A Tale of Two Lamechs

 “Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice; wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me; so Cain will be paid back seven times and Lamech seventy-seven times.” Genesis 4:23-24 (CEB)

I am on vacation. A vacation is a wonderful time to gear up for coming challenges. And, when I was not in an Emergency Room for a random infection procured by a bug bite (a bug that was, no doubt, a colossal, blood sucking monstrosity of nature that came in the middle of the night to claim my life but was thwarted by my insurmountable will to live), I was determined to do just that. The challenge: this Torah study. The preparation: I decided to do a dry run. This “dry run” has included reading Genesis in the last two days. Given the task that is to come, I thought I would share an insight/connection that has had some influence on how I understand the book.

This insight is imbedded in the genealogies of chapters 4 and 5. After Cain murders Abel and is ejected from the stability of his household to fend for himself, Genesis gives us a brief list of Cain’s descendants, who are a fairly technologically advanced group (4:21-23). But I want to focus in on one person in particular. A majority of this genealogical text is devoted to Lamech and his famous, irascible declaration in 4:23-24. Misunderstanding the function of the protection given to Cain by God, Lamech thinks he can manipulate this protective blessing and use it to further the damage his ancestor, Cain, had wrought. Lamech arrogantly assumes that he has the right to take the life of any who oppose him, a clear distortion of the purpose of the protection that was offered to Cain.

This strange aside makes for a welcome departure from a “boring” genealogy. However, its theological/thematic importance is discovered, in my opinion, when seen beside the genealogy in chapter 5. Curiously enough, there are a number of similar or identical names between Cain and Shem’s genealogies. We see the counterpart to Cain’s Lamech in 5:28-31. Let us note the similar, yet importantly different detail: Cain’s Lamech overcomes the curse of the land by developing advanced tools and forceful rule over his enemies; Shem’s Lamech names his son Noah in hope that he will be the one to give them relief from the curse.

This interesting comparison provides a significant theological insight for us as readers. These parallel families are functioning by very different paradigms. One family group takes matters into its own hands: killing, oppressing, subverting, demanding, and developing tools to aid in these tasks. The other dwells in the same world under a similar curse, working to live, but all the while maintaining a link to their strained relationship with the God who created their ancestors, Adam and Eve. Their most notable characteristics lie in their relationship to this God, not in their ingenuity. The tale of two Lamech’s casts a vision and a theme that permeates the book of Genesis and the Bible as a whole.

Who says that genealogies are boring?

A (Not So) Subtle Jab

Well, the day approaches! This morning, on my way to completing my six-month "read through the Bible" program, I read through the Letter to the Hebrews. As I finished the letter, I was reminded of a wonderful statement that should confront all of us before we begin this little endeavor.

A quick explanation: I find myself apologizing to quite a few people that this will indeed be a lot of reading each day. But, I want to take a moment to assert a very important addendum to this phrase for all those who have bemoaned the reading. The word is: Relatively!  So, from now on, if someone says, "Wow, Derek, that is a lot of reading." I will respond, "Yes, RELATIVELY, it is a lot of reading."

Why, you might ask, have I decided to add this word to my response? Because as I finished Hebrews this morning I was emboldened by 13:22, "I urge you, brothers and sisters, to put up with this message of encouragement, since I've only written a short letter to you!" (CEB). Honestly, who among us would read all 13 chapters of Hebrews and say, "My goodness, that was quite a short letter. I wish you would have explained a bit more, author of Hebrews."

The answer is: No one.

Thus, though this may seem like a lot of reading, I submit to you that it is in fact a reasonable amount of reading, but we have become a lazy and complacent people in regard to study.

So here is my (not so) subtle jab. If any of us think seven chapters of daily Bible reading is excessive, then perhaps the problem is not with the amount of reading, but the amount of discipline. If the amount of reading is daunting due to our inability to concentrate or just plain laziness, then this challenge is even more important for us. Let us commit to this and see how it transforms our discipline in reading the Scriptures.

The Hiatus and Some Instructions

Let me be the first to welcome myself back. I apologize for the long hiatus. I was in a two week intensive class on the book of Revelation. I was cooped up for nine days, 4 1/2 hours per day, squirming and writhing through that wonderfully complex text.

But, I digress; it is time to unveil the instructions for the first 30 days of our six month Torah project. Without further ado, here it is:

First Read-Through: Rough Organization

              

Supplies:

1. Note-taking paraphernalia
2. Four to eight different colored highlighters 
3.  A large sheet of paper (11 x 17 should do)

Instructions:

1. Ignoring the chapter divisions and titles inserted by your translation of the Bible, divide the text into major sections and give them a name that will help you remember them 
1.  For example: Genesis 1-11 as Primeval History, Leviticus 12-15 as Purity Laws, etc.
2. Write down words that are often repeated. Record the section(s) in which they often appear. These will likely lead you to major themes of the section/book/Torah.
1. For example: Covenant is an important throughout the Torah. Deliverance is important throughout the book of Exodus. Unclean/Clean is important in Leviticus 12-17.
3. After you have separated all of the major sections with the themes that they contain, highlight each section that has several common themes with the same color.
4. Draw a basic, graphic representation of the Torah. This is a creative endeavor. It is something that you should be thinking about throughout this first reading. What is the best way to organize these sections to show their interrelatedness? How do they all tie together?

As you can see, this is fairly simple. However, the detail will increase with each subsequent reading. When we begin, I will be posting each week to show what I have been doing if anyone feels completely lost. I will also be sharing some thoughts on passages that might be difficult, providing some cultural and historical background that might shed some light on the text.

I look forward to this journey.

A Quick Note on Pentecost

As many of you are likely aware, this coming Sunday is Pentecost. On this day, we are reminded to celebrate the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit poured out on us all. I felt that I would be remiss if I did not also point out that Pentecost corresponds to the Jewish festival called Shavuot, which means "sevens" or "weeks." Thus, the festival has come to be called the Feast of Weeks. Two things are important to point out about what this feast means for the Jewish people. First, it is a celebration of the gift of Torah to the people of Israel. Second, after Passover, they beginning counting the days (50) until they will celebrate this festival in anticipation of God's revelation at Sinai. We should be excited to celebrate the revelation of the Spirit at Pentecost, realizing that God's promise, delivered through the prophet, Jeremiah, to write the Torah on our hearts was actualized on the culmination of Shavuot/Pentecost.

In modern Jewish tradition, this festival is celebrated by reading the Torah all through the night (yes, that means that they do not sleep). Since we will be reading Genesis-Deuteronomy five times before the year is out, I though we might as well make it six. It has been my plan to participate in this endeavor on Saturday night/Sunday morning this coming weekend. Will you join me? If so, here is what I plan on reading:

1. Genesis - Deuteronomy
2. Nehemiah 9 (This is a re-narration of the basic story of Torah that the Levites give to the assembled Israelites after God brought them out of captivity).
3. Acts 7 (Stephen's re-narration of the basic story of Torah given to an assembly of Jews that I think creates an interesting correlation to Nehemiah).
4. Matthew 5-7 (Jesus' exposition of the basic tenants of the Torah and how they are to be understood).

If you run out of readings before the night is up, shoot me a note on the blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter and I will recommend more.

I hope this will be fruitful for you. I know it is a lot to read. A word of advice: try doing it while you are standing or pacing the room, otherwise you will likely fall asleep. Also, try doing it in pairs to further prevent such sleeping. I think you will sense the blessing of the Spirit as you commemorate the pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh and the confirmation that the words we are reading have indeed been written on our hearts. May we hear them and respond to them.

By the way, I have also started a Twitter account to track the progress of this endeavor. You can follow me @StrategicBible. I will be posting here and there through the night using the hashtag #Shavuot and #Pentecost. Hopefully this will provide you with the community that you need to participate.

Reading for Subtlety, A Response

It has been a while since I posted “Reading for Subtlety.” In that post, I asked a few questions. I received one answer/frustration with the passage that I presented. I mentioned that I had in mind, but I wanted to see what you all had to say. In he absence of comments, here are my thoughts:

At first glance, these two stories seem to be coincidentally presented. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they happened historically in this order. I have no doubt that this is in fact the case. However, there also seems to be a thematic progression as well. The connection is brief. In the first crisis presented, 12:10-20, Abram flees to Egypt. In the midst of this crisis, God makes an appearance in this story, but not to the person we would expect. God appears to Pharaoh in order to warn him of the coming danger and offer the chance of repentance.

Moving to the next story, a second crisis is presented (13:1-18): Lot perceives a lack of space and resources for both his family and that of Abram. God appears at the end of this crisis again, but notice to whom God appears: Abram.

So here is my proposal: In each of these stories, Abram responds to a crisis. Likewise, God responds to the situation. What I suggest is that in both cases, God responds for the good of Abram, which is no surprise. But I assert further that God appears to the wronged party in each case. What this suggests is that, despite God’s undisputed choice to bless Abram, God still makes an effort to work on behalf of those who find themselves on the other side of this blessing. More can be said, but I wish to be brief.

The Strategy: I want you to be thinking about whether or not this is a good, or even a possible, way to read and understand these stories. As you read, you should be looking for patterns. As you discover these patterns, in your first reading and make note of them, you should look to see if they are consistent in your subsequent readings. This will allow you to temper and test your hypotheses.

So give it a shot, read through the story of Abram/Abraham and see if this way of reading is convincing and consistent. If it is, what are other examples this that would support it? What are further implications of this possibility? Thank you again for participating. I hope it is helping you to reconceive how you can read the Bible.

Reading for Subtlety

Most of us are familiar with the phrase "read between the lines." It is something that we do intuitively in conversations; we "read" emotion, tone, and inflection, actively interpreting what someone might be saying to us. However, when we are reading a text, the text does not have the natural ability to emote, provide tone, or inflect. We often have to do it for the text, which means we have to do our best to hear the text in different ways to allow the appropriate balance of these three aspects to emerge.

This is often a frustrating activity. We would much rather the author just announce what he or she intends to be understood. Or do we? In a classic episode of Futurama, the original series finale entitled, The Devils Hands Are Idle Play Things, this point is excellently illustrated. Fry, the main character, is composing an opera about the woman he loves, Leela. In the midst of this a character named The Robot Devil (whose character is exactly what his name implies) becomes frustrated with Fry's composition and announces, "You can't just have your characters announce how they feel, that makes me feel angry!" This ironic line, in context, is hilarious to say the least. However, its point is precise: subtlety allows for much deeper and varied meaning than a direct statement can ever convey.

This fact stood out to me recently as I was reading through the Abram/Abraham narrative. The first movement of the story is Abram going into Egypt and swindling Pharaoh by misleading him regarding his relationship to Sarai. Pharaoh is warned of the nature of the situation and responds in repentance. So Abram leaves with wife and new goods in tow. Arriving in the land,  Lot confronts Abram about the ability of the land to sustain both of their families. Abram responds by allowing Lot to choose his land and take it. Lot chooses the "better" land and they part ways and God confirms his covenant with Abram. This is the simple progression of the narrative that forms a very general pattern: two characters interact to produce a result with God communicating with the one of the parties.

But what is going on between the lines? This is the place where assumptions are made that can radically alter how you might read these stories. There are good ways to do this and there are bad ways; but, there are multiple ways.

I have some thoughts, but what do you see happening as you read Genesis 12:10-13:18? What are the connections between the two stories presented? I would like you to think through your assumptions and try to name them and articulate them. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and what subtleties come out as you read, so thank you ahead of time.

The Schedule Is Here

I have received a few requests now for the schedule that I will be using starting July 1st. Well, here it is:

The Schedule

There are a few points that should be clarified:

1) There are roughly 5-7 chapters to read each day. It is a lot to read; but, if you get into the habit, it will not be very difficult.
2) There is a reflection day scheduled every seventh day (it just seemed right). However, a word of warning: Do not get behind and say, "I will catch up on day seven!" There will be activities that you will be doing as part of the program on that day. Trust me; it is better to stay up with the reading.
3) You will notice that we will read Genesis through Deuteronomy five times, each time start from a different place. This is to help us make different connections.
4) Most importantly, if you feel that you cannot keep up the pace, then make your own schedule. When I post the activities that we will do with each read through, you can simply complete one reading (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and the activity for that reading (first, second, third, etc.) before you move on to the next read through and activity.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will continue to post thoughts leading up to July 1st. I will also begin posting the instructions for the activities in the coming weeks. I look forward to your feedback.

If you have not yet responded to the previous post, I would encourage you to do so. I would like to hear any thoughts and strategies you use to read. Here is the secret: you have a strategy even if you do not realize it. Just try to put some words to it (even if you do not post it on the blog) and it will help you as you move forward.