In a previous post, I introduced the metaphor of food that Scripture uses for itself. One manifestation of this metaphor is the use of language appropriate to shepherds in describing teachers in the church.
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Author: vparunak
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How Shepherds Feed the Flock
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Have you eaten your Bible today?
The Bible uses many word pictures to describe itself. It is (among other things) God’s law, which tells us what he expects of us; his precepts, which guide us to prosperity; and his counsels, which teach us wisdom. A particularly common metaphor describes the word of God as food. This imagery sheds some important light on how we engage with it.
This topic is too large for a single post. In this one, we’ll look at summarize passages where the Bible calls itself food. Later posts will discuss the “shepherd” vocabulary that describes teachers in assemblies of the saints, how this metaphor explains the meaning of the phrase “sound doctrine,” and the “spiritual physiology” by which spiritual food leads to spiritual growth.
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Do You Know Jesus?
It is commonplace among evangelicals to use the phrase “knowing Jesus” as a synonym for “being saved.” Recently, I’ve been challenged by some NT passages to think more carefully about what it really means to know the Lord Jesus. It’s a wonderful thing to pass from death into life, but there’s evidence that knowing our Savior means much, much more.
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Peter’s Planned Presentation
In a previous post, I suggested that Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-36 (along with many other biblical sermons) shows evidence of careful planning. A brother asked me to provide more explanation in the case of Peter’s presentation. The evidence lies in the very careful rhetorical structure of the presentation. Here are the details.
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In Defense of the Sermon
Traditionally, the sermon has been an important feature of the assemblies of God’s people. The sermon is so central to many groups that its delivery is one of the main duties of a professionally trained and salaried individual, the pastor.
The sermon is coming under attack in many quarters as ineffective and out of date. Yet the practice of delivering material through an extended, carefully prepared verbal presentation has strong biblical precedent. Before abandoning serious expository preaching, let’s think more carefully.
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God is Haughty
In a recent post, I called attention to a word family in Hebrew, derivatives of the verb עלל, with an interesting pattern of distribution. When applied to God, these words are consistently used to motivate people to praise him. When applied to men, they are just as consistently negative, and describe an attitude of childishness and irresponsibility.
This is not the only word family that is negative when applied to man, but positive when applied to God. Here are two examples from another:
Isa 12:5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
Ps 17:10 [The wicked] are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
This time, the focus is on pride. It is wonderful for God to behave in a proud, haughty fashion, but every verse that applies these terms to people condemns them.
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God is Irresponsible
What do these verses have in common?
Isa 12:4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
Psa 141:4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
These verses seem to be very different. The first proclaims the Lord’s glorious acts, using a distinctive Hebrew word that is often used to describe his glorious doings. The second condemns men for their wicked behavior, again using a distinctive word that characterizes human wickedness. Remarkably, these two distinctive words are one and the same: עלילה! What does this word mean? What does it tell us about ourselves, and about God?
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Is God angry with Japan?
Japan is wrestling with multiple catastrophes of unprecedented proportions. The earthquake of March 11 led to a devastating tsunami, and the combination of the earthquake and the tsunami disabled the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear complex, leading to dangerous instability and release of radioactivity. Any one of these events would be major disaster. Three days later, Shintaro Ishihara, mayor of Tokyo, suggested that the events carried a spiritual message: “We need to use tsunami to wipe out egoism, which has rusted onto the mentality of Japanese over a long period of time. I think (the disaster) is tembatsu (divine punishment), although I feel sorry for disaster victims.” Could he be right?
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Resources on the Headings of the Psalms
Do you find the headings of the Psalms confusing? Here are some resources to help you understand them.
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How to Motivate God
In our study of Isa 37:3-6, I was struck with how Hezekiah motivated his request to the Lord for help against Assyria, and with the rich precedent for his request.
How do we motivate our requests for God’s intervention? We often plead the dismal condition we face, and ask that God in his love would intervene. Our focus is on ourselves, our needs, and God’s attitude toward us. All of these have their place, but Hezekiah’s example can teach us a much more fundamental principle for motivating God in prayer.