Curds and Honey

By | December 29, 2010
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I can’t get over Isaiah 7:14.  I probably think about it one way or another every week, and probably every day at times.

One point that seems to me to refute decisively the majority of scholars who insist on an 8th-century fulfillment is verse 15.

Isaiah 7:14–15 (NIV) — 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.

What are curds and honey?  If you ‘re not sure, read down to verse 22.

Isaiah 7:22 (NIV) — And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

Curds and honey are what you eat when your land has been destroyed.  It’s what you eat when the farms aren’t producing crops and your palace is in ruins.

Back to verses 14-15.  The fulfillment of the sign is a child who eats curds and honey.  When was the earliest time in the history of Judah when a child (presumably a child in the royal household) ate curds and honey because the land had been destroyed?

Answer: not in the reign of Ahaz (735-715).  This king was delivered from Pekah and Rezin (per 7:7-9 and 8:4) and the land did not begin to be destroyed until some years later.

In other words, there was no boy who could eat curds and honey until long after “the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste” (7:16).

Someone living in the year 710, let’s say, would read (or hear about) this passage and know that the boy had not yet been born because the land had not yet been destroyed.  Only after the coming of Assyria (7:17) could they expect the birth of this child.

Conclusion: Immanuel could not have been born during the reign of Ahaz and thus there was no fulfillment in the 8th century.

Note: you have to read verses 15-17 “backwards.”  The boy eats curds and honey (15) because the land is destroyed (16) because God brought Assyria upon Judah (17).

Postscript: This explains why people were still waiting for its fulfillment during the time when the LXX was translated as well as when a girl in Nazareth learned that she was the one.

My previous posts about this passage can be found here and here.

Studying the Bible

By | December 27, 2010
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I’ve been asked by a couple of commenters (on the last post of the old blog location, since deleted) about the possibility of making available my “arguments” on each book of the Bible.  The thinking may be that since I’ve studied things out so well, that I have a contribution to make.

That thinking, unfortunately, is wrong.  Though it does seem like an incredible luxury to spend an entire year studying the Bible full-time, it simply is a fraction of the time needed to do this project right.  I should say it a different way: to write an analysis of a book that would be helpful to others would take much longer than the .5-1 week that I had for each book.  Since I wanted (and was required) to do the entire Bible but had only one year, my time on each book was brief.  I traded depth for breadth.  To say it a different way, it’s true that I only know a little bit about the book of Numbers, but I also know a little bit about the book of 2 Peter.

All this means that my writings would not be very helpful to you, especially in light of better resources.  There is nothing I said that is not said better elsewhere.

What would I recommend?  Well, the best resources will tend to be lengthy commentaries on a single book.  For instance, today I was going back through my Judges argument and it reminded me of how very good Daniel Block’s commentary is on the book.  Moo’s commentary on Romans is fantastic (or the more basic version).  I could suggest many such commentaries on various books of the Bible.

But if you ‘re looking for something briefer that covers a broad swath of Scripture, I have a few suggestions that I found very helpful.

Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book.  This is essentially a “reading strategy guide.”  They tell you what to look for and why.  I can’t agree with everything they wrote, but I can highly recommend this book.  I would suggest you read their sections before (and even again after) you read each book of the Bible.  It is short, easy, and helpful.

For the Old Testament: Paul House, Old Testament Theology.  This is not as brief and it is more weighty, but it is excellent.  I especially like how he relates each book to other previous books (though he does that more by canon than by chronology, which sometimes is less valuable, in my opinion).

For the New Testament: I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology.  This is also long and may be more difficult if you don’t have much background in biblical studies.  There is a more condensed edition.  He has many good insights (but also some bad ones).

Also for the New Testament and for free: the arguments of Daniel Wallace.  One “weakness” of them is that they are heavily focused on critical introductory issues and give less attention to the book’s outline and argument.  But they are a good resource and I wish I had had more time to read them.

There are a few books that I would recommend even though I did not use them much (I only needed so many basic, intro-type works):

Berding and Williams, What the New Testament Authors Really Cared About.  This is a very readable work that approaches each biblical book by theme.  (The OT version is about a year away from publication and will have a good chapter on Chronicles.)

New Bible Commentary, 4th ed., edited by D. A. Carson, et al.  I’ve used this only a few times but have been impressed with what the authors pack into a short space.

Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, ed. K. Vanhoozer.  I found the articles on each book of the Bible to usually be helpful.  This would not be higher than #3 or #4 to consult, as they assume you have a basic knowledge.  If you ‘re only interested in the summaries of the books, you can get them in a cheaper paperback form (OT here, NT here).

It truly is astonishing how much wisdom you can get for so little money.  You might think that $30 for a book is a lot, but when you spend 30+ hours reading it, learning truths that will forever change your life, it is a worthwhile investment.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment below.  I owe a number of the suggestions above to several of my readers (including CS and MG), and I’m sure there are some fantastic works that are not on my radar.

Back to my arguments: If there is a particular book that you would like to read my argument on, you can send me an email.  As I wrote them, I felt that they were horrible.  As I am reading over them now as I study, I am less disgusted with my work.

Christmas Photos

By | December 23, 2010
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It’s been a good year.  I’d say our family looks better than it ever has!

These photos were taken by our friend, Jack Pitney.  He did a great job!

Bolen family, pitney-9969

These photos were taken at a park about half a mile from where we live.

Bolen children, pitney-0040

For those who can’t keep track, Mark is 11, Luke is 12.  In the front row, Katie is 6, Bethany is 8, and Jonathan was six weeks when this photo was taken.

Todd and Kelli, pitney-0055

With the relaxed look on Kelli’s face, you ‘d think she has a maid, cook, and nanny.  Not quite!

December 21

By | December 21, 2010
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Would it be better if we legalized cocaine and heroin and criminalized pornography?  Which will be more destructive to more people in the long run?  I don’t know, but I think it’s a good idea to be aware of the awful consequences of a “victimless crime” and reading this powerful poem may help.  For resources, see here.

Some of the photos submitted for National Geographic’s Photography Contest 2010 are fantastic.

I don’t believe you need to be logged in to view and download syllabi from DTS courses.

I appreciated reading this testimony of a Catholic priest who came to know Christ.  The author’s website is here.

This is a cute little movie about how life might have been for Joseph and Mary if the baby was born in 2010.

Handel’s Messiah

By | December 20, 2010
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I ‘ll always remember this Christmas season as the one in which I learned Handel’s Messiah.  By that I don’t mean that I sang it in a choir.  I do mean that this was the first time I sat down and listened carefully to it in order to understand it.

If you ‘re interested in doing so, I would recommend two things as essential: a good performance (either live or recorded) and a program that lists all of the words.  I have never been to a live performance, so I do not know if it is customary for them to provide detailed programs.  I put one together that you can access here if you would like.

You can find additional help in understanding the Messiah by reading this recent book by Calvin R. Stapert (audiobook free until 12/31 but this is a harder book to listen to) and/or reading his interviews with Justin Taylor and Al Mohler.  Daniel Block’s article is also helpful.  [True story: I ordered Stapert’s book from Amazon in the morning and it was on my doorstep that afternoon. And that was with free shipping.]

Stapert says about Messiah:

The Messiah phenomenon has no parallel in music history. No work of music has survived, let alone thrived, on so many performances, good, bad, and indifferent, by and for so many people, year after year, for such a long time.

I came up with a few questions by which you can test your knowledge about this extraordinary work. 

  • What does Hallelujah chorus rejoice over?
  • What is last song of Messiah?
  • What aspect of Jesus’s life is Messiah primarily about?
  • What percentage of Messiah comes from verses in the Bible?
  • Which book of the Bible is quoted the most in Messiah?
  • Did Handel write the music, the words, or both?
  • How many times is the word Messiah used in the oratorio?

The answers are here (pdf).

Luke

By | December 19, 2010
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While Luke tells the same basic story of the life of Jesus that Matthew and Mark do, he has some particular emphases. One is that Luke was a doctor, so he sometimes gives more details about medical issues and he doesn’t say bad things about doctors like the other writers do. Another is that he is writing a two-part work and so some of the things he mentions are related to the “rest of the story” in Acts.

A third emphasis of Luke is on people who were not as highly valued in the ancient world, including Samaritans, poor people, and women. He tells us more about the women in Jesus’s life than the other Gospels do. He also emphasizes that how one uses money is an indicator of one’s spiritual state. Luke also prepares the reader for how God is going to do a great work among the Gentiles in the Book of Acts.

New Location

By | December 17, 2010
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If you ‘re reading this post, you found the blog’s new location.  I’m sorry for any trouble that the move has caused you.  The reason for the move was increased privacy.  I think of this blog as a conversation between friends.  I write to those whom I know and to those who know me.  I would write differently to an audience that I did not know. 

Though I have settings that tell search engines not to index this blog, I seem to be unable to remove the domain name itself from the engine.  Thus if anyone searches for my name, the top hit is the domain which is (was) the blog.  I’m hoping that this move will resolve this issue (the placeholder that is there now is temporary).

Everything else should continue as before.  Perhaps I should note that there was no known problem that motivated this move.  I just think it’s the best thing to do in the long run.

Arguments Finished

By | December 15, 2010
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Three years ago I began a writing project.  In January I began working on it full-time.  This morning I printed out the last page.

I’ve described the nature of the project before, but I ‘ll summarize briefly here.  The official name of the courses is “Analysis of Old/New Testament Books,” but the popular name is “Bible Arguments.”  That’s because the goal is to discern and communicate the biblical writer’s “argument.”  The essential ingredients of the project are (1) a message statement; (2) a detailed outline of the book which reflects the message statement; (3) a written “argument” which explains how the writer communicated his message through each part of the book.

I ‘ll use Hebrews as an example here, in part because some people think that the message of the book is “Jesus is better.”  And it’s true that he is better.  But I think that the primary point is something else.  Namely, because Jesus is better, persevere.  Here’s how I phrased the message statement:

Perseverance in the faith is demanded by the superiority of Jesus and his sacrifice, the certainty of judgment for those who apostatize, and the guarantee of reward for those who endure.

Hebrews is not an easy book to outline because there are few clear breaks, as the author is always tying his previous point into his next point.  And unlike some of the letters of Paul, Hebrews does not begin with doctrine and end with practice.

Here’s my broad outline.  Notice how the outline is related to the message statement.

I. Prologue: Jesus is the superior revelation of God (1:1-4).

II. Jesus is superior to the angels (1:5–2:18).

III. Perseverance in faith is essential in order to enjoy the promise of rest (3:1–4:13).

IV. Perseverance in faith is possible because Jesus is a sympathetic and divinely appointed high priest (4:14–5:10).

V. Perseverance in faith is necessary because of the consequences of failing to endure and mature (5:11–6:12).

VI. Jesus is a superior high priest because he is in the order of Melchizedek (6:13–7:28).

VII. Jesus is a superior high priest because he serves at the heavenly tabernacle as mediator of the New Covenant (8:1–10:18).

VIII. Perseverance in faith is motivated by encouragement, examples, and warnings (10:19–12:29).

IX. Perseverance in faith is demonstrated in obedience (13:1-25).

And here’s the summary I wrote at the end:

While many things about the letter of Hebrews remain unknown, the call to persevere on the basis of a superior high priest cannot be mistaken. The church was facing persecution which made more attractive the temptation of abandoning the Christian faith in order to return to Jewish practices. This was an unacceptable option, according to the writer, because the old system is now clearly out of date, obsolete, ineffective, and insufficient. The reader who turned from Christ back to the sacrifices of the temple was seeking atonement from that which could never provide forgiveness. The shadows of the earthly tabernacle were effective in pointing to Jesus until he came, but once he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice, to return to animal offerings was to deny his sufficient work and to exclude oneself from his forgiveness. The author used a number of means to persuade his readers to persevere in spite of suffering, including beckoning invitations, stern warnings, and examples both positive and negative. Though the author had great reason to believe that his readers would remain in the faith until the end, he wrote in order to give them more reasons to do just that.

So, what’s next? 

I’m taking some time off.  Christmas letters need to be sent, a car needs to visit the garage, and I need to prepare to teach on Handel’s Messiah on Sunday. 

Beginning on Monday, I will start intensive study for my comprehensive exams.  I have eight weeks to prepare for six exams, which comes out to 6 exams=1 week each, with two weeks of cramming in the first half of February.  Fortunately, all I have to know is the Bible.

December 14

By | December 14, 2010
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If a man steals money from a casino, should he go to jail?

If people go on a cruise in the Mediterranean in the middle of December, should they have a right to complain when they run into a storm?  Maybe they should have read the Bible before booking.

What 4 oz drink has 190 calories?  Egg nog.

Why is it that a greeting card in the mail is welcomed, but an e-card on the internet seems so impersonal?

What’s wrong with this sentence, found in this Reuters story? 

A fervent evangelical Christian, Moreno, 40, was born in Apatzingan and was one of the original founders of La Familia, responsible for dozens of murders, according to official data.

Who needs F-16s when you can create a computer virus?  [This is a game-changer.]