Tag: Wednesday Night Study

Jeremiah

This Wednesday evening, our study continued in Stephen Dempster’s Dominion and Dynasty.  Here’s the quote of the night from Dempster:

“The audience reading the Text [the Hebrew Scriptures] has read about the historical accounts of God’s relationship with Israel and its ups and downs, but now it gets a glimpse into the inner heart of God to experience his ‘emotional’ life as revealed through the voice of the prophet.  In the prophets God bares his heart, and it is often a broken one.”

May we, as believers in the righteous work of Jesus Christ, be thankful that we are covered with Christ’s blood.  We are in union with Him, through His finished atoning work on the cross.  We have become the righteousness of God in Christ by His great mercy.  God’s heart is no longer broken, but victorious.

Wed. Night in Review: Exodus

As we continue going through a study based on Stephen Dempster’s wonderful book “Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible“, the last two weeks have brought us to look at Exodus.  The discussions have been wonderful as we continue to see the twin themes of Genealogy and Geography.  Here is a brief recap of the last two weeks:

The Struggle of the Seed of the Woman

The beginning of Exodus shows us clearly that this is not just the resumption of a historical time line, but the resumption of the story of the God’s promise of the seed of the woman.  Here, the seed of the serpent seeks to kill all of the firstborn males of Israel, raging against God Himself.

Deliverance Through Water: Moses

Why do the nations rage?  God providentially spares Moses from death and his deliverance comes in a rescue through water.  This hearkens back to Noah’s rescue (and even to creation itself as the land was covered by the water) and anticipates the rescue of the entire nation through the Red Sea.

The Burning Bush: God’s Action based upon the Covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The burning bush is not just a strange site in the land, it is a flame that ought to remind us of Genesis 15:6-18.  This is an amazing text that ties the two books together perfectly!  God is about to act as He considers the promise to Abraham.

God Reveals Himself

Who would be the Deliverer of Israel?  God reveals his name name in repetition.  In most of our translations, it is “I am that I am”, but this does not reflect the imperfect tense well in the English language.  Dempster puts it as “I am/will be that I am/will be”.  In other words, the Deliver is God…who will continue to be with Moses in the future as the battle heats up against Pharaoh.  We discussed the typology of this name as Jesus reveals Himself in Revelation to the Church who is undergoing persection from the nation of Israel and others.  Jesus says he not only is the One who was, but is, AND is to come.  This led us into a discussion of the importance in realizing how the tables have turned in the New Testament (God’s judgment comes against Isreal in ways that He once judged Israel’s enemies in the past).

The Showdown with Pharaoh

As Pharaoh asked “Who is the God of Israel that I should obey Him?” God answers.  The genealogical aspect comes forth as God reveals that Israel is His firstborn Son.  Pharaoh tries to destroy Israel, but the God of Israel brings the Passover in during the last plague and brings death upon Pharaoh’s firstborn.

Deliverance Through Water: The Red Sea

As Moses was delivered through water, so Israel is delivered as well.  This clearly calls back to the beginning of the Divine story when the water was divided for the land.

In the Way of the Promised Land: Mount Sinai

As Dempster states, “These texts show that Sinai, not Egypt, is Israel’s largest roadblock to Canaan”.

The Law

God then makes the Covenant specifically with Israel.  It is different from the previous two covenants established by God in the Text (Noah and Abraham) in that this covenant is marked by specific conditions for both parties.  Obedience will bring blessing and fullness of life in the land, but disobedience will bring curse and death.

We discussed the wonderful New Covenant implications from Exodus 19:5-6.  First, God states that they will be His possession (or allotted inheritance) because “all the earth is mine”.  In Ephesians, we see that it is not the nation of Israel who received this wonderful blessing in fullness, but the Church.  In Ephesians 1.11-14 (See the NET Bible for the most accurate translation), we are told that we have been claimed as God’s own possession…His inheritance that He will redeem (take possession of) at the return of Jesus the Lord.

Then, in Exodus 19:5-6, we see the hope of being a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.  In 1 Peter 2:8, we see the fulfillment of this is in the Church, not in the physical descendants of the nation of Israel (see Revelation 1.6, 5.10, and 20.6 for more references).

The Tabernacle

The Covenant was not only characterized by the giving of the Law (as often viewed), but it also included the giving of the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle.  We discussed the seven acts of the construction plans, corresponding with the seven acts of creation.  As Dempster says regarding his brief discussion of the correlation of the Creation and the Tabernacle, “These are enough clues to suggest that the tabernacle is a microcosm of the creation of the world, and its innermost sanctuary a Garden of Eden.”

It just so happens that as Jaime and I were travelling to Texas the previous weekend, she picked up G. K. Beale’s “The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God” and she read during our trip.  This book gives much more discussion and compelling evidence that we need to have a much greater understanding of this subject as it pervades the Scriptures from beginning to end.

Israel’s Sin

Juxtaposed in the middle of the giving of the specifications of the Tabernacle and the actual construction is the sin of Israel.  Moses does not plead with God on behalf of the recent covenant, but instead appeals to God on behalf of the Covenant with Abraham in Exodus 32:12-14.  Moses even asks that God would blot his name out of the book instead of judging Israel…which is exactly what Paul states in Romans when he is speaking of the judgment of God upon the unbelieving Jews of his day.

God then does something that should be quite striking to us as we continue to read the Divine story.  Although he rescued Israel from Egypt, he now sends plagues upon Israel as judgment for their sin.  Again, this is critical to understand in Revelation.

God Reveals Himself

God removes Himself and now meets with Moses outside the camp.  As Moses pleads with God to reveal his glory, God shows the trailing parts of His glory.  Just as He revealed Himself in repetition at the beginning of the book, He does so again at the end.  He is “I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” and “I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy”.

The Construction of the Tabernacle

The rest of the book details the construction of the Temple.  As Dempster states, “Such meticulous detail to the description is a labor of love on the part of the author and reveals a powerful theological perspective.”  He then concludes, “Questions linger.  How will Israel be able to maintain its relationship with Yahweh?  What obstacles lie ahead on Israel’s journeys to the Promised Land?  What enemies lurch in wait to snatch its blessing?  Leviticus answer the first question and Number the latter.”

Wednesday Study – The Severity of Jesus

This Wednesday night, we continued studying in Piper’s book, “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ”. This chapter focused upon Christ’s judgment of sin. As Piper points out, we must always remember the wealth of mercy that is in Jesus, but we must never separate that from the judgment that rightfully is pronounced upon sin.

This chapter is filled with great theology and some good Piper-isms. One of my favorites lines included the fact that we must understand “the severity” of the mercy of Christ. This made me consider my own testimony and conclude with many others at our study that we did not understand the depth of our own sin until we understood the greatness of the mercy of Jesus.

As I stated last evening, a criticism of the chapter is that in order to make universal points that are applicable to all people, Piper’s usage of Scripture paints with broad brush-strokes a general theme over many passages that should be seen in specific contexts. In other words, Piper references and quotes many passages in which Jesus speaks with scathing words of judgment. However, in the context, these words of judgment are not merely because of sin in general, but specifically His words are in reference to the judgment of the Old Covenant people of God.

If we allow this sort of thing continue to cloud our interpretation of the Scriptures, we will miss the most important themes that are integral to understanding the Scriptures, the Church, and sound theology.

But with that criticism noted, as I mentioned early I think that the application of theology from this chapter is very good. The Lord Jesus is graceful and compassionate, but this does not mean that he does not bring judgment. As He brought judgment upon the Old Covenant people, so too He will one day bring the entire world to His judgment seat. He will bring everlasting punishment upon those who have not been cleansed by His merciful blood.

Let us fly to His mercy and forsake sin.

Study: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Sorry for posting this so late!

Last Wednesday evening, we gathered for prayer and study. Our text was from 1 Peter 5 and we made it through the first four verses.

As a bi-vocational pastor, this passage stirs up many thoughts and emotions for me. Our discussion on Wednesday led us through many of these thoughts.

First, there is a beauty found in the sovereignly-gifted church. God has filled the Body with pastors and teachers and gifted each person in order that we can all build one another up towards the fullness of Christ himself (see Ephesians). Peter exhorts the pastors to shepherd the flock out of selflessness and humility. The pastoral ministry is one of love, compassion, and work.

I am thankful for God’s grace and power in my life. Prior to my conversion, I was very much introverted, unless there was a self-seeking reason to be otherwise. I didn’t have any sense of earnest compassion for others and I would avoid contact if at all possible. I definitely did not desire to have empathy for others in their needs and struggles.

Immediately after my conversion, my whole life changed. The Lord did not simply open my eyes to see my need of redemption, but He opened my eyes to see that others needed the Gospel, that others needed encouragement, and that others needed to be fed from the Word of God. It was a complete change in my life, in my desires and personality.

Eventually, I found that my desires were to shepherd as a pastor. Now, after being in the pastoral ministry for over ten years, this passage from 1 Peter 5 still resonates with passion and power.

I am very grateful to God for all of the men whom have crossed my path by the sovereign plan and purpose of God. For the past eight years, Stan has been my partner in the ministry and has challenged me, encouraged me, and loved me. All of this has been needed. I am grateful for each member at Heritage, showing forth grace and love towards me, a pastor not worthy of this calling, but strengthened by God and by His people.

Last Wednesday we talked a lot about the dangers that are before many churches and pastors in this day and culture. Especially in Baptist churches, the pastoral ministry is very fragile. Often, pastors are only with a church for a few years before leaving. The ministry is often treated in a very corporate fashion, and is sometimes sought for monetary gain and personal pride rather than for an abiding love for the congregation.

But I am thankful for those whom I see serving out of a pure heart, not for sordid gain and not pridefully lording their position over the people. It is truly a labor of love and the reflection of the work of the Great Shepherd.

Study: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Peter’s epistle reminds us continually that believers are resident aliens in this world. As such, we should not think it “to be a strange thing” when the residents of this world treat us as our Lord was treated. Resident aliens had no rights, they could not expect fair justice in the land of their sojourn. The were not treated in the same manner as citizens of the land.

Last evening, we had a wonderful time of fellowship around the Word as we discussed these things. This passage reminds us that there are many throughout history and throughout the world even today who undergo fiery trials. As we saw in our text last Sunday, we see here in 1 Peter 4:19 as well that this suffering is by the will of God. Therefore, there is comfort. The strange and sometimes fiery trials are not beyond the scope of God’s power, but as the nations rage against the Lord, our God takes note and our vindication is sure. If this world persecutes us, if they judge us and bring persecutions upon us from a small degree to large persecutions, their judgment awaits. As Peter puts it, if judgment has now begun upon the house of God by the unbelieving people of this world, what will their fate be when the Judge condemns them for their disobedience to the Gospel?

Therefore, as believers, we are to conduct ourselves with confidence and know that we ought to glorify God in the midst of whatever suffering this world will bring to us for the name of Christ. As we discussed last night, let us entrust ourselves to our faithful God, with Christ ever-present in our minds as our example, who entrusted Himself to God as He bore our sins to heal us by His wounds.

How sweet and wonderful is the Great Shepherd and Guardian of our souls!

Study: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Last night we met and looked at 1 Peter 4:7-11. It was good to be together again on a Wednesday night…we have missed the last two weeks do to illnesses.

The text led us into a very honest discussion of the seriousness of this life. As the passage says, we are to be sound in judgment and sober minded for the sake of prayer, especially in light of our duty towards one another as fellow resident aliens in this world.

Therefore, we must exercise fervent love for one another. We must view our lives as critically important and use our speech and our deeds to build one another up, knowing that we should reflect the power and the glory of Christ through our conduct towards one another. Hence, the passage ends the exhortation to this godly conduct saying that our lives must glorify Jesus Christ in this manner to show forth the glory of His power and His dominion.

Let love therefore cover our sins. Let us not give up on one another. Let us not turn from one another, feeling betrayed, feeling as if others have failed us. As we discussed last night, such love is beautiful and it ought to be the desire of our heart to seek this godly love which will carry us forth while we are still pilgrims in this land.

This text has led me to consider the blessings in my life through those in the Church that have shown me and my family hospitality; who have served and ministered to us in our times of need and throughout our lives. May God be praised for the power of His Spirit in the Church!