Untitled Sermon (5)

Going Deeper in God’s Word - Interpretation

There are two ways to experience God’s word

1. Through someone else

2. Or by personally learning to interpret the bible yourself

a. Number 2 will make your bible experience unforgettable

Interpreting the bible takes you along the pathways of History.

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If you came up with less than thirty, look again.

Stick with it until you can see them all.

This challenging exercise in observation points out that there is more to see than first meets the eye.

This is most true with the Bible. Every time we encounter Scripture, there will be new discoveries.

Studying Scripture is like mining and refining a precious metal.

We are to continue working at the task until all is mined and then refined to its purest form.

That is why the psalmist wrote, ‘Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold’ (; cf. ; ).

God has given each one of us a lifetime to observe the vast riches of His Word.

We’ve discussed the steps of preparation, and observation so far.

Returning home from Palestine, he was on a desert road southwest of Jerusalem. Another person was driving, which gave him opportunity to read. As he was reading aloud, he looked up and saw a man who had come up beside him and had heard him reading. The man asked the vacationer if he understood what was being read.

His question revealed his need for help in interpreting the passage.

Philip explained that the passage refers to Jesus. As a result of the conversation the African accepted the Lord as his Saviour.

This desert dialogue points up two things.

First, seeing the words on a page of the Bible does not necessarily mean that the reader catches their meaning.

Observing what the Bible says is the first of several steps in Bible study.

It is important to know what the text actually states. But this may sometimes lead to questions on the meaning of what is read.

Many people, on reading portions of the Bible, come away confused about their meaning or come away with a false understanding.

Second, the evangelist-eunuch incident reveals that proper guidance can help others interpret what they read in the Bible.

Philip’s question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” implied that the reader probably did not understand but that it was possible to understand.

In fact the treasurer’s request for someone to explain the passage to him was an admission on his part that he could not properly understand the passage by himself and that he felt the need for help in interpretation.

Several months after Nehemiah completed the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls and the Israelites had settled in their towns, Ezra the scribe read to them from “the Book of the Law of Moses” (the first five books of the Bible) as the people were assembled before the Water Gate at Jerusalem ().

Ezra read from the Law from daybreak till noon (v. 3).

The Levites also read aloud from the Law, “making it clear and giving the meaning so that people could understand what was being read” (vv. 7–8). As a result the people were joyful “because they now understood the words” (v. 12).

Why Is Bible Interpretation Important?

It Is Essential for Understanding and Teaching the Bible Properly

We must know the meaning of the Bible before we can know its message for today.

We must understand its sense for then before we can see its significance for now.

Without hermeneutics (the science and art of interpreting the Bible) we are jumping over and missing out on an indispensable step in Bible study.

The first step, observation, asks, What does it say?

The second step, interpretation, asks the question, What does it mean?

The third step, application, raises the question, How does it apply to me?

Interpretation is perhaps the most difficult and time-consuming of these three steps.

And yet cutting Bible study short in this area can lead to serious errors and faulty results. Some people knowingly “distort the Word of God” ().

Some even “distort” the Scriptures “to their own destruction” ().

Others unknowingly come away from the Bible with faulty interpretations.

Why? Because of inadequate attention to the principles involved in understanding the Scriptures.

Did God intend for the Bible to be treated in this way? If it can be made to mean anything we want, how can it be a reliable guide?

Conflicting interpretations of many passages abound.

For example, one person reads , “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand,” and understands that verse to be teaching eternal security.

Others read the same verse and explain that though no one can snatch a Christian out of God’s hand, the believer may remove himself from God’s hand by persistent sin.

Bible Interpretation Is Essential as a Step beyond Observation

When many people approach the Bible, they jump from observation to application, skipping the essential step of interpretation.

This is wrong because interpretation logically follows after observation.

In observing what the Bible says, you probe; in interpretation, you mull.

Observation is discovery; interpreting is digesting.

Bible Interpretation Is Essential for Applying the Bible Properly

Interpretation should build on observation and then lead into interpretation.

It is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Definitions

If we fail to apply the Scriptures, we cut short the entire process and have not finished what God wants us to do.

True, the Bible gives us many facts we need to know about God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and the future.

We go to the Bible for information and insight, and this is proper.

But the question is, What will we do with that information and insight?

Interpretation is the step that moves us from reading and observing the text on to applying and living it out.

One of the classic passages on the inspiration of the Scriptures is .

And yet most of that verse, along with the following verse, speaks of the usefulness of Scripture.

It is to be used for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Definitions

Hermoneutics - The art and science of interpreting and explaining written text

Exegesis - Determine the meaning that the author intended to communicate to the first readers in the historical context

Exposition - Explaining the authors original meaning in contemporary terms

Meaning - the authors original message

Interpretation - the act or result fo understanding in light of both past and present circumstances

The Importance of Interpretation

All written documents require interpretation (email, letters, text etc)

What happens is symbols are being used to write ideas the writer tries to communicate and the reader begins to decode

Some are more difficult than others

Gaps in linguistic historical and cultural gaps

Some materials are more important than others and require special attention

The Need for Biblical Hermeneutics

Certainly unfamiliar and strange materials to modern readers

From widely varied cultures drastically different than our times most ancient materials know to man.

Basic beginning truths from Gods word may be easily understood Ex: Salvation, Grace

But we mare mistaken if we think all Gods truth are easy to understand

Steps in the Task

Determine the authors intended meaning of the text (exegesis)

Restate original meaning in contemporary terms

Make application in terms of beliefs and/or behavior

This i why so many don’t get the most out of God’s word, must be in this order or you will remain shallow in your bible reading and understanding.

Observation

Let’s look at .

Psalm 13 NIV

For the director of music. A psalm of David. How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God;

Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 Lest my enemy say, ‘I have overcome him,’

Lest my adversaries rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness;

My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Observe thoroughly. Start with the reminder that you will never see it all at one study; but purpose to see as much as you can.

Who, what, when, where, how, and why

With what circumstances?

Considering what goes before and after.’

Or in other words, observe both the content and the context.

Observe systematically.

Martin Luther studied the Bible as one who gathered apples. ‘First I shake the whole tree, that the ripest may fall. Then I climb the tree and shake each limb, and then each branch and then each twig, and then I look under each leaf.’

The New International Version Psalm 13

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,

for he has been good to me.

1. David’s impatient complaint (13:1–2)

The New International Version Psalm 13

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,

for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13:1–2 NIV

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

2. David’s insistent cry (13:3–4)

Psalm 13:3–4 NIV

Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

3. David’s determined confidence (13:5–6)

Psalm 13:5–6 NIV

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

In 13:1–2, David asks five questions in a row.

Four times he cries out, ‘How long?’

His repetitive protest immediately tells us David is fighting a battle with impatience.

The three questions in 13:1 seem to be asking:

1. Did God forget me (13:1a)?

2. Will it be forever (13:1b)?

3. Is something wrong with me (13:1c)?

13:2 takes on the form of a personal protest with these admissions:

1. I am frustrated (13:2a).

2. I feel lost (13:2b).

3. I see myself as a failure (13:2c).

There is a turn in the psalmist’s voice at 13:3–4.

He acknowledges his personal relationship with the one to whom he speaks: ‘O Lord, my God.’ His protest of 13:1–2 has led to this prayer.

13:4 alludes to possible circumstances that are the real life cause of the psalm.

Later on we will see if it is recorded elsewhere in Scripture.

It is a life and death matter.

Finally, in 13:5–6, the psalmist’s prayer turns to praise.

It raises the question, Why this dramatic change in response to life when the life circumstances that originally caused the protest have not changed?

Look carefully at the verbs in the last two verses.

They follow this sequence—the past, the future, the future, the past.

The psalmist begins to remember how God has dealt with him before and says, ‘I must praise Him for that now and in days to come.’

God’s dealings with David in the past, when recalled, served to soothe and strengthen in the midst of current crisis.[1]

Interpretation

What did God mean by what He said? That question is at the heart of interpretation. What is the true understanding of ?

It all begins with a dependence upon God’s Spirit for clarification.

The psalmist confessed, ‘For Thou Thyself has taught me’ ().

Interpretation takes language into consideration.

It looks at words and their meaning, grammar, figures of speech, verb tenses, and so on.

This bridges the gap between the Hebrew of and our English translation.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words is a helpful tool.

Interpretation looks at culture. How did they live when the text was originally written?

What special customs, habits, or mores of their day would be helpful to understand?

It helps to recreate the actual situation out of which a Scripture was written.

Geography is another prominent area in interpretation.

Although it is not significant in , geography is very important if you are tracing the drama of David’s escape from Saul or Paul’s missionary journeys.

Interpretation always looks at history.

All of the Bible occurs in the context of world history.

This discipline is the time context in which to understand what God did with Israel in the Old Testament or the church in the New.

Some of the interpretative issues raised in are:

1. Can God really forget (13:1b)?

2. Does God have a face (13: 1c)?

3. What does ‘enlighten my eyes’ mean (13:3b)?

4. What relationship does sleep have to death (13:3b)?

5. Who are David’s enemies (13:2b, 4)?

6. What is God’s salvation to David (13:5)?

One of the most important questions raised here is, Why was God silent?

Why did God not immediately respond and rescue David?

Interpretatively, the Bible teaches that there are several possible reasons for God’s silence.

1. David was praying outside of God’s will ().

2. David did not have God’s glory as his highest motive ().

3. Sin in David’s life caused a prayer barrier ().

4. David had not yet been fully equipped by the circumstances, so God allowed them to continue ().

5. It was not time yet to fully accomplish God’s purpose ().

6. God had a sovereignly concealed reason that David could not know ().

From the historical context of the psalm, it appears that either option 4, 5, or 6 is correct. Possibly it is some combination of the three.

The important thing to see is that God had purposes that went beyond what David could understand.

Wrong motives, sin, seeking other than God’s will were not the problem.

It was getting in line with God’s timetable—even if it meant waiting.[2]

Review

1. Bible Translation

2. Bible Study Library

For someone just starting out, I recommend a ‘starter set’ containing a basic tools. This set includes:

* Bible atlas

* Bible dictionary

* English concordance

* Bible commentary

Then add:

* Topical Bible

* Bible encyclopedia

* Bible backgrounds

* Old Testament word helps

* New Testament word helps

For those of you who want to take your study seriously and use your discoveries beyond a personal level, I recommend the ‘speaker’s set’. Most will want to grow into this set, having begun at the starter or student level.

In addition to the volumes recommended for the two previous sets, I would add:

* Greek helps

* English-Greek concordance

* Figure of speech helps

* Ethics volume

* Cross-reference helps[3]

What did God mean by what He said?

That question is at the heart of interpretation.

What is the true understanding of ?

It all begins with a dependence upon God’s Spirit for illumination. The psalmist confessed, ‘For Thou Thyself has taught me’ ().

Good interpretation employs the normal rules of literary interpretation. Interpret the Bible as you would any other kind of literature. It is the ‘literal’ method in that it takes the text at face value. Yet it recognises figures of speech and provides the only honest way to interpret the reality portrayed by symbol or imagery.

Daniel Webster once remarked: ‘I believe that the Bible is understood and received in the plain obvious meaning of its passages, since I cannot persuade myself that a book that is intended for the instruction and conversion of the whole world should cover its meaning in any such mystery and doubt that none but critics and philosophers discover it.’

Interpretation takes language into consideration. It looks at words and their meaning, grammar, figures of speech, verb tenses, and so on. This bridges the gap between the Hebrew of and our English translation. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words is a helpful tool.

Interpretation looks at culture. How did they live when the text was originally written? What special customs, habits, or mores of their day would be helpful to understand? It helps to recreate the actual situation out of which a Scripture was written.

Geography is another prominent area in interpretation. Although it is not significant in , geography is very important if you are tracing the drama of David’s escape from Saul or Paul’s missionary journeys.

Interpretation always looks at history. All of the Bible occurs in the context of world history. This discipline is the time context in which to understand what God did with Israel in the Old Testament or the church in the New.

David Cooper puts it memorably: ‘When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other senses; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.’

Some of the interpretative issues raised in are:

1. Can God really forget (13:1b)?

2. Does God have a face (13: 1c)?

3. What does ‘enlighten my eyes’ mean (13:3b)?

4. What relationship does sleep have to death (13:3b)?

5. Who are David’s enemies (13:2b, 4)?

6. What is God’s salvation to David (13:5)?

One of the most important questions raised here is, Why was God silent? Why did God not immediately respond and rescue David? Interpretatively, the Bible teaches that there are several possible reasons for God’s silence.

1. David was praying outside of God’s will ().

2. David did not have God’s glory as his highest motive ().

3. Sin in David’s life caused a prayer barrier ().

4. David had not yet been fully equipped by the circumstances, so God allowed them to continue ().

5. It was not time yet to fully accomplish God’s purpose ().

6. God had a sovereignly concealed reason that David could not know ().

From the historical context of the psalm, it appears that either option 4, 5, or 6 is correct. Possibly it is some combination of the three.

The important thing to see is that God had purposes that went beyond what David could understand. Wrong motives, sin, seeking other than God’s will were not the problem. It was getting in line with God’s timetable—even if it meant waiting.[4]

[1] Mayhue, R. L. (1997). How to Study the Bible (pp. 61–64). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

[2] Mayhue, R. L. (1997). How to Study the Bible (pp. 73–75). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

[3] Mayhue, R. L. (1997). How to Study the Bible (p. 48). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

[4] Mayhue, R. L. (1997). How to Study the Bible (pp. 73–75). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.