by word, but no form

"Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure..." (Deuteronomy 4:15f ESV)

"God did not show them a visible symbol of himself, but spoke to them; therefore they are not now to seek visible symbols of God, but simply to obey his Word. If it be said that Moses was afraid of the Israelites borrowing designs for images from the idolatrous nations around them, our reply is that undoubtedly he was, and this is exactly the point: all manmade images of God, whether molten or mental, are really borrowing from the stock-in-trade of a sinful and ungodly world, and are bound therefore to be out of accord with God's own holy Word. To make an image of God is to take one's thoughts of him from a human source, rather than from God himself; and this is precisely what is wrong with image-making."

(--J. I. Packer, Knowing God: 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 49)

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Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and he

one-liners

Here are 25 of my favorite one-liners from comedian Steven Wright: 1) I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 2) Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back. 3) Half the people you know are below average. 4) 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 5) A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 6) All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand. 7) The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 8) OK, so what's the speed of dark? 9) How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? 10) If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 11) Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 12) When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 13) Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. 14) I intend to live forever ... So far, so good. 15) If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 16) Eagles may soar, but weasels don'

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