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Sorry for the lag. I’ve had some connectivity issues lately, and my boss doesn’t want me to spend hours on end blogging at my desk.

I will take just a moment to ask you to grab a beverage of choice, and maybe go to the bathroom first, because this post is lengthy and is fully deserving of your consideration in a single sitting.

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And the man of iron shall reign with a might beyond all expectation, but tire in sight of his goal. Than another shall rise up and scorch the earth with cunning and guile. The nomads and the beasts shall cry out for relief and find none.

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I don’t know how many of you have been listening to the White Horse Inn podcast. It is at the top of my list of favorite podcasts, and I have found the content to be edifying to me for the last few years, no matter where I am in my Christian growth. I have not been a Christian for all that long, you see, and counting only the time following my conversion I have listened to this podcast for a longer span of time than not.

The theme for 2008 is “Christless Christianity” and the latest episode, entitled “What Would Moses Do” has highlighted a topic that I wish I could have grasped a long time ago. That topic involves the difference between Law and Gospel. Both themes have examples in each of the testaments, and to my untrained eye, the difference between the two can be summarized by terms of responsibility.
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Genesis 35-36

I find it to be quite interesting that there is no significant fallout after the prostituting of the covenant sign on the part of Jacob’s sons as well as the lack of leadership on the part of Jacob. God’s word to Jacob completely omits any mention of this or any of his other failings. Instead, He told Jacob to move to Bethel. This command wasn’t given so Jacob could flee the area where so much violence had taken place, but so Jacob could fulfill his vow before God.
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Genesis 34

As several of my friends can attest, I have spent far too much time contemplating this writing. That is not to say that I could ever spend too much time contemplating the reading of the Bible, but I believe I did fall into the error of trying to fit two Biblical accounts together in ways that they were not intended, thus I over-contemplated my own writing. It is true that I was out of town for a few days. Add some travel time and the uber-important time spent reconnecting with the family, and I have been out of action on this blog for just under two weeks. Because my original concept didn’t pan out, I’ll stick to this one chapter for today.

In chapter 34, we can see that the family of Jacob had been getting just a bit too cozy with the locals in Canaan. I say this because Dinah went out to see the women. This was not an activity akin to birdwatching. Dinah was out to associate with them, not to observe their strange practices. And while she was out and about, Shechem gave her an up close and personal taste of these practices against her will. Following this despicable act, he spoke tenderly to her and desired her hand in marriage.
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Are you violently committed to the spread of the gospel?

Don’t answer until you read this post.

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I’ve been busy traveling, celebrating birthdays, meeting friends and celebrating Giant victories for the last week or so. I plan to have my next Bible Reading installment out soon, but until then, I leave you with a thought:

“An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be”

-Anonymous

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