Jesus & the Samaritan Woman
By Susan Smith

In Jerusalem (a generation before Jesus), there were two main religious schools of thought. One followed Rabbi Hillel and the other followed Rabbi Shammai. Hillel held to the spirit of the law and Shammai taught the letter of the law.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house,…” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬‬‬‬‬

Rabbi Hillel viewed indecent reasons for divorce as many different things, including burning bread. Rabbi Shammai viewed indecent reasons for divorce as adultery.

In Matthew 19:3 Jesus is asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Jesus sided with Shammai, which protected women from being divorced for any and every reason. Remember women need justice and righteousness. They are dependent on their family, on husbands for God’s provision. We keep the need in thought as we come to the story of the Samaritan woman.

The Samaritans were not allowed to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. So, they built a temple at Mt. Gerizim. Jacob’s well was the base of this mount, which is where Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman in John 4.

(Keep reading in the comments!) ...

Who wants to kick their Wednesday off thinking about cupcakes? Too early?
Well this centerpiece was the focal point of a table from a previous year of Holiday Tables…and it was too fabulous to not share again! The theme of this table was “birthday glam” with pops of colors, leopard, and a mirror resting under the cupcake tower.
Holiday Tables is just around the corner and we would love to have you join us!
🎉If you don’t want to decorate, no problem - we have a seat for you!
🎉 If you want to decorate a table but not host a table - we have a seat for you!
🎉If you want to host a table, decorate, and have your pickleball gals join you - we have seats for you and your crew!

You can register over on Idlewild.org/register
Questions? Comment or message us! ...

Manna & Justice and Righteousness - by Susan Smith

We continue in reviewing the lessons from Kristi McClelland in “Jesus & Women”. In Exodus 16, God first provides manna, which is bread from Heaven, to the Israelites wandering in the desert. Did you know manna translates to “What is it?” Can you imagine telling your kids to go gather “what is it to eat”? As weird as that sounds, the Israelites could say just that because they knew it came from God and the manna was a miracle. God provided it everyday except on sabbaths as He would always provide enough for the Sabbath on the previous day. Later in the story, God stopped providing the manna the day after the Israelites ate fruit from Canaan. God was so precise in His provision for Israel. Not too much, never too little.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭89‬:‭14‬a‬‬‬‬

Righteousness means to be characterized by making things right, by being generous. Giving to the poor was seen as an act of righteousness in Jesus’ time (the giver would be called someone with a good eye, I imagine they were willing to be aware of the need around them).

Justice is exalting the humble by raising them to honor and covering their shame (remember the Jewish people have an honor/shame culture).

During the gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Alexander the Great brought Hellenism to the Jewish people. Along with that, gods were like men and so men became like gods. Also, during this time, Ben Sira was taught in the synagogue. Ben Sira said, “ women brought sin,” and “women give rise to shame and reproach.” The influence of this thinking meant women very lowly regarded in this society. They were in need of righteousness and justice. Do you think the God Who perfectly provided manna to the Israelites could and would bring righteousness and justice to women? Would He be generous and raise them up? ...

Healing Wings 🪽 (by Susan Smith)

After hundreds of years of slavery… The Israelites were instructed to put tassels on the corners of their prayer shawls. In total, the tassels had 613 knots to represent the commandments. The Hebrew word for these tasseled corners may also be translated to wings. The Israelites would put violet or blue thread in the “wings”, which made them more expensive and identified the Israelite as part of a royal priesthood set apart by God.

The Old Testament ends with this thought: Malachi 4:2 “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”

Between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament ages, there are hundreds of years of no new words from God. In the New Testament we are introduced to a woman who had an issue with blood. She would touch the wings (corner) of Jesus’ robe. This woman, who would’ve been shamed and isolated by her community, knew the word of God and had faith. How did Jesus respond to her touch? He could’ve shamed an unclean woman for touching a holy rabbi. Instead Jesus says, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.” Jesus healed her, physically and spiritually.

Sometimes, there is a large gap in time from the years of pain and suffering before God provides the healing in His wings. How do you think and act during these times of waiting for God’s healing? The Middle Eastern way is to ask what is God teaching me instead of asking why do I hurt. Instead of asking how did it happen, the Middle Eastern thought is to ask why would God allow it to happen. In the West, we tend to look at things with ourselves at the center. We focus on how this applies to us, whereas in the Middle East, the focus is on the character of God. What does the story reveal about God. As we focus on God, we learn how to live in Him.

Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭7‬ “For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.” ...