Showing posts with label Old Testament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old Testament. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 6: What do the Critics Say?
This will be the last post in a series of posts on the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. Today, I'll give a summary on what modern scholars say about the OT, how we can respond, and why we shouldn't just ignore their views.
How do modern scholars view the OT? For most of them, the Bible is like any other human book and should be rejected as myth. In the 21st century, readers might find stories of a talking donkey (Numbers 22) or a talking snake (Genesis 3) a bit strange and out of date.
In the 19th century, parts of the culture invaded the Biblical studies department in many universities. The Enlightenment was in full-swing in Europe, and it exalted the human mind as the final standard and source of truth. Before the 19th century, most Christian seminaries and universities accepted God's word as truthful, authoritative, and final. With the Enlightenment, many scholars began to think that human beings could investigate the world without God. God was told to get out and stay out. This shouldn't be too surprising. In the Garden of Eden, mankind decided to play umpire between what God said and what Satan said. Rather than trusting God and His word, man decided to think and act apart from his Creator. Falling to the oldest trap in the book, Biblical scholars rejected God's word and began to view all religious (including Christianity) as man-made products of culture and experience. The Bible was rejected as a book of myths.
DEUTERONOMY: BRIDGE BETWEEN LAW AND PROPHETS
How did all of this happen? The book of Deuteronomy is a key battleground. You can think of Deuteronomy like purple states in the US Presidential Election. Certain states are consistently red (Republican) or blue (Democratic). However, some states are purple, and they are the key swing states. If a candidate can capture these, they will likely win the White House. Our understanding of Christ and God's redemptive history hinges on how we understand and interpret Deuteronomy.
Why is Deuteronomy so important? Deuteronomy is the lynchpin of the Old testament, and it's a critical link between the Law (1st 5 books of the OT) and the Prophets. Written by Moses, the Law is the foundation for the rest of the OT because it contains important things such as: God's redemption (Exodus), the moral law (10 Commandments), the sacrificial system, and God's covenant promises. The prophets consistently refer to the Law when the Israelites disobey God. The prophets are God's messengers who accuse Israel of breaking God's covenant and failing to return the love and loyalty that God had first shown to Israel.
Modern scholars have rejected Deuteronomy as a “pious fraud”. They reject Moses as the author of Deuteronomy, and have proposed alternate theories that tear the Law and the Prophets apart. They believe that somebody much later than Moses wrote Deuteronomy. They believe that the Law was written after the Prophets and wasn't originally part of Judaism. In short, they reject the Law and take the Prophets.
By rejecting the Law, these scholars redefine the OT by saying that God didn't give us the law and sacrificial system. God just wants you to be a good person. Their proof-text would be something like Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Christianity doesn't deny the need to do these things, but we deny that we can do these apart from the person and work of Christ.
Are there any good arguments for rejecting Deuteronomy? There are some difficult questions, and we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand. Here are a few examples:
Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the most humble man on earth. Hmmm, this doesn't seem to humble. Perhaps somebody else wrote the Law?
If Moses was the author, why did he refer to himself in the 3rd person? Deuteronomy 1:1 gives us a narrator's perspective.
If Moses was the author of Deuteronomy, how could he write about his own death in Deuteronomy 34?
However, we can address these questions without giving up our key assumptions. We can still view God's word as trustworthy and true, and that we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to teach us about Christ and His word. One scholar (E. J. Young) has said that we can make a case that Moses was essentially the author of the 1st 5 books of the OT, but the actual writing could have been done by others, just like Jesus is the author of the Sermon on the Mount, but He didn't actually write it down.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
What is at stake? Does it matter if Moses wrote the Law or if we even have the Law? We might be tempted to think this is all a bunch of pointy-headed stuff for people locked up in ivory towers. But, if the OT is the foundation for understanding the NT, then we have to wrestle with these issues.
Our God claims to work through history to redeem a people for Himself. The Exodus from Egypt is a pattern of God's work that comes to completion in our deliverance from sin. Moses is a go-between for God and God's people (Deut. 5:22, Ex. 20:18-21), another pattern that comes to completion in Christ, our perfect Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). The Law of God and the sacrifices are essential for us to understand Christ and His sacrifice, which rescues us from the law of sin and death. At stake is the heart of Christianity! Modern scholars can say, “Just follow the good example of Jesus and be a nice guy like Him” because they have thrown out the Law and redefined Christianity. Many of the more liberal denominations in America take this view today. They may call themselves Christians, but they have side-lined the word of Christ given to us in the Law and the Prophets.
Jude calls us to contend for the faith (Jude 3). As we study the OT scriptures, we are fighting for God and the gospel, the things that this culture and its scholars have rejected. Yet, fighting for the faith must be done in humility. We recognize that these truths are a gift of God and an act of His grace. Without the grace of God, we would not see Christ and the beauty of OT.
With this post, I'm wrapping up this series on the Old Testament Intro class. I hope it's been as fun and informative for you as it has been for me.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5b: What OT Books are In/Out?
In the previous post, we looked at the relationship between salvation and scripture. When God saves, He speaks. He tells us what He does so we know how to respond with love, obedience, and worship. We see this pattern when God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt and when He brought them into the Promised Land. We see this pattern continue until the coming of Christ, the ultimate act of salvation.
When we talk about the Old Testament (OT) canon, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT recognized by Jesus and the people of God?” What did Jesus recognize as scripture and what was rejected? Was the Apocrypha (extra books in the Catholic OT) recognized?
JESUS AND THE PHARISEES
Remember that Jesus often clashed with the Jewish leaders. Though Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on the meaning of scripture, both sides searched, quoted, and read the same scripture, though they came to different conclusions. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they refused to come to Him as Savior and Lord:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39)
When Jesus was defending himself against the accusation that He was breaking the Sabbath, Jesus cites a somewhat obscure passage (Psalm 82) and asserts that “scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Again, both the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus are using the same Hebrew OT as their Bible.
What was the Hebrew OT at that time? It is the OT that the Protestants have today. Neither Jesus nor the Jewish leaders recognized the Apocrypha. After the resurrection, when Jesus walks with 2 disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus opens up God's word to show them that He fulfills all the OT prophecies for the coming Messiah. Jesus actually provides the 3 broad categories for scripture, and they don't include the Apocrypha.
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47).
Is there evidence that the Protestant OT is right? For evidence, we can look at the OT used by the different groups in Judaism during the time of Jesus. The groups included the Pharisees and Sadducees. But they also included a group called the Essenes (the ones who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). The Essences quoted the Hebrew OT in their writings. The Essences never cited the books in the Apocrypha as God's word. They only recognized the books of the Hebrew OT. The same can be said about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Samaritans. None of these groups ever recognized the extra books as scripture. And most of all, Jesus never recognized these extra books either.
JEROME'S HEBREW PRINCIPLE
In the 4th century, St. Jerome was asked by the Pope to make a new Latin translation of the Bible. His completed work was called the Latin Vulgate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Vulgate). When he worked on his translation, he had to determine which books to include and which ones to leave out.
For Jerome, the Hebrew Bible should be the OT for Christians. The books from the Apocrypha were put in the back of the Bible in a separate category. Jerome left them in because he thought they could be helpful. His decision to separate what was God's word and what wasn't is known as “Jerome's Hebrew Principle.” The Protestant Reformation followed Jerome, and their conclusion was this: Jesus' canon is our canon too. But, they went a step further by taking them out. This would eliminate any confusion on what was God's word. The reformers wanted to be absolutely clear that the Bible is true and must be obeyed, while nothing else, including the Apocrypha, has no such authority. Unfortunately, the Catholic church reversed Jerome's Hebrew Principle and added the Apocrypha into their Bible.
TAKEAWAY
What does this mean for us? We need to receive God's word as it is. Scripture warns us against adding or taking away from God's word:
"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (Deu 4:2)
"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Rev 22:18-19)
To change God's word by adding or removing things is nothing short of lying- those who do it claim that God has said something when He hasn't:
“Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30: 6)
The issue of the OT canon isn't something we can just brush aside as a minor point of doctrine.
On the flip side, the OT canon is a source of comfort for Christians. It is our duty and delight to meditate on God's Word day and night, that we may be careful to obey everything written in it. And, we have freedom to take or leave any other human writings because they aren't God's Word. We have clarity on our final standard of truth for our faith, a standard that we can use to evaluate everything else in this world. We do this with humility towards God and others, yet with confidence. God has spoken, and His Word is trustworthy and true!
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Pro 30:5).
When we talk about the Old Testament (OT) canon, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT recognized by Jesus and the people of God?” What did Jesus recognize as scripture and what was rejected? Was the Apocrypha (extra books in the Catholic OT) recognized?
JESUS AND THE PHARISEES
Remember that Jesus often clashed with the Jewish leaders. Though Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on the meaning of scripture, both sides searched, quoted, and read the same scripture, though they came to different conclusions. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they refused to come to Him as Savior and Lord:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39)
When Jesus was defending himself against the accusation that He was breaking the Sabbath, Jesus cites a somewhat obscure passage (Psalm 82) and asserts that “scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Again, both the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus are using the same Hebrew OT as their Bible.
What was the Hebrew OT at that time? It is the OT that the Protestants have today. Neither Jesus nor the Jewish leaders recognized the Apocrypha. After the resurrection, when Jesus walks with 2 disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus opens up God's word to show them that He fulfills all the OT prophecies for the coming Messiah. Jesus actually provides the 3 broad categories for scripture, and they don't include the Apocrypha.
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47).
Is there evidence that the Protestant OT is right? For evidence, we can look at the OT used by the different groups in Judaism during the time of Jesus. The groups included the Pharisees and Sadducees. But they also included a group called the Essenes (the ones who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). The Essences quoted the Hebrew OT in their writings. The Essences never cited the books in the Apocrypha as God's word. They only recognized the books of the Hebrew OT. The same can be said about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Samaritans. None of these groups ever recognized the extra books as scripture. And most of all, Jesus never recognized these extra books either.
JEROME'S HEBREW PRINCIPLE
In the 4th century, St. Jerome was asked by the Pope to make a new Latin translation of the Bible. His completed work was called the Latin Vulgate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Vulgate). When he worked on his translation, he had to determine which books to include and which ones to leave out.
For Jerome, the Hebrew Bible should be the OT for Christians. The books from the Apocrypha were put in the back of the Bible in a separate category. Jerome left them in because he thought they could be helpful. His decision to separate what was God's word and what wasn't is known as “Jerome's Hebrew Principle.” The Protestant Reformation followed Jerome, and their conclusion was this: Jesus' canon is our canon too. But, they went a step further by taking them out. This would eliminate any confusion on what was God's word. The reformers wanted to be absolutely clear that the Bible is true and must be obeyed, while nothing else, including the Apocrypha, has no such authority. Unfortunately, the Catholic church reversed Jerome's Hebrew Principle and added the Apocrypha into their Bible.
TAKEAWAY
What does this mean for us? We need to receive God's word as it is. Scripture warns us against adding or taking away from God's word:
"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (Deu 4:2)
"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Rev 22:18-19)
To change God's word by adding or removing things is nothing short of lying- those who do it claim that God has said something when He hasn't:
“Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30: 6)
The issue of the OT canon isn't something we can just brush aside as a minor point of doctrine.
On the flip side, the OT canon is a source of comfort for Christians. It is our duty and delight to meditate on God's Word day and night, that we may be careful to obey everything written in it. And, we have freedom to take or leave any other human writings because they aren't God's Word. We have clarity on our final standard of truth for our faith, a standard that we can use to evaluate everything else in this world. We do this with humility towards God and others, yet with confidence. God has spoken, and His Word is trustworthy and true!
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Pro 30:5).
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5a: What OT Books are In/Out?
This is installment number 5 in a series of posts that have hit some of the highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class I took at Westminster. Today I'll start tackling an issue that has been debated quite a bit between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The issue is the Old Testament (OT) Canon. The OT canon is the official list of books that should be included in the Old Testament. In the table of contents in your Bible, the canon is the list of books you'll see. Anything that's not there is not part of God's word. Protestants have 39 books in the OT, while Catholics have added a few extras. These extras are called the Apocrypha, and they include books such as the Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, Additions to Daniel and the Psalms, etc...)
So, who has the right list? Should Protestants include the Apocrypha? But more importantly, why does this matter?
The OT is the foundation for our faith. The canon matters because it's God's word. Something written by a human author may have interesting or useful ideas, but we can take it or leave it without eternal consequences. However, rejecting the word of God is rejecting God's message of salvation:
We assume two important things when we talk about the canon:
This reminds us that God is the all-powerful Creator, and we are dependent creatures. When God speaks, we should humbly submit to Him and worship Him as our supreme ruler, even if we don't have all the answers. All too often, we expect God to answer to us, when we must answer to God. Humility before God means that we receive His word as truthful and trustworthy.
CANON AND REDEMPTIVE HISTORY
God's word has always come to God's people when God saves them. After God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible to record God's history and law: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me......” (Exodus 20:2-3)
At each point in redemptive history, God gives His people everything they need to know until the next act of salvation:
Joshua added to the first 5 books of the Bible so that God's people would remember what God did and why He did it.
So, we begin to see a pattern in scripture. Whenever God saves His people, He also gives them His Word so they will understand and respond in the right way. When God saves, God speaks.
Notice something very important. When Joshua wrote new scripture, it was added to what was already written by Moses. The first 5 books weren't thrown away- God added new words to His old ones. Scripture builds on itself.
IN THESE LAST DAYS.....
Fast forward a few thousand years from the book of Joshua to the New Testament. When Jesus Christ came, God performed the ultimate act of salvation. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the only mediator who can bridge the gap between man and God, the one we were created to love, serve, and obey. In this greatest act of salvation, shouldn't we expect God to bring additional revelation? He does!
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2)
In the past, God spoke through prophets like Moses and Joshua. In these last days, Jesus Christ speaks as God Himself. And since all scripture builds on itself, Jesus Christ isn't going to throw away the OT. He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17).
If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. We have seen up to this point that when God saves His people, He speaks to them. And as He continues to work, He adds to His word. This process keeps moving forward until the ultimate act of salvation found in Jesus.
The history of God's salvation should lead us to humble worship. He is not only the all-powerful Creator, but in Jesus Christ, He is our loving Savior. God stooped down to save us and then speak to us so that we could know His salvation. The canon isn't some dry, boring topic for scholars to debate. The canon is what God has provided to His people so that we may know Him and worship Him. How kind and gracious of God to do that!
So, if we want to know what should be included in the OT, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT that Jesus had?” What was recognized by God's Son and God's people as the official word of God? Did the Jesus's Bible contain the Apocrypha? To answer this question, stay tuned to my next post....
So, who has the right list? Should Protestants include the Apocrypha? But more importantly, why does this matter?
The OT is the foundation for our faith. The canon matters because it's God's word. Something written by a human author may have interesting or useful ideas, but we can take it or leave it without eternal consequences. However, rejecting the word of God is rejecting God's message of salvation:
- “You have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15).
- ”You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet 1:23)
We assume two important things when we talk about the canon:
- God has spoken (See this post on the authority of God's word)
- The Holy Spirit enables God's people to recognize God's word (1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Thess. 2:13).
This reminds us that God is the all-powerful Creator, and we are dependent creatures. When God speaks, we should humbly submit to Him and worship Him as our supreme ruler, even if we don't have all the answers. All too often, we expect God to answer to us, when we must answer to God. Humility before God means that we receive His word as truthful and trustworthy.
CANON AND REDEMPTIVE HISTORY
God's word has always come to God's people when God saves them. After God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible to record God's history and law: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me......” (Exodus 20:2-3)
At each point in redemptive history, God gives His people everything they need to know until the next act of salvation:
- "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.” (Deut. 5:22)
- "Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. “ (Deut. 12:32 )
Joshua added to the first 5 books of the Bible so that God's people would remember what God did and why He did it.
So, we begin to see a pattern in scripture. Whenever God saves His people, He also gives them His Word so they will understand and respond in the right way. When God saves, God speaks.
Notice something very important. When Joshua wrote new scripture, it was added to what was already written by Moses. The first 5 books weren't thrown away- God added new words to His old ones. Scripture builds on itself.
IN THESE LAST DAYS.....
Fast forward a few thousand years from the book of Joshua to the New Testament. When Jesus Christ came, God performed the ultimate act of salvation. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the only mediator who can bridge the gap between man and God, the one we were created to love, serve, and obey. In this greatest act of salvation, shouldn't we expect God to bring additional revelation? He does!
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2)
In the past, God spoke through prophets like Moses and Joshua. In these last days, Jesus Christ speaks as God Himself. And since all scripture builds on itself, Jesus Christ isn't going to throw away the OT. He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17).
If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. We have seen up to this point that when God saves His people, He speaks to them. And as He continues to work, He adds to His word. This process keeps moving forward until the ultimate act of salvation found in Jesus.
The history of God's salvation should lead us to humble worship. He is not only the all-powerful Creator, but in Jesus Christ, He is our loving Savior. God stooped down to save us and then speak to us so that we could know His salvation. The canon isn't some dry, boring topic for scholars to debate. The canon is what God has provided to His people so that we may know Him and worship Him. How kind and gracious of God to do that!
So, if we want to know what should be included in the OT, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT that Jesus had?” What was recognized by God's Son and God's people as the official word of God? Did the Jesus's Bible contain the Apocrypha? To answer this question, stay tuned to my next post....
Monday, September 26, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 4: Are OT Manuscripts Reliable?
If you've been reading along, you know that I've been posting articles about the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. In previous posts, I've tried to answer the questions: “Why study the Old Testament?” and “Why study the geography and history of the OT?”
This post will be about manuscript reliability. The Bible translations we have today- be it NIV, ESV, NLT, etc... are based on manuscripts that were edited 1000s of years ago and then transmitted over time. None of us have the original copies written down by Moses, David, or Jeremiah. And there are known differences and changes that have crept up over time. For example, the Greek translation of the book of Jeremiah is about 15% shorter and has a different chapter sequence. So, it seems like the Greek version was originally based on a different Hebrew text and not the Hebrew text we have today.
Even though the scribes were very careful, they could not avoid making the occasional mistake. Often they were unintentional and due to human error. Physical damage by accident and decay would leave holes in the text or a scribe might leave something out or hear something incorrectly while the text was being dictated.
And yet, our faith hinges on what the Bible says. Without the Bible, we would have no knowledge of God, creation, or His redemptive work that reaches its climax in Christ.
This begs the question: Can we trust the Bible? Or, is the Bible a corrupted version of God's word- maybe only a faint witness to the original, which is now lost? A lot is at stake here. If the Bible is only partially trustworthy, then the foundation of our faith isn't completely reliable. If that's the case, we have no basis for claiming that Yahweh is the only true God and that Christ is the only way to Him. Thus, who can say that Christ is the only path to God when many other faiths proclaim many other ways?
Before we can answer this question, we need to set the boundaries of our discussion. As we examine the history and manuscripts to see if the Bible is trustworthy, we must remember our position of faith: God is active and in control of all things. Roman Catholic teaching says we should look for someone or something (church authority) to tell us the final answer. Skeptics say that we should look to human reason and our own understanding as the final standard. But, the final standard of truth is found in God Himself, and not some standard that is outside of Him. There are difficulties, and we may never find an intellectually satisfying answer to all of them. So, is our trust in our ability to reconstruct the text perfectly or in God?
CAUTIOUS CONSERVATISM
As Christians, we can take a path of cautious conservatism- God's word in its original form exists in the various manuscripts, but we may have to do some work to find it.
As mentioned earlier, a manuscript may have errors, but it is very unlikely for all manuscripts to have the same error. Bible scholars see how the different manuscripts compare/contrast. They decide which is the most reliable one as many of them usually agree while a few have differences. If most manuscripts say one thing, and only a few have a difference, scholars often go with the one with more copies. In other words, majority wins!
The work of researching the different manuscripts to get the original is called “Textual Criticism.” Scholars have been working on Textual Criticism for centuries, so its nothing new. Think of it as a kind of Bible CSI- investigative teams have to sift through the evidence to construct the original story.
The different options for the original text are placed in the footnotes or margins of the Bible if enough manuscripts have that difference. For example, in 2 Samuel 12:21, the ESV says this: "When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." The context is that David's firstborn son Amnon had just raped his half-sister Tamar. David is upset, but that's about all that David does. There's no mention of any punishment for Amnon. The footnote for this verse says, "Dead Sea Scroll, Septuigent add "But he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn." Interesting. Two other manuscript families give us a little more insight into why David seemed unwilling to do anything after this incident.
So, should we be concerned that there are multiple options? Before we start to panic, realize that the Bible is the most well attested ancient document that exists. Thousands of manuscripts are available to piece together the original text. Only a very small part of the text is in question. And the vast majority of those variations make no difference in how we understand and apply scripture. This means that no major theological point depends on whether or not scholars "got it right." Therefore, passages like Jeremiah 31 that describe and foretell the coming of Christ and the New Covenant are rock-solid:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.....For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The prophecies about Christ, the new covenant, and the forgiveness of sins are unmistakably clear and reliable. Here are two quotes from scholars who have spent decades going through the OT in the ancient text:
“Textual criticism has established beyond reasonable doubt that no significant teaching of scripture is called into question” (Silva)
“Even if we adopted every single alternative reading, we'd largely have the same Bible” (Walke)
DEAD SEA SCROLLS
Textual criticism was given a huge boost in the 1940s with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls). The scrolls are dated to around 400 BC and include references to every single book of the OT except for one (Esther). Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest known copies of the OT were from the 10th century A.D. Before this find, it would be impossible to demonstrate that the OT prophecies about Christ as a suffering servant (e.g. Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22) were true, or if they were made up after the fact.
The Dead Sea Scrolls is a huge piece of evidence testifying to the trustworthiness of the OT. If we compare the Dead Sea scrolls with versions from the 10th century AD, they are virtually the same. This means that for over 1000 years, the OT was faithfully transmitted.
WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
As mentioned earlier, we don't ultimately base our confidence on man's carefulness. Our confidence rests in God, who has spoken and graciously preserved His word for us today. This means that pastors, scholars, and all Christians can trust in God and His Word. Having some awareness of our manuscripts and their reliability helps us appreciate the roots of our faith. We don't need to fear when skeptics question the reliability of the Bible. Rather, we can be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have.
This post will be about manuscript reliability. The Bible translations we have today- be it NIV, ESV, NLT, etc... are based on manuscripts that were edited 1000s of years ago and then transmitted over time. None of us have the original copies written down by Moses, David, or Jeremiah. And there are known differences and changes that have crept up over time. For example, the Greek translation of the book of Jeremiah is about 15% shorter and has a different chapter sequence. So, it seems like the Greek version was originally based on a different Hebrew text and not the Hebrew text we have today.
Even though the scribes were very careful, they could not avoid making the occasional mistake. Often they were unintentional and due to human error. Physical damage by accident and decay would leave holes in the text or a scribe might leave something out or hear something incorrectly while the text was being dictated.
And yet, our faith hinges on what the Bible says. Without the Bible, we would have no knowledge of God, creation, or His redemptive work that reaches its climax in Christ.
This begs the question: Can we trust the Bible? Or, is the Bible a corrupted version of God's word- maybe only a faint witness to the original, which is now lost? A lot is at stake here. If the Bible is only partially trustworthy, then the foundation of our faith isn't completely reliable. If that's the case, we have no basis for claiming that Yahweh is the only true God and that Christ is the only way to Him. Thus, who can say that Christ is the only path to God when many other faiths proclaim many other ways?
Before we can answer this question, we need to set the boundaries of our discussion. As we examine the history and manuscripts to see if the Bible is trustworthy, we must remember our position of faith: God is active and in control of all things. Roman Catholic teaching says we should look for someone or something (church authority) to tell us the final answer. Skeptics say that we should look to human reason and our own understanding as the final standard. But, the final standard of truth is found in God Himself, and not some standard that is outside of Him. There are difficulties, and we may never find an intellectually satisfying answer to all of them. So, is our trust in our ability to reconstruct the text perfectly or in God?
CAUTIOUS CONSERVATISM
As Christians, we can take a path of cautious conservatism- God's word in its original form exists in the various manuscripts, but we may have to do some work to find it.
As mentioned earlier, a manuscript may have errors, but it is very unlikely for all manuscripts to have the same error. Bible scholars see how the different manuscripts compare/contrast. They decide which is the most reliable one as many of them usually agree while a few have differences. If most manuscripts say one thing, and only a few have a difference, scholars often go with the one with more copies. In other words, majority wins!
The work of researching the different manuscripts to get the original is called “Textual Criticism.” Scholars have been working on Textual Criticism for centuries, so its nothing new. Think of it as a kind of Bible CSI- investigative teams have to sift through the evidence to construct the original story.
The different options for the original text are placed in the footnotes or margins of the Bible if enough manuscripts have that difference. For example, in 2 Samuel 12:21, the ESV says this: "When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." The context is that David's firstborn son Amnon had just raped his half-sister Tamar. David is upset, but that's about all that David does. There's no mention of any punishment for Amnon. The footnote for this verse says, "Dead Sea Scroll, Septuigent add "But he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn." Interesting. Two other manuscript families give us a little more insight into why David seemed unwilling to do anything after this incident.
So, should we be concerned that there are multiple options? Before we start to panic, realize that the Bible is the most well attested ancient document that exists. Thousands of manuscripts are available to piece together the original text. Only a very small part of the text is in question. And the vast majority of those variations make no difference in how we understand and apply scripture. This means that no major theological point depends on whether or not scholars "got it right." Therefore, passages like Jeremiah 31 that describe and foretell the coming of Christ and the New Covenant are rock-solid:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.....For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The prophecies about Christ, the new covenant, and the forgiveness of sins are unmistakably clear and reliable. Here are two quotes from scholars who have spent decades going through the OT in the ancient text:
“Textual criticism has established beyond reasonable doubt that no significant teaching of scripture is called into question” (Silva)
“Even if we adopted every single alternative reading, we'd largely have the same Bible” (Walke)
DEAD SEA SCROLLS
Textual criticism was given a huge boost in the 1940s with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls). The scrolls are dated to around 400 BC and include references to every single book of the OT except for one (Esther). Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest known copies of the OT were from the 10th century A.D. Before this find, it would be impossible to demonstrate that the OT prophecies about Christ as a suffering servant (e.g. Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22) were true, or if they were made up after the fact.
The Dead Sea Scrolls is a huge piece of evidence testifying to the trustworthiness of the OT. If we compare the Dead Sea scrolls with versions from the 10th century AD, they are virtually the same. This means that for over 1000 years, the OT was faithfully transmitted.
WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
As mentioned earlier, we don't ultimately base our confidence on man's carefulness. Our confidence rests in God, who has spoken and graciously preserved His word for us today. This means that pastors, scholars, and all Christians can trust in God and His Word. Having some awareness of our manuscripts and their reliability helps us appreciate the roots of our faith. We don't need to fear when skeptics question the reliability of the Bible. Rather, we can be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 3: What's the Payoff In Studying the OT Background?
In this series of blog posts, I've been sharing highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The first post was a summary of questions that the course sought to answer, and the second tried to answer the question: “Why study the Old Testament?” The OT isn't a bunch of boring history. The struggles against idolatry, fear of man, love of money, living for the here-and-now are given to us in the OT and apply to us today.
Today, I'll expand these thoughts a little further. The OT gives us important insight into the NT so we can more fully understand Christ and His work. We have much more in common with the NT authors than the OT authors (e.g. the same gospel call, Great Commission, and the call to stay faithful until Christ returns). But, the OT audience was quite different (e. g. they had temples, priests, daily sacrifices, and tons of rules on what to eat, drink, and wear).
So, it seems like we'll have to do some more legwork to understand the time, people, and place of the OT. It's not so easy to take the OT and just run with it, like we can for the NT. If we want to appreciate the 70% of God's word that showcases the person and work of Christ, we must study the OT, including its geography and history. If we don't have some understanding of history and geography, we are bound to get lost.
WHY STUDY THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE OT?
God gave us His word throughout the course of human history. The OT didn't drop out of the sky. It was written in a particular time to a particular people. Slowly over time, God gave more of His revelation, which reached its fullness in Christ. God took thousands of years of human history to work from Adam to Moses, and then from David to Jesus (with many other folks in-between!).
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5)
God tell us that Christ came when “the fullness of time had come.” Though it seemed like a long time to us, God wasn't late. This period of time is like the first 10 chapters of a book that lead up to the grand climax. Even if the best part of a book starts at chapter 10, nobody picks up a novel and starts at that point. If Christ is the grand climax of God's redemptive plan, then if we want to get the full story of His work, we need the background of what God was doing before Christ came.
Our modern age isn't the only age that ever existed. We have to think beyond ourselves and understand scripture as the original audience would have understood it. As a result, little details which might seem insignificant to us are actually quite significant and purposeful. The background, setting, and geography of the OT matters!
To give you a few examples:
RESOURCES
If you made it this far, I feel honored for your time! Don't feel overwhelmed. The study of scripture takes a lifetime, and even then, we will never exhaust the depths of our God. The faithful pursuit of God little-by-little over a long time is well worth it.
If you want to learn more, there are great resources out there! The best starting point to learn all of this is a good study Bible. There are tons that are available: NIV, Reformation, and MacArthur study Bibles. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the ESV study Bible. Like many others, this study Bible has an introduction to every book and gives background information on the author, setting, and history. It also gives a big picture on how a particular book relates with the rest of the Bible (e.g. what role does Deuteronomy play in the OT law and how does it relate to the NT?). Since it's not written for scholars, its quite readable, and yet has enough depth for those who are serve in teaching and preaching.
Today, I'll expand these thoughts a little further. The OT gives us important insight into the NT so we can more fully understand Christ and His work. We have much more in common with the NT authors than the OT authors (e.g. the same gospel call, Great Commission, and the call to stay faithful until Christ returns). But, the OT audience was quite different (e. g. they had temples, priests, daily sacrifices, and tons of rules on what to eat, drink, and wear).
So, it seems like we'll have to do some more legwork to understand the time, people, and place of the OT. It's not so easy to take the OT and just run with it, like we can for the NT. If we want to appreciate the 70% of God's word that showcases the person and work of Christ, we must study the OT, including its geography and history. If we don't have some understanding of history and geography, we are bound to get lost.
WHY STUDY THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE OT?
God gave us His word throughout the course of human history. The OT didn't drop out of the sky. It was written in a particular time to a particular people. Slowly over time, God gave more of His revelation, which reached its fullness in Christ. God took thousands of years of human history to work from Adam to Moses, and then from David to Jesus (with many other folks in-between!).
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5)
God tell us that Christ came when “the fullness of time had come.” Though it seemed like a long time to us, God wasn't late. This period of time is like the first 10 chapters of a book that lead up to the grand climax. Even if the best part of a book starts at chapter 10, nobody picks up a novel and starts at that point. If Christ is the grand climax of God's redemptive plan, then if we want to get the full story of His work, we need the background of what God was doing before Christ came.
Our modern age isn't the only age that ever existed. We have to think beyond ourselves and understand scripture as the original audience would have understood it. As a result, little details which might seem insignificant to us are actually quite significant and purposeful. The background, setting, and geography of the OT matters!
To give you a few examples:
- LAND
We know that Israel was drawn to the gods that were worshiped by her neighbors. Why? Why was it better to worship Baal and not Yahweh (the LORD)? Baal is a storm god and a fertility god. The land of Israel, unlike Egypt, didn't have the flooding of the Nile to provide water for crops. The land of Israel is dependent on rainfall so that their crops are watered:
“But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” (Deut 11:11-12).
Knowing this, we now see that the choice of who to worship (Baal or Yahweh) is also test of faith. Would Israel trust God to provide rain? Or, would Israel worship the storm god to make sure their crops are watered? The implications for us are huge- where do we ultimately place our hope? Throughout history, God requires faith from His people. His work and His Word are to be trusted. God expects the same for those who draw near to Christ to be saved. - LOCATION
In the Ancient Near East, Israel is in a strategic location. Israel is the “land between” (Jim Monson). Egypt is to the south, and the rest of the world powers are to the north. Those who want to go from one end to the other must pass through Israel. The surrounding nations want to control that land,while Israel fights to hold onto it. There are temptations for Israel to enter into alliances to secure the land. But, we know that God commands His people not to enter into alliances with the pagan nations:
“When the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” (Deut. 7:2-4)
Those who draw near to Christ face the same temptations to love the world and the things of this world. The OT continually warns us of Israel's temptations to compromise and become entangled, and the disastrous consequences that happen when small compromises lead to great sin against the LORD. God's people are always tested to see if they will be covenant-keepers or covenant-breakers (Heb. 10:26-30). I often have to stop and examine my own life. What motivates me? What do I trust? Do we rely on our education, money, or experience? Who or what is my trust? - HISTORY
One thing we keep hearing at Westminster that “scripture is a product of history.” The writers of scripture spoke to a particular audience in a particular place. For instance, we would never pick up the “Gettysburg Address” given by Abraham Lincoln and completely ignore Civil War history. In fact, Civil War history(what happened before, during, and after the Gettysburg address) gives the context we need to understand what Lincoln spoke.
God's work in history gives us the context to understand what God spoke. God's redemptive acts (e.g. the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the history of the judges and kings etc....) is our context and setting. If we don't understand that historical context and setting, we won't understand what God is doing.
The nice thing about studying this history is that God has already given us the cliff-notes version! The Bible is not a comprehensive textbook on human history. It is selective (though sufficient, reliable, and true). The Bible's selectivity becomes its strength. God has already edited things so that we have the most important events recorded for us.
Obviously, much more can be said about history, but this is already getting quite long. Here's an example that might be helpful.
For instance, knowing that the Egyptians worshiped the sun and the Nile river as gods helps you understand the nature of the 10 plagues. The plagues against Egypt included blocking out the sun and turning the Nile river to blood. God's power was directed against the false gods of Egypt. God tells Pharaoh and Egypt the purpose of the plagues: “That you may know that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).
RESOURCES
If you made it this far, I feel honored for your time! Don't feel overwhelmed. The study of scripture takes a lifetime, and even then, we will never exhaust the depths of our God. The faithful pursuit of God little-by-little over a long time is well worth it.
If you want to learn more, there are great resources out there! The best starting point to learn all of this is a good study Bible. There are tons that are available: NIV, Reformation, and MacArthur study Bibles. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the ESV study Bible. Like many others, this study Bible has an introduction to every book and gives background information on the author, setting, and history. It also gives a big picture on how a particular book relates with the rest of the Bible (e.g. what role does Deuteronomy play in the OT law and how does it relate to the NT?). Since it's not written for scholars, its quite readable, and yet has enough depth for those who are serve in teaching and preaching.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 2: Why study the OT?
In this series of posts, I'm sharing some of what I learned from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The previous post introduced some important questions the course tried to answer. Many of them were very fascinating (e.g. Where did the OT come from, and how trustworthy is it?)
Before you get some high hopes that the course completely answered every question that anyone might ask about the OT, I need to clarify some expectations. One of the main takeaways from the course is summed up in this quote by John Frame:
“The strength of our positions is that we can say, 'We don't know', but we know the One who does" (John Frame).
God is the author of scripture, and He has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to a sinful and fallen people. Like Job, we may want all of our questions answered before we feel satisfied. Job earnestly sought an audience with God so he could plead his case and find out why he had to endure such terrible suffering. But God doesn't give him answers. God simply raises more questions such as: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). And, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” (Job 40:2). Basically, God was telling Job that He is God and Job is not.
And Job's response is one we can learn from: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
Today, I'll try to discuss why a Christian should study the Old Testament.
WHY STUDY THE OT?
The Old Testament (OT) is essential in light of the New Testament (NT) because it helps us more fully understand the work of Christ. It is the frame of reference without which we cannot understand the work of Christ.
Christ said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). If we want to understand why Christ came and how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, we will need some understanding of the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
Christ said this to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).
When Jesus was ministering, there was no NT yet. So, when He argues with the Pharisees on how to interpret scripture, both parties are referring to only the OT. Jesus is clear: the Scriptures (or just the OT) is about Him!
Augustin said that the NT is in the OT concealed. How? Our professor Chris Fantuzzo said, “The OT is good news of Christ who will come, but NT is the good news of Christ who has come.”
Thus, both the OT and NT serve as witnesses to Christ and His resurrection. God's word centers on the person and work of Christ. If we are ignorant of the OT (which makes up 70% of the Bible), this means we are ignorant of 70% of what God has to say about our redemption!
What does this look like? The OT is filled with images and symbols that point us to Christ.
For example, we see the image of shepherd all over the place. Jacob and David were both shepherds. God refers to the leaders of Israel as shepherds in Ezekiel 34. Unfortunately, they were corrupt and self-serving. Psalm 23 gives us the image of the LORD as our shepherd. All these images are introduced to shine a spotlight on Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd and the one who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10).
We could say the same about the image of the sacrificial lamb, which is the centerpiece of the Passover in Exodus 12.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:12-13)
Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If His blood covers you, then on the final Day of Judgment, God's judgment and anger against us because of our sin will be passed over (Revelation 20:11-15). No destruction will touch us, even though the rest of sinful humanity is cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
There are countless symbols and images (e.g. the tabernacle, temple, covenants, sacrifices, prophets, priests, kings, etc...). All were introduced in the OT, but come to fulfillment in the NT.
How is this possible?
There is one God which means there is one God of redemptive history. Though He used different people and ways to reveal Himself, in these last days, He speaks through Christ. The God who spoke in the OT is the same God who spoke in the NT: Both the OT and NT serve as a single, unified witness to Christ.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1)
We live in the last days- a very unique time in human history. Many looked forward to the coming Messiah, but we live at a time when the Messiah has already come.
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-18).
With this privileged position comes the responsibility of knowing the whole counsel of God- all the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation.
Before you get some high hopes that the course completely answered every question that anyone might ask about the OT, I need to clarify some expectations. One of the main takeaways from the course is summed up in this quote by John Frame:
“The strength of our positions is that we can say, 'We don't know', but we know the One who does" (John Frame).
God is the author of scripture, and He has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to a sinful and fallen people. Like Job, we may want all of our questions answered before we feel satisfied. Job earnestly sought an audience with God so he could plead his case and find out why he had to endure such terrible suffering. But God doesn't give him answers. God simply raises more questions such as: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). And, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” (Job 40:2). Basically, God was telling Job that He is God and Job is not.
And Job's response is one we can learn from: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
Today, I'll try to discuss why a Christian should study the Old Testament.
WHY STUDY THE OT?
The Old Testament (OT) is essential in light of the New Testament (NT) because it helps us more fully understand the work of Christ. It is the frame of reference without which we cannot understand the work of Christ.
Christ said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). If we want to understand why Christ came and how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, we will need some understanding of the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
Christ said this to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).
When Jesus was ministering, there was no NT yet. So, when He argues with the Pharisees on how to interpret scripture, both parties are referring to only the OT. Jesus is clear: the Scriptures (or just the OT) is about Him!
Augustin said that the NT is in the OT concealed. How? Our professor Chris Fantuzzo said, “The OT is good news of Christ who will come, but NT is the good news of Christ who has come.”
Thus, both the OT and NT serve as witnesses to Christ and His resurrection. God's word centers on the person and work of Christ. If we are ignorant of the OT (which makes up 70% of the Bible), this means we are ignorant of 70% of what God has to say about our redemption!
What does this look like? The OT is filled with images and symbols that point us to Christ.
For example, we see the image of shepherd all over the place. Jacob and David were both shepherds. God refers to the leaders of Israel as shepherds in Ezekiel 34. Unfortunately, they were corrupt and self-serving. Psalm 23 gives us the image of the LORD as our shepherd. All these images are introduced to shine a spotlight on Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd and the one who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10).
We could say the same about the image of the sacrificial lamb, which is the centerpiece of the Passover in Exodus 12.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:12-13)
Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If His blood covers you, then on the final Day of Judgment, God's judgment and anger against us because of our sin will be passed over (Revelation 20:11-15). No destruction will touch us, even though the rest of sinful humanity is cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
There are countless symbols and images (e.g. the tabernacle, temple, covenants, sacrifices, prophets, priests, kings, etc...). All were introduced in the OT, but come to fulfillment in the NT.
How is this possible?
There is one God which means there is one God of redemptive history. Though He used different people and ways to reveal Himself, in these last days, He speaks through Christ. The God who spoke in the OT is the same God who spoke in the NT: Both the OT and NT serve as a single, unified witness to Christ.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1)
We live in the last days- a very unique time in human history. Many looked forward to the coming Messiah, but we live at a time when the Messiah has already come.
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-18).
With this privileged position comes the responsibility of knowing the whole counsel of God- all the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 1
In the next couple of posts I'll be sharing some highlights from the “Old Testament Intro” class I took during at Westminster Theological Seminary. The class was very broad. The advantage is that we were exposed to lots of interesting topics. This included asking questions like these:
OT vs. NT: Why study the Old Testament? Isn't the New Testament more important than the Old?
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: The Old Testament didn't drop out of the sky from heaven in its current form. How did all its various parts (Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms) come together? Christians are students of scripture, not history or archeology. Why study the history and geography of the Old Testament?
MANUSCRIPT RELIABILITY: No one has any of the original manuscripts written by Moses, David, or any other author. Manuscripts we have today contain known transmission errors. How reliable are the manuscripts that we have? Is our Bible trustworthy?
CANON: The Old Testament canon (list of books) is different for Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic canon has several extra books. Who has the right one? Who decides whether a book of the Bible should be included or excluded in the canon? Does it really matter?
MYTH AND MODERN SCHOLARS: What do scholars today have to say about the Old Testament? Are the Old Testament stories (which include a talking snake and a talking donkey and the parting of the Red Sea) just a bunch of myths? Does the latest research in history and archeology confirm or deny the truthfulness of the Old Testament?
This is quite a list! And this is just a sampling of the topics. Because the course was so broad, it was hard to go in-depth into any one of these areas. This led to some challenges (including professors feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to teach this!)
To some, these topics might seem dry and boring. Some might argue that we should have a childlike faith and accept God's word as truthful without worrying too much about it. Besides, the Holy Spirit has to reveal God and His truth to a person before he will accept it. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). I agree. Jesus did say, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Lk. 18:17). We must approach God and His Word with humility, for that is what God requires. He has exalted above all things His name and His word (Ps. 138:2).
But, on the other hand, God calls us to be ready at all times to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet 3:15). Family members, co-workers, and others will ask us why we believe in God and in His Word. Are we ready to provide a reason for why we put our life into the hands of the God of the Bible (and not Allah, Buddha, or some other person)? Eternity is a long time to make a mistake here! Does our God reveal Himself in scripture? If so, can this scripture be trusted?
I can't promise that I'll fully answer all the questions posed above, but I'll try to take a serious look at some of the more interesting ones in upcoming posts.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).
OT vs. NT: Why study the Old Testament? Isn't the New Testament more important than the Old?
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: The Old Testament didn't drop out of the sky from heaven in its current form. How did all its various parts (Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms) come together? Christians are students of scripture, not history or archeology. Why study the history and geography of the Old Testament?
MANUSCRIPT RELIABILITY: No one has any of the original manuscripts written by Moses, David, or any other author. Manuscripts we have today contain known transmission errors. How reliable are the manuscripts that we have? Is our Bible trustworthy?
CANON: The Old Testament canon (list of books) is different for Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic canon has several extra books. Who has the right one? Who decides whether a book of the Bible should be included or excluded in the canon? Does it really matter?
MYTH AND MODERN SCHOLARS: What do scholars today have to say about the Old Testament? Are the Old Testament stories (which include a talking snake and a talking donkey and the parting of the Red Sea) just a bunch of myths? Does the latest research in history and archeology confirm or deny the truthfulness of the Old Testament?
This is quite a list! And this is just a sampling of the topics. Because the course was so broad, it was hard to go in-depth into any one of these areas. This led to some challenges (including professors feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to teach this!)
To some, these topics might seem dry and boring. Some might argue that we should have a childlike faith and accept God's word as truthful without worrying too much about it. Besides, the Holy Spirit has to reveal God and His truth to a person before he will accept it. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). I agree. Jesus did say, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Lk. 18:17). We must approach God and His Word with humility, for that is what God requires. He has exalted above all things His name and His word (Ps. 138:2).
But, on the other hand, God calls us to be ready at all times to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet 3:15). Family members, co-workers, and others will ask us why we believe in God and in His Word. Are we ready to provide a reason for why we put our life into the hands of the God of the Bible (and not Allah, Buddha, or some other person)? Eternity is a long time to make a mistake here! Does our God reveal Himself in scripture? If so, can this scripture be trusted?
I can't promise that I'll fully answer all the questions posed above, but I'll try to take a serious look at some of the more interesting ones in upcoming posts.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Is there Value in Learing Biblical Hebrew? (part 2)
In the last post, I posed the question, "Is there value in learning the original languages of the Bible?" Sure, there are Bible translators and scholars who might need them. But how about us and the rest of the church?
Our Hebrew teacher at Westminster (Libbie Groves) made a very compelling case, and I want to flesh this out a bit more here.
1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT
God and His plan of salvation are very clearly explained in Scripture. No one needs to consult the Greek or Hebrew text to know that God requires all men to repent and place their trust in Christ because He has fixed a day of judgment for all. Yet, there are many places in scripture where there is some ambiguity. Words and phrases could have more than one meaning. In those situations, Bible translators have to make a decision on how to translate something with the knowledge that there are multiple options. When we were translating the verse Judges 3:23, we ran into such a case.
The ESV translates it this way: "Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them." (Judges 3:23)
Ehud was a judge of Israel who killed Eglon, the king of Moab, and freed Israel from foreign oppression. Judges 3 has a fascinating story of how Ehud gets into the evil king's private chambers with a concealed weapon, kills him, and then escapes by going out the porch. When we looked up the Hebrew word that is translated as "porch" in the ESV, we found this entry: "uncertain: vestibule, latrine, air-hole".
According to Hebrew scholars, the word has an uncertain meaning. It could mean "vestibule" (or "hall"), "latrine", or "air-hole". So, Ehud could have escaped out the porch, hall, or even sewage pipe. Maybe Ehud pulled a "Shawshank Redemption" type of escape (Andy Dufresne crawled his way to freedom through sewer pipe filled with human waste).
At any rate, we don't know for sure. In these ambiguous cases, we ought to tread lightly. For instance, it would be unwise (or even a mistake) for a preacher to base the main point of a sermon on something that's ambiguous. Someone who knows the original language would be able to avoid this kind of mistake and detect those who make it. The Bible warns us that there are plenty of false prophets and teachers out there. When there is uncertainty in the original text, a translation becomes an interpretation. And these interpretations should be treated with care. A pastor is more equipped to shepherd his flock and protect them if he has the tools to see where someone is drawing conclusions from passages that are ambiguous.
2. LOST IN TRANSLATION
We've all heard of the phrase "lost in translation". The Bible isn't immune from this. The authors of scripture often use grammar to highlight something. Using Hebrew grammar to make a point about something may not work in English because English has a different grammatical structure. WARNING - this point may seem quite dry, so feel free to skip ahead!
For example, Judges 1:21 says: "But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites...." . In this verse fragment, the noun is "the people of Benjamin", the verb is "did not drive out", and the direct object is the "Jebusites".
Typical English order: Noun -> Verb -> Direct Object. Hebrew sentences typically start with the verb instead of the noun.
Typical Hebrew order: Verb -> Noun -> Direct Object.
Typically, we expect: [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin] -> [Jebusties].
Instead, the text has: [Jebusites] -> [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin].
The direct object (Jebusites) is placed first. This is not expected. It seems like the author is drawing to our attention the presence of the Jebusties, which should have been driven out of the land of Canaan. If you have read the book of Judges, you will know that the nation of Israel failed to obey God in driving out the inhabitants of Canaan and failed to worship God whole-heartedly. The presence of "Jebusties" at the beginning of the sentence is lost in translation. Not the end of the world, yet something the author wanted to say is lost.
Judges 3:6 was another example we looked at. The typical word ordering is changed when a verb and direct object are swapped. As a result, the reader cannot tell which nouns go with which verbs. This intermingling of words reflects the intermingling between the Israelites and Cannanites. Rather than being separate as God's people, Israel mixes with her pagan culture:
"And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods." This unexpected word order even crashed some Bible software when it was trying to process Judges for the first time!
Examples like these show how the Hebrew grammar may tell be telling us something that is lost in translation. Without knowing the original language, these important (yet subtle) points may be lost.
3. THE SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD
Some may argue, "So what? We might lose a few things here and there, but our translations give us all the important stuff." Yet, scripture itself always challenges us to take a higher (and never a lower) view of itself:
"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:35).
God cares about all the little details in Scripture and they are there for a reason. Even the most seemingly insignificant dots in the Hebrew text are important to God and not to be treated lightly. Scripture was written by God through human authors in such a way that its ultimate source is God Himself and it is therefore completely trustworthy and authoritative.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17).
All of scripture is divine, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must give careful and thoughtful attention to its details.
I'm certainly no Hebrew scholar, yet I am beginning to see (in new ways) that preaching and teaching God's word carries great responsibilities. Those who are given a call to do these things should strive to be properly equipped.
Our Hebrew teacher at Westminster (Libbie Groves) made a very compelling case, and I want to flesh this out a bit more here.
1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT
God and His plan of salvation are very clearly explained in Scripture. No one needs to consult the Greek or Hebrew text to know that God requires all men to repent and place their trust in Christ because He has fixed a day of judgment for all. Yet, there are many places in scripture where there is some ambiguity. Words and phrases could have more than one meaning. In those situations, Bible translators have to make a decision on how to translate something with the knowledge that there are multiple options. When we were translating the verse Judges 3:23, we ran into such a case.
The ESV translates it this way: "Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them." (Judges 3:23)
Ehud was a judge of Israel who killed Eglon, the king of Moab, and freed Israel from foreign oppression. Judges 3 has a fascinating story of how Ehud gets into the evil king's private chambers with a concealed weapon, kills him, and then escapes by going out the porch. When we looked up the Hebrew word that is translated as "porch" in the ESV, we found this entry: "uncertain: vestibule, latrine, air-hole".
According to Hebrew scholars, the word has an uncertain meaning. It could mean "vestibule" (or "hall"), "latrine", or "air-hole". So, Ehud could have escaped out the porch, hall, or even sewage pipe. Maybe Ehud pulled a "Shawshank Redemption" type of escape (Andy Dufresne crawled his way to freedom through sewer pipe filled with human waste).
At any rate, we don't know for sure. In these ambiguous cases, we ought to tread lightly. For instance, it would be unwise (or even a mistake) for a preacher to base the main point of a sermon on something that's ambiguous. Someone who knows the original language would be able to avoid this kind of mistake and detect those who make it. The Bible warns us that there are plenty of false prophets and teachers out there. When there is uncertainty in the original text, a translation becomes an interpretation. And these interpretations should be treated with care. A pastor is more equipped to shepherd his flock and protect them if he has the tools to see where someone is drawing conclusions from passages that are ambiguous.
2. LOST IN TRANSLATION
We've all heard of the phrase "lost in translation". The Bible isn't immune from this. The authors of scripture often use grammar to highlight something. Using Hebrew grammar to make a point about something may not work in English because English has a different grammatical structure. WARNING - this point may seem quite dry, so feel free to skip ahead!
For example, Judges 1:21 says: "But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites...." . In this verse fragment, the noun is "the people of Benjamin", the verb is "did not drive out", and the direct object is the "Jebusites".
Typical English order: Noun -> Verb -> Direct Object. Hebrew sentences typically start with the verb instead of the noun.
Typical Hebrew order: Verb -> Noun -> Direct Object.
Typically, we expect: [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin] -> [Jebusties].
Instead, the text has: [Jebusites] -> [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin].
The direct object (Jebusites) is placed first. This is not expected. It seems like the author is drawing to our attention the presence of the Jebusties, which should have been driven out of the land of Canaan. If you have read the book of Judges, you will know that the nation of Israel failed to obey God in driving out the inhabitants of Canaan and failed to worship God whole-heartedly. The presence of "Jebusties" at the beginning of the sentence is lost in translation. Not the end of the world, yet something the author wanted to say is lost.
Judges 3:6 was another example we looked at. The typical word ordering is changed when a verb and direct object are swapped. As a result, the reader cannot tell which nouns go with which verbs. This intermingling of words reflects the intermingling between the Israelites and Cannanites. Rather than being separate as God's people, Israel mixes with her pagan culture:
"And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods." This unexpected word order even crashed some Bible software when it was trying to process Judges for the first time!
Examples like these show how the Hebrew grammar may tell be telling us something that is lost in translation. Without knowing the original language, these important (yet subtle) points may be lost.
3. THE SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD
Some may argue, "So what? We might lose a few things here and there, but our translations give us all the important stuff." Yet, scripture itself always challenges us to take a higher (and never a lower) view of itself:
"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:35).
God cares about all the little details in Scripture and they are there for a reason. Even the most seemingly insignificant dots in the Hebrew text are important to God and not to be treated lightly. Scripture was written by God through human authors in such a way that its ultimate source is God Himself and it is therefore completely trustworthy and authoritative.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17).
All of scripture is divine, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must give careful and thoughtful attention to its details.
I'm certainly no Hebrew scholar, yet I am beginning to see (in new ways) that preaching and teaching God's word carries great responsibilities. Those who are given a call to do these things should strive to be properly equipped.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Is there value in learning Biblical Hebrew? (part 1)
The spring term has been super busy, so we've been delinquent in keeping up our blog. I've been wanting to blog about a 4-week intensive Hebrew class at Westminster Seminary during January. So after much delay, here it is!
13 weeks were compressed into 4. Winter Hebrew was no joke. We were expected the clear the decks (of any work or ministry commitments) to focus on the class. The mid-term for the course has been described as the most difficult test at Westminster. Winter Hebrew is like full-time job where your employer expects you to work nights and weekends to meet a deadline because your project and your job depended on it.
Our professor told us a story about a guy who was a student during the Vietnam war. Full-time students were exempt from the military draft. Mid-way through the course, though, the student decided that he had enough. He dropped the class, enlisted, and then shipped off Vietnam. Apparently he thought the jungles of Vietnam were more bearable than Winter Hebrew.
It's kind of a funny story- well funny now that we're actually done. But it does raise some questions. Why would anyone subject themselves to 4 weeks of pain? Or to ask a slightly different question, "Why go through the trouble of learning Biblical Hebrew (or Greek)?" Aren't English translations good enough?
It is true that our Bible translations are sufficient for us to know God and His plan of salvation. The Westminster Confession captures this thought rather well:
Everything God wants you to know for His own glory, your salvation, faith and life, is either given directly or indirectly by Scripture....those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly given in scripture that no special training is needed to know what they are (paraphrased from Chapter 1, "Of The Holy Scripture")
I'm not advocating that everyone in the church must to devote years of their life learning Greek (the original language of the New Testament) or Hebrew (the original language of the Old Testament). Yet, I want to present a few reasons why studying the original languages is valuable and important for the body of Christ. I want to try and make a case for why there should be at least one person in your church (probably the pastor) who should know Greek and Hebrew.
Here are 3 reasons I'm going to give :
1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT. For instance, if you pick up the NIV and ESV (which are both faithful translations of the text), you'll notice some differences. As we've discovered, doing a translation means doing an interpretation. Different translations exist for different reasons. Some translations like the NIV do larger chunks of scripture at a time ("ideas") and aim for readability. Others like the NASB try to do smaller chunks ("word-for-word") and try to remain closer to the original text. Others like the ESV try to do something in between. These are broad generalizations, but you get the idea.
One is not necessary "better" or "worse" than another. By attempting a word-for-word translation, NASB or ESV has to do some awkward gymnastics to stick to its goal. Therefore, it's often less readable or clear than the NIV, which does more paraphrasing.
2. LOST IN TRANSLATION. Because languages are not identical to one another, things are lost in translation.
3. SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD. Imagine that you were given an important document- maybe a treaty between two countries, a crucial business contract, or a letter from a dear friend. But, it's written in a different language. Depending on how important it is and how much precision you need, you may not be content with a translation. In the same way, the words of eternal life found in God's eternal word may place a burden of responsibility upon some people to learn the original Biblical languages.
In my next post, I'll try to flesh out these reasons some more by going into some more technical details
13 weeks were compressed into 4. Winter Hebrew was no joke. We were expected the clear the decks (of any work or ministry commitments) to focus on the class. The mid-term for the course has been described as the most difficult test at Westminster. Winter Hebrew is like full-time job where your employer expects you to work nights and weekends to meet a deadline because your project and your job depended on it.
Our professor told us a story about a guy who was a student during the Vietnam war. Full-time students were exempt from the military draft. Mid-way through the course, though, the student decided that he had enough. He dropped the class, enlisted, and then shipped off Vietnam. Apparently he thought the jungles of Vietnam were more bearable than Winter Hebrew.
It's kind of a funny story- well funny now that we're actually done. But it does raise some questions. Why would anyone subject themselves to 4 weeks of pain? Or to ask a slightly different question, "Why go through the trouble of learning Biblical Hebrew (or Greek)?" Aren't English translations good enough?
It is true that our Bible translations are sufficient for us to know God and His plan of salvation. The Westminster Confession captures this thought rather well:
Everything God wants you to know for His own glory, your salvation, faith and life, is either given directly or indirectly by Scripture....those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly given in scripture that no special training is needed to know what they are (paraphrased from Chapter 1, "Of The Holy Scripture")
I'm not advocating that everyone in the church must to devote years of their life learning Greek (the original language of the New Testament) or Hebrew (the original language of the Old Testament). Yet, I want to present a few reasons why studying the original languages is valuable and important for the body of Christ. I want to try and make a case for why there should be at least one person in your church (probably the pastor) who should know Greek and Hebrew.
Here are 3 reasons I'm going to give :
1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT. For instance, if you pick up the NIV and ESV (which are both faithful translations of the text), you'll notice some differences. As we've discovered, doing a translation means doing an interpretation. Different translations exist for different reasons. Some translations like the NIV do larger chunks of scripture at a time ("ideas") and aim for readability. Others like the NASB try to do smaller chunks ("word-for-word") and try to remain closer to the original text. Others like the ESV try to do something in between. These are broad generalizations, but you get the idea.
One is not necessary "better" or "worse" than another. By attempting a word-for-word translation, NASB or ESV has to do some awkward gymnastics to stick to its goal. Therefore, it's often less readable or clear than the NIV, which does more paraphrasing.
2. LOST IN TRANSLATION. Because languages are not identical to one another, things are lost in translation.
3. SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD. Imagine that you were given an important document- maybe a treaty between two countries, a crucial business contract, or a letter from a dear friend. But, it's written in a different language. Depending on how important it is and how much precision you need, you may not be content with a translation. In the same way, the words of eternal life found in God's eternal word may place a burden of responsibility upon some people to learn the original Biblical languages.
In my next post, I'll try to flesh out these reasons some more by going into some more technical details
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