Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jer 31:15). The Night of the Hunter belongs on every Christian’s Christmas list. My family has even…
One important part of Jesus's birth narrative is the presence of angels. The angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, announcing that she would bear a son. And then, on the night Jesus was born, a whole host of angels appeared to the shepherds. Angels are mysterious creatures to us.…
I was settled nicely into my chair and listening to the conversation in an undergrad religion seminar, my last required course to graduate. Though a few Christians sat scattered around the room, the course itself was dedicated to poking holes in traditional understandings of the Bible: our readings deconstructed notions…
God’s symbols belong to Him and to His people. They are constantly at work in the world, including the world of film, music, painting, architecture, and other artforms. You cannot escape God’s symbols or the meaning He has woven into the created order. Artists use and borrow God’s symbols, whether…
For centuries, Christians identified Israel in the Old Testament as a single, literal ethnic group, often called “the Jews.” Even supersessionists – those who believed the Church superseded Israel – assumed the clear-cut, technical definition of “Israel” in the Bible is the ethnic group. However, a deeper dive into Genesis,…
Misreading Intent In the opening verses of Matthew 11, the reader is confronted immediately by John the baptizer who has been imprisoned since 4:12. John poses a question to Jesus, inquiring from prison as to whether or not he is Israel’s awaited Messiah or if they should anticipate another: “Are…
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1 Kings 7:46-47 inform us that the casting for the bronze furnishings and tools of the temple worship was done in the “plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.” There are a few noteworthy details in these verses: 1) In verse 46 Solomon suddenly takes over as the craftsman…
Waterworks, 1 Kings 7:23-51 INTRODUCTION In the tabernacle courtyard, there was a laver that contained water for washing. We are not told its dimensions, and no particular emphasis is put on it (Exodus 30:17-21; cf. 38:8). Water is much more abundant in the temple. Not only is there a very…
Song of Songs 7:10-13 Six times in the Song of Songs, Solomon refers to pomegranates in describing his beloved. ?Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate behind your veil,?Ehe says, and ?your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits.?E When he searches out his beloved, he…
The sermon text this morning includes a brief biography of the craftsman Hiram, son of an Israelite woman and a Tyrean man, whom Solomon brings to Jerusalem to cast bronze furnishings for the temple. The writer of Kings says that he is filled ?with wisdom and discernment and knowledge,?Erepeating several…
Walsh suggests a chiastic outline for 1 Kings 7:1-12: A. Solomon builds the house B. House of the forest of Lebanon (rows and beams of cedar) C. Portico of pillars D. Portico of judgment C. House for Solomon and Pharaoh?s daughter B. Stone work (rows and beams) A. Back to…
Walsh suggests a chiastic outline for 1 Kings 7:1-12: A. Solomon builds the house B. House of the forest of Lebanon (rows and beams of cedar) C. Portico of pillars D. Portico of judgment C. House for Solomon and Pharaoh?s daughter B. Stone work (rows and beams) A. Back to…
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