life and taxes (2018/11/18)

apocalyptic, christian life, lament, law, podcast, prophecy, social justice

This week, Nehemiah brings some prophetic fire to his governorship of Jerusalem, as he literally lays down The Law on the ruling class. Hope for a better future infuses all three passages for this Sunday, via lament (in Joel) and peace (in 1 Thessalonians).

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The kind of hope these scriptures describe is one that requires action to realise. The writers naturally identify God as the source of hope - from whom flows justice, deliverance, and peace - but they also have expectations of God's people. It's not a sit-back-and-wait-for-blessings-to-shower-down-on-us kind of hope!

In the outro this week I can be heard paraphrasing Walter Brueggemann, who gave a fantastic interview on the Can I Say This At Church podcast a couple of weeks ago. I shared the episode, with the full quotation, on the four cubits and a span Facebook page last week. Click on this link to the post to read the full quotation, and click through from there to hear the full interview about prophetic narratives in scripture.

Correction
On the original release of this episode, my mind wandered for a moment when I referred to the Greek territory of Ionia as "an island", which is funny when you know that 'Iona' is an island off the coast of Scotland, UK. Ionia was of course a region in Asia Minor, west of the Aegean Sea, in present-day Turkey. The Jewish Study Bible notes that it's identified as "Javan" in some Hebrew Bible texts, such as Joel 3:6 (Heb. 4:6). Thanks to an astute friend for pointing out my mistake!

Just out of interest, the Hermeneia commentary on Joel and Amos has this note:

“Javan” (יָוָן) for the Greek—speaking regions of the western world and their inhabitants (cf. “Ionians”) appears in the Old Testament only in exilic and later texts. [Gen 10:2*, 4* (P); 1 Chr 1:5*, 7*; Is 66:19*; Zech 9:13*; Dan 8:21*; 10:20*; 11:2*. On Ezek 27:13*, 19*, see p. 78n 37.]

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References

Achtemeier, Elizabeth (1996). Minor Prophets I, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
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Comfort, Philip W. (2008). 1 Thessalonians, in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Vol. 16: Ephesians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Philemon. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House.
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Davies, Gordon F. (1999). Ezra and Nehemiah, Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
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Wolff, Hans Walter (1969); tr. Waldemar Janzen, S. Dean McBride, Jr., Charles A. Muenchow (1977). Joel and Amos: A Commentary on the Books of the Prophets Joel and Amos, Hermeneia — A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.
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Yamauichi, Edwin D. (2009). Ezra and Nehemiah, in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Vol. 3: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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