The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. – Genesis 19:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 30, 2024): Genesis 19

The Poppy Family, a band made up of Terry and Susan Jacks, sang about it in the early 1970s. It was one of those songs that sounded sweet, but something much darker lurked amid the sweetness. The lyrics of the chorus inform the listener that -

Evil grows in the dark

Where the sun, it never shines

Evil grows in cracks and holes

And lives in people's minds

Evil grew, it's part of you

And now it seems to be

That every time I look at you

Evil grows in me

Whether the song is about something relatively innocuous or speaking about a more profound struggle is left up to the listener. Still, the song makes it clear that evil is something that spreads from person to person. And often, evil spreads because it can be made to seem so normal.

The story behind the evil that lurked in Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the other Cities of the Plains lying at the south end of the Dead Sea, began with the idea that they were the greatest. And when you live in the greatest place, you start to believe that anything that comes from outside is less than and, therefore, needs to be kept away. That was the philosophy of these cities. Sodom has become a place which is known for its homosexuality, but that isn't really the story. A city that was made up of only homosexual people doesn't make any sense. I don't know of any such city in the history of this world. This story is not about homosexuality but about homosexual rape. And rape of any kind is always evil.

The men of this town had decided that by raping visitors, they could send a message that visitors were not welcome and would not be honored. What better way to keep people away than to let it be known that you will be harmed if you come here? Lot had apparently developed a practice of sitting at the city gates. It was a common practice in most cities, but in Sodom, it had a purpose other than a meeting of the men of the town. Evil had grown in Sodom, but it doesn't appear to have spread to Lot. As Lot sees the men approach, he hatches a plan to save them from the evil of the town, an evil that had begun to seem normal in Sodom. Lot would immediately take the strangers home, hopefully before anyone even knows they are there.

What Lot doesn't know is that the evil of these cities has reached heaven and that God has come down to judge the cities. Lot's effort to save the angels saves his family, but Sodom, where evil has grown, is beyond salvation. As a result, the cities would be destroyed.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 20

Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." – Genesis 18:10

Today's Scripture Reading (September 29, 2024): Genesis 18

We like to make comparisons. And we do it in various situations. Comparing two items was the foundation of an advertising series when I was growing up. It was called the "Taste Test." Offer Coca-Cola drinkers a blind choice test between Coke and Pepsi and see which one they pick. According to Pepsi, most Coke drinkers chose Pepsi, "The Taste of a New Generation." I have to admit that I had problems with the Pepsi Challenge. First, the drink was often served at room temperature, meaning neither of the soft drinks tasted very good. Second, I am not convinced that the taste test works. How much can you really tell from a sip of a carbonated beverage? There was also not an insignificant amount of pressure to pick Pepsi, at least if you wanted to be in the running for inclusion in the upcoming commercial. The taste test was also not offered by an independent arbiter but by Pepsi employees who had a horse in the race (i.e., they wanted Pepsi to win).

But it is not just our choice of soft drink in which we make comparisons. And one of our tendencies is to compare ourselves with other people. And that is usually a deadly endeavor. After all, there will always be people who are better than us, richer than us, or more talented than us, just as there will always be people who are worse than us, poorer than us, or less gifted in some way than we are. But that doesn't stop us from making the comparison and feeling the pride or the depression about whatever the result of the comparison might be.

The Bible also likes to make comparisons. Sometimes, these comparisons are apparent. John the Baptist in the New Testament is often compared with the Prophet Elijah from the Hebrew Bible. Although it is never mentioned, Joseph, the one with "The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," according to Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is often described as a type of Christ., comparing the favorite son of Israel (Jacob) with Jesus.

Genesis 18 and 19 need to be read together because many comparisons are being made here that we often miss. One comparison is Abraham's hospitality to his visitors with the inhospitality. But another critical comparison is the one between the child of promise, who would be born to Abraham and Sarah, and the children of incest, who would be born to Lot and his daughters. The story of the child of promise opens up the tale at the beginning of Genesis 18. It would be a tale of incest that would close out the story in Genesis 19.

One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let's get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father" (Genesis 19:31-32).

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father (Genesis 19:36).

One way seemed right to God, although Abraham and Sarah almost missed the opportunity. The other seemed right to humans, even though it was about as far from godly as any human decision could be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 19

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless." – Genesis 17:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 28, 2024): Genesis 17

There is a song we used to sing in church once in a while. Admittedly, it was always during a youth service. We don't sing it anymore, but every once in a while, when I am somewhere and everything gets quiet, I can be found gently singing the words of the chorus. Michael Card and John Thompson wrote the song, but Amy Grant made it famous.

               El Shaddai, El Shaddai,

               El-elyon na Adonia,

               Age to age you're still the same,

               By the power of the name.

               El Shaddai, El Shaddai,

               Erkamka na Adonai,

               We will praise and lift you high,

               El Shaddai.

Maybe we need a little Hebrew lesson to understand the song. So, "El-Shaddai" means "God-Almighty." "El-elyon na Adonai" roughly translates to "God in the highest, Oh, Lord." And "ErKamka na Adonai" means "We will love you, Oh, Lord." And there is something comforting about this God who is El-Shaddai. But again, maybe in our contemporary world, we are tempted to ask if this is really true. For the Jews, the answer was definitely yes. And there were moments when this El-Shaddai stepped up for the nation.

Late in the eighth century B.C.E., Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, fell to the invading Assyrian Empire. In modern times, we often miss the importance of the land on which Israel sat. Israel existed at a crossroads. The nation existed on a portion of the fertile crescent that went around the Syrian desert and connected Babylon and Rome with Egypt and Africa. The easiest way to get to Africa was through Israel. So, when Egypt wanted to attack Assyria or Babylon or move into Europe and Asia, they attacked through Israel. When the empires of the North wanted to subdue Egypt, they would attack through Israel and Judah.

Depending on the historian, somewhere between 723–721 B.C.E., Assyria attacked Israel, and the Kingdom of Israel fell. This is the origin of the idea of the ten lost tribes of Israel. It was the end of Israel and all of the tribes except for Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. However, the attack on Israel by the Assyrians was part of a much larger plan. Assyria wanted to get to Egypt, and even after the fall of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem still stood in the way. Twenty years later, Assyria returned to continue their assault, this time on King Hezekiah and Jerusalem.

Sennacherib surrounded the city of Jerusalem and began what was essentially a psychological campaign against the Jewish capital. Egypt was propping up Jerusalem because Judah provided a cushion between the Egyptians and the Assyrian Empire. But Sennacherib was confident that that would not be enough to save Hezekiah and his kingdom. He surrounded the city with 185,000 men and then waited for the city to surrender.

Hezekiah received a message from Sennacherib and turned to El-Shaddai for help.

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

"It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God" (2 Kings 19:14-19).

You are El-Shaddai, aren't you? The one who came to Abram?

The answer to Hezekiah's prayer did not come in a miraculous military victory by Hezekiah. God's answer arrived during the night, people died, and the army left. The events of that night have been a mystery that has been talked about ever since. Some argue that mice, attracted by the garbage that the siege had created, infected the soldiers, killing them. And Sennacherib fled. Others have pointed to an emergency back in Nineveh that brought Sennacherib home. The truth might be somewhere in the middle, but for the Jews, there was only one answer. No matter the outer circumstances, El-Shaddai had moved, Sennacherib had left, and he never came back. As a result, Assyria would never take Judah or Egypt, making them part of the Empire.

El-Shaddai still moves among his people. He is still the one that we need.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 18

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me." – Genesis 16:5

Today's Scripture Reading (September 27, 2024): Genesis 16

Anger is seldom rational. I have had people mad at me, and I still can't understand what they think I have done. Just to be fully accountable, I also know people who are angry with me, and I fully understand their anger. I would like nothing more than to go back in time and change the circumstances. Maybe the real mystery is a third group of people: People who should be mad at me but, for some unknown reason, have decided to forgive me and love me instead. I want to be like the people in that third group. But anger isn't rational, so it can't always be explained. And sometimes, I want nothing more than to point that fact out, but that is probably not my best response or my finest moment.

I am unsure what Abram might want to say to Sarai in this situation. We know what he said: "Your slave is in your hands, Do with her whatever you think best" (Genesis 16:6a). But I often wonder what Abram really wanted to say. I know what I would have said if it was me, but then Sarai would probably have divorced me. My response would have been something like this. "Let me get this straight. You are upset because you haven't had a child. So, you came up with a plan. You gave me your servant girl so that I could sleep with her. The purpose of this union was so that your servant girl could get pregnant, and you could claim the child as yours. So, everything goes as you planned. I slept with Hagar, and she got pregnant. I understand it hasn't been like you thought it would be,  but how is that my fault? You have got to be kidding me." Okay, maybe I would have left off that last sentence. But essentially, this is the situation. However, Abram knows there is no rational way to escape this. And so, he tells his wife, "Do whatever you think is best with her."

I think Abram understands that anger is seldom rational. Our heart often wants what it wants. And when the pain comes on us, all we want is the pain to disappear. I have had conversations like this with people. They have set their situation up, and everything has gone as planned, but not always as we should have seen. We should have seen the consequences, but we didn't. And we get angry. And maybe the thing we are angry at the most, although we don't admit it, is that we are getting what we deserve. And so we try to push the blame off on someone else.

In the end, I think we get it. We aren't really mad at our husbands or wives. They just happen to be close by. Maybe they need a safe space to vent their anger, and we provide that space. However, we also know we wish we could have done things differently. The real win we need to get to is that we will do things differently next time if there is a next time.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 17

Note: The latest Sermon from VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) - The World of Jesus: Between Moses and Muhammad.

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But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" – Genesis 15:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 26, 2024): Genesis 15

The idea of "childless cat ladies" has taken hold of the American imagination. The concept originates with Vice-Presidential candidate J. D. Vance, who argued that the Democratic party is made up of women who are childless and, therefore, have no stake in the future of the country. From Vance's point of view, only people with children care about what happens tomorrow. The rest are childless cat ladies, maybe even if they are men.

The concept of the "childless cat lady" with no ties to the future is patently false. I have known many "childless cat ladies." And in every situation, in my experience, they were wonderful people. And these people are childless for a diverse set of reasons. Some were childless because life's circumstances made them that way. Others had remained childless because of choice. But every one of them cared about the planet and the future of the human race.

At this point in time, Abram is just another male "childless cat lady." God has blessed him and has been faithful with everything he promised Abram, except for one thing: Abram still does not have a family. But that doesn't mean he has no stake in the future. However, one thing that does concern Abraham is that all of his wealth will go to Eliezer of Damascus. Eliezer is a good man, but he is not Abram's son.

Abram brings his petition to God. He hopes that his childless state will end. Abram desperately wants a child who will inherit all the ways the Patriarch has been blessed. But he knows that, ultimately, that decision is no longer his. If he has a child, the child will be born at the will of God, not his. The child would have been born long ago if it were up to Abram.

I owe a lot to some "childless cat ladies" in my life. They have invested in me and, as a result, in the future of the human race. And I want to pay forward their investment in the future. But more than that, I know men and women with children who seem to disregard what the future might hold. It is not children that provide us with an anchor for the future. It is something else; I think it is a matter of character. These future-focused people possess a character that sees the future as something designed to be passed on to the next generation, as well as a hope that tomorrow will be even better than today because God has placed us in it. We will bring his blessings to a world that has yet to be born.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 16

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. – Genesis 14:14

Today's Scripture Reading (September 25, 2024): Genesis 14

George Armstrong Custer went to Little Big Horn with one mission in mind: defeating the Lakota Sioux. He was confident that he would win. And maybe it was that confidence that ended up working against him. Ultimately, the Lakota village was larger than any village the soldiers had ever seen before. And that, coupled with the childish rivalry that was taking place among the American Military leaders, contributed to Custer's defeat. In the end, Custer's soldiers were simply outmanned, and, maybe surprising to some, they were outgunned. The forces of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse had more soldiers and better weapons. With the circumstances being what they were, there was no way Custer would come out of the Battle at Little Big Horn alive.

The amazing thing about this story of Abram is the patriarch's choice. Lot had left and took the best land in which to settle down. There could have been anger. Lot, you left and took what was best; now, you are paying the price for your greed. To the xenophobic nations of the plain, Abram could have simply declared that they were getting what they deserved; they were paying the price for your unfriendliness. Abram had fond memories of Mesopotamia; he grew up there. He was married there. That the Kings of Mesopotamia had come in and put the cities of the plain in their place, well, what can I say; it must be God's will.

Abram doesn't do this. He says the world he wants is one where people don't have to live in fear. It is a world that isn't frightened by strangers. It can be so much more than it is. And I am willing to put myself in the middle of that world. I am willing to take my servants and go and fight the four kings who have defeated the five cities to which I live closest.

The reaction to Abram's plan had to be that the plan didn't make any sense. Abram, you can't do that. The numbers don't measure up. You, a single outcast, can't win against the combined force of four Kings of Mesopotamia. But Abraham believed that changing the world started with him.

And so he gathers his small army and chases down the Kings of Mesopotamia, determined to get Lot and his belongings back. It was a little like the Battle at the Little Big Horn, except that Abram's confidence was in God and not his own military ability.

One final note. There is evidence that this story was written later and not by someone who was there at the time of the Battle between Abram and the kings of Mesopotamia. One of the struggles we have with the story of Custer at the Little Big Horn is that no one who had fought on Custer's side survived the Battle. The only stories of the Battle come from the Lakota Warriors who defeated Custer and his troops. And there is evidence that they didn't even know they were fighting against the famous George Armstrong Custer until much later. In Abram's case, many survived the confrontation and likely passed this story down through the generations. By the time it was written down, Dan was a territory. But Dan did not become a territory until hundreds of years after Abram rescued Lot. All of this means this story was passed down for generations before someone decided to write it down.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 15

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. – Genesis 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 24, 2024): Genesis 13

The poem was first published in 1916. However, the poem's roots probably date back to the time the author spent in England with his author friend Edward Thomas from 1912 until 1915. After the poem was published and following the author's return home to New Hampshire, we know that a copy of it was sent to Thomas. It is believed that the poem played a significant role in Edward Thomas's decision to enlist in World War I. Edward Thomas died on April 9, 1917. He was shot through the chest on the very first day of the Battle of Arras on the Western Front of the war.

The author of the poem that sent his friend to the war was Robert Frost. And the poem was "The Road Not Taken." We know the opening words of the poem well.

            Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel to both.

The poem describes the feelings of a traveler walking in a wood when he comes to a fork in the road. And the traveler has to decide as to which way to go. One is well-traveled, the other not, although there is little evidence that either trail had been taken recently. The traveler wishes that he could go both ways, but being one traveler with a limited amount of time, he knows that this is not practical. He has to make a choice. And after considering which way to go, he turns around and goes home.

No! We know the opening words of the poem, but we probably know the closing words even better:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

The poem is about a choice. I know that some think that choice doesn't exist and that what we think of as a choice is nothing but a mirage. For these people, this world is based on fate or strictly on the decisions of God. But I am not one of them. The New International Version of the Bible uses the word "choose" 83 times. The word "choose" is used for simple things like which animals might be sacrificed, and it is used for something as crucial as which God we will serve.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

Genesis 13 begins with Abram choosing to leave Egypt for the Negev. He is starting his journey back to Canaan. Abram decides to return and continues to make a series of choices in this chapter that will significantly shape the rest of his life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 14

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. – Genesis 12:10

Today's Scripture Reading (September 23, 2024): Genesis 12

A friend's daughter died in a car accident recently. I admit I can't imagine the pain that my friend and his family are going through right now. You aren't supposed to lose your children. I also thought of everything that had to go wrong for the accident to happen. If she had left home ten minutes earlier or later, is it possible that the accident may not have happened? However, oseverour reality is that everything we do comes with consequences, even if that is a fact that we don't always think about.

Losing a child is extremely hard, but it happens and has happened within my extended family. But it isn't supposed to be that way. I remember looking at a picture of my father-in-law's family and going through the picture of these aunts and uncles when they were children. The picture hung in the hallway of my father-in-law's house. I knew the family, although admittedly, I knew some of my wife's aunts and uncles better than others. However, I noticed a discrepancy as I went through the family photo. Either I had not met all of my wife's aunts and uncles, or a stray child had wandered into the photo. I pulled my wife aside with a burning question. Who is that?

My wife smiled and said that it was her Dad's brother. (I immediately noticed it was Dad's brother, not my uncle.) Then she added he had died when he was a child. What followed next was a caution: we don't talk about him. I couldn't think of anything sadder. Not only did this blond-haired, happy child die long before his time, but the event had such a disastrous impact on the family that they had decided not to even speak about him. I admit I still have questions I would love to have someone answer about this child. But I have followed the family injunction, and we don't discuss him.

Famine hit the area we know of as the Levant. Honestly, drought in this corner of the world is nothing new. Therefore, there are frequent famines in this part of our planet. Famine has always presented a grave obstacle to the inhabitants of our world. Then, there were no social safety nets. When famine struck, people died. So, these repeating cycles of crop failure were nothing to fool around with. So, when famine strikes, Abram heads out to spend time in Egypt.

Experts have discussed this event frequently. Most seem to come down on the side of accusing Abram of lacking faith. Like many of us, Abram may have talked a better faith walk than the one that he lives. I am not convinced. Famine struck, and going to Egypt for a while was something that Abram could do. He had faith that God would take care of him in Egypt just as he had taken care of him as he had moved around the Fertile Crescent of the Levant from the Kingdom of Ur to Canaan.

But there would also be consequences to the move. And in this case, the consequences were significant. If Abram had stayed, there could have been deaths among Abram's family and servants, maybe even the deaths of children connected to the patriarch and his circle of influence. The move to Egypt might have saved those lives. However, the negative consequence of the move to Egypt might be that this is where Sarai would find her servant, Hagar, and Hagar would play a significant role in the later story of Abram and Sarai.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 13

As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. – Genesis 11:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 22, 2024): Genesis 11

The settling of the American and Canadian West has always intrigued me. It might seem obvious to most, but the story of the American and Canadian West is basically the same tale. The two governments may have had different policies when dealing with the First Nations, but many similar actions existed between the national neighbors. The First Nations didn't recognize the artificial border that divided the North American countries. The story of settling the West is fundamentally the story of pushing the First Nations tribes, which is not a good word, but the "nations" of the First Nations sounds weird, further to the West. It is as if the white colonialists couldn't imagine beyond where they set their feet. Who could dream that Montana and Iowa would one day be home to a bunch of white settlers?

What we sometimes miss about the setting of the West was that it wasn't just the settlers who were taking over new territory. First Nations people were also learning about a new land. People who had once inhabited the forests of the eastern portion of North America had to learn to survive on the Great Plains. People of the Great Plains had to learn to survive in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Everyone had some kind of a learning curve, and it was that curve that caused most of the wars that happened between the traditional inhabitants and the white invaders. It is the original sin of the colonialists for which we are still struggling to atone.

As the nations begin to move in Genesis, we are told that they move east toward the plains of what is today Iraq. It would be one of the first places where the human race would begin to settle and build cities. Like the settling of western North America, it would involve the people trying to find new ways to live in a new place. Unlike the settling of the West, there doesn't seem to be any prior inhabitants, other than the animals that had to be pushed to the side or to land that these colonialists didn't have any momentary interest. It might have been the last time that would happen in human history.

These first colonialists settled in the Plain of Shinar. The word's etymology is still being fought over, but we know that Shinar would become known as Babylonia. It wasn't a world power, not yet, but it was a gathering spot of an emerging population and the first place where humans gathered to try to do things beyond their current abilities. It was a place to grow and settle. It became the cradle of the nations. From here, we would spread out to take over all of the world.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 12

After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. – Job 42:7

Today's Scripture Reading (September 21, 2024): Job 42

The story of Job teaches us a few things. One is that suffering comes to us all. Sometimes, we suffer because of the things that we have done. And we know that. But sometimes suffering comes, and there is no reason. It just comes. And that is precisely the situation in which Job finds himself. The reader understands the background of Job's suffering, which is taking place in heaven, but Job doesn't know that. He just knows that he is in anguish.

Eliphaz and his friends think that they know God and, therefore, know why Job is suffering, but they don't. One of the things about God that Job's friends missed was that, sometimes, stuff happens. Everyone suffers, and as much as we don't like the answer, sometimes there is no reason for our suffering. It just happens, and it happens to all of us.

But there is another secret to Job's story. Suffering is suffering. However, your suffering is the worst because it is yours. Here is a secret that you probably don't want me to tell you. I don't know the secret to suffering. I don't know why you suffer or why I do; just that we do. And we have all suffered too much loss and pain in our lives. However, God is with us in our suffering, just as he was with Job. He knows and still cares for us even when we doubt it is possible.

Maybe I can explain suffering a little with an old Depression-era story. During the years of the Great Depression, there was a man who was going through much suffering. He, like Job, had lost everything. He didn't have a job, money, or a future. One day, while the man was searching for a job, he walked through the city's downtown area and came upon a work site. He watched as a worker stood, shaping a piece of stone. The man finally called over to the worker to ask him exactly why he was shaping the stone. The worker walked over to him and showed him the stone. And then he pointed at a spire on the building that was being constructed. The worker told the man that he was shaping the stone because there was a spot where the stone was supposed to be placed on the spire. "I am shaping the stone down here so that it will fit up there."

Tears came to the man's eyes. He felt like God had sent him a message. Maybe everything that was happening to him was just as simple as that. Maybe God was shaping him down here so that he would fit up there.  

It's as good an explanation as I can figure out concerning why we suffer. God is still shaping us down here so that we will fit up there with him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 11

Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? – Job 41:5

Today's Scripture Reading (September 20, 2024): Job 41

Their names were Cooper and Bear. The pair lived next door and became my friends as soon as they arrived. Cooper and Bear always seemed excited when I arrived home from wherever I was. And often, they came running over to greet me. I came to love Cooper and Bear, even though they did not belong to me. You probably have already guessed that Cooper and Bear were dogs, Boxers, and I have known both of them since they were pups.

As it turned out, both Cooper and Bear suffered through significant health challenges as they grew older, and yet that didn't seem to dampen their enthusiasm and spirit every time we came into contact with each other. They often found their way to the deck at the back of my home if they got out of their yard. They seemed to love exploring this world normally on the other side of the fence. And they would often roll over, inviting me to scratch their bellies.

Not every animal makes a good pet. Some because the animals simply can't be domesticated and remain dangerous even if we think they are tame. Others are not suitable because they don't react well to captivity. But an animal that makes a good pet can bring joy to its owner and anyone who has frequent contact with it.

The Leviathan, whatever it might have been, was not a tamable animal. It could not be domesticated and remained a threat to anyone nearby. No one could put a leash on it and make it safe. Yet, even the Leviathan was the creation of God. He was safe from its effects.

I miss my friends Cooper and Bear. Cooper passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. Bear met a similar fate just last month. But the Leviathan could never live in harmony with the human race. It was a threat, one that Job was unsure how to handle. Instead, he had to lean on the wisdom of God for a solution. And now God reminds Job that his power was so much more than that of Job that he could do what Job was incapable of doing. He could even turn the Leviathan into his pet.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 42

Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. – Job 40:21

Today's Scripture Reading (September 19, 2024): Job 40

So, how do you feel about dragons? I admit that they are part of a fantasy world that I rarely enter. I have always believed that dragons are part of a fictional world that never really existed. However, they can also symbolize the insurmountable problems we sometimes have to face in this life. Recently, I was listening to an older podcast of "The Rest is History" with historians Tom Holland, who dislikes the other Tom Holland (yeah, him), and Dominic Sandbrook, who dislikes, if you really want to know, the poetry of John Lennon. In this podcast, this pair of historians spent some time on the possible historicity of dragons.

The historians talked about dragons in the literature of J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the "Lord of the Rings," and in George R. R. Martin's, "Game of Thrones." (I just noticed that both men use R. R. as part of their initials. Is there any significance here? Let's start a conspiracy theory.) I have read several books from both of these authors. However, the existence of dragons in literature goes back to ancient days, and they can even be found in the Bible. These historians make the point that the idea of a dragon had to come from somewhere. Most concepts in fiction find their roots somewhere in history. So, Holland and Sandbrook openly wonder about the Leviathan of the Bible; is it possible that they were somewhat dragon-like? As they discussed this possibility, my mind went to the Nephilim in Genesis 6. These were beings of great strength and stature. Could it be that Genesis 6 was describing dragons? And what about the Behemoth? Is there a possibility that we are dealing with a water dragon? I must admit that there is something intriguing about the Behemoth being a dragon rather than just assuming that this mysterious animal is a hippopotamus or a rhinoceros.

But whatever this animal was, it was an animal of significant size that could hide among the lotus plants. At first, as I read this verse, I wondered how something as big as a behemoth could hide among something as insignificant as the lotus plant. But a lotus plant does not grow alone. A lotus plant is planted at the bottom of a water source and stretches up to the lake's surface. Its leaves float on the water, and the flower reaches just above the leaves. But the effect of the leaves is that it casts a shadow below the surface of the water. As a result, fantastic beasts like a hippopotamus, rhinoceros, or even, dare I say, a dragon can hide beneath the lotus leaves, and the watcher on shore doesn't even know that the beast is there.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 41

Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? – Job 39:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 18, 2024): Job 39

The ibex, a kind of wild goat, inhabited the Middle East in antiquity. We know this because the area is filled with paintings of this goat. It was a familiar scene. Yet, little was really known about this mountain goat. The ibex gives birth to its young in the wilderness. Unlike domesticated animals, it needs no help. And unlike human children, the ibex offspring can stand within minutes and is ready to go and romp and play.

None of this Job knew. He had seen the ibex. His community used the mountain goat as a symbol and used the image as art in his society, and yet the ibex remained a mystery. God keeps on bringing Job to a simpler and simpler situation. However, Job is still left with a mystery that he can't solve but that God can.

Not long ago, I read a social media post that proclaimed that man had left behind the simple realities like God uses here with Job. We know what Job doesn't know. And maybe there is a feeling in our culture that, given enough time, we can come to understand everything that we might not understand now. Just as we have advanced beyond the simple knowledge of Job, future humanity will go beyond the knowledge that we possess today. If that is true, then why do we need a God?

It is a good question. However, increased knowledge has not resulted in increased happiness or satisfaction. And even though we know more than Job did, a mystery still remains. I believe a God-sized mystery will always remain regardless of how our knowledge increases. The failure of knowledge to heal the problems of the human condition is a failure of the Modern era. One of the strengths of the Post-Modern era is that we have come to realize that knowledge will never save us. Regardless of whether we call what we don't know the mystery or chaos or whatever name we might want to attach to it, it is the God-sized hole that only he can fill. We still need God to fill that mystery despite our increased knowledge. For Job, it was the ibex; for us, maybe it is the ever-expanding universe or something else for which we can't find answers. Either way, it still reveals humankind's need for God to bridge the gap from where we are to where God needs us to be.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 40

Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place. – Job 38:12

Today's Scripture Reading (September 17, 2024): Job 38

Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical letter to the "Journal de Paris" editor in 1784. The letter explored possible ways of conserving energy and candle usage. In the Letter, Franklin suggested that if the Parisians would only wake up earlier in the summer, candles and oil usage could be drastically cut. It was a humorous suggestion, but a seed of truth was contained within it.

The idea didn't go away. Just over a century later, a New Zealand astronomer, George Hudson, proposed to set the clocks back two hours every spring. However, the astronomer's idea was never seriously considered.

The first implementation of Daylight Savings Time was in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, part of the contemporary city of Thunder Bay, in 1908. However, it was only a local regulation, not one to be followed nationally. But the idea has continued to spread until today when it is almost a universal regulation, especially in the extreme north and south of the world. Every spring, we adjust our clocks to make use of the extra hours of daylight that the seasons give to us. While we still argue about it, and many do not like this seasonal time change, the truth is that it makes more sense the farther north in the Northern Hemisphere and south in the Southern Hemisphere, the places where the differences between light available in the summer and winter is the greatest, that you go.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, the need for seasonal energy savings made Daylight Savings Time a matter of patriotic pride. Yet, it still had its detractors. A story is told of a woman who phoned in to a radio station to complain about the time change. Apparently, she was afraid that the extra daylight would burn her lawn. Of course, she is mistaken. Daylight savings time doesn't actually result in additional sunlight; we are just awake through more of it.

We don't possess the ability to change the length of a day. We cannot command that the sun rises or that it sets. That is something that only God can do. All we can do is change our clocks, one way in the spring and another in the fall. We understand the mechanics of the sun's daily cycle, which is a function of the earth's rotation, which is something that Job didn't understand. But the essential truth of this passage remains intact. We have control over many things when it comes to the passing and counting of time, but the rising of the sun isn't one of them. That remains the domain of our God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 39

Note: The latest Sermon from VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) - The World of Jesus: New Expectations - can be found here. The full service can be found here.