In the sermon text, Yahweh addresses His people with three names: Israel, Jacob, and seed of Abraham. Israel is a corporate and political name; as Israel, the people are Yahweh’s servant with a task. The name Jacob is more personal, and as Jacob the people has been chosen. But Yahweh reaches . . . . Continue Reading »
Rawls ( Political Liberalism: Expanded Edition (Columbia Classics in Philosophy) ) admits that the ideal of public reason doesn’t pertain in “private” settings like churches and universities. But, he insists, it “does hold for citizens when they engage in political advocacy . . . . Continue Reading »
In Divided Christendom;: A Catholic study of the problem of reunion , Yves Congar gives a careful, charitable explanation of the reasoning behind Catholic refusal of intercommunion with Protestants. asks about the status of separated brothers, whether Orthodox or Protestant. He writes that if a . . . . Continue Reading »
Walsh summarizes his structural analysis of Isaiah 41:1-20 as follows: A. introduction (vv. 1-4) ?. idolaters: partisans of Yahweh’s rivals (vv. 5-7) C. Yahweh consoles Israel (vv. 8-12) D “I, Yahweh, am your God” (v. 13) C’. Yahweh consoles Israel (vv. 14-16) B’. the . . . . Continue Reading »
Walsh makes this helpful point concerning the trees of ISaiah 41:19: “Vv. 18-19 depict the transformation of the desert into a lush land well supplied with water and a wide variety of trees. The identifications of the trees range from fairly certain to very tentative. To the extent that they . . . . Continue Reading »
In an article in VT from 1993, Jerome Walsh analyzes the strructure of Isaiah 41:8-9 as follows: A. Israel A’. My servant B. Jacob B’. You whom I have chosen C. Seed of my beloved Abraham C’. You whom I have held firm and called. But then he notes that the cycle starts over: . . . . Continue Reading »
Sola scriptura is not a piece of epistemology. It is not a modernist quest for certainty and unquestionable foundations. It doesn’t pretend to bypass interpretation or the church or people with all their foibles and fallibility. It’s not a claim that Scripture is easy. It’s not a . . . . Continue Reading »
Yahweh’s promise to repeat Himself by bringing water to scorched Israel is laid out in fours and a seven (Isaiah 41:18-19). There are four topographies: high place, valley, wilderness, dry land. To these four topographical regions, Yahweh promises to bring an appropriate form of water: Rivers . . . . Continue Reading »
Why is Jacob a “worm” (Isaiah 41:14)? In his Isaiah: A Covenant to be Kept for the Sake of the Church (Focus on the Bible) , Allan Harman gives a good summary of the standard view: “Israel is called a ‘worm.’ The Hebrew word here ( tole’ah ) is used as a general . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 41:8-13 forms a neat chiastic paragraph: A. Chosen servant: Israel, Jacob, seed of Abraham, vv 8-9 (inclusio with “chosen”) B. Do not fear, v 10a C. I am your God for strength and help; My right hand, v 10b D. Rescue from those who content, vv 11-12 C’. I am Yahweh your . . . . Continue Reading »
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