When we think of the Bible as a story – of God’s interaction with his people over many centuries – ‘wisdom literature’ doesn’t feature. It isn’t history, and it doesn’t tell a story, so we don’t know where it fits. It simply gets left out. This is deeply ironic because Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature […]
5) Wisdom, Longing & Despair: Israel’s Poetry Read More »
When we think of ancient Israel, we usually think of it as a nation – with borders, trade, a cultural heritage, and a governing authority. But Israel had none of these. Nearly 1,000 years had passed since God’s covenant with Abraham and the promise of: People, Land, Nation, a great Name, Blessing. But Israel was
4) Kings, Priests & Prophets Read More »
People, Land, Nation, Name, Blessing. These were the five main building blocks of God’s covenant with Abraham. A covenant was a type of formal agreement between two parties in the Ancient Near East (ANE), usually between a powerful king and a conquered or subservient nation. This covenant, established way back in Genesis, revolved around God’s
3) Israel: A People, a Place, & a Purpose Read More »
Compare the Bible to a car. What do you value in a car? For most people, the value is in driving it. We need to get places, so we just learn what’s necessary for a license: brakes, clutch, steering, rules of the road – and how to fill the tank. For others, it’s the appearance
2) The Pentateuch: Engine of the OT Read More »
The Bible begins with a story – but what does that tell us? There are stories, and there are stories! If your grandmother begins, ‘once upon a time, there lived…’ you know what to expect. Or if she begins, ‘when your great grandmother was a little girl…’ you also know what to expect. Both are
1) Story, Myth, History Read More »
Who doesn’t love a good feast? We might think of Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving, perhaps a wedding or a graduation feast with friends and family. Personally, the image from ‘The Grinch’ always drifts into mind, where ‘He, he himself…the Grinch…carved the roast-beast!’ Biblically though, feast is one of those words that doesn’t mean what we think
The Feasts of the Lord Read More »
We all know that Christmas is celebrated differently around the world – and sometimes we mistakenly think that the Jewish celebration of Hannukah is simply their variation of Christmas; it falls at the same time of year. But of course the great majority of Jews never accepted Jesus as Christ, so they don’t celebrate Christmas.
The Meaning of Hannukah Read More »
If COP27 passed you by unnoticed, you’re not alone. Last year one could hardly escape the tremendous build-up and media noise around COP26 in Glasgow, while this year’s COP27 in Egypt (‘Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change’) was a comparative whisper. These ‘interim’ COPs are less dramatic, but equally important. A
God’s Justice and Climate Injustice (COP27) Read More »
As my plane descended into Gatwick on the morning of the Queen’s funeral, the lyrics of an old song kept playing in my head: ‘Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there’s something about that name.’ The name of course was Jesus. The song was a 1970s Gospel tune by the Bill Gaither trio.
A truly inspirational figure passed away in September this year, age 94 – the man known to Christians around the world simply as ‘Brother Andrew’. His real name, Andrew van der Bijl, was not important, in fact he preferred it not be known. It could only lead to trouble. I first encountered Brother Andrew
Make Seeing Eyes Blind – Tribute to Brother Andrew Read More »
