2000 Issue 1 - How to Read the Bible Biblically - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2000 Issue 1 - How to Read the Bible Biblically - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/12

richment, and encouragement, its

dynamic influence bringing a

deepeniugjoy into our daily lives."

But, if that's the case, then most

people must

be

tone

deaf

For

some

Christians the Bible

is a source of controversy, con

fusion, debate and division.

It

is

more

like a jigsaw puzzle than a

lamp

unto their feet

They

are re

duced

to

reading the Bible as a

secret prophetic code

to

be de

ciphered and charted,

or

a

manual

on soul winning, orfor

finding

so

lutions to personal problems.

The solution to this

problem

is

to

learn how to read the Bible

as

try

to

read the whole Bible will

aid you in following the

story

of

redemption. There are several

summaries

of he

Bible

within

the Bible.

A. Acts 7, the defense of

Stephen, summarizes

the progress

of the redemptive plan ofGod.

B. Isaiah is a summary of the

Bible

in structure as well as

theme.

Like the

Bible

as a whole, Isaiah

consists of 66 divisions (chap

ters),

which

are divided themati

cally into

39

"O.T. chapters"

and

27 N.

T.

chapters." Like Gen

esis, the first book of the Bible, it

begins with creation. Like Rev-

Many Christians are familiar

only with a number of stories in

the Bible which they heard as a

child or learned in Sunday

School. Thus, they have the

impression that the Bible is a

book

of

stories about interesting

people of faith and incredible

events. Lacking an appreciation

for the unified story-line of the

Bible, they view it as a collec

tion

of

disconnected incidents

rather than as the coherent,

purpose-driven

Word

of God.

They have been exhorted and

encouraged to read the Bible

and perhaps have

done

so once

or

twice, but they usually

fizzle out by

Exodus,

certainly by

Leviticus.

elation, the last book of the

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ w Bible, it concludes with a

How to Read the

Bible

Biblically

hey read exciting

things

about the Bible, ''Thy word

is a lamp unto my feet and

prophecy of the

new

heav

ens and new

earth. The first

39 chapters deal with O.T.

a :============:=1 themes, creations, sin,judg-

a light unto my path" ( Ps.

119:105). It gives wisdom and

nnderstanding (119:98, 99).

Some verses declare

how

the

Bible is a source of joy (Psalm

119:14,47,70,162). Jeremiah

15: 16 reads, "When your words

came, I ate them; they were my

joy

and

my heart's delight. ... "

The Thessalonians

"Welcomed

the message with the joy given

by the Holy Spirit" 1 Thess.

1 6). Unfortunately, it never or

rarely becomes such

to

them.

They read glowing comments

about the Bible by others. "The

Bible appears

like

a symphony

or

chestra," writes

J.

I Packer,

with the Holy Ghost as its

Toscanini; each instrument has

been brought

willingly,

spontane

ously, and creatively,

to

play his

notes

just

as the

great

conductor

desired . .It is meant

to be

a con

stant means of

enlighteument, en-

a book

of

covenant purpose and

thematic development.

The

Bible

carmot

be

read with the profitGod

intends if we ignore its frame

work, theme, pattern and flow.

We must learn to read the Bible.

biblically The various portions

of Scripture form one book, the

revelation of God's eternal plan

of redemption. Each part

adds

to

our understanding

and

appre

ciation of hat plan

and

is vital i

we are to

be

God's holy people,

dedicated to him in every area of

life.

The

following two methods

will

help you learn to read the Bible

as God intends.

READ

THE

SUMMARIES

OF THE BIBLE

The unity and harmonyof he

Bible is

unveiled

in summaries of

the

Bible within the

Bible itself.

Reading

these first, before

you

4 THE

COUNSEL ofChalcedon December,1999/January,2000

ment. The last 27 chapters deal

with N.T. themes, redemption,

salvation, righteousness.

C.

1

and

2

Chronicles also

provide useful summaries of the

Bible. They begin with Adam

and

conclude

with

language that par

allels the Great Commission (cf.

2 Chron. 36:23;

Mat.

28: 18-20).

2

Chronicles is the last book in

the Hebrew Bible.

It was

com

posed after the exile for the rem

nant returning to Palestine. Itcon

cerns

the temple

and

the kingdom

of God, in preparation for the

N.T. in

which Christ, the Son of

David, the Son of Abraham

(Matt. 1:1), comes to gather the

remnant, inaugurate the kingdom

of

heaven, and to build His

temple.

D. Psalms 104 - 106 is an

other summary

of

the Bible.

Psalm

104

celebrates creation


2/12

(Gen. 1). Psalm

105

continues

1he

story of God's dealing wi1h

His

people beginning with Abraham

and

1he

covenant

made wi1h

him

and

his

descendants. t races

1he

progress of redemptive history

wi1h

Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and 1he

Exodus

through

Moses and

Aaron. tconcludes

wi1h

1he dec-

laration that this was all because

From these summaries,

we

learn that the goal of salvation is

not merely

to

be saved

from

hell.

Salvation also entails deliverance

,

from

our enemies, a heart to wor-

ship and praise God, a life of

righteousness, and a divine prom

ise that all the nations will know

and glorify the Lord I hope you

are beginning to get the

message

N.T (Luke 24:44). The O.T. was

also referred

to

as the Law and

the Prophets (Matt.7:12; 22:40;

Luke 16:16; Acts 13:15; 26:22).

The Law is 1he Pentateuch,

the

first five books of the Bible. The

"Prophets," according to the He

brew definition, included books

that

we

identify as the Historical

books, Joshua _ Kings. These

of God's cov

enant wi1h Abra

ham (vv. 42-45).

God's purpose is

to have a people

in fellowship

with Himself in

worship, holi

ness, righteous

ness and truth.

God's purpose

in creation and

redemption fo

cuses on the

land,

a numerous

seed,

and a

blessing to

all1he

nations This

points

to the

ThL IlehlL w Old 'fL'slanlcllI Arrangement

are called the

"Former" (ear

lier) Prophets

according to

the Hebrew

O.T. These

were

called

prophetic

books be-

cause

they

were

written

by men who

spoke for God,

though they did

not necessarily

predict the fu

ture. The "Lat

ter" Prophets in

I he Law - Torah I

I

The Prophets

I I

The Writings

I

1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus

4.

Nwnbers

5. Deuteronomy

N.T. and particularly to 1he Great

Commissionand 1he history of re

demption as it unfolds

and

ad

vances

in Acts. There we see God

sending 1he

Apostles

to baptize all

1he

nations of1he ear1h

(1he

land),

a numerous seed as

1housands

are

being converted, and the bless

ing to

all1he nations as the gospel

goes to the Gentiles. Psalm 106

rehearses the terrible sin of the

people in the wilderness, the re

bellion at the Red Sea, and con

cludes with the cry for salvation

(vv.47-48). These perspectives

define for us what it means to call

the son of Mary "Jesus, for He

will save His people from their

sins" (Matt. 1:21).

A.

FonnerProphets

A. Poetical

Books

1.

Joshua

1.

Psalms

2. Judges

2.

Job

3. Samuel

3.

Proverbs

4.

Kings

B. Five Rolls

B.

Latter Prophets

1. Ruth

.Isaiah

2.

Song

ofSongs

2. Jeremiah

3.

Ecclesiastes

3. Exekiel

4. Lamentations

4. The

Twelve

"Minor"

5. Esther

Prophets

C.

Hisoorical

Books

1. Daniel

2. Exra,Neherniah

3. Chronicles

READ THE BIBLE

ACCORDING TO ITS

DIVISIONS.

While there is no "inspired"

order of the books of the Bible,

we should not suppose that it has

been put together haphazardly,

nor should

we

fail to note the

progressive revelation of redemp-

tion in the order in which the

books were inspired

and

written.

The Hebrew Bible is arranged

and

organized differently 1han

1he

En-

glish Bible, however.

A.

THE HEBREW O.T. has

three divisions: the Law, the

Prophets, and the Writings.

This division is referred to in the

the

Hebrew

Bible refers to the books that we

identify as the Prophets, the five

Major and twelve Minor proph

ets. Their last division,

the

Writ

ings, included books that we call

the Poetic books: Ruth, Lamen

tations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra

Nehemiah, and Chronicles. The

last book in Jesus' canon, the

Hebrew Bible, as

we

have noted,

was 2 Chronicles. Knowing this

helps us understand the words of

Matt. 23:35: "Upon you shall

come all the blood of Abel to

Zacharias." This is a reference to

the last book in the Hebrew Bible

- 2 Chron. 24:20-22. In other

words, the guilt of all the blood

from A o Z, 1he entire QT, is on you.

December,1999/Jannary,2000 TIlECOUNSEL ofChalcedon 5


3/12

B.

THE

MODERN O.T.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE

BOOKS

OF

THE BIBLE is

based

on

the Septuagint, the

Greek translation of the O.T.

which was written in the inter

testamental period (c. 150'

B.C.). This arrangement is

four-fold

(or sometimes five

fold): The Law, History,

Poetry,

and

the

Prophets

(five-fold

if

you divide

them

as Major

Prophets and

the

Minor

Prophets).

For the sake ofsimplicity, we

can

also reduce the 39 books

of

the O.T. into three categories,

History

(17 books),

Poetry

5

books), and Prophecy (17

books). The history and pro

phetic sections can both be sub

divided into groups of five

and

twelve

books.

The seventeen

History books can be divided into

the five books of Moses, the

Pentateuch, the history of the es

tablishment

of

God's covenant,

and

then

twelve other history

books that relate the outworking

of the covenant in the lives of the

people

in

terms

of

covenant obe

dience or disobedience. The sev

enteen Prophecy books may be

divided into Five Major Proph

ets and Twelve Minor prophets.

We ought also to know that the

prophets

may

be distinguished

into pre-exilic, exilic, and post

exilic prophets. This will obvi

ously detennine their message and

our understanding of the message

and application of these proph

ets.

The three major divisionso he

O.T. books (History, Poetry, and

Prophecy) are related to each

other like a sandwich more than

like link sausage. In other words,

one genre does not link to the

other, one after another, chrono

logically, but they overlap each

other. The fIrst seventeen books

of the O.T. actually cover the

whole O.T. period - from Gen

esis to Malachi. 1 and 2

Chronicles, the last two books

of

the Hebrew Bible, cover the

whole history and hope of the

O.T. The Poetry books were

mostly written during the period

of the history of the kings, par

ticularly David and Solomon, and

overlap the history books. Most

of

the Prophets, at least the pre

exilic prophets, were written dur

ing the period

of

the kings; the

remainder were written following

the kings and during exile and the

return. Hence, each division lays

over the other. While you are

reading Psalms, for example, it is

helpful to tum to the historical

books and correlate it with what

was going on in David's life. Itis

also helpful to remember that the

major portion

of

the Proverbs

were written by Solomon or as

wisdom literature associated with

Solomon, the wisest man who

ever lived and who was a type of

Christ, the one who is greater

than Solomon.

C.

THE

HISTORICAL,

PROGRESSIVE, COVENAN

TAL, DEVELOPMENT OF RE.-

DEMPTION THE BIBLE.

Using these structures,

we

can

trace God's progressive redemp

tion from promise to fulfIllment.

Cornelius Vanderwaal

in

his

book, Search The Scriptures,

Vol. 1, Genesis - Exodus,

(Paideia Press, St. Catherines,

Ontario, Canada, 1978), provides

a covenantal, theological frame

work (pg. 44) for reading the

6 -THE COUNSEL ofCbalcedon -Decembw,1999/January,2000

Bible biblically.

He

uses the four

fold division of the o.T.

Latter

Prophets

(The 17

Old

Testament Prophetic Books)

Warnings

.and promises

rooted in the covenant look

ing

forward

to

the

New

Covenant

Poetic Books

The Wisdom and

Songs of

the Covenant

.

Former

Prophets

(Historical Books)

The Lord upholds His cov

enant

Pentateuch

Early History

The Covenant at

Mount

Sinai

The law

of

the Covenant

Looking at this chart you can

see the harmony, unity, and pro

gressive development

of

God's

relationship with His people.

Another helpful analysis

of

he

message of the Bible is that o Dr.

Henry Krabbendam, professorof

Bible at Covenant College. i l l his

class notes on Genesis, he sug

gests thilt, following the Hebrew

divisions

of

he Bible, the Law,

the Prophets, and

the

Writings, we

can compare the Bible

to

a house.

The

FOUNDATION

of

the

house is the Law, the Pentateuch.

The WALLS

of

the house are the

Prophets. The WINDOWS of the

house are the Writings. The

ROOF OF THE HOUSE is the

N.T. The golden thread that

mus through the whole is the cov

enant promise, I will be a God

to you and to your seed and you

will be

my

people.


4/12

I THE

FOUNDATION

OF THE HOUSE - THE

PENTATEUCH.

The Law

is

the foundation of

the O.T. and of the entire Bible.

These five books set forth the re

demptive history that led up to

Israel's entrance into

the

land

of

Canaan.

They begin

with

creation

and God's command to Adam to

subdue

the

earth. Then they re

late how Adam plunged all man

kind into sin, misery, and death

through

his first

transgression. n

Gen.

3:15

God announced his

plan of redemption, a seed of the

woman

who would

crush

the

head

of the Serpent, Satan, and his

seed. God's purpose is

to

over

turn the effects of the curse and

to create a new heaven and earth

in which righteousness dwells.

That covenant of grace was

perpetuated through the covenant

of preservation with Noah. t

was advanced with Abraham, as

God made it clear that this prom

ise included a land, the whole

earth, a numerous seed,

and

a

blessing to all the nations through

a miraculously provided and res

urrected seed, Isaac, a type of

Christ. The necessity offaith to

inherit God's promise ofsalvation

is

made explicit at this point. The

covenant of grace

was

continued

through Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and

his twelve sons, the twelve tribes

ofIsrael. Under Moses, Godre

deemed His people from bond

age, brought them to Mt. Sinai

where He gave them an exhaus

tive revelation of his law

for

life

as

the people of

God,

and

formed

them

as His

nation

(Exodus-Lev

iticus). They were led to

the

bor

der of Canaan, but could not en

ter because of unbelief. God con-

signed them in his wrath to wil

derness wandering for 40 years

(Numbers). At the end of the 40

years, in preparation for entering

the land, God renewed the cov

enant and reiterated His law

(Deuteronomy). As with Adam

in Gen.

2,

blessings and curses

are armounced

for

faithful obedi

ence to God and His word.

God has at this point brought

His people full circle. Having be

gun with Adam, to whom

he

had

given His law and instruction to

subdue all things, God has now

formed a new people out offallen

humanity. He has chosen, re

deemed, and called them to his

covenant. He

now

gives them

His

law and tells them

to

go in

and to

subdue the land of Canaan, a

down payment on the promise

to Abraham to

give

him a land

and

to bless all the nations through

Him.

This is

the

foundation for the

remainder of the Bible, the N. T.,

the Great Commission. For in

Christ,

the seed

of the woman,

the

miraculously provided seed of

Abraham, all the promises and

purposes of God have become

Yea, and Amen. Everything else

is but the advancement and ful

fillment of

the

Pentateuch.

II. THE PROPHETS (AC

CORDING TO THE HEBREW

DESIGNATION - THE HIS

TORICAL

BOOKS

ACCORD

ING TO THE CONTEMPO

RARY

ENGLISH VERSIONS

OF THE BIBLE).

The prophets, as we have

noted, in

the Hebrew

Bible are

di

vided into the former and latter

prophets. Joshua through Kings

are the former prophets, and

Isaiah through Malachi are the lat

ter prophets. As Dr. Krabbendam

suggests, the books may be com

pared to the walls' or continuing

structure of

he

house, the history

of the covenant.

The

Former Prophets (Histori

cal books) cover the conquest

of

Canaan and the period of the

Judges and the Kings. These

books

also tell us

how

the people

of God were blessed when they

kept the covenant, and how they

were cursed and disciplined when

they did not believe and obey

God's commandments.

The history of the covenant

during this time reveals that al

though Israel was chosen, re

deemed, and called to be a light

to the nations, she was still sinful

and experienced

the

curses of the

covenant. Her

officers

the

prophets, priests, and kings did

not have the power to' save the

people. Many of her prophets are

false, her priests unclean, and her

kings unjust and self-serving. n

the midst of the progress and ad

vancement of the covenant is the

cry

for

a true prophet, priest, and

king, looking to

the new

covenant

in Christ.

n

connection with the period

of

the

kings,

the

divided kingdom,

come the Latter Prophets, Isaiah

- Malachi, the preachers of the

O.T. What

is

their text ? I t s the

covenant

law

of God. You hear

the prophets base their plea on

God's covenant

as

they appeal

t

the people to serve the Lord.

The ... prophets speak of God's

promises demands and

threats .... They cling to the Law of

Moses, pointing back to the pro

visions of the covenant and the

earlier redemptive deeds of the

December,1999/January 2000 -THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon -7


5/12

Lord,

which guarantee the Mes

sianic deliverance to come. The

prophets

also point to the sanc

tions, the threats contained in the

iaw

of

Moses.

Those threats

would surely be carried out, they

warned,

i

he people of the Lord

did

not repent. Thus, the proph

ets stood on the shoulders of

Moses - and on their predeces

sors shoulders as well."l

n the

midst

of this prophetic

preaching is the promise that God

will fulfill His purposes,

He

will

keep

the covenant.

He

will send

an anointed one, a "Messiah,"

who will

be

a faithful king, a true

prophet, and a spotless priest.

n

him

God's saving purposes will be

realized.

The

Messiah will make

God's people holy, and he will

conquer

God's enemies so that

the whole earth and every nation

will worship God and keep His

commandments (Isa. 2). God will

send His Spirit and write His law

on their hearts, and

He

will be

their

God and

they will be His

people

(Jer.

31:31-34; Ezek.

36:25-27). This is the "new cov

enant" He

will

make,

ul illing

His

promise to Abraham of a land, a

seed,

and

a blessed future.

III. THE WRITINGS OF

THE HEBREW

BIBLE FORM

THE WINDOWS OF

THE

HOUSE.

As Dr. Krabbendam says

concerning these books, "Atten

tion

is focused upon the blessed

life of them that walk in the wis

dom

of the covenant and keep

God's commandments in heartfelt

obedience and the wretched state

of hem that spurn its wisdom and

transgress God's. command

ments."

The Law is the founda"

tion; everything refers back to

God's covenant with Abraham The New Testament is to the

and Moses.

Even

the Davidic O.T.

as

fulfillmentis to promise.

Covenant has as its goal the es

tabl ishmentofGod's people, the

seed of Abraham as a holy na

tion, the Mosaic Covenant.

The Writings,

the

Poetic

Books in particular, presuppose

the other books. "Psalms and

Lamentations give us a sense of

the struggle Israel underwent in its

relationship to God as it sought

to win the covenant blessings. As

we read

them,

it's almost as

though we were present in a

temple service. We look right into

the heart

of

the praying believers.

How they plead for the fulfillment

of God's promises How they

complain about their suffering

How earnestly they confess their

sins How grateful they are for the

deliverance they have received,

and how they yearn for the ulti

mate redemption " We are

shown how deeply Israel believed

the words of Moses: "The Lord

will vindicate his people" (Deut.

32:36; Ps. 135:14; Rom. 12:19;

Heb. 10:30; Rev. 18:20; 20:4).

"Wisdom books like

Job,

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are in

tended

to

help

the

covenant

people stay on the Lord's path

and accept His leading. The book

ofProverbs can be read as a com

mentary on the

Ten

Commandments .. .In this book,

we find concrete applications of

the fear of Yahweh, which is the

beginning of wisdom. Thus these

'poetic'

books are based on the

Pentateuch. Their foundation is

God's covenant

with His

people."2

IV THE

NEW

TESTA

MENT -

NEW

COVENANT -

THE ROOF OF THE HOUSE.

The new covenant was neces

sary because

of

the limitations

of

the old covenant. t was not suf

ficient to accomplish

God's

pur

poses to Adam and Abraham.

t

had no power to save ultimately.

It was external, and had no power

to make the people holy, and to

enable them to keep

God's

com

mandments. Instead it directed

them to the coming Lamb ofGod.

The new covenant draws together

the themes and purposes of God

progressively revealed in the O.T.

n Christ, the covenant of com

mencement, preservation, prom

ise, law, and kingship are realized.

The shadows are swept away and

the implicit becomes explicit be

cause he has come according to

the promise and actually secured

the fulness of God's grace for sin

ners (Jer. 31:31;Heb. 8:13).

A. THE

GOSPELS: THE

MANIFESTATION OF

CHRIST3

The three sections of the O.

T.

culminate in the N.T. Matthew

1:1 opens with the

"genesis" of

Jesus Christ, the son ofDavid, the

Son of Abraham

He

is the ful

fillment

of God's

promises to

Abraham and David.

He

is the

second Adam, the

One

who ful

fills the

creation

mandate originally

given to Adam (Rom. 5). He is

the seed of he woman (Gen. 3: 15

w

Gal. 4-5). Those who believe,

whether Jew or Gentile, will in

herit the promises to Abraham (cf.

Rom. 4; Gal. 3).

They

are the

Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). Those

who do not believe, whether Jews

or Gentiles, will be

cut

off. Jesus

is the "King of the Jews," the Son

of David, whose kingdom is eter-

8 - TIlE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon -December 1999/January 2000


6/12

nal and will fill the earth as all the

nations come into His kingdom

and keep the holy, just, and per

fectlaw ofGod,

the law

of

Moses

(Matt. 2:3; 2 Sam. 7; Isa. 2). He

is the fulfillment of the types and

shadows of the sacrificial laws.

He writes the

law

on our hearts

(Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27),

causing and enabling us to keep

His laws, not merely in external

form but in the greater righteous

ness Jesus described in Matt. 5-

7, the Sermon on the Mount. n

contrast to

the

other leading evan-

gelical

theological

system,

Dispensationalism, Jesus

is

no

antinomian Jesus does not call

men to follow himmerely

as

Sav-

ior and not as Lord Jesus inau

gurated His kingdom (Matt.

4: 17).

He

did not postpone the

kingdom, as

some

assert, thereby

throwing

the

message of he Bible

and of the kingdom out of gear.

His kingdom has come, the na

tion ofIsrael has been judged for

its rejection of the Christ, and the

new covenant has been inaugu

rated with Jews and Gentiles who

repent and believe the good news

of the kingdom (Matt. 4: 17). He

gave His disciples the great com-

mission, reminding us of

the

great

commission to Adam in Gen. I,

to go into all the

world.

and

make

disciples ofall

the

nations, teach

ing them to observe everything

which

He

has

commanded

B. ACTS: THE

PROPAGA-

TION OF CHRIST

In Acts, we read that having

sealed the new covenant with His

blood, He poured out the Holy

Spirit which

the

Father had prom-

ised in Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Joel

2:28-32. The purpose of this out

pouring was so that his Church

might be empowered to accom

plish the Great Commission cf.

Isa. 61-62). Jesus has been ex

alted to the right hand of the Fa

ther until

He

makes

his

enemies

His

footstool

(Acts

2; Gen. 3:15).

Acts shows

us

the progressive

fulfillment

in the

early

days

of

the

chnrch in fulfilling the promise

to

Abraham of a land, a seed, and a

blessing to

all nations.

tends with

the great perspective, not of de

feat, but of growing conquest

(28:17-30). Even though Paul

was in prison, nothing could stop

the advance of the kingdom of

God

C.

EPISTLES: THE

INTERPETATION AND

APPLICATION OF CHRIST

The

Epistles are covenant

letters as well. Some, like

Romans and Galatians, explain

how Jesus is

the

fulfillment of

the promises and purposes of

God and call the people

to

faith

and obedience. Others address

particular problems of doctrine

or living. In both cases, the

writers caUthem

to

live as

new

covenant Christians, in faith and

obedience.

D. PROPHECY: THE

CONSUMATION IN CHRIST:

The Book of Revelation has

beenmore of a puzzle

than

a ''rev

elation"

to

Christians. But need

it be

so?

God calls it a ''revela- .

tion," an unveiling. t

was

written

by John for the people of God liv

ing in those days, 1:1-3. The

problem is that Christians have

taken the literal

words

fignratively

and the

fignrative words literally

"The time

is

near,"

Rev.

1:3,

they

have tnrned into thousands of

years, and apocalyptic-symbol-

ism they have taken literally. What

has been overlooked is that the

Book of Revelation wasn't writ

ten yesterday And many com

mentators are coming to believe

that it was written before J erusa

lem was destroyed

in7

A.D, to

prepare the people

of

God for the

coming destruction of

the

Temple,

the end of Judaism, and the ulti

mate triumph of the people of

God, those

to

whom John was

writing.

What does reading the Bible

biblically mean to us? t means

that we must view the Bible as

setting forth God's plan and pur

pose

of

creation and redemption.

It produces understanding and

confidence about the future, be

cause we know that we will reap

in due time i fwe faint not and that

onr labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Reading

the

Bible biblically means

reading the Bible as the revela

tion of the progressive unfolding

of the redemptive purpose of

God, who has created, chosen,

called, redeemed, and restored

his

people

to

fellowship and com

munion with Himself.

t

means

restoring man in the image ofGod,

inrighteousness and

holiness,

with

dominion over the creatures. t

means restoring man

as

God's

vice-regent in the earth. tmeans

restoring marriages and families

(Mal. 4; Eph. 5), restoring the

dignity and

fruitfulness of work in

our callings (Gen. 1;

Eph. 6).

Faithfulness to itwill enable

us

to

be salt in light in onr society, pro

claim the

good

news of the king

dom of God, and disciple the na

tions to Christ, until the Day of

His coming when He presents the

consummated kingdom to His

Father (I Cor. 15:25-27).

December,1999/January,2000 - THE

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I. YOU MUST

READ

THE

BIBLE

ACCORDING

TO THE AUTHOR'S PUR

POSE. The

WSC

Q

1 begins

with our

chief

end, which is to

glorify

God and

to enjoy Him

forever.

Q.2

goes

on

to

answer the question,"What rule

has

God given

us to direct us

how

we

may glorify and enjoy

him?

by saying ''The Scriptures

of

the

Old and New

Testament

are the only rule to direct us

how we may glorify and enjoy

him.

Q.3

answers the ques

tion,

What do

the scriptures

principally teach?" by saying,

The

Scriptures principally

teach what man

is to believe

concerning God

and what

duty

God

requires of man." That is

what

the Bible is about.

A.

t

PRINCIPALLY

teaches us

what

we

are to

believe

and

do. 2 Tim. 3:16

tells us that all Scripture is

profitable.

But

that does not

mean

that all Scripture is as

profitable as

every

other.

How

important is

it

to know the

names

of

the Levites and priests

in

2 Chron.

17:7,8? How

important is

it

for

uS

to under

stand Cretan poetry, which Paul

refers to

in

Titus 1:12?

Letus

not neglect the principle things

of

what

we are to believe and

do. We

must

be careful that out

of theological curiosity we do

not devote more time than is

expedient

or

edifying to explor

ing these trails.

B.

t

teaches us

not

only

what

we

must

believe,

but

what we must

do.

We must

not

avoid

or omit

doing what we

have been commanded to do

in

the

name of

more study as to

what to believe. As someone

has said, "We already know

more than we do "

The

Shorter

Catechism Q 1 speaks

of

mlm's

chief

or ultimate end,

implying that there are

subordinent ends.

As

Chris

tians, we have various ends,

purposes, responsibilities, and

duties which are incumbent

upon us besides our study of

theology and the Bible. Thomas

Vmcent,

in

his commentary on

the Shorter Catechism

Q 1

says that subordinate ends are

diligence in particular callings.

Men

may

also eat, and

drink,

and sleep, for this end, and they

may nourish and refresh their

bodies. Men may also moder

ately desire and endeavor after

the enjoyment

of

such a portion

of the good things of the world

as

is needful and useful. While

all men (and women) must be

"theologians," this does not

. constitute the totality

of

their

Christian responsibility. Chil

dren

mustbe

educated and

prepare for vocations, fathers

must work and provide for their

family and future. Of course, a

greater danger for most today is

lack ofattention to Biblical and

theological study.

C. t teaches us

what we

must believe

concerning God

and

do,

what duty God

reo

quires of man.

Ps. 51 records

that the people had a false view

ofGod and this false view led

them to sinful practices. When

Josiah rediscovered the law

of

God, he discovered that the

people were disobeying God,

he repented and instituted

reforms

in

terms of the Word of

God, 2 Kings 22.

What

hap-

10

-TIlE COUNSEL ofChalcedon -December 1999/Jannary 2000

pens when men do not follow

the word

of

God? Read Judges

17-18. Life without acknowl

edgment of

God's

rule is

unhappy, confused, and dis

pleasing to God

II. WE MUST READ

THE BIBLE

AS

ONE

BOOK

- The Bible is a large book

of

66 books, but ultimately and

essentially it is one book, John

5:39, Luke 24:27, John 15:26,

2 Tim. 1:9,10. The Lord Jesus

Christ gives unity and authority

to the whole Bible from Genesis

to Revelation by His reference

to the O.T. scriptures as the

Word of God

and

His promise

of

the Spirit to His disciples to

bring to remembrance all that

He has said.

The

center

of

the

Bible is the incarnate and

glorified Christ

by

whom all

things will

be

renewed," Willem

Van

Gemeren.

t

is the story

of

what God has purposed and

done with man through Christ.

The Bible is a book about

what God has said

and

done.

Center stage does

not

belong to

man,

but

to God.

t

s God

centered and Christ-centered.

t

is the record

of

the sovereign

God who is the absolute Lord

of heaven arid earth and of all

creatures and men.

It

is the

record of how God deals with

the world.

t

is the record

of

God's setting up

of

His kingdom

on earth, creating and dealing

with man

in

a special and unique

way. That special way is God's

relationship established with

man by way

of

a "covenant."

The covenant is the relationship

established by God with man

in

which he promises life or death,

blessings or curses, based on


8/12

faith and obedience. It is a

bond and promise oflife and

love for obedience and curse for

disobedience.

God established a covenant

with Adam and all his

poseterity. When Adam,

and

thus

all

men, fell in

sin, the

curses of the covenant

came

into

play.

But

God

in His mercy

spoke a word of promise of

grace, Gen. 3:15, which He had

purposed in eternity to do.,

Eph. 1:4ff. Thus, He holds out

the promise of forgiveness and

new life to those

who

return to

Him in faith and obedience,

trusting Jesus Christ

as

their

Savior and Lord. At the same

time, this redemption is not

up

to the whim or

free

will ofmen,

but God will

save

a people

unto

Himself.

t

is He

who

regener

ates

some men's hearts, drawing

them

to

Himself,

saving

and

renewing

them in His

image,

and

giving them an

eternal inherit-

ance. The rest of

the

Bible

is

abont

how

God is doing this.

The Bible

is the

book of the

. History ofRedemption. t s not

just history, or just a history of

what God did. t s the history

of God's moving to restore

sinful people and all of creation

to a right relationship with

Himselfwhile

destroying

all His

and their enemies.

t

is progres

sive - gradual.

t

is the record

of God's creation and purpose

of redemption of men through

His Son for the glory ofHis

grace. It is the story of the

kingdom of

God,

God with us,

and the redemption of

men

by

His Son for His glory.

t

re-

counts how God in eternity

purposed to create and permit

the

fall in order to redeem men

by His Son. Right from the

beginning, Gen. 3: 15, God

revealed that He would redeem

a people unto Himselfand

would crush the head of the

serpent and his seed. It is God

centered and not man-centered.

t s a revelation of the sovereign

will and purpose

and

power

of

God and not the sovereign free

will of manwho does

God

a

favor by believing inHis Son

and receiving Him

as

Savior.

ill WE MUST READ

THE BIBLE

AS

OLD TES

TAMENT AND NEW TES

TAMENT.

The word

"testament"

as

used here

is

unfortunate and

misleading.

t s

the

same

word

as covenant, and thus

the

Bible

is divided into

the

Old Covenant

and the New Covenant.

The terms "Old" and "New"

may

be misunderstood

as

well.

Many Christians say We are

N.T.

Christians "

Or,

"That's in

the Old Testament."

We

think

of old as

something

to

be

discarded, like an old shoe.

Old with reference to

the

"Old"

Testament has the significance

of former or prior, not useless

or worthless. The New is the

fulfillment of the Old.

The Old

is the

platform

for

the New.

Moses

was

writing about Christ,

John

5:46;

Christcame to fulfill

the law and the prophets, not to

abolish them, Mat.

5:17.

Christ and the apostles regarded

the O.T. as their Bible

We

ought to

say

that we are Biblical

Christians.

God established a covenant

with man, Adam, before

and

after

the

fall. This promise was

repeated

and

enlarged through

Abraham

and

David. This

covenant established was not

fulfilled in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament even fortold

that God would make a new

covenant in the future, Jer.

31:31-34. Jesus came to fulfill

the Old Covenant, Luke 1 72-

73, and spoke of His blood as

ratifying

the

New Covenant,

Mat. 26:28, Heb. 8:6-8.

So,

we should not think

of

the

Bible

as

being divided into

two halves, but two halves being

united in one book. The

N. T.

is not a break with the O.T., but

the fulfillment of the O.T., Mat.

1:1

We must not throw

up

a

real division between the

O.T.

and

the N.T.,

saying that the

O.T. was for the Jews and now

is

past history, irrelevant; that

the N.T.

is

for Christians and

we

are

a

N.T.

church. THE

BIBLE IS TWO BOOKS

UNITED INTO ONE BOOK,

THE O.T.THE PROMISE

AND THE N.T. THE FUL

FILLMENT.

Augustine said, "The O.T. is .

in the

N.

T.

revealed and the

N.T.

is

in the

O.T.

concealed."

Thomas Watson wrote, "The

two testaments are the two lips

by which God has spoken to

us." One theologian has said

that the Old and New Testa

.ments are like the two halves of

a sentence; both are necessary

before we can read the whole

sentence. There

are similarities

and differences to be sure. The

N.T. says that Christ is the end

of the law

n

one sense, "the end

of the law for righteousness to

everyone

who believes,"Rom.

December,1999/January,2000 -THE COUNSEL ofChaicedon-11


9/12

10:4. But He did not come to

put an end to the righteousness

the law manifests, but

to

estab

lish it.

We

ought to think of and

read the two testaments as

promise

and

fulfillment.

Dr.

W.

H. Griffith Thomas

wrote that

if

one only found and

read the O.T. He would come

to the conclusion that

it

is a

book aboutunfulfi1led promises,

unexplained ceremonies, and

unsatisfied longings. Buti fwe

were handed the N.T., he would

discover that the

very first page

the birth

of

Jesus is described

as

taking place to fulfill what God

had promised in

the O.

T., Mat.

1

22. He would go on to find

that in Christ the promises are

fulfiIled, the ceremonies ex

plained and the longings and

hopes satisfied.

.We have One God, One

Messiah, One moral law, One

way

of

salvation, One people

of

God, and One hope

of

eternal

life. The New covenant is

not

differing in nature from the old

covenant. What the gospel

of

the new covenant proclaims is

that Christ has fulfilled the

prefigurations and shadows and

types

of

the old covenant,

thereby bringing about complete

forgiveness

of

our sins. Christ

also received the gift of the Holy

Spirit, who in turn equips the

church for the world-wide task,

not limited to the one nation of

Israel. n the expansion

of

the

church across the earth we see

fulfillment

of

what Isaiah had

prophesied long before, Isa

.

42:1-7. Thus we are to view

the new covenant, new

testatment,

as

a fulfillment of he

old covenant, not a break, not a

new plan, not an additional plan

introduced because the former

was postponed.

TheN.T.

is

the fulfillment and

completion

of

he promises of

the O.T. God completed

the

sentence He began in the

O.T.

He

revealed part of the plan and

purpose of redemption to

Adam, another part to Noah,

more to Abraham, more to

Moses, and even more to

David, until in Jesus Christ its

full glory is revealed, Heb.

1: 1

2.

The

O.T. was

the truth, but

not the whole truth.

n

the OT

God spoke slowly gradually,

and progressively.

n

the

N. T.

He

speaks finally fully

and

freely.

IV. WE MUST READ

THE OLD TESTAMENT:

The O.T. begins with God, the

mightly creating,

and

sovereign

God. It tells

us

that God cre

ated man and told him to work,

to marry and raise a

family

and

to

exercise dominion over

all

of

creation to the praise of God.

It

shows that we are in partnership

with God.

I m

here in God s

world, I belong

to

Him, I have a

task, and I have

to

be faithful.

God made a covenant with

Adam, a promise ofIife

and

death.

Man broke the covenant with

God sinning

by

eating the

forbidden frnit. Marriage

was

affected, work

was

affected,

and their relatonship with God

was wrecked

as

well. But God

does not let the Devil succeed.

He comes to man and promises

to restore the relationship with

Adam and Eve and with a

portion

of

her seed, Gen. 3:15.

Now will be born to Eve chil-

12 - mE COUNSEL

ofChalcedon

-December 1999/January 2000

dren who by human nature are

children, products of the Devil,

but by God s grace, she will

also bear children whom God

will regenerate. God will

restore man s relationship with

Himself, restore man in the

image of God, restore man s

family and work. One of

her

seed

will

crush the head of the

serpant, see Rom. 16:20.

The

Creator will be the re-creator

nd

He promises a Savior.

We see

the

historical devel

opment

of

he two

lines,

the

two

seeds, Cain and the Caananites,

how Satan continues to seek to

destroy man, but God continues

His pupose thru Seth, Noah,

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,Joseph,

etc. Noah found grace in the

eyes of God. Jacob have I

loved, showing God s electing

grace. And I m working

through Abraham that ll nations

. will be blessed. God creates

and redeems a people for

Himself.

He

brings them out of

Egypt to Mt. Sinai and gives

them His laws which had been

written on their hearts in fuller

nd

external expression so that

they will know how to please

and serve God in holiness. God

leads them into Canaan, a land

from

which they can penetrate

into all the world, be a light to

the

nations, Deut. 4.; a place to

serve and worship God.

But they didn t serve God,

and God disciplined them and

raised up Judges to temporarily

deliver them. Then Samuel,

David, and Solomon came.

God keep s his people and

makes a promises, 2 Sam. 7

of

a Son and an eternal kingdom.

David and Solomon were kings


10/12

and representative of the great

king who wonld come. Besides

kings, we meet priests and

prophets who ministered

to

God's people. But the kings

were wicked, the prophets lied,

and the priests were unclean

themselves. These all served

to

typify what they needed but that

man could not be that because

of his sin. God's people went

into captivity for their sin,

and

then returned. God reserved a

remnant

to

Himself. God

raised

up

Nebuchadnezzer as

His rod then smote Him be-

cause he was puffed up. God

raised

up

Cyrus to deliver

His

people. He brought the seed

of

Abraham back to Jerusalem

where the Christ was to be

born. Thus, they pointed

to

the

need for a greater prophet,

priest, and king - who was and

is the Lord Jesus Christ In

Christ, now God is fulfilling the

O.T.

promises and purposes.

His

people are not limited

to

Jews, Israel, but to

any, only,

and all who like Abraham

believe in Him and worship and

serve Him. The rest of mankind

He will justly destroy for their

sin, unbelief, rebellion, and

disobedience.

A.

THE

OLD TESTA

MENT MAY BE DIVIDED

INTO THREE TYPES OF

BOOKS: History, Poetry, and

Prophecy. The O.T. books

are

not arranged in chronologi

cal order; they are arranged in

terms of genre,

the

type of

literature, they are: History,

Poetry, and Prophecy.

The Scriptures of Jesus had

a different order of books than

our Bible. The order is not

inspired. It was referred to by a

3-fold division, the law, the

prophets, and the writings,

Luke 24:44, or sometimes as

the law and the prophets,

Mat. 7:12, 22:40, Luke 16:16,

Acts 13:15,26:22. And they

included different

O.

T,

books in

those categories than

we

do.

The last book, for example,

in

Jesus' Bible was 2

Chronicles. Knowing this

helps us understand the words

oCMat. 23:35, upon you shall

come all the blood of Able to

Zacharias,

2

Chron. 24:20-22),

in other words, the guilt of all

the blood from A to Z, the

wholeOT.

The modern O.T. arrange

ment is based on the Septuagint,

the Greek translation of the

O.T. written in theinter-testa

mental period 150 B.C.). This

arrangement is four-fold: The

Law, History, Poetry, and the

Prophets.

For the sake of simplicity, we

can divide the

39

books of the

O. T.

into three categories,

History

17

books), Poetry 5

books), and Prophecy 17

books). The history and

prophetic books can be further

sub-divided into groups of 5

and

12 books: The 17 history

books can be divided into the 5

books of Moses, the

Penteteuch, the history of the

establishment of God's

cov

enant, and then 12 other history

books which relate the out

working of the lives of the

people in terms of covenant

obedience. The

17

Prophecy

books may

be

divided into 5

Major Prophets and

12

Minor

prophets. We ought also to

know that some

of

the prophets

are pre-exilic, exilic, and

postexilic. Moreover, these

three major divisions are related

to each other like a sandwich

rather than link sausage. They

overlap each other. The 17

history books cover the whole

O.T. 1 and 2 Chronicles

covers the whole history

of

the

O.T.). The Poetry books were

written during the period

of

the

history of the kings, David and

Solomon. And most of the

Prophets, at least the pre-exilic

prophets, were written during

the period of the kings as well,

and the rest were written fol

lowing the kings and during the

exile and the return.

.B.

THE

NATURE

OF

THE

O.T. REVELATION:

1. It is

mSTORlCAL t

is not merely theology, system

atic theology. Our religion and

redemption is rooted in history.

God did things in history. It

does not tell

us

all we'd like to

know about creation, for ex

ample. Itis salvation history.

2. t is also

PROGRES

SIVE: There is a story,

progress; step by step God

leads his people along, revealing

more about Himself,

His

will,

and His salvation. When Israel

was a child, God loved them as

a child, Has. 11:1,3. Now

God has completed His revela

tion and calls all men

to

repen

tance, Acts 17:30. Stop and

look at the scenery as you travel

through the

O.T.,

but your goal

is the end of the journey, Christ

as the fulfillment. The Bible is

like a seed, an acorn, that is

planted and grows to maturity.

The whole tree is in the acorn,

December,1999/January,2000 -THE COUNSEL ofCbalcedon-13


11/12

but you

can t

see the whole tree

while

it

is an acorn. You have

to wait until

it

is grown to

maturity.

3. The O.T. is also OR

GANIC

ND

EPOCHAL.

By organic we mean that God

moves from seed to growth

to

fulfillment.

It

s like a tree that

grows from a seed to a full

grown tree. Many Christians do

not read

it

as an organic united

whole, but as separate boxcars

of

a train. There is little or

no

real connection between each

stage.

The O.T. is epochal, mean

ing that it deals with specific

people and eras in particular,

some in more detail than others.

It is selective history, not com

prehensive history.

It

deals with

a few men and leaves many

gaps, but progresses toward the

fulfillment of redemption Read

Stephen's sermon in Acts 7 to

get this sense. The key figures

are Adam, Noah, Abraham,

Moses, David, and Jesus.

C.

THE

CONTENT

OF

EACH

DIVISION:

1. THE

HISTORY

(17

Books) -

5

Books

of

Law and

12

Other History Books: This

is the foundation of the Bible,

not just the O.T. The founda

tion

of

man's relationship is

loving obedience to God

through faith. The Law gives

us

the announcement and establish

ment

of

God's covenant of

redemption with Israel which is

to be a blessing to all the na

tions, Gen.

15, 17. It

begins

with God s

law,

Gen. 2, contin-

ues with afullerrevelation of

God's law, Ex. 20, and con-

eludes with a reminder of God's

law,

Deuteronomy. God created

man to live in faith and obedi

ence to His commandments.

Man sinned

and

came under

the

guilt

and

condemnation ofthe .

law. God redeemed a people

to

Himself

and

gave them

His

law

in order to constitute them a

holy people, which man

had

been created to be.

The Other 12 History books

following

the Law,

the

Penteteuch, manifest the histori

cal unfolding of God's covenant

with His people in terms of their

faith, love, and obedience

to

Him. This covers the conquest

in Canaan, the Judges, the

period when Israel was ruled

by

kings, and following the return

to Israel after the captivity in

the

books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

During

ll

this

time we

see

God

maintaining His intent, His

covenant through blessings

and

curses, just

as

He promised

He

would do. I

Cor. 10: 11

says

these were written for our

instruction. During this

time we

are introduced

to

prophets,

priests, and kings. But they

are

ll

failures,

being

sinful

men.

2. THE

POETRY

(5

Books) - The Poetic books

are rooted in God's covenant

promises and appeal to them,

Psalm 1, Proverbs

1

As

we

read them it is almost as

i

we

are looking in

on

a worship

service, the

family,

the

commu-

nity, the hearts of God's people.

We

look right into the hearts of

praying,

suffering, confessing,

pleading believers

as

they

struggle

to live

in faith,

love,

and

obedience to God in terms of

His law, His covenant and pray

14 -THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon -Decemher,1999/January;2000

for

the

fulfillment of

he

prom

ises of redemption. The Wis

dom books are intended to help

them stay

on

the path and live

by God's wisdom instead

of

man's. Proverbs can be read as

. a practical commentary on the

Ten Commandments.

3.

THE

PROPHETS

(17

Books) - are the preachers

of

the

O.T.

They are always

appealing

to

the people

to

keep

the covenant with God, to keep

his commandments. They

remind the people of what God

has done for them and His law.

They speak of the demands,

threats, and promises. God

promises a Messiah, an

anointed prophet, priest,

and

king who will come and through

whom the promises and pur

poses of God will berealized.

Malachi ends with the promise

of a Son of righteousness which

will

arise.

Do you get the point? God

is never stopped. He continues

to

unfold

and

accomplish His

redemption. Salvation is not a

great endeavor, a great offer,

but a great accomplishment

Someone

has

suggested this

outline:

THE BOOKS OF THE

LAW

- THE FOUNDATION

FOR THE COMING OF

CHRIST;

THE HISTORY BOOKS -

THE PREPARATION FOR

THE COMING OF CHRIST;

THE POETIC BOOKS -

THE ASPIRATION FOR THE

COMING OF CHRIST;

THE PROPHETIC BOOKS

- THE EXPECTATION OF

THE COMING OF CHRIST.


12/12

D. THE CONTENT OF

and

2 tribes). It

was

during this marital love nd points to a love

EACH OF THE O. T.

time thatElijah and Elisha even greater.

BOOKS:

prophesied,

and

several pro-

3. THE PROPHETIC

1. THE HISTORY

phetic books

were

written,

BOOKS:

Amos, Hosea (prophets to the

Of the 5 Major (larger)

OOKS:

N. Kingdom),

and

Isaiah,

GENESIS, the book of the

Prophets, ISAIAH, JER-

Jeremiah,

Micah Nahum

EMIAH, AND LAMENTA-

eginnings

or

origins of creation,

Habakkuk, and Zephaniah

TIONS (written by Jeremiah)

in, redemption,

and

(prophets

to the S.

Kingdom)

are pre-exilic. EZEKIEL AND

ovenanting, God's chosen

were written.

DANIEL are exilic, during the

eople.

CHRONICLES, 1 2

captivity in Babylonia.

EXODUS the

going

out of

repeats much of the history of 2

Ofthe

12

Minor (lesser)

od's people

from

Egypt and

Sam.

and 1 2 Kings, focusing

Prophets, HOSEA, JOEL,

he giving of the law at

Mt.

on

particular historical events up

AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH,

inai.

to the exile for Israel's sins.

MICAH, NAHUM,

LEVITICUS

the laws

EZRA NEHEMIAH

HABAKKUK AND

pertaining

to

the priestly work

record the return to Jerusalem

ZEPHANIAH are pre-exilic.

of

the tribe of Levi given atMt. after

the

exile

and

the rebuilding HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, AND

Sinai .

of the temple.

MALACHI ARE POST-

NUMBERS the

numbering

ESTHER

lived during

this

EXILIC.

of the tribes and their journey to

time and is

an

example of God's

As

a whole these prophets

the border of Canaan, the

providence in

redeeuring

His

proclaim God's word, predict

promised land.

people

from

their enemies.

God's judgments on the disobe-

DEUTERONOMY

the

2.

THE POETRY dient, and promise his blessing

repetition of the

law

before

BOOKS: on those who repent.

going into the land of Canaan to

JOB tells us

HOW

TO

I ornelius Vanderwaal,

the next generation.

SUFFER. t s the poetic

Search the Scriptures vol. 1

JOSHUA the conquest of treatment of a patriarch who (Ontario: Paideia, 1978),

p.

43.

the land of Canaan by Moses'

lived and suffered during the

2

Ibid.

successor.

early part of the Genesis and

3 These New Testament head-

JUDGES the history of the

Abraham account.

ings are taken from Norman

people living in the land when

PSALMS mostly written by

Geisler

and

William Nix, A Gen

ruled

by

different judges; which

David, tells us HOW TO

eral Introduction

t

the Bible

means deliverers or Saviors.

WORSHIP. t contains songs,

(Chicago: Moody, 1986), p. 27.

RUTH a personal account

prayers, confessions, and

of

Ruth during the period of the

aspirations.

judges and

an

anc estor of Jesus.

PROVERBS mostly written

SAMUEL

1

2

the last

by Solomon, tells

us HOW

TO

judge,

and the

first kings, Saul

LIVE.

and

David.

ECCLESIASTES, written

by

KINGS

1

2

David's

or about

Solomon

tells us

place is taken

by

Solomon,

HOW

TO

BE

HAPPY.

whose

kingdom

is later divided SONG

OF

SOLOMON,

in two the Northern Kingdom

written by or about Solomon,

(Jeroboam and 10 tribes), the

tells us HOW

TO

LOVE. It

Southern

Kingdom

(Rehoboam reflects the purity of human

December,1999/January,2000 THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon -15

Documents

2000 Issue 1 - How to Read the Bible Biblically - Counsel of Chalcedon