The Field's Musings

Psalm 8 The Psalm is a hymn demonstrating God’s wonder and power. The Psalm begins with who God is and then goes on to describe the universe and man. The magnificence of the cosmos is found in man’s pre-eminence. Psalm 8 could refer to the story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17). Psalm 8: To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath.[ a ] A Psalm of David. The Psalm was to be played on the Gath/Gittith. This could have been a philistine instrument. O LORD [YHWH], our Lord [Adoni, Master/Ruler], The majesty of His name: How excellent is Your name in all the earth, W ho have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. God uses the weak to shame the wise. God is establishing a stronghold through the weakness of infants. God loves to conquer evil with what looks fragile. God used an apparently weak and young David to destroy Goliath. 3 When I consid...

In both the lives of David and Saul we see: early success followed by grievous sins. Saul’s sins lead to bitterness and hatred. David’s sins lead to genuine sorrow and forgiveness from the Lord. Saul 1 Samuel 13:2-4 – Saul attacked the Philistines. The Israelites became ‘a stench’ to the Philistines. 1 Sam 13:8-14 = The Philistines have gathered to do battle against Israel. Many of the people were hiding in the mountains. Many people followed Saul (v7) The problem in this passage is that Saul performed an act only the Priest should perform. In 10:8 Samuel says that he is the one to perform the sacrifices. V12b ‘I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering’ literarily means ‘I made myself strong to do this’ Saul disobeyed by not trusting in the authority of God’s word. Duet 17 states that trust in God’s word is essential to Kingship. In 1 Samuel 14:24-26 Saul makes a foolish oath cursing everyone who eats food. Jonathon says (v29) ‘my Father has troubled the land’ Why did Saul make ...

A common theme in 1 Samuel: the establishment of Kingship under Saul found in 1 Sam 8-12. The idea of kingship Gen 1:26 – Adam is ordained as a ruler Adam was prophet, priest and king in the garden. Prophet = He spoke the word of God Priest = Mediator between God and creation King = He ruled the creation God is King of all and man was created in His image giving rulership over creation. The concept of kingship: Genesis 17:16, 35:11, 49:10 Requirements for kingship from Duet 17:14-20 V15 He must be a Hebrews V16 He must not be greedy God wants Israel to have a theocratic monarchy where God is at the centre of the Kingship. The book of Judges gives a picture for what life is like with a monarchy. Everyman became his own King. The book of Judges prepared the people for a King by showing them their need. 1 Samuel 8 What’s the problem in 1 Samuel 8 when the people want a King? There is nothing intrinsically wrong in the request. The evil was contained in the motives and underlying attitudes...

Redemption Continued Rom 11:26-27 ‘And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “ The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Christ is the deliverer that brings redemption to the people of God. Titus 2:13-14 ‘looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.’ Ephesians 1:7 ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace’ He gave up His blood to make us rightful heirs of His Father. 1 Peter 1:18-19 shows the cost of our redemption: ‘knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Chr...

Matthew 1:3-6 = Genealogy at the end of Ruth The main characters fade from the story (v18-21). The focus of the story is on the seed. The greatest outcome of the book is the preservation of the seed of the woman. The Messiah’s line is upheld during this grim time by God’s sovereignty. Ruth and Boaz’s relationship serves to continue redemptive history. Redemption: Hebrew word ‘gaw-al’ means to redeem, revenge, avenge, ransom and to do the work of a kinsman redeemer. Boaz is the kinsman redeemer of the story Duties of the Kinsman redeemer a) Buy back his kin from bondage or slavery (Lev 25:47-49) b) Buy back land sold by a relative (Ruth 4:1-5) c) Marry a widow (without male airs) for her protection (Ruth 4:1-5) d) Avenge the blood of his relative (Numbers 35:26-21) The idea of the kinsman redeemer was faithful to his family. He was responsible for the good of his kin. Redemption is the process where something alienated is restored by a kinsman. Redemption serves as a...

Jephthah’s Daughter Continued 11:1-4 Jephthah was a valiant warrior and the son of a harlot. Jephthah is denied his inheritance and thrown out of the Israel community of Gilead. Jephthah fled to Ammonite teriotry. The god of the Ammonites was Molech Lev 18:21: And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. See also Jeremiah 32:35 Jephthah was greatly influenced by foreign religious beliefs due to his upbringing. Jepthah’s theology was a combination of truth from YHWH and heresy from Molech. This is syncretism. He knew something of YHWH because of his vow to YHWH but he added human sacrifice (influence form Molech). The method of the seed of the serpent is to dilute the truth of YHWH. The devil loves to combine truth with error. Problem: Heb 11:32-34 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophe...

The cycle found in Judges reaches its climax with Samson. Deborah- Judges 4:1-5 Deborah is a woman with a specified role of leadership in the OC. V4 tells us that Deborah is a Prophetess. The Hebrew word for Prophetess used here means ‘a woman female prophetess’. By using this word the writer is telling us that this is not a common situation. Deborah is the wife of Lapidoth (v4). The Prophetess is under male authority. Deborah was judging Israel. The word ‘judging’ is used over 200 times in the OT. Judges 4:4 is the only instance where the word is connected to a woman. We can see that Deborah’s position is not normative but special. What was the condition of Israel at this time? Severe oppression (v3). The same word used here for ‘oppression’ is also used in Exodus 22:21 to describe the oppression of the Egyptians to the Israelites. The oppressor was Jabin from Hazor (v2) The Israelites had demolished Hazor in Joshua 11:10-13. The Canaanites re-settled in the land of Hazor with Jaben a...

(Continued from last lecture) Judges 2:11-19 1) V11-13 The pattern of apostasy Baal = storm god, Astoreth = fertility god These gods were brother and sister and husband and wife. The people apostatised with idolatry. 2) V14-15 the pattern of God’s anger and judgement against Israel The anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites. God gives Israel into the hand of her enemy. God disciplines His own people. There is a difference between the chastisement of the devil and the chastisement of God’s children. God’s disciplines His children out of mercy. The devil is chastised as condemnation. In Amos 4:6-10 we see God disciplining His own people. Hebrews 12:4-11 gives a NT account of God’s disciplining. In V14-15 God plunders His people and sends oppressors 3) V16 The Lord raises up a Judge to deliver the people for a season The Judges were military deliverers. 4) V17-19 The repetition of the cycle The people obey the Judge for a while but then revert to their wicked ways becoming more c...

Joshua 1:7-8 ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.’ God with His seed has divided the waters of chaos, so that the people can take the land. The people only have one thing to do: obey His word. Genesis 2:16-17 ‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die [in Hebrew die die].’ Psalm 1 was composed on the basis of Joshua 1. The promise of Psalm 1 is the command of Joshua 1: Obedience to the tora...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4 The Greek word for inheritance is used in the Greek OT for Canaan. Canaan is a type of Heaven because Heaven is the heightened version of Canaan. Hebrews 13:14 ‘For here we do not have a lasting city but we are seeking the city which is to come.’ Recommended reading: ‘Kingdom Prologue’ by Kline is a discussion of the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Warren Austin Gage ‘The Gospel of Genesis: Protology and Eschatology’ The Promise through the Patriarchs Joshua describes the Israelites taking of the land promised to the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 1) Abraham Genesis 12:7: ‘Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built ...

John 20:25: ‘The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print [too-pos] of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ ‘Too-pos’ can be an impression of a god can be a pattern of lifestyle (Phil 3:17) can be a prefiguring of a pattern that can serve future believers Eg Adam is a type (too-pos) of Christ in Rom 5:14. Eg OT believers are a pattern to us. See 1 Cor 10:6-11 Too-pos points us to: the unchanging covenant of grace the immutability of God the sovereignty of God Typology is prophecy based upon a repetition of patterns. Examples of typology The Israelites complain during the wilderness wanderings. God sends serpents so that the people will feel the consequence of their sin. A bronze serpent is set up for the healing of the people. See Numbers 21:4-9. In John 3:14-15 Jesus states that He is the true bronze serpent so that anyone can have e...

This course will focus on the historical and wisdom literature found in scripture. We will be approaching the literature in a thematic way. The course should enable us to apply scripture to all areas of our lives. Genesis 3:15 ‘And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.’ God is proclaiming a new order for the universe. Because of sin the whole of the universe has been re-ordered. God is formally cursing the serpent in Genesis 3:15. God is did not announce the first prophecy, it is announced by God Himself. The normal Hebrew structure of sentences: verb, subject, direct objects and nouns. God re-organises this. He starts with the object: enmity. This term means ‘to be an enemy’. God is setting up a situation where He will set hostile intent between the serpent and woman. The word enmity is only used 5 times in the OT. On of them is found in Ezekiel 25:15: ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Becau...

By Tim Keller As people adore Christ they will apply Christ. The best way to lead people to worship is to worship Christ yourself during the sermon. Whitefield agreed to having his sermons printed but said ‘you’ll never get the thunder’. The sermon is what you write Preaching is the active delivery of the preaching The spiritual quality and character of the person shines through during preaching more than the sermon itself. Keep in your mind the differences between graces and gifts. You can be using gifts without being godly. The fruit of the Spirit is character change. The gifts of the Spirit are skills or abilities. People often assume that skill or gifts indicates Spiritual gifts with spiritual fruit is like a tyre without air. When you’re far from God Traditions: Sacramental: meeting God in the sacraments and traditions Evangelical: meeting God in your quiet times Charismatic: emphasis on meeting God in corporate worship The Puritans were bigger on experiencing God compared with ot...

By Ed Clowney Luke 17 We see in this passage the return of praise, which is the glory of faith showing the glory of grace. The lepers call to Jesus from afar off: ‘Jesus, Master have mercy on us’. Faith hears the word of Jesus. Jesus came to gain the worship of the unclean- He wants the Lepers for Himself. He came to be the servant who would receive the punishment for our sin. He paid the price of our uncleanness so that we would become clean. The disciples ask about receiving faith and Jesus responds by speaking about the obedience of praise. The others lepers didn’t show hear-obedience to the master. They were doing exactly what they were told to do without praise in their hearts. If faith is to be increased it must show the fruit of praise. *** When preaching narratives make sure you weave doctrine around the story. The Wisdom Narratives The meekness of wisdom- ‘learn of me’, ‘let your gentleness be known to all men’. Prov 8- wisdom personified produces joy. The meditation for wisdo...

By Tim Keller The goal of the sermon is to get people to worship. A sermon isn’t a sermon until you call people to adore Christ. A sermon is a lecture when Christ is not adored. Willow Creek approach: ‘You can evangelise non-Christians or edify Christians’ Conservative approach: ‘All people need to worship through the same material’ If you preach Christ you’ll e evangelising and edifying at the same time. Post-modern people like to know how Christianity works. PM people try on Christianity as a dress. They’ll try it out to see if it works. You can only change a person’s life by changing what they worship and how they worship. Text, Context and Subtext Be clear about the text, context and subtext 1) The text: know what the text is saying. Be clear on theology 2) The context: know how to present the text to the people 3) The subtext: have the right heart for the text (Christ) and the right heart for the context (people) 4 types of subtext 1) Social Reinforcement The purpo...