Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Understanding Shakespeare’s Biblical references is vital for the interpretation of many, if not all, of Shakespeare’s plays. For Othello , it is especially important, not only because the interpretation of the play is contested among various approaches — feminist, homosexual, post-colonial, Marxist, Freudian, new historical, and others — but also…
Mike Allen of Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, scores some points in his review of The End of Protestantism . He lodges the fair complaint that my rhetoric sometimes outruns my evidence. He argues that more stress on the present reality of the church’s unity deepens the tragedy of division; divisions…
I begin with two observations. First, on any millennial view, the Christian account of history is progressive, moving from the garden to the city. It is eschatological not only in that there is an end, but that the end is a glorified beginning, not merely a return to origins. To…
The church is a new form of polity that erupts into the world as much as the Son of God comes into the world. It’s a real-world political alternative to the polities of the ancient world. It resolves many of the political dilemmas of the ancient world, though not simply…
In my last post , I explained how Baptists really have a “one-ordinance-one sacrament” ecclesiology. I said this: “what Baptists really believe, in modern parlance, is that there is one ordinance (baptism which is a sign or symbol only) and one sacrament (the Lord’s Supper in which feeding upon Jesus…
One of the most extensive and penetrating responses to the Yoder-Hauerwas attack on Constantiniansm is found in Oliver O’Donovan’s Desire of Nations , in a chapter entitled “The Obedience of Rulers.” O’Donovan defines the word “Christendom” as “a historical idea,” specifically “the idea of a professedly Christian secular political order,…
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This translation is more experimental and iffy than the others. 1 Kings 6 is packed with architectural terms that are used only here, the translation of which is very doubtful. In these cases, I have considered possible etymologies that seemed appropriate to the architectural context. I have also translated all…
On the walls of the temple were carved wooden gourds. The word for these gourds is used only in 1 Kings 6:18 and 7:24. A related word, however, is used for ?wild gourd?Ein 2 Ki 4:39, the story of Elisha healing the pot of stew. Using a “pot” as an…
The language of 1 Kings 6:1ff echoes in a number of respects the language of Genesis 2:21f. To wit: 1) The word for the “side chambers” that Solomon builds on the temple is the same as the word for “rib” in Gen 2:21. 2) After taking a rib, the Lord…
Beginning the House of Yahweh, 1 Kings 6 INTRODUCTION Solomon shows his wisdom by judging rightly in the case of the two prostitutes (1 Kings 3:15-28), in the organization of his kingdom (1 Kings 4:1-19), in his vast learning (1 Kings 4:29-34), and in his covenant with Hiram of Tyre…
With the Presidential election only two months away, we are entering into an intense political season. As we enter into this final stretch, we should take a moment to consider some guidelines for our political activity. Fortunately, we are in the middle of studying a book called the book of…
1 Kings 4:21-24 As we saw in today?s sermon, the center of Solomon?s kingdom was the feast, the feast of joy. Solomon organized the kingdom, divided the kingdom into districts, selected men to manage and administer these regions. He had a cabinet, and there is no doubt that his kingdom…
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