Monthly Archives: June 2012

BOB – Lamentations

by Stephen Rodgers

LAMENTATIONS IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“A despairing poem about the destruction of Jerusalem.”

TITLE

/sigh

I need to be more careful about what I write. A couple of times now I’ve written the following

I’ll let you in on a little secret: this section is about to get really repetitious for the next few months.  ALL the prophetic books take their name from the prophet who…well…prophesied them. So there’s really no great mystery here.  However, there may be some good background material…

Well, now we come to the one prophetic book that doesn’t take it’s name from a particular prophet: Lamentations.

MSB:

“Lamentations” was derived from a translation of the title as found in the Latin Vulgate (Vg.) translation of the Greek OT, the Septuagint (LXX), and conveys the idea of “loud cries.” The Hebrew exclamation ekah (“How,” which expresses “dismay”), used in Lam. 1:1; 2:1, and 4:1, gives the book its Hebrew title. However, the rabbis began early to call the book “loud cries” or “lamentations” (cf. Jer. 7:29). No other entire OT book contains only laments, as does this distressful dirge, marking the funeral of the once beautiful city of Jerusalem (cf. Lam. 2:15). This book keeps alive the memory of that fall and teaches all believers how to deal with suffering.

Constable:

The English title of this book comes from the Talmud, which called it “Lamentations” (Heb. qinoth). The Hebrew Bible has the title “Ah, how” or “Alas” (Heb. ‘ekah), the first word in the first, second, and fourth chapters. The title in the Septuagint is “Wailings” (Gr. Threnoi).

So just to be completely clear, there is no Hebrew poet named “Lamentations.” Which actually is a great segue into…

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

Other than a tiny kerfuffle brought on by people who occupy their time by studying the anthropology of poetry (I’ll get to that in the OBJECTIONS section), the only real excitement related to the reliability of Lamentation is the fact that it’s technically anonymous.

Now before I go much further, let me preface that by saying that I think Jeremiah wrote it, and I’m not alone on that. Many scholars, liberal and conservative, believer and unbeliever tend to think that Jeremiah wrote it. The ESVSB is surprisingly reserved on this subject however:

The book does not identify its author, which should keep interpreters from unnecessarily contentious debates. Many scholars consider Jeremiah the author. They base this decision on (1) the statement in 2 Chronicles 35:25 that Jeremiah “uttered a lament for Josiah”; (2) the fact that Jeremiah was an eyewitness of Jerusalem’s destruction; and (3) the similarities in theological emphasis and vocabulary between the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. In addition, much Jewish tradition (such as the Septuagint, the Targum on Jeremiah, and the Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 15a) attributes this book to Jeremiah. The problems with this view include: (1) Lamentations does not name Jeremiah as its author; (2) the book of Jeremiah details much of Jeremiah’s post-587 b.c. activities but says nothing about his writing Lamentations; (3) there are differences in key vocabulary between Jeremiah and Lamentations; and (4) Lamentations provides material for worship in Jerusalem, whereas Jeremiah spent his last years in Egypt.

Let me briefly address the points that are raised in objection:

  1. This is the most troubling of the arguments raised, since it would seem to imply that unless the Bible explicitly tells us something, then we cannot know it with certainty. I’m going to move on fairly quickly so that I don’t work myself up into a full-fledged rant here, but suffice to say I would cheerfully reject that claim…with both barrels. Such a position finds itself at odds with any number of historically orthodox creeds and confessions (WCF 1.6: “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture…”). Furthermore, it’s going to get rather uncomfortable around here if it gets trotted out and set against historically orthodox doctrines that would otherwise fail “test by word search”…and here I’m thinking of the trinity. Ok, deep breaths…
  2. Argument from Silence? Really?
  3. Fair point.
  4. Assumes facts not in evidence. The fact of the matter is that while Jeremiah clearly records that he was unwillingly shanghaied to Egypt following the assassination of a Babylonian official, almost immediately we run into conflicting Rabbinic notes and traditions. Some say he was stoned to death in Egypt; others say he returned to Babylon. We don’t know, (and I’d point out that according to the standards entailed in (1) and (2)), we can’t know.
In any event, belief that Jeremiah is the author is hardly marginal.

DATE

Ok, so remember what I wrote about dating the book of Jeremiah:

For the most part, the writing of the book of Jeremiah is concurrent with it’s setting. Jeremiah began his ministry during the thirteenth year of King Josiah (the last good king of Judah, 640-609 BC), and continued to prophesy and preach throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz (609 BC), Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), Jehoiachin (598-597 BC), and Zedekiah (597-586 BC). He survived the fall of Jerusalem, and was relocated to Egypt against his will following the assassination of Gedaliah.

Lamentations takes place after that whole “fall of Jerusalem” bit in 586 BC, but prior to the return of the exiles in 538 BC (remember Nehemiah). That’s less than a 50-year window of opportunity. On top of that, a number of internal indicators seem to point towards an earlier date, as the pain and trauma from the fall of Jerusalem is still fresh in the mind of the poet.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

Everything I wrote regarding the setting for Jeremiah would seem to apply here.

Per Constable:

The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21—25 and 2 Chronicles 33—36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.

Per the MSB:

Politically momentous events occurred in Jeremiah’s day. Assyria saw its power wane gradually; then Ashurbanipal died in 626 B.C. Assyria grew so feeble that in 612 B.C. her seemingly invincible capital, Nineveh, was destroyed (cf. the book of Nahum). The Neo-Babylonian empire under Nabopolassar (625–605 B.C.) became dominant militarily with victories against Assyria (612 B.C.), Egypt (609–605 B.C.), and Israel in 3 phases (605 B.C., as in Dan. 1; 597 B.C., as in 2 Kin. 24:10–16; and 586 B.C., as in Jer. 39,40,52).

Jeremiah records one of the most pivotal moments in OT history: the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. While the northern kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians already, the southern kingdom had held out until now. However, as the Babylonian empire grew, their opinion of Israel shifted from considering them a military ally against Egypt (especially after they successfully fought Egypt to a standstill), to considering them a likely candidate for conquest. And so, in 586 BC the Babylonians successfully attacked and destroyed Jeruasalem, leading the kingdom of Judah off into exile.

This is the time of Jeremiah.

And the time of Lamentations would literally be right after that.

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are three major themes in Lamentations:

  • Judgment. Sin has consequences, and God uses secondary agents to execute His judgement (Lam. 1:14-15; 2:1-8, 17, 22; 4:11).
  • Response to Judgment. The appropriate to God’s judgment is repentance (Lam. 3:40-42) and a desire for forgiveness and restoration (Lam. 5:21-22).
  • God’s Character. God is just in His judgment, but he is also the God of hope (Lam. 3:21, 24-25), love (Lam. 3:22), compassion (Lam. 3:22), faithfulness (Lam. 3:23), and salvation (Lam. 3:26).

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

While there are a number of verses that require additional study (as in any book of the Bible), none of them (that I am aware of) rise to the level of being fundamental or even well popularized.

LITERARY FEATURES

Per the ESVSB:

As its title indicates, the book of Lamentations is a collection of laments, or melancholy dirges, for a ruined society. The poems in the book could also be termed elegies or funeral orations, in which the author expresses deep personal and communal grief for the dead and for all of the suffering that surrounds their loss. In terms of structure, the first four poems are acrostics. This structure, using the entire Hebrew alphabet, matches the poet’s intent, which is to give full expression to the suffering of his people and the sorrows of his own soul—in effect, to offer a lament “from A to Z” (or aleph to taw). Perhaps the highly structured form of the acrostic is also an attempt to impose some sense of order on a tragic situation that is chaotic beyond what anyone can bear.

If you need a refresher on poetry, you can refer back to the article on the Wisdom Books. Also, it’s an interesting footnote that the text of Lamentations is one of the primary sources used by scholars who wish to argue that the ANE Israelites employed particular forms of metered verse in their poems, and not just parallel structures and acrostics.

OBJECTIONS

So I promised an objection based on the anthropology of poetry, so here it is (notice I never said it was a particularly impressive objection). Basically the argument goes something like this: “Lamentations is a series of sophisticated acrostic poems. Sophisticated acrostic poems are too sophisticated for a primitive ANE culture like the Israelites. Therefore, the date of Lamentations is unreliable and we can assume influence from more literary societies.”

On the contrary, not only is there ample evidence for highly sophisticated literary forms that pre-date Lamentations (for example, the majority of the Wisdom Literature), but one could quite easily make the case that of the various forms of poetry, acrostic poetic forms would be one of the earlier forms to arise within a culture that has a written alphabet (as the ANE Israelites did).

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

  • Lamentations 3:22-23
  • Lamentations 5:21

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The Hebrews divided the night into three watches: 1) sunset to 10pm, 2) 10pm to 2am, and 3) 2am to sunrise (Lam. 2:19).

Other Works Referenced

  • Apologetics Study Bible, “Lamentations”
  • Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Lamentations”
  • ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Lamentations”
  • MacArthur Study Bible, “Lamentations”
  • NET Bible, Lamentations
  • NIV Study Bible, Lamentations
  • Reformation Study Bible, “Lamentations”
  • The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Lamentations”
  • Know Your Bible
  • Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
  • Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
  • Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook

Israel Journal #18

by Pastor Patrick Cho

We had a bit of a later start this morning, and I was glad for the extra sleep. At this point of the trip, many people have commented that they are ready to go home. It has been a phenomenal time here in Israel, but we miss family, friends, and church. Three weeks is an awful long time to be away. I’ve been thankful to at least have had brief opportunities to video chat with Christine. That really has helped the time go by. Everything we have been able to experience in Israel has been tremendously rewarding, and I think all of us are just excited to tell our loved ones about it all.

We began the day stopping along a roadside and walking past a banana field towards the Sea of Galilee. When we got fairly close to shore we were told that we were in the area of Gadara. After Jesus had calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He and His disciples came to the country of the Gadarenes where they met two men possessed with the legion of demons (Matt. 8:28-34). These demons were cast into a herd of swine, which ran off an embankment into the water. The spot where we were standing was probably the likely area where this incident occurred.

As we drove away from the Sea of Galilee, Dr. Grisanti told us to say goodbye since we weren’t going to return again on this trip. It was actually really sad to leave because the stops we made along the Sea of Galilee were some of the most memorable for me. The hotel we stayed at for the week was called the Ma’agan Eden, so that made it even more special. I took a bar of soap from the hotel to show my daughter Eden.

Our next stop was Beth-Shean just south of the Sea of Galilee. This was an amazing place to visit because of its enormity. Dr. Grisanti showed us some pictures of the site from just a few decades ago and it was completely covered with dirt. It was incredible to consider how much had been excavated since. Beth-Shean was a Roman Decapolis city, so it was very significant. We first walked by a Roman theatre and learned a little bit about the city’s history while sitting there in the sun. Afterwards, we walked down to the bathhouse and even got to see a Roman public restroom. It was co-ed.

The major Roman city of Beth-Shean is located at the base of the tel, but the ancient city is actually up on the hill. There were some stairs (154 of them. Yes, I counted.) that took us to the top. The view of the city from the tel was amazing! By the time the Romans conquered the city, it didn’t need the defensive advantage of being up on the hill, so they moved the city down. This would have made access to water much easier. Since they didn’t really need the hill anymore, the Romans tore down the wall and erected a temple to Zeus.

Biblically, the ancient city is where Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung after they died in battle against the Philistines before the people of Jabesh-Gilead retrieved the bodies (1 Sam. 31:8-13). We had about an hour or so to run around the city and pretty much needed every minute to see all that was there. Dr. Grisanti had mentioned that this was one of his wife’s favorite sites, and I could see why. The city was very impressive. It kind of made me want to visit the other nine Decapolis cities, but most of them are in modern day Jordan or Syria. Hippus is the only other in Israel, and we only got to drive by it because we ran out of time.

After Beth-Shean, we drove to the southern end of the Jordan River just north of the Dead Sea. This would have been around the land of the Moabites in Old Testament days, and is an area of incredible biblical significance. When Elijah ascended to heaven and passed the mantle to Elisha, it would have happened around this area (2 Kings 2:1-15). With its proximity to Jericho, this would also have been around the place where Israel crossed into the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership (Josh. 3). Given its spiritual significance, the southern end of the Jordan River is also what is believed to be the place where Jesus came to be baptized by John (Matt. 3:13-17).

As we drove west into Jerusalem, we said goodbye to the Jordan River and had a chance to review some of the things we had learned during our time in Israel. It seemed like forever had gone by since we first entered Jerusalem. We spent the last couple nights at Yad-Hashmona, where the IBEX campus (an extension of The Master’s College) is located. We quickly got unpacked and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together before catching up on emails and getting some rest.

The Christian’s Response to Politics

by Elder Mike Chon

Since the elections are coming up I thought I would write about the type of perspective believers should have regarding politics and the government. There is a saying that says “if you don’t want conflict, don’t talk about politics or religion.” Well, I’m going to talk about both. There was a time in the history of the United States, when most Americans would have acknowledged that marriage is between a man and a woman, where killing fetuses were wrong, when alternative lifestyles were frowned upon and premarital sex was taboo. Currently these same issues are either allowed by law or are accepted by our culture as the norm. What should our response be to a decline and even a rejection of morality and absolute truth in our society and culture? Unfortunately, many believers have invested time and money to form organizations to counteract this decline in our country using methods that are not found in Scripture, whether it is protesting with signs, forming barriers, yelling and screaming about the injustice, or even worse, using violence to get their message across. If anything, these groups have caused believers to become angry and even antagonistic toward those very people that we are called to love and share the gospel with.

So how are believers to respond to this decline in our society? Are we to remain silent? We have to remember that our battle is a spiritual battle and not a battle against our government to become more “Christian”. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” We are in a spiritual battle against those ideologies and worldviews that are against our God, and the weapon that we use is the Word of God. I am not saying that we ignore what is happening around us. We should vote for things that are honorable and be supportive of those things that are good. We should grieve over the decline of our country in its morality and beliefs. We should stand up and speak up when God is being ridiculed or misrepresented and give a defense for the veracity of God’s Word. At the same we need to realize that the goal is not for our country to become more “Christian-like” but instead it is to share the gospel. We cannot get so caught up trying to change the government and forget or lose the time and energy that should be used in saving souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we live in a world that is constantly changing for the worse, believers can’t be using all their time and energy reacting and trying to change laws or advocating for social causes. We must keep our focus on the mission of the church to share the gospel and make disciples of Christ through the faithful preaching of God’s Word and godly living. If we begin to devote time and energy to anything else it will weaken the mission of the church. Now there is nothing wrong getting involved in politics or social reform but you must ask yourself: are we in the world to conform it to some moral standard, or we are here to evangelize the lost so save people from the eternal condemnation, one person at a time, to God’ glory alone?

Israel Journal #17

by Pastor Patrick Cho

This morning, we had a chance to visit Bethsaida, another significant biblical town. In the Old Testament, this city was called Geshur. This is where Absalom fled after killing Amnon and avenging his sister Tamar (2 Sam. 13:37-38). We had a chance to walk into the ruins of the Old Testament city. Sadly, at the entrance to the gate, there were some standing stones and an altar to Baal.

In the New Testament section of Bethsaida, there were a couple very large homes. One belonged to a fisherman and the other to a winemaker. In the winemaker’s home, archaeologists discovered a wine cellar. It was odd to see a fisherman’s home in Bethsaida because the city is almost two miles from the Sea of Galilee. It would have been quite a chore walking down to the water, catching fish, and hauling the catch back home each day.

Bethsaida was originally the hometown of Peter and Andrew before they moved to Capernaum. It is feasible that they moved because Capernaum is right on the water and not two miles away. Besides, business would have been considerably better in Capernaum. Bethsaida is also the biblical location of the feeding of the 5000, but one of Jesus’ most interesting miracles took place in this city as well. In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus heals a blind man in two stages. At first, his sight was blurred but then he was healed completely. The text doesn’t explicitly say why Jesus did not immediately heal the man, but at the time there must have been a clear teaching point or reason.

From Bethsaida, we drove up to Hazor (pronounced “hot-sore”), which is another major city on the International Coastal Highway. Hazor is actually the largest uninhabited tel in Israel (almost 200 acres), and most of the city has not yet been excavated. There is a classic example of a four room Israelite house that was discovered along with an oil press with stone weights and basins. There was also a very impressive palace in the city. It was said that in ancient days, the Babylonian ambassador lived in this city, so it was a significant place.

Biblically, Joshua defeated Hazor during the time of conquest when Jabin was its king (Josh. 11:11). This was one of the three cities that the Israelites destroyed (Jericho and Ai are the other two). As we walked around the walls of the city, we could see clear signs of burning. Later in the period of the Judges (about 200 years later), Hazor was the city that Deborah and Barak defeated under a different Jabin’s rule (Judg. 4). Archaeologists say that the ashes found in the palace were three feet deep, and because of the massive quantities of olive oil found, it may have heated up to 2000 degrees!

We left Hazor and drove up to Tel Dan, which is one of the northernmost cities in Israel. (Earlier in the trip, we were at Eilat, which is a port city on the southernmost tip of the country.) In the Old Testament, this area was referred to as Laish before the Danites relocated here (Judg. 18:27-29). In an act of covenant treachery, the tribe of Dan resettled in the north, taking land that was not part of their divinely appointed inheritance.

Sadly, in the divided monarchy, this was also one of the locations that Jeroboam set up a high place and altar for sacrifice. He placed golden calves at Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:28-30). We had a chance to take a gorgeous hike up to the high place where we saw the foundation stones of the altar. It was gigantic. The altar itself would have been at least ten feet tall! I tried to imagine all the people who would have made a pilgrimage here to bow down and worship before a golden idol.

Dan was also where archaeologists discovered a Middle Bronze Age gate, which dated to about the time of Abraham. The Book of Genesis says that when Lot was taken into captivity, Abraham went as far as Dan to rescue him (Gen. 14:14). We can’t know for sure, but Abraham might have walked through that gate. Unlike stone gates that were built later, this one was constructed with mud bricks. There was a giant canopy built over the site to help protect it from the elements.

Our last stop for the day was at Caesarea Philippi, also known as Panias or Banias. This was a city built by Herod Philip II, which he dedicated to Caesar. In the city, there was a massive multi-temple site dedicated to the gods Pan, Zeus, and Nemesis. The city is surrounded by considerable natural beauty with cascading waterfalls and a gorgeous spring. It’s no wonder that the largest temple was dedicated to Pan, the god of the forest. Interestingly, Caesarea Philippi is the location of Peter’s great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This is interesting because the massive cave where Pan’s temple was located was said to be the gateway to Hades (cf. Matt. 16:18). Jesus may have used it to illustrate His point.

We ended our day with a play stop at the fortress at Nimrod. This was an old fortress built by the Muslims from the time of the Crusades. It was a giant, impressive fortress up on a very high hill, and it even had a secret passageway. We had about half an hour to run around the castle and have fun. One of the men from our group found an arrowhead that was probably used during the Crusades. Even though the fortress is called Nimrod, the biblical person named Nimrod did not establish it (Gen. 10:8). It was constructed much later. Even though it had no biblical significance, it was a fun stop nonetheless.

Israel Journal #16

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Today we got to tour the cities surrounding the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Our hotel is located on the southern shore, so throughout the day we pretty much drove around the entire perimeter. Early on in Jesus’ ministry, He moved from Nazareth to Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). Considering the geography of the land, this move made a lot of sense. Besides the fact that He had been rejected in His own hometown (Luke 4:24), Nazareth was a small and obscure town off the beaten path. Capernaum, on the other hand, was a major city on the International Coastal Highway.

Capernaum was our first stop of the day. This is a city of considerable biblical significance where Jesus called the first of His disciples. He found Simon and Andrew fishing by the sea and also called James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:18-22). The Gospel accounts tell us that the disciples left what they were doing and immediately followed Jesus. This was also the city where Matthew collected taxes when he was called to be a disciple (Matt. 9:1, 9).

The centurion who showed tremendous faith in Christ was also in Capernaum (Luke 7:1-10). According to the text, this centurion helped build the synagogue in the city (v. 5). We were able to see the synagogue and its original foundation, which the centurion would have built. Apparently, this Roman centurion showed great kindness to the Jews. His kindness was also demonstrated by his concern for his servant. Being a man of authority, He understood and believed in the authority of Christ to heal, and his servant was healed.

The healing of the paralytic also happened in Capernaum. This was the man who was let down through the roof of a home by his four friends (Mark 2:1-12). It may well have happened at Peter’s house where Jesus probably stayed. There is a church that was found built around a home in Capernaum that is traditionally believed to be Peter’s house. By healing the paralytic, Jesus demonstrated His great authority not only to heal the sick, but also to forgive sins.

From Capernaum, we travelled to the neighboring town of Chorazim. There were two highlights from this stop, both from the synagogue in the city. First, archaeologists had unearthed a “seat of Moses” in the synagogue. This would have been a prominent seat for important people, which is what James was probably referring to when he wrote about partiality (James 2:1-4). Some of the members of our group took turns sitting in the chair looking very official and important.

A second interesting object of note was an engraving of Medusa in the synagogue’s décor. Like the zodiac calendar from Sepphoris, it just didn’t seem to belong in a synagogue. All sorts of explanations could be given for why it is there, but in the end, we simply don’t know. I snapped some pictures of it and thankfully did not turn into stone.

We continued our counter-clockwise tour of the Sea of Galilee coming to the Mount of Beatitudes. There is a natural amphitheatre here made by the surrounding hills and is a likely spot for the Sermon on the Mount. It is interesting that from the Mount of Beatitudes, there is a fairly clear view of the city of Hippus, which was part of the Roman Decapolis. This was a major city on a hill, and Jesus may have pointed in that direction when He taught that a city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14).

Our next stop was Tabgha. In this region, there are seven hot springs that run into the Sea of Galilee. The warm water attracts fish, so it would have been popular place to catch fish in Jesus’ day. Some believe that this is the traditional location of Jesus’ restoration of Peter (John 21:1-19). There is even a church built on a rock that is called Mensa Christi, the table of Christ, upon which Jesus may have cooked the fish for His disciples. It was built next to a serene and beautiful cove. Of course, there is no way of confirming whether this is the true location, but it offered a wonderful picture for that story.

Next door to Mensa Christi was a church in Tabgha with a famous mosaic of the loaves and fish (Matt. 14:15-21). Interestingly, the sign leading into the church had a picture with five loaves and two fish, but the actual mosaic only has four loaves. It really doesn’t matter anyway, even if this is believed to be the traditional location for that miracle, because the Bible says that it happened in Bethsaida (quite a distance away from Tabgha; cf. Luke 9:10).

We broke for lunch in Tiberius, which is a major city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Dr. Grisanti mentioned that one popular dish in the area is called St. Peter’s fish, so I decided to give it a try. It’s basically a whole tilapia fried in hot oil. Honestly, I ordered it more so I could get a picture of it, but it was still really tasty and a lot of food. At the very least, I can say I tried the St. Peter’s fish in Galilee and have photos to prove it.

After lunch, we had an appointment to take a boat out on the Sea of Galilee. Before we headed out on the water, though, there was a small exhibit of a fishing boat that had been discovered in the area. They call it the “Jesus boat” because it dates to about Jesus’ time and would have been similar to the kind of boat in which Jesus would have travelled. It was really fascinating to view. There was even a section at the rear of the boat, called the “pillow,” similar to the area where Jesus would have slept before calming the storm (Mark 4:38-39).

9

We ended the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Somewhere in the middle, Dr. Grisanti had the crew shut the boat off so we could sing hymns and read from Scripture. I had asked him earlier if I could try to walk on water, but he denied the request. We had a great time of worship together and enjoyed each other’s company on the boat. The wind even picked up a bit so we could see waves on the sea, though significantly smaller than Jesus’ storm. It was a relaxing way to end a busy day full of interesting stops.

This was really a highlight day because it gave us a more personal look into the life of Christ. It was great to think about how Jesus walked those roads and rode that sea. To think upon the life and ministry of Christ was really helpful, and these memories will stay with me for a long time. I know that pictures can help tell the story, but in the end there really is no substitute for being here and experiencing it in person.

…To Be Tempted of the Devil

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Matthew 4:1

A Holy character does not avert temptation-Jesus was tempted. When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ’s case, it was like striking sparks on water; yet the enemy continued his evil work. Now, if the devil goes on striking when there is no result, how much more will he do it when he knows what inflammable stuff our hearts are made of. Though you become greatly sanctified by the Holy Ghost, expect that the great dog of hell will bark at you still.

In the haunts of men we expect to be tempted, but even seclusion will not guard us from the same trial. Jesus Christ was led away from human society into the wilderness, and was tempted of the devil. Solitude has its charms and its benefits, and may be useful in checking the lust of the eye and the pride of life; but the devil will follow us into the most lovely retreats. Do not suppose that it is only the worldly-minded who have dreadful thoughts and blasphemous temptations, for even spiritual-minded persons endure the same; and in the holiest position we may suffer the darkest temptation. The utmost consecration of spirit will not insure you against Satanic temptation. Christ was consecrated through and through. It was His meat and drink to do the will of Him that sent Him: and yet He was tempted! Your hearts may glow with a seraphic flame of love to Jesus, and yet the devil will try to bring you down to Laodicean lukewarmness. If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.

2.20p

Israel Journal #15

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Today was Jezreel Valley Day, Part 2. We began by going to the city of Sephoris, which neighbors Nazareth, and ended our day at Arbel, which is off the west coast of the Sea of Galilee. Sephoris (or Zippori) is a historically important city in Jewish history because the Mishnah was codified here, but it really has no biblical significance. Because of the city’s proximity to Nazareth and the fact that it was constructed around the time of Jesus’ early life (ca. 3 B.C. to A.D. 17), some believe Joseph and Jesus may have helped with the city’s construction. Of course, there really is no way to confirm that, but it is a possibility since they worked as carpenters.

One interesting detail about Sephoris is in the synagogue where there is an elaborate mosaic floor. The floor contains various images from key Old Testament narratives, but in the center of the floor is a giant zodiac calendar. No one knows why the calendar is there, but it certainly doesn’t seem to belong.

Sephoris was a pagan city and another room, called the Dionysius Room, contained a second mosaic floor. This mosaic had images of different mythical creatures including satyrs and centaurs. The theme of the room seemed to be drinking and merriment. One of the images was of Heracles and Dionysius engaged in a drinking contest. On the perimeter of the mosaic to one end was an image of a lady who is commonly referred to as the “Mona Lisa of Zippori.” The detail in the image was really amazing. It was hard to believe it was a mosaic because it looked like a photograph.

Leaving Sephoris, we headed over to a spot in Jezreel overlooking the Harod Valley. This is roughly the area where Ahab and Jezebel took Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21). Naboth was unwilling to give the land to the king because it was divinely allotted property. By refusing to give the land to the king he was demonstrating his faithfulness to God. As the story unfolds in Scripture, Jezebel arranged for Naboth’s murder after unjustly accusing him. As a result, Elijah came and pronounced judgment on Ahab and Jezebel.

The Harod Valley also has a spring that flows out of a fairly large cave. This place, called En Harod, was our next stop. In Judges 7:4-8, the Lord used either this spring or one just like it to whittle the army of Israel down to 300 men. He would use this small number of men to defeat the giant Midianite army (cf. Judg. 8:10). During the spring, the water flow is fairly strong but today it trickled along for us. Of course, our group took turns taking pictures lapping up the water like a dog or scooping it up to our mouths. We didn’t actually drink the water because while Dr. Grisanti taught us about Gideon, a bunch of pigeons came flying out of the cave.

After lunch we made a brief stop at a small community that made olive oil. One of the workers spoke some English so he walked us through the equipment they used for production. Their methods were actually very similar to the way olive oil was made even in Jesus’ day, so the brief tour was really fascinating. We were taught about how good quality olive oil is made, and how factories today do not produce oil of similar quality. It was neat to hear about the process of making olive oil because it helped me to understand how it might have been done in the days of Scripture.

Our final destination for today was the Arbel Cliffs. We began at the top of the cliffs, which overlooked the Sea of Galilee. From the cliff’s edge, we could clearly see the coastal cities of Capernaum and Chorazin. Magdala was at the base of the cliffs where archaeologists are currently excavating the land. I had heard once in a sermon that the Sea of Galilee was so large that if you were in a boat in the middle of it, you wouldn’t be able to see land. I came to realize that’s not true. We could easily see across the water to the other side. The small size of the Sea of Galilee actually surprised me. It was hard to imagine waves rising up that would seriously threaten lives, but because of the strong winds that can run across the water, apparently very large waves can form.

Dr. Grisanti had warned us the last couple days that we would have a fairly major hike down the side of Arbel, but it actually was really enjoyable. Thankfully we walked down it and not up because the face of the cliff was very steep. There were times we had to climb down handholds and metal chains to keep us from falling to the bottom. At different points during the hike, I looked up to see from where we had come and was amazed at how far we had descended. The only part I slightly regret was in the middle where we were given the option to climb up a bit to explore some caves. I suppose the caves were neat, but perhaps not worth the climb. Anyway, I can now say I came to Israel and climbed up Masada and down Arbel.

Weekly Links (6/1/2012)

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” (GK Chesteron)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back for the Weekly Links “there’s-also-an-update-from-Patrick-so-fewer-people-than-usual-will-read-this” edition. Since the first Friday of the month happens to also be the first day of the month, a number of the articles that I regularly highlight haven’t been posted yet, so I’ll run a catch-up edition in a week or so to make sure you don’t miss those.  In the meantime…

  • The Spring 2012 issue of the Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is now available. Since their website is currently under construction, your best bet is probably to pick it up here.
  • I believe we mentioned this before, but Tim Challies is slowly making his way through a series on theological essentials of the Christian faith. So far, he’s written on the trinity, creation, and man.
  • He also has another post in the “visual theology” series up, this one on the “one anothers” in the Bible.
  • The audio from the NEXT 2012 conference is now available.
  • The lastest issue of the 9Marks eJournal is on the topic of “Apostolic Pastors,” and while not many of us are pastors, I think you’ll find the subject matter timely. More on that later.
  • And in some ways, I think I saved the best link for last. Joshua Crooch is a/the “video guy” at GCC, and apparently he and his video camera have been inside a number of TMS classes. Someone needs to download and archive these in case they go poof!…especially the Apologetics and Evangelism class.

I’ll be back with an update when the usual suspects are online. Until then, enjoy the updates from Patrick, and I’ll see you Sunday!

Pro Rege