Many in the ancient world believed in a plethora of gods. Ancients envisioned these deity warring among themselves. Humans aligned themselves with one divine being or another, bringing the heavenly conflict to earth.
In the Western world, such a belief is scoffed at. Most see no connection between affairs on earth and those of any supernatural world.
What was the Jewish worldview in biblical times? While not polytheistic (at least the orthodox view), the Jewish view was closer to that of the ancient world than the modern view. God was seen as supreme, with other celestial beings below Him. These beings have direct influence on human affairs. At times they are called sons of God. At times they are called angels. At times they are called “the powers.” Jews saw a direct link between these powers and human governments.
When I was in graduate school, the best paper I wrote was one on Genesis 6, the incident between the sons of God and the daughters of men. In that paper, I demonstrated that this reference to sons of God was a reference to human kings, not angelic beings. Now I wonder if that separation wasn’t something of a false one. The Jews saw human kings as earthly representatives of divine beings. The actions of one were, to some extent, the actions of the other.
In the Septuagint and in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Deuteronomy 32:8 talks about the nations being divided up according to the number of the sons of God (note the ESV translation). I’ll leave it up to the scholars to decide which reading is the original. What is clear is that an ancient reading reflects the view that each nation had a heavenly power behind it.
We read the following in Psalm 138: “I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise” (Psalms 138:1) Parallelism with verse 4 shows that these “gods” are kings of the earth. The word “gods” is the Hebrew word elohim, which the NIV translates “angels” in Psalm 8: “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalms 8:5, ESV)
God rules above all. Below him are the heavenly powers, which manifest themselves on earth through human governments. [Remember this incident from Daniel: “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,” (Daniel 10:13)]
I’m wanting to delve into Romans 13, especially since that passage comes up an unusual amount of times in discussions these days. As I work on this study, this concept of the powers and the authorities is crucial to our understanding that passage. I want to get your input on these concepts as we move along.
Here are some other New Testament passages which refer to “the powers” or “the authorities”:
Romans 8:38
Ephesians 3:10; 6:12
Colossians 1:16; 2:15
1 Peter 3:22
What other passages am I missing? Any other aspects of the Jewish worldview that need to be taken into account? I’m finding this study to be a bit overwhelming, so I’d appreciate all the thoughtful responses that you’d have to offer.
Tim, here is three of Paul’s beliefs you might want to consider.
1Cr 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
( no man can say Jesus is Lord, except by the powers of God)
1Cr 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Cr 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
I have a lot more scripture that could be considered, but you already know that.
Hi Laymond,
I’m guessing (?) that you are wanting to talk about your favorite topic again. Just so you don’t feel unduly ignored, I’ll remind you that I’m more than happy to continue our discussion from two years ago. Let’s just do it in the appropriate place:
http://www.timothyarcher.com/kitchen/?p=247
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Tim, these are questions I have often wondered about. I’m eagerly awaiting your conclusions!
Looking forward to it.
No Tim, I understood your post to be on how the Jews looked at God’s “Power and authority” and how it was distributed to others.
In my opinion; 1st Cor:12 falls within those boundaries, especially 12-3 because it refers to the greatest example of the gift of God unto another, I don’t recall any other receiving that much power and authority.
And as I recall it was the reason given for Jesus’ death. sorry if I was off base. Maybe if you explained to me what the subject of your post was, I can stay within the boundaries.
I don’t have any particular passage of scripture to recommend but I do have a book to suggest which you may already be familiar with. Walter Wink, “The Powers that Be: Theology for a New Millenium,” New York: Doubleday, 1998. This book is actually a synthesis of three books, commonly refered to as his trilogy, that he wrote on the powers. I found it to be very helpful in explaining how the powers work on both a celestial and human level.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Rex,
I’ve recently become aware of Wink’s works and hope to read the one you mention. It’s on my “need to read” list. There is actually hope for such reading between May and August.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Tim, I’m intrigued by this too. And given the civil-religion context in which we currently live, I find Rom. 13 makes its way into a lot of conversations. I’m curious to hear what you discover about Jewish perspectives on kingly authority (esp. that of ‘pagan’ kings) and the interplay of Paul’s ideas about “The Powers” (though the typical Pauline “powers” language of the Eph. passages isn’t quite as strong in Rom 13). But I also have to wonder if there isn’t a rhetorical strategy at play in the immediate context of Rom. 13. To wit, is Paul directly affirming all the power of governmental authority or is he in one way or another being especially crafty here?
What I mean is this: What are the implications of placing this straightforward — almost over-the-top! — defense of the Government precisely between a passage like 12:9-21 (“Love must be sincere…Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…Live in harmony…Do not repay evil for evil…live at peace with everyone…If your enemy is hungry, feed him…”) and 13:8ff (the “continuing debt” to love, which is higher than what we owe in taxes, respect, or honor…”love does no harm to its neighbor”)??
On the surface, Rom 13:1-7 sounds like a thoroughly patriotic defense of divinely appointed governmental authority. Then again, Paul says some things that I find it hard to hear as literally and universally true (or at least, that it’s hard to imagine Paul truly believes). So I’m compelled to ask what it might mean for Paul to have this entire discourse on the greatness of the Emperor framed by the an ethic of love that endures persecution, forgoes vengeance, loves and serves enemies, and pursues peace & harmony with all. These things are hardly the values of the Empire.
Good questions Jimmy. I’m currently in “exploration mode,” but decided to launch out into this anyway, needing the feedback of my Christian friends to help me along in this study. I hope to keep your questions in mind as I move forward.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
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