The Riddleblog

Job -- The Suffering Prophet: "God's Sovereignty and Human Suffering" (2)

The story of Job is so compelling to us because it deals with a reality with which every Christian must wrestle–God’s sovereign control over every area of our lives. We have no problem accepting that God determines how tall we will be, whether we are born male or female, who our parents are, and what nationality we will be. We readily accept the fact that God determines what gifts and skills we will have, as well as whether or not we are born to means or poverty. We accept the fact that God determines the circumstances of our lives–including our height, skin color, health, length of life, and those calamities which may befall us. We accept these things without question because they are taught in Scripture and jive with our experience and common sense. God’s people nod in agreement to the assertion that “God is sovereign.” At least we nod in agreement until God does something we may not like or do not understand.

As Christians, we believe in original sin. All people who enter this world are guilty for Adam’s sin as well as their own (Psalm 51, Romans 5:12-19). Therefore, whenever someone suffers, the easy answer as to why they suffer is to go to our theological default setting. Why do people suffer? We suffer because we are sinners. We are being punished for what we have done.

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Job -- The Suffering Prophet: "Introduction"

The Book of Job is one of the most moving and profound stories known to humanity. Here is the account of a righteous and godly man, nearly overwhelmed by the loss of everything he owned and by the death of most everyone he loved, and who, now sick and afflicted beyond words, comes face to face with the sovereign God who brought all of these things to pass. And all the while, Job struggles to believe God’s promise to rescue him from his plight when every circumstance and every word offered in explanation only serves to call into question either Job’s righteousness or God’s goodness. It is not only a moving and fascinating story, but almost all of us can relate to what we read in this book. Many of us have been called to suffer and we certainly empathize with Job’s plight. It is also likely that we all know people like Job’s wife and friends who mean well, but who only make things worse every time they open their mouths when trying to help.

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An Amazing Promise -- Zephaniah’s Prophecy of Restoration

Zephaniah is one of the least known books in the Bible. Yet, in it, we find one of the most amazing prophecies of Israel’s restoration in the coming messianic age. Speaking forth the word of the Lord during the reign of King Josiah (between 640-609 B.C.), Zephaniah foretells of the coming Day of the Lord (cf. Zephaniah 1:7— “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests”). When this day dawns, the Lord will reward those who have obeyed him, as well as mete out judgment upon those who have broken his commandments.

When speaking of the future conversion of the Gentiles in 3:8-20, Zephaniah describes a coming messianic age and the spread of the gospel. Yet, in the closing verses of his prophecy (3:14-20), Zephaniah focuses upon a time of great joy for Jerusalem. The prophet sees the city cleansed and rejoicing, even though Israel’s exile in Babylon is still future. This can only mean that the prophet foretells of a two-stage fulfillment of his prophecy; one after Israel’s exile in Babylon when God’s people return from their captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, and another associated with the messianic age and those wonderful blessings to be earned for us by Jesus.

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Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerOctober 4, 2021Zephaniah, Messianic promise of restorationComment

One Way to Cope in an Age of Rage

We live in an age of rage.

We see or experience it in the near-constant sniping, tribalism, outrage, and character assassination which dominates much of social media. Much of our rage stems from the past year’s Covid lock-downs—the pent up frustration with health “experts” changing their minds on a daily basis, in governmental malfeasance and power-grabs, in being cooped-up at home with screaming kids, trying to simultaneously teach them while attempting to work from home and communicate with our fellow cooped-up and frustrated co-workers via Zoom.

Then there is the ease at which you can scream at someone from the safety of your keyboard and smart phone without ever knowing or speaking face-to-face with the person about whom you assume the worst. Keyboard cowardism pre-dates Covid, as does the phenomena of the “internet expert” who, because they can write creatively, encourage their readers to join their foil-hat conspiracy theory and then vent their fury at those who are not taken in by contrived “evidence.”

Our culture of rage has only gotten worse. The news is filled with people who attack (sometimes physically and violently) retailers, food servers, and others who we do see face to face—those we encounter who want us masked, or unmasked, vaccinated or unvaccinated, who think the worst of us if we mask, or go about our business unmasked. What previous generations of Americans saw as being a good citizen (comply with government edicts about public health) is now a way to express one’s tribal and political identity, with little or no regard for fellow citizens.

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Michael Horton Nails It -- No "Christian" Nations in the New Covenant Era

Follow the link below to view Michael’s recent discussion of Christian nationalism (from TGC).

Hear Anything Lately About the Wrath of God? The Silence Is Deafening

It is a major theme throughout the Old Testament. It is found throughout the New Testament as well. John the Baptist clearly taught it (Matthew 3:7). Jesus preached about it (Luke 21:23). So did Paul (Romans 1:18; 9:22; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6). John mentions it once in his gospel (3:36) but makes it a central theme of the Apocalypse (Revelation 14:6 ff). But in our day and age–so it seems–no one wants to touch the subject. It is too controversial, too divisive. It often goes unmentioned in our pulpits. The very thought of it is repulsive to many Americans. I am talking about the wrath of God.

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Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 9, 2021wrath of God

John Calvin on the Transforming Power of the Book of Romans

Many of you, no doubt, have consulted Calvin’s famous biblical commentaries. You may even have consulted Calvin’s commentary on the Book of Romans–one of his first, written in 1539, while Calvin was still in Strasbourg. It is my guess is that many who have consulted Calvin on Romans, have not read Calvin’s dedication of the commentary (to Simon Grynaeus), nor Calvin’s introductory essay on the theme of Romans. In these two essays we get a fascinating glimpse of Calvin’s goal as a biblical interpreter and his estimation of the importance of grasping the central message Paul’s most famous letter–the doctrine of justification by faith. We also get a sense of how Calvin felt about the transforming power of the Book of Romans.

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Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 7, 2021The Book of Romans, John CalvinComment