Seder 41: Zechariah 10-11---Shepherds Good and Bad

 In the Ancient Near East, rulers were often referred to as shepherds.  

This is a familiar image in the Bible, where God is often likened to a shepherd (Ps 23:1; 80:1; Isa 40:11; Jer 31:10; Eze 34) and the Messiah is pictured as a Shepherd (Eze 34:23; 37:24; Micah 5:4).  It is fitting, then. that Jacob and his sons were shepherds ( Ge 46); and that David, an ancestor of the Messiah, was a shepherd as well.  

Zechariah 10, like Ezekiel 34, laments the poor leadership of Israel's human shepherds and contrasts their unreliability with the faithfulness of God, Israel's true shepherd (verses 2-3).  

Another similiarity between Zechariah 10 and Ezekiel 34 is that both of these prophecies speak of the Messiah.  In Ezekiel 34:23 the Messiah is a good shepherd from the line of David.  In Zechariah 10:4, the Messiah is a descendant of Judah who is "the cornerstone,", "the tent peg," and "the battle bow," metaphors that describe his leadership and strength.  

In Zechariah 10:6-12 God promises a future restoration of Israel, with people returning to the Promised Land in a new Exodus.  

Zechariah 11 seems to indicate that before a final restoration, Israel would come under divine judgment.  Shepherd imagery is again prominent in this chapter, as the prophet Zechariah apparently is asked to act out the part of a shepherd.  He takes up two staffs called "favor" and "union."  He reports, "and I tended the sheep" (v. 7), presumably meaning that rhe epresents a good shepherd.  

Zechariah goes on to say, "In one month I destroyed the three shepherds" (verse 8).  Lots of possibilities have been suggested for the identities of these three shepherds.  Commentator Kenneth Barker (EBC) mentions several, including 

• Eleazar, John, and Simon, leaders of three factions during the disastrous revolt of 66-73 AD;
• Seleucid leaders Antiochus IV, Heliodorus, and Demetrius during the time of the Maccabean revolt; 
• Corrupt high priests Jason, Menelaus, and Alcimus of the early second century BC;
• Three classes of leaders---prophets, priests, and kings.
  

Zechariah then mentions that he was detested as shepherd, an indication of Israel rejecting a good shepherd.  As a result, Zechariah breaks the staff called "favor," a symbol of a time of divine protection coming to an end; and also breaks the staff called "union," symbolizing disunity in Israel.  

This is one of the Bible's most cryptic prophecies, so we should not be dogmatic about what constitutes its fulfillment.  Overall, we see a familiar pattern of judgment followed by restoration, with the message that God, our faithful Shepherd, is in charge.  

Seder 40: Joshua 14-15---Caleb and Othniel: More Leaders from the Tribe of Judah

 In the Joseph story in Genesis 37-50, Judah emerges as the leader among the sons of Jacob.  At the climax of the story in Genesis 44:18-34, Judah serves as spokesman for the sons of Jacob.  He gives an impassioned speech before Joseph, offering to take Benjamin's place as a slave in Egypt.  In his book on Joseph, John Lennox has called it "one of the greatest and most moving speeches in all literature." 

Judah's speech showed Joseph that his brothers had come to repentance.  When given every incentive to abandon Benjamin in Egypt, they refused to do so.  It was then the right time for Joseph to reveal himself to his brothers.  

The tribe of Judah would prove to be a leader among the tribes of Israel.  One example is in the conquest of Canaan.  When it came time for land to be allotted to the tribes, Caleb stepped forward and asked for Hebron, a place he had visited over 45 years before and had believed ever since that God could help him take (Jos 14:6-15).  

His request was granted, and he did indeed take the lead in capturing his allotted portion of land (Jos 15:13-19).  In this he was aided by his younger brother Othniel, who led in taking Kiriath-sepher, which was apparently a special challenge.  

Kiriath-sepher means "city of the book."  A midrash based on this name proposes that Othniel was also one who captured wisdom from God's book.  Nechama Price, in her book Tribal Blueprints, explains that according to this tradition, Othniel was "able to learn 1700 Torah secrets that were forgotten during the mourning period for Moshe."  It is also proposed that the descendants of Jethro moved to the  territory of Judah (Jdg 1:16) to learn this wisdom.  

At any rate, Othniel went on to be a judge of Israel who delivered the nation from a Mesopotamian oppressor (Jdg 3:7-11).

Seder 39: Jeremiah 40-44----Going Back to Egypt

 For Abraham and his descendants Egypt could be both a place of refuge and a place of bondage.  Abram and Sarai sojourned there during a time of famine (Ge 12:10-20).  Isaac was instructed not to go there in a similar situation (Ge 26:2).  Jacob and his family were honored guests there during the time when Joseph was viceroy of Egypt, then later were enslaved by the Egyptians before God rescued them in the days of Moses.    

The question of whether to seek refuge in Egypt arose again hundreds of years later.  

When the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah in 586 BC, they took King Zedekiah captive and installed Gedaliah as governor at Mizpah (2 Ki 25; Jer 40).  Although Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, those remaining in Judea would have an opportunity to live in peace under Gedaliah's governorship.

That peaceful existence was over almost before it started.  Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, a member of the royal line of Judah acting on behalf of the king of Ammon, assembled a group of ten men that assassinated Gedaliah and killed those around him (Jer 40-41).  Taking some capitives from Mizpah, they started toward Ammon (41:10). 

Ishmael was stopped by a Judean military man, Johanon son of Kareah.  Johanon forced Ishmael to flee, to the gratitude of the captives (vv 11-15).  But Johanon and these people from Mizpah then began to worry about how the Babylonians might respmd to the assassination of Gedaliah.  Would the safest thing to do be to seek refuge in Egypt?  They headed in that direction.  

Hoping to confirm their decision, they asked Jeremiah to pray for them and find out God's will.  They promised to do whatever God indicated (42:1-6).  The group had apparently picked up Jeremiah at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem (41:17).   

Jeremiah received an answer from God ten days later, but it was not what Johanon and his followers wanted to hear.  God made clear that the group should stay in Judea, where he promised to protect them.  But if they went on to Egypt, they would die there (vv 7-22).  

Sadly, they refused to heed Jeremiah and accused the prophet of lying (43:1-7), and they went on to Egypt. Even worse, many Jews in Egypt turned to other gods.  Jeremiah called them to repentance, warning that few of them would survive (Jer 44).

The book of Jeremiah does not tell us what eventually happened to Jeremiah.  Commentator Michael Brown (REBC commentary on Jeremiah) explains that according to some traditions (see e.g., Seder Olam Rabbah 26), Jeremiah and Baruch later were taken from Egypt to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.  On the other hand, there is another tradition that Jeremiah was stoned to death in Egypt.

Seder 38: Genesis 42:24---Why Simeon?

Joseph used his position as viceroy of Egypt to promote repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in his family.  When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food furing a famine, he accused them of being spies, then  detained one of them---Simeon---and ordered the others to bring back their brother Benjamin.  

Genesis 42 doesn't tell us why Simeon was the one Joseph chose to detain.  A number of ideas have been proposed, as discussed by Nechama Price in her book Tribal Blueprints.  

One possibility is based on the fact that Joseph's oldest brother Reuben had not gone along with the proposal of killing Joseph  (Ge 37:21-22; 42:22).  Simeon was the second oldest and should be held responsible for what happened.  

Another possibility is that Simeon was more directly responsible for what happened to Joseph.  Perhaps he was the one who proposed the idea of killing Joseph.  After all, he and Levi had been the leaders in the Shechem massacre (Ge 34:25), and they seemed to have violent tendencies.  If Simeon and Levi together were the authors of the plan to kill Joseph, perhaps Joseph decided to split up this dangerous duo by detaining one of them.

Seder 37: Isaiah 29---Judgment, then Hope

 The biblical prophets often follow warnings of judgment with messages of hope.  Hope is the final word, but unless the people repent, they will have to endure judgment before reaching that final step.

We see such a pattern in Isaiah 29, which refers to the people of Judah as an ``altar hearth'' (a probable translation of "Ariel", as in Ezekiel 43:15-16).  The people often assume that if they carry out the Temple riturals correctly, God will be obligated to bless them (verses 1,13), and they will be safe from the kind of foreign invasion that befell their brothers in the northern kingdom of Israel.  

But from God's point of view, the people are not truly worshiping him; they are just going through the motions.  As a result, they will eventually face judgment.  Jerusalem will be like an altar hearth with the kingdom of Judah as the sacrificial victim (verse 2).  

Verse 4 pictures the nation brought low like the dust.  Commentator John Oswalt sees a possible allusion to some kind of worship of the dead and occult activity going on in Judah.  

The God of Israel is also the King over all nations, and he will judge the nations too (verses 5-8). Jerusalem's enemies may see themselves devouring the holy city, but it will be like a person dreaming about a big dinner and waking up hungry.  

Sadly, the people of Judah at this point are just as blind as their enemies, both because they have blinded themselves and because God has then chosen to leave them blind (vv 9-14).  When people do not want to hear God's word, sometimes he will let them have their way for awhile.  

Some royal counselors were recommending that Judah turn to Egypt for help against Assyria (see chapters 30-31).  It may be these counselors who are in view in Isaiah 29:15-16, those who are trying to hide their plans from God--i.e., hide their plans from God's prophet Isaiah.  

Judah instead should trust God for deliverance, Isaiah says.  God ultimately would bring spiritual transformation to the nation, including an end to the blindness described in verses 11-12.  Righteousness, justice, and prosperity would come to the land (verses 18-24).  

Verse 8, with its reference to dreams, links Isaiah 29 with Genesis 41 in Jewish tradition.  The kind of reversal described at the end of Isaiah 29 might also be compared with Joseph's coming to power in Genesis 41.       

Seder 36: Isaiah 51-52: Time to Wake Up

 In Isaiah 51:9-10, God's people in exile pray, "Awake, awake," asking God to intervene on their behalf as he had in the Exodus from Egypt.  

God responds by encouraging the people to concentrate on following him, the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, and not to worry about their oppressors (verses 12-16).  

God goes on to say that it is the people who need to wake up (51:17; 52:1) and have faith so that they will be ready to follow him when he takes action on their behalf.  In 51:7-13, he states that their time of punishment is over, and now their enemies will be punished.  In 52:1-12, he affirms that he will indeed rescue his people again in a new Exodus.  The whole world will see this great event (v 10).  

Seder 35: Isaiah 36-37---Judah and the Davidic Line are Rescued

 King Hezekiah was one of three kings of Judah that the Bible identifies as following in David's footsteps (2 Ki 18:3).  The others were Asa (1 Ki 15:11) and Josiah (2 Ki 22:2).  Hezekiah was a religious reformer, putting away idolatry and reviving true worship.  He heeded the words of the prophets (Jer 26:17-19).  

In 705 BC, when the Assyrian king Sargon II died, Hezekiah stopped paying tribute to Assyria.  He retook some Philistine towns and strengthened Jerusalem's defenses.  

But in 701, Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and took Lachish, the second largest city, and was set to continue on to Jerusalem, even after Hezekiah gave him silver and gold (2 Ki 18:14-16).  

Sennacherib sent three representatives to Jerusalem to try to intimidate Jerusalem into surrendering to him.  They arrived at the same location to which Isaiah had gone, years earlier, to encourage Hezekiah's father King Ahaz to trust in God rather than in Assyria (Isa 36:2; 7:3).  Isaiah 36-37 are the climax of Isaiah's teaching about not placing trust in the nations.  

The Assyrians announced to the people of Jerusalem that there was no way God could save them.  The Assyrians had defeated every nation and god they had encountered.  

Hezekiah responded by going to the Temple to pray (Isa 37:14-20).  He began by praising God as sole ruler of the universe and faithful to his people (v. 16).  He then asked God to defend his Name against the mocking and blasphemous words of the Assyrians (v 17).  Admitting that the Assyrians had overrun all their enemies so far, he asked God to deliver Judah for the sake of his reputation among the nations.

The prophet Isaiah announced that God had heard Hezekiah's prayer.  God who rules all nations, including Assyria, would not allow the Assyrians to attack Jerusalem.  Instead, he sent an angel to wipe out the Assyrian army (v 36).  Judah and the line of the Messiah were rescued.

Seder 34: Genesis 37:3----Jacob's Favoritism; Joseph's Precocity

 One source of tension in Jacob's family was the favoritism he showed toward the sons of Rachel, his favorite wife.  Jacob's special treatment of Joseph fueled the resentment of Joseph's brothers.  

Genesis 37:3 explains that Jacob had a special coat made for Joseph.  The traditional translation for the coat is "robe of many colors," but that may not be the best translation.  The ESV offers the alternate translation "robe with long sleeves."  Whatever the translation, the coat connoted status as well as favoritism.  As commentator John Walton puts it, the coat signified that Joseph was "management, not labor."  Jacob was grooming Joseph to be the future CEO of Israel Enterprises.  

There were reasons, beyond favoritism, for Joseph to train for this position.  He must have had obvious organizational skills, based on what happened later in Egypt.  Whatever enterprise he was involved in, Joseph soon ended up in charge.  Sharon Rimon suggests that this quality of Joseph's is reflected in his name, which means "may he add."  For Rachel, the name expressed her desire for additional sons.  For Joseph, it may mean that abundance and prosperity were added to those around him.  Joseph's fruitfulness is expressed in Jacob's blessing to his tribe in Genesis 49.

Seder 33: Genesis 35 and 48--Rachel's Burial Place

 Jacob's beloved wife Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin, her second son.  She "was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)"---Genesis 35:19.  

Years later, Jacob repeats this fact to Rachel's son Joseph, telling him, "As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)"---Genesis 48:7.  

Why does Jacob bring that up to Joseph in Egypt?  According to one tradition, it is because Jacob has insisted that he be buried at Machpelah (Ge 47:29-31), so that Joseph then wants to know why his mosther's bones haven't been moved there.  Leah's remains were at Machpelah, but not Rachel's.

Midrashic tradition offers some creative answers to this question.  One proposal is that having the remains of both Rachel and Leah at Machpelah would emphasize Jacob's sin of being married to two sisters at the same time (Le 18:18).  This proposal is related to the idea that Rachel died prematurely because the Promised Land could not tolerate this sin (Le 18:25).  

Another idea is that Rachel's burial place was fitting for certain reasons.  For one thing, she was buried in a place that later became part of the territory of the tribe of her son Benjamin (1 Sa 10:2).  Moreover, this location was one that exiles from Judah later passed on their way to Babylon, leading to the imagery of Jeremiah 31:15, where Rachel is pictured weeping for these exiles.  In Christian tradition, Jeremiah 31:15 is also related to Herod the Great's slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem (Mt 2:16-18).  

Seder 33: Psalm 83---National Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

 Psalm 83 is an imprecatory psalm, in the same category as Psalms 35, 58, 69, 109, and 137.  It is a national lament asking God to intervene against the enemies of Israel.

A number of specific enemies are listed.  Commentator Willem Van Germeren asserts that these enemies can be seen as symbolizing the enemies of God's people in any era.  He divides them into three categories:

• troublers---Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia.
• seducers---Gebal and Tyre;
• oppressors---Assyria.

This is a prayer that exhibits love for enemies.  The prayer is that these enemies be corrected so that they would come to seek the true God---verse 16.

The enemies plot against God's "treasured ones," a reference back to Exodus 19:5.  The words attributed to them, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation," (verse 4) compare them to the rebels at Babel (Ge 11:3-4).  The enemies want autonomy from God, and so they plan to wipe out God's representatives.  Ultimately they are fighting against God (verse 5).

The prayer refers to previous times when God had delivered his people during the era of the Judges under Gideon and Deborah and Barak (Judges 4-8).  The request is for God to rescue Israel again, as he had in the past.  This rescue will be a witness to all nations and lead enemies to submit to God.

Seder 32: Genesis 34---Marriage by Abduction

 In his chapter on Genesis 34 in Jacob's Story as Christian Scripture, Philip H. Kern discusses marraige by abduction, an ancient practice that, sadly, still exists in some places today.  One report claims that in 2003, two thirds of the marriages in Ethiopia still were of this type.  

Once a woman had been kidnapped and raped, her options were limited.  Often she would end up marrying her captor.  Because she had been defiled, it was anticipated that no one else would want to marry her.  

The book of Genesis often reports events without explicitly casting judgment upon them.  But in this case the narrator states plainly that "such a thing must not be done" (Ge 34:7).  

We do not know how old Dinah was when she was abducted by Shechem.  Based on Genesis 30:21, she may have been six when the family returned to Canaan.  Joseph was six at that point, and he was sold into slavery 11 years later.  This incident took place sometime during that 11 years.  One commentator, Bruce Waltke, estimates her age at 15, old enough to make Reuben about 22, Simeon about 21, Levi about 20, etc.  This seems like a reasonable estimate.  

At any rate, Shechem desired to marry Dinah, and he found the family of Jacob to be a tough crowd to convince.  He had shamed Dinah and her family, so he was going to have to come up with a sizeable bride price.  (Deuteronomy 22:28-29 will later give 50 shekels as a bride price for such a situation, but Jacob's sons were not going to be bought off that easily.)  The Shechemites ended up agreeing that all their males would be circumcised, a pretty high price.

While the males of Shechem were receovering from the procedure, Jacob's sons killed them and plundered the town.  In return for one abduction, Dinah's brothers carried out a mass abduction.  A number of the sons of Jacob may have obtained wives from the women they captured.  

At the end of his life, Jacob condemned the actions of Simeon and Levi, who led and massacre and abduction (Ge 49:5-7).  One purpose of Gen 34-50 is to explain how the promises to Abraham would be carried forward to future generations.  Genesis 34 explains why the tribes of Simeon and Levi would not be the main bearers of the blessings.

Seder 31:Genesis 32-33 and Obadiah---Lessons about Self-Sufficiency

 Many people submit to God after reaching a point in life where they find that their own efforts are not good enough.  

The patriarch Jacob seems to have reached this point when he returned to Canaan and was faced with the prospect of meeting his brother Esau, who was accompanied by 400 men.  He placed his life in God's hands and asked for deliverance (Ge 32:9-12)  

His prayer was answered.  Esau greeted Jacob magnanimously, and the two had a joyful reunion (Ge 33).  We don't know what changes had taken place in Esau's life during the 20 years when Jacob was gone, but Esau was no longer angry with Jacob by the time Jacob returned.  

Did Esau submit his life to God?  We're not told.  

Many centuries later (perhaps in the early sixth century BC), the prophet Obadiah spoke of the need for Esau's descendants, the Edomites, to collectively repent of their self-sufficient pride:

"The pride of your heart has decived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?' Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord" (vv 3-4).

Edlom's pride problem is one that we all share, and we are all to repent of it. 

Seder 30: Jeremiah 30---"For I am with you to save you...."

 When Jacob prepared to leave home and go to Haran, God conveyed an important message to him:  "Behold, I am with you and and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Ge 28:15).  

Twenty years later, God repeated this assurance:  "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you" (Ge 31:3).  And indeed, God guided Jacob and his family safely to Canaan.

Now fast forward over a thousand years to the time of Judah's defeat by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BC.  At that point a number of Jews were taken away to Babylon.  But Jeremiah had an important message for Israel and Judah:  God would one day reunite and restore the nation. As he had been with Jacob in the past, so he would be with Jacob's descendants in the future:  

"Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.  Jacob shall return and have quite and ease, and none shall make them afraid" (Jer 10:10-11).

Jeremiah's prophecy of restoration includes the promise of the Messiah and the coming of the messianic age (vv 21-22).    

Kyle Kettering gave a sermon on this motif at Church of the Messiah on July 6, 2024.  He carried the motif forward into the New Testament with Jesus' promise to his disciples before his ascension:  "And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mt 28:20).  

Seder 29: Genesis 30, 1 Samuel 1-2---Rachel and Hannah

 After about seven years of infertility, Jacob's wife Rachel gave birth to a son, Joseph.  We are not told what use she might have made of the mandrakes she obtained from her sister.  The implication is that this detail is irrelevant.  Genesis emphasizes that it was God who "opened her womb" (Ge 30:22).  

Joseph is one of a series of special sons, miraculously given to couples struggling with infertility, who have important roles to play in salvation history.  Others include Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist.  

These sons were answers to prayer.  Genesis 30:22 notes that God "listened to" Rachel.  In the case of Samuel's mother Hannah, we are given some details about one of those prayers.  Hannah vowed to God that she would dedicate a son to his service "if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me..." (1 Sa 1:11).  Her language is very similar to that of Exodus 3;7, where God states, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people."  Hannah asked God to deliver her from infertility as he had always delivered his people.

When Hannah brought young Samuel to the tabernacle, she gave a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving (1 Sa 2:1-10).  Walter Kaiser, in his book on great prayers in the Hebrew Scriptures, divides the prayer into three parts:

• In verses 1-3, Hannah expresses her great joy and praises God's greatness and incomparability.  In verse 3, when she says, "Talk no more so very proudly..," we can imagine that she has her personal tormentor Peninnah in mind, but the word for "your" in this verse is in plural form. 
• In verses 4-8, Hannah describes how God watches out for those in need, stepping in to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.  "The barren has borne seven," she declares in verse 5, and she would go on to have at least six children in all (verse 21).  
• In verses 9-10, Hannah looks ahead to the culmination of God's plan, when God will judge the world and send his Messiah.  Samuel would later anoint the first two kings of Israel, contributing to the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Her prayer expressed the thanksgiving of all the barren women who had been granted children.  It also became a template for future songs of praise.  Mary's prayer in Luke 1:46-55 has similiar structure and content.  A psalm of David recorded in both 2 Samuel 2 and Psalm 18 has several parallels with Hannah's prayer:

• In verse 1, Hannah says that God exalts her "horn"---that is, lifts her up and gives her strength---as does David in Psalm 18:2.
• In verse 2, Hannah refers to God as her "rock," as does David in Psalm 18:2.
• In verse 10 Hannah pictures God "thundering," as David does in Psalm 18:13.  In Hannah's case God answers the taunts of Peninnah.  In 1:6, the verb for thundering is used to describe Peninnah "irritating" Hannah.  
• Hannah ends her prayer with an assertion of God's faithfulness to his anointed king, as does David in Psalm 18:50.  

Seder 28: Gen 29:31-30:21---A Competition for Sons

Sibling rivalry is a major theme in Genesis.  The rivalry between Jacob and Esau is featured in Genesis 25 and 27.  The theme continues in Genesis 29 when Jacob marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah.  Leviticus 18:18 will tell us that this is a bad idea, and we see concrete examples of the problems that can arise with "sister wives" as we study the Genesis narrative.  

Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah" (Ge 29:30), leading Leah to compete with Rachel for Jacob's love.  She hoped that Jacob would be drawn to her as she gave birth to four sons---Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah  (29:31-35).  

Meanwhile Rachel, who did not immediately give birth, felt left behind, and she competed with her sister in a kind of baby contest.  On one side were Rachel and her servant Bilhah.  On the other side were Leah and her servant Zilpah.  

When Bilhah gave birth to two sons, Rachel proclaimed, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed" (30:8).  Team Rachel had narrowed the lead of team Leah to 4-2.  

Team Leah responded by getting Zilpah involved in the action.  They extended their lead to 6-2 when Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher.  

Competitions between teams often involve trades as the season progresses, and that actually is the case here as well.  At one point Leah's young son Reuben found some mandrakes, plants believed to promote fertility.  Rachel traded a night with Jacob for the mandrakes.  

Rachel's strategy apparently backfired, however.  Leah went on to have two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, making the score 8-2.  

Jacob, an essential player, does not appear often in the Genesis account of the game.  His role is to occupy the tent to which his wives direct him each night.  When Rachel demands that he give her sons, we see the frustration in his response:  "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"  (Ge 30:2)  Jacob is strong, diligent, and resourceful, but he cannot grant Rachel's request on his own.  

Despite the strife in Jacob's family, God worked with the situation to fulfill his promise to grant many descendants to Abraham (Ge 15:5; 17:4-6).   

Commentators often point out that Jacob's question in Genesis 30:2 was repeated by his son Joseph many years later in Genesis 50:19.  In that case Joseph stated that it was not his prerogative to judge the brothers who had sold him into slavery.  

Genesis 30:2 and 50:19 highlight God's roles as lifegiver and judge.  Those roles comes together in Jesus of Nazareth, as Philip H. Kern points out in chapter 5 of his book, Jacob's Story as Christian Scripture.  One place where these roles are mentioned together is in John 5:21-22.  

Seder 27: Genesis 28-29---Jacob Enters a Time of Growth

 At age 77, Jacob reached a critical juncture in his life.  He would be leaving the land of Canaan, where he had lived his whole life, and heading over 500 miles away to Haran, where his mother had grown up.  At this time God brought encouragement, appearing to Jacob in a dream to emphasize that he would be with him throughout his travels (Ge 28:12-15).  

We have not been told anything up to this point about Jacob's relationship with God.  There are a couple of details that may indicate this relationship was not yet well developed. One is the fact that God revealed himself to Jacob in a dream---as he did to people like Abimelech (Ge 20:3) and Pharaoh (41:1)---rather than in, say, a vision, as he had appeared to Abraham (15:1).  

Fifty three years later, God did appear to Jacob in a vision (Ge 46:2).  By that time Jacob had been walking with God for many years.  

A second detail is the vow that Jacob makes after his dream.  Jacob vows that if God is with him and brings him back home, then he will worship God and give him a tithe (verses 20-22).  At this point Jacob's relationship with God seems rather transactional; the wording of the vow suggests that Jacob is trying to "cut a deal" with God.  

After receiving reassurance from God, Jacob makes the long walk to Haran with spring in his step.  Genesis 29:1 says that he "lifted his feet" as he continued his journey.  He will have many lessons to learn during his sojourn with Laban.  Some of them he will learn the hard way.

In particular, Jacob the deceiver will be the victim of deception.  When Jacob believes he is marrying Laban's daugher Rachel, Laban subsitutes his older daughter Leah on the wedding night.  One midrash imagines a later conversation between Jacob and Leah.  When Jacob asks Leah why she posed as Rachel, she reminds Jacob that he had once posed as Esau.  He had received a classic "measure for measure" consequence of his actions.  (Whoever was being deceived in Genesis 27, Jacob's intent had been to deceive his father.)

Through this lesson and others, Jacob will grow through experience.  

Seder 26: Genesis 27, Hebrews 12, and Matthew 25---Don't Miss the Big Deadlines

 When Esau came back with the meat that his father had requested, he was chagrined to learn that he had missed out on the blessing for which he had hoped (Gen 27:30-38).  

A lesson is drawn from Esau's example in Hebrews 12:16-17.  Esau had undervalued his family's special calling and figured out too late what he was missing.  

There are other scriptures that tell us there are some important deadlines that are not to be missed.  For example, in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, the bridesmaids fall asleep when the bridegroom's coming is delayed, and some are too late to meet the bridegroom.  

Pentecost 2024: Gen 11 and Acts 2---Coerced Uniformity versus Unity in Diversity

 The people who came together to build the "tower of Babel" in Genesis 11:1-9 were a united group that did not want to be separated.  God's negative reaction to their project implies that they were in rebellion against God.  However, the text of Genesis 11 does not explicitly say what the problem was.  

One explanation, based on Ancient Near Eastern background, is that this group was building a ziggurat in order to try to control and manipulate God.  

Another explanation, one with a long tradition, is that this group was trying to launch an attack on heaven itself, saying like the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14:13, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God; I will set my throne on high."  If this was their purpose, then they were sadly mistaken.  God and his divine council had to "go down" (verse 7) in order to examine their puny efforts.  

A third explanation, due to the nineteenth century Jewish commentator Netziv, is laid out by Judy Klitsner in her book Subversive Sequels in the Bible.  Netziv saw the group at Babel as a totalitarian state that imposed a rigid uniformity on its people.  It didn't want anyone to leave, and it didn't want any new ideas to come in.

One thing supporting this reading is a parallel between Genesis 11:3-4 amd Exodus 1:10.  In Genesis 11:4, those at Babel say, "Come, let us build ourselves a city....lest we be dispersed."  In Exodus 1:10, Pharaoh tells his people, "Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply..."  This "Come, let us, ....lest....." construction appears in the Bible only in these two passages.  

In Exodus 1, Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites, and they make bricks and built cities, as in Genesis 11.  This parallel leads to the idea that in Genesis 11, the people are being enslaved and forced to make bricks and build a city.  The group at Babel is trying to make a name for itself (Gen 11:4), but it is a collective name, with no individual names mentioned.  In Netziv's reading, this group is a collective like the Borg in Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  One midrash on Genesis 11 says that when someone carrying bricks up the tower fell to his death, people mourned for the loss of the bricks rather than the loss of a human life.  At Babel it was the collective that mattered, not the individuals.  

In this reading, we can see why God would put a stop to the group's efforts.  God created people in his image to be able to express their individuality and make free choices.  In particular, we can use our free will to seek a relationship with God.  The group at Babel was cutting itself off from any relationship with God.  

At Pentecost in Acts 2, an event that is kind of a reversal of Babel, the disciples of Jesus were unified, being "all together in one place" (verse 1).  Their unity was not a coerced uniformity, like the one at Babel.  Rather, they were united in love by the Spirit of God.  That unity is expressed in a diversity of spiritual gifts, as described in 1 Corinthians 12.  

Seder 25: An Alternate View of Genesis 27---Who is Being Deceived?

 The narrative of Genesis 25-27 raises lots of questions about Isaac and Rebekah and their sons.  For instance, does Rebekah share with Isaac the special revelation she receives about Jacob and Esau before their birth?  

If the answer is no, then this would be an example of the biblical motif of a parent "keeping a saying in mind" or "hiding it in one's heart." If Rebekah kept the revelation to herself, that could help explain why Isaac seems to want to act contrary to it in Chapter 27 in his desire to bless Esau above Jacob.

One standard way to interpret chapter 27 is to see Rebekah taking matters into her own hands to carry out what she is sure is God's will in securing the primary blessing for Jacob.  Isaac's poor eyesight is then viewed as a sign of a lack of spiritual insight in regard to his sons.  

I recently learned about an interestng alternate interpretation championed by David J. Zucker.  Zucker proposes that Isaac and Rebekah work together in Chapter 27 to deceive Jacob.  

In Zucker's reading Rebekah has shared the revelation of Genesis 25:23 with Isaac, and the two agree that Esau is not qualified to be spiritual leader of the next generation of the family.  Esau has shown this in the lack of value he places in the family birthright, as well as in his taking two Hittite wives (26:34), a course of action that greatly disappoints his parents (v 35).  The two had worked closely together in addressing their fertility problems, and they continue to work together.  Their twins have reached age 77, and they would like Jacob to go out in the world to prove himself, and in particular to take a wife from their clan back in Haran.  If Jacob appears to steal a blessing from Esau, Esau's anticipated reaction will force Jacob to go out on his own.  

If Rebekah and Isaac plan the deception together, they are counting on Jacob being willing to deceive Isaac for a chance at a better blessing.  And indeed, Jacob seems to be less worried about the ethics of tricking his father than about the possibility of getting caught (27:11-12).  Jacob says that he is a "smooth man," which can be taken in more than one way.  The word for "smooth"---chalaq---is elsewhere used for smooth or flattering speech (Pr 5:3; 26:28; Eze 12:24).  Jacob's intent is to deceive, whether or not he is actually doing so.  

I do not know whether Zucker's reading is correct, but I confess that I would like it to be.  I do not think it contradicts the biblical account in any way, and it fits well with a number of things in the text, including:

• the fact that the text does not mention any damage to the relationships among Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob.  Isaac does not seem to get angry at either Rebekah or Jacob, for example, when the deception is revealed.
• the fact that Isaac seems to basically know that the one who has come to him for a blessing isn't Esau, but he goes ahead with the blessing anyway.
• the verses in Chapters 24-26 that imply a close relationship between Isaac and Rebekah.
• the blessing that Isaac gives to Jacob seems to be a better fit for a herdsman/farmer than for a hunter.  

Whoever was being deceived, the blessing Isaac gives to Jacob in chapter 27 is not the full covenant blessing.  Isaac conveys that to Jacob in Ge 28:1-4.  Perhaps he had planned to give that to Jacob all along, regardless of his intentions for the blessing of chapter 27.  

It is also notable that the blessing of chapter 27 has messianic implications.  Since Jacob only has one brother, the plural in verse 29 seems to look ahead to a descendant or descendants of Jacob.  Kevin Chen, for example, argues that this is a messianic prophecy.

Seder 24: Psalm 87---Praise to Zion, Mother of Nations

Psalm 87, a hymn of praise to Zion, may be associated with Israel's pilgrimage festivals, when people from all nations came to Jerusalem to worship God.  

Verse 3 declares, "Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God."  Here the words of the prophets may be particularly in view, in passages like Isaiah 2:1-4; 26:1-2; 60:15-22; 61:1-7.  Such verses picture Zion's restoration and people from all nations coming to Jerusalem to worship the true God.  

A representative sampling of the nations from which people flock to Jerusalem are listed in verse 4.  "Rahab" is listed here as a way of referring to Egypt (see Ps 89:10; Isa 30:7; 51:9).  Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster, and God's victory over Egypt at the Red Sea can be pictured as a victory over that sea monster and the forces of chaos.  

When people from the nations submit to the God of Israel, they are counted as citizens of Zion.  In the Septuagint, verse 5 speaks of "Mother Zion."  It's possible that Paul is thinking of this verse in Galatians 4:26 when he speaks of "Jerusalem above" which is "our mother."

At the festivals in Jerusalem, singers and dancers declare, "All my springs are in you" (verse 7). They are celebrating at the place from which living waters flow (Jer 2:13; Isa 12:3; Eze 47; Rev 22:1-5).  

Seder 23: Luke 12:22-34---Trusting God in the Midst of Uncertainty

 After Sarah's death, Abraham remarried and had several children with Keturah  Keturah was a concubine, a wife of lower status than Sarah, and Abraham gave gifts to her children but left the bulk of his estate to Isaac (Gen 25:1-6).  

Abraham was to be a father of many nations, and the nations that sprang from these children were among them.  Specifically, these were peoples in Arabia who were prominent in the spice trade, for example.  Isaiah 60:1-7 pictures these nations joining with Israel in the messianic era.  

King David, after he began to reign from Jerusalem, added more wives and children to his family, including four sons with Bathsheba (2 Sam 5:13-16).  2 Samuel 5:13-6:1 is a haftarah reading connected with Genesis 25:1-19 in an ancient Jewish lectionary.  

While Abraham and David could add to their families, there were lots of things that were beyond their control.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 20, 2024, Kyle Kettering observed that the very reason we should not worry about the future is that the future is uncertain.  We can't control it.  We should plan for the future, but not count on those plans, as James 4:13-15 counsels.  We should place our lives in God's hands, as the psalmist did in Psalm 71:1-3.  God will take care of us, as Jesus taught in Luke 12:22-34.  

Seder 22: Genesis 24---A Biblical Love Story

 Genesis 24 tells the story of how Isaac and Rebekah came to be husband and wife.  Verse 67 concludes the chapter, the second longest chapter in the Pentateuch (after Numbers 7):

"Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her.  So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

This is the first mention in the Bible of a man's love for a woman.  Rebekah filled a void in Isaac's life and played a key role as the next matriarch of the family.  

There is a rich body of tradition about the tent of Sarah.  According to one tradition, after Sarah's death her disciples kept her tent ready for whoever its next occupant would be.  Another tradition imagines that a cloud of God's presence hovered near the entrance of the tent while Sarah was alive, and it returned when Rebekah arrived.  Such traditions point to how important Sarah and Rebekah were in the plan of God.  

Every married ouple has a story about how they met, married, and grew closer over time.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 13, 2024, Kyle Kettering related his story and opened the floor for others to do so as well.

Seder 21: 1 Kings 1---A Successor for David

 "Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years..." begins Genesis 24.  The Hebrew phrase for "old, well advanced in years" appears just a handful of times in the Bible.  Two of then are in Joshua 23:1 and 1 Kings 1:1, where the same thing is said of Joshua and David, respectively.  

In all three of these chapters an aging leader takes steps to advance God's purposes for a coming generation.  In the case of David, when the king is unable to respond sexually to Abishag, the young virgin who has been brought in to keep him warm in bed (1 Ki 1:1-4), people in the royal court assume that he is effectively out of the picture.  He didn't "know" Abishag (verse 4) or what was going on around him.  

At this stage Adonijah, David's oldest remaining son, began to gather support in a bid to become king.  The narrative pictures him as similar to his older brother Absalom, who had earlier tried to usurp the throne (vv 5-6)   Those supporting Adonijah included Joab and Abiathar, members of the tribe of Judah and  allies of David going all the way back to his pre-Jerusalem days.

Nathan the prophet moved quickly to counter Adonijah's plans.  He and Bathsheba went to David and told him what was happening, and  David responded with decisive action, having Solomon anointed as the next king of Israel.  Adonijah, who at the time was having a banquet with his friends, was taken by surprise.  David wasn't impotent after all.

Commentators have noticed some wordplay with names in 1 Kings 1---see for example Iain Provan's commentary on First and Seond Kings.  Adonijah's mother is Haggith, a name with the same root in Hebrew as chag, the word for "feast."  Solomon's mother is Bathsheba, the second part of whose name is close to the word for "oath."  Provan explains, "While the son of the feast-lady eats, the daughter-of-the-oath reminds the king of what he has sworn and so ensures that Adonijah for his life is dependent for his life upon Solomon's own oath" (p 30).  

Resurrection Day 2024 Sermon: The Importance of Resurrection

 The first Christians proclaimed a message of Jesus' resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:22-38; 4:2).  Jesus declared himself to be "the resurrection and the life" (Jn 11:25). 

The resurrection has always been at the heart of the Christian message.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 39, 2024, Kyle Kettering  emphasized the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead.  

In the Jewish world of the first century, Kyle explained, many believed in the resurrection.  For example, the martyrs in 2 Maccabees 7 declared that they were not afraid of their persecutors because God would resurrect them (see e.g. verse 9).  In talking with Jesus about her brother Lazarus, Martha professed her faith in "the resurrection on the last day" (Jn 11:24).  The Pharisees, of whom the apostle Paul was one, were strong believers in the resurrection (Acts 23:6). 

Not all Jews believed in the resurrection, though.  The doctrine is not so easy to discern from just the Pentateuch, and the Sadducees were skeptical of it (Mt 22:23-33).  

Greek thinking, which valued an immaterial soul over the human body, did not accept the idea of resurrection.  Paul defended the resurrection to a largely Gentile audience in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15.  He emphasized that this was a teaching "of first importance," one that validates the idea of Jesus' atoning death.  Without it, Paul said, "we are of all people most to be pitied" (v. 19).

Kyle concluded that the resurrection 

• validates Jesus' mission and teaching.
• provides power; it is thanks to the resurrection that Christ lives in us.
• gives us hope. 

Resurrection Day 2024: 1 Corinthians15:3-9---Four Categories of Apostles

 In 1 Corinthians 15:3-9, Paul mentions a number of individuals and groups of people to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared:

• Cephas (Luke 24:34)
• the twelve
• five hundred brethren
• James
• all the apostles
• Paul, "the least of the apostles"

This listing raises the question of how "apostle" ("one sent") was defined.  We know that the twelve were apostles, and they were people who had traveled with Jesus from the time of his baptism until the time of his ascension (Acts 1:22).  

Jesus' half-brother James was also an apostle (Gal 1:19).  James may have become a follower of Jesus when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him.  James became the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem.  Those who led the Jerusalem Christ-followers seem to have been called apostles in the book of Acts. 

Paul also became an apostle a few years after James did.  The risen Jesus appeared to him and commissioned him.  

There are also cases where a person who was sent by one congregation to help another is called an apostle.  Titus (2 Cor 8:23) and Epaphroditus (Phl 2:25) are examples.   Today we call people like this missionaries or church planters.

So there seem to be four categories of apostles in the New Testament:'

1. The Twelve
2. James and other leaders of the early Jerusalem congregation.
3. Paul, who is in a kind of category of his own.
4. People sent be one congregation to help another.

The people in the first three categories had seen the risen Jesus.  These categories seem only to have existed in the initial generation of Christianity.  There are people in the fourth category throughout Christian history, but we probably should not loosely throw around the title of apostle for them, since this designation has such exalted connotations. 

Michael Heiser gives a concise discussion of this topic in the Logos Mobile Ed Course BI 165,  one of a series of courses on difficult passages in scripture.

Resurrection Day 2024: 1 Corinthians 15:29---What Was Baptism for the Dead?

 One of the strangest verses in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 15:29:  "Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?  If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?" (ESV)

In chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, Paul argues against the view that Christian believers will not be resurrected from the dead in the future.  He asserts that denying the reality of resurrection means denying that Christ was resurrected, and Christ's resurrection is the cornerstone of the gospel.  Verse 29 is part of that discussion, with Paul saying that "baptism for the dead" makes no sense if there is no resurrection.  

But what was baptism for the dead?  Michael Heiser discusses this question in three videos from the Logos Mobile Ed Course BI 161, a course on difficult passages in the Bible.  He says that over the course of Christian history, there have been over 40 different proposals for what is going on in verse 29.  One's interpretation depends on the way one answers several questions:

1. Is this baptism literal or metaphorical?
2. Who is being baptized, and why?
3. How are we to interpret the Greek preposition hyper, which is translated "on behalf of" in the ESV.  Does it mean "in the interest of", "because of", "in place of"?  All these are possible.
4. Is Paul simply reporting a practice that is occurring, or does he endorse the practice?

Heiser goes on to talk about some of the leading options:

• The metaphorical view sees "baptism for the dead" as a way of saying "martyrdom."  In this view, to be baptized for the dead is to die for the faith, experiencing that type of "baptism of fire."  Why would one die for the faith if there is no resurrection?
• In the inspirational view, people are being baptized becuse they are inspired by the courage of a martyr they have heard about.  Baptism for the dead would then be "baptism for those who have died."
• In the last-day resurrection view, people are being baptized in order to be united with dead loved ones in the future resurrection.
• In the deathbed baptism view, people are being baptized shortly before they die, when they are nearly dead.  John Calvin favored this interepretation.
• In the vicarious baptism view, which may be the most popular one, people are being baptized for the benefit of those who have already died.  If this is what Paul was referring to, then he was reporting the practice without endorsing it.

Heiser himself leans toward an interpretation proposed by James E. Patrick in the paper "Living Rewards for Dead Apostles:  'Baptised for the Dead' in 1 Corinthians 15.29," New Testament Studies 52 (2006): 71-85.  In Patrick's reading, people in Corinth were dedicating their baptisms to Christian teachers---some of whom had already died---who were instrumental in bringing them to faith in Jesus.

This interpretation takes into account the whole letter.  Back in chapter 1, Paul mentions there were rivalries among Corinthian revolving around their special heroes in the faith.  Different people considered themselves the disciples of different apostles (1:10-12).  These heroes had been witnesses of Jesus' resurrection.  Why honor these heroes, Paul asks, if you don't actually believe in resurrection?

Good Friday 2024: Mary the Wife of Clopas

 In the 1980s sitcom Newhart, three Vermont woodsmen were among the cast of eccentric characters.  Larry, their spokesman, introduced the other two as "my brother Darryl" and "my other brother Darryl."

I can't help thinking of the Darryls when I read John 19:25, which says that those standing near the cross of Christ included "his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."  Since the mother of Jesus was named Mary, three different Marys are mentioned in this verse.

The presence of three Marys together is not as unusual as we might imagine at first.  Available data indicate that the name Mary (Miriam in Hebrew) was held by nearly a quarter of the women in Judea in the first century AD.  There are reasons this name was so popular.  The original Miriam, the sister of Moses, was a prophet of Israel.  Shortly before the time of Jesus, two wives of Herod the Great bore that name, so it was a name associated with queens and princesses.

The Bible tells us about additional women named Mary among the first followers of Jesus.  One of them was Mary of Bethany, who anointed Jesus' feet with ointment about a week before the crucifixion (John 12:1-3).  We also know that the mother of John Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark, was named Mary (Acts 12:12).         

Mary the wife of Clopas is perhaps the least familiar of these Marys.  According to Eusebius'  Ecclesiastical History (Book 3, Chapter 11), Clopas was a brother of Joseph, the husband of Jesus' mother Mary, making Clopas' wife the sister-in-law of Jesus' mother.  

This information helps answer one of the main questions raised by John 19:25:  How many women are being referenced there? In one reading there are four:

1. Mary the mother of Jesus
2. An unnamed sister of Mary.
3. Mary the wife of Clopas.
4. Mary Magdalene.

But since Mary the wife of Clopas was the sister-in-law of the mother of Jesus, and since the word for "sister" in John 19:25 can be used for a wider range of relationships than just "sisters," there may be only three women in John 19:25:

1. Mary the mother of Jesus
2. Mary's sister-in-law Mary the wife of Clopas.
3. Mary Magdalene.

Richard Bauckham considers this reading to be the more likely one  (see Chapter 6 of Gospel Women).

Clopas and Mary had a son named Symeon who became the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Jesus' brother James in 62 AD.  Symeon held that position for many years, eventually dying as a martyr himself (Book 3, Chapter 32).  

Since Mary is identified as "the wife of Clopas" rather than as the mother of Symeon, she and Clopas were likely known for more than just being Symeon's parents.  In his book Gospel Women, scholar Richard Bauckham points out that in the early church, a number of married couples worked together to spread the Gospel. (Think of Prisca and Aquila as an example, or Andronicus and Junia---Romans 16.)  Among these couples were relatives of Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:5), so Mary and her husband Clopas may have been such a husband-and-wife team of evangelists.  

Each of the Marys mentioned in the Gospels made a unique contribution to the early Christian movement, and it is worthwhile to learn what we can about their lives.  The example of Mary the wife of Clopas highlights the substantial role played by the extended family of Jesus in the early church.  

Purim 2024 Sermon: Dealing with Fear

 The Masoretic Text of the book of Esther does not tell us much about what Esther was thinking as she considered what to do about the dire threat faced by her people.  She sounds brave in Esther 4:16, when she says, "Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."

However, the expanded version of the book of Esther that was part of the Septuagint gives more details about Esther's inner turmoil at the time.  This version of Esther, which was read by many Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians, includes a heartfelt prayer of Esther in which she admits her fears.  She prays for deliverance for her people and deliverance from her fears.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 23, 2024, Kyle Kettering read Esther's prayer from Greek Esther and made several points:

• Esther had a good counselor in Mordechai--see Esther 4:13-15.
• Esther took time to seek God's direction, praying and fasting.
• She assessed the risk that she faced.
• She took timely action despite her fears.

Kyle observed that knowing and doing what must be done at the right time are the things that tends to cause us the most anxiety.  He reminded us that, as 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Palm Sunday 2024: The Triumphal Entry---Four Gospels, One Message

All four canonical Gospels describe Jesus' dramatic arrival in Jerusalem about five days before Passover in the year of his crucifixion and resurrection (Jn 12:1-12).  As Jesus rode from Bethphage on a donkey, a crowd of pilgrims spread cloaks and leafy branches on the road and hailed his coming with joyful shouts.  This event, traditionally known as the Triumphal Entry, is commemorated by Christians each year on Palm Sunday.  

Each Gospel account contributes to our understanding of what happened.  From John we learn that Jesus had been in Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem, visiting his friends Mary and Martha.  There he raised their brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, back to life (Jn 11).  News of this miracle spread quickly, attracting people who wanted to see Jesus and Lazarus (Jn 12:17-18).

Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 19:28-35 explain that when Jesus began the walk from Bethany to Jerusalem, he sent two disciples to Bethphage, where they would find a young colt that had never been ridden.  They were to untie the colt and bring it to Jesus.  Matthew 21:1-7 adds the information that the colt was a donkey, that it would be with its mother, and that the disciples were to bring both animals.  All three Synoptic Gospels agree that Jesus sat on the colt after his disciples draped it with cloaks. (Some have mistakenly thought that Matthew 21:7 is claiming Jesus sat on both animals, but this verse instead is saying that he sat on the cloaks spread over the colt.)

Seeing Jesus on the colt may have reminded onlookers of the reference to a donkey and a donkey's colt in Genesis 49:11, or to Solomon's riding King David's mule when he was anointed king (1 Ki 1:38-40).  More importantly, as Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 point out, Jesus' actions evoked the messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9:  ``Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The symbolism of the donkey was not lost upon the crowd.  They waved and scattered leafy branches, and they expressed their messianic hopes by shouting words from Psalm 118:25-26: ``Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!'' (Mk 11:9-10)  These are actions associated with the Feast of Tabernacles, and more broadly with  messianic expectation.  Judas Maccabeus received similar acclamation in 164 BC when his victories led to the rededication of the Temple (2 Macc 10:6-8).  So did Judas' brother Simon when he expelled the Syrian forces from the Akra citadel in 141 BC (1 Macc 13:49-52).     

This rejoicing may have continued for some time.  In those days, whenever someone in a group shouted, ``Blessed is he who comes,'' it was customary for the others to automatically add, ``in the name of the Lord!''  Scholar David Instone-Brewer (in his book The Jesus Scandals) has suggested that children in the crowd may have enjoyed starting this cheer repeatedly in order to get others to respond in the usual way.  (Matthew 21:15 mentions children cheering in the Temple area the next day.)

Not everyone in the crowd was comfortable with the celebration.  Some Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke his disciples.  He responded, ``I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out'' (Lk 19:40).  His reference to stones reminds us of some previous verses in Psalm 118:  ``The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes'' (vv 22-23). 

 After coming to Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple area and looked around before returning to Bethany that night  (Mk 11:11)  Supporters of Jesus may have been disappointed that he made no move to gather troops or call for the overthrow of Roman rule.  However, we should not conclude, as some have, that the crowd cheering Jesus during the Triumphal Entry became the crowd that called for his crucifixion a few days later.  This second crowd was likely composed of an entirely different group of people---e.g., Temple authorities who saw Jesus as a threat to the status quo.  

Jesus' disciples at first did not comprehend the full meaning of the Triumphal entry, but their understanding grew in light of subsequent events and is reflected in the Gospel accounts (Jn 12:16).  In riding a donkey's colt that had never had a rider, Jesus demonstrated his authority over creation and hinted at the coming of the ``peaceable kingdom'' described in Isaiah 11:6-9.  His actions pointed to the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-11, which pictures the Messiah as one who brings salvation and peace to the nations and whose rule will extend ``to the ends of the earth.''  Significantly, God declares in Zechariah 9:11 that ``because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.''  This prophecy reminds us of Jesus' intention to lay down his life for the sins of mankind on this trip to Jerusalem (Lk 9:22; 51; Mt 26:28).  

Both Matthew and John link Zechariah 9:9 with prophecies from Isaiah.  Matthew 21:5 connects the Zechariah passage with Isaiah 62:11:  ``Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your salvation comes...''  John 12:15 makes a connection with Isaiah 40:9:  ``...Fear not; say to the cities of Judah, `Behold your God!'.''  These verses from Isaiah complement Zechariah 9, speaking of the deity and mission of the Messiah.

All four Gospel accounts portray Jesus as the promised Messiah.  They also emphasize Jesus' detailed foreknowledge and control over  the course of events.  One has the sense that he was orchestrating everything that happened during Passion Week, from the Triumphal Entry to his arrest and crucifixion.  All of these things were carried out according to a predetermined plan.  When we, like Jesus' first disciples, find life difficult to comprehend, we can take comfort in the fact he is in charge as that plan continues to unfold. 

Seder 20: Genesis 23---Abraham Purchases a Cave (and a Field)

 After Sarah died at age 127, Abraham sought to purchase a burial place from the Hittites who lived in the region.  Specifically, we wanted to obtain the cave of Machpelah, which was in a field owned by Ephron.  

Genesis 23 describes the typical Middle Eastern negotiation that led to Abraham's purchase.  First Ephron offered to give the field, including the cave, to Abraham (verse 11).  This was Ephron's way of saying that he was willing to sell the cave to Abraham if Abraham was also willing to buy the field.  

Abraham answered that he was indeed willing to buy the whole field, not just the cave (verse 12).

In the next stage of the negotiation, Ephron still offers to give the field to Abraham, but he also declares that the field is worth 400 shekels of silver.  This was his initial asking price (verse 15).  

It would have been OK for Abraham to make a counteroffer at this stage, but instead, he handed over the 400 shekels and sealed the deal.  Perhaps he didn't want there to ever be a complaint that he had taken advantage of Ephron.  

Abraham's purchase of the field and cave showed his faith in God's promise that his descendants would inherit this land.  He and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah would all be buired there.

Why was he interested in that particular burial place?  There is a legend that he had found out that Adam and Eve were buired there.