“The blind leading the blind,” as told in the DOR Gospel for Monday, November 9…

Ever since Thursday, October 29, the Old Testament Daily Office Readings have been from the Book of Nehemiah.  (Interspersed with readings from Ezra.)  So today I’ll focus on these two men, along with the parable of Jesus about the blind leading the blind, as shown above.

Nehemiah worked to rebuild the city walls around Jerusalem at the end of the Babylonian exile. And together, Ezra and Nehemiah both worked to restore the glory of Israel.

Here’s what happened.  In 606 B.C., Babylon‘s king – Nebuchadnezzar – conquered Judea and its capital Jerusalem.  Then came the first of many Jewish mass deportations, and especially of:

… young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace;  they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

See Daniel 1 (verses 1-7), especially Daniel 1:4.  (The image at left shows Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, as told in Daniel 2.)  So anyway,  this particular deportation – or exile – lasted some 66 years.  (605 B.C. to about 539 B.C.  That’s when some exiled Jews began returning “to the land of Judah.”)

Here’s what Wikipedia said of Nehemiah and Ezra:

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one scroll…  Later the Jews divided this scroll and called it First and Second Ezra.  Modern Hebrew Bibles call the two books Ezra and Nehemiah, as do other modern Bible translations…    Ezra, a descendant of Seraiah the high priest, was living in Babylon when … Artaxerxes, king of Persia, the king sent him to Jerusalem…    Some years later Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah (a Jewish noble in his personal service) to Jerusalem as governor…

Together, the books tell of the return from exile in three different stages: 1) The initial return and rebuilding the Temple;  2)  The missions of Ezra and Nehemiah;  and 3)  The story of Nehemiah, “interrupted by a collection of miscellaneous lists and part of the story of Ezra.”  (Which explains the order of Daily Office Readings since October 29.)

Ezra’s job was to “teach the laws of God,” to both returning exiles and those who’d been Left Behind in Judea.  That is, Ezra himself – seen at right in an iconograph – led a number of exiles back to Jerusalem from Babylon.  Once there he found that “Jewish men had been marrying non-Jewish women.”  He responded as follows:

He tore his garments in despair and confessed the sins of Israel before God, then braved the opposition of some of his own countrymen to purify the community by enforcing the dissolution of the sinful marriages.

On the other hand, Nehemiah’s mission was to rebuild and repair the city walls.  (During the exile the walls of Jerusalem had crumbled into disrepair.)

As told earlier in Nehemiah 6:15, the walls were rebuilt in just 52 days.  (Of constant, round-the-clock effort, and despite an ongoing “constant threat of those who opposed their efforts, including the armies of Samaria, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites.”)  Then came this:

Once this task was completed Nehemiah had Ezra read the Law of Moses (the Torah) to the assembled Israelites, and the people and priests entered into a covenant to keep the law and separate themselves from all other peoples.

See also Nehemiah – Wikipedia (with the image at left), and Nehemiah—The Man Behind the Wall – Biblical Archaeology Society.

Now, getting back to the reading for Monday, November 9…

The specific OT reading is Nehemiah 9:1-15(16-25).  It’s a long one, and begins with the people of Israel re-assembled, with “fasting and in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.”  Ezra then recited a prayer recalling the history of Israel, with “signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our ancestors.”

The prayer in today’s reading ended with Ezra’s note that after they entered the Promised Land, the Children of Israel “ate, and were filled and became fat, and delighted in your great goodness.”  But that happiness was short-lived, and ultimately led to defeat and exile:

Here we are, slaves to this day – slaves in the land that you [God] gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts.  Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you [God] have set over us because of our sins;  they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

That reading from the next day – Tuesday, November 10 – could serve as a warning to those today who choose to become “fat, filled, and delighted.”  (See Nehemiah. 9:26-38.  And in some foreshadowing, Pieter Brueghel the Elder did the engraving at right, “Gluttony,” in 1558.)

Then too, that warning could apply whether taken literally, metaphorically, “or otherwise.”  Which is another way of saying toa Baby Christian,  “It is to vigor – not comfort – that you are called.”  (See On a dame and a mystic, and/or The basics, above.)

On a similar note, the Gospel for today – Matthew 15:1-20 – includes this:

“This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

And finally, that Gospel for today included the parable of The blind leading the blind.

This metaphor was memorably illustrated by Pieter Brueghel the Elder – his self-portrait is at left – and as discussed below:

The painting reflects Bruegel’s mastery of observation.  Each figure has a different eye affliction, including corneal leukoma, atrophy of globe and removed eyes.  The men hold their heads aloft to make better use of their other senses.  The diagonal composition reinforces the off-kilter motion of the six figures falling in progression.  It is considered a masterwork for its accurate detail and composition.

But what the heck does this parable – and Matthew 15:8-9 – mean?  

The Phrase Finder said it was likely “inherited from the Upanishads – the sacred Hindu treatises … written between 800 BC and 200 BC and first translated into English between 1816-19:”

From Katha Upanishad we have [this]:  “Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.”

(See also “Great minds think alike,” in the Free Dictionary and Phrase Finder versions.)

And Dictionary.com said the expression blind leading the blind applies to “leaders who know as little as their followers and are therefore likely to lead them astray.”  (As in, “When it comes to science and technology, many politicians know as little as the average citizen; they’re the blind leading the blind.”)   Which sounds about right… 

So the lesson could be this:  “Don’t go around ‘in the midst of ignorance, thinking yourself wise and learned…'”  Or as it says in Ecclesiasticus 5:5, “Do not be so confident of forgiveness that you add sin upon sin.”   (See also On Ecclesiasticus – NOT “Ecclesiastes“.)

“Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem’s Walls,” from Monday’s OT reading…

The upper image is courtesy of The blind leading the blind – Wikipedia.  The full caption:  “The Blind Leading the Blind by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568.”

For more on the “Babylonian Exile” at issue, see Shadrach “et al.” and the Fiery Furnace.  As to the “why” of rebuilding the walls, see Why was it important to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem?

Re: The relation of Artaxerxes to Nebuchadnezzar.  See Ahasuerus – Wikipedia, which noted first that the “name Ahasuerus is equivalent to the Greek name Xerxes.”  Also, “Ahasuerus is also given as the name of a King of Persia in the Book of Ezra.  Modern commentators associate him with Xerxes I who reigned from 486 BC until 465 BC.”   (For what all that’s worth…)

The image of Ezra is courtesy of Ezra – Wikipedia.  The full caption: “Ezra from Guillaume Rouillé‘s Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum.”   Rouillé (c.1518–1589) was a “prominent humanist bookseller-printer“ in 16th-century Lyon.  “He invented the pocket book format … printed with sixteen leaves [and] half the size of the octavo format.”   Iconography is a branch of art history concerned with the “identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images.”  The word comes from the Greek words for “image” and “to write.”

Re:  “This people honors me with their lips…”  In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus cited Isaiah 29:13.  Thus – as noted in the Pulpit Commentary – He and a host of other prophets rejected literalism:”

“They use the prescribed forms of worship, guard with much care the letter of Scripture, observe its legal and ceremonial enactments, are strict in the practice of all outward formalities…”  [In other words:]  “Prayers, sacrifices, etc., are altogether unacceptable unless inspired by inward devotion, and accompanied by purity of heart.” (E.A.)

Which is pretty much the theme of this blog…

The “Gluttony” and “Brueghel” images are courtesy of the Wikipedia article describing the specific painting, and the “artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder” link contained therein.  The caption for the latter: “The Painter and The Connoisseur, c. 1565 is thought to be Bruegel’s self-portrait.”

The “vigor-comfort” quote is from Practical Mysticism, with more advice for a new Christian:

Hearing now and again the mysterious piping of the Shepherd, you realize your own perpetual forward movement . . . and so are able to handle life with a surer hand.  Do not suppose from this that your new career is to be perpetually supported by agreeable spiritual contacts, or occupy itself in the mild contemplation of the great world through which you move.  True, it is said of the Shepherd that he carries the lambs in his bosom; but the sheep are expected to walk, and to put up with the bunts and blunders of the flock.  It is to vigor rather than comfort that you are called.  (E.A.)

Evelyn Underhill, Ariel Press (1914), at page 177.  See also Evelyn Underhill – Wikipedia.

Re:  “Ecclesiasticus.”  It’s also known as The Book of the All-Virtuous Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira … commonly called the Wisdom of Sirach or simply Sirach.  See Wikipedia.

The lower image is courtesy of Nehemiah – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The full caption:  “Gustave Doré, Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem’s Walls, 1866.”

Gene Autry “the Singing Cowboy,” on Champion, and no doubt glad to be “back in the saddle…”

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In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m back in the saddle after three weeks out of town.  (Part of that time was spent on the Columbia River, near Astoria, on unfinished canoe-trip business, as noted in On the OTHER readings for August.)  I left town on Monday August 10, and got back August 27.

My last post featured an analysis of the Sunday Bible readings for August 16, 23 and 30.  This post will feature highlights from the Daily Office Readings that I read, all during my three-week hiatus away from home and the daily routine.

To begin with, the main readings for August 10 – the day I flew out west – were 2 Samuel 13:23-39, Acts 20:17-38, and Mark 9:42-50.  The first (OT) reading had David’s son Absalom fleeing, after killing his brother Amnon, for raping his half-sister Tamar.  (She was Absalom’s “full sister.”)  That all led to Absalom’s attempted coup d’état, discussed in On the readings for August 9.  (Where he ended up literally “hanging from a tree.”)   In the second reading, Paul took a tearful departure from Miletus, after his “last visit to Jerusalem and arrest:”

When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. ³⁷There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, ³⁸grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again.

In the Gospel, Jesus discussed stumbling blocks, and how we should avoid them.

The readings for August 15 – the day that my brother and I launched our canoe from Rainier, Oregon (as shown at left) – were 2 Samuel 16:1-23, Acts 22:17-29, and Mark 11:1-11.

In the first (OT) reading, Absalom had public sex with his father David’s wives and concubines, after capturing Jerusalem and forcing his father – the king – to flee.  (Thus fulfilling the prophecy against David – that “the sword will never depart from your house” – for his part in the death of Uriah the Hittite.)

In the second (NT) reading, Paul made his defense to the charges leading to his arrest, and got an apology from the Roman guard, for almost flogging a Roman citizen (Paul) “who is uncondemned.”  The Gospel told of Jesus and His triumphal/triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  (Though there is some debate whether he rode one donkey or a donkey and a colt, as indicated by a literal reading.  See Were one or two animals brought to Jesus? | Donkey and colt.)

The readings for August 17 – the day we paddled 21 miles to reach Astoria after getting up at 3:00 in the morning – were 2 Samuel 17:24-18:8, Acts 22:30-23:11, and Mark 11:12-26.  The OT reading told of David marshaling his forces against those of his son Absalom – the usurper king – leading to a battle that David won, “and the slaughter there was great on that day…  The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.”  And which led to Absalom’s death, as noted above.

The New Testament featured that part of Paul’s trial where he set the Sadducees against the Pharisees, thus illustrating the concept of divide and conquer.  (The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, while the Pharisees – and Paul – did believe in such things.)  It also included Paul insulting a high priest, thus violating Exodus 22:28.  (See also On dissin’ the Prez.)

The Gospel for August 17 featured Jesus cursing the fig tree – as shown at right – and also expelling the money-changers from the Temple.

All of which meant that the month of August 2015 was a busy time in the Daily Office Readings.  (All of which I read on a daily basis, except when we were out of cell-phone-and-internet range on the Columbia.  And incidentally, it took Lewis and Clark ten days to cover the last 16 miles of their journey down the Columbia, “because of bad weather.”  See for example “Ocian In View”- Oregon Coast – Ancestry.com.)  But because of a lot of advance knowledge that they didn’t have – including pre-published tide tables – we managed to cover 56 miles in three short days; averaging four hours of paddling per day instead of our usual six.)

And finally, the Old Testament reading for Thursday, August 27 – the day I flew back to God’s Country (the outskirts of Atlanta) – was 1 Kings 3:16-28.  It told the story of the Judgment of Solomon, which led to the expressions “splitting the baby” or “cutting the baby in half:”

The expressions “splitting the baby” or “cutting the baby in half” are sometimes used in the legal profession for a form of simple compromise:  solutions which “split the difference” in terms of damage awards or other remedies (e.g. a judge dividing fault between the two parties in a comparative negligence case).

Briefly, two women – “prostitutes” in the Satucket translation – came to King Solomon fighting over a baby.  The two women lived together, and each had a baby about the same age.  But one died in the night, and the dispute was about the mother of the dead baby switching the two during the night, and claiming the living baby was hers.

Solomon had to decide which woman was telling the truth.

In the end, he ordered the living baby cut in two, with a half going to each woman.  One woman said that was all right with her, but the other said no, give the baby to her rival:

The king declared the first mother as the true mother, as a true, loving mother would rather surrender her baby to another than hurt him, and gave her the baby.  King Solomon’s judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.

The New Testament reading for August 27 was Acts 27:27-44.

The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan.  He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship.  And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

Which may well be a metaphor for Yours Truly being brought back safely home…

The Gospel for August 27 was Mark 14:12-26, which told of Jesus having His disciples prepare the Passover feast – as shown at left –  and in preparation for His Crucifixion.  The reading included Mark 14:13, where Jesus sent two disciples, saying “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him.”

So what was strange about that?

Just this:  Carrying water in that time and place was woman’s work.  Accordingly, “The man is likely inconvenienced and possibly embarrassed to carry such a water pitcher.”  See Margaret Feinberg: Wonderstruck – LifeWay, which further noted the first part of Joshua 9:

When the Gibeonites deceived Joshua (9:3-27), he judged them and made them servants to chop wood and carry water.  This punishment may seem mild to us, but how humiliating it was to a man – carrying water in public – a woman’s job!

See also Squaw – Wikipedia, which noted that to Native Americans, the term squaw man “became a derogatory adjective,” as in to denote a “man who does woman’s work.”

All of which just goes to show:  There’s more to the Bible than meets the eye!

Which is precisely why I’m doing this blog…

The upper image is courtesy of  www.americaremembers.com/product/gene-autry-tribute-rifle.  The site offers the Gene Autry Tribute Rifle, honoring “The Singing Cowboy:” 

Of all the cowboys who rode the range during the golden age of westerns, Gene Autry remains one of the most popular. He starred in more than 90 feature films, and was the first major star to enter television.  In 1937, Gene was ranked as Hollywood’s top western star and he remained number one for years…  At a time when the world seemed simpler … when good guys wore white hats and a cowboy’s best friend was his horse[, he] was the ultimate hero.

Re: “Champion.”  As noted in Champion the Wonder Horse – Wikipedia, there were actually “three official Champions that appeared in Gene Autry films.  The original Champion was a dark sorrel with a blaze face and white stockings on all his legs except the right front.”  The second, “Champion Jr.,” was a “lighter sorrel with four stockings and a narrow blaze ending in an arrow tip.”  Finally, “Auty’s third screen horse was Television Champion, also a light sorrel with four white stockings, but with a wide blaze that covered his nose.”  Thus the top image features the third, “Television Champion.”

See also Back in the Saddle Again – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The “Rainier” image is courtesy of City of Rainier – Home.

Re: Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem and arrest.  See Paul the Apostle – Wikipedia.

The “fig tree” image is courtesy of the cursing the fig tree article, and has  the caption:  “Byzantine icon of the cursing of the fig tree.”

The “Passover” image is courtesy of Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder? – Biblical Archaeology Society.

The lower image is courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Nicolas_Poussin_-_The Judgment of Solomon.  See also Judgment of Solomon – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Burning Fiery Furnace…”

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Friday, April 17, 2015  –  The last time I reviewed a Daily Office Reading was on Friday, March 13.  That post was Jeremiah weeping and Jesus’ “stoning.”  It included this:

The last time I did background and color commentary on Daily Office Readings (DORs) was on February 20.  That post was The True Test of Faith.  It talked about how two different Christians might react if they died, and only then found out that there was no God, no afterlife and no “reward for being good.”

This post is a variation on that theme.  The theme here is:  “What is a true test of faith?” In this post the true test of faith was the threat of getting thrown into a “burning fiery furnace,” while not knowing – or even caring – if God would do anything to stop it…

Starting Monday, April 12, the Old Testament Readings (OTRs) were from the Book of Daniel.  (See Daniel 1:1-21.)   Daniel is best known for getting thrown into a lion’s den, but his book includes lots of other good stuff, including an early apocalypse.  (A better known apocalypse is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.)

The Old Testament readings from Daniel – for today and tomorrow, April 17 and 18 – tell the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  (See also Daniel 3:1-18, and 3:19-30.)

Here’s what happened.  In 606 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Judea and its capital Jerusalem.  Then came the first of many Jewish mass deportations, and especially of:

…young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace;  they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

Daniel 1:4.  See also Babylonian captivity (or exile) – Wikipedia.

That is, the Babylonian Army conquered the “ancient Kingdom of Judah,” and among other things forced a number of highly-educated, upper-class Hebrews into exile.  They were then forced to serve the king in his capital city of Babylon, some 53 miles south of present-day Baghdad.

(Note also “Babylonian” and “Chaldean” are interchangeable, and refer to a tribe of nomads who first lived in now-southern-Iraq.  The map shows the Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent.)

In further words, it was the hoity-toity, the well-educated and/or upper-class Hebrews who got taken away to live in exile in Babylon.  (An exile that many of them found quite surprisingly pleasant.)  In still further words, the riffraff  got left back at home.

So anyway, getting back to the story…   Daniel and his three friends were among the “handsome young men” who got deported to Babylon and taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.  The three friends were originally named Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but by royal decree their original Hebrew names were changed, to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

(Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar, about which more later.)

And the king gave three men prominent positions within his administration.  (They were made “administrators over the province of Babylon.” Daniel 2:49.)  But there’s always a catch…

In this case the catch was that King Nebuchadnezzer had a giant golden statue of himself built.  Then he ordered that all his subjects bow down and worship it – him – whenever they heard “the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble.” Daniel 3:5,7.

The king further ordered that “whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” Daniel 3:6.  And so – to make a long story short – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to fall down and worship a foreign “god,” and especially because Nebuchadnezzar was a mere man himself.

As a result they got thrown into the burning fiery furnace, just as the king had threatened.  But the real kicker in the story comes at Daniel 3:16-18.  There the three men – about to be thrown into the burning, fiery furnace – gave their answer to King Nebuchadnezzer:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defence to you in this matter.  If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Note the emphasized “But if not…”  So what the three men were really saying was something like this:  “O Nebuchadnezzar, it’s up to God Himself to decide if He’ll deliver us out of your hands from this dreadful, painful and agonizing death.  God certainly has the power to save us, but even if He decides not to, we will still believe in and follow Him…”

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 Now that is a true test(ament) of faith…

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Another guy who gave a “true test(ament) of faith…”

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The upper image is courtesy of Shadrach Meshach And Abednego Mallord Turner Image – Image Results. The image itself is from the books collection published in 1885, Stuttgart-Germany. Drawings by Gustave Dore. See also Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Burning Fiery Furnace, and the Tate Gallery, or “Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG, United Kingdom.” The Tate Gallery (London) is – by its own admission – the “home of British art from 1500 to the present day.” The full caption of that painting: “Joseph Mallord William Turner[‘s painting:]   Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Burning Fiery Furnace exhibited 1832:”

Turner exhibited this picture in 1832, with a passage from the Bible (Daniel iii, 26).  This told how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego emerged unharmed from the fiery furnace they had been thrown into for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (visible in the distance).

In turn, “J. M. W. Turner” (1775-1851) – who did the painting – was an “English Romanticist landscape painter, water-colourist, and printmaker.”   Some contemporaries thought him too controversial, but he’s come to be regarded as “the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting.”  His oil paintings were good, but “Turner is also one of the greatest masters of British watercolour landscape painting.”  He was known as “the painter of light,” and his paintings – oil and watercolor – are seen as a “Romantic preface to Impressionism.” See Wikipedia.

The lower image is courtesy of Daniel and the Lions Den – Hebrew Bible and Art.  The painting itself is by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), “the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim.  He moved to Paris in 1891 to study, and decided to stay there, being readily accepted in French artistic circles.   His painting entitled Daniel in the Lions’ Den was accepted into the 1896 Salon.”  The painting itself “uses light to symbolize [G]od’s presence.  It is simple and there is not a lot of detail but it gets the point across.”  See also Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Re: “et al.”  The term is “short for et alia, a Latin phrase meaning and the others,” or in the alternative, “and others.”  The term is often used in the title of legal cases, as in: IN THE MATTER OF VITO J. SETTINERI, ET AL., RESPONDENTS, v. ROBERT J. DICARLO, ET AL., APPELLANTS.

Re: Chaldeans.  They were “an intelligent and sometimes aggressive, warlike people,” who generally lived in “southern Babylonia which would be the southern part of Iraq today:”

Sometimes the term Chaldeans is used to refer to Babylonians in general, but normally it refers to a specific semi-nomadic tribe that lived in the southern part of Babylon.  The land of the Chaldeans was the southern portion of Babylon or Mesopotamia.  It was generally thought to be an area about 400 miles long and 100 miles wide alongside of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

It turned out that in the fullness of time, Babylon ended up being ruled by a string of such Chaldeans, while other tribesmen became members of the ruling elite.  As in, those Chaldeans who “influenced Nebuchadnezzar’s decision to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:8).”  See Who were the Chaldeans in the Bible? – GotQuestions.org.

Re: the capital city of Babylon.  See Babylon – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:  “The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah … Iraq, about 85 kilometres (53 mi) south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris.”

Re: Daniel 3:17.  An alternate translation:   “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.” For more on this subject see: What should we learn from the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Shadrach, Meshach, And Abednego – Bible Story Summary, and/or The Burning Fiery Furnace – Wikipedia.

The first article, What should we learn, had this to say:

God does not always guarantee that we will never suffer or experience death, but He does promise to be with us always.  We should learn that in times of trial and persecution our attitude should reflect that of these three young men:  “But even if he does not…”  (Daniel 3:18).  Without question, these are some of the most courageous words ever spoken.

And incidentally, the fire was so hot that the soldiers assigned to throw the three men into the fire got burnt to a crisp. See Daniel 3:22.    (Which surely presents some kind of object lesson…)

“Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem…”

Friday, March 13, 2015 – The last time I did background and color commentary on Daily Office Readings (DORs) was on February 20.  That post was The True Test of Faith.  It talked about how two different Christians might react if they died, and only then found out that there was no God, no afterlife and no “reward for being good.”

This post will start off with today’s readings:  Jeremiah 11:1-8,14-20; Romans 6:1-11; and John 8:33-47.  For starters,  Jeremiah was known as “the Weeping Prophet,” as shown above.

He is also credited with writing “the Book of Jeremiah, 1 Kings, 2 Kings and the Book of Lamentations.”  He is considered a major prophet, quoted often in the New Testament.  It has been said that he first “spiritualized and individualized religion and insisted upon the primacy of the individual’s relationship with God.”  (As opposed to having to belong to a special group.)

Of particular interest is Jeremiah 11:19, “I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter,” a victim of those who “plotted against me.”  The International Bible Commentary added this:

In the plot by relatives and neighbors to kill him Jeremiah prefigures Christ who said that a prophet has no honor in his own country and that a man’s foes shall be those of his own household.  (Matthew 10:36 .)

Paul’s Letter to the Romans is the “longest of the Pauline epistles and is considered his ‘most important theological legacy.'”  One scholar considered it his masterpiece:

It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages…   Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach.  What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision.  (E.A.)

For today, Romans 6:1-11 spoke of “Dying and Rising with Christ.”  The IBC said of Romans 6:1-14, that it is “easier to consider the passage as a whole rather than verse by verse.”   Paul wrote in part that “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.”  The gist of the message is that just as Jesus was raised from the dead, by following him “we too might walk in newness of life.”  The IBC added this about the new (reborn) Christian:

When he is incorporated into Christ on profession of faith, he is given a personal share in the great events of Christ’s work and transferred from his old existence to a new plane of life.

He is “incorporated,” and given a share in the work of Jesus, including performing greater miracles than He did.  (John 14:12.)  The new Christian is thus brought to a new plane of life.

Turning to the Gospel, John 8:33-47 tells about Jesus describing the “true children of Abraham.”  John 8:31 noted that Jesus addressed “the Jews who had believed him.”  He said if they held to His word, they would know the truth “and the truth will set you free.”  One of the best-known verses in the Bible, but not without controversy.   See The Truth Will Set You Free | Psychology Today (August 2014), compared to The Truth Will Not Set You Free | Psychology Today (May 2012).

The main reading features some arguable witty banter between Jesus and those who “had believed him,” mostly concerning their kinship to Abraham.  The banter culminated with John 8:58, featured in the Gospel reading for tomorrow, March 14.  That’s where Jesus said, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  In turn, “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”  (See also Stoning – Wikipedia.)

Note that in saying “before Abraham was born, I am” (emphasis added), Jesus was harking back to Exodus 3:14.  That was just after Moses had seen the Burning bush, and been told to go back to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves.  When Moses asked God’s name – knowing the Hebrews would ask that question of him – “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”

This then was why Jesus kept getting threatened with stoning.  See  John 5:18, “not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”  See also Leviticus 24:16, “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD is to be put to death.  The entire assembly must stone them.  Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.“

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On a somewhat related note, the New Testament reading for last Friday, March 6 was Romans 2:25-3:18.  A key theme there seemed to be that you aren’t saved by observing the “minutiae” of religious ritual, no matter what the Legalists and/or Fundamentalists say.  See also On “another brick in the wall.”  The International Bible Commentary said this about Romans 2:25-29:

The hearers of God without God may be compared to a traveller who remains standing under the signpost instead of moving in the direction to which it directs him.  The signpost has become meaningless…   Being a “Jew” depends not upon rite, race, or written code, but upon an attitude of heart.

The IBC cited Deuteronomy 10:16, Jeremiah 4:4, and Acts 7:51 for that proposition.  See also the Pulpit Commentary for Acts 7:51, regarding circumcision as an “outward sign of faith:”

Circumcision was never meant to be an end in itself.  The physical mark was meant to be accompanied by a deep spiritual commitment to God.  Where commitment was absent, circumcision soon degenerated into ritualism.  (E.A.)

See also Romans 2:17-29 | Bible.org.   See also the Gospel reading for Saturday February 28, John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

That’s what this blog is about.  Trying to get beyond the literal meaning of the Bible, and get to those richer, deeper spiritual meaning of those readings…

The upper image is courtesy of Jeremiah – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The caption reads:  “Rembrandt van Rijn, Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, c. 1630.”

The lower image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article Zechariah ben Jehoiada, contained within the article on Stoning.  Zechariah was the prophet “who denounced the people’s disobedience to the commandments,” as noted in 2 Chronicles 24:21.  (See also Matthew 23:35.)  The caption reads: “The Murder of Zechariah by William Brassey Hole.”