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Bible Tuesdays for Pentecost 8, 2016

Bible Tuesday for Pentecost 8, 2016

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

9and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11 Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 14No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

The book of Deuteronomy is written as the final, very long, sermon given by Moses to the Israelites. At this point in the story, Moses knows he will die before the Israelites enter the Promised Land and that Joshua will takes his place and lead them in. In this fatherly last instruction, the entire Law is reiterated and summarized, including the Ten Commandments. In addition to the Law, blessings and curses are also discussed. In this context, curses are those things that will happen to the Israelites if/when they ignore or disobey God, and blessings are those things that will happen if they worship and adore God.

Both the books of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Scriptures, and Revelation in the New Testament, use a strong “carrot and stick” approach to the God/human relationship. The above Bible passage immediately follows a delineation of how and why Israel should occupy Canaan and stay chaste of the religions already in the land. If religious chastity is maintained, then all the above blessings will shower down upon Israel. If not, God will punish.

How will the Israelites remember all of the Law, much less keep it?! Unlike the Code of Hammurabi and other ancient laws which were written on stone pillars for all to see, Moses says that this law will reside within each Israelite, in their hearts and on their lips.

Psalm 25:1-10

Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.

6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

“An individual’s petition in acrostic form: the first line begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second line begins with the second letter of the alphabet, and so on to the final letter. Two letters are missing and two are doubled. The psalm is made up of alternating petitions and expressions of trust. It resembles Wisdom Literature [Proverbs, Lamentation, Enoch] in its concern with learning and finding the right path, but has the religious concerns of Psalms in its hope for forgiveness and for deliverance from distress.” The Jewish Study Bible

The terms “mercy” and “steadfast love” can be perceived as emotion based, which would imply that if God isn’t feeling warm and snuggly toward Israel that they will suffer. But in fact both of these words are legal terminology in Hebrew. The psalmist is appealing to God’s covenant with humanity for forgiveness and favor.

Colossians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters* in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant.* He is a faithful minister of Christ on your* behalf, 8and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s*will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled* you* to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.*

Paul identifies himself as “an apostle by the will of God.” The mere fact that Paul states this as his credentials gives the reader an introductory glimpse into the conflict between Paul and this congregation in Colosse: who is Paul that we should listen to him over our own consciences?!

Even though Paul is writing this letter chastise and correct errant believers, nevertheless, Paul begins this letter with prayer and gratitude. It is Paul who repeatedly writes, “Give thanks to God in all things<” and here he practices what he preaches.

Paul’s prayer is that this congregation would have knowledge of the will of God. This congregation has become syncretistic, blending bits of many religions into their own concocted religion. But is it the will of God?

Luke 10:25-37

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.* ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 30Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii,* gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

While this may be the most famous of Jesus’ parables, there are important details which may be neglected in a fast read.

CONTEXT: The 70 (72) disciples have just returned from their mission and Jesus has praised them and prayed publically over them. Then Jesus says privately to them, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For truly I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see and did not, and to hear what you hear and did not.” Luke 10:23-24 Then in verse 25, a legal expert in the Law of Moses tests Jesus and Jesus responds with this famous parable. The end result being, the legal expert is one who does not see.

QUESTION: The legal expert asks the question that is on the minds the faithful, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” But when Jesus answers, neither the legal expert, nor we, like the answer. The legal expert tries to dodge the answer with a wise ass question of his own, “But who is my neighbor?”

MERCY: Greek word is eleo. This word means, as I mentioned above, this word, mercy, is not an emotion but rather part of God’s covenant with humanity. Jesus calls on humans to act to each other in the same manner as humans expect from God.

DANARII: This is the equivalent to a day’s wages and would be about $20 in US dollars.

SAMARITAN: Samaritans are of mixed Jewish and polytheistic ancestry. Samaritans didn’t accept validity of Jerusalem as the capitol of the Jewish religion but instead stayed with the Northern Kingdom’s capital, Shiloh. Samaritans only accepted the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) as Holy Scriptures and reject all the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. Because Samaritans are almost Jewish but not quite, the real Jews HATE them!