The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Mfano

How to Read and Understand the Bible

How do we interpret the Bible and understand what it says about what we should believe and how we should live? In interpreting the Bible there are three main questions we need to ask:

• What does it actually say?
  The Old Testament is written in Hebrew (and Aramaic), and the New Testament in Greek, but we are fortunate to have access to excellent translations. Obviously it can help if we can read it in the original language, but generally we can be confident that most modern translations are trustworthy and accurate. As we read we need to be asking what it actually says. It can be helpful to use extra notes, or compare different translations, to help us understand it better.
• What does it mean?
  In order to answer this question we have to ask: What sort of literature is it? Is it historical writing? Poetry? Prophecy? Apocalyptic? Law? Wisdom? Gospel? The passages for today are each different types of literature, and therefore we read them in different ways.

Next, we need to ask what it meant to the person who first wrote it and to those who first read or heard it. Then ask, ‘Has anything happened subsequently to alter our understanding of the text?’ For example, what difference does the coming of Jesus make to our understanding of Old Testament passages?

• How does this apply to our lives?
  If we ignore this question, then our Bible reading becomes a mere intellectual exercise. Once we have worked out what it says and means, we must think through how it applies to our daily living.

In today’s passages, we see three different types of literature (poetic, apocalyptic and historical). We also see at least three ways in which to relate to God in our daily life.

Psalm 144:9-15

1. Be real with God (poetry)

God wants us to be real with him. The psalms are not prayers from nice people using polite language. They are often raw, earthy and rough. They are an honest, true and personal response to God.

They are written in the language of poetry. We interpret poetry differently to prose. When Robert Burns wrote, ‘My love is like a red, red rose’ (A Red, Red Rose) he did not mean literally that his love looked like a rose. This is poetic language. The psalms are written in this kind of language.

Comparison is something that we often use in daily speech. It also comprises almost all the language of theology. When two things are compared it does not mean they are alike in all respects. Usually there is some intended point of comparison on which we are asked to concentrate.

The language of Psalm 144:12 is an example of such language:

‘Make our sons in their prime
like sturdy oak trees,
Our daughters as shapely and bright
as fields of wildflowers’ (MSG).

The psalms also express very human sentiments. For example, in our passage for today the psalmist writes, ‘Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful’ (v.11).

Obviously, it is not true that all foreigners are liars and deceivers. But this is an example of the candour of much of the psalms. They sometimes express anger towards God and vindictiveness towards others. It does not mean that these feelings are right, but they are candid responses, which many of us also feel at different times in our lives.

David was in the midst of war and was being attacked regularly by foreign city states. Armed conflict was a fact of life for him and it is against this backdrop that he thanks God for training his hands for war. Yet this does not imply that we should emulate these sentiments. Both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament we are supposed to have a special love for foreigners and outsiders.

However, there are other sentiments that we can be inspired to follow. For example, the psalmist inspires us to worship (v.9). He speaks of his longing for God’s blessing on his family, his work and the security of his nation. He ends, ‘Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the Lord’ (v.15).

Lord, thank you that your blessing is on the church – the people whose God is the Lord. We want to worship you today and pray for your blessing on our families, work, ministry, cities and nations.

Revelation 8:1-9:12

2. Make a difference by your prayers (apocalyptic)

Apocalyptic literature is the literature of dreams and visions, of divine mysteries and the end of history. It is full of symbols that need to be decoded. In it we are given glimpses of things that are often at the very limits of human understanding, and the complicated and fantastic imagery can help us begin to grasp things that are beyond comprehension.

Apocalyptic literature is notoriously difficult to interpret. Within the Bible it is found in several places – especially the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Typically, the reading from the apocalyptic writing for today is not easy to understand. It appears to be Christ calling the world to repentance and his warning of the coming judgment.

Before the judgment: ‘Heaven fell quiet – complete silence for about half an hour’ (8:1, MSG). During this period of trembling suspense all of heaven is silenced, possibly symbolising the opportunity for the prayers of God’s people to be presented to and heard by God.

The seven trumpets (Revelation 8:2) suggest he is doing everything in his power to bring us to repentance. God’s desire is to warn us of the inevitable consequences of our ways. The first four trumpets herald damage to nature (vv.6–13). There is environmental disaster (v.7), chaos in creation (vv.8–9), human tragedy (vv.10–11) and harm to the cosmos (v.12). Then the fifth and sixth angels herald damage to human beings (9:1–21).

In the midst of this we see the importance of our prayers. ‘Another angel … was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints … The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand’ (8:3–4). The exact effect of the prayers is not clear, but what is clear is that our prayers are heard by God. Our prayers matter. They make a difference.

We live in the time between the first and the second coming of Christ. We see evidence of much of what is written about in these chapters happening in our world. Our response should be prayer and repentance.

Lord, as we read of all these warnings of judgment, we want to examine our own lives and repent of any known sins. Thank you that you hear our prayers and that our prayers make a difference.

Ezra 1:1-2:67

3. Fulfil God’s purpose for your life (history)

God has a purpose for your life. You are called to do something special for him. The book of Ezra shows us that even when it is God’s plan, there will be plenty of opposition and resistance. But God is with you (1:3) and God’s plans will ultimately succeed.

In the book of Ezra we find ourselves in the more familiar territory of history. The historical books of the Bible are not simply records of what happened, they also provide interpretations of the events they describe. Historical writing was seen as a prophetic activity, both recording the facts and explaining or revealing how God was at work through the events that are described.

The opening verse of Ezra is an excellent example of this bringing together of fact and interpretation: ‘In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing’ (v.1). Contemporary inscriptions show that Cyrus king of Persia allowed other captive nations to return home as well, so we are on firm historical ground here. At the same time the writer explains the significance of these events. He highlights how they fulfilled the earlier prophecy of Jeremiah that the exile would last approximately seventy years (Jeremiah 25:12 and 29:10). This is not just a lesson in ancient history; it is a revelation of God. It shows us God’s faithfulness to his people, it reminds us that he is a saving God, and it demonstrates how he is in command and control of history.

The events Ezra describes in these chapters took place in 536 BC. After seventy years of decline, defeat and exile there was a new beginning as God’s people were allowed to return home.

Cyrus’ decree allowed the Jews to return to Israel and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra focuses on rebuilding the temple, Nehemiah on the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. However, their underlying motives were exactly the same. They were concerned for God’s glory and God’s people. Both, in their different ways fulfilled God’s purpose for their lives.

Today, it is the same for us as God’s people. We each have a unique purpose for our lives. We have different projects, depending on our different jobs and passions and giftings, but our underlying motives should be the same – a concern for God’s glory and God’s people. God will fulfil his purpose for you.

Lord, today we want to see your name honoured again in our society. We long for restoration. We long for your name to be glorified. We long for your blessing on the church: ‘blessed are the people whose God is the Lord’ (Psalm 144:15b). Lord, may we begin with repentance and prayer, with our focus on your glory and your people.

Pippa Adds

Ezra 2:62

They ‘searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.’

Oh dear we are always losing things. I hope that won’t exclude us from the priesthood!

Notes:

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.