Psalm 49 is a Psalm of wisdom, a parable and riddle (vv. 3-4). Like other wisdom Psalms, it addresses the question of the prosperity of the wicked – the ancient Israelite version of the problem of evil (vv. 5-6). Being wise when you see the wicked prosper means seeing the end, which is to say, knowing death. The wicked may prosper but they die and leave riches to others (v. 10); they won’t carry anything to the grave, and their... Read more
In John’s gospel, Jesus famously says “I am” again and again. These allude to the Old Testament’s revelation of “I am,” but if we can press the wording, they are also statements about the being of Jesus. Let’s say they are ontological statements. The predicate, though, describes Jesus’ ministry in the world. Jesus does not say, “I am infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in My being, power, holiness, goodness, and truth” (though He could have). He says “I am Bread” and... Read more
There are some dreams and visions scattered around the Old Testament, but no book as the kind of concentration of dreams as Daniel. Kings dream, and the prophet dreams. In Esther too, the dream of Ahasuerus is the turning point of the story. Zechariah sees a series of visions in the night. Something new is afoot in the exile and after. Night becomes bright with dreams and visions. Perhaps this is a sign that the promise of Joel receives an... Read more
Salvian the Presbytery was not impressed with the post-Constantinian Roman empire. In his treatise on The Governance of God (translated in Writings of Salvian the Presbyter F ), he denounced the vices of the majority of believers: “The Church herself, which should be the appeaser of God in all things, what is she but the exasperator of God? Beyond a very few individuals who shun evil, what else is the whole assemblage of Christians but the bilge water of vice?... Read more
The social vision of Paul’s “Pastoral Epistles” seems so very conservative, so Greco-Romany bourgeois. They seem far too conservative to be genuinely Pauline, according to the consensus view among critical scholars. That reading of the Pastorals is somewhat plausible if one skims the surface. Paul reinforces accepted male-female role distinctions, insists on respect for age, assumes that women will be occupied with raising children. At a deeper level, though, the Pastorals accomplish something different. (more…) Read more
When we read Jonah, our attention is naturally focused on the fascinating character of the prophet. He disobeys and flees, only to be cast a watery grave. He learns his lesson enough to obey the next time, but he’s awfully surly at the end about the withered plant. Insofar as a bigger picture emerges, it is sometimes seen to be an early form of Semitic nationalism or ethnic pride. Jonah does not want to share the riches of Israel with... Read more
When Habakkuk complains that the Lord isn’t doing anything about the violence and flouting of the law in Israel, Yahweh responds by telling the prophet the Chaldeans are coming. That’s not much of an answer, but there’s a hint that the Chaldean forces are from Yahweh: In verse 1:8, the horses are compared to leopards and to swooping eagles. Winged leopards should remind us of something – the ox/lion/eagle/men that constituted Yahweh’s chariot, the cherubim warriors that made up Yahweh’s... Read more
I was honored to serve as guest editor of the Fall 2012 edition of Comment magazine, a publication of the Canadian think tank Cardus. The issue focuses on the “Word of God in the City of Man,” and includes articles by James Payton, Al Wolters, Richard Mouw, Marilynne Robinson, Daniel Siedell, Makoto Fukimuro, Calvin Seerveld, and others. Check out the table of contents and some sample articles at www.cardus.ca/comment/print_issues/3684/ Read more
Next door on the main First Things site ( www.firstthings.com ), I summarize some recent revisionist scholarship on the origins of Islam. Read more
There aren’t many contemporary Reformed theologians whose writings I find more stimulating and insightful than Peter Leithart and Jim Jordan. On everything from biblical commentary to historical theology, from poetry to politics, from music and liturgics to eschatology and hermeneutics, the light of the gospel shines forth in fresh and sparkling colours from every new book and essay. Since iron sharpens iron, the prospect of Jim and Peter working together at the Trinity Institute is very exciting indeed. I thank... Read more
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In