Alfarero

Last Sunday at Nueva Vida, our band sang “Alfarero” (“Potter”) by Nancy Ramirez. Below are the lyrics:

Un día orando, le dije a mi Señor, Tú el alfarero y yo el barro soy, Moldea mi vida a Tu parecer, Haz como Tú quieras, hazme un nuevo ser. Me dijo no me gustas, te voy a quebrantar, Y en un vaso nuevo te voy a transformar, Pero en le proceso, te voy a hacer llorar, Porque por el fuego te voy a hacer pasar. Querio una sonrisa, cuando todo va mal, Quiero una alabanza en lugar de tu quejar, Quiero tu confianza en la tempestad Y quiero que aprendas, también a perdonar.

In case you don’t speak Spanish, here is a translation of the song:

One day while praying I said to my Lord, “You are the Potter, and I am the clay. Mold my life according to Your will. Do want you want, make me a new being.” He told me, “You won’t like it. I’m going to break you and transform you into a new vessel. But in the process, I’ll make you cry because I’ll make you pass through the fire. I want a smile when everything goes wrong, I want you to praise [Me] instead of to complain. I want you to trust [Me] in the storm and I want you to understand, also to forgive.”

The truth of the matter is that being transformed by the Lord is not a pleasant experience, but one that stretches and breaks us. But it is a good process that leads to us becoming more like Jesus!

 ¹ Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Memorial Day

As you know, today we celebrate Memorial Day in the United States. The holiday commemorates members of the military who died while serving their country. I am thankful for all of the soldiers who have died in battle to preserve our freedom, and I am personally grateful to recall the sacrifice of my great great great grandfather Corporal Gabriel T. Godby who entered the army on September 9, 1862 at Cuba, Missouri. He served under Captain Wheeling in the 63^rd Regiment of the Union Army, but never returned home from the Civil War. Thank the Lord for our military who continues to protect freedom. May we never forget those who make the ultimate sacrifice.

Memorial Day also reminds me of the One who sacrificed Himself so that we might have eternal life. Jesus shed His blood and died, but arose from the dead on the third day! May we who follow Him never forget His sacrifice and forsake our spiritual freedom by becoming tangled up in the slave master known as sin.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

The Lesson of the Headbone

Jerome was an interesting and influential man who lived from A.D. 331-420. Perhaps his most remembered accomplishment is his translation of the Bible into Latin from the original languages. This version became known as the Latin Vulgate, which still continues to be published today.

But he also is known for something else that is somewhat strange, for Jerome possessed a human skull that he placed upon his desk in front of him as he labored. Where did Jerome obtain the skull? Why would he use it as a glorified paperweight? I’m not sure how to answer the first question, but the second is answerable.

Jerome sat a human skull in front of him to remind himself that life is fleeting. Life passes quickly, and before you know it, it’s gone. The constant reminder of death prompted Jerome to serve the Lord and be diligent in his study and teaching of Scripture.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14)

I don’t suggest that you place a human skull on your workspace, but there is something that you and I must do, and that is to remember that we are not assured of tomorrow!

For this reason, “today” is an important word. Today is the day for an unbeliever to turn from sin and trust in Jesus as His Lord (Boss), because tomorrow may never come. Today is the day for a believer to follow Jesus whole-heartedly. Today is the day to share the Gospel with that family member, friend, or co-worker. Seize the day!

Saul and the Medium at Endor: Did Saul See Samuel? (1 Samuel 28)

1. Saul Visits a Medium (vv. 7-11)

After Saul lost his divine right to be the king of Israel because of his wickedness, he despaired because God no longer answered him. In a desperate attempt to learn what would happen in the future, he disguised himself and visited a medium at Endor (vv. 7-8). Saul requested to speak to Samuel, a might prophet of God who had died years earlier (v. 11).

2. Saul’s Destruction Prophesied (vv. 12-25)

28:13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up out of the earth.”28:14 He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a rob.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.”

Scholars have debated whether or not Samuel actually appeared, a demon masqueraded as Samuel, or the medium played a trick on Saul. Consider the following evidence:     

1) The text plainly states that the medium did indeed see Samuel and that he spoke (vv. 14, 16).

2) The medium genuinely was surprised and terrified at Saul’s appearance (v. 12).

3) What Samuel prophesied came to pass. Samuel declared that the kingdom had been torn from Saul's hand and given to David (vv. 17-18). He proclaimed that the next day Saul and his sons would die in a battle with the Philistines (v. 19).

Simply put, the medium had no power to raise Samuel. God allowed Samuel to return from the grave in order to give Saul a message of rejection, much as the dead Moses appeared before Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration centuries later.

The Battle of Jericho

1. The Destruction of Jericho (6:1-25)

The LORD ordered Israel to march around the walls of Jericho for 7 days with the Ark of the Covenant at the head of the procession, accompanied by 7 priests carrying 7 rams' horns [shofars] (v. 4). For 6 days, they were silently to circle the city once (v. 3), but on the 7^th day, they were to circle the city 7 times (v. 4)., Then, the priests were to blow the rams' horns   (v. 4), and the people were to shout (v. 10). Rams' horns were used in both religious and military contexts.[1]

The people obeyed the LORD, and on the 7^th day after circling the city 7 times, shouting, and blowing the shofar (v. 20). After this, several things happened:

1) Jericho's walls fell down, and the city was taken (v. 20)

"The fortification techniques developed in the Middle Bronze period and continuing in use in the Late Bronze period included steep earthen slopes (some reaching fifty feet) at the foundation of the walls and a ditch around the outside dug to bedrock. These features would both hamper the approach of siege machines and prevent tunneling. The walls, made of mudbrick on stone foundations, were ten to twenty-five feet wide and perhaps thirty feet high."[2] God caused this system completely to be compromised on the 7^th day.

2) The animals and the people of Jericho were slain (v. 21)

Worth noting is that "the discovery of storage jars filled with grain may point to destruction following spring harvest,"[3] just as the text indicates. Perhaps the grain had not been plundered because of God's divine injunction against the city.[4]

3) Rahab and her household were preserved (v. 23)

"German excavations from 1907-1909 on the northern section of the site uncovered a portion of the lower city wall that did not fall as it did everywhere else. The still-standing section rose as high as 8 feet (nearly 2.5 m), with house built against it still intact. A second wall at the crest of the embankment revealed that these particular houses were situated between the upper and lower city walls, and were thus 'in the city wall.' since the lower wall also formed the back wall of the houses, an opening (window) in the wall would have provided a convenient escape route for the spies. From this northerly location it was only a short distance to the hills of the Judean wilderness, where the spies hid for three days (2:16,22)."[5] Ultimately, Rahab became part of the lineage of Christ (Matthew 1:5).

4) Jericho was burned with fire (v. 24)

Archaeologist Bryant Wood noted that there is much 

        "correlation between the archaeological evidence and the     

        Biblical narrative"[6]:

▪ The city was strongly fortified (Josh. 2:5,7,15; 6:5,20)

▪ The attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring 

   (Josh. 2:6; 3:15; 5:10)

▪ The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their 

   foodstuffs (Josh. 6:1)

▪ The siege was short (Josh. 6:15)

▪ The walls were leveled, possibly by an earthquake (Josh. 6:20)

▪ The city was not plundered (Josh. 6:17-18)

▪ The city was burned (Josh. 6:24).

▪ These events occurred ca. 1400 B.C.

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[1] NIV Archaeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 311.

[2] Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, The IVP Background Commentary: Old Testament, 218.

[3] Hoerth, Archaeology and the Old Testament, 210.

[4] Bryant G. Wood, "Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho?" Biblical Archaeology Review 16, no. 2 (March-April 1990), 56..

[5] NIV Archaeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 305.

[6] Wood, "Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho?" 57.

The Book of Joshua: An Introduction and Outline

Author: Joshua ("The LORD saves"). There are a number of reasons why Joshua should   be considered the author:

1) Jewish tradition (i.e., the Talmud) states that Joshua wrote the book that bears his name.

2) The book has eye witness quality (cf. chapters 5-7). Events are described in a vivid manner.

3) Many details suggest that someone who lived in this time period wrote the book. For example:  Old place names are given for Canaanite cities; The Philistines are not a national menace yet as they would be later; Joshua 8:32 and 24:26 indicate that Joshua is writing down the words of the LORD.

Date: The Book of Joshua chronicles events that began ca. 1406 B.C. and was written sometime during the lifetime of the author Joshua.

Recipients: The generation that lived during Joshua's lifetime, as well as all subsequent generations of Israelites.

Purpose: To remind the people that the LORD was responsible for the formation of the nation of Israel, as well as for all of the military victories Israel celebrated.

An Outline of the Book of Joshua

    I. Preparation for War (1:1-5:15)

            A. The Command to Enter Canaan (1:1-18)

            B. Israelite Spies in Jericho (2:1-24)

            C. Israel Crosses the Jordan River (3:1-4:24)

            D. The Circumcision of Israel's Males (5:1-12)

            E. The Captain of the LORD's Host (5:13-15)

II. War Against Canaan (6:1-12:24)

            A. The Conquest of Jericho (6:1-27)

            B. Defeat and Subsequent Conquest at Ai (7:1-8:35)

            C. Dealings With the Gibeonites (9:1-10:28)

            D. The Southern Campaign (10:29-43)

            E. The Northern Campaign (11:1-23)

            F. Kings Defeated by the Israelites (12:1-24)

III. Israel Divides the Land of Canaan into Tribal Allotments 

       (13:1-21:45)

            A. A Summary of Israelite Tribal Allotment (13:1-33)

            B. Caleb's Request (14:1-15)

            C. The Territory of Judah (15:1-63)

            D. The Territory of Ephraim (16:1-10)

            E. The Territory of Manasseh (17:1-18)

            F. Survey of the Remaining Land (18:1-10)

            G. The Territory of Benjamin (18:11-28)

            H. The Territory of Simeon (19:1-9)

            I. The Territory of Zebulun (19:10-16)

            J. The Territory of Issachar (19:17-23)

            K. The Territory of Asher (19:24-31)

            L. The Territory of Naphtali (19:32-39)

            M. The Territory of Dan (19:40-51)

            N. The Six Cities of Refuge (20:1-9)

            O. Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites (21:1-45)

IV. The Tribes On the Other Side of the Jordan River (22:1-34)

            A. Reuben, Gad, and the Half-Tribe of Manasseh Return 

                 Home (22:1-9)

            B. The Issue of the Altar (22:10-34)

 V. Joshua's Final Days (23:1-33)

            A. Joshua's Farewell Address (23:1-24:15)

            B. Israel's Reaction to the Address (24:16-28)

            C. Joshua's Death and Burial (24:29-33)

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10)

Sometime after the joyous events of chapter 9, two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered strange fire before the LORD which He had not commanded them (v. 1). Strange fire also is translated as unauthorized fire (e.g., NIV; HCSB). This meaning of the verse includes the following possibilities: "(1) penetrating too far into the sanctuary,(2) offering unauthorized coals from outside the temple area, (3) offering incense that did not contain the proper ingredients, and (4) offering incense at the wrong time of day."[1]

As a result of their infraction, fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD (v. 2). God declared that He would be treated as holy by all the people and honored (v. 3). When Aaron heard this, he kept silent (v. 3b): "Aaron's silence is in contrast to the loud wailing that usually accompanied mourning. Rather than a stunned silence, it represents a determination to follow the procedure that officiating priests should not be in mourning."[2]

Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, to carry their relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp. They were instructed not to mourn by uncovering their heads or tearing their clothes, so that they would not die and the LORD would not become wrathful. After the bodies were removed, they were not even to go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the LORD's anointing oil was upon them (vv. 4-7).

After this incident, the LORD commanded that the priest should not drink strong drink so that there would be a distinction between what is holy and what is profane, and to teach the sons of Israel the statutes of the LORD (v. 8-11). In this particular context, this section indicates that Nadab and Abihu probably were drunk when they offered the strange fire. Since priests are to drink no alcohol, believers would do well to remember that Christ has made all Christians a kingdom of priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).

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[1] Rooker, Leviticus, 157.

[2] Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, 127.

The Usage of the Names "LORD" and "ELOHIM" in Genesis 1-2

In Genesis 1, the name God ("Elohim") appears exclusively, while the names God and the LORD (The Divine Name) appears in chapter 2. Because the name LORD does not appear in chapter 1, critical scholars have surmised that 1:1-2:3 and 2:4b-25 derive from separate sources that were stitched together by an editor who connected the sections with 2:4a. The first section is deemed by critical scholars as originating from the "E" source, while the second section is seen as stemming from the "J" source. Critical scholars tend to place the combination of J and E at about 750 B.C., and that by 400 B.C. the "P" redactors combined JEDP. The belief that two different names for God must have stemmed from different sources is based upon a misunderstanding of Ancient Near Eastern practices.

Many ancient pagan deities were known by a multitude of names. Examples:

1)      Ninhursaga = Nintur

2)      Osiris = "of many names"[1]

3)      Marduk = has fifty names according to the Enuma Elish

4)      Enki = Ea

John Walton discussed the meaning of names in the ancient Near East:

If ancient cultures considered something to exist when it had a 

name and a function, the name of a deity is more than simply a 

moniker by which he or she can beinvoked. It is the god's identity and frames the god's "existence" . . . . It is not unusual for a single deity to have many different    epithets or titles . . . . The multiplication of names is one way to express the power and station of the deity.[2]                                                              

In other words, the practice of applying more than one name to a single deity was common in the ancient Near East. For whatever reason critical scholars, while claiming separate sources for the Old Testament because of the names LORD and God, do not do so when other Ancient Near Eastern literature contains different names for the same deity.

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[1] "The Great Hymn to Osiris," recorded on the Stela of Amenmose. William W. Hallo, ed. The Context of Scripture, vol. 1: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World (Leiden: Brill, 1997): 41.

[2] John  H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006), 92.