An Introduction to the Old Testament - Habakkuk

Dillard, Raymond B. & Longman, Tremper III. "Habakkuk."  An Introduction to the Old Testament.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1994. 409-413.

Habakkuk is largely unknown.  His name is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture.  He has been alternatively identified as a Levite, the sone of the Shunamite woman, and the watchman in Isaiah 21.  This inconclusivity does not in any way take away from the importance of the prophetic writing.  It simply indicates that we really have no idea who Habakkuk might have been.  

According to chapter 1 verse 6 the date of composition is in the late 7th or early 6th century B.C.  At this time Babylon is rising to power, overtaking the former great Assyrian empire.  As we would expect, scholars have assigned the book various different dates and have assigned different authors to the narrative text and the psalm in chapter 3.  As with the debates about the identity of Habakkuk, these other disputes are inconclusive.

We see the structure consists of a dialog between God and the prophet, a series of oracles against oppressors, and a psalm of submission.  As we consider the overall theological message of Habakkuk we see that God is apparently unconcerned with the struggles of his people.  Yet God has given promises to his people, promises which the faithful Habakkuk determines to trust.

As we consider this text in relation to the New Testament we see that God is the righteous one who will come and vindicate himself, though he may not do it according to our timing or our preferences.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

The Academic Journey - may become less academic

My academic journey may take a turn away from the academic.  Does this mean I've decided to chuck it all and go to welding school?  No, they don't trust me with extremely hot objects.  We often hear that real theology, like any kind of real scholarship, doesn't happen in the library.  It happens on the street.  It happens in the office.  It happens in the counseling room, or in the pulpit.

In the past week I've been talking with some people from the AALC.  This is a very small Lutheran denomination, formed some twenty-two years ago, as a reaction to creeping liberalism within Lutheranism in America.  They have a training program including courses which meet regularly via the Internet.  The courses appear to use good solid readings and require interaction and papers.  While participating in the training program, qualified participants may end up serving local churches as pastors under supervision from other area pastors.  

I don't know where this will lead.  It could lead the direction I thought I might end up going a couple of years ago.  Then again, it might not.  As I explore, I'll be participating in one of the courses, talking with various leaders to ascertain the denomination's values and goals, and will probably attend the annual conference in June.   In the meantime, since the course that starts the Monday after Easter is on Law and Gospel, I'll be digging up the books on the reading list and working through them over a period of about ten weeks.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

An Introduction to the Old Testament - Nahum

Dillard, Raymond B. & Longman, Tremper III. "Nahum."  An Introduction to the Old Testament.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1994. 403-403-408.

Nahum gives us a very harsh, forceful message against Assyria dating to the seventh century B.C.  We know virtually nothing about the author.  He comes ffrom a town called Elkosh, which we cannot locate geographically.

By 664 B.C. Assyria had risen to preeminence in the Near East.  However, by 652 Babylon was rising up and beginning to assert its authority.  By 612 Babylon was sufficiently powerful to sack Nineveh, the former Assyrian capital.  Nahum proclaims that though Nineveh has been powerful it will fall as the Lord protects his people and routs his foes.  

As we approach the New Testament we see the picture of God as the warrior who brings deliverance for his people and destruction for his enemies.  Christ the King stands up against every foe and finally destroys death itself.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

Agricola Urbanus - Loving your wife by planting peas

Way back when I was one of the elders in a local church one of the questions we would ask one another in the elder meetings was how we were doing at loving our wives.  It was usually a pretty uncomfortable time.  We all agreed that we could do better.  Normally we acknowledged that we were doing some things for our wives but we also realized we were doing our acts of kindness partly to please ourselves, to keep the peace.  We were quite self-interested in our service to our wives.  I guess that's how it is most of the time.  We do kind things for other people and in fact we are looking forward to the reward we might reap.

There's a little bit of that, okay, rather a lot of that, in my decision that we will raise peas.  Don't get me wrong.  I like peas. I love fresh peas with brown butter.  I love fresh raw peas too.  They are one of the best treats I know of.  But when I think of a garden the size of the one we currently have, I realize that peas are completely impractical.  Why is that?  Peas can yield about twenty pounds in a hundred foot row.  With plants spaced about six inches, in our current fourteen foot by four foot space, we could reasonably expect to harvest about twenty-one pounds of peas, and that is if we have a great crop.  Twenty-one pounds?  Bring it on!  That would give us quite a feast, several feasts of fresh peas, in fact.

What's the problem with this logic?  Primarily the problem is that the peas will bear their crop over a period of about six weeks, with two or three pickings a week.  So having a great crop year we might pick nearly a pound at a time.  That isn't really so bad.  It's more than we'd probably normally eat during that time period as a family.  But it isn't that much more.  For our family this would be about a ten week supply of peas.  Yes, they would be delicious.  But there's some severe trouble with the practicality.  

By comparison, pole beans (string beans) tend to produce about 150 pounds in a hundred foot row.  Carrots tend to produce about100 pounds in a hundred foot row.  That's about a year's supply of carrots for our family, a real abundance of string beans.

Here's the dilemma.  Peas are so tasty.  Are they worth planting in a confined space?  They may be.  Especially if your wife happens to love peas intensely, it's worth it.  This is one of the reasons I want to get moved to a place with a sunny yard.  Our garden space is a little shady for peas to produce well.  And if I can come up with, say, three garden plots which are four feet by eight feet, devoted to peas, putting in a spring and a fall crop, we can have those nice homegrown peas all year.  Granted I could have other vegetables with far superior yields in that space, but there's a time for deciding you grow something simply because it is good and your wife loves it.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

The Academic Journey - so many books, so little time

Looking back over this blog I see that I've almost exclusively posted of late using summaries of chapters in the Old Testament book I've been reading.  I have wrapped up that book and hope to wrap up the summaries in the near future.  I'm moving on to listen to a recorded version of the Old Testament.  I'm enjoying getting someone else's pacing.  It also means I can listen on my .mp3 player and go for a walk, something I wouldn't particularly recommend doing while reading any book.

Where am I headed after this Old Testament survey?  I realize that there's no such thing as an over-educated laity.  I also realize that there's a lot of self-education I can do.  After all, I didn't get my degree as a classical philologist for nothing.  

Once I finish this survey, then, I hope to turn more of my attention to a course from The Teaching Company.  I'll plan to post summaries of the lectures and do some of the readings as well.  This course, taught by Phillip Cary of Eastern University, is called The History of Christian Theology.  Dr. Cary is an excellent speaker and scholar.  I first experienced him while listening to Issues, Etc. on Pirate Christian Radio.  In the thirty-six lectures of this course, Cary takes us from the New Testament through Vatican II and a bit beyond, exploring important themes of theology.  There's an excellent reading list, but, as I say in the header, there are so many books, so little time.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

An Introduction to the Old Testament - Micah

Dillard, Raymond B. & Longman, Tremper III. "Micah."  An Introduction to the Old Testament.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1994. 397-402.

Micah, though a brief and intricately structured prophet is one of the most powerful in his rhetoric.  Micah is apparently from Moresheth, a village about twenty-five miles from Jerusalem.  His ministry probably took place in Jerusalem in the period between 750 and 686 B.C.  He overlaps with Isaiah.  During this time period Assyria was overcoming Israel, though not Judah.  Micah, however, looks forward to the fall of Judah to the Babylonians, as well as to the restoration of Judah from captivity.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the scholarly community has largely rejected the unity of authorship of Micah.  Yet in all their attempts they are not able to reach a consensus as to the history or authenticity of the text.  It does appear clear that the oracles in Micah were not spoken at one time.  It also seems that the book is not structured chronologically.

Micah is famous for his difficult Hebrew usage and the world plays he makes, linking the names of cities to the type of destruction they will have.  As we might expect from what I've said above, Micah speaks extensively about God's judgment on sin.  Sin brings judgment, leaving us in need of restoration which will also come from God and God alone.

As we look to the New Testament we see that Micah refers to Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and to the future Davidic ruler.  Micah talks about a gathering of believers in the "last days."  We expect with Peter in Acts that we are now in the last days and that our Lord will bring the culmination of those last days as he describes in Revelation 21.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

An Introduction to the Old Testament - Jonah

Dillard, Raymond B. & Longman, Tremper III. "Jonah."  An Introduction to the Old Testament.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1994. 391-395.

Jonah is one of the prohphets which is most familiar and memorable to readers.  It's also a book with considerable mystery involved.  Though we don't know anything about the date or author, the prophet Jonah "lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746)" (p. 391).  The most straightforward reading of the book would indicate that Jonah is a historical narrative.  There are, however, some features which could cast doubt on the historicity.

First, there's the debate over the time in the fish.  While there's argument either that it would be possible or that it would be impossible, the text clearly presents it as a miraculous event, thus leaving the argument for either point of view inadequate.

Second, there are descriptions of animals repenting and a comment on the size of Nineveh, both of which seem to be exaggerated.

There may be good reason to read the book primarily as a parable, though it is quite possible that we could also see the text as primarily an historical account, though one using a good deal of rhetorical invention.

Jonah contains a number of recurring themes and key words, including the idea of "rising up" and the idea of God "preparing" characters and events.  

Some commentary on the psalm of Jonah in the belly of the fish are in order.  We would possibly have expected Jonah to mourn and grieve at this time, but it does seem right to consider this as an act of God by which Jonah is preserved.  He may not know what the next step is, but the animal has certainly removed him from certain death in the water.

Jonah shows that God has compassion on all sorts of people, not just the people of Israel.  Jonah's lack of compassion toward those for whom God has great compassion is indicative of the way Israel did not appreciate God's desires.  As we look to the New Testament we see that Jesus is the one who proclaims God's deliverance.  He is the one who is greater than Jonah, who has given the sign of resurrection which he compared with Jonah's imprisonment in the fish.  Jesus is greater than Jonah especially in that while Jonah worked against his own will, Jesus gave his life freely.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com