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The Oldest Inscription of the Name of God

5/15/2022

 
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Earlier this Spring, the Associates for Biblical Research, an American archaeological research group, announced the discovery of a curse text discovered on a small, folded lead tablet that had been found in archaeological excavations in Israel in late 2019.  The artifact is of particular interest to readers of the Bible not so much for what its inscribed text says, but for the fact that it contains the earliest instance of the Hebrew name for God – Yahweh – that has ever been found in an archaeological context, and also for its significance regarding the history of Hebrew writing and the Bible itself.

The tablet, which is barely larger than a postage stamp, contains an inscription that is believed to be centuries older than any known Hebrew inscription from ancient Israel. The small international team of scientists studying the artifact employed advanced tomographic scans to recover the text, slowly recovering one after another of the artifact’s written letters. When the text had been completely recovered, the textual specialists could tell that the text reads:

Cursed, cursed, cursed – cursed by the God YHW.
You will die cursed.
Cursed you will surely die.
Cursed by YHW – cursed, cursed, cursed.
 
This “curse text” was found in discarded material from an archaeological excavation on Mt. Ebal near modern Nablus.  Significantly, this was the site, according to Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8, where the people of ancient Israel were instructed by God to recite curses on those who did not obey the Law of God.  As a result, the site became associated with cursing, and numerous artifacts such as the newly translated tablet were left there in ancient times.  Joshua 8:30 tells us that Joshua built an altar on Mt. Ebal and the curse tablet was found in the location where Joshua’s altar is believed to have stood and where its possible remains have been found.

But the new text is tremendously important as it may well represent both the oldest known example of written Hebrew, and also the oldest known example of the Hebrew YHW [or YHWH]– the name for God often transliterated as Yahweh.  The find, which predates the famous Dead Sea Scrolls by more than a millennium, is so significant because the text seems to date to the Iron Age I or Late Bronze Age periods –  around 1200 BC at the latest, and perhaps as early as 1400 BC or earlier.  Either way, this is centuries before the oldest previously known Hebrew texts and instances of the name of God in Hebrew outside the Bible.

This fact strongly argues against those who attempt to date the Bible to much later centuries by claiming that the ancient Hebrews were not literate and that the biblical books were probably not written down till around 700 BC.   And it is important to stress that the new text is not only Hebrew writing, but also that it is a sophisticated composition written in a carefully balanced “chiastic parallelism” or crossover style found in many of the biblical writings and often said to be a mark of “developed” writing characteristic of later dates. 

The date of the earliest Hebrew inscriptions has, in fact, been continuously pushed back in recent years.  A nearly 3,000-year-old inscription called the stele of Mesha in which the king of Moab boasts of his victories against the Kingdom of Israel and its god Yahweh, contained the earliest known extra-biblical mention of the God of the Bible for a number of years after its discovery in 1868.

Since then, even older inscriptions have been found. An inscription found in what is today Sudan, in the temple of Soleb dedicated to the Egyptian god Amon-Re and built by the Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1378-1348 BC),  has more recently been seen as the oldest known reference to Yahweh, God of Israel.

The new discovery from Mt. Ebal may be older than even the very early Soleb inscription, and continuing study by a wide range of ancient textual specialists will doubtless help to narrow down its date more precisely.  

Does the New Testament Quote the Old Testament Accurately?

3/8/2020

 
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​In studying the Bible, you may have noticed that when New Testament authors quote scriptures from the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), their quotations are often somewhat different from the wording of the verses they appear to be quoting.  This has led to skeptics claiming that the New Testament Christians misquoted or even “changed” the Bible in order to try to make their case and to show what they wanted the Scriptures to show. However, there are a number of simple answers to this question of why the wording of quotations in the New Testament often appears to be different from the quoted Old Testament verses themselves. 

First, we must realize that our modern Bibles differ in many small details from the Scriptures that were available to the earliest Christians.  The earliest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible on which most of our modern Old Testaments are based date to about AD 900, but before that time many copies of the Hebrew Bible had slight differences.   The New Testament writers had access to these earlier versions of the biblical books, and it is those versions that they quote – meaning that their quotations often have slightly different wording from the same verses in our modern Bibles. 

Next, we should be aware that not all the New Testament writers knew Hebrew. For example, Luke, the author of the third Gospel and the book of Acts – and evidently a speaker of Greek –  may not have known the Hebrew language.  He seems to frequently quote from the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek that was made in the third and second centuries BC. The author of the book of Hebrews certainly was also more comfortable using Greek and never quotes directly from the Hebrew Bible – only from the Septuagint and other versions.  And even the apostle Paul, though he clearly knew Hebrew, also used the Septuagint at times. In fact, of the approximately 300 Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, approximately two-thirds of them came from that Greek translation, and these quotes often differ very slightly from the wording of the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament writers evidently had no difficulty in regarding such translations as the Word of God.

Also, we don’t think it strange today when Christian teachers or preachers quote a specific translation in order to best make the point they are trying to get across.  Sometimes a given translation uses the exact word that is being discussed –  for example, confidence instead of faith –  so a particular modern-day translation of the Bible may work best in a given message or under particular circumstances.  The New Testament writers were no different and seem to have sometimes chosen a version of the Bible that provided wording that best fit their message. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that today we can easily access a Bible in order to quote a particular verse, but few early Christians owned complete copies or even parts of the Scriptures.  The New Testament writers often had to rely on memory in order to include the gist of a biblical verse or passage in their own writing.  Writers like the apostle Paul (who quotes the Old Testament some 183 times in his epistles) knew the Scriptures well enough to be able to quote them exactly or close to exactly from memory.

Finally,  the writers of the New Testament sometimes combined two or more verses from the Hebrew Bible in order to make their point.  This is no different from today when we quote from several pages of a book or even from several sources in our own writing.  But first century writers did not utilize footnotes or other forms of citation (which appeared much later in history) to note exactly where each quotation came from. For example, in his epistles, Paul sometimes introduced quotations from the  Old Testament by saying something like “it is written in the law” (1 Corinthians 9:9; etc.).  But at other times he simply made the quotation without even mentioning where it is from when he was confident that his readers would recognize the verse (Romans 2:24; etc.) Even if verses from different areas of the Scriptures were quoted together, when the New Testament writers knew they were writing to individuals who knew the Scriptures well, they simply quoted the verses without mentioning where they were from. 
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An aspect of this topic that can be helpful in our own study of the Bible is that it often pays to compare a New Testament quotation with its original verse in the Old Testament (which is usually cited in the footnotes of modern translations). This is not because we need worry about minor differences in wording, but because looking at the context in which the Old Testament verse appears can often help us more fully understand the New Testament reference. The New Testament writers knew that many of their readers would not only recognize the verses they quoted, but also would know the setting in which they appeared.  

Abraham and the "Blazing Torch"

6/13/2018

 
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​In Genesis 15:8-21 we find the story of God sealing his covenant with Abram (before he became Abraham) by means of animal sacrifices.  In response to Abram’s request for a sign that God would fulfill his promise (vs. 8),  God instructed him to take various animals and sacrifice them in a particular manner. 

After killing the animals, Abram divided them into halves, placing them on the ground in such a way that someone could walk between the halves of the carcasses.  The narrative then states:  “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram …” (Genesis 15:17-18).


Many biblical commentaries suggest that this event was symbolic of such things as the “furnace of affliction” Israel would suffer in Egypt, but there is no reason to make such a symbolic connection, especially one so stretched.   The real meaning of this event can be clearly seen from what is known of ancient Near Eastern land grant treaties (a type of “suzerain-vassal treaty” in which an agreement is made  between two unequal parties, one of higher status and one of lower status, in which land is granted to the ruler of lower status on condition of faithfulness to the higher king).

​In this type of ritual, sacrificed animals were divided in half and in some cases the participants to the treaty walked between the halves of the animals as a way to seal the agreement made by the participants.  This legal procedure of the world in which Abram lived is clearly central to understanding the story of Genesis 15.  Perhaps Abram walked between the animal halves when he arranged them on the ground,  but it is clear that God did – represented by the burning torch which "passed between the pieces."


Another, much later (c. 590 BC), but clearly parallel biblical example of this ritual in the time of Zedekiah involves an animal  being killed, cut into two pieces, and then individuals passing between the divided pieces (Jeremiah 34:8-22 and note vss. 15, 19).

The Hebrew Bible speaks of  covenants not as being “made” but as being “cut” (Hebrew karat), and the ancient sacrificial covenant animal cutting practice explains that usage. 

* Reproduced from the post of 4/6/2014 on our sister site TacticalChristianity.org .

The Prophet Nathan: Tough Love and True Faith

7/26/2017

 
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The prophet Nathan (Hebrew “He gave” or “Gift of God”) served during the reigns of both King David and his son Solomon.  Although Nathan was usually “behind the scenes” during the reigns of these kings, it is probable that no other single person was more influential during that pivotal era of biblical history.

Nathan is mentioned many times throughout the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles – mainly during the darkest and most troubled times of King David’s reign. We first meet him in 2 Samuel 7:2 when David told the prophet of his desire to build a temple for God.  At first Nathan encouraged the king, but we are told that later that night God spoke to Nathan, telling him in detail why he would not accept a temple built by David, stressing that David had shed much blood (1 Chronicles 28:3).
 
It was not a flattering message to have to relay, but we see something of Nathan’s character in that he did not attempt to smooth over the reason for God’s refusal of David (or to cover the fact that he himself had been wrong to originally encourage the king) – we are specifically told that “Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation” (2 Samuel 7:17, emphasis added).

Later, Nathan had to confront David with the king’s sins of adultery with Bathsheba and of having her husband Uriah killed (2 Samuel 12:1-15).  Considering the fact that David had already killed to hide this situation, we see Nathan’s tremendous strength of character and faith in boldly accusing the king.  Nathan not only accused David as God had commanded him to do, but also predicted that David’s first child by Bathsheba would die, and that the king would suffer great anguish as a result of the actions of his own family members.

Close to the end of David’s life, Nathan related to David the news of his son Adonijah’s plan to seize the throne.  In this way the prophet skillfully enabled the hasty coronation of David’s chosen heir – Solomon. 
 
Nathan was not simply a bringer of bad news, however. He also encouraged the king and informed David that his throne would be established forever (1 Chronicles 17:1-15).  He was clearly a trusted advisor throughout his service to the king and a man of important accomplishments.  There appears to have been a book written either by Nathan himself or about his service as a prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29), and Nathan apparently wrote a history of King Solomon along with two others (2 Chronicles 9:29).

But Nathan’s major accomplishment was undoubtedly the true faith he repeatedly showed in expressing tough love for David and confronting the king with his errors.  Nathan’s character and faithfulness in conveying the word of God, no matter how negative the message sometimes may have seemed, obviously gained him the respect of Israel’s greatest king. True to his name, the prophet surely was a “Gift of God” to David in helping him to correct his course when he went astray (for example, Psalm 51) – something the king must surely have appreciated over time.
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In fact, it is doubtless a sign of David’s respect and love for Nathan that the king named his third son after the prophet (1 Chronicles 3:5).  And it is through that Nathan – not Solomon or any of David’s other powerful sons – that Jesus Christ was descended (Luke 3:31).
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The prophet Nathan served in a “behind the scenes” career, but one which had a tremendous effect for good.  He is an example to all of us of the value of truth spoken in love, and of faith in dealing with difficult situations concerning those we strive to serve.

Evidence of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea?

5/11/2016

 
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Ancient Egyptian Khepesh Sword
Articles recently published on many online sites and in some printed media claim that hundreds of skeletons as well as many ancient Egyptian weapons and broken chariots have been discovered beneath the waters of the Red Sea, seemingly confirming the biblical story of the Exodus.  One of these articles (March 9, 2016) provides a good many details as we see in this direct quote:
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“Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced this morning that a team of underwater archaeologists had discovered that remains of a large Egyptian army from the 14th century BC, at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez, 1.5 kilometers offshore from the modern city of Ras Gharib. The team was searching for the remains of ancient ships and artifacts related to Stone Age and Bronze Age trade in the Red Sea area, when they stumbled upon a gigantic mass of human bones darkened by age.

The scientists lead by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and associated with Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have already recovered a total of more than 400 different skeletons, as well as hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor, also the remains of two war chariots, scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters. They estimate that more than 5000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area, suggesting that an army of large size who have perished on the site.”

This extract from one of the published articles “reporting” the discovery certainly looks authentic in that it states the find was officially announced by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities and names the specific archaeologist - Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader – responsible for the discovery, as well as seeming to show a discovered artifact.
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The truth, however, is that the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has never made such an announcement, there is no Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader at Cairo University, and every detail of the claimed finds is pure fiction. Even the picture of the ancient Egyptian “Khepesh” (or Khopesh) sword accompanying the article (reproduced above), and implied to have been found among the Red Sea artifacts, is well known to archaeologists. It was found at Nablus, north of Jerusalem, a good many years ago, and the photograph of this weapon used in the supposed news article has been taken from the Wikipedia site, here.
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But the spurious “announcement” of evidence of the Exodus destruction of Pharaoh’s army is a recurring one, with “coral encrusted” chariot wheels, ancient weapons and other artifacts routinely said to have been found in the Red Sea.  And the Exodus isn’t the only Biblical story that is frequently said to have been “confirmed.”  Stories ranging from discoveries of wood from Noah’s Ark to “evidence” of Goliath’s spear occur periodically, and all have in common their complete lack of factuality.

Archaeology has confirmed many details of the biblical account, and these discoveries are encouraging to read; but we should realize that Christians have a special responsibility not to believe or repeat stories of “major discoveries” that simply are not true. Psychologically we all like to get affirmation for what we believe, but we must remember that gullibility on our part always leads to rejection of what we say by others.  When people find such stories are false, they are more likely to turn from the Bible than to it.

As a simple rule of thumb, we should realize that any “discovery” of real Biblical significance would be reported by most of the newspapers and news sources around the world.  The moral of the “coral encrusted” chariot wheels is that if we don’t see a story of such major significance everywhere, we should not believe it.   It’s always better when our faith is based on what matters – and what is true. ​

Christian Atheists?

4/13/2016

 
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It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but in ancient Rome Christians were often called atheists.   Most people in the Roman Empire believed that there were many gods, and the idea of worshipping only one God seemed so bizarre to the Romans that they viewed it as a denial of the existence of all the other gods – their gods – and as a result they labeled Christians as “impious atheists.”

Although Judaism held the same belief in monotheism, the Jews tended to keep their religion to themselves and generally did not attempt to witness to their religion or spread it in the way that Christians did.  Because of this fact, the Romans knew much more about the beliefs of Christianity and began to take issue with what they saw as Christian rejection of the Roman deities. Additionally, many did not like the fact that Christianity condemned a number of their socially acceptable behaviors.

So the Christians became known as intolerant of other gods and were soon being accused of being “atheists” along with a number of false accusations. The situation was so widespread that in AD 176-7 the Christian thinker Athenagoras (A.D. 133-190) wrote an explanation or “apology” on the matter that he addressed to the Emperor at the time, Marcus Aurelius. 

This work was called the Plea for the Christians and combats the three most common charges against Christians: atheism, incest and cannibalism.  The accusation of cannibalism was, of course, a misunderstanding of the Christian idea of eating the “flesh” and “blood” of the Son of God (partaking of the bread and wine – Luke 22:19-20) in the Lord’s Supper. The charge of incest was based on the common Christian practice of referring to all people – including husbands and wives – as “brother” or “sister,” and, as we have seen, the idea that the Christians were atheists was the result of the “intolerant” Christian belief on monotheism.  

In an interesting turn of events, as history has progressed to the day in which we live, Christianity is being increasingly viewed as intolerant. This is not only because of its rejection of many socially accepted behaviors, but also because the Christian Faith teaches of Jesus Christ that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  In today’s inclusive and politically correct world, such an idea seems as bizarre to many modern people as it was to the ancient Romans, and the response is frequently the same – “If you don’t accept my god, you are intolerant and I won’t accept you or your God.”

In ancient Rome the charge of Christian intolerance soon led to intolerance against Christians, and our own time is no different.   We see increasing intolerance regarding the Christian rejection of ungodly behavior just as the early Christians did, and we too can take to heart the words of Peter regarding those who are offended by that “intolerance”: “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:4).

Perhaps the similarities between the situation at the time of early Christianity and where our own culture is leaning should not surprise us.  Paul spoke of the same factors affecting early Christians and believers today:  “… everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).  In these words we see that persecution involves the world’s response to both Christians’ moral choices (“live a godly life”) and their theological ones (“in Christ Jesus”), as both are seen as evidence of intolerance by those opposed to Christianity, and both become the grounds for persecution.

For many Christians intense persecution at the hands of other religions is already here, of course, and we are reminded again of Peter’s words: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).  Peter was simply reminding his hearers of the words of Jesus himself:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

History does, indeed, repeat itself.  But as the persecution of Christians becomes more common again – essentially for the same reasons – let us be encouraged to also repeat the outcome of that persecution.  Peter tells us: “…if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter 4:16 ESV).  We can glorify God in this context by our good works despite the accusations and persecution we endure, and it  is by demonstrating God in us that we best disprove the charges of intolerance and godlessness.  Athenagoras understood that well – as he shows in his rebuttal of the charge of Christian atheism:

“…if [Christians] are unable in words to prove the benefit of our doctrine, yet by their deeds [they] exhibit the benefit arising from their persuasion of its truth: they do not rehearse speeches, but exhibit good works; when struck, they do not strike again; when robbed, they do not go to law; they give to those that ask of them, and love their neighbors as themselves …” (Plea for the Christians, Chapter 11).

The Way It Should Be

5/31/2015

 
PictureA Second Century Greek papyrus.
A fascinating  document, “To Diognetus,”  by an unknown second century author, gives us an amazing  description of the  Christians in the early Church.  The document, which is in the form of a letter in twelve chapters,  explains to its recipient how Christians acted in contrast with those around them.  Consider the following extracts:

“Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language…. But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvelous, and confessedly contradicts expectation.

“They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is a foreign country. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring…. They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives.

“They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. …They are in want of all things, and yet they abound in all things. They are dishonored, and yet they are glorified in their dishonor. They are slandered, yet they are vindicated. They are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and they respect. Doing good they are punished as evil-doers; being punished they rejoice, as if they were thereby given new life. The Jews war against them as heretics and the Greeks persecute them, although none of those that hate them can tell the reason of their hostility.”

Commonly dated between AD 130–180, it is possible that this is one of the first known works of Christian apologetics, but regardless of its exact date of origin and our lack of knowledge of who originally wrote the letter, and to whom,  the letter to Diognetus fits, at every point,  the biblical description of how Christians should be different from others.  We can only read this description of early Christianity and ask ourselves  how well it describes Christianity in the world in which we live, and if it describes each of us in particular.

Polycarp – Disciple of the Apostle John

1/25/2015

 
PictureEngraving by Michael Burghers, ca 1685
The story of Polycarp (AD 80 – 167) is a fascinating one.  Because he was probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, the life of Polycarp forms a historically documented link between the Church of the New Testament and later Christianity. According to the early Church Father  Irenaeus, who knew him, Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John (the last surviving member of the twelve disciples), and other Church Fathers confirmed this, recording also that he was ordained by John as Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor (the city of Izmir in modern Turkey). 

Polycarp’s life and teaching is well documented in a number of sources, and a letter written by him to the Christians at Philippi has also survived.  These historical documents all show Polycarp to have been a believer of great faith and a defender of the faith “once delivered.”

According to Irenaeus, Polycarp actively resisted many ideas that had already entered parts of Christianity by the second century.  In the 150s or 160s, Ireneaus tells us, Polycarp visited Rome to discuss a number of differences that already existed between the churches in Asia and Rome.  Many of these differences were resolved, though some were not. For example, Polycarp and his followers celebrated the “Christian Passover” on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, whatever day this fell on, while the Roman church followed the practice of celebrating Easter always on a Sunday around that same time of year.

But it is because of his martyrdom that Polycarp is now best remembered. The story is preserved in The Martyrdom of Polycarp which is a letter sent from the church of Smyrna, after his death, to surrounding churches. The Martyrdom is considered to be one of the earliest actual accounts of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament and records eye witness accounts of Polycarp’s execution.

The account also gives us many details regarding Polycarp and his faith.  It recounts that Polycarp was betrayed by a young man and that around the time of the evening meal on a Friday the police and other armed men came to arrest Polycarp – an old man of at least 86 –  for refusal to worship the emperor. Polycarp is said to have affirmed “God’s will be done,” and called for a meal for those who had come to arrest him. He asked to be allowed to pray a while and was then led away. The document states that as Polycarp was being taken into the arena where he would be executed, a voice spoke the words, “Be strong, Polycarp and act the man!” The Martyrdom continues to say that no one saw who had spoken, but “our brothers who were there heard the voice.”

Polycarp was given an opportunity to recant his beliefs. He was told to repent and instructed to say, “Down with the Atheists!” (meaning those who did not believe in the Roman gods) at which Polycarp looked at the crowd in the stadium, and gesturing towards them, said, “Down with the Atheists!”  Refusing a final opportunity to deny his faith, Polycarp was burned at the stake, though the Martyrdom insists he finally was killed with a sword as the flames did not seem to burn him.

But Polycarp’s tenacity to the beliefs he had learned from the apostles was of great importance in establishing Christianity before the persecutions against Christians finally subsided.   In his letter to them, he had urged the Philippians to hang on to their faith despite everything, reminding them: “Stand fast, therefore … and follow the example of the Lord, being firm and unchangeable in the faith.”

The King's Friend

11/9/2014

 
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Tucked away in a list of King David’s priestly and governmental officials in 1 Chronicles we find a reference to
“Hushai the Arkite [who] was the king's friend” (1 Chronicles 27:33b). This man appears in the story of David’s disloyal son Absolom. When Absolom rebelled against David, the king had Hushai infiltrate the opposition (2 Kings 15:32-37), and Hushai’s timely warning when Absolom plotted to kill David saved the king’s life at this time (2 Kings 17:1-15).

Notice two things here. First the title given to Hushei -  “king’s friend” – is also used of Zabud son of Nathan – a priest and adviser to King Solomon (1 Kings 4:5). Although the NIV translates this man’s title “advisor,” it is the same expression “king’s friend” used of Hushai and is translated so by the KJV, ESV, and other translations. In fact, the term “king’s friend” occurs at several other places in the Old Testament, and although it is often translated in the plural as “the king’s friends” (e.g., 2 Samuel 3:8), the Hebrew is in the singular and it is clearly the same title.

So who or what was the “king’s friend”?  The title was given to certain individuals in the royal courts of ancient Canaan – and later Judah and Israel  – to designate an advisor of especial closeness to the king. As we see in the case of Hushai, this person was truly a confidant of the king – even regarding private family matters. But the role of the “King’s friend” extended in several directions, and the “Kings friend” might be involved in the preparations for the king’s marriage, for example, or in introducing people into an audience with the king.

It is common in Christian circles to think of prayer as an “audience with the King,” of course, and this analogy ties into that of the king’s friend.  We remember that Abraham was called 
“the friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20: 7, Isaiah 41: 8), and in the New Testament we have Christ’s words spoken to his disciples on the last evening of his life: “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends” (John 15:14).  So even if we do not feel we could presume to put ourselves in the place of Abraham as a friend of God, the words of Jesus plainly show that if we are obedient to him, he has placed us in that role.

How does this tie in to the concept of the “king’s friend”?  When we think of Jesus’ words that we are his “friends,” it’s easy to think of friendship in modern terms – our friends are people with whom we enjoy casual everyday friendship. Jesus may well have meant to include the spirit of such everyday friendship in what he said, but we should also remember the more formal aspects of friendship in the ancient world – especially that of the “king’s friend.”   

Remember that one of the roles of “king’s friend” was doubtless introductory – taking people before the king and introducing them in order to discuss problems and issues of royal concern.  If we regard prayer as an “audience with the King,” perhaps we can think of each audience we have as not only being for our own needs and those of family and friends, but also as an opportunity to introduce someone else who has a particular need, by name. Naturally, in God’s case, he already knows the person and is aware of the need, but that is what intercessory prayer is all about (1 Timothy 2:1).   Ancient kings frequently took the advice and counsel of their court “friend” – and we can humbly bring the cases of others into audience with the same confidence that God will listen to His friends, also.   Doing this in prayer can help us to focus on the needs of others as individuals. It’s one of the things friends are for. It’s one of the things a “King's friend” is for.  

Asa –  A Tale of Fortresses and Faith

9/18/2014

 
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*Note:  Since publishing this post we decided to transfer the series on "Lessons From the Kings of Israel and Judah" to our sister site – TacticalChristianity.org – (see the announcement above). You can follow the series there!



King Asa of Judah was the great-grandson of Solomon and ruled only two generations after the split between the tribes of Judah and the rest of Israel.  The son of king Abijah, who appears to have  trusted  in  the  true God (2 Chronicles 13:18),  Asa ruled Judah for 41 years and seems to have been upright in his acts for most of that time. 

He was clearly zealous in maintaining the worship of God and acted decisively to root out idolatry and its associated immorality, destroying  the pagan altars and sacred places throughout the kingdom.  The king even deposed his own grandmother for worship of pagan gods and turned the people back to the traditional worship of God. Asa, we are told,  did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God (2 Chronicles 14:2).

Asa also fortified cities in Judah and successfully repelled an invasion by a hugely outnumbering Cushite-Egyptian force with a demonstration of clear faith. The biblical record  tells us: “Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, ‘Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you’”(2 Chronicles 14:11). Chronicles continues to detail how Asa’s forces routed the much larger army and drove it from Judah.  As a result, the kingdom had peace under Asa and for many years no one tried to make war against him.

But in his 36th year of rule Asa was confronted by Baasha, king of the northern tribes, who constructed a fortress at Ramah, less than ten miles from Jerusalem.  While Asa had responded in faith to the Cushite threat, he appears to have crumbled under this one. Taking all the gold from the temple of God he offered it to Ben-Hadad, king of Damascus, as a bribe to convince that king to negate his treaty with Baasha and to invade the Northern Kingdom (2 Chronicles 16:2-6). Ben-Hadad took the gold and invaded his erstwhile ally, Israel, forcing Baasha to withdraw from Ramah. 

Asa then tore down Baasha’s stronghold and used the stone to build two fortresses in his own territory. History shows these two fortified areas were not successful in protecting Judah from attacks that would occur in the future, so ultimately Asa traded the gold taken from the temple for a false security.  In that sense, Asa’s two fortresses are clearly symbols of a failure of faith (2 Chronicles 16:7-9).

Considering his earlier faith under sudden, more intense pressure, we can only conclude that Asa fell under a more prolonged and unrelenting stress as Baasha began to build his forces on Judah’s border. It seems Asa discovered that wars of attrition can erode our confidence more than sudden danger. Doubtless there is a lesson for us in this. It is often easier to respond in faith to a sudden crisis, but more difficult when the problem drags on and wears us down. In those circumstances we must be careful not to allow the problem to become an excuse for taking from God what is rightfully His – perhaps not in gold, but in our time and energy as well as our trust and confidence in Him.

Perhaps as a result of the attrition of his faith, it is recorded that in his old age Asa was afflicted with a disease of his feet, and he “sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12), meaning his trust was only toward the physical. Nevertheless, Asa was considered for the most part a good king and was honored by many of his people when he died. The story of Asa's responses to different threats may also serve as a lasting lesson for us – especially in our response to protracted stresses and problems. Sometimes the greatest need for faith is not in sudden crises, but in the ongoing problems of everyday life.

A Tale of Two Prophets

6/13/2014

 
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One city – Nineveh.  Two prophets – Jonah and Nahum. Both talked about the same city, though to read the books written by these two  messengers of God, they may well seem like tales of two cities.   Jonah and Nahum both prophesied against the great Assyrian city of Nineveh – the very heart of the Empire that took Israel captive in 740-720 BC  and repeatedly attacked and threatened Judah – but each of these ancient stories has a different approach and outcome. 
Despite their differences, underlying both these books is a surprising message relevant to each of us today.  See what that message is in this week's article: "A Tale of Two Prophets."

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