The Rabbi

Psalm 37 Blog 7 Due April 4

Many verses but a common theme: the wicked prosper, the righteous have little, but in the end the righteous are blessed while the wicked perish. The problem lies in living during present stress; let’s see how the psalmist manages. So, of all things, I checked my notes to see how I, or whoever I borrowed the information from, categorized this psalm; the designation is wisdom psalm. I will begin there.

What I am seeing is wise instruction to a broad audience concerning living life while recognizing the orientation, dis-orientation, re-orientation cycle; that is, what we have been talking about from the inside—the one experiencing the dis-orientation—but now viewed from the outside. Much like Proverbs, “my son let me tell you what life is really like.”

Let’s address each phase in turn through the pen of the psalmist, in this case, maybe, David.

Orientation—consider the verbs:
(vs 3-7) Trust in the LORD…Delight yourself in the LORD… Commit your way to the LORD…Rest in the LORD; these speak of a serene, God centered life; as I do, God blesses. See also v23a, The steps of a man are established by the LORD; I walk with Jesus sometimes following, sometimes in his steps, sometimes next to him, but always, or better most of the time in concert with him, as such I am “righteous”—not the way the theologians use the word, the way the biblical writers do.

Dis-orientation—throughout the psalm the wisdom writer takes up the in between time, how it works out between God and the righteous one:
Do not fret because of evil doers…
Yet a little while and…
The wicked plots against the righteous…
The wicked have drawn the sword…
Better is the little of the righteous…

The above describes the typical setting of a lament psalm; so what does David here say to anyone in this predicament?

Let’s first return to the same verbs used above; that which indicates orientation likewise should be the same for dis-orientation! To put it in the form of a question? Should circumstances affect my behavior?; the answer is no. Should circumstances affect what I say to God?; certainly. Look at vs. 24:
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

From the wisdom perspective, as the bottom falls out of my life, I need to realize that God is right there, even so close that he is holding my hand on the way down. Let’s continue with one more verse:
I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.

From observation of many lives is similar circumstances, David extrapolates, as God has always delivered those who trust in him, he will deliver you.

Re-orientation—that which comes as gift, beyond belief—what mere man would hardly so imagine, but will be exactly what s/he with the prophetic imagination previously had articulated as fact.

Here I follow Brueggemann’s proposal in his Praying the Psalms that the psalmists use exaggerated language to help us learn to trust. Calling out “do not fret because of evildoers” when evil is on the rise and hope vanishes challenges us to live faithfully in spite of all circumstances. Let’s do the impossible now, why wait? What excitement awaits if I would but radicalize God’s promises as my life principles, again regardless of life’s reality.

Let’s survey David:
Evil doers will be cut off…
The wicked man will be no more…
Their sword will enter their own heart…
The man of peace will have prosperity…
The Lord delivers them from the wicked…

These eschatological boasts are not prophesies but confidences claimed on the character of God: he is a savior, a deliverer, a compassionate one, longsuffering, and one who loves to the extent that he would harm himself before allowing one of his own to fail.

Thank you Jesus

Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds by Donald H. Akenson
Harcourt Brace, 1998

A beautiful read describing the imagined invention of the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity. Akenson challenges in new ways standard conservative/fundamental understandings (Jewish and Christian alike) of how new texts were crafted to satisfy situations unknown and unencountered by the constitutional founding fathers. A methodology soon evidenced by which authors of newer writings grounded their words on former works while currently inventing, constituting something new.

Those who returned from exile initiated this scheme, later Judahite religious leaders followed the pattern negotiating a truce with previous tradition but meeting the crisis at hand. Akenson focuses these trials around confrontations of temple: what happens when it no longer exists, either post-exile, or post-Titus, 70 AD, all three religions that of Ezra, Paul, and the rabbis “solved” their problem creatively, in ways beyond previous comprehension but yet argued tightly from those same texts.

So here my thoughts run wild; what does one do when canon becomes fixed, denying later writers the freedom to invent new texts for new situations? Akenson offers no help other setting forth the model. Theology quickly comes to mind: new texts, not scripture, but at least as important, in practice if not in claim. A cursory review of current literature, an ear to current practice, yields a crisis of major proportion: empirically based, propositional truth no longer tells. Post modern inquiry searches for answers to questions previous biblical revelation does not address. How does the Christian community then relate with a world with which it has no communicative ties?

The answer lies in Christianity’s willingness to further invent its texts. If “relational” defines the current generation, then to use Akenson’s model a temple must be constructed which relates. So the lead edge of my thinking, which lies years behind current radical church practice, proposes Jesus as solution, not the white, stereo-typical Jesus of RBP sunday school material, not the wearing a WWJD plastic bracelet, but implementing the reality of being Jesus. As Jeremiah led a life as a precursor of Jesus, suffering for the people as he identified with them, so Paul completed the suffering of Jesus in his own body as he spoke and lived Jesus before a church that already had denied him as it persecuted him. Regardless both continued on humbly serving regardless of circumstances. Evangelical Christianity needs to wake up or find itself marginalized, persecuted, but as Peter would say for the wrong reasons. Our world needs Jesus, are you willing to be Jesus to someone?

Psalm 95 Blog Due March 28

Paging through the psalms this cold, clear morning (2 ft. of snow lies on the ground), I came upon number 95, one of the major texts used by the author of Hebrews to convince his readers to continue their identification with Jesus. But that’s a later use; let’s first listen to the poet as he writes to our hearts.

As you generate your thoughts, consider using the blog as a forum for communal discussion directed toward making our relationship with God more intimate, more influential with others.

Quickly the writer draws us in with four cohortatives, commands in the first person—“let us…” to worship yhwh (LORD, but not lord nor Jehovah) with joyful and loud song. Such worship challenges me, perhaps the right music or words that tell affect me to join in but for the most part I tune out. Of course if one reads the psalm my problem readily surfaces; although worship is communal it’s directed Godward, and that alone demands, or better engenders songs of praise. (Of course my very human problem relates to my following a chapel’s worship leader who just cut my class or did not turn in homework. Forgive my sin, that’s my fault not yours.)

As often the biblical writers offer reason for their claims—why should we worship Yahweh? He’s not just a god, he is god to the gods; he is their king. Theology proper has evolved; in this politically correct age, it would be good for us to learn from the ancients, who readily acknowledged the presence of other gods: “a great king above all gods.” Do not be afraid to compare your god with that of anyone else; if Jesus is who he claims to be, and if Yahweh, his father, is who he asserts, then they are more than capable and willing to demonstrate their claim. It’s just that they choose to do it through you! We all need to learn to do evangelism as demonstrated by Dan Sheard, the man we interviewed for the missions position: tell God’s story as accurately as possibly, Jesus saves not me, not you.

Next the psalmist turns to one of my favorite subjects, creation. I won’t belabor the point, but if we enter into the creation vs. evolution debate, we miss what it’s all about. Our God is one of powerful words, for instance: he created by the spoken word, his writers made outrageous claims about him with their pens, and his son manifested himself as word incarnate—again with shocking pronouncement, heretical to God’s own people. So how God created, doesn’t matter to me, it’s the claim that he did so by the same word that now calls me to faithful obedience that matters.

Briefly the writer draws to close his call to worship by identifying his audience with a recognized, comforting metaphor: the shepherd minding his flock. This picture spans the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. We all are his sheep, some of us will become his co-shepherds, leaders of his flock--this is what gods do; lead sheep to provision and through difficult circumstances.

(The printers of the NASB set this psalm on two pages, with the break right here. Several times I have thought that I turned an additional page, so do the two halves of this poem not cohere.)

The unidentified composer turns his audience, most likely anticipating soon worship of their God, to consider the ways of their ancestors in the wilderness. Those who had tasted God’s power in Egypt and at the Reed Sea, failed--at least 10 times--in the wilderness, life required more than just sit back to watch him once again deliver: what we call normal. The verb our writer chose to reflect God’s attitude toward that generation was “to feel disgust”: that is, “marked aversion aroused by something highly distasteful.” As we have been discussing in class, we now need to ask how did Israel know that God felt “disgust” toward them? Distance from God, problem #1, evidences physically, problem #2. They did not trust God; he prohibited them from entering the promised land--oh my.

There the psalm ends, openly, thus implying to the writer’s readers, you are where they were, the options remain the same: worship God--enter his rest; do not trust him--lose out. In one way or other, to one degree or the other, we need to hear this psalm. A few of us may be probing the depth of disorientation; if so, the message is clear: hear his voice or else.

(If this is too long, it’s the result of the too blue sky, the beautiful waving cedars, and far too much time with God.)

Jeremiah 20—Speaking from the deepest pit to a distant God

Beaten, confined to the stocks for all to see
(but not yet Passover, what future demands that?)

priests no longer recognize G-d’s word
Passhur prophesies peace, mercy, deliverance
I, Jeremiah, speak of destruction, exile, plague
yet both evoke yhwh’s name

he’s wrong, I suffer his wrath—I cry
because of him and for him
As much as I do not want to be persecuted
even more I do not want to experience
G-d’s judgment of my tormentors

Strong words express my lot in life
Isaiah hinted at one who would come to
suffer for his people, but one who would also
atone for those before their G-d
I am not he

yhwh’s first words seduced, enticing one
so naïve, in reality overpowering
(the thought here defies public description)
my attempted resistance—my G-d just
what do you want me to do?

my faithfulness brings mockery. They
apostatize, G-d threatens, I proclaim, he
mercifully delays, they laugh at me
and so it goes, year after year

it would have been better not to have been born
(would Jesus ever say the same?)
life spiraling downward, no upward turn
promises fail, work avails nothing
no one listens, so I claim no birth
no one has been where I am
these words uttered reflect hopelessness
G-d is destroying those with whom he has
eternally covenanted himself
thus he commits suicide

A Torah Psalm
A casual reading of psalm 19 leaves one wondering the connection between its three sections: 1–6 the heavens, 7–10 Torah, 11–14 confession. So maybe some notes can help us determine where the poet was going with his thoughts.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God.” I am sorry to begin this way, but to the secular eye glued to a telescope the heavens offer no glimpse of God. Christianity, and perhaps other religions, work this way; once one is “in” God may more readily be experienced, but from the outside looking in most religions, Christianity included, just do not make sense. Whatever irrationality scientists see in the heavens, God is not the answer they propose. As we discussed in class Friday, that what faith is all about. (see xxx for a excellent discussion on the creation vs. evolution stuff)

You must have realized after several courses with me that evangelism, how normally explained, is not something that I am too interested in. After many years of struggling with the issue, obediently handing out whatever I was told to do, I finally gave up, it’s just not me. God is ok with that for me (don’t use me as your excuse); I have a full time job that more than requires all that I can give, and then some. So I am far more interested in the “keeping in” part of the process than the “getting in” part. That is, I am interested in you!

The entire remaining “in” process should be working toward a more holy life; how that’s accomplished requires too much thought for this time of night, but here’s an overview. Christian living must be done in community, each accountable one another. By myself I can develop good devotional habits, good church going habits, carry around 3x5 cards with behavior relating instructions, memorize texts, and even vary the process so as not to become routine. But stuff happens, events occur unexpectedly, words are said without thought, sin occurs, so here I go again back to the beginning.

That’s when community helps: husband and wife balance each other; when one is weak the other strong, when one is stuck in a habit the other works in new areas, sharing builds. A family should function identically. What about a small bible college? Could we reconstitute ourselves as a place where Christian character develops in community, a place where staff works hard teaching and serving, while students work hard learning the Christian life skills necessary for 21st century living? What would such a classroom look like? Would there even be classrooms? How could I best teach you what I know and how it should be implemented without doing it for you? Ok that’s enough on this rabbit trail, let’s get back to psalm 19.

Only a poet would propose the heavens speak with silent speech, vv. 2–3. But then do not the heavens speak? I wonder if we have lost our observational skills. The ancients, particularly the Assyrians, became masters of recording the movements of the sun, moon, and stars as these bodies circled around the earth. It all had to do with astronomy which drove their astrology. Sometime do a google search for Ptolemy the Greek astronomer; his work brought together all that had gone before defining astronomy for 1200 years until the enlightenment star gazers figured out that the earth revolved about the sun. (A great heresy at the time for the church.)

Turning to the most notable heavenly body, the sun, our poet envisions a day’s beginning as the sun, now compared to a bridegroom, exits his night chamber to travel either to his wedding’s bliss or the first night after the event; in either situation that’s one happy sun emerging for a day’s shining and heating. Astronomically speaking, they did not have a clue what the sun did after it sank in the west and before in rose in the east; i.e., flat earth. But they did know that at day’s end nothing below had not been exposed to the sun’s rays.

The Torah serves a similar purpose; its instruction covers all aspects of life. Notice the synonyms: Torah, instruction, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear, judgments—that given by God to his people to guide their lives, each of which is followed by an adjective: perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true, and together result in a benefit: restoration, making wise, rejoicing, enlightening, enduring, and righteous. Taken together these principles work to keep one “in.” Now here’s the problem: the need to know Torah so that one may live successfully, must drive one’s life. I must work diligently to know how God’s word directs me to act in each life situation. The will of God for my life is not some obscure who will I marry or where will I work, but rather how do I live before a holy God today. If you can sell that Torah study must be more desirable than gold to young people you will change the church.

It’s about time I ended this novel, so let’s look at the final paragraph. The problem with ultra Torah living is that God’s word exposes us for whom we really are. No wonder most Christians shy away from reading, learning, and living by the book; blissful ignorance attracts far more than hard reality. Just a closing comment on the word blameless in vs. 13; neither the OT writers, nor Paul who likewise used this term, referred to themselves as sinless. Rather what they meant was sins addressed in the prescribed manner. Doing so as frequently as necessary results in one being blameless.