August 31, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 14:25 – 14:49

You wonder what the Jews that had sided with the Greeks and left the traditional Israelites were doing when Israel goes back to Simon and makes him leader.  He appears to follow in his father’s footsteps in trying to lead Israel in the way God taught.  Maybe those Jews that had faltered were dead in battles or just completely abandoned Israel for other lands.  There seems to be no dissidents in the words that are put on the plague.

The inscription talks a lot about Simon, I guess because he is the one that is there when it is written, but from our view and reading this account, Judas and Jonathon had a lot more to do with this success than they are given credit for.  I guess that is the way history is.  I mean, the great recession is all on Obama’s clock, so he has taken full responsibility for it happening.  Bush hasn’t received any of the blame because it didn’t happen to him.  No, wait, that isn’t how I remember it being reported.  Maybe only positive things in history work that way.

August 30, 2013 – Jeremiah 39 – 40

We see that the king did not listen to Jeremiah and did not surrender to Babylon, but fought and in the end, fled the city and tried to escape and leave them to their own destiny.  He was captured and had to watch the death of his own children and then blinded.  How horrible.  The last image you see with your eyes is the execution of your family and then you are blinded and taken away, alive, to live with that image until you die.  I don’t know the movie, but the quote “there are worse things than death” comes to mind with the imagery of this punishment.

I wonder how the Babylonians knew what Jeremiah had prophesied to.  They obviously have some knowledge because of how they treat him and let him stay if he wants and he is free to go where ever he feels he can be the most useful.

The taking of Jerusalem is not given in too much detail, but it is supposed to be a rather difficult city to capture.  I would recommend the movie Kingdom of Heaven if you want an idea of defending Jerusalem and the walls and what it might look like when they are breached.  Might not be too accurate, but it is the image I used when reading about it.

August 29, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 16

The prayer of the priest has the feel of a Psalm.  I don’t know if it goes along with any of them very closely, but has that feel.  That makes sense because it is a prayer that the group said in praise and in communication with God, which is what the Psalms are.

The line “great is the Lord…beyond all gods”.  The next line says “For all the gods of the nations are things of nought”.  That isn’t really the highest compliment to God.  I am beyond all gods of other nations if they are nought or nothing.  It doesn’t take much to be above nothing.

August 28, 2013 – Catechism 2598 – 2606

Christ is our greatest example of how to pray.  Christ would pray either in front of, but many times off on his own, before the biggest events in His ministry.  That is for us to see, it wasn’t for Him.  Do you think He NEEDED to pray?  He is God.

I just talked about this on Sunday.  Paul prays because he sees Michelle and I praying, not because we tell him to.  In fact, when we tell him to, he doesn’t seem to want to.  It seems much better to wait until he ask for it and then encourage him.  It has been his idea to pray the rosary every day.  He is really good at praying when we hear a siren.  But these are not because we tell him too, it is because he sees prayer is important to us.  Christ teaches us in the same way.

I am trying to imagine if Jesus was mute, what would that have taught us.  If you take all of His actions, they would still have been something great.  He could have accomplished everything He did because He is God.  He never had to utter a word to do the work that He did.  If you believe that, then every word He spoke was for our teaching and our example only.  He came down to save us, but He didn’t need to speak to do that.  He spoke to teach us, not to save us. 

August 27, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 14 – 14:24

Simon seems to have benefitted to the wars fought by his brothers.  It does make note of his captures and it says that he captured enemies, but he seems to have lived mostly in peace and comfort along with most of Israel.  He renews the bonds with Rome and Sparta and is at ease.  When you think about the wars even dating back to the time of Judges, has there really been a time when Israel could say that they were in a time of Peace.  I guess Solomon was a fairly peaceful reign because David had defeated all of the surrounding enemies, but the period didn’t last long because right after him is when Israel split.

August 26, 2013 – Jeremiah 38

I noticed one thing.  The king wants Jeremiah to council him and Jeremiah says he doesn’t want to because the king will have him killed and won’t listen anyway.  Look at what the king promises.  He convinces Jeremiah to tell him and assures him that he will not kill Jeremiah.  He never promises that he will listen and obey what Jeremiah says.  I talked earlier as to why you would want to hear advice that you are not going to heed, but that is what the king is doing.  He cannot promise to do what God wants because he probably knows that he won’t.  Not only does he know he isn’t going to do it, but he tells Jeremiah that he can’t tell anyone what they talked about.  Can you imagine asking someone for advice, then telling them not to tell anyone because you don’t want anyone to know you had good advice and ignored it?  Should I rob this bank?  Oh, you don’t think I should.  Well, don’t tell anyone you told me not to.

August 25, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 15

Can you imagine the celebration of bringing the Ark into Jerusalem, the music and the singing and the sheer joy.  We have seen images of the ticker tape parades after wars or world championships; you have to imagine this was so much more.  They were bringing God home.  And among all this joy, you have this last line about the daughter of Saul looking down on it all and just despising David and all that he is bringing.  This scene would be a season cliff hanger in the TV series about David, which I have talked about before.

August 24, 2013 – Catechism 2590 – 2597

I tried the morning liturgy today when I first got up.  It was very uplifting in the language.  It isn’t so much that my spirits were lifted, but I can see it having that effect some days and especially on a day you might really need it.  It was all about looking up and praising the infinite glory of God.  It was hopeful and reassuring and looking to Heaven.  I don’t know if it is always like that, but you can see why it is placed in the morning.  I didn’t make it through the whole thing before I had to get out of bed and tried to finish during breakfast, but there were a lot of distractions, but the first taste was a good one and a shot of light at the beginning of the day.

August 23, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 13:25 – 13:53

From what I read when trying to find out how long the revolt lasted, Simon brings with him the final result of Roman recognition and the beginning of a dynasty in Israel of sorts.  We also see the mercy of Simon in treating the one city.  When I was reading that, I thought about the way people talk about the holy land now and how they move people around and try to get certain populations in certain areas so that they can say it is theirs.  Simon moves people out of a city and inserts his own people.  Maybe I am way off, but that seems like something that is sort of going on in the holy land to this day with Palestine and Israel.

August 22, 2013 – Jeremiah 37

We see that Jeremiah was known to consult the kings, they asked him to speak to God, but under all that, they really wanted to punish him.  They use a false charge in order to arrest and beat him, and even then, still seek his advice.  But even after seeking his advice, they never actually follow through with it.  Are we really so different?  There are many Catholics out there that go to Mass, they may even go to a priest for advice, they may be told what the Church teaches about a certain moral issue, but in the end, will continue to do what they feel is best.  It is exactly the same.  The Catholic Church is the prophet to the world and many times is arrested and beaten for saying what God’s message is.  And the leaders of the world appear to seek out the council of the Church.  President Obama has spoken to the Pope and has had meetings with Cardinal Dolan.  You wonder if he was open at all to anything that was being said or if it was for the photo op only.  That appears to be what he kings do to the prophets in Israel.  They call on them, they listen, and then ignore the message.  Why call on them in the first place?

August 22, 2013 – Jeremiah 37

We see that Jeremiah was known to consult the kings, they asked him to speak to God, but under all that, they really wanted to punish him.  They use a false charge in order to arrest and beat him, and even then, still seek his advice.  But even after seeking his advice, they never actually follow through with it.  Are we really so different?  There are many Catholics out there that go to Mass, they may even go to a priest for advice, they may be told what the Church teaches about a certain moral issue, but in the end, will continue to do what they feel is best.  It is exactly the same.  The Catholic Church is the prophet to the world and many times is arrested and beaten for saying what God’s message is.  And the leaders of the world appear to seek out the council of the Church.  President Obama has spoken to the Pope and has had meetings with Cardinal Dolan.  You wonder if he was open at all to anything that was being said or if it was for the photo op only.  That appears to be what he kings do to the prophets in Israel.  They call on them, they listen, and then ignore the message.  Why call on them in the first place?

August 21, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 13 – 14

The story of the man that dies because he touches the Ark to keep it from falling has always made me wonder.  It is such a severe punishment for not trusting God and for doing something that, to everyone, appears a good thing, but done because of a lack of faith, brings swift punishment.  I don’t remember reading the words that this caused David to fear the Lord, but I don’t blame him.  It would scare me too.  Yet, David and Israel still fall and still disobey.

I think I remember correctly that when David was exiled, there was a time when he fought with the Philistines.  He never fought against Israel, but having the knowledge of how they fought would have been a great advantage to him.  He also had God giving him military advice and assistance in his battle, so he could have been a complete military buffoon and still come out victorious if that is what God wanted.

August 21, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 13 – 14

The story of the man that dies because he touches the Ark to keep it from falling has always made me wonder.  It is such a severe punishment for not trusting God and for doing something that, to everyone, appears a good thing, but done because of a lack of faith, brings swift punishment.  I don’t remember reading the words that this caused David to fear the Lord, but I don’t blame him.  It would scare me too.  Yet, David and Israel still fall and still disobey.

I think I remember correctly that when David was exiled, there was a time when he fought with the Philistines.  He never fought against Israel, but having the knowledge of how they fought would have been a great advantage to him.  He also had God giving him military advice and assistance in his battle, so he could have been a complete military buffoon and still come out victorious if that is what God wanted.

August 20, 2013 – Catechism 2581 – 2589

The psalms are such an important part of prayer, and yet I find I struggle with them.  They have never been a part of my prayer life.  If you wonder how important the Psalms are to Catholic prayer life, you have to go no further than the Liturgy of the Hours.  These are the daily prayers required to be done by all ordained ministers in the Church.  It is a daily set of prays, from an intro, morning, day, evening and night sets, plus others you can do and one with readings.  These liturgies are constructed mainly of psalms and responses.  I have tried to get into the habit of doing them hoping it would give me a better feel for praying with the psalms, but I have not kept it up for long.  I do, most the time, go to the readings and non-scripture readings to reflect on them, but I have avoided the psalms as it is too time consuming.  Since, as I am going through this prayer section I am trying to improve this area, maybe I will stop skipping over the psalms and make an effort to do more of the liturgies during the day.

August 20, 2013 – Catechism 2581 – 2589

The psalms are such an important part of prayer, and yet I find I struggle with them.  They have never been a part of my prayer life.  If you wonder how important the Psalms are to Catholic prayer life, you have to go no further than the Liturgy of the Hours.  These are the daily prayers required to be done by all ordained ministers in the Church.  It is a daily set of prays, from an intro, morning, day, evening and night sets, plus others you can do and one with readings.  These liturgies are constructed mainly of psalms and responses.  I have tried to get into the habit of doing them hoping it would give me a better feel for praying with the psalms, but I have not kept it up for long.  I do, most the time, go to the readings and non-scripture readings to reflect on them, but I have avoided the psalms as it is too time consuming.  Since, as I am going through this prayer section I am trying to improve this area, maybe I will stop skipping over the psalms and make an effort to do more of the liturgies during the day.

August 19, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 13 – 13:24

So, Jonathon had not died in the battle, but was captured and killed at the end of this reading.  It appears he was basically killed because they found no further use from him.  It is interesting here that Simon knew that he was being lied to, but had to give what he did in order that everyone else could see that it was a lie.  He basically called Trypho’s bluff to show that he was going to be deceitful.  The fact that it says Simon knew it was a lie shows that Simon has the same type of intelligence as his brother (although Jonathon is now dead because he made a naive move in trusting Trypho at their final meeting).  Hopefully Simon can avoid mistakes like that.  And how old do we think Simon is.  He is the brother of both Judas and Jonathon and it seems as those these wars have been going on a while.  Looks like Matthias died in 167 BC at the beginning of the revolt and Simon took over in 142 BC.  So the revolt has been going on for almost 25 years.  And Simon is Matthias’ second son, he was actually older than Jonathon.  I don’t remember that being discussed when and why Jonathon took the reigns over his older brother.

August 19, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 13 – 13:24

So, Jonathon had not died in the battle, but was captured and killed at the end of this reading.  It appears he was basically killed because they found no further use from him.  It is interesting here that Simon knew that he was being lied to, but had to give what he did in order that everyone else could see that it was a lie.  He basically called Trypho’s bluff to show that he was going to be deceitful.  The fact that it says Simon knew it was a lie shows that Simon has the same type of intelligence as his brother (although Jonathon is now dead because he made a naive move in trusting Trypho at their final meeting).  Hopefully Simon can avoid mistakes like that.  And how old do we think Simon is.  He is the brother of both Judas and Jonathon and it seems as those these wars have been going on a while.  Looks like Matthias died in 167 BC at the beginning of the revolt and Simon took over in 142 BC.  So the revolt has been going on for almost 25 years.  And Simon is Matthias’ second son, he was actually older than Jonathon.  I don’t remember that being discussed when and why Jonathon took the reigns over his older brother.

August 18, 2013 – Jeremiah 36

I just don’t think we realize how lucky we are that we have so many things written down.  Memorization is just such a lost talent.  Can you imagine having someone read something out loud and then going a repeating it to another.  And the writings of Jeremiah weren’t short.  And memorizing it on just one hearing.  Granted, not everyone that lived back then was able to do that, this is probably why the one person was a scribe, but I think you be hard to find anyone that could do something like this today.

August 17, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 12:17 – 12:41

We had just read about the countries surrounding Israel wanting to wipe them from earth’s history, all I could think of is they should have made their move right now.  You have, what appears to be, all the strength of all of Israel, coming together to crown David king.  This celebration last 3 days.  3 days of feasting and drinking.  Although they were all the armed men of Israel, I doubt they were in position to put up much of a fight.  If you have watched any of the Game of Thrones series, you get a sense of what a gathering of this might look and feel like with the higher ups gathering together and the common soldiers having their own celebrations in the camps.  This many people and gathering for 3 days of celebration, I would imagine put Woodstock to shame.

August 16, 2013 – Catechism 2574 – 2580

Speaking to God in a conversation, like Moses, takes humility. Moses was seen as the most humble man “on the face of the earth”.  Conversing with God is often difficult.  I have had many people, or at least listened to them, try to explain ways to do this.  One of the most virtual examples is to actually try to picture Christ sitting next to you and speaking out loud to Him and listening to His responses.  I have tried this several times, with the best results in the Adoration Chapel all alone, but it has not been successful many times.  The times it has been, it has been very powerful and it has been times when I really needed to hear what He wanted to tell me.  You get a real sense of what Moses was feeling on the top of that mountain speaking to God “face to face”.

I was thinking about how high we hold David, and yet he was a sinful man.  We look to his example and his relationship with God, but then we also know of his fall with Bathsheba and what it cost him.  It made me think of the Pope and the priest in our Catholic Church.  So many people look to the Catholic faith as flawed because of the actions taken by popes or priest.  These are human men that are sinful and flawed, just as David.  Just because David was flawed and fell, does not take away from the high esteem that is given to him.  The fact that a pope or priest is flawed does not mean he should not be held in high standing or disregarded.  And the Catholic Church as a whole cannot be seen as less than what it is because of the actions or sins of one or many of its human parts.

August 15, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 12:24 – 12:53

Going back to the idea of this being a movie, you can picture the scene after Jonathon is captured.  You would think that losing their leader would send the Israelites into panic and disorder.  Instead, they rally around each other and encourage each other and turned ready to fight.  Far from the advantage the enemy might have been forseeing, they turn and flee from the united Israelites.

Even with them returning, all the nations around Israel see that Jonathon is gone and seek to use this as a moment to not only make war on Israel but “wipe out their memory from among men.”  That sounds like language that might have been used in Nazi Germany or heard in many of the Arab countries today.  When you think about that, realize that Israelites and the Jewish people, for whatever reason, has been the target of extermination for almost 3000 years.  Realizing that, you must believe that God wants them around still because nothing could survive that long without the help of God.

August 14, 2013 – Jeremiah 34 – 35

It is interesting to think that Israelites had slaves for themselves.  I understand that the idea of slavery was more acceptable back then, but they were slaves.  You would think that a people who were slaves would never want to own slaves.  I cannot imagine black people in this country wanting to own slaves.  I would think most of them would see and understand what that means and how horrible that is.  We are talking about several hundred years since Israel had been enslaved in Egypt, but it is brought up a lot.  Are they so far removed that they do not understand what slavery does to a person.  How far removed from our own issue of slavery would we have to go before a black person would own a slave and not see the issue.

The language God uses in talking with Israel here is so pleading.  “I kept sending you all my servants the prophets, telling you to turn back, all of you, from your evil way”.  God has just had His fill of trying to change Israel’s mind and seems to desperately not want to send them into exile, but there are some things that cannot be learned through words and can only be learned through punishment (most things are that way actually).

August 13, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 11:26 – 12:16

Since Saul was the first king of Israel, did they have the understanding that kingship should be hereditary.  It doesn’t matter because all of Saul’s sons died, but what if they hadn’t.  Obviously they see this connection after David, because Solomon becomes king, but he wasn’t the oldest but appointed by David as successor.  So, did they don’t seem to have the “oldest son, next in line” mentality at this point.  The first two at least were both those anointed by Samuel.  After that, Israel seems to have been on their own as to what method to find their next king.

August 12, 2013 – Catechism 2566 – 2573

I think that when we think about Old Testament characters interacting with God, we don’t often see it as prayer, but really, that is what they were doing.  It might have taken forms that we don’t use, but Adam and Eve, walking with God, Noah listening to God, Abraham doubting God’s promise, these were all prayers in their own way.  Maybe when we look back at these stories in the light of that relationship being a relationship built on prayer it will help us develop our own relationship in prayer with God.

I had never heard before that Abraham was willing to go along with God because he thought God was going to raise Isaac from the dead.  He obviously put faith in God that whatever God was going to do, his line would continue, but I had never heard specifically that Isaac would rise from the dead.  That puts a new twist on the comparisons with Christ on the cross in its relation to Isaac on the altar.

August 11, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 12

I can’t tell if Jonathon was killed or just captured.  Seems a rather naïve move to send away all your troops away when someone ask you to.  Seems a red flag should have went up when someone brings and army and then says the brought their whole army just to come a get you peacefully.  Jonathon was obviously fooled, but after some of the things he has seen through and made the right decision, it seems he would not have fallen for something so obvious.

August 10, 2013 – Jeremiah 32

I didn’t quite understand the metaphor of buying the land.  It says at the end that “houses…shall again be bought in the land”, so is it a sign for what may come after the exile.  I thought that might be why they put it in a jar that would keep it safe for a long time.  God is saying that my investment in the land will produce, but not right now because you are leaving.

I thought it was interesting when it talked about Israel bringing in foreign gods that “nor did it even enter my mind that they should practice such abominations”.  With it being God, there is no thought that is outside of Him, but the expressions just shows how far off the Israelites were when they acted the way they did.

August 9, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 11 – 11:25

I have always been a little bit confused about Mt. Zion.  I know it is an important place in regards to Jerusalem and has something to do with David, but have also been confused as to how it relates to the Temple.  Looking at different things, you see that sometimes it is marked as the place where the Temple was, but that doesn’t seem accurate because the Temple is in Jerusalem and Mt. Zion is outside the city walls.  They say it was where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, but then I heard that that is where the Temple was built, but they aren’t the same and I also heard that this was the hill Christ was crucified, but that isn’t where the Temple was or the same place as Mt. Zion according to maps I found.  What I have come to understand is the Mt. Zion is a large hill outside the city and that is where David built his palace.  It is not where the Temple is built and not where Christ died, but may or may not be where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac.

August 8, 2013 – Catechism 2558 – 2565

I saw the heading of the new section was prayer and the thought that went through my head was “great, I am no good at prayer”.  I don’t know why I struggle with it, but I think I do.  I have always excused myself, telling myself that those thoughts I have about different things are little prayers that occur throughout the day, and that may be true, but I believe prayer should be more than that and for me I struggle to make it more.  Then I read that admitting that we do not know how to pray is the quickest way for God to send the Holy Spirit upon us and help us pray.  How refreshing and hopeful I was when I read that.  I hope to really try and digest this last section of the Catechism and really hope that it helps spark that prayer part of my life that is a struggle.

August 7, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 11:38 – 11:74

Here, Jonathon save a king, gets in his good graces, only to lose them just before he is overthrown and get back in good graces with the new king.  But in reading this, the Jews don’t seem to be seen as highly religious people, but they are brought in more as a mercenary force.  Their soldiers are called in to bring down a rebellion and then they are camping and destroy another army.  If I were a Roman, the Jews would seem great military men and nothing more.  God obviously is granting and allowing them victories and Jonathon is devote and that allows his success, but you don’t see the language that you saw with some earlier stories.  With Daniel and the lions, after Daniel survives the king recognizes Daniels God.  Here, Jonathon saves the king, but there is really no recognition of God by the king.  They honor Jonathon, but not God, or so it seems.  Jonathon’s communication with God and looking to Him for guidance is something I think is missing from these stories like it was in previous books.

August 6, 2013 – Jeremiah 30

This is great language to hear if a person was in exile from their land.  Yes, they do come back, but it is not a glorified kingdom for long if at all.  The Greeks come in, then the Romans.  The language points to a restoration of what once was, but do they ever get back to that.  And when I think that way, I then try to imagine that the prophesy is really about Christ and what is to come after Him.  But, the language seems to describe kingdoms and prosperity here on Earth and that really isn’t the focus of Christ kingdom.  So then you move to consider that the prophet is talking about the Heavenly Kingdom to come that will end all other kingdoms.  Maybe that is what the focus is supposed to be, or maybe it is supposed to be revealing parts of all 3.  It seems very difficult to get what the prophet is trying to get at.  Have hope is the best way I can put it.

August 5, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 9:28 – 10

So, our narrative starts with Saul’s death and the death of his sons with him.  We do not get any of the background about David and his relationship with Saul, or their battles or David’s relationship with Jonathon.  In one chapter that set up Saul as king and kill him off with no heirs and lead right into David becoming king.

August 4, 2013 – Catechism 2548 – 2557
“Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world”. There are so many that only feel true happiness comes from goods and money and having all that our heart desires. True happiness comes when we allow ourselves to not desire the things of this world, when we set our desire on God alone, when we are totally obedient to the Will of God. There is no path to true happiness through obtaining earthly goods. Actually the opposite occurs. The more you obtain, the more worries to will pile upon yourself, and the further away from true happiness you will be. You will actually find yourself seeking more material goods because what you have now didn’t work and you will continue to move farther and farther away. Only a rejection of the desire for worldly goods will start you on the journey towards true happiness and lead you into the arms of God.

August 3, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 11 – 11:37

Not only do you need a chart to keep track of the different tribes and generations of Israel, but you need something to keep all the rulers of the other nations in line too.  One king marries the daughter of another and believes they are friends, but he stabs him in the back going into other lands and rising against him, then they both die leaving someone new in charge of all.  And remember that all this is happening when communication was done by men on horseback riding from town to town and the man that is sent might not actually make it.  How long would it take for news that the king is dead to get from one side of the kingdom to the other.  How long for news that another person is in revolt or that you have a new king.  And in the midst of all of the turmoil and likely confusion, Jonathon is trying to stay on the right side and keep his people together.  How spoiled we are over how easy it is to communicate.

August 2, 2013 – Jeremiah 29

I think it is interesting that God tells the exiles to continue to live.  Yes, they are being punished for their sins, but God isn’t wanting them to spend the next 70 years dissipating, He wants them to grow.  He tells them that this is not the end, but His plans for them are for great things and when He is ready to start them, they need to be ready.  I think it would be very easy for them to be disheartened and to also hate or make trouble where they go, but God is telling them to do whatever they can to help those cities where they are going to.  If they help them, it will help the Israelites grow and they need to be grown and ready for when the 70 years is up.  God did the same in Egypt.  The Hebrews went down and, yes, they became slaves, but slaves in such vast numbers that a nation was able to come out of Egypt when a family had gone in.  Granted the nation that came out had to be sterilized from the worship of false gods, but God is telling them to be faithful to Him while in exile to try and avoid that.  This isn’t supposed to be like the slavery in Egypt, this is supposed to be like the Wilderness they went into after that.

August 1, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 9 – 9:27

I was starting to wonder when this was written and how far the genealogies went.  I went to the description at the front and found out my patience was just about right.  The Genealogies end at 9:34, so only a couple more verses.  Then the description says we will get into the history or David.  It says the focus is not so much on David as a line to the Messiah but for his establishment of Jerusalem as the center of Jewish worship.  That is because this was written after the exile and Israel has fallen as a world power and the author wants to get the focus back to Israel being a spiritual power, the chosen people of God, with the Temple being God’s place on Earth.  But needless to say, I will be glad to have the genealogies behind us.