On Unhelpful Comments in Commentaries

Posted on January 25, 2014 by jacobcerone

I have no desire or intention to call anyone out by name, but I do want to express my frustration with a particular commentary I was using this evening. I can’t speak to the quality of the commentary as a whole, only the specific issue I was investigating.

I found the following comment on 1 Samuel 24:11: “However, here the term father is an ‘honorific’ title as in 2. K. 5:13; see “my son” in v. 16.”

When I turned over to 1 Samuel 24:16, I found the following: “On the phrase my son David, see on 24:11. Its use exhibits Saul’s ambivalent feelings.”

I get that the author is connecting 24:11 and 24:16. About that he is spot on. Yet, one might expect a bit more here. He has us flipping back and forth anticipating a fuller treatment, but he doesn’t deliver. Nor does he offer any further treatment on its reappearance in 26:21 and 26:25.

 

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Great Books for a Great Price

Posted on January 25, 2014 by jacobcerone

20140125-135225.jpg
All these books just came in from CBD. Total cost? $20 (including shipping). I love a good deal on books!

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Phyllis Trible’s “Two Women in a Man’s World”: A Brief Summary

Posted on January 24, 2014 by jacobcerone

Trible observes that after the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion, Ruth and Naomi take their futures into their own hands. They each have a choice to make. Ruth chooses to live out her days in Bethlehem. Orpah eventually, on her own terms, concedes to Naomi’s pleas to return to her mother’s house. Ruth, in defiance of Naomi’s command, follows her into a foreign land, forsaking her family, religion, and future security through marriage.

It is important at the outset to note that neither Ruth nor Naomi are interested in securing their futures through marriage. Instead, these women forge a destiny that is not given by men. Ruth steps out and follows Naomi into a country of isolation. She takes initiative in finding work to sustain them both. She finds favor in Boaz’s field, and she continue to work throughout the barley harvest without seeking a husband for herself.

Though Naomi’s role recedes on account of her grief and bitterness, she ultimately steps away from her grief to forge a delicate and daring plan for Ruth that will secure their place in Israel. Through this plan, “Naomi works as a bridge between tradition and innovation” (279). She advises Ruth to function as the primary agent in prompting Boaz to fulfill his role as redeemer. (Heretofore, Boaz has made no effort in remedying the situation. He is aware of his relationship to Ruth and Naomi. He has chosen not to take the initiative in redeeming according to his right.) In so doing, Naomi and Ruth use Israel’s patriarchal power structures to their advantage.

Chapter four highlights the male dominated concern for the necessity of progeny to continue the line. Yet this should not overshadow the thrust of the book as a whole. This book portrays primarily women characters who are responsible for almost all of the action that takes place within the book. Though significance is attributed to Ruth and Naomi on account of the birth of Obed, who is a part of the David’s ancestry, it is often overlooked that  Naomi is blessed by the women of the city, not primarily on account of the birth of Obed, but on account of Ruth’s faithfulness, who is better than seven sons (Ruth 4:15).

Trible’s article is powerful and, dare I say, a necessary read for anyone studying the book of Ruth. The unique lens she offers to its interpretation  is indispensable as well as the artful way she weaves together the themes of fullness and emptiness, life and death.

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Augustine on the Validity of Many Texts (LXX and MT)

Posted on January 22, 2014 by jacobcerone

Image taken from Wikipedia

Here is an excerpt I found from Augustine’s City of God that pertains to the church’s use of the Greek Old Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament. For many modern Christians, the discussion between these texts is an either or proposition. There was one original text, and that is the text, primarily embodied in the Masoretic Text,  we must retrieve and use for faith and praxis. (That is not to exclude pockets of scholarly interest that find in the Septuagint literary and theological value.) Augustine, however, does not see the need to make a choice between the two. Both bear witness to the Spirit’s inspiration.

[Note: This is only one excerpt from Augustine’s writings and does not necessarily characterize his comprehensive approach to the two texts.]

But some one may say, “How shall I know whether the prophet Jonah said to the Ninevites, ‘Yet three days and Nineveh shall be overthrown,’ or forty days?” [Jon. iii. 4.] For who does not see that the prophet could not say both, when he was sent to terrify the city by the threat of imminent ruin? For if its destruction was to take place on the third day, it certainly could not be on the fortieth; but if on the fortieth, then certainly not on the third. If, then, I am asked which of these Jonah may have said, I rather think what is read in the Hebrew, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Yet the Seventy, interpreting long afterward, could say what was different and yet pertinent to the matter, and agree in the self-same meaning, although under a different signification. And this may admonish the reader not to despise the authority of either, but to raise himself above the history, and search for those things which the history itself was written to set forth. These things, indeed, took place in the city of Nineveh, but they also signified something else too great to apply to that city; just as, when it happened that the prophet himself was three days in the whale’s belly, it signified besides, that He who is Lord of all the prophets should be three days in the depths of hell. Wherefore, if that city is rightly held as prophetically representing the Church of the Gentiles, to wit, as brought down by penitence, so as no longer to be what it had been, since this was done by Christ in the Church of the Gentiles, which Nineveh represented, Christ Himself was signified both by the forty and by the three days: by the forty, because He spent that number of days with His disciples after the resurrection, and then ascended into heaven, but by the three days, because He rose on the third day. So that, if the reader desires nothing else than to adhere to the history of events, he may be aroused from his sleep by the Septuagint interpreters, as well as the prophets, to search into the depth of the prophecy, as if they had said, In the forty days seek Him in whom thou mayest also find the three days — the one thou wilt find in His ascension, the other in His resurrection. Because that which could be most suitably signified by both numbers, of which one is used by Jonah the prophet, the other by the prophecy of the Septuagint version, the one and self-same Spirit hath spoken. I dread prolixity, so that I must not demonstrate this by many instances in which the seventy interpreters may be thought to differ from the Hebrew, and yet, when well understood, are found to agree. For which reason I also, according to my capacity, following the footsteps of the apostles, who themselves have quoted prophetic testimonies from both, that is, from the Hebrew and the Septuagint, have thought that both should be used as authoritative, since both are one, and divine. But let us now follow out as we can what remains.

In Book 18 of City of God

Found at The Bible Researcher

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Striking a Balance: On Memorizing Scripture

Posted on January 22, 2014 by jacobcerone

As many of you know, I have been memorizing the Greek text of Philippians (NA27). As of this morning, I have memorized Philippians 1:1-19. It has taken me about a month to memorize these 19 verses. Though the holidays served to delay the process, I started to realize another factor has been at work: I spend a bit too much time reviewing.

Instead of adding new material on a daily or bi-daily basis, I find myself stuck in a rut. I will spend my 30 minutes rehearsing what I have already memorized in order to “firm up” the verses I have memorized. This is good, and necessary. Without constantly rehashing old material, time will eat away at the progress I have made. But too much rehashing is just as much an enemy. Time is wasted, and frustration creeps in.

For this reason, I am going to try and add a new verse every other day. Off days will be used to “firm up” previous memory work. On days will be spent only on new material. Hopefully this will be a better balance. I’ll let you know.

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Translation Tuesday: Chrysostom Week 4

Posted on January 21, 2014 by jacobcerone

Remember, although I attempted to provide a footnote for all words used 20x or less in the New Testament with a gloss, I may have missed some. Also, you may not know all words used more than 20x in the New Testament. Don’t let that stop you from participating. Just visit Perseus’ word study tool here, copy and paste the word you don’t know, and get morphological information and definitions for that word.

Vocabulary

Week 4: Homily 2, Section 1

Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος, δοῦλοι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις, συνεπισκόποις[1] καὶ διακόνοις, χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

α.    Ἐνταῦθα[2] ἅτε[3] πρὸς ὁμοτίμους[4] ἐπιστέλλων, οὐ τίθησιν αὐτοῦ τὸ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀξίωμα, [5] ἀλλ᾽ ἕτερον καὶ αὐτὸ μέγα. Ποῖον[6] δὴ τοῦτο; Δοῦλον ἑαυτόν φησι, καὶ οὐκ ἀπόστολον. Μέγα γὰρ ὄντως καὶ τοῦτο ἀξίωμα καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον[7] τῶν ἀγαθῶν, δοῦλον εἶναι Χριστοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἁπλῶς[8] λέγεσθαι. Ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, οὗτος ὄντως ἐλεύθερός ἐστι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, καὶ γνήσιος[9] ὢν δοῦλος, οὐδενὸς ἄλλου καταδέξεται[10] δοῦλος γενέσθαι· ἐπεὶ οὐδ᾽ ἂν οὕτω γένοιτο τοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἡμισείας.[11] Καὶ Ῥωμαίοις μὲν πάλιν ἐπιστέλλων λέγει· Παῦλος δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· Κορινθίοις δὲ καὶ Τιμοθέω ἐπιστέλλων, ἀπόστολον ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν τοῦτο ποιεῖ; Οὐχ ὅτι Τιμοθέου αὐτοὶ κρείττους· ἄπαγε·[12] ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὅτι αὐτοὺς τιμᾷ καὶ θεραπεύει μάλιστα[13] πάντων, οἷς ἐπέστελλε· καὶ γὰρ καὶ πολλὴν αὐτοῖς ἀρετὴν[14] μαρτυρεῖ. Ἅλλως[15] δὲ, ἐκεῖ μὲν οὖν· ἔμελλε πολλὰ διατάττεσθαι,[16] διὰ τοῦτο ἀνέλαβε[17] τὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἀξίωμα· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἐπιτάττει[18] μὲν αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν, πλὴν ὅσα καὶ ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν συνεώρων.[19] Τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις. Ἐπειδὴ[20] εἰκὸς[21] ἦν καὶ Ἰουδαίους ἁγίους ἑαυτοὺς καλεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου χρησμοῦ,[22] ἡνίκα ἐλέγοντο λαὸς ἅγιος, περιούσιος,[23] διὰ τοῦτο προσέθηκε,[24] Τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Οὗτοι γὰρ μόνοι ἅγιοι, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ λοιπὸν βέβηλοι.[25]

Συνεπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις. Τί τοῦτο; μιᾶς πόλεως πολλοὶ ἐπίσκοποι ἦσαν; Οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλὰ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους οὕτως ἐκάλεσε. Τότε γὰρ τέως ἐκοινώνουν[26] τοῖς ὀνόμασι, καὶ διάκονος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἐλέγετο. Διὰ τοῦτο γράφων καὶ Τιμοθέῳ ἔλεγε· Τὴν διακονίαν σου πληροφόρησον·[27] ἐπισκόπῳ ὄντι. Ὅτι  γὰρ ἐπίσκοπος ἦν , φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν, Χεῖρας ταχέως[28] μηδενὶ ἐπιτίθει· καὶ πάλιν· Ὃ ἐδόθη σοι μετὰ ἐπιθέσεως[29] τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου· οὐκ ἂν δὲ πρεσβύτεροι ἐπίσκοπον ἐχειροτόνησαν.[30] Καὶ πάλιν πρὸς Τίτον γράφων φησί· Τούτου χάριν κατέλιπόν σε ἐν Κρήτῃ, ἵνα καταστήσῃς κατὰ πόλιν πρεσβυτέρους, ὡς ἐγώ σοι διεταξάμην· εἴ τις ἀνέγκλητος,[31] μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ· ἃ περὶ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου φησί. Καὶ εἰπὼν ταῦτα, εὐθέως ἐπήγαγε· Δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνέγκλήτον εἶναι, ὡς θεοῦ οἰκονόμον,[32] μὴ αὐθάδη.[33] Ὅπερ οὖν  ἔφην, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τὸ παλαιὸν ἐκαλοῦντο ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ οἱ ἐπίσκοποι πρεσβύτεροι· ὅθεν καὶ νῦν πολλοὶ συμπρεσβυτέρῳ ἐπίσκοποι γράφουσι, καὶ συνδιακόνῳ. Λοιπὸν δὲ τὸ ἰδιάζον[34] ἑκάστῳ ἀπονενέμηται[35] ὄνομα, ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτερος. Συνεπισκόποις, φησὶ, καὶ διακόνοις, χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα ζητήσειεν ἂν τις εἰκότως·[36] Τί δήποτε[37] οὐδαμοῦ τῷ κλήρῳ[38] γράφων ἀλλαχοῦ,[39] οὐκ ἐν Ῥώμῃ, οὐκ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, οὐκ ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ[40] πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις, ἢ τοῖς πιστοῖς, ἢ τοῖς ἡγαπημένοις, ἐνταῦθα τῷ κλήρῳ γράφει; Ὅτι αὐτοὶ καὶ ἀπέστειλαν, καὶ ἐκαρποφόρησαν,[41] καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔπεμψαν πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Ἐπαφρόδιτον. Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ μνείᾳ[42] ὺμῶν πάντοτε. Εἶπεν ἀλλαχοῦ γράφων· Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε,[43] ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν[44] ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες, ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσι, καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες.[45] Εἰ τοίνυν τὸ στενάζειν, κακίας τῶν μαθητῶν, τὸ μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιεῖν, προκοπῆς.[46] Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν, ὃ λέγει· Ὁσάκις[47] ὑμῶν ἀναμνησθῶ,[48] δοξάζω

τὸν θεόν. Τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ ἐκ τοῦ πολλὰ αὐτοῖς συνειδέναι[49] ἀγαθά. Καὶ δοξάζω, φησὶ, καὶ δέομαι. Οὐ μὴν, ἐπειδὴ ἐπιδεδώκατε[50] εἰς ἀρετὴν, παύομαι,[51] ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιμένω[52] δεόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. Εὐχαριστῶ, φησὶ, τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ μνείᾳ ὑμῶν. Πάντοτε, ἐν πασῃ δεήσει[53] μου ὑπὲρ πάντων· ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς τὴν δέησιν ποιούμενος. Πάντοτε, οὐχ ὅταν εὔχωμαι μόνον. Καλῶς δὲ προσέθηκε τὸ, Μετὰ χαρᾶς· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ μετὰ λύπης[54] τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ ἀλλαχοῦ· Ἐκ γὰρ πολλῆς θλίψεως καὶ συνοχῆς[55] καρδίας ἔγραψα ὑμῖν διὰ πολλῶν δακρύων.[56] Ἐπὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ ὑμῶν, φησὶν, εἰς Εὐαγγέλιον ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡμέρας μέχρι τοῦ νῦν.

[1] συνεπισκόποις from συνεπίσκοπος “co-supervisor, co-superintendent” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[2] Ἐνταῦθα from ἐνταῦθα “here, hither, at the very time, then” [Used 0x in NT; 32x in LXX]

[3] ἅτε from ἅτε “as far as, inasmuch as just as, as if, so as, indeed, then” [Used 0x in NT; 1x in LXX]

[4] ὁμοτίμους from ὁμότιμος “equally valued” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[5] ἀξίωμα from ἀξίωμα “dignity, court settlement, petition, majesty, axiom” [Used 0x in NT; 11x in LXX]

[6] Ποῖον from ποῖος “what kind of, what” [Used 33x in NT; 29x in LXX]

[7] κεφάλαιον from κεφάλαιον “main thing, main point, chapter” [Used 2x in NT; 6x in LXX]

[8] ἁπλῶς from ἁπλῶς “simply, sincerely, generously” [Used 1x in NT; 3x in LXX]

[9] γνήσιος from γνήσιος “genuine” [Used 2x in NT; 4x in LXX]

[10] καταδέξεται from καταδέχομαι “to receive” [Used 0x in NT; 3x in LXX]

[11] ἡμισείας from ἡμίσεια “half” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[12] ἄπαγε from “ἀπάγω” “to lead away, be far off” [Used 15x in NT; 43x in LXX]

[13] μάλιστα from μάλιστα “especially, exceedingly” [Used 12x in NT; 6x in LXX]

[14] ἀρετὴν from ἀρετή “moral excellence, excellence” [Used 5x in NT; 32x in LXX]

[15] Ἅλλως from ἅλλως “otherwise, even” [Used 1x in NT; 10x in LXX]

[16] διατάττεσθαι from διατάσσω “to assign, arrange, command” [Used 16x in NT; 20x in LXX]

[17] ἀνέλαβε from ἀναλαμβάνω “to take up, raise, undertake” [Used 13x in NT; 94x in LXX]

[18] ἐπιτάττει from ἐπιτάσσω “to command, order” [10x in NT; 34x in LXX]

[19] συνεώρων from συνοράω “to see, consider” [Used 2x in NT; 16x in LXX]

[20] Ἐπειδὴ from ἐπειδὴ [Used 10x in NT; 20x in LXX]

[21] εἰκὸς from εἰκός “likely, probably, naturally” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[22] χρησμοῦ from χρησμός “oracular response, oracle” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[23] περιούσιος from περιούσιος  “special, special status” [Used 1x in NT; 5x in LXX]

[24] προσέθηκε from προστίθημι “to put, add” [Used 18x in NT; 285x in LXX]

[25] βέβηλοι from βεβήλος “vile, profane” [Used 5x in NT; 15x in LXX]

[26] ἐκοινώνουν from κοινωνέω “to share, take part” [Used 8x in NT; 15x in LXX]

[27] πληροφόρησον from πληροφορέω “to be set one, assure fully [Used 6x in NT; 1x in NT]

[28] ταχέως from ταχέως “quickly, soon” [Used 15x in NT; 29x in LXX]

[29] ἐπιθέσεως from ἐπίθεσις “laying on” [Used in NT 4x; 5x in LXX]

[30] ἐχειροτόνησαν from χειροτονέω “to appoint, choose” [Used 0x in NT; 2x in LXX]

[31] ἀνέγκλητος from ἀνέγκλητος “blameless” [Used 5x in NT; 1x in LXX]

[32] οἰκονόμον from οἰκονόμος “manager, steward” [Used 10x in NT; 15x in LXX]

[33] αὐθάδη from αὐθάδης “self-willed, willful” [Used 2x in NT; 3x in LXX]

[34] ἰδιάζον from ἰδιάζω “to be alone [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[35] ἀπονενέμηται from ἀποστρέφω

[36] εἰκότως from εἰκότως “having good reason, appropriate” [Used 0x in NT; 1x in LXX]

[37] δήποτε from δήποτε “at some time, once upon a time” [Used 0x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[38] κλήρῳ from κλῆρος “lot, portion” [Used 11x in NT; 124x in LXX]

[39] ἀλλαχοῦ from ἀλλαχοῦ “next, elsewhere” [Used 1x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[40] κοινῇ from κοινός “common, the state, commonwealth” [Used 14x in NT; 24x in LXX]

[41] ἐκαρποφόρησαν from καρποφορέω “to bring forth fruit” [Used 8x in NT; 3x in LXX]

[42] μνείᾳ from μνείᾳ “remembrance, mention” [Used 7x in NT; 14x in LXX]

[43] ὑπείκετε from ὑπείκω “to submit” [Used 1x in NT; 1x in LXX]

[44] ἀγρυπνοῦσιν from ἀγυπνέω “to watch, lose sleep” [Used 4x in NT; 11x in LXX]

[45] στενάζοντες from στενάζω “to groan, mourn” [Used 6x in NT; 26x in LXX]

[46] προκοπῆς from προκοπή “progress, success” [Used 3x in NT; 2x in LXX]

[47] Ὁσάκις from ὁσάκις “as often as, as” [Used 3x in NT; 0x in LXX]

[48] ἀναμνησθῶ from ἀναμνῄσκω “to remind, remember” [Used 6x in NT; 22 in LXX]

[49] συνειδέναι from σύνοιδα “to know, share, knowledge, be aware of, conscience” [Used 2x in NT; 2x in LXX]

[50] ἐπιδεδώκατε from ἐπιδώσει “to give” [Used 9x in NT; 12x in LXX]

[51] παύομαι from παύω “to cease, stop” [15; 77]

[52] ἐπιμένω from ἐπιμένω “to remain, stay, continue” [Used 16x in NT; 1x in NT]

[53] δεήσει from δέησις “prayer, request, entreaty” [18; 79]

[54] λύπης from λύπη “grief, pain” [Used 18x in NT; 45x in LXX]

[55] συνοχῆς from συνοχή “distress, anguish” [Used 2x in NT; 4x in LXX]

[56] δακρύων from δάδρυον “teardrop” [Used 10x in NT; 0x in LXX]

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Stair Climber Extraordinaire

Posted on January 20, 2014 by jacobcerone

My six month old Elijah was crawling around this morning. He found his way to the stairs. Typically he likes to camp out around that area as there is a doorstop he loves playing with. All of a sudden, the noise from the doorstop stopped, I looked up from my computer, and I saw this scary sight.

 

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QOTD: Spurgeon on Humility

Posted on January 19, 2014 by jacobcerone

I came across this quote while preparing for my sermon tonight on Micah 6:1-8.

Do you now account yourself to be a very experienced Christian, quite a useful member of the church, an ornament to society, a person considerably looked up to, and well worthy of a large measure of respect?

It would be very improper to put you in a back seat, or invite you to take a lower room, for are you not a prince in Israel? Among those who might be counted as pillars, you feel that you must be mentioned. But have a care what you are at! It is very easy to feel great. It is by no means an eminently difficult thing to be exalted; I have reached that point myself without great effort, and I take no credit, but much shame for it. A sense of rising to be somebody is not a sign of health, it is a token of the reverse sometimes, and may be the forerunner of most solemn catastrophes. Puffing up may mean bloating and swelling with deadly humours, therefore beware of it.

Charles Spurgeon

Walking Humbly with God

Let us always remember Christ’s words, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” Let us be eager to take the back seat, allowing Christ to be our portion and not the praise of men. This is message is neither easy to hear nor easy to implement. But if we seek his grace and strive to walk humbly before him, we will find it to be a little thing to consider others better than ourselves.

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Habakkuk’s Complaint

Posted on January 18, 2014 by jacobcerone

The book of Habakkuk is an oracle in the form of dialogue between God and his prophet. Habakkuk does not understand the ways of his God, and he wants an explanation. The dialogue proceeds as follows:

  • C1: God, you allow evil an injustice to persist throughout your people and throughout your land.
  • A1: I will punish Judah by means of the Chaldeans.
  • C2: How can you use the Chaldeans, that wicked nation, to punish your people?
  • A2: The Chaldeans will be punished in due time.

Stripped down, I don’t think many will struggle with this dialogue. God will punish his people for their iniquity, and he will judge the Chaldeans for theirs. The struggle arises, however, when we take a closer look at the manner in which Habakkuk presents his complaint.

Habakkuk complains that “Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted” (1:3-4; ESV). Take note of the sins Habakkuk levels against his people. Justice does not go forth. Justice is perverted. The righteous are surrounded by the wicked. This should remind us of similar charges Micah levels against the people. The rulers are corrupt. They engulf the poor. They seize land. They use the law of the Lord to take advantage of the righteous and the poor.

God will not allow this behavior to stand unchecked. He arises the Chaldeans, a blunt instrument, to effect his judgment. God describes them as a “bitter and hasty nation” (1:6), “dreaded and fearsome” (1:7), violent (1:9), and a haughty nation “whose own might is their god” (1:11). This nation seems to be just as guilty of the same sins as God’s people. They heap up what is not theirs (2:7), and they plunder the nations (2:8). The strong wicked conquer the week righteous (well righteous . . . relatively speaking).

Habakkuk recognizes this inconsistency in God’s character in his second complaint. He affirms that God is eternal and holy. He cannot look upon evil because he is pure. Yet, in using the Chaldeans, Habakkuk asks, “why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (1:13). A restatement of the problem:

  • Judah’s rulers are wicked.
  • They use the law to exploit the people, plunder their goods, and set themselves up as gods.
  • God will use a wicked nation to punish his people, allowing them to plunder his people, swallow up the wicked along with the righteous, and set themselves up as gods.

Habakkuk does not draw any conclusions. He falls short of saying that God is guilty of the same iniquity of his people and of the Chaldeans: allowing the wicked to swallow up the righteous. There are many ways we can go about resolving this “problem.” Yet, Habakkuk never receives an answer. He is simply told that God is faithful, Judah will be punished, the Chaldeans will be punished, and men are able to find salvation in the Lord. Habakkuk quietly waits for God’s justice, and he rests in the character of the LORD.

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Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk: Some Thoughts

Posted on January 17, 2014 by jacobcerone

This Sunday I will be teaching through the book of Habakkuk in a class on the Minor Prophets at Cary Alliance Church. Over the past month or so, I have taught through Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and now Habakkuk. After this Sunday, the torch will be passed to my co-laborers Nathaniel Cooley and Ben Marsh. As for me, the experience has been both thrilling and testing. As I reflect on the themes of these books and the impressions their messages have left on me, I cannot help but notice in myself a bit of dissatisfaction.

In Jonah, we find a compassionate God who is slow to anger and ready to forgive. Depending on whether you are a Jew or Gentile reader, this message might be good or bad. As a Jewish reader at the time of Jonah, it meant eventual destruction. If you were a Ninevite, or a modern Christian, it means that God’s salvation extends to all who take refuge in him through belief and repentance.

In Nahum, however, we find that God’s patience has worn thin. The sin of the Assyrians has reached its threshold. God’s wrath has come full-term. It is time for judgment, and it will not be pretty. The execution of God’s judgment against Assyria is described as ruthless and violent. I, as a reader and a teacher, was left moderately disturbed. Where is God amidst the violence?

Finally, in Habakkuk we find a prophet who is at his breaking point. He cries out for justice. How long, O Lord, will you allow sin to persist? How long will you endure poverty? How long will you allow the rich to trample the poor? How long will you endure the sufferings of your people, the evil, the violence, and the bloodshed? How can you be silent when evil reigns in your world? How can you use a wicked nation to judge those who are more righteous than they? Is this not a greater evil? Where is God amidst the evil?

At the end of each of these books, I am dissatisfied. When I see God as judge, I object that he has forsaken his compassion and lovingkindness. When I find that he is gracious, I object that he has allowed the wicked to go free. If his judgment tarries, I wonder if he has checked out. God does not reign, evil does.

Readers of the Twelve are forced to come face to face with these weighty matters. They are not questions of a bygone era. They are questions that plague every generation: Why does God forgive the wicked? Is God’s judgment of sinners in itself evil? Where is God when evil has its grips in the hearts of men? Though much can be said about theodicy (the defense of God’s goodness in light of the presence of evil in the world), at some level I resonate with and simply rest in the conclusion of Habakkuk’s prayer of confession:

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation (3:16-18; ESV)

In the end, I believe that God will be faithful. He will act in accordance with his will and his good purposes. He will vindicate; he will judge justly.

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