This is the first instance of something new I will do from time to time: share three unconnected insights or discoveries I have gleaned from my journey through Scripture. To be honest, one aim of this is to reduce the number of issues on major topics that require substantial preparation. Discoveries like the ones I present this month tend to come spontaneously, while on the journey, thus requiring less time (mostly, writing things down). The new format also gives me a way to share valuable insights that otherwise have no place.
Coming to the end of Jeremiah, I was plodding through two very long chapters foretelling the downfall of Babylon. There, I ran into this statement that struck me much deeper:
Both end time angst and dread due to a perceived deterioration of world conditions continue to be widespread. One well-known antidote is a saying of Jesus on the topic: “And when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet” (Mk. 13:7). Nice to know.
Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler.
(Jer. 51:46)
The reason this verse struck much deeper than the familiar one, apart from precisely its unfamiliarity, is the addition of detail and historical depth.
Jeremiah reports in some detail on the horrors perpetrated by the Babylonians in Judah and elsewhere. The terrifying instability of the time comes vividly into focus in the account of what happens after the capture of Jerusalem and especially in the murder of Gedaliah (Jer. 41). The instability of the approaching end of Babylonian tyranny is not great either. A century of rumours and reports and events that were, to put it mildly, unsettling.
It also struck me because it is exactly what I need to hear. I worry about the condition of the world. From a Western and European perspective, things have taken several turns for the worse in recent years; for one, war in our continent is not merely a rumour. In other parts of the world, this is nothing new. Where is this headed? Where are we headed? Easy to get scared.
But unnecessary, as Jeremiah points out. The reason: God is at work. All of this leads to something good. It results in the demise of Babylon (and the restoration of Judah), which is good news: “Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon” (Jer. 51:48a).
Two. Exodus 38:8: Women in Ministry
In Exodus, I found a fascinating mention of women in ministry. It is part of a long section describing how all the different parts and utensils of the tabernacle were fashioned: “He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting” (Ex. 38:8). Who were these women!?
Nothing has prepared us for this. No further explanation or instruction concerning such a group or class of ministering women appears here or elsewhere in the Torah. We don’t know what, exactly, they did. All the other tabernacle functionaries, those that are explicitly called and appointed, are male (priests, high priest, Levites in various functions).
So how did it come to this? I can only guess. Perhaps they would not be stopped or excluded, and simply took their place, any place, near the presence of God, even if it was limited to the threshold of the tent of meeting. But from there, they make a contribution that is duly noted.
Three. Ephesians 6:10-18: Standing Strong
Paul’s description of the armour of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 is well-known, but a closer look at the Greek text quickly reveals unfamiliar details. Things get lost in translation. That is certainly true here.
The following analysis may seem technical, but it has practical implications for our daily lives. First, a little grammar.
Participles are a verb form that can be used to provide context or background for the main verb. Two examples: “Walking around, he healed” and: “Coming to a house, say…”
In Greek, you can do a lot with participles in a single sentence. Because of the way Greek grammar works, one can construct complex sentences, piling up several participles, and still make sense. However, such sentences do not translate well into English. Translators therefore tend to simplify things a bit, to keep the English intelligible.
There is a reason to load a sentence with participles in Greek, however. It enables backgrounding. Verb forms that are not a participle – say, present tense or imperative – are thereby foregrounded and are thus made the focus of the statement. This gets lost in translation.
So, let’s look at the verb forms in Ephesians 6:10-18. This gets a bit complex; if this is too much detail, feel free to jump to the abbreviated version below. The full overview:
Eph. 6:10 Be strengthened (so literally, a passive imperative: not be strong but be strengthened; as the continuation of the verse makes clear, it is about God’s strength, not ours)
Eph. 6:11 Put on (an imperative)
Eph. 6:11 To be able to stand (two infinitives, expressing the purpose, the aim, of the putting on)
The next verse provides explanation, as indicated by for:
Eph. 6:12 For not is to us (so literally; present tense, therefore a simple statement of fact; wrestling translates a noun, not a verb)
Verse 13 repeats the sense of verse 11:
Eph. 6:13 Take up (as in 6:11, an imperative, followed by a purpose:)
Eph. 6:13 That you may be able to stand against … and having done all, to stand (this, too, parallels 6:11: we get two infinitives expressing the purpose, plus our first participle; notice the final verb is not tostand firm but only to stand; to make things not more complicated than they already are, I will pass on the verb form that you may be able)
Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore (an imperative expressing a result, followed by no less than four participles:)
Eph. 6:14-16 Having fastened, having put on, having put on, having taken up (participles, backgrounding these activities – they are not the focus)
Eph. 6:16 With which you will be able to extinguish (future with infinitive, a secondary clause)
Eph. 6:17 Take (one more imperative)
Eph. 6:18 Praying and keeping alert (in Greek, two participles)
Now the short form:
Be strengthened. Put on to be able to STAND. Take up, that you may be able to STAND against and having done all, to STAND. STAND therefore, having fastened, having put on, having put on, having taken up. Take, praying and keeping alert.
In the foreground are the imperatives puton and take up. Clearly expressed is their purpose and result: to stand. This, too, is foregrounded (in Eph. 6:14-16), by four participles in the background, but also because the verb is used four times. Unfortunately, this, too, is partially lost in translation. But it is the real aim of Paul’s closing exhortation: that we may stand (in the battle raging around us).
It would be an overstatement to claim that this is the only thing expected of us. But in this paragraph, it is the main thing; it is what matters most.
So, let’s make sure that we continue to stand – in his strength, freely given.
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