Understanding: Understanding How God Speaks
In this week’s lesson, we’ll explore four genres of Scripture that will help us interpret God’s Word responsibly: historical narrative, wisdom literature, prophecy, and letters. By focusing on these four styles of writing, we can acquire several principles and guidelines in order to understand not only a particular passage of Scripture but also how that passage fits into the overarching narrative of God’s redeeming plans.
Course Outline Playlist God's Word to You: A Summary of the Bible
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Submitting: Submitting to the God Who Speaks
We explored the authority of the Bible and how God’s Word influences the thoughts, opinions, and behaviors of His people by telling us the truth, cutting to the heart of our sinful condition, and bringing us to repentance. The goal of this lesson was to explore the authority of God’s Word in the life of the Christian so that we will respond in repentance and faithful obedience to God’s commands.
- Stephen demonstrated knowledge of God’s Word (Acts 7:2-16).
- God’s Word cuts to the heart of our sinful condition (2 Kings 22:11-13; Heb. 4:12).
- God’s Word is the instrument by which He brings us to repentance (2 Kings 22:14-20; Heb. 4:13).
Voices from the Church
“We need to read the Bible in context. Accordingly, we also need to learn to read appropriately the different kinds of literature found in the pages of the Bible…Understanding the different types of literature in the Bible is an acquired skill.”–David Dockery
1. Interpreting Historical Narrative (Gen. 30:1-6)
1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. 2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children from you?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family.” 4 So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,” and she named him Dan.
What would be some improper interpretations or applications of this passage?
Historical Narrative
- ~60 percent of the Bible is historical narrative.
- Historical narrative is the central, foundational, and all-encompassing genre of the Bible.
- The purpose of historical narrative literature is simply to narrate, to tell a story.
The kinds of context
- Immediate context—the words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs immediately surrounding the biblical text.
- Remote context—the chapters and sections surrounding the biblical text.
- Historical context—the historical setting in which the biblical text was written.
Interpreting historical narrative:
- Context and intent are key.
- Characters are not always heroes; authors are not always intending to present moral lessons.
- God is the ultimate character of Scripture, and He is active in the lives of real people and in the events of history.
- Scripture interprets Scripture.
- Historical narrative describes, not prescribes.
2. Interpreting Wisdom Literature (Prov. 22:6; 26:4-5)
6 Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself. 5 Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.
What are some other proverbs that are generally true and yet not applicable to every circumstance?
Wisdom Literature
Wisdom literature provides general truths about living in a way that honors God.
- Proverbs —a collection of wise sayings.
- Job —sheds light on the proper relationship between God and people.
- Psalms —lament and petition, thanksgiving and praise, exaltation of the king, expressions of trust
- Song of Songs —in the context of marriage, they illustrate the beauty of intimacy shared between a husband and his bride, beauty that points forward to the relationship between Christ and His church.
- Ecclesiastes —to show us by negative example how best to behave.
The bottom line: misinterpreting wisdom literature can point us in the wrong direction, away from a life that honors and glorifies God.
Interpreting wisdom literature:
- Proverbs are general truths that are not to be interpreted as true all the time in every situation.
- Wisdom literature incorporates poetry and figurative language.
- Negative illustrations teach just as much as positive ones.
- The psalms should be interpreted within their categories and subheadings.
- God is involved even in the nitty-gritty of everyday life.
Voices from Church History
“The Bible, has a wax nose; you can twist it whichever way you want!”-Martin Luther
3. Interpreting Prophecy (Joel 2:28-32)
28 After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days 30 I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.
Prophecy
Of all the genres of Scripture, prophecy is one of the most difficult to understand, interpret, and apply to our lives. The first step in correctly interpreting prophetic literature is to seek to understand what the author sought to communicate to his original audience.Read Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:21-22. According to these Bible passages, what distinguishes a true prophet from a false prophet?
Foretellers and Forthtellers
- forthteller put forth God’s truth to his own generation.
- foretellers spoke to the fulfillment of future events.
Interpreting prophecy:
- Seek to discover the original message of the prophet in his immediate context.
- Expect figurative language.
- Be aware of themes in prophecy, such as a call to the covenant, to social justice, and for faithfulness from the remnant of God’s people.
- Do not assume that all prophecy has been fulfilled.
- Test modern-day prophesies against the truthfulness and coherency of Scripture.
4. Interpreting Letters (Gal. 1:1-7)
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia. 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah.
Interpreting letters:
- Seek to discover who wrote the letter.
- Seek to discover to whom it was written and why.
- Investigate the historical context of the audience of the letter.
- Consider the structure, sections, main points, and themes of the letter.
- Determine whether the passage is culturally mandated. If so, seek to understand the principles behind the passage, and apply them to your own circumstances.
Letters (epistles)
What are some ways in which ancient letters are different than the letters we write today? What are some similarities? How does knowledge of ancient letter-writing help us understand the New Testament letters?
Conclusion
God’s people were never meant to walk in this world alone. We are pilgrims who require God’s guidance. When it comes to interpreting the Word of God, Jesus does not leave us to ourselves. He does not want us to experience the unnecessary heartache and confusion that come from misinterpreting His words. That’s why He joins us in our pilgrimages—He escorts us to eternity—and shows us how to correctly read the Scripture. And He delights in our seeing how everything (even the strange stories of the Old Testament) is ultimately designed to lead us to Him.
Listening Together: Listening Together to the Voice of God
You and I were not made to be alone. We were made for life together. Biblical fellowship with other Christians is centered on God’s Word. We proclaim God’s Word, revere God’s Word, and respond to God’s Word in repentance. This week, as we examine a Word-based understanding of biblical community in Nehemiah 8 and Acts 2, we will see that God designed His Word to be the bedrock of our fellowship and the impetus of our evangelism.
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