Tag: Bible

Mining the Archives: The Rising of The Sun of Righteousness

~ Bob Hayton


From time to time, I’ll be mining the archives around here. I’m digging up my blog’s best posts from the past. I’m hoping these reruns will still serve my readers.

Today’s post was originally published February 20, 2006.

 

The Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in [His] wings...Mal. 4:1-2a For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.

Is. 60:19-20 The sun shall be no more your light by day,nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself;for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Matt. 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Rev. 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Ps. 84:11a For the LORD God is a sun…

Rev. 22:5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Acts 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me.

...the Lord God will be their light...As I drove home from work early Sunday morning, I encountered a fiercely bright sunrise. It reminded me of the glory of Christ, who is the Sun of Righteousness. The Sun is the brightest and most awesome light that we encounter in God’s physical creation. Since Jesus is compared to the sun, we are to see Him when we see and are arrested by the sheer glory of the physical sun. This is a means of us comprehending how much more amazing and brilliant is Christ’s glory, He who is brighter than the noon-day sun (as Paul experienced on the road to Damascus).

Thinking about how the sun and Christ (the S-O-N) compare has made me ponder some thoughts a close frined shared with me recently. When giving me A History of the Work of Redemption by Jonathan Edwards recently, he had opportunity to share some thoughts about the book. The book traces God’s work of redemption from the Fall to the Ascension and beyond. Edwards does a spectacular job dealing with OT types and highlighting the gospel/Christ-centeredness of all of Scripture. He has excellent thoughts on the advance of the gospel after the writing of the NT up to his present time, as well. His thoughts are rooted in Scripture and the work is well worth puchasing and reading, as it magnifies God for His great and glorious work of redemption.

A few thoughts Dave (my friend) shared have stuck with me. First, he mentioned that the natural creation was created to show the glories of God’s spiritual work. When encountering Scriptural teachings on types or comparisons, I typically just assumed that God was borrowing from the natural realm, so to speak, to highlight truth about His spiritual works. But the work of redemption was planned “before the foundation of the world”! So, when God created the world, the very way in which He did it was not arbitrary but planned. He knew that He would expressly compare the creation of life in dead hearts to the creation of physical light (2 Cor. 4:6). The physical process of human birth was designed with the new birth in view. I think one of the ways the heavens and physical creation declare the glory of God is that they provide illustrations of His work of redemption. When God is compared with light–the very quality of physical light is meant to teach us about God’s character (albeit it cannot teach us perfectly or completely, as it is only a picture of Someone who defies description). The family unit, with father-child and husband-wife relationships, were designed and established to reveal aspects of our relationship with God as His beloved children, and our relationship with Christ as His church-bride. This thought can be expanded and more examples found for sure.

The other thought Dave left me, concerned a specific allegory Jonathan Edwards used over and over again in his book. In looking through the book recently I encountered it in at least 8 different places. Here is the picture:

Behold, the day is coming...for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings...The OT reflects the light of the glory of Christ and the gospel much like the moon reflects the light of the sun. At first the OT only has brief glimmers here and there of Messianic prophecies and gospel teachings. But the moonlight of OT revelation grows and grows until it reaches its zenith in the period of David and Solomon. David is the greatest personal type of Christ, Edwards argues (pg. 104). The Psalms written at this time, display the glories of Christ in unparalleled fashion in the OT. The building of the Temple and the reign of peace experienced in Solomon’s reign represent the greatest epoch of Israel’s history.

But then the moon begins to wane throught the less glamorous reigns of Solomon’s heirs and the exile and post-exilic periods of Israel’s history. Edwards explains, “As the moon, from the time of her full, is approaching nearer and nearer to her conjunction with the sun, so her light is still more and more decreasing, until at length, when the conjunction comes, it is wholly swallowed up in the light of the sun….If the Jewish church, when Christ came, had been in the same external glory that it was in, in the reign of Solomon, men would have had their eyes so dazzled with it that they would not have been likely joyfully to exchange such great external glory for only the spiritual glory of the poor despised Jesus.” (pg. 129, 131-132)

The incarnation of Christ and His ministry are represented by the dawning of the sun. Edwards argues that after redemption has been purchased on the cross and specifically upon the resurrection of Christ, the sun actually rises over the horizon. “Thus the Sun of Righteousness, after it is risen from under the earth, begins to shine forth clearly, and not only by a dim reflection as it did before. Christ, before his death, revealed many things more clearly than ever they had been revealed in the Old Testament; but the great mysteries of Christ’s redemption, and reconciliation by his death, and justification by his righteousness, were not so plainly revealed before Christ’s resurrection….Thus we see how the light of the gospel…is now come to the light of perfect day, and the brightness of the sun shining forth in unveiled glory.” (pg. 282)

...His face was like the sun shining in full strength...We are thus now living in the age of daytime. The sun is rising in the sky slowly and steadily. The glorious noon-day shining of the sun in unparalleled glory will be the consummation of the eternal kingdom of Christ (which we experience already, but not yet in its fullness)!

That allegory by Jonathan Edwards in a succinct and vastly helpful way sums up the history of redemption (and revelation for that matter). It should help us see the glory of the Sun of Righteousness. And it should make us realize anew the incredible grace we have to be living on this side of the cross. May the light of Christ shine ever brighter and may we be ever entranced and pleased with His light alone!

Pictures above from top to bottom were accessed from these 5 sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

John Piper on Calvinism and Logic

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

John Piper recently addressed how Calvinism and logic relate. His article specifically addresses how he appreciates G.K. Chesterton’s writing in spite of some significant theological differences. One of those is an appreciation of Calvinism. See the excerpts below, but then go on and read the whole article at Desiring God Blog.

What About Logic?

It is a great irony to me that Calvinists are stereotyped as logic-driven. For forty years my experience has been the opposite. The Calvinists I have known (English Puritans, Edwards, Newton, Spurgeon, Packer, Sproul) are not logic driven, but Bible-driven. It’s the challengers who bring their logic to the Bible and nullify text after text. Branches are lopped off by “logic,” not exegesis.

Who are the great enjoyers of paradox today? Who are the pastors and theologians who grab both horns of every biblical dilemma and swear to the God-Man: I will never let go of either.

Not the Calvinism-critics that I meet. They read of divine love, and say that predestination cannot be. They read of human choice and say the divine rule of all our steps cannot be. They read of human resistance, and say that irresistible grace cannot be. Who is logic-driven?

For forty years Calvinism has been, for me, a vision of life that embraces mystery more than any vision I know. It is not logic-driven. It is driven by a vision of the ineffable, galactic vastness of God’s Word.

Let’s be clear: It does not embrace contradiction. Chesterton and I both agree that true logic is the law of “Elfland.” “If the Ugly Sisters are older than Cinderella, it is (in an iron and awful sense) necessary that Cinderella is younger than the Ugly Sisters.” Neither God nor his word is self-contradictory. But paradoxes? Yes.

We happy Calvinists don’t claim to get the heavens into our heads. We try to get our heads into the heavens. We don’t claim comprehensive answers to revealed paradoxes. We believe. We try to understand. And we break out into song and poetry again and again.

From Dilemma to Unicorn

We don’t adjust the brain-baffling categories of Scripture to fit human reason. We take it as one of our jobs to create categories in human minds that never existed in those minds before “” a job only God can do “” though he makes us agents. For example, we labor to create categories of thought like these:

God rules the world of bliss and suffering and sin, right down to the roll of the dice, and the fall of a bird, and the driving of the nail into the hand of his Son; yet, even though he wills that such sin and suffering be, he does not sin, but is perfectly holy.

God governs all the steps of all people, both good and bad, at all times and in all places; yet such that all are accountable before him and will bear the just consequences of his wrath if they do not believe in Christ.

All people are dead in their trespasses and sins, and are not morally able to come to Christ because of their rebellion; yet, they are responsible to come, and will be justly punished if they don’t.

Jesus Christ is one person with two natures, divine and human, such that he upheld the world by the word of his power while living in his mother’s womb.

Sin, though committed by a finite person and in the confines of finite time is nevertheless deserving of an infinitely long punishment because it is a sin against an infinitely worthy God.

The death of the one God-Man, Jesus Christ, so displayed and glorified the righteousness of God that God is not unrighteous to declare righteous ungodly people who simply believe in Christ.

These are some of the intertwining, paradoxical branches in the tree of Calvinism. They do not grow in the soil of fallen human logic. They grow in the Bible-saturated soil of “Elfland.” Those who live there believe that a Dilemma with two horns is probably metamorphosing into a Unicorn.

Sermon Download: Preparing for the Trials of 2012

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

I was privileged to ring in the new year by filling the pulpit for our pastor, this past Sunday. As we look forward to what this new year holds for us, there’s only one thing we can be certain of. Life will present its challenges for us in the months ahead. This may be sobering but it doesn’t have to be alarming. In fact, James teaches that trials are actually God’s good gifts to us, intended to mature us and prove our faith to be genuine.

I won’t continue with the rest of the sermon, you’ll have to either peek at my notes or download the sermon. Blessings to you all this New Year.

Place: Beacon of Hope Church, St. Paul
Date: January 1, 2012
Title: Preparing for the Trials of 2012
Text: James 1:1-18
Notes: Download PDF
Audio Link: Listen online or download (right click the link and save it to your computer)

Bob’s Best Books of 2011

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Once again, it is time for my list of the top books I read or reviewed this past year. It’s always hard to limit my choices, and 2011 was no exception. There were many great books that I was blessed to read, but in the end the following titles rise to the top. They are the very best books I read and/or reviewed in 2011.

Bob’s 10 Best:

Best “Theology” book — Waiting for the Land: The Story Line of the Pentateuch by Arie C. Leder (P & R Publishing). My love affair with the Pentateuch was rekindled with this evocative book. Yes, it’s strange using the term “evocative” of a theology book, but that description fits. Leder unpacked the Pentateuch in such a sweeping manner that he drew you in to its powerful and majestic themes of redemption and the promised hope. He also made the connections between the church’s experience now and Israel’s experience then. I thoroughly enjoyed this relatively short book. I’ll be going back to it again and again as I continue studying the Pentateuch. Read my review for more on this book.

Best “Missions & Church Life” book — Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism edited by Collin Hansen and Andrew Naselli (Zondervan). This book was one that I was eagerly awaiting for much of 2011. When I got my copy, I devoured it. It certainly lived up to my expectations. The book is a fascinating conversation about the state of Evangelicalism, and where and how both Fundamentalism and Post-Conservatism fit in. The conversation was charitable and thought-provoking, and the book will encourage more intentional thought on questions such as, “Just how together can we be for the Gospel?” And also, “What really is at stake with post-conservatism?” Of particular note to many of my readers, is the fact that a fundamentalist leader was asked to contribute to this book. Kevin Bauder did a masterful job at introducing the idea of fundamentalism to wider evangelical readers. He also laid forth his vision of a renewed and purged fundamentalism and what the future could hold if the movement reforms. For more on this book, see this book excerpt. My review is forthcoming.

Best “Childrens & Family” book — Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson (Crossway). I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It lived up to the high endorsements from Tullian Tchividjian and others. The authors remind us that there are no perfect parents or fool-proof parenting methods. We all need grace, and we need to introduce our kids to Jesus, first and foremost. Most intriguingly, they explore what it means to parent in a distinctively Christian way. For more on this book, check out two book excerpts (here and here). My review is forthcoming.

Honorable Mention — The Quest for Comfort: The Story of The Heidelberg Catechism by William Boekestein (Reformation Heritage). I am not aware of many kids books that tell the story behind the Heidelberg Catechism; so the story itself will be new to most children. The tale is engaging and the artwork has an older feel to it and will also draw young minds in. I thought the idea of telling the story behind the men who brought us one of the most enduring Reformation era documents, in a kids story format, was ingenious. The book lived up to my expectations and has me hoping to get Boekestein’s other books in this genre. Read my review for more on this book.

Best “Fiction” book — The Constantine Codex by Paul L. Maier (Tyndale House). I hadn’t read Maier’s earlier books in the “Skeleton in God’s Closet” series, but that didn’t pose any problem in appreciating this story fully. I had heard that Maier’s archaeological fiction was riveting. This book did not disappoint. For theology geeks like me, who have studied textual criticism and the Biblical languages, the book has an added appeal in that the main character is an expert on ancient manuscripts and early Christianity. The storyline is almost over the top, with the discovery of manuscript discoveries that Dan Wallace can only dream about, but the tale manages to stay believable. This was a book I couldn’t put down. Read my review for more on this book.

Honorable Mention — Taken (The Quest for Truth Series, book 1) by Brock Eastman (P & R Publishing). With this being Eastman’s first book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I ended up being very impressed by this story which is part science-fiction, part fantasy. Rather than being an overt allegory or an obviously Christianized fiction work, this tale tells a story well and draws the reader in to a tale that ultimately has intersections with the Truth. The book is geared more for young adults, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. I’m eager for the next installment of this series, and hope to sample some of the other books that Eastman has published recently, too. Read my review for more on this book.

Best “General Christian Interest” book — Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World by Bradley Wright (Bethany House). I was intrigued by the premise of this book from the start. And Wright sure did deliver. The book exposes a secret: our world is dramatically improving on many fronts. Health, life-expectancy, income levels, literacy, and even crime and the environment have all seen incredible improvements over the last 30 years and more. Wright calls the church to task for not celebrating and recognizing this fact. We need to stop enjoying how bad everything is and worrying about how much worse it will get. Instead, we should actually thank God for some of the amazing things He has done lately. Read my review for more on this book.

Best “Christian Living” book — Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill (Zondervan). This book by Wesley Hill truly altered my thinking on an important subject. I still remain absolutely convinced that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong. But I now am much more sympathetic to people struggling with same-sex attractions than I was before. In our culture, such people are encouraged to go all out and live it up as a homosexual. Wesley Hill a committed Christian and Bible College grad, has struggled his entire life with same-sex attractions. He has remained celibate and is committed to following Christ wholeheartedly. But his story is one that the Church needs to hear. Can we learn to have the same compassion toward those who struggle with same-sex attraction as we do with those who struggle with extramarital heterosexual attractions? And will we stand against the sin rather than those caught up in it? Read my review for more on this book.

Best “Church History & Biography” book — A Visual History of the King James Bible by Donald L. Brake (Baker Books). This was perhaps my favorite book of the year. I’ve always been intrigued by the history of the English Bible, and with the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, I’ve been reading lots of books commemorating the KJB. This book tops them all. It is a visual feast, chuck full of fascinating pictures of manuscripts, old Bibles and more. My video review tries to do the book justice.

Best “Commentary & Reference” book — The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook edited by J. Scott Duvall & J. Daniel Hays (Baker Books). This may be the best single volume resource on the entire Bible available. It certainly is the most visually stunning: beautiful, full-color photographs of Bible places, manuscripts, and artifacts, detailed charts and maps abound. Each book of the Bible is summarized and the handbook is filled with fascinating and helpful articles by leading evangelical scholars. With this book, I tried my hand at another video review.

All the Rest:

In 2011, I reviewed 42 books or DVDs — bringing the total of my book and media reviews to 115 from more than 30 different publishers. You can see all my reviews listed here. For my previous “Bob’s Best” lists, see below.

Additionally, if you are an avid reader, you may want to follow my reviews or friend me on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

Recommended Devotional Tool: Tabletalk Magazine

~ Bob Hayton

If you haven’t seen Tabletalk magazine, you’re missing out. Tabletalk is a monthly magazine which includes daily devotional readings and a Bible reading plan. It also includes several feature articles devoted to one specific theme for the month.

For a sample of some of the individual articles, see this “Best of 2011” collection from the Ligonier Blog. Contributors to the articles include R.C. Sproul, the founder of Ligonier Ministries (the publisher of Tabletalk), Al Mohler, Sinclair Ferguson, Carl Trueman, John and Noel Piper, Elyse Fitzpatrick and a host of additional scholars, writers and pastors.

This magazine would serve as an excellent daily devotional reading for 2012, and is available for only $23 a year. Best of all, you can get a free 3 month trial subscription!

Click here to learn more about Tabletalk, or just go ahead and sign up for your free trial.