Lee Harmon's Blog, page 29

Leviticus 23:6, The First Passover, Part II of II

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

//Yesterday, I presented a passage from the book of Jubilees that seems to tie the arrival of Abraham and Isaac to the place of Isaac’s sacrifice on the day of the Passover. That same passage continues:

And Abraham went to his young men and they got up and went to Beer-sheba together. And Abraham dwelt by the Well of the Oath. And he named it “the feast of the Lord...

Genesis 22:4, The First Passover, Part I of II

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

//Question: The first Passover happened as the children of Israel escaped from Egypt, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. The patriarchs Abraham and Isaac predate the exodus. Recall that Jesus is our final Passover lamb, and that Isaac, nearly sacrificed by his father Abraham, is considered a typology of Jesus. A foreshadow of what was to come.

The Jewish book of Jubilees provides some details about this event that we don’t have...

Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened

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“Do you understand that Jesus is the Christ?” Samuel pressed on. “The Messiah must be born into the royal lineage of our greatest warrior, King David, and he must redeem our people with the sword, but most Jews refuse to consider Jesus the one. Because although the blood of King David surges through the veins of our Lord Jesus, he came first as a lamb, silent before his accusers.”

“Who were his accusers?”

“The Romans and the Jewish council of elders, the Sanhedrin. They sentenced him to die on...

1 Corinthians 7:28-29, the Danger of Celibacy

But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.

//Today’s words are written by Paul, encouraging the Corinthians to abstain from marriage. Why? Because the return of Christ is just around the corner. The time is too short to bother with things like marriage.

Paul guessed wrong about this, but he’s not the only one. His instruction reminds me of a group we’ve all heard of: the Shakers.

The Shaker...

Revelation 22:10, Is Jesus Coming Back?

And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

//I’m sometimes asked what it would take to convince me that Revelation’s prophecies still reside in our future. Am I not impressed by the signs of the times, which seem to keep piling up?

The answer is, I must play the odds. Given that Revelation repeatedly promises everything “quickly,” and that the events of the first century so closely match the events promised in Revelation, what are the odds...

Book review: Walking in the Moment between Tick and Tock–From Passover to Pentecost

by J. Timothy King

★★★★

Mr. King presented this book to me as appropriate for the season. Passover is nearly upon us. I absolutely love reading about the Biblical feasts and celebrations, so I snapped it up.

King notes that Jewish holidays are different from secular holidays; they’re not just about observing the past, but about bringing the past into the present. We live in the moment, between the tick and tock of the clock, as we journey from Passover to Pentecost … from Egypt to Sinai.

King’s b...

Genesis 22:5, Did Abraham Think Isaac Would Be Resurrected? Part II of II

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

//Today’s verse refers to the day Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. He tells his traveling companions to wait for him, and promises both he and Isaac will return.

Yesterday, I pointed to a passage in Hebrews that interprets this verse to mean that Abraham expected Isaac to live again after he was killed. But there is another way to read this verse. It...

Hebrews 11:17-19, Did Abraham Think Isaac Would Be Resurrected? Part I of II

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. –Hebrews 11:17-19



//As Abraham prepared to take Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him, hetold his traveling companions to wait for them. He promised that both he and Isaac would return.

Rashi, an 11...

Book review: The Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth

by Peter Gillies

★★★★★

A fascinating look into who Jesus was and why he chose to die. Gillies says his new book is “A freethinking, scriptural look at Jesus of Nazareth & the Son of Man’s singular mission to free Israel from its tribal god.” While I hesitate to speak quite as bluntly as Gillies, I find much the same mission when I study the message of Jesus … particularly in John’s Gospel.

Beyond Gnosticism, edgy, down-to-earth, and a delight to read, here is a composite gospel you don’t want to...

Genesis 23:1, How Old was Isaac When He was Offered as Sacrifice?

And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

//Today’s question is a good one. Since Abraham loaded Isaac with wood to carry, we know he wasn’t a child.

Most artwork pictures him as a teenager. Jewish tradition in the book of Jubilees agrees, saying he was fifteen (Jubilees 17:15-16). Another midrashic calculation makes him twenty-six (Gen. Rab. 56:8). But the most logical calculation, if we follow scripture, is a bit different.

When Genesis...