Today’s episode on Trinity Tidbits, the audio radio station on Anchor:
As mentioned in the audio; subsequent day’s posts will be building on the story of Eve ending at the end of the week on Friday.
Listen to this segment: “Esther: For Such a Time as This” on Anchor for the short audio version.
‘Esther’ means ‘hidden’ – her Jewish identity was hidden from the King. Esther’s Jewish name Hadassah, means ‘myrtle’, a tree whose leaves release their fragrance when crushed.
Queen Esther’s story has three parts:
Why did Esther’s story mean so much to Jews?
What are the main themes in Esther’s story?
Christianity is sometimes accused of causing the anti-Semitism that has shamed the modern world. This story shows this prejudice existed long before the birth of Jesus.
The book of Esther doesn’t suggest that the goal of proper Jewish living is to return to Judah; rather, it encourages the idea that Jews can live personally fulfilling, and even socially successful, lives in exile from Palestine. It asks who are we; if we not only don’t live in Judah but also don’t even want to?’
Life Lessons
What are your thoughts on this story? Comment, let’s interact!
Today’s devotion will focus on Ruth.
What’s the Book of Ruth about?
Ruth means ‘lovely friend’.
People often think the Book of Ruth is just a pretty love story. It’s not. It’s an outcry account against some of the severe laws passed in Israel at the time – the ‘purity laws’ of Ezra and Nehemiah.
These laws banned Jewish men from marrying non-Jewish women and commanded Jewish men to divorce their non-Jewish wives.
Many people disagreed. They said a woman’s worth was in her actions, not her blood-line. Boaz agreed. He knew Ruth was from Moab, not Israel, but he loved her and married her anyhow.
It’s awesome he did: she was loyal, hard-working, and generous – and gave him a great-grandson who was Israel’s hero, King David.
Ruth’s story
Even though there was protesting against the laws; the text of the Book of Ruth is, still, one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible.
Notwithstanding of this, Ruth survived and thrived. It’s just as well she did because it was vital for the future of Israel. Ruth’s great-grandson will be David, king of Israel, founder of a royal dynasty.
What are the chief points of Ruth’s story?
Ruth has special importance for Christians: Matthew’s gospel lists four women who were ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17). Ruth is one of them.
Life Lessons from Ruth
Do you have rich rewards from your obedience to Yahweh God? If not, why? If so, praise His Holy Name. Share with us.
Why be obedient to Yahweh? What’s the importance of it?
Comment and let’s interact. Or, if you prefer, send me feedback in the contact form below:
Listen to segment 1 of “Trinity Tidbits: 1st (Mary) of 10 amazing women of the Bible!” on Anchor: Episode 1: Mary: Mother of Jesus.
Today’s devotion will focus on Mary of Nazareth.
What do we know about Mary? The audio episode linked above tells a little bit about her. When you listen to the audio you’ll know a little information.
Mary spoke Aramaic. She lived with extended family. The nuclear family of today honestly didn’t exist. It wouldn’t have worked. There were too many chores that needed several people working together.
When she was about 11 or 12 years old, Mary began to menstruate. This meant she was of marriageable age, in Aramaic a betulah. The corresponding word in Hebrew, the ancient language of religious texts, is almah.
The first menstruation was a big milestone in any girl’s life, and in Mary’s case, it would have been celebrated with a party – to let everyone know she was now ready for marriage.
Now that Mary’s menstrual periods had started, serious consideration was given to the choice of a husband.
Mary’s whole family joined in the selection of an appropriate husband. After all, it was something that would affect them all, because of the nuclear family lifestyle they lived.
Joseph, Mary’s prospective husband; he was a young man, not much older than she was, and well-regarded by the people of Nazareth. We know this because Matthew’s gospel calls him ‘just’ or ‘righteous’.
The betrothal was a formal agreement to marry, settled with the transfer of property from the young man to the girl. The betrothal of a young couple had to be public, witnessed by many people. At this stage, there was no sexual contact.
During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27
Mary was pregnant. What’s following? The next thing we know, Mary was pregnant. Her normal menstrual periods stopped. This can be hidden for quite a while in the modern world. But in Mary’s time, when a whole family lived and slept in one or two rooms, the fact that a young girl’s periods had ceased was noticed immediately.
In the conservative Jewish family Mary belonged to, her pregnancy meant severe embarrassment if not outright disgrace to herself and all her family.
This is human thinking:
These are the facts we know:
So who was he? There are several theories. Only theories.
Shocking as the idea may be, he may have been a member of her own family. Statistics in the modern world show that pregnancies with an unnamed father usually come from the girl being interfered with by an older male relative. Probably not much has changed in two thousand years. This is one possibility, however distasteful, that has to be faced.
Another theory, quite well argued, is that the father of her baby was a Roman soldier posted at a nearby army station. On the face of it, this sounds unlikely, something you’d read in an offensive tabloid. But there are some facts that make the theory at least probable:
At around about the time that Jesus was conceived, a great many of Galilee was in an open uprising against Roman rule. This uprising followed immediately after the death of Herod the Great in 4BCE. Sepphoris, only four miles from Nazareth, was the center of the uprising in Galilee. The royal palace there was attacked and robbed (Josephus, Ant.17, 10.5/271-72). The whole area was a breeding ground of raging discontent against the Roman occupation.
So a Roman soldier as the father of Mary’s unborn baby is a possibility. No more than a possibility, but at least that.
Mary visits Elizabeth
It’s at this stage of her pregnancy that Mary went away to stay with a reputable cousin, Elizabeth. It’s not known which relative she was. It was possibly done for her own safety.
Mary returned to Nazareth and Joseph takes responsibility and asks Mary to marry him.
I’ll end this post with that. However, let’s go back to the audio episode linked at the top. What can we take away from Mary and her actions?
When we take on the attitude of obedience and trust what happens? Where does it lead us?
Comment or send me a message using the contact form:
This is a new element I’m adding to the ministry.
I will call it: Trinity Tidbits. I will post once a week!
For the next 10 weeks, I’ll talk about 10 amazing women of the Bible.
Today’s episode: Mary of Nazareth: Mother of Jesus.
Check out the radio station on Anchor and help it climb to the top charts!
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