Jason S. DeRouchie's Blog, page 9
June 24, 2020
The Red Sea Miracle II
I am excited to announce that the latest Patterns of Evidence film will show as a live online event Friday night, July 17, 7:00pm CDT and then continue viewable broadcasts until July 23. This is an exclusive pre-release online ticketed showing. This film will continue the investigation of the Red Sea miracle, considering both its location and nature by engaging the biblical, historical, archaeological, and scientific data. These films are excellently researched and documented and engage some of the leading biblical scholars, historians, and archaeologists in the world. For some of my reflections on past films, see the following:
On Movie 3: “The Red Sea Miracle”
“The Red Sea Miracle and the Wondrous Glory of Yahweh”
“The Location of the Red Sea Miracle: A Biblical Case for the Gulf of Aqaba”
On Movie 1: “The Exodus”
“An Exceptional Documentary on the Exodus”
“A Relook at the Patterns of Evidence”
Click below to watch the trailer for “The Red Sea Miracle II”.
If you missed or want a refresher on part 1 titled “The Red Sea Miracle,” it will begin airing as an online ticketed showing Friday, July 10, at 7:00pm CDT. To view the trailer, click here.
June 23, 2020
God Always Wanted the Whole World: Global Mission from Genesis to Revelation
The apostle Paul described his life mission, and the mission of the church as a whole, as a calling “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of [Christ’s] name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5). From Eden onward, God has been moving history toward the day when Satan and sin are finally conquered, the knowledge of his glory covers the earth, and the redeemed from all peoples praise the Lamb who was slain. That mission, still incomplete, spurs every Christian either to send or go, either to hold the ropes for others or cross boundaries and cultures for the sake of Christ’s name.
Read my recent Desiring God article tracing global missions from Genesis to Revelation and from the Garden of Eden through God’s promises to Abraham unto Christ as the reigning savior and satisfier of the world.
June 5, 2020
FUSION at Spurgeon College
Are you considering college? Are you willing to do really hard things for God, trusting the highest power for the greatest task? Do you treasure Christ and long to see the obedience that flows from faith awakened among the nations for the sake of Christ’s name (Rom 1:5)? FUSION at Spurgeon College is a top-tier mission mobilizing training program for college students who are serious about pouring themselves out for Jesus’s sake.
I have never witnessed such an intentional, rigorous, gospel-saturated, character-shaping, selfishness-defeating, humility-generating, Christ-embracing, discipleship-equipping mission strategy. FUSION students are tough and tender, wise and winsome, serious and satisfied. In perhaps unparalleled ways, through nine months of spiritual, academic, physical, and contextual training and three months on the field with IMB missionaries in some of the hardest places, FUSION shapes Christian disciple makers who understand culture, people, religion, theology, and mission––all in order to magnify the majesty and mercy of Messiah Jesus in the 21st century. FUSION shapes, equips, and sends by developing lives characterized by sacrifice, discipline, respect, obedience, surrender, team work, language proficiency, humility, and disciple making. For the sake of Christ and for his church, I strongly encourage you to give one of your college years to FUSION! Your life will forever change, but more importantly, some who would have never heard may now hear and live.
For a recent FUSION promo video, tap the link below.
––Dr. Jason S. DeRouchie, Research Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
May 27, 2020
In His Strength––Blessed
Mediations from Psalm 147 and Isaiah 57:15–21
In the high and holy place you dwell
And with the contrite and lowly.
Past sin cannot enslave again
For you heal and comfort wholly.
You do not delight in a horse’s strength
Nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.
You delight in those who fear your name,
Who in your steadfast love hope and stand.
Praise the LORD, who is close and able.
The King is for us, so we can rest.
Praise the LORD for kindness and mercy.
Freed now to sing, in his strength––blessed.
Matchless in wisdom, guiding all things––
Great are you LORD, abundant in power.
Appointing rulers and lowering kings;
The wicked, your enemies, you’ll devour.
You are the LORD who lifts the humble.
In you those who stumble find strength to stand.
You bind wounds, and you heal the broken.
Because you’re near, help is always at hand.
Praise the LORD, who is close and able.
The King is for us, so we can rest.
Praise the LORD for kindness and mercy.
Freed now to sing, in his strength––blessed.
––Jason S. DeRouchie, 5-27-2020
April 26, 2020
The Serpent in Samuel: A Messianic Motif
Verrett, Brian A. The Serpent in Samuel: A Messianic Motif. Eugene, OR: Resource, 2020.
This updated and now published ThM thesis from Brian A. Verrett is a model example of rigorous exegesis and whole-Bible theology done well within a single book. Brian received his BA from Louisiana College and his MDiv and ThM from Bethlehem College & Seminary. For several years he has served as an elder of New Creation Church in Granville, NY, and he is now readying to begin his PhD in Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Brian is one of the most gifted biblical-theological students I have ever taught, and I am thrilled to celebrate this milestone in publication.
In this careful and detailed study, Verrett identifies how the biblical author of Samuel employed serpent language, imagery, and concepts to heighten hope in the coming messianic king. Other scholars have rightly identified various characters in Samuel as “serpents,” be they Goliath, Nahash (the king of the Amorites), Hun, Absalom, or Amasa. Nevertheless, Verrett is the first of whom I am aware who uses careful literary analysis and biblical theology to show how the author intentionally employs what can truly be called a serpent motif in order to present the offspring of David as the promised offspring of the woman from Genesis 3:15 who will defeat the serpent and reign as king in the new creation.
I advised Verrett on this thesis, and Dr. Jim Hamilton served as his external reader. You can read my foreword to his book here.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biblical Theology of the Serpent
Goliath as a Serpent
Nahash as a Serpent
The Serpent within Samuel
The Seed of David as the Seed of the Woman
The Messianic Hope of the New Creation in 2 Samuel 23:1–7
Conclusion
From My Foreword:
“In this well-researched study, Verrett identifies for us how the book of Samuel utilizes the serpent motif to foretell the triumph of the Messiah over the serpent as the means for initiating the new creation. This study models careful exegetical and theological method for the glory of Christ and the good of his church, and I am thrilled that is is now published. May its message nurture living hope in the living Messiah who has triumphed through tribulation and whose new creational kingdom is inaugurated and will be consummated. ––Jason S. DeRouchie, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
What Other Scholars Are Saying:
“Brian Verrett’s work on the serpent is first-class. He skillfully combines rigorous exegesis with whole-Bible biblical theology.” –– Andy Naselli, Bethlehem College & Seminary
“This book shows the promise of a canonical biblical theology that can help us understand both individual books of the Bible as well as an important biblical theme.” –– Charles Trimm, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
“Verrett has written a detailed defense of an intriguing theme.” –– Charles L. Quarles, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Brian Verrett has given his readers much to consider in this book.” –– Michael B. Shepherd, Cedarville University
/PDF/ DeRouchie “Foreword”
April 12, 2020
Basking in the Rise of the Son
John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, once wrote:
The day is now breaking: how beautiful its appearance! How welcome the expectation of the approaching sun! It is this thought makes the dawn agreeable, that it is the presage of a brighter light; otherwise, if we expect no more day than it is this minute, we should rather complain of darkness, than rejoice in the early beauties of the morning. Thus the Life of grace is the dawn of immortality: beautiful beyond expression, if compared with the night and thick darkness which formerly covered us; yet faint, indistinct, and unsatisfying, in comparison of the glory which shall be revealed. (The Works of the Rev. John Newton, Vol. 1, p. 319)
The words that follow are inspired by this quote.
Basking in the Rise of the Son
The sun breaks and beauty appears,
A daily reminder that all our fears
Of dread are passed, though pain persists––
The toil, the sorrow, a persistent mist
That will be burned away in course of time,
A hopeful rest when full glow shines.
The light of dawn is only agreeable
Because the light of noon is foreseeable.
If no hope existed for a brighter light,
Sustained shadows would be lingering night.
Yet darkness is passing; the true light glows––
A brightening sky overcoming sorrows.
The dawn of immortality is the life we tread,
A life of grace because Christ bled
Taking wrath we all deserve––
A gift of love to preserve
A people for himself into the age to come––
The curse abolished in the rise of the Son.
––Jason S. DeRouchie (3/3/2011)
Remembering that our lives today are lived in the dawn, not at night, can help us remember that life is not as bad as it could be and that we have not received what we deserve. God is truly for us, shown in the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, the just for the ungodly.
Remembering that our lives today are lived in the dawn, not at noon, can help us overcome our own sin (knowing it has already been canceled), help us love the unlovable (knowing the day is nearing when all will give an account), and help us push through the present trials in hope for lasting, unrestrained, untainted joy. Come Lord Jesus!
April 8, 2020
Resurrection Hope in a Season of Death
It’s April, and we are still under quarantine. The hospitalized can’t see loved ones, patient wards continue to expand, and more burial plots are dug. While most in the world ignore the cries of the nearly 125,000 babies who are aborted globally every day, very few on the planet can now ignore the reality of the 1,000,000+ who have died from COVID-19 in recent months. God is using a global pandemic to help all see that “all flesh is grass” that withers, but he would also have us recall that his word is like granite that remains unchanged (Isa. 40:6–8).
With the rise of every new day God reminds those with eyes to see that light is stronger than night. The bursting buds and bird songs ring out that spring overcomes winter and that resurrection hope is real. As Jesus encouraged, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
Read more HERE or go to https://credomag.com/2020/04/resurrection-hope-in-a-season-of-death/.
April 2, 2020
Light for the Fight
LIGHT FOR THE FIGHT
Jason S. DeRouchie (3/9/14)
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16).
O Father of light, disperse darkness today,
Supplying hope and help for those in pain.
Grant strength and sight, trust and care.
Let dawn rise in our souls, even as you bear
Our weakness, our guilt, our doubts, our faults;
You take them all, in light of the cross.
You are the God who supplies and satisfies;
Please do so today, even at this cry.
Grant provision and protection as you deem best,
But in your strong hand let our souls find rest.
In victory let us praise your name,
And in defeat help us do the same.
You are our bomb shelter, our picnic shelter,
Our warm house on a cold day.
You bring spring after an extended winter;
You give blue sky where there was once gray.
You’re the disperser of darkness who overcomes night.
Your morning rays enable us to fight.
So be near, empowering us to persevere.
Enflame our faith as you wipe our tears.
Uphold our lives; let us not be put to shame.
Let us live boldly for the fame of your name.
May your brightness shine from our face,
Magnifying mercy, magnifying grace.
In your faithfulness we do delight.
We rejoice that you have given us sight.
We see that you are on the throne––
For us, not against us, this we know.
Fuel our faith and empower our pleasure.
You are our hope, our help, our treasure.
Amen.
March 29, 2020
Shine On!
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Shine on amidst care, strife, and grief;
Shine on when your soul longs for relief.
Shine on when day then week turn to many moons;
Shine on because on the heels of dawn comes noon.
Shine on through daily cleaning and chore;
Shine on as you journey out the door.
Shine on when hope burns away like a mist;
Shine on because morning mercies persist.
Shine on through the shadows of night;
Shine on by faith and not by sight.
Shine on amidst doubt and fear;
Shine on because God is near.
Shine on when waters rise;
Shine on when a dream dies.
Shine on through revealed sin;
Shine on because Jesus wins.
Shine on when your right seems ignored;
Shine on, even though closed is the door.
Shine on when hidden appears your way;
Shine on because God colors in gray.
Shine on, trusting the Lord for strength;
Shine on: you shall walk and not faint.
Shine on, knowing he works for those who wait;
Shine on because a bruised reed he won’t break.
Shine on, for God is all wise and knowing;
Shine on––he’s in the toiling and sowing.
Shine on in the quest, though your wick seems dim;
Shine on because those who search will find him.
Shine on!
––Jason S. DeRouchie (6/5/2014)
March 24, 2020
Behold Your God!
A POETIC MEDITATION ON THE HOPE OF ISAIAH 40
“Behold your God!” comes the alarm.
With mighty arm he rules and saves.
The shepherd-king, his word is sure
No war or roar; his sheep secure,
though grass withers and flowers fade.
Good news announced; he comes with might.
At night the hosts sing of his pow’r.
He marks the heavens with a span;
Seas pool in the palm of his hand.
The nations he will devour.
He has no counselor, no teacher;
To him no creature can compare.
He defines justice, knows all things,
Upholds all things, appoints all kings.
And of all your ways he’s aware.
Look up and consider the sight;
His rule, his might the stars display.
He loves your name and knows your pain.
He sees your frame, your fear, your shame.
He’ll answer as you wait and pray.
Did you not hear? The Lord is near
To cheer and strengthen those who wait.
Although his ways are beyond us,
He is for us not against us.
We’ll walk, we’ll run, yet not faint.
––Jason S. DeRouchie (3/24/2020)
