Proverbs 23-24
It would seem that this section in Proverbs 23 is aimed at royal children, that they should be taught moral behavior. They should not emulate the rich and greedy but seek instruction and knowledge. While there are general instructions of proper etiquette at the table, there are also deeper meanings within the instructions.
There are exhortations to parents and children, for parents to discipline their children to show them the proper way of living and children to honor parents who are seeking to instruct them.
Finally, the child is instructed to observe a moral life, to refrain from drunkenness and to be wary of prostitutes and adulterers.
Proverbs 24 begins with another admonition to refrain from consorting with the wicked. One does not rule or build a kingdom through mischief but through knowledge. A mighty warrior is a wise warrior, (boy could we use some wise warriors today). Courage is also a sign of wisdom, of daring to do the difficult but the right. (Again, another trait we could use today.)
Wisdom is like honey, it is sweet and good. Such wisdom keeps one from violence and deceit. One achieves righteousness not by lying in wait but by fearing the Lord and doing what God desires. To rule is to judge accordingly by the standard set by God, not by partiality, to be honest and true.
Psalm 92-93
The psalmist rejoices and leads the community in a psalm of thanksgiving created for the Sabbath service. Psalm 92 witnesses to God's work in Creation on earth and the cosmos. This great work is shown to the faithful but kept secret from the wicked. To be washed in oil was to be anointed so the psalmist understands himself, herself or themselves to be chosen by God for a purpose. The chosen flourish because of God's provenance.
The Lord is King is the basic proclamation of Israel, it is the heart of the religion and faith, for God has created all and rules over all. Psalm 93 is a succinct statement of this reality, even the waters of chaos, demonstrated by the flood, lift its voice to God. God rules over all!
Backlogged Posts
Ezra 7-8
If the text is correct, Ezra appears in Jerusalem about fifty years after the end of the Exile in Ezra 7. To believe the authors, while the temple has been rebuilt and Jerusalem has been re-inhabited, there are still problems in Judah, which is why Ezra and then Nehemiah are sent to the city. Ezra is a scribe, one trained in scripture, and leaves Babylon to go to Jerusalem. He is not alone as other Jews make the journey with him.
Ezra carries with him an edict from Artaxerxes that authorizes Ezra to lead the people of Israel in worship of God. He is given power to collect tributes to support the temple and promote the welfare of the people. While Ezra is not a governor, he is given rather wide latitude to act on behalf the people and is empowered to do what is needed to worship God in the fashion that Israel is accustomed to.
Ezra 8 seems to be a first hand account of those who took the journey with Ezra and their preparations for the journey. The list includes Levites who help perform the appropriate liturgical actions on the journey. The items on the journey include a fitting tribute to be offered at the temple upon arrival in Jerusalem.
Luke 4
In the narrative of Luke, Jesus follows in the example of Israel; first he is baptized, much as Israel was as they journeyed into the Red Sea, then they are tempted in the Wilderness and then finally they are commissioned and sent into the Promised Land. In Jesus' temptations, it is important to realize that all of Jesus' responses come from Deuteronomy, which is the heart of the Law according to scripture. Jesus remains faithful to the Law of God, while Israel has not. From the very outset, Jesus is living into the example and personifying Israel as it was supposed to be.
Jesus is then commissioned to go into the land to do ministry, for he is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. This will be a difficult ministry seen in the rejection of his own people in Nazareth, who exemplify the rejection of God by Israel, God's own people turn away. Furthermore, this is demonstrated in the reality that the demons in the next story recognize who Jesus is, but the people of Nazareth do not. This is a theme that will continue in Luke.
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