Ezekiel: Reader Discretion is Advised

I read through the book of Ezekiel and was surprised, shocked, and a bit disgusted at all the sexually explicit material in the book. Chapters 16 and 23 are especially explicit, containing stark imagery of how God felt about Judah's unfaithfulness to Him. In fact, some rabbis centuries ago questioned whether Ezekiel should be in the canon! Read for yourself.

"Thou hast built thy high place at every heard of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by" (16:25 KJV)

The marginal note in the ESV has "spread your legs for everyone who passes by." Wow.

"And I say of the worn-out one in adulteries, Now they commit her whoredoms--she also!"(23:43 Young's Literal Translation).

I don't normally quote "The Message" because it is not an actual translation. Sometimes, however, it hits the nail on the head, like here. So in case you missed what Young's says...

"I said, 'She's burned out on sex!' but that didn't stop them. They kept banging on her doors night and day as men dow hen they're after a whore. That's how they used Oholah and Oholibah, the worn-out whores" (23:43 The Message).

Yikes. And perhaps the most shocking of all...

"There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses" (23:20).

Whoa. For real. Call me crazy, but that sounds like something Michael Scott would hear from his buddy Todd Packer (whose car tag is WLLHUNG).

This says nothing dirty about the Bible. The Word of God is not a misogynistic product of antiquity. Instead, it says much about the filthiness of sin, which is often pictured as "adultery" in the prophets. These graphic images should make us realize how God looks at us when we turn our backs on Him and "go whoring" after our own desires. It's sad, really.

Brady-sitting

My dearly beloved wife, Jessica (aka "JJ" by her family, aka "Stay-Shay" or "Shay-Stay" by Brady), had an appointment at the acupuncturist today and decided to turn it into a much-deserved day to herself. Fortunately I knew this in advance and finished my church work earlier in the week so I could watch Brady while she took the day off. This is the account of my day.

Brady always wants to swing when he arrives at 7:15 am every morning. Lucky for him: 1) it was a cool morning, and 2) his cool uncle Matt was here!

After swinging, we came in, ate eggs, and watched Brady's favorite movie Dumbo (though "favorite" is a very flexible and ever-changing term for Brady). It seems that he was imitating the pint-sized pachyderm.

This was a two-for-one opportunity: work on my to-do list AND have fun with Brady!  Brady loves spraying the "oddertoes" (waterhose).

As you can see, Brady was easily distracted!

What kind of uncle would say, "No Brady...you might hurt yourself"? Not me! "Let boys be boys," I say. And let uncles laugh!! He really didn't hurt himself, though...just got really wet.

After we washed the car, I decided to reward Brady for a job well done (his shirt was soaked from an impromptu water fight after washing the car).

My little buddy started getting tired as he watched cartoons. 

When we left to meet "JJ" for lunch, he was out cold by the time we got out of the driveway.

After lunch, we went to pick up big brother Brock from school. Little did we know that the Starburst package Brady picked out was "Sweet & Sour Starburst." As you can see, he was not a fan of the Sour Apple.

Big brother Brock wanted to prove he could eat a Sour Apple Starburst like a man, not making a sour face.

He fooled us for a minute!

Brock wanted to listen to a CD of a sermon by B.J. Clarke that he found in my backseat (poor guy can't read too well yet). They quickly lost interest. Jack Johnson's "Upside Down," to my surprise,  did not satisfy their longing. Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" got Brock clapping his hands, but Brady requested "ittle Mermaid," so I compromised with "Fireflies" by Owl City.

Upon arriving home, it was swing time, once again!

Both boys eagerly requested Uncle Matt's world-famous "The Batman Fly" (a really, really big push on the swing). He was happy to comply.

The day ended with Brock's discovery of a massive moth near the swing set. For some reason I wanted the poor thing to die in peace and not under Brock's sneakers. Maybe Avatar did something to me...

And that's the end. Now for a nice evening with my beloved.

Expensive Book

C'mon! This book is only 240 pages but it costs over $100??? What's up with that? I paid $125 for my BDAG, but that's BDAG, the nearly indispensable, most reputable and well researched Greek lexicon on the market (as far as I know). Plus it's over 1000 pages!

I found out about this book on Larry Hurtado's blog and am very interested in the subject of Jesus' cry on the cross but I just don't think it's worth that much. Yes, it is a "scholarly" work but give me a break! 

So much for scholarship being available for the common folk. I suppose these kinds of works are only intended for libraries.

Isaiah 5: Crowe Garden Remix

Let me write for my garden a blog concerning my garden. My garden was planted in a very fruitful yard.

I tilled the soil, removed the roots. I covered with plastic and secured with stones.

I planted it with the choicest seeds. From my window I watched for it to grow. I dreamed of fried okra and sauteed squash and zucchini.

It produced.

But in the heat of an Alabama summer and lack of sufficient rain, my garden produced only skinny cucumbers and sickly tomatoes.

And now, O inhabitants of Ragland, and men of St. Clair, judge between me and my garden.

What more could I have done with my garden, that I have not done in it? (aside from watering it regularly)

And now I will tell you what I will do to my garden: I will make it a waste. It shall not be picked or watered, and briers and thorns shall grow up. I will command the water hose that no water come upon it. It will be trampled down under lawn mower and weedeater, and shall be no more.

For my garden is in my back yard. It was my pleasant planting. I looked for vegetables, and behold, worms. I looked for produce, and behold, rottenness.

Oo a Ima Bean!

*taken a few months ago in the parking lot of the USPS in Ragland. Brock had to pee and Brady, who can urinate-on-command, was ready to follow his brother's steps.

Brady, who turns 3 next month, is renowned for the frequency of his urination. The boy can pee every five minutes...seriously. This weekend just about the whole family went to the school to prepare my sister-in-law's classroom for her class. At one point the boys, growing restless looking at the swings, insisted that I carry them outside. On the way, Brady had to make a "pitstop" (of course). What I thought was a humorous exchange followed:

Brady (stopping and pulling down his pants): Gotta pee pee.

Me: Brady, why do you pee so much?

Brady: 'tause.

Me: Because of what?

Brady: dus tause.

Me: Brady, you have a bladder the size of a lima bean!

Brady (pulling up his pants): Oo a ima bean!!

Glory of God

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1)

I snapped this picture on the way to Crossville, TN a couple of weeks ago. I like to think that God leaves little notes like this to remind me of how small I am and how great He is. How strong He is and how weak I am. 

Though not the best picture in the world, this is pretty cool. Can you see the ring around the sun? It was a rainbow that went full circle around the sun! And it was actually midday and not the end of the world, as the color of the picture suggests. The angle of the picture is poor as I was watching two little rugrats play on some monkey bars.

Triumphal Entry

This is the image of a fresco created by Giotto di Bondone in 1304-06 in Padua, Italy, found here.

It is commonly understood that the Jews hoped for a political or military messiah and only a few with special insight understood that the messiah had to suffer (Luke 2:34-35). This fact is illustrated by the treatment Jesus received at the "Triumphal Entry." War heroes or political "saviors" (like the Caesars) would enter a city with great fanfare. Jesus, however, entered Jerusalem on a donkey. John's account of this event (John 12:12-19) contains a detail that the Synoptics do not record: the crowds took palm branches and welcomed Jesus (seen in the background of this image).

What does this mean? The palm branches look back to the reception of victorious military leaders, perhaps especially Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc. 13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7; cf. 14:4; Josephus, War 7:100-102). Further, palms seemed to have been a symbol for Judea. When Judea rebelled against Rome in A.D. 66-70, the rebels minted coins which had palm branches on them. Likewise, Simon bar Kochba did the same when he led a rebellion in A.D. 132-135. Ironically, when the Romans defeated the Jews they minted coins in celebration of their victory and guess what was on them? Yep...palm branches, as if to say, "Yeah...get you some!"

In other words, these branches of palms likely had little to do with the Feast of Tabernacles (where palm branches were used to make "booths" or "tents" to commemorate the wilderness wanderings) and more with nationalistic excitement (cf. 6:14-15, where 5000 men tried to make Jesus king). So we might not be far from the truth when we compare palm branches to an American flag--both are symbols of a nation. Like we wave American flags at 4th of July parades and other holidays, perhaps the Jews who got palm branches as Jesus entered were getting their symbol of victory over the Romans. Little did they know that the next day Jesus would enter the Temple and clear out the hypocritical Jews. Little did they know that five days later their messiah would be nailed to a cross. Little did they know that a week later He would rise from the dead.

Human Windshield

After finishing up some work at the office late one evening last week, I rode Clyde home in the cool of the day. Everything about the ride was not cool, however. The incredible heat of an Alabama summer day was replaced by the stinging collision of bugs with my chest and and the spatter of mosquitos on my helmet. Thankfully, Bambi, whom I saw on the side of road at one point, chose not to join her insect neighbors and skipped back into the woods and not into me.

All in a day's work, my friends. What do you think...a couple of more rides and my shirt may need washing!

Poor Bruce

My used (and abused) copy of The Gospel of John by F. F. Bruce has seen better days. The poor thing's binding is breaking. 

I guess that's what I get from buying used from Amazon. Oh well. A wise man once said, "Better to have money in wallet than pristine binding on book." 

That wise man is me. And I just said it.

Did Jesus' Brothers Believe in Him?

On the surface, Jesus' brothers apparently did not believe in him. "For not even his brothers believed in him" (John 7:5). So why bother asking the question? Because, as usual, there is more there than meets the eye. When the verse is isolated from its context, one is forced to accept they had no belief whatsoever. However, when the surrounding verses are studied, one may suspect that they believed on some level, but their belief was immature.

Notice what is said before verse 5:

So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that you disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world" (7:3-4, ESV).

So what does this mean? What kind of belief did they have? They were obviously skeptical about Jesus (cf. Mark 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:7), but to what degree? Here are some options:

Complete Unbelief. This is most unlikely, for they would not have seriously challenged him to perfrom miracles if they did not believe he could do them.

Offering Sound Advice. So...were they just giving him "advice" on how to get more followers? Many of Jesus' "disciples" had recently turned their backs on him (John 6:66). The brothers may have been encouraging Jesus to go to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship, and show himself, performing miracles and winning the masses who would attend the Feast of Tabernacles (this was THE FEAST for the Jews, so anybody who was anybody would've been there).

Immature belief. I think this is the best option. While their words were couched in the form of advice, it may be that they had the same superficial belief as the crowds that had turned away. In other words, whatever belief the brothers had in Jesus may have been based on the "outward signs" Jesus performed (the miracles themselves) and not on the "inward truth" to which they pointed (that Jesus was The Prophet, the Son of God). Jesus brothers may have thought that he was a prophet/miracle worker but not the messiah.

As Satan sought to tempt Jesus to use his abilities for self-seeking purposes (Matt. 4:5-7), the brothers doubt was not in their brother's ability but in his person. Who could deny that he did great things? No one! But not everyone believed him to be the messiah.