Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Theophanic revelation is historically progressive, or eschatological, in character. First of all, in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit appeared inside the creation, sent by the Father. After the creation of man, the Spirit worked and works with humanity to bring us to maturity, from Daughter to Bride to fruitful Mother. He…
On the eighth day of the rite of "filling the hand," Aaron began his service at the altar. His first offering was a "calf" (Heb. `egel ), which served as a purification offering for himself and (apparently) his household (Leviticus 9:2, 8). This is striking for a couple of reasons.…
One of the distinctive items of the high priest’s clothing was the "golden plate" inscribed with the words "Holy to Yahweh" (Exodus 28:36-38). The word translated as "plate" is tsits , which literally means "flower." The verbal and noun forms are both used in Numbers 17:8, which describes Aaron’s rod…
The square, rectangle, and cross shapes appear all over the sanctuaries God reveals in the Bible: Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, Ezekiel’s Temple, New Jerusalem. One thing that can be said right away about these designs, and the occasional perfect circle (the lavers), is that they do not occur in nature. They…
"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). Some reflections on Jonah’s Big Fish have led to the following essay. Let me…
Citing Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20, James Jordan has written that "the name of God in use among the nations was God Most High’" (Hebrew, `el `elyon ; in Through New Eyes , p. 176). In addition to Melchizedek, one could cite the example of Balaam, who invokes the Lord both…
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Leviticus 23 has five speeches of Yahweh: A. Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, vv 1-8 B. First Sheaf, Pentecost, Gleaning, vv 9-22 C. Trumpets, vv 23-26 B’. Day of Coverings, vv 26-32 A’. Booths, vv 33-44 Several links in this structure are worth noting. First, the chapter begins and ends with…
Pentecost is a bread feast, a feast of leaven (Leviticus 23:17).  Animals are brought as offerings, plenty of them, but these are brought “with the bread,” accompaniments to the bread rather than the other way round. It’s quite fitting, then, that after the leaven of the Spirit came upon the…
The presentation of the first sheaf (Leviticus 23:9-13) provides a neat little allegory of redemption.  The first sheaf is presented on the day after the sabbath, the day of resurrection.  It is the “beginning” of the harvest (v. 10), and Leviticus uses the same word as is used in Genesis…
When Paul talks about the “fullness of time,” he’s likely alluding back to the calendar of Leviticus 23.  Pentecost is calculated from the day of the first sheaf, and the time is described as a “complete” set of sabbaths.  The word translated as “complete” is tamim , which describes perfect…
Adorno neatly sums up the intention and result of Kant’s aesthetics in a cople of lines: “the significance of Kantian subjectivism as a whole lies in its objective intention, its attempt to salvage objectivity by means of an analysis of subjective moments.” And, noting that Kant “posits something as form…
1 Peter 1:3: Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As Pastor Sumpter mentioned in the sermon this morning, Peter’s…
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