Solomon and Pastoral Wisdom

This past Sunday Lee Tankersely preached a good message on 1 Kings 3-11, Solomon’s rise & fall. Chapter 3 caught me afresh with implications for pastoral ministry. As Solomon came to the throne the Lord essentially granted him a wish. We know he asked for wisdom and this pleased the Lord so that the Lord gave Solomon wisdom plus wealth, honor and long life.

The Davidic king is not a type of the New Testament pastor, but there are some lesser parallels here. Solomon in chapter three is beginning his role of leading the people of God. If God, as you began a new pastorate, offered you any wish in regards to your ministry, what would you ask for? Longevity? Increase, of wealth or membership? Honor? Or wisdom so that we might shepherd God’s people well?

What struck me was the motivation Solomon gives for his request for wisdom. We know he learned from his father the value of wisdom. But, he does not say, “I know wisdom is the greatest thing so please give me wisdom.” His request is not so abstract. Rather, he acknowledges his inexperience (“I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in”, v. 7) and the greatness of the people. His request arises from humility, acknowledging the greatness of the task and his need for divine aid to adequately lead the people of God. Surely God’s pleasure in this request is tied not only to God’s esteem of wisdom, but even more so to God’s love for His people and his desire for leaders to care for His people (cf. Acts 20).

Surely pastors today realize our own inability to adequately shepherd the people of God. Rather than dreaming of large numbers or wide acclaim, let us ask God for wisdom to lead God’s people well. This will please God.

Preaching Christ in the OT

At the MidWest Founders Conference this week I recommended Lee Tankersley’s sermons as good examples of preaching Christ from the Old Testament. For anyone following up, you can find those sermons here. You could begin with the sermon from this past Sunday on 1 Kings 1-2. Lee does a good job of noting some of the practical items in the text (implications for fathering in this instance) as well as showing how the text ultimately points to Christ.

Concordia Commentary

I try to stay fairly well aware of commentaries and commentary series with my work at the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies and in writing an annual survey of Bible reference works for Preaching Magazine. However, I have recently realized that I had entirely missed a significant series. As part of the work for this fall’s article for Preaching Magazine, I have been perusing Reed Lessing’s volume on Amos in the Concordia Commentary. When I read the series description I was hooked. Here is the description:

Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the biblical text. This landmark work will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, interpreting Scripture as a harmonious unity centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Every passage bears witness to the Good News that God has reconciled the world to Himself through our Lord's life, death, and resurrection.

The commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture as it emphasizes "that which promotes Christ" in each pericope. Authors are sensitive to the rich treasury of language, imagery, and themes found throughout Scripture, including such dialectics as Law and Gospel, sin and grace, death and new life, folly and wisdom, this fallen world and the new creation in Christ. Careful attention is given to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. Further light is shed on the text from archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Finally, Scripture's message is applied to the ongoing life of the church in terms of ministry, worship, proclamation of the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, confession of the faith—all in joyful anticipation of the life of the world to come.

Close attention to original languages, Christo-centric reading, and an eye toward the life of the church. And that description is so well written! Of course writing a series description and fulfilling it can be two different things, but this Amos volume seems to accomplish the goals.

I have only seen one volume, but this is now certainly a series I will look for.

Davis on OT Narrative

Dale Ralph Davis. The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts.
(Christian Focus Publications, 2006) pb., 153 pp.

I have already mentioned several other really good books from this year on preaching the Old Testament. Here is one more which may be my favorite. I have appreciated Davis’ popular commentaries in the past and am really enjoying this book. He shares the concerns of books previously mentioned that the Old Testament has been taken out of the church’s hands. Some blame he places on the way the OT has too often been handled:

“For nearly two hundred years a skeptical brand of Old Testament criticism has largely held sway in our universities and divinity halls; it ‘un-godded’ the Old Testament, implied the Old Testament documents were extremely complex and involved, and managed to make Old Testament studies mostly boring, lifeless, and dull.” (i)

“I still believe that traditional Old Testament criticism has had the effect of killing the Old Testament for the church.” (ii)

Davis then makes it clear that we are not seeking some magic key to unlock the Old Testament. Too much of hermeneutics is so complex it ends up sounded like this. Instead Davis calls for a sensible, sensitive, and careful reading of the text.

“Nor do I have any tricks. I cannot offer any magical procedure which, if followed, will unlock the riches of the Old Testament narrative. . . . I simply want to stir up the biblical juices of preachers and students, to help people walk away from the text muttering about what a delightful book God has given us.” (3)

If we read in this way looking particularly for what we can learn about God we will understand much and be enriched.

“It’s safe to say that usually the writer’s purpose is theocentric – he intends to communicate something about God, i.e., his character, purposes, demands, or ways.” (4)

“…whenever you see God clearly in a text you can be sure there is something very applicable there for you.” (9)

I think Davis succeeds admirably in his goal. I found myself stirred up reading the book. He writes well and shows how, even though there are difficult and confusing parts of Scripture, it is not that difficult to find key truths. This is a very encouraging and helpful book.

The Majesty of God in the Old Testament

I am currently working on Preaching Magazine’s annual Bible and Bible reference survey article for early Fall, so it is likely that you will find several book notes here in the coming weeks.

Perhaps the main impression I have received so far in seeking to survey all the Bible reference material that has come out since last fall is that there has been a boom in really good material for preaching the Old Testament. I previously commented on Christopher Wright’s book on the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. I will mention briefly in the next several days other really good, new books on this topic.

Here, I’ll mention Walter Kaiser’s The Majesty of God in the Old Testament: A Guide for Preaching and Teaching (Baker). This is a great book for preachers, providing a homiletics refresher as veteran bible scholar and preacher Kaiser walks through the study and preaching of 10 Old Testament texts. Beyond simply giving help for these 10 passages, Kaiser models the preaching of the OT with a concentration on the character of God. He is particularly concerned with the need for us to be teaching our people about the greatness of God. Here are two quotes:

“One of the greatest enhancements that could come to most evangelical teaching and preaching- indeed, the best among the people of God worldwide- is a whole new appreciation for the majesty and greatness of our God as presented in the Scriptures. Unfortunately, one of the best sources for this teaching- the Old Testament- is all too often neglected in our teaching and preaching.” (p. 9)

“Alas, however, much of our teaching and preaching suffers from a mediocre view of God’s majesty. We are too much like those chided in Psalm 50:21 [in which God says, ‘You thought I was altogether like you.’]” (p. 10).

The church will benefit greatly if this sort of admonition is heeded and more preaching reflects the glory of god rather than our own navel gazing.

Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the OT

Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the OT
By Christopher J. H. Wright
(IVP, 2006), pb. 159 pp.

I have perused this book today as part of a broader review project, and I am impressed. You know right away that this topic is useful since it combines two areas where our understanding in the church tends to be limited- the Holy Spirit and the Old Testament.

The book grew out of 5 addresses given at a conference in Northern Ireland in 2004. He mentioned how many people wondered if he could find enough material to fill five talks, and then writes:

“Such is the widespread lack of awareness among many Christian people of the identity, presence and impact of the Spirit of God in the Bible before Pentecost. It’s not that they don’t believe he existed before Pentecost. They believe in the Trinity after all. It’s just that they have never noticed how extensive a role the Spirit actually plays in those centuries before Christ. Of course, it could be that they just never read the Old Testament, but let’s be charitable” (9).

He argues that since the indwelling Spirit mentioned in the New Testament is the same Spirit of the Lord God of Israel found in the Old Testament, then to understand and know this Spirit we need the Old Testament.

The five chapters of the book correspond to the five original addresses. I was particularly taken with the chapter titled “The Empowering Spirit.” Inthis chapter he notes how the Spirit is the one who empowers the people of God. He then notes this same Spirit produces humility in His people. Thus one section is entitled, “Power with Humility.” Good stuff!