"Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light, that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most Holy place; that removeth the cover of the well, that we may come by the water." Miles Smith (1554-1624)
MIles Smith was a strict Calvinist and in 1612 became the Bishop of Gloucester. He was what we in America would call a "library rat,"always found around the books, described as "covetous of nothing but books."
Smith was a member of the First Oxford Company of translators of the KIng James Version of the BIble. The First Oxford Company translated Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi. The quotation above comes from the Preface, which Smith wrote.
Showing posts with label Malachi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malachi. Show all posts
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Christian Marriage, Part 3
(This is the conclusion of the blog posted yesterday.)
The only personal name for Himself which God Himself gives us in the Bible is "ehyeh" (in English texts it is usually rendered as YHWH) which means something like "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be"
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃
This is Exodus 3:14. The bold Hebrew text says "ehyeh asher ehyeh" which the Septuagint translated into Greek as ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν "ego eimi o on" ("I am the one who is.") K.J. Cronin points out that the Hebrew word "ehyeh" is the first person singular of YHWH. Cronin's discussion of Exodus 3:14 runs into many pages and is quite technical, but highly interesting. His conclusion is that the name of god is I AM, in the traditional understanding as absolute and eternal being.
God never changes (Malachi 3:6). He does not want or need, he purposes to do. He does not love, He is Love. Active love, love which takes the initiative; He's the God who came to us. We didn't go to Him. This is where our Trinitarian understanding becomes important in Christian marital relationships; because God the Holy Spirit is in each one of us.
As Christians, we are to become increasingly like Jesus. So we should do love (action) rather than love in an abstract sense (emotion). Romantic love is not "wrong," it can be a wonderful and thrilling thing. But, a marriage based on only romantic love can fail. Look around you. How many people explain their divorces with "we just don't love each other any more."? Emotions waver and flutter, sometimes they are intense, sometimes lethargic.
Christian love is stable, active, and controlled by the mind of Christ. Christian wives, would you rather be loved by a romantic man or by a man who is thinking the thoughts of God? Christian husbands, would you rather be loved by a romantic woman or by a woman who is thinking the thoughts of God?
The only personal name for Himself which God Himself gives us in the Bible is "ehyeh" (in English texts it is usually rendered as YHWH) which means something like "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be"
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃
This is Exodus 3:14. The bold Hebrew text says "ehyeh asher ehyeh" which the Septuagint translated into Greek as ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν "ego eimi o on" ("I am the one who is.") K.J. Cronin points out that the Hebrew word "ehyeh" is the first person singular of YHWH. Cronin's discussion of Exodus 3:14 runs into many pages and is quite technical, but highly interesting. His conclusion is that the name of god is I AM, in the traditional understanding as absolute and eternal being.
God never changes (Malachi 3:6). He does not want or need, he purposes to do. He does not love, He is Love. Active love, love which takes the initiative; He's the God who came to us. We didn't go to Him. This is where our Trinitarian understanding becomes important in Christian marital relationships; because God the Holy Spirit is in each one of us.
As Christians, we are to become increasingly like Jesus. So we should do love (action) rather than love in an abstract sense (emotion). Romantic love is not "wrong," it can be a wonderful and thrilling thing. But, a marriage based on only romantic love can fail. Look around you. How many people explain their divorces with "we just don't love each other any more."? Emotions waver and flutter, sometimes they are intense, sometimes lethargic.
Christian love is stable, active, and controlled by the mind of Christ. Christian wives, would you rather be loved by a romantic man or by a man who is thinking the thoughts of God? Christian husbands, would you rather be loved by a romantic woman or by a woman who is thinking the thoughts of God?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Christian Marriage, Part 2
(This is the continuation of the post begun yesterday.)
... so that we would not have to!!
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
This is where the Trinitarian part comes in. We are Christians, which means "little Christs." The name seems to have been given to us by outsiders (Acts 11:26) in Antioch (near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey) and was probably intended as an insult. This Greek name comes from Χριστιανος, "Kristos" (annointed) plus "-ianos" (belonging to, carrying the idea of "being a slave of.") To be worthy of the name is actually an honor.
The third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who is fully God, just as Jesus and The Father are fully God, indwells every Christian. This means that God Himself is in me. God Himself is in you. Our pupose, our reason for existence, is to act out His purposes, to further His Kingdom. Each of us is Jesus to this world and we may be the only Jesus some ever see. What a responsibility!. I know this sounds strange to modern ears, but this is what Paul said in Philippians 1:21: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
We don't, and can't, live up to it, but we do better the more we get ourselves out of the way and let the Holy Spirit guide our actions. The more we insist on control, the more we can be petty, or jealous, or unreasonable, or snippy.
By the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) we increasingly think the thoughts of Jesus; we take on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). This doen't mean we are no longer ourselves, but that our thinking is brought in line with that of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).
(Part 3 of this post will appear tomorrow.)
... so that we would not have to!!
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
This is where the Trinitarian part comes in. We are Christians, which means "little Christs." The name seems to have been given to us by outsiders (Acts 11:26) in Antioch (near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey) and was probably intended as an insult. This Greek name comes from Χριστιανος, "Kristos" (annointed) plus "-ianos" (belonging to, carrying the idea of "being a slave of.") To be worthy of the name is actually an honor.
The third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who is fully God, just as Jesus and The Father are fully God, indwells every Christian. This means that God Himself is in me. God Himself is in you. Our pupose, our reason for existence, is to act out His purposes, to further His Kingdom. Each of us is Jesus to this world and we may be the only Jesus some ever see. What a responsibility!. I know this sounds strange to modern ears, but this is what Paul said in Philippians 1:21: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
We don't, and can't, live up to it, but we do better the more we get ourselves out of the way and let the Holy Spirit guide our actions. The more we insist on control, the more we can be petty, or jealous, or unreasonable, or snippy.
By the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) we increasingly think the thoughts of Jesus; we take on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). This doen't mean we are no longer ourselves, but that our thinking is brought in line with that of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).
(Part 3 of this post will appear tomorrow.)
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