“It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one until you have read an old one in between.” No book is written in a vacuum. When we read books, if understanding the maximum amount of the information is important, then it is similarly important to understand why the book was written. The ideological assumptions of this particular author are summed up in the Torah. The Torah was the basis for all Christian thought at this time.
When most people hear the word Torah, they probably have no idea what it means. But when most Jeopardy contestants hear it, they immediately associate it with Pentateuch, and many would say that it is a synonym with the word "law." As a graduate of law school, I have a very unique relationship with the law, but I think it is fair to say that almost all scholars do not view the Hebrew law in the same way they view the statutes of the United States government.
Whether you are Dispensational, and view that the law does not apply today, or Covenantal, and view that laws pointed to Christ and are not necessary in the same way, almost all scholars look at this "law" as though it is no longer followed or enforced in the same way. One thing that is undeniable is that these laws are good, wholesome, and from God. So, if someone you for a word to describe things that aren't enforced as law, but are a nice way to live, a great word would be wisdom.
As we are looking at the wisdom of the Torah, Solomon clearly uses it as the basis point of where wisdom comes from. Solomon is proposing that this is the secret to Israel's success. He paints a picture, where two women are vying for our attention throughout Proverbs with worship connotations. Both of these ladies offer a path to wisdom through the allegory of food.
Lady folly is enticing sinners through the means of an adulteress. We know that adultery is evil, but this would be adultery from the groom of the Torah - God himself. And being unfaithful to him is not missing a word from a memory verse. The effect of the Torah is where it changes your life. While I am committed to Scripture Memorization, it is quite evident that the ratio of application to number of verse learned is not a mathematical constant. Some people may as well just memorize Shakespeare.
Similarly, making a singular mistake may make you guilty of the whole law, but it does not disqualify you from a life of following the Torah. When one's life is living out the Torah, that person shows an ability to live out a life of wisdom. This is why, Dr. Sam Horn once said, "The opposite of wisdom is not ignorance. It is wickedness." Someone who does not live and apply the Torah is, in fact, wicked.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
The Nature of a Proverb
Every culture has discovered truths with varying degrees of profundity. In an effort to impart these truths, simple and profound statements have been given. A proverb is a concise and memorable statement expressing an insight, observation, or piece of advice. A portable saying in a memorable form expressing a general observation about life in a particular culture.
Proverbs is a unique book of the Bible. It appears to me that no other book of the Bible is as quotable to non-Christians as Proverbs. The nature of it being portable, quotable, and wisdom-filled make it useful to even the most anti-God intellectual. I have heard many quote Scripture without knowing from whence the wisdom came. This is consistent with the nature of a proverb.
On the other hand, I have heard some of those same people who attempt to discredit God. In their attempt to justify using Proverbs, they reduce the authority of the book of Proverbs to African proverbs, Irish proverbs, Yiddish proverbs, folk proverbs, or any other of your favorite cultural proverbs. To me, this is akin to a scientist who incredibly knows the ins and outs of how the earth works but he remains an atheist, believing that the very science he studied came about due to total chance.
A biblical proverb is going to give you an insight from God's vantage point. Because of the nature of a proverb, it would seem obvious that in today's world, we cannot get every facet of the proverb that would have been understood by a Hebrew in the time that these Proverbs were first disseminated. However, these observation of life have been filtered through biblical revelation.
Hebrew poetry tends to be more terse and concise, which often means we are not seeing things like articles or conjunctions. There is also the use of satire, which uses humor to penetrate our mind, mocking certain behaviors. These create aphorisms, where sometimes the whole truth cannot be easily conveyed. This is why I like to think of much of the wisdom of proverbs being like golf clubs.
When you are on a putt-putt course, there is no choice of golf club, but when you become the seasoned golfer with a bag full of clubs, he has to apply the wisdom of what is the correct shot to determine which club to use. Knowing proverbs is one thing, but being able to correctly apply them is where the real wisdom is shown. Pulling out the correct proverb at the correct time is the correct application.
Dr. Sam Horn once said, "The opposite of wisdom is not ignorance. It is wickedness." Those who would speak negatively about Proverbs are mostly doing so, not because they ignorant, but rather because they refuse to see the true source of Wisdom. "In [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! (Col. 2:3)"
Proverbs is a unique book of the Bible. It appears to me that no other book of the Bible is as quotable to non-Christians as Proverbs. The nature of it being portable, quotable, and wisdom-filled make it useful to even the most anti-God intellectual. I have heard many quote Scripture without knowing from whence the wisdom came. This is consistent with the nature of a proverb.
On the other hand, I have heard some of those same people who attempt to discredit God. In their attempt to justify using Proverbs, they reduce the authority of the book of Proverbs to African proverbs, Irish proverbs, Yiddish proverbs, folk proverbs, or any other of your favorite cultural proverbs. To me, this is akin to a scientist who incredibly knows the ins and outs of how the earth works but he remains an atheist, believing that the very science he studied came about due to total chance.
A biblical proverb is going to give you an insight from God's vantage point. Because of the nature of a proverb, it would seem obvious that in today's world, we cannot get every facet of the proverb that would have been understood by a Hebrew in the time that these Proverbs were first disseminated. However, these observation of life have been filtered through biblical revelation.
Hebrew poetry tends to be more terse and concise, which often means we are not seeing things like articles or conjunctions. There is also the use of satire, which uses humor to penetrate our mind, mocking certain behaviors. These create aphorisms, where sometimes the whole truth cannot be easily conveyed. This is why I like to think of much of the wisdom of proverbs being like golf clubs.
When you are on a putt-putt course, there is no choice of golf club, but when you become the seasoned golfer with a bag full of clubs, he has to apply the wisdom of what is the correct shot to determine which club to use. Knowing proverbs is one thing, but being able to correctly apply them is where the real wisdom is shown. Pulling out the correct proverb at the correct time is the correct application.
Dr. Sam Horn once said, "The opposite of wisdom is not ignorance. It is wickedness." Those who would speak negatively about Proverbs are mostly doing so, not because they ignorant, but rather because they refuse to see the true source of Wisdom. "In [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! (Col. 2:3)"
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
The Theological Message of Song of Solomon
Living in a post-Sexual Revolution culture, it is not typical within this culture to have any kind of sexual ethic. Perhaps because of this, many conservative camps seem to have a lockdown on discussion of these things at all. Yet God, in his Providence, gives a series of poems that tend to make us uncomfortable in church.
These love poems tell us something about the nature of God that is important enough to be included in the canon. By its very inclusion in the Canon, it reminds us of a love that is purer than our own. It speaks of the potential purity of human love. There are four major, historical ways that this book has been interpreted. While each of these four methods may have several sub-methods, I will briefly discuss each method.
The first method of interpretation is Typological. Typology is a doctrine concerning the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. Events, persons, or statements in the Old Testament are types pre-figuring or superseded by antitypes, events, or aspects of Christ or His revelation described in the New Testament. To me, the problem with interpreting it this way is that we don't seem to have a New Testament roadmap for this. Without a roadmap, I think this method of interpretation is missing a very important element.
The second method of interpretation is Allegorical. An allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It can be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story, with a purpose of teaching or explaining an idea or a principle. The objective of its use is to teach a moral lesson. I think this method works best when there are obvious allegorical interpretations, which I think are lacking in this case.
The third method of interpretation is Dramatic. This method suggests that this was intended to be performed (some views seem to think there are two major characters, while others have a third character). I find less fault with this, as I think it could be performed as a dramatic production. As Solomon had the best in so many categories, it is also quite possible that he would have the best dramas. Nevertheless, I don't believe this is essential to its interpretation. I just don't think this method of interpretation, if anything changes with it, is the way to go.
The final method of interpretation is Literal. This method says that these Human Love Poems are to be taken at face value. One of the basic principles of hermeneutics is that for any passage the plain, normal meaning should be chosen unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. This is the method to which I subscribe.
Could it be that God intend for us to experience expressions of romantic and sexual bliss in marriage unapologetically? Could it be that as we have been scared away from speaking with sexual bluntness, we are creating a sub-culture where we make it more taboo (and potentially more difficult to guiltlessly enjoy, even when approached properly)? Could it be that there should be, at least in some situations, a frankness of discussion, like Song of Solomon, on the subject of sexual love within our churches?
I'm not sure which came first and which is the over-reaction, but I think both the normative cultural position and the position to which I have mostly been exposed are both too extreme. At the same time, Song of Solomon seems to communicate a lesson on marital love that goes even deeper. Hence the Song of Solomon is instructive as well as literal poetry.
Marriage points to an intended greater love. Song of Solomon not only celebrates the dignity and purity of human love, pointing us to the greater love of Christ. This love comes amid a world of sin. In our culture, lust and passion are everywhere. We are inundated with media bombarding us with temptations. Many go astray by the fierce temptations that assail us, attempting to deter us from the God-given standard of marriage. This is certainly not limited to our day, as even Solomon himself was a product of such a fall. His greatest of all Songs reminds us, in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble true love is.
These love poems tell us something about the nature of God that is important enough to be included in the canon. By its very inclusion in the Canon, it reminds us of a love that is purer than our own. It speaks of the potential purity of human love. There are four major, historical ways that this book has been interpreted. While each of these four methods may have several sub-methods, I will briefly discuss each method.
The first method of interpretation is Typological. Typology is a doctrine concerning the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. Events, persons, or statements in the Old Testament are types pre-figuring or superseded by antitypes, events, or aspects of Christ or His revelation described in the New Testament. To me, the problem with interpreting it this way is that we don't seem to have a New Testament roadmap for this. Without a roadmap, I think this method of interpretation is missing a very important element.
The second method of interpretation is Allegorical. An allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It can be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story, with a purpose of teaching or explaining an idea or a principle. The objective of its use is to teach a moral lesson. I think this method works best when there are obvious allegorical interpretations, which I think are lacking in this case.
The third method of interpretation is Dramatic. This method suggests that this was intended to be performed (some views seem to think there are two major characters, while others have a third character). I find less fault with this, as I think it could be performed as a dramatic production. As Solomon had the best in so many categories, it is also quite possible that he would have the best dramas. Nevertheless, I don't believe this is essential to its interpretation. I just don't think this method of interpretation, if anything changes with it, is the way to go.
The final method of interpretation is Literal. This method says that these Human Love Poems are to be taken at face value. One of the basic principles of hermeneutics is that for any passage the plain, normal meaning should be chosen unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. This is the method to which I subscribe.
Could it be that God intend for us to experience expressions of romantic and sexual bliss in marriage unapologetically? Could it be that as we have been scared away from speaking with sexual bluntness, we are creating a sub-culture where we make it more taboo (and potentially more difficult to guiltlessly enjoy, even when approached properly)? Could it be that there should be, at least in some situations, a frankness of discussion, like Song of Solomon, on the subject of sexual love within our churches?
I'm not sure which came first and which is the over-reaction, but I think both the normative cultural position and the position to which I have mostly been exposed are both too extreme. At the same time, Song of Solomon seems to communicate a lesson on marital love that goes even deeper. Hence the Song of Solomon is instructive as well as literal poetry.
Marriage points to an intended greater love. Song of Solomon not only celebrates the dignity and purity of human love, pointing us to the greater love of Christ. This love comes amid a world of sin. In our culture, lust and passion are everywhere. We are inundated with media bombarding us with temptations. Many go astray by the fierce temptations that assail us, attempting to deter us from the God-given standard of marriage. This is certainly not limited to our day, as even Solomon himself was a product of such a fall. His greatest of all Songs reminds us, in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble true love is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)