Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 If we want to read this passage as it was originally intended, we have to replace “the LORD” with YHWH, the way of conveying the name of the One the author of this text understood to be Israel’s God, a particular God, “our God” among many Gods. This fierce particularity can be…

Joshua 3:7-17 Throughout the Book of Joshua, we see parallels and allusions to Moses. For example, Moses sent spies to scout out the land beyond the Jordan, Joshua sent spies to scout out Jericho. Moses leads the Israelites through the Reed Sea; Joshua takes them across the Jordan. Just as Moses directed the Hebrews to…

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 If we’ve come to love Moses, flawed as he may be, over the course of the four books in which he figures prominently, it’s no surprise that this tableau is bittersweet for us as well as for Israel. It’s tempting to shout out to the page, if not to God, about the leader’s…

Exodus 33:12-23 How can we have an honest, yet reverent, relationship with God? Kvetching in Yiddish loosely translates as “complaining”; however, there is a positive element. A good kvetch bears one’s soul and it conveys heart-wrenching pain and frustration; but, there is hope. One trusts that the kvetch will be heard and honored. Moses is…

Exodus 32:1-14 We often might find it hard to accept the ambiguity and uncertainty that mature faith requires. Like the ancient Hebrews in the wilderness, we would rather have clarity, certainty, and the confidence that comes in what can be seen. We do not easily surrender to the wisdom of “let go, let God.” Our…

Isaiah 5:1-7 In this reading, we hear the consequences of God’s deep disappointment. Regardless of the goodness of God’s creation and the abundance of God’s provision for God’s people, all this careful work and love has not yielded good fruit. Instead it has brought forth “bad grapes.” God provided and Israel did not hold up…

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 This passage was written in an “in-between time,” after the first deportation of the Hebrews to Babylon in 598 but before the large exile and temple destruction in 587. Here it is God, not the prophet, who speaks in the first person. God sounds like an angry, disappointed, but ever-hopeful parent. God…

Jonah 3:10-4:11 When Jonah prayed to God from the belly of the great fish he said, “Deliverance belongs to the Lord!” But now Jonah has forgotten that lesson. Jonah thinks it is his right to judge the people of Ninevah, and to demand their punishment. Then when God changes his mind about destroying the city,…

Genesis 50:15-21 Joseph talks about forgiving his brothers for the things that they did in order to follow his father’s wishes. How difficult must it have been for Joseph to forgive them when they had personally attacked him? Romans 14:1-12 Most of us have very strong memories of 9/11. Take some time to share what…

Exodus 12:1-14 Today’s reading is a central scene from the story of God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from their bondage in Egypt. Last week we heard the beginning of that story – the calling of Moses as the people’s leader. Between then and our reading today Moses and pharaoh (Egypt’s political and religious leader)…