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Post by Admin on May 1, 2024 14:00:53 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Amos Allan Harman
4 Min Read We know very little about some of the prophets, but the book of Amos, like his contemporary, Isaiah, is different. Amos tells us at the very beginning of his book that he was from Tekoa, and that his ministry was directed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He dates it as being delivered two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king in Judah, and Jeroboam was king in Israel (Amos 1:1). This means his book is to be dated around 760 BC, though we have no way of determining the date of the earthquake with precision. There are three special things that we should learn from this book.
1. A prophet had to be called of God. Amos did not come from Israel, but from the southern nation of Judah. “Go home to your own country,” was the message of Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, “earn your food there, and work as a prophet” (Amos 7:10–13). Amos had been a farmer until God directed him to go to the Northern Kingdom of Israel with his message.
Being a prophet did not depend on the family one came from or belonging to any guild of professional religious people. Rather, it depended on God’s sovereign call to serve as His spokesman. Prophets were raised up by God as the times required, and words were given them to speak to their audiences. Before God acted, divinely chosen messengers were entrusted with His word. The secret counsel of the Lord was communicated through His servants, the prophets.
2. The role of the prophets was connected with the covenant that God made with Israel. The role of the prophet was to mediate between God and His covenant people by declaring God’s word and encouraging obedience to His requirements. They were guardians of the kingdom, seeking to hold kings and other leaders accountable to God for their actions. They can be regarded as enforcement mediators of the covenant, dedicated to maintaining the special bond that God had established with His people.
The covenant had placed the children of Israel in a uniquely privileged relationship. The early messages in the book of Amos are directed to the various nations surrounding Israel (Syria, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah, see Amos 1:1–2:16). Then, when the prophet finally addresses Israel, he transmits the Lord’s message to the sinful nation: “You only have I known, of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2). The Hebrew text makes this an emphatic statement of the exclusive relationship between God and His people: “Only you . . . ” Israel was chosen, not because of superior size or abilities, but simply because God loved her (Deut. 7:7).
But a unique relationship brought with it unique responsibilities. They had to realize that election to a privileged status brought with it election to responsibility. There would never be automatic blessing for Israel. Rather, the people stood in danger of divine judgment, unable to avoid the punishment for their iniquities (Amos 3:2). The biblical principle is that judgment begins at the family of God (1 Peter 4:17). Amos teaches us that covenantal privilege cannot be separated from the demands of obedience to God’s commands.
3. The eschatological perspective of Amos has several facets. Almost invariably the prophets had a message that had implications for the future. The people pictured the coming day of the Lord as one of brightness and light, not realizing that it would be “darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it” (Amos 5:20). They had to learn that joyful feasts and presentation of offerings were not going to appease an offended God. Their sins, including that of idolatry, would ultimately lead to their exile beyond Damascus (Amos 5:26–27). The departure of Israel from promised territory was going to be another sovereign act of God (“and I will send you . . . ”).
But there were two other facets of eschatology that present a much more positive picture. The first of these concerns the passage dealing with the fallen tent of David (Amos 9:11–12). The Davidic family occupied an important place in the history of Israel and Judah. It is depicted as being in a decrepit state that will ultimately be changed by restoration and result in the incorporation of gentiles. The way that James used this passage at the council in Jerusalem supports this interpretation (Acts 15:16–17). The inclusion of gentiles in the New Testament church was a fulfilment of God’s purpose set out through Amos’ ministry.
The final element of hope is that God will plant His people in a new Eden. It is significant that despite the sin of Israel, God had not cast them off. He will restore the fortunes of His people, which is most probably an eschatological event when the scattered people of God will be gathered into His eternal kingdom. The final words in the prophecy are virtually a re-affirmation of the covenant relationship, for the covenant Lord (note the use of the covenant name for God here, yhwh) remains their God, and He will fulfil His will for them (Amos 9:11–15).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
Allan Harman Dr. Allan M. Harman is research professor of Old Testament at Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia, where he previously served as principal. He is author of many books, including Preparing for Ministry.
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Post by Admin on May 1, 2024 14:02:27 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Deuteronomy Allan Harman
4 Min Read The book of Deuteronomy is significant in itself, but also because of the number of times it is quoted in the New Testament. The proclamation of Jesus and His disciples drew directly from it. Jesus quoted it in His temptations (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10) and reaffirmed its emphasis on an all-embracing love to God (Matt. 22:37–38). The Apostolic preaching in Acts draws heavily upon it, especially in pointing to the fulfilment of the word concerning the prophetic office in the person of Jesus (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22). At least seven New Testament epistles contain quotations from Deuteronomy, perhaps the most significant of these being in Galatians 3:10–14. Here, Paul writes that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of which Deuteronomy speaks (see Deut. 21:23) by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
The name of this book in English, Deuteronomy, has come via Latin and Greek and means “the second law,” assuming that the reference in Deuteronomy 17:18 means exactly that. However, what that passage refers to is the king having a copy of the law for himself. The content of the book shows that it is not a second law but a renewal of the covenant made at Mount Sinai (called “Horeb” throughout Deuteronomy, except in Deut. 33:2). It is linked expressly with the gracious promises God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see, for example, Deut. 6:10–11; 7:7–9). It also marks the completion of the Pentateuch, with the emphasis on the partial fulfilment of the patriarchal promises just prior to Israel’s entry to the land that God had sworn to give them.
There are three special matters that readers should know about the book of Deuteronomy and its teaching.
1. Deuteronomy is a covenantal document. As a covenantal document, Deuteronomy is concerned with the bond between God and His people. God acted in His gracious condescension, entered into a special relationship with them. He loved His people and redeemed them by His outstretched hand of power (see especially Deut. 7:7–9; 9:5–6; 14:2). At Sinai, He entered into this formal relationship with them. He drew near them and promised, “I will be your God, and you shall be My people.” Hence, the covenant was a bond between God and man, sovereignly imposed by God in His grace, whereby He and His people gave expression to their relationship in formal terms. His covenantal people had to respond in obedience to all that this redeemer God had done for them. No part of their lives was exempt from His ethical demands. The structure and content of Deuteronomy are tied together in a manner very similar to known treaties in secular life in the second millennium BC.
2. Deuteronomy is an exposition of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. No fuller exposition of the Ten Commandments is found in any other book of the Bible than Deuteronomy. There is a contrast between the Decalogue set out in chapter 5 and the exposition in chapters 6–26. The contrast is not between divine and human laws. Rather, it is between the basic core of the covenant, the Decalogue, and the exposition, which sets out its various applications. It consists of preaching that was intended to impress God’s claims on the consciences of listeners. Moses set before the people of Israel life and death, blessing and cursing, and he challenged them, saying, “Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him” (Deut. 30:19–20).
But there is something more to be said about the exposition of the Decalogue. In the book of the covenant in Exodus 21–23, several of the commandments are covered, but not in the order in which they appear in Exodus 20. However, in Deuteronomy the commandments are dealt with in the same order as in Deuteronomy 5. The prescriptive form of them comes in chapter 5, while the descriptive form occupies chapters 6–26. The exposition elaborates the essential thrust of the commandments, but it also shows the trajectory for each of them. This means that many of the commandments have wider implications than would appear from the first reading of them. For example, the fifth commandment deals not just with the parent/child relationship, but with all authority structures within Israel.
3. The book of Deuteronomy emphasizes the concept of the land. Of the books of the Pentateuch, the first three books (Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus) are concerned more with the aspect of relationship between God and His people, while Numbers and Deuteronomy concentrate on the aspect of land. Other patriarchal promises are echoed in Deuteronomy, such as the promise of a large family (Deut. 1:10; 10:22; 28:62), yet “the land” dominates. It was to be God’s gift, which He had sworn to give them long before they actually took possession of it. His people were to have “rest” in the land (Deut. 3:20; 12:9–10; 25:19) and enjoyment of the blessings He was to provide. This concept of rest is taken up in Psalm 95 and developed further in Hebrews 3:7–4:13. Just as rest was ahead of Israel in Canaan, so rest awaits Christian believers. It is identical with “the heavenly country” sought by them, the enduring city that is to come (Heb. 11:16; 13:14). It is not at all surprising that Christian hymnology has picked up the themes of crossing the Jordan into the promised land as symbolic of death and entry into God’s heavenly rest.
Deuteronomy concludes the Pentateuch, by which time the promises to the patriarchs had come to partial fulfillment. With entry into Canaan, the theme of the land came to realization, while other promises, such as those relating to kingship and prophecy, were fulfilled after occupation of the good land, the land flowing with milk and honey (Deut. 31:20).
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 14:19:19 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Zephaniah William Wood
5 Min Read Zephaniah is a remarkably sophisticated book full of intricate reversals, wonderful poetry, profound promises, and stern warnings. Prophesying toward the end of the Southern Kingdom, Zephaniah’s message is largely one of judgment that the Lord will work first on Judah through the exile (Zeph. 1:4–6) but also universally on the last day against all mankind (Zeph. 1:2–3), making up the majority of the book (Zeph. 1:2–3:8). And yet, while Zephaniah has a focus on judgment, he ultimately takes the reader to hope in the promises of God to redeem His people (Zeph. 3:9–20). Three things help us gain more understanding of the way Zephaniah portrays his prophetic message of judgment and hope.
1. Zephaniah is saturated with allusions to earlier Old Testament books. If you want to understand Zephaniah, the best advice I can give is to know your Bible well. Zephaniah’s prophetic ministry is replete with allusions to earlier Old Testament passages that provide the key to understanding his message. A few examples illustrate this point:
In Zephaniah 1:2–3, we see an inversion of Genesis 1, wherein Zephaniah references creation in reverse order as an image of judgment and destruction. While Genesis 1 records the origins of all things in God’s creative work, Zephaniah prophesies a universal “sweeping away” of all things in judgment. While alluding to Genesis 1, the prophet also builds upon it in the final reference concerning the sweeping away of “the stumbling blocks (i.e., idols) with the wicked.” It is man in his wicked idolatry that precipitates judgment. In Zephaniah 1:9, there is reference to God’s punishing those who “leap over the threshold.” Here, Zephaniah draws from Philistine worship in the temple of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:5) and describes the people of God worshiping Him in a similar fashion, joining the worship of the one true God with pagan practices. This allusion not only informs the syncretistic worship of Israel as a reason for God’s judgment, but also identifies the following mention of the “master’s house” as the temple that is filled with “violence and fraud” through false worship. In Zephaniah 2:15, Assyria says, “I am, and there is no one else,” which comes from a refrain in Isaiah 40–48 where God is the One who “is” and “there is no other” (see Isa. 44:6; 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 21; 46:9). Assyria’s sin is arrogant and blasphemous self-exaltation in which they identify themselves as God. In Zephaniah 2:4–15, a good portion of Zephaniah’s “oracle against the nations” draws from the table of nations in Genesis 10. In Zephaniah 3:9–12, redemption is a reversal of Babel (Gen. 11:1–9). These allusions, along with many more, show that Zephaniah is saturated with other Old Testament passages.
2. The day of the Lord is one of judgment and restoration. One of the most important themes in Zephaniah is the “day of the Lord,” a phrase which occurs sixteen times in the Old Testament, three of which are in Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:7, 14). Other phrases also take the reader back to the exact language of the “day of the Lord,” such as references to the “day” (twenty references), “at that time” (four references), or simply with “then” (two references), making a total of twenty-nine explicit references to the day of the Lord. Scholars have long puzzled over what the day of the Lord is, with primary theories being that it is a day of religious ritual, holy war, theophany, covenant, or some combination thereof.
Zephaniah contributes to this discussion by giving us a more basic idea of this “day.” While each of those features from scholarly theories are present in Zephaniah, he depicts the concept as the more basic reality of God’s coming. The day of the Lord in Zephaniah is the day that the God of heaven rouses Himself from His heavenly temple using religious motifs (Zeph. 1:7, 9), comes as the divine warrior at the head of His heavenly hosts (Zeph. 1:7, 14, 16), applies covenant curses and blessings (Zeph. 1:13, 18; 3:19–20), and approaches in theophanic glory (Zeph. 1:15). The day of the Lord is, most basically, the day of His coming. It is the blessed hope for those who have faith as they are brought up the mountain of God (Zeph. 3:11) where they dwell secure eternally (Zeph. 3:9–20), but the dreaded day of wrath for the wicked (Zeph. 1:2–18, 2:4–3:8).
3. Humility and pride are key themes. Finally, the day of the Lord motif in Zephaniah is joined to his key theological idea of an inversion of destinies for the proud and the humble. Proud self-exaltation is the main reason for judgment on the day of the Lord. After laying out curses against Moab in response to their boastful taunts against God’s people, Zephaniah explicitly states:
This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. (Zeph. 2:10)
The proud are those who will be “removed” from the Lord’s holy hill (Zeph. 3:11). Not only are the proud self-exalting, but their pride has a corresponding blasphemous and boastful self-exultation. The nation of Assyria is described as an “exultant city” who takes for themselves the refrain mentioned above from Isaiah 40–48 about who God is—the “one who is and there is no other” (Zeph. 2:15). Proud self-exaltation manifests itself in blasphemous self-praise. But on the day of the Lord, those who exalt themselves and exult in themselves will be brought low.
Redemption in Zephaniah, however, is the exaltation of the humble who exult in the Lord. The change from judgment to salvation in Zephaniah 3:9 is in a gathering of worshipers from all nations, whom Zephaniah depicts as “a people humble and lowly” (Zeph. 3:12). They do not exalt themselves, but “call upon the name of the Lord” for their salvation (Zeph. 3:9). The humble do not exult in themselves but worship the Lord and exult in Him (Zeph. 3:14). Moreover, in a picture of the wonder of God’s love and exaltation of the humble, the Lord exults over the humble in Zephaniah 3:17!
While for a time the people of God may be described as the “lame” or the “outcasts” (Zeph. 3:19) whom the nations boast against (Zeph. 2:8) and shame (Zeph. 3:19), the promise of God is that He will exalt the humble and make them “renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth” (Zeph. 3:19, 20). Indeed, the key exhortation comes in 2:3 where Zephaniah calls us to “seek righteousness; seek humility,” which is programmatically a call to “seek the Lord.”
In summary, we can say that the theological message of Zephaniah, portrayed through manifold connections to other Old Testament texts, is that on the day of the Lord, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:12).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 14:55:50 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Jonah William Boekestein
4 Min Read Jonah’s adventure is one of the most familiar stories in Scripture. Ask any child in church what it’s about and you’ll get a cogent answer. This is less likely if you ask about any other minor prophet, such as Habakkuk. But while the book is memorable, it isn’t necessarily well-understood. The stubborn prophet and large fish aren’t the focal point. Instead, the book—which ends with a question mark—demands careful consideration about the meaning of our lives in light of God’s glory and grace.
1. Jonah can help us obediently follow God. Jonah offers a workshop on how not to respond to the God who must be obeyed. The book reveals the Lord as sovereign. He doesn’t suggest; He commands. Even the heathen sailors acknowledge God’s omnipotence, saying, “You, O Lord, have done as it pleased you” (Jonah 1:14). God acts decisively. He “hurled a great wind” (Jonah 1:4). He “appointed a great fish” (Jonah 1:17). The story is firmly under God’s control.
God’s commands are clear. His simple instructions almost sound like He’s speaking to a child: “Arise,” “Go,” and “Call out.” Jonah disobeyed not because he lacked information, felt rushed, or was pressured by outside influences. He simply didn’t want to obey, and his defiance triggered disaster. By our rebellion we too willfully reject God’s blessing and invite His heavy-handedness.
But while obedience is one proof of true religion, submission flows from a heart in love with God. Jonah boasted about his religious credentials and spouted fine theology, but he exaggerated his fear of God (Jonah 1:9). In his heart and by his actions, he was fleeing “from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3, 10). Jonah was spiritually unwell. From his pious sounding but self-congratulatory prayer from within the great fish to his angry temper tantrum near the end of the book, Jonah needed the same heart change that characterized the Nineveh revival.
The obedience of the wind, waves, plants, animals, and even heathen people stand in sharp contrast to the smug prophet’s willfulness. Let him be a warning to us.
2. Jonah is a missions manual. This might be either obvious or surprising. Clearly, Jonah is about the mission of God. It was because of His pity for the lost that God sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites of His coming wrath (Jonah 4:2, 11). But God seemed to have picked the wrong missionary! Almost nothing about Jonah appears exemplary in this story—but it seems that is the point. Jonah’s missional reluctance ought to have shamed the readers of his book into realizing that the “light for the nations” was barely visible (Isa. 49:6). Those of us who have been shown pity ought to be eager to share with the world this message of a pitying God.
More importantly, Jonah’s failure proves that he isn’t the missionary hero; God is. Jonah’s reluctant outreach prepared Israel to expect a greater prophet who would willingly seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Christ alone can fulfill God’s enterprising promise to bless “all the families of the earth” (Gen. 12:3). The Nineveh revival anticipated Pentecost and the loosening of Satan’s grip on the nations. Because of God’s indescribable gift of Christ, one day “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” of redeemed people will sing of the matchless worth of the Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5:11–12). Truly “salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
Jonah reveals the loving heart of God toward lost people. The prophet does this not by his own virtue but as a type of Christ. Pay attention to Jonah not because he is a model of godliness, but because we, like him, need the Christ whom he portrays.
3. Jonah is about Jesus. When Jesus’ critics demanded of Him a sign to validate His claimed identity, He pointed His generation to Jonah (Matt. 12:39). Jesus interpreted the pivotal point of the Jonah story as a picture of His own death and resurrection. Jonah symbolically died, for the sailors believed they were killing him by hurling him into the sea (Jonah 1:14). He should not have survived the “mighty tempest” that “threatened to break up” the ship or his three-day stay in the fish’s belly (Jonah 1:4). The fish was Jonah’s watery grave; his being vomited on the shoreline began his new life. The old Jonah—the one who hated gentiles and craved selfish comfort—symbolizes the “old self” (Eph. 4:22). The new Jonah—still radically imperfect—more crudely symbolizes the “new self” (Eph. 4:23–24). Jesus also would die and arise. Union with Him is the only way to become new creatures and enter God’s reward (Rom. 6:8).
Jonah’s symbolic death and resurrection also validated his message of repentance to the Ninevites. We have even less excuse if we fail to respond to the gospel of Jesus: “The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Luke 11:32).
Jonah is about Jesus (Luke 24:44–47). In Christ alone we find the obedience necessary to stand before God and the help to begin our own godly walk. In Him, we experience the pity of God that alone can stimulate us to pity others.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 14:57:01 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Habakkuk Daniel Timmer
4 Min Read Habakkuk’s deep desire for God-honoring justice and his strong negative reaction to its absence make his book all too relevant to contemporary readers. Inundated as we are with disturbing news and images from around the world, the sheer scale of the problem will appear overwhelming if we do not view it in light of the gospel. Furthermore, Habakkuk’s awareness of his own moral shortcomings and those of his compatriots show that the problem of sin is deeply rooted in human nature, and so includes all of us. But despite the gravity of the situation in Judah and beyond its borders, God’s answers to the prophet’s exasperated prayers bring him from a state of doubt and despair to one of firm faith and joy, even before anything has changed in Judah or abroad.
Three elements of this short book stand out for both their contribution to the prophet’s spiritual reorientation and their potential to guide our attitudes, actions, and expectations in a world that seems as unhinged and self-destructive as the ancient Near East in the late seventh century BC.
1. God is not indifferent to injustice in Judah. This truth amounts to a direct rebuttal of what seems to be Habakkuk’s assumption at the beginning of the book. He does not go so far as to accuse God of injustice, but unless God does something, that conclusion appears to be inevitable (Hab. 1:2–4). God’s response to the prophet is patient and instructive. His commitment to bring judgment against sinful Judah (Habakkuk’s initial concern) shows that His covenantal commitment to His people does not guarantee their immunity to sin’s consequences. God is not indifferent to injustice.
But when God reveals to the prophet that He will use the Babylonians to punish Judah, Habakkuk is again mystified. Presuming that Judah is “more righteous” than Babylon (Hab. 1:13), he implies that if God were to allow this, this too would be to countenance evil (Hab. 1:13).
2. God is not indifferent to injustice in Babylon. God’s lengthy response to Habakkuk’s charge in chapter 2 demonstrates that the Lord is fully aware of Babylon’s guilt—even before it attacks Judah. God lays out in detail the profound pride, violence, and self-glorification that drove Babylon-as-empire to dominate as much of the ancient Near East as possible. Summarized in Habakkuk 2:5, the empire is condemned for violently plundering other nations in order to enrich itself (Hab. 2:6–13) and using every means at its disposal to take what it wanted from other nations (Hab. 2:15–17), all the while attributing its success to false gods (Hab. 2:18–19).
Over against Babylon’s project of global domination, the Lord asserts that breathtaking judgment is about to fall on the empire. But God’s intervention will do more than repay Babylon for its sins, thereby addressing Habakkuk’s second concern. God promises nothing less than to establish His saving rule worldwide, so that the earth will be filled with knowledge of Him (Hab. 2:14). This leads to the third element of God’s response to Habakkuk.
3. Faith in God brings peace and leads to life. Even before God unpacks the promise of Habakkuk 2:14 in particular in chapter 3, showing that His perfect justice and His surprising grace will punish sinners and remove sin once and for all (Hab. 3:3–15), His promise of full justice and salvation has begun to reorient the prophet (Hab. 3:2). This reorientation is completed by the bold vision of God’s arrival to save and to judge in what follows.
Two results of the message that God will fully judge sin and fully save His people are particularly relevant to Habakkuk and his readers. First, this truth reaches Habakkuk’s very heart and brings about a complete transformation of his outlook. His exasperation and doubt are replaced by a calm confidence that takes God at His word and sees by faith the purification and perfection of all creation. In this new state of heart and mind, the prophet can wait patiently for God to fulfill His promises in the ways and at the times He has sovereignly determined.
Second, the saving, redemptive justice that God will bring to those who trust His gracious promises (Hab. 2:4) ultimately leads to life. The soaring language of chapter 3 presents God’s saving intervention as a second exodus that liberates God’s people not so much from Babylon’s clutches as from the condemnation and servitude that are the result of their sin. This is only possible through the Messiah (Hab. 3:13), whom God sent to suffer on behalf of His people and exalted by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:3).
Habakkuk’s message is a definitive response to the problem of sin that so troubled the prophet. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveal both the certainty of God’s final victory over evil and the possibility of salvation through His Messiah. In light of these truths, we can celebrate God’s patience in withholding judgment and do our utmost to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth until His return (2 Peter 3:9).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 14:58:12 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Haggai Iain Duguid
4 Min Read 1. Now is the time to prioritize obedience to the Lord. The book of Haggai was written to a deeply discouraged people. The inhabitants, who had returned from Babylon to Judah, found life back home crushingly difficult. Rebuilding their homeland and their former lives while surrounded by enemies on all sides was proving far harder than they had imagined, and the glorious promises of Isaiah 40–66 seemed a long way from their experience. As a result, they put the temple-reconstruction project on hold until their lives got easier. It seemed self-evident that now was not the time for such ambitious plans (Hag. 1:2).
The Lord’s perspective was different, however. He pointed out that they had found the resources to build their own wood-paneled houses (Hag. 1:4; see also 1 Kings 6:9; 7:3, 7). Meanwhile, their other activities were under God’s curse because of their disobedience (Hag. 1:5–6). They should give thought to their ways, eliminate the excuses, and prioritize obedience to the Lord (Hag. 1:8). Led by the governor, Zerubbabel, and the high priest, Joshua, the people listened to Haggai’s words and set to work (Hag. 1:12). The Lord was with them, and He roused their spirits to work together to rebuild the temple (Hag. 1:14), the visible symbol of the Lord’s presence with His people.
2. The best is yet to come. As the people worked to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, another potential source of discouragement emerged. The new temple had nothing of the former glory that had accompanied its predecessor (Hag. 2:2–3). Although it was the same size as Solomon’s temple, it not only lacked the abundant silver and gold, but the temple was also no longer the central symbol of a kingdom and empire, as it had been in Solomon’s days. Worse still, the glory of the Lord had departed the building before it had been destroyed by the Babylonians (Ezek. 10). Without the promised return of God’s presence (see Ezek. 43), the temple would remain a worthless, empty shell. Yet the Lord’s words through the prophet encouraged the people to see that He really had returned to their midst, even though the fruits of that return were not yet visible (Hag. 2:4–5). The people should be strong and work—the very same commands given in the days of Joshua and of Solomon himself (Josh. 1:6; 1 Kings 2:2). The same God who had been with Israel when they left Egypt was still with them, and He would make sure their labors were not in vain (Hag. 1:13).
Yet what they could see with their eyes was not the ultimate measure of the Lord’s work. They could look back and draw encouragement from what He had done in the past, but they also needed to remember what the Lord was going to do in the future (Hag. 2:6–9). There was a day coming when the Lord would transform this present world order, turning it upside down and putting the nations in their place, while providing blessing for His people, with peace (shalom) flowing out of His temple.
3. The Lord’s promises link the present and the future. The Lord’s promise to be with His people, embodied in the Jerusalem temple, and His promise of a Messiah, embodied in the Davidic line, run like threads throughout Haggai’s prophecy (see 2 Sam. 7). At the beginning of the prophet’s work, both seem in question: the Jerusalem temple is still in ruins, abandoned by the Lord’s glory, and the Davidic line seems cut off, rejected by the Lord like a discarded signet ring (see Jer. 22:24–26). There are tangible evidences of restoration by the end of the book—the temple is rebuilt and the governor, Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, is affirmed as God’s chosen signet ring (Hag. 2:23). Yet the temple still lacked glory, and the governor was not a king, nor was he the promised Messiah. The people would have to live by faith, believing that the good things God was doing in their midst would be brought to completion in the final day.
Both promises pointed forward to Jesus Christ. He is the true temple of God (John 2:19), the one in whom God’s glory has come to dwell with us (John 1:14). As Immanuel (“God with us”), Jesus physically represented God’s presence in the midst of His people. Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven and poured out His Spirit upon the church, God’s presence is represented in the world by us, His people. As the body of Christ, the church is the new temple, made up of Jews and gentiles, built together as a holy dwelling place for God (Eph. 2:16–22; see 2 Cor. 6:16–7:1).
We too look to the greater Son of Zerubbabel as the One in whom our hope is found, Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:13). He too had no form or majesty to attract people to Him, taking on the form of a servant, then stooping even lower to the point of death on a cross (Phil. 2:5–8). Yet as a result of that act of obedience, God has established His anointed as the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9–11). In the present, as we await the final shaking of heaven and earth, our calling is to be faithful, knowing that in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Iain Duguid Dr. Iain Duguid is professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is author of several books, including The Whole Armor of God and Zephaniah, Haggai & Malachi.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 14:59:00 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Malachi Iain Duguid
4 Min Read The Lord says many challenging things to His post-exilic people through the prophet Malachi. The book of Malachi is arranged as a series of seven prophetic disputations that each begin with a bitter saying of the people to which the Lord responds. Most of these oracles are searching rebukes of the attitudes and actions of Malachi’s contemporaries. However, before the Lord rebukes the people, He begins by affirming His electing love for them, which is the reason they continue to exist after the judgment of the exile. Before He says, “This is what I have against you,” the Lord first declares, “I love you” (Mal. 1:2).
1. Malachi reveals that God’s electing love is always the starting point. The people, meanwhile, respond with a rebuff, “How have you loved us?” (Mal. 1:2). This is a question to which the Lord gives a surprising answer. We might have expected the Lord to point to the exodus and conquest of the land of Canaan, where He performed mighty miracles to protect His people and grant them their inheritance. Instead, the Lord points Israel even further back, to the election of their forefather, Jacob, and the contrasting rejection of his brother, Esau (Mal. 1:3). This utterly undeserved love is the reason there is still an Israel after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. Israel had suffered for her sins, to be sure, but she had nonetheless been restored because of the Lord’s great love. Edom, the descendants of Esau, survived the Babylonian period relatively unscathed by aiding the Babylonians (see Obad. 1:10–14). But Edom’s present comfort would soon be destroyed, and her fall would be full and final (Mal. 1:4–5). God’s chosen people might stumble through their sins, but they will not fully fall, for the Lord holds them up out of love (see Ps. 37:23–24).
2. Malachi demonstrates that people are tempted to cynicism when life is hard. In the book of Malachi, the people’s response to the Lord is deeply cynical from beginning to end. At the beginning, they brush off the Lord’s declaration love for them (Mal. 1:2). At the end, they declare that obeying the Lord is worthless since evildoers prosper and the arrogant are blessed (Mal. 3:15). Where is the supposed justice of God (Mal. 2:17)? This cynical attitude toward the Lord shows up in the people’s half-hearted worship (Mal. 1:12–13), their unfaithfulness to the Israelite wives they had married (Mal. 2:14–16), and their stingy giving (Mal. 3:8–9). Even the priests have been infected with the same attitude (Mal. 2:1–9), allowing the people to offer defective sacrifices and giving biased legal rulings, in return for bribes (Mal. 2:9). Hard times often breed cold hearts toward God, both then and now.
3. Malachi shows that the Lord honors those who honor Him. Not everyone in Malachi’s day shared this cynical attitude toward the Lord. Some still feared the Lord, and the Lord saw that attitude and kept them as His “treasured possession,” (segullah; Mal. 3:17), the same word used to describe Israel in Exodus 19:6. The Lord would soon appear in His temple to bring the justice for which people were supposedly longing (Mal. 3:1–2). He would separate the righteous from the wicked once for all, and those who feared the Lord would be vindicated as His true people, while the wicked would be judged and destroyed (Mal. 4:1–3). In the meantime, the faithful remnant should remember the law of Moses, God’s standard for holy living, and should look forward to the coming of a new Elijah, the archetypal prophet, to call God’s people to repentance (Mal. 4:4–6). Those who failed to respond to his message would face a judgment curse (herem; Mal. 4:6).
But if we are all sinners who fall far short of keeping the law of Moses, as Paul points out in Romans 3, how can God distinguish between righteous and unrighteous at the final judgment without condemning all of us? How can the Lord save unrighteous Jacob, whom He loves and has chosen? The answer to that question awaits the New Testament, for which Malachi’s prophecy prepares us perfectly.
In Luke 1:17, John the Baptist is identified before his birth as the Elijah who would precede Jesus Christ in His first coming. Significantly, the angel’s message focuses exclusively on the positive side of Malachi’s prophecy, declaring “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” The possibility of the judgment curse is not mentioned because in His first coming, Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost (Matt. 1:21).
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus met with both Moses and Elijah, and talked about His exodus (exodon) from Jerusalem, through which He would bring redemption to His people (Luke 9:31). For those who refuse to accept Christ now, there is another coming to await when Christ will return as the rider on the white horse to bring destruction on the unrepentant (Rev. 19:11–21). But for those whose fear of the Lord is exhibited in faith in Christ, that day will be like the first rays of the rising sun in the springtime, warming the skin pleasantly, not a fiery furnace that consumes everything it contacts (Mal. 4:1–2).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:00:08 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Numbers Iain Duguid
4 Min Read 1. The book of Numbers is not a book simply about numbers. The Hebrew title of the book is “In the Wilderness,” which is a much more descriptive and engaging title. The book charts Israel’s experience from the time they left Mount Sinai after their exodus from Egypt until they arrived at the brink of the promised land. It should only have taken Israel a few weeks to cover the distance from Sinai to Canaan. The problem was that they sent twelve spies to check out the land, and the majority came back with a negative report: the inhabitants of the land were too big and their cities too well-defended. There was no chance of victory (Num. 13–14). Joshua and Caleb told a different story, arguing that if God fought for Israel, they could certainly take the land, but their minority report was voted down. As a result, the Lord condemned the people to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years, until all the adults had died. Only then would they be able to enter the land and receive what He had promised.
2. The most important number in the book of Numbers is two. There are quite a lot of numbers in the book of Numbers, as well as long lists of people in two separate censuses (Num. 1; 26). It can be easy to get lost in the lists of names and numbers, which seem as obscure as sports statistics to a non-sports fan or the business listings to a non-accountant. They all have their part to play in telling the story of Israel’s wilderness years, however.
The most important number in the entire book is two—as in, two generations. The book of Numbers is about an unbelieving generation that failed to trust God and paid the price of a lifetime of wandering in the wilderness, followed by a new generation that stood on the brink of entering the land. Would the new generation be like their parents and give in once again to unbelief? Or would they chart a new course of faith in the Lord and receive the land that God had promised the patriarchs? The signs were good, with some initial victories over the Canaanites (e.g., Num. 21), but the jury was still out. That enables the stories in this book to challenge us as well: to which generation do we belong—the people of unbelief, whose bodies were scattered in the desert, or the people of faith, who would press forward to inherit the land (see Heb. 3:7–19)?
3. The second most important number in the book is forty-two. At first sight, Numbers 33 seems like a total waste of space: a long list of place names where Israel camped in the wilderness. Yet the Lord Himself commanded Moses to write this list (Num. 33:2), so it must be important. And if the book really is about Israel’s time in the wilderness, a list of campgrounds takes on new significance. To begin with, many of the places listed are locations where the Lord provided for His people in a special way. These are the places that have notes attached to remind Israel what the Lord did: Rameses, where the Israelites went out triumphantly (Num. 33:3), Pi-Hahiroth, where the Lord parted the sea (Num. 33:8), Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees (Num. 33:9). These are places to remember God’s faithfulness.
The second kind of location consists of the places where Israel rebelled against the Lord: Marah, the wilderness of Zin, Rephidim, and so on. Yet none of these failures is mentioned in this itinerary: it is as if the Lord has forgotten them completely (see Ps. 130:3–4). These places remind us of God’s gracious forgetfulness.
The third kind of location is where nothing at all happened, as far as we know. Some of these places are not mentioned elsewhere in the Pentateuch, but they are included here to remind us that our lives are not simply a progression of spiritual triumphs and failures; the other days count as well, when we simply do the ordinary things of life: showing up at work, taking care of the children, mowing the grass, doing the laundry. The importance of these “plain vanilla” days is underlined by the fact that the total list of campgrounds in Numbers 33 is forty-two. The list is not comprehensive (there were other places Israel camped), nor is it merely a collection of the most important places, so the number forty-two is deliberately chosen. Why? Because forty-two is six times seven. In other words, at the end of this list—and at the end of the book of Numbers—Israel is on the brink of the seventh seven, the sabbath of rest, represented by entry into the promised land.
None of us knows where in our own personal list of wilderness campgrounds we may be. For some, we may have a way to go before campground number forty-two. However, we can all have confidence that the Lord Jesus has faithfully pioneered the perfect pathway through the wilderness in our place, and now He walks through the desert alongside us, reminding us of the Lord’s faithfulness and His forgetfulness. When necessary, He picks us up and carries us in His arms as the Good Shepherd, bringing us to the heavenly inheritance toward which the promised land pointed Israel.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:03:46 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Ezekiel Justin Estrada
4 Min Read Ezekiel’s pages are littered with tension of all sorts: the people of God severed into exiles in Babylon and besieged residents in Jerusalem, a wound-up prophet from a priestly lineage who lies on his left side for 390 days and who refuses to mourn the death of his wife, and visions of esoteric symbolism combined with graphic, unsettling oracles (Ezek. 4:4–8; 24:15–24). Perhaps the greatest tension in Ezekiel lies in the revelation of God’s character: transcendent but immanent, holy and offended by sin but forgiving, and terrible in His judgment but wondrous in His mercy. Although these tensions have the potential to distress or confuse the reader, the book of Ezekiel makes known the name and glory of the Lord in a unique and instructive way.
These three things should assist you in unwinding the tension and delighting in Ezekiel’s prophecies.
1. Ezekiel’s strange visions and oracles reveal a glorious but knowable God. You don’t have to read far into Ezekiel to experience bewilderment. His inaugural vision and call feature four living creatures (later identified as cherubim) with monstrous characteristics, a theophany of the “likeness of the glory of the Lord” that rattles the mortal senses, and a series of activities that come with his commission—including consumption of a scroll and muteness (Ezek. 1:1–3:27; 10:20). And this is just the beginning of the book. Symbolic acts, images, and pronouncements, and visitations by the glorious Lord and His angelic entourage, recur throughout its entirety (see Ezek. 10:1–22; 40:1–4).
But know this: you should experience wonderment. Encountering the glory of the transcendent God demands a response of amazement and humility. Upon receiving it, Ezekiel falls on his face (Ezek. 1:28). Part of the purpose for this record of his Spirit-filled ministry is to prompt the same awe-filled response in us. Human beings like Ezekiel, like the Babylonian exiles, and like us cannot know God on our own terms: He must make Himself known. Yet, make no mistake, Ezekiel discloses that our sovereign God is immanent and does make Himself known throughout the world, as the phrase “You will know that I am the Lord” occurs throughout the oracles both to Israel and to the nations (Ezek. 7:4, 9; 11:10; 13:9, etc.).
Sadly, human sin and apostasy require that the holy God reveal Himself first in judgment, which leads to our next point.
2. Ezekiel’s priestly lineage emerges in an emphasis on the holiness of God. Ezekiel identifies himself as a priest at the outset of the book, but likely he never had the opportunity to serve in this capacity in Jerusalem (Ezek. 1:3). Instead, the Lord calls him to serve as His prophet, first issuing oracles of judgment against His own rebellious people, then against the wicked nations (Ezek. 1:1–24:27; 25:1–32:32). Despite this career change, Ezekiel draws heavily upon his priestly knowledge, especially regarding God’s holiness in judgment.
Ezekiel, in his Spirit-filled, prosecutorial office, does not hold back in laying bare the old covenant church’s transgressions against God’s covenantal statutes and their defilement through idolatry (Ezek. 5:6; 16:59). These actions risked “profaning” the very name of the Lord, prompting God to preserve its sanctity by removing His glorious presence (symbolized by His heavenly, portable throne) from Jerusalem and appointing for it a day of doom (Ezek. 20:9, 14). Ezekiel demonstrates the heinousness of Israel’s rebellion through different literary presentations, perhaps none more disconcerting than the allegory of two unfaithful sisters (Ezek. 23:1–49). And lest the nations rejoice over the downfall of Jerusalem and think themselves invulnerable, Ezekiel targets seven surrounding kingdoms—symbolic of all the nations of the world—with similar oracles of judgment. They, too, will answer for their wickedness and rebellion against a holy God, and the world will know His glory through their judgment.
But lest Israel abandon hope, Ezekiel invokes another priestly concept to anticipate restoration: the temple.
3. Jesus fulfills Ezekiel’s prophecies of restoration as the temple of God. Even in the midst of judgment, the glorious, holy God of Israel prophesied restoration. He would resurrect His covenantal people as surely as Ezekiel had witnessed the revivification of dry bones (Ezek. 37:1–14). However, the Lord would not restore them merely to their condition before judgment, but He would cleanse them and give them a new heart, reestablish them in their ancestral kingdom, place over them a righteous Davidic prince, and dwell in their midst forever (Ezek. 36:22–37:28). Ezekiel envisions this changed condition of covenantal peace foremost through his vision of the new temple, which symbolizes the everlasting presence of the Lord, as made clear by the city’s name, “The Lord Is There” (see chapters 40–48).
The fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy surpasses the reconstruction of the Second Temple, finding its culmination in Jesus. The Apostle John’s inspired works bear witness to it. The fullness of the glory of God is manifested in the incarnate Son of God, who tabernacles in the midst of His people and makes God known (John 1:14–18). Jesus identifies Himself with the temple, comparing the trauma of its destruction with His crucifixion and the glory of its restoration with His resurrection (John 2:18–22). Furthermore, even as Ezekiel envisions a river flowing from the temple, giving life to all the world, so Jesus declares Himself the source of living waters (John 4:1–43; 7:37–39). In his own final vision, John witnesses this same river flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, having brought cleansing and healing to His people scattered among the nations (Rev. 22).
The great tension of Ezekiel has blossomed into the greatest potential imaginable: the everlasting presence of God and the Lamb.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:05:07 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Lamentations Camden Bucey
4 Min Read The book of Lamentations—a profound, yet often overlooked book of the Bible—captures the raw emotions and theological reflections of the Israelites after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Why does such a book matter to us today? By exploring its intricate themes, we can deepen our faith and broaden our understanding of God’s relationship with His covenant people.
1. Lamentations serves as a theological commentary on the consequences of sin. Understanding the book of Lamentations requires a grasp of its historical context. The text serves not merely as a recounting of past events but as a theological lens through which to view the spiritual ramifications of Israel’s actions. Set against the backdrop of the Babylonian captivity, Lamentations provides a clear example of covenantal theology in action. The book explores Israel’s binding covenant with God, which stipulated blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, as outlined in Deuteronomy 28–30. This covenantal structure is integral to understanding the events described in the book. Lamentations serves as a grim reminder of the dire outcomes of disregarding God’s covenant, painting a vivid picture of the curses coming to fruition.
Each chapter of Lamentations presents a series of stark images that elicit strong emotional responses. From mothers driven to consume their own children in extreme famine (Lam. 4:10) to the shocking description of young and old lying in the streets (Lam. 2:21), these images evoke the pity and horror that coincided with the fall of Jerusalem. But they also serve a higher theological purpose: they vividly illustrate the severe consequences of violating the covenant.
In reading Lamentations, we come to understand more deeply the consequences of human sin. The historical events in the book serve as a foreshadowing of the final judgment to come on the day of the Lord. The common grace we presently enjoy is temporary. At the end of days, Christ will come to judge all men. By understanding the events and judgments in Lamentations, we gain a glimpse into the eschatological reality that awaits, making the book not just a historical account but a prophetic warning as well.
2. Lamentations explores the depths of human suffering while pointing to God’s sovereignty. Much like the Psalms, Lamentations serves as a testament to emotional honesty within the biblical canon. It captures a range of human emotions—from despair and bitterness to hope and resignation—making the book universally relatable, especially for those who have experienced loss or suffering.
Even amidst emotional turmoil, Lamentations maintains a focus on God’s sovereignty. Suffering is not meaningless; God uses it as a form of fatherly discipline to sanctify and restore His people. Moreover, the text affirms God’s enduring love and mercy, offering a glimmer of hope to God’s people in the midst of their bleak landscape.
While God is just in His judgments, He is never capricious. The nation’s sinful actions led to their punishment, which itself serves to drive people toward repentance and restoration. This nuanced understanding provides a theological framework that allows us to see how God’s hand is at work in the midst of sin and suffering.
Lamentations forces us to grapple with complex theological questions, including the problem of evil and the relationship between God’s holiness, justice, and mercy. While it does not provide easy answers, it invites us into a deeper theological exploration, compelling us to understand these harsh realities in the light of God’s perfect wisdom, goodness, and truth.
3. Lamentations provides a framework for godly mourning and repentance. In a contemporary culture that often stigmatizes expressions of sorrow, Lamentations stands as a poignant counternarrative. It not only validates lament as a permissible emotional expression but demonstrates that it is a means to seek God’s face in life’s darkest moments. Beyond this, the book serves a dual purpose: it acts as both an emotional outlet and a theological guide for spiritual renewal.
Lamentations offers a roadmap for spiritual renewal, beginning with acknowledging and grieving over sin. It then leads the reader through the process of expressing this grief as heartfelt lament, a crucial step toward repentance. Ultimately, the text points to the anticipation of God’s redemption and restoration, defining a path that culminates in placing trust in the Lord. Lamentations also presents the means for spiritual renewal, inviting us to seek the Lord in faith and obedience.
Conclusion Lamentations goes beyond Israel’s historical context to foreshadow the redemptive work of Christ. Just as Israel faced the consequences of breaking the covenant, humanity faces the ramifications of Adam’s first transgression. Christ, the truly obedient Son, takes upon Himself the sins of the world, offering to His people not merely temporal but eternal restoration.
Lamentations combines theological and emotional elements, covering themes of human suffering, divine justice, and the complexities of faith in a broken world. It challenges us intellectually and engages us emotionally, offering a deep well of wisdom for those willing to explore its teachings. By grappling with these complex themes, we not only gain a more comprehensive understanding of sin and suffering but we also see the foreshadowing of Christ’s redemptive work. In the end, Lamentations teaches us that even in the depths of despair, hope exists when we turn to Christ, our Redeemer.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:06:33 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Esther Aaron Garriott
5 Min Read The book of Esther doesn’t directly mention God’s name. In fact, the story is rather void of religion and piety altogether. The main characters don’t seem to be devout and faithful Jews that are overly concerned with keeping God’s covenant. What can we learn about God and His ways in such a book?
Notwithstanding my love for Esther and her story (one of my daughters is named Hadassah, Esther’s Jewish name), I must admit that there are times in the narrative when I am left wondering where Esther and Mordecai’s true hope lies and whether their actions reflect the faith described in Hebrews 11. Despite these initial impressions, on closer inspection, Esther teaches us deep theological truths that can invigorate the Christian life. Here are three things to know about the book of Esther.
1. God’s Covenant Faithfulness: The book of Esther is a suspenseful narration of the near eradication of God’s covenant promises. Esther takes place far away from the promised land. Some of the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem from exile after the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC (see Ezra 1:1–4). Some, however, decided to stay in Persia. The reader is quickly introduced to one of those Jews who stayed. She is swiftly swept up into high Persian life, becoming queen after the Persian king had been embarrassed by his prior queen’s insolence.
Through masterful storytelling that weaves in suspense, irony, and satire, the author recounts how a petty, nonverbal gesture ignites a personal dispute between two men (Haman the Amalekite and Mordecai the Jew). This dispute almost results in the annihilation of God’s covenant people (and thus, His promises) through government-sanctioned genocide. It’s only through a bout of insomnia for a foolish king and the momentary shrewdness of a morally compromised queen that the tables are turned at the last minute. The leader of the genocide, Haman, ends up on the gallows that he constructed for his enemy, Mordecai, and the Jews are spared from extermination.
The book reads like a suspense novel, and if you haven’t read the story in one sitting, I encourage you to do so. The plot twists teach us something very important: God is committed to keeping His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and no puppet of Satan—not Pharaoh, not Ahab, not Absalom, not Nebuchadnezzar, not Haman—can thwart God’s covenant commitment to preserve a people for Himself.
2. God’s Invisible Providence: The book of Esther is silent about God to teach us something loudly about God. The satirical almosts in the book of Esther narratively demonstrate God’s works of providence, which the Heidelberg Catechism describes:
Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand. (Q&A 27)
It might appear that everything in the book of Esther is happening by chance, but the heavenly-minded reader will appreciate that there is a masterful Playwright orchestrating all things for the good of His covenant people—those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom. 8:28). There are no accidents in God’s providential care. Each and every coincidence in the book of Esther is shouting of God’s silent and invisible providence, which governs all His creatures and all their actions (WSC 11). The silence of God in this book teaches a very important lesson: God’s all-powerful governing and preserving all His creatures is too silent to ignore. There is nothing outside His providential purview, even if we can’t see the Playwright directing His play.
3. God’s Persistent Choosing of Deficient People: The book of Esther leaves unanswered many moral questions about its main characters, who are God’s covenant people. Consistent with Hebrew narrative style, the author of Esther narrates actions without giving an evaluation of every action. This has often led to the book’s two main characters—Esther and Mordecai—being lauded as moral paragons and heroes of faith. The story, however, is muddled with a messy mixture of fear and faith, and the reader isn’t always able to determine which is which. There are many unanswered questions that the reader is left with regarding Esther and Mordecai’s character and actions. A few of these unanswered ambiguities include the following questions:
Why didn’t Mordecai and Esther return to their homeland (Est. 2:5)? Was Esther unconcerned with the dietary laws prescribed by the Lord, or was she merely an inculpable victim of her circumstances (Est. 2:9)? Why did Mordecai advise Esther not to reveal her religious heritage (Est. 2:10, 20)? Why did Mordecai, instead of protesting, allow his niece to be taken into the king’s palace (Est. 2:8) and into a recently divorced gentile king’s bed chamber (Est. 2:15–18)? Was Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman, which led to colossal consequences, a petty act or a faithful stand (Est. 3:2)? Was Esther acting out of selfishness or wisdom in her initial refusal to plead with the king on behalf of her people (Est. 4:10–11)? Did Mordecai, after Esther initially refused his request to appeal to the king to save the Jews, threaten to expose his niece or was he issuing a gracious warning (Est. 4:12–14)? Was Esther being deceitfully or righteously shrewd in her dinner requests to the king and Haman (Est. 5:4–8)? Was Esther cruelly vindictive or justifiably opportunistic in her request to let the Jews kill three hundred more men and hang Haman’s ten sons from the gallows (Est. 9:13–15)? While these questions might seem like insurmountable problems—for how can God’s people, who serve as significant players in redemptive history, display such concerning moral ambiguity?—it’s rather a spotlight on the welcome news that God’s salvation does not ultimately depend on His people’s faithfulness or lack thereof. He is faithful to His covenant promises for His name’s sake (see Isa. 48:9–11; Ezek. 20:44). Esther and Mordecai—both by their sinful, fearful actions and their righteous, faithful actions—carry out God’s unthwartable and resolute blueprint to “do good to Zion” (Ps. 51:18). This is the true meaning of Hadassah’s beautiful story. Though a simple “myrtle tree” (the Hebrew meaning of “Hadassah”) who doesn’t get everything right, Queen Esther is the Lord’s instrument to preserve His covenant blessings and to carry out His providential purposes. This much is unambiguous in the story of Esther.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:07:29 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about 2 Corinthians Aaron Garriott
4 Min Read Like 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians covers a myriad of issues in addressing a church that is beset by immorality, false teachers, sectarianism, and theological confusion. In this letter, the Apostle Paul’s care and concern for the Corinthian church are palpable. Let’s consider three important characteristics of the letter that help us understand and apply its overall message.
1. Second Corinthians represents the culmination of Paul’s intense dealings with the church at Corinth. The founding of the church in Corinth (around AD 52) took place during Paul’s second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1–11). Luke tells us that Paul stayed in Corinth for more than eighteen months. It seems that soon after Paul left Corinth for Antioch, significant problems arose in the new congregation. Paul found out about these problems while in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (see Acts 19). In all likelihood, 2 Corinthians is the fourth letter that Paul had written to the church within a span of roughly two years:
Letter 1: The “previous” (nonextant) letter (see 1 Cor. 5:9) Letter 2: 1 Corinthians Letter 3: The “severe” (nonextant) letter after the “painful” visit (see 2 Cor. 2:3–4; 7:8–12) Letter 4: 2 Corinthians Paul sent the “severe” letter through Titus, who returned to Paul with a joyful report of the church’s repentance and loyalty to the Apostle and the Apostolic teaching. Thus, 2 Corinthians is a “happy” (though not perfect) culmination of a complex relationship between the Apostle and the Corinthian believers. Paul’s joy at the report from Titus regarding the Corinthians’ welfare (see 2 Cor. 7:6–7) demonstrates what the Apostle valued in the life of the church. These include the peace, purity, and unity of the church (including church discipline), as well as the Christian’s ethical conduct, humility, and generous stewardship. If the Apostle was so anxious that this church possess and manifest these attributes, we ought to work toward these in our churches and our Christian lives as well.
2. Second Corinthians provides a strong defense of Paul’s Apostolic ministry. Paul goes to great lengths to demonstrate, contra the false “super-apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5), that his Apostleship is genuine because he has been commissioned and entrusted by the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ to speak in His name (see 2 Cor. 5:18; 13:3). This he does by giving extended treatment to the topics of weakness and suffering (2 Cor. 11:29–30; 2 Cor. 12:1–10; 2 Cor. 13:4), the new covenant (2 Cor. 3), and Christian service (2 Cor. 5–6), showing that his Apostolic ministry is consistent with the ministry and character of the Lord Jesus and is characterized by what the world sees as deficiency but which God sees as faithfulness (more on this below). Paul is adamant to defend his Apostleship because he is adamant to defend the gospel. If his gospel isn’t true, then the Corinthians are still in their sins and without hope. Therefore, his defensiveness is more about his love for his readers than his concern for his own image. It’s worth noting that Paul’s defense of his Apostolic credentials makes 2 Corinthians a very personal, autobiographical letter. We perhaps learn more about Paul and about the church to which he’s writing than any other New Testament letter. Paul isn’t the stoic curmudgeon that many have made him out to be. He’s sensitive yet magnanimous, concerned yet confident, gentle yet firm. Paul loves the church, and he loves the gospel. He’s unwilling to permit false teachers to come in and supplant his Apostolic work. He loves these new Christians too much to let wolves come in and devour them.
3. Second Corinthians is a sort of model for Christian ministry. Throughout its history, the church has been tempted to adopt worldly characteristics of success as the criteria for church leadership. In our day, we often assume that Christian leaders ought to model a successful CEO or a charismatic television personality. The Corinthians assumed that the Christian leader would look like the exemplary Greek rhetorician. The false apostles who had crept into the Corinthian church were challenging Paul’s claim to Apostleship, pointing to his suffering, his weakness, and his want of oratory elegance. Then and now, power and charisma can become the de facto marks of a blessed minister of the gospel. In response to these false accusations, Paul indeed holds forth his credentials, but not the ones we might expect. He commends himself (and the other Apostles):
by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Cor. 6:3–10)
This narrative questions our implicit paragon of successful ministry. Do we regard people according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16)? Second Corinthians teaches us that genuine Christian ministry is characterized by “simplicity and godly sincerity” (2 Cor. 1:12), that church officers aren’t self-sufficient (2 Cor. 3:5), and that ministry is more dying to self than it is self-promotion (2 Cor. 4:11–12). Paul elected not to accept compensation from the Corinthians, not wanting to introduce a stumbling block (2 Cor. 11:7–9). He didn’t carry letters of recommendation with him (2 Cor. 3:1–3). He refused to practice cunning (2 Cor. 4:2) or to tickle ears (2 Cor. 2:17) because it wasn’t his ministry or his message—it is God’s. The same is true of all Christian servants in the new covenant. Ministry in the church is to be modeled after the head of the church, He who “was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” (2 Cor. 13:4).
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:08:50 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about 1 Corinthians Robert Carver
4 Min Read 1. The Corinthian church was fraught with challenges. The Apostle Paul was the founder of the church in Corinth. That is, he was the human instrument that God used to bring to birth this church. It was on his second missionary journey, early in the 50s, that he arrived in this city located on the land bridge that connected the Achaean mainland with the Peloponnesus to the south. It was a city blessed with two ports (Lechaeum and Cenchreae) and a cosmopolitan population of an estimated 150,000. It was populous, idolatrous, and immoral to the extreme.
Paul’s ministry began in the synagogue, but when opposition there became too great, he continued in the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. No doubt he also ministered in the agora and other places. “Many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed” (Acts 18:8). God encouraged Paul in a night vision to fearlessly continue ministering, for there would be many people in the city who would yet believe. He continued there for a year and a half. Thus, it must have been a sizeable church, made up largely of converted idol worshipers, with a lesser number of Jews. Paul refers to himself as their spiritual father (1 Cor. 4:15).
However, this was not an easy church to minister to. Some of them were formerly involved in the sexual perversions that the city was noted for, and others were idolaters, thieves, and drunkards (1 Cor. 6:9–11). Furthermore, Paul refers to them as enamored with Greek wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4–5), immature (1 Cor. 3:1), puffed up (1 Cor. 4:6), arrogant (1 Cor. 5:2), boastful (1 Cor. 5:6), inconsiderate (1 Cor. 6:1; 11:21–22), and the list could go on. How did Paul minister to the people in those circumstances?
It is noteworthy that from the very outset of the letter, Paul gives thanks for them, commends them, and recognizes that they were not lacking in any spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:4–7). Later, he makes it clear that he was not writing to make them ashamed but to admonish them as his beloved children (1 Cor. 4:14). His pastoral love for them is evident throughout. His final words in the epistle are: “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen” (1 Cor. 16:24).
2. First Corinthians has a greater variety of content than any of the other Pauline Epistles. J. Gresham Machen wrote: “The First Epistle to the Corinthians affords more information than any other New Testament book about the internal affairs of an Apostolic church. First Corinthians alone presents the practical problems of an early church in the fullness of their puzzling variety.”1 A reading of this letter reveals the wide range of subjects in the book. Paul was informed about these matters by two communications that he received: a report from Chloe conveyed by some of her “people,” perhaps servants (1 Cor. 1:11), and another report from Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, probably in the form of a letter from the church (1 Cor. 16:17).
There were divisive groups (1 Cor. 1:11–12); a case of incest of such a sort that it was shocking even to the pagans (1 Cor. 5:1); petty lawsuits being publicly aired (1 Cor. 6:1); need of instruction concerning marriage and divorce (1 Cor. 7); disagreements over eating meat that had previously been sacrificed to pagan idols (1 Cor. 8:1–11:1); various matters relating to worship and the use of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12–14); and a denial by some in the church of the reality of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12). That’s a dizzying list of difficulties, and that’s not even all of them. It was a church with a wide array of questions and concerns.
3. Although the Corinthians and their problems are largely separated from us chronologically and culturally, the way Paul engages with them is entirely relevant for us. Once again, the observation of Machen is worth noting:
First Corinthians deals with certain concrete problems of an ancient church. Those problems are not our problems . . . [But] Paul had the remarkable faculty of viewing even petty problems in the light of eternal principles. Here is the remarkable thing about First Corinthians—every question that is discussed in it is tested by the fire of evangelical truth. Hence the permanent value of the Epistle. How to apply the lofty principles of the gospel to the routine of daily life is the fundamental problem of Christian conduct. That problem cannot be solved for any man in detail, for the details of life are of endless variety; but the method of solution has been set forth in First Corinthians.2
This is a good reminder that every Christian in every age must seek to apply Scripture to their own context. For that, we need help. Begin by using a good study Bible, like the Reformation Study Bible. Fuller commentaries are available, ranging from relatively simple ones to deeply technical ones. Helpful lists of the best commentaries have been compiled by Keith Mathison, Tim Challies, and others. Always remember that your greatest help is going to come from God. Psalm 119:18 is a good prayer to use whenever you read or study the Bible: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
J. Gresham Machen, The New Testament: An Introduction to its Literature and History (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1976), 131.↩
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:10:24 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about Romans J.V. Fesko
4 Min Read The book of Romans has left an indelible impression on the lives of God’s people throughout the ages. The early church theologian Augustine ran from God throughout his life, but God relentlessly pursued him. One day, he was sitting in his garden and overheard children singing, tolle lege, “Take up and read.” Augustine opened the Bible to Romans 13:13–14: “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
The sixteenth century Reformer Martin Luther was once asked whether he loved God. “Love God?” Luther responded, “Sometimes I hate Him.” Luther feared that God would punish him no matter how hard he tried to please Him. God opened his eyes through the Spirit to understand the Apostle Paul’s famous statement: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16–17). Luther realized that when Paul wrote of God’s righteousness, he did not refer to God’s own righteousness but the gift of righteousness that comes to sinners by faith in Christ. When God opened Luther’s eyes, he said, “Here, I felt that I was altogether born again and the very gates of paradise opened up before me.”
The eighteenth century preacher John Wesley had little interest in the gospel until he attended a meeting where someone read from Luther’s preface to Romans:
While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
These encounters with this book highlight three things that we should know about the book of Romans.
1. The gospel is a free gift from God. First, salvation is a free gift. History is littered with religions that preach a quid pro quo message of redemption—you must perform acts of goodness in order to be saved. This was Luther’s burden that created angst and even animosity in his heart toward God. He knew that God was righteous and His law was exacting—there was no way he could perform enough good works to outweigh his sins. As King David cried out, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you” (Ps. 143:2). The same sentiment appears in a Psalm of Ascent, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3). Luther was acutely aware of this truth but then, in His mercy, God opened Luther’s eyes to see that God has given the perfect obedience and suffering of Christ in our stead. This outpouring of grace is, as Paul says, “the free gift of God” (Rom. 6:23; 5:15–17).
2. Salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Second, like Luther, by the sovereign grace of God, Wesley realized that the only way to receive the gift of salvation was by trusting in Christ alone for his salvation. As Paul writes, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom. 3:21–22; cf. 5:1; 10:6, 17). Paul elsewhere elaborates on this truth in his letter to Ephesus when he writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).
3. The gospel has freed us from Satan, sin, and death so we can walk in newness of life. Third, when God saves us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, He does so unto the goal of walking in newness of life; that is, living in holiness and righteousness. The gifts of the gospel and faith in Christ are not a license to sin, as Paul emphatically denies:
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! . . . We were buried therefore with [Christ] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:1–4)
God confronted Augustine with this truth when he heard the children chanting “take up and read” and opened the Bible to Romans 13:13–14. Augustine knew he needed to repent of his sins, and only the grace of God in Christ could enable him to do so that he might live in holiness.
Three things you should know about Romans are that (1) the gospel is a free gift from God, (2) salvation is a gift we receive by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and (3) that the gospel has freed us from Satan, sin, and death so we can walk in the newness of life. Augustine, Luther, and Wesley learned these truths by God’s grace, and our prayer should be that God’s Holy Spirit would indelibly imprint them on our hearts as well.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2024 15:11:27 GMT -5
3 Things You Should Know about 1 & 2 Timothy Michael G. Brown
4 Min Read First and 2 Timothy, as well as Titus, are known as Paul’s “Pastoral Epistles.” This simply means that unlike the Apostle’s other letters—which, except for Philemon, were written to congregations—these letters were written to pastors of local churches concerning their duties in the ministry. Timothy was the pastor of the church at Ephesus when Paul wrote these letters to him. Yet, by the superintendence of the Holy Spirit, Paul also writes to us. These letters are full of encouragement and exhortation to pastors and parishioners alike. Here are three things we should know about 1 and 2 Timothy.
1. Sound doctrine matters. Ephesus was a wealthy and worldly city known for its practice of sorcery and worship of the goddess Artemis. Pagan religion and materialism, however, were not the only threats to the Ephesian church. When Paul penned these epistles, false teaching about Christianity was advancing aggressively in the city.
Today, things aren’t much different. Like Timothy, we too live in “the last days” (2 Tim. 3:1; see also 1 Tim. 4:1), when people are “lovers of self, lovers of money” (2 Tim. 3:2; see also 1 Tim. 6:10) and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:4). We live in a time when people do “not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they . . . accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:3; see also 1 Tim. 1:10). We need leaders in the church who will “follow the pattern of sound words” given by the Apostles and codified in the church’s creeds and confessions (2 Tim. 1:13). We need ministers who will “preach the word . . . in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2; see also 1 Tim. 4:13), who will “always be sober-minded, endure suffering,” and “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). These letters describe the world in which the church now lives, a world full of apostasy and godlessness. If the gospel and sound doctrine are to advance into the next generation, the church—especially ministers of the Word and church leaders—must heed the exhortations and warnings found in 1 and 2 Timothy.
2. Courage is found in Christ. In a world hostile to the Christian faith, it takes courage to say that Christ is the only way to heaven. It takes courage to believe in the authority of the Bible and to be unashamed of the gospel. Courage is essential for the Christian life. If you have ever felt frightened by adversaries of the gospel or discouraged by daunting circumstances, you are not alone. Fear and discouragement are common enemies to all Christians, including the original recipient of this letter, Timothy.
Although he was Paul’s most faithful and trusted colleague, Timothy was young, timid, frequently ill, and in need of encouragement. He faced a situation in the church of Ephesus that caused him to feel that he was in over his head. Persuasive false teachers were launching attacks on the gospel. Some in the church were questioning his authority as a pastor. Moreover, he was perhaps embarrassed about Paul’s imprisonment and declining reputation. He needed to stand up for the truth and faithfully preach the Word of God, but he was afraid of suffering. His flame was burning low. Paul found it urgent to remind this young pastor to fan into flame the gift of God (2 Tim. 1:6; see also 1 Tim. 4:14), and that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and of love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7). Only by God’s grace in Christ could Timothy find the courage to suffer for the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8–9; 2:3).
Maybe you feel a lot like Timothy. Maybe you fear man far more than you should. Maybe you are afraid to suffer for the gospel. First and 2 Timothy remind us to be strengthened not in ourselves, but “by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1; see also 1 Tim. 1:12). While it is true that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12), it is also true that the Holy Spirit has equipped us so that we can fulfill our callings and fight the good fight of faith, even in the face of fear (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7).
3. The power is in the Word. Timothy must guard the gospel against false teachers so that it would be brought to the next generation (1 Tim. 1:3–11; 2 Tim. 1:13–14; 2:16–18), entrust the gospel “to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2; see also 1 Tim. 3:1–7), and be willing to suffer for the gospel like his mentor (2 Tim. 1:8, 12; 2:3, 9; 3:12; 4:5). Above all, however, he must preach the gospel. The veteran Apostle thus gives his younger colleague one final charge to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season,” remain “always sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, [and] fulfill [his] ministry” (2 Tim. 4:2, 5). The power to convert and to build up lies in the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16–17). For this reason, pastors are to keep a close watch on themselves and on their teaching (1 Tim. 4:16).
May God bless the church and the world by raising up a multitude of Timothys so that future generations will discover—and rediscover—the gospel and apply it to their own times.
This article is part of the Every Book of the Bible: 3 Things to Know collection.
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