A Theological Examination of Symbolism in Ezekiel with Emphasis on the Shepherd Metaphor
A Theological Examination of Symbolism in Ezekiel with Emphasis on the Shepherd Metaphor

Author: Joel K. T. Biwul

Publisher: Langham Publishing

Published: 2013-12-14

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1783689943

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This book addresses one of the ever-aching problems of human society – failed leadership in secular and sacred domains. It points out, from Ezekiel’s use of symbolism and shepherd motif, what society stands to suffer and or lose under a bad human leadership structure and bad governance. This plays out in the book’s x-ray of the characteristics of sheep needing a shepherd. Dr. Biwul contends that Ezekiel used symbolic sign-acts to indict both Israel’s bad and imperfect human shepherds as well as the Babylonian exiles as being responsible for their plight for not upholding the norms of Deuteronomic theology. Particularly, he argues forcefully from Ezekiel’s shepherd motif that a major factor responsible for the exile of Israel as a covenant community is the massive failure of its bad and imperfect human shepherds who did not possess the requisite shepherding qualities inherent in Yahweh as chief shepherd of Israel. Biwul therefore draws particular attention to the reality of Ezekiel’s use of the recognition formula when Yahweh acts at last to restore his people. This is rooted in the theological-eschatological motif which would come to its full reality in the anticipated eschatological community when Yahweh would shepherd his people.

Theological Examination of Symbolism in Ezekiel with Emphasis on the Shepherd Metaphor
Theological Examination of Symbolism in Ezekiel with Emphasis on the Shepherd Metaphor

Author: Joel K. T. Biwul

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13:

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This book addresses one of the ever-aching problems of human society - failed leadership in secular and sacred domains. It points out, from Ezekiel's use of symbolism and shepherd motif, what society stands to suffer and or lose under a bad human leadership structure and bad governance. This plays out in the book's x-ray of the characteristics of sheep needing a shepherd. Dr. Biwul contends that Ezekiel used symbolic sign-acts to indict both Israel's bad and imperfect human shepherds as well as the Babylonian exiles as being responsible for their plight for not upholding the norms of Deuterono.

The Concept of Divine Sovereignty in Micah
The Concept of Divine Sovereignty in Micah

Author: Colin Semwayo

Publisher: Langham Publishing

Published: 2019-12-14

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 178368769X

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We live in a world gone awry. Social injustice pervades our societies, the poor are disdained, despotic leaders and nations seem to control world events, and racism and hatred abound. Yet, while it might appear that evil reigns, the sovereign God is in control. Such is the message of the book of Micah, a text that underscores God’s presence in the world, righting wrongs, delivering the marginalized, and restoring the intended order of creation. In this careful explication of the minor prophet, Dr Semwayo challenges those who would question the text’s unity, revealing Micah as a powerful theological reflection on the reestablishment of Yahweh’s sovereignty on earth. Connecting the Zion/Davidic traditions to the Abrahamic covenant, Semwayo articulates a vision of hope that is as relevant for us in the twenty-first century as it was for Micah’s original audience.

The biblical concept of the ‘Davidic Covenant’ in 2 Samuel and Ezekiel and its implications for African leadership
The biblical concept of the ‘Davidic Covenant’ in 2 Samuel and Ezekiel and its implications for African leadership

Author: Victor Lonu Budha

Publisher: AOSIS

Published: 2023-10-30

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1991271026

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Scholars have offered insight into the Davidic Covenant and the future hope for Israel. However, their works up to this point have overlooked a detailed influence of 2 Samuel 7 on Ezekiel 34 and 37. Therefore, reading the text of Ezekiel in relation to the original form of the Davidic Covenant may reveal further indications of the literary, theological and conceptual influence of 2 Samuel 7 and the help it provides in understanding the function of the promised ruler in Ezekiel 34 and 37. An intertextual approach proves to be relevant to establishing this influence. The intertextual approach used for the exegesis in this book establishes how biblical books are connected and proves the influence of the text of 2 Samuel on that of Ezekiel 34 and 37. The study of 2 Samuel 7 in relation to the Davidic Covenant underscores God’s faithfulness and concern for his people. Godly leadership is the kind of leadership that God desires for his people. Looking closely at the Davidic Covenant and God’s promises in Ezekiel’s text, we can see that they encompass important implications for African leadership.

A Shepherd's Song
A Shepherd's Song

Author: Michael Leo Samuel

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 9780615991320

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In an age of great spiritual disconnection and alienation from the deepest aspects of our souls, Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel's A Shepherd's Song: Psalm 23 and the Shepherd Metaphor in Jewish Thought, takes us on a spiritual journey through the luminous imagery of the shepherd archetype. The transformative power and message intimated by the shepherd metaphor and its history serves to remind us that we are not alone in a universe that is bereft of God's ethical Presence. Timeless and inspirational, the shepherd metaphor addresses the fundamental relationship between God and man, speaking directly to questions raised by centuries of persecution. What is the nature of suffering in a just universe? How does suffering alter our perceptions of God? How can we rediscover our faith in difficult and challenging times? Rabbi Samuel explores questions of faith that are as old as the story of Job and as modern as the Holocaust.

Sexual and Marital Metaphors in Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel
Sexual and Marital Metaphors in Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel

Author: Sharon Moughtin-Mumby

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2008-06-05

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0191528838

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Sharon Moughtin-Mumby considers the often unrecognised impact of different approaches to metaphor on readings of the prophtic sexual and marital metaphorical language. She outlines a practical and consciously simplified approach to metaphor, placing strong emphasis on the influence of literary context on metaphorical meaning. Drawing on this approach, she read Hosea 4-14, Jeremiah 2:1-4:4, Isaiah, Ezekiel 16 and 23, and Hosea 1-3 with fresh eyes. Her lucid new readings reveal the way in which scholarship has repeatedly stifled the prophetic metaphorical language by reading it within the 'default contexts' of 'the marriage metaphor' and 'cultic prostitution', which for so many years have been simply assumed. Readers are encouraged instead to read these diverse metaphors and similes within their distinctive literary contexts in which they have the potential to rise vividly to life, provoking the question: how are we to respond to these disquieting, powerful texts in the midst of the Hebrew Bible?

Swallowing the Scroll
Swallowing the Scroll

Author: Ellen F. Davis

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 1989-06-01

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 056731913X

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In this original study, Dr Davis argues that Ezekiel's place in the history of prophecy is overdue for reassessment. As against current views that Ezekiel represents the collapse of prophetism into priestly and scribal forms, she argues that something radically different in prophecy begins with Ezekiel. Ezekiel represents the creation of a new literary idiom for prophecy. He develops an archival speech form oriented less toward current events than to reshaping the tradition. He has taken a step backward from direct confrontation with an audience as the basic dynamic of communication, and has made the medium of prophecy not the person of the prophet but the text. Like the postexilic prophets, Ezekiel participated in the transformation of the social role of prophecy, and thereby saved himself from oblivion.

Preaching the Scriptures
Preaching the Scriptures

Author: Joel K. T. Biwul

Publisher: Langham Publishing

Published: 2018-01-31

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 178368402X

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The African church needs preachers who preach the Scriptures to bring people to Christ and nurture them in the faith. Yet many are failing at this task. Some use their sermons to promote themselves rather than Christ, while others do not know how to preach from the Scriptures. In Preaching the Scriptures Dr Joel Biwul addresses these problems. Using African stories and illustrations, he clearly sets out the process of preparing and delivering a sermon that is rooted in the Scriptures. He also provides sample sermons and outlines that will help preachers apply these principles in their own preaching preparation.

Shepherding God's Flock
Shepherding God's Flock

Author: Benjamin L. Merkle

Publisher: Kregel Publications

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0825442567

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A biblical, historical, theological, and practical foundation for pastoral leadership Pastors have been entrusted with leading the people of God. The shepherds of God’s flock must protect them from and guide them through the many dangers believers face. Although ultimately the Church is led by Christ, pastors are to provide godly examples of what it means to be a follower of the Lord. Consequently, who leads the church, the type of authority they are given, how they relate to one another, to whom they are accountable, and how they are selected are of utmost importance to the life and health of God’s people. This book provides the biblical, historical, theological, and practical foundation of the crucial task of leading God’s people.