I Kings Part VII: Just a Few Questions

A Procession of Kings, A Procession of Problems

Sooo...how do you like the procession of the kings so far for the people of Israel? It is like a soap opera, and as it runs on and on the writers decide to get crazier and crazier with the story, right?

1. I Kings 16:11-13

11 Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends.

12 So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu.

13 This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.

Questions
     1) Why did Zimri kill the friends? The friends are not part of the royal family, so what the hell kind of purpose was served by murdering people who had no access to the throne?

     2) When you read the above verses did you get the feeling that there is something strangely subliminal/subconscious going on? These verses seem to have a curious tone about them, I thought. 

It is almost as if they are trying to imply that God/the LORD is not the one responsible for any of this bizzaro behavior, that man acted entirely and completely ON HIS OWN without any type of interference from anyone at anytime, that God/the LORD informed the prophet Jehu almost as a heads-up courtesy (because who knows who might be able to take the information of the impending doom and turn it into something good?) as to the even bigger load of shit that was about to slam the fan of the people of Israel, and, perhaps most disturbing of all, that EVERYTHING that has befallen man in these ridiculous situations of divinely measured and punished insolence/disobedience is the fault and problem of man and man alone. This registers fairly high on the creep-o-meter, don't you think?

     3) Can you think of any reason that an all-powerful Being would be working behind the scenes to manipulate people into thinking a situation followed a certain pattern when in fact it did not?

     4) Why/how is God/the LORD provoked  when HE knew everything that would happen, wanted it to happen, needed it to happen, and definitely made sure that it happened?

     5) If the friggin idols were so damn worthless then why was the LORD/God so badly bothered and jealous and threatened by them?

     6) If the friggin idols were so damn worthless, and if the people of Israel chose to worship those idols instead of the LORD/God...what does THAT say about what at least some of the people of Israel thought about the LORD/God?

2. I Kings 16:25-26

25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him.

26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

Questions
     1) Omri did MORE evil than all the others? Is this unsupported assertion supposed to make people not care about what happens to him or his family, not care about why he did what he did, and not care that many people are being/will be forced to pay for the purported sins of this man?

3. I Kings 16:30-31

30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.

Questions
     1) Ahhh...so now it is Ahab who has done more evil than all of those before him?

4. I Kings 17:1-5

1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, "As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives--the God I serve--there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!"

2 And the word of the LORD came to him:

3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.

Questions
     1) No dew or rain during the next few years, hummm? I bet the people of Israel thought their days of parched bellies and dry lips were left back in the desert they stumbled out of when they arrived to take possession of the promised land, right?

     2) Okay, sooo...God is all-powerful and all-this and all-that, the ultimate protector, BUT His own prophet has to hide...and this all-powerful God is the One Who told the prophet to hide?

5. I Kings 17:12-14

12 And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”

Questions
     1) Well, doesn't verse 12 imply that the people of Israel are still waiting for the land to produce its flowing milk and honey?

     2) What was the purpose of responding with "Do not fear"? Sure, the woman said she was going to prepare her and her son's last meal...and then die...but she does not sound fearful, but rather sounds resigned to her fate, right?

     3) Feed the prophet of the LORD/God first and THEN feed the starving mother and child? What does this tell you about the priorities of this wonderfully loving, amazingly compassionate God/LORD?

     4) Sooo...you have all of these people in Israel dying from thirst and starving BUT God/the LORD sees fit to provide food ONLY for the woman, her son, His prophet, and fuck everyone else?

     5) Sooo...are we supposed to be surprised and impressed by this never ending supply of food for three people?

6. I Kings 17:15-16

15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Questions
     1) Who gives a shit how many days the woman, her son, and God's prophet ate from the never ending food supply? Jesus Christ, we have an ENTIRE PEOPLE that need to eat and drink, correct?

     2) I am not impressed by the magic jug and magic jar, but I am depressed by how God/the LORD is treating all of these people, HIS CHILDREN, aren't you?

7. I Kings 17:17-21

17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”

19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.

20 Then Elijah cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?"

21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

Questions
     1) Illness so severe he had no breath left? Was it an asthma attack? COPD? A pulmonary disorder?

     2) Verse 18 is hilarious, right? This woman wants to know what the prophet has against her to cause the death of her son? Doesn't this stupid bitch remember at the beginning of this story she herself was prepared to make herself and her son some kind of cakes and then die from starvation? The likelihood of death was already there when Mr. Prophet rode into town, right?

     3) We already know that the LORD/God is a severely twisted sadist, so we do not have to ask why He let this happen. What should be asked is what the fuckey-doo is the deal with the prophet stretching himself out ON the boy three times? I gotta tell you...this sounds ALL WRONG, doesn't it?

8. I Kings 17:24

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

Questions
     1) Sooo...does this mean that this whole time the woman did NOT believe this prophet guy was a real prophet of the LORD?

9. I Kings 18:1

1 After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”

Questions
     1) Does God/the LORD use drought and famine as a means of culling the people who worship Him?

10. I Kings 18:22-24

22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets.

23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it.

24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”

Questions
     1) Sooo...is God/the LORD trying to make Himself look outnumbered in order to make His 'victory' over Baal look even more amazing and miraculous?

     2) Sooo...God's prophet and the prophets of Baal BOTH use altars, BOTH use animals in sacrifice, BOTH cut up the animals and put the pieces on the altar, and when following through with their worship ritual BOTH burn the animal carcass, correct?

     3) Sooo...the only true difference between the sacrifice rituals of Elijah and the sacrifice rituals of the prophets of Baal is the NAME of the pretend individual being sacrificed to?

11. I Kings 18:27-29

27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. "You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, "for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!"

28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.

29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.

Questions
     1) Well, what have we here but a FINE example of what many modern day believers claim they are subjected to: ridicule and mockery. Do you think Elijah would appreciate people mocking his God?

     2) What makes it okay for Elijah to mock people who worship a different God, but it is NOT okay for anyone to rail and mock Elijah's God?

     3) Want to try something interesting? Consider verse 27. Now, take this verse, the meaning and words of this verse, and then apply it to modern day troubles and terrible situations, okay? Think about 9/11, the Japan tsunami, the mega quake in Mexico in the mid eighties...yada-yada, plucka-plucka...and ask them where their God was when these terrible things happened. Was He in traffic? Was He too busy? Was He angry with man? Was He out doing laundry?

12. I Kings 18:36-37

36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command.

37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

Questions
     1) What the fuck is Elijah talking about turning the hearts of the people back to God? This is NOT what happens or will happen here, right? There is no deliberate effort to truly turn their hearts back to God, is there?

13. I Kings 18:38-40
38 Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”

40 Then Elijah commanded, "Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don't let a single one escape!" So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.

Questions
     1) Doesn't God know that frightening people into believing in Him does not qualify as the same people having turned their hearts back to Him?

     2) God is supposed to be Truth, correct? Would you agree that coercion is NOT akin to truth? 

     3) Here in this particular chapter in I Kings we very clearly see that FEAR is again utilized by God as a tool to encourage the people to change back to worshiping God alone, correct? Sooo...if God is the ultimate in truth, and if God decided that the best way to get His people back was to scare them to death, and if coercion is NOT akin to truth...doesn't that significantly alter the characteristics that define God/the LORD?

     4) If God/the LORD is using coercion to make people believe in Him, and if coercion is NOT truth doesn't that then mean that God/the LORD is a liar and most certainly NOT worthy or deserving of the attention or praise He receives?

14. I Kings 18:44-46
44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, "I saw a little cloud about the size of a man's hand rising from the sea." Then Elijah shouted, "Hurry to Ahab and tell him, 'Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don't hurry, the rain will stop you!'"

45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

46 Then the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.

Questions
     1) How in the blazing blue did the servant happen to spot a little cloud the size of a man's hand rising from the damn sea, hummm?

     2) Sooo...Elijah was granted special powers by God to run super fast? Do you suppose the process to grant the prophet this power was like in that old television show starring Lee Majors, uhmmm...the Six Million Dollar Man? You know the one. I can see it now, right? God and His other two personalities getting ready for surgery on Elijah. God says to His other selves, "Gentlemen, We have the technology..."

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II Samuel Part II: Just a Few Questions

Looks ARE Deceiving

When David takes over as the king the first few impressions are that things are really starting to turn around, right? Perhaps David can really turn things around as far as the relationship between God and the people of Israel are concerned. Not only is David pleasing in the sight of the LORD, but it also appears that in anything that he does he is triumphant. This is a very good indicator of an immense improvement in the disposition of the people of Israel.

How real and lasting is this positive change? How long will it be before somebody screws up and the LORD/God YANKS the rug out from under the entire congregation of His people? For the moment everything for the people of Israel not only looks great, but also sounds great! And this IS a good thing considering the Valley of Death existence the people of Israel have endured for so long, right?

Too bad the people of Israel back then didn't know what we know now when it comes to things that sound really, REALLY great: If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.

And now...on to the continuing questions for II Samuel.

1. II Samuel 7:25

25 "And now, O LORD God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever.

Questions

     1) The sad part here is that David does not seem to realize that there is no way that he will ever receive confirmation of God's promises...UNLESS he, too, sticks around forever like God to witness everything that ever happens in all of recorded history AFTER God has made all of these promises, right?

2. II Samuel 8:2

2 David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David's subjects and paid him tribute money.

Questions

     1) Saving a few and then killing a bunch? Measuring people in groups lying down on the ground, then murdering two groups for every one group spared? This is SO FUCKING SICK. I read this verse and you know what it immediately reminded me of? Have you ever seen the WWII footage of deep, long trenches that had been dug by the Nazis, filled with the bodies of men, women, and children...babies even? You ever see the footage of the people lined up close to the body pits so that when the Nazi soldier came down the line shooting the people in their heads the bodies would simply fall into the pit?

3. II Samuel 8:6

6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

Questions

     1) Is it not so much that the LORD gave victory to David as it is that the LORD took the lives of those the people of Israel waged war with?

4. II Samuel 8:10-11

10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.

11 These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,

Questions

     1) Why does David dedicate the precious metals to the LORD? What the hell is the LORD going to do with gold and silver and bronze?

     2) Does a perfect God need anything? If a perfect God does not by nature need anything wouldn't it follow that He would not want to ask or receive anything since asking for something He does not need and accepting something He does not need is gluttony?

5. II Samuel 8:13
13 So David became even more famous when he returned from destroying 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Questions
     1) Famous for destruction? Is this how people who worship God behave...celebrating destruction?

     2) Is this why the supporters of the assholes who flew planes full of people into big buildings full of even more people were jumping with joy? Did it make them feel famous? Is this something the One they worship encourages?

     3) Remember the tsunami that hit Japan not all that long ago? This verse reminds me of members of the demented denominations of various pockets of Christianity that posted videos on YouTube that were THANKING God for the mass destruction. Don't believe me? Listen and look at this:
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPd-SY6OhLY

          

6. II Samuel 11:2-5
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite."

4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.

5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

Questions
     1) Sooo...David has taken and had sex with the wife of another man? Is the LORD going to punish the entire congregation of His people for David's error?

     2) Would Bathsheba have gotten into trouble if she told David 'no'?

     3) Stepping lightly here, uhmmm...did the folks in Bible times NOT practice various methods for NOT becoming pregnant? Remember the story of Onan getting into trouble with the LORD for spilling his seed on the ground? Does this mean the LORD had a rule that that could not be done, that the man must release his seed inside of the woman?

     4) Wouldn't David know what would happen if he did NOT pull an Onan?

     5) Did David simply not care because he was the king?

7. II Samuel 11:13-17
13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting.

17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.

Questions

     1) This is just a terribly sad story, right? A man goes out to fight a war and the king of the land who has more than ANYONE goes and takes what is likely the most valuable, cherished person that the man possesses? A man of GOD did this?

     2) But in reality, isn't David emulating the LORD/God Who regularly takes everything of value from anyone He wants whenever He sees fit to do so?

8. II Samuel 11:27
27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was displeased with what David had done.

Questions
     1) Displeased? Displeased? David rooks a man out of his wife AND his life and the LORD is displeased? What about the guy that tried to steady the ark when he thought it would fall and the LORD burst out in anger and KILLED him? For trying to steady the ark? But...the LORD is only displeased when David commits adultery, covets another man's wife, and commits murder? Is the LORD disgustingly imbalanced or what?

9. II Samuel 12:9-12
9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

11 This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view.

12 You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel."

Questions
     1) This is what David and Bathsheba did but the LORD is going to make the ENTIRE family of David pay the price of the bad deed done?

     2) THe LORD is going to allow the wives of David to be taken before his very eyes? What the fuck for? David's wives didn't do a damn thing! Sooo...because of something David did his wives are going to be taken against their will? Isn't this RAPE? Because of what David did these women who are his wives will be raped?

10. II Samuel 12:13
13 Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin.

Questions
     1) Ahhh. Sooo...the LORD has forgiven David so that he will not die for His sin, BUT, those closest to David will be the ones to pay the price, right? Lovely.

11. II Samuel 12:14
14 Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the LORD by doing this, your child will die."

Questions
     1) Because you have shown contempt for the LORD...I am going to kill your child? REALLY? Why does the LORD insist on making the innocent pay for the deeds of the guilty? This is total bullshit, right?

     2) What would you think if a judge in a modern day court in America found a man guilty of murder, and as punishment commanded the man's son be put to death? What would you think? THAT would be wrong, wouldn't it? Why isn't it wrong for God? Because God is supposed to be perfect, so even when He is wrong He is still right?

12. II Samuel 12:15
15 After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah's wife.

Questions
     1) Awww! Does the LORD/God have a soft spot for purposely suffering the little children unto Himself? What a sweetheart.

13. II Samuel 12:22
22 David replied, "I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, 'Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.'

Questions
     1) Isn't this just another limit to stupidity set by yet another person in the Bible? Letting the child live would be gracious to David? No it wouldn't. Letting the child live would be gracious to the child, right? Injuring one person as punishment to another? How fucking stupid is that? And people wonder what is wrong with religion?

14. II Samuel 12:24
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child

Questions
     1) Sooo...the LORD loved this child but not the other child that He killed by sending it an illness while it was yet still a brand new infant?

15. II Samuel 12:30
30 David removed the crown from the king's head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city.

Questions
     1) A crown that weighs SEVENTY-FIVE POUNDS? David actually put this crown on his head?

     2) What is the heaviest crown in the world today? What is the heaviest crown in recorded history and can it be verified?

     3) How much weight can the human head and neck support for a man of average, medium, or above average height and weight and build?

16. II Samuel 13:11-13
11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing.

13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

14 But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

Questions
     1) You know what? The Bible seems really really preoccupied with incest in the Old Testament, right? Why is that?

     2) Sooo...first the sister says something along the lines of no, such a thing is not done in Israel, right? Whew! So the LORD DOESN'T approve of brothers and sisters sleeping together, correct?

     3) Then the sister says something along the lines of tell the king for he will not withhold me from you...and you kinda go WHAT? Sooo...the LORD DOES approve of incest? Isn't that lovely?

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The Book of Ruth: Just a Few Questions

Anywhere you go, so will I go also!

This particular story, the story of Ruth, is one of the stories I remember the most from when I was a kid in Sunday School; except when I was a kid it was called the "Children's Meeting" since our church was supposed to be non-denominational, thus using the term "Sunday School" put us uncomfortably close to the religious folk who were getting their worship of God and Jesus and the interpretation of the Bible all wrong.

Here we have a woman Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, who have both suffered great loss. Naomi has lost her two sons since they died, and Ruth has lost her husband since one of Naomi's sons was Ruth's husband.

Losing a son or a husband in the Old Testament times is one of the worst things that could happen to a woman. The loss of a husband or son was sure to birth big problems when it came to inheritance as well as carrying on the family/clan name within the respective tribe of the people involved.

All-in-all Naomi tells Ruth to go back home to her own people (the Moabites) and remarry and live a voon-der-bar life since Naomi surely isn't going to pop out any more sons, and even if she did Ruth was likely not about to wait however long until the son was of marrying age. Besides, would Ruth still be able to bare children at such a point? The longer Ruth stayed with her mother-in-law, the longer it would take Ruth to get back on the happy track of life.

Despite the opportunity to improve her situation simply by leaving Naomi, Ruth makes the decision to stay with her mother-in-law. Ruth was loyal to Naomi and chose to stay with her. Due to this steadfast loyalty the LORD rewards Ruth by allowing her to cross paths with Boaz, a relative by marriage, who marries her and has a son with her.

The moral of the story is supposed to be that when you are steadfast in your loyalty to God/the LORD no matter what the situation may be, you will find you are rewarded with an inheritance in heaven with God; except, God forbid our church should sound anything even remotely similar to the other despised denominations, the way I was taught they did not call it 'heaven' but rather called it "going to be with the LORD."

"You must be strong and follow the LORD wherever He goes, wherever He takes you in your life, giving yourself fully to Him in appreciation of the grace and inheritance He has given you," was what was taught to me. I remember finding it odd that the LORD would allow a really crappy situation just to test to see whether or not a person would stay faithful to God. For me the screwy part was that everyone has a limit to the difficulty and adversity and tragedy that they can face and God should know this. So WHY would God/the LORD feel the need to test anyone when He already knows the limits of what they can deal with, the limits of their religious loyalty?

And now...on to the questions of the book of Ruth of the Holy Bible's Old Testament. This is a very short book in the Bible and will consist only of this single posting. As always, if you wish to answer any of the questions at the end of each posting is a link where you may make comments and offer answers. If there are no existing comments to a post the comment link will say "No Comments" and you should click on that and will then be routed to the page to type whatever you wish to say.

You do not have to answer all the questions and your answers should not be what you think I want to hear. I just want to know your personal answers to these questions, what YOU believe, and WHY you believe it.

1. Ruth 1:1
1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

Questions
     1) What is it with the state of disarray that the LORD's people always seem to be stuck in?

     2) If it isn't a war or pestilence or punishment or starvation or great thirst or famine WHY is something jacked-up on some level ALWAYS happening to the people of Israel?

     3) Does God starve His people in order to keep them reliant on Him?

     4) Sooo...what happened to this land that was to be flowing with milk and honey?

2. Ruth 1:13
13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”

Questions
     1) Why is it that whenever anything bad or unsavory happens to the people of Israel that they immediately blame God/the LORD for not giving a damn and seeding unhappiness on purpose?

3. Ruth 1:15
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

Questions
     1) If Naomi worships the God of Israel and knows He is the only, one and true God...WHY would she tell Ruth to go back to worshiping other gods?

     2) Does the LORD not care since Ruth is a Moabite so screw her and let her worship whomever she wants since she IS NOT an actual descendant/relative of God's chosen people?

4. Ruth 1:16-18
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

Questions
     1) Do you think it is possible that Ruth stayed with Naomi because Ruth had no where else to go?

5. Ruth 1:19-21
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

Questions
     1) Why do the people of Israel seemingly only care about what happens to them, how many children they have, how a spouse will or will not reproduce, will they have an inheritance, will they be blessed?

     2) Is this type of selfish thinking the reason why they have so many enemies in the Bible times?

6. Ruth 2:11-12
11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

Questions
     1) Sooo...are we to think that even though Ruth could have taken a different route and possibly have done better that the point is not picking what you think is the best for you, but rather is all about staying with God/the LORD no matter how bad or lonely or terrible or horrible things get?

     2) Is the reason why Boaz considers Ruth to have done great things because she chose to forsake her own ancestral traditions for those of the people of Israel?

     3) Is it okay to make bad or stupid decisions so long as the reasons why you make such decisions in the first place are that you are doing such for the LORD?

     4) Are decisions like this supposed to be impressive to non-believers?

7. Ruth 2:22
22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”

Questions
     1) Why in the world would Ruth be in danger of being assaulted? Because she is a woman? Because she is a foreigner? Because her husband died?

8. Ruth 3:1-4
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”

Questions
     1) This sounds suspiciously like Naomi wants Ruth to go down to where Boaz is, wait until he is delightfully drunk, and then try to seduce him in some way, doesn't it?

9. Ruth 3:5-6
5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.

Questions
     1) What is this light dusting of conspiracy that many stories in the Bible seem to portray the women with? Why does the Bible seem to go the extra mile to make some of the women seem sneaky, conniving, and out to trick the men?

10. Ruth 3:14-15
14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

Questions
     1) Sooo...were the women not allowed on the threshing floor? Why?

     2) Sooo...if Boaz is asleep on the threshing floor does he live where the threshing floor is or did he just get totally drunk and fall asleep there the night before?

     3) Was the grain that Boaz gave Ruth payment for an act of prostitution?

11. Ruth 3:16-17
16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,

17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”

Questions
     1) Sooo...surely Boaz figured out what Naomi had put Ruth up to, right? Again I ask you, was the grain Boaz gave payment for an act of prostitution?

     2) Was the grain also payment intended to keep Naomi's trap shut until Boaz figured out what to do?

12. Ruth 4:5-6
5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”

6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

Questions
     1) Sooo...Boaz waits to tell this other guy that if he buys the property he will also acquire a wife, Ruth. First the guy says yes and then Boaz says, "Hey, you get a wife in the deal," and the other guy totally changes his mind, right?

     2) Why did Boaz take this obviously dishonest approach?

13. Ruth 4:7-8
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.

8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.

Questions
     1) Why in the hell was the matter of attesting in Israel so absurdly stupid?

     2) Was the ritual of attesting supposed to be so absurd that other cultures and people would marvel at the strangeness and think highly of the people of Israel and the LORD since, if the ritual of attesting was understandable only to the people of Israel this had to mean they were extra special, especially in the eyes of God?

14. Ruth 4:14-17
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!

15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.

17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Questions
     1) Why did the women say this to Naomi and not to Ruth? Ruth was the one who got married again, and Ruth was the one who had a baby boy, and Ruth was the one who chose to stay with Naomi in the first damn place, right?

     2) A daughter-in-law who is more to you than seven sons? What kind of psychopathic bitches say this kind of shit to a woman who lost both of her sons?

     3) Does Naomi live vicariously through the little baby Obed?


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