Mike Tune

Introduction to the Bible -- Habakkuk

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:28:00 +0000

Throughout the Bible many have questioned God – and not just for information. When the Lord declared his intention to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham replied: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? . . . Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23ff).

During the Exodus, Israel complained to Moses, and Moses complained to God: “Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? . . . They keep wailing to me, . . . I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now . . . (Numbers 11:12).

Facing oppression, the sons of Korah cried out to God “Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?” (Psalm 44:23-24).

These are not the only examples. The list of God’s interrogators is not a short one.

As long as Judah had Israel to compare herself to, it was easy to overlook her own sins. But after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah was left to contemplate her own situation. Other prophets decried the injustice and materialism of Judah. At this time however, Habakkuk arose, not to condemn his people, but to ask God why He wasn’t condemning them. “How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?”

God replied (Habakkuk chapter one) that he was going to punish Judah by bringing against her the Babylonians, “that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.”

This put a whole new twist on things. The Babylonians!? Why in the world would God punish Judah with people worse than Judah? Habakkuk was indignant. “I will stand at my watch,” he wrote, “and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me . . .” It was unjust of God, Habakkuk thought, for God to use sinners worse than Judah to punish Judah. Frankly, Habakkuk believed God had gotten himself in a moral bind on this one and Habakkuk was determined to hold God accountable.

In a lengthy reply (chapter two), God speaks to the arrogance of Habakkuk, which is very much like the arrogance of Judah and Babylon. Habakkuk is a product of his times. God affirms that he will hold both Babylon and Judah responsible for their sins. No one is getting a pass. The Lord ends his speech with a proclamation of His sovereignty.

Habakkuk, properly rebuked, spends chapter 3 of his book in prayer. He reviews God’s power, but also God’s faithfulness to his people. Habakkuk understands Judah must be punished for her sins. He knows the punishment will be inevitable. No matter who does it, however, God will not desert his people, and in that, Habakkuk can find hope. “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

God has no problem with His people questioning Him, or even disagreeing with Him. But he insists, that at the end of the day, His people trust Him. He is God. We are not. Those who stand “right” in the sight of God are those who, in the end, trust God and demonstrate it with the life they live. Being “right” with God is supremely a matter of trusting God.

Introduction to the Bible -- Nahum

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:26:00 +0000

Likely the best known of all the Minor Prophets is the book of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of the 8th century B.C. during the reign of Jereboam II and God called him to preach to the Assyrian nation to turn them from their wicked ways. Jonah was successful, the Assyrians repented, and calamity was averted.

For a while.

It didn’t take long, however, for the Assyrians to return to their wicked ways, and when they did, they returned with a vengeance. Old Testament scholar Jack Lewis writes of the Assyrian nation: “Assyria . . . was a nation largely geared for aggressive war. Its atrocities were proverbial as the records and art left by its kings make quite clear. . . Its victims lay prone under its tyranny . . . Nineveh saw men and nations as tools to be exploited to gratify the lust of conquest and commercialism. Assyria existed to render no service to mankind.”

Assyria attacked and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel less than fifty years after the time of Jonah. The southern kingdom of Judah also felt her cruelty at the hands of Assyrian kings Sargon II and Sennacherib (721 - 681 B.C.). Hezekiah foolishly tried to make a stand against Assyria and, had it not been for God’s intervention, would have lost his kingdom. The chutzpah of the kings of Assyria is most clearly heard in these words of an Assyrian field commander to the besieged people of Judah: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from [my] hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, "The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. . . Do not listen to Hezekiah . . Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? . . . Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

At this point, God had enough. The Lord struck 185 thousand Assyrian soldiers dead in one night, and about this time, the prophet Nahum appeared on the scene to announce to Judah Assyria’s end. “Trouble,” the prophet assured them, at least from Assyria, “will not come a second time” (1:9).

Nahum proclaims the absolute sovereignty of God: “He makes all the rivers run dry. . . The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it” (1:5). Though He is slow to anger, a refuge in times of trouble and cares for all who trust in Him, you don’t want to make him angry. “Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him (1:6-7). In no uncertain terms, the nation of Assyria stood condemned before God. “I will prepare your grave,” God says, “for you are vile” (1:14). “‘I am against you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions’ [or princes - mt]. ‘I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.’” (2:13).

Nahum catalogs Assyria’s sins. She is cruel, unprincipled, immoral, and dedicated to one thing: increasing profits for her merchants whose number rivals the stars of the sky. But her end is assured: “Nothing can heal your wound,” God says: “your injury is fatal.” No one will mourn her passing: “Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?”

Less than fifty years after Nahum, Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, and the empire itself, fell under the onslaught of the Babylonians, Medes, and the Scythians (612 B.C.). Jack Lewis writes: “The destruction was so complete that when Xenophon and his 10,000 Greeks passed by the site 200 years later, they gave no indication of knowing that the capital had existed.”

All nations, including our own, exist by permission and design of God and no nation, indifferent to the will of God, exists for long. If Nahum teaches us anything, it is that those nations playing fast and loose with His rules of justice, fairness, compassion and ethics, will come to a short, certain, devastating and ignominious end.

Introduction to the Bible -- Micah

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:46:00 +0000

In the final days of Judah, the prophet Jeremiah issued a stinging rebuke to the nation in the holy city of Jerusalem: “This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.”

For hundreds of years before Solomon, the city of Shiloh had been the home of the Tabernacle, and the presence of God. But Israel had been disobedient, believing that God’s presence would insure them against catastrophe regardless of how they lived. At one point, they even carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle, believing its presence guaranteed victory.

The ark was captured.

Shiloh was destroyed.

Now, Jeremiah was telling them the same thing would happen to Jerusalem if it’s citizens didn’t mend their ways.

The religious elite of Jerusalem arrested Jeremiah and brought him to court charging: “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” Jeremiah, in their eyes, was guilty of treason.

Fortunately, some of the older, respected men of the community stepped forward in Jeremiah’s behalf. They said: ‘Micah of Moresheth in the days of King Hezekiah said: ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’ No one put Micah to death. Instead, they repented.”

And so, Jeremiah’s life was spared – thanks to the work of Micah. Unlike the days of Micah however, the people didn’t repent.

The prophecy of Micah is found in the book the bears his name. He did his work about the middle of the 8th century B.C., just before the fall of the Northern Kingdom. His book describes the people of God in a most unflattering manner. They “lay awake at night plotting treachery against their neighbors.” They use their power to oppress people – just because they can. They “hate good and love evil.” They will do anything to make a dollar. Their lack of concern for others is vividly portrayed in these words addressed to the political leaders: “[Y]ou tear the skin from my people . . . break their bones in pieces . . . [and] chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot.” Religious leaders led Israel astray, preaching an “I’m ok, you’re ok gospel,” and they did it because that was precisely what the people wanted to hear. In God’s mind, His Church had been ruined “beyond all remedy.”

The result? “Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.”

It didn’t happen immediately of course. Jeremiah was still talking about the coming calamity two hundred years after Micah. But less than twenty years later, the end had come – just as God said.

What did God want from His people? Simply this: “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). If she would but do that, God would pardon and forgive them, hurling their sins into “the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

Micah stands as a lasting rebuke to the People of God in every age who, remembering who they are, forget what they are about; people who, because of their relationship with God, believe they can get away with being inattentive to His will. Micah also has a message for the world: God is sovereign over the nations. They may deny His existence and repudiate His will, but God remains sovereign, and ultimately he promises to “take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me” (Micah 5:14-15).

Micah affirms that God delights to show mercy (7:18), but is unafraid to discipline the wayward.

Introduction to the Bible -- Jonah

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:57:00 +0000

Jonah is likely the best known “minor prophet”– the prophet who got swallowed by the whale (or “big fish,” depending on your translation). Could a fish swallow a man whole and the man survive? After three days in a whale’s belly? I’ve wondered what the inside of a whale’s belly looks like. Jonah probably couldn’t tell us since there would have been no light. What would it smell like? In fact, I’ve wondered how you could smell at all since I cannot expect there would be any air there (do fish burp?).

When you begin to focus on the story, I can’t imagine anything more horrible than Jonah’s condition, a situation much akin to being buried alive. In fact, that’s how Jonah described it: “From the depths of the grave I called for help . . . The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head . . . my life was ebbing away” (Jonah 2:1,5,7).

But actually, the book of Jonah is not “about” Jonah at all. It is a book about God.

Jonah lived during the days of Jereboam II in the northern kingdom of Israel. Though times were prosperous, political disaster lay just over the horizon. The world power was the Assyrian nation, and the world had seldom seen such power wielded with such cruelty. Their kings bragged about slaughtering their enemies and dying the mountains red like wool with their blood, burning young men and maidens alive, and covering the walls of conquered cities and the columns of local buildings with the skins of beaten people. Not surprisingly, no one liked the Assyrians.

And so, when God told the prophet Jonah to go preach to the Assyrians and tell them to turn from their wicked ways . . . or else, Jonah thought “or else” suited them just fine. Rather than make the 500 mile trek to Nineveh, Jonah caught a ship headed in the opposite direction for Spain.

That’s when “the weather started getting rough.” In an ocean storm, there are no atheists. Every passenger prayed to his god and when Jonah confessed that he was the reason for the storm, the passengers prayed to Jonah’s God – then threw Jonah overboard. The sea grew calm – just as Jonah told them it would. God caused the big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah went to “time out.” It was there that Jonah realized: when God gives you a job, it’s easier to do it than refuse. Jonah repented, and the fish “vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

Jonah then went to preach to the Assyrians. They listened, turned from their wickedness, and Jonah got angry. He knew it would happen. The Assyrians would survive when, in Jonah’s mind, they deserved to die. In a fit of pique, he camped outside the city of Nineveh and pouted.

This is where you get to the point of the story.

God caused a plant to grow overnight to shade Jonah. Then, just as quickly, God killed it. Jonah, no longer sheltered from the sun, became furious. At that point, God sat Jonah down for a heart to heart. Jonah was angry because a plant he had neither planted nor cultivated had died. God said: “Shouldn’t I be concerned for a city filled with innocent children and cattle?”

Jonah is full of wonderful lessons. God loves all people. HIS people may be the people of blessing and promise, but He still loves everyone. Second, He expects all people (whether His or not) to submit to his will. Third, those who don’t (His or not) will find life exceedingly hard. But most of all, He is a God of grace and forgiveness. The people of Nineveh experienced it. So did Jonah. Fourth, God expects His people to speak to the people of the world to reveal his will.

Introduction to the Bible -- Obadiah

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:38:00 +0000

Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac had two sons: Jacob and Esau. Jacob became the father of the Israelite nation. Esau became the father of the Edomite nation. Jacob, the younger of the two, stole his brother’s inheritance. Years later, when all seemed forgiven, Jacob lied to his brother. No matter what the reasons or whose fault the feud was, God forbade Jacob’s descendants, Israel, to mistreat her brethren the Edomites.

When Israel left Egypt during the Exodus, the old animosity between the two families arose. Israel asked to pass through Edomite territory on the King’s highway, promising not to “go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory. If we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot – nothing else.” Edom replied, "You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."

Edom never forgave Israel. She remembered every perceived slight, and never forgot an insult. Amos wrote: Edom “pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed unchecked.”

When Israel was conquered and Jerusalem burned by the Babylonians, the Edomites surveyed the situation from a distance, celebrating the defeat of her brethren. Obadiah recounts this scene in the book that bears his name, and delivers God’s promise of destruction for Edom’s treatment of Israel.

Two points should not be lost on the people of God: First, we must be forgiving. We are not allowed to hold a grudge and the severest punishment awaits those who do. Second, it is important to remember that God has not ordained any particular government, or any system of government, as his anointed on the earth. Nor are God’s people defined by particular political boundaries or philosophies. No government or system of government on the earth is eternal. They are all temporary, subject to the sovereignty of God. Obadiah reminds us however that the longevity of every nation is dependent on the attitudes and actions of its people, and those nations whose citizens find it hard to forgive and who rejoice in the misfortunes of others, are nations destined to be short-lived.

Introduction to the Bible -- Amos

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:42:00 +0000

At the death of Solomon, about 931 B.C., his kingdom was torn in two and became known as the kingdoms of Israel (in the north) and Judah (in the south). Jereboam, a descendant of Joseph, became Israel’s first king. Jereboam was chosen by God for this position and had God’s blessing, but Jereboam faithlessly (and stupidly) chose to rebel against God, installing worship centers at the cities of Dan and Bethel, all in an effort solidify a monarchy already guaranteed by God. He set up golden idols at those sites and encouraged the people to worship them. They did, and very soon afterward, God made their lives incredibly difficult by sending the Syrians and the Assyrians to oppress them. From 805 - 735 B.C., however, there was a break in the oppression and Israel began to prosper. Rather than turn to God in repentance however, Israel drew further away.

It was during this time that God sent a poor man from Tekoa (12 miles south of Jerusalem) to preach to them. His task was to get Israel to repent and warn them of the consequences of impenitence. His name was Amos, and his message to Israel was simple and ominous: “Prepare to meet your God” (4:12).

The book of Amos begins (chapters 1-2) somewhat deceptively in that it addresses the sins of the nations surrounding Israel. Amos’ hearers and readers could not help but believe, to begin with, that they were God’s favored nation.

But beginning in chapter 3, and extending virtually to the end of the book (9:10), the prophet condemns, in the harshest language, the sins of Israel. He describes the rich women of Israel as “cows of Bashan.” He accuses Israel of turning justice into bitterness” and “throwing righteousness to the ground.” He condemns their lives of indolence with these words: “You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David . . . You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph” (6:4-6).

God’s mighty hand of judgment looms, and there will be no escape. “Not one will get away; none will escape. Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. . . Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there will I command the sword to slay them. I will fix my eyes on them for evil and not for good” (9:1-4).

Israel’s sins all spring from their blessings: They are all out to “get theirs” and they will oppress all who get in their way. They despise authority and correction and love to revel in the finest the world has to offer. But they have no time for God, and no time for the needy. Such a people, in the eyes of God, do not deserve to live.

God will not, however, do away with them all. They are, after all, God’s people. And so, after a time of great trial and destruction, God promises to restore his people and show the world that, while subject to his justice, are not subject to obliteration (9:11-15). This latter text is cited in the New Testament to refer to the Christian Church (Acts 15:16-17).

How do we make an application of this book? After all, it is addressed to the nation of Israel, not to our nation.

We cannot say that if our nation imbibes the same sins of Israel, we will fall like she did. Our nation does not, as a nation sustain the same relationship to God Israel did, nor is it the beneficiary of God’s promises. The people of God, today, are Christians. The message of Amos is that God is serious about justice and mercy and fairness and true spirituality. If we buy into the value system of the world, we will suffer the adverse judgment of God no matter what our nationality in this world.

On the other hand, the beginning of Amos makes plain that God holds all nations accountable for the way they conduct themselves. Failure to pay attention to God’s standard of conduct will surely usher in an earlier demise. It is in the best interests of the world for Christians, in whatever nation they reside, to live and promote the ways of God, both for our own future, and for the benefit of those among whom we live.

Introduction to the Bible -- Joel

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:11:00 +0000

In 1915 a great locust plague devastated the entire region of the Holy Land from Egypt to the Taurus mountains in Turkey. The locusts came in February, darkening the sky as they flew and covering everything with their droppings. Within two months, every plant had been eaten and all the bark had been stripped from the trees. The locusts attacked people as well. Infant children, lacking the ability to knock off the locusts, had their exposed flesh eaten.

It was the fourth plague to strike the area in 23 years, and just one of many locust plagues history records in the area. One of those recordings is contained in the “minor prophet” book of Joel. Joel was likely written during the divided kingdom history of Israel – probably in the eighth century B.C. He describes the plague like this: “Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes-- joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering.”

Joel wrote specifically for the southern kingdom of Judah, and said to them: ‘If you think this locust plague was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet” (2:2). Because of Judah’s sinfulness, God promised to send a foreign army on his own people to subdue and punish them. The army, and the devastation in its wake, would be worse than a plague of locusts.

Joel does not present a catalog of Judah’s sins. Only “drunkenness” is specifically mentioned. But as you journey through the book, God seems upset about two things: First, people simply do not give God much thought. The priests perform their duties in the temple, but those are more ritual than deep heartfelt service to God in behalf of the people. The people have gotten on with their lives with little thought about what God wants for them, and even less thought about what God wants of them. Second, their inattention to God is evidenced by their lack of offerings to God.

But the calamity of the locust plague has brought “normal” life to an end. Now, Joel writes, is time to think about your lives and make God a part of them. “‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing-- grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God’” (2:12-14). The plague has come because the people have not thought about God enough to make offerings to them. He has responded to take away everything they have so that no offerings are possible. When they return to Him, he will bless them once more – and He intends they then consider Him first.

The “day of the Lord” is a signature phrase for Joel. It is a day of judgment. For those who have persecuted God’s people, it will be a day of desolation. For the unfaithful of God’s people, it will be a day of devastation. But for those who faithful, it will be a day of shelter and blessing accompanied by the presence of God’s Spirit. We can divide Joel as follows:
I) The locust plague recounted. - Chapter 1
II) Promised punishment from God and a call to repentance – Chapter 2:1-17
III) The judgment of God – Chapters 2:18 - 3:21

We are normally loath to attribute “natural calamity” to God. “God doesn’t send earthquakes or famines or war” we contend. As a result, when these things happen, we never think of God. Old Testament people believed God was behind all things, and God used those things to get the attention of those He loved. Because of our approach, it’s harder for God to get our attention, and the constant danger is that we will end up just like the people who first received the book of Joel.

Introduction to the Bible - Hosea

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:57:00 +0000

The last twelve books of the Old Testament are called simply “The Twelve” or the “Minor Prophets.” They are “minor” not because they are unimportant, but because they are smaller than the other prophetical books. Keep in mind as you read them that the work of the prophet was not to “foretell” the future, but to call God’s people to remember their covenant with Him, remind them of the blessings of that covenant, and warn them of the consequences of violating it.

The following minor prophets did their work during the Divided Kingdom Period (when there was a Northern Kingdom, Israel, and a Southern Kingdom, Judah). Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, and Nahum. The period covers the years 800 - 722 B.C.

Obadiah, Micah, Habbakuk and Zephaniah did their work after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, during the years 722 - 586 B.C.

Judah, remember, was conquered and carried into Babylonian exile in 586 B.C. She remained there until 539 B.C. when many of the captives were allowed to return to their homeland. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi did their work after 539 B.C.

In the days before printing and “Power Point,” sometimes God used the life of a prophet to illustrate his message. Ezekiel was called to make a diorama of a besieged city outside his house and lie, tied up, on his side facing it, exposed to the elements for 390 days. The scene was to evoke the message of God’s judgment against His people.

In the case of Hosea, God allowed him to marry Gomer, a woman whose background disposed her to unfaithfulness. True to her heritage, she cheated on him at every turn, bore three children – none of whom belonged to Hosea – and finally left Hosea to indulge her passions.

As always happens however, her lovers eventually grew tired of her and finally, with no one who really cared about her, she was sold as a slave.

You have to wonder what Hosea’s neighbors were saying about him – what a rotten deal he had gotten, how unfair it was that he was stuck caring for the children of his wife’s adulteries. Hosea could have said: “Good riddance,” found a wife who would love him, and gotten on with his life. But he didn’t. Instead, he grieved over his lost love. Finally, he bought her out of slavery, and brought her home.

Now imagine what the neighbors thought! Not only was his behavior beyond the understanding, but they may have considered it a violation of God’s law (Deuteronomy 24:1ff)!

But the story of Hosea and Gomer is the story of God and his people. His people were unfaithful to him beyond all excuse, but God loved them still and the story of God’s enduring, persistent love, seen in the love of Hosea for Gomer, was intended to shame Israel into faithfulness.

The book can be outlined as follows:

I) The story of Hosea and Gomer - Chapters 1-3
II) Israel’s unfaithfulness recounted - Chapters 4-13
III) God’s enduring love proclaimed - Chapter 14

God had Hosea name the children “Jezreel” (God scatters), “Loruhamah” (no pity), and Loammi (not my people). One can imagine that every time Hosea called them in for dinner, the message of Israel’s impending punishment for sin was preached through the neighborhood.

Introduction to the Bible -- Daniel

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Imagine!

Imagine Osama Ben Laden stealing our Declaration of Independence from the National Archives and then burning it before our very eyes on an internet pod-cast.

Imagine our President, taken by force, from the White House, in handcuffs, to Baghdad, and the whole thing broadcast on the BBC.

Imagine whole families, thousands of people, uprooted from their homes and transported to Iran as slaves and hostages to ensure no reprisals.

Got it?

That’s the picture of God’s people in the late 7th century B.C. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar sent an army to Jerusalem, took their most sacred national treasures, and carried the king and the best and brightest of the Jewish empire as hostages to Babylon.

The captives had to wonder: “Where is God? Has the God of Israel met His match in the Babylonian empire?

Among those captives were princes named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their story – and especially that of Daniel, is recounted in the book, Daniel.

The historical section of Daniel covers the period from 605 B.C. to 536 B.C. and appeared as a literary document after Judah’s captivity, during the days when God’s people were beginning to return to Jerusalem. The book has but one point: Despite Israel’s national shame and weakness, God, their God, was still God. No matter how it seemed at times, He still ruled over the kingdoms of men and “gives them to anyone He wishes” (4:17).

Proof of God’s sovereignty is offered in the first chapter of the book as the author sets the stage for the main characters and places the reader in their world. These characters, though enslaved in a foreign country, rise inexplicably to positions of power - solely because God wills it (Daniel 1). In the second section, even the Kings of Babylon and Persia come to understand that Israel’s God is sovereign even over them (chapters 2 - 7). In the final section of the book (chapters 8-12), Daniel receives visions for the future that illustrate the same thing. Years after Daniel’s death and the circulation of this book, God’s people, in reading Daniel, would take comfort in knowing that no matter how difficult the road, God was still taking care of them and would deliver them. Their assurance of the future rested on the demonstrations of God in their past.

Daniel remains important. Even though God’s people are no longer defined at all by nationality or ethnicity, our God still rules over the nations and gives them to whomever He wishes, even the lowliest of men. Even though the nations of the world, as nations of the world, have neither promise nor hope from God, they ignore Him and His will at their own peril.

We, however, regardless of nationality, as followers of Jesus, are the People of God. No matter who holds public office, God sits on the throne. Our allegiance is solely to Him, and our hope rests in Him exclusively who rules sovereign over the kingdoms of men.

Introduction to the Bible -- Ezekiel

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:34:00 +0000

In reading Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, two dates are important.

God had greatly reduced the size of His people by 605 B.C. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was no more, having fallen to an Assyrian occupation a little over a hundred years before. God had hoped the rest of His people, Judah, would get the point: He was serious about them paying attention to the covenant He had made with them.

They did not.

In 605 B.C., Babylon went to war with Egypt and God’s people were caught in the middle. Judah had sided with Egypt, and for that transgression, the King of Babylon defeated Judah as well, taking some of her princes as hostage back to Babylon. It wasn’t just unfortunate happenstance. God had planned it. Among the hostages was Daniel, who wrote the book which bears his name. He wrote in Babylon, and his book is a reminder of how God rules over the nations of men and can bless His people no matter where they live.

In 597 B.C., Babylon once again went to war with Egypt, and once again, Judah sided with Egypt. This time, in defeating Egypt and Judah, the king of Babylon took hostage the King of Judah, replaced him with another, and took more hostages. Among them was Ezekiel.

Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah are all contemporaries.

Ezekiel was part of the imprisoned group of 597 B.C. “As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and took away all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD. He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans--a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.”

Those in captivity did not believe they would stay long. They earnestly believed they would be delivered, and the source of deliverance would be their kinsmen back home in Jerusalem. They believed their sins had separated them from God and His people and the Promised Land. Those left behind in Jerusalem must be the truly righteous, they thought, because they were not in captivity! In time, they would come rescue their brethren.

Ezekiel offers his readers in Babylon insight into what was truly going on in Jerusalem. If they were expecting deliverance from that quarter, they will be disappointed. The sins of Jerusalem’s inhabitants are every bit as bad, and more so, than any they have committed. There will be no deliverance by them.

Ezekiel was a priest in the temple of God. Taken captive at age 30, he would have only just begun his priestly service. He speaks and writes to his countrymen who are exiled as he is. Exile is not being homeless. “Rather, it is knowing that you do have a home, but that your home has been taken over by enemies.” It is not being without roots. “On the contrary, it is having deep roots which have now been plucked up, and there you are, with roots dangling, writhing in pain, exposed to a cold and jeering world, longing to be restored to native and nurturing soil. Exile is knowing precisely where you belong, but knowing you can’t go there – not yet. In exile, life cannot be “business as usual” (quotes from Ian Duguid, The NIV Application Commentary: Ezekiel (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999) p. 48).

The book is divided by dates into 13 sections. Watch for the date changes in your readings. They do not always signal a subject change, but they are good markers for your readings.

Ezekiel is important to us because Christians are also “in exile” (1 Peter 1:1,17; 2:11). This is not our home. We are looking for a better city, a city whose architect and builder is God. Ezekiel tells us how to live until we finally get to “go home.”

Introduction to the Bible: Jeremiah/Lamentations

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Jeremiah is one of the “major prophets” of the Old Testament. After God’s people divided into two nations, the northern one continued until 722 B.C. Isaiah is the “major prophet” of that time period. The southern kingdom continued until 586 B.C. Jeremiah was the “major prophet” of that period.

Jeremiah dates his work from the thirteenth year of king Josiah (627 B.C.).

In 609 B.C., during a foolish war with Egypt, Josiah was killed and Judah lost her independence. He was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. Egypt, however, as the conquering nation, felt they had the right to appoint a king of their own choosing, so they forcibly removed Jehoahaz and replaced him with Eliakim, another of Josiah’s sons.

In 605 B.C., the Babylonians conquered the Egyptians and carried away a number of the princes of Judah as spoils of war. Among them was Daniel, whose story is told in the Old Testament book that bears his name. In 597 B.C., the Babylonians replaced Eliakim (whose other name is “Jehoiakim”) with Zedekiah. During all this time, Judah’s greatest threat was from the Babylonians. She was tempted to ally herself with Egypt, but Jeremiah knew her security lay in doing what she had never been able to do: submit to the will of God.

Jeremiah spoke out strongly against political corruption (5:4-5), oppression and immorality. He condemned the men of Judah for acting like “well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after another man’s wife” (5:8). He called Judah to submit to God’s judgment against them for their sins, but his call was viewed as treason. His own people slandered him (18:18), beat him (chapter 20), threatened his life (chapter 26), threw him into prison (37) and down a well (38).

Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet. When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah didn’t object, he just didn’t go. Jeremiah, however, complained. And yet, he knew that the salvation of God’s people depended on the work God had given him. He wrote: “Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (20:8-9).

Jeremiah can be outlined as follows:

I) Jeremiah’s call – chapter 1
II) Jeremiah calls Judah to repent – chapters 2-12
III) Punishment for sin predicted – chapters 13-29
IV) Promise of hope – chapters 30-35
V) Judah’s fall – chapters 36 - 45
VI) Judgment against other nations – chapters 46 - 51
V) The Fall of Jerusalem – chapter 52.

Jeremiah’s story and preaching was not just for Judah. God specifically says he was to be a prophet to the nations. The book serves as a reminder to all people, whether they are God’s people or not, of the sovereignty of God. It is also a warning of judgment against all who would disregard the rules of God for living on the earth.

Jeremiah was the Old Testament suffering servant of the Lord. Reading about his life, we get human insight into how God felt about what His people were going through because of their sins. Jeremiah wrote: “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (9:1).

Introduction to the Bible - Isaiah

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:04:00 +0000

One scholar has described the work of the prophet as that of a “covenant enforcement mediator.” The prophet was to remind God’s people they were in an agreement with God. He was to remind them of what the agreement said. He was to rail against their disobedience, warn them of the consequences (that’s where foretelling the future came in), and call them to change. I guess, when you think about it, his job was simply that of a preacher.

The writing prophets of the Old Testament are divided into “major prophets” and “minor prophets.” “Major” and “minor” have only to do with the length of the books, not the importance of their content. There are four major prophets and twelve minor ones. The work of the writing prophets occurs after the division of God’s people into a northern kingdom -- Israel, and a southern one -- Judah, about 900 B.C. The longest of the major prophets is Isaiah and other than the Psalms, no book is cited or alluded to more often than this one.

Isaiah, a priest in Jerusalem, began his work during the final twenty years of the northern kingdom’s history. During that time, Israel’s greatest political threat was Assyria. Isaiah writes, however, not to Israel, but to Judah. He uses Israel as an object lesson. For twenty years he will decry her wicked ways, urge her to turn to God, assure her of God’s love for her, and warn her of the penalty for failure. When Isaiah’s book is finished, the southern kingdom knows that what Isaiah has been saying to the north has been true. At that time, the south’s great enemy is Babylon. Isaiah then turns his message to the south and, fundamentally, speaks the same thing to Judah.

Isaiah is divided into three parts.

I) Chapters 1 - 35 are poetry. It deals with the Assyrian threat and urges Israel to trust neither in her enemies nor her allies, but in God. There are three sections (1-12, 13-27, 28-35) and each ends with a poem of praise to God.

II) Chapters 36 - 39 are prose and tell the story of God’s deliverance of His people from her enemies and emphasize the importance of trusting God.

III) Chapters 40 - 66 are poetry and are divided into three parts (40-48, 49-57, and 58-66), each ending with a warning of judgment against the wicked. The section emphasizes the great will of God to save those who will turn to Him and his determination to judge those who will not.

Isaiah’s relevance for the Christian Church has been largely limited to foretelling of the coming of Christ, and yet, that is but a minor concern for the prophet. He is supremely interested in God’s people coming to trust in God. Those who will trust the Lord can be assured of God’s favor and protection. Isaiah 25:6-9 is but a sample of many texts that could be cited to illustrate this point: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (See also Isaiah 28:16; 30:18; 40:29-31; 43:1-2; 49:13-23;65:24).

If Hebrews 11 is the great faith chapter in the Bible, and Romans the great faith book of the New Testament, then surely Isaiah has to be the great faith book of the Old Testament.

Introduction to the Bible -- Song of Solomon

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:38:00 +0000

In the Hebrew Bible, the Song of Solomon is called the “Song of Songs” or, “The best of songs.” This book “celebrates the dignity and purity of human love . . . It came to us in this world of sin, where lust and passion are on every hand, where fierce temptations assail us and try to turn us aside from the God-given standard of marriage. And it reminds us, in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble love is.”

The great love expressed in the Song of Solomon is between a man and his bride, in this case, Solomon, and a woman from the town of Shulam in northern Palestine. The book is presented very much like a play, divided into scenes.

Scene I - The bride is brought to the chambers of the King’s banqueting house. A chorus is sung by the “damsels of Jerusalem” and Solomon and the woman praise each other’s beauty (1:1 - 2:8).
Scene 2 - The bride’s dream of her husband to be (2:9 - 3:5).
Scene 3 - The marriage (3:6 - 5:10).
Scene 4 - The marriage festival (5:2 - 8:4).
Scene 5 - The couple visit the former home of the bride (8:5-14).

Historically, Christians have been somewhat reluctant to discuss the role of intimacy between men and women, but the Song of Solomon is a very intimate book. In an effort to avoid the issue, the book has been misinterpreted as referring to the love Jesus has for the Church – this despite the fact that the book is not cited anywhere in the New Testament. Some of our hymns are based on this interpretation (eg. “Jesus Rose of Sharon” and “I have Found a Friend in Jesus”).

Four points are worth noting here from this book:

First, when it comes to couple relationships, sex is an important aspect. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the way God intended for things to work. But God has placed certain boundaries on the sexual. It is foolish for people to believe that couples forming and nurturing their relationships will not have sexual thoughts and feelings. The Song of Solomon reminds us that God has known this, planned it that way and has spoken to the issue. Faithful people will pay attention to what God has said and keep within the boundaries of what God has said is proper.

Second, you will notice in the Song of Solomon that “looks” play an important role in the attraction between the sexes – both to men and women. It is important that after marriage, both husband and wife understand that, and seek remain attractive to their spouse.

Third, though looks are important, husbands and wives see one another differently from the way they see others. The woman of Shulam did not think she was as pretty or as cultured compared to the queens of Solomon’s harem (1:5-6). But Solomon saw her with different eyes. In every successful marriage, the wife must know from her husband that he sees her differently from the way he sees other women – different even from the way she sees herself – and that he loves what he sees in her. The wife views her husband differently from the way she views other men – and she loves what she sees in him.

Finally, notice that Solomon and his bride communicate to each other their appreciation for one another. In modern relationships, pride often gets in the way of doing this, but successful marriages as God intended are relationships where husbands and wives continually communicate how they value how they feel about each another to each other, and they do so in positive ways.

Introduction to the Bible - Ecclesiastes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Tune) — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:21:00 +0000

“That’s got to be the most depressing book of the Bible. Just read it: ‘Meaningless, meaningless . . . utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’ And that’s just the first two verses!”

My friend was talking about Ecclesiastes of course.

But Ecclesiastes was not intended to be depressing. It was intended to be a sobering look at life. Listening to WTOP (a D.C. news radio station) one morning I heard a news segment on how much banks charge in fees. A young girl complained that she over-drew her account by $5 and the bank charged her $25. She said: “It’s as if they are sucking the money from our accounts.” I thought: “You knew that going in young lady. You are the one over-drawing your account. You only have yourself to blame.”

Not very compassionate of me, right? (Actually, I do feel for her. The charges are excessive. But the charges are not compulsory. You don’t have to overdraw your account. It was still her own fault.)

Life is not always compassionate (though I am grateful for the compassion that is there). There are hard lessons that must be learned. Don’t balance your checkbook? You have only yourself to blame for overdrafts. Too much junk food and couch time? Only yourself to blame for poor health. Don’t like school and won’t go or study? Only yourself to blame for the meager job opportunities available to you. Too lazy or uncaring to tend to your appearance or practice personal hygiene? No wonder you don’t have friends – only yourself to blame.

These are just some of the stark realities of life. You can learn them the hard way, or you can learn them from others who learned them the hard way and passed along lessons learned. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, Solomon candidly passes on the wisdom of life – wisdom he says he personally made it his aim to discover by experience (ie. the hard way).

While Proverbs passes on nuggets of wisdom, Ecclesiastes does that and looks at the big picture. As you read it, underline the recurring phrase “under the sun” (27 times in 12 chapters). It means “in this life.”. What should be our main focus in this life?

The book flows as follows:
I) A statement: None of life’s normal pursuits are of lasting significance 1:1-11
II) Solomon’s experiments to see if that statement is true. He tries to find fulfillment in knowledge, fun, escape, work, personal purity, and philanthropy. None of these work.1:12 - 2:26.
III) On the other hand, he says, there is a time for everything in life. Live and find enjoyment in whatever moment God has given you, keeping in mind that one of those moments is an appointment with God to give an account for how you lived your life. 3:1 - 6:12
IV) Life is full of harsh realities. Face them wisely in full view of God 7:1- 11:10.
V) Because old age (and the inability to make changes) and death is coming for us all, and then the judgment of God. 12:1- 14.

Nothing we do, that stays here, “under the sun” is of lasting significance. What is of lasting significance is how we live in preparation for the time when we are no longer “under the sun,” but in the presence of God. Jesus put it this way: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21).

Introduction to the Bible - Proverbs

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:35:00 +0000

“Well done is better than well said.”

“God helps those who help themselves.”

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

These are but a few of our “American proverbs,” all of which came, at least through, if not from, Benjamin Franklin.

Every culture has its proverbs. From Babylon during the days of Abraham we have the following: “Build like a Lord, live like a slave. Build like a slave, live like a Lord.” From Egypt we have this one: “A petitioner likes attention to his words better than the fulfilling of that for which he came . . . a good hearing is a soothing of the heart.”

The culture of Israel in the Old Testament was no different. Solomon himself was said to have spoken three thousand proverbs, and over 300 of them are specifically to be found in the book of Proverbs, part of what is called the “wisdom literature” of the Old Testament. The book of Proverbs has more parallels with ancient literature than any other book in the Bible.

Proverbs has little organizational structure, but may be outlined as follows:

I) Title and aim of the book. 1:1-7
II) The importance of wisdom. 1:8 - 9:18
III) Proverbs of Solomon (374 two liners) 10:1 - 22:16
IV) Sayings of other wise men 22:17 - 24:22
V) Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs chapters 25 - 29
VI) Wisdom from the wise man Agur - chapter 30
VII) Wisdom from King Lemuel 31:1-9
VIII) The Woman of Noble character 31:10-31

Wisdom has to do with “how” we live our lives in order to be successful. Proverbs are wise rules of conduct. They are not “guarantees.” Our proverb, “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” is a good rule to follow, but not a guarantee. Some labor from dawn to dusk, destroy their health, and never become “wealthy.” But on the other hand, “go to bed late, get up late,” is a prescription for disaster.

Since they are not guarantees, they should not be read or treated as laws. Thus the parent who “trains up his child in the way he should go” can expect that his child will live accordingly. But that is not a guarantee. If a child turns from the wise path later in life, it should not serve as an indictment against his parents. On the other hand, of course, the parent who offers no guidance for his child can fairly well expect him to turn out poorly.

Proverbs offers direction for daily manners, work, sex, family life, friendship, and our relationship with God. These particular proverbs are important because they come to us by the approval of God and as such, provide us not with earthly wisdom, but heavenly.

Introduction to the Bible - Psalms (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:15:00 +0000

The longest book of the Bible is the book of Psalms. It is the most cited Old Testament book by New Testament writers (but Isaiah runs a close second). Walter Bruggemann has written: “In season and out of season, generation after generation, faithful women and men turn to the Psalms as a most helpful resource for conversation with God about things that matter most.” He divides the Psalms into three categories:

1) Psalms of “orientation.” I call these “good time psalms,” expressions of the heart when times are going well.

2) Psalms of “disorientation.” These are the “bad times psalms,” expressions of the heart when things are not going well. There is hurt, separation, suffering, and death. Life is ragged. The largest number of psalms are of this type (wonder why that is?).

3) Psalms of “reorientation,” which I call “turn around psalms.” Things have been going poorly, but life has changed and is now headed in a new and better direction.

Of all the Psalms, perhaps none has provided Christians with as much difficulty as those called the “Imprecatory Psalms.” These are prayers that ask God to do horrible things to other people. The most notable are Psalms 55,59,69,79,109,137. How could a person of God ask God to “let death take my enemies by surprise”or make their eyes “darkened so they cannot see and their backs bent forever”? Is it really appropriate for us to pray: “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name”?

We are much more comfortable with Jesus’ and Stephen’s prayer for their enemies: “Do not hold this sin against them.”

While we would like to pray Jesus’ prayer, and while it is surely more in keeping with his command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43ff), it is nevertheless true that there are times justice seems so trampled on that the imprecatory psalms more accurately reflect the feelings of our heart. The book of Psalms is God’s word to us that whatever we feel about ourselves, about others, and even about God, none of those feelings are new nor unique to us. Great people of God have felt them too. And when they had those feelings, good or bad, joyful or sad, convicted or confused, they didn’t take matters into their own hands. They took their feelings to God. As much as anything else, the book of Psalms provides us with the vocabulary to unburden our heart and approach God in any season of life.

In the 4th century A.D., Ambrose, a preacher and Elder of the church in Milan, Italy, wrote: “Although all scripture breathes the grace of God, yet sweeter than all the others is the book of Psalms. History instructs, the Law teaches, Prophecy announces, rebukes, chastens, and morality persuades. But in the book of Psalms, we have the fruit of these – and a kind of medicine for the salvation of men.” More near our own time, Walter Bruggemann (whom we mentioned earlier) has written: “The Psalms draw our entire life under the rule of God, where everything may be submitted to the God of the gospel.”

Introduction to the Bible - Psalms (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:41:00 +0000

The book of Psalms is sometimes called the “Hebrew Song Book.” With its 150 chapters, it is the longest single body of literature in the Old Testament. Unlike other books of the Bible, each chapter of the Psalms is an independent literary unit and the whole is a compilation of Poetry that spans a thousands years. Though most of the poems were written by Israel’s greatest king, David, other poems were written by Moses, Solomon, Asaph (who was in charge of the music of the tabernacle in David’s day), the sons of Korah (guardians of the temple gates) and some rather obscure fellows like Jeduthun and Heman.

The book of Psalms is divided into five “books,” each one ending with praise to God:

1) Book 1 - Psalm 1-41, ending with “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

2) Book 2 - Psalms 42-72, ending with “Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

3) Book 3 - Psalms 73 - 89, ending with “Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.”

4) Book 4 - Psalms 90 - 106, ending with “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord.

5) Book 5 - Psalms 107 - 150, ending with an entire Psalm of praise.

116 of the Psalms have headings. We do not know if these headings were on the original manuscripts, but the headings appear in all the manuscripts we have. The headings tell who wrote the psalm, sometimes its occasion, and sometimes the tune it was to be sung to. Unfortunately, the tunes are now lost to us.

In the book of Psalms there is some repetition. Psalm 14 is repeated in Psalm 53. Psalm 57 is repeated in Psalm 108. Psalm 40 is repeated in Psalm 70. Why the repetition? I do not know. We know that these were not the only pieces of poetry written by Old Testament people. Solomon himself wrote a thousand and five songs. David likely wrote many more than those catalogued in the book of Psalms. It may well be that the five books of psalms we have represent five collections of psalms. Just as today, different editions of hymn books contain different collections, and some repetitions, so that may be equally true with the Psalms.

In the 16th century, John Calvin wrote: “I have been wont to call this book, not inappropriately, an anatomy of all parts of the soul; for there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented in a mirror.”

Introduction to the Bible - Job

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Can it possibly be that it has been five months since I added to this blog? Where did the time go? I will try to do better. On we go with our look at the books of the Bible.

If not the oldest book in the Bible, Job certainly reaches back to the earliest of times - to the days of Abraham or before. The book tells the story of man named “Job” whose fortunes went from great to abysmal virtually overnight simply because of a conflict between Satan and God. The story of Job is set at a time when a family’s patriarch offered sacrifices on behalf of his children. Job is not listed in any of the genealogies of Abraham’s descendants and therefore he is not a part of Israel. He is from the land of “Uz,” a place whose geographical location is unknown.

Despite not being a Jew and of unknown origin, the story of Job’s faith is a treasure of Jewish literature. He is considered in the Old Testament to be one of three most righteous people (Daniel and Noah being the other two - cf. Ezekiel 14:14,20).

Chapters 1-3 set the stage for the story and introduce us to all the players but one. Job is a righteous man, well-blessed by God with everything a man can desire: wealth, respect in the community, family, and a close relationship with God. He is “the greatest man among all the people of the East.” God brags to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
It sounds more like a taunt to Satan. Satan replies: ‘Sure he’s good. Why shouldn’t he be? You’ve bought his goodness with all your blessings. Take them away, and he will curse you to your face.’

And so the conflict begins. God allows Satan to strip Job of everything - including his dignity. Job doesn’t know that he’s become a pawn in a holy war. He’s just confused that such awful things have happened. Despite then however, and despite encouragement from his wife to turn from God. Job remains true. He said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to provide support, and the condition they find him in leaves them speechless - at least at first. For Job’s part, he wishes he had never been born.

Chapters 4-31 contain three rounds of speeches where each of Job’s friends speak, trying to put things into perspective. Job replies to each of them. Eliaphaz urges him to put his trust in God, but Job replies that God is the reason he is in this mess. Bildad and Zophar both reply that it’s not God’s fault, but Job’s. All three of the friends subscribe to the world view that if something bad happens to you, it must be your fault. Job believes the same thing, but he does not see where this is his fault. He concludes that God must have attacked him.

In Chapters 32-37 a new much younger character, Elihu appears. He is upset the others have not convinced Job all this is not God’s fault. He maintains that sometimes bad things happen so that God can speak to our lives. Job does not reply to Elihu.

Then God Himself takes the stage. In two speeches (Chapters 38-41), He says first, that there are some things humans cannot know. Second, because their knowledge is limited, they should be slow to blame God for everything that happens.

The book ends (chapter 42) with God restoring everything Job lost.

Job’s friends never prayed for Job. They never encouraged him. They never comforted him. Job felt badly toward God, but he never turned from Him. Even if, for some unknown reason, God was attacking him, Job’s only hope was still in God. To turn from the only one who could deliver him would have been foolish.

Will a person serve God for nothing? The book of Job says the righteous man will do exactly that. When you are going through a difficult time, there is something more important than why all that is happening to you. It is more important to entrust your life to the one who knows everything and who has assured us, one way or another, he will deliver us. That's what Jesus did. “During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7).

Introduction to the Bible - Esther

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:34:00 +0000

When Israel left Egypt during the Exodus, God eventually brought them to the Plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan river. There Moses, in five presentations preserved for us in Deuteronomy, urged the People of God to be faithful to the Lord. In fact, Deuteronomy 28 contains some of the harshest language to be found in the Bible for unfaithfulness. If Israel did not obey, God said they would be cursed everywhere they went. They would feel crushed by both earth and sky, and God would afflict them with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind (vss. 28, 34). A foreign nation would invade them and carry them to a land far away. God would ruin them, destroy them and scatter them.

The promised blessings and cursings were to be inscribed on monuments located in the center of the land - but Israel failed to pay attention to them. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians invaded Israel and carried off many in the royal family as hostages (like Daniel). In 597 B.C., the Babylonians returned to carry off more of them (Ezekiel was among this group). In 586 B.C., the Babylonians returned for the final time to destroy Jerusalem and carry off the remaining citizenry.

But even in God’s harshest language, He never promised His people would be totally wiped out. The expectation was that God would allow some to survive. Ezra and Nehemiah recount the story of the rebuilding of the nation of Israel by survivors of the Babylonian exile. The period extends from 539 B.C. to 433 B.C. and between the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah, the story of Esther takes place. Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about those who returned to Judea. Esther tells us about those who remained behind.

One of the enduring themes of the Old Testament is the high position Israel enjoyed just because she was the people of God. Whoever criticized or hurt the people of God - even if they deserved it - suffered for it. Israel was the “apple” of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8) and no one touched her without suffering retribution.. You see this protection and exalted status in the story of Esther.

There are four main characters in this story. Xerxes is the great Persian King who, while a military master, was pretty inept as a human being. In a drunken stupor he made a poor decision that caused trouble between he and his wife. Then he listened to poor advisors and divorced his wife and began to look for another.

The second character is Haman, a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, constant enemies of Israel. Haman had become an important man in the Persian empire, and he determined to use his position to exterminate the Jews.

The third character is Mordecai, a good Jew who takes his cousin Esther into his home and raises her when her parents die. Mordecai has the good fortune to be at the right place at the right time to foil an assassination attempt against Xerxes.

The fourth character is Esther, a young woman whose character and personality won the hearts of everyone who met her. When the King went looking for a new wife, Esther was one of the ones brought to him. Because of the strong anti-Jewish sentiment in Persia, Mordecai had insisted Esther keep her Jewish identity a secret.

The story of Esther is the story of how a most unlikely person (a Jewish orphan) becomes the queen of Persia and foils a plot, hatched by the second most powerful man in the world, to exterminate the people of God. It provides for us the background to the Jewish festival of “Purim” that commemorates the event.

One of the amazing things about this book is the absence of God. He is nowhere mentioned. But no one familiar with the literature of the Old Testament can fail to see the similarity between this story and the stories of Joseph and Moses where God often works in ordinary ways through ordinary folk to protect the people He loves.

Introduction to the Bible - Ezra & Nehemiah

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:49:00 +0000

For 400 years, the Jewish people lived under the rule of “Judges.” After that – about 1000 B.C. – they were ruled by kings: first by Saul, then David, then Solomon. At Solomon’s death, the kingdom was divided into two parts: a north called “Israel,” and a south called “Judah.” From Solomon’s death until 722 B.C., nineteen kings ruled in the north and 13 ruled in the south. Both empires had great difficulty remaining true to God, and Israel found it most difficult – so much so that in 722 B.C., God had the northern empire destroyed because of their sinfulness. An account of all these kings may be found in the book of Kings.

The southern kingdom of Judah continued a history of spotty faithfulness to God. Seven more kings ruled until 586 B.C. when the nation was overcome by the Babylonians and displaced to Mesopotamia (this period is covered by both the book of kings and the book of Chronicles). Centuries before, God warned Judah this would happen (Isaiah 39:5-7). He also promised their captivity would last seventy years and afterward, they would be released (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

By 539 B.C., the Persian King Cyrus had conquered the Babylonians and, as God had promised, he permitted the Jews to return to their homeland. Ezra begins to chronicle that return. Nearly 50,000 people made the first migration back to Judea and they immediately set about rebuilding the temple the Babylonians had destroyed half a century earlier. It was tough going. Facing outside opposition, overcome by materialism and a flagging interest in God, it took nearly 20 years to complete the rebuilding. Possession of a temple, however, will not make a spiritual people. What they needed was a spiritual leader, and God provided that in the person of Ezra, who appears for the first time in chapter 7 of the book that bears his name.

Ezra was a direct descendant of Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel. He was a good man, “well versed in the law of Moses.” So spiritual was he that he refused an official escort as he led the return to Jerusalem. He wanted the Persian king to see the great trust he had in the God of the Jewish people. So spiritual was he that when he learned of the great sins that beset the Jewish people in Judea, he tore his robes and pulled hair from his own head and beard. The last four chapters deal with the spiritual reforms Ezra put in place among the people. In an age such as our own, where we often preach “come as you are” in our calls to discipleship, these final chapters pointedly and painfully show what God may require to make our lifestyles acceptable to God after we come as we are.

In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah are considered to be one book. After the return of the Jews in Ezra, the rebuilding of the temple and the enacting of spiritual reforms, what the Jewish people needed was a political leader. God provided him in the person of Nehemiah. His book recounts Nehemiah’s reforms and his rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a spiritual man, but he was also a political figure. He would ensure, by force if necessary, that God’s people were obedient to God’s law. When he learned of sin among God’s people, he pulled out the hair of the sinners.

With the return of the exiles, the rebuilding of the temple, the instituting of religious revival, and the establishing of a stable and righteous government, you would think the Jews would be well on their way to holiness. This was not the case.

Nehemiah ruled in Jerusalem for twelve years before returning to the service of the King of Persia. Some time after that, he returned to Jerusalem to discover God’s people had resumed their faithless ways.

And it is at this point, at the end of Nehemiah, that the history covered by the Old Testament comes to an end. There are more books to be sure, but the story is over.

Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the faithfulness of God to the unfaithful people He loves. Ezra attempted spiritual reform through teaching and example. Nehemiah attempted spiritual reform through spiritual leadership and force. Both ways failed in the long run. If the people of God are going to live like the people of God, the reform must come, not just from the outside, but from within each of our hearts.

How’s your heart?

Introduction to the Bible - Chronicles

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:42:00 +0000

The book of Kings is often called a “synchronistic history” because it presents both the story of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah at the same time. It “synchronizes” their stories, switching back and forth between them as if to say, ‘while all this was going on in the north, this was going on in the south.’ Though Chronicles presents an account of the same time frame, its story only has to do with the south.

Chronicles appears as the last book in the Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew, it is called “Words of Days.” When in the 2nd. century B.C. it was translated into Greek, the translators called it “Things Left Out” (meaning things left out of the other historical books). In the 4th century AD, Jerome noted that Chronicles begins not with David, but with Adam, and he called the book in Latin “The Chronicle of the whole of Sacred History.” That name stuck and today, it is called “Chronicles.” It is the third longest book in the Old Testament. Again, the most important question in a study of this book is: “Why was the book written?”

Chronicles was written sometime after 532 B.C. because the last thing mentioned in that book is that date. That was the date of the return of the Jewish people from Babylonian exile to rebuild Jerusalem and their temple. Whatever message is in this book, it is for those returning exiles.

The writer of Chronicles covers the history of the world from Adam to Saul, the first king of Israel, in the opening nine chapters. He does so simply through geneology. Along the way, interspersed through the geneologies, he makes a few side comments. Jabez prayed and God heard his prayer (4:9-10). Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn lost his birthright because of immorality (5:1-2). Three tribes went to war with 4 ancient nations, and won, because they prayed to God (5:18-22). A half tribe was destroyed by the Assyrians because of their wickedness (5:24-26).

You get the picture: From the beginning of time, success has depended on a faithfull relationship with God. As the book progresses, David is held up as the example for everyone else (David’s failures - his sin with Bathsheba for example - is not mentioned). The kings of Judah are compared with David. Those who compare well are good. Those who do not, are not.

Chronicles focuses on God’s faithfulness when his people turn to him. First, over and over are references to the trustworthiness of God’s promises. Second, from 2 Chronicles 10-36, there are some 46 references to prayer. In Kings, Manasseh is portrayed as a horrible King. But in Chronicles, Manasseh is one whose prayers God heard when he called to the Lord. God says: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). That promise will be important to exiles returning to rebuild their lives and their nation.

Chronicles still speaks to the people of God. No matter their relationship, God will not tolerate wickedness forever. At some point, a lack of repentance will bring judgment. But despite the judgment, God loves forever. He seeks a renewed relationship with his people, and they are never so far from him that when they call he will not hear, or come to their aid. Not even when they are exiled a thousand miles away in Babylon. The returning exiles needed that assurance, and God, through the history of the Jewish people in Chronicles, provided it to them. The message remains just as valid for us, who are now called by the name of His son, Jesus the Christ.

Introduction to the Bible - Kings

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:26:00 +0000

Like Samuel, the Old Testament books of Kings were originally one book, separated when the Old Testament was translated into Greek in the second century B.C. Like Samuel, we do not know the author of Kings. Also like Samuel, the most important question in studying the book is: “Why was this book written?”

Though we do not have an exact date for the writing of Kings, it would have been no earlier than 560 B.C. and certainly after the death of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, a few years later.

Samuel ends with David, king of Israel. Kings picks up with David’s last years, his death (cir. 928 B.C.), and the ascension of his son Solomon to the throne. Chapters 2-11 deal with Solomon’s reign - most of it (chapters 5-8) focused on the building of the temple of God in Jerusalem . At Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam became king. Solomon’s reign had not served to unite God’s people, and at the ascension of Rehoboam, God’s people divided into two nations: a “North” (Israel), and a “South” (Judah). From 1 Kings 12 to 2 Kings 17, the story is of two nations. In 2 Kings 17, the northern kingdom is destroyed by the Assyrians. In 2 Kings 25, the end of the book, the southern Kingdom is destroyed and its people carted off into exile in Babylon.

Kings is plain: the end of these nations was the result of their rebellion against God. An outline of the book is as follows:
1) Death of David and reign of Solomon. 1 Kings 1-11
2) Creation of the Northern Kingdom and its 1st 7 kings (beginning with Jeroboam). 1 Kings 12-16.
3) Ministry of Elijah. - 1 Kings 16 - 2 Kings 1
4) Ministry of Elisha - 2 Kings 2-13
5) Final 7 Kings of N. Kingdom - 2 Kings 14-17 (beginning with Jeroboam II)
6) Final kings of the S. Kingdom - 2 Kings 18-25

The people who would have first read Kings were Jews in Babylonian exile. At that time, their kinsmen, the nation of Israel, have not existed as a people for nearly 200 years. We have to wonder then why so much of the book (27 out of 47 chapters) is devoted to this long-gone nation? And why is there so much emphasis on the “prophets? (1/3 of the book is devoted to the ministries of Elijah and Elisha.) Why are the reigns of the kings so disproportionate? Omri, who founded Samaria, ruled 12 years, and was the greatest political mind of the Northern Kingdom only gets six verses. Jeroboam II, who ushered in the golden age of the Northern Kingdom gets 7 verses. Manasseh, who ruled Judah 55 years gets 18 verses. But Hezekiah, King of Judah, known for his faithfulness to God, gets three chapters.

The first recipients of this book needed to know why they live in Babylon. Kings tells them it is because of their sins, and the consequence of the sins of their forefathers. They need hope for the future. Solomon’s prayer at the temple dedication speaks of a time of exile for sin, and the possibility of return if the people will repent and turn to God (1 Kings 8:46ff). The first readers needed direction. The word of the prophets called people to holiness. No one paid attention, and destruction was the result. The Northern Kingdom was an example. The Southern Kingdom is being given a second chance. But if they do not heed the word of the prophets, their doom is assured.

As we read Kings, we need to hear its message afresh. Neither politics nor the most astute political leaders can assure peace and prosperity or thwart the judgment of God when His people stop paying attention to His direction. And not even the existence of a magnificent temple devoted to the Lord will protect them if the lives of those who worship there are characterized by rebellion and worldliness. Four chapters are devoted to the building of the temple. God burns it to the ground in one verse at the end of the book. Within one generation of the writing of Kings, the exiles will return to Judah to rebuild. Their future will be determined by their faithfulness.

So, by the way, is ours.

Introduction to the Bible - Samuel

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:32:00 +0000

The books of Samuel were originally one book. They were separated into two documents when translated into Greek in the third century B.C. That separation continued into our English Bibles. The Hebrew Bible kept them united until the appearance of the first printed edition about 500 years ago. In the Greek translation, Samuel was known as First and Second Kingdoms, a designation that continued until the Latin Bible of the 4th century AD (and can be seen in the King James Bible’s title: “The First Book of Samuel, otherwise called The First Book of Kings). The Hebrew Bible kept the designation Samuel.

The most crucial question to ask when studying the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles is: “Why were these books written?” It is, however, the question most often left unasked. The books are normally read and taught as books of history chronicling the period of the Israelite monarchy. The procedure leaves us to draw whatever conclusions we see fit from the stories presented, and causes us to miss any central theme God may have intended.

Samuel is named for the central character at the beginning of the book. In the list of the judges of Israel, Samuel is the last. He is also the means by which God anoints the first two kings, Saul and David. Samuel may be outlined as follows:
I) Samuel (1 Samuel 1-7)
II) Saul (1 Samuel 8 - 15)
III) Saul and David (1 Samuel 16 - 31)
IV) David (2 Samuel)

David was considered the greatest King of Israel. In fact, the writer of the book of Chronicles evaluates the Kings of Judah by comparing them with David. Yet Samuel does not present to us a flattering picture of David nor his predecessor Saul.

Samuel opens with the failure of Eli (Israel’s 14th Judge) to lead his own house and Israel. Samuel, Eli’s successor, begins with great promise, but his story ends in a similar way, with an inability to lead either God’s people or his own family. The story of Saul begins with great promise, but ends in failure. In fact, most of the account of Saul’s reign deals with his rebellion against God. The story of David likewise begins with great promise, but his reign is checkered with failure. In fact, the largest single section of Samuel tells of David’s adultery (unmentioned by the writer of Chronicles) and the resultant rebellion in his family. Like Eli and Samuel before him, David failed as a leader in his own house. Like Saul, David failed often as a leader of Israel. But unlike Saul, Samuel or Eli, David is presented as a “man after God’s own heart.” What was the difference?

The great comparison is between David and Saul, and the difference has to do with their relationship with God. Three stories occupy the bulk of Saul’s reign: his war with the Philistines, the near murder of his son, and his war with the Amalekites (1 Samuel 13-15). In each story, Saul is either unconcerned with the will of God, or blatantly disobedient. The longest section of David’s reign likewise tells a story of failure and disobedience, but the difference between Saul and David is that David cares what God thinks about him, and ultimately always seeks forgiveness and God’s approval. In the long story of David’s rebelling family there is this heart-warming assessment of God: “Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises a way so that a banished person may not remain estranged from Him (2 Samuel 14:14).

Judges described the darkest part of Israel’s history. It calls for a King to lead the people. But Samuel points out that a King is not the answer, for the darkness of the days does not disappear with the rule of a King. What is needed is a changed heart. This will be the key to blessing and the approval of God.

Introduction to the Bible - Judges & Ruth

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:04:00 +0000

After the occupation of the Promised Land, Israel existed as a very loose confederation of tribes. Her scandalous disunity is one of the themes of the book of Judges. Reading that story, no one can doubt that these were the darkest days of Israel’s history. Throughout Judges, a specific cycle of events repeats itself twelve times:

1) God causes Israel to prosper.
2) Israel, in her prosperity, turns from God to find acceptance from the pagan people around her. Interestingly, God had warned her about this: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God . . . otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God . . . You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:11-19). Not much has changed along this line since the days of the Judges.
3) God, punishing Israel for her unfaithfulness to Him, causes her to be oppressed so that she will return to God.
4) Israel does repent and turn to God.
5) God raises up a Judge - a leader - who delivers Israel and restores peace.

Judges may be outlined as follows:

I) Introduction to the times – chapters 1-2
II) The oppressions of God’s people – chapters 3-16
III) Social collapse and the call for leadership – chapters 17-21

Note the last section in this outline. The writer’s ultimate point is the need for leadership among the people of God, and it must be righteous leadership. Four times in the last section, the writer points out that there was no King in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. God had always wanted to be Israel’s king, but she would not submit to Him and her success became checkered at best.

It wasn’t just a lack of leadership. It was also Israel’s tendency to assimilate with the people of the world. She wanted to be accepted by the people around her, and she often sacrificed God’s holiness for the world’s approval. The message of Judges for us is that our leaders in the Church must be people dedicated to God, and we must stick together and follow them.

As the book of Judges draws to a close, the scenes of Israel’s collapse are gruesome and shocking. An Israelite creates his own religion. Priests are bought by individuals and tribes as good luck charms. Innocent and helpless people are murdered. A woman is gang raped and killed, and then dismembered by her husband and her body parts sent throughout Israel as a protest against those crimes. This is the destiny of every society that refuses to yield to God and chooses instead to allow every person to do what is right in his own eyes.

Everything looks hopeless.

But the book of Ruth picks up the story and shows how God can turn things around. An Israelite man and his family move in time of famine from Israel to Moab. His two sons married Moabite women (against the law of God - 1 Kings 11:2 - by the way). In time, the man and his sons died. His widow, Naomi, and one of her daughters-in-law (Ruth) return to the land of Israel (all in chapter 1). There Ruth meets an Israelite, Boaz, the descendant of a well known prostitute. Chapters 2-4 detail their courtship and marriage, but most important of all, they conclude with the note that these are the ancestors of Israel’s greatest King, David.

The point is, when things look the bleakest for God’s people, He is still working among them to bring about His purpose and blessing. As one more modern writer puts it: “God loves forever.”

Introduction to the Bible - Joshua

noreply@blogger.com (Church of Christ in Falls Church) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:44:00 +0000

Moses died on Mt. Nebo, and God buried him in Moab, “in the valley opposite Beth Peor.” Up to that time, Moses was the only leader the nation of Israel had ever known. God allowed Israel to grieve for thirty days, and then said to them all: “Moses is dead. It’s time to go.”

Joshua, Moses’ assistant, took his place and the book that bears his name covers his leadership in the invasion, conquest, and occupation of the land of Canaan.

The name “Joshua” means “The Lord is Salvation.” Richard Hess writes: “The book of Joshua is foremost the story of God, who works powerfully on behalf of Israel and Joshua, fulfilling His covenant promises. It is God who leads Israel across the Jordan, defeats Israel’s enemies and presides over the apportionment of the land. And so, in the final chapter, it is God who receives Israel’s worshipful re-commitment at Shechem.”

The book is called “Joshua,” and it says Joshua recorded the events in the “Book of the Law of God.” But I have wondered whether Joshua actually wrote the book of Joshua (no text actually says he did - he’s just the main character). There are things in it Joshua likely wouldn’t have written, like this passage in Joshua 24: “After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.”

Notice the last phrase. It points us to a time after Joshua’s death and after the death of the leading men of Joshua’s day. Additionally, the writer points to proofs confirming his story that remain to his own time (“to this day”- the phrase occurs 11 times in the book). This is an important point. The account found in Joshua is a true account, as evidenced by the author’s references to the “proofs” of the stories that the reader could “check out” for himself. Likely, the stories themselves were originally written by Joshua himself. But the final form of the book would have been prepared by someone other than Joshua.

More important however, than the author, is this question: why was the book written?

Everything from Genesis to Deuteronomy points to an unrealized promise of God - that he would give the descendants of Abraham a land of their own. This promise becomes a reality in the story of Joshua. Four hundred years before, Joseph had reminded his family of the promise, and made them commit to burying him in Shechem when the promise came true. Joshua ends with the story of Joseph’s burial at Shechem and with reminders that “not one of the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed, every one was fulfilled” (21:45 and see 22:4; 23:14-15). The message for Israel in Joshua was that God is with His people, and He will keep His word to them. They, in turn, must be obedient.

It is a message every generation of God’s people would do well to hear and follow. Joshua can be outlined as follows:
I) Conquest of the land (Joshua 1-12)
II) Allotment of the land (Joshua 13-22)
III) A call to faithfulness (Joshua 23-24).