I wish I was a consistent blogger. In fact, I feel like many ideas and thoughts escape me to which I think..."I should blog more so I can remember all those neat thoughts or ideas". Of course, I don't blog those thoughts. But alas, I'm sitting here tonight re-reading some old posts and thought, well no better time than the present (as my Dad always says).
So I'm half way into my second semester here at Candler. I am learning quite a bit, but honestly I'm forgetting quite a bit too. It's kind of frustrating. We speed through so much so quickly that it seems impossible to remember it all.
Lately my favorite class has been Interpretation of the Old Testament with Dr. LeMon. He's a pretty great teacher, in fact he reminds me quite a bit of a Buckley. I'm sure if he met Jack or Alex, he'd feel right at home. We've been covering the Psalms and Prophets. Both carry such great depth. I've always valued understanding context to what I read in Scripture, and this class has really helped me understand the text better.
The idea of a prophet has grown to an increasing interest for me. The idea of a prophet in our modern culture seems to be equal to someone who can predict the future. Of course, that's not inaccurate, but it can be misleading. Future predicting was one aspect of the prophet, but really a prophet was one who communicated for God. That didn't always mean telling the future, and many times it meant calling out the Israelites/Monarchy for things they couldn't see. There are four different words used for a prophet: Chozeh (seer), ro'eh (diviner), 'ish ha'elhim (man of God), nabi' (prophet). All these words get translated to prophet in our bible. Chozeh and ro'eh are used pretty interchangeably as they both refer to someone that sees what others don't see (patterns, truth, warnings, etc). Man of God was very much a fringe human being that acted as the connection point between man and God. Think Elijah and Elisha. These men could do some very incredible things that were very God-like. Nabi', or prophet, was a word usually used in the northern kingdom of Israel and referred to someone that is calling or called.
As we studied many prophets (Hosea, Micah, Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Haggai) there was a common thread among these men. They spoke against the current of their time. Many of theme were focused on social justice. All of them were speaking on behalf of God. None of them were very well liked, particularly Jeremiah. In many (Malachi, Micah, Jeremiah) we see a voice that is telling the people that their actions in the streets aren't matching their worship in the temple. Malachi goes as far as to say that their worship is pointless if their action out of temple doesn't match up.
Many prophets were speaking into their current context. Their main point was to fix the here and now. It wasn't so much to be a someone that predicts the future, but told the truth from God's voice. Of course, God's word is much deeper than our understanding. Many words spoken by the prophets were words that ended up being predictive of Jesus Christ whether they knew it or not.
So what does this all mean? Well partially I'm just rambling, and partially I'm reminding myself to see the present as a place of prophetic imagination (coined from Walter Brueggman's book). Prophecy is not dead. God is always speaking for social change and correction. I love the way it was put recently... Jesus didn't turn things upside down, he turned them right side up. Prophecy is not overturning the world. It is seeking to make right order. It's turning things right side up.
So I'm half way into my second semester here at Candler. I am learning quite a bit, but honestly I'm forgetting quite a bit too. It's kind of frustrating. We speed through so much so quickly that it seems impossible to remember it all.
Lately my favorite class has been Interpretation of the Old Testament with Dr. LeMon. He's a pretty great teacher, in fact he reminds me quite a bit of a Buckley. I'm sure if he met Jack or Alex, he'd feel right at home. We've been covering the Psalms and Prophets. Both carry such great depth. I've always valued understanding context to what I read in Scripture, and this class has really helped me understand the text better.
The idea of a prophet has grown to an increasing interest for me. The idea of a prophet in our modern culture seems to be equal to someone who can predict the future. Of course, that's not inaccurate, but it can be misleading. Future predicting was one aspect of the prophet, but really a prophet was one who communicated for God. That didn't always mean telling the future, and many times it meant calling out the Israelites/Monarchy for things they couldn't see. There are four different words used for a prophet: Chozeh (seer), ro'eh (diviner), 'ish ha'elhim (man of God), nabi' (prophet). All these words get translated to prophet in our bible. Chozeh and ro'eh are used pretty interchangeably as they both refer to someone that sees what others don't see (patterns, truth, warnings, etc). Man of God was very much a fringe human being that acted as the connection point between man and God. Think Elijah and Elisha. These men could do some very incredible things that were very God-like. Nabi', or prophet, was a word usually used in the northern kingdom of Israel and referred to someone that is calling or called.
As we studied many prophets (Hosea, Micah, Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Haggai) there was a common thread among these men. They spoke against the current of their time. Many of theme were focused on social justice. All of them were speaking on behalf of God. None of them were very well liked, particularly Jeremiah. In many (Malachi, Micah, Jeremiah) we see a voice that is telling the people that their actions in the streets aren't matching their worship in the temple. Malachi goes as far as to say that their worship is pointless if their action out of temple doesn't match up.
Many prophets were speaking into their current context. Their main point was to fix the here and now. It wasn't so much to be a someone that predicts the future, but told the truth from God's voice. Of course, God's word is much deeper than our understanding. Many words spoken by the prophets were words that ended up being predictive of Jesus Christ whether they knew it or not.
So what does this all mean? Well partially I'm just rambling, and partially I'm reminding myself to see the present as a place of prophetic imagination (coined from Walter Brueggman's book). Prophecy is not dead. God is always speaking for social change and correction. I love the way it was put recently... Jesus didn't turn things upside down, he turned them right side up. Prophecy is not overturning the world. It is seeking to make right order. It's turning things right side up.
Jeremiah 20:9
But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Just want you to know that I'm reading these! I too need to post more :/ My mom seems to be my editor, she finds errors in my text. To that end in the 4th to last sentence in the last paragraph, 'the' should read 'he' I believe.
ReplyDeleteKeep posting.