May 24

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR MAY 24, 2024: GENESIS 38, MARK 7, PSALM 45:10-17                                     GENESIS 38 We take a break from the oft-told story, even on Broadway, of Joseph and come to a story that is almost never taught even in church or Sunday school. It starts with Judah taking a Canaanite wife, an action forbidden for both his father (Gen. 28:1) and grandfather (24:3).  Judah then chose Tamar as a wife for Er, his eldest son. The Lord took Er’s life because he was evil. It does not say what he did. Considering how his male predecessors acted and yet survived, it likely was both chronic and extreme. Since Er died without leaving Tamar an offspring, Judah ordered his second son Onan to enter into what later became known as a levitate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10) with Tamar. Onan sneakily subverted the process through coitus interruptus and didn’t impregnate Tamar. This did not fool or please God, who then took Onan’s life also. When we act foolishly or deceitfully, do we really think we fool God?

Judah then faced a difficult dilemma: He could do what was considered the right thing by giving his third son to be husband to Tamar, but risk, in his own mind, having his third son’s life taken. We probably won’t face exactly this choice, but we do face choices in which all options appear bad. How should we decide? One guide is considering the dilemmas of other Biblical figures: Esther interceding with the King, Daniel illegally praying to God, and Jesus submitting to the Father in the garden. In each case, the best long-term result was and often is the most dangerously self-sacrificial choice. Judah, exhibiting some of the traits of his father Jacob, promised Tamar to do the right thing, but had no intention of doing so. Tamar, herself quite clever if impure, developed her own scheme to secure an offspring. The men are most guilty!

It is interesting that Tamar knew Jacob would hire her as a pretend prostitute. What must have been his reputation? What is ours like among those who know us well? It is also interesting that Judah was quick to cry law and order when learning of Tamar’s sin, while not considering such consequences for his discretion. How like all of us today. But yet again, we see Romans 6:20 applies: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” A child of this sinful liaison, Perez, is listed, along with Tamar and Judah, as an ancestor of our Lord (Matt 1:3).                     

MARK 7 The story of the disciples eating without ceremonially washing their hands and utensils was discussed on February 23, 2024 when we read Matthew 15. As we saw, Jesus observed how these human traditions were often followed rigorously even as, as Isaiah wrote, the people’s hearts were far away from God.  There is nothing wrong with washing our hands before eating. In fact, we should do so; it’s good hygiene. The problem is thinking this tradition, good as it is, is a measure of our spiritual condition before God. This kind of legalism was and is often a danger with the Fundamentalist approach that began in the twentieth                                 

READING FOR MAY 24, 2024 CONTINUED: MARK 7, PSALM 45:10-17                                 century. It leads to judging others on false measures of spirituality and, as Jesus states, neglecting the true condition of the heart, which could still harbor coveting, envy, and pride.  According to Jesus, the worst form of this is when a human tradition replaces a command of God.  In Mark 7, it was the setting aside money that could have been used to help parents, thus violating the fifth commandment. What practices exist today that displace God’s will?  Of course, traditional and progressive Christians no doubt also practice human traditions that might be replacing important biblical principles or commands. It can be hard to discern such errors because we emotionally connect these traditions with years of sincere worship over many generations. There would be value in looking at our practices against the rubric of the Bible to see if we are following human tradition or commands of God in the following areas: Church Governance—Titus 1-2, 1 Tim. 3; Church Meetings—1 Cor. 14, 1 Tim. 2; Church Discipline—Matt. 18, 1 Cor.5, 2 Cor.2; False Teaching—Jude, Col.2, 1 John 4-5, Gal. 1; Family Structure—Eph. 5-6, 1 Pet. 3, 1 Cor.7.  

The encounter between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman was also considered with our study of Matthew 15. It is noteworthy that this Gentile girl had an unclean spirit, showing that demons were active beyond Israel in the New Testament. How about today? Consider this statement from the 2007 book Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture: “The Vodou religion is omnipresent, pervasive, strong, and performs key functions in all aspects of Haiti’s social and political life.” Might this corelate with the challenges that Haiti currently faces and have long experienced? As we see in the Bible, Satan deceives and destroys, but God is stronger.  PSALM 45:10-17 This part of the marriage celebration focuses on the bride. So, if the king represents Jesus, who is the bride? Fortunately, the New Testament gives us the answer:  

  • Eph.5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
  • 2 Cor. 11:2 “for I betrothed you [church]to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
  • Rev. 19:8 “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”  

This Psalm expresses the uniqueness of this marriage with the groom as both husband and king, an aspect of Jesus and His church. In verse 10 the bride is told to forget her people, anticipating Jesus’s command in Luke 14:26 to commit to Jesus over one’s family. The reference in verse 13 to the bride as all glorious within relates to Eph. 5:17 that the church will be holy and blameless through Christ’s cleansing. The statement about making sons princes in all the nations (vs. 16) equates to the command to make disciples in all nations (Matt 28:19). And certainly, the one who is praised forever and ever (vs.19) could only refer to Jesus. As part of this bride of Christ, we join in this celebration by praising God and making disciples.