Psalm 37 self-interestedly choosing the good

CJB emphasis in blue, green, red, and blue; Nomads* comments in yellow; and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton. My continually improved statement re Genesis 1:26-28 is at the end.

Word study

Adonai 18:  [dominant word]

Commit 1:

Do good 2:

Evildoers 2:

Forever 4:

Generous 2:

God 1:

Hope 1 hoping 1:

Inherit the land 5:

Justice 3:

Trust 2:

Wicked 15: [dominant word]

Key phrases from below:

·         Trust, delight, commit, hope re Adonai

·         do good

·         justice of your cause

·        The Torah of his God

·         Adonai  will raise you up

·         posterity

·         Paul’s zeal to establish his church on Christ further hid Yeshua’s civic influence or Yeshua’s church.

 

Psalm 37 CJB: ^37 (0) By David:

⁽¹⁾ Don’t be upset by evildoers [villains?]
or envious of those who do wrong [dissidents and rebels?],
² for soon they will wither like grass
and fade like the green in the fields.
³ Trust in Adonai, and do good [Ken felt the class on 4/21/24 had pointed to the good as generosity.];
settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.
⁴ Then you will delight yourself in Adonai,
and he will give you your heart’s desire.

⁵ Commit your way to Adonai;
trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine forth like light,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before Adonai;
wait patiently till he comes.
Don’t be upset by those whose way
succeeds because of their wicked plans.
⁸ Stop being angry, put aside rage,
and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.

⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land.
¹⁰ Soon the wicked will be no more;
you will look for his place, and he won’t be there.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land [Matt 5:5 has the earth.]
and delight themselves in abundant peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the righteous
and grinds his teeth at him;
¹³ but Adonai laughs at the wicked,
knowing his day will come.
¹⁴ The wicked have unsheathed their swords,
they have strung their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous has
than the wealth of all the wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but Adonai upholds the righteous.
¹⁸ Adonai knows what the wholehearted suffer,
but their inheritance lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be distressed when times are hard;
when famine comes, they will have plenty.

²⁰ For the wicked will perish;
Adonai’s enemies will be like sheep fat,
ending up as smoke, finished.
²¹ The wicked borrows and doesn’t repay,
but the righteous is generous and gives.
²² For those blessed by [Adonai] will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.

²³ Adonai directs a person’s steps,
and he delights in his way.
²⁴ He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong,
for Adonai holds him by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young; now I am old;
yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned
or his descendants begging for bread.
²⁶ All day long he is generous and lends,
and his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ If you turn from evil and do good,
you will live safely forever [? Suggests this is addressed to a group?].
²⁸ For Adonai loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful;
they are preserved forever.
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
and live in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom,
his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The Torah of his God [Adonai seems a civic mediator between the bad and the good] is in his heart;
his footsteps do not falter.

³² The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous,
seeking a chance to kill him.
³³ But Adonai will not leave him in his power
or let him be condemned when judged.
³⁴ Put your hope in Adonai, keep to his way,
and he will raise you up [suggests the cross but in a positive association with Yeshua to those how choose the good? If so, I think it is an error. The good is good on its own. If Yeshua suggest the good, that’s a benefit, but each person is empowered and has the authority to choose the good.] to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁵ I have seen a wicked man wielding great power,
flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.
³⁶ But I passed by again, and he was no longer there;
I looked for him, but he could not be found. [Does this image foretell Yeshua damning a fig tree? If so, it’s poor judgement on the writers to insist on fulfilling a bad suggestion.]

³⁷ Observe the pure person, consider the upright;
for the peaceful person will have posterity.
³⁸ But transgressors will all be destroyed;
the posterity [future generations] of the wicked will be cut off. [See the non-religious preamble to the U.S. Constitution.]
³⁹ Adonai is the one who saves the righteous;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ Adonai helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and saves them;
because they take refuge in him [Today, 4/21/24, I perceive pursuing Yeshua’s-civic-influence-to-the-good as the prophesied fulfillment of Psalm 37’s false claims that Adonai guarantees success to the righteous. The Greek introduction of “Iesous” 250 years before Yeshua was born confused contemporaries who heard the Aramaic-speaking Yeshua. (Wikipedia, “Greek Iesous (Ἰησοῦς), from which, through the Latin IESVS/Iesus, comes the English spelling Jesus. The Hebrew spelling Yēšūaʿ (ישוע) appears in some later books of the Hebrew Bible.”) Moreover, Paul’s zeal to establish his church on Christ further hid Yeshua’s civic influence or Yeshua’s church. However, Yeshua will overcome all the confusion.].

 

[I read to apply perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28; in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independently choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power and authority to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Civic citizens may use the rule of law to develop justice. Yeshua* affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. The next Bible canon could and should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiah** vs God competition.*** Competition egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting, collaborative view could accelerate mutual pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*In 4 BC, Yosef and Myriam of Nazareth begot Yeshua. 250 years beforehand, Greek translation of the Torah provided Ἰησοῦς and χριστός, both of which competed with Yeshua, the former during life and the later in death. By the 16^th century, Christianity used “Jesus Christ” to repress Yeshua. The person, Yeshua, said, in my paraphrase: if people don’t speak my name they can’t consider my civic influence.

**Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

***Competitive monotheism survives on war.] 

2 Corinthians 8 & 9, CJB; promoting Paul’s church

CJB emphasis in blue and green, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power and authority to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Civic citizens may use the rule of law to develop justice. Yeshua* affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiah** vs God competition*** that egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*In 4 BC, Yosef and Myriam of Nazareth begot Yeshua; 250 years before, Greek translation of the Torah provided Ἰησοῦς and χριστός, both of which competed with Yeshua, the former in life and the later in death. By the 16^th century, Christianity used “Jesus Christ” to repress Yeshua. The person, Yeshua, said if people don’t speak my name they can’t consider my civic advice.

**Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

***Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

Key comments extracted from below:

First, Nomads discussed that Paul’s team was soliciting these churches– pagans with some Jews, north of the Mediterranean Sea, for money to go to a faction of Jews in Judah who believed Yeshua was the Messiah, soon to return and unite the 12 tribes of Israel. A smaller faction believed the Torah should be upheld.

Second,

1.       the grace God has given [This is a form of defining the God, which is not a humble practice.]

2.       which means, by God’s will, to us. [I think this is coercion to support the church rather than pursue Yeshua’s civic influence.]

3.       in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too [My gift is to promote Yeshua’s civic influence rather than promote the church.]

4.       make you rich by means of his poverty. [Yeshua was not wealthy -- was he? I think he was rich in civic integrity. However, the person who shares civic integrity does not impoverish his integrity. In fact, sharing civic integrity usually produces an increase.]

5.       I am only giving an opinion. [It’s in self-interest to admit you could be wrong.

6.       reciprocity. [Reciprocity rings true for the total society, but not for a particular group or individual. I pay taxes so that governments can relieve sufferers in a tornado, without losing my ability to live.]

7.       bring honor to the Messiah [The writer neglects Yeshua in order to favor the Messiah.]

8.       we would be humiliated [I oppose Paul’s attention to himself: let good ideas stand on their own.]

9.       be a genuine gift, not something extracted by pressure [People are aware of church wealth.]

10.   God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift [Genesis 1:26-28 says you have and may accept the power and authority to rule to the good on earth.]

11.   through us your generosity will cause people to thank God [I do not trust Paul’s church.]

12.   the Good News of the Messiah [transitioning from Yeshua’s civic integrity to Pauline church promotion]     

^8:1 Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given [This is a form of defining the God, which is not a humble practice.] the congregations in Macedonia. ² Despite severe trials, and even though they are desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. ³ I tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their own free will they have given beyond their means. ⁴ They begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God’s people. ⁵ Also, they didn’t do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God’s will, to us. [I think this is coercion to support the church rather than pursue Yeshua’s civic influence.]

⁶ All this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you [Corinth], since he has already made a beginning of it. ⁷ Just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too [My gift is to promote Yeshua’s civic influence rather than promote the church.]. ⁸ I am not issuing an order; rather, I am testing the genuineness of your love against the diligence of others [Competitive “love”!]. ⁹ For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was — for your sakes he impoverished himself, even though he was rich, so that he might make you rich by means of his poverty. [Yeshua was not wealthy -- was he? I think he was rich in civic integrity. However, the person who shares civic integrity does not impoverish his integrity. In fact, sharing civic integrity usually produces an increase.] ¹⁰ As I say, in regard to this matter I am only giving an opinion. [It’s in self-interest to admit you could be wrong.] A year ago you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so. Now it would be to your advantage ¹¹ to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it, as you contribute from what you have. ¹² For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don’t have. ¹³ It is not that relief for others should cause trouble for you, but that there should be a kind of reciprocity: ¹⁴ at present your abundance can help those in need; so that when you are in need, their abundance can help you — thus there is reciprocity. [Reciprocity rings true for the total society, but not for a particular group or individual. I pay taxes so that governments can relieve sufferers in a tornado, without losing my ability to live.] ¹⁵ It is as the Tanakh says,

“He who gathered much had nothing extra,
and he who gathered little had nothing lacking.” [Exodus 16:18] [The Exodus reference is to each family taking all the manna they need and none extra. In this case, God is providing, and one family is not supplying another; one church is not supporting another.]

¹⁶ Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are; ¹⁷ for he not only responded to our urging, but, being so devoted, he is coming to you on his own initiative. ¹⁸ And with him we are sending the brother whose work for the Good News is praised in all the congregations; ¹⁹ not only that, he has also been appointed by the congregations to travel with us, so that the way we administer this charitable work will bring honor to the Lord and show our eagerness to help. ²⁰ Our aim in this is to show that our conduct in dealing with these substantial sums is above reproach; ²¹ for we take pains to do what is right not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of other people. [Proverbs 3:4 (Septuagint)] ²² With these two we are sending another brother of ours, one whose diligence we have tested many times in many ways, but who is now all the more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner who works with me on your behalf; and the other brothers with him are emissaries of the congregations and bring honor to the Messiah [The writer neglects Yeshua in order to favor the Messiah.]. ²⁴ So the love you show these men will justify our pride in you to them, and through them to the congregations that sent them.

^9:1 There is really no need for me to write you about this offering for God’s people — ² I know how eager you are, and I boast about you to the Macedonians. I tell them, “Achaia [Greece] has been ready since last year,” and it was your zeal that stirred up most of them. ³ But now I am sending the brothers so that our boast about you in this regard will not prove hollow, so that you will be ready, as I said you would be. ⁴ For if some Macedonians were to come with me and find you unprepared, we would be humiliated [I oppose Paul’s attention to himself: let good ideas stand on their own.] at having been so confident — to say nothing of how you would feel. ⁵ So I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go on to you ahead of me and prepare your promised gift in plenty of time; this way it will be ready when I come and will be a genuine gift, not something extracted by pressure [People are aware of church wealth.].

⁶ Here’s the point: he who plants sparingly also harvests sparingly. ⁷ Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [Proverbs 22:8 (Septuagint)] ⁸ Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift [Genesis 1:26-28 says you have and may accept the power and authority to rule to the good on earth.] in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause — ⁹ as the Tanakh says,

“He gave generously to the poor;
his tzedakah lasts forever.” [Psalm 112:9]

¹⁰ He who provides both seed for the planter and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your tzedakah [charity]. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God [I do not trust Paul’s church.], ¹² because rendering this holy service not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but it also overflows in the many thanks people will be giving to God. ¹³ In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah [transitioning from Yeshua’s civic integrity to Pauline church promotion] requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you they will feel a strong affection for you because of how gracious God has been to you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

John 2, could thegod tolerate Pontius Pilot freeing Yeshua (Jesus, note)?

 John 2, could thegod tolerate Pontius Pilot freeing Yeshua (Jesus)? I think so.

Note: In early 2024 I learned his mom and dad in Nazareth named and called him "Yeshua", and "Jesus" is a consequence of translations from Aramaic/Hebrew to Greek, to Latin, to old English, then to Protestant English. "Christ" supports Paul, and some people believe Paul without civic objection. This discovery is wonderful and to be shared.

CJB emphasis in blue and green, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Yeshua affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

2 On Tuesday here was a wedding at Kanah in the Galil; and the mother of Yeshua was there. ² Yeshua too was invited to the wedding, along with his talmidim. ³ The wine ran out, and Yeshua’s mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” ⁴ Yeshua replied, “Mother, why should that concern me? — or you? My time hasn’t come yet.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now six stone water-jars were standing there for the Jewish ceremonial washings, each with a capacity of twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Yeshua told them, “Fill the jars with water,” and they filled them to the brim. ⁸ He said, “Now draw some out, and take it to the man in charge of the banquet”; and they took it. ⁹ The man in charge tasted the water; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after people have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!” ¹¹ This, the first of Yeshua’s miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil; he manifested his glory, and his talmidim came to trust in him. [Trust based on miracles is a matter of believing Yeshua could control physics much as Moses supposedly did, e.g., providing water by striking a rock, Exodus 17:5 and Numbers 20:11.] ¹² Afterwards, he, his mother and brothers, and his talmidim went down to K’far-Nachum and stayed there a few days.

¹³ It was almost time for the festival of Pesach in Y’hudah, so Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. ¹⁴ In the Temple grounds he found those who were selling cattle, sheep and pigeons [Jews in Judea still practicing blood sacrifices.], and others who were sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ He made a whip from cords and drove them all out of the Temple grounds, the sheep and cattle as well. He knocked over the money-changers’ tables, scattering their coins; ¹⁶ and to the pigeon-sellers he said, “Get these things out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market [Principle: don’t commercialize or politicize thegod.]?” ¹⁷ (His talmidim later recalled that the Tanakh says, “Zeal for your house will devour me.” ) [Psalms 69 addresses Israel’s passionate, misguided pursuit of gods through sacrifice and self-fulfilling predicts Yeshua’s estrangement from Nazareth.] ¹⁸ So the Judeans confronted him by asking him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do all this?” ¹⁹ Yeshua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” ²⁰ The Judeans said, “It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the “temple” he had spoken of was his body. ²² Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his talmidim remembered that he had said this, and they trusted in the Tanakh and in what Yeshua had said. [Trust based on miracles is a matter of believing Yeshua could control physics much as Elijah reportedly did, e.g., raising the dead, 1 Kings 17:17-24.] 

²³ Now while Yeshua was in Yerushalayim at the Pesach festival, there were many people who “believed in his name” when they saw the miracles he performed. ²⁴ But he did not commit himself to them [John overlooks that in every conversation with “the person on the street”, Yeshua was open minded and open hearted. I don’t trust John’s writing.], for he knew what people are like — ²⁵ that is, he didn’t need anyone to inform him about a person, because he knew what was in the person’s heart. [Perhaps John misinterprets here, and the real issue is that Jesus knew the political correctness of the Judean majority and feared for his life. That is a foretaste of Pontius Pilot, another god facing death, having the power and authority to free Yeshua, an innocent man.]

[About 40 years after Yeshua died, the Romans destroyed the temple and Jerusalem. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE) then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbinic_Judaism.  “Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE . . . Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities.” “Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the Temple, the rabbis instructed Jews to give money to charities and study in local synagogues, as well as to pay the Fiscus Iudaicus.” “As the rabbis were required to face a new reality, that of Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the location for sacrifice and study) and Judea without autonomy, there was a flurry of legal discourse, and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained.”

Russell’s question, are claims that Adonai demanded sacrifices fictional? seems well grounded and justified.

Furthermore, it brings into question Yeshua’s reported “sacrifice”. It seems like execution of an innocent man, to me. I’ll never know the ineluctable truth about it, but have my opinion: thegod could have handled Pontius Pilot releasing Yeshua (Jesus in common terms). I commend Yeshua’s civic influence and gladly switch to “Jesus’ civic influence” for those who prefer that name. “Civic” refers to reliable responsibility to the good rather than the bad in human connections and transactions on earth.]

 

Luke 15 CJB prodigal son with Psalms 73 introduction

 Luke 15 prodigal son with Psalms 73 introduction

CJB emphasis in blue, green, and olive green for a seemingly extraneous story, NIV in magenta, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Jesus affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Jesus’ civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

Kenneth perceives Psalms 73 a precursor to Luke 15 and in 15 creatively used “but” to highlight thegod’s mercy.

73:1 A psalm of Asaf [chief Levite?]: How good God is to Isra'el, to those who are pure in heart!

 

2 But as for me, I lost my balance, my feet nearly slipped, 3 when I grew envious of the arrogant and saw how the wicked prosper. 4 For when their death comes, it is painless; and meanwhile, their bodies are healthy; 5 they don't have ordinary people's troubles, they aren't plagued like others.

6 So for them, pride is a necklace; and violence clothes them like a robe.

7 Their eyes peep out through folds of fat; evil thoughts overflow from their hearts. 8 They scoff and speak with malice, they loftily utter threats.

9 They set their mouths against heaven; their tongues swagger through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return here and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water. 11 Then they ask, "How does God know [Physics and progeny knows, e.g. fat proves overeating.]? Does the Most High really have knowledge?" 12 Yes, this is what the wicked are like; those free of misfortune keep increasing their wealth [Free of misfortune does not mean wicked, and most wealth continually overcomes misfortune.].

 

13 It's all for nothing that I've kept my heart clean and washed my hands, staying free of guilt; [Why isn’t free of guilt its own reward to the writer? It is to me. Also, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and was guilty of executing Jesus.]

14 for all day long I am plagued; my punishment comes every morning.

15 If I had said, "I will talk like them, "I would have betrayed a generation of your children.16 When I tried to understand all this, I found it too hard for me -

17 until I went into the sanctuaries of God and grasped what their [the evil people’s] destiny would be.

 

18 Indeed, you place them on a slippery slope and make them fall to their ruin. [The writer erroneously attributes failure to thegod.] 19 How suddenly they are destroyed, swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakens; Adonai, when you rouse yourself, you will despise their phantoms. [Why not souls?]

 

21 When I had a sour attitude and felt stung by pained emotions, 22 I was too stupid to understand; I was like a brute beast with you. 23 Nevertheless, I am always with you; you hold my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your advice; and afterwards, you will receive me with honor. 25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?  And with you, I lack nothing on earth. 26 My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever. [The writer addresses mind, body, and eternal portion rather than soul.] 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you. 28 But for me, the nearness of God is my good [Basing the good on a mystery yields fantasy.]; I have made Adonai ELOHIM [my great Lord] my refuge, so that I can tell of all your works.

 

[The writer asserts 8 mysteries: God is good to virtuous Israelites; God is not aware of behavior; the sanctuaries of God; Adonai despises evil people; God the writer’s rock; God’ nearness the writer’s good; and Adonai ELOHIM his refuge. He seeks good but perceives only consequences to evil, leaving both God and Adonai mysteries. How can a person satisfy Genesis 1:26-28 in appreciating a constraining if not controlling mystery?]

 

^15:1 The tax-collectors and sinners kept gathering around to hear Yeshua, ² and the P’rushim [politically correct Hebrews] and Torah-teachers kept grumbling. “This fellow,” they said, “welcomes sinners — he even eats with them!” ³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he does find it, he joyfully hoists it onto his shoulders; ⁶ and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns to God from his sins than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

⁸ “Another example: what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one of these valuable coins, won’t light a lamp, sweep the house and search all over until she finds it? ⁹ And when she does find it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found the drachma I lost.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among God’s angels when one sinner repents.”

¹¹ Again Yeshua said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.’ So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.

¹⁵ “So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any. [No one noticed he was starving.]

¹⁷ “At last he came to his senses and said, ‘Any number of my father’s hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death! ¹⁸ I’m going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.” ’ ²⁰ So he got up and started back to his father.

“But [His father acted faster.] while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son — ’ ²² but [His father acted fast.] his father said to his slaves, ‘Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet; ²³ and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it. Let’s eat and have a celebration! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead, but [Celebrate!] now he’s alive again! He was lost, but [Celebrate!] now he has been found!’ And they began celebrating.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field. As he came close to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ ²⁷ The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But [Political correction!] the older son became angry and refused to go inside.

“So his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ ‘Look,’ the son answered, ‘I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But Political correction!] you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends [In 1986, my son, Stephen, pointed out that the older son did not include his father in the desire for celebration. Luke did not tell a perfect story.]. ³⁰ Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!’ ³¹ ‘Son, you are always with me,’ said the father, ‘and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life — he was lost but has been found.’”

[The politically correct and Torah-teaching Jews represent the older son, who cannot celebrate his brother’s reform and mercy.

It seems Jesus’ story clarified that the person who attempts to specify God’s values faces a mystery and can only construct a phantasy.

Frederick Buechner (d. 2022) wrote, “Principles are what people have instead of God.” Nomads pondered humility as the first principle.]