Pre-Reformation History of Biblical Hermeneutics: Part II

The previous post in this series gave an introduction to the history of Biblical hermeneutics, while taking a close look at Nehemiah 8. That chapter set the stage for what is, arguably, one of the earliest (c. 445-420 B.C.) canonical references to hermeneutics. Nehemiah 8 also gives us the three main steps in studying the Bible: observation, interpretation, and application. This post will examine the hermeneutical principles laid out in Nehemiah 9.

While the exact exposition of the Law that the Levites gave to the Israelites (Neh. 8:8) is not written in the text, a summary is presented in chapter 9… in the form of a prayer to God. In this prayer, the Levites begin by proclaiming:

“Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.” (verses 5-6)

In the previous chapter, the Levites read to the people the books of the Law – the Pentateuch. Now, in this prayer, they are praising the Lord for all He has done, while giving a summary of the first five books of the Bible! In verse six, they begin at the beginning – the Creation story, in the book of Genesis.

“Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.” (verses 7-8)

The Levites describe here God’s call of Abraham, and God’s covenant with him.

One important thing stands out – as they pray, they are taking the text very literally! In verses seven and eight, the Levites interpret the events in Genesis 12 as if that chapter is actually describing real people (Abram, Chaldeans), places (Ur), and things (land, promise). Remarkable!

“And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go." (verses 9-12)

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Part I: A Man Named Ezra || Part II: Prayer of the Levites

Part III: Religious Leaders and Medieval Theologians

Fellowship in the Gospel

Philippians 1:3-5:

³ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

For my weekly column, I am going to discuss something that the Lord has laid on my heart recently. The fellowship of the saints.

We as Christians often discuss fellowship.

"We are going to get together with some believers and have some fellowship."

"How about coming over to my house for fellowship?"

"We're going to have a fellowship meeting tonight."

Often we will loosely toss the word fellowship around as if the only requirement for fellowship is that believers are going to be together. We will discuss "the game" from last week, or what we did last Saturday, or even what things we did with the church, or the like.

But is this really what the Bible describes as fellowship?

In this passage in Philippians, Paul makes the statement that we have "fellowship in the gospel." Yet too often, we as Christians will come together and discuss anything but the gospel, the Bible, or anything related to spiritual growth... even our savior. But we are still willing to call the gathering fellowship.

Paul makes it clear in this verse - and throughout Philippians - that we as Christians have fellowship in the gospel. When we become believers, we have fellowship with other believers in the many areas - common goals - of glorifying Christ, serving the Lord, and growing in sanctification. We also share in the joy, the blessings, and the promises of the Lord. But we would not share in these if it were not for the gospel, the centerpiece of the Christian's life. Therefore, when Paul talks about fellowship, he makes it clear that our fellowship with believers should be in the gospel.

By stating this, I am not in any way stating that we only talk about the gospel, although it is the most important part of Christianity. We should also discuss other doctrines, and portions of the Bible, but the crucial and most important aspect of fellowship is the gospel.

Neither should we only discuss biblical topics, but the Bible in no way describes these as fellowship.

In conclusion, I think when we as Christians are together we should focus on true biblical fellowship and the centerpiece of our fellowship should be the gospel. And we should not gather for "fellowship" and discuss nothing that is biblical.

Pre-Reformation History of Biblical Hermeneutics: Part I

As people seek to understand Biblical hermeneutics, the first step is to examine the historical pattern – from Biblical times to just a few decades ago. This mini-series on the pre-Reformation history of Biblical hermeneutics will be composed of three parts. Parts I and II will focus on the hermeneutics of a man named Ezra and his fellow Levites. In Part III, the hermeneutics of the later Jewish religious leaders, church fathers, and medieval theologians will be laid out.

It is exciting to start with the example of Ezra, because he was a man who feared God and correctly applied Biblical hermeneutics. The text is straight from the pages of Scripture and its meaning is clear; it also is one of the earliest examples of the existence of hermeneutical rules in relation to studying the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:1 reads:

“And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.”

To set the context, Nehemiah was the cup-bearer for Artaxerxes the king – king of the Persian empire (chapter 1). Then, in chapter 2, Artaxerxes grants Nehemiah's request to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. In the next chapter, the wall is repaired and built. In chapters 4-6, the Israelites face new foes, in the form of Sanbalat and Tobiah. They cry out to the Lord for help and strength (6:9), and God allows them to finish the work they begun. Skipping over chapter 7 (the genealogy), there is this verse at the beginning of chapter 8.

All the people gathered together in one accord, and asked Ezra to bring to them the book of the law – Genesis through Deuteronomy. Then, the next two verses are critical.

“(v3) And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. (v4) And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.”

Here lies the first step in studying the Bible – observation. Ezra read to the people from the books of the law from morning until midday (which is convicting in and of itself). There can be no second step of understanding - or a third step of application - if there is no observation. Thus, even though in-depth study is very important, it is also important to be reading God's word often.

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Part I: A Man Named Ezra || Part II: Prayer of the Levites || Part III: Religious Leaders and Medieval Theologians

An Example

Last week, Aaron introduced a new series on this blog about hermeneutics. It is still coming.

Today, however, I want to write about a verse that God has been convicting me about over the past few weeks. It is something I still struggle with, so I say this humbly… yet with deep conviction. It is a command that if obediently applied in the lives of young people around the country, would result in a remarkable change unto the glory of God in families and churches around the world!

Biblical hermeneutics requires faithful application. Without obedience to God’s Word, accurate interpretation is useless, devoid of meaning. I pray that this post will more clearly underscore the critical need of Biblical hermeneutics. Without it, there is no proper application; without it, we drift away from obedience to God.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” - 1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV)

Let no man despise thy youth. Paul is speaking here to Timothy, his son in the faith. Timothy is a younger man - much younger than Paul. But Paul does not give Timothy an excuse to act in an ungodly manner because of his age. Quite to the opposite, Paul exhorts him to “Let no many despise thy youth."

But be thou an example of the believers. As younger men and women, we must be an example of the believers. God commands us to be example to the world of what a follower of Almighty God is, and an example to those who are younger in the faith of what a mature and growing Christian is.

In word. See Ephesians 4:29 – our speech is to edify. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus warns “That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

In conversation. This is a 17^th-century word that signifies a person’s whole life. Not just their words, but also their actions. See Colossians 3:23-24.

In charity. We know in our heads what Matthew 22:37-40 says, but do we truly love God with all of our hearts? Do we have any competing affections? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves… literally? With a 1 Corinthians 13 love? The apostle John gives a strong exhortation to love in 1 John 4:8 – “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

In spirit. God is still doing a work in my heart to make me totally consumed with Jesus Christ. That my joy may be in Him. That I may live in Him, abide in Him, and glory in Him. This is what our spirit must be.

In faith. Our faith – is it growing? Do we beg the Lord to “increase our faith”, like the disciples did? I recently heard a man speak about how we can spend an hour watching TV, but it is difficult for us to spend an hour in prayer. We can spend a day with a friend, but not a day with Jesus. Why? Are we “constant in prayer”, as the Bible commands?

In purity. This is huge. Not only physical purity, but also emotional, and spiritual. It is a single-mindedness, understood as walking down the narrow road, picking up our cross and following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Again, do we have competing affections?

We have a grave responsibility. It is sobering to realize that God requires us – young men and women - to be an example of the believers, that unbelievers may not be given a cause to blaspheme the name of Jesus.

Will you be an example?

Hermeneutics - How to Read the Bible Correctly - New Series

"What do you think that verse means?"

"What does this verse mean to you?"

"What do you believe about this verse?"

Many Christians, when studying the Bible, often ask these questions, trying to determine what the Bible means. But is this truly how we are supposed to understand the Bible?

In the modern "Christian" church we have developed such a warped view of scripture with many heresies, false doctrines, and other forms of aberrant theology, it is evident that we have truly lost an understanding of how to read the Bible rightly.

In the next couple months Noah and I, and our newest blogger, Anthony will be discussing, how the modern church has lost proper biblical hermeneutics, and we are going to lay out, how to lead the Bible correctly.

Quotes of Past Preachers

Once or twice a week until Noah is back posting full time. I will be posting short (or long) quotes from older Preachers like Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Tozer, and the like.

This quote if from Charles Spurgeon.

Coming Back

I just wanted to let anybody who still might look at this blog that we will be starting this blog back with regular posts very soon. I have been extremely busy with school. And Noah has been unable to post. With school I could not keep this blog going alone. I will be posting brief updates for the next couple of months and Noah will be back posting in mid July. I'm not sure when the podcasts will be back, it takes quite a bit of time to record and edit a podcast.

More to come soon.