Genesis 17:12, The Reason For Circumcision
He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations
//According to the law, males in Israel had to be circumcised on the 8th day of their life. Here is the law again, this time in Leviticus:
And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. –Leviticus 12:3
But have you ever wondered why? What’s the big deal about going under the knife on the 8th day? Take a look at this verse, where Israelites were instructed to give their firstborn sons to God on the 8th day of their life:
You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. –Exodus 22:29-30
What they were supposed to do with that firstborn son is unclear. How is he “given to God”? The animals were sacrificed, but were children? How barbaric!
Perhaps they were though, at least ritually. It is possible that circumcision served as a substitutional ritual of dedication, so that actual killing of the child was unnecessary.
Book Excerpt: John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened
Have you read Revelation: The Way It Happened? If so, maybe it’s time to pick up the second book and finish the story of Matthew’s spiritual journey. Here he is in book two, now an adult, speaking with the aged apostle John:
—
“Christians are no longer welcome in the synagogues. I went to a service with my father a few days before he died. He wished to experience one last Sabbath, sharing the rituals of our God in the synagogue, so we endured the stares and joined the congregation. The president noted our arrival and asked me to lead us in the Amidah, the common prayer.”
“And you did?”
“I did. I began reading the Amidah as requested, and soon arrived at the Twelfth Benediction—
“For the apostates let there be no hope.
And let the arrogant government
Be speedily uprooted in our days.
“—exactly as before. But then, John, then came words I had never read before. Words that recently had been added to the prayer—
“Let the Christians and the heretics be destroyed in a moment.
“I read this curse aloud before realizing what I had said. I clamped my mouth shut and scanned the words on the scroll as the prayer continued:
“And let them be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be inscribed together with the righteous.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, who humblest the proud!
“I remained silent, refusing to speak this hideous passage in the presence of my father, and stared at the congregation and then at the president, who had chosen me to recite the words that would curse me and my father and the few other Christians who still attended. When I set the prayer scroll down, the president wordlessly stepped forward and grasped my elbow, escorting me from the synagogue. Moments later, my father appeared at the door as well.”
–John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened, 2013, p. 3, by Lee Harmon
Book review: The Big Picture: An Honest Examination of God, Science, and Purpose
by P. D. Hemsley
★★★★
Hemsley is an atheist who decided to “give God a chance,” becoming what he terms a “minimalist Christian.” He holds a healthy respect for the accomplishments of science in determining the age and workings of the universe, and the progression of evolution. He also appreciates the mysteries that still baffle us, such as consciousness, quantum entanglement, life’s origins, our seemingly intelligent cells, near-death experiences, cosmological constants … and the bewildering speed at which evolution has transpired. Something funky is going on here, something unexplainable influencing things … let’s call it God.
So this book is a journey of logic and exploration. God, concludes Hemsley, is what we call the Laws of Physics. Following Anselm’s lead, God is also Supreme Goodness. And through a discussion of free will, God is shown to be a purposeful creator, some form of individual. It’s complicated, right?
There is a lot of information in this book, so not everything can be covered in detail. “An honest examination of God, science, and purpose” may have been a little too ambitious. I don’t think there’s very much that I really disagree with in Hemsley’s book, I just found the arguments to be too compact to convince anyone still sitting on the fence. Therefore, the book is probably better appreciated as a diary of Hemsley’s own reasoned journey to faith.
For example, Hemsley brings Anselm of Canterbury’s proof for the existence of God from Supreme Goodness (dating to the 11th century) up-to-date with today’s scientific understanding, but does so with only a couple pages, leaving so many assumptions that it proves unconvincing. Our “creator” is assumed to be [1] an intelligent designer (it is irrational to imagine that we have free will, but that our creator does not), [2] eternal (because he is outside our own universe of space and time), and [3] active still today (because our physical laws need maintaining). I find all three arguments unsatisfying.
The discussion of the historicity and identification of Jesus, and the authenticity of the Bible, is another place I felt unconvinced. Hensley holds an odd combination of conservative and liberal beliefs, which seems to match his description of being a “minimalist Christian.” He attributes all of the Pauline epistles, even the pastoral letters, to Paul. But most of the rest of the New Testament he dates to after the war of 70 AD, yet still assigns traditional apostolic authorship to its books. So I couldn’t quite figure out his logic in mixing liberal scholarship with conservative tradition.
Sections that I did really enjoy include Hensley’s discussions of biological sciences, life’s purpose, and free will. I found the book to be a fun read giving me much to think about.
eLectio Publishing, © 2014, 253 pages
ISBN: 978-0615903651
Genesis 37:5-8, Joseph Dreams of Dominance … or not
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
//Joseph dreams of twelve sheaves of grain, representing he and his eleven older brothers. The older ones bow down to the younger. But the brothers aren’t impressed, imagining that Joseph is implying that he will one day reign over them.
Note that Joseph himself never interprets his dreams. He just relays them to his brothers and father, who interpret them. But did they understand them correctly?
Fast forward a few chapters to Egypt, when Joseph and his brothers meet up again. He has become a powerful influence, second in command, and the brothers come to Egypt looking for food to live through a famine. There, they bow before him:
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Is the dream coming true? No. Joseph will have none of this. He immediately forgives them for their cruelty to him long ago, and welcomes them to Egypt, where they dwell together.
So what did the dream really mean? Perhaps it was more about the sheaves–food–than it was about dominance. The brother’s sheaves are bending down, running low, while Joseph’s remains upright. His supply of grain remains strong while theirs gives out.
Genesis 4:17-18, Do We Descend From Cain?
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch … And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
//These are the descendants of Cain. Cain, you may recall, was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel, his brother, so God gave Adam and Eve a third son named Seth to replace Abel.
Here are the descendants of Seth, from the next chapter: Noah son of Lamech son of Methuselah son of Enoch son of Jared son of Mahalaleel son of Cainan son of Enos son of Seth.
These two genealogies are surprisingly similar. Enoch and Lamech show up in both. Probably, Mehujael is Mahalaleel and probably Methusael is Methuselah. Enoch, the son of Cain, sounds surprisingly like Enos, the son of Seth.
Did the descendants of Seth and Cain copy each other’s names? Probably not. Scholars believe Seth’s genealogy was written down long after Cain’s (by the P source and the J source respectively) and that the later genealogy was intended to replace the first … not stand alongside it. The message in the rewrite is clear: Noah (and hence all of us) descends not from the murderer Cain but from the acceptable Seth.
Instead, both genealogies made it into the Bible, side-by-side, where they would stick out like a sore thumb.
Book review: The Adam Quest
by Tim Stafford
★★★★★
Best book I’ve read this year! Tim Stafford is the Senior Writer for Christianity Today, and I can see why. His writing is a pleasure to read.
The Adam Quest is a personal glimpse into the lives of eleven scientists who feel science and faith should be allies. Stafford interviews young earth creationists, intelligent design creationists, and evolutionary creationists, all of whom are firm believers and all of whom have a high regard for the Bible as a source of truth. Each tells his or her story of being led to faith. Stafford doesn’t try to separate right from wrong, he just gets out of the way and lets each person tell their own story, so we can get to know them.
It’s a dilemma. Young earth creationists have a clear understanding of Genesis, but struggle to fit science into the mold. In particular, new biochemical and genomic information hugely strengthens the evolutionary case that all life is related. But evolutionary creationists struggle with the other side of the equation: their understanding of Genesis is very much a work in progress.
I’m probably showing my bias, but the young earth creationists leave me feeling sad as they plug along, driven by an intense trust in a literal interpretation of Genesis but largely ignored by their scientific peers, working so far to the fringe of science that funding is unavailable. They have no expensive labs, no scientific exploration, just an air of desperation as they try to uphold the Word of God.
The Intelligent Design (ID) proponents (including Michael Behe, the first to propose the idea of irreducible complexity) never lack for confidence, yet fit in no better with their peers, as ID just doesn’t qualify as “science.” The ID arguments may have merit, but it doesn’t matter; they present no verifiable model to replace evolution. It’s not enough to say “God did it” … science studies how. ID, therefore, will never gain a place in the science class until IDers tackle the problem of how God did it, so that predictions can be made and tested. IDers claim scientific exploration into their views can be done, but as yet no one is doing it.
But believers in evolutionary creation have their own struggles. They are habitually charged with destroying the faith of fellow Christians. Christianity is supposed to distrust science, it’s supposed to oppose the heresy of Darwinism. This is drilled into evangelicals at a young age, and since most evangelicals are not trained in science, it’s very difficult for them to understand just how solid the scientific evidence for evolutionary biology really is.
Here I must give a special plug to Simon Conway Morris, whose views about directed evolution are absolutely fascinating. He believes if we were to rewind and replay the tape of evolution, it would surely travel a different path, but would ultimately converge much the same way it did this time around. Humans are inevitable. I have already ordered his 2003 book Life’s Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe, so fascinating is his theory of convergence.
Stafford then wraps up by presenting his own opinion on the matter, yet humbly admitting there is still much to learn, if only science and faith will understand that they are allies.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., © 2013, 232 pages
ISBN: 978-0-5291-0271-3
Genesis 22:14, How Was Jerusalem Named?
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
//When Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, he was instructed to go to Mount Moriah. However, this location is contested by some scholars, who argue (based on literary analysis of the original Hebrew) that Abraham was sent to a place named Jeriel, which is a few miles south of Jerusalem. These scholars suppose that the later substitution in scripture of Moriah for Jeriel was based on their close proximity and Jeriel’s similarity to an earlier name of Jerusalem, Ariel. This led to the misperception that Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, or Ariel, instead of Juriel. Now read today’s verse again, which corroborates the conjecture: Abraham called the place of sacrifice Jehovah-Jireh, which sounds a lot like Jehovah Jeriel.
Mount Moriah is also famed for a second reason:
Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah – Chronicles 3:1
Thus did the Temple mount become associated with Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac. Jeriel became Moriah, in scripture. But Jerusalem, where Mount Moriah was, was also known by another name: Salem. The two names, Jeriel and Salem, come together in this midrashic story (the teller relates Melchizedek and Shem):
Abraham called it Jireh: “And Abraham named that site Yahweh-Jireh”. Shem had called it Salem, as it is said, “And King Melchizedek of Salem.” The Holy One (blessed be He) said: If I call it Jireh, as did Abraham, Shem, a righteous man, will protest. If I call it Salem, as did Shem, Abraham, a righteous man, will protest. Rather, I hereby name it Jerusalem, according to what both of them called it–“Jireh-Salem.” (Gen. Rab. 56:10)
Could be, I guess!
Genesis 27:43-45, Rebekah Screws Up
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
//Yesterday, I wrote about the reunion of Jacob and Esau, after Jacob steals the blessing and birthright. Jacob winds up giving both of them back.
Have you ever read the story of these two sons from their mother Rebekah’s viewpoint? This is Rebekah speaking in today’s verse, instructing Jacob to flee from Esau for a few days.
The story runs like this. Isaac, the father of brothers Jacob and Esau, is getting old and blind, and is ready to bestow the blessing on his oldest son. That would be Esau. But Rebekah hatches a plan whereby Jacob can pretend to be Esau and steal the blessing from him.
It works like a charm, until Esau comes in the house and discovers what happened. Esau is rightfully furious, and vows to kill Jacob.
Now Rebekah begins to have second thoughts. She has infuriated one son, and possibly caused the death of the other. “Jacob,” she says, “go live with your uncle a few days until Esau calms down.”
So Jacob trots off for a few days. Esau, too, leaves the nest and goes looking for a wife.
A “few days” turn into years. Fourteen years pass and still Jacob hasn’t returned. He is, so far as we know, incommunicado. When finally he and Esau return to see their father, Rebekah has apparently died … having never seen either of them again.
Rebekah did indeed lose two sons over one devious trick. It would seem in this story that nobody was really bettered by dishonesty.
Genesis 25:23, The Blessing That Jacob Returned
The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
//In Rebekah’s womb, the brothers Esau and Jacob are squabbling, and she grows concerned. When she inquires of God what is happening, God explains that they will be opposed, and the older will become servant to the younger.
Indeed, as the boys grow, Jacob steals both Esau’s birthright and his blessing. He seems to be coming out on top, just like God predicted. When Esau complains, his father Isaac replies that the blessing given to Jacob is irrevocable:
Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
And so it seems Isaac gets it all. But is it really so?
Jacob and Esau separate, and when they finally come back together, Jacob repeatedly refers to himself as Esau’s servant and to Esau as his master. See verses 33:5, 8, 13-15. Jacob is calling Esau lord, precisely the title that Isaac says Esau must call Jacob. Moreover, afraid for his life because Esau had sworn to kill him, Jacob offers Esau a present and calls it his blessing:
Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. –Genesis 33:11
Thus Jacob returns the blessing to Esau, and grants Esau back the rightful place as the firstborn. Wrong becomes right at last.
Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. –Relevation 4:1-2
Early Christians envisioned this passage in Revelation very differently than we do today. Let me paint you a picture of common first-century cosmological beliefs, which will help explain how a door “opened in heaven” and a trumpeting voice said “come up here.” John writes in Greek, in which the word for heaven is the same as for sky.
Picture a flat earth, unmoving, poking up out of the waters. A bowl, or dome, covers and protects the entire earth, which separates the waters below from the waters above. Doors in the heavens (the top of the dome) allow water from above to come through as rain. If you think of a snow globe—one of those Christmas scenes you shake upside down and then turn right-side up to watch the snow fall—you’ll have the general idea.
The sun and the moon—the two great lights—track across the underside of this dome every day and night to provide light. At night, most people imagined the stars to be either gods or angels, while some still pictured them as little holes in the dome for the gods to peek through. The earth rests on pillars reaching down through the waters to hell (Sheol). The only path to hell passes through the grave, where the spirits of the dead all go, down, down, to a shadowy, joyless, ghostly form of life, awaiting their resurrection.
This basic understanding, shared among many ancient Mediterranean civilizations, fits well with the description we read in Genesis 1. Heaven is up, and hell is down, with the earth caught in the middle. When writers of the King James version translated “bowl” or “dome” into “firmament”—the closest word we could find in English to describe what we then believed about the world around us—this shrouded the original picture. Although alternative theories about the universe had been proffered by the time of John the Apostle, including a multilayered heaven, the Genesis description still held popular appeal.
–Revelation: The Way It Happened, 2010, pp. 12-13, by Lee Harmon
Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
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The God Show
Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
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