Tag: God
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Reflecting on Ezra 6 13-22
We are a few weeks in to a set of lessons that all have something to do with freedom, and with the character of God as liberator. With that in mind, we could ask ourselves where we see references to freedom in Ezra 6:13-22, the text we are studying for Sunday, March 20. But there […]
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Studying Ezra 6 13-22
Continuing the narrative of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem – or alternatively, the building of the “Second Temple” – we’ll get to celebrate the completion of the building project, and Passover, and think about the meaning of those big events in the larger story of the children of Israel. We’ll get to think, […]
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Reflecting on Exodus 23 1-12
The central question of how the laws, the mishpatim, given in Exodus 23:1-12 apply to us, or might, gets us into such deep water that we seem unlikely swim our way out of it by the end of our study on Sunday, January 16. [Some notes on the text are here.] Probably we can all […]
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Studying Genesis 21 8-20
We are studying Genesis 21:8-20 for Sunday, January 9. This text narrates the final episode in the Biblical account of Hagar and Ishmael. Final, that is, unless you count the note in Genesis 25:9 that Isaac and Ishmael together bury their father in the cave of Machpelah. And unless we suppress all our human emotions, […]
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Reflecting on Genesis 4 1-16
What thoughts and feelings do we have as we read the story of the first murder? Do we grieve for Abel? Find ourselves empathizing, at least a little, with Cain? Or for Adam and Eve, who lose both of their children in a single day? Or do we have thoughts about God’s role in this […]
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Reflecting on Nahum 1 1-3, 6-8, 12-13, 15
What is the relationship of vengeance, or punishment, to justice, do we think? Do we have the idea that forgiveness is morally superior to vengeance – and if so, why is that? Where does that idea come from? Or do we feel the moral acceptability of vengeance, or forgiveness, depends in any way on what […]
Matters of Interpretation 