In some ancient Near Eastern languages the words for ‘strength’ and ‘wealth’ are interchangeable. Interestingly, Deuteronomy 6:4, the so-called shema, Moses tells the Israelites to love the Lord their God with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their strength. The problem with this verse is that it literally says to love God with ‘all your exceedingly.’ Obviously, ‘all your exceedingly’ doesn’t make sense and so translators have to figure out how to put that into sensible English.
Funny thing is that ancient translators experienced the same problem. The translators of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament made before the time of Christ, used the words power or might. This is where we get the translation ‘all your strength.’ The targums, Aramaic translations of the Old Testament, use the word mammon. This is the very word Jesus uses when he says, “You cannot serve both God and mammon,” i.e., money.
The point is that in Deuteronomy we are being told to love God with everything we’ve got, including our money. It’s not about tithing. It’s about loving God with all you’ve got, not just the first 10%. It’s also not a guilt trip. It’s not that Moses is some greasy con-man who just wants people’s money. It’s that God wants us to love him with every financial decision we make: paying rent, eating out, buying groceries, investing in your 401(k)…everything. God’s desire is that we revel in his blessing while eagerly desiring to pay that blessing forward.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Back to School
School started today. I have to admit that I was very excited to get back to school, even though I didn't go out and buy a new bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.
This semester I'm teaching first year Hebrew, second year Hebrew, and Historical Books (Joshua-Esther). In October I'll be doing an 'intensive' class on the Poetic Books. 'Intensive' just means that the class meets 8-5 for a week. Those are always exhausting, but this year the exhaustion will be mitigated because my friend Peter Hatton is coming over from Bristol, England to take a few days of the class. Not only will it be great fun to hang out with Peter, but it'll be great for the students becuase Peter is a top-notch wisdom scholar.
This semester I'm teaching first year Hebrew, second year Hebrew, and Historical Books (Joshua-Esther). In October I'll be doing an 'intensive' class on the Poetic Books. 'Intensive' just means that the class meets 8-5 for a week. Those are always exhausting, but this year the exhaustion will be mitigated because my friend Peter Hatton is coming over from Bristol, England to take a few days of the class. Not only will it be great fun to hang out with Peter, but it'll be great for the students becuase Peter is a top-notch wisdom scholar.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Job
The beginning of Job describes the man Job with the following four descriptors: blameless, upright, fears God, and shuns evil. Nowhere else in Scripture is a person given such an unqualified glowing description of righteousness.
Ironically, it’s this very righteousness that qualifies Job for suffering.
When Job is in the middle of his suffering, his friends challenge him to look deep into his own heart and life to find the hidden sin that led to the catastrophe. Sounds like good advice, except that we already know Job is blameless. But Job’s friends assume he sinned. They assumed that since Job is suffering he must have done something wrong.
Scripture tells us that generally speaking God blesses the righteous and makes life tough for the wicked. The problem arises when we look at blessing and assume it’s the result of righteousness or, like Job’s friends, look at suffering and assume it’s the result of wickedness or sin. In Job’s case, just the opposite was true: Job’s suffering was a result of his righteousness.
When we look at a tragedy, say a hurricane or a terrorist attack, and claim we know God is judging sin we defy the message of Job. We cannot look at suffering in the world or in our own lives and automatically declare it to be the result of sin. It’s true that our suffering and challenges, heartaches and disappointments can be the result of sin in our lives, but in those cases God is usually clear and the conviction is concrete.
The suffering may very well be the result of righteousness.
Think about when Jesus’ disciples looked at the blind man and asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The disciples made the same mistake that Job’s friends made. Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Ironically, it’s this very righteousness that qualifies Job for suffering.
When Job is in the middle of his suffering, his friends challenge him to look deep into his own heart and life to find the hidden sin that led to the catastrophe. Sounds like good advice, except that we already know Job is blameless. But Job’s friends assume he sinned. They assumed that since Job is suffering he must have done something wrong.
Scripture tells us that generally speaking God blesses the righteous and makes life tough for the wicked. The problem arises when we look at blessing and assume it’s the result of righteousness or, like Job’s friends, look at suffering and assume it’s the result of wickedness or sin. In Job’s case, just the opposite was true: Job’s suffering was a result of his righteousness.
When we look at a tragedy, say a hurricane or a terrorist attack, and claim we know God is judging sin we defy the message of Job. We cannot look at suffering in the world or in our own lives and automatically declare it to be the result of sin. It’s true that our suffering and challenges, heartaches and disappointments can be the result of sin in our lives, but in those cases God is usually clear and the conviction is concrete.
The suffering may very well be the result of righteousness.
Think about when Jesus’ disciples looked at the blind man and asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The disciples made the same mistake that Job’s friends made. Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Friday, August 20, 2010
GHA
There’s an interesting story written in Sumerian about 4000 years ago called Gilgamesh and Huwawa. It tells the story of Gilgamesh’s search for fame. He is confronted with the fact that, like all humans, he is mortal and will one day die. He reasons that if he can figure out a way to establish a name for himself then he will have achieved a sort of immortality.
The irony here is that Gilgamesh is already a man of renown. He is the king of his people. His people love him and view them as his shepherd. He single-handedly built the city defenses for them to protect them from their enemies. In short, he’s got it all.
But Gilgamesh strains his neck over the city wall, the wall that he built, and he laments that his past accomplishments are not good enough. He needs a new adventure to secure his spot in history and establish an eternal name for himself. He wants to live a life of meaning, a life of significance, so he decides to undertake a new adventure. He will travel to the east to defeat the mighty monster Huwawa. Before embarking on his journey, he seeks out and receives the blessing of the sun god.
There’s actually a somewhat similar story in the Bible. In Genesis 11 we are told that there was a group of people who, just like Gilgamesh, wanted to make a name for themselves. They sense their mortality, so they chose to build a tower that will reach into the heavens.
The big difference is that in the Bible God responds negatively to the undertaking. Why? Why did the sun god bless Gilgamesh in his search for fame but God thwarts the people in Genesis 11?
Because God refuses to be manipulated.
You see, the people weren’t building just any old tower. They were building a ziggurat, a tower that also serves as the home for a deity. They figured that if they could build God a home then they could contain him and manipulate him. After all, if they build a nice home for God, shouldn’t God bless them in return?
Maybe we don’t build towers to house God anymore, but we do sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that if we perform--go to church, give to missionaries, read the Bible every day, serve in the youth group--then God is somehow obligated to bless us. He might choose to bless us, but he’s not obligated. In fact, sometimes, like for Job, the ‘reward’ for our faithfulness is suffering.
The irony here is that Gilgamesh is already a man of renown. He is the king of his people. His people love him and view them as his shepherd. He single-handedly built the city defenses for them to protect them from their enemies. In short, he’s got it all.
But Gilgamesh strains his neck over the city wall, the wall that he built, and he laments that his past accomplishments are not good enough. He needs a new adventure to secure his spot in history and establish an eternal name for himself. He wants to live a life of meaning, a life of significance, so he decides to undertake a new adventure. He will travel to the east to defeat the mighty monster Huwawa. Before embarking on his journey, he seeks out and receives the blessing of the sun god.
There’s actually a somewhat similar story in the Bible. In Genesis 11 we are told that there was a group of people who, just like Gilgamesh, wanted to make a name for themselves. They sense their mortality, so they chose to build a tower that will reach into the heavens.
The big difference is that in the Bible God responds negatively to the undertaking. Why? Why did the sun god bless Gilgamesh in his search for fame but God thwarts the people in Genesis 11?
Because God refuses to be manipulated.
You see, the people weren’t building just any old tower. They were building a ziggurat, a tower that also serves as the home for a deity. They figured that if they could build God a home then they could contain him and manipulate him. After all, if they build a nice home for God, shouldn’t God bless them in return?
Maybe we don’t build towers to house God anymore, but we do sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that if we perform--go to church, give to missionaries, read the Bible every day, serve in the youth group--then God is somehow obligated to bless us. He might choose to bless us, but he’s not obligated. In fact, sometimes, like for Job, the ‘reward’ for our faithfulness is suffering.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Passover and Communion
In the time of Jesus, there was no bigger Jewish holiday than the Passover. The regulations for Passover are given in Exodus 12, where the Lord said to both Moses and Aaron that on the tenth day of the first month every household was to take a one-year-old male lamb without any blemish. It could be from either the sheep or the goats, and it was to be kept until twilight of the fourteenth of the month, at which time they were to kill it. If there weren’t enough people in the house to eat a whole lamb, they would join in with another house in the selection of a lamb. It was important for them not to have meat left over after the Passover meal.
Now imagine that you get together every year to celebrate the killing of a lamb and the smearing of its blood in order to have the wrath of God pass over you. Well, actually, it shouldn’t be too hard to imagine. We call it Easter. In fact, in the early church, the imagery most used to describe Christ’s sacrifice was the Passover.
Passover and the associated Festival of Unleavened Bread was a seven day holiday. “You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. For seven days, you may eat only bread made without yeast…. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.” Those who failed to observe the seven day holiday were cut off from the Israelite people.
Also associated with the whole Passover event was the birth of the nation Israel. Immediately after leaving Egypt, the people made their way to Mt. Sinai, and it was there that God made a nation out of that rag-tag bunch of slaves. Prior to this, although there was the promise of a great nation, there technically was no nation Israel. Thus, Passover became for the Israelites what Independence Day is for Americans. Note that it was also to be the beginning of their year, so it was like our New Year’s Day as well.
The giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai was remembered by the nation as a very significant time in their history. So when the people are delivered from slavery and given Torah they are given the ability to function as a nation. Americans don’t usually think of our nation’s constitution as some sort of lame piece of boring legalism that has nothing to do with us. Rather, we think of it as a document that guarantees our freedom and liberty. The same was true of the ancient Israelites when they thought of the law. It was what gave them identity and set them apart in their world. It gave them a sense of unity and common purpose, and the fact that it was tied in with the Exodus only served to make them more proud of their identity because they were associated with the only God who was able to break the back of the mighty Egyptians, a nation who was at the height of its power at the time of the Exodus.
Now that you know a little about the celebration of Passover, it’s time to put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. You’ve been following this Rabbi named Jesus around for a while and he’s done some pretty crazy things that make you think he has to be the real deal, but he has also said some outlandish things. You are also aware that all your religious leaders, the men you’ve been conditioned to trust and respect, hate the Rabbi you are following and think he is a total nut case. Then, in the middle of your Passover celebration, that time when you are celebrating Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, New Year’s Day, and freedom from slavery all at the same time, Jesus takes some of the Unleavened Bread, meant to signify the haste with which the people would have to move as they fled their captors, and says, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Ouch. Have you ever heard someone say something that kind of makes you cringe in embarrassment for them because they’ve got it all wrong but they said it with such passion and conviction? I think that’s probably how the disciples felt when they heard Jesus say, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
It’s easy to see why the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. He, a mere man, was usurping the place of God, and the law clearly states that anyone who claims to be God is to be put to death. The Passover was meant to celebrate God, not some man.
I used to think the Pharisees and teachers of the law were total idiots, but now I ask myself how I would feel about a pastor telling his followers that Easter is really about him. I’d think he was crazy, call him a heretic, say hateful things about him, and wish he’d go away. And I’d probably want him killed the same way the religious leaders wanted Jesus killed, although I’d dress it up in pious talk like, “If only the Lord would take him from the earth.”
Now imagine that you get together every year to celebrate the killing of a lamb and the smearing of its blood in order to have the wrath of God pass over you. Well, actually, it shouldn’t be too hard to imagine. We call it Easter. In fact, in the early church, the imagery most used to describe Christ’s sacrifice was the Passover.
Passover and the associated Festival of Unleavened Bread was a seven day holiday. “You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. For seven days, you may eat only bread made without yeast…. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.” Those who failed to observe the seven day holiday were cut off from the Israelite people.
Also associated with the whole Passover event was the birth of the nation Israel. Immediately after leaving Egypt, the people made their way to Mt. Sinai, and it was there that God made a nation out of that rag-tag bunch of slaves. Prior to this, although there was the promise of a great nation, there technically was no nation Israel. Thus, Passover became for the Israelites what Independence Day is for Americans. Note that it was also to be the beginning of their year, so it was like our New Year’s Day as well.
The giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai was remembered by the nation as a very significant time in their history. So when the people are delivered from slavery and given Torah they are given the ability to function as a nation. Americans don’t usually think of our nation’s constitution as some sort of lame piece of boring legalism that has nothing to do with us. Rather, we think of it as a document that guarantees our freedom and liberty. The same was true of the ancient Israelites when they thought of the law. It was what gave them identity and set them apart in their world. It gave them a sense of unity and common purpose, and the fact that it was tied in with the Exodus only served to make them more proud of their identity because they were associated with the only God who was able to break the back of the mighty Egyptians, a nation who was at the height of its power at the time of the Exodus.
Now that you know a little about the celebration of Passover, it’s time to put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. You’ve been following this Rabbi named Jesus around for a while and he’s done some pretty crazy things that make you think he has to be the real deal, but he has also said some outlandish things. You are also aware that all your religious leaders, the men you’ve been conditioned to trust and respect, hate the Rabbi you are following and think he is a total nut case. Then, in the middle of your Passover celebration, that time when you are celebrating Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, New Year’s Day, and freedom from slavery all at the same time, Jesus takes some of the Unleavened Bread, meant to signify the haste with which the people would have to move as they fled their captors, and says, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Ouch. Have you ever heard someone say something that kind of makes you cringe in embarrassment for them because they’ve got it all wrong but they said it with such passion and conviction? I think that’s probably how the disciples felt when they heard Jesus say, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
It’s easy to see why the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. He, a mere man, was usurping the place of God, and the law clearly states that anyone who claims to be God is to be put to death. The Passover was meant to celebrate God, not some man.
I used to think the Pharisees and teachers of the law were total idiots, but now I ask myself how I would feel about a pastor telling his followers that Easter is really about him. I’d think he was crazy, call him a heretic, say hateful things about him, and wish he’d go away. And I’d probably want him killed the same way the religious leaders wanted Jesus killed, although I’d dress it up in pious talk like, “If only the Lord would take him from the earth.”
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Jephthah
One of the more confusing stories in the Bible is the story of Jephthah recorded in Judges 11. In it, Jephthah claims that if God will give him victory over the Ammonites then he will offer up whatever comes out of the door of his house to meet him as a burnt offering. Unfortunately, what came out of his house to meet him was his daughter.
In my opinion, this is a dramatic story about submission (or lack thereof) to the revealed will of YHWH. Why? Because Jephthah could have redeemed his daughter for 10 shekels of silver if only he'd known torah (Lev 27:5).
Jephthah was commended in Hebrews 11 not for his upright lifestyle or his knowledge of torah but for his faith displayed in his defeat of the Ammonites. It's important to make this distinction because I have observed a tendency to assume that everything Jephthah did is commended in Hebrews, and this is simply not the case. He is nowhere commended in Scripture for the sacrifice of his daughter. Instead, the sacrifice of his daughter was a violation of torah given as a striking example of what can happen when everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes (Jdg 21:25).
In the narrative itself we are warned that something is going to go wrong, but the warning is subtle. In Jephthah's speech, Jephthah makes several mistakes that clue the reader in to the fact that Jephthah doesn't have all his ducks in a row. He calls the Ammonite God Chemosh (it was actually Molek); he calls the Moabite God Molek (it was actually Chemosh); he introduces contradictions to the narrative given by
Joshua (Josh 24), and he demonstrates bad theology when he says the Ammonites should take what their God has given them (ascribing YHWH's works to another).
These mistakes in Jephthah's speech are meant to serve as clues, foreshadowing the fact that at some point he is going to do something really stupid. When we come to the bit about his daughter, the alert
listener/reader is clamoring, "Redeem her, you fool! Redeem her!" However, Jephthah doesn't know his torah, and the innocent die, and a warning is subtly issued to know torah.
In my opinion, this is a dramatic story about submission (or lack thereof) to the revealed will of YHWH. Why? Because Jephthah could have redeemed his daughter for 10 shekels of silver if only he'd known torah (Lev 27:5).
Jephthah was commended in Hebrews 11 not for his upright lifestyle or his knowledge of torah but for his faith displayed in his defeat of the Ammonites. It's important to make this distinction because I have observed a tendency to assume that everything Jephthah did is commended in Hebrews, and this is simply not the case. He is nowhere commended in Scripture for the sacrifice of his daughter. Instead, the sacrifice of his daughter was a violation of torah given as a striking example of what can happen when everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes (Jdg 21:25).
In the narrative itself we are warned that something is going to go wrong, but the warning is subtle. In Jephthah's speech, Jephthah makes several mistakes that clue the reader in to the fact that Jephthah doesn't have all his ducks in a row. He calls the Ammonite God Chemosh (it was actually Molek); he calls the Moabite God Molek (it was actually Chemosh); he introduces contradictions to the narrative given by
Joshua (Josh 24), and he demonstrates bad theology when he says the Ammonites should take what their God has given them (ascribing YHWH's works to another).
These mistakes in Jephthah's speech are meant to serve as clues, foreshadowing the fact that at some point he is going to do something really stupid. When we come to the bit about his daughter, the alert
listener/reader is clamoring, "Redeem her, you fool! Redeem her!" However, Jephthah doesn't know his torah, and the innocent die, and a warning is subtly issued to know torah.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Liver Omens and Prophecy
One of the main ways people determined the will of the gods in the ancient Near East was through extispicy, the examination of sheep entrails, particularly the liver. For example, “If the right side of the heart of the liver is held by filaments, the anger of the god against the man is not ended.” “If the gall bladder is missing, it is good.” “If the gall bladder is full and its liquid is yellow, a cloudburst is coming.” And how ‘bout this one: “If the gall bladder is held in place, the lord of the land will die.” This process of seeking the will of the deity was ultimately open to manipulation because the prophet or divinator could seek until he got the answer he wanted to hear.
In the Old Testament, God did not want his people to use omens to determine his will. This is why Leviticus commands the Israelites to burn the entrails on the altar. Rather, he said he would raise up prophets who could tell the people his will in specific situations. Deuteronomy says, “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, form your own people. You must listen to him.”
God was concerned that people knew his will and knew how to apply his torah, his instruction, to their daily lives. But he wanted to remove the potential for manipulation of the process, so he gave the Israelites prophets. Prophets were not fortune tellers or future-predictors (even though they sometimes spoke of future events). They were God’s spokespeople, sent to deliver God’s messages to his people.
In the Old Testament, God did not want his people to use omens to determine his will. This is why Leviticus commands the Israelites to burn the entrails on the altar. Rather, he said he would raise up prophets who could tell the people his will in specific situations. Deuteronomy says, “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, form your own people. You must listen to him.”
God was concerned that people knew his will and knew how to apply his torah, his instruction, to their daily lives. But he wanted to remove the potential for manipulation of the process, so he gave the Israelites prophets. Prophets were not fortune tellers or future-predictors (even though they sometimes spoke of future events). They were God’s spokespeople, sent to deliver God’s messages to his people.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Cleanse the Tabernacle
After describing the so-called ‘sin’ offering, Leviticus chapter four ends with the statement: “In this way the priest will make atonement for [the worshiper] for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.” A quick reading of that verse makes it sound like the sacrifice described in Leviticus was how a person obtained forgiveness of sins to obtain eternal life. This is most certainly NOT the case. Allow me to explain.
Leviticus four contains instructions for ‘atoning,’ but what does atone mean and what exactly is being atoned? Well, ‘atone’ simply means to cleanse and, contrary to what you might think, it is NOT the worshiper that is cleansed from sin in Leviticus four. Rather, it is God’s house, the tabernacle. How do we know? It comes down to the simple difference between two tiny Hebrew words: ‘al and ’et. ‘al means ‘on behalf of’ and ’et is used to mark the direct object of a verb, i.e., the thing that receives the action of the verb. In this case, what is cleansed.
The point here is that people are marked with the word ‘al and the tabernacle is marked with the word ’et. This means that a very literal translation of the end of Leviticus four is, “In this way the priest will cleanse [the tabernacle] on behalf of the worshiper for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.”
But there’s more. The word ‘forgive’ here is not a general word the way we think of forgiveness. Rather, it is a technical word used only when there is a pre-existant relationship, and only the greater (say, for example, a king) may forgive a lesser (say, a king’s subject). Thus, the meaning of ‘and he will be forgiven’ is literally, ‘the pre-existent covenantal relationship will be restored.’
Let me give you that whole verse again: “By making the sacrifice described in Leviticus chapter four, the priest will cleanse the tabernacle on behalf of the worshiper because of the sin he has committed, and he will be restored in his relationship with God.”
When we import our New Testament understanding of atonement onto Leviticus, we too easily misunderstand the message of Leviticus, namely: Keep God’s House Clean. But when we start with the Old Testament and move toward the New (the way God did it), we see that Jesus’ blood cleanses US because WE are God’s house.
Leviticus four contains instructions for ‘atoning,’ but what does atone mean and what exactly is being atoned? Well, ‘atone’ simply means to cleanse and, contrary to what you might think, it is NOT the worshiper that is cleansed from sin in Leviticus four. Rather, it is God’s house, the tabernacle. How do we know? It comes down to the simple difference between two tiny Hebrew words: ‘al and ’et. ‘al means ‘on behalf of’ and ’et is used to mark the direct object of a verb, i.e., the thing that receives the action of the verb. In this case, what is cleansed.
The point here is that people are marked with the word ‘al and the tabernacle is marked with the word ’et. This means that a very literal translation of the end of Leviticus four is, “In this way the priest will cleanse [the tabernacle] on behalf of the worshiper for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.”
But there’s more. The word ‘forgive’ here is not a general word the way we think of forgiveness. Rather, it is a technical word used only when there is a pre-existant relationship, and only the greater (say, for example, a king) may forgive a lesser (say, a king’s subject). Thus, the meaning of ‘and he will be forgiven’ is literally, ‘the pre-existent covenantal relationship will be restored.’
Let me give you that whole verse again: “By making the sacrifice described in Leviticus chapter four, the priest will cleanse the tabernacle on behalf of the worshiper because of the sin he has committed, and he will be restored in his relationship with God.”
When we import our New Testament understanding of atonement onto Leviticus, we too easily misunderstand the message of Leviticus, namely: Keep God’s House Clean. But when we start with the Old Testament and move toward the New (the way God did it), we see that Jesus’ blood cleanses US because WE are God’s house.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Rock Band
I tried the game Rock Band once and failed miserably. This video makes me feel better about that failure.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Donkey
In the movie Shrek 2, the character “Donkey” is characterized as a very lowly animal, not all that important. When a spell is cast, the donkey is changed into a royal steed. He becomes a beautiful, white, stately horse.
Would it surprise you to know that in Bible times, the donkey was viewed as the royal steed? We see this reflected in the Bible. For example, in Judges 8 Gideon is asked by the Israelites to be king. He says no, but later he has a change of heart. He names his son Abimalech, which means “my dad is king,” and we are told he had 70 sons of his own, and his 70 sons rode 70 donkeys. In other words, he treated his sons like royalty.
Or take Zechariah 9, which says, “See! Your king comes to you, riding on a donkey.” Of course he’s riding on a donkey. That’s the royal steed!
So, when Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, he sends 2 of his disciples to find a donkey that is tied up and that no one has ever ridden, and he tells them to untie it and bring it to him. They do this, and Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem. Why? Not because he’s being lowly and humble on a donkey, but because he’s declaring himself KING. And those who went ahead of him knew what he was doing. They shouted, “Hosanna!! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David.” The people understood that Jesus was entering Jerusalem as a king.
Would it surprise you to know that in Bible times, the donkey was viewed as the royal steed? We see this reflected in the Bible. For example, in Judges 8 Gideon is asked by the Israelites to be king. He says no, but later he has a change of heart. He names his son Abimalech, which means “my dad is king,” and we are told he had 70 sons of his own, and his 70 sons rode 70 donkeys. In other words, he treated his sons like royalty.
Or take Zechariah 9, which says, “See! Your king comes to you, riding on a donkey.” Of course he’s riding on a donkey. That’s the royal steed!
So, when Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, he sends 2 of his disciples to find a donkey that is tied up and that no one has ever ridden, and he tells them to untie it and bring it to him. They do this, and Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem. Why? Not because he’s being lowly and humble on a donkey, but because he’s declaring himself KING. And those who went ahead of him knew what he was doing. They shouted, “Hosanna!! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David.” The people understood that Jesus was entering Jerusalem as a king.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Great Commission
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you.” That’s a famous phrase you’ve probably heard, spoken by Jesus and recorded at the end of Matthew. Did you know the concept is present at the very beginning of the Bible? Gen. 1 tells us that we were created in the image and likeness of God. In the ancient near east, to be created in image and likeness was the same as being created as little statues that God would place around the globe as symbols of his dominion. And when man was created, he was given two primary tasks: To rule over God’s creation, and to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. So when God tells us to be fruitful and multiply, it’s a lot like the end of Matthew. As I like to jokingly tell my students, there’s nothing new in the New Testament!
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