Summarizing the Old Testament

Seven “Quote” Reasons to Love the Prophets

Seven “Quote” Reasons to Love the Prophets

You may find it strange, but I didn’t always love the prophets. Before I graduated from seminary, I would have listed my favorite three Old Testament books as Deuteronomy (my MA thesis was “The Form and Function of the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32), Ecclesiastes and Genesis (not a prophet, major or minor, in the group!). But then I read Abraham Heschel’s, The Prophets: An Introduction (1962, Harper Torchbooks) and that changed everything. His words made the prophets come alive for me and I fell in love with them (granted, more so Isaiah than Obadiah, but Obadiah is still fun to say). That was many years ago, but I have never looked back. And that got me thinking, maybe a little Heschel will move you to love the prophets, too. And a little Heschel we can do. As the essayist Joseph Epstein once said: “I believe it was Gayelord Hauser,

Seven More from the Prophets

Seven More from the Prophets

Consider three sets of movie quotes. Here is set one. All three should be very familiar to you. I’ll give you the quote, you provide the name of the movie. First quote: “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Second quote: "Go ahead, make my day." Third quote: “There’s no crying in baseball!” If you said, The Godfather, Sudden Impact and A League of their Own, you win the first category. Here is set two. All three of these quotes are related because all three are angry statements. Again, you get to name the movie. Fourth quote: “I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" Fifth quote: “You can't handle the truth!" Sixth quote: “I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" If you said Midnight Cowboy, A Few Good Men and Wizard of OZ, you have won the second set. Here is the third set. What connects

Seven from the Prophets

Seven from the Prophets

Roughly 16,000. That is how many football players are eligible for the NFL draft each year. 16,000; but only 250 or so are selected. 2,000-3,000 prospects are considered for the seven-round NHL draft each year, but only 224 are selected. Apparently, 140,000 players are eligible for the MLB draft each year, but out of that number, only 600-700 are selected. Now, if you were a major league general manager, choosing the right prospects out of a field that big should not be a problem. Why then, out of a field of 23,145 Old Testament verses should choosing seven verses be so tough? For the past seven weeks we have been looking at Christopher Wright’s book, The Old Testament in Seven Sentences (IVP Academic, Downers Grove, IL, 2019). When I purchased the book, I thought it would be a fun thought experiment that would definitely stretch the imagination, but would ultimately

194 (or More) to 1

194 (or More) to 1

Paul Simon told us—“There must be fifty ways to leave your lover.” Now, I realize there are numerous ways to interpret this song: Is the person speaking about a friend, his mother, a woman who wants him to leave his current lover so that he may embrace her (literally and figuratively), or is the speaker his current lover who is dismissing his pain by mocking his comment that he is thinking about leaving her? But the point the speaker is making is clear: it is easy to leave someone you no longer love (“You just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. You don’t need to be coy, Roy; Just get yourself free.”). But if that is so, the opposite must also be true. It must be extremely hard to leave many lovers behind because you are forced to choose just one. For instance, I’m going to

Isaiah’s Beautiful Feet

Isaiah’s Beautiful Feet

It was a very formal Southern church in which there was no messing around. That also meant it was a very serious and uptight church where nothing unseemly was allowed—ever. And that is what makes this story so much fun. Stuart Briscoe was one of my heroes—a great pastor, a spectacular teacher, and a phenomenal communicator and, on top of all that, he had an outrageous sense of humor. On one formal occasion, he was speaking at the above serious church on a very uptight Sunday morning. More to the point, he was speaking about today’s verse (as it is quoted in Romans 15): “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” And to prove his point, he swung his leg up and plopped his foot on the very formal, serious pulpit so that the sole of his shoe was facing the very formal, proper congregation. A

Micah’s Masterpiece in Three Points

Micah’s Masterpiece in Three Points

There’s a famous story about President Calvin Coolidge. As he was coming out of church one Sunday, a reporter intercepted him and, hoping for a controversial soundbite, asked the president what the topic of the sermon had been. Coolidge, who was never one for being longwinded, replied, “Sin.” The reporter knew there was no story there, and so he asked a follow-up: “What did he say about it?” Coolidge replied, “He was agin’ it.” Now, I realize many people feel this story is apocryphal, but Coolidge was a master of brevity, and his summary of the sermon exudes an economy of expression which, in my book, is a vote for authenticity. After all, a good summary is hard to find. It’s not every day someone recaps Beauty and the Beast by saying “Stockholm syndrome works” or condenses Star Wars: Episode V by saying “talking frog convinces son to kill his

David’s Verse Is a Little Worse

David’s Verse Is a Little Worse

Henry Ford famously offered all his customers the opportunity to purchase a brand-new Model-T in any color they wanted “as long as that color was black.” Apparently, not every customer was pleased with their “multitude” of color options. I understand how they feel. I came into this project thinking that we could choose any seven verses in the Old Testament and that the goal was to choose ones that are theologically rich, emotionally satisfying, textually significant and spiritually meaningful. But here we are, choosing our fourth verse, and I am beginning to feel claustrophobic. Yes, I can choose any seven verses as long as there is one creation verse, one Abraham verse, one Moses verse, one David verse, one prophet verse and one Psalm verse. After that, pick any seven verses you want! Thank you, Mr. Ford. And, if you would be so kind, please hand over a good David

An Avalanche of Moses

An Avalanche of Moses

When we lived in Canada, there was a month where it snowed every day. Not tons every day, but snow every day. And not just a flake every day, but several inches every day. Every day. To make things worse, there was already a foot or more of snow on the ground when our month of snow began so that by the end of the month, we didn’t have any place to put the new snow. We were flinging new snow over our heads with shovels that were forced to function like lacrosse sticks. The snowbanks that lined our driveway were so high, we looked like we lived in a cave. And driving out of the driveway onto the street was always an adventure (blow your horn first and then go in faith). There was so much snow! And it was beautiful. Let’s face it, if you are going to

The Plan Has a Name

The Plan Has a Name

Here’s what I love about a heist movie. Yes, you have the pay off. So what? And sure, you have the actual heist. Big deal! And most of the time, you have some cause that motivates the whole adventure. Fine and dandy. But what you need is a great plan that requires thought and training to execute it because one false step and everything comes crashing down. In this case, you’re going to need cars and a map of the sewers and something has to be done about those traffic lights. And of course, you’re going to need a “drop zone” to get into the sewers. Show me the plan. Let’s practice the plan; and then, let’s work the plan. The result is that you have a heist movie that will steal my heart. And that is why I love Genesis 12. We’ve got a problem. We’ve got a plan,

Seven in One Blow

Seven in One Blow

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was Seven in One Blow, the story of a tailor who strikes at a swarm of flies who are interrupting his lunch. He kills seven of them. Impressed by his accomplishment, he sews the words, “Seven in One Blow,” on his shirt and then goes out to seek his fortune. However, everyone who reads his shirt believes he killed seven men. You could say that misreading changes their perception of him. As a result, he vanquishes the giants, saves the day, finds his fortune, and wins the girl. But you would think that anyone who could get seven in one blow would clean up appropriately. Today, we begin looking at Christopher J.H. Wright’s short introduction to the Old Testament which is aptly named, The Old Testament in Seven Sentences (IVP Academic, Downers Grove, IL, 2019). It’s a fun little book,