Category: OT
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Though He Slay Me
The book of Job fits in with the book of Proverbs as a book of kingly training. It begins with the familiar story of this great and wealthy man who loses everything he has — his family, his home, his servants, animals, and crops — all in one day. He is plagued with sores from […]
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Walk in the Covenant
In Deuteronomy, Moses recounts God’s establishment of His covenant with His people and the giving of the Ten Words. He walks them through a covenant renewal ceremony, rehearsing Israel’s disobedience and urging them to trust God, to obey, and to remember what God has done for them in their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Moses […]
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As the Waters Cover the Sea
Isaiah 45 is addressed to Cyrus, king of the Persians, whom God calls His anointed — His messiah, His christ — the one who would shepherd His people. God tells him that He will give him the nations so that all will know that Yahweh is God and there is no other, so that all […]
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Proverbs 11
Proverbs 11 is a contrast of the wicked and the righteous — their desires, means, and ends. The desires of the wicked are to undermine and destroy the righteous, to take what he can get, to amass for himself riches. He tears down his neighbor with his mouth, slandering and exposing secrets. He relies on his wealth and his […]
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Father to Son
It is significant that the book of Proverbs is addressed from father to son. Teaching should take place within an existing relationship of trust and love, and that relationship must be cultivated if teaching is going to be effective. An estranged son will not be receptive to the wisdom his father offers. But this is […]
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Dry Bones
Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet of God during the Babylonian exile, when Judah was cast out of the land and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. In chapter six, Ezekiel was told to prophecy to Israel, “Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and […]
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Babel and Pentecost
Genesis 11:1 says, “Now the whole earth had one lip and the same words.” This “lip” refers to a common confession, a common religious belief. They built a city around their common culture and language, and they built a tower as a shrine with its head in the heavens for their common credo, “I believe […]
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Messianic King
Psalm 110 celebrates God’s gift of a messianic king over the people and the restoration from judgment*. It echoes themes from earlier in the Psalter. This king to whom Yahweh says, “sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool,” is the same one who received the commendation, “You are my Son; […]
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Suitable Helper
The solitude of man is the first thing God evaluates and declares not good. But, as with all His judgments, it is not merely a proclamation; He works in His judgment to bring a change. God divided the man to bring him a helper, to form culture and community. In one sense, there was not […]
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And to Your Offspring
Genesis 12 records the call of Abram and the beginning of his establishment as the father of many nations. God promises, “to your offspring I will give this land,” and later says, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be […]