Theological Term of the Week

tabernacle
The mobile place of worship constructed by the Israelites during their desert wanderings, built according to plans given by God so that he could dwell with His people. 

• From scripture:

The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. (Exodus 25:1-9 ESV)

• From the notes of the The ESV Study Bible:

The instructions for the tabernacle (Exodus 25:1–31:17) and the description of the instructions being carried out (35:4–40:38) make up the majority of the second half of the book of Exodus. The Lord said of Israel, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” (6:7), and the focus on the tabernacle is grounded in the fact that it is the means through which the Lord chose to dwell in the midst of his people (see 25:8; 29:45). The level of detail in the instructions emphasizes that Israel is to worship the Lord according to his word and that the materials, design, and layout of the tabernacle signify how Israel is to relate to the Lord, who is both holy and in their midst. For example, the objects inside the tabernacle where the Lord will meet with his people are made of or overlaid with pure gold (in contrast to the materials outside the tent, which are made of bronze and silver). Although the instructions include a significant level of detail, the details are not exhaustive enough for the reader to be sure precisely how every aspect was to be made (Moses is repeatedly “shown” how to make it, 25:9). The inclusion of the details may also have been meant to ensure that any early Israelite hearing the instructions read aloud would recognize that the tabernacle in their midst was indeed the one revealed to Moses, for him to oversee in construction. At the same time, there are two important keys to understanding the symbolism of the tabernacle. First, the tabernacle is seen as a tented palace for Israel’s divine king. He is enthroned on the ark of the covenant in the innermost Holy of Holies (the Most Holy Place). His royalty is symbolized by the purple of the curtains and his divinity by the blue. The closer items are to the Holy of Holies, the more valuable are the metals (bronze→silver→gold) of which they are made. The other symbolic dimension is Eden. The tabernacle, like the garden of Eden, is where God dwells, and various details of the tabernacle suggest it is a mini-Eden. These parallels include the east-facing entrance guarded by cherubim, the gold, the tree of life (lampstand), and the tree of knowledge (the law). Thus God’s dwelling in the tabernacle was a step toward the restoration of paradise, which is to be completed in the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21–22).

• From The God Who Is There by D. A. Carson:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ([John] 1:14)—the expression I have italicized is literally “he tabernacled among us.” You cannot help but remember that the tabernacle is what God set up at the time of Sinai, a tabernacle with this special Most Holy Place where only the High priest could enter on behalf of himself and everybody else once a year with the blood of the sacrifices. It was the place where sinners met God, the great meeting place that brought together a holy God and rebellious human beings. That is what the tabernacle was, until the temple superseded it. Now we are told that when the Word became flesh, “he tabernacled among us.” …  Jesus … is the ultimate meeting place between human beings and God. 

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: What was the tabernacle of Moses?
2. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Tabernacle
3. ESV Study Bible: The Tabernacle and Court, The Tabernacle Tent
4. Challies.com: The Message of the Tabernacle (infographic)
5. R. C. Sproul:  The Tabernacle (mp3)

Related terms:

• typology

Filed under Old Covenant.

This week’s term was suggested by Diane Bucknell. Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

This Week in Housekeeping

A few more recently updated Theological Term posts:

perichoresis

• Added related terms Trinity and ontological Trinity.
• Added a link to What is perichoresis? from GotQuestions.org.

perspicuity of scripture

• Fixed formatting issues.
• Added a link to The Perspicuity of Scripture by Wayne Grudem.
• Added a link to The Clarity of Scripture by Gerald Bray.

A Catechism for Girls and Boys

Part III: Questions about Salvation

76. Q. What kind of death did Christ die?
       A. Christ experienced the painful and shameful death of the cross.

(Click through to read scriptural proof.)

Click to read more ...

Sunday Hymn: Depth of Mercy

Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I my master have denied,
I afresh have crucified,
And profaned His hallowed name,
Put Him to an open shame.

I have spilt His precious blood,
Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable,
I, who yet am not in hell!

Lo! I still walk on the ground:
Lo! an advocate is found:
Hasten not to cut him down,
Let this barren soul alone.

Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood!
He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move,
Justice lingers into love.

Kindled His relentings are,
Me He now delights to spare,
Cries, How shall I give thee up?
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Whence to me this waste of love?
Ask my advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face,
Now before the throne of grace.

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Jesus, answer from above,
Is not all Thy nature love?
Wilt Thou not the wrong forget,
Permit me to kiss Thy feet?

If I rightly read Thy heart,
If Thou all compassion art,
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Pardon and accept me now.

Pity from Thine eye let fall,
By a look my soul recall;
Now the stone to flesh convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent,
Let me now my sins lament,
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

—Charles Wesley

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• O Word of God Incarnate at The Happy Wonderer
• Faith Alone - May 13, 2012 at The Upward Call
• Lord’s Day 20 at Tried With Fire 
• Portrait of a Godly Mother at Theology for Girls
• Lord’s Day 20, 2012 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Praying the Psalms - Psalm 23:4 at Daily On My Way to Heaven
• Sunday Prayer: The Broken Heart at Lisa Writes
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: A Beeline to the Cross

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Round the Sphere Again: Understanding The Bible

This week there were a whole lot of posts on the Bible in my clippings file, too many for one Round the Sphere post. I’ve set aside some to link from Theological Term posts and some for possible future Round the Sphere posts. These are a few links that have to do with understanding and interpreting the Bible.

An Overview
Fred Zaspel answers the question “What is the Bible all about?” (Credo Magazine).

How to Interpret It
Kim Shay posts on how to study the gospels . The summary:

I think the best approach to studying the gospels is to read, read, read, and take notes.  Furthermore, we must read “horizontally,” i.e., keeping in mind that there are four gospels, and “vertically,” i.e., paying attention to the context of a given pericope.  Getting into the context of the time Christ lived helps, too.

(The Upward Call)

D. A. Carson comments on this apparent contradiction between Paul and James:

“FOR WE MAINTAIN THAT A MAN is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (Rom. 3:28). So writes the apostle Paul. “You foolish man,” argues James, “do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? … You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone…. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:14-26, especially vv. 20, 24, 26).

He gives three points to help reconcile the two passages (For the Love of God).

Steve Hays helps us understand the rhetorical techniques of biblical narrative (Triablogue). 

How Not to Interpret It
Don’t approach the Bible in any of these five ways (Jen Wilkin at The Gospel Coalition Blog).

Thorvald the Far-Traveled Viking from Iceland

During medieval times, it was widely believed and taught that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was the only way to atone for serious sins—and by serious, I mean murder and rape and such like. There was lots of sinning, so there were lots of pilgrims. 

By the tenth century, many Norse pilgrims were coming [to Jerusalem] even though most of their countrymen were still pagans. “Most Scandinavian pilgrims liked to make a round tour, coming by sea through the Straits of Gibraltar and returning overland through Russia.” Like the Franks, the Norse converts were “very devoted to Christ if not to his commandments.” Among them was Thorvald the Far-Traveled, who came all the way from Iceland. Thorvald was a renowned Viking who had converted to Christianity and then “tried to preach the new faith to his countrymen in 981.” He undertook a pilgrimage in 990 seeking to atone for having killed two poets who had mocked his faith and another man who had criticized his preaching. Following his pilgrimage he devoted his missionary activities to Russia and died there, presumably without murdering any Russian pagans. 

Just one of the intriguing tidbits from history in God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful God doesn’t need us; I am thankful he doesn’t need anything. I am thankful that God who needs nothing provides everything for us. I am thankful he is independent, so we can depend on him. I am thankful he has life in himself, so he can give life to us, both physical and spiritual. I am thankful for God’s aseity.

I am thankful for

• strawberries in season.
• blue hydrangeas.
• fresh farm eggs.
• the son who raked and mowed the front yard.
• good gifts in the mail.
• long daylight hours.
• work done and work to do.
• babies in general and a few babies in particular.
• time to read.

Substitution and Participation

Quoting from Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, Andrew Sach:

In the theology of the Bible generally and particularly in Paul’s writings, there is a sense in which believers are ‘caught’ up in the death of Jesus, such that his death becomes theirs. In Romans this emphasis comes to prominence in chapter 6, where we are said to have ‘died with Christ’ (Rom 6:8; cf. v. 2) and to have been ‘crucified with him’ (v. 6). A similar point is made elsewhere, for example, Colossians 2:20 and Galatians 2:20….

Some writers, however, have mistakenly supposed that this emphasis on what is often termed our ‘participation’ in Christ’s death excludes the idea of substitution. Or to use other terminology, they claim Christ’s death was a case of ‘inclusive place-taking’ (he shared in our experience), and this is incompatible with ‘exclusive place taking’ (Christ experienced something in order that we might not share it).

These writers are right to affirm the place of participation, but wrong to think that this displaces substitution. The two perspectives sit alongside each other in Scripture. Thus the emphasis in Romans 6:8 and Colossians 2:20 that we have ‘died with Christ’ comes together with the earlier affirmations in both letters that is was through ‘his blood’ (and not ours) that we have been justified and have peace with God (Rom. 3:25; 5:1, 9; Col. 1:20). Similarly, 1 Peter 4:1 does not overturn the substitutionary emphases of 1 Peter 2:24 and 3:18.

The atonement, like so many of God’s works, is multifaceted. (And even the word multi-faceted comes up short.) We of the pea brains must look from one direction at a time, and the temptation is to look from one direction only ever, so that we see the cut diamond as one sparkling pane of glass and nothing more. 

But there’s always more. Not substitution or participation, but both; not wrath or love, but both; not expiation or propitiation, but both; not Christus Victor or penal substitution, but both—and more. 

Don’t let flat doctrinal thinking keep you from embracing the diamond.

Round the Sphere Again: Those Who've Gone Before

Because it’s only right to know and value their contributions.

Buncha Baptists
Theologian of missions: Fred Zaspel on Andrew Fuller: The Man Who Rescued the Baptists from Hyper-Calvinism (mp3). Listening to this made me think I should have “well-meant offer” and “duty faith” in my glossary of theological terms. I do have hyper-Calvinism.

Founder of the Particular Baptists: A short biographical sketch of William Kiffen (Steve Weaver at Credo Blog).

Pioneer in congregational hymn singing: A piece on Benjamin Keach (Steve Weaver at Credo Blog).

Singular Anglican
Perseverance in doing good: The quick version of the life of William Wilberforce by Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition Blog.

Theological Term of the Week

JEDP theory
A theory that supposes that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) was not written by one author (Moses), but was written or compiled by different authors (J - the Yahwist, E -  the Elohimist, D - Deuteronomist, P - Priestly) who lived after the time of Moses; also called documentary hypothesis.

• From scripture (and there are many more places where New Testament writers affirm Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch):

And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? (Mark 12:26 ESV)

• From Introduction to the Pentateuch in The ESV Study Bible:

For more than 2,000 years, readers of the Pentateuch assumed that Moses was its author (cf. Mark 7:10). This was a natural conclusion to draw from its contents, for most of the laws are said to have been given to Moses by God (e.g., Lev. 1:1), and indeed some passages are explicitly said to have been written down by Moses (see Deut. 31:9, 24). The account of his death could have been recorded by someone else, though some held it was a prophetic account by Moses himself (Deuteronomy 34).

But in the late eighteenth century, critical scholars began challenging the assumption of Mosaic authorship. They argued that several authors were responsible for writing the Pentateuch. These authors supposedly wrote many centuries after Moses, and were separated from each other in time and location. Complicated theories were developed to explain how the Pentateuch grew as different authors’ accounts were spliced and adjusted by a series of editors. According to these critical scholars, it was likely that the Pentateuch reached its final form in the fifth century b.c., nearly a millennium after Moses.

In the late twentieth century this type of critical theory was strongly attacked, not just by conservative scholars but also by those brought up on such theories. They argue that the theories are too complicated, self-contradictory, and ultimately unprovable. It is much more rewarding and less speculative to focus interpretative effort on the final form of the text. So there is a strong move to abandon the compositional theories of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for simpler hypotheses. Thus some critical scholars would see the Pentateuch being an essentially fifth-century b.c. creation. Others suggest earlier dates. But none of these suggestions can really be proven.

The Pentateuch does undoubtedly claim to be divine in origin, mediated through Moses. Thus Moses should be looked to as the original human author. Indeed, as stated above, the Pentateuch looks like a life of Moses, with an introduction. But this need not mean that he wrote every word of the present Pentateuch. It seems likely that the spelling and the grammar of the Pentateuch were revised to keep it intelligible for later readers. Also, a number of features in the text look like clarifications for a later age. But this is quite different from supposing that the Pentateuch was essentially composed in a later age. Rather, it should be seen as originating in Moses’ time but undergoing some slight revision in later eras so later readers could understand its message and apply it to their own situations.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: JEDP theory, Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch
2. GotQuestions.org: What is JEDP theory?, What is the documentary hypothesis?
3. Reformed Answers: What is JEDP theory?
4. Basic Theology Forums: JEDP theory
5. Duane Garrett: The Documentary Hypothesis
6. Colin D. Smith:  A Critical Assessment of the Graf-Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis

Related terms:

• inspiration of scripture
• textual criticism

Filed under Scripture.

This week’s term was suggested by Diane Bucknell. Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.