Before You Read a Book of The Bible (2)
Into the Ancient Texts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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today, we will be studying the reading of the old testament books, what to watch out for a
Recap
Recap
1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Nehemiah had within himself a goal, which was to see rebuild the city gates, call the people to return to the land, and that his own generation be faithful to the Lord.
28 Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding—29 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
Notice carefully what was going on here; Much later, we saw the people alongside Nehemiah entering into an oath to walk in God’s Law.
Why did Nehemiah do this?
34 Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them. 35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works. 36 “Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it! 37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress. 38 “And because of all this, We make a sure covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”
He was showing something important, that the previous generation did not serve the Lord, and the result was we went into exile; because of this, we (the future generation i.e. his own generation) are entering into a covenant and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given to Moses.
Hence, what they were doing in Chapter 8 (i.e. studying and knowing the law of God), enabled their own generation to become faithful to the Lord.
Meaning, the future generation relied on what God revealed to the previous generation. Same way, our generation ought to rely on God’s word and the continual studying of it, to get to know God’s heart and be faithful to him in our day and time.
God in his wisdom directed the documentation of those events to enable future generations to hear and obey just like those who had the exact encounters.
God’s big story
God’s big story
So, we started asking, what is the story the bible seeks to present to us? Is it a unified book? we called it God’s big story and started looking into that some weeks ago;
THE BIBLE IS A UNIFIED BOOK, HENCE, WHILST IT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS, THEY ARE TO BE READ TOGETHER AS ONE.
The bible started with a creator God, who was putting funtion to things in his world, and then making man to join him, in the becoming of that world.
Let us examine this;
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
When we hear created, we might think of “from scratch, out of thin air, out of nothing”. But, the bible writers weren’t doing this, rather, they were referring to something else;
Created — בָּרָא (bārāʾ). which was used for God alone, and it carries mainly a “functional activity”, rather than a material activity. We need not look far to understand this;
in Genesis 1:26
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
The making of mankind, was viewed in terms of the function of man, not simply the existence of man.
So, when I say, God created in Genesis, I am referring not primarily to existence, but function; for something to have a function however, it must exist, but the focus of Genesis was the assignment of roles and functions.
In the ancient mind, to exist is to have a function, else, that is chaos. Hence, we will find all through Genesis 1, the function of everything, cos that is the act of “creating”.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Also another example.
So, the world is not a mindless globe existing, rather, it is a well thought out world, with functions all around us. Like, just look around us; the sun, the moon, the stars, all with a functions.
Now, God want that world to be filled, hence, he made man.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Fill the earth; and I showed you last week, that block of words carry a significant meaning, especially when repeated over and over in several places in the bible.
It means that God has a clear goal for his world, and man doesn’t exist without a reason, nor do we exist without a function, “We are made in God’s image, to fill the earth with his glory”.
Meaning, Man is CRUCIAL and ESSENTIAL, to God’s plan coming to pass. God could have done it without man, but God has decided to do it ONLY with MAN.
So, page 1 reveal to the beginning of the story, then, the question is, How does the story continue?
WHAT HAPPENED, AFTER GOD MADE MAN? Was God’s creation perfectly preserved? Did man fill the earth with God’s glory?
Genesis 3 let’s us see that man chose the knowledge of good and evil (not our focus for today), but the effect of man’s action, we can observe;
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
So, because of man, creation was thrown into tumil, and problems, then what filled the earth was violence.
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Pay attention to that phrase (thoughts of his heart was only evil continually), it will become important again soon.
But the result of man’s continual evil heart, was in verse 9-12;
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
So you will see continually, a few things that keep on coming up, “The earth was filled… but with violence”.
So, we have God’s plan, which is based on man in Genesis 1, we have man, who is filling God’s world with violence in Genesis 6 instead of God’s glory.
So, two possibilities, God abandoning his plan, or God abandoning man for his plan.
We found none of the above. Genesis 6:8
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
God found a man even within the midst of the chaos.
So we have so far;
God’s plan which man is vital in carrying it out
God’s plan undergoes a misdirection, why? because it is dependent on man who can be unstable
God’s plan is about to be restarted again. (howbeit, we must not forget, with man that is very unstable)
Let us look at the third point very well;
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
Notice what God said about man, EVEN AFTER THE FLOOD; the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
Hence, God would be working with humans, knowing they can be unstable in their commitment, in their vocation and yet, that is not his perfect will for man, but that is the reality.
Hence, we need not look far to see the unstable humans.
1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
God gave Noah and his sons, same vision, same mission, to fill his earth with his glory.
By the time we get to verse 18, we find a reality;
18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Same man Noah, now uncovered, why, cos he was drunk.
So, they will be faithful, and yet, they will be unstable sometimes, God knows this.
So, from here, you will keep on finding HOW GOD ACCOMODATE MAN IN HIS UNSTABLENESS, and kept on working with Man over and over again;
Genesis 11, a tower built, Genesis 12, God found Abraham, and restarted his plan in Abraham, it is a story of;
Plan → Interlude → Restart → Partnership (with frail men) → Fulfillment.
So, each book from Genesis, is therefore within how this story is going on, how it is trying to get to a destination of God’s big plan, coming to pass. Howbeit, God will be working with men, who often can be unstable, we sometimes pose threat to God’s plan, sometimes, he also factors in our frailties, and sees to aid and help us.
So, the big bulk of the bible (especially O.T), was showing God and man in how the story was about to unfold.
Israel (Zooming into O.T. books)
Israel (Zooming into O.T. books)
So, let us consider some examples;
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
God’s plan for Israel was actually same as what was said to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham etc.
Now, when we get to the descendants themselves;
They were often hard hearted, often not committed to God’s plan, sometimes we find a generation that partners with God, sometimes, a generation that is in disobedience;
Let me show you an example;
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. 16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
So, the cycle was, they ought to be God’s people;
Often they will not do it;
They went into exile;
God would pity and deliver;
The generation would then continue doing thesame again;
They never truely learned to follow the Lord, not walk in his ways.
In disobedience and utter rejection of God, what we discover is sometimes that generation goes into exile, etc.
What then do we see;
Some books were written when Israel were within the land God promised them; Some were written when Israel was rebelling to warn, Some were written when Israel were already in exile, some were written, to explain God’s future hope for his people that are in exile.
For example;
Exodus—Deuteronomy is a book on partnership with frail men (Exodus 3:12, Exodus 19:3-6; Deuteronomy etc; and the law is the terms of the partnership)
Let us look at some other books; Amos & Hosea.
Look at Amos 1:1
1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
In the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Notice, both books were written around thesame time, when Jeroboam was king of Israel. So, even though they are seperated books, they were addressing thesame set of people, and we can investigate what was going on during that period.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
Notice, so what happened then was that this guy made the people to sin, and he was the ruler of the northern part of Israel.
Hence Amos and Hosea, were written as texts to warn within this context, to call them back to God.
This explains why Hosea went to take a harlot as a wife, to show that Isreal were playing Harlotry with other Gods, and have abandoned their God.
So, this context shapes the tone of the books generally, so it will carry strong words, why? the age and time, they are warning texts.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So Where can we situate Hosea and Amos? Within the interlude, Men who ought to be walking in God’s plan, are now turning to other Gods, and why are they that way? We see that God was working with imperfect men, over and over again.
So, next week, we will end this series (for now), seeing, How then do we proceed with the New Testament? How do we read it?
