Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

BOB – Job

by Stephen Rodgers

JOB IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“God allows human suffering for His own purposes.”

TITLE

The title of the book is the same as that of the central character: Job. That name might have been derived from the Hebrew word for “persecution,” thus meaning “persecuted one,” or from an Arabic word meaning “repent,” thus bearing the name “repentant one.”

In either case, it is not a common Hebrew name. In fact, the only recognizably Hebrew name in the book is that of Elihu, himself a somewhat problematic character…but we’ll get to that later.

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

The authorship of Job is hotly contested, and ultimately uncertain. It is generally agreed upon that the author could not have been Job, as his lack of awareness of certain elements of the story is a key point. Early Jewish tradition suggests that the author was Moses (supported somewhat by Midian’s proximity to the traditional location of Uz), although a number of scholars favor either Solomon or another well-educated Israelite during the Solomonic period. Elihu, Isaiah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra have also been suggested as possible authors, but with very little supporting evidence.

It is interesting to note that the author of Job frequently refers to God by His covenant name with Israel (“Yahweh”), whereas Job and his friends never refer to Him in this manner, using the more generic “God” or “the Almighty.” This suggests that author of Job did not share a chronological or cultural frame of reference with the subject of the book. Additionally, the author of Job shows a certain familiarity with other OT texts, often quoting them directly (Psalm 107:40; Isaiah 41:20).

Assuming ad arguendo that the book was written during Solomon’s reign, the target audience would have been Israelites living in the united kingdom at the time.

DATE

Care must be taken to separate the date of the content from the date of the composition.

Content-wise, Job is quite ancient, even archaic by OT standards.  Many consider the events in Job to pre-date almost all other OT records, possibly occurring as early as Genesis 12, which would have made Job contemporaneous with Abraham.  There are a number of other elements which would seem to support this thesis.  As the MSB puts it:

This conclusion is based on: 1) Job’s age (42:16); 2) his life span of nearly 200 years (Job 42:16) which fits the patriarchal period (Abraham lived 175 years; Gen. 25:7); 3) the social unit being the patriarchal family; 4) the Chaldeans who murdered Job’s servants (Job 1:17) were nomads and had not yet become city dwellers; 5) Job’s wealth being measured in livestock rather than gold and silver (Job 1:3; 42:12); 6) Job’s priestly functions within his family (Job 1:4, 5); and 7) a basic silence on matters such as the covenant of Abraham, Israel, the Exodus, and the law of Moses. The events of Job’s odyssey appear to be patriarchal. Job, on the other hand, seemed to know about Adam (Job 31:33) and the Noahic flood (Job 12:15). These cultural/historical features found in the book appear to place the events chronologically at a time probably after Babel (Gen. 11:1–9) but before or contemporaneous with Abraham (Gen. 11:27ff.).

Composition-wise however, there is less agreement, although the bulk of most scholarly opinions is that it should be located either during the period of Solomon when Hebrew wisdom-literature was at its zenith, or even later during the post-exilic period. There simply are not enough indicators within the text to place it more precisely than that.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

As previously mentioned, the book of Job takes place most likely during the time of the patriarchs.  This means that the context is closer to that of Genesis 12 than it is to Jerusalem after the return of the Babylonian remnant.  However, much of the book concerns the character and nature of God, and as such is not bound to a particular time or place.

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are a number of themes that are prevelant throughout the book of Job:

  • God’s Sovereignty. Throughout the book of Job, God is shown to be in control of everything (Job 37:14-24; 42:2) even Satan (Job 1:12; 2:6). And while in the case of Job God never offers an explanation for Job’s suffering, He does offer something even greater: Himself.
  • God’s Goodness and Justice. The classic problem of evil is that God cannot be both good and powerful and yet allow evil.  Job reiterates that God is indeed good (Job 1:1-2:13; 42:7-17), while freely admitting that sometimes bad things happen to good people and vice versa.
  • Satan.  Satan is the adversary of God, and therefore the accuser of God’s people.  However, unlike the deities of other ANE literature, Satan is never portrayed as God’s equal.  Rather he is consistently shown to be subordinate in authority, power, and knowledge.
  • A Proper Response to Suffering. Job teaches us that while our pain and suffering are real, it is important to maintain humility and reverence for God in the midst of it.  We are not God’s equals any more than Satan is, and attempting to call Him to account will not end well for us.

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

There are a number of minor challenges that arise out of Job.  Notable among them are the fact that Job never fully understands the reasons for his suffering, the character of Elihu remains strangely incongruous and is never addressed in the final divine discourse, the fact that Job is both declared wrong for seeking vindication and yet ultimately vindicated (Job 42:7), and the fact that the reader must grapple with the fact that sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.

Despite these minor issues, the central theme of Job remains the question of the so-called problem of evil: how can a good, powerful God allow suffering and evil?  The MSB summarizes it this way:

Engaging in “theodicy,” i.e., man’s attempt to defend God’s involvement in calamity and suffering, is shown to be appropriate in these circumstances, though in the end, it is apparent that God does not need nor want a human advocate. The book of Job poignantly illustrates Deut. 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God… ”

LITERARY FEATURES

The book of Job has an interesting and somewhat unique structure, being a prose framework containing a series of lengthy poetic speeches.  The speeches between Job, his friends, and ultimately the LORD Himself all take the form of a debate, with questions being posed and answered, rhetoric being bandied back and forth, and each side seeming to have the upper hand at one point.  There is even what could be construed as a darkly humorous element when the LORD appears out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1; 40:6)…exactly as Job had commented He might do (Job 9:17), which constitutes sort of a “yup…saw that coming” moment.  The ensuing “Yahweh speeches” silence all other debaters.

There are a number of other literary constructions within the framework of the book that are worth exploring, but we only have time for one: the contrast between the relationship of Job and God with the relationship (or lack thereof) of Job’s friends and God.  Much has been written of how Job’s friends make astute theological observations regarding the character of God, but comparatively little has been written regarding how only Job seems to address God directly.  While his friends have good theology, theirs seems to be a dead faith.  In contrast, while Job occasionally lets his pain get the better of him, he does so from a position of deep reliance upon God, and from within a framework of deeply personal relationship with Him.

OBJECTIONS

In terms of its canonical status, Job’s position within the Scriptures has never been seriously questioned.  What has been questioned however, is if the book is intended to be taken as historically literal, or merely as allegory. In other words, is the reader intended to understand that the events and persons that take place within the Job narrative actually happened, or is it just a sophisticated story exploring the question of theodicy in relationship with the Israelite God?

However, going solely on the internal evidence of Scripture, it seems as if Job was intended to be understood literally.  NT writers directly quote Job two times (Rom. 11:35; 1 Cor. 3:19), plus Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and James 5:11 indicate Job was a real person, listing him alongside other historical personages.

While some critics would certainly maintain that certain elements of the story seem to present as mythological or mytho-poetic, it should be noted that 1) to assume that from the outset due to an anti-supernaturalistic bias simply begs the question, and 2) the Hebrew theology and narrative differs on a number of key points from other ANE sources (such as the Babylonian theodicy, or accounts of the Hittite storm god Telepinu). In those records, invariably the problem of evil is resolved by portraying the gods as less than omnipotent; Job makes no such concession when it comes to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

  • Job 1:21
  • Job 14:1
  • Job 16:2
  • Job 38:4
  • Job 39:1 (John Kim’s favorite)
  • Job 42:4-6

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The book of Job pictures Satan coming into God’s presence (Job 1:6), which is odd to say the least.
  • Many theologians believe that Job 19:25 prefigures the work of Christ.
  • Job is widely considered by those in the know to be a “translator’s nightmare,” as it contains words, expressions, and even languages (Ugaritic) that appear nowhere else in Scripture. This suggests that the writer possessed both extraordinary literary skill, as well as access to earlier source material.

Other Works Referenced

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

A Detestable Thing

by Elder Peter Lim

Ever since I was a small child, one of my favorite movies to watch has been “The Sound of Music” starring Julie Andrews. Without going into a detailed description of the story, one of the songs has the words “Nothing comes from nothing / nothing ever could / Somewhere in my youth or childhood / I must’ve done something good.” This song is sung in the context that since something good is happening to Fraulein Maria now, she must have done something good in her past. She is a candidate to be a Catholic nun, but this kind of logic is more in line with the oriental idea of Karma, that something should happen because of something that happened in the past. On the other hand, maybe something bad might happen since something good happened in the past as in the idea that yin and yang must balance itself out in order to have peace and harmony in the universe. This idea is even propagated in science fiction stories such as Star Wars as the “chosen one” will bring “balance” to the force. Some people who would consider themselves to be Christians no doubt believe in this and other pseudo-religious ideas of how the world works to a some degree without thinking twice about how they may conflict with Biblical truths. I wanted to examine ourselves to see if we are possibly in danger of mixing and injecting non-Christian ideas into our everyday lives, usually without even realizing it.

Many people minimize the dangers associated with unbiblical thinking. Some examples of this include: superstitions (black cats, broken mirrors, knocking on wood, good luck charms), wishing upon a star, wishing wells, or even something as innocuous as making a wish while blowing out the candles on a birthday cake or having fun with fortune cookies or a Magic 8-Ball. It sounds a lot worse if we are talking about Ouija® Boards, astrology, voodoo dolls, or casting spells. Pastor Patrick wrote an excellent article a few weeks ago regarding the Chinese Astrological roots to certain websites that claim to be able to foretell a baby’s gender. Most people who look at that stuff claim that it’s just entertainment, but almost in the same breath they would claim that it has a high success rate. Well which is it? Is it purely for entertainment or are you dabbling in the occult? Let’s not forget that demonic activity and spiritual warfare are for real. The more “accurate” something like that is (that’s not based on real science), the more you should stay away from it. We should not be surprised when divination produces accurate results. (Acts 16:16)

Deut. 18:9-14 says:

When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.
You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.
For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

As they are about to enter the promised land, the children of Israel are warned not be like the heathen. It is no accident that people have always relied on things such as astrology to “guide” their decision making because the enemy will use anything that prevents people from relying on God and the values taught in His Word. All Satan has to do is give a little bit of credibility to any other system and people are willing to put their faith in something other than God. We Christians must not dabble in these detestable things which usurp God’s authority and guidance. Instead, we are to put our faith in the firm foundation of His Word which He has given to us. There are things that have been revealed to us and things that are kept secret. We need to learn to place our faith in God and trust that He will reveal things in His time.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. (Deut. 29:29)

There Is Therefore Now No Condemnation

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Romans 8:1

Come, my soul, think thou of this.

Believing in Jesus, thou art actually and effectually cleared from guilt; thou art led out of thy prison. Thou art no more in fetters as a bond-slave; thou art delivered now from the bondage of the law; thou art freed from sin, and canst walk at large as a freeman, they Saviour’s blood has procured thy full discharge.

Thou hast a right now to approach thy Father’s throne. No flames of vengeance are there to scare thee now; no fiery sword; justice cannot smite the innocent. Thy disabilities are taken away: thou wast once unable to see thy Father’s face: thou canst see it now. Thou couldst not speak with Him: but now thou hast access with boldness. Once there was a fear of hell upon thee; but thou hast no fear of it now, for how can there be punishment for the guiltless? He who believeth is not condemned, and cannot be punished.

And more than all, the privileges thou mightst have enjoyed, if thou hadst never sinned, are thine now thou art justified. All the blessings which thou wouldst have had if thou hadst kept the law, and more, are thine, because Christ has kept it for thee. All the love and the acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to thee, because Christ was perfectly obedient on thy behalf, and hath imputed all His merits to thy account, that thou mightst be exceeding rich through Him, who for thy sake became exceeding poor.

Oh! How great the debt of love and gratitude thou owest to thy Saviour!

‘A debtor to mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear with Thy righteousness on,
My person and offerings to bring:
The terrors of law and of God,
With me can have nothing to do;
My Saviour’s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view.’

2.13p

Psalm 78 (Sonlight)

by Daniel Kim

As I walked around the library, I saw a little 1-2 year old boy with a sucker in his mouth, seated by himself while perusing a book. As I was walking back to my desk, the little boy got up from his chair and ran to his mom, saying something inaudible to her. The mother acknowledged that it was time for him to eat. As I contemplate this scenario, I realized that this little boy has absolutely no way to survive on his own. As rebellious as this 1-2 year old boy may be, there is no way he can provide for himself or meet the basic needs of survival, such as food, shelter, and clothing. He, like all children, must submit to a higher authority (in this case, the authority of his parents).

The Israelites understood the importance of submitting to a higher authority. Although the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Ex. 12:40), the Israelites submitted to an even higher authority. Ultimately, the Israelites submitted to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 3:15). Psalm 78 shows that the Israelites were to submit to the authority of God because the LORD had delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Ps. 78:42), performed His miracles in Egypt (Ps. 78:43-52), parted the Red Sea (Ps. 78:13, 53), led them through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire (Ps. 78:14), provided water at Horeb (Ps. 78:15), provided manna (Ps. 78:24), provided meat (Ps. 78:27), and even provided the Israelites with King David (Ps. 78:70-72). Therefore, the Israelites came to know, follow, and obey the LORD because of their experiences with Him. They submit to God’s authority because they have experienced His saving, sustaining, and protecting power.

In a similar way, the children staff members at Lighthouse have come to know the Lord through their own individual experiences as well. Each Christian has had an experience of God’s grace through the message of the cross. Hence, there is a clear understanding that the gospel is the power of God onto salvation (Rom. 1:16), that the gospel has the power to change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26), and that God demonstrated His love for us through the gospel (Rom. 5:8). Because of this experience of God’s love, Christians have a responsibility to follow the Lord and all His commandments, including His commandments in regards to children.

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to bequeath the knowledge of the Lord to the coming generations. To name a few examples, the Israelites were to tell their children about the events that occurred (Ex. 12:23-24; Deut. 4:9-10; Deut. 11:2-7), the commandments of the Lord (Gen. 18:19; Ex. 20:3-17; Deut. 4:40; 5:7-21; 6:4-7; 11:18-21; 31:12-13; 32:46-47) and physical reminders of His faithfulness (Gen. 9:12-13; 17:12; Ex. 12:13-14; 12:26-27; Josh. 4:5-7). In Psalm 78, the psalmist Asaph (1 Chron. 15:16-17; 16:4,7; 2 Chron. 29:30) wanted to emphasize the importance “telling the coming generations” of the knowledge of the Lord.

By retelling the past events in Psalm 78:9-72, Asaph wanted the Israelites to tell the coming generations about “the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that he had done” (Ps. 78:4). The reason behind all this can be seen in verses 7, 8. They were to do this so that the coming generations “should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Ps. 78:7). Another reason for passing on the baton was so that “they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Ps. 78:8).

In Psalm 78:7, there are three reasons the Israelites were to tell the next generation about the Lord: The children were to…

  1. Set their hope in God,
  2. Not forget the works of God, and
  3. Keep His commandments.

Although this verse was addressed to the children of Israel, these reasons are still relevant today. Since this verse is still applicable today, I would like to do an Old Testament and present day analysis of the three reasons listed above.

“Set their hope in God”

In the Old Testament, the Israelites, were to hope in the LORD because he promised to lead them to the Promised Land (Ex. 3:8,17) and he promised he would protect them from their enemies (Deut. 31:3-8). Moses understood that the sole reason the Israelites were distinct from all the nations of the world was because the LORD was with them. In Exodus 33:16b, Moses says, “Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” For this reason, the Israelites were to put their hope in the Lord.

As a Sunday school teacher, I tell the children that they ought to put their hope in God as well. The children are taught that we are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Because of this truth, we will all face the judgment seat of God and give an account (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:5). But God provided a way of salvation for us (1 Tim. 2:5-6) and “while were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Therefore, the children are taught to put their hope in Christ, because he has the power to save us from our sin and from the wrath of God. Furthermore, this way of salvation is exclusive (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and is only possible through the person and work of Jesus. Therefore, the children are taught to put their faith solely in Jesus for their salvation.

“Not forget the works of God”

In Psalm 78, “forgetting” and “remembering” are reoccurring themes (vv. 7, 11, 35, 42), pertaining to the Israelites. The psalmist hoped that those who sang this psalm (this psalm is identified as a maskil) would “not forget the works of God.” Rather, the Israelites were to remember the deeds of the Lord. The Israelites were to remember the wonders God performed in Egypt (Ps. 78:12, 43-52), how God parted the Red Sea and did not allow their enemies to pass through (Ps. 78:13, 53), and how he led His people into the Promised Land (Ps. 78:54-55). As mentioned earlier, the Israelites experienced God in a unique way (Ex. 33:16). These experiences were not only for the Israelites to remember and recollect, but were to also point to God’s character. Since the Lord led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the land promised to their forefathers (Gen. 12:7; 13:14; 15:18-21; 17:8), they were to trust in His character.

Teaching the Bible stories such as Noah’s ark, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Exodus, and David and Goliath, all reveal the character of God, such as His justice, sovereignty, kindness, goodness, etc. Therefore, in the same way that the Israelites ought to have remembered the works of God so that they would trust in His character, children today should also be taught the works of the Lord so that they would also trust in His character. Moses attests to God’s character as he claims God to be “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Deut. 32:4). Furthermore, Paul claims that out of his own love and mercy (both attributes of His character), God chose to save sinners through Christ (Rom. 9:15-16,18; Eph. 2:4-5). It is important to teach children “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), so that they understand His character and he looking for in faithful, obedient followers. As they grow in their knowledge of God, the children can hopefully come to know that the Lord is trustworthy and that they should put their faith in Him.

“Keep His commandments”

In Deuteronomy 32:46-47, Moses tells the Israelites to “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Thus, the Israelites were to keep God’s law; to obey it, not to depart from it. The Lord gave the Israelites the 10 commandments (Ex. 20:3-17; Deut. 5:7-21) and the Mosaic law. Also, the Israelites were to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and might (Deut. 6:5).

Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). As Christians, we have received special commandments, such as to make disciples of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20), to love God and to love people (Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27-27), and to be faithful witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In regards to children, there are special commandments as well. For example, children are told to obey their parents in the Lord (Deut. 21:18-21; Eph. 6:1). Other commandments are important to teach children as well, such as not coveting (Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21), not complaining (Phil. 2:14), and honoring our father and mother (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). These commandments are important because they impress upon the conscience of a child that there is a God, he has commandments to be followed and that God is the ultimate source of morality. In knowing this, the children can come to know the difference between right and wrong. Furthermore, children can come to understand that they are sinners in need of a Savior and hopefully they can realize that on their own, they are incapable of following God’s law perfectly and instead they must rely on an alien righteousness to be justified before a thrice holy God. Therefore, the law of the Lord should not be the endpoint in itself. Instead, the holy statutes of the Lord should point to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and specifically what he has done for us on the cross.

The overarching theme in Psalm 78 is one generation telling the next about the glory of God, or as our former senior pastor, Pastor John Kim, would say, ‘Passing on the greatness of God to the next generation”. Therefore, this implies that Christian parents should be telling their children about the greatness of God (Ps. 78:4). Furthermore, Christian parents should tell their children about the importance of submitting to the authority of God.

As I consider the little boy that was in the library, I understand that he, along with all children, must submit to a higher authority. I also know that along with submitting to his parents, he will one day have to submit to the authority of his teachers, his bosses, and ultimately to God (Rom. 14:11-12). As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to tell the next generation about the hope that we have in Christ, the great works that the Lord has done, and the commandments that he has given us. Christian parents have the unique privilege of telling their children of how they experienced God’s saving grace in their own lives. Also, as Christians, these parents understand the importance of authority.

Therefore, Christian parents should live their lives in a manner which shows that they too are under the authority of God. In this way, children can see the importance of joyfully submitting to a higher authority and hopefully, one day, their little hearts will be transformed the power of the Spirit through the message of the gospel (Ezek. 36:26; 37:1-9). Hopefully, in this way, children can experience the grace of God themselves and submit to the authority of the Lord. And hopefully, these children can accredit and thank their parents for faithfully modeling this higher authority, just as this young writer has had the honor and privilege of witness his own parents modeling this higher authority and being faithful in handing the baton of “passing on the greatness of God to the next generation.”

Steve Hays vs. The Internet

by Stephen Rodgers

If this sort of thing is deadly poison, then all I can say is that it’s a very slow-acting poison, for I’ve been reading this stuff for years, and it hasn’t killed my faith or precipitated a crisis of faith or even raised a flicker of doubt. Like small, incremental doses of venom, administered over time, the effect of this stuff is not to kill the patient, but to build up an immunity. If it’s had any impact, the effect is rather the reverse. I’ve read books like this before. I always come away thinking to myself, “Gee, if this is the best they do, then they must be pretty hard up for excuses!” So, no, the encounter with his book did not precipitate any Exorcist-inspired head-twirling. (Steve Hays, “Satan’s School for Girlie-Men”)

For those of you who have wondered, but largely been too kind to comment, we’ve been scrambling a bit this week on the Beacon. Pastor Patrick is traveling, I’m battling a flu, and it seems that an unfortunate confluence of events have conspired to wreck our normal weekly schedule. Fortunately, I’ve got a few backup articles in various states of readiness, and this seemed like a good opportunity to both extend a little grace to our content-providers, while still supplying something our readers could really sink their teeth into.

I’ve mentioned in other contexts that atheism has a history of attempting to subvert traditionally Christian forms of argument, and a rather prolific example of this is the so-called “free-thought argument.” The form of that objection varies, but the gist of it generally goes something like this: “Religion in general (and Christianity in particular) are faith-based, dogma-driven, irrational belief systems. If only the Christian would take a step back, examine competing claims from a neutral perspective, and apply universal standards of logic and reason to what they believe, they would quickly realize the error of their ways.” They then go on to typically pepper the believer with a wide range of challenges and counter-claims for why Christianity must be false.

Now, anyone who knows me understands that I take umbrage with a rather large number of those propositions, from the claim of irrationality to the smuggled assumption that there is such a thing as a “neutral” perspective. But what I’d like to explore (briefly!) today is that this line of argument is actually derived from Christian principles. And as invariably happens when we compare and contrast Divine wisdom with human wisdom, we discover that God did it first, and God did it better.

You see, Proverbs 18:17 warns of the dangers of naive acceptance in the face of human persuasiveness, and admonishes us to to be discerning and (appropriately!) skeptical of such claims. Luke records that diligent examination of questions in the light of Scripture is not a blow to dogma, but rather something “noble” (Acts 17:11).

That is why I am incredibly grateful for the hard work that many apologist have done and continue to do in refuting the many, varied, and (seemingly increasingly) odd and desperate challenges that are raised against Christianity.  And I want to take a moment to highlight one of those men, and perhaps turn you on to some of his work in the hope that you will not only be educated, but edified.

Steve Hays blogs prolifically at the famous Triablogue which as been referenced here on the Beacon a number of times. Today I just want to raise awareness of a few of his more substantial efforts to review and refute some of the more popular offerings contra-Christianity. For anyone interested in familiarizing themselves with these objections (and their subsequent refutations), this would be a good place to start:

He has also written or co-written a number of book-length responses to other published anti-Christian books.  The more notable of these are:

Last but not least, I expect you would benefit from a few of his other works as well:

  • Love the Lord with Heart and Mind, a survey he conducted with a number of theologians and apologists regarding their reasons for embracing Christianity
  • Why I Believe, (part 1 and part 2), his positive case for the Christian faith

For what it’s worth, a number of these resources (and others!) are available in various ebook formats as well.

For those of you who are going to be reading these for the first time, I envy you: you’re in for a treat.

…Beloved, Now Are We the Sons of God

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 1 John 3:1-2

‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Consider who we were, and what we feel ourselves to be even now when corruption is powerful in us, and you will wonder at our adoption. Yet we are called ‘the sons of God.’ What a high relationship is that of a son, and what privileges it brings! What care and tenderness the son expects from his father, and what love the father feels towards the son! But all that, and more than that, we now have through Christ. As for the temporary drawback of suffering with the elder brother, this we accept as an honour: ‘Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.’ We are content to be unknown with Him in His humiliation, for we are to be exalted with Him. ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God.’ That is easy to read, but it is not so easy to feel. How is it with your heart this morning? Are you in the lowest depths of sorrow? Does corruption rise within your spirit, and grace seem like a poor spark trampled under foot? Does your faith almost fail you? Fear not, it is neither your graces nor feelings on which you are to live: you must live simply by faith on Christ. With all these things against us, now-in the very depths of our sorrow, wherever we may be- now, as much in the valley as on the mountain, ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God.’ ‘Ah, but,’ you say, ‘see how I am arrayed! my graces are not bright; my righteousness does not shine with apparent glory.’ But read the next: ‘It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him.’ The Holy Spirit shall purify our minds, and divine power shall refine our bodies, then shall we see Him as He is.

2.13a

Thank the Lucky Stars Above?

by Pastor Patrick Cho

When Christine and I were expecting our first child, someone told us about a website where we could get a prediction of the baby’s gender based on Christine’s birth date and the date of conception. We checked out the website because we thought it would be fun to see what it would say. We were told that it was a “Chinese thing,” but we weren’t given any more information than that. I just assumed that with all the births in China over the centuries, they must have figured out a pattern or at least kept detailed statistics. Unfortunately, we found out later that this system wasn’t based on statistics at all, but on Chinese astrology and mysticism.

Upon looking further at some of the other links on the website, I wasn’t surprised to see that the makers of the site also offered predictions on wedding days that would help ensure successful marriages and “magic dating matches” to ensure happiness in dating relationships. Using these services would be similar to a person’s visiting or calling a psychic or reading a horoscope. Like with psychic hotlines, these sites typically included some sort of disclaimer that their services are merely for entertainment purposes.

A growing concern at Lighthouse is that many expecting couples visit these websites to see what they will predict. The greater issue is not whether a person could find some entertainment in visiting these sites to see the prediction of their baby’s gender. The greater issue is whether a Christian should be visiting these sites at all. I understand that most people who go to these websites do so purely for entertainment. I don’t think anyone at the church would seriously give any credence to the reliability of Chinese astrology. What is troubling, however, is that some endorse these sites enthusiastically saying “it really works” or “it’s amazing how accurate it is.” As Christians, we need to be more discerning about how we entertain ourselves and what we want to be associated with. These are things believers should not be engaged in even if the predictions were 100% accurate.

There is another practice in Korean culture after the baby is born. Typically on the baby’s first birthday (Kor. ddol or tol), several items will be placed in front of the baby. Depending on what the baby grabs, it is supposed to predict the future of the child. If the baby grabs money or rice, he will be rich. If the baby grabs a pencil, he will be smart. If the baby grabs a thread, he will be blessed with long life. Again, when Christian parents do this, it is explained away as pure fun or Korean tradition. But the tradition has its roots in Confucianism. In fact, even the child’s traditional outfit includes a symbolic belt for long life and pouch for good luck. Most Christians don’t know this, but traditionally in the ddol, the mother is supposed to pray to a mountain god and a birth goddess for luck and long life for the child.

I understand that it is a Korean cultural tradition to do these things at a child’s first birthday or that it is fun to get a Chinese gender prediction, but with things like this the principles and truths of God’s Word must take precedence over tradition and entertainment because of the false religion and spirituality associated with them. Idol worship was a huge part of the Corinthians culture. In fact, you could hardly purchase meat at the market without it having been sacrificed to an idol previously. The Corinthians asked Paul about the issue of eating meat that they had known had been sacrificed to idols. While the gods of the pagans were no gods at all, and therefore there was no blessing or curse on the meat itself, Paul still instructed the church to abstain from eating that meat because of the association with idol worship. There is no demon in the meat, but there are demons in the false religion (1 Cor. 10:19-22).

This is also why the Bible is clear when it comes to worldly myths – Paul told Timothy to encourage the church to have nothing to do with them (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 4:7). These worldly myths and superstitions were actually opposed to godliness and truth. As believers, we are called to associate with the things of God. This doesn’t mean that God does not want us to have fun. He is not some cosmic killjoy or divine party-pooper. In fact, Scripture teaches that if you are in Christ, God’s will for your life is that it would be good, acceptable, and perfect (Rom. 12:2). God desires your good and for you to rejoice always in Him (Phil. 4:4). The Christian life is not drab and dull, but vibrant and exciting. But your excitement and entertainment should come from things that are consistent with your testimony.

Next time you hear of a couple who is expecting, rather than encouraging them to visit these Chinese astrology websites, why not take some time to just sit and pray with them? Instead of celebrating your Korean baby’s first birthday by having him choose an item to determine his fate, why not lead the guests of the party in prayer for the child. We have a responsibility to demonstrate for the watching world that Jesus makes a difference in our lives. Some might dismiss us as legalistic or dull, but I would rather be wrongfully accused than to willingly engage in wickedness.

Christians are called to do all things in the name of Christ (Col. 3:17) and to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). This will take particularly deliberate effort and resolve in an Asian family context whose culture is rooted in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Eastern mysticism. I hardly see how God could be glorified in our participation in the traditions of false religion, and as a believer of Korean descent, I can happily forsake some aspects of culture and tradition in order to more fully pursue Christ and be consistent in my testimony.

BOB – The Wisdom Books

by Stephen Rodgers

Comparative Outlines of the Wisdom Books

Having briefly dealt with the historical books, we now turn our attention to the third major section of the OT: the wisdom books. Remember, the OT (as it appears in the Protestant Bible) can be broken down into four major sections:

  1. Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
  2. History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
  3. Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs)
  4. Prophecy (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)

The 5 wisdom books were written over a period of approximately 700 years (although excluding Job and Psalms would give us a much more manageable range of 40 to 245 years, with the bulk of the writing done in the first 40), and comprise some of the most beautiful, controversial, and confusing passages of Scripture.

It should be noted at the outset that scholars do not agree on the proper classification of books of this section. Some would make a distinction between what they consider to be “poetical works” and “wisdom literature.” Even in the Hebrew Tanakh, while all five books can be found within the broad section of the Kethuvim, they are divided among the Poetical Books and the Five Rolls (along with Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther). To keep things simple, I’ve opted to treat the poetical works and the wisdom literature as a single category.

AUTHOR & COMPOSITION

Unlike the Pentateuch (but like the historical books), the historical books do not have a single author. Job’s author is anonymous, the Psalms had multiple authors (including Moses), and the remaining three books were written primarily by Solomon. As previously mentioned, they were written over a period of more than seven centuries by some rather disparate authors.

THEMES

The ESV Study Bible highlights five major themes of the wisdom books:

  1. The Fear of the Lord – This expression (or one similar to it) appears more than 60 times throughout the wisdom books. It appears early in Job (Job 1:9), brackets the Psalms (Ps 2:11; 147:11), permeates Proverbs (Prov 1:7; 14:27) and shows up even in Ecclesiastes (Eccl 5:7; 8:12; 12:13)
  2. The Limits of Human Wisdom – This theme forms the natural foil to the first one. The rhetorical question “who knows?” if often set against the omniscience and omnipotence of the LORD both explicitly and implicitly.
  3. The Righteous and the Wicked in Relation to God – An early form of the Problem of Evil is explored throughout the wisdom books, echoing earlier passages such as Genesis 18:23. The contrast is thoroughly worked out in Psalms 37 and 73, Job’s dialogues, Proverbs 10-12, and exceptions are noted and addressed in Ecclesiastes (Eccl 7:15).
  4. The Nature of Suffering – Obviously this is fully addressed in Job, but a number of Psalms are structured as laments (Psalms 3, 4, 6, 10, 13, etc.). Even Song of Solomon contrasts the delights of love fulfilled with the agonies of unrequited love (Song 5:6-8; 8:6-7).
  5. The Nature of True Piety – Job and the Psalms (25, 26, 31, 84, etc.) often ask the question in one form or another: is it possible to worship God with integrity? As we’ll see when we get to those books, the answer is “yes.”

GENRE

The wisdom books are predominantly poetry, and that requires some explanation, as ANE Hebrew poetry was quite different from poetry as we know it today.

Unlike English poetry, where each line of the poem is commonly given its own line on the page, Hebrew poetry gives no such visible cues.  Instead, it’s presence is most commonly understood by the presence of various literary elements including rhythm, rhyme, terse expression, freedom in word order, and an absence of typical prose particles. Furthermore, a prominent feature of Biblical poetry not commonly found in English poems is the “seconding sequence:” a line in two parts, where each part has a particular relationship to the other (explained momentarily), along with certain commonalities of sound, syntax, and sequence.  Again, this can be difficult to understand and explain since sound and syntax typically do not survive translation.  However, the sequential elements typically have one of the following structures:

  • Synonymous – The second line restates/reiterates the first line (Psalm 19:1; 113:7; 147:10)
  • Antithetic – The second line provides the opposite of the first line (Psalm 1:6; Prov 10:1)
  • Synthetic – The two lines have neither a strictly coordinate or contradictory relationship (Psalm 52:9)
Other structures have also been identified:
  • Emblematic – A figure of speech followed by a literal explanation (Prov 24:4-5)
  • Step/Staircase/Climatic – Succeeding lines carry the idea of the first line forward, adding new elements (Judges 5:30, Psalm 29:5-6; 65:4)

Other Works Referenced:

  • ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to the Poetic and Wisdom Literature”
  • Reformation Study Bible, “Introduction to the Hebrew Poetry”
  • Reformation Study Bible, “Introduction to the Wisdon Literature”
  • The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “The Wisdom Books and Psalms”
  • Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On The Old Testament
  • Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook

Lessons from a Child’s Heart: Quick to Forgive

by Elder Mike Chon

When you have multiple children, there are exponentially more opportunities for conflict. Since my children are relatively young, most of their conflicts deal with wanting a certain toy that one of their siblings is playing with. This can lead to unkind words, and even worse, to unkind actions. Whether it is exercising their brute force and taking a toy away or saying that they don’t want to play with their siblings anymore there is always a conflict waiting to happen. This happens occasionally and maybe only with boys, but my older son will randomly punch or hit my younger son. I think this is something that all younger brothers deal with when growing up, but it definitely can cause a conflict in the home. No matter what the offense is, my children go through all the emotions of being angry, sad, running away from the problem, or retaliating all within a matter of minutes. After a few words to them they are quick to come together, ask for forgiveness, receive forgiveness, hug together and immediately return to playing together as though nothing happened. Did I mention that all of this happens within a few minutes? Every time I watch this happen, which can be multiple times in a single day, I am amazed by how quickly they are willing to forgive each other and restore their relationship.

I have seen conflicts in adults that have taken weeks or even months to reconcile and restore. I am always thankful to God whenever a conflict can be reconciled and the relationship is restored no matter how long it takes. On the other hand, I have witnessed relationships that have never been reconciled and restored. I wonder why it is that as we grow up into adulthood, understanding the forgiveness of the cross, that as believers we have such a difficult time extending forgiveness toward those that have offended us. I believe that every believer can forgive any offense, no matter how big or how small, by the power of the Spirit that resides in each of us and the experience of receiving forgiveness from God.

It is clear from Scripture that God commands believers to forgive others because of what Christ has done (Col. 3:13). Not only are we commanded to forgive others but there should be no limit to how often we forgive one another (Matt. 18:21-22). As well Christ shares a parable to show how serious it is for believers to truly forgive completely from the heart (Matt. 18:23-35). If we understand how serious this is issue of forgiveness is to God, why is it so difficult for believers to forgive each other? If a confessing believer chooses to refuse to forgive another person, Scripture is clear that this person does not understand the significance of the cross in their life. I understand that there are very difficult situations that may take more time than others for God to soften your heart, but if you are against reconciliation and are unable to forgive someone else, than the only conclusion is that you never truly experienced or understand the forgiveness of the cross. May we continue to ask God to humble our hearts and help us to not forget the cross so that we would not be easily offended and quick to forgive.

Weekly Links (2/13/2012)

“Why restore Christ to counseling? The wider counseling world views Jesus as irrelevant to understanding and addressing people’s deepest personal and interpersonal troubles. He might as well not even exist. Whoever he is, whatever he did, whatever he is doing, whatever he will do, and however he does it—it’s all intellectually and practically insignificant. The Jesus Christ of the Bible does not appear in self-help books, in classrooms, or in the licensure of mental health personnel. He apparently has no traction when it comes to the problems that break down lives and break up relationships.

But we believe that true, life-explaining insight into people necessarily involves thinking Christianly. Loving, lasting help necessarily involves practicing ‘counseling’ as one aspect of consciously Christian ministry. The deeper you gaze into what actually goes wrong with people—the weight of our sins and sorrows—the more clearly you see that Jesus Christ is essential to making it right.” (David Powlison, Journal of Biblical Counseling, Issue 26.1, “JBC: Renewing Our Mission”)

by Stephen Rodgers

In order to focus more on other writing and editorial duties, I typically leave Weekly Links to Richard these days.  Occasionally though, something happens that causes me to stick my finger back into the pie.

After a four-year hiatus, the Journal of Biblical Counseling has returned. I specifically mention this because their operating model is a bit odd, so if you want to enjoy their work at no cost, you’ll need to be on your toes:

  • Each issue will be available for free online until the next issue is released.
  • When a new issue is released, the previous issue will be archived.
  • Archived issues are available for purchase through their store.

If Biblical Counseling is of interest to you, this is going to be a resource you will want to stay on top of. And yes, I’ve added the journal to our recommended resources page.

Coram Deo