A Layman's Commentary on Books of the Bible

Micah 4-5 I don’t think I have many comments on these chapters. My New Oxford Annotated NRSV tells me that these chapters contain “pronouncements of hope,” and that is certainly the dynamic. Zion will be a place people in the region will look to for wisdom and peace. The most notable thing to me is what a stark contrast these two chapters are to chapters 1-3, which persistently list the injustices happening within Zion (the high place on the hill, I think) and announce a coming judgment and exile. But chapters 4 and 5 present Zion as a place that is a future model of just and peaceful society. 4:3 “[The Lord] shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” This is a strong image for illustrating what a community of peace looks like in contrast to a community of conflict. ...

I’m reading this in the New Oxford Annotated NRSV. The introduction to Micah tells me that the book can be divided into three sections, Chapters 1 - 3 (pronouncements of judgment), Chapters 4-5 (signs of hope), and Chapters 6-7 (judgment transitioning to hope), so I will organize my comments according to these divisions. Micah 1-3 Background Since Micah, like all the books of the prophets, is set deeply and specifically within a particular history of which my knowledge--Biblically or otherwise--is extremely limited, and of which I don’t intend to research to much extent, I’ll be limiting my thoughts and reactions to general concepts which I can comprehend and respond to. The trusty NOANRSV (The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version) informs me that the setting of Micah occurs within the historical events covered in I KIngs 16-19, and I have read those chapters to provide me at least a little contextual information for reading Mic...

Ecclesiastes 4 Once again I am frustrated reading the King James Version. How can I read Shakespeare with comprehension but struggle to make out of some of these wordings and phrasings? That said, some of the pleasure of interpretation is in attempting to piece together a confusing puzzle. So I’ll attempt to make sense of the KJV before consulting another translation. In this chapter, Ecclesiastes once again observes some of the “rules” of existence by noting the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed, claiming that those never born are better off than those who have lived to experience the inevitable suffering of life, seeing that it is better to be a member of even a small community than to be alone, and once again lamenting the fact that after death no one is remembered. Analysis and reaction 4:1 “So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and ...

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 Theme : Resignation as precursor to contentment and joy. By “resignation” I mean essentially acceptance that we are in the cycle of life and cannot change it. This isn’t to say that we can’t make choices that affect our lives or that can be defined as good or bad, it simply means that in a general sense, we are bound by the rules of the world of nature in which we live, and these rules are set, not to be broken by us despite our efforts, a reality the Preacher establishes in Chapter 1. I’m sure I had a reason, though, for choosing “resignation” over “acceptance” in my initial statement. Reading Chapter 3 reminds me of Eugene Peterson’s book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places . In it, Peterson insists that we are in God’s world, i.e. the initiation of our salvation story is not dependent on us, and the work of salvation is God’s long-term purpose in the world. We cannot determine our own ways of salvation. God is always the subject of the senten...

Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 Summary Chapter 2 is divided into three sections: the pursuit of pleasure as a way to find meaning or purpose in life; the reality of death; and a reflective conclusion. This being a layman’s commentary, there may be more technical divisions applied by scholars, but these three foci are the logical groupings I see. In the first section, the Preacher testifies that he freed himself to pursue whatever his heart desired. In doing so, and partly thanks to his position of privilege, he was able to experience the primary earthly pleasures to their utmost. He put energy into his work and he enjoyed it, he played the agrarian, growing food, and the environmentalist, growing trees, and he found pleasure in these things as well. He built grand houses in which to live, grew grapes, drank wine and partied, had numerous people serving him, partook of sex when he wished (assuming the acquisition of “maidens” served this purpose), experienced the arts and music, and...