Kings – Scripture In Context – weekly offerings by Tom O’Brien, a Canon and Examining Chaplain for Holy Scripture in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida

2025, October 12 ~ Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19

Thomas O'Brien — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 18:34:30 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
OCTOBER 12, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Reading

1 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; 6 take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported many Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e., speaking for YHWH) began around 627 and continued until 586 BCE when he fled to Egypt (Ch. 43) and died there.

Jeremiah was descended from the priestly line of Eli (v.1) – who had presided as the high priest at Shiloh in the early years of Israel’s history in the land (1 Sam. 1-4). Jeremiah was presented as a priest and a prophet and (according to The Jewish Study Bible) his prophesying for 40 years was seen in Rabbinic Tradition as a parallel to the 40 years Moses led the Israelites in the desert.

The call of Jeremiah is said to have been in 627 BCE – “the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah” (v.2) and his prophesying lasted until 587 BCE, the “eleventh year of King Zedekiah” (v.3). The JSB says: “Jeremiah emerges as one of the major figures who grappled with the theological problems posed by the destruction of the nation, and who laid the foundations for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple in the years following the end of the exile.” He was a constant opponent of King Jehoiakim (608-598) who was an Egyptian sympathizer and of King Zedekiah (597-586), a Babylonian appointee who nevertheless went to war (unsuccessfully) with Babylon in 597 BCE.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, so much so that the English word “jeremiad” is defined as a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes. In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations was placed after the Book of Jeremiah because of the (incorrect) view that Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” are thought to have been added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn. In addition, The JSB notes: “Jeremiah challenges prophets who represent the older tradition of Isaiah that Jerusalem was inviolable and would be delivered.”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary states: “The two predominant themes of his message are precisely to define true Yahwism and to proclaim the imminent wars as punishments of the Judah’s aberrations.”

Today’s reading is part of an extended prose insert in the Book of Jeremiah that begins with Chapter 26. The incidents reported in these four chapters (26-29) represent an early interpretation of the significance of the life and message of Jeremiah and were likely written by the Deuteronomists in 75 years the after the Exile (which ended in 539 BCE).

The “elders among the exiles” (v.1) would have been those leaders sent to Babylon in the first wave of the Exile in 597 BCE. (A larger group was sent in 586 when the Temple was destroyed.)

The “directions” given by YHWH in verses 4 to 7 are what actually – as a matter of history – had happened in Babylon when the Exiles were there. The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes the advice given by Jeremiah (assuming it was given in 597 BCE) was “revolutionary” and was “in contrast to the early return from exile predicted by the other prophets.” The Jewish Study Bible says that verse 7 “is intended to shock – most people would have expected the words ‘and seek the welfare of the city’ to refer to Jerusalem not to Babylon.”

In effect, after the Exile, the Deuteronomists interpreted the behaviors of the Judeans in Babylon during the Exile as reflecting the “will” of YHWH. Later in Chapter 29, the Deuteronomists said that YHWH would “visit” the Judeans only after their seventy years in Babylon (597 to 539 BCE) were completed (v.10).

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

Reading

1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my LORD were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, `Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. His wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.

Consistent with the theological view that YHWH controlled all that occurs, the authors of Kings asserted, somewhat surprisingly, that YHWH gave victory to Naaman, a general of Aram (modern Syria) over Israel around 850 BCE (v. 1). This occurred presumably because King Ahab and his successors did not worship YHWH faithfully.

Elisha, the successor to Elijah, was in Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel at this time. The King of Aram heard from his wife (who learned from an Israeli slave girl) that Elisha was a prophet who could cure Naaman of his leprosy (which could have been any skin ailment). The Jewish Study Bible says that the problem “did not disfigure him or disqualify him from military office or entering temples in his homeland.”

In the omitted verses (4-6), the King sent Naaman to Elisha. He also sent a letter to the King of Israel asking that Naaman be cured of his leprosy and sent along staggeringly generous offerings. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that the gifts amounted to 750 lbs. of silver and 150 lbs. of gold.

The King of Israel’s reaction to the letter emphasized that YHWH controlled life and death (v.7) and it also showed the foolishness of the Kings of Israel – a consistent Deuteronomic theme. The King refused the gifts and (in his anger and frustration) was about to tell Naaman to return to Aram. (The JSB points out that the King of Israel was not aware of Elisha’s healing powers.) Elisha prevailed on the King of Israel to allow Naaman to come to see that he (Elisha) was a true prophet (speaker for God).

In the concluding verses, Naaman stated that YHWH’s power was not territorially limited to the lands of Israel and Judea – it extended to the whole world (v.15), an important theological message the Deuteronomists sought to convey. Naaman also took some soil from Israel so he could make offerings to YHWH (v.17) because, as The JSB points out, he became convinced that while God is universal, God can only be worshiped on the soil of his chosen land, Israel.

The Jewish Study Bible notes: “One motif of the story is that people of higher status are dependent on people of lower status: Naaman on counsel from his wife reporting information from and Israelite slave girl (vv.2-3); the king of Aram on the king of Israel, and the latter on Elisha (vv.5-8); and Naaman on the advice of his own servants and Elisha (vv.13-15).”

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Reading

8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David — that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

14 Remind them of this and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Commentary

The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concerned the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 63 CE). Writing a document in someone else’s name (pseudepigraphy) was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. Scholars note that the tone and vocabulary in the Pastoral Letters are different from Paul’s authentic letters. The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out, for example, “The Pastorals’ concept of faith (pistis) – a concern for ‘sound teaching’ differs from that in Paul’s undisputed letters where faith is a matter of trust.”

By the time these letters were written, the Jesus Follower Community had become more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” had arisen. The Pastoral Letters were written to Paul’s “co-workers” but had a broader audience. By the time they were written, Paul was regarded as an authoritative figure of the past. The NJBC advises: “The Pastorals insist that a valid Christian theology must affect behavior in the real world.”

In Acts of the Apostles 16:1, Timothy was described as having a Jewish mother and a Greek father. He was one of Paul’s co-missionaries and is described in 1 Timothy as Paul’s “loyal child” (1:2).

2 Timothy purported to be written by Paul from prison (v.8) and is more personal than 1 Timothy. The author, writing as Paul, treated Timothy as his “beloved child” (v.2), loyal disciple and his spiritual heir. In the letter, Paul was portrayed as near death (4:6). Timothy was presented as a “third generation” Jesus Follower who followed both his grandmother and his Jewish mother (Acts 16:1-3), although nothing in 2 Timothy hints at Timothy’s Jewish background.

The JANT observes: “The author is concerned with two major issues: the suffering of believers for the gospel [citing verses] and the preservation of correct apostolic teachings [citing verses].”

Today’s reading includes a synopsis of the “gospel” (good news) that Paul preached in his epistles (e.g. Rom. 1.3). Jesus is the Messiah, was resurrected, and is a royal ruler (v.8). A recitation of his hardships was a common motif in Paul’s epistles and are repeated here (vv.9-10) to emphasize the depth of “Paul’s” faithfulness.

The JANT notes that the use of the word “criminal” (v.9) Is the same word used in the Gospel of Luke for those who were crucified with Jesus (23:32).

The sayings in verses 11 to 13 are likely a quotation from a hymn that would have been used in the Jesus Follower Community early in the Second Century.

Luke 17:11-19

Reading

11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Today’s reading presents a story found only in Luke. Jesus was traveling between the Galilee and Samaria (v.11). The 10 lepers who approached nevertheless “kept their distance” (v.12) as prescribed by Leviticus 13.

Jesus directed the cured lepers to “show themselves to the priests” (v.14), so the “other nine” – presumably Jewish — lepers would have gone to Jerusalem where the priests were at the Temple. As The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out, the Samaritan leper would have been going to Mount Gerizim in Samaria.

The NOAB explains: “Samaritan is a geographical designation used also to name an inhabitant of Samaria, which was originally the capital of the former Northern Kingdom that fell to Assyria ca. 722 BCE. Samaritan became the term for persons living between Judea and Galilee who came to be regarded as a distinct ethnic and religious group. Tensions existed between Samaritans and Jews after the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon and remained in Jesus’ day.”

The background to seeing Samaritans as a distinct ethnic group arose from the intermarriage of Assyrians with persons in Northern Israel after 722. They were also a distinct religious group, in that the holy mountain for Samaritans was Mount Gerizim, and by the first century BCE, the Samaritans had their own version of the Torah – translated into Aramaic and called the Targum.

The NOAB points out that the phrase translated as “made you well” (v.19) is the Greek word “sesōken” which is literally translated as “saved you.”

2025, July 6 ~ 2 Kings 5:1-14; Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11,16-20

Thomas O'Brien — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 18:51:43 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 6, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

2 Kings 5:1-14

Reading

1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”

Commentary

Consistent with the theological view that YHWH controls all that occurs, the authors of Kings asserted, somewhat surprisingly, that YHWH gave victory to Naaman, a general of Aram (modern Syria) over Israel around 850 BCE (v. 1). This occurred presumably because King Ahab and his successors did not worship YHWH faithfully.

The King sent Naaman to Elisha and to the King of Israel along with staggeringly generous offerings. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that it amounted to 750 lbs. of silver and 150 lbs. of gold. Naaman also had a letter from the King of Aram to the King of Israel asking that Naaman be cured of his leprosy (v.5).

The King of Israel’s reaction to the letter re-emphasized that the Deuteronomists understood that YHWH controlled life and death (v.7). It also showed the foolishness of the Kings of Israel. The King refused the gifts and (in his anger and frustration) was about to tell Naaman to return to Aram. Elisha prevailed on the King of Israel to allow Naaman to come to see that he (Elisha) was a true prophet (speaker for God).

Elisha’s prescription did not involve divine guidance or prayer as Naaman expected (v.13). Instead, Elisha directed Naaman to wash seven times in the River Jordan. After initially refusing to do so, Naaman’s servants convinced him, and he went to the River Jordan and was healed (v.14). The NOAB continues: “Like other characters in Kings, Naaman thinks that prophets are in control of their prophetic gift, able to say and do as they choose, and with a responsibility to please their superiors (e.g.,1Kings 22.13). He expects personal and immediate attention (v.11).”

In the verses that follow today’s reading, Naaman stated that YHWH’s power was not territorially limited to the lands of Israel and Judea – it extended to the whole world (v.15), an important theological message the Deuteronomists sought to convey. Naaman also took some soil from Israel so he could make offerings to YHWH (v.17). The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees this as a statement that the land of Israel is sacred and that Naaman had “undergone a religious conversion in that his worship will now be focused on an altar made of earth taken from God’s special land.”

The Jewish Study Bible points out: “One motif of the story is that people of higher status are dependent on people of lower status: Naaman on counsel from his wife reporting information from an Israelite slave girl (vv.2-3); the king of Aram on the king of Israel, and the latter on Elisha (vv.5-8); and Naaman on the advice of his own servants and Elisha (vv.13-15).”

Isaiah 66:10-14

Reading

10 Thus says the LORD: “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom.
12 For thus says the LORD: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.”

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is part of the last chapter in the Book of Isaiah. It was set in the time after the return from Babylon and presented Jerusalem as a nourishing mother for the returning Judeans (vv. 10-11). In verse 13, however, the metaphor changed so that YHWH was presented as the mother who will “comfort her son” (v.13) but will rage against his foes (v.14).

In the verses that follow today’s reading, all nations will come to know the one God and will travel to the Temple in Jerusalem. This repeats a prophesy First Isaiah (Is. 2:1-4) and Micah (4:1-4).

Galatians 6:1-16

Reading

1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads.

6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.

7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Commentary

Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Türkiye. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?

These issues are also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).

Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows an evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers.

Today’s reading is the conclusion of this letter. Paul continued to emphasize that the Spirit enabled believers to live out the principle of love (the “law of Christ” in v.2), thus fulfilling this law without slavishly observing the Law’s requirements. He noted that teachers deserved support from their students (v.6).

The NOAB notes: “Paul had dictated this letter to a secretary but writes the conclusion in his own hand.” (v.11) In this conclusion, he affirmed the opposition of “the flesh” to the Spirit and emphasized that whether or not a person is circumcised is not important (vv. 12-15).

Verse 12 presents an interpretive challenge. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary understands v.12 to say: “The Judaisers [Jewish Jesus Followers who opposed Paul’s view on the need for Gentile Jesus Followers to be circumcised and obey Torah] fear that if they preach the real ‘message of the cross’ they might be persecuted for it by Jews or other Judaisers; they prefer to make a good showing before others by preaching circumcision.”

The Jewish Annotated New Testament interprets the verse to say: “Jews who do not believe in Christ are persecuting … Jews who do believe in Christ presumably because the former suspect the latter of rejecting the Torah and effacing the boundary between Jews and Gentiles. Hence to avoid persecution, [some] Jewish followers of Jesus demonstrate their loyalty to the Torah by demanding circumcision of the Galatian Gentiles who believe in Christ.”

It is important to remember that Paul insisted that Jews and Jesus Followers who were Jews before they became Jesus Followers were required to be circumcised and observe the Torah. Paul also took the position that Gentiles who became Jesus Followers did not have to be circumcised or follow Torah. As a Jew who became a Jesus Follower, Paul was Torah observant all his life, and the Temple in Jerusalem was active all during Paul’s life.

The NJBC sees “the world” (v.14) as “all that stands at enmity with God, the sphere of pleasure and ambition related to the flesh, in which the Judaisers find their boast.” It continues that the “new creation” (v.15) is a “new ontological reshaping of human existence [which] comes not through some extrinsic norm of conduct, but through an energizing principle that re-creates life.”

In the final words of today’s reading, Paul asked for peace and mercy upon the “Israel of God” (v.16) – words that are unique to this verse. Some scholars understand these words as meaning the “true Israel,” that is, those who are a new creation in Christ and followed Paul’s understanding of the Gospel rather than those who followed the teachings of Paul’s opponents. The blessing was conditional – it was “for those who follow this rule” (v.16).

Luke 10:1-11,16-20

Reading

1 The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!’ 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Commentary

Today’s reading is reminiscent of YHWH’s direction to Moses to appoint 70 elders to assist him (Ex. 24 and Num. 11). According to The NJBC, the number appears to be based on the table of nations in Gen.10:2-31. Some manuscripts provide for 72 appointees rather than 70.

The instructions given by Jesus are very specific and have antecedents in the Hebrew Bible: take no purse, or bag or sandals, greet no one (lest you be delayed) (v.4) is the instruction given by Elisha to his servant (2 Kings 4:29 ); use a specific greeting (v.5), a greeting used by messengers sent by David (1 Sam. 25:6); and laborers deserve to be paid (v.7) echoes Deut. 24:15.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that shaking the dust off one’s feet “in protest” (v.11) was a statement that the disciples were not responsible for the fate of the inhospitable.

In the omitted verses (12-15), Jesus said that the towns that rejected his disciples would have a fate similar to Sodom and that the towns of Chorazin (about two miles north of Capernaum) and Bethsaida should have repented because of the deeds of power done in them (v.13). Jesus went on that the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon would have repented (v.13b).

The joyful return of the 70 was met with a statement about Satan’s falling from heaven like a flash of light (v.18). This image is based on Isaiah 14:12-14 in which YHWH overcame two Canaanite gods (whose names are translated as Morning Star and Dawn) and brought them down to Sheol. The New Oxford Annotated Bible provides this analysis: These gods “fall from heaven as a result of rebellion. In Christianity, the myth reemerges as the fall of Lucifer and his attendant angels (cf. Lk.10.18).”

The JANT points out that the Hebrew word for “Day Star” comes into Latin as “Lucifer” (lit. ’light bringer’)” and that by the First Century CE, the concept of Sheol had begun to morph into “hell” as a permanent place of damnation. The notion of names “written in heaven” (v.20) is “an ancient Mesopotamian idea” found in Ex 32, Pss 69 and 90, and Dan 12.

2025, June 29 ~ 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62

Thomas O'Brien — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 21:22:41 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 29, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Reading

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel. These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that the “whirlwind” (vv.1 and 11) is reminiscent of the theophany to Job (Job 38:1).

The account has a number of parallels to the stories of Moses and his successor, Joshua. Elijah and Elisha crossed from the west bank of the Jordan River to the east bank (v.8), just as Moses and Joshua crossed the Sea of Reeds. After Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot (v.11), Elisha parted the Jordan and crossed to the west side just as Joshua did (v.14). According to The Jewish Study Bible, “Crossing the Jordan east of Jericho indicates that the place of Elijah’s assumption was near Mt. Nebo where Moses had died (Deut.34:1-6). Thus, in his death, as in earlier texts, Elijah is patterned after Moses.”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes: “Clothes are an extension of the person; Elisha is thus assuming Elijah’s identity by taking up his mantle (v.13).”

Because Elijah was assumed into heaven and did not die, his return to earth was (and is) seen as a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah. This tradition is based in part on Mal. 3:23-24 (“Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.”)

A place/chair for Elijah is left open at the table (and often the doors of homes are left open) at Passover Seders in the event Elijah might return that night. In many ways, John the Baptist is portrayed as an Elijah-like figure in the Gospels.

The JSB observes: “Many of the miracles performed by Elijah and Elisha are similar, indicating that they shared the same spirit.”

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

Reading

15 The LORD said to Elijah, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.”

19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah and became his servant.

Commentary

Today’s reading picks up where one of last week’s readings ended: Elijah slew the prophets of Baal (19:1); Jezebel swore revenge on Elijah (v.2); Elijah fled as far south as he could go (v.3); and in the wilderness, the word of the LORD came to him in the sheer silence (v.12).

The orders given by the LORD to Elijah were extraordinary. He was directed to anoint Hazael as a new king of Aram (Syria) – a foreign country – to anoint Jehu (who was not in the line of succession) to be king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha as his successor. As it turned out according to the Book of Kings, Elisha anointed Hazael (8:7-15) and Jehu (9:1-13). Hazael become an enemy of Israel and made war on Israel. Jehu had a long reign as king of Israel from 842 to 814 BCE.

A “mantle” was a symbol of authority and an extension of the person. When Elijah threw his over Elisha (v.19), Elisha then became Elijah’s “servant” (v.20). The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that the same Hebrew word was used for Joshua’s relationship to Moses, although it is translated as “assistant” or “attendant” in other contexts. The JSB points out that apart from Moses’ choosing Joshua as his replacement in his own lifetime, no other prophet is recorded in the Hebrew Bible as designating his own prophetic replacement.

Because Elisha had a yoke of oxen – or perhaps 12 yoke (v.19) – he was a person of means, so giving up his life as farmer and slaughtering the oxen to provide food for others (v.20) represented a significant economic sacrifice. The Translator’s Notes in The JSB say that the phrase “What have I done to you? (v.20) means “I am not stopping you.”

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Reading

1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Commentary

Galatia was a large Roman province in what is now western Türkiye. This letter was likely written by Paul in the late 40’s or early 50’s (CE), and deals in part with controversies between Jewish Jesus Followers and Gentile Jesus Followers regarding the continuing importance of Torah (Law) to Jesus Followers. In particular, did Gentiles have to convert to Judaism, be circumcised and follow the Kosher dietary law to become Jesus Followers? If not, what was the role of Torah for both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers?

These issues were also considered in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).

Galatians is a “transitional” letter in that – when compared to Paul’s last letter (Romans) — it shows a mid-point in the evolution in his views on the relationship between the Torah and the Gentile Jesus Followers. In Romans, Paul’s positions were more nuanced.

In his description of his confrontation with Peter in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-15), Paul said that observing Jewish law was an unnecessary burden for Gentiles, particularly when Jewish Jesus Followers were not being observant (v.14). He then went on to argue that observance of the Jewish Law by Gentiles was inconsistent with acceptance of the gospel (vv.15-21).

In the omitted verses (2-13) before today’s reading, Paul inveighed against circumcision as a means of righteousness through the Law, and as incompatible with faith in Christ. The Jewish Annotated New Testament says: “Paul asserts, but does not explain, that seeking righteousness through the Law, by means of circumcision, takes away the benefit of salvation through Christ.” The NJBC notes that Paul warned that if you accept circumcision, you obligate yourself to the whole way of life, which is not according to the truth of the Gospel.

Today’s reading is part of the last two chapters of the Letter in which Paul presented the practical application of his views. He emphasized that the Christ gives us freedom to not be under the Law and thus to love one another through the Spirit (“become slaves/servants to one another” v.13). Paul contrasted this freedom with being compelled to follow rules under the Law (v.18).

When Paul enumerated the “works of the flesh” (v.19) he included many sins of the mind – idolatry, jealousy, anger, and envy to name just a few. For Paul, “the flesh” was not the human body and only carnal sin, but rather those human inclinations (“passions and desires” v.24) that oppose the Spirit of Love within us. The NOAB observes: “Catalogues of vices and virtues were a common form of ethical instruction in the Greco-Roman world.” The NJBC describes “flesh” as the “symbol of all human opposition to God.”

The JANT concludes: “For Paul, the mortification of the flesh comes not from circumcision, which is no longer necessary, at least for Gentiles, but from identification with the crucified Christ.”

Luke 9:51-62

Reading

51 When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Commentary

Today’s reading is substantially unique to Luke and follows a series of seemingly unrelated accounts: the Transfiguration (9:28-36); healing a boy possessed by a demon (37-43); a prediction of betrayal (44-45); an argument among the disciples about who is the greatest (46-48); and Jesus’ directive not to stop the activities of an unknown exorcist (49-50).

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that “set his face” (v.51) is a Semitic idiom based on Is. 50:7 (“therefore [says the Suffering Servant] I have set my face like flint.”) It goes on that Jesus’ self-designation as “Son of Man” (v.58) indicates both that he is a mortal (Ezek. 2:1) and an apocalyptic redeemer (Dan.7:13-14).

The Samaritans lived in the area between the Galilee and Judea. They were regarded negatively by Jews as a distinct ethnic and religious group because, after the conquest by Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, some Assyrians intermarried with the Samaritans. The Samaritans’ holy mountain and place of worship was Mount Gerizim (see John 4). Samaritans were therefore not likely to assist Jewish pilgrims going to Jerusalem for Passover. The JANT notes that, according to Josephus, around 50 CE, some Samaritans murdered a large group of a Jewish pilgrims.

The question from James and John about “bringing down fire” (v.54) was a reference to Elijah’s calling down fire on Ahab’s troops (2 Kings 1:10-12) and the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19).

The statement “let me go and bury my father” (v.59) might imply that the man’s father was dead, but Jesus’ response “let the dead bury their own dead” (v.60) clearly suggested that the man’s father was not dead. The meaning of the man’s initial statement can be understood as “I’ll come join you after my father is dead.” The NOAB suggests that “Let the dead bury their own dead” (v.60) means the spiritually dead should be left to bury the physically dead.

The response of the other person “but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (v.61) is reminiscent of Elisha’s response to Elijah when Elijah called him to be his assistant (1 Kings 19:9-16).

2025, June 22 ~ 1 Kings 19:1-15a; Isaiah 65:1-9; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39

Thomas O'Brien — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 03:05:37 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JUNE 22, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

1 Kings 19:1-15a

Reading

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there.

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.”

Commentary

The prophet Elijah is the subject of today’s reading. Just prior to these verses, Elijah invoked the power of YHWH to overcome the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in the Northern part of Israel. He brought fire upon a huge sacrifice and rain to end a drought. He then killed 400 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).

Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done (v.1). Jezebel swore to kill Elijah (v.2), so he ran away as far south in Israel as he could – first to Beer-sheba and then to the Wilderness where he hoped to die (v.4). (The Jewish Study Bible notes that the theme of a prophet wishing to die out of a sense of isolation and failure was repeated in Jonah 4:3.)

YHWH’s angels provided food to Elijah so he could journey to Horeb and continue his ministry. (For the Deuteronomists, the holy mountain was called “Horeb”(which means “dry place) rather than Sinai. “Sinai” was the name used by the authors of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.) The JSB notes that Elijah’s receiving food in the wilderness was parallel to Hagar’s story in Genesis 21:19.

The JSB points out that a person could cover 20-25 miles a day walking. If Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights (v.8), he could have covered between 800 and 1,000 miles. The JSB suggests that 40 is merely a “formulaic number” meaning a long time.

The JSB suggests that the interplay between YHWH and Elijah in this section was intended to present Elijah as a “new Moses” or a “prophet like Moses” as presented in Deut. 18:15. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that “a cave” (v.9) is literally “the cave” that was the site of Moses’ theophany in Ex.33:21-23. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observed that Elijah “wrapped his face in his mantle” (v.13) just as Moses veiled his face after his theophany.

When Elijah was at Horeb, the voice of YHWH came to him in the silence (vv.12-13) and told him to anoint Hazael as king of Aram (modern Syria). In the verse after today’s reading, Elijah was told to commit treason by anointing Jehu as King of Israel even though Ahab was still alive (v.16). This is not the first instance of treasonous activity in the Deuteronomists’ accounts. YHWH told Samuel to anoint David as King even when Saul was still alive. (1 Sam.16:13).

The NOAB points out that this passage presents a contrast between the spectacular actions of YHWH at Mt. Carmel, and the quiet voice of God in the cave.

Isaiah 65:1-9

Reading

1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.

2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices

3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks

4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places, who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels

5 who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

6 See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps

7 their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.

8 Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Today’s reading is set in the time after the return and follows a lament by the people (Chapter 64) claiming that YHWH seemed to be continuing to punish the people. In this chapter, the prophet made a clearer distinction between those who have been faithful and those who have been sinful. The NJBC notes that the first half of the chapter is a “judgment oracle” and the last half is a “salvation oracle.”

Today’s reading is YHWH’s response to the lament in Chapter 64, and is directed to the nation as a whole. It noted that the people acted as if they were self-sufficient and did not call on YHWH for help (v.1) even though God held out his hands in welcome (v.2). The middle verses (3-5) are descriptions of pagan practices adopted by some Israelites, including Temple priests and worshipers, and verses 6 and 7 set forth their punishments.

According to The NOAB, “sacrifices in gardens” (v.3) were sacrifices “in open-air sanctuaries and involved the invocation of nature deities, often with overt sexual content.” The JSB observes that worship of deceased ancestors (v.4) was common among Canaanites, and the Bible warned Israelites against these practices.

The NOAB understands the phrase “keep to yourself” (v.5) as “an insolent response [by the people] of the LORD’s invitation to them to approach (57.3; 65.1), perhaps with reference to their ritual segregation [in a non-Yahwistic cult in a garden] (cf. 66.17).”

The last two verses of today’s reading are YHWH’s promise to raise up those who were the righteous remnant and true servants of YHWH.

Galatians 3:23-29

Reading

23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Commentary

These issues are also described in Chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letter to the Romans (written in the early 60’s).

In today’s reading, Paul spoke of the Jewish Law as “guarding and imprisoning” us until the Christ came so that “we might be justified by faith” (vv. 23-24). The Introduction to Galatians in The NOAB points out that verse 24 has been understood by some to imply that Judaism and the Torah are “redundant, and perhaps even an obstacle to God’s plan for human salvation.” The NOAB noted, however, that Paul did not draw this conclusion, and expressly rebutted it in Romans 9-11 by acknowledging the continuing force of the Torah and the need for Jewish Jesus Followers to continue to observe it.

The notes in The Jewish Annotated New Testament assert that “we” in verses 23 and 24 are Jewish Jesus Followers because the Jews received the Law, and that “you” in verses 26-29 are Gentiles who believe in Christ. This is buttressed by verse 29 (“then you are Abraham’s offspring/seed”) because Jews were already understood to be descendants of Abraham.

Understanding many of the terms used by Paul is often challenging for modern readers. As a devout Jew, Paul recognized the value of the Law, but his conversion caused him to see that “justification” (or righteousness) was no longer a matter of obeying specific laws, but of living a life of faithfulness. “Justified” is to be understood as “being in right relationships with God, others, the world and oneself.” (A page of type in which the right and left margins are straight is described as “justified.”)

The term “faith” as used by Paul also needs to be understood in context. “Faith” is a translation of the Greek word “pistis” – a word that conveys an active quality. The word is perhaps better understood as “faith-ing” or “active faithfulness.” For Paul, “faith” was not a matter of intellectually assenting to a series of doctrines (as many Christians today think of “Faith”).

Instead, “faith” is living a life of loving faithfulness just as Jesus of Nazareth lived his life, and trusting – as he did — that death will not have the final victory. For Paul, the Resurrection allowed him (and allows us) to encounter the Risen Christ.

Faithfulness to the Christ and a life of loving others also enables us to recognize our essential unity in which there is no Jew or Greek (Gentile), slave or free, male or female (v.28), for we are all one in the Christ.

In footnotes, The NOAB and The JANT state that a “disciplinarian” (paidagōgos) in verses 24 and 25 was a household slave who escorted the master’s son outside the house to keep him out of trouble and who sometimes punished the boy for his behavior. The Greek word is also translated as “trainer” or “guardian.”

Regarding baptism as an initiation rite (v.27), The JANT observes: “immersion of converts to Judaism is not securely attested in pre-rabbinic texts, so there is much debate over whether Christian baptism of converts derives from Jewish practice. In Christian baptism, the convert is baptized ‘in’ or ‘in the name of Christ’ [citing texts]; the Jewish conversion ritual has no baptizer and no ‘in the name of’ language.”

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary offers this understanding of the phrase “clothed yourselves with Christ” (v.27b): “Paul either borrows a figure from Gk mystery religions in which the initiate identified himself with the God by donning his robes [citing sources] or uses an OT expression for the adoption of another’s moral dispositions or outlook. (Job 29:14; 2 Chr 6:41).”

Luke 8:26-39

Reading

26 Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” – 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Commentary

Today’s reading is also found in Mark and Matthew, although Matthew set the story as occurring in Gadara, which is a more likely location because Gerasa was 15 miles inland. Both Gadara and Gerasa were in the area known as the Decapolis, the area east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River (modern Jordan).

The Decapolis was primarily non-Jewish. Everything about the man possessed by demons (in Matthew, there were two men) was unclean: living in tombs and not wearing clothes (v.27). Unlike the disciples who were confused by Jesus’ identity when he calmed the winds and sea (v.25), the Demoniac called him “Son of the Most High God” (v.28).

The NJBC notes that these events occurred outside of the city (v.27). It comments: “From the viewpoint of Luke’s culture, to be outside the city was to be in danger of losing one’s existence. Jesus will liberate the possessed man from his isolation and restore him to the city where he will find security from bodily harm and have a meaningful existence with his fellow men and women.” It continues: “Persons whose liberty had been definitely taken away lost the capacity to wear clothing….By being clothed (8:35), the demented man has an identity and control over his life.”

The NOAB points out that in the First Century, having knowledge of the name of a supernatural power was understood to give the knower an advantage in dealing with the person or power. The Demoniac’s response “Legion” (v.30) represented a division of the Roman Army consisting of 5,000 soldiers, so the name showed the enormous power of the demons who possessed the man. It was also a not-so-subtle “dig” at the Roman occupiers. According to The NJBC, the symbol of the Legio X Fretensis, which participated in the Jewish War of 66-70 CE, was the wild boar, and the presence of the foreign political power was seen by Jews as a pollution of the land. Thus, “the activity of the exorcist was a sign of future liberation.”

The demons begged Jesus not to be sent “back into the abyss” (v.31) which The NOAB says was “a place of confinement for demonic forces which, though hostile to God, are ultimately under his control [citing verses in Revelation].” The demons ask instead to be sent into the herd of swine (Mark said there were about 2,000 pigs). Jesus “gave his permission” (v.32) and the swine rushed into a lake (a “sea” in Mark and Matthew) and drowned. Swine were unclean for Jews, but not for Gentiles. According to The NJBC, pigs were the most frequently used animal for sacrifices in Greek and Roman worship.

Having lost a sizeable herd of swine would have been a very significant economic loss for the residents of the area, and it is not surprising that they asked Jesus to leave (v.37) before he adversely affected their economic situation further. As an aside, The JANT notes that “archeological investigation of lower Galilee shows no pig bones.”

The cured man requested to become a follower (v.38) and but Jesus directed to him to go to his home and tell what God had done for him. The text says that the man declared what Jesus had done for him (v.39).

2024, November 10 ~ Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; 1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

Thomas O'Brien — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:29:05 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
NOVEMBER 10, 2024

During this Pentecost Season, there are two “Tracks” of Scriptures that are offered, and congregations may choose which Track they will follow. The first two readings presented are the readings from Tracks 1 and 2, respectively. The last two readings are the same in both Tracks.

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Reading

1 Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. 2 Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Now wash and anoint yourself put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” 5 She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse. 17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Commentary

The Book of Ruth is one of the shortest books of the Bible (four chapters) and is a beautiful story of a Moabite woman (Ruth) and her devotion to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. In the last chapter of the story, Ruth (with Naomi’s assistance) married a Judean relative of Naomi’s and became the great-grandmother of King David. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “The verbal sophistication suggests that the author was a literate member of the upper classes, a court scribe, perhaps.”

It is important to note that the Moabites were always regarded as dire enemies of Judah, and likely despoiled Jerusalem after the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

The story is set (v.1) in the time of the Judges (1200 to 1025 BCE), a period of great turmoil and moral backsliding in Israel.

In the Christian Scriptures, the book is placed after Judges as if it were an historical book, but in the Hebrew Bible, it is placed among the Writings.

There is no consensus on when the book was written. Some suggest that its emphasis on the genealogy of David dates it to the period between the death of Solomon (930 BCE) and the conquest of Northern Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

The weight of scholarly analysis, however, dates the book to the Persian Period — after the end of the Exile (539 BCE) and before the conquest by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE. A story of a Moabite woman’s being an ancestor of King David has been seen as a reaction against the exclusivist decrees of Ezra and Nehemiah (c.450 BCE) which required Judean men to send away their non-Jewish wives (and their children by these women). The NOAB observes that the values the book proclaims are loyalty, love of family and generosity towards strangers.

In last week’s reading, Naomi (whose name means “Pleasantness”), her husband, and their two sons (whose names mean “Sickly” and “Frail”), left Bethlehem and went to Moab because of a famine in Judea. (Ironically, “Beth-lehem” means “House of Bread/Food.”)

In Moab, Naomi’s husband died, and the two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Ten years later, the two sons (not surprisingly) died, and the three women were left destitute.

Naomi decided to return to Judea (where the famine had ended) and urged Ruth and Orpah to stay with their own people in Moab and remarry. Orpah decided to remain in Moab, but Ruth “clung” to Naomi and swore “your people shall be my people and your God my God” (v.16).

After going to Judea with Naomi, Ruth gleaned the already harvested fields belonging to Boaz (whose name means “strength”), a kinsman of Naomi’s late husband, to obtain grain for herself and Naomi. The NAOB notes that Ruth was taking advantage of an Israelite law which required farmers to leave part of their harvest for gleaning by the poor, the alien, and the widow. Ruth was triply entitled to glean as a poor, foreign, widow.

In today’s reading, Naomi instructed Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be sleeping and to “uncover his feet” (v.4). This could be understood literally, but most commentators point out that “feet” is a euphemism in Hebrew for private parts. In the same scene, Ruth asked Boaz to “spread his robe” (v.9) over her – a formal act of a proposal of marriage.

Boaz redeemed land that had been owned by Naomi’s husband Elimelech and married Ruth. She bore a son, Obed (v.17). Commentators agree that it is not likely that Naomi became Obed’s wet nurse (v.16), but that the child symbolized the complete reversal of Naomi’s fortunes. The Jewish Study Bible speculates that “the association of the child with Naomi rather than Ruth is meant to remove the taint of foreign birth from the child.”

Ruth is one of four women included in the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew’s Gospel. The others are Tamar (who seduced her father-in-law, Judah, and bore him two sons), Rahab (a prostitute in Jericho who was the mother of Boaz), and Bathsheba (the mother of Solomon who was married to Uriah when David impregnated her). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that the sons born to Tamar and Ruth were in fulfillment of their levirate obligations, respectively, to Er (Gen.38:29) and Mahlon (4:17) to bear a son by their deceased husband’s kin.

1 Kings 17:8-16

Reading

8 The word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, 9 “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.” 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Commentary

The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 500 BCE and continued to be revised even after that – long after the events they described.

The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from numerous sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Kings (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE).

Elijah and his successor, Elisha, were two of the great prophets (speakers for YHWH) in Jewish History. They opposed the (mostly) Baal-worshiping kings in Northern Israel for 90 years (from approximately 873 to 784 BCE), and their stories comprise about 40% of the Book of Kings.

Elijah and Elisha are both credited with numerous healings, restoring people to life, and other extraordinary events involving food, such as the one recounted in today’s reading.

Just prior to today’s reading, Elijah confronted the Baal-worshiping King Ahab (873 to 852 BCE) and told Ahab that there would be no rain in Israel until YHWH decided to make it rain (v.1). This pronouncement was fully consistent with one of the major themes of the Book of Kings – that YHWH is in control of everything, rather than the kings or their false gods.

In today’s reading, YHWH directed Elijah to walk about 80 miles from east of the River Jordan to Zarephath (v.9), which is on the Mediterranean coast near Sidon (in modern Lebanon). This area was a center of Baal worship, and the story of the continued supply of meal and oil for the widow shows that YHWH’s powers extend even beyond the lands of Judea and Israel.

Hebrews 9:24-28

Reading

24 Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to the Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

The author interpreted the life, death, and heavenly role of Jesus through the category of the “high priest’ who perfected the ancient sacrificial system of Judaism (which ended when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE).

The Letter emphasized that Jesus (as high priest) was able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he (as a human) had been tested as we are. The presentation of Jesus as high priest in the Letter to the Hebrews is unique in the Christian Scriptures and reflected the continuing process in early Christianity of developing images to describe who and what Jesus of Nazareth was (and is). The JANT points out that in the First Century, the high priest was chosen by Roman authorities and served at their pleasure.

Today’s reading continued discussing the theme of Jesus of Nazareth as the high priest and uses this image as another way to convey to the Jesus Follower Community “who and what” Jesus was (and is). The author focused on the “once and for all” (v.26) aspects of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and emphasized that Jesus was both priest and sacrifice in the Crucifixion.

The reading concluded (v.28) with an allusion to what Christians call “the Second Coming” – a theological recognition that not all of Ancient Israel’s (and the Jesus Follower Community’s) expected outcomes of the Messianic Age were accomplished in Jesus’ lifetime or even after the Destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The JANT says: “Jewish tradition combines the coming of the Messiah with the messianic age; it requires no ‘second coming.’”

Mark 12:38-44

Reading

38 As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

41 He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is usually dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading comes after a short passage in Mark in which Jesus confounded the scribes by asking them how it can be that the Messiah is David’s son if David (in Psalm 110) referred to the Messiah as LORD. Mark said that this was to the “delight” of the large crowd (Mk. 12:35-37).

Following that exchange, Jesus criticized the scribes for their pretensions (vv.38-39) and the economic hardships they imposed on the poor (v.39). In both Matthew and Luke, the Pharisees were included for condemnation for their pretensions and for imposing economic hardship (Mt. 23; Lk 11:43 and 20:46). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that the scribes were “the ancient Jewish version of lawyers” and that “in antiquity, lawyers could serve as trustees of a widow’s estate. A common way of receiving their fee was to get a share of the estate. Lawyers with a reputation for piety had a good chance of improving their prospects of participating in this process.”

The Pharisees were included in this criticism in Matthew and Luke because the Pharisees, after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, were the only other group in Judaism (besides the Jesus Followers) to survive. For the next 30 years, the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees contended for the leadership of Judaism — including who would be able to use the synagogues, who would decide which scriptures were authoritative, and how to interpret them.

The contribution by the widow to the Temple is interpreted by the commentator in The New Oxford Annotated Bible as further condemnation of the scribes for “inducing the poor to give their meagre resources to the Temple.” The Jewish Annotated New Testament disagrees and notes that “the text does not suggest that. The Temple is a place where both rich and poor can contribute.”

2024, August 25 ~ 1 Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43; Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69

Thomas O'Brien — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 14:30:17 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 25, 2024

1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43

Reading

1 Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 10 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven. 23 He said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, 24 the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. 25 Therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! 28 Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.

41 “Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name — 42 for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, 43 then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

Commentary

The Book of Kings (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity.

Last week’s reading was from Chapters 2 and 3 and was an account of Solomon’s dream in which he was granted his request for wisdom. In the chapters between that reading and today’s, Solomon exhibited his wisdom by identifying the true mother of a child by threatening to cut a child in half (3:27). His kingdom extended to the areas promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:18) – from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt (4:21). The kingdom was well ordered and Solomon’s wisdom was described as greater than that of any ruler (4:30).

He built a Temple for YHWH using foreign conscripted labor. The details of the Temple were described in Chapters 5 and 6. Solomon spent almost twice as much time building his palace as he spent on building the Temple, and his palace was 6.6 times larger than the Temple. The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees these discrepancies as a criticism by the Deuteronomists of Solomon’s priorities.

The Jewish Study Bible says that the Temple was constructed “on a hill north of the city. A broad consensus among historians and archeologists maintains that Solomon’s Temple was built beneath the platform around the Dome of the Rock and in the surrounding area.”

Today’s reading described the bringing of the ark of the covenant from a tent to the Temple at the Feast of the Tabernacles. It was carried by the priests, because not even the elders were safe in its immediate proximity. A cloud (v.10) filled the Temple, a frequently used symbol for the presence of YHWH, as in the cloud that led the Israelites in the Wilderness (Ex. 13:21).

Most of today’s reading is a prayer by Solomon that expresses many of the themes of the Deuteronomists. In particular, the prayer noted that YHWH had kept the covenant with the people (v.23) and YHWH had kept the promise made to David that his house would endure forever. The original promise to David was unconditional (2 Sam. 7:13), but this text added the proviso that the descendants of David must walk before the LORD as David walked before the LORD (v.25). The JSB observes: “The concept expressed here that the Temple is the place where God dwells is qualified by a more abstract conception in v. 29, which portrays the Temple as the place where the divine ‘name’ dwells.”

The JSB observes: “In the ancient world, the proper posture for petitionary prayer was standing erect with raised hands” — just as Solomon did (v.22).

In the chapters that follow, Solomon’s great wealth was noted and YHWH warned against “turning aside from following me (9:6). In Chapter 11, Solomon’s love of “many foreign women” (11:1) turned away his heart (11:4) and made YHWH angry with him (11:9). Thus began the decline of Israel that eventually led to the division of the kingdom into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) in 928 BCE soon after Solomon died.

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

Reading

1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2a And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:

14 “Now therefore revere the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the LORD. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Joshua (called “the Deuteronomists”) were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books were given their final form around 550 BCE – long after the events they described.

The Deuteronomists used the stories in these five books to make the case that it was the failures of the people and the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Joshua is part of this “Deuteronomic History.” It covered the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land by crossing the River Jordan (around 1225 BCE, if the account is historical), the swift conquest by Joshua of the people that were in the land (starting with Jericho), the allocation of the lands among the tribes, and concluded with the “Covenant at Shechem” by which the people swore (acting as their own witnesses) to be faithful to YHWH.

In today’s reading, Joshua assembled and united all the tribes in Shechem (an important religious and political center in what became Samaria). After reciting an account of the conquest (that is different from the accounts in chapter 6), he challenged them whether they will serve YHWH exclusively. The people promised to serve YHWH and put away foreign gods in this Covenant at Shechem (vv.16-18). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes: “This affirmation expresses the essence of Israel as a confederation whose principle of unity was religious worship of Yahweh and Yahweh alone.”

The Deuteronomists used this Covenant at Shechem to “convict” the Israelites of their own later failures to worship YHWH as the cause of their conquests by foreign powers. YHWH was presented by the Deuteronomists as faithful to YHWH’s promises (such as the promise to Abraham of the land and the promise that David’s “house” would rule forever). The later failures of the people (and their kings) to worship YHWH were breaches of their own Covenant.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Reading

10 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Commentary

Ephesus was a large and prosperous city in what is now western Türkiye. In the Acts of the Apostles and 1 Corinthians, Paul was said to have visited there. In Ephesus, there were Jesus Followers who were Jews and Jesus Followers who were Gentiles, and they did not always agree on what it meant to be a Jesus Follower.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that because the letter contained over 80 terms not used in Paul’s other letters and gave new meanings to some of Paul’s characteristic terms such as “mystery and “inheritance,” most scholars believe that this letter was written by one of Paul’s disciples late in the First Century. In another difference, for Paul “salvation” is a future event, whereas in Ephesians it is a present experience.

The letter was intended to unify the Jesus Follower community in Ephesus. The first three chapters are theological teachings, and the last three chapters consist of ethical exhortations.

Today’s reading is the last of the six portions of the Letter to the Ephesians that have been presented in recent weeks.

Today, the author portrayed life as a Jesus Follower as a struggle against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and the spiritual forces of evil. He urged that believers put on the armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness (appropriate behavior and being in right relation with God, others, and the world), the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and use one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit (which the author says is the word of God).

The NJBC describes this section as presenting Christian existence “as a constant warfare against the malevolent spirits in the heavens.”

John 6:56-69

Reading

56 Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Commentary

The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God”) died at the time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder to be held that night.

Today’s reading is the conclusion of the Bread of Life Discourse in Chapter 6. It is not surprising that some of Jesus’ followers found the sayings “difficult” (v.60) because (taken literally) the eating of flesh of a human is cannibalism and drinking blood (the life force in all creatures) belongs to God and was therefore forbidden to humans (Lev. 17:15).

The reference to the Son of Man (v.62) ascending is a reference to Daniel 7:13 (“I saw one like a human being [son of man] coming with the clouds of heaven.”)

In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus is presented as omniscient, and therefore knew who would believe and who would betray him (v. 64). Faith, which is God’s gift (v.65), is what enables one to know that Jesus is the Messiah and the human embodiment of God.

Peter’s calling Jesus “the Holy One of God” (v.69) is a phrase that does not appear elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel. Other ancient texts substitute the words “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” in this verse. The only prior Scriptural references that are similar to “Holy One of God” are references in Judges 13:7 and 16:7 to Samson as a “nazirite to God.” A nazirite was a person who took a vow to dedicate their life to YHWH’s service. In Psalm 106:16, Aaron (Moses’ brother) is called “the holy one of the LORD.”

The Jewish Annotated New Testament says: “The passage suggests the practice of theophagy (lit., ‘eating the God’) associated with Greco-Roman mystery cults such as those of Demeter and Dionysius. The allusion implies the Gospel writer’s familiarity with such cults and supports the hypothesis that the audience included Gentiles.”

2024, August 18 ~ 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14; Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58

Thomas O'Brien — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:32:38 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 18, 2024

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14

Reading

10 David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. 11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

3:3 Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”

Commentary

The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the release of the exiled king of Judah during the Babylonian Exile (562 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 550 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.

The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from many sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea (and, by extension, the people) to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Kings (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the reign of David (965 BCE) to the time of the Exile (587-539 BCE).

At the end of last week’s reading, David was reported to be lamenting Absalom’s death, just as he lamented Saul’s death – another death that had political advantages for David. In the intervening chapters, David and Joab fought battles against persons who revolted against David. In Chapter 21, there are descriptions of battles with the Philistines (which seem to be transposed from earlier in David’s reign), including the killing of Goliath by Elhanan, the Bethlehemite (21:19). Chapter 22 is virtually the same as Psalm 18, a psalm of praise of YHWH. In Chapter 24, YHWH became angry with David because he took a census. YHWH offered David a choice of three punishments and David chose to have a pestilence visited upon the people. David then built an altar at the place where Solomon built one of the altars in the Temple, and the pestilence ended.

The first chapters of the Book of Kings are a continuation of 2 Samuel and were, at one time, not divided as they are now. David was described as old and, even though he was offered Abishag, the most beautiful girl in all Israel, he had lost his sexual potency (1:4).

Adonijah was David’s fourth (and oldest surviving) son and had been born in Hebron (where David first reigned). He was presented as similar in several ways to Absalom (2 Sam. 14:25-26). Learning of David’s decline, he began gathering allies to support his own kingship and had a celebration in anticipation of his kingship.

When Nathan and Bathsheba learned of this celebration, they decided to go to David to convince him that he had promised her that Solomon (David’s seventh son, and one who was born in Jerusalem) would be David’s successor. (This promise is not recounted anywhere in the Book of Samuel.) The high priest, Zadok (from whose name we get the word “Sadducees”) anointed Solomon king (1:39). David then gave last instructions to Solomon that, as The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out, were “similar to God’s words to Joshua upon his succession to the leadership of Israel after Moses’ death (Josh. 1:6-9).”

In actions that “The Godfather” would later imitate, Solomon had his brother Adonijah killed for asking that Abishag be given to him as his wife; banished and later killed a rival high priest on a flimsy excuse; and had Joab killed for siding with Adonijah.

After all this mayhem and murder, in today’s reading, Solomon was presented by the authors in a favorable light. In a dream, he asked YJWH for wisdom, and was granted a “wise and discerning mind” (3:12). According to The NOAB, in saying he did not know whether to “go out or go in” (v.3:7), Solomon was noting his lack of military experience. YHWH granted Solomon both wisdom and wealth, and these became themes in describing most of his reign. The promise that had been given to David was, however, made conditional (“if you will walk in My ways and observe My laws and commandments as did your father David” (v.14).

In the omitted verses (2:13-3:2), Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter (3:1), thus starting down a path of marrying foreign wives that would lead to the breakup of his kingdom after Chapter 11.

Proverbs 9:1-6

Reading

1 Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in the town,
4 “You that are simple, turn in here!” To those without sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Commentary

In Christian Bibles, the Book of Proverbs is included in the “Wisdom Literature,” but in the Jewish Bible (the “TaNaK”), it is part of the “Writings.” The other two parts of the Jewish Bible are The Torah and The Prophets. The name “TaNaK” is an acronym for the first letters of the Hebrew words for each of these sections: the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim.

Although Proverbs claims to be written by Solomon (v.1:1) who reigned from 968-928 BCE, most scholars agree that these sayings were compiled over a lengthy period and put in their final form around 450 BCE. In fact, two Chapters of Proverbs (22:17 to 24:34) are copied almost word-for-word from Egyptian wisdom literature dating to about 1100 BCE.

Most sayings in Proverbs are presented as teachings from the elders and are aimed at young men. They advised that moral living (diligence, sobriety, self-restraint, selecting a good wife, and honesty) would lead to a good life. The Jewish Study Bible notes that although chapters 1 through 9 serve as an introduction to the book, this section was probably written later as a guide to the interpretation of the old sayings that are contained in chapters 10 through 29.

The usual translation of a recurring theme in Proverbs is that “fear” of YHWH (translated as LORD – all capital letters in the NRSV) is the beginning of wisdom. Many scholars suggest that “awe of YHWH” or “reverence for YHWH” better captures the sense of the authors of the sayings in Proverbs.

The JSB notes that today’s reading is part of invitations to two contradictory banquets, one by Lady Wisdom and the other by Lady Folly (vv. 13-18). Wisdom here was portrayed as a woman who invited even the “simple” and “those without sense” to share the bread and wine at her table and to walk in the way of insight. The NOAB opines that the “seven pillars” (v.1) may allude to the pillars on which the earth was founded (Job 9:6).

In Proverbs 8:22, Wisdom was portrayed as being present at the Creation.

Ephesians 5:15-20

Reading

15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Commentary

The letter was intended to unify the Jesus Follower community in Ephesus. The first three chapters are theological teachings, and the last three chapters consist of ethical exhortations.

In today’s reading, the author continued to urge the Jewish Jesus Followers and the Gentile Jesus Followers in Ephesus to live wisely, soberly, and to be thankful to God. In the verses just before today’s reading, the author used light and dark imagery to show that they were all now children of the light.

The JANT points out that “do not get drunk with wine” (v.18) is “not a condemnation of wine – which would have been difficult, given the centrality of wine to the diet in most of the Roman world, including Judea and Galilee – but of drunkenness.”

The preparers of the Revised Common Lectionary were prudent in ending the reading where they did. Verses 22 and 23 reflect the patriarchy of the First Century: “Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.”

John 6:51-58

Reading

51 Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Commentary

Today’s reading is a continuation of the “Bread of Life Discourse” that has been the subject of the readings for the last two weeks. As usual, the author of the Fourth Gospel presents “the Jews” (the Temple Authorities and the Pharisees) as unduly literal. For them, consuming flesh was cannibalism, and blood (the lifegiving force) was reserved for God and was forbidden for humans. When animals were sacrificed at the Temple, the blood was poured on the altars. Meat that is “kosher” has all the blood drained from it.

The Bread of Life Discourse assumed the institution of the Eucharist (“eat this bread” – v.51 and “this is the bread” in v.58). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary sees these references to “bread” is as a later addition to the Discourse and evidence that the ritual of the Eucharist was part of the Jesus Followers’ worship by the time the Fourth Gospel was compiled late in the First Century. The NJBC also notes that, unlike the Eucharistic Formula in the Synoptic Gospels, this Gospel uses the term “flesh – sarx” rather than “body – soma” in verses 53-56.

According to The JANT, the ritual of “eating god” existed in some Greco-Roman mystery cults such as the cults of Demeter and Dionysius.

2024, August 11 ~ 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; 1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51

Thomas O'Brien — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 22:54:48 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 11, 2024

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

Reading

5 The king, David, ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. Absalom happened to meet the servants of David.

9 Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

15 And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.

31 Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my LORD the king! For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my LORD the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”

33 The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Commentary

The Book of Samuel is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 550 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.

The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from numerous sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea (and by extension, the people) to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Samuel (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the time of the Judges (c.1030 BCE) to the last years of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE).

Today’s reading has fast forwarded from last week’s reading in which Nathan told David that YHWH said, “I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house” (2 Sam. 12:11).

In the intervening six chapters, Amnon (David’s oldest son) became infatuated with his half-sister (Tamar) and raped her (13:14). David learned of this but declined to punish Amnon “because he loved him, for he was his firstborn” (13:21). Absalom (David’s third son) was Tamar’s full brother and got revenge by having his servants kill Amnon (13:29). In fear, Absalom ran away and lived with his maternal grandfather (13:37). After five years, he was allowed to see David and was subservient to him (14:33).

This subservience was short-lived. Absalom ingratiated himself with the people of Israel and led a revolt against David (15:13). David fled from Jerusalem and Absalom moved into David’s house and took all his concubines (a symbol of kingship and power). Absalom brought his army to pursue David but was persuaded by a person secretly sympathetic to David to hold off on attacking David. The Jewish Study Bible points out that the advice given to hold off was ”decreed” by YHWH (17:5-14). The delay in attacking gave David time to regroup his scattered forces (18:1-4).

David was now ready to attack Absalom’s troops but told his generals to “be gentle” with Absalom (v.5). In this way, the Deuteronomist absolved David of Absalom’s death.

Absalom was described as very beautiful (14:25) and had such a great head of hair that when he had it cut at the end of each year, the cut hair weighed five pounds (14:26). and Absalom’s unseating symbolized his loss of the kingdom. As Absalom was riding his mule (which as The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out, was the royal mount for David and his sons), he was ensnared by an oak tree because of his beautiful hair (v.9), and was killed by Joab and 10 of Joab’s men. As The NOAB observes, because there were 10 men, no individual could be blamed for the actual killing.

In the omitted verses (16-34), Joab dissuaded people from bringing news of Absalom’s death to David and sent a “Cushite” (an Ethiopian) (v.21) instead. When David got the report, he was (according to the Deuteronomist) less interested in the victory over Absalom’s troops than he was about Absalom’s fate. He bemoaned Absalom’s death and said he would have preferred to die himself (v.33).

In the verses that follow today’s reading, Joab (who was fiercely devoted to David) scolded David for caring more about his rebellious son than all the persons who were loyal to David and helped him regain his throne.

The balance of 2 Samuel relates the return of David to power and the consolidation of his reign. Next week, the Lectionary introduces the reign of Solomon.

1 Kings 19:4-8

Reading

4 Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings were also the authors of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel, usually called the “Deuteronomic History,” a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity in 586 BCE.

These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH. Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders and his wife was the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel.

The prophet Elijah is the subject of today’s reading. Elijah and his successor, Elisha, were two of the great prophets (speakers for YHWH) in Jewish History. They opposed the (mostly) Baal-worshiping kings in Northern Israel for 90 years (from approximately 873 to 784 BCE), and their stories comprise about 40% of the Book of Kings. Elijah and Elisha are both credited with numerous healings, restoring people to life, and other extraordinary events.

Just prior to today’s verses, Elijah invoked the power of YHWH to overcome the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in the Northern part of Israel. He brought fire upon a huge sacrifice, rain to end a drought, and then killed all 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, the consort of Baal (1 Kings 18).

Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done (v.1). Jezebel swore to kill Elijah (v.2), so he ran away as far south in Israel as he could – first to Beer-sheba (about 100 miles) and then to the Wilderness where he hoped to die (v.4). As The Jewish Study Bible observes, the theme of a prophet wishing to die out of a sense of isolation and failure was repeated in Jonah 4:3.

YHWH’s angels provided food to Elijah (v.5) so he could journey to Horeb and continue his ministry. For the Deuteronomists, the holy mountain was called “Horeb” (which means “dry place”) rather than Sinai. (“Sinai” was the name used by the authors of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.) The location of the holy mountain in the Sinai Peninsula has never been determined. Elijah’s receiving food in the wilderness was parallel to Hagar’s story in Genesis 21:19.

The Jewish Study Bible points out that a person could cover 20-25 miles a day walking. If Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights (v.8), he could have covered between 600 and 1,000 miles. The JSB suggests that 40 is merely a “formulaic number” meaning “a long time.”

In the verses that follow today’s reading, Elijah had a theophany and was directed by YHWH to return to the north, anoint a new king of Israel, and appoint Elisha as his successor.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Reading

25 Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Commentary

The letter was intended to unify the Jesus Follower community in Ephesus. The first three chapters are theological teachings, and the last three chapters consist of ethical exhortations.

Because of the verses just before today’s reading, this passage appears mostly directed at the Gentile Jesus Followers. The author urged them to put away falsehood, not speak evil of others, and to put away bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling and slander (v.4:31). He urged them live in love as Christ loved us. Describing Christ as a “fragrant sacrifice” (v.5:2) was a reference by the author to burnt offerings in the Hebrew Scriptures which are described as giving off an odor that was pleasing to YHWH, for example, Noah’s sacrifice in Gen. 8:21.

John 6:35, 41-51

Reading

35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Commentary

The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many of the stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God”) died at the time lambs were being sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder to be held that night.

Today’s reading begins with the closing verse of last week’s reading with Jesus asserting that he is the “Bread of Life” (v.35). In the omitted verses (36-40), Jesus asserted that he had come from heaven to do the will “of him who sent me” (v.38) and that those who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life (v.40).

The “Jews” who complained (v.41) about Jesus’ claim that he is the “bread from heaven” are the Temple Authorities and the Pharisees, not Jewish people generally. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary sees the reference to “his mother and father” (v.42) as indicating that “there is no evidence that John know of the traditions about Jesus’ conception or birth in Bethlehem. Such a tradition would be irrelevant in any case, since the point is that Jesus has come from heaven.”

In verse 45a (“And they shall all be taught by God”), Isaiah 54:13 was a paraphrase of a portion of Isaiah of the Exile in which the prophet said that the Exiles would be taught by God and would be restored to Jerusalem.

The NJBC understands “Not that anyone who has seen the Father except the one who is from God” (v.46) as asserting “there is no knowledge of God apart from Jesus [citing other verses in the Fourth Gospel]. One cannot be ‘taught by God’ apart from hearing and believing the word of Jesus.”

The Fourth Gospel does not contain an Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Today’s reading is part of an extended discussion in which Jesus affirmed his relationship with the Father and asserted that – unlike manna in the desert — he is the Bread of Life that brings eternal life.

The Fourth Gospel is the most theologically dense of the four Gospels, and the theology of the Eucharist is one of the most challenging religious constructs for Christians to appreciate. To affirm that bread and wine are somehow transformed into the Body and Blood of The Christ requires a leap of faith. To affirm that ingesting the Body and Blood will transform us and put us in “common union” with The Christ demands a leap of faith. To affirm that this union with The Christ opens us to “eternal life” (however understood) also is a faith statement.

2024, July 28~ 2 Samuel 11:1-15; 2 Kings 4:42-44: Ephesians 3:14b-21; John 6:1-21

Thomas O'Brien — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 19:44:21 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
JULY 28, 2024

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Reading

1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, 13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

Commentary

The Book of Samuel is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 500 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.

The Book of Samuel (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the time of the Judges (c.1030 BCE) to the last years of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE).

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary states that today’s reading is the first part of the stories that culminate in Solomon’s succession to the throne – even though he was David’s 7th son. Today’s story illustrated a weakness on the part of David that infected his family. Eventually, the disorder in David’s family enabled Nathan and Bathsheba to bring Solomon to power. These stories in Samuel are convoluted, and some of them will appear in the readings in upcoming weeks.

Today’s reading comes after three chapters that recount David’s successful wars. Wars were conducted primarily in warmer weather, and the text noted that it was in the Spring that kings “go out to battle” (v.1). Tellingly, David sent his generals to do battle, but stayed in Jerusalem (perhaps to avoid danger) and took naps in the afternoon.

The story is shocking in its details. Notwithstanding the fact that he was told that the woman was married, David had her brought to him, had sex with her and got her pregnant. He then attempted a cover up his actions by urging the woman’s husband, Uriah, to “wash his feet” (v.8) — which The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out is a euphemism for sexual intercourse. As a pious soldier (even though a Hittite), Uriah (who was described in 23:39 as one of David’s best soldiers), refused to go to his own home to lie with his wife, even when David got him drunk (v.13).

David trusted Uriah so much that he then gave Uriah the task of delivering his own death warrant to Joab (v.14), knowing that if Uriah could read, he would not read the message to Joab. In the verses that follow today’s reading, Uriah was killed (v.17) and Joab made a tactical error in assuring Uriah’s death that caused the death of other officers (vv.20-21).

In the next week’s reading, David quickly took Bathsheba as one of his wives because she was pregnant, and she soon gave birth to a son (v.27).

As the stories about David continue in the Book of Samuel, this episode will be central to the difficulties David encountered – particularly with his family.

The Jewish Study Bible notes: “It is highly unusual for ancient literature to criticize powerful and successful kings. The way David’s behavior is depicted and condemned in the Bible shows the overriding importance it assigns to moral values.”

2 Kings 4:42-44

Reading

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44 He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Commentary

The authors of the Book of Kings also wrote the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Samuel, usually called the “Deuteronomic History,” a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE.

These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described. The authors used the stories to demonstrate that it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH properly and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

Elijah and Elisha are both credited with numerous healings, restoring people to life, and other extraordinary events involving food, such as the one presented in today’s reading.

Prior to today’ reading, there was a famine in Northern Israel. Elisha took a limited amount of food from a man from Baal-shalishah. He directed that the food be given to 100 people, and (miraculously) there was more food left over than to begin with. The Deuteronomist recounts (v. 43) that this was caused by the power of YHWH (translated as LORD in capital letters).

In today’s passage, even the name of the town (Baal-shalishah) shows that Baal worship was continuing in Israel in the 700’s BCE. Modern archeological evidence shows that significant Baal worship also continued in Southern Israel (Judea) – alongside worship of YHWH – until the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity in 586 BCE.

The NJBC states: “The text is obviously the inspiration for NT multiplication miracles (cf. Mark 6:34-44, 8:1-10).”

Ephesians 3:14b-21

Reading

14b I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Commentary

The letter was intended to unify the Jesus Follower community in Ephesus. The first three chapters are theological teachings, and the last three chapters consist of ethical exhortations.

In today’s reading, the author states that he “bows his knees before the Father” (v.14) and The JANT comments that this was a “traditional Jewish position for prayer” citing 1 Kings 8:54 – a long prayer in which Solomon knelt.

The author then continued his efforts to unify the Jewish Jesus Followers and the Gentile Jesus Followers in Ephesus. Here, he reminded them that they are all part of the “family” of the Father (v.15) and prayed that they will be “rooted and grounded in love” (v.17). The author emphasized that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge (v.19) – it is a mystery. The prayer to be “filled with the fullness of God” is a prayer for believers to grow into the fullness of divinity.

Today’s reading concluded (vv. 20-21) with a “doxology” – a statement of glory and praise of God who can perfect the church through the Spirit, thus concluding the doctrinal portion of the letter.

John 6:1-21

Reading

1 Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Commentary

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God”) died at the time lambs were being sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder to be held that night.

The feeding of the multitudes is the only miracle story found in all the Canonical Gospels. Multiplication of oil and grain were also miracles attributed to Elijah and Elisha.

The setting was on the Eastern side of the Sea of Galilee and was in the spring when the Passover occurs (v.4). The reference “of the Jews” (v.4) in this reading is one of the few times in the Fourth Gospel that it meant the Jewish people generally rather than only the Temple Authorities. One of the two ancient feasts that formed the basis of Passover was the Feast of the Unleavened Bread that coincided with the spring barley harvest. The loaves presented to Jesus were barley (v.9). The feast of the sacrifice of a lamb in the Spring was the other feast that was combined into the Passover Feast.

The JANT notes: “In contrast to his usual practice, Jesus does not go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem [for Passover] but stays in Galilee where the people flock to him rather than the Temple. The scene fulfills his prophecy to the Samaritan woman in 4:21 [“Woman, believe me the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”] and may reflect a post-70 perspective in which worship in the Temple is no longer possible, and from John’s viewpoint, no longer necessary.”

The collection of 12 baskets of leftovers was symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. The reaction of the crowd to make Jesus the king (v.15) because he fed large numbers of persons is not surprising, but such an action would have been seen by Rome as treasonous and would lead to crucifixion. The Fourth Gospel is the only gospel that included the idea that the crowd wanted to make Jesus the king.

The reference to “the prophet who is to come into the world” (v.14) refers to the expectation that the Messiah would be (among other things) a “New Moses” the basis for which is found in Deut. 18:15 (“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among your own people and you shall heed such a prophet.”)

The story of Jesus’ walking on the water (vv.16-21) is also found in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. Calming the sea was seen as a demonstration of Jesus’ divinity in that God was depicted as making order out of chaos (Genesis 1, Ps. 89:9). Jesus’ statement “It is I” (v.20) is also translatable as “I am” – the same translation of the word (“YHWH”) stated to Moses as the “name” of God in the Burning Bush story in Exodus 3.

2024, February 11 ~ 2 Kings 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

Thomas O'Brien — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:42:02 +0000

TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 11, 2024

2 Kings 2:1-12

Reading

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

Commentary

The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE, if the account is historical) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE. These books were given their final form around 500 BCE – long after the events they described.

The authors used the stories in these books to demonstrate that God controls history and it was the failures of the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

After Solomon’s death in 928 BCE, the nation divided in two. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 tribes and was called “Israel.” The Southern Kingdom had two tribes, Judah and Benjamin and was called “Judea.” For the most part, the Deuteronomists portrayed the Kings of the North as unfaithful to YHWH, and Ahab (873-852 BCE) was one of the worst offenders. Because Elijah defeated and killed hundreds of Ahab’s prophets at Mount Carmel, Ahab’s wife (the Baal-worshiping foreigner, Jezebel), vowed revenge upon Elijah and caused him to flee to Beersheba in the south.

Today’s story recounts the succession of the prophet Elijah by his faithful disciple, Elisha, who asks for a “double share” (the share of an oldest son) of Elijah’s spirit (v.9). According to Biblical chronology, the events took place about 840 BCE, after the reigns of Ahab and the two kings who followed him. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary opines that the Deuteronomists included the stories of Elijah’s succession by Elisha and Elisha’s later actions because the stories “exemplify the conception of the prophet as the dominant figure throughout Israel’s history.”

The account of the transfer of spirit from Elijah to Elisha has many parallels to the stories of Moses and his successor, Joshua. Elijah and Elisha crossed from the west bank of the Jordan River to the east bank (v.8), just as Moses and Joshua crossed the Sea of Reeds. After Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot in the area near Mount Nebo where Moses died (v.11), Elisha parted the Jordan and crossed to the west side just as Joshua did (v.14). The NJBC notes that Elisha used Elijah’s cloak to perform these extraordinary acts because one’s clothes were seen as an extension of the person.

Because Elijah was raised to heaven “in a whirlwind” (v.1), he is thought not to have died. The Jewish Study Bible notes that Enoch in Gen. 5:24 was also understood in some Jewish traditions as not having died (“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him.”).

The text of today’s reading does not explain how the “disciples of the prophets” (v.3) or Elisha knew that the LORD would take Elijah away.

The JSB observes that Elijah’s assumption into the heavens “became the stuff of many legends in Judaism and traditions about him in prophetic circles. These legends suggest that Elijah periodically returns to the earth.” This return to earth was seen as a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah (Mal. 3:23-24). Even today, a place/chair for Elijah is left open at table (and often the doors of homes are left open) at Passover Seders in the event Elijah might return that night. In many ways, John the Baptist was portrayed as an Elijah-like figure in the Gospels.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Reading

3 Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Commentary

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

Paul’s controversies with the Corinthians continued, and he wrote a number of letters to them. The Second Letter is a composite of fragments from these letters. In the Second Letter, Paul countered the positions of some Jewish Jesus Followers who were disagreeing with Paul and undermining his authority. The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that the letters were intended to maintain the exclusivity of Paul’s relationship with the Jesus Follower community it Corinth (with him as its apostle) and to maintain the gospel of Jesus as Paul proclaimed it.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “This challenge to his missionary activity prompted Paul to visit Corinth a second time. The result was unfortunate: Evidently a member of the congregation offended him grievously (2.5-6); he later called this the ‘painful visit’ (2.1; 7.2). After his bitter departure, Paul wrote what he called the ‘letter of tears’ (2.4;7.8), a letter that is now lost. “Either despite or because of its severity, this letter evidently succeeded in persuading the majority of the church in Corinth to Paul’s position, as Titus reported when he met Paul in Macedonia (7.6-7).”

Today’s reading is part of the climax to Paul’s defense of his ministry and his response to a question of his competence raised in Chapter 2. The JANT understands verse 3 (“The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing”) to mean that the people who do not see the Gospel’s truth are spiritually blind and that is not a failing of Paul’s teaching. Paul’s reference to “the god of this world” (v.4) meant the Roman authorities as well as the secular wisdom of the current age. Paul affirmed that Jesus the Christ is the “image of God” (v.4) and the “Lord” (v.5). Paul paraphrased part of the First Creation Story (Genesis 1:3) regarding the creation of light and said that the light of the knowledge of God is found in Jesus the Christ (v.6).

Today’s reading comes right after Paul’s interpretation (3:16) of Exodus 34:29-35, in which Moses’ face shone after talking with God and receiving the tablets of the Law.

Mark 9:2-9

Reading

2 Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is generally dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading is an account of the Transfiguration and is found in all three Synoptic Gospels, but not in the Fourth Gospel. In Mark’s account, Jesus took his “inner circle” (Peter, James, and John) and went up on an unspecified mountain (sometimes identified as Mount Tabor or as Mount Hermon) where he was “transfigured” (v.2). The NJBC says Jesus’ form was changed (metamorphōthe) and that the disciples were “granted a glimpse of him in his glorious state.” He appeared with Moses (the lawgiver) and Elijah (the great prophet whose return would be a sign of the coming of the Messiah). The NJBC says the inclusion of Moses and Elijah shows “the road upon which Jesus is embarking is in accord with the law and the prophets.”

Because the original ending of Mark’s Gospel did not include any resurrection appearances by Jesus, The JANT notes that some scholars see the Transfiguration account in today’s reading as a resurrection appearance placed back into the lifetime of Jesus.

Moses (representing the covenant of the Torah) and Elijah (representing prophetic denunciations of corruption and idolatry) were the two greatest prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Although Moses’ death is recorded, his burial place is unknown (Deut.34:6) and Elijah was taken up to heaven in fiery chariot. Accordingly, both were seen to stand in God’s presence and to communicate God’s word.

The JANT points out that “dazzling” clothes (v.3) suggest a mystical experience, citing Moses and Daniel 12:3 (“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky”).

Peter addressed Jesus as “rabbi” (v.5). The JANT points out that “Rabbi” in Hebrew means “my great one” or teacher and that it was not yet (in the first half of the First Century CE) a technical term for a religious leader.

Peter’s suggestion to make three dwellings (v.5) is reminiscent of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. Sukkot is a harvest festival and a reminder of living in tents during the Israelites’ time in the Wilderness. In First Century Israel, it was one of the three feasts each year during which Jews were expected to make a pilgrimage for a week to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The JANT points out that the cloud (v.7) evokes the cloud of the LORD’s presence on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:15-18) and the cloud of the tent of meeting (Ex. 40:34-38). It also is the cloud that led the Israelites in the Wilderness (Ex.13:23).

The “voice” (v.7) is similar to the voice and words spoken at Jesus’ baptism (1:11), except that now the others present hear the voice.

The reference to the “Son of Man” (v.9) is a reminder of the messianic vision in Daniel 7:13 – “I saw one like a human being [son of man] coming with the clouds of heaven.” Ordering the disciples to “tell no one about what they had seen” (v.9) is consistent with the “Messianic Secret” concept in Mark that Jesus’ Messiahship was not to be known by others (including his disciples) until his Crucifixion and Resurrection.