*How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Fee & Stuart
I. The Nature of Prophecy:
A. Foretelling is only one aspect of prophecy
Prophets are...
1. Less than 2% Messianic
2. Less than 5% New Covenant
3. Less than 1% still to come
4. Mostly predictions of immediate future
B. The Prophets are Spokespersons
a. They were to speak for God to the people
b. Many prophets are mentioned, but only 16 have their words written down (e. g. Elijah’s actions written down).
c. Often we don’t know the actions of these prophets.
d. Often the books are collections of spoken oracles, not always in order.
C. The Problem of History
1. We don’t know the history
2. We don’t know the culture
3. We don’t know the religious life of Israel
II. The Function of Prophecy
1. The prophets were “covenant enforcement mediators”
“Law enforcement officers”
--When the Law was given, there were blessings and curses included. See Lev. 26:1-13; Deut. 4:32-40; 28:1-14. Curses- Lev. 26:14-39, Deut. 4:15-28; 28:15-32:42
Blessings:
Life
Health
Prosperity
Agricultural abundance
Respect
Safety
Curses:
Death
Drought
Danger
Defeat
Destitution
Disease
Dearth
Destruction
Deportation
Disgrace
2. The prophets’ message was not their own, but God’s.
a. God raised them up-Isa. 6; Jer.1, Hos. 1:2…
b. “Thus says the Lord” --often first person
c. Hard things said: Jer. 27 & 28
3. The prophets’ message is unoriginal
a. Hosea 4:2
b. Messianic prophecies- Dt. 18:18
Understanding the Prophets
Five basic considerations
1. Primarily, prophets were God’s spokespersons
2. Secondarily, prophecy is about the future, and then it is usually about something to happen soon
3. The historical setting is often a problem
4. Prophets spoke judgment because the law had been broken.
5. The message is not original—just referring to the Law’s requirements.
The Exegetical Task
1. The need for outside help
Dictionaries-historical setting, outline
Commentaries-individual verses
Handbooks-combination
2. The historical context
What is the general historical setting for the prophets?
------the larger context-
The prophetical books 850-460 b.c.
These are times of turmoil:
Political, military, economic and social upheaval
Disobedience to God
Population movements, boundary changes
The North (Israel) was disobedient first
Amos & Hosea prophesied judgment
Assyria conquers them in 722 b.c.
Judah followed later
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, & Zephaniah
Babylon conquers Judah in 587 b.c.
Restoration to come (return from Exile)
Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi
------the specific context-
Example: Hosea 5:8-10
War Oracle
Alarm, attack, defeat
Date-734 b.c.
Audience- N. Israel (Ephraim)
Situation-2 Kings 16:2-9 Israel will be attacked because they attacked Judah, but Judah will also be punished for attacking Israel.
3. The isolation of individual oracles
Just as we look at the NT letters in paragraphs, we need to look at the prophets in oracles.
Haggai and Zechariah- the oracles are dated
Amos 5 (which is more normal) they are not
1-3 Lament Oracle, announcing punishment.
4-17 Oracle of invitation and warning of punishment.
18-27 Oracle warning of punishment.
4. The forms of prophetic utterance
1. The lawsuit Isa 3:13-26 (Hos. 3:3-17)
2. The woe Habakkuk 2:6-8 (Micah 2:1-5)
3. The promise Amos 9:11-15 (Hos 2:16-20)
5. The prophets as poets
---a. Synonymous Parallelism Isa 44:22
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
---b. Antithetical Parallelism
Hosea 7:14
They do not cry out to me from their hearts
but wail upon their beds.
---c. Synthetic parallelism
Obadiah 21
Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the LORD'S.
Hermeneutical Suggestions
The prophets are telling the Israelites how they have broken the Mosaic law. How can what they said then apply to us now?
---Love God-no idolatry
What serves as our idols today?
---Love your neighbor as yourself-
How do people not show concern for their neighbor today?
How can we show love?
1. The prophet as foreteller of the future
---Sometimes the future is divided into two parts
Ezekiel 25-39 foretells the destruction of several nations, which happens within 100 years
Ezekiel 37:15-28 Blessings of the Messiah inserted
Zephaniah 3:8-9 speaks of a final judgment
2. Prophecy and 2nd meanings: Ex 17:1-7 and 1 Cor. 10:4
3. Dual emphasis on orthodoxy (correct belief) and orthopraxy (correct action)
James 1:27, 2:18, Eph. 2:8-10
Examples in Zephaniah
1. Primarily, prophets were God’s spokespersons
2. Secondarily, prophecy is about the future, and then it is usually about something to happen soon
3. The historical setting is often a problem
4. Prophets spoke judgment because the law had been broken.
5. The message is not original—just referring to the Law’s requirements.
-The need for outside help
-The historical context –specific & general
-The isolation of individual oracles
-The forms of prophetic utterance
-The prophets as poets
----Application
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Law: Conditions of the Covenant w/ Israel
Six Initial Guidelines
1. The OT Law is a Covenant
between an Overlord & vassal/servant
6 parts:
Preamble- “I am the Lord your God”
Prologue- “I brought you out of the land of Egypt…”
Stipulations- the laws
Witnesses- the Lord, heaven and earth
Sanctions- blessings and curses (Lev. 26)
Document clause- regular review of agreement
2. The OT is not our Testament
Rom. 6:14-15 …you are not under law, but under grace
3. Some stipulations of the OT Covenant have clearly not been renewed in the New Covenant.
Civil laws- apply to citizens of ancient Israel (punishments for stealing, murder...)
Ritual laws- how to worship
4. Part of the OT Covenant is renewed in the New Covenant.
Do not murder ….Jesus… Do not be angry with your brother
Do not commit adultery…Jesus… Do not think lustful thoughts
Divorce w/ certificate …Jesus… Do not divorce (ex. unfaithfulness)
Do not break your oath…Jesus…Do not make an oath.
Matthew 5:21 ff. Jesus has redefined the laws
5. All of the OT law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.
6. Only that which is explicitly renewed from the OT law can be considered part of the NT “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)
The only laws renewed in the NT:
Ten commandments
Loving God and our neighbor
The Role of the Law in Israel and in the Bible
Apodictic law -do or do not- Lev.19:9-14
Setting a standard by an example
Not detailed, but gives the spirit of the law
“The Law shows us how impossible it is to please God on our own.” There is no way that we can meet his standards.
Lev. 19:9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Case by case (Casuistic)
Conditional; more general
Deut. 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
What can we learn from these laws?
1. Slavery not brutal
2. God loves slaves
3. Slaves could be better off than if free
4. The slave owner didn’t own the slaves completely
-We learn the background of redemption
-What OT slavery was like
-A perspective on God’s love
The OT Law and Other Ancient Law Codes
Compared to other law codes the OT is superior:
Laws of Eshnunna (Akkadia): (See p. 159)
Law Code of Hammurabi (Babylon)
OT Law-The OT treats all equally, it doesn't matter if you are from the nobility or a slave, your punishment was the same. In addition, you would not be punished for the sin of your father.
The OT Law as Benefit to Israel
Food laws:
Lev. 11:7 Pork prohibited
Reasons:
disease
uneconomical
pagan connections
1. General Health laws
Pagan prescriptions: lizard’s blood, swine’s teeth, putrid meat and dung. The OT advice is much healthier to say the least!
Examples:
Circumcision
Washing
Quarantine
2. Laws about the shedding of blood
Ex 29:10-12 “Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting… But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin offering.”
Ex 30:10 “Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”
LEV 4:13, 14 “ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD'S commands …they are guilty…the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering.
These laws show that...
Sin deserves punishment
Substitution allowed
Precedent set for Christ’s sacrifice for us
3. Unusual Prohibitions
Deut. 14:21 Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. These often have to do with forbidding pagan practices.
4. Laws giving blessing to those who keep them
Dt. 14:28-29 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce … so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Summary of Major Points
1. OT law is God’s word for you but not his command to you.
2. It is the basis for the Old Covenant, but is not binding except where specifically renewed.
3. See God’s justice, and love shown in the law; also see that God is merciful.
4. The law is not comprehensive but gives examples of how we are to behave.
5. Although it will not be quoted in the prophets or the NT, the essence of it will be.
6. It is a gift to Israel and brings blessing when obeyed.
1. The OT Law is a Covenant
between an Overlord & vassal/servant
6 parts:
Preamble- “I am the Lord your God”
Prologue- “I brought you out of the land of Egypt…”
Stipulations- the laws
Witnesses- the Lord, heaven and earth
Sanctions- blessings and curses (Lev. 26)
Document clause- regular review of agreement
2. The OT is not our Testament
Rom. 6:14-15 …you are not under law, but under grace
3. Some stipulations of the OT Covenant have clearly not been renewed in the New Covenant.
Civil laws- apply to citizens of ancient Israel (punishments for stealing, murder...)
Ritual laws- how to worship
4. Part of the OT Covenant is renewed in the New Covenant.
Do not murder ….Jesus… Do not be angry with your brother
Do not commit adultery…Jesus… Do not think lustful thoughts
Divorce w/ certificate …Jesus… Do not divorce (ex. unfaithfulness)
Do not break your oath…Jesus…Do not make an oath.
Matthew 5:21 ff. Jesus has redefined the laws
5. All of the OT law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.
6. Only that which is explicitly renewed from the OT law can be considered part of the NT “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)
The only laws renewed in the NT:
Ten commandments
Loving God and our neighbor
The Role of the Law in Israel and in the Bible
Apodictic law -do or do not- Lev.19:9-14
Setting a standard by an example
Not detailed, but gives the spirit of the law
“The Law shows us how impossible it is to please God on our own.” There is no way that we can meet his standards.
Lev. 19:9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Case by case (Casuistic)
Conditional; more general
Deut. 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
What can we learn from these laws?
1. Slavery not brutal
2. God loves slaves
3. Slaves could be better off than if free
4. The slave owner didn’t own the slaves completely
-We learn the background of redemption
-What OT slavery was like
-A perspective on God’s love
The OT Law and Other Ancient Law Codes
Compared to other law codes the OT is superior:
Laws of Eshnunna (Akkadia): (See p. 159)
Law Code of Hammurabi (Babylon)
OT Law-The OT treats all equally, it doesn't matter if you are from the nobility or a slave, your punishment was the same. In addition, you would not be punished for the sin of your father.
The OT Law as Benefit to Israel
Food laws:
Lev. 11:7 Pork prohibited
Reasons:
disease
uneconomical
pagan connections
1. General Health laws
Pagan prescriptions: lizard’s blood, swine’s teeth, putrid meat and dung. The OT advice is much healthier to say the least!
Examples:
Circumcision
Washing
Quarantine
2. Laws about the shedding of blood
Ex 29:10-12 “Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting… But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin offering.”
Ex 30:10 “Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”
LEV 4:13, 14 “ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD'S commands …they are guilty…the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering.
These laws show that...
Sin deserves punishment
Substitution allowed
Precedent set for Christ’s sacrifice for us
3. Unusual Prohibitions
Deut. 14:21 Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. These often have to do with forbidding pagan practices.
4. Laws giving blessing to those who keep them
Dt. 14:28-29 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce … so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Summary of Major Points
1. OT law is God’s word for you but not his command to you.
2. It is the basis for the Old Covenant, but is not binding except where specifically renewed.
3. See God’s justice, and love shown in the law; also see that God is merciful.
4. The law is not comprehensive but gives examples of how we are to behave.
5. Although it will not be quoted in the prophets or the NT, the essence of it will be.
6. It is a gift to Israel and brings blessing when obeyed.
The Parables
The Parables: Do you Get the Point? (Fee & Stuart)
I. How were the Parables Interpreted in History?
Augustine’s interpretation of the Good Samaritan—the allegorical meaning.
It is supposed to have a hidden meaning, right?
Mark 4:10-12
Man ---Adam
Jerusalem--- heavenly city of peace
Jericho--- moon, mortality
Thieves--- devil and his angels
Stripped--- of immortality
Beat him--- by persuading him to sin
Priest and Levite--- priesthood of the OT
Samaritan--- Christ
So what is the mystery? His whole ministry was a riddle to them
II. What is the Nature of the Parables?
---What are the different kinds of “parables”?
Good Samaritan—true parable
also the Prodigal son, the Great Supper
What makes them a true parable vrs The Leaven in the Meal?
It’s a similitude
You are the salt of the earth—metaphors and similes
There is a story in a true parable, a beginning and an end
Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-11) may seem to be an allegory, but it doesn’t have the same function as an allegory
---How do the Parables Function?
Not used to illustrate teaching
They are a means of “calling forth a response”
Jokes call for a response, but if you have to explain them, you lose the impact that you intended
It’s the same with parables—how do we bring the same impact that they had?
III. The Exegesis the Parables-How does one determine the intent of the Parables?
---Find the Points of Reference
Luke 7:40-42
Moneylender=
Debtor 1=
Debtor 2=
Both Simon and the harlot hear the story and come away with different points
Why isn’t this an allegory? (like Pilgrim’s Progress, Animal Farm)
In an allegory each part of the story has a meaning which has nothing to do with the story itself. The 500 denarii and the 50 denarii would stand for something else.
In a parable, there are only basic points of reference
Secondly, the parable draws out a response
---Identifying the Audience
How do we interpret, or understand a parable? We need to know the audience.
---If the Audience is given:
1) read the parable several times
2) identify who is referred to in the parable
3) determine how the audience would have understood it
Understanding the cultural factors is very important.
---The Contextless Parables
Matthew 20:1-16
Determine the Points of Reference in the Parable
The Original Audience should make itself evident
Matthew 18:12-14 (compare to Luke)
---The Parables of the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is like…not just a mustard seed, but is like the whole parable
The Sower: Mark 4:3-20
Addressed to potential disciples
Already/not yet aspect of the Kingdom: They are being urged to join the kingdom
Unjust steward Luke 16:1-8 "The urgency of the hour demands action"
I. How were the Parables Interpreted in History?
Augustine’s interpretation of the Good Samaritan—the allegorical meaning.
It is supposed to have a hidden meaning, right?
Mark 4:10-12
Man ---Adam
Jerusalem--- heavenly city of peace
Jericho--- moon, mortality
Thieves--- devil and his angels
Stripped--- of immortality
Beat him--- by persuading him to sin
Priest and Levite--- priesthood of the OT
Samaritan--- Christ
So what is the mystery? His whole ministry was a riddle to them
II. What is the Nature of the Parables?
---What are the different kinds of “parables”?
Good Samaritan—true parable
also the Prodigal son, the Great Supper
What makes them a true parable vrs The Leaven in the Meal?
It’s a similitude
You are the salt of the earth—metaphors and similes
There is a story in a true parable, a beginning and an end
Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-11) may seem to be an allegory, but it doesn’t have the same function as an allegory
---How do the Parables Function?
Not used to illustrate teaching
They are a means of “calling forth a response”
Jokes call for a response, but if you have to explain them, you lose the impact that you intended
It’s the same with parables—how do we bring the same impact that they had?
III. The Exegesis the Parables-How does one determine the intent of the Parables?
---Find the Points of Reference
Luke 7:40-42
Moneylender=
Debtor 1=
Debtor 2=
Both Simon and the harlot hear the story and come away with different points
Why isn’t this an allegory? (like Pilgrim’s Progress, Animal Farm)
In an allegory each part of the story has a meaning which has nothing to do with the story itself. The 500 denarii and the 50 denarii would stand for something else.
In a parable, there are only basic points of reference
Secondly, the parable draws out a response
---Identifying the Audience
How do we interpret, or understand a parable? We need to know the audience.
---If the Audience is given:
1) read the parable several times
2) identify who is referred to in the parable
3) determine how the audience would have understood it
Understanding the cultural factors is very important.
---The Contextless Parables
Matthew 20:1-16
Determine the Points of Reference in the Parable
The Original Audience should make itself evident
Matthew 18:12-14 (compare to Luke)
---The Parables of the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is like…not just a mustard seed, but is like the whole parable
The Sower: Mark 4:3-20
Addressed to potential disciples
Already/not yet aspect of the Kingdom: They are being urged to join the kingdom
Unjust steward Luke 16:1-8 "The urgency of the hour demands action"
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