What Does This Mean?

Does God Still Speak Directly To Us?

Yes, of course God still speaks to us. He speaks directly to us each week, when we hear His Word. When your pastor says, “in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I forgive you all of your sins.” We are to hear the words as if Jesus Himself spoke them to us just now. The Divine Service on Sunday morning is all about the Lord speaking to us.

But, that’s not really the question, is it?

Your Aunt Beatrice, who now calls herself, Sister Mooncloud, means something entirely different. She or Uncle Stinging-rain say that God speaks directly to them. They’ve told you that they are more in touch with the Spirit of the Almighty in some way.

The method doesn’t matter. What matters is content.

A prophet is simply one who hears and reports the Word of the Lord. A true prophet cannot speak falsely. Moses warned the people of Israel, and us, too, that false prophets are coming, and here’s how you will know. “And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Always, the prophet must speak truth. If Uncle Stinging-rain or Auntie Mooncloud say a thing purporting to be the voice of God, it must come true as they have said. If the Senate doesn’t overturn the election, the comet doesn’t strike the earth, Mom and Dad don’t die at the appointed time, or the market doesn’t have a cataclysmic reaction, then the prophesy and the prophet are false.

Even the remedy given by the Lord through Mosses reflects a curious disdain. “You need not be afraid of him.” The proscribed reaction here isn’t fisticuffs, scourging, or stoning. It’s indifference. Have no fear, de-escalate, disengage.

All prophesy must point to Jesus and Him crucified for our sins. You and I may not always readily see it. But, it is the case to be sure. On the road to Emmaus, two of the followers of Jesus received clear teaching on their seven mile walk from Jesus himself after the resurrection. “And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Acts 2:25-27)

“But, Pastor Kaspar, what about St. Peter’s Pentecost sermon concerning visions? Doesn’t that indicate a renewed prophesy?” That’s a fine question. When Peter and the disciples spoke in tongues, speaking all the languages of the people present, He did preach about prophecy. But, what does he actually say?

“But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; … before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:16-17, 20b-24)

Jesus taught on the Emmaus road: all prophecy is of Him. Peter also preached the same from the prophecy of St. Joel, chapter two. The prophet spoke of Jesus. The day of prophesy is the day of salvation. It’s the day of Jesus. For you, that day is today.

The writer of Hebrews puts a fine point on it too. “In many and various ways, God spoke to His people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2a) We have prophecy. But, the whole of it points to Jesus and his work saving us.

And St. Peter teaches us in His second epistle, chapter one, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty … And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:16, 18-20)

We have the interpretation: the saving work of Jesus for us. Now, also we have the lens through which prophecy is revealed to us. We have Jesus and the scripture attesting to Him. Anything else is false prophecy. Fear not, dear Christians, ignore those words.

Let us prophesy of Jesus alone, and the work He has done.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

A Christian Logo Design

Photograpic basis for the design by Rev. Jason M. Kaspar

The new logo for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool of La Grange, TX features two elements of our ecclesiastical architecture. Both our pulpit and lectern walls within the chancel feature the same brick form. These two features flank the large chancel cross.

In church architecture, we should always see the numbers before our eyes as deliberate and pedagogical. The repeated features in church sanctuaries are generally done on purpose. They also serve to teach about the Christian faith, reminding us about something significant.

These numbers include fours for the Gospel writers, sixes for creation and the fall into sin, sevens for holiness, tens for the completeness of all peoples, and twelves for holy completeness. Our sanctuary also makes use of numbers to teach us about the Christian faith.

The brickwork flanking the cross has a central column consisting of two independent bricks and a continuous column. In the church threes are a Trinitarian symbol. The Trinity is, then, core upon which eight horizontal bars hang. Eights in the church are symbols of resurrection, recreation, new life in Christ, and baptism.

In six days, The Lord created the Heavens and the Earth. On the Seventh day, He rested. After the fall, the eight day becomes a symbol of the promised redeemer. In Genesis 3:15 we hear, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

In the flood, eight souls are preserved in the ark. They are preserved by water, which also washes way the wickedness of the earth. St. Peter teaches us in 1 Peter 3 “20because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

All Jewish males are circumcised as a mark of God’s covenant with His people. This circumcision is proscribed for the eight day of life. That Genesis 3 promise is tied to the eight day.

Jesus’ resurrection is an eighth day event. He is crucified and dies on Friday. He is entombed in death from Friday through the entirety of the Sabbath (the seventh day), and is raised again from the dead on the eighth day.

In Colossians, chapter two, St. Paul teaches us to understand baptism from circumcision. “11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.”

These two Trinitarian Baptismal symbols on both sides of our altar point our eyes to the source of our salvation. In baptism, we receive the forgiveness of sins AND the faith, which clings to that promise. The forgiveness purchased and won by Jesus’ crucifixion and death on a cross. A symbol of death promising us eternal life.

Let us ever glory in that baptismal promise.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Jesus Rejected in Nazareth

Encore Post: Synagogues are like churches. They are places where the Jews gather on the Sabbath (Saturday) to hear a passage from the Old Testament read, to hear a sermon and to pray together. The Old Testament is read from a scroll, instead of a book. Someone would help the reader take it out of a storage box called an ark, unwrap it and roll the text to the place where he should start to read. Often the people would sing while they do this.

When the reading was finished, it was put away until the next Sabbath. When a boy reached the age of twelve, he got to read it for the first time in event called Bar Mitzvah, which means “Son of the Covenant.” If the reader was also a teacher, he would sit down and explain the reading.

This is what Jesus was doing when he returned to Nazareth. He read from Isaiah 61. This passage predicts the ministry of the Messiah to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. He announced that he was that Messiah.

The problem was his neighbors and friends had a hard time believing he was the Messiah. He grew up in such a normal way that there was hardly anything for the Gospels to report for the first thirty years of his life. The contractor down the block is the Messiah — please! They wanted results! What’s in it for them? Nothing! Their lack of faith in Jesus meant he could not perform miracles at home.

That day they tried to kill him, it failed. But it would not be long before Jesus would go to Jerusalem. There he suffered and died for their sins, ours and the sins of the whole world. When he rose from the dead, he set us all free. When he returns for us, then we will also be healed — not for a little while, but for forever.

Testing Translations: Romans 8:15-17

Romans 8 is one of the most comforting chapters in the Holy Scriptures. It follow St. Paul’s description of the frustration he feels with struggling against his old Adam, the dark, sinful self that remains in a Christian. It begins by affirming that Christ can help us with our struggles with the sinful flesh. He fulfilled the requirements of the law for us, setting us free from slavery to our sinful flesh.

The passage before us talks about how we can live according to the Spirit, even while still living in conflict with our sinful desires and all the while suffering in this world. There are several phrases in it that are difficult to render in English. How translators handle them reveal much about their theology.

In Romans 8:15, Paul explains the new status we have as Christians. We do not live fearfully, as a slave fears displeasing his master, but we live the way children and heirs of the paterfamilias — the father of the house, who we can call “daddy.”

The Greek for our relationship is υἱοθεσίας (huiothesias) literally means “to place as a son.” It is the term for adoption, which was very common in Roman and Greek culture. It made the person adopted an heir with all the same rights, privileges and status of the one who adopts. Even slaves could be adopted and thus freeing them and more. It was almost as common to adopt adults as it was to marry. In fact, Julius Caesar adopted his ally Octavius, who then was known as the son of Caesar, and, when Caesar was honored as a god, the son of god.

Following the Vulgate, The English Standard Version translates it as a part of a title for the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of adoption as sons), the old New International Version in a similar, but less accurate way (the Spirit of sonship). The Good News Bible separates it into an event (the Spirit makes you God’s children), losing its connection to the Spirit entirely.

Martin Luther translated the phrase very differently. He wrote “einen kindlichen Geist” — a child-like spirit. If Paul is comparing attitudes, this is likely what he meant. We are not given a slave’s attitude, or the attitude of the follower of a pagan god, which is motivated by the fear of punishment. We are given the attitude of an adopted son. We approach the Father in prayer “confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.” (Small Catechism 3.1.2)

Paul then tells us what this adoption means for us. It is not our imagination. The Holy Spirit is our witness, testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children. Since we are God’s children then, we are God’s heirs, heirs with Christ and share everything he has. Since Jesus suffered that he might enter his glory, so we share his sufferings with him.

The Reformed tradition and the Lutheran tradition understand Romans 8:17 differently. For the Reformed, the passage is conditional. If we share in Christ’s suffering, we will be rewarded by sharing in his glory. Lutherans understand it unconditionally. Since we share in his sufferings, we will share in his glory.

The Greek construction can be legitimately understood either way. It is:

εἴπερ συμπάσχομεν ἵνα καὶ συνδοξασθῶμεν.

The Greek particle εἴπερ sets up a relationship between two phrases. It can be conditional or unconditional. What is important is the two are linked. Should the first happen, the second must happen. So, if a translation says, in effect, “since,” we suspect a Lutheran had something to do with it. If it translates, “if,” then a Reformed translator. So, for example, the Evangelical Heritage Version has “since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him” and the NRSV “if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”

Be Still And Know … What?

There is a thin veil of spirituality cast over our land. We see it on bumper stickers, t-shirts, bible covers, and memes all over social media.

One such text is the passage, “Be still, and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10a.

When you see this passage, it’s usually covered with flowers and butterflies. It’s meant to instill peace and a sense of wellbeing. It’s used in inspirational calendars. Sometimes we’ll see this passage used for a month at a time, but pondering what?

Using the verse of Psalm 46 this way comes to us from the movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy. It’s one of a short list of passages cited as their central teaching. The teaching is an expression of peace, found in pursuing the father-mother god in the Christian Church, Scientist movement.

The Christian Church, Scientist is a non-trinitarian, christian-ish heretical sect founded in the 1870s in Boston, MA by Ms. Eddy. They are part of a group of metaphysical Christian offshoots centering on the “divine mind” and the unreality and/or escape-ability of the physical world.

There is nothing new under creation. These ideas have been with mankind since the beginning. One more notable case is that of the gnostic heresy of the earliest centuries of Christianity. The Gnostics also viewed the physical world as an evil to escape. They shared the same the notion of divinity as an essence we aspire to join.

Our creeds all speak of God in substance and personhood, in direct opposition to these ideas.

The metaphysics intend for us to hear those words, “be still, and know,” and find a new understanding and a new revelation within our own minds and the stillness thereof. This does not fit the context of Psalm 46 very well at all.

Psalm 46 is the scriptural basis of Martin Luther’s reformation battle hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Not surprisingly, the Psalm is rich with imagery relating to battle and warfare. There is a stillness, but not an internal one.

When Psalm 46 occurs in the lectionary, verse 7 is the suggested antiphon. An antiphon is a verse of the psalm, another psalm, or a passage of scripture used to focus our reading the central theme of the text. Psalm 46:7 reads, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” That verse is echoed within the psalm without our help. Verse 7 and the final verse, 11, are the same.

Look to God for peace and protection. In the midst of all we are about to hear, He is our Fortress.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

The presence of God here is immediate, not distant. He not a God who can, may, or will be our refuge. He is. That’s the same answer He gave to Moses from the burning bush, “I am has sent me to you.” And, Jesus says the same, “before Abraham was, I am.” (Gen 3:14; John 8:58)

The roaring of the seas and the destruction of the mountains are the image of uncreation. The disorder that rises out of the good order of creation after the fall into sin is that raging. All creation groans for redemption.

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:4-7)

The seas are an image of disorder and sin. The river is an image of new life, forgiveness, and new creation. In the prophets and in the Revelation of Saint John, the river flowing into, through, and from the city of God is the source of restoration. The peace and restoration isn’t cowardly though. She cannot be moved. She, the city, is resolute. The Lord is with her.

The Lord of Hosts, Lord God of Sabaoth, Lord of battle-tested armies, this is not a weak, peaceable image of our God. He, who commands the armies of victorious angels, that Lord of host is with us, our fortress.

“Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!’” (Psalm 46:8-10)

The enemies of the Lord: sin, death, and the Devil are defeated and bound for destruction. That battle is already won. But yet the complete destruction of our old evil foe awaits Him and his minions. Beyond victory, the Lord will break and destroy even the implements of that warfare. With your weapons broken, shattered, and burning before you, now be still before the Lord.

Primarily an accusation to the vanquished: be still. Those who would not cease in speaking against the Lord; be still. Those who accuse the children of God: be still. Those who serve the adversary: be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the earth! Let all mortal flesh keep silence.

Why?

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:11)

–

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Testing Translation: Philippians 2:5

Philippians 2:5-11 is often called the Christ Hymn. Verses 6-11 are and ancient hymn which explain the work of Christ in a profound poem. The center of the poem is the phrase “death on the cross.” The first part of the hymn speaks about the way Jesus thinks. He let go of his power and glory as God, became a man, then humbled himself further to die on the cross. The second part is how God lifted him up to his full godhood giving him the name above all names. Everyone in the end will confess that Jesus Christ is Yahweh to the Father’s glory.

A lot of meaning is packed into these few verses. how a translator presents several phrases in this passage reveals much about what he or she believes. In Greek, verse five is: “Τοῦτο φρονεῖτε ἐν ὑμῖν ὃ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ” (literally: “Think this in you all the also in Christ Jesus”) Here St. Paul urges the Philippians to think like Jesus thinks. Jesus put the interests of others — all of us — before his own. φρονεῖτε comes from the verb φρονέω, which means to have an opinion, to consider carefully, to develop an attitude. It is a command to think a certain way. In American idiom it is to have a mindset. The pronoun, which tells us who is to have the mindset, is plural. It is the congregation Paul wants to follow Jesus’ example.

There is a wide variety of ways translators handle the phrase. The King James Version is “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” The English Standard version translates: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” New American Standard has: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” the New Jerusalem Bible: “Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus” and the Good News Bible: “think the same way that Christ Jesus thought.”

This variety helps us to see that, no matter how hard you try, translation loses something. All of the translations lose track of the fact that Paul is not addressing individuals. Nor is it an ethical you (as if you read it to mean “one should have the mind of Christ in him”). Paul urges the congregation to be humble and think of others first as a group. In addition, the word “mind” sounds strange to English ears when used this way. Finally, “attitude” often has a negative sense in American English (he has an attitude!) when Paul is intending the opposite.

This is the very reason why Lutheran seminary students are required to learn to read Greek and Hebrew. So, what can a layman, who has a vocation other than pastoral ministry? The best advice is to compare several solid translations. Where you see a range of interpretation like this, you will know the original text is not easily translated. You can check commentaries (The People’s Bible commentaries, like this one: Kuschel, Harlyn J. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. The People’s Bible. Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House, 1986, are good sources for laymen), Ask your pastor, or both.

Testing Translations: John 3:16-17

One of the best known Bible verses is John 3:16-17. Beloved by millions, it is called “the gospel in a nutshell.” In the King James Version (KJV), it is:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

If you open multiple versions to the verse, you will notice very quickly is that they are virtually the same. This is very comforting. It shows the “tradition” side of translation. If you do not read Greek, this tells you also that the original is very clear. There is little controversy as to what it means. By comparing them carefully, you will notice several words are handled slightly differently. One is in the version you likely memorized as a child: “only begotten.” The original Greek word is: μονογενῆ (monogene).

To modern English speakers, the word sounds very old. “Beget” means that a man is the biological father of a child. We often say he fathered a child. When the King James Version used this word, it was following, St. Jerome’s Vulgate (unigenitum) and Martin Luther’s German Bible (eingeborenen). They, in turn, were influenced by the Nicene Creed’s, “Begotten not made.” The point of the creed was that Jesus is eternally God’s Son, not the first created being, as the heretic Arius maintained.

So far, so good. So why do so many modern translations say something like: “only son” or “unique son” instead? It turns out that the word μονογενῆ has a much wider meaning in the Greek language. It means “Unique, one-of-a-kind.” It is used to describe Jesus and an only child in the Gospel of John.

What does it tell us when a translation uses “Only Begotten?” Such a translation has a concern for both word-for-word translation and to preserve a connection with doctrinal language. For example, when describing the greeting of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, (Luke 1:28) Martin Luther said he should have translated it “Hi, Mary!” But for doctrinal reasons and tradition, he translated: “Gegrüßet seiest du, Holdselige” (Greetings be to you, blessed one!)

When a translation uses some form of “only, unique, one-of-a-kind,” the emphasis is on what it meant to the original readers. In our next post, we’ll try another passage I use to get to know a translation.

Testing Translations– John 1:1

“Translation is treason,” “Translation is tradition,” are two ways to translate a famous Latin pun. (translatio traditio est) It is credited to St. Jerome, the early Church father who translated the Bible into Latin, giving us the famous version known as the Vulgate. For pastors and Bible scholars it is a cautionary proverb. You really need to carefully test translations — and take care when you do the work of a translator yourself. Over a series of posts, we will look at passages that can be used to do just that.

The beginning of the Gospel of John, known as the Prologue, begins at the Beginning. Not the beginning of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, as the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do. Not the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, as does Mark. The Apostle John takes us back to the beginning of creation. Here, John tells us, the Son of God had already been in existence with God the Father. He reveals that he is ὁ λόγος (the Logos), the Word in Greek philosophy. He is all of wisdom and reason itself in one person. This Word is not a created being, nor a spin off of God’s own essence, but God Himself, present in a relationship with the Father forever. This Word is the Creator of all things and yet became a flesh and blood human being — Jesus of Nazareth. We cannot understand God. Yet in him, the only begotten God, we can know God.

At first, you might wonder why this is a test passage for translations. In almost all translations, it reads:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Even the translations that focus on conveying what the translator believe the text says emphasize that the Word is eternal and is fully God and do so even more than the surface meaning of the Greek.

There is one “translation,” however, that translates the last phrase: “… the Word was a god.” (John 1:1, the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. See https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/1/ ) (Aside: the so-called translation committee that produced the NWT had no one on the staff that could read either Greek or Hebrew. So it is really not a translation, but a commentary.) The translation justifies this reading by noting the original text, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος, (and God was the Word) does not have the word “the” in front of it. In New Testament Greek, when you want to talk about a specific example of something, you use ὁ, the definite article in front of it. They do this to keep the text from proving the Scripture teaches Jesus is God.

The problem with this way of looking at the text is that the lack of an article in New Testament Greek does not mean one example of the noun out of many. For example, when St. Paul speaks of θεοῦ πατρὸς in his First Letter to Timothy (1:2), he is not speaking of one god or one father, but God the Father. The lack of an article in New Testament Greek, as it is in English, is a matter of style. For example, in John 19:21, Jesus is called the King of the Jews both with and without the article.

To translate it as the Watchtower does here brings all kinds of problems. For example, the Bible clearly states there is only one true God. If Jesus is only one of many beings called a god, then he has to be a false god. The New Testament clearly teaches the opposite. Also, in other places in the New Testament Jesus is called God clearly (Romans 9:5, Titus 2:13, etc.) Third, the Evangelist John continues in this chapter to tell us that Jesus possesses characteristics that only God possesses. (He is eternal 1:2, the creator with the Father 1:3) and is Light and Life (1:4)

For more detailed information on this phrase, see William Weinrich’s helpful discussion at John 1:1–7:1. Edited by Dean O. Wenthe and Curtis P. Giese. Concordia Commentary. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2015, 94.

The Trouble with Translation

So you’ve decided to get (more) serious about studying the Bible. Maybe you’ve joined a Bible Study or picked up a book or two to help you learn more and get into God’s Word more. That’s very good! Faith comes — and grows stronger — by hearing and reading — the Word.

So, which Bible should you choose? Pastors are asked this question all the time. English readers are blessed with dozens of choices. You can read and compare most of them at the Bible Gateway for free. what do you do with them? Much depends on your purpose.

Some are good for reading. They smooth out the language, choosing words to explain what the translator thinks the Bible is saying. The problem is often that reflects the translator’s theology. That is acceptable when you are just reading large sections of the Bible, but can be a problem when you want to know what the Bible says in detail.

Other translations try to stay close to the original Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic text of the Scriptures. The translators try hard to keep close to the original words. Problems occur when they do this. One is it is impossible to convey all the meaning of one word in Greek into English. The translator has to choose one or another word.

Try this little experiment. If you cannot use the word “excellent,” what word would you choose in it’s place? If you say, “good,” doesn’t it mean the same thing? Almost, but not quite. This happens even more when translating from another language.

With some translations, you have to work at following sentences that sound awkward in English. That is why it is often best to choose two or three translations when you do a deep dive into God’s word. When you find that the different versions of a passage are about the same, you can be sure the original meaning is pretty straightforward. If they are substantially different — not so much. When this happens, ask your pastor. He had to learn Greek and Hebrew in seminary and see what’s going on in the original text and explain it to you.

So, when you pick translations as your study companion, look for a few. You can test them out in Bible Gateway or another app or online Bible site. You may want to check out the English Standard Version, which the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod uses for worship and study materials, the Evangelical Heritage Version, produced by conservative Lutheran translators, The New King James Version and The New American Standard Version. If you can find it, the original New International Version (from the 1980s) is OK. Do not use the one currently for sale in bookstores, however, which has in recent years allowed liberal translators to alter it. The same goes for the old, 1950s era Revised Standard Version. Your pastor may also have some suggestions.

In future posts, I’ll take up passages from Scriptures I use to test translations. I pray those will help you as you begin to acquire your Bibles for study.

The First Book of Samuel

When do we learn about the books of Samuel or Kings or Chronicles? We probably learn about Samuel and Saul and David and Solomon from Bible stories that our parents read to us. Perhaps we hear the stories in Sunday School. Rarely do we hear these stories in confirmation class. Even rarer will you hear about these stories in the Sunday sermon. I have found in my own life that I have never once attended a Lutheran Bible Study on these books.

Whether it’s because it’s a different nation and its history, or because it’s low on the priority list for pastors and congregations, the Samuels and Kings and Chronicles are still part of God’s Word, and a significant chunk of our Bibles. In my Bible, these books fill 288 pages! And probably some think that these books do not have enough encouragement or comfort. But we will have to wait and see (and read together) these passages to see what we have been missing.

Let’s read 1 Samuel 1:

1 Samuel 1:1-2

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

First, let’s clarify some places and people we might be unfamiliar with. The first thing I notice is Ramathaim-zophim. This is the lengthened name that is more familiar to us as Ramah. We know about Ramah because Jeremiah (31:15) prophesies that Jacob’s wife Rachel was weeping for her children there.

“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are no more.”

This is the reading that we sometimes hear on the Second Sunday after Christmas, when Matthew quotes Jeremiah as the prophecy that Herod would kill the firstborn sons in Judah and Bethlehem because of Jesus. The Ramathaim of 1 Samuel is the Ramah we hear in the Gospels. Our chapter for today sets the stage for the later coming of Jesus!

But wait, there’s more! This is the same place that we hear about later in the Gospels. When Jacob and Rachel were alive, the town was Ramah. When Hannah and Samuel were alive, the town was named Ramathaim-zophim. But when Jesus was alive, the name of that same town was changed to Arimathea. Can you see the similarities? This is the town of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who gave up his tomb and buried Jesus in it for three days. When Jesus rose, there was no more grief and weeping for Rachel, and there was no more sorrow for Hannah. For the Son of God was raised from the dead and He now lives.

The second name I want us to take a look at is Elkanah. Elkanah is part of the tribe of Levi, the tribe set aside for priests. It is because of Elkanah that Samuel can become a priest for the Lord. Elkanah’s name reflects that beautifully. “El” is the Hebrew name for “God” and “kanah” is the Hebrew verb “to possess.” Put it together and you get “God possesses” or “God bought.” What a Gospel name that is! God has bought Elkanah, paid for his sins, and made him a priest for God’s people!

Finally, let’s take a look at Hannah. Hannah means “grace.” On the one hand, we realize that the beginning of this book appears to suggest that God has not given Hannah grace. It appears God has not been gracious. For He gave Peninnah children, but Hannah had no children. This is a devastating situation for any woman, especially those women who want to have children. For motherhood is the greatest joy for women. We find this true even today. If you ever talk to a widow, she will rarely talk to you about her job or about her friends. But she will certainly tell you about her husband and about her children. We can understand Hannah’s situation, and we can pray today for all women who want to have children of their own.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, Your people have wept in Ramah. But You sent Your Son to be buried there and to be raised from the dead there. Thank You for offering up Your one and only Son for the sacrifice for our sins and for raising Him so that He lives again. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Lord, like Elkanah, You have bought us as Your people. We are no longer slaves to anyone but You. Strengthen us to serve our neighbors in the church and in the world. Like Elkanah, remind us to go to church and to bring our wife and children to know You, trust You, and love You. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Heavenly Father, You comforted Rachel in her weeping and Hannah because she had no children. Comfort mothers whose children have died. Comfort women who wish to have children and cannot. Answer their prayers, for motherhood is the greatest joy. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Rev. James Peterson
First Lutheran Church
Phillipsburg, Kansas