Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Interwoven within Leviticus’ opening offerings is a redemptive storyline meant to be rehearsed. Each offering makes a particular contribution to the retelling of the Exodus deliverance. Like learning a dance, Israel’s opening rituals recount their steps from Egypt to Sinai in a fashion meant to perpetually imprint its experience on…
In Capernaum, the leaders of Israel questioned Jesus in their hearts. Beside the sea, they questioned his disciples about their rabbi’s practices. They challenged Jesus in the grain fields, sought to trap him in the synagogue, tried to seize him, thinking he was mad, and accused him of being possessed.…
An essay on ministry taken from recent notes for a ‘solemn charge’ I gave our pastoral team (together with their spouses) at All Saints Honolulu, a church-plant that enters its fifth year. I. After receiving the sword of Goliath from Ahimelech at Nob, and after fleeing first to and then…
When thinking about the book of Genesis, we often think of beginnings, the beginning of the world, humanity, the elect people of God. The word “genesis” itself means beginning. Genesis is also known as the book of promises. Genesis contains three of the major Old Testament covenants: Adamic, Noahic and…
A Theological and Typological Commentary on Luke 24:4 In Luke 24:4, we are told that as the women arrived at the tomb on Easter morning, they encountered “two men in dazzling apparel” standing beside them. This description, on its own, may not immediately provoke questions. The traditional interpretation identifies these…
For Part 1, click HERE . The four Gospel accounts give us their strange and wonderful historical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the New Testament, either explicitly or by suggestion, refers to the resurrection in every book except 3 John. Unlike the Gospel accounts, however, most…
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A t a recent Theopolis Institute course on Leviticus, James Jordan argued that the skin disease described in Leviticus 13-14 is a “touch of affliction” (the word translated as “mark” is nega' , from a verb for “touch”). It describes a touch from God, and skin disease defiles when the…
“C hicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band is a paean to everything a Southern man loves—cold beer on a Friday night, jeans that fit just right, the radio turned up, sunrise, the “touch of a precious child,” Moma's love, and, of course, chicken. Near the end, the song turns…
T he list of Benjamites who come to David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3-7) is punctuated by names of men identified by their hometown or clan (Sara Japhet, 1 & 2 Chronicles , 261): 1. Ahiezer, Joash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite (3 names). 2. Jeziel, Pelet, sons of Azmaveth,…
M any critiques of technology are technological critiques of technology. That is, they weigh technology by technological standards and find it wanting. So argues Antonio Lopez in an essay in Retrieving Origins and the Claim of Multiculturalism . Lopez spies a technological mindset behind the question: “ what do we…
I n Leviticus 18 and 20, the one specific sexual sin that is described as an “abomination” is “lying with a male as lying-with a woman,” that is, male homosexual acts. An abomination is an act that makes the land sick so that it drives Israel into exile. At the…
L eviticus 18:23 describes male or female bestiality as tebel , a noun related to the verb balal , the word used to describe the confusion of languages at Babel. Tebel is often translated as “confusion.” That makes sense; bestiality crosses created boundaries between animals and human beings. It is…
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