Religion homework readings response

Israelite Healthcare and the Jesus Model

Genesis 17.23 -18.5. Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his

money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that

very day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety -nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of

his foreskin. And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

That very day Abraham and his so n Ishmael were circumcised; and all the men of his house, slaves born in the

house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. The LORD appeared to

Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and

saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed

down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water

be brou ght, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may

refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.’

Exodus 7.3. “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”

Leviticus 14 . The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his

cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest; the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an

examination. If the disease is healed in the leprous person, the priest shall command that two living clean birds

and cedar wood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed. The priest shall

command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vess el. He shall take the living bird

with the cedar wood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the

bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be

clean sed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the

open field. The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in

water, and he shall be clean. Aft er that he shall come into the camp, but shall live outside his tent for seven

days. On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then

he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. On the eighth day he shall take two

male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, and a grain -offering of three -

tenths of an ephah 1 of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. The priest who cleanse s shall set the

person to be cleansed, along with these things, before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The priest

shall take one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt -offering, along with the log of oil, and raise them as an

elevation -off ering before the Lord. He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin -offering and the burnt -

offering are slaughtered in the holy place; for the guilt -offering — like the sin -offering — belongs to the priest: it

is most holy. The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt -offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear

of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. The priest

shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his o wn left hand, and dip his right finger in the oil

that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. Some of the oil that

remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleans ed, and on the thumb of

the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt -offering. The rest of the oil in

the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement on hi s

behalf before the Lord: the priest shall offer the sin -offering, to make atonement for the one to be cleansed from

his uncleanness. Afterwards he shall slaughter the burnt -offering; and the priest shall offer the burnt -offering

and the grain -offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf and he shall be clean.

But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt -offering to be elevated, to

make atonement on his behalf, and one -tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain -offering,

and a log of oil; also two turtle -doves or two pigeons, such as he can afford, one for a sin -offering and the other

for a burnt -offering.

1 An ancient dry measure roughly equivalent to a bushel (about 64 pints). 21 Numbers 4 -9. From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but

the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you

brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this

miserable food.’ 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that

many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and

against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. 8And

the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at

it and live.’ 9So Moses made a serpent of bronze, a nd put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone,

that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

1 Samuel 5 . When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; then the

Philistines took the ark of G od and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. When the

people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the

Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But whe n they rose early on the next morning, Dagon

had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were

lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests o f Dagon and

all who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. The hand of the

Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumours, both in Ashdod and

in its territory. And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, ‘The ark of the God of

Israel must not remain with us; for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.’ So they sent and gathered

together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ The

inhabitants of Gath replied, ‘Let the ark of God be moved on to us.’ So they moved the ark of the God of Israel

to Gath. But after they had brought it to Gath, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great

panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city, both young and old, so that tumours broke out on them. So they sent

the ark of the God of Israel to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out,

‘Why have they brou ght across to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people?’ They sent therefore

and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it

return to its own place, that it may not kil l us and our people.’ For there was a deathly panic throughout the

whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there; those who did not die were stricken with tumours, and the

cry of the city went up to heaven.

2 Chronicles 26.16 -21. But when he [King Uzz iah] had become strong he grew proud, to his destruction. For

he was false to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to make offering on the altar of incense.

But the priest Azariah went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valour; they

withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to make offering to the Lord, but for the

priests the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offering. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have

done wrong, and it will bring you no honour from the Lord God.’ Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer

in his hand to make offering, and when he became angry with the priests a leprous disease broke out on his

forehead, in the presence of the priests in the house of t he Lord, by the altar of incense. When the chief priest

Azariah, and all the priests, looked at him, he was leprous in his forehead. They hurried him out, and he himself

hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him. King Uzziah was leprous to the da y of his death, and being

leprous lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. His son Jotham was in charge

of the palace of the king, governing the people of the land.

Selections from Job.

One day the heavenly beings came to present themse lves before the Lord, and the Accuser also came among

them. The Lord said to the Accuser, ‘Where have you come from?’ The Accuser answered the Lord, ‘From

going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ The Lord s aid to the Accuser, ‘Have you

considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God

and turns away from evil.’ Then the Accuser answered the Lord, ‘D oes Job fear God for nothing? Have you not

put a fenc e around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his

hands, and his possession s have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your fa ce.’ The Lord s aid to the Accuser, ‘Very well, all that he has is in your power;

only do not stre tch out your hand against him!’… After all of Job’s family and flocks are killed : The Lord said

to the Accuser, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and

upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me

against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ Then the Accuser answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people

have they will give to save their lives. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he

will curse you to your face.’ The Lord said to the Accuser, ‘Very well, he is in yo ur power; only spare his life.’

So the Accuser went out from the presence of the Lord, and

inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the

crown of his head. Job took a potsherd with which to scrape

himself, and sat among the ashes. After Job is visited by three

friends who are convinced that Job's suffering is a punishment

for his sin because — they believe — God does not cause innocent

suffering. They advise him to repent, which angers him because

he does not believe that God would cause an innocent person to

suffer : ‘As for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are

worthless physicians. If you would only keep silent, that would

be your wisdom! … I have heard many such things; miserable

comforters are you all. ”

Isaiah 38 .1-6. In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of

Amoz came to him, and said , ‘Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not

recover.’ Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wal l, and prayed : ‘Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I

have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ And

Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the

Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years

to yo ur life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.

Mark 1 . The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet

Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ah ead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying

out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" 4 John the baptizer appeared in the

wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins . 5 And people from the whole

Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river

Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist,

and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, "The one who is

more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down

and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 9 I n those days Jesus came from

Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just

as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and

the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from

heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was

in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild

beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John w as arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying,

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and

believe in the good news." 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he

saw Simon and his brot her And rew casting a net into the sea — for they

were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make

you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed

Figure 1: Job's Tormentors, by William Blake. him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat

mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired

men, and followed him. 21 They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagog ue

and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the

scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclea n spirit, 24 and he cried out, “ What have

you to do with us, Jesus of N azareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know wh o you are, the Holy One of

God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit,

convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all am azed, and they kept on

asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and

they obey him." 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 29 As soon

as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's

mother -in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the

hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they

brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the

door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not

permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up

and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37

When they found him, they sai d to him, "Everyone is searching for you." 38 He answered, "Let us go on to the

neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." 39 And he

went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synago gues and casting out demons. 40 A leper came

to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity,

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" 42 Immedi ately

the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying

to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to

the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses

commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he

went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to

spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go

into a town openly, but stayed out in the country;

and people came to him from every quarter .

Mark 2 When he returned to Capernaum after some

days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So

many gathered around that there was no longer room

for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to t hem. 3 Then some people came,

bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus

because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat

on which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 "Why does

this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sin s but God alone?"

8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions

among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your

hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven, ' or to say,

'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of

Man has autho rity on earth to forgive sins” — he said to the paralytic — 11“ I say to

you, stand up, tak e your mat and go to your home.” 12 And he stood up, and

imme diately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all

amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" 13 Jesus

went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught

them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax

booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disc iples --

for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with

sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17

When Jesus heard this, he said to th em, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are

sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."…

M ark 3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

2 They watched him to see whether he woul d cure him on the Sabbath , so that they

might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come

forward." 4 Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath ,

to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. 5 H e looked around at them with anger; he

was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He

stretched it out, and his hand was restored…

Mark 5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And

when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an

unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs; an d no one could restrain him

any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he

wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and

day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When

he saw Jesus from a distan ce, he ran and bowed down before him; 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice,

"What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." 8

For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" 9 T hen Jesus asked, "What is your name?"

He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." 10 He begged him not to send them out of the country. 11

Now on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12 and the unclean spirits begged, "Send us into the

swi ne; let us enter them." 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the

swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the bank in to the

sea, and were drowned . 14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the cit y and in the

country. Then people came to see what happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw

the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had

the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the

demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave

their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been

possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused,

and said to him, "G o home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has

done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." 20 And he went away and began

to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was

amazed. 21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd

gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came

and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "My daughter is at the point of dea th.

Come and lay your hands on her, so she may be made well, and live." 24 So he went with him. And a large

crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been

suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many

physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew

worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and

touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well ." 29

Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of

her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned

in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him,

"You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 He

looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had

happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told the truth. 34 He said , "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 35 While he

was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the

teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what th ey said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear,

only believe." 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38

When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, peop le weeping and wailing

loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not

dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and

mother and those w ho were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to

her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk

about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were ov ercome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered that no

one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 7. ...From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want

anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an

unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.

26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast

the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is

not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered him,

"Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he said to her,

"For saying that, you may go --the demon has left your daughter." 30 So she went home,

found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then he returned from the

region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of

the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his

speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private,

away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his

tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, " Ephphatha ," that is, "Be opened." 35 And

immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them

to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the m ore zealously they proclaimed it.

Mark 8 In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and

said to them, 2 "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have

not hing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way --and some of them have

come from a great distance." 4 His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the

desert?" 5 He asked, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." 6 Then he ordered the c rowd to sit

down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his

disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd .

Mark 12 … They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus

son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he

began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of Davi d, have mercy on me!" 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet,

but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 Jesus stood still and said, "Call him

here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is cal ling you." 50 So throwing off

his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." 52 Jesus said to

him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Im mediately he regained his sight

and followed him on the way.