3,292

This last week has involved a massive effort to get my Old Testament essay finished ahead of my folks arriving in town yesterday. I just managed to scrape it through in time: 3,292 words of essay in the end.

I had a little help, though...


The essay question was a little less scary than my last one. Here it is:

Critically examine the text of 1 Samuel 12:19-25, and explore the way in which it contributes to the theology of kingship.

The passage is the tail-end of the prophet Samuel's final speech to Israel as their leader. He basically promised to continue on as prophet, praying for and instructing the people in God's word, and calls on Israel to follow the Lord, only, looking to Him for rescue and security. It was quite an enjoyable essay to write.

Having said all that, gosh it's great to be finished. That's the last major assessment for the year before exams, and it's a massive milestone to have passed. Term 4 awaits. Baby, and exams! But for now... *sigh of relief*... holidays.

PS. For those interested, John Woodhouse's new commentary on 1 Samuel is excellent; it's a real preacher's commentary. And David Tsumura's NICOT commentary is great for a more technical (Hebrewy) one.

Greek Geeks

This afternoon was our Greek 2 exam. I think it went pretty well.

So that's the end of Greek. No more. We've learned all that we're going to. Well, in an isolated subject anyway. Although we'll continue to use Greek in our New Testament subjects, we won't have it as a separate subject from here on.

Oh yeah, and that's the end of Term 3, too. This year is flying!

Preaching OT Narrative

In a few weeks I'll be preaching on 2 Kings 16-17. Preaching narrative sections of the Old Testament is something that Dave Thurston, the minister at our church, is really keen for us to learn to do well. Heaps of the Bible is narrative, after all. As a part of that, Dave's been encouraging us (his student ministers) to work at being good story-tellers.

When I was in Tassie last, David Jones recommended this book to me in connection with preaching the Old Testament:

The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts

I finished it last night. It's a little pearler of a book simply because Dale Ralph Davis (a veteran preacher) takes you under his wing as he thinks about Old Testament narrative. It's not exhaustive, it's not deep and complex. It's just sitting with a guy who loves narrative and loves reading the story of God's work in history. He's a sensitive reader (i.e. he notices stuff that I might pass over), and he's a good writer.

There's only one bit that I think is a bit shonky, and that's his little section on the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament. My quibble is only small, though, in the scheme of things.

On another note, how about 'Ralph' for a middle name??! I guess it wouldn't go so well for a girl... ;)