RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
Vanderwaal, Cornelius. *Samuel to Esther*. Search the Scriptures.
It is unfortunate that our Dutch brothers are sometimes known as "Ain't Dutch, Ain't Much," often leaving their influence insulated among their communities. Cornelius Vanderwaal's Search the Scriptures series has much to offer the lay reader. Even better, it is free online. https://reformationaldl.wordpress.com/category/vanderwaal-c/
I and II Samuel
Emphasis on three offices: priest, king, and prophet
Hannah sang of the promised King.
Main idea: "Throughout Samuel we see a movement of a deformed style of worship at Shiloh to a reformed worship community at Jerusalem" (11).
I Samuel 8
Vanderwaal notes: "The Israelites were asking for a king along Canaanite lines" (16). They did not reject Yahweh because they asked for a king. Yahweh had already promised them one (Gen. 49; Deut 17; Hannah's Song). It was the type of king that they wanted that was the problem. They wanted, to use a phrase which Vanderwaal will note later of the Caananites, "a blood and soil" king. What Yahweh had promised, by contrast, was one who would be a servant of the covenant and a brother to his people. What they got was Saul, someone who did not come from Judah's line, the line of promise.
As Vanderwaal notes, "Yahweh's king would subject himself to God's law and be a brother to the Israelites" (17). He would point to and disclose Yahweh's own kingship. Vanderwaal does not call attention to it, but another line of thought strengthens his case: the system of Judges, even by the book of Judges' own account, was not working. The ending of Judges notes "there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes." We are tempted to look at that and think that the period had degenerated, and it had. But the most revolting scene in Judges, the one where Israelites were dismembering prostitutes and concubines and wiping out cities, does not happen at the end of the period, but at the very beginning. God's people needed a king. They just asked at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
*David's House: The Covenant in Hyperdrive*
In response to David's request to build God's house, God promises David that he will build a house for him (2 Samuel 7). When read with Psalm 89, the Messianic promise, always in the background, now comes to the fore.
Commenting on Absalom's rebellion, Vanderwaal writes a very poignant passage:
"Much later one of David's descendants also climbed the Mt of Olives. He, too, was betrayed by one of his counselors...When David fled from Jerusalem reproaching himself, he was burdened with his own guilt. When Christ entered Jerusalem...He was burdened with the sins of his chosen ones" (36).
**1 and 2 Kings**
When Elijah was in the cave and heard the fire, the earthquake, and the strong wind, Vanderwaal notes they are the three signs of covenant judgment (54). It is a fascinating idea, but he does not develop his point.
He notes that when King Mesha of Moab sacrificed his son, and "wrath came upon Israel" (and not upon Mesha, oddly enough), it was because Israel had engaged in "scorched earth" tactics, harming the trees of the land and violating God's law.
**1 and 2 Chronicles: A Kingdom of Singing Priests**
The main idea: "all Israel," true Israel, is gathering around David and the temple (72-73).
**Conclusion**
Biblical surveys are hit and miss--usually miss. And while Vanderwaal's treatment is underdeveloped in many areas, it is nonetheless fun to read. He is strong on seeing covenantal themes, and the covenant keeps the theologian from arid speculations--well, Vanderwaal's views on the covenant, anyway.
It is unfortunate that our Dutch brothers are sometimes known as "Ain't Dutch, Ain't Much," often leaving their influence insulated among their communities. Cornelius Vanderwaal's Search the Scriptures series has much to offer the lay reader. Even better, it is free online. https://reformationaldl.wordpress.com/category/vanderwaal-c/
I and II Samuel
Emphasis on three offices: priest, king, and prophet
Hannah sang of the promised King.
Main idea: "Throughout Samuel we see a movement of a deformed style of worship at Shiloh to a reformed worship community at Jerusalem" (11).
I Samuel 8
Vanderwaal notes: "The Israelites were asking for a king along Canaanite lines" (16). They did not reject Yahweh because they asked for a king. Yahweh had already promised them one (Gen. 49; Deut 17; Hannah's Song). It was the type of king that they wanted that was the problem. They wanted, to use a phrase which Vanderwaal will note later of the Caananites, "a blood and soil" king. What Yahweh had promised, by contrast, was one who would be a servant of the covenant and a brother to his people. What they got was Saul, someone who did not come from Judah's line, the line of promise.
As Vanderwaal notes, "Yahweh's king would subject himself to God's law and be a brother to the Israelites" (17). He would point to and disclose Yahweh's own kingship. Vanderwaal does not call attention to it, but another line of thought strengthens his case: the system of Judges, even by the book of Judges' own account, was not working. The ending of Judges notes "there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes." We are tempted to look at that and think that the period had degenerated, and it had. But the most revolting scene in Judges, the one where Israelites were dismembering prostitutes and concubines and wiping out cities, does not happen at the end of the period, but at the very beginning. God's people needed a king. They just asked at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
*David's House: The Covenant in Hyperdrive*
In response to David's request to build God's house, God promises David that he will build a house for him (2 Samuel 7). When read with Psalm 89, the Messianic promise, always in the background, now comes to the fore.
Commenting on Absalom's rebellion, Vanderwaal writes a very poignant passage:
"Much later one of David's descendants also climbed the Mt of Olives. He, too, was betrayed by one of his counselors...When David fled from Jerusalem reproaching himself, he was burdened with his own guilt. When Christ entered Jerusalem...He was burdened with the sins of his chosen ones" (36).
**1 and 2 Kings**
When Elijah was in the cave and heard the fire, the earthquake, and the strong wind, Vanderwaal notes they are the three signs of covenant judgment (54). It is a fascinating idea, but he does not develop his point.
He notes that when King Mesha of Moab sacrificed his son, and "wrath came upon Israel" (and not upon Mesha, oddly enough), it was because Israel had engaged in "scorched earth" tactics, harming the trees of the land and violating God's law.
**1 and 2 Chronicles: A Kingdom of Singing Priests**
The main idea: "all Israel," true Israel, is gathering around David and the temple (72-73).
**Conclusion**
Biblical surveys are hit and miss--usually miss. And while Vanderwaal's treatment is underdeveloped in many areas, it is nonetheless fun to read. He is strong on seeing covenantal themes, and the covenant keeps the theologian from arid speculations--well, Vanderwaal's views on the covenant, anyway.
