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Fear is a Battleground

March 13, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

The Bible says a lot about fear. The book of Proverbs begins by asserting that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:9). We also read that “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe” (Prov 29:25). The Bible teaches plenty about fear in the New Testament as well (see Hebrews 13:6, Matthew 10:28).

These pillars of the fear of man and the fear of God are crucial to understand and identify. Yet the Bible often points to them from a distance, asking us to supply the details in our personal application. It’s more rare to study a passage where the granular temptations to fear are explicit.

We have such a passage in Nehemiah 6.

A Lure and a Lie

Nehemiah was leading the efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with other Jewish people who had returned from exile. Because God’s people were surrounded by hostile nations, the wall demanded attention and effort after the temple was completed (Ezra 6:15).

Nehemiah had to deal with enemies and disrupters—both when he arrived in the city (Neh 2:10,19-20) and when fending off later attacks (Neh 4:1-23). But Nehemiah 6 offers specifics about complex plots to harm or stop the governor and his work.

Two of Nehemiah’s opponents, Sanballat and Geshem, tried to lure Nehemiah far outside the city. They wanted the work on the wall to stop, and they likely intended to capture or kill Nehemiah (Neh 6:2). Nehemiah received four private letters before an open letter arrived. There we read of the threat to tell King Artaxerxes about a Jewish plan to rebel and Nehemiah’s intention to become king, allegedly backed by prophets declaring as much (Neh 6:6-7). All of this was a lie, crafted to provoke Nehemiah into traveling out of the city to protest.

Nehemiah knew what Sanballat and Geshem really wanted—they aimed “to frighten” Nehemiah and the other workers. They hoped this threat would halt construction on the wall (Neh 6:9).

Hide in the Temple

The second plot unfolded when Nehemiah went to the house of Shemaiah. Shemaiah warned Nehemiah about a plot to kill him and suggested they hide in the temple (Neh 6:10).

Nehemiah saw the implications. He understood that he would seem weak if he hid. He also knew this was not the purpose of the temple! Nehemiah realized that God had not sent Shemaiah; rather, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to prophesy (Neh 6:12). They were working, along with some other prophets, to make Nehemiah afraid (Neh 6:13,14).

Contrasting Fears

The threats to Nehemiah were not just from outside. Because of his connections by descent and by marriage, Tobiah had regular communication with the “nobles of Judah” (Neh 6:17,18). He exchanged letters with them and they reported Nehemiah’s words back to Tobiah. All of this was an effort to make Nehemiah afraid (Neh 6:19).

But another fear emerged. Despite numerous efforts to stop it, the wall around Jerusalem was completed (Neh 6:15). Here is the reaction.

And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:16)

These enemies attempted to frighten Nehemiah, but they were the ones who ended up afraid. The surrounding nations thought less of themselves and more of Yahweh because they knew he helped his people.

Specific Targets of Fear

This chapter records contrasting fears: the repeated attempts to make Nehemiah afraid, and the fear and awe that God inspires when he strengthens his own. We also read about the specific aims of fear, aims that are not often spelled out in Scripture.

Here’s an important interpretation question to lead us into application. How were Nehemiah’s enemies using fear against him? What specifically did they want him to be afraid of?

First, they wanted him to fear the loss of the king’s approval. If the king heard the dishonest account about Nehemiah, he might take action to stop the work on the wall or summon everyone back to Susa. Nehemiah was dependent on the favor of the king, and Sanballat and Geshem wanted him to be so afraid of losing this favor that he would meet them at the plain of Ono and, presumably, suffer capture or death.

Nehemiah’s enemies also wanted him to fear the threat of death. If Shemaiah convinced Nehemiah to hide in the temple, Nehemiah would look like a coward who was using a holy place for self-protection. Nehemiah knew what his enemies were up to: “For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me” (Neh 6:13). They wanted Nehemiah to sin, to gain a poor reputation among his people, and then to be open to ridicule. In the end, Nehemiah’s enemies were hoping to eliminate the work force behind him by painting him as an ungodly leader.

Gospel Answers

We can be tempted to unrighteous fears from many directions. Perhaps, like Nehemiah, you’ve been tempted to fear death—a very natural fear! Or maybe you’ve been afraid of disapproval from a boss, supervisor, or parent. You may be resistant or hesitant about something God has called you to because of one of these fears. For those who trust in Christ, the gospel addresses these fears.

While a courageous, God-honoring action on your part may bring criticism from those in authority over you, God is the ultimate authority and he has kings in his hands (Prov 21:1). Jesus ascended to heaven and sat down as a sign of this supreme control.

Further, while death is an enemy, Jesus defeated death in his resurrection. Our destination is the same as his.

God gave Nehemiah strength and wisdom to resist temptations to fear and to see through falsehoods. We can also take to heart Nehemiah’s example of prayer in the midst of temptation, hardship, and anger (Neh 6:9,14).

5 Misconceptions about Wealth

March 10, 2023 By Peter Krol

The book of Proverbs covers many topics and gets intensely practical. One of the topics on which Proverbs has quite a lot to say is wealth.

The struggle for many Christians is that our thinking about wealth is often shaped by influences outside the Bible. Sometimes we’re shaped by materialism. Sometimes we react against materialism in a way that seems spiritual but demonstrates the sort of asceticism labeled by New Testament authors as “irreverent, silly myths” (1 Tim 4:7) and the “teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1). And at other times, we simply allow rank fear and unbelief to lead us away from our hope in God and reception of his wisdom.

Here are five misconceptions about wealth that must go if we are to believe and receive the wisdom of God.

1. It will make all my problems go away

This is frankly the lie I am most tempted to believe. Am I earning enough? Am I saving enough? How will I cover the costs of a growing family with all this inflation? How will we pay for college or medical needs? What we really need is a generous benefactor or a sudden windfall. Because if we had more wealth, all our problems would disappear, right?

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death
Proverbs 11:4

According to the Bible, there is a problem we all have that is far greater than we imagine: our impending death. And God’s wrath against sin is real. My kids’ college tuition and my retirement package just can’t pay for such things. Only one thing can deliver us from death, or profit us in the day of wrath. Righteousness. And the entire Bible shows us how to get it (e.g. 2 Cor 5:21, Phil 3:8-11).

So wealth will never make your problems go away (see also Prov 11:28). But the amazing thing is that it just might help make other people’s problems go away. Wealth and people are both realities in this fallen world. But which one will serve, and which will be served? Use people to serve your wealth, and you’re in grave danger (James 5:1-6, 1 Tim 6:17). But use wealth to serve people, and the Lord himself says he is now in your debt (Prov 19:17, Matt 25:40).

2. I can tell who has it and who doesn’t

We tend to think we can tell the rich from the poor by looking. And this is great, because then we know whom to ask for favors (Prov 19:6). But appearances are deceiving.

One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
Proverbs 13:7

Those who appear to be rich often appear that way for a reason: They’re good at holding onto their stuff for themselves. And it would knock your socks off to find out which of your acquaintances are the most generous with their wealth. Because they are so generous, they tend to keep very little for themselves to flaunt.

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 11:24

I have been a support-raising missionary for nearly a quarter of a century, and I don’t know why I’m still surprised, but I am. Those whom I think could give generously to support the mission often do not. Sometimes, they look like they can because they have lots of stuff. Yet often, those whom I am afraid to ask—because they don’t look like they can afford it—are those who write checks in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

This is not an exact science. I am not saying that appearances are always the exact opposite of the truth. I’m simply saying that you can’t tell who has the most wealth just by looking at their lifestyle. Such judgment didn’t work on the Lord Jesus (2 Cor 8:9).

3. It is something I ought to feel guilty about

The Bible extends some serious warnings to the wealthy, since it is ridiculously easy to transfer my allegiance from God to my investment portfolio. Anyone who comes close to wealth ought to be sobered by it and wary of it. Wealth is something of a ticking time bomb or hot potato that will burn you if you hold onto it too long.

The problem, however, is that sometimes we take such truths and turn them into guilt trips. As though God wants people to be poor. As though it is unchristian to have access to wealth. As though one ought to be ashamed of themself if God has blessed them in material ways. But:

The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.
Proverbs 10:22

God does not promise to make every one of his children wealthy here on earth, but he does bless some with wealth. And he blesses a few of those with a lot of wealth. He doesn’t do it to make their lives easy or problem-free (see misconception #1 above), but he does do it. Often, it’s not simply a random gift, given for no reason. It may simply be the fruit of living a life of wisdom.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
Proverbs 15:6.

Some people have no wealth because they’ve devoured it for selfish ends (Prov 21:20). But when a person wisely sees their wealth as not “mine” but the Lord’s, there is a strong motivation to collect more of it and put it to good use in service of others. The Bible does not lay a guilt trip on such people, and neither should we. When a believer is faithful with a little responsibility, the Lord’s reward is to give them even more such responsibility (Matt 25:21, 23).

4. It doesn’t matter how I get it

This should be obvious in light of the prior misconceptions, but it’s worth saying outright: Though wealth is not a bad thing in itself, that doesn’t mean we’re right to acquire it by any means possible.

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 10:2

There’s that inconvenient reminder of death again! If you acquire your wealth through wickedness, it won’t be of any help when it matters most.

So don’t gather wealth through wickedness. But also, don’t gather it through haste (Prov 13:11) or stinginess (Prov 28:22). That’s right: Your lottery earning will neither last nor keep its promises to you. And the image of a miserly Christian is a scandalous contradiction.

Hard, honest work over the course of a lifetime is the best way to go (Prov 13:11, 21:5).

5. It doesn’t matter whether someone has it or not

Have you ever been tempted to just throw your hands in the air and give up? Financial matters can be stressful and disheartening. Why not conclude that it just doesn’t matter? Wouldn’t it be a more faith-filled and Spirit-filled way of living to say, “I don’t care about money or wealth. I’m just not going to pursue it or think about it. God knows what I need, so I’ll just let go of the issue and let him provide whatever I need when I need it.”

That may sound mature, but it may represent a failure to grasp the first 4 misconceptions! Wealth cannot make your problems go away, but it can effectively alleviate the problems of others. You can’t tell who has it and who doesn’t, because those who are wise make use of it to serve others. You don’t have to feel guilty about wealth if you will be as generous with it as God has been with you. And it does matter how you get it: Not by using people but in order to serve them.

We’re real people with with real bodies in a real world filled with real suffering. Wealth can dramatically affect the quality of someone’s life, and that is the very reason why the Bible cares so much about the poor! Not because it’s better to be poor, but because God gives his people wealth to relieve the poor.

God wants you to use wealth to make friends with the people around you so you can win them to Christ (Prov 14:20, Luke 16:8-9).

And the wise person does not demonstrate a lack of awareness or concern with wealth but a deep awareness of such things, as demonstrated by their prayer:

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:8-9

The prayer of the wise is neither a request to take wealth away nor a request to give all wealth to remove problems. No, the wise and righteous prayer is a prayer for plenty. A prayer for whatever God deems sufficient for his purpose.

And God’s purpose is clear: that we would love him with all our hearts, and love our neighbors as ourselves. So will you use people to serve your wealth, or will you use your wealth to serve people?

The Problem with Proverbs

March 3, 2023 By Peter Krol

What a unique treasure we have in the book of Proverbs! No other book of the Bible is as intensely practical as Proverbs. No other book presents such tremendous hope in the mundane parts of life. And no other book presents its material in quite the jumbled mess Proverbs appears to be.

If you have ever tried a chapter-a-day Bible reading plan, you understand how difficult it is to read Proverbs. Nearly every verse demands a pause for reflection. And much of the book yields only tenuous logical connections between one verse and the next. The book does not tell a story like Job. It rarely presents a train of thought across an extended poem like the Psalms. It (mostly) does not make a sustained argument like Ecclesiastes.

So how should we approach this book?

The Problem of Practicality

Proverbs is famous because it gets so wildly practical. There is a reason the pocket Bibles produced by the Gideons consist not only of the New Testament but also the Psalms and Proverbs. This book is so practical that people love to pilfer its riches in all kinds of ways.

Take for example, this 2006 work [unabashed affiliate link!] endorsed by such luminaries as David Jeremiah, Gary Chapman, Ruth Graham, and Chuck Norris. What a promising title! The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon’s Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness. Who wouldn’t want access to such secrets?

In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key for winning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turn enemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential to becoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personal life. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategies with anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as well as those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg.

At once inspiring and instructive, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived weaves the timeless truths of one of our greatest works of literature into a detailed roadmap for successful living today.
From the marketing copy

This sounds amazing, and the book has more than 1,600 reviews (over 1,300 of them five-star) to back it up.

Now I confess I haven’t read the entire book. I couldn’t make it past the first few chapters, where it was clear that Mr. Scott all but ignores the worldview of Prov 1-9 in favor of the practicals of Prov 10-31. And this simply will not do when we come to the book of Proverbs.

We cannot be dazzled by the book’s practicality to the point of ignoring the context established in the opening chapters.

The Problem of Arrangement

Proverbs 10-31 present six collections of wise sayings. Most of those collected sayings are exactly one verse (two lines) long. For example, Prov 20:3 is a saying about keeping aloof from strife. Prov 20:4 is a saying about the sluggard’s time management. And Prov 20:5 is a saying about the invisible intentions and motivations in people’s hearts. We go from one. Thing. To. The. Next.

The primary exception to this scattershot approach to collecting wise sayings is the first nine chapters. Those chapters consist of many long poems making sustained arguments. That’s why those first nine chapters are the key to understanding the book. They construct a conceptual framework for wisdom, although to say it that way is far too abstract and boring. The way Solomon himself says it is that “wisdom has built her house” (Prov 9:1).

With that house built, personified Wisdom invites you to the feast of chapters 10-31. And the buffet of those collected sayings will make sense only in light of the worldview presented in chapters 1-9.

But that raises a crucial question: How do we read and understand that buffet? And more profoundly: Why did the editors collect these sayings in such an apparently random fashion?

As for the why: We may never know for sure until we can make the acquaintance of these editors in the world to come and ask them directly. The best answer I’ve heard was from my seminary professor, who postulated that the book simulates how real life works. You never have a day of your life where you think about, or have to deal with, nothing but money. And another day dealing with nothing but friendship. And another day dealing with nothing but speech. No, our lives are a jumble of topics from moment to moment. Perhaps the proverbs were collected in a jumbled way to simulate how real life is lived day after day.

As for the how: Proverbs 10-31 nearly demands that we search its treasures for topical threads. We must glut ourselves on wisdom’s feast to find all the verses about money, assembling them into a body of teaching on that topic. And we look for all the verses on friendship. And all the verses on speech.

So much, so good. We just need to make sure we don’t run with the practicals there without first interpreting them in light of the book’s worldview.

The Problem of Probability

One last potential problem is worthy of consideration. Because the particular sayings of Proverbs are so utterly specific and practical, that has led many Bible teachers to develop a conventional wisdom that “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities.” While this conventional wisdom has some value, it can be quite misleading.

To understand why it is misleading, we need to examine how we arrived at such a principle to begin with. The reason is typically because various proverbs seem to contradict one another (such as Prov 26:4 and Prov 26:5), or because some verses are easily abused to browbeat people (Prov 22:6). So we seek to solve such errors with a sweeping principle such as “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities.”

But here’s the thing: The statement that “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities” is itself a wise saying. A summary statement. Dare I say, a proverb? And is that statement only a probability and not a certainty? Is it certain that proverbs aren’t promises? Or is it only a probability itself?

And here’s the bigger issue: The proverbs do not present themselves as probabilities. They do not talk about what might happen or what is likely to happen. No, they make legitimate observations about the way the world works. And at times, they offer clear commands and not simply suggestions (e.g. Prov 14:7, 23:23).

We can get close to solving the problem of probability when we simply bring in the matters of practicality and arrangement. The arrangement means that no single proverb tells the whole truth on a topic; that’s why many verses all speak to various aspects of the same topics! The practicality tells us that any single proverb is speaking to a very narrow, very particular situation. And in those intensely practical, extremely particular settings that the proverb speaks into, the proverb speaks truth. Not probability, but truth.

We misuse the proverb if we try to make it speak to a related but different practical situation it was not meant to speak to. (Prov 26:4-5: Don’t answer a fool in those particular settings when it is best not to answer him!) And we deeply confuse people if we teach that the proverb is not true but only likely. (Prov 18:10: Is it only likely but not certain that Lord’s name will be a strong tower to the righteous who flee to him for final refuge?)

Conclusion

No other book of the Bible is like Proverbs. It presents some unique problems, such as the problem of practicality, the problem of arrangement, and the problem of probability. But studying this book along its natural contours yields a wealth of results, as it leads us to Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3).

A List from Ezra Repeated in Nehemiah

February 27, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

A Bible reader making their way through the historical books of the Old Testament could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu after finishing Nehemiah, chapter 7.

If this describes you, the good news is, you’re not wrong! With a couple of exceptions[1], Nehemiah 7:6–73 is an exact copy of Ezra 2:1–70. While these passages are not the sort of fast-paced narrative that might captivate a modern reader, they are an accountant’s dream. These passages give a thorough list of the people who moved back to Jerusalem from Babylon during the reign of Cyrus. (See Ezra 1:1–11.)

Many Christians struggle to read a passage like this once. So why would it be in our Bibles twice?

The answer cannot be merely that Nehemiah found the scroll and wrote down what he read (Neh 7:5). Just a chapter later some Torah scrolls were read in public but were not copied into Nehemiah’s narrative. Something else is going on.

The current article is a case study of what Peter wrote about recently. When the Bible quotes or alludes to other parts of the Bible, we should take extra care to understand.

Ezra 2

The historical context of both passages is important. In Ezra 2, we have a list of the people “whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:5). God had put it in the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to send some of the captured Jewish people back to Jerusalem. The temple had been destroyed when Nebuchadnezzar’s army had leveled the city, and the people of God were now being charged (by a pagan king!) to rebuild what had been knocked down.

In the long list of chapter 2, the author took great care to list the people who returned by clans and families (Ezra 2:2–35). However, we also read of people specifically gifted and trained to help with the temple rebuilding efforts: the caravan back to Jerusalem included priests (Ezra 2:36–39), Levites (Ezra 2:40), singers (Ezra 2:41), sons of gatekeepers (Ezra 2:42), temple servants (Ezra 2:43–54), and sons of Solomon’s servants (Ezra 2:55–57).

What is the point of the list in Ezra 2? This thorough accounting shows that Cyrus really did let people leave for Jerusalem and that they were prepared for the work of rebuilding the house of the Lord and resuming temple worship. Much of the rest of Ezra recounts the success of those rebuilding efforts.

Nehemiah 7

By the time we get to Nehemiah 7, somewhere between 70-80 years have passed since that multitude hiked back to Jerusalem. Nehemiah is handing over the governorship of Jerusalem (Neh 7:2) after having successfully managed the rebuilding of the city wall (Neh 7:1).

But the work of reconstruction was not complete. The temple had been reopened and the wall was repaired and functioning, but the city itself was still a wreck. “The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt” (Neh 7:4). There was a third phase to the rebuilding efforts yet to come.

Then Nehemiah discovered the Ezra 2 scroll:

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it: (Neh 7:5)

If we wonder why the long passage was included twice, we can start here. Nehemiah calls this “the book of the genealogy.” The leaders would rebuild the city by tribe and clan, so the genealogical records of those who repopulated the city were vital.

This played out later in Nehemiah. As the leaders made efforts to repopulate the city of Jerusalem, they cast lots to relocate people from the surrounding area (Neh 11:1). But when the list of people who settled in Jerusalem is given in Nehemiah 11:3–24, it is organized in part by tribe.

One List, Two Purposes

Although Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are almost identical passages, the contexts show that the lists and enumerations were used for two different purposes. In Ezra, the list confirmed that Cyrus made good on his promise and that the returnees were ready to rebuild the temple. In Nehemiah, the list was recalled for genealogical purposes in an effort to rebuild and repopulate the city of Jerusalem.

There are several places in the Bible—like the tabernacle instructions and construction in Exodus—that seem repetitive, and we may wonder why God would preserve such passages for our benefit. Instead of viewing these passages with frustration or impatience, we can humbly ask God to teach us.

Often, these repetitions are instances of God’s people using his word in a faithful way. In addition to learning about each of the passages involved, we have examples for our instruction.

[1] These two passages are not exactly identical, and the small discrepancies have caused large stumbling blocks for some people. All of God’s word is important, including these differences, but that is not the focus of the present article.

Context Matters: God Tests Abraham

August 29, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard about the way God tested Abraham, that when a long-awaited son was born, God told Abraham to raise his knife. Maybe you’ve been taught from the Scriptures how much Abraham trusted God in that episode and you’ve been inspired to do the same.

Is Abraham’s faith the central theme of this well-known story? Should we come away from it trying hard to be more like this Old Testament patriarch? Are there any aspects of this story that point ahead to the gospel of Jesus?

Context matters. It’s impossible to understand that testing of Abraham without understanding the preceeding chapters in Genesis. When we learn to read the Bible as a whole instead of as a hastily-gathered photo album of Sunday school tales, we’ll see that some of our favorite stories have a deeper meaning than we’ve always assumed.

Abraham’s Only Son

Some Christians say that, aside from the coming of Jesus, the birth of Isaac is the most anticipated event in Scripture. It’s hard to argue!

From the first time that God called Abram he spoke of all the descendants he would eventually have (Genesis 12:2). This certainly required faith instead of sight, because Sarai was barren at the time.

After 25 years, Sarah finally conceived and Isaac was finally born (Genesis 21:1–3). Isaac was the son of the promise, the child through whom God would keep his covenant vows.

Imagine Abraham’s shock, then, when God commands him to “offer [Isaac] … as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2). But Abraham rises early and sets off with Isaac.

A quick observation of this passage (Genesis 22:1–19) reveals that the word “son” shows up 13 different times. And three times Isaac is called Abraham’s “only son” (Genesis 22:2, 12, 16). This may strike readers as odd, because Isaac is not Abraham’s only son! Ishmael was Abraham’s first son by Hagar (Genesis 16:1–4). Doesn’t he count?

Well, actually, no. He doesn’t count any more. Not for this purpose.

After God brought Abraham into covenant, Abraham struggled to believe that Sarah would eventually get pregnant. He begged God that Ishmael might be brought in for the purposes of God’s promises (Genesis 17:18). But God insisted that Abraham’s covenant line would be established through Sarah (Genesis 17:19, 21).

As long as Ishmael was around, Abraham might be tempted to think he had a good fall-back option if something happened to Isaac. So, while Abraham loved Ishmael deeply and God promised to bless him, Ishmael was sent away after Isaac was born (Genesis 21:8–14). Now, in terms of those living with Abraham, Isaac was truly Abraham’s “only son.”

So at the beginning of Genesis 22, Isaac is the one and only son in Abraham’s house. He is the promised son. This heightens and focuses the test for Abraham. How exactly can Abraham have millions of descendents through Isaac if he dies?

God’s Provision

On the way to the mountain, Isaac wonders where the animal sacrifice is, but Abraham is confident that God will provide (Genesis 22:7–8). Abraham is sure of much more than this—he knows that Isaac will come back down the mountain with him. He says as much to the young men that came on the trip (Genesis 22:5), and the author of Hebrews tells us that Abraham knew God was able to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17–19).

As Abraham is about to put his son to death, God stops him and provides a ram in his place (Genesis 22:13). God’s intervention and provision are so central to this episode that Abraham calls the place “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14)

Blessings Through the Obedient One

Many Christians have seen a picture of the gospel in Abraham and Isaac. A father was willing to put his cherished, only son to death. Some make the connection between Isaac and Christ because Jesus was also called “beloved” by his father (at both his baptism and transfiguration). Jesus is also referred to as the “only son” of God in the most quoted verse in all the Bible (John 3:16).

But we need to ask a question. Is this gospel connection a coincidence of language? Or does this passage make that case? We can gain a lot of clarity by reading to the end of the passage!

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time and repeated (and enlarged!) the covenant promises because of Abraham’s obedience (Genesis 22:16). And note the specific promises that are highlighted: Abraham will be blessed, his offspring will be multiplied, they will possess the gates of their enemies, and in Abraham’s offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 22:17–18). And, in case we missed it the first time, we are reminded that this came about because of Abraham’s obedience (Genesis 22:18).

In other words, because of one man’s obedience to God, the nations of the earth will be blessed. Now there’s a gospel connection!

I’m not claiming that a passage must have just a single arrow that points ahead to Jesus and his gospel. But when we only look at the angle of a substitute or the death of an only son, we might miss the main thrust of the passage.

God puts this man through a terrible test. By God’s grace, he passes. God provides a substitute. And the man’s obedience means untold riches for the world. This story might be better than we ever thought!

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Ephesians: Uniting All Things in Christ, Part 2

August 26, 2022 By Peter Krol

The first half of Ephesians lays out God’s plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10). Paul’s doctrine of unity can be summarized in the shape of a capital “I” (in a font with bars across top and bottom). The top horizontal bar represents the unity God has with himself, among the persons of the Trinity. The vertical bar represents the unity between God and his people, brought about by grace through faith. The bottom horizontal bar represents the unity among God’s people that ought to result.

Having followed Paul’s argument in Ephesians 1-3 in the previous post, let’s now walk through Paul’s application of the doctrine of unity within the life of the church.

Diversity Shouldn’t Divide the Church

Paul transitions to application with the urging to walk in a manner worthy of the calling described in the first three chapters (Eph 4:1). And what exactly is a manner of life worthy of the call to unity, in light of God’s plan to unite all things in Christ? It requires humble, gentle, and patient forbearance toward fellow church members (Eph 4:2). Such character arises only from an eager commitment to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).

Paul roots the unity of the church, explicitly, to the unity of the Trinity (Eph 4:4-6), which includes a victorious Christ ascending to take his throne while dishing out good gifts to his people. Psalm 68, quoted in Eph 4:8, likens the ascension of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem to the arrival of God’s glory-cloud on Sinai. And Paul capitalizes on the image to explain how Jesus, the true ark, has entered heaven, the true sanctuary. This king cares enough about the unity of his body that he provides the church with leaders tasked with equipping members to serve one another—all so the community can grow together to maturity, according to the image of Jesus himself (Eph 4:9-14). That theological truth plays out in real life as people speak the truth to one another with love and build up one another in love (Eph 4:15-16).

In short, Eph 4:1-16 teaches that every church member is not required to be the same thing, do the same thing, or think the same thing. It assumes that there are differences among people, requiring patience and loving speech toward one another. In other words, diversity shouldn’t divide the church. But sadly, it often does, so the rest of the letter tells us what to do about that. We must give attention to four key areas, each marked with a renewed exhortation to walk (or, in the last case, to stand — Eph 4:17, 5:1, 5:15, 6:10-13).

Four Areas With Potential for Divisive Behaviors

The first area that requires attention in pursuit of unity is purity (Eph 4:17-32). However, notice that the chief problem of impurity is that it makes people like those who are alienated from—not unified with—God (Eph 4:18). The opposite of building up others in love is to serve oneself in sensuality and greed (Eph 4:19). This is not how you learned Christ! (Eph 4:20). A pure life according to the truth in Jesus requires each church member to do three things with their divisive behaviors:

Put off the old self, with its divisive and selfish desires (Eph 4:22).
Get a new way of thinking about how the calling to unity ought to drive your behavior (Eph 4:23).
Put on the new self, which is like God—fully unified with himself and with his body (Eph 4:24).

Paul gives four case studies to show practically how the three-step change process works. The first (Eph 4:25) is about overcoming the divisive power of lies: put off falsehood, start thinking about yourself and other Christians as fellow members of one another, and put on the speaking of truth. The second: Put off sinful anger, recognize it as an opportunity for the devil to rip relationships apart, and put on godly indignation (Eph 4:26-27). Theft (Eph 4:28) and rotten speech (Eph 4:29) round out the case studies, along with a concluding summary of the process (Eph 4:30-32).

Second, Paul highlights the role of love in the pursuit of unity (Eph 5:1-14). He introduced the topic in Eph 4:15-16, but he expands on it in Eph 5:1-14. Such love draws its power and motivation from the love of Christ for his people (Eph 5:1-2). The challenging work of love requires an extensive putting off (Eph 5:3-4), mind renewal (Eph 5:5-6), and putting on (Eph 5:7-14). The walk of love is a walk that will occupy us for the rest of our lives, and will take every bit of attention we can give to it. Since the Lord Jesus gave himself for us, it is worth it to give all we have to develop love in this walk with one another.

Third, Paul turns to the need for wisdom in the application of unity (Eph 5:15-6:9). Wisdom catalyzes unity by recognizing the times (Eph 5:16), knowing God’s will (Eph 5:17), and seeking the Spirit’s filling (Eph 5:18). The marks of those filled with God’s unifying Spirit include Scripture-filled speech (Eph 4:19a), song-filled thought-lives (Eph 4:19b), thanksgiving-filled attitudes toward everything (Eph 4:20), and reverence-filled submission within hierarchical relationships (Eph 4:21).

Submission is both complex and so easy to get wrong; frequently, we obey the wrong authorities, and we rebel against the right authorities. All such behaviors are divisive within the body of Christ, so Paul expands on this demonstration of Spirit-filling (submission) by exploring three pairs of hierarchical human relationships: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33), children and fathers (Eph 6:1-4), and slaves and masters (Eph 6:5-9). In each pair, Paul showcases the vertical unity between believers and God as both model and motivation for the horizontal unity among human relationships.

The fourth and final area that requires particular attention when pursuing unity in the church is that of spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-20). As I’ve written elsewhere, we are in great danger of getting this text wrong when we read it in isolation from the argument Paul has been making all through the letter. True and lasting unity is one of the most difficult tasks facing the church of Jesus Christ. Look around, and it’s not difficult to find abundant examples of the evil one’s flaming darts (Eph 6:16) leveraging the opportunity granted him by our sinful anger toward one another (Eph 4:26-27), seeking to retain his dominion as the great power of the air (Eph 2:2). God called Paul to proclaim the astounding unity of people from all nations who believe, right in the face of the spiritual authorities in the heavenly places (Eph 3:8-10). Because they’re not pleased with this plan, they do all they can to break up that unity. Therefore, our fight for unity is never against one another within the church. It is always against those spiritual forces seeking to turn us against one another (Eph 6:12). And we cannot win unless we are strengthened by the Lord (Eph 6:10) by means of taking up his own armor (Eph 6:14-20).

Closing Greeting

Paul closes the letter with a reminder of his desire for unity with the letter’s recipients. This desire has led him to send Tychicus as his agent to share all the news and encourage their hearts. Finally, Paul wishes for peace in the church and grace toward all who love the Lord Jesus.

Conclusion

Because the unified God has united believers to himself, the church ought now walk worthy of its calling by pursuing a full-orbed unity. This unity does not require uniformity, but it presumes a diversity of opinions, personalities, social roles, and people groups. Because diversity naturally produces friction, the church ought to give particular attention to humble and patient purity, love, wisdom, and spiritual warfare in its pursuit of unity. This is the sort of walk worthy of the calling of the one God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit.

Interpretive Outline

Grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The unity to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
- Praise to a unified and unifying God – Eph 1:3-14
  - Prayer for eyes to see what that God is doing – Eph 1:15-23
    - The gift of grace that unifies people with God – Eph 2:1-10
      - The unity of the new humanity in the peace of Christ – Eph 2:11-22
    - The gift of grace that revealed and now preaches the unity of people with God and with each other – Eph 3:1-13
  - Prayer for supernatural strength to comprehend such divine, unifying love – Eph 3:14-19
- Praise to an astonishing God who empowers unity in ways we could never imagine – Eph 3:20-21
Application: Walk in a manner worthy of this calling to unity – Eph 4:1-6:20
- Diversity shouldn’t divide – Eph 4:1-16
- Areas to address when diversity threatens to divide – Eph 4:17-6:20
  1. Purity – Eph 4:17-32
  2. Love – Eph 5:1-13
  3. Wisdom – Eph 5:14-6:9
  4. Spiritual warfare – Eph 6:10-20
Final greeting of peace, love, and grace – Eph 6:21-24

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Ephesians: Uniting All Things in Christ, Part 1

August 19, 2022 By Peter Krol

The blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation by grace through faith. Knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Speaking the truth in love. Putting off the old self. Walking in love. Making best use of the time. Loving wives as Christ loved the church. The whole armor of God.

Despite its brevity, the letter of Ephesians has a remarkably high concentration of beloved verses and memorable sayings. But how do they all fit together? What is Paul’s chief argument in this theological masterpiece?

Literary Markers

Ephesians marks its main sections through logical connector phrases and major shifts in topic. As with many of Paul’s letters, a salutation (Eph 1:1-2) and benediction (Eph 6:21-24) bookend doctrine (Eph 1:3-3:21) and application (Eph 4:1-6:20).

Paul begins to transition from doctrine to application in Eph 3:1, but breaks off mid-sentence to discuss the gracious nature of his ministry. He completes the transition in Eph 4:1, which labels the two main sections of the letter as “the calling to which you have been called” and “the urging to walk in a manner worthy of that calling.”

Greeting of grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The calling to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
Application: Walk in a manner worthy of this calling – Eph 4:1-6:20
Final greeting of peace, love, and grace – Eph 6:21-24

Part 1 Walkthrough

The apostle of Christ is so by the will of God, and the saints in Christ are so through faith. There is much harmony between the will of God and the people of God in this opening. In addition, “grace” and “peace” become more than a simple greeting in this letter, as both words play major roles in the rest of the letter.

Part 2 Walkthrough

Paul begins with an extended doxology (word of praise) to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3-14). Why is this God blessed? Because the Father is a God who blesses, by choosing in Christ and predestining through Christ, according to grace (Eph 1:3-6). Christ the Beloved is both redemption and inheritance of grace for those who hope in him (Eph 1:7-12). And the Holy Spirit seals and guarantees the inheritance, that is Christ, for believers who will one day possess him fully. In short, Paul blesses the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each person working in perfect harmony with the others to accomplish the plan he set for the fullness of time—that toward which all history is moving—”to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). Since verse 10 tells us what these tremendous blessings are all for, we must not miss its crucial role as a thesis statement for the letter.

Paul’s first prayer, then, is for God to grant his readers to know him (Eph 1:17), which requires heart-perception of his hopeful calling, his rich inheritance, and his great power (Eph 1:18-19). This very power overturned death and reunited heaven and earth in the person of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:20-23). Therefore, in Jesus Christ, the church on earth now has an unimpeachable head of state. All things are now poised to be united in him—but we desperately need God to answer the prayer that we might see with our hearts that it is so.

Next Paul discusses the glorious transfer from death to life, from earth to heaven, undergone not only by Jesus himself (Eph 1:20-23) but also by all who trust him (Eph 2:1-10). So uniting all things to Christ requires the overturning-of-death and the reunion-of-heaven-and-earth to become the experience of all of Christ’s body, not solely that of the head. What a gift (Eph 2:8)! And that gift comes with expectations of good works, prepared for us well in advance (Eph 2:10).

If all things will be united in Christ, the process must begin in the church, where people of all nationalities are being remade into a single new humanity by faith (Eph 2:11-22). Jesus, who preached peace to those near and far, is himself our peace. All are now fellow citizens and members of the family. All are part of his new temple. We have access to the Spirit, so true unity in Christ is not only possible but expected.

This causes Paul to reflect on the gift of grace given to him, not only in his redemption but in his apostleship (Eph 3:1-13). Grace was given to reveal that Gentiles are now fellow heirs (Eph 3:1-6). And grace was given to preach this eternal purpose—and thereby to offer bold access to people from all nations—in full view of the spiritual powers of heaven (Eph 3:7-13).

And such reflection on the grace of Paul’s apostleship leads him into his second prayer (Eph 3:14-19) and doxology (Eph 3:20-21). He knows better than his readers—who otherwise wouldn’t even know to ask—that they’ll require supernatural strength to comprehend that which would otherwise be incomprehensible: the unifying love of Christ for his church.

First Half Conclusion—The Church’s Calling

The God who is fully unified with himself has a glorious plan for the future: to imprint his unity on the rest of the universe by graciously uniting all of heaven and earth under one head, Jesus Christ. To get there, he first unites a new humanity with himself through faith in Christ. And that new humanity is now called to live in unity with itself in Christ. In other words, the church’s calling is to walk in true unity. The power for that unity originates from the unity the church already has with the fully unified Trinity. And that present unity anticipates the coming unity of all heaven and earth in Christ.

To violate the church’s unity, therefore, is to tell lies about who God is and what he is doing in the cosmos. Disunity in the church—which is disobedience to the church’s calling—is a path to surrender to the course of this world, to the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), and to his demonic authorities in the heavenly places, who want nothing more than to thwart the manifold wisdom of God to unite all things in Christ (Eph 3:9-10).

I’ll save for next week’s post the letter’s second half, which provides the practical instruction for how the church can walk in a manner worthy of this calling to unity.

Interpretive Outline

Grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The unity to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
- Praise to a unified and unifying God – Eph 1:3-14
  - Prayer for eyes to see what that God is doing – Eph 1:15-23
    - The gift of grace that unifies people with God – Eph 2:1-10
      - The unity of the new humanity in the peace of Christ – Eph 2:11-22
    - The gift of grace that revealed and now preaches the unity of people with God and with each other – Eph 3:1-13
  - Prayer for supernatural strength to comprehend such divine, unifying love – Eph 3:14-19
- Praise to an astonishing God who empowers unity in ways we could never imagine – Eph 3:20-21

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Context Matters: The Whole Armor of God

August 12, 2022 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Christian’s armor that must be worn to serve God faithfully. The key passage in Ephesians 6 is famous enough that you may have even handed out coloring pages to children (or colored a few yourself in days gone by). This passage is worthy of its fame among Bible students and Sunday school programs. But what is real point of it? To what end does the apostle employ his extended metaphor in light of his argument in the letter to the Ephesians?

Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not simply as a collection of vibrant metaphors for vague spiritual truths—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages may have far more usefulness than we’d previously assumed.

Immediate Context

When Paul instructs his readers to “put on” (Eph 6:11) and “take up” (Eph 6:13) the whole armor of God, he does this to elaborate on his chief command: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph 6:10). That first overarching command governs the paragraph and ought to guide our understanding of the armor.

But what does it mean to be strong in the Lord and in his might? Does it mean we need to do more spiritual pushups and sit ups to increase our godly muscle mass and stay in shape for some sort of invisible battle?

Most commentaries will quickly reveal that the Greek verb translated as “be strong” is in the passive voice. That means it is not primarily something we do but something that is done to us. The CSB makes the passive voice more evident by translating it as “be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength” (Eph 6:10, CSB). Interestingly, Paul uses the same syntax in 2 Tim 2:1, and the ESV translators chose to keep the passive voice explicit in that verse: “You, therefore, my son, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

The point is simply this: Paul’s instructions to put on and take up the whole armor of God explains, or fleshes out, what it looks like for the Christian to become strong by receiving God’s own strength. By putting on God’s own armor. And Paul did not invent this idea of God’s strength, God’s armor, because Paul knows his Bible.

Biblical Context

While Paul’s language draws in part on the vocabulary of the Roman military (after all, he likely dictated this letter while chained to one such soldier – Eph 6:20), he synthesizes the Roman imagery with that of the prophet Isaiah.

Observe Isaiah 59:17, speaking of what God does when he perceives both injustice and a lack of heroes to help:

He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.

And observe Isaiah 11:5 and Isaiah 49:2, speaking of God’s Chosen One (the Messiah) who will serve him by ushering in an age of peace:

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins…

He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.

So when Paul instructs his readers to put on and take up the whole armor of God, he speaks not of armor one wears only in honor of God. He speaks of borrowing God’s own armor, having been tailored to fit the Messiah, and now also on loan to all who follow him. “Be strengthened by the Lord and by the strength of his might.” But why do Christians require such strength? What sort of battles should they expect to face, battles that cannot be won without the empowerment of him whose mighty strength is far above all rule and authority and every name that is named (Eph 1:19-21)?

Larger Context

I believe the main idea of Ephesians is best summed up in the words of Ephesians 1:10. What is God’s plan from before the foundation of the world, for the fullness of time? “To unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.” This letter is a letter for unity.

Paul’s framework for unity begins with the foundation of God’s unity within himself, among the persons of the Trinity, who work together in perfect harmony to execute this plan for the ages (Eph 1:3-14, 4:4-6). The Lord, our God, the Lord is one (Deut 6:4). And that one God consists of one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph 4:4-6).

The unity of all things then proceeds to encompass a cosmic unity between this one God and his people (Eph 2:1-10). God raised his son from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places (Eph 1:20). So also those who are “in Christ Jesus” have been raised with him and seated with him in those same heavenly places (Eph 2:5-6). Because none of this is granted as payment for works, but is only a gift of grace, it is available to all who simply believe (Eph 2:4-5, 8-9).

But that’s not all. God is one with himself. God is also one with his people. By implication, then, it must also be true that his people are to be one with each other. This is why the church of Jesus Christ is made up of not only Jews but also Gentiles from all nations (Eph 2:11-22). The great mystery has now been revealed through special revelation to Paul, that Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body as Jews (Eph 3:1-6). Paul’s ministry is a gift of God’s grace to make this Jew/Gentile unity take place, in full sight of all the spiritual forces and powers of the universe (Eph 3:7-13).

For this reason, it requires supernatural strength from God to even fathom the depth of this uniting love of Christ (Eph 3:14-21). And it is of great importance that particular local churches now walk in the very unity to which they’ve been called (Eph 4:1-6:9). To highlight just one moment in the argument: Anger toward others is a particularly effective disunifier. We must give it special attention, lest we give the devil an opportunity to rip apart the unity God seeks to build in his church (Eph 4:26-27).

I won’t walk through all of chapters 4 through 6, but suffice it to say that Paul concludes his practical application with three pairs of hierarchical human relationships where unity is often rare to find and comes at a premium: Wives and husbands, children and fathers, slaves and masters (Eph 5:22-6:9).

Conclusion

So in the argument of Ephesians (with reference to Isaiah), what is the chief spiritual battle for which the church of Jesus Christ requires supernatural strength and God-granted armor? It is the fight to maintain unity among God’s people, of all nations and flavors (Eph 4:1-3). To maintain the unity that ought to flow from their inseparable unity with God, and from God’s own unity within himself. The very unity that threatens the dominion of darkness in the heavenly places.

Because the devil employs the full weight of his resources to disrupt the unity of the church, it is of chief importance that we recognize who our real enemy is. It is never the fellow church member who disagrees with you, annoys you, or offends you (Eph 6:12). The real enemy can be defeated only with the unifying strength of God through Christ. Real unity will therefore require truth, righteousness, and a readiness to preach peace (Eph 6:14-15). Real unity will not be maintained without faith, salvation, Scripture, or prayer (Eph 6:16-20).

Next time you get in a fight with a brother or sister in Christ—perhaps even within your own household—please let the whole armor of God strengthen you to the ends of peace and victory over the devil’s divisive schemes.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, such as the widow’s mite, the love chapter, and all things work together for good, click here.

When the Same Sin Comes ’round Again

August 1, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

You’ll be forgiven if, when reading Genesis 20, you get a strong sense of déjà vu. If the two incidents didn’t happen in different locations, we might think a Hebrew scribe lost his place and picked up earlier in the same scroll.

In Genesis 20:2, when entering a new country, Abraham said that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. Earlier, in Genesis 12:19, when entering a new country, Abram said that Sarai was his sister instead of his wife. Putting the name change aside, aren’t these two events essentially the same? What could the original author have intended for his readers by including these twin episodes?

Striking Similarities

Let’s polish off our observ a tion skills and note many of the similarities between Genesis 12:10–20 and Genesis 20:1–18. (I’ll refer to Abraham and Sarah in both passages.)

Both situations happened when Abraham was “sojourning” in a land to the “south” (Genesis 12:10; 20:1).
Both situations involved a king (Pharaoh, Abimelech) “taking” Sarah for his wife after being told she was Abraham’s sister (Genesis 12:15; 20:2).
Abraham gained great material blessing from both kings (Genesis 12:16; 20:14).
The king and his household suffered because of Abraham’s lies (Genesis 12:17; 20:18).
Both kings confronted Abraham about his deceit (Genesis 12:18–19; 20:9–10).
Abraham was afraid of dying in both places (Genesis 12:12–13; 20:11).

With proper time and space, we could list even more parallels between these passages, but this will do for now. There are a lot of similarities!

Noticeable Differences

Of course, these episodes are different, and it may be some of these differences that help us understand the author’s main point.

The passage in Genesis 20 is much longer, including more interaction between Abraham and the king. (In Genesis 12, Pharaoh speaks to Abram but no response is recorded.)
Abraham’s rationale about calling Sarah his sister comes at the beginning of the passage in Genesis 12 but near the end of the passage in Genesis 20. In fact, in Genesis 20:13, it sounds like Abraham had been insisting Sarah go along with this deception for quite a while.
God speaks with Abimelech at some length in Genesis 20:3–7, resulting in Abimelech rebuking Abraham. We don’t have evidence that God spoke to Pharaoh.
Sarah’s beauty was mentioned twice in Genesis 12 (Gen 12:11; 12:14) but not at all in Genesis 20. (Sarah was around 25 years older in Genesis 20.)
At the end of the passage, Pharaoh sent Abraham away, but Abimelech invited Abraham to live anywhere in the land he wanted (Genesis 12:20; 20:15).
We are not told the nature of the “great plagues” with which God afflicted Pharaoh and his house (Genesis 12:17). However, we know that God “closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech” (Genesis 20:18).
Abraham prays for healing for Abimelech and his house (Genesis 20:17). We’re not told if or how the plagues ceased in Egypt.

Again, we could go on. Despite all the similarities between these passages, the differences are striking. The episode in Genesis 20 is more extended and more personal than the one in Genesis 12—Abraham is rebuked at greater length, his explanation is drawn out publicly, and his role as a prophet for Abimelech is turned on its head. Finally, Abraham is forced to pray for an end to barrenness in Abimelech’s house, which is the same exact thing he has likely been praying for his own house for 25 years!

Why is This Passage Here?

Both of these passages demonstrate Abraham’s failure to trust the Lord. God had promised a son for him through Sarah, which would be impossible if he were to die! Abraham put Sarah in great danger on multiple occasions because he thought God might need “help” (in the form of deception!) to keep him safe.

So why do we have Genesis 20 in our Bibles?

Abraham’s missteps were not limited to these two incidents. Though he is hailed as a man of faith (Hebrews 11:8–10; 17–19), he struggled to believe how God would provide an heir for him (Genesis 15:1–4). He went along with Sarai’s plan to give her servant Hagar to him as a wife (Genesis 16:1–6).

When we remind readers that context matters on this blog, we mean that the whole context of a passage is important. We often notice what comes before a passage, but what comes after is also important. Considering context means that we try to understand how a passage fits in with the larger story or argument of a book.

Genesis 20 shows us that Abraham failed in the same way repeatedly. Yet, despite these repeated failures, God still kept his promises. As the first audience for this book was likely the Israelites coming out of Egypt after the Exodus—Israelites who failed in the same way repeatedly and needed to trust God to keep his promises to take them safely into Canaan—this was a relevant lesson!

God was also preparing Abraham for an even greater test in Genesis 22. God dealt with Abraham gently and faithfully, never leaving this man to whom he made covenant promises. Knowing the Abraham of Genesis 12, Genesis 16, and Genesis 20, the unflinching confidence we see on display in Genesis 22:1–19 is surprising. But perhaps this confidence is built through steadfast love in response to failure, through faith the size of a mustard seed, and through seeing God keep his promises.

Context Matters: My Cross to Bear

April 25, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard people talk about the crosses they bear. They might mention chronic pain, their role as a long-term caregiver, or trauma they’ve suffered at the hand of another. Your friend might carry a heavy burden, but if they believe that God is in control, they may affirm his call to follow Jesus with this weight on their back. “That’s just my cross to bear!”

For Christians, the cross brings to mind specific events and theological realities. Does the Bible speak about followers of Jesus also bearing a cross? Does it describe that cross-bearing in this way we commonly hear it?

Context matters. Many words and phrases may sound religious, but we should take care in our speech. When we learn to read the Bible carefully—and not just as a grab bag of holy words—we’ll find that God’s call on our lives is more comprehensive than we may have assumed.

Not in Scripture

Let’s dispense with one question up front. Referring to an acute challenge as a “cross to bear” is not in the Bible. God tells us a lot about suffering and burdens, but we don’t find this specific phrase in Scripture.

By itself, that doesn’t mean this saying should be discarded. The phrase “in the world but not of the world” is nowhere in Scripture, but it captures some important truths in a helpful way. Perhaps the same could be true of “my cross to bear.”

The closest we come to this phrase in Scripture is a sentence in Luke.

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25–27)

Let’s consider this passage in its context in Luke.

Discipleship in Luke

As Peter has pointed out, Jesus starts to head toward Jerusalem in Luke 9:51. Until he arrives, Jesus talks about the nature of his kingdom and, by extension, the nature of discipleship.

Jesus teaches about the cost of following him (Luke 9:57–62). The 72 disciples are sent out and they return (Luke 10:1–20). He teaches his disciples how to pray (Luke 11:1–13) and about the folly of anxiety (Luke 12:22–34). He uses parables and metaphors to teach about God’s kingdom (Luke 13:18–30).

In the immediate context of Luke 14:27, Jesus is speaking about the cost of following him. Specifically, he mentions three requirements—anyone who neglects these cannot be his disciple.

Disciples must, having come to him, hate their family and their own life (Luke 14:26).
Disciples must bear their own cross and come after him (Luke 14:27).
Disciples must renounce all that they have (Luke 14:33).

In the midst of these requirements are two stories about the need to count the cost (a landowner building a tower, a king engaging in battle). Disciples of Jesus must know what they are getting into.

Jesus has used the language of the cross before.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23–24)

The cross was a Roman instrument of torture and execution, so Jesus did not invoke it lightly. Those who heard would have known exactly what Jesus meant when he brought up a cross.

Jesus called his disciples to hand their lives over to him. To save their lives, they were to lose their lives for his sake. They were to renounce everything, including their closest family members.

Both Good and Bad

There may be a good intention behind the phrase “my cross to bear.” A person might be striving to be faithful in the midst of God’s difficult providence. If they know this responsibility is part of God’s calling on their life and they’ve handed their lives over to God, they embrace this burden as a disciple.

And yet, using this phrase could have the effect of compartmentalizing Jesus’s call. Referring to a particular aspect of one’s life as a cross to bear may soften the blow of Jesus’s expectation that in every aspect of our lives we are to bear our cross and follow him. We do not just give up our comfort, time, or opportunities—we are to renounce everything.

This call from Jesus is heavy, but we must not forget it is also joyful. We only need to turn the page in Luke to see the celebration we are welcomed to as repentant sinners following King Jesus (Luke 15:1–32). Jesus calls us to bear our cross, but that is not any one particular duty or condition. Bearing our cross means giving control of everything—family, possessions, vocation, life—over to our wise Master.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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