I’ve been reading Craig Blomberg’s Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions, and I’ve been greatly challenged by it. A longer review is forthcoming, but I thought I’d post these two lists that Blomberg wrote (p. 71-81) regarding Israel and material possessions as derived from the Old Testament.
The sins of Israel with respect to material possessions
- Worshipping idols made of costly materials.
- Trusting in ritual rather than in repentance.
- Extorting, robbing and oppressing to gain more land.
- Boasting in wealth.
- Financial motivation for leaders’ ministry.
What Israel must do
- Seek justice for the marginalized.
- Do not boast in riches but be generous in giving them away.
- Lament.
- Seek the welfare of the city.
- Cling to promises of restoration.
My question is this: what would these lists look like if applied to the present-day church? Your thoughts?
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Sam gave a somewhat provocative sermon a few weeks back that I’d love to get your feedback on, based on the Aaronic blessing. The main points were not controversial, but a he said a couple things I’m still chewing on.
One, the word for “bless” as used in that verse (The Lord bless you and keep you”) in the Bible usually refers to material blessings.
Two, that David, when he volunteered to defeat Goliath, had a profit motive. He asked about the reward for defeating Goliath, and got it. This seems counter to your first #5.
Honestly, I had trouble with both of those. You have a take?
Danny – interesting question. I think bless in the OT is used pretty widely (422 times on my simple search), and there are certainly many times where it refers to tangible blessings (the land, offspring), but it also refers to God’s presence or more intangible things. Gordon Wenham writes on the Aaronic blessing passage, “Though blessing is a broad term, it has a quite specific content in the Old Testament. God blesses people by giving them children, property, land, good health, and his presence (Gen. 17:16; 22:17f.; Lev. 26:3