Peter J. Leithart

1 Cor 11:28-32 In our churches here in Moscow, we like to emphasize that the Lord?s Supper is a feast of joy, a time of gladness not gloom, a time for celebration not self-flagellation. These emphases are all right and proper, and are profoundly important. For centuries, many Christians reduced . . . . Continue Reading »

Then assembled Shlomoh the elders of Israel All the heads of the tribes The chiefs of the fathers to the sons of Israel To the king Shlomoh in Jerusalem. To cause to ascend the coffer of the covenant of Yahweh From the city of David, that is, Zion. And they assembled to the king Shlomoh All the men . . . . Continue Reading »

The main point of Romans 8:3, of course, is that the Law was undermined and made ineffective because of flesh, “flesh” here being shorthand for the condition of men and women under the reign of Sin and Death that characterized the OC. Made ineffective by flesh, by Sin, the Law cannot . . . . Continue Reading »

At the end of Rom 7, Paul is looking forward to a deliverance from the power of sin and death that holds him. His wretchedness is not relieved by the law, but only made worse. But he hopes for a deliverance, one that he characterizes as a future deliverance: ?Who will set me free from the body of . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Kings 9:26-28 The portrait of Solomon in 1 Kings 9 is by no means completely negative. Solomon continues building, providing defense for the land by building up fortifications at strategic points. Despite his estrangement from Hiram, he continues to have some kind of working relationship with . . . . Continue Reading »

?Walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness.?E Thus the Lord speaks to Solomon. And we respond, ?Say what? Walk like David?? Wasn?t David an adulterer and a murderer? Wasn?t his family an absolute mess? Wasn?t he a poor father, who spent the last years of his . . . . Continue Reading »

What are we to make of Paul’s discussion of sin in Romans 7? If we take it as a description of fallen humanity as such, it is difficult to see how it can square with other portions of Scripture or with the Reformed doctrine of sin. Paul presents sin as an external power that dominates and . . . . Continue Reading »

Jerome Walsh notes that the temple and palace of Solomon were completed 500 years after the exodus (480 years in 1 Ki 6:1 + 20 years for completion, 9:10). Walsh suggests that the 500 year total alludes to the Jubilee; this would have been the 10th Jubilee since the exodus, and might be seen as a . . . . Continue Reading »

In a few earlier posts, I’ve hinted at the idea that the temple should be conceived of as feminine, a bride-house in which Yahweh the husband dwells. A curious turn of phrase in 1 Kings 9 fits with that idea. After the dedication of Solomon’s temple, Yahweh appears to him in a dream, . . . . Continue Reading »

Barth offers these wise words about the purpose of dogmatics (which consists, for Barth, of the correction, clarification, and criticism of church proclamation by measuring proclamation against the Word of God in the Bible): “Repetitive exposition according to the intentions of the . . . . Continue Reading »