In reading the Psalms, we easily miss the little Psalms. Instead, our time and our meditation get caught up in the acrostic grandeur of Psalm 119 or the penitent piety of Psalm 51 or the emotional agony of Psalm 22 or 73. How is a short, three verse Psalm supposed to compete with these massive masterpieces? But sometimes this littleness belies the Psalm’s usefulness, for example in the case of Psalm 134.
Continue reading “What Ancient Temple Workers Would Have Us Learn Today”Category: Bible: Commentary, Intertextuality, Exposition
Are Rack, Shack, and Benny Really Protagonists?
Those privileged souls who grew up in the American church in the late 90s and early 2000s remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and a fiery furnace from Daniel 3 by means of the Veggie Tales episode Rack, Shack, and Benny. The details of this masterpiece of Christian cinema1 are irrelevant to my discussion here. Instead what I care about is the impression the young viewer received of the story of Daniel 3. And that impression can be summarized very easily by describing what I believe most people think is the plot of Daniel 3: Three Hebrew lads are in captivity in Babylon. When the Babylonian emperor tries to make the whole nation bow before a gold statue, they refuse, the evil emperor throws them in a super hot furnace, the lads are preserved by God and walk out of the furnace, the evil emperor says some nice stuff about how great their God must be. What is the takeaway? Stand strong against government tyranny and practice your faith even when the government (or your friends) says not to!
Revisiting Amos 5:24
Especially since 2018, apparently the most popular post on this blog is a short piece I wrote in the spring of 2016 on interpreting Amos 5:24. In that post, I argued, on the basis of the context in Amos as a book and Amos 5 as a chapter, that the popular understanding of Amos 5:24 as a hortatory call for the practice of justice is incorrect, and that the verse was intended as a call for judgment on Israel. Because of the popularity of the post and because of the confusion that commenters seem to have about why I wrote the post, I want to send this as an update.
Continue reading “Revisiting Amos 5:24”Jeremiah’s Failed Messiah
In the last post we talked about the theme of shepherds in Jeremiah. This sets up for a drama in Jeremiah 38–39: Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, is their shepherd. How will he fare when Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem?
Continue reading “Jeremiah’s Failed Messiah”Good Shepherds and Bad Shepherds: Jeremiah and John 10
In the Old Testament, one of the most common imageries for a leader or king is that of a shepherd. Kings and their people are viewed like shepherds and their flock; defenseless nations are like sheep without a shepherd. Jeremiah uses this imagery frequently, more so than any other of the prophets. Jeremiah’s use of the shepherd king is an easy way to come to understand the Old Testament concept of the shepherd king.
Continue reading “Good Shepherds and Bad Shepherds: Jeremiah and John 10”Why Young Christians Should Read Isaiah
Since the very beginning of this blog, I’ve advocated that perhaps the common emphasis I see on having new believers read the New Testament is less than ideal. The argument I’ve heard is that the New Testament explains the basic theology that new Christians need. My response has always been two-fold. First, the New Testament is incredibly dependent on the Old Testament. Since the same God wrote both, the requisite theology for understanding the God of the New Testament is developed in the Old Testament. As a pastor recently tweeted:
Continue reading “Why Young Christians Should Read Isaiah”Bloodless Atonement?
One of the doctrines of the gospel that will be familiar to readers of this blog is that of Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement by his blood. In the protestant doctrine of the Reformation, blood propitiates God’s wrath toward sin. Indeed, the author of Hebrews tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb 9:22). However, Leviticus 5:11–13 seems to contradict this rule.
Continue reading “Bloodless Atonement?”No One Snatches from My Hand: Jesus’ Reference to Isaiah 43:13
From the very beginning of this blog, I have stressed the importance of Christian’s knowing their Old Testament well. The Old Testament, after all, forms 78% of the Bible by word count. Indeed, many Bible scholars have estimated that somewhere around 10% of the New Testament is quotations or allusions to the Old Testament.1 Because of this, many of the confusing or mysterious points in the New Testament can actually be understood (or when clear, understood more fully) in the context of the Old Testament. One example that many Christians would probably never expect is Jesus’ statement that no one can snatch from his Father’s hand in John 10:29.
Continue reading “No One Snatches from My Hand: Jesus’ Reference to Isaiah 43:13”You Should Witness to Yourself
Normally when Christians think of the idea of witnessing, they think of the version of the Great Commission in Acts 1:8.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The idea here is that Christians serve as witnesses to others of the person and work of Jesus Christ, his gospel, and the implied call to respond in personal faith and repentance. And this is of course biblical and good and the primary idea of evangelistic witnessing in the New Testament.
Continue reading “You Should Witness to Yourself”The Right Hand of Our Firm Foundation
I’m pretty sure the imagery of the hymn How Firm a Foundation primarily draws from Isaiah 40–48. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the second verse, which is a paraphrase of Isaiah 41:10. Since the hymn was written in 1787, perhaps the best way to see this parallel is to compare the second verse to the King James Version of Isaiah 41:10.
Continue reading “The Right Hand of Our Firm Foundation”
Citizens & Sons 