Lee Harmon's Blog, page 32
March 13, 2014
Genesis 17:25, How Old was Ishmael when Abraham Sent Him Away? Part II of II
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
//Yesterday, I provided verses that make it sound like Ishmael was an infant when Abraham sent him and his mother Hagar away into the desert. But if we back up four chapters to today’s verse, we read that Ishmael was 13 when he was circumcised. Sometime afterward, another son, Isaac, is conceived. We can figure that nine months after that, Isaac is born. At least 18 months after that, Isaac is wea...
March 12, 2014
Genesis 21:14, How Old was Ishmael when Abraham Sent Him Away? Part I of II
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
//The story is this: Sarah (Abraham’s wife, mother of Isaac) grows jealous of Hagar, and demands that Abraham send her away. So Abraham gets up, puts Hagar’s son Ishmael on her shoulder, and sends her off into the desert with a bottle of water. The story continues lik...
March 11, 2014
Book review: Morality is the Problem
by Jake Yaniak
★★★★★
We have the Moral Argument all wrong. Universal morality isn’t evidence of God’s existence, it’s the reason we need God. Human morality is flawed from its foundation, a fiend from whom we need salvation.
Yaniak’s new book is philosophy made interesting, from a Christian perspective. Besides presenting an unusual take on the dilemma of the origins of human morality, he has a style of writing that draws you in and keeps you interested. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I confess...
March 10, 2014
Book Excerpt: John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened
“He didn’t come.”
The old man blinked and said nothing.
“He’s not coming back for us, is he? The Temple will never be rebuilt.”
“Matthew, you must write again. You must write a new gospel. I will give you the words.”
“I cannot.” Matthew nervously stroked his beard, then caught himself and dropped his hand to avoid calling attention to the sorry little patch of oversized whiskers on his chin. Twenty-eight years old and still he couldn’t outgrow his baby face into a proper Jew.
He shifted his weight...
March 9, 2014
Numbers 6:2, Was Jesus a Nazirite?
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD …”
//In Bible times, there existed a means of donating a boy or girl to the service of God. Presumably, this meant cultic service at the Temple. A Nazirite could be either male or female, as today’s verse indicates, and did not require one to be of the lineage of Aaronite priesthood. Anyone could be a Nazirite. Numbers chapter 6 i...
March 8, 2014
1 John 4:2, Knowing Whether Instruction is from God
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God
//How do we know, when we hear instruction from another, that it comes from God? In the book Unfettered Spirit, Robert Cornwall presents three rules to help us critically examine any instruction we may hear. I thought these rules to be interesting enough to repeat. Three verses from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians will highlight the three rules.
1. First, as with today’s vers...
March 7, 2014
Book review: The Illusion of “Truth”: The Real Jesus Behind the Grand Myth
by Thomas Daniel Nehrer
★★★★
Wanna meet the real Jesus? From page one, I was hooked by Nehrer’s jaded dismissal of believers and scholars alike, and his promise of delivering the real Jesus. Nehrer, the mystic, reveals Jesus, the visionary … and he does it entertainingly well.
Nehrer is not religious, and finds no value in the Bible (other than as a historical oddity) outside the parables of Jesus. No sugar-coating, here. But don’t let Nehrer’s self-aggrandizing style turn you off. He over-value...
March 6, 2014
Luke 14:23, Converting the Donatists
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compelthemto come in, that my house may be filled.
//For anyone not familiar with the Donatists, they were the primary strand of Christianity in Africa in the fourth century. Followers of Donatus (though he was not its founding leader), the Donatists considered themselves purists in that they did not recognize the authority of anyone who had ever denounced his or her faith to avoid persecution. Such persons, they insi...
March 5, 2014
Psalm 23:4, Thy Rod and Staff
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
//I recall as a child wondering about this verse. What could possibly be comforting about the rod and staff? Who likes getting beat with a rod?
In case anyone else wonders about this verse, let’s put the phrase in context. The psalmist says rod and staff are a comfort when walking through the valley of the shadow of death. They presumably remove the fea...
March 4, 2014
Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened
“Our Lord holds the seven stars?” Matthew looked up questioningly.
“I will explain in due time, my son. Now, sit with me.”
“Yes, Father,” Matthew acquiesced, rightly perceiving this as not the time for attitude. He sat down, leaning against the rock wall, quite happy to delay his studies even if the interruption didn’t give him opportunity to play; even if he received no silver for his attention.
“You remember my telling you about Jesus of Nazareth, don’t you? The Son of God, they called him?”
“O...
