Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible - review

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's little book, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, was a pleasant summary of the Psalter as a guide for prayer. He is quite helpful in understanding the imprecatory Psalms and how we are to see them this side of the cross. In fact, the greatest asset of this book is how it points us to Christ as we look at the Psalms.

It is a good book and a very short read. Plus you get a brief overview of Bonhoeffer's life. Thanks Jon for loaning me the book!

Exodus 2 – God knows

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel--and God knew. Exodus 2:23-25 (ESV)

Today, one of my wife's best friends died suddenly. She was a wife and mother with another child on the way. It has been a hard day.

What has made the day especially hard has been thinking about her husband. While we still have each other, he is mourning all alone. What comfort can we give him; what comfort do we take for him ourselves?

The cry went up to God – God hears, God sees, God knows. He isn’t deaf, blind, or ignorant to our pain.

Exodus 1 – Standing on the side of justice

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land...

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live." But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and let the male children live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Exodus 1:8-10, 15-21 (ESV)

Sometimes taking a stand for the little guy is quite popular. Other times it isn’t. The latest issue of Time Magazine has an article about the pregnancy centers that are helping women see the value of life. These pregnancy centers are quite effective at reaching out to these women and that drives places like Planned Parenthood up the wall.

People need justice. As I read the article, the reasons for choosing an abortion were so out of balance that it made the article hard to get through. We need more people willing to stand for the mothers and for their children. We need people willing to help in ways that honor God and don’t destroy life.

True, there isn’t an order from the President to kill all male children. But children are dying because they are inconvenient and a burden. Like Pharaoh, many see children as a threat to their little kingdom. The people who are working with these mothers are heroes, showing would-be mothers that there are things that are more important than the ‘perfect’ little kingdom they picture in their minds. Hopefully these women are envisioning a new kingdom, one characterized by joy, love, and life.

Genesis 50 – Ending with a coffin

Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Genesis 50:25-26 (ESV)

Genesis begins with life and ends with death. But even with death, there is the promise of something more. Joseph did not want his remains to reside inside the boundaries of the world’s superpower at the time; he was looking towards what God said He would do – the Promised Land. And God was faithful (Ex 13:19). He still is.

Genesis 48 - A bonus inheritance

Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow." - Genesis 48:21-22 (ESV)

Several sources, including the Jewish commentaries on this passage, see this place as Shechem - mostly because the word translated "mountain slope" (lit. shoulder or portion) sounds like the name of the city and region known as Shechem. Now this is a place of some infamy because of the incident with Dinah (Gen 34) that ultimately led to Simeon and Levi slaughtering the people and sacking the city. Jacob must think that this land is his, even though he is ushered off in the next chapter. John 4:5-6 also shows this to be the right region:
So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.

There is another part to this puzzling piece of land. There is a possibility that Ephraim and some of his family settled in the region around Shechem before the Conquest. Consider 1 Chronicles 7:20-24:
The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah.

Gath (located just southwest of Ephraim), Lower and Upper Beth-horon (in lower Ephraim, west of Bethel), and Uzzen-sheerah (well, this location is uncertain) are places that are in the Promised Land at a time prior to the Conquest. With the funeral processions that went back to the land of Canaan, it is at least possible that some of the family stayed behind. Plus, when Joshua did enter the land, they had a huge ceremony in Shechem with no real resistance. The mustering of the opposing armies occurred in the south and in the north with no real grouping of opposing armies from the central region. It must be said that not everyone stayed there; Joshua was from the half-tribe of Ephraim (1 Chrn 7:27) and he (and many others from this tribe) came out of Egypt.

Supposing this to be true, what do you do with this all this?

One: Rejoice in the confidence we can have in God's Word. With all the names and places that are given, Scripture sets itself up to be torn apart by archeology. But time and time again, the places, people, nations, titles, flora, fauna, timelines - are all vindicated by what we see in the dirt.

Two: Take confidence in God's plan. By settling in the area, there was a type of sanctuary for the people as they entered the land. God knows what He is doing, even if it seems strange or obscure.

Genesis 46 – A place to grow

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again…”
Genesis 46:1-4a (ESV)

Goshen is an interesting residence for a people that are going to inherit the land of Canaan. Again we see God’s protective hand as he prepares a place for His people to safely grow.

Canaan has lots of different (and warring) tribes in a very small area. For a wealthy, fledgling group like Jacob’s family, the land of Canaan could prove to be a very hazardous place to live. But Egypt is the superpower at the time and living under their protection – while being somewhat removed from their political centers – is an ideal place to raise a family. Or a people. Not to mention the free food.

Sometimes we wonder why we are in certain places when the Lord has called us to other endeavors. Maybe you sense a call to missions, but you are stuck – family, job, bills – and you don’t see the field coming any time soon. Maybe there is a call to do something great in your community, but your reputation and relationships always seem to be in the way. It seems that there are situations forced upon us that ‘prevent’ us from doing our ‘real’ work.

We should never waste the time we have now. God’s sovereign hand has placed many people in unusual places. Times where we can grow with some degree of safety should not be taken lightly or seen as a lack of confirmation as to what the Lord is doing. Our call is to be faithful; let God select the timing and the venue.

The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God - review

The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God by John Piper is a short book of poetry and photography based on the Book of Job. A kind of 'coffee table' book, Piper expands the story of Job to include interactions between Job and his wife and his daughter as well as some of the basic story elements. My version came with an audio CD that has the author reading his work.

The pinnacle of the poem (in my mind) comes in the fourth section as Job talks with his daughter:
"Jemimah, what I think
Is this: The Lord has made me drink
The cup of severity
That he might kindly show to me
What I would be when only he
Remains in my calamity.
Unkindly he has kindly shown
That he was not hope alone."

I guess I wonder if that is the point of Job's ordeal: to show that he was not hoping in God alone when calamity comes? Maybe since this poem is from Job's perspective, that is what Job thinks the point of all this was, but was that the real point? I guess I am not convinced.

Otherwise, this was a pleasant interpretation on Job. I am not a real big student of poetic literature, but having Piper read his own work was helpful. Without his reading, the poem was kind of hard to follow with the printed verses, forcing rhymes where grammar didn't allow. The pictures were very nice and added quite a bit. This is the sort of book that would be helpful when a person asks where God is during difficult times.

Genesis 45 - Truth revealed

Seeing God’s plan unfold can be an awesome sight. It makes past hurts seem small; it amplifies what is happening now. Joseph and his brothers have seen the hand of God working to preserve a people for God, even in the midst of world-wide tragedy.

In the busyness and hurt of everyday life, I often forget what God is doing. I minimize His work and trivialize His hand in my life. I get frustrated at where I am at; I hold grudges. But the truth is that God is at work in our lives. He does have a plan and, by His grace, it involves me. We all can lose sight of that.

But when we see God’s plan afresh, there can be real joy. Sure Joseph is excited to see his brothers. But he is even more excited to tell them about what the Lord has done in his life since they sold him to the Ishmaelites. He overjoyed to hear that his dad has been preserved and see his little brother all grown up – the Lord was even working back home.

When our story is just our story, it can be sad and miserable with a few good breaks. But when our story is a part of God’s story, there is true joy and fulfillment, even if there is suffering and hardship.

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life - review

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney discusses ten (or so) spiritual practices for us as believers. The spiritual disciplines are: Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning. (He lists twelve on the back, then combines and expands them within some of the chapters.)

I began reading this book for a series we were doing for our Life Builders class (Adult Sunday School). This was a companion book to Richard Foster’s classic, Celebration of Discipline. This turned out to be great book. Whitney doesn’t come across as a mystic, but someone who is very practical, but in touch with our need to cultivate these spiritual disciplines. He uses a good deal of scripture and history to demonstrate the importance of these practices.

It cannot be said how important these discipline are for us as Christians. While reading Whitney, you become convinced of how these practices must be a part of our lifestyle. And he won’t just leave you there; he gives good insight into how to implement these practices into your life.

While I set the book down for several months before picking it back up again, the chapters are nicely divided so that each chapter stands by itself. Because of that, this book can become a resource as well as something you can simply read through. Excellent book; read this one first before going to Foster.

Genesis 43 - Holding on

I’m sure we all have one. There is that one thing in our lives that we go to unreasonable lengths to protect. We cannot talk rationally about it. The thought of someone messing with it or hurting it consumes us. Maybe this “thing” became so valuable because we lost something else. Maybe it is our way of having control in a world that seems to be spinning out of control.

For Israel, it is his youngest son Benjamin.

As we enter chapter 43, we must remember that Simeon is presumably in an Egyptian jail. His freedom is contingent on a family visit. But at least some time passes before this occurs. Listen to the dialogue between Judah and Israel:

Now the famine was severe in the land. And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food."
But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.' If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'"
Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?"
They replied, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"
Genesis 43:1-7 (ESV)

What do we need to control in order to have a grip in this world? What are we unwilling to entrust to God’s care?

How Long O Lord - review

In his book, How Long O Lord, D.A. Carson gives reflections on the problem of a good, all-powerful God and a world with evil. This book is now being republished so I don’t know how many differences there are between the newest version and my 1990 copy.

What I appreciate about Carson’s approach is that there is a serious effort to examine the Biblical data. Most of the book deals with the various forms of evil and suffering as they are found in Scripture. Even as he puts the pieces together towards the end of the book, he builds his case from Scripture. Carson is quite clear and easy to follow.

Plus this book is helpful. You don’t just feel intellectually satisfied (or challenged), but you are given wisdom in dealing with suffering and evil. For example, I liked his section on Job. Carson spends quite a bit of time going over the setting, the people, what exactly they are saying, how Job is responding, what God does, etc. But the end is packaged rather convincingly:

“This is, at the end of the day, the ultimate test of our knowledge of God. Is it robust enough that, when faced with excruciating adversity, it may prompt us to lash out with hard questions, but will never permit us to turn away from God?” (p 178)

Great book; it is a great read and resource. I am sure the new version is just as good.

I'm not so smart

To everyone that posted this past month:

I am very sorry. I didn't realize that the comment moderation was set to ON. Please feel free to comment at your leisure.

Genesis 38 - Messed up lives and the goodness of God

This situation is really messed up. Two of Judah's sons die when they sequentially marry the same woman. The sons really die because they are so evil, but Judah connects the cause of death to this woman. So Judah prevents his last son from marrying the widow, but winds up sleeping with her himself, thinking she is a prostitute. She has kids through this ordeal and Judah realizes his own sinfulness.

This account seems to be an interruption in the life of Joseph, but it shows us the story of the seed that will eventually go through to Jesus. Matthew makes special note of this whole affair in his genealogy.

Judah [was] the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar (Matthew 1:3a)

When I look at this passage, I see God's faithfulness in spite of difficult situations. While there is quite a bit in this passage that makes a 21st century American feel uneasy, God's goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty give comfort.