Friday, August 26, 2011

Lev 18

Leviticus
18. 6 near of kin...
nakedness--NET Bible translation notes:   tn Heb “to uncover [her] nakedness” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119). This expression occurs a number of times in the following context and is generally translated “have sexual intercourse with [someone],” although in the case of the father mentioned in the following verse the expression may be connected to the shame or disgrace that would belong to the father whose wife’s sexuality is violated by his son. See the note on the word “mother” in v. 7.
18.7  your father...your mother...
18.8  your father's wife...
18.9  your sister...daughter or your father...mother...
18.10  your son's daughter...daughter's daughter...
18.11  your wife's daughter...
18.12  your father's sister...
18.13  your mother's sister...
18.14  father's brother...his sister...
18.15  your daughter-in-law...
18.16  your brother's wife...
18.17  woman and her daughter...her son's...daughter's daughter...
18.18  woman's sister while she is alive...
18.19  in her customary impurity...
18.22  it is an abomination...  and it still is.
NET  Bible translation notes: The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, rendered “detestable act”) refers to the repugnant practices of foreigners, whether from the viewpoint of other peoples toward the Hebrews (e.g., Gen 43:32; 46:34; Exod 8:26) or of the Lord toward other peoples (see esp. Lev 18:26-27, 29-30). It can also designate, as here, detestable acts that might be perpetrated by the native peoples (it is used again in reference to homosexuality in Lev 20:13; cf. also its use for unclean food, Deut 14:3; idol worship, Isa 41:24; remarriage to a former wife who has been married to someone else in between, Deut 24:4).
18.28  vomited out the nations...  This is a very interesting expression.  Even though it was not specifically written about our country, it gets me to thinking.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

TBC Philosophy of Worship

Philosophy of Worship

          Worship is ascribing honor and glory to God our Creator[1] because honor and glory are due His name.[2]  Worship results from seeing[3] and savoring[4] Jesus Christ[5] as Lord[6]: who He is[7] and what He has done.[8]  A believer[9] who treasures Jesus Christ[10] loves His Word[11], presents himself as an obedient living sacrifice[12], and longs to make Christ known in the world.[13]  Thus worship results in living for Jesus Christ our Savior by ceaselessly pursuing holiness,[14] a pure life,[15] a heart of humility,[16] unity within the body,[17] a habit of service,[18] faithful outreach,[19] and joy.[20]
          Corporate worship is gathering to praise God[21] and propel one another toward Christ.[22]  We preach the gospel[23] to one another;[24] speak, sing, and teach God’s Word, work, and character to one another;[25] offer God our united prayer and praise;[26] and humbly serve and encourage one another with our God given gifts by the power of the Holy Spirit.[27]  We nurture together an ever-deepening pleasure in Christ our Savior.[28]
          Church functions should facilitate one or more of these facets of corporate worship.  They should spur believers to live lives of joyful worship as obedient disciples.


[1] Psalm 95:6, Romans 1:25
[2] I Chronicles 16:29, Isaiah 45:23, Philippians 2:10  
[3] Isaiah 6:1, Ezekiel 1:28, Luke 5:8, Revelation 1:17
[4] Psalm 34:8,  John 6:35
[5] Philippians 3:3, Col 1:18, Revelation 5:12
[6] Acts 10:36, Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:11
[7] Revelation 4:11, John 1:1
[8] I Samuel 12:24, Luke 1:49, Romans 8:1
[9] John 4:23, Matthew 7:21
[10] Proverbs 2:1, II Corinthians 4:7, Matthew 13:44
[11] Psalm 42:1; John 14:21
[12] Romans 12:1
[13] Isaiah 6:8, II Corinthians 5:11
[14] Leviticus 20:7, Ephesians 1:4
[15] Psalm 24:3,4, Matthew 5:8, II Timothy 2:22
[16] Psalm 34:2, Matthew 5:3, James 4:10
[17]Psalm 133:1, Rom 15:5,6, Ephesians 4:4-6
[18] Judges 7:15, Galatians 5:13
[19] Isaiah 6:8, Acts 24:14, Acts 27:23
[20] Psalm 16:11, I Peter 1:8
[21] Acts 2:46,47, I Thessalonians 5:16-18
[22] Romans 15:1-7, Hebrews 12:1,2, Hebrews 10:24,25
[23]      The gospel in its fullest sense is the good news of God’s work to bless and redeem His fallen creation and bring all things back under His good rule through Jesus Christ (the gospel of the kingdom).  The central event of this good news is Jesus’ cross and resurrection: Christ’s life, atoning death, and resurrection secured and accomplished all God’s promises for the redemption of this world (1 Cor 1:20).
     So the gospel is both the good news of personal forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus and, more broadly understood, the good news of God’s restoration of all things which is ours through Christ’s life and work.  These promised blessings include reconciliation between people, transformation through the Holy Spirit’s power, our bodily resurrection, and the promised new heavens and earth, to name a few.
     When we preach the gospel to one another, then, we are not merely repeating the facts of Jesus’ earthly life.  We also exhort and encourage each other to embrace the overflowing fullness of the hope He has given us in Christ.
[24] I Thessalonians 2:9, I Peter 2:3-12
[25] Psalm 9:1, Psalm 77:11, I Corinthians 15:1, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 1:23
[26] Isaiah 63:7, Acts 13:1,2
[27] Ephesians 4:11-13, Galatians 5:13
[28] Isaiah 35:10, Psalm 1:2, Psalm 8, Romans 8:31-39

Shalom


Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
2401      שָׁלֵם (šālēm) be complete, sound.
Carr, G. L. (1999). 2401 שָׁלֵם. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (930). Chicago: Moody Press.
The general meaning behind the root š-l-m is of completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship.
Of this group, some take their meanings from the comparatively infrequent simple stems while the others šillēm, šillûm, and possibly šalmôn reflect the intensive Piel sense. The apparant diversity of meanings between the two stems can be accounted for in terms of the concept of peace being restored through payment (of tribute to a conqueror, Josh 10:1), restitution (to one wronged, Ex 21:36), or simple payment and completion (of a business transaction, II Kgs 4:7).
The payment of a vow (Ps 50:14) completes an agreement so that both parties are in a state of šālôm. Closely linked with this concept is the eschatological motif in some uses of the term. Recompense for sin, either national or personal, must be given. Once that obligation has been met, wholeness is restored (Isa 60:20; Joel 2:25).
Adjectivally, šālēm is used of an attitude (a “perfect” heart; e.g. I Kgs 8:61; I Chr 28:9), and of a complete amount (of money, Ruth 2:12; of sin, Gen 15:16; of a whole nation, Amos 1:6, 9). An accurate weight is called “perfect” (Deut 25:15) or “just” (Prov 11:1).
Interesting is that šālēm is used of the whole (i.e. uncut) stones for the altar (Deut 27:6; Josh 8:31) and also of the dressed stones used for the temple (I Kgs 6:7).
 2401a      שָׁלוֹם (šālôm) peace.
שָׁלוֹם (šālôm). Peace, prosperity, well, health, completeness, safety. ASV and RSV similar.
šālôm, and its related words šālēm, šelem and their derivatives, are among the most important theological words in the OT. šālôm occurs over 250 times in 213 separate verses (so Durham, p. 275. BDB lists 237 uses). The KJV translates 172 of these as “peace.” The remainder are translated about 30 different ways, many only a single time each. The LXX uses various members of the sôzô, eirēnē, and teleios word groups to translate šālôm. šālôm which occurs in other members of the Semitic language family, was influential in broadening the Greek idea of eirēnē to include the Semitic ideas of growth and prosperity.
šālôm means “absence of strife” in approximately fifty to sixty usages; e.g. I Kgs 4:25 [H 5:4] reflects the safety of the nation in the peaceful days of Solomon when the land and its neighbors had been subdued.
“Peace,” in this case, means much more than mere absence of war. Rather, the root meaning of the verb šālēm better expresses the true concept of šālôm. Completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment, are closer to the meaning. Implicit in šālôm is the idea of unimpaired relationships with others and fulfillment in one’s undertakings.
About twenty-five times in the OT, šālôm is used as a greeting or farewell (Jud 19:20; I Sam 25:6, 35). To wish one šālôm implies a blessing (II Sam 15:27); to withhold šālôm implies a curse (I Kgs 2:6). In modern Hebrew šālôm is used for “hello” and “goodby.” Note the cognate Arabic salaam.
šālôm is the result of God’s activity in covenant (bĕrît), and is the result of righteousness (Isa 32:17). In nearly two-thirds of its occurrences, šālôm describes the state of fulfillment which is the result of God’s presence. This is specifically indicated in those references to the “covenant of peace” (bĕrît šālôm, Num 25:12; Isa 54:10; Ezk 34:25; Mal 2:5) with his chosen representatives, the Aaronic priests and the Davidic monarchs. The peace that marks the conclusion of an agreement between adversaries (Isaac and Abimelech, Gen 26:29), business partners (Solomon and Hiram, I Kgs 5:12 [H 26]), and man and God (Abraham, Gen 15:15) is couched in terms of covenant agreement.
This sort of peace has its source in God. He is the one who will speak šālôm to his people (Ps 85:8 [H 9]). His promise to David in I Chr 22:9–10 puts šālôm in context with mĕnûḥâ “calmness,” nūaḥ “rest,” and šeqeṭ “to be quiet,” as these are gifts from God. The classic statement of this concept is the Aaronic benediction (Num 6:24–26) which identifies the man to whom God has given šālôm as the one who is blessed (bārak), guarded (šāmar), and treated graciously (ḥānan), by Yahweh. This is fulfillment through the divine gift.
There is also a strong eschatological element present in the meaning of šālôm. Messiah, “David’s greater son,” is specifically identified as the Prince of Peace śar šālôm—the one who brings fulfillment and righteousness to the earth.
Paul (Eph 2:14) links these themes in his identification of Christ as our peace. He is the messianic prince who brings wholeness, but he is also God’s last word—the “concluding sacrifice” that brings redemption to mankind.

   Bibliography: Delling, Gerhard, “τέλος” in TDNT, VIII, pp. 49–87. Durham, John “שׁלום and the Presence of God,” Proclamation and Presence: Old Testament Essays in Honor of G. H. Davies, John Knox, 1970, pp. 272–93. Fohrer, Georg, “σώζω and σωτηρία in the Old Testament,” in TDNT, VII, pp. 970–72. JTOT, pp. 126, 179–80, 259. Kohler, Ludwig, Old Testament Theology, Westminster, 1958, p. 240 n. 21. Rad, Gerhard von, Old Testament Theology, Harper and Row, 1962, 1965, I, p. 130, 372; II, p. 170., “שׁלום in the Old Testament,” in TDNT, II, pp. 402–6. AI, pp. 254f.
   Carr, G. L. (1999). 2401 שָׁלֵם. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (930–931). Chicago: Moody Press.


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8934 שָׁלֹום (šā∙lôm): n.masc.; ≡ Str 3073, 7965; TWOT 2401a—1. LN 22.42–22.47 peace, prosperity, i.e., an intact state of favorable circumstance (1Sa 1:17); 2. LN 59.23–59.34 completeness, i.e., the state of a totality of a collection (Jer 13:19); 3. LN 21.9–21.13 safeness, salvation, i.e., a state of being free from danger (Ge 28:21); 4. LN 23.129–23.141 health, i.e., a state of lack of disease and a wholeness or well-being (Ps 38:4[EB 3]); 5. LN 25.80–25.84 satisfaction, contentment, i.e., the state of having one’s basic needs or more being met and so being content (Ex 18:23); 6. LN 34.1–34.21 friend, companion, i.e., one who has an association with another with affection or regard (Jer 20:10); 7. LN 88.66–88.74 blessing, i.e., the content of the act. of giving kindness to another (Jer 16:5); 8. LN 12.1–12.42 unit: יהוה שָׁלֹום (yhwh šā∙lôm) Yahweh is Peace, i.e., the name of an altar (Jdg 6:24); 9. LN 12.1–12.42 unit: שַׂר שָׁלֹום (śǎr šā∙lôm) Prince of Peace, i.e., the name of messiah (Isa 9:5[EB 6]), note: for NIV text in Ps 69:23[EB 22], see 8936
   
Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.