Week 16: Proverbs

Bible Journey 16: Proverbs

Pre-understandings

• A collection of wise sayings, truisms
• Poetic forms (couplets, etc) and imagery
• Generally understood to be from Solomon (though not all)
• Directionally speaking, Proverbs are mostly horizontal—speaking of relationships within the world—but having an eye to the Lord
• Think “Book of Sayings”

Main Characters

• Wisdom personified as a woman, a mother
• The Adulterous Woman as lust personified
• Wise Father (and mother)
• Sons in need of instruction
• Kings (good and bad)
• Fools
• The Wife of Noble Character

Truisms versus Truths

• Statements of the way life works generally, not necessarily promises that declare the outcome of all behaviors
• Not everyone who works hard gets rich
• Not everyone who dies young has lived an evil life
• Trust God to work it all out in the end

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

The message of Proverbs is “Live life on God’s terms and you’ll know the smile of God.”

I like Proverbs 30:7-9

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

Bible Journey 15: Psalms

Pre-understandings

• A collection of free-standing Psalms, each with it’s own unity and completeness
• Collection of poetry-calls for a different set of questions than prose
• A number of different settings, ap0plications, and purposes
• Directionally speaking, Psalms are mostly flowing from people of God
• Think “Hymn Book”

Main Characters: God and Me

• Questions such as date, author, and situation may be helpful-but are not the key interpretive issues
• Key questions:

How was God using this text in the life of His people (Why was it included)?

How does God want to use this text in my life, how will it help shape my life in Christ?

“US and WE” or “ME and MINE”?

• Some are very personal and private (23, 51)
• Others are corporate (90,95)

“PRESCRIPTIVE” or “DESCRIPTIVE”?

• Prescribes what I ought to think, feel, say or sing (105, 106, 107)
• Describes what I am thinking and feeling, but I am afraid to say (3,4,5,109,138)

“HAPPY” or “SAD”?

• Incredible joy and jubilation (121-126, 136, 144-150)
• Incredible hurt, misunderstanding and need (3,5,6,17,39,42,137)

Psalms 145:8

The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love.

The good news: (Ps. 139) God knows us-all about us, and still loves us!

Search me, O God, and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139: 23-24

Week 14: Job

Bible Journey 14: Job

Pre-understandings

·      The story of Job describes relationship with and understanding of God

Apart form the religious institutions of Judaism

·      Theology in its most basic form

·      The book presents earthly “reality” and spiritual “reality” in parallel

Have you considered My servant Job?

God’s assessment of Job “Blameless and upright-fears God and shuns evil”

1:1, 8, 22, 2:3, 10b

God brought Job to Satan’s attention-why?

Satan’s assessment of Job: he doesn’t fear God for nothing (1:9, 2:4)

Job and his Comforters

Sat silent for seven days

Job’s honest expression of a hurting heart

            Followed by a defense of God and his ways

Theology of Reciprocity

People love (serve, fear, honor) God for what we can get from Him

Good people are blessed, bad people are cursed

            Therefore: if you are blessed you must be good. If you are cursed you must be bad

Job’s response “Can I just die and get this life over with?”

The Trilemma:

God is Omni benevolent (all good), God is Omnipotent (all-powerful), Evil exists-any two can be true, but not all three

The answer is beyond our earthly reality

Job 42:3

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

When “Bad Things” happen to “Good People” remember this-we don’t have enough information (or any business) to decide who is “good”-and we don’t have a long enough timeline to know how God might redeem the “bad things”

Bible Journey 13: Esther

Pre-understandings

·      Setting in Time and Place: The Diaspora (The Scattered)

Place: Susa, the Capitol city of Persia (Exile)

Time: Early in the reign of Xerxes (Ahasueras)

Between the early homecoming described in the first half of Ezra and the later homecomings described in the second half of Ezra and Nehemiah

            Note the differences between Jews of the Diaspora and the Returnee Jews

o   Diaspora Jews bled in and along

o   Returnees separate and galvanize a national identity

o   Intermarriage

Emphasis on God’s provision for the continuation and survival of His people

The tools God uses

o   Xerxes-Easily Manipulated, Alcohol soaked Ruler of a World Super-Power

o   Esther (Hadassah)-a beautiful orphaned girl with a secret

o   Haman-a power hungry schemer nursing a blood-feud

o   Mordecai-the wise and shrewd good uncle of Esther who always seems to be in the right place at the right time

Just when things were going so well… (Reversals and plot twists)

o   Vashti flexes her royal muscles only to be deposed-making way for a “Cinderella-like” rinse for Esther (Hadassah)

o   Haman is hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai as Mordecai takes over Haman’s home and job

o   The “Holocaust” is averted, the slayers become the slain, and many convert to Judaism

Esther 4:14

“Relief and deliverance will arise…Who knew but that you have come for a time such as this?”

What the Enemy intended as evil, God has turned it for good

Consider also the stories of Joseph, young David, and the early chapters of Daniel

Week 12: Ezra & Nehemiah

Pre-understandings

• These are the books of rebuilding
• The Temple
• The Wall and City of Jerusalem
• Note the recurrence of “God’s favor” on Nehemiah and Ezra
• Note the urgency about the process of building
• Note the importance of Purity for God’s people
• No strangers allowed to help with the rebuilding
• Marriage to foreigners is to be repented of and rectified
• Importance of establishing valid family records for the priests
• Note the priority of Scripture (Gen.-Deut. The Book of Moses) and living according to what is found there
• First occurrence of Teaching Scripture
• Note the importance and recurrence of repentance
• Nehemiah chapter 1 contains a classic example of a prayer of repentance
• Key questions on the minds of those returning:
• “Are we capable of accomplishing the tasks set before us?”
• “Are the tasks worthy of our efforts?”

The tools God uses
Compare the end of 2 Chronicles with the beginning of Ezra:  Cyrus is God’s chosen instrument—as well as Darius and Artexerxes
Lesson:  The sovereignty of God is mightier than world powers and power brokers

Don’t Make the Same Mistakes Again
Muddled priorities because of adulterated worship accelerated by wrong-hearted relationships and “mixed marriages”

Leaders in Ezra-Nehemiah, as opposed to those in Kings-Chronicles are humble, prayerful and focused on the Word and the best interest of the people

Nehemiah 9:17

“But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate;
slow to anger and abounding in love.”

The return of God’s people to the Promised Land and the rebuilding of the Temple and the City of God (Jerusalem) prove that God doesn’t give up on His plan for His people.

Week 11: 1 & 2 Chronicles

1 & 2 Chronicles:

·      Pre-understandings

·      Chronicles offers many of the stories from Samuel and Kings but retold at least 3 generations later.

·      These stories are remembered for the returning exiles

·      The timeframe of the hearers has more in common with Ezra and Nehemiah than with Samuel and David

·      God’s message in Kings was “Here is how you got to this miserable exile.”

§  His message in Chronicles is “Here is how to recover from this miserable exile.”

·      Key question on the minds of those returning: “Have we fallen too far to come back?”

·      Key observation: look for what is missing as you compare the same events told in Kings versus Chronicles.

·      Back to the Beginning

·      The genealogy of chapters 1-9 goes all the way back to Adam

·      Note God’s plan from the beginning

·      The genealogy hits the high points, almost ignoring the hardest times

·      God is able to make all things work together for good

·      The genealogy links God’s plan from the Garden of Eden directly to the returning exiles.

·      The message is “God’s plan is still in the process of being carried out and you still have a place in it.”

·      Remember the Glory Days

·      David and Solomon were part of God’s plan, now it’s time for the next steps.

·      Never forget the Lessons of Failure or Success!

·      Retelling of what worked and what didn’t-from Rehoboam to Zedekiah

·      Be like David, not like Ahab

·      God calls His people to Himself-even form Israel after the Northern Kingdom’s fall

·      Listen to the warnings God offers-the role of prophets as told in Chronicles

Chronicles 28:20

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord my God, is with you.”

o   Chronicles ends with a sense of pregnant anticipation-waiting to see what will happen next…

Week 10: 1 & 2 Kings

·      It’s place in the Whole

o   The period of the Kings extends from the coronation of Saul to the exile of Judah, about 465 years.

o   The “Pre-Exilic Prophets” ministered during this time period.

o   One way to understand the history of Israel is the move from exile (in Egypt) to exile  (in Assyria and Babylon).The SHALOM (spiritual success) of Israel is traced through its relative nearness to, or distance from God.

·      Defining Moments

o   From David to Solomon: The King is Dead! Long live the King!

o   Solomon asks for wisdom (1Kings 11:1-13)

o   The Kingdom divided

o   Jeroboam’s golden calves (1 Kings 13:28-31)

o   Northern Kingdom (Israel) carried into exile (2 Kings 17:18)

o   Southern Kingdom (Judah) carried into exile (2 Kings 25:21b)

·      Defining Characters

o   The Kings; especially

§  David and Solomon

§  Jeroboam and his golden calves

o   The Queens and Queen Mothers; especially

§  Bathsheba

§  Jezebel

o   The Prophets; especially

§  Elijah and Elisha

§  The Company of the Prophets

§  Isaiah

·      Notable Stories and Events

o   Elijah and the prophets of Baal

o   Elisha and …everything

1Kings 3:12

“I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will have never been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.”

Do you want to know god ??

Or do you just want to know enough of god to get by ??

Week 9: Samuel

1 and 2 Samuel

Let us remember, our God is "hesed", the covenant keeping God. He is faithful when we are not.

Samuel is the last of the Judges, transition from the time of Judges to the time of Kings.

         First to have brought the nation of Israel together as a unified society since entering

         the Promised Land

Sad condition fo the Priesthood within Israel

The people wated to me like the nations around them (1Sam. 8:19-20)

By asking for a king Israel was rejecting God as their King

Primary Characters:

        Eli, the Priest and Judge

        Samuel, the miraculous birth, prophet, Judge

        David, a man after God's own heart

        THE PRESENCE OF GOD as represented through the Ark of the Covenant

Basic Question:  Where is God?

        Eli and his sons thought God could be carted out with the Ark

        Saul thought "wherever I am, God is"

        David thought "wherever God is, I want to be"

  The Presence fo God is REAL and the Ark of the Covenant manifests it

   God won't be taken for granted; not by Eli, Samuel,Saul or David

    God really desires " a man after His own heart"

        1 Samuel 13:14

'The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart"

        1 Samuel 16:7

"Man looks at the outrward appearance but the Lord

        looks at the heart"

Obed-Edom in whose home the Ark came to rest

Mephibosheth to whom David showed kindness for Jonatha's sake

Week 8: Ruth

  

RUTH 

1.  Invites us to look forward...one of 4 women in Jesus' genealogy.  What do we know about Ruth? 

       a..She was a Moabite:  hated by Isreal and shunned

       b. Daughter-in-law of Naomi and a widow of Naomi's son 

2.  Naomi has a sense of resignation and yet she finds and acknowledges the majesty and power of God in her loss.  (husband and sons and all she has materially) 

3.  Ruth says she will dwell with Naomi...see Ruth 1 verse 16. 

4.  Ruth the Moabites  (racial slur) but also known as a woman of hard work 

5.  Star of the show in the book of Ruth is Boaz.  He shows himself as a kinsman redeemer.  Shows loyalty and faithfulness of God. 

6.  the heart of the story...like Boaz, God throws his arms out to us, the least worthy and calls us to his heart, accepting us. 

7.  Ruth is chosen to be the grandmother of King David. 

8.  Reveals God's heart to the least likely..Us! 

9.  God who throws His covering over the least likely..us. 

10.  the heart of Christ ..Kinsman - Redeemer, buys us back.

Week 7: Judges

2:1-5 offers a preview of the whole book.

The Judges Cycle (2:10-19) is repeated a dozen times.

The primary picture shown by the book is what life is like for the People of God APART from God.

The choice is laid out so clearly. Remember Joshua's last words to the people; "Choose this day whom you will serve . . ." Judges offers the picture of choosing wrongly.

Judges also shows the heart of God toward His people in repentance. The amazing thing is not how often they fail, but how often God forgives!

The collection of stories are pretty graphic and there's rarely a clear picture of who is the "good guy". The moral of the stories is this: there is only one Good Guy-- the Lord.

You can choose life your way, or His way. You choose.

The last verse of the book sums it up. "In those days Israel had mo king; everyone did as he saw fit".

Week 6: Joshua

Week 5: Deuteronomy

Pre-understandings

·      Moses’ re-presenting of all that has gone before

o   Deuteronomy is composed mostly of speeches Moses is giving to the people

o   Recounting the journey so far

§  Deliverance from Egypt

§  Judgments in the wilderness

§  Faithfulness of God through it all

o   Restating the Covenant from Sinai (Ex. 19:4-6)

·      God’s got a plan (Jer. 29:11)

·      The Word in a word: “hesed,” “agape’,” Covenant Making/Keeping

Deuteronomy is Moses’ parting words to God’s people

• God’s people are at the borders of the Promised land
• 40 years of wilderness wanderings are coming to an end
• The previous generation (including Miriam, Aaron and even Moses) is closing out
• The new generation of Israelites (plus Joshua and Caleb) are called to Covenant Renewal with Jehovah God

Basic Question:  What is God really looking for out of us?

3 Things: Blessings, Curses, Love

• Deut. 28:1-14 lays out what life should look like under the Blessings of obedience
• Deut. 28:15-68 lays out what life will look like out from under the Blessings—under the Curse (note: it takes 3 times as much ink to describe the curse as it does the blessing.  Get it?  Live in the BLESSING!)
• Deuteronomy describes the heart of God as LOVING His people, and in response the thing He is most looking for is that we LOVE Him back!

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.

GRACE NOTE

·      One way to read a verse like Deuteronomy 11:1 ^“Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.”

·      Is to see it like this “Love the Lord your God BY KEEPING his requirements, decrees, laws and commands always.”

Week 4: Numbers

Genesis, God’s presence lost. Exodus, God’s presence restored. Leviticus, God’s presence sustained. Numbers, God’s presence persevering.

The Word in a word: hesed, agape, covenant making/keeping God

Numbers: God’s people remain at Mt. Sinai. Begins and ends with a census of God’s people. God knows His people by name.

Basic questions:

How can people like us live with a God like this?? In Leviticus we asked “what does God expect of me? What if I can’t deliver?” In Numbers we ask “what can I expect of God? What if God can’t (won’t) deliver?”

Our God is the God of order.

Numbers 1-10, 26 the countings - reveals that God knows us. 11-12 the grumblings – reveal that we do not know Him! 14-25 the wanderings – become the classroom where we come to know Him.

GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US

Numbers 6: 24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

God never intended for His people to wander for 40 years, the chose that. They got off His time line, but He never changed His perfect plan. What a comfort it is to know that even when we mess up and interfere with His timeline, the plan He has for us never changes. And He has a plan! (Jer. 29:11)

Grace Note:

Numbers 15:2, 17 Not “if” but “when” you enter the land I am giving you…

Numbers 22-24 Balaam’s cursing can only bless

Numbers 10:35 Let God arise! Let His enemies be scattered…

God loves us so very much! He desires to dwell with us and to fellowship with us. And He will never ever, ever give up on us!!!!