Category: education Page 1 of 2

Devotional Insights #4

On April 18, 2020

Job 38-41: “Do you know?” “Where you there?” “Have you searched out?” “Look at Behemoth!” “Can you draw out Leviathan?”

God is demonstrating his incomprehensibility. Even as Job cannot fully grasp the answers to the questions that God gives him, so he cannot fully understand God.

In Job 38-39, God goes through the various aspects of his creation and asks Job: “How does the world hold together?” “How does wind work?” “How do the animals get their food?” “Hasn’t God given the things of this world, wisdom to live upon the earth?”

In Job 40 and 41, God goes into a detailed description of two mighty creatures that used to roam the earth in the days of Job, the Behemoth and the Leviathan. We don’t know what these are. Some guess they may have been dinosaurs, but ultimately they may not be animals we are aware of today. God invites Job to study these things to understand how great God is. The God who created such creatures is far beyond the mind of Job.

Job recognizes the challenge that God has given him in chapter 42 and admits that he has forgotten how far the ways of God are beyond him. God used to speak to Job from a distance. No, God has given Job the privilege of talking to himself face to face. In knowing God in this new way, Job recognizes all the more that he is lacking in his understanding of God. He repents in dust and ashes.

But there is something more here as well. Job is, after all a wisdom book. Job is invited to look into the questions that God gives. Why? Because all of these things point to the wisdom and almighty power of God. Paul may be thinking of this section of Job when he says the wisdom and the almighty power of God are clearly known to all men. God’s invitation to Job to ponder on these thing is more than merely saying that he is incomprehensible.

It is by pondering on these things that Job may grow in understanding the incomprehensibility of God. God’s words to Job are an invitation to what we call science. And many Christian scientists have heard the call of God to wonder at his creation in these passages. But this is science, which is done in a particular mode. This science never claims comprehensive knowledge of who God is or even of what creation is. We may discover that “Gravity” determines that things fall at a specific rate, but we cannot understand the forces behind it. Even if someday we do have a better understanding of that, we still will lack understanding of what is going on. God invites Job to science that delights in its limitations.

It is the same with the “science” of theology. Job’s friends think they have God figured out. Job doesn’t necessarily think he has God figured out, but he forgets that truth in his self-defense. The study of scripture and theology is a gradual realization of what we don’t know, which is the wisdom of humility.

The more we learn, the less we know. Wisdom is not merely the knowledge of things, but it is discovering the limits of our knowledge. We become like the Psalmist in Psalm 131 before God. “I do not occupy myself with things too great and marvelous for me. 0But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” So God invites Job to be the scientist so that he may grow in wonder and awe at the creator of all things. And in growing in knowledge, Job also becomes humble before his God.

God desires that we delight in his creation. He wants us to take delight in the good that he has given us. On the other hand, pain and suffering often come from the thought that we are somehow in control of our lives. Too often we look to knowledge as a way to control other people. God wants us to discover the knowledge of him and the things he has made through a joyful humility. We should approach creation and wisdom with a child-like joy in discovery; without frustration over what we are unable to discover. God wants us to learn patience in uncovering the mysteries of the universe.

We should have the same approach to God and his word. We are children in God’s garden and we patiently wait upon to him to reveal himself more and more in the pages of scripture.

Finally, as Job had to learn, God calls us to be patient as we discern what he is doing in my experience. Whatever God brings is from his hand and is meant for my good. This is something we take on faith, not by sight. Our suffering can look meaningless but we trust that God has a purpose. And God invites us to discern that purpose.

This process of discovery is not so easy in a world where our fleshly pride is constantly creeping into what we do so that even the righteous Job must repent in dust and ashes. But in Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of God, and that gives us the patience we need as we seek to grow in the knowledge of our Father.

Old Teachers and Moral Formation.

By James

On February 6, 2018

In education

Why read old books? I don’t think the primary answer is knowledge of the past or knowledge of history. I believe that the primary answer is that old books form us morally. In order to explore this question, we begin by exploring the assumption here; that the purpose of reading old books is moral formation. We continue by addressing how that helps us answer the question, “Why read old books?” My goal here is not to merely encourage the reading of old books, but to provide a way through which to judge the effectiveness of old books. I am for reading old books, but I want to back up a little bit and look at the reading of old books within the purpose of education as a whole.

Before I go into some specifics, I should mention that this is not true of all old books. Many old books can be read for insight into how people thought in the past, but there is an old corpus that we read for the purpose of moral formation. That is to say, the books we should read are also the books that are valuable for developing wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to discern the path of excellence. There are many old books out there that do not contain any such wisdom.

If you ask your students to read certain books, my argument is that the first question to ask is, “Will these books instill virtue into my students?” Certainly, other aspects are important. Will these books give my students insight into history, into the story of civilizations? We might ask, “will these books place my students; give them a place in the conversation, in the history of civilization?” These are good questions to keep in mind, but moral formation should still be at the center of how we choose old books.

This moral formation, is of course, deeply connected to these other questions. It is only through understanding one’s place in history, that one is able to practice ethics in a responsible manner. Even though certain aspects of ethics are eternal, their particularity depends on practice. In Presbyterian language, there is a “general equity” (the central principles of justice and mercy), which is applied through reason to many different places and times. This helps to explain why literature other than scripture is also helpful for moral formation. The thoughts of theologians, philosophers, and artists give us wisdom in making choices.

My central case for an education centered around moral formation comes from the New Testament. There Jesus says these words: “A student will be like his teacher.” Jesus is the great teacher and he wants his disciples to become like him. It is the same with Christians today. Christians are called to look to Jesus as their ultimate teacher and learn virtue from him.

Jesus’ argument applies to all student-teacher relationships. A student learns from a teacher through imitation as much as through lectures. He sees the teacher’s love for his subject. He sees the academic integrity of the teacher. By analogy, we can see that a parent is a type of teacher; and no-one doubts that children imitate their parents. Parents use teachers in order to supplement their lack; so that their children can learn from many counselors.

An old book, on the other hand, represents a very old teacher. Teachers give young peoples books in order to supplement their own lack; a lack because the book represents a mind that is distinct from the teacher. The book supplements what the living, breathing teacher is providing. The goal is that the student would learn from the author of the book, not just facts, but a moral vision; a way to see the world that can be amalgamated into the thought of the young man or woman. If we want our children to have good teachers, we need to give them good books.

Why is it so important to see old books as moral formation? Not only does this inform the way teachers teach, but it informs the way we choose literature for young people to read. The modern textbook, with some exceptions, is not great for moral formation. One helpful category for selection is Charlotte Mason’s argument for “living books.” These are books that exemplify an excitement and a love by the author for what he is teaching.

Why are old books especially helpful for this? A selection of old books are helpful in that these book are the ones our fathers valued the most. They are the sources of our fathers’ moral formation and therefore in some sense the sources of our moral formation. This also ties into what we mentioned earlier: that moral formation also consists in connecting one to his place in history and his place in the conversation that carries on between thinkers in history. These reasons for reading old books should be subsidiary to the center of education; instilling virtue. Old books also carry us to a different place in history so we can learn to interact with those who think very differently from ourselves. These benefits help the student as he grows in wisdom and knowledge.

This doesn’t mean that the student may not critique. Rather he engages with the author so that through the engagement the author will form his mind. If a book fails in engaging the mind in a way that instills virtue that book is no longer valuable to the reader.

When we answer the question, “Why read old books?” with “for moral formation.” It changes the dynamic of the conversation. Though other reasons for reading old books are valuable, such as historical insight or engaging with a mind from a distant era, they do not get at the center of what education is about. I would argue that if we are to argue for reading old books, we must begin with a demonstration of how they encourage virtue in young people.

Jesus fulfills the law: He Creates a Spiritual People

By James

On December 1, 2017

In Applied Hermeneutics, education, Reformed Theology

The 3rd part of “Jesus fulfills the law.”

Christ fulfilled the law. Now when Christ or Paul talk about the law they are referring to the entirety of the law, both the rules and the institutions which they are connected to. We’ve already shown how Jesus fulfilled other portions of the law here and here. I’m referring, more particularly, to the many rules that God gives in the Old Testament.

Christ obeyed those perfectly. From the Ten Commandments to the laws concerning the clean and unclean. When we come to Christ in faith, we receive everything that he did for us from the beginning of his life to the end of his life, so that we may have perfection in all that we do. That is why our good works are pleasing to God. We have his full righteousness, the whole Christ; so that he counts or sin-filled works as good. God even gives a reward out of the mere grace of God. Knowing this, we cannot but respond with such a joy. Our efforts feel so tiny, almost useless, but Christ is our righteousness.

How does he do this? As we have already mentioned, he sends out his Spirit among us, to guide us and direct us so that as we read in Romans 8:, the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, so that we too may be holy, righteous and blameless, so that we may really do good things before God.

So how do we learn from all those rules of the Old Testament through Christ? How do we order our lives after those laws? We first need to understand, how Christ changed our relationship to the law. Christ freed us from the law. Paul teaches us in Galatians 4 that the people of the Old Testament were under a tutor. That tutor had absolute authority over the Jews. The law taught them and as their tutor demanded obedience.

In Christ, we are freed. We are no longer under the law. Yet we still use the law. For example, Paul uses the law that you should not muzzle your ox to encourage his hearers to provide for their leaders in 1 Corinthians 9:9. You might say that the law is now a mentor. The Spirit teaches us how to apply it to our lives. In Christ, we’ve grown up and now we look with affection to our old tutor, the law, in order to find advice on ordering our lives.

Of course the centerpiece of the law, written by the very finger of God, the Ten Commandments, continue to have an important part in our lives. This is the law of love, the law of Christ, that Christ gives to guide our lives. Christ’s call to live by the fruits of the Spirit cannot be followed without the guidance of the Ten Commandments. This is what we might call the substance of the law. But we do so under Christ and guided by the Spirit. We do not do so under the law.

But other laws of the Old Testament can guide us in how we live our lives as well. We can the example of the Old Testament to bring order to the church and to our individual lives. We’ve already noted how Paul uses the law about muzzling oxen. For example, the practice of daily sacrifices teaches us the practice of daily devotion. No Christian will deny that daily devotions are a good way to order our lives.

The church, as a whole. may decide to have two services on Sunday based on the practice of morning and evening sacrifices. We can also think of the practice of fasting in the Old Testament. A local church may decide to call a day of fasting in order to meet certain problems in the world around them or within the church itself. These are Spirit-led, free choices that the Spirit calls us to do for the sake of destroying the sin that remains in us and for expanding the kingdom of God.

We can learn from the law, as long as we do bind one another’s consciences to the practices that the Spirit has led our church too. We do not argue from the law in order to control one another but in order to encourage and edify one another. As individuals and as communities we learn from the law, but we do so in freedom from the law.

We are not law-led, we are Spirit led. And the Spirit leads us through the word of Christ. The perennial temptation of the church is to go back to the slavery of the law instead of the freedom of the Spirit. That betrays a desire for slavery. Instead look to your wisdom, Christ. He gives you the Holy Spirit. As John teaches us in 1 John 2:20, through that Holy Spirit, you know all things.

Tim Keller, Religion is not the Opposite of the Gospel.

By James

On November 18, 2017

In education, The Basics

In the 5th chapter of Center Church by Tim Keller, Keller sets up religion and the gospel side by side. Religion is obeying in order to be accepted. The Gospel recognizes that I am accepted so I obey. I have no argument with the content. Tim Keller is giving Biblical teaching.

Tim Keller’s problem is a problem of semantics. He is using the wrong words to teach us. The gospel is the opposite of merit, not of religion. The gospel is the teaching that Christ has provided our righteousness so that we may follow the way of righteousness. Merit is the teaching that you must find the way the way of righteousness and God’s law helps us with that.

Religion is something else. Religion is the practice of worship and good works according to James 1:27. More popularly, religion refers to practices such as prayer and going to church.

Keller’s problematic division shows itself later in the same chapter when he speaks of “reorientation to Christ.” How does that happen? It doesn’t merely happen through thinking about the gospel. It happens by seeking the means of grace. You seek Christ through listening to his word and partaking of his sacrament with the saints. Where that is not an option you seek him through scripture-reading and prayer. You use religion as a way to seek Christ. It is true that you can seek religion through the gospel or through merit, but it is very unhelpful to simply conflate merit and religion.

Unfortunately, Keller’s way of speaking is all too common. It is something that deeply bothers me because I believe such a way of speaking undermines the God’s ordination of the means of grace as a way to seek him.

The 5th Act: Part 2

By James

On September 8, 2017

In education, Hermeneutics

I have argued for improvisation in the age of the church. This is an improvisation that is according to the rules. The natural follow-up is further explanation of what those rules are.

Of course the simple answer to that question is that the rules are the commandments of Jesus. Jesus says, “if you love me you will obey my commandments.” As Christians, we believe that the entire Bible is the word of Jesus. Therefore any command we find there is a command of Jesus. These words of Jesus should cause us to search the scriptures for instruction and wisdom on how to live before God.

For example, Jesus commands us to pray, and he gives us an example how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. We have to pray for mercy, for God’s providence, for one another. We have to pray on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice. However we have the ability to make choices what to pray for and how much to pray (Paul does command us to pray unceasingly, but this still does not tell us how many times we actually need to get on our knees per day. Rather, this command looks for a constantly prayerful attitude; an attitude that is ready to pray at any moment). This is part of the Spirit’s guidance in our lives. He leads us to pray for particular people and for particular situations. This is not controversial.

The real controversy is when theologians begin to undermine what at one time seemed to be clear instruction from God. I would argue that the problem here is not their theory or understanding of improvisation. They may be using that truth to support their choices, but in truth bad hermeneutics are the basis for their particular improvisations. Their bad hermeneutic is based on a desire to push against the rules that God has given for improvisation.

This bad hermeneutic doesn’t begin by undermining the authority of scripture as such. It begins by undermining the clarity of scripture. Think of the snake in Genesis saying 3, “Did God really say?” Ultimately, it goes on to undermine the authority of scripture.

Let’s think for a moment of two examples: one of positive improvisation, one of negative improvisation. Changing attitudes on the issue of slavery is one of positive improvisation. As people began to understand who man is in light of who God is and ultimately how he has revealed himself in Christ, they began to realize that the institution of slavery was highly flawed.

For example, in the book of Galatians Paul tells us that the Old Testament institutions were slave-like, while Christ brings a new freedom to both Jew and Gentile through the Spirit. Later, in the book of Philemon, Paul tells Philemon that in Christ his slave is his brother. This type of teaching is not merely spiritual, but applies to social life as well. Eventually, as a society, we were ready to get rid of the institution of slavery. It may have been permitted before, even permitted in the scriptures, but people began to fully realize how flawed it was. Slavery could not be compatible with the kingdom of God.

An example of negative improvisation is the extension of the office of pastor to women as well as men. There is a surprising clarity on this in 1st Timothy and 1st Corinthians. Yet, these passages troubled men, who thought they understood what had happened to mankind in Christ. Their explanation of these passages began to break down the former clarity of these passages. By making them unclear they were able to make room for their understanding of women in office. Society was learning to bring full functional equality between men and women. The problem; they undermine God’s teaching on women. By muddying God’s teaching they make God’s teaching less authoritative and the interpreter more authoritative.

The question comes down to, how do you improvise. N. T. Wright, however well he explains improvisation, is an example of bad improvisation. Good theologians accomplish good improvisation through a desire to submit themselves to Christ.

Christ warns those who wish to improvise, by calling them to pay attention to his commandments. In Matthew 5:19-20, Christ says, ” Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches thes commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now Christ’s work will fulfill these commandments, but that should make us no less eager to apply these commandments to ourselves through the cross of Christ. We do this by growing in our understanding of what Christ’s atonement accomplished.

The 5th Act.

By James

On September 7, 2017

In education, eschatology, Hermeneutics

The call to improvisation is among N.T. Wright’s many controversial beliefs. In the Old Testament, God laid out all the rules for his people. In general, men and women were closer culturally and historically to the instructions that God had given. Now that the Scripture is finished God calls on the church to improvise. It’s not that there is no improvisation in the Old Testament, but those who come after Christ have a unique relationship with the Spirit in bringing the reconciliation of all things through Christ, You can see him defend these beliefs here, here, and here. My introduction is a very simple summary of his belief.

False improvisation

Unfortunately, Wright’s own understanding of improvisation seems to lead him to embrace new understandings of Genesis and the role of the church. We can see how the logic goes. New understandings have come to light in science, in society, and in the scholarship of scripture and the church needs to improvise in response to that. Wright deserves respect because he attempts the Sisyphean task of defending it all exegetically. He gives a rather radical re-interpretation of the New Testament on the role of women and joining with many others in re-interpreting Genesis 1. (His work on re-interpreting the role of women has an unbelievable degree of subtlety. It’s hard to get away from the idea that he is twisting himself in circles in order to demonstrate his own enlightenment.)

(It may be that the problem here is not so much Wright’s understanding of improvisation but his hermeneutic of scripture. In Wright’s description of improvisation, he is on very solid ground. This quickly becomes quicksand when combined with liberal hermeneutics.)

Improvisation according to the rules.

Even if Wright’s improvising leads him to undermine the clarity of scripture on certain topics, I believe that his understanding of improvisation is laudable. The problem is that he is not following his own rules. He is not listening when Scripture is clear on the rules.

To demonstrate Wright’s point, I’d like to point out the following passages. All of these passages show how the coming of the Holy Spirit should give us confidence in using our God-given wisdom to apply scripture. God gives his church discernment.

In 1 John 2: 20, John says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions. He is the one who gives us the ability to apply the scripture to our lives; to improvise from the scripture that he has given us.

The new status that we have in Christ confirms our call to improvise. Having proclaimed the salvation Christ gave, Paul also tells us what happened after we are brought into his kingdom in Ephesians 2:6. “He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus.” In Christ, we are ruling in heaven. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 6: 2: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world.” In 1 Corinthians Paul is calling the Corinthians to grow in the wisdom of Christ. The need to seek discernment in judging evildoers in their congregation. They need to learn how to make decisions for the church of Christ in Corinth. Paul wants them to grow in maturity. They will judge the world. They need to practice that judgment now.

There is an “already, but not yet” here. In Christ, we already reign, but we do not experience of the fullness of this reign. God calls us to suffer first. 1 Timothy 2:12, “If we endure, we will reign with him.”

Finally, we have James 3: 13-18. There James speaks of wisdom from below and wisdom from above. We have the Wisdom from above. It is accessible to us. With it we can discern what is “pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.”

We have an assumption in the New Testament of a new degree of wisdom given to the saints. This gift is through the Holy Spirit, in order to apply the scripture that God has given to contemporary problems. Naturally, this should be carefully done. Further, it should be done with a desire for obedience to every breath of God. Contradicting historic teachings on Creation and gender roles does not give evidence of that type of desire.

Rules for Progress

By James

On August 6, 2017

In Applied Hermeneutics, education, History, Progress

Note: I defend progress in this piece. However, I thoroughly reject the beliefs of most of those who understand themselves as progressives. I do not believe that their beliefs are progressive. In general, they are regressive, not progressive. I would argue that I present here a true progressivism, based on God’s word, not on man’s understanding of progress.

Progress is necessary. God wants the church to grow in the understanding of his righteousness and his holiness. However, this truth is easily twisted. Churches use it in order to excuse themselves for contradicting what is clear in the word of God. We see this in those who argue for women in office and those who argue that homosexual relationships are a legitimate expression of human love. We need guidelines in order to differentiate between what is progressive and what is retrogressive. I offer a few below.

Inscripturation: There is no real progress without a deep understanding of the scriptures. The first rule of progress is: study and contemplate the scriptures. God does not contradict himself, for he speaks with authority and truth. We cannot progress without the scriptures. God and his word are the source of all truth as well as a deeper understanding of that truth.
Tradition: If we cannot ignore the scriptures, we cannot ignore the tradition of scriptural interpretation. Argument after argument has been given concerning various passages. Our bit of “progress” may repeat the mistakes of the past. It may repeat the heresies of the past. In order to move forward, we must have a deep understanding and appreciation of the past. For those who want to progress this can be hard to do. Anti-progressive forces tend to love tradition to a fault. The tendency, then, is to ignore tradition. This does not excuse anyone from this guideline, however. To ignore it is not only dangerous yourself but to those around you.
Humility: Humility is all important. The one who wants to teach must learn. Sit at the feet of those around you who have been given knowledge. You need humility in order learn from the Scriptures and from tradition. Ultimately you need humility before God. When you have humility before God you will have humility before the teachers he has raised up in your life. Jesus asks that you become as a little child. Only little children have the continual ability to learn.
Patience: You have your argument ready. You have studied and contemplated the scriptures and you have immersed yourself in tradition. Now you must be patient. People aren’t ready to change at a moment’s notice. Further, you might be wrong. Better men than you of me have been wrong before. Remember the words of the Psalmist. “Wait on the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Finding Wisdom 2

By James

On July 27, 2017

In education, Hermeneutics

There are a number of characters in Proverbs. The righteous are those who actively seek out wisdom. They are humble. Further, they seek God’s wisdom, not their own. The wicked are those who actively seek out folly. They are proud. They are full of selfish ambition However there is a rather interesting 3rd character. He is also seeking folly, but he is not actively seeking folly. In a sense he finds folly, because he has never sought wisdom. He is the sluggard. Wisdom, in Proverbs is the ability to discern between two choices. Both the wicked and the righteous go out and make those choices. They choose between wisdom and folly. The sluggard chooses to stay home.

We find the sluggard in Proverbs 6: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Observe her ways and become wise.” The ant doesn’t have somebody telling her what to do. She acts on her own intiative. She goes out and finds a job, so that she may learn her trade. The sluggard needs to get up out of his bed and learn from the ant. The author of the proverbs wants to encourage his readers in godly ambition.

Another example comes from Proverbs 26 starting at verse 13. The sluggard cries out, “There is a lion in the streets.” The sluggard makes excuses for himself. He can’t risk anything. Again, we need godly ambition. We can’t be afraid of risks when we go out into the world. We have to be wise and prudent in our actions, but if we live in fear of what might happen, we will never find the prize. The reward will be gone.

Christians then have no excuse for sitting around and waiting. There is no excuse for endless leisure time. We’re called to go out and find wisdom. If we do not, we will lose wisdom. We become the fool, fearing imaginary lions. Ultimately, we lose the Wisdom of God; Jesus Christ. We are all called to that search for wisdom in so far as God has given us the ability to do so.

Wisdom, in our passages, is the practical ability to build, to make business choices, to choose a marriage partner; ultimately anything that involves human action. But within Proverbs all wisdom ultimately points to the Wisdom of God, the Wisdom that God reveals in Jesus Christ and the Wisdom by which God made the world. As we said in an earlier post, he is the one who holds the universe together. We can distinguish between practical wisdom and the Wisdom of God in Proverbs, but they cannot truly be seperated. If we do not seek wisdom, we ultimately lose the Wisdom of God; Jesus Christ. We are all called to that search for wisdom in so far as God has given us the ability to do so.

So one of the messages of proverbs is, “get up, get out and find wisdom.” Search then. Seek out the wisdom of the universe. Learn how to fix a car. Learn how to make a chair. Ultimately, search for the Wisdom; Christ. That is a life-long search a life-long longing for those who have found him.

Bread and Wine are Necessary

By James

On January 17, 2017

In education, sacraments

Are the forms an important part of the sacraments? Is it necessary that we use bread and wine for the Lord’s Supper? Is it necessary that we use water for Baptism? I would argue that the form of the sacrament is an important part of the sacrament. As a rule, effective sacraments will use the forms that are ordained by scripture.

The importance of the forms of bread and wine.

How do we know certain forms are important? God gives precise rules. He teaches in precise language. We can see this in the detailed description of the construction of the tabernacle and the temple. At the same time, God does not highlight everything. He highlights what is important.

Let’s think for a moment about bread and wine in scripture. One of the first times bread and wine are mentioned in scripture is the story of Abraham and Melchizedek. Melchizedek brings out bread and wine to Abraham when Abraham has just won a victory over Israel. A little later in Genesis, Abraham’s Son Isaac, promise’s his son Jacob the riches of the abundance of the land. These riches are grain and new wine. Bread and wine are the foods that we receive from the land. They exemplify the abundance of the land. This image is there all through scripture.

Along with oil, bread and wine are important substances through all of the scriptures. Oil and bread are used in the sanctuary. Bread is the food that the world produces, glorified by the industry of human hands. Wine is connected to kings and the joy and the peace a righteous king brings. Wine is the eschatological drink. Abraham may enjoy wine once he has defeated his enemies. The Nazirite may take wine after he has completed his vow. It is not surprising that the righteous king, Jesus, chooses bread and wine to represent his body. It is his body that will provide abundance for his new creation.

To choose other forms, such as chips and pop instead of bread and wine is to lose some of the rich imagery that is connected to bread and wine.

Rules with exceptions.

But does this mean that those who use other forms do not participate in the grace of God? I do not think that we can say that. We can say they miss something by participating without the forms. This in part depends on the heart of the reason for choosing a different form. It may be that wine and bread are in short supply. It may be that there is a misunderstanding by those who are willing to exchange the given forms for others. (We also need to be careful to be careful not to box in God, with doctrines that he himself has not given.)

A helpful proverb here is “Too whom much is given much is required.” Those who know better and those who are able to provide the given forms should do so. But we also trust that our God is a merciful God who understands our weaknesses.

We can learn another helpful lesson from Malachi 3: 14, “The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord.” We know from the New Testament that these sacrifices in themselves did not do anything. They only did so far as they pointed to Jesus Christ. Yet at the same time God cared about the form (that an acceptable male was offered) of the sacrifice. He saw that the form showed a lack of obedience in the heart. The simple command of God is to bring bread and wine. That is important to him. We demonstrate obedience by obeying this simple command. However, even in the supposedly more formal Old Testament, God allowed for the fact that a person might not be able to bring an acceptable male. God will be merciful to our weakness.

We learn then that God does give exceptions for those who are weak. But that does not mean that God cares only about the heart, not the form that is offered. He sees the form as a demonstration of a heart. This is a rule we can gather from reading scripture. However, it is a rule with exceptions.

Bible Curriculum

By James

On January 12, 2017

In education

How do you teach the whole Bible in a constructive way? In a way that gives the student a full grasp of what it is all about? Here is a quick draft of a possible four-year program for Bible teaching.

Year 1: A call to holy war

Genesis: Faith

Exodus: Deliverance

Leviticus: Holiness

Numbers: Perseverance

Deuteronomy: Law

Joshua: Holy War

Year 2: A king of salvation

Judges: The fallen bride

Ruth: a savior will be born

1-2 Samuel: A king for Israel

Job: A suffering king

Psalms: The wisdom of prayer

Proverbs: The wisdom of God’s instruction

Song of Songs: The wisdom of love

Ecclesiastes: The wisdom of Joy.

Year 3: The death and resurrection of Israel

Isaiah: The ax is at the roots.

1-2 Kings: Disobedient Israel

Jeremiah-Lamentations: God’s Lawsuit

Ezekiel: God’s heavenly temple for a disobedient Israel.

Daniel and Esther: Intercession for Israel

The book of the 12: Swallowed up and spit out by the nations.

Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah: The re-establishment of Israel.

Year 4: Putting on Christ

Matthew: Christ the lawgiver

Mark: Christ the warrior king

Luke-Acts: Christ heals a broken people

John: Christ tabernacled among us.

Paul’s letters: A new creation

Hebrews: A new administration

James: The complete man

1-3 John: A new commandment

1-2 Peter, Jude: Preserved from the destruction of the old world.

Revelation: The coming Jerusalem

My divisions and themes are, in a large part, due to reflection on the work of James Jordan.