Categories: uncategorized
Date: 06 January 2011 13:25:51
OT Gen 11:10 - 13:18 was one which led to a series of observations more than anything else.
11:12 - interesting change of timescale starts to occur in terms of how old (or young) people were when they became parents.
In this passage generally it seemed alot of people were impacted by Gods calling of Abram. Interesting how that calling led Abram into some difficult situations, (like famine). In trying to deal with consequences of where that call had led him Abram thought up solutions which were more Del Boy than leading patriarch...like trying to pass his wife off as his sister. What I couldn't understand was why God punished Pharaoh and his family rather than Abram for this.
Interesting to see the way that our actions can have unforeseen consequences on others.
NT Matt 5:21 - 42 was a series of things which illustrated how we need to think about our judgements and actions. The key theme was that attitude matters.
Taking the whole lust and cutting off part of your body thing I think it was saying that it might be important for us to change aspects of our lives in order to sort ourselves out and also to stop our lives having a negative impact on others.
The divorce section is something, many moons ago, that I examined in depth. As an evo who had been "abandoned" by her adulterous husband I struggled with whether I could divorce and if I could was I meant to remain single forever, (ignoring all the sexual orientation stuff which also was looked at later on).
This passage is one which I ended up liking, not because it justified what I wanted but because it showed me how compassionate Jesus and God are towards women in societies and historical settings which aren't. The whole point of Jesus telling blokes to give their wives a divorce certificate was to protect these women and stop blokes further exploiting them and making it impossible for them to live, (as women were dependant upon men- husbands at this time). In terms of what follows again we get back to Jesus telling people to think about the impact their actions have upon wider communities.
The getting back to simple Yes or No answers is sensible aswell.
38-42 are great verses because within them Jesus is telling people that the best way to deal with people causing you problems or seeking to exploit you is to f**k with their heads through outrageous compliance or kindness. I once heard a sermon where it was explained that Romans could ask natives to carry their stuff one mile, but would be disciplined if they got people to carry it further. Therefore, by offering to carry it two miles a problem is created for the person who is seeking to exploit. This seems to be the whole tone of this part of the passage. Do what they don't know how to deal with.....this is the principal that most non-violent direct action is based upon.
Psalm 5: 1 - 12 gave an interesting picture of God and how man quite often forgets who is who and goes to God telling him what we want him to do for us rather than listening to God.