Summer of the Bible 2014 - Week 3

Well, this is the week when I remember why this is such a challenge.  How in just a few readings can we begin to get all the richness (and drama and humor) of Genesis, chapters 12-50?  My goal each week has been to keep the number of readings limited so that it doesn't seem like an impossible task.  But how do you begin to understand Jacob's wrestling with the angel without understanding the complexity of his relationship with his brother Esau, or Joseph's interpretation of dreams without also knowing about what happened between him and his brothers (and that coat of "many colors"), or only hear about Sarah laughing without also hearing about Hagar's weeping - and the fact that Hagar is the first person in the Bible to give a name to God?  (see Gen. 16:13).  Let alone, we don't begin to deal with some of the more troubling texts of Genesis - the sacrifice of Isaac, Sodom and Gomorrah, the deceitfulness (or cleverness?) of Jacob, let alone the stories of Rachel, Dinah, or Tamar.

My best advice:  read all of Genesis 12-50!  But if you can't, at least take time to read the following texts in addition to the ones suggested in the readings for Week #3 (scroll down to see this week's background and texts).

Happy Reading!

• Genesis 15:1-6 - God's covenant with Abraham
• Genesis 16:1-6; 21:8-21 - Hagar and Ishmael
• Genesis 22:1-19 - the Testing of Abraham (and the attempted sacrifice of Isaac)
• Genesis 25:19-34; 27:5-38 - the sons of Isaac:  Jacob and Esau
• Genesis 37:1-36 - Joseph and his brothers
• Genesis 50:15-21 - Joseph sees God at work

WEEK #3 - "The Promise

Background on the Book of Genesis, chapters 12-50:

            “After setting the stage of human history in the first eleven chapters, Genesis next focuses on the primary ancestors of the people of Israel: the “patriarchs” – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – along with their wives and children. … At the core of it all, however, these stories promise an unconditional relationship with God. First made with Abraham, the covenant is expanded with Israel under Moses at Mount Sinai. The covenant embodies a solemn divine oath that binds God to stand by this people forever; it calls them to be obedient to the Law; and it assures them that they can truly trust this God.” [Journey through the Word, J.E. Davison & S.C. Juengst, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, p. 10]

            The idea of a “covenant” is a central principle of our faith - - that God makes promises and can be trusted to keep them.  In return, we make promises to God as well.  From Genesis through to the New Testament, we see how God chooses to be “bound together” with us.

            It is very hard to capture all of this in just a few reading selections! But short of reading all of Genesis 12-50 (which is actually WELL worth the time), in this week’s readings we will follow the story of God’s covenant promises with “snapshots” of the lives of Abraham, Sarah and their descendants.  (For those who completed the readings in 2011, only the first 2 readings are the same.)

Readings for week of June 15-21:

·    Genesis 12:1-9 – the call of Abraham

·    Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 – Sarah and the birth of Isaac

·    Genesis 24:1-4, 34-67 – Rebekah and Isaac

·    Genesis 28:10-17 – Jacob’s ladder

·    Genesis 32:22-32 – Jacob wrestles with the angel

·    Genesis 41:1-13, 25-40 – Joseph interprets dreams

Questions for reflection:

1.     In what ways do you see God’s “hidden” presence in and through these stories? How have you experienced God’s presence?

2.     After wrestling with God, Jacob’s name is changed to “Israel” meaning “he struggles with God.”  How does that name change impact your understanding of Israel and the people of God?  How does it impact your understanding of your own faith journey?

Additional Resources for Study:  You will need to copy the URL and "paste" it into the search function of your browser.

• background on "theological themes" in Genesis:  http://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20
• "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" - this musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Race, based on the story of Joseph and his brothers, was first a Broadway musical, later a movie (starring none other than Donny Osmond!), and then a popular musical production by high schools and church youth groups.  A number of versions of these are on-line at youtube.  One of these is found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WINrYLQzB4 (not necessarily the best - but one of the better-recorded local productions!).
• A series of articles from Luther Seminary on Genesis -http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/issues.aspx?issue_id=54
• "Abraham in Three Movements" - reflections on the call of Abraham -http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20080211JJ.shtml
• A BRIEF video comment on the meaning of Joseph's story in Genesis:  http://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 
• Another brief video comment on the passage about the "sacrifice of Isaac" - http://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20

Summer of the Bible 2014 - Week 2

Background on the Book of Genesis, chapters 3-11:

            The refrain that we hear repeated all throughout the first two chapters of Genesis is that God’s creation is good.  In fact, in chapter 2 when God creates “Adam” God says it is not good that the “adam” should be alone (the Hebrew word “adam” means “humankind” and is also the masculine form of the word “adamah” which means “earth”).  Creation begins in goodness … but it is not long before that goodness is broken by the actions and decisions of humankind.

            Throughout the Old Testament we see God’s people called, set apart, and blessed, promising to keep the covenant vows they have made to walk in God’s way.  And yet they failed to do that– and kept failing, over and over again.  As do we.

            The biblical testimony is that sin is real and pervasive and keeps us from being the people of God. Chapters 3-11 in Genesis contains stories that intend to describe how sin becomes part of God’s good creation, beginning in Genesis 3.

            Terence Fretheim, professor of Old Testament theology at Luther Seminary explains:  “The story of Genesis 3 is often referred to as the story of the "fall" of humankind, a word that the story itself does not use. In view of the severe disruption of relationships that follows upon the sin, the word may best be understood as a "falling out" or a "falling apart." All the important relationships that the human beings have are disrupted, including relationships with God, with each other, with the animals, and with the ground.”[from: www.enterthebible.org .]  

            The other readings for this week take us through a variety of texts that show us the consequences and pervasiveness of our “falling out” … as well as the faithfulness and persistence of God in seeking to restore and heal this broken relationship.

Readings for week of June 8-14:

·    Genesis 3:1-13, 21-24 – Sin and its consequences

·    Genesis 4:1-16 – Cain and Abel

·    Genesis 6:5-7; 8:21-22; 9:8-17 – A grieving God and a new way with the world

·    2 Samuel 12:7-10 and Psalm 51:1-4 – David’s defiance against God

·    Amos 5:11-14, 21-24 – what God desires

·    Romans 3:23; 7:15-20; 8:1-2 – all have sinned

Questions for reflection:

1.     How can we see sin reflected in our own time and experience?  Where are there places in our lives and in our world where we see this “falling out” or “falling apart”?

2.     How do you see God’s faithfulness reflected in these readings?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:  (you may need to copy and paste the URL in your own browser for each of the links)

• Background resources on Genesis (Explore a variety of resources on the Book of Genesis as well as related topics in Old Testament studies): https://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 … 
• Commentary on passages from Genesis 6-11 http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=122 
• Bill Moyers' "Genesis: A Living Conversation"  … "Apocalypse" - a discussion of Noah and the Flood from the PBS series on the book of Genesis:  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/highlights4.html

Summer of the Bible 2014 - Week 1

Well, it's Summer (almost) - at least it's June 1 and that means it's time for the "Summer Bible Challenge"!  For the past three summers at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, I have invited people to join me in taking on the reading of the Bible over the summer.  At least selected portions of it!  The first summer we did a survey of the Old and New Testaments and the second year we read through the Book of Acts. Last year we focused on people in the Bible.

This year we're returning to a "survey" of the Bible.  Each week there will be selected passages to read, a brief background on the texts, some reflection questions - and posted here on the blog will be additional material to help you go more in-depth.

During each week of the summer, the Bible Challenge continues with a weekly Adult Bible Study following the texts of the Summer Challenge (Tuesdays at 4 p.m. at the church, starting Tuesday, June 10 - led by John Ames), a weekly Youth Bible Study (led by Caitlan Quinn), and of course a sermon in worship that will be on one of the readings from that week.

If you want to let me know you are participating in the challenge - comment here or send me an email.  I will be glad to keep track of which weeks of the challenge you accomplish.  There is always a treat/reward/bribe for everyone at the end of the summer who participates.

So visit here often - and let me know how it's going for you in the "Summer of the Bible Challenge."

-- Sara Holben (pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown)

WEEK 1:  "Creation"

Background on the Book of Genesis, chapters 1-2:

            The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) are called the “Torah” or sometimes “The Law of Moses” or the “Pentateuch.”  Whatever name they are called, they appropriately begin “at the beginning.” Genesis is the narrative that tells about the beginning of the world, the people of Israel, and the community of faith.  It is, in many ways, an affirmation that Yahweh, the God of Israel, created all that is.

In our Summer of the Bible Challenge we will spend several weeks looking at the “beginnings” of our faith as we explore God’s “creation,” the “disruption” in that creation brought about by human action, and the “promise” that God makes for all of humankind through one particular family –Abraham and Sarah and their descendants. 

This week we will read two different accounts of creation.  While you may have read or heard these many times, we invite you to read them again – always being prepared to hear or see in new ways.  As Dr. James E. Davison writes about these passages:  “As you read, try not to get caught up in how these events relate to modern science.  It is more useful to ask yourself what these stories would have meant to the children of Israel as they heard them told many times.  The nations surrounding Israel believed in many gods. For them, the sun, the moon, and the stars were divine.  Observe that in the story of the creation of the heavens and earth in Genesis 1, a basic point is that there is only one God.  This God is above all things, and all things have been created by God.”[i]

Readings for week of June 1-8:

·      Genesis 1

·      Genesis 2

An easy week of reading!  To go more in-depth, scroll down to check out the other resources about Genesis 1 & 2.

Questions for reflection:

1.     To compare the differences between the 2 stories, consider these questions:

a.     In what order or sequence did creation take place?

b.     How is the creation of humans described?

c.     What is the task of the human creatures?

2.     Dr. Davison asks us to consider what these stories would have meant to the children of Israel … but the question is still relevant to us in the 21^st century.  What do they mean to us?

3.     What do we learn from having two different versions of creation?

---

[i] The Year of the Bible, Dr. James E. Davison (Louisville, KY: Bridge Resources, 1996) p. 2.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:  (you may need to copy and paste the URL in your own browser for each of the links)

• Background resources on Genesis (Explore a variety of resources on the Book of Genesis as well as related topics in Old Testament studies):  https://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 … 
• Videos about Creation in Genesis:  go to https://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20 and look for the link to the short videos on the right hand side of the page.  
• "Image of God - Genesis"
• "Understanding Creation"
• "Haydn - The Creation - The Heavens are Telling" (YouTube) … Enjoy this recording of Haydn's beautiful choral piece.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Jkktpp9QI
• Excerpt from PBS series "Bill Moyers: Genesis" …  There are portions of the discussion on the "Image of God" as seen in Genesis 1 and 2 (with questions for reflection) posted at:   http://www.tc.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/pdf/CHAPTER2.PDF  (The website for this PBS series can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/resource.html)