Blog Archives

June 26th, 2021

6/26/2021

For the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, the Old Testament reading AGAIN is taken from a rarely used book, this time the book of Lamentations [3:22-33]. And this is the ONLY time throughout the three-year series that a text will be from this book.

The book may rarely be used because it is poetry, and we already have poetry in the Psalms, within the Introit. It may also be rarely used because there is a significant amount of bad news within the book, but you probably guessed that from its title. It is interesting, though, that near the middle point of the book and its middle chapter, there is a significant amount of good news, and this is the text for this Sunday.

This middle point is extremely easy to spot because the book relies heavily upon an acrostic structure. It is somewhat like a child’s alphabet book that starts each page with a different letter of the alphabet, all in order, from the first letter to the last. I would imagine that doing an acrostic poem in any language is difficult, but there is a great difficulty in English because of the very few words that start with the letter ‘x’.

In Hebrew that problem is not as huge, but this is a depressing topic. There is a lamentation because of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Perhaps the closest thing to this topic in English is the word ‘xenophobia’, the fear of anything foreign.

There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and that is the reason for the twenty-two letters in most of the chapters of this book, but there are sixty-six in this lengthy middle chapter. And each letter has three verses that start with that letter. And, at the very middle, is when this text stops, and then the topic goes quite quickly back to the bad news.

To help gain an appreciation for this structure, what follows is the entire text for this Sunday, with each section starting with a different letter. But this is NOT in alphabetical order—that would definitely be too difficult. But there is some coherency with similar beginnings, and this is a somewhat-literal translation (although some allowances were made to fit this distinct design and to deal with the complexity of Hebrew poetry):

Great loves of Yahweh, specifically—we are not consumed, specifically—his compassions are not ended.4
Great is your faithfulness; new ones are in the mornings.
Given this part, Yahweh, my soul says, therefore I will wait for him.
Fine is Yahweh to those hoping in him, to the soul seeking him.
Fine to those also waiting and quiet for the salvation of Yahweh.
Fine for the strong man, specifically, that he carries a yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone, and let him be silent, specifically—He laid it on him.
Let him give to the dust his mouth; perhaps there is hope.
Let him give to the one striking his cheek, let him be filled with disgrace.
Specifically, the Lord will not cast off forever.
Specifically, if he causes grief, so he will show compassion as many of his great loves.
Specifically, he will not bring afflictions from his heart or bring griefs to the children of a man.

This is a good reminder that sometimes it is good to stop in the middle of something. And that may be where you find the LORD with some GOOD news.

0 Comments

June 19th, 2021

6/19/2021

0 Comments

For the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, the Old Testament reading takes a look at the book of Job [38:1-11], and that is certainly a rare occasion. But it is also a helpful one since we have recently looked at both the cherubim and seraphim and their connection to the LORD—whom they both worship. Last week the connection was made between the angels and the tabernacle, and that connection may be seen in other parts of the Old Testament.

The setting of Job that starts everything is when the Satan comes before the LORD when he is in his position of power and authority (Job 1:6), and this is a similar situation to when the LORD has cherubim and seraphim around him. In fact, the text of that verse [in the English Standard Version] goes this way in the Hebrew:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them [Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; used by permission; all rights reserved].

And the very same verse goes this way in a Greek translation (in a somewhat-literal translation into English):

And it happened in that day, and, behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them.

A significant difference between the two verses is that those who are ‘sons of God’ in the first translation are called ‘angels of God’ in the second. The word ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’, and if a message were truly and extremely important, a king would send his son with the message. And that is exactly what we have in the case of the New Testament.

The position of any king on his throne is an important one. And recently we have seen angels around the throne of the LORD in various ways. And since we are looking at the book of Job this week, why not look at the Psalms, which are right next door?

The Psalter is one of the most important books of the Bible. It is certainly the largest book of the Bible. It is actually made up of five books which connect to the first five books of the Bible. The book is important enough to appear each Sunday within the church’s liturgy. Each Sunday has the Introit and a Psalm attached to it. But a larger picture of the Psalter may be more helpful.

A frequent structure of a book is that which follows the pattern of the tabernacle or temple. The progression of the text toward ‘the most holy place’ or ‘the holy of holies’ is important. It may also be seen in this central and third book of the Psalms, from Psalm 73-89.

The topic of the ‘holy place’ or sanctuary comes up early within this section. The writer of the first Psalm in this section has been focusing on the wicked for a while, but then he has this transition point at Psalm 73:16-17 [in the English Standard Version]:

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

There are two places where this important ‘council’ is mentioned, near the middle of the book and at the final Psalm of the book. Since Psalm 82 is near the middle and quite short—as well as quite clear regarding this ‘council’—it is given in its entirety here [again in the ESV]:

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

What should be added, interestingly enough, is that two Psalms before and two Psalms after this Psalm 82, these two Psalms contain the only mentions of ‘hosts’ or ‘armies’ within this section of the Psalter—and this term is usually connected to a group of angels—and there is also one mention of ‘cherubim’ at the very beginning of Psalm 80.

Here are some verses from Psalm 80 [in the ESV]:

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth (verse 1).
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers (verses 3-4)?
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved (verse 7)!
Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself (verses 14-15).
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved (verse 19)!

Here are some [ESV] verses from Psalm 84:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God (verses 1-3).
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob (verse 8)!
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you (verse 12)!

There is a definite emphasis on angels who are surrounding the LORD. Many people think that the Psalter was quickly put together. But there is a structure here. And it is a structure that points us to the LORD, and that should not be surprising. The primary focus for the angels is on the One who sends them.

0 Comments

June 12th, 2021

6/12/2021

0 Comments

This is the third Sunday after Pentecost, and it is the Sunday after our first look at the first cherubim in the Bible, the ones guarding the way to the tree of life. This Sunday’s Old Testament text [Ezekiel 17:22-24] also happens to be about trees.

It may be a coincidence that the next time cherubim are mentioned in the scriptures, a special type of tree is also mentioned there. The ark of the covenant was made out of acacia wood, a hardwood usually used to make cabinets, etc. (see Exodus 25:10).

The ark of the covenant was to be the footstool of the LORD’s throne (see 1 Samuel 4:4 and Psalm 132:7). And above the ark were to be two cherubim—made out of gold this time (see Exodus 25:18)—although there was the instruction at Exodus 20:4 not to make any graven or carved image. Here we see a very special exception.

Trees are important. Trees have life. And do not forget about the tree of life! More importantly, it is the LORD who ultimately makes all these trees and gives life. EVEN MORE important is the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up his one life on a tree. And then there is this verse from Deuteronomy [21:23] that shows the great significance of it all: Cursed to God is he who is hanged on a tree (a somewhat-literal translation).’

The cherubim are also important. And the cherubim are most mentioned frequently when it comes to the tabernacle and temple. The word ‘cherub’ has been connected to blessing, and that is what the LORD does in that situation, since he is no longer so far away. The word in Hebrew is connected to a word in the ancient language of Akkadian which means to pray, consecrate, and bless [See Ludwig Koehler & Walter Baumgartner’s, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: Study Edition; Brill, 2001; volume 1, page 497.] The temple is a place to communicate with the LORD, and it is a place in which he has chosen to give out his gifts.

There are four living creatures that are connected to the LORD’s throne, and those four creatures show the different ways in which the LORD is actively communicating and giving out his gifts. [See also Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, book 3, chapter 11, section 8.]

When the four living creatures are listed for the first time in Ezekiel 1(:10), when Ezekiel has the vision—he says at the very beginning of the book, ‘I saw the visions of God’—they are in the usual order of the four gospel accounts: Human (& Matthew), Lion (& Mark), Ox (& Luke), Eagle (&John). Much has already been said about the connections between these four gospel accounts and the four living creatures, but there is still much more that could be written.

When the glory of the LORD is leaving the temple in Ezekiel 10 (see especially verse 14), there is a slightly different order of the creatures, and there is also a cherub instead of an ox. The change from an ox to a cherub is not a significant one, and it may even be helpful since it may be more proper to think of a cherub as a composite creature that could be ridden. When we think of a cherub, we can get too used to an angel in human form. (See also 2 Samuel 22:11 & Psalm 18:10.)

The reason for the change from ox to cherub may be that the ox would have been listed as the first of the four creatures. And perhaps the cherub is mentioned instead because this is a special event and an ox is seen to be a lowly, hardworking animal. The glory leaving the temple is an important thing and should not be seen as a mundane task.

The glory leaving the temple is a significant prediction of what was ultimately going to happen in the New Testament. At first glance, the glory leaving the temple would leave a person being sad. But if that glory were given to Jesus, there might be a totally different reaction. And a possible reason for pointing to the Gospel according to Luke (since the ox/cherub is connected to this gospel account) is that this account goes back in its genealogy, all the way to the Adam (see Luke 3). In this way, this account would ‘lead the way’ for the glory to be given to Jesus.

Something is promised, and then something is given. At the heart of the issue are the words of the Lord. He is dependable in what he says. This is emphasized in the last part of the verse of the Old Testament text (again, in a somewhat-literal translation): ‘I, Yahweh, have spoken and done.’ This focuses on first the words and then the actions of the LORD. And that is what we see promised in the scriptures. And this is what we see that goes on during worship.

0 Comments

June 5th, 2021

6/5/2021

0 Comments

Last Sunday it could be said that the focus was on seraphim, and we looked at the only passage that mentions this type of angel, Isaiah’s temple vision in chapter six of his book. This Sunday, the Second Sunday after Pentecost, the Old Testament reading focuses on the fall into sin [Genesis 3:8-15], but soon after that text is the first time that another type of angel appears. This time we will be looking at the cherubim.

A word somewhat similar to cherub is chubby, but please do not think of these angels as chubby and cute. Their first mention is in Genesis 3:24, and they have some serious business on their hands. And here is a somewhat-literal translation:

And he [Yahweh God] drove out the man and caused to dwell on the east to the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the sword, the one turning every way, to guard the path of the tree of the life.

There are obviously many more passages about cherubim, and we will be looking at some of them in the next few weeks. But this one is special. This one is the first. And it seems as though you might also say that this one is ‘popular’. Here is a quotation from Stephen Cook, who is connected to the Society of Biblical Literature, to give you an idea as to the extent of their popularity:

In the ancient Near East, cherubim were winged, composite beings (“sphinxes”), regulating access to the center of the cosmos and divinity. They guarded temples and royal thrones, prime earthly access points to the transcendent (page 179 of “Cosmos, Kabod, and Cherub: Ontological and Epistemological Hierarchy in Ezekiel.” This chapter is by Stephen L. Cook, pages 179-197, in Ezekiel’s Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality; SBL Symposium Series, number 31; Brill, 2004.)

What is interesting is that these cherubs in other cultures not only have the job of guarding, but they are sometimes seen guarding a tree. Here is a much longer quote from the same work and from the next page (page 180), but hopefully it is helpful:

Parallel imagery of monstrous, guarding beings positioning themselves symmetrically about a holy, divine axis is common both in the ancient Near East and in the mythologies of world cultures. In these images, the cosmos’s axis often appears as a highly stylized, symbolic tree, which marks paradise, or Eden, where God is present (cf. Gen 3:24; Ezek 31:9). Earthly temples aim to model this locale (cf. Ezek 41:18), presenting themselves as Eden, God’s mountaintop garden….

A cylinder seal from northern Syria (Alalakh level I-Ii, 1225-1175 B.C.E.) shows seated, winged sphinxes flanking a sacred, cosmic tree. They have raised their paws, forming a shield against all encroachers. Similarly, two ram-headed sphinxes mirror each other across a palmette tree on an ivory carving from Arslan Tash (ninth century B.C.E.). Antithetical sphinxes, from about the same time, also appear on an ivory panel from Nimrud. They flank the same voluted tree, which rises heavenward in tiers.

From farther west, winged male sphinxes guard the cosmic center on five cast plaques from Mycenean Cyprus (twelfth to early eleventh century B.C.E.). The plaques form part of a tripod’s ring-shaped top. On each one, sphinxes sit upright, at attention, arrayed about a stylized, lily-like tree. They are lean and hungry, and wear round helmets with knobs and plumes.

This quotation seems to say that there may be something to this biblical text, and having cherubs and trees appear in so many other places, it may actually be true!

0 Comments

A Sabbath Day's Journey

June 26th, 2021

June 19th, 2021

June 12th, 2021

June 5th, 2021

Archives