Habakkuk

Habakkuk as a whole book is sort of hard to understand. I think he is making allusions to current events in his poetic prophesies making it hard to exactly know what he is saying. But interspersed are wonderful quotable passages, bon mots almost, which are quoted in the New Testament, some by Jesus. Some are quoted today and used in hymns and songs of praise.

These prophesies, each chapter seems to be a different prophesy, seem to be the result of a robust, honest relationship Habakkuk has with God.

Chapter 3 sees Habakkuk waiting for the awful thing that he has foreseen to actually happen. His country and his people will be invaded by a cruel and bloodthirsty people. All that he has known and loved will be destroyed. All he can do is wait. And yet he concludes that God is good and just. He is the only one who is worthy of praise and glory.

The quotable passages in Habakkuk:

(Habakkuk 2:3 ESV) For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not tarry. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

(Habakkuk 2:4b ESV) "but the righteous shall live by his faith."

(Habakkuk 2:14 ASV) For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of GOD, as the waters cover the sea.

(Habakkuk 2:20 DRB) But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silent before him.

(Habakkuk 3:2d ASV) In wrath remember mercy.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18 KJV) Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no crop; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

(Habakkuk 3:19 CEV) The LORD gives me strength. He makes my feet as sure as those of a deer, and he helps me stand on the mountains.

slogans again

This article in Bibliotheca Sacra states that 6:18 and 7:1 can be (should be) viewed differently than we normally do.

First:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (ESV) (18) "Every sin a person commits is outside the body", but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (19) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, (20) for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Now this one is harder to make work easily. According to this view the first part of verse 18 is a saying of the Corinthians and the rest of it is a refutation using sexual sin as the prime example. Using this logic though sexual sin is not the only type of sin which is against the carnal body (as opposed to the spiritual). For example my favorite sin, gluttony. Gluttony is certainly a sin against the body.

Secondly:

1 Corinthians 7:1-5 ESV (1) Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." (2) But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. (3) The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. (4) For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. (5) Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

This is certainly a quote from the Corinthians themselves. In the first passage I put the quotes in. In the second one, the quotes were in this translation already. But the article says that understood here is a common Corinthian belief that it is best for married couples to be celibate. Paul is speaking to immorality but also encouraging married couples to be sexually active.

This is Gordon Fee's view of 1 Corinthians 7:1 and others have followed him. But now others are disagreeing with him and taking a more traditional view.

So there is no absolutely right way to interpret these passages. But it is important to understand that this letter is between Paul and a group he knew well. It is only one of several letters and oral communications between them. We know that some facts are assumed known but not written. This makes it hard to be sure the context of some of the passages.

"slogans" in 1 Corinthians

This is important to casual readers of the epistles. Paul knew the Corinthian church very well. Perhaps better than any other. He stayed there for 18 months I think it says in Acts. And he revisited Corinth on other occasions.

He mentions other correspondence that he has had with them. He mentions specific members and leaders and specific things they have told him. He knows all of the major leaders and many of the regular members.

So when we read things in this letter we have to beware that there are understood facts left unsaid that might change entirely the way we understand some of the letter. Remember we are reading one side of a dialogue. The original readers know a lot of things we do not.

We come to the idea of slogans that Paul repeats. Just because he repeats them does not mean that he agrees with them. Greek has no direct quotation marks so modern translators have to try to figure out where they come, if any. Sometimes a Greek word normally translated "that" can denote the start of a direct quotation. But "that", as in English can also show an indirect quotation, such as "He said that ..." In a direct quotation the person changes from third person to first person such as "He said 'I went to church.'" Greek does the same so there are cases we can be sure of a direct quotation. However there are a lot of gray areas.

But if Paul is quoting a saying so that he might refute it it is often hard to see where the quote begins. One example we are pretty sure about is "all things are profitable". That is because he repeats it. Is this an idea that Paul agrees with? Or is this an idea that Paul has heard said among the Corinthians that he wishes to dispute? That he wishes to try to argue them to a better understanding?

Anyway most commentators would agree that this phrase is not original to Paul. He has heard it said among the Corinthians. He wishes to quote it in order to clear up misconceptions. At the least this slogan is being distorted to mean things that are totally wrong. Paul knows this church. He has seen them in action. He has heard the gossip.

So if we quote "all things are profitable" out of context approvingly we are certainly misquoting Paul. He did not mean this to be a commendable approach at all. We are quoting a Corinthian slogan that Paul strongly disagreed with.

Savior - Mike Henderson - accepting death

We do need a savior. Mike Henderson needed a savior. He has him now. He wanted to see his son graduate from high school. That will not happen now. I remember DW's mom hanging on, or so we thought. Despite her poor health she clung to life when perhaps it was time to move on. DW thought it proper to encourage her to let go and be at peace. But she was 94. Her situation is only dimly comparable to Mike's.

It will be soon time (as God sees soon) for us to let go and leave living to other people. We need a savior. Will we have the faith to let go? Will we know peacefully that Jesus is our savior and God will catch us on the other side? I believe that when the time comes God will give me the faith. But even if I cannot get totally peaceful about it, that's OK too, God is greater than that.

Remember love, joy, peace ... from Galatians 5:22? We will need all those fruits when the time come. Mike Henderson had them in great measure and now has then in completion. It did not work out like he and his family hoped. But God called him home. Yet he died too young. We each mourn in our own way. We wonder why.

Our world is fallen. Sickness and death are a part of the fall, after Adam's sin. Paradoxically God is still in control. Yet death is born of evil. God still somehow uses it for his purposes. We can still praise him for his grace and goodness. Yet we have heavy hearts. Death causes separation from those who love us. We know we will be together again.

God's blessing

Well it seems that God has been giving me grace upon grace in my driving. The latest example happened after coming back from Austin Friday. I was merging onto a road that would take me back to Houston. It goes from three lanes to one and there was some traffic. So it was slow going. People were letting one car merge sort of like a zipper but you know what I mean.

Well I was letting one car merge ahead of me and he kept waving me ahead. There was not enough room for me to zoom on ahead and my car does not accelerate too well so I kept trying to let him go ahead. I would fall in behind him. He kept waving and I kept declining. Finally I heard some loud cursing. Then I saw the chain. The two cars were chained together. Fortunately I had a lot of time to fall back. I saw the mistake was trying to merge between two cars, the second one was being towed by the first one. So I was saved again. I really think God has blessed me a lot.

But I make a lot of stupid financial mistakes. I am not particularly good at investing. Sadly it is my job to do that. There has to be some ironic humor in that.

I'm thinking mostly about mistakes involving repairs and renovations. A lack of trust and a lack of communication get me into problems a lot. My last debacle is going to cost me $500. And that is only for starters.

It involves my daughter's car which we took in for transmission problems. Now I must spend $500 to get it back from what I think is a dishonest repairman. Maybe he is not dishonest but about things like this how can one tell? I do not know enough to really decide. I do not trust him. But I am not a good judge of these things and certainly there must have been a better way of behaving.

Should we give up on the car and shop for a new (old) car for DD2? I will do something. I suspect it will be the wrong thing. This seems like other situations in the past. I seem to be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over again. Am I slowly learning to react better? Perhaps slowly. It is frustratingly slow though.

I seem to react the same way to situations that involve money and quick decisions. I end up wasting money when I am trying to save it. I end up throwing good money after bad, it seems. One can never predict the future. At times like this it is so maddening.

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22-23: love joy peace... These are not personal characteristics. This list and these nouns describe how we relate to others.

Paul speaks of the struggles of flesh vs spirit (lower nature vs higher nature) in Romans 7:14+. God has set us free to live victoriously but we have to act on it.

The list in Galatians is different. . I think it is helpful to see the difference. This list of model characteristics is about relationships. Be loving. Be joyful. Be peaceful. Be patient. … Practicing these things will make your church run more smoothly and pleasantly. This is applicable in my Life Group, my family, my workplace, even my business. I can strive to be these things in these social situations.

I love to try to find relationships between these nine nouns. Most people try to group these into three groups of three. I think it looks easier in English. The first three seems basic somehow: Love, joy peace. In another place Paul speaks of three main spiritual values: faith, hope, and love. Are these three related? Faith hope and love do seem to be more individual in nature. Is hope related to joy? And faith to peace? Perhaps so.

I have tried to find relationship pairing words within the first three and the second three and the third three. Some have tried to characterize each groups of three. I can’t remember any of them but at the time I thought they were good.

It seems to me that these characteristics go from the simple to the most difficult. Love joy and peace are also things we are going to have a hard time getting by ourselves. Those are things that come from God. They are based on feelings. Love, joy, and peace are things you find out you are experiencing after the fact. I guess you can sort of take your emotional temperature and see that you are joyful, peaceful, and loving. But it’s hard to plan for it.

To be patient, kind, and good you do have to add some intentionality. Faithful, gentle, and self-controlled seem to be qualities that I usually do not experience. So what do I say about them? I think there is a sort of hierarchy. Those last three qualities seem to be the fruit of a long time of discipline.

Remember the poor

Galatians 2:10 The apostles all agreed from the earliest times to "remember the poor". They probably mostly meant poorer converts among them. But that is not what is says so I am very likely adding my own opinion here. The apostles were about helping the poor whenever they could as an act of charity and to show the compassion of God. Jesus remembered the poor too and the apostles knew Jesus and they were conscious of wanting be and act like he did.
I am struck by this verse this morning. Some, like me, of a more fundamentalist bent might wonder. I use the word "fundamentalist" for lack of a better word. I am not trying to broad brush fundamentalists who I have a lot of respect for. But some would say that we should preach the gospel and not get distracted by social work like remembering the poor. There is some truth there too.
But the apostles listed: James, Cephas, and John and Paul and Barnabas all agreed that their witness included remembering the poor. That is a phrase that could do with a lot of unpacking. It does not simply mean feed or clothe. It also means have compassion, be with, pray with (and for). That is how Jesus remembered the poor.
Interestingly, Paul uses the same word πτωχός in Galatians 4:9. This is my dangerous Greek knowledge again. He describes the main correcting point of this letter, that the Galatians want to be under the Jewish Law, as "weak and worthless" The world for worthless πτωχὰ is the same word used for the poor πτωχῶν.
It is not an accident that he uses the same word. Sometimes circumstances or our own actions put us into places where we need help. We are to be pitied. But that is not a place to aspire to. Paul is saying that wishing to go back to the law is a big mistake and one not to wish for.
Paul knows the Law is weak and worthless - unable to save. So this word /πτωχός/ carries a lot of meaning. Perhaps in 4:9, Paul is "coining" the word, using it in a way not normally seen. He is taking the word for poor and using it as an adjective. One who is poor is on the one hand to be pitied. On the other hand the poor are seen as inferior. Nevertheless they are to be shown compassion as Jesus did.
The apostles agreed to "remember the poor". Then in 4:9 Paul brings poverty home more personally by saying that is what they are thinking about doing, making themselves more impoverished by going back to the law. Only Jesus saves.
We can easily take on legalisms and begin to rely on them rather that the grace of God. That is a mistake and it impoverishes us.