Scripture Interpreting Scripture

There is a sort of habit in Scripture of attaching symbolic meaning to historical events. Israel in Egypt is compared to being enslaved in sin. The crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of baptism, of being freed from the enslavement of Egypt -- sin. Jesus is referred to as "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) in connection to the Old Testament sacrificial lambs. And on and on.

One of these interesting examples is found in Malachi.

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

God assures Israel that He has loved them. Picking up the real sons of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, He assures them that He loved Jacob ... the brother that was later named Israel ... the father of the people of Israel. He also assures them that He "hated" Esau. Now, that's kind of harsh, isn't it? No ... because it's God who says it. But Paul picks up this very text in his letter to Rome. Explaining that not all the children of the flesh are children of God (Rom 9:8), he uses Isaac and Rebekah as his example. Rebekah was told that the older would serve the younger (Rom 9:12). Then Paul draws from Malachi. "As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'" (Rom 9:13). What is Paul talking about here? Some conflict between Jacob and Esau? Something about Israel and Edom? No. Paul is using these two as an example of ... election (Rom 9:11). Yep. In the ancient historical Jacob and Esau, God pointed in Malachi to how God loved Israel over other humans, and Paul carried it to the next level, where God chooses whom He will save without regard to birth or works (Rom 9:14-18).

Like the tricky "Out of Egypt" quote from Hosea that changed meaning in Matthew (Hos 11:1 vs Matt 2:15), this one seems to change, too. But ... not. In both cases it is about God's choice. In both cases it is about God's unconditional love (Jacob/Israel/the Elect). And in both cases it is also about God's wrath (Esau/Edom/unbelievers). God says He loved Israel ... by choosing to. (God says, "I have loved you" and they say, "How?" He says, "I have loved Jacob.") Can't get much better than that.

The Total Perspective Vortex

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams posits a device called "the Total Perspective Vortex." It's an extreme punishment for criminals. The criminal is put in the device and it shows him the vast universe and his place in it. It drives them all mad, realizing they're meaningless in the broad view of reality.

David apparently visited the Total Perspective Vortex.

When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? (Psa 8:3-4)

The Psalm begins "YHWH, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens" (Psa 8:1). That is, the heavens declare the glory of God. Wait ... I've heard that somewhere (Psa 19:1) And in the vastness and expanse and complexity and simplicity of Creation, we find ourselves, tiny, miniscule, apparently nothing much at all. And we say, "Look at me! I'm pretty important." And creation laughs.

Paul warned that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think with sober judgment" (Rom 12:3). We do it every day. We think we're big and important and demand our rights. Maybe among humans we might be, but in the grand scheme of God, we must ask, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" And we ought to fall on our faces and worship, thanking Him that He does think of us. You know, as opposed to the shaking of fists in His direction because He didn't do or be what we wanted.

News Weakly - 3/1/2025

Gender Confusion
Nikki Hiltz made the news by winning five consecutive 1,500-meter titles in women's track. We're first introduced to Nikki as "transgender" and "non-binary," so it may raise some hackles that "they" (her pronoun of choice) were ("were"? "was"? How do we manage English plural verb tenses when we're using plural pronouns for single people?) even allowed to compete. But ... it turns out that Nikki Hiltz was born female and is competing in women's sports and there's no harm and no foul. Except ... this biological female identifies as "trans" and "non-binary" while competing as a biological female, and now we're all ... gender confused.

Paying for Extras
Denny's has joined the Waffle House in charging extra ... if you order just about anything on their breakfast menu. You can go for breakfast, but if you want eggs it's gonna cost you. "Come for breakfast. Stay for indebtedness." Eggs aren't good for you ... financially.

The Price of Pain
An Arizona woman has been awarded $7.25 million for a spine injury received while exiting a ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. I've always wondered how they arrive at these numbers. The sum included $250,000 for medical expenses and $7 million for pain and suffering. How is that calculated? It's not for lost wages or any other definable metric. (One website I looked at said with treatment the pain could last 3 to 5 months.) What it really seems to be is, "Universal has money, so we should take it."

For All Those Scared People
I know. Trump is scaring a lot of people. it's the end of the world as we know it. All that. But ... a federal judge blocked Trump's plan to fire probationary federal employees. So? The system is still working. The badly broken justice system and the nearly disabled legislative system are still balancing the very scary executive branch. Besides, you know Who is really in control, right?

Your Most Trusted Source for Fake News
Trump and Zelensky met in Washington (true story), prompting the Bee to report on Zelensky's bold new strategy of insulting the people he's begging for money. Elsewhere, Trump met with the UK's PM (actual story), and the Bee wrote how Trump assured him that England is still his favorite Muslim country. In unrelated news, biblical scholars are now saying that Paul's thorn in the side was likely his neighbor's leaf blower. I think we might all be able to sympathize.

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.