Saturday, February 28, 2009

Colors: Yellow


In the summer of 1992 I spent about 3 weeks ministering in a small village in Estonia. Due to their exorbitant price of about $0.50 per pound, it was rare for the locals to buy more than one or two bananas at a time. Since the bananas were shipped in from Costa Rica or Honduras (I don't remember which now), they were both exotic and expensive by local standards.

This small bit of information was unknown to me as I perused the limited fruit offerings in the local market, which consisted mostly of various wild berries gathered from the nearby forests. Since bananas are decidedly higher than wild berries on the list of fruit I like, and considering they were only $0.50 per pound, I grabbed a couple pounds, dropped a dollar on the counter and was on my way.

Little did I know that I had just sent shock waves through the little village. I had no idea that buying a dollar's worth of bananas and strolling through the village with them in open view would say, "I'm a high roller!" A Mercedes, maybe. But a handful of bananas?

In Israel, bananas are locally produced and are viewed a bit differently than in Estonia. They are available here year round with only occasional lulls in quantity and quality. And, unlike Estonia circa 1992, they are not a status symbol here.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Shabbat Shalom

Colors: Green


These green apples are now in season. They are grown in the northernmost area of the country in the Golan Heights by Druze famers. Something like 70% of Druze farmers produce apples.

This year, like last, about 1/5 of the apple harvest will be shipped to Syria, which helps keep the apple prices from falling too low in Israel, and some hope it will raise the possibility of peace with Syria.

I'm more confident the former is more likely to be accomplished than the latter.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Security Update

Many of our friends in the USA worry about our safety here in Israel. Seemingly, every news report from Israel is one that gives them cause to worry that there is "war going on everywhere."

For those who are worried about us, please take a close look at the above photo. The three ladies in the photo are soldiers in the Border Guard of the Israel Defense Forces.

Soldiers like them are stationed at all the main entrances of the main market in Jerusalem, and preventing terrorists from entering the market is their objective. I'm not going to unfold all the security strategies implemented in that job, but I will make this observation: playing the scratch and lose lottery isn't one of their authorized strategies.

I gather from their lack of attention to who is coming and going in the market that they have not received any security warnings, and that they are fairly relaxed about the overall security situation in Jerusalem at this time. However, they may just be bad soldiers. I'm hoping the former and not the latter is the case.

Hezekiah's Motivation

It is clear that Hezekiah feared for his life and the life of the kingdom of Judah. And like most others would have done, he asked God to rescue him. However, unlike many, his motivation wasn't self preservation.

Let's analyze his prayer.

First, he acknowledges the serious physical threat that Assyria poses: "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. (2 Kings 19:17)"

Second, he distinguishes between Yahweh and the gods of those defeated nations: "They [the Assyrians] have thrown their [the defeated nations'] gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. (vs. 18)"

Finally, he begs God to deliver Israel not for his well being, but for God's glory: "Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God. (vs. 19)"

In this case, God chose to answer Hezekiah's prayer favorably, and Jerusalem was spared.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Good News Bad News

We've all heard someone dead pan: "I've got some good news and some bad news; which do you want to hear first?"

Isaiah's first short word from the LORD to Hezekiah followed the good news bad news pattern. See 2 Kings 19:7.

The good news for Hezekiah:"I am going to put such a spirit in him [Sennacherib] that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country [Assyria]." In other words, God will sovereignly turn Sennacherib's attention elsewhere so that Sennacherib will not destroy Jerusalem.

The bad news for Sennacherib: "I will have him [Sennacherib] cut down with the sword." In other words, not only will the LORD turn Sennacherib's attention away from Jerusalem, but the LORD will bring him down.

Isaiah will have more to say later, but for now, this will have to be sufficient to encourage Hezekiah.

Lachish Grapes


Lachish grapes are becoming available in the market again. The grapes that have been available prior to now were South African imports, which sell for 24 shekels per kilo. The locally grown grapes are still a bit expensive for me, though at between 7.80 (above) and 12 shekels (below) a kilo they are half as expensive as the imports.

Like the recently mentioned pineapples, these grapes are from Lachish, which is another reason it is relevant to post them during the King Hezekiah series.

While the South African grapes are consistently much smaller than the local grapes, they do come seedless in both red and green. Israel, on the other hand, only produces green seedless grapes. So, if you want red seedless grapes, it's going to cost you double at today's prices.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Thinkers: Relevance

"As a preacher, I think a lot about relevance. That is, why should anyone listen to what I have to say? Why should anybody care? Relevance is an ambiguous word. It could mean more than one thing. It might mean that a sermon is relevant if it feels to the listeners that it will make a significant difference in their lives. Or it might mean that a sermon is relevant if it will make a significant difference in their lives whether they feel it or not. That second kind of relevance is what guides my sermons. In other words, I want to say things that are really significant for your life whether you know they are or not. My way of doing that is to stay as close as I can to what God says is important in his word, not what we think is important apart God’s word."

There is so much wealth to mine in this quote, which comes from a sermon John Piper preached on February 10, 2008.

Relevance, or being relevant is another major buzz phrase - equally as big as "out of the box" - in the evangelical world these days. If you don't think so, Google church relevant. I got a search result of 102,000,000 English pages.

So many preachers are concerned whether or not they are being relevant. But I wonder how many of them have given consideration to what Piper is suggesting: that there are at least two meanings of relevant. If you view yourself as a relevant preacher, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that you Facebook? That you Twitter? That you include video clips or drama to enhance your sermons? Or something else? What exactly do you mean?

For those who didn't get the distinction in the Piper quote, here it is in a nutshell: Who determines what is relevant to the hearer? The man who invests His week in the study of God's word and prayer, asking God to speak through him to the people who will be present on a Sunday? OR, the person in the pew that has been shaped by a culture to believe that only things that make him feel good about himself are relevant to his life?

All preachers who wrestle with the issue of "to be or not to be . . . relevant" would do well to consider the distinction between these two meanings of the word relevant, whether they feel it will be relevant for them to do so or not.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Colors: Red and Yellow

Here's another red and yellow color combination. These peppers are in season and offer an eye catching color combination.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: Station IV Has Moved

I interrupt my current programming to bring you this BREAKING NEWS: Station IV on the Via Dolorosa has moved. I repeat, [the entrance to] Station IV on the Via Dolorosa has moved.

Not much has yet been made of this unexplained move. But no doubt thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who have venerated Station IV in its old location are going to be greatly disappointed to find out that they apparently venerated in the wrong location.

It is unclear how this change will affect those pilgrims' reflections on their visit to the Holy Land, particularly their march through the stations of the cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa.

At this time, I have not been able to get an official explanation, but I was able to get a man named Kobi to share his thoughts on this new development: "You might expect these things to move every once in a while, but you never expect it to occur in your own lifetime," he said.

Here is a photo of the old site:


A couple of things to notice in the photo above: First, you can see that the iron gate is chained shut, giving a clear message: Don't come in. Second, you can see that the stone facing with the symbol of the station has been broken away from above the gateway. It has now been placed above the gate at the new entrance.

About 70 feet north of the old location is the new Station IV, sitting immediately next to Station III. Here's a photo with an explanatory overlay:



Notice that the entrance to the new Station IV is immediately to the right of the Station III. You can also see the stone symbol of Station IV above the gateway of the new location. And, it is important to notice that the stones in front of the gate are not yet laid in a semi-circle.

The reason that is important is that, in an effort to protect the pilgrim tourist from scams, the municipality puts special stonework in front of the official stations of the cross. I'm afraid that there may be much confusion in the near future, as long as the old Station IV entrance still has the semi-circle stonework while the new Station IV entrance does not.

For those who are less informed about the stations of the cross, Station III reportedly marks the location where Jesus fell under the weight of his cross the first time.

Station IV reportedly marks the location where Mary saw Jesus go by carrying his cross. Apparently this sight was so intense for her that her feet "melted" into the pavement, and this is commemorated in a mosaic in the church at Station IV, the Armenian Church of Our Lady of the Spasm. (Believe it or not, I didn't make up that name.)

By the way, neither of the events commemorated at Stations III and IV are recorded in the Bible.

And with that, I'll resume my regularly scheduled programming.

Shapes: Round

I don't like melon - of any kind - but if I did, I think these honeydews would be worth the current price of 7.50 shekels per kilo.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Shabbat Shalom

Favorites: Cashews

Cashews are currently my favorite snack food; and they are the only souvenir my dad ever wants me to bring him from Israel.

A wide variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits are available year-round at any of the produce markets in Israel.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hezekiah's First Reponse

When Hezekiah heard the false dilemma offered by Sennacherib's agents, "he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD (2 Kings 19:1 NIV)."

The first thing he did was soberly recognize the dire situation that he faced. So many times, I have seen people refuse to recognize the way their lives are spinning out of control, heading for destruction. And so much like the drunk driver oblivious to the fact that he just crashed through the bridge out sign with the pedal to the metal, the stereo blasting and a smile on his face, they continue merrily on their way.

That reminds me of something I once heard Howard Hendricks say: "I've heard people criticize Jeremiah for being the weeping prophet. Folks, at least Jeremiah realized he should weep." Like Jeremiah, Hezekiah realized he needed to mourn, so he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth."

The next thing he did was enter the temple and seek the LORD. He sent a group of men to visit the prophet Isaiah with this description of the awful situation he faced: "This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them (vs. 3)."

He continued, " It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard (vs. 4)."

Finally, he concludes his message to Isaiah like this, "Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives."

In short: He recognized the severity of the situation, he hoped that God would hear how God was being ridiculed (apparently with the hope that God would respond accordingly), and asked Isaiah to pray for the remnant that remained. That's how he responded to the false dilemma. Not a lot of attention on himself.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Colors: Red and Yellow

The red pomegranites are on their way out of season, while the yellow lemons are now in season. And at 11.80 shekels per kilo, it's clear they are just coming into season.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The False Dilemma

A false dilemma is a logical fallacy in which a limited number of options are offered without consideration to the full range of possible options. Generally, it is seen in "either or" propositions, whereby the options are either "this" or "that."

We have a good opportunity to see just this fallacy in the story of Hezekiah. Sennacherib is barnstorming through Judah - according to his own annals, he conquered 46 fortified cities - and is demanding that Hezekiah submit or be forced into submission.

Given the clear display of Assyria's military might, and their obvious ability to put down those who resist them, the threat of defeat appears very real, possibly undeniable.

Now, let's focus in on the point: Sennacherib sent his military field leaders to Jerusalem to try to secure a peaceful surrender of the capital. A common military tactic is to try to unseat the enemy leadership by creating a local resistance, and the Assyrians employed the false dilemma to do just that.

The way this unfolds is very interesting. The Assyrians show up and begin speaking their threats in Hebrew, in the hearing of all who are nearby, specifically targeting the average "man in the street," or in this case, the average man on the wall. Hezekiah's representatives ask the Assyrians to speak in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. But the Assyrians are clever and suggest that they have been sent not only to speak to the leadership, but also to the men on the wall because they, like the leadership "will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine (2 Kings 18:27)."

This is the first option of the "either or" offer: Resistance will lead only to eating their own filth and drinking their own urine." In other words, unspeakable hardship and disaster awaits those who don't submit.

The second option of the "either or" offer is this: If Jerusalem willingly submits everyone will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, UNTIL they are sent to a land similar to Jerusalem. They should "choose life and not death!" the Assyrians implore.

See that? Choose destruction OR surrender! Choose to eat your own filth and drink your own urine OR eat from your own garden and drink from you own well! Choose life OR death!

What is the underlying assumption in the options offered? Clearly, the Assyrians assume they can, without risk of failure, conquer Jerusalem. And, I suppose if one were to do a man to man, or strength to strength comparison, the Assyrians are probably right: the options are rather bleak.

However, Hezekiah isn't trusting in his might versus the might of the Assyrians. Hezekiah is hoping in the strength of the LORD. And that is exactly what makes the Assyrians' proposal a false dilemma. They are not considering a third option: the strength and sovereignty of the LORD.

I've been in so many counseling situations where the counselees are, because of the dire appearance of their situation, trapped in a false dilemma. They can only see "either or" situations, and so often, both options are bad. It's just that one option looks less bad than the other. And in many, if not most of those situations the consideration of the LORD'S strength and sovereignty isn't present.

And to take this a step farther: Often when the issue of "where's God in all of this" is raised, those who feel so trapped will respond something like, "I don't know where He fits in, but I can see two options here, and one is better than the other." But none of us has a magic looking glass through which we can see the actual outcome of choosing either option. And that makes the question of "why not find out how/where God fits into your situation and follow Him" all the more relevant.

This is how the same point is illustrated in the situation of Hezekiah and his people: It is impossible to estimate the actual end result of the exception clause in the second part of the dilemma: "UNTIL I come and take you to a land like your own..." I'm specifically asking: If the residents of Jerusalem accept the "buyout option" and surrender to the Assyrians, what will life actually be like once they are transferred to Assyria or wherever? Will life be like it is currently? Will God see their surrender as a lack of faith and give them greater hardship to build their faith? Clearly, we can't offer definitive answers, but these are things that should be considered when facing a dilemma such as the Assyrians were offering. Why not simply trust the LORD from the outset?

Hezekiah offers us an example of how to respond when we find ourselves in delimmas that appear to only offer disaster or defeat. How did he respond? We'll find out as we continue to look at the life of Hezekiah.

I Didn't Expect This

I was out for a little while yesterday doing some prep work for a college group that I will be teaching at the end of this month. Imagine my surprise when I saw this:


No, the olive green patch didn't mysteriously appear over his face after I had taken the picture. I placed it there to "protect" the identify of the teacher. (You never know how certain quarters will react to something so scandalous.) This Israeli soldier - who was a good teacher, I might add - was teaching from this:


In case you don't read Hebrew, it says "New Covenant," which is the New Testament.

I don't know the soldier, so it's possible that he's part of our New Covenant Community, but I'm guessing he's probably not. I know a number of soldiers from our community, so it isn't so uncommon for me to see a soldier carrying a New Testament - even teaching from one - but here is what I didn't expect:


He's teaching a group of "soldiers."

Now, before anyone gets too worked up, he's not trying to convert any of the soldiers. He's giving a history lesson. But I was happy to see that he was actually giving that lesson from the NT and not just listing off a bunch of traditions and tour guide anecdotes.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Be Careful Who You Swim With

Fish that swim together get caught together,. . . and go to market together.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Colors: Red



These red jewels are beautiful, sweet, and chemical free. They are coming to the end of this harvest, but another is on the way. I don't know the origin of these particular strawberries, but I know the Sharon Plain is a major center for growing chemical free strawberries.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Short Answer: NO!

As far as Sennacherib could tell, Hezekiah was trusting in one of two things: Military help from Egypt (2 Kings 18:21) or divine intervention from the LORD (vs 22).

In my last post, I mentioned the word picture that Sennacherib correctly used regarding Egypt. In this post, I want to briefly explore Sennacherib's second assertion, which is a classic illustration of someone reading their own suppositions into another's position.

Sennacherib is trying to warn Hezekiah about the danger of trusting in anyone else even the LORD, but he gets it all wrong: "...isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed..."

Well, the short answer is: NO! The LORD isn't the one whose high places were removed by Hezekiah. In fact, Hezekiah's removal of the high places pleased the LORD, and it was said removal of high places that clearly demonstrated in whom Hezekiah trusted.

I wonder if Hezekiah was emboldened by Sennacherib's confusion and thought to himself, "He has no idea. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Lachish Pineapples

Since I've been looking at the life and times of Hezekiah and posting photos of fruits and vegetables that are in season, I thought it would be appropriate to combine the two ideas and post a picture of pineapples from Lachish.

It was from Lachish that Sennacherib sent his officers to Jerusalem to threaten Hezekiah (2 Kings 17:17). Perhaps Hezekiah would have enjoyed a fresh pineapple more than the visit by Sennacherib's officers.

I've noticed that pineapples have been in the market now for several months, I'm not sure if they are a year-round fruit or seasonal. I know that some are local and others are imported from the Dominican Republic.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Word Picture of the Day

Today's Word Picture: Splintered Reed of a Staff - 2 Kings 18:21
Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him.
Sennacherib used this wonderful word picture to communicate a very real danger to King Hezekiah.

The staff had a two-fold purpose for the shepherd: to lend support and balance while walking, and to protect the flock against predatory animals. The beauty and brilliance of using this word picture is that it vividly communicates the irony of being injured by that which one depends on for security and stability.

Another irony is that by heeding Sennacherib's advice to not depend on Egypt, Hezekiah would depend on Yahweh, who is both more stabilizing and secure than even an undamaged staff, and who would ultimately be Sennacherib's undoing.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Home Remedies

For a couple of months now, our home has been afflicted with one type of sickness after another. Nagging coughs, fever, flu, nasal drip, deep chest congestion, earaches, and sinus problems are among the things that have been cycling through our home.

We've all been to the doctor with varying degrees of success in dealing with the various ailments, but we've also had an assortment of home remedies offered by friends. Some of them sound reasonable, others a bit hard to believe, and still others just too strange for words. Among the well intentioned recommendations were the following: For a nagging cough, apply Vick's Vapor Rub to the bottom of the feet and wear a pair of socks to bed. Bites of fresh garlic washed down with a glass of water was the suggested remedy for deep chest congestion. And for the flu, we have been told to take 1000mg of vitamin-C each hour.

Seemingly every home remedy is accompanied by this caveat: "I know it sounds strange, but it really does work."

The bites of fresh garlic to clear chest congestion fell somewhere between sounds reasonable and hard to believe. But desperate for some relief, we decided to make the purchase and give it a try.

I'm not saying that this particular remedy NEVER works, but I can say, it didn't work in our home. And I knew the next time we saw the person who recommended the garlic bites, she would ask if we tried it, and how it worked. Furthermore, I knew her response would be disbelief when I answered, yes we tried it, and no, it didn't work. I was right.

Why is it that people can't believe their sure-fire home remedy doesn't work for someone else? Lest I be thought to be throwing stones at those who cared enough to offer ideas, let me say thank you for caring. I'm not throwing stones, I'm just thinking out loud about how funny people are; and I include myself because I've been known to offer a home remedy or two myself.

Here's a photo of an in-season, crate-full of home remedy for deep chest congestion.



DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor (I don't even play one on TV), and the contents of this post should not be construed as medical advice - either for or against home remedies. I am simply telling my story; your mileage may vary.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Little Foxes

Catch us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
Song of Songs 2:15

Our family decided to get out today and do some exploring. Grace got her camera, I got mine, and Colleen got the water bottle, and we were off to see what we could find. I wasn't completely surprised to see this fox because I had seen him twice before, but never with a chance to get a shot like this.


Actually, I outfoxed him. I was up on a ridge about 40 feet above and 150 feet away from him when I unexpectedly roused him. He jumped up and went around the bend below the ridge I was on to hide from my view. But I thought that I might be able to surprise him by running across the top of the ridge to a point where I estimated he might appear. I was right, and he seemed quite surprised to see me.

I raised my camera and caught his attention. He froze long enough for us to make eye contact and for me to snap this shot from about 40 yards; then he was off to the races.


He ran much faster than I had anticipated, which made tracking him a challenge. The shot isn't real sharp, but from 100 yds, I'm pretty happy with the outcome. You can see he is fully committed to his exit strategy.


At this point, he's about 130 yds away and flying. I was shocked at how fast and far he would run to avoid the paparazzi.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Shabbat Shalom

Artichokes

Artichokes are in season now, and can be purchased in the markets and at the grocery stores.

In past years, I have seen fields and fields of artichokes that were not harvested. Apparently, there was such an over-production of artichokes that it wasn't worthwhile to harvest them.

This particular field is along the Yarkon River near Petah Tikvah and Hod HaSharon.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Detour Through Samaria

The fall of Samaria, which resulted in the deportation of 1000's from the northern kingdom to Assyria, raises another question: Was the subsequent Assyrian importation and settlement of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim into the towns of Samaria the beginning of the people known in the New Testament as the Samaritans?

While the traditional assumption is that the Samaritans of the New Testament are the descendants of those imported peoples mentioned in 2 Kings 17, a comparison of the two groups does raise reason for doubt. For example, the imported peoples were syncretists - i.e. "They worshipped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought (vs. 33)."

Because clear evidence of such syncretism doesn't exist among those later identified as Samaritans, scholars like Everett Ferguson suggest that a connection between the two peoples isn't so clear, and may be nothing more than a later attempt of Jews to slander the Samaritans (Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 3rd Edition, p. 534). But what would be the motivation for such slander? The Samaritans created a rival religious institution that preferred Shechem and Mt. Gerizim over Jerusalem and Mt. Zion as the location of the Holy Place (p. 534).

In contrast to Ferguson, the Archaeological Study Bible (Zondervan 2005), says the Samaritans are "a mixed race made up of a combination of Israelites who remained in the land and these non-Israelite settlers (note 17:24-41, p. 557)." And in spite of their syncretistic origins, they eventually "came to follow the teachings of Moses, including monotheism (note 17:24-41, p. 557)." I might add that their (ASB-Zondervan) conclusion of an evolution from syncretism to monotheism may be correct, but I have not been able to find a justification for that conclusion in any of their many notes on the Samaritans.

While the origins of the New Testament Samaritans may not be as clear as we might wish, we can see - and I think some may be surprised - how this "slandered, mixed race" people are referenced in the New Testament.

The references to the Samaritans fall clearly into three groups: First we see Samaritan used as a pejorative as in John 8:48 when Jesus was asked, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" We can see this negative sense also in the story of the (Samaritan) woman at the well in John 4. Her initial words to Jesus illustrate the inferior position of the Samaritans among Jews: "“How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)"

The second type of reference to Samaritans is simply geographical. For example, when Jesus sent his disciples out (Matthew 10), he specifically told them not to go among the Gentiles or any town of the Samaritans. Rather, he charged them, "Go to the lost sheep of Israel." Luke mentions a time when Jesus sent his disciples into a Samaritan village to prepare things for his arrival (9:52). None of these types of references should be deemed positive or negative.

The third category includes those times Jesus mentions or interacts with Samaritan people, and is clearly the most positive portrayal of the Samaritans in the Bible. I've already mentioned the John 4 story of the (Samaritan) woman at the well. In this story, we don't see Jesus distancing himself from her because he is a Jew and she a Samaritan. We don't see him reference her pejoratively. What we see is Jesus offering her "living water" and engaging her in a meaningful conversation about the messiah. John concludes this story with a very positive view of the Samaritan woman: "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony (John 4:39)."

Another illustration of how Jesus views the Samaritans differently than the surrounding culture does is how he juxtaposes the Samaritan with religious Jews in the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Since Jesus was crafting that story himself, he could have painted any picture he wanted, yet he chose to cast the Samaritan as the good neighbor and the religious Jews as the bad neighbors.

Finally, in Luke 17 we see the story of Jesus healing ten lepers: While on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled between Galilee and Samaria and was approached from a distance by ten lepers. They called out to him and he healed them. One of them, realizing that he was healed, came back to thank Jesus. Then, as if in a parenthetical note, Luke adds, "He was a Samaritan." Notice Jesus' response: "Weren't all ten healed? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Once again, Jesus juxtaposes the outsider against those representing the majority culture.

In all three cases - the woman at the well, the good Samaritan, and the leper who was healed - the Samaritans were cast in a much more positive light than some might expect considering the hostility of the surrounding culture toward them.

Is there an application for us in how we should treat/view those who might be considered negatively by the surrounding culture? Is their standing in the culture at large to considered more important than their response to the gospel? I think the answers are yes and no, respectively.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Almond Blossom

The almond trees are starting to blossom around Jerusalem. In another month, they will be in full bloom and bushy white from all the blossoms.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

The Fall of Samaria

It's interesting that the writer of 2 Kings revisits the story of the fall of Samaria when recounting the life of Hezekiah, especially since the sin of the northern kingdom is detailed in the previous chapter, 2 Kings 17. Apparently, he wants us to see the contrast between the two kings and their kingdoms.

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, put king Hoshea and Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, under siege. The siege lasted 3 years, and in the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign over Judah, Samaria fell and her residents were deported to Assyria. And,
"this happened because they had not obeyed the LORD their God, but had violated His covenant - all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out. (2 Kings 18:12)"
In contrast, Hezekiah, "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD... (2 Kings 18:3)" The character of the kings was opposite, and the outcome for their kingdoms was too.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Typical Male Drivers


"Just a little closer. If I can get just a little closer..."

I wonder if that was the thought of the driver of this truck, just before he went a little too far and ended up as you see him in this picture.

It's True: Men want to cut it a little closer and go just a little faster.

NOTE: No one was hurt in the making of the photograph. All participants escaped unharmed, except perhaps a little blemish on the pride of the driver.

Sunday, February 01, 2009