Exodus 20:8: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. We live in a world of total labor. All time and space is valued by its use, its productivity, its function. There is no place that, in principle, withdrawn from productive use. There is no time “set aside from working hours and days, . . . . Continue Reading »
Sabbath-keeping is more than just putting aside our work one day in seven. It is a way of life. Even that is too narrow. Sabbath is a way of being human, a way of being human together. God commands us to be a Sabbatical people. That sounds grand, but what does it mean? It’s easiest to begin . . . . Continue Reading »
Defending the historicity of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt and the exodus, GE Wright pointed to the prevalence of non-Semitic Egyptian names in the early history of Israel: “Moses, an abbreviation of a longer name, is from an Egyptian verb meaning ‘to bear, beget.’ The same . . . . Continue Reading »
On the far side of the Red Sea, Israel sings the Song of Moses, praising the God who “does wonders (Heb. pele’ )” (Exodus 15:11). It’s the first time the word is used, and from that point on praise of Yahweh’s “wonders” always evokes the exodus story. The . . . . Continue Reading »
Hebrew has two main words for “south.” The first, negev , refers to the south country of Israel (Exodus 12:9; 13:1, 3, 14; etc.). The other word, teyman , is related to the word yamin , “right hand,” and means “right” as well as “south.” When it means . . . . Continue Reading »
I’m sure I’ve been told this before, but, as Chesterton realized, there’s a certain joy in discovering what you’ve known as if for the first time. Every commentators nowadays notes that the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-31 is laid out in seven speeches of Yahweh . . . . Continue Reading »
The men of Babel set out to make a great name for themselves, and after them Achilles, Alexander, Caesar, and countless others sought an everlasting name on the battlefield, by sexual conquests, or by political success. Making a name is what ancient heroism was all about. We have not outgrown this . . . . Continue Reading »
Matthew 18:5: Whoever receives one such child in my Name receives Me. Here at Trinity, we baptize infants, a lot of them. Most churches throughout the centuries have done the same. We also believe that the Lord’s Supper is open to baptized children who are capable of sharing it. That is more . . . . Continue Reading »
One of God’s great acts of grace is to reveal His Name. The gods of the nations often had secret names, known only to priests and used only for occult spells. The gods hid to shield themselves from the demands of needy humans. Yahweh doesn’t hide His Name, doesn’t reserve it to a . . . . Continue Reading »
1 Corinthians 10:16-17: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. For centuries in the Western . . . . Continue Reading »
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