Joseph Smith was given the Golden Plates that made up the Book of Mormon at once. The Prophet Mohammed had the entire Qur’an recited to him. The Holy Bible is not that. It is a journey. There has been additions, subtractions, sections and books that were in and out at different moments and dependent on geographic location. This post is not to dive into a hermeneutical spiral but I will touch on quickly the need to read the stories in context which includes historical, cultural, genre to name but a few. As well, the question of why it matters today? What does it say about and into now?
Actually, the way the Bible came to be assembled is much the same way our own stories work. There is memories, shaped by the context, and distance. There is those things that cause negative and positive ripples throughout our lives. Those things with experts we can go back into and rewire to remove the trauma, but still let the memory be there though act as director within our script of life for a more functional outcome. That is what we anchor to.
Today we explore a tidbit from a book that was part of post-exile Israel’s story. Think of the trauma of slavery, displacement, rape, religious sex trafficking, basically being degraded to the point you were no longer seen as a “person”. This is the point where Israel was emerging, I refer you to the stories of Nehemiah and Ezra about the rebuild and return. These works are a reboot for the nation, we see emerging out of this period a sanitized history of 1 & 2 Chronicles that took out all the horrors from the stories of the people with God. During this time to, Ezra, “discovered” the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah (in Greek Pentateuch). It reshaped the worship story, tightened up the ship post exile to exclusivity on worship and laws. It was laying down a frame work of protectionism for the nation of Israel.
Yet, as with our world today, the sanitizing and protectionism did not bear fruit. In fact, it bore more subjection and oppression from the religious leaders and the Roman Empire…hmmm…anyone see any parallels in our world today? In your local communities? Local churches? What ripple effect does that have within your own being and family?
Oh, and like today though, this sanitized world, have what we have in the Western world as a cornerstone of our faith:

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9 and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10 when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 14 No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe
-Deuteronomy 30:9-14 (New Revised Standard Version)
We tend to focus on the first chunk, the idea, that held in the ancient world, if you made the cut we know this because God blesses you, you are the wealthy, the powerful. Yet, that first part is tied into an unpacking of the Great Commandments. The blessing comes from our communal responsibility, neighbourhood, care for ourselves and one another. Embracing, loving and honouring the Imageo Dei.
For 6,000 years in the Abrahamic faiths, we have had the Great Commandments. Longer if we roll back into Indigenous teachings. Is it not about time, we actually lived what we profess to believe?
That is, what does it mean to love with our all?