Bone piles

Beth Shemesh.

I have listened to one particular teaching for almost two weeks.  I should have it memorized by now, but my brain's not rolling that way at this point in my life.

After wandering for forty years in the desert, Moses - who knew he was not stepping one toe into the Promised Land - once again implored the people with a long speech that some say took 39 days, to obey God and do what He told them to do.  The people agreed and said "We will do what God commands!"

When the tribe of Dan went into the Promised Land, their area of tribal inheritance was next to the coastal plains, which was full of Philistines.  A whole land full of Philistines about, oh, three miles away.  They were in a constant battle with their close proximity neighbors and were basically holding the door, being the "gateway" to the rest of Israel.

The "battle" seemed to take on two fronts - one was of course physical and that included full front on battles or if you were travelling with a small group of people and were suddenly caught by the raiding parties of the Philistines, you might have wished to be turned over to the Shawnees in North America.  

But the battle had another front as well - it was the clash of cultures.  The Israelites had been wandering for over a generation of people in a wilderness and the tribe of Dan were especially set up for a close and in depth study of what looked to be a very sophisticated culture just next door.  The Philistines in my mind never got past the cave-man-looking-Goliath idea - and yet archaeology says they were at that point more sophisticated than the Hebrews.  They used iron.  Their paganism allotted them a lot more fun.  They just had better "stuff".

How could good God fearing folks keep looking away when - wow - there was a lot of "stuff" going on right down the road - you could look and just see it all - it was that close.  Some pagan temples had Amsterdam "freedoms" beat by miles and miles.

They were stuck between the coastal plain three short miles away and the Judah mountains right behind them.  On the coastal plain were the powerful Philistines.  Dan could not retreat, and constantly faced the pressure of the Philistines.

It got to be too much.  After a bit of time the tribe of Dan decided "OIY! we cannot continue to do this", so they sent out spies to another city in the mountains, which is where a lot of the Israelites had fled for protection from their not-too-happy new neighbors.

The spies landed upon a city north to Mount Herman, Laish, and the whole tribe picked up everything, slaughtered the residents of Laish and moved in - leaving their tribal inheritance.

Dan moved from being the cozy neighbors of the Philistines, which they thought wholly too much to bear, to being the first city upon entering Israel on the Via Maris, the major trade route of the day basically connecting much of the then world.  And northern armies marching along to invade anyone they took a fancy to take....

Kind of like moving from Cinnamon Lake to Polaris Parkway.  Or moving from Polaris Parkway to downtown Jerusalem.

I don't know what they were thinking.  To leave their God-given inheritance - the one thing that God gave them - thinking they couldn't take the campfire heat, to an iron furnace stoked and red hot.  

But this is the part that I love and cannot get past without pausing it and playing it over and over:  "The point that the Jewish Rabbis make on this bit of history, is if you don't work and struggle where God places you, no matter how good it looks somewhere else you always move into a worse situation.  You are better off with struggle and pain where God wants you, than to try and go where it is wonderful where you are not called to be.  

Dan has always attested to what happens to a people who will not persist and intensely follow God under pressure and stress and pain, and instead try and go somewhere else.  You've got to be where God calls even if the struggle is there."  (Ray Vanderlaan)    

Looking up the history of the city of Dan, it might have been better for them to just cozy up to the Philistine border and stand firm.

I cannot get past this, because that seems to be where God has placed me.  And I cannot describe it better.  I've got to "be" where God calls, even if the struggle is "there".

I want to retreat to the mountains.  I want to go where it looks "more wonderful".  But, that's not where God placed me.  And this is something I just can't escape and walk away from.

***

The reason the teaching was titled "Beth Shemesh" was - and forgive my brief paraphrase here - was because as archaeologists have dug up this city, they found the local garbage dump and layers of bones.  Hebrews don't eat pigs.  So the idea was to find out how much the local Hebrews had influenced their world for God by the amount of pig bones they found.  (the tribe of Dan and it's inheritance was just a side-bar reference in this teaching)

During the time of Sampson - who was set up to be something really big for God, but ended up poorly with his eyes gouged out by the Philistines and chained between two pillars, he didn't make the best choices in life - but at the time of Sampson the amount of pig bones found in the leftover food places was 25%.  At the time of Solomon, much less.  At the time of King Hezekiah - none.

No matter what you think about the idea of eating pigs, or such, I kind of wondered what would be the measuring rod today of my influence on my society for God.

I can measure other's influence especially this year - because of what they have done for no other reason than to help those that are sick.

Our yard was mowed at least once a week since spring by a lawn service.  Paid for by a former employer, who was in a  lot of ways closer than family to me.  He has four kids that need money put into college funds - but he still did it.

He doesn't go to any church.  He doesn't spout off 'Christianize', or worthless Christian cliches.  Yet he is one of the most "do-the-right-thing" people I know.  I watched him make a lot of hard decisions as a new business owner that were really hard, and I watched him always try to do the right thing with each decision.

I never had to lie for him when I worked for him.  

We have received a weekly gift card in the mail for either gas or groceries.  Anonymously.  At first it drove me crazy trying to figure out who it was.  But now I just pray blessings over them daily.  Better than the gift card, wrapped around it are phrases of encouragement sent on simple white sheets of paper telling me to stay in the fight, to not give up.

I cannot tell you how many times that has made us smile on the most difficult of days.

My brother-in-law in Oregon forwards me emails - sometimes it's a "funny"; sometimes it's beautiful pictures of places that are eye-candy to the soul; sometimes it has a political bent; but it always reminds me that someone believes that I am still alive and open emails.

Well, not always immediately  but eventually.

***

So I wonder what we will be measured by when we all stand before the throne?  What will be our "pig bones"?

I was talking to my friend Morven the other day, and it seems that sometimes people are so wrapped up in "church" and their major beliefs that are taught to them, that they have little time for the actual Scriptures and the living out of the teachings therein.

It's easy to be so busy with work and church and our "ministries" - to be too busy to actually live out what God intended us to do - to face our struggles, and do good to others.  

I'm afraid I have a whole backyard of pig bones to be dug up.  I have a lot of restructuring to do in my own life.  (and pig farmers, just an FYI - Ray Vanderlaan has millions of videos all over the world about the ancient Hebrews and the Torah and how important it all is to us today -- all because his grandparents sold their pig farm and gave him money to go to school in Israel.... isn't life full of irony at times??)

***

I do know we all have differing levels of what is good.  I spent some time with my two favorite five year olds and ended up helping them clean up their rooms some.  We ended up digging things out from under their beds and at one point I said "what the heck??!!"  when encountering some items, like spoons and 'Gogurts' wrappers and such.

In fact, I think sweet Zoe would love to be a burrowing animal - she might be able to live under her bed if the shadows she sees at night, that she so earnestly and honestly tells me about, do indeed become real.

But I was immediately, and almost sternly, corrected.  "You don't say "heck", Grandmumsy!"

And here I thought I was being good by redirecting a word.......

But I know in the land of the sick, the kindest things are the things others have to "do".

And I am most miserable at it myself, so I cannot tell you how much that makes me appreciate it all the more.

But it was great to help them clean up a little - it helped me get back involved in their lives.  They come visit me, but I don't realize until I spend time in their rooms what is really important in their lives.  I don't know what stuffed animal is most dear to them and gets top billing on top of their beds.  I don't know what toys they are tired of, and what ones they desire.  I don't know how creative they are until I see things they have made or designs they like, or the nests they make under their beds for "safety's" sake.

I don't know their little hurts at school until they work beside me for an hour and talk.  I don't know their horrors of tree branches that make bad shadows at night.  I don't remember how much they need to be hugged and told how special God made each of them and how much I love them.

So I was kind of digging in their own "bone pile", and I really, really hope I helped them and that somehow I reflect goodness and kindness and God to them in ways they can grasp.

And I won't say "heck" around them anymore......