Tag Archives: Study

Interpretation

Jesus’ Ministry
January 21, 2019

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. –Nehemiah 8:5-8

My introduction to the Bible was the King James version. Although my family purchased the Revised Standard Version when it first was published, several years passed before my church adopted newer translations. I still believe no version can transcend the King James for beauty in presentation. Yet many of its words have different connotations today and some Greek and Hebrew translations are subject to newer interpretations. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls provided earlier versions of some books some providing different insights. Since the oral traditions were first recorded interpretation became a constant part of Bible study. My guess is that might have also occurred in the oral tradition.

My impression in some of the stories in the Hebrew Bible is that the Israelites, perhaps due to circumstances beyond their control, went for years at a time without hearing the Bible read. I cannot imagine how I might react to hearing again the words of the Bible after not hearing them for years. I have read accounts of prisoners of war who worked to recall as many scriptures as they could in their captivity as they did not have access to a Bible.  Since the early teachings were most likely transmitted orally, memory was an important tool in learning the scriptures.

My memorizing of the Bible primarily occurred in my childhood using the King James Version. As I write and study verses pop into my head that I might want to use. I am not as adept at remembering book, chapter, and verse as I am at remembering the words. I like to cite my sources, so I consult a commentary and as often as not cannot find the verse unless I start with a King James commentary. Out of curiosity I check out the verse in a more modern version and sometimes see that the words mean essentially the same thing but on occasion I have found verses where the meaning was totally changed. I am forced to explore deeper what is being said and how that impacts my faith path.

This practice has enriched my Bible study because it requires me to think about what I otherwise take for granted. Life would be very complicated if we did not take a lot for granted, but we do need to understand why we take things for granted and when indicated change old familiar patterns in our lives because they are no longer relevant and may be destructive to our faith path. For example, when Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” the example he gave was a Samaritan, a people considered outcasts among the Jews at that time. We need to ask and seek the interpretations to all the “Who is my neighbor?” type questions in our faith practices today.

Prayer: Lord, enable our study so that we may gain insight from the riches of our scriptures while understanding them considering our world today. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

History of God  

Lent
February 24, 2018

Scripture Reading: Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.—Romans 4:13-17

My Sunday School Class studied Joan Chittister’s The Ten Commandments: Laws of the Heart in which she shines a light on the difference between following the laws of God and living the laws of God. We also have studied A. J. Jacob’s book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. The book is a funny look at the whole question of what is a law and how do we incorporate God’s laws into our lives.

If we spend some time reading through the laws of our country or state, we will find some interesting history. Laws that wore out their usefulness remain on the books about horses in town or use of spittoons in bars. The second amendment to the US Constitution provides that the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Does that mean one has the right to own and carry arms but does not include the right to use them? It also does not define what arms are. Someone reading it today who does not know the history of weapons might wonder what arms they are talking about, the ones attached to our torsos? We have a whole judicial system charged with the responsibility to ferret these things out.

In writing our scripture today, Paul is helping us understand the heart of the laws as he works to meld together into one his fellow Jews and the Gentiles who do not share the same histories. The Abrahamic history is rich and meaningful to all students of the acts of God. I appreciate those who help us glean from that history the things of faith as set in antiquity.

Prayer: God of Abraham and Paul, show us your ways and truths that remain as relevant today as in ancient days. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Clarity of Expression

Ordinary Time
January 19, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

I follow the lectionary in writing these daily devotions because it challenges me to read scriptures to which I might not otherwise pay attention. Some, like the one above, leave me wondering what is, in this case, Paul trying to say? I consulted the NRSV commentary and found that the scripture is included with other suggestions (?) Paul has for the Corinthians and us too today, for how to live in the world but not of the world. Now the commentary did say that Paul left out some verbiage probably making it difficult to translate. Does he mean when he says let those who have wives be as though they had none that they should play the single man with other women or avoid intimate relationships with their wives? I will confess that I have reviewed some of my writing and in hindsight wondered what I meant by what I wrote. I hope that has not happened too often regarding anything that was read by others. One can see why strange interpretations can arise from Biblical texts at times though.

I say that only to caution us to search for deeper meanings when we come across something that is not clear at least to us. My final action in such instances is to determine whether my understanding of the text passes what I like to call the test of love. Does my interpretation of this scripture pass the test of love? Perhaps reading Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 would guide such discernment.

Prayer: Lord, help us to communicate your word and your way so that they are blessings to others and not stumbling blocks. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.