Posts by Layton Talbert
Gender Questions (Part 2)
More questions about gender issues from an emailer. (See Gender Questions Part 1 for backstory.) Q: Scripture quotes Eve saying that she ate because she was deceived (Gen 3:13). Was she just blame-shifting or do 2 Cor. 11:3 and 1 Tim 2:13 corroborate her statement? She was, indeed, deceived. However, her deception doesn’t automatically mean…
Read MoreGender Questions (Part 1)
I’ve said it before. I get some of my most thought-provoking questions from emails. This emailer raised a number of issues about how Scripture impacts our view of women; questions, she says, “that have baffled me all of my life.” They’re valid, sincere questions that deserve scripturally informed answers. If we don’t take the initiative…
Read MoreThe Neglected Stepchild of the Bible
Layton Talbert FrontLine • May/June 2003 This column has previously addressed the neglected stepchild of the New Testament, the diminutive but beautiful Book of Philemon. But to another volume belongs the dubious distinction of being perhaps the most misunderstood (and often abused) stepchild of the sacred library as a whole, both Old and New Testaments.…
Read MoreEsther, Part 2: Theology, Purpose, and Problems
Layton Talbert FrontLine • November/December 2007 At a Glance: Ezra Part 1 ♦ Ezra Part 2 ♦ Nehemiah Part 1 ♦ Nehemiah Part 2 ♦ Esther Part 1 The Book of Esther is a classic of dramatic narrative laced with practical and theological implications, all the more subtle and insightful due to the book’s most…
Read MoreEsther, Part 1: Setting, Structure, and Themes
Layton Talbert FrontLine • September/October 2007 At a Glance: Ezra Part 1 ♦ Ezra Part 2 ♦ Nehemiah Part 1 ♦ Nehemiah Part 2 The last four installments of this column have surveyed the late historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The chronological companion of those two records is the book of Esther. This column…
Read MoreNEHEMIAH, Part 2: Reforming Messiah ’s People
Layton Talbert FrontLine • July/August 2007 At a Glance: Ezra Part 1 ♦ Ezra Part 2 ♦ Nehemiah Part 1 Opposition and delays in the work of God are always frustrating. It is easy to overemphasize our timetables and overestimate our importance to the work of God. We are short on time and are frustrated…
Read MoreNehemiah, Part 1: Restoring Messiah ’s City
Layton Talbert FrontLine • May/June 2007 At a Glance: Ezra Part 1 ♦ Ezra Part 2 This column recently explored the historical and theological significance of the book of Ezra. Ezra’s contemporary and political counterpart was Nehemiah. Persia’s King Artaxerxes commissioned both of these men to return to Jerusalem within a few years of each…
Read MoreEzra, Part 2
Layton Talbert FrontLine • March/April 2007 At A Glance – Ezra Part 1 All history is theological. Human history is the illustrated encyclopedia of the acts of God—a branch of general revelation and applied theology whereby God makes Himself known to any man who has eyes to see it and a Bible by which…
Read MoreEzra, Part 1
At A Glance Layton Talbert FrontLine • January/February 2007 A new year always carries with it the potential for a fresh start, a rededication to building (and in some cases, rebuilding) the work of God in your life. Ezra and Nehemiah are just such books of new beginning and (re)building. God had graciously brought His…
Read MoreThe Synonyms for the Word of God
Layton Talbert FrontLine 1994 Introduction Word, laws, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments-have you ever read passages in the Old Testament and wondered what the difference is between all these words for Scripture? Aren’t they just flowery, poetic ways of referring to the Bible with a variety of terms to avoid sounding redundant? If that is…
Read More