Moses and the Torah

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. It was nearly 3:00 in the morning. Anyone could have just fallen right into a deep sleep at this hour. This was what I assumed too initially, but somehow I stayed awake for the whole night. The last time I checked on the clock by my bedside was 4:45am.

What flashed across my mind for the last couple sleepless hours were simply my reflections on what I had learned from my seminary education in the recent three years.

It’s just so weird that the thoughts I had went like I was answering my own questions the whole night or morning.

I remembered telling myself that even if Moses didn’t actually write the Pentateuch, he was still the right person to be considered for its authorship. Isn’t he? Can we suggest anyone else other than giving Moses the credit?

I am convinced the present form of Pentateuch was not written by Moses per se. It was highly probable that it came to its present form in c.700 BC but that still can’t actually prove that Moses didn’t have anything to do with the early writing of the Torah. My guess is even if Moses didn’t actually pen the Torah himself, he would still be an important source for the oral tradition.

The source criticism of how the Torah (JEPD) came together is interesting. I’d keep this in view until I am able to read the entire OT in Hebrew proficiently, otherwise, whatever information I get remains as information instead of knowledge.

What causes the downfall?

About a month ago I read about Blockbuster filed for chapter 11 (bankruptcy), and today the Crystal Cathedral suffered the same fate. The former a home entertainment giant and the latter a mega church, though two different industries, the cause of their downfall is the same, failing to respond to cultural change (not market demand).

This should alert those who are involving in church planting or planning. What is church and what should be the 21st century church?

Contextualization of the Lord's Supper

A missionary in our class shared yesterday how the Indians contextualize the Lord's Supper. As coconut is commonly used in nearly all Hindus religious occasions, so the converted Hindus use coconut as sacrament element in the Eucharist (Holy Communion).

Instead of breaking bread, they break the coconut. They drink the coconut water and eat its flesh in remembrance of the Lord's suffering for the world. This, perhaps, is one of its kinds of contextualization - read into the text for its original meaning vs. bring its meaning into the context.

Hebrews 10:35-36

Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. (New Living Translation)

What is right for me, Lord?

After selecting the right college or university, the next thing was selecting the right major. Some students might not have any problem in deciding what major or degree to pursue, others however took some time to pick a major. This happened to our elder daughter Hannah two years ago. Initially she decided to be a CPA but changed her mind later after few dental visits. She said she finally found out what she wants to do. After committing herself to do dentistry, she miraculously felt at peace, she said.

This time Ariel was in the same situation. Choosing a right major in college was too overwhelming for her. She had many sleepless nights. Each time when she confronted with the question of which major to declare, she would not know what to decide on.

Ariel enjoys drawing and is the most artistic member in the family. She likes designing and at the same time she excels in physics and calculus. Her dream is to become an architect but after much prayer and talks with a number of persons about her future career in architecture, she never received any positive affirmation. Many people suggested engineering instead.

I went over some research with Ariel and encouraged her to talk to few more people in the field of architecture and engineering and prayed fervently together with her seeking God’s divine guidance on this matter. Although, till now, we still don’t have a very clear answer from God as what exactly will be best for her, one thing we know for sure was architecture is not for her. We are thankful anyway for the American university system which permits freshman to enroll undeclared – without declaring a major.

Our second campus visit: University of California, Irvine

UC Irvine has a very large campus but one could hardly get lost during the tour. The university's buildings (undergraduate schools) were built in a circle around a park situated in the center of the campus. If you were lost, just go round the campus and you'd find your way out.

This is the Aldrich Park - the nucleus of the main campus surrounded by all the undergraduate buildings

Part of the view of one of the campus housings

We're very happy with the tour. Our tour guides were really cool, especially the one who led us to see the student housing. We spent nearly an entire afternoon there. I actually hoped that Ariel would satisfy with this university after all UC Irvine provides her with what she needs financially.

But Ariel being Ariel, she'd not simply settle for something which she wasn't really sure. She insisted that I should take her to visit another two universities in Northern California in her spring break before she made a decision. Honestly, I don't mind spending two or three days going up north with her, but the sad thing was I didn't have spring break. I guess spring break is only for schools run on semesters system. My seminary runs on quarters system. Weeks before the public schools had their spring break, we had already enjoyed ours. On the contrary, it was time for me to prepare for my mid-terms. So, how? Lord? She better prayed hard for herself and me.

"Spying" the promised land - our daughters' college

Unlike my daughters, I did not have the opportunity or privilege to tour a few universities before deciding which university would provide me with the best experience for the next four years of education and enlightenment.

In America, most people believe that choosing the right college is the first and most important step toward a good university education. So whenever possible, most concerned parents will no doubt jump at the opportunity of a campus visit. Some might even go out of their way to reschedule their busy appointments and business just so they can make it to the university’s open house tours.

Although reputation and prestige is one of the key factors of a student’s choice in selecting a college, it is not necessarily the decisive factor. Majors, degrees, locations, and campus size matter as well. Some say selecting a college is just like buying a car. If you are a true car lover and know about cars, you don’t just buy for the sake of brand name, you get what you really like.

While all these factors make sense to many of us, our daughters have another main concern before making their decision—whether they could receive financial help from the universities they applied to.

We truly thank God for His love and faithfulness in keeping His promises. Not only have both of our daughters been accepted into their choice of university, they were also awarded with scholarships and financial aids to cover their education needs.

Below are some pictures of the campuses that I visited with my daughters. Our first campus tour was to CSU Northridge: this is the first university which offered Ariel in-state tuition in early March.

 

 

To be honest, I actually like the campus and the people here. The campus and dorms are better than what I expected. People are friendly. Prospective students are warmly welcomed by both student-staff and advisors.

Is God reliable?

Going to college did not come easy for me. I worked for few years to save some money before I made that venture. Actually the amount of money I had with me then was not sufficient for college. I took the risk by faith trusting that my “new found” God would help me to get through it.

I was a young believer then. I had the faith to move mountains but I didn’t know how to ascertain God’s will. I believed with all my heart that if it’s the will of God to bless me to study overseas, then there would be nothing but success.

The problem I had at that time was how to know if it was indeed God’s will? I asked my colleague, who is a faithful Christian, this question and he simply told me if nobody objected my plan of going overseas to study, I should be quite sure it was a blessing from God. “God speaks through people,” he said.

I listened to my colleague and trusted in God without a doubt and there I was, after a few years of hardship and endurance, not only had I finished my degree with two majors faster than most students, but I was also blessed with two lovely daughters.

Now my daughters have grown up and they are ready to enter college this coming fall. All these years I thought I could be their provider so that they don’t have to go to college with the same experience I had before. I wanted to make their lives easier but God apparently had a different plan for us. It seems like God desires us to depend on Him rather than on our bank account.

I am a good financial planner and you don’t need to be a good mathematician either to calculate how much money is needed for two persons (excluding myself) to go to college. Whenever I thought about this matter, I was reluctant to comply with God’s will. I was not ready to give up my job. I told God to wait; I had responsibilities to fulfill. Look God, you don’t understand. I don’t mind going through the same experience like before, depending on you for provision, but who will take care of them?

I didn’t hear God said, “I will.” He just let me reasoned with Him and let me recalled all my past experiences with Him. I believed the Holy Spirit had guided me all along in my decision making process. He helped me to eventually see God’s purpose in my life—again I didn’t hear He said, “I will.” However, He led me to see God’s purpose. Since then, I knew I couldn’t continue with what I was doing anymore for God, my heavenly Father, wants me to walk in accordance with His will.

I don’t know right now what the future will hold for me but if God pursues you, you better don’t be like Jonah thinking that you can escape. God, as we see in the Bible, sometimes sends a pursuer to go after the one He calls till the person surrenders to Him. The pursuer can be in any form; it need not necessary be a big fish, sometimes it is that little whisper that will get your attention. It all depends on how long you want to play hide and seek with Him.

Scripture to ponder: Matthew 7:9-11
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!