Author: eejoseph

Chauvinist and holy

eejoseph, , , ,

I return to a topic that is the spiritual equivalent of a 13 dollar coin.  It is an issue that has to be near the top of standards for decency and civilized behaviour.  When the Scriptures opens up with woman as the better part of humanity and closes with a stunning movie of an unnamed woman I find it horribly uncaring of a great many people who say they are God’s friends and representatives of God and light-bearers.  One little word in Genesis exposes the inventions of misogynist crew, wherever they come from.  Let us be sure that while people are said to be in the loins of their ancestors before they are born it bears repeating that help a male needs to be complete is necessarily female and must be recognized as his out-front part, his better “half”, his kĕneged ( כנגד ) aspect.

Shame is a lot more than a private part

It does not shock me that the commentaries on the creation of the human race fail to build an understanding of males and females in their primary arrangement.  It is a senseless plot that people undertake when they try to pattern their associations after the Levitical system’s males-only policy and practice.   Women are pushed aside from the centre of the action and authority and then flattered with the idea that they have functions that are uniquely designed for only certain contributions to family and social life.  If differing standards of  public dress and undress do not convince anyone that patriarchy’s male dominance is a stage in man’s ignorance..

Woman clothed with the sun and more

What does kenegdo mean in the Genesis creation narrative?  In front of, before, opposite as equal, beside (fanciful nonsense from the rib narrative), or partner of lesser function and value?

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help suitable for him.

Genesis 2:18

The Revelation 12 Saga

The answer to the question of the meaning of neged comes in a vision of a woman. Her clothing and adventures are beyond scrutiny.

  • And there appeared a great wonder in heaven;
  • a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
  • And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered
  • And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
  • And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
  • And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

We have it in apostolic teaching and from the practice of Christ that gender, ethnicity,  social status, or nationality are inadmissible as measurements of people. The Taliban and those who see themselves as conserving (protecting) are barking up a tree John the Baptist said was ready for felling. 

The entire story of divine government of the globe is told in the woman’s experience in Revelation12. The salvation experience is cast as the betrothal and marriage of a woman to the Son of God. How dare anyone shape the church’s identity and operations as male-only? They dare because they are forgivably mistaken, confused about the incompatibility of chauvinism and holiness. The proponents of male domination forgets that our spiritual heritage is specifically inclusive of women as we find it predicted in Joel 2:29; “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days”. The Holy Spirit’s residence establishes the dignity of men and women or not at all.

Canadians go to the ballot box to elect the 44th parliament

eejoseph

Sunday August 15

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the Governor General’s dissolution of the 43rd parliament and the launch of the political race. September 20th is the next election day.

Look out for huge spending promises, groundless claims of accountability for the public purse, and a gut-wrenching array of moves to ensure Canada’s First Nations and all the oppressed minorities see an end to the erosion of their rights. Watch for religous interference and US style exploitation of the press and the right to free speech.

Canada will speak, and I pray it is a loud and clear message that Canada does not need to copy any nation in order to maintain its integrity. Get out and vote!

Loving freedom comes painfully slowly

eejoseph

At the end of Judah’s Independence Jeremiah preached a message of extreme urgency, offering the kingdom a chance to avert the dire consequences of death, destruction and exile. 

Talk about freedom is not cheap.  It is an insult to the God of Abraham.  He is a god who does not fabricate, abdicate, or refuse to accommodate. We know how long he had sheltered his people from disaster,  how many of his messengers had been assassinated, and how many times the people had demonstrated they meant business (by returning to covenant ways).  King Zedekiah however was not a guy prone to change or repent.

This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

Jeremiah 34:8

They did, temporarily, showing that they truly did not treasure their liberation from Egypt. Even when the triumph of David’s Son had been clearly demonstrated, freedom was a thing for oneself, not everyone. People like Saul and James kept up the bogus freedom rhetoric. But thanks be to God that Messianic liberty is firmly entrenched in the heart – attitudes – of the followers of Christ. We want our peers to own and enjoy whatever God has given us.

Intellectual back alley

eejoseph

If you were going to build a dwelling place for the majesty of heaven would you pattern it after something that was repeatedly abandoned and turned into rubble? It is illustrative of human mediocrity and the preference for mingling minor and major matters.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

Jeremiah 3:16
Branding folly

Not a few people have adopted a gold-plated box of Sinai as the symbol of their mental integrity. Was there no golden box available? We know there was not. When God arranges for the gold-plated box to be forgotten, and the rebellious and undisciplined choose it for the symbol of their reasoning capacity, they are clearly at home in the fireplace of lies.

Listen up everyone

eejoseph

Some nations think they are above their neighbours, beyond examination but Isaiah’s God told him otherwise.   Isaiah is riveting and unforgettable in his evaluations of his own nation  from the very first chapter of his prophecy.  All the rosy talk about national treasures, grand civic institutions, and massive  strides in executing justice is simply a lot of hot air.  Perish the  thought that I am being negative: negative is the dynamic in the so-called Judeo-Christian worldview and general morality across the globe.  That defence force or armed forces complex that the nations depend on is – not will be – trash, pure and simple.  If you have ever seen a few minutes of rain cripple a major city you know it is not an idle threat when the armies of all the nations are threatened with utter destruction.

Your armies are trash

1) Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2) For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter.

Isaiah 34:1-2

Why the destruction of armies is a thing

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 

Exodus 15:4

Nuclear backfires are the blind of event that make Murphy’s Law reliable and Goliath’s weapons and armour ridiculous.

Slingshot accuracy and decisiveness

Nations use their armies to oppress, harass and maintain their hold on the lives of their own citizens and it is therefore not surprising that they use them against heterogeneous populations. From the Pacific to the Atlantic we see evil’s ugly head rising in the name of security and self-defence,  and it is often way more selfishness than any common virtue.  Law and order is the rubbish that vicious and ruthless criminals propose as their nation’s guiding light instead of actually building stable lifestyles and equal opportunities for their people.

The David and Goliath story is comfort enough without invoking miraculous intervention.  We had better get ready for the felling of big trees by snall axes.

Isaiah 34:8 assures us that Yahweh has a day of vengeanc, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. It is that simple!

Favourite Flop

eejoseph, , ,

A spark flies when we get a chance to express ourselves in regards to a fav verse from the Bible which might well be a blazing fire.  The range of the fire’s intensity can be a shocking 0 to 9.99, with 0 being a total fav flop.

  • Range 0, the verse is wrested from its socket to say something other than it says
  • Range 1, the reader makes a corporate statement send out a personal message
  • Range 3, the verse has only  typical value, no spiritual value
  • Range 4, a single word becomes the centre of the fav application
  • Ranges 5 to 9.99, there is a conscious attempt to discern every possible nuance intended by the writer, with increasing relevance to the redemptive purposes of Christ’s

Breaking faith with accountability

It may feel great to say “this verse means much to me” because such and such is happening in my life. Isaiah 54 has the popular theme of Maker-Husband-Redeemer but some serious abuse is in the making if the reader forgets that the verse is addressed to a barren woman whom God intends to vindicate.

If you are a leader you can make multitudes stumble by your lack of diligence (perhaps humility too) to get the fav verse from the mouth of the writer. Yeshua’s God and Father wants a one-on-one with all of us, and we do best when our feet are firmly in contact with the church’s foundation, the words of the New Testament writers.

Next time you do a fav verse thing, try, please, to float to the top. Do not flop.

Yesterday and today’s company

eejoseph

With or without historic awareness you are who you are. With or without friends and supporters we will go to our crosses and glory. Yesterday is definitely gone and friends come and go with the weather.

God does not need aces, he makes ’em in order to establish good graces.

Selftalk that tells or smells

eejoseph
Selftalk’s catch-22

Birds and lilies are the pioneers of switching between strength and weakness. The ease with which they forage or depend on the Ultimate Provider is noteworthy.

Remember! Telling ourselves and our children concocted community stories, even over centuries, does not change our responsibility to take our places individually with courage or faith in the Unseen.

24) Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25) And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26) If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27) Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Luke 12:24-27