The travel was very smooth this morning. I know people were praying because of all the favor and because God gave me traveling friends all along the way. In contrast a poor man was having a serious problem with the hotel when I got there. I had my reservation. For some reason his reservation was not accepted. I do not understand how that could happen.
I got to my hotel by about 3 PM local time. I had plenty of time to get out and walk a little.
What can I say about this northern side of SF? It reminds me some of London. The buildings are old and the people are young. I am checking for restaurants and a lot of them have menus taped to their front windows. This is so helpful.
I do not think I will try the Vietnamese restaurants. There are not many customers in them and the items do not entice me. There are plenty of Thai and Japanese and Indian restaurants, so far I have seen no Chinese restaurants. They must be all done at Fisherman's Wharf. I may get there tomorrow. It is not far.
I walked over to AT&T to check out how to get there.
April says I have to ride the trolley, "for her".
This area of San Francisco is pretty flat. I see some sloping roads on the edges. But my walk today was all on flat land.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14)
The seven verses dedicated to Jeroboam of Israel are interesting. Some of it seems contradictory. Jeroboam is said to do what is wrong in the eyes of God. Why? Because he expects the people to worship the Calves set up at Dan and Beersheba to keep people from having to cross the border and worship in the temple. These calves were supposed to represent the same God. But of course the ten commandments forbid the worship of any image, even one that is supposed to represent God. God is not like any image. He is spirit. No image can do him justice. It is misleading. God knew it would lead to bad things.
We know from archaeology that it lead to syncretic borrowing from surrounding cultures. For example at times God is seems to have a female consort. So making God into any image causes comparisons with the surrounding gods and can lead them into sin.
So Jeroboam is seen as doing what is wrong in God's eyes. But the rest of it shows many good things Jeroboam did and even concludes by saying God was in it, showing mercy to the land of Israel through Jeroboam.
Jeroboam repairs a wall, that I do not truly understand. Was it ever mentioned before? It is mentioned that Jonah son of Amittai spoke of this in prophesy. That is the same Jonah that a book is written about. Here he looks better than in that book.
we find that God still loves Israel despite their wrong headed worship. "The Lord has made no threat to blot out the name of Israel." He has punished them, allowed them to suffer. But that was to correct them, not to destroy them.
Jeroboam's acts are summarized in verse 28. He seems to have been very active and very successful. What does it mean that he recovered Damascus and Hammath? Many translations say that he recovered them for Judah. Some say he recovered them from Judah. Some find a middle ground construction.
But Jeroboam was blessed by God despite the first sentence in 24 that he did not give of the practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who first separated Israel from the combined kingdom under David and Solomon. There is much grace in that.
We know from archaeology that it lead to syncretic borrowing from surrounding cultures. For example at times God is seems to have a female consort. So making God into any image causes comparisons with the surrounding gods and can lead them into sin.
So Jeroboam is seen as doing what is wrong in God's eyes. But the rest of it shows many good things Jeroboam did and even concludes by saying God was in it, showing mercy to the land of Israel through Jeroboam.
Jeroboam repairs a wall, that I do not truly understand. Was it ever mentioned before? It is mentioned that Jonah son of Amittai spoke of this in prophesy. That is the same Jonah that a book is written about. Here he looks better than in that book.
we find that God still loves Israel despite their wrong headed worship. "The Lord has made no threat to blot out the name of Israel." He has punished them, allowed them to suffer. But that was to correct them, not to destroy them.
Jeroboam's acts are summarized in verse 28. He seems to have been very active and very successful. What does it mean that he recovered Damascus and Hammath? Many translations say that he recovered them for Judah. Some say he recovered them from Judah. Some find a middle ground construction.
But Jeroboam was blessed by God despite the first sentence in 24 that he did not give of the practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who first separated Israel from the combined kingdom under David and Solomon. There is much grace in that.
Emma - 2 Kings 14
Emma (1996) movie based on a novel by Jane Austen. I understand it now. When I was younger I definitely would not have understood the book or the movie. You may think I am exaggerating. Over the years I have learned more about relationships. When I was young I could barely put my right foot before my left. I knew it too, but that did not make it any better. Faking it only made it worse, but what choice did I have? Does someone teach how to understand relationships and how to relate to people? It seems one is condemned to learning by making mistakes.
I did seek God but not wholeheartedly. David Wilkerson speaks in his November 22 sermon letter of being handcuffed to Jesus. That could have helped me to not make so many mistakes. But that scares me. I want to be ready to do this but not wholeheartedly.
As I read through 2 Kings I get a sense that these kings had similar problems being clueless. Of course for them the situation was larger more complicated than my relational life. They usually did not seek God for help. They should have. We should too.
In 2 Kings 14 we read of king Amaziah of Judah, the southern kingdom. Amaziah was a "good" king. That probably means he kept the proper sacrifices and supported the temple. That is good because most of his subjects will follow his lead. But it is silent about relationship. But Amaziah let his success go to his head.
He took was to Edom and won. Then for some reason only known to him he challenged the king of Israel, the northern kingdom and was soundly defeated. Israel (Samaria), the Northern kingdom always had more land and more people. They consisted of ten tribes, Judah had only two tribes. So it was a bad mistake for Amaziah to think he could take on Israel. Israel was not seeking a fight.
As reprisal the king of Israel came to now defenseless Jerusalem and plundered the temple of its treasure. Israel stripped it of its gold and silver sacred vessels and all it's money. Israel was not looking for a fight but as they say, "if someone starts a fight with you, be sure it is you who finishes it."
Amaziah was not thinking clearly. He may have thought that since he was following God, God would go with him into battle and give him victory. But we are not told that he consulted God in any way. God wants us to ask, to pray, to seek his will.
I did seek God but not wholeheartedly. David Wilkerson speaks in his November 22 sermon letter of being handcuffed to Jesus. That could have helped me to not make so many mistakes. But that scares me. I want to be ready to do this but not wholeheartedly.
As I read through 2 Kings I get a sense that these kings had similar problems being clueless. Of course for them the situation was larger more complicated than my relational life. They usually did not seek God for help. They should have. We should too.
In 2 Kings 14 we read of king Amaziah of Judah, the southern kingdom. Amaziah was a "good" king. That probably means he kept the proper sacrifices and supported the temple. That is good because most of his subjects will follow his lead. But it is silent about relationship. But Amaziah let his success go to his head.
He took was to Edom and won. Then for some reason only known to him he challenged the king of Israel, the northern kingdom and was soundly defeated. Israel (Samaria), the Northern kingdom always had more land and more people. They consisted of ten tribes, Judah had only two tribes. So it was a bad mistake for Amaziah to think he could take on Israel. Israel was not seeking a fight.
As reprisal the king of Israel came to now defenseless Jerusalem and plundered the temple of its treasure. Israel stripped it of its gold and silver sacred vessels and all it's money. Israel was not looking for a fight but as they say, "if someone starts a fight with you, be sure it is you who finishes it."
Amaziah was not thinking clearly. He may have thought that since he was following God, God would go with him into battle and give him victory. But we are not told that he consulted God in any way. God wants us to ask, to pray, to seek his will.
Monday, March 7, 2011
2 Kings 12
I feel like I owe a post to whoever reads these. I think it is sad that I no longer greatly feel the need to do these. But the Bible is important, faith is important. Remembering is important to faith in God.
Chapter 12 has a lot to do with money. This chapter is an account of the rule of Jehoash of Judah. He becomes king at age seven. It is not stated directly but he must have relied on Jehoaida the high priest for assistance. Perhaps he acted as a regent until he came to be an adult.
Jehoash asks that money given to the Temple be used to made badly needed repairs. Yet it seems nothing is done for many years. Then one day Jehoash notices that the work has not been done. Perhaps he first commanded when he was a boy and no one took him seriously. But it seems no one took him seriously as a man either until he gave specific instructions that the money not be given to the priests but directly to the artisans capable of doing the work needed. Sounds like corruption in government, which may be why the temple got into disrepair in the first place.
There are more details given about the temple, money and Jehoash. Somehow this must have been a serious bone of contention during his time.
Then at the end of the chapter temple money is used for a different thing. Hazael of Aram has captured some surrounding cities and now he threatens Jerusalem. To keep the peace Jehoash takes money and valuable things from the temple and gives them to Hazael and he goes away. So Jehoash uses money devoted to God to pay a bribe.
Was this a good use of money, to keep the peace? The king has probably been a man of peace. Or was he just a wimpy man unwilling to risk his life for his country? By doing this he undoubtedly kept many others from being killed in battle. But often such actions are considered cowardly. Perhaps they are. He never seems to have consulted God to see what God advised him to do. We are never told he did. It seems he used his own judgment. For a servant of God this is not always a good idea.
We are told at the beginning of the chapter that Jehoash followed God as long as Jehoiada was his advisor. We can imagine that eventually Jehoiada died. Then what? Jehoash, perhaps due the loneliness at the top, never found a replacement adviser. Jehoiada was probably a father figure. Perhaps Jehoiada himself was a man of expediency and compromise. But he may not have been around at the last to give the king mature advise.
We are not told why but Joash is assassinated after 40 years of rule. Then without comment we are told his son replaces him as king. Did his assassins get away scot free? We are not told of that either. Very curious.
Perhaps giving the money away and capitulating to their enemy like that caused him to lose support. The temple priests were probably very angry for what he did. It likely cost them wealth and prestige. The military leaders too likely lost all respect for him. People rarely appreciate the peacemaker. And without support from God's approval he had no defense for his actions.
Chapter 12 has a lot to do with money. This chapter is an account of the rule of Jehoash of Judah. He becomes king at age seven. It is not stated directly but he must have relied on Jehoaida the high priest for assistance. Perhaps he acted as a regent until he came to be an adult.
Jehoash asks that money given to the Temple be used to made badly needed repairs. Yet it seems nothing is done for many years. Then one day Jehoash notices that the work has not been done. Perhaps he first commanded when he was a boy and no one took him seriously. But it seems no one took him seriously as a man either until he gave specific instructions that the money not be given to the priests but directly to the artisans capable of doing the work needed. Sounds like corruption in government, which may be why the temple got into disrepair in the first place.
There are more details given about the temple, money and Jehoash. Somehow this must have been a serious bone of contention during his time.
Then at the end of the chapter temple money is used for a different thing. Hazael of Aram has captured some surrounding cities and now he threatens Jerusalem. To keep the peace Jehoash takes money and valuable things from the temple and gives them to Hazael and he goes away. So Jehoash uses money devoted to God to pay a bribe.
Was this a good use of money, to keep the peace? The king has probably been a man of peace. Or was he just a wimpy man unwilling to risk his life for his country? By doing this he undoubtedly kept many others from being killed in battle. But often such actions are considered cowardly. Perhaps they are. He never seems to have consulted God to see what God advised him to do. We are never told he did. It seems he used his own judgment. For a servant of God this is not always a good idea.
We are told at the beginning of the chapter that Jehoash followed God as long as Jehoiada was his advisor. We can imagine that eventually Jehoiada died. Then what? Jehoash, perhaps due the loneliness at the top, never found a replacement adviser. Jehoiada was probably a father figure. Perhaps Jehoiada himself was a man of expediency and compromise. But he may not have been around at the last to give the king mature advise.
We are not told why but Joash is assassinated after 40 years of rule. Then without comment we are told his son replaces him as king. Did his assassins get away scot free? We are not told of that either. Very curious.
Perhaps giving the money away and capitulating to their enemy like that caused him to lose support. The temple priests were probably very angry for what he did. It likely cost them wealth and prestige. The military leaders too likely lost all respect for him. People rarely appreciate the peacemaker. And without support from God's approval he had no defense for his actions.
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Inspector Calls at AD Players
AD Players is doing An Inspector Calls for about a month at the West Alabama theater.
You guys ought to go. This is a fun play with a pretty good moral base.
I was written by J. B. Priestly in 1945 and set in 1912 north England.
Priestley was a novelist and popular radio commentator as well as a playwright.
An English drawing room drama with a twist.
You guys ought to go. This is a fun play with a pretty good moral base.
I was written by J. B. Priestly in 1945 and set in 1912 north England.
Priestley was a novelist and popular radio commentator as well as a playwright.
An English drawing room drama with a twist.
College Baseball Match 4 - 6
This is college baseball nirvana weekend in Houston.
Six great teams here at Minute Maid starting at 12 noon Friday and Saturday. Three games each day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Rice gets the plum slot each day since Texas is not here this year. But the Aggies are.
Kentucky
Utah
Baylor
Texas A & M
Houston
Rice
Six great teams here at Minute Maid starting at 12 noon Friday and Saturday. Three games each day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Rice gets the plum slot each day since Texas is not here this year. But the Aggies are.
Kentucky
Utah
Baylor
Texas A & M
Houston
Rice
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Running before the rodeo parade
Computer died, that's my excuse. This new one is still not up to speed.
There were five of us in the Rodeo Run past Saturday. How cool. DIL Fanny and I did the 10k. Son Kevin and daughters April and Deborah did 5k.
Yes Deborah was here from CA to be at the reunion surrounding the closing of the old Redeemer church building. That's another story. Maybe I'll cover that in another blog.
We preceded the rodeo parade. I did it last year. Did i know that last year? I can be truly out of it.
Anyway I wanted to do a 16 min/mile pace and did manage that. I noticed that I was second to last in my age group. But there were quite a few younger than me behind me when I finished. of course most everyone was well ahead of me.
Fanny finished in 11 min/mi.
Kevin did the 5k in something like 10.5 min/mi. April and Deborah did 13 min/mi 5k. That is walking for a young person, mostly.
Of course I mostly walked too and when I jogged it was pretty slowly.
I see from looking at past results that I have done closer to 15 min/mi several times. Even recently.
So next time I need to not let myself off the hook so easily.
I planned my parking very well. If I was by myself I would likely walk up and back, but I had the daughters. They did not like this idea. So i parked on the east side of I-59, on Bastrop. This made the walk to the starting line over a mile, across downtown. But the finish line was close by, actually on Bastrop maybe 8 blocks away.
So I planned it perfectly. The walk up gave us a light warm-up and the walk back was short because we would be tired.
Actually I do not think anyone was particularly tired at least in my group. We did not push any limits or get much out of breath.
But it was great fun and good exercise. I think I will do it again next year.
There were five of us in the Rodeo Run past Saturday. How cool. DIL Fanny and I did the 10k. Son Kevin and daughters April and Deborah did 5k.
Yes Deborah was here from CA to be at the reunion surrounding the closing of the old Redeemer church building. That's another story. Maybe I'll cover that in another blog.
We preceded the rodeo parade. I did it last year. Did i know that last year? I can be truly out of it.
Anyway I wanted to do a 16 min/mile pace and did manage that. I noticed that I was second to last in my age group. But there were quite a few younger than me behind me when I finished. of course most everyone was well ahead of me.
Fanny finished in 11 min/mi.
Kevin did the 5k in something like 10.5 min/mi. April and Deborah did 13 min/mi 5k. That is walking for a young person, mostly.
Of course I mostly walked too and when I jogged it was pretty slowly.
I see from looking at past results that I have done closer to 15 min/mi several times. Even recently.
So next time I need to not let myself off the hook so easily.
I planned my parking very well. If I was by myself I would likely walk up and back, but I had the daughters. They did not like this idea. So i parked on the east side of I-59, on Bastrop. This made the walk to the starting line over a mile, across downtown. But the finish line was close by, actually on Bastrop maybe 8 blocks away.
So I planned it perfectly. The walk up gave us a light warm-up and the walk back was short because we would be tired.
Actually I do not think anyone was particularly tired at least in my group. We did not push any limits or get much out of breath.
But it was great fun and good exercise. I think I will do it again next year.
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