Wordless: Verse 45

The image for this week was snagged from a fantastic article I found over at Biblical Archaeology regarding Nebi Samwil. Many archaeologist and Biblical scholars believe that Nebi Samwil and Mizpah are the same.

Not familiar with Mizpah? Mizpah is the location where the Bible explains how Samuel proclaimed the first king of Israel….see 1 Samuel 10: 17-24. Here are the first few verses:

Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflicitions. You said to Him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”…..the verses continue at the above link…

Nebi Samwil is actually Arabic and does translate to mean “Prophet Samuel”. Hmmmm….

When you have the time head on over to the article which traces more than just the one historical event I mention above.

Visit the Wordless Wednesday hub here.

Theophilus, Most Honored Theophilus

While I was always designated a great reader in school I didn’t always comprehend what I read. It was always the small, seemingly insignificant things I would gloss over and miss.

Often those things are the most interesting.

For example, here’s the text from the first chapter of Luke, verses 1 through 4:

Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.

Glossing over the text Luke explains that he knows he isn’t the first one to recount the events from the Earthly life of Jesus, isn’t the first to use eyewitness accounts, and explains he has been careful in his research to provide the best account

Notice, however, Luke is writing to someone in particular……someone named Theophilus. Well, after numerous times of reading Luke I’m finally ready to clue in on the character of Theophilus.
Who is Luke writing to?

There are many theories that seem plausible, but there is no definitive answer.

First of all when you study any passage of the Bible the meaning behind someone’s name can explain a lot. Depending on the source you use Theophilus means “lover of God”, “loved by God”, or “friend of God”. Since all scholars pretty much agree that Luke and Acts were written in Koine Greek there is no argument regarding what the name signifies.

A quick look at a concordance reveals that Luke also referred to Theophilus at the beginning of the Book of Acts as well: I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen (Acts 1: 1-2).

It would seem that Theophilus is not a pagan because the fourth verse states he has already received basic instruction. The word used in the original Greek is katechethes, and it means that Theophilus received the basic instruction given by the Christian Church in those days. Apollos is another person mentioned in the New Testament that received religious instruction (Acts 18: 24-25)

So, was Luke merely attempting to give Theophilus more background knowledge?

Other sources state the name Theophilus was often used as an honorary title in the Jewish and Roman world. Many state Luke would not have have used the title “most honorable” for a Jew, but would have used the titles for a wealthy realtive of Ceasar, a wealthy benefactor, or some important Roman official (see the reference to Titus Flavius Sabinus II below). Other sources conjecture the name was made up in order to keep the identity of the person Luke was writing to a secret.

From Wikipedia we learn that:

*Coptic tradition asserts that Theophilus was a person and not an honorary title, and he is identified as being a Jew of Alexandria

*Some believe the name was a simple honorary title in academia…..anyone fits the description if they are reading Luke or Acts…..I’m Theophilus and so are you.

*Other believe Theophilus was Paul’s lawyer during his trial period in Rome.

* Others point to Theophilus ben Ananus, High Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem from 37-41 A.D. In this tradition Theophilus would have been both a kohen and a Sadducee. Adherents claim that Luke, unlike Acts, was targeted at Sadducee readers. That would make him the son of Annas and brother-in-law of Caiaphas, raised in the Jewish Temple This might explain a few features of Luke. He begins the story with an account of Zacharias the righteous priest who had a Temple vision of an angel (Luke 1: 5-25). Luke quickly moves to account Mary's purification (niddah), Jesus' Temple redemption (pidyon ha-ben) rituals (Luke 2: 21-39), and then to Jesus Temple teaching when he was twelve (2: 46). He makes no mention of Caiaphas' role in Jesus' crucifixion and emphasizes Jesus' literal resurrection (Luke 24: 39). (Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.)

*Another tradition claims the Theophilus was a converted Roman official, possibly Titus Flavius Sabinus II, a former Prefect of Rome and older brother of future Roman Emperor Vespasian, owing to the honorific, “most excellent” (Luke 1:3). As Titus Flavius Sabinus, Theophilus is given a crucial role in the historical novel The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier, where is is given the dedication of the “Gospel of Luke” and “Acts of the Apostles” by Luke the Evangelist. Maier’s extensive research into Biblical and archaeological intertextuality lend credence to this theory, as evidenced in the footnotes of the book. He also ties Titus Flavius Sabinus to Aulus Pautius and his wife Omponia Graecina by marriage, the latter of whom is by scholars presumed to have converted to Christianity, and who possibly used her son-in-law’s status as Lord Mayor of Rome to try to protect Paul while he was under house arrest during his first stay in Rome. As the Apostle Luke was believed to be with Paul at the time, it is indeed plausible that in gratitude to Sainus for the kindness shown to Paul during his imprisonment, Luke considered Sabinus to be a friend of God, based on Christ’s words that “Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it until me.” (Matthew 24:40) To honor Sabinus while protecting him from the prosecution of Christians and those who sympathized with them under the tyrannical rule of the Emperor Nero, it is postulated that Luke encoded the dedication in Acts.

I firmly believe that the Bible has hidden messages for each of us that are revealed only when we need them most. This means I didn’t notice the name Theophilus until I was meant to…..After becoming a bit intrigued with the name and conducting a little research does it really matter who Theophilus was?

As a historian exploring who Theophilus was is an interesting journey. As a child of God what matters is how I relate Luke’s account….an account clearly written for Theophilus, to my own life.

Out of Ashes

I looked down at my computer clock as I began to post this and saw it was only 11:15 p.m., so this week's Monday Music is a bit early. Our choir sang this song today. I like this song because the melody makes several unexpected twists and turns from what you expect.

Enjoy and happy Monday!

Can You Do Me a Favor?

This is a sticky post meaning it will stay at the top of this site for a few days. Please scroll down for new content if you have already seen this post.

The blog where I spend a large majority of my time, History Is Elementary, has been nominated for a blog award in the category of education/homeschooling. I would greatly appreciate your vote.

You can visit History Is Elementary here, and you can vote for me here.

Once you vote, the widget changes so you can see the number of votes for each blog. It will stay this way for your computer until 24 hours pass…..then you can vote again. You can vote once each day between now and May 26th from what I understand.

Many thanks for your vote.

13 Things About New Directions in the Church

1.Change is probably one issue in the Christian church today that can cause the most dissention. I’ve written about change before here.

2.Allan Nelson and Gene Appel are both pastors. and both have written about healthy church change in their book How to Change Your Church Without Killing It. I admire both men because they look to the Bible first regarding how Scripture treats “new” before analyzing and strategies that would/could improve church life. Here are a few Scriptural sources regarding new things and new directions.

3.Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things" (Psalm 98:1)

4."See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you" (Isaiah 42:9)

5."Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18-19)

6."Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17)

7."Neither do men pour wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved" (Matthew 9:1 )

8."The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, 'What is this? A new teaching-and with authority!'" (Mark 1:27)

9."A new command I give you; Love one another" (John 13:34)

10"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:6-7)

11. Nelson and Appel explain the overall impression we get from these and other similar statements from the Bible is that "God refuses to be hemmed in by man-made ideas and even past proven methods. His newness continues long beyond creation. What haven't changed over the centuries are his desire to do new things and our human nature to resist" (p. 11).

12. In short, if our desire is to follow hard after God, we would be wise to carefully evaluate our understanding of change. As leaders of churches, this will include leading congregations in the direction of both formulating and embracing a biblically based "theology of new things."

13. Unfortuntately what we often hear in our own houses of worship are the words, “But that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

As Christians we should not fear change. We should embrace it. Change might just be the Lord’s way of moving His plan along. Who do you want to be? The person causing a road block, or the person filling in the potholes to allow traffic to move along speedily?

Have a happy and blessed Thurday. You can find other bloggers who 13 on Thursday here.

Unimportant History

I called my step-mother on Saturday to wish her a great Mother’s Day since I knew I would be a bit busy myself on Sunday. My father got on the phone and immediately said, “Happy Birthday!”

No, Saturday was not my birthday, but I’m used to Dad thinking Mother’s Day is my special day because it sorta kinda is. I was born on Mother’s Day, but my actual birthday is today, May 13th. Every now and then the two days converge like they did during the year of my birth, but not this year.

This is my third year of blogging where I have recognized my day for anyone who cares to read my meager postings. Over at History Is Elementary I mentioned my birthday in 2006 and 2007.

Now, it’s 2008! Time flies.

This morning my dear husband rolled over and the first words I heard were “happy” and “birthday”. I told him thanks and then got a little philosophical about the whole thing. Basically what I said was something to do with the fact that each year as we grow older we celebrate an event none of us remember. Oh, we think we do because over the years relatives who were there and participated in some way (especially our moms) like to tell you the story of your birth, but we don’t really remember it on our own. We exist on borrowed memories.

I don’t know what kind of day it was. Was it sunny? Was it raining? What was on everyone’s mind that day? What were they concerned with as I made my entrance into the world? A bill hanging over their head? A looming parent-teacher conference?

What type of room was it? What did it smell like?

What did the day feel like? What was the first word said in the room as I emerged into the world? Did the doctor slap me on the fanny or did I start crying immediately?

For all we think we know about our special day we really don’t, and as the years go by the very people that can continue to share that special moment with you are gone, and their memories and recollections are gone with them.

So what does God have to say in the Scriptures about our birth? One of the best books I’ve consulted regarding our lives and our purpose in life is Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. I pull my copy of it off the shelf often to get my head straight when I get a little too full of myself. This morning Rick Warren reminded me of three important things.

*I’m not an accident. Psalm 139:16 tells me God saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Everyday was recorded in His book. God planned my parents, my nationality, my ethnicity, my gender. Acts 17: 26 states From one man he made every nation…and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Over at History Is Elementary I’ve written about the coincidences that occur in history, but there really are no coincidences.

*I’m made to last forever. Rick Warren reminds us that we will spend more time in eternity than we will here on earth. Genesis 4: 12 reminds us God has….planted eternity in the human heart. Warren also reminds us that the Bible refers to our life in our earthly bodies as a tent, but in Heaven we have a house. When this tent we live in---our body here on earth---is torn down, God will hae a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself as made, which will last forever. (Psalm 31:1) By following Christ I have made the decision to live in the light of eternity. Rick Warren advises that decision colors how you handle every relationship, task, and cirumstance. It sure helps keep things in perspective.

*I was planned for God’s pleasure. I may not have the first hand knowledge of my birth I would like to have, but one thing is for certain. God was there, and He was happy I was born. I was created for his enjoyment. I am to enjoy life as well. Rick Warren makes this case where he explains our five senses were given to us for a purpose…..so we can interact with our world. Revelation 4:11 advises God created everything, and it is for His pleasure that they exist and were created.

It doesn’t matter that I don’t remember the emotion and the events of my emergence into this world. It is unimportant history. It doesn't matter.

What matters is my relationship with God.

What matters is your relationship with God.

Monday Music: Remembering Dottie Rambo

Okay, I’m admit it. My main foray into gospel music was at the hands of my mother’s relatives who seemed to always have gospel music on the radio when I was a little girl, and occaisionally my father would have gospel performers on the television. I remember lots of big hair, big ladies with big voices, and sparkly outfits. The gospel section isn’t where I immediately head today, but when I take the time to listen I do enjoy it.

Ms. Rambo was killed over the weekend in an accident on the way to a concert date.

I went to find Dottie Rambo's official website today and low and behold it had already been taken down….how sad, but as of a few minutes ago a Myspace page is still up dedicated to her where you can hear more of her music.

You can find out more about her here and enjoy the video below where she tells the story behind and sings Sheltered in the Arms of God.