Isaiah 29

By | April 10, 2010
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Quick – tell me everything you know about Isaiah 29.

Ok, take your time and think about it.

Not much better, eh?

Interesting.  As you know, I’m teaching through Isaiah in Sunday School this year and last week I taught chapter 28.  I told the class from the start that I didn’t plan to teach every chapter (and I did skip a few like 15-18, 20-21).  But I really thought I’d skip a bunch in 24-35, especially since I couldn’t really tell you what went on there and thus it must not be important.

So I was thinking about skipping chapter 29.  No need to keep repeating the same stuff.  And I don’t want to spend forever in Isaiah (besides not wanting to kill the class, I also want to teach some other books). 

But I had a vision.  I was in heaven, and I was talking to Paul.  And he asked me why I skipped Isaiah 29.  I was taken aback.  How did he know?  He kindly but forcefully boxed my ears for not bothering to spend 30 minutes in class on a chapter that he quoted multiple times (Rom 9:19-21; 11:7-8).  I repented. 

But later that afternoon I was talking to John.  He asked if I was the guy who skipped Isaiah 29.  Didn’t I know that Revelation 5 just came alive if I understood Isaiah 29 (besides the scroll in vv11-12, note ariel/lion and “Root of David”)?  In a place where there is to be no shame, I was ashamed.

I was so glad that evening when I saw Jesus.  He was so wonderful and gracious.  He was telling me stories about when he was a boy and how in school he memorized Isaiah 29.  Didn’t I know that he was thinking of this in Luke 19:43, quoted it directly in Matt 15:7-9, and alluded to it in Matt 11:25 (among others)?

I woke from my vision, incredulous that I even considered skipping a chapter that was so well known to the NT writers.

I wonder how differently we would understand the New Testament if we were saturated in the Old as the apostles were.  Maybe “differently” isn’t exactly the word I want.  But certainly the “wow” factor is lessened when you don’t read Romans (or Revelation) for the first time and see God working out his purposes planned and revealed long ago.

Maybe I would say it this way: we don’t marvel at the wisdom of God displayed in the New Testament because we don’t know his plans revealed in the Old.

But maybe that’s just me.

My First Commentary

By | April 9, 2010
5 Comments

Thanks for taking my poll on what biblical commentary I might write.  I don’t get a lot of interaction on this blog, so it’s nice to get a little from time to time.  By its very nature, the poll obviously wasn’t so serious.  It was more of a gauge on your perception of my future, based on very limited knowledge.  I don’t have an announcement to make, but in appreciation for your response, I ‘ll say a few words.

I think the right answer to the question, “will I ever write a commentary,” is “never, ever.”  I don’t feel that’s my calling, and I’m not being trained for that now.  Commentaries are (usually) written by specialists, and my training is making me a non-specialist.  That has certain values (of course!), but commentary writing isn’t one of them.  I might be of better use in reading over someone else’s draft and giving them feedback (on the assumption that I may see parts of the big picture that the specialist missed).

I personally didn’t vote for “never, ever.”  (Yes, I voted on my own poll!)  I chose Isaiah.  I shouldn’t have chosen Isaiah, and it’s highly unlikely I ‘ll ever attempt anything on Isaiah because the book is far too big for me.  I don’t mean long, I mean big.  It is phenomenal.  Complex.  Rich.  Sheer genius.  It’s a mountain too tall, an ocean too wide, a chasm too deep.  But the reason I voted for Isaiah is because as far as I know, there is not a commentary on Isaiah written by a dispensationalist.  (And by that awful word, I mean simply this: one who believes the prophecies will be fulfilled in the same way that the writer thought they would be fulfilled.)

If you chose Samuel, I’d say you have the best chance of being right (next to the “never, ever” people).  Samuel is less difficult for me.  And I’ve had spent much more time in it.  And someone might dare ask me for such (but never on Isaiah or Job).

I’m surprised that no one (to date) chose Matthew.  I love that book.  It’s my favorite gospel right now.  That may be related to the fact that Matthew and I agree on who our favorite prophet is.

Exodus is fantastic.  I look forward to teaching through that book one day. 

The least likely answer is “Job.”  I’ve spent all week in Job and I can’t understand the English, let alone the Hebrew.  It’s tough stuff.  Before this week, I would never have envisioned teaching through that book.  But I hope I can one day.  (And yes, I’ve said that about every book I’ve studied so far this year.)

April 7

By | April 7, 2010
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The Tyndale Commentaries are now available for Logos.  For a few more days, there’s a deal for $140.  This is a great set for the average person, and this is the best price I’ve seen.  (Good until 4/10.)

If you’ve done any image editing, you will find this incredible.  It might convince me to buy Photoshop.

Thinking about making your fortune in stock photography?  Better read this NY Times article first.

I think one of my boys wrote a letter to the President earlier this year (as part of a class assignment).  Ever wonder what happens to those?  The interesting answer is in this Washington Post article.  Hint: if we made a law against writing letters to the President, we ‘d save a lot of money.

If you ‘re interested in an outsider’s perspective on John MacArthur’s preaching, take a look at this book excerpt posted at Pyromaniacs from Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 7: Our Own Time.

Some Observations on Commentaries

By | April 6, 2010
3 Comments

I wrote two sermons yesterday and one this afternoon.   My hopes to write the fourth (and final) this evening have run aground on 2 Chronicles 32:24ff.   I can’t figure it out and the dozen or so commentaries I’ve checked so far aren’t even asking the right question, let alone answering it.

But I was struck by a few things in tonight’s study.   First, Chronicles has really not done well by commentators.   Often the two books are covered in a single commentary, which is really unbelievable considering how many chapters are in Chronicles (65).   The book is quite the stepchild.

But that raises, second, another issue.   I went to www.bestcommentaries.com to see what I might be missing.   Along the way I came to the conclusion that another commentary should never be written.   That sounds at odds with what I wrote above, but just peruse the list of commentaries written on any given book.   Then, look at all of the forthcoming commentaries.   Truly amazing.   I really don’t think another book-length commentary not already in process is necessary.   If there’s something new, put it in an article.   It’s highly unlikely that you have that much new to require a book.   What pushes all of this?   Obviously publishers make money.   And professors get to stuff their resumes.   But we don’t need at least half of what’s being produced.

My third observation concerns Anchor Bible commentaries.   This series actually gave a separate volume to 1 and 2 Chronicles.   But the type is so big, the margins so wide, and the translation occupies a huge part of the content.   You can see something similar in the AB commentary on Matthew, written by Albright and Mann (and purchased by me for 25 cents once in Pennsylvania; I thought I had gotten a real steal!).   Chronicles was published in 1965 and Matthew in 1971.   Matthew’s 28 chapters gets 350 pages, and they really could fit in less than half of that.   By contrast, compare the AB volume on Amos, written by Andersen and Freedman and published in 1989.   Within those 18 years, AB changed their style dramatically, and Amos’s nine chapters gets nearly 1,000 pages.   Sometimes you hear that a series is “uneven”; well, I think that AB is the definition of “uneven.”

I haven’t done a poll in a while, so here’s one for fun.

Alabaster Boxes of Your Affection

By | April 5, 2010
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Here is a good reminder from J. R. Miller, via Grace Gems:

Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your affection sealed and laid away–until your friends are dead. Fill their present days with tenderness. Speak your words of commendation, while their ears can hear them! The things you mean to say when they are dead and gone–say before they go! The flowers you mean to send for their coffins–send beforehand to brighten and sweeten their homes, before they leave them forever!

I have often said–and I know I speak for thousands of other weary, plodding toilers–that if my friends have vases laid away, filled with the perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body–I would far rather they would bring them out now along my toilsome days and open them–when I can enjoy them and be refreshed by them!

Post-mortem kindnesses do not cheer the burdened spirit. Tears falling on the icy brow of death, make poor and too tardy atonement for coldness, neglect, and cruel selfishness in life’s long, struggling years. Appreciation, after the heart is stilled in death–has no inspiration for the departed one; it comes too late, when it is pronounced only in funeral eulogies. Flowers piled on the coffin–cast no fragrance backward over weary days.

New Discoveries in Isaiah

By | April 1, 2010
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I haven’t said much here lately about Isaiah, but it’s not because I haven’t been working hard at it.  I would like to continue on with the series, but I can’t promise yet if/when that will happen.  But I just finished teaching chapters 24-27 in Sunday School.  This section is popularly known as the “Little Apocalypse” because it bears so much similarity to the book of Revelation.  It’s not difficult to see, for instance,

  • Wickedness spiraling out of control (24:5, 20; cf. Matt 24:10-12)
  • The destruction of the earth in God’s judgment (cf. 2 Pet 3:7-10)
  • Every knee will bow (24:2, 21; cf. Phil 2:9-11)
  • Angels will be put in prison and punished after many days (24:22; cf. 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6; Rev 20:1-3)
  • The Lord will rule from Jerusalem with his elders (24:3; cf. Rev 4:4, 9-11)
  • The absence of sun or moon (24:23; cf. Rev 21:23; 22:5)

It’s quite remarkable just how much eschatology was revealed in the Old Testament.  Things that we typically think only became known after John wrote down his vision were actually revealed 700 years before Christ. 

There are some other things I noted too.  These are at least curious, if not more significant.  For instance, the serpent/dragon is mentioned three times, but God is mentioned twice that—six times.  In this passage, God’s mountain is contrasted with the pit of destruction, and both are mentioned exactly four times.  Birth is mentioned three times, as is death, indicating complete balance in the eschaton.  Wine is mentioned five times, and drink three times, which makes perfect sense because the people who live in the city (mentioned 8x) drink wine.  Woman/women is mentioned twice, as is man/men, certainly hinting at equality in the new age.  Jacob and Israel are mentioned together five times, where as collectively Egypt, Assyria, and Moab are only mentioned four times, clearly showing the superiority of the Jewish state (but only marginally).  Peace is mentioned four times, as is the “name” of the Lord, for it is his name that brings peace.  Pregnant, distress, terror, and wind are each mentioned twice, which must be regarded as an ominous sign for married couples.  

I also discovered some very troubling patterns.  Given that this is an eschatological passage, one expects to find prophecies, but I was stunned at what I found.  Very significant words in this portion of the book are outcry, beaten, adversaries, mourns, and ashamed.  This can hardly be coincidence!  When I checked further, I could hardly believe that Isaiah used exactly these words: behold iniquity devours empty noise!  By contrast, however, there is nothing that points to o…s…t…e…e…n, obviously proving that Isaiah never expected him. 

There’s more, but I don’t have the space to share all of my tabulations.  Suffice it to say that the number of mentions of a carefully selected group of words totals precisely 666.  I can’t reveal those words, because they provide the key to the identification of somebody important.  I can reveal, however, that the product of the number of mentions of behold, glory, righteous, and heaven, times one thousand, equals exactly 144,000!

I keep telling you that Isaiah is deep, but you never knew just how much.  Study is the key, I tell you.  You just really have to study.  Besides the Bible, an essential tool is a Word Frequency Calculator (I can’t believe they didn’t teach me how to use one of these in seminary!).  It’s of course absolutely essential that you use the ESV text, and highly recommended that you make your computations on April 1.

Troops on Guam

By | April 1, 2010
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Last Friday House Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) was questioning Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific fleet, about the stationing of an additional 5,000 U.S. troops on Guam.  Pay attention right at the 1:15 mark! 

To TMC and Back

By | March 31, 2010
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I’m back home from a quick trip to California.  Some of you prayed; thank you.  A few observations:

1. My first impression when I got out of the airport was how beautiful southern California was.  I was looking at some very green hills.  I haven’t seen that since I last left Texas. 

2. I have some wonderful friends.  The Lord has blessed me with some people who really care for me and my family, and that constantly brightened my time there.

3. The two questions everyone asked were: how is your family?  what are you going to do when you finish?

4. Chapel went well.  At least I didn’t hear any bodies slam on the bleachers from fainting.  I was not real nervous when speaking, but I can’t say I was comfortable either.  I prefer a well-lit classroom with 10-40 students I know to a darkened gymnasium with hundreds I don’t.  I received a very encouraging comment via an IBEX parent.  At some point in the future, the messages will be online here.

5. I sat in on one class.  It was the best lecture on Job I’ve ever heard.  The most astonishing thing to me was that while I understood only a portion, the students in the class seemed to be tracking very closely.

6. I brought three books but had no time to read besides the plane rides.  I finished What the Best College Teachers Do on the way there and read a commentary on Jonah on the way back.  I may write more on the first title later.

7. I listened to Andrew Peterson exclusively while driving around. 

8. I had dinner with a Christian family with 8 children.  It was absolutely inspiring.

9. The answers for question #3 above are: good and teach.

Spiritually Undernourished Christians

By | March 26, 2010
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From Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology:

Only those who have journeyed through the Old Testament can appreciate the full splendor and glory of the New Testament and fully digest its fruit, and those who have not cannot.  The consequence of a general ignorance about the Old Testament among the people of God is a pervasive reduction of the full message of the New Testament to a basic gospel of atonement and individual ethics.  I suspect many Christians feel spiritually undernourished because they live out their lives on the basis of about ten biblical texts.  The spiritual life of the church would be greatly enriched by kindling a love of the Old Testament through a more thorough program of adult Christian education (emphasis mine; p. 16).

I think that’s true.