Why Do We Have 'Weeks' on Our Calendar?

What were you doing last week?

Week.

Week.

Week?

Have you ever wondered why we have weeks?

Why count off seven days and then start counting again?

Well, in anticipation of the startling answer, here's some stuff you already know.

Day: The day is based on the earth's rotation on its axis. One cycle, one day.

Month: The month is associated with the lunar cycle, the complete cycle from one 'new moon' to the next, about 29.53 days. (Try putting that on the calendar....)

Seasons: The four seasons are based on specific transition days as the earth orbits the sun. 

• The first day of spring is called the vernal equinox, when day and night are equal in length during the period in which the days are getting longer. 
• The first day of summer is the longest day of the year. 
• The first day of fall is the autumnal equinox, when day and night are equal in length during the period in which days are getting shorter. 
• The first day of winder is the shortest day of the year.

Year: The year is based on the earth's orbit around the sun, 365 1/4 days, to be almost exact.

Calendars: Mankind has spent a great deal of time devising calendars to mark time and set future observances of special days (holidays, or holy days). It seems that people are almost obsessed with organizing a calendar that keeps months aligned with the seasons. The trouble is those pesky fractions that throw things off: A month is not exactly 29 days and a year is not exactly 365 days. Not only that, there's not an exact number of lunar cycles in a year. So, it is next to impossible to make the cycle of the calendar line up year after year. That's why we have leap years and months of varying numbers of days. (Now that's a tougher challenge than your usual 7th grade word problem on fractions.)

Without the adjustments, we would have fractions of days just hanging around somewhere in the space time continuum and then we would eventually have a year in which the longest day of the year was in the middle of January. Think about it: short sleeves on New Year's Eve and heavy coats on the 4th of July (or something like that). In any case, there's a whole lot of fraction finagling to get the calendar to work out the way it does.

And, by the way, our current calendar, the Gregorian calendar, is only one of many. Other calendars have been used in the past (Julian calendar, Mayan calendar) and some countries still have a traditional calendar (China) though most have adopted the Gregorian calendar.

Days, months, years.
Earth, moon, sun.

You noticed the glaring omission, right? 
The week.

Where does the 7-day week come in?
There is nothing on earth and nothing in the sky that suggests a 7-day cycle.

Some folks think it was the Babylonians who invented the week because they were fond of the number seven. That is rather speculative since their numbering system was based on the number 60. (It is probable that they gave us minutes and seconds by dividing the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds. These were based on their number system.)

So, is there a better explanation for the week?

Open the Bible to Genesis 2. God intentionally rested from his work of creation on the seventh day.

By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3)

Was God really tired? Did He need to rest?
I think it had more to do with God's care for mankind. Just look at the words of Jesus as He commented on the day of rest, the Sabbath:

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

Since the creation of the world God's intention has been for man to take a break from his work and rest. (The word 'Sabbath' actually means 'rest,' not seven.)

When you consider the biblical teaching about the Sabbath as a whole, it is clear that God wants man to rest on a regular basis and to think about Him. As a part of His creation sequence, He intentionally rested, and as a result, established a 7-day cycle called the week.

Have you ever noticed that cows never take a break from their task of eating grass. The neighbor's dog never takes a break from barking...all weekend long. Yes, it's true, animals sleep, some hibernate; some plants become dormant, but all living things continue tirelessly from day to day without stopping from their natural cycle. In great contrast, God actually gave mankind a gift so that he would not have to work endlessly. God gave man a 'sabbath' day, a day for rest and reflection on his Creator.

God invented the week; and that's why we have weeks on our calendar.

"I AM": Compassion

Childbirth...
The ears of the nurses ringing from the screaming voice of the 'lady in labor'...
     "Just get that thing out of me!!!"
Then, moments later the world is at peace with the mother's gentle coos...
     "She's so precious...the most beautiful baby in the world."
It can be somewhat amusing.

For the rest of her life a mother will experience pains of a different kind, pains emerging from deep within. I suppose most people have some understanding, but no one understands like a mother. It is the pain felt when one of her little ones scrapes a knee or cuts a finger. It is not mere emotion tugging at the heart, but rather, a true inner pain that hurts along with the child's pain. Dad's can feel the same kind of pain, just not, I think, quite like a mother.

That deep-seated inner feeling that aches when your own little one is hurt is something we call compassion.

Of all the words God used to describe himself, the word compassion, or mercy, is more descriptive of his emotional involvement with humanity than any other word. With that in mind, consider a wonderful description of God's compassion toward his child, Israel, from Psalm 78. First, a little background....

God delivered the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery through a dramatic display of miracles which ended with Israel crossing of the Red Sea on dry land. However, after only a few days, the singing and dancing of a freed nation turned into complaining.
     The people were thirsty;
     The people were hungry. 

God was angry with the people for their lack of faith. Having seen His mighty hand of deliverance they should have realized that He would also be their provider. Yet, they doubted. Their complaining continued and they ultimately sank into idolatry. Over and over the people failed so that the description was written:

     Their hearts were not loyal to him.
     They did not keep his covenant.
     --Psalm 78:37 (NLT)

Yet, in spite of their weak faith, God responded with compassion:

     Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins
        and did not destroy them all.
     Many times he held back his anger
        and did not unleash his fury!
     For he remembered that they were merely mortal,
        gone like a breath of wind that never returns.
     --Psalm 78:38-39 (NLT)

God's was compassionate when faithless Israel deserved anger and wrath. God would have been justified in destroying them for their complaining and idolatry. There was nothing they could do to redeem themselves; nothing that they could offer to make amends. There was no 'undo.' Their only chance for survival was a deep 'motherly' love that would move God to act with kindness instead of justice. They needed compassion.


And God responded with compassion. It is tempting to say that He responded 'in spite of' their weakness, but in reality it was 'because of their weakness.' So it is with us today.

A mother's compassion is merely an illustration of God's compassion. It is God who gives meaning to compassion.

God is compassionate as a part of his divine nature. He does not try to show compassion. It is not 'second' nature. He does not wrestle in his inner will until compassion wins out over something else.  God is, in Himself, by nature, full of compassion. It is just who He is.

God extends compassion when it is not deserved, when justice calls for rejection, judgment, or even death. God could have said to Moses, "I AM who I am; I am compassion."

Oh wait . . . He did!

     The LORD God, compassionate....
     --Exodus 34:6

Is A.D. Here to Stay?

When were you born, full date?

You probably did not remember to use the abbreviation A.D. (Duh! Not necessary.) Yet, if you were writing the birth date of Alexander T. Great of Ancient Greece, you might want to use B.C.

So, just where did those abbreviations come from and what do they mean?

The easy part first...

(And a really cool conclusion at the end...where conclusions belong.)

You might remember their meanings from school days: 

     B.C. = Before Christ and 

     A.D. = [I almost put 'After Death' (of Christ)]

Tempting, but incorrect. If A.D. meant 'After Death' there would be no way to account for the years between the birth of Christ and his death. So, think Latin...

     A.D. = Anno Domini (meaning: in the year of the Lord.)

Obviously, folks in Ancient Rome could not use B.C. Christ had not yet been born, so they could not know how many years it was 'before Christ.' (Not only that, they were not really interested in Christ.) Yet, they had a calendar, in fact, several calendars. In fact, civilizations have been counting days and years as long as there have been days and years. In fact, there have been many calendars in many countries through the ages. In fact, that is one reason why it is so difficult to figure out the specific dates for ancient events and the dates when ancient people lived.

OK. OK. Enough of that.

So, when did the B.C. and A.D. get started?

It's complicated...REALLY complicated.

So, here's the short answer, oversimplified.

We know that A.D. means 'in the year of our Lord' and that it is a reference to Jesus Christ. However, the early Christians were not the ones to start counting years this way. It would not be until 525 A.D. that an Italian monk named Dionysius Exiguus invented a calendar system that began counting days based on the birth of Christ. Even then, his calendar was not widely accepted, not until the 11th century.

And if you didn't know, his calendar was off track from the beginning. Though the Bible tells us that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, 'Dion the monk' started his calendar after Herod's death. OOPS! Nevertheless, it did finally catch on. (That's why most scholars agree that Jesus was actually born between 8 B.C. and 4 B.C.)

The calendar we use today is an adjusted version of the Dionysius calendar, adjusted to account for not using leap years for centuries. Our calendar replaced the Julian calendar, named for Julius Caesar, and is called the Gregorian calendar, named for Pope Gregory XIII who ordained the calendar in 1582 A.D.

In recent years some scholarly folks started using B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) to replace B.C. and A.D. I've always thought it amusing that the 'Common Era' is still based on the birth of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it is clearly distasteful for some folks to say or write anything that references Christ.

But wait...

Do you see why some people would find the use of B.C. and A.D. so offensive?

Read on...

Really Cool Conclusion:

In ancient times special events were often dated according to the sitting king. Since ancient Israel and Judah did not have a nifty Julian calendar hanging on the palace wall things were dated by the king's reign. Other nations did the same thing. Here are a couple of examples...

At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. (2 Kings 18:10)

Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. (2 Kings 18:13)

Our current calendar year is A.D. 2018. Do you know why?
Our King lives.

You may have never thought about it, but A.D. 2018 is literally "in the 2,018th year of our Lord." I don't know how long this calendar will last, but my King is going to reign forever. Our calendar kind of reminds us of that...

"I AM": God's Divine Character

Do you remember signing yearbooks in high school? Do you remember the sentiment written almost as often as “Congrats” and “Good luck”?

“Stay the way your are.”

That was a friend’s way of saying that you were so cool, you just couldn’t get any better. You were fully accepted; complete; virtually perfect.

It was nice sentiment...but not long after graduation, we all discovered it to be quite unrealistic.

For one thing, kids are incomplete, imperfect. That’s why they are called kids and not adults. They don’t get out of high school or college and start at the top. There is an expectation of maturity from a state of immaturity.

Not only that, we cannot avoid change. We are human. We simply do not remain the same physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually, etc. It is a part of our human nature...change.

Did you know that God is changeless?

I can understand the word, but I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the idea. The very nature of God is different from our human nature. Don’t think of that as a fact...think about what it means. 

Stop. Think.

You may remember how Moses had been chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. During his preparatoin he said to God:

“Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

—Exodus 3:13-14

“I Am” doesn’t seem to be much of a name. Yet that is what God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.”

How do you think that struck their minds? How was that different from the gods of Egypt? Was it just clever word play?

The name ‘I AM’ sets God apart from humanity and distinguishes Him uniquely.

‘I AM’ means the same as ‘I exist.’ That separates God from all of creation which had a beginning. ‘I exist’ separates God from the restriction and passage of time and places Him in ageless eternity.

‘I AM’ suggests that God is not strictly associated with any one aspect of creation. He is God of the sun, but he is not confined as if he is only a 'sun-God.' He is God over all with no restriction based on time or place or any other created thing.

‘I AM’ suggests changelessness. God was not one way yesterday and in some way different today. Nor is He one way today and yet may be another way tomorrow.

‘I AM’ tells us that God does not improve; He does not need to improve. He is complete in Himself. He is perfect; flawless. To say that in His divine character He ‘was’ or ‘will be’ would be to suggest that there could be a point of comparison suggesting a difference. He was not, is not, and will not ever be inferior or superior to what He is.

‘I AM’ tells us that God is the definition. He gives meaning to all that exists. All things begin with God. All things are sustained by God. All things end with God.

Moses asked to see God’s face and God passed before Moses, but He first declared himself verbally to Moses. In our English Bibles His name appears as the word ‘lord’ presented in all capital letters: LORD. Read Exodus 34. Think of ‘I AM’ as a name.

Listen as God declared Himself to Moses by name in verse six:

     The printed text reads, "The LORD God...."

Now, read His name...not a sentence...and ponder and wonder...

‘I AM’...God...

An "Aha!" Moment: God

Setting: Seventh grade math class...back when I was a school teacher...
   Matt did not understand; I explained again.
   Matt still did not understand; I explained again.
   Matt STILL did not understand; I explained YET AGAIN!

   "Aha!"

It was an exciting moment for Matt, and a gratifying moment for me as his teacher: an "Aha!" moment. Clarity. Insight. Knowledge realized.

Have you ever had an "Aha!" moment when you came to a sudden new realization of something you already knew, or perhaps something you had been told but did not understand? It was not new knowledge, but previous knowledge that had a new, strong and sudden impact.

Young parents are often struck with surprise as they realize with new insight the love their parents had for them. They knew it all along, but as they experience the deep love for their child, they realize that their parents must have had a similar experience with them. "Aha!"

Can you imagine the "Aha!" moment for the Apostles when they realized that the Messiah was not setting up an earthly kingdom? Jesus had tried to tell them; no, he had told them, but they had not understood.

Jewish Pentecost: Fifty days after the Passover and the crucifixion of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles and they preached the gospel for the first time to a large Jewish crowd. What was it like when the Jews suddenly realized that Jesus of Nazareth WAS the prophesied Messiah? That they had crucified the Son of God!?

• Is your knowledge of God made up of teachings that have merely been handed down and accepted?
• Is the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Son of God simply a dry biblical fact?
• Is your salvation merely an exercise in holding to correct biblical doctrine?
• Is your religion comfortable, but lacking AWE? 
• Have you chosen an easy path just to get along with others?

Pause. Reflect.

• Are you a Christian who has never had an "Aha!" moment?
• Does the magnificence of God impress your mind?
• Does His creation bring about a sense of awe in your heart?
• Does the reality of his wrath, but also his forgiveness, affect your soul?

Is 'God' a comfortable belief or an awe-inspiring being that overwhelms you?

Will you appear before God standing upright or will you tremble to the ground on your knees...on your face?

How great and wonderful is your God?

Oh that we might lift our eyes to see His magnificence.

The LORD passed in front of him [Moses] and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."

And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. 

--Exodus 34:6-8

What Do You Think About the Virgin Birth?

There it was again. The online headline read: 

Nun receives death threats for suggesting Mary was not a virgin. 

The article told about the uproar caused when a Roman Catholic nun suggested that “Mary was in love with Joseph and that they were a normal couple—and having sex is a normal thing.” In a later interview she apologized for upsetting folks and added that she only wanted to say, “it wouldn’t shock me if she had a normal couple’s relationship with Joseph, her husband.” 

One author suggested that the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus was a tiresome issue. He asked his readers whether it would it really matter to them if Mary was not a virgin. (Reading between the lines: "Why do we need to bother with messy doctrine; why can't we just get along?")

The threats generated by the nun’s comment and the ambivalence shown by the author seem to represent extremes. So, is it just a tiresome doctrinal question that tends to cause arguments, or is it important to the Christian?

Before you answer, read this:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  —Matthew 1:18

What can you conclude from the phrase ‘before they came together’? What does the context tell you? 

Then, a few verses later (v. 23), Matthew quoted from Isaiah:

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”  --Isaiah 7:14

Clearly, Matthew intended for his readers to accept that Mary was a virgin. So, why all the fuss?

Some folks question whether Isaiah really meant virgin. (If not, then Matthew should not have used the Greek term for virgin.) Here are a couple of facts to consider:

• In Isaiah 7:14 the Hebrew term refers to a young girl. It does not necessarily indicate virginity.
• The Jewish rabbis did not view the prophecy from Isaiah to be a reference to the birth of their future Messiah. 

Let's think this through...

Isaiah’s prophecy was directed to an audience several centuries before Christ with an expected fulfillment related to their current situation. The prophecy did not necessarily indicate a virgin birth. However, the prophecy had a second fulfillment, something that the Jews did not expect, in Mary. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit Matthew wrote about this second fulfillment through Mary. And clearly, Matthew intended for his readers to understand that Mary WAS a virgin. So, the argument based on a ‘technical meaning of a Hebrew word’ proves nothing.

As for the expectation of the Jewish rabbis; remember, that the Jews expected the Messiah to rule an earthly kingdom. Yet, Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). So, Jewish interpretation of Old Testament prophecy was not always reliable.

I have observed that those who question whether Mary was a virgin generally discount a virgin birth miracle, discount the inspiration of the Scriptures, and are sloppy with their comparison of the Hebrew text of Isaiah and the text of Matthew. Read Matthew 1:18-25. What do you think it says about Mary?

Perhaps the real question is about one's attitude toward the Bible. After all, the Bible really settles the question about the virgin birth, that is, unless you don’t believe the Bible and divine inspiration or don’t accept miracles.

So, is the question of the virgin birth important? It is only as important as the validity of the Bible as God’s holy word!!