Introduction To Interpretation
Wednesday Night Bible Study • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
Intro:
I want to welcome you tonight as we continue our study on how to study the Bible.
I want to thank Pastor Jackie for teaching last week. I know she did a great job.
Tonight we are going to move into a new step of how to Study your Bible as we move from Observation to Interpretation.
However, before we move into the next step, I’d like to take a moment and see if there are any questions that you might have concerning what we’ve learned so far?
QUESTIONS:
If you recall, observation was about asking and answering the question, “What do I see”, while interpretation is going to answer the question, “What does it mean?”
And so to get us started, I actually want to go to a passage of scripture that highlights the importance of this step. The passage is found in Acts 8 and involves an interaction between a disciple named Philip and an Ethiopian Eunuch. Look at how Luke tells the story:
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
In this story Luke tells us about a divine encounter between Philip and this Ethiopian Eunuch. And we know it’s divine because an angel actually tells Philip to take a certain route where he just happens to run into the Eunuch.
And what’s even more interesting is as Philip comes in contact with this Eunuch, he hears the man reading from the OT book of Isaiah. And as Philip hears him reading from it, the Holy Spirit tells Philip to go over and talk to the man, which more than likely would have felt a little awkward.
Because think about it. What if you were walking down the street in a foreign place, and God told you to go over and talk to a complete stranger. It would feel awkward, right?
But Philip is obedient to the Spirit and walks up to the chariot, and instead of saying, “Hi my name is Philip or hey how’s it going”, Philip begins the conversation by asking what could almost comes across as an offensive question. He asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
In other words, are you actually comprehending what Isaiah is saying in that passage?
The question then is, “Why does Philip start the conversation with this question?”
What I’d like to suggest to you is he starts with this question, because if the Ethiopian is reading from the book of Isaiah, and he doesn’t understand what he is reading, then what he’s reading won’t be profitable for him. Which means, he may miss what God is trying to say to him through this passage. Which is something God doesn’t want.
Because at the end of the day, the Bible is profitable and is meant to be profitable to those who read it. In fact, the Apostle Paul declares that. In 2 Timothy 3 he writes:
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Paul says scripture is profitable for the person who reads it. But here’s the deal, if the person reading it doesn’t understand what it means, then it’s not profitable. And that person may miss what God is trying to say to them.
Which means, if we’re going to read the Bible, then we better learn how to interpret what it is saying.
And so for the next few weeks that’s going to be our focus. Because while reading the Bible is always good, if we don’t know what we are reading means, then we may walk away from our time in the Word having not recieved what God intended for us.
Thankfully in this Ethiopians case, Philip new what that particular passage meant. Philip knew that Isaiah was writing about the future Messiah. And so starting with that scripture, Philip shared the gospel with this man and led him to faith in Jesus.
Which is an important part of interpretation as well. Because not only is interpretation profitable for the reader, but it’s also profitable when we can take what we’ve learned and share it with others. And maybe in the process, lead them to saving faith.
All that to say, what we are going to learn over the next few weeks is extremely important to our understanding of scripture and ultimately to how we apply it to our lives.
That being said, I want to begin the step of Interpretation by more clearly defining what we mean by it.
And to do that I want to give you some important facts concerning interpretation when it comes to the Bible:
Fact #1 - Every book of the Bible and ever passage has one specific meaning.
In other words, the Bible was written to convey a specific message that can only be interpreted in one way.
And it’s this lack of understanding that often causes many Christians to misinterpret what the Bible is saying.
Because unfortunately, many Christians tend to approach the Bible with a subjective versus an objective mindset.
Let me give you an illustration of what I’m talking about.
If I were to go outside and look up at a large oddly shaped cloud in the sky, and I were to ask you, “What image do you see in the cloud?”, each of you would probably give a different answer.
For example, here’s an image of such a cloud. And so just for fun, how about a few of you shout out what you see.
CLOUD IMAGE:
My point is this. While we are all looking at the same cloud, we all have different interpretations of what we see.
And while there’s no harm in that with a cloud, when it comes to Bible interpretation there is great harm. Because the Bible isn’t a cloud. The Bible is God’s Word that was written to specific people in specific situations to convey a specific message.
So, if we’re going to have any hope of interpreting God’s Word, we have to start out with a fundamental premise. The premise being that, “Meaning is not our subjective thoughts read into the text but God’s objective truth read out of the text.”
What that means then is, when it comes to reading scripture, we have to get away from this notion that the Bible interpretation is subjective and means different things to different people.
Because if you think about it, that’s how people often interpret the Bible. They say something like, “Well, this is what it means to me.” And while that’s great, the reality is, what it means to you may not be what God means for it to say.
And so to get out of that mindset, you have to first be committed to asking the question, “What did it mean to the person it was written to?”
For example, when it comes to the book of Genesis, Genesis was written by Moses for a specific purpose. It was written to give the children of Israel, who had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years, a history and a background to who they were as a people. That’s what it was written for.
Which means, Genesis wasn’t written so we could try and determine how old the earth is. Or to determine if God created the earth in seven literal days versus thousands of years. It was written to the people of Israel could have a starting point as they entered the Promised Land.
Now, doest that mean we can’t discover some interesting facts about creation from Genesis. No. But what it does mean is in order to understand what the book of Genesis is mean to actually say and convey, we have to start with what it who it was written to and what it was written for.
Everybody tracking with me?
The same would be true with the book of Revelation. Because while the book of Revelation is for all believers, originally it was written to seven churches who were facing specific situations. Situations that John addresses through symbolism in a style of literature known as Apocalyptic literature.
Which means, part of what John is conveying is addressing current realities the churches of that day were facing. In other words, Revelation isn’t just a book about the future. It was a book about the present written to Christians at the end of the 1st Century.
Which means, if we want to understand what the message of Revelation actually is, we have to start when it was written, who it was written too, and what it was saying to them. Otherwise, we run the risk of putting our own subjective thoughts or ideas on the text, and in the process misinterpreting what the writer is actually trying to say.
So, that’s the first fact we have to come to terms with. The Bible was written with a for a specific purpose and has a specific message it’s trying to convey.
Fact #2 - Because the Bible has one interpretation, there will be barriers we need to overcome.
Barrier #1 - Langauge Barriers
As we’ve discussed in the past, the Bible we have today isn’t an original copy. It’s actually a copy from a manuscript or manuscripts that were originally written in NT Greek or OT Hebrew.
Not only that, but along with the Bible having been originally written in foreign languages, it as also written with a specific cultural mindset and worldview. Which means, in order to interpret what scripture is saying, we have to get in the mindset of who the Bible was originally written too.
How do we do that? We do that through the resources we’ve talked about. We do it through Bible dictionaries and commentaries. In fact, it’s the only way we can do it.
Barrier #2 - Cultural Barriers
As we’ve discussed, the Bible was written in a culture that is foreign to us. A culture where how people communicated, traveled, conducted life, and practiced their faith is totally removed from how we think and do life. And so when it comes to interpretation, we have to factor all of that in. We have to remember they weren’t living in the 21st century. They didn’t have Smartphones. They didn’t have google maps. They didn’t have instant access to what was happening across the world. In fact, they didn’t even know about the world as we know it now. And so if we want to understand what the Bible says, we have to step out of our cultural thinking and into theirs. How do we do that? Again, through resources.
Barrier #3 - Literary Barriers
One of the challenges with Bible interpretation is there is a variety of terrain. In other words, if the Bible were all mountains, or oceans, or flat land, or desert, then it would be easier to approach it as a whole. But the reality is, it contains a variety of literary terrain.
Which means we can’t approach the Proverbs like we would the book of Romans. Or the Gospel of Matthew like we would the book of Isaiah. Why? Because he requires different interpretive gear to navigate their literary terrain. Here in a moment, we’ll look more in detail at some of that terrain.
Barrier #4 - Communication Barriers
When I say communication barriers, I’m not talking about language. What I’m talking about is how we process what we see or hear.
Think of it like this. Have you ever listened to a speech or a sermon only to discover that what you heard the speaker say is different than what somebody else heard them say?
Happens all the time, right? In fact, it happens every Sunday at MCF as something I said is heard differently by one person over another. And not only that, but what I said is taken in a way I didn’t mean for it to be heard.
Or how about this, men, have you ever communicated something to your spouse but they heard it in a way you didn’t intend?
For example, your wife puts on a new dress and walks out in the living room, and you say, “Wow, that dress really makes you look thin”.
Now the truth is, you meant that as a compliment, but that’s now how they heard it, right? What they heard you say is, “Finally, something that doesn’t make you look so fat.”
Do you see what I mean?
So, what does that mean? It means that there will be times when our own insecurities, worldview, background, and various other factors will keep us from hearing what the scripture is saying. Which means, we have to not only be committed to reading the scripture, but recognizing our own biases or perspectives could work against discovering true meaning.
So, how do you overcome that? I would say you overcome it by having an open heart and a teachable spirit. Because the fact is, not one of us has it all figured out on what the Bible says. And so we always have to be open to the insight of others and be willing to set those personal biases and perspective aside in order to discover true meaning and hear exactly what the bible is saying to us.
So, those are some of the key barriers we will face as we seek to discover what the Bible actually is saying.
This now leads us to a third fact of Bible interpretation:
Fact #3 - Because the Bible has one interpretation, there will be hazards we need to avoid.
Hazard #1 - Misreading the Text
What I mean by that is we have to be careful that we read the text properly.
For example, in John 14:6, Jesus says:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Notice what Jesus says. He says, “I am the way...” Which means, there is no other way. Which means you can’t read it as, “Jesus is a way...” Which is unfortunately how Christians who are given to the idea of universalism read it. The idea being that all roads lead to God. Well, according to Jesus, they don’t.
Another example would be 1 Timothy 6 where Paul writes:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Notice what Paul says. He says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils...” But if you read it as, “Money is the root of all evil...” you would be misreading the text. Because that’s not what it says. Because money in itself isn’t evil. What’s evil is the love of money. The worship of money.
Another example would be Psalm 37 where the Psalmist writes:
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Notice what the Psalmist says. He says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart...” But if all you read is, “He will give you the desires of your heart...” you are misreading the text. Because yes, God will give you the desires of your heart, but it doesn’t come out of your desires, it comes out of your delight in him, which will generate different desires.
Everybody following me? So, if you want to be a good interpreter, it starts with being a good reader who pays attention to detail.
Hazard #2 - Distorting the Text
This is something that cults often do. For example, when it comes to the Jehovah Witnesses, they are famous for distorting John 1, which is what their entire belief system is then based upon.
Let me show you what I’m talking about. In John 1 we read:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In this passage John is defining the identity and divinity of Jesus. And he does it in a very creative way. He says, “In the beginning…which points back to Genesis..was the Word.” Which is John’s way of saying, “Jesus has always been present, even in the beginning.
He then goes on to say, “…and the Word was with God...” Which is John’s way of saying that not only was Jesus present at the beginning, He was with God.
And then goes on to say, “…and the Word was God”. Which is John’s way of saying, not only was Jesus present, not only was He with God, but He is God.
Pretty cool, right?
Well, this is where the Jehovah Witness comes in. Because according to the Jehovah Witness, this is not what John is saying. Instead what they believe it says is that Jesus isn’t The God, but a god. Which makes Jesus less, and is what much of their faith is then built upon.
So, how do they come to that conclusion? They do it by distorting the text, specifically when it comes to the translation of the Greek into English.
So, without getting really technical, let me explain it like this. Just like in English, Biblical Greek has a way of capitalizing or highlighting the main idea, but it’s not by using a lower or upper case letter. Instead it’s done by using what is called the “Definite Article”, which for you and I is the word “The”.
So, to show you exactly what I’m talking about, let me show you John 1:1 in the original Greek:
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
Explain the passage and the definite article.
So as a result, the Jehovah Witness interprets Jesus as a god and not The God.
But here’s the problem. The problem is that within the NT there are 1343 uses of the word Theos that directly point to The God, and of those 1343, 282 of them don’t use the definite article, and instead allow context to determine that we are talking about The God.
Well, it’s the same in John 1:1. Because context is very clear hear that John is referring to Jesus as The God. And we know this, because John makes this clear in verse 3. Look at what he says:
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Which means, the Jehovah witness is distorting the text in order to justify their own belief. And that my friends happens all the time.
Another example would be the Greek word for homosexual.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
In this passage the Greek is very clear that Paul is referring to two mean who practice sexual relations with one another. However, there are some liberal theologians who have recently suggested that the Greek word here could be referring to sexual activity with a young boy. Which means their interpretation would be based on the idea that a man shouldn’t have sex with an adolescent boy. That if he is going to have sex with a man, it should be with an adult.
Do you see how distorted that is? And the problem is, if you look at homosexuality from a 30,000 foot view in the Bible, it is abundantly clear that God is talking about sex between two men regardless of the age.
For example, in Genesis 19, we see a clear definition of how God defines homosexuality. Because in Genesis 19 God is getting ready to wipe a city out because it is so immoral. How immoral? Listen to what the writer tells us as two angels show up to assess the city and Lot gives them a place to stay:
1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
Now, let me ask you, do you think those liberal scholars have it right? No. It’s pretty clear what God’s view of a homosexual is. So, in the case of the liberal scholars, they are distorting the text in order to justify immoral behavior.
And like I said, people do it all the time.
Hazard #3 - Contradicting the Text:
This hazard is extremely dangerous because in essence it leads to a person calling God a liar.
Probably the best illustration of this can be found in Genesis 3 as Eve interacts with Satan himself. Look at what the writer tells us:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
Notice what the serpent does. He basically tells Eve that God was lying to her. That God only said that because He was afraid they’d become Like Him. So he says, “Eve, God’s a liar.”
And unfortunately people do this all the time as they choose to ignore, distort, or redefine what God has said.
Hazard #4 - Subjectivism
This goes back to the danger of approaching scripture subjectively. To read text through the lens of feeling, emotion, or desire instead of the lens of true meaning.
Probably the greatest example of this is what people have done with the meaning of God’s love. The idea that because God is love, then he would never do anything to hurt us or cause pain. Or that because He’s love, he just wants us to be happy.
And while it’s true that God has no desire to hurt us and that God probably does want us to be happy, doesn’t mean that He won’t allow consequences and that anything goes.
Because the truth is, while God is love, He’s also just. Which means, God doesn’t put up with sin and there will be consequences for those who practice sin. Consequences that are painful and in the end, eternal.
So, you may feel like God is love and as a result feel like He just wants you to be happy, you have to move beyond those feelings to the facts about God’s love. Because yes He loves you. So much that He sent His only Son. But that doesn’t mean anything goes. And it doesn't’ mean you’ll always be happy according to your standards. What it means is if you’ll put your faith in Him and turn from sin, He will save you from your sin and offer you true life, eternal life.
Hazard #5 - Relativism
This is the danger of thinking the meaning of the Bible changes over time. In other words that what God said then doesn't’ apply today.
In fact, it goes even further for some as some even go as far to say that scripture is evolving. In other words, that God’s views are evolving. That yes, while homosexuality was a sin in the Bible, God has evolved past that.
Or that yes, living together unmarried might have been something frowned upon in Bible times, but come on, it’s 2020, God has moved past that kind of archaic thinking.
But here’s the problem with that. Hebrews 13:8 says:
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
In other words, God doesn’t change. Which means, what God said then applies now.
Hazard #6 - Overconfidence
This is simply the idea that pride goes before a fall. The idea that as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible, we can’t let that knowledge puff us up to the point we think we have it all figured out.
Because of the person that does this, it leads to overconfidence and eventually an unteachable spirit.
Unfortunately, I know a lot of Christians like this. Who think because they’ve studied the Bible for years that they have it all figured out. And that as a result, their understanding or interpretation of Scripture is the right one. And you know what, maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t.
So, those are just a few of the Hazards we need to avoid.
That being said, at this point are there any questions for what we’ve covered so far?
QUESTIONS:
As we close out tonight we are going to take a few minutes and look at the Literary barrier we talked about earlier. And as I said, it’s a barrier because the Bible doesn’t just have one type of literary format, but several. In Bible world we call them Biblical Genres.
Think of it like this, in the world of music there are different genres, each with their own unique sound, style, and message.
For example, country music is a musical genre. And if you’v ever noticed, all country music has a similar feel to it. Not only that, it typically has a certain type of message or worldview.
You know like, “My dog died, my wife left me, but at least I have pickup truck.”
And the list of musical genres goes on from pop, to rock, to rap, to jazz, etc…Each with its own look and feel.
Well, what is true for music is true for the Bible. Because within the Bible there are different literary genres.
So, what I want to do is introduce you to the 6 major Genres of the Bible:
Genre #1 - Exposition:
This genre is identified by its straightforward argument or explanation of a truth. A form of writing that applies to the mind and a structure that moves in a logical flow of thought.
The Apostle Paul’s letters are the greatest example of this. For example, the book of Romans is a tightly reasoned explanation of the gospel with Paul presenting it like an attorney presents a case.
So, if you’re a person that enjoys logic and order, you’re going to enjoy reading Paul. As we get further into interpretation, we will look at this genre in more detail.
Genre #2 - Narrative and biography
Narrative obviously means story, which makes this genre a popular genre in the Bible, because who doesn’t like a good story.
A great example of a narrative would be the book of Genesis, which details not only the story of creation, but the story of Abraham and the birth of the nation of Israel.
In addition to that, you have the 4 gospels which are written in a narrative format. And one of them, the gospel of Luke continues into a second story which is the book of Acts.
And the great thing about a story, is all stories are pretty much the same in structure. They have a plot, a cast of characters, and events that are often true to life and that we can identify with.
Genre #3 - Parables
Parables are brief tales that illustrate a moral principle. By far most of the parables in the Bible are going to be found in the Gospels and are told by Jesus. And while most parables are fictional, they always convey a truth that is true to life. As a result parables consists of stories about farming, fishing, travel, money, and human relationships.
An OT example of a parable would be the parable told by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-10. So, real quick let’s take a look at what a parable looks like and what it was intended to do in this case:
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
If you’re not familiar with this story, King David has just had an affair with a married woman named Bathsheba, and as a result she is with child. So, in an effort to cover up his sin, David has her husband killed and then takes her to be his wife. But while David thought it was done in secret, God was aware and sent Nathan to confront David. And so in order to confront David, Nathan tells a parable. A fictional story about how a poor man was treated unjustly as his sheep was taken from him. A story that angered David and caused David to want to seek out the man who caused this injustice.
And it’s at this point Nathan identifies the man as David himself.
So, you see how Nathan uses a parable to convey a truth about David and confront him about his sin.
Genre #4 - Poetry
Poetry is found throughout the Bible, but maybe more specifically in the OT in the Psalms and the book of Ecclesiastes.
The challenge that comes in interpreting Biblical poetry is in understanding Hebrew poetry specifically when it comes to parallelisms. Parallelisms consists of two lines that work off of each other to communicate meaning. Sometimes the second line will reinforce what the first line says by repeating the thought. Here’s an example of that:
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
Notice how the second line reinforces the thought from the first line.
However, sometimes it will extend the thought by adding new information:
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
And sometimes the second line will oppose the first with an alternative thought:
4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
Another key is to recognize the use of Hyperbole, which is extreme exaggeration.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Notice how David uses strong language to denounce those who are wicked.
And there would be several other key aspects of Hebrew poetry to consider. This is where a good commentary on the Psalms would come into play.
Genre #5 - Wisdom Literature
Wisdom literatures is found primarily in the book of Proverbs. And just to be clear, a proverb is a short nugget of truth which is typically practical and highlights the consequences of behavior.
So, here are just a couple of examples:
27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,
but he who hates bribes will live.
3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.
Notice these are right to the point and don’t require a lot of thought.
However, here is one thing to remember about a proverb. While they are true, they contain principles but not promises.
In other words, a proverbs says, “This is basically how life works.” However, as we all know, life doesn’t always work the way we would hope 100% of the time.
Let me give you an example that often causes some confusion:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Now, the truth is, as a general principle, if you raise a child a certain way, you will get a specific outcome. But the reality is, it doesn’t always work out that way. Why? Because at some point that child, teenager, or young adult is going to begin to make their own decisions. Decisions that may not reflect the upbringing you gave them. And that doesn’t mean you failed as a parent. What it means is despite the instruction you gave, they choose to ignore it. And sometimes that’s how life plays out.
Genre #6 - Prophecy and Apocalypitc
These two represent some of the most difficult in scripture and must be interpreted with specific ideas in mind.
For example, while a prophecy can represent a prediction for the future, most prophecy in the Bible represents warning and judgment as each prophetic announcement ends with, “Thus sayeth the Lord”.
Which is what many of the OT prophetic books represent as they are typically written to warn Israel of coming judgment if they don’t turn from their sinful ways.
When reading the prophets it’s critical that the situation they were speaking to is recreated. That as you read the prophets you would ask the six questions of selective Bible reading:
Who, what, where, when, why, and wherefore.
By answering these questions you’ll get a good idea of who the prophet is addressing, what he’s addressing, where he’s addressing it, when he’s addressing it, why he’s addressing it, and what it means for those receiving the prophecy.
Along with the prophecy, we also have what is called apocalyptic.
Apocalyptic literature deals with cataclysmic events on a global scale and typically have to do with the end of the world.
The language is often symbolic and the events take place through a display of noise, light, and power. And as a result, apocalyptic is often difficult do interpret.
The book of Revelation is the greatest example of this. And what makes the book of Revelation even more challenging is mixed in with the apocalyptic is exposition, story, and prophecy. And so in a way, Revelation has all the genres present.
So, that’s a lot to take in. So, we are going to bring it to a close for tonight. But before we go, I’d like to take a moment an answer any questions that you might have.
Next week we will be looking at the five keys to interpretation: Content, Context, Comparison, Culture, and Consultation.
Let’s Pray