Rich Nelson Uncategorized

35: Jeremiah and Lamentations — Introduction

Get Ready

Jeremiah prophesied to the last four kings of Judah. His message was that political and military alliances would not save the nation – only returning to worshipping God would protect the kings and the people. But even though he painted a graphic picture of the coming destruction, the people ignored him.

Author

Scholars generally agree that Jeremiah, the prophet to Judah (the southern kingdom), wrote the book that bears his name as well as Lamentations, which follows. His father was a priest in a small village near Jerusalem. God called Jeremiah when he was a teenager and he prophesied during the reigns of the last four kings of the independent Jewish nation.

Some scholars look at Jeremiah’s lack of organization and conclude that an unknown author (or authors) compiled the prophet’s work sometime after he died. But the book includes an incident which could explain this disjointedness: after twenty years of prophecy God told Jeremiah to write down his messages. Jeremiah dictated the work to his secretary, Baruch, and sent him to read them to the king (Jeremiah had been banned from the court because of his prophecies). The king cut the scroll into several pieces and burned them [36:22-23]. Jeremiah responded by dictating a second version, including “many similar words,” [36:32] that were not in the first.

Lamentations does not identify its author but scholars agree that Jeremiah probably also wrote this. Both books deal with the end of the kingdom of Judah; Lamentations focuses mostly on Jerusalem and its destruction. In addition there is great similarity in the poetic lan- guage and some of the images.

Context

Jeremiah’s ministry covered the last forty years of Jewish independence before the Babylonian conquest and captivity in 587 BCE. He began in the middle of King Josiah’s reign when the people were following God’s law and avoiding pagan practices.

But Josiah’s successors reverted to the idolatry and political alliances that had led the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity 120 years earlier. Egypt, Assyria and Babylon were fighting for control of the region and Judah’s kings attempted to play them against each other. Jeremiah insisted that safety lay in returning to worshipping the Lord. For this message he was banished from the court and branded a traitor. The Egyptian alliance failed to protect Judah; Babylon defeated Egypt in 605 BCE and destroyed Jerusalem eighteen years later. All the Jewish leaders were led to captivity in Babylon, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.

Structure

As mentioned above, Jeremiah has no apparent structure. It moves from one king to another, from politics to history to personal experiences with no discernible pattern or chronology.

There is a rough division between the first part, which is poetry and generally deals with Jeremiah’s messages of God’s judgment of Judah and its rulers and the second part, which is primarily narrative writing. While it does include some prophesy, it focuses on the inter- actions between Jeremiah and the rulers of Judah as the kingdom is crumbling. The second section also has a description of Jerusalem’s destruction and the story of Jeremiah’s escape to Egypt.

Major Themes

Covenant – the relationship between God and his people, Israel, is the major subject of the book.

God had promised Abraham that he would be the founder of a great nation. God kept that promise in the united kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon, even though the Jewish people had continually broken the covenant and worshipped the idols of their pagan neighbors.

By Jeremiah’s time it was clear that the covenant was not working. It was being broken by all the people, from the king and his court to the people in the streets of Jerusalem. God told Jeremiah the covenant “written” on stone tablets would be scrapped and replaced with a covenant written on the peoples’ hearts. More than 500 years later Jesus would bring the new covenant to life by sacrificing his own life on the cross.

Jeremiah was a poet as well as a prophet. His book contains some of the most memorable images of God and his relationship to Israel in the entire Bible. In some instances he was a living symbol of what would happen to Judah. At one point he wore a yoke on his shoulders to demonstrate the yoke of captivity the people were about to experience in Babylon. Near the end of his ministry he followed God’s direction to buy a piece of property in his hometown (Anathoth). The property was absolutely worthless because of the impending destruction of the country, but Jeremiah demonstrated God’s ultimate promise to restore his people and – more importantly – continue his relationship with them.

Lamentations expresses the prophet’s extreme grief over the loss of Jerusalem. The city was literally God’s “home” in this world. His earthly presence dwelt in the Temple of God, which Solomon built according to God’s direction. It was much more than the seat of gov- ernment for the nation; it was the place of meeting between God and his people.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote these books? Why do some people think there was a different author? What does the book itself say about the author(s)? What were the circumstances of writing this book? When were the books probably written?

2. What is the subject of the books? What was the situation facing the nation? Facing the rulers? Facing the prophet? What other nations were involved with Judah? What was their goal?

3. Why was this a significant time for the nation? For the Jewish people? What was causing the problems Judah had to deal with? What did Jeremiah tell the kings to do? How did they respond to his suggestions? What did Jeremiah predict would happen to the nation? To the people?

4. How is Jeremiah organized? What is a possible reason for this situation? What are the two general parts of the book? How is Lamentations organized. Why do you suppose the books are so different in structure? Does this help or hinder understanding?

Bible Trivia:
In contrast to Jeremiah, the book of Lamentations has structure. Each chapter is a poem and three of them (1, 2, and 4) are acrostics, a literary device in which each stanza begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (which had twenty-two letters).

5. What is the major focus of Jeremiah? Why was this a significant subject for him? Why was it important for the Jewish people? For the nation?

6. What was the problem with the covenant in Jeremiah’s time? How long had this been a problem? How did God feel about the situation? What did he say he was going to do as a remedy?

7. What did Jeremiah do to get his message to the people of Judah? What “living sym- bols” did he use? How do you think the people responded to these actions. How might you have responded if you had been there?

8. What subject does Lamentations deal with? How does the author feel about this subject? Why do you think he feels so strongly about this subject? Why was Jerusalem so important to Jeremiah? To the nation? To the Jewish people?

35: The potter and the clay – Jeremiah
18:1-19:13

Get Ready

If you knocked over a heirloom vase, would you rather it smashed into a hundred small chips and fragments or it broke into four or five larger pieces? Explain your choice? (Hint: if it smashed into a hundred pieces it is clearly beyond repair.)

The Word

18   The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.
9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.
11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

12 But they say, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.” . . .

19  Thus said the LORD: Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jug. Take with you some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests, 2 and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say: Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
4 Because the people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, 5 and gone on building the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it enter my mind.
6 Therefore the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege, and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.

10 Then you shall break the jug in the sight of those who go with you, 11 and shall say to them: Thus says the LORD of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended. In Topheth they shall bury until there is no more room to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place, says the LORD, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Topheth—all the houses upon whose roofs offerings have been made to the whole host of heaven, and libations have been poured out to other gods. NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. Who is speaking to Jeremiah? What does he tell him to do? What does Jeremiah see? What happens as he watches? What is the outcome?

2. What does God tell Jeremiah about the incident? How does he interpret it? Who is God really talking about? How might God respond to Israel? How could things change for the nation? What would the people have to do? 3. How do the people re- spond when Jeremiah delivers God’s message? What does this say about the people?

4. What does God tell Jeremiah to do next? Where is he supposed to go? Who should go with him? Why do you suppose God chose this spot?

5. What is Jeremiah supposed to tell the people with him? What is God promising to do to the nation? Why is God so angry with Judah? What have they been doing in that valley? What are the de- tails of God’s plan?

6. What is Jeremiah to do at the end of his message? How does this underscore God’s promised actions to Israel?








Get Personal:

How has God “reworked” you to deal with the “spoiled” aspects of your life? How has this felt to you? How has God helped you understand the need to be “reworked?” How has this affected your walk with Christ?

Notes . . .

18:3. Wheel — literally “two stones” – a potter’s wheel consisted of two round flat stones with the top one turning on a pivot in the bottom stone.
18:4. Reworked — a potter does not throw out the clay when the pot has a flaw – by adding water and reworking the clay the potter can produce a new, more perfect vessel. In vv. 7-9, God tells Jeremiah that he reserves the right to “rework” a nation if it repents. For Christians God promises to “rework” us to be more like Jesus (but  the process involves destroying the flawed pot).
18:12. It is no use! — the people ignore Jeremiah’s warning, possibly indicating that their hearts were so hard, like clay that has dried out, they could not be reworked.
19:1. Elders . . . senior priests — God wants the leaders to hear his message.
19:2. Son of Hinnom — a valley on the southern edge of Jerusalem that was known for Baal worship during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh. King Josiah cleansed it to prevent further idolatry.

Potsherd Gate — its location is unknown (though obviously somewhere near the valley). 19:5. Burn their children — one particularly gruesome aspect of Baal worship was offering children as sacrifices to the god “Molech.”
19.9. Eat the flesh — there are records of cannibalism in the region during times of extreme famine or (as will happen to Jerusalem) siege by an opposing army [check 2 Kings 6:24-31 and Lam 4:10 for examples].
19:11. Breaks a potter’s vessel — this image was also used to describe the destruction of Ur (approximately 2000 BCE).
Topheth — the name of the area or altar on which the children were sacrificed [v.19:5]. 
19:13. Offerings on roofs — some pagan rituals involved sacrifices of burning incense of the roof of a person’s home [check the references in 2 Kings 23:12 and Zeph 1:5].

Memory Verse
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, [Jer 31:33].

Next Lesson
Lamentations 3: God’s stead- fast love endures.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

34: The Suffering Servant — Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Get Ready

Have you ever worked in a service occupation – such as a food server, house cleaner, care giver, guide, playground attendant? How did you feel about doing things for others? How did other people respond to you? To your work on their behalf? How do you respond to people who serve you?

The Word

52 13 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals—
15 so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
53 1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.
4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. Who is the speaker here? Who is the subject? How does the speaker describe this servant? How do other people react to the servant? How will this situation change? Why?

2. Where did the servant come from? How did he grow up? What did he look like? How did people respond to him? How else is he de- scribed? Why did he look the way he did? What does this mean for us?

3. Why did people think the servant was cursed [see Notes]? What was actually going on with the servant?

4. How does the speaker describe the people? How have we responded to God? What did God do about this situation? How did the servant respond? What happened to the servant? How did he die? Where was he buried?

5. What will happen to the servant next? Why will God honor the servant? What will happen to the people next?





Get Personal:

Who has been a servant to you? How has this person “served” you? Who have you been a servant for? How have you “served” this person?

Notes . . .

12:13. My servant — the Old Testament calls many people “servant,” even the nation Israel, and the Persian king Nebuchadnezzar; several prophets also refer to themselves as “God’s servant.” The New Testament uses the term for believers who follow Christ, as well as for Jesus himself. In this passage the context makes it clear Isaiah is referring to the Messiah God is promising; the passage is mentioned ten times in the New Testament.
12:14. Just as . . . so he shall . . . — Isaiah contrasts the Servant’s appearance and people’s initial reaction to it with the power he will exercise over kings and rulers.
13:2. No form or majesty — Isaiah underscores the Messiah’s off-putting appearance and people’s rejection of him and his work.
13:3. Man of suffering . . . — Jesus suffered on behalf of all of us, and he knew well (“was acquainted with”) the sickness and weakness of all people, not just his own.
13:4. Borne . . . carried — Jesus took on himself all our sins when he was crucified.
Accounted him — because he was

crucified (“hung on a tree”) the Jews could only see him as cursed by God [Deut 21:23].
53:5. Our transgressions — the Jews could not understand that the Messiah suffered because of their (and our) sin, not because of his own: “the punishment that made us whole.”
53:6. Turned to our own way — sin is ignoring God’s direction and doing things they way we want (“My way” in the song).
53:7. Like a lamb . . . sheep — Isaiah’s audience would have been very familiar with this image.
53:9. Wicked . . . rich — Jesus died like (and with) criminals, but he was buried in a wealthy person’s tomb [it belonged to Joseph of Arimathea – check Matt 27:57-60].
53:11. Out of his anguish — the Messiah’s death and suffering led to his resurrection (light) – Jesus’ obedience leads to salvation: “shall make many righteous.”
53:12. Allot him a portion — Isaiah uses the image of victorious warriors dividing the possessions of the losing soldiers. Actually there is no division – Jesus will rule everything [Psalm 110].

Memory Verse
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, [Isaiah 53:6].

Next Lesson
Jeremiah 18: The potter and the clay.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

33: Isaiah — Introduction & Impending judgment on the earth — Isaiah 24:1-23

Get Ready

A prophet is a person who is designated by God to speak God’s message to other people. Often the message is about what God expects from his people and what will happen if the people obey God and what will happen if they disobey. Sometimes the message involves predictions of future events.

Author

Most scholars believe that Isaiah, the prophet of Judah, wrote at least the first section (chapters 1-39) of this book, and many believe that he wrote the second section (chapters 40-66) as well. But another group insists that an unknown person wrote the last portion of the book.

The advocates for a “Second Isaiah” point to differences in subject, tone and language and argue the second section was written for the Jews who were captive in Babylon two hundred years after the time Isaiah was prophesying in Judah. However, there are several phrases that are unique to Isaiah that are found throughout the book. Further, the prophet wrote about the future of the Jews in Judah – first the coming trials and destruction of the kingdom and second the subsequent homecoming and restoration.

Isaiah’s name means “God is salvation.” He identifies himself as “the son of Amoz,” [1:1]; he was married with two children. His writing gives evidence of education and probably some wealth.

Context

Isaiah reports that he was called through a vision to prophesy in 736 BCE, [6:1]. He preached to four kings (Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah) and prophesied for nearly fifty years.

The northern kingdom of Israel was defeated by the Assyrians early in Isaiah’s work (722 BCE). He spoke against any alliances with Egypt to maintain Judah’s existence and urged the king to trust in God for protection. In fact, he prophesied that God would send the Assyrian army home before it could attack Judah [30:27-33 – which actually happened, check 2 Kings 21].

Even though three of the kings “did what was right,” the people still worshipped foreign idols and King Ahaz actually led such sacrifices. As a result Isaiah prophesied about God’s coming judgment on Judah and on the rest of the world as well.

Structure

There are two primary sections of this book, as mentioned above. Section 1 [chapters 1-39] focuses on the kingdom of Judah and its coming destruction because of the people’s refusal to follow God’s commandments. Section 2 [chapters 40-66] deals with Isaiah’s vision of the coming Messiah – his suffering on behalf of the people and his redemptive sacrifice for their salvation.

Just as the first part is filled with warnings and predictions of disaster and suffering, the second part provides messages of comfort and hope.

Major Themes

God’s plan for his creation is the over-arching subject of Isaiah – both in his preaching and in his book. Isaiah presents two primary messages:

  • God is holy and expects his people to be holy
  • God will redeem and restore his people.

Isaiah opens his book with God’s charge against the Jewish people: Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me, [1:2]. He calls Israel a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly, [1:4]. He prophesies against all the kingdoms and peoples of the region and aims Chapter 24 at the entire earth.

However, even while condemning Judah and Jerusalem for their wickedness and idolatry, Isaiah records God’s promise of redemption: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool, [1:18]. This pattern of warning and woe coupled with comfort and promise repeats throughout the first 39 chapters.

At Chapter 40 there is an abrupt shift in tone and subject: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins, [40:1-2].

The immediate subject is the Israelites’ release from their Babylonian captivity and return to Jerusalem; but the future subject is clearly our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Isaiah focuses on the promise of restoration – from Babylon and from sin – for the rest of the book. He presents Christ as God’s “suffering servant,” who will pay the price of sin for God’s people [chapter 53] and the “light to the nations” who will establish a new kingdom of comfort, peace and prosperity. (In fact, some call Isaiah the “fifth Gospel” because he refers so often to the coming Messiah.)

Along the way Isaiah describes the peace and abundant life that God offers his people, the difference between true and false worship, and punishment for oppression and injustice. He even gives us a preview of the “new creation” that John will develop in more detail in the last book of the Bible.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? Why is there some disagreement on the author? What evidence supports this point of view? What supports a single author for the entire book? What do we know about the author?

2. When do the events in the book take place? What are the major events? When was the book probably written? Who were the major leaders at this time? How did they affect the content of this book?

3. What are the primary parts of the book? What do they deal with? How are they different from each other?

Bible Trivia . . .
The book of Isaiah mirrors the Bible in structure: there are 39 chapters in the first part, just as there are 39 books in the Old Testament; and part two has 27 chapters – the number of books in the New Testament.

4. What are the major messages of this book? What do the messages say about God? About his plan for creation?

5. How does Isaiah open the book? Who is he prophesying about? How does he describe these people? How do you suppose they felt about this? How would you react if you had been there? Did this prophecy make a difference?

6. How does the book shift for the second section? What is the subject now? What is different about the tone? Who is Isaiah talking about? How does he describe this individ- ual? What is the ultimate purpose of Isaiah’s prophecy in this section?

More Bible Trivia . . .
Isaiah is probably the oldest part of the Bible that we have today. In 1947 some Bedouin shepherds discovered many scrolls in a cave near the Dead Sea. One of the scrolls was 24 feet long – pieces of leather sown together – it was dated to 200 BCE. It contained almost the entire book of Isaiah, much older than the copies from 1000 CE that scholars had been using. The other surprising thing is the very few differences between the very old version and the version 1200 years later.

7. What other subjects does Isaiah touch on in the second part of the book? How do these topics fit with the primary messages of the book? How do they affect our understanding of God and salvation?

33: Impending judgment on the earth —
Isaiah 24:1-23

Get Ready

If you could peek into your future, what would you like to know (other than the time and manner of your death)? Why would you like to know this? Do you think knowing would change the way you live your life now? How would you do things differently?

The Word

24 Now the LORD is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled; for the LORD has spoken this word.

4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
5 The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
and few people are left.
7 The wine dries up, the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the timbrels is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No longer do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that no one can enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished
12 Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.

14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; they shout from the west over the majesty of the LORD.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, I pine away, I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously,
the treacherous deal very treacherously.

17 Terror, and the pit, and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 Whoever flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit;
and whoever climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is torn asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.

21 On that day the LORD will punish
the host of heaven in heaven,
and on earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed,
and the sun ashamed;
for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will manifest his glory.

Get into the Word:

1. What is the subject of this prophecy? What is going to happen? Who is going to do this? Why is this going to happen? Who is responsible for this situation? What have they done (or not done)?

2. Who is going to be affect- ed by this action? Will there be any differences among the people affected? Why do you suppose this is the case?

3. What will happen to the earth? What images does the prophet use to convey this destruction? Why do you think he chose these images? How do you react to these images? Would you have chosen different images?

4. How does Isaiah describe the city? How does it change? What happens to the people? How do you suppose the citizens of Jerusalem responded to these images?

5. Who is Isaiah talking about in verse 14? Why do you think he included this interlude [see Notes]? How does he respond to the idea of “joy”? Why?

6. How will the earthly leaders be punished? How does this compare to the prophecies in Revelation [see Notes]?






Get Personal:

How do you respond to the idea of extreme hardship? Do you think it would affect how you acted in the future? How does God help you understand the importance of following his direction?


Notes . . .

24:1. Lay waste the earth — this prophecy follows a series of judgments on specific nations, which were carried out through invasion by Assyria. In this Isaiah anticipates the judgment and devastation that John reports in Revelation [check Rev 6, 8-9, and 15-16].
24:2. As with . . . so with — everyone, regardless of position, will be subject to God’s judgment.
24:5. For they have . . . — sin – human selfishness and disobedience – is the reason for the judgment.
Everlasting covenant — scholars believe Isaiah is referring to the obligation we have as created beings to obey our creator.
24:6. A curse devours the earth — God told Adam “cursed is the ground because of [your sin],” [Gen 3:17].
24:14. They lift up — there will be a faithful remnant after the destruction who will rejoice and praise God.

24:16. But I say — Isaiah cannot rejoice because of the evil that he sees around him.
24:18. Windows . . . foundations — many ancient cultures believed that floods and earthquakes were signs that the gods were angry – and Isaiah’s audience would certainly know about God’s judgment through water in Genesis 6-9 (Noah). 
24:21-22. On that day — again, Isaiah anticipates the punishment of evil in a way very similar to John’s vision in Revelation: And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, [19:20].

Memory Verse:
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool, [1:18].

Next Lesson:
Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

32: Song of Solomon — Introduction

Get Ready

Some are surprised there is a book about sex in the Bible, but they should not be. There is sex in the first chapter of the first book: God created us “male and female.” And one of the major images in the last book of the Bible is of a great and joyous wedding feast [Genesis 1:27 and Revelation 22:17].

Author

Most authorities agree that King Solomon wrote this poem and some translations (such as NRSV) put this in the title. Other translations use “Song of Songs” as the title and identify Solomon as the author in 1:1 (he is also mentioned in 1:5; 3:7,9,11; 8:11-12). According to 1 Kings 4:32, he wrote more than one thousand poems during his reign (970-930 BCE.).

Context

Many scholars believe Solomon wrote this song early in his reign, before he had accumulated the 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) that ultimately led to idol worship and division of the kingdom. This poem stands out for its descriptions of the powerful love the two people had for each other, which would have been difficult in a royal household of arranged political and military relationships.

Structure

Even though it is a short book, Song is fairly complicated for modern readers because the speakers and points of view shift frequently and abruptly. Most modern translations insert sub-headings that help the reader follow the poem.

There are three primary “speakers” in the book:

  • The groom, identified as Solomon.
  • The bride, identified as “the Shulamite.”
  • The “Daughters of Jerusalem,” who function like a chorus or sounding board for the other two players.

There is also a brief reference to the bride’s brothers (1:6), but they do not speak.

The poem itself has two major sections: chapters 1-4 describe the beginning of love between the two people and the remaining chapters (5-8) deal with the development of their love in marriage.

Major Themes

This book, along with the previous one, Ecclesiastes, are the most-often questioned works in the Bible. Some scholars object to Ecclesiastes because it has such a secular or humanist point of view. Others object to Song of Solomon because of its sometimes graphic descriptions of physical love. (Interestingly they are by the same author. Solomon was Israel’s second-greatest king; he began his reign with God’s blessing and promise, but he later ignored God and allowed his many foreign wives to worship idols in his palace and even in the temple.)

Interpreters usually have one of three perspectives on this book:

  • Some view the poem as an allegory (extended metaphor) about God’s love for his chosen people, Israel – and now Christ’s love for his church.
  • Others see the Song only as a literal expression of the sexual love between the two people.
  • Most take a middle view and acknowledge the poem’s erotic images and celebration of physical attraction while accepting the symbolism in the relationship between Solomon (who does prefigure Christ) and the woman (as the “bride” of Christ in the New Testament).

The Song of Solomon is consistent with the rest of the Bible in its celebration of all aspects of love. After all, God created humans as sexual beings and told us to “be fruitful and multiply,” [Gen 1:28]. This poem, like Genesis, presents the beauty of sexual love in a committed relationship between two people. It also reminds us of God’s love for us in Christ. We are able to love – and to enjoy loving another – because he loved us first.

Get into the Word

1. Who wrote this book? What evidence points to this author? What other evidence supports this conclusion? When was the book probably written? Why do scholars think this time period is correct?

2. How is this book organized? What are the primary components? Who are the major characters or speakers involved? Why is the book difficult to understand for modern readers?

3. What is this book about? Why does this cause some people to question its appropriateness in the Bible? How do scholars suggest interpreting the book? How do you think the original readers responded to the book? How do you respond to the book’s subject and imagery?

Notes: Love in the Bible

Paul, the Apostle, sees Christ’s relationship to the church as a marriage [Ephesians 5:22-33]. In Revelation, John presents a picture of a wedding feast as the symbol of Christ’s return at the end of the age.

4. What are the different types of love mentioned in the Bible? How can they be understood in relation to each other? What are the major characteristics of each type? What are examples of each type?

Bible Trivia:

There are almost as many different sets of subheadings for The Song of Solomon as there are translations of the book.

Notes: Shulamite [6:13]

There was a town called Shunem in northern Israel which could be the original home of the bride. Solomon may have met her on one of his “inspection” trips to the region.

Doctrine Notes . . .

The Four Loves

C.S. Lewis, the English author and Christian apologist, identifies four different types of love in his book of the same name:

  • Affection – the love that grows out of familiarity and relationships. It is the love among members of a family (also called “brotherly love”) or other close relationships. It is a natural, unforced attraction that is not based on any specific characteristics of the people in the relationship.
  • Friendship – the relationship between people who have something in common – an activity, an interest, a set of experiences. It is a relationship based on choosing to be with the other person because of the rewards of doing things together (Lewis points to the relationship between David and Jonathan).
  • Romantic or Erotic Love – the sexual relationship between two people based on a combination of attractions – physical, emotional and psycholo-gical. The Bible celebrates this love in the context of a committed long-term relationship, and condemns it when it is used for selfish gratification or to harm another person. 
  • Agape or unselfish love – the love that seeks the welfare of another person. This love is based on a decision, not an emotion or the characteristics or qualities of the other person. It is the love that led Christ to Jerusalem and the cross. It is the love that Paul referred to as “the greatest,” [1 Cor 13:13]. It is the love that forgives our sin and restores us to a relationship with God.

32: Bride, bridegroom and friends —
Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7

Get Ready

As you think about a person with whom you have a very positive, loving relationship, how would you describe the person? How would you describe the relationship? What images or symbols would you use? Do you think the other person would use the same or different images?

The Word

1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. 

Colloquy of Bride and Friends

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine, 
3 your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you. 
4 Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you. 
5 I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, 
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards, 
but my own vineyard I have not kept! 
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;

Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride

9 I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. 
10 Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels. 
11 We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with silver. 
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance. 
13 My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts. 
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi. 
15 Ah, you are beautiful, my love; ah, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves. 
16 Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely. Our couch is green; 
17 the beams of our house are cedar, our rafters are pine. 
2 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. 
2 As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens. 
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow, 
and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his intention toward me was love. 
5 Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples; 
for I am faint with love. 
6 O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me! 
7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready!  NRSV

Get into the Word:

1. How does Solomon begin this poem? Who is speaking at the beginning? How does she describe her beloved? What images does she use? Where are the lovers? How does she describe his love?

2. Who does she talk to next? How does she describe herself? What does she reveal about herself? What has she been doing? Why does she look as she does?

3. Who does she address next? What does she ask? What image does she use? Why does she want to know this? What answer does she get?

4. Who speaks next? How does he describe his bride? What images does he use? Why do you suppose he chose these images?

5. What does she say in response? What images does she mention? How appropriate are these images [see Notes]? How does she refer to her bridegroom?

6. What happens to the lovers next? Where do they go? How does she feel? What does she wish? What warning does she give to the “daughters of Jerusalem”?



Get Personal:

How does God help you experience the joy of your relationship with him? How about the joy of a loving relationship with another person?

Notes . . .

1:1. Song of Songs — actually a Hebrew expression for “the best.”
1:2. Kiss — an expression of affection and/or passion throughout the ancient world (as well as the modern one).
1:3. Perfume — used to mask unpleasant odors as well as make one’s body smell good, perfumes were also burned as incense to give a pleasant fragrance to a room.
1:5. Black — probably deeply tanned from working outdoors (in v. 6 she explains that her brothers or step-brothers forced her to work in the vineyards where “the sun has gazed on me,” but she was not able to care for herself properly).
Daughters of Jerusalem — probably a poetic device to give the speakers an “audience” and to give the writer a means of commenting on the characters.
Kedar — a tribe of Bedouin Arabs known for tents made of black goat hair.
1:7. Veiled — the custom of the times required women to wear a veil in public but not in the home or where only family members would be present – the bride is suggesting she is part of the bridegroom’s family.
1:9. Mare among Pharaoh’s chariots — not only would a mare stand out among a group of stallions, she could cause

considerable chaos by distracting other the horses.
1:11. Ornaments — also translated “earrings.” High quality jewelry symbolized wisdom and beauty [as in Proverbs 25:11-12].
1:13. Bag of myrrh — the resin from the bark of the plant smells similar to turpentine.
1:14. Henna blossoms — the flowers of this bush smell like roses.
En-gedi — an oasis near the Dead Sea, southeast of Jerusalem – it was in a ravine, which continues the symbolism of “between my breasts.” (David hid here to escape from Saul.)
1:15. Doves — were a symbol of sexual attraction throughout the culture.
2:1. Rose of Sharon — probably a lily or crocus.
2:4. Banqueting house — literally “Wine House” – raisins and apples were delicacies and, along with wine, indicate the richness of the bridegroom’s love.
2:7. Adjure — actually a legal term for putting some one under a vow (as if the other had taken an oath).
Until it is ready — the bride warns about prematurely yielding to the passion of sexual attraction.

Memory Verse
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it, [8:7].

Next Lesson
Isaiah 24: Judgment on the Earth.