Biblical Interpretation

{3John11} | Of Translations, Repentance, and Worship

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

bible-greek-manuscript

ὁἀγαθοποιῶνἐκτοῦθεοῦἐστιν· ὁκακοποιῶνοὐχἑώρακεντὸνθεόν.

[ho agathopoion ek tou theou estin; ho kakopoion ouk heoraken ton theon.]

The one who does good is

[of/from/because of/in the manner of/apart from/part of/controlled by]

God.

The one who does evil has not seen God.

{3John11}

Forgive these fragmented and perhaps poorly-written or elementary thoughts. I write this post not to “show off my Greek” (today was the first I had opened it up in the past couple of months) nor to confuse people by talking very technically. I (hopefully) write this as worship.

I finished translating 3 John today. I’m starting with the shortest New Testament book and just continually trying to translate up to the longest. It’ll probably never be done, but it’s some sort of system, so it works for me. I always know what’s next so that’s helpful.

Anyway, like I said earlier, this was the first day I had gone back to 3 John in a couple of months. I only had a few more verses left so I quickly finished it and then started the first couple of verses of 2 John. I then began to shut my books and move on to the next item on my reading list when I realized something: I couldn’t even remember vaguely what I had translated in 3 John. I had been so concerned with just translating and “getting it done” that I forgot to even meditate or think on it.

I turned to my translation and looked over what I had written and the above verse popped out at me. So, I’m writing this as my act of both repentance for having this gift of the ability to translate and not using it to know God more, and as my act of worship, that I might explore some nuances in this text.

The problem with this verse is a problem common in any language: the preposition. That word εκ [ek] means any of the bracketed things above. Most simply, it’s translated as “of”, but the question always turns to “what does ‘of’ mean here? “Which of the myriad of possible translations does this mean? Well, you look at the context.

What I noticed is that whatever it means, it’s supposed to be a contrast to “The one who does evil has not seen God”. So whatever this “of God” means, it is in contrast with “not seeing God”. It also means that being “of” or “from” God is a matter of seeing him. To see Him is to be joined to Him, to be of Him, or to be from Him. I don’t know enough about Greek to make a definitive call about precisely which translation is correct, but this idea is enough for me: walking obediently so as to please God is a matter of seeing God, and those that continue in disobedience show that they have not.

The way this is phrased let’s us know that whoever is walking obediently can take no credit for this, because their obedience is of/from God. But at the same time, those that are still walking in disobedience bear the full weight of responsibility for their disobedience because they have not seen Him. It is a mystery that leads to God’s greatest Glory and our greatest joy.

So for those saints weary under the weight of their sin and disobedience, be encouraged: obedience and doing good is not a matter of striving and fighting your own will. It is a matter of seeing Him and therefore being joined with Him so that all our being, living, and moving is from/of/in the manner of God. Seeing and therefore being joined to Him through Christ allows us to move according to His nature and will. All disobedience, sin, and evil results from not seeing God. He is our hope. He is our salvation.

Let us therefore fix our eyes on Him, and run.

“Let’s Get it On” – Song of Solomon blog

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

READ THIS FIRST:

I have a new post up on my Song of Solomon Bible Study blog.

It was written a few days ago and since then it has been brought to my attention how weird it might be that I concern myself even somewhat with the sexuality of married couples.  The thought process is: you’re single.  Therefore, you have no business telling couples how the Bible says to have good sex.  It’s inappropriate and “shameful”.

My favorite metaphor for my relationship with Christ is the Bride/Bridegroom metaphor and the subsequent parallels between the sexuality and spirituality.  I love it.  But is it weird for me to think this way before I’m married?  I’ve thought and talked like this for several years now and no one has ever told me it’s awkward or inappropriate, but now a couple of people have, so I’m wondering:

Is it inappropriate, awkward, or weird for me to write the kind of post I just did on the Song of Solomon Bible Study site?

I’d really like feedback from everyone.  WARNING: the post is potentially sort of sexually graphic.  No more than Song of Solomon itself, but still – Jewish boys weren’t allowed to read the book until they were twelve for a reason.  So if you are drawn into temptation particularly through text and words, you probably shouldn’t read.

But for everyone else, please read and let me know.  I really am ready to change my perspective on this if I need to, I just need some feedback from my brothers and sisters.  So, here it is.  Read and let me know what you’re thinking.

http://solomonssong.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/41-51-lets-get-it-on/

I hope everyone has a good weekend.  I’ll be back on Monday with some posts I’m pretty excited about including posts on Christian cursing and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Textual Criticism & the Glory of God

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

Here is the summary of my final paper for the Textual Criticism portion of my New Testament Intro class.  Enjoy:

My ultimate goal in all these classes is doxological.  That’s how I’m judging my success; not by grades, but whether not I have a greater affection for Christ at the end of each course.  I can say I have that at the end of this course, but it’s not without a price, I feel.

What do I do with, say, the ending of Mark?  How do I preach that text?  Though I absolutely disagree with the Textus Receptus-only arguments, I must say there’s something romantic and (dare I say) “Reformed-sounding” in their arguments.  The idea that God is Sovereign and Providential enough to bring about a final text, even with all its textual errors is enticing (probably because it removes all further critical thought from the process).

It’s ultimately more difficult to reject these notions, though, because you’re forced to face a few realities.

Mainly, what do we do with these texts, then?  If we keep them, then we’re Catholic because we’re placing tradition over the Word as it originally was.  If we get rid of them we seem liberal because we’re subjecting and changing the Bible based on an authority outside of itself.

What about the hypothetical stay-at-home mom that comes to me with the ending of Mark, wanting to know what it means?  Do I unpack textual criticism on her and tell her it wasn’t original so don’t worry about it?

In that case, what if Jesus’ words in John 8:1-11 have been such a comfort to her through the darkest of times?  Is that the Word of God, while the ending of Mark (snakes and all) is not?  How much doubt will it give her to know that there are words in her Bible that John Mark didn’t actually write?  In short, what are the pastoral implications of textual criticism? I don’t know.

Personally, I’m fine with things as they are—keeping very unlikely readings out of the text and just footnoting much.  I’m facing no faith-crises because of this.  I see how far God would go to condescend Himself and thereby draw me to Him, even amidst the messiness of scribal error and change.

I’m just in that very good spot of wrestling through things to see how they fit in a context of proclamation and ministry.  I’m sure they do—they must.

I’m finding that seminary accomplishes its very interesting call of answering many of your questions all while giving you many more, bigger, and deeper questions to grapple with along the way.  This is good.  This will certainly give me more nuance in my ministry of God’s word and His people—a greater understanding of the depth and complexity of God’s Word.

I see now things aren’t so black and white, and that’s by design.  If it weren’t, then we would trust God and His Word on a basis other than Himself.  He will force us to live this life by faith and by no other thing will we be able to fully rest upon—not even the individual black and white text on the page of the Bible, but rather on the Sovereign, Supreme, all-Beautiful, all-Righteous, all-Knowing, all-Just, and all-Gracious God of the Bible.

Get yourself some Calvin

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

They who strive to build up firm faith in Scripture through disputation are doing things backwards . . . Since for unbelieving men religion seems to stand by opinion alone, they, in order not to believe anything foolishly or lightly, both wish and demand rational proof that  Moses and the prophets spoke divinely.  But I reply: the testimony of the Spirit is more excellent than all reason.  Some good folk are annoyed that a clear proof is not ready at hand when the impious, unpunished, murmur against God’s Word.  As if the Spirit were not called both “seal” and “guarantee” for confirming the faith of the godly; because until he illumines their minds, they ever waver among many doubts!

Therefore, Scripture bears its own authentication.  Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated [by the Spirit].  Therefore, illumined by his power, we believe neither by our own nor by anyone else’s judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men.

Therefore we seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as a thing far beyond any guesswork!  If God has willed this treasure of understanding to be hidden from his children [to necessitate revelation for us to know Him], it is no wonder or absurdity that the multitude of men are so ignorant and stupid!  Whenever, then, the fewness of believers disturbs us, let the converse come to mind, that only those whom it is given can comprehend the mysteries of God.

— selections from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Ch. 7

The Sweet Taste of Sovereign Suffering, III (Part 4 of 7)

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

This entire post will be dedicated just to the point of Slye’s sermon that made me the most frustrated. Actually, the next two posts will be. This will just cover my problems with his method of Biblical Interpretation. The next post will be my theological reasons. His point is as follows:

4. God is not on the throne.
-“…Satan, the ruler of this world…” –John 12:31(Msg)
-“Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. The devil said, ‘If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.’” –Matt. 4:8,9(NCV)
-“The devil who rules this world…” –2 Cor. 4:4(NCV)
-“…the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19(NLT)

My problems with this point are three-fold: Exegetical, Theological, and Psychological/Spiritual

I: Exegetical: This word “exegetical” is just a big word for “Bible Interpretation.” That’s my first problem with this point in the sermon – Slye’s methods of Biblical Interpretation. Here are some fatal flaws in his methods to consider.

– Translation jumping: First off, one should be wary of an any preacher that jumps around among different translations. On this point alone, 3 out of 4 of the quotations are different translations. In the whole sermon, he jumps among 5 different translations. Many times when translation jumping is done it can be a sign of a pastor that has an opinion first and then tries to find Scripture to support that opinion. He will then try and find the translation that best “fits” his opinion. This is not the sign of a preacher that has submitted himself to Scripture as the authority over his own opinions, but rather a man who sees Scripture as the most widely accepted authority he can appeal to bring validation to what he wants to say. I don’t know if this applies to Slye specifically, I’m simply giving the reader something to look out for. One more little read flag: always be scared of a preacher using a shotgun smattering of Biblical quotes with as many ellipses (the dot dot dots…) as Slye uses. All Scripture should be used with consideration given to its context, not dotting it away.

– Ignoring the original language: This is related to translation jumping. I’m not even close to having had any real training in Greek or Hebrew, but with the tools available to anyone on the internet, there is no excuse for pastors blatantly ignoring the original text. Some ways this damages this message:

[“ . . . Satan, the ruler of this world . . .” –John 12:31(Msg); The word “Satan” is not found in the original language, and the word “ruler” in the Greek is actually only “prince.” More on this later]

[“The devil who rules this world . . .” — 2 Cor 4:4(NCV); The original reads “the god of this world has blinded the mind of the unbelievers . . .” The words “devil” and “rules” are not in the Greek. In fact, the word “god” in this passage is the word “Theos.” Out of the 1330 times this word is used in the New Testament, all but 10 of those times it is translated in a way referring exclusively to the true God of the Bible. So while there is some disagreement as to which translation is best in this passage, we can be sure that the seeming “clarity” of Slye’s translation is not the clarity that the passage actually gives us.]

[“ . . . the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19; The original reads word-for-word “we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in wickedness [or evil, or the evil one].” Based on the translation of the previous verse (5:18), it seems that the translation of “evil one” is right, but there is the chance this could be just “wickedness.” Nevertheless, “lies” is still very different in connotation than “under the power and control of”]

Sorry folks, translation matters.

– Ignoring context: I talked some about this in my ellipses comment earlier, but none of the verses he quotes actually means what he’s trying to have them mean. None of them!

[John 12:31 – This is in the middle of a statement by Jesus about his crucifixion saying “now will the prince of this world be cast out.” Hardly a statement of Satan’s authority.]

[Matthew 4:8,9 – Slye argues this would not be a legitimate temptation if all the kingdoms of the world were not Satan’s to give. Except one problem: Jesus. Our Lord’s response to Satan after this temptation is “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve’” (4:10[ESV];the next verse). Jesus pretty much tells Satan he has not the authority to give what he’s trying to! This is not Slye’s use of the verse.]

[2 Cor 4:4 – verses 3 and 4 say, “even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god or this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (ESV). In context it seems that the actual power of the “god of this world” only extends to those perishing, not to those who have been redeemed. On a funny side note, the verse before this is describing pastors who are pure in their preaching before God, and he mentions how these preachers refuse “to tamper with God’s word.” I find it interesting that Paul mentions this just two verses before our verse that was taken out of context by a preacher.]

[1 John 5:19 – verse 18 and 19 together say “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (ESV). Not only do these verses tell of God’s power over Satan to not let him touch any of His children, but the “whole world” is established as the contrast to the “we.” I don’t think the “we” is talking about the institution of the church. If that were the case, one could argue the “whole world” meant the actual institution of reality we call “the world.” I think the “we” is referring to a group of people that are Christians, which would make the contrast here at the people level, not the institution level. This means the “whole world” probably only refers to people that are unsaved, not the world itself.]

I’ll just give this all to you now to hold you over while I really wrestle through the real meat of this post.

The Sweet Taste of Sovereign Suffering, III (Part 1 of 7)

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

As said in the previous post, I’m in the process of writing a rebuttal to Pastor John Slye’s sermon on suffering. You can look at that post for more background.

Before this discussion begins, I feel I must give a few background comments giving the context in which this debate takes place. The theological study of evil and suffering in the world and how it relates to God is called Theodicy (pronounced “Thee-ah-di-see”). This word comes from the Greek “Theos” meaning “God,” and “dike” meaning “justice.” So the study of theodicy is very literally a justification of the goodness of God in spite of the evil and suffering in the world. From that perspective, both Slye and I have a comprehensive and good Theodicy – we both have justifications of God that make sense and fully answer the questions raised on this issue by those that raise them.

Thus, the only thing that makes one Theodicy better than another is not how it “makes sense” or “sounds good” or “appeals to our senses,” it must be on how it fits with God’s objective revelation of himself, Scripture. You may say to me, “but . . . Slye has Scripture to support every one of his points!” Yes, he does, which makes my job more difficult, because I can’t just throw more Scripture at him that opposes what he says. A basic tenet in logic and debate is that it is not enough to expose the weaknesses in your opponent’s arguments; you must show your’s to be superior as well, else your’s can be thought to be just as invalid as the argument you just effectively dismantled. So how will I need to do this?

I will have to appeal to the totality of Scripture as God has revealed Himself, not just do as Slye has done and find bits and pieces of Scripture that support notions he already has. My argument must be founded upon the Nature of God as He has revealed Himself in the totality of Scripture, not just here or there. It is from this background of who God is that we will move forth into looking into how he acts, because His actions are preceded by His nature.

I think this is something Slye has missed. Slye has found a system of thought that, with all due respect, will help him and his people sleep well at night, but is disingenuous to God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture as the all-reigning, all-sovereign, all-living God of the universe that we can trust and rest in even through our darkest, most difficult times in life.

Believe me, I’m living it.

Part 1 to come. Anyone that actually wants to gain a comprehensive insight into these things is encouraged to re-read my previous two posts, especially part 1, as I will reference much of the content of those posts in my arguments against this sermon. Here they are: Part 1, Part 2

God bless all, and please know I do this not for argument’s sake, but to defend the name, honor, and Glory of my amazing, beautiful, sovereign Savior Jesus Christ. I truly believe a truer picture of Him is the key to abundant life and the “renewal of your mind.”

I love you all,

–paul

p.s. – these posts will be the strangest birthday gifts I’ve ever given.

The Sweet Taste of Sovereign Suffering, III (Intro)

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

I really hope I do this in gentleness and truth, though I may get fired up a bit. I recently listened to a sermon by John Slye of Grace Community Church in Arlington, VA. It was entitled “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” You can listen to it yourself here and can download it and the outline here. Here’s the basic outline of the sermon and his Scripture points:

1. God is all powerful.2. God uses suffering, he does not cause it. God does not send all things. Scripture never says this.
-“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” –Romans 8:28(ESV)

3. Suffering is not the will of God.
-“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way.” –Gen. 1:31(NLT) If He wanted it there, He would have put it there in the beginning.

4. God is not on the throne.
-“…Satan, the ruler of this world…” –John 12:31(Msg)
-“Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. The devil said, ‘If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.’” –Matt. 4:8,9(NCV)
-“The devil who rules this world…” –2 Cor. 4:4(NCV)
-“…the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19(NLT)

5. God’s will is not always done on earth as it is in heaven.
-“…your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” –Matt. 6:10(NIV)

6. Suffering breaks the heart of God.
-“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept.” –John 11:33-35(NIV)

7. Fight back.
– “This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.” –Eph. 6:12(Msg)

Anyone who’s read my previous comments on suffering (Part 1, Part 2) knows that this sermon goes against pretty much every basic tenet of my theology on this topic. I wish to engage and oppose the notions expressed in this sermon to the best of my ability, because I see Pastor Slye’s theology as being so rampant and so dangerous to all of Christendom, as I feel it cheapens our very view God.

Seeing as I wish to challenge this comprehensively, but at the same time keep every reader sane and not feeling like they are reading a novel, my responses to these seven points will be over 6 more posts. Part 2 will cover points 1 and 2 in the sermon; Part 3 will cover just point 3, Parts 4 and 5 will be all about point 4 because I am most fired up by that one; Part 6 will cover point 6; and lastly, Part 7 will cover the remaining points. The next post will be an introduction to this topic at hand.

The Sweet Taste of Sovereign Suffering, Pt. II

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

I’m in the process of writing why Christians take joy in suffering. In this post I hope to explain the second reason why suffering, tribulation, and even evil are the joy and delight of the Christian. The first reason was that all evil, suffering and calamity reveal the Glory of God, which is the delight of the Christian; and must be, for a Christian to be a Christian (See my last post, Part I)

This second reason is a little more difficult to explain. In my life, God revealed these truths to me in a very peculiar way that led to these truths becoming some of the most precious that my mind has ever grasped. It was a night of confusion and not comprehending the words of a great sister, only to finally understand it all the next morning as the Holy Spirit fell in my shower. This post is the fruits of that night I am so indebted to. I pray the Holy Spirit communicates through me these truths, and that they may lead you to a deeper joy for God.

After the aforementioned shower, I went to Starbucks to do my Bible study for the morning and ran across John 9:39, which reads: “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.'” If you click the link, you can get more context from Scripture, but Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees that sight is metaphorical for salvation, obviously. Why is this verse, so profound?

Jesus is pretty much saying that his “judgment” is the greatest benefit of all to some, because it brings them nearer to God; for others, it is to cast them as far from his presence as can be done. His judgment is the greatest gift to those who believe in Him, but is the greatest curse for those who don’t. It’s a foreign concept in the church to worship God for his judgment. Who wants to rejoice in the sending of sinners to Hell? Romans 9:22-24 tells us that God’s Glory is revealed to those saved by the sending of sinners to Hell. His judgment reveals the Glory of God and opens our eyes to see it. Praise God!

[DISCLAIMERS: We can take comfort in the knowledge that this condemnation of sinners is just and righteous. Also, we can have no absolute knowledge as to who those people are that are condemned eternally, thus our preaching is not in vain, it brings about the expansion of the kingdom of God. So, PREACH, but take comfort that it is not based on you, your words, or even your motives whether someone is converted or not, and, remember that even if they are not, you can still praise God.]

In Romans 8:28-39, this principle is carried further. For sake of space, I won’t provide the text, just the exegesis, but please click the link and read it all. The main points are this: v.28 is the most precious and famous of all Bible promises. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” That’s great, but what is the foundation of this? Why and how can we possibly believe this when we live in this world of suffering and pain? Verse 29 says that our assurance of this promise comes from our assurance of our election and salvation, but Paul doesn’t stop there. He knows this simple trust in God’s choosing and keeping of us doesn’t fully explain the foundation of v.28. I think that’s why he says next: “What, then, shall we say in response to this?” He answers with some of the most glorious truths in the Bible.

He tells us, because God is on our side, the usual system of fear and worry in suffering is destroyed in Christ. He says in verse 32 (this is the key verse for our purposes): “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” His grace will also give us all things. What did this grace first give us? It gave us a death, a suffering, a tribulation. The first and foundational gift of God’s Grace was a pain. Paul continues speaking of the foundation of this great promise by appealing to (of all things) the judgment of Christ – He is the one who condemns, which secures the power by which he can bring about that promise in our lives. The application of Romans 8:28 which is foremost in Paul’s mind as he is writing is then found in vv.35-39, and it is persecution, death, and tribulation! When Paul says that God will “give us all things,” he means all things – including suffering, tribulation, persecution, and even death. Not only that, that is what He gives “graciously.”

You see, just like we saw in John, all things that normally cause fear and heartache for all, for the Christian, are actually their greatest joy. This is because, just as in Christ’s judgment, all things good and bad are now merely our servants to bring us closer to God – even death. Whereas death is the greatest fear of man, after conversion, it is the things that propels him the deepest into the bosom of God he will ever be. Praise God!

So, in summary, all suffering, tribulation, pain, heartache, loss, judgment, and death we go through in this life is for the purposes of (1) revealing God’s Glory in this world, which believers so delight in, it is their joy, no matter the earthly cost; and (2) bringing us closer to Him, now that He has destroyed the system of fear and heartache in tribulation by making those “fearful” things our servants now to bring us to our Father.

I’ll end with this Psalm of Praise I found. I’ll just put selections up (the link has the whole thing), but pay attention to why it is all of Creation is rejoicing so much. I think you’ll find it “glorious.”

Psalm 96
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.

ahh, Selah

–paul<

Facebook VCU Pulse

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

I saw this on Pulse, the Facebook thing that analyzes statistics concerning the VCU campus based on people’s profiles:

3.5% of VCU reads The Bible.

that’s pretty sad.

but you know what?

The Bible reads 100% of VCU.

If you don’t get that, please ask me.

–paul<

Just read this

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

In my Old Testament class, we just finished a unit on the prophets. During that unit, I had the privilege of reading Hosea. Now, I did my own personal study on the minor prophets a while ago, and by far, Hosea is my favorite. I think it may well be my favorite book in the whole Bible, and this is primarily because of Chapter 2. Thus, I wish to post may favorite selections of Chapter 2. Here, God is using the metaphor of husband and wife to show the outworking of his relationship with Israel: God is the husband and his wife is Israel. When Israel worships other deities (in this case, the Baals), God considers it adultery, but when they worship him, it is consummation. This parallels to the rest of the church today, so count yourself in the reciept of these words if you have been seized upon by the gospel of God.

CONTEXT: God has just called the prophet Hosea to act out God’s feelings towards Israel by marrying a prostitute and then sending her away after she cheats on him, just as God has done with Israel it this point. Just sense the passion God has as he says these things. The following are selections from Hosea 2. For the full text, click here:

Plead with your mother, plead–
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband–
that she put away her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts.
Upon her children I will have no mercy,
because they are children of whoredom.
For their mother has played the whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers.”
Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
and I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.

Then she shall say,
‘I will go and return to my first husband,
for it was better for me then than now.’
And she did not know
that it was I who gave her
the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on her silver and gold,
which they used for Baal.

Therefore I will take back
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season,
and I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
Now I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
of which she said,
‘These are my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the LORD.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of trouble a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.

And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on those I called ‘No Mercy’,
and I will say to those called ‘Not My People’, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.'”

**Some punctuation and preposotions have been changed for continuity.

–paul<

The Godly Woman according to Proverbs, pt II: the disclaimer

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

Now, what I will attempt to do is create a profile right here of the godly woman that makes a godly wife with modern equivalents, application, and ramifications. But first, a note.

As I meditated upon these verses today, I was encountered with a realization: I believe some of these verses have been wrongly given the impression that these behaviors and attributes are to be the characteristics of both a woman AND a wife. The Bible gives biblical behavioral and spiritual mandates for only two groups of people (as pertaining to male and female relationships): those who are married, and those who are not. In the spiritual realm, and behavioral for that matter, there is no in-between. In a nutshell, if you are married, act like you’re married; if you’re not married, don’t act like you’re married. With this in mind, remember that if a verse says that a godly wife submits to her husband for example, that DOES NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM EVEN BEGIN TO IMPLY that a girlfriend should submit to her boyfriend. They are not married, thus they should not act like they are. In that case, the woman is only to submit to her parents and God – no one else. Do not take any of these verses having to do with a godly wife and begin to think of them as mandates for a girlfriend – they are not, and to turn them into that is a perversion of the Word of God and should be repented of.

So, how will this be applied to today’s current post? All of these verses use the Hebrew word “‘ishshah” for the words “wife” AND “woman.” Some may use this as an argument against what I just said above, but one must look at the use of the word. The English words are not just interchangeable with eachother. You can’t freely substitute “wife” for “woman” whenever you wish. For the English translation, what dictates its use is the CONTEXT it is used in. After that is made clear, the definition and use are set, there is no subjectibility. I think this creates a beautiful picture of the way this works.

When a woman becomes a wife, SHE does not change, rather the context she is within does and THAT dictates her roles, responsibilities, and behaviors. So, if she has not changed, just her context, that means, SHE is still the same person, right? Thus, if she is to be successful as a godly wife, an unmarried woman need not necessarily be successful at doing those behaviors before she is married, just the ABILITY TO DO THEM when called to be in the context. This ability naturally will overflow into other characteristics of her personality. Thus, this next post will be the profile of the Christian unmarried woman who exhibits the capacity and personality traits best suited to be a successful godly wife. This will be based on literally applied scripture as much as possible of course, unless otherwide noted in places where I use some common sense to create a modern ramification, application, or if I extrapolate a personality trait of the godly woman from a characteristic of a godly wife.

Sorry for this philosophical trek through seeming obviousness to a point where I feel comfortable doing this, but as this is a big deal to me, I wish to cover all the bases. See ya tomorrow, people (or person, or no one, I don’t know)

God Bless,
–Paul<

The Godly Woman according to Proverbs, pt I: the verses

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

okay, as we embark on the characteristics of the godly woman and the ramifications thereof, I will start in proverbs. Maybe at a different time I can do the same thing with passages in Genesis, 2 Peter, Ephesians, and other places. But for now, enjoy “the Godly Woman According to Proverbs”!

The godly woman:
– she does not forsake the companion of her youth (her husband [see male eqiuvalent in Prov. 5:18]) (Prov. 2:17)
– she does not forget the covenant of God (prov. 2:17)
– she ponders the path of life (one of my personal favs) (prov. 5:6)
– her ways do not wander (prov. 5:6)
– if they do start to wander, she has wisdom enough to know it (prov. 5:6)
– she hunts down a precious life (my other personal fav) (prov. 6:26)
– she is not “guarded in heart” (i’ll explain later) (prov. 7:10)
– She is not loud and rebellious (prov. 7:11, 9:13)
– her feet stay at home (i’ll explain later)(prov. 7:11)
– she is not full of simpleness and naivete(prov 9:13)
– She doesn’t know nothing (prov. 9:13)
– she grabs hold of and holds fast to a good reputation/ “retaineth honor” (KJV) (prov. 11:16)
– she has discretion (prov. 11:22)
– she is the crown of her husband (another fav) (prov. 12:4)
– she causes her house to “continue” (literal of “build her house”) (prov. 14:1)
– she is a good thing to the man who finds her (verse says: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing”) (prov. 18:22)
– she helps obtain favor from God for her husband (prov. 18:22)
– she is full of prudence, wise understanding, and prosperity (all from Hebrew word “sakal” translated usually just as “prudent”) (prov. 19:14)
– she doesn’t say “I have done no wrong” after sinning (prov. 30:20)
– her price in the kingdom of God is far, above, and distant from that of even the most precious stones (prov. 31:10)
– she has the trust of the heart of her husband, and thus leads him to prosperity (prov. 31:11)
– she deals out goodness and pleasantness to her husband, and nothing evil, her entire life (prov. 31:12)
– This is interesting: she has the ability to contemplate and consider purchases and then make them with the profit from her hands!(Once again, I’ll explain later as this is often such a misunderstood and much ignored verse of such modern relevance!)(Prov. 31:16)
– She is strong in might and physical power (prov. 31:17)
– she has compassion for and gives to the needy (prov. 31:20)
– strength (both physical and figurative) and dignity, honor, and splendor are the first things people notice about her outward behvaiors (“her clothing”)(Prov. 31:25)
– she rejoices and laughs when appropriate (prov. 31:25)
– She speaks wisdom and teaches the instruction of goodness, kindness, and faithfulness (Prov. 31:26)
– She keeps a watchful eye on the company allowed in her home, and is not lazy
– her children even call her blessed and talk of her walking the right path. (prov. 31:28)
– her husband praises her in her godliness as it surpasses all others (prov. 31:28-29)
– She “Halal”s. A Hebrew verb meaning to be praised, boasted about, be worthy of that praise. Also means to shine, or shine forth light. (Proverbs 31:30).

Okay, I’m sorry. I will give my meditations and expoundations tomorrow. I’m really tired now.

love and marriage

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

The thing that God has been working in me the most for the past 4 to 6 months or so is how to be the perfect husband. I have often said that at the end of my life, I will be completely satisfied and content with all that I have done if I have done just two things: Made God happy, and made a woman happy. Both of those things are things that very few men ever accomplish in this life, and I strive to be one that does. So many people can’t understand it when I say this, but I am so in love with my future wife right now, whoever she may be. I have no idea if I have met her, talked to her, seen her, or not; I just know that i am so in love with her right now.

Now, I’m a very strong believer in the fact that some people are just not called to ever marry. But I am convinced that God has been working in me in such a way as to tell me that I will be married to a woman of his choosing, and this has my heart, body , and soul in a daze of healthy anticipation. I just can’t wait for her to come my way, but I can. You know what I mean. Just think about it:

In Ephesians 5, it is made very clear to us that marriage is meant to be a perfect representation of God’s relationship with the church; that is it’s purpose. So, God, being perfect in his wisdom and knowledge, in forging my life (if a wife is intended for me), has picked out a wife for me that is the only one that can have the ability to help me represent his perfect relationship with the church in all its fullness, beauty, and glory. Thus supporting my idea that it is possible to have a God-glorifying marriage that is a perfect symbol of God’s relationship with the church, because, as stated earlier, that is its purpose. I am so excited. Just think of how perfect she will be for me and I for her. I know the glorfication of God isn’t going to just “happen” in a marriage – it is hard work, but I am ready for it. When the time comes, and when God calls me to it. He hasn’t called to marriage right now, but he is definitely working in me. Work on, God.

So, anyway, for the next few posts over the next few days, I will go through the Bible and point out the verse that show characteristics of the Godly woman I am looking for and then what a Godly man should be.

God Bless as usual,
–Paul<

here I go . . .

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

I’m sitting in my office chair after my shower and preparing to go to my very first class of my second semester in college. Wish me luck.

Anyway, last night I set up two new blogs of mine. They are both God-inspired, independent Bible studies I am doing on my own with the help of some historical info and the Holy Spirit. It’s going to be good. I am going to use them to post daily bible studies in. Right now, I am working on posting a study on the book of 1 John, and there is a site on the book of Hebrews I am about to start. Also I’m tossing around the idea of posting the daily devotional by Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost For His Highest” in another blog. That would be awesome. In fact, that may be up before day’s end. Well, anyway, check out the Bible studies, mainly the one on 1 John. Here are the sites:

1 John Bible study:

http://www.BookOf1John.wordpress.com

Hebrews Bible study:

http://www.BookOfHebrews.wordpress.com

God Bless and have a wonderful day . . .

— Paul <