Adam's firstborn. Whether he was born a year or so after Adam was created it is impossible to tell. And I wonder too how long Adam and Eve had been around before they got the boot from the Garden. (Many people think they didn't last there very long.) Enoch was probably not Cain's firstborn even though he is the first of his children mentioned. Cain had "worked the soil" for some time before he killed Abel. I'm guessing many generations must have passed from Cain's birth to the time he built the city he named after his son. If not, what would be the need?
What does it mean to build a city? How big was it? Were the buildings mostly stone, or wood, or metal? Did it look more like an American city or a village in Kenya? What tools and machinery did he have at his disposal? How many employees did he have on the payroll? Saying Cain built a city is like saying Solomon built the Temple. He didn't do it all by himself!
I'm not going to do the math, but let's just say there were tens of thousands of people around at this time. (Remember, hardly anyone died young.) Did everyone know of the Cain Construction Corporation? (I know that only works in English.) Did everyone know Cain and that he was Adam's firstborn? Did everyone know Adam? Had the phrase "I wouldn't know him from Adam" been coined yet? Let's say a few hundred years had passed since Day 1. (Adam did live 930 years.) Is there anyone who lived a few hundred years ago from A.D. 2006 who is still recognized by virtually everyone today (even if only in pictures)? George Washington. Abe Lincoln. Just to mention a couple Americans. Were there pictures (drawings, paintings, photos, etc.) of Adam and Cain in public buildings, or on billboards, or on TV? (Yes, I'm serious.)
"He named it after his son Enoch." Why name it after your new baby? Why not after the location like Watertown, Forest Junction, or Green Bay? Was it pride that led him to name it Enoch? He was already building the city at the time Enoch was born. It seems Cain hadn't decided what to call it until the birth. I wonder why the builder and not the residents got to name it. I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that, ever after the murder, Cain would be a "restless wanderer." Maybe this was his way of giving some permanence to his otherwise fleeting (long, but fleeting) existence.
Adam -> Cain -> Enoch. And already there are enough people on the earth to fill a city! It seems that Cain was Adam's firstborn. Whether he was born a year or so after Adam was created it is impossible to tell. And I wonder too how long Adam and Eve had been around before they got the boot from the Garden. (Many people think they didn't last there very long.) Enoch was probably not Cain's firstborn even though he is the first of his children mentioned. Cain had "worked the soil" for some time before he killed Abel. I'm guessing many generations must have passed from Cain's birth to the time he built the city he named after his son. If not, what would be the need?
What does it mean to build a city? How big was it? Were the buildings mostly stone, or wood, or metal? Did it look more like an American city or a village in Kenya? What tools and machinery did he have at his disposal? How many employees did he have on the payroll? Saying Cain built a city is like saying Solomon built the Temple. He didn't do it all by himself!
I'm not going to do the math, but let's just say there were tens of thousands of people around at this time. (Remember, hardly anyone died young.) Did everyone know of the Cain Construction Corporation? (I know that only works in English.) Did everyone know Cain and that he was Adam's firstborn? Did everyone know Adam? Had the phrase "I wouldn't know him from Adam" been coined yet? Let's say a few hundred years had passed since Day 1. (Adam did live 930 years.) Is there anyone who lived a few hundred years ago from A.D. 2006 who is still recognized by virtually everyone today (even if only in pictures)? George Washington. Abe Lincoln. Just to mention a couple Americans. Were there pictures (drawings, paintings, photos, etc.) of Adam and Cain in public buildings, or on billboards, or on TV? (Yes, I'm serious.)
"He named it after his son Enoch." Why name it after your new baby? Why not after the location like Watertown, Forest Junction, or Green Bay? Was it pride that led him to name it Enoch? He was already building the city at the time Enoch was born. It seems Cain hadn't decided what to call it until the birth. I wonder why the builder and not the residents got to name it. I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that, ever after the murder, Cain would be a "restless wanderer." Maybe this was his way of giving some permanence to his otherwise fleeting (long, but fleeting) existence.
5/10/2006
Abel and Cain
Genesis 4:4b-5a - The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
How did Abel and Cain know what the LORD thought of their offerings? The previous verse says they brought the offerings to the LORD. Might they have done this literally? Was the LORD visible to them often enough that they knew where to go and see him -- they knew where he lived, so to speak? If so, perhaps the phrase "the LORD looked" can be taken literally too. Maybe they were all standing next to each other and God had a smile on his face after seeing Abel's offering but had a downcast look after turning to Cain's. That certainly would explain how they knew what the LORD thought.
Did you ever wonder what Cain's real reason for killing Abel was? Was it because of the good offering/bad offering situation? Abel hadn't won a competition in which Cain took second (or last) place. What Abel did there really shouldn't have had anything to do with the murder. Cain should have only been angry with himself and perhaps (though wrongly too) with the LORD who had judged his offering and his heart. I wonder if there were other things that happened before, after, or both before and after the offering incident that led Cain to kill Abel -- similar to what led Joseph's brothers to treat thim so badly and even want to kill him.
Then again, maybe it was just the problem with the offering. People are really good at blaming anything and everything but themselves when it comes to a wrong they've done. And Cain only had to look as far as Mom and Dad for examples, didn't he?
How did Abel and Cain know what the LORD thought of their offerings? The previous verse says they brought the offerings to the LORD. Might they have done this literally? Was the LORD visible to them often enough that they knew where to go and see him -- they knew where he lived, so to speak? If so, perhaps the phrase "the LORD looked" can be taken literally too. Maybe they were all standing next to each other and God had a smile on his face after seeing Abel's offering but had a downcast look after turning to Cain's. That certainly would explain how they knew what the LORD thought.
Did you ever wonder what Cain's real reason for killing Abel was? Was it because of the good offering/bad offering situation? Abel hadn't won a competition in which Cain took second (or last) place. What Abel did there really shouldn't have had anything to do with the murder. Cain should have only been angry with himself and perhaps (though wrongly too) with the LORD who had judged his offering and his heart. I wonder if there were other things that happened before, after, or both before and after the offering incident that led Cain to kill Abel -- similar to what led Joseph's brothers to treat thim so badly and even want to kill him.
Then again, maybe it was just the problem with the offering. People are really good at blaming anything and everything but themselves when it comes to a wrong they've done. And Cain only had to look as far as Mom and Dad for examples, didn't he?
The sound of the LORD God
Genesis 3:8-9 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
What was the "sound of the LORD God as he was walking"? If he was walking, that implies that he had taken on a visible (probably human-like) form -- that he was not just a spirit using a voice. How many times has God appeared to man? I tend to think it is more often than the Bible specifically mentions it. For Adam and Eve to have recognized the sound of God walking in this instance seems to imply that they had heard something similar before.
There are so many spoken words in the Bible that should come with stage directions but don't. How did God say, "Where are you?" Of course he knew where they were hiding, but he called to them anyway. (Nothing's really changed since then, has it?) Did he call...
People sometimes wonder if they have ever seen an angel without realizing it. I wonder if I've ever seen God as he was walking in the garden.
What was the "sound of the LORD God as he was walking"? If he was walking, that implies that he had taken on a visible (probably human-like) form -- that he was not just a spirit using a voice. How many times has God appeared to man? I tend to think it is more often than the Bible specifically mentions it. For Adam and Eve to have recognized the sound of God walking in this instance seems to imply that they had heard something similar before.
There are so many spoken words in the Bible that should come with stage directions but don't. How did God say, "Where are you?" Of course he knew where they were hiding, but he called to them anyway. (Nothing's really changed since then, has it?) Did he call...
- sternly?
- gruffly?
- in a sing-song voice with the high note on "are"?
- quietly?
- gently?
- as if playing hide-and-seek?
- like your best buddy?
- as if surprised?
- sadly?
- worriedly?
People sometimes wonder if they have ever seen an angel without realizing it. I wonder if I've ever seen God as he was walking in the garden.
5/08/2006
Astronomy 004
Genesis 1:14, 17-19 - And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.... God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning -- the fourth day.
I like astronomy, so this is one of my favorite days of creation. One of the most interesting things about it to me is God's stated purposes for creating these things.
To mark days is again a main task of the sun.
To mark years could be considered a combination of the sun's, moon's, and stars' tasks. How did the ancients know how long a year was? Perhaps that brings us to the seasons. How many seasons were there during the first year after creation? Two -- seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, wet and dry, summer and winter? Many believe that there was no rain until after the Flood in Noah's day. If so, how does that figure in with pre-Flood seasons? Were there four seasons as we name them today -- spring, summer, autumn, and winter? What was it about the heavenly bodies that marked the seasons (no matter how many there were)? Were seasons considered nearly the same as months; that is, from one new moon to the next?
Since I'm almost talking about the calendar here...How many months did the ancients' year contain? Thirteen would be a much better fit than twelve. Consider, 13 x 28 = 364. Allowing for cosmic slowdowns and other cataclysmic events over the past several thousands of years, the standard year may have stretched to just over 365 days since that first year. If the original month was exactly 28 days (four weeks, works nicely) from new moon to new moon, then 13 months makes a dandy year. No messing with leap years.
I think Gregory's geeks got it wrong. I think we should go (back?) to a 13-month calendar. Just tack Day 365 onto the end of the year without making it a certain day of the week or part of any month. Whenever we do need a leap day, just tack a second day on too and call it Day 366. Both of those days would be holidays for anyone and everyone who can take one.
I like astronomy, so this is one of my favorite days of creation. One of the most interesting things about it to me is God's stated purposes for creating these things.
- To separate the day from the night
- To mark seasons
- To mark days
- To mark years
- To govern the day and the night
- To give light on the earth
- To separate light from darkness
To mark days is again a main task of the sun.
To mark years could be considered a combination of the sun's, moon's, and stars' tasks. How did the ancients know how long a year was? Perhaps that brings us to the seasons. How many seasons were there during the first year after creation? Two -- seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, wet and dry, summer and winter? Many believe that there was no rain until after the Flood in Noah's day. If so, how does that figure in with pre-Flood seasons? Were there four seasons as we name them today -- spring, summer, autumn, and winter? What was it about the heavenly bodies that marked the seasons (no matter how many there were)? Were seasons considered nearly the same as months; that is, from one new moon to the next?
Since I'm almost talking about the calendar here...How many months did the ancients' year contain? Thirteen would be a much better fit than twelve. Consider, 13 x 28 = 364. Allowing for cosmic slowdowns and other cataclysmic events over the past several thousands of years, the standard year may have stretched to just over 365 days since that first year. If the original month was exactly 28 days (four weeks, works nicely) from new moon to new moon, then 13 months makes a dandy year. No messing with leap years.
I think Gregory's geeks got it wrong. I think we should go (back?) to a 13-month calendar. Just tack Day 365 onto the end of the year without making it a certain day of the week or part of any month. Whenever we do need a leap day, just tack a second day on too and call it Day 366. Both of those days would be holidays for anyone and everyone who can take one.
5/06/2006
...and there was light
Genesis 1:3-5 - And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning -- the first day.
There are so many unanswered questions about creation. It's nice to know that I don't have to know all the answers to get to heaven.
It seems that God created most of the "stuff" the universe is made of right at the very beginning and then sorted it all out during the first six days, adding some significant items from time to time.
Light, for instance. At first, there had been "darkness over the surface of the deep." When God first created light, it seems that it must have somehow been mixed with the darkness. Otherwise, why would it need to be separated? I don't pretend to understand how it could be mixed. Was it a sort of universal twilight? Remember too that the sun had not yet taken shape -- that didn't come until the fourth day. There must be some other light in the universe besides that given off by the sun and similar heavenly bodies. I seem to recall reading that scientists had actually measured this light at one time. I hope that story wasn't a fraud like the one that purported to account for the sun standing still for a day and the progression of shadows reversing itself for several hours. (More on those Scriptures in due time.)
How could there be an evening and a morning with no sun? I guess our current definition of evening and morning don't match God's. And did you notice that a day is defined as evening first and morning second? I wonder why that is. Is there any real significance to it or not?
Finally, a rant. To those who say these first six days of creation were longer than our current days, I say this: My God is bigger than your God. I will not limit his power that way. I'm not the first to be surprised that he didn't create the entire finished product in an instant. Why did he give us six days to wonder about? Maybe that question answers itself, hm?
There are so many unanswered questions about creation. It's nice to know that I don't have to know all the answers to get to heaven.
It seems that God created most of the "stuff" the universe is made of right at the very beginning and then sorted it all out during the first six days, adding some significant items from time to time.
Light, for instance. At first, there had been "darkness over the surface of the deep." When God first created light, it seems that it must have somehow been mixed with the darkness. Otherwise, why would it need to be separated? I don't pretend to understand how it could be mixed. Was it a sort of universal twilight? Remember too that the sun had not yet taken shape -- that didn't come until the fourth day. There must be some other light in the universe besides that given off by the sun and similar heavenly bodies. I seem to recall reading that scientists had actually measured this light at one time. I hope that story wasn't a fraud like the one that purported to account for the sun standing still for a day and the progression of shadows reversing itself for several hours. (More on those Scriptures in due time.)
How could there be an evening and a morning with no sun? I guess our current definition of evening and morning don't match God's. And did you notice that a day is defined as evening first and morning second? I wonder why that is. Is there any real significance to it or not?
Finally, a rant. To those who say these first six days of creation were longer than our current days, I say this: My God is bigger than your God. I will not limit his power that way. I'm not the first to be surprised that he didn't create the entire finished product in an instant. Why did he give us six days to wonder about? Maybe that question answers itself, hm?
5/05/2006
In the beginning...
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
What does "beginning" mean here? It means when "God created the heavens and the earth." Simple enough, right? The heavens and the earth are what we currently commonly call the universe. As I understand it, the ancient Hebrews had 3 "levels" of heavens: 1) the sky, 2) outer space, and 3) God's home, the opposite of what we call hell.
Is that all there is? God is eternal; he has always existed. Is our universe his one and only act of creation? Seems unlikely. Why should it be the only one? Does another of his creations exist right now? One could. Many could. If there are others, did God need to work out a plan of salvation for them like he did for us in sending his son Jesus into this creation? Maybe. Or maybe not. The others might not have become corrupt. The others might not even have creatures that could become corrupt. The others might have become corrupt, but God devised a different plan to fit the situation.
On a related note, I once heard or read that time began when God created our universe. Time began for us then, but doesn't God exist in time as well? He is eternal, yes. But that doesn't mean he's outside of the passage of time. To him, a day is like a thousand years and vice versa, but both indicate the passage of time. One thing happens after another; that's time. (What's used to measure the time is irrelevant.) "In the beginning...." That's our beginning. If God created something before us -- or if he did anything before creating us -- that shows the passage of time. The one happened before the other.
I understand that all of this is according to our way of thinking and that God's thoughts are so much higher (beyond understanding) than our thoughts. But this is the only way we can think about this, by definition. And by (our) definition, when God does one thing after another, he has spent some time doing so.
What does "beginning" mean here? It means when "God created the heavens and the earth." Simple enough, right? The heavens and the earth are what we currently commonly call the universe. As I understand it, the ancient Hebrews had 3 "levels" of heavens: 1) the sky, 2) outer space, and 3) God's home, the opposite of what we call hell.
Is that all there is? God is eternal; he has always existed. Is our universe his one and only act of creation? Seems unlikely. Why should it be the only one? Does another of his creations exist right now? One could. Many could. If there are others, did God need to work out a plan of salvation for them like he did for us in sending his son Jesus into this creation? Maybe. Or maybe not. The others might not have become corrupt. The others might not even have creatures that could become corrupt. The others might have become corrupt, but God devised a different plan to fit the situation.
On a related note, I once heard or read that time began when God created our universe. Time began for us then, but doesn't God exist in time as well? He is eternal, yes. But that doesn't mean he's outside of the passage of time. To him, a day is like a thousand years and vice versa, but both indicate the passage of time. One thing happens after another; that's time. (What's used to measure the time is irrelevant.) "In the beginning...." That's our beginning. If God created something before us -- or if he did anything before creating us -- that shows the passage of time. The one happened before the other.
I understand that all of this is according to our way of thinking and that God's thoughts are so much higher (beyond understanding) than our thoughts. But this is the only way we can think about this, by definition. And by (our) definition, when God does one thing after another, he has spent some time doing so.
5/02/2006
Wonderful
"Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" Those of you old enough to remember Lawrence Welk know that he often used that word to refer to music that his orchestra played. I'm using the word "wonderful" here to describe the truth of the Bible. I use it both in the joyful sense that Mr. Welk did and in a more literal sense meaning "full of wonder."
In that same sense, I think you'll find me "full of wonder" here too. There are lots of things that I wonder about as I read the Bible. It's not the doubting kind of wonder as if to question whether a passage is true or not. What you will read here is not meant to shake your faith in any way. It doesn't shake mine. This is instead most often a wonder about the "cracks." It's the stuff in between the lines and behind the scenes. If I had been there, what would it really have looked and sounded like? If a Hollywood director needed to fill in the gaps to make a watchable flick...that's the part I wonder about. And what about the smell, the taste, and the feel?
On top of all that, I sometimes wonder about the bits that God didn't need to tell us about and historians still haven't figured out. How tall...? What did they use to...? Did anyone ever...? Questions of that ilk.
If you are interested in this type of wonderment too, visit here from time to time. Add your comments. Maybe even try to answer some of my questions.
So, on to the wonderful truth....
In that same sense, I think you'll find me "full of wonder" here too. There are lots of things that I wonder about as I read the Bible. It's not the doubting kind of wonder as if to question whether a passage is true or not. What you will read here is not meant to shake your faith in any way. It doesn't shake mine. This is instead most often a wonder about the "cracks." It's the stuff in between the lines and behind the scenes. If I had been there, what would it really have looked and sounded like? If a Hollywood director needed to fill in the gaps to make a watchable flick...that's the part I wonder about. And what about the smell, the taste, and the feel?
On top of all that, I sometimes wonder about the bits that God didn't need to tell us about and historians still haven't figured out. How tall...? What did they use to...? Did anyone ever...? Questions of that ilk.
If you are interested in this type of wonderment too, visit here from time to time. Add your comments. Maybe even try to answer some of my questions.
So, on to the wonderful truth....
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