Hmm, I've not been getting through these very well recently - far too much to do!

Let's start with Judges 6:11-7:25

Beating out wheat in a winepress. Interesting - I've seen the stone circles that the mediterranean peoples used to thresh wheat - the general idea was that you would lay out all your wheat and run a donkey or ox over it, with the beast pulling a sledge with sharp pieces of rock or metal drilled through the bottom of the sledge, so that as it moves over the wheat, it cuts it down and the chaff is cut up and flies away. A winepress was usually a large carved stone bathtub in which grapes would be put to be crushed - a hole in the bottom would allow the juice to flow out. To thresh in a winepress suggests that Gideon is a coward - hiding from the public location of the threshing floor, which would necassarily be on hillsides - and penned up in his homestead. Also, this contrast makes me wonder about Gideon's status - is he like wheat being threshed in a winepress i.e. out of place in some way? Let's see what happens next.

An angel appears and declares that God is with Gideon, the man of valor - who is cowering in his home, hiding from the midianites. This continues the idea of things not being the way they should be - or not the way they seem.

I have a theory about the way that God works in the world. I had this theory whilst considering the weather. I have an allotment, which requires rain to water it (or a watering can, but the rain is obviously a better option!) and so sometimes I think 'I hope it rains today!', but then when I want to go to the beach or go for a picnic, I hope that the weather will be hot, sunny and dry - and then I remember my crops and find myself torn. At this point, the plight of many a marrying couple occur to me - we all want nice weather for our weddings, but if everyone had nice weather when they wanted it, where would the rain be for the farmers who are praying for rain? I think that God doesn't get too involved with the weather - He has set up the climates to work in certian ways, and if He wishes to, I don't for a second doubt that he can over-ride the weather, but if God were to listen to us every time we prayed for nice weather, then there would be no rain for the farmer - and vice versa. So I think that God chooses to ignore prayers like this one, because he ultimately knows what is best for our whole community. I believe instead, that He works in us - if we spend time praying for a change in the weather and are listening to God, I think that He will eventually draw our attention to the need for all types of weather in our climate in the UK, and that really our attitude should be one of gratefulness - that we have lovely days in the spring, summer and autumn, and that we generally have it pretty good here. We'll change through our prayer to God, not the other way around.

I bring this up because of Gideon's response to the Angel and the Angel's subsequent reply - Gideon whinges that God isn't doing enough for the Israelites, what with the Midianites ruling the place. The Angel then responds to Gideon that he has to go out in his might and save Israel. Gideon comes back with his excuses - he is the weakest member of the weakest family of the weakest clan of Manasseh - who are divided into two half-tribes! Not the person that most of us would choose to be our hero!

Gideon then provides a sacrifice for the Angel - and only after the Angel disappears in a cloud of pyrotechnics does Gideon realise that he was talking with an Angel - which makes me think that they definately do appear in unimpressive forms when they have need to.

Gideon does have some redeeming courage - he's not courageous enough to stalk out into the town and destroy the Baal/Asherah alter during the day, but instead will do as God commands at night - he's a bit of a sneak - fearing God enough to do that which God has called him to do, but only in secret. It's a little like Christians who are scared to talk about their faith. Gideon continues in this vein - the cheeky fleece-laying episode allowing him time to think through what God has asked him to do, and to definately know that this is what God is asking of him. Again, we Christians do this quite a lot - in the service on Sunday morning for instance 'is that you God, are you really asking me to speak to the whole church?...just confirm it for me and I'll go and tell them....' or 'You want me to go and speak with that person? But I don't know them... okay, if this is really from you, then send past a blue car next. Okay, well there's lots of blue cars - how about a red one, followed by a black, green and then pink car and I'll talk to them'.

The mext episode looks a bit like my youth group. We have a big team and have a huge group - more than 100 kids on a Friday night. Our problem is that we can find ourselves looking for something that we can easily do and do well. God is asking Gideon and his men to do the impossible - take out an army with 300 men. This takes massive courage and bravery - something Gideon's not especially comfortable with, as we know!

God then gives Gideon instructions, with a proviso - 'if you're afraid, then go down just with Purah' - God knew this guy well, and never pushed him too far - he knew that Gideon would follow, but he needed a little extra grace to get him there!

Gideon's expedition brings out a frankly weird conversation going on in the camp of the Midianites - one man dreams about barley bread, and the other translates it as meaning that Gideon is going to wipe them out - how does he come up with this translation? Well, I assume that is because God had pre-ordained this - He wanted Gideon to get in there and get on with being the hero that he's meant to be - and hearing this word from God is all the encouragement that Gideon needs. 

Finally in this passage, a prince is killed a winepress - where this story begins, with a young man who is a hero out of place and not knowing it yet. 

Psalm 55:15-23

Not much jumps out from this section for me today - a passage looking at pain and strife and particularly betrayal. The psalmist is trusting the Lord for deliverance. 

Proverbs 12:27-28

Whoever is slothful will not roast his game - weird phrase, but looks like a standard exhortation to not be lazy. Precious wealth is interesting - the translation is vague, so it's hard to make a good case for what is meant here - is it that diligence is precious in itself, or that it brings precious wealth - perhaps like a good life? Hard to say. 

v28 - There is no death in the pathway to righeousness. Interesting idea - a call to righteousness - but what is meant by death? Can I assume he means spiritual death, or is this a physical one? The physical would suggest that there is no physical death on the path to righteousness - carnally, that is half-true - we wouldn't expect a righteous person to commit murder, yet they will surely die one day! This must refer to spiritual death, surely? 

Luke 21:20-38

The idea of a destroyed Jerusalem is interesting in the light of 70AD and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. But what is meant by the times of the Gentile? Is this an age which will end at end-times? Is it a time already passed?

Jesus on the clouds - a glroious day - one we can not predict, but will know when it arrives. Interestingly, Jesus is addressing his followers and is saying that when He returns on the clouds that they should 'look up' - this argues against the idea of the people simply vanishing a-la-Left Behind (which I'm not a great fan of from pretty much any angle literary or theological, anyway). 

The idea of being ready is common and important, I'm sure - I just don't understand its import - is this idea of being ready something more than not being surprised when it occurs? Because I can go throughout my life doing very little 'spiritual' (another argument about the spirit/body/soul divide will occur one day on this blog - just not today!) and when Jesus arrives be only mildly surprised - will this be a problem? Or should i always have a bag packed? And would a bag being packed make any sense, since we don't take anything with us when we die anyway (and I assume this extends into Jesus' second coming - that we take nothing to heaven with us then). 

Or is this idea something else - should we live a life free from unresolved conflict and difficulty? Is this a call to keep short accounts, as we may be asked to pay up our final bills at very short notice when Jesus appears in the clouds? It's an interesting thought, because it requires a shift in mind-set. I often live for next week, next month or next year - should I instead be planning these time periods, yet prepared for huge change at short notice - like a space ship, ready to pull up legs very quickly and take off? 

It's a thought!

Bed time - I'm exhausted!