Blogs

As some of you have pointed out to me, it has been a while now since I posted a blog at Raven’s Food. This has been a very busy time.  Judy and I are ending one phase of our life and moving into another.  I will be retired from my profession of many years as of May 31 of this year.  It takes a lot of effort to do anything anymore – even to stop making efforts.  A lot of details have been worked out.  Some are still underway, but we think we have them all at least started now. At the same time, as I think you know, I am starting a new “career.”  The writing projects are underway.  The first one is now published!  There were times when I wondered whether we would ever get that done.  We have sent out the books to all the folks who pre-ordered and new orders are coming in.  Judy and I are learning how to manage the flow of those things. This first book, Birth of The Holy Nation, volume 1, is designed as an analysis of the Father and son relationship of God the Father and the man Abram who became Abraham as he matured in the relationship.   The book also previewed the relationship of Abraham and his son, Isaac.  [...]

You can call him a Damascene if you wish.  That would be just fine.  He was an Aramean, and thus not a Canaanite.  That could be important.  The Canaanites were descended from Ham, whereas the Arameans (we would call them Syrians these days) were descended from Shem.  In fact, they were closely akin to Abraham.  There is some slight possibility that Eliezer was a displaced Canaanite who happened to come from Damascus, but that does not seem a reasonable conclusion.  We are not entirely certain of the facts but it seems best to make the following assertion.  Eliezer was an Aramean from the city (or area) of Damascus who had attached himself to Abram.  This probably occurred even before Abram relocated to Canaan.  One could assume that all the servants of Abram that came into his care after the migration were either Canaanites or Egyptians.  Those in his employ before the migration were probably Semitic persons, like Eliezer. Servanthood came in a variety of forms.  Sometimes servants were spoils of war.  That is certainly unlikely in the case of Eliezer.  Sometimes servants were acquired economically.  They could be sold to the “master.”  They might even sell themselves to their master in order to eradicate some debt.  Or they might, in some cases, just hire on.  The Hebrew word for [...]

Jesus’ friends, especially the Disciples, knew of His death. It was not a thing unknown in Jerusalem.  Of course, the Romans crucified persons whenever they chose, but such deaths might largely go unnoticed during the busy time of preparation for the Passover.  The year’s crop of Passover pilgrims had already arrived in town, and homes and inns were full of guests.  The cleansing of homes had already been undertaken so that yeast would not be found in observant homes.  The preparation of the elements for the Passover Seder had been mostly completed.  It was a time of awe for many, and the capital city of the Jewish world was abuzz with all it meant.  One of the three key holidays of the Jewish calendar was under way.  All knew the meaning of its climax a few days later.  This busy-ness was typical of the season, and the folks would not pay that much attention to governance or politics or such.  They would focus on family and ritual instead. So, most folks did not hear about the midnight arrest.  Many had heard of the arrival of the eccentric fellow from Galilee.  They had even been in the crowds several days earlier when He had arrived with a company of His friends and followers.  Some had participated in singing the joyous [...]