Friday, September 22, 2017

Small-town Minnesota

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Just ran across a marvelous essay on living in a small town in (southern) Minnesota. Yet I know that all that scarcity—or the perception ...

The limited role of intercession

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Intercessory prayer, however, rarely eradicates sin. Sin usually remains suspended over the sinners until divine judgment has been fulfilled...
Thursday, September 21, 2017

From despot to servant

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Schenker catches the narrative development insightfully when he observes that from 2 Sam 24:3 onward, especially from v. 14 to v. 17, the ac...
Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Why was David forgiven, but Saul not?

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A brief comparison with 1 Samuel 15 is quite illuminating. Besides the reoccurrence of the expression of God’s change of mind concerning the...
Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Wrath? Yes!

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The notion of the wrath of God is not a pleasant one. Indeed the modern consciousness resists it mightily. Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners...
Monday, September 18, 2017

Carta Online!

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Carta has a new online program coming soon. It looks great; they are going to premier it in Boston at AAR/SBL in November. You can get a pre...

Figurative language? Or literal? Is there a difference?

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The traditional position, both in philosophy and in linguistics – and indeed the everyday view – is that (1) there is a stable and unambiguo...

All that's left…

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Like so often in the psalms, David entrusts himself to Yhwh’s mercy (cf. Ps 51:1 [MT 51:3]). Divine mercy is one of the fundamental attribut...
Friday, September 15, 2017

How does this king thing work anyway?

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The prophets speak on behalf of God to the people, while the kings are called to rule and judge wisely on behalf of the divine King. The pro...
Thursday, September 14, 2017

Worship wars, part 2

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From The Christian Week I have recently had the opportunity to visit two of the most popular churches in my city. They both had something ...

Justice? What is justice?

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In the Old Testament, justice always describes a relationship between two entities. When applied to God, the terms for justice can be used w...
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

There are limits!

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The outcome of Samuel’s prayer (1 Sam 15:11) is already foreshadowed in the prophet’s warning that was voiced in the context of his commitme...
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Are you listening?

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This pattern of informing the prophetic mediator is categorically spelled out in Amos 3:7: “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without reveal...
Monday, September 11, 2017

No silver bullet

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In the context of Moses’ prayer, as recorded in Deuteronomy 9–10, there is good reason to argue that the efficacy of the intercessor’s praye...
Thursday, September 07, 2017

Long-suffering defined

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The fact that Yhwh kept on calling and commissioning prophets over the centuries reveals that God is fundamentally committed to His people i...
Wednesday, September 06, 2017

I can't help it!

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[First Samuel 12] Verse 23 strongly suggests that intercession “is an inextricable part of the prophetic role.” It seems as if Samuel is not...
Monday, September 04, 2017

Sensing the tension

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Psalm 99 illustrates well God’s fundamental challenge. That is, how to be both a loving God and an “avenger of their wrongdoings” (Ps 99:8)....
Saturday, September 02, 2017

Languages change, so should we

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The old King James translation “helpmeet” does not mean a help mate but rather a helper who is “meet,” that is, suitable for the task. Woman...
Friday, September 01, 2017

Not just a veneer

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Chapter 7 [of 1 Samuel] portrays a people who come to their senses in the face of opposition. With the help of Samuel, the covenant mediator...
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Obedience? Or politics?

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In the first book of Samuel, the sea-people represent in some sense Israel’s fear. Thus, one of the central issues of chap. 7, as in so many...