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2018, June 3 ~ Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

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Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah and is presented as Moses’ final speech to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land. “Deuteronomy” comes from Greek words that mean “Second Law” and is structured as a “restatement” of the laws found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Parts of it were revised as late as 450 BCE, but the bulk of the book is generally dated to the reign of King Josiah of Judea (640-609 BCE).

Today’s reading is the part of the Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue (the “Ten Words” or the “Ten Commandments”). Another version is in Exodus 20:2-17.

Today’s verses are about keeping the Sabbath and are the same as in Exodus 2:8-11, except for the reason for keeping the Sabbath. The Exodus version (Ex. 20:11) shows the influence of the priestly writers. The Sabbath is to be observed because (as stated at the end of the First Creation Story in Gen. 2:2-3) God (“Elohim”) rested on the seventh day and consecrated it.

In Deuteronomy, however, the reason for observing the Sabbath is because YHWH brought the people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and commanded them to keep the Sabbath (v.15).

Because the First Creation Story was likely written during or after the Babylonian Exile (587-539 BCE), the Deuteronomic version of this part of the Decalogue is likely older than the version in Exodus.

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community.

Based on internal references in the two letters to the Corinthians which remain, scholars agree that Paul likely wrote at least four letters to the Corinthians. The so-called Second Letter to the Corinthians is likely composed of fragments of these letters.

In today’s reading, Paul emphasizes that when we suffer, the life of Jesus can be known through us. Paul makes clear that we are not “proclaiming ourselves” but are proclaiming that Jesus the Christ is LORD (v.5).

2018, March 4 ~ Exodus 20:1-17 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

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Exodus 20:1-17

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah/Pentateuch, and covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.

Today’s reading is set at Mount Sinai (“Horeb” in other parts of Exodus and in Deuteronomy) during the time in the Wilderness. In it, YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) gave the Decalogue – the ten “words” (v.1) – often called the Ten Commandments.

The structure of the Decalogue was a covenant: YHWH recounted what had been done for the Israelites (v.2) and then directed reciprocal obligations of the Israelites (v. 3-17). Because Ancient Israel was a patriarchal society, the 10 words were addressed to men (in the second person singular), and wives “belonged to” men, just as are houses, slaves, animals and other items (v.17). Each of the “words” is absolute and unconditional.

This is one of three versions of the Decalogue and is called the “Priestly Decalogue” because it refers to the Priestly account of creation in which God rested on the seventh day. Other versions of the Decalogue appear in Exodus 34:11-26 (the “Ritual Decalogue”) and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. In the Deuteronomic version, wives do not “belong” to men (Dt. 5:21), and the rationale for observing the Sabbath is the liberation from Egypt rather than God’s resting on the seventh day of creation.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. In addition to Paul, other Jesus Followers taught in Corinth, sometimes in ways inconsistent with Paul’s understandings of what it meant to be a Jesus Follower. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community.

In today’s reading, Paul continued his criticism of the “wisdom of the world” and asserted that “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom” (v.25). He explained that selfless love (the cross) is foolishness to those who rely on the wisdom of the world (v. 18, 20). God’s wisdom (v. 21) is the plan of salvation, and includes the crucifixion of the Christ/Messiah/Anointed One of God. For Jews, a crucified Messiah was indeed a “stumbling block” (v. 23), and it was also inconsistent with the secular wisdom of the Greeks.

2017, October 8 ~ Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 3:4b-14

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During the 2017 Pentecost Season, alternative readings from the Hebrew Bible are offered. Scripture in Context will discuss both readings and the reading from the Christian Scriptures.

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Today’s reading is set at Mount Sinai (“Horeb” in other parts of Exodus and in Deuteronomy) during the time in the Wilderness. In a theophany (appearance of the Divine) in thunder, lightning and smoke (v. 18), YHWH gave the Decalogue – the ten “words” (v.1) – often called the Ten Commandments. The structure of the Decalogue was a covenant: YHWH recounted what had been done for the Israelites (v.2) and then directed reciprocal obligations of the Israelites (v. 3-17). Because Ancient Israel was a patriarchal society, the words were addressed to men, and wives “belonged to” men, just as houses and other items did (v.17).

This version of the Decalogue is called the “Priestly Decalogue.” Other versions of the Decalogue appear in Exodus 34:11-26 (the “Ritual Decalogue”) and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. In the Deuteronomic version, wives do not “belong” to men (Dt. 5:21), and the rationale for the Sabbath is the liberation from Egypt rather than YHWH’s resting on the seventh day of creation.

Isaiah 5:1-7

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Israel’s history. Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and were written by “Isaiah of Jerusalem” in the 20 years before Jerusalem was under direct siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55 and brings hope to the Judeans during the time of the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they have suffered enough and will return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 and gives encouragement to the Judeans who returned to Jerusalem after the Exile.

Today, Isaiah spoke for YHWH and expressed love for the vineyard (Israel – the northern 10 tribes) and its plantings (Judea/Judah). Verse 7 contains a double word play in Hebrew: YHWH expected justice (mishpat) but saw bloodshed (mishpah), expected righteousness (tsedaqah) but heard a cry (tse’aqah). As a result, the vineyard will be destroyed (v. 5-6). The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BCE, and the Babylonians conquered Judea in 597 and 587 BCE.

Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippi was a major city in Macedonia (northern Greece) on the Roman road to Byzantium (Istanbul). Most of its inhabitants were Roman citizens. He wrote this letter from prison, but it is not clear if he was in Rome, Caesarea or Ephesus.

Today’s reading follows verses (2-4a) in which Paul opposed “Judaisers” – Jesus Followers who claimed that a person needed to be circumcised to be a Jesus Follower. (This was a major issue in the early Jesus Follower Movement.) In later epistles, Paul used “flesh” to mean human weakness. Here, however, he used it to mean an emphasis on physical rituals. Paul spoke of his own Jewish credentials (v.4-6) but rejected them as “rubbish” (his actual word in Greek is much stronger) because he is now in “righteousness” (a right relationship) with God through his faith in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ (v.9-10).