Lee Harmon's Blog, page 47

1 Peter 3:15, The Call to Apologetics?

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect …

//In a forum a while back, a member proposed today’s verse as encouragement for Christians to take up the call to apologetics … that is, to defend their faith.

I disagree, and in fact, I think that it instructs us to do the opposite. Reading the passage in context, the instruction begins back in verse 3:8...

Acts 1:6, Will You Succeed This Time, Jesus?

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

//One of the themes common to the Synoptic Gospels is how daft the original apostles were. In Mark, they never do really catch on to Jesus’ purpose. Matthew and Luke paint a less insulting picture, though the comedy remains.

As we begin the book of Acts (which is the sequel to Luke), Jesus has just risen from the dead. The disciples, who still hope for a conquerin...

Book review: When the Kings Come Marching In

by Richard J. Mouw

★★★★

This is a 2002 revised edition that I bought out of curiosity because of its subtitle: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem. There are so many strange theories about the New Jerusalem floating around that I felt it would be a relief to read what a professor had to say, based on the vision of Isaiah that kicked off the whole dream in the first place.

It’s fascinating to me that Mouw matter-of-factly assumes his readers agree literally with what the scriptures say about an afterlif...

Matthew 2:14-15, Jesus is Called Out of Egypt

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

//Of late, I’ve been somewhat fascinated by the allusions in the New Testament that Jerusalem is the new Egypt. See Revelation 11:8, where Jerusalem is “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt,” without explanation. In today’s verse, Matthew alludes directly t...

Acts 1:1; Luke, the Cultural Gospel

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach

//Bible scholars agree that a single author—we know him as Luke—wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Nowhere is this made more clear than in the opening verse of both books. Both are addressed to Theophilus, and Acts specifically refers to a “former” treatise, which could only be the Gospel of Luke.

We don’t know who Theophilus was, or even whether it was a person’s name, rather than an ho...

Lamentations 1:1, Lamentations and the Hebrew Alphabet

Howlonely sits the cityThat wasfull of people!Howlike a widow is she, Whowasgreat among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave!

//So begins the book of Lamentations, an appropriately named treatise. It’s a five chapter lament, written poetically … so poetically, in fact, that it’s impossible to properly translate to another language.

You see, the whole book is an acrostic. There are 22 verses in the first chapter, and each one starts with a unique letter, stepping thro...

Book review: I’m Only Human After All

by Alex Rogers

★★★★

This is an autobiography of author Alex Rogers’ years in middle school and early high school. When presented to me for review, it was billed as a book about bullying, with a Christian flavor. I was intrigued, as combating bullying is a hot topic in many churches today.

I didn’t really find it very intense. The bullying, while certainly worse than anything I experienced in my school years, was not enough to send anyone all Columbine … and Alex didn’t face it totally by himself...

Ruth 1:14, David Battles His Cousin?

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

//Today’s story begins back in the book of Ruth. When Naomi left Moab to return home, Ruth accompanied her, but Orpah kissed her goodbye.

Three generations later, David was born in the lineage of Ruth. But whatever happened to Orpah?

Midrash tell us that Orpah, the night she broke ties with Naomi, lay with one hundred men … and a dog. Of this union came the Philistine Goliath, David’s fam...

2 Chronicles 33:19, The Saying of the Seers.

Behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

//Ever hear of the “sayings of the seers?” The two books of Chronicles, written in the fourth century BC, give a blow-by-blow detail of the southern kingdom (Judah) and they make reference often to writings of the “seers.” Although we’ve never uncovered any of these sources, some scholars assume today’s verse refers to a collection of works by various prophets. Man, how I’d love to get my hands on this collection! Here is a list of texts...

Book review: God In Slow Motion

by Mike Nappa

★★★★★

Not the type of book I usually read—it’s more inspirational than educational, more conservative than liberal—but this one is really good. The author promises that through ten “lessons” (events from the New Testament) he will take you on a journey, “traveling the road of Christ’s life in search of the underneath things.” That’s what Nappa means by “God in slow motion;” slowing down the New Testament stories frame-by-frame to catch a glimpse of the real people who came in cont...