Part One The Theme of Covenant One would expect the covenants to have a marked presence in the Psalms, and indeed they do.[1] Psalm 25:14 announces “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Although the covenants are for the most part clearly set out in Scripture, they are overlooked by the human parties. Those who fear God know that these covenants direct history behind the scenes. Even if they …
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Vows made to You are binding upon me; O God… – Psalm 56:12 I will go into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, which my lips have uttered… – Psalms 66:13-14 The heaven, even the heaven of heavens; are the Lord’s; but the earth has He given to the children of men – Psalms 115:16 In addressing the contribution of the Book of Psalms to the Creation Project and the biblical covenants it is vital …
Part Two In our present “postmodern” ethos, laden as it is with deconstructionism and hermeneutical suspicion, Christians have to ask how the primacy of biblical revelation does in such an environment. Does it struggle for air or does it flourish? Maybe it is better to ask, can it flourish as an idea among ideas? The biblical outlook has set against it three formidable foes. These enemies of God’s Word are constantly at work chipping away at the foundations upon which …
Part One The Importance of a Prolegomena, and the Importance of Having a Christian Philosophy There are all kinds of philosophies which the Christian should avoid. The Apostle warns, See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. – Colossians 2:8 The reference here is probably generic, referring to the various ideas floating around in Asia Minor in …
A review of Israel, the Church, and the Middle East: A Biblical Response to the Current Conflict, edited by Darrell L. Bock & Mitch Glaser, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 296 pages, paperback. This compendium of new essays follows the only occasionally stellar The People, the Land, and the Future of Israel, edited by the same two men. This book marks Israel’s seventieth anniversary. It is divided into four parts, Biblical Foundations, Theology and the Conflict, Yeshua in the Midst of …
I thought I would adapt some of my lecture notes on Systematic Theology for my blog. I am continuing to work on my book of Biblical Theology, and I thought it would do me good to change things up a bit. The first group of posts will be on the Doctrine of Revelation. That God has spoken is the most important thing that can be said by a human being in this world. Ontologically speaking, God must come first, and …
Part Three Returning to chapter 7 of 2 Samuel, verse 13 speaks of David’s son building “a house for My name” with the addition of the pledge of an everlasting dynastic kingdom. Walter Kaiser has commented on the connection between the establishing of a kingdom and the right to erect a temple. He writes, [A]ccording to 2 Samuel 7:13…the “house” of David had to be first established by Yahweh before a temple could be built. Temple building could only be …
Recently K. Scott Oliphint of Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia has published a book which he has called Covenantal Apologetics. I reviewed the book here and recommend it. But I expressed reservations about the writer’s agenda of rebranding Van Til’s apologetic teaching in line with the book’s title. Coming as it does from one of the foremost representatives of Van Til’s presuppositional approach around the thesis deserves attention. As I said in my review, by “Covenantal” Oliphint means the ‘covenants’ of covenant theology. Now nobody …
Part Two God’s Covenant with David David was the king that Yahweh had promised (Gen. 17:4-6, 16; Deut. 17:14-15). His reign came some four centuries after God had said that He would “surely set a king over you” (Deut. 17:15), and not much shy of a millennium after the covenant made with Abraham. God never seems to be in a hurry. In many ways 2 Samuel 7 is the strategic point for understanding the covenants with Israel. It pulls together …
Part One Judges is best read as a chronicle of the fate of the separate tribes within the narrative. There appears to be some overlapping of events within the Book so that a strict 410 year chronology from first to last is doubtful.[1] Further, there is the sad report that summarizes the first two stories in the so-called “Bethlehem Trilogy” at the end of the Book[2], that, In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was …
