The Stuff You Didn't Know You Didn't Know Part 2

Interpreting Exodus

Summary:

When you have a text of Scripture, there are multiple ways to study and/or present It. A devotional study is going to look different than a Connection Group class which will look different from a sermon. Interpretation is all about getting at the original core meaning of the text. What is the main point or points? Application is more personal. It asks, “What does the text mean to me?” There can be a lot of variety in application among Christians, but we need to be careful not to confuse our application with the interpretation of the text. Some Christians might apply a text that mentions sin by not watching a certain type of movie. Others might walk away with a different application. That’s fine. The Holy Spirit allows for freedom in conscience. But movies have nothing to do with the interpretation of the text. Movies didn’t exist for another couple thousand years. You can make sure you don’t put words in Gods’ mouth by keeping your application separate from interpretation. Interpretation can be done by drawing out or reading in. Drawing out is good, reading in is bad. Drawing out means you’re working to figure out ‘What did this text mean to its original audience in their context?’ Reading in means you’re trying to fit your context into the Bible story.

How Not To Study Exodus

Spiritualization- Spiritualization is a form of interpretation that means you’re focusing on a modern-day application over the historical interpretation of the passage. Doing this kind of interpretation takes our focus off the obvious physical meanings and gets us on rabbit trails of spiritualized applications. We discussed several examples since this technique is surprisingly prevalent in our circles. Spiritualization is not always bad, and it has been the dominant form of Bible interpretation for the majority of the last 2,000 years. But on its own, divorced from the context, spiritualization can easily lead you to make a passage say something it was never intended to.

Appeal to General Science- Another problem we can run into is trying to prove a point based on the timeline or archeology. It’s nice when science matches the Bible, but the definition of science is getting less stuff wrong over time. It’s shouldn’t be the main proof of your position. Don’t stake your entire belief on some inscription that was found or an ancient tradition. They are fallible. They’re fun to tie in when you can, but they are subject to debate.

Moral Example- Moral example is a cousin to spiritualizing. Just because the protagonist did it, we often assume it was good. But you end up in trouble when you assume the Bible is painting a positive picture just because the main character did it. The Bible paints an accurate picture, and then It usually leaves you to decide whether or not the picture is positive. The Bible says these stories are examples for us. It never says if they’re good or bad ones. We spent some time on the story of Moses and Jethro splitting the leadership of Israel in Exodus 18, debating whether or not that was a good decision. The Bible doesn’t say for sure. It’s up to us to study and figure it out.

Reading Backwards Instead of Forwards-

We tend to read the Bible backwards since we live after the events have already happened. But most stories are meant to be read in a linear fashion, following forward motion. We can better understand a given passage in the Bible when we read it pretending to have no more knowledge of the greater story than those characters within the story itself.

Conservative V Liberal- If your main takeaway from a Bible passage was ammunition for your political position, you probably missed the point of the passage.

Finding Your Hobby Horse- The Bible is not a reference book for your personal preferences or pet peeves. If you’ve got a problem, let’s talk about it. But don’t put words in God’s mouth. We discussed some examples of how preachers will often shoehorn in their favorite rants even if those rants have nothing to do with the passage at hand.

How To Study Exodus

Here’s my recommendation for reading/studying Exodus or any other Bible book. Spend as much time as you can learning as much background as you can. Then pretend like you’re reading it for the very first time. You don’t know who these people or places are. You don’t know that over a thousand years into the future the Savior is going to be named Jesus and die on a cross. Pretend that you’re an ancient Israelite hearing this story. Maybe even listen to an audio version of the book. You’ll likely find stuff you didn’t know was there. Ask questions. Who, what, where, when, why. Create a list of what sticks out to you. If you’re ok with it, read the book you’re studying in a different version from your normal one to help it feel new to you. And read it in as large a chunk as possible.

Bible Translation

Above, I had suggested reading Exodus in a different version than you normally do in order to see it from a new light. This led to one of the class members asking which version I would suggest. We discussed the pros and cons of various versions and even got into some of the background text discussion. Ultimately, the best version for you is the one that helps you understand God’s Word best. For this particular case, I recommended checking out the Good News Translation of Exodus since it is quite different from what many in the class would be used to. It’ll make you feel like you’ve never read Exodus before.

Next Week:

What if the gods of the Bible were real? If you’ve ever heard me talk about the gods of the Bible and wondered where I’m coming from, next week will be a crash course in ancient gods and why they matter because they really matter for this book. We’ll also finish addressing key themes for interpreting Exodus.