Archive for » December, 2010 «

Delivery of Books

Friday, December 31st, 2010 | Author:

Between November 29 and December 25, I shipped more than 200 books to readers.  If you ordered BEFORE December 23 and you have not received your order IN THE UNITED STATES, then I need to know.  Several people have had problems with orders due to the general mismanagement of the post office.  So far I have replaced 12 books that were never delivered (or strangely disappeared when the post office claimed that they delivered).  I have been told by the post office that due to the Christmas backlog it could take up to a MONTH for delivery.  Don’t ask me why.  Government efficiency at work.

Obviously, this is not only frustrating but expensive.  Each book that I replace doubles my cost but I want you to have what I write, so please let me know if you were expecting a delivery that did not arrive.  I have tracking labels on every shipment – but sometimes all that means is that I know the shipment was sent and no one seems to know where it is.

Thanks for your patience.

Skip

Category: Articles, Community Issues & Prayer Requests  | 4 Comments

Hebrew Connections

Friday, December 31st, 2010 | Author:

But wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17

Peaceable – OK, let’s think about this.  “Peaceable?”  We live in a world of greater and greater threat and conflict.  In case you weren’t paying attention, tensions around the globe are escalating as the world’s political and economic realms shrink.  It seems as though the same thing is happening on the individual and relationship front.  More and more stress.  Less and less peace.  Wasn’t it the Beatles who said, “You know I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind?”

James is Hebrew.  His name is really Ya’aqov.  When he writes about peace, he isn’t thinking eirene, the Greek word for the “absence of war.”  He is thinking shalom, a state of complete well-being, principally because of a right-relationship with YHWH.  Ya’aqov’s readers would probably think the same thing since they are part of the Jewish Messianic fellowship.  Shalom is what we want and what we need.  It’s not just the absence of conflict, a Greek idea that assumes the natural state of man is war.  It’s the hope of universal Sabbath, the rest that the world longs to embrace as the fulfillment of the creative order.

Now that we know the goal, on this last day of the solar year, we might reflect once more on the Beatles’ song, “I’m so tired.”

“I’m so tired my mind is on the blink.”

“I’m so tired I don’t know what to do.”

“I wonder should I call you but I know what you would do.”

And so it goes.  “Give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind.”

Will you rest in the coming year?  Will you stop pushing to exhaustion in order to meet the incessant demands of a world that only knows extraction?  Will you turn to the Sabbath because you desperately need it?  Or will you sing the slow suicidal melody “I’m so tired.”

The Hebrew consciousness is informed with a certain relaxed sense of purpose.  Why?  Because it all doesn’t depend on me!  God’s hand moves invisibly through the lives of men, and as long as it does, I am finally not fully responsible for the outcomes of my efforts.  I can trust in a universe that conspires with me to bring about His good purposes.  I can rest in knowing His plans cannot be thwarted.  Tired?  Yes, of course I’m tired.  I work hard.  But “so tired?”  No, I have the promise of a day of rest in every seven, a day to remember that this world is not mine, it is only mine to enjoy.

Topical Index:  tired, peace, eirene, war, stress, Beatles, James 3:17

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Comments on Brevard Childs

Thursday, December 30th, 2010 | Author:

Brevard S. Childs was perhaps the most influential thinker in the development of canonical theology in the last several decades. His work, Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments, presents a thorough analysis of the forces that led to the formulation of a canonical theological position. In this series of lectures and comments of Childs’ work, I examine the critical epistemological and theological decisions behind his formulation. These discussions give you graduate level insights into the liberal Christianity of the contemporary church.

As faithful supporters of At God’s Table, I am glad to offer you these lectures without charge.  Enjoy and learn.

Skip Moen

First lecture (about 3 hours)

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Second lecture (about 1 hour)

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Third lecture and concluding remarks (about 1 hour)

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What Happened?

Thursday, December 30th, 2010 | Author:

But wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17

Pure – Want peace in your life?  Want gentleness, mercy and integrity?  Want clear reason and satisfying production?  Then start with hagnos (Greek for pure).  Of course, it’s important to know what “pure” means.

Some synonyms help.  “Free from defilements, holy, unblemished, perfect” for starters.  When we investigate a bit more, we find that the Greek term is almost always the equivalent of the Hebrew kodesh, a basic term for purity within the religious sphere.  Procksch notes that this is distinct from the idea of ethics since it is grounded in the divine, not the human (TDNT, Vol. 1, p. 89).  The distinction is important.  When we read “pure” we naturally think of moral acts.  We imagine that James is exhorting us to ethical uprightness.  But that’s not the way the New Testament uses the term hagnos.  James is talking about ritual purity, about not being defiled before God in worship.  In other words, James is telling his readers that the first thing required for wisdom is personal and corporate acceptability before God, the ritual purity described in Leviticus.

Once we realize that James is following Jewish protocol and not speaking about ethical behavior, we see that Torah observance is the basis of wisdom from above.  Wisdom, that understanding and appreciation of the practical application of awe and reverence in life, begins with ritual compliance.  If I want to enter into fellowship with YHWH, I have to come to Him His way.  Hagnos is the New Testament equivalent of “clean.”  Everything depends on it.

Now for the “What happened?” question.  In the Greek text, hagnos is preceded by the Greek word men (the phrase is proton men hagne).  For some unknown reason, the NASB simply leaves out the translation of men.  The literal translation should be “first truly pure” where men emphasizes the perfect quality of ritual purity.  Both the Textus Receptus and the NA27th Edition of the Greek New Testament include men so there can hardly be a textual excuse for its omission.   Now that you know it’s there, you don’t have to exclude it.  The kind of purity James is declaring is the real stuff, the 100% genuine article kind.  Why would he need to mention this?  Perhaps James’ concern with proper behavior, the kind of behavior that does not leave someone “dead without works” requires first and foremost adherence to the proper form of worship.  If we can’t get that right, what chance do we have for peace and gentleness.  Our presence before the Lord is an offense from the beginning.  James writes to an audience of Jews and Gentiles who are now in fellowship together under Yeshua HaMashiach.  They need to be reminded that the form of worship hasn’t changed.  It’s still vitally important.  Life begins with worship and worship begins with being pure before Him.  Isn’t that still true today?

Topical Index:  pure, hagnos, men, ritual, worship, defilement, James 3:17

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A Sign Of The Covenant

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 | Author:

“I will give them one heart and one way of life, to reverence me at all times, for their own good and the good of their children after them.” Jeremiah 32:39

One Way Of Life – The old beliefs die hard.  Tradition is difficult to revise.  Comfortable conclusions resist correction.  But a love of the truth will lead us to constantly reconsider what remains questionable.  As contemporary believers, we might need to review our thinking about the “new” covenant, but Jeremiah certainly doesn’t need to.  He has it straight from the mouth of God.  He uses a word that cements the permanence of the covenant in as strong a way as possible.

The Hebrew phrase lev ehad vederek ehad (one heart and one way) makes it clear that YHWH describes a unity in commitment (heart) and a unity in behavior (way). The word ehad is found in the Shema.  It is a particularly critical word in Judaism, marking YHWH as the only true God, the one and only divine being.  Since this passage is in the same context as Jeremiah’s revelation about the “new” covenant, it seems obvious that the “new” covenant is intended to be the only way of life for all of God’s people. Describing the one way of life with the same strength as the declaration of monotheism emphasizes the centrality of this covenant.  There is no substitution and there are no alternatives.  There is one and only one way of life that teaches men to show reverence and awe (yare) for YHWH and is also for their own good (tov).

How is it that we missed this?  Maybe our lack of understanding of the “Old” Testament caused us to overlook the core beliefs of the New Testament Jewish background.  We acknowledge that circumcision was a sign of the covenant.  God declared it so.  But did we fail to see that the covenant from Sinai was also a sign – a sign that we are God’s people under His authority directed by His instructions?

“One way of life” is a pretty startling pronouncement in our world.  We are cultural and ethical polytheists.  We have succumbed to the epistemological bankruptcy of the West, arriving at the place where everyman’s inner life is his own creation, where truth is what works for me.  It is virtually impossible to argue the idea of one way of life today.  Even within the 28,000 denominations of the “unity” of Christianity, there is no consensus about how to live.  Peter Leithart is correct when he says that Christianity (not Christians) is institutionalized worldliness.  Christianity mimics the organization, ethics and epistemology of the world.  It’s up to the Christians to change that – to live according to God’s instructions as the one way of life.

The real question is this:  Why don’t we?  Most responses are about inconvenience than about truth.  We have accommodated to the culture.  It’s hard to break the patterns.  It’s difficult to explain to our neighbors.  We are in captivity in Babylon.  It might be useful to read God’s instructions to His people when they went into Babylon 2500 years ago.  God’s advice worked then.  I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work now.

Topical Index:  one way, ehad, Jeremiah 32:39, Torah

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , ,  | 9 Comments

Simple Faith

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 | Author:

We spend a lot of time in this community digging into the complexity of faith.  While I believe that this effort is a righteous act in itself, and worthy of God’s favor, we sometimes forget that faith can also be as simple as the trust of a child.  One of our members sent me this video link.  It reminded me not to forget that the most powerful message of redemption is not lost on the humble and the innocent.  I think this is a fitting reminder of the width of God’s love.  Take a look.

Click here.

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Prophetic Calling

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 | Author:

“And you, lie down on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it.  The number of the days that you shall lie down on it, you shall bear their iniquity.” Ezekiel 4:4  (translation:  A. Heschel)

Bear – Who will respond to the call of the Lord?  “Here I am,” said Samuel.  “Send me,” said Isaiah.  “It is accomplished,” said Yeshua.  But few and far between are the people who willingly take up God’s call.  Why?  Perhaps the instructions to Ezekiel give us the answer.  To be called by God is to bear the iniquity of others.

Ah, you thought that Yeshua bore it all.  You thought that you were relieved from the duty of carrying the sins of others because He died as the perfect sacrifice.  Think again.  We encountered this Hebrew verb (nasa) in Isaiah 53:4.  The Suffering Servant bears the sins of the people.  So do the prophets.  Certainly this cannot mean that Ezekiel is charged with the guilt of Israel and Judah.  It means that Ezekiel is a substitute for the punishment that Israel and Judah deserve.  The same is true of Yeshua.  He bore our punishment.  That had forensic value in God’s moral government, but the act of sacrifice was an act of substitution, not forgiveness.  Called to suffer, that’s the role of those who would follow the Master.  Called to suffer without cause for those who deserve to suffer.  Do you still want to answer God’s calling?

We might be willing to accept punishment for our own mistakes and disobedience.  Accountability is a big word in Christian vocabulary today.  But accountability is justifiable retribution.  Personal excuses to the contrary, everyone understands the necessity and importance of personal judgment and discipline.  But Christian vocabulary includes a word that defies human logic.  That word is nasa – to bear.  It is humanly inconceivable that I should bear the punishment others deserve.  No legal system in this world condemns the innocent in place of the guilty.  No system except God’s system.  To be called is to be called to substitutionary suffering.  To forgive is to bear the guilt of the guilty, to willingly accept what should never be ours in order to remove the penalty from others.  Prophets are not called to proclaim.  They are called to stand in for God.  They are called to display His suffering, to die for those who would rather live without the Father.  Practical redemption is the choice to let God afflict me rather than bring His wrath to bear on those who most certainly merit it.  Do you still want to answer God’s calling?

What joy we experience when we take on the mantle of God’s own grace!  What victory we have when we act as His true stewards of men!  And what honor we receive when we are shamed for His sake!  The reason the world cannot understand or abide God’s called-out ones is simple:  they do not follow any form of common sense justice.  They exhibit something the world cannot comprehend – the crucified God.  Do you want to answer His calling?  Good!  He has counted you worthy to suffer in His name.

Topical Index:  suffer, guilt, nasa, bear, Ezekiel 4:4, Isaiah 53:4

DONATION NOTATION:  Mike Regan, a faithful member of our community, has asked me to post this note.  If you wish to make a donation by the end of the year, then now is the time.  Go here.  Thank you.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 44 Comments

Matthew, Session 49

Monday, December 27th, 2010 | Author:

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Matthew, Session 48

Monday, December 27th, 2010 | Author:

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Second Story

Monday, December 27th, 2010 | Author:

In the beginning Genesis 1:1

In The Beginning – The Tanakh opens with a single word, bere’shiyt, a compound of the preposition be and re’shiyt, a noun that means “the first, the chief, the best.” The rabbis noted a curious thing about bere’shiyt.  It begins with a bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  “Why,” they asked, “doesn’t the Torah begin with the first letter, the aleph?  After all, this eternal Torah is the true beginning of God’s revelation.  It seems only reasonable that it should begin with the beginning letter.”  Such thoughts bother rabbis who hold God’s Word in such high esteem.  After much consideration, they arrived at a suggestion.  Their answer has to do with the shape of the letter bet and the fact that Hebrew is written from right to left.  Let’s look at the actual text.

Screen shot 2010-11-28 at 8.57.23 AM

If you’re having trouble seeing the Hebrew text, go here.

Look at the opening letter, bet (remember it is the first letter on the right!).  Did you notice that it is open in the direction of the rest of the text but closed to anything that precedes the text?  Remember that the text reads from the right to the left.  The rabbis concluded that the Torah begins with a bet because anything that comes before Torah is closed to our understanding.  We are given a revelation of everything that follows the bet, everything on the open side of the bet.  What happens before the bet is hidden in mystery.  Anything that we declare about the cosmos before the beginning is sheer speculation.  Why?  Because God chose to begin His revelation with a bet, shrouding His actions prior to the creation of matter in His divine consciousness alone.

You might be inclined to dismiss such theological explanation and delve into theories of astrophysics and timeframes in special relativity.  But the rabbinic understanding solves a huge problem.  What problem does the rabbinic exegesis solve?  Principally the problem of “Why?”  Rabbinic exegesis focuses our attention on what follows bere’shiyt, that is, everything we need to know about how to live in God’s world.  The Tanakh isn’t about how everything started.  It’s about why God did what He did.  Instructions for living found in the Torah are about answering the questions: “Why does God care?”  “Why am I an object of His concern?”  “Why should God care about how I live?”  Gone are the endless speculations about events before the beginning.  Do those speculations matter?  Not to the way God asks me to live in His universe.  Bere’shiyt pushes me in the direction of the text, a text that explains God’s view of my world.  That is what matters!  Speculation is useless until it confronts God’s demand on my life.  Back to “In the beginning.”  Forward from the bet.

Topical Index:  in the beginning, bere’shiyt, bet, Tanakh, Genesis 1:1

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 8 Comments
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