Divine Dialogue and Biblical Revelation: Part II
Psalm 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. 7 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; Therefore O God, Your God, has anointed Thee With the oil of joy above Thy fellows (c.f. Ps 110:1).
Introduction
This morning, we pick up part 2 of our three-part series on Divine Dialogue. Now remember, last week, we saw that Divine Dialogue is a distinct and hugely important manner of biblical revelation FN#1.
For example, it is one of the chief means that the O.T. uses to reveal that God is triune; it is one of the chief means that the O.T. uses to prepare us for who Christ is and what He is coming to do; and finally, it is one of the chief factors in the N.T.’s understanding and use of O.T. passages.
Not only that, last week we defined Divine Dialogue as: a manner of revelation employed throughout Scripture (both Old and New) FN#2, whereby the human author is caught up in the Spirit and allowed to listen in on a conversation that is occurring in the throne room of God between the members of the Godhead.
This morning, I want to lay out the guidelines for identifying cases of Divine Dialogue in your own study of Scripture. Then, I want us to walk through a couple of examples, so you can see this process in action.
III. Guidelines (How do I identify cases Divine Dialogue)- remember what we are looking for: we are looking for conversations in the throne room of God between the members of the Godhead FN#3.
A] When trying to determine if a particular passage is employing the device of Devine Dialogue, ask the following questions (note: these questions are ranked in order of their significance to the process):
1) Who is speaking? Who is being addressed? Also be careful to follow the shifts from one speaker to another speaker within the conversation (like in a play)?
Psalm 2:6 [David is the Narrator listening to the conversation]
6 God the Father [about the Son] “But as for Me (the Father), I have installed My King (the Son) Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 God the Son [to the Father] “I (the Son) will surely tell of the decree of the LORD (the Father):
God the Son [recounting the Father’s decree] He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.
2) What are they talking about (normal human experiences or things exclusive to God and/or His Messiah- e.g. salvific, protological, eschatological matters)?
3) Necessity: is a Divine Dialogue necessary for making sense of the text as it is written. Importance: if there are any other realistic possibilities, speakers, or scenarios that account for the details of the passage, a Divine Dialogue is not the case FN#4.
4) What is the setting? Is it the throne room of God (either explicitly or by necessary implication)? Has the author been caught up in/by the Spirit (either explicitly or by necessary implication)?
5) Collaboration: do New Testament authors see the passage as pointing to Christ (such often collaborates or gives support to the fact that a Divine Dialogue is taking place)
B] Example and Demonstration– here I want us to take a hands-on look at the process of determination using a concrete example from Scripture that incorporates a good number of the guidelines we saw above.
Remember, we begin by asking who is talking and what are they talking about (divine or normal), all the while looking for shifts in speakers (like a play)
Psalm 102:1 A Prayer of the Afflicted, when he is faint, and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to Thee. 2 Do not hide Thy face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Thine ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly.
{verses 3-9 continue to describe and underscore the speaker’s intense suffering. However, the speaker’s identity is still unclear}
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, 10 Because of Thine indignation and Thy wrath; For Thou hast lifted me up and cast me away….
12 But Thou, O LORD dost abide forever; And Thy name to all generations. 13 Thou wilt arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed, Thy servants find pleasure in her stones, and feel pity for her dust.
15 To the end that the nations will fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth Thy glory.
16 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
17 He has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
18 This will be written for the generation to come; That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
19 For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; To set free those who were doomed to death;
21 So that men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem; 22 When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He has weakened my strength in the way; He has shortened my days.
___________24 I say, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days”.
____________ “Thy years are throughout all generations”.
25 “Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands.
26 “Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed.
27 “But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.
{c.f. guideline #6 and Heb 1:8-12; 13:8; Rev 6:13-14}FN#5
28 “The children of Thy servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before Thee.”
Footnotes
1] The centrality and significance of this distinct manner of biblical revelation can be seen from the fact that:
2] Case in point: In Acts chapter 8 the Ethiopian Eunuch, being a part of the long standing and ancient Jewish community in Ethiopia (v 27), knew about Divine Dialogue and its importance to interpretation. Notice then, when he meets the Apostle Philip, he asks him questions central to determining instances of Divine Dialogue, the very questions we are relearning to ask.
Acts 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?”
3] It is important to note that not every Biblical reference to Christ involves a dramatic dialogue between the members of the Godhead. Instead, very often such disclosures are made by traditional prophecy (e.g. Isa 53:1-2) or pedagogical object lessons (e.g. Passover, the O.T. Sacrificial System). Therefore, it is important to establish some guidelines or rules for distinguishing and identifying cases of actual Divine Dialogue.
4] First, God does not leave His promises of and preparation for His Messiah ambiguous or open-ended. God intends us to know and identify His Messiah when He arrives. Also, God knows that false christs will arise. Therefore, God makes His Son’s mission crystal clear. God makes sure that there is no confusion about whom He is speaking. Not only that, Scripture tells us that not one letter of God’s word will faulter, fail, or be amended “Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s word will not pass away”. In other words, what God exactly promises is what will be exactly fulfilled. Therefore, God makes those promises extremely clear to those who have hearts and ears to hear. Finally, God tells us not to add to or take away from His word. Why? His Word is precise. Therefore, if the passage is not exclusively about the Messiah, IT IS NOT and instance of Divine Dialogue, period.
However, please note: the problem/confusion in determining cases of Divine Dialogue often arises because Jesus takes up the fullness of our human nature and the fullness of the human condition. Hebrews tells us that very thing:
Hebrews 4:15 We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are
However, what makes Christ unique is not the common condition but rather the manner in which He bore our condition (sinlessly);
Hebrews 4:15 but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
as well as the role/capacity in which He bore our conditions (as our representative and redeemer);
Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
and finally, the result of His faithful endurance (i.e. the fullness of our salvation, redemption, and healing)
1 Peter 2:24 by His wounds you were healed.
The point here is simply to say that there is often an overlap between what is common to man and what is true of Christ in His humanity. For example, while it is true that Jesus was rejected by His own people and that they sought to do Him great/lethal harm, the same can be said of David, who was hunted by Saul and runoff by his own son (Absolom) and a good portion of the kingdom. As such, a description of such things will very often not be exclusive to God or His Messiah. Instead, because there are clear human possibilities to account for the details of the text, it is not a case of Divine Dialogue. Take this counter example:
Psalm 30:1 A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David . I Will extol Thee, O LORD, for Thou hast lifted me up, And hast not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to Thee for help, and Thou didst heal me.
3 O LORD, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Notice at once as we read this psalm, we begin by asking who is speaking. Whoever it is God has “lifted Him up” (language often used of the Christ). God has given him victory over His enemies (again such is said of Christ), God has brought the speaker up from Sheol/the grave (language very reminiscent to Psalm 16:10- which is definitely about Christ). Not only all of this, if this conversation is occurring in the heavenly court, then the speaker commands that court to praise God (v 4- pretty rarified air).
However, one must listen to Scripture because while the above is true, it is not all the Scripture’s say. Notice then: while God does exalt the Son and give Him victory, God also exalts David giving victory over Saul and Absolom (thus not by default exclusively Messianic). In turn, God has brough the speaker up from the brink of death (again not messianic). In fact, notice the difference between Ps 16:10 and this Psalm. In psalm 16:10 the speaker is dead and in the grave. However, God does not abandon or leave Him there; nor is He allowed to undergo the normal decay of death. Instead, God raises Him up from death and the grace. By contrast, the speaker in psalm 29 is kept from death and God does not allow him to enter the grave. This is not the Messiah. Instead, this is David singing at the dedication of his royal house (remember Solomon, not David, builds and dedicates God’s house). As David rejoices in God’s goodness, he invites God’s people who have gathered at the dedication to join him is thanks (not the heavenly court). This is clearly not the Messiah, a fact that the very next verse bears out
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
Unlike David, Jesus never had such a lapse into arrogance or deluded self-sufficiency that God then needed to correct.
Finally, the same process can be applied and the same conclusions reached for countless other psalms like Ps 23. Yes, Christ fulfills everything in psalm 23 perfectly, but not because it is exclusive to the Messiah but precisely because it is common to man, who He came to redeem. Jesus, shares our condition, however, what makes Him exclusive is the sinlessness with which He endured it, the role in which He shared it, and the results of what He accomplished for us as one of us.
5] New Testament collaboration is important for letting us know we are on the right path. Not only that, if the New Testament authors are seeking to bolster their argument, they are not doing so with suspect, novel interpretations of Scripture that their audience had never heard (such would weaken their case). In other words, for an author to quote a passage as an example of Divine Dialogue is a pretty good indication that that is how his audience and God’s people down through the ages had always understood it. Notice then here is the passage from Hebrews 1 that directly attributed Psalm 102:24-28 as a case of Divine Dialogue where the Father speaks to and about the Son. I will start the passage from Hebrews a bit up in the text to give you an idea of the flow, context, and contrast that the author of Hebrews is pointing out to us.
Hebrews 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son He says, [the author begins with a passage from Ps 45:6-7]
“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.9 “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.”
[next the author turns to our passage from Ps 102 as yet another example of what God says about the Son, thus the “And” with which the quotation begins]
10 And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands;
11 They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment,
12 And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.”