Monday, October 26, 2015

Laodecia - What Can A Walk Through History Teach Us?

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

Rev.3:16

Laodecia. A name today that with many acquainted with the Bible conjures feelings of nausea and displeasure. This is largely in part due to the statement in Revelation, that God was threatening to "spew them out of His mouth.," had they not heeded what He was saying. Yet, as we were playing a "Bible" game the other night, Laodecia was one of the cities on the game board and it invoked me to write about this city in today's blog.

Laodecia was a common name back in the days following the Persian Empire. There were

several daughters named this, and with that several cities that had the distinction of having this name - all in different areas. We have the privilege of knowing which city is being referred to in our instance in Revelation, because it states that it was in what was then called Asia (properly Asia Minor). It was located in the Lycos valley of what is now modern day Turkey, in the province of Phrygia (Rev.1:11). In the days following Persia, it was distinguished from the other cities by the designation "Ad Lycum." Prior to this the city was known as Diospoilis, or "city of Zeus." It also bore the name Rhodas at one point and finally named Laodecia. It did not gain any prominence until the early 200's BC, when Achaeus was its king. Until then, it was a city that just passed from one kingdom and ruler to another in very insignificant ways. Antiochus II (261-246 BC) of Syria came to power during this time, and in the process married a woman bearing the name Laodice, whom he then name this city after. They had two sons: Seleucus II Callinicus, Antiochus Hierax and three daughters: Apama, Stratonice of Cappadocia and Laodice. He inherited a state of war with Ptolemaic Egypt, the "Second Syrian War", which was fought along the coasts of Asia Minor. During the war he was given the title Theos (Greek: "God"), being such to the Milesians in slaying Timarchus. The tragedy of the war reads like a soap opera, where to bring truce and end to the war, he signs a pact with Ptolemy II Philadelphius. Part of this pact was that he had to take Ptolemy's daughter Bernice as wife and to do so he had to depose and exile Laodice to Ephesus. Around 246 BC Antiochus left Berenice and their infant son Antiochus in Antioch to live again with Laodice I in Asia Minor. However, Laodice I took the occasion to poison Antiochus while her partisans at Antioch murdered Berenice and their infant son. Antiochus. She then proclaims Seleucus II as King.

Amidst all of the human intrigue, the city grew. It became populated with Syrian and Jewish people who were transplanted from Babylonia to the cities of Phrygia and Lydia. In 190 BC.it became center of industry, famous specially for the black wool of its sheep and for the Phrygian cosmetic powder for the eyes manufactured there ( Rev.3:18). In 60 AD, the city was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake, but the citizens were so wealthy that they quickly rebuilt it at their own expense (Rev.3:17). Little is known of the early history of Christianity there; Timothy, Mark and Epaphras (Col.1:7) seem to have been the first to introduce it and the only other reference to it is in the Revelation. After the first century in 1071 the city was taken by the Seljuks; in 1119 it was recovered by John Comnenus, and in the 13th century it falls into the hands of the Turks. Wars between the Turks and Mongols have left little archaeologically. Nothing from before the Roman period has appeared. One of the two Roman theaters is remarkably well preserved, and there may still be seen the stadium, a colonnade, the aqueduct which brought the water across the valley to the city by an inverted siphon of stone pipes, a large necropolis, and the ruins of three early Christian churches.

So, how does all of this play out for what the Revelation says? It is obvious what happens to the city as it like Sodom and Gomorrah are virtually disappeared from existence. I believe it has a great deal to teach us about the vaunting of human pride and dangers of thinking of yourself above others. It definitely teaches us of the dangers of seeking any of these above the mercy and ways of God. Perhaps along with the warning of the Revelation, the words of Proverbs 3 applies here. "The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace."

Jim

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Whining In The Modern World - Christian or NOT!

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1 Pt. 4:12-19

Suffering is a word with different connotations to different people. To many, it is the ache and pain that comes with death. For the party on the receiving end as well as for those who care for them, death is a painful thing. Those going through it suffer its pains, those who care the pain of seeing the one they love hurt and ultimately die. Disease can cause suffering and pain as well. Cancer, arthritis, skin disease, all have their hurts. No one disputes this. Suffering can also be caused by economic status, race, in instances whether one is make or female and the age long debate over those in poverty.

What I find interesting in Peter's statement above, is that it shows us that suffering existed in his day too. What is interesting in Peter's statement is that it is Christians who were suffering. He does not dismiss the fact that they were suffering. What he does tell us is the following:

To share (i.e. suffer in the same way) in suffering in the way that Jesus did, a Christian should consider themselves blessed because one cannot do so unless the Spirit of God rests upon and in them. To die for your faith and because Christ is seen in you is a glory to God and God in turn will bring glory to us in turn - and heaven is our reward.
To have oppression, slander, shame, to receive degraded status because we are Christians should not be a shameful thing to us. There is nothing wrong with it. We are not greater than Jesus who taught us that the world hates us. We are not greater than the apostles who died at the hands of others, simply because they preached the glory of God in Christ. They did not rise up in arms, lead riots, cause insurrections or stir up mobs. They simply lived as they should in Christ. The lesson for us is that we should do the same!
Peter does tell us that to call yourself a Christian, or even in imitation of being a

Christian and yet suffer because you commit murder, or steal then you are not suffering because or for righteousness but for the evil done. The next two words are also genuinely unique in where they are placed. Evildoer is the next word and is used a myriad of ways in scriptural context. Predominately from two words combined to describe a single thing. Kakos - is something worthless, depraved or injurious whether by itself or done to someone. Poieo - means to make, do, or to raise up. So put together in this text it is referring to someone suffering because they have done or made something evil or injurious. If this is the cause of the suffering, it is not for righteousness but because of the evil done. The next word here is curious, it is that of a meddler in others affairs. If you suffer because of what you say about others, or involve yourself in that you should not, you are not suffering because of righteousness no matter how much you try to excuse it. You are suffering for getting caught doing something that you should not be involved in or contributing to.

So what's the point to Peter's descriptions here? That judgment starts in the house of God! We speak of judgement of the world, but let us not forget, that it starts with us! Peter's moral echoes Paul's quote from the Psalms (14 & 53) that there are NONE righteous. If we are saved, it shall only be by the grace of God that it is so. And if this the case and you are "suffering," make sure that you are suffering for what is right, because everything else is just whining!

“Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not, their beds became their cooling boards, and their blankets became their winding sheets. And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.”

Maya Angelou

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Monday, October 5, 2015

Why the Book of Jonah Is Read on Yom Kippur by Nahum Sarna

Jonah and the Whale

Why the Book of Jonah Is Read on Yom Kippur

Nahum Sarna • 09/20/2015

Stichting Fonds Goudse Glazen, Gouda

Jonah strides forth from the gaping mouth of a huge fish in this stained-glass window in St. John’s Church, Gouda, the Netherlands.

The Book of Jonah is read in the synagogue on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, the sacred Day of Atonement. Why, of all books in the Bible, this book this most holy day?

The answer is clear. The major themes of the book are singularly appropriate to the occasion—sin and divine judgment, repentance and divine forgiveness.

What is remarkable is that the work is not at all about Israel. The sinners and penitents and the sympathetic characters are all pagans, while the anti-hero, the one who misunderstands the true nature of the one God, is none other than the Hebrew prophet. He is the one whom God must teach a lesson in compassion.

It is precisely these aspects of this sublime prophetic allegory, and in particular the subthemes of the book, that inform Yom Kippur. These motifs attracted the ancient Jewish sages and led them to select Jonah as one of the day’s two prophetic lectionaries.1 Its universalistic outlook; its definition of sin as predominantly moral sin;2 its teaching of human responsibility and accountability; its apprehension that true repentance is determined by deeds and established by transformation of character (Jonah 3:10), not by the recitation of formulas, however fervent; its emphasis on the infinite preciousness of all living things in the sight of God (Jonah 4:10–11); and, finally, its understanding of God as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving-kindness” (Jonah 4:2)—all these noble ideas of the Book of Jonah constitute the fundamentals of Judaism and the quintessence of Yom Kippur.

The religion section of most bookstores includes an amazing array of Bibles. In our free eBook The Holy Bible: A Buyer’s Guide, prominent Biblical scholars Leonard Greenspoon and Harvey Minkoff expertly guide you through 21 different Bible translations (or versions) and address their content, text, style and religious orientation.

That a selection from the prophets is read at all in the afternoon of Yom Kippur raises more technical issues. The Sabbath morning services include a reading from the Torah (the Pentateuch), followed by a selection from the prophets. In the service on Sabbath afternoon, only a selection from the Torah is read. According to rabbinic sources, however, a reading from the prophets once followed the Torah reading each Sabbath afternoon, just as it still does each Sabbath morning.3 No trace of this practice of reading from the prophets at the afternoon service has remained, however, except perhaps on the two great Jewish fast days: Tisha b’Av, commemorating the destruction of the first and Second Temples and a host of national Jewish tragedies since, and Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur it has been the universal Jewish custom, ever since the days of the Mishnah (about 200 C.E.), to read the Book of Jonah after the Torah lectionary, as part of the afternoon service.4

“Jonah and the Whale: Why the Book of Jonah Is Read on Yom Kippur” by Nahum Sarna originally appeared in the August 1990 issue of Bible Review.

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/jonah-and-the-whale/

The late Nahum Sarna was professor emeritus of biblical studies at Brandeis University. He was also general editor of the Jewish Publication Society’s Torah Commentary and author of its volumes on Genesis and Exodus.

More on Jonah and the whale in the BAS Library:

James Limburg, “Jonah and the Whale: Through the Eyes of Artists,” Bible Review, August 1990.

David Noel Freedman, “Jonah and the Whale: Did God Play a Dirty Trick on Jonah at the End?” Bible Review, August 1990.

Not a BAS Library member yet? Join the BAS Library today.

Notes:

1. The other is Isaiah 57:14–58:4.

2. The “evil” of Jonah 1:2 is defined as injustice in Jonah 3:8.

3. Babylonian Talmud. Shabbbat 24a, 116a.

4. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 31a.