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June 27th, 2020

6/27/2020

Last week, the text was from Jeremiah 20. This week it is just a little farther down the road, at Jeremiah 28[:5-9]. The prophet Jeremiah is AGAIN running into difficulties, and he wants to make it clear what a true prophet does. The last verse of the text is given by the ESV in this way: ‘As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet (English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois).’

Usually we think of an apostle was someone who was sent. Can a prophet be sent as well?

To answer that question, it is important to see who a prophet is and what a prophet does. And one of the most helpful ways of doing that is by looking at the beginnings of that word.

Last week it was mentioned that Abraham was the first person to be called a prophet. This happens in Genesis 20:7, and here is a somewhat-literal translation of that verse:

And now, return the wife of the man, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live, and if you not returning, know that you will certainly die, you and all that is with you.

Usually we think of a prophet as someone who speaks to people. In this case it is one who speaks to the One ‘in charge’. As it says in the book of James, ‘The prayer of a righteous man has great power... (James 5:16b).’

The book of Genesis is set up in several large concentric structures, with the turning point in the middle of the fact that God remembers certain people at certain times and situations. On the other side of the turning point of Genesis 19:29, where God remembered Abraham and saved Lot, there is Genesis 18 and the somewhat similar account of Abraham coming to the LORD and asking for Sodom to be saved, first if fifty righteous people are there. But then Abraham decides that the number of righteous should be forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, then—and finally—ten. It should be noted that Abraham is very nice with his words and does not want to make the LORD angry by asking for so much. It is even more important to note that there is no apparent anger in the LORD.

So, what is a prophet? A prophet has a very close relationship to the king. The prophet talks to the king; the king talks to the prophet—both of these things happen.

Sometimes a king does not wish to talk, and this special person can talk on his behalf. The prophet can also be sent somewhere else, or he can be simply near the king and do the talking for him, when it is appropriate.

Some ancient languages connect the word ‘prophet’ to the words ‘call’, ‘proclaim’, ‘impart’, and ‘the called’. The first two point to something that the prophet does; the last two, to something that is done to the prophet. Instead of thinking that it is either one or the other, it could be both. As was said above, the prophet has a very close relationship to the king (See Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, published by Eerdmans, volume 6, pages 796-797).

Often prophets are thought of as people who predict the future or who have written a book of the bible. That CAN be what a prophet might look like. But, ultimately, you should not be focusing on the prophet himself. His all-important job is to point you to Someone else who is much more important.

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June 20th, 2020

6/20/2020

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Two weeks ago, the focus was on the progression in the book of Genesis. One week ago, the focus was on the progression in Exodus. It would seem only natural to look at the progression within Leviticus. So, if you are interested in such a thing, it is not too different from the progression that was seen before. There is some amount of trouble, and God comes into the picture in some way.

At the beginning of Leviticus, the LORD speaks just to Moses. Then there is the death of two of Aaron’s sons in chapter 10, and then we have the LORD speaking to Moses AND Aaron. And then, after a man blasphemes ‘the Name’ in chapter 24, he ends up being stoned to death, and then we have that special description of the LORD speaking to Moses ON MOUNT SINAI. It seems that these sinful events are making the LORD’s speech even more special. He could be much more distant; he could even be speaking less; but he does the opposite.

The Old Testament text for this Sunday is actually from the book of Jeremiah [20:7-13]. He was basically a 6th century B.C. prophet (although he also lived in the 7th century, and he started that job when he was very young). Compared to last week, this text is quite a jump in time, but it is not so much when dealing with the situation of sin or God’s solution of getting more involved. Abraham in Genesis has a close relationship with the LORD and is even called a prophet in Genesis 20:7 when he saves the life of a king. And as Moses and Aaron were very close, in Exodus 7:1, Moses is described as like God and Aaron is his prophet. (Moses did not want to do the job alone; see Exodus 4:1-16.)

The emphasis that people are most familiar with regarding Jeremiah is one of negativity. He also wrote Lamentations; he is known as ‘The Weeping Prophet’; what more could be said? Much more could be said because there is also a lot of negativity that is currently going on within the United States. The coronavirus is still an issue, and there is also a significant amount of so-called ‘civil unrest’.

The book of Jeremiah includes six ‘confessions’ (11:18-23; 12:1-4; 15:10-21; 17:12-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18). In the words of the Concordia Self-Study Bible, with these confessions…

‘[Jeremiah] laid bare the deep struggles of his inmost being, sometimes making startlingly honest statements about his feelings toward God (12:1; 15:18). On occasion, he engaged in calling for redress against his personal enemies (12:1-3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:19-23)—a practice that explains the origin of the English word “jeremiad”, referring to a denunciatory tirade or complaint (Published by Concordia Publishing House in 1986; St. Louis, Missouri, page 1118).

You might have noticed that the text for this Sunday from Jeremiah 20 is a significant part of his last confession. Also from the Concordia Self-Study Bible is the comment that this last confession is, in some respects, ‘the most daring and bitter of them all (page 1158).’

It is interesting to note that there is a significant switch that occurs after this ‘high point’. The first twenty chapters have, for the most part, been in a chronological order. The rest of the book seems to be arranged on the basis of subject matter rather than chronology (see the Concordia Self-Study Bible, page 1159).

Just so we do not focus on simply the negative, one more point could be made with the first section of that ‘subject matter’ section. The phrase ‘the word came’ appears many times throughout Jeremiah, but within Jeremiah 21-24, it only appears once, at 21:1. The content of those four chapters is mostly negative, for the vast majority of those 94 verses. And there is admittedly a significant difference in the length of various verses. But there is some good news near the middle of that section, at Jeremiah 23:1-8.
Here is a layout of the various lengths of the chapters, along with a somewhat-literal translation of that special middle section; here is a section of particularly good news:
            Jeremiah         21                    14 verses
                                    22                    30 verses
            23:1-4 SOMEWHAT GOOD NEWS
Verses 5-6 (REALLY GOOD NEWS): Behold, the days, the coming ones, declaration of LORD, and I will raise up to David a branch, a righteous one, and he will reign a king, and he will be wise and he will do justice and right in the land. In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety, and this is his name, that he will call him, ‘The LORD, our righteousness.’
23:7-8 GOOD NEWS
                                    23:9-40            32 verses
                                    24                    10 verses

When something significantly good is in the middle of a section, there is the chance of it being passed over. In the same way, with so many negative things going on, there is the chance of passing over that ‘central’ coming of Christ. And please do not forget that he promised that he WILL be coming again.

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June 13th, 2020

6/13/2020

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This Sunday follows the previous Sunday in more than one way. Last Sunday, the Old Testament text was from the first book of the bible. This Sunday, it is from the second book of the bible, usually called ‘Exodus’. (Its Hebrew title is ‘The Book of Names’ and is based on the first words of the book.) Last week I looked at the extent of God’s involvement in the world in that first book; the same question came up twice within Genesis, ‘Am I in the place of God?’ This Sunday begins to answer that question in a more wonderful way than we could imagine. Within this book, God certainly is making a place among his people.

To determine this position accurately and according to what the text actually says, it may be helpful to look at the terms for ‘his people’ throughout this book. Often this book is summarized by the actions that actually happen (thus, the name ‘Exodus’), and that is certainly an appropriate emphasis. But looking at what happens to his people AND how those people are described may be a more accurate description of the book’s message. The following is just a brief summary of some of the most significant descriptions of ‘his people’.

In Exodus 1:1, the names of the twelve ‘sons of Israel’ are given. But then the same phrase is attached to all Israel in the verses that follow, and they start to become powerful in Egypt. And instead of being called pharaoh, the ruler in Egypt is simply called a king, and the text literally gives a ‘face’ to the sons of Israel and says that the Egyptians ‘dreaded his presence’ (1:12). Now something really bad comes out of this—slavery for Israel.

During the time of the first Passover, when the Lord says that HE will go and kill the firstborn (11:4), the group is now called the ‘congregation of Israel’ (12:3). The word ‘congregation’ can also mean ‘those gathered around a prominent person’; the word for ‘ornament’ is also the same Hebrew word (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, by William L. Holladay, published by Eerdmans in 1971, page 265). This description seems to indicate that Someone’s presence is making a significant difference at this point in time.

A more orderly, permanent, and significant phrase, ‘house of Israel’, occurs for the very first time in this book at 16:31—although that phrase is rarely seen in the translations of that verse. The word ‘house’ has occurred before this, and it even appears in Exodus 1:1, but it has never been this closely associated with Israel’s descendants. This ‘household’ is calling the bread that the LORD is giving to them ‘manna’, a seemingly insignificant thing. But name-calling is important in the bible, literally from day one. (The use of the name ‘Israel’ instead of ‘Jacob’ is also significant—see Genesis 32 for more details about this.) And Moses told Aaron to put a jar of manna ‘before the face of the LORD’ to keep for generations to come (16:33). It is also interesting that the first day that they are taking the first flakes of manna off of the ground, the wilderness is also described as having a ‘face’, much like in the creation account; unfortunately, this word also does not usually appear in the translations.

Would it be appropriate at this time to say that God is heavily involved with his people? Would it be too much of a stretch to say that he is getting ‘down and dirty’ with them? The face of the wilderness is involved!

The text for this Sunday [Exodus 19:2-8] has this phrase within it (and here is a somewhat-literal translation): The LORD called to him from the mountain saying, ‘This you say to the house of Jacob and you relate to the sons of Israel…(verse 3b).’ The first command, to ‘say’, is simply to speak the words. The second command (translated as ‘relate’ here) is a significantly different word. Literally, it means to ‘put something up conspicuously in front of someone’ (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Holladay, page 226). The recipients of these words are, first of all, connected to Jacob, and that is not a big thing (if you looked at Genesis 32 already, please also see Genesis 25, but especially verse 26). The second description of the recipients is not a HOUSE of Israel yet; they are still described as sons. But the way in which Moses is to speak to them, one could take as a hint that God is getting closer; his words are getting closer and are more loving. And the phrase ‘house of the LORD’ will appear within this book in Exodus 23:19, even though the place is still a tent. But it IS a special place to which these special people can travel.

As was mentioned above, the phrase ‘house of Israel’ appeared for the first time in chapter 16, as they were heading out into the ‘face’ of the wilderness with that specially created blessing of manna. The chapters which follow have some negative low points within them. There is a LOT of complaining going on; there is also the significant idolatry of the golden calf in chapter 32. But these people are still called something very special.

The only other time the phrase ‘house of Israel’ appears in this book is at the very end, with the last words of chapter 40. The great significance of God’s significant presence with his people may be seen when you compare two paragraphs within the book of Exodus, one when they are finally at Mt. Sinai, in chapter 24, and the other when they are ready to head to other places, at the very end of the book. I hope the differences are easy to spot (Both these are the English Standard Version translations, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois.):

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel…(verses 15-17).

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by
day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all
their journeys (verses 34-38).

The name of a group of people can be significant. The name Israel means he who wrestles with God. Imagine wrestling with God and not losing after one millisecond! God is the gentle and loving King here. And when something is done ‘in the sight of all the house of Israel’ at the end of the last text, that is NOT the word for face. God is certainly still the king, and HIS face is the important one. But he is gracious enough that we look upon him and are not destroyed. That also may be said when Jesus was on the cross for us.

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June 6th, 2020

6/6/2020

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This Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost, traditionally Trinity Sunday. And this year starts the season of Pentecost with a significant text, the text that quite literally started it all, the creation account [Genesis 1:1-2:4a].

Where to begin when the topic is the beginning? First of all, it should be said—but it also should be obvious—that beginnings are important. They are important for many reasons, but I would like to focus on the structure that they give.

The first words out of the mouth of man have a structure. In his first statement concerning his wife [2:23], the first word that he says also happens to be the middle word and the last word. I do not consider that a coincidence, especially when you look at the text somewhat literally:

“This, the now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh, to this, she shall be called ‘woman’, for from man she was taken, this.”

In the very beginning there was no human being to write down what was happening. And so, we must rely upon God for that information. And God can literally give that information in any way that he wants. Here are the first two verses of the text, the very beginning of the bible, both in Hebrew and in a later Greek translation (usually called the Septuagint), again in a literal translation.

In beginning God created the heavens and the earth; and the earth was formless and empty, and darkness over the face of the deep, and spirit of God hovering
upon the face of the waters.

In beginning God made the heaven and the earth; and the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the abyss; and spirit of God moved over the water.

It should be said that, first of all, Hebrew is very different from Greek, and there are also a lot of ways in which words could be translated, and often it is better if they are translated in more than one word, but I hope that what is lacking in the Greek translation is somewhat obvious, the mention of ‘face’. To learn a structure of a text, it is important to know what common words or phrases COULD be used, but rarer words or phrases are used instead.

The word ‘face’ also appears at a significant point in the second creation account, the one that starts where the Sunday text leaves off. Here, again, is a somewhat literal translation, with some significant words given in bold:

And any shrub of the field not yet appeared on the earth, and any plant of the field not yet sprung up for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and man was not to work the ground; and a stream came up from the earth and watered all of the face of the ground; and the LORD God formed man from dust of the
ground… (verses 5-7). And the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and care for it (verse 15)….

In the first creation account, the beginning is important. And in the second one, the turning point is important, it is from negative to positive, and this will be the structure for the rest of the book. And both of these important sections contain the word ‘face’.
The word ‘face’ is important because God is important. He is the ultimate king, and it is an important thing to come into the king’s presence, to see his face.

God does other things in this first account that are similar to what a king would do. He calls things a certain name. He sees things with his eyes. He blesses things with his words (the Greek word for ‘bless’ is basically ‘eulogy’, literally ‘good words’).

So, a ‘face’ is mentioned in the creation accounts. And the face of God is important. Does that make a difference? How God is involved with his creation certainly makes a difference. And the beginnings of that involvement are laid out in the rest of Genesis.

Almost from the beginning there is a confusion between who God is and who man is. The woman is tempted with the words, ‘You will be like God (3:5).’ There is also a significant phrase that is repeated twice within the book of Genesis, ‘Am I in the place of God?’

The first time this happens, the favorite wife of Jacob, Rachel, has had no children yet. She says to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I will die.’ Jacob responds with that question (30:1-2). The second time, the eleven brothers of Joseph have to deal with him after their father dies, and they think that they are going to be punished by him since he has so much power in Egypt now. But Joseph says to them, ‘Do not be afraid.’ And then he tells them those same words (50:19). (It is interesting that the Greek translation here does not make it a question; it has Joseph saying, ‘I am God’s.’ It looks as though there was some debate over the meaning of a Hebrew preposition.)

‘Am I in the place of God?’ is a significant question and can be answered in more than one way. Since we have the luxury of looking back at the past, we can now see how important that question was, especially in the light of Jesus’ death on the cross for us.
Sometimes the luxuries that we have can distract us from a serious study of the text. It is good to be reminded that the first few words or so of a book often gave a hint as to the book’s structure. It may be distracting, with our study bibles, to check out the outline that someone thought up. But the text itself often has the outline within it in some way.

I think this may be the case with the first creation account. Although that account is what most certainly happened, how it is described also provides a summary as to what will happen throughout the book of Genesis. In the same way that the first three days set the stage and the last days fill that stage, the first eleven chapters (which is yet another artificial structure) set the stage, and the rest of the book of Genesis fills that stage with a salvation story, a story which has God extremely involved.

So, it may be just a coincidence that there are two more uses of the word ‘face’ within the creation account, one during the fifth day (verse 20) and the other one during the sixth day (verse 29). It is impossible to say for certain that these words have structural significance, but they may get the reader or the listener prepared to hear something even more significant about God’s involvement in his universe at the middle and the end of the second part of Genesis—that identical question, ‘Am I in the place of God?’

Genesis does not leave us with the answer, in the same way that Deuteronomy does not; and even Malachi falls short as well. The mention of God or face is not to be taken lightly, especially when he has one of them.

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