On the Hevel Level - A Blog About Nothing

  When discussing biblical authority, it’s important to ask some questions. If the Bible is authoritative, how does that work? How is it that books in the Bible like Joshua, Ruth or Song of Solomon can be authoritative in life? What does that look like for a story to be authoritative? Before answering these questions, there’s some even more basic questions to ask. First, does anyone want another authority in their life? Second, when the claim is made that scripture is authoritative do people hear that as good news or bad news? Perhaps the answer depends on an individual’s experience with authority figures in their life. Without a doubt all people have had mixed experiences at best. As a parent, I can a ffi rm I’m not a perfect parent...and I know I’m not alone. Parents are the first experience of authority in a person’s life and the very best parents are flawed. After parents most of us have teachers, coaches, police o ffi cers, politicians and pastors to name a few. These roles can b

  King James Bible and the Unicorn A  Tidbit from our Tour of Stirling Castle The unicorn is Scotland’s official national animal.  During our Scotland visit we had been seeing it in the iconography all over the churches, buildings and monuments.  Stirling Castle had unicorns all over it as well.  The Queen’s Inner Hall even had the Passion Narrative expressed through pictures on each wall….with a Unicorn in each painting as Jesus As we continued to hear the history of James the IV, V and VI, the last of which was the one who commissioned the King James Bible something clicked for me.  I was aware that the King James Bible idiosyncratically uses ‘unicorn’ in a number of places for the Hebrew word ‘ reym’ ( normally ‘ox’) .    One example is Psalm 92:10, “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an  unicorn : I shall be anointed with fresh oil.”  Another is Numbers 23:22, “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an  unicorn .” I asked one of the tour guides

History does not have much kind to say about the Caesars who ruled from Rome.  The emperors were unscrupulous in their quest to maintain power.  They could spend lavishly to gain the favor of the masses and then turn around and rob through taxation, extortion or murderous plunder of faithful subjects.  The powerful did as they pleased and the rest of the world paid for it in every sense.     Those who lived in close proximity to Caesar were frequently reminded that it was at his pleasure they were allowed to stay alive.  Caligula often remind his wife, or other women he was intimate with, that they had beautiful necks, but he could have those pretty throats slit at any moment. Those who displeased Caesar, with significant reasons or not, were often tortured or killed.  This was true for rivals, but also true for ‘friends’.   Living far away did not save you from the long shadow of Rome.  Joseph, Mary and the baby on the way knew what it is to have their life directed by the whim of Cae

The first two Psalms are reflections on the Garden of Eden.     At the center of the Garden of Eden there were two trees representing humanity’s choice.     The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents life on our own terms, while the Tree of Life is a picture of never-ending nourishment and sustained flourishing.     When we read Psalm 1 & 2 we are invited to listen to the echoes from The Garden of Eden.   Psalm 1 is about the blessed person who  meditates  ( yegeh 1 :2) on God’s way of life.  This person flourishes like a tree planted next to life giving waters.  They live without fear of drought because of the infinite water source that sustains them. This person is flourishing in an Edenic existence where the heart can freely delight in always increasing goodness.     Psalm 2 has a contrasting meditation. This psalm asks "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples meditate ( yegeh,  often ‘plot’ ) in vain” (2:1).  Here, the poet considers those who dream about th

I’ve been watching the footage from Afghanistan and I feel powerless.  Where will justice, liberation and rescue come from? The outcry is great and as tragic as that is, it’s also important.  Why?  Because scripture gives witness to God who responds to outcry.  The Lord told Moses that he certainly heard the outcry (tsa-aq) of Israel during their oppression in Egypt (Ex 2:23, 3:7, 3:9).  Pharaoh is given the chance to let Israel go, but his refusal ends in a reversal of fortune.  It would be the great outcry (tsa-aq) of Pharaoh and his officials that pierced the night and led to release of the captives (Ex 12:30) A variety of Psalms containing outcry are referred to as laments.  The typical form of a lament begins in complaint, details the suffering, but concludes in praise as it anticipates God’s deliverance (e.g. Psalm 13, 22, 77).  The exodus narrative is structure as a “lived lament”.  It opens in the cry of the oppressed and ends with liberation and praise songs on the far side of

  The Old Testament has an interesting feature.  It tells Israel’s history twice.  The first version starts at creation in Genesis and ends in 2 Kings with Israel’s southern kingdom in exile.  When you turn the page from 2 Kings’ conclusion to 1 Chronicles, the story starts over with Adam and goes through the end of exile. The question is, “why two versions?”     The Kings’ history tells the “How did we get ourselves into the mess of exile” version, while Chronicles comes at the end of exile and answers the question “How do we live and tell our story now?   Comparing the two histories helps us to see the different purpose for each narrative.  In this short survey, looking at David and his immediate family in each version will provide one place for comparison.  The second comparison is on the macro level, contrasting how the whole nation of Israel is handled between the two accounts.   David is a key figure in Israel’s history.  The nation’s hopes rested on God’s enduring promise to his

  As a Christian, we often struggle to understand what we should do with “all those oppressive Old Testament laws” that we supposedly don’t have to live under because of Jesus.     I say “supposedly” because in practice you won’t find many Christians who say “Because of Jesus, I’m free to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie in court, all on my way to pagan worship of other gods.”     But if as a Christian I do say, “I’m no longer under the law” isn’t it consistent with saying I can live however I want? As many have pointed out, “Law” is an unfortunate translation of  torah.   Using ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction’ better prepares us for the material we meet in the first five books of the Bible.  After all, you read about 70 chapters of ‘story’ before you get material that you could call “law”.  It is true that 58 chapters of the 189 in the Torah do contain laws, but a majority of what we call “The Law” is a story. A better way to understand  torah  is to watch what happens in its story.   The

  What do you do with the things in life that you would want to do, but if you did them, you’d be destroying your life?  Not because they were immoral, but because you would have to devote your life’s resources to things that are  very  low on the list of priorities.  On a recent family road trip to Idaho, I made the comment that it would be fun to own a small, fast airplane that could get us there almost as time efficiently as an airline (I have a pilots license but haven’t used it for years).  If you take out getting to the airport early for security, baggage and boarding, the small plane is on par with a commercial flight for the distance we were going.  Just for fun I asked my wife to look up really fast, four seat airplanes to see what price they are going for.  The four to six seat planes I inquired about start at $300,000 and could get us places at over 300 miles per hour.     We looked at financially out of reach planes and dreamed….and then came back down to earth.  All thoug

“If you press this button, someone on the other side of the world – someone you don’t know will die and I will give you $250,000 dollars”.  This was a line from a Twilight Zone reboot I watched as a young teenager.  The gist of the episode was that a strange man showed up on the door step of a struggling couple’s run-down apartment and left a box with a mechanical button and the dark offer for the woman.  The man told her he would return the next day.  The woman told the husband about the strange visit.  The husband responded that she should have nothing to do with it, regardless of their financial struggles.  After a sleepless night the wife gave in and pushed the button.  The stranger returned the next day and traded her a bag of cash for the magical box back and told her, “Don’t worry, I will be sure to give the box to somebody far away that you don’t know.” We interact on a regular basis with the nameless and faceless who may as well be on the other side of the world.  It

On our wedding video, there is a clip where my wife’s grandpa offered me marriage advice. “Don’t complain when she brings you burnt toast in the morning, just consider it burnt offerings!”  It’s debatable if what passed for humor or good advice in his day, has stood the test of time.  There is, however, a concept in his statement that points to a reality that goes much further back than the time of our grandparents.  There was a day when the word worship might cause a mouth-watering Pavlovian response, because food was being talked about. In Ancient Israel, the idea of worship or sacrifices was synonymous with "barbecue".  A main activity at the temple was animal, grain and drink offerings prepared on the front porch.  A whole burnt offering was enjoyed by God alone.  This was done by completely cooking it.  The word ola  refers to “rising up” as the sacrifice ascended to God in the form of smoke.  Most other sacrifices were shared meals for the worshipers.  This meant th