We continue in this 11th episode, studying Jesus’s parables that begin with the phrase, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like …”

As we have examined “The Kingdom of Heaven is like …” parables, we have developed quite a detailed theology about Heaven … or better stated, about Eternity. We will expand that theology today as we look at a famous parable commonly known as The Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30. After today’s devotional, we will delve into one more set of “The Kingdom of Heaven is like …” parables, and during that study, we will re-cap and put together our full description of eternity based on Jesus’s parables.

It has been a couple of months since our last Pondering the Parables episode, so a bit of review seems in order.

First, let’s review some basic characteristics of parables as employed by Jesus and other Jewish story tellers:

1. Parables are an ancient storytelling, theological teaching art form within Judaism.

2. Parables are simple stories with simple plots, not complex novels.

3. Parables are fictional and often feature anonymous characters.

4. They take place in earthly settings, focusing on human experiences.

5. Parables utilize comparison and contrast to communicate theological truths (in the classic Jewish teaching style)

6. The element of surprise or reversal or hyperbole are key elements in Jesus’s parables.

7. Parables are stories with intent, aiming to provoke thought and change in behavior.

8. Context is crucial for understanding the message of a parable.

9. Overinterpreting the parables (through moralizing, allegorizing and/or extracting from the context) can lead to misinterpretation.

Before we read the story, some notes about The Parable of the Talents. First, we note that it is very similar to a parable recorded in the Gospel of Luke, specifically in Luke 19:11-27. As was the case with the Parable of Great Banquet in Luke 15 and parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22 (which we studied), the similarities possibly point to one common story of origin. But while it is possible that there is one common original story, Jesus speaks them in different contexts, and therefore, we should be careful to keep each rendering in its own context to derive the best meaning and application of the teaching Jesus was imparting.

As it relates to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew … we will stick to this particular context, and it is clear that it is a parable concerning the coming Kingdom of G-d. It falls into the fifth and final discourse by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, and all of the teaching in this discourse is related to the end of the End Times and the coming Kingdom of G-d when Messiah returns.

A main theme in the discourse is that no one knows when Messiah (Jesus) will return. In fact, five times prior to the telling of the Parable of the Talents, Jesus emphasizes this point. And because no one knows when it will happen, Jesus exhorts us to be working diligently in preparation for the Kingdom. This work of preparation sharpens us and trains us for the day when He returns. At His coming, we will easily slide into the work of Eternity … in sharp contrast to those who do not prepare until it is too late, which is the point of the preceding parable, the story concerning the 10 virgins, five of whom are prepared and five of whom who are not.

Coming on the heels of that story, today’s prophetic Parable of the Talents builds on the theme of preparedness. So, let’s read the text from Matthew 25:14-30.

14 “For it (the Kingdom of Heaven) is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’

22 “Also, the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I think this is one of the easiest parables to interpret. There is no need to allegorize details as the Church has done in centuries past. Jesus is not hinting at any hidden meanings that require further inquiry by His hearers (as is the case sometimes). We are given resources, each to our ability and experience. How shall we respond?

No, the meaning is clear: we have heard the teachings of Jesus, the One who is the culmination of the Scriptures. To hear the message of the coming Kingdom of God is a blessing … it is life-giving salvation. To hear the message and to NOT respond in faith and trust in giving everything you have to prepare for the Kingdom and to work towards creating new opportunities for furthering it is to be ignoring your responsibility … and as such, there will be consequences and judgement. Just maintaining the status quo as the third servant did is NOT good Kingdom stewardship.

And by the way, we must remember to keep this story in its “End Times” context; it is more than an exhortation to good stewardship just for the sake of good stewardship. The good stewardship has a purpose: helping and preparing and increasing what we have not for our own sake, but for the coming Kingdom of G-d and for His glory. The stakes are very high, the responsibility entrusted to us is HUGE! How will you respond?

Shalom,

D-Wach

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Psalm 68 – Don’t Miss the Parade!

By now, it should not surprise you that Psalm 68 is participating in yet another intertextual conversation with a passage found elsewhere in the “Ta-NAHK.” The Tanahk is the Hebrew Bible, what we, as Christians, call the Old Testament. Tanahk ( תָּנָ״ךְ ) is a Hebrew word created from an acronym. The three Hebrew consonants in the word sound like ‘T,’ ‘N,’ and ‘K.’ They stand for ‘To-RAH,’ the first five books of the Old Testament, ‘Nev-i-IM,’ the prophets, and ‘Ke-tu-VIM,’ the writings. Thus … TNK, which is pronounced “Ta-NAHK.”

The contents of the Torah (the Pentateuch) are probably obvious: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Nevi’im (The Prophets) are as follows: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Book of the Twelve (what Christians erroneously call “The Minor Prophets” ). The Ketuvim (The Writings) contain all the other books that we consider the Old Testament including The Psalms.

Some observations:

1. As the New Testament era began, Christians changed the ordering of the books of the Old Testament in Christian Bibles. So, while the Old Testament and Hebrew Bibles are identical in content, they differ in the order in which the content appears.

2. It is likely that the early church fathers desired to “tee up” the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament that describe the life, death and resurrection of Yeshua) and therefore wanted to end the Old Testament with Malachi’s powerful concluding passage regarding “The Day of the Lord.” Thus, The Book of the Twelve (“The Minor Prophets) show up at the end of the “Christian” version of the Old Testament so that Malachi is last.

3. The Old Testament book of Daniel (considered “prophesy” by most Christians) is not classified as a Prophetic book in the classic Jewish sense. However, “historic” books like Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings ARE “prophetic” books in the classic Jewish sense.

4. The Book of the Twelve (“The Minor Prophets) always appear as one scroll and are hardly considered “minor” prophets by Jews. They are the fourth pillar of the prophetic text, standing alongside Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Back to Psalm 68! The intertextual conversation of Psalm 68 is with Numbers 10:29-36, which describes Moses leading the Israelites out into the wilderness with the Ark of the Covenant. The opening words of Psalm 68 mimic and bring to mind Moses’ words from Numbers 10:35 given that the Ark would proceed before G-d’s people as they journeyed through the desert led by Moses.

Thus, we recognize that Psalm 68 is a processional hymn. But instead of the Ark of the Covenant as the centerpiece (the Ark by the way, contained G-d’s presence among the people), it is G-d Himself who is proceeding forth as the focal point. And who is it that is marching with Him? The orphans, the widows, the captives (v. 5-6) and the poor and needy! (v. 10) He is going out before them (and us) to lead us from “Sinai [the desert] into His Sanctuary!” (v. 17)

This overwhelms the psalmist who then proclaims, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the sovereign LORD comes escape from death.” (v. 19-20)

And then a verse that really struck me this morning: “Your procession has come into view, O God.” (v. 24) So often we have our heads down, mired in our misery, our selfish desires or the busyness of the day. Thus, we miss seeing God! Yet it is G-d Himself who is leading the parade and leading us out of our desert times! Amen to that!

Today, let’s lift our heads (chins up and chests out!) so that we can see the parade of the King of Glory bringing us out of our desert times! You don’t want to miss it!

Godspeed,

DWach

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Psalm 67 – Blessings

Psalm 67 holds an interesting place in Judaism and exhibits some of the cool Jewish literary techniques that we have already noticed.

There is repetition of a particular word which brings emphasis to that word: ‘ba-Rahk’ ( בָּרַךְ ), “to bless,” is repeated 3 times in the short text (vv. 1, 6 & 7);thus, we can say that this is a “G-d’s blessing” psalm.

There is intertextual “conversation” with Numbers 6: 24-26, the great Aaronic priestly blessing that ties G-d’s blessings to our shalom (peace); this intertextual “conversation” further emphasizes the blessing theme.

There are a total of seven lines (seven being G-d’s “number,” his number of perfection and completion). The middle line is “May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you [God] rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.” (v. 4); it is bracketed by a repeated refrain, “May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.” (vv. 3 and 5). And interestingly, if you count the number of words in each line (in Hebrew), it is symmetric: 7 words (v.1), 6 words (v. 2-3), 10 words (v. 4), 6 words (v.5-6), and 7 words (v.7). These techniques focus our attention to verse 4: G-d’s rule in ALL the nations of the earth is just. He is THE GOD for EVERBODY.

Let’s bring it all together: G-d, who rules rightly and justly, is ready to shine His face upon you and show you favor, grace and blessing … whether you are a religious insider or outsider, no matter what you are doing or have done. Open your spirit today to receive that blessing.

And now, as a P.S, I wanted to give you a little insight into this psalm’s place in Jewish tradition. This psalm, in art form, is often displayed in synagogues as part of ‘Shi-VI-ti Ha-SHEM,’ which means ‘to set a place (or, to prepare a place) for The Name.’ Ancient Judaism shunned any images of humans or animals in worship lest they be construed as idols. As time went on, graphic displays of the Bible text became Judaism’s ‘worship art.’ By the 14th century, because of the seven line symmetric structure of Psalm 67, it became associated with the seven-stemmed Jewish menorah which goes way back to Moses’s time leading Israel through the desert. I have attached a picture of an example of Psalm 67 ‘text art’ which uses the text itself to create the menorah.

And another PS ... A shout out to DJ Revonda today who helped on some of the Psalm 67 back story. Because of the intertextual “conversation” that Ps. 67 has with Numbers 6: 24-26, I wanted to share one of our top five songs from Joshua Aaron. It is word for word from Numbers 6, “The Aaronic Blessing,” and if you are looking for a way to memorize a few lines in Hebrew, this is a really good one to try.

שָׁלוֹם Shalom,

D-Wach

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Psalm 66 - Testing

Today’s psalm is a classic communal hymn of praise that morphs into an individual hymn of praise. There is nothing unusual about that (or the reverse). This structure reinforces Jewish theology that our communal salvation, praise, suffering, etc. is deeply intertwined with our individual salvation, praise, suffering, etc. I think Christianity has lost some of that mindset.

I see a chiastic structure in this psalm. Chiasms are employed regularly throughout the Scriptures. A chiasm is a set of ideas set forth in a certain order leading the reader to a central point. After the central point is communicated, the text continues with the same/similar ideas in reverse order. The net effect is to bring more intense focus on the central point. Here is the chiasm of Psalm 66 (in my opinion):

“Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing glory to his name; make his praise glorious!” (v. 1-2) Statement of Praise

“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! (v. 5) Invitation to investigate God

“For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” (v. 10) The Main Theological Point

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” (v. 16) Invitation to investigate God

“Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me.” (v. 20) Statement of Praise

When you decide to investigate G-d, you realize that faith is a full contact sport and not for the faint of heart. At the center of faith is testing. Everyone will see and hear about it. It will be on display. So, the question is, what is the end result of that testing? Is it worth it? Verse 12 gives the answer: “we went through fire and water, BUT YOU BROUGHT US TO A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE.”

To be tested and to weather the storm is to be a witness and testimony to all that is good about G-d. It is an abundant life.

שָׁלוֹם Shalom

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In this episode, Pastor D-Wach reflects on personal experiences and significant global events that have transpired since the last podcast. He shares updates about his family, a recent trip, and the sale of his parents’ house. The conversation also touches on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the ongoing conflict in Israel, and the importance of spiritual awakening over political solutions. Pastor D-Wach emphasizes the need for continued devotion to scripture and the teachings of Jesus as a response to current events.

Stay tuned for new devotional podcasts as we continue in the Psalms (Psalm 66 next) and the Parables of Jesus (“The Kingdom of Heaven is like … “ series).

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Psalm 65 – Who is this Man?

We start our discussion today in the most logical place, which is in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 8 verses 23-27. Jesus had been teaching in the villages around the Sea of Galilee. The text says, “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord, save us! We are going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faithfulness, why are you so afraid?” THEN HE GOT UP AND REBUKED THE WINDS AND THE WAVES, AND IT WAS COMPLETELY CALM. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!””

As we have observed in the Psalms to this point, the Bible is a book of questions, and this Gospel text poses the most critical question ever asked: “What kind of man is this Jesus guy who is able to rebuke even the winds and the waves?”

Perhaps the disciples had Psalm 65 in mind as they asked this question, for the psalmist proclaims of G-d, “O God our Savior, … who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, WHO STILLED THE ROARING OF THE SEAS, THE ROARING OF THE WAVES, and the turmoil of the nations.” (v. 5-7)

The psalmist also recognizes G-d’s amazing mercy and grace. The G-d who stills waves also forgives sins: “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.” (v. 3)

Who is this man Jesus? He is none other than the G-d of the Universe, who but speaks and the Creation obeys! And He is the G-d of grace and mercy who has power to save us from earthly chaos and tenderly forgives us of our sins and transgressions! He is Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah!

My spirit drifts back to our discussion of Psalm 62: 11-12 from just a few days ago: “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.”

This psalm is a hymn of wonderment in praise of the transcendent (the One above Creation) AND immanent (the One tender and present) G-d who has chosen relationship with us as His highest and most important endeavor.

That’s an awesome and cool Truth to reflect upon this morning!

Godspeed and Shalom,

D-Wach

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Psalm 64 – God Wins!

We start our discussion today in the most logical place, which is in the New Testament book of Philippians, chapter 2, verses 9 – 11: “Therefore God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These are profound words of Truth that echo the summation of our psalm today with my emphasis noted in all caps: “ALL men shall stand in awe; they [ALL MEN – INLCUDING EVIL ONES] shall proclaim the work of God and His deeds which they perceived.” (v. 9)

Today’s Psalm is a standard lament psalm with a petition to G-d to hear the writer’s complaint against the “conspiracy of the wicked” who “sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows.” (v. 3)

BUT … G-d’s arrows return fire and strike down the wicked (v. 7), and we are confronted with the awesome existential reality that evil and chaos will not be victorious. In fact, evil and chaos will bow down to the LORD in forced acknowledgement of what they knew all along: that the name of Yeshua (Jesus) is above every other name.

It is so easy to be mired in our struggles and to be focused on our difficulties. We must train ourselves daily through prayer, study and fellowship with other believers to rise above evil and chaos and see our reality from a different and eternal perspective.

Remember this today: G-d wins … you are on G-d’s team … live like you are saved from evil and chaos … live today confidently and victoriously!

Godspeed,

DWach

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The Parable of the Ten Virgins: Always Be Prepared

We turn our reflection today onto another of the Kingdom parables, this one traditionally entitled The Parable of the Ten Virgins. We find this story in Matthew’s fifth discourse, known as the Olivett Discourse, as Matthew locates it during Jesus’s last week on Earth and specifically occurring as Jesus and the disciples are traversing the Mt. of Olives heading to and from Jerusalem proper.

As a reminder, Matthew structures his Gospel around these five discourses, or sermon series, plugging narrative detail and historical occurrences before and after the discourses. If you have a “red letter” Bible, one that highlights when Jesus is speaking by printing those quotes in red, these five discourses are easy to spot. If you don’t use a red letter Bible, they are also easy to spot, because at the end of each discourse, Matthew writes, “After Jesus said these things …”

The subject of this final discourse is The Kingdom at the “End Times.” We have noted that an aspect of the Kingdom of G-d is that it is not just a future place and state of being … it also has a realized “here and now” component … we can actually help usher in The Kingdom through our right belief and right actions.

But the message of this particular parable is a future looking. It describes the coming of LORD Yeshua as He brings forth our eternal state of being. But as we have seen in many of the other “Kingdom of Heaven/God is like …” parables, there is prophetic exhortation and warning to the hearers and readers of the text. And further, there is judgement and there are ramifications if the hears and readers don’t heed Yeshua’s advice and warning.

Let’s read the text from Matthew 25: 1 – 13:

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

As we reflect on this parable, we need to pay a little bit of attention to its location in this “End Times” discourse. A quick reading of chapter 24 (the beginning of the “sermon”) opens up a reality that Jesus was trying to communicate: there will be a period of time, a gap, from the “Present Time” as defined as the time when Yeshua was alive here on Earth and the “End of Time” when He will return.

So, the obvious question is this: when exactly will this End of Time occur? It is the question of questions that every generation of Yeshua followers have asked, including the followers who were listening to Him in person. At the end of chapter 24, this question is evident, and Yeshua addresses it in verse 36. He says the answer is this: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son of Man, but only the Father.”

And so, the next obvious question to ask is: well, if we don’t know the day or hour of His coming, what should we do in the meantime?” Jesus answers that question for us: “Keep watch,” He says in verse 42. “Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”

What then follows is an analogy involving a master who is away and servants tasked in keeping the master’s property and business going in his absence and the expectation of what the master will find when he suddenly appears.

And then Jesus launches into the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The story feeds off of the traditions of weddings of 1st Century Jews. We spoke briefly of some of those traditions during our reflections regarding the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. In the tradition, after a wedding was announced (they were arranged marriages by the way), a betrothal period would commence while the bridegroom and his family prepared the household for the new bride. This period could last months, and when all was prepared, a “parade” of sorts was common as the bridegroom would suddenly send word to the bride and her entourage that he was on the way to escort his lady to the marriage ceremony. Thus, it was incumbent on the bride and her entourage to be ready for the big day.

As the plot of the parable plays out, it is clear that some of the bride’s entourage was not prepared. They had not purchased oil for lamps and begged their colleagues to help out. They were turned down and had to desperately search for oil. The bridegroom arrives, and as the saying goes, “The show must go on.” The doors have been shut to the banquet, and they are denied entry to their lack of preparation.

I think the faith lesson is pretty obvious today. Many believers spend a lot of time trying to figure out when Yeshua’s return will be. Many years ago, I fell into that trap and spent a lot of time and energy studying Scriptures to determine His Second Coming. I have come to realize that this is a fruitless endeavor.

My time is better spent preparing for His Coming via obedience to His Word and doing the next right/just thing to help prepare the way for His Advent, His arrival. And so, my friends, the exhortation today is straightforward: always be prepared. If He were to come today, would you be ready?

Godspeed and Shalom,

D-Wach

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Psalm 63 – Seeking Discomfort

I texted Steve “The Rev” Allen last night and asked, “Quick and off the cuff: three thoughts on what the Israeli desert means to you.” His answers:

1. Discomfort is a teacher.

2. Comfort is usually not.

3. The Hebrew word for desert has as its root the word ‘da-VAR’ ( דָּבָר ) which means ‘word.’ If you listen in the desert, you can hear a word for your life.

Today’s psalm is a “desert” psalm and a psalm of trust and confession of faith. Hear the psalmist proclaim: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (v. 1)

For The Rev and me, the desert is our favorite place in Israel. We both lead trips to The Holy Land, and we love to take people out in the desert to hike for a bit. It is usually 105-112 degrees (but it’s a dry heat!) and barren and quiet. In the quietness, G-d speaks. In the quietness and discomfort, G-d has a word for your life. The desert becomes a metaphor for the pain and suffering each of us feels at times in our life. In the desert, you have the opportunity to meet others who are experiencing their desert pain. The desert is a place of community. You CANNOT survive in the desert alone. You endure “desert hardship” together and overcome it.

It is counterintuitive, but I am convinced that our faith journey MUST include desert time. It must include pain (emotional, spiritual, and/or physical) and discomfort. My friend (and brother in Christ) Tim and I had a recent conversation about this. Tim seeks discomfort by training and competing in Spartan races. The whole process isn’t really “fun” and certainly isn’t comfortable. But he attests to the incredible self-discovery and growth that accompanies the endeavor, both physically and spiritually. He highly recommends a book called The Comfort Crisis, by Michael Easter.

During my tenure as The Minister to Students at FBC-Hickory, through shared experiences of discomfort during our summer mission trips, we decided to change the name of our group to Embrace … as in “Embrace the suck of life.” We wanted to communicate to our students that experiencing discomfort, and experiencing it together in community, is the path to spiritual growth and it becomes a witness and testimony to all that is good about G-d. Our group’s signature verse was II Corinthians 12:10. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Psalm a Dayers … today I urge you to seek discomfort and embrace the suck of life! G-d will have a word for you if you do. And if you respond well, your witness and testimony for G-d will be enhanced.

Godspeed,

DWach

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Psalm 62 – Strong AND Loving

Psalm 62 gets little attention from modern Christian scholars. It is yet another psalm of lament and trust that follows the standard “formula” that we have seen numerous times to this point. But in the Jewish world, it has significant meaning, and I think we would be wise to pay attentionn. Verses 11-12a offer one of the most important theological concepts in all of Scripture (DWach’s opinion): “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, God, are strong, and that you, God, are loving.”

The ancient sages of Judaism picked up on the fact that G-d speaks once but the people hear and understand two things that are NOT mutually exclusive: G-d is strong AND loving. These truths are revealed in one utterance from G-d. G-d’s very words are multivalent and ALIVE. His Word is not stale. It is to be read and consumed by our spirits and it may be heard/interpreted differently by different people and in different eras … with one big caveat: the hearing and the study and the interpretation must be done in community.

That stipulation is the safeguard and corrective against rogue theology. There is no room for “Cowboy Christianity” when it comes to applying Scripture to our lives and living out our faith. Does that mean we all have to toe the “corporate” Christian line that mixes tradition and Scripture interchangeably? By no means! The church has always benefited from inspired and brilliant thinkers who have pushed the edge of heresy. Some of our faith’s greatest theologians were initially castigated by “corporate”: Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to name several.

Rick Warren, another pioneer of the faith, said it best, “We are better together.” As we read and study and live and dialogue as the family of G-d, as we hear His word each in our own way, I pray that our conclusions and applications of His word glorify Him and demonstrate to a fallen world that His kingdom and His Community are salt and light, and that G-d is strong and loving.

Shalom שָׁלוֹם

DWach

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