God’s Character in the Feast of the Tabernacles

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christianity, Feast of the Tabernacles, Jesus, Sukkot, The Feasts

The Lord set aside seven feasts in the Old Testament for the Jews to celebrate annually. They relate to the deliverance of Hebrews from slavery in Egypt with the theme of redemption running through them. 

Additionally, the feasts serve as a memorial to celebrate a life of freedom and abundance in the Promised Land. They also foreshadow more to come with Christ as the substance (Col. 2:16-17). In all, they reflect God’s calendar from Creation to New Creation.

Of the seven feasts, God memorialized three as great feasts: Passover or Unleavened Bread (Pesah), Weeks or Harvest (Shavuot), and Tabernacles or Booths (Sukkot). The Lord revealed these great feasts first in Ex 23:14-17.

Of these three, this writing will focus on the Feast of the Tabernacles. Scripture progressively called the Feast by four names: Ingathering (Ex 23:16), Booths (Lv 23:40), the Feast (1 Kgs 8:2, 5; Nm 29:12; Neh 8:14; Is 30:29; and Ez 45:25), and Time or Season of Rejoicing (Dt 16:14-15). What did Scripture reveal about God in the Feast of the Tabernacle? Scripture associates many names with this feast. In turn, each name uncovers God’s character.

What’s in a Name? 

Feast of Ingathering (Ex 23:14-17)

Let’s set the scene for the first name, the Feast of the Ingathering (Heb: Hag Ha-Asif), in Ex 23:16. When the Lord first commanded the Hebrews to celebrate the feast, they had arrived at Mount Sinai in the third month following their exodus from Egypt (Ex 19:1).  

God did not convey all seven feasts simultaneously, rather the three great feasts to Moses. The announcing of the feasts occurred when the Lord gave Moses ten commandments on Mt. Sinai and just before making the Mosaic Covenant with the Hebrews (Ex 24:7-8)

What led to God commanding the three feasts? Well, the Hebrews had been disobedient to Him. Between their journey from Egypt to Sinai, He gave them four tests to show their obedience and faith. They complained as they faced each test: brought them to die at the Red Sea (Ex 14:10-12,31), lack of drinkable water at Marah (15:23-26), lack of food in the Wilderness of Sin (16:1-12), and no water in Rephidim (17:1-7). The Hebrews failed every test because of their transgressions of fear and lack of faith. God had to bring order to and redirect their disobedience. He gave instruction through Moses with the ten commandments, laws, and exhortations. Then, the Lord followed with three great feasts. He included a command in Ex 23:13 that wrapped the laws and exhortations in a bow and set the stage for worship. Catch this verse because it pivots between the commandments, laws, and exhortations AND the feasts. He instructed the Hebrews to “be on guard concerning all that I have told you. Make no mention of the names of other gods; they shall not be heard on your lips.” This passage nudges the Hebrews to acknowledge that He alone is God. Critical to the feasts concerned remembrance that no one besides Him creates, delivers, and provides for them. 

In 23:16, the Lord named the festival, the Feast of the Ingathering. The KJV Dictionary defines ingathering as “the act or business of collecting and securing the fruits of the earth; harvest. The Hebrews would celebrate the feast at the end of the year when they gathered the fruit of their labors, the harvest, out of the field.

From the context of 23:14b, we can understand the ingathering of the harvest in terms of the Creator. So, the feast revealed three aspects about the Lord.

The name Feast of Ingathering reflects God:

• Redeems. God alone redeemed the Hebrews from Egypt and brought them to a place He prepared. Jehovah delivered the Hebrews from Egypt and gave them provisions of harvest. 
• Creates. Unlike pagans from surrounding nations, they would worship the Creator.   
• Provides. The Lord provided the land, rain that watered the fruit, and thus the harvest that they gathered from the land. 

Feast of the Booths or Tabernacles (Lv 23:40)

Referring to the Feast of the Tabernacles (Heb: Sukkot), the Lord spoke to Moses in Lv 23:40-43: “You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” This name commemorates the booths the Israelites resided in during their 40 years in the wilderness. Jewish people built shelters where they lived and ate their meals as a reminder of God’s provision and care during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness when they lived and worshiped in temporary tents. Also, it typified Israel dwelling securely in the land during the Millennium.

What did this name impress upon Israel? The temporary shelter of the booth (sukkah, singular) symbolizes their wandering and dependence on the God of Israel. During the 40 years in the wilderness the sukkah sheltered them, but God kept them. The shelters taught lessons of dependency on Him who brought them out of the land of Egypt.

The name Feast of Booths reflects God:  

• Shelters. In the Lord’s knowledge, He provided and cared for Israel in temporary booths or tabernacles during the 40 years they journeyed in the wilderness.

The Feast (1 Kgs 8:2, 5; Nm 29:12; Neh 8:14; and Is 30:29)

Feast, without any specifications, may reflect its greatness as the last feast of the year–the feast of the feasts: “par excellence,” meaning, better or more than all others of the same kind. The feast required the largest offerings of all as part of the thankfulness for God’s provisions from the gathered harvest.

King Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Feast (Heb: Ha-hag). The temple, completed 440 years after the portable tabernacle that accompanied the Hebrews in their wilderness, became God’s new dwelling place. Now God had a permanent, physical residence where He made known His presence. Coupled with the Hebrews’ completion of their yearly harvest in the field, they gave great thankfulness magnified by their covenant God’s tabernacling in the temple. They worshiped, joined together in community. 

The name Feast reflects God:

• Present. God had said that He would dwell in the thick darkness of the temple, the glory cloud. Solomon had built Him an exalted house with a Most Holy Place that had no illumination except the glory of God Himself. 
• Worthy of praise. Solomon went far beyond custom and expectation by sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude in his effort to honor and praise God on this great day (1 Kgs 8:5).
• Faithful. Israel made animal sacrifices to honor God’s provisions to them in the wilderness (Nm 29:13-34). 
• Keeper. Children of Israel should dwell in impermanent booths during the seventh-month feast to remind them when they dwelled in booths in the wilderness (Neh 8:14).
• Deliverer. The gathering of Israel in the Millennium (Is 30:29).

Time or Season of Our Rejoicing (Dt 16:14-15)

Though non-biblical, tradition calls the Feast of the Booths as the Time or Season of Our Rejoicing. Jews base it in reference to Dt 16:14-15: “And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. ¹⁵ Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.” Rejoice in vv. 15-16 relate to showing joy. David Brickner, in his book the Feast of the Tabernacles, stated the Season of Rejoicing translates to “You shall have nothing but joy.” Not only does this passage emphasize rejoicing, but it includes a broad expanse of people: the son and daughter, servants, orphans, widows, the Levite. He who provided the provisions and the bounty itself brings joy. In their barrenness of the wilderness, their faithful God kept them. Leviticus 23:40 also mentions rejoicing during the seven days of the Feast. The Lord Himself instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel to rejoice before the LORD their God for seven days.

The Feast reflects God:

• Dispenser of joy. They rejoice in the One who gives them joy from His provision during a barren season.

Revelation of God’s Character in the Feasts

Jesus, God incarnate, manifests all God’s attributes as the expression of His likeness, including His characters revealed in the Feast of the Tabernacle. As the I AM from the Old Testament, He has the same nature of omnipotence, omniscience, immutability, and omnipresence. The application of His character revealed in the Feast of the Tabernacles spiritually supports believers today.

Feast of Ingathering

God has the nature of omnipotence. He has complete and total control over all things. He identified Himself to Moses as “THE I AM THAT I AM.” He was before the beginning and created the earth and made everything in it. He provided ample provision for the Hebrews during their wilderness journey. In His control of all things, God had planned for their sufficiency beforehand (Ex 16:3). Nehemiah said that God “sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (9:21). However, they did complain and begged for meat, but not because they stood on the verge of starvation. Rather, their flesh wanted something different than the manna He gave them (Nm 11:4-6; Dt 8:3). They had to go through the process to arrive at their destination of harvest. He readied them in advance for their redemption and possession of the land of milk and honey. The Lord led them through the wilderness to humble them and test their obedience (Dt 8:2). 

Harvest symbolizes provisions in Scripture. The feast of the in-gathering reflects an agricultural festival of harvest. Israel had to gather all their remaining produce from the land at the end of the growing cycle. An ample harvest requires preparation. They had to learn obedience, humility, and trust in His provisions. Unlike pagan neighbors who held up multiple deities and associated rites in hopes of their harvest, the festival of the in-gathering reminded His people of the one God who made all things and who rules over all things. He provided the rain as well as the harvest. They couldn’t flourish later without this preparation, His provisions, and remembrance of His authority. Neither can contemporary believers. 

Feast of the Booths or Tabernacles

The second name, the Feast of the Booths, reveals His omniscience–all-knowing. The Lord knew of the cries of Israel, the secrets of their hearts, and hard-felt afflictions before they realized their own sorrows (Ex 3:7; Ps 44:21). Psalm 147:5b describes God’s understanding as infinite.

Psalm 139 emphasizes God intimately knows His people. His knowledge pursued them wherever they journeyed, even while living in booths that a strong wind and elements could topple. He sheltered them in booths from the elements they confronted. Sometimes those elements included their own self-inflictions.

With the outpouring of His Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus tabernacles within the believer. John 1:14a explains that “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,” Dwelt means tabernacles. Also, Jesus fulfills the promised restoration of Israel under Messiah in a Millennial temple (Ez 37:26, 28).

The Feast

God is immutable. When the Hebrews fled Egypt, he dwelled in a cloud by day and fire by night. They experienced His presence in the morning manna and evening quail. He dwelled in the tabernacle that traveled with them in the wilderness. In whatever form, He was God dwelling among men throughout their 40 years in the wilderness and subsequently in time. God faithfully kept Israel deserving rich honor and praise.

God’s nature does not change due to His immutability: “I am the Lord, I change not (Mal 3:6a KJV; e.g., Nm 23:19; Is 46: 9-11; Jas 1:13). His nature remains unchanged across the dispensations of time in His redemptive purposes for humanity. Thus, we find the very attributes of God in the Old Testament manifested themselves in the substance of Jesus Christ in the New (Exod 3:14-15; John 8:56-59). God’s character that the name of the great Feast encompasses–His presence, praise, faithfulness, keeper, and deliverer–all remain the same in Jesus.

Time or Season of Our Rejoicing

In God, Israel saw His omnipresence. He was everywhere at all times for them. When Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Feast of the Tabernacles, he acknowledged God’s omnipresence when he prayed: “Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee” (I Kgs 8:27; cf. Chr 2:6; 6:18). 

Even though the Israelites showed a pattern of disobedience towards the Lord, He set out the land, made sure it had ample rain, and equipped the Hebrews for a harvest in what they considered a barren season. 

Emanating from His ample provisions of grace, Jesus as their Righteous King gathered them as the harvest and restored them from the fountain that flows from the house of the Lord in a new season of rejoicing for the end of barrenness. He has wiped away every tear from their eyes. Death, mourning, crying, and pain have passed away (21:4). He made all things new through His finished work in the New Heaven and New Earth (Is 66:22; cf. Jer 2:13; Rv 21:5-6). 

Sufficiency of Jesus in Our Tabernacle

On the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, Jesus made the statement, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (Jn 7:37-38). Those who thirst for Him (or believe in Him) would receive rivers of living water, meaning the indwelling of His Spirit. The outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost initiated Christ’s indwelling to those who believe and repent (Jn 7:37-39; Acts 2:38). For today’s believers, His Spirit provides the sufficiency found in each aspect of the Feast of the Tabernacles. We rejoice in His perpetual provisions that dwell within us as His children to sustain us regardless of our own journey to the final destination of the promised land of Eternal Life.

Jan Paron, PhD | March 26, 2024

Rivers of Living Water

Tags

Feast of the Tabernacles, John 7:37-39, Outpouring of the Spirit, Rivers of Living Water, The Feasts

Jan Paron, PhD | March 10, 2022

Themes of water occur throughout Scripture commonly associated with nourishment/refreshment (Ps 1:3); harvest/fruit (Ps 65:1-9); restoration (Ez 36:25); and life (Gn 1:2; Ez 47:9). The Creation story sets the stage for the meaning of rivers of living water in John 7. Scripture first mentions water in Gn 1:2 as part of the day one account. When God created the earth (Heb. bārā’; בָּרָא; meaning shaped something from nothing), the narrator described it as without form and void. The passage further noted darkness upon the face of the deep. Then, the Creator added light (1:4). Water needed light to bring it to life, just as the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ needs the gospel to shine into the heart of man that he might be saved (2 Cor 4:4-6). 

The Creation story further developed water in subsequent days. On the second day, God made by His word a firmament in the midst of the waters, thus, dividing them (Gn 1:6). Then, on day three, He gathered these waters in one place and let the dry land appear (1:9). He called the water Seas, and the dry land earth (v. 10), What did the waters do in the one land? The gathered waters made the land fruitful, yielding a diversity of vegetation. The water resulted in a life-giving body. That same living water fulfilled in Christ produces spiritual maturity with the infilling of His Spirit. Continuing the Garden of Eden storyline, 2:10 describes a river that ran through it, parting into four heads that flowed outside the garden. The water produced fruitfulness resulting from the four heads known as rivers when they spread across the earth. Consequently, the river’s productiveness extended elsewhere. Moreover, God wants the believer to expand fruitfulness and reach the rest of the world for a bountiful harvest. 

Jesus in Jn 7:37-39 picks up the Creation theme of fruitfulness with rivers of living waters during the Feast of the Tabernacles, previewing it in the context of the forthcoming outpouring of His Spirit on Pentecost, thus, launching the New Covenant. Outsiders in the feast crowd, though, did not accept it through their disbelief. However, Jesus manifests the prophesied rivers of living water through His Spirit, bringing forth a new thing from the indwelling of His presence. In turn, He provides a life-giving force to those who thirst for Him. 

Feast of the Tabernacles: Rivers of Living Water

On the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles (Heb: Sukkot) Jesus made the statement, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:37-38). Those who thirst for Him (or believe in Him) would receive rivers of living water, meaning the indwelling of His Spirit. The outpouring on Pentecost initiated receiving the Spirit of God to dwell in the life of those who believe and repent (7:37-39; Acts 2:38). His indwelling also requires humbling and surrendering one’s will to His purpose (4:35). Once filled, He takes up residence within, making the believer His tabernacle with the rivers of living water providing nourishment. His rivers continue to do a good work and will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). As with the feast, God wants His children to remember their dependency on Him and His provisions for them.

John 7 took place in Jerusalem. Quite likely, men, women, and children attended and possibly Gentiles, too. Jews from all corners of the Roman Empire and beyond converged for the feast. Adult males had to travel to the feast as the Lord required and at a place God chose (Ex 23:17; Dt 16:16). Women and children went to the feast voluntarily. Luke 2:41 cited Mary and Jesus as a young male accompanying Joseph for the Passover Feast in Jerusalem on an annual basis. 

The Jews gave burnt offerings to the Lord at the feast signifying their total commitment or surrender to God. Numbers 29:13-38 laid out the compulsory remembrance sacrifices and free will offerings for each day of the feast. The eighth would be a holy convocation unto the Lord. This feast required more sacrifices than the others. Schorsch concluded it connected to the generosity and thanksgiving from the earth’s bounty.^[1]

Water additionally played a role. Every morning during that joyful feast, a priest would take a golden vessel to the pool, fill it with water, and bring it back to the altar amid the shouts of the people. On the feast’s last day, the priests poured out water from golden vessels over the altar drawn from the Pool of Siloam. (The same place where Jesus healed the sight of a blind man.) Aside from the feast, the Jews used it for ritual cleansing and purification.^[2] Located southeast of the Temple Mount, it held importance as the only location for freshwater. Physically, it served as their river of living water. Niles explained as “the crowd chanted a special prayer from the Book of Psalms– that priest poured out the water on the west side of the altar, and another priest poured a drink offering of wine on the east side of the altar.” ^[3] Much grandeur accompanied the ritual. Israel did not take the upcoming winter rains for granted since it supported a good harvest for the next year (Zec 14:16-17). Eisenstein explained the tradition according to R. ‘Ena confirming the water ritual may have illustrated Is 12:3, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”^[4]

During the final day of Sukkot, Jesus went to the temple in secret and began teaching. His doctrine caused a stir among the people. Later, He stood among them and made the statement about coming to Him for rivers of living water: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (Jn 7:37). Perhaps, Jesus made this declaration just as the priest poured out the water. The implication must have stunned those who heard His appeal. In essence, He proclaimed that Israel’s hope in a man-made ritual such as the water ceremony did not suffice for new life. His words foreshadowed Spirit baptism. What followed for many arose in Israel’s rejection of Him.

When Jesus revealed Himself as the well of salvation, He partially fulfilled prophecy in Is 12:3. In Him, the thirsty who seek Jesus as the Messiah would find water. Further, His statement also addressed 44:3 “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” However, His time had not come yet. The outpouring of His Spirit would occur after His glorification.

Based on the hostility Jesus faced from the Jewry, it comes with no surprise that His statement caused division among them. However, no man laid hands on Him at this time, nonetheless (Jn 7:44). Ultimately, though a false conclusion, the chief priests and Pharisees deduced with a prejudicial attitude that no prophet could come from Galilee. Thus, their disbelief presented a two-fold irony. First, their conclusion resulted in them erroneously rejecting Jesus as the anticipated fountain of living water (Jer 2:13a). Second, they instead focused their attention on the priests ceremoniously pouring the water (2:13b). They called the water poured at the feast Yeshua – the waters of salvation.^[5] The Law did not require a libation of water during the feast, rather Mosaic tradition incorporated it.^[6] One might compare the priest’s golden vessel from the feast to broken cisterns in the book of Jeremiah (2:13b). A man-made object cannot hold fresh, sustaining and restorative water from the Spirit. Thus, the rulers and Pharisees, too, forsake the fountain of living waters like their forefathers. On the other hand, the Samaritan woman at the well and many in her village recognized Jesus as the Christ. Jesus previously explained to her that drinking water from His well would spring forth with everlasting life (John 4:14; Is 12:3). 

The Jewry’s hardened hearts additionally failed to recognize an eschatological promise standing before them: the Rivers of Living Water prophetically expressed that which would flow from the threshold of the temple in the Millennial Kingdom. The Lord would provide a Sukkot harvest nourished with the clean water from the river of God (Ez 36:25; Ps 65:9). He will make Israel the harvest. Israel would no longer live in a dry place but cleansed and restored anew with the Lord in Zion on the promised land. From creation after the Fall to the creation completed in Zion through Christ, they would thrive where a fountain would come forth from the house of the Lord in the Righteous King’s eternal kingdom (Jl 3:18; cf. Ez 47:1-12).

Disbelief vs. Belief  

As noted, not everyone accepted the river of living water Jesus cried out in Jn 7:37 during the Feast of the Tabernacles. What motivates disbelief? The central issue from 7:25-44 focused on Jesus as the Christ. The passage provides some insight into disbelief among the Ancients that may be applied to contemporary people. Three different groups of people doubted His identity as the Messiah: local Jerusalemites (7:25), Pharisees and chief priests (vv. 32, 47-48), and the crowd (vv. 20, 31). The people of Jerusalem failed to see His worth and honor. They thought He came from Galilee (vv. 41, 52) and/or peasant parents in Nazareth (6:42). His origin did not match their expectations.^[7] In this case, the people judged by His appearance. They lacked knowledge of His Davidic lineage and Bethlehem birthplace foreshadowed in the Old Testament.^[8] On the other hand, the Pharisees and chief priests should have known of Jesus from their studies. Was it really prejudice over His origin? They may have believed Jesus committed heresy with His statement “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me” (7:33, 36). Perhaps, Jesus posed a political threat to their power. Last, the narrator presents a divided crowd. Some viewed Him as a prophet, others as the Christ (vv.40-41). Division breeds confusion and chaos.  

Jesus affirmed His identity culminating during the water pouring ceremony when He connected Himself to the origin of rivers of living water. In essence, He verified Himself as the fulfilled Messiah who brings salvation and eternal life. Different interrupters caused disbelief among those present whether discernment, prejudice, power, confusion, or chaos. These same things show themselves today. Natural man cannot receive the things of God (1 Cor 2:14a). However, an open heart can experience God.

The metaphor of water indicates that Jesus quenches spiritual thirst (Jn 4:14; 7:38). That living water is God Himself in redemptive activity, Jesus’ Spirit in the union of God and Christ. Jesus made it available to all people upon the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost (7:39).

Jesus is the Rivers of Living Water

The Old Testament often symbolizes the Holy Spirit through water (Is 44:3; cf. Ez 36:25-27; Jl 2:28). Jesus referred to the rivers of living water as the Spirit in John 7:39a: “But this spake he of the Spirit.” An ample supply of water would flow from His Spirit as the well of salvation (12:3). Jesus gave of His Spirit at His outpouring on the Day of Pentecost. Peter addressing the crowd at Pentecost, explained that the exalted Jesus “poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33c). Jesus made the rivers of living water available not just to Jews but also to Gentiles as Jewish Christians brought the gospel with them wherever they settled.  

The Word of God tells how to access the rivers of living water. In Jn 7:37, two key verbs stated in the imperative form emerge in a subjunctive clause: come and drink. A general application of a subjunctive clause pertains to an action or event as something wanted or expected. However, it also indicates a reality conditioned upon future developments^[9]—the rivers of living water flow contingent upon belief (Jn 7:38). One must believe in Jesus’ saving power to receive it. The quenching of one’s thirst hinges upon the dual actions of coming and drinking. A person must trust Jesus as the provider of life through His restorative rivers of living water. However, faith precedes belief that Jesus is the Messiah resulting in His Spirit tabernacling within. Acts 2:38 expands belief with repentance (rejecting sins) and baptism in the name of Jesus. It requires a complete submission and surrender to Him (5:32)

Rivers of living water also have an eschatological dimension. Jesus spoke from the throne in New Jerusalem announcing Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He sits on the throne as the fountain that flows from the house of the Lord, making all things new through His finished work in the New Heaven and New Earth (Is 66:22; cf. Jer 2:13; Rv 21:5-6). He has wiped away every tear from their eyes. Death, mourning, crying, and pain have passed away (21:4). 

Prior to His glorified state, Jesus told the woman at the well that those who drink of His water will never thirst again, for it will spring up and gush into everlasting life (Jn 4:14). That same promise holds during His Millennial reign. The thirsty will gather at the Righteous King’s throne without hunger or thirst. The water flows from the house of the Lord as prophesied in Joel (3:18), for He who sits on the throne shepherded them to living fountains of waters. 

Jesus remains Yeshua, the Rivers of Living Water, the Waters of Salvation. The prophet Isaiah called Him a new thing (Is 43:18-19). Amid the festivities of the special water pouring rite, Jesus revealed Himself as the rivers of living water-the One making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to His people (43:20). Will you accept His invitation today? He provides a simple offer: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Then, “out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:37-37b).

Bibliography

Bernard, David. New Birth. Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press, 1984.

Brickner, David. Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2006. 

Eisenstein, Judah David. “Feast of Water-Drawing.” Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14794-water-drawing-feast-of

Janicki, Toby. “Sukkot in Genesis.” First Fruit in Zion. https://ffoz.org/discover/sukkot/sukkot-in-genesis.html

Klett, Fred. “Sukkot: A Promise of Living Water.” Jews for Jesus. https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/issues-v06-n07/sukkot-a-promise-of-living-water/

Moloney, Francis. The Gospel of John. Collegeville: University Press, 1998.

Neyrey, Jerome. The Gospel of John. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Niles, Randall. “Jesus at the Pool of Siloam–Rivers of Living Water.” Drive Thru History. https://drivethruhistory.com/jesus-pool-siloam-rivers-living-water/

Sapphire Throne Ministries. “Celebration of Water Pouring–Feast of Tabernacles.” https://sapphirethroneministries.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/celebration-of-water-pouring-feast-of-tabernacles/

Schorsch, Ismar. “The Seventy Bulls of Sukkot.” Jewish Theological Seminary. https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/the-seventy-bulls-of-sukkot/

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^[1] Ismar Schorsch, The Seventy Bulls of Sukkot, https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/the-seventy-bulls-of-sukkot/

^[2] Randall Niles. Jesus at the Pool of Siloam–Rivers of Living Water. Retrieved from https://drivethruhistory.com/jesus-pool-siloam-rivers-living-water/

^[3] Niles, Jesus at the Pool of Siloam–Rivers of Living Water.

^[4] Judah David Eisenstein, Feast of Water-Drawing, Jewish Encyclopedia, https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14794-water-drawing-feast-of

^[5] SapphireThroneMinistries, “Celebration of Water Pouring – Feast of Tabernacles,”

CELEBRATION OF WATER POURING – FEAST OF TABERNACLES

^[6] Judah David Eisenstein, “Feast of Water-Drawing,” Jewish Encyclopedia, https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14794-water-drawing-feast-of

^[7] Jerome Neyrey, The Gospel of John (New York: Cambridge University Press: 2007), 145. 

^[8] Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the seed of David born in Bethlehem conceived of the Spirit and born of a woman as the deliverer and Son of David (2 Sm 7:12-16; Is 7:14; Mi 5:2). 

^[9] New Testament Greek, Pt. 2. http://ntgreek.net/lesson29.htm

The Oneness View of the Right Hand of God

Tags

Apostolic Pentecostal, bible, christianity, god, Jesus, jesus-christ, Oneness of God, Right Hand of God

Why did the Sanhedrin council consent to having Stephen and Jesus on distinct occasions killed for attributing the right hand of God to Jesus of Nazareth? The Sanhedrin’s actions reveal a defiant reluctance to accept what God obviously presented to the nation of Israel, His glory in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (Jn 1:14 KJV). Was Jesus the Messiah they were waiting for? If so, why did Jesus’ and Stephen’s association of Himself with the right hand of God result in their executions? Their association of Jesus as Messiah with God’s right hand presented an irrefutable and powerful revelation of God within a human being whom the Sanhedrin council and people of Israel hated (15:24-25). It confirmed Jesus as the Son of God (Mark 14:62).

Both Jesus and Stephen’s declarations imply a fresh and profound understanding of Scripture that does not depart from the core truths of Old Testament teaching but elevate them to a new level of faith, universal acceptance, and practice. Writers of New Testament Scripture expound in detail Christ reigning at the right hand of God, providing an understanding of Stephen’s vision in Acts and which establishes a sound theology for the Church, both practical and prophetic. The Sanhedrin council held a Scriptural understanding of the right hand of God. However, it lacked knowledge of its relationship to Christ and an unwillingness to accept Jesus as God’s anointed sitting at His right hand. Their hatred of Jesus blinded them, Rome, and ultimately Israel to recognize God in Him, resulting in His death and, subsequently, Stephen’s. This same spirit continues to exist. However, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will reverse the blindness upon individual hearts.

Right Hand (Grk: dexios–a place of honor, authority, and power; to stand in power as leader or sovereign.

Culturally, Jews and Greeks from the ancient world used the expression right hand as a figure of speech to describe a place of power, honor, or blessing conferred upon a recipient by a host. The favored individual thus fulfilled the host’s wishes or will. Also, in a banquet setting, a host seats the honoree on his right hand. To conclude, the expression right hand bestowed authority and blessing upon a recipient. Example: Jacob conferred a blessing upon the two sons of Joseph using his right hand (Gn 48:13-14).

The Jews viewed the right hand of God as a figurative expression from a divine perspective relating it to God’s glory. They based their understanding of God’s identity or glory upon various Scripture passages from the Old Testament. Stephen attributed the term to Jesus, the Son of Man, before the Jewish council of priests, elders, and scribes. They perceived Stephen’s words as blasphemy against the God of Israel and sentenced him to death by stoning. Both Jesus’ and Stephen’s words teach that the right hand of God pertains to the Son of man and son of David, drawing attention to the reality of the incarnation, God shining in complete revelation in Jesus Christ. When God exalted Jesus, he bestowed his honor upon Him so all creation might recognize, worship, and honor Him in Christ. 

It became apparent that the council members understood Stephen’s use of the right hand of God to proclaim the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth as the Lord God, regarding it as a significant violation of Dt 6:4. Earlier, the same council accused Jesus of blasphemy, sentencing Him to death for making this claim regarding Himself (Mk 14:60-64). Since first-century Jewish theologians and Christians viewed the right hand of God as a figurative expression describing God’s glory, preeminence, and authority, Jesus sitting on a throne next to God had no theological basis or implications. They never saw it as an establishment of two or more divine persons of God. Christians further viewed it to identify Jesus with the God of Israel from an incarnational perspective, which Israel interpreted and judged as heresy (Acts 24:14)

Scripture uses the expression right hand of God to describe God’s sovereign preeminence and power over His creation and the lives of His people. Relative to Christ, this term first appeared in Psalms 110:1, prophetically describing the Messiah’s ascension, glorification, and exaltation to divine honor, preeminence, and power over all creation, revealing Jesus of Nazareth as the sovereign God in flesh. God now governs and becomes recognized by His creation through the lordship of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1 and other New Testament books beautifully expound the resurrected and exalted Son of man at the right hand of God.

Jesus gave the significance of the Messiah positioned at the right hand of God by revealing its importance. First, He theologically established an incarnational understanding of Ps 110:1 that recognizes, connects, and reveals the monotheistic faith in Jehovah with the new covenant lordship confession of Christ. His thought-provoking question to the Pharisees reveals the Son of David sitting at the right hand of God. Second, His interpretation of Ps 110 and His closing question to the Pharisees revealed the limitations of their theological understanding of the Messiah by presenting the passage’s sound implications to Himself. Finally, Jesus’ interpretation laid the basis upon which He and His first for the Christian martyring of Stephen. 

When Jesus questioned the Pharisees concerning the Messiah’s identity, He knew their deep-seated reluctance to identify Him. Jesus possessed scriptural and cultural markings of the Messiah, and the Pharisees knew it, but their hardened hearts did not allow them to believe Him. His question and implied answer revealed their fear of Him and moved them to terminate all discussions concerning the Messiah with Him. As the prominent religious leaders of their day, they knew Jesus to be an established rabbi in Israel, the adopted son of Joseph, for it was legally registered after His birth. They knew Joseph belonged to the house of David through Solomon, for genealogies were accessible legal records used to prove paternity, status, and claim inheritances. They further knew of the story and events surrounding His birth and its proclamation throughout Jerusalem some thirty years earlier, yet they persisted in denying His claim. Since they knew the prophecies of Daniel, Isaiah, and others matched the life, times, and person of Jesus of Nazareth, they feared it to be true. John the Baptist identified Him as Messiah during his brief ministry. During Jesus’ baptism by John, God spoke from heaven, declaring Him to be His Son before all who were present, including the Pharisees. So when Jesus questioned them concerning the son of David, they knew He indirectly claimed to be Messiah, the Lord God of Israel in flesh.

The Pharisees lacked or held no understanding concerning the incarnation. In Mt 22:41-46, Jesus questioned them, “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” They responded by saying the Son of David. Jesus further asked them, leading to King David’s words recorded in Ps 110:1. Jesus challenged the Pharisees by saying that David in the Spirit called Christ his Lord while sitting at the right hand of God. If David called Him Lord, how can He also be David’s son? Did the Pharisees respond incorrectly regarding the Messiah’s connection to King David? No, for Scripture truly states the Messiah will descend from the lineage of David. But, the Pharisees erred in their hearts by not recognizing God before them in Jesus of Nazareth. Their limited perception prohibited them from reconciling their understanding of David’s inspired statement. According to Jesus, Ps 110:1 prophetically describes a divinely chosen descendant of David reigning as Lord at the right hand of God (a theologically figurative expression) having Yahweh’s identity, honor, glory, and power. For David, a monotheistic Jew, to prophetically address his remote descendant as my Lord establishes a prophetic monotheistic recognition of the coming incarnation of God in Christ based on Dt 6:4.

David prophetically recognized the Messiah to be the human incarnation of Jehovah. Before the foundation of the world, God appointed the Son of Man to sit at His right hand. This view left the Pharisees speechless and prepared them to understand Jesus’ response to their question of whether He is the Son of God on the night of His arrest. His sitting at the right hand of God reveals Him as Israel’s covenant God in flesh, which they called blasphemy. This view disclosed a new faith confession in Jehovah that includes the incarnation and enlightens understanding of Dt 6:4.  

On the night of Jesus’ arrest, the Pharisees, elders, and scribes understood Jesus’ application of the right hand of God to Himself as the claim to be Jehovah, the God of Israel, finally enraging them with madness. His earlier interpretation of Ps 110:1 led to His death and later to Stephen’s (Mk 14:60-64; Acts 7:54-59).

New Testament writers use synonymous terms concerning the right hand of God to develop its meaning. In conjunction with its cultural definition, these terms help expand its meaning beyond an unscriptural position next to God to establish the sole deity and supremacy of Jesus Christ. 

• Right hand of the Majesty (Heb 1:3)
• Right hand of the throne of the Majesty (Heb 8:1)
• Right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2)
• Right hand of God (Acts 7:55)
• Right hand of the power of God (Lk 22:69)
• The Throne of God (Rv 3:21)
• The glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55)

Close

Jude connects and summarizes the preceding right hand of God’s expressions to Jesus Christ. He uses these same expressions in his acclamation of praise to the Savior. These expressions present an exalted view of the incarnation based on Scripture comparison of the above right hand of God. They do not show or imply an inferior right hand of God’s position or distinct person in the Godhead. Instead, these points describe the right hand of God and reveal the exalted status of the Son of man, Jesus Christ. They further demonstrate the Son of man as the incarnation of the only wise God (omniscience- All-knowing), whom Jude also calls Savior. Without using the right hand of God term, Jude describes Jesus, the exalted Savior, as the only wise God having glory, majesty, dominion, and power forever, who demonstrates omnipotence and omniscience by His ability to present believers faultless before the presence of His glory.

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).

• Brightness of God’s glory (Heb 1:3)
• Expressed image of God’s person (Spirit) (Heb 1:3; 2 Cor 4:4-6)
• Heir of God’s Old Testament identity, Jehovah (Heb 1:4; Ps 110:1)
• Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32-39)
• Prince and Savior (Acts 5:31)
• Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8; Jas 2:1)
• Father of glory (Eph 1:17-20)

These passages personify the glory of God as the exalted Jesus who sits at God’s right hand, having His titles of honor before all creation and the Church. Jesus holds sole preeminence over the affairs of the angelic world, universe, and Church. Such status, honor, glory, and power a human holds reveals God manifested in flesh (1 Tm 3:16). This understanding establishes what Stephen saw in his vision and what Luke describes in Acts. The Sanhedrin council understood Stephen’s statement, which led to his death.

Daryl Cox — 4.22.24

Valley of the Dry Bones: Historical and Cultural Contexts

Tags

Dry Bones Prophecy, Exiled, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:1-14 Cultural Context, Ezekiel 37:1-14 Economic Context, Ezekiel 37:1-14 Historical Context, Valley of the Dry Bones;

The vision of the valley of the dry bones (Ez 37:1-14) stands amid a collection of oracles from Ezekiel addressed to the exiled during the Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel transmitted the words of the Lord to the exiled as their watchman and prophet. In 37:1-14, he oracled renewal and restoration that included a united Israel (vv. 15-21) as part of the book’s primary purpose of judgment and salvation for Israel and the nations.  

Historical Context

A historical overview of exile for the divided kingdoms reveals deportation for both but at different points. In 721 BC, before the Babylonian captivity, the Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom captive (2 Kgs 14-20). Babylonian captivity followed about 100 years later in two waves. The first wave in 597 BC resulted in the capture of King Jehoiachin and leading citizens of Judah including Ezekiel. The second occurred in 587 BC when Babylon razed Jerusalem and its temple after Jerusalem’s second rebellion. It forced Jerusalem’s surrender and deported its king and Judean notables to Babylon (2 Kgs 24:10-16). 

To grasp the fullness of the dry bones prophecy, a glimpse at the circumstances before exile places the word of the Lord in perspective. Several events led up to the Babylonian exile. While King Josiah pleased the Lord during his 30-year reign by walking in the ways of David,  Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim marked a return to acts of evil in the Lord’s sight (23:37). After Jehoakim rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and children of Ammonites to destroy Judah for the sins of Manasseh (24:3). Nebuchadnezzar then reigned over Syria and Palestine from the Euphrates to the Egyptian frontier (24:7), and Judah became a Babylonian province. Finally, the Lord chastised the people in the twelfth year of Babylonian exile (Ez 33:21) after Jerusalem’s fall for their continued sins. 

The Lord did not leave the exiled without His guidance. While in captivity, God called Ezekiel to the office of prophet. Among the deportees, Ezekiel recorded a series of visions from the Lord while exiled in Babylon during King Jehoiachin’s captivity in the diaspora community by the River Chebar (Ez 1:2). His oracles conveyed God’s redemptive plan for Israel and the nations about judgment and restoration. He specifically spoke to the Judeans and first-generation exiles after the fall of Jerusalem as a voice from the exiled. 

He prophesied his first vision about the throne room in chapter one (1:4). The writer did not say whether it took place during its actual delivery versus writing at a later date. If he prophesied the first vision at the start of his captivity, then, as Boadt noted, it occurred in 623-622 BC when 30 years old (1:1). Tiemeyer concurs with a sixth-century BC dating since it supports Neo-Babylonian sources.Allen dated his prophetic call to 593 BC. 

In terms of dating the Ez 37 prophecy, the preceding may give a clue as to the timeline. Zimmerli dated passages 35:1-36:15 to after 587 BC since it recalls the dispute between the Judahites who remained in Jerusalem with neighboring peoples over Jewish claims to the land. As Ezekiel ordered the oracles chronologically, this may imply that chapter 37 occurs later in the 70-year exilic period. Further, if Ezekiel delivered the dry bones prophecy around 585 BC, then the lesser first wave lived in exile for twelve years and the greater second wave two years.

Cultural 

Ezekiel 37:1-14 portrays the cultural state of the exiled through symbolism reflected in the very many or very great many dry bones in the valley or open valley (37:2). In essence, Babylonian captivity stripped them of their identity and left a collective society now scattered from their homeland in a severely deteriorated, dry state. 

Since the Babylonians captured Ezekiel during the first wave, the prophet did not directly experience Jerusalem’s fall. Nevertheless, God chose him as His spokesperson to the exilic community living among the refugees in their trauma culture. The book of Lamentations records the very depth of their sorrow, suffering, and abandonment. They also experienced shame from exile. Ezekiel 25 records the surrounding nations laughing (25:3) and mocking (v. 8) the exiled house of Israel. In the wake of the exiled feeling of grief, the Lord’s message sought to give them hope in their captivity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Geographical

The Babylonians transported most of the Judahites 1000 miles to Mesopotamia during the second wave of capture. The exiled came from an urban environment in Jerusalem and relocated to what Joyce describes as “ghetto-like settlements” like Tel-abib described in Ez 3:15. The elders could gather with each other (8:1; 14:1; 20:1). Ezekiel himself lived among the exiled in a community by river Chebar in Tel-abib 100 miles south of Babylon (1:1; 3:15).  

Economic

Pearce noted that the term exile suggested movement away from a native land. Economically, that movement away from the homeland took a toll on the diaspora. Taking a closer look at the exile reveals the extent of the destruction by the captors on the captives. The Babylonians physically dislocated Judeans from their homeland, deprived them economically of their possessions, and left them spiritually depleted without their temple. To the Jews, the losses affected their identity closely tied to the promised land, the Davidic throne, Jerusalem, and Lord’s temple. Second Kings 25:1-21 describes in vivid detail the fall, capture, and destruction of Jerusalem: forced famine; murdered military officials, king’s associates, townspeople, and priests; burnt structures, and pillaged the house of the Lord. The captors left only a small remnant of the very poor behind. The resettlement in Babylonia resulted in a starting over so to speak of the exiled. 

In all, perhaps at the very heart of God’s mission to His people lies the events that preceded exile and the losses they experienced. He would allow them to experience death in the valley, only to bring them life out of the valley. “Then you shall know that I am the LORD,” (Ez 37:6, 13, 14).

Bibliography

Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration: A Study of Hebrew Thought of the Sixth Century B. C. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

Allen, Leslie C. Ezekiel, Vol. 29. Word Bible Commentary. Edited by John D. W. Watts and James W. Watts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Bimson, John J. “Book of Ezekiel.” in The Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. Edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

Boadt, Lawrence. “Book of Ezekiel.” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol D-G. Edited by David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

__________. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 2012.

Brett, Mark G. ed. Ethnicity and the Bible. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2002.

Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Eichrodt, Walther Theology of the Old Testament. Translated by J. A. Baker. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961.

Fox, Michael, V. “The Rhetoric of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of the Bones.” Hebrew Union College Annual 51, (1980): 1-15.

Greenberg, Moshe. Ezekiel 21-27. Anchor Yale Bible. New York: Yale University Press, 2010.

__________. The Design and Themes of Ezekiel’s Program of Restoration.” Interpretation 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.

Goldingay, John A. “Ezekiel.” Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Edited by James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.

Kamsen, Joel and Tihitshak Biwul. “The Restoration of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14: An Exegetical and Theological Analysis.” Scriptura 118 (2019:1), pp. 1-10.

LaSor, William Sandord, David Allan Hubbard, Frederic William Bush, and Leslie C. Allen. Old Testament Survey: The Message Form, and Background of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, Co. 1996. 

Lee, Lydia. Mapping Judah’s Fate in Ezekiel’s Oracles Against the Nations. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016. https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/9780884141808_OA.pdf.

Longman III, Tremper. The Message of the Prophets: A Survey of the Prophetic and Apocalyptic Books of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2010.

Mein, Andrew. Ezekiel and the Ethics of Exile. Oxford Theological Monographs. Oxford: OUP Oxford, 2006.

Miller, Maxwell J. and John H. Hayes. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.

Mendenhall, George. “Covenant.” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol A-C. Edited by David Freeman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Pearce, Laurie E. “Identifying Judeans and Judean Identity in the Babylonian Evidence.” in Exile and Return: The Babylonian Context, edited by Jonathan Stökl, Caroline Waerzeggers, and Jonathan Stökl. Berlin: CPI Books, 2015. 

Qubt, Shadia. “Can These Bones Live? God, Only You Know.” Review and Expositor. 104, Summer, 2007.

Schultz, Samuel J. The Old Testament Speaks: A Complete Survey of Old Testament History and Literature. New York: HarperOne, 2000.

Serfontein, Johan and Wilhelm J. Wessels. “Communicating Amidst Reality: Ezekiel’s Communication as a Response to His Reality.” Verbum Eccles 35, no. 1 (2014): http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2074-77052014000100033.

Smith-Christopher, Daniel L. A Biblical Theology of Exile. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.

Staples, Jason A. The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Stökl, Jonathan, and Caroline Waerzeggers. Exile and Return : The Babylonian Context. (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2015): Volume 478. De Gruyter. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat06729a&AN=ebc.EBC2189973&site=eds-live.

Tiemeyer, L. D. “Book of Ezekiel.” in The Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets. Edited by Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2012.

Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.

Zimmerli, Walther. Ezekiel 2. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

Jan Paron, PhD, 3.22.24

The Supremacy of Jesus: Hebrews 1:3

Tags

bible, god, gospel, Hebrews, Hebrews Book of Better Things, Jesus, Oneness of God, Superiority of Jesus

In the epistle of Hebrews, the author set the tone by establishing Jesus’ identity. He reminds the audience of Christ’s supremacy as the Mediator of the New Covenant (9:15) with an eternal promise that extends into the eschatological future where He reigns in a new heaven and new earth. By means of His death, He redeemed the transgressions of the first testament. A transgression refers to an action, while sin comes from that action.

According to the Word made flesh through the incarnation, we find God’s self-revelation in Jesus. God spoke in the Old Covenant by means of the prophets, rather now directly through the express image of Himself, Jesus, with the highest and ultimate representation of Himself (1:2a). In John 14:10-11b, Jesus reminded His disciples of the unity of Him and the Father. That which Jesus spoke came from the Father. “The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me,” (NKJV). As God’s messengers, the prophets conveyed His inspired word. However, the higher and ultimate revelation came from Jesus as the embodiment, meaning personification, of God’s Word. 

From the start of the book in the first chapter, the author makes the supremacy of Jesus known to the readers. He lists seven characteristics in 1:1-3 that provide a visual picture of Jesus’ superiority demonstrating Him as the cornerstone that laid the foundation. The traits are:   

1. Heir of all things (1:2b) 
2. Through whom also He made the worlds (1:2c) 
3. Brightness of His glory (1:3a)
4. Express image of His person (1:3a) 
5. Upholding all things by the word of His power (1:3b) 
6. He had by Himself purged our sins (1:3c) 
7. Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3d)

Heir of All Things (1:2b)

Adam did not qualify as the heir due to his sin in the Garden of Eden. In turn, Adam’s actions also made his sons ineligible as inheritors of the eternal blessing. God made Adam from the dust of the earth. On the other hand, God incarnated Himself in Jesus as the Son of God. Christ is the only begotten of the Father. Robed in flesh as the last Adam, the Son had a sinless nature, the spotless lamb who would sacrifice Himself to redeem man’s iniquities.

As the only begotten Son of God, Jesus stands as the Heir of all things. Psalm 2:7-8, says “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.’” Jesus fulfills this inheritance through His Sonship. All earth will submit to Him as He rules over it having dominion passed to the Son.

Luke chronicled Jesus’ greatness as the Son of the Highest. His conception occurred when the Holy Ghost came upon Mary and His power overshadowed her (Lk 1:35). The angel announced to Mary that the Lord God would give the Son the throne of His father David (1:32b). Jesus’ Sonship establishes Him by the bloodline of David through Mary (3:23-38) and an heir to the throne of David through His legal father, Joseph (Mt 1:1-16). God promised David that He would establish his house and throne forever through an heir (2 Sm 7:16; cf. Lk 1:33). 

Through Whom Also He Made the Worlds (1:2c) 

God created all things by His Word. God manifested Himself as the Word made flesh in Jesus through the incarnation (Jn 1:1). The Shema in Dt 6:4 establishes the Lord our God as one. The Shema also holds true in the New Testament as well. Thus, we cannot separate the Word from God. Since Jesus is God, the fullness of God indwelled in Jesus with the oneness of His being. As Peter wrote in his first epistle 1:20a, Jesus was “foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” Prior to it, there was no Son of God but the One who is now incarnate, the Creator. Adam Clarke remarked that “Eternity has no beginning and nor stands in any reference to time. Son supposes time, generation, and a father; and time also antecedent to such generation.” This means that Son and eternity cannot coexist since they both entail opposite ideas. 

Paul explained it well in Col 1:15-16: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” This verse supports Hebrews. So, “through whom also He made the worlds” in Hebrews refers to Jesus as the Word of God by which God created in a preincarnate state. 

Brightness of His Glory (1:3a) 

As the Word became flesh, Jesus displayed the glory as the only begotten Son of the Father (Jn 1:14b; 1 Pt 1:17) and manifested from the Father. Prior to the incarnation, Israel would experience the glory of the invisible God’s presence through different means such as a cloud of the invisible God appearing in a cloud over Mt. Sinai (Ex 16:10) or filling the house of the Lord (1 Kgs 8:10-12; 2 Chr 5:14).

The Lord told the prophet Isaiah that He would not give His glory “unto another” since it would profane His name (Is 48:11). Since God indwelt bodily in Jesus, His flesh not only embodies the Lord’s glory but also bears His name. In Jesus, we see the fullness of the visible presence of the invisible God’s glory. Thus, the brightness of glory in Heb 1:2 refers to the inward glory of God that had shown bright in His physical representation in Jesus as majestic excellence in absolute perfection (2 Pt 1:17; BLB.org). His glory also radiates His incorruptible nature without corruption or decay (Rom 1:23). 

Brightness denotes light. The Word became flesh as the true Light (Jn 1:9, 14). Satan only can transform into its light, but never the true Light. The brightness of God’s glory shines knowledge of Him in our hearts only in the face of Jesus Christ. God commanded the light to shine from darkness (2 Cor 4:6)

Express Image of His Person (1:3a) 

Unlike God portraying His presence in Old Testament theophanies, like the burning bush, He fully reveals it in Jesus Christ. God now made Himself known with the advent of the incarnation that united God and man making Christ the visible image of the invisible God with His exact nature (Col 1:15). By definition, several key phrases stand out that confirm the nature of Jesus Christ as God Incarnate: exact expression, marked likeness, precise reproduction (BLB.org). But, what exact expression does Jesus represent? It explains His person.  Person (Grk: hypostatsis) meaning substantial quality, nature, of any person.  

It was necessary that God revealed Himself in flesh on our behalf for several reasons. First, Jesus had to take subjection over all things. The first Adam, due to his disobedience in the Garden of Eden, failed in taking dominion over every living thing that moved upon the earth (Gn 1:28). His sin prevented him having that authority. However, Jesus, the Son of Man, knew no sin from His perfect divine nature, took back this dominion. In Heb 2:8, the author wrote He “put all things on subjection under His feet,” fulfilling the Son of Man in Ps 8:4, 6. He’s over the works of God’s hands because He is God. He sits at the right hand of God not by physical location rather a metaphor of His honor, authority, and power having all enemies under His footstool (cf. Ps 110:10). Remember Is 9:6 calls Him the Mighty God who will also bring about the conditions embodied from the Everlasting Father. 

Second, Jesus, God’s revealed agent and perfect representation, directly brought the message of salvation to humanity. Moses brought the Law to Israel delivered by angels to him. Jesus became the Law. Since Jesus was in the mind of God

Last, He made propitiation for our sins. He robed Himself in flesh, perfect in every way to become our High Priest. In this role He made Himself the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 Jn 2:2).  

Upholding All Things by the Word of His Power (1:3b) 

This title refers to Jesus’ power and authority. By the word of His power, He commands it. Jesus maintains the order, existence, and sustenance of the entire universe. The term upholding (Gr. pherō) conveys an ongoing act, indicating that Christ continuously sustains all creation. The Son as the divine preserver of the universe keeps it functioning according to His will and purpose. In the Old Testament context, “word” associates with an creative and authoritative action such as in Gn 1, where God speaks the world into existence by His word. For example, in Gn 1:3 God said, “’Let there be light,’ and there was light.” This parallels the concept of the universe being sustained by the word of God’s power, highlighting the authority of His word in creating and sustaining life. The prophet Nehemiah also acknowledged God’s role in creating and sustaining all life: “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (9:6). He emphasizes God’s continuous sustaining power over creation. Further, scripture in Ps 33:6, 9 echoes the idea of God’s command having creative and sustaining authority. As the Incarnate God, Jesus has the same: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth… For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (33:6, 9).

The New Testament also attests to the word of His power. Colossians 1:16-17: states “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” This passage closely parallels Heb 1:3, attributing the creation and sustenance of all things directly to Christ. In the opening verses of Jn (1:1-4), the author credits the Word with the creation of all things and is described as the life that was the light of all mankind. This establishes the divine Logos as not only the agent of creation but as essential to its ongoing existence and order. Jesus is the Word made flesh. In another New Testament passage that explains the power of His word, 2 Pt 3:5-7 discusses His divine power. This passage speaks to the power of God’s word in both creation and judgment, illustrating the sustaining and transformative power of divine command, which aligns with the theme of Christ’s sustaining power in Hebrews.

In summary, the descriptor “Upholding all things by the word of His power,” in Heb 1:3 demonstrates that Christ executes His power by command or decree. His divine authority holds everything together. This phrase, therefore, speaks to the sovereign role of Jesus Christ as not only the agent of creation but also its sustainer. As another descriptor in Heb 1:3, it provides us with another integral understanding of the theological portrait of Jesus in Hebrews, positioning Him as supreme ruler over all things and essential to the existence and ongoing maintenance of the universe and over all in His future, everlasting Kingdom. Further, it underlines His divine, powerful, and sustaining redemptive presence in the world. 

He Had by Himself Purged Our Sins (1:3c) 

“He had by Himself purged our sins” speaks of Christ’s unique complete act of atonement. Blue Letter Bible defines the purging of sins in Hebrews 1:3 as cleansing from the guilt of sins from the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ.”Jesus took on the propitiation of sin. With His sacrifice on the Cross He satisfied the justice of God against our sin and His righteous anger over it.

The concept of Jesus’ act of purging our sins represents a better sacrifice central to the book of Hebrews and message of the New Testament. His greater sacrifice grounds itself in a comparison between the continual, sacrificial systems of the Old Testament and singular, definitive sacrifice He made. His superior sacrifice fulfilled God’s plan for redemption and established a new covenant of which He purged sins, never again remembered. Unlike the repeated sacrifices in the Old Testament, which could never fully remove sin, Christ’s sacrifice provides complete atonement once for all. His purging of sins ushered in the new covenant. Scripture refers to this covenant as the better covenant, established upon better promises. Jesus mediates the better, new covenant (Hebrews 8:6). When Jesus purged our sins it also underscores His singular deity of God manifest in Him without division; and the one God’s decisive action for humanity’s salvation.

Additionally, Jesus’ sacrifice portrays superiority as once and for all. Repetitive and continual characterize the Old Testament sacrifices, prescribed by the Mosaic Law. The priests regularly offered animals to atone for sins, continually, year after year (Heb 10:1-4). In contrast, Jesus Himself made a once and for all sacrifice; by one offering. He has made perfect forever those being made holy (10:14). His single sacrifice was sufficient to cover all sins, past, present, and future.

The idea of purification from sins, presented in Hebr 1:3c, has deep roots in Old Testament prophecy. Isaiah 53:5-6: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This passage foretells Christ’s atoning work, where He bears the sins of many.

David made a personal petition for purification after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah the Hittite. He pleaded to God: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin…Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps 51:2, 7 NKJV). Christ ultimately fulfilled the cleansing of sin.

Further, Jer 31:34, the Lord tells the house of Israel that “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” This promise of a new covenant, with the forgiveness of sins, points forward to the ultimate fulfillment in Christ’s purging of our sins.

Sat Down at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High (1:3d)

In Heb 1:3d, the descriptor “Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (KJV; e.g., Acts 2:33) presents a powerful portrait of Jesus Christ’s exalted post-resurrection and ascension position. This expression signifies the completion of His redemptive work and ultimate authority. The title of majesty refers to reigning king or queen as a monarchial description. The emphasis on Jesus sat down signifies He’s the sole reigning majesty or Lord in heaven. Dan Segraves explained it well in his book about Hebrews: “The point is that He who suffered the ultimate humiliation of assuming solidarity with His creation now occupies the supreme position of exaltation (Phil 2:5-9). In that position, He is due the homage of all creation” (2:10-11).”

The imagery of the right hand of the Majesty on high (God) comes with a rich background in Jewish tradition from the Old Testament. Since God is an omnipresent Spirit, scripture describes Him with anthropomorphisms in revelatory language referring to Him in human form or with human characteristics to help us understand His actions and attributes. The Bible commonly uses anthropomorphisms like His finger (Ex 8:19), eyes (Ps 34:12), ear (2 Kgs 19:16), hand (Is 41:13), arm (Ex 6:6), face (Nm 6:25) and footstool (Is 66:1). Therefore, Jesus sitting at the right hand cannot signify a literal geographic location. Instead, it symbolizes the culmination of Christ’s work and His central role in divine power, honor, and authority. He embodies both the authority and presence of God Himself. 

Likewise, when Stephen gazed into heaven at Jesus standing at the right hand of God, it meant he saw the glory of God’s presence in Jesus Christ (Acts 7:55). Another similar example, Ps 110:1, sitting at the right hand of God foretells the Messiah’s glory. Scripture states “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This verse reflects the exalted status bestowed upon the Messiah demonstrating God’s declaration of the Messiah’s (Jesus) exalted role and authority from a unified, divine identity with messianic mission. To remember, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with human hands (7:48). 

Through the incarnation, God became man through the conception and birth of a virgin woman named Mary. This act unites deity (God) and humanity (Son) in the person of Jesus Christ according to John 1:1,14. This also explains the phenomenal acts and sayings of Jesus that declare both His deity in addition to His humanity and the relationship between them. The incarnation makes possible the entirety of authority, power, and majesty we see in Jesus.

Jan Paron, PhD — 3.15.24

An excerpt from the future online course, Laying the Foundation: The Superiority of Jesus in Hebrews at All Nations Leadership Institute.

Bibliography

Segraves, Daniel L. Hebrews Better Things, Volume 1. Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame Press, 1996.

The Davidic Covenant

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bible-study, bible-study, Davidic Covenant, jesus-christ, King David, New Covenant

God ordained the Davidic Covenant as the final covenant of the Old Testament. The New Covenant follows it through the coming of Jesus Christ. The Davidic Covenant is the covenant God ordained with David the King of Israel. This covenant emphasizes the coming of the Kingdom of God in the person of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The covenant has both His first and second comings in view. Both comings of the Messiah are God’s means of bringing about the redemption of God’s creation and the restoration of mankind to the Kingdom of God. In 2 Sm 7, David expresses a desire to build God a house–a temple. God responds to David’s desire by Nathan the prophet that he would not build the house of God because he was a man of war. Instead, David’s son would build the house. God initiates a covenant with David. This covenant speaks to David’s immediate future and generations yet to come. The words of this covenant have double references, meaning it addresses more than one person. This determination comes from other scriptural passages that address the words of the covenant. As students of the Scripture, we do not make these determinations incautiously, but by the actual declarations from the immediate passage or other passages addressing the same subject. The referents of this covenant are David, his son Solomon, David’s descendants from Solomon and Jesus the chosen son of David.

Covenants represent ordained agreements between two or more parties to ensure the establishment of a purpose. Though men make covenants among themselves, man cannot make covenants with God. It is God who initiates and makes covenant with man. Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (KJV). God makes and determines covenant with man, not man with God. He ordains covenant to establish His will in the earth, and uses man to accomplish this. It is our responsibility to submit to Him. In covenant, all parties are bound to fulfill their responsibility. Covenant results from God seeking relationship with mankind. Our responsibility is submission to Him.

Under no specific actions of David was this covenant made. The covenant was already in the heart of God. David’s desire to build a temple gave occasion for God to reveal it. David could not build the temple, but his son Solomon would. Solomon did build the temple of God, but a careful study of Heb 1:3-5 and 2 Sm 7:12-14, reveals that the greater son spoken of is Jesus Christ. He would build the New Testament temple of God, the Church. A body of water and Spirit baptized believers in Christ would be the greater temple than Solomon built. The Church is the temple called by God’s name, the name of Jesus. Jesus is the seed of David whose throne (dominion) will endure forever. This of course, is made possible by His resurrection from the dead.   

The events of this covenant were to transpire at some point in time following the death of David. God also promised that He would make David a house, a royal dynasty. This ensures the promise in Gn 49:10 that the right (scepter) to rule Israel will rest with the tribe of Judah in the family of David. This covenant extends to the generation of kings descended from David. None of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel had a divine right to rule the nation. Only the tribe of Judah had this divinely given right. God promised that His mercy would remain with David and His descendants even though they would commit transgression against God. They would be punished for their deeds, but mercy would not depart.

The covenant looks beyond the generations of David’s family to the millennial period following the great tribulation. The Messiah’s throne is said to endure forever. Under the Messiah’s reign, Israel, the nations of the world and the creation itself will be blessed beyond measure. The glory of God will fill the Earth. Life will be like it was intended to be because Jesus will be here as King of kings and Lord of lords. Second Samuel 16:7 poses a very interesting thought, ”And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.” Though these events will occur after David’s death, he would be alive to witness them! This speaks of the great resurrection to come because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. David will witness the fulfillment of God’s plan forever. He is a God who keeps covenant!    

Pastor Daryl Cox 2.4.24

From the online course Calling to Covenant: The Story of David

Image from: Bible Study Tools

Jesus in the Book of Isaiah: The Branch

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bible, Branch as the Rod from the stem of Jesse, Branch from the Root of Jesse, Branch of the Lord, end-times, isaiah, Jesus, Millennial Reign, Prophecy, The Branch

Overview of Isaiah

The New Testament (NT) quoted Isaiah more than any other book, about 411 times. Isaiah stands as the longest of the classical prophetic books with 66 chapters, the most quoted or borrowed from in the NT, at least some 411 times.1  All four gospels quote Isaiah and many of the epistles, Acts, and Revelation.

Jerome called it the fifth gospel because of its prominent Christocentric emphasis and evangelistic approach. The landscape of Isaiah’s prophecy uncovers a portrait of Jesus through His titles. Among them, the book portrays Him as the Branch of the Lord (4:2); Beloved (5:1) Immanuel (7:14; 8:8); Mighty God (9:6); Chosen One (42:1) Servant of the Lord (42:1; 49:5-6; 52:12-13); Angel of His Presence (63:9); and more.

Branch in Isaiah: Ṣemaḥ and Nēṣer

This study delves into the Isaianic titles of the Messiah. The first of the series will feature Jesus as the Branch framed by the theme of the millennial kingdom. The prophet Isaiah used two different words in his book to represent the Branch in Hebrew: ṣemaḥ (Branch of the Lord; 4:2) signifying future ruler¹ and nēṣer (Branch out of the root of Jesse;11:1-2, ) pertaining to sprout/offspring.² Both ṣemaḥ and nēṣer denote the eschatological Jesus Christ in His millennial reign in the restoration of Israel. Motyer saw the book of Isaiah organized around three messianic portraits of Jesus as the King (1-37), Servant (38-55), and Anointed Conqueror (56-66).³ Accordingly, these portraits paint a foretold glimpse of His character to come.

Old Testament scripture refers to the Branch (ṣemaḥ) in three other passages in addition to Branch of the Lord (Is 4:2): a righteous Branch (Jer 23:5), Branch of Righteousness (33:15), (my servant the Branch) (Zec 3:8), and The Branch (6:12). Further, ṣemaḥ represents types for the Messiah’s roles in the Gospel: Son of God (Is 4:2, Branch of the Lord); Son of Man (Jer 23:5, a righteous Branch unto David); Servant (Zec 3:8, My servant the Branch); King/High Priest (the man whose name is the Branch; 6:12).

The Millennial Kingdom

Both names describe the Messiah’s attributes and actions toward the remnant of Israel during the millennial kingdom, the period of 1,000 years when Jesus will bind Satan from deceiving the nations (Rv 20:7) after the culmination of the tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week). The blessed and holy will reign with Him,⁴ including the dead in Christ (1 Thes 4:16), Old Testament saints (Dn 12:2), tribulation martyrs (Rv 20:4-6) and believing Jews (the remnant), and Gentile believers who survive the tribulation (Mi 4:6; Zec 12:2; Rm 11:25-32). Jesus will exalt the nation of Israel to the glory of His reign from Jerusalem in a universal peace (Mi 4:6-7; Is 2:4). Motyer described His expected reign as a Davidic future with a “Zion-centered world purpose” (Is 6-12b).⁵ Prior to His millennial reign He will purge, destroy, and consume transgressors and sinners from Zion. He will transform the city He called an unfaithful harlot characterized by declension to one faithful and righteous (1:22-23, 26). The Lord also will restore the land once desolate, burned from fire, and devoured by strangers (v. 7). Only the Stone cut without hands can achieve a cleansing that renews Israel to the days of old (v. 26; Dn 2:34).

Branch of the Lord: Son of God

In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel (Is 4:2 KJV). 

In 4:2-6, scripture refers to the exalted Jesus as the Branch of the Lord. Leading up to this passage, Isaiah foretells the future glory for the city of Jerusalem (2 Sa 5). Isaiah 4:2-6 creates an interlude of grace among Yahweh’s judgments on a sinful Israel in the first part of Isaiah. The prophet contrasted the actual Jerusalem with that to come. His exalted state occurs in that day, also called the latter days, meaning the millennial reign to come. The prophet’s reference to the Branch of the Lord illustrates His attributes as ruler and restorer. Nevertheless, in that day, the Branch will gather the scattered remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob, who escaped the tribulation wrath (cf. Ez 28:25; Is 6:13; Mt 24:15). They will come from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath and islands of the sea (Is 11:11). ⁶ The Branch–the Glorious One, Jesus Christ, the Son of God–will reign over them in His millennial kingdom set in New Jerusalem on Mt. Zion. They will live on the land He gave to His servant Jacob (Ez 28:25). Paul in Rom 9:27 noted the saving of a remnant from those who numbered as the sand of the sea. 

The unrighteous no longer remain as He purged them by the Spirit of judgment during the tribulation and restored Jerusalem to its glory (Is 2:26; 3:3-4). He will consume those who rebel against Him (1:28b). Now, the glorious and beautiful Branch will rule over the righteous remnant He has cleansed and restored in their dwelling place. Isaiah 28:5 calls it a crown of glory and diadem of beauty that the Lord of Hosts wears to the faithful remnant upon His return. The Branch of the Lord (Jehovah, the one true God of Israel) never loses His beauty and glory. Isaiah 4:3 calls the righteous remnant holy. He also renews the once desolate land for Israel, making the earth’s fruit excellent and comely, having majesty and splendor–an eschatological phenomenon reminiscent of a return to paradise (v. 2b).⁷ Once a harlot city, the Lord tells that He will call Zion the city of righteousness, the faithful city (1:21, 26).

Once again, the Branch of the Lord will shelter them with His manifest presence in a canopy of a cloud and smoke by day and flaming fire by night (v. 5). The Spirit’s dwelling in a cloud and fire echoes the cloud and fire guiding Israel during their exodus from Egypt’s bondage and journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land (Ex 13:21–22). The two sticks united as Israel will arrive to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. Ezekiel 28:25-26 describes the New Jerusalem as a place where Israel “will live securely building houses and planting vineyards” (Ez 28:26). The dual fire and cloud accomplish a threefold purpose: They testify of His protection to other nations (Ex 14:24), guide Israel in their millennial habitation of Zion, and remind Israel of the faithful Branch who did not forsake them.

The Branch of Jehovah restores the relationship with Jacob and their reliance only on Him, the mighty God (10:20-21; cf. Ez 28:25). Isaiah 43:10-11 emphatically announces, “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” They give their allegiance to the one God, He who purged those who worshiped strange gods. He alone, their redeemer, delivered Israel (cf. 46:9). The Lord does not share His glory. Jesus is the God of Israel, the Branch of the Lord, their king and deliverer.

The Branch: Son of Man

1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; (Is 11:1-2).

Part of the royal oracle from Is 11:1-6, verse one of the passage, also notes another usage on the eschatological horizon of the Branch, but with a different noun — nēṣer. Nēṣer pertains to the family line of descendants from the Davidic tree (cf. Dn 11:7). This Branch, known otherwise as Jesus, the Messiah, grows out of the roots of Jesse as a descendant according to the flesh.⁸ Isaiah had predicted that God would judge His people so that only the stumps would remain. However, from the stumps of the desolate and empty land of Judah will come “the holy seed” (Is 6:13). The Seed will one day sprout from the root so Israel will live again.⁹

Isaiah described the Branch as the Rod from the stem of Jesse (11:1) and Root of Jesse (11:10).¹⁰ Witherington explained the Branch results from the cutting down of the Davidic tree.¹¹ From the old stump a symbol of death and despair, the root will send forth new life with a shoot who will be king. He will have divine authority and attributes to rule over a new creation. 

The Branch descended from Jesse and David according to the flesh in fulfillment of the unconditional Davidic covenant to provide a king for the throne of David to reign over the house of Jacob forever with a kingdom of no end beyond the millennial age (Ps 132:10; 2 Sm 16; Jer 33:17; Lk 1:32-33). The Branch comes as the divine king over a united Israel (Ez 37:22).¹² He comes as the Son of David, the shoot from the stump of Jesse (cf, Mt 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; 22:42). Rather than a temporal rule, the Branch reigns on the throne of David as the successor to the heavenly throne of redeemed Israel (1 Kgs 9:5). Tanaka calls Him the New David.¹³All the former kings of Israel could only foreshadow Him, the greater son of Jesse — Jesus, the Branch.¹⁴ He brings new life to the rule of the Davidic dynasty that ended in 586 BC. Thus, the Branch completes Israel’s expectation of a messianic hope, providing a final, sovereign, and righteous king who bears the burden of the government with royal authority having all dominion and power (Is 9:6). 

While the Messiah is a branch (descendant) of Jesse and David according to the flesh, He is the Creator and source of the root (life) according to His Spirit.¹⁵ Jesus refers to Himself as the Root and Offspring of David (Rv 22:16). He is both David’s Creator in His deity and Descendant in His humanity.¹⁶

The Branch also embodies the fullness of all divine ruling attributes: 1) The spirit of the LORD, 2) The spirit of wisdom, 3) The spirit of understanding, 4) The spirit of counsel, 5) The spirit of might, 6) The spirit of knowledge, 7) The spirit of the fear of the Lord.¹⁷ The aspects describe what Bernard calls the “totality of God’s Spirit” indicating His perfection.¹⁸ Rather than distinctives of persons separating God and Jesus, the spirits represent one Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Comparison of the Branch of the Lord and Branch (from the Root of Jesse)

Jesus has a dual nature in His eschatological reign with the titles of the Branch of the Lord (Son of God, Is 4:2) and the Branch (Son of Man; 11:1). Together, they demonstrate His perfection as the one and final ruler even unto eternity. 

The Branch of the Lord, in the role of the Son of God, illustrates Him as the arm of the Lord who brought salvation incarnated in the flesh and then will redeem and rescue Israel in the millennial reign. Isaiah noted, “His arm brought salvation” (59:16); therefore, He rules as the revealed arm of the Lord–that same Branch of the Lord (53:1-2) who will continue to restore and cleanse His people. 

He will rule as the Branch, Son of Man, and greater descendant of Jesse and promised King with all power and glory over all nations. He unites Ephraim and Judah to live together in peace. In Mt 24:30-31, Jesus described Himself as having power and great glory when He arrives in the clouds in His second advent, gathering His elect to Jerusalem to begin His worldwide reign. The Branch then sits on His everlasting heavenly throne with full authority to judge as the Ancient of Days (Dn 7:9).

	Branch of the Lord	The Branch
	Son of God	Son of Man
Verse	In that day, shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel” (Isa 4:2 KJV).	And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;” (Is 11:1-2).
Description	Beautiful and gloriousOf the Lord	Rod out of the stem of Jesse Three pairs of spiritual attributes: wisdom/understanding, counsel/might, and knowledge/fear of the Lord (11:2) Righteous and faithful (v. 5) Root of Jesse (v. 10) Ensign of the people (v. 10)
Nature	Rescues, redeems, washes away, restores, forgives, judges, protects, rules	Judges, reproves, smites and slays, ensigns, recovers
Actions	Restores Israel to be called holy: washes away the filth of daughters of Zion, and purges the blood of Jerusalem through the spirits of judgment and burning Restores the land to be excellent and comely-the pride and glory of Israel Protects Israel’s glory with His presence by a cloud and smoke by day and flaming fire by night.	Regathers Rules in righteousness and judgment to bring absolute security to the nations

Close

While Isaiah directed his oracles from Is 4:2 and 11:1 to Israel’s sinful condition, he shed the coming light in New Jerusalem for the remnant who had received Him. Gentiles who also have come to the faith and those believers who survive the tribulation have a place in God’s eschatological kingdom. Christ will rule over all the nations with justice and bring peace for all when the Branch comes to Zion (11:1–5). His 1,000 year reign confirms Old and New Testament promises. He will come as the Branch of the Lord and Branch from the root of Jesse to restore both the people of Israel and the land fulfilling the Palestinian (Dt 30:1-10) and Davidic (2 Sm 7) covenants. The inception of His millennial reign also brings the Church Age of the New Covenant to its fullness and begins a time of ideal and prosperous conditions with His righteousness, peace, safety, and justice (Is 11). 

The millennial reign presents the glorious 1,000 years to come. The one God who created humanity reigns on His heavenly throne with the many attributes defined progressively by His titles (Rv 4:2). While the various titles describe His fullness in the time to come, only one Lord with one name will meet His people in that day (Zec 14:9).¹⁹ Uncovering Isaiah, the prophet reveals the many messianic titles of the Lord. 

Jan Paron, PhD/1.30.24

Image from University of St. George Bible Fellowship

Notes

1. Blue Letter Bible, “Branch,” 2024, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6780/kjv/wlc/0-1/. ↩︎
2. Blue Letter Bible, “Branch” 2024, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5342/kjv/wlc/0-1/. ↩︎
3. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary, Downers Grove: IVP Press, 1993, 13. ↩︎
4. Jesus called them just (Lk 14:14) and life (Jn 5:29). ↩︎
5. Alec J. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 40. ↩︎
6. The modern day equivalents of the scattered: Assyria (northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey); Egypt (Sudan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine), Pathros southern and upper Egypt), Cush (Sudan), Elam (southern Iran and perhaps southern Iraq), Shina (southern Turkey, western Iran, Iraq, eastern Syria, and eastern Saudi Arabia), Hamath (Syria) and islands of the sea.  ↩︎
7. Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah, A Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. ↩︎
8. Blue Letter Bible, “Branch,” 2024,https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5342/kjv/wlc/0-1/. ↩︎
9. Barry L. Ross, NBBC, Isaiah 1-39, (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, 2016). ↩︎
10. Jared A. Jepson, “The Stem of Salvation and the Rod of Restoration,” BYU Religious Studies Center per, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-20-no-3-2019/stem-salvation-rod-restoration. Jepson noted the Masoretic Text (MT) rarely used the terms rod (Heb: choter), stem (Heb: gezaʿ), and branch (Heb: netser). It only uses netser for branch in Is 11:1; 14:19; 60:21 and Dn11:7. ↩︎
11. Witherington, Isaiah Old and New, 141. ↩︎
12. Ezekiel 37:22 reads, “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:” ↩︎
13. Hikaru, Tanaka, Anticipating the New David and the New Moses: A Canonical Reading of the Book of Isaiah. PhD diss., (Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto, 2013), 12. ↩︎
14. Witherington. Isaiah Old and New, 141. ↩︎
15. David K. Bernard, Oneness of God (Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press, 2001). ↩︎
16. Believer’s Bible. ↩︎
17. Bernard, Oneness of God (Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press, 2001). Bernard explains the seven spirits of God indicate the Spirit’s fullness or perfection emphasizing totality. Isaiah 11:2 may allude to the seven aspects of the Spirit since both Isaiah and Revelation describe the seven spirits as belonging to Jesus. Accordingly, since the Bible the seven as “seven distinct persons or even as one distinct person. Rather, John clearly told us the seven spirits belong to Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:1; 5:6). Later in the book he described the Spirit in the singular (Revelation 22:17). Thus, the seven spirits symbolically represent the fullness and power of the one Holy Spirit, who is none other than the Spirit of Jesus.” ↩︎
18. Bernard, Oneness of God. Bernard explained the seven spirits of God indicate the Spirit’s fullness or perfection emphasizing totality. Isaiah 11:2 may allude to the seven aspects of the Spirit since both Isaiah and Revelation describe the seven spirits as belonging to Jesus. Accordingly, the Bible doesn’t identify the seven as “seven distinct persons or even as one distinct person.” Rather, John clearly told us the seven spirits belong to Jesus Christ (Rv 3:1; 5:6). Later in the book he described the Spirit in the singular (Rv 22:17). Thus, the seven spirits symbolically represent the fullness and power of the one Holy Spirit, who is none other than the Spirit of Jesus.” ↩︎
19. Ibid. ↩︎

Bibliography

• Abernethy, Andrew T. The Book of Isaiah and God’s Kingdom: A Thematic Theological Approach. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2016.
• Bernard, David. Oneness of God. Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press, 2001.
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Isaiah 1-39. Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
• Caesarea, Eusebius of. Commentary on Isaiah, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, InterVarsity Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/indwes/detail.action?docID=2009886.
• Childs, Brevard S. Isaiah. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
• _______________Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Fortress Press, 1979.
• Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Assyria, Ancient Kingdom, Mesopotamia.” Britannica. Last modified 2023. https://www.britannica.com/place/Assyria.
• Gignilliat, Mark S. Karl Barth and the Fifth Gospel: Barth’s Theological Exegesis of Isaiah). New York: Ashgate Publishing, 2009.
• Goldingay, John. Theology of the Book of Isaiah. Downers Grove: IVP Press, 2014. 
• Harrison, R. K. Introduction to the Old Testament. Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers, 2004.
• “Isaiah 4:2-6 Commentary.” Precept Austin. Last modified 2022. https://www.preceptaustin.org/Isaiah_42-6_commentary.
• Jarus, Owen. “Ancient Egypt: History, Dynasties, Religion and Writing.” Live Science. Last modified 2023. https://www.livescience.com/55578-egyptian-civilization.html.
• Jared A. Jepson, “The Stem of Salvation and the Rod of Restoration,” BYU Religious Studies Center per, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-20-no-3-2019/stem-salvation-rod-restoration.
• Kaiser, Otto. Isaiah 1-12, Second Edition: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library) Westminster John Knox Press, 1983.
• Motyer, J. Alec. The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP Press, 2009.
• Ross, Barry L. NBBC, Isaiah 1-39. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, 2016.
• Sawyer, John F. The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• Seet, Charles. “Isaiah 11:1-10 – Christ’s Millennial Reign on Earth.” Life Presbyterian Church. Last modified 2023. https://www.lifebpc.com/index.php/resources/treasury-of-sermons/44-isaiah-jeremiah-lamentations/1012-isaiah-11-1-10-christ-s-millennial-reign-on-earth.
• Tanaka, Hikaru. Anticipating the New David and the New Moses: A Canonical Reading of the Book of Isaiah. PhD diss. Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto, 2013.
• Von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology, Vol. 2: The Theology of Israel’s Prophetic Traditions. Harper & Rowe, 1965.
• Wilson, Ralph F. “Day 11. The Spirit Will Rest upon Him (Isaiah 11:1-3).” Jesus Walk. Last modified 2023. https://www.jesuswalk.com/advent/11-spirit.htm.
• Witherington, Ben.Isaiah Old and New. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017.

Patterned After the Order of Melchizedek

Yahweh, through David, promised Jesus as the replacement for the Aaronic priesthood with a pattern after the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110). Notably, scripture offers High-Priestly Christology in the book of Hebrews. In turn, Jesus’ high priestly function enriches the contemporary believer’s understanding of the New Covenant. Hebrews confirms Him as the superior Melchizedek who would ascend to the Davidic throne as the Son to rule the eternal Jerusalem as King. He also offered the sacrifice of His body and blood as High Priest atoning man’s sin (Gn 14:18; 49:8-12). In particular, the Hebraic explanation from 5:4-6 holds significance for believers as it (1) validates Jesus’ title of priest and (2) provides understanding of Jesus Christ as the begotten Son appointed to the new priesthood. Jesus’ role as heavenly high priest, exalted and called by God, flows through the two points.

The author of Hebrews in 5:6 quoted Ps 110:4 describing Jesus’ role as none other than “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (KJV; cf. 5:10, 6:20, and 7:10). Tracing the intertextual use of the Old Testament in the New reveals the identity of Jesus as High Priest with kingly authority. Melchizedek first appears in Gen 14:18, described as the king of Salem (later known as Jerusalem) and a priest of God Most High. Hebrews 7:2 adds his name means king of righteousness and title (king of Salem) means king of peace. Melchizedek appears next in Ps 110:4, in the capacity as king-priest, a servant to God in His priestly function during His reign as king. The passage further provides a prophetic implication for the two roles connecting them to the Son of David and his Lord, pointing to the exalted Messiah resulting from His death on the Cross (Phil 2:8). Jesus fulfills both Son and Lord without separation, unified as the one God. Hebrews completes the foretold portrait of Jesus from Ps 110 reflecting the greater revelation of the Melchizedekian priesthood. Called the book of better things, Hebrews describes the glorified Christ’s superior king-priest status (5:5-6). Descending from the tribe of Judah as prophesied (cf. Gn 49:8-12; Lk 3:23-34; Mt 1:1-16), Jesus stood above David, possessing the nature of both God and man–the ultimate Priest-King patterned after Melchizedek (Gn 14:18; Ps 110). 

Hebrews also called Jesus the begotten Son of God (5:5) because He comprises both God and man with the greater revelation of the Name, Jehovah-Savior. In His humanity, Jesus both ascended to the right hand of God and was conceived of the Holy Ghost as the begotten son. Further, the begotten language fulfills the enthronement promise from Ps 2:6-7 where the Lord speaks of installing a Davidic king who would set on Zion’s holy hill: “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (2:7b KJV). Thus, the roles of priest and king, originally attributed to Adam, find their ultimate fulfillment in the glorified messianic Son, who possesses complete authority and power, and through whom all things will be restored (Acts 3:21).

Jesus has yet to be revealed as the ultimate King of kings. Promised as the one greater than David, the Son alone holds power and authority seated at the right hand of the Lord to overpower His enemies during His second coming (Ps:110:1; Mt 22:42; Heb 1:13). His position at the right hand metaphorically signifies both sovereignty and dominion. He ultimately will rule and serve as priest upon His throne (Zech 6:12-13). Further, Heb 4:15 calls Jesus a great High Priest. The Levitical code required the high priest, a mere mortal man, to possess holy conduct without physical defect (Lv 21:6-8, 18). Though tempted by sin as the Son of God, the unblemished Lamb of God knew no sin (Heb 4:15). This additionally positioned the sinless High Priest from the Davidic lineage in the New Covenant over the high priests from the Aaronic line under the Mosaic.

Christians can rejoice with the assurance that the higher Melchizedek fulfilled in Jesus existed in the mind of God as the sacrificial, spotless slain Lamb before the foundation of the earth who would atone for man’s sin. They may approach Jesus, as the fulfilled, greater Melchizedekian King and High Priest, to obtain mercy and find grace (cf. 1 Jn 1:9; 2:1-2; Heb 4:14-16). Both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), the Son of God, did not come to abolish the law but fulfill it. The glorified Jesus exalted to the right hand of God after His resurrection, poured out His promised Spirit to initiate the Church (2:33-34). He gave man no greater gift than in His roles as priest and king.

Jan Paron, PhD, 08.09.23

Incarnational Hermeneutics

Tags

hermeneutics, Incarnation, Incarnational Hermeneutics, Oneness of God

As a field of study, hermeneutics features the science and the art of Biblical interpretation to determine understanding and meaning of Scriptural text. From the Greek hermeneuo, it purposes to explain and translate. Hermeneutics bridges understanding from the reader to the intent of the original author whom God inspired to write His Word.

Genesis 1:26-27 speaks to the first mention of the Incarnation. The expression image and likeness initially gives a composed portrait of God and a man united in a singular person, the Incarnation of God in Christ. This portrait continually builds upon itself throughout Genesis and ultimately the Bible, revealing both the Creator and the Seed of the woman. Further, as Scripture progressively reveals its meaning, this perspective emerges into the background for interpreting and unifying God’s word. The Christo-centric view increases knowledge of the Incarnation from Christ’s birth until His ascension and current standing in Heaven. In turn, the perspective renders the Incarnation’s historical, doctrinal, and theological purposes. 

The incarnational hermeneutic biblically defines the Incarnation in light of Scriptural truth. It breaks out the meaning of the mystery revealed–the Incarnation prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. In 1 Tm 3:16, its author defined the Incarnation taking into account God made visible in the flesh as Jesus without controversy, seen by angels, pronounced righteous by the Spirit, received up in glory during the Ascension. The revelation brings to bear critical three points regarding the incarnational monotheistic belief, identity and mission of God and the Messiah, and bridge between testaments.

First, it affirms the monotheistic belief of Scripture of one God, the Creator and Father of all without personal distinctions in His nature (1 Cor 8:4-6; Jn 17:3). The Old Testament teaches belief in the one true God. He alone created earth and governs heaven.   

Second, Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, embodies the human incarnation of the one God, the complete and personal revelation of what all Scripture says about God (1 Tm 3:16; Jn 10:30; Col 2:8). Jesus, as God manifested in flesh, fulfills in both identity and mission all the Word of God says about God and the Messiah. The Bible attributes all divine titles Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Yahweh, etc. to Him (1 Tm 2:5). 

Third, an incarnational hermeneutic as a periscope to interpret Scripture leads to a greater knowledge and understanding of God manifested in Christ, thus, bridging the divide between both testaments. It enables greater recognition of the truth, greatness, and sufficiency of Jesus’ person and redemptive work allowing application to various circumstances under the new covenant age. The bridging process allows recognition of Him in the Old Testament to connect with the teachings of His apostles. 

On a final note, Scripture defines the incarnational hermeneutic as a belief and understanding of God’s manifestation in flesh to reveal the person of Jesus and His mission giving an essential understanding that leads the people of God to the unity of the faith.

June 24, 2022

Pastor Daryl Cox

Jan Paron, PhD

Contextual Study: Witness in Beroea

Tags

Acts 17, Acts 17:10-15, Apostle Paul, Berea, Beroea, Contextual Theology, Contextualization, Contextualization in Acts, God Fearers, Macedonian Call, missiology, Mission, mission of God, New Testament

Jan Paron, PhD | November 5, 2021

During Paul’s second missionary trip from 49 AD to 52 AD, he journeyed the eastern corridor of the Aegean Sea^[1] down Via Egnatia making his way through the provinces of Syria (Acts 15:36-40), Cilicia (15:41), Galatia (16:6), Macedonia (17), and Achaia (18).^[2] As he traveled, Paul delivered the Council of Jerusalem decrees to new believers (16:4). Additionally, the apostle carried the message of the Good News with him to the Jews and carved out a new mission to the Gentiles.^[3] From a contextualization aspect, perhaps, the center point of this journey lies in his ministry in Thessalonica (17:1-9), Beroea (or Berea) (vv. 10-15), and Athens (vv. 16-34). There, one sees the diversity of his communication strategies that he adapted to culture for the purpose of bridging the salvific message as part of his Macedonian Call. Keeping in mind the varied populace Paul encountered, this writing specifically focuses on the apostle’s Beroean ministry to examine elements of the city inhabitant’s historical, cultural, and social backgrounds that influenced his contextualization methodology in a cross-cultural setting. The study analyzes ethnic Jews, prominent Greek women, and Greek men who comprised his audiences (vv. 11-12). Why look back at Paul’s evangelistic adaptations in the early church’s inception? In its ageless truths, Scripture provides lessons for the believer with methods for contemporary mission through examination of Paul’s communicative approaches to the uniqueness of wide-ranging people groups.

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To understand Paul’s contextualization techniques in his Beroean ministry, one first needs to delve briefly into the historical aspects of the Jerusalem Council within the scope of his Macedonian Call backdropping Paul’s second missionary trip. Paul began his journey on the back of the resolved conflict from the Jerusalem Council based on contextualization issues that arose from the influx of Gentile Christians into the young church. The Council of Jerusalem holds an integral piece to understanding God’s redemptive plan for both Jews and Gentiles as it approaches a pivotal moment for the Church in terms of expanding outward from Jerusalem to the nations. Further, it addressed several cultural issues pertaining to the Gentiles. Must the Gentiles become Jews first embracing the lifestyle of the law? Or could they retain their culture taking on membership in the community of believers? Further would the Jerusalem church approve of unhindered outreach to the Gentiles?”^[4] Contention arose over Gentiles being circumcised and keeping the law of Moses to determine salvation (15:1, 5). The apostle and elders resolved it, noting God did not distinguish between the Jews and Gentiles purifying their hearts all the same (vv. 7-9). The council chose Paul, Barnabas, Judas Barsabas, and Silas to deliver the message to Gentile believers (v. 22). Later, Paul separated from Barnabas and traveled with Silas to strengthen the churches. Yet, Paul faced these same culturally-based issues that created liminal boundaries to cross with intentional strategies in mission. His methodologies involved contextualization. Strong defined contextualization as the “relationship of the Christian faith to its cultural context.”^[5] As Paul obeyed the Spirit’s Macedonian Call resulting from a vision at Troas (16:9-10), he encountered diverse people groups of which to adapt the method of delivering the good news.

Ethnic Jews

Heeding the Macedonian Call posed challenges for Paul. He did not persuade many of the Jews resulting in agitators stirring up the city and his departure. His Thessalonian ministry followed suit likewise. After fleeing Thessalonica under the cover of darkness from angry Jews, Paul left for Beroea (v. 10). Locationally, Beroea lies 60 miles south of Thessalonica, also part of Macedonia (v.10).^[6] Thus, he traveled the Via Egnatia or the Roman Road once again^[7] [8] Paul probably arrived around 51 AD, during his second missionary trip but before the fall of the second temple in 70 AD. By the time of Paul’s visit, Beroea had grown to a prosperous city with a large Jewish colony (v. 10)^[9]The Jews in Beroea either settled there from people exiled previously from the Northern or Southern Kingdoms. The Roman Empire protected the Jewish religion at this time.^[10] Nonetheless, Paul addressed three groups with the message of salvation: Berean Jews, prominent women, and Greek men (Acts 17:12).

While Luke did not say whether Paul stopped immediately at the synagogue, the narrator highlighted it as his first stop. Acts 17:10 notes that Paul and Silas went to the synagogue upon arrival.” Luke specifically qualified it as the synagogue of the Jews. The Beroeans were Judean Jews. The synagogue served as a place of Torah study or worship. Malina described a synagogue of the Jews as a gathering or assembly, meeting place, or men’s community center for Judeans. When ten or more Jewish male adults met, the group can call it a synagogue, even in someone’s residence. As the assembly’s membership grew, they would put up a dedicated building with its size reflecting the economic side of the community.^[11] The fact that Beroea had its own synagogue reflects the number of ethnic Jews in the community and their wealth. Greek Israelites also had their own separate synagogue in some cities.^[12] Therefore, one might surmise that Paul only witnessed to Israelite Judeans in the synagogue rather than Hellenistic. Further, while the term Judean characterized both devout Judeans and assimilated Israelite Greeks, culturally speaking, Hellenistic Israelites from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia went to a separate synagogue called the “synagogue of the Freedmen.” Acts 6:9 cited one such in Jerusalem.^[13] The Greek Israelites were less informed about traditions, while more assimilated to the Mediterranean behaviors and values from non-Israelites. Whether Berea had a separate synagogue for Macedonian converts, Luke did not specify.^[14]

Perhaps, Paul intentionally stopped there because it had a sizable population of Jews. Ramsey supported this theory believing Paul went to Berea because of the Jewish settlers there. The synagogue provided a place for his gospel witness.^[15] Nevertheless, Paul stopped in the synagogues upon visiting a town as was his custom (17:2). It additionally may have been habitual insofar as remaining true to his identity as a Jew educated at the feet of Gamaliel (22:3). Scripture does note Paul went to the synagogue of the Jews as customary to him and evangelized to them (13:5; 14:1; 17:1, 2, 10). Nonetheless, it provided him with a ready audience for testimony. Scriptural reference to Paul’s took advantage of a ready audience by going to the synagogue of the Jews in Berea. Berea had grown to a prosperous city in Roman times with a large Jewish community.^[16] Thus, he met where they already had congregated.

In contrast to the Thessalonians, Luke describes the Bereans as eugenes meaning well born. Luke contrasted Bereans to Thessalonians of which the former showed a character of nobleness, while the latter one of rabble rouser. Thus, Berean character influenced the setting’s culture. According to Johnson, nobleness means well born (Greek: eugenes)^[17] First Cor 1:26 and Luke 19:12 implies eugenes describes a person of higher standing with a social status in the world. In the context of the verse, however, it would seem to mean more gracious and open minded. Upholding this supposition, the NKJV describes eugenes as fair-minded and NLT as open-minded. Acts 17:11 illustrates their open-mindedness to Scripture with three verbs, received, searched, and find.^[18] Thus, the Bereans received what Paul had to say. The group examined the Scripture daily with eagerness to confirm what he had said (Acts 17:11). The word examine in Greek can indicate a legal examination of witnesses (4:9; 12:19; 24:8; 28:18). Malina saw this as suitable since Paul’s testimony utilized Israelite traditions.^[19] Acts 17:11b notes the Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily to find outwhether these things were so.” This alludes to a written form of either the Torah and/or prophetic documents. Perhaps, Paul crafted his teaching in testimony fashion, knowing the Bereans would confirm it in Scripture as their touchstone of truth.^[20]

Prominent Greek Women 

Like Thessalonica, Paul’s audience in Beroea also had a Greek character. Aside from the ethnic Jews who received the word of God, a number of prominent Greek women (Greek: euschémón; εὐσχήμων, ον) also believed it (v. 12). Luke indicates their presence in reverse order than the Thessalonian account listing prominent Greek first in Beroea (v. 4). Within the cultural and social framework of Acts, the narrator highlights the role of women in the early church’s formation as all one in Christ. Ashley added that women, too, acted as recipients of God’s favor. Throughout Acts and the Pauline epistles, women became full members of Jesus’ faith community and later took on roles as leaders.^[21]

At the time of Paul’s ministry, Beroea had been the seat of the provincial assembly of Macedonia. The high priest of the imperial cult headed it.^[22] While an established city under Roman rule, Greek women had few rights as opposed to men. Jeffers stated married women had to abide by established household duties. Even upper-class women had to remain inside the home except when participating in important events. Notwithstanding, male relatives had to accompany them outside the home.^[23] Working under these social regulations, prominent women either heard Paul in the company of their husbands or another male relative. Conceivably, the wife believed, but the husband did not. Lydia, a Macedonian, contrasts to general Hellenist gender limitations established during the classical period. Bruce explained that Macedonian women characteristically conducted themselves independently from men. Further, he said that the Roman law governing the colony allowed for different privileges for freeborn women with three children and freedwomen with four children. Their privileges included rights to make legal transactions on their own.^[24] Thus, prominent women in Beroea may have had more freedom than women in other cities that Paul visited. Further, the fact that Luke mentioned prominent women first, may indicate that these same women who received the word of God may have played a major role later in the formation of the early church. 

Greek Men

Luke mentioned Greek men among the believers as well as the prominent women in Beroea. In 17:12, he did not describe the Beroean men (Greek: andrōn; ἀνδρῶν) who believed further. However, he referred to the Thessalonian men as devout (Greek: sebomenōn; σεβομένων; 17:4). His reference leaves the reader wondering whether Paul evangelized to God-fearers, proselytes, or pagans (cf. 1 Thes 1:5–2:16 for Paul’s account of the church’s founding). It additionally gives rise to the location where the Greek men heard Paul teach. Luke did not specify where. Luke made it clear that Paul evangelized to both Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue during the apostle’s travels to Antioch (Acts 13:16; 43, 48), Iconium (14:1-2), Thessalonica (17:1-4); and Corinth (18:4).

In Acts 10:2, Luke describes Cornelius as a God-fearer. He prayed to God continually and did many works of charity for the people. In essence, Cornelius had familiarity with the God of Israel and probably encountered Jewish people. Kraabel notes from Pauly-Wissowa, that God-fearers (Greek: sebomenoi or phoboumenoi ton theon) frequented synagogue services, held scriptural, monotheistic beliefs, and participated in some ceremonial traditions of the Law, but did not convert fully through circumcision.”^[25] Acts 10:2 uses the adjective phobeō (cf. Acts 17:4 sebō). Paul did not describe the Greek men in Beroea as either sebomenoi or phoboumenoi ton theon. Having been assimilated to Mediterranean values and cultures, the Greeks in Beroea probably had shown favor toward the Jews, perhaps in offering financial support for a local synagogue.^[26] In contrast, Gentile proselytes became full members of the Jewish community by following complete adherence to the letter of the law and its traditions, including circumcision. They also went through purity rites via baptism.^[27] Few Greek men went that far. Some of the converts could have been Gentile pagans, worshippers of multiple gods. Esler believed most Gentiles mentioned in Lucan writings had converted to Christianity from idolatry; however, they previously had been associated with the Jewish synagogues.^[28] From a cultural standpoint, ancient Macedonians during the Hellenistic periods had distinct ethnic characteristics from Greeks. Thus, pagan converts formerly held polytheistic views, but their gods did not include those from Greece.^[29] Stefov noted Macedonians may have looked toward the philosophical and theological theories associated with a single divine being–a God in heaven.^[30]Notwithstanding, whether a God-fearer, Jewish proselyte, or pagan, Paul had the opportunity to minister in a field ready for harvest.

Presumably, Paul would have presented Christ to the Gentile Beroeans with different nomenclature and language. The Macedonians spoke koine Greek. The passage does not mention translators, so Paul must have had knowledge of Greek to communicate with them. God-fearers, proselytes, and pagans more than likely would not have had the same familiarity with Scripture as the ethnic Jews. With this presumption, Paul would have made adaptations to the way he presented Christ to the Gentile Beroeans so they would understand the gospel. 

In the larger scope of Paul’s contact with Gentiles, he may have interacted with them in multiple areas like the synagogue, marketplace, or trade guilds of tentmaking. Scripture highlights the presence of God-fearers in the synagogue (ie., 14:1; 17:1-4). For example, in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, Paul addressed the assembly as “Men of Israel, and you who fear God,” (13:16). A great multitude of devout Greeks in the Thessalonica synagogue believed Jesus is the Christ (17:4). Another possibility of Gentile witness existed through mixed table-fellowship in which Paul spoke to Jews and Greeks who had attended synagogue. Nevertheless, Paul’s message of salvation went to the Jews first (cf. 13:46). Since Scripture does not specify it, one only can draw hypothetical conclusions through a historical reconstruction of Luke and Paul’s letters analyzing his patterns of witness. With surety, Paul preached to the Diaspora Jews and Greek men in bringing both into the community of believers.

Paul’s Contextualization Strategies 

Paul’s contextualization strategies in Acts 17:10-15 encompass location, rhetorical technique, culture, and gender. As customary for Paul, he would witness in the synagogue (13:5; 14:1; 17:1, 2, 10). Location played an important role in this passage as Paul brought the gospel there. In addition to the ethnic Jews, he may have interacted with prominent Greek women and Greek men in the synagogue providing a pathway to Gentile conversion (17:12). Insofar as his rhetorical technique, Paul presumably adapted it to the Jews in the Beroean synagogue. Malina saw Paul’s manner of teaching as a testimony utilizing Israelite traditions.^[31] It worked well with the open-minded Beroeans who responded to Paul by receiving, searching, and finding scriptural evidence to confirm his message to them (v. 11). The word examine (NIV) in Greek can indicate a legal examination of witnesses (4:9; 12:19; 24:8; 28:18). 

One key point to take away from Paul’s witnessing strategies comes with his ability to bring the good news to the cultures associated with ethnic Jews, Gentiles, and women. He preached across diverse cultures that traversed ethnicity and gender. The fact that his reach encompassed multiple people groups, it ensured a greater chance that new converts would pass along what they learned to others within their own communities. Thus, Gentiles would have witnessed the gospel to the dominant culture of other Macedonians or Roman citizens in Beroea. _^[32] When Paul left Berea because of Thessalonian agitators, Silas and Timothy stayed behind. They perhaps had done so to calm the city, but additionally to establish a church. It would seem many believed because of Paul’s Beroean ministry. More importantly, Paul began the realization of mission to the nations in Beroea as part of his Macedonian Call.

Bibliography

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Ashley, Edith. Women in Luke’s Gospel. Sydney: University of Sydney, 2000. https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/804/adt-NU20020222.16120002whole.pdf;jsessionid=0977E91315C10579841B05602247798F?sequence=1

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Stefov, Risto. “History of the Macedonian People – The Rise of Christianity a New Beginning.” History of the Macedonian People from Ancient Times to the Present. https://mk.wikibooks.org/wiki/History_of_the_Macedonian_People_-_The_Rise_of_Christianity_a_New_Beginning

Tannehill, Robert C. The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation: The Gospel According to Luke. In Vol 1. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.

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Wright, N.T. The New Testament and the People of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

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^[1] Conforming to Jesus Ministry, Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Map. https://www.conformingtojesus.com/chartsmaps/en/paul%27s

^[2] Conforming to Jesus Ministry, Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Map.

^[3] Ben Witherington, The Acts of the Apostles: A Social-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, Publishing Company, 1998), 471.

^[4] Robert L. Gallagher and Paul L. Hertig, eds., Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context: 34 (American Society of Missiology) (Mary Knoll: Orbis Books, 2004) 197.

^[5] Gallagher and Hertig, eds., Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context, 17.

^[6] Ray Vander Laan, Cultures in Conflict Discovery Guide, 132.

^[7] “Paul in Berea,” Bible Journey, https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney1/10-pauls-journey-to-phrygia-macedonia/paul-in-berea/

^[8] “Paul in Berea,” Bible Journey.

^[9] Ibid.

^[10] William Mitchell Ramsey, St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen, 232.

^[11] James Jeffers, The Graeco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1999), 217.

^[12] Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch, Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Acts (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008), 122. 

^[13] Malina and Pilch. Social-science Commentary on the Book of Acts, 122.

^[14] Ibid.

^[15] William Mitchell Ramsey, St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2001), 226.

^[16] “Paul in Berea,” Bible Journey, 

^[17] Johnson, Acts of the Apostles, 307.

^[18] In describing the Beroeans fair mindedness Acts 17:11 notes,  “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that theyreceived the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (NKJV).

^[19] Malina and Pilch, Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Acts, 124.

^[20] Simon J. Kistemaker, The New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990), 620. 

^[21] Edith Ashley, Women in Luke’s Gospel (Sydney: University of Sydney, 2000), iii, https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/804/adt-NU20020222.16120002whole.pdf;jsessionid=0977E91315C10579841B05602247798F?sequence=1

^[22] Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies, and Methods (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2008, 98.

^[23] Jeffers, The Graeco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity, 243.

^[24] F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts: A New International Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), 311-312.

^[25] K. G. Kuhn and H. Stegemann, “Proselyten,” RE, suppl. ix (1962), 1260.

^[26] Kraabel in Marjorie J. Cooper, “Theological Perspectives on the God-Fearers, with Application to Acts 13:48.” Presbyterion 46, no. 1 (April 1, 2020): 90–99. 

^[27] Jeffers, The Graeco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity, 218. 

^[28] Philip Francis Esler, Community and Gospel in Luke-Acts: The Social and Political Motivations of Lucan Theology (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 31.

^[29]J. S. Gandeto. “Differences Between Ancient Macedonians and Ancient Greeks.” History of Macedonia.org. http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/gandeto.html

^[30]Risto Stefov, “History of the Macedonian People – The Rise of Christianity a New Beginning,” History of the Macedonian People from Ancient Times to the Present, https://mk.wikibooks.org/wiki/History_of_the_Macedonian_People_-_The_Rise_of_Christianity_a_New_Beginning

^[31] Malina and Pilch, Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Acts, 124.

^[32] Thomas A. Kraabel, “The Disappearance of the ‘God-Fearers,” Numen 28, no. 2 (1981): 113–26. Kraabel felt that Gentile witness primarily originated in the synagogue. The conversion of God-fearers to Christianity among the Jews demonstrated the straight-line expansion of Christianity in the early church: Jew — God-fearer — Gentile.