JUDGES 4:1-7

INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - PROPER 27

JOSHUA 24:1-3A, 14-25. The conquest of Canaan completed, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to the holy place at Shechem to renew their covenant with God initially made by Abraham. He issued a compelling challenge that they should choose to serve the Lord as he and his family had chosen. They promised to do so although Joshua warned them of how difficult it would be and of the penalty if falling away from their commitment to worship the gods of their foreign neighbours.

PSALM 78:1-7. This long psalm recites the goodness of God to the Israelites throughout their long history. Theirs was a story of repeated disobedience to their ancient covenant and redemptive renewal of the special relationship through the mercy of God.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6:12-16. [Alternate] Although attributed to Solomon like Ecclesiastes, Wisdom dates from the beginning of the last century BCE and is imbued with Greek thought. It was not included in the Hebrew scriptures, but was well known to many New Testament authors. This excerpt is an abbreviated part of a section of the book detailing the beneficial effects of Wisdom, a virtually personified female aspect of divine nature.

AMOS 5:18-24. [Alternate] This oracle from Amos, a prophet of the 8^th century BCE proclaims that The Day of the Lord will be a time of severe judgment against Israel’s unfaithfulness despite their elaborate rituals. The final verse 24 could be regarded as the finest declaration of the prophetic vision for all nations for all times.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6:17-20. [Alternate] The great value of Wisdom cited here is its desire for discipline which guarantees incorruptibility and leads to sovereignty.

PSALM 70. [Alternate] This woeful cry of distress pleads for God’s help in some dangerous situation.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18. To ease their concern about those who have died before the anticipated return of Christ, Paul reassures them of a final general resurrection when all will be with Christ. Modern fundamentalists use this excerpt as the basis for their doctrine of “the Rapture.”

MATTHEW 25:1-13. Not too much should be made of details of this parable. It tells a simple story drawn from the village life of Galilee. The wise and foolish virgins waiting for the return of the bridegroom presents the challenge that everyone must be prepared for the return of Christ.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS:

JOSHUA 24:1-3A, 14-25. The Book of Joshua is part of the Deuteronomic history of the settlement of Canaan by the Jews following the Exodus and the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Based on collected memories and oral traditions, and possibly some earlier documentation, it reached its final form during the Babylonian exile. Scholars believe that it could have been written in either Judea or in Babylon. One of its themes addresses a people who through disobedience to the law had lost their right to the divine gift of the promised land. An associated theme points out the clear relationship between obedience to the law and divine blessing. This latter theme comes forth most strongly in this excerpt.

The conquest and settlement of Canaan completed, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to the holy place at Shechem to renew their covenant Yahweh had initially made with Abraham. He issued a compelling challenge that they should choose to serve the Yahweh as he and his family had chosen to do. They promised to do so too although Joshua warned them of how difficult it would be and the penalty if falling away from their commitment to worship the gods of their foreign neighbours.

The greatest challenge to any religious tradition comes from alternative beliefs and religious practices. Idolatry, the anxious seeking for certainty and security in relationships other than trust in God and commitment to a strong moral standard, has been the bane of every generation of believers. As this lesson describes, the children of Israel faced this issue as forthrightly as we do today. The Canaanites and the other tribal communities in the lands through which the Israelites had passed had their own religious traditions, “other gods” as Joshua called them in vs. 16. Joshua set before his people the choice they must make. Was Yahweh truly to be their God with whom they were to have a special relationship by being obedient to the moral code of their sacred

covenant? He and his family had made that choice. They would serve Yahweh.

It would appear from this passage that Jewish religious thought had not yet settled finally on the moral monotheism, the faith in one God alone and a rigorous moral commitment. The thought that there might be deities other than Yahweh which other nations revered and worshipped remained a very present threat during the Babylonian exile (586-539 BCE). Today we can easily understand this threat to our own tradition. In recent decades it has become increasingly tempting to let other relationships, practices and pursuits dominate our lives. One brilliant insight into the religious challenge to our generation cited professional spectator sports as the dominant religious practice which a visitor from outer space would find in our world. It was just such a distraction against which Joshua warned his people more than three thousand years ago.

As vs. 1 states, the single purpose of the psalm was to teach a contemporary generation by recalling the Exodus and early days of settlement in Canaan. It aimed to show that all along Yahweh had been working in and through Israel’s history. Some scholars have focused on certain historical clues: the temple still standing, the Davidic monarchy still reigning in Jerusalem, Judah believing that Yahweh had rejected the Northern Kingdom although there is no direct reference to the fall of Samaria. From these has come the conclusion that the psalm could have been written as early as the 8^th century BCE. More likely however is a post-exilic date when the history of Israel’s special relationship with Yahweh was being thoroughly reconsidered. While there is no evidence of any connection with the temple cultus, the psalm could have been suitable for recitation at some special festival, particularly the Passover.

The initial verses in this reading do not more than introduce the purpose of the whole. In short, the psalmist restates the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9) as the basic guide for the religious education of each generation.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6:12-16. [Alternate for Roman Catholic and Lutheran Lectionaries] Although attributed to Solomon like Ecclesiastes, Wisdom dates from the beginning of the last century BCE and is imbued with Greek thought as well as being written in Greek. It was not included in the Hebrew scriptures, but did appear in the Greek translation of them, the Septuagint. Hence it was well known to many New Testament authors. Jerome included it in his Latin translation, the Roman Catholic tradition does include the book in the Old Testament.

This excerpt is an abbreviated part of the second of three main sections of the book (6:1-9:18). It differs in style from other Wisdom literature in the Old Testament, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, in lacking the short, memorable aphorism, it resembles the diatribes of the Greek Cynic and Stoic philosophers. Nevertheless, it does have a clear religious purpose.

This passage details the beneficial effects of Wisdom, virtually personified as the female aspect of divine nature. Wisdom is not only to be sought, but reveals herself to the earnest seeker. She comes to the sincere almost as a counterpart of divine grace.

AMOS 5:18-24. [Alternate for Episcopal and Lutheran Lectionaries.] This oracle from Amos, a prophet of the 8^th century BCE proclaims that the Day of the Lord will be a time of severe judgment against Israel’s unfaithfulness despite their elaborate rituals. The final verse 24 could be regarded as the finest declaration of the prophetic vision for all nations for all times.

The earliest of the so-called “Minor Prophets,” Amos lived circa 750-700 BCE during the reigns of Jereboam of Israel and Uzziah of Judah. He set the standard for his railing against the social injustices and ritual aberrations he found in Israel. Although claiming to be from a rural background, his oracles reflect a considerable knowledge of the surrounding nations to which he also likened Israel’s depravity.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6:17-20. [Alternate is from in the Lutheran Lectionary only and should be regarded as an extension of the one above from Wisdom 6:12-16.]

There seems to be no reason for the break between the two passages since it extends the effect of seeking Wisdom to a logical conclusion. The great value of Wisdom cited here is its creation of a desire for discipline which guarantees incorruptibility and leads to sovereignty. In short, practice makes perfect, but there are responsibilities involved too. There are moral laws that guide one’s search for Wisdom.

PSALM 70. [Alternate] This woeful cry of distress pleads for God’s help in some dangerous situation. Surprisingly these few verses appear twice in the Psalter. They repeat almost word for word Ps. 40:13-17. The only explanation for the repetition is that the text came to the collection of psalms made by later editors from two different sources. Originally they probably existed as separate psalms since the intent and style are quite different. This brief text is in the form of a lament. The same text in Ps. 40:13-17 is an addition to a hymn of thanksgiving for rec0very from sickness.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-11. There can be little doubt that Paul believed in the

imminent return of Christ in glory. This tradition existed in the apostolic church throughout the early decades after Pentecost, a viewpoint which grew naturally out of the Jewish expectation of the Messiah. Believing that Jesus of Nazareth is the long-expected Messiah, the apostolic church adapted that belief for their own purposes. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ, the Parousia as it is called, was the result.

Paul's Thessalonian correspondence dates from the late 40s or early 50s of the Christian era, within a quarter century of the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. Scholars have been unable to confirm which of the two was written first or to determine how either relates exactly to the missionary journeys of Paul described in Acts. A consensus appears to be gathering around the hypothesis that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians before this letter, and that the content of the two have very little in common.

The main issue in this passage is the timing of the Parousia. Paul assures his audience that they need nothing added to the teaching he had given them in person (vs. 1). Nonetheless, the subject must have been a major concern for this community because it surfaces in no less than five different references in the letter (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-5:11; 5:23). The phrase "the day of the Lord" is the typical name given by Jewish prophets to the day of judgment, a phrase subsequently adapted by later apocalyptic literature to the expectation of the Messiah. In this case, however, it refers to the day of the Lord's return. The phrase "like a thief in the night," emphasizing the unpredictability of the event, recalls words attributed to Jesus by both Matthew and Luke (Matt. 24:43; Luke 12:39).

The second metaphor Paul used to describe the indefinite timing of the Parousia is even more vivid. Every parent recognizes the moment when birth labor begins. That phrase also comes from prophetic scriptures, occurring several times in Jeremiah, always referring to an uncertain time of impending disaster and divine judgment. A similar theme of the event occurring at a totally unexpected moment also pervades such apocalyptic passages in the gospels as Mark 13:28-37, Matt. 24:34-42, and Luke 21:29-33. Many scholars believe that this apostolic tradition came directly from Jesus himself.

Paul then moves on to a further metaphorical reference on which turns the ethical advice Paul wishes to give his friends. He states clearly how Christians were to conduct themselves while waiting patiently for Christ's return. Because they are children of the light and of the day (vs. 5) rather than of darkness and night, they are to keep awake and live soberly, unlike those whose nighttime drunkenness gives opportunity to the thief.

Paul summons yet another metaphor to warn his audience of their need to be ready for the unpredictable return of Christ. He adapts parts of a soldier's protective armament, a breastplate and a helmet, to Christian faith, love and hope. The metaphor may have been part of Paul's regular preaching vocabulary, for it occurs again with greater force and elaboration in Ephesians 6:14-17. Certainly it had significance in a city like Thessalonica, the capital and chief commercial city of Macedonia, where Roman soldiers could be found on every street.

Everything Paul has said to encourage the Thessalonians depended on one thing, as did all his teaching: the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. For those who believe, waiting for Christ's return can be a most hopeful experience because Christ died for us (vs.10). Only so can they continue their mutual support as they wait (vs. 11) his return.

As the Song of Songs 3:6-11 suggests, the performing of a wedding involved the groom and his friends going to the bride’s residence at the appointed time to bring his richly dressed bride and her attendants back to his residence (Ps. 45:12b-15; Isa. 61:10) to complete the appropriate ceremony and participate in a rich feast with dancing and song. The celebrations could last from seven to fourteen days. How extensive or expensive the festivities would depend on the wealth of the families. A humble village wedding would be much less elaborate than one for a high-born and wealthy couple. The parable captures a moment in time when a group of young women await the arrival of the groom and his bride.

The story is not as important as its intended eschatological interpretation. It reinforces the theme found in all Jewish eschatology that the moment when the Messiah comes is always to be anticipated but without any specific timing whatsoever. While drawing heavily on the Jewish expectation found extensively in some prophetic and considerable inter-testamental literature the Christian interpretation deals almost exclusively on the return of the true Messiah, Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord.

The element of judgment stands out in the punch line of the parable (vss. 12-13). A good deal of contemporary preaching lacks this decisive strain. To many in pulpit and pew this may sound particularly graceless and contrary to God’s infinite, universal mercy. As one who was familiar with the eschatological tradition, Jesus’ teachings presented this theme with great force. As the foolish virgins discovered, NOW is the appropriate time to make preparations for being received into God’s kingdom.

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