Psalm 29:10, ‘YHWH sits enthroned over the flood; YHWH is enthroned as King forever.’ Psalm 29 poetically describes the onset of a violent storm that shakes the earth and splinters the trees and leaves humanity humbled in awe; at every point, the Psalmist is clear that it is YHWH Himself who stands behind and orders […]
Colossians 1:17, ‘And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.’ Two brief points: First >> Jesus Christ (precisely as the crucified and risen one), is *before* all things in at least 2 ways: 1) The slain and risen Son precedes all other realities in worth—He is beyond all things in
This year’s Holy Week Trilogy is a series of three visions of the crucifixion, each primarily illumined by one of three different ‘light sources.’ Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each day’s particular illumination draws out certain aspects of the same, infinitely meaning-filled event—the Crucifixion of the Risen Lord. In the final picture we see the crucified
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Song of Songs, 3:11, ‘…look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.’ Now, at first, today’s picture may not seem to fit at all with the chosen text. However, there is a connection that was
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Isaiah 6:2, ‘Each [Seraph] had six wings; with two *he covered his face*…’ Isaiah 53:3, ‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men *hide heir faces*…’ In the depths of His agonies, Jesus Christ became as one from whom men hid their
John 1:23, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’ John the Baptist’s citation of Isaiah 40 is significant since, in the context of Isaiah, the one whose way is prepared is YHWH Himself. John implies, then, that he is
Ecclesiastes 1:4-8, ‘A generation goes, a generation comes…the sun rises, and the sun goes down…around and around goes the wind…all streams run to the sea…All things are full of weariness…” According to these first verses of Ecclesiastes, the world is full of soul-numbing weariness, and this is exemplified in the cyclical nature of the world
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Ephesians 3:18-9, [That you] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Paul does not explain the dimensions that he mentions in this
Matthew 1:25+21, ‘And he called his name Jesus…for He will save His people from their sins.’ Matthew 2:2, ‘Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” Matthew 27:37, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ The Magi’s question is never answered in the immediate context. Yes, they find Jesus and worship
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Leviticus 17:11, ‘For the soul of the flesh is in its blood, and I, I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement concerning your souls, for its blood, by the soul [LXX: ‘in place of the soul’], will make atonement.’ By weaving the intangible soul-life of flesh into inseparable union with
2 Corinthians 5:10, ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.’ Everyone, without any exception, will appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. There will be no coverings, no hiding
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Ezekiel 3:12, ‘Blessed be the glory of YHWH from His place!’ These are the words declared by the four Cherubim who stand by the glittering wheels of the divine throne. Now, what does it mean to declare the glory of YHWH blessed from its place? The ‘from’ is expressed by the Greek εκ, and
Psalm 61:6-8, “Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God…So will I ever sing praises to your name…” Notice that God’s prolonging of the king’s life and His enthronement of the king in His presence *results in* or *forms the ground of* the
Jeremiah 17:12, “A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” In the context, the glorious throne of YHWH set on high from the beginning is set over against the fitful and uncertain securities of the flesh (17:5-6, 11). The Divine King Himself, enthroned in glory from
Revelation 22:1, “…the throne of God and of the Lamb…” Though specifics vary, many scholars acknowledge the tabernacle complex was designed as a model of the cosmos. The tabernacle (and later the temple) was divided broadly into two sections, what we might call the “lower”—with the Altar of Burnt Offering at its center—and the
Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up… ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” The Hebrew translated “contrite” is דכא,
Today’s picture is a bit different than normal because it’s a collaboration that I did with a friend. Sean Eha is an excellent weaver of words and he writes poetry over at https://rebornbyfire.blogspot.com/ A few weeks ago Sean and I were talking about working on a poetry/art collab and we decided to base our
Isaiah 6:6, “…one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.” Isaiah sees the Lord “high and lifted up” on the throne of His glory (6:1), and at this sight he—rightly—assumes that his life is forfeit…he is a sinful man
Revelation 4:5, “And from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Much to say here…perhaps I’ll eventually have a whole dissertation in which to say it. Let me just touch on some
Isaiah 24:23, “Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for YHWH of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.” What does it mean for the moon to be confounded and the sun ashamed? I think we can take this in two ways.
