Facultystaff

Your Real Carbon Footprint

We hear a lot about the “carbon footprint” these days. So here’s a question:

                                What is the most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint?

A.       Drive less or choose a hybrid car

B.       Unplug your electronics

C.       Eat a vegan diet

    You may be surprised to find that the answer is C, and to hear that eating meat is the leading cause of greenhouse gases which contributes to climate change. In fact, The University of Chicago reports that going vegan is 50% more effective than switching to a hybrid car in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Eating 1 pound of meat is environmentally equal to driving 40 miles in an SUV (and the average American consumes over 250 pounds of meat a year, so that’s over 10,000 miles in an SUV)!  Actually, it can be argued that you cannot call yourself an environmentalist if you continue to eat animals and animal products, due to the climate change impact, the pollution, the use of fossil fuels, and the devastation to land and water.

    One of the most popular discussions in the sustainability field is our reliance on fossil fuels, specifically oil. Our oil dependence has a variety of serious ramifications, both environmentally and politically. However it is rarely publicized that eating a meat based diet uses up more than 1/3 of our fossil fuel resources. If every person in the U.S. traded in one chicken meal for a vegetarian meal each week, it’s the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off our roads (8 million cars for a whole day per week of vegetarian meals). So even just cutting your meat consumption for one meal or one day a week creates a more environmentally efficient system.

    If fossil fuels are not your concern, what about the social justice issue of hunger? Another astonishing fact is that more than 70% of the grain grown in the United States is used to produce animals and animal products for consumption. Think of the global food shortage issues, and then think of how much of our agricultural land and energy we are wasting on producing such a low yield to feed so few people. It takes approximately 16 pounds of grain to yield just 1 pound of edible meat, which is clearly an inefficient equation. With the grain the U.S. alone feeds to animals for consumption, we could feed an additional 1.4 BILLION people world-wide. 

    Land and water are other resources that are being destroyed by our meat focused society. According to the Smithsonian Institute, the equivalent of seven football fields of land is bulldozed every minute to create more room for farmed animals. Seven football fields! Our water systems are also deeply affected by the runoff of animal wastes. When you hear about a food recall issue due to E. Coli or other bacteria, you have to realize that that item was infected by animal waste. When a food like spinach is recalled, the tainted product was directly impacted by animal waste runoff from a farm raising animals for meat consumption. Likewise this runoff finds its way to our lakes and rivers, having a harmful health impact. It’s all interconnected, yet we are rarely asked to consider these facts. If you are interested in the environmental impact your actions have, it is critical to investigate a vegan diet. Even making different food choices once a week can have a great impact and can help create a cleaner, healthier and more efficient Earth for the future. And who doesn’t want that?

    For more information about how adopting a vegan diet can impact the environment, and to check out the facts in this blog, please visit: http://www.goveg.com/environment.asp

–Tracey Starkovich

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 8

Reading 8: Genesis 11:1–9; Joshua 14:6–15; Joshua 24:14–28; Psalm 8; Matthew 5:1–11

In my last two blogs, I focused on two aspects of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry—His fasting in the wilderness, and his global vision. In the light of this season in the Christian calendar, the Season of Lent, I want to focus on another aspect of those readings.

It is good to note that the Gospels state clearly that Jesus fasted for 40 days. Why do the Gospels underline this? It is clear that they want us to see a relationship of “forty days” of fasting to a number of Old Testament texts.

Noah’s flood narrative underlines several times that there was a cleansing water which rained on the earth for “forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:4, 12, 17; 8:6). When Moses received the Ten Commandments, he fasted on the mountain for “forty days,” (Exodus 34:28; 24:18). The scouts, who entered into the Promised Land, remained there for “forty days” (Numbers 13:25). And if only the Exodus community had taken the lead set by Moses, they would not have had to be in the wilderness for “forty years” (Numbers 14:33). They, just like the people who built the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) revolted against the Lord, and as a result they had to remain outside the Promised Land. In contrast to them, “forty-year-old” Joshua and Caleb believed in the Lord, and so entered the Promised Land (Num. 13, 14; Joshua 14, and 24). As if to emphasize the cruciality of this, the prophetic section of the Bible further makes it clear that Elijah returned to the same place, where God have the Torah to Moses. He did so by fasting “forty days and forty nights” (1 Kings 19:8). It becomes clear from these core readings from the Bible that “forty days” of fasting, prayer, reflection, meditation, etc., is very important. It enables us to avoid the sins and pitfalls of the Exodus community and others who did not see the vision of God for the world. It will draw us closer to the vision of Christ for the world today. 

At the end of “forty days,” according to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 4:17–19), Jesus goes into the synagogue and recites from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah (61:1, 2), “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he has anointed me (literally “Messiah-ed” me, or declared me to be the Messiah) to proclaim the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the LORD.” This was Jesus’ mission statement for his life. It may be noted that according to ancient Jewish lectionaries, this was the text, which was read during the time of the Passover. It has also been suggested that this was Jesus’ Bar Mitzvah reading (Luke 2:41–42), which might suggest that Jesus would have been born during the time of Passover, the same time that he was crucified.
 
It is significant to note also, that just like Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments at the end of “forty days,” so following the statement of his mission, Jesus goes up onto the mountain at the end of 40 days, to deliver the ten Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2–11). These words reflect the nature and life of Jesus Christ himself. The last Beatitude is quite climactic. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you” (Matthew 5:11, 12).

The Season of Lent urges us to be like Jesus. He was persecuted and finally crucified by the Romans. May we reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ mission and life, which he reiterated at the end of “forty days” of fasting, and live it ourselves. Then we will not be like the Exodus community or the Israelites during the time of Elijah. Rather, we will be like Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Elijah . . . and indeed like Jesus. 

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

High Notes from a Trip to London

It was fortuitous for me to be invited to Goldsmith College, a branch of the University of London, 
on February 11^th and 12^th. Two years earlier, the head of performance studies there, Alexander Ivashkin, had been selected by North Park’s music faculty as one of three finalists in our search for a dean of the School of Music. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, this was not to be. However, Ivashkin was very impressed with the School of Music and with our singers, and this year invited me to present master classes in voice at Goldsmith.

I absorbed much during my visit to London, and gave much in the master classes. The brief relationships with the students I taught were somehow comfortable even though we had never met before and even though the work we did together was intense. Particularly touching was the student who came up to me after the class and said that she had been in a “confidence crisis” for some time, but that she now had a renewed sense of possibility.

Goldsmith has achieved a working balance between popular music and classical music training. It has more than 200 music majors, which makes it the largest British music department. A truly international school, it attracts students from all over the world to study music from electronic technology, to jazz, to opera. With its active research component, the school is known for being on the cutting edge of music training.

I got over the feeling of being the outsider as soon as the students came. Singers are the same around the world, and as soon as I met them, I felt right at home. Each student brought two to four pieces of music. I had reviewed all of them before setting off for England, and I let them choose which piece they would prefer to begin with. Often I only worked on that first piece, as there was ample room for improvement and the students were very responsive to detailed work. Unlike American students who are exposed to the scientific aspects of singing in our vocal pedagogy courses, I learned that these students do not receive training in the anatomy and physiology of the singing mechanisms. At their request, I recommended several books that use scientific language and discovery to offer objective perspective to the process of singing and teaching.

The revelation that singing careers are multifaceted and, in most instances, will include ensemble work and teaching seemed to be a refreshing concept to the students. I am very proud of how our North Park’s undergraduate and graduate programs reflect a sense of reality and relevancy to modern day professional careers and was happy to share that with them.

When I first conceived of North Park’s master of music in vocal performance, I knew that I needed to create a “village” to educate graduate students and we have done that. The people I met at Goldsmith and the experiences I had there have somehow expanded our “village” and I am grateful to share that with North Park students. All in all, this trip to London and my work there was a wonderful experience for me as a musician and teacher. It both inspired and challenged me, and affirmed what I do in my work.

–Dr. Karen Bauer, Professor of Music in Voice

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 7

Genesis 10:1–32; Joshua 6; Psalm 7; Matthew 4:12–25
 
Many readers of the Bible usually overlook the Genesis 10 reading. It contains a whole list of names, which are hard to pronounce. What readers of the English Bible fail to realize is that these sections—which narrate the genealogy of the people—are very crucial. These are heavily underlined sections in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Genesis consists of 10 toledot, or genealogies. (Genesis 2:4; 4:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; and 37:2) Five of these deal with the genealogy of all human society and five deal with the genealogy of the Jewish people. The latter are a particular group of people, through whom the Messiah, the Savior of the world, comes. Genesis 10 is the genealogy of 70 nations. The number 70 is a symbolic number in biblical thought—it means all the nations and people groups in the world. The book of Matthew begins with the genealogy of “Jesus the son of Abraham, the son of David, the Son of God.” Matthew shows that it is through Jesus Christ that all the nations of the world, whose beginnings are found in Genesis 10, will be ushered into the Kingdom of God. The Book of Revelation describes this in a crescendo, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9)
 
Between Genesis 10 and Revelation 7 (or Revelation 21) there are thousands of years of history. The intervening readings of the Bible help us negotiate these years. Joshua 6 describes one of the historical encounters where Joshua leads the freed people into Jericho. I am of the opinion that the people were not supposed to be going into the 70 nations with violence. They were supposed to be going into the nations with the gospel of this God who revealed Himself to them in the wilderness. The text says that the people were simply supposed to be going around the city of Jericho 7 times (the number 7 appears in this chapter 14, or 2x7 times). They were not supposed to be driving out the people, or destroying the people. But rather, they were supposed to be converting the people to YHWH, the Creator and Savior.

In the Hebrew language the word yarash is translated as both “possess” and “drive out or destroy.” In Joshua 1:15, the people are told to take “yarash”—possession—of the land. It is a reiteration of the promise made many times in the Torah. In Genesis 22:17, God promises Abraham that his descendants will “yarash,” (possess) the land. In Numbers 13:30, when the people are very discouraged by the 10 spies, and they do not want to enter into the promised land, Caleb says, “Let us go up and [yarash] possess the land, and the people.”

Elsewhere this same word, “yarash,” is translated to mean “drive out.” In Joshua 3:10, the translation reads, “he will without fail [yarash] drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Unfortunately, this gives the God of the Bible a very ferocious reputation. Sadly, in history, as in the days of Joshua, many people have taken the word yarash, to mean, “drive out or destroy.” It seems to me that the story of the salvation of Rahab makes it clear that people were not supposed to be driven out or destroyed, but rather to be missionally possessed—to be ushered into the Kingdom of God. 

Our Gospel reading makes it clear that this is Jesus’ way. He leads the way to this kind of missional yarash or possession in Matthew 4:12–25. He chooses 12 disciples, which symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel, who were supposed to give the gospel to the nations. He also chooses 70, who symbolized the totality of all the nations and people groups of the world (Luke 10:1). Jesus did not discriminate. He proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom, and cured every disease and every sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23). Great crowds of both Jews and Gentiles followed him.
 
This has been the mission of the church, and it ought to still be the mission of the church today until the time the “70 nations”—all of the people groups of the world—would be “possessed” or ushered into the kingdom of God.

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 6

Bible Readings: Genesis 9; Joshua 5; Psalm 6; Matthew 4:1–11

The Torah reading, Genesis 9, contains some one the most misused text from the Bible. It is generally termed as Noah’s curse, or God’s curse on black people. The narrative describes Noah as a very fallible person—this after his acts of faith in the previous flood narrative. He gets drunk and goes into a state of nakedness. We must note that in Hebrew this is the same word that describes the serpent in Genesis 3:1, arum. This is more than a physical form of nakedness. This action should be seen as a reference to the “nakedness” ritual actions, which were practiced in Ancient Near Eastern religions. In the narrative, Ham, one of his sons “sees” his nakedness. This was another ritual act in ancient religions.

Noah’s response to his son’s ritual act is contained in Genesis 9:25–27, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may [God] dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

Unfortunately, in the Antebellum South, these words were interpreted as a divine curse on the black race. Theologians and pastors of the 19th century in the Antebellum South viewed the African people as the descendents of Ham, and because of Ham’s sin against his father, Noah, they concluded that the Hamitic race or the black race would be forever doomed to slavery.  

This, quite clearly is very bad exegesis of the text. One, the text is not talking about the black race. The children of Ham, the text makes clear, were the Canaanites, not the African people. Two, this is not a prediction of slavery, but rather, a description of the Canaanite religion, which had bizarre sexual elements attached to it. Three, the primary purpose of the passage is to describe the Messianic prophecy that God will incarnate through the descendents of Shem, i.e.: through the children of Israel. In Hebrew the text quoted above revolves around the phrase, “May He [meaning God] dwell in the tents of Shem.” In ancient Jewish thought this indicated the incarnation of the divine Messiah through the descendents of Shem, and more particularly, through the descendants of Abraham and David.

In Joshua 5, interestingly, the children of Israel had to face the kings of the Canaanites as they enter the Promised Land. Kings in Canaanite religion were the gods of the people, and this was considered to be a daunting task. However, just before they enter the Canaanite territory, Joshua encounters a man. Poignantly, Joshua hears the same words, which Moses heard when he encountered God in Exodus 3, “Take off you sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy” (Joshua 5:15). This was no ordinary human being. This was God himself, who would lead them into the Promised Land.

The  reading from the Gospels, Matthew 4:1–11, brings the above picture to a full circle. Jesus is the Incarnate One—God becoming man. He fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 9:25–27. He also fulfills the pictures of God seen in Exodus 3 and Joshua 5. We must note, in this narrative Jesus is thrice challenged by the devil on this very point. “If you are really the Son of God . . . turn these stones into bread . . . throw yourself down [from the pinnacle of the Temple]. . . fall down and worship me. “ Jesus, however, does not fall for the trap. He knew his identity as the Son of God—the Incarnate One. We may note that the words of the devil are depictions of the religious rituals of that time, which supposedly caused people to realize divinity. Jesus knew that he did not need to prove that he was God through these strange rituals. He is the Son of God.

It seems clear that in interpreting Genesis 9:25–27 to be the curse of God upon black people, the theologians of the Antebellum South did a grave injustice to the text of the Bible. This resulted in a tragic period of slavery in the antebellum period. This text is not about a curse against anyone. Rather, it is descriptive of Canaanite society and religion. More importantly, it is a prophecy about the God who becomes incarnate in Jesus the Messiah, through the family of Shem, Abraham, and David. This Jesus, in the New Testament, does not take the shortcuts offered by the religions of his time to prove that he is the Son of God. Instead, he dies on the cross, and rises from the dead. This is the ultimate proof that he is truly God. 

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 5

Readings: Genesis 6:9–8:22; Joshua 4; Psalm 5; Matthew 3:13–17

I am writing this blog in the context of two very significant things. Today is January 18, 2010. North Park University is commemorating the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.—an amazing man of God, thinker and reformer. Today is also the sixth day after an earthquake hit a tiny nation called Haiti. It is estimated that the death toll could rise to over 200,000 people—men, women, and children. The images from Haiti are etched on my mind. It also clear to me that whenever there are natural disasters like this, it always impacts the poorest of poor in the most drastic ways. In Haiti, the rich, and the high-class people have been able to escape. They have been able to get the needed help. The poorest of poor are suffering the worst consequences of the earthquake. 

Why does this happen?

It seems like our text in the Canonical Bible Journey leads us towards an answer. To get a fuller biblical answer, I will need to write a commentary on the whole Bible.

Let me begin with the Gospel reading. Jesus is now about 30 years old. He arrives in Jordan from the enslaved territory of Galilee. In Galilee he has seen much suffering and injustice at the hands of the social, political, and religious elite. In contrast, Jordan is the place where the people first entered the land, as the early worshipping community was reminded in their recitation from Joshua 4. They were also reminded about another natural disaster in the recitation and singing of the Torah from Genesis 6–8. This happened right in the midst of human injustice—when women were enslaved as prostitutes (daughters of men), and the low-caste poor people were enslaved by the high-caste (sons of God, priests, and kings, according to Genesis 6:1–5). Right in the midst of injustice, violence and cruelty, the text says, “Noah was a just man, blameless in his time. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). He was the only one in his generation who cared about justice. 

The singing of Psalm 5 reminded the worshipper that this wickedness was not merely a thing of the past, which happened only during the time Noah. Rather, it happens in every generation. There is, therefore, a need for someone like Noah in every generation.
 
Unfortunately, history made it clear that people like Noah are few and far between. The grand finale of the canonical recitation, therefore, brought the worshipper in the early church, to the recitation of the life of Jesus. In this segment, Jesus goes through the water of the river Jordan. When John says to him, “You should not do this. This going under water thing is not for people like you.” Jesus says to him, “I must do this so that it becomes a potent paradigm of justice” (Matthew 3:15). 

Jesus’ baptism becomes a  real symbol of his death on behalf of all the people who suffer and die due to human sinfulness. This became a paradigm for Jesus’ life and death. Thankfully, the story does not end there. Jesus also rises from the dead, as is symbolized in his coming out of the water. The Voice from heaven proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son.” He is the resurrected one—much like Noah was the resurrected one for his generation.

In the context of Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Day, it seems the lesson for modern-day Christians is very clear. Modern-day Christians need to be ready to die to root out injustice. Martin Luther King learned this lesson well. He paid the ultimate price, just like his Savior, Jesus. The question before you and me is, “Am I ready to be like Jesus, in the context of situations of injustice, whether it be in Haiti, or Chicago?” Am I ready to die to myself—spiritually, emotionally, and physically in the context of modern-day injustice situations?

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 4

Readings: Genesis 5:1–6:8; Joshua 4; Psalm 4; Matthew 3:1–12

The Torah meditation begins with the second toledot of generations. These are the generations of Adam. It is reiterated that human beings are created in the image of God. It is interesting, though, that the lineage of Adam does not go through Cain here, but rather through Seth. It is as if the image of God is not transferred through Cain, but rather through Seth (Genesis 5:3). There are 10 generations from Adam to Noah.

There is a break right in the middle of the genealogy. For each of the patriarchs of humanity it says,
“And he died” (5:5, 8, 11, 17, 14, 20, 27, 31). The only difference is the narration of the life of Enoch. The narrative says, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” Enoch did what Adam and Eve were supposed to be doing. He did not die, but just went into the presence of God. Noah is the next person who is credited for walking with God; he was “a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Genesis 6:4).

It seems like the lives of both of these men is the core of this worship passage. They become the primary example of how a human being ought to live. Adam did not live this way, and he died. Yet, both Enoch and Noah “walked with God,” therefore God accomplished great things through their lives.

In contrast to the lives of these two human beings, Genesis 6:1–3 gives account of bizarre forms of religions. In this text the priests who are called “sons of God,” are possessed by spiritual forces. When mystical things happen then they have sexual encounters with priestesses called “daughters of men.” The progeny of these religious sexual encounters were divine beings who were then worshipped by human beings. These divine-humans are called nephillim, which means “the fallen ones.”

It is interesting that the Bible encounters religions of that time in three major ways in the primeval history of Genesis 1–11. In Genesis 3, man and woman seek to become divine through enlightenment, which they would supposedly gain by partaking of forbidden fruit. In Genesis 6:1–3, human beings seek to become divine through spiritualistic sexual orgies. And in Genesis 11, human beings seek to become divine through economic and militaristic means. These three kinds of practices are still seen in Eastern religions. In Hinduism one can become divine through Jnana Marga, the way of mystical knowledge; through Bhakti Marga, the way of mystical devotion to gods and goddesses, including sexual rituals; or through Karma Marga, the way of works, including economic and militaristic advancement of religion.

Historical research makes it clear that these bizarre sexual religious practices led to widespread disease and death. Therefore there needed to be cleansing.

The Joshua 4 reading reminds us of the Exodus Passover. The priests were asked to stand in the midst of the river Jordan bearing the Ark of the Covenant, while the people “passed over.” This was a symbol of the baptism of the people, just like the baptism of the people in Exodus. The text reads, “On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life” (Joshua 4:14). Joshua thus becomes the new Enoch, Noah, and Moses.

Psalm 4 is a song of hope in the midst of much violence, shame, and opposition. The worshipper cries out, “How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.” (Psalm 4:2–3)  This indeed must have been the call of Noah, when he lived righteously in the midst of a bizarre generation of people. The worshipper cries out, “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD! You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:6-8). Obviously, Noah and Enoch stood out in their generations, because they also trusted in God in the midst of constant opposition.

While the Torah text talks about Enoch and Noah, and the Prophets text talks about the faithfulness of Joshua, the New Covenant text brings to mind another mench, John the Baptizer. It is quite possible that John the Baptizer was a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls community. He suddenly emerges, in the same way as Noah did. He preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  The worshipper remembers the words of the Prophet Isaiah who said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:33, Isaiah 40:3). It is interesting to note, that while Isaiah 40:3 refers to the God of the Jewish people, YHWH, the Matthew song refers to Jesus as being the same LORD.

The worshipper also notices the clothing of John. He is wearing camel’s hair, with leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and honey (Matthew 3:4). This was indeed the demeanor of Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:8). Elijah, just like Enoch the prophet, did not die. He was also lifted up into the presence of God. In the singing of this text from the gospel, the worshipper is reminded that John the Baptizer is in the same vein as Enoch, Noah, and Elijah. These are all unique prophets who prepared the way of the LORD.

The baptism of John very interestingly is the symbol of what happens in the Torah reading that follows this. In the Noah narrative, Noah and his family go through the waters of the flood in the Ark. This is considered as a symbol of their baptism in Jewish interpretation. Jesus later goes through the same act (Matthew 3:13-17). He gets baptized. This was in fulfillment of the Torah texts.

The Gospel text makes it clear that the baptisms of Noah, Elijah, John, etc., were symbolic of a greater baptism. The Messiah Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11).

John the baptizer preaches the same kind of message that Noah would have preached to his generation, and Elijah to his generation. It was a message of judgment to those who do not repent.

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 3

Readings: Genesis 4; Joshua 3; Psalm 3; Matthew 2:13–23

The third cycle of the canonical reading of the Bible begins with Genesis 4. The Torah recitation is a fascinating inner biblical interpretation of the Messianic prophecy found in Genesis 3:15. God said to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” The crucial question is what is the meaning of the “seed of the woman?” Genesis 4:1 gives the answer to this question. When the woman gave birth to a son, she exclaims, “Behold, I have produced a man—the LORD.” Most translations would add, “with the help of the LORD.” Yet, the text makes it clear that it seeks the worshipper to interpret the song in Genesis 3:15, as a prophecy of a Divine Seed of the woman.

The question that that text seeks to answer is which of the two sons of Adam and Eve is a prototype of the “seed of the woman?” Genesis 4:1–2 gives two examples—one is Cain, the other is Abel. The passage is the narrative of these two brothers. In many senses, it begins a series of two-brother scenarios throughout the Bible: Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, the prodigal son and his brother, to name a few. These two sons describe two kinds of reactions to the message of the Bible. The recitation of this text says,  “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of some of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstfruits of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,” (4:3–4). The problem was not with the kind of offering which Cain and Abel brought, i.e.: plant offering versus animal offering. Cain brought simply something that he just plucked from the ground to give to the Lord, whereas Abel took pains to bring the best of best—his firstfruits. Throughout the Torah this is the demand God has of his people. He expects them to bring the best of their best, whether it is the firstfruits of the plant kingdom or the firstfruits of the animal kingdom.

The story does not end here. Cain is given opportunities to do the right thing. God tells him, “If you do good, [tov] you will be accepted.” (4:7). Instead, Cain decides to do evil, (ra’a). God lays the foundation in Genesis 1. Everything in the creation narrative is tov. This is the biblical word for right, holy, righteous, and all that is required for righteous living. Cain, rebels against God and winds up killing his brother in the first murder in the Bible.

The steps toward the murder are very crucial to understand. The first thing that happens is that Cain becomes angry. Then his face falls. God says to him, “Why have you brought yourself into this state of sustained depression?” He then tells Cain, “If you do not do what is good [tov] then sin is crouching at your door.” Cain could well have snapped out of this depression by looking toward God and taking on His countenance. Instead, he gave into the clutches of sin, and committed the horrible act of murder.

It is interesting to note that the adamah, “the ground,” cried out because of the blood of Abel. Abel in the prophets becomes the paradigm of all the prophets who were rejected by the people of Israel. (4 Maccabees 18:11; Matthew 23:35)

It is also interesting to note that since Cain let his “face” be controlled by sin (4:6), he eventually has to flee from the “face of the LORD.”  He settles east of Eden—the same place to which Adam and Eve had to flee.

The Torah recitation ends with a prophetic anticipation. Abel is dead. However, another son is born to Adam and Eve. This is Seth. The text suggests that through this son the Seed of the woman will come.

The Joshua 3 reading is a crucial reenactment of the Israelites crossing the Sea of Reeds, or the Red Sea. The Lord says to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 3:7). He says to him that all the kings of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, and various other peoples will also see this. Yet, they will not worship the God of the Bible. Following this he instructed the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people through the waters of Jordan. The text says that when the people went through the waters, “the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, “(Joshua 3:14). The words, which are translated as “stood up” and “rose up” are both worship words. It is as if the waters stood and rose in worship of God.

Psalm 3 is a Psalm of lament. It is, the cry of Abel, but it is also the cry of Adam and Eve, the prototype of the people Israel. Many people of the world taunt, “There is no help for you in God" (Psalm 3:2). In many senses these foes of the worshipper are both from within and without. They are both among the Gentiles and the Jews. Yet the passage ends with a testimony of hope, “Yeshua, salvation belongs to the LORD” (3:8).

The Gospel text is a reminder of the prophecy that the seed of the serpent is bent on destroying the Seed of the Woman. Therefore, “the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him" (Matthew 2:13). Joseph and Mary took the child Yeshua to Egypt.

Jesus is portrayed here as the New Israel. Just as the people had to go out of Jerusalem to Egypt, so Jesus had to go into Egypt. He had to go into exile, because the Cains of his own people were seeking to kill him. Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1, which refers to Israel. Yet, there is a contrast here. In Hosea 11:1, the people of Israel behave more like Cain. They forsake the LORD. They desecrate the Garden of Eden—Jerusalem. They go whoring after other gods and goddesses. Jesus, in contrast, is the faithful Abel.

The massacre of children in Bethlehem echoes what Pharaoh did in Egypt. In Exodus 1–2, only Moses, the savior, is saved. It is ironic though, that that massacre took place in Egypt. This massacre took place in the “Garden of the LORD.”

After the death of Herod the Great (the prototype of Cain), the angel of the LORD appears to Joseph and asks him to take the Messiah Child back to the Garden of the LORD. However, he does not go to Jerusalem. He goes to Nazareth, which is the new center of the Garden to the LORD. He goes there to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1, that the Messiah will be called the Netzer, or the Branch.

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

 

 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 2

Readings: Genesis 2:4–3:24, Joshua 2, Psalm 2, Matthew 2:1–12

This is the second in this series of blogs, a journey through a canonical reading of the Bible. 

The Torah text in the Hebrew Bible goes from Genesis 2:4–3:24. Genesis 2:4 begins with the Eleh Toledot in Hebrew. This phrase has been variously translated as “this is the history of” (NRSV),  “such is the story,” etc. Literally it means “these are the generations of.” This phrase divides the book of Genesis into 10 segments, which is symbolic of the whole of history being divided into 10 ages.

Genesis 1 describes the creation of everything and focuses on the apex of creation—humankind. Human beings are “formed from the dust of the ground,” (Genesis 2:7). There is an aspect of humility here. It is out of this humility that humans are called upon to take care of God’s creation.

A few observations may be made in this text:

1. Genesis 2:15 is very central to the understanding of the purpose of human beings: “The LORD God took man and gave him rest (nuach) in the garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.”  The ultimate goal of human life is experience divinely given nuach, or rest. How may human beings attain this “rest”? In English the understanding is by “working it and taking care of it.” The words used here are used in the rest of the Torah to express the act of worshipping God and “keeping his commandments.” This text gives a crucial purpose for humanity. They are to worship and keep the Word of God, and by this they would attain divinely given rest.

2. In Genesis 2:18, God gives man an ezer. This word is usually translated as “helper or helpmate” (NIV, KJV). However, in the rest of the Bible this word is used of God. He is our ezer (Exodus 18:4; Psalm 121:1, 2; 124:8; 33:20; etc.). In this text, the woman is called the ezer, the helper of man. In many senses, she is created to be a strong person, who helps the man attain his goals in his relationship with God. How does this happen? The next part of this text is very interesting. The woman is taken out of the “tsala” of man, which is variously translated as “ribs,” or side, etc. In the rest of the Bible, this word is used to describe the most crucial places in the Tabernacle and the Temple. (Exodus 25:14; 37:27; 1 Kings 6:15, 16).

Genesis 2:24, ends with the note, “therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his woman, and the two will become one.” The word which describes the unity of the man and the woman is echad in Hebrew; it is also the word that describes God. God is echad. This is the central creed of the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:4). Yet, this oneness of God is a complex oneness, which is seen in the Christian concept of Trinity. The oneness between the husband and wife is a picture of this oneness. Paul describes this well in Ephesians 5:25.

3. The next section opens with the description of the oneness of the primeval humans—they were both arum, naked, and they were not ashamed (2:25).

This is followed by a statement regarding the serpent, “Now the serpent was more [arum] than any other wild animal” (3:1). The Hebrew word arum is a wisdom word. In the rest of the Bible it describes a wise person. (Prov. 14:18; 12:16; 22:3, etc.)  Right off the bat the text makes it clear that this describes a tussle between two approaches to wisdom—God’s way and the serpent’s way. One way leads to “innocence and knowing God.” The other way leads to “knowing yourself as gods.” This is the way that breaks unity with God and between the human couple. The serpent says, “you will not die, you will become gods.” (Genesis 3:5). The interesting thing is that after they partook of the tree instead of becoming “gods” they became ashamed of their arum (Gen. 3:7), and wanted to hide from the presence of God. They were afraid of the qol, “voice” of God. This is the same voice, which was heard at Mount Sinai, the mountain of the LORD (Exodus 19:16–19).
 

This is followed by a sort of blame game between the man and the woman and the serpent. This is a picture of the fracture of all relationships in creation—it is called the Fall. There is a fracture of the man–woman relationship, which leads to much degradation of women in society. There is the fracture of relationships between human beings and creation. And, there is the fracture of relationship between human beings and God.

God’s response to this fracture of all relationships is found in Genesis 3:15. It is the crucial Messianic prophecy, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel."  This prophecy shows that there will be a constant enmity between the Seed of the woman, the Messiah, and the seed of the serpent, the Anti-Messiah. Eventually though, the Seed of the woman will be victorious over the seed of the serpent.

The Joshua 2 reading is quite significant. It is the story of an ezer, a woman by the name of Rahab. She is not Jewish. She is a Gentile. She is also called a prostitute. Yet, she trusts in God—the God who revealed himself to Moses. In so doing, she becomes the source of salvation for the Israelites as they possess the holy land. It is crucial to note that she is one of the five women who are mentioned in Matthew 1, the genealogy of the Messianic line. The Seed of woman—the Messiah—would come through her. She marries Salmon, and becomes the mother of Boaz, the great-grandfather of David.

The Psalm text, Psalm 2, interestingly is a Messianic Psalm. Psalm 2 mourns the fact the wicked kings (the seed of the serpent) conspire against the Seed of the Woman (Psalm 2:2). The Seed of the woman is proclaimed with the words, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:7). The nations and the kings of the nations are told, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,” 2:11–12 (NKJV).

The Matthew 2 reading recounts the things that happened during the time of the birth of Jesus. Just like the human beings of Genesis 2, who revolted against God, and the kings of Psalm 2, who revolted against the Messiah, now there is the account of King Herod and the people who ruled Jerusalem. It is interesting that there are other people—Magi who came from the East—who come to worship the real King of the Jews. It may be noted that this is where the Garden of Eden was planted—in the East (Genesis 2:8).

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies 

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 1

Readings: Genesis 1; Joshua 1; Psalm 1; Matthew 1

The early church probably began with the singing of Psalm 1. It sets the tone for the understanding of the whole Bible. It gives humanity the basis of ashre, or happiness—knowing the realm of complete satisfaction in life. The man in the passage does not walk in “the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mockers.” The ashre person instead delights on the Torah of the LORD. He meditates on the Torah of the LORD day and night. This is secret of a complete life.

Genesis 1:1-2:3 sets the original place for this ashre man. There is the repetition of the constant, “God saw that it was [tov] good.” There is no wickedness; there is no mocking; there is no sin in this world. The same Lord who “knows the way of the righteous,” created the original state of the human being and creation.

Why must the human being “meditate on the Torah?” Genesis 1 answers this question with declaration that human beings are created in the image of God.

Human beings are given the task of being a wise “rulers” (Genesis 1:28), so that they can be wise stewards of God’s good creation.

In Joshua 1, the people are preparing to go into the land, which God was giving them. This is portrayed as a new creation. They are coming out of the horrors of slavery into freedom. The secret of living in the new “recreated land,” Joshua is told is, “This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8). Interestingly, this is the teaching of Psalm 1.

Unfortunately, as will become clear in this canonical reading of the Bible, the people do not “meditate” on the Torah. As a result of this, they desecrate themselves and God’s good creation. The desecration leads to them being driven towards the East, just like Adam and Eve were driven toward the East.

Matthew 1 gives the answer to all three texts: Genesis 1, Psalm 1, and Joshua 1. The response is found in the person of Yeshua—Jesus the Messiah—the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. He is human. Yet, he is also divine, born from the virgin by the Spirit of God. He is the Davidic King, the Messiah.

It may be noted that this is the same “Spirit of God” which hovered over the face of the deep, and brought creation into being with the Father and the Son, who now is responsible for the birthing of the divine Messiah. The one who caused creation to come into being is now responsible for recreation.

The New Testament singing of the life of Jesus reflects on the time when Joseph is told by the Angel of the LORD, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." (Matthew 1:20–23). It is significant that the Messiah had to be both man—the real original man—as well as, God. He begins the process of recreation, so that human beings, who are created in the image of God, would find that “imago Dei.” He is also the great “righteous one” who shows us the “way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6).

It is also very interesting to observe that four of the women mentioned here are all Gentiles in the Messianic line. The five women mentioned are all victims of human sinfulness, which is perpetuated against them. They are also the prototypes of the original woman, Eve. They are the carriers of the Messiah in history. It is through these women that the “source of life” will emerge.

Matthew 1:18 says regarding the fifth woman in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, “she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.”  In this canonical-liturgical reading, this is most certainly a reference to Genesis 1:2, which reads, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  When the early church recited this part of the life of Jesus, they knew with certainty that the same Triune God who caused the world to come into being is now beginning a new creation.

This canonical Bible reading shows that history is story of the revelation of God’s great plan to reverse this downward slide of humanity. Instead, God seeks to recreate a new humanity. Hence it is the Good News—the Gospel. 

–Dr. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies