On the other hand, they mirror each other because they both are obedient to God to a point that we would be greatly challenged if called upon ourselves. Noah begins building in the sunshine trusting God's word and provision. Jesus refuses to exercise his power, trusting God's word and provision. Jesus knows that just because he can do something, doesn't mean he necessarily should. These readings should give us pause next time we are about to impulsively do anything.
What is God calling you to do, or refrain from doing? Is your temptation to act in a way that is contradictory to God's will (Jesus' temptation), or is your temptation to refrain from a work that God is calling you to be about (Noah's example)?
Readings: Genesis 5:1-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19
I am just now catching up on the 3rd and now reading Jan 4th's and I have a question. Did I miss something when Noah was on the arc for 40 days and 40 nights but it says in one of the passages "at the end of 150 days" What piece of info am I missing?
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
Stephanie, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. But, then they floated for the next five months. Paula
ReplyDeleteQuestion from the previous day's reading...
ReplyDeleteAdam and Eve were banished. Adam "lay with his wife" and Eve had Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel and was banished, so he left and found a new wife with new people. Where did they come from? Paula
Stephanie and Paula, great to see you're reading closely! I agree with Paula's response about the floating... Paula, you then ask a question impossible to answer. Especially in the "prehistorical" portions of Genesis (when the world was different than those telling the story understood the world) you will find contradictions, and many puzzle pieces missing. Resist the temptation to approach these types of readings from a contemporary scientific or analytical view. Allow the stories to speak for themselves as they unveil Truths beyond the data that is provided. These aren't stories intended to be scientific historical accounts as other accounts in the Bible are. And as for the 40 days and 40 nights... this was probably a use of language to mean "a long time"... whether it was literally forty days and forty nights is not the point of the story. Think about how we use our language today: I say "I'm starving." Not true. I may be hungry, but I'm not starving. Or how about "this kid weighs a ton..." Not true. If I write this down using my natural language and people read it 2500 years from now, they might think we had children who weighed 2000 pounds! Much of translation is lost across culture and time. Just something we need to be aware of when reading ancient texts.
ReplyDeleteCool. It's hard for me to not be analytical, but I'll try to keep that in mind. I appreciate the examples - it helps put in all into perspective. Paula
ReplyDeleteOK, another comment...(can you tell I'm catching up? Sorry to slam you with all these posts!)
ReplyDeleteJohn really tells off the Pharisees and Sadducees. Where does he get the chutzpah? Aren't these guys the cream of the crop? The guys in charge? The men revered as the experts? He calls them "vipers!" He intimates that Jesus will completely cut them off with his reference to the ax at the root of the tree. How did he have the guts to do that?! He was weird. They were "establishment," they were respected. Wow. I wonder if I'll ever be as bold in my faith as John was. Paula
Question: In the Psalms, when, after a paragraph or section, it says "Selah," what does that mean? I think that "Selah" means "peace," but why do they interject it into the middle (several times) of the Psalms they way they do? Paula
ReplyDeleteThe Psalms were sung as hymns in worship. Think about how songs today are structured with verse, verse, chorus, verse, etc. Lyric writing is different from narrative, which is different from journalistic writing. And poets have license to do whatever.
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