A king needs a kingdom. Every child reading fairy tales understands this. The ancient Hebrews grasped it as well. Examining their history–as it unfolds from the Patriarchs, through the Exodus, the settlement of Canaan, the period of the Judges and finally the creation of a monarchy– is a study in kings, prophets and forms of […]
Archive | Old Testament
A Trickster or Following the Lord’s Directive? (Founding Mothers – Part 2)
Rebekah’s reputation as a trickster who got her youngest son (Jacob) to pose as the older (Esau) in order to steal his birthright, deserves to be considered in new light. What if she did the Bible’s biggest bait-and-switch because she was following the Lord’s directive? Recall that we left Rebekah (in the last blog) when […]
A Prayer to Heal Vicious Nationalism
A deeper study of the Psalms is helping me understand why this ancient poetry has continued to be treasured and how they apply to the most challenging contemporary struggles. This came to thought when the Charlie Hebdo killings occurred and the West responded with increasing concern about the jihadist form of Islam. Could the Psalms […]
Israel’s Founding Mothers: Rebekah (Part I)
Years ago I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast where an intriguing book lay on the bedside table: “Founding Mothers”. When I saw it was by one of my favorite radio commentators, Cokie Roberts of NPR, I plunged in and wasn’t disappointed. What a marvelous concept: telling the too-often forgotten stories of these passionate and […]
Mary and Hannah: Women On A Spiritual Journey
December has been a month of pouring over Luke’s Gospel. If you watched the Luke Webinar * then you already know how much the evangelist is responsible for grounding the birth of Jesus in history, as well as learning of his deep ties to the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the earliest examples of these Old Testament […]