I started this blog with an occasional post from my dog, Max. He is a critter with a personality of his own. Part baby-dog, part fierce defender of the area in view of our home, he has not posted much due to his busy schedule of napping, begging, and chasing any animal which dares to enter our backyard. Also, it seemed incongruous to post about such serious matters as the Bible alongside these oft silly observations of canine behavior. However, I think I may resume it, with all due respect, as comic relief. Sometime the subjects which I write about here are so intense (although I have yet to do them justice), that I need a laugh once in a while. You might, too.
Now, the story of the invader. For some time now, I have been dreading that which I knew would ultimately occur: the meeting of Max and the invader-skunk...hereafter known as Skunk-Vader. Many nights around 10 p.m., Max would suddenly become alert and start running crazily from the front to the back of the house, wanting to get out and chase/eat/play with whatever was currently making its way through our backyard. I usually would check just to see that everything was alright, but not let him out, because soon after, the smell of skunk would waft through the air. Well, he was out running in the backyard at about that time the other night, playing with one of our sons, when the meeting finally occurred. Somewhere between the shed and the compost pile, Skunk-Vader shot Max with a load of stink. My son brought Max inside to tell us about it, and the show was on. Needless to say, the smell followed them inside, and my quick-thinking husband sequestered Max within the computer room and kitchen by closing a door. I hopped onto the computer and quickly found an article about deskunking a dog. Of course, although the recipe called for things which were fairly common, we had none of the ingredients at hand, so I jumped into the car to take a quick run to the store. Meanwhile, my husband made sure that the skunk was no longer in the backyard, and got out the galvanized tub and some old towels.
At the store, I roamed the aisles looking for hydrogen peroxide, which was not in any of the places which I thought it should be: near hair coloring, first aid, cleaning or baby supplies. To my dismay, I still could detect a faint skunk odor, and realized that in the few moments I had spent in its presence, it had penetrated my long hair, which in the humidity had billowed out into thousands of smell-catching tentacles. It was very embarrassing to have to ask the guys stocking the shelves where the peroxide was, while smelling like that. Thankfully, there were few customers in the store, so I was able to get onto a line with only one person ahead of me. The faint smile of the elderly cashier let me know that it was not my self-conscious imagination which led me to believe that the smell had, indeed, followed me into the store. On the way home, I had the car windows open and the air-conditioning on in order to keep the car fairly ventilated. Twice (in a 5 minute car ride), I passed places where other skunks had led attacks. Apparently there had been a coordinated invasion of this otherwise suburban area. I rushed inside and started spraying Lysol in order to combat the stink which had made its way into the living room. Then my husband and I washed Max with a thankfully effective solution of peroxide, dish detergent and baking powder, being sure to not get it into his eyes and ears. Max was undaunted by his experience and struggled powerfully at first to avoid the dreaded BATH, as he always does. Then he settled down and let us scrub him, as he also always does. As we did, I wondered if the peroxide would bleach his black coat in some way. Well, it didn't. In fact, it left his coat quite black and shiny, surprisingly. The recipe was amazingly successful (http://www.ehow.com/how_4540377_remove-skunk-smell-from-dog), and Max was left with only a faint smell near his mouth, because he couldn't drink this solution and he as yet does not know how to gargle. The skunk also had been a juvenile, and was not yet as stinky as it undoubtedly would be one day, although it had made a valiant effort. Let's just say that I hope it will find an alternate route for its nocturnal journeys in the future, and that Skunk-Vader II: The Return of the Stink will never be written.
Special thanks to Dawn dish detergent, baking powder, and hydrogen peroxide for combining in such an effective bath brew, and to Citrus Magic Solid Air Freshener (Beaumont Products, Inc of Kennesaw, Georgia (USA) for somehow getting the skunk smell out of our home in just a day or two. No, I am not being compensated in any way to write that! Just relieved that it is over and appreciative of products which actually work.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Genesis 12:2 You will be a blessing
Despite a lot of bad press to the contrary, the world has benefited in the extreme from the presence of the descendants of Abram (Abraham). Even a quick glance over the history and accomplishments of this nation will reveal the blessings which have resulted from the grace of God which is often poured out through the Jewish people. The number of Jewish Nobel Prize winners is unusually high. In searching for some information on this matter, I came across a very interesting website: www.jinfo.org. (Someday soon I will learn how to link to sites! Until then, you will have to type them in yourselves.) I have not read through the whole site, so I do not know if everything there is, um, 'kosher'...but it certainly has some interesting material about the impact of the Jewish nation upon various disciplines of the world. Take a moment to take a look and judge for yourself.
Needless to say, the greatest blessing which has come through the Jewish people (although this is, actually and ultimately, through the grace of God) is the knowledge of the true God. Plenty more on this as we go along, especially as we get to discussions of the Messiah. I believe He is the ultimate blessing to arrive via the Jewish nation.
Needless to say, the greatest blessing which has come through the Jewish people (although this is, actually and ultimately, through the grace of God) is the knowledge of the true God. Plenty more on this as we go along, especially as we get to discussions of the Messiah. I believe He is the ultimate blessing to arrive via the Jewish nation.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Genesis 12: I will make your name great
By the time Genesis 13 rolls around, Abram had already begun to gain quite a bit of wealth in livestock, silver and gold. After his adventure in Egypt, Abram wisely headed back toward the promised land, passing through the Negev and gradually making his way back to the area between Bethel and Ai, where he had previously built an altar to God. His nephew Lot was still with him, and Lot had also become a man of substance, with flocks, herds and tents. In fact, the place where they were staying could not support the both of them, and inevitably, quarrels broke out between the herdsmen of both men. This is not good in itself, for, as Abraham noted: "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers." (Genesis 13:8 NIV) Also, since the Canaanites and Perizzites were also living nearby, they could not afford to become enemies and risk further conflict.
Generously, Abraham gave Lot the pick of the land. Lot could have insisted that Abram pick first; after all, Abram was his uncle, and his elder. However, Lot took one look at the plain of the Jordan, which seemed like Eden in its well-watered lushness, and chose for himself the whole plain. So Lot set out for the east, while Abram stayed in Canaan.
It may have seemed that Abram got the worst of the bargain. Someone once wrote that "Lot chose grass, while Abram chose grace." For, nearly as soon as Lot left, God said: "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (Genesis 13:14-15) God also promised Abram that his offspring would be like the dust of the earth..that is, more than he could count. God told Abram to walk through the land, and Abram moved near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, and built an altar to the LORD. We get the sense that God is beginning to make good on His promise to make Abram's name great. Further events in Genesis 14 will continue this trend, but for a moment, let us skip ahead to the present and note that Abraham's fame has indeed spread throughout the world, most particularly as a man of faith who obeyed God, and also as a pivotal figure in Judaism, Christianity and Islamic history. God did, indeed make Abram's name great.
As for choosing grass versus grace, I always felt kind of sorry for Lot, whose ownership of land near Sodom will be temporary at best. However, Genesis 13:13 (NIV) indicates that it was a well-known fact that "the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD." So Lot went into this decision with his eyes open. In fact, it seems that his eyes were almost all he used to make this decision. It looked good, so he went for it. More about Lot is coming up later. Interestingly, Scripture later calls Lot a righteous man, who is concerned about the great sin around him. Yet he could not keep himself from being pulled into it.
Generously, Abraham gave Lot the pick of the land. Lot could have insisted that Abram pick first; after all, Abram was his uncle, and his elder. However, Lot took one look at the plain of the Jordan, which seemed like Eden in its well-watered lushness, and chose for himself the whole plain. So Lot set out for the east, while Abram stayed in Canaan.
It may have seemed that Abram got the worst of the bargain. Someone once wrote that "Lot chose grass, while Abram chose grace." For, nearly as soon as Lot left, God said: "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (Genesis 13:14-15) God also promised Abram that his offspring would be like the dust of the earth..that is, more than he could count. God told Abram to walk through the land, and Abram moved near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, and built an altar to the LORD. We get the sense that God is beginning to make good on His promise to make Abram's name great. Further events in Genesis 14 will continue this trend, but for a moment, let us skip ahead to the present and note that Abraham's fame has indeed spread throughout the world, most particularly as a man of faith who obeyed God, and also as a pivotal figure in Judaism, Christianity and Islamic history. God did, indeed make Abram's name great.
As for choosing grass versus grace, I always felt kind of sorry for Lot, whose ownership of land near Sodom will be temporary at best. However, Genesis 13:13 (NIV) indicates that it was a well-known fact that "the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD." So Lot went into this decision with his eyes open. In fact, it seems that his eyes were almost all he used to make this decision. It looked good, so he went for it. More about Lot is coming up later. Interestingly, Scripture later calls Lot a righteous man, who is concerned about the great sin around him. Yet he could not keep himself from being pulled into it.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Genesis 12:2 I will bless you
Part of God's promises to Abram consist of the assurance that He would bless him. I know it is tempting to look for temporal blessings and indeed, God does bless Abram in this manner. Sometimes this is in spite of Abram's behavior. For the next thing that we are told about Abram, in Genesis 12:10-20, is that he decides to leave the promised land for Egypt. Now, to be fair, on an intellectual level this is not a bad idea, for there is a famine in the land, and the Nile is a reliable source of water, and thus, sustenance. However, Abram has forgotten that God has promised to bless him. Abram has not yet learned that God is quite able to provide for him. In fact, Abram decides that he also needs to lie in order to protect his life. Realizing that the Egyptians can not help but notice that his wife is very attractive, Abram assumes that they will kill him in order to get him out of the way. So he asks Sarai to tell everyone that he is her brother.
Of course, when the couple arrive in Egypt, Sarai's beauty is immediately noticed, and Pharaoh's officials sing her praises until the Pharaoh sees to it that she is taken into the palace. In that culture, the brother of a woman often acted in a protective way and also had considerable say in choosing her husband, so Abram is treated well and acquires sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants and camels as gifts. These were considered the wealth of a person, so Abram is doing very well materially. However, he finds himself without his precious wife. I don't mean to be sacrilegious, and it doesn't say so in Scripture, but I believe Abraham is kicking himself at this point. Lying and relying on himself for his family's protection has certainly seriously backfired. He probably never envisioned things progressing to this point. However, sin has a destructive way of infiltrating even the lives of those around us, and engulfing everything in its path.
"But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai." (Genesis 12:17 NIV) Apparently God was not pleased with the security arrangements which Abram had made. On an even more serious level, the plan of God for the salvation of the world was in danger of being interrupted. Of course, God is never limited. He could choose any line of human descendants to bring the Messiah. However, He has already chosen this line and committed Himself to Abram, so God intervenes.
We are not told exactly how these 'serious diseases' manifested themselves: illness? miscarriages? Whatever it was, Pharaoh seemed to know exactly who to confront with the problem. Egyptian ethics placed great value upon truthfulness. We can hear the indignation in Pharaoh's voice as he asks, "Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (Genesis 12:18-19 NIV)
Actually, things had been even worse than Abraham knew. With the benefit of hindsight, we know why God took this separation of Sarai from Abraham very seriously. Although Abraham didn't know it, the plan of God regarding the Savior/Messiah who was to come had been in serious jeopardy, at least from a human point of view. For if Abraham had lost Sarai to Pharaoh, how could all nations of the earth have been blessed through his descendants?!
Fortunately, God is absolutely faithful about keeping His commitments. Verse 20 of Genesis 12, and Genesis 13:1 indicate that Pharaoh sent Abram off with all of the gifts which he had been given. However, although Abram probably didn't realize it until much later, God's protective covenant relationship with Abram was his greatest treasure. He was indeed blessed.
Of course, when the couple arrive in Egypt, Sarai's beauty is immediately noticed, and Pharaoh's officials sing her praises until the Pharaoh sees to it that she is taken into the palace. In that culture, the brother of a woman often acted in a protective way and also had considerable say in choosing her husband, so Abram is treated well and acquires sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants and camels as gifts. These were considered the wealth of a person, so Abram is doing very well materially. However, he finds himself without his precious wife. I don't mean to be sacrilegious, and it doesn't say so in Scripture, but I believe Abraham is kicking himself at this point. Lying and relying on himself for his family's protection has certainly seriously backfired. He probably never envisioned things progressing to this point. However, sin has a destructive way of infiltrating even the lives of those around us, and engulfing everything in its path.
"But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai." (Genesis 12:17 NIV) Apparently God was not pleased with the security arrangements which Abram had made. On an even more serious level, the plan of God for the salvation of the world was in danger of being interrupted. Of course, God is never limited. He could choose any line of human descendants to bring the Messiah. However, He has already chosen this line and committed Himself to Abram, so God intervenes.
We are not told exactly how these 'serious diseases' manifested themselves: illness? miscarriages? Whatever it was, Pharaoh seemed to know exactly who to confront with the problem. Egyptian ethics placed great value upon truthfulness. We can hear the indignation in Pharaoh's voice as he asks, "Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (Genesis 12:18-19 NIV)
Actually, things had been even worse than Abraham knew. With the benefit of hindsight, we know why God took this separation of Sarai from Abraham very seriously. Although Abraham didn't know it, the plan of God regarding the Savior/Messiah who was to come had been in serious jeopardy, at least from a human point of view. For if Abraham had lost Sarai to Pharaoh, how could all nations of the earth have been blessed through his descendants?!
Fortunately, God is absolutely faithful about keeping His commitments. Verse 20 of Genesis 12, and Genesis 13:1 indicate that Pharaoh sent Abram off with all of the gifts which he had been given. However, although Abram probably didn't realize it until much later, God's protective covenant relationship with Abram was his greatest treasure. He was indeed blessed.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Genesis 12:2 A Great Nation
"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation...'." Genesis 12:1-2 (NIV)
Imagine Abram's thoughts when he first found out what God had promised him. He and his wife are old, and childless, yet here God is promising him not only an heir, but a nation, and a great one at that. He must have been thrilled, and puzzled. How would God bring this about? The seventy-five year old Abram set off for Canaan with his wife and nephew Lot and their possessions and servants. At Shechem, an important Canaanite city and the site of the great tree of Moreh, the Lord appears to Abram and tells him that He will give this land to Abram's offspring. (v.7) Abram builds an altar to the LORD, as if to acknowledge that he is continuing to trust and to serve the true God. He continues to travel until he comes to the place between Bethel (north of Jerusalem) and Ai, where he builds another altar. He builds several more of these altars as he travels (see Chapters 15, 18, 17, and 22), probably both to use for worship and also as if to say that this land belongs to God.
Flash forward to the present, where Israel is indeed a great nation, both in numbers and in its contributions to the world. More on this later. God always keeps His promises.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Genesis 12: God's Promises to Abram
God now outlines the benefits which Abram will receive from following Him:
There is a sevenfold structure to these promises. I will take it piece by piece and discuss each part.
1) I will make you into a great nation.
2) I will bless you.
3) I will make your name great.
4) You will be a blessing.
5) I will bless those who bless you.
6) Whoever curses you I will curse.
7) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
I remember that when I first read these promises, some of them sounded redundant, like they were just repeating the fact that Abram would be blessed. However, there are subtle differences. I will explain each one, and hopefully, not bore you to death with the details. Not that the details are boring -- just that I hope I can express them in a way that is interesting and accurate. I think we should be excited at this point, because God is beginning to explain exactly what it is that He is doing. Some of these things will take years to accomplish. However, God always keeps His promises. If Abram could have seen the entire picture of what God was planning, he would have been overwhelmed. Living in these days when we can see more of what God did through Abraham and what He was planning, we, also, could be astounded. Then, when we realize that we, too, do not see the entire picture yet, well....
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Genesis 12: 2-3 (NIV)
There is a sevenfold structure to these promises. I will take it piece by piece and discuss each part.
1) I will make you into a great nation.
2) I will bless you.
3) I will make your name great.
4) You will be a blessing.
5) I will bless those who bless you.
6) Whoever curses you I will curse.
7) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
I remember that when I first read these promises, some of them sounded redundant, like they were just repeating the fact that Abram would be blessed. However, there are subtle differences. I will explain each one, and hopefully, not bore you to death with the details. Not that the details are boring -- just that I hope I can express them in a way that is interesting and accurate. I think we should be excited at this point, because God is beginning to explain exactly what it is that He is doing. Some of these things will take years to accomplish. However, God always keeps His promises. If Abram could have seen the entire picture of what God was planning, he would have been overwhelmed. Living in these days when we can see more of what God did through Abraham and what He was planning, we, also, could be astounded. Then, when we realize that we, too, do not see the entire picture yet, well....
Genesis 12: Why leave Ur?
In my previous post, I discussed how we seldom think about the real-life implications of Abraham's (actually, at this point he is still called 'Abram', because God hasn't changed his name yet) obedience to God. He had to leave everything that was familiar and set out to follow God to an unknown place. If you have searched out information about Ur, where Abraham had lived, you have seen that he was leaving quite a significant city. Why did God make him leave in the first place? Aside from the obvious test of obedience that this action entailed, in the thinking of people in those times, a 'god' was usually associated with a place and a person or group of people -- like, say, the god of a certain city, or of the mountain, or of the desert, or of a certain family. Ur, for example, was known as the city of the moon 'god'. In this case, God is calling Abram to be the head of a people who will worship Him as the only true God, in a place which God will claim for His own. This would make perfect sense to the people who held such a mindset. It didn't make it any easier to leave, mind you, but Abram would know that in order to follow this God, he would have to go to wherever God commanded him to go. Of course, God is the creator and God of the whole world, but He would in some way be especially connected to the land where He was leading Abram. So Abram goes. He begins to follow the light which God has given him, and steps out of his idolatrous past and into the beginning of what God has promised him.
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