The Book of Exodus
Fall 2003 Bible Study
Exodus 19-24
The Book of Exodus
Fall 2003 Bible Study
Exodus 19-24
| "St. Joan of Arc Bible Study is an open and growing group that meets for fellowship and to discuss the Bible and other faith-centered literature. Our informal study group draws from biblical scholarship, historical perspectives, current events and personal reflections. We welcome honor and respect the personal ideas and spiritual journeys of all who join us." |
Greetings
What a grand night at the old country church. Those who may have felt the actual event could never live up to all the hype were sadly mistaken. I know it helps if a bible study is interesting or informational and maybe enlightening, but I was having a gas. Are bible studies fun? Is this legal?
We opened the gathering with a note from Romans and then another reflection about God's abundance and our willingness to accept it and give thanks for what ever that is for us right now.
We then presented a dear member with a gift to be given as a living memorial for his father who recently passed on. We also heard of a community theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Follwell Middle School in MPLS. More about that later.
Our facilitator had much to cover, per usual, but performed masterfully as he weaved us through, in his words, "observations, interpretations and talking points." See the overview below.
A Jealous Eagle Offers the LAW
Exodus Chapter 19-24
04NOV03 - D.R.
Observations, Interpretations, and Talking Points
COVENANT AT THE SINAI
50 days out of Egypt/50 days after the Passover God makes Israel a "special possession". Parallel: 50 days after the death of Jesus is the Pentecost.
Israel will remain in the Sinai through the remainder of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Some contend this marks the establishment of Israel as special "You shall be a particular treasure unto me for all earth is mine" but others contend the covenant was made far earlier.
The Law is fundamentally a Gift...not a burden. It shows God has chosen not to do everything Him/Herself. The Law emerges from the matrix of life...not merely revelation. It requires not merely obedience, but is a calling. The Law with the Covenant describes what it is like to be a Chosen People. You are like Israel. Be Israel. "The way to be this kind of people is to keep the Covenant; to keep the Covenant is to be this kind of people." -Interpretation, Fretheim, p.213
As Israel was captive, they are now called to be responsible to the downtrodden and disadvantaged. The Law is a call to be compassionate and just. It calls for neighborly kindness. This OT message later, arguably "enhanced" by the NT)
God chooses to address the people directly. God is out front...the Narrator and the Law Giver. Delivered Israel "As on Eagles' wings" (decidedly a mother eagle!) Otherwise language uses decidedly masculine pronouns.
The Dark Cloud, Thunder, Lightning, Volcanous, Earthquaking Trumpets Blasting. Israel is not to fully penetrate the secrets Worshippers kept at a distance (except Moses) "lest they break through to the Lord". A desire of Forbidden Knowledge was the ruin of our 'first parents'. "Don't come as your wives". (!) A Jealous God. (CH. 20) (As in a zealous God ?) A verbiage used several times in the OT. Used to describe the particular love for God's Chosen People. An uncomfortable image nonetheless.
The Laws concern issues between Man-to-Man (not just God-Man). Herein Israel is established as a Theocracy (society ruled by religion). A sharp contrast to the 10 Commandments problems in the U.S. (Alabama)
God will clear all out of Canaan for the Israelites. The Covenant is written down (!!) and ratified by the people. God keeps Moses waiting for 6 days, then he stays for 40.
The Decalogue...there are several in the Bible, but the 10 Commandments are closely repeated in EXOD 34:12-26 and also DEUT 5:6-21. The Qur'an mentions God giving tablets containing the Law to Moses, but does not list the commands. The Decalogue contains more like 22 commandments, not 10. First four religious in nature, uniquely related to Yahweh (most problematic in secular settings!). In MK 10:19 Jesus mentions only 5 of the Commandments. (but>) MT 5:17-20 is used to deny that Jesus challenged the Ten Commandments.
(Ideas for discussion):
We were of course taking time for discussion throughout but soon had to
break for treats. Speaking of treats, as the sign-up sheet was being passed
around twenty minutes into the meeting, Rita and I noticed our treat bearer
was not present. Gulp. Pandemonium was about to have its day when suddenly
in our midst she appeared. I was told that the look on my face when I
spotted her was quite comical. A mixture of pure angst and sheer joy. Now,
for being relatively new to the group she has obviously picked up a great
deal of information, like, we love chocolate! Out of the four trays of
cookies we received, three were of a
triple-double-secret-chocolate-fudge-icing-type cookie that was more like a
cake. Actually, I believe it was cake. What was that? The pure fudge
icing was adorned so heavily that even Glenn was awed. These rich saucers
of joy actually melted into pure cocoa sweetness at stage 1 of the delivery
system. We also opened and enjoyed the obligatory and fabulous M&M cookies
from a package which never diminished. And by the by, the parish coffee is
outstanding.
We finally made it to our small groups and did reach some meaningful stuff. Many of us view the God of the Hebrew Scriptures as being so dark and violent along with many of the stories seeming so bizarre that several of us wonder why we even read it. It seems so foreign to our ideas of and about God that it is often difficult to get anything from it. However we are also aware that there is Wisdom in these Scriptures and as we move from our left brain programming it can make sense and there are important lessons to be discovered along with the fascination of hearing the faith stories of our religious ancestors. The story of a people coming to terms with a new and most likely difficult idea of the one God and what that means in their lives and the lives of their neighbors. We are "writing" the same saga today as we grapple with our ideas and beliefs about God and what that means in our lives. We discussed the idea that the Ten Commandments are not so much commandments or a deal struck, but a description of what people that live and move in God are like.
Jesus refers to Scripture again and again but with a fresh understanding of the original intent; he moves people out of the worshiping of, and strict obedience to, the rules and ritual as ends in themselves. These rituals point toward something greater that we humans quickly loose sight of. The most obvious example is the Sabbath. Jesus states that the Sabbath was made for human beings, people were not made for the Sabbath. And it is very easy to see the benefit of such an idea. This subject was discussed some in our large group. Who cares about on what day it lands or whether God really built the world in 6 days and then rested. There is pure physical and spiritual wisdom in the idea behind the Sabbath.
Enough fun for one evening. We finally closed (someone just termed us the bible study that wouldn't go home) with a beautiful hand-written note to a husband from his wife. It spoke of remembering and truly asking for God's presence in those tasks and circumstances that we find insurmountable.
Here is the lowdown on the JC Superstar. Friday and Saturday Nov. 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22 7:30 pm. Sunday Matinee: Nov. 9&16 2pm. Adults $12 Groups and seniors $8. FFI visit www.morrisparkplayers.org I wouldn't mind attending but it would have to be the 15 for me. Anyone else interested in going, let me know and I will look into what constitutes a "group."
Also Bob and I have spoken with Dr. Dorothy Irvin and she would still love to come to bible study and present her slide presentation of women in the early church. Let's seriously consider choosing a date soon!
Oh gosh, now we need to think about change. Ugh. Four or five people volunteered to bring a question about the chapters for next week and will "sort of" facilitate. Please read chapters 25-31. Nancy has the blue bag of books and may look into a few issues. Change is good, right?
The rest of the privileges include: