Why do women get such a bad rap in the bible? Num 5:11-31 prescribes a bizarre test for suspected wifely unfaithfulness. If a man is overcome with jealousy, though he has no evidence whatsoever, he can appeal to the priest to perform a ritual to determine whether his wife has broken faith. The priest is to concoct a bitter potion and force the women to drink it. “And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water” (Num 5:17 ESV). The potion will trigger a curse if there is guilt. “May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen’” (Num 5:22 ESV). Some translations say that her belly will swell and her thigh will rot.¹ Now mind you, the jealous husband has no proof whatsoever, yet the poor wife is subjected to a humiliating procedure that borders on magic. And what of the jealous wife? What concoction can she expect her potentially wayward husband to be forced to drink to demonstrate his faithfulness? There is no such provision to prove manly faith. This embarrassing passage is trying to help us see the great value in faithfulness, but the lesson comes from a context that has thankfully become very foreign to us. Then again, we might not be that terribly different after all. In any event, why are women picked on like this? Stay tuned for an answer.

I wrote about walls recently and mentioned the Secure Fence Act. This legislation was introduced in 2006 to protect us from Mexican and Canadian terrorists. Now I have been informed that we can join the effort to keep the U.S. secure. This website provides visual monitoring that you can observe and report infractions from the convenience of the living room, beach, library, Star Bucks, or pretty much anywhere that internet access is available. Now you can see how easy it is to watch others. How does this shape our culture? Some would suggest that encouraging and facilitating voluntary fence patrol participation will increase our safety. I think we are sacrificing a culture that values trust for one that values suspicion. The further we move down this path, the more likely we’ll all start to become preoccupied with this question: Who’s watching you?

“Military intervention to maintain the global status quo will become a constant feature of international relations, whether this is justified in terms of fighting drugs, fighting terrorism, containing “rogue states,” opposing “Islamic fundamentalism,” or containing China”– . Walden Bello. I recently watched “Encounter Point,” a movie about a novel solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and seeing the Wall brought back memories. I was in Berlin in 1990 as that Wall was being dismantled. The human scars of the previous 30 years ran deep. I wan in South Africa several years later just after Apartheid finally ran out of steam. An enduring memory is the little Walls that suburbanites constructed around their houses for protection. Here in the U.S. some people, typically from the wealthier stratum, erect beautiful stone Walls around their mansions to keep prying eyes away. What stands out in my memory is that the ones in South Africa all were decorated with broken glass embedded in the mortar along the Wall tops. A quote from Encounter Point: “We are a military with a state, not a state with a military.” Indeed, the military knows how to build really good Walls. When people are unable to talk and resort to violence, it seems reasonable to put up a Wall for protection. Unfortunately, what really gets protected is the opportunity and breeding grounds for further violence. Germany came to its senses and tore their monster down. The U.S. seems to have missed the lesson. House Resolution 6061 (H.R. 6061), “Secure Fence Act of 2006“, was introduced on Sep 13, 2006, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on September 14, 2006, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2006. Partial funding for a 700 mile Wall separating the U.S. and Mexico became available at that time. Some would like to extend the Wall the full 2000 miles and then do another 4000 miler to keep the Canadians out too. Just Vision, the organization responsible for Encounter Point, is of the mind that Walls are not the answer. I wholeheartedly agree. See the movie. You might find it in your local library. Or buy the dvd. Invite some Muslim, Jewish, and Christian friends over to watch it together.

Two books and a podcast have provoked an interesting and important question: What is God doing in the intersection of the three Abrahamic faith streams? Douglas Harink, “Paul among the Postliberals,” writes: “Many Christian theologians and Paul scholars since the 1940s agree on at least one fact: their work cannot go on as if Jews do not exist” (151). Being a follower of Christ who has Jewish ancestry, this is both reassuring, true, and a word to the wise to those who are unfamiliar with theology subsequent to mid 20th century. According to Harink, the events of the Holocaust and Second World War have thrust the reality of an undercurrent of anti-Jewish assumptions in Christian theology throughout the ages into a wider consciousness. Harink’s chapter on Israel pits N.T. Wright against John Howard Yoder, contrasting very opposing views on God’s purpose and intentions towards Israel. Secondly, I received Neil Gillman, “Doing Jewish Theology,” as a Christmas gift from Jacob. Gillman was a student of Abraham Joshua Heschel from 1954 to 1960 and a faculty colleague from 1960 until Heschel’s death in 1972. Heschel is one of those philosopher/theologians who crossed boundaries and gained both audience and respect from the Christian faith stream as well as Jewish. I am interested in both Heschel’s thought and the influence he brought to his Jewish faith stream. Finally,Princeton Theological Seminary, held a public lecture, “The Qur’an and Its Place in Muslim Life,” on Monday, November 23. Sohaib Sultan, Princeton University’s Muslim life coordinator/chaplain and author of The Koran for Dummies and The Qur’an and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad presented. Sultan is the Muslim chaplain on staff at Princeton University and has a passion to promote mutual understanding and dialogue between Christian and Muslim faith communities. I’m suggesting that the ongoing “War On Terror” and the ongoing bombardment of instant and constant dissemination of media news has thrust an awareness of the Muslim faith stream into Western Christian consciousness with a similar impact as the events of the Holocaust and WWII did for the Jewish faith stream. We’ve hardly begun to address the implications, but can no longer plead ignorance. For the Christians, Isaac is the son of promise and Ishmael is the forgotten step child. Abraham, in his old age but before the birth of Isaac, had this conversation with God: Gen. 17:18-19 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” Christians tend to become temporarily deaf and blind to the next verse: Gen. 17:20 “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.” This is somewhat understandable since the next verse declares that the covenant will be with Isaac: Gen. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year” and the Christian faith stream is all about the covenant and in particular how it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Harink, drawing on Yoder, has provided a strong case to consider that God has plans for the Jews that didn’t end with the Incarnation. Harink’s key issue is God’s faithfulness to his election and blessing. What does that thought mean regarding the promise to Ishmael in Gen. 17:20? I’m convinced that the end of the story is unknown to us at present, but we’re likely to be very surprised. The following is often preached in in a wedding ceremony, but what if the context might apply to these three faith streams that all claim father Abraham: Eccl. 4:12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken. We may yet learn to get along together.