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Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 4
1. Psalms: What did the book of Psalms teach about the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is a central theme of the book of Psalms. A clear example is Psalm 103:19: "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all." Many of the Psalms specifically refer to God as King (Ps. 5:2; 10:16; 24:7-10; 29:10; 44:4; 47:2; 48:2; 68:24; 74:12; 84:3; 95:3; 98:6; 145:1; 149:2). Many other Psalms describe God's rulership (22:28; 59:13; 66:7; 89:9; 93:1; 96:10; 91:1; 99:1; 103:22; 114:2; 145:11-13; 146:10.) Though many of the Psalms were written by King David, the Psalms constantly referred to God as the ultimate Ruler over creation. God is the Creator (121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6) and as such He alone is the sovereign authority in the universe. He made man as the pinnacle of His creation and placed mankind on the earth to represent His rulership: "Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:5-6). In addition to God's rulership over creation, God rules over the nations and, in particular, the nation of Israel. God rules over all the nations (22:28; 33:10; 47:8-9; 66:7; 113:4). He demonstrated this in His dealings with Israel in delivering them from Egypt and giving them the Promised Land. He overthrew kings such as Pharaoh, Sihon of the Amorites, Og of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan (135:9-11; 136:17-20). He enabled David to defeat the surrounding nations and make them serve as vassal states of Israel (18:43-45). When Israel rebelled against the covenant, God raised nations as means of judgment (66:12; 106:40-43). Though the nations are resistant to the Lord and serve idols (74:10, 18, 22; 135:15), He calls them to cease their rebellious ways, recognize His sovereignty, and off Him genuine worship (2:10-12; 47:1; 96:7). Though God rules over all of His creation and all of the nations, He has a unique relationship with His chosen nation of Israel. In the Psalms, Israel is referred to as God's "inheritance" (33:12; 78:62; 94:5, 14; 106:5, 40). Israel was given a special status as God's covenant people and entrusted with His law (147:19) which they were to love and obey (103:18; 105:45; 111:10). God, as Israel's king, demanded that they give absolute allegiance to Him alone (37:3, 5; 44:4-8; 62:8; 115:9-11) and reject the false gods of the nations (40:4; 81:9). They were called to not trust in their own strength nor in alliances with other nations (20:7; 33:16-17; 118:8-9; 146:3). The Psalms announce Jerusalem as the Lord's dwelling place (46; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122). God's special presence on Mount Zion reflected His special covenant relationship with Israel. God gave Israel the Davidic king to rule as a mediator between Himself and the nation. He brought David out from tending sheep to become "the shepherd of His people Jacob" (78:70-72). God established a covenant with David and his descendants to be God's vice-regent over Israel. He promised to established David's throne as a continuing dynasty (89:4) and to give victory over the king's enemies (89:18-45). God gave promises to the Davidic king to give victory over all the enemies of Israel (20:6; 21:8-12; 63:9-11; 89:21-23; 132:18). Many of the Psalms include messianic prophecies that are highlighted in the New Testament's identification of Jesus as the Messiah, God's anointed king, the Davidic ideal. The most notable of these Psalms are 2, 8, 16, 22, 40, 45, 69, 72, 89, 102, 109, 110, and 132. Others have messianic elements. These messianic Psalms teach that the kingdom of God will ultimately be ruled by the Messiah who will first be betrayed and rejected, crucified, resurrected, have all things put under His feet, and then finally reign from Jerusalem on the throne of David. 2. Job: How should the righteous man respond to suffering according to the book of Job? Faithfulness to God does not guarantee believers freedom from trouble, pain, and suffering in their lives. The evil and suffering in this world are results of sin. Genesis makes it very clear that the world has fallen under the curse of God because of Adam's sin and Romans 5:12 declares that by one man's sin death came upon all. The emphatic question in the book of Job is, why do the righteous suffer? The book presents a real-life dilemma brought on by the theological questions raised by intense suffering. The book teaches that only God knows best how to bring glory to Himself, that He always works for the ultimate good of His people, and that He is always worthy of the total love and commitment of His creatures, whether or not He bestows blessings upon them. Furthermore, He always has a purpose in permitting suffering, though one may never fully comprehend it. In fact, humans can know nothing of God at all apart from His own gracious self-disclosure. The major lesson to be learned from the book of Job, though, is the sovereignty of God over all creation. The debate in chapters 3-37 is over whether God would allow the innocent to suffer. Job's three friends provide inadequately simplistic solutions by stating that Job must be guilty of sin to explain his suffering. Later, Elihu's attempted to explain the situation by stating that God was using suffering to purify Job. However, God Himself confronted Job in chapters 38-41 saying that He alone is sovereign and worthy of worship regardless of what He chooses to do. Job's response is to trust in the goodness and power of God and humbly repent of his pride and self-righteousness. Job teaches that God is the sovereign Lord who is omniscient, omnipotent, and good. As such, His ways are often incomprehensible to finite man, but is always trustworthy. Job is not privy to the knowledge contained in chapters 1 and 2, but is responsible to trust God anyway. Job teaches us that suffering is not always the direct result of sin, but God may sovereignly choose to use it to test and teach. 3. Proverbs: What instruction about wisdom was conveyed in the book of Proverbs? In Proverbs, wisdom begins with God (1:7; 9:10). One's relationship with God is of utmost importance and wisdom is the fruit of a life lived in harmony with God. The book's purpose is clearly stated in 1:2-7: to provide wisdom and understanding concerning wise behavior righteousness, justice and equity (1:2-3), so that (1) simple people can become prudent (1:4), (2) youth can obtain knowledge and discretion (1:4), and (3) the wise might become wiser (1:5-6). The book of Proverbs is a call to embrace and apply God's wisdom. The first nine chapters of the book are designed to whet the reader's appetite for wisdom. They present ten exhortations to reject folly and embrace wisdom. Wisdom is a creation of God and is built into the fabric of creation (3:19-20; 8:1-36). Being wise means to live skillfully within the sphere of God's created order by living in harmony with that order. The extent to which man follows the moral principles established by God in His creation is the extent to which he is considered wise. The opposite, folly, is to live in opposition to God's moral order and the result is disastrous consequences. Living wisely brings God's blessing and prosperity, while living foolishly brings trouble and ultimately destruction. The book of Proverbs constantly contrasts the life of the wise and the life of the foolish. To be wise is to be righteous. To be foolish is to be wicked. There is no middle ground and the book of Proverbs confronts the reader to make his choice for wisdom and avoid the perils of folly. The Proverbs exhort the reader to apply the fear of God to his daily choices. Therefore, the Proverbs are highly practical and conduct oriented. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is considered the principal thing (4:7). Wisdom is of highest value. Wisdom is likened to silver and hidden treasure (2:4). Its value is greater than gold, silver, or rubies (3:14-15; 8:10-11, 19; 16:16). The wise person's blessings are multitudinous. He understands what is right, just, and fair (2:9; 8:15-16), is protected from harm (2:8, 11-12, 16; 4:6; 6:24; 7:5; 14:3), and has prosperity and wealth (3:2, 16; 8:18, 21; 9:12; 14:24; 16:20; 21:20-21; 22:4), health and nourishment (3:8; 4:22), favor and a good reputation (3:4; 8:34-35; 13:15), honor (3:16, 35; 4:8-9; 8:18; 21:21), security and safety (1:33; 3:22-23; 4:12; 12:21; 22:3; 28:26), peace (1:33; 3:17-24), confidence (3:25-26), guidance (6:22), life (3:2, 16, 18, 22; 4:10, 22; 6:23; 8:35; 9:11; 10:16-17, 27; 11:19; 16:22; 19:23; 22:4), health (4:22), and hope (23:18; 24:14). Wisdom is to be sought after (2:3-4), attained (4:5, 7), loved (4:6), chosen (4:8), grasped and guarded (4:13), heard (4:32-34), and found (4:35). When gained, wisdom adorns the wise person like a necklace (1:9; 3:3, 22; 6:21) and a garland or crown upon one's head (1:9; 4:9). The wise person finds favor with God and man (3:4; 12:8; 13:15). 4. Song of Songs: What did the Song of Songs teach about the marital relationship between a man and a woman? The Song of Songs presents the courtship, wedding, and marriage of Solomon and the Shulamite. Song of Songs presents the goodness of the sexual expression between a husband and wife. God created man and marriage. He created man's sexuality and ordained its proper expression within marriage. The Song of Songs presents the ideal expression of sexuality that God intends for man. The Song of Songs teaches that man is to find fulfillment of sexual desires within the confines of marriage. The marriage partners are to be fulfilled by giving themselves to each other and in devotion and admiration of one another. The appreciation that the husband and wife display for each is other is genuine love, not lust. The nakedness of their wedding night is devoid of shame. Rather, it is the intimacy of union between one man and one woman. This is God's ideal and only acceptable pattern for marriage (Gen. 2:20-25). The Song of Songs teaches that sexual love and affection is only to be given to one's husband or wife. Solomon referred to the Shulamite as "my perfect one" and "unique" wife (Song 6:9). She reserved her fruit solely for him (7:13) and made herself inaccessible to others as seen in her description of herself as a private garden and a sealed-up fountain (4:12) and a wall (8:10). The Song of Songs also contains a description of a marital conflict and its resolution. Beginning in 5:2 the Shulamite describes the conflict through a dream. She describes the pain of separation as a result of selfishness, brokenness over the results (5:6-8), a rekindling of affection (5:10-16), and a change of heart which eventually leads to reconciliation (6:1-13). The Shulamite begins to think of her country home and persuades her beloved to return there with her (7:11-8:4). The journey takes place in 8:5-7 and their relationship continues to deepen. In 8:6, the Shulamite asks to be a seal on her husband's heart (the source of his affection) and his arm (the source of his strength) in order to feel secure in his love and protection. She describes the permanence of love by comparing it to death and intensity of love by comparing it to fire. All of this serves to teach that a couple's love and commitment to one another will overcome the difficulties they will encounter. 5. Ecclesiastes: What did the book of Ecclesiastes teach concerning how to live wisely in this world of futility? The point of the book of Ecclesiastes is found in its conclusion: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all" (12:13). This verse should be kept in mind while reading the book of Ecclesiastes in order to properly interpret it because though life appears meaningless from a human perspective (1:2), there is meaning when life is lived in the fear of God. To fear God means to revere, worship, and serve God. The reason we should fear God is given in the book's final verse: "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (12:14). Fearing God and expecting divine judgment provide the context within which the book should be interpreted. Within a life lived in the fear of God, one may find meaning and true pleasure in life. The recurring motif in Ecclesiastes is that, in a world of trouble and seeming futility, one may enjoy the fruits of his labor which ultimately comes from the hand of God (2:24-25; 3:12-13, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7). The journey of Solomon to his conclusion "to fear God" is founded on the human search for meaning in life. In 3:11, Solomon eloquently expresses mankind's dilemma; God has placed eternity in our hearts. A search for true meaning in this life--in money or fame, for instance--will only leave us empty-handed, because our souls yearn for something that will last. Our frustration arises from a hunger for fellowship with our eternal Creator--the only One who can give meaning to our lives. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon recounts his activities, achievements, and examinations of life and concludes that it is all vanity. Pleasures and riches merely lead to boredom and despair. Only a relationship with the One who created us and continues to care for us will truly satisfy. 6. Lamentations: How did Jeremiah respond to the destruction of Jerusalem as recorded in the book of Lamentations? In Lamentations, Jeremiah mourns the suffering brought on by the destruction of Jerusalem (1:1-22). He acknowledged Jerusalem's sins as the cause for her downfall (1:5, 8, 18; 4:13; 5:7). God had simply used the Babylonians as His instruments of judgment in destroying the city and the temple (1:12-15; 2:1-8; 17, 22; 4:11). Jeremiah's response was to express sincere contrition as he prayed: "Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned" (3:40-42). Jeremiah cried out to God for mercy and restoration (1:20; 3:19-27; 5:1, 19-22). He focused on the goodness of God extolling Him as the Lord of hope (3:21, 24-25), love (3:22); faithfulness (3:23), and salvation (3:26). He asked God to repay Jerusalem's enemies (3:46-66) as an expression of a longing for God's righteousness and the success of His kingdom and His truth. He lamented the slow destruction of Jerusalem (4:1-9) saying Sodom had it better since they were overthrown in a moment (4:6). Jeremiah even lashed out against Edom who probably had looked on at Jerusalem's destruction with relish (4:21-22). Jeremiah's lament ends on hopeful note as he prayed to God for His rule to continue through a restored Jewish nation (5:19-21). 7. Daniel: Explain what the book of Daniel taught the Jewish people concerning "the time of the Gentiles." The fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the exile of the Jewish people had a devastating effect on the Jews. Through these events, God was teaching the Jews about His sovereignty. In the book of Daniel, God is seen as the sovereign ruler of the universe who created mankind and the nations who have rebelled against Him and He will one day bring them back under his dominion. God elected the nation of Israel to be part of that plan and will one day restore the exiled nation. The great visions of Daniel foretell the destruction of the Gentile empires and the establishment of God's eternal kingdom. Daniel envisioned four great beasts in chapter 7 which represent four great Gentile empires. These four empires correspond to those described in the Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the image in chapter 2. The head of gold in chapter 2 corresponds to the "lion with eagle's wings" in chapter 7 and represents Babylon. The chest and arms of silver in chapter 2 corresponds to the "bear" of chapter 7 and represents Medo-Persia. The belly and thighs of bronze in chapter 2 correspond to the "leopard with four wings and four heads" of chapter 7 and represents Greece. The final empire is the legs of iron/feet of iron and clay of chapter 2 which correspond to the incomparable beast with ten horns and a little horn of chapter 7 and represents Rome. These four Gentile empires are predicted to have world dominion until the kingdom God is established. God's kingdom is represented in chapter 2 by the stone that becomes a great mountain and in chapter 7 by the Messiah and the saints receiving the kingdom. The times of the Gentiles (their dominion through the four great empires) will end with the coming of the Messiah's kingdom which will never end. Until then, the saints of God will be persecuted (7:21). This persecution is seen even in Daniel's time when Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image and demands that all bow to it (3). Daniel's friends refused to do so and were cast into the fiery furnace. However, because of their faithfulness, God preserved them and humbled Nebuchadnezzar until he acknowledged the supremacy of God and the foolishness of his pride (4). The feast of Belshazzar marked the end of the Babylonian kingdom (5). Belshazzar was judged because of his defiance of God. During the reign of Darius, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire, God providentially protected Daniel in the lion's den and taught Darius a lesson about who is really sovereign. In chapter 8, receive another vision which foretells the empire of Greece defeating the Persian Empire. The Grecian Empire then breaks up into four smaller units (made up of four Greek generals). One of these four is Antiochus Epiphanes who was a persecutor of the Jews. In chapter 9, Daniel receives the revelation of the seventy weeks which provides a chronology of God's plan to deliver His people and establish His kingdom through His Anointed One. Chapters 10 and 11 give a vision of Israel's future and the coming kings of Persian and Greece and the persecution led by Antiochus. God will deliver His people out of tribulation and bring about resurrection (12). Though, in Daniel's time, the Jews had their capital city and temple destroyed and many were living in exile, God promised, through the visions of Daniel, to sovereignly govern history throughout the times of the Gentiles until eventually He would establish the messianic kingdom. Until then, God's people are to are be wise and turn many to righteousness (12:3). Jet Tour of the Bible, Part 5.
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