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A Month in the Servant Songs
Over the next several weeks, the GearTalk Biblical Theology podcast will enjoy A Month in the Servant Songs. Hands to the Plow’s Creative Director, Mark Yaeger, has also designed some great cover art that may serve your ministry as you teach through these gospel-saturated poems from one of the Old Testament’s most well-known prophets. Isaiah’s Servant Songs include Isa 42:1–9; 49:1–13; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. They occur in the Bible’s second division (= the Prophets), so the second gear is in yellow in the first speech balloon; yet all Scripture’s gears (= Law, Prophets, Writings, Gospels and Acts, Epistles, and Revelation) influence or draw on Isaiah’s prophecies, which is why all the gears are colored in the second speech balloon. read more…
Journey to Mount Sinai II
In this sixth installment to the Patterns of Evidence series, investigative filmmaker Tim Mahoney concludes his 20 year search for the biblical Mount Sinai. The onsite footage in this film is remarkable, and it draws together interviews, pictures, and videos that Mahoney and his team have gathered in over two decades of research. The five previous documentaries have all wrestled hard with the biblical, archaeological, and epigraphical evidence and have argued strongly for the faithfulness of the Bible’s claims. I strongly encourage you to get your tickets now and to see the film during one of its two Fathom Event showings. Watch the trailer here and visit www.patternsofevidence.com to learn how to get your tickets for either the May 15 or 17 shows. Before heading to the theatre, be sure also to download the Scorecard, so that you can assess the various site proposals against the biblical data. read more…
The Long History of God’s Love for Africa
“The Long History of God’s Love for Africa.” April 07, 2022: www.desiringgod.org
Last month I had the chance to share a message in Ethiopia that has been on my heart for some time. So many in the country feel that Africa is cursed in ways greater than elsewhere. The thoughts of many echo the words of Jason from Kampala (the capital of Uganda), who asked Pastor John Piper a pointed question regarding why Africans have suffered so much. He wrote:
Does God care for Africans? Providence has a long track record here. Throughout history we have been a beastly, deplorable, enslaveable race — constantly riddled with disease, famine, and suffering. How are we not to conclude that we are God’s least favorite race? Every day is pure struggle for most Ugandans. I know God promises to look after all people, but it still makes me wonder, why does he especially seem to hate Africa so much?
Since I first heard those words, I had longed to give voice more directly and explicitly to Scripture’s truths regarding God’s heart for all nations, including those from Africa. read more…
A Month in the Psalms
Over the next several weeks, the GearTalk Biblical Theology podcast will enjoy A Month in the Psalms. Hands to the Plow’s Creative Director, Mark Yaeger, has also designed some great cover art that may serve your ministry as you teach through the Psalms. The Psalms occur in the Bible’s third division (= the Writings), so the third gear is in green in the first speech balloon; yet all Scripture’s gears (= Law, Prophets, Writings, Gospels and Acts, Epistles, and Revelation) influence or draw on the Psalms, which is why all the gears are colored in the second speech balloon. read more…
Rejoicing in Hope at DTS: Three Lectures on Zephaniah
I recently was honored to provide this year’s W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectures at Dallas Theological Seminary. My theme was “Rejoicing in Hope: Understanding and Applying Zephaniah.” Each of the three lectures consider the New Testament’s use of Zephaniah and wrestle carefully with Zephaniah’s close, continuing, and complete biblical context.
- Revering God: Punishment on the Day of the Lord (Zeph 1:2–18):The prophet emphasizes how the nearness and nature of the day of the Lord as cataclysm, conquest, and sacrifice demands that listeners revere God. [MP3 Audio / GearTalk Podcast / SoundCloud Stream / Video]
- Seeking God and Waiting: Hope on the Day of the Lord (Zeph 2:1–4; 3:8–10): The prophet stresses the need to seek the Lord together to avoid punishment and to wait on the Lord to enjoy satisfying salvation. [MP3 Audio / GearTalk Podcast / SoundCloud Stream / Video]
- Rejoicing Then and Now: Pleasures on the Day of the Lord (Zeph 3:11–20): To motivate listeners to wait for the Lord, the prophet graphically portrays the day of the Lord as renewal while highlighting the pleasure of both the Redeemer and the redeemed. [MP3 Audio / GearTalk Podcast / SoundCloud Stream / Video]
All three lectures will be published later this year in DTS’s quarterly journal Bibliotheca Sacra. I hope you are blessed by these studies.
Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom” (Christian Challenge Leader Training, Kansas State University, Jan 17, 2022).
Grasping the significance of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature is not just essential for understanding large swaths of the Bible but also for knowing how to live rightly in this world. I recently gave a presentation to college students that is part lecture and part Bible study overviewing the concepts and literature pertinent to wisdom in the Old Testament. To this end, I consider wisdom’s foundational principles, definition, and types and formats. I then provide different examples of interpreting wisdom literature by considering a dialogue (Job 1-2), a couple of monologues (Eccl 3:9-14; 11:7-12:1), and various proverbs. I hope the presentation will help anyone interested in learning about wisdom in the Old Testament.
(Audio / Notes / Handout / PowerPoint) “Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom”
The goal of learning about wisdom in the Old Testament is to grow in fearing God and treasuring Christ more. May God grant you this goal as you enjoy this presentation.
Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament
Journey to Mount Sinai
Tonight opens the latest installment in the Patterns of Evidence series. Journey to Mount Sinai is part 1 of a two-part documentary that, more than any previous Patterns of Evidence movie, draws the viewer in on the path of discovery. I enjoyed the clarity with which this film synthesizes the biblical requirements for identifying the true Mount Sinai and then evaluates three of the six top proposals. Viewers should download the Scorecard PDF before seeing the film, as it aids the viewer in assessing the evidence. read more…
Announcing GearTalk: Biblical Theology
Along with my role as research professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary, I serve as Content Developer and Global Trainer with Hands to the Plow Ministries. Recently, my friend Tom Kelby and I have begun to partner in a weekly podcast on biblical theology titled GearTalk: Biblical Theology. The title comes from our main Developing Leaders: Biblical Theology curriculum, which characterizes the various parts of the biblical canon like gears in a transmission, all of which work together to help Scripture progress, integrate, and climax in Christ. read more…
How Old Is the Earth?
DesiringGod asked Dr. Wayne Grudem and me to offer arguments for our respective old-earth and young-earth views, and then respond to each other. You can access the full set of articles and responses on the “How Old Is the Earth?” series page. A full PDF is available at The Age of the Earth, and links to the individual articles and responses are below:
- Jason DeRouchie: “Our Young Earth: Arguments for Thousands of Years”
- Wayne Grudem: “A Response to Young-Earth Arguments”
- Wayne Grudem: “Our Old Earth: Arguments for Billions of Years”
- Jason DeRouchie: “A Response to Old-Earth Arguments” and “Additional Notes”
Related to this is a four-part teaching I did on “Creationism and the Age of the Earth.”
I pray these studies honor our Lord, clarify the Bible’s truth claims, indicate the weaknesses of scientific inquiry, and move many to embrace the belief in a young earth, while maintaining warm collegiality with brothers and sisters who hold a different view.
DeRouchie’s Audio & Video Sites
with Tom Kelby & Jason DeRouchie
Where DeRouchie serves as Research Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology
Where DeRouchie Serves as Content Developer and Global Trainer
