Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
You know what I love about Scripture? I love that Scripture consists of 66 books, written by about 50 different authors (give or take a few), over a span of roughly 2000 years. And in spite of the incredibly wide gap, the story is still the same. The opening of this verse is quoted, some 600-700 years later by the writer of the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The writers see these words as being fulfilled in John the Baptist. John is seen as the one who cries out in the wilderness and prepares the way of the Lord.
Of course, there is a long, complex history behind this thought, and I’ll give a brief overview of it before going much further. Isaiah first writes these words to those who will be in exile. After the return from Babylon, it is recognized that the Jewish people, while not physically in a foreign land, are still in a state of spiritual exile. In Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament, there is a promise. The promise is that Elijah, who never died, would return prior to the coming of the Messiah. He would be the one that would turn the hearts of the people before the “great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Mal 4:5). Mark, in describing the clothing of John the Baptist, is clearly correlating these two biblical giants. Mark is essentially saying, “The time of promise is at hand. Elijah has returned, and the coming of the Lord is not far behind.”
What is going on in the Isaiah passage? The way back to God is being made easier. You see, the exile was over rough terrain. It was a rugged land, a tough road away from the presence of God in Jerusalem (it was believed that God dwelt in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). The path away from the presence of God is a rocky road. It is difficult. Things aren’t always that different from our geography. The same can be said of us today. When we stray from God, the path is rocky. It is tough, rugged terrain, and the road back can look just as intimidating. In fact, it can be so intimidating that there doesn’t seem to be any way that one can make it back. How many people have felt like this before? How many people think that the things they’ve done don’t deserve to return to the land of promise? How many people believe they are unworthy of making the trip back over the rugged land? But wait, it is not our task to go back over the rocky road. The dangers that lie ahead have been removed.
Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the road has been made smooth. That’s what is going on here. The barriers that can seem to be so overwhelming are easily removed by the Lord. The valleys are raised. The mountains are lowered. The rugged land is made plain. It’s not because we can get a bunch of backhoes and do it ourselves. No, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The harder we try, the worse the terrain gets. We can’t fix it on our own. Perhaps the first thing we need to do is realize this simple fact. I’ll say it again. We can’t fix it on our own. There is work that needs to be done, and it is not through our efforts, but through the power of he who was sent by the Lord. The road back has been made easier, but this was not done easily.
The Lord has been revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it is through these works that the road back has been made easier. It does not have to be filled with the unknown and pain that the journey out was filled with. It has been made level by the Lord. All we have to do is decide to go back. Did you know that some of the exiled Jewish people never returned? Some of them were enjoying the life that they had in Babylon, and decided to stay there. There were successful businessmen. They were popular people in their community. But ultimately, they were a people who had turned their back on their home. They had forgotten their roots and the promises that were made by the one, true God. The decision is there. If we make that first step, I’m not promising that the road will be easy. It is still a long way back to Jerusalem, but it’s not nearly as difficult.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Reflections on Isaiah 40, Part 1 of sorts
Why am I calling this “Part 1 of sorts”? Because I’m relatively ambitious. At this point, I fully intend on continuing through the rest of Isaiah 40. However, I’m also horribly inconsistent when it comes to writing ideas. I love writing. I really do. I enjoy reading and studying as well. The problem isn’t doing the work – it’s the motivation. I get fairly unmotivated from time to time and months will pass before I continue doing any real work, as can be seen from the gaps in my archive to your left. So, yes, I fully intend on disciplining myself to the point that I can actually work all the way through Isaiah 40, but I am also realistic… or is that pessimistic… about the actuality of it all. But that’s enough rambling on that subject….
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins (Is 40:1-2, ESV)
Given the flow of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, it is no surprise where the Israelites are going. It continually talks about Israel’s (or, rather Judah – the southern kingdom) unfaithfulness, which climaxes in the word of God spoken through Isaiah to King Hezekiah in chapter 39 – Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (Is 39:6-7).
Judah is done. They have gone past the point of safe return. Exile at the hands of the Babylonians is inevitable. What’s the big deal about exile? No people group in the ancient world ever returned from exile. Once you were exiled by a dominate country, you were done. It was the end of the line. Your people were intermixed with other races and eventually disappeared altogether as a distinct people group. There was no recovery. But wait a minute – didn’t God promise the land to Abraham? Didn’t he also promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky? Are God’s promises only temporary? This is where Isaiah 39 leaves the reader – anxious, uncertain of the future, in despair. But God is not finished with these people just yet.
What are God’s first words? “Comfort, comfort my people.” What in the world is so comforting about promised exile? The fact that it is not the end of the line. Now, Isaiah writes these words a century before the exile even happens, and the return, historically, was 50 years later (give or take a couple years). Yet, 150+ years ahead of time, Isaiah is so certain of the promises of God that in the same book he writes about exile, he writes about a return. God is so faithful that Isaiah writes in the present tense – not the future tense. The idea is not that the Israelites will return, but that they are returning. It is not a message of hope so much as a message of certainty. Now, I’m getting a little ahead of myself – what is the thrust of the first two verses here?
No matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, no matter what we have done to separate us from God – God is faithful, but God’s faithfulness does not preclude discipline. Discipline is often confused with punishment. Punishment is not restorative. Punishment merely addresses the symptoms. Discipline has a purpose. Discipline addresses the illness. After the exile, I don’t recall idolatry being a major problem with Israel – at least not in the classical sense of the word. They were not worshipping other gods, as had been the case for the majority of their history before the exile. Of course, by the time we get to the New Testament, there were other issues that needed to be dealt with, but the problem of worshipping idols was not one of them. There were things that replaced the idols which one could consider to be idolatry – money, pride, power, position, etc. – but the Israelites learned from their exile. Their illness was addressed, and Isaiah 40 begins the restorative process.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins (Is 40:1-2, ESV)
Given the flow of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, it is no surprise where the Israelites are going. It continually talks about Israel’s (or, rather Judah – the southern kingdom) unfaithfulness, which climaxes in the word of God spoken through Isaiah to King Hezekiah in chapter 39 – Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (Is 39:6-7).
Judah is done. They have gone past the point of safe return. Exile at the hands of the Babylonians is inevitable. What’s the big deal about exile? No people group in the ancient world ever returned from exile. Once you were exiled by a dominate country, you were done. It was the end of the line. Your people were intermixed with other races and eventually disappeared altogether as a distinct people group. There was no recovery. But wait a minute – didn’t God promise the land to Abraham? Didn’t he also promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky? Are God’s promises only temporary? This is where Isaiah 39 leaves the reader – anxious, uncertain of the future, in despair. But God is not finished with these people just yet.
What are God’s first words? “Comfort, comfort my people.” What in the world is so comforting about promised exile? The fact that it is not the end of the line. Now, Isaiah writes these words a century before the exile even happens, and the return, historically, was 50 years later (give or take a couple years). Yet, 150+ years ahead of time, Isaiah is so certain of the promises of God that in the same book he writes about exile, he writes about a return. God is so faithful that Isaiah writes in the present tense – not the future tense. The idea is not that the Israelites will return, but that they are returning. It is not a message of hope so much as a message of certainty. Now, I’m getting a little ahead of myself – what is the thrust of the first two verses here?
No matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, no matter what we have done to separate us from God – God is faithful, but God’s faithfulness does not preclude discipline. Discipline is often confused with punishment. Punishment is not restorative. Punishment merely addresses the symptoms. Discipline has a purpose. Discipline addresses the illness. After the exile, I don’t recall idolatry being a major problem with Israel – at least not in the classical sense of the word. They were not worshipping other gods, as had been the case for the majority of their history before the exile. Of course, by the time we get to the New Testament, there were other issues that needed to be dealt with, but the problem of worshipping idols was not one of them. There were things that replaced the idols which one could consider to be idolatry – money, pride, power, position, etc. – but the Israelites learned from their exile. Their illness was addressed, and Isaiah 40 begins the restorative process.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Now What?
The focus of this post will be to examine the importance of our theology in our everyday life. Now that we know where to start with theology, perhaps we need to know why it is so important.
In my previous post, I discussed the starting point for theology. Theology – literally, the study of God – needs to begin with what we know about God. Most theologies begin by looking at the attributes of God on an infinite level – i.e., God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. In other words, think of every good thing, take it to the “omni” and that is part of the nature of God. However, what I am going to suggest is that this is not the place to start, and I am not alone in this suggestion. A movement is beginning that suggests starting our theology with what we know of God as revealed by Jesus Christ, but I do not want to go too far down this road in this post. I want to go back to something maybe even a bit more basic – why do we need to study theology?
It is amazing to me when I look through the local bookstores in the religion sections at how much pure crap there is out there. It’s not limited to the bookstores either. I have spent quite a bit of time on Yahoo!Answers (Y!A), and that time is generally split into two sections – the questions located under “Baseball” and under “Religion & Spirituality.” Now perhaps Y!A is not the best place to spend my “free” time, but I find it facinating to read through some of the questions and answers in both of these sections. What strikes me most is the fact that though the topics are very different, the types of questions are the same.
There are typically three types of questions: 1) the questions that just really wants to state a particular position, but is not interested in dialogue, 2) the questions that actually are legitimate, and 3) the question from a person that is just trying to be obnoxious. The first type of question is usually really easy to spot. You see, when someones asks a question on the message board, it automatically puts a question mark in the headline. Often you will see a “question” that is not a grammatical question, or not really a question in the first place. Example: “Why do the Yankees suck?” That’s not a question befitting a forum such as Y!A. It is rhetorical, and the asker has no interest in what responders have to say. The second type of question is sadly rare. Occasionally there are honest people with honest questions and nobody to talk to about these issues, and they put it up on Y!A. Usually they are met with a mixture of responses – both rude and honest. The third type of question is the more common one. I remember a couple weeks back there was a guy posting questions beginning with ridiculous statements and ending with “what should I do?” It was mildly funny at times, but the guy was a total jerk – even to the point that he was mocking serious beliefs. So, what does this have to do with theology?
A forum such as Y!A is a good cross-section of today’s society. There are arrogant jerks, know-it-all’s, honest people, misinformed people, unintelligent people, good people, bad people, people that are just plain stupid. You name it, and they are there. This is the type of society that we are living in today. How do we live an authentic Christian faith in such a society? How can we possibly survive the snares that are set by enemies of Christianity if we do not know our basic theology? Some of the people that write anti-Christian statements on Y!A are just plain jerks that do not believe in religion and want to mock anyone who does, but some of them are people who have honestly searched and have been misguided in the questions that they are asking. In the real world (i.e. the world outside of the Y!A community), we have to deal with both types of people. Some simply need to be ignored because they are trying to do nothing but get people fired up. Others make false claims that need to be addressed appropriately. Some are simply misguided and need to be corrected with genuine Christian love and understanding.
So this bring me back to my original question – why do we need to study theology? We need to study theology because of the world in which we live. We live in a world that is against Christ, against Christians, and sometimes, quite frankly, against religion in general. When we are called to be Christians, we are not called to leave our brains at the door. A Christian is not intended to be some kind of mindless automaton droid that walks around saying, “Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus! Repent! Repent! Repent!” In fact, Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37). Heart, soul and mind – the three major components of each person. The heart is our emotional side; the soul, our spiritual; the mind, our intellectual. In other words, Jesus is saying that we need to love God with our whole being.
Perhaps another key reason why we need to know our theology is because of the very nature of being a disciple. In the Greek, the word for “disciple” also means “pupil, student.” The disciples were learning from Jesus every step along the way. Jesus goes out of his way to explain things to the disciples. He uses general conversation for teaching moments. He does miraculous things, not for the “wow” factor, but to reveal something important about the character of God. We cannot be a disciple without some kind of understanding of what it means to be one. We cannot evangelize, share the good news of Christ, unless we actually understand it ourselves.
Is theology important? Yes! Does this mean that every person needs to know the intricacies of theological minutia? NO! There are some things that are better left for the theologians, but this does not mean that Christians do not need some kind of basic comprehension of what it means to be a Christian.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
In my previous post, I discussed the starting point for theology. Theology – literally, the study of God – needs to begin with what we know about God. Most theologies begin by looking at the attributes of God on an infinite level – i.e., God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. In other words, think of every good thing, take it to the “omni” and that is part of the nature of God. However, what I am going to suggest is that this is not the place to start, and I am not alone in this suggestion. A movement is beginning that suggests starting our theology with what we know of God as revealed by Jesus Christ, but I do not want to go too far down this road in this post. I want to go back to something maybe even a bit more basic – why do we need to study theology?
It is amazing to me when I look through the local bookstores in the religion sections at how much pure crap there is out there. It’s not limited to the bookstores either. I have spent quite a bit of time on Yahoo!Answers (Y!A), and that time is generally split into two sections – the questions located under “Baseball” and under “Religion & Spirituality.” Now perhaps Y!A is not the best place to spend my “free” time, but I find it facinating to read through some of the questions and answers in both of these sections. What strikes me most is the fact that though the topics are very different, the types of questions are the same.
There are typically three types of questions: 1) the questions that just really wants to state a particular position, but is not interested in dialogue, 2) the questions that actually are legitimate, and 3) the question from a person that is just trying to be obnoxious. The first type of question is usually really easy to spot. You see, when someones asks a question on the message board, it automatically puts a question mark in the headline. Often you will see a “question” that is not a grammatical question, or not really a question in the first place. Example: “Why do the Yankees suck?” That’s not a question befitting a forum such as Y!A. It is rhetorical, and the asker has no interest in what responders have to say. The second type of question is sadly rare. Occasionally there are honest people with honest questions and nobody to talk to about these issues, and they put it up on Y!A. Usually they are met with a mixture of responses – both rude and honest. The third type of question is the more common one. I remember a couple weeks back there was a guy posting questions beginning with ridiculous statements and ending with “what should I do?” It was mildly funny at times, but the guy was a total jerk – even to the point that he was mocking serious beliefs. So, what does this have to do with theology?
A forum such as Y!A is a good cross-section of today’s society. There are arrogant jerks, know-it-all’s, honest people, misinformed people, unintelligent people, good people, bad people, people that are just plain stupid. You name it, and they are there. This is the type of society that we are living in today. How do we live an authentic Christian faith in such a society? How can we possibly survive the snares that are set by enemies of Christianity if we do not know our basic theology? Some of the people that write anti-Christian statements on Y!A are just plain jerks that do not believe in religion and want to mock anyone who does, but some of them are people who have honestly searched and have been misguided in the questions that they are asking. In the real world (i.e. the world outside of the Y!A community), we have to deal with both types of people. Some simply need to be ignored because they are trying to do nothing but get people fired up. Others make false claims that need to be addressed appropriately. Some are simply misguided and need to be corrected with genuine Christian love and understanding.
So this bring me back to my original question – why do we need to study theology? We need to study theology because of the world in which we live. We live in a world that is against Christ, against Christians, and sometimes, quite frankly, against religion in general. When we are called to be Christians, we are not called to leave our brains at the door. A Christian is not intended to be some kind of mindless automaton droid that walks around saying, “Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus! Repent! Repent! Repent!” In fact, Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37). Heart, soul and mind – the three major components of each person. The heart is our emotional side; the soul, our spiritual; the mind, our intellectual. In other words, Jesus is saying that we need to love God with our whole being.
Perhaps another key reason why we need to know our theology is because of the very nature of being a disciple. In the Greek, the word for “disciple” also means “pupil, student.” The disciples were learning from Jesus every step along the way. Jesus goes out of his way to explain things to the disciples. He uses general conversation for teaching moments. He does miraculous things, not for the “wow” factor, but to reveal something important about the character of God. We cannot be a disciple without some kind of understanding of what it means to be one. We cannot evangelize, share the good news of Christ, unless we actually understand it ourselves.
Is theology important? Yes! Does this mean that every person needs to know the intricacies of theological minutia? NO! There are some things that are better left for the theologians, but this does not mean that Christians do not need some kind of basic comprehension of what it means to be a Christian.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Where Do We Begin?
The heart of this message is to determine where we begin when it comes to theological reflection. Clearly, Scripture is the priority, but this post assumes Scripture is where we start. The question is – how do we develop our theological framework? Where do we start with our theology?
I am fully aware that it has been a long time since my last post. For the handful of people that check frequently, I apologize. As many of you may know, the past few months have been consumed with transition, and some things have fallen by the wayside – no matter how important I think they should be. One such item has been my wrestling with Scripture and theological matters in a medium where I can pour out my thoughts. Hopefully this will be more of a priority in the coming days/weeks/months/years. That being said, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about theology.
Theology is often ignored. We develop our belief systems without giving them a thorough perusal when it comes to the consistency of our beliefs. In other words, many people hold to contradicting ideas without realizing that they are contradicting. It is only in the midst of conversation that the inconsistencies come up and by then the whole issue is confusing and we are often left embarrassed. The ironic thing is that even when we do really think about what we believe, we do not often catch the inconsistencies. Do not worry, it is perfectly natural. What I want to try to do is examine where I sit when it comes to theology. This, like most major studying projects I endeavor to complete without deadline or grade, will probably go unfinished. But at least I am trying to get my theological juices flowing once again.
The best place to begin when it comes to theology is the most obvious – the beginning. Now, all theology has to be embedded in Scripture. In fact, there can be no truly Christian theology that is not. Scripture is the means by which God has been revealed throughout the centuries. Does this mean that God is not revealed through our daily experiences, the traditions of the Church or through our natural facility of reason? No, of course not, but it is through Scripture that these other three must be examined.
A couple of decades ago, there was a movement among the Methodists that centered on the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral,” or WQ for the rest of this post. Now whether or not it was intended, the WQ was used to place Scripture, Reason, Experience and Tradition on a level playing field. This is a gross misunderstanding of Wesley, as well as the general direction of Wesleyan theology for most of the past 250 years. Wesley understood Scripture as the ultimate measure of theology. If something in one of the other three did not match up, then there is something wrong with our interpretation of the other three – not with Scripture itself. However, with that all being said, I do not want to go too far down the path of Scripture’s place in theology just yet – the time is not right. The basic assumption throughout the rest of this post is that Scripture is the ultimate means by which God is made known in our day and age. Now, with that assumption in place, where do we begin in developing a theological framework? Where do we start when it comes to theology? We start with where God has been revealed.
I am beginning to read Dennis Kinlaw’s Let’s Start With Jesus, and this is going to have a major impact on the words that will follow, and certainly any of the thoughts in some of the upcoming posts. As we read Scripture, God has been revealed in several ways over the centuries. God was revealed to Abraham in the promises of Genesis. God was revealed to Moses in the burning bush. God was revealed to Isaiah in the Temple. But God has not been more fully revealed than in Jesus Christ. Any understanding of God that is not rooted in the revelation of Jesus Christ is necessarily going to fall short.
The Gospel of John begins by the writer taking the words of the creation story found in Genesis 1:1ff and revisioning them in light of Jesus Christ. Instead of “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Creation happens in John’s account as well, but it understands this creation as occuring through the eternal Word. This was a revolutionary idea in first century Judaism.
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God; the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is known as the Shema, the monotheistic cry of Israel. Israel was alone in its monotheism in ancient times. Even today, one can only find three forms of monotheism – Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but in antiquity, it was relatively unheard of for there to only be one God. But as one continues to read John’s gospel, one begins to see that this monotheism is taking a new turn. It is being reinterpreted in light of Jesus Christ. Kinlaw writes,
The key phrase in Genesis 1 is ‘and God said.’ It is significant that the Hebrew word used for God (Elohim) is plural while the verb for ‘said’ (wayyo’mer) is singular. In there beginning there was one God, but in that oneness there was a richness that a singular noun had difficulty conveying. With God was his Word, and the Word had its own distinctness. Thus, John could amplify the Genesis account and tell us that creation was the work of the Word of God (23).
It is clear by the end of the gospel that there is a unique relationship between the Son and the Father. The monotheistic cry of the Jews does not change (remember, the early Christians still considered themselves to be Jews), but it takes on a new light. No longer is God understood to be a single monad, but rather, God is understood by the end of the first century Christians to be Triune – three-in-one. It is the great mystery of faith.
So, where do we begin with our theology? It only makes sense that our theology begins with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the full representation of the Father, and our understanding of the Father needs to be re-evaluated in light of Jesus. So, as Dr. Kinlaw suggests, let’s start with Jesus.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
I am fully aware that it has been a long time since my last post. For the handful of people that check frequently, I apologize. As many of you may know, the past few months have been consumed with transition, and some things have fallen by the wayside – no matter how important I think they should be. One such item has been my wrestling with Scripture and theological matters in a medium where I can pour out my thoughts. Hopefully this will be more of a priority in the coming days/weeks/months/years. That being said, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about theology.
Theology is often ignored. We develop our belief systems without giving them a thorough perusal when it comes to the consistency of our beliefs. In other words, many people hold to contradicting ideas without realizing that they are contradicting. It is only in the midst of conversation that the inconsistencies come up and by then the whole issue is confusing and we are often left embarrassed. The ironic thing is that even when we do really think about what we believe, we do not often catch the inconsistencies. Do not worry, it is perfectly natural. What I want to try to do is examine where I sit when it comes to theology. This, like most major studying projects I endeavor to complete without deadline or grade, will probably go unfinished. But at least I am trying to get my theological juices flowing once again.
The best place to begin when it comes to theology is the most obvious – the beginning. Now, all theology has to be embedded in Scripture. In fact, there can be no truly Christian theology that is not. Scripture is the means by which God has been revealed throughout the centuries. Does this mean that God is not revealed through our daily experiences, the traditions of the Church or through our natural facility of reason? No, of course not, but it is through Scripture that these other three must be examined.
A couple of decades ago, there was a movement among the Methodists that centered on the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral,” or WQ for the rest of this post. Now whether or not it was intended, the WQ was used to place Scripture, Reason, Experience and Tradition on a level playing field. This is a gross misunderstanding of Wesley, as well as the general direction of Wesleyan theology for most of the past 250 years. Wesley understood Scripture as the ultimate measure of theology. If something in one of the other three did not match up, then there is something wrong with our interpretation of the other three – not with Scripture itself. However, with that all being said, I do not want to go too far down the path of Scripture’s place in theology just yet – the time is not right. The basic assumption throughout the rest of this post is that Scripture is the ultimate means by which God is made known in our day and age. Now, with that assumption in place, where do we begin in developing a theological framework? Where do we start when it comes to theology? We start with where God has been revealed.
I am beginning to read Dennis Kinlaw’s Let’s Start With Jesus, and this is going to have a major impact on the words that will follow, and certainly any of the thoughts in some of the upcoming posts. As we read Scripture, God has been revealed in several ways over the centuries. God was revealed to Abraham in the promises of Genesis. God was revealed to Moses in the burning bush. God was revealed to Isaiah in the Temple. But God has not been more fully revealed than in Jesus Christ. Any understanding of God that is not rooted in the revelation of Jesus Christ is necessarily going to fall short.
The Gospel of John begins by the writer taking the words of the creation story found in Genesis 1:1ff and revisioning them in light of Jesus Christ. Instead of “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Creation happens in John’s account as well, but it understands this creation as occuring through the eternal Word. This was a revolutionary idea in first century Judaism.
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God; the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is known as the Shema, the monotheistic cry of Israel. Israel was alone in its monotheism in ancient times. Even today, one can only find three forms of monotheism – Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but in antiquity, it was relatively unheard of for there to only be one God. But as one continues to read John’s gospel, one begins to see that this monotheism is taking a new turn. It is being reinterpreted in light of Jesus Christ. Kinlaw writes,
The key phrase in Genesis 1 is ‘and God said.’ It is significant that the Hebrew word used for God (Elohim) is plural while the verb for ‘said’ (wayyo’mer) is singular. In there beginning there was one God, but in that oneness there was a richness that a singular noun had difficulty conveying. With God was his Word, and the Word had its own distinctness. Thus, John could amplify the Genesis account and tell us that creation was the work of the Word of God (23).
It is clear by the end of the gospel that there is a unique relationship between the Son and the Father. The monotheistic cry of the Jews does not change (remember, the early Christians still considered themselves to be Jews), but it takes on a new light. No longer is God understood to be a single monad, but rather, God is understood by the end of the first century Christians to be Triune – three-in-one. It is the great mystery of faith.
So, where do we begin with our theology? It only makes sense that our theology begins with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the full representation of the Father, and our understanding of the Father needs to be re-evaluated in light of Jesus. So, as Dr. Kinlaw suggests, let’s start with Jesus.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
The Journey or the Destination: Reflections from Ezekiel 37
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I guess getting ready to move after four years of school has a way of doing that to someone. I graduated from seminary not too long ago, and as of the time of this writing, I do not exactly know where I am going. My wife has a job back home, and I will be transferring to a retail store, but no word on a ministry job just yet. It’s a very exciting time, but it is also a very uncertain time. I’m starting to get an idea of what Dickens meant when he wrote, “It was the best of time; it was the worst of times.”
I was reading Ezekiel 37 the other day, and my wife came in and asked me why I was studying. I don’t have classes anymore. I’m not required to read anything now. My response, “I finally have a chance to study what I want.” I’ve been thinking a lot about renewal lately. It is rather appropriate given that I’ve been worn down from studying pretty much since January of ’06. I haven’t taken a break from classes in well over a year. Immediately, my mind shifted to the Valley of the Dry Bones, which is found in Ezekiel 37. I’m still working through the chapter, but for the first time in a while, I felt like writing.
In Eze 37:2, the bones have been described as “very dry,” and we get the idea that this valley is full of these dry bones. To emphasize the fact that the bones are dry (in fact, the Hebrew word can also be translated, exceedingly) is to point out the total lack of life that is involved when it comes to the bones. A dry bone is about as far away from life as one can possibly get. It does not get any worse for a bone than this. This was the state of Israel. Israel was in exile at this time. Ezekiel is writing and doing ministry in Babylon among the Israelite exiles. They had gotten to the point where they were so far from life – so far from Yahweh – that they were nothing more than dry bones in a valley. However, this analogy does not end with Israel. This is also the state of those who are living life apart from Christ. In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). If no one comes to the Father without Jesus, and the Father is also described throughout Scripture as the Creator, then there is no life outside of one’s relationship with God. Sure, there’s physical life, there’s psychological life, and there’s emotional life, but that’s not the whole story. There’s more to life than just the physical, psychological and emotional. The most important part of life is our spiritual life. There is no true life without our spiritual life. We cannot live life to the fullest unless we pay attention to the spiritual aspect of our lives, and develop the relationship with our Creator.
So, Ezekiel is taken to this valley that is full of dry bones. The sheer number and the condition of the bones have to be rather disheartening for the prophet, but then he is asked a question. “Can these bones live?” God, the creator and sustainer of all life, is asking Ezekiel if these bones can live. Of all who could possibly asking this question, one would think that God would never ask a question such as this… unless He was trying to make a point. I think Ezekiel got it. His response, “O Lord God, you know” (Eze 37:3), or as the NIV puts it, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” No matter the situation, no matter how bad things may look, there is one who can bring new life – even from the driest of bones. Ezekiel got it – with God all things are possible, and God tells Ezekiel to prophesy. God tells Ezekiel to tell the bones to “hear the word of the Lord” (Eze 37:4). This is how they start to come to life – they hear the Word. In the beginning God speaks and creation happens. Every step along the way is guided by the word of God. So, what happens when Ezekiel shares the word of God with these very dry bones? There is a rattling and the bones come together, then the sinews, then the flesh, and then the skin, but there is not life just yet. Life does not happen for the bones until the breath enters into them. The Hebrew word used for breath is a fantastic word. It is ru’ach, which means breath, or spirit. In other words, the spirit of God is what ultimately brings the bones to life.
The movement from dry bones to new life is a process. There is no reason why God couldn’t have brought them back immediately. As Ezekiel made clear, with God anything is possible. It seems as though there is something important about the process, something about the journey that is key on the path to wholeness. We live in a society now that wants immediate results. We can get fast food when we’re hungry. We have gas stations and Wal-Marts that are open 24 hours a day, so we can get whatever we want whenever we want. Immediate gratification is a value in our society. We also have the other extreme.
There are parts of our society that focus more on the process and totally forget about the results. I pass a certain church on my way to work, and they usually have some banner out front that makes me wonder about the kinds of things that they teach. For a long time, they had one that said, “Real faith is about searching for answers, not presuming to know them.” You see, they place the emphasis on the quest. They emphasize the journey to the extent that it becomes what is important; it becomes the content of faith. This is just as mistaken as placing all the emphasis on the results. God has done a lot of work on me over the years, and very rarely has any big work been done immediately. Often it is a long, drawn out process because of my own stubbornness. So, I guess when the question comes up – the journey or the destination – what are we to say? I think the best answer is, “Yes, and yes.” There is a delicate balance that we have to maintain between emphasizing the journey and emphasizing the destination. We go on a road trip so that we can get somewhere, but we also go on a road trip to enjoy some of the scenery along the way. The path of spiritual renewal is both a process and a destination. The dry bones could have suddenly come to life by the hand of God, but He brought them to life through a process.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
A Perspective on History
What is so significant about history? When we read Scripture, we often see the phrase, "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." The Israelites had a rich tradition. Their roots went deep. It was significant that the God of their forefathers was their God. Their history was a rich one, and they knew about it. Who they are as Jews is wrapped up in their history.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 follows a key verse known as the Shema (vv. 4-5). The Shema is widely considered to be the greatest commandment. In fact, when Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, he replies with the Shema. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Dt. 6:4-5; Mk. 12:29-30).
When we read the Shema, often we stop there. I remember my accountability group memorizing vv.4-5 a couple of years ago, and we were challenged to memorize vv.6-9 as well. They go hand in hand. You cannot take vv.4-5 without also reading vv.6-9. So, what is so significant about Dt. 6:6-9? Yes, vv.4-5 are widely considered to be the most important in Judaism, but vv.6-9 demonstrate just how important it is.
Dt. 6:6 - The commandment "shall be in your heart."
The commands given by God are not intended to be rules that we follow out of some kind of formal legalism, but they are guidelines to which we submit as a form of humble obedience to God. As we continue through the Israelite history, it is clear that the former is what ended up taking place. The commandments of God were not seen as freedom to serve God, but came to be a "ball and chain" of sorts. There was the legalistic hedge built around the commands that were followed because they were there, not out of obedience to God. Over time, this heart that was supposed to keep God's commands became a heart of stone. Perhaps this is why the New Covenant refers to the heart. "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Eze. 36:26).
Dt. 6:7 - The Israelites were commanded to "teach them to your children."
The family unit is central to keeping the commands of God. It is through the family that God's commands are learned. The family model of discipleship is brought forth at this point in Scripture.
God's primary characteristic in Scripture is holiness, and God desires the same for His people. "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44) If we are to be a holy people because God is holy, we need to follow God's expression of holiness, which is found in a perfect balance between love and righteousness. Our response to God's holiness, as a holy people of God, is to be love and obedience. In doing so, we set the example for the next generation. By responding to God's holiness through love and obedience, we set the example for our children - biological or not. By teaching God's commands to our children, we continue the legacy of our forefathers in the faith and we fulfill God's original intention of living in relationship with the one true God.
So, what's so signficant about history? Have you ever been told, "Let's not re-invent the wheel"? It seems like such a silly phrase, but what does it mean? We are not starting fresh. We stand on the shoulders of giants. The history that we read about in Scripture is not a string of stories brouth together for our amusement. It is the story of who we are. It is our story, our heritage. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is our God. Once we have an idea of where we came from we can get a better idea of where we are going.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 follows a key verse known as the Shema (vv. 4-5). The Shema is widely considered to be the greatest commandment. In fact, when Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, he replies with the Shema. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Dt. 6:4-5; Mk. 12:29-30).
When we read the Shema, often we stop there. I remember my accountability group memorizing vv.4-5 a couple of years ago, and we were challenged to memorize vv.6-9 as well. They go hand in hand. You cannot take vv.4-5 without also reading vv.6-9. So, what is so significant about Dt. 6:6-9? Yes, vv.4-5 are widely considered to be the most important in Judaism, but vv.6-9 demonstrate just how important it is.
Dt. 6:6 - The commandment "shall be in your heart."
The commands given by God are not intended to be rules that we follow out of some kind of formal legalism, but they are guidelines to which we submit as a form of humble obedience to God. As we continue through the Israelite history, it is clear that the former is what ended up taking place. The commandments of God were not seen as freedom to serve God, but came to be a "ball and chain" of sorts. There was the legalistic hedge built around the commands that were followed because they were there, not out of obedience to God. Over time, this heart that was supposed to keep God's commands became a heart of stone. Perhaps this is why the New Covenant refers to the heart. "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Eze. 36:26).
Dt. 6:7 - The Israelites were commanded to "teach them to your children."
The family unit is central to keeping the commands of God. It is through the family that God's commands are learned. The family model of discipleship is brought forth at this point in Scripture.
God's primary characteristic in Scripture is holiness, and God desires the same for His people. "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44) If we are to be a holy people because God is holy, we need to follow God's expression of holiness, which is found in a perfect balance between love and righteousness. Our response to God's holiness, as a holy people of God, is to be love and obedience. In doing so, we set the example for the next generation. By responding to God's holiness through love and obedience, we set the example for our children - biological or not. By teaching God's commands to our children, we continue the legacy of our forefathers in the faith and we fulfill God's original intention of living in relationship with the one true God.
So, what's so signficant about history? Have you ever been told, "Let's not re-invent the wheel"? It seems like such a silly phrase, but what does it mean? We are not starting fresh. We stand on the shoulders of giants. The history that we read about in Scripture is not a string of stories brouth together for our amusement. It is the story of who we are. It is our story, our heritage. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is our God. Once we have an idea of where we came from we can get a better idea of where we are going.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.