Resultados de "Bill Creasy" en Todas las categorias

From a literary perspective, Isaiah may be divided into three parts: 1) Part 1 (chapters 1-35) is written in dramatic form, and its theme is judgment; 2) Part 2 (chapters 36-39) is written in narrative form, and it serves as an historical interlude; and Part 3 (chapters 40-66) is written in poetic form and its theme is grace. In Part 1, we encounter a courtroom scene in which God sits as judge—with Israel in the defendant’s seat—as witnesses come forth and accuse Israel of sin and unfaithfulness: The verdict, guilty; the punishment, exile.

If Isaiah is the Thundering Prophet, Jeremiah is the Weeping Prophet. Called to be a prophet in the thirteenth year of King Josiah (626 B.C.), Jeremiah serves through the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem (586 B.C.). Jeremiah is one of the few prophets who is both a priest and a prophet, an unenviable—and untenable—position, much like a lawyer representing both parties in a particularly nasty divorce! Jeremiah did not want to be a prophet; he tries to quit on several occasions; and he regularly weeps over the message God has given him.

It is one thing to conquer a land; it is quite another to settle it and live in it. At this point in our story, Israel is not a nation; it is at best a loose confederation of tribes, each living in its own territory, isolated by rivers, mountains, valleys and other natural terrain. When an outside threat intrudes, the tribes coalesce, a leader (called a “judge”) emerges, and he (or she, in the case of Deborah) deals with the threat. There are 13 such leaders in Judges, and as our story progresses, they become more and more corrupt.

By the end of Joshua, the Israelites have a foothold in the land of Canaan, but the conquest raises several critical issues: 1) strategically, how do the Israelites conquer a much stronger and more numerous enemy; 2) can a land conquered so brutally result in a peaceful and blessed life for the conquerors; and 3) what about the moral and ethical issues involved in such a conquest? Joshua is a deeply disturbing story on several levels.

Every good story has a conflict, and our conflict enters the story here: Sin. In our class we define sin, not as an action that we commit, but as a condition we are in: “Sin is a condition of alienation and separation from God, that manifests itself in outward, sinful action.” And that condition has several inevitable consequences. We explore the nature of sin in this lecture.

David forged a united monarchy from a loose confederation of twelve tribes; Solomon overlays that monarchy with a brilliant administrative structure. God grants Solomon his request for “discernment in administering,” and in doing so, Solomon builds a kingdom unlike any that had ever appeared before. Too, Solomon carries out David’s wish to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, a temple worthy of God’s name. Throughout his reign, Solomon lives in wealth and splendor, greater than any other king on earth.

Seventy-three of the 150 psalms are traditionally ascribed to David. As we read the "Davidic Psalms," we see deeply into David's heart as he struggles with God, with others and with himself. These psalms are deeply moving and often, brutally honest.

Although their names sound alike, few men in the Bible are more different than Elijah and Elisha. Elijah loves a show; Elisha is shy. Elijah loves a grand exit; Elisha dies quietly, alone. Yet, in many ways, Elisha is an even greater prophet than Elijah. This is his story.

In Isaiah Part 2, we enter the historical interlude. We learn in Isaiah 1: 1 that Isaiah functions as a prophet during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah: That is, from 740 – 686 B.C. During that time, two major historical events occur: 1) Assyria’s attack on the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and 2) Assyria’s attack on Jerusalem in 701 B.C., while Hezekiah is king and Isaiah is prophet.

That attack in 701 B.C.—and God miraculously saving Jerusalem—foreshadows greater events to come.

At Mt. Sinai, God gives his covenant people their greatest gift: The Law, ten principles by which a covenant people is to live with God and one another.

With the death of Ahab and Jezebel, Jehu (841-814 B.C.) murders all of Ahab’s family, consolidating power in the north. Meanwhile in the south, Athaliah (the only female king) murders her grandchildren and crawls over their butchered bodies to seize the throne, initiating a 7-year reign of terror. With the ensuing chaos, both kingdoms weaken and begin to crumble. Black storm clouds gather in the north as Assyria (Northern Iraq of today) emerges on the stage as a world power.

If Isaiah is the Thundering Prophet and Jeremiah is the Weeping Prophet, Ezekiel is the Weird Prophet! Ezekiel is taken captive to Babylon after its second attack on Jerusalem, 597 B.C. Ezekiel’s book is set in Babylon and it consists of thirteen separate “visions” that span twenty years. And they are very strange visions, indeed!

With the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam, ascends the throne. All twelve tribes gather at Shechem to anoint him king—but they demand two concessions: 1) lower the taxes and 2) end conscripted labor. Rehoboam refuses, triggering a civil war. In 930 B.C., the united monarchy splits, ten of the twelve tribes forming the northern kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria, and two of the twelve tribes forming the southern kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem.

Moving from Genesis to Exodus, 400 years flash by and the Israelites grow from a family of 73 to a nation of 2 million; and they move from freedom into slavery. We shouldn’t be surprised. Half a millennium earlier, in Genesis 15: 13, God had told Abraham: “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.” Why would God allow this happen?

The Minor Prophets are minor because they are shorter in length than the Major Prophets, not because they are less important: Isaiah is 66 chapters long; Obadiah is 1 chapter. All of the Minor Prophets write during the time of the kings, 1050 – 586 B.C., or after the return from Babylonian Captivity, 539 – 430 B.C. Most tell us when they are active. Hosea, for example, begins: “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah…” (Hosea 1: 1).

The Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem in 588 B.C., and the city falls on August 14, 586 B.C. The siege of a fortified city is a dreadful thing to behold. Food and supplies quickly run out: Starvation, sickness and death follow. Jeremiah is inside Jerusalem during the 2-year siege, and Lamentations is his eyewitness account.

The march to the Promised Land takes 40 years. But the Israelites do not wander aimlessly in the wilderness during that time. (Recall the old explanation that Moses, like most men, was too stubborn to stop and ask for directions!) Refused passage through Edom on the King’s Highway, Moses diverts northwest to Kadesh Barnea, a large oasis, where the Israelites spend nearly 37 of the 40 years, finally entering the Promised Land through Moab, by a remote and very dangerous desert route.

In 1 Kings 4: 32, we read that Solomon’s songs “numbered a thousand and five”: The Song of Songs is #1 on the Hit Parade. A frankly erotic love poem, the Song of Songs speaks of fiery romantic love and crushing loss. As an allegory, it may also speak of God’s love for Israel and of Christ’s love for the Church.

God continues prescribing rules and regulations for his people, including sexual and priestly behavior, and a comprehensive cycle of annual festivals, many of which are still observed today.

Jesus launches his public ministry when he is “about thirty years old” (Luke 3: 23); it lasts three years. During that time “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4: 23). In this session we sample his teaching, preaching and healing.