Posts tagged: bible-project

What Are The Rewards In Heaven?

2025-06-20T06:23:05Z

Intro

I came across an article on the Bible Project on what it means to “store up treasures in Heaven” and it brought some clarity to the meaning of this teaching for me…

I’ve been walking with Jesus for around 2 decades now, and he’s taught me a lot about life, love, and grace. I still feel the battle inside myself when faced with a decision where I can act more or less in line with Jesus’ desire and will or I can make a choice that’s about me… Anytime I’m able to choose the path I know is his, then praise the Lord and he’s been faithful to change me more and more into his image and likeness.

TLDR - The Treasures #

The article goes on to argue that the rewards we are promised in Heaven, the ones we are supposed to “store up”, are the rewards of living like Jesus today.

Note

The reward becomes greater as our will is forged to align with the Lord. As we grow in holiness, making holy decisions and living a holy life becomes the reward we store up for heaven

Reflection

The idea that the perspective of the rewards change as we change is actually not that ground breaking to me… Growth leads to perspective changes in other aspects of life.

Say for my work, as I get more experience and learn what kinds of problems tend to arise, I can appreciate troubleshooting tactics I may have not considered before, approach problems with a different point of view, etc. And it’s in this growth that I can appreciate things like searching deep in logs for 1 piece of info, or deciding to re-run something that takes hours and appreciating that it’s the best thing to do when I’d rather try to slam changes in that might work or might make it worse… The growth brings maturity and deeper understanding to the problems.

How about with children? As they grow and mature they learn more about the world… They appreciate things they didn’t like before - like having been disciplined as a child or being taught a hard lesson that pays off down the line. Again, the growth brings a perspective change.

And so as I journey in my faith this quote from the article resonated with me

Note

Jesus’ exhortation to store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven is an invitation to taste, right now, what life will be like in the renewed world later on.

Jesus brought Heaven back to earth, and invites his chosen people to live in Heaven today regardless of where we live on earth.

Note

As we mature in the Lord, the things of God become more valuable to us, and these rewards not only become more apparent, but they become easier to appreciate… ie. we store them up as we experience Heaven on earth

Link

link to article

Reflecting on BP Article on James - Faith and Works

2025-06-18T06:00:15Z

Intro

This started as one of [[my-thoughts]] and got long enough to warrant putting right in the blog

Faith and works is a common point of conversation for Christians who like debating things, and I’m at the point in my life where I’m kind of over the debates and the simplistic thinking…. but this morning I saw this article and wanted to give it a read

Article #

Article Link - 11 minute read

One of the best pieces from the article is:

Info

James illuminates and clarifies our understanding of faith by bypassing questions about whether one has (or does not have) faith and focusing instead on whether a person’s faith is living or dead.

Reflection #

This snippet isn’t incredibly profound on its own, but in my experience it hits hard I’ve been in many conversations about faith and works - and as I’ve written about before in A New Perspective on Being God's Child Christians today have a deep desire to put things into neat and simple boxes but this is often a mistake. And in the case of faith and works I think it’s just as prevalent for similar reasons I outlined in that post - a deep “need” to “fully understand” a system we participate in. However this usually comes lacking the accompanying nuance in understanding “works” and “works of the law” and “work in order to be saved”.

To be very clear

The Bible is in no way contradictory in its teaching about faith and works and salvation regardless of how wrong someone gets it… at the end of the day Jesus picks who he picks. This in no way excuses the elect from performing good works, but any good or bad “works” do nothing to change the reality of salvation - the works merely reveal the truth

I don’t see tension in faith and works - James’ statement “faith without works is dead” is so simple to me… Jesus changes my life every day, and every day I make decisions based on that reality. If I only talked about my faith, and never made a decision where I prioritized my faith over what I wanted - then do I really believe?

The answer is simple

Of course not.

💭 The Meaning of “Mammon” in the Bible | Matthew 6:24

2025-06-12T11:03:13Z

Here’s my thought on The Meaning of “Mammon” in the Bible | Matthew 6:24

I spend a fair amount of time thinking about the future, planning and saving, making sure to the best of my ability and capability right now, that my family is financially taken care of for my whole life and beyond. It’s a challenging thing to wrestle with building wealth while understanding Jesus’ call to live a life focused on others and Heaven. He certainly never says having wealth is bad or sinful, but the point in this short 1 minute video on mammon was good for me be encouraged by. Mammon (or stuff, possessions, etc) has the tendency to lead people astray into trusting in it… how many times to people straight up freak out when the stock market dips? But using mammon to care for others is one of the points of Christian living. God has been good to me, and as we seek to be good to others I pray we (my family and I) are bringing glory to his name and not doing anything for our own vanity

Note

This is one of [[ my-thoughts ]]. I picked this up from Waylon Walker(https://thoughts.waylonwalker.com). It’s a short note that I make about someone else’s content online. Learn more about the process Thoughts

The Design of Genesis 1-11 pt 1

2025-01-18T04:54:03Z

Genesis 1 #

There is a cyclical pattern of Genesis 1-11.

Introduction 1:1 may be a summary heading rather than the first “verse”.

Chaos #

The narrative begins in 1:2, and the start of everything is a “non-created world”, which in the ancient mind we should think about as “non-ordered reality”.


Genesis 1:2 (LEB): 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was
over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface
of the waters. 

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ge 1:2). Lexham
Press.

תֹּ֫הוּ | to-hu | formless בֹּ֫הוּ | ba-hu | empty, void

The first image is that there is “unordered wild and waste (wasteland)” (we typically see this as formless and void). There is also “darkness” and “deep”, which is a dark chaotic ocean - and this is the ANE person’s conception of “nothing”. Westerners think “nothing” means “no atmoic particles, no matter” but the ANE person would’ve thought about creation as unordered chaos.

God’s spirit is hovering over the dark, formless, wild, chaotic ocean.

Day 1 #


“Let there be light!” And there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it
was good, and God caused there to be a separation between the light and between
the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Creation starts by separating light from darkness. The darkness is now tamed, it is apart of an ordered cycle. The ordering of the days is now established and is repeated in every subsequent day of creation

Day 2 #


“Let there be a vaulted dome in the midst of the waters, and let it cause a
separation between the waters.” 7 So God made the vaulted dome, and he caused a
separation between the waters which were under the vaulted dome and between the
waters which were over the vaulted dome. And it was so. 8 And God called the
vaulted dome “heaven.”

Then on day 2 he separates “waters from the waters”. God “splits” (Exodus) the waters, brining order to the chaotic waters.

Day 3 #


“Let the waters under heaven be gathered to one place, and let the dry
ground appear.”

The waters below are gathered together - so there is further order being brought to the waters.


“Let the earth produce green plants that will bear seed—fruit trees bearing
fruit ⌊in which there is seed⌋—according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was
so. 12 And the earth brought forth green plants bearing seed according to its
kind, and trees bearing fruit ⌊in which there was seed⌋ according to its kind.

Bonus #

Fruit trees (foreshadowing) are then brought up from the lands

Notice that there are things even in the first 3 days that will be apart of the narrative going forward

So in the first 3 days God has handled the unordered wild and waste

What this cosmos needs now is inhabitants

Day 4 #


“Let there be lights in the vaulted dome of heaven ⌊to separate day from
night⌋, and let them be as signs and for appointed times, and for days and
years,

The “lights” are clearly the sun, moon, and stars. But they are not called by those names, they are just called “lights”. Which is the descriptive word מָאוֹר | ma-or, used to describe the light from the lamp stands in the temple, which was also a symbol of God’s presence.

Notice this is not the same word for “light” in the separation of light and darkness, that is אוֹר | or, not ma-or


Psalm 90:8 (LEB): 8 You have put our iniquities before you,  our hidden
sins into the light (מָאוֹר | ma-or) of your countenance.  

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ps 90:8). Lexham
Press.


Exodus 35:14 (LEB): 14 and lampstand of the light (מָאוֹר | ma-or) and its
equipment and its lamps and the oil for the light (מָאוֹר | ma-or); 

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ex 35:14). Lexham
Press.


Genesis 1:16 (LEB): 16 And God made two great lights, the greater light to
rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars. 

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ge 1:16). Lexham
Press.

These lights have a job to rule

Notice the callback to day 1 - light and darkness were initially separated, and now there is further order brought to both the light (sun) and the dark (stars and moon)

Day 5 #


Genesis 1:20–21 (LEB): 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms
of living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth across the face of the
vaulted dome of heaven.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every
living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their
kind, and every bird with wings according to its kind. And God saw that it was
good. 

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ge 1:20–21).
Lexham Press.

Day 2 was about the waters, they were separated from above and below, and now in Day 5, above and below, will be populated, will be ordered.

Great Sea Creatures - תַּנִּין | tan-nin is a rabbit-hole for another time, but it’s not insignificant

Day 6 #


“Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle
and moving things, and wild animals according to their kind.” And it was so.
25 So God made wild animals according to their kind and the cattle according to
their kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to its kind.

Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer,
J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ge 1:24–25).
Lexham Press.

On Day 6 the land, which was brought up on Day 3, is now populated with animals according to their kinds, again further order

Bonus #

“Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness

Just as fruit-trees were brought up, specifically with seed in them, now we have humanity, given a job to rule the earth, subdue it, and multiply

Humanity are the rulers below (Day 4 with the rulers of the sky)

So God created humankind in his image

Humanity are God’s idols… Where do you put idols? In a temple…

Humans are made to rule - God makes humans kings and queens

Summary #

God has just built for himself a temple of Creation.

Day 7 #

God is clearly in charge, but he wants to rule the creation with his image bearers. So now he rests

Genesis 3 #

The one thing, the first thing, that a creature in the narrative sees as “good” is the one thing God said would bring death…

“So when the woman saw that the tree [of knowledge of good and bad] was good…”. God said to eat from every tree except this one… The first judgement call humanity makes is contrary to God’s command

The Flood Story - Types and Baptism

2024-12-14T06:06:38Z

The Flood Story and Jesus

Jesus brings up the Flood story from Genesis just one time (in the recorded teachings we have).

First to set the scene, Jesus and his disciples are visiting the temple, and the disiples are kind of “ooo-ing” and “aaah-ing” when Jesus tells them about about the coming destruction…

Matthew 24:1–2 (ESV):  24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his
disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he
answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will
not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 24:1–2). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Matthew 24:37–39 (ESV): 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming
of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered
the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away,
so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 24:37–39). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

At one point in Jesus’ description of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, he brings up the Son of Man and Noah…

Jesus says that the “coming of the Son of Man” will be like when Noah built the ark, and no one understood until the flood (κατακλυσμός | kataklysmos) came and took them away.

In Jesus’ mind the flood narrative gives him imagery and vocabulary to talk about when God allows foreign powers to come and bring judgement… This isn’t an interpretation of the flood narrative, but it clues us into the idea that the Hebrew bible is full of imagery, like a quilt, that follows a (or several) pattern(s).

Jesus understood the flood story as a pattern - a theological category to talk
about God overthrowing the corrupt power systems of our world - Tim Mackie

I think sometimes we look at the flood and think God is so bad for taking out all of humanity, but we miss the point… God is RESTORING humanity by removing corruption… that’s eventually the story we’re invited into via faith in Jesus

Types #

A type is a category of prophecy, and an antitype is the revelation of the type.

Essentially - a type is a pattern, and the antytype is the revelation of the meaning of the pattern - and without understanding the preceding types (in this case, the flood) then the antitype cannot be understood (in this case baptism)

a trivial example of how a type, or a pattern, can be noticed and even build anticipation is to think 2, 4, 6, 8… what comes next? 10, and we all know that immediately. Types in general, and types in the Bible are no different, albeit not so simple…

Flood and Baptism #

Brace yourself…

1 Peter 3:18–22 (ESV): 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous
for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the
spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few,
that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which
corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but
as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.  

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (1 Pe 3:18–22). (2016). Crossway
Bibles.

Notice verse 21 - “Baptism, which corresponds to this”

Corresponds is the word ἀντίτυπος (antitupos) in Greek, which means “anti-type” This means clearly that the type, or a type, for baptism, is the flood narrative… or that baptism is the antitype for the flood

What does this mean for baptism?

21 Baptism, which
corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but
as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him

Through baptism, we experience with Jesus, resurrection and rule of the angels, authorities, and power of the world…

Take Away #

For the disciples listening… are they arguing about when the flood happened? or if it was a global or local flood?

No… they are listening to Jesus unpack patterns in the Bible and they hear him invite them, through a story they know very well, into rule and reign with him

The Flood Story - Quilt Analogy

2024-12-14T05:43:43Z

The Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible

I’m slowly making my way through some Bible Project classes online because Tim Mackie is a fantastic teacher and BP has done be a great service by opening my eyes to the reality of the Biblical narrative and what it means for my life of faith in Jesus.

The second session is filled with great points and 10 minutes in I had to jot this one down…

A Quilt as History #

Imagine your grandmother’s grandmother made a quilt, and passed it down the family tree. In a sense, that quilt contains history that would pre-date you but would absolutely have meaning to you… However, you might look for meaning that was never intended to be present.

The pieces of the quilt have their own history - there will be material that might’ve been part of a dress, or curtains, or bedsheets, or anything else someone in the family tree found interesting and meaningful for the story they are telling with their quilt.

The question of what each of the pieces mean on their own, or in where they come from is interesting perhaps, but it’s not the same question as asking what those pieces mean now that they have been curated into the family quilt… The creator(s) of the quilt may repurpose those pieces entirely, and it wouldn’t be “right” for you or me to be upset that one piece of the quilt came from an article of clothing or cloth associated with something we might not like - the author (your grandma) repurposed it for that very reason, to change the meaning and communicate something to you, perhaps something totally different than what that cloth might’ve meant before it was added to the quilt.

Creation as a Quilt #

The quilt is a curated piece of pieces of fabric - and to bring the metaphor home very abruptly, so is the Hebrew Bible… the authors of the Hebrew scripture absolutely repurposed stories and images that were present in their time and before, but not to make something that is a cheap copy, but to communicate the story of the actual God of gods, ruling over the world.

For example - the very beginning of the creationa ccount in Genesis 1 has the spirit of God hovering over the waters. Without getting into more details than a short write-up warrants, the waters in ancient thought represent chaos. Not only that, but there is an older creation account called the Enuma Elish where their savior god, Marduk, fights the chaos waters (Tiamat) and conquers her eventually… The thing about the Hebrew narrative is that Yahweh doesn’t have to fight the waters… he subdues with his words because he isn’t in tension with creation, or even with chaos, all things obey him and the chaos waters that other gods had to fight and die over are no different. So the meaning of the waters is somewhat consistent across lots of cultures, but Hebrews took the stories and in essence made them “more true”, but at the very least made them relevant to the story they are/were communicating about the God of gods and Lord of love - that he is the creator of all things and invites us to partner with him (as his image-bearers).

Calm Down #

A lot of Christians get upset or skiddish when other stories and cultures get brought up - as if the Bible had to fall from heaven in their favorite English translation… but in my opinion that is the silliest and cheapest view of the Word of God… he chose people out of foreign lands to make an inheritence for himself, his people, and those people tell his story using images that they know.

It’s important for us to answer interesting questions but not lose sight of what’s important… The Enuma Elish is an interesting piece, and there’s parallels with the Hebrew bible, but the Hebrew creation account clearly communicates that Yahweh doesn’t have to labor and fight for order, he speaks order into chaos. That lesson is wholly different from other creation narratives, but is it derivative of them…

That used to bother me, but understanding that the authors of the Bible, carried forth by the guidance of God’s spirit, curated these stories and narratives for God’s people to communicate the truest Truths about him and his love for people help me understand the reality of God partnering with humanity

which starts in the Garden and is how Revelation ends

How To Survive The Flood

2024-12-04T05:52:44Z

There a lot of flood stories throughout the history of the world, and the Bible is no different in this regard. God warns Noah of a de-creation event, whereby he’ll start over with humanity via Noah and his family. Noah survives the flood by abiding in Yahweh and staying close to the One who loves him.

Note this reflection doesn’t address AT ALL if the flood narrative is a “real” historical event, whether it’s a global or local event, or anything like that - regardless of those points the Biblical authors used this type of imagery of chaos waters to communicate themes of judgement and wrath.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount with the 2 houses, calls back to the images of the chaos waters (the winds and the rains). His instruction is that the wise man who built his house on the rock will survive, but the foolish man builds his house on the sand and the winds and the rains destroyed it.

Somewhat obviously this is metaphorical for basing your life on wisdom or folly. The wisdom is Jesus’ teaching which is all based on Yahweh’s love for humanity and his desire to partner with humanity for the good of the whole earth.

The simple take-away is for us to survive the winds and the rain, and to say it more fully - to survive de-creation and destruction, we must live our lives in a way that revolves around Jesus, the perfect human. He calls us to a greater humanity, an unbroken humanity, which is unachievable apart from him (just look around if you doubt this truth).

It’s important to notice though that abiding in the Lord, basing your life on the rock, doesn’t spare you from the wind and the rain. Trials come, life gets hard, shit hits the fan. The last few weeks for me haven’t been my favorite and I’ve certainly experienced turmoil in my life but frankly Jesus makes those things bearable… in a way I can’t put enough words to I’ll just be reminded of Paul in Romans 8…

worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Our present
trials are not on an equal scale with the glory of heaven ```

By God's grace he's molded my heart to be nearly incapable of separating the
Love God has for me from any trial I face - it's not a magic answer or silver
bullet to fixing those problems, and it doesn't make them go away, but I know
the sufferings here aren't even worth comparing to the glory of the Lord. Amen.

The Two Houses

2024-11-27T05:40:24Z

The Two Houses

Context #

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 7:24–27). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Reflection #

From the visual commentary Tim calls out a few things:

the rock is supposed to first call us back to earlier in the sermon when Jesus calls his people “the light of the world” and says “a city on a hill [mountain] cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). The hill [ὄρος | oros] means “mountain” and is a hyperlink to OT teaching of God’s people living in the ideal Jerusalem on Mt. Zion. Lots of Hebrew imagery here.
The rain and floods are a callback to the Chaos Waters of the OT (and general ANE thinking). It’s a reference to the destructive nature that we humans have unleashed on the world - but the wise man who listens to Jesus lives a life with some amount of protection from those hardships - and ultimate protection from God handing us over to Chaos (destruction).

BP - The Golden Rule

2024-11-06T05:54:32Z

Matthew 7:12

So then, everything you desire that people do to you, so also you do to them, for this is the Torah and the Prophets

What do I desire that people “do to [me]”? #

Help if I need it - I want to live in a world where humans are helpful
Listen to me and understand what I say
Leave me alone sometimes

What is the Torah and Prophets? #

I know there’s a lot more to where the texts come from and the varying traditions in Judaism. But I think at a very high level, Jesus is saying that we all know, deep down, how to live in harmony but that it requires sacrifice. He calls us to live sacrificially towards each other, to live in Heaven today, so we can experience the coming reality if our own resurrection

Reflection - Wisdom in Relationships 2

2024-10-14T06:07:33Z

Passage #

Why do you see the speck in the eye of your brother, but you don't perceive the
beam in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, "Allow me to take out the speck from your
eye," and look, the beam is in your eye!

Hypocrite! First take out the beam from your eye, and then you can see clearly
the speck in the eye of your brother.

Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be
hopend to you. For the one who asks will receive, and the one who seeks will
find. And to the one who knocks it will be opened. For what person is among
you, who when their son asks for break, will give him a rock? Or when he asks
for a fish will give him a snake? So then fi you all are bad, but you know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in the
skies give good things to those who ask.

Reflection #

James builds on this with if any of you lacks wisdom then ask for wisdom it will be given to you. James is arming us with some specifics from the Sermon on the Mount. We aren’t just to ask for anything that we think is good… wisdom is the good we are to ask for.

Tim: Prayer is important because wisdom will flow out of a deep interpersonal relationship with God.

Where has God given me wisdom? #

Marriage/relationships as Kassia and I have navigated many things (job changes, moving for family, family falling through, unhealthy parent relationships, church hunts, and our own self-development and discovery)
He’s given me a lot of professional wisdom - potentially through AuDHD and the exposure he’s brought me through.
Through Mark Forstrom, Andrew, Nick Z, etc. I was filled with wisdom on how to be a man in the life of a boy - how to talk with someone immature, let them be and feel heard, but also on how to challenge them to grow (up).

Reflection - Wisdom in Relationships

2024-10-12T05:40:11Z

This morning I finally felt some motivation for a short Bible Project video. The app is great (💯 would recommend) and gives me daily reminders that are unobtrusive.

The passage is Matthew 7:1-2

that you judge, you will be judged.

And with the measure that you measure, it will be measured to you. ```

There are some personal things going on for me as I wrestle and work through an
AuDHD diagnosis and there's a lot for me having grown up as a (almost
certainly) undiagnosed mild-autistic. These 2 verses are in a larger section of
Scripture called "The Sermon on the Mount", Jesus starts it by basically saying
he'll summarize the Law and Prophets in Matthew 5, then concludes it in Matthew
7 by saying he summed them up with what we call the Golden Rule - `do unto
others as you would have them do unto you` is how my Souther Baptist Grandma
used to say it.

I've grown up into knowing it's simply silly to expect non-Christians to live
Biblically - I do not understand the judgement some Christians throw at
non-believers for things like cohabitation or getting drunk... It's literally
what I would do without Jesus guiding my lie. However I've always felt a pretty
unreasonable responsibility to point out where Christians are living by double
standards. Jesus addresses this with another commonly known question - "Why do
you take the spec our of your brother's eye but ignore the log in your own
eye?". I'm very personally aware, almost to a hyper degree, but I definitely
don't have perfect-awaremenss, and I don't know if I'm losing zeal as I get
older or actually growing into wisdom but I am sliding more and more into a
position of just not worrying about what other people are doing. As long as my
family is safe I'm basically a full-blown libertarian when it comes to people
living their lives.

The BP message this morning was just great confirmation that this is
directionally correct, at least right now for me. I spent a lot of time as a
kid worrying about other Christians living appropriately (this was partly
driven by needing older Christians to help me live appropriately and so I felt
responsiblity to help provide that environment for myself... combination of
God's grace and undiagnosed AuDHD methinks). Now as an adult I spend most of my
time thanking Jesus for saving me from myself and I simply trust that he will
save who he saves. Because that's not up to me I can focus on what I can manage
- my own life and family.

On Earth as It Is in Heaven

2024-01-02T06:31:21Z

On Earth as It Is in Heaven

Video

Sermon on the Mount #

3 chapters filled with phrases that are very well-known in our culture

Phrases #

Love your neighbor as yourself
Do to others what you would have them do to you
You are the salt of the earth
You can’t serve both God and money
Take the plank out of your eye before you take the speck out of another’s
If anyone strikes you on the cheek, turn and offer him the other cheek
Love your enemy and bless those who persecute you
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it… off

References #

Mark 12:31
Matthew 7:12
Matthew 5:13
Matthew 6:24
Matthew 7:5
Matthew 5:39
Matthew 5:44
Matthew 5:30

Meditation #

Sermon on the mount is chiastic

3 main parts to the Sermon on the Mount The middle part has 3 parts Each of those parts has 3 parts

Climax #

The center of the chiasm is a famous prayer

“Our Father in Heaven, may your name be treated as holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”9

Matthew 6:9-10

Jewishness #

God’s kingdom was to be ushered into the world by his creation, but Genesis 3,6,10 tell us that humans choose wrong when we define good and bad by ourselves. Yahweh chose Abraham and built up Israel as a second attempt of sorts to bring the his Kingdom to earth but the HB is filled with the story of how they mostly failed.

NT time is where Jesus reveals the Kingdom to Jews who are oppressed by Roman Empire and he reveals this to exactly the oppressed audience - “Blessed are the poor in spirit”

Chaos Dragon

2023-12-20T06:08:08Z

Dragons are metaphorical images in the Bible

Goliath -> armor descriptions Leviathan

Dragon slayers can be enticed to become dragons themselves

Jesus is the great dragon slayer, who doesn’t give in to the inticing power of the dragon

calming the sea
conquering sickness in others
tempter in the wilderness

Jesus’ victory came through the surrender of his life - which brings him deep into the dragon’s realm, to deliver the ultimate blow

Reflect

In the Bible, why is it challenging for humans to slay the dragon? What risks are involved? The dragon’s power is enticing… back to Genesis 3, humans are easy to persuade to do things for personal gain It’s challenging also becauset the dragon is powerful, and humans are not (without its power or the power of Jesus) so if we stand against it without the Lord, what hope do we have of victory?
What are some of the ways that Jesus confronted the “dragon” in his ministry?
- calming the sea
- conquering sickness in others
- tempter in the wilderness
How does Jesus ultimately defeat the “dragon”? How can we follow his example?
- Surrender
- I think we do the same, but it doesn’t always look like death, sometimes it’s subverting the temporary authorities we are under to comply in the least possible ways while always ultimately striving for the coming of the Kingdom

Hebrew Bible Full Class

2022-11-05T06:27:40Z

Class link Classroom notes (Must be on home network)

01 The Shape of the Hebrew Bible

Session 1: What on Earth is the Hebrew Bible? #

This class is not so much a survey of the HB, it is Tim’s attempt to distil the most helpful things for understanding it in a consumable way for laypeople.

A chunk of this is the other people giving some of their own background. One lady said something that might be helpful for ministry - “Maybe that thing that I saw as ‘you don’t love me’ is ‘I don’t know how to love you’”

how to love

Maybe that thing that I saw as ‘you don’t love me’ is ‘I don’t know how to love you’

Christian coping strategy for the Olt Testament

Hero-example model
- Stories get isolated and distilled down into a simple moral model, where the hero is just the hero.
- Veggie-Tales is uber-guilty of this nonsense
- There’s something correct about this - but the oversimplification usually comes out of a massive re-writting of the stories, then anyone raised on those versions of the story is scaldalized when they read it for real
Poltical-authority source
- Political parties hijacking “The Bible says X about Y” as a means to harvest authority from a book that many people claim is authoritative.
Theology answer book model
- Treating the Bible like a dictionary of key/value pairs where keys are questions and values are simple answers.
- This ignores narrative, and general literacy.
- The instinct may be right - the Bible should profoundly shape my view of everything, but it isn’t simple
Inspirational-heart-warming model
- Verse-a-day calendars
- Jermiah 29:11

Warning

Are we imposing a set of questions that are foreign to what the authors are trying to communicate? do we need to set our cultural agendas aside to just listen?

A result of asking the wrong questions is the common story of people’s faith being dismantled by reading the Bible

DL Baker - Two Testaments - One Bible

One of the most fundamental questions which has faced theology and the Church in every age… is whether or not Christianity also needs an Old Testament. Is the Old Testament to be thrown away as obsolete, or pre- served as a relic from days of yore, or treasured as a classic and read by scholars, or used occasionally as a change from the New Testament, or kept in a box in case it should be needed some day? Or is the Old Testa- ment an essential part of the Christian Bible, with continuing validity along- side the New Testament? —

Session 2: How Jesus and the Apostle ReadTheir Bibles #

The Bible most often refers to itself as the Writings

Road to Emmaus

Jesus confronts a couple guys walking to Emmaus after he is resurrected and more or less calls them idiots/fools for not understanding that the Writings point to an annointed king who will suffer death for the sake of redemption. He’s recognized by them once their eyes are opened then he vanishes

Weird stuff

Paul and Timothy #

Paul assumes when writing to Timothy that he, and probably believers in general, are in a community of people who are regularly learning about Yahweh through the Scriptures as a family

2 Timothy 3:15-16

… and that from childhood you ahve known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leas to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness

Success

For Paul, the Scriptures here are our OT, the Hebrew Bible. For Paul, the HB is entirely wisdom literature that leads to salvation through Jesus

The question of “What are the Scriptures?” is covered in the next session

To answer the question ‘How do we read the HB?’ we have to ask the question ‘Whose book is the HB?’

Session 3: Shape of the Scriptures #

Old Testament is the Christian term for a set of writings that comprise about 3/4 of the Christian Bible. The authors themselves though refer to those writings as the Scriptures. One time it is called the Old Covenant by Paul , but he’s talking about Synagogue readings of the Torah portion in synagogues. THe phrase Hebrew Bible is a modern term that is a bit more neutral.

So, what is our Bible?

Luke 24:25-27

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Moses and the Prophets

TaNaK #

Jweish reference to the books in our OT, in the Hebrew Bible, but the arangement is different…

TaNaK

T = Torah (first 5 books)
N - Nevi’im (Prophets: Joshua - Kings) [Christians often call these the ‘historial books’]
K - Ketuvim

Torah	Pentateuch
Genesis - Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers Deuteronomy	Genesis - Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers - Deuteronomy
Nevi’im - The Prophets	History
Former Prophets Joshua - Judges - Samueal - Kings	Joshua - Judges - Ruth 1-2 Samuel - 1-2 Kings 1-2 Chronicles Ezra - Nehemiah - Ester
Later Prophets Isaiah - Jeremiah - Ezekiel Hosea - Joel - Amos - Obadiah - Jonah - Micah - Nahum - Habakkuk - Zephaniah - Haggai - Zechariah - Malachi	Poetry Job - Psalms - Proverbs - Ecclesiastes - Song of Solomon
Kethuvim - The Writings	Prophets
Psalms - Job - Proverbs Ruth - Song of Songs - Ecclesiastes - Lamentations - Esther [The Megillot] Daniel - Ezra - Nehemiah - Chronicles	Isiah - Jeremiah - Lamentations Ezekiel - Daniel Hosea - Joel - Amos - Obadiah - Jonah - Micah - Nahum - Habakkuk - Zephaniah - Haggai - Zechariah - Malachi

Luke 11:49–51 (ESV)

49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah…

Why would Jesus pick these two events? Abel is murdered on page 4, Zechariah is murdered in the last part of Chronicles, which in the TaNaK is significant… Jesus is saying that all the prophets from the beginning of the Scriptures to the end… All the prophets from A-Z so to speak

Scriptures

“Books” as we know it, bound papers with writing on it, called a ‘codex’ wasn’t a thing until a couple hundred years post-Jesus… so when the authors say “The Scriptures” we need to keep in mind that Jews had the scriptures in their minds and hearts, not on paper (save for a couple very expensive scrolls). So the structure of the scriptures is also apart of the Jewish being… This interaction with the Scriptures is very very very different than how we interact with the Bible

4QMMT

“The scrolls of Moses, the words of the prophets, and of David.”

Philo of Alexandria

The laws and the oracles given by inspiration through the prophets and the Psalms, and the other scrolls whereby knowledge and piety are increased and completed…

De Vita Contemplatetiva, 25

Melito of Sardis #

Early 200s
One of the earliest Christians to talk about the books/scrolls of Christian scriptures
Summarizes Christian ordering of the Hebrew Bible with some logic
- Foundation narrative of the Pentateuch
- History
- Poetry
- Prophets then point forward to the coming Messiah, Jesus, and the NT writings

Session 4 - Seams between Texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls #

Around 100-200 AD there was a split in the Jewish community over things like how the Temple and sacrifices were to be run, etc. A group got kicked out, so they grabbed some scrolls and went to start what we’d think of as a Monastic community. Qumran community is where they went, and the scrolls this group managed are called the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Out of DSS we have some of the oldest biblical scrolls, they have their own writings and liturgies since they were all priests basically too.

The scrolls were hidden in caves before the Romans marched on Qumran. They were found in the 1940s by a bunch of shepherds. A few showed up online for sale and that’s how we found out about their exitence…. These scrolls give us pre-Christian Jewish Bible nerds…

Qumran community didn’t know about Jesus - they thought the Messiah would be a man called The Teacher of Righteousness

Scroll-making #

The DSS preserved for us, not only ancient biblical texts, but also the method by which scrolls were created. They were well-preserved papyrus that was stiched together - literal stitches. We also have obvious additions from Qumran community as well as notes from priests and corrections from missed transcribing.

Our Bible #

The DSS scrolls, being the oldest stitched together set of scrolls, teach us how scrolls and collections of ancient holy texts were put together. We need to keep this in mind when we think about where our Christian Bible came from

The beginning and ending of our books might/are filled with hyperlinks that call a reader’s mind back to other stories. It’s the way of linking context and stories to one another before the writings are in a codex

Hyperlinks - language/syntax that remind a reader of antoher scroll - help us understand the structure of the Hebrew Bible

A favorite quote from Tim

So, you can see I’m interested in a historical question of like the collection [Hebrew Bible] was produced by a group of people. What did they mean by it? And we can actually know a lot about what they meant and locate them and read it the way they wanted us to read it, and pick up what they’re saying. And, lo and behold, you know, I hope to convince you that—and this is all pre-Christian—what’s happening here and what this all points to and means, fits hand in glove with how Jesus and Paul and the apostles talk about these texts. So that’s different from saying nobody knew what these texts meant. The events of Jesus happen, and then we go reread it, and it has a whole new meaning that no one has ever imagined. It seems to me what actually happened in history was a little more interesting and complicated than that. [17:30-18:21]

Faithful

2022-10-21T06:31:33Z

Link

Notes

Exodus 34:6

Compassioante and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness

Faithfulness - Emet (can be translated ‘Truth’) Related to “Amen” which is untranslated Hebrew expression meaning “that’s truth”

Stability #

Moses has to hold his hands up when Israel faces the Amalekites. Joshua (and another) bring Moses a rock to sit on and hold is hands up so they could be Emet.

People #

Describs trustiworthiness

Exodus 18:21 - Moses apoints leaders are to be “Emet”

God and promises #

God is a rock - he is faithful, just, and upright

Hebrew word for trust is He’Emin which is the verb form of Emet

Abraham considers God Emet, he He’Emin’s God and God blesses this by creating Isreal.

Israel, In Exodus 14:31, He’Emin’s God (until they see the gians in Canaan that is)

1 Kings 1:6 says David walked in Emet with God

2 Samuel 7:16, God blesses David and says his kingdom will have Emet

Romans 15:8-9 says Jesus came on behalf of God’s faithfulness.

Questions

The Hebrew word “emet” is translated with words like “faithful,” “reliable,” “sure,” “trustworthy,” and “amen.” Read aloud Psalm 36:5-6 , Psalm 19:7 , and Psalm 41:13 and discuss what the psalmists are communicating in these passages when they use the word “emet.”

Psalms 36:5-6

5Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Your judgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

Psalms 19:7

7The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Psalms 41:13

13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.

I think the lesson here is pretty simple - God is faithful, full stop. His faithfulness doesn’t look necessarily like how we might want… when I was a kid I would be upset if my parents didn’t respond to me in the way I wanted, and my kids will certainly share that disappointment. But I am faithful to my children - sometimes the main issue is a child’s outlook on a situation or worldview. I think that metaphor holds true in relation to humans and Yahweh - he sees the whole world, we see a part of it so we cannot understand faithfulness fully, in the same way that my children can’t understand my faithfulness to them fully - even to the point of being upset or thinking that I’m not being faithful

God promised the Israelites that he would give them a king of peace that would rule forever and ever (e.g. 2 Samuel 7:16). However, Israel’s kingdom collapsed and they found themselves without a home or a king. Compare the beginning of Psalm 89 (vv. 1-10) with the way it closes (vv. 46-52). What do you think it practically looks like to trust God when all seems lost?

2 Samuel 7:16

16Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

PSALM 89

The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever;

To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.

2For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;

In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”

3“I have made a covenant with My chosen;

I have sworn to David My servant,

4I will establish your seed forever

And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

5The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;

Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

6For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?

Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,

7A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,

And awesome above all those who are around Him?

8O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?

Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

9You rule the swelling of the sea;

Ultimately, God answers the psalmist’s cries in the person of Jesus. Compare 2 Samuel 7:16 2 Samuel 7:16

16Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

to Hebrews 1:8-9 Hebrews 1:8-9

8But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

9You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

. How does King Jesus embody and fulfill the ancient promises of God (e.g. John 1:14 John 1:14

The Word Made Flesh

14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

, Hebrews 3:5-6 Hebrews 3:5-6

5Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

, and Romans 15:8-9 Romans 15:8-9

8For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

“Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles,

And I will sing to Your name.”

Read Hebrews 10:22-25 Hebrews 10:22-25

22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

, Hebrews 11 Hebrews 11

The Triumphs of Faith

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the men of old gained approval.

3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

13All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

32And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

39And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

, and Hebrews 12:1-3 Hebrews 12:1-3

Jesus, the Example

1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

. After reading these passages, name one example of what it looks like to put our trust in God.

Sabbath

2022-10-13T06:34:52Z

Link to study

Creation

Brougt to completion on the seventh day in Genesis 1. It is the only day that does not end with ’there evening and there was morning, the Nth day'

Humans were meant to rest with God in his creation forever, but in their rebllion they are sentenced to work as slaves to the land. The rest of the hsitory of God’s people consists of them looking for God’s rest, but consistently falling back into slavery/(fallen) work.

Sabbath #

Celebated every week on the 7th day. The idea is to live in the eternal rest that God offered in creation.

Jubilee #

Every 7 * 7 years is the Ultimate Sabbath - the land is reset (or was supposed to be), everything was returned to the original owner, debt does not persist - everything resets so everyone can rest.

Jesus

Jesus calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath. He claimed to bring the ultimate rest of God. Jesus was crucified at a specific time - on Good Friday, and he rose again on the following Sunday… which is the first day of the next week or the 8th day… the first day of a new age, a new rest, God’s ultimate sabbath that is symbolized in the 7th day of creation.

Questions

How does the author of Genesis conclude each of the seven days of creation? Consider the seventh day of creation as an ultimate rest day. What do you think it would be like to always live in that rest with God?

Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31; 2:1-3 5

5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

31God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Creation of Man and Woman

1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

I imagine it would’ve looked a lot like enjoying the creation… I work at things I love, and that can be restful to me - I find purpose and order in my hobbies and so I bet life would be like that. The work woudl be productive but not toilsome.

Read Genesis 3:1-7 and 3:21-24 What were the humans tempted to believe about God and themselves? How did they act on these beliefs, and how did this choice exile them from the place of rest? How do you think lies about God and ourselves prevent us from resting with God today?

Genesis 3:1-7,21-24

The Fall of Man

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

21The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Humans are templted to believe that God is witholding desirableble information they are templted to be like God. They are templted to believe that they would be right to knowing good and evil (ironic since they know it’s bad to eat of the Tree of Knowledge anyways)

They acted by listening to the serpent, and to themselves… essentially they chose to not listen and adhere to Yahweh. This choice represents stark and obvious rebellion. Yahweh, I think, sees that his creation are tempted to go their own way, and for their own protection exiles them from the Garden.

It seems like lies haven’t changed; ultimately we are still tempted to define good and evil/bad for ourselves. I take action by defining wicked things as good - made obvious by the fact that I choose to sin often, choose to not listen to Yahweh. Actively listening to myself is exhausting. I think there’s a lot to discussing “God’s rest”, but a high and almost trivial level, I am simply less tired when my life is more in step with God’s definitions of good and bad

God wants to restore humanity to ultimate rest, so he chooses the Israelites to reenact his seventh-day rest so they can share it with others. Of all the ways he invites them to practice rest which practice are you least familiar with today?

Exodus 20:8-11

8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Leviticus 23:1-3; 25:8-13

Laws of Religious Festivals

1The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

3‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

8‘You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. 9You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. 10You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. 11You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. 12For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field.

13‘On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property.

Jesus comes to restore us to God’s eternal rest! How does Jesus launch his public ministry? Read Luke 4:14-21, noting that the year of favor refers to the ultimate Jubilee—Israel’s super-charged Sabbath

What do you observe?

Luke 4:14-21

Jesus’ Public Ministry

14And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are oppressed,

19To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Leviticus 25

The Sabbatic Year and Year of Jubilee

1The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. 3Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, 4but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. 6All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. 7Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

13‘On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. 14If you make a sale, moreover, to your friend or buy from your friend’s hand, you shall not wrong one another. 15Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops. 16In proportion to the extent of the years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for it is a number of crops he is selling to you. 17So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

18‘You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land. 19Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. 20But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?” 21then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. 22When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.

The Law of Redemption

23‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. 24Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

25‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. 26Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, 27then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. 28But if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property.

29‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year from its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. 30But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not revert in the jubilee. 31The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall shall be considered as open fields; they have redemption rights and revert in the jubilee. 32As for cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. 33What, therefore, belongs to the Levites may be redeemed and a house sale in the city of this possession reverts in the jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. 34But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

35‘Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36Do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you. 37You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain. 38I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39‘If a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service. 40He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee. 41He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, that he may return to the property of his forefathers. 42For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale. 43You shall not rule over him with severity, but are to revere your God. 44As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. 45Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. 46You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Poor Man

47‘Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50He then with his purchaser shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years. It is like the days of a hired man that he shall be with him. 51If there are still many years, he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; 52and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. 53Like a man hired year by year he shall be with him; he shall not rule over him with severity in your sight. 54Even if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 55For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

What is one specific way Jesus invites us to receive and practice true rest

Matthew 11:28-29

28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Chara-Joy

2022-10-07T06:46:48Z

link

Chara / Joy

There are several words for similar feelings - example like joy has several synonyms.

Sources #

Genesis tells us creation and life bring joy Psalm 104 - A good bottle of wine is God’s gift to bring joy to people’s hearts P#lm 65 - Beautiful things bring joy Jeremiah 33:11 - Weddings

Corruption #

Bible shows us that humanity and brokenness mark our world by death and loss

Joy in spite of corruption #

God’s people have reasons in God’s faithfulness to be joyful. Joy in the LORD is not determinmed by current struggles, but by future hope and deliverance

Jesus #

His birth gives good news and brings great joy

Matthew 5 - Jesus says to rejoice and be glad when we are persecuted for his Name

Apostles #

Paul says he chooses joy when he is in jail

Note

Joy is a choice

2 Corinthians 6:10 -> Paul is filled with sorrow and yet rejoicing

Success

Christian joy is rooted in future hope and expectation of a Messiah, of Jesus, to come again. It is a profound choice, not the result of current circumstances

Questions

The Israelites choose a path apart from God. As a result, they get exiled from their land and dominated by foreign nations. But the prophet Isaiah knew that sorrow would not have the final word with these people. He looked forward to the day when Yahweh would end pain and corruption to lead them into endless, joyful living. Read Isaiah 49:13 and Isaiah 51:11 . What does Isaiah tell us about God’s character in these passages? What does Isaiah say will happen to God’s people?

Isaiah 49:13

13Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!

Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people

And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Isaiah 51:11

11So the ransomed of the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And everlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isiah tells us that God is good and faithful. He mentions God’s past faithfulness - For the Lord _has_ comforted His people as well as future faithfulness - So the randomed of the Lord _will_ return...

Isiah leans in on Yahweh’s defining nature from Exodus 34:6. God’s hesed, his steadfase love, is what is our hope. Otherwise our God is no different than any powerful but fickle diety.

Isiah also doesn’t, in these short passages, promise or claim a promise of any kind of temporal happiness - the joy is historical-facing in reflecting on God’s deliverance and future-facing inr reflecting also on God’s deliverance. God’s people were still supposed to find this joy in the midst of their bondage.

The prophet Isaiah looked forward to the coming of Israel’s redeemer. His prophecies were fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. Read Luke 2:9-11 . Why were the shepherds afraid? What reasons did the angels give for them to rejoice instead?

Luke 2:9-11

Presumably the shepherds were afraid because of the glory of the Lord. All throughout the OT we have examples of God’s people fearing this glory, specifically on Sinai. Yahweh even tells Moses that he can only be shown Yahweh’s back due to his glory, and then Moses has to veil his face so that the glory of the Lord persisted on him would not terrify the Israelites.

The angels outright said that a Savior has been born, the Messiah has come. There is no greater cause for joy than the king of creation returning

Joy can persist in the harshest of circumstances because it depends on God and his promises. Read Matthew 5:11-12 , Acts 13:50-52 , and Hebrews 12:1-3 . According to these passages, what specific truths about God can sustain joy even through painful or dire situations?

Success

Joy can persist in the harshest of circumstances because it depends on God and his promises.

Matthew 5:11-12

11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Acts 13:50-52

50But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Jesus, the Example

Harsh treatment of us, particularly for faith, reflects Jesus’ life. We stand with God-incarnate in living for a different kingdom which has negative consequences for us in the modern age, but obviously not in God’s age that’s already here and yet coming.
Holy Spirit gives us joy
We have long list of people in history who lived faithful lives, struggled with God, experienced pain, and yet were faithful the Lord by God’s own grace. Similarly we are chosen and favored - the receipients of God’s hesed love.

When we see how Jesus’ loving way of life has overcome death itself, joy starts to become strangely reasonable. But this doesn’t mean it is wise to ignore or suppress sorrow. Read 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 . How did Paul integrate both joy and sorrow?

2 Corinthians 6:3-10

3giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, 6in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; 9as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, 10as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.

Abraham and Melchizedek

2022-09-23T06:10:28Z

link to study

Video

Priests #

God creates Eden in which he places humans to be his royal image - priests. God sets humans up to receive his blessing but humans choose their own way. The promise is for a priest and a sacrifice to come in Jesus.

God chooses Abraham and Sarah as the first royal priesthood as they are chosen by God to bless all the nations.

Melchizedek #

A priestly king of Salem. Melchizedek recognizes Yahweh as the God of gods - Abraham tithes to him and that’s about the end of the story

Salem is ancient short name for Jerusalem. Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek is just like the Israelite call to tithe to the Levites (priests) to support them.

Royal Family #

Abraham and Sarah are promised their own children but they take amtters into their own hands by scheming with Hagar. Eventually Sarah is given her own son, Issac, who God then calls for his life as a test of Abraham - it represents God challenging Abraham to trust him with his own promise, and to not go his own way with Sarah

DUring the Isaac sacrifice narrative a ram is given in place and Abraham names the place “God will provide”.

Types #

The story of God’s call to sacrifice Isaac is much like the story of Abraham meeting Melchizedek. In the Melchizedek story Abraham meets a priest on a high place and gives him an offering. In the Isaac story Abraham acts as the priest and a ram is given to him by the LORD that covers the sins of Abraham’s family.

Atonement and Covering

Covering the sin in this case looks much more like redemption and resolve rather than payment for gult, similar to a small-scale apology can cover a grievance even though no payment is made to make anything ‘right’, the ‘covering’ is simply a sign of forgiveness

Questions

Shalem, or Salem, is later known as Jerusalem. Moriah, a mountainous region in Jerusalem, is later called the “mount of the LORD” (Genesis 22:14) and the “temple mount” (2 Chronicles 3:1). With all of this in mind, compare Genesis 14:17-20 with Genesis 22:1-14 . How do you see God providing for Abraham in these similar settings?

Genesis 22:14

14Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”

2 Chronicles 3:1

The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

1Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Genesis 14:17-20

God’s Promise to Abram

17Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

20And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

He gave him a tenth of all.

Genesis 22:1-14

The Offering of Isaac

1Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

9Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”

Success

5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”

Genesis 14	Genesis 22
Melchizedek provides bread and wine	Yahweh provides the ram
Yahweh gave Abram victory over Chedorlaomer	Yahweh gave Abraham Isaac’s safety

As you review Hebrews 7 , notice how the author assures their audience that Jesus is better than any other priest. What are some of the reasons the author provides? How is this good news for everyone?

Hebrews 7

Melchizedek’s Priesthood Like Christ’s

1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

4Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. 6But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, 10for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

11Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 12For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 13For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. 14For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. 15And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, 16who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is attested of Him,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

18For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness 19(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20And inasmuch as it was not without an oath 21(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn

And will not change His mind,

‘You are a priest forever’ ”);

22so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

23The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

Melchizedek was “king of righteousness” and “kind of peace”, Jesus is a priest according to “the order of Melchizedek” and so seems to be that Jesus is the continued reigning king of righteousness and peace
Melchizedek was priest of God Most High - the priestly order changed to Levi with the giving of the Law… Jesus represents, and is, another change in the priesthood which necessitates another change in law (verse 12). Jesus’ kingship and priesthood is more similar to Melchizek’s than Levi’s (who was no king anyways).
Levitical priesthood was not bound by an oath - but Jesus’ priesthood is bound by Yahweh’s oath to not change his mind, Jesus is priest forever
Former priests, Levites, changed due to death, but Jesus persists forever (Melchizedek also presumably died)

Tree of Life

2022-09-21T06:21:19Z

Video

Eden #

Biblical story begins in a garden, which is presented as a type of Temple. The top (center) is the Tree of Life, which represents God’s life and creative power. Humans were supposed to eat from the Tree of Life but there’s another tree, the Tree of Knowledge of “good” and “bad” which represents assuming the authority to define good and bad for one’s own life rather than trusting God’s defintion. Human eat of that tree and are thus exiled from the garden.

Burning Bush #

Moses meets God at a burning tree, a plant on a mountain radiating with God’s power just like the Tree of Life. Yahweh charges Moses to bring the same choice to the Israelites that Adam and Eve had, which is to trust God or define morality for themselves.

Jesus #

Jesus announced that God’s eternal life is available through him now - originally in Eden given through the Tree of Life. Jesus invites other people to “eat of him” to be transformed by God’s own life. The invitation is the same

to trust Yahweh or not. But Jesus’ life exposes humanity’s brokenness in that humans crucified him. Jesus is hung on a cross (a tree) on the top of a hill (like Mt. Sinai) and humans not only eat of a different false tree of life, but they chopped down the real Tree of Life - Jesus.

Questions

What is one practical example of what it means to eat from the tree of
life? How is it different from eating from the false tree of life?

Giving money away I think is one practical example of eating from the tree of life. Jesus calls us to share our blessings, and choosing to live by his authority rather than decide for myself what to do with my money (meaning to spend it on my desires only rather than invest in the Kingdom) then I make the same choice humanity always makes - to not trust God’s definition of good and bad

Compare John 15:5-13 with Matthew 7:15-20 . How does the true vine give life? How do we recognize a false tree of life?

John 15:5-13

5I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. Disciples’ Relation to Each Other 12“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Matthew 7:15-20

15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, you will know them by their fruits.

The true vine gives life through communion and connection. Jesus says to “abide in [him]” which is represented by a choice to believe him about kingdom, love, relationships, brokenness, etc… By meditating on the Word of God, communing with Jesus, being washed and guided by the Spirit we are transformed more and more into the image of Jesus which is real and true life.

What are some examples of good fruit and bad fruit (see Galatians 5:16-25)?

Galations 5:16-25

16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Good fruit:

- choosing to guard my eyes and thoughts against sexual immorality
- remaining calm when things aren't going my way at work
- drinking water instead of _another_ drink at night
- giving money away out of love
- seeking unity and charity especially in any time of conflict

Bad fruit:

- outbursts at work - for me this is basically giving up hope for someone to be successful. By God's grace I have a desire to help peopl learn and succeed, but I can exhaust that desire and instead of prioritize an individual's well-being/growth I place my frustration above that and let my annoyance guide me more than a spirit of teaching and gentleness
- having that second, or third, drink

If you are led byt he Spirit, you are not under the Law… This isn’t saying that the Law doesn’t apply, but that by the Spirit’s guidance we will never be found guilty by anything in the Law!

When Jesus talks about what his death will accomplish, he talks about a seed going into the ground before it bears fruit (see John 12:23-26). What could it look like to live in the ways of Jesus and bear the fruit of life?

John 12:23-26

23And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Meditating on God’s faithfulness to humanity in spite of our disobedience I think is an avenue by which the Spirit changes our hearts and as we are changed by him we live lives that reflect Jesus’ own life

I think there can be many facets to the seed dying aspect, one relevant piece seems fairly self-evident in the passage… if we hold onto our life (ie. be a seed that never dies) then we will never flourish, but if we give up the life we have now and live like Jesus did, we will blessed with life

Shalom and Peace

2022-09-18T06:38:32Z

study link

Peace

Note

generally means absnese of war

In Hebrew the word is Shalom (Greek: Eirene). Basic biblical meeting of Shalom is “complete” or “whole”. ie. a stone with no cracks, or stone wall with nogaps or missing grips

References a complex situation with nothing missing

Shalom can refer to a person’s well-being… Life is complex and when anything is out of alignment our Shalom breaks down and needs to be restored

To bring shalom is to make complete or restore

In Proverbs, to reconcile a broken relationship is to make shalom

Isaiah #

Isaiah 9:6-7

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Jesus #

Jesus restores the broken relationship between humans and our creator.

Quote

Ephesians 2:14-15

Jesus himeself is our Eirene

Questions

The prophet Isaiah looked forward to the arrival of a future king who would make a covenant of shalom (peace, well-being) with his people. This king would set the world right and heal all that has been harmed. Read Isaiah 9:6-7 aloud together. What specific words or phrases stand out to you as you observe this passage and why?

Isaiah 9:6-7 6

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Words that stick out: - child - given to us - government will rest - no end to the increase - zeal…will accomplish this

The prophet Isaiah looked forward to the arrival of the Prince of Peace, whose reign would lead to eternal shalom. Jesus’ arrival fulfilled Isaiah’s words. Read and reflect on Luke 2:9-15 as a group. Why do you think God announced the King’s arrival to no-name shepherds? What does this tell you about the nature of God and his Kingdom?

Luke 2:9-15

9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

At thsi point it seems obvious that the reason God came to the undesirable company of teh time was to illustrate that the Kingdom of Heaven was to be an upside down kingdom. Status and power are hinderences under Jesus’ reign, so he builds his kingdom (from our perspective) from the ground up.

The biblical story shows how humanity often chooses a way of life apart from God and suffers as a result. According to Colossians 1:19-23 , what did God want to do to remedy this pain, and how did he accomplish his desire through Jesus?

Quote

Colossians 1:19-23

19For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace (εἰρηνοποιέω) through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

21And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

God interacted with Creation as a created being himself, holding back something in the person of Jesus. On our turf, God showed up to revive our lifeless souls and call us to live as citizens in his kingdom.

Jesus offers his peace to all people as a gift. Read Ephesians 2:11-16 . How did Jesus make peace between two sharply divided people groups (Jews and Gentiles), and why did he do it (see Eph. 2:16)?

Ephesians 2:11-16

11Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

16and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

Jesus broke down the dividing wall of Circumcision by fulfilling Torah. No longer do the people of God need to be circumcized into the covenant (we have baptism), and no longer are God’s people separate from the world via outward appearances but instead by living lives loyal to a different God - to Yahweh

Success

Jesus “put to death the enmity” by removing all spiritually/covenantally relevant barriers that separated Jews from Gentiles

Now, let’s carefully read Ephesians 4:1-3 How can humility, gentleness, patience, and love help maintain the unity Jesus calls his followers to? What happens to unity when one of these virtues is missing?

Ephesians 4:1-3

1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

These things don’t just help maintain unity - they are the postures of life Jesus builds his Kingdom around (second to himself I suppose). Jesus levels the playing field for all people, and no one has anymore right to anything than anyone else. Things like humility (right view of oneself), gentleness, patience, love, etc. are necessary for Jesus’ kingdom to look how he wants it to look