Blog Archives

July 26th, 2020

7/26/2020

The Old Testament text for this Sunday is from the book of Deuteronomy [7:6-9]. The title of that book refers to a second giving of the law. A more accurate title may be found in the first words of the book: ‘These are the words….’ There are A LOT of words in that book, words that talk a lot about what had happened in the past (and not so many words that are describing the current events of that time).

Just a few weeks ago, the text was from Exodus 19, and in both that text and in this one there is an extremely rare word, sometimes translated with these two words: ‘treasured possession’. Here are both verses in a somewhat literal translation:

And now, if you certainly listen to my voice and you keep my covenant, then you will be, to me, a treasured possession to me from all the peoples that are in all the earth (Exodus 19:5).

For you are a holy people to Yahweh, your God; Yahweh, your God, chose you to be for him as a treasured possession from all the peoples which are on the faces of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6).

These verses should be a ‘treasured possession’, since that word does not show up too frequently in the Old Testament. In 1 Chronicles 29:3 and Ecclesiastes 2:8, the word refers to the personal property of kings. But in the two verses above, as well as in only four other places, that word is used in connection with Israel, that Israel is seen as the LORD’s ‘treasured possession’.

Here are those four verses, again with a somewhat literal translation:

For you are a holy people to Yahweh, your God, and Yahweh chose you to be for him as a people, a treasured possession from all the peoples that are on the faces of the earth (Deuteronomy 14:2; please note how similar this verse is to 7:6; here, again, is an emphasis on words).

And Yahweh has declared this day to be to him for a people of a treasured possession, just as he promised to you and to keep all of his commandments (Deuteronomy 26:18).
For Yahweh chose Jacob for him, Israel for his treasured possession (Psalm 135:4).

‘And they will be for me’, says Yahweh of Hosts, ‘in the day which I making a treasured possession, and I will spare them just as a man spares his son, the one serving him (Malachi 3:17).’

Besides those three appearances in Deuteronomy, there are not many words that appear once in the second book of the bible, once in the Psalms, and once in the last book of the bible! Much could be said about ANY of these verses, but the appearance in the Psalter is probably the most noteworthy.

Although I have often written that chapter divisions are an artificial structure imposed upon the text, I should also mention that the book of Psalms is an exception. Each Psalm is a chapter, and each Psalm was probably composed separately, and so those chapter divisions are important ones and should be taken into account. But I should also say that the book of Psalms AS A WHOLE also has a structure, and it is sometimes difficult to see such a structure. Sometimes the structure takes into account certain numbers that are important to the Hebrew language and history. And with the Hebrew language, numbers are VERY closely related to words since the Hebrew letters sometimes serve as numbers as well. The entire book of the Psalms is actually broken up into five books, and this mirrors, in some ways, the first five books of the bible. (There are also five Psalms at the very end of this entire book which form somewhat of a conclusion and which may be connected to these first five books of the bible.)

The appearance of Israel as a treasured possession in Psalm 135 is in an interesting place. The fifth book of the Psalter is from Psalm 107 to Psalm 150. If you go ten Psalms into that book, you are at Psalm 116. In the Psalms before this, you hear of people praising the LORD in an assembly. You also hear, in Psalm 108:8, that God speaks from his sanctuary. In Psalm 110:2, we hear that Yahweh will send his scepter of power from Zion. There is also the reminder that our God is in the heavens (Psalm 115:3). But in Psalm 116, at the end (verses 17 and following), there are these words (literally translated):

To you I will sacrifice an offering of thanksgiving and on the name Yahweh I will call. My vows to Yahweh I will fulfill before, now, all his people, in the courts of the house of Yahweh, in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise Yahweh!

So there seems to be a closer progression toward the temple in these first ten Psalms. Then there are three Psalms after this, the shortest one (Psalm 117), one with one of the most comforting prophecies of the Old Testament (and Martin Luther’s most favorite Psalm, Psalm 118), and the longest Psalm (Psalm 119).

After this ‘interlude’, there are fifteen ‘Songs of Ascent’ (Psalm 120 to 134; and the only Psalm ‘of Solomon’, the builder of the temple, just happens to be the middle one!). On the way to the final ‘Song of Ascent’, at Psalm 122, there was talk of being ‘at the gates of Jerusalem (verse 2).’ At the last ‘Song of Ascent’, there is the command to ‘Lift up your hands in the sanctuary.’ Then there is this statement: ‘Yahweh will bless you from Zion, the One making the heavens and the earth (Psalm 134:2-3).’ Before this there was also talk of Yahweh blessing from Zion, but that is connected to the goodness of Jerusalem—not something as important as making heaven and earth (See 124:8 and 128:5)!

So, there seems to be a progression at the beginning of this fifth book of the Psalter, and there seems to be another progression within these Songs of Ascent. And the first Psalm after these Songs of Ascent is Psalm 135, and this Psalm contains those very special and very rare words of Israel being a ‘treasured possession’.

After Psalm 135, the next Psalm has a repeated phrase throughout the chapter, much like a liturgy, and then there is somewhat of an opposite contrast in the next Psalm, with a reference to being exiled in Babylon. The fact of a ‘treasured possession’ seems to be meant to carry the hearer through a whole spectrum of possibilities. In much the same way, all the words of scripture have been carefully designed to carry the Lord’s people through a wide spectrum of situations in this life.

0 Comments

July 18th, 2020

7/18/2020

0 Comments

I have mentioned before that Isaiah is the most often used book for the Old Testament texts in the three-year series, so it is not too surprising that this Sunday, once again, the text is from that book [44:6-8]. But such frequent usage should not be too surprising. In the Gospel according to John, the writer basically says that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him (12:41). Who else in the Old Testament has a similar description?

I have also mentioned before that a prophet has a close relationship to the king, sort of a palace spokesman. Almost at the very beginning of the bible (Genesis 20:7), Abraham is described as ‘a prophet’ and is very close to God and, because of that, Abraham’s prayers will save another king. It is interesting that the name of the king who is saved is ‘Abimelech’, and this name means ‘father of the king’, and THAT name carries with it a LOT of authority. Near the very end of the bible, the topic of prophecy is also mentioned, and John writes, ‘I witness to everyone hearing the words of this prophecy of this bible: If anyone adds upon them, God will add upon him the plagues having been written in this bible; and if anyone takes away from the words of the bible of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city of the things having been written in this bible (Revelation 22:18-19; this translation is quite literal, and the word ‘bible’ could also be translated as ‘book’ or ‘scroll’).

The vast majority of the times that ‘king’ is mentioned in Isaiah, it is talking about one or more earthly kings. The text for this Sunday happens to be one of the last times the word ‘king’ is used in the singular form in Isaiah. The only time after this is at Isaiah 57:9 where it is written, ‘You traveled to the king with the olive oil (again, the translation is quite literal).’ A king has already been anointed, but here you have someone traveling to the king and giving him something that is not needed.

This action is very similar to some of the sad stories about some Israelite children being sacrificed to the false god Molech, whose name means, quite literally, king. It is easy to go off the right path. What helps to avoid doing that is to see where that wrong path ends.

Immediately after this Sunday’s text from Isaiah is a detailed look at what happens when a person worships another god that is not the true God (44:9-20). At the height of the comparison, the man uses half of the wood to heat his food and the other half to make a false god, before which he bows down.

In stark contrast to this path is the path that Isaiah gives us at the very beginning of the text. The LORD is described (again, literally) in three, very important ways: ‘The King of Israel, the One redeeming him (that is, Israel), and the LORD of hosts.’

One of the more popular and somewhat unique ways of describing the LORD in Isaiah is ‘the Holy One of Israel’. This description is significantly different than ‘King of Israel’. As was mentioned above, the vast majority of the uses of ‘king’ in this book is when describing a ‘regular’ king, but this time, the extent of kingship is very limited. This king is ‘down-to-earth’.

The next way he is described is as redeeming. We usually think of the New Testament right away when we hear that word, but if we stay in the Old Testament, we think of Job. But the book of Ruth is the best example of a redeemer in the Old Testament, and this is essentially a protector of the family.

The last way is the most powerful. Not only does the name LORD mean ‘He is’—meaning that he is basically the only thing that truly IS—but the word ‘hosts’ refers to military service, ranks and divisions of troops (see The Lutheran Study Bible, page 1291; published by Concordia Publishing House; St. Louis, Missouri, 2009).

The progression within this description leads us on, not only to other similar—and even more significant—references, but to a New Testament that certainly shows the glory of THE Redeemer. Jesus talks about being glorified when he is lifted up. That is where he finally accepts the title above his thorn-crowned head, the KING of the Jews.

0 Comments

July 11th, 2020

7/11/2020

0 Comments

Last week the focus was on Zechariah and the only section of that book that is used within the three-year series—although that book is the longest of the twelve so-called ‘minor prophets’. The text for this week is from Isaiah [55:10-13], and that should not be surprising. The book of Isaiah is the most often used book for the Old Testament text within the three-year series.

Since that is so, and since the message from the Isaiah text is that the LORD’s word accomplishes the task it is given, it might be a good thing to stay in Zechariah and see what words from that special Old Testament book were accomplished in Jesus.

Besides the prediction of the humble King Jesus coming into Jerusalem that was the focus last week, here is the brief list of Zechariah’s prophetic predictions that are given in the Concordia Self-Study Bible [page 1411; Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1986]:

The prophet foretells the coming of Jesus in lowliness as a ‘servant, the Branch’ (3:8; cf. 6:12), who is rejected and sold for 30 pieces of silver (11:12-13), crucified (struck by the sword, 13:7) and the coming Judge and righteous King (14).

Also last week the point was made that some people see connections between the four gospel accounts and the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne that are mentioned in both Testaments. As each living creature is good at a different thing, each gospel account emphasizes some different aspect of Jesus’ authority and glory (and both of these things are good).

Some of the visions in the book of Zechariah include the number four. The second vision at the beginning of the book (1:18ff) has four horns and four craftsmen. The four horns are described as ‘the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem (verse 19)’, and the Concordia Self-Study Bible puts forward the following interpretation: ‘If the number is to be taken literally, the reference is probably to Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Medo-Persia (p. 1415).’ The craftsmen end up being the ‘good guys’ and basically attack the horns. This footnote should be helpful: ‘If the number is to be understood literally, probably the reference is to Egypt, Babylonia, Persia and Greece. What is clear is that all Judah’s enemies will ultimately be defeated (p. 1415).’

What is most helpful in that footnote is the admission that the meanings of those visions are unclear. But what is clear is that the Lord is ultimately doing something very good. The number four is sometimes associated with four different directions, and there are significant things happening in all different directions in that part of the world. It is a difficult thing to understand a vision such as this one.

The eighth and last vision within that first half of the book of Zechariah is especially difficult (6:1-8). That vision has four chariots, and those chariots have four different colors of horses. Now it seems like only three of them end up going somewhere. And some translations have them going in three different directions.

Here is an attempt at a literal translation of some of the text in question (and it should be said that, when dealing with a difficult passage such as this one, there are difficulties in even making a literal translation; a small amount of interpretation will still occur in the words that follow):

And I returned, and I lifted up my eyes, and I looked, and behold, four chariots, ones coming out from between two of the mountains, and the mountains, mountains of bronze. With the chariot, the first, horses, red ones; and with the chariot, the second, horses, black ones. And with the chariot, the third, horses, white ones, and with the chariot, the fourth, horses, dappled ones; powerful ones.

And I responded and I said to the angel, the one speaking with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ And he responded, the angel, and he said to me, ‘These are four of the spirits of the heavens, the ones going out from presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth.

Which, with her horses, the black ones, the ones going to the country, the north; and the white ones, they go out to after them, and the dappled ones, they go out to the country, the south.

And the powerful ones, they went out, and they sought to go, to go around on the earth. And he said, ‘Go, go around on the earth,’ and they went around on the earth (Zechariah 6:1-7).

So much could be said about these few verses! So much has already been said by others. Even the various colors have been investigated as to their meaning. Those colors are important, but they will not be the focus this time.

This basic vision seems to be significantly different from anything to do with the four living creatures. The text ends up only focusing on three chariots, and the way they were ‘translated’ above, it seems like the second one goes to the north, then the third, also to the north, then the fourth to the south, and then they all seem to go all over the earth.

There is a debate about the directions they are going and then, obviously, there is a debate about what this all means. If you would like to see some of this debate, you do not have to read the commentaries, but you would only have to read some of the different translations.

Since there is such a variety already in understanding such a text, I do not think it too terrible to add another possibility to the list.

In the book of Acts, at the start of chapter 8, as a result of the scattering after the persecution and murder of Stephen (and it is important to point out that there are different words for ‘scattering’; the one used in the text hints that this is a good thing, something which the Lord will bless), the following things happen:

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city….

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit….

Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him….

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea [Acts 8:4-8, 14-17, 25-31, 35-40; to save on space, some of the minor details have been left out; some manuscripts also leave out verse 37, and this was left out as well above; this text is from the English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; used by permission; all rights reserved.].

If you look at the text, the direction of travel is remarkably similar to Zechariah. The starting point is Jerusalem. Samaria is to the north (the reference to going ‘down’ means down in elevation, not going south; Jerusalem is basically on Mount Zion and next to the Mount of Olives). Philip goes there first. Then Peter and John also go north. Then Philip goes south. To be noted as well is the emphasis on ‘the Spirit’, which is the same word that comes up in the Zechariah text for an explanation of what the chariots are.

Immediately after the above Acts text, at the start of chapter 9, the focus turns to Saul/Paul. And the Lord eventually says about him that ‘he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel (9:15; ESV).’ That certainly makes me think of the going that is ‘around on the earth’ in Zechariah. And in the book of Acts the reference to the ‘ends of the earth’ is only a little farther, at 13:47. This is the Lord’s command to Paul and Barnabas: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (ESV).’

Either way, the bible is full of references to Jesus. But it is more important to say that the Lord is ultimately doing something that is very good.

0 Comments

July 04th, 2020

7/4/2020

0 Comments

Last week the focus was on a text from Jeremiah; his book is second in the ‘prophets’ section of the scriptures. This week the focus is on a text from Zechariah, and his book is the second-LAST prophet in the ‘prophets’ section of the scriptures. Jeremiah is the longest book of the bible (we are not considering all 150 Psalms as one book), and Zechariah is the longest book of the so-called ‘minor prophets’. But, the sad fact is, we do not often go to either of these two books. The only text from Zechariah in the entire three-year series is the text for this Sunday [9:9-12], and we do not go often to Jeremiah either, especially when compared to a book such as Isaiah. Perhaps there is something ‘secondary’ about being second.

Whereas Jeremiah was around the year 600 B.C., Zechariah was around the year 500 B.C. He is closer to the New Testament, and perhaps he is also closer in seeing what was ahead of him.

This year, when we are focused on the Gospel according to Matthew, the connection to the Old Testament is emphasized. While the Gospel according to Luke could be considered as looking ‘forward’ with the book of Acts, the Gospel according to Matthew could be considered as looking ‘behind’. Some people do not think that what is behind you is important. But where you come from sometimes makes a big difference as to where you are headed.

The four gospel accounts are SO different, one would think that they were not in communication with one another. One might THINK that, but there is a significantly different conclusion that says the writers WERE in communication with each other. The conclusion of this writer is one that was also within the early church, that there is a deliberate variety within the four accounts that reflects the four different living creatures that make up the LORD’s throne. These are the four different ways that the LORD shows his authority and glory.

The Gospel according to Matthew has traditionally been connected to the living creature of the man, and a man is a teacher, and that is what we often see Jesus doing in this gospel account. He shows his authority and glory by teaching. The variety of Old Testament passages that this writer quotes and connects to Jesus may not be dependent on a different source, but they simply have a different emphasis. These are bible passages that are literally central in the Old Testament.

It is important to remember that the Old Testament in Jesus’ day did not have the structure of chapter and verse with which we are familiar. For the reader or the listener to be helped in the progression of a text, the writer would sometimes put something important in the middle of the text, as a clue to arriving at a halfway point within a certain section of a text. (It is easy to forget what was in the middle; the beginning and the ending are usually the most memorable; this is especially the case with movies.) And it is certainly a nice addition to the text that sometimes an aspect of Jesus was at the center of those texts. One of the earliest middle points is the turn of the story at Genesis 8:1, when ‘God remembered Noah’. Then things start to get significantly better. For God to remember something puts the important action on him--rather than on Noah.

Chapter nine of Zechariah starts by identifying what is coming as a ‘burden’ or ‘oracle’. What comes after are some promises as to what will happen and, more importantly, what the Lord will do. As the chapter progresses, the Lord starts to get more involved, and the first use of the ‘first person’, that ‘I will do something’, starts in verse six. In verse seven, there is the mention of ‘our God’, but the first time that the speaker is talking DIRECTLY to someone starts in verse nine, with the start of our text. There are not only two imperatives (‘rejoice’ and ‘shout’) with this text—and imperatives are the use of the 'second person'—but there is also the use of ‘your king’, that ‘he comes to you’. Such a focus on YOU is quite rare throughout the rest of the book. Where 'you' is first mentioned, verse nine, this verse is quoted when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem (see Matthew 21:5).

Verse nine also happens to be in the middle of this chapter (you can see that quite easily since there are a total of eight verses both before and after verse nine). When counting the words in the original language, the middle is between the description of the donkey and colt.

Even more important than the differences between those two animals is the difference between when the LORD talks and when he talks TO YOU. The important action is still on him, but, this time, it makes an important difference to YOU. This change to ‘you’ happens near the middle, and it also happens near the middle elsewhere in the scriptures. Psalm 23 is a good example of this, where the middle word of the entire Psalm is the first mention of ‘you’ in the phrase in verse four, ‘For you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.’

The middle can be important, just as those things that are second can sometimes be important as well.

0 Comments

A Sabbath Day's Journey

July 26th, 2020

July 18th, 2020

July 11th, 2020

July 04th, 2020

Archives