Hosea 10:1-15

Israel’s Sin and Captivity

10:1 Israel is a luxuriant vine

that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased

the more altars he built;

as his country improved,

he improved his pillars.

2 Their heart is false;

now they must bear their guilt.

The LORD will break down their altars,

and destroy their pillars.

3 For now they will say:

“We have no king,

for we do not fear the LORD,

and a king--what could he do for us?”

4 They utter mere words;

with empty oaths they make covenants;

so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds

in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

for the calf of Beth-aven.

Its people shall mourn for it,

and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it,

over its glory that has departed from it.

6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

as tribute to the great king.

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

7 Samaria’s king shall perish

like a chip on the face of the waters.

8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

shall be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle shall grow up

on their altars.

They shall say to the mountains, Cover us,

and to the hills, Fall on us.

9 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

there they have continued.

Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah?

10 I will come against the wayward people to punish them;

and nations shall be gathered against them

when they are punished for their double iniquity.

11 Ephraim was a trained heifer

that loved to thresh,

and I spared her fair neck;

but I will make Ephraim break the ground;

Judah must plow;

Jacob must harrow for himself.

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;

reap steadfast love;

break up your fallow ground;

for it is time to seek the LORD,

that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

13 You have plowed wickedness,

you have reaped injustice,

you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your power

and in the multitude of your warriors,

14 therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people,

and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle

when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel

shall be utterly cut off. (Hosea 10:1-15, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from October 6, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year Two):

Hosea’s denunciation of the northern kingdom continues. Although “Israel is a luxuriant vine / that yields its fruit” (Hos. 10:1a, b), clearly something is rotten. “The more his fruit increased / the more altars he built; / as his country improved, / he improved his pillars” (v. 1c, d, e, f). Gregory Mobley points out that “This luxuriant vine “is now weedy (v. 4) and overrun with thorns (v. 8)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Hos. 10:1-7). “Their heart is false,” says Hosea, and “now they must bear their guilt” (v. 2a, b). As punishment, “The LORD will break down their altars, / and destroy their pillars” (v. 2c, d). The “pillars” (tObc02m1, matstsēvôth, ‘cult pillars’ NJPS), says Mobley, are “standing stones, condemned by Mosaic law (Ex. 23:24)” (ibid., on v. 2), and the destruction of them with the breaking down of the altars represents judgment on the idolatrous practices. The people say they have no king (v. 3b), for what could a king do for them (v. 3d), and they “do not fear the LORD” (v. 3c). Empty words and empty oaths make empty covenants, “so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds” (v. 4). Any semblance of a structured order of society breaks down. They mourn the loss of their golden calf at Beth-aven (Bethel) (v. 5). It “shall be carried to Assyria / as tribute to the great king”; for their idolatry itself brings shame (v. 6). The king in Samaria “shall perish / like a chip on the face of the waters” (v. 7). Their worship centers, “high places of Aven” will be destroyed, overgrown with thorns and thistles; in their shame the high places will call on the mountains to “cover us . . . fall on us” (v. 8)

Hosea traces Israel’s sin from “the days of Gibeah” (v. 9), apparently a reference to the sordid events of Judges 19-20 where the Levite’s concubine was raped by the men of the town and he later “cut her into twelve pieces” (Judg. 19:29), leading to war between Israel and Benjamin (chap. 20). Israel will be punished with war (Hos. 10:10) as the Gibeah incident earlier led to war (v. 9). The question, “Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah?” echoes the Israelites’ questions as they prepare for war with Benjamin. “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites?” (Judg. 20:18). “Shall we again draw near to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites?” (v. 21, cf. v. 28). The Israelites asked these questions inquiring of the LORD, but one presumes that the Assyrian army that soon would bring an end to the northern kingdom of Israel would not do that.

The denunciation of Ephraim continues. She “was a trained heifer / that loved to thresh, / and I spared her fair neck” (Hos. 10:11a, b, c). The reference to sparing “her fair neck,” says Mobley, means that “she was unyoked” (ibid., on Hos. 10:11). Earlier, Ephraim is called “a stubborn heifer” (4:16). But now the LORD “will make Ephraim break the ground”; that is, “Jacob must harrow for himself” (10:11d, f), and also, “Judah must plow” (v. 11e), applying the same to the southern kingdom. It is time to produce crops of righteousness (hq!d!c4, tsedāqāh) and steadfast love (ds@H@, chesed) by seeking the LORD “that he may come and rain righteousness (qd@c@, tsedeq) upon you” (v. 12). Rather than righteousness and steadfast love, they have produced wickedness (fw1r@, reša‘), injustice (hl!v4f1 / ht!l!v4f1,, ‘awlāh / ‘awlāthāh, ‘perversity, wickedness’ Holladay, Lexicon) and “the fruit of lies” (v. 13a, b, c). Because Israel has trusted in “power / and in the multitude of your warriors” (v. 13d, e), she will undergo the tumult and destruction of war (vv. 14-15). Because of her “great wickedness,” Bethel will experience destruction like that when “Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel . . . when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children” (vv. 14-15). This “allusion is unknown” (Mobley on v. 14).

Hosea 4:11-19 (Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions–see the comments on this passage two days ago, Wednesday, October 1, 2008).

Acts 21:37-22:16

Paul Defends Himself

37 Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune replied, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.” 40 When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”

2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:

3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

Paul Tells of His Conversion (Acts 9.1-19a; 26.12-18)

6 “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

12 “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13 came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 15 for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’ (Acts 21:37-22:16, NRSV)

On August 17, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from October 6, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year Two), comments were repeated from August 12, 2005 (Friday of the week of the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). The comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

In the reading of two days ago (Wed., Oct. 1, 2008), Paul was advised by the Christian elders of Jerusalem to demonstrate his faithfulness to the Law of Moses by joining four men under a nazirite vow in “the rite of purification” and paying “for the shaving of their heads” (Acts 21:24). In yesterday’s reading we learned that Paul’s appearance in the temple led to a riot, an attempted lynching, we might say, from which he was “rescued” when he was arrested by the Roman tribune (vv. 27-36).

As today’s reading begins, Luke’s narrative has the effect of providing the tribune who arrested Paul with something of an excuse. “Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, ‘May I say something to you?’ ” (Acts 21:37a). Surprised, the tribune asks, “Do you know Greek?” (v. 37b). He admits to a mistake–or presents an excuse–in identifying Paul. “Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” (v. 38). The form of the tribune’s question, introduced by oujk (ouk, “not”), implies an affirmative answer, tempered by some uncertainty indicated by a[ra (ara, “then,” cf. Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. a[ra, ara, meaning no. (3) ). We might phrase the question as, “Aren’t you the Egyptian who . . . ?” Christopher R. Matthews puts it this way: “The question in Greek may be ‘Are you not the Egyptian?’ ” and explains the reference, “Concerning the Egyptian, a pseudo-messiah who, with thousands of followers, had planned to take Jerusalem from the Romans, see Josephus, War 2.261-263 (which puts the number at about 30,000; Ant. 20.169-172” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Acts 21:38). Paul corrects this “mistaken identity” by identifying himself as “a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city” (v. 39a), and thus clearly not an Egyptian.

And Paul requests an opportunity to speak to the crowd (v. 39b), so, with the tribune’s permission, he does speak to the crowd “in the Hebrew language” (v. 40), and says “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you” (22:1). Saying this in Hebrew got the crowd’s attention, as “they became even more quiet” (v. 2). The speech (22:1-21) is sandwiched between near riots (21:30-31 and 22:22-23), but for the moment he has their attention. He begins with a brief curriculum vitae or résumé. “"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,” he says, “but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today” (v. 3). He recalls his earlier persecution of the Christians (8:1-3; 9:1-2). “I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me” (vv. 4, 5a). In giving an account of his former persecution of Christians, he tells of his intentions when he went to Damascus. “From them [the high priest and the council] I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment” (v. 5b). But, as we know, on the way to Damascus, he had an encounter with the living Christ that transformed his life. There are three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the Book of Acts, one presented as Luke’s narrative (9:1-9, 15-19), and two first person accounts as reported by Luke, here from the steps of the Jerusalem temple (22:6-21, cf. 21:40) and again before Governor Festus and King Agrippa II (26:12-18). In his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul presents a first person account of his conversion and call to mission among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:13-17). A table presents these accounts in parallel columns in the separate file, Paul’s Conversion.

As Paul’s speech at the temple continues, he says, “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ” (Acts 22:6-7; cf. 9:3-4; 26:13-14). “I answered,” says Paul, “ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting’ ” (22:8; cf. 9:5; 26:25). In the present context, Paul’s speech from the steps in the temple, he says, “Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me” (22:9). In Luke’s own account, he says that “The men who were traveling with him [Paul, or rather, Saul at that time] stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one” (9:7). In the present account at the temple, Paul says he asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” and was told, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do” (22:10). Luke’s account abbreviates, omitting Paul’s second question, but conveying the same sense. The Lord’s answer to the first question is, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (9:5-6). Paul’s account before Festus and Agrippa also omits Paul’s second question, but presents the Lord’s reply in an extended version of Paul’s call to mission (26:15-18). Before Festus and Agrippa, Paul does not mention Ananias, but in the two other accounts in Acts, the detailed call to mission comes to Paul through Ananias.

After the initial encounter, Paul says, “Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus” (22:11; cf. 9:8b), another detail omitted in chapter 26, but necessary to prepare for Ananias’ visit. In Luke’s account, the Lord appears to Ananias (9:10) and, after greeting him, gives him instructions. “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man from Tarsus named Saul” (v. 11a). “At this moment he is praying,” says the Lord (v. 11b), “and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight” (v. 12). Ananias, knowing Saul’s reputation as a persecutor of the church, demurs (vv. 13-14). But the Lord insists: “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (vv. 15-16). At the temple, Paul does not mention Ananias’ vision and charge from the Lord–of which he had no direct knowledge in any event–but he says, “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him” (22:12-13; cf. 9:17). Although Paul says he regained his sight, he does not mention the “something like scales [that] fell from his eyes” (9:18a). In Luke’s account, Paul was baptized immediately (v. 18b), “and after taking some food he regained his strength” (v. 19). In Paul’s account at the temple, Ananias spells out Paul’s missionary assignment after the healing of his sight and before his baptism. This comes in the chapter 9 account in the Lord’s instructions to Ananias. After he regained his sight, says Paul, “Then he [Ananias] said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name’ ” (vv. 14-16).

The conclusion of Paul’s speech at the Temple and the subsequent events are in tomorrow’s reading. We have noted some minor differences in these accounts. The brief account which Paul presents in the Epistle to the Galatians is often described more as a call to prophecy and mission than a conversion account, and contains few of the details from the accounts in Acts. But this is understandable, given Paul’s concern about recent events in the Galatian churches, and his emphasis on his gospel, not that of the intruders, as the true gospel. The minor differences in the Acts accounts, e.g. whether Saul’s companions “saw the light but did not hear the voice” (22:9) or “heard the voice but saw no one” (9:7), take nothing away from the general pattern. Saul was a persecutor of Christians who was stopped short by the Damascus Road experience, a transformation that involved his call to mission (9:15-16; 22:14-15, 17-18, 21; 26:16-18; Gal. 1:15-16). In the context of his speech in the temple, he includes reference to his earlier vision in the temple (Acts 22:17-21, in tomorrow’s reading), a point omitted in the other accounts. But the focus in today’s reading is on his call to “be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard” (v. 15).

Luke 6:12-26

Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10.1-4; Mk 3.13-19a)

12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Teaches and Heals (Mt 4.23-25; Mk 1.35-39; Lk 4.44)

17 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Blessings and Woes (Mt 5.1-12)

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. (Luke 6:12-26, NRSV)

On May 1, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments were repeated with further supplement from comments of October 6, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year Two), when comments were repeated with revision and supplement from April 19, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year One). The revised comments are repeated here:

The lists of the Twelve appointed by Jesus are as follows in the three Synoptic Gospels:

We note that Matthew postpones the listing of the Twelve to the point where he introduces Jesus’ speech of instructions for the mission when he sends the twelve out to preach and heal (Mt., chap. 10). Apart from differences in order, the significant difference here is that Luke has “Simon, who was called the Zealot” for “Simon the Cananaean in the other two Gospels, and “Judas son of James” for “Thaddaeus” in the other two Gospels. The name “Levi” does not appear in these lists, but a person named Levi, who is called (Mk. 2:14) in a manner similar to the calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John (Mk. 1:16-20), “is identified as ‘Matthew’ in Mt. 9:9,” and is called “a customs officer at Capernaum, a border village, working under an officer of Herod Antipas” (Richard A. Horsley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Mk. 2:14). According to Marion Lloyd Soards, “Zealots were a distinct faction of revolutionaries in the Jewish war with Rome of 66-70 CE, but whether this designation indicates that this Simon was zealous in a political fashion is debatable since it is unlikely that a Zealot party existed during Jesus’ life” (NOAB, 3^rd ed. on Lk. 6:15). It is clear, however, that persons with views similar to the Zealots were present much earlier in Israel.

In Luke the appointment of the Twelve takes place on a mountain (Lk. 6:12; cf. Mk. 3:13), and Luke has Jesus come down from there with them to “a level place” (v. 17), where he stands to deliver what has been called the “Sermon on the Plain” (cf. “in the plain” Lk. 6:17 AV/KJV). Since he did not necessarily descend to the foot of the mountain, it might still be said that he was on a level place on the side of the mountain. But Luke does not make that clear. This sermon (Lk. 6:20-49) is considered a parallel–but much shorter–version of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7). It starts with Beatitudes (Lk. 6:20-24) as does Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:3-12), and it ends with an illustration about two houses, one of which withstood the storm and one of which was destroyed (Lk. 67:47-49; cf. Mt. 7:24-27). As often, the crowds had gathered “to hear him and to be healed of their diseases” (Lk. 6:18), and Luke reports that, at least for all who touched him, “power cam out from him and healed all of them” (v. 19).

Luke’s version of the sermon begins with beatitudes and woes that may be compared with the beatitudes in Matthew’s version of the sermon, as in the following table:

One first notices the differences in the number and arrangements of the beatitudes, and the fact that though Luke has only four beatitudes, he has a corresponding “woe” for each. Another difference is the “direct address” (second person plural form) of Luke’s beatitudes and woes. Matthew’s first eight beatitudes are all stated in third person form: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” as compared with Luke’s second person form, “Blessed are you who are poor.” T. W. Manson plays down the difference between Matthew 5:3 and Luke 6:20, saying that Luke’s phrase, “you . . . poor,” is a common Old Testament term for the “pious poor,” and is essentially the the equivalent of Matthew’s phrase, “the poor in spirit.” Matthew tends to “gild the lily” (The Teaching of Jesus, 1^st paperback ed.,1063). Dennis C. Duling presents a different view, calling Matthew’s phrase “poor in spirit” a “Matthean interpretation (softening?) of the literal poor; cf. Lk. 6:20 (‘you poor’); Gospel of Thomas 54 (‘the poor’); Polycarp, Philippians 2:3 (‘the poor’); Jas. 2:5; cf. Isa 61:1; Lk. 4:18” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 5:3). But Duling adds that Matthew “criticizes worldly wealth; cf. 6:19-34; 10:9-10” (ibid.).

It is important for us to remember the spiritual aspect of the Christian gospel, for that is essential. But the “social gospel,” in recognition of the material, psychological and social needs of people, is important as well. “Luke’s message is fundamentally oriented around the theme of salvation” (Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson (Introducing the New Testament, 2001, p. 149). “The call to discipleship in Luke is fundamentally an invitation for people to align themselves with Jesus’ mission and thus with God’s purpose” (ibid., p. 151).

The Lukan narrative is concerned throughout with salvation not as a merely spiritual or primarily future matter, but as a matter that embraces life in the present. Salvation signals the restoration of the integrity of human life and the commissioning of the community of God’s people to put God’s grace into practice among themselves and toward ever-widening circles of outsiders. (ibid., p. 152)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net