Key verses:
Luke 20:38 - He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.
Isaiah 2:22 - Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
Luke 20:27-40
One of the first things I wondered about when reading this passage was why have this crazy law making this woman marry a bunch of different men?? I found out that the levirate law originated from the patriarchal period and was fairly common among a variety of cultures in that day. This law was so important because the need to procreate and continue the family line was necessary when a nation's population was so small. Israel was in such a situation in Genesis and Exodus because it was still a young nation. Thus, if a woman didn't produce offspring through one man before he died, then another man (usually the husband's brother) would take his place. Moreover, a childless widow was basically a write-off in the ancient days because no one was around to care for her.
Jesus' answer to the Sadducees required a bit of thinking. Here is my conclusion: "that age" in verse 35 seems to be referencing God's kingdom to come. When that time comes, we'll know what the marriage relationship is trying to portray and we won't need to take part in that relationship with one specific person. Rather, we'll all be in intimate relationship with each other. Each of our love relationships here on earth represent one facet of the love God feels for each one of us. Parent-child, husband-wife, brother-sister, they all mirror some part of the larger whole that God has planned for us.
In the face of the Sadducees' non-belief in life after death, Jesus stressed the importance and truth about eternal life through him.
Hebrews 1:1-9
This passage clearly asserted Christ's authority over the angels. Many Jews in the New Testament age and before then believed in the supremacy and importance of angels. The author needed to debunk this myth by illustrating, through the Old Testament scriptures, that Jesus was God's Son, and as such, was on God's level in terms of authority.
A note here on the use of OT scriptures:
Apparently, the most common Old Testament translation these days is based off the Masoretic text, but the New Testament writers were most familiar with the early Greek translation called the Septuagint, and therefore quoted passages from that version. Thus, when we see an OT passage quoted in the NT, and then look back and find it worded differently, this is because our OT is based on a different translation than the NT references. I was curious about this because Hebrews 1:7 says "He makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire". The passage that this comes from is Psalm 104:4 which says "He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants". The emphasis is placed on opposing parts of the phrases.
Proverbs 18
I resonated with nearly every proverb in this chapter. I will make note of just one. Verse 17: "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him." Keep me humble, people, and make your comments!
Isaiah 1-2
Isaiah, the prophet, gave his message to the people of Judah when it was about to be destroyed. Everyone was doomed because of their sin. Isaiah seems to focus on the people's sin and imminent destruction. However, he also brings a message of hope and restoration by focusing on the coming of the renewed Mt. Zion, God's holy hill.
Life application
From today's reading, I have learned some things that I can apply to my own life. The main lesson is, don't get too proud, because eventually you'll be brought down! God is ultimately the one who will be exalted so we should really just honour and glorify him now and get the most out of our relationship by doing so. We were made to worship God. We just fight that sometimes.
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