The Former Prophets
Gospel In
Joshua
Gospel in Joshua We finished 2009 and began 2010 with the completion of both what is referred to as the major and minor prophets, although that is not a very helpful designation. Isaiah, with which we concluded our December Newsletter, would be grouped with the Major Prophets. And we began the New Year with Haggai, which concluded what is also known as the Book of the Twelve, or the Minor Prophets, which runs in our English Bible from Hosea to Malachi. I say that this is not a helpful designation because it is not that Isaiah is more important than Haggai or any other of the Twelve for that matter, and as ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ carry the ideas of one being more prominent or important than the other or that what is minor is ‘less than’ what is ‘Major’, in that sense it is not a helpful designation. We cannot be absolutely sure of the origin of the ‘major/minor’ designation but it appears this came because the Major Prophets were the larger books: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all fairly long, and Daniel included with them although in the Hebrew canon, Daniel was placed in the category of the Writings. The Minor Prophets were the smaller prophetic writings, with Hosea at the beginning. But the designation of ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ is also not helpful because the Hebrew canon or the distinctions within the Hebrew Old Testament writings of the thirty-nine books do not designate these divisions either. It is purely an English distinction that does not conform to the original Hebrew divisions of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. For the second category of Prophets is divided by the Jews in two smaller designations. The further distinctions were that of the ‘Former Prophets’ and the ‘Latter Prophets’. The Former began immediately after the Law or the Pentateuch which is the first five books of Moses; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. So Joshua is the beginning of the Former Prophets and included are also Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Both Samuel and Kings of courses were later divided into First and Second Samuel and Kings, but they were initially one book. We begin February, with the Gospel in Joshua which starts the Former Prophets and seen as the transition from Moses and the Law into the history of Israel from the place of being about to enter the Promised Land and to the end of Kings where they have been removed from the land as a result of disobedience and thus experiencing the curse of the covenant. Joshua introduces “all the people having left Egypt, inspiring fear in the Canaanites, and the book of Kings ends with the tragic reversal. In 2 Kings 25:26 ‘all the people… went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.’â€[1] Essentially Joshua and the Former Prophets give us a view of the life of Israel on the cusp of the Promised Land to their death into Exile. But they build off of the five books of Moses’ Law, particularly the blessing and curse of the covenant. As Stephen Dempster says:In recent times, the Former Prophets have been viewed as one historical work, the Deuteronomistic History – the working out in history the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy in the life of the Israelite nation. It begins with a retrospective glance at the death of Moses, proceeds to describe the conquest of Canaan [Promised Land], surveys the events leading up to kingship, charts the chequered course of this institution and ends with the death of Israel- its exile from the land.[2]Joshua is then pivotal in its teaching for a few reasons. It takes the people from Moses’ last message with which he left them and Joshua’s opening words which stress the importance of meditating and doing what God’s words command. In fact it even illustrates the importance of obedience and blessing in victory and the agony of defeat due to disobedience that ushered in God’s curse in the battle of Jericho and the subsequent defeat at Ai. Moreover, as Francis Schaeffer has stated, Joshua is an important book for many reasons…for the history it records and for its internal teaching. But what makes the book of Joshua overwhelmingly important is that it stands as a bridge between the Pentateuch (the writings of Moses) and the rest of Scripture. It is crucial for understanding the unity the Pentateuch has with all that follows it, including the New Testament.[3] It is precisely from this statement that we embark into the structure of Joshua to see its emphasis and how that links the rest of the Bible and particularly the Gospel. The structure or outline of Joshua differs somewhat from scholar to scholar, but all those I viewed see the land and the relationship to Joshua and Israel as the framework for division. Martin Woudstra divides the analysis of contents into three major sections: The Promised Land conquered (1:1-12:24), The Promised Land distributed (13:1-22:34), and The Promised Land to be kept in Covenant Obedience (23:1-24:33).[4] This has merit but the first section implies the whole land was conquered and while there were initial victories, the book presents the ominous note that there were still pockets of the enemy that were not defeated and remained in the land (16:10; 17:12-13). Ralph Davis, whose commentary has much to commend it, is likely nearer to the truth when he makes more distinctions of division. He distinguishes four parts in the book. Part One, Entering the Land (ch. 1-4); Part Two, The Taking of the Land (ch. 5-12); Part Three, Possessing the Land (ch. 13-21) and Part Four, Retaining the Land (ch. 22-24).[5] Lasor, Hubbard, and Bush mark out the entry (1:10-5:12), conquest (5:13-12:12:24) and division of the land (13:1-22:34) with a short prologue commissioning Joshua (1:1-9) and an epilogue pertaining to Joshua (23:1-24:33).[6] The point is that all the divisions emphasize what is going on with the land! Hence, the land is central to the teaching and likewise, in agreement with Schaeffer, intricately related to the rest of Scripture including the New Testament. The immediate question that comes to the careful student of the Bible is how the land in Joshua can be tied to the New Testament when there is next to nothing for ‘land’ references in the teachings of Jesus or the apostles. The closest one gets is Jesus’ citation of Psalm 37, which is heavily laden with land references, so much so we concluded two main questions addressed in the Psalm are ‘how the righteous dwell in the land with the wicked’, and ‘just who will inherit the land’? The Lord Jesus cites this Psalm in His teaching and yet appears to universalize it to the world (Mat. 5:5). The Hebrew word for land is the fourth most common word in the Old Testament and like the Greek equivalent it can be translated either ‘earth’ or ‘land’. Yet all translations have Jesus’ usage as ‘the meek will inherit the earth’ and not ‘land’ and thus Jesus is thought to carry an eschatological or end time element to His words which is thought to refer to the ‘new heavens and new earth’ of the end time. And because of this and other reasons which space forbids us to get into, we see the Gospel in Joshua as related to the land being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. To use the words of W.D. Davis, the land has become ‘Christified’ in the New Testament.[7] Bruce Waltke in his insightful and excellent lecture Land in the New Testament also makes the point that the whole Old Testament is to be read as a metaphor for the Church.[8] What happened to Israel in time, space, and history is analogous for the Church to understand life in Christ. The parallels are numerous and compelling and no doubt sovereignly and supernaturally intended by the Divine Author Himself. The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians and states that what happened to Israel in the wilderness happened as “examples for us upon whom the ends of the ages have come†(1 Cor. 10:6, 11). The writer of Hebrews likewise warns the believers to whom he wrote that the failing to enter into the Promised Land was due to disobedience and unbelief (Heb. 3:18-19) and that they needed to heed these warnings since, as people perished in the Old Testament by Moses’ instruction of two or three witnesses, how much more those who by the instruction of the Son of God Who is God’s ultimate and final revelation (2:1-4). We see in Joshua that as God promised the land to them and gave it as a gift, we too understand that salvation is a gift that brings with it God’s exceedingly great and precious promises (Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Peter 1:4). But the land must be taken by faith, and the faith is exercised in engaging the battle that God called them to fight. We cited previously from Hebrews that New Testament believers are warned against ‘unbelief’ that equates to disobedience that will keep them from entering into God’s rest. We are to learn from their failure as Paul also wrote to the Corinthians. We are to “take care lest there be any evil and unbelieving heart among us†(Heb. 3:12). There is an ‘already’ and ‘not yet’ aspect to Joshua and the land and fully enjoying the rest God promises. Joshua was reminded of the word God commanded Moses that “He gives them rest and He will give them the land†(Jos. 1:13) and that until the Lord gives them rest, when they possess the land (1:15). Note that the rest is given in the present and that it is promised when they do possess the land. It is an ‘already’ given blessing and yet it is to be given ‘not yet’ when they do finally and fully possess the land. So too, Christians have entered into rest from their works in Christ and yet we have not finally and fully entered the final Sabbath rest; there is an already and not yet in Joshua and the truth of the Gospel. Both Joshua and Caleb are highlighted as rewarded and blessed by being faithful and so too will those be who are faithful in their service to Christ. They will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant enter into the joy of thy Master†(Mat. 25:21, 23; Lk. 19:17). Joshua and the people needed to overcome kings and enemies in the land and route them out and put them to death. Even so, the Christian has deep rooted sins they need to overcome and put to death to enjoy their inheritance from God. This is the Gospel reality for those who have come to Christ. Joshua speaks to the Gospel in and through seeing that life in Christ is analogous to the centrality of the land, which God gives as gift, but belief in His promises means to engage the battle and in faith to be faithful to the One who gives the inheritance for the meek who inherit the earth in Christ. May it be true for all those who in trust and faith turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and the enjoyment of all the blessings that the land promised, and them some! For all the promises of God find there ‘yea and Amen’ in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).[1] William S. Lasor, David A. Hubbard, Frederic W. Bush, Old Testament Survey. pg. 136[2] Stephen G. Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible. pg. 125 Dempster makes the insightful comment of the death of Israel in conjunction to the Ezekiel reference of the dead bones. He says, “…the demands of the Sinai [Mosaic] covenant have brought down the verdict of death and curse on Israel... He [Israel] has been buried in an exilic graveyard (Ezek. 37:1-14).†Ibid. pg. 126[3] Francis A. Schaeffer, Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History. pg. 9[4] Marten H. Woudstra, N.I.C.O.T. series – The Book of Joshua. pg. 42-44[5] Dale R. Davis, Focus on the Bible series – Joshua: No Falling Words. pg. 5-6[6] William S. Lasor, David A. Hubbard, Frederic W. Bush, Old Testament Survey. pg. 139-140[7] W. D. Davis, The Gospel And The Land: Early Christianity And Jewish Territorial Doctrine. pg. 368 A helpful summation of Davis is that essentially after surveying all the N/T data he says, “In sum, for the holiness of place, Christianity has fundamentally, although not consistently, substituted the holiness of the Person: it has Christified holy space.â€[8] Bruce K. Waltke, Land in the New Testament,, Evening Public Lecture _ Regent College, July 3, 200
Judges
Gospel in Judges We continue from last month’s focus on the Former Prophets, so called; as distinguished in the Hebrew canon between the Law, the Prophets (the Former and Latter), and the Writings. The Former Prophets consists of Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1st & 2nd) and Kings (1st and 2nd); the last two were at one time one scroll. The continuation of Judges from Joshua is evident with mentioning both Joshua (1:1; 2:6-8, 21, 23) and the unfinished conquest of the land (1:19, 21, 28-33; 2:3, 21; 11:7). Essentially, we said last month that Joshua and the Former Prophets as a whole builds off the Law, or the first five books of Moses, and these comprise what is known in the larger unit of Old Testament Scripture as Deuteronomistic history. This period unfolds Creation to the formation of Israel and the Theocracy (God’s rule over His people), and also unfolds the history of Israel from their formation to why they were exiled from the land God promised to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) which Joshua successfully led them into. Both Moses and Joshua prophesied of Israel’s future demise (Deu. 31:14-22; Josh. 23:15-16; 24:19-20) and Judges clearly reveals the dark spiral away from God and gives the reasons for the judgment she receives as well as the covenant faithfulness of God to respond in mercy when Israel would eventually cry out to Him for deliverance from the oppression of her enemies (2:18; 3:9-10). There are elements of the Gospel here in this dark time of Israel’s waywardness from the Lord. As Geisler says, each Judge is a statesman-savior who delivers spiritually and politically, which in effect points to Christ who would ultimately deliver His people. He rightly points out that the need for a righteous king is seen throughout Judges and Jesus is Himself the Righteous One.[1] Theologically, and with the same pattern of interpretation we previously saw in Joshua as reading and understanding its historical truth as a metaphor for the Christian life, we can see more readily Gospel themes continuing from Joshua to Judges and into the New Covenant in Christ. A metaphor is an implied comparison and we understand the literal, historical level in the Old Testament along with the figurative by way of comparing the historical and spiritual realities. By way of review, we have seen previously how the land is understood as ‘Christified’[2] in the New Testament. Moreover as Bruce Waltke pointed out, God’s promise and gift of the land as well as its attaining and conquering by faith parallel salvation in Christ being promised and the gift of God which is attained and won by faith (1 Cor. 1:20-22; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 1:17; 5:2; 11:20; Heb. 6:11-12; 10:38-39). Judges says that God used the enemies to ‘test’ His people and to teach war to those who had not experienced it in Canaan (2:22-23; 3:1-2, 4). The metaphor continues into the Gospel era as the Christian learns that he overwhelmingly conquerors through Christ (Rom. 8:37) and that his faith is ‘tested’ in fiery trials as he suffers for Christ, which Peter says ought not to surprise the believer (1 Peter 4:12-13). Lasor, Hubbard, and Bush say Israel’s testing will demonstrate clearly the two-fold truth that Yahweh is faithful even though His people are not and that when they call upon Him He will save then from the curses that their disobedience has warranted (Deu. 27-29).[3] So too the apostle Paul writes to Timothy a trustworthy statement “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself†(2 Tim. 2:13). The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ took on Himself the curse of sin and its punishment on the cross of Calvary, where He became the substitute for all who would repent of their wrong and believe in the Savior and in exchange offers His righteousness (Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21). The correlation of Judges to the Gospel relates in the constant need for deliverance and how that was accomplished and how the Gospel actually does do it. The repeated cycle in Judges is: Israel forsakes God and adopts idolatrous practice and is punished by God in the form of enemies, whereby she cries out to Him for help and thus receives it in the form of a judge. The land experiences rest as long as the judge lives and after their death the pattern is repeated (2:10-19). Stephen Dempster points out the judges are the ‘human saviors’ for Israel because they are endowed with God’s Spirit and as such they conquer the enemies of the people. Each of the judges’ victories is accomplished in the power of the Spirit, and in many there are clear theological overtones that stress power in weakness.[4] This too depicts the cross and the Gospel, as God’s power to save was manifest paradoxically in Jesus being hung on the cross and in His sacrificial death. Yet it was through this apparent display of weakness that He defeated the devil and secured the victory of His people’s salvation (1 Jn. 3:8; Heb. 2:14). What we continue to stress is that as Israel needed deliverance again and again, the point is the need for a Spirit-filled leader to enable them to victory and this is precisely what the power of the Gospel does. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to come into union with Him is to know that indeed we can and do overwhelmingly conquer through Him and we rest in His victory as we see He enables us to victory. A. W. Tozer made the same emphasis in his day. He emphatically states:For sin’s human captives, God never intends anything less than full deliverance. The Christian message rightly understood means this: The God who by the word of the Gospel proclaims men free, by the power of the Gospel actually makes them free. To accept anything less than this is to know the Gospel in word only, without its power (emphasis his).[5] May we be clear of the power of the Gospel to save and to free as Judges pointed us to the One who did and does. For He is the Righteous King and eternal Savior whom to know is to be more than a conqueror and to be set free indeed![1] Norman. L. Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament. pg. 103[2] . D. Davis, The Gospel and the Land: Early Christianity and Jewish Territorial Doctrine. pg. 368 The use of the word ‘Christified’ is a term coined by Davis in describing the transfer of Holy Space now attributed to the person of Jesus Christ.[3] William Lasor, David Hubbard, Fredric Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form and Background of the Old Testament. pg. 154[4] Stephen Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible. pg. 131-132[5] A. W. Towzer, The Divine Conquest. pg. 29
1 and 2 Samuel
Gospel in (1 & 2) Samuel We continue with our ‘Gospel In…’ series and this is the third of our Former Prophets. We said previously in doing the Gospel in Joshua and Judges that Samuel and Kings constituted what was known as the Former Prophets in the Hebrew canon. We tackle both 1st and 2nd Samuel together as they were originally one writing. The major connection we see as tied to the Gospel from Samuel has to do with Kingship. The idea that God is King is a major theme in the Bible and it is also bound up with the coming Messiah or anointed One.[1] And of course, Jesus Christ the Messiah is at the heart of the Gospel. Samuel introduces an earthly king for Israel on account of their rejection of God as their heavenly King (1 Sam. 8:6-7). The book of Samuel acts as a transition and continuation in that it moves from the ‘judges’ who were leading Israel after Joshua to Samuel, the first official prophet and also the last judge of Israel (1 Sam. 7:15). But it is Samuel who is the one who anoints Saul as ruler, which the Lord has told him to do (9:16; 10:1) in response to the peoples' request for a king to be over them (8:19).Samuel introduces an earthly king for Israel on account of their rejection of God as their heavenly King (1 Sam. 8:6-7). The book of Samuel acts as a transition and continuation in that it moves from the ‘judges’ who were leading Israel after Joshua to Samuel, the first official prophet and also the last judge of Israel (1 Sam. 7:15). But it is Samuel who is the one who anoints Saul as ruler, which the Lord has told him to do (9:16; 10:1) in response to the peoples' request for a king to be over them (8:19). The grace that so permeates the good news of the Gospel is evident up front in that the peoples’ rejection of God the Divine King, in favor of a fallen human king is not met with judgment but with grace as God complies. But this is not without warning, as Samuel unfolds for the people what they have done and says:Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you. If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. And if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers (1 Sam. 12:13-15). What we find here is no surprise, as amidst the grace of God is the covenant structure and stipulations so often tied to one operating in ‘the fear of the Lord’. That is, positively to endeavor to live to please Him in all respects, and negatively not disregarding His holiness and thus the warnings of unrighteous behavior. The covenant God is the King and also the Father of His people. The two concepts of God as King and Father are tied together. It is as Scott Hafemann writes:God’s self-revelation thus employs the concept of kingship as the fundamental framework for explaining His divine character and purposes, albeit a kingship modeled on kinship, in which the King was also the committed ‘Father’ of His people. Biblically speaking, divine kingship (‘God’) and kinship (‘Father’) become mutually interpretive (Isa. 9:6-7; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 4:6; Phil 4:20; 1 Thes. 1:3; 3:11, 13; Rev. 1:6; etc.). As Jesus taught us His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-10,Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come,Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.[2] We see this combination in the well known passage expressive of the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam. 7:8-17 but particularly in verse 14a: “I will be a Father to him and he will be a son to Me…†The verses surrounding this pertain to the prophecy of David’s greater son with whom God will establish an everlasting kingdom. David is told, “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever†(7:16). Here is another connection to the Gospel. The Gospel is not solely about the forgiveness of sins but also about being those who are with the conquering Christ who establishes and inherits an everlasting Kingdom, and those who are with Him are the called, chosen, and the faithful (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). Jesus was born into the world with the royal recognition that He was a King (Mat. 2:2). But He was also conceived by God’s eternal Holy Spirit (1:18, 20) and declared to be Immanuel – God with us (1:23). This verse in Matthew is quoted from Isaiah 9 where various designations or names of God are given, including ‘eternal Father’ (9:6f). And later as Jesus enters into His life of ministry He is ‘anointed’ by God’s Holy Spirit in the baptism of John for repentance of sins (Mat. 3:6). But since He was also said by John to be ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (Jn. 1:29, 36) who Peter says was ‘pure and spotless (i.e., sinless), we understand that Jesus was baptized to identify Himself with the sinners He came to save. For as Matthew said, the Son who was born of Mary would be called Jesus – Yeshua [God] saves, “for it is He who will save His people from their sins†(Mat. 1:21). Hence, the everlasting Kingdom that was prophesied in the Old is established in the New in the Person of Jesus Christ.[3] This heavenly kingdom is not of this world in that it is divinely wrought, as Jesus is the Divine King of kings who is also David’s greater son. The initial king was chosen by the people looking ‘outwardly’ at his height and good looks, for human beings look on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).1 Samuel begins with Hannah’s prayer to which Samuel is the answer and her joyful dedication of him to God and exultation that He has power and knowledge to reverse what the fallen world sees as important (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The reversal evident here, and throughout the Bible, is largely God’s way in contrast to man’s, and only the Lord can make what is ‘worthless’ become ‘worthy’. Hannah’s song of thanksgiving ends on the prophetic note of,Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; against them He will thunder in the heavens, the Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king and will exalt the horn of His anointed†(1 Sam. 2:10).The plain contrast is the peoples’ ‘outward’ choice of Saul the disobedient ruler whom the Lord rejected (1 Sam. 15:22-23) with God’s choice of David, the last and the least of Jesse’s eight sons, the insignificant shepherd. [4] He would in faith and trust slay the giant Goliath that Saul and the army of Israel was afraid of (1 Sam. 17:24). God would take this lowly shepherd boy to become the great king of Israel – the faithful, although sinful, king ( 2 Sam. 11:1-27). It is through David, with his heart that desires to build a house for the Lord, that God promises to build him a house/household or dynasty from which the Messiah will come. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem the crowd exclaims, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest†(Mat. 21:9). Matthew interprets this riding into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophet Zechariah who wrote, “Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek and mounted on a donkey, even the colt, the foal of a beast of burden†(Mat. 21:5; Zech. 9:9). Jesus, the Savior and Messiah, does not ride in on a white stallion and deliver His people by earthly might and power; He offers Himself up on the cross of Calvary as a sacrifice for His people who will receive Him and His truth and repent and believe. Lastly, prior to being nailed to the cross Jesus is interviewed by Pilate. He asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews and Jesus responds by asking if Pilate asks of his own accord or because others told him this (Jn. 18:33-34). Pilate is indignant with Jesus’ question but Jesus tells him straight out, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting…My kingdom is not of this realm (lit. ‘from here’ 18:36). Pilate seems to come to a personal awareness that Jesus is a King and Jesus answers him, “You say correctly that I am a King. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears My voice†(18:37). The truth of the Gospel is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but through Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus is the door and entry into the everlasting Kingdom (Jn. 10:9), the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and into a relationship with God which is everlasting life (Jn. 17:2). This revelation from God of His kingship and kinship gives us reasons for faith and thus salvation. Samuel is pivotal to the Gospel in transitioning and progressing God’s further revelation of what is to come and what should be expected. Again, to quote Dr. Hafemann to understand the proper response to Gospel revelation as it pertains to God as King and Father:From Genesis 1:1 onwards, divine kingship, expressed in kinship, is revealed through the provisions and providence [God’s governing and controlling of life in His creation] of creation and new creation, as well as through God’s acts of deliverance and protection, judgment and vindication on behalf of His people. Taken together, this revelation of God’s glory is the context within which the faith of His people is understood. God’s acts as ‘King’ and ‘Father’ bring about a response of childlike dependence from the people of His ‘kingdom’.[5] In tying the Gospel connection of Samuel to these major biblical themes we point out how important it is to understand how God has revealed Himself in relation to the Gospel and our response of faith. The expectation of such privilege is not talked about much in our day when speaking of the good news of the Gospel. Yet Jesus Himself, the King of kings, was clear about the claims of His Lordship. He said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and do not do the things that I say†(Lk. 6:46)? And yet Alfred Edersheim, seemed to catch the spirit of this tension of the Gospel in the love of the Father as well as the absolute claims of the King’s lordship when he wrote, “The object of Israel’s worship and services was never to deprecate, but to pray. There was no malignant deity or fate to be averted, but a Father Who claimed love and a King Who required allegianceâ€.[6] Those who receive the truth of the Gospel realize God’s love and His absolute claim on their life. They trust Christ for His obedience unto salvation but also, out of love and duty, they further cultivate the childlike dependence and proper allegiance spoken of above.1] Norman L. Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament. pg. 108 Geisler points out this is the firstbook of the Bible to use anointed (1 Sam. 2:10), which is the origin of the word messiah, that is, one anointed to be king.[2] Scott J. Hafemann, Paul R. House ed. Central Themes in Biblical Theology. pg. 32[3] J. E. Fison, The Christian Hope: The Presence and the Parousia, pg. 41; A. G. Herbert, The Throne of David: A Study in Fulfillment of the Old Testament in Jesus Christ and His Church, pg. 138. Herbert says, “For Jesus sums up in His Person what the Kingdom of God means.â€[4] Stephen Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible. Pg. 139[5] Scott J. Hafemann, Paul R. House ed. Central Themes in Biblical Theology. pg. 34-35[6] Alfred Edersheim, Israel under Samuel, Saul, and David, To the Birth of Solomon. pg. vii
1 and 2 Kings
Gospel in (1 & 2) Kings The last of our Former Prophets is the book of Kings. We have gone through Joshua, Judges, and (1st and 2nd) Samuel and have affirmed that the first five books of Moses, known both as the Law or Pentateuch, as well as the previously cited books of the Former Prophets make up what has been dubbed The Deuteronomistic History. This was proposed by Martin Noth back in 1957 and essentially meant that the conditional aspect of the covenant as relayed in Deuteronomy (the book of the covenant) colored the theological shaping of the unit comprised of the Law and the Former Prophets.[1] This rings true as to why Kings is labeled a prophetic writing rather than mere historical narrative, as well as its conclusion differing from that of Chronicles. This unit of Scripture takes us from Creation to the exile of God’s people. It is compiled with the covenant curse and blessings, as well as God’s promises and provisions fully in view. This helps record and reveal to the reader the reason for God’s people being banished from the land. The structure of the book further confirms this, as recorded by Dr Bruce Waltke in his Old Testament Theology. He cites Jerome Walsh who sees a chiastic structure (which is common throughout the whole of the Bible) that comprises 1st and 2nd Kings (which was initially one book):A -Solomon and the united monarchy (1 Kings 1-11) B-Separation of the northern kingdom (1 Kings 12) C-Kings of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 13-16) X- The Omrid dynasty (1 Kings 17- 2 Kings 11) C’Kings of Israel and Judah (2 Kings 12-16) B’Fall of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17)A’Kingdom of Judah alone (2 Kings 18-25) [2]The center section indicates the emphasis which the conclusion of Kings reiterates. Namely, the reason for Exile was the wickedness engaged in by those who ought to have been faithful to God in covenant. We noted last month in the ‘Gospel in Samuel’ that both the ideas of kingship and kinship were present in the revelation of God. God’s anointed king was to be the earthly representative of the heavenly King and as such God was as a Father to him and he as son (Ps. 2:2-7; 2 Sam. 7:14). The king as son to God in covenant would be disciplined when he strayed from it, as the last verse cited rang true of Solomon. The king’s faith would ultimately display faithfulness to God in covenant. Kings unfolds the kingdom’s rise and fall in keeping with the covenant of Deuteronomy and as Waltke repeatedly states, “… the promise or failure of kingship depends on the character of the king, according to the decree of the Davidic covenantâ€.[3] Would the king’s character conform to the values and statutes of God’s will as revealed in and through His expectations of covenant fidelity? The promises carried with them both a conditional and unconditional aspect. That is, the conditionality of the covenant was tied to the unconditional promise! But regarding previous covenant relationships William Dumbrell notes:The reign of Solomon is treated … as the great age of the fulfillment of promises. So the Abrahamic promise that Israel would become a great nation, too numerous to be counted, is pondered in 1 Kings 3:8; 4:20. That Israel would occupy Canaan and achieve rest from her enemies is alluded to in 5:4-5. That the son of David would build the temple is fulfilled in chapters 6-8 in an operation which lasts twenty years. When the ark is deposited in the temple sanctuary, the exodus cloud fills the temple and thus brings the period of the exodus to a formal close, with all political goals having been achieved. The Sinai and Davidic covenants are now formally linked together.[4]How does all this relate to the Gospel? Well the good news of the Gospel centers on not only the King but His Kingdom. The Lord Jesus, as the Faithful Witness (Rev. 1:5), fulfills both the conditions and the promises of God (2 Cor. 1:20). All who come to Him by faith and repentance join into His accomplishments which are attributed to them by virtue of their union to Him. And yet all who profess Jesus as their covenant Lord have the condition of faith and perseverance to uphold.[5] And those who truly believe His promises in Christ will meet those conditions by His grace. Saving faith results in faithfulness to God. David, as a type of the Lord Jesus, pointed ahead to One who would not fail as he did, and who would fulfill the promise of God that his throne would last forever. In the latter part of the book of Kings the reason for their failure is given extensive coverage (2 Kings 17:7-41; 18:12; 21:7-9, 14-15). Despite the failure of the king and the apparent failure of the kingdom of God, His promises cannot fail. That is, though they failed to keep the conditions, God’s unconditional promise remained and the faithful held on to that in faith awaiting the Lord’s fulfillment. Perhaps a glimmer of hope is given in the last chapter where king Johoiachin of Judah is released from prison in exile and God’s favor towards him means he is allowed to change from his prison garments and eat at the king’s table all the days of his life (2 Kings 25:29). It also characterizes the Gospel reality that all that have gone to exile are captives needing to be set free. When Jesus is believed and received the prison clothes are cast off and festive garments of praise are then put on, even as king Johoiachin prophetically portrayed. Ultimately the kingdom is never returned to its former glory even after Ezra and Nehemiah speak of the return and the rebuilding. The greater glory prophesied and hoped for (Hag. 2:9) would come in the person of the Lord Jesus (Jn. 1:14). It is not until the Lord Jesus comes into the world, born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit, that the eternal Kingdom arrives in His Person.[6] All who come to the Lord Jesus by faith and turning from their sin and seeking His forgiveness ultimately enter the promised Kingdom – have you?[1] Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture. pg. 105 Goldsworthy notes that despite slight modifications by subsequent scholars the theory retains general acceptance.[2] Bruce Waltke with Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An exegetical, canonical and thematic approach. pg. 693[3] Ibid. pg. 694[4] William J Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel: Its expression in the books of the Old Testament. pg. 86[5] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2., pg. 596, 598[6] A. G. Herbert, The Throne of David: A Study in Fulfillment of the Old Testament in Jesus Christ and His Church, pg. 138
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