Daily Scripture:
Matthew 19:3 Some P’rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?” 4 He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,[Matthew 19:4 Genesis 1:27, 5:2] 5 and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’?[Matthew 19:5 Genesis 2:24] 6 Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”
7 They said to him, “Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?”[Matthew 19:7 Deuteronomy 24:1, 3] 8 He answered, “Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”
27 So God created humankind in his own image;
in the image of God he created him:
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” (Complete Jewish Bible)
Genesis 2:18 Adonai, God, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” 19 So from the ground Adonai, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) 20 So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.
21 Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. 22 The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person. 23 The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman [Genesis 2:23 Hebrew: ishah], because she was taken out of Man [bGenesis 2:23 Hebrew: ish].” (Complete Jewish Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Jesus' enemies quoted Bible to him, saying Deuteronomy 24:1 allowed divorce (only for men) for any reason. Jesus said, in effect, that law reflected human frailty, and the Creation stories showed God’s ideal more clearly. Even emerging from a strongly patriarchal culture, the poetically structured words of Genesis 1:27 made it clear that God created both male and female “in the divine image.”
- Some rabbis in Jesus' day “graphically claimed that a husband could divorce his wife even for burning the bread; a later… rabbi added, ‘or if he finds someone more beautiful.’”* Deuteronomy 24:1, they argued, said “something inappropriate” gave a man that right. But Jesus firmly said the creation stories were also in the Bible, and taught a higher, more loving ideal. When have you seen snippets of Scripture used, as the Pharisees did, in ways that hurt or limit people, especially women?
- Some have used Genesis 2:20’s word rendered “helper” (“helpmeet” in older versions) to say God made women subservient to men. Pastor Stuart Briscoe wrote, “The word ‘helper’ occurs twenty-one times in the Old Testament and on fifteen of those occasions it refers to God helping man in one way or another—which casts doubt on the common suggestion that woman as man’s helper was in some way subordinate and inferior.”** What norms did your upbringing teach you about how men and women relate to one another?
Lord Jesus, you stressed the parts of the Bible that elevated human dignity, not those that seemed to diminish it. Guide me to value all your children, female and male, as bearers of the divine image. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 220370-220371). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. Genesis, Vol. 1: The Preacher's Commentary Series. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1987, p. 43.
Read today's Insight by Donna KarlenDonna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
Short thoughts on today’s GPS…
My marriage would’ve been toast if my husband decided to divorce me because I burned the bread!
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It’s interesting how the Pharisees tried using scripture to advance their cause. They even quoted Moses out of context in their efforts to bring Jesus down. Espousing scripture in this way – out of context, without regard for the time it was written, and in such a way as to hurt someone or a group of people – was common practice then and certainly is now.
It seems to me the only way scripture should be “used,” is to build up, not tear down; to heal, never to hurt; to teach, not to belittle. If you had to choose one passage of scripture that best explains the Bible, would you select something that advances your cause or God’s? Would you quote a passage that alienates an entire group of people? Or would you choose Matthew 22:34-37?
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
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Genesis 1:26-28 gives us a beautiful image of humanity’s role in taking care of God’s amazing animal creations. But just like some who “take charge” in relationships with others and use their authority inappropriately – whether it be In their personal or work lives or both – there are those who abuse their dominion over the Earth. This evening at 6:30 in our Bldg. A Parlor (at Resurrection Leawood), we will have a panel discussion to explore the question: What Would Jesus Say about Creation Care? Here’s a link to the event sponsored by Resurrection's EarthCOR ministry: https://cor.org/leawood/discipleship/earthcor#17297
We hope to see you there for this important discussion of just what it means to “take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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