The Bible in a Year – 26 March

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

26 March. 1 Samuel chapters 1-3

Hannah is one of the several women in the Bible who are described as barren but are granted a special child by God’s grace.  She has been compared to Mary the mother of Jesus, for a similar song of praise is attributed to them both. Also, both of them were told that their special son had to be dedicated to God. Whereas Mary at least had Jesus with her until he was 30 (although she had been warned she would face the agony of his suffering) Hannah has to give up her child as soon as Samuel is weaned – maybe 1 or 2 years old. Although she had further children, she did not know that at the time she left him in the care of the elderly high priest.  When God calls people to a special task, he often tests their faith.

 

Samuel himself faced a test of faith at the start of his ministry as a prophet.    Although still only a boy – and no doubt having to show deference to the priest whom he served – the first prophecy he is given is a very unpleasant one for Eli, namely that because of the sins of his own sons, the right to be priests is being taken away from his family.  But Samuel passes the test of a prophet of “speaking truth to power” and passes on the prophecy rather than hiding or sweetening its message, as many people would be tempted to do.

 

Whether each of us is called to be a prophet, or a parent making sacrifices for their children, God honours those who put his truth and others before their own needs.

The Bible in a Year – 25 March

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25 March. Judges chapters 19-21

These last three chapters of Judges tell of a very dark day in the history of Israel, when there was no effective government (“there was no King in Israel”) and a very bloody civil war ensues, set off (as wars often are) by one incident. That incident is bad enough – it reads like a repeat of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, with the men of the town (Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin) demanding to rape a male visitor, and his host, himself a stranger in the town, refusing, offering a woman instead.  But there the similarity ends: in Sodom, the angel intervenes and no-one gets raped, but the whole town and three neighbouring ones are destroyed by God for the sinfulness of which those men’s demand was a sign.  In Gibeah by contrast, the men accept the offer of a woman, and abuse her to death.  Yet no angel intervenes to save her.  Instead, her husband cuts up her body and sends the parts round the country as a sign of how evil the Benjaminites have become and a rallying call to war.

 

At that stage escalation could have been prevented if the men actually guilty of the attack had been sent out to be killed as a direct punishment for their crime.  But instead their identity is protected, and all-out war between Benjamin and the other tribes ensues, with a knock-on effect with further towns being attacked to provide wives for the few remaining men of Benjamin after all their own womenfolk have been burned in the sacking of Gibeah.   Instead of a few men being punished for their crime, tens of thousands of people are killed on both sides.

 

What are we to make of this?  The only lesson I can see is that it is always better for people to own up to their crimes and sins, and face the consequences, because otherwise innocent people will get hurt instead.   That holds true from the infant school, where the whole class is “kept in at playtime” because no-one owned up or was named as responsible for some small damage caused, to the international scene where whole countries end up being devastated as the result of no-one wanting to lose face after one incident.  What difference would have been made to recent history if those behind the 9/11 attack had given themselves up, or the compilers of the “dodgy dossier” on Iraq had confessed that their claims were untrue before it came to all-out war?

The Bible in a Year – 24 March

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24 March. Judges chapters 17-18

In these chapters we meet Micah (presumably not the prophet of the same name). The opening story is ambiguous – had he stolen his mother’s money, which seems to be the plain reading of the text, in which case surely she would have chastised him even when he returned it, or had someone else stolen it and he had somehow got it back, which would explain her rejoicing?  But this being one of the periods of widespread idolatry, she makes an idol in thanksgiving.

 

What is surprising is that through the remainder of these chapters, when first a Levite priest accepts an offer to be priest at this pagan shrine, and then the men of Dan (another tribe of Israel) steal the idol along with its priest, there is no condemnation of them (other than the oft-repeated phrase “every man did what was right in his own eyes”), although idol-worship is consistently the worst of all sins for Jews.  Nor is there condemnation for the men of Dan attacking the peace-loving Phoenecian town of Laish. Why is this?  I don’t know.

 

The Bible in a Year – 23 March

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23 March. Judges chapters 13-16

This is the story of Samson, probably one of the best known of the ‘judges’. It is a name still given to strong people and powerful machines, for Samson was miraculously given great strength by God.  In fact, his birth itself was miraculous, like that of several other Bible heroes from Isaac to Jesus, and like theirs it was announced by an angel.

 

When God gives a special gift to someone or predestines them to greatness, their gifts are to be used for God’s purposes and the benefit of humanity. Samson, though, misused his gifts. He acted against the enemy Philistines in an increasing spiral of violence and revenge.  He demonstrated his strength by killing thousands of men single-handed, as well as a lion.

 

But the best known of the stories is his relationship with Delilah – far from the first woman he had fallen in love with, and treated badly. Three times he lied to her and caused her to bind him up in various ways only to break free from the bonds (presumably what we would now call an S-M relationship). Eventually, a combination of his own pride, and her nagging, caused him to reveal his true secret, and she cut off his long hair which was part of the vow his mother had made before his birth.  It was this breaking of a vow, as well as his misuse of his powers, that caused God to withdraw the gift of superhuman strength.

 

Throughout the Bible’s account of the dealings of God with people, there is a repeated motif of sin, punishment, repentance and restoration. So it is with Samson. God allows his strength to be exercised once more, this time destroying the building he was in (presumably the temple of Dagon, to demonstrate that he served the true God).  Even if we have misused the gifts God gave us and mistreated other people, repentance and restoration are still possible.

 

Once again there is a connection with current events. Samson inevitably died with the people he crushed, crying “Let me die with the Philistines”, much as a suicide terrorist today might cry Allahu akhbar”. And sadly, London suffered another such terrorist attack only yesterday.   There is a big difference  between ‘true’ religion and ‘religiously inspired terrorism’ but people are all too easily led from one into the other.

The Bible in a Year – 22 March

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22 March. Judges chapters 10-12

Several more of the ‘judges’ of Israel are listed here, although only Jephthah’s deeds are recounted in detail.  Although the length of each one’s reign is given, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of the passage of time when reading the historical parts of the Bible.  But we are given a signpost in Jephthah’s statement “While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, for three hundred years”. After that length of time, the original conquests had become history and needed to be recited to new generations to remind them of how they had come to be where they were.

 

As always, it’s not easy to see a connection between ancient history and our own time.  But human nature never changes and I did spot one connection. Jephthah was ostracised by his half-brothers and went off to the “land of Tob” (well east of the Jordan) where he gathered a band of outlaws.  But later he was called upon to join them in a common struggle, make peace with them and be their leader.  This week Martin McGuinness died. He too spent his formative years in the political wilderness as an IRA terrorist, but the time came when he came to see that it was in everyone’s interest to renounce violence, make amends with former enemies and lead those who had once rejected him.

 

 

The Bible in a Year – 21 March

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21 March. Judges chapter 9

A single chapter that records one of the worst times for the recent settlers in Canaan.  After Gideon had won them peace, instead of accepting a leader appointed by God, they accept Abimelech as their king.  He had led a bloody coup, killing all but one of his 70 half-brothers in order to gain power.  Eventually Abimelech does get killed, once again by the hand of a woman (see Jael, 19 March), but not before further battles and bloodshed.

 

It’s hard to see anything good in these tales of warfare, internecine struggle and treachery.  But there is one ray of sunshine.  The one survivor among Gideon’s sons, Jothan, it says with restrained understatement, “stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud”.  He then tells the “parable of the trees” to those who have supported Abimelech’s coup, in which all the fruit trees refuse to cease producing fruit in order to become king over the other trees, leaving the bramble to “devour them with fire”.  This a lovely poetic way of expressing a truth, that just because one is good at one thing does not mean one should leave that to seek fame and glory as a leader.

 

The Bible in a Year – 20 March

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20 March. Judges chapters 6-8

The story of Gideon is one of those beloved of Sunday school teachers, partly because of the very visual imagery and lots of action – threshing wheat, laying out fleeces, lapping water like dogs, smashing pottery and blowing trumpets.  Strangely, the trampling of captured enemy leaders with thorns and briars is not mentioned so much.  But the story is also popular as it illustrates a couple of things about living by faith.

 

Firstly, that quality is more important than quantity.  When called by God to lead his people into battle, Gideon started with 32,000 men – still a lot fewer than the 135,000 of the Midianite army, but all he could muster from the Northern tribes.  Yet God says that he still had too many, in case the Israelites took credit for a victory.  He gradually reduces the number to three hundred choice troops, those who were not afraid and who lapped water like dogs (one interpretation of this is that they remained alert and looking around them, unlike those who knelt down to use their hands).  With those 300, and under cover of darkness, Gideon achieves a victory by psychological means – imagine the terror of the Midianites roused in the middle of the night by the sounds of trumpets and lights suddenly appearing all around them! So one lesson is that by waiting for the right time when God gives the word, carefully selecting the right people, and making use of all our senses, we can achieve results for God  against what may seem impossible odds.

 

The other lesson that is often taught from these chapters is that of ‘putting out a fleece’ that is, setting a test for God to pass before we accept his will, as Gideon did.  I’m wary of that, as Jesus clearly said “do not put the Lord your God to the test”.  It’s not really for us to dictate to God how he should reveal his will to us.  If you have doubts about whether  a perceived call to Christian service, or word of prophesy, is genuine, it is usually far better to discuss it with the elders of your church, than to set random ‘tests’ for the Almighty.

 

The Bible in a Year – 19 March

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19 March. Judges chapters 3 – 5

Chapters 3 and 4 recount the acts of the first four ‘judges’: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar and Deborah.  Three men and a woman, and it is only the woman whose name has passed into Biblical history. Othniel and Shamgar are mentioned only in passing, and Ehud is remembered for slaying the King of Moab after diplomatically making peace with him. In any age, that would be counted a dirty deed of deception – this weekend the media have noted the insult that Donald Trump gave by merely refusing to shake hands with Angela Merkel – but how much more in the eastern culture of hospitality?

 

Deborah is also (in)famous for arranging the murder of an enemy by the hand of another woman, Jael, and chapter 5 is a lengthy poem or song attributed to her. No doubt it reads more poetically in the original language than in English, but remember again this is nearly 3000 years ago, whereas English written literature dates back no more than half that time. Among all the apparent glorification of war there is a human touch in the image of the warrior Sisera’s mother at her window, worried why he has not returned, and people around here reassuring her (although maybe they already know he is dead).

People sometimes think that before Margaret Thatcher, it was commonly believed that women cannot be powerful leaders of nations. But I don’t think that is true – besides Deborah (and a few other examples in the Bible) consider Cleopatra of Egypt, Boudicca/Boadicea of the Iceni (ancient Britons) and Joan of Arc, to name but three.

 

 

The Bible in a Year – 18 March

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18 March. Judges chapters 1-2

The next book of the Bible that I am reading is that which covers the days of the ‘judges’ who despite the name used in translation were actually still more like military leaders than lawyers. They did however have the responsibility for upholding the religious/civil law as well.

 

These first two chapters are a bit confused.  Some material is repeated from the book of Joshua (e.g. the marriage of Othniel and Aksah). In chapter 1 Joshua is clearly already dead and the tribe of Judah is said to have captured and set fire to Jerusalem. But chapter 2 describes events in Joshua’s lifetime, and the Benjamites (in whose territory Jerusalem lay) fail to capture Jerusalem.  So maybe these two chapters got put in the wrong order somewhere along the line.

 

The lesson for us today, however, does not depend on resolving that.  It concerns the angel who appears to remind the people of the importance of obeying God. But even that, on top of Joshua’s exhortations and the people’s promise witnessed by the stone at Shechem (Joshua 24:26-27), fails to stop them reverting to idolatry within a generation.  God says he will continue to provide judges to point his people in the right direction, but even so he knows that most of the people will not listen to them and will bring judgement on themselves.

 

That reminds me of two sayings. The first is that of Jesus – “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”  (Luke 16:31). One cannot rely on a mass response at a rally, or even a dramatic miracle, to convince everyone who is there to make a real change in their lives.  True conversion happens on an individual basis and is built on many encounters with God and his people.

 

The second is one often heard today in the Church – “the church is always one generation from extinction”.  If we do not pass on a living faith in some form to the young people of our day, the Church of Jesus Christ (in its widest form) will cease to exist.

 

The Bible in a Year – 17 March

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17 March. Joshua chapters 22-24

Chapter 24 completes the allocation of land to the tribes, the distinction being that this is the “two and a half” tribes east of the Jordan, who because they were not actually in the Promised Land seem to have been regarded as not quite part of the family.  Their action in setting up an altar by way of marking their common heritage with the other tribes was quickly misinterpreted by the others as idolatry, and they immediately wanted to go to war against them.  Fortunately, Phineas (a priest rather than a tribal leader, since the offence was a religious one) who was sent to lead a delegation intended to issue an ultimatum, listened to and believed their account of the matter, and war was averted.  Too often in human history such brinkmanship goes the wrong way and disaster follows.  Whether within the family or in international relations, Churchill’s wise words deserve repeating: “it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war”.

 

The last two chapters of the book are Joshua’s exhortations to the people before his death, similar to (but much shorter than) the record of Moses’ final speeches to his people in Deuteronomy. He speaks twice: first to the leaders, with an emphasis on passing on the Mosaic teachings and avoiding diluting the faith by intermarriage; and then to the rest of the people with an emphasis on not worshipping or even owning any idols.  As elsewhere in the Bible, a stone was erected as a witness to their act of re-commitment.