The traditional reading of 1 Kings 19 makes it the story of Elijah’s trip to Mt. Horeb to renew his commission as a prophet. There are, however, significant indications that rather than renewing his commitment, Elijah goes to resign it. Interestingly enough, the GD lesson manual also takes the later approach, at least insofar as it admits that Elijah is “discouraged” and in need of comfort (p. 137).
The Gospel According to the OT: God’s Memory
The gentleman from the high council rested his right arm on the podium and leaned forward into the microphone. Looking into the congregation, he lowered his voice and took us into his confidence. “The Old Testament,” he said, “concerns itself with carnal commandments intended to cleanse the body, with outward performances and all that sort of thing.”
Fortunately, there’s a lot more to the OT than the polemics of Heb 9:10, or there would be no reason to spend a year studying it in GD. For example, there’s a bit of Good News called the Shema, a passage that takes its name from the Hebrew imperative of the verb “to hear:”
Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your might.
Then there’s another nice morsel of Good News, this time from Lev 19:18b, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In fact, Rabbi Yeshua ben Yosef seems to have been particularly fond of precisely these passages. And as commandments go, they don’t sound all that carnal to me.
It will not surprise you to learn that I have another piece of Good News, this time drawn from a narrative context in the Elijah cycle.
Continue reading “The Gospel According to the OT: God’s Memory”
Obadiah: Man Between a Rock and Elijah
Poor guy. His name means “servant of the Lord” and now he’s about to find out just what that service requires.
Modern Elijah
Well, we’ve had a long and fun day discussing this topic on our back channel group email. But I guess it’s time to cut bait or fish. We may yet be reduced to contemplating FHL’s timely question, “Where am I going and why am I in this hand basket?” but at least we’ve had a good time with it. The errors are, of course, all mine.
More Strong Language
Whenever I hear the subject of the sealing authority come up, it’s Biblical origin is intertwined with Elijah’s promise to Ahab of drought in 1 Ki 17:1
As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.
This is certainly an attention-getter, but not, I think, the heart of the matter.
(Public service announcement to our unmarried gentlemen readers: Ahab’s problems seem to stem from his marriage to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon (16:31). Ethbaal may mean “with Baal” or perhaps “under Baal’s protection.” Always check your prospective father-in-law’s name. If it’s a theophoric compound of Baal, perhaps you should continue your search.)
An Unusual Instance of Potty Mouth
The three satans (adversaries) raised by God against Solomon in 1 Ki 11:14-40 are filled with echoes of some of the OT’s most famous characters. Hadad (vv. 14-22) sounds like Joseph and Moses, while Rezon’s career as an outlaw king (vv. 23-25) who fled from his master reprises David’s early career. The most complete set of allusions, however, are reserved for the rise of Jeroboam (vv.26-40).
The Word We’re Looking For is “Rape.”
The GD lesson manual makes the following comment regarding the story of Amnon and Tamar:
2 Samuel 13 contains the story of David’s son Amnon and David’s daughter Tamar. Amnon was attracted to Tamar and forced her to commit fornication with him (p. 116)
Forced her to commit fornication?
A hierarchy of scripture
A while ago, I wrote a post in which I speculated on how we rank the authority of our various sources of scripture. Serenity Valley’s recent post on Mormon Theology at By Common Consent reminded me of that post and, so, I wanted to re-post it so as to invite more comments. Please follow the link and comment on the original post. Thank you.
A Superior Sacrifice: Hebrews
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews also approaches the reason for Christ in terms of his superiority to the law. The nature of this superiority, however, is radically different from that of the Fourth Gospel.
A Gift in Place of a Gift: the Fourth Gospel
The question of “why Christ” is neither obvious nor uninteresting. The lack of an answer that withstands the passage of time suggests that this information is not really a practical necessity. On the other hand, it is a good exercise in the importance of context, and particularly historical context, in theology and biblical studies. To the NT authors who wrote on this subject, the issue was usually framed against the requirements of their own age. Put bluntly, the law was given by God. So why Christ?
Continue reading “A Gift in Place of a Gift: the Fourth Gospel”