ezekiel and babylonian exile

Today, in line with useful breath, i read ezekiel 1. actually, i read the first 5 chapters of ezekiel and i gotta say - i'm not too moved. the section is pretty weird. ezekiel the prophet is called to do a lot of strange things . god has him lying on his left side for 390 days, on his right side for 40 days, laying symbolic siege against the city of jerusalem, baking cakes using the heat of burning excrement, cutting off the hair from his head and dividing it into fractions . . . all sorts of odd, cryptic stuff. ezekiel sounds a crazy homeless guyand i'm sure i'll be surprised if the israelites end up taking him seriously enough to change their ways.

the thing that strikes me in all this, though, is how god has a lot of disdain for the children of israel. he describes them with terms such as "hardened," "obstinate," various forms of the word "rebellious," "stubborn," and "in revolt." god classifies them as a "rebellious house" or "rebellious nation" seven times in the first 3 chapters alone! the part where god's displeasure with israel really seems to hit a high note is in 5:6-17. he says that israel has achieved lower standards than even the evil nations around her. that sounds pretty bad; what could they have done that was so bad that even the pagan neighboring nations were better-behaved? the lord goes on to say that he will bring death to israel through many means: famine, plague, sword, wild beasts, etc. israel has definitely fallen out of favor with god by the time ezekiel comes on the scene.

anyway, like i said, i don't really have much to comment on or question in these 5 chapters of ezekiel. it seems pretty straightforward: israel has sunk to new lows, god is pretty upset, am i stubborn like the israelites, and so on. but reading this and other old testament material raises one question that pertains more generically to the people of that time -- were there ever people who just weren't that spiritual back then? it seems like whether or not people were following yahweh, they were still extremely spiritual or superstitious or religious or whatever you want to call it. today we have a lot of people that just aren't too concerned about things like faith and spirituality. many people today are pretty bland about things spiritual things even to the extent that they who wouldn't even bother to take on the initiative or formality of calling themselves an agnostic or atheist. (even an atheist has staked his claim, right?). reading the old testament, it seems like everybody held some sort of faith in the spiritual realm, but i really wonder if there were people back then who were just like a lot of people out there today: blithely ambivalent about a spiritual element. hmmmmmmm.

later.

You got my back, huh?

recently, i've been watching episodes of this show "the wire" and there are numerous occasions in it where the cops fall through on their end of a bargain to help out informants, little kids, and other people they pledge to support. the last episode i watched ended with this one kid - an arson victim in a hospital - shouting sarcastically down the hall to the cop, "you got my back, huh? you got my back, right?" (or something to that effect. i reference urbandictionary.com a lot when i watch that show). so, today i read this particular chapter in deuteronomy that features a loosely-drawn tie to the theme and, subsequently, have aptly titled this journal entry with a line from last night's wire. the first chapter of deuteronomy is 46 verses long and it is a historical retelling of the struggles of the israelites to take the lands that god had set aside for them under the direction of moses. this is one of the classic stories where israel is intimidated by their much larger, more numerous enemies and they shy away from battle rather than place their confidence in god.

my favorite portion of the chapter is verses 29-30: "then i said to you, 'do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. the lord your god, who is going before you, will fight for you . . .'" i think that's really cool to hear coming from god, because it is kind of the opposite of the way he is so often construed to be: a rule-dispensing/kill-joy/stay-put-until-the-light-is-green kind of supernatural being. i have always been glad that my parents taught me not to view god that way and this verse kind of reinforces the image of god that i've been brought up to appreciate. i know that i am not the only one who faces obstacles of an intimidating nature, but my life is the only one i can speak for and, that said, i know that i am often my own worst enemy. the israelites had plenty of legitimate reasons to not go forward and many people will tell you that it is one can always find reasons to not do something. it is comforting to know that god is supportive of me and that when i am following him he will be going before me and that i have nothing to fear.

i've never really taken seriously that custom people have of making new year's resolutions and i've never felt the need to do it myself. maybe it's because i've worked at too many downtown bars and restaurants on new years eve or because i'm absolutely bemused by the longevity of dick clark (click here or here) and the uselessness of ryan seacrest. maybe it's because i've never had any big dreams, or - more subtly - if i've not wanted to fail. but for some reason, lately i've been seeing the idea of setting goals as a real big first step to accomplishing certain things that i might have otherwise found out of range. so, i've made a few small goals that mostly deal in the short-term (1 year or less) and occupy places in a variety of aspects of my life. this encouragement from the lord found in deuteronomy 1 is a cool affirmation to to go for it. i suppose we'll see what happens.

abuch out.

The Situation Room

Hola amigo blog. I know it's been a long time since i rapped at ya, but the crashing waves have been fast and furious on lake andy (what does that even mean?). Anyway, in my previous post, i mentioned an interest in exploring the story of the children of israel. my interest has not waned, nor have i totally neglected reading the old testament, it's just that to combine the reading i have done with supplemental research of rabbinical and historical commentary has proven to be more time-consuming than i had planned. in short, i have not been reading like i had wanted, either from the old testament or from complementary material that's out there. today, i'm going to try and put something down.

I read II Chronicles 32, the story of Hezekiah's resistance to the Assyrian Empire. It is an interesting story for a number of reasons. first, i have read about the assyrian empire before and they were one of six major empires of the land between the rule of the Egyptians and the rule of the Romans. (Egyptians, assyrians, babylonians, persians, greeks, romans [mnemonic device: Eat At Bob's, Pasadena's Great Restaurant]). They dominated the region at the decline of the egyptians during the years between the 9th and 7th centuries bc. so, to me it is interesting to read about a king of a lowly, little group of people who stood up to a dynasty with power probably equivalent to that of the romans, greeks or egyptians.

second, hezekiah was a very close follower of god. i read that his name means either "strengthened by yaweh" or "he who made a firm alliance between the israelites and yaweh." when the general of the assyrian army (sennacherib) sent the israelites a letter proposing either the surrender of jerusalem or its hostile takeover, while also pointing out that the gods of other peoples had not protected them, hezekiah, for some reason, declined the general's offer and instead consulted the lord. what confidence this must have taken! i particularly enjoy verses 7-8 where hezekiah tells the people of jerusalem, "be strong and courageous. do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. with him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the lord our god to help us and to fight our battles."

i wonder if, as a leader, hezekiah was faking it a bit. in other words, leaders of companies, or nations, or households often have to be the ones to be excited about certain policies in order to encourage others (e.g. steve jobs and the macbook air). i imagine that sometimes this takes some fake enthusiasm. despite his proclamation to the children of israel, i'm sure hezekiah must have been plagued with doubts, as we all are, and was fearful for his own survival and for that of his people at the hands of an infinitely greater army. i also wonder how many citizens of jerusalem were outwardly critical of hezekiah's choices once they heard the rationale (see: propaganda) of sennacherib. i wonder how often my skepticism gets in the way of trusting god to guide me through various choices i have to make.

some verses that this passage helps me to recall:
- "seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." - matthew 6:33
- "trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight" - proverbs 3:5-6

abuch out.