Marginal Christianity

The Book of the Twelve for Lent 2016 The Hesed [1] of God – Micah (2)             We met hesed earlier in Hosea and in other books since then. The vast majority of its uses in the Old Testament (246x) characterize God’s relationship to humanity. Most importantly, God uses it twice in his crucial self-definition in Exodus 34:6. So when God tells his people to love hesed he is commanding us to emulate him. And what he commands, God enables us to do. Every divine command is a divine promise turned inside out! Hesed’s etymology doesn’t help us understand it because of its uncertainty. But the Greek translation of the Old Testament takes it primarily as “mercy” but also “righteousness,” “grace,” “glory,” and “hope.” Parallel words to hesed in the Hebrew text mean “faithfulness,” “goodness,” “strength,” and “salvation.” Various English translations render it with “kindness,” “love,” “steadfast love,” “loyalty,” “favor,” “de...

Covenant, Temple, and Kingdom Chief among the “tools” God uses in the Old Testament to form a people through whom he may reveal himself to the world are Covenant, Temple, and Kingdom. Here’s the chart I presented in the first chapter tracing the fortunes of our three benchmarks of the biblical story. Covenant Kingdom Temple Abraham - ad hoc altar Moses Israel becomes a nation Tabernacle David United Kingdom under King David, Davidic successor promised, low point in exile Temple built by Solomon, destroyed by Babylonians New Covenant New kind of kingdom promised Temple rebuilt but not claimed by the glory of God               These benchmarks, as the chart shows are interrelated and mutually effect other through the course of Israel’s history while each retain its own impo...