Biblical Theology

Land Ho!!! A Biblical Theology of the Land

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Three years ago I had the privilege of traveling to Israel.  On a mission trip with my church, we spent nearly two weeks touring the country and participating in evangelistic efforts in places like Haifa, Tiberias, and Tel Aviv.  It was an incredible experience to tell a young Israeli whose barber shop opened up to the Sea of Galilee, “On that water Jesus walked, and in this Hebrew New Testament, you can learn more about the Messiah.”  Needless to say, I returned to the U.S. with a host of memories and incredible images of the countryside in which our Savior was lived and died.  

This weekend many of those bucolic scenes were recalled as I read O. Palmer Robertson’s book Understanding the Land of the Bible: A Biblical-Theological Guide.  Robertson’s premise in the book is that the land of the Bible which intersects the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe was divinely designed to proclaim gospel truth.  Concluding his introduction he writes, “Let us allow this land in its uniqueness to reinforce for us today the truths that bring salvation for men” (4). 

In his book, he unfolds a biblical theology of the land.  In so doing, he considers the land from West to East and then from South to North and then by paying attention to many of the features of the land.   Without allegorizing or spiritualizing, he shows how consideration of the land really does reveal redemptive truth.  After laying out the latitudinal aspects of the region, Robertson summarizes, “Traveling across the Land of Promise from west to east can provide many insights into the purposes of God for the whole of the world.  In microcosmic fashion the design of the land serves as a means of embodying the truth of God intended for all nations” (24).  What is this intended truth?  Figuratively, that people dwelling in desolate wilderness will move into the hospitable presence of God within the Promised Land.  Clearly, this pattern of dwelling in the land plays itself out within the Bible (Abraham’s call to Canaan, Joshua’s entry into the land, the return from Exile, and Jesus crossing the Jordan into the land at his baptism are all physical-geographical moves that contain theological significance).

Moreover, moving from South to North recalls history and geography that carry historical and theological import.  The exodus drove north out of Egypt, the divided kingdom was split according to Northern tribes of Israel and the Southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, after Babylon repopulated Samaria, the Northern Samaritans were disdained by the more Southern Judeans, Galilee of the Gentiles on the Northern-most end of the country, was filled with foreigners during Jesus day and became a microcosm of the diverse world He can to save.  In short, “The whole of the land was designed by the Lord for his good purposes as he determined them from before the foundation of the world” (37).

After considering the beautiful and rugged terrain of the Bible, Robertson surveys the cities of importance throughout the land of Canaan.  He does so chronologically, considering the role of each during the Patriarchs, the Judges, the united and divided monarchies, and finally at the time of Christ.  Taking a chapter on each epoch in redemptive history, he examines the Scriptures for significant references to these locales and shows how their particular placement in the land and in time shaped the biblical narrative. 

Overall, Robertson’s treatment, which at times seems more like a survey than a theology, does well to help the student of the Bible read the Scriptures with an awareness of God’s plan within the land.   He unveils the significance of geographic features and historic locations for the reader less attuned to such particulars.  And he shows how all Scripture and all creation points to its Creator and Redeemer.

This land was made for Jesus Christ.  All its diversity was designed to serve him.  Its character as a land bridge for three continents was crafted at Creation for his strategic role in history of humanity.  Even today all nations flow constantly to this place, for its is uniquely his land, the focal point of the world (109).

This point is worth considering further.   For it challenges us to think about the land of the Scriptures in way that many of us are slow to do.  It makes us come back to the Bible looking at it with renewed eyes.  For consider, Psalm 72:8 says, “May he [the king] have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”  Yet, how can we begin to understand such a sweeping statement without a particular understanding of the seas, the River, and the ends of the earth?  Indeed, we need to learn more about the land to understand this language.  Certainly, the Scriptures speaks to these things, but too often I overlook them.  Consequently, Robertson’s book is helpful in calling my (our) attention back to reading the Bible more faithfully, and better understanding all that it is saying about Jesus Christ.

So let me commend to Understanding the Land of the Bible, as it would help you read the Bible more completely or supply biblical-theological material to your next sermon.  Still, beyond reading another book, let me urge you to reflect on the significance of the land in the Scriptures.  It is steeped with history and with revelation concerning the redemptive plan(s) of God.  For, as Robertson reminds us, “It is Christ’s land” (cf. Psalm 2)!  Studying the Scriptures with a view to the land points us forward to a day when Jesus will return to have dominion over all the lands.   Until that day let us become more well-versed in the land in which he inhabited, so that when he comes he might find us faithful in the land in which we now reside.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

The Bible in 3-D: Miles Van Pelt’s Biblical Theology

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“From morning till evening [Paul] expounded to them, testifying of the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets (Acts 28:23).

In the last week, responsibilities at work have entailed a great amount of computer-related number crunching and data entry/processing. This is the kind of computer work that leaves your eyes bleary and your brain numb. But it is also a time when I can close the door, get the work done, and listen to some very edifying audio resources. This week’s choice has been Dr. Miles Van Pelt’s “hermeneutical” introduction to the Old Testament . A PhD graduate from SBTS and now a professor of Old Testament at RTS, Dr. Van Pelt, joins Craig Blomberg, and Thomas Schreiner in presenting 19 classroom lectures on the subject biblical theology.

To put it mildly, I have immensely enjoyed the rich canonical treatment of the Hebrew Scriptures and the intelligent pedagogical devises Dr. Van Pelt has employed to teach the subject clearly and faithfully. In fact, apart from a two-minute egalitarian-esque rant on Ruth as a “woman of power,” I commend this treatment very highly.

The most helpful section may have come in his second lecture, which Van Pelt calls “The Purpose Driven Bible.” In this lecture, Van Pelt takes extra time to unpack Acts 28:23 showing how the kingdom of God, the person of Jesus Christ, and the Law and the Prophets make up the three-dimensional center of the whole Scriptures. This approach is very compelling because it offers a singular vision of the Bible’s storyline while retaining the Bible’s vivid diversity and development. He offers a number of helpful illustrations to explain his biblical theology. One of them he frames bodily, that the central message is liken unto skin, a heart, and a skeleton. Let me explain.

Van Pelt likens the Kingdom of God to the skin of a person. In other words, you cannot know, see, touch, or come in contact with a person in any way in which you are not making encountering their skin. In the same way, nowhere in the Bible can you escape the the kingdom of God. It is the skin that holds everything together. The law is the law of the kingdom, the psalms are the songs of the kingdom, the history is the royal lineage to David, through David, to Christ the King, and so.

Next, he associates Jesus Christ with the heart. Jesus is the life-giving centerpiece of the Scriptures in whom all things find their life and meaning (cf. Luke 24:27; John 5:39). Take away the heart and you have a frigid, dead corpse. Take away Jesus Christ and the Bible becomes a lifeless book of antiquity.

Last, the OT is comprised of the Law and Prophets. Just like the skeletone gives shape to the body, these Old Testament books provide structure, support, and shape. Just as the skin takes on the shape of the skeleton, so the Kingdom of God is shaped by the canonical shape of the law and the prophets. Furthermore, as the heart fills the flesh and bones of the body, so Jesus Christ fills the Old Testament Scriptures.

Perhaps this description is a little visceral, but as Russell Moore has reminded us many times, the Son of God has hair, eyelashes, and fingernails. The Bible is an incarnational revelation of God, and I think Miles Van Pelt’s faithfully depicts this reality. Moreover, his whole argument is exegetical. Drawing his three-dimensional biblical theology from Luke’s account of Paul’s ministry in Acts 28:23: “From morning till evening he [Paul] expounded to them, testifying of the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

Today, I go back to work and face many more computer operations, but I go knowing that I will get to hear more great biblical theology. Better than that, though, is the reality that the heart of the Scriptures, the one who reigns in the flesh and whose shadow is seen in all the Law and the Prophets, the man Jesus Christ, will go with me. That is good news and I pray in the spirit of Acts 28:23, that I too may from morning to evening tell others about the kingdom of God and persuade them that Jesus is the Christ.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

Was Martyn Lloyd-Jones a biblical theologian?

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Over the last two weeks, I have been making my way through Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Not surprisingly, I have appreciated Lloyd-Jones’ pastoral forthrightness, his homiletic wisdom, and his overwhelming confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture, but what I have been surprised by is his emphasis on biblical theology. He writes:

If then I say that preaching must be theological and yet that it is not lecturing on theology, what is the relationship between preaching and theology? I would put it like this, that the preacher must have a good grasp, of the whole biblical message, which is of course a unity. In other words, the preacher should be well versed in biblical theology which in turn leads on to a systematic theology.

It is not enough merely that a man should know the Scriptures, he must know the Scriptures in the sense that he has got out of them the essence of biblical theology and can grasp it in a systematic manner. He must be so well versed in this that all his preaching is controlled by it (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, 1971, p. 66, 117).

As I ponder these quotations, the question forms in my mind, does Lloyd-Jones conceive of biblical theology in the same way that we do today? Or does his mention of biblical theology simply mean theology that comes from the Bible? Not being a Lloyd-Jones expert—having only read Preaching and Preachers once, listened to John Piper’s biography a handful of times, and heard a couple audio sermons—I am not the best one to answer the question, but let me propose a few thoughts.

First, Lloyd-Jones radical commitment to expounding the Scriptures, sometimes one word at a time, reveals a doctrine of God’s Word that affirms inspiration, authority, sufficiency, and perspicuity. The significance of this is that, though his sermons were often atomistic, they exalted the Scriptures in the same way that modern biblical theologians do.  Both biblical theology and Lloyd-Jones believed that all Scripture is God-breathed and thus at every level is useful for teaching, reprooving, correcting, and training in righteousness.

Second, from the passages quoted above, it is evident that Lloyd-Jones recognized the unity of the Bible. He commends and demonstrates in his preaching an intratextual approach to preaching that again is commisserate with biblical theology.  He could be criticized for filling his sermons with too much extraneous theological content, but in so doing he was drawing from vast resevoirs of Scriptural Truth.  So, this too demonstrates a biblical-theological commitment.

Third, as a Reformed pastor, Lloyd-Jones would have been familiar with Princeton’s Geerhardus Vos and his Biblical Theology. First published in 1948, this landmark volume would have been released in the middle of Lloyd-Jones’ pulpit ministry.  Moreover, Banner of Truth claimed the copyright of this book and began publishing it in 1978.  Certainly, he must have been aware of Vos’s redemptive-historic approach to the Scriptures.   With this said, it is unlikely that Lloyd-Jones would use “biblical theology” in a non-technical sense.

Fourth, another reason for believing that Lloyd-Jones used the term “biblical theology” in its technical sense and not just as a passing reference to theology that adheres to the Bible is that Edmund Clowney was in the audience when the Welsh doctor gave these lectures (see Lloyd-Jones preface where he thanks Professor Clowney).  It seems probable that in his presence, Lloyd-Jones would have used the term in its more technical sense.  Since, eight years earlier, Clowney had published his own treatise on Preaching and Biblical Theology.

So considering this scant evidence, should we say that Lloyd-Jones is a biblical-theologian? Tentatively, I respond in the affirmative because it seems that Lloyd-Jones usage of the term was done with specificity to commend the importance and place of biblical theology in preaching.  Likewise, the context in which he spoke certainly would have required a technical usage. However, the more pressing question becomes, did Dr. Lloyd-Jones adhere to a biblical theology in his own preaching? Here I must concede to those of you who have read and heard more of Lloyd-Jones than myself. Still from the little I have read and heard, it seems that his surgical precision with the text masked any overt notions of biblical theology. Nevertheless, from his comments in Preaching and Preachers and his absolute commitment to reading the Scriptures theologically (64-65), I would conclude that underneath his preaching mantle the good doctor was also a well-informed biblical-theologian. Certainly, his preaching was marked by theological acuteness and biblical faithfulness, and together I think this commends at least tendencies towards biblical theology, if not a purposeful use of the discipline.

In that spirit, may we continue to study the story of redemption found in history and then unleash its power in faithful exposition of its individual texts. This is what Martyn Lloyd-Jones did and is something that young preachers should consider and imitate as they see his faithful application of a biblical theology.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

Beginning with Moses (Weekend Website)

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In keeping with the turn towards biblical theology, this weekend’s website is Beginning with Moses.  Taking its name from Luke 24, this website is dedicated to offering “briefings on biblical theology.”  It is filled with insightful articles from some of the world’s premier biblical theologians, living and dead (i.e. Graeme Goldsworthy, D.A. Carson, Richard Gaffin, Edmund Clowney, even Carl Henry).  The website also has articles from younger biblical-theologians like Simon Gathercole, Carl Trueman, and SBTS’s most recent faculty addition, Jim Hamilton. 

Additionally, the website offers an extensive list of book recommendations, book reviews, and web links to other biblical-theological resources.  The four contributors are David and Jonathan Gibson, Andrew Grundy, and Dave Bish.  Since 2002 these four have committed themselves to promoting high-quality biblical theology–Goldsworthy, Gathercole, and David Jackman serve as the sites overseers.  They are from from the UK (one is now studying at Moore Theological College in Sydney), and from their brief bio’s it seems that most, if not all, are/have been divinity students and ministers of the gospel.  One just finished his PhD at Aberdeen.  In short, their website is a gem with a rich array of biblical content.

So check out Beginning with Moses this weekend.  If you are at all interested in the subject of biblical theology you will visit often. 

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

Biblical Theology: Word-driven, Kingdom-focused, Christ-centered

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One month into my blogging at Via Emmaus, I have begun to consider, what is the overall aim and purpose of my writing. Why do I take time to sit at an impersonal computer screen and write thoughts that may never be read? If they are read, will they simply be deconstructive arguments against the fallen world in which we live, or will they be something more constructive and positive? Will they simply respond to events in the world at large and my world in particular, or will they endeavor to offer something substantive? Will they be an exercise in simply cataloging ideas from my studies at Southern and the array of weekly readings I am assigned, or will they offer anything fresh? Will they be a follow-up to lessons I have taught and/or sermons that I have preached, or will they consider other relevant matters of biblical thought? Well, perhaps they will include some or all of these elements, but as I have thought about it this week, I think the focus is becoming more clear. And my hope is to consider more intentionally a Word-driven, Kingdom-focused, Christ-centered Biblical Theology and how this vision of redemptive history and the gospel call intersects all of life.

Prior to coming to SBTS, Biblical Theology was a subject matter that I enjoyed and considered often. Since arriving in Louisville in 2004, it is something that has grown and developed–perhaps more than any other area of discipline in my academic life. Taking classes with Drs. Russell Moore, Thomas Schreiner, and Steve Wellum has stimulated this kind of thinking; reading books by these professors along with works by Graeme Goldsworthy, Edmund Clowney, Wiiliam Dumbrell, Geerhardus Vos, and others many has contributed significantly to this growing passion. Biblical Theology and its intersection with the church, ministry, and daily living is something that interests me greatly and something of worthy of greater consideration.

For instance, most recently a friend of mine mentioned how he currently serves in a position of administration at an evangelical school. It is something that he enjoys as he continues his education, but it is not something he sees himself doing forever. Similarly, I am working in a position of administration at Southern Seminary. And in hearing his thoughts, which resonate with mine, the thought(s) arose: What is a biblical theology of administration? How does administration fit in the plan of redemption and in the world that God created? How does a school administrator at a divinity school carry out the Great Commission? In what ways can my daily service be improved by a biblical understanding and vision of administration? In short, what does the Bible say about administration? Who were administrators in the Bible? Certainly Joseph, Daniel, and the seven deacons chosen in Acts 6 served in such a capacity. Who else?

All that to say, thinking biblical-theologically about all these things helps me understand the life that God has given me, the world in which I live, and the nuanced application of how I can participate in the Great Commission, and how we together are to do church and proclaim the gospel. These are all things that interest me and hopefully will receive much more specific attention on this website. As the old adage goes, if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. So in opposition to this danger, I take aim at thinking more about Biblical Theology and writing more intentionally about the subject.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to allow such conversation, discussion, and reflection on his all-wise plan of redemption–according to his Word, about His kingdom and His church, and for the glory of His name.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

A Biblical Theology of Sports

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The Apostle Paul often used athletic imagery to convey biblical truth (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 1 Tim. 4:7-8; 2 Tim. 2:5).  This week on the CBMW blog, Randy Stinson, Dean of the School of Leadership and Church Ministry at Southern Seminary and President of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, has followed the apostles lead.  As a sports enthusiast, Stinson champions the use of athletics to foster biblical masculinity in the lives of his boys, and he shows how baseball is a game that teaches biblical principles.  As a father-to-be, this kind of instruction speaks volumes, and will surely be put to use in the years to come.

You can read all 4 of his posts at the CBMW Weblog.

The Value of Land (Joshua 24)

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On Sunday I preached a message on YHWH’s covenantal faithfulness and Israel’s continued fickleness as a picture in history of mankind’s need for a better covenant. In the sermon, I began with a reflection on the importance of land in the Bible and in Joshua:

In the Bible there is a great deal made of land. God created the man and put him in the garden to till and to cultivate the land (cf. Gen. 2). If sin had not ruined the project, this garden, tended by Adam and his descendents, would have domesticated the whole earth, spreading the glory of God all over the globe (cf. G.K. Beale, The Temple and The Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God). Certainly the new heaven and new earth in Revelation 21-22 pictures this, a perfect garden-city that will be inhabited by the lamb of God and all those for whom his blood was shed. And what will they be doing? Having dominion over all creation, working and serving in the land–a gloriously restored Eden.

So too, in the redemptive history between Genesis and Revelation there is much discussion of the land. Abraham is promised the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1-3, 7). The first five books of the Bible anticipate Israel’s arrival in the promised land. Likewise, the importance of covenant faithfulness is stressed throughout the OT for the purpose of God’s gracious presence remaining with his people in the land (cf. Lev. 26:12-13; Deut. 30:15-20).

In the book of Joshua, the first five chapters report the entry of Israel into the land. This includes a reenactment of Israel’s great march through the Red Sea, when this time led by Joshua, the people cross the overflowing Jordan to enter the land. In chapters 6-12, Joshua records the many battles that ensued in taking the land. The land did not come without a fight, but God faithfully enabled Israel to conquer the wicked nations of Canaan, so that it could be said in 11:23: So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

In chapters 13-21, the land is divided among the people of Israel. Each tribe is allotted their proper portion and they are then called to finish the initial work of having dominion over the land by casting out any remaining foreigners. Again God’s faithfulness is seen in 21:43-45: Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Finally, in the last three chapters, 22-24, Joshua speaks to the people whom he has led for so many years, and his words too concern the land. This time it regards how the people might be able to stay in the land and retain a dwelling place with God. In chapter 23, Joshua delivers his final address and in chapter 24, the passage that I preached on Sunday, Joshua mediates a covenant renewal with the people of God, that they might remain obedient to God and enjoy his presence in the land.

Ultimately though, the story has Israel afflicted within the land and, at last, cast out of the land. Within one generation, in the book of Judges Israel’s disobedience invites foreign oppressors. But even more devasting in the history of Israel is the expulsion of Israel from the land when the powers of Assyria and Babylon come and conquer God’s obstinate people. It seems that despite all attempts, the people of God cannot keep the covenant. They are too stiff-necked and lustfully idolatrous. So it is with us!

The good news of the rest of the story is that another Joshua has come, and that like his namesake he has led his people through the waters of judgment. In Mark 1, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, in an act that would later come to symbolize his followers participation in his death and resurrection (Rom. 6). In Mark 1, Jesus passed through the wilderness unassailed by the temptations of the devil, and reentered the land, like a warrior returning home. This conquering reentry foreshadows the work that he would ultimately complete on the cross inaugurating a new covenant with his blood. So that, Luke could say that he came to lead a new exodus (9:31). The final result is that Jesus Christ showed himself to be a superior law-giver than Moses who died outside the land; he proved himself a better leader than Joshua, laying down his life so that his people might have an eternal inheritance in the land to come; and the mediator of a better covenant whose promises far exceeded those of the old covenant.

Joshua 24 is a picture of sweet OT devotion, but it is a far greater picture of another Joshua who has provided a better way to a better land, giving his weary followers the promise of everlasting rest. May we who hear the story of the ancient Israelites, now strive to enter the rest given by the new Joshua.

Sola dei gloria, dss.