Martin World News

 

So today, our objective is to rant abou-er, post the FIRST non-news item on a site's front page.  Let's get right to it!

1. Fox News:Earth-shaking?, well, something's shaking...

Headline: SEE IT:Chris Pratt's ex-wife strips down for the Super Bowl

The fifth-ranked (by placement) story on FN is about Anna Faris and her two avocados, apparently trying to be the fruit Eve sampled in the Garden of Eden.  And, as for seeing it...

...well, it will be network TV.

BBC World News: Debate needed over this pressing world problem

Headline: Hollywood debate over Riseborough Oscar nomination

Apparently, the problem with Andrea Riseborough's nomination was that instead of having her support being raised the normal way- whatever that is- her performance in a movie called To Leslie was nominated because of a "celeb-backed campaign" to get her nominated.  Let's let the Hollywood Reporter explain...

One such film is To Leslie, an indie film starring Andrea Riseborough that did almost no business last October when released in 28 or so theaters. But after a celebrity-fueled grassroots campaign led to Riseborough earning a surprise Oscar nomination for best actress, the movie is going back into six cinemas this weekend. According to unofficial estimates, few are going to see To Leslie. Those with access to numbers say the film earned $250,000 or less from six theaters.

 

Seems to me the celeb-backed campaign would have been better spent informing the viewing public that the movie even exists- with the reviews it got, you'd think it would be a hit if anyone knew about it.

Japan Times: Not your normal cross-cultural experience

Headline: Over 500 women in Japan used overseas sperm bank in 3½ years through October

So we have a Danish company, with donors from Europe and the USA, serving the infertile and the reproductively challenged (read: gay couples) in Japan.  Why Denmark?  Because it seems that the law doesn't allow, shall we say, home-grown businesses in this area in Japan.  It seems this is a many-cornered battle with sides including both those who want to plan for a future without restrictions, those who want such services limited to infertile married couples (which would prevent 65% of current customers from getting the process), and those who are concerned " … about whether we should live in a society where people’s genetic information is evaluated and traded for money.”

 

Xinhua (China): Because Western Union is so impersonal

Headline:  Chinese, Dutch FMs talk over phone

"We tried walkie-talkies, but the reception was a bit sketchy..." 

Deutsche Welle (Germany): Should have thought about this a bit earlier...

Headline: Could Adolf Hitler's seizure of power have been prevented?

After 90 years, they're STILL trying to figure this one out?

"You know, one day they might yet surprise us... nahhh."

France24: This is just too cute....

Headline: Is there life on Mars? Maybe, and it could have dropped its teddy

The Mars reconnaissance Orbiter took a picture of a 1.25 mile-wide "bear's face" on Mars.  On the more serious (cough, cough) side of the story, they do note...

"One thing they have not found, however, is the little green men who were once popularly believed to inhabit the planet."

Good to know.

And one honorable mention- since it's another Oscar story, I can't give it full points...

CNN: The Disney Catalogue has gone nuclear

Headline: Why ‘Pinocchio’ is devastating

And by "devastating", Holly Thomas (morning editor at Katie Couric Media, which is probably a punch line on it's own if I felt like digging) means that it is devastating that the latest remake of the cartoon did not get a "Best Picture" nomination.  " It’s languishing instead in the animated feature film category, alongside “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” “The Sea Beast” and “Turning Red”. "

Perhaps the the little wooden liar should have gotten a "Celeb-backed campaign" together.  I can almost see it now...

"Heck, no, we won't go!  Nominate Pinocchio!"

M10 show, week #56

 

Well, buddy, I decided to bring in a guest today- an old friend...

Uh-oh... this can't be good...

Sure it will be! I'm sure you all remember our friend Wayne Newton...

Wayne: Yaaay me!!!

E: See, told ya!

Now, I have a very special reason for bringing in Wayne today...

E: He's broke an' needs a job...

W: Exactl... hey, wait a minute!

 In fact, it's a reason that involves both of you- and our new weekly feature!  In the meantime:  Mere moments after we put last week's show in the can, the news of David Crosby's death exploded across the internet.  His poor politics aside, he was a voice for our era, and as such, we will be doing his greatest top ten hits...

W: Ooh, cool!  Will White Christmas be on it?

....

E: You idjit, that's BING Crosby!  David's the one who got busted using knockout drops on chicks!

Speaking of idiots, at least Wayne got the last name right, unlike you and "Bill Cosby"!

W:  Not to mention I got his race right...

E: What the heck do cars have to do with this?

And this is what I get for putting these two back together for any reason!  So we'll get to both those features soon... but first, Bud, play our first of 2 debuts on the M10 this week!

Sure!  At #8, and a song we just found last night, here's Christian artist Katy Nichole with brand new stuff...

 

***************************************************

Powerful stuff- hit me right where I was.  Anyway, so the thing with our "song I wouldn't change the station on" this week is, I was THAT close to being shut out!  Out of the entire top 100 for this week in 1993, I knew for sure just SEVEN songs- and two of those I cannot stand!

E:  Michael Bolton again?

One of them, and the other is Whitney Houston's cover of a far better Dolly Parton song, I Will Always Love You.

W: What's wrong with that song?

Nothing that couldn't be fixed if Whitney hadn't sang the whole thing like she was looking in the mirror.  At any rate, let me give you the thumbnail on this particular winning song.  First, no one knows exactly how this song charted, it was never released, and these were the days the charts when strictly by sales.  Therefore, while Billboard never charted it at all, it was seven weeks out from having hit the top on Cashbox!  Speculation was that the performer had mob connections, and Cashbox, deep in hock, wasn't real choosy about where they got their financing...

W: I can't imagine what artist would be that lacking in integrity!

I'm glad you brought that up!  Because it was a good song- so good that when I heard the song and the story, I put it on the M10, and it hit #3 in September of 2017!  The song, a point at which a very depressed Elvis-

E: Hey!  How am I involved in this?

Because you wrote a note to God... and then threw it out.  A maid found it crumpled in the trash, and gave it to someone, who gave it to someone, who turned it into a song, and gave it to Mr Integrity over here...

 W:  Me?  I'm the one... but that mafia thing is preposterous!

E: I'm sure it is, Scarface...

...and it was on the way down at #26 this week.  Here's Wayne with our Song I wouldn't turn off...

 

*************************************************************** 

 

David Crosby was not just Crosby Stills And Nash (and sometimes Young), but also a solo act, and with the Byrds.  According to Billboard and their airplay+ sales formula, here are his top 10 biggest hits...

10- Ohio (with CSN&Y), #14.

9- Eight Miles High (with the Byrds), #14.

8- Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (with CS&N), #21

7- Teach Your Children (with CSN&Y), #16

6- Southern Cross (with CS&N)

5- Woodstock (with CSN&Y), #11

4- Just A Song Before I Go (with CS&N), #7

3- Wasted On The Way (with CS&N), #9

2- Mr Tambourine Man (with the Byrds), #1

 

And as usual, I'll save the top one- and you should be able to guess from what's left- for the big reveal...

W:  Was it Swingin' On A Star?

E:  That's Bing again, fool...

...right after I share our top debut at #6.  This is a band whose songs heretofore, while catchy, are... well kinda stupid.  For example, here's a line from their biggest hit so far...

Is your mother worried?
Would you like us to assign someone to worry your mother?
Excuse me (what?)
Excuse me (what?)
Hey you, in the front row
Are you coming backstage after the show?
Because I've got a chaise lounge in my dressing room
And a pack of warm beer that we can consume

 

Not that the story is much better on this one, but the music sure is!  With the new one, Angelica, here's Wet Leg...

 

**************************************************** 

Okay, Wayne, howsabout you finish out the top ten this week?

E: An' don't be puttin' any of Bing's songs init!

W: Well, okay...

10- and holding, White Reaper and Pages....

9- Down 3, Lucius and Muse...

Hey, where's number 8?

E: We played it, numbskull!

W:  Oh, yeah...

7- Back up 2 spots, Smashing Pumpkins and Beyond The Vale...

Hey, where's num...

E:  We PLAYED it..

W:  Oh, yeah...

5- Up three notches, another David Crosby song covered, The Heavy Heavy and Guinevere... 

4- and holding, Maneskin and La Fine...

3- Down one, Joji and Die For You...

2- Up one, Morrissey and Rebels Without Applause...

And again at #1...

 ...Cafune and Tek It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E: Awright, gimme that microphone!  The top David Crosby song is...

 #1 by the Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

E: Wow, we're done, an' he ain't busted anything... Wait, what're you...

SKRUNCH BANG **FEEDBACK***

E:  Help me Lord.....  

Wednesday Bible Study- Ladies Night part 7

 

I think, as I type this, I have finally figured out the key to the story of Abram/Abraham's wife, Sarai/Sarah. But as I gather my thoughts, just for fun, let's look at some of the misinterpretations the rabbinical literature made when put against the Bible in her regards.

First, they claim Sarah was Abraham's NIECE, not his half-sister, despite Abraham's own words:

Gen 20:10  And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"
Gen 20:11  Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
Gen 20:12  Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
Gen 20:13  And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'" 

So how did the rabbis mess this one up? Because they look at THIS verse:

Gen 11:27  Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.
Gen 11:28  Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
Gen 11:29  And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.

And they say, if Milcah and Sarah were SISTERS, then Iscah must = Sarah, and thus is Abraham's niece.  But the Bible does NOT say they were sisters- and the commentators speculate that Iscah is mentioned because she was Lot's wife/sister. Curiously, although the rabbis say that the name "Iscah" refers to Sarah's beauty, the actual translation of "Iscah" is "From an unused root meaning to watch", and as Lot's wife became eventually a pillar of salt, watching was about all she could do.

Next, they say Sarah was "Superior to Abraham in the gift of prophecy"; so why does the Bible tell us...

Gen 20:6  Then God said to (Abimelech) in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
Gen 20:7  Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours." 

God never said, "For SHE is a prophet"...

Next, the funny story about what attracted Pharaoh to Sarah...

On the journey to Egypt, Abraham hid his wife in a chest in order that no one might see her. At the frontier the chest had to pass through the hands of certain officials, who insisted on examining its contents in order to determine the amount of duty payable. When it was opened a bright light proceeded from Sarah's beauty. 

And finally, the deal about Hagar...

As a token of his love for Sarah the king (Pharaoh) deeded his entire property to her, and gave her the land of Goshen as her hereditary possession: for this reason the Israelites subsequently lived in that land (Pirḳe R. El. xxxvi.). He gave her also his own daughter Hagar as slave .

 

Problem with that? According to Susan Wise Bauer's History Of The Ancient World, at this point in history, Pharaoh's daughters were never even given to Great Kings, let alone visiting Bedouins.

Okay, enough with the silly stuff (for now)- what do we know about Sarah? Well, we do know a couple of contradictory things about her.  First of all, Peter gives us a look into her personality...

1Pe 3:3  Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear--
1Pe 3:4  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
1Pe 3:5  For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,
1Pe 3:6  as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

But put that next to this, after Hagar gave birth to Ishmael...

(Contemporary English Version Bible) Gen 16:5  Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the LORD for this."

Ouch!  The other contradictory pair we find is this...

Heb 11:11  Even when Sarah was too old to have children, she had faith that God would do what he had promised, and she had a son.

But also this...

Gen 18:11  Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children.
Gen 18:12  So she laughed and said to herself, "Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?"
Gen 18:13  The LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age?
Gen 18:14  I am the LORD! There is nothing too difficult for me. I'll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son."
Gen 18:15  Sarah was so frightened that she lied and said, "I didn't laugh." "Yes, you did!" he answered.

So which Sarah was she- the quiet and humble spirit, endowed with faith, or the vengeful woman who laughed at God? And how is it that she was so beautiful that at almost 70, Pharaoh coveted her, and at 90, she was strong enough to have a baby and beautiful enough to attract Abimelech?  I have a theory- only a theory.  See, after the Flood, man's lifetime began to shrink- we've covered this before.  At this point, Abraham would live to 175 and Isaac to 180; but listen to this from Moses around 400 years later:

Psa 90:10  We can expect seventy years, or maybe eighty, if we are healthy, but even our best years bring trouble and sorrow. Suddenly our time is up, and we disappear.

So I thought, if for Moses it was 70, but for Abraham 175, then for Abraham a much older age would be the equivalent of a much younger one to Moses (and us).  Based on this theory, a little perspective:

When the promise was first given to Abraham, he and Sarah would have been 75 and 66; the equivalent would have them as 41 and 36.  When Ishmael was born of Hagar, the equivalent would have been 42 for Sarah- young enough to be beautiful, old enough to wonder if you'd ever have children.  Isaac, then would have been born at the equivalents of Abraham being 55 and Sarah 50.  Certainly easier to grasp than Abraham being 100 and Sarah 91, but this is just speculation on my part.

Okay, so tuck that away and let's get back to Sarah.  From the time they left Haran, through the incident with Pharaoh, Sarah was that quiet, gentle soul, obedient to Abraham, that Peter described.  Then came the Hagar thing...

Gen 16:1  Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
Gen 16:2  And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3  So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

 

 

Now this COULD be interpreted as a sin on their part, but one thing I noticed is that, up to this point, the promise of descendants is ONLY to Abraham.  It is only after Ishmael is born to Hagar that God adds this...

Gen 17:15  And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
Gen 17:16  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
Gen 17:17  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Gen 17:18  And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
Gen 17:19  God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 

So we are dealing, before this, with a Sarah who has a husband promised big things by God... but her connection to the promise was ONLY in her marriage. So why wouldn't she feel left out, when...

(Once again, CEV) Gen 16:4  Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and was hateful to Sarai.
Gen 16:5  Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the LORD for this."
Gen 16:6  Abram said, "All right! She's your slave, and you can do whatever you want with her." But Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

Note that last part; After she ran Hagar off, God tells Hagar to come back, because...

Gen 16:9  The angel said, "Go back to Sarai and be her slave.
Gen 16:10  I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael, because I have heard your cry for help. And later I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all.

But after God brings her into the promise, she returns to that quiet, gentle soul, until Ishmael becomes a problem.  And here, I believe, we find the key.  The Jews tell us:

The two forms of the name, "Sarah" and "Sarai," are identical in meaning; it is difficult to understand the reason for the change. "Sarai" is probably the more archaic form of "Sarah," though the termination "ai" is unusual in the feminine.

 

But by my concordance, that's not quite true.  Witness:

Translation of Sarai: "From H8269; dominative; Sarai, the wife of Abraham".

Translation of Sarah: "Feminine of H8269; a mistress, that is, female noble: - lady, princess, queen."

Before she felt included, she had a bossy streak- not surprising for a woman who was supposed to be wife #1, but had to lie about her position, share with a concubine, sneered at by a son not her own.  But after, she became the #1 by God's declaration- she could be #1, and still have the quiet, gentle soul.

This is the change that should come over us when we receive Christ.  We should then be secure in what God has promised us, not worrying over what others might do.  Not that it completely goes away- note that Hagar was made to leave again, but this time she asked Abraham to take care of it, instead of running her off by shrewishness.  And because she did it in a way to respect her lord, Abraham, God told Him to listen to her.  And this here- the change we should feel when Christ enters our life- is I believe the key to understanding Sarah.

Which the Jews, of course, did not; I saved you two more items from the Jewish Encyclopedia.  First, they posited that Sarah was fated to live to the same age as Abraham, but because of her FIRST treatment of Hagar, God chopped 40 years off that age (she died at 127- or, by 'Martin equivalent', 70).  I kind of doubt that, when you consider Miriam insulted Moses in front of God and only got a week of leprosy. Second, Satan allegedly came to her while Abraham was taking Isaac to the mountain to be sacrificed: in one story he tells her that Abraham sacrificed the boy ( who at this point had to be about 34, or 'Martin equivalent' 19) and he could not escape his father, so she died of grief; the other says he told her the first lie, and when she went to find out the truth, Satan returned to tell her the boy yet lived, and she died of joy.

  Regardless, she DID die shortly after Abraham and Isaac returned.  One translation of the word 'quiet' in 1 Peter is "keeping one's seat"- and that, I bet, is just what the faithful, quiet spirit of Sarah did until they returned.

Sometimes you get the glory...

 So today it's Sunday.  We were supposed to get an inch at most of snow, starting at 4 AM and ending shortly thereafter.

It is now 1130 AM, we have around 2 1/2 inches, and it's still coming down.  Nothing makes the words "local meteorologist" equal the word "fool" like the word "snow".

For whatever reason, Misty's usual, "Yay!  Snow" attitude turn to "Snow.  Whatever."  I usually can send her on wild tears across the white stuff just by saying, "Snow Nose!"  Today she's at "Not interested", verging on, "Screw this!"  I don't know if she's aging a lot faster than I like or just out of shape since between the weather and my being sick, we've only took 2 real walks since Christmas.

Better news, yesterday we got to meet Laurie's new Grandniece (or great-niece, whichever)...

That tiny heartbreaker is Melina Rain, a about a week and a half old.  It's been about three years since I got to hold one that small, and we had a great time.  She makes Laurie's 6th time being a great aunt, first one from mommy Emily.  She has been the good balance today against a bad weather day and a worse news day.

Some nut job decided (I know maybe not appropriate, but laugh to keep from crying) to play Elmer Fudd at the Year of the Rabbit celebration in Monterrey CA early this morning, killing 10 celebrators and getting away for the time being.  Yes, yes, gun control, blah blah blah.  Here's the thing:  This society, this world, is consistently finding ways to push Christ out of the way.  As a result, Satan and his little buddies fill in the vacuum.  Thus we have more and more hatred- I hate cops, I hate Asians, I hate old white men, I hate my kindergarten teacher, etc etc- and more and more people with no moral fiber basis to act on that hatred. Try curing that with laws, especially ones that say Christians are intolerant and should be forced to act against their morals JUST LIKE WE DO.

I'm sticking with Christ.  You want to crucify me for it, here I am. (Knowing I'm not talking to any regular reader here, BTW.  With the price of eggs what it is, I know I'm safe from you guys...)

So yeah, I'm midway between the smile that baby put on my face and looking for a place to hide from the world.  Wishing Misty'd find a spark of enthusiasm to brighten my day.  And about lunchtime away from a nap.

M10 show, week #55

 

Just so you all know, in trying to get Blogger to open my "pictures library", for whatever reason, it tried to open up Google Chrome (my emergency browser) and e-sword (my Bible program) as well.  So if something comes out wonky, I'm blaming Elvis!

Elvis: Hey, woah, slow down there, son...

Oh, you know I'm kidding.  Anyway, this week has NO debuts on the M10, but the ten will appear in between not one, but TWO great features!

Ya didn't fergit that 'never turn off of the radio' deal, didja?

Nope, and let's just go ahead and start there.  This time we go to this week in 1994- where the sliding towards bankruptcy Cashbox yet again has a 2 week (at least) old frozen chart.  And I had to drop to #39 to find the first song I would NOT change the station on under any circumstances!

Geez!  A lot of stinkers in front of it?

No, just a lot that I didn't really know.  32 out of the 38 ahead of this week's winner, in fact, I had no clue on.  Frankly, I had been away from chart songs for a while then and was riding the Alternative music wave. Among these was at least one I know I would have hated had I ever heard it...

Lemme guess... the Michael Bolton thing...

Bullseye.  For you that don't know, I would prefer a Yoko Ono marathon to a 3 minute Michael Bolton single.  Also, out of 5 "know and like" tunes, one of them- Jimmy Cliff's cover of I Can See Clearly Now -it's strong to say 'like', but it's better than the otherwise empty "yuck" category.  I did list one almost but not quite- The Cranberries and their single Linger at #17.   But lets save the winner for "big reveal time..."

Ya mean, 'big deal time'...

Whatever, dude!  Just get us out the M10 before anything else goes wrong- and leave off #1... 

Ya said there wuz no debuts- they'll know what ya left out!

If they were paying attention...

Ha!  Okay, we know no one pays any attention here!

So 10, down 2, is White Reaper an' Pages...

9- also down 2, Smashing Pumpkins an' Beyond The Vale...

8- up one, the Heavy Heavy an' Guinevere..

7- down 4, the Four Seasons an' Sleeping Man...

6- an' holdin', Lucius an' Muse...

5- an' holdin', Talk an' Run Away To Mars...

4- up from 10, Maneskin an La Fine...

3- Up one, Morrissey and Rebels Without Applause...

Hey, you pronounced your "and" right on that last one...

Computer glitch.  2- down one fer Joji an' Die For You...

And that brings us to something I got an e-mail about from Best Classic Bands.  The seven inductees  into the songwriter's hall of fame 2023 began with Jeff Lynne of ELO, and rightly so.  The rest... okay, Gloria Estefan... I didn't know Sade did her own writing... Snoop Dogg?  Liz Rose, whose claim to fame is writing for Taylor Swift... even worse, Glen Ballard, whose claim is his work on Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill (oh, and Man In The Mirror for MJ)... and a dude named Teddy Riley, who not only invented a genre I never heard of, but from what I could find out, was vastly more a producer than writer.

Compare anyone past Lynne to the nominees who got passed over...  Boyce and Hart (see Monkees)...  Linzer/Randall (the Toys' A Lover's Concerto, and 3 top 15s for the Four Seasons...Roger Nichols, who co-wrote with Paul Williams several Carpenters hits...Bryan Adams...Burke/Harry/Stein (aka Blondie)... Johnson/McDonald/Simmons (aka the Doobie Brothers)... Vince Gill... the Wilson sisters (aka Heart)... REM... and Stevie Winwood... 

 

 

 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

 

 

 

Shh, Elvis fell asleep because a) I had to fight about a half-hour war with this computer to get it to work right, and b) I've spent about an hour and a half researching this mess above.  I have done my best to find ALL the top ten Hot 100 songs by the clow... er, the inductees above (minus Lynne), and then, by the nominees that I mentioned not making it this time around.  And the numbers by position are...

10- nominated 2, inducted 0

9- nominated 6, inducted 1

8- nominated 4, inducted 2

7- nominated 4, inducted 0

6- 4 each

5- nominated 2, inducted 4 (they finally win one)

4- nominated 2, inducted 1

3- nominated 4, inducted 1

2- nominated 4, inducted 2

And #1s...

 Nominated 13, inducted 5...

...for a grand total of...

Nominated (9 acts): 45 top tens, or 5 per act

Inducted (6 acts): 20 top tens, or 3.33 per act.

At the end, I'll try to go back and figure out what the #1's for the nominees were... oh, wait, we ARE at the end, almost.  The songs that the nominated hit #1 with were:

The Blondie Gang: Heart Of Glass, Rapture, Call Me

Boyce and Hart: Last Train To Clarksville

The Doobie alumni: Black Water, What A Fool Believes, You Belong To Me (by Carly Simon)

Bryan Adams: Heaven, Have You Every Really Loved A Woman, Everything I Do (I Do It For You), All For You

Stevie Winwood: Roll With It, Higher Love. 

Back to our "regular" feature, that song I wouldn't ever turn the station on...

...the Gin Blossoms and Found Out About You, which would hit #30 on Cashbox and #25 on Billboard!

And lest you think I forgot...eh?

Man, I wuz snoozin'!  Where we at?

 

Just in time for you to give the M10 #1!

That's burnt!  Okay, our new top doggie is...

 

Cafune an' Tek It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say, you wanna fill me in?  Last I remember wuz you givin' the computer 15 seconds to do...somethin...

Yeah, well sometimes you have to be firm...

 

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Ladies night part 6

 

Assumptions made without all the evidence never turn out well.  For example, I have heard a handful of negative things about radio pastor John McArthur.  But in the middle of the night last night (as I type), I heard him say something that hit me where I live.  What it was is not our point; what is , is that God uses him in MY life, which in turn lets me know that to make judgments based on "things I heard" is pretty foolish.

Now, I am not saying that previous speculations I've made about the character of Bathsheba are necessarily wrong; they're not just the whole story.  You see, I made speculation based on two things: a question of why it is she'd be bathing on a roof at a time when the city KNEW David was not with his troops, as he should have been; and why it is she is the only woman mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus that is not mentioned BY NAME.  I coupled the two and came up with 'golddigger'.

Logical? Perhaps.  Right? I'm not so sure anymore.

So let's step by step things, like I should have before.  First thing we know about her is her father, who had one of 2 names; 1 Chronicles 3:5 names him Ammiel, meaning, "People of God", while 2 Samuel 11:3 names him Eliam, or "People of God".  Not much difference, and both indicate a man of faith.  Next, let's look at the man she was married to, Uriah the Hittite.  Hittite he may have been, but he bore a Jewish name ("Flame of God"), and was one of David's 30 mighty men (which was actually 37, according to 2 Samuel 23).  And Bathsheba herself was named by two names; her familiar one, which meant, "daughter of the oath", plus in 1 Chr. 3, she was named Bathshua, or "daughter of wealth".  String this all together, her dad was a man of faith and wealth (and thus probably well known to David); Perhaps an oath to David had been sworn when she was a child, promising her to a 'mighty man', hence Uriah.

But this was 20-some years before, and the approximately 50- year old David didn't exactly remember all those mighty men, or the possibly still-teenaged Bathsheba.  I have to wonder now whether Bathsheba's with David was calculation or naivete.  Let me leap some 30 years (give or take) into the future, when Bathsheba seems still a bit naive...

1Ki 2:13  Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Do you come peacefully?" He said, "Peacefully."
1Ki 2:14  Then he said, "I have something to say to you." She said, "Speak."
1Ki 2:15  He said, "You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD.
1Ki 2:16  And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me." She said to him, "Speak."
1Ki 2:17  And he said, "Please ask King Solomon--he will not refuse you--to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."
1Ki 2:18  Bathsheba said, "Very well; I will speak for you to the king."
1Ki 2:19  So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.
1Ki 2:20  Then she said, "I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you."
1Ki 2:21  She said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife."
1Ki 2:22  King Solomon answered his mother, "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah."
1Ki 2:23  Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, "God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 

Being the new husband of David's concubine would put Adonijah an "accident" happening to Solomon away from being king.  Solomon grasped this: Bathsheba apparently did not.  This had already happened once before, as Nathan the Prophet used her to let the 70-year old David know that Adonijah was trying to usurp Solomon a chapter earlier.  You would think that Bathsheba might have picked these kind of politics up in the 20-odd years of their marriage.  Of course, you might also think their relationship was still warm enough that David wouldn't need another teenager (Abishag) to keep him warm as he slipped towards death.  Apparently, you'd be 0-for-2.

So, instead of making a stretch and saying Bathsheba manipulated things, we have to go with something we already knew- pride and lust can make a man forget a lot of things; not only propriety and loyalty, but friends, oaths, and even trust.

Thus, if indeed we have blown one of my earlier assumptions out of the water, what about the other- the way Matthew brings her into the genealogy...

Mat 1:6  and Jesse fathered David the king. And David the king fathered Solomon of her who had been wife of Uriah.

And I think I finally figured this one out after finishing last week's study on Tamar.  You see, despite her past life, Rahab was legitimately (In God's eyes) married to Salmon; Ruth, despite being a foreigner, was legitimately married to Boaz; and Tamar brought forth twins to Judah, despite her being a daughter-in-law, legitimately through the Leviritic rule.  But God NEVER broke the marriage of Uriah and Bathsheba- David did.  And even though God forgave her and David the sin, He didn't forget the marriage.

The final nail in the coffin of my previous assumption comes with the addition of Luke's genealogy.  You see, despite all the wives, and the 13 sons, that David had, the lines from David both go through Bathsheba.  Solomon, her and David's second child, was father of the Kingly line that led to Joseph; and the line that led to Mary came from her third son, Nathan.  No matter which way you slice it, she was worthy to be a matriarch in the Messianic line.  And if that isn't proof that even divorce can be forgiven, nothing will be.

Martin World News

 

Well, it's raining here, so Misty and I are still on one rather boring walk for the new year.  So instead of pics, you get my pics of the stupidest news Item on the flag page of our beloved news sites around the world.

#1 FoxNews

" Biden's docs mess could be one of the biggest political scandals ever".

Oh, please.  I bet there isn't one President, Vice-President, important (in their own mind) lawmaker, or rich lobbyist since 1959 (first Xerox copier hits the market) that doesn't have something allegedly classified in some half-remembered box of "Crap from office" somewhere.  You'd need a substantially enormous list of "top political scandals" to even rate.  It probably struggles to make the top ten of "Joe Biden's political scandals".

#2 BBC World News

" Taliban start buying blue ticks on Twitter"

For a moment, I thought they were referring to the hound dog.  I wondered what on earth they were going to use them for...

"Me too..."

It seems, though, that "ticks" in British English equals "Checks" in American gibberish, so I guess Arabian raccoons are in no danger...yet.

#3- CNN

" 'The ball boy took my racket': Rafael Nadal loses favorite racket at Australian Open" 

"WAAAAAH!   WAAAAH!

 #4- The Moscow Times

" Why Aren't Russians Abroad Doing More to Protest the War? "

So about 50 individual countries, the European Union, and about 900 private companies are in some form of boycott/sanctions against Russia for Putin's exercise in Hitlerian diplomacy.  He seems to be ignoring it all.  But boy, get 50-60 protesters out on the National Mall, and watch him crumple.  Yeah.

#5- News.Au (Australia)

" Samuel Johnson’s extraordinary spray against Molly Meldrum in live TV interview"

So first off, like we did for the BBC, a bit of translation- "spray" is roughly equal to "temper tantrum".  And what, pray tell is the tantrum about?  Johnson, an actor, has apparently been bashing Meldrum, "an Aussie TV legend", ever since Johnson PLAYED Meldrum in a 2016 miniseries.  Apparently the latest fall-on-the-floor-and-slam-my-fists was occasioned by Meldrum allegedly mooning the audience at an Elton John concert.  Not only is this a bizarre little tale, but also today's lead story, on a "news" site that always seems to put the latest entertainment gossip front and center.  Much like FoxNews would if Joe Biden would just shred documents.

#6- France 24

" Anthropologist Chowra Makaremi says Iran protests 'fuelled by anger' "

 Let's bring in the MWN Chief Editor/opinion page to respond to this...

Because soooo many protests are out of love and camaraderie...

#7- Deutsche Welle (Germany)

" Can real croissants do without butter?"

Now, I will give the Germans this- it was the very last item on their front page.  Right after "The most Beautiful Winter Travel Destinations" and "An Insider's Look At Warsaw."

And let's try one more... oh, how about...

#8- Japan Today

" Russian ex-President Medvedev says  Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should disembowel himself"

With colectomies running about 5 million Yen, it may be that Dmitri was just trying to be thrifty in hard economic times...

M10 show, (Technically) week #54

 

Elvis: Well, good ta see ya not sick fer a change....

Thanks, Bud!

Now, what're we eatin'?

You're on your own, Misty and I had Five Guys last night, so we're behaving tonight.

Huh?  Whaddabout me??

It's called 'fend for yourself', it's the latest thing...

Oh, har-dee-har-har...

Anyway, at least the illness was well-timed, because there hasn't been a lot of good new stuff snared by my Release Radar, so we're basically going to act like the last few weeks never happened, and pick up where we left off.  That involves some moves on the M10 we MIGHT not have expected otherwise... and I'm going to add just for fun a quick little new feature, that I will hopefully remember to do as we go on.  But first... our first loss of 2023 came this week with the passing of guitar legend Jeff Beck.  His skills transcended his chart presence, which was by no means meager:

With the Yardbirds:

Heart Full Of Soul (#9), I'm A Man (the Bo Diddley cover, not the Spencer Davis song covered by Chicago, #17), Shapes Of Things (#11), Over Under Sideways Down (#13), Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (#30)

With the Jeff Beck Group

You Shook Me (#15)

With Donovan

Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) (#30)

With Rod Stewart

People Get Ready (#48)

With The Honeydrippers

Rockin' At Midnight (#25).

That's some good stuff there!

You bet, buddy!  Speaking of, here's our debut at #10- and I gotta admit I dig these guys in Italian better than English!  Here's Maneskin...

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So what's this new gig?

Well, I'm going to start with the Cashbox charts of  1995- their last full year- and I'm going to play the highest "song I'd never turn the station on"!  We'll go back one year each week until we hit 1955, so we'll have a lot of different tunage coming down this list.

Sounds innersting! What song gets the first mention?

Well, before we play it, I wanna throw out our second debut at #9!  This is a duo who performed this on one of the late night shows back in November, I believe- along with another Crosby Stills And Nash cover, the mini-song Find The Cost Of Freedom.  Here is another newbie to the M10- The Heavy Heavy:

 

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So what's the song from '95?

This far up in the nineties, there are a lot of songs I don't know- and a few I don't like.  There were two that were almost but not quites, though before I picked this week's winner. So before I hit the winner at #24, I went through 16 I didn't know (by name at least), 4 I think I've heard but don't care that much for, one I would listen to if no alternatives were around, the two almost but not quites, but the first one for sure I wouldn't turn off is...

 ...Sheryl Crow and All I Wanna Do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Any chance of lettin' us in on the almost but not quites?

Sure, once you give us the rest of the M10!

Okey-doke! Here we go...

8- Down 3 spots, White Reaper an' Pages... 

7- Up 3, Smashing Pumpkins an' Beyond The Vale...

6- Down 2, Lucius and Muse...

5- Down 2, Talk an' Run Away To Mars...

4- Up 5, Morrissey and Rebels Without Applause...

3- Down 1, The Four Seasons an' Sleeping Man....

2- Up 6, Cafune and Tek It...

An' holdin' on ta #1...

...Joji an' Die For You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, out with 'em!

All right, the two almost but not quites were: Hootie and the Blowfish at #19 with Hold My Hand; and at #22, REM and What's The Frequency, Kenneth!

I'm surprised ya didn't take Hootie...

Any other song on that lp besides that one, I might have... 

 

Wednesday Bible study: Ladies night part 5

 

The hardest to get a grasp on of the women in Matthew's genealogy is Tamar, who bore the twins Phares and Zerah to Judah, son of Jacob.  In an odd way, the story parallels Jacob's own marriage to Leah, which reminds me that trying to establish the line God wanted was a lot like getting sheep to get in line for the shearer- pushing, poking, and a little trickery.  Satan   was determined to disrupt the line; but God had it under control.

So we start with Judah, fresh from selling brother Joseph into slavery, and moving out from the family to become neighbors and buddies with a Canaanite named Hirah.  Satan's first attack comes here; instead of relying on his father to arrange a marriage, he allows buddy Hirah to hook him up with the daughter of another buddy named Shuah.  This woman doesn't rate a name in the story, but bears him 3 sons- Er, Onan, and Shelah.  The first question you have here is, the Bible brings up that Judah had moved to another area when Shelah was born, Chezib; the simple explanation the commentators give is that only Shelah needed to pass on his heritage, because, well, you'll see.

So unlike his own marriage, Judah takes the right he denied his father in picking a wife for #1 son Er.  Her name was Tamar, and we don't rightly know her lineage.  The Jews gave us the extremely unlikely idea she was a daughter of Shem (which at best would have made her about 300); an Arabic source claims her to be a daughter of Levi, which while more likely, we just don't know.  Again, the Jews claim she had assured Judah she was no Gentile; but as Judah didn't seem to be concerned about the gentile thing, this doesn't matter.  What does matter is that the daughter of Shuah was the WRONG woman, and Tamar was the right one.

However, Er was the wrong man.

Gen 38:6  And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
Gen 38:7  But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.

What this wickedness was, we have no idea.  The Jewish encyclopedia sends you to a link that explains nothing.  Other sources, oddly enough, claimed Er refused to sleep with Tamar because HE detested Canaanites!  The matter of it is, though, that God wanted no part of this grandson of Shuah in Jesus' lineage, and killed him to prevent it.

Now here's the thing: the rule back then was Levirite marriage- if a brother leaves no heir, the next brother had to raise heirs to the dead son.  In other words, Onan was up.  But Onan was greedy, and wanted no part of his inheritance dropping from a possible 2/3s of Judah's estate to a quarter or less.

Gen 38:8  Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."
Gen 38:9  But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.
Gen 38:10  And what he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also.

At this point, Judah refused to see God's hand in this; instead, he was afraid that Tamar was, basically, a Black Widow.  At this point, he had two HONORABLE choices:

1- He could be the Levir himself, giving her a child for his son Er, and then never touching her again (because THEN it would be incest), since son #3 wasn't of age; or-

2- He could have her live as a widow until Shelah was of age, and then it would be his turn.  Either of these would have kept her honor by cementing her into the family.

Instead, he chose to send her home as a widow, but with no intent to give her to Shelah.  But in the passage of time, 3 things happened near simultaneously:

First, Judah's wife died.

Second, Shelah came of age.

Third, Tamar noticed Judah wasn't willing to pass the next son on down.

Now here's the next thing:  As I found it explained, Tamar- who is both mentioned in Ruth and compared TO Ruth- was loyal to that family, the family of Judah.  She wanted to be part of that family.  She had apparently kept a line of informants about the family-

Gen 38:12  In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
Gen 38:13  And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,"
Gen 38:14  she took off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. 

And here comes the parallel to Leah.  She dressed like a roadside harlot, with her face veiled- just like Leah. And Judah, without a wife, stumbles along, sees the chance to get some, and asks what the price is.  Without a credit card, he promises a kid from the herd, and she asks a pledge.  He gives her his "ID"- his staff, and signet and cord.  They have sex, he leaves, she conceives. To Judah's credit (what there is of it at this point), he sends payment back, but by this time Tamar is long gone.

Step ahead 3 months, and the same network of informants tell Judah his daughter-in-law- on pause is pregnant, and he is ready to go above and beyond the law to punish her.  Here, Tamar is prepared; instead of accusing him directly she merely names the father as "the man to whom these belong"- and whips out Judah's "ID".  Now, the ball is in Judah's court.  From the Jewish Women's Archive:

 She sends his identifying pledge to him, urging him to recognize that its owner is the father. Realizing what has happened, Judah publicly announces Tamar’s innocence. His cryptic phrase, zadekah mimmeni, is often translated “she is more in the right than I” (Gen 38:26), a recognition not only of her innocence, but also of his wrongdoing in not freeing her or performing the levirate. Another possible translation is “she is innocent—it [the child] is from me.” Judah has now performed the levirate (despite himself) and never cohabits with Tamar again. Once she is pregnant, future sex with a late son’s wife would be incestuous.

 

So Judah is brought to repentance, and accepts his role as Levir.  The line continues as God intended, minus the bloodline of Shuah.  God continues to choose sons OTHER than the firstborn in her twins-

Gen 38:27  When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 38:28  And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."
Gen 38:29  But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore his name was called Perez.
Gen 38:30  Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah. 

 

Which isn't really surprising, since the firstborn were supposed to be given to Him anyway- for God to choose, He had to choose OTHER than firstborn.  Without making more of a rat's nest than necessary here, these two lines would be reunited centuries later in Zerubabbel.  And Shelah? Well, I think we get a clue as to why he wasn't allowed in the line here...

1Ch 4:21  The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea;

He named his firstborn after wicked older brother Er- and was probably a carbon-copy of him.  But, there may have been a redemption for Shelah;

1Ch 4:22  And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things. 

His descendants became rulers in Moab; and, it is suggested by some commentators, they would form the ancestry of Ruth herself, which brings the story full-circle.

So what do we learn from Tamar?  The Jewish Women's Archive suggests this:

Tamar was assertive of her rights and subversive of convention. She was also deeply loyal to Judah’s family. These qualities also show up in Ruth, who appears later in the lineage of Perez and preserves Boaz’s part of that line. The blessing at Ruth’s wedding underscores the similarity in its hope that Boaz’s house “be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah” (Ruth 4:12). Tamar’s (and Ruth’s) traits of assertiveness in action, willingness to be unconventional, and deep loyalty to family are the very qualities that distinguish their descendant, King David.

Happy new year? Who needs it?

 

Ok, so this is the first day since Christmas I've felt somewhat like a human being.  I've only just started getting music back in my head, let alone listening to it.  Needless to say, there wasn't an M10 again this week, and you know what they say about missing that second week of church.  Let's all hope I rally my musical soul by next time around.  And I was going to put some thought in these last couple weeks as to how to modify the by-points top 20 of 2022, but that's out the window too.So instead, maybe for the first time, you get the unadulterated by-points top 20 of 2022!  Ready? Let's go!

20- Brooke Annibale, What If You. #1 for 3 weeks in April and May.

19- Wilco, Hearts Hard To Find. Best line of the year for me:  "Reality...ruins everything..." After a long, up and down journey, it peaked at #2 in October.

18- Sunflower Bean, Who Put You Up To This? One of two biggies for the Beaners, it topped the chart for two weeks right before Brooke in April.

17- Talk, Run Away To Mars. Active and just off a pair of weeks at the top when this nastyness hit our home.

16- and 15- both go to Built To Spill, first with Fool's Gold, and then with Understood. For me, it was a Built To Spill Summer.

14- The Cactus Blossoms, Everybody.  I would have moved this up into top ten territory.  If I could find a way to make everybody fit.

13- Jayhawks, Save It For A Rainy Day.  When there's no new Jayhawks music about, I go back and mine 1994's Tomorrow The Green Grass for gems like this.

12- Harry Styles, As It Was.  Not quite the enormous pop hit it was on Billboard, but still better than 100% of the other songs that made that chart.

11- The Cactus Blossoms, Is It Over? cementing their spot as the M10's version of the Everly Brothers.

10- Sunflower Bean, In Flight. I would have put this no lower than #5 had I re-arranged.  Second best line of the year- "Life is short and cliffs are high..."

9- Cannons, Bad Dream.  The surprise (as they usually are) winner for song of summer '22, Would have scooted it down to make room.

8- Envy Of None, Liar.  This one crept up on me like a snake...

7- Beach House, Pink Funeral.  You can pretty much be assured that any year Beach House has new stuff out, they'll have 2 in the top ten of that year.  Stay tuned...

6- The Explorers Club, Tragedy . A spot-on redo of the 1950's hit by the Fleetwoods.

5- The Manchester Orchestra with Lucius, Inaudible (Lucius Version) Definitely would have been top 3 in a rearrange.

4- Dent May, Crying Laughing.  Though I would have dropped it just a bit, still the best of all of the Dentster's hits here.

3- Beach House, ESP. The other top three in doubt.  What isn't in doubt is #1.

2- Lucius, The Man I'll Never Find. Easy #4 behind the big three.

And at #1... only the second to turn 100 points in our history...

1- Broken Bells, Love On The Run. You ever have that song?  5 seconds in, you know it's a hit for you.  10, you know how big a trough it's going to plow through your musical mindscape?  That's this one for me.

And there you go!  Hopefully, this will reawaken my musical drive and we'll get back to business as usual next week...

Wednesday Bible Study: Ladies' night part 4

 

One of the things I'll never understand about Rabbinical literature is their need to take one of the most beautiful love stories- between man and God, as well as man and woman, the book of Ruth- and just find as many ways to demean it as they can.  From turning the innocent staying of Ruth with Boaz into an excuse to discuss sexual organs, to totally disregarding the mini- genealogy at the end.  

Rth 4:20  Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
Rth 4:21  Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
Rth 4:22  Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. 

 

According to Matthew, the writer of Ruth left one detail out...

Mat 1:5  and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse...

But apparently it was too much for the rabbis to accept a harlot in the line of David...

At the conquest of that city by the Israelites, Rahab became a sincere proselyte to the cult of Yhwh. She then married Joshua and became the ancestress of eight priests who were prophets as well, Jeremiah among them, and of the prophetess Huldah (Meg. 14b).(Jewish Encyclopedia)

 

Even later, in a twist that many of the commentators followed, they denied even her supposed profession...

Later Jewish commentators, Rashi among them, interpret , the Hebrew term for "harlot," as "one who sells food," basing their view on Targum Jonathan (to Josh. ii. 1), which renders it by (= "innkeeper"; comp., however, David Ḳimḥi ad loc.). 

But here's the thing:  Despite the fact that commentators like Adam Clarke say that the word for 'harlot' can be used interchangeably for 'innkeeper', there is NOWHERE in the Old Testament where it IS used for innkeeper.  So let's call her what she was- a prostitute.  Now here's where, by looking at the timeline, we can actually use something the Rabbis said...

Rahab was one of the most beautiful women in the world, the mere mention of her name exciting inordinate desire...  She was ten years old when the Israelites came out of Egypt, and she pursued her immoral calling during the forty years that the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness. There was not a prince nor a ruler that had not had relations with her; and she was therefore well informed of what was going on outside Jericho.

 True? God doesn't consider it important to know- but He does consider it important we know HER, or else she wouldn't be in the genealogy of Matthew.  We'll be looking at 3 of the 4 women in that genealogy in this series, but keep in mind that these four women consisted of...

-an incestress;

- a prostitute;

- a (possible) gold-digger;

- and a foreigner from a land which hated Hebrews.

And yet, of all the good women (like Mary) involved in the lineage of Jesus, these are the ones that get pointed out.  So what can we learn from this one?  I believe the message lies in this one passage- and what it DOESN'T say...

Jos 2:8  Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof
Jos 2:9  and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
Jos 2:10  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.
Jos 2:11  And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
Jos 2:12  Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign
Jos 2:13  that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." 

So, what is missing in her story?  She only told of the Great Power of God with them.  Nothing of the panic before the Red Sea; nothing of the disobedience to God that kept them in the desert most of her lifetime; nothing of the fact that right before the destruction of Sihon and Og, thousands of complaining Israelites died by the bite of fiery serpents, or that right after the fall of the Amorites, they would struggle with the deceptions of Balaam.

And here's why this is important.  How many reject Christ because of the actions of the 'church'? How many times have you had to hear litanies about the Crusades, the Inquisition, the immorality of the Papacy, the hypocrisy of the guy sitting next to you in the pew?  Rahab's city fell from fear, because the saw the men of Israel, heard the tales of fallen kings.  Rahab survived, and her family with her, because she saw the GOD behind the people.  Through her sin, she heard... she saw.  Thousands of Israelites died in the desert- she, despite her sin, lived.  The Israelites- indeed, the rabbis- never really got the why of this; but Jesus explains it...

Luk 5:29  And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.
Luk 5:30  And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Luk 5:31  And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Luk 5:32  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."