Wednesday Bible Study: Ladies night part 9

 

Sometimes in a WBS post, I get the story itself done, and afterwords I think, "But what's the learning point- the takeaway?"  Thus I did last week with Rebekah, and I'm glad I did, because it set up the comparison/contrast I need to do with Michal.

Michal, for those that don't know, was David's first wife.  Thumbnail story, Saul wanted a spy in David's camp; He offered oldest daughter Merab first, but wary David claimed he had no dowry fit for a king's daughter, and turned it down.  Educated thus, Saul then offered younger daughter Michal, and set her dowry at 100 Philistine foreskins- and good morning to you, too!  With the chance to fulfill a dowry and rid Israel of enemies at the same time, David not only accepted, but doubled the dowry.  Here's where the trouble will begin... but first, let's backtrack to the 4 lessons we should take from Rebekah, and how they were ignored in THIS story.

The four lessons:

- God is in control.  We see that when Eliezar's prayer was answered almost instantly by Rebekah's trip to the well.

-God runs the timing.  Rebekah and Isaac had a 20-year wait for their children- not as long as Abraham and Sarah waited for Isaac, but enough to show God does things in HIS time.

-God does the choosing. Nope, I don't want Esau, I want Jacob.

Mal 1:2  "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob
Mal 1:3  but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert."

-Finally, God doesn't make the big show of how he handles repentant people who make mistakes.  Thus, we hear no more of Rebekah after she fooled Isaac, just like we never did hear the first conversations between the resurrected Jesus and either Peter or James.

Now, keep these in mind as we roll on.

First, whose plan is it?  In the case of Michal, Saul was once again trying to play the part of God;

1Sa 18:20  Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
1Sa 18:21  Saul thought, "Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David a second time, "You shall now be my son-in-law." 

Now let's look at this thing- "Michal loved David".  But was it love?  She was young at the time, and here's this handsome, mighty war hero.  Unlike Rebekah's instant devotion to Isaac, I believe Michal just had a crush on David- and I will try to show why I believe it.  As mentioned, her dowry meant battle with the Philistines- and to Saul's consternation, David came through with flying colors.  Which meant...

1Sa 18:28  But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him,
1Sa 18:29  Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually.
1Sa 18:30  Then the princes of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed. 

1Sa 19:10  And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
1Sa 19:11  Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."
1Sa 19:12  So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
 

 

God runs the timing.  Saul thought he could bring David down, but David was in his prime as a warrior.  Now we come to the why of "Michal just had a crush."

 1Sa 19:13  Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.
1Sa 19:14  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."
1Sa 19:15  Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."
1Sa 19:16  And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head.
1Sa 19:17  Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go. Why should I kill you?'" 

Do you see any mention of Michal JOINING this man she loved?  When questioned by Saul, WHOSE skin was her answer meant to save?  Her own, and at the expense of this "man she loved."  My opinion, and just mine, is that we have here a spoiled little rich girl, who had no intention of following her crush on a dangerous trip outside the pampered walls of the palace.  You might ask why David didn't ask her to come along- and maybe he did, who knows?  But he's a smart man, he knew what he was getting with Michal, and never gave it a second thought- or so it seemed.  Now it's time for the "God does the choosing" part.

1Sa 25:44  Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim. 

I think this was equal portions of "Let me tweak David", and "Let me get this child out of my palace with her whining!"  Nevertheless, we hear nothing of Michal again for the twenty-odd years Saul tried to kill David.  But with Saul dead, the timing kicks in again.  The war is over, Saul's son Ishboseth sits the throne in Israel, under the watchful eye of Saul's general Abner.  But Abner gets it on with one of Saul's minor wives, Ishboseth calls him out on it, and Abner gets mad and defects to David.  However, David has his terms...

2Sa 3:13  And he said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face."
2Sa 3:14  Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." 

So now it is so ordered, and we have a very curious scene unfold...

2Sa 3:15  And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.
2Sa 3:16  But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return." And he returned.

First thing of note, is the name change.  The legally unrecognized second hubby, once Palti (meaning 'delivered') is now Paltiel ('delivered of God').  The Rabbis have an explanation for this, one I don't quite buy...

According to the Talmud, Palti never consummated his marriage with Michal, but kept a sword between them while in bed to separate them. (This was supposedly because he recognized David as her legal husband- there was no divorce- and he swore that if either of them tried to consummate the illegal marriage, the sword would kill them.) The Talmud explains his weeping as sorrow over the loss of a good deed, and not as weeping for the loss of Michal herself.

 

I don't quite buy this because, first of all, we have a spoiled palace rat, forced to downgrade; I can't imagine that she could bring herself to find 'true love' and that probably is a better explanation for her lack of children. Second, given the situation, I can't help but imagine she 'wore the pants' in the Palti household- which would explain his wimpish actions of both crying after her, and going back when big, scary Abner barked at him.  Third, you don't hear Michal open her mouth to protest- she just packs her stuff (or someone does, I doubt she did) and returns to being the very important wife of a King.

So why the name change?  My thought is that God had delivered him, from the evil that would have fallen on him had he consummated the marriage- both from God, and from David who would have surely killed him.  Thus, "God does the choosing".

The punishment phase comes when, back ensconced in the palace, Michal watches as David brings the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem...

2Sa 6:15  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
2Sa 6:16  As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
2Sa 6:17  And they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD...

 

2Sa 6:20  And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!"
2Sa 6:21  And David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD--and I will make merry before the LORD.
2Sa 6:22  I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor."
2Sa 6:23  And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. 

 

So there's the private punishment for Michal's arrogance- she'd grown up not one whit in all these years. But private punishments are for the repentant, and it wasn't going to be so easy for Michal.  And perhaps she thought she'd gotten off easy.  The next passage we head to has some confusion to its wording in some versions.  But the consensus is, older sis Merab died young, and Michal (and Paltiel, I guess) raised her children for her, so in a way, she did have kids.  Until...

2Sa 21:1  Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death."
2Sa 21:2  So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.
2Sa 21:3  And David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the LORD?"
2Sa 21:4  The Gibeonites said to him, "It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel." And he said, "What do you say that I shall do for you?"
2Sa 21:5  They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,
2Sa 21:6  let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

2Sa 21:8  The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;
2Sa 21:9  and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the LORD, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

The problem being that the most correct translations take 21:8 and have Michal in place of Merab, even though we know the father of the boys IS the man Saul married Merab to after David turned her down...

1Sa 18:19  But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife. 

Thus, the logical assumption, made in the Jewish Targum, was that Michal had brought up the boys for Merab, and were legally considered her own- and even these would be taken from her.  And publicly, because they were allowed to hang long enough that the other mom, Rizpah, had to cover them with cloth to keep the rain and carrion birds off them.

Four rules God installed; one woman followed them, and it was counted to her for righteousness; the other mocked them and found herself mocked.  Too bad, Michal didn't have Paul to teach her, as we do...

Gal 6:7  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Picture time

 One thing that has been bothering me in our limited walking time lately, is Misty.  Either she's really starting to struggle, or her feet don't like the winter anymore, or she's just developed the Scrappy trick of kicking into low-lock when she knows we're heading home.  Wednesday night I took her for a relatively short jaunt and she acted like I should have been carrying her once we crossed the street back to home.  Friday afternoon was nicer, so I thought I would test some things.

Starting out- about 32 F

Lotsa snow still left

This is approximately how far we went Wednesday

This would be more than the whole trip Wednesday.  She's slowed a little at this point...But then I turn us back towards home and instant slowdown.

I took her over to the other side of the canal, and let her rest her feet in grass, theorizing it had to be warmer than snow and pavement.  She was totally invigorated at this point, going as fast as she ever did...

Until we got about halfway up the north lot at the Plex, then it was "molasses gear" again. However, this turd - after dragging about another 100 feet, suddenly shifted back to "just as good as when I left", and remained there until we got home.  So you tell me.

Saturday, the Boys were back in town...

Pose #1

Pose #2

M10 show week 57

 

So this week, things are finally turning around a bit on the M10- three new debuts, a new #1, and Billboard actually handicaps the Rock'N'Roll HOF nominees for this year!

Elvis:  I thought you din't like the HOF...

I don't, but BB handicapping the odds makes it a little bit more fun.  So I'm gonna add the odds of making my long-neglected HOF list... maybe even look into making up my own set of nominees!  But first...

I know, first debut, right?

What if I told you I had a guest coming on...

I'd tell ya I'm goin' shoppin'...

Relax, I'm kidding.  Go on with the first debut!

Okay, so Chris just heard this'n the other day- despite the fact it's from 2015, he's had a hit from this very same disc, an' it's the dude's biggest hit on Spotify!  At #10, here's Tame Impala... 

 

 

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Thank you, sir!  Now onto this handicapping, here's what Billboard says...

The Spinners: 12-1.  Me:  Already in, so pretty even odds here, lol!

Iron Maiden: 10-1.  Seriously?  As I only know one song of theirs, you'd prolly have a safer bet on the next Powerball.

Joy Division, with their linked band New Order: 10:1.  Me: Don't know either one that well.  Heard a JD song today, can't say it moved me.  Better to lay money on McDonald's drive-thru getting your order right the first time.

Cyndi Lauper: 8-1.  Me: I would consider her a strong nominee.  Even money.

Warren Zevon: 5-1.  Surprises me he isn't already in; cult figures like him usually are the RNRHOF's bread and butter. Me:  I need more than Werewolves Of London, sorry.  100-1.

A Tribe Called Quest: 5-1.  Me: At least I have given them a couple chances to get on the shuffle, no luck for them yet.  85-1.

Rage Against The Machine: 4-1.  Me:  That's a good candidate for the official HOF.  Not so much for me, despite Tom Morrelo sniffing around the M10 with other acts.  50-1.

Missy Elliot: 3-1.  Me: Who? Oh, a rapper.  See "Iron Maiden".

Soundgarden: 3-1. Me: Definitely a solid nominee choice.  Even money.

George Michael: 2-1.  Me:  He's not in theirs YET?  I'll give him 50-1 just because he did manage to be heard on the radio.

Kate Bush: 3-2.  Me:  Even hitting the charts twice, Running Up That Hill ain't gonna do it here. 49-1 just because George Michael did Teacher.

Willie Nelson: 3-2.  Me: Again, a solid nominee.  They're doing half my work for me! I will also give the Red-Headed Stranger 3-2.

Sheryl Crow: Even Money.  Me:  Like Willie and some of the others, she should have been in already. 4-3.

The White Stripes:  Even money. Me:  Though I know the name, I even went to their discography and never saw a name I knew.  Get back up there with Zevon, guys.

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Well, Chris jus' nodded ta me, so I guess I'm playing debut #2.  This one is new stuff at #9 from a band we had on the M10 early on, gettin' ta #9 in one week at the end of the M10's first month!  They're already that far with this'n- they are the Arcs...

 

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This week, I go to 1992 to find the song I would not turn off the radio for any reason.  And not only is it the quickest find so far, sitting at #10 31 years ago this week, it is the ONLY one on the hot 100 that I would give that honor to!  In fact, I didn't even see any close but not quites; above them were 2 songs I knew- one I liked (U2's Mysterious Ways at #5), one so-so (Michael Jackson's Black Or White at #9).  Plus, though I know the original (of course), I can say I have never heard the combination of Elton John WITH George Michael on Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, which sat at their #1 on Cashbox this week.  It had long since been #1 on the Alt charts, pushed out of the way by the 9-week run for Mysterious Ways.  This week's song I wouldn't turn off goes to...

 

 ...Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, bud, you want the last debut or the ten?

I gotcher debut... another oldie, it actually came out in 2019, but Chris just heard it a couple weeks back.  At #7, here's Lauren Daigle...

 

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And the rest of the 10 this week...

At #8, I have Katy Nichole's Please for a second week.  And I just read a great article about her, which you can read here;  But for now, here's a section from the Christian Post, an article from Jeannie Ortega Law...

 Following surgery on her spine that resulted in prolonged bouts of pain and left her bedridden, Nichole suffered from depression. 

“I didn't see the hope; I couldn't find it,” she said, reflecting on her state of mind after the first surgery. "I had back surgery and I was in a lot of pain. After I had the surgery, I just saw no hope. I reached the place where I grabbed a bottle of pills. I  took it to the bathroom with me, and somehow, it fell out of my hands onto the floor and the pills spilled everywhere.”

"In that moment, I heard the Lord say to me, 'Hold on, I'm not done yet,'" she shared. 

 

And so He isn't!

6- Joji's former #1 Die For You slips 3 spots.

5- Wet Leg up 1 with Angelica.

4- Out of the top, Cafune and Tek It.

3- Up 2, the Heavy Heavy with Guinevere.

2- Also up 2, Maneskin with La Fine.

And our new #1 song this week...

credit Charlie Llewellin

...Morrissey with Rebels Without Applause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's it for this week!  Next time, I'm going to put together a new Martin HOF inductee list!  You can see who's already in the MHOF from the page link back up there at the top.  I have 6 categories that I WAS putting one act each in, but haven't done so in a while.  Those Categories would be: Big Names (To which I will likely put Soundgarden), Top Men, Top Women (Cyndi Lauper will get this nod), Not So Rock-And-Roll (where I will add Willie), Personal Faves ( Where Soundgarden will go if I change my mind) Golden Oldies, and this time, I will catch up a brand new M10 stars category with SEVEN acts coming in!  As always, you are allowed to nominate acts, but i will ignore you I will likely take the decision upon my own broad shoulders.  See you then!

Wednesday Bible Study: Ladies night part 8

 

So once again, I have to drag myself kicking and clawing from what Jewish legend says about our character- Rebekah, wife of Isaac- and back into what we truly know from the Bible.  And if you've read the story of Jacob and Esau, all you know about her is that she took advantage of Isaac when he was blind to get the blessing for Jacob, her preferred son.  But is that REALLY how it happened?

Mind you, I'm not trying to change the Scriptures, just understand them, and this is what we understand.

Isaac was about 40, and had just lost his Mom, Sarah, when Abraham sent the servant (possibly Eliezar, the one Abraham mentioned as his only heir when God gave him the Promise of descendants) to Haran to find a non- Canaanite wife for Isaac.  Genesis says he was Abraham's oldest servant, and he had seen his master's relationship with God.  So it was that when he came to Haran, the first thing he did was pray to find the right young lady.  So the first thing we learn about Rebekah- she was chosen by God. 

Next, we find out a few things based on her treatment of Eliezar.  

Gen 24:15  Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
Gen 24:16  The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.
Gen 24:17  Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."
Gen 24:18  She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.
Gen 24:19  When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."
Gen 24:20  So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.

Okay, so she is the next of a long line of women who were considered beautiful in the extreme- her name apparently means, "to fetter with beauty".  Next, she was hospitable, taking not only care of Eliezar's request, but his camels as well.  We soon later learn her genealogy:  Her father is the son of Abraham's brother Nahor; which means Sarah was an aunt by marriage, and Rachel and Leah would be nieces by blood.  Thus, it's not surprising that we have found beauty in the descriptions of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel.

Next, unlike her brother Laban (as we would learn in her nieces' story), she was faithful- she had not one doubt about Eliezar's story:

Gen 24:54  And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master."
Gen 24:55  Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go."
Gen 24:56  But he said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."
Gen 24:57  They said, "Let us call the young woman and ask her."
Gen 24:58  And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go."
Gen 24:59  So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.
Gen 24:60  And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!"

Note that mention of the nurse going along- it becomes important later.

We are seeing nothing but respect and humility so far in her character- which makes our next scene understandable:

Gen 24:62  Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.
Gen 24:63  And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.
Gen 24:64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel
Gen 24:65  and said to the servant, "Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.
Gen 24:66  And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Gen 24:67  Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. 

 

 So I marked out three things in this passage.  First, Isaac was meditating- anticipating the return of the servant, no doubt.  Perhaps praying for a blessed conclusion.  Second, her use of the veil on sighting Jacob. John Gill tells us:

...therefore she took a veil, and covered herself; both out of modesty, and as a token of subjection to him: for the veil was put on when the bride was introduced to the bridegroom...

Third, this is the first time in Genesis that a match has the words, "he loved her", attached to it.  This was to be a happy marriage- except...

Gen 25:20  and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
Gen 25:21  And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 

Like Sarah, she was at first barren (not to mention Rachel was, too- a theme of beautiful women of those days?).  Unlike Sarah, this barrenness did NOT last past the "normal age of conception". We learn next chapter her barrenness lasted 20 years- and though we don't get the details on her age like we did Sarah, the best guestimate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 when they married, and thus 35 when the twins were conceived.  Well within conceiving years, and so we don't find the protests that Abraham and Sarah made over the promise of Isaac.  Note also that Isaac prayed, and was heard.

Why do things like this repeat?  In this case, I believe it was like this:  While the son of Isaac didn't have to be the miracle that Isaac was, they still had to know the child would be of God- God was forging a line to create His people.  And for a similar reason, we see THIS story repeat:

Gen 26:6  So Isaac settled in Gerar.
Gen 26:7  When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance.
Gen 26:8  When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.
Gen 26:9  So Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'"
Gen 26:10  Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."

Same story we saw with Abraham twice before.  With an important difference that goes to the character of Rebekah.  But first, consider this: millennia later, Satan would try to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Jesus by the rumors that Joseph (and God Himself) was not Jesus's father.  Satan doesn't have new tricks; by praying on Abraham's (and Isaac's) fears, he was trying to disrupt the line that God was building.  Yet again, it didn't work; but note the wording...

..One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." 

Might. Despite being their a long time.  Where God had intervened his pestilence to prevent the attempts on Sarah, it was watching the love between the two that prevented it here.  Several places I visited have suggested that, whatever lengths Sarah had been forced to go to, Rebekah was NOTHING but faithful.  Like her grandson Joseph, she didn't even give the appearance of impropriety.

But that didn't mean things were going easily.  Getting back to these twins she was to have...

 Gen 25:22  The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23  And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger."
Gen 25:24  When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25  The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.
Gen 25:26  Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Once again, we see Rebekah's faith in action- and with the birth, we see God's hand in the line.  Consider:  Abraham's successor was born at an impossible age; Isaac's successor was to be the younger, not the older, as man would have it; and Jacob's successor was chosen after 3 older brothers (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi) all proved themselves unworthy- where Judah's somewhat belated humility let him keep his spot.  But, back to our girl.  Now, the Bible never says she came to Isaac with the revelation God gave her- but it doesn't say she didn't.  Did Isaac know?  Did he ignore it because he favored Esau?  We don't know.  We do know that Esau, while Daddy's favorite, didn't light Mom's eyes...

Gen 26:34  When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,
Gen 26:35  and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. 

 

And why was that?  Because they were Canaanites, with their abominable Canaanite religion.  That Isaac even allowed this shows, it would seem, that a) Esau could "do no wrong", and b) that Isaac could easily overlook a prophecy 'given to a woman' to favor him.  But God had ways to get around Isaac's stubborn blindness.  One was the trade- Jacob gets the birthright and Esau gets bean soup.  This was Esau's second disrespect of the father that loved him- how little he thought of all Isaac had spent a whole life working for.

The other was "Rebekah's scam." Knowing that Isaac would never listen if he hadn't for the last 50 years, she uses God's 'gift' to Isaac- the physical blindness to match his 'Esau blindness'- to get the traditional blessing for the right son.  Was it a sin?  Consider again:  Jacob would pay for his deceit by spending a few decades being treated likewise by Laban.  And consider this passage...

Gen 27:11  But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
Gen 27:12  Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing."
Gen 27:13  His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me." 

What curse was this?  We don't know; all we know is, other than Rebekah's demand of Isaac that Jacob be sent to Haran to find a wife (which conveniently gets him clear of the murderous intents of Esau), she isn't mentioned again until Jacob mentions his funeral plans to Joseph years later...

Gen 49:29  Then he commanded them and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30  in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.
Gen 49:31  There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah--
Gen 49:32  the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites." 

Speculations are aplenty, but the Bible goes silent- and God always has a reason for that.  Whatever punishment she received by not letting God handle the succession is between Rebekah and God- and that is not an unusual thing.

 

 

The coda to our story is that, while Rebekah's death is not mentioned, that of her nurse IS...

Gen 35:6  And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,
Gen 35:7  and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.
Gen 35:8  And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth. 

It is unusual that a main character's death- around the same time, we assume- is ignored, and a woman not even named until her death, was mentioned.  CBN Isarel mentions:  There are four funerals where we are told that people wept. These are of Sarah, Moses, Aaron, and Deborah. So, Deborah is considered—at least by this rather significant indication—to be as valued as three of the people who would be in anyone’s top 10. 

One speculation is that Deborah had been like a grandmother when Jacob was little; after returning to Haran at his weaning, she had determined to see her charge Rebekah one last time before she died, at an age that had to be close to Isaac's own (he died at 180). Perhaps it was news that Rebekah was already gone, that killed her.  Another speculation is that Rebekah had sent Deborah to Haran to fetch Jacob once Esau finally cooled off; but that would mean that a 150-year-old lady was sent on a 500-nile journey, and that seems a bit off to me.  What we DO know, is that centuries later, a namesake would rise up to Deborah from that very spot; she would judge Israel and defeat its enemies.  And she, it would seem, took her inspiration from a woman who helped raise the man who would be named Israel.

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.