That Hurt: Forgiveness

April 7, 2024

Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "That Hurt: Forgiveness" A video of the message is here.

I was a bit surprised by how many times forgiveness was mentioned in Leviticus (and elsewhere in the Torah, too, especially Numbers). Afterall, isn't Leviticus "the Book with all the crazy laws"? It's more understandable when you realize that much of Leviticus (and some of Numbers) has to do with how to atone for sins, how to ask for forgiveness, which usually involves sacrificing something (animals, birds, grains, etc.).

In Exodus 34:9-10, Moses asks for God's forgiveness over all the "stiff-necked" people on the occasion of chiseling the second set of Ten Commandments. And the Lord replies with making a covenant (regarding the Promised Land). Sounds like some major forgiving.

There is but one law, which happens to be one of the Big Ten, that God says he will not forgive. "Do not carry God's name in vain." In other words, do not sin and blame/credit God for it, like terrorists do when killing people and yelling Allahu Akbar. By the way, Allahu Akbar means "God is the greatest" so the phrase can be used in a right manner as well.

It is true that most of the Old Testament talk of forgiveness hovers around God forgiving someone or a group of people. For a good rundown, click here. There's not much talk of people forgiving other people. One such mention is about Joseph ultimately forgiving his brothers. (You'll see I reference Joseph in the Bonus below, too.)

There is a Jewish tradition that one cannot ask for God's forgiveness before asking forgiveness from the person aggrieved. And the aggrieved should forgive the repentant person.

One such example is in Genesis 20. Abimelek asks first for Moses' forgiveness (with all kinds of gifts). Moses accepts and God heals Abimelek and his family.

Lastly, click here for another take on Jewish forgiveness. Interestingly, it ends with a similar message to Patrick's: "Forgiveness is a gift to ourselves, to be sure, but it is also, and primarily, a gift to those who have wronged us."

Bonus

Gentleness

For the last eight weeks or so, I and two of the grandkids have been rehearsing for an upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz put up by RiseChristianArts.com. One of the cool things Rise does is have a devotions period before each Saturday rehearsal led by 2-3 of the performers (ages 8-18). This past Saturday I learned something new, something about gentleness.

Gentleness is often thought of as kindness, peaceful, a light touch on human interactions, speaking softly, etc. While that is all true, the Biblical notion of gentleness suggests even more. It includes humility and meekness. It also is described as "strength under control." Afterall, even with righteous strength (offering something morally correct or Godly), without delivering it in a gentle way you could easily miss the mark.

As Godsverse.org put it, "By embodying gentleness, we can effectively demonstrate Christ's love to those around us, fostering growth, healing, and reconciliation. Furthermore, gentleness allows us to cultivate relationships built on trust, respect, and love."

The Old Testament (OT) Hebrew word for gentleness is anvah (עַנְוָה). In the New Testament (NT) Greek the word is prautes (πρᾳΰτης). Both include these additional meanings.

Some commentators point to how gently Joseph treated his family which did not recognize him when they came to Egypt for food during the famine.

One NT reference is gentleness as listed in the Fruits of the Spirit as enumerated in Galations 5:23.

One OT reference is "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great" (Psalm 18:35). Here's another: "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).

I can easily imagine a shepherd gently leading his flock. He must do it with conviction (strength), as he knows what needs to happen, but he also must do it gently to get the best result from the flock. One can probably think of kids (pun intended) the same way.

It also struck me in light of today's message that gentleness and forgiveness share something in common or depend on each other.

Bonus2

Creation: Themes and Tidbits

I recently taught a class on Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3, the "first" Creation story) for Pillar Institute. It's a continuing education organization for seniors. I thought I'd share with everyone some high-level notes from that class. As usual, these are not my ideas. I've found them in the course of my studies over the last few years. Prager's Rational Bible: Genesis was the main source, but there were several others as well from my list of Credits.



Overall Themes/Messages

• God is beyond nature. There is reality outside of nature.
• Nothing about the cosmos/nature is divine. Nature has no will (other than "survival of the fittest") or concept of morality.
• God is not a sexual being.
• God was not created; there is no theogony.
• There is only one God of humanity.
• God represents order/separations versus the forces of disorder/chaos.
• God has a special role for human beings.
• God is moral and has a moral will.
• There is one universal God; there are no pagan/nature gods.
• The Creation story, like most of the Bible, teaches wisdom, not science or history.
• There are no "kinds" with respect to Mankind. Human rights are universal.
• This Creation story and current science do not contradict each other.
• Because of all this, there is a transcendent purpose to life.

Interesting Tidbits

• The Hebrew word for "create" (bara, בָּרָא) (as opposed to made/make) is only used with God as the actor. It implies "out of nothing."
• God in the first Creation story is Elohim (אֱלהִים); in the second, Jehovah (יִרְאֶה).
• The same word for wind (ruach, רוּחַ) in Gen 1:2 is also used post-Flood and at the Red Sea.
• "Heavens and the earth" is a merism for "everything." It's like saying alpha-to-omega.
• A day (yom, יוֹם) is not a 24-hour period. There wasn't even a Sun until Day 4. Day represents some period of time, as in "back in the day."
• Gen 1:2 - The verb "sweeping" refers to a root meaning hovering or fluttering (rachaph, רָחַף), like a mother bird hovers over her brood.
• "It was good" appears 7 times. That number carries much meaning in the Torah.
• Some days things were created, other days things were ordered/separated.
• Phrases like "every kind" and "after its kind" imply ordering.
• No "kind" is used in reference to mankind. There is only one kind of human (no races, no ethnicities, etc.), and humans have but two sexes: male and female.
• Even days formed things, odd days filled the things formed.
• Two different words for light are used. In Gen 1:3 it's "ohr" (אוֹר) and in Gen 1:14 it's maor (מָאוֹר)." The first is light, the second is more like luminary ("bodies that emit light").
• Never any mention of Sun or Moon; a put-down on pagan gods ("not worth mentioning").
• The world was made for Mankind, and Mankind is to have dominion (absolute mastery) over it. This does not allow abuse; it's more "good stewardship."
• With the possible exception of "sea monsters," all the animals and fish described were familiar to those back then and are familiar to us today. No "mythological creatures."
• The odds of just one amino acid (a basis for life) being created by chance are so high as to preclude the possibility - on the order of 10 to the 164th power (Stephen Meyer). There hasn't been enough "monkeys, typewriters, or time."
• Gen 1:24 - "Cattle" (behemah, בְּהֵמָה) would have meant more than just cows; more like "livestock" or "animals" (of many kinds). I'm told that today in England when the word "cattle" is used it is not assumed to be cows.
• The "our" in "our image" in Gen 1:26 probably refers to God and the animals. We are partly both, animal-like and God-like.
• "Let us" (Gen 1:26) is used two other times in Genesis: expulsion from the Garden and dispersal from the City of Babel.
• In Gen 1:27, the last of three "created"s occurs in this story. (Remember, this "create" is only done by God.)
• "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28) is considered by Judaism to be the very first of the 613 laws.
• It's pretty clear that God's original intent was for Mankind and animals to be vegetarian (Gen 1:29-30). Permission to eat meat comes later in Genesis 9:3.
• The last verse, Gen 2:3, can be translated at the end as "from all His work to do (/make)." This suggests that God created work for Mankind to do, to take over now, finishing the work God started here. This is why you may sometimes hear reference to the 8th Day of Creation when mankind takes over.
• The Jewish Sabbath celebrates the Creation. It's the "7th Day" when God ceased creating, rested. It's the first time that "time" is made holy, sanctified.