Rest or Death? It's all Compassionate

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 24 February 2011 20:32:06

Yesterday Moses was having a bit of day....after breaking the original stone tablets he had to go back and do them again. The rules to protect were repeated. Within this passage from Exodus 33:7 - 34:35 there were a couple of things which were a bit confuddling. First off the whole business of not being able to see God's face and live. This I can deal with, the second thing I struggle more with....that is the idea that whilst forgiveness can be given guilt is passed down through generations. Now I can cope with the idea the consequences are passed on but the guilt being passed on I struggle with.

NT wise it was Mark 7: 1-30 and within this it was clear it was not so much rules as actions which are important. Sin starts in the heart.  This then got onto the Syrian Phoenician women who Jesus called a dog. Interestingly I'd been discussing this story with others at bookgroup the night before, but what I hadn't known then is it immeadiately follows on from Jesus declaring all foods clean....interesting.

Psalm 25:8-15 was cool because it says God tells us how to live, but gives us a choice.

Today was more interesting. Exodus  35:1 - 36:38 started off by saying the punishment for not taking a day off and resting was to be death. Um, scary one that. Ironic was the term TOH used when I told her that was what I wanted to blog about today. We are meant to be on holiday having a proper day off, but she spent it proof reading a chapter for me and I planned a service, (and this was our quiet day off!). I think that there is a lesson to be learned and that I need to be soooo soooo greatful I wasn't alive when they did kill you if you didn't rest. Yet, is part of the problem that our culture does not value rest? We value leisure but not rest and there is a difference between the two.

In terms of getting the community to work together Moses gave details of the task and those with both willingness and a heart that had been moved got involved. Thus, we see the biblical model is not only to be called, but a willingness to act upon that call. Moses ended up with the problem too many people were offering either goods or skills for the task. Note here, he didn't say oh keep on giving and we can dream up a new project. No, he said that when there was enough people should stop giving. Interesting one.

Mark 7:31 - 8:13 was another episode when Jesus was moved by compassion. Throughout these daily readings I have been struck by how many times the motivating factor for Jesus was compassion. Indeed, this seems to be what in many ways the whole of Jesus' ministry was based upon. He saw the practical impact of things on the gathered crowds, who he was actually regularly trying to escape from and so often acted in a way which gave him more personal problems but helped them because of this compassion.

Psalm 25 :16 - 22 is one of those Psalms which is a depressive Psalm. Within it there is no bright smiley Christian phoneyness. No, in this one there is a clear cry that life is a bit kak when you look it.  Yet in the mist of all this there is a clear belief that God would protect due to the depressives integrity and uprightness. This I think is cool.