Lee Harmon's Blog, page 30

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 s...

Book Excerpt: John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened

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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:

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“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 presiden...

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 sp...

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, a...

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 Mahal...

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...

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 M...

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.

H...

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...

Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened

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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, whi...