Wednesday Bible study: All the kings, men

 

Our next adventure through the Bible will be looking at the Kings of Israel and Judah.  And like our study of Judges last summer and fall, we will be noticing a lot of repeating patterns.  One such is like how we start out not knowing God well, then we establish a relationship with Him, then we grow in wisdom by studying the word.  This has one parallel in how mankind started out "calling on the name of the Lord"(Genesis 4:26), but really didn't know what to do with Him (and thus, the Flood); then they were given the Law, which taught them what to do; then Christ Himself came, to elevate the relationship and save us.  Just like this, the first 3 kings of Israel are a similar pattern.  Saul barely knew God; David was close to God; and Solomon was supernaturally gifted with wisdom by God.

And in all three, the end is, they failed.  And we fail.  Until we get to the perfection of Jesus's rule on earth, that's gonna happen.  Hopefully, along the way, we will pick up some tips on breaking the cycle.

To start our show, we begin with a passage that brings us yet another repeating pattern.  Samuel, the last judge, was leading Israel.  Now before him was the fat, lazy judge Eli, whose sons (and supposed successors) were so evil that God brought destruction to them (and in the bargain killed Eli). But before that, God provided by answering Hannah's prayer and bringing Samuel into the world, and into the hands of Eli for training.  Samuel lead the Israelites all his days, but towards the end- stop me if you've heard this:

1Sa 8:1  When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
1Sa 8:2  The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
1Sa 8:3  Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

That they weren't quite as bad as Hophni and Phinehas (Eli's sons) is apparent in that their list of sins is brief and ends there.  Probably because, while they followed that same path, their father wasn't fat and lazy.  While we hear no more about Abijah, Joel must've repented somewhat in his old age.  His son, Heman, became a music leader under David; he led the brass section (trumpets and cymbals), and was there at the "Great Davidic dance party" that brought the Ark of the Covenant (which Hophni and Phinehas lost) back to Jerusalem.  In fact, he was so blessed in praise that

1Ch 25:5  All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer, according to the promise of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

Note he was also considered a seer- a term explained just a little later in 1 Samuel:

1Sa 9:9  (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, "Come, let us go to the seer," for today's "prophet" was formerly called a seer.) 

At a certain point, this was a repeating pattern with Manneseh/Ammon/Josiah as well.  Lesson to parents- don't make it so the grandparents have to teach the Word of God you are teaching others.  And grandparents (me included), pick up the slack.

Anyway, because Samuel's boys were not, shall we say, choice successor material, the people cried out for a king.  Now Samuel knew the Lord as King, and he was upset that his children of faith joined his children of flesh in not listening.  But God had this in mind as well...

1Sa 8:7  And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
1Sa 8:8  According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

God had planned for this even back when, telling Moses He had 4 rules that the king to come would have to follow:

Not have many horses for himself: At first I thought this was a indicator of building wealth, but in fact Moses put this in because the horses of Canaan mainly came from Egypt, which brought us to point #2:

Do not return the people to Egypt.  This would end up being a curse inflicted after the last king was deposed many years later.

Do not take many wives: probably the single most ignored of the rules for a king, grown to ridiculous extent with Solomon.

And copy down a copy of the Book of the Law for himself, that in copying and reading it, he would follow it all his days. The kings blew this one on an industrial scale as well, as we will see in the stories of Hezekiah, Josiah, and others. 

In addition to all these, Samuel was to give the people fair warning that they were about to go from free men to servants, and "eminent domain" was about to become a way of life.  Their response:

1Sa 8:19  But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us,
1Sa 8:20  that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

And that brings us to King #1: Saul.  Saul was the tall, handsome son of a wealthy merchant (1 Sam 9:1-2), but if you read between the lines of his story, you get the impression that Jim Croce modeled part of his song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" on him- "He was big and dumb as a man can come".

Maybe Saul wasn't quite that bad, but follow my logic.

Tall and handsome, you would think Saul would be getting groomed to take up the family business.  And yet...

1Sa 9:3  Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, "Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys."

He gets the wonderful task of searching for runaway donkeys, and has to take a buddy with him to keep him out of trouble- which he would have gotten into.  Three days later, they STILL haven't found the donkeys.  Saul figures they better give up and go back, lest his father gets worried (like spending three days already hadn't done it). The servant suggests they go see Samuel- he is a prophet, after all. If anyone might know where the donkeys are, he would. Saul says, "But we're broke! How will we pay the man?" (At least he learned something from dear old dad.) The servant saves the day again;  he digs in his pockets and finds a quarter of a shekel of silver.  Depending on the commentator, you get different values for this amount ("rather more than sixpence", "Seven pence halfpenny") but basically his change from stopping at the Shalishah 7-11.  Saul says, "Good enough", and off they go.

So they get to town, and ask a girl who tells them, "He's just ahead of you down the road, but hurry up, because they're waiting a feast on him." And so they lope along as a man starts approaching them.  This is Samuel, who was warned by God he would be running into the future king sometime that day.  Think of Samuel, in his prophet's robes, the look of wisdom and holiness on his face.  He sees ahead the tallest man in the whole country, handsome and noble in bearing, and God tells him, "Here comes the king I've chosen.  And they come together, and the first thing out of Saul's mouth is:

1Sa 9:18  Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, "Tell me where is the house of the seer?"

Samuel sighs, I imagine, then says "I AM the seer." probably thinking, "What do I look like? The milkman?"  Then tells him, "Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind."

Then, as Saul and his servant walk up to the house, Samuel says, "Oh, by the way, they found your donkeys."

I just get the impression that Saul's not the sharpest tool in the shed.  And I'll show more of why I feel that next time.

M10 show week 35

 

There's a new world somewhere
They call the promised land
And I'll be there someday
If you could hold my hand...

 

 

But I guess I'd better get myself together
'Cause when you left, you didn't leave too much behind
Just a note that said, "I'm sorry" by your picture
And a song that's weighing heavy on my mind...

I guess by this you know the heavy thing on this week's countdown are the deaths of the Seekers' Judith Durham and Olivia Newton-John.  To lose two such wonderful singers bang-bang like this really points out our mortality- especially those of us who have lived the Martin Era 2.0.  Needless to say, I have some facts and figures about this (because that's how I deal) that I will post around 3 new M10 debuts.

The first of those replaces one of their own tunes.  At #9, new Chicago:

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 So I did my usual digging, and... counting lead singers of groups, duet partners, and soloists, I found 70 women who hit #1 in the Martin Era 2.0 on Cashbox, plus six others on Billboard.  Of them, Judith and Olivia were #s 23 and 24 to pass.They grabbed 3 #1s between them.

And they are far from the only noteworthy singers, in and out of the ME2.0, and #1s or not, that have passed this year.  I know we have mentioned here Jim Seals and Meat Loaf.  Not as sure if I brought up Mickey Gilley, country legend who boasted 16 #1s on that chart; Naomi Judd, who with daughter Wynona hit #1 country 14 times; HOFer Bobby Rydell, CB hero CW "Convoy" McCall; and Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes.  I know I missed out on Gary Brooker, lead singer of Procol Harum; Donny Gerard of Skylark, who sang the 70's ballad Wildflower; William Hart, lead voice of the Delfonics; and Chariots of Fire composer Vangelis.  And that's JUST the lead singers.

Our debut at #8 is a bit off our beaten path, if the M10 can be said to have one.  They are called Rubblebucket...

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So by my count, we have lost 34 #1s from the ladies.  These are the women with #1 lead credits in the ME2.0 I have confirmed have joined the Hereafter Band...

 Kay Starr, Gogi Grant, Debbie Reynolds, Della Reese, Little Eva, Leslie Gore, Anita Humes of the Essex, Ronnie Spector, the Singing Nun, Mary Wells, Mama Cass Elliot, Judith Durham of the Seekers, Aretha Franklin, Mariska Veres of Shocking Blue, Karen Carpenter, Lynn Anderson, Edna Wright of Honey Cone, Helen Reddy, Odia Coates (who dueted with Paul Anka), Olivia Newton-John, Fayette Pinkney of the 3 Degrees, Minnie Ripperton, Georgianna Tillman of the Marvelettes, and Janis Joplin.

Debuting at #7, and runner up of the great battle for 10th last week, a current top 10 on Billboard- who else but Harry Styles...

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BTW, that one sits at #10 on Billboard this week.

 

Also this week, Lamont Dozier of the famous Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team passed this week. Among their work (of which he was mainly the musical arranger) is most of the Supremes catalog.  According to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame,  "The Holland-Dozier-Holland configuration has composed over 400 songs, 130 of which have scored on the Pop Charts, over 70 were Top Ten Hits and more than 40 reached the number one chart position." I believe this was over the R&B and pop charts.  On the US pop chart, they scored 13 #1s and 35 top tens, according to Wiki.

 

That's a lot of loss to the music world.

I have one more factoid to share, after I give the remainder of the M10.  Actually, I also have an M10 factoid, if you're still awake.

Gilbert O'Sullivan slips 4 to 10 with Let Me Know.

Up a pair to 6 is Maddie and Tae with Every Night Every Morning.

A notch down to 5 for the latest leader in the Song of Summer '22 race, the Jayhawks and Save It For A Rainy Day.

Next comes a Built To Spill twofer, Spiderwebs up 6 to #4, Fool's Gold holding at 3.

Also holding at #2 is Billboard's #3, Harry Styles with As It Was.  It is on the Columbia label, which I mention because the last two weeks have been the only time in M10 history in which one label held BOTH the top two spots.

And again at the top....

...Cannons and Bad Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that final factoid- as best I can tell, the oldest surviving ME2.0 lady with a #1 credit...

April Stevens, who teamed with brother Nino Tempo for the #1 Deep Purple... April turned 93, appropriately enough, this past April.

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, finale

 

So we have reached the end of Matthew's journey- and we will pause the study of Jesus's questions here.  Today I have Jesus's last question- but before that, the one Pilate asked.

Mat 27:15  Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.
Mat 27:16  And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
Mat 27:17  So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

Facts here:  Barabbas, who may or may not have had the first name Jesus (Yeshua) as well, was a rebel (in Rome's eyes), a robber and a murderer.  In a way, our Jesus was much like this:  He was a rebel to the priestly system, He was robbing them of the legitimacy of their ill-gotten gains, and He was about to kill their entire false belief system.  And Barabbas?  Ironically, the name means, "Son of the Father", a name equally applied to Jesus.  Here, I discovered, my e-Sword program made a mistake on what's loaded in on it's Strongs Concordance translation- or, did it?

If you go on line- and I believe this is correct- Strongs makes no more definition than "Son of the Father".  But, on my e-Sword, it gives us...

Of Chaldee origin ([H1347] and G5 (Greek)); son of Abba; Bar-abbas, an Israelite: - Barabbas.

The g5 is merely the 'abbas', or father. But instead of the 'bar' section, that "Chaldee origin H1347" gives us this:

gaw-ohn'
From H1342; the same as H1346: - arrogancy, excellency (-lent), majesty, pomp, pride, proud, swelling.

Which, by accident or design, gives us "Father of arrogance"- a fairly good definition of Satan.  Imagine this:  Pontius Pilate- a man who just moments before (John 18:38) gave Jesus the battle cry of the modern agenda driven news reporter, "What is truth"- is telling you you have a choice between Jesus and Satan- and that if you choose wrongly, it's all on you...

Mat 27:24  So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."
Mat 27:25  And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"

As for Jesus's last question, it came in His cry from the Cross:

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Which the evil of the crowd, who knew well what He was quoting, pretended they didn't:

Mat 27:47  And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah."
Mat 27:48  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
Mat 27:49  But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."

What He WAS quoting was, of course, David's vision of the Crucifixion in Psalm 22:

Psa 22:1  To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 

 

We talked last week about the many prophecies in this Psalm fulfilled in Jesus's death. But as you go seeking the answer to Jesus's cry, you come to this verse:

Psa 22:21  Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Here is the turn of things- God did save Jesus by the resurrection- which saved all of us.  Now the lion is pretty easy to figure out, thanks to Peter...

1Pe 5:8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

But once again, I had some fun with the "wild Oxen"...

From H7213; a wild bull (from its conspicuousness): - unicorn.

In fact, the word is translated 'unicorn' in many translations, in many spots in the Old Testament; but according to Pliny's description of the word, we are actually looking at a rhinoceros:

 According to Pliny (m), the monoceros, or unicorn, is the fiercest of wild beasts; in its body like a horse, it has the head of an hart and feet of an elephant, the tail of a bear, makes a great bellowing; has one black horn rising up in the middle of the forehead, of two cubits long; it is denied that it was ever taken alive...

And should you look up that H7213, you find it means 'to be lifted up', or in other words we have again found the arrogance of Barabbas.

It could take a sermon series to explain why Jesus felt abandoned at this point; but that isn't the choice before us.  You feel you don't want to choose Jesus?  You should be warned how God sees that choice. First, it is the arrogance that damned Satan, and you will follow in it.  Second, there is no one to blame but yourself.  And third, you won't be taken alive, that is, to life in heaven.

 

M10 show week #34

 

Elvis:  Okay, so what kinda special show do ya have fer us this week?

Nothing special.  Just the standard stuff.

What? No "guess the song written by the singer's aunt", or the latest clicklist of  greatest hits of singers wearing dentures?"

 

Nope.  Just the number ones for the zeros and ones, one new debut, new #1...

Wow, you disappoint me...

Well, I could point out there was about a six-way tie for who the debut was gonna be... I mean, the shuffle has a beefy 26 songs on it.  Or I could just randomly type in 'greatest hits of' and see what comes up... I tell you what, let's go with 'greatest hits of all time, and see how many different answers we get!

Well, that'd be unusual...

You better cue up the debut first...

All right, so the winner of the "debuts this week" derby goes to... more new Built To Spill, at #10...

 

 

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I like it!  How's about I do the #1s from the 0's this week?

Have at it, buddy...

Boy, yer about a damper tonight...

I'm frustrated.  Nobody comments anymore, Laurie only chuckles at half the jokes... I think I'm losing my touch...

Cain't lose whatcha never had, haw!  Anyway...

This week in 1960, #1 on Cashbox was Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland... now that might cheer ya up...

Long as it isn't Mrs Miller in it...

 I'd plumb fergot about her!  I getcher point...

#1 this week in 1970 was (They Long To Be) Close To You by the Carpenters...

An' in 1980, it was Olivia Newton-John with Magic...

 So, what'd you find on those 'greatest hits?

Well, from the top, we had pages giving the title to...

Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit

Aretha Franklin's Respect 

John Lennon's Imagine... let's not go there...

The Beatles, Yesterday...

Yeah, let's not go there, either!

Chubby Checker and The Twist

Led Zep and Stairway To Heaven 

Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody

Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode

Bob Dylan, Like A Rolling Stone

David Bowie, Life On Mars

Stone Roses, I Am The Resurrection

Prince and the Revolution, When Doves Cry

Hound Dog by yours truly...

YES!!! NA NA NA NA!!!!!

And that's seven Google pages back, with multiple votes for Imagine and Bohemian Rhapsody.  A couple of them were various years of the Rolling Stone top 500, Ranker and Rateyourmusic were represented, and of course, the very odd site that pitched in the Stone Roses. I mean, it wasn't bad as 8-minute songs go...

You stopped it at 2:40...

Because we have other things to do!  I say, let's bring up Spotify and see which one's got the most votes...

Which proves what?

Nothing, but it gives us a good jumping-off point.  Whilst I gather that info, make with the other #1s...

Sure, sure... 

1961 this week was Bobby Lewis, Tossin' And Turnin'...

1971 this week was James Taylor an' You've Got A Friend...

...an' 1981 this week was The Oak Ridge Boys an' Elvira...

Good grief!

So, ya get them numbers?

Yep, and here's how Spotify ranked these alleged greatest hits, using the first version that shows up as my number...

Not surprisingly, the Stone Roses bagged last with 41 million... 

The Twist only gathered  67 mil for 13th;

Shockingly, When Doves Cry got 12th with 177 mil;

King.. you got 11th with 185 mil...

RIGGED!  It wuz rigged, I tell ya!

Bowie came in 10th with 243 mil; 

Dylan got 9th with 274 mil;

Chuck Berry was 8th with 322 mil;

Aretha got respected up to #7 with 425 mil;

The Beatles got 6th with 432 mil;

Lennon got 5th with 465 mil;

Beyonce took #4 at 479 mil;

Led Zep came in 3rd with 719 mil;

Nirvana was 2nd with 1.356 BILLION listens;

 And, to no great shock, Bohemian Rhapsody was tops with 1.878 billion!

An, to no great shock, we're running late!  Lemme get that M10 in right quick...

Firecracker by Chicago holds at 9;

Maddie an' Tae up 2 with Every Night, Every Morning at #8;

Beatmaker by Berry and Noble up one to #7;

Up one to 6 is Gilbert O'Sullivan, Let Me Know;

Absofacto down 1 with Dissolve;

Jayhawks drop from top to 4 with Save It For A Rainy Day;

Built To Spill also at 3, up 3 with Fool's Gold;

Just like on the Billboard chart, Harry Styles holds at 2 with As It Was;

And the new #1....

 ...Cannons and Bad Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Now, y'all git on Spotify an' upvote me!  We cain't let this travers... this travee... this mess happen again!

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, part 27

 

We are rushing towards the end of Matthew, and this week, Jesus askes three questions so rapid fire, I can put them all up in one shot:

Mat 26:51  And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Mat 26:52  Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Mat 26:53  Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54  But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"
Mat 26:55  At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.
Mat 26:56  But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled. 

The first question is a very interesting one, if you go beyond the words- which the Disciples didn't.  You see, the reason they even had a sword with them we find in the version of the story in Luke 22:

Luk 22:35  And He said to them, When I sent you without a purse, or a wallet, or sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing.
Luk 22:36  Then He said to them, But now, the one having a purse, let him take it; likewise also a wallet. And the one not having, let him sell his garment, and let him buy a sword.
Luk 22:37  For I say to you that this that has been written must yet be fulfilled in Me: "And He was numbered with the lawless." Isa. 53:12 For the things concerning Me also have an end.
Luk 22:38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And He said to them, It is enough. 

So they took swords with them to Gethsemane, not realizing that Jesus was referring to after He left them- after He was numbered with the lawless, i.e. crucified between the 2 thieves.  The lesson in Jesus's question though, is this- for any Disciple willing to fight for Him, He had an army of angels at the ready.  And as commentator John Gill points out:

 and what is it that such a company of angels is not capable of, when a single angel slew in one night an hundred, fourscore, and five thousand men, (2Ki_19:35), wherefore had Christ had any inclination to have been rescued from the present danger, he stood in no need of Peter's sword.

God and Jesus have no need for defenders among men.  Our job is not to apologize for God's Word, to make excuses for it, or to force it on others, literally or figuratively, at swordpoint.  Ours is to learn and to teach.  

Second question points out that everything happening at this point had been predicted hundreds, if not thousands, of years before.  A few examples:

Mat 26:14  Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Mat 26:15  and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 27:3  Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,
Mat 27:4  saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself."
Mat 27:5  And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.
Mat 27:6  But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money."
Mat 27:7  So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. 

From Zechariah, @520 BC...

Zec 11:12  Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Zec 11:13  Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter.

Or...

 Mat 27:12  But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
Mat 27:13  Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?"
Mat 27:14  But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Mat 27:38  Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

Mat 27:57  When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
Mat 27:58  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
Mat 27:59  And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
Mat 27:60  and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.

From Isaiah, @740 BC....

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Isa 53:8  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
Isa 53:9  And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Or one last round...

Mat 27:35  And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 

Luk 23:35  And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!"
Luk 23:36  The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
Luk 23:37  and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 

Joh 19:32  So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.
Joh 19:33  But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
Joh 19:34  But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

From David, @ 1,000 BC:

Psa 22:7  All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
Psa 22:8  "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

Psa 22:14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
Psa 22:15  my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

Psa 22:18  they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Psa 34:20  He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Psa 69:20  Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.
Psa 69:21  They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Not to mention that you can use the historical information described in Nehemiah do date the timeline in Daniel 9 to give an almost exact date of the Crucifixion- early April of 32 AD.

The third question shows that even His arrest was predetermined- not in the open, among the crowds, but here in an isolated spot in the middle of the night.  That this went against all Jewish laws reminds us of the lengths that evil will go to to prevent the works of God- excuses, lies, cheatings.  That we have such things now that so many believe in, from a 'bigoted and intolerant Bible' to evolution, UFOs, and the like, shouldn't be surprising.  I've asked the question before of atheists- "If you grant me a Satan actively trying to make people not believe in a God, what sort of things would he do?"  Atheists won't answer- 'it's beneath their intellect to respond'- but I just did.

Saturday Morning walk

Neighborhood bunny says hello

Tops of the trees just getting the sun

Bunny #2

We weren't the first ones out... but there weren't many until the way back

Way to the distance, a 4-pack of deer

And they go... but not far

Misty on 'varmint patrol'

chirping at us

I bet Stick could

Almost caught a frog

On the way through the Swamp, I thought about it being a nice enough day to cross the bridge to the River Walk.  Miss mind reader had the same thought.

Here's a newbie- a new Blackjack Oak

Uh-oh- road work ahead

A new electrical box?

Ah, for the new decorative lights

At this point, my legs mentioned they were getting tired.  Misty seemed to be showing signs of slowing down too (you know, like a Chevelle big block showing first signs of needing a tune-up). I asked if she was ready to turn around, and she turned around.

Another newbie- a Showy Mountain Ash.  Not yet showy, though.

The view is, though.  Picture don't do it justice.

Just a quick drink, Homey's not doing water today.

At last, we're on the same pace.  For a minute or two, at least!

M10 show week #33

 

Elvis:  So what's this I hear we ain't doin' the number ones this week?  It's m'favorite part!

Well, we already have one feature and two M10 debuts, so I wanted to leave room for something I KNOW you'll bring up...

How do YOU know what I'm-a gonna say?

Um, I write the post, so...

Oh, yeah...

So while we have everyone corn-fused, how about playing debut #1?

Sure thing! At #10, I love these gals, new Maddie and Tae!

 

 

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So what's this thing I'm gonna bring up?

Well, it's another thing that Harry Styles' hit As It Was has in common on both Billboard and here- it drops out of #1 this week.

Already? It was #1 10 weeks outta 13 on Billboard, an' only one here!

 

And that brings up the difference between a Billboard chart and the M10.  For example, this week's M10 songs have a collective 38 weeks on the M10- so, say we did a hot 100, and just to give us a big cushion, say the songs any given week have twice the weeks on the 100 that they have on the ten... that would be 76 weeks.

Yer point?

So this week in 1952 (and here I had to use Cashbox, since Billboard charts weren't official until 1958), the top ten songs had a collective 122 weeks on the chart.

Okay, so they stay longer on their charts...

But it is a phenomena of the modern age that REALLY pushes those weeks out!  For example, 1962 this week, the weeks in the chart of the BB top ten totaled 83...

More like ours...

But that was an outlier.  In 1972, it was 102, in 1982, 119, and in 1992, 115...

Seems to be holdin' pretty steady, son...

Until next:  In 2002, 127 weeks; in 2012, it jumps to 150; and this week's BB top ten has a collective 194 weeks on the chart!

Holy cow!  That went up... uh...

It went up a whopping 40% from the average of the other 7 years, and 22% over just ten years ago!

Sounds like the chart's a bit bound up these days...

Exactly.  One song is in its 79th chart week!  Anyway, how about you rattle off some more of that special from last week- the highest charting songs that debuted on Cashbox at #100!

All righty...

10- Henry Mancini, Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet. came in 5/3/1969, two weeks at #1.

9- Seasons In The Sun, Terry Jacks. Came in 1/12/1974, 2 weeks at #1.

8- The Most Beautiful Girl, Charlie Rich. Came in on 9/29/1973, 2 weeks at the top.

7- I Think I Love You, The Partridge Family. The only three-week #1, it came in on 9/26/1970.

An' 6- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. First of 3 four-week top dogs, it came in 3/4/1972.

 

Good job.  Itching to hear that top 5?

Not unless I'm in it...

 Boy, selfish much?  Anyway, the debut at #8 brings back our 'Acid Jazz' buddy, Matt Berry!  He and a lady named Emma Noble did a tune earlier this year covering a song from 1970; this week, he decided to re-release it as a mainly instrumental track!  That's the version we get this week...

 

 

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So you want the M10 or the other five?

Lemme pick up the M10...

9 is Chicago's Firecracker, up one...

7 is Gilbert O'Sullivan, Let Me Know, up one...

5 an' 6 are a Built To Spill twofer!  The new one, Fool's Gold, up 3 to 6; the old one, Understood, holds at 5...

Absofacto drops one to #4 with Dissolve, and Bad Dream by Cannons changes places with it to 3...

Cat's outta the bag on #2, Harry Styles an' As It Was....

An' the new #1- relatively speakin...

 

 

 

 ... the Jayhawks, with 1995's Save It For A Rainy Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good job, bud!  So the highest charting five songs in Martin Era 2.0 that debuted at #100...

 

5- Hey!  Baby, Bruce Channel.  A 4 week #1 that debuted 1/20/1962;

4- In The Year 2525, Zager and Evans.  A 4-weeker from 6/14/1969;

3- Dominique, The Singing Nun, a 5-week chart topper from 11/2/1963;

2- Michael, the Highwaymen. Also 5 weeks, debuting 6/24/1961;

 

And the biggest CB hit in Martin Era 2.0 to debut at #100, coming in on 8/18/1962....

 

 

 

 ....the Four Seasons and Sherry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wow, that couldn't have worked out better!  See you next time!