Author: eejoseph

Outside the camp, prostitutes, refuse, and saviours

eejoseph, ,

If you thought that the Jewish people had an open mind to the Canaanites, you should think again. Yahweh saved the sons of Israel from committing genocide by gradually reducing the “Canaanite” population. 

The King of Israel spared no effort to preserve his name and to ensure the preservation of the people, and more specifically, by leaving a remnant who would become functional parts of the Kingdom of Israel and judah. Case in point is the deal made with Rahab The prostitute from jericho. The people who had Moses for a leader would not have accepted a foreigner in their camp, and neither did those who had Joshua as leader. The place known as outside the camp in ancient Israel was a place where refuse and ritually unclean persons were quarantined.

Reproached revised

The father of the 12 tribes was a converted man: he disavowed his cons and the violence of his sons and made peace with his mortal enemy, his twin brother Esau.  The spark of his nobility which prevented him from returning to Padan Aram as Abraham and Isaac had done to preserve the family line showed up later in David’s generosity to the survivor of Saul’s family.

David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” (2 Samuel 9:7)

Both Israel and David carved out a spot on the family tree that severely challenged the sons of Israel. 

You can’t eat here; no debate

  • So, let us go out, over and over
  • to Him (leave the gates of Jacob, temple and high court)
  • outside the camp (in that place where broken and rejected things reside}
  • bearing His reproach; what a great honour it is that believers are in line to bear our Lord’s disgrace

10. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. (Hebrews 13:10-13)

You, my frenemy, with your life of victory and prosperity, your great-again delusion, your unprecedented prostitution, your boldface idolatries, your weekly weekend miracles, and international crimes, will find little comfort in the presence of the Nazarene. You, so saturated with your chosen people wannabism, cannot eat here.  The stone the builders refused was destined to become the saviour and king. The journey out to the reproach district begins with out-of-the-box eating.

13. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 14. But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” (Acts 10:13-14). Opening his mouth, Peter said:  “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality” (Acts 10:34)

Herein lies the nuts and bolts of daily cross-bearing.  It is engaging the observers of our lives in the spectacular exits of the God who died.  You think your rules and regulations are mysterious and wonderful? Try going out to God, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

So Many Versions of the Bible!

eejoseph

Which translation of the Bible should I choose? At least two. The choices are many. Since the reason for reading is to understand what God has said and done the version should be in your mother tongue. The Bible is available in the popular languages of our times: English, French, Spanish, all the languages of Europe, many African tongues, at least one Caribbean dialect, and the host of Asian languages.

Some translations are popular for different reasons. The King James  tops the list in the English speaking world among older readers. It seems almost poetic and creative,  because, among other things, it changes word order, for example, “Then cometh Jesus” where English speaking people should expect “Then Jesus comes”. 

King James

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. (Matthew 26:36).

New American Standard Bible

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (Matthew 26:36)

The Greek reads: then comes with them Jesus to a place called Gethsemane…

Here is the King James version following the Greek word order.

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. (Mark 7:1)

Here is the New American Standard Bible ordering the Greek for smooth modern English.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, (Mark 7:1, NASB)

The certified advantage and disadvantage of giving up the King James version

When you read the King James version you will encounter the words “ye”, “you”, “thee” and “thou”.  This is a feature of English from 400 years ago that distinguishes you (plural) from you (singular). Invaluable!  On the other hand when you pick one of the modern translations you acquire a superior text.  All the translations since the 17th century were produced using much older Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, except for the New King James version.  Perhaps this is just another piece of the barbarity of the people of England.  They prefer ignorance to enlightenment.  With any of the modern translations in your hand you are closer to having the documents written by our fathers the apostles and chosen witnesses of our Lord and Saviour. 

Believer diligence to discover the truth

With any modern translation in hand and a trusted lexicon or dictionary of Bible words, you will be able to discover the meaning of the words used by the writers of the Sacred Texts.

A resource that combines a modern translation with the Hebrew and Greek words is the Hebrew-Greek Word Study Bible by Spiros Zodhiates.  If your hunger persists then you are on your way to read both the Hebrew and Greek texts directly.

I recommend a study Bible because it will provide you with valuable insights and information.  Ask your bookstore for one by a single author.  Charles Ryrie comes to mind as a committed Bible teacher. 

May God’s grace assist you.

Waiting for charming royal and straw

eejoseph,

How do you waste the most time every day?

I have lived long enough to recognized that when life is very comfortable and everything is on repeat I record accomplishments.  On the other hand there is an attachment to serendipity, to the unprogrammed and voluntary connections, the frog-transforming kiss and the back-breaking straw.  Let us just say that waiting for charming princesses and their kisses and camels and their straws is definitely wasteful.

Worse than the mud

eejoseph

God is slinging something at humanity in 2025.  He always has.  The significance of Abraham, nineteen hundred years before Christ cannot be overstated.  God slung the Mesopotamian at Canaan with stunning effect.  The encounter between Abram and Melchizedek has still not been absorbed by the Jews, the Church or Islam.  Every generation has had something slung in its face and, more often than not, the outcomes have been less than ideal.  In 2025, when the eyes on the planet are trained on development with global effects, the slung material is mud: homicide, misinformation and extreme depravity. God is exposing the United States and Israel as the paragons of prostitution.

Mud-slinging mobsters, ancient and modern

The reader may not be aware of the depths to which the descendants of Abraham sunk, but the descent into the abyss of immorality and empty pride was complete long before the modern period.  The modern state of Israel can raise its skirts and show its pretend virginity, but the jig is up, the fat lady’s song is over, and the frog has croaked.

The United States can try to convince the world that its vast hoard of glitter is actually gold.  The United States is in the morgue as surely as the idols worshipped by millions are deaf, dumb and blind.  Miracles in the realm of national righteousness are rare.  Resurrecting old and mutual enemies like the Iranian government (the successor to the Persian Empire) will not convince even the most immoral nations to join the US and Israel in their super-fascist ideology and self-defense high ground.

Worse than the Canaanites

How badly have the people of Israel corrupted themselves shows up in the failure to be humane.  It is shocking how rabbis are able to convince many Messiah-lit people to water down divine righteousness.

So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:9

Texas, where the police hesitate for 77 minutes to save the lives of children in their classrooms, is launching a Ten Commandment display policy.  Perhaps Texans are unaware that the only positive command on the Stone Tablets is parental honour.  The 5th command is an active interpersonal demand.  The others can be achieved by being idle, just like Texas’s finest were outside the Uvalde school.  Israel had seventy out of thousands of years to get its act together.  The US has had two hundred and forty-nine years to wrap its progress around the pole of its constitution.  What an amazing sitcom of follies Netanyahu and felonious Potus are broadcasting!  Worse than the Canaanites does not get any more disturbing.  Mud is distinctly not the product of dust of the ground and divine breath.

Connecting with memory makers

eejoseph,

Describe one of your favorite moments.

My transition to adulthood was shared with a handful of individuals who are still around.  Spending a day or a few hours with one of them creates incredibly satisfying comfort and fans the flame or teenage freedoms and validates the mutual dreams.  I often wonder to what extent do adults tag their favorite moments to decades-old memories.