Exodus 11:1 Now the LORD said to Moses, "One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֹוד נֶגַע אֶחָד אָבִיא עַל־פַּרְעֹה וְעַל־מִצְרַיִם אַחֲרֵי־כֵן יְשַׁלַּח אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה כְּשַׁלְּחֹו כָּלָה גָּרֵשׁ יְגָרֵשׁ אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה׃
There is something that I think we tend to miss when we consider the Exodus account. It is certainly difficult to pick up from the movie with Charlton Heston. But here we really see it brought out with the construct גָּרֵשׁ יְגָרֵשׁ . The use of the infinitive emphasizes a point here. Pharaoh was ready to drive the Israelites away.
It is easy to think of Pharoah begrudgingly letting them go. However, the language throughout the account is of sending the people away, not merely releasing them. Here we actually have something translated "drive them away." In other words, by this time Pharaoah was ready to drive them away so that the plagues would stop.
Why do I mention this? It really underscores the power and majesty of the Lord. He is not just tinkering with a big Rube Goldberg machine. He is directing the world. He really does have it all in His hands. This is the God that I worship and serve. What a privilege to know this awesome God!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Friday, May 07, 2010
Hiatus
This blog will be on a brief hiatus while I travel this weekend. Given where I am in John I don't want to do anything halfway. I've been looking forward to these chapters for months!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
I Am
John 6:20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."
20 ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι· μὴ φοβεῖσθε.
The disciples had gone ahead of Jesus in a boat. They were a few miles from shore and suddenly Jesus came to them. Since this was night they were understandably afraid. They thought that they were seeing a ghost of some kind. Jesus reassures them with this short statement.
This is one area where it really helps to know at least a little Greek. Jesus makes the statement ἐγώ εἰμι. He could have simply said εἰμι, but He chose to add the pronoun. This would likely make the disciples think of:
Exodus 3:14 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν καὶ εἶπεν οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέν με πρὸς ὑμᾶς
See what God told Moses? His name is simply ἐγώ εἰμι. The same goes for Jesus. While this is not necessarily an explicit claim to divinity it is certainly an implicit one.
What does this mean for us? It means that we need to get Jesus right. We need to rightly understand who He is if we are to worship Him. Either He is divine and part of the Trinity or the Arians are right. You can't have it both ways. Choose this day whom you will serve.
20 ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι· μὴ φοβεῖσθε.
The disciples had gone ahead of Jesus in a boat. They were a few miles from shore and suddenly Jesus came to them. Since this was night they were understandably afraid. They thought that they were seeing a ghost of some kind. Jesus reassures them with this short statement.
This is one area where it really helps to know at least a little Greek. Jesus makes the statement ἐγώ εἰμι. He could have simply said εἰμι, but He chose to add the pronoun. This would likely make the disciples think of:
Exodus 3:14 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν καὶ εἶπεν οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέν με πρὸς ὑμᾶς
See what God told Moses? His name is simply ἐγώ εἰμι. The same goes for Jesus. While this is not necessarily an explicit claim to divinity it is certainly an implicit one.
What does this mean for us? It means that we need to get Jesus right. We need to rightly understand who He is if we are to worship Him. Either He is divine and part of the Trinity or the Arians are right. You can't have it both ways. Choose this day whom you will serve.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Reading the Pentateuch
John 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
46 εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν.
Jesus here makes a very important statement for how we treat the Old Testament. It is easy for us to just forget about the Old Testament. After all, we have the New, so why bother? What value does the Old Testament give us? Here we see that the Pentateuch in particular speaks to us of Jesus.
This is certainly interesting reading, but what value does it add? Personally, it increases the faith I have in the God who can make all things happen according to His will. Moses wrote of Christ thousands of years before the incarnation. This is not a God who leaves things up to "chance," whatever that is. No, He is a God who has a plan for the fullness of time, as Paul told us in Ephesians.
This statement εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί is a second-class conditional statement. What Jesus is saying is, "If you had believed Moses, and I know that you didn't, then you would believe me." Or, put another way, "Since you didn't believe Moses you don't believe me." This is a stinging rebuke to the Jews. They were sure that they had got Moses right, but Jesus turned that upside-down.
Where are you? Are you living in certainty that you have God figured out? If you are sure, what are you sure about? Hopefully your certainty comes from knowing Jesus and not from something you have decided on your own. The Bible is a big book about Jesus. Let's remember that and rejoice in it.
46 εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν.
Jesus here makes a very important statement for how we treat the Old Testament. It is easy for us to just forget about the Old Testament. After all, we have the New, so why bother? What value does the Old Testament give us? Here we see that the Pentateuch in particular speaks to us of Jesus.
This is certainly interesting reading, but what value does it add? Personally, it increases the faith I have in the God who can make all things happen according to His will. Moses wrote of Christ thousands of years before the incarnation. This is not a God who leaves things up to "chance," whatever that is. No, He is a God who has a plan for the fullness of time, as Paul told us in Ephesians.
This statement εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί is a second-class conditional statement. What Jesus is saying is, "If you had believed Moses, and I know that you didn't, then you would believe me." Or, put another way, "Since you didn't believe Moses you don't believe me." This is a stinging rebuke to the Jews. They were sure that they had got Moses right, but Jesus turned that upside-down.
Where are you? Are you living in certainty that you have God figured out? If you are sure, what are you sure about? Hopefully your certainty comes from knowing Jesus and not from something you have decided on your own. The Bible is a big book about Jesus. Let's remember that and rejoice in it.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Answered Prayer
John 4:53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." And he himself believed, and all his household.
53 ἔγνω οὖν ὁ πατὴρ ὅτι [ἐν] ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐν ᾗ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ὁ υἱός σου ζῇ, καὶ ἐπίστευσεν αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ οἰκία αὐτοῦ ὅλη.
A man came to Jesus asking for healing for his son. Jesus told him that he simply had to go home in faith and the man's son would be well. As he was going home he was met by his servants with good news -- his son was well! He asked when the fever left him and then put 2 and 2 together. He realized that Jesus did indeed heal his son.
As someone who aspires to be more of a praying man this convicts me. I tend not to have a long litany of prayers because I don't think that God works that way. I don't think that healing or revival are contingent on gathering enough signatures on a petition to take to God. Based on passages like Ephesians 1:10, I don't think that God changes His mind. He has a plan for the fullness of time and we're not going to change that. I also know that God uses means to do His will and the prayers of the saints are one of those means.
The conviction comes because I often do not put 2 and 2 together. I don't reconcile the answer with the prayer. This is a shame because I lose an opportunity to give God thanks and praise. The work He does in our lives is for the glory of His name. Let's be sure to pay attention to how He works.
Plus, this can be a boon to our own faith. Let us remember what He has done as that will increase our faith and trust in Him. I know I could use more of both.
53 ἔγνω οὖν ὁ πατὴρ ὅτι [ἐν] ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐν ᾗ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ὁ υἱός σου ζῇ, καὶ ἐπίστευσεν αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ οἰκία αὐτοῦ ὅλη.
A man came to Jesus asking for healing for his son. Jesus told him that he simply had to go home in faith and the man's son would be well. As he was going home he was met by his servants with good news -- his son was well! He asked when the fever left him and then put 2 and 2 together. He realized that Jesus did indeed heal his son.
As someone who aspires to be more of a praying man this convicts me. I tend not to have a long litany of prayers because I don't think that God works that way. I don't think that healing or revival are contingent on gathering enough signatures on a petition to take to God. Based on passages like Ephesians 1:10, I don't think that God changes His mind. He has a plan for the fullness of time and we're not going to change that. I also know that God uses means to do His will and the prayers of the saints are one of those means.
The conviction comes because I often do not put 2 and 2 together. I don't reconcile the answer with the prayer. This is a shame because I lose an opportunity to give God thanks and praise. The work He does in our lives is for the glory of His name. Let's be sure to pay attention to how He works.
Plus, this can be a boon to our own faith. Let us remember what He has done as that will increase our faith and trust in Him. I know I could use more of both.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
