“The God I Don’t Understand”

 Since I appreciated and enjoyed Chris Wright’s The Mission of God, I thought it would be worthwhile to read some of his other works.  I started with The God I Don’t Understand (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008).  In this book, Wright reflects upon a few tough questions that have to do with the Christian faith.  The four big themes are these: suffering and evil, the OT Canaanite conquest, the cross of Christ, and the end of the world (eschatology).  I appreciate Wright’s level-headed biblical approach to answering these questions.  At the outset, he reminds the readers that as finite humans, we cannot fully understand our infinite God and his ways – so we have to approach these topics with humility.  At the same time, we don’t have to be skeptics about everything, because God has clearly revealed some things to us in his word.

One section that stuck out for me was how Wright wrestled over the OT Caananite conquest, when God told Israel to wipe out the inhabitants of Canaan.  If you’ve struggled with this OT concept of herem warfare, I strongly recommend reading this section by Wright (who is an OT scholar by trade).  Here’s one part I thought was helpful.

“…We need to know that Israel’s practice of herem was not in itself unique.  Texts from other nations at the time show that such total destruction in war was practised, or at any rate proudly claimed, elsewhere.  But we must also recognize that the language of warfare had a conventional rhetoric that liked to make absolute and universal claims about total victory and completely wiping out the enemy.  Such rhetoric often exceeded reality on the ground.”

“Admittedly this does not remove the problem [of struggling with the concept of herem warfare], since the reality was still horrible at any level.  But it enables us to allow for the fact that descriptions of the destruction of ‘everything that lives and breathes’ were not necessarily intended literally.  Even in the Old Testament itself this phenomenon is recognized and accepted.  So, for example, we read in the book of Joshua that all the land was captured, all the kings were defeated, all the people without survivors (such as Rahab) were destroyed (e.g. Josh 10:40-42, 11:16-20).  But this must have been intended as rhetorical exaggeration, for the book of Judges (whose final editor was undoubtedly aware of these accounts in Joshua) sees no contradiction in telling us that the process of subduing the inhabitants of the land was far from completed and went on for considerable time, and that many of the original nations continued to live alongside the Israelites.  The key military centers – the small fortified cities of the petty Canaanite kingdoms – were wiped out.  But clearly not all the people, or anything like all the people, had in fact been actually destroyed by Joshua.”

This is helpful to consider when discussing the herem warfare the Israelites visited upon the Canaanites.  Wright goes on to examine other aspects of this topic as well – again, this is worth reading. 

I’ll have to visit other parts of this book later.  For now, if those four topics above are things you’ve thought about in-depth, I recommend letting Wright be a conversation partner in your discussions and thoughts.

The above quote is taken from page 88 in The God I Don’t Understand.

 shane lems

Resources on Habakkuk

Here is a list of commentaries I’ve used as I teach/preach through the OT minor prophet Habakkuk. 

  Marvin Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets.  This is one of my favorite commentaries on Habakkuk.  Sweeney is a top-notch Jewish scholar so he knows his Hebrew Bible.  His writing style is clear and to the point; the commentary is a brief narrative summary of Habakkuk’s prophecy.  It is not an “evangelical” commentary, but it still is well worth owning.

 

 David Baker wrote the commentary on Habakkuk in the Tyndale OT series.  Like the other Tyndale commentaries, this one is short.  It is worthwhile, however, since he simply gives brief series of comments on each section of verses.  The layout is helpful as well; it is easy to follow Habakkuk’s overall structure when using this commentary.

 

 O. Palmer Robertson’s NICOT commentary is also helpful.  The format is just like the other NICOTs, but I’ve enjoyed Robertson a bit more than some other volumes in this set.  He has a good discussion of Hab. 2.4; he also engages the Hebrew text in a helpful manner.  This is a solid commentary and it should be utilized when studying Habakkuk.

 I also very much appreciated F.F. Bruce’s Habakkuk commentary in The Minor Prophets set that McComiskey edited.  I mentioned this commentary on the blog before, so I won’t repeat everything here, but I do highly recommend it (along with the whole set/volume).  The only quibble I have with it is Bruce’s heavy usage of the Qumran text of Habakkuk (which is a different topic that Andrew can elaborate upon better than I can).

From time to time I also used the Habakkuk commentary that C. E. Amerding wrote in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary along with Matthew Henry’s commentary on Habakkuk.  Both are worth using, but weren’t my favorites for different reasons.  For the most part, Calvin’s commentary on Habakkuk was very helpful – not only for his solid insights but also for a useful historical perspective.

Feel free to comment and add your own recommendations.  I realize there are more good Habakkuk commentaries out there, but I had to limit my shelves to the above due to time and cash constraints.

shane lems

Telling the Truth

 I’ve really enjoyed Patrick Miller’s commentary on the Ten Commandments in the Interpretation commentary series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).  This is a 400+ page commentary that includes an extensive Scripture index, topical index, and bibliography.  For each commandment, Miller examines the historical context, parallel themes in the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament implications as well.  I really appreciate how Miller thoroughly gives the OT depth of each commandment.  This isn’t really a redemptive historical exposition of the commandments, but it is certainly worth having on the shelf if you’re going to study, preach, or teach on the Ten Commandments.  Here’s the opening paragraph of his exposition of the ninth commandment which I thought was helpful.

“With the commandment against false witness, the covenantal requirements for living with one’s neighbor move from dominant concerns for actions to an explicit focus on words and speaking.  It would be a mistake, however, to see this movement as one from more serious matters to lesser concerns.  Quite the contrary.  The prohibition against bearing false witness is not so much a general rule against lying as it is a guard against the capacity of words and speaking to endanger one’s neighbor in various ways, or indeed, to bring about violation of the commandments that precede from this one.  Telling the truth is thus a neighbor matter.  It is a form of the love of neighbor and a significant aspect of upholding communal relations.  Safeguarding the neighbor by safeguarding truth is an inevitable sequence to the protection of the neighbor’s marriage, life, and property, for lying against a neighbor creates a domino effect undoing the other safeguards.  Truth or consequences is indeed the choice in speaking about one’s neighbor.”

This isn’t the only commentary to use for the Ten Commandments, but it is one that I wouldn’t go without.  The above quote is taken from page 343, by the way. 

shane lems

Bruce’s Habakkuk Commentary

 I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the commentary series on the Minor Prophets that Thomas McComiskey edited (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993). I appreciate the layout: the top half of the page has textual and syntactical notes and the bottom half of the page is the commentary section.  The commentators also give their own translation and compare it to the NRSV.  The font is handsome and the formatting makes the commentary easy to read and use.  Contributors include Baldwin, Waltke, Longman, Motyer, Dillard, Niehaus, and Bruce (yes, F. F. Bruce of NT scholarship).

For one example of why I like this commentary set, I’ll use a section of Bruce’s commentary on Habakkuk since I’ve been preaching through this OT minor prophet on Sunday evenings.

Bruce’s translation of 1:13: “You are too pure of eyes to behold wrongdoing / you cannot look on evil /  why do you look on treacherous people and remain silent / when the wicked swallows up one more righteous than himself?”

Since the textual/syntactical notes are to detailed to quote here, I’ll move to his commentary on Habakkuk 1:13.

“…Here is his (Habakkuk’s) question: Should not Yahweh’s instrument for the accomplishment of his purpose reflect something of his own purity and righteousness?  …(The Chaldeans/Babylonians) display the same evil qualities as those against whom they were executing Yahweh’s judgment, and on a greater scale.  The cure is far worse than the disease! The righteous among God’s people suffer from the brutality of the invaders.  Why does God not intervene?  Habakkuk might have said, like one of the psalmists in a similar situation, ‘Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom?’ (Ps. 74:11).  Does God not realize that his own reputation is at stake?”

I realize it’s tough to just quote a few comments on a lesser known verse from a minor prophet.  However, after translating, studying, and reading other commentaries, I think Bruce’s summary here is a good description of Habakkuk’s lament to Yahweh due to the surprising circumstances (cf. 1:5). 

If you go through the minor prophets, I’d strongly recommend this series.  Even if you can’t read Hebrew, or if your Hebrew is rusty, you’ll still benefit from the comments.  (Just noticed this – the WTS bookstore has it on sale/clearance for $28.00  as of April 20.)

shane lems

sunnyside wa

The Gospel in the OT

If you’re interested in learning how the gospel is proclaimed in the OT, you need to check out this series: The Gospel According to the Old Testament.  I just saw that WTS books is having a great sale on these books: the set is $71.44 (plus $1 shipping).  Another option: if you get 3 of them, there is a 50% discount.  I think that would mean you get 3 of these books for around $17, which is an outstanding deal.  Here are a few that I highly recommend:

       

I’ve enjoyed these titles – these would be great for personal study as well as small group study.  The reading level is around senior in high school, give or take.  I’m glad I have these in my library, and I encourage our readers to add these to your own libraries.

shane lems