Lee Harmon's Blog, page 48

Mark 6:14-18, John the Baptist: A Backward Jesus?

Now King Herod heard [of Jesus], for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”Others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is the Prophet, orlike one of the prophets.”But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he h...

Luke 16:31, The Raising of Lazarus

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

//This verse concludes a well-known parable in the Gospel of Luke. Lazarus, a poor beggar, sits outside the mansion of an uncaring rich man. When the two die, Lazarus goes to a place of comfort, in the bosom of Abraham, while the rich man lands in torment. The rich man then begs Abraham to resurrect Lazarus and send him to the rich man’s family, warning them of a horrib...

Matthew 24:20, Pray it won’t happen on the Sabbath!

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.

//In this passage, Jesus warns Israel of the coming day when Jerusalem would be destroyed (it happened about 40 years later). Judeans would have to escape into the mountains! Woe to mothers who are with child!

But Matthew, when he copies Mark’s warning, adds a phrase: “neither on the Sabbath day.” Why?

Matthew, scholars often explain, is the most “Jewish” of the four Gospels. Matthew has a high respect for the Law. It...

Book review: Consider the Birds

by Debbie Blue

★★★★★

Inspirational, educational, and fun. You’ve probably never looked at the Bible from this angle. When Jesus says “consider the birds” (Matthew 6:26, Luke 12:24), is he giving us a lesson that we can sink our teeth into?

It turns out the Bible is chock full of birds, with their odd characteristics, legends and lessons. Debbie Blue is a pastor and a bird watcher who brings our avian friends alive, in both their splendorous glory and their disgusting habits. Doves, vultures, eag...

Ezekiel 21:2, Jesus Goes to Jerusalem

“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;”

//These are the words of the Lord to Ezekiel. Note the phrase “son of man,” which Ezekiel uses often to refer to himself.In time, however, this phrase took on messianic and eschatological connotations. See especially the books of Daniel and Enoch. Jesus took the title upon himself, as evidence of his messiahship.

I mention in my book about John’s Gospel that i do not think it i...

Leviticus 16:1, How the Sons of Aaron Died

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died.

//This verse harks back to chapter ten, verse 1, where it explains that the two sons of Aaron—Nadab and Abihu—prepared the incense burner incorrectly (perhaps adding the wrong ingredients) and God killed them. “There went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them.” This appears to shake the faith of Aaron, and indeed, nothing about the incident is treated as out of the ordinary … as...

Esther 2:4, The Most Odoriferous Parade Ever

“Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”

//In the book of Esther, queen Vashti upsets the king by asserting her independence (she refuses to dance for the king and his pals), and King Xerxes (Ahasuerus)decides he must replace her. It won’t do for men—especially the king—to tolerate such disrespect from their wives. So, he decides to replace his wife. He sends out a decree that all the beautiful young virgins in the kingdom be prepared for his examination. He...

2 Samuel 22:3, David Avenges His Parents’ Death

David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live.

//So David conquers the Moabites, and the king of Moab dies here. Oddly, the last thing we heard about this anonymous king before David’s vengeful slaughter, was that David was asking this king to provide protective custody for his parents! What happened to tear their alliance apart?

All we have...

Book review: Paul and Judaism Revisited

by Preston M. Sprinkle

★★★★★

This is one of those books that you are going to love if you’re intrigued with this stuff (the New Perspective on Paul), and hate if you’re not. I ate it up. It’s a relatively hard read, even though the Greek language is kept to a minimum. Beginners in Pauline theology may feel overwhelmed, but more studied theologians will be captivated.

The question is, where did Paul get his ideas, and exactly what does he teach regarding salvation? Is salvation conditional upon w...

1 Kings 16:32, The Rise and Fall of the Cult of Baal

And [King Ahab] reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

//A great deal of the book of Kings seems to be a comparison of good kings versus evil kings in Israel.First one king does evil in the sight of the Lord, then the next king does what is right, then the next king does evil again. For the most part, the “evil” pertains to idolatry or cultic worship of the wrong god.

The Baal cult receives the most prominent mention. It lasted only about 40 years, but...