1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-
11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart- he always stirs up dissension.
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.
16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
What Do I Do When I Can't Get Started?
Proverbs 6:6-11
Sermon
by James Merritt
Today, I am going to deal with a problem that I freely admit that I have and I am absolutely convinced everyone has this problem to one degree or another. I am going to be honest with you. Sometimes, I have a problem with procrastination and starting tomorrow I am going to do something about it! The truth of the matter is everybody in this room has at least one thing that you haven't yet done in your life and the only reason you haven't done it is simply because you've procrastinated.
I heard about two neighbors that were talking across their backyard fence one afternoon and one said, "John, you know there is nothing like getting up at six o'clock in the morning doing a hundred sit-ups, two hundred push ups, a hundred chin-ups, taking a six mile run and then having a nice cold shower before breakfast." The neighbor said, "Good grief. How long have you been doing that?" The man said, "I start tomorrow."
Some unknown poet described the problem well.
I spent a fortune on a trampoline
A stationary bike and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse
And gadgets to prove my progress results
And others to show the miles I've charted -
But they left off the gadget to get me started.
Many people have the philosophy, "Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim." They aim to do this or they aim to do that, but they just never get around to it. Someone has defined a procrastinator as someone who puts off until tomorrow the things he has already put off until today.
You are not going to believe this, but I actually went on the internet and discovered there is a Procrastinator's Club of America. They just celebrated their 50th Anniversary this year. On their website they say, "Our current membership is 14,500 worldwide, but this figure does not include the 620,000 in the United States who haven't gotten around to joining yet." There motto is "We are behind you all the way!" Their number one commandment is "Don't put off procrastinating!" You will love this. They hold a 4th of July party every December 31st.
The wisest man who ever lived, a man named Solomon, gives us the perfect antidote to procrastination. Believe it or not, he says the best way to overcome procrastination is to take a trip out to an anthill. You heard me correctly. He said an ant can tell you exactly how to overcome procrastination. "Go to the ant, o sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, o sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest" Your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:6-11)
We are going to learn a valuable lesson from the little animal called the "ant" today that will help us in overcoming the problem of procrastination. It is a real problem. There are people who go bankrupt in the stock market because of procrastination. There are people who have lost good jobs because of procrastination. There are people whose marriages have gone down the tubes because of procrastination and there are people who die without God, because of procrastination. It is time, perhaps, for us to declare our emancipation procrastination, because we are going to learn this from the ant today- Key Take Away: Never substitute today's certain opportunity for tomorrow's uncertain possibility. Before I tell you how to do that...
I. Consider Why We Have The Problem Of Procrastination
Think right now of one thing that you know you should have done a long time ago, but you have never gotten around to. Then ask yourself this question, "Why have you put that off?" There are several reasons why we procrastinate. Sometimes we just simply cannot make a decision. Indecision can cause you to procrastinate. Many times we just simply have a hard time making a decision. We get into the paralysis of analysis until you get to the point that you analyze something so long that you just finally give up on trying to make a decision at all.
A first cousin of this is fear. In fact, this may be the greatest reason why we procrastinate. We are afraid of what might happen if we take action. We are afraid that we might fail. We are afraid that the worst possible thing that could happen will happen. You don't confront that person at work, you don't make that difficult phone call or you don't go to the doctor even though you know physically something is wrong, because you are afraid of what you might find out.
Another reason why we procrastinate is because we keep looking for the right time and the right moment and the right opportunity. In other words, we want everything to be just perfect. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says this, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4, LB)
Teresa and I had only been married a couple of years and I had just gotten my master's degree and was about to start my doctorial work, when we finally decided to have children. Quite frankly, we both looked at each other at the time and said, "There is no way we can afford to have a child." There are a lot of people who put off getting married or put off having a child, because they just don't see how they can financially make it.
The bride white of hair got up from her chair
Her footsteps uncertain need guiding
And then down the aisle with a wan-toothless smile
The groom in a wheelchair came gliding
And who is this couple this happily wed?
You will find when you closely explored it
Here was that rare most conservative pair
Who waited 'til they could afford it.
Be honest with yourself and ask yourself this question, "What is it about taking this action that I am afraid of?" "What logical reason is there to continue to put off doing something about this issue?"
Of course, the other reason why we procrastinate is simply shear laziness. Solomon is talking to the sluggard in Proverbs 6; the lazy person, about studying the ant and learning how to overcome procrastination. I have learned the first step to dealing with a problem is you have to get to the root cause of a problem. When you know that you should never substitute today's certain opportunity for tomorrow's uncertain possibility, you have to find out why you would gamble what you can do today or what you may or may not be able to do tomorrow.
II. Calculate What The Problem Of Procrastination Costs
Any time you put off until tomorrow what you could do today and what you should do today there is always a cost. There is always a price tag. First of all, you miss an opportunity to get the job done today. If you miss an opportunity to get something done today, it may mean you never, ever, get a chance to do it tomorrow. Ephesians 5:16 says, "Make the most of every opportunity for doing good." (Ephesians 5:16, NLT)
Don't miss that word "every." Opportunity doesn't always knock. Opportunity doesn't knock very often. Every time opportunity does knock, you had better make sure you are there to open the door today.
Another cost of procrastination is it steals time. Procrastination lulls the mind into think that tomorrow is always better than today. You begin to think that today is not necessarily the best time and tomorrow is always a better time. If you think about it that cannot possibly be true.
When you put off doing something until tomorrow, you lose today. Procrastination is not only the thief of time, it is the grave of opportunity. Did you know the best time for a person to become a follower of Christ, who has never become a follower of Christ is right now? The reason why a person should become a follower of Christ today is not just that he may not have tomorrow, though indeed he may not. The reason why a person ought to become a follower of Christ, now, today is so that he can serve God both today and tomorrow.
We have all heard of the Bell Telephone Company. Today we have Pacific Bell, Canadian Bell, and we have BellSouth. It was almost the Gray Telephone Company. It could have been Pacific Gray and Canadian Gray and GraySouth. Do you know why it is Bell and not Gray? In 1874, an inventor named Elisha Gray, transmitted a few faint musical notes over a telegraph wire. He thought to himself, "If I can send music, what else could I do? Perhaps the human voice, a word a conversation." The New York Times reported predictions of a "talking telegraph."
Just one year later, Gray believed he had the answer: tin can-like voice chambers connected by a wire and a liquid that could turn vibrations into signals. For some reason, he didn't put his idea on paper for two months. After finally making a sketch, he waited four more days before he went to the patent office.
When he arrived, he was told that just two hours earlier, a school teacher, named Alexander Graham Bell, had walked through that door with his own sketch - of voice chambers connected by a wire. The sketches were completely identical. [[1]]
Elisha Gray lived the rest of his life paying the cost of procrastination. Procrastination really makes life worse; it makes life harder. We have all heard the tragic story of someone who procrastinated going to the doctor only to wind up going too late. The truth of the matter is procrastination never solves anything; it only makes things worse. The longer you wait the harder something gets. Waiting never makes it easier. How do you get beyond procrastination?
III. Commit To Overcome The Problem Of Procrastination
As we go to the ant and we study the ants ways we learn that the ant takes three simple steps and never has a problem with procrastination. If you will take these three simple steps you will never again substitute today's certain opportunity for tomorrow's uncertain possibility.
a. Get To It.
"Go to the ant, o sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest." (Proverbs 6:6-8, NASB) The ant is a master self-starter. The ant has no boss, no supervisor, nobody nagging it to get its job done. It just gets up, gets to it and goes to work. They get the essentials done first. They know instinctively that winter is coming, so they start storing food up in the summer.
The first thing you need to do to get started is just get to it. In other words, start now. Not next month, not next week, not even tomorrow, start now. If you could only work on your problem or begin this project or start this process for five minutes today, then give it five minutes today. You have been saying, "I do it some day", well someday is today. You say, "I'll do it when I get around to it." Well, you just did.
Nike has a slogan that we all know with three simple words - Just Do It
I would like to add one word to that that really pacts some punch to it - Just Do It Now.
I will give you a secret that will help you. Charles Schwab was the chairman of Bethlehem Steal many, many, years ago and he hired a management consultant named, Ivy Lee to come in. He asked him this question, "Can you tell me the secret on how I can be the most productive I can be in my life? Ivy Lee smiled and said, "Easy. Every evening write down the six most important things you need to do tomorrow. List them in order of importance. The next morning when you come into work, you do the first thing on that list and don't you do anything else until you finish the first thing on that list and then you keep moving down the list."
Charles Schwab asked him how much he was going to charge for his advice. Lee said, "You use the plan for a few months and then you decide what my advice was worth and send me a check." This was over eighty years ago. Charles Swab sent him a check for $25,000 dollars and said it was the greatest advice anybody had ever given him. Try it for one month and see how productive you become.
b. Get With It
This is huge, but listen carefully. If you are going to break free from procrastination, you've got to learn to master your moods. You cannot do something when you feel like doing it. Ninety-five percent of what gets done in the world everyday is done by people who don't feel like doing it when they do it. How many people do you think will get up at five o'clock in the morning fired up and ready to fight Atlanta traffic to go downtown to go to work? The truth is the vast majority of people who go to work tomorrow will not go to work because they feel like it, but in spite of the fact they don't That is what the ant does - the ant gets with it. Verse 8 says, "It stores its provisions in summer." (Proverbs 8:8, NIV)
There are a lot of other things that ant might like to do in the summertime, instead of gathering food for the winter, because winter hasn't even arrived yet, but that ant knows winter is coming. So, the ant does what needs to be done today, so he can enjoy tomorrow.
Too many people ask this question everyday of themselves, "What do I feel like doing?" That is the wrong question. The right question is this, "How will I feel after I do the right thing?" So, when you made up your mind to get to it, and then you made up your mind to get with it, then...
c. Get Through It
Verse 8 goes on to say, "That the ant gathers its food at harvest." (Proverbs 8:8, NIV) The ant doesn't stop until the job is done and done in a timely fashion. If you only wait to do something when you think you have the time to do it, you will never have time to do it. For the important things in life you have to make time to do it. You have to schedule time to do it. You have to put it on that priority list that we talked about. You've got to say at this time, at this date, this is what I am going to do and this is when I am going to do it.
I want you to stop and think for minute about an area that you have been procrastinating in. This message will mean nothing to you and it won't help you if you don't pinpoint an area where procrastination has become a problem in your life. For example:
Do you need to commit you life to Christ and get right with God?
I am going to ask you in a moment to do it now.
Do you need to be baptized?
I am going to ask you to do it now.
Do you need to join this church?
I am going to ask you to do it now.
Do you need to start getting out of debt?
I am going to ask you to start doing it now.
Do you need to get involved in a small group?
I am going to you to do that now.
If you don't, you may end up like the young man, who vowed he would never marry until he found the ideal woman. Unfortunately, when he found her, she was waiting for the ideal man!
A scholar once surveyed the scriptures to find out some of the more important words in the Bible. He wanted to find the most significant word, the saddest word, the happiest work, the most emotional word, etc. When he came around to the Bible's most dangerous word, do you know what he said it was? Tomorrow. That word is a thief. It robs time, opportunity and life itself.
God only has one word on His calendar. Do you know what that word is? Today. The only time that you have is today. God locks you into the present to cut you off from the past and the future. That is why the Bible says in Hebrews 3:13, "You must warn each other every day, while it is still 'today,' so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God." (Hebrews 3:13, NLT)
The great Christian, Augustine, once said, "God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination." Why don't you say once and for all, that now you will stop procrastinating? No more excuses. No more rationalizing. No more justifying. Starting today and starting now I want to do whatever it is that I know God would have me to do and that I need to do.
[1] The Executive Speech Writer Newsletter, Volume 15, No. 6
ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by James Merritt
The book of Proverbs does not start off with the typical short, pithy, two-lined proverbs, but rather with several long admonitions from a father to his son, interrupted twice as the voice of personified wisdom chimes in. The son stands on the verge of adulthood with two very different paths before him. On the one hand, he hears the voice of wisdom from his father. On the other hand, he feels the strong temptation of sexual immorality as well as peer pressure to run with a rowdy, less-than-virtuous gang who entices him to pursue easy money that doesn’t require hard work. The two worldviews before him are wisdom versus folly, resulting in either life or death.
In Proverbs 1:8–19 the father encourages the son to reject the gang and the lure of easy money acquired through violence. The personi…
The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-
11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart- he always stirs up dissension.
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.
16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
The next lesson, in 6:1–19, treats several topics related to financial affairs (6:1–5), work (6:6–11), and negative character traits (6:12–19), followed by another lesson on sexual morality (6:20–35). A common tone unites the chapter, as the father warns his child, either explicitly or implicitly, against loans (6:1–5), laziness (6:6–11), evildoers (6:12–15), a catalog of detestable actions (6:16–19), and the prostitute (6:20–35).
In the first section (6:1–5), the parent/speaker begins exceptionally by immediately sketching a dangerous scenario the youth should escape. The subject of guaranteeing loans is addressed elsewhere in Proverbs (11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13) and is illustrated by Judah’s actions in Genesis 43:8–9; 44:30–34. Whether one formally seals the deal with a neighbor or a stranger, one has in effect been trapped by one’s words. Since such a transaction is not regulated by Mosaic legislation, there is only one thing to say: “Free yourself” (6:3, 5) immediately, no matter what it takes. Compassion for a financially strapped friend is not the issue here; intentionally jeopardizing one’s economic well-being is an action to be avoided at any cost.
The next section (6:6–11), regarding laziness, is linked to the preceding unit in three ways. Both involve actions that negatively affect one’s financial well-being, warn against sleeping at the wrong time (6:4, 9), and employ the imperative “go” (6:3, 6). This is the first of many appearances of the lazy man (NIV “sluggard”) in the book (Prov. 10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13–16). In a book that emphasizes deliberate, decisive, and diligent behavior, laziness is a serious character flaw. Ancient Near Eastern (and contemporary) wisdom commonly turns to nature to illustrate positive and negative behavioral patterns, and the ant has much to teach the slacker (6:6–8; also 30:25), including initiative, diligence, and timely preparations for future needs. The speaker seeks to rouse the slothful person from any form of excessive repose (i.e., sleep, slumber, or rest; 6:9–10), thereby avoiding a truly rude awakening: being suddenly overpowered by poverty (6:11; cf. 24:33–34).
While lazy individuals are their own worst enemies, others are far more dangerous. Five characteristic actions of those labeled “troublemakers” and “villains” are noted in verses 12–15, which lack any conceptual connection with the two preceding sections. The word translated “troublemaker” is a Hebrew compound word, familiar from the KJV “sons of Belial,” meaning “without profit”—that is, useless. The term occurs twenty-seven times in the Old Testament (cf. 16:27; 19:28); it is used to describe the men of Gibeah who gang-rape the Levite’s concubine (Judg. 19:22; 20:13) and the sons of Eli (1Sam. 2:12). “Villains” are destructive abusers of power; both are perverse societal menaces. Their twisted words, devious (though obscure) gestures, and perverted minds constantly foment dissension (6:14). Just as for the lazy, sudden disaster awaits them (6:15). Their actions hardly seem to warrant such harsh divine punishment compared with the bloodthirsty band of thieves similarly threatened in Proverbs 1:26–27. Wisdom ethics, however, gives greater value to the integrity and well-being of the family and the community than to an individual’s personal preferences.
In justifying this threat, a list of seven detestable vices follows in 6:16–19 (cf. Prov. 26:25). The “numerical” form of verse 16 (i.e., “There are six..., seven”; cf. Job 5:19) is found in various types of Old Testament literature, most notably in Proverbs 30:18–31, as well as in Ugaritic and Akkadian texts. This form places climactic emphasis on the final element, which is here quite similar to 6:14b. Far from advocating a mechanical link between deed and consequence, Proverbs affirms that Yahweh ultimately upholds justice in his world. The word “detestable” (KJV “abomination”; Hebrew toebah; see commentary on 3:1–35) occurs frequently in Proverbs, compared to, for example, Deuteronomy. Each of the first five actions in this vice list involves a body part, in a sequence moving downward from head to foot, indicating the totality of one’s involvement in mischief (6:17–18). The final two vices (6:19) diverge stylistically, perhaps involving actions that depend on the preceding five. Since the order here is climactic, attacking the integrity of the family or clan unit (through instigating disputes, 6:19b) is viewed as more heinous than perverting the legal system (through false witness, 6:19a; cf. 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9; 21:28; 25:18).
The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
The first 19 verses of chapter 6 have the appearance of an errant block of exhortations. They interrupt the theme of sex, and they seem to be a miscellany of proverbs.
6:1–5 There is an almost frantic tone to this command against going surety for a neighbor. Such a warning against standing pledge for another is not rare (see 11:15; 17:18; 22:26–27, etc.). Ben Sira had a more relaxed and realistic attitude (cf. Sir. 29:14–20). The action is seen as a burden and snare, and every effort must be made immediately to free oneself from it, even to the abject humbling of oneself before the neighbor.
6:6–11 Diligence is another frequent topos (traditional theme) in Proverbs (10:4–5; 12:14, etc.). These words reflect a certain sarcasm in holding up the ant as a model of industry. Without anyone urging on that tiny creature, it makes sure of its provisions for the future. The sarcastic question addressed to the sluggard in verse 9 seems to evoke an answer from him (a little sleep, etc.) as if he were to say, “just give me time.” But the sage holds out the threat of fierce poverty. For the alternate readings provided for verse 11 in the NIV, see Additional Notes. Verses 10–11 are repeated practically verbatim in 24:33–34.
6:12–15 Behind this instruction lies the presumption that exterior actions betray the inner attitude of a person. When the deportment is suspicious (even verging on magic?), one can suspect inner deceit. The fate of such a person will be sudden and disastrous, but it is left unspecified (sickness, death?). Verse 15b is found also in 29:1b. Several terms occur elsewhere: scoundrel (lit. a man of Belial, a term of uncertain etymology) in 16:27; winks in 10:10.
6:16–19 This is a numerical saying in the style of X and X + 1 (here, 6/7). Several of these sayings occur in 30:11–31 (cf. Amos 1). The detestable things reflect some of the vices indicated in verses 12–15. Note how the sins are associated with the organs of the body singled out in verses 17–18, from eyes to feet—the whole person is pointed toward evil. After these verses the book returns to the former style of instruction that characterized chapters 1–5.
Additional Notes
6:11 The comparisons are difficult, as indicated by the NIV marginal notes. For bandit the MT has literally “one who causes to go” (but in 24:34, it is Hitpael, “one who marches?”), and in v. 11b, “a man of shield,” is taken to be an armed man (NIV). “Beggar” is alleged on the basis of a Ugaritic parallel and “vagrant” seems to be an interpretation of the Hb. verb hlk.
Understanding the Bible Commentary Series by Roland E. Murphy, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
Direct Matches
Abomination is used of idols (e.g., 2Kings 23:13, 24; Jer. 7:30; cf. Ezek. 8:10), forbidden practices (e.g., 2Kings 23:24), and generally anything contrary to the true worship of Israel’s God (e.g., 2Chron. 15:8; Isa. 66:3; Jer. 4:1; cf. forbidden foods [Lev. 11:10, 13, 42] and ceremonial defilement [Lev. 7:21]). The term also includes the prohibition of idol worship (Deut. 7:25; 27:15; 32:16) but can more widely apply to immorality (e.g., Lev. 18:22, 26 27), prophecy that leads to paganism (Deut. 13:13–14), blemished animals offered in sacrifice to Yahweh (Deut. 17:1), and heathen divination (Deut. 18:9, 12).
The “abomination of desolation” (NIV: “abomination that causes desolation”), or “desolating sacrifice,” refers to the desecration of the Jerusalem temple. The description occurs or is alluded to in Dan. 8:11; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20; 2Thess. 2:4, as well as 1Macc. 1:54–64. These texts seem to attest to two or three stages of fulfillment of the prophecy.
The word for “blood” in the Bible is used both literally and metaphorically. “Blood” is a significant biblical term for understanding purity boundaries and theological concepts. Blood is a dominant ritual symbol in biblical literature. Blood was used in sacrifices and purification rites, and it was inherently connected to menstruation, animal slaughter, and legal culpability. Among the physical properties of blood are the ability to coagulate, the liquid state of the substance (Rev. 16:34), and the ability to stain (Rev. 19:13). Blood can symbolize moral order in terms of cult, law, and power.
The usage of blood in the OT is predominantly negative. The first direct mention of blood in the biblical text involves a homicide (Gen. 4:10). Henceforward, the shedding of human blood is a main concern (Gen. 9:6). Other concerns pertaining to blood include dietary prohibitions of blood (Lev. 17:10–12), purity issues such as the flow of blood as in menstrual blood (Lev. 15:19–24), and blood as a part of religious rites such as circumcision (Gen. 17:10–11; Exod. 4:24–26).
Leviticus 17:11 contains a central statement in the OT concerning the significant role of blood in the sacrificial system: “The life of a creature is in the blood.” Blood was collected from all animal sacrifices, and blood was poured onto the altar (Lev. 1:5).
The covenant with Abraham was sealed with a covenantal ritual (Gen. 15:10–21). Moses sealed the covenant between the Israelites and God with a blood ritual during which young Israelite men offered young bulls among other sacrifices as fellowship offerings (Exod. 24:5). Moses read the words of the Book of the Covenant and sprinkled the blood of the bulls on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Exod. 24:7–8).
During the Passover observance at the time of the exodus, blood was placed on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the Hebrews (Exod. 12:7). Not only altars were sprinkled and thus consecrated with blood, but priests were as well. Aaron and his sons were consecrated by the application of blood to their right earlobe, thumb, and big toe, and the sprinkling of blood and oil on their garments (Exod. 29:20). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the holy of holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat to seek atonement for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:15).
Many events in the passion of Christ include references to blood. During the Last Supper, Jesus redefined the last Passover cup: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Judas betrayed “innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4), and the money he received for his betrayal was referred to as “blood money” (Matt. 27:6). At Jesus’ trial, Pilate washed his hands and declared, “I am innocent of this man’s blood” (Matt. 27:24).
The apostle Paul wrote that believers are justified by the blood of Christ (Rom. 5:9). This justification or righteous standing with God was effected through Christ’s blood sacrifice (Rom. 3:25–26; 5:8). The writer of Hebrews stressed the instrumental role of blood in bringing about forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). In the picture of the ideal community of Christ, the martyrs in the book of Revelation are situated closest to the throne of God because “they triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). The blood of the Lamb, Christ, is the effective agent here and throughout the NT, bringing about the indirect contact between sinner and God.
Generally made of grain, this staple of foods has been known to be in existence since prehistoric days, being mentioned in the oldest literatures of humanity. Though usually made of wheat, it can be made of any grain and also some kinds of beans or lentils.
To make bread, grain must be ground into flour, mixed with salt and water, kneaded into a dough, and baked. Most breads included a leaven to add substance. As a food staple, it became a symbol of hospitality (Neh. 13:12; Matt. 14:15–21) and community as people ate together (Acts 2:42). Bread was considered a gift from God, so it was treated with special deference. Unleavened bread was required during Passover feasts and in most occasions related to the worship of God. The “bread of the Presence” (KJV: “shewbread”), representing the twelve tribes of Israel in the temple, was made of unleavened bread (Exod. 25:30) with special flour and was carefully eaten by the priests.
Jesus used bread in the Lord’s Prayer to represent asking God to meet our basic needs (Matt. 5:11), and he called himself the “bread of life” to show that he is the one who “gives life to the world,” our ultimate sustenance (John 6:33–35). During this exchange with the Jews about the bread of life, Jesus foreshadows what takes place at the Last Supper with his disciples, suggesting that believers must “eat [his] flesh” (represented by bread) and “drink [his] blood” (represented by wine) (John 6:53–59; cf. Luke 22:19). Additionally, bread was used symbolically to represent those things that were present in daily life (Pss. 127:2; 80:5; Prov. 4:17; 20:17).
People in the Bible were family-centered and staunchly loyal to their kin. Families formed the foundation of society. The extended family was the source of people’s status in the community and provided the primary economic, educational, religious, and social interactions.
Marriage and divorce. Marriage in the ancient Near East was a contractual arrangement between two families, arranged by the bride’s father or a male representative. The bride’s family was paid a dowry, a “bride’s price.” Paying a dowry was not only an economic transaction but also an expression of family honor. Only the rich could afford multiple dowries. Thus, polygamy was minimal. The wedding itself was celebrated with a feast provided by the father of the groom.
The primary purpose for marriage in the ancient Near East was to produce a male heir to ensure care for the couple in their old age. The concept of inheritance was a key part of the marriage customs, especially with regard to passing along possessions and property.
Marriage among Jews in the NT era still tended to be endogamous; that is, Jews sought to marry close kin without committing incest violations (Lev. 18:617). A Jewish male certainly was expected to marry a Jew. Exogamy, marrying outside the remote kinship group, and certainly outside the ethnos, was understood as shaming God’s holiness. Thus, a Jew marrying a Gentile woman was not an option. The Romans did practice exogamy. For them, marrying outside one’s kinship group (not ethnos) was based predominantly on creating strategic alliances between families.
Greek and Roman law allowed both men and women to initiate divorce. In Jewish marriages, only the husband could initiate divorce proceedings. If a husband divorced his wife, he had to release her and repay the dowry. Divorce was common in cases of infertility (in particular if the woman had not provided male offspring). Ben Sira comments that barrenness in a woman is a cause of anxiety to the father (Sir. 42:9–10). Another reason for divorce was adultery (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). Jesus, though, taught a more restrictive use of divorce than the OT (Mark 10:1–12).
Children and parenting. Childbearing was considered representative of God’s blessing on a woman and her entire family, in particular her husband. In contrast to this blessing, barrenness brought shame on women, their families, and specifically their husbands.
Children were of low social status in society. Infant mortality was high. An estimated 60percent of the children in the first-century Mediterranean society were dead by the age of sixteen.
Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies exhibited a parenting style based on their view of human nature as a mixture of good and evil tendencies. Parents relied on physical punishment to prevent evil tendencies from developing into evil deeds (Prov. 29:15). The main concern of parents was to socialize the children into family loyalty. Lack of such loyalty was punished (Lev. 20:9). At a very early stage children were taught to accept the total authority of the father. The rearing of girls was entirely the responsibility of the women. Girls were taught domestic roles and duties as soon as possible so that they could help with household tasks.
Family identity was used as a metaphor in ancient Israel to speak of fidelity, responsibility, judgment, and reconciliation. In the OT, the people of Israel often are described as children of God. In their overall relationship to God, the people of Israel are referred to in familial terms—sons and daughters, spouse, and firstborn (Exod. 4:22). God is addressed as the father of the people (Isa. 63:16; 64:8) and referred to as their mother (Isa. 49:14–17).
The church as the family of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to fictive kinship, the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Entrance into the community was granted through adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–63; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9). Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was eventually replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18). Through the Spirit, Jesus’ ministry continues in the community of his followers, God’s family—the church. See also Adoption.
The harvest was a major event on the yearly calendar of Israel’s agrarian society (Lev. 25:11; Judg. 15:1; Ruth 1:22; 2Sam. 21:910). Life was dependent on the harvest. As a result, God set certain rules with respect to the harvest to help the Israelites keep proper priorities. Every seven years and every fiftieth year, the people were to give the land a rest (Exod. 23:10; Lev. 25:20–22). The people were to rest on the Sabbath, even during the harvesttime (Exod. 34:21). Some portions of crops were to be left in the field so that the poor might have food (Lev. 19:9; 23:22; Deut. 24:21). The people were to acknowledge God as the source of the harvest by offering the first of the produce (Lev. 23:10). Celebrating the harvest was commanded (Exod. 23:16; Deut. 16:15; Isa. 9:3). Planning for the harvest was a mark of wisdom (Prov. 6:8; 10:5; 20:4). Even as a good harvest was the blessing of God (Ps. 67:6; Isa. 62:9), so a bad harvest was a curse from God and the plight of a fool (1Sam. 12:17; Job 5:5; Prov. 26:1; Isa. 18:4–5; Jer. 8:13, 20; Joel 3:12; Mic. 6:15). Failure to acknowledge God for the harvest was a sin (Jer. 5:24).
The harvest is often used in Scripture as an analogy. The prophets talk about the negative harvest of idolatry (Isa. 17:11). Israel is called the firstfruits of God’s harvest (Jer. 2:3). Hosea uses the idea of harvest to indicate that God’s people have a future (Hos. 6:11). In the Gospels, the harvest is used as an analogy for those needing to hear the good news (Matt. 9:37–38), for the end times (Matt. 13:24–30; Rev. 14:15), and for a lesson about unfaithful leadership (Matt. 21:33–46; 25:24). In the remainder of the NT, the harvest analogy usually refers to Christian growth and salvation (Rom. 1:13; 1Cor. 9:10–11; 2Cor. 9:10; Gal. 6:9; Heb. 12:11; James 3:18).
Physiologically, the heart is an organ in the body, and in the Bible it is also used in a number of metaphors.
Metaphorically, the heart refers to the mind, the will, the seat of emotions, or even the whole person. It also refers to the center of something or its inner part. These metaphors come from the heart’s importance and location.
Mind. The heart refers to the mind, but not the brain, and in these cases does not involve human physiology. It is a metaphor, and while the neurophysiology of the heart may be interesting in its own right, it has no bearing on this use of language. Deuteronomy 6:5 issues the command to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and strength. When the command is repeated in the Gospels, it occurs in three variations (Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). Common to all three is the addition of the word “mind.” The Gospel writers want to be sure that the audience hears Jesus adding “mind,” but this addition is based on the fact that the meaning of the Hebrew word for “heart” includes the mind.
The mental activities of the metaphorical heart are abundant. The heart is where a person thinks (Gen. 6:5; Deut. 7:17; 1Chron. 29:18; Rev. 18:7), where a person comprehends and has understanding (1Kings 3:9; Job 17:4; Ps. 49:3; Prov. 14:13; Matt. 13:15). The heart makes plans and has intentions (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Prov. 20:5; 1Chron. 29:18; Jer. 23:20). One believes with the heart (Luke 24:25; Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:9). The heart is the site of wisdom, discernment, and skill (Exod. 35:34; 36:2; 1Kings 3:9; 10:24). The heart is the place of memory (Deut. 4:9; Ps. 119:11). The heart plays the role of conscience (2Sam. 24:10; 1John 3:2021).
It is often worth the effort to substitute “mind” for “heart” when reading the Bible in order to grasp the mental dimension. For example, after telling the Israelites to love God with all their heart, Moses says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts” (Deut. 6:6). Reading it instead as “be on your mind” changes our perspective, and in this case the idiom “on your mind” is clearer and more accurate. The following verses instruct parents to talk to their children throughout the day about God’s words. In order for parents to do this, God’s requirements and deeds need to be constantly on their minds, out of their love for him. Similarly, love for God and loyalty are expressed by meditation on and determination to obey his law (Ps. 119:11, 112). The law is not merely a list of rules; it is also a repository of a worldview in which the Lord is the only God. To live consistently with this truth requires careful, reflective thought.
Emotions and attitude. The heart, as the seat of emotion, is associated with a number of feelings and sentiments, such as gladness (Exod. 4:14; Acts 2:26), hatred (Lev. 19:17), pride (Deut. 8:14), resentment (Deut. 15:10), dread (Deut. 28:67), sympathy (Judg. 5:9), love (Judg. 16:15), sadness (1Sam. 1:8; John 16:6), and jealousy and ambition (James 3:14). The heart is also the frame of reference for attitudes such as willingness, courage, and desire.
In the OT, humility often refers to people of low social status, the disenfranchised, and those who suffer oppression and poverty (e.g., Prov. 22:2223; Amos 2:7; Zech. 7:10). Scripture sometimes associates those socially marginalized with the ethical dimension of humility, thus making the social status equivalent to a subjective spiritual quality (Pss. 22:26; 37:11–17; 146:7–9; Zeph. 3:11–13). Social humiliation, however, does not necessarily lead to humility as a virtue. In a number of instances in the OT, the two remain distinct. In its subjective quality, humility involves submission to one in authority, usually to God (Exod. 10:3; Deut. 8:2–3, 16; Ps. 119:67, 71, 75). On some occasions humility is related to the act of repentance before God (e.g., Zeph. 2:1–3). When paired with “fear of the Lord,” humility implies a person who lives in a posture of pious submission before God (Prov. 15:31–33; 22:4).
Such is the case with Moses, whom the writer of Numbers describes in the following way: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). Moses’ humility in this situation is displayed in his intimate relationship with, and by his submissive attitude toward, the sovereign God (12:4–9).
In the NT, Christians take Christ as their model of humility (Matt. 11:29; Phil. 2:6–11). The NT writers also call on Christians to humble themselves before God (James 4:10; 1Pet. 5:5–6) as well as others, including their enemies (Rom. 12:14–21; Phil. 2:3).
Sin enters the biblical story in Gen. 3. Despite God’s commandment to the contrary (2:1617), Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the prompting of the serpent. When Adam joined Eve in eating the fruit, their rebellion was complete. They attempted to cover their guilt and shame, but the fig leaves were inadequate. God confronted them and was unimpressed with their attempts to shift the blame. Judgment fell heavily on the serpent, Eve, and Adam; even creation itself was affected (3:17–18).
In the midst of judgment, God made it clear in two specific ways that sin did not have the last word. First, God cryptically promised to put hostility between the offspring of the serpent and that of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Although the serpent would inflict a severe blow upon the offspring of the woman, the offspring of the woman would defeat the serpent. Second, God replaced the inadequate covering of the fig leaves with animal skins (3:21). The implication is that the death of the animal functioned as a substitute for Adam and Eve, covering their sin.
In one sense, the rest of the OT hangs on this question: How will a holy God satisfy his wrath against human sin and restore his relationship with human beings without compromising his justice? The short answer is: through Abraham and his offspring (Gen. 12:1–3), who eventually multiplied into the nation of Israel. After God redeemed them from their slavery in Egypt (Exod. 1–15), he brought them to Sinai to make a covenant with them that was predicated on obedience (19:5–6). A central component of this covenant was the sacrificial system (e.g., Lev. 1–7), which God provided as a means of dealing with sin. In addition to the regular sacrifices made for sin throughout the year, God set apart one day a year to atone for Israel’s sins (Lev. 16). On this Day of Atonement the high priest took the blood of a goat into the holy of holies and sprinkled it on the mercy seat as a sin offering. Afterward he took a second goat and confessed “all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness.... The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness” (Lev. 16:21–22 NRSV). In order for the holy God to dwell with sinful people, extensive provisions had to be made to enable fellowship.
During the next four hundred years of prophetic silence, the longing for God to finally put away the sins of his people grew. At last, when the conception and birth of Jesus were announced, it was revealed that he would “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). In the days before the public ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist prepared the way for him by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). Whereas both Adam and Israel were disobedient sons of God, Jesus proved to be the obedient Son by his faithfulness to God in the face of temptation (Matt. 2:13–15; 4:1–11; 26:36–46; Luke 3:23–4:13; Rom. 5:12–21; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8–10). He was also the Suffering Servant who gave his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45; cf. Isa. 52:13–53:12). On the cross Jesus experienced the wrath of God that God’s people rightly deserved for their sin. With his justice fully satisfied, God was free to forgive and justify all who are identified with Christ by faith (Rom. 3:21–26). What neither the law nor the blood of bulls and goats could do, Jesus Christ did with his own blood (Rom. 8:3–4; Heb. 9:1–10:18).
After his resurrection and ascension, Jesus’ followers began proclaiming the “good news” (gospel) of what Jesus did and calling to people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). As people began to experience God’s forgiveness, they were so transformed that they forgave those who sinned against them (Matt. 6:12; 18:15–20; Col. 3:13). Although believers continue to struggle with sin in this life (Rom. 8:12–13; Gal. 5:16–25), sin is no longer master over them (Rom. 6:1–23). The Holy Spirit empowers them to fight sin as they long for the new heaven and earth, where there will be no sin, no death, and no curse (Rom. 8:12–30; Rev. 21–22).
As even this very brief survey of the biblical story line from Genesis to Revelation shows, sin is a fundamental aspect of the Bible’s plot. Sin generates the conflict that drives the biblical narrative; it is the fundamental “problem” that must be solved in order for God’s purposes in creation to be completed.
“Salvation” is the broadest term used to refer to God’s actions to solve the plight brought about by humankind’s sinful rebellion and its consequences. It is one of the central themes of the entire Bible, running from Genesis through Revelation.
In many places in the OT, salvation refers to being rescued from physical rather than spiritual trouble. Fearing the possibility of retribution from his brother Esau, Jacob prays, “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau” (Gen. 32:11). The actions of Joseph in Egypt saved many from famine (45:57; 47:25; 50:20). Frequently in the psalms, individuals pray for salvation from enemies that threaten one’s safety or life (Pss. 17:14; 18:3; 70:1–3; 71:1–4; 91:1–3).
Related to this usage are places where the nation of Israel and/or its king were saved from enemies. The defining example of this is the exodus, whereby God delivered his people from their enslavement to the Egyptians, culminating in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army (Exod. 14:1–23). From that point forward in the history of Israel, God repeatedly saved Israel from its enemies, whether through a judge (e.g., Judg. 2:16; 3:9), a king (2Kings 14:27), or even a shepherd boy (1Sam. 17:1–58).
But these examples of national deliverance had a profound spiritual component as well. God did not save his people from physical danger as an end in itself; it was the necessary means for his plan to save them from their sins. The OT recognizes the need for salvation from sin (Pss. 39:8; 51:14; 120:2) but, as the NT makes evident, does not provide a final solution (Heb. 9:1–10:18). One of the clearest places that physical and spiritual salvation come together is Isa. 40–55, where Judah’s exile from the land and prophesied return are seen as the physical manifestation of the much more fundamental spiritual exile that resulted from sin. To address that far greater reality, God announces the day when the Suffering Servant would once and for all take away the sins of his people (Isa. 52:13–53:12).
As in the OT, the NT has places where salvation refers to being rescued from physical difficulty. Paul, for example, speaks of being saved from various physical dangers, including execution (2Cor. 1:8–10; Phil. 1:19; 2Tim. 4:17). In the midst of a fierce storm, Jesus’ disciples cry out, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (Matt. 8:25). But far more prominent are the places in the Gospels and Acts where physical healings are described with the verb sōzō, used to speak of salvation from sin. The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25–34), the blind man along the road (Luke 18:35–43), and even the man possessed by a demon (Luke 8:26–39), just to name a few, are described with the verb sōzō. The same verb, however, is also used to refer to Jesus forgiving someone’s sins (Luke 7:36–50) and to his mission to save the lost from their sins (Luke 19:10). Such overlap is a foretaste of the holistic salvation (physical and spiritual) that will be completed in the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21–22). The NT Epistles give extensive descriptions of how the work of Jesus Christ saves his people from their sins.
In the OT, wisdom is a characteristic of someone who attains a high degree of knowledge, technical skill, and experience in a particular domain. It refers to the ability that certain individuals have to use good judgment in running the affairs of state (Joseph in Gen. 41:33; David in 2Sam. 14:20; Solomon in 1Kings 3:9, 12, 28). It can also refer to the navigational skills that sailors use in maneuvering a ship through difficult waters (Ps. 107:27). Furthermore, wisdom includes the particular skills of an artisan (Exod. 31:6; 35:35; 1Chron. 22:15 16). In all these cases, wisdom involves the expertise that a person acquires to accomplish a particular task. In these instances “wisdom” is an ethically neutral term, or at least that dimension is not emphasized. The wise are those who have mastered a certain skill set in their field of expertise.
The uniqueness of the OT wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) is that it highlights the moral dimension of wisdom. Here “wisdom” refers to developing expertise in negotiating the complexities of life and managing those complexities in a morally responsible way that honors God and benefits both the community and the individual. Although it is difficult to pin down a concise definition, one can gain a better understanding of wisdom by investigating two important dimensions: wisdom as a worldview, and the traits of a person who is considered to be wise.
Who is wise? First, the wise are those involved in a lifelong process of character development. They manifest the virtues of righteousness, justice, and equity (Prov. 1:3; 2:9). The embodiment of these virtues culminates in the description of the woman of noble character at the conclusion of Proverbs (31:10–31). She exhibits self-control, patience, care, diligence, discipline, humility, generosity, honesty, and fear of the Lord (cf. James 3:13–18). She is the epitome of wisdom in its maturity and the model that all should emulate.
Second, the wise know the value of words and how to use them. They know when to speak, what to say, and how to say it (Job 29:21–22; Prov. 15:23; 25:11; Eccles. 3:7; 12:9–10). Wisdom and the wise place a premium on the power of words.
Third, the wise place great importance on relationships and on interaction with others. The wise person is the one who is open to the give-and-take of relationships (Prov. 27:5–6, 17, 19). Such a person develops the humility necessary to receive correction and criticism from others. Hearing criticism and changing wrong behavior are integral to wisdom (3:1–11). The wise appreciate insightful criticism because it helps them live life more productively (15:12). Wisdom is, ultimately, relational.
Fourth, the wise person develops the art of discernment (Prov. 1:2, 4–6). The sage is equipped with the ability to think critically. The very quality of wisdom itself invites the re-forming and rethinking of ideas. Sages are not interested in pat answers (26:4–5). Proverbs 16:1–9 throws a wrench in the conventional cogs of wisdom, claiming that although humans make their plans, God has the final say. Both Job and Ecclesiastes go head to head with conventional beliefs, probing more deeply into the complexities of life and the relationship between human and divine. No easy answers exist here. In contrast, fools do not use their mental faculties. They view wisdom as a commodity, a matter of learning some techniques, accepting certain beliefs, and memorizing a few proverbs (17:16). The wise, however, know that wisdom involves the art of critical thinking and interacting with others.
Fifth, and most fundamental, the wise person takes a God-centered focus toward life. Wisdom literature affirms, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Eccles. 12:13). That this is the beginning step in the process of gaining wisdom means that one who misses this step can proceed no further along the path to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is to wisdom as the letters of the alphabet are to forming words. The wise gain wisdom by being in relationship with the Lord (Prov. 3:5–8). The fear of the Lord is the beginning as well as the culmination of wisdom.
Wisdom is a highly prized quality, superior to might and power (Prov. 25:15; Eccles. 9:13–16), and one must diligently seek it (Prov. 2:1–5). Yet in the end, wisdom is a gift that only God can give (Prov. 2:6–8; 1Kings 3:9).
The English term “witness” occurs in both Testaments numerous times, with a wide range of meanings. One common meaning relates to someone who gives legal testimony and to the legitimacy of that testimony (Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:1516, 18; Prov. 12:17; Isa. 8:16, 20). Throughout the NT the term occurs primarily in the context of someone bearing witness—especially God—or testifying to something (Rom. 1:9; 2Cor. 1:23; Phil. 1:8; 1Thess. 2:5, 10), though it also has a forensic dimension in regard to one who establishes legal testimony (e.g., Acts 6:13; 7:58; 2Cor. 13:1; 1Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28).
Central to the concept of witness is the truthfulness of the witness. This was a vital component of the OT concept of witness. Thus, in legal proceedings a lone witness was insufficient to establish testimony against anyone (Deut. 17:6). This principle carries over into the NT (cf. Matt. 18:16; 2Cor. 13:1). Such truthfulness was so significant that the ninth commandment expressly forbids bearing false witness (Exod. 20:16; Deut. 5:20; cf. Prov. 19:5, 9).
Truth-telling was not something that the people of Israel were called to merely among themselves. They were to be God’s witnesses to the nations (Isa. 43:10; 44:8). As witnesses of God’s existence and holiness, they were called to be separate from the nations (Exod. 19:6) and to be a light to them (Isa. 49:6). Tragically, Israel failed in this responsibility and was deemed “blind” (Isa. 42:19).
The NT continues the concept that the people of God are to be God’s witnesses. John the Baptist is commissioned “to testify concerning that light” (John 1:7). It is in this context that Jesus later declares himself to be “the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). Jesus himself is the exemplar of a “faithful witness” (Rev. 1:5). And his followers, whom he has designated as “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14), are then called to bear witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
“Witness” is also employed in terms of a legal testimony regarding what one has seen. That the disciples were intent on establishing such legal testimony is evident in their stipulation that the person to replace Judas Iscariot be someone from among those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to his ascension, so that “one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22). This forensic aspect of witness appears in the close of the Gospel of John: “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true” (21:24). Paul demonstrates this forensic concern for witnesses when he references Peter, the Twelve, some five hundred others, and himself as among those who have witnessed the resurrection (1Cor. 15:3–8).
Throughout Revelation there resides a direct link between Christians bearing witness and suffering, and perhaps dying, as a consequence of this witness. This is evident in the mention of Antipas, who was martyred, and is then designated as “my faithful witness” (Rev. 2:13). Also, the two unnamed witnesses in 11:1–12, who explicitly function as witnesses, are the subject of attack and are eventually murdered. Their murder occurs only after they have finished “their testimony” (11:7).
It is this association of persecution and martyrdom that likely leads to the second-century employment of “martyr” as a designation for those who bear witness to Christ to the point of death.
Direct Matches
Over 350 species of birds have been recorded in the land ofmodern-day Israel. The OT employs thirty-five different words forbirds (both wild and domestic), but the identification of these wordswith known species has proved to be very difficult. Like other wordsfor animals, terminology for birds often is employed in personalnames (e.g., Jonah, Oreb, Zippor, Zipporah). There is significantevidence for fowling practices in ancient Israel, usually by means ofnets and snares (Pss. 124:7; 140:5; Prov. 6:5; 7:23; Lam. 3:52; Hos.7:12; Amos 3:5). Small birds and chickens are occasionally evendepicted on Iron Age II (1000–586 BC) seals and vesselsfrom sites such as el-Jib (Gibeon) and Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah).
Likeother animals in the Bible, birds are depicted as agents of God.Divine agency is especially evident in instances such as the ravensfeeding Elijah (1 Kings 17:4–6) and the dove bringing anolive leaf to Noah (Gen. 8:11). The Bible also employs bird-relatedimagery such as in descriptions of divine judgment (Prov. 30:17; Jer.12:9). Birds may also serve as ominous signs of impending judgment(Hos. 8:1). God’s “wings” can offer both healing(Mal. 4:2 KJV, RSV) and protection (Ruth 2:12; Pss. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1;61:4; 63:7; 91:4). The metaphor of the soul or spirit as a bird isreferenced in the description of the Holy Spirit descending like adove (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). The observationthat birds “do not sow or reap” is employed as an imageof worry-free living (Luke 12:24; cf. Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9). Jesus’reference to “when the rooster crows” (Mark 13:35) is notstrictly literal but rather refers to a watch of the night: thequarter of the night after midnight.
Theprominence of sacrificial birds (especially doves and pigeons) inritual literature indicates that they were likely raised for suchpurposes in ancient Israel. All birds could be eaten except thoselisted as unclean in Lev. 11:13–19 (twenty species) and Deut.14:12–18 (twenty-one species). Generally speaking, birds ofprey and those that feed on carrion or fish were considered unclean.Birds often served as food for the poor (Matt. 10:29–31; Luke12:6–7). Poor people could offer birds as a substitute forexpensive livestock (Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21–22; cf. Luke 2:24),while the poorest of the poor were permitted to bring grain (Lev.5:11). Finally, in one purgation ritual a live bird is used to carryaway impurities (Lev. 14:52–53; cf. 16:22).
The organ of visual perception. The eye is the lamp of the body, so that someone who has a sound or healthy eye can experience light, but someone with a deficient eye experiences only darkness (Matt. 6:22–23). Bright eyes signify alertness and good health (1Sam. 14:27–29; Ps. 38:10), whereas dim eyes signify poor vision, often from old age (Gen. 27:1; 48:10; 1Sam. 3:2). Blindness may be cured by opening the eyes (Isa. 35:5; John 9:14), although Paul was blind even with his eyes open (Acts 9:8). To lift or raise the eyes is to take a look around or look toward something (Gen. 13:10; 18:2; John 11:41). To turn the eyes from something is to no longer look at it (Ps. 119:37; Song 6:5; Isa. 22:4). Something hidden from the eyes is unknown (Num. 5:13; Job 28:21; Luke 19:42), but hiding the eyes from something is to ignore it (Isa. 1:15; Ezek. 22:26; cf. Lev. 20:4). The expression “before the eyes” signifies that an event has taken place in the presence of others, and they have witnessedit.
The eye is an important part of the body (1Cor. 12:16–21). A defective eye disqualified a priest from certain duties (Lev. 21:17–20). A conquering army often gouged out the eyes of the defeated enemy (Judg. 16:21; 2Kings 25:7), rendering them ineffective in battle (1Sam. 11:2). Destroying Israel’s eyes is the first among many punishments listed for breaking God’s covenant (Lev. 26:16). Paul testifies that the Galatians cared enough for him even to pluck out their eyes in order to give them to him (Gal. 4:15). The importance of the eye highlights the importance of Jesus’ demand to pluck it out if it causes one to stumble (Matt. 5:29; 18:9).
Perception and enlightenment. Opening eyes is a theme that runs through both Testaments. At times, opening the eyes simply refers to making one aware of previously unknown information. It may be in this sense that the eyes of Adam and Eve are opened, since they become aware of their nakedness (Gen. 3:7). This same kind of opening occurs when God reveals a well to Hagar (Gen. 21:19), when Balaam sees the angel of the Lord standing in his way (Num. 22:31), and when the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Jesus (Luke 24:31). This sense is extended into the spiritual realm, so that the eye is used figuratively as the principal organ of spiritual perception. To open or enlighten the eyes in this sense involves one of the following: (1)allowing one to understand spiritual truth in the law of God (Ps. 119:18), prophetic utterance (Num. 24:3), or by the Spirit of God (Eph. 1:18); or (2)leading someone to repentance and conversion (Acts 26:18). These spiritual eyes may also be blinded or closed, hindering the person from repenting (Isa. 6:10; Matt. 13:13; cf. 2Cor. 4:4).
The eye not only allows one to perceive the world but also helps others perceive the person. David has beautiful eyes, highlighting his handsome appearance (1Sam. 16:12). Leah has weak eyes, a characteristic that is contrasted to the beautiful appearance of her sister, Rachel (Gen. 29:17). A bountiful eye reveals a generous spirit (Prov. 22:9). Haughty eyes reveal arrogance (Ps. 18:27; Prov. 6:17), as do eyes that are exalted (Ps. 131:1; Prov. 30:13). Eyes may reveal one’s pity for another (Ezek. 16:5), but in the administration of justice, the eye is not allowed to pity or spare, meaning that the law will be executed to its fullest extent (Deut. 7:16; Ezek. 5:11). The eye that mocks a father or a mother reveals a person who holds them in contempt (Prov. 30:17).
Direction and evaluation. The eye also serves as a symbol for direction, care, and vast knowledge. Since the eye allows one to see, it helps set the proper course forward, physically (Num. 10:31) or spiritually (1John 2:11). The fact that God’s eyes are always upon the land of Israel demonstrates his care for it (Deut. 11:12). Likewise, his eyes are always upon the righteous, ready to help them (Ps. 34:15). Especially in apocalyptic literature, the many eyes of the living creatures are symbols of God’s omniscience (Ezek. 1:18; Rev. 4:6), while the eyes of God in general are symbols of his awareness (1Kings 9:3; Jer. 32:19; Amos 9:8; Heb. 4:13).
Finally, the eyes are associated with evaluation. The eyes of God often represent his favor or disfavor (Gen. 6:8; Deut. 21:9; 2Kings 10:30). Those who evaluate themselves in their own eyes are often led astray because the eyes can lead to sinful lust (Num. 15:39; Deut. 12:8; Judg. 17:6; Prov. 3:7; 1John 2:16).
A hunter of wild fowl or game birds. The Hebrew term yaqoshis ambiguous and can also refer to a person who hunts other animals.In biblical times, birds and larger game were hunted with traps orsnares, as in Ps. 91:3: “Surely he will save you from thefowler’s snare.” In this passage and others the biblicalprotagonist is represented as the bird, and the biblical antagonistas the fowler (Ps. 124:7; Prov. 6:5). Jeremiah 5:26 characterizes thewicked of Judah as fowlers, and Hos. 9:8 likens hostility to God’sprophet to the use of a fowler’s snare.
The harvest was a major event on the yearly calendar ofIsrael’s agrarian society (Lev. 25:11; Judg. 15:1; Ruth 1:22;2Sam. 21:9–10). Life was dependent on the harvest. As aresult, God set certain rules with respect to the harvest to help theIsraelites keep proper priorities. Every seven years and everyfiftieth year, the people were to give the land a rest (Exod. 23:10;Lev. 25:20–22). The people were to rest on the Sabbath, evenduring the harvesttime (Exod. 34:21). Some portions of crops were tobe left in the field so that the poor might have food (Lev. 19:9;23:22; Deut. 24:21). The people were to acknowledge God as the sourceof the harvest by offering the first of the produce (Lev. 23:10).Celebrating the harvest was commanded (Exod. 23:16; Deut. 16:15; Isa.9:3). Planning for the harvest was a mark of wisdom (Prov. 6:8; 10:5;20:4). Even as a good harvest was the blessing of God (Ps. 67:6; Isa.62:9), so a bad harvest was a curse from God and the plight of a fool(1Sam. 12:17; Job 5:5; Prov. 26:1; Isa. 18:4–5; Jer.8:13, 20; Joel 3:12; Mic. 6:15). Failure to acknowledge God for theharvest was a sin (Jer. 5:24).
Theharvest is often used in Scripture as an analogy. The prophets talkabout the negative harvest of idolatry (Isa. 17:11). Israel is calledthe firstfruits of God’s harvest (Jer. 2:3). Hosea uses theidea of harvest to indicate that God’s people have a future(Hos. 6:11). In the Gospels, the harvest is used as an analogy forthose needing to hear the good news (Matt. 9:37–38), for theend times (Matt. 13:24–30; Rev. 14:15), and for a lesson aboutunfaithful leadership (Matt. 21:33–46; 25:24). In the remainderof the NT, the harvest analogy usually refers to Christian growth andsalvation (Rom. 1:13; 1Cor. 9:10–11; 2Cor. 9:10;Gal. 6:9; Heb. 12:11; James 3:18).
A feeling of animosity, a disposition toward hostility,rejection, or negative favoritism.
Hateis as old as the conflict between Cain and Abel or as the rebellionof Satan. Many stories involve hatred and animosity between people(e.g., Gen. 37:4; 2Sam. 13:22). Beside humans hating eachother, people hate God and that which is morally upright (Exod. 20:5;Deut. 5:9; 7:10; 32:41; Pss. 68:1; 81:15; 120:6). It is correct,however, to hate sin (Pss. 97:10; 101:3; Prov. 8:13), as God does(Ps. 5:6; Prov. 6:16–19; Isa. 61:8; Rev. 2:6), though he takesno pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23; 33:11). The twogreat commandments oppose the tendency to hate by calling us to loveGod wholly and love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5;10:12; Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:33; Luke 10:27). The reverse is alsocommanded: we should not hate our neighbor (Lev. 19:17) nor even hateour enemy, but rather do good and pray for our enemy (Exod. 23:4–5;Prov. 25:21; Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27; cf. Deut. 10:19). Hateful actionsare not necessarily motivated by hateful feelings, as a father whodoes not give needed punishment to his son is said to treat him withhatred (Prov. 13:24).
Withregard to a hate crime, the main issue was intent—that is,whether an accident had occurred or whether a murder had beencommitted deliberately, “with malice aforethought” (Num.35:20). Hate was a criterion of intent and had to be established bymultiple witnesses for the two parties involved. Having hate did notgarner greater punishment or make it a worse crime; hatred signifiedthat it was a crime because it was intentional (Deut. 4:42; 19:4, 6,11; Josh. 20:5).
Withregard to marriage, in a polygamous marriage there was a danger ofpreferential treatment: a loved wife and a hated wife. The lawforbids reducing the care of one wife in favor of another (Exod.21:10) and protects the rights of the firstborn son even if he isborn to the hated wife (Deut. 21:15–17). Hatred may beexpressed by either party withholding conjugal relations. Thisprobably lies behind the description in Gen. 29:31 of Jacob hatingLeah (some translations say “unloved”).
Rejection,favoritism, or preference may be called “hate,” as in thecase of a nonpreferred wife in a polygamous marriage, in not choosingEsau to continue the covenant line (Mal. 1:2–3; Rom. 9:13), orin not having a greater love for Christ than anything else (Matt.6:24; Luke 14:26; John 12:25).
Hunting for food is a postdiluvian activity. In the originalcreation, humankind was allowed to eat only of plant life (Gen.1:29); it was only with the re-creation of the earth that humans wereexplicitly permitted to eat animals: “Everything that lives andmoves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the greenplants, I now give you everything” (9:3). Therefore, it may beconcluded that hunting as a means of survival had no significance forprediluvian humanity.
Nimrodwas “a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said,‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord’ ”(Gen. 10:9). However, for many ancient interpreters, the proverbialsaying was viewed with suspicion and was interpreted negatively asopposition against God (Philo, QG 2.82; L.A.B. 4:7; 6:13; Josephus,Ant. 1.113–14; Tg.Neof. 10:9; Frg.Tg. 10:9;Augustine, Civ. 16.4; Jerome, Qu. hebr. Gen. 10.18). Anothermemorable hunter is Esau, “a skillful hunter, a man of the opencountry” (Gen. 25:27). Before Esau could receive a blessing,his father requested that he go hunt game for him; however, the oldand blind Isaac was tricked into blessing the wrong son (27:1–40).
Inancient times, hunting was not an activity limited to providing foodor acquiring other resources such as materials for clothing. There isevidence of hunting as a royal sport. The Assyrian kings were famoushunters of lions, wild bulls, elephants, and other animals. By theseventh century BC, Assyrian kings hunted in special game reserves.For the Assyrians, the killing of wild beasts such as lionssymbolized the duty of the king as a guardian of civilization. Royalhunting does not appear to have been a practice in Israel, althoughsuch a possibility may not be completely ruled out. The young David’sencounter with lion and bear is cited to some extent forself-exaltation purposes and even more so to portray him as afearless shepherd worthy of shepherding Israel (1Sam.17:34–37).
Huntersused various methods to catch or kill their prey: weapons such asquiver, bow, spear, sling, and club (Gen. 27:3; cf. Isa. 7:24), pitsand various snares and gins (Pss. 35:7; 91:3; 2Sam. 23:20; Isa.24:17; Jer. 48:43; Amos 3:5). Bird hunting was also a commonpractice, and snares often were used to make a catch (Pss. 91:3;124:7; Prov. 1:17; 6:5; Eccles. 9:12; Amos 3:5).
A moment of time (Job 7:19; Prov. 6:15; Isa. 29:5). The KJValso uses “instant” in its archaic sense of “insistent.”Luke 23:23 KJV, for example, reads, “And they were instant withloud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices ofthem and of the chief priests prevailed.” Similarly, in Rom.12:12 KJV Paul encourages the Roman believers to be “instant inprayer.”
One who supervises. The term is used in the OT in a generalsense to refer to a supervisor in a secular position (Prov. 6:7). Inthe NT, the term “overseer” (Gk. episkopos) is used inPhil. 1:1; 1Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:7 to describe an officer of thechurch. The overseer is sometimes equated with the pastor and elderpositions in the church, since they share similar responsibilities.See also Offices in the New Testament.
The practice of giving and taking pledges as securities onloans was common in the ancient Near East, including Israel. Onenotable example is that of Judah, who gave the pledge of his seal andcord as well as his staff to Tamar until he could return and pay agoat from his flock (Gen. 38:17–20). Taking a pledge wasacknowledged as an alternative to exacting interest from debtors(Exod. 22:25–26). The poor likely did not have the means to payinterest, and it was illegal to exact it from the poor or from one’skin (Lev. 25:35–38; Deut. 23:19). The giving of a pledgeallowed the poor the opportunity to borrow. The practice was highlyregulated in an attempt to protect the penurious of society. Somethings were not to be taken as pledges because they were necessaryfor life. For example, an upper millstone could not be taken inpledge because of its necessity in food processing (Deut. 24:6). Somegarments were acceptable as a pledge, but the widow’s wasexempt (Deut. 24:12–13, 17), and transgressors of this rulewere condemned by the prophets (Ezek. 18:7, 12; Amos 2:8). To give apledge or to be guarantor of a debt on behalf of someone else was notalways considered wise and might result in loss unless immediateaction was taken (Prov. 6:1–5; 22:26).
In the Bible, “sleep” can refer to natural sleep(Gen. 28:11; Jon. 1:5), moral unawareness (Isa. 29:10; 1Thess.5:6), inattentiveness (Pss. 44:23; 121:4), and even physical death(Ps. 13:3; Dan. 12:2). Commonly the Bible speaks of deceasedChristians as having “fallen asleep” (Acts 7:60; 1Thess.4:13–15). Proverbs warns readers strongly against indulging intoo much sleep (Prov. 6:4–10; 19:15; 20:13; 24:33–34).
A device used to trap small birds and animals (Prov. 6:5;7:23; Eccles. 9:12; Ezek. 12:13; 17:20; Amos 3:5). “To ensnare”means to catch or trap by secretive or deceitful means. Israel isfrequently warned that foreign gods and idols will be snares to it,thus distracting it from undivided worship of Yahweh (Exod. 23:33;34:12; Deut. 7:16; Judg. 2:3; 8:27; Ps. 106:36). A snare is a commonimage in Scripture implying anything of ill purpose or unwisepractice (Exod. 10:7; 1Sam. 18:21; Job 18:9; Pss. 25:15; 69:22;91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:5; 142:3; Prov. 18:7; 21:6; 29:25; Eccles.7:26; Isa. 8:14; 24:17–18; Jer. 5:26; 48:43–44; Hos. 5:1;Rom. 11:9).
The practice of a borrower putting up collateral to guaranteethe repayment of a loan. The practice served the purpose ofprotecting a creditor against a debtor’s inability to pay. Aborrower who does not have the collateral or is not sufficientlysolvent may call on a generous friend to act as surety (Prov. 6:1–5).
Understanding many aspects of education in Israel during OT times and, to a lesser extent, into the NT period is extraordinarily difficult. Many studies draw quite specific conclusions based on very slender evidence and inferences drawn from supposed parallels with neighboring societies, inferences themselves beset by uncertainties. Therefore, conclusions are necessarily tentative at many points. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect that things did not remain constant through history, and that what can be reliably discerned for one period may not accurately reflect the situation in other times.
Education encompasses several areas of life in the biblical world. Aside from academic education (relating to literacy and numeracy), there was moral and religious education, military education, and vocational training. These are not all distinct; those whose vocation lay in diplomatic circles or within the royal court as scribes would have received academic education, while those living in the country and working a farm would have had little opportunity to access such knowledge.
Old Testament
Settings for education. There were three primary arenas of education in OT times: home, school, and temple.
Home. The most important setting for education in OT times was the home (Deut. 4:9; 6:7; 11:19). Both parents were expected to play a role in a child’s education (Prov. 1:8; 6:20; 23:22; 31:1). Sons generally were trained in their father’s vocation, and such training took the form of an apprenticeship (1Sam. 16:11; 2Kings 4:18); girls learned from their mothers as they undertook their work on a daily basis (Exod. 35:25–26; 2Sam. 13:8).
In part, the extent of home education is tied to the question of the extent of formal schooling in ancient Israel. As noted below, the nature and extent of schools is unclear, and if (as the evidence seems to suggest) schools were virtually nonexistent outside the royal court, then the home ultimately would have been the locus of any academic education received by children and the source of any widespread literacy and numeracy in the community. The frequent use of father/son language in Proverbs, however, need not imply an exclusively familial context for the instruction contained therein, as there is evidence from Egypt that such language was used between teacher and student.
School. The existence, nature, and extent of schools in OT times is extensively debated and ultimately uncertain. The first explicit reference to a school is found in the second century BC in Sir. 51:23. The virtual silence of the OT on the topic may reflect either that schools were absent in ancient Israel or that their existence was somehow of little interest and so warranted little reflection by biblical authors. In any case, it is likely that some form of school for scribes and those training to work in government existed in the vicinity of the royal court, as they did in Mesopotamia and Egypt. These did not form a comprehensive national schooling system for young children but were more specifically targeted to the few individuals who aimed to become scribes or advisers.
Outside the Bible there exist a number of inscriptions that could suggest the existence of schools in Israel prior to the exile. These include abecedaries (lists of the letters of the alphabet written out, usually as practice exercises or as examples), words written out several times, lists of month names, and possible exercises in reading foreign languages, among others.
There is also extensive evidence of schools in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and probably also Ugarit from an early date (cf. Acts 7:22). Whether their existence supports the existence of schools in Israel is unclear. Egypt and Mesopotamia had large and complex bureaucracies necessary to administer their kingdoms, and they employed writing systems far more difficult to master than Hebrew. In addition, mathematical texts reflect a concern with numeracy within the schools of these kingdoms, for which there is no clear evidence in ancient Israel.
The sages and scribes appear to be the primary source for the material supposedly employed in schools. Ecclesiastes 12:9 identifies one of the tasks of the sages as teaching the people, and some claim that Proverbs functioned as a textbook within a school setting. Indeed, Prov. 4:5; 17:16 speak of the “buying” (Heb. qanah) of knowledge, interpreted by some as a reference to teachers paid for providing tuition. Again, the context in which such tuition may have taken place is uncertain.
Temple. Priests were also involved in some teaching (1Sam. 2:21, 26). According to 2Chron. 17:7–9, King Jehoshaphat sent five officials, nine Levites, and two priests to teach the people of Judah from the Book of the Law, a point that stresses both the importance of the task and the probable failure of the home setting to adequately convey this instruction, at least by the late fifth century BC.
Types of education. In OT times four types of education can be discerned: moral and religious, academic, vocational, and military.
Moral and religious education. The Bible stresses the importance of moral and religious education above all other forms (Exod. 10:2; 12:26; 13:8; Deut. 4:9; 6:7, 20–21; 32:7, 46).
Academic education. The extent of literacy and numeracy in ancient Israel is difficult to ascertain. Rudimentary numeracy almost certainly was widespread and learned within the home and in the course of vocational training when necessary. Many among the population also appear to have been at least capable of reading and writing names or other simple texts (Deut. 6:9; 11:20; Judg. 8:14).
Vocational training. Most commonly, boys followed in their father’s vocation and thus learned through observation and participation. Under some circ*mstances, however, children served apprenticeships under the tutelage of others, such as was apparently the case for prophetic schools (2Kings 2:7; 4:38; 6:1–2; Amos 7:14–15).
Military training. There are clear indications that kings recruited mercenaries to form the most important part of their army (e.g., 1Sam. 22:2; 25:13). These mercenaries were paid and likely had received some formal training, but the nature of that training is nowhere explained. In addition to these elite forces, all able-bodied men apparently were considered eligible for military service when the need arose (2Chron. 25:5). So, for example, the elite troops were responsible for staging the attack (2Sam. 11:14–17; 12:26), while the remainder of the army served as reinforcements where necessary (2Sam. 12:29). The use of chariots (under David and Solomon) would have required some training, as would the wielding of various weapons (swords, spears, bows, and slings). Ultimately, however, there are only allusions to such training (e.g., Judg. 3:2; 2Sam. 22:35).
Educational methods. Throughout the ancient Near East there is evidence that corporal punishment played a significant role in education. There is a somewhat comical text from Mesopotamia that relates a day in the life of a student who receives physical punishment for virtually everything he does. Similarly, the book of Proverbs highlights the importance of discipline in raising and training children (e.g., 13:24; 22:15; 29:15, 17). Nonetheless, Proverbs uses “the rod” as a means to signify discipline as a whole without necessarily endorsing corporal punishment as the only or even the primary means of discipline. This is apparent because Proverbs contrasts the rod not with other, lesser forms of discipline but rather with no discipline at all. Thus, although there is evidence that corporal punishment was used extensively (and probably excessively [see Sir. 30]), Proverbs endorses a more nuanced approach to disciplining children.
Academic, religious, and moral education also involved the use of various techniques that facilitated learning. These included the use of poetry or poetic couplets (common in wisdom literature and in psalms), numerical sayings (e.g., Ps. 62:11; Prov. 6:16), and acrostics, as well as the celebration of feasts and memorials at various times throughout the year.
New Testament
Greco-Roman education. Greek education developed from about the fourth century BC and spread throughout the Mediterranean region, adopted with minor modification by the Romans. The curriculum was dominated by sports and a focus on literacy, with little place given to religious education (although philosophy was taught and did bear some religious traits). Education in the Greco-Roman world was expensive, and its provision was a parental responsibility, which tended to restrict formal education to the elite.
At about the age of fifteen, boys could move from elementary schooling to the gymnasium, where they received intellectual and physical training. Some in the Corinthian church may have received such an education, a possibility raised by Paul’s terminology in 1Corinthians that reflects educational language: his claim to be father of the Corinthian household (4:14–21); sporting imagery (esp. 9:24–27); language of nursing and nature (3:1–4); agricultural imagery (3:5–9); his threat to come with a rod (4:21), which could be related to the rod of correction; the term grammateus (1:20), which may refer to the gymnasium instructor; reference to writing (4:6); and talk of removing the marks of circumcision (7:18).
Education in Israel. One Jewish tradition states that in AD 63 the high priest Joshua benGamla decreed that every town should appoint a schoolteacher for the education of children of six or seven years of age. This, together with the existence of Sirach’s school more than two centuries earlier, indicates that some form of schooling existed within Israel in the first century AD.
Although some Jews throughout the ancient world received a standard Hellenistic education, others reacted against the influence of Hellenism and sought to educate their children within the Scriptures and Jewish tradition. The DSS refer to the importance placed on study of the Torah (1QS 6:6–7). There were also rabbinic schools that focused on such teaching.
By NT times, synagogues were well established. Although determining precisely what took place within the synagogues is difficult, indications are that the focus on Scripture and its exposition played an important role in teaching both its importance and the appropriate way to interpret it. Teaching, however, was not confined to synagogues or the temple, as is amply demonstrated by the frequency with which Jesus is described as teaching in a variety of settings. Nonetheless, the temple itself did appear to serve as a center for religious education, as is reflected in the account of the twelve-year-old Jesus’ interactions with the teachers at the temple (Luke 2:41–51). Jesus’ own teaching was remarkable, however, in that it was delivered with authority (Matt. 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32).
Education in the church. Paul highlights one of the prerequisites for being an overseer of a church as the ability to teach, stressing the importance of the NT church as a place of learning (1Tim. 3:2; 2Tim. 2:2, 24). This teaching involved a familiarity with right doctrine in order to avoid being led astray, an exemplary life that modeled godly behavior for all to see, and the maturity required to apply discipline when necessary.
In the OT, wisdom (khokmah) is a characteristic of someonewho attains a high degree of knowledge, technical skill, andexperience in a particular domain. It refers to the ability thatcertain individuals have to use good judgment in running the affairsof state (Joseph in Gen. 41:33; David in 2Sam. 14:20; Solomonin 1Kings 3:9, 12, 28). It can also refer to the navigationalskills that sailors use in maneuvering a ship through difficultwaters (Ps. 107:27). Furthermore, wisdom includes the particularskills of an artisan (Exod. 31:6; 35:35; 1Chron. 22:15–16).In all these cases, wisdom involves the expertise that a personacquires to accomplish a particular task. In these instances “wisdom”is an ethically neutral term, or at least that dimension is notemphasized. The wise are those who have mastered a certain skill setin their field of expertise.
Theuniqueness of the OT wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,etc.) is that it highlights the moral dimension of wisdom. Here“wisdom” refers to developing expertise in negotiatingthe complexities of life and managing those complexities in a morallyresponsible way that honors God and benefits both the community andthe individual. Although it is difficult to pin down a concisedefinition, one can gain a better understanding of wisdom byinvestigating two important dimensions: wisdom as a worldview, andthe traits of a person who is considered to be wise.
Wisdomas Worldview
Wisdomdescribes a worldview, a particular way of perceiving God, humanity,and creation. The God of the sages is sovereign Lord. But theirunderstanding of sovereignty manifests itself differently from theway the Torah and the prophets describe it. All through the OT Israelfrequently witnessed God at work through mighty acts of deliveranceand conquest and protection. God orchestrated these monumental savingacts. Wisdom, however, looks at God’s sovereignty differently.It makes few references to the mighty acts of God.
Forthe sage of Ecclesiastes, the world is the arena of God’smystery. God is active in creation and in the world, but his ways areinscrutable (3:11; 6:10–12; 7:13–14). God is distant(5:2), but he spans this distance when humans receive and enjoy theordinary gifts of friendship, food, family that he gives to sustainlife (2:24–26; 3:12–13; 5:18–20; 9:7–10).
Forthe sage of Proverbs, God is present in the daily routines of life.God is involved in the interactions that take place between people(15:22; 27:5–6, 9–10, 17). God works through both thegood and the bad experiences of life, employs human language to carryout his purposes, and uses material wealth and even poverty in theservice of maturing people.
Inthe very realm where individuals believe that they exercise the mostcontrol—human thoughts and plans—God establishes apresence (Prov. 16:1, 9). Exactly how God does this the sage does notsay; rather, the sage assumes that divine sovereignty and humanactivity exist together in inexplicable ways.
Fromthe view of God to the view of humans, wisdom emphasizes a particularperspective. Wisdom’s worldview of humanity places greatconfidence in what humans can accomplish. Wisdom affirms thatindividuals are capable of making wise choices and displayingresponsible behavior. In so doing, such people will live healthy,prosperous, successful lives (Prov. 9:1; 14:1, 11). Because theyvalue human ability and understanding, the sages use all theresources at their disposal to discover the means of living asuccessful life. They use the sources of the culture around them aswell as their own inner resources.
Oneother dimension to probe in wisdom’s worldview is the importantrole that creation plays. Living in harmony with the order of theuniverse brings longevity, wealth, and good fortune. When individualsintegrate their lives with the order of creation, success results;neglecting that order brings failure. However, the sages sometimesare accused of possessing too mechanical a view of such order: thewise, it is said, believe in a world automatically programmed toprosper the pious and punish the perverse. Such a view perceives theworld as operating on a rigid system of rewards and punishments. Itis true that some wisdom teaching appears to reflect this worldview(Prov. 26:27). However, even though the sages developed plans andstrategies by which to live, they did not believe in a created orderthat operated mechanically. The sages do have an interest indiscovering certain predictable patterns of experiences, but theorder that underlies the experiences of life is not a fate-producingone (21:30–31). The sages wrestle not so much with the conceptof a rigid order as with the person of God. A dialectic existsbetween the predictable order of creation and the free work of God.Wisdom seeks not to master life but to navigate it. The sages guidedthemselves and others through the experiences of life, striving notto dominate but rather to assume responsibility. This is thefundamental worldview of wisdom.
Traitsof the Wise
Whois wise? First, the wise are those involved in a lifelong process ofcharacter development. They manifest the virtues of righteousness,justice, and equity (Prov. 1:3; 2:9). The embodiment of these virtuesculminates in the description of the woman of noble character at theconclusion of Proverbs (31:10–31). She exhibits self-control,patience, care, diligence, discipline, humility, generosity, honesty,and fear of the Lord (cf. James 3:13–18). She is the epitome ofwisdom in its maturity and the model that all should emulate.
Second,the wise know the value of words and how to use them. They know whento speak, what to say, and how to say it (Job 29:21–22; Prov.15:23; 25:11; Eccles. 3:7; 12:9–10). Wisdom and the wise placea premium on the power of words.
Third,the wise place great importance on relationships and on interactionwith others. The wise person is the one who is open to thegive-and-take of relationships (Prov. 27:5–6, 17, 19). Such aperson develops the humility necessary to receive correction andcriticism from others. Hearing criticism and changing wrong behaviorare integral to wisdom (3:1–11). The wise appreciate insightfulcriticism because it helps them live life more productively (15:12).Wisdom is, ultimately, relational.
Fourth,the wise person develops the art of discernment (Prov. 1:2, 4–6).The sage is equipped with the ability to think critically. The veryquality of wisdom itself invites the re-forming and rethinking ofideas. Sages are not interested in pat answers (26:4–5).Proverbs 16:1–9 throws a wrench in the conventional cogs ofwisdom, claiming that although humans make their plans, God has thefinal say. Both Job and Ecclesiastes go head to head withconventional beliefs, probing more deeply into the complexities oflife and the relationship between human and divine. No easy answersexist here. In contrast, fools do not use their mental faculties.They view wisdom as a commodity, a matter of learning sometechniques, accepting certain beliefs, and memorizing a few proverbs(17:16). The wise, however, know that wisdom involves the art ofcritical thinking and interacting with others.
Fifth,and most fundamental, the wise person takes a God-centered focustoward life. Wisdom literature affirms, “The fear of the Lordis the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. Prov. 1:7; Job28:28; Eccles. 12:13). That this is the beginning step in the processof gaining wisdom means that one who misses this step can proceed nofarther along the path to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is to wisdomas the letters of the alphabet are to forming words. The wise gainwisdom by being in relationship with the Lord (Prov. 3:5–8).The fear of the Lord is the beginning as well as the culmination ofwisdom.
Wisdomis a highly prized quality, superior to might and power (Prov. 25:15;Eccles. 9:13–16), and one must diligently seek it (Prov.2:1–5). Yet in the end, wisdom is a gift that only God can give(Prov. 2:6–8; 1Kings 3:9).
Secondary Matches
The following suggestions occured because
Proverbs 6:1-19
is mentioned in the definition.
In the list of clean animals in Deut. 14:5, “antelope”(Heb. te’o) may refer to the Arabian or desert oryx (NET: “wildoryx”). The oryx was eaten as food and offered in sacrifice;bones have been found at both domestic and religious sites. Althoughonly the size of a donkey, it has long, straight horns that it usesferociously in self-defense, and this gave it a reputation forstrength and bravery. Another possibility is the equally fierce waterbuffalo. When Isaiah describes Israel as an antelope lying in a net(Isa. 51:20), this image probably portrays the mighty fallen ratherthan the weak oppressed.
Threeother biblical animals belong to the modern category “antelope”:(1) the dishon (Deut. 14:5), sometimes translated “ibex”(NIV, NRSV) or “pygarg” (KJV [from the Greek for“white-rumped”]), but probably an antelope (NJB), eitherthe “addax” (NAB) or one of the two white-rumped Kobusantelope species known in Israel; (2) the tsebi, a gazelle(Deut. 12:15, 22; 14:5; 15:22; 2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Kings 4:23;1 Chron. 12:8; Prov. 6:5; Song 2:7, 9, 17; 3:5; 4:5; 7:3; 8:14;Isa. 13:14); (3) the yakhmur (NIV: “roe deer,”“roebuck”; NRSV: “roebuck”), possibly theBubal hartebeest (Deut. 14:5; 1 Kings 4:23).
The Bible is full of teeming creatures and swarming things.These creatures, insects, often play significant roles in the storiesand the events described in them. From the first chapter of the Bibleto the very last book, these flying, creeping, hopping, and crawlingthings are prominent.
Termsfor Insects
Insectsare described in the Bible with both general and specific terms. Inthe OT, there are three general terms for insects and twenty termsused to refer to specific types of insects. In the NT, two differenttypes of insects are referenced: gnats and locusts.
Thetwo most common general terms for insects are variously translated.Terms and phrases used to describe them include “livingcreatures” (Gen. 1:20), “creatures that move along theground” (Gen. 1:24–26; 6:7, 20; 7:8, 14, 23; 8:17, 19;Lev. 5:2; Ezek. 38:20; Hos. 2:18), that which “moves”(Gen. 9:3), “swarming things” (Lev. 11:10), “flyinginsects” (Lev. 11:20–21, 23; Deut. 14:19), “creatures”(Lev. 11:43), “crawling things” (Lev. 22:5; Ezek. 8:10),“reptiles” (1Kings 4:33), “teeming creatures”(Ps. 104:25), “small creatures” (Ps. 148:10), and “seacreatures” (Hab. 1:14). The other general term for insects isused with reference to swarms of insects, typically flies (Exod.8:21–22, 24, 29; Pss. 78:45; 105:31). Specific insects named inScripture are listed below.
Ants.Ants are used in Proverbs as an example of and encouragement towardwisdom. In 6:6 ants serve as an example for sluggards to reform theirslothful ways. Also, in 30:25 ants serve as an example of creaturesthat, despite their diminutive size, are wise enough to make advancepreparations for the long winter.
Bees.Beesare used both literally and figuratively in Scripture. Judges 14:8refers to honeybees, the product of which becomes the object ofSamson’s riddle. The other three uses of bees in the OT arefigurative of swarms of enemies against God’s people (Deut.1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18).
Fleas.Fleasare referenced in the OT only by David to indicate his insignificancein comparison with King Saul (1Sam. 24:14; 26:20). The irony ofthe comparison becomes clear with David’s later ascendancy.
Flies.The plague of flies follows that of gnats on Egypt (Exod. 8:20–31).Although the gnats are never said to have left Egypt, the flies areremoved upon Moses’ prayer. In Eccles. 10:1 the stench of deadflies is compared to the impact that folly can have on the wise. InIsa. 7:18 flies represent Egypt being summoned by God as his avengingagents on Judah’s sin. In addition, one of the gods in Ekronwas named “Baal-Zebub,” which means “lord of theflies” (2Kings 1:2–3, 6, 16). The reference toSatan in the NT using a similar name is likely an adaptation of theOT god of Ekron (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15,18–19).
Gnats.Gnats are distinguished from flies in the OT, though the distinctionis not always apparent. Gnats are employed by God in the third plagueon Egypt (Exod. 8:16–19), while flies form the means ofpunishment in the fourth plague. The two are listed together in Ps.105:31 and appear parallel, though the former may be a reference to aswarm. Gnats were also used by Jesus to illustrate the hypocrisy ofthe Pharisees and the scribes (Matt. 23:24).
Hornets.TheBible uses hornets in Scripture as an agent of God’sdestruction. The term occurs three times in the OT. In eachoccurrence these stinging insects refer to God’s expulsion ofthe Canaanites from the land that God promised to his people. Thefirst two times, Exod. 23:28 and Deut. 7:20, hornets are used inreference to a promise of what God will do; the third time, Josh.24:12, they illustrate what God did.
Locusts.Of particular interest is the use of locusts in the Bible. The termor a similar nomenclature occurs close to fifty times in the NIV.Locusts demonstrate a number of characteristics in Scripture. First,they are under God’s control (Exod. 10:13–19). As such,they have no king (Prov. 30:27). They serve God’s purposes.Second, locusts often occur in very large numbers or swarms (Judg.6:5; Jer. 46:23; Nah. 3:15). At times, their numbers can be so largeas to cause darkness in the land (Exod. 10:15). Third, in largenumbers these insects have been known to ravage homes, devour theland, devastate fields, and debark trees (Exod. 10:12–15; Deut.28:38; 1Kings 8:37; 2Chron. 7:13; Pss. 78:46; 105:34;Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4–7). Due to their fierceness, they werecompared to horses (Rev. 9:7). Fourth, locusts hide at night (Nah.3:17). Finally, certain types of locusts were used as food.
Moths.Mothsare referred to seven times in the OT and four times in the NT. Jobuses moths to illustrate the fragility of the unrighteous before God(4:19) and the impermanence of their labors (27:18). The otherreferences to moths in Scripture present them as the consumers of thewealth (garments) and pride of humankind as a means of God’sjudgment (Job 13:28; Ps. 39:11; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hos. 5:12; Matt.6:19–20; Luke 12:33; James 5:2).
Functionsof Insects in Scripture
Asagents in God’s judgment.Insects serve a variety of functions in Scripture. Most notably,insects serve as agents of judgment from God. The OT indicates howinsects were used as judgment on both Israel and their enemies.
Moseswarned of God’s judgment for Israel’s violation of thecovenant. He advised Israel that as a consequence of their sin, theywould expend much labor in the field but harvest little, because thelocusts would consume them (Deut. 28:38).
Solomon,in his prayer of dedication at the temple, beseeched God regardingjudgment that he might send in the form of grasshoppers to besiegethe land. He asked that when the people of God repent and pray, Godwould hear and forgive (2Chron. 6:26–30). God similarlyresponded by promising that when he “command[s] locusts todevour the land” as judgment for sin, and his people humblethemselves and pray, he will heal and forgive (2Chron. 7:13–14;cf. 1Kings 8:37).
Thepsalmist reminded Israel of God’s wonderful works in theirpast, one of which was his use of insects as a means of his judgment(Ps. 78:45–46; cf. 105:34).
Joel1:4 and 2:25 describe God’s judgment on Israel for theirunfaithfulness in successive waves of intensity (cf. Deut. 28:38, 42;2Chron. 6:28; Amos 4:9–10; 7:1–3). The devastationled to crop failure, famine, destruction of vines and fig trees, andgreat mourning. The severity of the judgment is described as beingunlike anything anyone in the community had ever experienced (Joel1:2–3).
Locustsare the subject of one of the visions of the prophet Amos. In thevision, God showed him the destructive power of these insects as ameans of judgment. Upon seeing the vision, the prophet interceded forthe people, and God relented (Amos 7:1–3).
Insectswere also used as judgments on Israel’s enemies. In the plagueson Egypt, insects were the agents of the third, fourth, and eighthplagues. The third plague (Exod. 8:16–19) was gnats.Interestingly, this was the first of Moses’ signs that themagicians of Pharaoh could not reproduce. Their response to theEgyptian king was that this must be the “finger of God.”There is no record of the gnats ever leaving Egypt, unlike the otherplagues.
Thefourth plague was flies (Exod. 8:20–32). Here the Biblespecifically indicates a distinction between the land of Goshen,where the Israelites dwelled, and the rest of the land of Egypt. Theflies covered all of Egypt except Goshen. This plague led toPharaoh’s first offer of compromise. Once Moses prayed and theflies left Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Theeighth plague was in the form of locusts (Exod. 10:1–20). Inresponse to this plague, Pharaoh’s own officials complained tohim, beseeching him to let Israel leave their country lest it beentirely destroyed. The threat of this plague led to Pharaoh’ssecond offer of compromise. Once the locusts began to devastate theland of Egypt, Pharaoh confessed his sin before God, but as soon asthe locusts were removed, his heart again became hardened. Thus,three of the ten plagues on Egypt were in the form of insects.
Atthe end of a series of “woe” passages, the prophet Isaiahproclaimed God’s judgment against the enemies of his peoplebecause of their oppression. In the end, those who plundered willthemselves be plundered, as if by a “swarm of locusts”(Isa. 33:1–4; cf. Jer. 51:14, 27).
Insectswere also used as judgment on people who dwelled in the land ofIsrael prior to Israel’s occupation. Both before and after theevent took place, the Bible describes how God sent hornets to helpdrive out the occupants of the land of Canaan in preparation forIsrael’s arrival. This is described as part of God’sjudgment on these nations for their sins against him (Exod. 23:28;Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12).
Asfood.Insects also are mentioned in Scripture as food. Certain types oflocusts are listed as clean and eligible for consumption. The NTdescribes the diet of John the Baptist, which consisted of locustsand wild honey—a diet entirely dependent on insects (Matt. 3:4;Mark 1:6). The OT also notes Samson enjoying the labor of bees asfood (Judg. 14:8–9).
Usedfiguratively.Most often, insects are used figuratively in Scripture. They are usedin the proverbs of Scripture to illustrate wisdom. The sages wroteabout ants (Prov. 6:6; 30:25), locusts (Prov. 30:27), and even deadflies (Eccles. 10:1) both to extol wisdom and to encourage itsdevelopment in humankind.
Anotherfigurative use of insects is in the riddle about bees and honey posedby Samson to the Philistines (Judg. 14:12–18). As noted above,Samson ate honey (Judg. 14:8–9; cf. 1Sam. 14:25–29,43). Also, Scripture describes the promised land as a place of “milkand honey.”
Insectsalso are used to symbolize pursuing enemies (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12;Isa. 7:18), innumerable forces (Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Ps. 105:34; Jer.46:23; Joel 2:25), insignificance (Num. 13:33; 1Sam. 24:14;26:20; Job 4:19; 27:18; Ps. 109:23; Eccles. 12:5; Isa. 40:22),vulnerability (Job 4:19), God’s incomparable nature (Job39:20), the brevity of life (Ps. 109:23), wisdom and organization(Prov. 30:27), and an invading army (Isa. 7:18; Jer. 51:14, 27), andthey are employed in a taunt against Israel’s enemies (Nah.3:15–17), a lesson on hypocrisy (Matt. 23:24), and an image ofeschatological judgment (Rev. 9:4–11).
ScripturalTruths about Insects
1.Insectsare part of God’s creation.Inview of all the uses of insects in Scripture, several key truthsemerge. First, insects are a part of the totality of God’screation. The very first chapter of the Bible uses one of the generalterms for insects as part of God’s creative activity on thesixth day of creation (Gen. 1:24). After God reviewed the creation onthat day, his assessment of it, including the insects, was that itwas “good” (1:25).
2.Insectsare under God’s control.Asecond scriptural truth related to insects in the Bible is that theyare under God’s control. In Deut. 7:20 God promised to sendhornets ahead of the children of Israel to prepare the promised landfor their arrival. Also, in Joel 2:25, when God promised to repairthe damage to the land caused by the locusts, he described them as“my great army that I sent.” Thus, the picture emergesthat what God has created, he alone reserves the authority tocontrol.
3.Insectsare cared for by God. A final truth regarding insects in Scripture isthat God takes care of them. Just as Jesus explained God’s carefor the birds of the air (Matt. 7:26), the psalmist explained thatall of God’s creation, specifically insects, “look to youto give them their food at the proper time” (Ps. 104:25–27).The conclusion of the psalmist is appropriate for all of God’screation: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; whenyou take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When yousend your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of theground” (104:29–30). Thus, in the end, God creates, Godcontrols, and God cares—a lesson that all of God’screation shares.
Understanding many aspects of education in Israel during OT times and, to a lesser extent, into the NT period is extraordinarily difficult. Many studies draw quite specific conclusions based on very slender evidence and inferences drawn from supposed parallels with neighboring societies, inferences themselves beset by uncertainties. Therefore, conclusions are necessarily tentative at many points. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect that things did not remain constant through history, and that what can be reliably discerned for one period may not accurately reflect the situation in other times.
Education encompasses several areas of life in the biblical world. Aside from academic education (relating to literacy and numeracy), there was moral and religious education, military education, and vocational training. These are not all distinct; those whose vocation lay in diplomatic circles or within the royal court as scribes would have received academic education, while those living in the country and working a farm would have had little opportunity to access such knowledge.
Old Testament
Settings for education. There were three primary arenas of education in OT times: home, school, and temple.
Home. The most important setting for education in OT times was the home (Deut. 4:9; 6:7; 11:19). Both parents were expected to play a role in a child’s education (Prov. 1:8; 6:20; 23:22; 31:1). Sons generally were trained in their father’s vocation, and such training took the form of an apprenticeship (1Sam. 16:11; 2Kings 4:18); girls learned from their mothers as they undertook their work on a daily basis (Exod. 35:25–26; 2Sam. 13:8).
In part, the extent of home education is tied to the question of the extent of formal schooling in ancient Israel. As noted below, the nature and extent of schools is unclear, and if (as the evidence seems to suggest) schools were virtually nonexistent outside the royal court, then the home ultimately would have been the locus of any academic education received by children and the source of any widespread literacy and numeracy in the community. The frequent use of father/son language in Proverbs, however, need not imply an exclusively familial context for the instruction contained therein, as there is evidence from Egypt that such language was used between teacher and student.
School. The existence, nature, and extent of schools in OT times is extensively debated and ultimately uncertain. The first explicit reference to a school is found in the second century BC in Sir. 51:23. The virtual silence of the OT on the topic may reflect either that schools were absent in ancient Israel or that their existence was somehow of little interest and so warranted little reflection by biblical authors. In any case, it is likely that some form of school for scribes and those training to work in government existed in the vicinity of the royal court, as they did in Mesopotamia and Egypt. These did not form a comprehensive national schooling system for young children but were more specifically targeted to the few individuals who aimed to become scribes or advisers.
Outside the Bible there exist a number of inscriptions that could suggest the existence of schools in Israel prior to the exile. These include abecedaries (lists of the letters of the alphabet written out, usually as practice exercises or as examples), words written out several times, lists of month names, and possible exercises in reading foreign languages, among others.
There is also extensive evidence of schools in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and probably also Ugarit from an early date (cf. Acts 7:22). Whether their existence supports the existence of schools in Israel is unclear. Egypt and Mesopotamia had large and complex bureaucracies necessary to administer their kingdoms, and they employed writing systems far more difficult to master than Hebrew. In addition, mathematical texts reflect a concern with numeracy within the schools of these kingdoms, for which there is no clear evidence in ancient Israel.
The sages and scribes appear to be the primary source for the material supposedly employed in schools. Ecclesiastes 12:9 identifies one of the tasks of the sages as teaching the people, and some claim that Proverbs functioned as a textbook within a school setting. Indeed, Prov. 4:5; 17:16 speak of the “buying” (Heb. qanah) of knowledge, interpreted by some as a reference to teachers paid for providing tuition. Again, the context in which such tuition may have taken place is uncertain.
Temple. Priests were also involved in some teaching (1Sam. 2:21, 26). According to 2Chron. 17:7–9, King Jehoshaphat sent five officials, nine Levites, and two priests to teach the people of Judah from the Book of the Law, a point that stresses both the importance of the task and the probable failure of the home setting to adequately convey this instruction, at least by the late fifth century BC.
Types of education. In OT times four types of education can be discerned: moral and religious, academic, vocational, and military.
Moral and religious education. The Bible stresses the importance of moral and religious education above all other forms (Exod. 10:2; 12:26; 13:8; Deut. 4:9; 6:7, 20–21; 32:7, 46).
Academic education. The extent of literacy and numeracy in ancient Israel is difficult to ascertain. Rudimentary numeracy almost certainly was widespread and learned within the home and in the course of vocational training when necessary. Many among the population also appear to have been at least capable of reading and writing names or other simple texts (Deut. 6:9; 11:20; Judg. 8:14).
Vocational training. Most commonly, boys followed in their father’s vocation and thus learned through observation and participation. Under some circ*mstances, however, children served apprenticeships under the tutelage of others, such as was apparently the case for prophetic schools (2Kings 2:7; 4:38; 6:1–2; Amos 7:14–15).
Military training. There are clear indications that kings recruited mercenaries to form the most important part of their army (e.g., 1Sam. 22:2; 25:13). These mercenaries were paid and likely had received some formal training, but the nature of that training is nowhere explained. In addition to these elite forces, all able-bodied men apparently were considered eligible for military service when the need arose (2Chron. 25:5). So, for example, the elite troops were responsible for staging the attack (2Sam. 11:14–17; 12:26), while the remainder of the army served as reinforcements where necessary (2Sam. 12:29). The use of chariots (under David and Solomon) would have required some training, as would the wielding of various weapons (swords, spears, bows, and slings). Ultimately, however, there are only allusions to such training (e.g., Judg. 3:2; 2Sam. 22:35).
Educational methods. Throughout the ancient Near East there is evidence that corporal punishment played a significant role in education. There is a somewhat comical text from Mesopotamia that relates a day in the life of a student who receives physical punishment for virtually everything he does. Similarly, the book of Proverbs highlights the importance of discipline in raising and training children (e.g., 13:24; 22:15; 29:15, 17). Nonetheless, Proverbs uses “the rod” as a means to signify discipline as a whole without necessarily endorsing corporal punishment as the only or even the primary means of discipline. This is apparent because Proverbs contrasts the rod not with other, lesser forms of discipline but rather with no discipline at all. Thus, although there is evidence that corporal punishment was used extensively (and probably excessively [see Sir. 30]), Proverbs endorses a more nuanced approach to disciplining children.
Academic, religious, and moral education also involved the use of various techniques that facilitated learning. These included the use of poetry or poetic couplets (common in wisdom literature and in psalms), numerical sayings (e.g., Ps. 62:11; Prov. 6:16), and acrostics, as well as the celebration of feasts and memorials at various times throughout the year.
New Testament
Greco-Roman education. Greek education developed from about the fourth century BC and spread throughout the Mediterranean region, adopted with minor modification by the Romans. The curriculum was dominated by sports and a focus on literacy, with little place given to religious education (although philosophy was taught and did bear some religious traits). Education in the Greco-Roman world was expensive, and its provision was a parental responsibility, which tended to restrict formal education to the elite.
At about the age of fifteen, boys could move from elementary schooling to the gymnasium, where they received intellectual and physical training. Some in the Corinthian church may have received such an education, a possibility raised by Paul’s terminology in 1Corinthians that reflects educational language: his claim to be father of the Corinthian household (4:14–21); sporting imagery (esp. 9:24–27); language of nursing and nature (3:1–4); agricultural imagery (3:5–9); his threat to come with a rod (4:21), which could be related to the rod of correction; the term grammateus (1:20), which may refer to the gymnasium instructor; reference to writing (4:6); and talk of removing the marks of circumcision (7:18).
Education in Israel. One Jewish tradition states that in AD 63 the high priest Joshua benGamla decreed that every town should appoint a schoolteacher for the education of children of six or seven years of age. This, together with the existence of Sirach’s school more than two centuries earlier, indicates that some form of schooling existed within Israel in the first century AD.
Although some Jews throughout the ancient world received a standard Hellenistic education, others reacted against the influence of Hellenism and sought to educate their children within the Scriptures and Jewish tradition. The DSS refer to the importance placed on study of the Torah (1QS 6:6–7). There were also rabbinic schools that focused on such teaching.
By NT times, synagogues were well established. Although determining precisely what took place within the synagogues is difficult, indications are that the focus on Scripture and its exposition played an important role in teaching both its importance and the appropriate way to interpret it. Teaching, however, was not confined to synagogues or the temple, as is amply demonstrated by the frequency with which Jesus is described as teaching in a variety of settings. Nonetheless, the temple itself did appear to serve as a center for religious education, as is reflected in the account of the twelve-year-old Jesus’ interactions with the teachers at the temple (Luke 2:41–51). Jesus’ own teaching was remarkable, however, in that it was delivered with authority (Matt. 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32).
Education in the church. Paul highlights one of the prerequisites for being an overseer of a church as the ability to teach, stressing the importance of the NT church as a place of learning (1Tim. 3:2; 2Tim. 2:2, 24). This teaching involved a familiarity with right doctrine in order to avoid being led astray, an exemplary life that modeled godly behavior for all to see, and the maturity required to apply discipline when necessary.
In the Bible, gestures are made with either parts of the bodyor items, such as clothing and rings, directly connected to the body.For this reason, it makes sense to classify biblical gestures inrelation to the different body parts that are identified with thegestures. It is, however, challenging to know where to draw a line onclassifying a gesture. For example, a devious person is described inProv. 6:13 as one “who winks maliciously with his eye, signalswith his feet and motions with his fingers.” It is unclearwhether this is a single gesture or multiple ones, and whether allsignify different things or the same thing.
Head
Gesturesthat relate to the head range from simple head motions to semiviolentacts such as hair pulling. Simple head motions include lifting ofone’s head in honor (Gen. 40:13), bowing one’s head inmourning (Ps. 35:14), tossing one’s head in mockery andderision (2Kings 19:21), and shaking one’s head as insult(Ps. 22:7; Mark 15:29).
Acommon action is the shaving of the head, which can be forpurification (Lev. 14:8–9; Num. 6:9; 8:7 [includes all bodyhair]), mourning (Deut. 21:11–13; Job 1:20; Isa. 15:2; Jer.16:6; 47:5; 48:37; Ezek. 27:31; Amos 8:10; Mic. 1:16), remorse (Jer.41:5), or shaming (Jer. 2:16). However, priests are forbidden fromshaving their heads even in mourning (Lev. 21:5; Ezek. 44:20), whilethe high priest is to wear a turban on his head during sacrificialduties (Exod. 29:6).
Anointingof the head is done when a priest or king is installed (Exod. 29:7;Ps. 23:5) or simply as a sign of God’s goodness and blessing ona person (Eccles. 9:8). Blessing may also involve placing a hand onthe head of the person being blessed (Gen. 48:14–18; Exod.29:19), while the same gesture on the head of sacrificial animals isa symbolic means of transferring sin (Lev. 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4, 15, 24,29, 33; 8:18, 22).
Inthe OT, a woman’s head can be shaved in mourning (Deut.21:12–13; cf. Jer. 47:5), but in the NT, a shaved head can be acause for disgrace (1Cor. 11:5–6).
Face.Facial gestures range from expressions to actions such as touching orcovering the face. A face can be downcast in anger (Gen. 4:5–6)or bowed to the ground in honor (Gen. 48:12), in dejection (Josh.7:6), in humility (Ruth 2:10), in worship (2Chron. 20:18; Ps.138:2), in subjection, supplication, reverence (1Sam. 20:41;25:41; 28:14; 2Sam. 14:4, 22; 18:28; 24:20; 1Kings 1:23;1Chron. 21:20), or in dread (e.g., Moses before Yahweh [Exod.3:6]).
Theface can be covered or veiled as an indication of uncleanness (Lev.13:45), in grief/mourning (2Sam. 19:4; Ezek. 24:17), inresignation (1Kings 19:13), with intent to deceive in adultery(Job 24:15), or in horror of judgment (Esther 7:8; Ezek. 12:6, 12).It can also be buried in the dust in remorse (Lam. 3:29).
Godcan be described as hiding or turning away his face againstwickedness and evil (Deut. 31:18; 32:20; Ps. 34:16; Isa. 8:17; Jer.33:5; Ezek. 7:22; 15:7; 20:46; 21:2) or in an act of withholdingblessings (Job 13:15; Pss. 10:1; 13:1; 27:9; 30:7; 34:16; Isa. 54:8;59:2; 64:7). God can also turn his face toward a place in judgment(Ezek. 4:3, 7; 6:2). In 1Sam. 5:3–4 the idol of thePhilistine god Dagon falls facedown before the ark of the covenant,apparently overpowered by Yahweh.
Actsof humiliation or dishonor can involve spitting in the face (Num.12:14; Deut. 25:9; Job 17:6; 30:10; Isa. 50:6), slapping the face(1Kings 22:24; 2Chron. 18:23; Job 16:10; Lam. 3:30; Mic.5:1), pulling a skirt up over someone’s face in shamingjudgment (Jer. 13:26; Nah. 3:5), and hooking and dragging someone bythe nose (2Kings 19:28). Although being struck on the cheek ishumiliating, Jesus instructs his disciples to “turn the othercheek” as a sign of resistance to violence (Matt. 5:39; Luke6:29).
Onecan lift one’s face in worship (2Kings 20:2; Job 22:26;Isa. 38:2) or in confidence (Job 11:15) and can fail to lift it inshame and disgrace (Ezra 9:6). Although the shaving of beards inmourning is common practice (Ezra 9:3; Isa. 15:2; Jer. 41:5; 48:37),the forced shaving of beards is an act of shaming and insulting(2Sam. 10:4; 1Chron. 19:4–5; Isa. 7:20; 50:6).
Eyes.Winking the eye is perceived as an evil, deceptive, or malicious act(Ps. 35:19; Prov. 6:13; 16:30). Eyes can be lifted up in worship andexpectation (Pss. 121:1; 123:1).
Mouth.Pursed lips can characterize an evil person (Prov. 16:30), while ahand can be clapped over the mouth in awe and submission (Job 21:5;40:4). Psalm 72:9 looks to the righteous king before whom the deserttribes will bow and whose “enemies lick the dust” indefeat.
Ears.An Israelite slave for life is to have a hole punched through his orher earlobe, held against a doorpost, with an awl (Exod. 21:6; Deut.15:17). Blood is sprinkled on the lobe of the right ear forpurification (Exod. 29:20; Lev. 8:23–24; 14:17), whilesupplication can be described as asking for the turning of an ear(2Kings 19:16; Ps. 31:2). Turning one’s ear signifiespaying attention or taking something to heart (Ps. 49:4; Prov. 4:20;5:13).
Neck.The neck can be adorned (Song 1:10) as a sign of pride and honor(Gen. 41:42; Judg. 5:30; Prov. 1:9; Ezek. 16:11) or outstretched inarrogance (Ps. 75:5 TNIV: “Do not lift your horns againstheaven; do not speak with outstretched neck”). Jeremiah put ayoke on his neck as a prophetic sign of the approaching Babylonianconquest (Jer. 27–28). While putting someone’s neck in ayoke is an act of triumphal conquest (Ps. 105:18), stepping on theneck of a subdued enemy is an act of subjugation and humiliation(Josh. 10:24).
Body
Nakednessin public is considered shameful (Gen. 9:22–23; Nah. 3:5; Rev.3:18), so that it is sometimes pictured as part of divine judgment(Deut. 28:48; Isa. 47:2–3; Lam. 1:8; Mic. 1:11) or as a sign ofpromiscuity (Isa. 57:8; Ezek. 16:36). An unkempt body can be a signof mourning, as it is for Mephibosheth (2Sam. 19:24). A certainkind of body covering is a sign of marriage proposal or protection(Ezek. 16:8; 23:18; Hos. 2:9). Body dismembering, even in war, is anact of humiliation (2Sam. 4:12).
Chest.In self-mortification, one can pound one’s chest in mourning(Ezek. 21:12) or in remorse (Jer. 31:19; Luke 18:13). The breasts ofsacrificial animals are waved before God as a “wave offering”before being eaten (Exod. 29:26; Lev. 7:30; Num. 6:20).
Hand,arm.Hand gestures include motions such as lifting hands in worship,clapping hands in joy, and clapping a hand over one’s mouth inawe. The expression “outstretched arm” (Exod. 6:6; Deut.4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8; 1Kings 8:42; 2Kings17:36; 2Chron. 6:32; Ps. 136:12; Jer. 21:5; 27:5; 32:17, 21;Ezek. 20:33–34) indicates power, might, strength. It is oftenused of God to indicate his ability to defeat powerful armies andenemies. God is implored by the psalmist to lift his hand and act forthe sake of the righteous (Ps. 10:12).
Sincethe right hand is the hand of power, the act of sitting at the righthand indicates being favored (1Kings 2:19; Ps. 110:1; Matt.22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2;1Pet. 3:22). When taking an oath, one places a hand under thethigh/crotch (Gen. 24:2; 47:29), most likely the right hand (see Gen.48:14, 17–18; Lev. 8:23; 14:14).
Clappingthe hands can be a sign of awe (Ezek. 6:11), malice, or remorse(25:6), while a bared arm can be a sign of judgment (4:7). Job clapshis hand over his mouth in awe of God and in submission andrepentance (Job 40:4–5).
Handscan be lifted in worship (1Kings 8:22; 1Tim. 2:8), tobeseech (Ps. 28:2), to protect and bless (Ps. 10:12), in an oath(Deut. 32:40), or to harm (Exod. 24:11; 1Sam. 24:6, 10;2Sam.1:14; 18:12).
Pilatewashes his hands to proclaim his innocence over the death of Jesus(Matt. 27:24), while 1Pet. 5:6 urges believers to humblethemselves “under God’s mighty hand,” so that indue time they will be lifted up.
Buttocks.Exposure of the buttocks can serve as a humiliating insult andprovocation, as happens to David’s men (2Sam. 10:4;1Chron. 19:4) and Egyptian and Cush*te captives (Isa. 20:4).
Leg.The leg or thigh is often a euphemism for the male reproductiveorgans, so that putting one’s hand under a thigh in oath (Gen.24:2; 47:29) may involve actually grabbing the genitalia. Animalthighs are waved to God in offering before being consumed (Lev. 9:21;10:14; Num. 6:20), while oaths administered to uncover adultery causea guilty woman’s thighs to waste (Num. 5:2–27).
Themost common gesture involving the knee is bowing, in worship orreverence (Deut. 33:3; Isa. 45:23; Rom. 11:4; 14:11; Phil. 2:10), indefeat (2Sam. 22:40; Ps. 18:38; Isa. 60:14), in distress (Ps.57:6), or in respect (1Kings 1:31). In what seems to be asomewhat awkward position, Elijah puts his face between his knees inprayer (1Kings 18:42).
Feet.Gestures involving the feet are probably the most common gestures inthe Bible. Feet can be washed in hospitality (Gen. 18:4; 19:2; 24:32;43:24; 1Sam. 25:41), in ablution (Exod. 30:19, 21; 40:31), orin supplication (1Sam. 25:41). Feet can be bathed in oil as ablessing (Deut. 33:24), uncovered in marriage proposals (Ezek. 16:8;cf. Ruth 3:4, 7), and stamped in remorse (Ezek. 25:6), and sandalscan be removed from them in honor (Exod. 3:1–10) or disgrace(Deut. 25:9). The heavenly seraphs cover their feet in supplicationbefore the throne of God (Isa. 6:2), while the feet of humans cansignal deception (Prov. 6:13).
Enemiescan be placed under one’s feet in subjugation (1Kings5:3; Pss. 8:6; 18:39; 45:5; 47:3; 110:1; Mal. 4:3; Rom. 16:20), havetheir feet shackled or ensnared (Job 13:27; 33:11; Pss. 25:15;105:18), and be forced to lick the feet of victors in humiliation anddefeat (Isa. 49:23). The righteous will bathe their feet in the bloodof their enemies in revenge (Pss. 58:10; 68:23).
Thoseoverwhelmed can grovel at the feet of the powerful (2Kings4:27, 37; Esther 8:3; Matt. 28:9; Mark 5:33; 7:25; Acts 10:25), whilethose emboldened can rise to their feet in confidence (Ezek. 2:1–2;3:24; Dan. 8:18).
Inthe NT, dust can be shaken off one’s feet as an indication ofdivine judgment (Matt. 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5), even as lying ata person’s feet is a recognition of authority/submission (Matt.15:30; Mark 5:33; Luke 8:28, 35, 41, 47; 10:39; 17:16; Acts 4:37;5:2). A woman publicly washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipesthem with her hair, and kisses and perfumes them in what seems an actof love and repentance; but Jesus indicates that she has prepared hisbody for burial (Luke 7:38–46; John 11:2; 12:3). Jesus washeshis disciples’ feet as instruction on servanthood anddiscipleship (John 13:5–14).
Fingers,Toes.Different fingers seem to have different roles assigned them. Afinger sprinkles blood in cleansing (Lev. 4:6, 17, 25, 30, 34; 8:15;9:9; 14:16; 16:14, 19; Num. 19:4), while blood on the tip of theright thumb and on the right big toe is for cleansing (Exod. 29:20;Lev. 8:23–24; 14:17, 25, 28).
Onewears a signet ring as a sign of power (Esther 3:10) or a gesture ofrestoration and forgiveness (Luke 15:22). But fingers can also motionin deception (Prov. 6:13) or point in blame (Isa. 58:9). Jesus writeswith his finger on the ground, apparently as a gesture ofindifference to those pointing accusing fingers (John 8:6).
Clothesand Shoes
Garments.Garments attain significance as they are related to specificemotions. Wearing sackcloth and ashes in mourning is common (Gen.37:34; Ezek. 7:18; 2Sam. 3:31), while ripping garments inmourning is also frequently attested (Gen. 37:34; 44:13; Lev. 10:6;21:10; Josh. 7:6; 2Sam. 1:11; 3:31; 13:31; 1Kings 21:27;2Kings 2:12; 19:1; Esther 4:1; Isa. 32:11; 37:1; Jer. 41:5).
Rippingsomeone’s clothing to expose nakedness (Ezek. 16:39; 2Sam.10:4) or pulling a person’s skirts up over the face (Jer.13:26) is an act of shaming or insulting. But tearing one’sclothes off can be a sign of fury (Matt. 26:65). Persons withdefiling diseases are expected to warn off others by wearing tornclothes and shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Lev. 13:45).
Bylaying their clothes at Saul’s feet, the crowd may beacknowledging his authority in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58).
Sandals.A woman can remove a man’s sandal in contempt (Deut. 25:5–10),while a sandal can be removed by a kinsman-redeemer to indicategiving up a right or as a transfer of property (Ruth 4:7–8). Asandal can also be removed in mourning (Ezek. 24:17) or be cast overa piece of land to claim ownership (Pss. 60:8; 108:9).
PropheticGestures
Propheticgestures in the OT are mostly concerned with the call to repentanceand approaching judgments upon failure to heed the warning. Jeremiahputs a yoke on his neck (Jer. 27–28; cf. Deut. 28:48), Ezekielcooks with dung (Ezek. 4:12) and sleeps on his left side for 390 daysand then on his right side for 40 days (4:5–6), Isaiah stripsoff his clothing (Isa. 20:2–3; 32:11), and Hosea marries anunfaithful wife (Hos. 1:1–3).
Inthe NT, Jesus cleanses the temple as an act of symbolic judgment(Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:15). He also breaks bread and drinkswine (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 24:30, 35; Acts 2:46;20:11; 27:35; 1Cor. 11:24–25) and washes his disciples’feet (John 13:1–13), thereby establishing symbolic Christianpractices.
A feeling of animosity, a disposition toward hostility,rejection, or negative favoritism.
Hateis as old as the conflict between Cain and Abel or as the rebellionof Satan. Many stories involve hatred and animosity between people(e.g., Gen. 37:4; 2Sam. 13:22). Beside humans hating eachother, people hate God and that which is morally upright (Exod. 20:5;Deut. 5:9; 7:10; 32:41; Pss. 68:1; 81:15; 120:6). It is correct,however, to hate sin (Pss. 97:10; 101:3; Prov. 8:13), as God does(Ps. 5:6; Prov. 6:16–19; Isa. 61:8; Rev. 2:6), though he takesno pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23; 33:11). The twogreat commandments oppose the tendency to hate by calling us to loveGod wholly and love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5;10:12; Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:33; Luke 10:27). The reverse is alsocommanded: we should not hate our neighbor (Lev. 19:17) nor even hateour enemy, but rather do good and pray for our enemy (Exod. 23:4–5;Prov. 25:21; Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27; cf. Deut. 10:19). Hateful actionsare not necessarily motivated by hateful feelings, as a father whodoes not give needed punishment to his son is said to treat him withhatred (Prov. 13:24).
Withregard to a hate crime, the main issue was intent—that is,whether an accident had occurred or whether a murder had beencommitted deliberately, “with malice aforethought” (Num.35:20). Hate was a criterion of intent and had to be established bymultiple witnesses for the two parties involved. Having hate did notgarner greater punishment or make it a worse crime; hatred signifiedthat it was a crime because it was intentional (Deut. 4:42; 19:4, 6,11; Josh. 20:5).
Withregard to marriage, in a polygamous marriage there was a danger ofpreferential treatment: a loved wife and a hated wife. The lawforbids reducing the care of one wife in favor of another (Exod.21:10) and protects the rights of the firstborn son even if he isborn to the hated wife (Deut. 21:15–17). Hatred may beexpressed by either party withholding conjugal relations. Thisprobably lies behind the description in Gen. 29:31 of Jacob hatingLeah (some translations say “unloved”).
Rejection,favoritism, or preference may be called “hate,” as in thecase of a nonpreferred wife in a polygamous marriage, in not choosingEsau to continue the covenant line (Mal. 1:2–3; Rom. 9:13), orin not having a greater love for Christ than anything else (Matt.6:24; Luke 14:26; John 12:25).
Hunting for food is a postdiluvian activity. In the originalcreation, humankind was allowed to eat only of plant life (Gen.1:29); it was only with the re-creation of the earth that humans wereexplicitly permitted to eat animals: “Everything that lives andmoves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the greenplants, I now give you everything” (9:3). Therefore, it may beconcluded that hunting as a means of survival had no significance forprediluvian humanity.
Nimrodwas “a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said,‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord’ ”(Gen. 10:9). However, for many ancient interpreters, the proverbialsaying was viewed with suspicion and was interpreted negatively asopposition against God (Philo, QG 2.82; L.A.B. 4:7; 6:13; Josephus,Ant. 1.113–14; Tg.Neof. 10:9; Frg.Tg. 10:9;Augustine, Civ. 16.4; Jerome, Qu. hebr. Gen. 10.18). Anothermemorable hunter is Esau, “a skillful hunter, a man of the opencountry” (Gen. 25:27). Before Esau could receive a blessing,his father requested that he go hunt game for him; however, the oldand blind Isaac was tricked into blessing the wrong son (27:1–40).
Inancient times, hunting was not an activity limited to providing foodor acquiring other resources such as materials for clothing. There isevidence of hunting as a royal sport. The Assyrian kings were famoushunters of lions, wild bulls, elephants, and other animals. By theseventh century BC, Assyrian kings hunted in special game reserves.For the Assyrians, the killing of wild beasts such as lionssymbolized the duty of the king as a guardian of civilization. Royalhunting does not appear to have been a practice in Israel, althoughsuch a possibility may not be completely ruled out. The young David’sencounter with lion and bear is cited to some extent forself-exaltation purposes and even more so to portray him as afearless shepherd worthy of shepherding Israel (1Sam.17:34–37).
Huntersused various methods to catch or kill their prey: weapons such asquiver, bow, spear, sling, and club (Gen. 27:3; cf. Isa. 7:24), pitsand various snares and gins (Pss. 35:7; 91:3; 2Sam. 23:20; Isa.24:17; Jer. 48:43; Amos 3:5). Bird hunting was also a commonpractice, and snares often were used to make a catch (Pss. 91:3;124:7; Prov. 1:17; 6:5; Eccles. 9:12; Amos 3:5).
The Bible is full of teeming creatures and swarming things.These creatures, insects, often play significant roles in the storiesand the events described in them. From the first chapter of the Bibleto the very last book, these flying, creeping, hopping, and crawlingthings are prominent.
Termsfor Insects
Insectsare described in the Bible with both general and specific terms. Inthe OT, there are three general terms for insects and twenty termsused to refer to specific types of insects. In the NT, two differenttypes of insects are referenced: gnats and locusts.
Thetwo most common general terms for insects are variously translated.Terms and phrases used to describe them include “livingcreatures” (Gen. 1:20), “creatures that move along theground” (Gen. 1:24–26; 6:7, 20; 7:8, 14, 23; 8:17, 19;Lev. 5:2; Ezek. 38:20; Hos. 2:18), that which “moves”(Gen. 9:3), “swarming things” (Lev. 11:10), “flyinginsects” (Lev. 11:20–21, 23; Deut. 14:19), “creatures”(Lev. 11:43), “crawling things” (Lev. 22:5; Ezek. 8:10),“reptiles” (1Kings 4:33), “teeming creatures”(Ps. 104:25), “small creatures” (Ps. 148:10), and “seacreatures” (Hab. 1:14). The other general term for insects isused with reference to swarms of insects, typically flies (Exod.8:21–22, 24, 29; Pss. 78:45; 105:31). Specific insects named inScripture are listed below.
Ants.Ants are used in Proverbs as an example of and encouragement towardwisdom. In 6:6 ants serve as an example for sluggards to reform theirslothful ways. Also, in 30:25 ants serve as an example of creaturesthat, despite their diminutive size, are wise enough to make advancepreparations for the long winter.
Bees.Beesare used both literally and figuratively in Scripture. Judges 14:8refers to honeybees, the product of which becomes the object ofSamson’s riddle. The other three uses of bees in the OT arefigurative of swarms of enemies against God’s people (Deut.1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18).
Fleas.Fleasare referenced in the OT only by David to indicate his insignificancein comparison with King Saul (1Sam. 24:14; 26:20). The irony ofthe comparison becomes clear with David’s later ascendancy.
Flies.The plague of flies follows that of gnats on Egypt (Exod. 8:20–31).Although the gnats are never said to have left Egypt, the flies areremoved upon Moses’ prayer. In Eccles. 10:1 the stench of deadflies is compared to the impact that folly can have on the wise. InIsa. 7:18 flies represent Egypt being summoned by God as his avengingagents on Judah’s sin. In addition, one of the gods in Ekronwas named “Baal-Zebub,” which means “lord of theflies” (2Kings 1:2–3, 6, 16). The reference toSatan in the NT using a similar name is likely an adaptation of theOT god of Ekron (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15,18–19).
Gnats.Gnats are distinguished from flies in the OT, though the distinctionis not always apparent. Gnats are employed by God in the third plagueon Egypt (Exod. 8:16–19), while flies form the means ofpunishment in the fourth plague. The two are listed together in Ps.105:31 and appear parallel, though the former may be a reference to aswarm. Gnats were also used by Jesus to illustrate the hypocrisy ofthe Pharisees and the scribes (Matt. 23:24).
Hornets.TheBible uses hornets in Scripture as an agent of God’sdestruction. The term occurs three times in the OT. In eachoccurrence these stinging insects refer to God’s expulsion ofthe Canaanites from the land that God promised to his people. Thefirst two times, Exod. 23:28 and Deut. 7:20, hornets are used inreference to a promise of what God will do; the third time, Josh.24:12, they illustrate what God did.
Locusts.Of particular interest is the use of locusts in the Bible. The termor a similar nomenclature occurs close to fifty times in the NIV.Locusts demonstrate a number of characteristics in Scripture. First,they are under God’s control (Exod. 10:13–19). As such,they have no king (Prov. 30:27). They serve God’s purposes.Second, locusts often occur in very large numbers or swarms (Judg.6:5; Jer. 46:23; Nah. 3:15). At times, their numbers can be so largeas to cause darkness in the land (Exod. 10:15). Third, in largenumbers these insects have been known to ravage homes, devour theland, devastate fields, and debark trees (Exod. 10:12–15; Deut.28:38; 1Kings 8:37; 2Chron. 7:13; Pss. 78:46; 105:34;Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4–7). Due to their fierceness, they werecompared to horses (Rev. 9:7). Fourth, locusts hide at night (Nah.3:17). Finally, certain types of locusts were used as food.
Moths.Mothsare referred to seven times in the OT and four times in the NT. Jobuses moths to illustrate the fragility of the unrighteous before God(4:19) and the impermanence of their labors (27:18). The otherreferences to moths in Scripture present them as the consumers of thewealth (garments) and pride of humankind as a means of God’sjudgment (Job 13:28; Ps. 39:11; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hos. 5:12; Matt.6:19–20; Luke 12:33; James 5:2).
Functionsof Insects in Scripture
Asagents in God’s judgment.Insects serve a variety of functions in Scripture. Most notably,insects serve as agents of judgment from God. The OT indicates howinsects were used as judgment on both Israel and their enemies.
Moseswarned of God’s judgment for Israel’s violation of thecovenant. He advised Israel that as a consequence of their sin, theywould expend much labor in the field but harvest little, because thelocusts would consume them (Deut. 28:38).
Solomon,in his prayer of dedication at the temple, beseeched God regardingjudgment that he might send in the form of grasshoppers to besiegethe land. He asked that when the people of God repent and pray, Godwould hear and forgive (2Chron. 6:26–30). God similarlyresponded by promising that when he “command[s] locusts todevour the land” as judgment for sin, and his people humblethemselves and pray, he will heal and forgive (2Chron. 7:13–14;cf. 1Kings 8:37).
Thepsalmist reminded Israel of God’s wonderful works in theirpast, one of which was his use of insects as a means of his judgment(Ps. 78:45–46; cf. 105:34).
Joel1:4 and 2:25 describe God’s judgment on Israel for theirunfaithfulness in successive waves of intensity (cf. Deut. 28:38, 42;2Chron. 6:28; Amos 4:9–10; 7:1–3). The devastationled to crop failure, famine, destruction of vines and fig trees, andgreat mourning. The severity of the judgment is described as beingunlike anything anyone in the community had ever experienced (Joel1:2–3).
Locustsare the subject of one of the visions of the prophet Amos. In thevision, God showed him the destructive power of these insects as ameans of judgment. Upon seeing the vision, the prophet interceded forthe people, and God relented (Amos 7:1–3).
Insectswere also used as judgments on Israel’s enemies. In the plagueson Egypt, insects were the agents of the third, fourth, and eighthplagues. The third plague (Exod. 8:16–19) was gnats.Interestingly, this was the first of Moses’ signs that themagicians of Pharaoh could not reproduce. Their response to theEgyptian king was that this must be the “finger of God.”There is no record of the gnats ever leaving Egypt, unlike the otherplagues.
Thefourth plague was flies (Exod. 8:20–32). Here the Biblespecifically indicates a distinction between the land of Goshen,where the Israelites dwelled, and the rest of the land of Egypt. Theflies covered all of Egypt except Goshen. This plague led toPharaoh’s first offer of compromise. Once Moses prayed and theflies left Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Theeighth plague was in the form of locusts (Exod. 10:1–20). Inresponse to this plague, Pharaoh’s own officials complained tohim, beseeching him to let Israel leave their country lest it beentirely destroyed. The threat of this plague led to Pharaoh’ssecond offer of compromise. Once the locusts began to devastate theland of Egypt, Pharaoh confessed his sin before God, but as soon asthe locusts were removed, his heart again became hardened. Thus,three of the ten plagues on Egypt were in the form of insects.
Atthe end of a series of “woe” passages, the prophet Isaiahproclaimed God’s judgment against the enemies of his peoplebecause of their oppression. In the end, those who plundered willthemselves be plundered, as if by a “swarm of locusts”(Isa. 33:1–4; cf. Jer. 51:14, 27).
Insectswere also used as judgment on people who dwelled in the land ofIsrael prior to Israel’s occupation. Both before and after theevent took place, the Bible describes how God sent hornets to helpdrive out the occupants of the land of Canaan in preparation forIsrael’s arrival. This is described as part of God’sjudgment on these nations for their sins against him (Exod. 23:28;Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12).
Asfood.Insects also are mentioned in Scripture as food. Certain types oflocusts are listed as clean and eligible for consumption. The NTdescribes the diet of John the Baptist, which consisted of locustsand wild honey—a diet entirely dependent on insects (Matt. 3:4;Mark 1:6). The OT also notes Samson enjoying the labor of bees asfood (Judg. 14:8–9).
Usedfiguratively.Most often, insects are used figuratively in Scripture. They are usedin the proverbs of Scripture to illustrate wisdom. The sages wroteabout ants (Prov. 6:6; 30:25), locusts (Prov. 30:27), and even deadflies (Eccles. 10:1) both to extol wisdom and to encourage itsdevelopment in humankind.
Anotherfigurative use of insects is in the riddle about bees and honey posedby Samson to the Philistines (Judg. 14:12–18). As noted above,Samson ate honey (Judg. 14:8–9; cf. 1Sam. 14:25–29,43). Also, Scripture describes the promised land as a place of “milkand honey.”
Insectsalso are used to symbolize pursuing enemies (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12;Isa. 7:18), innumerable forces (Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Ps. 105:34; Jer.46:23; Joel 2:25), insignificance (Num. 13:33; 1Sam. 24:14;26:20; Job 4:19; 27:18; Ps. 109:23; Eccles. 12:5; Isa. 40:22),vulnerability (Job 4:19), God’s incomparable nature (Job39:20), the brevity of life (Ps. 109:23), wisdom and organization(Prov. 30:27), and an invading army (Isa. 7:18; Jer. 51:14, 27), andthey are employed in a taunt against Israel’s enemies (Nah.3:15–17), a lesson on hypocrisy (Matt. 23:24), and an image ofeschatological judgment (Rev. 9:4–11).
ScripturalTruths about Insects
1.Insectsare part of God’s creation.Inview of all the uses of insects in Scripture, several key truthsemerge. First, insects are a part of the totality of God’screation. The very first chapter of the Bible uses one of the generalterms for insects as part of God’s creative activity on thesixth day of creation (Gen. 1:24). After God reviewed the creation onthat day, his assessment of it, including the insects, was that itwas “good” (1:25).
2.Insectsare under God’s control.Asecond scriptural truth related to insects in the Bible is that theyare under God’s control. In Deut. 7:20 God promised to sendhornets ahead of the children of Israel to prepare the promised landfor their arrival. Also, in Joel 2:25, when God promised to repairthe damage to the land caused by the locusts, he described them as“my great army that I sent.” Thus, the picture emergesthat what God has created, he alone reserves the authority tocontrol.
3.Insectsare cared for by God. A final truth regarding insects in Scripture isthat God takes care of them. Just as Jesus explained God’s carefor the birds of the air (Matt. 7:26), the psalmist explained thatall of God’s creation, specifically insects, “look to youto give them their food at the proper time” (Ps. 104:25–27).The conclusion of the psalmist is appropriate for all of God’screation: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; whenyou take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When yousend your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of theground” (104:29–30). Thus, in the end, God creates, Godcontrols, and God cares—a lesson that all of God’screation shares.
Human pride removes God from the center of life and exaltsself, attributing to self the honor due God. Thus, pride is an act ofrebellion against God. Several lists of vices include pride (Prov.6:16–19; Mark 7:20–22; Rom. 1:28–31; 2Tim.3:2–4 KJV). Both James and Peter, in admonishing Christians toapproach God and one another in humility, quote this proverb: “Godopposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6;1Pet. 5:5; cf. Prov. 3:34).
Pridedestroys both individuals and nations. It destroyed individuals suchas the kings Uzziah (2Chron. 26:16), Hezekiah (2Chron.32:25–26), and Herod (Acts 12:21–23). Pride also destroysnations. It brought down Israel (Jer. 13:17; Hos. 7:10; Amos 6:1–3,8). Isaiah gives a classic description of Israel’s pride (Isa.2:6–22). God destroyed Assyria because of its pride (Isa.10:12–19). Pride was the downfall of other nations as well,such as Babylon (Jer. 50:29–32), Egypt (Ezek. 31:10–12;32:12), and Moab (Jer. 48:29). God abhors pride (Prov. 16:5; cf.Ezek. 16:50) and responds by striking it down (Prov. 15:25; 16:18;Job 22:29).
Human pride removes God from the center of life and exaltsself, attributing to self the honor due God. Thus, pride is an act ofrebellion against God. Several lists of vices include pride (Prov.6:16–19; Mark 7:20–22; Rom. 1:28–31; 2Tim.3:2–4 KJV). Both James and Peter, in admonishing Christians toapproach God and one another in humility, quote this proverb: “Godopposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6;1Pet. 5:5; cf. Prov. 3:34).
Pridedestroys both individuals and nations. It destroyed individuals suchas the kings Uzziah (2Chron. 26:16), Hezekiah (2Chron.32:25–26), and Herod (Acts 12:21–23). Pride also destroysnations. It brought down Israel (Jer. 13:17; Hos. 7:10; Amos 6:1–3,8). Isaiah gives a classic description of Israel’s pride (Isa.2:6–22). God destroyed Assyria because of its pride (Isa.10:12–19). Pride was the downfall of other nations as well,such as Babylon (Jer. 50:29–32), Egypt (Ezek. 31:10–12;32:12), and Moab (Jer. 48:29). God abhors pride (Prov. 16:5; cf.Ezek. 16:50) and responds by striking it down (Prov. 15:25; 16:18;Job 22:29).
Self-control involves the willingness to submit to theboundaries of nature, society, and family that God places in theworld to bring about order and harmony in relationships. Theself-restraint of an individual’s thoughts, words, and actionsreflects the ordered discipline of God’s creation (Gen. 1–3;8:22; Prov. 6:6–8). Discipline of the self is essential to livea productive life in community (Prov. 25:28).
“Self-control”is one of the terms that Luke uses to summarize Paul’s messageto Felix (Acts 24:25). God’s people must exercise self-control(1Thess. 5:6; 2Tim. 1:7; 2Pet. 1:6). Ultimately,self-control is a gift, a fruit that comes from being in submissionto God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).
When God creates humans, he pronounces them “verygood/beautiful” (Gen. 1:31). They are designed to bemagnificent visual displays of God’s character (1:26–27).Human sexuality originally is set in a context of overwhelmingbeauty. God’s first command is to reproduce and extend thisparadise throughout the earth (1:28). Human sexuality is not simply amechanism for reproduction. From the outset it has been aboutcompletion, without which there is loneliness (2:18).
Althoughthe Bible does not define the distinctives of masculinity andfemininity in any detail, it does defend that there are distinctionsbetween the genders. Behaviors that confuse the genders areexplicitly condemned (Deut. 22:5; 1Cor. 6:9; 11:4–16).
hom*osexualintercourse (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27; 1Cor. 6:9;1Tim. 1:10) and intercourse with an animal (Exod. 22:19; Lev.18:23; 20:15–16; Deut. 27:21) are violations of God’screated order.
Nakedness
“Nakedness”is confined to the genitals and buttocks (Exod. 20:26; Isa. 20:2–4;Ezek. 23:18, 29; Nah. 3:5) and, after the fall, is synonymous withshame (Gen. 3:7–10; 1Sam. 20:30; Isa. 47:3; Jer. 13:26;Mic. 1:11; Nah. 3:5; Rev. 3:18; cf. Rom. 1:23–24; 1Cor.12:23–24). A woman’s breasts are recognized as erotic(Prov. 5:19; Ezek. 23:3, 21) but not shameful. God slaughters ananimal in order to cover nakedness (Gen. 3:21). Ultimately, when sinand death are removed and the body raised, the redeemed will have noshame and will be clothed only in their righteousness (Rev. 19:5–9).
Exposingnakedness is an action used to humiliate enemies (2Sam. 10:4–5;1Chron. 10:9; Isa. 47:3). Jesus is stripped naked (Matt. 27:28,35–36). Violating another’s nakedness includes touchingor seeing (Deut. 25:11) and produces extreme personal disgrace (Lev.18:6–19 NASB; Hab. 2:15–16). It is an act of grace tocover another’s nakedness (Isa. 58:7; Ezek. 18:7, 16). To eventalk or laugh about inappropriate exposure brings dishonor (Gen.9:21–23). The overarching principle is purity (Lev. 18:24).
Marriageand Adultery
Althoughdamaged by sin, marriage continues to be the ultimate humanrelationship involving intimacy, privacy, and liberty. Marriage isdefined by a covenant—a contract witnessed and enforceable, notjust a promise made in private. The couple separate from theirparents to become “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
Oncethe marriage contract is agreed upon, the couple are married. Theycannot consummate the marriage until the economic commitments of thecontract have been delivered (Matt. 1:18; 25:1–13). This iscelebrated with a feast. Jesus uses this custom as an analogy for hisdeparture and return (John 14:1–3).
Paulcommands husbands to love their wives (Eph. 5:25–33; cf. Gen.24:67; 29:20; 1Sam. 1:5; Eccles. 9:9; Song 8:6–7).Nowhere in the Bible is a wife commanded to love her husband, thougholder women should teach younger women to do so (Titus 2:3–4).Love is the husband’s responsibility. Love is a command thatcan be obeyed, not just a pleasurable feeling over which one has nocontrol. The model of husbandly love is Jesus laying down his lifefor his people.
Theecstasy of making love is celebrated in the erotic Song of Songs,which holds out the hope of such marital delight even now. The axiomof marriage is a righteous jealousy (cf. Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Num.5:14, 30; Prov. 6:34).
Thefirst year of marriage is especially important and is protected byexemption from military service (Deut. 20:7; 24:5).
Whena man dies without a male heir, his widow’s possession of thatpart of the family estate can result in her marrying a man fromanother family and so alienating that land. This can be resolvedeither by the injustice of eviction or by the device of leviratemarriage. The nearest male relative of the deceased husband marriesthe widow, and their son then inherits the deceased husband’sname and title to the land (Deut. 25:5–10; cf. Gen. 38; Ruth).
Concubinesare wives from poor families, slaves, or captives, and theirmarriages are protected (Exod. 21:7–9; Deut. 21:11–14).
Rapeof a married woman constitutes adultery by the rapist, not thevictim. Consensual sex with a married woman is adultery by bothparties. Rape of a single woman is treated as fornication, with noblame attached to the woman. Her father has the option of letting hermarry the man or receiving significant financial compensation (Exod.22:16–17; Deut. 22:23–27). Her father has the right totake the money and refuse the marriage. To falsely accuse a woman ofadultery is a crime (Deut. 22:13–21).
Prostitutionis an extreme form of adultery or fornication and totally forbidden(Lev. 19:29; Deut. 23:17). Under the new covenant, this warning isheightened by the reality of the gift of the Holy Spirit transformingeach believer into the temple of the Lord (1Cor. 6:15–20).
Originally,marriage between siblings is implied (Gen. 4:17, 26; 5:4). Abrammarried his half sister, Sarai (Gen. 20:12; cf. Gen. 11:29; Num.26:59). The Mosaic covenant at Sinai bans marriage to bloodrelationships closer than first cousins and to in-laws (Lev. 18:6–30;cf. 2Sam. 13; 1Cor. 5:1).
Polygamyoccurs soon after the fall (Gen. 4:19–24). It is neverexplicitly forbidden in the Bible, but it is managed by OT law so asto restrain further injustice and damage. It is always seen as lessthan satisfactory (cf. Gen. 29–30; 1Sam. 1:6; 2Sam.13; 1Kings 1–2; 11). In the NT, monogamy is mandatory forthose who would lead the church (1Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).(See also Premarital and Extramarital Sex.)
Self-Controland Purity
Theviolation of sexual purity is a decision of the heart (Ezek. 23:11;Matt. 5:28). The biblical concept of lust entails more than justphysical arousal. It involves a strong desire for/coveting of (cf.James 1:14–15) something that one has no right to acquire. Thisestablishes both the need for self-control (Titus 2:5–6) andthe availability of appropriate options (1Cor. 7:2, 5, 9).Masturbation is nowhere mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 38:9 is aboutfailure to fulfill the levirate). The critical issue is lust.
Sexualmisconduct is never the responsibility of the victim (Deut. 22:25).Nevertheless, for reasons of personal safety as well as out ofconcern for one another, the family of Christ must practice modestyin dress (1Tim. 2:9) and consider how to build one another uprather than put stumbling blocks in each other’s way.
Godalways provides the believer with what is necessary to resisttemptation and make the right choices (1Cor. 10:13).Consequently, a significant aspect of every parent’s role is toteach godly sexual wisdom to children before they face suchchallenges (cf. Prov. 1–9).
Thegospel requires us to view sexuality from a wider perspective.Reproduction also occurs through the preaching of the gospel, callingforth new birth and a new people (Matt. 28:18–20). This gospelcall will divide families (Luke 12:53). Singleness is no barrier toone’s ability to fulfill the command to multiply and fill theearth (Isa. 56:3–8). In times of distress it may be better toremain single (1Cor. 7, esp. v.26). This is also a giftof God (1Cor. 7:7), given to equip one for the fulfillment ofthe gospel commission.
When God creates humans, he pronounces them “verygood/beautiful” (Gen. 1:31). They are designed to bemagnificent visual displays of God’s character (1:26–27).Human sexuality originally is set in a context of overwhelmingbeauty. God’s first command is to reproduce and extend thisparadise throughout the earth (1:28). Human sexuality is not simply amechanism for reproduction. From the outset it has been aboutcompletion, without which there is loneliness (2:18).
Althoughthe Bible does not define the distinctives of masculinity andfemininity in any detail, it does defend that there are distinctionsbetween the genders. Behaviors that confuse the genders areexplicitly condemned (Deut. 22:5; 1Cor. 6:9; 11:4–16).
hom*osexualintercourse (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27; 1Cor. 6:9;1Tim. 1:10) and intercourse with an animal (Exod. 22:19; Lev.18:23; 20:15–16; Deut. 27:21) are violations of God’screated order.
Nakedness
“Nakedness”is confined to the genitals and buttocks (Exod. 20:26; Isa. 20:2–4;Ezek. 23:18, 29; Nah. 3:5) and, after the fall, is synonymous withshame (Gen. 3:7–10; 1Sam. 20:30; Isa. 47:3; Jer. 13:26;Mic. 1:11; Nah. 3:5; Rev. 3:18; cf. Rom. 1:23–24; 1Cor.12:23–24). A woman’s breasts are recognized as erotic(Prov. 5:19; Ezek. 23:3, 21) but not shameful. God slaughters ananimal in order to cover nakedness (Gen. 3:21). Ultimately, when sinand death are removed and the body raised, the redeemed will have noshame and will be clothed only in their righteousness (Rev. 19:5–9).
Exposingnakedness is an action used to humiliate enemies (2Sam. 10:4–5;1Chron. 10:9; Isa. 47:3). Jesus is stripped naked (Matt. 27:28,35–36). Violating another’s nakedness includes touchingor seeing (Deut. 25:11) and produces extreme personal disgrace (Lev.18:6–19 NASB; Hab. 2:15–16). It is an act of grace tocover another’s nakedness (Isa. 58:7; Ezek. 18:7, 16). To eventalk or laugh about inappropriate exposure brings dishonor (Gen.9:21–23). The overarching principle is purity (Lev. 18:24).
Marriageand Adultery
Althoughdamaged by sin, marriage continues to be the ultimate humanrelationship involving intimacy, privacy, and liberty. Marriage isdefined by a covenant—a contract witnessed and enforceable, notjust a promise made in private. The couple separate from theirparents to become “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
Oncethe marriage contract is agreed upon, the couple are married. Theycannot consummate the marriage until the economic commitments of thecontract have been delivered (Matt. 1:18; 25:1–13). This iscelebrated with a feast. Jesus uses this custom as an analogy for hisdeparture and return (John 14:1–3).
Paulcommands husbands to love their wives (Eph. 5:25–33; cf. Gen.24:67; 29:20; 1Sam. 1:5; Eccles. 9:9; Song 8:6–7).Nowhere in the Bible is a wife commanded to love her husband, thougholder women should teach younger women to do so (Titus 2:3–4).Love is the husband’s responsibility. Love is a command thatcan be obeyed, not just a pleasurable feeling over which one has nocontrol. The model of husbandly love is Jesus laying down his lifefor his people.
Theecstasy of making love is celebrated in the erotic Song of Songs,which holds out the hope of such marital delight even now. The axiomof marriage is a righteous jealousy (cf. Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Num.5:14, 30; Prov. 6:34).
Thefirst year of marriage is especially important and is protected byexemption from military service (Deut. 20:7; 24:5).
Whena man dies without a male heir, his widow’s possession of thatpart of the family estate can result in her marrying a man fromanother family and so alienating that land. This can be resolvedeither by the injustice of eviction or by the device of leviratemarriage. The nearest male relative of the deceased husband marriesthe widow, and their son then inherits the deceased husband’sname and title to the land (Deut. 25:5–10; cf. Gen. 38; Ruth).
Concubinesare wives from poor families, slaves, or captives, and theirmarriages are protected (Exod. 21:7–9; Deut. 21:11–14).
Rapeof a married woman constitutes adultery by the rapist, not thevictim. Consensual sex with a married woman is adultery by bothparties. Rape of a single woman is treated as fornication, with noblame attached to the woman. Her father has the option of letting hermarry the man or receiving significant financial compensation (Exod.22:16–17; Deut. 22:23–27). Her father has the right totake the money and refuse the marriage. To falsely accuse a woman ofadultery is a crime (Deut. 22:13–21).
Prostitutionis an extreme form of adultery or fornication and totally forbidden(Lev. 19:29; Deut. 23:17). Under the new covenant, this warning isheightened by the reality of the gift of the Holy Spirit transformingeach believer into the temple of the Lord (1Cor. 6:15–20).
Originally,marriage between siblings is implied (Gen. 4:17, 26; 5:4). Abrammarried his half sister, Sarai (Gen. 20:12; cf. Gen. 11:29; Num.26:59). The Mosaic covenant at Sinai bans marriage to bloodrelationships closer than first cousins and to in-laws (Lev. 18:6–30;cf. 2Sam. 13; 1Cor. 5:1).
Polygamyoccurs soon after the fall (Gen. 4:19–24). It is neverexplicitly forbidden in the Bible, but it is managed by OT law so asto restrain further injustice and damage. It is always seen as lessthan satisfactory (cf. Gen. 29–30; 1Sam. 1:6; 2Sam.13; 1Kings 1–2; 11). In the NT, monogamy is mandatory forthose who would lead the church (1Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).(See also Premarital and Extramarital Sex.)
Self-Controland Purity
Theviolation of sexual purity is a decision of the heart (Ezek. 23:11;Matt. 5:28). The biblical concept of lust entails more than justphysical arousal. It involves a strong desire for/coveting of (cf.James 1:14–15) something that one has no right to acquire. Thisestablishes both the need for self-control (Titus 2:5–6) andthe availability of appropriate options (1Cor. 7:2, 5, 9).Masturbation is nowhere mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 38:9 is aboutfailure to fulfill the levirate). The critical issue is lust.
Sexualmisconduct is never the responsibility of the victim (Deut. 22:25).Nevertheless, for reasons of personal safety as well as out ofconcern for one another, the family of Christ must practice modestyin dress (1Tim. 2:9) and consider how to build one another uprather than put stumbling blocks in each other’s way.
Godalways provides the believer with what is necessary to resisttemptation and make the right choices (1Cor. 10:13).Consequently, a significant aspect of every parent’s role is toteach godly sexual wisdom to children before they face suchchallenges (cf. Prov. 1–9).
Thegospel requires us to view sexuality from a wider perspective.Reproduction also occurs through the preaching of the gospel, callingforth new birth and a new people (Matt. 28:18–20). This gospelcall will divide families (Luke 12:53). Singleness is no barrier toone’s ability to fulfill the command to multiply and fill theearth (Isa. 56:3–8). In times of distress it may be better toremain single (1Cor. 7, esp. v.26). This is also a giftof God (1Cor. 7:7), given to equip one for the fulfillment ofthe gospel commission.
Self-control involves the willingness to submit to theboundaries of nature, society, and family that God places in theworld to bring about order and harmony in relationships. Theself-restraint of an individual’s thoughts, words, and actionsreflects the ordered discipline of God’s creation (Gen. 1–3;8:22; Prov. 6:6–8). Discipline of the self is essential to livea productive life in community (Prov. 25:28).
“Self-control”is one of the terms that Luke uses to summarize Paul’s messageto Felix (Acts 24:25). God’s people must exercise self-control(1Thess. 5:6; 2Tim. 1:7; 2Pet. 1:6). Ultimately,self-control is a gift, a fruit that comes from being in submissionto God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).
A hunter of wild fowl or game birds. The Hebrew term yaqoshis ambiguous and can also refer to a person who hunts other animals.In biblical times, birds and larger game were hunted with traps orsnares, as in Ps. 91:3: “Surely he will save you from thefowler’s snare.” In this passage and others the biblicalprotagonist is represented as the bird, and the biblical antagonistas the fowler (Ps. 124:7; Prov. 6:5). Jeremiah 5:26 characterizes thewicked of Judah as fowlers, and Hos. 9:8 likens hostility to God’sprophet to the use of a fowler’s snare.
In the OT, wisdom (khokmah) is a characteristic of someonewho attains a high degree of knowledge, technical skill, andexperience in a particular domain. It refers to the ability thatcertain individuals have to use good judgment in running the affairsof state (Joseph in Gen. 41:33; David in 2Sam. 14:20; Solomonin 1Kings 3:9, 12, 28). It can also refer to the navigationalskills that sailors use in maneuvering a ship through difficultwaters (Ps. 107:27). Furthermore, wisdom includes the particularskills of an artisan (Exod. 31:6; 35:35; 1Chron. 22:15–16).In all these cases, wisdom involves the expertise that a personacquires to accomplish a particular task. In these instances “wisdom”is an ethically neutral term, or at least that dimension is notemphasized. The wise are those who have mastered a certain skill setin their field of expertise.
Theuniqueness of the OT wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,etc.) is that it highlights the moral dimension of wisdom. Here“wisdom” refers to developing expertise in negotiatingthe complexities of life and managing those complexities in a morallyresponsible way that honors God and benefits both the community andthe individual. Although it is difficult to pin down a concisedefinition, one can gain a better understanding of wisdom byinvestigating two important dimensions: wisdom as a worldview, andthe traits of a person who is considered to be wise.
Wisdomas Worldview
Wisdomdescribes a worldview, a particular way of perceiving God, humanity,and creation. The God of the sages is sovereign Lord. But theirunderstanding of sovereignty manifests itself differently from theway the Torah and the prophets describe it. All through the OT Israelfrequently witnessed God at work through mighty acts of deliveranceand conquest and protection. God orchestrated these monumental savingacts. Wisdom, however, looks at God’s sovereignty differently.It makes few references to the mighty acts of God.
Forthe sage of Ecclesiastes, the world is the arena of God’smystery. God is active in creation and in the world, but his ways areinscrutable (3:11; 6:10–12; 7:13–14). God is distant(5:2), but he spans this distance when humans receive and enjoy theordinary gifts of friendship, food, family that he gives to sustainlife (2:24–26; 3:12–13; 5:18–20; 9:7–10).
Forthe sage of Proverbs, God is present in the daily routines of life.God is involved in the interactions that take place between people(15:22; 27:5–6, 9–10, 17). God works through both thegood and the bad experiences of life, employs human language to carryout his purposes, and uses material wealth and even poverty in theservice of maturing people.
Inthe very realm where individuals believe that they exercise the mostcontrol—human thoughts and plans—God establishes apresence (Prov. 16:1, 9). Exactly how God does this the sage does notsay; rather, the sage assumes that divine sovereignty and humanactivity exist together in inexplicable ways.
Fromthe view of God to the view of humans, wisdom emphasizes a particularperspective. Wisdom’s worldview of humanity places greatconfidence in what humans can accomplish. Wisdom affirms thatindividuals are capable of making wise choices and displayingresponsible behavior. In so doing, such people will live healthy,prosperous, successful lives (Prov. 9:1; 14:1, 11). Because theyvalue human ability and understanding, the sages use all theresources at their disposal to discover the means of living asuccessful life. They use the sources of the culture around them aswell as their own inner resources.
Oneother dimension to probe in wisdom’s worldview is the importantrole that creation plays. Living in harmony with the order of theuniverse brings longevity, wealth, and good fortune. When individualsintegrate their lives with the order of creation, success results;neglecting that order brings failure. However, the sages sometimesare accused of possessing too mechanical a view of such order: thewise, it is said, believe in a world automatically programmed toprosper the pious and punish the perverse. Such a view perceives theworld as operating on a rigid system of rewards and punishments. Itis true that some wisdom teaching appears to reflect this worldview(Prov. 26:27). However, even though the sages developed plans andstrategies by which to live, they did not believe in a created orderthat operated mechanically. The sages do have an interest indiscovering certain predictable patterns of experiences, but theorder that underlies the experiences of life is not a fate-producingone (21:30–31). The sages wrestle not so much with the conceptof a rigid order as with the person of God. A dialectic existsbetween the predictable order of creation and the free work of God.Wisdom seeks not to master life but to navigate it. The sages guidedthemselves and others through the experiences of life, striving notto dominate but rather to assume responsibility. This is thefundamental worldview of wisdom.
Traitsof the Wise
Whois wise? First, the wise are those involved in a lifelong process ofcharacter development. They manifest the virtues of righteousness,justice, and equity (Prov. 1:3; 2:9). The embodiment of these virtuesculminates in the description of the woman of noble character at theconclusion of Proverbs (31:10–31). She exhibits self-control,patience, care, diligence, discipline, humility, generosity, honesty,and fear of the Lord (cf. James 3:13–18). She is the epitome ofwisdom in its maturity and the model that all should emulate.
Second,the wise know the value of words and how to use them. They know whento speak, what to say, and how to say it (Job 29:21–22; Prov.15:23; 25:11; Eccles. 3:7; 12:9–10). Wisdom and the wise placea premium on the power of words.
Third,the wise place great importance on relationships and on interactionwith others. The wise person is the one who is open to thegive-and-take of relationships (Prov. 27:5–6, 17, 19). Such aperson develops the humility necessary to receive correction andcriticism from others. Hearing criticism and changing wrong behaviorare integral to wisdom (3:1–11). The wise appreciate insightfulcriticism because it helps them live life more productively (15:12).Wisdom is, ultimately, relational.
Fourth,the wise person develops the art of discernment (Prov. 1:2, 4–6).The sage is equipped with the ability to think critically. The veryquality of wisdom itself invites the re-forming and rethinking ofideas. Sages are not interested in pat answers (26:4–5).Proverbs 16:1–9 throws a wrench in the conventional cogs ofwisdom, claiming that although humans make their plans, God has thefinal say. Both Job and Ecclesiastes go head to head withconventional beliefs, probing more deeply into the complexities oflife and the relationship between human and divine. No easy answersexist here. In contrast, fools do not use their mental faculties.They view wisdom as a commodity, a matter of learning sometechniques, accepting certain beliefs, and memorizing a few proverbs(17:16). The wise, however, know that wisdom involves the art ofcritical thinking and interacting with others.
Fifth,and most fundamental, the wise person takes a God-centered focustoward life. Wisdom literature affirms, “The fear of the Lordis the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. Prov. 1:7; Job28:28; Eccles. 12:13). That this is the beginning step in the processof gaining wisdom means that one who misses this step can proceed nofarther along the path to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is to wisdomas the letters of the alphabet are to forming words. The wise gainwisdom by being in relationship with the Lord (Prov. 3:5–8).The fear of the Lord is the beginning as well as the culmination ofwisdom.
Wisdomis a highly prized quality, superior to might and power (Prov. 25:15;Eccles. 9:13–16), and one must diligently seek it (Prov.2:1–5). Yet in the end, wisdom is a gift that only God can give(Prov. 2:6–8; 1Kings 3:9).
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Stephen Stewart
Proverbs 6:5 - "Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler."
Jeremiah 5:26 - "For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men."
Although I don’t suppose that most of us ever use the word "fowler" in the course of your daily conversation, still this is a legitimate term to use for persons who capture birds for food or other reasons. If we will stop to think of the displays of rare birds in our zoos, we must realize that they had to be captured by experts. And that’s just what fowlers are - experts in catching birds.
In biblical times, too, the fowler was a well-known man. Not only did he provide birds for eating, but he also sold birds to be used in sacrifice. These birds, of course, could only be pigeons or turtledoves. You will remember the biblical stories about the sellers of birds in the court of the Temple.
The fowler used various methods to make his captures. Some of them used light traps made with noose cords which entangled the birds’ feet. Others used nets. Still others used bows or throw sticks. Now these methods we can understand and approve. After all, there is something sportsmanlike about such procedures. But unscrupulous fowlers also had other methods that they used, which were not so nice. Among the milder of these was the practice of caging captured birds and then concealing them so that their voices would draw other birds. Well, admittedly, that’s not so bad. But then, sometimes the eyelids of a bird were sown shut, and then it was placed in a camouflaged location where its cries would draw other birds. Now, there is no word for that other than cruel. And, of course, there is a nasty kind of deceit inherent in it.
Because of this method of catching their prey by trickery, in the Bible a "fowler" is the word used to describe those who try to ensnare the unwary and bring them to ruin. Hosea says that the false prophets are like fowlers (Hosea 9:8), but it also works the other way - God snares the wicked (Job 18:9-10; Hosea 7:12). The snare as envisioned in the Bible is wickedness, evil, or idolatry. A very apt description of the wicked man - one who traps the unwary like a trusting bird, ready to fall into the hunter’s hand!
2. HUNTER
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Genesis 25:27 - "When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents."
Proverbs 6:5 - "save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler."
The hunter or fowler was one of the earliest of occupations. Although the strictly hunting phase of man’s cultural development had been long gone before the biblical period began, still the hunt provided supplementary food for the diet, and as such, it was important. Hunting with dogs is known for the immediately pre-Israelite period in Palestine; we find this in the Egyptian story The Tale of Sinuhe. However, dogs don’t seem to have been used much in Israel itself.
Two hunters from the early time are mentioned by name in the Old Testament: Nimrod and Esau. There are few references to the hunting of four-footed beasts, but the fowler, with his nets and snares, is frequently mentioned, probably because Palestine lies on the main flight routes of the migratory birds. But a low opinion of hunting in general seemed to be the vogue in Israel, perhaps because Esau was a hunter, and uncivilized, and Jacob was a herdsman and quiet, and of course, a patriarch.
Three principal methods of hunting are mentioned in the Bible: 1. shooting with the bow and arrows; 2. snaring by the spring net and cage, especially for birds, such as quail, duck, and partridge; and 3. pits covered with a net and brushwood to catch deer, foxes, wolves, bears, lions, etc.
In hunting wild animals for protection or to destroy a scavenger, the spear, sword and club were used. Eventually, hunting came to be regarded as a sport, although the people in general were strongly opposed to this. It was a sport reserved for royalty, and Josephus tells us that Herod enjoyed hunting on horseback, a sport introduced by the Persians.
Only two regulations existed in regard to hunting:
1. A female bird was not to be taken while sitting on fledglings or eggs.
2. The hunter was to bleed his animal immediately and cover up the blood with earth.
Today the most obvious comparison comes to the guide or leader of a safari. Many people hunt for sport, but hunting to provide food for the family table is almost a thing of the past, even though it does come in handy for some mountain-hemmed peoples at times. But the profession of game hunter is limited almost exclusively to those who guide greenhorns through forests and swamps in search of thrills and adventure. Rather a far cry from the ancient concept!
3. Labor For The Lord
Illustration
Glen Pierpoint
Our labor for the Lord is:
- a labor of love (I Thes 1:3).
- a labor not in vain (I Cor 15:58).
- a labor known by Christ (Rev 2:2).
- a labor God does not forget (Heb 6:10).
- a labor which is to be done together (I Cor 3:9).
- a labor for eternal things (Col 1:28-9).
- a labor which is to reward (I Cor 3:8).
- a labor done to be accepted by Him (II Cor 5:9).
- a labor which doesn't have an end (Luke 10:2).
4. With Fire In His Eyes
Illustration
Richard A. Jensen
There was fire in his eyes as Dr. Yacob spoke. Dr. Yacob is from the northernmost part of ancient Ethiopia. This northern area of Ethiopia has recently become a nation of its own, the nation of Eritrea. Dr. Yacob was born and raised in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Early on in his life he had a fire in his eyes for the gospel message of Jesus Christ. In his school days he was already an evangelist telling other students about Jesus. He fought with school authorities in order to get a place on the school grounds where the students might meet for Bible study and prayer.
After high school Dr. Yacob attended the Lutheran seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was a dilligent student. He eventually received a scholarship to study abroad and received his Ph.D. in Old Testament studies. In 1978 Dr. Yacob was elected to be the general secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea. These were difficult times. Eritrea was fighting a full scale civil war with Ethiopia. The nation was paralyzed. The resources for life -- things like food, water, firewood, gas and electricity -- were very scarce. People lived on the edge of desperate poverty. People lived on the edge of death.
In the midst of this poverty, war and destruction Dr. Yacob was determined to rebuild many of the church buildings that had been destroyed. The churches were very well attended in these years. "Every Sunday is like Christmas," Dr. Yacob once said. With the help of overseas partners many of the churches in Eritrea were rebuilt in the midst of ruin. Many 37questioned Dr. Yacob's choice of church building in this desperate situation. "Building a building is a sign of hope," he maintained with fire in his eyes. "We trust God to be Lord of Life in the midst of death. The buildings were like miracles for us. Jeremiah bought a field at Anathoth just when he thought the land was to be taken away by destruction. His action was a sign of hope for the future. Our buildings are a sign of hope for our future. All could see that in the midst of death, the church was alive."
Dr. Yacob works in France now in the Department of Ecumenical Research for the Lutheran World Federation. This is a leader tested by life. This is a leader who has lived through the hell of war and poverty. Now he travels the whole world over. In far too many places he sees the same kind of conditions that he once saw in Eritrea. Poverty stalks the earth in a million guises. Poverty has churned up his insides. He has simply seen too much suffering.
Speaking to a group of Lutheran missionaries not long ago Dr. Yacob spoke with the accustomed fire in his eyes. "These conditions around the world must stop," he exploded. "I've talked with Lutheran leaders in churches around the world where poverty reigns. We decry the working of the economic systems of our world today. We decry the economic injustice that we see everywhere. We decry a world where some live in magnificent luxury while the world's billions starve to death. This has to stop! We are ready to propose that world Lutheranism adopt it as a basic confession of being a Christian that economic systems which create injustice and inequity must be rejected." "
5. God Is Seeking You in Love
Illustration
James Fitzgerald
Fred Craddock tells the story of his father, who spent years of his life hiding from the God who was seeking him out: "When the pastor used to come from my mother's church to call on him, my father would say, ‘You don't care about me. I know how churches are. You want another pledge, another name, right? Another name, another pledge, isn't that the whole point of church? Get another name, another pledge.'
My nervous mother would run to the kitchen, crying, for fear somebody's feelings would be hurt. When we had an evangelistic campaign the pastor would bring the evangelist, introduce him to my father and then say, ‘Sic him, get him! Sic him, get him!' My father would always say the same thing. ‘You don't care about me! Another name, another pledge. Another name, another pledge! I know about churches.'
I guess I heard it a thousand times. One time he didn't say it. He was at the Veteran's Hospital. He was down to 74 pounds. They had taken out the throat, put in a metal tube, and said, ‘Mr. Craddock, you should have come earlier. But this cancer is awfully far advanced. We'll give radium, but we don't know.'
I went in to see him. In every window—potted plants and flowers. Everywhere there was a place to set them—potted plants and flowers. Even in that thing that swings out over your bed they put food on, there was a big flower. There was by his bed a stack of cards 10 or 15 inches deep. I looked at the cards sprinkled in the flowers. I read the cards beside his bed. And I want to tell you, every card, every blossom, every potted plant from groups, Sunday School classes, women's groups, youth groups, men's bible class, of my mother's church—every one of them. My father saw me reading them. He could not speak, but he took a Kleenex box and wrote something on the side from Shakespeare's Hamlet. . . . He wrote on the side, ‘In this harsh world, draw your breath in pain to tell my story.' I said, ‘What is your story, Daddy?' And he wrote, ‘I was wrong.'"
It is not until you know God is seeking you in love, not in condemnation; it is not until that moment that the gospel becomes Good News for you.
6. Under God
Illustration
Charles Panati
The Pledge of Allegiance is not a verse composed by the Founding Fathers of our republic. It was written especially for children in the summer of 1892 to commemorate that year's celebration of Columbus Day in public schools throughout the country.
The pledge first appeared in print on September 8, 1892, in The Youth's Companion, an educational publication. In its original form, it read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which is stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
Its author was Francis Bellamy, an assistant editor of The Youth's Companion, who intended it for a one-time recitation. But its immediate popularity transformed it first into an annual Columbus Day tradition and then into a daily classroom ritual. It became one of the earliest verses memorized by students. Since its debut, Bellamy's pledge has undergone two major alterations. In 1923, the National Flag Conference of the American Legion replaced the somewhat ambiguously personal "my Flag" wording with the more explicitly patriotic "the Flag of the United States of America." And in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill that added the words "Under God."
7. The Poverty in the Christmas Story
Illustration
Edward F. Markquart
The gospel story for today could be entitled, "The Original Christmas Pageant." In both the first two chapters of Luke and in the rest of the gospel, we hear of God's special concern for the poor. Both in the whole gospel of Luke and in the first two chapters of prelude, there is a preoccupation with those who live in poverty. I would like to suggest to you that the forgotten element of Luke's original Christmas pageant is the theme of poverty and poor people themselves. The poverty of the Christmas story is often the forgotten element.
Dr. Walter Pilgrim's book about the gospel of Luke is entitled, GOOD NEWS FOR THE POOR. This professor, who is from Pacific Lutheran University and often teaches at our congregation, reminds us that ALL of the characters from Luke's original Christmas pageant were poor people. ALL of them! The story about the three wise men with their gold, frankincense and myrrh is not a story from the gospel of Luke but from the book of Matthew. For Luke, ALL the characters in his Christmas play are poor people.
8. You Are Lazy
Illustration
Brian Stoffregen
The story is told of a minister who, to show his reliance on God, entered the pulpit trusting that God would tell him what to say. After his prayer for guidance, he waited expectedly and God spoke to him "You are lazy," was the divine word addressed to him.
How much of the demise of many congregations may be due to "lazy" clergy? How much to "lazy" members? Or lack of ambition from both? Can a pious-sounding, "I'm waiting on the Lord," be a sign of laziness? "Shrinking" from work?
Perhaps Luther's "sin boldly" quote might be appropriate, which might be paraphrased, "Get off your butt and do something even if it's wrong." If it is wrong, "pray boldly" to receive God's grace even more profoundly.
9. Debts in Roman Society
Illustration
James R. Davis
In the ancient world cruel treatment was practiced against debtors, often without regard to the debtor's ability or intention to repay. In Athens prior to the establishment of democratic rights, a creditor could demand slave labor of his debtor or of members of the debtor's family as surety of payment.
Roman law provided punishment by imprisonment to the debtors. The reason for imprisonment and cruel treatment was to force the debtor to sell whatever property he might secretly own, or to have the debtor's relatives pay his debt.
The creditor would demand slave labor of the entire family so that the debt might be worked off. There were legal restrictions to prevent extreme cruelty, but in spite of the laws the entire system of debts and sureties was recklessly abused in the ancient world.
The prophets frequently condemned violations of the laws.
10. The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like a Professor
Illustration
The kingdom of heaven is like a professor who went off on a long sabbatical. Before he left, he called together his graduate students and gave each of them projects to work on; to one he gave five projects, to another two, and to another one, each according to their ability. The one who received five projects immediately went to work, designing experiments, building equipment, and analyzing data. She worked long and hard, and eventually she achieved good results on each project. Likewise, the one who received two projects immediately went to work, and eventually got results as well. But the student who received one project was easily discouraged, got distracted by her coursework, and eventually gave up.
After a very long time, the professor returned to settle accounts with his students. The first student said, "Professor, you gave me these projects to work on, and see, here are the results." And the professor answered, "Well done, good and faithful graduate student. You have been faithful over five projects. You shall be co-author on five publications and receive a Ph.D! (And you can expect a good letter of recommendation, too!)" Likewise the second student showed his results, and the professor said, "Well done, good and faithful student. You have been faithful over two projects. You will be co-author on two publications, and receive a Master's degree."
But the third student came and said, "Professor, I know that you are a harsh man, publishing where you did not labor, and claiming credit where you did not contribute, and I was afraid. So I kept the lab locked up and I didn't let anyone borrow any equipment. See, everything is just the way you left it." Then the professor answered, "You wicked and slothful graduate student! I will judge you by your own words. So, you knew that I was a harsh man, publishing where I did not labor, and claiming credit where I did not contribute; well then, you should have at least gotten a teaching fellowship so that I wouldn't have had to pay your salary out of my research grants! Now depart from me and from this institution ... out into the REAL world, and try to find a job. There you will have weeping and gnashing of teeth." For to everyone who has, more will be given. But to him who has not, even what little he has will be taken away. (Matthew 25:14-30)
11. The Deal on the Table
Illustration
Matthew Olanrewaju
The bank manager calls you up, meets up with you at a meeting in the comfort of your living room, tells you the good news, says your huge crippling mortgage is paid up, old debts written off and all overdraft paid. You say, stop kidding me, manager--what really brings you here. He says, serious--no joke, all monies and debts paid up from the man himself, look, here’s a signed cheque from the man himself. JC.
The deal is on the table, all you need to do is sign and it’s all done for you. Well still skeptical, which is understandable, you still ask, what’s the catch? The small print?
The Bank manager says, no, not this time, there isn’t one. Oh! Sorry he says, you must be obedient to the will of God for this deal to remain in force.
Would you sign it? Or rot in your old miserable ways. That is what the new covenant is all about. Someone paid for your debts to be written off and all he wants in return is an obedient heart. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I didn’t think about the deal, I’ve already signed it.
12. Suffering for Independence
Illustration
Brett Blair
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty.
At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.
Such were the sacrifices of the founding fathers. There are no movements that have shaped the world where sacrifice was not called upon. And of course in the church we have all our grace predicated on a sacrifice and it didn't stop at the cross. Jesus told his disciples that they too would need to take up the cross. And that's what they did:
- Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of Ethiopia.
- Mark expired at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city.
- Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in the classic land of Greece.
- John was put in a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to Patmos.
- Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward.
- James, the Greater, was beheaded at Jerusalem.
- James, the Less, was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller's club.
- Bartholomew was flayed alive.
- Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors until he died.
- Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel in the East Indies.
- Jude was shot to death with arrows.
- Matthais was first stoned and then beheaded.
- Barnabas of the Gentiles was stoned to death at Salonica.
- Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was at length beheaded at Rome by the Emperor Nero.
13. Watchfulness
Illustration
Tim Carpenter
In Frankfort, Kentucky (United States) it is said that the city was enthralled in a big debate many years ago about placing a water fountain in a public square. The argument became heated in the legislature and at the governor's mansion. Finally, a decision was made to ask three contractors to bid on the project.
The first contractor was from Western Kentucky. When asked what his bid was he replied, "$3,000." Then he was asked to break it down, to which he replied, "$1,000 for labor, $1,000 for materials, and $1,000 for me." The next contractor was from Eastern Kentucky. When asked to give his bid and to break it down he said, "$6,000. $2,000 for labor, $2,000 for materials, and $2,000 for me."
The last contractor was an established contractor from Frankfort who usually got all of the bids for the capital. When asked to give his bid, he replied, "$9,000." Then they asked him to break it down. He closed the doors, looked around cautiously, and then said, "$3,000 for YOU, $3,000 for me, and we give the bid to the guy from Western Kentucky!"
Now, they had bigger problems in Frankfort than deciding on a water fountain. But so often we can get sidetracked by things that seem important, like water fountains. The disciples weremore concerned with the temple being destroyed and the world coming to an end than they were with the things that matter most in life: character, integrity, compassion, and preparedness for Christ's return. This is what Jesus means when he tells his Disciples to watch!
14. Tell the Cats to Turn Around
Illustration
Bill Bouknight
We despise people who challenge our cherished myths and kick us out of our comfort zones. The truth is that when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to the spirit of Christ. Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of a previous generation. He was conducting a crusade in a particular city. In one of his sermons he said something critical of the labor conditions for workers in that area. After the service, several prominent businessmen sent a message to him by one of the local pastors. The message was this: Billy, leave labor matters alone. Concentrate on getting people saved. Stay away from political issues. You're rubbing the fur the wrong way."
Billy Sunday sent this message back to them: "If I'm rubbing the fur the wrong way, tell the cats to turn around."
15. How Much Is Enough?
Illustration
John P. Jewell
According to the old saying, enough is enough. When you have enough of anything, it means you have an adequate supply. If it is money it means you have sufficient funds to pay the bills. If it is food, it means you have an ample amount for the number of people who are going to eat.
If there is not enough of something, you could have trouble. Not enough money means you might have creditors hounding you. Not enough food might mean lots of complaints. In one scenario presented by Henry Kindall and David Pimentel in a journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, there is, "...little hope of providing adequate food for the majority of humanity by 2025-2050." [Ambio Vol. 23 No. 3, May 1994] It is almost frightening to think that there might not be enough to go around when the children in our nurseries are raising their families.
On the other hand there are people that enjoy much more than enough to get along. A while back, people in Michigan and Illinois shared the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. They will each have $20,000 each week to spend as they wish. I guess you would call that way more than enough. This is especially true in light of the fact that a family of two, according to the federal guidelines on poverty, lives on just over half that amount in a year.
And yet, "enough" is a relative concept isn't it? There are countries in the third world where it would take almost 40 years for a family to make the equivalent of our poverty level income.
How much is enough?
16. The Lord’s Prayer: A Walking Prayer
Illustration
Kenneth W. Collins
Every evening I walk three miles as part of my losing campaign against high blood pressure and my imperialistic waist line. I generally don’t wear an iPod, because I prefer to take my exercise without anesthesia. (I enjoy the sounds of nature, and I want to be able to hear the cars honk before they run me over.) Sometimes I devote the time to prayer, and I have found that the Lord’s Prayer makes a good outline. Here’s how I do it:
I address God as my Father by adoption through the grace of Jesus Christ and give thanks for His salvation.
I pledge to keep His name holy in all my conduct. I remind Him of ways I have done this in the past, and ask Him forgiveness for all the ways I have failed to do so as well.
I ask that His will be done, here on earth through me, as efficiently as it is done by His angels in heaven. I give examples of how I think I could do that; I ask His guidance and pledge my obedience.
I ask for my material needs for the day, itemizing and discussing them. I give thanks for specific instances of His providence in the past.
I ask forgiveness, but only to the degree I am willing to forgive others. If I have a problem, I discuss it in detail.
If I am facing any particular temptations, I discuss them and ask God to help me resist them. If I have recently survived any tough tests, I discuss them and thank God that He gave me the power to overcome them.
I tell God about the evil things that frighten me, and ask Him to deliver me from them. I also give thanks for past rescues.
You get the idea. When you pray like this, it’s amazing how time flies!
17. MINER
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Job 28:2 - "Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore."
We are certainly familiar with the men who work the mines in America today - but, unfortunately, we are usually familiar only because tragedy has brought them to our attention. There is a cave-in or an explosion, and men are trapped, perhaps to remain in their earthy tombs for many months until it is safe to remove their bodies. We see picture stories in our newspapers and national magazines about the poverty and despair of those whose land has been destroyed by strip mining. And so we might be tempted to look into the Bible for parallels.
Surprisingly enough, we’ll find nothing of this sort of problem. As a matter of fact, there isn’t even a Hebrew word for "mine" or "mining" in a biblical text. This would lead us to believe that mining was not an occupation with which the Hebrews were very familiar.
Now it’s true that mining has been known from the very earliest times. Probably the most ancient method was the simple one of taking gold from materials deposited by rivers or floods. It is likely that the earliest source of lead, copper, iron, and silver was by means of outcrop mining - the surface mining of ores found in the upper levels of the soil or in the veins of rocks. However, we do also know that underground mining was practiced before the twelth century B.C., and that the Egyptians mined for copper and turquoise before 3000 B.C. As with so many things that have been excavated in Egypt and found to be amazingly modern - so too with their mines - they had shafts over 100 feet deep, which were ventilated and had pillars to support the roof!
We have heard many times of King Solomon’s mines, and it is a fact that they existed - Dr. Nelson Glueck’s explorations in Southern Palestine have disclosed extensive copper and iron mining and refining sites. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that from about 120-600 B.C. there was an intensive exploitation of the copper deposits of the Arabah, and it is highly likely that this exploitation was carried on by the Kenites, who, in turn, passed on their knowledge of mining to the Hebrews.
The work then, just as today, was arduous, and the miners lived under poor conditions. In fact, the great probability is that miners were slaves, convicts, and prisoners, who were sent to these mines to work out their sentences. Perhaps not quite the same situation exists today, but miners, in most instances, are still slaves of the system, and prisoners of poverty and neglect and indifference. So - we haven’t come too far, have we?
18. Demons in Our Modern World
Illustration
Roger Ray
I was just as naive as I was sincere when I wrote a letter to a missionary in Papua, New Guinea. I was a 19-year-old college student trying to make sense out of the Bible. I was reading the gospels with an ardent desire to believe what I was reading but I kept getting hung up on these stories about demon exorcisms. If the gospels were true then there were real demons in the world and yet I didn't see anyone but quacks and nut cases doing demon exorcisms on TV.
Someone in my college campus ministry suggested to me that we no longer saw demons in the civilized world but that missionaries in remote parts of the world did. I knew the name of a missionary in the terribly primitive region of Papua, New Guinea so I wrote to him. I wanted him to validate the Biblical stories about demons by telling me that he had heard them speak, that he had witnesses an exorcism. I hope he could tell me some really hair-raising stories.
It took him several weeks to answer my letter and it took me a few years to understand his response.
He avoided my request for a description of face-to-face encounters with the demonic. He didn't say anything about hearing them speak or of exorcisms. He did, however, say that there were demons in Papua, New Guinea and that he was shocked that I had not seen anywhere I lived in Memphis, Tennessee. "Do you not see the demons at work in p*rnography, prostitution, in racial hatred and in poverty?" he asked me.
At first it seemed to me that he just didn't understand my question...later it became obvious to me that I had not understood his answer. Racism, poverty and the whole abuse of women in the sex industry were certainly obviously present in the city where I lived and I accepted that these things were evil but they were everyday things.... things that were always there and always would be there. I wanted to hear about something more biblical...about a demon speaking to a missionary or some vision of demon possession.... he just wanted to write to me about everyday stuff.
19. Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Illustration
Donald B. Strobe
In our Lord's Prayer we are often puzzled by the traditional words: "Lead us not into temptation." How can this be? The Letter of James says that "God tempts no one." (James 1:13) Many of us much prefer the more modern ecumenical version of the Lord's Prayer. I'd like to know what you think. Do you find it helpful to understand the words, or would you rather use the more traditional, familiar phrasing? You all know, of course, that even in the traditional form of the prayer there are differences. Methodists ask to have their "trespasses" forgiven, while Presbyterians pray about their "debts." Someone once said that the Presbyterians, being Scots, would rather have their debts forgiven than their trespasses any day! Be that as it may, the Greek word actually means "sins". That is what we are praying about. To have our sins forgiven to the same extent that we are willing to forgive those who have sinned against us. Pretty strong stuff, huh! "Save us in time of trial," says the Ecumenical Version. Testing times are not intended to make us fall; they are sent to strengthen us. And God is there to help.
20. The Importance of Words
Illustration
In a book on preaching by George Sweazey, the author reminds us that "Christianity is not something you talk about, it is something you do. Sitting through sermons can become the major Christian activity." And, of course, that is not all that we are called to do, is it? "What we want is deeds, not words," we sometimes say. But Dr. Sweazey says that that is a false dichotomy. Indeed, says he, words are deeds! The ancient Greeks had a saying, "By words alone are lives of mortals swayed." Sweazey writes: "the talkers are the doers, if what they talk about is important. The greatest doer of all was called the Word,' and words that start with him have changed men and nations." (PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Co., 1976. p. 3)
He goes on: "If what a preacher says can alter even slightly the direction in which people are aimed when they leave the church, the effect can be beyond all calculation." What people think determines everything. Lincoln said: With the public sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently, he who moulds public opinion goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. (Sweazey, op. cit., p. 9) Physicians and farmers labor to keep people alive. Preachers labor to make their lives worth living. And that is infinitely worth doing. Joseph Conrad said that words, "Have set the whole nations in motion and upheaved the dry, hard ground on which rests our social fabric... Give me the right word and the right accent and I will move the world." Actions are important: but words motivate actions.
21. Living Unaware of Our Vast Fortune
Illustration
Dan Rondeau
Come with me into West Texas during the Depression. Mr. Ira Yates was like many other ranchers and farmers. He had a lot of land, and a lot of debt. Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on a government subsidy.
Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.
At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn't know the oil was there even though he owned it.
It is fair to say that you and I are a lot like Mr. Yates at times. We are heirs of a vast treasure and yet we live in spiritual poverty. We are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, and yet we live unaware of our birthright. We gather today to remember how rich we are.
22. A Hunger for God
Illustration
Alex Gondola
Someone has said that our model for living today is more like Madonna, the "material girl," than it is like Mother Teresa. Have we somehow confused our wants with our needs? So, we may be hungry not hungry for food, but hungry in another way. In one of her books, Mother Teresa writes: "The spiritual poverty of the Western world is much greater than the physical poverty of [Third World] people. You in the West have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness. They feel unwanted and unloved ... These people are not hungry in a physical sense but they are in another way. They know they need something more than money, yet they don't know what it is. What they are missing really is a living relationship with God."
23. Spiritual Poverty
Illustration
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa wrote: "The spiritual poverty of the Western world is much greater than the physical poverty of the Third World. You in the West have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness. They feel unwanted and unloved.These people are not hungry in a physical sense but they are in another way. They know they need something more than money, yet they don't know what it is. What they are missing really is a living relationship with God."
24. Automatic Faith
Illustration
Bob Shaw
There was a business consultant who decided to landscape his grounds. He hired a woman with a doctorate in horticulture who was extremely knowledgeable.Because the business consultant was very busy and traveled a lot, he kept emphasizing to her the need to create his garden in a way that would require little or no maintenance on his part.He insisted on automatic sprinklers and other labor-saving devices.
Finally she stopped and said, "There's one thing you need to deal with before we go any further. If there's no gardener, then there is no garden!"
There are no labor-saving devices for growing a garden of spiritual virtue. Becoming a person of spiritual fruitfulness requires time, attention and care. How many of us are like that business consultant? We're very busy during the week and get caught up in work and social activities and don't spend the time we need to work on our spiritual growth?Then we come into church on Sunday for an automatic sprinkling of holy water, feeding off the energy of those around us. How many times during the week are you running really low on your spiritual food by Wednesday or Thursday and do nothing about it?
25. An Overtime Assignment
Illustration
Staff
Amy Carter brought an assignment home one Friday night while her father was still President. Stumped by a question on the Industrial Revolution, Amy sought help from her mother. Rosalynn was also fogged by the question and, in turn, asked an aide to seek clarification from the Labor Department. A "rush" was placed on the request since the assignment was due Monday. Thinking the question was a serious request from the Prez himself, a Labor Department official immediately cranked up the government computer and kept a full team of technicians and programmers working overtime all weekend...at a reported cost of several hundred thousand dollars. The massive computer printout was finally delivered by truck to the White House on Sunday afternoon and Amy showed up in class with the official answer the following day. But her history teacher was not impressed. When Amy's paper was returned, it was marked with a big red "C."
What this teaches us is that Government was effective then at answering simple questions as it is now.
26. We Are Like Paupers
Illustration
Ray C. Stedman
I like the way Dr. H. A. Ironside explained this: He said that we are like paupers who have accumulated so many debts that we cannot pay them. These are our sins. These tremendous claims are made against us, and we cannot possibly meet them. But when Jesus came, he took all these mortgages and notes and agreements we could not meet and endorsed them with his own name, thereby saying that he intended to pay them, he would meet them. This is what his baptism signifies, and is why Jesus said to John the Baptist, "...thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness," (Matthew 3:15b RSV). He declared his intention to meet the righteous demands of God by himself undertaking to pay the debts of men. So the baptism was clearly an act of identification.
27. Different Worlds
Illustration
Brett Blair
Some years ago before the death of Mother Theresa, a television special depicted the grim human conditions that were a part of her daily life. It showed all the horror of the slums of Calcutta and her love for these destitute people. The producer interviewed her as she made her rounds in that dreadful place. Throughout the program commercials interrupted the flow of the discussion. Here is the sequence of the topics and commercials: lepers (bikinis for sale); mass starvation (designer jeans); agonizing poverty (fur coats); abandoned babies (ice cream sundaes) the dying (diamond watches).
The irony was so apparent. Two different worlds were on display--the world of the poor and the world of the affluent. It seems that our very culture here in the United States, and any other place that has a great deal of commercialization to it, is teaching us to live as the Rich Man in the story of Lazarus. We are occasionally presented with the images of the poor man Lazarus at our gate but we are immediately reminded of the next car we ought to by and the next meal we should eat. We are slowly and methodically told it is O.K. to live our life of luxury while others live their life of poverty. But alas, it is not so! Heaven's reversal of fortune shall one day awaken us to the fact that we have separated ourselves from the agonies of others. That we did not care about others who suffered.
28. The Disposition and the Dinner Table
Illustration
"I like to eat at your table," said the young lad. "Somehow the food always tastes better."
"We are always glad to have you with us," said the neighbor lady.
Even the same foods at home don't taste quite as good," effervesced Jerry. "The things you say with what you eat at your table make everything taste better."
Many lessons of life are learned at the dinner table. Not only the food we eat physically but the spiritual food we eat adds beauty to life or may give indigestion.
Solomon said, "The parents have eaten sour grapes and set the children's teeth on edge."
Everywhere Christian leaders, preachers and teachers are needed. The opportunity is great but the laborers are few.
Be sure your meal table breeds optimism, faith and love for God's kingdom. Don't be lazy in your religious endeavors. Don't be easily offended in a good cause.
You may send forth lazy children or real workers for righteousness. Children do reflect their parents. What disposition is developed at your dinner table?
29. A Builder or a Wrecker
Illustration
Staff
As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
And the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need."
"I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken years to do."
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
"O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!"
30. How Poor Are You
Illustration
Jeff Olson
One day a father of a wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. On their way back to their home, father and son got into a conversation about all they had experienced while at the farm.
"What did you think of our trip to the farm," asked the father.
"It was very good, Dad!"
"Did you see how poor people can be?" continued his father.
"Yeah!
"And what did you learn?"
"I saw that, while we have a dog at home, they have four dogs," the son replied. "We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, while they have a creek that has no end. We have electric lamps in the garden, and they have a sky full of stars. Our patio goes all the way to the wall around our property. They have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless. "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we really are!"
Nicodemus could not understand his poverty of soul until Jesus showed him how poor he really was. Nicodemus was a pillar of society and a religious leader but those things had little meaning. Nicodemus, Jesus said, you must be born again. The little boy saw what the father could not the value of the farm. Poverty is in the eye of the beholder.
31. Renouncing Everything
Illustration
Steven P. Loy
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn served in the Russian army during World War II. He was decorated for bravery and rose to the rank of captain. In 1945, while serving on the German front, he was arrested for criticizing Stalin in letters to a friend and was sentenced to eight years in a labor camp. After completing his prison sentence, Solzhenitsyn was exiled to Kazakhstan, but after Stalin's death his position improved, and his citizenship was restored in 1956. His first novels described how grim life could be in the labor-camp system. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was permitted publication in 1962 as a result of the personal intervention of Nikita Khrushchev. In subsequent years, however, he was considered to be a dangerous and hostile critic of the soviet system. He was again arrested and imprisoned. He was accused of treason, stripped of his citizenship, and forcibly deported to the West. His deportation in 1974 allowed him to personally accept the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he had been awarded four years earlier.
In his book The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn documents the operation of the oppressive Soviet totalitarian system from 1918 to 1956 by using personal interviews and reminiscences from his time in the camps. He tells how prisoners were able to withstand abuse and interrogation even when they had done nothing wrong. This is a small section from the book.
How can you stand your ground when you are weak and sensitive to pain, when people you love are still alive, when you are unprepared? What do you need to make you stronger than the interrogator and the whole trap?
From the moment you go in prison you must put your cozy past firmly behind you. At the very threshold, you must say to yourself: "My life is over, a little early to be sure, but there's nothing to be done about it. I shall never return to freedom. I am condemned to die - now or a little later. But later on, in truth, it will be even harder, and so the sooner the better. I no longer have any property whatsoever. For me those I love have died, and for them I have died. From today on, my body is useless and alien to me. Only my spirit and my conscience remain precious and important to me."
Confronted by such a prisoner, the interrogator will tremble. Only the man who has renounced everything can win that victory.
32. A Living Sacrifice
Illustration
Brett Blair
There is, I think it is true to say, something a little bit depressing about Labor Day weekend. For Labor day weekend signals the psychological end, at least, to summer with its periods of refreshment, and the start again, for many of us, of the more hectic rhythm of life and work at school, in college, at office or, in home. So let me ask you: How is your work? Are you giving of your self at work? Is work a place where you sacrifice for a cause?
I find it helpful to remember the story of the little girl who, in the process of growing up, discovered that more than anything else she wanted to be able to mow the lawn. But each season she was told that she was too young. The great day came, however, when her parents decided that, at last, she was old enough to do the task.
She did it with surprising skill and great delight, and having finished admiring her work, she began to cast long, envious glances across the fence at the neighbor's lawn, which also needed cutting.
The neighbor, seeing her interest, said, "Sally, would you like to cut my lawn?" And the little girl enthusiastically said 'yes.'
"Well, let's see...how about $3.00?" said the neighbor.
The little girl's face fell, and she turned away, shaking her head.
"What's the matter?" asked the neighbor.
"I only have $2.00," said the little girl.
33. The Peace that Jesus Gives
Illustration
Lee Griess
There is a road in southern Italy that begins in the city of Eboli and ends in the mountain village of Gagliano. To anyone who makes that journey, it is an ascent to hell. Gagliano is no more than a scattered cluster of fallen down whitewashed old buildings, hanging desperately to barren slopes near a rocky cliff. The village has been there for centuries and for as far back as the oldest person can remember it has always been a place of severe poverty, unrelenting disease, frightening superstition, monotonous despair, and death. Oppressed and defeated by those conditions, it is said that the peasants of Gagliano do not sing and there is a saying among them that "Christ stopped in Eboli," that somehow God had forgotten them and Christ stopped at the other end of the road. Because hope and joy, the fullness of human life that God means for us to have, are not found there, the road to Gagliano is a road that leads to hell.
Likewise, there are some stairs in a New York City tenement that go up six flights to an apartment that houses a family of ten -- a grandmother, her two daughters and their seven children. Anyone who has climbed those stairs and shared in the experiences of that family this past year has made an ascent to hell. Unemployed, with few or no job skills, the family subsists on welfare payments and the meager wages one daughter brings home from work at a fast-food restaurant. Often the heat does not work and there is no hot water. Many days there is no food, for alcohol and drugs often eat up their money. Five days before Christmas, while the grandmother was down on the first floor to fetch the mail, one of the little boys climbed up on the gas stove, turned it on and set himself ablaze. While the rest of the world was singing "Joy to the World," that family, already dead to the world around them, mourned the painful death of one of their children.
In another part of the world, there is a trail in eastern Turkey that winds its way through the rocky barrens to the squalor of a refugee camp. Here thousands of people are housed in makeshift tents -- tattered blanket homes. If you were to take that road and visit those camps, you would hike yourself into hell. Sickness and disease are rampant there. Death is a frequent visitor where fresh water and food are scarce and sanitary conditions are unheard of. The people who live in those camps are trapped -- unable to move forward into Turkey and, because of war and fighting behind, unable to go back to their homes.
In this so-called modern world, which is supposed to be undergoing a revolution of change in the direction of a "new world order," so many of its roads lead not up, or forward, into the future, but back and down into hell. Sickness stalks the streets of Zaire under the name of the Ebola virus. In fact, all over our world, and even here in the United States,there are streets and stairways, elevators and superhighways that lead to hell, places of evil where people are trapped in boredom, bigotry, loneliness, leukemia, poverty, psychosis, despair, and death.
Trouble is all about us and the words of Saint Paul ring true when he wrote, "Outwardly we are wasting away. Daily we are being given over to death." To us Jesus speaks this morning, saying, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid."
34. A Commitment to "Words of Life"
Illustration
Brett Blair
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on his own home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.
This is the story of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. It is a story of the high price of commitment. It also the story of Jesus' disciples who paid the high price of commitment. History tells us that they all died because of their witness to Christ. And so you all are free to go. You may leave right now, but let me ask you: To whom shall you go? He has the words of life.
35. Rewards
Illustration
Thomas a Kempis
Do not be worn out by the labors which you have undertaken for My sake, and do not let tribulations ever cast you down. Instead, let My promise strengthen and comfort you under every circ*mstance. I am well able to reward you above all measure and degree. You shall not toil here long nor always be oppressed with griefs. A time will come when all labor and trouble will cease. Labor faithfully in My vineyard; I will be thy recompense. Life everlasting is worth all these conflict, and greater than these. Are not all plentiful labors to be endured for the sake of life eternal? Lift your face therefore to heaven; behold I and all My saints with me--who in this world had great conflicts--are now comforted, now rejoicing, now secure, now at rest, and shall remain with Me everlastingly in the kingdom of My father.
36. Compassion Is a Gift from God
Illustration
King Duncan
A man named Al Wiener survived the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. He entered a labor camp when he was 15. Years in those camps took their toll. Over time his weight dropped to 80 pounds and he was weak and always hungry. He was slowly starving to death.
In one labor camp he worked in a textile factory. There were German women who worked in the textile factory. They were forbidden from speaking to prisoners like Al. They were not even allowed to look them in the eye. One day a German woman pointed, motioning for Al to go to another part of the room. Al waited until no one was looking and he went to the spot she had picked out. She pointed to a crate and walked away. Al lifted the crate and found a sandwich. A precious, precious sandwich. How we take such riches for granted. Al ate the sandwich quickly while no one was looking.
Every day for two months the woman left a sandwich under that crate for him. She risked her life for him. Al says her sandwiches probably saved his life.
Al believes that God used this woman's heroic and charitable acts to save him so that today he can tell others his story and the story of millions of unfortunate people who were executed by the Nazis.
What would the world be without compassionate people, people who are willing to feel the pain of those less fortunate than themselves? Compassion is a gift from God.
37. Daily Diligence
Illustration
Martin Luther
Let ministers daily pursue their studies with diligence and constantly busy themselves with them. Moreover, let them with care and diligence beware of the infectious poison of this imagined security and conceited overestimation; rather let them steadily keep on reading, teaching, studying, pondering, and meditating. My concern should be that others receive from me what God has taught me in Scripture, and that I strive to present this in the most attractive form, to teach the ignorant, to admonish and encourage those who have knowledge, to comfort troubled consciences, to awaken and strengthen negligent and sleepy hearts as Paul did, and as he commanded his pupils Timothy and Titus to do. This should be my concern; how others get the truth from me. Studying is my work the work God wants me to do. And if it pleases Him, He will bless it.
38. The Growing Gap in America
Illustration
Will Willimon
In the early 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting our young nation, was struck by the "general equality of condition among American people." Few were very rich, and few were terribly poor, and de Tocqueville felt that this was fertile soil for the development of true democracy.
Somewhere between there and now we changed. Today, perhaps the most noticeable aspect of American economics and perhaps the most dangerous aspect of American politics, is the growing gap between rich and poor.
Bidding farewell to my German exchange student last year I asked, "What will be your most vivid memory which you will take back to Germany with you after a year in Durham?"
He replied, "Armen and Elend." Poverty and misery. He had never really experienced grinding, pervasive poverty until he entered neighborhoods not a mile from this campus. Some memory of America.
39. A Maverick Son
Illustration
Larry Powell
Absalom was born in Hebron. His first recorded experience is the pathetic story of the rape of his sister, Tamar. Later, during a feast he masterminded the slaying of Amnon after which he escaped to the home of his grandfather at Geshur where he remained for three years. Absalom approached Joab to intercede for him with David in an effort to be reinstated in the royal family. Joab refused twice. Absalom then proceeded to set fire to Joab’s barley fields, forcing him to appear before David in order to escape the wrath of Absalom. In time, Absalom set about to undermine the people’s confidence in David by exaggerating the evils of the king’s court and presenting himself as the champion of the people. At the end of four years, confidence in David was sufficiently weakened and Absalom made bold to announce that at an appointed hour he would overthrow the throne of his father by force. David had no other recourse but to flee from Jerusalem. Eventually, the forces of father and son were to come up against each other in the forest of Ephraim, and the seasoned troops of David, under the leadership of Joab, Abishai, and Ittai the Hittite, utterly routed the forces of Absalom. As Absalom fled the battle upon his mule, his long hair became entangled in the thick branches of an oak tree, leaving him dangling helplessly in midair. Joab discovered him and slew him forthwith. Upon hearing the news, David cried out in one of the most pitiful laments in all the Scriptures: "O my son Absalom, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (2 Samuel 18:33).
There is a love which transcends all circ*mstances. It is not always within the scope of human rationality. The love of a parent for a child is a supreme reflection of such love. A parent may repeatedly scold a child for being irresponsible, lazy, undependable, and belligerent, but pity the poor person who dares to point out that child’s shortcomings in front of that child’s parents. Love does not always operate within the limits of rationality.
The tragic story of David and his maverick son is favorably compared to the Gospel in miniature. In it are shades of Adam’s folly, Israel’s rebellion against God, the Prodigal Son, and many other instances of flagrant misconduct. But in them all, the Bible’s theme of transcending love emerges most clearly. Not even the murder of God’s own son could violate the most profound, powerful force in all the universe - love. God, like David, grieves because of love. It was Luther who remarked, "If I was God and the world treated me the way it treats God, I would dash the wretched thing to pieces." A rational conclusion. However, there is a love which operates beyond rationality and we are thankful to God for it.
40. Increasing Our Standard of Giving - Sermon Starter
Illustration
Brett Blair
Before John Wesley became the founder of the Methodist Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700's. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away.
The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1,400 pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1,400 pounds.
Wesley felt that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian's standard of living but the standard of giving. Increasing our standard of giving. What a great Christian man and what a great lesson he taught us. It is the same lesson found in the parable for today. Let's take a look. The Pharisees are standing off to the side watching Jesus as was their custom. Jesus' disciples are listening intently as he tells his story. Probably on this occasion there were more than just the 12. A large number of followers are gathered around. He tells them about a steward who handled all the business affairs of a wealthy man. But the steward has squandered his master's money; he was reckless and wasteful. Notice that this story follows another story about a reckless young man who squandered his father's wealth, the prodigal son. But in this story the reckless young man does not come to his senses in time and he is fired from his job.
Then he does something so shrewd and conniving. As he is cleaning out his desk and clearing out his things he calls in his master's debtors, those who had outstanding accounts, and cut those debts in half. You owe 800 gallons of olive oil? Write me check for 400 and we will call it even. You owe a thousand bushels of wheat? Write me a check for 800 and we'll call it even. He forgives the debts that are not his to forgive, and he gains friends in the process. As a result his master commends him.
So what is Jesus' point? Well, there's not just one point there are a few. Let's take a look.
- First, He Explains the Wise Use of Worldly Wealth.
- Second, Trustworthiness Is Measured by Character.
- Third, Our Service Must Be Singular.
41. BEGGAR
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Psalm 37:25 - "... yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread."
A beggar is a person who lives on the charity of others; there were (and are) professional beggars, who solicited alms publicly, and even went from door to door. They are still numerous in the East; they are usually "lame, maimed, or blind" (Luke 14:13). The commonest and most pathetic form of infirmity is blindness; some of these blind beggars are led by children and have regular places to station themselves.
The begging was sometimes only a simple statement of poverty. "I am poor," "I want a loaf of bread," or "give me the price of a loaf of bread." But occasionally they used the expressive gesture of bringing the forefinger across the teeth and holding it up as a proof that there was absolutely no trace of food in the mouth. It was Amos’ "cleanness of teeth" (Amos 4:6).
The beggars were typical of the Jewish life of Jesus’ time, particularly, and there were a great many of them. The New Testament speaks of several, from Lazarus, who lay covered with sores, wishing that he might be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and the blind Bartimaeus whom St. Mark shows sitting by the wayside just outside Jericho, to the lame man found by Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.
Although there is no doubt that many of these beggars were professionals, still there were also many who were legitimately sick or crippled, or in some way unable to hold a job. It was in the role of one of these miserable souls that Jesus referred to himself when he spoke of the last judgment: "I was hungry, and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you brought me home, naked, and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me" (Matthew 25:35-40).
Jerusalem, particularly at the time of the great pilgrimages, was thronged by all the beggars in the Holy Land; they knew very well that those who came to pray for God’s pardon would be in a charitable frame of mind. At other times, the beggars wandered along the roads, going to the markets and the fords of the rivers, and profiting too by the permission the Law gave them to eat ears of corn in the fields and grapes in the vineyards, providing they carried neither basket nor sickle, and to pick up windfalls and gather overlooked bunches.
Just as today, the daily life of Israel was punctuated by the sound of their entreaties. Some of them posed as sent from God; "I am your guest! I am God’s guest! God will direct you! God will recompense you! God will preserve your children! God will prolong your days!" So, today as then, beggars are often the street preachers of the East.
I confess to being somewhat at a loss as to how I might compare the ancient beggar with his modern counterpart. The obvious association is with the charitable organizations which solicit funds and other types of assistance for those less fortunate than ourselves. But I don’t wish to imply that begging, in the ancient sense, is involved here. Modern charity is highly organized, and regimented, and rightly so, for the sake of those who are on the receiving end. But it still involves a giving of that of which we are possessed, whether it be food, money, or clothing - or love. And, in that degree, it becomes comparable to the obligations that are imposed on all of us, not any one class or profession or occupation. We are all enjoined to care for our brothers, and this we might not disobey.
42. Experiencing God's Call in Our Lives
Illustration
Joe Pennel
Every now and then, someone does respond in a radical and unexpected way. Dr. Fred Craddock tells the story of a medical student who heard the call and made a radical response. A young woman came to him after hearing his sermon on today's text. She had decided to leave medical school and go to work among migrant workers in the Rio Grande Valley. Dr. Craddock did not manipulate her unexpected response. Instead, they talked for a long time about the meaning of her decision. Her parents were, understandably, furious with the new direction her life had taken. Like those fishermen, however, she heard the call and she stayed with it.
And there have been others. People in the western tradition have long known about Francis of Assisi. He turned from a life of luxury to one of voluntary poverty with the intention of sharing his possessions with the poor. He became an ex-ample to his fellow townspeople of the biblical assurance that God can provide.
Likewise, Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845) exemplified an emphasis on living by Jesus' example. In addition to raising a large family, this wife of a wealthy London merchant single-handedly initiated, and caused the implementation of, efforts to reform the prison system in England. These reforms spread throughout the continent even during her lifetime.
Similarly, in the United States, Dorothea Lynde Dix (1802-1887) spearheaded the movement for the establishment of hospitals for the mentally ill, who were, at the time, being held in prisons. These people have admonished us to see Christ in our neighbors and to serve all who are in need. In these people and in many others, we see an example of people "leaving their nets" to follow.
One business person sold his automobile dealer-ship in order to attend a theological seminary in preparation for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. His wife said, "My husband came home one day and said, 'You will be very surprised at what I am about to say, but I want to sell the business and go into the ministry'!" Within a few days, the business had been sold, and the family began tramping along another path. "We have never been hap-pier," said his wife. There was, for this family, a call and a response. Life, for them, has been reoriented...
Where does this leave us? If others have heard the call and have responded in a radical way, then shouldn't we all do the same? That's a question only you can answer. It has to be answered by each of us as we experience God's call in our lives. How one hears the call and responds to it is a matter of personal decision.
43. For God All Things Are Possible
Illustration
John P. Jewell
I asked a group of high school young people to write headlines they would love to see and here are the top six from the group:
Peace declared all over earth!
Hunger and poverty to be eliminated by year's end!
No reports of child abuse in the US for over a year!
Religious tolerance at an all time high!
Vaccine for all forms of cancer discovered!
Officials to investigate complete absence of violent crime!
"Wonderful dreams, but not very realistic," you say. "Impossible!" And you would be right with such thinking. Human beings on their own will never bring such a thing about. In the words of scripture, "For mortals it is impossible..." And yet, there is a promise which is deep at the center of our faith that points to a spiritual truth that lies at the center of this season and call us to be ready for God to intervene in the world, "but for God all things are possible."
44. I Wrote My Books on Tuesdays
Illustration
King Duncan
There was once a great Quaker leader by the name of Rufus Jones. Jones wrote and published one book a year for over fifty years. He did this while attending countless meetings, making frequent speeches, editing a magazine and taking care of countless other chores that his position required. Someone once asked him how under these circ*mstances he found the time to write so many books he answered, "I wrote my books on Tuesdays." Throughout his career he set aside Tuesdays as his one "free" day accepting no appointments that could be avoided. He began after breakfast and wrote until dark. He might be thinking about his next project all week long, but he did not put it on paper until Tuesday. By following that simple plan he left behind a great body of work.
You have heard it before because it is true: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Jesus talked about the foolishness of those who build towers without first sitting down and figuring the cost. Successful living requires that we give some thought to the future. We have a vision of the beautiful garden we hope to be. Now we sit down and make a plan. What would I have to do to make my dream a reality?
45. Giving Till It Helps
Illustration
Don't give till it hurts. Give till it helps. The story is told of a very wealthy man who had never been known for his generosity to the church. The church was involved in a big financial program and they resolved to pay him a visit. When the committee met with the man one afternoon, they said that in view of his considerable resources they were sure that he would like to make a substantial contribution to this program.
"I see," he said, "so you have it all figured out have you? In the course of your investigation did you discover that I have a widowed mother who has no other means of support but me?" No, they responded, they did not know that. "Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband with five children and no means to provide for them?" No, they said, we did not know that either. "Well, sir, did you know also that I have a brother who is cripple due to an automobile accident and can never work another day to support his wife and family?" Embarrassingly, they responded, no sir, we did not know that either. "Well," he thundered triumphantly, "I've never given any of them a cent so why should I give anything to you?"
Like that man, most of us never give till it hurts or helps. It is interesting to me that people who tithe in the church never speak of it as hurting. My wife and I tithe and it has not made life painful for us in the least. We started discussing some days ago what our pledge to the church for next year would be and how we could increase it. That doesn't sound like it hurts does it? It is the grudging giver, who is the one who always registers the complaint: At that church all they talk about is money." So let us get off of this notion of give till it hurts so that we affirm we give till it helps.
46. Historic: The Declaration of Independence
Illustration
Staff
The unanimous Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies in Congress, July 4, 1776
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained, and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
- For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
- For protecting them by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
- For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
- For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
- For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
- For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
- For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
- For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
- For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circ*mstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.
- We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.
- We have reminded them of the circ*mstances of our emigration and settlement here.
- We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare.
That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
- New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
- Massachusetts: John Hanco*ck, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
- Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
- Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
- New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
- New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
- Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
- Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
- Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
- Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
- North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
- South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
- Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Background
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), approved the Declaration of Independence. Its purpose was to set forth the principles upon which the Congress had acted two days earlier when it voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's motion to declare the freedom and independence of the 13 American colonies from England. The Declaration was designed to influence public opinion and gain support both among the new states and abroad especially in France, from which the new "United States" sought military assistance.
Although Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston comprised the committee charged with drafting the Declaration, the task fell to Jefferson, regarded as the strongest and most eloquent writer. The document is mainly his work, although the committee and Congress as a whole made a total of 86 changes to Jefferson's draft.
As a scholar well-versed in the ideas and ideals of the French and English Enlightenments, Jefferson found his greatest inspiration in the language and arguments of English philosopher John Locke, who had justified England's "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 on the basis of man's "natural rights." Locke's theory held that government was a contract between the governed and those governing, who derived their power solely from the consent of the governed and whose purpose it was to protect every man's inherent right to property, life and liberty. Jefferson's theory of "natural law" differed in that it substituted the inalienable right of "the pursuit of happiness" for "property," emphasizing that happiness is the product of civic virtue and public duty. The concept of the "pursuit of happiness" originated in the Common Sense School of Scottish philosophy, of which Lord Kames was the best-known proponent.
Jefferson emphasized the contractual justification for independence, arguing that when the tyrannical government of King George III of England repeatedly violated "natural law, " the colonists had not only the right but the duty to revolt.
The assembled Continental Congress deleted a few passages of the draft, and amended others, but outright rejected only two sections: 1) a derogatory reference to the English people; 2) a passionate denunciation of the slave trade. The latter section was left out, as Jefferson reported, to accede to the wishes of South Carolina and Georgia, who wanted to continue the importation of slaves. The rest of the draft was accepted on July 4, and 56 members of Congress began their formal signing of the document on August 2, 1776.
47. Path of Least Resistance
Illustration
Michael P. Green
Have you ever seen a straight river? Canals are straight, but all rivers seem to be crooked. We call it “meandering.” Why are rivers crooked? Because the natural tendency of a river is to take the easiest way around any obstacle. So rivers are always crooked, and they always run downhill. Some people are like rivers. They are too lazy and immature to put forth much effort into walking with God. They would rather take the path of least resistance.
48. Parable of the Record
Illustration
"Put your dime in the machine and punch A-3," said the girl. "That's my favorite record."
"Mary, you don't want to hear that again!" said Bill. "They've just played it three times."
"That's all right," said Mary, "on pay day I'm buying that record and I'm going to play it over and over."
"Don't forget you are going to church with me Sunday," said Bill.
"I don't know whether I'm going or not," said Mary. "It's always the same old thing."
"You better go," said Bill, "you need it. After listening to Frankie holler on that record over and over, there are a number of things that should be repeated to you."
It is true that people like best that which is familiar to them and at the same time often reject that which is repetitious. But all people want Christmas to be Christmas, Easter to be Easter and Thanksgiving to be Thanksgiving.
To often they do not see that the joy of the harvest cannot be realized without the labor of spring and the cultivation of summer. The childlike joy of surprise on Christmas morning is the result of careful shopping as well as the use of hard earned money and Easter would not be with us without the crucifixion of Good Friday. There are many things that we learn slowly and by great repetition. Great things have a great price.
49. Unexpected Cost
Illustration
Thomas C. Short
Pastor Thomas Short tells the following story:when I was in college I was one of several young men who decided to go to work on therailroad duringsummer vacation. At that time, there was very little automation on the railroad, and most of the work was done by manual labor. Many people warned us about the job. It was a hot job ... very, very hot. It was difficult. Everything out there was heavy. It was a dirty job, and to some extent, it was dangerous. But the pay was most attractive. None of us could make as much money doing anything else in the summer. So we went to work on the railroad, and only one of the five of us lasted past the first week. It was too tough andwe were too weak. We thought we were ready for this tough job, but we were not. We had not accurately counted the cost.
50. Anything For a Friend
Illustration
A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady.
The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.
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