The Lamentations of Jeremaiah is kind of an extension of the Book of Jeremaiah. It's like the epilogue, in five chapters.
After Jerusalem and the holy temple are destroyed in the 6th Century, BCE, Jeremaiah takes off to a cave outside Damascus and writes this poetic lament for the city and its people. "My sighs are many, and my heart is faint." -- Lamentations 1:22
Damn those Babylonians. Damn them!
But then, there is hope, in the least likely of places: "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." -- Lamentations 3:21-24
I wasn't expecting Jeremaiah to offer this kind of message. But then again, he ends with this:
"The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim." -- Lamentations 5:15-17
I think Lamentations can be summed up thus: God is very wroth. He will show mercy... but not yet.
**NEXT: Ezekiel
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Jeremiah
"Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." -- Jeremiah 4:4
Finished the Book of Jeremiah tonight. All 52 very, very long chapters. Basically, the prophet Jeremiah laments the Jews' lack of obedience to God and keeps warning them to smarten up, but they won't listen. Jeremiah warns of fire and pestilence and destruction. Sure enough, the Babylonians wreak havoc on Judah.
Mostly the language was confusing and repetitive and the narrative boring. I really hope the rest of the prophets have more to say and report on. They're all more succinct in their writing, though, their books being much shorter, so at least it won't take as long to read any of the others.
**NEXT: Lamentations
Finished the Book of Jeremiah tonight. All 52 very, very long chapters. Basically, the prophet Jeremiah laments the Jews' lack of obedience to God and keeps warning them to smarten up, but they won't listen. Jeremiah warns of fire and pestilence and destruction. Sure enough, the Babylonians wreak havoc on Judah.
Mostly the language was confusing and repetitive and the narrative boring. I really hope the rest of the prophets have more to say and report on. They're all more succinct in their writing, though, their books being much shorter, so at least it won't take as long to read any of the others.
**NEXT: Lamentations
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Isaiah
Finshed the Book of Isaiah today, which, I'd say can be summed up neatly with the line:
"Though meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved." -- Isaiah 64:5
Of the 66 chapters in this book, the vast majority are kind of a downer because they're all about how bad God's people have been, and how they should fear his wrath. I'm sure anyone who might have seen me reading this book would have noted my furrowed brow. It's a very serious, maybe ominous book, in contrast especially to a book like Ecclesiastes, which is so much more light and hopeful. Then again, Isaiah is not without hope, too:
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." -- Isaiah 40:31
"Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." -- Isaiah 60:1
Next is Jeremiah, another fairly long read, at 52 chapters. There are another 15 or so prophets to read before the New Testament, which I am more and more eager to read.
**NEXT: Jeremiah
"Though meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved." -- Isaiah 64:5
Of the 66 chapters in this book, the vast majority are kind of a downer because they're all about how bad God's people have been, and how they should fear his wrath. I'm sure anyone who might have seen me reading this book would have noted my furrowed brow. It's a very serious, maybe ominous book, in contrast especially to a book like Ecclesiastes, which is so much more light and hopeful. Then again, Isaiah is not without hope, too:
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." -- Isaiah 40:31
"Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." -- Isaiah 60:1
Next is Jeremiah, another fairly long read, at 52 chapters. There are another 15 or so prophets to read before the New Testament, which I am more and more eager to read.
**NEXT: Jeremiah
Monday, August 8, 2011
Long Run (21 km)
Yesterday my brother and I ran two laps around Burnaby Lake (10.6 km X 2) in 1:56 -- faster than my official half-marathon race time (2:06). I'm getting faster.
There was only one problem with yesterday's workout. I started geting stomach/gut cramps around the 3/4 mark, and when I got home I had really bad diarrhea. Really bad. Like, hanging my head over the bathtub in case I puked, bad. And then I lay shivering on the cold tiles beside the toilet until I fell asleep and then woke up an hour later and finally dragged myself to bed. What the hell that was about, I don't know, but I sure hope it was something I ate and not just because of running.
'Cause if running's going to give me the runs, then I'm going to have to find a new sport. So gross. Then again, there's only eight weeks to go till the marathon, so maybe... maybe... it's worth a little tummy trouble.
There was only one problem with yesterday's workout. I started geting stomach/gut cramps around the 3/4 mark, and when I got home I had really bad diarrhea. Really bad. Like, hanging my head over the bathtub in case I puked, bad. And then I lay shivering on the cold tiles beside the toilet until I fell asleep and then woke up an hour later and finally dragged myself to bed. What the hell that was about, I don't know, but I sure hope it was something I ate and not just because of running.
'Cause if running's going to give me the runs, then I'm going to have to find a new sport. So gross. Then again, there's only eight weeks to go till the marathon, so maybe... maybe... it's worth a little tummy trouble.
Friday, August 5, 2011
New Training Plan
It's hard to run 32 km when no one's holding you accountable. Not being in a training clinic, I've let myself skip a couple of the long weekend runs, and now I think I need to change my training schedule to make up for it.
My brother came up with a simple plan. We're going to run 10 miles (17 km) this weekend, and keep adding 2 miles each week until two weeks before the race (20 miles, 33 km), and do just two 10 km runs during the week (Tues/Thurs) as base runs. He said it worked for him before when he ran the Washington D.C. Marines Corps Marathon, so I'm going to go with this. There's only 10 weeks to go before race day, and I definitely don't feel like I'm on track, so I'm going to have to step it up.
It really is more difficult to train on my own than with a club. But if I just put in the time, I should get there. At this point I'm just focusing on crossing the finish line, not on making any stellar time.
My brother came up with a simple plan. We're going to run 10 miles (17 km) this weekend, and keep adding 2 miles each week until two weeks before the race (20 miles, 33 km), and do just two 10 km runs during the week (Tues/Thurs) as base runs. He said it worked for him before when he ran the Washington D.C. Marines Corps Marathon, so I'm going to go with this. There's only 10 weeks to go before race day, and I definitely don't feel like I'm on track, so I'm going to have to step it up.
It really is more difficult to train on my own than with a club. But if I just put in the time, I should get there. At this point I'm just focusing on crossing the finish line, not on making any stellar time.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Long Run (1:15)
Met my brother at Burnaby Lake this morning for a run around the trails. It was a good, fast run. I was kind of annoyed he wanted to stop midway for a banana, but then, that's what having a running buddy is all about. Compromising. I stop all the time to pee, so I guess it's only fair. It was hot (we both had slept in and ended up running until around noon) but I had water with me this time. Granted, it was warm, but it went down smooth.
Next Sunday the schedule calls for a three-hour run. Mother of Pearl. I've never run that long ever. Not even close. The longest was 2:15 and that made me feel like a war hero. I half expected someone to hand me a medal when I got back to my car at Stanley Park. Nope. If they were staring it wasn't out of admiration but probably concern for my blotchy purple complexion and pained facial expressions. I don't know how I'm going to get through three hours. And my brother's going to be in Chicago, so it's just me and my own thoughts. Maybe I'll download a book on tape. Maybe War & Peace.
Next Sunday the schedule calls for a three-hour run. Mother of Pearl. I've never run that long ever. Not even close. The longest was 2:15 and that made me feel like a war hero. I half expected someone to hand me a medal when I got back to my car at Stanley Park. Nope. If they were staring it wasn't out of admiration but probably concern for my blotchy purple complexion and pained facial expressions. I don't know how I'm going to get through three hours. And my brother's going to be in Chicago, so it's just me and my own thoughts. Maybe I'll download a book on tape. Maybe War & Peace.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Song of Solomon
Read the Song of Solomon today. If you ask me, it's a bit of a letdown after the awesome Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. I don't really understand who's narrating half the time because it seems there's a female and a male narrator who keep switching off, talking about how much they love each other. You'd think there'd be some amazing verses full of gorgeous poetry, but nothing really stood out for me. It's only eight chapters long, though, so at least it doesn't drag like some of the earlier books that go on forever with the whole lineage of Jehosawhathisface thrown in for good measure.
Solomon is one of the less understood books in the Bible. Nobody knows who penned this one. According to Wikipedia it may have been Solomon himself, or some other person or people. Which pretty much means it could have been anyone. Whether it's literally a man and a woman talking, or whether it's supposed to be God and the people of Isreal (Jewish tradition) or Christ and the Church (Christian tradition), or something else entirely, also seems to remain a mystery.
I guess this is where people start arguing about the real meaning of the Bible, when you get to parts like this. Actually, I think it must be really interesting to be a biblical scholar and get to delve into the mysteries of this ancient text. Next is Isaiah. It's another longer one, so I hope it's as good as Proverbs. Not holding my breath though. I don't think I've heard any songs based on this book.
**NEXT: Isaiah
Solomon is one of the less understood books in the Bible. Nobody knows who penned this one. According to Wikipedia it may have been Solomon himself, or some other person or people. Which pretty much means it could have been anyone. Whether it's literally a man and a woman talking, or whether it's supposed to be God and the people of Isreal (Jewish tradition) or Christ and the Church (Christian tradition), or something else entirely, also seems to remain a mystery.
I guess this is where people start arguing about the real meaning of the Bible, when you get to parts like this. Actually, I think it must be really interesting to be a biblical scholar and get to delve into the mysteries of this ancient text. Next is Isaiah. It's another longer one, so I hope it's as good as Proverbs. Not holding my breath though. I don't think I've heard any songs based on this book.
**NEXT: Isaiah
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