After four hundred years, he does. But not in the way one would think. He is a carpenter from Nazareth, a region the Judeans usually looked down upon much like the Ozarks today. There is nothing regal about him, nothing that screams “King!” He was no Saul of the days long ago. He was a David in that David being of small stature did not appear to be a king. Yet this carpenter was of the lineage of David to be sure. He did not appear with a great miracle, although his birth was miraculous. Rather he came onto the scene during a time when there were many persons the Judean people believed would be that king. People who would rally the people to take up arms and throw off the shackles of Rome, the third empire to rule over them since I AM’s people had returned to Judea (Medo-Persia, followed by Macedon who feuded with themselves over Judea, followed by Rome after a brief stint of independence and rule by the priests). But this carpenter did not even try to rally an army to overthrow foreign rule. Rather a man who lived in the wilderness had a message that paved the way for this carpenter to arrive.

John the Baptizer preached repentence to be ready for one who would come after him. This coming one would be much greater than John to the point that John did not see himself as worthy of untying the man’s sandals. He was seen as a prophet much like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel from the days of the Davidic kings. Yet one was coming greater than he. His message of not only this coming one but a kingdom coming as well caught the Judean people’s attention.

During his preaching to prepare the people to receive this kingdom, or better yet to join this kingdom and the one coming with it, a Nazarite carpenter came to be baptized. John refused knowing this carpenter, named Jesus, was the one he anticipated. He told the people exactly that, this was who he was preaching about. After being persuaded to baptize Jesus, John and his followers witnessed something strange. Upon coming up from the waters of baptism, the sky rolled back to reveal a dove which descended upon Jesus and a voice that said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus then went off into the wilderness and wasn’t seen for some time.

When he returned, he began to preach a message virtually similar to John’s except for one main concept, the kingdom was coming but Jesus didn’t speak of one to come with it. He preached what life is to be like in this kingdom. No murder and adultery because there isn’t any hate or lust, only love for I AM and for neighbor. He also did something else, miracles. Not just any miracles but those that were expected to appear with this coming one. The sick being healed. The blind made to see and the deaf made to hear and the mute made to speak. People oppressed by demonic forces were liberated.

But beyond this, Jesus taught how to return to I AM and have shalom with their God and also to have shalom with each other. Jesus brought forgiveness from I AM to his rebelling people. No more would they have to labor in deeds and sacrifice to please I AM but by trusting in what Jesus was going to do. Not only would there be peace between the people and I AM, everything would be made right again. True shalom would return. Life would return to humanity, eternal life. Life lived as it should be.

As he healed and preached, he gathered together from the people that followed him twelve men. He appointed these men to take his message and his story to the nation of Israel and tot he world. It was to these twelve men that he spoke of what was to happen to him, death by crucifixion and resurrection to new life. And it is here that we see just what people thought shalom meant for them. They wanted Jesus to restore Israel to her former self, not for him to die a shameful death. They swore to prevent his death, not to allow it.

He persisted in his confidence of his end and restoration. And after about three years of preaching and healing and loving the people. Jesus went to Jerusalem, entering the town on a donkey. The crowds welcomed him into the town as a hero and savior. Upon entering the temple, Jesus was disgusted and disrupted the passover “perversions,” people making a profit in the house that was to be for communion with I AM. He then declared that building and all it had become was to be gone. Many were offended by what he had done and said. So they conspired to kill him. They found someone who was one of the twelve to help their plot. When they sprang their trap, Jesus did not resist–even ordering his followers to stand down–and in fact ensured his own demise by uttering what they thought and believed to be blasphemy.

They brought him before the Roman governor and convinced him to crucify Jesus. And Jesus was led out of the city to Golgotha and there was crucified. Hour upon hour of agony until he died, his heart pierced physically to ensure death. His body was taken down and properly buried in a tomb. Roman guards were put at the entrance of the sealed tomb to ensure no one could steal the body. The Judean priests and religious leaders knew that Jesus promised to rise again to new life, to be resurrected.

But the broken body did rise to life. The tomb was rolled away. The guards did not stop Jesus from leaving that tomb. He appeared to his disciples and proved to them that he had indeed been resurrected. And so he commissioned them to go out into the known world, both Jews and Gentiles, and tell them of his life and death and resurrection, commanding them to repent. For Jesus was to be seated at the right hand of I AM for his obedience. His life and death was all part of living that life of peace that I AM had intended for humanity to have. And as such I AM vindicated Jesus, declared him to be righteous and obedient, by raising him from the dead. And as Jesus’ reward he was seated at I AM’s seat of honor as king of this new kingdom that has reintroduced I AM’s “peace.”

The book of Acts tells us that the eleven remaining from that group of twelve, plus many others, did as Jesus commanded, the spread the word to the whole world–as it continues to spread today–that Jesus came as king over a kingdom that has brought the shalom Adam forfeited at the dawn of time. There is a way to remove the curse that I AM placed upon his creation, King Jesus. The question is now, how did Jesus bring back shalom and how do we get it?

I want to briefly look at three passages in the prophetic writings that show that I AM is going to raise up a king to bring back shalom to Israel, and by Israel the world. The first is Isaiah 9:6-7,

For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore.The Lord’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

The prophet speaks of a child, a son, will be born to reign on David’s throne in Jerusalem. He will defeat Israel’s enemies and firmly establish the kingdom of David for forever. He will conquer Israel’s enemies because he is an “extraordinary strategist.” He will act as God’s own agent, ruling as I AM would rule if he were on the throne himself, and is thus seen as “mighty God.” He will protect the people of I AM during a prolonged reign as their “everlasting father.” He will rule the people in a period of great peace. He will reign over a great and vast kingdom in peace. The peace is a socio-economic peace. But for this to occur, for I AM to bless the people, this son must lead the people back into proper worship and love for I AM. The spiritual element must be present for the socio-economic element can take shape. That spiritual relationship must be maintained if the socio-economic peace stays put. One cannot separate out the civil from the ceremonial from the moral aspects of the law, it is all connected. But this king, who rules and reigns with “justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore,” will do so because I AM will see to it on the basis of his devotion to this community. This king will lead the people back to the way I AM intended the people to live, back to shalom.

At the same time Isaiah spoke of this son who will reign on David’s throne, Micah prophesied about a king from Bethlehem in Micah 5:2-9. This king is to be born while Israel is in captivity under Assyria. He is of the line of David, “whose origins are in the distant past” (Micah 5:2 NET). This king will unify the people who I AM will release from captivity and return to the land. He will rule over them by I AM’s strength and authority so that the people will live securely. This king-shepherd will be honored all over the world for his reign over the community of I AM. Shalom will return to Israel. While this speaks of a political and socio-economic peace, yet he must lead the people back to I AM and proper relationship with their God and Creator for this peace to come. He will bring them back to where I AM intended them to be, to make all well for Israel. He will give them shalom. If anyone were to rise up against this king, he would send eight commanders against them, speaking of Assyria, and rule or break them. This king will make Israel to be life among the people.

The third passage comes from Zechariah 9:9-10, given after Persia released Judah from her captivity and allowed the Judeans back to Judea to live in her home. Zechariah writes,

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey – on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey. I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

In this prophecy, I AM is speaking of his protecting Israel from her neighbors. I AM says that a king is coming to Israel. He is a legitimate Davidic king that will be victorious (Heb: saved). He is a humble king who comes riding on a young donkey that is the foal of a female donkey. Through this king I AM will remove the instruments of war from the people of God and declare peace to the peoples and nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth. Thus fulfilling the plea of Psalm 72. Note the language concerning the extent of the kingdom being parallel in Psalm 72:8 and Zechariah 9:10. I AM will deliver his people and bring about shalom with the nations, removing the weapons of war because of the peace that will be created. Peace will return to the land, to Israel and the nations. I AM promises to bring back shalom.

Now the people who have heard I AM’s promises and prophecies must now wait for when I AM fulfills them. Micah and Isaiah predicted this Davidic king before the fall of Israel to Assyria and Jersusalem to Babylon and yet Zechariah is saying this king is yet to come after Persia freed Judah from captivity. The community of I AM must wait for some time before this king comes to them and establishes shalom.

When one reads Hosea 11, they will notice that the prophet creates a redemptive-historical argument, opening up the chapter with a recounting of history. He begins with the exodus from Egypt (11:1). Then the Author (Yahweh of course) speaks of Israel’s continual adultery with false gods and images in spite of the fact that it was Yahweh who was caring for them. They rejected Yahweh even after he powerfully and mightily delivered them from the grasp of Egypt (11:2-4).

Therefore Yahweh declares that there will be an exile in 11:5. This verse presents the reader with a text critical note that I don’t want to ignore. There is a negative particle that opens 11:5 that can be read as the ESV does, “They shall not [lo'] return to the land of Egypt.” This makes the waw in 11:5 attached to Assyria becomes “rather” or “but” as in “but Assyria shall be their king.” However the NET notes that lo’ (with an aleph) could be read as lo (with a holem-waw) and put with 11:4. Thus the NET reads 11:5 as, “They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them!” (I also note that moving lo to 11:4 doesn’t change how 11:4 reads as the ESV and NET read the same; also the LXX agrees with the NET). But I don’t think this makes much difference to the point of the text because Egypt will bring up images of being ruled by a foreign power. However they aren’t going to Egypt, they are going to Assyria! Hosea 11:5-7 is Elohim’s pronouncement of judgement upon Israel for her idolatry. Yahweh will not stop Assyria even if Israel pleads for help! Yet in Hosea 11:8-9 Yahweh shows his compassion and loyalty to his people whom he has covenanted himself to. He will not allow Assyria to destroy them. It isn’t that he will stop Assyria from conquering Israel (cf. 11:6-7, 11) but he will save Israel (11:12).

Now how does Matthew see this explaining Jesus? Look at Hosea 11:11 again, “They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,’ declares the Lord.” In Hosea 11:5 Yahweh promises to send Israel away to Assyria. The prophet makes clear that they are not going to Egypt but wants the people remember their history and their enslavement by Egypt. It is going to happen again only this time it is going to be at the hands of Assyria. In keeping with this parallelism, God declares that he will again lead Israel in an exodus like he did so many years ago from Egypt. Only this time it will be an exodus from Assyria. Egypt is Hosea’s type to illustrate the new exodus from Assyria.

Thus Matthew sees Hosea’s new exodus as a type fulfilled in Jesus, the true Israel. As Israel went into Egypt to be saved from famine, so Jesus went into Egypt to escape the plague of death that Herod unleashed upon Bethlehem. Thus as Israel was called out of Egypt, and as was promised to be called out of Assyria, so Jesus is called out from Egypt. Jesus ends the exile that Israel was still in because of her sin. Jesus came to liberate Israel from the hand of the new Assyria and Egypt: the Roman-seated king Herod the Great. Israel was never really freed from Assyria, empire after empire ruled over her–yes the Judeans experienced a brief period of freedom under the Hasmoneans but that was never God’s fulfillment of the new exodus.

Thus this Christmas, let us remember our exodus out of the power of this world and its sinful passions that enslave us. Jesus has led us into our exodus by way of the cross. When we die with Christ, we cross the Red Sea into freedom and are on the path to the coming land that flows with milk and honey. But it is only when we follow the new born babe Jesus to the cross that we are liberated by Yahweh. Merry Christmas!!!!!!

13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”–Matthew 2:13-15 (NET)

So, how does Hosea 11:1, quoted in Matthew 2:15, point to Jesus having to go to Egypt? I think the answer comes in how the Old Covenant/Testament (OC or OT from here on out) understands “son” language and how Hosea understands Hosea 11:1 in its larger literary context and its place in Hosea’s argument. Let us start with “son” language and then look at Hosea 11.

The promise of a child or seed starts in Genesis 3 with the protoevangel (the coming of the seed of the woman is the first prediction of one to come to save the whole earth). This hope was passed down through Genesis when Noah is hoped to be this seed (cf. Gen 5:28-29). In Genesis 12:1-3 Abram was promised offspring that would number the sands on the sea shore and the stars in the sky, his children would become a large nation. When Ishmael was born, he was rejected as the promised heir to Abram. Rather, Isaac was the child of the promise, the one to carry on the lineage that would be Israel. In Genesis 22 Isaac is called Abraham’s “beloved son.” Isaac fathered twins and the youngest, Jacob, was deemed to carry on this legacy as the promised seed/son. Jacob was renamed Israel and his twelve sons became the names of the tribes of Israel, keeping their father’s name. The son Israel became a numerous people in Egypt. When Yahweh commanded Moses to confront Pharaoh and release Israel, the Hebrew people are collectively called “my son” (Exodus 4:22). Moses, through the power of Yahweh over the quasi-deity Pharaoh, liberated Elohim’s “son” Israel.

As one follows the story of the Bible s/he comes to 2 Samuel 7 where David is given the eternal covenant to have a permanent “house” or dynasty. Yahweh promises that David’s heirs will never go without Yahweh hesed, even if Yahweh must discipline that heir to David’s eternal throne. The descendant of David who sits on the throne is now given the title “son” and he will call Yahweh “father” (2 Samuel 7:14). When one reads Psalm 2 they read of a king in Israel whom Yahweh enthrones and calls this king “son” (cf. Psalm 2:7 and the “son” is called “beloved son” as in Genesis 22). Then in Isaiah 7 in the “Immanuel” prophecy a “son” is promised as the sign of Yahweh’s presence. But when Isaiah speaks of this “son” (whom we see in Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6, this “son” is more than just a mere child but he is called “mighty God.” The idea of “son” includes the nation of Israel and the lineage of David and a future heir who is called “mighty God.”

Matthew sees Jesus as the eschatological fulfillment of all three. He is the true Israel, he is the heir to David’s throne, he is “mighty God.” Therefore Matthew cites Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:18-25. He brings together Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in Matthew 3:17 and Matthew 17:5. And then we see that Matthew cites Hosea 11:1, a text that speaks about the nation of Israel being called out of Egypt during the time of Moses. Jesus is the true Israel and so are all who are in him by faith, whether Jew or Gentile or male or female or rich or poor. In the next post we turn to Hosea 11 and how Matthew can use it to point to Jesus.

First was a direct parallel between Isaiah 42:18-25. Here Yahweh declares that his servant was blind and deaf and therefore Israel was led into sin and into iniquity. God therefore poured out his wrath upon the people of Israel and Judah. In John 9 we read of Jesus healing a blind man. At the end of the chapter we read the following

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

What stands out to me is that the Pharisees have become the “servant” that led Israel into sin to be judged. In Isaiah, Yahweh has poured out his wrath upon Israel because they would not follow in his ways and obey his law. The “servant” sees much but observes nothing. His ears are open but he does not hear. Jesus is saying the same of the Pharisees. They have eyes but don’t see and ears but cannot hear. They are blind and have thus lead Israel into iniquity and sin. Therefore in Jesus judgment has come to them.

Immediately following this in Isaiah 43:1-7 Yahweh speaks of redemption for his people. Yahweh calls to his people that they belong to him because he has redeemed them and called them his. He declares that he will walk with them wherever they go, through the waters and through the flame he will protect them wherever. I take special note of 43:3-4 where Yahweh says that his people who he has redeemed are precious to him and he loves them. Therefore he will give entire nations to have Israel, the children of Jacob. All out of a love for them he declares in 43:5-7 that every nation that has taken Israel captive will give her back. But note why at the end of 43:7, Yahweh created them for his own glory. They are to exist so that Yahweh could be seen as glorious. As a Christian Hedonist, I sometimes forget that 43:3-4 and 43:5-7 are part of the same declaration by Yahweh. God’s glory and name are inextricably bound up with his love for Israel and his redeemed people.

I also found, going in the vein of Yahweh’s name, this verse very interesting. Yahweh says to Babylon in Isaiah 47:6,

I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

In not showing mercy to Israel and punishing her for her sin in the Babylonian captivity, Yahweh profaned himself. Israel’s sin and idolatry was so heinous that he was willing to forgo his own honor to punish her. His own reputation among the other gods was no diminished because he appears to have been defeated by Assyria and Babylon. I think that this is why this lawsuit here against the other gods is so important. Yahweh is not allowing himself to be seen as defeated but rather as punishing his own people for disobedience. Thus Yahweh calls them back to Jerusalem so that his name may be re-established among the nations. He will not allow Israel to be completely destroyed and wiped out lest he be seen as a god who cannot protect his people (Isaiah 48:9-11).

These were some observations I had after reading Isaiah 40-55. I hope they were encouraging to you as well. My God is the sovereign Yahweh who cannot be defeated by anyone or anything. He declares what will be and then accomplishes it. Great is the God of Jacob!!

Koinonia: Test Your View of the NT Use of the OT

NT Use of the OT Quiz

NT Use of the OT — Test Your View!

Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view You seem to be most closely aligned with the Single Meaning, Multiple Contexts and Referents view, a view defended by Darrell L. Bock in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). This view affirms the singular nature of the meanings intended by the OT and NT authors when OT texts are cited in the NT. In spite of this essential unity in meaning, however, the words of the OT authors frequently take on new dimensions of significance and are found to apply appropriately to new referents and new situations as God’s purposes unfold in the larger canonical context. Often, these referents were not in the minds of the OT authors when they penned their texts. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 reads as follows in the NET*,

12 LORD, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal.
LORD, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. 13 You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? 14 You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler. 15 The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy. 16 Because of his success he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; for because of them he has plenty of food, and more than enough to eat. 17 Will he then continue to fill and empty his throw net? Will he always destroy nations and spare none? 2:1 I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall. I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know how I should answer when he counters my argument.

This is Habakkuk’s response to Yahweh’s plan of action to remove the “violence” (Habakkuk 1:2-4) the prophet witnesses in Judah, namely to bring forth the Babylonians under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar to conquer and destroy Judah. In this post I want to see how Habakkuk links directly to the prophets Jeremiah and Jonah. Let’s start with Jeremiah.

Note the tone of the passage. Habakkuk does not like what he is being told to preach to Judah. He does not like Yahweh’s answer to his complaint. He anticipated one solution, God enacts another. One can tell from his response to Yahweh, that he in fact finds it repulsive and distasteful. It may not be too strong to say the prophet hates what Yahweh has planned. Yet nowhere in the book of Habakkuk do we read that Habakkuk did not preach the message of judgment. In fact, Habakkuk 1:12 shows that Habakkuk acknowledges what Yahweh has ordained. He sees that the Babylonians are coming as God’s instrument to judge Judah. Habakkuk, despite his feelings of the message, obediently preaches the message. Judah hears of the impending doom from this prophet of Yahweh. Three prophets are raised up by Yahweh in those days to warn the people of Babylon’s coming–Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Ezekiel–and they do not listen. All three obediently preach the message. Jeremiah and Habakkuk voice their dislike of their ministry. Consider Jeremiah’s complaint in Jeremiah 20:7-9,

7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me. 8 For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, “Violence and destruction are coming!” This message from the Lord has made me an object of continual insults and derision. 9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message. I will not speak as his messenger any more.” But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it.

Jeremiah hates the message he preaches (Jeremiah 20:6 speaks of the Babylonians coming). He feels forced into preaching. And when he does preach, the people mock him and spit on him in derision. He is laughed at and mocked. He is continuously insulted. Yet when he tries to be quiet, he burns inside and he cannot hold it in. He must preach it. I imagine that Habakkuk feels the same way as Jeremiah does. Habakkuk tells God that he couldn’t let someone as wicked as the Babylonians be his instrument of judgment. There’s no way. And when the Judahites hear it, they mock him like they would mock Jeremiah, for the same reasons that Habakkuk has a hard time grasping why God would use such unrighteous filth. Yet like Jeremiah, Habakkuk remains obedient. The message inside him compels him to obey and preach. There is no other option. No matter how hard the message is to accept, no matter how much people will ridicule him or mock him or insult him or walk away in utter disbelief, the prophet must preach or go insane holding the message in. Habakkuk preached for his own sake. Even Jonah entered Nineveh and preached (Jonah 3). He hated his message and yet God compelled him to preach.

I have become more and more certain that the same is true for God’s prophets today. Those who have a message from God to give to his church cannot help but proclaim it loud and clear. There is no option. He or she must get the word out or lose their minds and souls. I think that this is a good test of a person who wants to preach from the pulpit. Is there a fire in the inmost depths of their souls that if they do preach, they will go insane? Has Christ so burdened them that to face rejection is better than to not preach at all? The Christian preacher must really understand this before he goes behind the pulpit or to the missions field. It may take years before anyone listens to them. It may never happen. But that is better than the alternative of holding in God’s message and loosing their minds.

This makes it all the more important for people to listen to those whom Christ has put as his undersheperds over the churches. They must hear the preacher, understand the preacher, and obey the word of the Lord that the preacher gives. They cannot be like the ones that Jeremiah faced, that Habakkuk faced, and laugh at the preacher as he preaches because he has a funny accent or he contorts his face wierdly–both of which I am guilty of. I know of a person at one particular church who has a lisp and instead of hearing the man out, I laugh at the lisp. Oh how wrong I was to do such a thing! We need to hear those people who have been burdened like this prophets of old.

Even though Habakkuk obediently preaches the message he hates, he reacts to it like Jonah. Go back to the text of Habakkuk 1:13-15, “You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? 14 You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler. 15 The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy.” It is important to note here that the evil that Habakkuk has in view here, the wrongdoing that is spoken of, is not that of those whom Habakkuk initially complained about, the wicked men of Judah. It is that of the Babylonians. They are so wicked that they God cannot tolerate them, yet he does. God permits them to take over the land. He permits them to conquer and then offer sacrifices to their victories (cf. Habakkuk 1:16). Surely a holy God would not do that, would he? That is what the translators means by “sovereign God” in Habakkuk 1:12. The Hebrew word there is אֱלֹהַ֛י קְדֹשִׁ֖י (elohai qedoshi), “my holy God” (LXX: ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἅγιός μου; click here for all Hebrew and Greek comparisons). Habakkuk uses the correct theology of God’s holiness to justify his prejudices.

Babylonians were unholy people, filthy Gentiles. They cared not for Yahweh or the things of Yahweh. Habakkuk knew this. As an Israelite he shared in their prejudices against the other nations. He was a proud Israelite, like Jonah. Remember Jonah’s response when he saw Yahweh not destroy the unrighteous nation of Assyria when they repented at Jonah’s preaching? Consider these words of the prophet in Jonah 4:1-3,

1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. 3 So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!”

Jonah was enraged that God actually saved the Assyrians. They were so wicked that they deserved death. Yet at their repentance, God spared them! Jonah was so upset that he pleaded for God to kill him rather than let the prophet live with this knowledge. It wasn’t righteous indignation, it was simple prejudice that moved Jonah this way. And it is the same prejudice for Habakkuk to speak of Judah being more righteous than Babylon, even after his complaint in Habakkuk 1:2-4.

The question that we must ask ourselves is this: are little Jonah’s or Habakkuk’s? When God commands us to love others, as the Samaritan loved the Jew in Luke 10, do we do it? Or do we pass by not wanting to become unclean like the priest and the Levite? How dare we show compassion and love as God commands us to do (Micah 6:8). We are to love our neighbor, the stranger from another land no matter how unrighteous they are (Leviticus 19:34). Consider Paul’s words to the Galatians in defense of his apostleship and message, Galatians 2:15-16,

15 We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, 16 yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:15 reads in the Greek, ἡμεῖς φύσει Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἁμαρτωλοί. Literally it reads, “we by nature Jews [Israelites] and not out of nations sinners.” The phrase “out of nations” is adjectival of “sinners,” note how the nominative of “Jews” and “sinners” parallel. Hence the NET and most translations go with “Gentile sinners.” Another way to translate it is “sinners among the nations.” They aren’t Jews they are sinners among the nations. Yet Paul does not allow this be a place of boasting for himself. For he goes on to give the crux of his message, “no one is justified by works of the law” but rather by faith in Jesus Christ and his righteousness imputed to us. Therefore no one can boast or rejoice in who he or she is by birth or by achievement. Habakkuk is guilty of doing just that. He says in effect, “The Babylonians are Gentiles sinners. We are Jews. We [Judah] are more righteous than they [Babylon] are yet you [Yahweh] let them devour us. That cannot be.” This shows a gross misunderstanding on Habakkuk’s part because he fails to understand that one does not stand before God on his own two feet on his own self-wrought turf. It will never measure up. You and I, like Habakkuk, must always remember that one fact, our righteousness comes by Christ’s obedience being imputed to us by faith in the finished work of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16-17; Romans 3:21-26).

And yet at the end of his complaint in Habakkuk 2:1, he comes to some sense here. He realizes that he has overstepped his bounds. For he says, “I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall. I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know how I should answer when he counters my argument.” Here the ESV really let me down. It isn’t very readable. It reads, “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” That last phrase really doesn’t bring out what is going on. Habakkuk is expecting a rebuke, a reproof. He comes to see he has put his foot in his mouth and that his mouth is writing checks his body can’t cash–so to speak. The ESV creates a confusing translation that does not understand Habakkuk. The prophet knows he has misspoken and waits his correction. It is as though as he complains, the Holy Spirit flipped a light on in Habakkuk and he realized his mistake. He concludes the complaint with his admission of the wrong. I pray that I too can see when I mess up so heinously, sin so grievously, that I can admit it was wrong of me and confess it, even while making the mistake. Let us all have that kind of understanding. Let us all study and know God so well that we know that we are sinning even as we do it and are able to repent. Just like Habakkuk.

*All Quotations are from the NET. Biblical Studies Press: The NET Bible First Edition (Noteless); Bible. English. NET Bible (Noteless). Biblical Studies Press, 2005.

Here is God’s answer to Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:5-11,

5 “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. 7 They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. 9 They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. 10 At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. 11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

Starting in 1:5 hear Yahweh’s word, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded.” That last phrase, “wonder and be astounded,” is an interesting Hebrew phrase, וְהִֽתַּמְּה֖וּ תְּמָ֑הוּ (wehitammehu temahu). It combines the Hitpael and the Qal imperative forms of תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”) to create a repetition of sounds (LXX: θαυμάσατε θαυμάσια). This repetition creates an emphasis upon the statement of what Yahweh is saying. Literally it would read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked.” So let us hear what Yahweh says to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 1:6 gives us his answer: “I’m raising up the Babylonians (Chaldeans) to come and wipe you out.” Hear the adjectives that Yahweh uses to describe his answer. They are “bitter/ruthless” (ESV/NET), “hasty/greedy” (ESV/NET), they march across the earth taking what isn’t theirs. They are “dreaded/frightening” (ESV/NET) and “fearsome/terrifying” (ESV/NET). “They decide what is right” (Habakkuk 1:7 NET). They move with the speed of leopards, with the ferocity of wolves. They are proud and move in from afar, swift like the eagle. They are determined to do violence and they take prisoners like scooping up sand. They laugh at kings and rulers and their fortresses. They come and pass like the wind. They are guilty men who worship might like a god. That’s Yahweh’s answer to Habakkuk’s problem.

Instead of destroying the guilty men and women in Judah, God sends an army to wipe out everyone! He’s just going to destroy the whole nation rather than the part of Judah that needs to be destroyed. I like how Charles Dennison put and I’m going to paraphrase him on this, “Instead of killing the disease to cure the patient, God is going to kill the patient to cure the disease.” That is not what you and I would have expected God to do. We would have expected God to some how to shine forth his mercy and correct the leadership. We would expect God to spare the innocent and surgically remove the guilty. But to remove the guilty and the innocent is unthinkable. And in such a way. To bring in an army comprised of such violent men that love to devour and conquer and destroy, that just doesn’t sound like Yahweh. To relieve the burden of his people, he kills them.

When I had heard this vision put like that my mind was reeling. I wasn’t sure what to think about what I had heard. Is sin such a disease that the only way to remove it is not by surgically removing the sin but rather removing the sinner? That is what Yahweh is telling Habakkuk he is going to do. Now granted I understand that the fact of their being captives in Babylon and Egypt means survivors but Judah will be gone and the Davidic monarchy will never sit on the throne. The Judea will be a province for Persia, Greece/Macedon, and Rome. The High Priest will be the highest ranking figure in the political environment during this time, even though for a time there will be governors. Judah will die here, and here Temple with her.

The simple fact of the matter is that Yahweh cures the injustice that has Habakkuk praying and heart-broken by killing Judah. How does that translate into the key of the New Covenant Christian? How should that impact our understanding of God, Jesus, and our salvation? To cure our sin problem, my sin and your sin, God kills us. To remove sin from this world, God is going to kill us, those infected with the disease. We will die, this earth will die. It is how God operates. As Paul says, “For the payoff of sin is death” (Romans 6:23; cf. Romans 4:4). God kills us sinners. We seek to undermine the society that he desires to have here on earth. We pervert justice, we seek only ourselves at the cost of others. We deny ourselves eternal joy that comes only from God in Jesus Christ because we hate all that God is and stands for. We hate it. So to remove that enmity (cf. Romans 5:10 and we being enemies of God).

So if God, to remove sin, is going to kill off this tainted world, then what hope do we have? Paul told the Thessalonian Christians in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 that when Jesus comes back he will meet out punishment with flaming fire to those who oppress his people. The problem is all of humankind is an enemy of God who, if given the opportunity, would oppress the people of God. Thus all of humanity would be destroyed by the coming of Jesus. So what hope does humanity have? The Resurrection!

Consider Romans 6:4-7 (NET) when Paul says,

4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)

Through faith in Jesus Christ and illustrated in baptism, we die with Jesus. By faith we are united to his death on the cross. The very enemy that we desperately want to escape becomes the way we are saved from it. We die with Christ so that we are then raised with Christ. We are now new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have been raised and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6-7). We are now free from sin. We have been united to new life. We are dead to sin and now can live Spirit-enabled lives to yield the fruit that God desires: a just community that loves God and neighbor.

It strikes me then how important it is that we understand then Jesus words in Mark 8:34-35 (NET) when he says, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.” To be saved requires us to walk the path of the cross. We must follow Jesus outside the camp and ascend to the heights of Golgotha. There we must surrender ourselves to the cross and endure all of its pain so that we can live the true life. Only through death can we have hope. Judah’s only hope to be rid of the sin and the injustice is for Babylon to destroy her. Only by submitting to the wrath of God can the love of God resurrect her from captivity and restore her. The Cross never ceases to amaze me as that it is so backwards that only by being regenerated can it make sense. I understand what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 and 1 Corinthians 2:14 saying that the wisdom of God in the cross of Christ is wiser than the wisdom of man and yet man finds it so foolish. The cross is so wonderful, so amazing. I hope that you find it as delightful as I do.

9 Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.”

Again let us see the Greek text of Mark 1:11 and Isaiah 42:1 before us so that we can see the parallels.

Mark 1:11 — καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα
Isaiah 42:1 LXX — Ιακωβ ὁ παῖς μου ἀντιλήμψομαι αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου ἔδωκα τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπ αὐτόν κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξοίσει

Now what is most amazing about this text is the fact that Isaiah 42:1 actually represents the strongest parallel to Mark 1:11 if we look at Mark 1:10, which in the Greek reads, καὶ εὐθὺς ἀναβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος εἶδεν σχιζομένους τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ὡς περιστερὰν καταβαῖνον εἰς αὐτόν. Notice the words τὸ πνεῦμα in both Mark 1:10 and Isaiah 42:1 LXX. At the baptism in Mark 1:9-11, the Spirit descends upon Jesus. This is exactly what Yahweh prophesied through Isaiah in Isaiah 42:1 LXX! So let us see how Jesus is the servant in whom God delights. First let us get Isaiah 42:1-7 before us in the NET,

“Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. 2 He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. 3 A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees. 4 He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” 5 This is what the true God, the Lord, says – the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it: 6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, 7 to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons.

This is the first of Isaiah’s “Servant Songs.” The other texts are found in Isaiah 49:1-13; Isaiah 50:4-11; Isaiah 52:13-:53-12. There are three primary candidates for who this “servant” (ὁ παῖς in LXX) is: Isaiah, Israel, or Jesus. The LXX is very clear that it views Israel as the servant for it says, Ιακωβ ὁ παῖς μου (“Jacob my servant”) and Ισραηλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου (“Israel my chosen”). Jacob is often synonymous with Israel when God is addressing the nation of Israel (Jacob’s name was changed to Israel in Genesis 32:27-28). Indeed Israel was to be “a light to the nations” (cf. Exodus 19:6). Israel was to shine forth Yahweh to the world through her covenant relationship to Yahweh. But Israel never “open[ed] blind eye” and “releas[ed] prisoners from dungeons” etc. Israel also fails to meet the requirements of the other Servant Songs. Plus, was not Israel one of the nations that needed to hear and receive the “just decrees”?

There is Isaiah as the Servant. But his ministry was described in Isaiah 6:9-13 as to cause the people to not see and hear God’s message of salvation so that they do not turn to God in repentance and be saved from the coming judgment until all of Israel’s cities were in ruins. Isaiah’s mission wasn’t to deliver people from God’s wrath but to deliver the people over to God’s wrath. He is only promising hope to the people that is yet to come. Isaiah does not really, in the end, fit the bill.

Then there is Jesus of Nazareth. Mark seems to think that Jesus was this ὁ παῖς μου and ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου. Well Mark 1:10 says that the Spirit was placed upon Jesus as Isaiah 42:1 says should happen. Let us look further at the ministry of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel account. Jesus healed the blind (cf. Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52). He healed the sick and lame (Mark 1:29-31; 2:1-11; 3:1-6; 5:21-43; 6:53-56; 7:24-37). He was a “covenant mediator” (cf. Mark 14:23-24). Jesus preached and taught people (Mark 4, 7, 9, 10). Jesus reached out to Gentiles as well as Jews (cf. Mark 7:24-30). Jesus fits the role of the suffering servant very well in his life. This is not an exhaustive list but it is very overwhelming to think of exactly how it is that Jesus could be the servant of Isaiah 42:1-7.

In Part 2 of this series, I noted that some prophecy is not verbal-predictive. That is to say a person predicts something and it is fulfilled word-for-word. This is the way most modern lay-readers of the Bible think. The Old Testament says that the Christ will do X or will not do Y. Then they look for Jesus to do X or not do Y just as it was said in the Old Testament prophecy. Much of the Old Covenant prophetic voice is rather typological. That is to say, there is a pattern laid down and Jesus fits that pattern. David is an excellent example. David was rejected by his friends and family, so was Jesus. The king of Israel was called God’s Son and so is King Jesus. (On a side note, I forgot to mention that sometimes in ancient cultures heads of nations were called “gods” in a functional sense, e.g. they exercised their authority on either God’s behalf or the pagan gods’ behalf. Psalm 82:6 picks up on this as it refers to the unjust judges of Israel as gods failing to do what God has authorized them to do. Jesus cites this text in John 10:34. Functional categories are part of this typological paradigm to OT prophecy).

But Isaiah 42:1-7 is indeed verbal-predictive. God, through Isaiah, prophesied that his Servant would do X and wouldn’t do Y. Jesus did X and did not do Y as Isaiah stated. Jesus fulfills the role of the coming servant who would bring justice to God’s people and to the nations.

One last comment before I go. Notice that in this statement what God does. He takes the king function of the Messiah and the suffering servant function of the Messiah and puts them together in one office, they are actually one Messiah. Jesus functions as God’s King because he is God’s Suffering Servant. By being God’s Suffering Servant, God exalted Jesus to the throne of David. I close with Paul’s hymn in Philippians 2:6-11,

6 who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. 8 He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! 9 As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Amen!