Biblical Patience

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2 Peter 1:6

Often we think of patience in passive terms, as if the patient person is utterly submissive and half asleep. But this version of patience needs a Biblical corrective. Barclay teaches from 2 Peter 1:6 (where the King James Version uses the term patience):

“The words never mean the spirit which sits with folded hands and simply bears things. It is victorious endurance [and] constancy under trial. It is Christian steadfastness, the brave and courageous acceptance of everything life can do to us, and the transmuting of even the worst into another step on the upward way.

It is the courageous and triumphant ability to bear things, which enables a man to pass breaking point and not to break, and always to greet the unseen with a cheer.”

William Barclay, Letters of Peter and Jude (Edinburgh: St. Andrews, 1960), 258.

God's Talking Donkey

And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times? Numbers 22:28

“Just because we cannot see the spiritual does not mean that we should be unaware of its presence. After opening the donkey's mouth so that it could speak, God opened Balaam's eyes so that he could see the angel too. The implication is that ordinarily we are no more capable of seeing spiritual beings than animals are capable of uttering human speech.

The story of Balaam's talking donkey makes a popular children's story. But it is not a fairy tale. The [Old Testament] relates the conversation in a matter-of-fact manner, simply explaining that "the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey" (Numbers 22:28). The implication seems to be that all animals would be capable of speech if only God opened their mouths. Remember the talking serpent in Eden?

The miracle of the talking donkey is not just for amusement. It is an illustration to prepare us for the [verses] that are about to follow. In Numbers 23-24 Balaam inadvertently speaks a series of blessings and prophecies over the people of Israel. Balaam's prophecies are directly from God. How could God speak through the wicked sorcerer Balaam?

The lesson of the talking donkey illustrates that God is not limited to using only righteous men to deliver His messages. If He can use the mouth of a donkey to get a message across, He can also use the mouth of a wicked man like Balaam. In a sense, Balaam plays the role of God's talking donkey.”

First Fruits of Zion Parasha: Balak

Fair is Fair

So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again. Numbers 12:15

"Even Aaron and Miriam were not above the sin of grumbling. Numbers 12:1-2 relates a few details about their complaint against Moses. Apparently they had something against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married. (The Torah does not tell us the details of their gripe, but people are often irritated by their sibling's spouses.)

The complaint against Moses had to do with his role as leader over the assembly. Both Miriam and Aaron were prophets in their own right. They had both personally received prophecies from God. They began to resent Moses' sole leadership over the assembly. "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" (Numbers 12:2), they asked. Miriam and Aaron assumed that no one could hear their private conversation. It was their own private gripe against their brother. They forgot that God could hear. The Torah says, "And the LORD heard it" (Numbers 12:2).

How many times do we indulge in similar "private" conversations, forgetting that God is listening?

The LORD struck Miriam with leprosy as a punishment for speaking evil speech against her brother. Moses immediately interceded on her behalf with a short, urgent prayer. The LORD relented and removed the leprosy, but Miriam still had to be put outside of the camp for seven days until she was ritually fit again.

The most puzzling thing about the story is why Miriam was smitten with leprosy while Aaron was not. Is that fair? Perhaps Aaron was spared because of his responsibility in the priesthood or perhaps it was that Miriam was punished more harshly because she was the instigator of the gossip. Those are possible explanations, but there seems to have been one ancient tradition that taught Aaron was also struck with leprosy.

According to that tradition, the Torah does not explicitly mention Aaron's punishment out of respect for the office of the high priest. Instead, Aaron's punishment was edited out of the record but remembered nonetheless.

We know this was an opinion in early Judaism because one ancient rabbi warns that "Anyone who says that Aaron was also smitten with leprosy will have to give an account [in heaven]. When God has concealed the matter concerning Aaron [how dare we reveal it?]" (Sifre 105).

Clement, the disciple of the Peter, preserved the same tradition. He taught that Aaron was also put out of the camp for seven days. Clement says, "On account of envy, Aaron and Miriam had to make their abode outside the camp" (1 Clement 4:11 )."

Adapted from aish and ffoz commentaries by Benzion HaLevi Sherry

The Unjust Steward

And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Luke 16:1-2

"There was a rich man who had a manager who was reported to him as squandering his possessions. He called him and said to him, "Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' The manager said to himself, `I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.' He summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, `How much do you owe my master?' "And he said, `A hundred measures of oil.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' "Then he said to another, `And how much do you owe?' And he said, `A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.' His master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly." (Luke 16:1-8, edited)

This is another parable that is difficult for us - it seems like Jesus is saying that cheating your employer is a model for us to live by. Was that really what He was saying? Knowing more about the context of this parable may cast new light on Jesus' message. *

One thing to note is that the rich man probably lived far away and employed the manager to keep track of his loan repayments. Loan managers, like tax collectors, were paid commissions from the accounts that they oversaw. Thus, the more they could collect from the debtors, the more they earned. Biblical law stated that a Jew who received a loan could not be charged interest, so charging any more than the principal would have been an unlawful practice.

But since it was difficult for the poor to find anyone who would loan money without some kind of compensation, historians think that loans were recorded for a higher amount than their actual value to circumvent the prohibition against charging interest. It would have been the difference that went to the loan manager.

With this extra information in mind, it casts this parable in a new light. The loan recipients may have hated the manager for his profiting from the overcharges at their expense. When the shrewd loan manager lowered the bills, he may have been correcting the bills back to their true amount, and forfeiting his own pay. By doing this, he would have been "repenting" from the corruption that had been making enemies for himself. Even though it cost him monetarily, he would have gone from being hated to being loved by all the people he dealt with. Even his boss would look good in the eyes of the debtors.

Indeed, this may have been the first honest act of his life, when he realized that he needed people's friendship more than their money. While we can't be sure of this scenario, it does paint a different picture of the manager's act. When he realized that "judgment" was coming from his boss, he straightened out his life so that he would not suffer forever for his corruption. We all know that we will be called to account for our lives, and we should all act wisely knowing that eternal dwellings are at stake."

* Historical data comes from a talk given by Dr. Randall Buth called "The Unjust Steward" from the Center for Study of Biblical Research (CSBR). The author of the longer article is Lois Tverberg.

God Gives the Increase

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 1 Corinthians 3:6,8

In Palestine and Syria plowing, planting and watering are each done by different people. The country is mountainous and fields are difficult to plow, especially in Judea where the fields are merely small terraces on slopes and on the mountain sides. Plowing is done with oxen. It takes an expert to handle the plow and direct the oxen. Generally this type of work is done by elderly and experienced men.

And it is only the older men who know how to scatter the scanty seed and plant the crops. Indeed, this type of work cannot be entrusted to the care of young men.

Watering is not considered a difficult task. It is done by younger men and women. The crops are watered once a week. Planters receive higher wages than those who water the crops.

Paul had planted the seed of the Christian gospel in many cities in Asia Minor and Macedonia, and Apollos had watered it. But then the seed was entrusted to God, who guards it and causes it to grow.

Paul denounces the idea that he and Apollos and Peter were building on different foundations and that they were at variance with each other. They were entrusted with different tasks, but they were building on the foundation which was laid down by Jesus Christ, who is the builder of the House of God.

(Lamsa, George M. 1945. New Testament Commentary. Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Company., p. 239-240)

Millstones

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Revelation 18:21

The size of a great millstone. The name "Gat-Sh’manim" ("Gethsemane," Mt 26:36&N) means "oil press," that is, a stone mill for grinding olives into pulp for their oil. Until quite recently the Arabs in the villages here in Israel used such presses for the same purpose, and many of the millstones are sill around. They are circular with a hole in the center about 9 inches square; diameter averages about five feet, thickness a foot and their weight well over a ton.

(Stern, David H. 1996. Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications., pg 837)

The Wicked Who Devour

There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. Proverbs 30:14

In the East table knives and forks were unknown until recent years. The people used their front teeth as knives to cut off pieces of meat. The reference here is to the oppressors who devour the poor and the needy. These men are known as having sharp teeth like swords. In American slang they are called "sharks."

When the Israelites forsook the way of the Lord and transgressed his commandments, their rulers and judges became wicked. They devoured the poor and corrupted justice. These wicked men had no knowledge of God, neither did they fear the Most High [Ps. 10:4].

In the East when princes or government officials defraud or exploit their people it is said, "They have devoured [eaten] the poor and the weak." Job says, "And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and snatched the prey out of his teeth" [Job 29:17, Eastern text]. Jesus used the same Aramaic metaphor:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you embezzle [Aramaic ‘eat’] the property of widows..." [Matt. 23:13, Eastern text].

(Lamsa, George M. 1964. Old Testament Light. San Francisco: Harper Collins., pg 584)