‘Jacob’s Ladder’ is a weekly Sunday Blog post that shares
the work of a text in preparation; blog history is at dreliatjacobsladder.blogpost.com
This is a Fellowship of the Spirit. It is not a church
construct; it involves neither mission, fund raising, nor religious
participation. God desires our participation in all of life, and not via
misleading ‘gospel’ notions proposed by corporate and cultural sources. Jacob’s
Ladder pursues Christian growth as human growth. It works to complete social
holiness by fulfilling personal holiness in our lives. As God wills community
for all, Jacob’s Ladder forges ahead!
Sun Apr 26th 2026
Scripture use and direction in the
Jacobs Ladder text!
Dearly Beloved,
A. Where we’ve been this past
year….
The text starts by focusing on salvation, which provides for
Christian identity, so that the full meaning of salvation and Christian
identity is clear. This is the work of
Jacob’s Ladder that I am now called to. Work through the year’s posts at yr own
pace. It is not Bible Study, and I am not preaching. You must set yr own pace
and keep to it. This is the beginning of a spiritual adventure!
1.
The experience of salvation does not emerge out
of the gospels; it is already there in the Book of Genesis. Begin from Gen Ch
12 and go through the Book of Exodus.
In Genesis Ch 12 God calls Israel, and that
begins a long struggle for Israel. This sets the stage for how salvation gets
worked out. Read the
Apr 13th 2025 post ‘The story of
salvation, once again’ and the
June 29th 2025 post “Why
salvation is deliverance.”
In the completed text, these will be fully
expanded as opposed to the brief weekly posts I share.
2.
The experience continues as the leadership of
Israel passes from Moses to Joshua.
Read from the Book of Joshua through 1
& II Kings. New struggles abound.
3.
2nd Kings ends with Solomon’s reign self-destructing
into the divided Kingdoms: Israel in the
North, Judah in the South. There is no unity. And there are good Kings and bad.
4.
Read The first 2 posts of
Jun 2025 of the 1st and the 8th,
on the Old Covenant, and on the New Covenant and what lies ahead.
Then work through Isaiah Chapters 1 through
39. Once you get to Isaiah Ch 39 and the song of the suffering servant, the
notion of who and what Israel is begins to change. This is very significant.
Israel is no longer the people of God. It was - until this point. Now the
prophecy is made that indicates transition.
Then read Isaiah Chapters 40- 66. Remember
what Jesus said when he read from Isaiah Ch 61. And realize why he got the
response that he did from the Priests and the Pharisees and Scribes.
5.
The last Books to read for understanding what
German biblical scholarship has called ‘heilsgeshichte ‘ - that is, the ‘salvation
history’ of the Bible, are those of the Psalms and Ecclesiastes. These two best
represent the wisdom tradition of Israel that is personified in David, more
than in Solomon. Solomon is predictable. David never is. But read the
Mar 30th 2025 post on The cry that
is answered; the
Mar 22nd post on How the comfort
of God energizes; and the
Mar 8th 2025 and the Feb 1st
2026 posts, both entitled Be still and know.
In the JL text both the wisdom tradition
and the life and lessons of David will appear in full detail.
6.
On history - we are not trying to do Bible
Study, so we will leave aside why the Books of Chronicles repeats the events of
the Books of Kings! And never mind the history of Israel’s occupation – first getting
overrun by the Assyrians; then by the Persians, who in Cyrus took care of Israel
and let them return to their land; only to be overrun by the Greeks; and then
the Romans. These episodes are more the history of Israel than the history of
salvation.
7.
On translations - just as the Old Testament is
written in Hebrew, the New Testament is written in Greek. Many translations have
dumbed down biblical text, making it easier to read, but watering down the
meaning in the process. The King James translation is good classical form, but
its strength is dated. The Revised Standard Version has been the choice of theological
research because it does an effective job at translation. Choose what works for
you; these days Internet resources can provide help with the Hebrew and Greek
texts. But be careful with the explanations and commentaries that appear on the
internet. They can reflect interesting cultural and political perspectives. You want the power of salvation in your life, and
only you can work to make that happen between God and yourself. This is the
difference.
B. What lies ahead….
8.
From next week we will begin with the stories
told in the Gospels, our adventure into the mind of Christ. Not to make
comparisons, but to highlight the unique and the different following the main
theme of JL, which is nothing more than the power of salvation now, for all. And
it is so desperately needed! Could take us from May to August. The preoccupation
many have with the 2nd Coming too often has masked the reality of Jesus here
with us now.
This Fall we will shift into Christian
character and its empowerment in the Spirit. We have only touched on some
aspects, and there is much to do and work through.
As we proceed, we will see how the Old
Testament notion of salvation is fulfilled in the New.
9.
Somewhere in the NT is a neat verse that speaks
of how all scripture is inspired by God and profitable to us. True. Even when
it is vague or questionable, we can still learn from it, even from the ‘wives,
submit to husbands…’ verse in Ephesians about the Christian family, which has been
misinterpreted to the nth degree. You will remember that Abraham gave up on
Hagar because his wife insisted on it. And Sarai had initiated that
relationship in the first place. So, it can get interesting, this notion of
submission. And much more, and many others. You will see what balance is needed
as JL goes through issues in some depth.
10. What
JL will do is pull out the strengths of the New Testament, beyond the Gospels,
that build up the strength of the individual Christian into maturity ie how
‘what it means to be Christian’ ultimately morphs into what it means to be
human. How we move from there, work that out and then move forward together is
up to us. Part of that adventure is once again running from Psalm 8 and then
coming out with Paul’s comment on a third heaven. Pertinent because such grasp
may well be within our experience. Main context – not the New Testament culture
so much as what the meaning of family and community could mean for us!
11. One difficult question is the
business of ‘inheriting the Land’ and what that may have implied for Israel in
war and conquest. When Israel suffered, God helped. Fine, makes sense. Then it
also appears that God said to Israel that in victory Israel needed to slay all
of it’s heathen enemy - men, women and children. It will be a difficult issue and needs sharp
interpretation; most have avoided it; but it’s a little like the account in
Genesis with women having to suffer forever in childbirth because God has decreed
such. After we have chewed through the nature of conversion and conquest for
Israel, we will look at Genesis and childbirth in the Adam and Eve story. As we
work through these issues, it will be a good time to consider the meaning and
role of the Canon vs the Witnessing community that gave rise to what has been
incorporated into the scriptural Canon, and the role of academic dominance in
the church’s interpretation of what it means to be Christian. And maybe a few
more difficult Qs!
12. Lastly, a comment I left out last week linking personal
holiness and prayer – by now we should begin to realize that prayer is not so
much a thing to do as it is a relationship to sustain with God in Jesus! It is
correct to say that in your relationship with Jesus there is a faith factor,
just as there is a trust factor. But it is inadequate and insufficient to claim
that since I have confessed that ‘I believe’, my faith is workable. Simply
because the flipside of the relationship factor is how that ‘sufficient faith’ works
itself out in community. Again, the same 2 commandments. Prayer relates to a
personal relationship with the Lord, but it is not a private relationship. It
is also a shared relationship with Jesus that factors into the public life you
live. There is no avoiding this. Interpretations that have deliberately
privatized Christian life are wrong. Hence Jim Wallis’ complaint about a false,
white and comfortable gospel. Truly said. Such interpretations of privacy are
not supported by the teaching of the Bible. There are both personal and public
sides to it – and God intentionally made these the 2 greatest commandments – a holiness
that is both personal and public, never private. The community side does not
diminish, and both are to be held in balance. This is what Israel was called
to, this is what Israel would not do. As such, it could neither know peace nor bring
peace. And this is why John 3.16 became reality. The Old Testament/Covenant is
fulfilled in the New.
Thus the road ahead awaits. I will continue to walk it. You
are all welcome to share in the journey. Every blessing in Jesus, G.
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