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1 Timothy 1 Paul Encourages Timothy in Ephesus

The Library of Celsus in Ephesus Photo By Benh LIEU SONG – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15578063

1 Timothy 1: 1-2

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
² To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Letters in the ancient world begin with the identification of the sender and the recipient. Paul begins by making a strong claim to authority, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.” When Paul begins with the title of apostle (e.g. 1 Corinthians, Galatians) he is often writing to communities dealing with crisis and where his authority is needed. In letters like Romans or Philippians where he is not addressing significant behavioral issues or where he wants to be more diplomatic he utilizes the title of servant/slave (doulos) of the Lord. Paul also immediately leans into the title of God as our Savior. God as Savior is a common theme in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures[1] and it is worth remembering at the time these letters are written the stories of the gospels are likely circulating but they have not been collected and distributed throughout these young communities of faith. The Scriptures for these early Christian are the Hebrew Scriptures.

Timothy is described as Paul’s ‘true child,’ an adjective that normally defines a child born in wedlock. A legitimate child as opposed to an illegitimate one (NIB XI: 790). Yet, when the letter continues ‘in the faith’ most readers would probably understand Timothy as Paul’s true and authentic delegate, that Timothy and Paul share the same faith and that Timothy is being empowered to speak with Paul’s authority. Paul’s also utilizes the term for ‘true’ (gnesios) in Philippians 2:20 to speak of Timothy’s true concern for the welfare of the Philippians. Timothy is Paul’s trusted representative before the Ephesians, one who is like a son to him.

Paul concludes the greeting with a blessing. Grace (charis) is a distinctive Pauline term, and the vast majority of this term’s occurrences happen in Paul’s letters. Here the term is combined with two additional terms: peace (eirene) and mercy (eleos). Peace brings forward the Hebrew idea of shalom and mercy (eleos) is the normal term used to translate in both Greek and English the Hebrew term hesed. These three rich terms are brought together to bless Timothy and his community. God is referred to here as Father, a common way of referring to God in both the teaching of Jesus and occurs frequently in Pauline benedictions, and Christ Jesus our Lord is placed in parallel usage of God the Father.

1 Timothy 1: 3-11

³ I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings ⁴ and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. ⁵ But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. ⁶ Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
⁸ Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; ⁹ this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching ¹¹ that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.

In many of Paul’s letters there would be a thanksgiving for the community, but here the letter moves immediately into instructions. Paul has done this in Galatians, so this is not unheard of, and like Galatians Paul is concerned about the continuation of the community. Verse three gives us the setting where Timothy receives the letter, Ephesus where he is instructed to remain, and Paul at some earlier time departed for Macedonia. In Acts Paul sent Timothy on to Macedonia while he stayed in Ephesus (Acts 19:22) and later proceeds to Macedonia. Later he will gather with the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20:17). This letter is likely between Paul’s departure from Ephesus and his later meeting with the elders.[2]

Among the early Christians in Ephesus there are different teachings emerging. We have glimpses into the challenges that the early churches face through letters like this 1 Timothy, the book of Acts and the book of Revelation. The Book of Acts portrays Ephesus as a city where the early Christ followers meet resistance both from within the synagogue and from the followers of the Greek gods, particularly the followers of Artemis. Revelation’s letter to the Ephesians points to a community that has learned to test those claiming to be apostles and continuing to deal with groups, like the Nicolaitans, who are viewed as harmful by the author of Revelation. Yet, in Revelation these conflicts have sapped the energy of the churches in this large city. We may not be able to identify specifically the ‘myths and genealogies’ that some are teaching but to Paul they are leading people away from the central witness of Christ. The ‘myths and genealogies’ may be focusing on the wrong things in scripture, since Paul indicates that some are desiring to be teachers of the law, but they may also be a distortion coming from outside of the scriptures. Another possibility is that these teachers who are leading people into “meaningless talk” have separated teaching from action. They may be so focused on some knowledge they are attempting to wrestle from the scriptures or from the surrounding culture that they have stopped the distinctive practices that shaped the early Christians.

Paul then focuses on the law and how it is utilized. Paul’s declaration that the law is good is similar to statements he has made in Romans[3] but also indicates that the law is not for the righteous. Perhaps Paul intends something similar to the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians where “There is no law against such things.” (Galatians 5: 32) Paul likely composes the vice list in verses nine and ten while reflecting on the ten commandments. Godless and sinful refer to someone behaving blasphemously towards God while unholy and profane likely reference the commandment on keeping the Sabbath holy and profaning the name of God. Killing of father and mother and murderers bring together the commandment to honor father and mother and murder. The commandment on adultery also references both the ‘sexually immoral’ and ‘men who engage in illicit sex.’ The Greek term pornos (NRSVue sexually immoral) is the prefix for the English word pornography. As Luke Timothy Johnson notes, “In the LXX and the NT, the term is used for the sexually immoral without specific reference to homosexuality.” (Johnson, 2001, p. 170) The Greek arsenkoitos (NRSVue men who engage in illicit sex) is literally one who has sex with a man. As James D.G. Dunn notes,

Today the most controversial of these is the putting of homosexual practice (v. 10; the term almost certainly comes from Lev 18:22; 20:13) under the prohibition of adultery; the teaching is consistent with Paul’s views expressed earlier in Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6: 9-10 (NIB XI:791)

This is the first of many times where 1 Timothy will come into conflict with elements of our culture, just as it was likely in conflict with elements of Paul’s time. Many Greek authors write about relationships between a man and an adolescent youth (pederasty) but there is some debate about how often these relationships were sexual. Paul viewed the existence of same-sex relationships as one of the many examples of how far humanity and creation had been corrupted by sin.

On a personal note, the larger church I am a part of has struggled with the question of homosexuality within the larger picture of sexuality since before I entered seminary in 2000. It has been a divisive issue within the larger church and within congregations I have served. I also have a non-gender binary child and my perspective on this issue has shifted throughout my life. When I entered seminary, I would have agreed that LGBTQ+ people have a place within the congregation but I would have been opposed to them having leadership roles whether as pastors, deacons or in positions of authority. Through experiences, wrestling with scripture, and faithful conversations I am now open to LGBTQ+ people who are trying to live faithfully serving in the leadership of the church but I also understand why others struggle to accept them into leadership, just as some do not accept women in leadership (see chapter 2).

Returning to the vice list: stealing is not simply stealing but “slave dealing.” I will talk about slavery more in chapter 6, but although slavery was an accepted part of the Roman empire “slave traders” have normally been viewed with disdain. Liars and perjures point to the commandment on bearing false witness. Paul concludes with ‘whatever is contrary to the sound teaching’ which returns us to the questions about different teaching which began this section. Paul is asking his hearers to measure the teaching they are receiving against the gospel he shared with them for its conformity to Christ and scripture in both teaching and living.

1 Timothy 1: 12-17

¹² I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service, ¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

For Paul his call to serve Jesus was transformational. He went from someone who, out of ignorance, was acting against God’s will to one whose life is completely committed to the gospel. One of the rhetorical effects of this narration of Paul’s transformation from a faithless one (apistis-without faith, NRSVue ‘unbelief’) to one overflowing with faith and love, from a man of violence to a man of peace, from a blasphemer to a servant of God is to provide hope that those lost to these different teachings can be reclaimed to God and Christ.

Paul talks about faith (Greek pisitis) more proportionally in 1 Timothy than in any other letter except Galatians and Romans.[4] Sometimes English translations obscure the occurrences of ‘faith’ as occurs in verse fifteen. Normally English translations render this verse similar to the NRSVue, “the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance.” A literal translation of the Greek would be, “the word of faith (or faithful word) and worthy of all acceptance.” What word is faith worthy of all acceptance? That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul’s transformation becomes the model of what Christ is doing with those who were once estranged from God. Jesus is at work in Paul showing the patience of God that is for all who have faith in God.

The Greek word aionios (eon) occurs four times in the final two verses of this section. It occurs at the end of sixteen paired with life (zoe)-into life of the eon/age. Most translations render this ‘eternal life’ and while Paul, I believe, does believe that the age God is creating is eternal he is not thinking of an existence in heaven. For Paul, and the other New Testament authors, God’s kingdom and age is coming to earth. The next occurrence of eon is in the title for God, the king of the eon/age. Life in the eon/age is linked to the king of the eon/age who rules the eon of eons/age to age. God is also described as immortal/incorruptible, invisible and the only God. God being the one God goes back to the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), the central confession of faith of the Jewish people. God is also frequently referred to as unseen in both the Old and New Testament and while God being unending or incorruptible is assumed but rarely spoken throughout the scriptures. It is possible that Paul is using a title for God that is frequently utilized by the communities in Ephesus.

1 Timothy 1: 18-20

¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; ²⁰ among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

The chapter closes with a personal note to Timothy intended to be overheard by the community. Paul reaffirms the closeness with Timothy using the familial language of father to child but also links Timothy’s calling to prophecies made in the church. Timothy is the chosen one, chosen both by Paul and by God. The language shifts to military language. “Fight the good fight” is literally (military) service in this good campaign/battle. Dealing with church conflict is challenging. In my own story I was an officer in the U.S. Army prior to seminary and my job as a leader in the Army may have been harder physically, but leading a congregation through conflict was more emotionally draining.

Hymenaeus and Alexander were people Paul excluded from the community of the faithful. The early communities may not have a word like excommunication for this disfellowshipping of a former member of the faith but even at this early stage there is a need for boundaries. Hymenaeus will be mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17 along with Philetus as spreading a teaching that the resurrection has already occurred. Alexander the Coppersmith is listed in 2 Timothy 4: 14 as one who did Paul great harm[5] and both are people for Timothy to avoid. In Greek these individuals are handed over by Paul to ‘the satan.’ In Matthew’s gospel which also has this type of disfellowshipping (Matthew 18:17) the desire is that the person changes and they are returned to fellowship. The use of the definite article (the) with the title satan may refer to this role of the accuser in the Old Testament, particularly Job. Here ‘the satan’ is ultimately God’s agent. Martin Luther would sometimes refer to the devil as ‘God’s devil’ because even though the devil may be opposed to God’s designs, even his opposition to God was brought into God’s design.

One of the hardest things for a community to do is to remove a member, but it can also be one of the most important things for the life of a community. Whether it is false teaching, bullying, or other unsafe behavior the failure to address the person who has been corrected and refuses to change will undermine the community. Timothy, in our letter, likely dealt with a very challenging moment in the life of the community and may need the support of Paul, his spiritual father. He may need to be reminded of his calling that God has placed on him as he attempts to bring this community back to faithfulness and peace.

[1] E.g. Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 27: 1, 9; Isaiah 45:15, 21; This is also the background for this usage in Mary’s Song commonly called the Magnificat in Luke 1:47.

[2] In this reflection my assumption is that Paul wrote this letter. Many scholars believe 1 Timothy is written by a later author after Paul’s death and therefore the letter comes from a later time. I am also assuming that Acts narration of Paul’s life is generally accurate but incomplete, not capturing every detail of Paul’s ministry.

[3] Romans 7: 7, 14, 21; in Galatians Paul’s language about the law is less friendly but in Galatians 3: 21 the use of the law is in a limited manner like he utilizes here.

[4] 1 Timothy has eighteen uses of pistis in six chapters, Galatians has twenty-two in six chapters and Romans thirty-seven in sixteen chapters. (Johnson, 2001, p. 158)

[5] This may be the same Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33.

Brief Introduction to 1 Timothy

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Statue of Saint Timothy at St. Timothy ‘s Church, The Villages, Florida Photo by Whoisjohngalt – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85244772

1 Timothy is the first of a collection of letters called the Pastoral letters, and although these three letters are often treated together, each letter has its own character and reason for being written. 1 Timothy is addressed to Timothy, but it is likely intended to be read to the community that Timothy is working with rather than being a more personal letter like 2 Timothy. I am working through this reflection from the perspective that 1 Timothy is an authentic letter from Paul (see discussion in the Introduction to the Pastoral Letters) writing to Timothy at Ephesus.

Ephesus, on the western edge of modern-day Turkey, as Luke Timothy Johnson describes it,

Ephesus was “the first and greatest metropolis of Asia,” …Its population during the early empire was probably between 100,000 and 150,000, making it rank only below Rome and Alexandria in size as an urban center. (Johnson, 2001, p. 142)

Being one of the largest cities in the Roman empire, it is a place where there are already Christian disciples present before Paul’s arrival according to the book of Acts (Acts 19: 1-7). Yet, these Christian disciples are missing a critical component of the understanding of baptism. One of the reasons some readers feel this letter is not from Paul but from a later writer is that it does not precisely line up with the narration of the book of Acts where Paul sends Timothy to Macedonia, while he stays in Ephesus (Acts 19:22), but it is plausible that after Paul goes to Macedonia that he sends Timothy as his representative to address issues continuing to emerge among the communities of faithful in Ephesus.

One of the things that is clear from the letter is that the community of the faithful in Ephesus that Timothy is attempting to guide and correct is dealing with conflicts over beliefs and behaviors. There are connections between this letter and 1 Corinthians, but also between content in Ephesians. As we approach this letter to Timothy and the churches in Ephesus, it is worth remembering that Paul is writing to a community in trouble. Paul’s intention here is to correct issues that are emerging and threatening the future of these communities of faith and to strengthen Timothy’s presence among them. In Thomas Long’s memorable image, “In the Pastoral Epistles, though we see the church on the mechanic’s lift in the garage, and we are given guidance form performing an ecclesial engine overhaul.” (Long, 2016, p. 1) Yet, the work of performing an “ecclesial engine overhaul” is messy work.

In 1 Timothy there will be solutions that Paul commands that may be unpopular to many people today. Paul leans into traditional gender roles, traditional roles in societal hierarchy, and we see within these churches one of the early mentions of deacons and bishops. Paul is not a systematic theologian in this letter presenting a solution for all times and places, he is rolling up his sleeves to get his hands dirty with the overhaul needed in this community at this time. Yet, it is always dangerous to attempt to read modern values onto ancient people. There are several difficult passages to work through in this short letter, but I believe an honest conversation with these texts is fruitful even if it can be difficult.

Among many modern readers 1 Timothy has received skeptical and critical readings, but what I will be attempting is a charitable and generous reading. Ellen Davis, a writer I’ve learned a great deal from, describes a charitable reading in this way:

The difficult text is worthy of charity from its interpreters. Interpretive charity does not mean pity but rather something more like generosity and patience toward the text…Charitable reading requires considerable effort; it is easier to dispense with the difficult text. Those who regard a text as religiously authoritative are willing to sustain that effort, because they perceive it in some sense as a gift from God. (Davis, 2003, p. 178)

One of the perspectives I adopted when I was working through Deuteronomy was to wonder what type of world or community it was attempting to imagine. I look forward to the process of trying to imagine the community of faith that Paul and Timothy desire at the completion of this ecclesial engine overhaul.

Introduction to the Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus

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Icon of Saint Titus and Saint Timothy. Image from Timothy and Titus, Companions of Saint Paul – The Episcopal Church

Every pastor has portions of scripture that are central and that they know well and other portions that they are less familiar with and less likely to use in their preaching and teaching. One of my motivations within these reflections has been to expand my familiarity and comfort with portions of scripture I was less familiar with. To utilize a couple verses of 2 Timothy:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17

Yet, there is some irony in the way 1& 2 Timothy and Titus are viewed by many modern scholars. Since the nineteenth century many scholars have questioned whether these three books were written by Paul or whether they are written after Paul’s death utilizing Paul’s reputation to give force to these letters. The letters, for many, may still be scripture but they have been relegated to a secondary, or in some cases even lower, status because they may not be viewed as ‘authentically Pauline’ and coming from a later stage in the formation of the church rather than being one of the earlier witnesses to the formation of Christianity. The New Testament professors I had in seminary handed on the consensus that Pastoral letters were not Pauline and therefore received little if any attention. Because of this the very books that claim all scripture is inspired by God and useful are among the most neglected in the New Testament.

My assumption throughout these reflections will be that 1 & 2 Timothy as well as Titus are written by Paul the Apostle. I will go into more of my reasoning below, but whether they are written by Paul or a student of Paul they remain for me, and for Christianity as a whole, a part of our scriptures. To many readers of the Bible the type of discussions that scholars have about texts can be confusing. Most readers of the bible may not spend a lot of time in 1& 2 Timothy and Titus, but they also would be wary of someone questioning the authority of these books they accept as scripture. There are some portions of these letters that modern readers find jarring, especially when talking about women in the church and the existence of slavery. Like all scripture we must wrestle with what it meant in it is specific to the time and audience it is written to and what expectations we bring to our own time. Yet, for me, I find this type of wrestling with scripture, trying to understand it on its own terms and to imagine the world it is trying to create in its original environment a fruitful and life-giving process.

For most of the history of the church the Pastoral Letters were assumed to be Pauline. The only groups that did not include these letters as a part of scripture, like the followers of Marcion[1] and perhaps Valentinius, were considered heretics and their exclusion of these books were not based on any questions of authorship. Polycarp appears to reference 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy in his Letter to the Philippians dated between 110 and 135 CE and the book is heavily utilized by early church leaders like Ireneaus, Clement, and Tertullian. The first person to challenge the Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Letters was Fredrich Schleirmacher, an influential German theologian and scholar, in 1806. Schleirmacher felt there was a Pauline style that could be measured and these letters failed to meet the criteria. Many other scholars would follow Schleirmacher developing authentic Pauline themes and vocabulary to test these letters against while others would compare the events of the letters with the narration of Paul’s ministry in Acts,[2] while others simply went along with what seemed to be an emerging scholarly consensus in the nineteenth and twentieth century.[3]

The reasoning behind my engaging 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus as Pauline letters is fairly simple. First, all three letters explicitly claim to be written by Paul (1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1). Although writing a letter or document under the name of an established individual was a common practice in the ancient world as was viewed as honorific rather than dishonest, for me there would have to be some decisive reason to distrust what the letters claim to be. Secondly, each letter has its own character (1 Timothy is less personal and probably intended to be heard by a congregation) but in 2 Timothy 4 and Titus 3 there are some very personal moments and a lot of people, who the original recipients of the letter were likely aware of and who would raise questions for any reader with knowledge of Paul’s time in ministry if they were created to pass off the letters as authentic.

Christian scholars who do not view these letters as authentically Pauline will typically point to a handful of reasons: the letters do not reflect Paul’s theology, the letters utilize different language than the authentic Pauline letters, the conflicts and the type of organization/hierarchy in the church are presumed to come from a later time. I appreciate and have benefited from the works of those, like James D. G. Dunn, who write works like The Theology of Paul the Apostle and take the ‘authentic Pauline letters’ as the source to identify the elements of Paul’s theology. However, Paul is not a systematic theologian and writes letters to deal with concrete issues in communities and relationships that he knew. Paul may think theologically but his letters are also shaped strongly by the context they are written to. Paul’s language changes dramatically between letters as well: Romans may share similar language to Galatians, but 1 Corinthians employs very different terms. Paul does talk of people being led astray by ‘myths and endless genealogies’ (1 Timothy 1:6) which many scholars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries linked with Gnosticism[4] but we simply do not know the exact issues that these communities are dealing with. The roles of bishop and deacon outlined in these letters does not necessarily indicate a late date nor the highly institutional roles these would later become. Luke Timothy Johnson also highlights that Paul did not establish the community in Ephesus and that the letters presume the existence of these roles and only give advice about the mental and moral qualities of the people who should fill these roles. (Johnson, 2001, p. 75)

There are some difficult texts in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. We may wish for a Paul who continually lives out the vision of Galatians 3:28 where there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. Yet, there are places, both in the Pastoral letters and in the other Pauline letters, where we look uncomfortably about what he may say about the role of women in communities, the assumptions of slavery and how slaves and masters are to relate to one another, sexuality, and several other issues. Paul is writing to his congregations almost two thousand years ago with very different assumptions, some of which Paul challenges and some of which Paul does not. Thomas Long is helpful when he states:

One could imagine many ways of relating to the emperor—pray for the emperor, not pray for the emperor, pray to the emperor, refuse to pray to the emperor, obey the emperor, resist the emperor, die for the emperor, die at the hands of the emperor—but a world without the emperor? Unimaginable. Therefore, the author of the Pastorals, given his context, will consistently offer advice about how to move the pieces on the chessboard. We sometimes lose patience with him because we expect him to throw out the chessboard and to change the game itself. (Long, 2016, p. 6)

The board we play on will look different than Paul’s, but it is fruitful to study the moves he makes based on his experience of God and the world he inhabits.

Dialogue Partners for these Reflections

Bassler, Jouette M. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus: Abingdon New Testament Commentaries. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996). Noted as (Bassler, 1996).

The Abingdon New Testament Commentaries are written to be accessible to those with some familiarity with the bible and are short enough that most readers can follow. Jouette Bassler taught at Perkins Theological Seminary at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She comes from the perspective that the author of these letters is not Paul, but one who appreciates the pseudonymous author’s rhetorical skill and ethical and theological perspective.

Dunn, James D. G., “First and Second Letters to Timothy” and “Letter to Titus” in New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Volume XI, pp. 789-880. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000). Noted as (NIB XI).

The New Interpreter’s Bible is a good resource for pastors wanting a collection that includes the entire bible (including the apocrypha) and I have been impressed by the collection of scholars they assembled for this project. James Dunn is a very highly respected New Testament scholar who taught for decades at the University of Durham in England. He has written heavily on Jesus, Paul, and the early church and is associated with the New Perspective on Paul which attempted to locate Paul within the matrix of Jewish thought in the first century. Dunn also views the Pastoral Letters as written by someone after Paul. The Theology of Paul the Apostle was an influential book for me when I was particularly focused on Pauline scholarship in 2005-2010.

Johnson, Luke Timothy. The First and Second Letters to Timothy: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentaries: The Achor Yale Bible. (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001). Noted as (Johnson, 2001).

The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries are designed to be textual commentaries with a lot of notes on the translation which I find to be helpful but are a bit clunky for a lot of readers. Luke Timothy Johnson teaches at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an excellent translator and thinker who is willing to challenge commonly held views. Johnson’s commentary is written from the perspective that Paul wrote 1& 2 Timothy as well as Titus (although his commentary is only on the first two letters). His introduction to all three letters and their reception by Christians throughout history is incredibly helpful.

Long, Thomas G. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: Belief A Theological Commentary on the Bible. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016) noted as (Long, 2016)

Thomas Long is a very well-know instructor of preaching who taught at Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta. The Belief Commentary series intentionally brought in theologians and non-biblical study specialists to write each volume to approach the texts from a different perspective than most traditional commentaries, an approach I’ve found to be a helpful voice. He also assumes that these letters are written by a later voice claiming to be Paul.

[1] Marcion believed that the Old Testament God was distinct from the gracious God of the New Testament and constructed a scripture that included ten letters of Paul, not including the Pastorals, and a highly modified version of Luke’s gospel. Marcion’s position was declared heretical by the church and Marcion was excommunicated by the church around 144 CE. Valentinius, a contemporary of Marcion, was a one of the early Gnostic teachers who were also viewed as heretics by the emerging church.

[2] Ironically many scholars at the same time, and some of the same scholars, who viewed the Pastoral letters as inauthentic, viewed Luke’s narration in the book of Acts as unreliable as well.

[3] For those who want more detail on the historical reception of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus see his excellent narration in his commentary. (Johnson, 2001, pp. 20-55)

[4] Gnosticism emerged both within and outside of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world and the term is broad covering a wide range of belief systems. Within Christianity we know of teachers like Valentinius in the mid-second century which does have a very elaborate ‘genealogy’.

Psalm 140 Deliver Me From the Poisonous Words of Violent Ones

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹ Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers[1];
protect me from those who are violent,
² who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers.  Selah

⁴ Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent
who have planned my downfall.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net,
along the road they have set snares for me.  Selah

⁶ I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
⁷ O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot.  Selah

⁹ Those who surround me lift up their heads;
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

¹² I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy
and executes justice for the poor.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 140 is the poetic prayer of an individual asking God to deliver them from violent adversaries. The Hebrew of the poem divides into four roughly equal parts (divided by the word selah) with a closing statement of trust.[2] The first two sections use the metaphors of venomous snakes, warfare, and hunting to describe the actions of the violent ones to the God who can deliver the psalmist. The central section turns away from the violent ones to the God who delivers the psalmist in the midst of battle. The fourth section asks for God’s judgment on these evil and violent opponents before the final two verses again return to the God who maintains the cause of the needy.

The enemies are identified only as evildoers, violent, and wicked. Although the psalmist utilizes the metaphor of warfare it is likely that the enemies’ actions may be primarily verbal with the focus on the tongue and lips in the serpent imagery and the hiding of traps for a hunter. That does not mean that the threat is not ominous. The enemies may be attempting to ensnare the psalmist through their word games in court or poison their reputation. These violent ones are stirring up conflict and evil, planning the downfall and entrapment of the faithful psalmist.

God is named at the beginning of each of the first two sections, but in the central section the name of God is called out four times.[3] The LORD is the psalmists God, and then the psalmist asks their God to hear their supplications. The word translated supplications comes from the verbal root hanan which is translated “showing favor” in Psalms 111, 112, and 123 and is part of the self-description of God in Exodus 34:6. The psalmist declares their allegiance to their God and God’s description of Godself before returning to the military metaphors where God clothes them for battle and delivers them. The psalmist closes this section by appealing to God to not grant the desires of the wicked, but instead to hear the appeals of the righteous one.

In the fourth section returns to the enemies that have risen against the psalmist. This section again returns to the verbal themes with the mischief of the lips being turned against those who speak violently against the psalmist. Now the psalmist asks God to judge them with burning coals, falling into the pit. Ultimately the psalmist asks that evil would hunt down these violent, wicked ones. As with all cries to God to judge the enemy, the enemy resides in God’s hands and not the psalmist.

The psalmist closes with a note of trust which calls again on God as the one who protects the needy and poor. The psalmist trusts that their current situation where the wicked and violent successfully oppress the righteous will not last. God hears the cry of the vulnerable and defends them. God will not allow the wicked to prosper indefinitely. The psalmist looks forward to the day when they can give thanks to the LORD for the way God has delivered them from this moment of trouble.

[1] “The Hebrew word is ‘ra, most often translated as “evil.” The word “evil” in English carries an ethical, moral tone that, while appropriate for Ps. 140, is probably not as appropriate as malicious, which means, “having, shown, or cause by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful.”” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 968)

[2] Clifford Allen noted that verses 1-3 contain twenty-three Hebrew words, ending with selah; verses 4-5 contain twenty-three words, ending with selah; verses 6-8 contain twenty-four words, ending with selah; verses 9-11 contain twenty-three words with verses 12-13 as a closing statement of trust. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 967)

[3] In English translations the capitalized LORD indicates that the four letters of the divine name are behind the translation (YHWH) with vowel markings indicating it is to be spoken as Adonai (Lord). In verse seven the second Lord is the Hebrew Adonai.

Psalm 139 Asking the God who Knows and Sees Me to Respond to the Injustice on Earth

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The Nativity of Christ, Icon by Ranosonar

Psalm 139

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
³ You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
¹⁷ How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.

¹⁹ O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
²⁰ those who speak of you maliciously
and lift themselves up against you for evil!
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139 is a paradox. The first eighteen verses in poetic and beautiful imagery describe the psalmists experience of being fully known by God. The language of the final six verses describes the psalmist’s reaction to the jarring reality that there are many who oppose the ways of God. Many readers of this psalm are surprised at the sudden change from the sense of wonder and awe in the first three stanzas of the psalm to the imprecatory voice of the final stanza. Most readers may be familiar with the first eighteen verses while the final six will rarely appear in the worship of most churches. Some scholars feel that these verses were later added into the beautiful and comforting message of God’s full knowledge and encompassing of the speaker, but I feel the psalm makes sense as we have received it as I will share below.

A key word in this psalm is “known/knowledge” which occurs seven times (vv. 1-2, 4, 6, 14, 23 twice) and while the seven occurrences may be random, Hebrew poetry like to utilize numerical occurrence to make a point. Seven is traditionally a number of completeness. So, in addition to the thematic complete knowledge of God it may also be structurally reinforcing this message. (NIB IV: 1235) The verbs attributed to God including “know,” “search,” and “test” often appear in imagery when God is described as a judge, and this image of God is often used when one is calling on God for intervention or help. (Mays, 1994, pp. 426-427) Throughout the psalm the psalmist wrestles with the reality that they are known, searched, and tested completely by God and yet the wicked ones who resist God’s way still endure and God is called to judge these ones who the psalmist ‘hates’ (see below).

In the first stanza God knows the psalmist’s thoughts, words, and actions completely. Whether the psalmist is coming or going, waking or sleeping, standing or sitting, God knows their path, their thoughts, and even the words that have not left their mouth. They live their life surrounded by God’s presence and comforted by God’s touch. They respond in an appropriate sense of awe and wonder that the God who created the heavens and the earth can know them. The psalm is not interested in constructing a doctrine of omnipotence and omnipresence but instead deploys its language to try to express their wonder that God knows them, comforts them, is present with them and protects them.

The second stanza continues the wonder at God’s presence throughout the creation. The most surprising line of this stanza is that the psalmist includes God’s presence in Sheol, a place in other psalms where people are cut off from God’s hand (Psalm 88). Yet, for the psalmist even this place where God had been thought absent God is present. Heaven to Sheol, from the rising sun to the farthest edges of the sea, and even in the darkest night they are seen and known by God. There is nowhere in all creation, the heavens, the earth and under the earth, where they can escape God’s spirit or God’s sight. For the psalmist this is an awe-inspiring reality but primarily in a comforting rather than an ominous sense.

The third stanza turns the reflections to God’s deep involvement throughout the duration of their life. The beautiful language of God knitting the psalmist together in their mother’s womb, shaping and forming them for their life in God’s presence and protection. They wonder at their body and mind created by the hand of God and the days of their life are numbered according to God’s plan. The psalmist is less concerned with an idea or predestination than poetically describing the wonder at their life shaped by God’s hands and lived within God’s presence.

It may be a paradox, but for me the first three stanzas set up the final stanza. The psalmist looks upon God’s active presence in their own life and experience and then turns outward to the world where injustice and wickedness persist. The language does not seem to indicate that the psalmist is personally under threat or attack but instead seems to be broken-hearted by the ways in which others are treating God and God’s commandments. They are heartsick by the idolatry and injustice they see at work in the world and they call upon the God who is profoundly present throughout their life to extend that presence throughout the world and judge the wicked and those who oppose God’s ways. The language of ‘kill’ and ‘hate’ are jarring to our ears. The word translated ‘hate’ (Hebrew sane’) refers to an emotional aversion to something or someone. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 966) Throughout the psalms and wisdom literature in the bible the wicked pose a threat, leading astray others from following God’s way and threatening the peace of the society. The psalmist in their own way is calling on God for God’s will to be done on earth. The God who is present throughout the life of the psalmist and whose spirit is present throughout the world is asked to judge the earth and be as deeply involved throughout the creation as they perceive God being within their own life. Like the other psalms calling on God to judge an enemy, the enemy is committed into God’s hands. Yet the psalmist joins those throughout the generations calling upon God to establish God’s justice on earth and to heal the society from the damage done by the wicked, the bloodthirsty, those who speak maliciously, and who rise up against God.

Psalm 138 Praising the LORD With One’s Whole Heart and Being

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The Presentation of the Torah By Édouard Moyse – Own work Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41893002

Psalm 138

Of David.

¹ I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
² I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.
³ On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength of soul.

⁴ All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
⁵ They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
⁶ For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he perceives from far away.

⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
⁸ The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 138 utilizes themes common throughout the book of Psalms as it thanks and praises the God the psalmist follows with their whole heart. To follow the LORD with one’s whole heart is not merely a matter of belief but also behavior. The heart in Hebrew thought is not the seat of emotion but the seat of will and intention. The first stanza of the psalm begins with the heart, the seat of will and intention, and ends with the nephesh (NRSVue soul) which is the center or essence of life and being. ‘Heart’ and ‘soul’ they give thanks, sing praise, bow down, and call upon the LORD their God.

This psalm, like many portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, are not monotheistic as we conceive, but view the LORD the God of Israel as the God above all gods. In the midst of a pluralistic world where others worship other gods the psalmist sings the praise of the God above all gods. This God whose name[1] and ‘word’[2] are exalted above everything is the God worthy of thanks, praise and bowing down to. The LORD is known by the central descriptions of God’s characters: ‘steadfast love’ (hesed)[3] and faithfulness (‘emet). The LORD is a God who answers when the psalmist calls and they are strengthened in courage and ‘strength of soul’ in response.

The praise of the LORD expands from the psalmist in the first stanza to ‘all the kings of the earth’ in the second. The ‘words’ of the LORD have now spread to the nations and these mighty one join the psalmist in singing of the glory of God. Throughout the psalms there have been times when the praise of God has been echoed throughout the creation but here the emphasis is on the nations not only praising the glory and power of the LORD but also the ways of the LORD. Central to the way of the LORD is the care of the lowly who God regards. The mighty and haughty may find themselves distant from God but the lowly and vulnerable are seen and protected by God. The kings of the earth in honoring the ways of God would also turn to practices which protect the vulnerable and lowly.

Even though the psalmist appears to be delivered in the first stanza, the final stanza returns to God protecting them in the midst of trouble. Thematically this stanza is similar to Psalm 23 preserving the faithful one in the midst of trouble and delivering them from their enemies. The hand of the LORD is a central feature to these final two verses, appearing three times. The psalmist is the work of the hands of God but also asks God to stretch out the hand in protection and deliver with the right hand. The LORD fulfills God’s purposes, and the psalmist echoes the refrain of Psalm 136 ‘your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.’ J. Clinton McCann Jr. summarizes the psalm nicely when he states:

The psalmist is able to present his or her whole life to God, because the psalmist trust that it is God’s character to manifest “steadfast love” (hesed) and “faithfulness” (‘emet). (NIB IV: 1232)

The psalmist’s wholehearted and embodied thanks, praise and worship points to a future reality when all the king and nations of the earth join in the celebration of the ways of God. They entrust themselves to the God of steadfast love and faithfulness who walks with them in the midst of trouble.

[1] The name of the LORD is a central idea in Hebrew thought and lies behind the commandment on honoring God’s name and keeping it holy. The temple, for example, is ‘a house built for the name of the LORD.’ The name of the LORD can refer to the presence of God but with the understanding that all the earth cannot contain the presence of the LORD.

[2] The Hebrew term for ‘word’ throughout this psalm is not the normal debar but instead from the verbal root ‘amar. Nancy deClaissé-Walford indicates this is more of an emphasis on voicing of the word and perhaps ‘sayings’ is a more accurate translation of this less common word. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 960)

[3] For more about the hesed of God see my comments on Psalm 136.

Psalm 137 Crying For God’s Vengeance by the Rivers of Babylon

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By the Waters of Babylon, painting by Arthur Hacker, c. 1888

Psalm 137

¹ By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴ How could we sing the LORD’s song
in a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither![1]
⁶ Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.

⁷ Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!”
⁸ O daughter Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
⁹ Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!

The deportation to Babylon is one of the pivotal events in the story of the Jewish people. The Deuteronomic history (Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Kings) ends with exile as does the retelling of the story of Israel and Judah by the author of 1&2 Chronicles. Two of the three major prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, have their ministries in the time immediately before and after the final deportation.[2] The Gospel of Matthew when it organizes the genealogy of Jesus breaks the second and third groups of generations at the deportation to Babylon. There are pre-exilic experiences of Judaism and post-exilic experiences and scholars often divide texts into pre-exilic and post-exilic texts. The loss of the Davidic king, the city of Jerusalem, the temple destroys many of the central features of Jewish life and requires a reorganization for the people of their identity and their faith. Psalm 137 taps into the grief, confusion, anger, and desire for revenge of the refugees of Jerusalem arriving at the rivers of Babylon crying out their jagged words to God through their tears.

Zion, the destination of the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), is a smoldering ruin. The songs of Zion, like Psalm 46 and 48, were full of a confidence that God was in the midst of the city and would defend it from harm by breaking bows, shattering spears, and burning shields (Psalm 46: 9). Yet the prophet Ezekiel declared that God has departed the temple and the city because of the idolatry of the people (Ezekiel 10). The city of peace (Yeru-shalom) has become the casualty of war, and the survivors of the siege and deportation sit as strangers in the land of their enemy grieving their loss, questioning their future, resisting their captor’s taunts, and shedding tears as they remember their lost home. There are no songs of mirth that can come from the heavy hearts of these grieving and shattered people. Their captors may taunt them desiring to hear their songs of Zion where the God of Israel promised to defend the city so they can mock the absence of their God, and so they hang their harps on the willow trees and no songs of joy and praise are able to emerge from the broken hearts of the captive people.

The people are committing themselves to ‘never forget’ the city and what occurred there. They may eventually have to settle down and make their home by the rivers of Babylon, but they can no more forget Jerusalem than their right hand. If they forget Jerusalem, they ask to lose their power to act and speak. Looking at this poem through the lens of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief the first six verses rest within the space of depression but in verse seven they turn to anger.

Psalm 137 is an imprecatory psalm, like Psalm 58 and 109, and it will probably not make its way into the worship bulletins or the sermons of many churches, but it has something to teach us. This is the language of the broken heart crying out in its pain against those who have wounded it. There is a reason that Jeremiah and Ezekiel spend so much ink crying for revenge against those who participated in the destruction of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 46-51, Ezekiel 24-32). Jeremiah’s harshest words are directed to Babylon (Jeremiah 50-51) while Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah (Jeremiah 49: 7-11; Ezekiel 25: 8-11; 35; Obadiah 10-14) bear witness to the betrayal of Edom.[3]

Nancy deClaissé-Walford speaks about revenge by saying:

The basic human desire for revenge when we or those we love have been wronged. God does not ask us to suppress these emotions, but rather to speak about them in plain and heartfelt terms. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 957)

Yet I suspect that many people of faith would be troubled by the graphic and violent language that the people call for against their enemies. It is only in this psalm that the Hebrew asre (NRSVue ‘happy’), so often an indicator of wisdom literature, is deployed to call for violence against one’s enemies. It is easy for those who have lived in peace to find the language of killing the children of one’s enemies repulsive but it is likely that these survivors saw their own children die of starvation during the siege, brutality during the conquest of the city, or abused and killed on their journey to Babylon. Their red-hot anger is an honest if uncomfortable emotion. A traumatized people call for their oppressors to experience what they have experienced, and rather than suppressing those feelings they exclaim them to God in plain and heartfelt terms. They may wonder if God hears their cries any longer but they have no other place to direct their raw rage about a world that no longer makes sense, where their children endured starvation, death, brutality, and trauma.

Miroslav Volf relates a story recorded by Željko Vukovic from the conflict between the Serbs and Croats in Bosnia.

I am a Muslim, and I am thirty five years old. To my second son who was just born, I gave the name “Jihad.” So he would not forget the testament of his mother—revenge. The first time I put my baby at the breast I told him, “May this milk choke you if you forget.” So be it. The Serbs taught me to hate. For the last two months there was nothing in me. No pain, no bitterness. Only hatred. I taught these children to love. I did. I am a teacher of literature. I was born in Ilijaś and I almost died there. My student, Zoran, the only son of my neighbor, urinated into my mouth. As the bearded hooligans standing around laughed, he told me: “You are good for nothing else, you stinking Muslim woman…” I do not know whether I first heard the cry of felt the blow. My former colleague, a teacher of physics, was yelling like mad, “Ustasha, ustasha…”And kept hitting me. Wherever he could. I have become insensitive to pain. But my soul it hurts. I taught them to love and all the while they were making preparations to destroy everything that is not of the Orthodox faith. Jihad—war. This is the only way… ” (Volf, 1996, p. 111)

Thankfully most of us have never experienced the level of degradation and dehumanization expressed by this Muslim woman or by these Jewish survivors, but the rage and the anger will go somewhere. It can be handed on as an inheritance over the generations, as is done by this mother who names her son Jihad and continues among the Jewish people in their desire to never again find themselves enduring another Holocaust, or it can be lifted up in imprecatory cries to God like in this psalm.

Ellen Davis’s chapter on the cursing psalms in Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament (Davis, 2001, pp. 23-29) has been influential on my thinking about the imprecatory psalms, like this one. She proposes three possible uses for psalms like this one when we are angry, and one, if we have the courage to encounter these words when we are not. First, they can give us words to wrap around our anger when we are not able to find adequate words on our own. She shares the advice a professor once gave her after a betrayal, “Go into the chapel when no one else is around and shout these at the top of your lungs.” This practice allowed her to both vent and release the anger but hearing herself speak these words she also could hear the self-righteousness and pettiness in her petitions. Secondly, the psalms function as divinely given ‘counselors’ and teach us that vengeful anger is one mode of access to God. We can come to know that God who created us for life together is also outraged by those who destroy community or deny justice. Thirdly, the cry is a cry for God to act which allows the petitioner to bypass acting personally against the one who harmed us. We demand our enemy be driven into God’s hands, but we are not in control of what happens there or how God brings about this justice and reconciliation. Finally, she suggests if we are reading when we feel none of the feelings in the psalm to turn it around and to ask if there is anyone in the community or among God’s people who may want to pray these words about me? (Davis 2001, 26-29)

My prayer is that no one reading these words ever encounters the dehumanizing experiences which call into question their identity and their faith like these refugees remembering Zion by the rivers of Babylon, mourning the loss of their homes, their neighbors, their society, and likely their children. Yet at some point we all know the desire for revenge on those who have wounded us and those we love. Many will encounter events which reshape their identity and may challenge their faith. Others will long for a home and a safety that no longer exist. They may not be able to sing the songs of their God with a heavy heart, at least not the ones full of praise and joy. At that point the jagged words of Psalm 58, 109, and 137 may be closer to the words their hearts need to speak as they grieve, question, and wrestle. They may need to know that this space of heartbrokenness and rage where they wish for vengeance on those who caused the pain is not a space they need to hide from God, but instead people of faith for millennia have voiced these words calling for judgment but entrusting vengeance to the Lord. They can no more forget the object of their grief than their right hand nor may they be able to speak of anything else in this moment of pain. Yet God’s people trust that God hears the words of these refugees from the world they knew, when they were safe and loved before that world collapsed around them and that God can lead them beyond this moment. They may long with Isaiah for a time when the tears of this moment are wiped away and the death causing action on this world cease:

And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the covering that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25: 7-8

[1] Hebrew literally: “If I forget Jerusalem, forget my right (hand).”

[2] There are two deportations under Babylon. The initial deportation (598/597 BCE) takes the king (Jehoiakim) and many of the leaders, artisans, priests, and other elites of the land. The prophet Ezekiel is one of those taken into exile with this initial group and his declarations come from this space in the exile. The prophet Jeremiah is still with the remnant in Jerusalem. Those left behind rebel against Babylon and in 586 BCE after a crippling siege the city wall is broken down, the temple and city destroyed, and much of the remnant is taken into exile in Babylon. For more detail see my post on the Babylonian Empire.

[3] Edom is one of the nations who met with King Zedekiah in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 27:3). It is likely that these kings were negotiating a defensive alliance against Babylon, but when Babylon besieges Jerusalem Edom seizes the opportunity to participate in the destruction and pillaging of their neighbor.

Psalm 136 The Unending Hesed of God

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Psalm 136

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
² O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁴ who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁵ who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁶ who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁷ who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁸ the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰ who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹² with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹³ who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁵ but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁶ who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who made water flow from the rock,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁷ who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁸ and killed famous kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
²¹ and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
²² a heritage to his servant Israel,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

²³ It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁴ and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁵ who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶ O give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

There are words that we utilize all the time that are sometimes the hardest to define. The Hebrew word hesed (NRSVue “steadfast love”) is used 245 times in the Hebrew scriptures and 127 times in the Book of Psalms. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 948) But if you ask people who study the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures to define this word you will get a variety of ideas: steadfast love, covenant faithfulness, enduring commitment, or lovingkindness. What no one disagrees with is that hesed is a defining characteristic of God’s relationship with God’s people. It appears twice in Exodus 34: 1-10 when God declares who God will be in what is known as the thirteen attributes of God (frequently repeated or alluded to throughout the scriptures):

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name, “The LORD.” The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-8.

But like love, this term is difficult to put limits and boundaries on. Arthur Green, a Jewish scholar defines hesed as “a free-flowing love that knows no bounds.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 948) So perhaps trying to put limits and boundaries around the meaning of hesed is like trying to catch the wind, but it is constantly seen in action throughout the scriptures and particularly the psalms. In this psalm where refrain continually reminds us that “for his steadfast love endures forever” or as Nancy deClaissé-Walford renders the phrase, “because for all time is the LORD’s hesed.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 950) I am a believer that love is as much a verb as it is a noun, and the pattern of this psalm which matches the story of God’s actions with the enduring quality of God’s hesed “makes it clear that hesed is action; the wonders are a performance of hesed.” (Mays, 1994, p. 420)

The structure of Psalm 136 lends itself to being utilized in liturgical use where the leader most likely spoke the first half while the worshippers responded with the repetitive second half of each verse as a refrain. As Nancy deClaissé-Walford notes:

The same refrain occurs in a number of liturgical passages in the Hebrew Bible (1 Chr. 16:34; 2 Chr. 5:13; 7:3; 20:21; Ezra 3:11) and in other psalms (106:1; 107:1; 118: 1-4; 100:5). (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 948)

Most modern readers gloss over the refrain after the initial verses, but as Leslie C. Allen reminds us that this repetition in the congregation becomes, “the regular heartbeat of the congregational refrain.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 951) Creation, exodus, the promised land, the provision of daily bread are all a part of the enduring hesed of the LORD the God of Israel.

Psalm 135 and 136 share common themes and language in expressing the praiseworthiness of the LORD. Psalm 136 only mentions the name of God in verse one, and throughout the rest of the psalm is referred to by titles (God of gods, Lord of lords) or by action. As in the previous psalm, creation and the exodus narrative are linked together. This linkage brings together Israel’s unique origin story where God chooses them with God’s purpose for the entirety of creation. As J. Clinton McCann, Jr. states it,

In other words, the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (that is, from death) and entry into the land (that is life) is still the story of the fulfillment of God’s creational purposes. (NIB IV:1224-1225)

Israel was, through their covenantal faithfulness, to embody a way of living in harmony with God’s will for the world. The ways of Egypt and other kingdoms and empires throughout history that opposed God’s will would find out that this love of God is not sentimental but will resist the powers that work against the enduring hesed of God for the world and God’s people.

The psalm ends with God remembering the people in their low estate, rescuing them from their foes, and giving food to all flesh. That God’s provision of ‘daily bread’ is now linked to God’s incredible acts of hesed in the creation of the cosmos, the rescue from Egypt, and the overcoming of the barriers to reaching the promised land. Yet, the ending of this psalm and the content of Psalm 137 invites us to ponder the people of Israel at their lowest point: the beginning of the Babylonian exile. Even in this godforsaken moment the hesed of God is unending. In their low estate they are still remembered, God can and will rescue them from their foes and provide for them and all creation because the hesed of God endures forever. For that unending hesed they can give thanks to the God of heaven.

Psalm 135 The Living God of Creation and the Exodus Contrasted with Lifeless Idols

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Psalm 135

¹ Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD;
give praise, O servants of the LORD,
² you who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
³ Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.
⁴ For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.

⁵ For I know that the LORD is great;
our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the LORD pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

⁸ He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both humans and animals;
⁹ he sent signs and wonders
into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰ He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
¹¹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
¹² and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.

¹³ Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
¹⁴ For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but they do not hear,
a nose, but there is no breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them
and all who trust them
shall become like them.

¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
You who fear the Lord, bless the LORD!
²¹ Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

This song of praise contrasts the LORD the God of Israel who is over the heavens, the earth, and the seas, who humiliated Egypt and brought the people through the wilderness and into the promised land with the ineffectual idols worshipped by their neighbors. The imageless God of Israel who crafted creation is contrasted with these lifeless images which are the products of human hands. This song calling the people to praise echoes much of the themes and language of Psalm 115 and it may have built upon that psalm, but it plays on two central themes which permeate the psalms words about God: creation and the exodus.

Although Psalm 135 does not have the call and response structure of Psalm 136, its structure is designed for gathered worship assembly. The opening four verses and the final three verses have the priests and people declaring their allegiance to the LORD and against the idols of the nations while the center of the psalm acts like a recitation or sermon passing on central knowledge to the people about the LORD that they worship. Those gathered from Israel are called to praise the LORD who is good and has chosen this people as his possession from among the nations.

The LORD is good, but the LORD is also great. The God of Israel is the God of the heavens, the earth but also the sea with its depths. This is the God who answers to no one and who is capable of doing whatever God desires. The chaotic sea and the storms of the heavens are all within this God’s hands and all other gods are subordinate to the God of Israel. Israel does not live in a monotheistic world but a pluralistic one, but the great LORD of Israel who creates the heavens and the earth, the seas and the storms is subordinate to no other gods and certainly not to the idols of the nations. One of the primary Canaanite gods that the Israelites encountered was Baal, a storm god who tamed the chaotic seas, but now this psalm usurps the characteristics attributed by their neighbors to Baal for the LORD the God of Israel who makes clouds rise and makes the lightning and brings out the winds.[1]

There is for Israel the general knowledge of their God as the creator, but there is also the specific knowledge of the God who took them out of Egypt and led them to their place in the promised land. The LORD brought the signs and wonders against Pharoah and Egypt which culminated in the death of the firstborns (Exodus 7-12). This God journeyed with them through the wilderness and then when kings like King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan marched out to resist them God fought for Israel (Numbers 21: 21-35) as well as driving out the people of Canaan (Joshua). Israel’s position within their land is a gift from their God. The God who can do whatever God pleases throughout creation chose to take the people from their slavery in Egypt into their heritage within the land of Israel.

As mentioned above, Israel lived in a polytheistic world not a monotheistic one. Israel was always tempted by the gods of the nations around them, and the retelling of Israel’s history is full of times where the idols of the nations were worshipped alongside of or instead of the God of Israel. The faithful continued to resist and deride the pointless worship of idols, and here these gods shaped by human hands with silver are gold may have a face, but there is no breath (ruach) within them. These images formed by people created in the image of God lack the animating force of life that only the LORD can give. Those whose hands and devotions turn away to these lifeless images of silver and gold become futile like them.

Like the pilgrims of the songs of ascent (Psalms 120-134) the people have gathered together to praise and bless the LORD. The house of Israel, the descendants of Aaron who serve as priests, the Levites who work in the house of the LORD, and all those who fear the LORD are called to bless the LORD. Zion is the place where the people gather to send up their blessings and praise because the LORD has chosen to dwell among them in the city of Jerusalem. They gather together to praise the living God unlike the inanimate idols of the nations. They send up blessings to the God who presides over creation and who brought God’s chosen people out of Egypt and to the promised land with mighty acts. They join with their brothers and sisters in the act of praising the LORD.

[1] Psalm 29 also recasts the language of the worship of a storm god to worship the LORD the God of Israel.

Psalm 134 Arriving in Zion to Bless and be Blessed

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Pilgrim Steps Leading to the Double Gate (Southern Steps of the Temple Mount, Jerusalem) picture from 2009 by Wilson44691 – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6899573

Psalm 134

A Song of Ascents.

¹ Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
² Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the LORD.
³ May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.

Psalm 134 is the final song of ascent where the pilgrims have arrived at their destination, and they are invited to do what they came to Zion to do: praise the LORD. This short psalm is only twenty-four words in Hebrew, but five of those words are the name of God: YHWH (LORD)[1], another three are a title for God (maker of heaven and earth), and three more are the Hebrew verb barak (bless). In the first two verses God is the focus of the actions of praise and blessing as the pilgrims enter into the space of worship. In the final verse the direction is reversed as the pilgrims are sent forth with a blessing, presumably spoken by a priestly figure, as they leave Zion and return to their homes.

In the previous psalm, the unity of the people was celebrated as they came to their destination and now all the gathered ones are called to participate in the actions of blessing the LORD the God of Israel. The actions of the worship are kinetic involving the lifting up of their hands within the holy space, but barak originally meant “to kneel” and that may also be a posture of worship expected within the movement of the psalm. (NIB IV: 1217) The people have made the effort to journey to the house of the LORD, a holy place where God’s presence dwells, and now their actions are now a part of their offering of obedience, homage, and trust to their God.

Within the flow of worship there is a time to be gathered and a time to be sent. One of the actions of sending is a benediction, a final blessing. Within my congregation I typically utilize either a trinitarian benediction or the Aaronic benediction from Numbers 6: 22-26. The brief benediction, which ends Psalm 134, and by extension the songs of ascent, is designed for the pilgrims who have come to Zion but now must return to their own towns or nations. The benediction seeks the blessing of the LORD upon those pilgrims, and wherever they go they are in the dominion of the maker of heaven and earth, yet the blessing emanates from this holy space in Zion where God’s presence rests. They came to this place to offer their blessing and worship to their God, and they are sent back into the world bearing God’s blessing upon them.

[1] The divine name is formed by four Hebrew letters transliterated as YHWH, often pronounce Yahweh, but is spoken as Adonai (Lord) when read by a cantor in the space of worship. This is due to the commandment about not taking the name of the Lord your God in vain. That is why most English translations will translate these four letters as LORD in all capital letters to indicate the name of God is behind the translation.

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