Glory Beyond the Kings of the Earth, 1 Kings 4-5 INTRODUCTION In 1 Kings 3, Solomon asked for and was given wisdom, and Yahweh also promised to give him glory and riches and a long life. In the following chapters, we see these promises fulfilled. Solomon demonstrates his wisdom by organizing the kingdom, in his relations with Hiram king of Tyre, and in building the temple (cf. Exodus 31:3). All these displays of wisdom bring him glory beyond the glory... Read more
Barth argues in CD 1/1 that the generation of the Son is not only antecedent to and the eternal ground of the act of creation, but that it is a superior act of the Father. The Son’s generation points to “the bringing forth of God from God,” which is greater than the “bringing forth of the creature by God.” More elaborately, “In the superiority of bringing forth from God in God over bringing forth by God, in the superiority of... Read more
Oliver O’Donovan’s Just War Revisited (reviewed in the August 13 TLS ) presents just war as “a means of delivering judgment when all other means of judging a dispute have failed. Since war arises in the absence of an adequate formal authority to resolve a dispute, armed conflict can be reconceived as an extraordinary extension of ordinary acts of judgment. But if follows that a just belligerent must pursue war in a judicial spirit” (this summary from the reviewer, John... Read more
That is, Bill Clinton’s My Life , which David Frum reviews in the Sept issue of Commentary . Frum offers the standard (and entirely correct) conservative complaints against Clinton, but commends his understated performance as ex-President. Frum ends on this remarkably hopeful note (especially coming from someone like Frum): “In My Life , Clinton talks about the process of maturation. Like many members of his generation, he has been late to reach full adulthood ?Enot even being elected President quite... Read more
Is identical repetition possible? It would seem not. Sequence A (say, a musical theme) is repeated as sequence A’. The same notes are played. Is it identical repetition? No, because A’ has the distinct quality of coming AFTER A, and therefore is modified by that temporal context. Every sequence is necessarily modified by what precedes and follows. The only way to affirm identical repetition is to claim that temporal context is irrelevant ?Ethat the time difference between sequence A and... Read more
1 Kings 3:15 The story of Solomon?s request for and reception of wisdom is framed by references to worship. At the beginning of the story, Solomon is in Gibeon, worshiping at the bronze altar that Moses built in the wilderness, and then he ascends to the ark-shrine in Jerusalem, the tent that David set up to house the throne of Yahweh. There is a progression here. Having been given wisdom, Solomon moves from the old high place and ascends to... Read more
Earlier this month, we celebrated the end of the first year of our existence as Trinity Reformed Church. This occasion gives us reason to pause to reminder ourselves what we hope to do as a local congregation. Since we started Trinity, the elders have been laying out a number of plans for our work, and these are in three specific areas: First, liturgical; second, local ministry; and third, participation in world missions. In the first area, liturgical, we have not... Read more
There’s a fairly neat chiasm in the first part of Rom 7: a. law rules while one lives b. woman bound while husband lives; if husband dies, freed (KATARGEO) c. while husband lives: adulteress d. if husband dies: joined to another without adultery e. you died through Christ, through body of Christ d’. joined to another to bear fruit c’. in flesh: passions operated to bring forth fruit to death b’. liberated from law, KATARGEO a’. serve in newness of... Read more
Eyes, Jim Jordan constantly points out, are organs of judgment. God “sees” the light and judges it good, and His eyes are open to judge the righteous and the wicked (Ps 11). 1 Kings 3, however, seems to make some play with this. Solomon is asking for discernment and wisdom to “judge,” but instead of asking for “eyes” to judge, he asks for a new heart, a heart that “hears” (the Heb is SHEMA in v 9). When Yahweh hears... Read more
It seems that Solomon begins his reign with a breach of the law. Deuteronomy 7:3-4 forbids Israel from intermarrying with Gentiles, Canaanites in particular, and the usage in Deuteronomy 7 is very similar to that of 1 Kings 3:1. Solomon ?became son-in-law to Pharaoh,?Eand Deuteronomy 7 forbids the Israelites to ?become sons-in-law?Eto Canaanites (v. 3). Further, Solomon?s early connection with Egypt is ominous. By becoming Pharaoh?s ?son-in-law,?ESolomon effectively put himself in a subordinate position to the Egyptian king. And Egypt... Read more
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