scholarly journals An Analysis of Economic Wealth of God’s People from Nomadic to Post Exilic Era

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Halim Wiryadinata

The terminology of the economic wealth is not actually related to the poor in terms of poverty and wealth in the Bible. The terminology of wealth and poverty is not a matter of relationship to the business or economy, but they are rather to have relationships to seek the righteousness of God. Thus, one should clarify the meaning of wealth and poverty in order to seek the real meaning of the Old Testament theology. The eras of Nomadic to Post Exilic give the idea of how God dealt with the people of God in term of sinful nature. It is not the matter of the economic situation, but it is blessedness for the people who seek Him with all their heart. Nomadic era gives an idea of how God gives the promise land to the people of Israel as long as they can keep the covenant. However, throughout the history the Israelites never entered into the promise land, except Caleb and Joshua. The picture of Babylonia is the wrath of God to the people of Israel who never listen to the command of God. In conclusion, seeking God with full heart will find ‘rest’ forever and keep the promise forever more. Keeping the righteousness of God will bring justice to the poor and let the poverty be away from the poor.

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Van der Walt

In the Bible the words blind and deaf occur nine times in the same sentence. An accumulation of such sentences is found in Isaiah 42 and 43, where it occurs three times (Is 42:18, 19; 43:8). Blindness is also mentioned in two further sentences in these chapters. Not only is it stated that the people of God is blind, but Israel also accuses Yahweh that their way is hidden from him (Is 40:27). It is because of this accusation, pertaining to an alleged blindness on Yahweh’s side, that the question of hearing is raised. He answers to this accusation in the heavenly court with the questions ‘Do you not know? Have you not heard?’ From there on God makes it clear that seeing is dependent on hearing. In a heavenly court of law, the wrong perception that God’s people had about the exile was put straight and a new beginning for the exiles was subsequently made. The theme of blind- and deafness is thereby continued from Isaiah 1 and 6 in the verdict in the heavenly court in Isaiah 43, where it became clear that the cure for the spiritual blindness of God’s people is not related to their eyes, but to their ears.In die Bybel kom die woorde blind en doof nege keer saam in dieselfde sin voor. ’n Opeenhoping van hierdie sinne word in Jesaja 42 en 43 aangetref waar dit drie maal voorkom (Jes 42:18, 19; 43:8). Blindheid word ook in twee verdere sinne in hierdie hoofstukke genoem. Nie alleen word dit gestel dat die volk van God blind is nie, maar die volk beskuldig God dat Hy nie raaksien wat van hulle word nie (Jes 40:27). In die hemelse hof antwoord God op hierdie beskuldiging met die vrae ‘Weet julle nie? Het julle nie gehoor nie?’ Van daardie punt af maak God dit duidelik dat sien van hoor afhanklik is. Hierdie verkeerde persepsie van die volk oor God se sogenaamde blindheid vir hulle welstand tydens die ballingskap, word reggestel en ’n nuwe begin word gemaak. Die tema van blind- en doofheid word sodoende uit Jesaja 1 en 6 voortgesit in die uitspraak wat in die hemelse hof gemaak word (Jes 43). Daar word dit duidelik dat die oplossing vir die geestelike blindheid van die volk nie verband hou met hulle sig nie, maar met hulle gehoor.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Agustin Soewitomo Putri

The period between the Old Testament and the New Testament is often referred to as the intertestamental period which is approximately 400 years apart, during which time no prophet appears to be the successor of God's voice. Ended by the prophet Malachi and the book of Chronicles the Bible does not give any record. This certainly raises so many questions as to what happened in that dark age, whether God really did not do anything among God's people, especially the Israelites, while at that time the Israelites had repeatedly experienced good colonization from Persian, Greek or Roman. By using descriptive methods and historical analysis, this discussion will provide an insight into God's faithfulness to His covenant to the people, and how the concept of salvation has not changed even though in the 400 years that God did not speak to His people. Understanding the consistency of the concept of salvation is a gift in intertestamental times will open a new understanding of the power of God in keeping the covenants and His Word.AbstractMasa antara Perjanjian Lama dengan Perjanjian Baru seringkali disebut dengan masa intertesta-men yang berjarak lebih kurang 400 tahun, di mana sepanjang masa tersebut tidak ada nabi yang muncul menjadi penerus suara dari Tuhan. Diakhiri oleh Nabi Maleakhi dan kitab Tawarikh maka Alkitab tidak memberikan catatan apa pun. Hal tersebut tentu memunculkan begitu banyak pertanyaan dengan apa yang terjadi dalam masa kegelapan tersebut, apakah memang Allah betul-betul tidak berbuat sesuatu apapun di tengah-tengah umat Tuhan, khususnya bangsa Israel, sementara pada masa tersebut bangsa Israel berkali-kali mengalami penjajahan baik dari Persia, Yunani ataupun Romawi. Dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif dan analisis historis, pemba-hasan ini akan memberikan pandangan tentang kesetiaan Allah dengan perjanjianNya kepada umat, serta bagaimana konsep keselamatan itu tidak mengalami pergeseran sekalipun dalam keadaan 400 tahun Tuhan tidak berbicara kepada umatNya. Memahami konsistensi konsep keselamatan adalah anugerah dalam masa intertestamental akan membukakan pemahaman baru tentang kekuatan Allah dalam memelihara perjanjian dan FirmanNya.


2020 ◽  
pp. 42-62
Author(s):  
Владимир Викторович Бельский

В данной статье рассматривается понятие Сиона - одного из библейских топонимов, который широко употребляется в качестве богословского понятия в ветхозаветных пророческих книгах, псалмах, Новом Завете преимущественно для обозначения Божественного присутствия. Однако предметом данного исследования выступают те специфические черты богословия Сиона, которые выражены в первых восьми главах Книги пророка Захарии. Исследовательский интерес именно к этой части Писания вызван тем, что она датирована начальным этапом восстановления храма в Иерусалиме. В Библии выделяются три стороны, три грани понимания Божественного присутствия на Сионе, наличие храма и богослужения, наличие монарха из Давидовой династии и мир и справедливость в среде народа Божия. Это ставит вопрос о том, какому же аспекту отдавал приоритет Захария в своем понимании присутствия Господа на Сионе. Для решения проблемы автор обращается к анализу интертекстуальных связей рассматриваемых отрывков Книги пророка Захарии с отраженной в Ветхом Завете пророческой и священнической традицией, с античными параллелями. Эти методы применяются с учетом конкретной исторической ситуации создания исследуемых текстов. В результате в представлениях пророка Захарии о Сионе обнаруживается соединение литургического и социального (общинного) понимания присутствия Господа. This article discusses the concept of Zion, one of the biblical toponyms widely used as a theological concept in the Old Testament prophetic books, psalms, the New Testament primarily to denote Divine presence. However, the subject of this study is the specific features of the theology of Zion, which are expressed in 1-8 chapters of the book of Zechariah. Research interest for this part of Scripture is due to the fact that it is dated by the initial stage of the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The Bible distinguishes three aspects of the understanding of the Divine presence in Zion, the presence of a temple and worship, the presence of a monarch from the davidic dynasty and peace and justice among the people of God. It raises the question of what aspect Zechariah gave priority to his understanding of the presence of the Lord in Zion. To solve the problem, the author turns to the analysis of the intertextual links of the considered passages of the book of the Prophet Zechariah with the prophetic and priestly tradition evidenced in the Old Testament, with ancient parallels. These methods are applied taking into account the specific historical situation of the creation of the studied texts. As a result of the research, the prophet Zechariah’s conception of Zion reveals a combination of liturgical and social (communal) understanding of the presence of the Lord.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-274
Author(s):  
H F Van Rooy

The Book of Deuteronomy holds a central position in the Old Testament, and indeed in the Bible as a whole. It provides a summary of what the faith of Israel in the Old Testament is all about. It speaks about the covenant God made between himself and his people, about faithfulness to that covenant and of  the implications of breaking the covenant. This covenant had implications not only for the way the people of Israel had to live as God’s people in God’s land, but also for the relationship among the members of the covenant. This article discusses the structure of the book of Deuteronomy, and then the way in which reconciliation appears in each of the different parts. The theme of reconciliation is not dealt with explicitly in all the passages discussed, but it does form a part of the subtext of the book of Deuteronomy. The people could only experience the Lord’s blessings in the promised land after He had brought about reconciliation between Himself and them. To keep on experiencing the Lord’s blessings, they had to remain faithfull to Him, obey his commandments and live within the boundaries He prescribed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 329-348
Author(s):  
Andrzej Piotr Perzyński

The article analyses the subject of Christian-Jewish relations in historical and theological terms. In the historical part the following periods are briefly discussed: New Testament, patristic, medieval, modern and contemporary. In the theological part, the common elements of Judaism and Christianity were first presented: - Jews and Christians identify their faith and action through the interrelations between justice and love; they base their beliefs on the common “scripture” (the “Old Testament”); they understand each other as the people of God; they profess the one God, the Creator and the Redeemer; they express their faith in worship, in which there are many similarities; Jews and Christians also live in the expectation for the common history of God with his people, whose fulfillment they expect. Distinctive elements (The divergence of the ways) are: the belief in Jesus, the Christ; the interpretation of the Scriptures; a different understanding of what God’s people are; different developed piety. In conclusion, it was said that the rediscovery of a positive relationship with Judaism facilitates a positive formation of Christian identity and memory.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-131
Author(s):  
Ailsa Barker

Missional hermeneutics is the interpretation of Scripture as it relates to the missionary task of the church. Four elements comprise a missional hermeneutics: 1) the missional trajectory of the biblical story being the foremost element, which also underlies the other three, 2) a narrative throughout Scripture centered on Christ and intended to equip the people of God for their missional task, 3) the missional context of the reader, in which attention moves from the task of equipping to the community being equipped, a community that is active, and 4) a missional engagement with culture and the implications thereof. Through the life of God’s people an alternative is offered, together with an invitation to come and join. Because the separation of theology from the mission of the church has distorted theology, all theology needs to be reformulated from the perspective of missio Dei and from the realization that the church is a sent community, missional in its very being. A missional hermeneutics bears implications upon the congregation, worship, preaching, discipleship, education, ministerial training, and the missionary task in multicultural contexts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Liz Shercliff

Feminism’s contribution to homiletics so far has arguably been restricted to exploring gender difference in preaching. In 2014, however, Jennifer Copeland identified a need not merely to ‘include women “in the company of preachers” but to craft a new register for the preaching event’. This article considers what that new register might be and how it might be taught in the academy. It defines preaching as ‘the art of engaging the people of God in their shared narrative by creatively and hospitably inviting them into an exploration of biblical text, by means of which, corporately and individually, they might encounter the divine’ and proposes that in both the Church and the Academy, women’s voices are suppressed by a rationalist hegemony. For the stories of women to be heard, a new homiletic is needed, in which would-be preachers first encounter themselves, then the Bible as themselves and finally their congregation in communality. Findings of researchers in practical preaching discover that women preachers are being influenced by feminist methodology, while the teaching of preaching is not. In order to achieve a hospitable preaching space, it is proposed that the Church and the Academy work together towards a new homiletic.


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