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Week 36  Matthew 5

In his first long sermon the Lord told his audience something pretty important about himself and about the OT: do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
It wasn’t the Lord’s plan to scrap the OT. He intended to fulfil it. He didn’t figure it was a bad document. But it was an unfulfilled one. Some extra input was needed. Some fulfilling.
Fulfil isn’t an absolutely clear word to me but I think it means something like the OT needed to be completed…brought up to a condition of full realization…totally actualized…carried out…finalized.
At first I thought that fulfilment was explanation and I got that idea because the Lord used the example of murder and said the law against murder needed to include pre-homicide factors like anger jealousy pride envy hatred desire dissatisfaction and like that…explaining that there’s more to murdering someone than just murdering him.
But now I’m not sure that’s the point. The Lord said he’d come to fulfill the OT. Not to explain it (even though he did explain sometimes). To fulfil it.
Did the OT need fulfilling? Apparently. As good as it was as a stand-alone document it wasn’t fully adequate. It needed fulfillment. And whatever-all the Lord Jesus was responsible to do on earth OT-fulfilment was one of  his tasks.

Note: quote from Matthew 5:17 (NASB). Three other versions also said ‘fulfil’. JB Phillips said ‘completed’.

Week 35  Matthew

I get my reminder right away that I’m in a whole new situation.
Between Malachi 4 and Matthew 1 there’s a huge blank in the bible where about four centuries-worth of things have happened – language attitudes currency ideas international-relations social-practices empire-building – and I’m just dropped into that new & different environment. (About the only comparable gap I can think of in the bible is the story of Jacob’s family in Egypt. Between Genesis 50:16 and Exodus 1:1 an awful lot of water has gone over the dam.)
So anyway things start appearing in Matthew that are brand-new. They’re “where-did-this-come-from?” kinds of things.
For example baptism. Where did it come from? Matthew starts talking about it as if I know all about it.
Ditto for the appearance of two groups of people: Pharisees & Sadducees. Who were they? Where did they come from?
Ditto for synagogues. What’s a synagogue and what’s its function?
Finishing Malachi and then starting in on Matthew the next day is like living in a cave along the South Saskatchewan River valley in 1622 and then time-travelling to Medicine Hat in 2022. Things are quite a bit different. And no disrespect intended but Matthew isn’t all that helpful in explaining the changes (though I guess there’s no reason he should. They’re not changes for him).
So as I start into the NT this week I get my reminder that utilizing fewer mental resources isn’t my reward for finishing the OT.

Week 35  Matthew 1

Matthew opens with a list of names of the people in Jesus’ family-tree. While I scan them I realize that I recognize quite a few in the first eleven verses. I couldn’t recite them…but they’re familiar. The only ones that I don’t remember as being part of the family are Amminadab & Nahshon (but I admit that the only reason I recognize Ram & Salmon is the name-link to the animal kingdom).
There are some names I recognize but couldn’t place if they were out-of-context. For example I recognize all the names of the kings of Judah but if someone asked me about Joram or Jotham just out-of-the-blue I wouldn’t know if they were kings of Judah or Israel.
After verse twelve I don’t recognize Abiud Eliakim Azor Zadok Achim Eliud Eleazar Matthan & Jacob (the Zadok & Eleazar & Jacob that I do recognize are different OT characters). The reason I don’t recognize most of the names is because the OT Story pretty much ends with Zerubbabel and the return of exiles from Babylon. If I wanted to find out more about that quiet interval I’d have to go outside the OT. But obviously someone was keeping track of family names during those years and Matthew was able to plug them into chapter one.
I notice that three times Matthew includes the names of wives/moms. But they’re exceptions and I don’t know what to make of them.
And I see that Joseph is highlighted as husband-of-Mary.

Week 35  Ecclesiastes

I finished reading Ecclesiastes today and one of the verses near the end said: you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
If someone asked “why-read-the-bible?” one answer would be: to learn things about the Lord. So having Ecclesiastes say that I don’t know the Lord’s activity could mean a) that there’s no point trying to find out about the Lord by reading the OT or else b) something that seems clear on the surface maybe isn’t so clear unless I scratch into the subsurface.
I’ll stick with b) for now. A simple modification of the phrase you do not know the activity of God could be you do not comprehensively know the activity of God. That makes sense since I notice the writer says a bit later: know that God will bring you to judgment. The Lord judging me is one of his activities. Which means I do know one of his activities. Therefore you do not know the activity of God doesn’t mean that I know absolutely nothing about his activity.
I don’t figure the writer is telling me something that’s incorrect – maybe he figures I shouldn’t need to be spoon-fed every single thing.
Anyway I’m relieved that I do know some things. But I’m less relieved that I don’t know very much.

Note: quotes from Ecclesiastes 11:5 9 (NASB). Month-end reading report: 77% completed; 75% of the year gone.

Week 35  Ecclesiastes

A couple of days ago I started reading Ecclesiastes. Then yesterday I realized I’d already read it back in June-July. So…to read or not to read? Since my reading is on-track I’ll reread. I’ll start Matthew on September 1.
Reading Ecclesiastes again isn’t a bad idea since it’s a thorny book to read. For example today I read that: it is the same for all people. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked…As the good person is, so is the sinner…This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all people. Another version says ‘one destiny’ in place of ‘one fate’.
The problem with the paragraph is that it sounds like it doesn’t make any difference if I’m good or bad since good people and bad people have the same fate. The way I live my life has no effect on my destiny. Which seems like a bible anomaly.
Anyway as I kept reading I saw this: anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better than a dead lion. It occurred to me that maybe that’s the one fate we share – we all end up dead. Of course I can’t say for sure that death is the Common Fate. But for now it’s a relief to discover an alternate way to think about a problematic bit of text.

Note: quotes from Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 4 (NASB & NIV)

Week 35  Malachi 4

The second-last verse of the OT says this: I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
I notice that Malachi says that Elijah is going to return to earth. Even though this sounds like Elijah is going to return to earth I’ve read the NT and I know where this is going and I check the marginal reference to the gospel of Matthew where the Lord tells his disciples that Elijah had already come back and that their own John-the-Baptist was in reality Malachi’s Elijah. So when Malachi said Elijah would come he didn’t mean that Elijah would come back in person but that someone a lot like Elijah would come back (i.e. John).
Another thing I notice is that Elijah-John would bring in not only the great but also the terrible day of the Lord. When I think about the day of the Lord words like great wonderful fantastic grand notable profound intense unsurpassed superior come to mind. But Malachi added that it would be terrible too. Not bad terrible. Maybe more like frightening alarming awesome shocking intimidating fearsome stupendous & full-of-dread terrible. Like that. Both-And.
Anyway I leave the OT prophets with reader’s reminders like: Don’t relax! Keep Thinking! Read With Care!

Note: quote from Malachi 4:5 (NLT) and see Matthew 17:10-13. Added note: I finished Malachi today but not the OT. Since I skipped Ecclesiastes back in June I’ll be reading it between now and the 31st.

 

Week 34  Habakkuk 2

The Habakkuk Backstory: Babylon was becoming a world-power. Maturing into Empire Building Adulthood. Starting to stomp weak countries with imperial boots. Worst of all Babylon was going to crush Israel.
The Lord said two things to Habakkuk that caught my attention.
The first one was how prophetic communication worked. The Lord told Habakkuk to: write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else. So in Habakkuk’s case the Lord spoke in a vision. Then Habakkuk wrote the message down. Then he gave it to a speaker who publicized the message orally. So that was the process in Habakkuk’s case.
The second more important thing was that the Lord also said: the things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. This gives me a heads-up about one of the recurring concerns with prophetic communication. Timing.
I think back to Moses giving Pharaoh the plague forecasts. Pharaoh didn’t have to wait long. A day or so. They happened very quickly. But lots of times people have to wait-and-see. Personally I think one of the huge downsides  with prophecy is the wait time.
There are two different ways to manage wait time – a) frustrated-and-impatient waiting and b) patient-self-controlled waiting. Prophetic content pretty much requires b).

Note: quotes from Habakkuk 2:2 & 3 (NIV)

Week 33  Joel & Jonah

A couple of days after reading Joel I read Jonah.
I like the story. Despite doing exactly the opposite of what the Lord told him to do Jonah finally got to Nineveh and preached to them. The king issued a decree: let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger.
This sounded very familiar to me and I flipped back a few pages. Joel had said: return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.
Who knows is an interesting question. It’s about action that’s taken…but that action has an uncertain outcome.
The action was to call urgently on God (Jonah) and to return to the Lord your God (Joel). The action was based on a couple of known qualities about the Lord: he may relent and with compassion turn (Jonah) and he may turn and have pity (Joel).
Action: turn to the Lord.
Outcome: the Lord might relent. Maybe. Who knows for sure?
On balance I figure the Lord will probably relent nine times out of ten since it takes real effort for someone to get to the Point of No Return. But in Joel & Jonah some uncertainty remained.

Note: quotes from Jonah 3:8-9 Joel 2:13-14 (NIV)

Week 33  Obadiah

A verse in Obadiah is already underlined in my bible: the day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. I underline the second phrase again: as you have done, it will be done to you.
It seems to me like an important thing to keep in mind. I’ve seen it before:
Joshua asks Achan: why have you brought this disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today
Adoni-bezek: now God has paid me back for what I did
David to Shimei: now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing
Nehemiah prays: remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for this people
Haman’s scheme: came back on his own head
David about an evil person: the trouble he causes recoils on himself.
There’s quite a few like that.
As you have done, it will be done to you sounds to me like a rock-solid principle that operates everywhere and always. Which means it applies to me too: as I have done, it will be done to me.
I move through my life accumulating all my behaviours. Most of them might disappear from my memory but none of them get disconnected from their own repercussions.

Note: quotes from Obadiah 15 Joshua 7:25 Judges 1:7 I Kings 2:44 Nehemiah 5:19 Esther 9:25 Psalm 7:16 Proverbs (NIV)

 

Week 33  Joel 2

I’ve been reading the prophets for a month-and-a-half now so I’ve gradually shifted into a mental zone where I’m expecting quite a bit of gloom-and-doom.
Reading Joel today I wondered what “quite a bit” converted to in numerical terms so I decided to count verses.
There’s 73-verses in the book and I decided I’d do a simple two-part contrast: Dark Forecasts vs. Non-Dark Forecasts. I recorded them by putting a penciled dot beside Dark Forecast verses.
The number I had in my head before reading – it was a pure guess – was that Joel would have maybe 80% Dark Forecasts.
In the first 31-verses I dotted 27 verses: ~87%!
But then partway through chapter 2 Joel said (quoting the Lord): even now…return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. And then Joel added: return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.
From that point on I wasn’t adding many dots. Almost the whole rest of the book was Non-Dark (my final Dark tally dropped to 42%).
Anyway…all that aside I thought about Joel’s pretty good question: who knows?
One of the tricky things with prophetic forecasts is that even though they sound very definite there sometimes seems to be an open-endedness to them too. Dependably predictable. But not absolutely predictable.

Note: quotes from Joel 2:12 13-14 (NIV)