A People for His Name

Haman’s Unique Designation

August 21, 2011

Scripture records the misdeeds of numerous wicked people and uses various terms to describe them as evildoers. Haman is unique among all the evil people spoken of in Scripture because he is the only one for whom the Greek word διάβολος is used:

Esther 7:4 ἐπράθημεν γὰρ ἐγώ τε καὶ ὁ λαός μου εἰς ἀπώλειαν καὶ διαρπαγὴν καὶ δουλείαν ἡμεῖς καὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν εἰς παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας καὶ παρήκουσα οὐ γὰρ ἄξιος ὁ διάβολος τῆς αὐλῆς τοῦ βασιλέως

LXE Esther 7:4 For both I and my people are sold for destruction, and pillage, and slavery; both we and our children for bondmen and bondwomen: and I consented not to it, for the slanderer is not worthy of the king’s palace.

Esther 8:1 καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀρταξέρξης ἐδωρήσατο Εσθηρ ὅσα ὑπῆρχεν Αμαν τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ Μαρδοχαῖος προσεκλήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ὑπέδειξεν γὰρ Εσθηρ ὅτι ἐνοικείωται αὐτῇ

LXE Esther 8:1 And in that day king Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Aman the slanderer: and Mardochaeus was called by the king; for Esther had shewn that he was related to her.

His use of slander to try to bring about the extermination of the Jews likely explains the use of this word for him (Est. 3:8-9) because he is thus like the devil himself, who “was a murderer from the beginning,” “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44), and seeks the destruction of the Jews (cf. Rev. 12:13-17).

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Interpretation

Bible Reading Update 8/20/11

August 20, 2011

This year, my goal has been to read through the entire Bible in Greek. Here is the progress (chapters read/total chapters) that God has allowed me to make so far after 232 days:


Section	Greek	English
OT	690/920	284/920
NT	20/269	269/269
Bible	710/1189	553/1189

With 133 days left in 2011, I have finished reading 75% of the LXX so far! Provided I maintain my expected reading rate of three to four chapters on most days, Lord willing, I should be finished with it in about 78 days from now, on day 310.

I would then have 55 days to finish the Greek NT.

Praise God for sustaining grace through ths project!

In Bible reading

Twenty Years of Visitation Ministry!

August 19, 2011

In either late July or early August of 1991, I first went on door-to-door visitation for my current church. At that time, we would go out on Saturday mornings. We met first for a time of singing, prayer, and a brief challenge. Then, we would go out visiting in the neighborhoods around our church.

From 1991 until 2008, I was able to go on door-to-door evangelism virtually every time that we had visitation. A bout with Bell’s palsy prevented me from being involved with outreach for some time in 2008, but after recovering, I have been going on visitation regularly as my circumstances have allowed.

Over the years, by my records, I presented the challenge for visitation at least 10 times from 1993-2003. I have probably knocked on doors in our neighborhoods well over 2000 times over the past 20 years, handed out more than 1000 tracts, and witnessed at some length to several hundred people.

A small number of people have made professions of faith, and I have had some opportunities for ongoing discipleship. As the Lord sees fit, I hope to see more visible and lasting fruit in the years ahead.

I praise God for His grace that has directed, constrained, and enabled me to evangelize regularly in spite of my many failings over the years! I would like to encourage all believers to be involved actively in the outreach ministries of their own churches:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:18-20).

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Testimony

"Haste Makes Waste"

August 18, 2011

This afternoon, I vividly experienced the truth of the saying, “Haste makes waste.” Expecting that I would be late for a tutoring session unless I rushed to get there, I carelessly slammed my car door on my right pinky, and without thinking at all, instantly yanked it out of the closed door with great force.

The combined force of the door slam and my yanking produced a nasty partial tearing of skin and tissue off my finger. As it began to drip blood, I bemoaned my foolishness and realized that I was not going to make it to the tutoring session.

Nearly two hours later, after getting three stitches in my finger at an urgent care facility, I went to the library to see if my student might still be there. I discovered that he had already left.

Not only had I lost the money for the missed tutoring session, I now had incurred many hundreds of dollars of medical expenses because of my carelessly rushing around. Beyond that, there will be additional expenses for a tetanus shot tomorrow and for getting the stitches out ten days from now.

Mercifully, God spared me from any broken bones or torn tendons in my finger. In spite of my injury, I was also still able to teach a guitar lesson this afternoon for two new students.

God has allowed so far for there to be very little pain per se after the initial injuries. I hope and pray that He may graciously see fit not to allow my finger to become infected and for it to heal properly.

In Testimony

The Restorer of Souls

August 17, 2011

David testifies that the Lord, his Shepherd (“The Lord is my Shepherd”; κύριος ποιμαίνει με; Ps. 23:1), is the One who restores souls:

τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐπέστρεψεν ὡδήγησέν με ἐπὶ τρίβους δικαιοσύνης ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ

KJV Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

David uses the same verb and object (in both the Hebrew and Greek OT) that are in this verse in other closely related teaching in the Psalms:

ὁ νόμος τοῦ κυρίου ἄμωμος ἐπιστρέφων ψυχάς ἡ μαρτυρία κυρίου πιστή σοφίζουσα νήπια

KJV Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

By comparing Psalms 23:3 and 19:7, we learn that the Lord is the Shepherd who restores souls through His perfect law.

Scripture’s use of the same verb and object (in both Greek and Hebrew) in Lamentations provides us with further understanding:

ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου κατήγαγεν ὕδωρ ὅτι ἐμακρύνθη ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὁ παρακαλῶν με ὁ ἐπιστρέφων ψυχήν μου

KJV Lamentations 1:16 Mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me

NAU Lamentations 1:16 My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who restores my soul.

By comparing all three of these passages, we see that the Lord as the Shepherd is the Comforter who restores people’s souls through His perfect law.

Finally, the occurrence in the NT of the same Greek verb and object that is in all the preceding passages as well as the Greek word for shepherd that is a cognate to the verb found in the LXX rendering of Psalm 23:1 highlights the truths seen above:

ὃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον, ἵνα ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀπογενόμενοι τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ζήσωμεν, οὗ τῷ μώλωπι ἰάθητε. 25 ἦτε γὰρ ὡς πρόβατα πλανώμενοι, ἀλλὰ ἐπεστράφητε νῦν ἐπὶ τὸν ποιμένα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν.

KJV 1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

This passage declares that we were sheep going astray (cf. Isa. 53:6), but we are now returned to the Shepherd of our souls. He brought about that return through His using His perfect law to restore our souls.

Praise the Lord that He is the Shepherd, the Restorer of the souls of sheep who have gone astray!

In Interpretation

Sanctification through Visitation

August 16, 2011

Tonight, I went on visitation with another member from my church. We went to a rough neighborhood in a trailer park. Although we talked with several lost people, no one seemed to be genuinely receptive much at all.

God used what I observed and heard in this neighborhood tonight to deal with me about issues in my own heart and walk with Him. Had I not been in that setting and experienced the personal challenges in my own soul that I did because of my being among those people, I would not have been as receptive to God’s dealing with me afterward as I ended up being.

Perhaps my experience tonight would be repeated in the lives of many others of God’s people were they to put themselves consistently among lost people to try to reach them.

I believe that through our regular interaction with lost people, God desires not only to bless them with exposure to His truth; He also wants to sanctify us for His service. Let us all, therefore, heed even more God’s desire for us to be active in trying to reach lost people.

In Discipleship, Testimony

Spurgeon on Obedience to God's Commandments

August 15, 2011

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” The Christian delights to be obedient, but it is the obedience of love, to which he is constrained by the example of His Master. “He leadeth me.” The Christian is not obedient to some commandments and neglectful of others; he does not pick and choose but yields to all. Observe the plural is used—”the paths of righteousness.” Whatever God may give us to do we would do it, led by His love. Some Christians overlook the blessing of sanctification, and yet to a thoroughly renewed heart this is one of the sweetest gifts of the covenant. . . . All this is done out of pure free grace; for His name’s sake.” It is to the honour of our great Shepherd that we should be a holy people, walking in the narrow way of righteousness. If we be so led and guided we must not fail to adore our heavenly Shepherd’s care.

—Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 23:3, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1, 355; bold text is in italics in original

In Discipleship, Quotes

Bridges on Fearing God

August 14, 2011

The person who fears God realizes that life cannot be compartmentalized into spiritual and secular but must all be lived as God directs us in His Word. This person consistently and habitually reads and studies the Bible to determine what he should believe and how he should live. The God-fearing person seeks after “the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” (Titus 1:1). He or she wants to know the truth, not just intellectually but in a way that promotes growth in godliness.

—Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God, 140

In Quotes

Great Free Sheet Music Program!

August 13, 2011

Yesterday, I downloaded an updated version of MuseScore. This is a great program for a great price—it’s free!

Here’s info from the website about the program:

MuseScore is a free cross-platform WYSIWYG music notation program that offers a cost-effective alternative to commercial programs such as Sibelius and Finale.
You can print beautifully engraved sheet music or save it as PDF or MIDI file.
Some highlights:
WYSIWYG, notes are entered on a “virtual note sheet”
Unlimited number of staves
Up to four voices per staff
Easy and fast note entry with your keyboard, mouse, or MIDI keyboard
Integrated sequencer and FluidSynth software synthesizer
Import and export of MusicXML and Standard MIDI Files
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux
Translated in 43 languages
GNU GPL licensed

I especially appreciate having a music notation program that allows me easily to listen to how even very complicated music should sound. Using this program in my own practicing is undoubtedly going to help me learn very difficult rhythm patterns that I otherwise may never have been able to learn on my own!

I look forward to using this program to produce many quality resources to train Christian guitarists in the future, D.V.

In Music

Jesus' Call to a Commandment-Centered Making of Disciples

August 12, 2011

Recently, I have read a number of blog posts that concern current debates about being centered on the gospel, the grace of God, etc. Because I have not myself read the actual book-length works of the various leading authors who are propounding these views, I am not able to assess thoroughly the validity of what these who advocate this approach to the Christian life are saying.

Nonetheless, after reading these posts, I find my thoughts gravitating to Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20 as decisively showing what kind of life Jesus has called us to live:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Because these verses as so well known, a detailed exposition is unnecessary. In brief, they stress that Jesus has called His disciples to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them and teaching them.

What Jesus specifies about the teaching that must take place is noteworthy. He stressed to His disciples that they must disciple others by teaching them to obey everything whatever He had commanded His disciples themselves to obey. He thus plainly enjoined a focus in discipleship of teaching people all that Jesus has commanded and directing them to obey all that Jesus has commanded.

Based on this analysis, I believe that any teaching that ultimately results in a de-emphasis on Jesus’ call to a commandment-centered making of disciples is not supported by Scripture.

In Discipleship, Interpretation

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