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Old Testament

Come, Follow Me Week 36 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12

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Proverbs Primer

by Matt Christiansen

Imagine an encounter with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.  After introductions and pleasantries, the discussion turns more substantive, and he asks about your big picture dreams and aspirations. You seize the opportunity and lay out a detailed blueprint for the most productive, impactful, and meaningful life you can imagine. He listens intently, occasionally asking questions to clarify vagaries, and even offers bits of advice.

Your allotted time is spent (apparently, he’s a busy man), but before leaving he reaches into his suitcoat, pulls out a checkbook, and then proceeds to date and sign a personal check. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 36 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12

Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

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The Hymns of the Temple

Part 2

by Matthew L. Bowen

Praise is a dominant word in the latter third of the Psalter. The imperative plural Hebrew verbal expression hallelujah (halĕlû-yāh), “praise ye the Lord,” marks the beginning and ending of many of these temple hymns. In ancient Judah, ascending into the temple to praise Jehovah was a fundamental religious obligation. The gospel writer Luke notes that after the Ascension, Jesus’s earliest disciples “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:53). The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ had given the disciples a sense of how the temple pointed to his incarnation and his unique role in saving Israel and all humanity (compare, for example, Mark 14:58; John 1:14; 2:19). [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

Come, Follow Me Week 34 – Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86

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The Hymns of the Temple

Part 1

by Matthew L. Bowen

The Psalms, originally written in Hebrew poetry,[1] were the hymns of the ancient Jerusalem temple.[2] Everything in them should be read and reflected upon with that in mind. Additionally, as Latter-day Saints, we are obligated to consider how these texts, within their temple and covenant context, can better connect us to the atonement of Jesus Christ in our time, just as they connected ancient Israelites and Judahites to Jehovah. The Psalms have much to teach us about the nature of God’s redemption and the role of the temple in that redemption.

Psalm 49 – The Price of Redemption, Christ’s Infinite Atonement, and the Temple

In Psalm 49, the futility and folly of earthly riches is expressed in terms of the value of God’s redemption. A key “atonement” term in Psalm 49 is the Hebrew pādâ and its nominal (noun) cognate pidyôn, “ransom” or “redemption”: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 34 – Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86

Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

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by Carl Trueman

If there is one question that seems to drive so much of modern life it is that of happiness.  What is it?  How does one attain it?  And perhaps more deeply, how does one know when one has attained it?  And it is therefore perhaps fitting that the Psalter, the great hymn book of the soul, begins with a description of what it is that characterized the ‘happy man’.

Readers of the English translation might be surprised by this, for many such translate the first line as ‘Blessed is the man’ not ‘Happy is the man.’  The reason is that the Hebrew word means both things in English.  In fact, we might say that not just the word but the concept of blessedness is the same as that of happiness in the Psalmists mind.  We live in a world where happiness is typically regarded as a psychological state.  The Psalmist’s world is one where happiness is being blessed by God. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

Come, Follow Me Week 32 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

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Lessons Learned from the Book of Job

by Louis Herrey

”No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted… All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God.” (Orson F. Whitney, in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98.)

Introduction

The book of Job is part of the so called ’wisdom literature’ of the Bible. The text is composed in beautiful Near Eastern prose, and is a tale of a man who has a dramatic encounter with God’s justice, to say the least. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 32 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Esther

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by K.T. Martin

The Book of Esther is one of the most politically intriguing books found within the Old Testament. The story includes a king who banishes his wife and marries a new woman who is secretly a Jew. The king has an advisor who has a hatred for the Jewish people and wants them destroyed; that advisor intends to manipulate the king to accomplish this goal. However, the king’s new wife uses her royal status to save the Jews, at risk of her own life.

That’s a lot going on.

With all of that political intrigue, what’s more interesting is how the Lord sets up a woman to be in the right place at the right time to preserve His chosen people. No nefarious plot by an evil man is a match for God’s great ability to see beforehand and place his servants in the position where they can do the most good. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Esther

Come, Follow Me Week 30 – Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8

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by Braeden Dyer

[Courtesy of Wilford Woodruff Papers]

Since beginning my work for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project, one aspect of Wilford’s life which has struck me, and made me ponder, has been the opposition which he faced. He faced immense physical and social opposition—just one account of which we see in this excerpt from his autobiography. Countless times within his journals, he says that he is “very low” with one ailment or another, yet he keeps working on his duties as it is in his unconquerable nature. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 30 – Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8

Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 2–7

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What Should We Make of the Story of Elisha and the Bears and What Is the Significance of the Unusual Symbolism in Elisha’s Healings?

by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

(Originally published August 8, 2018 and August 10, 2018)

Prophet Elisha, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th century. The prophet is often portrayed with an uncovered, bald head. However, such a depiction may be the result of a textual misunderstanding.

Question: One of the most disturbing and incomprehensible accounts in the Old Testament concerns Elisha and the bears who mauled those who jeered at him? What should we make of this strange story? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 2–7

Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19

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by Matt Crawford

The widow of Zarephath is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. Perhaps the greatest reason that this story resonates with me is because the widow is an outsider. She is not a member of the house of Israel—a fact the Savior confirms (see Luke 4:24–30)—and she meets Elijah at the gate of the city. That is, she is physically on the outskirts of this village where she lives. At least symbolically, the location of the widow’s initial contact with Elijah infers that she is marginalized. Yet her belonging came as she did one thing: she obeyed a prophet. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19

Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11

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2 Samuel 11: A Presbyterian Reflection

by Carl Trueman

The events described in 2 Samuel 11 are pivotal to the reign of David. His adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, Uriah, will have consequences far beyond the royal household and the rest of his reign will be marked by political turmoil driven by rebellions from within his own family.

There are a number of points to observe in the text.  First, it is important to notice how the writer echoes the language of Genesis 3.  As Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was pleasing to the eyes and reached out and took it, so David sees that Bathsheba, one who is forbidden to him because married to another, is beautiful and takes her.  As humanity fell in the garden, so David as king in a sense falls here.  Hence his reign will never be the same again.  And in seeing David’s fall, we learn something of the sinful psychology of our own hearts: sin places me at the center and makes everything else instrumental to my satisfaction, desires, and happiness. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11