Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
“We have a God who hides things because He loves to be sought out, chewed out and found out.” As Christians, we are rightly taught that we must not question God’s Word. The problem is that the Scriptures record many things which appear to have been given to us for…
The book of Revelation is a liturgy. John begins “in the Spirit” on the “Lord’s day” (1:10). Jesus appears, and Jesus tells him to record messages to seven churches, words of encouragement and rebuke, like the call to worship and confession at the beginning of a Christian liturgy. In chapter…
In my previous posts, I looked at the theme of creation as it is found in a sequence of psalms devoted to Yahweh’s Kingship (Psalms 93-100). Among other matters, these psalms declare that when the Kingdom of Israel’s God comes, it is the Kingdom of the world’s own Creator .…
The church in Corinth was a pastoral nightmare. Factionalism, sexual immorality, incipient syncretism, using the church as a stage for self-promotion, and denial of the final resurrection were just some of the problems. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, he confronts each of these problems directly and in…
The first chapters of the Word of God have a poetic rhythm. This is used to discredit their accuracy as historical narrative, but the truth is that these same rhythms continue far beyond the book of Genesis. In fact, the later texts shed light on the frustratingly succinct account of…
Mr. Martian: What’s that there? Mr. Edison: (Edison holds up a standard, 60 watt lightbulb). It’s a lightbulb. Mr. Martian: A “lightbulb” you say? What exactly is a “lightbulb”? Mr. Edison: A lightbulb is an object used to illuminate a dark area, say a room. It’s made primarily of filament…
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When we argue with Arians, our main focus is on the deity of the Son. Arians and their modern heirs reject the Nicene Creed, which was written in response to Arianism, and which claimed that the Son was “God from God, Light from Light, Very God from Very God.” Such…
The tabernacle menorah is made of pure gold, hammered, apparently one piece with base, shaft, and the adornments of the shaft (Exodus 25:31). It’s one of two pure gold items in the tent, the other being the cover of the ark of the covenant, with its cherubim (Exodus 25:17-18). All…
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we say at funerals. Why? Dust makes sense. Human beings are dust animated by the breath of God (Gen. 2:7). Since Adam’s fall, we return to the ground: “you will return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; dust you are,…
The instructions for the table of showbread (Exodus 25:23-30) occur in the "third day" section of Exodus 25-30. On "Day 1," Yahweh assembles the materials for building the tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-9). On "Day 2," he prescribes the pattern for the ark of the covenant, a "firmament" that separates and joins…
The ark of the covenant consists of two detachable parts. The lower portion is an acacia wood box, a rectangular chest 2.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits (Exodus 25:10). The wood is overlaid, inside and out, with pure gold (Exodus 25:11). The other part is a pure gold…
Yahweh's initial instruction for the construction of the tabernacle is "take for me a contribution ( terumah ) . . . take a contribution" (Exodus 25:2). Derived from the verb rum , "lift up," terumah has often been translated as "heave offering," which implies that the offering is lifted toward…
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