He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in the Pacific during World War II. He studied at Yale, was a congressman, ambassador to the U.N., CIA director and Vice-President under Ronald Reagan before becoming America's forty-first President. His name: George Bush, born this day, June 12, 1924. In his Inaugural Address, President Bush stated: "I have just repeated… the oath taken by George Washington 200 years ago, and the Bible on which I place my hand is the Bible on which he placed his…. And my first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads."

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon and you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." --- C.S. Lewis

... from here, there and everywhere

8 To acquire good sense is to love oneself;
to treasure discernment is to prosper.

9 A false witness will not go unpunished;
whoever breathes out lies will perish.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                         Getting there

     Where the self-interest sleeps and the real interest awakens: Master, where dwellest Thou?… Come and see.… Come with Me. --- John 1:39.

     "They abode with Him that day." That is about all some of us ever do, then we wake up to actualities, self-interest arises and the abiding is passed. There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

      "Thou art Simon, thou shalt be called Cephas." God writes the new name on those places only in our lives where He has erased the pride and self-sufficiency and self-interest. Some of us have the new name in spots only, like spiritual measles. In sections we look all right. When we have our best spiritual mood on, you would think we were very high-toned saints; but don't look at us when we are not in that mood. The disciple is one who has the new name written all over him; self-interest and pride and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

     Pride is the deification of self, and this to-day in some of us is not of the order of the Pharisee, but of the publican. To say 'Oh, I'm no saint,' is acceptable to human pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. It literally means that you defy God to make you a saint. 'I am much too weak and hopeless, I am outside the reach of the Atonement.' Humility before men may be unconscious blasphemy before God. Why are you not a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe God can make you one. It would be all right, you say, if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is just what He will do! "We will come unto Him, and make our abode with Him." Make no conditions, let Jesus be everything, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for ever.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

One night of tempest I arose and went
Along the Menai shore on dreaming bent;
The wind was strong, and savage swung the tide,
And the waves blustered on Caernarfon side.

But on the morrow, when I passed that way,
On Menai shore the hush of heaven lay;
The wind was gentle and the sea a flower
And the sun slumbered on Caernarfon tower.
(From the Welsh Traditional)

R.S. Thomas Selected Poems, 1946-68

          Just as a hammer splits [a rock] into many pieces, so will one verse have many meanings.

     (A פִּתְגָּם/pitgam, or "maxim," will headline each of the entries in this book. These Rabbinic proverbs are to be found in the body of the midrashic texts that we will study. Many of these pitgamim [plural of pitgam] have found their way into the collective Jewish consciousness and are often quoted in both religious and secular contexts.)

     BIBLE TEXT / Jeremiah 23:28–29 / Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream; and let him who has received My word report My word faithfully! How can straw be compared to grain?—says the Lord. Behold, My word is like fire—declares the Lord—and like a hammer that shatters rock!

     (Each entry in this book will quote a few verses from the Bible or, to be more precise, the Torah [the first five books of the Bible, often referred to as the Five Books of Moses]. For the purposes of this sample entry, we have chosen verses from the Prophets, since the Midrash on these verses speaks to the process of interpretation. While there are midrashic commentaries to the entire Bible, in this book we have chosen to concentrate on what the Rabbis had to teach about selected verses from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

     Biblical quotations are cited by book, chapter, and—following a colon—the verses. Thus, Jeremiah 23:28–29 means the biblical Book of Jeremiah (from the Prophets section of the Bible), chapter 23, verses 28–29. To help the reader differentiate the Bible from the Midrash, we have adopted the convention of printing the biblical texts in italics).

     MIDRASH TEXT / Sanhedrin 34a / One biblical verse may have many meanings, but a single meaning does not emerge from several biblical verses. In the School of Rabbi Yishmael it was taught: " '… like a hammer that shatters rock' (Jeremiah 23:29). Just as a hammer splits [a rock] into many pieces, so will one verse have many meanings."

     (Citations to the Midrash texts are by the book of Midrash, chapter, and—following a comma—section. [In this case, the Midrash is quoted from the Talmud, which is cited by tractate, page, and side a or b of the page]. Thus, Genesis Rabbah 19, 6 means that the Midrash is taken from the collection called Genesis [or Bereshit] Rabbah, chapter 19, section 6. To assist the reader, when the "Midrash Text" quotes from the "Bible Text," we have set that quote in italics.)

     CONTEXT / The passage in Sanhedrin deals with the judicial procedures in capital cases. The question is raised why the arguments for acquittal must be recorded. The answer given is that it is to make sure that two different judges, in rendering a decision, don't base the same argument on two separate biblical verses. The Talmud then states the general principle that one biblical verse may have many meanings, but a single meaning does not emerge from several biblical verses. We then learn that the school of Rabbi Yishmael derived this principle from a verse in the Book of Jeremiah.

     The פְּשָׁט/P'shat, or "contextual meaning," of the passage from Jeremiah concerns false prophets. Jeremiah, a true prophet, brings a message that God is angered by individuals who have dreams and then try to pass them off as the word of God. Dreams, as compared with the true words of the Lord, are like straw compared to grain: Straw is worthless; God's word, on the other hand, is as nutritious as grain and as powerful as fire or as a hammer blow.

     In the דְּרָשׁ/D'rash, the "interpretive meaning," the verse has a very different sense: The hammer blow smashes a single rock into many pieces, just as the Rabbis could deduce multiple meanings from one verse. The Rabbis believed that the finite verses in the Bible could be interpreted and understood in an almost infinite number of ways. This provided them with the flexibility to find in the Bible a lesson or teaching to cover almost every possible circumstance. The corollary, however, was that two different verses would never mean the very same thing. Thus, "You shall not steal" in Exodus 20:13 and "You shall not steal" in Leviticus 19:11 cannot both be about robbery. The Rabbis interpreted the former to be about kidnapping, the latter about the theft of property.

     (In the Context section, we explain the Midrash text. It will quickly become apparent to the reader that much more than a translation is required to understand Rabbinic teachings. Midrash and Talmud almost always assume that the reader knows what the teacher is thinking. We will provide the background material that is left out. We will also attempt to show not only what the Rabbis thought [and didn't say] but also how they thought [and the forms and functions of the midrashic process]. We shall endeavor to explain what the Rabbis said, as well as what they meant. In this section, we may give a running commentary on the Midrash text; when we quote the actual words of the text, they will appear in bold print.)

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Jesus Christ… gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. --- Titus 2:13–14

     [Jesus Christ] gave himself for us with these two objects: first, redemption, that he might redeem us from iniquity, that he might break the bonds of sin and cast the cords of depravity far from us. Classic Sermons on the Grace of God (Kregel Classic Sermons Series) He died—don't forget that—died that your sins might die, died that every lust might be dragged into captivity. He gave himself for you that you might give yourselves for him.

     [Second], he died that he might purify us—purify us to himself. How clean we must be if we are to be clean to him! The holy Jesus will only commune with that which he has purified after the manner of his own nature—purified to himself. He has purified us to be his own people, his choice portion. Saints are Christ's crown jewels, his very own. He carries his people as lambs in his bosom. He engraves their names on his heart. They are the inheritance to which he is the heir, and he values them more than all the universe. He would lose everything else rather than lose one of them. He desires that you who are being disciplined by his grace should know that you are altogether his. You are Christ's men and women. You are each one to feel, "I do not belong to the world. I do not belong to myself. I belong only to Christ, set aside by him for himself only, and his I will be." The silver and the gold are his, and the cattle on a thousand hills are his, but he makes small account of them; "the LORD's portion is his people" (Deut 32:9).

     The apostle says that we are to be "eager to do good." Would to God that all Christians were disciplined by grace until they became eager to do good! We are not only to approve of good works and speak for good works, but we are to be red-hot for them. We are to be on fire for everything that is right and true. We may not be content to be quiet and inoffensive, but we are to be eager to do good. There is plenty of fuel in the church; what is wanted is fire. Many respectable people are doing as little as they can for any good cause. This will never do. We must wake up. Oh, that all of us were ardent, fervent, zealous! Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle us! We may not go about to get this by our own efforts and energies, but God will work it by his grace. Grace given us in Christ is the fountainhead of all holy impulse. O heavenly grace, come like a flood at this time and bear us right away! --- C. H. Spurgeon

     How could Hosea's unfaithful wife Gomer ever question her husband's love? Didn't he demonstrate it by seeking her out, pleading with her to come home, and paying the price to set her free?

     How could Israel ever question God's love and refuse to respond to it? After all, the nation had not only broken the Law of God; they had broken the heart of God. In the closing chapters of this book, Hosea reminded them of God's compassion for His people, and he did it by presenting three clear evidences of God's love.

     1. God's Mercies in the Past (Hosea 11:1–12)

     At least fourteen times in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses used the word remember. Deuteronomy is Moses' farewell address to the new generation of Israelites as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land. But why would Moses ask these young people to look back when they were getting ready to move forward? Because a correct understanding of God's dealings in the past is the best way to be certain of success in the future. Philosopher George Santayana expressed this truth succinctly: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it." (The prophet Hosea was very familiar with Jewish history, not only what happened but why it happened and how it related to the present and the future of his People. He refers to the Exodus (2:15; 11:11; 12:9, 13; 13:4), the events surrounding Jehu and Jezreel (1:4, 11; 2:22), Achan and the Valley of Achor (2:15), the wickedness of Gibeah (9:9; 10:9), Israel's sins at Baal-Peor (9:10), the destruction of the cities of the plain (11:8), and events in the life of Jacob (12:3–4, 12).

     God's love demonstrated at the Exodus (Hosea 11:1–2). God sent Joseph ahead into Egypt to prepare the way for Jacob and his sons. What Joseph's brothers did to their brother was meant for evil, but God used it for good (Gen. 50:20). Because of Joseph, the people of Israel were kept alive during the severe famine and were able to multiply in the ensuing years. From this humble beginning, God formed a nation; Moses led that nation out of Egypt in great power and triumph (Ex. 12–15).

     Hosea pictures the God of the Exodus as a tender father who freed his son from bondage. The emphasis here is not on Israel, the unfaithful wife, but on Israel, the ungrateful son. (For God as "Father" and Israel as a "son," see Ex. 4:22–23; Isa. 1:2–4; and Deut. 32:5). After all God did for His son, he will refuse to return His love or obey His will.

     God's love demonstrated in the wilderness (Hosea 11:3–4). The loving father not only carried His son out of bondage, but He taught him to walk and tenderly cared for him during the wilderness journey. When a child stumbles and gets bruised, mother and father are there to give healing and encouragement, and that's what God did for His people. He taught them, healed them, and led them; He was careful to lead them as you would a child and not as you would an animal. He bound Himself to them with cords of love, not with bit and bridle (Ps. 32:8–9) or a galling yoke.

     Read Hosea 11:1–4 again, but instead of noting what God did for Israel, notice how Israel treated God. Like spoiled children, they rebelled against their Father and turned to idols. God spoke to them through His prophets, but the more God called to Israel, the more they strayed from Him! They were happy to enjoy His gifts, but they didn't want to obey the Giver. He sought to lead them with ties of love, but they said, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Ps. 2:3, KJV).

     Throughout history, whether Jewish or Gentile, human nature is pretty much the same, and all of us are prone to do what Israel did: enjoy God's blessings, but take God for granted. "My people are determined to turn from me" (Hosea 11:7, NIV). "Also, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters!" (Isa. 1:4, NKJV) God set them free and guided them to their inheritance, but within one generation after the death of Joshua, the nation turned to idolatry and forsook the Lord (Jud. 2:7ff).

     God's love demonstrated by His long-suffering (Hosea 11:5–7). On more than one occasion, God could have destroyed the nation and started over again (Ex. 32:10), but He chose to be long-suffering. When the journey became difficult, the Jews wanted to go back to Egypt; they complained when they should have been praying and giving thanks for God's mercies.

     We have already seen that some of the references to Egypt in this book refer to the "new bondage" in Assyria (Hosea 11:5). Israel refused to repent, so the nation had to go into captivity. They made plans without consulting God, so their defenses would fall before the invaders. The only time they called on God was when they were in trouble, and God graciously helped them; but now the end had come.

     God's love demonstrated by His faithfulness to His promises (Hosea 11:8–9). What a revelation we have in 11:8 of the compassionate heart of God! According to Jewish law, a rebellious son was supposed to be turned over to the elders of the city and stoned to death (Deut. 21:18–21), but how could God do this to His beloved son, Israel? (Centuries later, His innocent, only-begotten Son would suffer for the sins of the whole world.) God destroyed the cities of the plain because of their sins (Gen. 18:16–19:29), and those people didn't have the same privileges of learning about God that Israel had. What right did Israel have to expect God to spare them, especially since they were sinning against a flood of light.

     What motivated God to spare Israel from total destruction? Not only His deep compassion, but also His faithfulness to His covenant. "For I am God, and not man" (Hosea 11:9, KJV). "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will he not make it good?" (Num. 23:19)

     God's covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3) is unconditional and will not change; therefore, the nation of Israel is preserved. But His covenant with Israel at Sinai had conditions attached, and if the people failed to meet those conditions, God was obligated to withdraw His blessings. Israel's possession of the land and its blessings is based on the Abrahamic Covenant, but their enjoyment of the land and its blessings is based on the Mosaic Covenant. God was faithful to both covenants: He preserved the nation, but He disciplined them for their sins.

     God's love demonstrated by the hope of future restoration (Hosea 11:10–12). Often in Scripture you will find a declaration of judgment immediately followed by a promise of hope, and that's the case here. Hosea looks ahead to the end times when Israel will be gathered together from all the nations, brought to their own land, cleansed of their sins, and established in their kingdom. In the past, God roared like a lion when He judged the nation (5:14; 13:7, but in the future, His "roar" will call His people to come back to their land. Like birds turned loose from their cages, the people of Israel will swiftly fly to their own land, and God will "settle them in their homes" (11:11, NIV).

     Meanwhile, God is long-suffering with His people, as He is with all sinners (2 Peter 3:9), even though they lie to Him and rebel against Him (Hosea 11:12). What Jesus said to Jerusalem in His day, God was saying through Hosea to the people of that day: "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matt 23:37, NKJV)

     God's mercies in the past certainly proved His love, but Hosea offered a second evidence that God loved His people.

W. W. Wiersbe, (1996) Be Amazed (Minor Prophets): Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship (The BE Series Commentary)