Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Today’s reading from the book of Numbers interweaves three themes – the peoples’ frustration with their situation of wandering in the desert with little to eat, Moses’ frustration with the heavy responsibilities he has been given, and the independence of the prophetic office from priestly control. The vacillation of both the…

Proverbs 31:10-31 This, to me, is a challenging passage. It is difficult to look beyond the immediate visceral reaction to the patriarchal assumptions about a woman’s life and worth being connected to her husband – thus the description of the “capable wife.” These assumptions would have been expected and accepted when Proverbs was written. And…

Proverbs 1:20-33 In this poem, wisdom is personified as a female prophet preaching in the streets. Her message is not delivered behind closed doors or reserved for a king or other privileged person, but is offered publicly to all. Her message is thus portrayed as common sense, not special knowledge revealed only to a few….

Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23 Social justice and the proper use of wealth is a common theme throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The author of Proverbs begins this section by putting a commonly held truism of the time in the context of riches: the only thing that survives after your death is your good name, not your wealth. (Recall…

Song of Solomon 2:8-13 What an invitation! There are few more evocative, alluring images of joyful satiation than this excerpt from the Song of Solomon. In fact, this brief book is filled with such sweet, colorful and tantalizing images, it’s worth a fifteen-minute read. Interestingly, you’ll find that there is nothing sentimental or superficially romantic…