Tusite Fepueli 28, 2023

יהוה I Am Who I Am

KO AU KO AU AI PE

EXODUS 3:13-14

THEN MOSES SAID TO GOD, "IF I COME TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND SAY TO THEM, 'THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS HAS SENT ME TO YOU, AND THEY ASK ME, 'WHAT IS HIS NAME?' WHAT SHALL I SAY TO THEM?" GOD SAID TO MOSES, "I AM WHO I AM."

‘EKISOTO 3:13-14

Pea tali ‘e Mōsese kia ‘Elohimi, Ko eni, ka u ka ‘alu ki ha‘a ‘Isileli, pea u lea kiate kinautolu ‘o pehē, Ko e ‘Otua ‘o ho‘omou ngaahi kui kuo ne fekau au kiate kimoutolu; pea te nau pehē mai kiate au, Ko hai hono huafa? Pea ko e hā ai ha‘aku lea ‘e fai kiate kinautolu?

14Pea folofola ‘a e ‘Otua kia Mōsese, KO AU KO AU AI PĒ. Pea ne toe folofola, Ko eni ‘a e lea te ke fai ki ha‘a ‘Isileli, Ko KO-AU-AI PE kuo ne fekau au kiate kimoutolu.

The phrase "I am who I am" can also be translated "I am that I am" or "I will be who I will be." This, however, is not what Yahweh means. Not exactly. "I am" is a first-person verbal form whereas Yahweh is third person, "he is." In other words, God says, "I am who I am," and, by saying his name, we respond, "He is who he is." The name Yahweh is thus our confession, our echo back to God of the name he has given to us. The Greek translators rendered this covenant name of Israel's God as Kyrios.

When Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I am," he is saying, "I am Yahweh, the God who told Moses, 'I am who I am"" (John 8:58). Similarly, when Paul says God gave Jesus "the name that is above every name," he doesn't mean the very common Jewish name "Jesus." No, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Kyrios, that he is Yahweh (Phil. 2:9-11). We join Thomas in saying to the Messiah, "My Kyrios and my God" (John 20:28).

Jesus Christ, the great I Am, the Lord of lords, be always good and gracious to us, your people.

 

Monite Fepueli 27, 2023

קדשׁ Holy Ground

KO E KELEKELE TAPU

EXODUS 3:5

THEN HE SAID, "DO NOT COME NEAR; TAKE YOUR SANDALS OFF YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND."

‘EKISOTO 3:5

Pea ne folofola, ‘Oua te ke ofi mai ki heni: to‘o ho topuva‘e mei ho va‘e, he ko e potu ‘oku ke tu‘u ai ko e kelekele tapu.

Because footwear was universally considered unclean, Moses stands there barefoot, just as later the temple priests would serve unshod. He's on "holy ground." The Bible usually speaks of holiness concretely. Rather than a notion or abstraction, it's a day, a building, a priest, a sacrifice. What makes something holy is God's presence. He is qadosh, qadosh, qadosh ("Holy, holy, holy"; Isa. 6:3), as the seraphim sang, so the ground around him is qodesh ("holy"). He alone is intrinsically and essentially holy. We sing of him, "You alone are holy" (Rev. 15:4). Anything else called "holy" borrows holiness from him. Holiness is therefore always a gift, a divine bestowal, never an achievement.

Even a demon knew Jesus was "the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). Peter confesses him to be "the Holy One of God" (John 6:69). The church prayed to the Father about "your holy servant, Jesus" (Acts 4:30). All our holiness is from him, as a gift, not a gold star for saintliness. We have been made holy or "sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10). Therefore, we enter his holy presence in Christ, our holy priest, with full confidence (v. 19), for he is our "sanctification" (1 Cor. 1:30).

Holy Jesus, draw us near to you and sanctify us with your truth.

Sapate Fepueli 26, 2023

   מלאך  God's Unique Messenger    

  KO E TALAFEKAU FUNGANI ‘A E ‘OTUA

EXODUS 3:2       

AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO [MOSES] IN A FLAME OF FIRE OUT OF THE MIDST OF A BUSH. HE LOOKED, AND BEHOLD, THE BUSH WAS BURNING, YET IT WAS NOT CONSUMED.

EXODUS 3:2

Pea na‘e hā kiate ia ‘a e ‘āngelo ‘a Sihova ‘i he loto afi na‘e ulo hake ‘i he vao talatala‘āmoa; pea ne vakai, tā neongo ‘oku vela ‘a e vao talatala‘āmoa ‘i he afi, ka ‘oku ‘ikai keina ai ‘a e talatala‘āmoa

The Hebrew malak, often translated "angel," simply means "messenger." The prophet Haggai was a human malak (1:13). The two messengers sent to Sodom are each an angelic malak (Cen. 19:1). This malak in the burning bush, however, is unique. In the next few verses, he is called both Yahweh  and the God of the patriarchs (vv. 4-6). And yet he is still distinct from the Lord, as his messenger. Later, God will say of him, "My name is in him" (Exod. 23:21): that is, my essence, my identity, is shared by him. Jacob too identifies him with the redeeming God (Gen. 48:15-16).

Who is this malak who is distinct from Yahweh yet shares his name, his essence, his power, his Word, his saving actions? He is the Son of God. He did not wait until he became man to visit his people. From the time of Hagar, where he made his first appearance as a malak (Gen. 16:7), he is Emmanuel, God with us. He who is the Word made flesh (John 1:14) was, in the Old Testament, the malak made visible. Christ has never been-nor ever will be-far from his people.

Visit us, O Christ, as you came to your people of old, with healing in your wings.

Tokonaki Fepueli 25, 2023

When God Knows   ידע

KO E TAIMI ‘OKU TOKANGA‘I ( ‘AFIO‘I) AI ‘E HE ‘OTUA

EXODUS 2:24-25

AND GOD HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND GOD REMEMBERED HIS COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, WITH ISAAC, AND WITH JACOB. GOD SAW THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL-AND GOD KNEW.

‘EKISOTO 2:24-25

24 Pea na‘e ongo‘i ‘e he ‘Otua ‘enau to‘e, pea ne manatu ki he‘ene fuakava mo Epalahame mo ‘Aisake mo Sēkope. 25 Pea na‘e hāngaifofonga ‘a e ‘Otua ki ha‘a ‘Isileli, ‘o ne tokanga‘i.

That "God knew" of Israel's sufferings does not mean he acquired fresh information, whereas previously he assumed they were living the Egyptian high life. No, in Hebrew, yada ("know") frequently entails an intimate grasp of a subject based on action. Adam, for instance, was obviously acquainted with Eve prior to joining her in bed, but in intercourse he yada her (Gen. 4:1), Likewise, the Lord was aware of Abraham's devotion before he nearly sacrificed Isaac, but only then does he say, "Now I yada that you fear God" (Gen. 22:12). For God to yada Israel's pain meant that when he heard, remembered, and saw them, that was a knowledge that sank, as it were, into his very soul - and prompted him to act on their behalf.

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). God's knowledge of Israel's suffering, and his sending of Moses to shepherd them to freedom, is a window into what our Good Shepherd has done for us. Us he knows. Us he loves. And for us he lays down his life.

"Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths" (Ps. 25:4).

Falaite Fepueli 24, 2023

Drinking from a Beer  באר

INU MEI HE PIA

EXODUS 2:15-16

MOSES FLED FROM PHARAOH AND STAYED IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN. AND HE SAT DOWN BY A WELL. NOW THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN HAD SEVEN DAUGHTERS, AND THEY CAME AND DREW WATER AND FILLED THE TROUGHS TO WATER THEIR FATHER'S FLOCK.

‘EKISOTO 2:15-16

Pea ‘i he fanongo ‘a Felo ki he me‘a ko ia, na‘a ne feinga ke tāmate‘i ‘a Mōsese. Ka ka hola pē ‘a Mōsese mei he ‘ao ‘o Felo, ‘o ne nofo ‘i he fonua ko Mitiani: pea ne nofo hifo ‘o ofi ki he vaikeli. 16Pea ko e taula‘eiki ‘o Mitiani na‘e toko fitu hono ngaahi ‘ōfefine ‘o‘ona: pea na‘a nau omi ‘o ‘utu vai, ‘o fakafonu ‘a e ngaahi kumete ke fakainu ‘a e fanga manu ‘a ‘enau tamai.

The Bible is full of beer stories - b'er, to be exact. A b'er is simply a watering place or well, but what happened at these wells was more than drinking. Abraham's servant found Isaac's future wife, Rebekah, at a well (Gen. 24). Jacob met his bride, Rachel, at a well (Gen. 29). And Moses encountered seven sisters, one of whom would be his wife, Zipporah, at a well (Exod. 2). Judging by the biblical stories, at wells, romance was in the air.

Thus it's not surprising when, at a well in Samaria associated with Jacob, Jesus engages a woman in conversation about marriage (John 4:1-26). She had had five husbands and was living with a sixth man. What she didn't realize at first was that a very different kind of romance was in the air. The Messian stood at this well to welcome her to be part of his bride, the church. From this divine Husband, the Savior of the world, she would receive living waters. And his Father she would worship in spirit and in truth. His well of mercy and love is deep indeed.

Quench our thirst, O Lord, with living waters that flow from the unfathomable well of your grace.

Tu’apulelulu Fepueli 23, 2023

משה Moses the Water Man

MOSESE, KO E TANGATA ‘O E VAI

EXODUS 2:10

WHEN THE CHILD GREW OLDER, SHE BROUGHT HIM TO PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER, AND HE BECAME HER SON. SHE NAMED HIM MOSES, "BECAUSE," SHE SAID, "I DREW HIM OUT OF THE WATER."

‘EKISOTO 2:10

Pea ‘i he‘ene tupu ‘a e tamasi‘i, na‘a ne ‘ave ia ki he ‘Ōfefine ‘o Felo, pea na‘a ne tama ‘aki ia. Pea na‘a ne fakahingoa ia ko Mōsese (ko Toho-mai) he‘ene pehē, He na‘a ku toho mai ia mei he vai. 

Moses was a water baby. He had his Noah - like ark, a pitch-covered vessel that saved him from a watery grave. At three months old, his life's work was already foretold by God. He would be a man of water, judgment, and salvation. His name, Moshe, is prophetic. It's a play on the verb masha, "to draw out." He would grow up to masha his people: to draw them out of slavery, to draw them across the Red Sea, to draw water from a rock. In great irony, the daughter of Pharaoh gave her adopted son a name that foreshadowed when he would send Pharaoh himself into a watery grave.

We usually associate Moses with the law, but he's also a man of grace, saving his people through water. In that way his life is a blueprint for the Messiah, a prophet like him (Deut. 18:15). God also rescued Jesus from a tyrant, Herod, when he was a child (Matt. 2:16-18). Then, when he was lifted up on the cross, he drew all people to himself (John 12:32) in his crucifixion baptism (Mark 10:38) by which he destroyed all the powers of evil. 

Send from on high, O Lord, and take us; draw us out of many waters (Ps. 18:16).

Pulelulu Fepueli 22, 2023 

The Birth-Helpers  מילדת

KO E ONGO MA’ULI

EXODUS 1:15-16

THEN THE KING OF EGYPT SAID TO THE HEBREW THE OTHER PUAH, "WHEN YOU SERVE AS MIDWIFE MIDWIVES, ONE OF WHOM WAS NAMED SHIPHRAH AND TO THE HEBREW WOMEN AND SEE THEM ON THE BUT IF IT IS A DAUGHTER, SHE SHALL LIVE." BIRTHSTOOL, IF IT IS A SON, YOU SHALL KILL HIM.

‘EKISOTO 1:15-16

Pea me‘a ‘a e Tu‘i ‘Isipite ki he ongo mā‘uli Hepelū, ‘a ia ko e hingoa ‘o e taha ko Sīfila, pea ko e hingoa ‘o hono ua ko Pua. 16Pea ne folofola ‘o pehē, ‘I ho‘omo fai ho‘omo ngāue mā‘uli ki he kau fefine Hepelū, ‘o mamata ki he fā‘ele, kapau leva ko ha tama tangata, pea te mo tāmate‘i ia; ka ‘o kapau ko ha ta‘ahine, ‘e mo‘ui pē ia. 

The biblical story often turns up its nose at the "big people." In Egypt, the top dog is Pharaoh. Yet he is waved away; no ink is even used to record his name. But these two blue-collar women? Their names are recorded for everlasting posterity. As m'yalledet ("birth-helper or midwife"), Shiphrah and Puah were tasked with helping women yalad ("give birth"). In this story, however, they did more than that: they feared God, duped the king, and saved countless lives. In response, God "dealt well with the midwives" and "gave them families" (Exod. 1:20-21).

Women figure prominently in Moses' life. These midwives begin his story; his mother and sister save him; Pharaoh's daughter takes him in. Later, his wife, Zipporah, will rescue him from a divine attack (4:24-26). In a world in which women rarely exercised authority, God used these women powerfully in his plan of redeeming the world. All this set the stage for when God would call a teenage virgin, an everyday village girl, to bring forth our Savior into the world.

O Lord, who brings down the mighty from their thrones, uplift the low, the common, the overlooked.

Tusite Fepueli 21, 2023 

Be Fruitful and Multiply פרו ורבו

FAKATUPU TOKOLAHI

EXODUS 1:7

BUT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WERE FRUITFUL AND INCREASED GREATLY; THEY MULTIPLIED AND GREW EXCEEDINGLY STRONG, SO THAT THE LAND WAS FILLED WITH THEM.

EXODUS 1:7

Pea na‘e hako ‘a ha‘a ‘Isileli, ‘o nau tupu ‘o hangē ha neveneve, ‘io, na‘a nau hoko ‘o tokolahi mo kaukaua ‘aupito ‘aupito; pea na‘e fonu ‘a e fonua ‘iate kinautolu.

We associate the phrase p'ru ur'vu ("be fruitful and multiply") with God', creative blessing to Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:28). That Israel was "fruitful and "multiplied" in Egypt ought to cause us to sit up and take notice. When God chose the people of Israel, he made them a corporate replacement for Adam and Eve. Just as the first two people had their sacred garden in Eden, so Israel would have their sacred land. Just as Adam and Eve were to serve and guard the garden (Gen. 2:15), so Israel as a holy priesthood was to serve and guard God's Word, his land, and his house. The Lord was starting over with Israel. And he made that restart clear by blessing them with fruitful marriages and multiplying offspring, even on foreign soil.

All God's promises to Israel find their "Yes" in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). The Messiah came to be not only the second Adam but also Israel reduced to one. In him, God fulfills promise after promise, including many offspring, for we who believe in Christ are adopted members of the family of God, born again by the Spirit, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! (Rom. 8:15).

Abba Father, hear our prayer and make us coheirs with Christ, your Son and our Brother.

Monite Fepueli 20, 2023 

ה שבעים Seventy

FITUNGOFULU

GENESIS 46:27

ALL THE PERSONS OF THE HOUSE OF JACOB WHO CAME INTO EGYPT WERE SEVENTY.

SENESI 46:27

Pea ko e hako ‘o Siosifa ‘a ia na‘e fanau‘i kiate ia ‘i ‘Isipite, ko e ongo me‘a ‘e toko ua: ko e lau fakataha ‘o e fāmili ‘o Sēkope na‘e ha‘u ki ‘Isipite ko e toko fitungofulu.

The Bible's numerical symbolism begins already in Genesis 1 with seven days and continues all the way to Revelation with the number "666." The Hebrew number seventy, shiv'im, is part of this symbolic world.

Seventy is the number of large - scale completeness, a great and full totality. Add up all the families of the world listed in the genealogy of Genesis 10 and it comes to seventy. When Jacob and his family journeyed to Egypt, they were seventy in all (Gen. 46:27). Israel was represented by seventy elders (Exod. 24:9). Even in nonbiblical literature, such as Ugaritic, there are seventy members of the divine pantheon.

Jesus' choice to send out seventy disciples ahead of him to announce the kingdom was no accident (Luke 10:1 NASB). These spokesmen went with his full authority to proclaim a kingdom that recognized no geographical, racial, or cultural boundaries. Jews and Gentiles were included. Male and female. Everyone. The entire world was the compass of the redeeming work of Christ. All the persons of the house of humanity who came into the Egypt of sin and death and the devil were rescued by the Passover death and resurrection of the Son of God.

O Creator and Redeemer the world, come quickly to save us from all our adversaries.

Sapate Fepueli 19, 2023 

From Sister-in-Law to Wife  יבם

Hiki mei he tuofefine ‘i he fono ko e uaifi

GENESIS 38:9

BUT ONAN KNEW THAT THE OFFSPRING WOULD NOT BE HIS. SO WHENEVER HE WENT IN TO HIS BROTHER'S WIFE [TAMAR] HE WOULD WASTE THE SEMEN ON THE GROUND, SO AS NOT TO GIVE OFFSPRING TO HIS BROTHER.

GENESIS 38:9

Ka na‘e ‘ilo ‘e ‘Ōnani ‘e ‘ikai ‘o‘ona ‘a e hako ko ia; pea ko ia ‘i he‘ene ‘alu atu ki he finemotu‘a ‘o hono ta‘okete, na‘a ne hua‘i ia ki he kelekele, koe‘uhi ke ‘oua te ne ‘ange ha hako ki hono ta‘okete.

This story may be unpopular in Sunday school, but it's important. Here is our first encounter with "levirate marriage." Levirate is from the Latin levir ("brother's wife"). In Hebrew, the verb is yavam ("to consummate a marriage with a brother-in-law"), related to y'vamah ("brother's widow"). The law is this: if a brother dies without leaving offspring, his surviving brother marries the widow (Deut. 25:5-10). Their child will carry on the name and inheritance of the deceased brother. This is why Onan "wasted his semen." He didn't want to impregnate Tamar and thus "give offspring to his brother." He wanted all the inheritance to himself.

With this law in mind, the Sadducees challenged Jesus with the story of the widow who married seven brothers in a row, each one dying, none leaving offspring (Matt. 22:23-33). "Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?" they demand to know. Silly Sadducees. They knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. Wedding rings won't adorn resurrected fingers. Marriages and baby-making will be over in the New Jerusalem, for we will be the children of God and members of the bride of Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, grant us love for our brothers and sisters and a firm hope in the resurrection of the body.

Tokonaki Fepueli 18, 2023 

The Coat of Many Colors  כתנת פסים

    Ko e Kofu lanu kehekehe

GENESIS 37:3-4

NOW ISRAEL LOVED JOSEPH MORE THAN ANY OTHER OF HIS SONS, BECAUSE HE WAS THE SON OF HIS OLD AGE. AND HE MADE HIM A ROBE OF MANY COLORS.

BUT WHEN HIS BROTHERS SAW THAT THEIR FATHER LOVED HIM MORE THAN ALL HIS BROTHERS, THEY HATED HIM AND COULD NOT SPEAK PEACEFULLY TO HIM.

GENESIS 37:3-4

Pea na‘e ‘ofa lahi ‘a ‘Isileli kia Siosifa ‘i he‘ene fānau kotoa pē, he ko hono foha ia ka kuo motu‘a: pea na‘a ne ngaohi mo‘ona ha kofu pulepule. 4 Pea ‘i he vakai ‘e hono ngaahi tokoua ‘oku pele ‘aki ia ‘e he‘enau tamai ‘iate kinautolu, na‘a nau fehi‘a kiate ia, pea na‘e ‘ikai te nau fa‘a lea ‘ofa ange.

How best to translate k'tonet passim is long-standing question. A k'tonet is a long robe. Passim is less clear. It may be connected to pas ("the palm of the hand or sole of the foot"). If so, it's a long-sleeved tunic reaching down to the feet. Most translations take their cue from the Greek, which rendered it "a multicolored frock." Thus the KJV's "coat of many colors." Although what it was is debated, what it did is indisputable: this article of clothing unrobed the naked hostility of fraternal hatred.

Joseph's story is a wardrobe narrative: his brothers tore this robe off (37:23), Potiphar's wife unrobed him as he fled from her (39:12), he donned new clothes when he left prison (41:14), and Pharaoh finally "clothed him in garments of fine linen" (41:42). God finally got the right clothes on him: the garments of one who would save his people. And therein is foreshadowed the greater Joseph, our Savior and Lord, robed in splendor and majesty, who wraps us in garments of white (Rev. 7:9).

Robe us in righteousness, our God and King, that we may reflect the glory of your name.

Falaite Fepueli 17, 2023 

Israel the God-Fighter  שׂרה

‘ISILELI, KO FEFA‘UHI-MO E-‘OTUA

GENESIS 32:24, 28

AND JACOB WAS LEFT ALONE. AND A MAN WRESTLED WITH HIM UNTIL THE BREAKING OF THE DAY THEN HE SAID. "YOUR NAME SHALL NO LONGER BE CALLED JACOB, BUT ISRAEL, FOR YOU HAVE STRIVEN WITH GOD AND WITH MEN, AND HAVE PREVAILED."

SENESI 32:24, 28

Pea na‘e nofo toko taha pē ‘a Sēkope; pea na‘e fefa‘uhi mo ia ha tangata, ‘o a‘u ki he ‘alu hake ‘a e pongipongi.

V. 28 Pea ne folofola, ‘E ‘ikai toe ui ho hingoa ko Sēkope, ka ko ‘Isileli pē (Ko Fai-mo e-‘Otua):  he kuo ke fai mo e ‘Otua mo e kakai, pea kuo ke lava.

Jacob's opponent is called "a man" (Gen. 32:24), "God" (Hosea 12:3), and "the angel" (12:4). In short, this is a wrestling match between Jacob and God who appears as a messenger in human form. That the Lord would grapple with a man in the mud is, of course, astonishing. What is truly jaw dropping, however, is that the Almighty would lose the fight. But that is what he himself says when he renames the patriarch. Jacob has sarah ("striven" or "contended") with both God and men and has overcome. He therefore gets the new name Yisra'el: from yisra (a verbal form of sarah) and El ("God"). Jacob is now Israel, the God-Fighter.

Isn't it just like our Lord, however, to lose? Jacob's nocturnal battle with this God in human form is a preview of the entirety of Jesus' ministry. When he arrived in our darkened world, he faced a lifetime of fierce, deadly opposition. Humanity wrestled with him until finally he was pinned atop the cross. There he lost everything for us, that in him we might gain everything the Father wants to give us.

Christ, may we too count everything loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing you as our Lord.

Tu’apulelulu Fepueli 16, 2023 

The Ineptitude of Idols תרפים

KO E NGAAHI ‘AITOLI TA‘E‘AONGA MO VAIVAI

GENESIS 31:34-35

NOW RACHEL HAD TAKEN THE HOUSEHOLD GODS AND PUT THEM IN THE CAMEL'S SADDLE AND SAT ON THEM. LABAN FELT ALL ABOUT THE TENT, BUT DID NOT FIND THEM. AND SHE SAID TO HER FATHER, "LET NOT MY LORD BE ANGRY THAT I CANNOT RISE BEFORE YOU, FOR THE WAY OF WOMEN IS UPON ME."

SENESI 31:34-35

Ka kuo hanga ‘e Lesieli ‘o ‘ai ‘a e ngaahi telāfimi ‘i he nofo‘a fale ‘o e kāmeli, ‘o ne hekeheka ai. Pea fotofota holo ‘e Lēpani ‘a e ngaahi me‘a ‘i he tēniti, ka ka ‘ikai ‘ilo. 35 Pea lea ange ‘a e fefine ki he‘ene tamai, Ke ‘oua na‘a tuputāmaki ‘a hoku ‘eiki ‘i he ‘ikai te u lava ke tu‘u ki ‘olunga ‘i ho‘o me‘a mai; he ‘oku ‘iate au ‘a e anga fakafefine. Pea ne hakule, kae ‘ikai te ne ‘ilo ‘a e ngaahi telāfimi.

The Bible does not wink at pseudogods or their images. They are mercilessly mocked and condemned. Genesis 31 is a vivid (and darkly humorous) example. This variety, called f'rafim ("household gods"), are probably small humanoid figurines. The comedy of the situation is evident: not only are Rachel's glutes on these gods, but she is menstruating, which made her ritually unclean. These t'rafim are such failures at godhood that they (1) can't keep themselves from being stolen, (2) can't do anything about being sat on, and (3) are themselves made unclean. Three strikes, t'rafim; you're out of the god game.

The Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) unmask faux deities as the disguises of demons. In Israel's idolatry, "they sacrificed to demons that were no gods" (Deut. 32:17). Paul says, "What pagans sacrifice they offer to demons" (1 Cor. 10:20). Christ has triumphed over all these in his resurrection, stomping the powers of hell. In the Messiah we are liberated to worship him and the Father in the Spirit of truth.

Gracious Father, destroy in us all attachments to false gods and give us hearts devoted exclusively to you.