BeachCast.TV: Bible Exploration, Apologetics and Church History with Dr. Chase A. Thompson:

In John 17, we have the longest prayer of Jesus recorded in the Bible. Three times He prays something particular for His future followers: That they would be ONE - He prays that we Christians who believed the testimony of the apostles would be unified with each other in the same way that Jesus and the Father are unified with each other. He also noted that when that happened - the world would know that Jesus was sent by the Father. Does our disunity somehow muddle our message?

Answer to question #2: I don't know. Today's podcast would be the easiest and shortest Bible Reading podcast ever, if the only question we had to deal with was "where is the Ark of the Covenant?" Because, despite being one of the top daily Bible podcasters in all of South Salinas, I have no earthly idea where the Ark currently is. In fact, of the two famous Arks that I am familiar with - Noah's and this one, I know where neither are, although I do recall watching a great documentary on it when I was a kid. If I had to guess where both Arks were, I'd guess EurasiCA, which is to say, somewhere in Europe, Asia or Africa. That's pretty specific, so you all should get looking! I will say this, however...by the end of today's episode, I may not be able to tell you where the Ark of the Covenant is NOW, but I do think we can discover where it WILL BE SOON!

In the meantime, I've got a Bible Podcast to do, and today's readings include our focus passage, Exodus 37, Proverbs 13, John 16 and Ephesians 6. Today we are talking about Arks - one specific ark, to be clear, but before we do that, we need to try and clear up some confusion. Have you ever wondered why the Ark of the Covenant and Noah's Ark are both arks, but they are radically different from each other?? Me too! I can't tell you how many nights of sleep that I have lost trying to figure this mystery out. Actually I can - so far, it is zero, but if this opening lasts much longer, it might be one. So - here's the thing - counterintuitively, the Hebrew word for Noah's ark is actually the word, " תֵּבָה têbâh," and it is translated as "a chest, an ark, or a coffer." The only other place the word is used is in the early chapters of Exodus, to refer to the floating basket that Moses was put in before it was sent down the river to the household of Pharaoh. It is a curious word, and probably best for us to think of it as a floating box, rather than a 'boat.' It does not appear that Noah's ark was really made for anything but to be a floating container, while a boat or ship is for transportation and other uses.

The Ark in our focus passage today is a different Hebrew word entirely, " אָרוֹן ʼârôwn" An arown can be a chest, or even a coffin (Joseph was buried in an 'arown) and comes from a Hebrew verb meaning to gather, pluck (like fruit) or collect, and hence you might put what you gather or collect into an arown. The similarity, of course, is that both words indicate a container type of thing. In Koine Greek, in which the New Testament is written, you find that both words for ark are conflated into one word: κιβωτός, κιβωτοῦ Kibotos, or Kibotou. I'd think things would have been simpler to translate them as slightly different words in the Greek (and subsequently, the English,) but the New Testament authors never asked my opinion for some reason, so we now have one word for two slightly different kinds of arks.

The first mention of the Ark of the Covenant is in Exodus 25. You might be wondering, "well, why didn't we cover this way back when we were reading in Exodus 25?" And my answer would be, "Well, mr. Smarty pants: I was hoping to find the location of the Ark of the Covenant between that episode and now, because that would have made for a better podcast, but I didn't." Then I would wink at you so you'd know I was joking, but I probably wouldn't reveal the real answer to you, because it is above top secret. Oh yeah, here's that first appearance:

10 "They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.

Exodus 25:10

So now, let's go read about the Ark being made by Bezalel, and then come back and discuss it a little more.

The Ark was about 52 by 31 by 31 inches, and was covered in hammered gold all around, with four gold rings in each of the corners to carry it with via poles. The ark was made of shittim wood, which is a word that you have to be sure to pronounce correctly as it does not sound like you'd think it does based on looking at it. This wood comes from the red acacia tree, which is a thorny tree that grows to about 30 feet tall, and is found throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East. On top of the Ark is the mercy seat, or kapporet, which is probably the most significant part of this object. A good description can be found at Gotquestions.org, so I'll just borrow it and give them credit:

The real significance of the Ark of the Covenant was what took place involving the lid of the box, known as the "Mercy Seat." The term 'mercy seat' comes from a Hebrew word meaning "to cover, placate, appease, cleanse, cancel or make atonement for." It was here that the high priest, only once a year (Leviticus 16), entered the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept and atoned for his sins and the sins of the Israelites. The priest sprinkled blood of a sacrificed animal onto the Mercy Seat to appease the wrath and anger of God for past sins committed. This was the only place in the world where this atonement could take place.

The Mercy Seat on the Ark was a symbolic foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice for all sin—the blood of Christ shed on the cross for the remission of sins. The Apostle Paul, a former Pharisee and one familiar with the Old Testament, knew this concept quite well when he wrote about Christ being our covering for sin in Romans 3:24-25: "…and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." Just as there was only one place for atonement of sins in the Old Testament—the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant—so there is also only one place for atonement in the New Testament and current times—the cross of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we no longer look to the Ark but to the Lord Jesus Himself as the propitiation and atonement for our sins.

https://www.gotquestions.org/ark-of-the-covenant.html

Over the next few days and weeks, we will read much about the Ark of the Covenant, as it appears in the Scriptures well over a hundred times. As a bit of foreshadowing, however, let's jump in a time machine, and take a look at a couple of those passages:

3 When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines? Let's bring the ark of the Lord's covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from our enemies." 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.

1 Samuel 4:3-5

Can you spot what went wrong? YES! The Israelites trusted in THE ARK and not the GOD of the Ark. What happened next was a horror story. The Philistines panicked and wiped out the Israelite army, captured the Ark, and when the high priest heard about it, he fell backwards in his chair and broke his neck because he was extremely old and overweight. And no, I'm not actually making that up. You can go read the story if you'd like - it's worse than I'm making it out to be. One more picture of the Ark - this one in the FUTURE:

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Revelation 11:15-19

Well, there you go - the future location of the Ark of the Covenant, as promised. Let's read some more Scripture together, shall we?

The Ark of the Covenant is a source of great mystery and fascination in the Bible. What exactly is it, and how was it made? Was it supernaturally powerful, and did it guarantee victory to any army that controlled it? Where is the Ark now? Is it possible to know where it will be in the future?

Most of the time I apologize for it when I have a click-baity title, but not this time. This time, I'm almost proud. You know what click-bait is, right? It is a title to an article that somebody shares on social media, or is an ad on a website that is worded so that you click on it. Maybe you've seen some of these ads - my least favorite are the ones that show what appears to be a disgusting skillet full of boiled bananas and a caption like, "gut surgeons say - don't eat this one vegetable." OR - "Gut surgeons say to eat this one vegetable to be regular," Or something like that. Well, on today's podcast, I am actually going to tell you the real and ultimate hidden Levitical secret code for being regular every day, and it is found in the book of Exlaxodus, chapter 2. Okay. I'm not proud of that joke. I apologize. Day six of shelter in place has got me so worked up, that my comedy material has sunk to new lows. More seriously, I would urge you to pray for each other, and pray for me and pray for all believers as we go through these scary times. If there is a way I can pray for you, please reach out and leave a comment at Biblereadingpodcast.com - it would be a privilege to lift you up in prayer, and a great encouragement knowing that you are praying for my family of seven hunkered down in Salinas, California.

Today's Bible readings include Exodus 36. Proverbs 12, John 15 and Ephesians 5. Our focus passage for the day remains in John, and we are looking at a critically important teaching of Jesus. There are a lot of important passages in the Bible, and a lot of important teachings of Jesus, but I want to be really clear that this one, in particular is crucial. Consider the way that Jesus talks about this passage. Getting the truth of it means that you will bear much fruit, which shows that you are a follower of Jesus. Not walking in the truth of it puts you in danger of being the kind of branches that are gathered up and tossed into the fire. Not only that, but walking in the truth of this passage opens up a deeper, richer and more effective prayer life, as Jesus says that following His teaching here is a critical key to having answered prayers. So - enough dancing around it. What is this key teaching of Jesus? It is simply this: To ABIDE in Him like a branch that is connected to the grapevine. (ESV, NASB, KJV) To REMAIN in Him (CSB). To STAY JOINED to Him. (CEV) The word picture is that we are a branch grafted into the vine. Just like a branch removed from a vine rooted in the earth will NOT bear any fruits, so we will not bear any fruits with our lives if we are not rooted and grounded in Jesus the true vine. Let's read the passage, and come back and discuss it.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

John 15:1-8

John is not the only place in the Bible that discusses our relationship with Jesus using a kind of garden metaphor. Colossians 2 and Ephesians 3 also do the same thing:

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:7 New Living Translation

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14=19

The one big question that should occur to us, upon seeing the importance of abiding is - HOW?! How do we abide in Jesus? I think the answer is given to us in verse 7, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you " In order for us to abide in Jesus, HIS WORDS MUST FILL US - live in us, dwell in us. We must go to the Bible daily and more so that the Words of our master dwell in our hearts through faith. In doing this, we remember that - somehow, someway - Jesus is THE WORD. When we are reading and meditating on His teachings, we aren't just interacting with words, but WORDS - THE WORD!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD.

John 1:1

When we abide in the Words of Jesus - we are abiding in Jesus! But we don't just learn the Words of Jesus - we must be DOERS of His Word. Ponder well John 14:23-24 from yesterday - meditate on it.

23 Jesus answered, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 The one who doesn't love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

John 14:23-24

And now let's close with a word from our beloved brother Spurgeon:

"Do not merely find a temporary shelter in me, as a ship runs into harbour in stormy weather, and then comes out again when the gale is over; but cast anchor in me, as the vessel does when it reaches its desired haven. Be not as branches that are tied on, and so can be taken off, but be livingly joined to me. 'Abide in me.' "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. You must bear fruit, or else be cast away; but you cannot bear any fruit except by real union and constant communion with Jesus Christ your Lord.

"I am the vine, you are the branches: he that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. "Not merely will you do very little, but you can do nothing at all if you are severed from Christ. You are absolutely and entirely dependent upon Christ both for your life and for your fruit-bearing. Do we not wish to have it so, beloved? It is the beginning principle of apostasy when a man wishes to be independent of Christ in any degree, when he says, "Give me the portion of goods that is owed to me. that I may have something in hand, some spending money of my own," No; you must, from day to day, from hour to hour, and even from moment to moment, derive life, light, love, everything that is good, from Christ. What a blessing that it is so!

"If a man abides not in Jesus, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." There is a sad future in store for tares, according to another parable; but, somehow, there is a much sadder lot reserved for those that were, in some sense, branches of the vine,—those who made a profession of faith in Christ, though they were never vitally united to him; those who for a while did run well, yet were hindered. What was it that hindered them that they should not obey the truth? Oh, it is sad indeed that any should have had any sort of connection with that divine stem, and yet should be cast into the fire!

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." Do not think that all men can pray alike effectually, for it is not so. There are some whom God will hear, and some whom God will not hear. And there are some even of his own children, whom he will hear in things absolutely vital and essential, to whom he never gave carte blanche after this fashion: "Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." No if you will not hear God's words, he will not hear yours; and if his words do not abide in you, your words shall not have power with him. They may be directed to heaven, but the Lord will not listen to them so as to have regard unto them. Oh, it needs very tender walking for one who would be mighty in prayer! You shall find that those who have had their will at the throne of grace are men who have done God's will in other places; it must be so. The greatest favourite at court will have a double portion of the jealousy of his monarch, and he must be specially careful that he orders his steps aright, or else the king will not continue to favour him as he was wont to do. There is a sacred discipline in Christ's house, a part of which consists in this, that, as our obedience to our God declines, so will our power in prayer decrease at the same time.

C. H. Spurgeon, "The Last Words of Christ on the Cross," in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 45 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1899), 504.

In John 15:1-8, Jesus teaches us a very important and stark truth: If we are not rooted in Him - ABIDING in Him - we can bear absolutely ZERO fruit. This means that no matter how much money we have, or whatever our gifts might be, nor how clever or popular we are, we humans are unable to do anything fruitful that has eternal significance apart from our relationship with Jesus. So - HOW do we abide in Him?

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today is day #6 of shelter in place for many of us, and things are pretty scary right now. Let me encourage you, as I have before, to not let the Word of God be overwhelmed in your mind by the reports of the world. Don't stick your head in the sand - by any means - but DO stick your head in the Word, first, foremost and most!

Today's Bible readings are Exodus 35, Proverbs 11, John 14, and Ephesians 3 and 4, because I inexplicably left off Ephesians 3 from yesterday's episode - shame on me! Exodus 35 is focused on the sabbath which - I promise - we will cover in depth very soon. Also on the slate for a future show: Do Old Testament passages like Psalm 91 promise Christians living in the pandemic age that God will keep them from getting sick? Today's topic is one of the most important we've ever covered, and it will possibly cost us some listeners, because it is one of those hard truths from the Bible that not everybody likes. That said, it is a teaching of the Bible that is absolutely indisputable. Over and over again, the Bible clearly, consistently and unequivocally points to Jesus as the only way of salvation. I'd like to start this discussion by discussing a bestselling book and movie that some might be familiar with - The Shack. I wrote a book on the Shack a few years ago that challenged the universalist theology found therein called UnShackled: Facing Suffering With The REAL Jesus. It is available on Amazon, and if you buy a copy today, I will send you an autographed square of toilet paper - an invaluable prize!

Most critics of The Shack tend to point out the female representations of deity as being the most disturbing problem about this book. I believe, however, that the most concerning and unbiblical aspect of The Shack is its universalism. What, precisely is universalism? It is the belief that all humans will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Young's particular viewpoint is that the death of Jesus on the cross essentially saved every human whether they come to Jesus in their lifetime or not.

Witness this exchange between Papa and Mack: Papa sat forward and crossed her arms on the table. "Honey, you asked me what Jesus accomplished on the cross, so now listen to me carefully: through his death and resurrection, I am now fully reconciled to the world." "The whole world? You mean those who believe in you, right?" "The whole world, Mack. All I am telling you is that reconciliation is a two-way street, and I have done my part, totally, completely, finally.

'Papa' is making the case here that the death of Jesus on the cross accomplished universal reconciliation – the world is now fully reconciled to her through what Jesus did on the cross. While that may sound nice and comforting, it is not what the Jesus of the Bible teaches. You can also see Young's universalism come out in the fact that Papa, and Jesus (and Mack, his wife and all of their kids too) are huge fans of Bruce Cockburn, the Unitarian-Universalist musician from Canada. Such an odd and seemingly random detail, mentioned several times in the book, is not added lightly.

That Young intends his book to espouse his universalistic views is made clear in his follow-up theology book, called Lies We Believe About God. In that book, which details the theology that underlies the fiction of The Shack, Young writes: "God does not wait for my choice and then "save me." God has acted decisively and universally for all humankind. Now our daily choice is to either grow and participate in that reality or continue to live in the blindness of our own independence. Are you suggesting that everyone is saved? That you believe in universal salvation? That is exactly what I am saying! Here's the truth: every person who has ever been conceived was included in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus."

What is the problem with universalism? Doesn't God love everybody? Yes! He does love everybody, but the Bible is VERY clear (and Jesus is the CLEAREST of all) that NOT everybody will be saved. Universalism has generally been considered a heresy (meaning unorthodox/contrary to the clear teaching of the Bible) by all major branches of Christianity since the beginning, and rightly so!

Consider these specific proclamations of Jesus:

"The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him." John 3:36 "Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God."

John 3:18

"And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Matthew 25:46

"Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!'"

Matthew 7:21-23

Consider these Scriptures also:

Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, 2 because they were provoked that they were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead, using Jesus as the example. 3 So they seized them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. 4 But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

5 The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.[b] 7 After they had Peter and John stand before them, they asked the question: "By what power or in what name have you done this?"

8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is:

the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.

12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it."

Acts 4:4-12

"This is what the Lord says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

Isaiah 44:6-8

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

1 Timothy 2:5

"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.

Isaiah 43:10-11

I think the above passages leave no doubt whatsoever that Jesus is the only way to salvation. I guess if you are still on the fence, and somehow the dozen or so verses above did not convince you, it might be good to ask yourself this question: Why did Jesus pay the ultimate price on the cross - not only suffering the pinnacle of human abuse - but also taking on the wrath of the Father for ALL of the sins of humanity - if there was another way for people to be saved? Why did He plead with His Father to take this cup of the cross and the punishment for our sins away from Him if there was another way for people to be saved?

Is Jesus the ONLY way to Heaven - Surely the Bible wouldn't teach such an exclusive doctrine as that, would it? Yes - it does! And Jesus is the most vocal proponent of exclusivism. Today we examine universalism and give a theological review of the bestselling book "The Shack."

Happy Monday, friends! Today begins day #5 of shelter in place for us in central California. Yesterday, when my son and I went for a walk in our neighborhood - which is in the city of Salinas, California - we happened upon a gaggle of turkeys atop our neighbor's house. It would seem the animals are retaking their former territory with less and less humans on the street. I, for one, welcome our new turkey overlords, as long as they can clear up this coronavirus thing...you can count on me to vote straight turkey in the November elections. Now on to more serious things - today's Bible readings include Exodus 34, Proverbs 10, John 13 and Ephesians 3. Our focus passage is from Exodus 34, which has long been one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. Some people who have not actually read the Bible have the idea that the 'God of the Old Testament' is harsh and judgmental and terrifying, but the 'God of the New Testament' is merciful and kind. Well, the fact is - the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are quite the SAME, and He doesn't change. He is both kind/merciful and Holy/a consuming fire.

I heard a great Tim Keller sermon today on this dynamic that talked about how Jesus was a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, according to Hebrews. For a Jewish person, this would have been a most astonishing statement. For them the priests were the ministers of health and mercy in their society -the social workers, the medics, the nurses, and the ministers all in one, really. This is why Jesus commanded the cleansed and healed lepers to go show themselves to the priests in Luke 17. Those lepers were healed, but the priests, in their compassion/social work function, would need to have a record of them being cleansed. They were the compassionate arm of the governmental leadership of the people of God. The kings, on the other hand, were far more focused on justice. If you did wrong, it was the king and his administration's job to punish evil and protect the citizens. This can be pretty clearly seen in Romans 13, where Paul describes the role of the King and the high judicial authorities:

2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For it is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God's servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

Romans 13:2-4

The king brings justice and carries the sword, but the priest is a minister of mercy, compassion and kindness - two wildly different offices. The thing about Melchizedek, however, is that he alone in the Old Testament was a priest AND a king. In fact, as we've discussed before, I consider Melchizedek to be a Christophany - an Old Testament appearance of Christ. Jesus, like Melchizedek, was and is a KING and a PRIEST. He is a FOREVER PRIEST, and He is the KING OF ALL KINGS - He combines the justice/judgment/holiness/authority of the King with the compassion/mercy/tenderness of the priest. And, as you might expect, Jesus is like His Father who was also abounding in mercy AND a just/Holy and almighty Judge. Let's read Exodus 34 and see how God describes HIMSELF:

5 The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh. 6 Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

Exodus 34:5-7

Such an interesting passage! In particular, I am stirred by the fact that God says He is rich in "faithful love," and that He maintains that "faithful love," to a thousand generations. Back in my seminary days, I took a Hebrew exegesis class, and one of our assignments was to write a long paper on ONE word. I thought it was going to be one of the toughest and most boring assignments I've ever had. First, because Hebrew was a very hard language to learn. Entirely different characters, no punctuation, no vowels per se, and the script reads right to left, rather than left to right. Nevertheless, this assignment has become one of my favorite and most fruitful assignments I've ever had. Almost no other assignment in seminary quite revealed the character of God to me like studying this ONE Hebrew word: סֶד cheçed, kheh'-sed. We don't really have an English equivalent for that word, but faithful love or covenant love is an approximation. I'd like to share a little bit about that word, if you'll let me. Not as an academic study, but to illuminate for us the character of God a little better:

The Hebrew word chesed, signified by the Hebrew chet, seghol vowel, samek, seghol vowel then dalet, is a significant Old Testament word that has generated quite a bit of theological controversy in recent scholarship. Often translated with benevolent words like "mercy", "love" or the King James Version's "lovingkindness" none of those words capture the full meaning of the Hebrew, but they do come close. Many scholars contend that chesed is best understood in the context of covenantal relationship; while others counter that it is not fully dependent on contractual obligations. This project will examine chesed in a variety of Old Testament passages, defining its range of meaning from context while seeking to determine whether the covenantal view of chesed is fully accurate. Further, as chesed is such a common word in the Old Testament, the focus here will be on the positive aspect of the word and will further zoom in on the aspect of chesed as expressed by God towards man.

Chesed is used frequently in the Old Testament, appearing roughly 250 times (246 according to TLOT[1] and 245 according to NIDOTTE[2]), and is distributed widely as well, appearing more than once in at least 25 Old Testament books, ranging from the earliest (Genesis and Job) to the latest, (Esther and Malachi.)[3] By far, the book of Psalms contains the most instances of chesed, with at least 125, accounting for over half of the word's usage in the Old Testament. Chesed can refer to inter-human relationships but roughly 75 percent of the time when it appears in the Old Testament, it is referring to God's relationship and dealings with man.[4]

Chesed in Old Testament Context

Prior to the twentieth century, chesed was almost always translated using words such as mercy, faithfulness, love and kindness.[5] Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, first published in 1847, uses the words "zeal", "love", "desire", "mercy" and "benevolence".[6] Brown Driver Briggs, appearing in 1906, similarly uses the words "kindness" and "goodness" specifying "kindness, especially as extended to the lowly, needy and miserable"[7]

The traditional understanding of chesed was strongly challenged in 1927 with the release of a very influential doctoral dissertation published in Germany by Nelson Glueck. This work contained a detailed argument that chesed should be understood in light of covenant relationship, and was therefore more a function of loyalty and fidelity than simply mercy and kindness. R. Laird Harris summarizes Glueck's view, "He built on the growing idea that Israel was bound to its deity by covenants like the Hittite and other treaties. He held that God is pictured as dealing basically in this way with Israel. The Ten Commandments were stipulations of the covenant, Israel's victories were rewards of covenant keeping, her apostasy was covenant violation and God's chesed was not basically mercy, but loyalty to His contractual obligations."[8] Further elucidation of Glueck's view is found in the Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, "[according to Glueck] chesed does not refer to a spontaneous, ultimately unmotivated kindness, but to a mode of behavior that arises from a relationship, defined by rights and obligations."[9] This view has been widely accepted among certain scholars, and has greatly influenced modern understanding of the meaning of chesed, and as such, the nature of God's relationship with the Hebrew people. A full examination of the context and uses of chesed in the Old Testament, however, seems to quite clearly refute Glueck's position.

Glueck's contention must be dealt with in any discussion of the definition of chesed, both because of its widespread scholarly acceptance, and because there are a few Old Testament passages that seem to validate his proposal. The stakes of properly defining chesed are quite high – is God kind and loving to only certain people (and even then only because of obligation/covenant,) or is He merciful and kind to all because it is in His nature? It is easy to see how this word understood in a strictly covenantal way can lead to a false dichotomy between the God of the Old Testament (loving out of obligation, and punishing with wrath) and the God of the New Testament (loving and merciful).

Context in the Hebrew language is of paramount importance in understanding word meanings. Glueck, and other scholars after him have paid careful attention to all of the instances of chesed that appear in passages connected to covenant themes. Note the appearance of the word in covenantal context in 1 Kings 3:6, "Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness (chesed) to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness (chesed) to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day." (NIV, emphasis mine) First note that the NIV translates both cheseds as kindness. Looking at the KJV, we find that it translates the first chesed as "mercy", and the second as "kindness". The literal NASB uses "lovingkindness" in both spots. Second, the word "because" is important here, it indicates to the many advocates of Glueck's thesis evidence of the covenantal nature of chesed.

Another chesed passage contains similar covenantal thought, "Continue your love (chesed) to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. (Psalms 36:10, NIV) Again, many modern scholars see an almost quid pro quo here: God's chesed is given to those who know Him and his righteousness (tsadoq) to the upright. Surveying other translations, we see that where the NIV translates chesed with love, the KJV uses "lovingkindness", the Amplified follows the KJV (As does the NKJV and NASB) and the ESV chooses to use two words to express its translation: "steadfast love".

Another passage that seems to confirm the Glueck hypothesis is 2 Samuel 22:26, "To the faithful (chacyd – an adjectival form of chesed) you show yourself faithful (chesed), to the blameless you show yourself blameless. (NIV, also closely paralleled in Psalms 18:25) Interestingly, the NIV uses "faithful" here, adding another element of meaning to the word, while the NASB translates "kind" and the KJV uses "merciful".

While the passages above and a handful of others seem to confirm the covenantal nature of chesed, it should be noted that there are many instances of chesed in the Old Testament that do not contain even a veiled reference to covenant or agreement. A clear example of this is found in 1 Kings 20:31. In this passage, the Syrian king Benhadad had just seen his army defeated by Israel's army, and he is facing the prospect of death. The text reads, "His officials said to him, "Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. (chesed) Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life." (NIV) The context here has nothing to do with covenant in any way; it is simply listed as a character trait of the kings of Israel, irrespective of their relationships (particularly in this case, with an enemy). Most major translations, including the KJV, the NASB, and the NKJV use merciful here as well, and this is a strong indication that mercy must be at least a significant primary sense of chesed, the context here makes it very clear.

Turning again to God's relationship with humanity, Exodus 34:6 describes an encounter between Moses and God in the midst of the reception of the Ten Commandments. Though the receiving of the commandments are the setting of this passage, it is clear that God's description of Himself has nothing contextually to do with the setting, "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness (chesed) and truth." (KJV) The KJV uses "goodness" for chesed here, while the NIV opts for "love" and the NASB uses "lovingkindness" Given that God's declaration of His love, mercy and long suffering happened directly after a great falling away by the Israelites, it is difficult to see how he is proclaiming His chesed here only in the context of covenant. This declaration of God and His abiding chesed is similarly found in Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, and as late as Nehemiah 9:7 (among others).

There is at least one instance, perhaps more (see Jonah 2:8), where chesed substitutes as a name for God. Psalm 144:2 declares, "He is my loving God (chesed) and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me." The NIV here adds "God" to the passage, translating chesed as "loving God".

One final contextual view of chesed will be considered. Psalm 51 is known as David's penitential prayer to God after the murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba. In this Psalm, David cries out for forgiveness and a restoration of His relationship with God, and bases his please on God's chesed. The NIV renders verse 1, "Have mercy on me O God according to your unfailing love (chesed); according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions." David's plea is not based on His relationship or covenant with God, nor on God's promises, but on God's character – He is chesed. Again here, we see chesed translated in a slightly different way as unfailing love in the NIV and lovingkindness in the KJV and NASB.

Several things are clear from the above passages. First, chesed is translated a myriad of ways, but always seems to carry with it the idea of kindness, love, mercy and benevolence. Though it is an archaic term, "lovingkindness" is proposed as the best translation, as it best encompasses all of the nuances called for by the contexts listed above, if one were to use two words, perhaps "loving mercy" would be even more appropriate.

Second, though chesed is often used in covenantal passages, it is quite a stretch to say that the word should be defined in that context only, because it is used in so many other contexts, where it clearly means kindness, love or mercy, but has no connection to anything even remotely covenantal. John Piper, writing when he was a professor at Bethel college in 1979, comes to a similar conclusion. He writes, "Therefore, God's chesed (and the mercy that flows from it), understood in its most fundamental sense precedes and grounds the covenant rather than vice versa. It is that which moved God in his sovereign freedom to graciously initiate a relationship with Israel."[10] Yes, God is in covenant with Israel, but His covenant was preceded by His chesed, His chesed does not come about because of the covenant.

Spiritual application of this truth is two-fold. Primarily, when we study chesed, we see a God who is abounding in grace, love and mercy. His kindness is everlasting, and His mercy is sure. Secondly, this truth can be used apologetically, particularly with the one who denies the truth of the Bible, because of the false assumption that the God of the Old Testament was only wrathful and different from the God of the New Testament, who is more merciful. Careful analysis of chesed shows that this isn't true at all.

Conclusion

Chesed therefore is a most important word to understand if one desires to understand the attributes of God and His relationship with His people. God's lovingkindness does not spring out of obligation, nor is it only available to a select few, nor is it only open to those who are pure hearted and lovers of God. Lovingkindness is an aspect of God's being, independent of His relationship with man, but informing every facet of that relationship.

[1] Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, trans. Mark E. Biddle (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 449

[2] William A. VanGemeren, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 211

[3] Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, 449

[4] New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. 211

[5] R. Laird Harris, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Volume 1. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 305

[6] William Geseneius, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, trans. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 293-294

[7] Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951), 338

[8] Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 305

[9] Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, 451

[10] John Piper, "Prolegomena to Understanding Romans 9:14-15: An Interpretation of Exodus 33:19," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 22 (September, 1979): 210-211.

WHO is God? Is He Wrathful and Scary in the Old Testament, but Merciful and Loving in the New? Why is the Hebrew Word 'Chesed' Probably the Greatest One-Word Description of the Nature and Character of God? #84

Happy Lord's Day, dear friends. Today is Shelter in Place day #4 for all of us Californians. Yipee! I want to remind you that if you are also sheltering in place, your flesh may be locked down, so to speak, but we are people of the Spirit of God - we are NOT locked down! The Body of Christ is not stymied by this because the Word of God is not muffled and neither the Head of the Church, Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit are under any sort of restrictions whatsoever. God reigns supreme now, and we are His people. I'd like to invite you to join our church today for its worship, prayer and Word livestream Sunday morning at 11am Pacific time at: https://www.facebook.com/VBCsalinas/

Today's Bible passages include Exodus 33, Proverbs 9, John 12 and Ephesians 2. Our focus passage is Ephesians 2, and we are talking about what the church is from that passage. As a reminder, our podcasts on Sunday are usually the shortest of all for several reasons. 1, to not take away at all from your local church celebration of the Lord's Day, and also because I am a pastor, and my focus on Saturday should mostly be on preparing for our own church gathering. So, it's great for you, if you like a shorter podcast, but don't worry if you like the long-winded ones - usually Monday's podcasts are especially lengthy.

The book of Ephesians, though short, has some of the deepest insights into the church -the Body of Christ - in the entire Bible. Yesterday's Ephesians passage began the discussion about the church in the last few verses:

He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens— 21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Ephesians 1:20-23

So - we learn here that the church is something that is born out of the resurrection of Jesus, and that Jesus Himself is the HEAD of the church. We also learn that the church is, in some way, the Body of Jesus. We learn even more about the church in Ephesians 2:

17 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you are also being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:17-22

Now, this is profound. We learn here that the church is NOT a building, not a service, but a PEOPLE - a PEOPLE in which God's Spirit lives in them. What kind of PEOPLE is the church? Well - we aren't strangers or foreigners to each other...much more than that! We are, in fact, MEMBERS OF GOD's HOUSEHOLD - FAMILY MEMBERS! Some of us are lonely. I have good news - if you are in Christ - your loneliness is temporary. You have a beautiful eternal family that you will spend your eternity with. Some of us have had bad families and bad fathers - I have good news...this family has a wonderful Father, and incredible Head in Jesus, and your eternal brothers and sisters are going to be made wonderful, precious, and not the least bit annoying by the sanctification of Jesus.

In many places around the world right now, the church is not able to gather physically because of the current pandemic situation. This is a tragedy in that we miss seeing the church, which is the PEOPLE. The building is nothing more than that - bricks, stones, wood, concrete, desks, chairs, etc. Useful to have, but NOT the church, according to Ephesians 2. I love how Spurgeon expounds on this passage in one of his sermons:

Remember, again, the saying of the apostle Paul at Athens, "God that made the world and all things in the world, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made with hands." When men talk of holy places they seem to be ignorant of the use of language. Can holiness dwell in bricks and mortar? Can there be such a thing as a sanctified steeple? Can it possibly happen that there can be such a thing in the world as a moral window or a godly door post? I am lost in amazement, utterly lost, when I think how addled men's brain, must be when they impute moral virtues to bricks and mortar, and stones, and stained glass.

I wonder how deep does this consecration go, and how high? Is every crow that flies over the edifice at that time in solemn air? Certainly it is as rational to believe that, as to conceive that every worm that is eating the body of an Episcopalian is a consecrated worm, and therefore there must necessarily be a brick wall, or a wide gravel-path to protect the bodies of the sanctified from any unhallowed worms that might creep across from the Dissenters' side of the cemetery. I say again, such child's play, such Popery, such Judaism, is a disgrace. And yet, notwithstanding, we all find ourselves at different times and seasons indulging in it. That at which you have just now smiled is but pushing the matter a little further, an error into which we may very readily descend; it is but an extravaganza of an error into which we all of us are likely to fall. We have a reverence for our plain chapels; we feel a kind of comfort when we are sitting down in the place which somehow or other we have got to think must be holy.

Now let us if we can, and perhaps it takes a great sturdiness and independence of mind to do it—let us drive away once and for ever, all idea of holiness being connected with anything but with a conscious active agent; let us get rid once and for ever of all superstitions with regard to a place. Depend upon it, one place is as much consecrated as another, and wherever we meet with true hearts reverently to worship God, that place becomes for the time being God's house. Though it be regarded with the most religious awe, that place which has no devout heart within it, is no house of God; it may be a house of superstition, but a house of God it cannot be. "But, still," says one, "God hath a habitation; does not your Bible text say so?" Yes, and of that house of God, I am about to speak this morning. There is such a thing as a house of God; but that is not an inanimate structure, but a living and a spiritual temple. "In whom," that is Christ, "you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." The house of God is built with the living stones of converted men and women, and the church of God, which Christ hath purchased with his blood—this is the divine edifice, and the structure wherein God dwells even to this day.

C. H. Spurgeon, "The Tabernacle of the Most High," in The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, vol. 5 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1859), 337–338.