Hello Reader,

It has been a month since The Sinews of Scripture released and it has been exciting to hear the feedback. One person confessed being both excited and nervous to pick it up. She was nervous because she had always been so overwhelmed and confused by the genealogies of the Bible, but she was excited because she hoped the book would help. I wrote The Sinews of Scripture for people just like her.

This month, I have a double feature for you. The first is an except from The Sinews of Scripture where I wrestle with some difficult details in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew. The second is a freshly-translated section of Zacharius Ursinus' The Body of Doctrine. I have been working through his explanation of the Lord's Prayer and appreciated the detail in his definition of prayer and I wanted to share it with you. It is still a first draft, so I appreciate your grace as you read.

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God's Judgment

(The following is an excerpt from "Breathing with Both Lung" in The Sinews of Scripture)

The second third of the genealogy of Jesus — from David to the exile to Babylon — reveals God’s judgment by what is changed and what is removed from the genealogy. If David was the peak of Israel’s kingship — David, the man after God’s own heart — then the exile was the darkest valley. This section of the genealogy ends in judgment, but how Matthew handles it also reveals God’s judgment upon the people of God both for their unfaithfulness to him and for their lack of mercy toward others.

God’s judgment in this section is easier to see when we know the story really well. Some of us had to memorize the list of presidents in school. In a similar way, many Israelites knew the list of the names of the kings of Judah. When Matthew removes several names, they would notice. Between Jehoram and Uzziah, Matthew removes three kings and between Josiah and Jeconiah he cuts out Jehoiakim. It could be that Matthew is trying to pare down the list to get fourteen names for the sake of symmetry, but there might be more going on. The inclusion of the four women in the first section reveals God’s mercy toward sinners and outsiders, his radical inclusion of those we would not expect to find listed in the people of God. In a similar way, the removal of those we might expect to find reveals God’s judgment. Four unexpected outsiders are included, but four expected kings are excluded. Those who expected to be insiders and yet continued to walk in darkness can find their names not written in the book. God not only forgives, he also demands. We cannot have Christ as our Savior if we refuse to acknowledge him as our Lord. To do so is to invite God’s judgment.

Matthew’s two other changes say the same thing. However, these changes are hard to see in some translations. I believe Matthew changed the spelling of two names on purpose, but the the people translating the New International Version (NIV) assumed it was an honest mistake and translated it away. So when the NIV says “Abijah was the father of Asa” (Mt. 1:7), most of the best manuscripts actually say “Asaph.” Historically, King Asa was the son of King Abijah, so the NIV translated it as Asa. Where the NIV says “Manasseh was the father of Amon” (1:10), most of the best manuscripts say “Amos.” Same situation: King Amon was the son of King Manasseh. It is one letter different for each, but not an easy mistake to make. It would be like spelling Nixon and Jackson wrong on a list of presidents.

Instead of being mistakes, I think the changes were intentional. Asa was a king, but Asaph is one of the primary writers of the psalms after David. Through the period of the kings, the people repeatedly walked away from exclusive worship of God and it was the psalmists, Asaph and his inheritors, who called the people back to the LORD. Occasionally, they listened, but often they did not. The inclusion of Asaph in the genealogy is a reminder of God’s continual call to return to worship, to return to praising him alone, to turn from idols and serve the living God. Israel’s refusal to listen to the likes of Asaph was one of the reasons God brought about the exile.

Amos, on the other hand, was a prophet of God. He was most well known for criticizing Israel for its treatment of the poor. In the time of Amos, people had all the right worship services, but they trampled the poor in order to build fine houses for themselves (Amos 2:6ff.). They crushed the weak to provide safety and success for themselves. Amos promised God’s judgment would remove them from the land. In short, he promised exile.

God’s mercy is wide and deep, but so is his call to discipleship. The God who forgives and claims sinners and outsiders, also claims every square inch of our lives and demands that we treat the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien with mercy and compassion.

The gospel includes incredible forgiveness and incredible demands. It is rich with mercy and judgment. Both are part of the gospel, both are part of Jesus’ genealogy, and both need to be heard in order to respond faithfully.

What is Prayer?

(The following is an excerpt from Zacharius Ursinus' treatment of Question 116 of the Heidelberg Catechism)

Prayer is calling upon the true God and arises from the recognition and sense of our need, and a desire to share in God’s blessings. With a heart truly converted and confidence in the promise of grace, for the sake of Christ the Mediator, prayer asks God for what we need — both physically and spiritually. Prayer also gives thanks for God for what we have already received from him. The general character (genus) of prayer is invocation or adoration. Adoration often refers to the whole of worship. For the one whom we worship, we regard as the true God. Prayer is a species or part of invocation. For prayer is to invoke or call upon God — to ask the true God for those things which are necessary for both body and soul, and to give thanks to him for what we have received. Here both are grouped under the same class, but prayer is divided into two species — petition and thanksgiving. Petition is prayer that calls upon God for what we need for both body and soul. Thanksgiving is prayer which acknowledges and celebrates the gifts we have received from God, and which binds those who receive these gifts to give gratitude in a way that is pleasing to God. Gratitude in general is acknowledging and professing how great a gift we have received, and committing to give whatever service is honourable and possible in return. Therefore, prayer embraces both truth and justice.

In 1 Timothy 2:1, Paul presents four types of prayer: 1. Petitions — prayers against evil things. 2. Prayers — prayers for good things. 3. Intercessions — prayers for others. 4. Thanksgiving — gratitude both for benefits we received and for evils driven away. This distinction is drawn from the end or purpose of prayer.

Prayer is also divided into public and private prayer, according to the circumstances of the person and place. Private prayer is a conversation the faithful soul has with God — asking for certain good things for himself or for others, and giving thanks to God for what he has received. This form of prayer is not restricted to certain words or places (Mt. 6:5). Often the anxious heart pours out only sighs and groans for words, and the Apostle commands people to pray in any place, as if lifting up their hands (1 Tim. 2:8). Public prayer is what is offered by the whole church in the assembly of God, using certain words, and lead by the minister, as should be done in public meetings. Language, or the use of the tongue, is required for this kind of prayer, as Christ said: “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father…’” (Lk. 11:2). The tongue was made specifically for this purpose, that God may be glorified through it, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Lk. 6:45). Lastly, by this form of prayer others are also invited to praise God.

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New YouTube Series

This month, I started a series on YouTube going through the Heidelberg Catechism as a way of teaching Christian doctrine. It is a way of sharing what I am learning through translating Ursinus with the rest of the world. You can subscribe to my channel or check out this month's videos below.

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Writing Updates

My goal in 2024 was to write or translate 100,000 words. As I write this, I have reached 124,803 words for the year! Thank you for all the support. Here are the projects I have been working on this year:

The Sinews of Scripture - Status: Done

Under the Broom Tree - Status: On Hiatus - Outlined & Initial Research

The Body of Doctrine - Status: In Progress - I have translated both introductions, and Lord's Day 1-7, and 45-49. I plan to finish translating 50-52, before handing those over to be edited (for producing an ebook of Ursinus on the Lord's Prayer), then I will dive back into Lord's Day 8 and Ursinus' work on the Trinity.

Thank You

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From the desk of

Stephen C. Shaffer

Author, Pastor-Theologian

​www.penielpress.com

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