Archive for "February, 2011"

CURRENT EVENT – FEBRUARY 27, 2011

A delegation of 150 people visited Auschwitz on February 1, 2011, to pay tribute to the millions of Jews and others killed in the Holocaust. Auschwitz was the Nazi’s most notorious death camp, where over a million people were murdered.

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR – FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Balaam has a mixed reputation in the Bible. He is sometimes remembered as a tempter who led the Israelites astray with pagan women, but he is also one who faithfully spoke “the word Yahweh put in his mouth” when it was disadvantageous for him to do so (see Mic 6:5).

REFERENCE SHELF – FEBRUARY 27, 2011

In preparation for seeking insight into Israel’s future, Balaam directs that seven altars be built. Such structures were thought to be helpful in establishing contact with the divine realm, a concentrated point of entry.

RESOURCES – FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Balaam, son of Beor is an enigmatic figure in the OT who is sometimes pictured as an authentic prophet and at other times as a devotee of the occult. According to the account in Num 22, he was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites and, hence, weaken their military strength.

CURRENT EVENT – FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Mohamed Bouazizi, a struggling Tunisian university graduate trying to support his family, was selling fruit and vegetables on December 17, 2010, when police realized Bouazizi was selling without a permit. They confiscated his produce and slapped him in the face.

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR – FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Before receiving the covenant, God indulgently answers Israel’s complaints about their lack of food and water. After Sinai, however, God meets these same complaints with divine rage.Before receiving the covenant, God indulgently answers Israel’s complaints about their lack of food and water. After Sinai, however, God meets these same complaints with divine rage.

REFERENCE SHELF – FEBRUARY 20, 2011

This story is basically from the Priestly tradition (with some remnants preserved from the older JE account), as evident by: concern with chronology (v. 1), (2) complaints against Aaron (v. 2), and (3) the use of such vocabulary as “congregation” (v. 8) and “before the LORD” (v. 3).

RESOURCES – FEBRUARY 20, 2011

When the covenant was finally complete, Moses led the people by stages toward the promised land. Moses’ administrative skills and his mediating capacities were tested at every point.