The Field's Musings

The Reign of Solomon 2 Sam 12:24-25 David names his son Solomon. Solomon comes from Shalom meaning peace. ‘Now the LORD loved him’ The word love is used three times in the accounts of Samuel: 2 Sam 12:24 (YHWH loved Solomon, 1 Kings 3:3 (Solomon loved YHWH), 1 Kings 11:1 (Solomon loves many foreign women). ‘Jedidiah’ = ‘Beloved of YHWH’ This could have been Solomon’s throne or royal name. 1 Kings 1 Adonijah wants the throne 2 Kings 1:7 A new king was recognised by riding a mule 1 Kings 3:11-13 Solomon primary aim was to make the government strong. He made Israel into 12 districts. He was concerned about the internal aspect of Israel. David was more concerned about the external issues of Israel. The districts are found in 1 Kings 4 Judah is left out of this list Solomon constructed a magnificent temple and built fortresses. The period of Solomon’s reign was a prosperous time for the nation. He organised economic expeditions. Nationally Israel was doing well. What problems did Solomon ha...

2 Sam 14:33 Absalom gives the appearance of submission, sorrow and repentance. In chapter 15 Absalom tries to take the throne from his father David. Psalm 3 tells us about David’s understanding about the situation with Absalom. 2 Sam 15:1-6 Absalom wickedly wants to take the Kingdom from his father. It is a plan of deception. 2 Sam 15:30 David weeps in agony. 2 Sam 17:12 Absalom plots to chase David and kill him. Absalom’s desire and passion is to kill his father. Psalm 3 David’s explanation of his circumstances from a human perspective 1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Most people in Israel were following Absalom. 1 Sam 15:12 Enmity is not a strange thing. Believers should expect great hostility (1 Peter 4:12) 2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah From a human perspective it seems that there is no hope for David. It seems that God has forsaken Him. 3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and...

Structure David’s early successes: 2 Samuel 1-10 (lecture 6b) David’s grievous sins: 11-12 David’s sorrow and repentance: 13- 24 David’s Grievous Sins, Sorrow and Repentance 2 Sam 11:1 David stays in Jerusalem when he should have been going out to battle David commits adultery with Bathsheba then plots to kill Uriah. David’s sin was a planned sin. Even though David sinned. David’s faith in God is testified in his works. David has genuine sorrow in his disobedience. 2 Sam 12- David’s response to Nathan’s confrontation 2 Sam 12:13, David response to sin, “I have sinned against the LORD.” 1 Sam 15:30, Saul’s response to sin: “I have sinned; yet honour me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” Psalm 51 gives detail to David’s repentance. David understands total depravity. In verses one to six he uses many different words to describe sin. V3 ‘For I know my transgressions’ ‘I know’ here means to have an intima...

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...

By Edmund Clowney Three divisions made in the OT: counsel, law, prophecy- Ezek 7:26, Jer 18:18 Wisdom: man through YHWH must use knowledge to solve lifes problems The wise man is the knowledgeable man Proverbs is the documentation of instruction against folly 1 Kings 4 helps us to understand the view of wisdom in Israel. Meditation on the law brings: 1) Praise Rejoicing in God’s revelation 2) Wisdom Reflection on how the teaching of scripture applies to life Wisdom is concerned firstly with knowing the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the knowledge of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding. Paul’s prayer is for a Spirit and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph 1:17). Wisdom is the key to understanding the wisdom of the Lord in Paul’s theology. The gift of wisdom enables us to analyse scripture and apply it properly to a situation. Most parallels in the Psalms and wisdom literature are not to be equated. Older men need to disciple younger men in wisdom. The theology...

By Edmund Clowney The Psalms are the praises of the redeemed centred on Christ. A song is a covenant witness. In Deut 31:19 God gives to His people the songs they are to sing. Songs are not simply a response to God but a God-given ordination. The people were to memorise them. Jesus is presented as the living Christ singing in the midst of the congregation (Hebrews 2 quoting Psalm 22:22). We sing with Jesus our singing saviour. Structure of Psalm 22 1-2 the cry of lamentation 3-5 the confession of trust 6-8 another lamentation 9-11 another confession of trust 12-18 another lamentation 19-21 cry for deliverance 22-24 confession of deliverance 25-31 praise for deliverance The suffering servant signs from the depths to the heights In Psalms 2 and 24 the royal King sings. The song of Christ is seen as the song among the Gentiles (Rom 15:9). Jesus signs a missionary song among the nations (Psalm 96). The NT authors gained their theology from the OT. They were people absorbed in OT doctrine. ...

By Tim Keller How do you argue for the authority of the Bible? Traditional way: Look at fulfilled prophecy of the OT. Better contemporary way: 1) Do you want a personal relationship with God? 2) You can’t have a personal with God unless you accept the authority of the Bible 3) Why? Because having a personal relationship with being outraged sometimes. You must expect the Bible to offend. Unless you accept the complete authority of the Bible God can’t contradict you or differ with you. The strategy used is presupposition apologetics. Affirm what they affirm and then show them that How do you argue for the reality Hell? Post-modernist: I don’t believe God would send anyone to Hell. Christian: What did it cost your God to love us and embrace us? It cost my God pain, agony and torment to bring me near to Him. In your effort to make God more loving you’ve actually made God less loving by removing Hell from your worldview. If punishment doesn’t exist as a result of God’s justic...

By Tim Keller Methods for writing application 1) Discipline who you spend time with The application of a sermon should change in style depending on the people who are hearing the sermon. You tend to preach to the people who are most on your heart. Some evangelical leaders preach sermons for other evangelical preachers because they are immersed in the thinking of the culture of evangelical leaders. Deliberately diversify your people context. Speak to non-Christians. Understand how they think, in what categories? Address the needs of the culture in sermons. Entice Christians to bring non-Christians by preaching to non-Christians using their language and culture. Preach to people who aren’t in the room. Preach like this ‘God is wrathful God who is angry at sin. I know some of you find that hard to understand but consider this….’ The easiest way to think about the concerns of non-Christians is to read content written by people who disagree with you. The best way to do this is by reading ma...

By Edmund Clowney We want to preach the law in a gospel context. Galatians and Romans do this. We need to recognise: 1) The condemnation of the law-Gal 3:13-14 The promise has been fulfilled, it goes out to the Gentiles, and is achieved by faith. Why the law (v19)? It was added because of transgressions until the seed comes. The law bars the way of life because it condemns us because of our sin. The law is not the final revelation of God. 2) We can’t keep the law The law shoes us that we can’t do it and even increases our trespasses (Rom 5:20). The law stirs the rebellion of sin (Rom 7:7-8). Sin works through the commandment to produce sin. The law brings damnation and the knowledge of sin. 3) The law drives us to Christ- Gal 3:24 The law acts as a tutor to Christ so that we can be justified by faith. 4) The law is renewed in Christ Christ provides for us the righteousness of God, the complete fulfilment of the law. Christ fulfils the law and renews it by expanding it. Luke 20:20-26 Hi...

By Edmund Clowney How to develop a text using the Poythress method: 1) Static- the meaning of the text 2) Dynamic- the way in which the text describes a speaker, message and a recipient 3) Relations- how the elements of the text to other portions of scripture

By Tim Keller 3 macro-Strategies for applying a text 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion (read notes from part one) 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour 3) Look at the text through three application perspectives 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour Self-justification is the doctrine of the Pharisees. If Christ is not your righteousness something else will be. You can avoid Jesus by avoiding sin. Religion is more of a subtle enemy of the gospel than irreligion practised by the open rebellious person because religious behaviour looks like holy behaviour. Irreligious people need to be shown that they are practising self-justification. A Basic Outline for Aiming at the Heart: i) Speak about what the narrative tells us to be- what standard is the Bible setting for us? ii) Speak about how that standard is unreachable- we are all sinners who miss the mark iii) Speak about how problem is resolve...

By Tim Keller Faith in the saving work of Christ is the only tool to dismantle sin in our lives. We are sanctified by faith, not just justified by faith. 3 macro-Strategies for applying a text 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour 3) Look at the text through three application perspectives 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion Say that the gospel is neither morality nor immorality. The gospel is the third way Religion says ‘if I work hard on biblical principles God will bless me.’ The gospel says ‘God will bless me through trusting in His Son, this gives me power to work hard at biblical principles.’ Functionally the churchman’s heart tends to religion. Reasons why this method is useful: a) Many professing Christians are not Christians b) We constantly need our practise aligned with their theology c) Some people who reject Christianity reject it because they believe it to be religion If we preach: ‘immorality bad and Chr...

By Ed Clowney Example of Narrative Preaching from Matthew 17:1-9 Christ is the one with greater authority than Moses and Elijah. God the Father affirms His authority by saying ‘hear Him’. The Father’s declaration proves the Father’s unity with Him. The Son declares the will of the Father. Moses brought to us what God said to him, Christ is the incarnate word, God’s word become flesh, He is God speaking. Christ speaks and the dead comes forth, His own sheep hear Him and they follow Him. The preacher’s task is to bring into remembrance the words that Jesus spoke. The congregation are to hear the message and hear Christ speaking through the preacher. The glory of God is made evident through Christ. Peter suggests building shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah thinking that this was the last feast of booths. The glory of the true tabernacle is shown at transfiguration. Christ comes to do his true work of conquest. Overcoming the Devil’s temptation whereby he offered Christ all kingdoms on t...

By Ed Clowney The individual obedience of Isaac and Jacob is portrayed through the seed of the promise leading us to Christ. There are concepts in structure that naturally flow to Christ. This is typology. The meaning is presented through its significance in symbolism. Christ speaks in parables to teach us spiritual truth through natural reality. Symbolism brings in the feel of the meaning. Symbolic language can be more effective than illustrations. A metaphor is found in a sentence and not in a word. A metaphor brings together two different worlds; two different images. Example: Amos 3:8- A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? The spoken word of the Lord is paralleled with the fierce roaring of a lion. We apply attributes of the familiar concept to the more abstract concept. The roaring of the lion is similar to the speaking of Yahweh. Metaphors act as a form of contextualisation. Metaphors should be used to tell Bible stories as real stor...

By Tim Keller Justification and Sanctification by Faith Alone We’re not only justified by faith- we are also sanctified by faith. We need to exhort people to faith in Christ wherever they are at! Power to live a holy life comes by faith in the cross. We shouldn’t exhort people to right living without giving revealing to them the key: faith. Sanctification is orienting yourself towards justification. We need to feed off our justification to be sanctified. Actual righteousness is produced by embracing the means by which we gained our imputed righteousness. Faith preserves us form self inflicted moralism. Idolatry by Faith Alone ‘All those who do not at all times trust God…but seek His favour in other things or in themselves is breaking the first commandment.’- Luther The first commandment is broken when you fail to believe in justification by faith. If you’re not trusting in Christ you are trusting in something else. All people sin in general. Why do we sin in any particular instance? An...