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Genres of the Old Testament · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome back to Reformed Thinking, where we aim to
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approach the written word with the care and the tools needed to
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really understand how it works. Today we are beginning a deep
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dive into the literary landscape of the Old Testament.
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We're going to be looking at the different genres you find in
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these ancient documents, working from the idea that how you read
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something depends entirely on what kind of thing you're
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reading. And that's really the starting
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point, isn't it? This whole idea of genre
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analysis. It's sort of like being handed a
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compass before you set out on a long hike.
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It just sets the right expectations for how you
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approach a text. Think about two very short texts
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for a second. Let's say text #1 is a
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children's rhyme, something like the Grand Old Duke of York.
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We know right away what it's for.
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It's for entertainment, for kids to sing.
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You expect a certain rhythm, maybe some hand motions, but you
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definitely don't expect a historically accurate account of
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18th century military tactics. Not at all.
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Now contrast that with text #2A courtroom oath.
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Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole
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truth, and nothing but the truth?
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It's also very short, but the genre, the setting, it all sets
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up a completely different expectation.
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Right. It's whole point is to get
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somebody to tell the truth. You'd never look for amusement
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in that oath, and if you tried to hold the children's rhyme to
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a standard of historical fact, you'd just be misreading it
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completely. The genre gives you the rules of
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the game. And that's what frames what
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we're doing here. We're taking a cue from scholars
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like Leland Riken, who pointed out that when the Bible uses a
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literary method, it's basically asking us to approach it as
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literature. So we're digging into the main
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literary genres of the Old Testament to try and gain some
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of that cultural familiarity. We need to read these ancient
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documents the way they were meant to be read.
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And avoid applying the wrong set of rules.
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Let's take another example text #3 that popular saying Give a
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man a fish and you feed him for a day.
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Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
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The structure itself, that parallel contrast.
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It tells you its purpose right away.
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It's designed to teach that the wisest course of action is the
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one with the best long term effect.
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It's a piece of wisdom literature.
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OK, and text #4 an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.
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We can pretty quickly see that it's genre is an affirmation, a
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group of people stating certain principles they hold to be true.
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The setting is specific. July 4, 1776.
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Philadelphia. And you can see the structure,
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it starts with a short summary, all men are created equal.
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And then it expands on three principles, life, liberty, and
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the pursuit of happiness. Its goal is just to state that
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affirmation. And we also know it's part of a
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much larger document, a declaration which gives it its
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context. Right.
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And the fact that we can figure all of this out so quickly is
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what some have called literary competence.
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It's a mix of understanding the words themselves, you know the
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grammar and syntax, and also recognizing the genre.
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That's the part that's sort of instinctive.
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It's the cultural cues that tell you a newspaper headline is
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written to inform, while a poem next to it is written to make
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you feel something. And that's our big challenge
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with the Old Testament. We didn't grow up in ancient
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Mesopotamia or Canaan. We're missing those immediate
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cultural cues because of the huge gap in time and geography.
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But we do have a couple of advantages.
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The first is that we share common human experiences.
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We understand legal procedures. We get the idea of passing on
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wisdom. We know what historical
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documents are for. And our second advantage is that
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we have modern literary tools. If we use them carefully, they
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can help us decode the structure and the rhetorical signals in
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these ancient writings and, in a way, bridge that gap.
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So the goal for our study here is really threefold.
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First, we want to provide some first steps and thinking
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literally about the Bible, looking at how the message is
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being delivered. Second, we'll introduce some
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preliminary literary vocabulary to to help with interpretation.
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And third, by seeing the skill and artistry in these texts, we
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can really enhance our understanding and just our
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enjoyment of the Bible. You move from seeing it as a
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flat collection of facts to this finely crafted set of
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communications. Our core belief here is that God
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conveyed his revelation in written literature so that
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people could understand it. So proper interpretation means
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we need to use these literary tools.
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They help us understand the Bible as a whole and avoid
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serious misreadings. OK, so let's begin our survey
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with the largest group of literature in the Old Testament
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narratives. Right.
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Narratives or prose stories make up about 1/3 of the Old
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Testament, and that fact alone tells you something.
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The ancient audience learned best through story and example,
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not through, you know, abstract doctrinal statements.
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And to read them correctly, we have to get their purpose right.
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They are designed more to instruct than they are to simply
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inform. They're meant to teach later
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generations about how to live in a way that honors God.
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It's really key to clarify here that when we talk about biblical
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narratives as stories, we are not in any way suggesting they
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aren't historical. They having happened.
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This the event is critical to its meaning.
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That's a great point. Biblical narratives are more
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than history because they have this literary shape and
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theological purpose. But they are certainly not less
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than history. So a good reading has to
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appreciate both the historical event and the literary form used
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to tell us about it. The most basic building block of
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all these narratives is what we call a report.
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It's the simplest form of story. What did that look like?
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Reports are usually brief, self-contained, and told in the
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third person. They're about a single past
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event, and they just state the facts pretty straightforwardly
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without a lot of stylistic flair or character development.
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So kind of like an administrative record?
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In a way, yes. You see this used for things
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like tribal settlements and judges one, or for royal
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building projects like the details about Solomon's
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construction work in First King 7.
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And military campaigns too, right?
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Like that short note about Farrah Shoe Shacks campaign and
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First Kings 14? They're just functional records.
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Exactly. Sometimes, though, a report has
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what's called an etiological purpose.
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That's just a fancy way of saying it's told to explain how
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a place or a custom got its name.
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Like in Genesis 35, where the burial of Rebecca's nurse under
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an oak tree explains why the place was called the Oak of
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Weeping. It links a place on the map to a
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specific event in their history. Precisely.
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And within this category of reports, there are a few
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specialized types that have very clear stylistic rules.
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OK, construction reports are one.
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They are super detailed about the size, materials, and
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decorations of important buildings.
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Think about the Tabernacle in Exodus 36 or the Jerusalem
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Temple in First King 6. The sheer level of detail is
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part of the message. It communicates that this is a
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serious matter, that God is due this specific meticulous honor.
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Hmm. Then you have dream reports.
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These are easy to spot. They're usually identified by
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the repetition of the verb to dream and the use of a specific
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Hebrew particle wahine, which means and.
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Behold. It's like a spotlight signaling
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something strange is happening in the dream.
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And crucially, they always need an interpretation, right?
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The dream itself is just the medium.
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Right. You always get a separate scene
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where someone explains what the dream means.
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You see it perfectly with Joseph in Genesis 37 and then again
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with Pharaoh in Genesis 41. We also run into Epiphany
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reports. These are about an appearance of
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God or the Angel of the Lord to someone, usually to give a
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message. The Hebrew verb for to appear is
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the main signal for this. Abraham's life is full of these.
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God appears to him in Genesis 12 to promise him the land, then
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again in Genesis 17 to establish the covenant.
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And if this happens in a dream, it's a dream epiphany, like
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Jacob's Ladder at Bethel. So moving up a level in
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complexity, we get to historical stories, yes.
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These are reports with more literary elaboration.
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They have a basic plot that moves from some kind of tension
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to a resolution. They often have a lot of
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dialogue and dramatic touches. Good examples would be Saul
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becoming king and First Samuel 11.
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There's a clear crisis with the Ammonites, and Saul provides the
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dramatic solution. Or the confrontation between
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Ahab and the Prophet Makai and 1st Kings 22.
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It's structured almost like a short play that leads directly
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to Ahab's death. And when you compile a whole
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bunch of these reports and stories together with a specific
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purpose, you get a history. Yes, a lengthy document where an
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editor has structured the material to highlight certain
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themes or connections. The goal is to evaluate the
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past, to either instruct or legitimize something in the
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present. This is where we see the
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theological perspective of the writers really clearly, like the
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difference between kings and chronicles.
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Right. They cover a lot of the same
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historical ground, but their purposes are very different.
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Kings probably written during the exile, looks back at the
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monarchy as a spiritual failure that led to judgement.
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But. Chronicles, written after the
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exile, is trying to give the new community a positive spiritual
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heritage to build on. It focuses on Judah, on David,
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on the temple, and it pretty much skips over the Northern
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Kingdom's failures. So with all these different
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types, how should we go about interpreting a simple report?
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For the basic functional kind, you have to focus on the main
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subject and then ask how it fits into the themes of the larger
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section it's in. Since they just state facts, the
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theological points usually have to be drawn from the context.
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A great example is Joshua 12. It's just a list of the kings
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that Yahweh defeated. The report itself is just a
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tally. But when you read it in the
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context of the whole book of Joshua, the implied themes are
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huge. God's power, His faithfulness to
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His promises, and His worthiness of Israel's gratitude.
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But in reports where God is a direct participant, like an
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epiphany, the themes are much more explicit.
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In Jacob's dream report, the message is right there on the
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surface. God is personally with Jacob and
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will be with him on his journey. Reports can also communicate
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things indirectly. The reader has to look for
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subtle cues from the writer. So back in first Kings 22, the
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story makes the prophet Micaiah out to be a courageous hero.
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And by doing that, the text is condemning King Ahab's half
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hearted religion. It's holding up Micaiah's
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faithfulness as the standard and showing how far the king has
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fallen from it. OK, let's move from those
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building blocks to genres that are built around major
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characters and start with the heroic narrative.
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This would be a. Series of episodes that focuses
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on the life of a central figure. Usually covers their birth,
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marriage, their life's work and their death and the.
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Point here is to highlight the hero's virtue or exceptional
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bravery, right? These stories seem to come from
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a culture's desire to embody its core values in the life of a
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representative character. That's right.
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The life of Moses, which runs from Exodus all the way through
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Deuteronomy, is the main example in the Old Testament.
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His story isn't just about him, it embodies the struggles of the
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whole nation of Israel and holds up the ideal of total loyalty to
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God. The.
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Stories in Judges about figures like Deborah, Gideon or Samson
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would also fit here, showing how God brings salvation through
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these local heroes and these. Narratives teach by example,
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both positive and negative. They show what loyalty looks
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like, but they also use flawed heroes like Samson to show the
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consequences of compromising God's standards.
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Then we. Have a more specialized genre,
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the Prophet story. This is a story.
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About a prophet's life that demonstrates their virtues but
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it also has another critical function it offers a theological
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critique of the world they lived in so it has a.
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Two fold purpose First, to show the audience what true faith
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under pressure looks like. And 2nd, to discredit the
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political and religious system of the day for denying Yahweh's
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sovereignty. The stories about Elijah and
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Elijah in One and Two Kings are perfect examples.
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They're constantly challenging the state sponsored apostasy of
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Ahab's family and the. Miracles in those stories were a
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big part of that critique. When Elijah purifies the poison
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Stew or raises the Shunamite sun, it's a display of Yahweh's
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power that implicitly shows the powerlessness of Beal Daniel.
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In the first six chapters of his book is another model.
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He shows what faithfulness looks like under the pressure of a
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foreign empire, and his story critiques the arrogance of
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emperors who think they are gods.
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And what about? Jonah.
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He's a prophet, but his story feels different.
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He's the. Negative example The antihero
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the book of Jonah uses him to teach the reader about having a
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God honoring attitude toward non Israelites it suggests that
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Israel was in a way running from its mission to be a light to the
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nation's just like Jonah rant tarshish so when we.
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Interpret these heroic and prophet stories we should start
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with the main character how does their life model a relationship
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with God and other people and what parts of the culture is the
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story trying to critique and since the.
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Heroes represent certain values. We have to ask what those values
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are. Abraham models this persistent
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faith. Ahab, on the other hand, is a
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portrait of faithlessness. We ask what kind of conduct the
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story is trying to encourage in its audience, and we also.
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Need to look for the big theological themes like election
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or apostasy or challenges to covenant leadership.
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For application we have to think in terms of analogies.
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What do you mean? By that, well, for.
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Example The stories of the patriarchs show God miraculously
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overcoming infertility to keep his promise alive the analogy
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for a Christian today isn't a blanket promise that God will
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solve every case of infertility right the.
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Analogy is that this shows God's supernatural determination to
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carry out his plan of salvation no matter the obstacles.
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Exactly. OK, let's turn to a genre with a
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happier ending, Comedy in literary.
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Terms A comedy is a story with a happy ending, usually through
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some kind of dramatic reversal. It often aims to amuse the
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reader through satire, irony, or mistaken identities, and it
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usually ends with a wedding, a feast, or a great victory.
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The book. Of Esther is a classic biblical
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comedy. The plot is a total tragedy
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turned triumph. You have Haman's plot, Esther's
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hidden identity, the King's insomnia happening at just the
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right moment, and that. Amazing reversal where the
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gallows built for Mordecai ends up being used for Haman.
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Then there's the Joseph story in Genesis.
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It moves from the tragedy of his exile and imprisonment all the
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way to his rise as Prime Minister, saving his family and
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that incredibly emotional reconciliation with his
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brothers. So to.
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Interpret a comedy. We have to trace the plot
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carefully. You look for the initial crisis,
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the turning point, and then the climax where everything gets
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flipped on its head and character.
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Development is key. You have to notice the traits of
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the heroes and villains. Esther grows from being
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reluctant to being incredibly bold.
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Haman on the other hand goes from complete arrogance to total
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self pity and defeat. We also.
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Have to ask about God's role. Is it direct or indirect?
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In Esther, God is never mentioned by name.
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But the author strings together a whole series of coincidences
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that the original audience would have seen as the clear work of
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God's hidden Providence, Joseph. Makes it explicit he tells his
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brothers that God guided all the ups and downs of his life to
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preserve Israel. So the main theme becomes clear.
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God's guidance and preservation of His people, even when things
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look hopeless, let's. Talk now about embedded genres.
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These are smaller literary forms that show up inside a larger
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story to make a point or illustrate a truth like a.
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Popular proverb. These are short, well known
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sayings that comment on something happening in the
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story. The phrase.
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Is Saul also among the prophets from First Samuel is a great
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example. It became a saying people used
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when someone started acting in completely unexpected way.
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Then you have. Riddles Samson's Riddle at his
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wedding feast is the famous one Out of the Eater.
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Something to eat out of the strong.
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Something sweet. Riddles were.
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Often used in diplomacy as a way to test someone's wisdom or
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exert a bit of intellectual control over situation.
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We also. Find fables where plants or
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animals act like people to teach moral jotham's fable and judges
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9 about the trees looking for a king is a political warning
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against the leader abimelech and king.
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Jehovah's fable in 2 Kings 14 about the Thistle and the cedar
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is a diplomatic insult, a warning to another king not to
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get too big for his britches, a parable.
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Is similar, but it uses human character characters.
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Nathan's parable to David about the rich man and the poor man's
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lamb is the classic example. It forces David to condemn his
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own sin. And finally.
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You often find songs embedded in narratives, victory songs like
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the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, or laments like David's
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beautiful dirge for Saul and Jonathan.
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So when? We interpret these.
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The goal is always to figure out what that little piece is
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contributing to the bigger story.
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Why did the author stop the narrative to insert a fable or a
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song right here? How does it affect our
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understanding? OK, let's move to the genre of
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law. We have to start by saying that
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Old Testament law is not a comprehensive legal code like we
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think of today. It often doesn't even specify
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penalties for breaking the statutes.
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It's more. Like a select sample of cases
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and topics, it's articulating Israel's national policy for
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living in covenant with Yahweh. Its.
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Main purpose was instructional, not just judicial.
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It was teaching the fundamental values of what it means to live
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in God's presence. It's not a technical reference
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book for judges for. Us.
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That covenant framework is everything.
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The law spells out the personal demands of Israel's sovereign
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Lord. It's interpreted relationally as
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a guide for their ongoing life with a gracious God.
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And it comes. In distinct forms, casuistic law
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is conditional. It's stated as if, then it often
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deals with civil or criminal cases and looks a lot like other
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legal codes from the ancient Near East.
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An example. Would be Exodus 22.25 if you
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lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not
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treat it like a business deal charge no interest.
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It sets a boundary for a specific situation, the second.
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Form is unconditional law. These are absolute commands.
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You shall or you shall not. They're not dependent on the
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situation and these. Usually deal with moral and
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religious matters that go to the heart of the covenant
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relationship itself. Things like you shall not murder
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or honor your father and your mother.
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These. Laws also tend to appear in a
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legal series, like the 10 Commandments.
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They're also phrased in a concise, almost poetic way that
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makes them easy to memorize. They represent the core
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principles that all the other laws flow from SO.
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The big question How does the law apply to Christians?
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We believe God intended the law to be a paradigm, a model of
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timeless ethical and theological principles.
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It's not outmoded. We can think.
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Of it in a few categories. First, some laws are still
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literally valid because they're about universal morality, or
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because the New Testament reaffirms them, like loving God
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and neighbor, or the rule about two or three witnesses.
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Second. Sometimes the New Testament
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actually makes the laws demand stricter.
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The 7th commandment forbids the act of adultery, but Jesus
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extends that to the intentions of the heart, to lustful
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thoughts. Third.
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There are laws where the literal practice is now obsolete because
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of Christ's work, but they still teach timeless truths.
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The sacrificial system is a prime example.
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We don't do it, but it teaches us how seriously God takes sin
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and that he provides a substitute.
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Same with the. Food laws, they're obsolete, but
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they symbolized Israel's special calling to be holy, a principle
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that now applies spiritually to all believers and. 4th When we
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apply the law, we generally apply it to the New Testament
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counterpart of the original audience.
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So laws for Israel as a nation apply analogously to the Church.
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Instructions for priests apply to the priesthood of all
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believers. Let's look.
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At a sample law, Exodus 21.711, it's a casualistic law about a
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female slave taken as a secondary wife.
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What's really? Striking about this law is how
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much protection it gives the woman.
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The husband is forbidden from selling her to a foreigner, and
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he can't deny her basic spousal rights, food, clothing and
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marital relations. And her.
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Right to freedom is based on the husband's breach of faith.
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The Hebrew word used there, Baghdad, implies a covenant
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violation. It means the law is treating her
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as a person with status, not just as property.
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The. Theological point is crystal
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clear. God is committed to protecting
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the vulnerable from abuse, and the application for us today is
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to examine our own relationships and to look for ways to advocate
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for and protect the vulnerable people around us.
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Now we'll. Turn to poetry, which is more of
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a literary style than a genre. It's the second most common
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style in the Bible, and it shows up everywhere we can.
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Start with prayers, which are spoken to God.
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The most common type in the Psalms is the protest or
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individual lament. This is a petition for God to
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deliver someone from a crisis like sickness or enemies and
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they. Follow a pretty classic
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structure, an invocation of God, a statement of confidence, a
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description of the problem, a specific petition for help, and
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then often a declaration of faith that God will act.
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Psalm 22 is a perfect example a few of.
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These protest psalms also include an imprecation, which is
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a request for misfortune to fall on one's enemies, like in Psalm
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109. Then we have.
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The seven penitential Psalms. These are where a contrite
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person is seeking God's mercy for sin and restoration of their
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relationship with Him. They give us a language for our
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own repentance. A dirge or a funeral lamentation
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is different. It's about an irreversible loss
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like death. David's lament for Saul and
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Jonathan and Cosex and Samuel is a powerful example.
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It gives legitimacy to deep human grief.
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OK. The second type is songs which
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were often sung in worship. The Thanksgiving song expresses
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joy for a past deliverance. The speaker addresses Yahweh but
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also invites the community to join in the celebration like in
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Psalm 30A hymn. Or song of praise praises God
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just for who he is. It usually has a summons to
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praise followed by the praise itself.
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And we can. Distinguish between declarative
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praise, which cites specific things God has done, and
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descriptive praise, which lauds God for his general character
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qualities like His Majesty or holiness liturgies.
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Are texts that involve 2 or more speakers responding to each
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other in worship. Psalm 118 is a good example with
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parts for a leader, the congregation, and individuals
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and. Finally, wisdom songs.
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These are more meditative and instructional.
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They focus on ethical issues, like contrasting the fates of
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the righteous and the wicked. Psalm 1 is the classic example
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of that. OK, let's.
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Move on to prophecy. When Israel went astray from the
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covenant, God sent prophets. Now while they sometimes made
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predictions about the future or foretelling, their main job was
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forth telling which. Means announcing God's will for
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the present generation, often an imminent judgement, right?
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And the prophetic books preserve these messages, but they also
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arranged them rhetorically so they can speak to later
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generations facing similar situations.
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Let's start. With prophecy proper, which is
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direct speech from God delivered through a messenger.
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The most common form here is the prophecy of disaster, the
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structure. Is usually pretty clear.
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First, it states the sin that justifies the judgement.
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Second, you get the messenger formula, thus says the Lord.
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And 3rd you get the prediction of disaster, often introduced by
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the Hebrew word lakin, which means therefore Elijah's.
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Message to King Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1 is a simple, clear
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example. The sin is consulting a foreign
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God. The result is that he will die.
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The logic is inescapable on the other.
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Hand a Prophecy of Salvation announces hope.
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It has a similar structure, just with positive content.
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Then there's. The woe speech which opens with
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the exclamation woe or Hoy in Hebrew.
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This form was probably borrowed from Funeral Laments Yes by.
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Using the language of a funeral dirge, the prophet is expressing
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this deep, outrageous sin and basically telling the audience
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that their judgement is so certain it's as if they're
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already dead. It's a powerful psychological
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tool, the prophetic. Books also have prophecies
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against foreign nations. These often use the form of a
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war Oracle proclaiming that Yahweh will go out to battle and
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defeat the enemies who threaten his people now.
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When we interpret prophetic 4th, telling the messages for the
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prophet's own time, the first step is always understand the
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historical context. What was going on politically?
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What was the religious and moral state of the nation?
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That's the framework for everything.
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Second. You have to determine the nature
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of the judgement. Is it an invasion?
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An exile? A famine?
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That word, therefore, is often the key marker.
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Third. And this is critical.
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Pay close attention to the reasons given for the judgement.
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They're usually marked by words like for or because.
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And the reasons are always rooted in violations of the
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Covenant, often the 10 commandments, as we see in Hosea
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4 and for. Application.
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We should think by analogy. We apply these messages
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primarily to the modern covenant people, the Christian Church,
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not to modern political nations. Our standard is the gospel ethos
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taught by Jesus. In a very important caution,
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divine judgement in these books didn't come because of a few
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isolated sins. It came after a long, long
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history of corporate sinfulness and a stubborn refusal to
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repent, often over centuries. So the message.
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Of Judgement is aimed at correcting A persistent, proud,
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sinful lifestyle that has taken root in the culture, not just a
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few individual mistakes. That's right.
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Now for prophetic foretelling or predictions about the distant
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future. The prophets tended to see
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history in two ages, the present age and the age to come.
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They often viewed the future telescopically, meaning.
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Distant events could look like they were right next to each
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other, like looking at a mountain range from far away.
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Precisely. And the New Testament helps us
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see that there were often huge time gaps between those peaks.
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So we have to interpret Old Testament prophecies about the
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future in light of Christ's first and 2nd comings.
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The Church age is sort of an invasion of the future into the
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present. We also need.
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To be aware of multiple fulfillments.
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A prophecy can have an initial fulfillment in the prophet's
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time and a later fuller 1A Great.
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Example is Tuxy Samuel 7.1 teen God's promise to Solomon.
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It was fulfilled when Solomon became king, but the book of
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Hebrews applies it directly to Jesus, the ultimate son of David
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and son of God. It's also.
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Key to remember that many prophecies are conditional.
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Their fulfillment depends on the people's response.
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Jeremiah 18 lays this out as a principle.
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If a nation repents, God will relent the story.
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Of Nineveh is the classic case. Jonah's message sounded
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absolute, but because the people repented, they were spared.
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The point of the prophecy was to bring about change prophecies.
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Can be fulfilled in different ways.
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Some are historical and literal, like the specific timing of the
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end of a famine in Samaria. Others.
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Have a historical and spiritual fulfillment.
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Amos 9 prophesied the restoration of David's monarchy,
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but in Acts 15, James interprets this as being fulfilled by
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Gentiles joining the spiritual rule of Christ.
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It's a broader fulfillment than anyone expected, and some are.
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Just unexpected. The disciples were looking for a
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conquering Messiah and they got a suffering 1.
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The fulfillment was real, but it didn't look like what they'd
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imagine. Lastly.
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We have apocalyptic prophecy, the revelation of hidden divine
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plans. This is different from prophecy
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proper in a few ways. First.
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While prophecy often calls for repentance to avoid disaster,
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apocalyptic literature tends to see destruction as inevitable.
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The call is for the faithful to endure second.
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Prophecy often sees God working through human means like armies.
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Apocalyptic sees God intervening directly and supernaturally with
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angels and cosmic battles and. 3rd prophecy is direct speech
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from God. Apocalyptic uses mysterious
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symbolic language, often delivered through complex
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visions that need interpretation.
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So when? We interpret apocalyptic.
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Our goal should be to grasp the main ideas, not necessarily
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every single detail. Even Daniel struggled to
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understand his own visions. So.
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Take the symbol seriously, but not literally.
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The four beasts, as in Daniel 7, represent 4 oppressed of
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kingdoms. The symbolism tells you how God
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feels about those empires, that they are bestial and inhuman.
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The main. Point of apocalyptic is always
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hope. It's written to encourage
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suffering believers to persevere.
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It stresses that God detest oppressive empires, that their
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time is limited, and that the Saints will ultimately inherit
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the final Kingdom. OK, our final.
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Genre group is wisdom literature this is focused on practical
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living and ethical issues drawn from human experience and
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observation the most. Famous form is the proverb, A
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concise, memorable state of truth, and they state a probable
27:56
truth, a general principle for successful living.
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They aren't absolute promises we can break.
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Them down by type descriptive proverbs just state an
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observation about how the world usually works like some give
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freely yet grow all the richer prescriptive.
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Proverbs are meant to influence behavior, usually by promising a
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benefit. Whoever is kind to the poor,
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lends to the Lord and will be repaid in full is an example of
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that and the most. Common type is the antithetical
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proverb which draws a sharp contrast.
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Those who are hot tempered stir up strife, but those who are
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slow to anger, calm contention. The contrast shows you the wise
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path, so when? Interpreting proverbs, you
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always have to balance 1 proverb with others and with the rest of
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scripture. A proverb is generally true, but
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it might not apply in every single situation, right?
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All hard work brings a profit is generally true, but it doesn't
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account for a recession or a drought.
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You have to match the context carefully.
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Another. Wisdom genre is instruction.
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This is in the imperative mood, giving absolute demands for
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obedience. Listen to my instruction and be
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wise and these. Instructions often include
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motive clauses that give you the reason why you should obey.
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Do not exploit the poor, for the Lord will take up their case.
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Then there's the example story in Reflection.
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This tells a short personal story to make a point, like the
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one in Proverbs 24, about passing by the field of a lazy
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person and seeing it overgrown with thorns.
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The moral is that a lazy life leads to ruin.
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Let's. Analyze a sample text Proverbs
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30.2428 about the four wise creatures.
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This is structured as a parable using a numerical formula,
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right? The first three creatures model
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virtues that come from accepting their limitations.
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The ants are physically weak, but they model diligent, timely
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work by storing food. The Badgers aren't powerful, but
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they model seeking proper shelter in the rocks and the.
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Locusts have no king, but they model self disciplined community
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marching in rank and the 4th. Creature the lizard is easily
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caught, but it gains this unexpected access to King's
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palaces through quiet adaptation.
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So the main. Theme is the wisdom of
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adaptation. It's about accepting your
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limitations and then living out these virtues of diligence,
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prudence and community. The application for us is to
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think about our own limitations and how applying these virtues
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can bring order to our lives and please God so this.
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Whole Deep Dive really confirms that the Old Testament is an
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incredibly varied literary landscape.
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We've looked at narrative law, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom,
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and having the right genre tools let's us get at the original
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purpose of these texts. The big.
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Picture take away here is that God speaks through human writing
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using human language and literary forms so literary
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analysis is a way for us to tune into God's intent which leads to
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better understanding and application whether it's.
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Narrative showing us how to live, or the law spelling out
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covenant stipulations, or prophecy giving us warnings.
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The central message is always about living life in view of
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God's sovereignty and his revealed will.
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We talked. About how God's judgment against
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Israel came not just for a few sins, but after a long, long
31:00
history of resistance to the law.
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So here's a final thought. What does that deep background
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of divine patience shown across centuries and all these literary
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types tell us about how we should view both the law as our
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ethical standard and the coming of Christ with his grace and
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fulfillment. The law gives the standard, the
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history shows the patience required when we fail that
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standard, and Christ's coming gives the ultimate fulfillment
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and the ethos for the covenant community.
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Today. We'll leave you with that as you
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continue to study His Word.