Men’s Bible Study

Men’s Bible Study, Proper 10, 10 July, 2011-  Continuing Saga of Abraham’s Family;  Paul’s explaining how the Law of the prophets can’t solve Man’s problems of selfish desires; and Jesus explaining the parable of the Sower and the seeds.

Genesis 25: 19-34

The saga continues from last Sunday’s lesson where Isaac’s servant finds a wife, Rebekah, for Isaac; and we know that they loved each other.  The great promise that Abraham’s family will multiply and be a great nation is not working out.   We see Rebekah and Isaac praying to God to bring them some kids.  In God’s time (20 years) Rebekah bears twins; God informs Rebekah that the two boys (at war in the womb) are not traditional heirs in that the elder (first bourn), will be subservient to his younger brother.  The boys are very different, the elder Esau is an outdoorsman (hunter, herder) and much beloved by Isaac; the younger, Jacob is a bookish fellow that stays in the tent and is much loved by Rebekah.  These boys have strong sibling rivalry.  Esau demands Jacob’s food’ Jacob is shrewd and cunning, he says that he will give Esau the food; however, Esau must first give up his birthright to Jacob.  So Esau must not have been thinking, was very hungry, or did not give a hoot.  Esau is said to have despised his birthright.   What was his birthright? Deuteronomy 21:17 and 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 tell us the birthright son  received a double portion of the inheritance, but he also became the head family and the spiritual leader upon the passing of his father (Gen 43:33). In this family, the birthright determined who would inherit the covenant God made with Abraham.  Give up all of this for a bowl of lentil stew?   The story is not a happily ever after type of lesson.   There is great faith and devotion by Rebekah and Isaac to be patient for God to answer their prayer for children.   Esau’s, contempt for his birthright is a difficult to grasp.   Was he forsaking the role of leader?  Did he feel the covenant was irrelevant?  One of the aspects that surfaces from this tale is that God’s timing and purpose are unpredictable. As this saga about Abraham’s descendents continues in the following weeks, there are more lessons and thoughts to ponder, stay tuned.  Genesis is a book that has many interesting twists and turns.    

Romans 8: 1-11

This Letter is the most pure treatise of Paul’s theology.  There is no message correcting false dogma or greetings to friends and disciples; it is a pure and effective defense of Christian doctrine. 

This passage is complex and a bit difficult to digest because, here, Paul compressed a lot of material that had been expressed previously.  Two words are prominently featured here:  Flesh (sarx) and Spirit (pneuma).  In Paul’s time, sarka meant in the human point of view (karta sarka).  When Paul says, “en sarki”, he means that the person is living the opposite of a Christian life (hostile to God, living for worldly pleasures, sin).   These are important to understanding of the message.

Spirit in Paul’s mind represents divine power.  In the Law, we can never overcome sin. With Christ comes the spirit of God that has power to beat back sin.   Jesus has the power to overcome all the inequities that are found so difficult in living under the law.  Love that Pneuma.            

                      

Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23  Parable about sowing Seeds

Note that versus 10 to 18 are left out; they deal with understanding the message.  Although Jesus’ teachings were often very frank and cutting, the contemporary Pharisees and other religious leaders failed to grasp the meanings. 

The included versus are the start of a different venue for Jesus’ ministry. No longer in the Synagogue, now Jesus is spreading the word from a boat on the Sea of Galilee to an assembly of common folk along the shore.  He lost his welcome among the Scribes, elders, and Pharisees in the Temple.  So off he goes, to meet the people in their homes, at work, and along the by ways.  In the parable method, Jesus uses things that people well understood to get to more complex ideas that they did not comprehend.  At the end of the parable, we say OK, now I get it, my eyes are opened.   Another way to look at this is that a parable is an earthy story with heavenly meaning.  The reverse side of this parable coin is that it hides the truth from those to those that are too lazy to think or blinded by prejudice.     

The image of a farmer sowing seeds was very common in Jesus’ time.  In fact, Barkley’s commentary suggests that while Jesus told this parable, a sower was actually spreading seeds along the hillside paralleling the lake.   The agricultural practice at this time was to plant in narrow, rectangular fields separated by pathways.  Most of the soil was shallow and what we would call weeds were strongly competitive with crop plants such as wheat and barley. Hence, the terms in the parable were well understood.  Interpretations of this parable are rich and diverse, and perhaps some go too far. Jesus actually explains this parable, so not too much commentary is called for.    

Seeds and plants are the people who hear the word. Seed sown on the path (hard ground) is the word of God when it is not understood and pushed aside. Seeds that fall on rocky ground are people who hear the Word and get it, but then when things start to go bad, they turn away. Seeds that fall among the thorns are people who hear the Word, but the trinkets and bubbles of the world look better to them and it chokes God’s Kingdom away. “But the seeds that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace the Kingdom of God.  

Be a good seed and be nurtured in God’s Love 

Thanks be to the good discussions in our class, William Barclay’s Commentary on Roman’s and Matthew.   

Submitted by Walt Jaap