Seder 53: Isaiah 21-22---The Folly of Trusting in Babylon

 Isaiah prophesied to the kings and people of Judah in the late 8th century BC, when Judah faced the threat of the Assyrian Empire.  He emphasized that Judah should turn to God and trust in him for protection from the Assyrians rather than relying on political alliances with Egypt or Babylon.  

The prophecies in Isaiah 21-22 are part of that overall message.  In Isaiah 21:1-10, Isaiah looks ahead to the fall of Babylon, which came almost two centuries after Isaiah in 539 BC.  In verse 2, he sees allies Elam and Media turning against Babylon.  

In verses 3-4, Isaiah speaks of the anguish he experiences because of what is coming in the future.  Perhaps he laments for those in Judah who are putting their trust in Babylon.  He may see the grief of those who will be taken into captivity in Babylon in 606-586 BC

Commentator John Oswalt notes that verse 5 reminds us of the scene in Daniel 5, when Babylonian royalty feasts while attackers wait outside their gates.  They make frantic preparations for war, "oiling their shields," but it is too late.  The handwriting is on the wall.  

In verses 6-9 we see the prophet as watchman, warning Judah of the consequences of continuing to disobey God.  The horsemen he sees may be part of Babylon's defeated army fleeing.  If the Babylonians ultimately will not be able to save themselves in the 6th century, how can they be of help to Judah in the 8th century?  

Isaiah's next oracle in 21:11-12 comes to Dumah.  There are a couple of different possibilities for the identity of Dumah.  The LXX has "Idumea" (Edom) here, Seir in verse 11 is another name for Edom, and "Dumah" is an anagram of "Edom."  So this could be a message for Edom.  

On the other hand, Dumah is the name of an Arabian oasis at the intersection of two trade routes, so the oracle may be directed to this location.  Certainly Edom and Arabia both would be interested in what to expect from the Assyrians and Babylonians.  They might even ask Judah's watchman what he sees.

The watchman's words are cryptic:  "Morning comes, and also the night."  Oswalt proposes that Isaiah may be saying that the Assyrian "night" will end, but it will be replaced by a Babylonian "night."  Or perhaps he is saying that Sennacherib will be defeated when he tried to take Jerusalem in 701 BC, but then Assyria would go on to defeat Babylon in 689 BC.  

There is an oracle to Arabia in 21:13-17.  Oswalt explains that Tema is another oasis about 200 miles south of Dumah on the road to the Red Sea, while Dedan is about 90 miles south of Tema.  All of these sites are part of Kedar (v 16).  The fugitives in verse 14 may be fleeing Babylon or heading south from Dumah.  In any case, Kedar will not be safe by allying itself with Babylon.  It will fall along with Babylon.  

In chapter 22 Isaiah has a message for Jerusalem.  Oswalt proposes that the setting may be a time when Judah is temporarily rejoicing after being spared from an Assyrian attack.  One possibility is 711 BC, when the Assyrians took the Philistine city of Azekah but then withdrew.  Judah moved to shore up Israel's defenses (verses 8-11), but its best defense would be to turn to God in repentance (verse 12).  They would not be forgiven if they did not humble themselves (verse 14).  

Isaiah illustrates right and wrong approaches in the rest of chapter 22.  Shebna, a high official who should have been working to serve the nation, is preoccupied with his own legacy by supervising the construction of a tomb (verses 15-19).  Shebna would be removed from office and replaced by Eliakim (verse 20), who would serve faithfully (verses 21-23).  Sadly, Eliakim would not be stand up under the strain of burdens placed upon him by his family (verses 24-25).  Still, he had the right priorities.

Oswalt observes that these prophecies in Isa 21-22 teach us about 

• the sovereignty of God.
• the folly of trusting human power.
• the fickleness of human promises.

The only hope for Judah (and for us) is to trust in God.

Seder 52: Exodus 12:15---What do you mean, "Shall be cut off"?

 In Exodus 12:1-28 the biblical narrative is temporarily interrupted with instructions on the first month of the calendar that God designed for Israel.  Included are directions for the first Passover, which would be observed on Israel's last night in Egypt.  

But much more is covered.  In future years the celebration of the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread would commemorate Israel's liberation from Egypt.  

Everyone would participate in these festivals, with no one allowed to "opt out."  In verse 15 God says, "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.  On the first day you shall remove the leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel."  

Refusal to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread is one of several offenses for which one could be "cut off from Israel" (Ge 17:14; Ex 30:33, 38; 31:14; Lev 7:20, 21, 25, 27; 17:4,9,14; 19:8; 20:17-18; 22:3; 23:29; Num 9:13; 15:30; 19:13, 20).  In these cases, God is not telling the Israelites to punish the offender.  Instead, he is saying that he will take care of the situation.  

Douglas Stuart in his NAC commentary on Exodus explains that such a person would be "cut off from God's benefits to Israel in the near future and cut off from eternal life with them in the ultimate future," since that person "had by his actions shown clearly that he did not desire to keep covenant with the true God" (p. 285).  

Epiphany 2025: The Gifts from the Nations Motif

 The account of the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2 is part of a biblical motif in which foreign dignitaries come to Jerusalem bringing valuable gifts.

For example, during the reign of Solomon, the queen of Sheba comes from Arabia with questions for Solomon and lavish gifts (1 Ki 10:1-10).  

A prayer for Israel's kings says, "May the kings of Tarshish and the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts" (Ps 72:10).  

Israel was called to be a light to the nations (Isa 42:6; 49:6).  That light would attract people to the Torah and to the God of Israel (Dt 4:6-7), as is pictured in the beautiful prophecy of Isaiah 60.  There the light of the Messiah and his people brings delegations from the nations to Jerusalem.

The gifts brought to Jerusalem include "gold and frankincense" (verse 6), making a connection between Isaiah 60 and the magi.  The prophecy pictures the nations submitting to the rule of the Messiah (vv 10-14). 

Isaiah 60 goes on to picture God's light eclipsing the light of the sun and moon (vv 19-20).  This imagery is picked up in John's vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22-27.  So it seems that Isaiah 60 is picturing a wide range of events, beginning with Jesus' first advent and continuing beyond the second one.

Epiphany 2025: God Made Manifest in Jesus (not Antiochus Epiphanes)

 In the traditional Christian calendar, the season of Epiphany runs from the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 until Ash Wednesday (March 5 in 2025).  

The English word epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia, which means "manifestation."  Epiphany focuses on events that "make manifest" or "show forth" the divine identity of Jesus.  These include 

• the visit of the magi, commemorated on the Feast of the Epiphany;
• the baptism of Jesus;
• the wilderness temptation that followed this baptism;
• the miracles of Jesus;
• the transfiguration.

Epiphany comes shortly after Hanukkah, highlighting the contrast between the evil Selucid king Antiochus Epiphanes, who falsely claimed to be God made manifest; and Jesus of Nazareth, who actually is.    

The final downfall of Antiochus is described in 2 Maccabees 9.  As the king hurried toward Judea to have more Jews killed, he was struck with pains in his bowels and later was seriously injured in a fall from a chariot.  Verse 8 comments, "So he who thinks himself equal to the waves of the sea because of his superhuman arrogance, and imagining he could set in a balance the heights of the mountains, was now coming down to earth and was being carried on a sedan, displaying clearly to everyone the power of God."  In other words, what was made manifest in Antiochus was the power of the true God, not the greatness of the foolish ruler.

Hanukkah 2024: Reasons to Read Fourth Maccabees

 The season of Hanukkah is a great time to read the books of First and Second Maccabees, which discuss the history surrounding that festival.  

Fourth Maccabees is another book worth reading.  Written by an anonymous diaspora Jew in the first century AD, this book records an oration prepared for some unnamed occasion (perhaps a Hanukkah celebration).  Making skillful use of Greek philosophical thought and rhetoric, the suthor sets out to show that "devout reason [i.e., reason submitted to God and trained by the Torah] is sovereign over the emotions" (1:2).  

He argues that God would not have instructed his people to do or not do certain things (e.g., not coveting a neighbor's wife or belongings) if it were not possible to obey. He  backs up his argument with examples, including Joseph's overcoming the temptations posed by Potiphar's wife; and (especially) the willingness of the second-century BC priest Eleazar, along with his wife and seven sons, to die rather than eat pork.  .

Scholar David deSilva notes several reasons why this book deserves our attention:

• It illustrates the fact that Jews in the Hellenistic period did not necessarily avoid Greek thought.  The author brings to bear a strong Greek education in defense of Judaism and the Torah.
• It is a good antidote to the antinomian prejudices held by many Christians.  The Torah is presented as a great blessing rather than an impossible burden. 
• The book has long provided comfort for those being persecuted for their faith.

Seder 51: Exodus 10 and Revelation 9:1-11---Locust Plagues

 God used the plagues of the Exodus to free the Israelites, judge the Egyptians and their gods, and send important messages to Israel, Egypt, and other nations.  

Throughout the rest of the Bible. themes and images from the Exodus are used in situations where God is judging the rebellious and rescuing his people.  For example, in the visions of the book of Revelation, imagery from the plagues of the Exodus is prominent.  

Revelation 9:1-11 describes the judgment of the fifth trumpet, which sends out a kind of locust plague, an allusion to the eighth plague of the Exodus (Ex 10:1-20).  As in the plagues of the Exodus, the people of God are protected from this judgment (Rev 9:4), and God limits the extent of the judgment---it lasts for five months (Rev 9:5).   

In other ways, this is different from the locust plague of the Exodus.  The locusts in ancient Egypt devoured plants (Ex 10:14-15), while those in Revelation 9 are told to avoid plants.  

In fact, the ``locusts'' in Revelation 9 are not insects.  They come out of the abyss or "bottomless pit," a place of confinement for evil spiritual beings (Lk 8:31).  According to traditions recorded in 1 Enoch, the Watchers of Genesis 6 are held there.  In Revelation 9:1-2, an angel temporarily releases some of the beings confined there to carry out judgment on rebellious humans.  

Revelation 9:7-11 describes the ugliness of these beings.  A misguided popular approach to interpreting this passage tries to connect it with modern military technology.  Such images would not have been meaningful to John or his original readers.  Instead, we should realize that Revelation is full of allusions to passages from the Hebrew Scriptures.  For example, ``their teeth like lions' teeth'' in Revelation 9:8 comes from Joel 1:6; "the locusts were like horses prepared for battle" in Revelation 9:7 refers back to Joel 2:4; and the comparison with the noise of chariots in Revelation 9:9 is similar to Joel 2:5.  The book of Joel likens an invading army to a locust plague, and something similar is happening in Revelation 9.  

Seder 50: Exodus 8:20---Why the "Hinei"?

 In his instructions to Moses about the fourth Exodus plague (the plague of "swarms," probably swarms of flies), God says to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water" (Ex 8:20, KJV).  

Readers have long wondered why God punctuates his statement with an extra "lo" or "behold" (hinei in Hebrew).  The extra word might imply that God wants Moses to pay special attention to the fact that Pharaoh is going to the Nile.  

One tradition on this point (expounded by the medieval Jewish commentator Rashi) proposes that Pharaoh goes to the water to relieve himself in private.  The idea is that Pharaoh is supposed to be a god and doesn't want it known that he needs to take care of human bodily functions.  

God, then, may be having Moses confront Pharaoh at a place where Pharaoh feels most vulnerable.  

Rob Wilson shared this tradition in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on December 14, 2024.  He also tied it in with the Incarnation, with the fact that Jesus came to the earth as a human baby, putting himself in a vulnerable position because of his love for us, as expressed in Philippians 2.

Seder 49 Sermon: Signs and Wonders

 One of the ways that God communicated with Pharaoh and the Egyptians was through signs and wonders---e.g., Aaron's rod turning into a serpent/crocodile and the various plagues that preceded the Exodus.  In a sermon about signs and wonders at Church of the Messiah on December 7, 2024, Kyle Kettering noted several purposes of signs and wonders:

• They deliver messages from God.
• They gain people's attention.
• They serve to validate a message.
• They can strengthen people's faith.

He also talked about some limitations of signs and wonders:

• They don't prove anything for sure--e.g., Ex 7:11-12.
• They don't have staying power, given the nature of human memory.  After awhile we may forget that one happened.  
• They're not foolproof--e.g., sometimes false prophets can do signs and wonders---e.g., Dt 13.
• They're not controlled by the human agent through whom they are done. 

Let's be sure to pay attention to what God is trying to tell us through signs and wonders.

Seder 49: Exodus 7:10-12---Symbolism of Aaron's Sign

 Exodus 7 describes a confrontation between Moses and Aaron, on the one hand, and the magicians of Pharaoh on the other.  When Aaron threw down his staff, it turned into a tannin, literally a monstrous serpent, dragon, or crocodile.  Somehow Pharaoh's magicians apparently were able to duplicate this feat, whether through some spiritual power or through sleight of hand.  But then Aaron's staff swallowed up the magicians' staffs (Ex 7:12).  

Later readers have seen symbolic meaning in these events.  The tannin is used as a symbol for Pharaoh and Egypt in Ezekiel 29:1-6, and matteh, the word for "staff", also means "tribe."  So the swallowing of the magicians' staffs by Aaron's staff could be making the statement that Egypt was going to be defeated by the tribes of Israel, who were thought to be a "dry stick" but would be raised up by God. 

Sharon Rimon proposes this symbolism.  She also points out that there are other times when God's servants show themselves superior to an emperor's court magicians, implying the superiority of God over the emperors and their deities.  Other examples are in Genesis 41 and Daniel 1-2.

Seder 48: Isa 42:8-43:7---God Will Deliver His People

In Isaiah 42:10-17, Isaiah calls on all the earth, even the most remote parts, to praise God.  The God of Israel is not just a local deity, but rules the whole world.  The people of Judah in exile, who wondered when God would intervene to help them, would not have to wait forever.  God would go to any lengths necessary to bring his people out of captivity in a new Exodus, and the gods of Babylon would be powerless to do anything about it. 

Verses 18-25 remind the people that it was their own spiritual blindness that led to their exile.  God had taught them plainly (verse 21), but they had not listened, and so he sent them to Babylon.  They were not in captivity because of Babylon's power, but because God had sent them there for correction.    

And by his grace, God would also deliver them from captivity in due time (43:1-7).  Because of his love for his people, he would pay any price to redeem them, and he would bring them back from the four corners of the earth.  The one who created them could save them by his grace.

Seder 47: Isaiah 56:1-8--Righteousness is More Important than Pedigree

 Commentators often divide the book of Isaiah into three sections, with chapters 1-39 in the first section, chapters 40-55 in the second, and chapters 56-66 in the third.  

John Oswalt explains one rationale for this structure in his NIVAC commentary on Isaiah.  In chapters 1-39, he observes, "righteousness" usually refers to people following God's Torah.  Then in chapters 40-55, the emphasis is on God's righteousness in the sense of his faithfulness to his covenant with Israel.  Finally, chapters 56-66 put these two meanings of righteousness together, making clear that righteous living is important but can only be accomplished through the grace of God.  

Both meanings of righteousness come together in Isa 56:1, where God tells his people to "do righteousness"  in anticipation of God's salvation.  The ensuing verses make clear that just being one of the chosen people is not enough; instead, it is those who are submitted to and in relationship with God who are his true people.

Seder 47 Sermon: Exodus 4:18, Mark 5:25-34---Go in Peace

 After receiving a commission at the burning bush, Moses let his father-in-law know that he was planning to return to Egypt.  Jethro responded, "Go in peace'' (Ex 4:18).  

In the Hebrew text, the word for "go" is preceded by the letter lamed.  According to one reading, this has the connotation that Moses has a difficult road ahead of him, but Jethro prays that Moses will head in the direction of shalom.  

In the Gospels Jesus conveys a similar blessing to the woman who has been plagued by bleeding for twelve years, then is healed when she touches the tassels of his tallit (Mk 5:25-34).  Kyle Kettering focused on this incident in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on November 23, 2024.  (He previously spoke on it in a sermon on January 22, 2022.)  

One common misconception regarding this woman is the claim that she was some kind of societal outcast because she was ritually impure for a long period of time.  However, ritually impurity was not sin and did necessarily come with a stigma attached.  Ritual impurity was mainly a concern when someone wanted to worship at the Temple---otherwise it was not a big deal.  It was also relatively easy to take care of with a toutine washing.  

Discussions of this subject always raise the question of whether Jesus experienced ritual impurity during his time on earth.  Some claim that Jesus was a source of "contagious holiness" and so imparted purity rather than ever becoming ritually impure.  Kyle mentioned an exponent of this school of thought, Tom Holmen, who has developed his thesis in papers entitled, "A Contagious Purity:  Jesus' Inverse Strategy for Eschatological Cleanliness" and "Jesus and the Purity Paradigm".

On the other hand, it is an important truth of Christianity that Jesus was fully human, and experiencing ritual impurity is a part of life.  For example, Jesus as a teenager probably had a nocturnal emission of semen at some point, which would have made him temporarily ritually impure. 

It is clear that Jesus did not worry about contracting ritual impurity.  He was much more concerned with his mission of helping people and alleviating suffering.  He willingly became fully human in order to serve mankind (Isa 53:2-5).  

Seder 46: Exodus 4:10---Did Moses Have a Speech Impediment?

During Moses' calling at the burning bush, Moses says that he is "not eloquent," but "slow of speech and of tongue" (Ex 4:10).  Based on this statement, many have wondered if Moses stuttered or had some other kind of speech impediment.

Commentator Douglas Stuart points out that in the Ancient Near East, it was customary for people to be extremely modest when being offered an important responsibility, and that is surely what is going on here.  Moses ends up doing a lot of speaking in the Pentateuch and shows no signs of lacking eloquence or speaking skill.  As Stephen later said in Acts 7:22, Moses was "mighty in his words and deeds."

We see similar modesty from Jeremiah (Jer 1:6) and from Saul (1 Sam 9:21), for example. 

Seder 45: Exodus 1 and Isaiah 27---Israel the Fruitful Vineyard

 After the family of Jacob settled in Egypt, they prospered.  Exodus 1:7 reports, "But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled them."  This was a fulfillment of promises God had made to Abraham (Ge 15:5).  The family's growth continued even after their enslavement (Ex 1:12).  

Israel has experienced lots of ups and downs during its long history.  Prophecies like Isaiah 27 make clear that God's ultimate purpose is to bless the nation.  They experienced suffering for the purposes of correction and cleansing (vv 7-11), but they will be regathered and restored and will bear fruit again.  Isaiah 27:6 says, "In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit."

Seder 44: Genesis 49:27---Traditional Applications of the Blessing to Benjamin

 Jacob's blessing for his youngest son Benjamin initially is surprising to readers, since it does seem to relate to anything we know so far about Benjamin:  "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil" (Ge 49:27).  

Interpreters often try to relate these words to the later history of the tribe of Benjamin.  Nechama Price sees some "wolf-like" qualities in Ehud, the Benjaminite who assassinated Eglon of Moab.  He was a "lone wolf" who used stealth and cunning to carry out his plan.  

It has been traditional to relate Genesis 49:27 to the Benjamites who, like a pack of wolves, savagely raped the Levite's concubine (Judges 19).

Christians traditionally have connected Genesis 49:27 to the apostle Paul, who was a Benjamite (Phil 3:5).  In the Greek Septuagint translation, the verse says, "Benjamin is a rapacious wolf: in the morning he will be eating still, and in the evening, he gives food.”  In a tradition mentioned by Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Origen in the second century AD, this is related to the fact that Paul attacked the church as a young man, but then after surrendering to Christ he fed the church.  This tradition is discussed by Darrell D. Hannah in a 2016 paper (New Testament Studies, Vol 62, pp 610-627).  

In a variation on this tradition, reported by the fourth century bishop Diodore of Tarsus, the "eating" Paul does in the morning refers to the spiritual nourishment he took in from Gamaliel as a young man.

Jerome relates Isaiah's prophecies about the wolf and the lamb dwelling together (Isa 11:6; 65:25) to Paul's baptism by Ananias and his joint labors with Peter.  

In another variation of the application of Genesis 49:27 to Paul, due to Apollinaris of Laodicea, Paul at first plundered the church, then went to war against the demons, leading people away from them and distributing them to the rulers of the Church.  

There is an addtional variation due to Ephrem the Syrian, who saw Paul as a wolf snatching souls away from the devil.  Then "at the end of the world he will rest with a reward greater than his labors."

Seder 44: Genesis 49-50---Joseph's Bones

 The patriarch Jacob told his children that he was to be buried at Machpelah with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah.  Joseph made sure those instructions were carried out. 

Joseph himself died about 54 years later.  He did not ask to be buried immediately in Canaan.  Instead, he indicated that at a later date God would bring the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the land.  When that happened, they were to take his bones with them and bury them in Canaan (Ge 50:24-25).  

There's an indication here that Joseph had knowledge, perhaps both practical and prophetic, about the future enslavement of his family.  (He would have been aware, for example, of what God had told Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14.)  Still, that enslavement had not yet begun at the time of Joseph's death, so Joseph could have requested that his body be taken back to Canaan right away.  That raises a question:  Why didn't he?  

Jewish tradition has proposed some interesting answers.  One is that the responsibility of burying Joseph's bones gave the family a long-term commitment to return to Canaan and some extra incentive to return.  

Another is that the presence of Joseph's coffin with the family would remind them of who Joseph was.  There were important qualities of Joseph's character that the family as a whole would need to emulate to be successful in their mission.  Joseph was able to live his life in Egypt and still maintain his commitment to God and his identity as a Hebrew.  When he was imprisoned, he did not give up hope but continued to live a productive life.  The Israelites would need to be like Joseph to survive and get beyond their time in slavery.  

Seder 43: Genesis 49---Interpreting the Blessings for the Sons of Jacob

The blessings Jacob gave to his sons, recorded in Genesis 49, are a source of endless fascination for readers of the Bible.  They tend to be vague and poetic, lending themselves to multiple interpretations.  It is often possible to find 

For example, we read in Genesis 49:21, "Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns."  The phrase "bears beautiful fawns" could also be rendered "gives beautiful words."

This verse led to a tradition that Naphtali served as Jacob's messenger.  When Jacob wanted a message to be delivered quickly and reliably, he would have Naphtali deliver it.  

In her book Tribal Blueprints, Nechama Price proposes that the tribe of Naphtali went on to be a servant of the other tribes, as Naphtali served Jacob and his brothers.  For example, Barak (Judges 4-5) was from this tribe.  He was not interested in leading the way; indeed, he did not want to go to battle without Deborah.  His tribe joined the battle but did not take a leading role.  

The blessing to Dan begins, "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel" (verse 16).  This is often seen as a reference to Samson, a prominent judge of Israel from the tribe of Dan (Judges 13-16).  

Verse 17 adds, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward." Price says the message may be that Dan "will be isolated, angry, and disliked by those around him."  That description certainly fits Samson.  It also seems to be appropriate for the later actions of the tribe of Dan in acting unilaterally to take land in the north (Judges 18).

Seder 42: Leaders from Ephraim and Manasseh

 In Genesis 34-50 Judah and Joseph emerge as leaders among the sons of Jacob.  In future generations, many leaders of Israel would come from those tribes.  

This was especially true of Judah, from whose tribe the Davidic dynasty would arise.  To a lesser extent this was also true of Joseph's descendants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.  

Leaders from the tribes of Joseph included Joshua; judges Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, and Jephthah; and kings Jeroboam and Ahab.  In one chapter in her book Tribal Blueprints, Nechama Price discusses these leaders, exploring what character traits of Joseph might be evident in their lives.   

Joseph was often most comfortable in a second-in-command role, managing the affairs of Potiphar, the warden of Pharaoh''s prison, and later Pharaoh.  Similarly, Joshua served for forty years as Moses' assistant before taking over leadership of Israel.  

Joseph had a healthy amount of ambition that led to his attainment of positions of responsibility.  Some of his descendants were also ambitious, sometimes to such an extent that they would go to great lengths to cling to power.  Jeroboam comes to mind in this regard.  He set up idolatrous worship centers at Dan and Bethel and a new date for Sukkot in order to compete with the Temple at Jerusalem (1 Ki 12).  

Jeroboam was also following in the footsteps of Micah, an earlier Ephraimite who wanted to set up his own worship center (Judges 17).  

Sadly, there was rivalry between the two tribes of Joseph.  Gideon and Jephthah, leaders from the tribe of Manasseh, both had to contend with Ephraimites who wanted a greater military role (Judges 8:1-3; 12:1-7).  

Seder 41: Genesis 47:2---Which Five Brothers?

 When his family moved to Egypt, Joseph presented five of his brothers before Pharaoh (Ge 47:2).  This information naturally leads to speculations about which five brothers Joseph chose, and what criteria he might have used to choose them.  

One tradition proposes that the five were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Benjamin, and Issachar, sons of Leah and Rachel who may have been at or near the top of the family pecking order. 

Another tradition proposes that Joseph does not want Pharaoh to recruit his brothers for his army, so he picks the five "weakest", identified as Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, and Zebulun.  

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.