Bully’s Blog

“and their faces were backwards so that they did not see their father’s nakedness” (Gen. 9:23)

James Jordan has some fascinating comments on Ham’s sin in Genesis 19:

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We know from the history of Noah that the rainbow was not a reminder to man of the Covenant but a reminder to God. [1] A subtle parallel is found in Numbers 16. After the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, Moses called for a censer showdown between Aaron and the false priests. The rebels were swallowed by the land, and, as usual, the false priests were consumed by the fire of the Lord. [2]

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Okay, so The Earth is Flat after all. The Atlar’s being a symbol of the mediatorial Land, (a priesthood between the heavenly sky and Gentile sea) is the key to a fair amount of weird stuff in the Bible. It also means that a lot of what goes on in the Torah is the key to understanding some later enigmatic events.

The Bronze Altar had a grate inside it to support the sacrifice. The ashes would fall through the holes in the grate and the smoke would rise as a pleasing aroma to God.

In Numbers 16, concerning the rebellion of Korah and his sons, after the “censer” showdown between them and Aaron, the ground opened up and swallowed their tents, all their belongings and their families. However, fire consumed the wannabe priests who were offering the “false” incense. Even the rebellion was divided according to the priestly divisions within Israel. Ashes and smoke. [1]

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or Daniel’s 70th Week Postponed

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”  Isaiah 9:2

A great deal of time has been spent on the chronology concerning Daniel’s seventy sevens. Quite frankly, chronology is not my strong point [1], but perhaps the solution for this enigmatic problem is not chronological but theological.

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or Worship-styles of the Bitter and Twisted

Under Rehoboam, Solomon’s kingdom became even more like Egypt. Solomon had imposed greater taxes upon his people than were appropriate, and his son Rehoboam took this to the extreme. So the Lord brought about a new Exodus, with Jeroboam as a kind of Moses. David felt guilty for cutting the corner off Saul’s robe — ie. grasping at Saul’s symbol of office — but to Jeroboam the prophet gave ten of the twelve pieces of his robe, the ten northern tribes.

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or Theonomy in the Bible

“…instead of Moses and Aaron challenging the powers that be, we have Herodian preachers crying “Peace, peace” when there is no peace. Nathan is not qualified to confront David because Nathan himself has been sleeping around.”

In his post Christianity as Comprehensive Cultural Tribunal?, timsmartt questions the validity of philosophy’s self-appointed role as an unbiased cultural referee and wonders whether Christianity should take that role:

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“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Non-dispensationalists are often accused of “Replacement Theology,” that is, the church replaced Israel. But we find in the Old Testament many examples of the same process prefiguring what the people of God went through in the first century. It is not replacement, but transformation. 

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A couple of brave readers of my book Totus Christus have pointed out an apparent discrepancy in my ordering of the above three roles. One kindly writes:

The only question of substance I have for you concerns the prophet, priest and king flow of OT history. It may be that you disagree with Jim, but he’s quite insistent that the proper order is priest, king, prophet. He discusses this in From Bread to Wine, p. 9-15. In any case, it might be helpful to explain why you deviate…

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Witness or Worship?

“…the political task of Christians is to be the church rather than to transform the world”–Stanley Hauerwas, Resident Aliens.

This presents a false dichotomy. When Gideon and David were faithful, God went ahead of them and defeated their enemies. Would it be fair to assume that Hauerwas is just saying that political activism is getting the cart before the horse? If so, then I agree with him. When the church is faithful, the blessings of God transform the world around her.

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Attack from the Abyss

As with most things in the Bible the pattern begins in Genesis.

Unlike the serpent’s warriors, who live by the sword, God’s warrior is a father-ruler who fights only to protect those in his care. Nimrod was a serpent-king—a dragon; Abram was a servant-king, God’s answer to Nimrod the ‘rebel’ (most likely Gilgamesh).

Satan’s attack on ‘the offspring of the woman’ through Pharaoh had failed, so he resorted to inciting a conspiracy of nations. The serpent became a dragon. But Abram (as a good Gilgamesh/Nimrod), along with the men of his household, defeated them, rescued Lot and his family, and very importantly, plundered the attackers. The darkest nights that God allows are always opportunities for more glory. And, this being HOLY war, Abram refused the ‘devoted’ plunder.

The next instance involves Amalek, who attacked Israel in the wilderness, and mercilessly picked off the stragglers. Once again, God’s man “came down” to fight - in Joshua, at Moses’ command - with Moses, Hur and Aaron as Ark and cherubim on the holy hill, the “garden gate”.

“The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Exodus 17:16)

This statement about Amalek is more loaded than it seems. Amalek was defeated, and the plunders from the victory were devoted to building God’s house in the wilderness. We will see this pattern again and again. Each time, deliverance for God’s people is on a greater scale, and the defeat more catastrophic for His enemies.