NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

7 Ways God Spoke To Moses’ Mother, Jochebed

by 8 Comments

God said nothing to Jochebed audibly, but He spoke.

God Uses The Mundane
To Produce The Miraculous

Mention the name “Jochebed” and most people give you a blank look. But refer to Moses’ Mother and the light comes on.

Everyone knows the story of Moses. He features prominently in Exodus through Deuteronomy and, in fact, wrote all four books. There is little question that he edited the Book of Genesis also – with God’s guidance, of course.

There is also little question that Jochebed should get a lot of credit for everything Moses did.

Of the many unusual things about the life of Moses, the one that is rarely mentioned is the fact that the Bible covers his complete bio from birth to death. Very few have that distinction: Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist and Jesus to name a few. It is also interesting that the lives of these people are accompanied by miracles, at least at birth.

Unlike the others, however, Moses’ conception wasn’t miraculous. His survival immediately following birth was.

Pharaoh, the reigning monarch when Moses was born, decreed that all male born Israelites be sacrificed to the Nile. Not only did Moses survive that decree he was also protected in the safest possible place, the palace of Pharaoh.

It was a miracle, yes, but not in the normal sense of the word. This miracle required a large dose of human activity by someone with a lot of courage, tenacity and ingenuity.

Enter Jochebed, a little known figure otherwise, but one that will forever be associated with the miraculous survival of Moses. The question is, did God speak to this woman and if so, how?

[do_widget id=media_image-4]

The story unfolds like this: [Read more…] about 7 Ways God Spoke To Moses’ Mother, Jochebed

Judgments On Divorce – 1 Corinthians 7

by Leave a Comment

In Defense Of Divorce: Why A Marriage Should Never Be Saved At The Expense Of A Life

A Proper Reading
Of The Bible
Encourages Good Sense

The Bible is often treated like a list of inflexible laws, meaning every statement is applied as if it is a hard fast rule, no variation allowed.

Those who take this approach use the remarks of Jesus to reinforce the idea:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19

A quick reading might give the impression that Jesus endorses the “rule book” approach but a few verses later He said things that would challenge this idea. He actually moved a few legal goal posts.

  • Not murdering someone is a good rule to follow but avoiding getting angry with them is even better, 5:21-22.
  • Not sleeping with a woman, other than your wife, is a good rule to follow but not entertaining the idea is even better, 5:27-28.
  • Not committing the sins to which you are vulnerable is noteworthy but avoiding the situations which tempt you to commit those sins is even better, 5:29-30.
  • Taking no more than an “eye’s” worth of penalty for an “eye’s” worth of offense is a good rule to follow but taking less is even better, 5:38-39.
  • Not taking revenge on your enemies is a good rule to follow but actively loving them is even better, 5:43-44.

Obviously, Jesus saw the law as restrictive not prescriptive. It was designed to limit the expression of our human tendencies and prevent us from going too far in our zeal for justice. And His remarks change our perspective entirely.

Not only should our lust for revenge be limited by the law it should be replaced by love and taking that approach helps us focus on being more like God. Jesus clearly made that point.

That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, 5:45.

Loving your enemies instead of hating them is the God-like thing to do and one purpose of the law was to help us learn this approach. It was designed primarily to inhibit our natural responses to sinful tendencies and offenses. It provides boundaries not step by step instructions. The law is a guidebook not a rule book.* [Read more…] about Judgments On Divorce – 1 Corinthians 7

William And Kate: Wedding And PR All In One

by Leave a Comment

On 29 April 2011 William and Kate tied the knot and it was quite a do. According to Bloomberg.com an estimated 1 million people lined the streets locally and another 2 billion watched from various parts of the world. In case you’re not counting that is a third of the world’s population and the numbers are a testament to British Royal appeal not technology.

No wedding ceremony has ever been witnessed by so many. Most watched with joy and wonderment. Romantics were teary eyed and traditionalists were comforted. A few were negative but that is always to be expected where British Royalty is concerned.

And kudos to the organizers. Security was tight, events were well ordered, the ceremony message was clear and as far as you could tell everyone was happy. It was a demonstration of great organization between many government departments.

In spite of the tension that normally accompanies events of this magnitude, William and Kate smiled at one another and made what must have been endearing remarks occasionally. Unlike other Royal weddings you got the sense they actually love one another. The world is not used to seeing such sentimental displays at important state events.

And, even though they made an effort to introduce a human element to the occasion, inviting friends from their past rather than just heads of state, it was still politics and business as usual. There was a wedding buried below all the hoopla somewhere and the ceremony gave us a glimpse but I’m not sure the rhetoric will do much good. [Read more…] about William And Kate: Wedding And PR All In One

Moms Always Have A Positive Impact

by Leave a Comment

One Mother Raised The First Sinful Child
The Other Raised The First Sinless Child

There are many great women in the Bible but very few are recognized predominantly for their mothering skills. There is, however, reason to believe all of them had a positive impact as mothers.

We must remember that mothering was originally designed for perfect mothers, partnered by perfect husband/fathers, dealing with perfect children. That possibility was destroyed before the first child was born so mothering in this life is always done under duress. It’s never going to be perfect. The intention of this post is to see the positives in spite of the negatives.

And when we look close, what we find is that most mothers in the Bible had a positive effect even when hampered by, not one, but at least three sin natures – mom, dad and child – in addition to difficult circumstances.

The mothering of some biblical figures isn’t highly visible because there just isn’t enough room in one book to include every mothering detail so we have to read between the lines to gain some insights. What we do know is that every mother faced the obstacles mentioned above.

Following is a list of some of the better known ladies, a description of what made them great and few of their mothering positives. [Read more…] about Moms Always Have A Positive Impact

Does God Really Hate Divorce?

by Leave a Comment

In Defense Of Divorce: Why A Marriage Should Never Be Saved At The Expense Of A Life

“Hate”
Figurative Or Absolute

Does God really hate divorce?

That’s a good question and the Bible accommodates us with what seems to be a very direct answer:

“For the LORD, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce…” (Malachi 2:16)

But what does that really mean?

  • How literally are we to take this statement?
  • Does God hate divorce absolutely? Is it to be banned forever?
  • Or does God hate divorce like we hate bad days? We don’t like them but accept them as inevitable.

There are several reasons to suggest “hating” divorce is not the same as “disallowing” it.

Translation Issues

Very little is said about it but it is worth noting that the translation of Malachi 2:16 is a point of contention among scholars.

The New International Version follows the standard approach:

“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty.

But the English Standard Version changes the entire dynamic of the verse.

For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts.

Instead of God saying “I hate divorce” it is changed to “the man who does not love his wife.” In other words, the husband is doing the hating not God. Both translations agree that divorce can be acrimonious – violent.

Admittedly, most translations agree with the NIV but there is a reason for this other than pure academics.

The first English translation to be widely circulated – and to feature the “God hates divorce” rendering of the text – was the King James Bible and it was translated in an era and by clerics dominated by anti-divorce sentiment. Consider the following facts:

  • The first official printing was in 1611 which means most of the translation work was done within 50 years of the Church of England breaking with the Church of Rome.
  • The break came because King Henry insisted on an annulment (Catholic divorce) of his marriage to Catharine of Argon in the hopes of siring a male heir.
  • Many of the translators, though protestant, were still influenced by Rome-ish sentiments toward marriage-divorce-remarriage.

It is no surprise, then, that they opted for a very anti-divorce reading of the text.

It is also no surprise that most English translations followed suit.

Ever since, protestant attitudes toward marriage have been heavily influenced, unwittingly, by Catholic teachings. So most of the new English translations have “kept the faith” so to speak. It always “feels” safe to stay with what you know.

But, even if the “God hates divorce” translation is accurate there are still reasons to reject extreme interpretations. [Read more…] about Does God Really Hate Divorce?