The Old Testament: The Book of Micah: What God Really Wants from Us and How Power Corrupts

Posted on August 7, 2013 by virgowriter

I would love one day to open my Internet browser and read how our elected officials put special interests aside and put forward—and passed—a bill that simply does what’s right. Take the recent wrangling over a recent Farm Bill (http://nbcnews.to/15z8q4s). In order to pass this bill, Senate leaders “stripped-out funding authorization for food stamps and nutrition programs.” Apparently, these leaders weren’t interested in helping people whom they feel, reportedly, get too many hands out. You know, all those greedy people in need.

At some point, you would think—hope!—elected officials would look beyond their own interests and direct their work to the people they are supposed to represent.

This issue with those in power has existed—as The Book of Micah demonstrates—for a while.

In this book, Micah (a country boy who was a contemporary of Isaiah) has insight into several areas of interest to his people and to us, as, apparently, some things never change.

This insight into the present deals namely with those in power. Among other things, he believes that no one in control is in good standing with God. Therefore, these people are unable to protect the Israelites’ interests with the lord (2:5).  Furthermore, prophets are too easily influenced (3:5).

He’s not just painting a picture of what modern audiences will recognize in some of our own elected officials; no, he has stronger insight that still holds true: the powerful dictate things (7:3), which suggests that what is law or deemed moral is not based on what is right but rather what particular interests want to have happen. The moral and social environment had reached such a sorry state that people couldn’t trust anyone (7:5), not even family (7:6).

So what’s a person or a community (even a society) to do? What extreme measures do they have to take to right their ship? Simple: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (6:8).

This last part about what God wants is the true gem in this Bible book.  It seems simple—and it feels that way; however, people apparently couldn’t comply.  Even more interesting is what’s left out.  Micah does not recount the numerous rules and regulations presented in other Bible books (like the Ten Commandments, for example).  No, the basic rule IS simple: be a good person and have some respect for God.

Micah echoes the Book of Jeremiah’s new approach to God’s rules, which added some flexibility to how people should lead their lives: act justly.  Context is everything, but this word is designed to conform to a society’s moral code. Now God has laid down guidelines, but this bare bones approach suggests that the law should bend with changes in society. Why else include the mercy component left out of very early versions of God’s expectations? The final piece—to walk humbly—probably speaks to people needing to appreciate what they have and not lording power over others: we’re all equal in God’s eyes, yes? So don’t get a big head.

As the Old Testament winds down, this mostly negative, dark book offers this positive piece of seemingly simple advice that, to be honest, is not trotted out enough when people draw from the Bible.  In addition, it demonstrates over and over that those in power need to do a better job implementing laws that benefit the people, based not on political influence and social standing but on what is right, just. Rather than do what is right, just, our elected officials spend too much time forwarding their own agendas at the expense of the common good. These are the people that Micah warned against in his own time; his lesson clearly stills bears learning in our own.

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The Old Testament: The Book of Jonah – Finally, the Whale Story

Posted on August 4, 2013 by virgowriter

One of things I enjoyed about Graduate school (the first time around, when I got an MA in English) was that I was finally positioned to read some of the cornerstones of English literature—many of which I never would have on my own. One of those is the American Classic, Moby Dick, a novel which many people hold in high esteem.

Melville’s classic tells the epic story of Ishmael’s time on the Pequod, where he is drawn into Captain Ahab’s crazed quest to seek revenge against the great white whale. The book is an interesting character study of this focused rage and the effects of pursuing it.

Although so many talk about the virtues of this novel, none had mentioned to me quite how torturous of a read it is.

Sure, what you have heard about the novel is true; however, what you haven’t heard unless you’ve read it is that amidst all the good elements lie pages and pages, chapter and chapters of the most boring prose devoted to whaling you will EVER read.  Perhaps if people had been honest more people would skip the book.  Or perhaps people would be armed with a true sense of the book so they knew what they were getting into first.

Had I not been compelled to finish it for my Master’s reading list, it would have made the short list of books I haven’t finished.  As it were, I skipped whole sections of the book.

Moby dick is not the only famous story with a whale in it, nor is it, as it turns out, the only famous whale story that’s presented a bit out of context.

I hadn’t heard that Jonah had a Bible book devoted to him.  I had heard some version of a story about a man—Jonah—who had been swallowed by and lived within a whale for a certain amount of days.  I was intrigued as to how this would go down, what kind of conditions he’d endured while in the belly of the whale, and how he extricated himself (or was expelled).

Sadly, the Book of Jonah does contain this story, although it’s really a small part.  Jonah is a reluctant prophet when God calls upon him.  He’s so reluctant that he tries to run away from God rather than preach to the people of Nineveh.  His escape places him on a boat which experiences a turbulent storm. And when Jonah is deemed responsible (God’s wrath, naturally), the crew tosses him, hoping the strengthening storm abates. In the water, Jonah as swallowed by a whale (1:17), and while in there (apparently calm and not freaking out that he is inside a whale), he prays and repents, after which the whale spits Jonah onto dry land (2:10).

The rest of the story follows his three-day walk to Nineveh, and when he arrives, he proclaims their destruction in 40 days (3:4). What makes this book interesting is what follows.  Typically, the destruction would arrive and the lesson would be: see, this is what happens when you mess with God. However, the king orders a fast (3:7) as a form of repentance and then God changes his mind (3:10). Even more interesting: this enrages Jonah (4:3).

Interesting to see someone go from a coward to having the stones to be angry at God for showing compassion—but if I was swallowed by a whale and then spit out, I might see life a bit differently.

God then leaves Jonah with a final lesson as he fumes—it’s really not Nineveh’s fault, God states.  They’re stupid, so I have to watch out for them (4:11).

In the end, the whale is the most visual (and fantastic element) of the story, which sort of explains why it is so iconic. The whale makes a better icon because it’s intriguing, interesting, and not to mention that it looks better painted in a picture than perhaps a man fleeing or walking for three days. But does it effectively represent the intended point?

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The Old Testament: The Book of Obadiah – For How Long Does One Hold a Grudge?

Posted on August 2, 2013 by virgowriter

I may have been an introverted kid but I was very sensitive, so when friends had get togethers or went to the mall or the movies and didn’t invite me, my feelings were very hurt—I thought I was a better friend to them.  This happened a few times with a few select people, and my mother would tell me that maybe I needed to do a better job making friends.  After all, how many times did a person have to shun me for me to get the message?

People show you who they are—for better or worse.  Your job is to listen to the message and gauge your expectations accordingly. If someone wants to be your friend, they’ll act like a friend—or as close to a definition of one as they are capable. You can’t expect something from someone when all they’ve done is shown you otherwise. This doesn’t excuse behavior on a more serious level, but it does enable you to know what you’re in for.

Knowing this, I found it strange that in the Book of Obadiah, that the Israelites are still holding high expectations for Edom.

This short book asserts that Edom will be punished, and not just for failing to help Israel against Babylon.  Apparently Edomites egged on the advancing Babylonian army and then plundered Jerusalem.  Perhaps even worse: their ancestor, Esau, betrayed his brother Jacob (all the way back in Genesis).

Given their longstanding feud, it’s unclear why the Israelites expected different.  Besides, Edom had screwed them before.  On their journey, the Israelites were turned away from Edom territory (Numbers 20:21).  Why? The result of their long standing blood feud, initiated by Esau (who settled Edom) and Jacob (who represented the Israelites).

So in the book’s present context, true, the stakes are a little higher, but why expect something different from these people whom you would like to act differently. Over the course of generations, they had yet to step up and toe the line.

I understand that you want—at some point—for blood to count for something.  You hope that somehow, in some way people would wake up and recognize what is right.  We expect this of the people we care about. But if those people clearly don’t care about you, why still carry the torch?

As I matured, I spent a little more time working on myself and not trying to build my self esteem so heavily on the influence of others.  Doing this allowed me to have a tighter circle of friends in whom I could trust. Israel may not have had a lot of options when it came to needing help, but as their behavior (and much of the Old Testament makes crystal clear), the best friend they had was closer than they realized.  Sadly, this is the one whom they treated about as well as they felt they were being treated by the people they thought they could count on: God.

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