Monday, May 18, 2009

1 Chronicles 6; Luke 4:40-5:16

1 Chronicles 6

This is the longest of the genealogical chapters, probably due to the fact that it deals with the Levitical line, which is a major topic of consideration in the Books of Chronicles. The Books of Chronicles focus on two things: the Davidic kingdom and the Solomonic temple. Since it is the Aaronic line (a subset of Levi) that has charge of temple worship, the author is careful to give Levi a prominent place in the book. It is also clear that the Levites were settled among the tribes of Israel, and their responsibility, though not mentioned here, was to teach the Israelites the Law of God.

Luke 4:40-5:16

It is clear from the gospel accounts that Jesus spent some time teaching and healing before settling on those whom he would call as his special disciples. Thus it is probably the case that they had been following him for some time. So Jesus was not new to Peter nor Peter new to Jesus when this event occurred. Nonetheless, the magnitude of the miracle produced a holy awe in Peter, and an awareness of his sinfulness, much like Isaiah's temple vision (Is 6). The absence of this sense of holy awe when dealing with God is one of the real troubles afflicting the American church today.

No comments: