It is based on a story in Luke 24 in which two discouraged people are lamenting the fact that after Jesus’ death he will be unable to redeem Israel. Jesus shows up, though they do not recognize him. They explain why they are sad, but Jesus scolds them for their anemic faith. Eventually, Jesus explicates the Jewish scripture regarding his mission. They finally recognize Jesus when they “break bread” after inviting Jesus to stay with them.

The story comes from Acts 12. It is a story which features the martyrdom of James the brother of John, followed by the rescue of Peter from jail and his possible martyrdom. It is an interesting juxtaposition of two very different outcomes for members of the church. Herod gets his just desserts from God, but no gloating is appropriate when this happens, for most of the tyrants of this world have been able to inflict human misery with impunity.

This is a strange story in which King Saul induces a female medium to conjure up the “ghost” of the Prophet Samuel, who obviously had died. Because this sort of occult activity was not allowed in Israel, Saul had previously expelled mediums, wizards, and the like. Still, there was some of this kind of activity going on. Saul went to Endor in disguise to see whether he could communicate with Samuel the prophet. He was successful, in a sense, but only received bad news. This “truth story” is most sobering.

In this final episode Balaam continues to bless Israel, but also manages to “curse” their enemies, thus reversing what the enemies wanted to happen originally. As I comment on this story, I draw a few conclusions, including how one should regard a story with a talking ass!

In this episode, Balaam finally “sees” the angel that had been blocking his way, only to be told that the ass had saved his life. When Balaam finally was poised to speak to Israel, he did not curse but bless—twice. Of course, King Balak was irate. Still, the stubborn king did not give up thinking that Balaam would come through in the end. He may have been delusional, but he cannot be accused of giving up easily.

The story is found in the Book of Numbers, chapters 22 through 24. In this story the King of Moab tries to hire someone to curse Israel, which is on the way to the Promised Land. Balaam is the man for the job; at least, that is what the King of Moab thinks. Balaam ends up going with the delegation the king sent, but with strict orders to follow God’s lead. Inexplicably, God gets angry with Balaam even though he was being obedient. What God became an obstacle to Balaam, not only did his ass “see” God’s angel, but even “spoke” about it. It is a bizarre, but compelling story.

The parable is found in Luke 15. Often treated as a stand alone story, in fact it is in a sequence of three parables Jesus told in response to people grumbling that he received and ate with tax collectors and sinners. The first parable is about a man who lost one of a hundred sheep, went to find it and carried it home rejoicing. The second parable was about a woman who lost one of ten coins, but unrelentingly searched till she found it. She was also thrilled. The third story is about the prodigal son, but the emphasis is on the gracious father and the angry elder brother.

The second part features God fostering discord between the people of Shechem and King Abimelech, even though they first supported his rise to power. Though he wins in an initial skirmish, even burning down the city and the tower in which the remaining citizens were hiding, in the end King Abimelech was killed when he attacked another city, Thebez. This time his fate when an unnamed woman threw a millstone at his head, a stone that evokes the “one stone” on which he had originally killed 70 of this half-siblings. Abimelech’s ruthless use of power ultimately sealed his own fate.

This episode features one of the strongest statements anywhere in the Bible about the power that undergirds politics. No wonder! Abimelech’s elevation to the throne was based on his ability to murder 70 siblings. Only one survived this massacre, Jotham, who is responsible for the anti-politics diatribe when he tells the Parable of the Trees.

The story appears in Genesis 11. At first, it seems misplaced because many languages are spread throughout the world in Genesis 10, whereas in 11 there is only one language, few words, and everyone occupies the same space. Context suggests a different reading of chapters 10 and 11; they are to be read simultaneously, not sequentially. As well, the Babel story is the gateway to the rest of the Bible.