It brings on many changes…

With my foot pressed hard on the accelerator and my car pointed straight toward a 1000 foot drop, I again take a quick inventory of the reasons I should not attempt to kill myself:

“My wife? She’ll divorce me anyway when she finds out all the horrible things I’ve done.”

“My career? What career? Selling hamburgers!” Nothing.

“My son?” I hesitate. “He’ll miss me, but in the long run, he’ll do better in life without me.”

As a guard rail looms in the windshield, I hear a soft voice ask, “Will you go to heaven?”

Many have felt the impact of Robin Williams’ premature death by his own hand. I believe this is a proper reaction, since Mr. Williams was deservedly well-loved by the culture. He was a fine actor, an intelligent man, a hilarious comedian, a good husband, a faithful father, child of God and by all accounts a really nice guy. Add all this to the fact that many in our society identify with depression and you end up with a cultural firestorm regarding this topic.

So to add my half-cent to the discussion, I admitted via social media this past week that I am the survivor of a suicide attempt I made back in 1990. I figured the story might help my friends collectively process their deeply-felt loss of Robin Williams. But in writing the story I have discovered that there are just some details I am not willing to shove out into the light of social media. Instead I would like to reflect on what I have learned over time…

IT DOESN’T HURT WHEN IT BEGINS…

I am not sure depression directly leads one to suicide. Depression is a state of mind involving a cluster of symptoms that can be brought on by many factors, both internal and external. Despair is the complete absence/complete loss of hope, which can also be brought on by many factors, only one of which is depression. In other words, while despair is certainly related to depression, it is something completely different. We can only analyze after the fact from details revealed by his family, but despite battling the disorder for years, it is entirely possible that Robin Williams was not depressed when he took his life. Perhaps he was in a state of despair over something else in his life, like his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s.

While I suffered from depression for years, I cannot say unequivocally that I was depressed when sped up to drive my car over a cliff. I may have told you at the time that I was, but on reflection I believe I had entered a state of despair over actions I had taken over a period of years.

Let me be clear. Depression absolutely can lead to despair, and if it does I believe it is a deadly combination. There has been discussion recently over the selfishness of suicide. As one who has tried it, I can say that MY attempt had a selfish component. But once you are in a state of despair your mindset is that everyone else will be better off without you. You cannot see clearly nor process information correctly. Everyone else may be able to see what you have to live for, but when you are in a state of despair, that is just not something you can see.

And from my experience I can add that having someone rehearse all I have to live for is only a read-through of the reasons I should leave. It’s akin to having my arm chopped off and while the blood is draining from my body having someone tell me to just “get over it.”

If you are suffering from depression or despair, if you feel like you have lost all hope, stop reading this stupid blog post and call someone that can REALLY help you. Here are just two resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:                                       800-273-8255

New Hope Counseling Center:                                                  714-NEW-HOPE

If you know someone that is suffering from depression or despair, please assist them with getting professional help. If you are not trained to counsel people when they are in this state, please refrain from say something stupid like, “We love you! Think of all you have to live for!” These things may be objectively true, but you need to first cut through my despair to even be able to argue why I shouldn’t die.” Even if you are not trained, don’t attempt it if the person is close to you. Your training will not overcome your bias.

 THE PAIN GROWS STRONGER, WATCH IT BURN

In my case I did not seek counsel. In a state of despair I worked through my decision while driving up the San Bernardino Mountains after work one day to meet up with my family for the weekend. Nothing I could think of changed the course of action I was contemplating. While accelerating to over 75 mph while approaching a cliff, I audibly heard the question, “Will you go to heaven?” As a Christian I do not believe that suicide cancels my salvation, and the thought of seeing heaven was on the plus, not minus side of finishing the act. But I was surprised to find that I could not answer the question. Since I couldn’t answer the question, I decided to live to find out, but it was almost too late. I was already in the turnout and driving full speed on gravel. I slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel to avoid the cliff, which almost barreled me sideways over the cliff anyway.

Choosing life did not make things better. In fact, things actually got worse for over a year. Later on I could not tell you how old I was without calculating how old I was in 1990 and adding how long it had been since that time. I later found out this is called disassociation – a coping mechanism that our brains employ to deal with traumatic amounts of stress. This one of several reasons I have kept this under wraps.

So that is part of my story. If depression, despair, or suicide have irrevocably marked your life you feel that speaking with me might help you process that, feel free to contact me privately and I will do what I can to help.

It’s Too Easy To Dismiss Hillsong…and Miss Our Shared Problem

I am concerned with reports I am hearing of Hillsong, but this writer sums up nicely the larger and more troubling issue while properly turning the lens away from Hillsong back to our own churches…

mysteryoffaithblog.com

So, Hillsong declined to publicly declare a position on ‘LGBT issues’.

And the internet was awash with opinions. Some shook their heads in disappointment, because, after all, ‘the Bible is clear’. Others smugly remarked that we shouldn’t expect much from this ‘culturally accommodating’ brand of Christianity. I find neither response particularly helpful or accurate.

First, the response of certainty: ‘A non-answer is an answer.’

I understand this response, and there is some truth to it: a non-answer is indeed an answer.

But it is not saying as much as we might think it is. It does not, for example, (necessarily) mean a ‘shift’ in position. It may simply be a statement about what the church’s mission is: to announce Christ in the pluralistic public square, and to challenge Christians more specifically once they are in the community.

I didn’t read their response as fudging on the what of Christian morality but rather…

View original post 847 more words

talkin’ ’bout my generation…

I’m not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation,

I’m just talkin’ ’bout my g-g-g-generation…

I am skeptical that “talkin’ ’bout my generation” is a helpful thing to do. I don’t actually know to which generation I belong. I was born in 1963, a year which by all accounts is on the generational edge. Some experts lump all Boomers into a group of 71 million in the United States alone. Others divide Boomers into two segments, the first starting around 1943 or 1944 and ending at 1954 or 1955, depending on which marketing website you visit. Likewise, the second segment ends in 1960, 1964, or 1965 depending on the analyst. And while Gen-X gets squeezed between Boomers and Millennials, it starts anywhere between 1960-1966 and ends somewhere between 1977 and 1980. I don’t know if I am Boomer, a “Generation Jones” or a member of Gen-X.

Confusing things further is my personal experience, which has been far different from the generalizations made by marketing analysts and sociologists. The choices I made as a teenager prevented me from joining in the affluence of my generation, which along with other factors means that while I actually had the information to join in on the ground floor of Yahoo! and Google, those same choices prevented me from exploiting that information. Add to this the fact that my management career has led me to work alongside members of every generation – not just Boomers, but Gen-Xers, Millennials, Silents, and even G.I.s. How I think and what I cherish has been developed by interaction with ALL these generations. Finally, personal circumstances led me to reject much of what those of my age are expected to hold most dear.

And don’t try to dig what we all s-s-say,

talkin’ ’bout my generation

All of this has led me to the belief that the ideas and resulting actions of individuals are far more important than the movements of a generation. Is it important that Steve Jobs was a Boomer, Elon Musk a Gen-Xer, or Mark Zuckerberg a Millennial? Absolutely not. What is important is that each of these men have drastically changed our lives through their contributions to technology. The same can be said about leaders in politics, finance, and religion belonging to the same generations. What matters is the personal contributions they made attempting to make life better, not which generation to which they belong.

Considering all this has helped me see my own generation in a new light. While those who know me can tell you that I am hyper-critical of the Boomer generation, I now realize that generalizations are distinctly unhelpful. I am learning to look toward people of all ages who inspire me to be a better person, husband, employee, boss, and follower of Christ.

 

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy…

In the name of God…

One of the best interpretations of the name Samuel is “The Name of God” (Pfeiffer and Harrison, 273.) Samuel’s importance as a prophet, priest, and judge of Israel was seen in I Samuel. His importance to the nation of Israel continues as the second book chronicles the story of the second king that he anointed…the one from whom God’s anointed would descend.

So why does this post refer to the opening lyrics of one of Queen’s greatest songs ever? Fun fact: down in the operatic portion of the song is an unfamiliar proclamation made by the “choir” – “Bismillah!” – which like “Samuel” means “in the name of God!”

What does this book talk about?

One of the primary messages of both books of Samuel is that God is in control. While He may choose to work through human leaders, even leaders chosen by the people, God is our one true sovereign Lord (Walton, Strauss and Cooper, 30.)

As the author of Second Samuel details how David take’s over the kingdom, he presents him as the one for whom God built an empire (Walton, et. al., 31.) Along with David’s successes, Second Samuel records David’s abject failures as both a husband and father. These failures ultimately bring about grave consequences for both his family and kingdom.

Who does this book talk about?

David     Joab     The “Mighty Men”     Bathsheba     Nathan     Amnon     Tamar     Absalom

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

Below is a picture of the “Tel Dan Stele,” a victory monument erected by an Aramean king north of Israel. It records the commemoration of victory over “BYDWD” by Hazael, or one of his sons Ben Hadad II or III. By most accounts “BYDWD” refers to the “House of David,” making this the first and earliest known archaeological reference to David. It was found in front of an Israelite city gate complex located on a northernmost tip of ancient Israel occupied by the tribe of Dan.

Figure 10: The House of David Stele

How can this book relate to my life?

Christians and non-Christians alike often relegate the importance of Israel’s history to that of stories taught to children in Sunday School. For example, the story of Noah is full of both wondrous acts of God and a lot of furry animals. But in fact many of the stories contained in the Bible are not appropriate for young children. One example of this is the sex and violence-filled tale of King David’s affair with the “hot” young wife of his friend Uriah, Bathsheba.

With nothing better to do one evening, David checks out the view from his palace and sees Bathsheba taking, well, a bath on the roof of her home. Since a privilege of kings in that day was the right to sleep with whomever he chose, he sends for Bathsheba and she dutifully obeys. When she gets pregnant she notifies the king. What does the “man after God’s own heart” do? When he can’t persuade his friend to come home from battle and sleep with Bathsheba to cover up the pregnancy, David returns Uriah back to the front line with a note to the general to position Uriah in such a way as to ensure his death…which the general does.

Now you might not be in a position to kill your friend just to sleep with his or her significant other – even though this type of thing all too frequently still happens today. But it is likely that you have blown it big time like David, or like Saul did in First Samuel. Before God, the issue is not about blowing it. Since Adam first blew it first in the Garden of Eden the history of man has involved wrongdoing. God is interested in how people respond when they screw up. King Saul gave a bunch of lame excuses for his failure to follow God’s direction. David, on the other hand, humbled himself before God when confronted with his sin. You can check out his response to God in Psalms 32 and 51. What made David “a man after God’s own heart” was not his lack of sin and failure, but David’s lifelong commitment to maintaining a right relationship with God even after he failed miserably.

Where does the action take place?

Figure 11: Kidron Valley: The “City of David” can be seen on the right side of this photo

 

Dynasty: greater than any soap opera…

HEARD OF GOD…

Samuel’s name may mean “Heard of God” (Cook, 8,) referring to the fact that Samuel was given in answer to his mother’s prayers. While early versions of the Old Testament combine the books of Samuel and Kings under the title Kingdoms, Samuel is rightly associated with the first two books even though he died years before II Samuel was even written. His personal greatness is of relative importance to the throne of David and ultimately to the person of Christ (Cook, 3). He is the prophet who first encountered the descendants of the family found in the book of Ruth, which connects King David to the patriarchs in the same way that the later histories connect David to Jesus Christ (Cook, 3).

What does this book talk about?

This book begins the story of David, son of Jesse. In the span of time covered by this book David goes from being a lowly shepherd to war hero, and from musician to wanted criminal. David’s dynasty begins here – and as the lead title indicates, the events surrounding David’s actions and those of his family put any TV soap opera to shame. To figure out the message of this book requires considering it to be the part of a greater whole. Specifically, First and Second Samuel were originally considered a single book without partition. In view of this it could be said that both books discuss the same things: The demonstration of God’s power and sovereignty (Walton, Strauss and Cooper, 30) primarily through His covenantal relationship with David. Ultimately, the emphasis is the development of the proper concept of divine authority. The way First Samuel tells its part of the message is by presenting the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David in succession. After Samuel’s credentials as kingmaker are established (Walton, Strauss and Cooper, 31), Saul’s sorry attempt to lead God’s people is laid out within his conflict with David, the man who succeeds him on the throne. Along the way the book also records acts of both great faithfulness and great faithlessness – God rewards those faithful to Him, and those not faithful to Him will end in ruin and come to nothing” (Ps. 1:6).

Who does this book talk about?

Hannah     Eli    Samuel     Saul     Jonathan     Agag     David     Goliath     Michal     Abigail

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

Saul’s death at the hand of the Philistines is recorded in the last chapter of First Samuel: “The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.” (esv). This report was considered an error because it seemed unlikely that sworn enemies (Philistines and Canaanites) would each have a temple to their god in the same place and at the same time. But archaeological excavations have demonstrated that these temples were merely separated by a single hallway. It appears that the Philistines had adopted the Canaanite goddess (McDowell, 380).

How can this book relate to my life?

Have you ever pulled something stupid and then covered your butt when you were found out? King Saul tried this big time, claiming to Samuel that he had followed God’s instructions in his war with the Amalekites. The story of this in 1 Samuel 15 would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. King Saul found out the hard way that while man is in charge of his choices, God is in control of what follows from those choices. That day King Saul lost the chance to have a great legacy – a mere shepherd boy named David was soon after anointed as God’s choice for king. But worse for Saul, God’s Spirit left him, to be replaced by an evil spirit that plagued Saul the rest of his life. Be careful with your choices. It can be hard to hear sometimes, but the decisions you make as a teenager will likely stick with you for a long time.

A look into the life and times of the Bible: The King

At the close of the book of Judges we read, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” which was often especially true of kings. So what was supposed to be so special about a king? The whole king thing is about who will be in charge of Israel. While it is possible that Samuel thought he was going to get the job (Hill and Walton, 262), God clarifies who is really in charge when he tells Samuel that it is God Israel has rejected as king (Hill and Walton, 261-2). At first Saul does not seem to consider himself worthy (1 Sam. 9:22), and initially he doesn’t act like one when he hides from the people when it came time for his coronation (1 Sam. 10:22.) Despite this shaky start, God changes Saul’s heart and gives him the qualities necessary for leadership (Pfeiffer and Harrison, 282). Yet Saul gets into increasing trouble as he tries to be a man of action. Indeed, when God commands him to utterly destroy the Amalekites living under King Agag, he takes matters into his own hands and thoroughly screws things up. Not only does he lie about this before God, he fails to take responsibility (Pfeiffer and Harrison, 285.) David found favor with God because he was a man “after God’s own heart,” a phrase that is first applied to David in 1 Samuel 13:14. This phrase simply means that most of the time David was content with God in charge. When we see David fighting Goliath, serving Saul, and running from Saul, we see a man that honors God in his actions. After Saul is dead and David’s reign is secure, he sometimes forget who is really in charge – but even in his failures we see someone that ultimately assumes God is control of all things (Hill and Walton, 273-4).

Where does the action take place? Figure 9: Adullam. Caves in this area sheltered David and his troops from King Saul

Babe Ruth

Faithful Companions

Ruth’s name is associated with the idea of friendship (Davis and Whitcomb, 155). True to her name, she makes this ultimate declaration of friendship: “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (esv).

Referring to the title of this post, there is some (admittedly slim) evidence that Ruth was a “babe,” or as the current generation would have it, “hot.” In the second chapter of the book, around verses 7 and 8 Ruth requests permission to glean wheat behind her future husband’s employees. In the Mosaic law, reapers were instructed not to glean too closely in order to allow what we would call “disadvantaged” people to get some grain so that they could eat. However it was apparently common sport for official employees to harass these people, as Boaz specifically instructs them to leave Ruth alone. But since she is not only a stranger, but a foreigner from Moab (a related but enemy nation of Israel,) Boaz’s instruction to his employees is peculiar, unless something stands out about Ruth – perhaps something like she is very pretty and he is possibly hoping things turn out the way they do later in the book…

What does this book talk about?

The Book of Ruth is a true short story about a couple of King David’s ancestors. At each end of this short book we find a love story. In the middle, we see the author’s intention to illustrate God’s faithfulness to anyone that is faithful to Him, regardless of his or her nationality.

The first love story is between Ruth and Naomi. Naomi and her husband were Israelites that moved to the country of Moab for economic reasons. During the family’s time in that country their sons married local women. Tragically, father and sons all die. After Naomi decides to return to Israel, Ruth’s dedication to her mother-in-law leads her to Israel with Naomi and worship Yahweh.

The second love story is between Ruth and Boaz. Once in Israel, Ruth and Naomi find themselves without legal standing. Employing a complex social custom designed to retain property within the extended family (tribe,) Ruth asks Boaz to be a “kinsman redeemer” – a man from her husband’s family that will marry her and allow her to benefit from her husband’s estate.

Who does this book talk about?

Naomi             Ruth                Boaz                Kinsman-Redeemer                 Moabites

How can this book relate to my life?

There are several strange customs that are in view in the book of Ruth. We have a man who is willing to marry his relative’s widow. Connected to that we have the concept of the “kinsman redeemer.” And incidentally there happens to be a couple of foot-related things going on.

Starting in reverse order, we really don’t know what is going on with the feet (Hutchison). In a culture where one’s livelihood depended on their two legs, perhaps feet and footwear somehow conveyed identity and the ability to make contracts or agreements (like marriage.)

So what is a “kinsman redeemer”? He is one who is the nearest relative to the deceased and has the legal authority and financial ability to arrange for the freedom of his extended family that had been reduced to the status of debt slave (Walton, Strauss and Cooper, 28). In the story, Boaz is the “kinsman redeemer.”

In your story, Jesus is your “kinsman redeemer.” Because of our sin, we are in a pickle. We are destitute – destined for eternal damnation. But he is our nearest relative with the ability and authority to arrange for our freedom. That means that while He is fully God, He is also fully human. Since He was fully God He had no sin. Since He was fully man, He could die in our place as a perfect sacrifice – once and for all.

A look into the life and times of the Bible:  Levirate Marriage

This is the second time we have encountered this strange custom of levirate marriage. We saw how this custom could go bad with Tamar and her father-in-law in the book of Genesis.

So is this a marriage between Levites? Does it happen to have something to do with the book of Leviticus? The answer is neither. Levir is the Latin term for “husband’s brother.” Continuing one’s family line was very important. If a man died before having kids, it was his brother’s duty to marry his widow so that she could have a child that would carry the dead man’s name (Walton, Strauss and Cooper, 28).

Other important considerations included preserving property inheritance within the man’s family and the honor of the widow. A woman unable to have children was a disgrace in those times, and if her husband died that disgrace would be permanent (Packer and Tenney, 435). So here’s the deal: this kind of marriage was a social custom designed to preserve the family and prevent injustice toward widows – important matters for the Lord (Hill and Walton, 252).

This custom seems weird because we have chosen to handle the potential for social injustice to widows differently. In the early church the apostles themselves selected a group of leaders for the special purpose of serving widows. Distributing assistance to widows and others in need had begun to cut into the time the apostles had available for evangelism and discipleship. These people are called deacons, which is taken from a Greek word meaning “servant” (Acts 6:1-6).

In modern American society things are quite different. We are accustomed to women taking charge of their finances, careers, and families. But one should be careful. Even though times change, the issues that brought about customs like levirate marriage still persist. The point is that God is always concerned with how the vulnerable people are treated by our society and the bottom line is that God loves justice, no matter what form it takes.

Where does the action take place?

Below is a map of an area of modern Israel called the West Bank. Bethlehem, Boaz’s (and Jesus’) hometown is governed by the Palestinian Authority, and has been at the center of fierce fighting between Palestinians and Israelis. If it existed today, Ruth’s nation of Moab would be located in the lower right side of this map within the borders of the modern kingdom of Jordan.

Figure 8: The West Bank

 

Don’t judge me…

“The Lord raised up a deliverer…”

This book carries the same title in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and English – Shopetim, Kraitai, Jadicum, and Judges respectively. When we think of a judge, we often imagine an old guy in a long black robe making legal decisions – think of the late Fred Gwynne in 1992’s My Cousin Vinny. While that is certainly sometimes the case, the reality is that women and men of all ages serve as judges throughout our country. And while making legal decisions was one part of the job for the biblical judges, their function included both military, civil, and religious leadership. Some of them even kicked some major ass, like Ehud the left-handed judge. A couple even functioned much like a king (Davis and Whitcomb, 93). While they were certainly called by God to deliver various Israelites from foreign oppression at various times, as a group most of them were severely flawed leaders incapable of encouraging the people to follow God faithfully beyond the period of their own leadership.

What does this book talk about?

Joshua charges the tribes of Israel with the job of finishing what he started: serving God conquering the land, and ridding it of all the idol-worshipping Canaanites (Miller, 72).

Once Joshua is out of the picture, the Israelites do none of this. Instead, they cycle repeatedly through a pattern of relapse into sin, ruin by oppressors, repentance, restoration through a judge, and a time of peace and rest (Hutchison, 30).

Who does this book talk about?

Othniel     Ehud     Deborah     Gideon     Jephthah     Samson     Samuel

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

Winston Churchill once said, “History is written by the victors.” In written history this is often the case. George Orwell illustrated the evil of this tendency in his novel 1984, in which the lead character’s job is to constantly re-write history to match the government position of the day.

If the person who wrote and compiled the book of Judges to make Israel look good, he did a really bad job. The grim portrayal of spiritual, moral, and political decline in this book makes even the best leaders look tainted. Even people critical of the Bible are “forced to trust the Book of Judges to be a more accurate reflection of secular history than the Book of Joshua (Asimov, 226.)

Once again, none of this proves it happened. But if you’re trying to influence billions of people through a world religion, why make this stuff up?

How can this book relate to my life?

The stories found in Judges are some of the craziest in the Bible. One guy kills an enemy king that is so fat his blubber swallows the judge’s sword. One woman kills an enemy general by putting a tent peg through his head. Another judge subdues a nation’s entire army with just 300 men.

If all of that is not bad enough, morals decline to the point that a woman is gang-raped to death by men of the tribe of Benjamin. This crime is so heinous that the other eleven tribes almost succeed in pulling off the near-genocide of the tribe of Benjamin.

But you don’t have to open a Bible to hear stories like this. Each day we turn on the TV we are faced with the failure of man to live righteously before God. The surprise is that not much has changed in thousands of years. And yet if we repent of our sins, He remains faithful – and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will deliver us from evil.

A look into the life and times of the Bible:  Deborah and Jael

During a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes (kjv), God chose a pair of women to do His will.

“Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.”  Now it is not too difficult to find powerful women today – just consider Hilary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Angela Merkel, or Sheryl Sandberg to name a few. Ms. Clinton was not only the wife of the United States president, but is a serious politician in her own right. Condoleeza Rice was not only the National Security Advisor, but the United States Secretary of State. Angela Merkel has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and Sheryl Sandberg is a powerful voice in Facebook, taking over the Chief Operating Officer role in 2013. But in ancient times a powerful woman was extremely rare. Indeed, Deborah is one of the few women in the Bible that is called a prophetess. But if you read her story, there is no question that she spoke for God.

That she was highly regarded can be seen in Deborah’s story, which starts at Judges 4:4. There we find Deborah “judging” Israel under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel – perhaps not too far from Bethlehem. At some point she summons her military commander and informs him that God has ordered him to enter into battle with a Canaanite king that has oppressed Israel. Regardless of what it says about the character of her commander, the fact that he refuses to go into battle without Deborah by his side is a measure of his regard for her leadership.

Because Deborah’s military commander refused to go into battle without her by his side, the Lord foretold through Deborah that a woman would be given the victory. Enter Jael. Married to an ally of Israel’s enemy, Jael pounds a stake through the enemy commander’s skull when he tries to escape the battle by hiding in her tent. Since Jael was married to a friend of the commander, he thought he was safe. But Jael’s loyalty to God and her people led her to surprise everyone – well, except the enemy commander. You see he did not see the tent peg coming because he was asleep.

Where does the action take place?

 Figure 7: This is Mt. Tabor, where the battle depicted in Judges 4 took place

Jesus Saves

YAHWEH IS OUR SALVATION…

The Hebrew name of the book Yehoshua reflects the central character and very likely the author. The Greeks called it Iesous Nave and Latin Vulgate calls it Iosue. In English these become Joshua, which means, “Yahweh saves” (Hutchison 26). Joshua shares his name with the Lord’s anointed, His son Jesus Christ.

What does this book talk about?

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. Joshua 21:43-45 (nkjv).

Who does this book talk about?

Joshua              Rahab              Achan              The people of Israel                 The Canaanites

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

The book of Joshua is a problem. As cool as the stories in its pages might be, a lot of scholars reject the book of Joshua for a variety of reasons, but it usually boils down to two: miracles and the lack of archaeological evidence.

Regarding miracles, “the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) launched an effective critique of miraculous claims. This skeptical rationalism was a major challenge to religious belief throughout the later 18th and 19th centuries (Fordham University.)” The children of the enlightenment have accepted Hume’s critique without much challenge for the past three hundred years despite the fact that his argument depends on a form of reasoning that Hume explicitly rejects: induction.

As for evidence that the events in Joshua occurred, it is easy to assume that the crazy things in this book are false and then use various facts to prove your theory. But if you have ever watched an episode of C.S.I., it just isn’t that easy. Science has not actually uncovered anything that disproves the facts in this book beyond a shadow of a doubt, but rather renders the events unlikely. Miracles are unlikely by definition.

Regarding archaeology, the Bible has been challenged and found accurate before. In the 1700s it became popular to make fun of the Bible when people weren’t busy trying to overthrow the French or British King. One thing they pointed out was lack of evidence for the existence of Hittites. That is until a guy named Hugo Winckler started discovering thousands of Hittite records in 1906. If you Google^® Hittites today, you’ll find out just how big a laugh conservative Bible scholars had over that little detail (Unger, 92).

None of this proves anything about the events recorded in Joshua, nor is any of it a slam dunk against the secular academy’s skepticism of the Bible. But doubt can run both ways – I don’t need to show that the events in Joshua are probable, but merely possible.

How can this book relate to my life?

In the book of Joshua we see that God is faithful to those who trust in Him and call upon His name. He fights so valiantly for the people of Israel, modern scholars have a hard time believing this book because Israel’s victories are so miraculous.

Perhaps someone in your family has served in the military and has stories to tell about faithful service to their country. Even Hollywood knows the power of faithfulness. The Die Hard series with Bruce Willis is about a cop with an attitude fighting to protect both his family and any innocent people that stand in the way of the bad guys. While he doesn’t perform miracles, he always miraculously survives, getting the bad guys before they get him. God fights for you…His very own son Joshua (Jesus) fought and won against Satan so that we might have eternal rest

A look into the life and times of the Bible:  Joshua

Joshua was a handy guy to have around.

He was a good general. On multiple occasions he led the armies of Israel. In fact his first battle was against the Amalekites right after Israel left Egypt (Exod. 17.) While the Bible says nothing about his training, it seems logical that he received military training while he lived in Egypt (Davis and Whitcomb, 25).

He also served Moses as something like an aide-de-camp, which is nowadays similar to a military advisor. Joshua ascended Mt. Sinai with Moses and remained with him for his whole stay there (Exod. 24:13.) Joshua’s military training is later evident when he misidentifies the sounds of partying in the Israelite camps as the sounds of war (Exod. 32:17.)

Later on he made a good spy. Indeed, he is only one of two spies of ten that recommended the Israelites obey God and commence invading the land of Canaan the first time they arrived (Exod. 14:6-9.) Indeed, one of his outstanding character traits is his unqualified courage. It took a lot of guts to stand up to an angry mob made up of Israel’s leaders (Davis and Whitcomb, 25).

When Moses is near the end of his life, God takes him up on a mountain to view the land of Canaan. It is there that God reminds Moses of his screw-up before the people when he got angry and struck a rock God had told Moses to merely speak to. It was that act of disobedience that kept Moses from being the one to lead Israel into Canaan. It is at that moment when Moses asks God to pick a leader – and God picks Joshua.

But it is unlikely that God picked Joshua just because he could lead armies, governments, or spy on enemies. The Bible suggests that God picked him because he was a Spirit-filled man (Num. 27.18). While he messed up like the rest of us (Josh. 9:14-15), his submission to the Holy Spirit gave him high respect for God’s will, which is the true source of his success (Davis and Whitcomb, 25).

Where does the action take place?

The satellite image below shows the modern location of one of Joshua’s most famous battles. While the text of book describes Jericho as a city with its own king, it would seem that Jericho may have been more like an important military outpost.

Figure 6: Modern aerial view of ancient Jericho – Joshua’s most famous battle

Dude! These are the words…

THESE ARE THE WORDS THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES…

The Hebrew manuscripts call it either elleh haddebarim (“these are the words”) or Mishmeh Hattorah (“repetition of the law”). Sometimes it is just shortened to debarim (“words)”. The Greeks stressed the content of the book and called it Deuteronomion, which means, “second law.” Following this tradition, the Latin Vulgate calls it Deuteronomium, which in English becomes Deuteronomy.

What does this book talk about?

Deuteronomy summarizes and renews the treaty between God and his people to prepare them for entering the land promised to their ancestor Abraham. It organizes the law in a way that the Israelites will understand the spirit of the Ten Commandments (Walton, Strauss and Cooper 23).

Who does this book talk about?

GOD                           Moses                          Joshua              The people of Israel

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

There is absolutely no question that the book we know as Deuteronomy is very old. For one thing, even people that do not believe it is the inspired revelation of God admit that it dates back to around 621 B.C.E. (Asimov, 95). For another, the information in the book is presented in a form that resembles a type of document common in the Ancient Near East known as the “Suzerain-Vassal (Lord-Servant) Treaty Covenant.” As a former member of the Egyptian ruling family, Moses was most certainly familiar with this type of document. One such treaty, of which the original still exists, was made between King Suppiluliuma of the Hittites and Mattiwaza of Mitanni sometime between 1390 and 1345 B.C.E.

The book itself claims to be the work of Moses (see Dt. 31:9, 24-26.) While it is certain Moses did NOT write the last chapter, there is no evidence that disproves Moses wrote the rest of it – only various theories that try to explain it away.

How can this book relate to my life?

According to recent surveys, approximately 78 percent of teenagers own a cell phone and 40 percent or more possess a smartphone. Because people under the age of 18 cannot legally enter into a contract, two types of contracts are necessary for teenagers to own a cell phone, written and verbal. First, parents sign a yearly contract with a provider, like Verizon or AT&T. Failing to pay or use the service as dictated by the agreement violates the contract and results not only in the cancellation of service and a ton of fees. Second, the teenager agrees to do certain things like call their parents frequently or even help pay for it. If the kid violates the agreement with their parents, the cell phone is taken away and their social life collapses.

God made a contract with the nation of Israel that dictated certain things. If they kept the contract, they received certain blessings. If they violated it, there were consequences. If you read the entire Old Testament, you’ll find that they did a pretty lousy job of keeping the contract. Kind of like losing a cell phone, they lost their social-religious life and even their freedom. Cool parents usually allow for some way to get the phone back, but God’s cooler than that. He did not just provide a way for Israel to fix the contract, but for ALL men who had broken their contracts with God. He sent His Son Jesus to die for us so that we could return to relationship with Him. 

A look into the life and times of the Bible:  The Merneptah Stela

Since the earliest of times, men have been building structures of stone to memorialize events, achievements, and people. Sphinxes, pyramids, and obelisks are just some of these monuments with which you might even be familiar – the Washington Monument in our nation’s capital happens to be the world’s tallest obelisk.

Around 1208 b.c.e., one such monument was placed in a city called Thebes by the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah. If you saw the movie The Mummy with Brendan Fraser – Thebes was near that city of the dead. Shaped like a large tombstone, this monument, or “stele,” brags about that pharaoh’s alleged victories in ancient Palestine. Some of the figures on this stone read:

The princes are prostrate saying: Shalom!

Not one of the Nine Bows lifts his head: Tjehenu (Libya) is vanquished, Khatti at peace, Canaan is captive with all woe. Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized, Yanoam made nonexistent; Israel is wasted, bare of seed,

Khor (Palestine) became a widow for Egypt.

All who roamed have been subdued by the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Banere-meramun, son of Re, Merneptah, content with maat ,given life like Re every day.

Figure 5: The Merneptah Stela in the British Museum in London, England

So what is the big deal about this stone? Discovered in 1896 a.d., this stone is the earliest mention of Israel anywhere outside the Bible. Second, it is the only mention of Israel in Egyptian records. Third, the grammar used by those who made this stone indicates that in 1208ish bc.e. Israel was considered a people group, but not a nation. Many scholars like to think that this proves a later date for the exodus, if there even was an exodus. But if you do the math, you find that indeed Israel does not really become a country until around 200 years after this stone was placed. What it does prove is that a major government considered them important enough to fight, or at least brag about fighting. Again, this does not prove the Bible is true, but lends it historical credibility.  

Crunching Numbers…

AND HE SAID IN THE WILDERNESS…

This book actually has two names in Hebrew. The first is Wa`eddaber, meaning “and He said.” The second title is Bemidhbar, or “in the wilderness of”. Impressed by the two censuses of fighting men recorded in the book, the Greeks named it Arithmoi, from which English gets the word “Arithmetic” (Asimov 165). In Latin this is Numeri, from which English versions take their title, Numbers.

What does this book talk about?

Submission to God and trust in his plan and provision are essential to God’s people; and when they screw up, He offers new opportunities for faithfulness (Walton, Strauss & Cooper 20)

Who does this book talk about?

good guys	bad guys
Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb, Phineas	10 spies, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Balak, Balaam, Sihon, Og

How can I be sure that these things actually happened?

Discovered in 1967 in the east Jordan Valley, the “Deir Alla” text mentions what we might call a “psychic” named Balaam son of Beor – apparently the same pagan prophet who blessed the Israelites as they passed through the plains of Moab. The text starts out, “The account of Balaam son of Beor who was a seer of the gods. The gods came to him in the night, and he saw a vision like an oracle of El” (Arnold and Beyer 225). This text from outside the Bible verifies the existence of an ancient Biblical character, lending credibility to the whole book.

Apart from stating within the text that Moses recorded events in Israel’s journeys, the book reflects intimate knowledge of the areas traversed – which Moses would have had from both the time he was a shepherd and led the people of Israel. The fact that the book was obviously edited and enlarged by someone after his death does not eliminate Moses as the primary human author.

How can this book relate to my life?

There is a scene from Numbers that resembles a tirade of Clark Griswold found in just about every movie of National Lampoon’s Vacation series. When the Israelites rebel against Moses’ leadership, God threatens to kill them all – something that Moses seems constantly asking God not to do. At one point when the people are whining about the lack of water, Moses goes over the top like Clark – striking a rock and yelling at the people when all God had told him to do was speak to the rock. Much like the Vacation movies, everything does not become a “holiday road.” God punishes Moses AND Aaron by preventing them from entering the Promise Land for their disbelief over what God had told them to do.

 

We may plan and have a particular idea how things ought to go, but circumstances will inevitably make our plans go awry. We can stress out and go ballistic like Clark and Moses, or we can obediently listen and follow God’s directions and let Him deal with the circumstances.

A look into the life and times of the Bible:  Balaam

Let’s just admit up front how humorous it is that Balaam has an ass. Surprisingly the actual story of Balaam is funnier than most adolescent jokes about Balaam’s donkey – or his butt. A successful psychic/clairvoyant/wizard hired by an enemy king to curse the Israelites, God intervenes and arranges for Balaam to bless the Israelites instead. But on his way to do that, God blocks his way with an angel. While it’s not clear up front what the problem is, Balaam’s heart and attitude are probably at the center of it. You see, even though God chooses to work through this guy, Balaam does not worship God despite some of the cool things he prophesies about Israel. Regarding Balaam’s heart, he probably still had his eye on the big payout promised by the enemy king. He’s willing to do God’s bidding, but he still hopes to get paid for it.

But it’s the way God intervenes that sets up the funny situation. You see, the angel blocking the wizard’s path can only be seen by Balaam’s donkey. After the donkey almost crushes Balaam’s foot to get away from the angel, Balaam begins striking his donkey. In a manner of speaking you could say he kicks his ass while being kicked by his ass. But it gets funnier. While he’s “kicking his ass,” the animal starts talking to him, reminding Balaam that she has never before acted this way. The Lord then makes the angel she was avoiding visible. Who do think felt like a jackass after that little exchange?

If you read Numbers 22-24 you won’t actually get the whole story on Balaam. The very next chapter starts out by telling us that when the Israelites were camped there, some of the men began sleeping with local Moabite women. Likely prostitutes, these women were willing to deliberately use sex as a tool to draw the men into sacrificing to the Moabite gods. The lure was so great that before long a lot of people were joining in the worship of Baal of Peor. For this, God’s anger “blazed against his people.” In Exodus and Leviticus God had told the Israelites how He was to be worshipped – no exceptions.

But what does Balaam have to do with all this? Peter and Jude in their letters mention the “error of Balaam of Beor” which some people in the church had chosen to commit. The disciple John tells us in the book of Revelation what that error is when he writes, “some among you…are like Balaam, who showed Balak (the enemy king) how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to worship idols by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. (nlt)

Figure 4: Rembrandt’s painting, “Balaam and his Ass”