Tim’s Blog
Hebrews 1, Angels and Elements
February 27, 2022
Yesterday, it occurred to me that in Hebrews 1, the author quotes, “He makes his angels winds/spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire,” and it suddenly occurred to me that those are two of the four classical elements. A neat connection to the stoicheia kosmou (“elements of the world”) passages in Galatians and Colossians, I thought, particularly since both Galatians 3 and Stephen in Acts 7 (as well as quite probably Colossians 2:18 in context) connect angels to Torah. And of course, like Galatians, Hebrews has a very strong focus upon the ending of the old covenant administration (although Galatians focuses more primarily upon circumcision and calendrical observance, whereas Hebrews is more focused upon the temple service).
Well, today I looked up the passage that Hebrews 1 is quoting, and whoah! — all the classical elements are there: “He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. He set the earth on its foundations….” (Psalm 104:3–5).
Water, wind, fire, earth.
So without outright saying so, it appears that Hebrews is using the same concept of stoicheia kosmou as Paul is in Galatians 4 and Colossians 2. Moreover, this provides further support that the phrase does not mean “elemental spirits” or “elemental/rudimentary teachings,” but rather refers to the consitutive elements of the old creation.
The Climate is the Lord’s
September 28, 2019
Reflections on the Man-made Climate Change Discussion
I do not frequently write about the perceived climate crisis.
There are numerous reasons for that. I am not a science buff, much less a scientist.
Moreover, I don’t have time to write all the things I really want to write. There are books in biblical studies and novels residing in my head, along with numerous shorter pieces, and they await me impatiently: I frankly have little time to write at this stage of my life.
Aside from that, the climate issue is a polarizing debate, and it’s not necessarily the discussion I want to serve as the cause of alienation.
Nonetheless, I am writing now in spite of it all. I am not presenting myself as an expert in climate science, nor am I primarily interested in putting forward expert expositions of others defending competing scientific viewpoints. My curation would surely be inadequate for such a task.
My aim here is to approach things from another angle. (Although I do want to come back — and who would not? — to the wonderfully scientific subject of cow farts, attributed with being responsible for more greenhouse gas [!] emissions than “cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.”) The reason I am willing to risk such a polarizing discussion is that biblical reflection is at the heart of my calling, and the crisis of the times virtually demands at least a bit of such reflection. So here it is, very briefly.
read more »The God-Happy Way of Life
October 21, 2014
Initial sermon draft for this Sunday (I’ll be preaching in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is now complete.
Sermon text: Psalm 1.
Title: “The God-Happy Way of Life.”
Kidner suggests that the term usually translated “blessed” is better translated “happy”—there is, after all, another Hebrew term for “blessed.” Beyond that, “blessed” is a very mushy term in our Christian culture. (Especially down here in the South, but it’s a general affliction, I think.) Kidner suggests that “happy” is a better translation.
At the same time, we need to be clear that the Psalm is not just talking about any happiness. The “happy” in verse 1 is looking forward to the rest of the Psalm. Not least: “Yahweh knows the way of the righteous.”
There is nothing wrong with desiring to be happy. But we must define happiness, and we also must orient ourselves toward the proper sort of happiness. When our delight is in the Word of the Lord, it is the Lord who determines and defines the nature of happiness.
Thus, the Psalm is not merely about “how to be happy” in some generic sense. It is the portrait of the God-happy way of life.
Two Assemblies of Psalm 1
October 19, 2014
It’s sometimes overlooked due to the ambiguity of English renderings such as “the wicked” and “the righteous” (translations of words which in fact are plural in the Hebrew), but Psalm 1 is a thoroughly communal statement regarding competing assemblies. Yes, it is talking about “the man” who is blessed, and indeed some of his activity is the sort of thing that would mark his life in private (e.g. his day and night “meditating” upon Yahweh’s Torah).
Nonetheless, the focus of the Psalm as a whole is communal. It is the counsel of wicked men which he does not walk in, and he does not sit in the seat of the scorners. That last clause could just as suitably be rendered he does not dwell in the assembly of the scorners, and this assembly is then ultimately contrasted to the congregation of the righteous men in verse 5.
Thus, while Psalm 1 is (legitimately) lent to the idea of something like private devotions, it is ultimately a statement about community. The righteous meditator is not one whose meditation is that of hermit, but rather is one whose meditation takes place within the congregation of the righteous. His righteousness is as public as the unrighteousness of the sinners in whose way and counsel he refuses to walk and stand.
Mutter Your Way to Life or Death
October 14, 2014
Psalm 1:2 tells us to meditate upon the law (Word) of God day and night. The Hebrew word translated “meditate” literally could be rendered “mutter.” What is in view is ruminating upon the Word of God in such a way that it is internalized and transforms our thinking.
Now consider what happens if we meditate upon the perceived slights against us and our hardships and difficulties. We all know the type of person who, when facing difficulty, starts muttering “under his breath.” This is a form of meditation, but now it is meditation upon the discontentment within our hearts rather than upon the Word of God.read more »
Spanking and the Rod of Correction
September 18, 2014
This is a pretty good piece by Matt Walsh.
In relation to the overall point, there is currently a popular notion that the rod in Scripture is not disciplinary. But that take simply will not work. Look up 1 Corinthians 4:21 and see if Paul can make any sense on that viewpoint. In the context of fatherly/motherly correction, Paul speaks of coming with a rod to address wrongdoing.
Yes, as is commonly noted, the shepherd used a rod to protect sheep—but that is not the picture deployed in the Scripture passages being considered (namely, those in Proverbs that advocate the rod being applied to “a child.” Let me hasten to add that the shepherding image is not at all irrelevant to the total picture. Psalm 23:4 is an excellent portrait of the shepherding role of parents just as it is (directly) of the shepherding role of Yahweh.read more »
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 3 (3)
May 24, 2014
In our previous post, we examined the sundry texts from which Paul quotes in his great catena of quotations in Rom 3.10-18. But the thought unit is not yet complete; Paul makes his assessment of the implications in 3.19-20. This followup makes Paul’s intent clearer, although it is frequently misread (verse 19, in particular; I think this is likely also the case with verse 20, but my understanding of the verse is still being formed).
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 3 (2)
May 24, 2014
In our earlier look at Paul’s use of Scripture in Romans 3, we focused upon how Psalm 51, from which the apostle quotes in verse 4, determines and shapes our reading of 3.1-8. We also noted that the psalm contains a reference to divine righteousness (Ps 51.14), where it refers to God’s salvific activity. In this post, we move on to the next subsection, and begin our consideration of Romans 3.9-20. What are these passages from which Paul quotes? What do they contribute to our understanding of Paul’s train of thought?
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 3 (1)
May 24, 2014
It has always been important to pay attention to the Old Testament quotations we find in the New Testament, but in recent years, it has become even more clear that one must take into account the extended context of the passage cited, not simply the words directly quoted. This is understandable: unlike our situation, the ancient world largely communicated texts as an oral culture, and nobody footnoted.
But it is understandable on an even more important level: the New Testament writers are not manufacturing a de novo religion; they are drawing upon an inspired and authoritative text that has come to new light with the advent of Christ and the Spirit. (Indeed, this is what Paul says almost directly in 2 Corinthians 3.) And if this is the case, we can be sure that – no matter what our untrained eyes may lead us to believe at first glance – the writers of the New Testament were contextual and faithful to the Scriptures from which they drew. Our failure to recognize this stems, not from our superior training in hermeneutics, but from the poverty and weakness of our biblical understanding.
In the case of Romans 3, we have one of the heaviest concentrations of biblical citations to be found within the Pauline corpus. This means that proceeding to define terms and phrases must not be done in a vacuum; we must investigate the passages Paul cites.
Adamic Themes in Psalm 82 (and Hebrews)
March 8, 2014
It appears to me that Psalm 82 is working with Adamic themes. There is of course the creational (or un-creational) motif in verse 5: the foundations of the earth are out of course due to the misjudgment of “the gods” (i.e. the judges). But beyond that, judgment itself is a function of maturity, of “knowing good and evil” (cf e.g. Isa 7:16; Heb 5:14).
In this light, verses 6–7 are of interest when viewed against the backdrop of Adam: “I have said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the most High.’ But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
Adam and Eve of course ate from the forbidden tree, in part because of the deceiver’s promise, “You shall be as God,” but the result (as God had warned) was death. They “died like men.” Their clasping after divine glory underscored their mortality.
But the story of the first Adam is not the final word. For not only Adam, and not only the unjust judges die like men. The one who is the Son of the most High and truly God of God has “died like men.” He laid hold of the tree precisely in order to die as a man, and paradoxically, in so doing profoundly disclosed what it truly means to be God. His willing death is punishment for sin, yes, but only the sins of others. For Himself, it is (as Hebrews describes it) the death of maturity, of completed pistis (faith and faithfulness). It is in the embrace of this tree of judgment that He becomes complete through the things He suffers (Heb 5:8–9). This is His pathway of glory.
(This thought should be seen in the shadows and presuppositions of Galatians 3 and 4, as well: Torah could not bring Israel to maturity. It takes the last Adam to embrace the cross in order for maturity to arrive upon earth. This is the release for those “born of a woman” generally, and born under Torah, specifically.)
Incidentally, it is fascinating that the writer to the Hebrews introduces the immaturity of his readers/hearers precisely at this point. He is calling them into the maturity of Jesus, a maturity that is fashioned in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. It is when we embrace the “long run of agony” that we experience Jesus as the originator and completer of pistis (Heb 12:1–2): we share in His own faith and faithfulness, and just as He learned to “die like men,” we learn to die like God.