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Can You Sum Up a Book in a Single Verse?

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I recently came across (HT Mark Meynell) an intriguing attempt by Sarah Wilson at the Lutheran Forum blog to summarise the whole Bible in 66 verses. The idea is to take from each book of the Bible a single verse that sums up the basic theme of that book. So, for the book of Judges, which we completed recently, Sarah has chosen as a theme verse 17:6: ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’ That seems a pretty good choice to me. For Ruth, it’s 1:16: ‘But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”‘

Now we’re in 1 Samuel, and Sarah has chosen 8:7: ‘And the LORD told him [i.e. Samuel]: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”‘ Can you see why she has made this choice? As you read through 1 Samuel, how would you summarise it? Which verse would you choose? What about for John’s gospel? Psalms and Proverbs?

May 10, 2010 · Tagged with , ,

Weekly Messages

It Wasn’t All Bad …

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The book of Ruth shows us that the time of the Judges wasn’t all bad. In the midst of some terrible goings-on there are a few bright lights, people behaving with compassion, loyalty and gentleness. Ruth and Boaz are two of these people. Notice how the law, as followed by Boaz in this story, serves to protect the poor and vulnerable, in this case the widowed Naomi and Ruth. Notice also how God is working through people who are in many ways quite ordinary to achieve his long-term goals for the nation and, ultimately, the world. Ruth and Boaz both appear in the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, as ancestors of David and then Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

Over in John’s gospel, Ruth and Boaz’ descendant Jesus is encountering a succession of people with various needs and attitudes. But at the heart of each encounter is one question: will they believe in him? The theme of belief / unbelief is central to John’s gospel, as is the idea of testimony or witness. What will it take for people to believe? What is credible evidence? Who are credible witnesses? And for those who live after Jesus has returned to the heavens, do you have to see in order to believe, or is the witness of John’s gospel enough? To see where all this is heading, look at 21:24-31.

May 5, 2010 · Tagged with , ,

Weekly Messages

Tales of the Wild West?

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Some of the stories in the book of Judges sound to me like tales of the Wild West. It’s a lawless, anarchic time, when the vulnerable are easily preyed upon by armed thugs (the Midianites, etc.). When God sends a judge to sort things out it is like a new sheriff riding into town to restore order and protect the weak. But once the judge has gone, things soon return to how they were before. The cycle described in 2:10-19 is repeated again and again.

So, what is the root cause of this state of affairs? 2:10 sets the scene: ‘After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.’ The result? They turn to other gods, the pagan gods of the nations they had failed to drive out earlier on. And this is a clear violation of God’s covenant with them - see 2:20. Disobedience and disloyalty lead to disaster. But oh, how easy it is to forget God and follow the idols of our world! And how patient God is with the Judges generation and with us.

So why did this new generation not know God as their predecessors had done? Is it because the previous generation had failed to put Deuteronomy 4:9 into practice? ‘Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.’ Passing on what we have known of God to the next generation is a vital task.

April 26, 2010 · Tagged with ,

Weekly Messages

The Problem of War

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Many of the hardest questions that come up when you read the OT concern the role of fighting and killing. In the book of Joshua these questions loom especially large. Why so much killing? Why would a God of compassion and mercy command his people to behave like this?

Philip Jenson addresses these questions in a Grove booklet (see www.grovebooks.co.uk) called The Problem of War in the Old Testament. His conclusion is that the OT’s approach to war is complex, ambivalent, conditional and incomplete. War is presented in a number of different ways. Sometimes God does the fighting for Israel and Israel only needs to trust. At other times Israel fights with God’s assurance of success. Fighting is seen as necessary, but later we’ll see that a fighting king (David) is not allowed to build the temple. Success in war is seen as conditional on a number of factors including trust in the Lord and a society and leadership marked by justice. The coming of Christ changes the situation, not least because the people of God are no longer defined by race or land, but by faith in Christ.

Let’s be clear: fighting and death are seen as a terrible evil. But when it comes to the invasion of Canaan they are seen as a necessary evil. What is at stake is whether God’s people will stay true to him, or will be absorbed into the pagan culture of Canaan and lose their identity. Will true faith in the one true God continue, or will it be critically compromised by the worship of pagan gods? That takes us some way towards understanding what is going on here, though there is still an element of what Calvin called God’s ‘incomprehensible counsel’. There is much of God’s will we don’t understand.

But there is one other thing we can say. Ultimately what is at stake is whether the people of God will survive in order to produce Jesus, the Messiah, who will bring about the salvation of the whole world. In the overarching storyline of the Bible that is the crucial question.

April 19, 2010 · Tagged with ,

Weekly Messages

A New Government?

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I’ve been doing some catch-up reading (yes, it does happen!) which means reading even longer chunks at a time. Not a bad thing to do, in fact, if you want to get the broad sweep of what is going on in a book. Anyway, reading through these middle chapters of Luke, I began musing on the similarities between what is going on here and the current election campaign. Here are some:

  • Jesus is going round the country meeting the public, engaging in debates with his opponents and talking about his values and priorities.
  • At the heart of his message is the topic of government – the government (kingdom) of God. He is talking about a new regime.
  • Jesus is asking people to put their trust in him.
  • Jesus is clear that there are going to be sacrifices ahead for those who choose him (and not just economic ones).
  • The time is limited, and a day is approaching (Good Friday, as it turns out) when the people will make their choice.

Obviously, there are huge differences, too. Jesus is after more than just a vote, the consequences of people’s decisions are eternal, etc. But I’ve found the comparison an interesting one. What do you think?

April 12, 2010 · Tagged with , ,

Weekly Messages

If you think you’re standing firm …

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As we get near to the end of Numbers, I wonder what you’ve made of the behaviour of the people of Israel in this book. Here is the generation that has experienced God’s most amazing act of liberation (until the cross) and yet all they seem to be able to do is moan and complain and go after other “gods” at every opportunity. Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, but you’ll find similar thoughts in the New Testament. For Paul, writing to the Christians in Corinth, the Exodus generation provides a warning to us. Like us, they had tremendous spiritual privileges (e.g. they had God’s presence with them), and yet it didn’t stop them from giving in to temptation and going astray. Take note, says Paul:

‘These things happened to them as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’ (1 Corinthians 10:11-12, NIV)

Scary stuff! But Paul goes on to add an encouragement:

‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’ (1 Corinthians 10:13-14, NIV)

So, while we read about the failures of the Exodus generation, let’s watch ourselves as well, that we don’t go the same way, and let’s thank God for his faithfulness towards us.

In the New Testament this month we’re moved on to Luke’s gospel. Luke is my favorite gospel, if you’re allowed to have such a thing. I’m not sure I can articulate exactly why that is. Maybe I like the thoroughness of his approach (see 1:1-4). Maybe it’s the fact that some of Jesus’ best known stories (e.g. the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son) are found only in Luke’s gospel. Maybe it’s the way Luke focuses on the way Jesus related to the underdogs of society (the poor, the outcasts, etc.). Or maybe it’s the way Luke introduces us to some characters we don’t find in the other gospels, people like Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna. It’s probably a combination of these and other things besides. What do you think?

March 17, 2010 · Tagged with , , ,

Weekly Messages

On spots, mildew and bodily discharges

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To a 21st Century reader, many of the regulations in Leviticus seem strange. Why does God seem obsessed with skin conditions, diet and mildew? I’ve blogged before that the root idea here is holiness. In some way these regulations are meant to preserve the holiness of the people and the ritual purity of the tabernacle. But what decides whether something makes you ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’? What principles are operating here?

You probably won’t be surprised to know that there is much debate about this. Here are some of the suggestions:

1. Some regulations seem designed to prevent the Israelites from indulging in the religious practices of the pagan Canaanite nations. E.g. the regulations about sex and contact with corpses prevent cult prostitution and ancestor worship.

2. Many of the ‘unclean’ things are related to weakness, illness or death (e.g. decay, loss of blood, animals that feed off carrion, etc.). Holiness is about life and wholeness. There is something symbolic going on here.

3. There could be a health-related element, too. The ritual washing keeps up levels of personal (including sexual) hygiene. The ‘clean’ animals in many cases are the ones least likely to cause food poisoning or other illnesses.

These are just three possibilities, and it’s quite possible that the true answer is a combination of these and more. What we do know is that this idea of holiness and purity was woven into the everyday life of every Israelite. Every day carried many opportunities to live out and develop loyalty and obedience towards God.

Jump ahead to Mark’s gospel and we can see something of the radical nature of Jesus’ ministry (something the Pharisees hated). He effectively declares all foods clean (7:19). He touches a dead girl and is touched by a woman whose bleeding makes her ‘unclean’. But instead of becoming unclean himself, he gives them life and wholeness (5:21-43). In the same way, he touches someone with leprosy and makes them well / whole / clean (1:40-45). The laws of Leviticus were not wrong. They were right for their time and place. But Jesus is bringing in a new era (‘the kingdom of God is near’). He has come to make the unclean clean, the impure pure, the unholy holy. And he does that for us, too.

February 26, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , ,

Weekly Messages

A holy God and a holy people

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We begin two new books this week: Leviticus and Mark. Leviticus functions in many ways as a worship manual for the people of God under the old covenant. The key concept in the book is holiness. Holiness can be a difficult idea to grasp, but at its heart it is about being, separate, distinct, set apart, different, ‘other’. God’s holiness is what sets him apart from all he has created. It also has overtones of moral purity.

Leviticus answers the question of how the people of Israel are to worship a holy God, and a major part of that is maintaining their own holiness, or purity. 11:44 encapsulates this well: ‘I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.’ 

In Leviticus, holiness is maintained by a combination of rituals (sacrifices and festivals) and regulations (e.g. about which foods are ‘clean’ and which are ‘unclean’). The detailed practice of these has been superceded by Jesus (see Mark 7:14-23 and most of Hebrews) but the call to be holy remains and is echoed in the New Testament – see 1 Peter 1:15-16 (where Leviticus is quoted and applied to Christians) and Matthew 5:48 (‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’) For the Christian, purified by the blood of Jesus, living a holy life is encapsulated by the command to love others as God has loved us (see 1 Peter 1:13-25).

Mark is the shortest of the gospels and regarded by many (but not all) scholars as the earliest. In comparison with Matthew it is short on the teachings of Jesus and long on action. It also proceeds at a cracking pace, as you’ll notice straight away in chapter 1. One theme to look out for is discipleship. As you read through, can you imagine what life with Jesus was like for those first disciples? Watch out for their responses to him. How does their experience of Jesus compare to yours?

February 15, 2010 · Tagged with , , ,

Weekly Messages

How to get access to God

Posted by James · 2 Comments 

This week we continue to read the detailed instructions for the worship of God under the Sinai covenant. And, yes, it does read like DIY manual at times! To help you imagine what all this looked like, here is a picture of one reconconstruction of the tabernacle and its associated holy objects (the altar is in the foreground):

And here’s what Aaron’s garments may have looked like:

For an extended New Testament commentary on all of this, the best place to look is chapters 7-11 of Hebrews. Christ is both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice, the fulfilment of the whole sacrifical system under the old covenant. We’ll be reading a lot more about that system in the weeks to come. It’s a system that graphically represents a number of theological truths: (1) God is holy, (2) sinful people cannot approach a holy God without their sins being dealt with first, (3) this is done through sacrifice.

Unlike the sacrifices made by priests under the old covenant, which had to be made repeatedly, Christ’s sacrifice of himself needed only to be made once. In the words of Hebrews: ‘… he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. … The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves.’ (Hebrews 9:26b and 10:1, NIV).

In the New Testament we come to the end of Matthew’s gospel, with Jesus’ death and resurrection. And just to drive home the point that Jesus’ death has dealt with the separation from God caused by sin, notice 27:51 – at the time of Jesus’ death the curtain in the temple is torn in two, from top to bottom. This curtain is the equivalent of the one that hung in the tabernacle, separating off the Most Holy Place, where the ark of the covenant was and where God’s symbolic presence dwelt. We read about it in Exodus 26:31-33 last week. If you tear down that curtain it means that you have access to God. And that’s what Jesus’ death has done for us.

February 8, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , ,

Weekly Messages

Encounters with God

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Israel’s encounter with God at Mt. Sinai is one of the most significant events of the Old Testament.  God has already shown his presence with them in the pillars of cloud and fire, and he has provided food and water for them. But now God comes to make a covenant with them, a binding agreement with them for him to be their God and they to be his people. This is the special relationship that God had earlier promised to Abraham.

The Law that follows, with the Ten Commandments at its heart, defines for Israel how they are to live in this special relationship with God. Some of it will sound strange to us, because it is shaped to suit the conditions of its time. But if we look at the big picture, we see a holy God, full of love and justice, showing his people how to be a holy people who reflect his character in the world. This is how they can be a people ‘in his image’.

Chapters 25-31 will contain instuctions for the people’s worship, and the various materials required. It would be easy to get bogged down in the detail. But perhaps we can focus on two things: (1) it is a remarkable privilege for this people to have God dwelling in their midst, and (2) he deserves the very best that they can bring him in worship. Of course, the same things are true of us.

Matthew 24 has caused much scratching of heads over the years, as you can imagine. The language is highly poetic and uses a lot of imagery taken from the Old Testament. At least some of what Jesus is predicting was fulfilled in AD 70 when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans after a Jewish revolt. But how much, if any, is about Jesus’ Second Coming and the final judgement? In verse 3, Jesus seems to imply that he is going to talk about two things: (1) the destruction of the temple, and (2) ‘the end of the age’. Dick France, author of the IVP Tyndale commentary on Matthew, thinks that Jesus is talking about (1) up to verse 35 and (2) from verse 36 onwards. If he’s right, then the disciples can expect warning signs leading up to the destruction of the temple, but about ‘that day’ (the Day of Judgment and of Christ’s return), no-one knows, not even Jesus himself. That’s why his followers should be ready for it to come at any time.

February 3, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , ,

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