More Design Choices

So I’ve decided I like three column flexible themes. That pretty much limits me to Garland and Andreas09 in wordpress. I changed the color scheme because the original colors give the header a horrible see-thru look. Striped colors work much better.

Then there are Snapshots. I find them annoying because they add clutter, and mostly useless, because the presentation is seldom up-to-date. I turned them off, and they likely stay off.

Of course, my biggest criterion for a good blog is content, content, content. Been a lazy day, but I’ve got some things cooking but not ready to serve yet.   

Vomitting in Church

So this Rolling Stone article has been making the round on the blogs. Some people decry author Matt Taibbi’s choice of a typical church, and many people find his attempts to find humor overdone and mocking. But let us be clear that his reaction has considerable authority behind it. That of the Lord Jesus himself:

Rev 3:14-16 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! (16) So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth! (NET Bible)

 Many older translations use something like “spew”, “spit”, or “cast out”, but it is common knowledge that the Greek  ἐμέω (emeō) actually means “vomit”.  The Bible is not nearly so staid a book as people often imagine, and God is quite capable of speaking very bluntly when He sees the need.

I remember all this courtesy of our pastor, who used Rev 3:14-16 in his lesson at prayer meeting tonight, in reference to how often people simply go through the motions at church.  God wants sincere worship, and He is blunt about how much He desires it. He also equates right action with worship, and is equally blunt about desiring right action over ritualistic, dead worship:

Isa 1:11-17 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am stuffed with burnt sacrifices of rams and the fat from steers. The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats I do not want. (12 ) When you enter my presence, do you actually think I want this — animals trampling on my courtyards? (13) Do not bring any more meaningless offerings; I consider your incense detestable! You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations, but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! (14) I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies; they are a burden that I am tired of carrying. (15) When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood. (16) Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight. Stop sinning! (17) Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!(NET Bible) 

Only by both ceasing our negative actions and carrying out positive actions can we actually achieve the balance that God expects of His people, becoming the wholly rounded persons God means for us to be. Some might say that is asking a lot. God says that is only “what is right”.

Genesis 42 Sunday School Notes

 

Here then are part of my notes for Sunday School, May 4, 2008, following Lifeway’s Explore the Bible Series. This week we focus on Genesis 42.

 

Gleaned from these more technical commentaries:

 

Nahum Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, Jewish Publication Society, 1989 link

 Gleason Archer, R. Laird Harris, Bruce Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Moody, 1980 link

Robert Alter, Genesis:Translation and Commentary, Norton, 1997link

 

 

Gen 41:48-9

 Joseph apparently held, among others, the office of “Overseer of Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt”, which required him to collect taxes on farm produce, store food in productive years, and distribute food in famine years.(Sarna)

 Genesis 42:6

in charge/governor: In Hebrew, shallit, which bears intriguing similarity to Salitis, first Hyksos king of Egypt’s Fifteenth Dynasty, and also similar to saltum and salitum, terms for governor in Assyrian documents.(Sarna)

Gen 42:7

treated them as strangers/ made himself strange unto them: From a Hebrew root nkr, which seems to derive it’s meaning from seeing something, with various verb cognates meaning recognize, understand, and noun cognates for stranger and foreigner. Same root in Hebrew behind Joseph “recognized/knew” his brothers.(Sarna, TWOT)

Gen 42:8

they did not recognize him: It was twenty years since the brothers had seen Joseph, and now he was not only a man, but looked, spoke, dressed, and acted like a native Egyptian.

Gen 42:9

Joseph remembered his dreams: Joseph remembers, and realizes God has done as he had predicted in those long ago dreams. But that must also lead him to remember what speaking his dreams did for him. He would be less than human not to be upset at the memories, yet one detects as much concern for his father and youngest brother as any thought of revenge in his treatment of the brothers.(Sarna, Alter)

spies…nakedness: Egypt always had a problem with spies and enemies coming through the great highway running through Canaan into Egypt. The various Pharaohs were always increasing border patrols and adding forts to keep out spies and invaders. This problem provided Joseph with a convenient excuse to gather information on his family and his brothers’ current ethics.(Sarna)

Gen 42:11

all sons of one man…not spies: because a family would hardly go into business as spies, given the obvious penalty if caught. (Sarna)

Gen 42:12

Joseph insists on the charge in order to draw out more information

Gen 42:13

We are twelve… one is now with our father, and one is no longer living: You can see their nervousness as they use their standard line (twelve sons), then immediately realize they are ten. Joseph might think they are liars, or worse, spies with two operatives out gathering information. Just their need to explain might seem suspicious, and Joseph is pushing them.(Alter)

Gen 42:14

Translation: “See! Confused explanations, embarrassment! Like I said: spies!”

 Gen 42:15

Joseph insists they prove their story by bringing forth eleventh brother.

as surely as Pharaoh lives: Strange oath from monotheist Joseph, but entirely normal in ANE (Ancient Near East), where swearing by your king was standard operating procedure.(Sarna)

Joseph’s motive is to see if Benjamin, the youngest and likely the favorite, is being any better treated than he was.

Gen 42:16

Joseph uses imprisonment to test the brothers’ unity and morality, knowing by personal experience how much being locked up can affect someone. Will they fight to be the one to go free to return home, or will they unify to get the family food?(Sarna)

Gen 42:17

Imprisoned together three days: Three days being ANE shorthand for a short time. Long enough to get reports from prison workers how the brothers have behaved.

Gen 42:18-19

Apparently the brothers had come to no agreement in three days, since Joseph must intervene. Or did Joseph repent of an apparent desire to punish the majority of his brothers? Is his “I fear God” just a convenient excuse for the next part of his plan, or an actual sentiment? Either way, one suspects a big part of his sending them back soon truly was the fear of starving his father, Benjamin, and the household.

Gen 42:20

Bring your youngest brother: Joseph wants to see Benjamin, not only to see how he has been treated, but also because he is the brother Joseph does not really know, having likely been a child when Joseph was sold.

that your words can be confirmed: double meaning here:

1) prove the trumped-up charge is false

2) that their apparent concern for the family is actually the case

then you won’t die: Joseph still suspects the brothers are callous enough to abandon one of them, so he keeps the threat hanging. This is the equivalent of a U.S. cabinet member threatening you. You know a world superpower has the resources to hunt you down and kill you if it cares to. You can’t run, you can’t hide.

Gen 42:21

It is plain/verily/assuredly: These are translations of Hebrew “aval”, usually meaning “surely”, “truly”, but here 

 

 

2Sa 14:5 ESV And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. 

 it shows that it might also be interpreted on occasion as an expression of woe or grief. (Sarna)

 punished/guilty: The Hebrew, ashem, can refer both to sin or guilt, and the punishment for the sin or guilt. Traditional Jewish thought does not separate been a guilty act/sin and the punishment of that act/sin. This explains the difference in translation between the HCSB and KJV here.

 HCSB: distress/trouble

 KJV: anguish/distress

The Hebrew here is the same word, tsarah, showing plainly that the brothers consider this a form of the lex talonis, “eye for an eye, tooth for tooth” punishment later made a standard in the Lawgiving in Moses’ day.(Sarna)

Gen 42:24: [Joseph] wept: affected by Reuben’s sincerity and likely the memory of his own distress, and the thought of twenty years among his family lost.

took Simeon: likely the black sheep of the family, one of the two instigators of the Shechem massacre, and noted for his natural cruelty by his father on his deathbed. He is the chief suspect in the brothers’ cruelty toward Joseph in most people’s minds. (Sarna)

Was this another form of test by Joseph? Did he take Simeon to see how the brothers reacted to the imprisonment of probably the least liked among them? Was it a backhanded clue to Joseph’s identity, imprisoning the likely instigator of Joseph’s slavery? Was it perhaps even now a bit of payback? Or was Simeon the one brother seemingly unmoved in the grief over their situation? That would seem to fit his character.