Interpreting the Bible

While I am trying to get back into the swing of things because of my new "grandmother" experience, I thought I'd share a blog from Todd Bolen, an Instructor at IBEX in Israel (where Tim spent time when he was at The Master's College). This is a good reminder to all of us.

from Todd's blog, 9/7/06:

I was asked, isn’t the Bible God’s love letter to us? Uh, no. Not exactly.

It’s easier to speak in specifics rather than in general terms, so let’s take the book of Samuel as our example. The book of Samuel had an author (or authors) and it had an audience. That is, the person(s) who wrote Samuel wrote it for a reason and for a certain readership. And it wasn’t me (or you). This sounds basic, but it is increasingly important in a world (and church) that doesn’t seem to appreciate context and recognize boundaries. While the book of Samuel may be difficult to nail down exactly who wrote it, when they wrote, and exactly to whom they wrote, I think we can all agree that the audience was a group of Jewish people sometime between 1000-500 B.C. We don’t need to be more specific for our purposes now. So the point is that the original audience cannot be me (I’m not Jewish) and it can’t be you (unless you’re 2500 years old).

But, you ask, isn’t there a way in which Samuel is for us. Yes, indeed. But that way is not to pretend as if that book was written to and for us. Instead, it is to understand the meaning of Samuel as intended by its original author(s) to its original hearers/readers. That, and only that, meaning is what you must seek. You cannot start with “what is Samuel saying to me?”. Once you’ve determined what Samuel is saying to its audience, then you can determine what application it has for your life.

So here’s an example. You read the story of David and Goliath (chapter 17). First, determine what it meant when it was written. I’ll save you some time: the answer is that it was written to show David’s military superiority to Saul (not Goliath, Saul), which of course reflects God’s hand upon David. Once you understand the original meaning (and there’s no magic except for careful attention to the context and some knowledge of history, geography, and language), then you can determine how it applies to you today.

Valid “Principles” include:
1. God empowers those whom he chooses to do what he wills.
2. God expects his people to embrace the leader he has chosen for them.
3. God can defend his honor in unexpected ways

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These of course lead to proper “Application”:
1. If you are doing the will of God, He will give you the strength you need to accomplish His purposes.
2. Honor those in authority over you.
3. Don’t try to outsmart God.

The problem with the “love letter to me” approach is that you end up making the Bible say things that it does not intend to say. For instance, you can say that God will always allow you to conquer the giants in your life. You can say that God’s servants need to be prepared with extra stones in their pouch. You can say that those who denounce God should have their heads cut off. The problem with all of these applications is that they are not what the writer intended to say (and by the way, I’m not making a significant distinction between the event itself and the recording of that event, but there is a difference and thus it’s easiest and best to speak about the written record). And I think they are all false. Let me say it more strongly: All applications which do not derive from the passage are dangerous! They must be forgotten or denounced, as the case may be. If the statement is true and you know so from another passage, then base it on the other passage and not this one.

If the question is “Can I profit from all of the Bible even though it was not written directly to me?”, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”. Paul knew that Samuel wasn’t written to him, yet he told Timothy that all Scripture was useful. The key here is in using it as it was originally intended and not as a horoscope.