Reading for May 8th

 Read Genesis 8.13- 22. In verse 17: The phrase be fruitful and multiply calls to mind the same words used in the first creation story in 1,28. In verses 20-22: Noah's first building project after leaving the ark is an altar. Noah offers ritually clean animals (7.2-3) upon the altar as burnt offerings to give thanks to God. God smells the pleasing odor of the burnt offerings as the smoke rises to the heavens (Lev 1.9). God resolves never again to curse the ground as he had done before (3.17; 4.11) and never again to destroy every living creature (v. 21). The flood is not successful in changing the base problem: the inclination of the human heart to evil from youth (v. 21). From here on, God will have to live with that fact and work within its reality. In the meantime, God promises not to disrupt the basic created order of the seasons and agricultural rhythms of life (v. 22). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May7th

 Read Genesis 8.1-12. In verse 1: The great turning point in the story is the phrase, God remembered Noah and all the animals that were with him in the ark. God remembered the covenant promises made to Noah in 6.18 and shifted from destruction to reconstruction. God's remembering previous covenant promises is often signal of a major positive change in the fortunes of his people (Ex 2.24). God begins a whole new creation. He makes a wind blow over the watery chaos, just as God's wind over the deep that had begun the first creation (1.2).  In verses 2-12: The destroying flood of 7.11-24 is gradually reversed. The mountains of Ararat are located in a region in modern-day south east Turkey and northwest Iran. The raven and the dove are sent out to test whether they find dry land. The dove is sent out three times. The first time the dove returns with nothing, then returns with an olive leaf or branch (v. 11), and finally does not return at all (v. 12). The dove with an olive branch has become a symbol of peace, hope and new life. In the story, the dove with the olive branch is a sign of hope that the waters have partially receded below the  level of the olive tress. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 6th

 Read Genesis 7.11--24. In verse 11: In this version, the flood results from the upper and lower waters of chaos pouring back into the earth. In essence, God reverses the creation of Gen 1. All the fountains of the great deep burst forth from below the earth. Above the earth, God opens the windows of the heavens in the dome of the sky (1.6-8) and allows the watery chaos to pour onto earth, In verses 17-24: The gradual flooding and disappearance of the dry land and death of humans, animals, creeping things and birds, returns the world to its precreation state, undoing what God did in Gen 1.9-27. Comments or Questions..

reading for May 5th

 Read Genesis 7.1-10.

Reading for May 4th

STARTING OVER--NOAH AND THE FLOOD

  In 6.5-8.22: Many scholars believe that two parallel versions of this flood story were woven together into the present combined single story. For example, two separate introductions to the flood story stand side by side (compare one version in6.5-8; 7.1-5 with the second version in 6.9-22). Scholars have also noted some striking parallels between the biblical flood story and the ancient stories from Babylon and Mesopotamia.

 Read Genesis 6.5- 22.In verse 5: The human heart is the point where the intellect (knowing what is right or wrong) and the will (wanting to do right or wrong) come together. In verse (: To be righteous means to be in a trusting and loyal relationship with God. To walk with God means to obey and follow Go's will (Judg 2.22; 2 Kings 21.22). In verse 14: An ark is a "chest," "box" or "basket." The baby Moses floated in the River Nile in a basket (same Hebrew word as ark). Like Noah's ark, the basket was sealed with pitch, and it saved Moses from death (Ex 2.1-10). In verse 15: A cubit is the length of a forearm, about 20 inches long. Thus, the size of the ark or large boat is about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. In verse 18: A covenant is a formal agreement or promise made between two parties. One or both of the covenant partners commit themselves to fulfill certain promises or obligations. Here God makes a covenant with Noah and his family. the content of the covenant will be spelled out more filly later (9.8-17). God makes several important covenants with his people thought out the Old testament. Comments or Questions..

Reading fpr May 3rd

 Read Genesis 6.1-4. In 6.1-4: The origins of a legendary line of giant warriors. In verse 1-2: This brief story portrays the breaking of the created boundary between heaven and earth. Divine beings called the sons of God cross the boundary and have sexual intercourse with human daughters. In verse 3: God decides to place tighter limits on the length of human life. Before this, individuals had lived for over 900 years (5.5, 8). In this next stage, humans will live no more than 120 years. Later biblical tradition will declare the typical limit of human life to be 70-80 years which is closer to our normal experience (Ps 90.10). The advancing power of death accompanies the appearance of human sin. In verse 4: The Nephilim were remembered as a superman race of legendary warriors born of mixed human and divine parents. Later in Israel's history, Israelite spies will report seeing the giant Nephilim warriors in the land of Canaan (Num 13.32-33). Comments and Questions...

Reading for May 2nd

 Read Genesis 5.18- 32. In verse 24: Because God took him suggests that Enoch did not die a normal death. An analogy may be the way in which the prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven by God (2 Kings 2.11-12). Enoch comes to have a place of honor in later Jewish tradition as one who walked with God. In verse 27: Methuselah's age of 969 years makes him the oldest human being.. In verse 29: The ground that the Lord has cursed refers to Adam's punishment in 4.11. The verb "to bring relief" (Hebrew "nhm") is seen as a wordplay on the name Noah (Hebrew "nh"). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 1st

 Read Genesis 5.1--17. In 5.1-32: Ten Generations from Adam and Eve to Noah. This list of ten generations links the story of Adam and Eve (Gen 2-4) with the next major character and story, Noah and the flood (Gen 6-9). Such genealogies, or family trees, occur at important transition points throughout Genesis (from Adam and Eve to Noah--5.1-32 from Noah's son Shem to Abraham --11.10-26; the descendants of Abraham's grandson Jacob--46.8-27). In verse 3: Adam has a son Seth who is in his likeness, according to his image. These same words are used for the first humans before the disobedient act in the garden of Eden (1.26-27; 5.1). The human's sin did not erase God's image from them as it passes on to the next generation (9.6). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 30th

Read Genesis 4.17-26. In verses 17-22: Cain is a fugitive from settled rural life of farming. His descendants become the founders of cities (v. 17), wandering shepherds (v. 20), developers of culture (v. 21), and makers of tools (v. 22). In verses 23-24: Lamech takes revenge into his own hands in an increasing spiral of violence. He kills someone in revenge for a simple injury against himself. earlier, the Lord had tried to limit revenge and violence (4.15). In verses 25-26: Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth. The family line of Adam and Eve, through their son Seth, will be traced over ten generations in Gen 5. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for April 29th

 Read Genesis 4.1-16. In 4.1-26: Cain and Abel-the first murder. In verse 1: The man knew his wife implies intimate knowledge, in this case sexual intercourse. The man had earlier named his wife Eve (3.20). Now Eve turns and names a man, her son Cain. In a word play on he name Cain ("qayin"), the woman creates or "produces" ("qnh') a man with the help of the Lord. In verses 4-5: The text gives no reason why God accepts Abel's animal offering but reject Cain's grain offering. God reserves the divine right to accept or be merciful to whomever he will (Ex 33.19). In verse 7: If Cain acts properly in response to his brother's acceptance and his own rejection, then Cain himself will be accepted. But if Cain does not do well, sin is lurking at the door like an animal eager to consume his life. This is the first occurrence of the word sin in the Bible. In verse 9: Cain's cynical question, Am I my brother's keeper?, may imply that God should be the one responsible for "keeping" or "guarding" his brother (Ps 121.5; Isa 27.3). In verses 10-11: The blood of any human or animal is considered sacred because it is believed to contain essence of life. Thus, any spilling of blood is a matter for God's attention (Deut 12.23-24; Lev 17.10-14). In verse 14; As a fugitive and wanderer in foreign lands, Cain will have no rights or protection. he will be vulnerable to blood revenge for the murder of his brother. 2 Sam 24.1-24 provides an example of this case. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 28th

 Read Genesis 3.14-24. In verses 14-15: The serpent is directly cursed by God. The curse provides an ancient explanation for why the snake has no legs and why humans often have a negative reaction to snakes. In verses 16-17: Neither the woman nor the man are directly cursed as was the serpent. But negative consequences flow from the disobedient act. For the woman, the pain of childbirth will increase, and the man shall rule over you. This inequality contrasts with God's original will for mutuality and independence between the man and the woman in 2.18-22. In verses 17-19: Like the woman and unlike the serpent, the man is not directly cursed. However, God declares, cursed is the ground because of you. The man will struggle in hard toil and sweat to produce foo from the ground. The earlier story of human creation in 2.7 had already recounted the man's origin from the dust of the ground. Now, for the first time, human death is explicitly mentioned: to dust you shall return (3.19). However, the original prohibition in 2.17 had decreed death on that very day that the forbidden fruit would be eaten. God does not enforce this death sentence immediately. God mercifully allows the humans to continue to live for some time and produce children for future generations. In verse 21: God graciously replaces the prickly fig leaf clothing (2.7) with softer garments of skins. In verses 22-24: God seals the entrance to the garden to make sure the humans do not take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. The cherubim are winged creatures who are half human and half beast. They guard holy areas. For example, cherubim guard the holiest sections of the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8.6-7).  Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 27th

 Read Genesis 3.1-13. In 3.1-24: A serpent's temptation and human disobedience. In verse 1: The serpent is not an alien being but simply one of the garden's more intelligent and crafty animals that the Lord God had made. In verse 3: The woman repeats the command given by God in 2.17 but then attaches her own additional prohibition, nor shall you touch it. Once she disobeys her own prohibition (Touching the fruit), it will be easier to take the next step and disobey God's prohibition (eating the fruit). In verses 4-6: The serpent assures the woman that you will not die. In an odd way, the serpent will be correct. God will not cause the humans to die "in the day that you eat it." However, the humans will come to know good and evil by experiencing new intensities of pain as consequence of their rebellion. The man's quick willingness to eat the forbidden fruit along with  the woman suggests equal responsibility for the disobedient act. In verse 7: The humans now know that they were naked. They experience shame and the pain of an intimate human bond that has been broken. The innocence, trust, and openness of their former relationship must now be hidden behind clothes made of fig leaves. The prickly fig leaves would make for uncomfortable clothing. In verse 8: The portrait of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening implies God's close relationship and involvement with the creation. God's closeness contrasts with the humans' sudden desire for distance as they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 26th

 Read Genesis 2.15-25. In verse 15: The garden of Eden is not a paradise of luxury but a place for human work. Humans will till the garden and keep it. In verses 16-17: The command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil carries a grave consequence, which in Hebrew reads literally: "you shall surely die." In verse 18: The term helper does not imply an inferior assistant but a genuine partner who comes to the aid of another. God is often called a "helper" for those in need (Ps 10.14; 54.4). In verse 19-20 God's first attempt to satisfy the human loneliness (animals) fails. God invites the human to participate in shaping the character of the animals by giving them names. In verses 21-22: God tries a second strategy to stratify the human loneliness. God fashions a woman from the rib of the sleeping man. In verse 23: Unlike the animals, the woman instantly evokes a joyous response from the man. The man's brief poetic response plays on the Hebrew words "ish" (Man) and "ishah" (Woman. In verse 24: They become one flesh suggests not only sexual union but also a unity through a common household and raising of children. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 25th

 Read Genesis 2.4-14. In 2.4-14: A second creation story-the garden of Eden. In verse 4: The opening formula, These are the generations of (sometime alternately translated as "these are the descendants of" or "this is the story of"), marks the beginning of new sections throughout Genesis (6.9; 10.1; 11.27; 25.19; 37.2). In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens: a heading for this second and different creation story. The creation story in Gen 2 uses a different divine name, Lord God, instead of simply "God" in Gen 1. Genesis 2 begins not with chaotic waters of the deep as in 1.1-2 but with a dry desert. Like the watery deep, the dry wilderness is a biblical image of evil and chaos (Isa 21.1-3; 43.15-21). In verse 7: The Hebrew word for man ("adam") is closely related to the word for ground ("adamah"). This Hebrew wordplay underscores the close relationship of humans and the soil (3.19). The Lord God formed man from the dust like a potter forming clay. This earth creature becomes a living human only when the Lord God breathes into it. The breath of life. In verse 8: The garden of Eden means literally "garden of delight." In verse 9: Two trees, the the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, stand in the middle of the garden. They will become important later in the story (2.17; 3.1-7, 22-24) Eating from the tree of life would give immortality, and eating from the tree of knowledge would provide wisdom, moral discernment, and the experience of pleasure and pain. In verses 10-14: The image is that of a lush garden at the center of the known world from which major rivers flow to water the earth. We know the location of only two of the rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. They are in Mesopotamia. Havilah (v. 11) maybe in Arabia and Cush (v. 13) may be associated with Africa. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 24th

 Read Genesis 2.1-3. In Genesis 2.1-3: God's resting of the seventh day of creation became an explanation for one of the Ten Commandments, that the seventh day of every week be set apart as a sabbath, a day of rest and no work (Ex 20.8-11). The word "sabbath" comes from the Hebrew word "shabat" meaning "to rest." Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 23rd

 Read Genesis 1.26-31. In verse 26: The plural us and our image is probably a reference to an ancient motif of an assembly of divine beings, here God and God's divine advisers (compare 1 Kings 22; Job 1). They resolve to create humankind in their image or likeness. The divine image characterizes the human vocation of dominion or caring for fish, birds, and animals. Human dominion or rule is to be similar to the way God rules over and cares for all creation. In verse 27: The human image of God includes both male and female. In verse 31: God's final evaluation that the creation was very good concludes a series of refrains throughout Gen 1 about the goodness of creation (1.4, 12, 18, 21). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 22nd

 Read Genesis 1.1-25. In 1.1-2.3: The creation of the heavens and the earth. In 1.2: The face of the deep and the face of the waters are descriptions of a watery and disordered chaos. God's creation involves separating, setting boundaries, and ordering this watery chaos in order to create space for life to flourish. In verse 3: God creates by simply speaking a verbal command. In verse 6: God's creation of a dome in the midst of the waters assumes a flat earth and a clear dome that pushes back the lower waters and the blue upper waters to form the space for the sky. In verse 11: Let the earth put forth vegetation: Parts of creation are invited to join with God in the process of creating and ruling (1.17, 24,28). In verse 14: The first three days of creation form three regions: Day 1-the region of light and darkness (1.3-5); Day 2-the region of the sky (1.6-8); and Day 3-the region of the earth with it vegetation (1.9-13). Beginning in v. 14, the next three days of creation provide the inhabitants for each of these regions: Day 4- the sun, moon, and stars occupy the region of light and darkness (1.14-19; Day 5-the birds fill the sky and the fish fill the lower waters (1.20-23); and Day 6- the animals and humans occupy the earth. In verse 21: So God created the great sea monsters; in other ancient stories of creation, the sea monsters are portrayed as independent gods of evil and chaos. Here the sea monsters are made by God and subject to God's control (Ps 148.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 21st

 Read 1 Thessalonians 5.23-28. In 5.23-28: Epistolary closing. The passage is framed with a prayer or blessing form (5.23, 28) that reminds the congregation of the letter's themes: The survival of the community because of God's initiative (1.4; 2.12): sanctification (3.13; 4.3-4, 7-8); and the end-time (1.10; 2.19; 3.13) which orients the community 's toward distinctive, blameless living. In verse 24: One who calls, an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 20th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 5.12-22. In 5.12-22: How the congregation should live. In verse 12: Those who ... have charge of you, "leaders" or patrons in the congregation who provided the means for the congregation to survive. In verse 14: Idlers; NRSV, perhaps influenced by 2 Thess 3.11, uses this specific noun rather the more general "disorderly ones." It is not a comment about laziness, but about those have not fully embraced the end-time orientation need for holy living. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 19th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 4.13-5.11. I 4.13-5.11: The expectation of the end time. Paul shows the distinctiveness of a community expecting the Lord's coming. In 4.16: God's trumpet, see ex 19.16, 19; Isa 27.13; Joel 2.1. In verse 17: Meet, a term used of a delegation going out to met a ruler. In 5.3: Labor pains, see Jer 6.24: 13.21; 22.23; Hos 13.13; Mic 4.9. In verse 5: Children of the light, an expression that occurs in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1 QS 1.9-10; 3.13). In verse 8: On military imagery, see Isa 59.17.In verse 10: Wo died for us, an early formulation  of belief about Christ. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 18th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 4.1-12. Holy living toward each other and outsiders. In verse 1; Finally marks the last image section of the letter. In verse 4: Body, literally "vessel" could also mean "wife." Comments or Questions...

Reading for April 17th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 2.17-3.13. In 2.17-3.13: Separation and end-time orientation. Paul tells of his separation and turn from sorrow to joy: because the church has survived, Paul will present them at the coming of the Lord as his joyful reward (2.17-20). Timothy's visit encourages the congregation and Paul (3.1-8). A third section (3.9-13) returns to the theme of joy, along with a prayer that the congregation will grow more in the present and will be found blameless at the Lord's coming. In 3.8: Stand, one of several military terms in the letter. In verses 11-13: A hinge between the previous mention of the Lord's coming (2.19) and the later of love (3.4, 9-12), holiness (3.13; 4.3) and the Lord's coming(4.11; 5.11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 16th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16. In 2.13-16: The suffering of the Thessalonians. The anti-Jewish tone is uncharacteristic of Paul, but there is no evidence that it was inserted later., it is not directed to the Jews. Debate and angry arguments between Jews occur in Jewish writings of the time (see Josephus Antiquities 1.15.91; Philo, Cherubim17). Paul's point is his ministry's success despite opposition. This passage functions like a hinge in reminding the Thessalonians how they suffered in receiving the word (2.14; see 1.6) and in foreshadowing Paul's account of his separation from the community (2.17-3.13). In verse 16: God's wrath perhaps an actual event, but given the survival of the Judean churches and the Thessalonians, more likely that God at last has prevented opponents (some Jews or some gentiles) from destroying them. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 15th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 2.1-12. In 2.1-12: The endurance of the mission team. Paul denounces false teachers and praises the mission team for building up the congregation. In verse 2: Oppression, a metaphor of athletic struggle (Epictetus Diss, 1.24, 1-2: 4 Macc 16.16). In verse 4: God ... tests our hearts, see Gal 1.10; Prov 17.3. Inverses 7: The Greek word "epioi," gentle, found in some manuscripts differs from "nepioi," infants, by only the letter "n". Paul rarely uses "infant" positively (see Rom 2.20; 1 Cor 3.1; 13.11; Gal; 4.1, 3), so gentle is probably original. In verse 11: Father ... children, see Gal 4.19-20; 1 Cor 4.14-21; 2 Cor 6.11-13. Inverse 12: Lead a life worthy (Gal 4.14-21; Rom 13. 13), "walk" is distinctive (holy) life even though the end time is not oblivious to a world that is passing away (see 4.1-8). Kingdom of God, rare in Paul (see 1 Cor 4.20). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 14th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 1.2-10. In 1.2-5: Thanksgiving. Paul highlights his consistent prayers, signs of the congregation's ongoing life, and God's initiative in the effectiveness of the gospel and Paul's mission team. In verse 3: Faith ... love ... hope, see 5.8; Rom 5.1-5; 1 Cor 13.11; Gal 5.5-6. In verse 4: On the kinship expression brothers and sisters, see Deut 15.3. Beloved of God, see Deut 33.12. Chose, see Deut 4.37; 7.6-8; 10.14-15; 14.2. In 1.6-216: The suffering and endurance of the congregation. Three sections depict how the Thessalonians suffered with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit (1.6-10), the endurance of the mission team ( 2.1-12), and what the Thessalonians suffered (2.13-16). In 1.6-10: How the Thessalonians suffered. In verse 6: Persecution (3.3-4, 7), suffering or affliction, the woes that precede the consummations of the new age. In verse 8: Sounded forth, the Greek implies continuous spreading of the word. In verses 9-10: This may be a formal statement of belief. Turned to god from idols suggests, contrary to Acts 17.4, that the converts were gentiles. See 2.14. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 13th

 Read 1 Thessalonians 1.1. In 1.1: Opening. A typical greeting, although written in an extremely simple form (see Phil 1.1-2). In verse 1: Silvanus, Latin form of Silas, one of Paul's companions (Acts15.22, 40; 17.2). Timothy, one of Paul's emissaries and a traveling companion (Rom 16.21; 1 Cor 4.17; 16.10; Phil 2.19). Grace and peace; likely a variation of the Jewish "mercy and peace " (see 2 Baruch 78.2, a late Jewish apocryphal writing, probably from the first century CE). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 12th

 Read Malachi 3.13-4.6. In 3.13-4.6: God's judgment of the wicked and salvation of the righteous. The announcement of God's judgment, like the announcement in 2.17-3.5, is made in response to those who believe that there is no justice, that the wicked prosper while the righteous do not ((vv. 13-15). Such a concern was not unique to Malachi's audience, as the books of Job (21.28-31) and Ecclesiastes (7.15) illustrates. In 3.16: The book of remembrance is unique to Malachi, though it is based on older tradition (Ex 32.32; Ps 69.28). In 4.2: The sun of righteousness is a title for God, who elsewhere described with solar imagery (Ps 4.6; 84.11). In verse 4: This event is summarized in duet 5-6. In verse 5: The expectation of the return of Elijah nay be related in the tradition that he did not die but was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2.11-12). The phrase "I will send ... " associates him with God's messenger, mentioned in 3.1 Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for April 11th

 Read Malachi 3.6-12. In 3.6-12: Judah's miserliness. Just as Judah's priests are not fulfilling their obligations for proper worship at the Temple (1.6-2.3), so Judah's people are not fulfilling their tithes. They are not bringing to the Temple the full tithes (v. 10) of their produce required by Israelite law (Lev 27.30-33;  Deut 14.22-29). In verse 10: The connection between proper worship and divine blessing in Malachi's message mirrors Haggai's thought (Hag 1.9-10). Comments or Questions...

Reading for April 10th

 Read Malachi 2.17-3.5. In 2.17-3.5: God's judgement. Malachi announces a divine judgment as a response to those who weary God by complaining that the wicked prosper ( v. 17). In 3.1: The identity of the messenger is not stated though the conclusion to Malachi' connects him with the prophet Elijah (4.5). In verse 3: The first group singled out for judgment is the descendants of Levi, the priests who have been making improper offerings (see 1.6-2.9). In verse 5: The adulterers' judged here may be the faithless Judeans (2.10-16). By describing God's judgment against those who oppress the poor and powerless, including the widow and the orphans, Malachi takes up the theme of social justice preached by Israel's pre-exilic prophets (Isa 1.17). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 9th

 Read Malachi 2.10-16. In 2.10-16: Judah's unfaithfulness. This speech is either a criticism of idolatry, by means of a metaphor of unfaithfulness in marriage, or, more likely, a criticism of unfaithful marriage relationship themselves. In verses 1-12: Judean men have been faithless by marrying foreign women, the daughter of a foreign god (v. 11). His probations against marrying foreign women appears to stem from the concern that the husband will abandon worship of Israel's God (Ex 34.16; 1 Kings 11.1-2) In verses 13-16: Judean men have also been faithless by divorcing their wives. While Deuteronomic law provides stipulations for divorce (Deut 24.1-4), this speech appears to be more critical of it. Comments or Questions..