Joel 3:1-2, 9-17

3:1 For then, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations. They have divided my land, (Joel 3:1-2, NRSV)

Scholars vary considerably in their dating of the Book of Joel, who is simply known as the “son of Pethuel” (Joel 1:1). There were many times throughout the history of Israel when one would hope for the LORD to “restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem” (Joel 3:1), but the phrase suggests some time in the exilic or post-exilic period. Gregory Mobley suggests a rather late date as implied by Joel’s interest in “the Temple at Jerusalem . . . [and] its priesthood and services, his lack of reference to the Assyrians or Babylonians, and “the heavy borrowing from other prophets” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., Introduction to Joel). However, the plague of locusts in which “the prophet discerns the transcendent significance of an ecological catastrophe” (Mobley on 1:2-2:27) could have occurred at any time in Israel’s history, early or late.

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Cf. Isa 2.4; Mic 4.3)

9 Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare war,

stir up the warriors.

Let all the soldiers draw near,

let them come up.

10 Beat your plowshares into swords,

and your pruning hooks into spears;

let the weakling say, "I am a warrior."

11 Come quickly,

all you nations all around,

gather yourselves there.

Bring down your warriors, O LORD.

12 Let the nations rouse themselves,

and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;

for there I will sit to judge

all the neighboring nations.

13 Put in the sickle,

for the harvest is ripe.

Go in, tread,

for the wine press is full.

The vats overflow,

for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes,

in the valley of decision!

For the day of the LORD is near

in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

16 The LORD roars from Zion,

and utters his voice from Jerusalem,

and the heavens and the earth shake.

But the LORD is a refuge for his people,

a stronghold for the people of Israel. The Glorious Future of Judah

17 So you shall know that I, the LORD your God,

dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

and strangers shall never again pass through it. (Joel 3:9-17, NRSV)

The LORD challenges the nations to “come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:12), not so much for battle, for he quotes the prophecy about beating swords into plowshares (cf. Isa. 2:4; Mic. 4:3). But the name Jehoshaphat means, “the LORD [YHWH] judges.” We can see a glimpse here of what developed into the view of the final judgment of the “nations” (Mt. 25:32), There are “multitudes” in “the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14), which suggests that the outcome is not yet fully determined. The focus here seems to be on the enemies and oppressors of Israel . “But the LORD is a refuge for his people,/a stronghold for the people of Israel” (v. 16b). The outcome is God dwelling in Zion, “my holy mountain,” and the holiness of Jerusalem, for “strangers shall never again pass through it” (v. 17).

1 Peter 1:1-12

1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith-being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11 inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things into which angels long to look! (1 Peter 1:1-12, NRSV)

Peter addresses his First Epistle “To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” an area that covers most of the northern and western parts of Asia Minor (now Turkey). It’s a large area, and it’s not likely that Peter had visited much of it. Paul was prevented from preaching in Asia (Acts 16:6), though he later spent more than two years in Ephesus (Acts 19:10), the leading city of the Roman province of Asia. Paul was also prevented from preaching in Bithynia (Acts 16:7), but directed instead to Macedonia (Acts 16:9).

The term “dispersion” (diaspora) refers in the first place to the Jews who, living outside of the land of Israel proper, were scattered (dispersed) across much of the Roman Empire, but here, and probably in James 1:1 as well, it refers by analogy to scattered Christians. James, who writes “To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (Jas. 1:1), likely has Jewish Christians in mind as is indicated by, among other things, his question, “Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?” (Jas. 2:21). But Peter addresses Gentile Christians whom he advises,”do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance” (1 Pet. 1:14), and refers to their being “ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors” (v. 18; cf. also v. 21; 2:1, 9-11 , 25; 4:3, references given by M. Eugene Boring, NOAB, 3^rd ed., Introduction to 1 Peter).

After the typical salutation, which identifies Peter as the writer and these dispersed believers as the recipients (1 Pet. 1:1), characterizes them as “chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood” (v. 2a), the greeting, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance” (v. 2b), in a way similar to Paul’s greetings, gives a theological turn to the standard Greek greeting, “Greetings” (chairein) as “grace” (charis) and “peace” (eir_n_ = sh_lôm), the Hebrew greeting.

Peter follows with a blessing, similar to Paul’s in 2 Corinthians (2 Cor. 1:3-7), often used in place of the “thanksgiving” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:4-9). This portion of the letter establishes rapport with the recipients and indicates the major themes, issues and concerns to be addressed in the letter. Peter blesses God for the fact that “by his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3, cf. “the subsequent glory,” v. 11). He refers to the believers’ “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (v. 4, cf. 4:13; 5:10).

Matthew 19:1-12

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?" 4 He answered, "Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." 7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?" 8 He said to them, "It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery."

10 His disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:1-12, NRSV)

When one remembers that Mark and Luke give accounts of this teaching of Jesus which make no exceptions for the prohibition of divorce (Mk. 10:11-12; Lk. 16:18), the exception stated here, “except for unchastity” (Mt. 19:9) raises a question. William Barclay, who says, “We think there is little doubt that the version of Mark and Luke is right,” is quick to add:

There is little doubt that here we have Jesus laying down the principle—mark again, not, the law—that the ideal of marriage is a union which cannot be broken. There is much more to be said—but here the ideal, as God meant it, is laid down, and Matthew’s saving clause is a later interpretation inserted in the light of the practice of the Church when he wrote. (The Gospel of Matthew, The Daily Study Bible, vol. II, rev. ed., 1978, p. 202 on Mt. 19:1-9)

In a later comparison with the law of the Sabbath (p. 208), Barclay explains what he means by “principle” and “law.”

A principle can never be quoted as a final law; a principle must always be applied to the individual situation. We cannot therefore settle the question of divorce simply by quoting the words of Jesus. That would be legalism; we must take the words of Jesus as a principle to apply to the individual cases as they meet us. (Barclay, pp. 208-209)

Barclay goes on to describe imperfect marriage relationships in which one person dominates or two persons compete “in a kind of armed neutrality,” but he adds that “The ideal is that in the marriage state two people find the completing of their personalities” (p. 203). He has more to add, but sums it up as follows:

The true basis of marriage is not complicated and recondite—it is simply the love which thinks more of the happiness of others than it thinks of its own, the love which is proud to serve, which is able to understand, and therefore always able to forgive. That is to say, it is the Christlike love, which knows that in forgetting self it will find self, and that in losing itself it will complete itself” (p. 203).

Barclay’s full treatment of this passage (Mt. 19:1-12) runs to fifteen pages; I have only quoted a few pointers for those who may be interested.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com

Daily Scripture Readings
Monday (November 21, 2005)
Daily Office Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.	Daily Lectionary, The Book of Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.	Daily Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing)
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi
Unless otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers), 1989.
According to Proper27*	According to Proper 27*	According to Proper 26*
Monday AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48 Joel 3:1-2,9-17; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; Matt. 19:1-12	Morning: Psalm 62:1-12 Joel 3:1-2, 9-17 1 Peter 1:1-12 Matthew 19:1-12 Evening: Psalm 73:1-28	Monday Morning Pss.: 62, 145 Evening Pss.: 73, 9