"The dim hope of a glorious reversal, that reveals the truth of systemic iniquity and common brokenness, is something necessary. It keeps the battered soul alive, when change feels like a myth." Just read earlier today Nicholas Kristof's yesterday piece in the NY Times, "The Words in the Middle East That Are Breaking My Heart," in which he discusses 1 Samuel 15, where God tells the Israelites to "attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys." He notes that Netanyahu cited this command of God last week when announcing the latest escalation of the ground operation in Gaza. I am grateful to you for following whatever nudges and internal appeals continue to draw you along this path of discerning and illuminating the messianic threads in these ancient, often unfathomable and misappropriated or overlooked stories. For me it has in seasons been difficult to impossible to read and take seriously the OT and even the NT at all because of tales like that in 1 Samuel. I've had to repeatedly reshuffle and rebuild a lot in my "Christianity" formed psyche to revisit it with even any "dim hope." Thank you for keeping alive in me the memory and glimmer that there is value embedded there.
I'm really enjoying these archetypes of the accused. As a child growing up in a not-especially-religious household, I loved the strange and wonderful stories in the bible; the way you explore them here is bringing back a sense of that wonder.
The Angel of Judgment
"The dim hope of a glorious reversal, that reveals the truth of systemic iniquity and common brokenness, is something necessary. It keeps the battered soul alive, when change feels like a myth." Just read earlier today Nicholas Kristof's yesterday piece in the NY Times, "The Words in the Middle East That Are Breaking My Heart," in which he discusses 1 Samuel 15, where God tells the Israelites to "attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys." He notes that Netanyahu cited this command of God last week when announcing the latest escalation of the ground operation in Gaza. I am grateful to you for following whatever nudges and internal appeals continue to draw you along this path of discerning and illuminating the messianic threads in these ancient, often unfathomable and misappropriated or overlooked stories. For me it has in seasons been difficult to impossible to read and take seriously the OT and even the NT at all because of tales like that in 1 Samuel. I've had to repeatedly reshuffle and rebuild a lot in my "Christianity" formed psyche to revisit it with even any "dim hope." Thank you for keeping alive in me the memory and glimmer that there is value embedded there.
I'm really enjoying these archetypes of the accused. As a child growing up in a not-especially-religious household, I loved the strange and wonderful stories in the bible; the way you explore them here is bringing back a sense of that wonder.