The Reformed Olive Press

L evirate Marriage and the Pressure Points in Ancient Monogamy The law of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5–10 is often misunderstood in modern discussions about marriage systems in the Hebrew Bible. At its core, it addresses a specific problem in an ancient kinship society: what happens when a man dies without leaving an heir. In that world, inheritance was not just personal wealth—it was tied to land, family identity, and survival within a tribal structure. A family line without an heir risked extinction, and land could effectively leave the family unit. The levirate law responds to that crisis by requiring a close male relative—typically a brother—to step in and produce offspring that would legally carry the name of the deceased. From a modern perspective, this creates tension with the idea of monogamous marriage as a self-contained unit. The surviving brother is already married in many cases, yet the law introduces an obligation that reaches beyond that existing union and ties ...

  The Little Ones in Numbers 31  The narrative in Numbers 31 is one of the most ethically and interpretively challenging passages in the Hebrew Bible, largely because of how it categorizes women and children in the aftermath of war. The text describes Israel’s conflict with Midian and includes instructions for how different groups of captives are to be treated, particularly distinguishing between males, sexually experienced women, and females who “have not known a man.” This raises the central interpretive question: are the females spared in the narrative children, or simply unmarried women? A key part of the discussion turns on the Hebrew term often translated “little ones,” which is ṭaf (טַף). Across the Hebrew Bible, this word appears well over forty times and consistently functions as a category for children or dependents within a household. It is regularly used in lists that distinguish men, women, children, and livestock, reflecting an ancient social structure organized ...

The Sabbath We Enforce—And the One We Ignore Few topics expose inconsistency quite like the Sabbath. On one hand, many insist that the Sabbath remains a binding command—rooted in creation, written in stone, and never revoked. On the other hand, the way it is actually practiced today looks nothing like the seriousness Scripture attaches to it. The tension is hard to ignore. A Man Killed for Picking Up Sticks In Numbers 15:32–36, we are confronted with a sobering account: a man gathers sticks on the Sabbath and is put to death at God’s command. No ambiguity. No warning system. No “grace period.” The act itself—picking up sticks—seems small. But the response is severe. Why? Because the Sabbath was not merely a suggestion. It was a covenantal sign, a visible marker of Israel’s obedience and loyalty. To violate it was to defy God’s order. If we take that passage seriously, then the Sabbath is not a casual or symbolic command. It carries weight—real weight. Yet this creates an even sharper t...

Luke and John on the Holy Spirit: A Tension in the Timing of Empowerment? One of the most discussed issues in New Testament harmonization is the differing presentation of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John. A key point of tension is that John describes Jesus giving the Spirit to the disciples in a post-resurrection appearance (John 20:22), while Luke’s narrative does not include this event and instead locates the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost in Acts 2. This raises the question: are these accounts describing different events, or are they presenting incompatible timelines? In Gospel of John 20:22, the resurrected Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This moment appears immediate and decisive, suggesting that the disciples are already empowered and commissioned. This fits within John’s broader theological framework where the Spirit is closely tied to Jesus’ ongoing presence and authority. Earlier in John, the Spirit is promi...

The Jerusalem Council and Gentile Sabbath  The meeting often called the Council of Jerusalem stands in the New Testament as a clear and decisive moment. In Acts 15, the leaders of the early Jesus movement gather to resolve a fundamental question: what is required of Gentiles who are turning to Israel’s God? The outcome is not ambiguous. A formal ruling is issued, written down, and sent out to Gentile communities. The instructions are specific—abstain from idolatry, from sexual immorality, from blood, and from what is strangled. There is no indication that these requirements are temporary, optional, or dependent on circumstances. They are presented as a binding standard. Once such an agreement is made, the expectation is straightforward. Those who participated in the decision, and those who receive it, are meant to uphold it. There is no room in the text for quiet modification or private reinterpretation. An agreement of this kind carries authority precisely because it is public, co...