King Solomon: A Study

 Philip Ryken’s King Solomon: The Temptations of Money, Sex, and Power is a recent publication that basically contains Ryken’s sermons on the life of king Solomon.  In this book, Ryken retells, explains, and applies the biblical story of Solomon’s rise to the throne, his rule, and his failures (which is found mostly in 1 Kings).

I appreciated Ryken’s general christological approach to king Solomon based on Luke 11:31: one greater than Solomon is here.  Over and over in these chapters, Ryken shows how Jesus is the true king of wisdom, peace, righteousness, and justice.  He does a good job pointing the reader to Christ and the gospel of grace.

One more strength of this book was Ryken’s explanation of the biblical stories.  In his retelling of the stories, he brought out some helpful nuances of them that one might usually miss.  For example, he shows David’s wisdom in putting Solomon on the throne before his (David’s) death.  There are other such examples which make this book a helpful Bible study tool.

The major weakness of the book has to do with application.  I was disappointed with Ryken’s application methods.  Quite often I thought his application (from Solomon’s day to ours) was weak or forced.  For example, when Adonijah didn’t get to be king he demanded to have a certain woman as his wife (1 Ki 2.13-17).  Ryken’s application was that we’re like that sometimes.  When we don’t get something we want, we demand something from God or just go and take it for ourselves (p.31-2).  Another questionable application section was where Ryken explained that Solomon spent more time building his house than God’s temple.  His application was that we should not be like that, but have our priorities straight and spend more time on God’s kingdom than our own.  One application question summarizes most of them: “Are you able to learn from Solomon’s mistake and apply the lesson to your own life?” (p. 184).  There are quite a few more examples like that. To be honest, most of his application sections completely missed the mark for me.  In my opinion, the book would have been much better without them.

In summary, this book is a good one to have if you want a readable study on the biblical narrative of king Solomon.  It is around 200 pages; most Christians should be able to follow it with ease.  There is even a helpful study guide in the back of the book, along with a Scripture index.  King Solomon will he a helpful tool for studying Solomon’s life and legacy and how it brings us to Jesus, the true King.  Even though I don’t think the application sections are helpful, I do recommend it.

shane lems

shane lems

Biblical Application

   I recently read through CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet by Mike Emlet.  I’m always interested in books that talk about biblical application.  This one is solid: Emlet has a good grasp of redemptive history and biblical counseling.  He spends quite a few pages discussing how the Bible is the account of a grand story of redemption centered in Christ.  He also warns against the dangers of viewing Scripture as a moralistic guidebook full of timeless laws.  Here’s how he describes the book.

“This book can help you read the Bible and ‘read’ people in a way that promotes gospel-centered, personally relevant use of Scripture in ministry to others” (p. 4).

Emlet also talks about how our lives are storied – we all have views of the world that shape and direct us.  He then shows how Christians (saints who are sinners) need gospel-centered guidance to live according to the main story of the world: God’s redeeming work in Christ.  Emlet also gives a few basics about counseling people – what type of questions to ask the counselee  and how to use the Bible in a wise, God-glorifying, church-edifying way.  The book is good in these areas.

One quibble I have with the book is the near dismissal of systematic theology (on p.36-37).  Emlet doesn’t go into detail, but he does mention how the Bible is not a book full of proof texts.  I agree with that.  However, by quickly dismissing systematic theology because of it’s possible dangers, he seems to imply that ST isn’t really helpful in biblical application.  I guess my frustration with this quick dismissal of ST has to do with the anti-ST trend of the day (i.e. N.T. Wright, the Federal Vision, some parts of the Biblical Theology movement, etc).  In my own pastoral and counseling experience, ST is extremely valuable.   If  a Christian is depressed because she feels guilty before God, it is essential to remind her of the difference between justification and sanctification, for just one example.    To dismiss ST from counseling/application methods is to throw a valuable old tool out of the toolbox.  I was frustrated with this aspect of the book. 

One more thing.  If you’re educated in biblical theology (i.e. if you’re familiar with the redemptive historical approach) and if you’ve had some education in biblical counseling, the book may only be a review for you.  It is pretty basic in terms of what redemptive history is and what biblical counseling includes.  You may want to pass on this one if you’re trained in these areas.  However, if you’re not, you’ll want to get this.  Just be sure you don’t throw your systematic theology out the window after you read it!

shane lems

sunnyside wa

Vos: Pressing Home the Gospel

I’m aware of the discussions and disagreements on preaching and application.  While application can be moralistic and law-heavy, true application in a sermon reflects gratitude and piety that is gospel centered.  Geerhardus Vos’ chapel sermons, Grace and Glory, are perfect examples.  I’m thinking of all of them, but especially the one which Machen called “one of the finest expository sermons I’ve ever heard,” Vos’ sermon on John 20.16 titled “Rabboni.”

The context of John 20 is Jesus’ resurrection – the empty tomb and Peter, John, and Mary Magadalene going there to see.  Peter and John come and go, but Mary lingers, convinced someone has taken Jesus’ body – so she sobs and cries with a deeply broken faith and heart.  Here are some excerpts that reflect true application of this gospel passage.

“Mary’s soul [is] the mirror of saving faith pure and simple.  And because she was animated by this fundamental spiritual impulse, drawing her to the Savior more irresistibly than affection or sorrow could have done, therefore she could not but continue seeking him, even though unable for the moment to do anything else than weep near his empty tomb.”

“In vain does Calvary proclaim that the Lord is dead, in vain does the tomb declare that he has been buried, in vain does the absent stone suggest that they have taken him away-this threefold witness will not convince Mary that he has gone out of her life forever.  And why?  Because in the depth of her being there was an even more emphatic witness which would not be silenced but continue to protest that she must receive him back, since he is her Savior.  Contact, communion with Christ had become to her the vital breath of her spiritual life; to admit that the conditions rendering this possible had ceased to exist would have meant for her to deny salvation itself.”

“Once given the intimate bond of faith between a sinner and his Savior, there can be no death to such a relationship.  …To her [Mary's] faith he was the Conqueror over death long before he issued from the grave.”

“Ultimately, stripped of all accidentals, the question resolves itself into this: What does Christ mean for us?  For what do we need him?  If we have learned to know ourselves guilty sinners, destitute of all hope and life in ourselves, and if we have experienced that from him came to us pardon, peace and strength, will it not sound like mockery in our ears if somebody tells us that it does not matter whether Jesus rose from the dead on the third day?”

“If only we will take the courage to fix our gaze deliberately upon the stern countenance of grief, and enter unafraid into the darkest recesses of our trouble, we shall find the terror gone, because the Lord has been there [in the grave] before us, and, coming out again, has left the place transfigured, making out of it by the grace of his resurrection a house of life, the very gate of heaven.”

“It happened all in a moment, and by a simple word, and yet in this one moment Mary’s world was changed for her. …[Jesus' speech] is speech the force of which can only be felt.  And it will be felt by us in proportion as we clearly remember some occasion when the Lord spake a similar word to us and drew from us a similar cry of recognition.”

I could go on, but I trust you get the sense of clear gospel application to the Christian soul.  Go on and read this sermon for yourself!

shane lems

sunnyside wa