Mosaic at Socoh

Several years ago during my trip to Israel, we stumbled upon a mosaic floor while climbing Socoh in the Valley of Elah. It was covered in dirt and we brushed it away to get a better look. RVL radioed our Israeli guide, Boaz, who then called his mom. None of them knew of a mosaic or monastery at Socoh, and I haven't heard any information since.

This evening, I was reading the Sep/Oct 2006 issue of BAR, and on page 58 I saw a similar mosaic floor. It was a picture from a Byzantine monastery on top of Hyrcania. BAR doesn't have the photo online so maybe I'll scan it when I get the chance.

So, maybe some monks made their home a Socoh.

Like a child (part 1)

Ever since my daughter was born several years ago, I have been thinking about Jesus' comments about children. He said,

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them."

Can my daughter teach me about the kingdom? With our second child to be born next week, I thought I would start keeping track of lessons learned from them.

First, she loves a good story. And the Bible is full of them. She is lost in the wonder of Genesis, and the funny names of genealogies (especially Amminadab from Jesus' family line in Matthew). She loves baby Moses and the little boy named Samuel. At night, she says, "Daddy, tell me a story about baby Jesus." It's precious. Nothing beats a good story.

Second, she makes connections. This evening I was telling her about the exodus. They were so hungry, very very hungry, and God provided with bread from heaven. And then she said, "Bread? It's like the little boy." I said, "What little boy?" She said, "The boy with bread. And the little fishes. He gave them to Jesus. And Jesus then fed the hungry people." Wow. A two year connected manna in the desert with Jesus and the five thousand. How long will it be before she connects the five loaves and two fishes to Sinai?

View From Accad

A friend sent me this article, Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon. The author's family and my friend attend the same church in southern California. It is a raw and emotional view from a man stranded in the US as his family's home is besieged by war.

Matthew 9: Notes

This evening during our study we worked our way through the last section of Matthew, chapter 9. Jesus heals a young girl and an older woman. The blind and mute are restored. Jesus travels through all the towns to heal and teach, and he sends out the twelve.

Awhile back, this was our first insight the significance of understanding the Jewish roots of Jesus in grasping the depth of the text. There are many discussions on this. Here are two of them: RVL and 528. A strength of this story comes from the words of Malachi, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." According to RVL, this verse has messianic connotations. You can see this reflected earlier in the last words of David,

When one rules over men in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of
morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth

Next, we noted the similarities between the end Matthew 9 and the end of Matthew 4. Jesus travels, teaches, and heals. Then in 10, he sends out his talmidim to do the exact same thing. In 3-4, the way is prepared, Jesus receives his smicha (authority), and he calls disciples. He teaches in 5-7, and puts it into practice in 8-9. His mission is captured again at the end of 9, and then he commissions his talmidim to do the same thing.

There also seem to be reflections again of Moses and the exodus. Moses sends out 12 (and 72), so does Jesus. It's also interesting to note that Moses renamed one of the spies just as Jesus renamed one of his talmidim. Moses talks about no sickness in the land if things go well (Exodus 23:25). Are the disciples "spying" out the land again, and bringing the healing and restoration to Israel and the world? Is Jesus ushering in the lasting promise land? The real kingdom of heaven?

Genus of the name

I recently read an interview of Eugene Peterson where he was asked about U2. I found this comment quite interesting about one of U2's recent songs.

The genus of the name, Yahweh, is that it is not a noun, it's a verb, and so you can't objectify a verb and therefore you can't make an idol out of it. It is most naturally understood in the vocative, as an address. A name is that way, as an address. The Bible has a lot of metaphors for God but Yahweh is the unique Biblical word for the Presence -- the One who is present to us and we have to be present to Him. I thought the song "Yahweh" uses the word in a way that partakes of its genius, its uniqueness. It's a personal address: "Yahweh, Yahweh." He's not talking about God, he's talking to God, or calling out to God.

Sh'ma and angels

A friend made a great connection to the angel's praise at the birth of Jesus as written in Luke. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Doesn't this echo sh'ma and love your neighbor?

(Thanks Lorri!)