Erika Moore

03 Jesus: The Ideal Servant-King

January 20, 2021 by Krisan Marotta

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The third of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2013 Women in the Word Workshop, October 2013. Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word.

The following are notes I took from her talk.

Kingship

God did not take His people out of bondage in Egypt to put them under bondage to the law.
The law reflects God’s holy character. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we ought to reflect our holy king. This is what citizenship in the kingdom of God looks like.
In the book of Joshua, the covenant King keeps His promises and gives His people the land of promise.
The book of Judges is about the failure of the Israelites to keep their part of the covenant. The promised land that was to reflect kingdom glory and be a light to the nations becomes corrupt. “Everyone does what’s right in their own eyes because there is no king.”
In the books of Samuel, the people want a king to be like the other nations, rather than having God as king.
See Deuteronomy 17:14-20.
The King is to keep the law when he takes the throne. He is not to be like other kings.
Israel’s first King, Saul, fails and God announces the kingship will continue through David.
The Tabernacle was appropriate while Israel was on the move. But now that they are settled in the land, God no longer needs a mobile home.
See 2 Samuel 7:3-16
When David brings the ark to Jerusalem, he is publicly demonstrating his desire to associate his kingship with God’s kingship (2 Samuel 6).
Kingship requires proximity. God desires to be with His people.

Merging of kingship in Israel with God’s kingship

Solomon “sat on the throne of the Lord as king” (1Chronicles 29:22-23).
Opposing the Davidic King is opposing the Lord (Psalm 2:1-12).
David’s reign was intended to be a shadow of the final form of kingship yet to be.
David’s failures are recorded. Solomon broke all the commands in Deuteronomy 17 about kingship.
The Kingdom moves with gathering momentum toward judgment of God.
The northern kingdom is sent into exile by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom is taken into exile by the Babylonians.
God chastens His people but still keeps his covenant.
As the nation crumbles, the prophets start talking about the promise of the kingdom as a future event when someone from the line of David sits on the throne.
In 539 BC, the Lord raises up the Persian King Cyrus to allow His people to return from Babylon.
Whether or not Israel remains faithful, God will remain faithful and raise up a Davidic king.
See Ezekiel 37:21-28.
Even if Israel repeats the sins of the past, God will keep his promises.

New Testament

NT begins with kingship (Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:30-33; John the Baptist’s message is repent for the kingdom of God is at hand; Mark 1:14-15).
The central focus of the gospel is the kingdom of God.
The kingdom is at hand because the king has come.
Jesus brings the kingdom, but it comes in stages. We accept by faith that the ultimate fulfillment of the kingdom is still in the future.
In Jesus’ lifetime, there was misunderstanding about what the kingdom would look like and how it would come (e.g. Matthew 3:7-12).
In Matthew 11:2-6, we see John the Baptist is confused. He asks, where is the judgment? Am I following the wrong one?
Jesus answers, the kingdom is coming, but it is coming in stages. Judgment will come but it has to fall on the king first before it falls at the second coming.
When Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man”, he is talking about his divinity, not his humanity (Daniel 7).
In Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is given authority, glory & sovereign power.
Mark 2:10 – the Son of man authority to forgive sins.
Mark 2:28- The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.
Mark 13:25 – all will see son of man coming in power.
Mark 14:62 – sitting at right hand of power.
But the son of man is also the suffering servant.
The kingdom comes through suffering, no politics.
Mark 9:12; Matthew 20:28

The kingdom today

In Acts 2:29-25, Peter declares that the throne of David transferred from Jerusalem to heaven itself where Jesus is seated at right hand of father.
“To be seated” is to be in a position of exaltation and power.
Hebrew 1:1-4 – Jesus is upholding all things by the word of his power by sustaining, guiding and moving it toward his purposes.
Matthew 28:18-20 – He is seated as King but his kingdom is not fully consummated yet.
We will live like our king in suffering & persecution, but it won’t be this way forever.
Revelation 19:11-16 – He will defeat the kingdoms in a final way, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God.

Previous: 02 The King claims His People

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02 The King Claims His People

January 13, 2021 by Krisan Marotta

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02 The King Claims His People | WednesdayintheWord.com

The second of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2013 Women in the Word Workshop, October 2013. Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word.

The following are notes I took from her talk.

When the book of Exodus opens after 400 years of silence, the sojourn of Joseph’s family in Egypt has become captivity and their privilege has become enslavement.

Exodus

Geographical Outline

1:1-13:16 – Israel in Egypt
13:17-18:27 – first wilderness journey to Sinai.
19:1-40:38 – Israel at Sinai

Thematic outline

1-18: Salvation & redemption; God saves Israel from bondage; The King rescues His people.
19-24 – Covenant & law at Sinai; The King gives His law to His people.
25-40 – Worship; The King tells His people how He is to be worshiped; (Chaps 34-34 – golden calf; what happens when worship left up to people themselves).

Interpretative Principle

Exodus is theologically informed history.
The Pharaoh in Exodus 1 is not named, but the Hebrew midwives (1:15) are named.
We don’t need to know the Pharoah’s name. The Pharoah is from seed of serpent and his name not important. The midwives are from the seed of the woman.
Three other women along with 2 midwives defeat the mighty Pharoah: Moses’s mother, Miriam and Pharaoh’s daughter. What Pharaoh meant for destruction, God uses to save Moses (Exodus 1:22).
One of the functions of the plagues is to reveal who the Lord is; that all may know the King of Israel

Plagues

The plagues are a polemic against the God’s of Egypt.

Water into blood Exodus 7:14–25; The Nile was worshiped.
Frogs: Exodus. 7:25–8:11. The goddess Hecht who was a woman with a frog’s head; she was a fertility goddess.
Gnats (Lice?): Exodus 8:16–19
Flies: Exodus 8:20–32
Deceased livestock: Exodus 9:1–7; Apis was the most popular of the three great bull cults of ancient Egypt (the others being the bulls Mnevis and Buchis.)
Heavy hail: Exodus 9:13–35
Locusts: Exodus 10:1–20
Darkness: Exodus 10:21–29 (Ra the sun god)
Death of firstborn: Exodus 11:1–12:36

None of the Egyptian deities were able to stop the God of Israel. Pharaoh himself was considered a god and he couldn’t stop the calamities of Moses.

Exodus

God does not lead His people the easy way, the shortest way or take the well-traveled trade route.
Pharaoh thinks the Hebrews are confused & follows them, thinking to defeat them with his superior army & technology.
The Exodus becomes the paradigm salvation event throughout OT history; it demonstrates God will save, lead and rescue His people.
Joshua 4 – God parts the water once again so people can move through.
Compare Psalm 77.
When the Hebrews return from exile, the Exodus is held up as the pattern for return.

Law

After redeeming His people, the King instructs them on how to act.
When a king conquered a people, he entered into treaty with them.
Exodus 19:5 – “my own possession”; a treasured possession; refers to the king’s private fortune; the king owns everything, but this is his private fortune.
Compare 1Chronicles 29:3; 1Peter 2:9-10.
The whole earth is God’s “budget” and we, His people, are His “mad money,” His own treasured possession.
The commandments provide social cohesion, but more importantly they reflect the glory of God
The other nations were to see a different way of living and flock to it.

Tabernacle

God tells them, “I want the tabernacle like this.” Then the Hebrews build the tabernacle like this.
The Hebrews were not left on their own to design worship; God tells them how to do it.
Why? If they design it, it will reflect the evil inclination of their hearts, as evidenced by the golden calf
Compare Exodus 25:8-9; Hebrews 8:4-7.
The people were mobile, so the tabernacle needed to be mobile for God to go with them.
When they are settled in the land with David, they get the temple.

The King redeems His people from Egypt. At Mt Sinai, He explains what it means to be His people. At end of Exodus, He is dwelling with them.

Next: 03 Jesus: The Ideal Servant-King

Previous: 01 Kingship in the Books of Moses

Series: Erika Moore Collection

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01 Kingship in the Books of Moses

January 6, 2021 by Krisan Marotta

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01 Kingship in the Books of Moses | WednesdayintheWord.com

The first of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2013 Women in the Word Workshop, October 2013. Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word.

The following are notes I took from her talk.

We all live our lives out of story that provides the context for how we interpret and understand history. But the issue is not just whether we are part of a story or not, but whether the story we are part of is true.

Proper understanding of the Pentateuch can help us understand the Christian life and all of God’s creation. We are part of the biblical narrative – God’s plan to redeem a people for Himself.

The Pentateuch

Pentateuch means 5-fold book: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
See Introduction to the Pentateuch
The Hebrew Bible divided into 3 parts: Law/Torah; Prophets; Writings
The Hebrew Bible ends with Chronicles.
See How the Old Testament is organized.
The Pentateuch points to something greater than itself. Deuteronomy ends with a future looking note that anticipates something more.
The Pentateuch is covenantal. It concerns God’s relationship to His people.
Themes: promise/fulfillment, faithfulness/unfaithfulness, blessings/curses
The Pentateuch is historical. It tells us what actually happened in the past. Many of the world’s religions are more philosophically based. We serve a God who has acted in history and time.
The Pentateuch is didactic history. We are meant to learn from it.
When studying, it’s important to identify genre because it helps us develop a reading strategy.

Unity of Pentateuch

Think of the Pentateuch as a single book divided into 5 volumes.
Gen 1-11 – Primeval history
Gen 12 – Exodus 18 – Abraham begins the story of Israel; how one man becomes a nation and is liberated from slavery in Egypt. Then history stops at Sinai.
Exodus 19:1 through Leviticus to Numbers 10:10 – covers approximately 1 year at Sinai. 59 chapters of Scripture are devoted to Sinai.
Numbers 10:11 through Deuteronomy: The people set out from Sinai. Numbers ends with them poised to enter the promised land perched on the plains of Moab. Deuteronomy starts on the plains of Moab with Moses giving his farewell speeches.
Each book of Pentateuch shows a movement and ends looking toward the future.

Purpose & Theme

Purpose: to teach a life of dependence on God; every book emphasizes trusting God.
Main theme is promise expressed in God’s covenant with Abraham.
At the end of the Pentateuch, the promise is not yet fulfilled.
The promise is threatened along the way (Sarah in the harem of foreign king; the barrenness of Rebekah & Rachel; the sibling rivalries Ishmael/Issac, Esau/Jacob, Joseph & his 11 brothers; the famine), but it is never negated.

Kingship

Genesis begins with Kingship; God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.
In ancient royal literature contained the idea that a king should be able to create social order out of chaos and lawlessness. In Genesis 1-2, God brings order out of darkness and void.
The God of Israel is sovereign and superior to other gods because when they create, they have to fight other lessor gods or aspects of creation. The God of Israel simply speaks and order results.
Creation declares God is king. Eden speaks about his kingdom
Adam and Eve live in willing obedience in God’s place until they assert their own independence and want to build their own kingdom.
Judgment ensues.
The rest of Scripture is about the restoration of God’s kingdom.
The nation that comes from Abraham was to be a channel of divine blessing to the nations.
God rules as King over Israel and through Israel the rest of the world will be blessed.

Next: 02 The King claims His People

Series: Erika Moore Collection

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03 Did God Lie to Israel?

December 16, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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Understanding Ezekiel’s vision of the future in light of its fulfillment in Christ

The third of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2009 Women in the Word Workshop, October 1 2009. Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word. The following notes are from her handout.

How are we to interpret the numerous prophetic predictions of the glorious future restoration of Israel?

Timeline activity
The Dispensationalist answer
Suggestions for resolving this dispute among believers.

Sample Passages

Amos 9:11-15
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Jeremiah 30:3-10
Ezekiel 34:25-31
Ezekiel 36:16-32
Ezekiel 37:15-28
Ezekiel 40-48

How and when are the above promises of God to the Northern and Southern kingdom fulfilled?

This issue of genre
Remember Numbers 12?
The NT use of the OT
The “Twinkie” Principle
Concluding comments

Previous: 02 There and Back Again: The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God

Series: Erika Moore Collection

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02 There and Back Again: The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God

December 9, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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02 There and Back Again: The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God | WednesdayintheWord.com

The second of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2009 Women in the Word Workshop, October 1 2009 Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word. The following notes are from her handout.

In the year Ezekiel should have started his priestly duties, he was in exile in Babylon. Instead the Lord gave him a vision. What exactly did Ezekiel see?

Introduction

Genre: visionary narrative (the second of four recorded in the book)
Ezekiel’s visions are “stylized representations of reality intended to make a particular point” (Iain Duguid, Ezekiel, NIV Application Commentary, page 136).
Organizational structure
The mindset of Ezekiel’s exilic audience
- Interpretation of Scripture
- Interpretation of history
- Influence of contemporary preaching
- Current political affairs

What exactly did Ezekiel see?

Temple tour revealing cultic abominations (chapter 8)
Judgment on the city from earthly perspective (chapter 9)
Judgment on the city from heavenly perspective (chapter 10)
Violence in the city revealed; promise for the exiles (chapter 11)

The incremental departure of the Glory of Yahweh

The Glory of the Lord is His active and visible presence in the midst of His people.
The Glory of the Lord in the Tabernacle
The Glory of the Lord in Solomon’s Temple.
The Glory of the Lord in Ezekiel 8-11.
Where do we next read about the Glory of the Lord?
The Glory of the Lord and the Second Temple
The Glory of the Lord in the NT
The Glory of the Lord in the Church
The Glory of the Lord in the New Heavens and the New Earth

Next: 03 Did God Lie to Israel? Understanding Ezekiel’s vision of the future in light of its fulfillment in Christ

Previous: 01 Introduction to the Prophets

Series: Erika Moore Collection

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01 Introduction to the Prophets

December 2, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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01 Introduction to the Prophets | WednesdayintheWord.com

The first of three plenary addresses given by Dr. Erika Moore during the 2009 Women in the Word Workshop, October 2009. Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word. The following notes are from her handout.

Three reasons why people don’t read the prophets:

They are weird.
They are confusing.
They all sound alike.

“The prophets are weird and confusing, and they all sound alike” (Philip Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read, pg. 171)
“The prophets have a queer way of speaking. – Martin Luther

Who where the prophets?

Prophets were successors to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:9-22). They mediate the Lord’s will to the people and they function as his spokesmen.
Prophets were guardians of the theocracy. They were sent by God to remind the kings of their covenant obligations (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Prophets were witnesses to God’s sovereign rule over history. They give a word of warning. They say when this comes to pass, you will know that God is sovereign over history. For example, Ezekiel says “Then you will know that I am the Lord” over 65 times.
Prophets were covenant prosecutors. They brought the covenant to bear on the people (e.g. Hosea 4:1).
Prophets were intercessors. They pray to God for their people (e.g. Genesis 20:7; 1 Samuel 12:23).
Prophets were “forth-tellers.” They were preachers to their contemporaries. Prophet were not primarily “fore-tellers” (predicting the future).

3 main periods of prophetic activity

Pre-classical (early monarchy)
Classical (8-7th Centuries BC)
Exilic and post-exilic

Why is it important to study the prophetic books

They are part of God’s Word.
The prophet-hood of every believer
They answer more questions about the second coming than Revelation.

Suggestions for reading the Prophets

Learn about the history and culture of the period during which the prophets lived.
Expect the prophets to use symbolic language. Flannery O’Connor: “To the hard of hearing you shout, for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.”
Look for recurrent themes.
“Now and Later”: some words have multiple fulfillments.
The NT is our only divinely inspired commentary on the the OT prophets.
Ultimately, the prophets point us to Christ.
Ask God to help us cultivate a prophet’s heart for the people he has placed around us.

Next: 02 There and Back Again: The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God

Series: Erika Moore Collection

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Erika Moore Collection

November 30, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

Dr. Erika Moore is a Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Trinity School for Ministry. She is also one of my favorite teachers, especially when she teaches on the Old Testament.

I am grateful to link to a small portion of her work here on Wednesday in the Word.