Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The idea of atonement is not a distinctly Christian, or even Hebraic, concept. It also makes an appearance in ancient Greek thought (among other places). The Greek tradition is by no means monolithic, so it isn’t possible to speak of a “Greek” concept of atonement. But there are certain commonalities…
As we know, there are seven deadly or capital sins. Prior to the list of the seven deadly sins there was a list of eight evil thoughts or demons. It was made by an Eastern monk, Evagrius Ponticus. When the list was transposed to the West, one evil thought was…
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is one of those epistles in Scripture to which pastors and teachers resort to show the church everything that it shouldn’t be . There is, of course, good reason for this. The Corinthian church was filled with all sorts of problems. Personality cults (i.e., factions),…
Today is Ash Wednesday , and as many Christians of the Protestant formerly "low church" persuasion are reacquiring some of the good and ancient practices of the church, one question in particular comes to the front: to ash or not to ash? That is, while many of us are finding…
A murder of tweets. To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor. Ash Wednesday reminds us to number our days. It helps us gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We keep Easter to manifest and deepen our prior share in resurrection.…
Dale C. Allison, Jr., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Dale Allison 1993 book is a superb case study in the New Testament's use of the Old. Though he focuses on only a single typology (Christ as a new Moses) in only a single gospel (Matthew), Allison's…
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Michael Morales ( The Tabernacle Pre-Figured , 277) argues that “the narrative arc from Gen 1-3 to Exod 40 may be traced as the expulsion from the divine presence to the gained re-entry into the divine presence via the tabernacle cultus, from the profound descent of Adam to the dramatic…
Mary Douglas ( Leviticus as Literature ) argued that the book of Leviticus is constructed as a texual tour of the tabernacle. Moshe Kline agrees : “This structure can be interpreted as an analogical representation of the Tabernacle with chapter 19 parallel to the Ark of the Covenant, the inner…
Ezekiel tells a parable of exile (Ezekiel 17) involving a cedar in Lebanon, two eagles, and a vine. The great eagle plucks twigs off the top of a cedar and takes them away to a “city of traders” (vv. 3-4). The eagle also takes some of the seed from the…
While David is in the midst of his enemies, the Lord spreads a table, anoints him with oil, gives him a cup (Psalm 23). It’s a symbol of communion in the midst of danger. But the full cup is not just a cup of joy. It’s a cup of judgment.…
Moses ascends ( ‘alah ) again and again into the cloud on Sinai (Exodus 19:3; 20:21), but nobody else does. As Morales says, this marks Moses as the “ascender” to God ( The Tabernacle Pre-Figured , 219). He adds, “As mediator between God and the people, he is able to…
Yahweh enters into covenant with Israel at Sinai. It is a kind of wedding event. Yahweh commits Himself to Israel, Israel to Yahweh, and they end with a wedding feast on the mountain. Then Yahweh gives instructions for a bridal house - the tabernacle, a home where He can dwell…
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