Ezekiel 5
Okay, this is the second chapter in a row where God has asked Ezekiel to do something that, as a priest, he “shouldn’t” do: “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.” (vs 1-2)
Isaiah 47
Several years ago, English teacher David McCullough Jr. made national headlines when he told the graduating class from Wellesley High School, “You are not special. You are not exceptional.” Almost immediately after the words left his mouth, the reactions began to roll in from all sides. Surprisingly, the feedback was mostly positive, although there was very strong criticism from some corners.
Proverbs 27
A few months ago during a Bible study, a friend of mine said something that has been nagging at me ever since: We don’t often know what love is. He said that in the context of discussing how to be loving toward people, and he suggested that there might be many times when we wouldn’t immediately recognize what would be the “loving” course of action in a given situation.
Proverbs 26
…or does He? That’s what you might have thought if you read the chapter for today. How could you miss this? “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.” (vs 4) And on its heels: “Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.” (vs 5)
Psalm 107
At a Bible study I attended recently, someone remarked that we sinful human beings have a pretty distorted view of love. I totally agree. I feel like there is a recent trend within Christianity to paint Jesus as a “nice” guy and call it love. Whether that takes into account the whole of Jesus’ interactions with people is another question. (Some might not think calling people snakes and frauds qualifies as “nice”.)
Psalm 25
I have a lot of different friends who hold a lot of different views about God. I’m grateful for this; it means that I have the opportunity to hear different perspectives on spirituality and regularly have my own preconceived notions challenged and questioned. But I have recently noticed a trend of thought in some of these friends (and in some Christian circles) that concerns me: The idea that the Old Testament has a skewed view of God.
Ghandi once said that
an eye for an eye
leaves the whole world blind.
Yes, but it also
leaves the whole world alive.
If the previous rule was
your hand for my eye
and then
my child's life for your hand
and then
your whole family for my child's life
and then
and then
and then
an eye for an eye
is not revenge,
but mercy;
pandemic blindness
a blessing,
compared to
the alternative.
LEVITICUS 24
This is a very strange chapter, in the way it’s divided. The first part is about the oil and bread to be laid out before the Lord in the sanctuary. The middle part is about a blasphemer who was stoned to death. And the last part is the famous "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" passage. At first, I was going to try to find something inspiring to say about oil and bread (I like them as appetizers at Italian restaurants), but then I decided that would be a big, fat cop-out.
