In leading the Bible studies this past week it was great to see people get so excited about what they were reading.  There is an enthusiasm that was present now that we have reached the New Testament.  That familiarity seemed to bring a flood of ideas and questions that kept the conversation flowing.  One of the questions that came up was “who were the samaritans.”  And also, did peopl really go out of their way to avoid them.  With help from a member I now know that Samaritans didn’t just appear out of thin air.  They were indeed a half-breed.  When Israel was taken into exile in Assyria the Assyrians placed people there to farm the land, those people were the Samaritans.  When the people of Israel returned, the people who were occupying that part of the land stayed and intermarried.

As you can imagine there was not always a good feeling between the Samaritans and the Israelites.  Whether it was because of land or faith, they would go out of there way to avoid each other.  As we continue reading through the Gospels, remember that when we hear about the Samaritans and the ways in which Jesus reached out to them.  Jesus invited the outsiders in, and continues to draw us (outsiders) into a relationship with him.

One of the other images that came out in conversation was about not placing new wine in an old wineskin.  That passage doesn’t seem to fit at all with the text that we find around it.  And, well that is probably true.  But that image of the wineskin, after looking into probably menas that the Gospel (the new wine) can’t be foreced into an old understanding of God.  It might sound a bit simplistic, but it says to the audience that the Gospel is something new.  Christ did something new that we can’t find in the Old Testament.  Keep loking for all of those connections between the testaments and enjoy the rest of the New Testament.

The book of Judges ends with the statement, “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes,” Judges 21:25. Through Samuel, we see that the people beg for a king so that they can be like the other nations. Yet as the weeks’ readings progressed, it became evident that the kings ultimately put faith in their own power, not the one who called them to shepherd God’s people.

This week has been particularly filled with the books of Kings and Chronicles, two versions of the same story from different perspectives: Kings written from the perspective of a nation in Exile, Chronicles from the perspective of a newly restored nation that seeks to be faithful to the old ways. This is some of the clearest evidence of different theological perspectives that are included in the Bible. The 66 books of the Bible were not written by a single person or a single theological perspective. There are differing opinions.

There are so many rich stories with the cultural and kingly idiosyncrasies. David seems to be the model for a good king, yet it is abundantly clear that he was not perfect. Solomon sought to make a glorious Temple for God in the land, yet made his own palace much bigger. It would be a thrill to reflect on every king, but a chore to read, so I’ll refrain for now…

We see the increased influence of prophets and parables in these books. Often when we think of parables we think of Jesus, yet Nathan serves as a great example, showing the common use of parables by prophets. In a few weeks we will see in the prophetic writings the importance of imagery and story for speaking about God.

Further, the leadership and influential people in Israel and Judah were a real mixed bag of characters: good kings, bad kings, good prophets, evil prophets…how can we ever know who is telling the truth? Discerning God’s will and ways is rarely easy. It is clear that the people were led astray by false prophets, and did not know or listen to the Lord. As God’s people, we must continue to pray for discernment and guidance that we are not led astray today!

These books show God delivering consequences, both harsh and kind, yet never completely abandoning his people. It can be difficult to keep in mind that these writings are about the same God we worship today, but that is indeed the case. It can be difficult to see God’s acts as gracious and merciful, but does God not restore His people? Despite the unfaithfulness to Him, breaking the covenant, worshipping the Storm-God Ba’al and his female fertility counterpart Asherah, God does not destroy or abandon His people. Yes, they are given to conquest, but a remnant remains. God’s faithfulness persists through the people’s unfaithfulness. How amazing is that!

These can be some difficult passages to read. Covering several centuries includes so much war and gore. Yet if we look at the last several centuries of our own history we find that we have not changed all that much. We have been misled, embattled, and strayed from God. We still need God. We still seek to understand His ways and walk in them. The great conversations we have are a gift from God to help us grow in understanding.

Keep asking questions. Keep challenging. Keep up the good work!

-Chris

We all passed the one-third mark yesterday. Congratulations! Who’d have thought we’d get here this quickly? If you haven’t done so yet, take a moment to read through some of the comments below to encounter others’ insights. And if you’ve started to drop behind in the reading, block out some time NOW on this weekend’s calendar for catching up–you’ll be glad you did!
Keep praying, and reading, and sharing what you’re discovering. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, it’s God who’s helping us, and one another on whom we rely to reach the Promised Land (or at least the end of Revelation).

We’ve come through the wilderness and the conquest of the Promised Land and are now making are way through the stories of the kings. Each day’s reading seems filled with abundance—abundant conflicts, bloodshed, intrigue, disobedience, even abundant wives. It all becomes a bit of a blur, which—as our video instructor reminds us—is sort of the point, at least as we make our way through the kings between Solomon and the exile. Lots and lots of kings; many evil, some just plain ineffectual, and a very few good.

In conversations this week, a lot of questions have risen about our reading of these books, and our impressions of the God we encounter in them. A few points to remember–
This is our God. The God we read of here is the God of the New Testament as well, and the God of all time. The perception of contemporaries, and their stories of their experiences of God, may differ significantly from our experiences, but this is not a different God.
Perspective matters. The rules, rituals, bloodlust and bad behavior all seem foreign to us–because we read through the lens of our culture and experience. Consider that these are centuries’ worth of stories collected by a people who have been surrounded by opponents and threatened with being extinguished for millennia. So stories of completely annihilating others and not intermarrying with them may have more to do with underscoring a lesson of not compromising the people’s identity than with reporting facts.
God is God. At the end of the day, there are a host of other considerations to take into account before pronouncing our judgment on God’s people—or God—but the most important element to remember is that we will never understand God; neither God’s harshness nor God’s grace. So we focus on the points of the stories and the lessons we take from them, and not on our own assessment of their content or characters.

If you’re still with it, you’re approaching the one-third mark—way to go! If not, it’s worth reading extra to catch up. Each week’s readings and conversations bring new insights. Thanks for sharing yours, at the studies and right here.

–Brian