The Psalms

 The Psalms have been a favorite book of the Bible for a long time. It is because the Psalms express in poetic language every kind of feeling and express every kind of prayer. They have been important:

• To learn how to express ourselves to God.
• To help us think about God and his ways.

Here are some things to remember when reading the Psalms

1. Psalms are Poetic, which means that they address the mind through the heart. It is important to treat them as poetry – a literalistic reading can cause silly conclusions. (Should we send tape recorders into space because of Psalm 19:1?) :

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2. Psalms are Musical – the ascriptions are added to indicate melodies. The term “selah” probably refers to a musical interlude. (e.g. Ps 89)

3. Psalms are Metaphorical – So it is important to take care to see what was intended by the psalm, not to make it mean whatever you might want it to mean. (Psalm 23:2 is about God’s care for us, it is not an argument for living in the country.)

4. The Psalms are arranged in 5 books. (1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150). It is not clear why, though it is traditional to think of these corresponding to the 5 books of Moses. Psalm 1 introduces the whole book. Psalm 146-150 are a review of the previous psalms – they contain “the best of” what came in 1-145.

5. Psalms come in types. Each type of psalm has its own subject matter and usually follows a form. (E.g. Lament, Thanksgiving, Praise, Salvation History, Celebration, Wisdom and Trust.).

6. For the most part, each Psalm is its own literary unit. There are some sub-collections (e.g. 120-134), but mostly each Psalm should be read individually.

7. Psalms should first be read for how they fit into Old Testament history. Then we can see a New Testament application. Some NT applications are clear (Ps. 22) and others are suggested (Ps. 110).

Types of Psalms

Laments. There are 60 of these, some are individual and some are for the nation. Laments express the struggles people had and how they expressed their concerns to God. (E.g. Ps 3 – individual; Ps 12 – national)

Thanksgiving. These express joy to the Lord because something ahs gone well. There are 6 community and 10 individual psalms in this group. (E.g. Ps 67 and 30)

Hymns of Praise. A “hymn” is neither a song nor a type of song; it is an expression of praise to God for who he is and what he has done. (E.g. Ps 8, 100)

Salvation History. These re-tell what God has done among the people of Israel. (E.g. Ps 105, 106)

Celebration and Affirmation. These might speak of God’s covenant (Ps. 89), the King (Ps. 2), the King’s enthronement (Ps 95) or Zion (Ps. 48).

Wisdom. These compare to the book of Proverbs and celebrate the value of wisdom. (E.g. Ps 73)

Trust. These remind us that God is to be trusted even in difficult times.

Practice: Psalm 138 is a Thanksgiving Psalm. These usually have 5 parts. See if you can identify these parts in Psalm 138:

Introduction

Distress

Appeal

Deliverance

Testimony

Psalm 3 is a Lament, which usually has 6 parts:

Address

Complaint

Trust

Deliverance

Assurance

Praise

Look at the index to either a Hymn Book or a Contemporary Praise Song collection, and look at how many references there are to the Psalms.  Pick a Hymn or Chorus and try to see how closely the writer stayed to the Psalm.

O.T. Prophecy

 Prophecy is not really about the future. The Prophets spoke the Word of God to the People of God. Their main point was to remind them of God’s laws, warn them of future punishments or promise them of future rewards.Of all the prophetic material:

• Less than 2% is about the MessiahLess
• The than 5% is about the New Covenant
• Less than1% is about our future (opinions vary depending on your theological system)

Remember that much that was predicted by the author was future to them, but is in the past from our point of view.

Prophets

· Come in 2 main groups. Some SPOKE to the people, and we know them more from their biographies. Examples are Elijah and Elisha. Others WROTE, and we know little about their biographies. An example is Amos.

· The Writing Prophets are divided into Major and Minor. The Major Prophets include the books of: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel. The Minor Prophets are all of the remaining 12 books. This distinction is based on the length of the books. The “Minor Prophets” were in a single book in the Hebrew bible called “The Twelve”.

· The prophets apply the blessings (e.g. Lev 16:1-13, Deut 4:32-40; 38:1-14) and the curses (Lev 26:14-39; Deut 4:15-28; 28:15-32, 42) from the O.T. covenant law.

· Therefore they did not invent their teaching, but restated what was already known – although they did this creatively and each prophet has his own style.

· “Oracles” are the inspired utterances that the Prophets gave in different times and places. Each speech is an “oracle.” These oracles were collected together in the books of Prophecy. When reading Prophecy, think “oracle” just as you think “paragraph” when reading a narrative. (Amos 5 has three oracles: v. 1-3; v. 4-17 and v. 18-27).

· It is helpful to use Bible Dictionaries, Commentaries and Handbooks to discover the situation for each oracle. It is difficult to just read through a book like Isaiah.

· The written Prophets were concentrated between 760 B.C. (Amos) and 460 B.C. (Malachi). These were times of social upheaval, religious unfaithfulness and changes in national boundaries. Literary form of the Prophets:

•  Lawsuit (Isaiah 3:13-26) where the sins of the people are treated as if they were presented in court.
•  The Woe, which is an expression of grief over the doom that was about to come. (Habakkuk 2:6-8)
•   The Promise includes references to the future, to radical change and to blessings. (Amos 9:11-15).   
• Poetry. We are most familiar with meter and rhyme in English poetry. In Hebrew the most familiar form is Parallelism. This is where two or more statements are set beside each other. “Synonymous Parallelism” is where the second line agrees and restates the first. (Isaiah 44:22) “Antithetical Parallelism” is where the second line contrasts with the first.(Hosea 7:14) “Synthetic Parallelism” is where the second line gives further information. (Obadiah 21)

· Sometimes the N.T. seems to give a “fuller meaning” to the text. This can only be done with certainty where the author was inspired by God. So be careful of drawing out these meanings. (I Corinthians 10:4; Exodus 17; Numbers 20) 

Time

· The Prophets are not always clear about the sequence of events. Things that are near in time are mixed with things that are distant events. An example is Jesus reading the scriptures in the Synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-20). He read Isaiah 60:1,2a. Look at Isaiah 60:2b and see why he stopped there. · It is helpful to see that what from one angle appears as a single object, may be seen as two from a side view. For example, if you look from the side at a mountain range, it may look like one mountain. If you look from the front, you will see that there are two or more mountains. From reading an O.T. text, it may look like it refers to one event, but from the New Testament perspective, we can see that it may refer to two events. This explains why Jesus first Advent is resembles the Servant of the Lord, and his Second Advent resembles the Victorious Lord.

O.T. Law

             The O.T. contains over 600 specific laws.  These are found from Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments) through the end of Deuteronomy.  The word “Law” in the O.T. can mean:

 ·        The Books of Moses (Genesis – Deuteronomy – see Joshua 1:8).

·        The whole Old Testament (see Matthew 5:17-18).

·        The material from Exodus 20 through Deuteronomy.  We will use the third meaning in this study. 

The Christian and the OT – Six Guidelines

1.      The OT law is a covenant.  A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties.  In return for the benefits and protection God gave, Israel was expected to keep over 600 commandments.

2.      The OT is not our Testament.  “Testament” is another word for “Covenant”.  We start with the assumption that none of its laws are binding on us unless they are renewed in the New Testament.  The idea of showing loyalty to God remains, but the HOW has changed.

3.      Some OT Laws have NOT been renewed in the NT.  First, the Civil Laws, which specify penalties for various crimes do not apply to us.  Second, the Ritual Laws having to do with worship of God, such as the priesthood and the sacrifices, do not apply to us.

4.      Part of the OT is renewed in the NT. Some parts of the Ethical law are restated in the NT.  The Two Greatest Commandments are restated by Jesus (Dt. 6:5; Lev 19:18; Mt 22:40).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reapplied some OT laws. (Mt 5).

5.      All of the OT law is still part of the Word of God.  We are not obligated by covenant to keep these laws, but they serve to instruct us on the character of God and of righteousness.

6.      Only that which is clearly renewed from the OT Law can be considered part of the NT.  Included here would be the Ten Commandments, since they are cited in various ways as being still binding (Mt 5:21-37; Jn 7:23), and the Two Greatest Commandments (Mt 22:34-40)   

Observations about the Old Testament: The Law did not save in the OT, but it both brought people to an awareness of their need (the sacrifices) and guided them in righteous living.  Note that Israel was already “saved” from
Egypt when they received the Law in Exodus 20.  The Food Laws often make good sense from the standpoint of health – eating pork can be dangerous even in our day if not properly stored and cooked. Blood Sacrifices set out the principle, set out in Hebrews 9:22, that God would accept the death of one living being as the penalty for the sins of another.  Christ’s death, as a substitute for us, brought an end to these commands because he fulfilled them completely. (Heb 9:12) Unusual Prohibitions, such as Dt 14:21 or Lev 19:28, were often given so thatIsrael would avoid the practices of the Canaanites.  In Summary:

·        DO see the OT as God’s inspired word, but DO NOT see them as God’s direct command to you. ·        DO see the OT law as the basis for the OT Covenant with
Israel, but DO NOT see the OT Law as binding on Christians, unless specifically renewed.

·        DO see God’s justice, love and high standards revealed in the OT Law, but DO NOT forget that God’s Mercy triumphs over judgment.

·        DO NOT see the OT as a complete guide to life, but see it as a model that provides examples for a wide range of behaviors.

·        DO see that the 10 Commandments and the 2 Greatest Commandments are repeated in the NT

·        Do see that the Law is a gift.  (Psalm 19:7-14; Psalm 119) 

Homework:

Read Leviticus 19:1-18 Briefly list what is commanded

·        Put a + next to those that are binding on Christians

 ·        Put a X by those that are not ·        If you don’t know put a ?

·        If you think it is a good idea put a ☺                                                                                             

Reading Narratives

             Narratives are stories.  The Bible is 40% Narrative.  So it is important to understand how to read these kinds of passages.

            It is important to see how a particular narrative fits into the larger picture of God’s plan in the world.  Individual stories can be part of larger narratives.  For example, the “Sacrifice of Isaac” in Genesis 22 is part of the “Abraham Narrative” in the Book of Genesis.  It is important to read that story in the light of the whole section of Abraham, then in relation to the Book of Genesis, then in relation to the whole Bible.

            Narratives are NOT: 

            Just Stories about people.  We love to tell stories because when they are well told, they are fun to hear.  Have you noticed how you will tell the same stories to your friends and family, and the retelling is just as fun as the first telling.  Biblical stories are not mere entertainment; they talk in some way about God’s work in history.

            Allegories, that is stories filled with symbols, where everything is supposed to represent something else.  The Wizard of Oz is an extended allegory, as is Gulliver’s Travels.  Biblical narratives have meaning at the plain and historical level.  One should not always seek hidden or spiritual meanings.  For example, a story about catching 153 fish has been speculated upon in history – what symbolic meaning is there for 153 fish.   In this case 153 simply means 153.

            Moral Lessons.  We are accustomed to treat biblical stories as if they are one of Aesop’s Fables. Be careful in taking the story out of context and adding a meaning to it that suits your fancy.  (e.g. “The story of David and Goliath shows that the Cubs could win the World Series”). Be careful in taking the experience of people in the past and saying that it is what we should do in the present. (e.g.  “The church in
Jerusalem all spoke in other languages in Acts 2, so should you!”) 

            Ten principles for reading Narratives:

1. They do not usually teach a doctrine.
2. They usually illustrate a doctrine taught clearly elsewhere in the Bible
3. They record what happened, not necessarily what should have happened.
4. What people did in the Bible is not necessarily an example to follow.
5. The people in the Bible are less than perfect
6. They do not always interpret themselves; we are expected to be able to judge what happened on the basis of Biblical teaching.
7. Narratives are selective in what is included; don’t obsess over what is not said.
8. They are not written to answer every theological question
9. They can teach explicitly, by clearly stating something, or implicitly, but showing without saying.
10. In the final analysis, God is the hero in all the biblical narratives.

Avoid These Mistakes:

·        Allegorizing – which is giving every word or object a hidden meaning.

·        Taking out of context – You can “make” a text say anything if you ignore how the author used it to make a certain point.

·        Selectivity – where you ignore parts of the story to highlight others

·        False Combination – putting things together to create a false meaning. 

·        Redefinition – changing the intended meaning into your preferred meaning.

·        Using Extra-biblical authority

·        Moralizing – creating a moral that is not stated or implied

·        Individualizing – reading the Bible as if it is just for you.

·        Present-ism – evaluating the past by present standards of taste or morality.

Practice Passage

Genesis 22 – Abraham and Isaac

 

Genesis 22:1-24 ESV

    After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” [2] He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” [3] So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. [4] On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. [5] Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. [7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” [8] Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
    [9] When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. [10] Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” [12] He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” [13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
    [15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven [16] and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, [18] and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” [19] So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
    [20] Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: [21] Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, [22] Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” [23] (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. [24] Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

   

 

Read the Chapter several times.

Think about how it fits into Genesis 11-25.

Look for “interpretive clues”

Ask Questions

Draw it out if you like

Compare translations

FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR IDEAS

FRESH READ

  

How to Read the Bible – Class Syllabus

Live at the church, and through the wonders of cyberspace, we will offer a class this fall called “How the Read the Bible”. The text for class presentations will be based on the book “How to Read the Bible for all it is Worth” by Gordon Fee and Douglass Stewart (Zondervan).

Here are the topics to be covered and discussed both live and over this blogspace.

• Picking a Bible
• OT Narrative
• OT Law
• OT Prophecy
• OT Psalms
• OT Wisdom
• NT Gospel
• NT Parables
• NT Acts
• NT Epistles
• NT Revelation

The live class starts at Bethany Church (www.bethanyfreechurch.org) in Madison on September 10. The Cyber-Class will coincide. Feel free to interact will all postings. Notes will be listed on the right side under HTRB.