Interpretation | A People for His Name

Refugees and the Bible: Part I

January 29, 2017

I have seen several people recently cite OT passages about strangers and foreigners to argue that we need to receive refugees and treat them in the same benevolent ways that Israel was supposed to do with strangers. A thorough examination of Scripture, however, reveals that this argument is not a valid use of Scripture because it does not account for certain specific ways that God’s Law made important distinctions between Israelites and strangers.

Distinctions between Israelites and Strangers

Strangers in Israel were not entitled to be treated exactly as Israelites were in the following specific ways:

1. Taking people as bondmen and how such people were to be treated

Lev 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

2. Creditors being required to release debts

Deu 15:1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release.

3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

3. Charging interest on lending

Deu 23:19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

These passages from God’s Law that He gave to Israel show that the Bible cannot be used legitimately to argue that the Bible teaches that refugees must be treated in every respect exactly the same way that all Americans are treated.

In Interpretation, Theology

An Instructive Statement about a Rapist

January 21, 2017

Rape is a horrible crime that should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I detest rapists with a passion. Having said that, I recently observed something in Genesis 34 that I found to be very instructive concerning what the Bible has to teach us about this subject.

Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, raped Dinah, the daughter of Jacob (Gen. 34:2). After he had defiled her, Shechem became deeply attached to her, loved her, and he wanted to marry her (Gen. 34:3-18).

When Hamor and Shechem approached Jacob’s sons to ask them that they would give her in marriage to him, Jacob’s sons devised a deceitful plan to kill Shechem and all the males of their city because he had defiled their sister (Gen. 34:13) and treated her as a harlot (Gen. 34:31). Not knowing of the evil intent of Jacob’s sons, Hamor and Shechem agreed to their terms (Gen. 34:18).

Writing under divine inspiration, Moses recorded an instructive statement about what then took place:

Gen 34:19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

Even after Shechem had become a rapist, the Holy Spirit yet chose to speak of something that was still commendable about him: “he was more honourable than all the house of his father.” The Spirit could have phrased this statement so that it read that all the house of his father were more wicked than him, but that is not what He chose to have Moses write.

Based on this divine statement, God seems to teach us that we are to learn that even when someone is a wicked rapist, we are not justified in making him out to be a completely vile person about whom no one should say anything good, even if what would be said was true. I am not saying that we need to look for the good in rapists nor am I saying that we should not say anything bad about them.

What I am saying is that what the Spirit has recorded in Genesis 34 for our profit about how He chose to speak about a rapist must be heeded and has been given for our profit.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

A Key Truth about the Use of An Instrumental Number in Worship

January 16, 2017

First Corinthians 14 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible concerning divine worship. In that chapter, the apostle Paul provides teaching about musical instruments that reveals a truth that vitally pertains to the use of an instrumental number in worship.

1Co 14:7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

⁸ For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

These verses explain that a musical instrument, such as a pipe (flute) or a harp, is a nonliving entity that produces sound. For the hearer to know what is played on that instrument, it must produce a distinction in the sounds that it makes.

Paul supports this teaching by giving the example of what was true about the use of a trumpet to alert people to prepare themselves for a battle. Through a question that demands a negative answer, he asserts that no one will prepare himself for a battle if a trumpet gives an indistinct sound.

From this teaching, we understand that a proper use of an instrument in an instrumental number in worship requires that the hearers know what is being played on it by paying attention to the distinct sounds that it makes. Unless, therefore, one is certain that every hearer of an instrumental number in a service will know exactly what the song is that is being played and what all the words of the song are, the words of the song must be provided to the hearers in some manner so that they know what is being played on the instrument.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Music, Theology

Does God Make Comparisons about How Much Faith People Have?

January 3, 2017

Scripture clearly teaches that having faith in God is essential, but many believers likely do not appreciate that Scripture also teaches that God cares about how much faith a believer has:

Mat 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

This remarkable statement by Jesus teaches us that He confronted His disciples with the reality that they were believers “of little faith”! Plainly, Jesus cared about the smallness of their faith and made known that fact to them.

What’s more, Jesus expressed His amazement at how great a faith a certain centurion had:

Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

We must note that Jesus did more than merely state that this centurion was a man of great faith—Jesus said that his faith exceeded the faith of anyone else that He had encountered in Israel to that point! This divine comparison teaches us that God makes comparisons about how much faith people have.

From these two instructive statements of Jesus, let us strive to be people of such great faith among our countrymen so that God marvels, taking note of how much our faith exceeds that of other believers in our country!

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

Beware Espousing Any Unbiblical Notions about Practitioners of Magic or the Occult

December 30, 2016

God made clear to His people that they were forbidden from having any contact with or participation in magic or in occult practices:

Deu 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

¹⁰ There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

¹¹ Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

¹² For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

¹³ Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

¹⁴ For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

As believers, we must understand that the Bible never teaches that there is such a thing as a good fairy, witch, wizard, or any other supposedly good practitioner of supernatural arts involving magic or occult practices. All Christians, including especially Christians who immerse themselves in fictitious materials that are filled with such unbiblical notions, must diligently guard their minds so that they do not unwittingly espouse any such unbiblical views as legitimate.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

What Being Under Grace Does Not Mean for Christian Morality

December 27, 2016

Deuteronomy 22 and 1 Corinthians 5 both address a specific divine prohibition for the morality of believers:

Deu 22:30 A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt.

1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

A comparison of these passages shows that God’s moral requirement for today’s believers who are under grace is no different than what is was for believers in Him who were under the Law—a man must not have intimate relations with his father’s wife! God’s moral standard for His people concerning this prohibition has not changed at all.

In fact, this comparison shows that even Gentiles who live in the age of grace know not to practice such fornication. Christians who assert that being under grace means that such sexual prohibitions in the Law no longer apply to God’s people have a wrong understanding of what being under grace means for Christian morality.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

On Bloodshed That Pollutes a Land

December 17, 2016

God revealed to Moses that blood that was shed by murdering someone would pollute the land unless the Israelites dealt properly with that bloodshed:

Num 35:30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

³¹ Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

³² And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

³³ So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

³⁴ Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

Based on this sobering revelation, how polluted in the sight of God must all the countries of the world today be because of all the blood that has been shed by murderers in those countries that has not been properly dealt with by punishing the murderers properly!

In Interpretation, Theology

Ephesians 5:25 and A Proper Christian Mindset

November 22, 2016

Having a proper Christian mindset includes living by the glorious truth of Christ’s loving me and giving Himself for me:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

As important as believing that Christ loved me and gave Himself for me as an individual Christian is, having a proper Christian mindset requires that I also give full importance to a closely related truth:

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Paul teaches in this verse that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.

As an individual Christian, I am part of the Church, but I am not the totality of the Church. Ephesians 5:25, therefore, teaches me that Christ loved an entity that includes me but is far bigger than I am. It teaches me that Christ died for something that is far bigger than I am as an individual Christian.

Because Christ loves the Church and because He gave Himself for it, I must always be mindful to treat those who are His Church in light of these glorious realities.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

Do You Believe That Jesus Was Full of Truth?

November 17, 2016

The Apostle John made known that Jesus was full of grace and truth:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

To doubt, disbelieve, or deny anything that Jesus said or taught is to hold that He was not full of truth but had some error or worse mixed with the truth that He was and taught. If Jesus was not full of truth, then it is impossible to know for sure that He is full of grace and full confidence in His ability to save is made impossible.

Application

When asked a question concerning the subject of divorce, Jesus responded with statements that have profound relevance for our day:

Mat 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

⁵ And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

⁶ Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

In this teaching, Jesus affirmed that God created mankind as male and female at the beginning. He added that biblical marriage consisting of a man marrying a woman flows directly out of what God did in creating man the way that He did.

Jesus declared that when a man and a woman marry, they become one flesh because God has joined them together as husband and wife. Because God has done so, man is not to separate the couple that God has joined.

A believer who denies that God created mankind as male and female from the beginning has to hold that Jesus was wrong when He said these words. A belief in evolution thus makes impossible the belief that Jesus was full of truth.

If Jesus was wrong when He gave this teaching, He also is not full of grace and trusting in Him for the grace needed to save us is a hopelessly vain endeavor. We must reject any teaching that denies that God created mankind as male and female at the beginning.

Do you believe that Jesus was full of truth?

In Interpretation, Theology

Forget Not All His Benefits!

October 8, 2016

A striking correlation of two passages that I had never considered until right now while continuing my Sunday school prep for tomorrow:

Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

We as believers must take the cup of salvation and call on His name because of all the benefits the Lord has bestowed on us. This is one aspect of our not forgetting all His benefits!

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

Archives For Interpretation

Distinctions between Israelites and Strangers

1. Taking people as bondmen and how such people were to be treated

2. Creditors being required to release debts

3. Charging interest on lending

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Application

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