Bunny's Burrow: Hopping into Life

  Why Does YHWH Introduce Himself as Deliverer? One question has been following us on this blog since we opened Exodus 20.That question is why does YHWH introduce Himself by reminding Israel of the Exodus? Right? What a weird way to introduce ypurself given the time. If His authority rests on being Creator, why not simply begin there? Am I wrong? At first glance, the answer seems obvious. You probably are like because the Exodus had just happened.However, that answer only pushes the question back one step. Why does the covenant choose that event as its foundation?... Pause and keep an open mind. Just think... The more I read the Torah, the more I noticed something. The Exodus isn't just another story. It's the story Israel is told to remember. Again. And again. And again. A Pattern Hidden in Repetition One of the easiest ways to discover what matters in Scripture is to pay attention to repetition. I love patterns to an annoying degree. So ask yourself... What ideas keep return...

  Why Do the Ten Commandments Begin with Egypt Instead of Creation? Or if you ask people what I call: The Introduction We Rarely Notice Ask almost anyone why God has the authority to give the Ten Commandments, and the answer usually comes quickly. "Because He created everything." I think that it's a reasonable answer. If God is the Creator of the universe, then He has every right to establish moral law. ABSOLUTELY! That line of thinking has shaped Jewish and Christian theology for centuries. But that's not the question I want to ask. I want to ask a much simpler one. How does the text itself introduce the covenant? Not how later theology explains it. Not how we summarize it today. But how the covenant actually begins. Sometimes we've read familiar passages so many times that we stop hearing them... We forget to learn and only read. The opening of the Ten Commandments may be one of those passages. Before the first commandment is spoken... Before "You shall hav...

  Was the Ark Israel's Constitution? Rethinking the Center of the Covenant When most people think about the Ark of the Covenant, they picture a sacred object. Some picturethe spooky mystery. Some picture miracles. Miracles are cool. And others picture divine power contained inside a golden box. See we've been asking the wrong question... Instead of asking, "What was the Ark?" , perhaps we should ask, "What role did the Ark play?" That tiny little shift may seem small, but it changes the investigation entirely if you look back with modern eyes. Rather than beginning with supernatural assumptions, or what we have been told, let's begin with the biblical text itself and ask a simple question. What did the Ark actually do? Simple... IKR Looking at Function Before Symbolism Throughout this series, I've tried to follow one principle and will let you do like Peewee Herman and connect the dots. Or do not. That's the great thing about the USA. I have free...

  Part I: The Ark of the Covenant — More Than a Sacred Box Ask someone what the Ark of the Covenant was, and you'll likely hear one of two answers. Some imagine it as a supernatural weapon capable of destroying armies. Others picture it as a mysterious relic with untold power. My kid remembers it as what melted people in Indiana Jones. The Bible however, begins somewhere else. Before the Ark is ever carried into battle, before it rests in the Holy of Holies, before kings and prophets stand before it, Scripture tells us why it was built. Why is always important. People always forget the why. The answer isn't power. No... It's testimony. That single word changes how we understand not only the Ark, but the covenant itself. This little bit of knowledge can change your whole POV.  The First Command Concerning the Ark The first direct instruction we are told about what belongs inside the Ark is found in Exodus. Exodus 25:16 Hebrew וְנָתַתָּ אֶל־הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן א...

 There was once a village where every child received a pair of glasses on their seventh birthday. Some glasses made everything look brighter. Some made everything look darker. Some made people seem larger than life. Some made every flaw impossible to ignore. The children loved comparing whose glasses were best. Soon they stopped listening to each other because each was certain they were seeing the world as it truly was. One day an old lens maker arrived carrying a wooden box. Inside were empty frames. "No lenses?" the children laughed. "Oh, they're empty on purpose," the old maker said. "Before you choose how to see the world, you must first know that every lens changes what you see." The children didn't understand. So the maker took them to a hill overlooking the village. "Tell me what you see." "I see beautiful homes." "I see broken fences." "I see people working." "I see people struggling." Every...

I hope you're ready because we’re diving headfirst into the flaming dumpster fire that is American politics. It’s not just a mess right now it’s a motherfucking three-ring circus where the clowns are running the show. And at the center of it all? Donald J. Trump, the egomaniacal grifter who somehow conned half the country into thinking he actually gives a fuck about them or something... Trump isn’t a politician; he’s simply a glorified con artist with a cult following. He bulldozes through norms, shits  on democracy, and operates on a doctrine of self-worship. Some see it as ‘shaking up the system’; others call it what it is—burning the fu cker to the ground for his own gain. One thing’s for sure about Mr. Trump love him or hate him, he’s fucked up American politics in ways we’ll be dealing with for decades. The establishment... you know...those polished, suit-clad career politicians who play by a certain set of rules. Trump? He flips the table, sets it on fire, and then rage-tweet...