Browse Posts

Blog posts that reimagine stories from the Old and New Testaments

Bethlehem

The bus rattled down the narrow road as I leaned my head on the seat in front of me and groaned. I was still recovering from severe dehydration, but I wasn’t about to miss our group’s visit to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. The little town of all those Christmas carols and the replicas of…

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Delilah and the timnite woman

Previously, I have written on the problematic character of Samson. Yes, he’s a bombastic, excessively violent, and bratty character who I love to hate. But let’s not forget the women in his story. His wife, a nameless woman from the Philistine city Timnah, and his girlfriend Delilah are widely considered despicable villains, but in reality,…

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The serpent and the skirt

I have seen the full history of human clothing. I was there the day it was invented. Two human beings, ashamed of their sinfulness, became aware of how vulnerable and exposed their bodies were. I had tempted them to behave a way they never thought they would, and the shock and disappointment was too much…

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Ahlai

“Sheshan was the father of Ahlai….Sheshan had no sons – only daughters. He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.” – 1 Chronicles 2:31, 34-35 My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Tamar made a name for herself. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Judah had tried to…

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A Faithful, Wise, and Imperfect Servant

Bumper stickers, t-shirts, posters, and memes will all tell us “Jesus is coming – look busy!” These facetious art pieces, despite their humorous and flippant tones, highlight a deep-seated anxiety in today’s America. We are afraid to be perceived as not-good-enough. If we are not always busy doing good work, then we are wasting our…

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The Closeted God

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is constantly asking people not to tell others about him. From chapter 1 in which he drove out demons and “would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was,” (Mark 1:34) and throughout his ministry, Jesus warns those heals and who witnesses the miracles he performs…

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The Mark of Cain

Do you know how it feels for the whole world to compare you to someone else? For everyone in the world to appreciate their offerings more than yours? To feel as if you could never be competent or successful enough to please anyone? In the very small beginnings of this world, when very few people…

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The Greatest Offense: Judges 19

The text doesn’t record my reason for leaving, but trust me, it was bad. It had to be bad to commit the greatest possible offense: to bring dishonor on an important man. A Levite, no less. A member of the priestly lineage. A representative of God, a mediator between humanity and divinity. But being his…

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Jonathan and Brock Turner

But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die – he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not…

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Eliphaz

“Come on, Job,” I said, encouragingly. “Remember how you used to instruct and support us when we were going through a tough time? You strengthened my hands when they were weak. You supported Bildad when he stumbled. You firmed Zophar’s knees when they were feeble. And now you’re going through a tough time – I…

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Judas Iscariot

I have become an archetype. When you hear my name, you think not only of me, but of every traitor throughout history. Yet, those who recorded my story never had a clear understanding of who I was, what I did, or why I did it. They all tried to make sense of it, but I…

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A Frightened Mama Bear

I put my paw out to stop my cub from walking any further. “Sh…” I warned him, “I hear humans.” I crouched in the trees near the Jordan, being as still and quiet as possible, and I couldn’t help but overhear. “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?”…

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Jephthah’s Daughter, 2nd Edition

You know that moment when you realize you’re totally screwed? When you realize that, no matter what you do, it’s not going to go well for you? When my father left to lead the Israelites in battle against the Ammonites, I thought that he might die, but not the women he’d left at home. But…

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Haman the Agagite

I am Haman the Agagite. Likely, when you hear my name you automatically associate it with the word, “villain.” I am known for convincing the king to sign an edict spelling death for all the Jews in Persia. I am hated, remembered forever as a heinous villain. But I didn’t start it. When Saul was…

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Eve’s Punishment

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” – Genesis 3:16 For most of Christian history, Eve has been painted as a villain. Thomas Aquinas said that women lacked…

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Jephthah’s Daughter

I was an only child. No brothers or sisters. All of my friends had lots of brothers and sisters. They would ask me, “Aren’t you lonely?” I would say, “No.” My best friend was my dad, Jephthah. He was my hero. When he was younger, he had been driven out of his family because he…

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Proverbs of a Strange Woman

The proverbs of a strange woman, loved and condemned by Solomon, king of Israel, and the wisdom tradition credited to him: Prologue For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach the poor, ignored, and shamed; to acknowledge those hurt by…

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Brick Ruth, Chapter 4

Ruth 4 Inspired by Brendan Powell Smith’s work with the Brick Bible, my dad and I decided to use the Lego blocks we had at our disposal to create one of the stories that don’t appear in Smith’s work.

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Brick Ruth, Chapter 3

Ruth 3 Inspired by Brendan Powell Smith’s work with the Brick Bible, my dad and I decided to use the Lego blocks we had at our disposal to create one of the stories that don’t appear in Smith’s work.

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Brick Ruth, Chapter 2

So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. Ruth 2 Inspired by Brendan Powell Smith’s work with the Brick Bible, my dad and I decided to use the Lego…

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Brick Ruth, Chapter 1

After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth 1 Inspired by Brendan Powell Smith’s work with the Brick Bible, my dad and I decided to use the Lego blocks we had at our disposal to create one…

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One Soul, Part 7: David

My nights spent hiding in the field were torturous. I wanted to know what was going on. I needed to know that Jonathan was okay. What if King Saul took his rage against me out on his son? I would never forgive myself if Jonathan had been hurt. On the morning of the third day,…

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One Soul, Part 6: Saul

Nobody had seen or heard from David since my last failed attempt to end his life. But certainly, he wouldn’t miss the new moon feast. This would give me opportunity to learn of his whereabouts and prepare my next attack. This time, I would not fail! On the first day of the feast, David was…

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One Soul, Part 5: Jonathan

My life felt as if it was ending. Seeing David marry my sister Michal was bad enough. My stomach boiled with envy thinking about the two of them together. And now David was gone. He had to flee because my father was paranoid about losing the throne and wanted to kill him. He wanted his…

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The Cyclical Nature of Violence

I was a concubine. A Levite man kept me for his sexual pleasure without giving me the rights that a wife would have. I was treated as nothing more than a body. So, I ran away. I went back to my father’s house to escape sexual abuse. But the Levite stalked me. He came to my…

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One Soul, Part 4: Michal

I couldn’t believe that my older sister Merab didn’t want to marry David. He was amazing! So strong and talented – even more so than my father! When my father said he was going to offer me to David in marriage, I was amazed at my fortune. Instead of being pawned off in some politically…

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One Soul, Part 3: David

“Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” King Saul smiled down at me, his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It felt as though just yesterday I had been a poor…

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One Soul, Part 2: Saul

At first, I was thrilled to have David join my army. He would make me look even better, I reasoned. He would make all my exploits successful, which turned out to be true. He was incredibly successful. But he did nothing for my image. If anything, he stole the nation’s admiration that was supposed to…

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One Soul, Part 1: Jonathan

I had never seen anything like it. A young man from Bethlehem showed up on the battleground and single-handedly slayed the Philistine giant. We were all too afraid to fight him, even my father the king. But this man defeated the giant with nothing more than a slingshot. “Abner,” my father snapped, eyes glued to…

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Why Work for Justice?

“I say it kindly but none the less dogmatically, but it is one of the inanities of the human intellect and a foible and fable of man’s imagination that any method contrary to God’s method will succeed.” – J. Vernon McGee J. Vernon McGee, a plain-folk preacher in California in the mid-2oth century, was a…

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Simeon

Sitting alone in prison gives you a lot of time to think. Too much time. Enough time to make you mad. It started with the famine. There was no food in all of Canaan, and when you have six sons and ten brothers with kids, you need a lot of food. So, we went to…

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King of the Trees

“It is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it… Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” – Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe When Abimelek son of…

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Samuel

I was what you might call a “miracle baby.” My mom couldn’t have a baby. She was teased because other women had babies, but she had none. She prayed and prayed and prayed. Then priests teased her because she prayed so hard. But God heard her. And he gave her me. She named me Samuel,…

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Magi

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” … After they had heard the king,…

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The Shunammite Woman

Hidden within the politics and violence of 1st and 2nd Kings stands a bold, shrewd, and unnamed woman. Assertiveness In chapter 4, she is described as a “well-to-do woman,” and she used her resources to host the prophet Elisha any time he was in Shunem (v. 8). Eventually, she wanted to make a guest room…

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Doubting Thomas

I’m Thomas. You probably know me as “Doubting Thomas,” which is really unfair. Sure, I doubted sometimes. I asked questions. But I shouldn’t be branded by that. I shouldn’t have to wear a scarlet D on my chest as if doubt were some unforgivable sin. Here’s the thing – I asked a lot of questions.…

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Manoah’s Wife

I am from the tribe of Dan. For as long as I can remember, we have been under the rule of the Philistines. My mother taught me that the reason for our submission to the Philistines was because of the misbehavior of our ancestors. For being the Children of God, Israel has a history of…

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Ishmael & Isaac

My name is Ishmael. It means, “God hears.” I have a little brother named Isaac. His name means, “he laughs.” We’re actually half-brothers. Our father is Abraham. Isaac’s mother is his wife, Sarah. And my mother is her servant, Hagar. Our moms fought all the time when we were little. They both wanted to be…

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King Xerxes

I’ve never been very confident in my ability to rule, so I’ve surrounded myself with advisers I feel I can trust to help me make the best decisions. But this can sometimes result in trouble. I’m sure you’ve heard of that debacle with Haman. He told me of a people who disobeyed my laws and…

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Michal and Paltiel

We all know about that time David stole Bathsheeba from her husband Uriah and had Uriah killed so that he wouldn’t find out about the unexpected pregnancy. This incident is largely seen as a small blip on the otherwise clear radar of the “man after God’s own heart.” Interpreting this story this way is problematic…

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Isaiah’s Leader

Someday I will be a ruler, And my reign will be totally peaceful. Long ago the LORD God showed his prophet Isaiah What his coming Kingdom would be like. I am a child of Adam and Eve, Like you. Long ago, our parents lived in peaceful paradise With the beasts of the field and the…

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Jonathan and the Soldier

1 Samuel 14: I was a soldier in King Saul’s army during the Philistine conflict. We fought long and often against the Philistines, defending our land. One day, the king’s son Jonathan went to a Philistine outpost in Mikmash in secret, and managed to slay twenty men and throw the rest into a panic. When…

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Why Samson?

How do we choose which Bible heroes will be celebrated in kids’ books and Sunday school classes? One year at my church, the theme for kids’ summer camp was “Samson Brings Down the House.” That’s a fun theme idea. We get to celebrate this incredibly strong man who led Israel until he was unfairly duped by…

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Widow of Zarephath’s Son

My father died when I was very young. I don’t really remember him, but my mother talked about him often. She loved him very much. To honor him, she wanted me to grow big and strong so that I could carry on his name. She was a nervous woman, always calling after me – “Be…

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Woman with the Lost Coin

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell…

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Stumbling on Water

We all know the story of Jesus walking on the water. It’s a popular story that highlights Jesus’ authority over nature. But what catches my attention when I read this story is Peter’s experience and its relatability. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,” Jesus says to his shaken disciples as he approaches the…

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Philip the Evangelist

I always prided myself on how inclusive I was. When the Twelve first appointed me to assist in food distribution, I served both Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews impartially. After my friend and colleague Stephen was killed on charges of blasphemy and all of Christ’s followers were forced to flee to escape persecution, I fled to…

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King Josiah

I was eight years old when I began to reign. My grandpa Manasseh began to reign when he was twelve. History remembers him as Judah’s most evil king. But long before he bought into the practices of our surrounding nations, worshiped the stars, practiced sorcery, defiled God’s temple, and sacrificed his sons in the fire,…

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Miriam

It was very strange watching my mother put my brother into the river. I was six years old then, and curious. My mom and dad never talked about it, but I knew that Hebrew babies were in trouble. We stopped celebrating when a baby was born. I wasn’t allowed to talk about my new brother…

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#ChurchToo

Trigger warning: This article addresses various forms of sexual abuse, including rape. The #MeToo movement has inspired lay and clergy members to begin to break the silence surrounding sexual harassment and abuse in and surrounding the church. It is very rare to hear a pastor or priest speak about sexual abuse – in the twelve…

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Judas son of James: Bread and Wine

On Passover we remember our people’s deliverance from Egypt, when our God saved us and we were freed to be our own nation rather than a nation of slaves. To me, Passover is more than a day to feast. I am devoted to my people Israel, and remembering the miracles that God did through Moses…

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Jonah

Being inside of a big fish is disorienting. You can’t witness the coming and going of the sun to keep track of the days. You become completely disconnected from time and space. That dark, warm, smelly cove becomes your entire world. It’s no wonder I finally agreed to go to Nineveh. Apparently, God can sometimes…

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