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A Commentator on Proper Use of Commentaries

March 4, 2020 By Peter Krol

Regardless of whether you agree with Tremper Longman on the best way to read the book of Genesis, his advice on how to properly use commentaries is terrific:

There is a right way and a wrong way to use a commentary. Actually, there are two wrong ways. The first is to ignore completely the use of commentaries. Some people do not consult commentaries because they believe that, since all Christians are equal as they approach the Scriptures, scholars have no privileged insight into the biblical text. The second error is to become overly dependent on commentaries. “These people have devoted their whole lives to the study of the Bible. How can my opinion measure up to theirs?”
Those holding the first position are wrong because they forget that God gives different gifts to different people in the Church. Not all people are equally adept at understanding the Bible and teaching it to others (1 Cor 12:12–31). Those holding the second position err in the opposite direction. They forget that God has given believers the Spirit by which they can discern spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14–16).
The right way to use a commentary is as a help. We should first study a passage without reference to any helps. Only after coming to an initial understanding of the passage should we consult commentaries.
Neither should we let commentaries bully us. Many times they will be of great help, but sometimes the reader will be right and the commentaries will be wrong.”

The piece at the Logos blog reflects further on the best use of commentaries.

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Why Study Esther

February 26, 2020 By Peter Krol

Jesse Johnson has another great post at The Cripplegate, this time about the book of Esther. (I previously linked to one about Ezra.) In “Why Study Esther,” Johnson delves into the mystery of why God is never named or explicitly mentioned in the book.

To drive this point home, Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not mention God or God’s name. In fact, the author goes out of his way to avoid writing it (consider the pains he took in Esther 4:14, writing an ambiguous sentence when every Jewish child would know God was the one working).
But this too is by design. No book of the Bible has its focus on God’s sovereign direction of history to the extent that Esther does. It’s masterful. It’s clear. It’s unambiguous. But it’s also subtly beautiful.
Only a fool would look at a backyard covered in animal tracks and declare that because the animals can’t be seen now, they must not have been there at all. Similarly, only a fool would look at Esther and imagine that because God is not seen on stage that he is not there at all.

At the end of 2019, I spent a few months saturating in Esther, reading it 20 times in a row. I agree with Johnson on the book’s high value. The full article is worth your time.

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5 Suggestions for Reading the Book of Job

February 12, 2020 By Peter Krol

Bill Kynes does a fine job equipping us to read the book of Job to great profit. He offers 5 main suggestions:

Appreciate the book’s literary form.
Don’t rush through it.
Read Job with an eye to its dramatic character.
Read Job’s words sympathetically.
Wrestle personally with the questions Job raises.

There is much here to help you study this book well.

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What Paul Means By “Act Like Men”

February 5, 2020 By Peter Krol

Wyatt Graham has a thoughful piece at his blog, asking the interpretive question: “What Does Paul Mean When He Says, ‘Act Like Men’?”

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
1 Cor 16:13

After examining the underlying Greek word according to a lexicon, and then its use in other ancient literature, Graham walks through the literary context of the last few chapter chapter of 1 Corinthians. Then he explores the biblical context that Paul taps into through allusion to the psalms.

This is vibrant, rich, contextual observation and interpretation, which I eagerly commend to you.

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4 Ways to Revolutionize Your Bible Reading

January 29, 2020 By Peter Krol

I really appreciate this provocative piece from Peter Leithart with “4 Ways to Revolutionize Your Bible Reading.”

Here is a taste of Leithart’s 4 suggestions.

1. Trust the text

“What I really mean is: trust the Author. At bottom, that means believing this book is God’s speech in human language. These words are God’s words. If you don’t believe that, nothing else I say will make much sense.”

2. There are no shortcuts

“Whether reading a poem or a biblical book or the whole Bible, there are no shortcuts. Read, then re-read, then re-re-read, until the whole book goes with you through every verse. Only then will the text come to seem natural.”

3. Find and mimic readers who are better than you are

“Find someone whose reading of the Bible electrifies and delights you, someone who makes your heart burn. Listen. Mimic. As you read, imagine he’s standing at your shoulder pointing to all the things you missed.”

4. Worship at a church with a Bible-saturated liturgy

“Many churches with “Bible” in the name rarely have much Bible in worship. The hymns contain small snatches of Scripture. The pastor reads a few verses for his sermon text, but otherwise little of the Bible is read and heard. By a weird irony, many traditionally liturgical churches are more immersed in Scripture than Bible-believing evangelical ones are.”

There is much to consider here. I encourage you to check it out!

How Matthew’s Opening Verses Frame the Book

January 22, 2020 By Peter Krol

I appreciate Charles Quarles’s reflection on Matthew’s gospel, and how the opening verses establish the theological themes that ought to shape our reading of the book. Quarles describes how even his PhD students often need to learn how to read the Bible the way the author intended. His observations and reflections are well worth considering.

For the last ten years I have concentrated my studies on learning to read theologically the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. By reading “theologically” I do not mean reading Matthew through the lens of a particular creed or confession (though I am strongly confessional). Nor do I mean asking how each narrative or paragraph might relate to the various categories of systematic theology like ecclesiology, pneumatology, demonology, etc. (though I highly value systematic theology and often employ this reading strategy). I mean rather reading Matthew like the apostle himself intended it to be read. Matthew has packed his Gospel with all the cues and prompts necessary to read his Gospel properly.

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We’re Not the Only Ones

January 15, 2020 By Peter Krol

At least once a week, we like to direct your attention to another corner of the interwebs where good Bible study is being done. We do this to show that we’re not the only ones talking about it. And we don’t think we’re the only ones who can do it well.

Case in point: Matt Smethurst writes at the Gospel Coalition about “How to Study Your Bible in 2020.” He proposes a straightforward three-step process that ought to sound familiar to readers of this blog. His summary of the method is worthy of your consideration.

I particularly appreciate his lists of concrete questions you can ask at each stage of the process. And he recommends getting help from commentaries—but only after you’ve attempted interpretation on your own. His application suggestions are especially thoughtful.

As you continue establishing habits for the coming year, I commend Smethurst’s article for your consideration.

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Why is Matthew’s Quotation of Micah Different from Micah?

January 8, 2020 By Peter Krol

In the video below, John Piper offers some fascinating insight into how to think about Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. In Matthew 2, King Herod asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. They respond by quoting Micah 5:2 … sort of.

Piper takes a close look at the text of Micah 5:2 and the quotation of it in Matthew 2:6. He carefully observes all the differences between the two passages, and he asks interpretive questions, such as “Why is this part different?” and “Why is that part different?”

He then proceeds to answer his interpretive questions from the literary context of the rest of Matthew’s gospel, and he comes up with a surprising answer. Piper himself acknowledges that you won’t find this answer in any commentary. But as you examine the Scripture for yourself, do you find his answer plausible?

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3 Reasons to Study Bible Genealogies with Kids

January 1, 2020 By Peter Krol

Nana Dolce makes some wonderful points about difficult parts of the Bible. If we skip these “boring” parts of the Bible, we train our children to doubt our instruction regarding inspiration, coherence, and redemption. Genealogies give us great opportunity to reinforce these things, because:

Genealogies are inspired.
Genealogies spotlight the big story.
Genealogies showcase redemption.

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10. Context Matters: God Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart

This post was #1 on last week’s list (most viewed posts that were published in 2019), but comes in at #10 overall. Yet it was only the second most-viewed “context matters” post (see slot #7 below).

9. 4 Bible Studies for Advent

Last year, the big hit was Ryan’s 4 Bible studies for Lent. But this year, folks seemed more interested in his Bible studies for advent. Advent is a great time to study the Bible, and here are four 4-week studies you could consider for that season.

8. 10 OT Books Never Quoted in the NT

This post was #7 on last year’s list, and #4 the year before that. It’s only one part of a six-part series analyzing every NT citation of an OT text. It’s interesting that one of the most popular posts in that series is about the OT books that never get a direct quotation.

7. Context Matters: A Bruised Reed

This was the most-viewed “context matters” post on the blog this year. It didn’t see much traffic in 2018 (it did not make the top 10 list) but seemed to pick up more interest this year. This is one of my most controversial posts, as I challenge an interpretation as common as oxygen. Yet it is incredibly difficult to find an argument for the traditional interpretation. Instead it is universally assumed and asserted. Check it out, and study the text for yourself.

6. Top 10 OT Books Quoted in NT

This post moves up from #8 last year, but was #5 in 2017. So it’s still hovering in about the same place. Even though my series analyzes not only books but also chapters and verses, this list of most-quoted books always seems to be the most popular.

5. How to Recognize Sowers of Discord

Moving up from the #9 slot last year, this post outlines from Proverbs 6:12-15 a few signs to help recognize divisive people. This post comes from my 2013 series of studies through the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.

4. Details of the OIA Method

The top 4 slots remain unchanged from last year and are still going strong. We put this one into the top menu so people could find it easily. It pretty much explains why this blog exists, so we’re glad it gets a lot of pageviews.

3. Summary of the OIA Method

See the previous post, unless you want less of a detailed explanation and more of a summary. Then see this post instead.

2. 10 Reasons to Avoid Sexual Immorality

This was the most-viewed post in 2014, but then dropped off the list until resurfacing as #8 in 2017 and #2 last year. I’m delighted to see a continued resurgence in appeal for such an important topic. Find whatever motivates you to avoid sexual immorality, and glum onto God’s grace in providing that motivation!

1. Why Elihu is So Mysterious

The popularity of this 2015 post continues to surprise us. We really cannot explain why it has been so popular, but if you haven’t read it, you must really be missing out! Elihu is that mysterious 4th friend in the book of Job. If you even knew he existed, chances are you’ve skipped his speeches entirely. This post is my attempt to explain Elihu’s role in the drama of the play of Job. This post was #3 in 2017, but it has held the #1 slot for two years running. And the competition is not even close. The #2 post was viewed about 16,000 times, and this one was viewed more than 24,000 times.

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