aBeLOG
Welcome to the aBeLOG, a series of (hopefully!) fortnightly posts on all matters homiletical. I intend to touch on whatever grabs my attention regarding preaching—issues contemporary and ancient, ideas hermeneutical and rhetorical, personalities conservative and liberal, publications antiquarian and avant-garde. Essentially, I’m going to follow my own homiletical olfactory instincts up rabbit trails and after red herrings. Comments are always invited and appreciated.
Judges 8:33–10:5
The illicit thirst for power, destructive in its ramifications, brings about fitting retribution from God.
Of all the narratives in the book of Judges, Yahweh’s presence is felt the least in this account of Abimelech. Deity is present, but almost always as ’elohim, “God,” not “Yahweh” (8:34; 9:7, 9, 13, 23, 56, 57). And in every instance, this occurs as part of a pejorative statement by the narrator or a character. There is no direct link between Abimelech
Judges 7:23–8:32
Godliness involves abandonment of self-glorifying vendettas and of power.
After Jdg 7:22, with Israel’s victory over the Midianites accomplished, one would have expected the narrative to conclude with the notice of the Midianites being subdued and the land obtaining rest, followed by an announcement of Gideon’s death and its aftermath. But no, there is an “interpolation” before the end that adds some more unsavory dimensions to Gideon’s life.
The summoning of troops
Judges 6:1–7:22
Faithful trust in God, without pridefully taking credit for divine action, leads to blessing.
After the lofty praises sung to Yahweh in Judges 5, we are brought down to terra firma with an unmistakable thud: the Israelites returned to their evil ways (6:1).
Usually, at this juncture Yahweh would be raising up a deliverer. Instead we have a detour—a round of deserved divine excoriation of the nation’s behavior (6:8–10). Israel had chosen to fear and obey not Yahweh,
Judges 5:1–31
Participation in the endeavors of God, as he fights for his people and empowers them, keeps one blessed.
The prose account of Barak’s victory in Judges 4 is completed only by the addition of 5:31b: the statement of the land’s rest. In that sense, the Song of Deborah in 5:1–31a is an interpolation of sorts, with a theological thrust of its own.
Right from the get-go, Yahweh is praised for Israel’s “leaders” and “people” enrolling to fight (5:2). Soon that
Bookstore
The other day, I was interviewed at Southern Seminary’s Bookstore, by its manager, Jacob Percy, about writing, preaching, and whatever else he wanted to ask about.
Here’s the video …
Down Under!
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Australia, primarily for a Preaching Conference and a Preaching Intensive organized by my friend, Dr. Tim MacBride, at Morling College, in Sydney. He is the Dean of the faculty of Bible and Theology and a preacher and a homiletics scholar (and a musician, and a coffee-connoisseur). We had a lot of good times together, both formal and informal (the latter included visiting the Three Sisters).
More about Tim here.
He recently contributed
Installation!
Quick note: For those interested in watching a livestream of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Convocation Chapel tomorrow, Tuesday, August 23, at 10:00 am US Eastern Time, make your way to this site.
Your faithful blogger is going to be invited up on stage to sign (with a quill pen, no less!) the Seminary’s 150-year-old doctrinal statement, The Abstract of Principles, as well as to be installed as the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching.
Loud
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.