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Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time

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When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, there was only one thing that he declared was not good: the man’s being alone. So God promptly invented romantic love, and his word is very clear about how such love works. It begins with the problem of loneliness, which is not a result of sin but simply a result of being a created being. It proceeds when boy meets girl, and things start to feel really awkward. And the only way to make progress is with poetry, song, and celebration. The World’s Greatest Song (aka The Song of Songs) is here to help.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Literary Markers

The poetry in the Song of Songs flits about from character to character, as the woman, the man, and the daughters of Jerusalem all lift their voices in an intricate back-and-forth befitting the subject matter. As a result, the poetry can appear quite mysterious and dense. Thankfully, the poet makes use of two refrains that serve, with minor variations, as paint blazes on the trail to help us follow his train of thought.

Each refrain occurs three times in the book. The first refrain is “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song 2:7, 3:5, 8:4). The second refrain is “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (Song 2:16, 6:3, 7:10). These two refrains provide the chief applications to the unmarried (do not awaken) and the married (join in mutual possession). And in addition, they help us to mark many of the book’s divisions.

In addition, the flow of most of the poems moves from separation to union (or reunion). The arcs of each section follow this general pattern where the lovers begin apart from one another and move toward one another to be together.

Walkthrough

The chief audience for the Song of Songs is the virgin daughters of Jerusalem, who are addressed all throughout the book. In this way, this book is something of a complement to the book of Proverbs, whose chief audience is the young men of Israel. This doesn’t mean that men have nothing to gain from the Song, but it helps us to understand why the woman is in the spotlight for much of the book.

After the book’s title (Song 1:1), we’re immersed right into the intoxicating nature of love, which is better than wine (Song 1:2-4). Then in the first main poem, the couple delights in the playful back-and-forth of getting to know one another and finding ways to spend time together as their attraction develops (Song 1:5-2:3). As they draw close, however, and move into a place of profound intimacy (Song 2:4-6), the woman emerges from the chamber to warn the virgins of Jerusalem not to awaken such love in themselves until the time is right (Song 2:7).

The second poem (Song 2:8-3:5) focuses on the wooing and courtship, but completely from the woman’s perspective. She describes the man coming to see her (Song 2:8-9), before quoting what he says—or what she hopes he’ll say?—to win her heart for life (Song 2:10-15). She longs for them to achieve mutual possession of one another (Song 2:16) but must still say goodbye at the end of the evening and send him back to his home (Song 2:17). This leads her to dream of what life would be like without him—a reality she cannot bear to accept (Song 3:1-4). Upon consummation of their love for one another, she emerges once more to adjure the maidens of Jerusalem not to awaken such love until the time is right (Song 3:5).

The third poem (Song 3:6-5:1) opens with a question: Who is this coming up from the wilderness, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense? (Commentaries will point out that this question is identical in wording to Song 8:5, and is most likely asking who and not what.) We will get the answer momentarily, when the naked woman is covered in myrrh and frankincense (Song 4:6). But first, the poet wishes to take a gander at the lavish and luscious bed of Solomon, “inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.” Yeah, that bed has every appearance of a seedy honeymoon suite in Las Vegas, where the “love” comes and goes with each new addition to the harem. But in contrast to the polygamous, cheap lust of Solomon, the undefiled sexuality of the Song’s couple is a glorious paradise. No shame. No fear. No violation. Sheer beauty and delight (Song 4:1-5:1). It was worth it to wait for this.

The fourth poem (Song 5:2-6:3) describes the sanctifying effect of conflict. The opening scene shows that the honeymoon has definitely come to an end, as the couple’s miscues lead to sexual tension and disappointment. But conflict is part of God’s plan to make relationships stronger than they were before. That sanctifying strengthening occurs when the daughters of Jerusalem compel the woman to answer two questions: What makes your man so great (Song 5:9-16)? And where is this relationship heading (Song 6:1-3)? In other words, now that you’ve had this fight, should we expect divorce papers? Is it all over?

The fifth poem (Song 6:4-10) provides a brief intermission highlighting the woman’s uniqueness.

  • You are beautiful and awesome (Song 6:4-7)
    • Many queens, concubines, and virgins (Song 6:8)
      • My dove is unique and pure (Song 6:9a)
    • Many queens, concubines, and virgins (Song 6:9b)
  • You are beautiful and awesome (Song 6:10)*

The sixth poem (Song 6:11-8:3) highlights the exclusivity of this relationship, despite the many things and people that might pull them in different directions. She goes down to check him out (Song 6:11-12), but the daughters of Jerusalem want her to return to their friend group, putting her in a tug-of-war between her friends and her lover (Song 6:13). He wins her with his praise and passion (Song 7:1-9), achieving mutual possession of one another (Song 7:10). Then the two of them celebrate their continued passion in both field (Song 7:11-13) and village (Song 8:1-3). Such fiery passion requires careful guarding, so as not to awaken it before the time is right (Song 8:4).

The final poem (Song 8:5-14) states the conclusion of the matter, reflecting on the principles that undergird the rest of the book. It is here that we learn what true love is, as defined by God, in contrast to the cheap lust of the world (as exemplified by Solomon himself). True love recognizes its own power—which is strong as death—and isn’t naive about the control it can have over a human heart (Song 8:5-7). True love esteems the virtue of virginity, as the unmarried wait for the right time and hold out for a godly partner (Song 8:8-10). True love repudiates cheap lust. Solomon is welcome to have his thousand-piece harem, but this woman’s vineyard is her own, to be given to one and only one (Song 8:11-12). True love anticipates something even better, as the book concludes with a final bit of flirting, suggestion, and innuendo for what is yet to come in the relationship (Song 8:13-14).

Conclusion

Church history is filled with the debates over whether to read this book as an allegory of God’s love for his people or as a literal picture of human marriage. Frankly, I’m not convinced we have to choose only one of those options. If it’s not about human marriage, then the metaphors of God’s relationship with his people would make no sense at all. And if it’s not also about God’s relationship with his people, then Paul, Hosea, and Ezekiel (among others) wouldn’t have gone there. This book gives us much wisdom for dating, marriage, sex, and conflict. And in so doing, it shows us the paradise of knowing Christ and being known intimately by him.

Interpretive Outline

  • Title – Song 1:1
  • Intoxicating attraction – Song 1:2-2:7
    • Climax: Do not awaken love – Song 2:7
  • Springtime courtship – Song 2:8-3:5
    1. Her perspective on his wooing of her – Song 2:8-17
      • Climax: Mutual possession – Song 2:16
    2. Her dream (nightmare?) of life without him – Song 3:1-5
      • Climax: Do not awaken love – Song 3:5
  • Undefiled sexuality – Song 3:6-5:1
    1. Not worth admiration: Solomon’s bed – Song 3:6-11
    2. Worth admiration: Naked, unashamed intimacy – Song 4:1-5:1
      • Climax: Command to eat, drink, and be drunk with love – Song 5:1
  • Sanctifying conflict – Song 5:2-6:3
    • The honeymoon is over – Song 5:2-8
    • What makes this person so great? – Song 5:9-16
    • Where is this relationship heading? – Song 6:1-3
      • Climax: Mutual possession – Song 6:3
  • Dazzling uniqueness – Song 6:4-10
  • Committed exclusivity – Song 6:11-8:4
    • Her insecurity overcome by his desire for her – Song 6:11-7:10
      • Climax: Mutual possession – Song 7:10
    • He wins the tug-of-war with her friends – Song 7:11-8:4
      • Climax: Do not awaken love – Song 8:4
  • True love – Song 8:5-14
    • Recognizes its own power – Song 8:5-7
    • Esteems the virtue of virginity – Song 8:8-10
    • Repudiates cheap lust – Song 8:11-12
    • Anticipates something even better – song 8:13-14

*I am grateful to my colleague Ryan Shreckengast for showing me the structure of this poem.

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

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In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a famous parable about the owner of a vineyard who hires workers all throughout the day, paying them all the same amount at day’s end. What is the point of this parable?

Jonathan T. Pennington seeks to answer that question, not by digging deep within his own speculations, nor by staring at the sky. He examines historic traditions of interpretation from the context.

In the history of the church, there have been many attempted explanations of this parable. Some suggest the five different hirings represent five stages of world history during which God has called people to Himself, or different stages in life that one may become a Christian. The point, then, is that God is gracious to all and welcomes all into His kingdom, no matter when they were called. Some say the parable is a picture of God’s future kingdom where all saved people receive heaven, no matter how much they have worked for God. The broadest and maybe most popular interpretation is that this parable is simply a picture of God’s incredible and marvelous grace and generosity—the gospel in a nutshell.

Each of these interpretations has some truth in it. But there is something more to be seen. The key is to pay attention to the context that Matthew gives us for this parable.

I encourage you to read his brief piece for another clear example of why context matters.

Check it out!

Arise, My Love — Part 2: Interpretation

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In a previous post, I pulled back the curtain on my observation of Song of Solomon 2:7-3:5, yielding the following structure:

  • Song 2:8-9 – her (daydreaming?) delight in the voice of her beloved
    • Song 2:10-15 – the contents of her beloved’s voice
      • Song 2:10-13 – Arise and come away
      • Song 2:14-15 – Come out and catch up
    • Song 2:16-17 – her declaration of mutual possession with her beloved
  • Song 3:1-4 – her dream of seeking and finding the one her soul loves
    • Song 3:5 – her oath for the other young women not to stir up love yet

Now I’d like to show you how I move further into interpretation and application.

Her Daydream

The chief goal of interpretation is to arrive at the poet’s main point. And to grasp the main point of the entire poem, it helps to first grasp the main points of each of the stanzas. So I investigate each stanza with the chief goal in mind: What is the main idea here?

Song 2:8-9: Why is her leading statement regarding “the voice” — and not the character, presence, or intimacy — “of my beloved”? Apparently, she is very much looking forward to what he will say to her in Song 2:10-15. What she daydreams about is those things he will say to her. But in these introductory verses, the emphasis is on the distance between them. He comes … He stands behind … gazing through … looking through … A barrier of miles separates them at first. And even when he arrives at her home, a barrier of brick and mortar continues to separate them. So she wants him close, but he can’t get too close yet.

Photo by Maksim Kolykhanov from Pexels

Song 2:10-13: The bookends on his first stanza appear to be the main idea: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away” (Song 2:10, 13). Everything in between is in support, providing the reasons he believes will persuade her to come away with him. For him, it is no longer time to avoid awakening love (Song 2:7); the season for love is in full bloom. It’s as though he says [translated into modern jargon]: “I like you. Do you like me? Check one: YES or NO.”

Song 2:14-15: The second stanza of his speech continues his persuasion. First, he proves to be a patient and gentle suitor, cherishing her like a precious dove hiding within the cliffside. Second, he asks for help with finding the things that will spoil their vineyards. Commentaries inform me that the verbs in v.15 are plural, so he is no longer talking to her alone, but to a group of others — most likely the daughters of Jerusalem. And it doesn’t matter whether verse 15 is spoken by the man (as suggested by the ESV headings) or the woman (as suggested by CSB headings): either way, the point is that this couple invites others to hold them accountable and help them protect one another’s bodies (as “vineyards” have been metaphors of bodies thus far in the Song – Song 1:6, 2:14).

Song 2:16-17: She describes their relationship as one of mutual possession of one another (v.16), which sounds a lot like the arrival and consummation of marriage. However, in v.17, she wants him to “turn” and do his gazelle-thing on cleft mountains — at least until the morning comes. Some think the “cleft mountains” are a metaphor for her breasts. This makes sense, as his gazelle-ness on mountains is clearly a picture of marital bliss in Song 8:14. However, in Song 2:17, the main verb is the imperative to “turn.” And the reference to “mountains” connects back to where he came from (Song 2:8). So it’s more likely that, in contrast to chapter 8, in this poem she recognizes that marriage has not yet come. They are not yet married, and they must say goodbye at the end of their time together.

Main Point of Song 2:8-17: This relationship is not yet a marriage relationship, but it is clearly heading in that direction. She daydreams about his invitation to join her in the season of awakening love. But though it is spring time, it is not yet morning. They are beginning to “possess” one another (to treat one another differently from how they treat others), but they are not yet fully there. Separate togetherness is the unfortunate reality of their relationship (Song 2:8-9). He makes a risk request (Song 2:10-15). She has clarity on the desired, though not yet present, result (Song 2:16-17).

Her Dream

Song 3:1-4: We now move into a full-fledged dream, as she “seeks” him on her bed by night. She can’t find him in her bed (Song 3:1). She can’t find him in the streets (Song 3:2). She can’t find him among the night watchmen (Song 3:3). But when she finally finds him, she clings to him and refuses to let go (Song 3:4). Until she brings him into her mother’s chamber (apparently quite romantic and not awkward at all in that culture) — so her dream’s end goal is the full consummation of marriage. She doesn’t want to have to say goodbye at the end of the evening any longer!

Main point of Song 3:1-4: She aligns her dreams for the relationship with the direction in which it ought to head: toward marriage and the intimacy of the marriage bed.

Her Charge

Song 3:5: She puts the young women of Jerusalem under oath not to enter this season of love until the right time. She understands how difficult and stressful that can be, but she understands how much it is worth it.

Main point of Song 3:5: Forsake all counterfeits to such love (which is heading in the direction of God-honoring marriage).

Conclusion

I’ve written this post according to the stream of my consciousness as I worked to figure out the main point of each stanza. But I’ve arrived at the following interpretive outline:

  1. Godly relationships pursue a clear and selfless direction – Song 2:8-17
    1. The unfortunate reality of separate togetherness – Song 2:8-9
    2. The risky request to join the season of awakening love – Song 2:10-15
    3. The desired result of marital possession, which is almost but not yet here – Song 2:16-17
  2. Align your dreams of romance with that direction – Song 3:1-4
  3. Forsake all counterfeits – Song 3:5

How does all of this add up into a main point for the entire poem? Main point: A couple’s purpose in pursuing a romantic relationship ought to be the movement from separated togetherness to the mutual possession of marriage.

In a future post, I’ll walk through my thinking on connecting this main point to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then applying it to today.

Advice About Hard Bible Passages from the Bible

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Tim Gouw (2016), public domain

Anyone who has spent time in the pages of the Bible knows that there are tricky passages between the covers. This can be discouraging, especially for those who are new to Bible study. Some have walked away from the Bible for this very reason.

One of the marvelous things about the Bible is that in it, God speaks to many of the challenges we face—including difficult passages in the Bible itself. We will look at one such section of Scripture in this article.

Hard Passages Exist

It’s nice to have Scripture confirm our suspicions—there are passages in the Bible that are hard to understand! Take it from the pen of the apostle Peter.

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15–16)

It seems Peter had trouble understanding some of Paul’s writings. He wanted his friends to know that if they felt stumped by Paul, they were not alone.

Some portions of the Bible are gloriously clear (if not easy to obey), and other parts are not. This doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the Bible or its readers, just that the communication of divine truth is sometimes a challenge. We should not be frustrated when we run across difficulties in our Bible study. Saints have had similar challenges stretching all the way back to the apostles.

Twisting Hard Passages

Peter writes plainly about what some people do with these difficult passages. The “ignorant and unstable twist [them] to their own destruction.”

Those who are unstable will twist these difficult passages, and their interpretations and conclusions will be damaging. Think about how serious that is: Twisted interpretations can destroy. Before taking up positions of defense and warning, we should pause and pray for those who use the Bible this way. They deserve our compassion, as they are headed down a chilling road to a horrible end.

Not everyone who comes to the Bible does so with pure motives. Peter warns us especially of those who are ignorant (those who lack familiarity or experience in the faith) or unstable (lacking a foundation, easily jostled or disturbed). Christians should be watchful regarding confusing or challenging passages that they are not led astray by efforts to turn people away from the truth.

Take Care

Peter warns his readers, as “beloved” brothers and sisters, to “take care.”

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. (2 Peter 3:17)

Peter’s caution is valuable information. When we know a road contains potholes, we can drive slowly and carefully or take an alternate route.

This error of twisting Scripture to evil ends can sweep people along like a racing river. These lawless people have a contagious instability—those who are settled and secure can find themselves unsteady and off balance. Peter’s alert here follows earlier warnings in the same chapter about “scoffers” who doubt the promises of God and “overlook” plain facts about creation and the flood (2 Peter 3:3–6).

It’s natural to ask how Christians should “take care” to avoid this disaster. Peter anticipates and answers that question.

Growth in Christ

Peter gives broad instruction to avoid being carried away in controversy, speculation, and error.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

To combat twisted Scriptures, grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Understand his promises and his work for you; bathe in the good news of the gospel of his kingdom. Pursue him as Lord and Savior and Christ, and know that you are not alone—he is “our” Lord.

Jesus deserves glory now and to the day of eternity. The final chapter of Peter’s letter overflows with references to the “day of the Lord” and the “heavenly bodies” being “burned up and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10). The great upheaval that is coming is a problem for those who are unstable, but those who know the promise-maker are “waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Remember the Patience of the Lord

The context of this brief word about hard-to-understand passages is a larger section about the patience of the Lord. Peter tells his readers to “count the patience of our Lord as salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). God is not slow to keep his promises, but rather he is “patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:9).

Doesn’t this make all the difference? The God of the universe is patient. Not only patient in general, but patient toward you! We should labor mightily to understand his word, but when we come across something confusing, we need not rush or panic. He knows our frame (Psalm 103:14); he is patient toward his children.

Three Good Things About Difficult Bible Passages

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L.T. Greer has a brief piece to help us when we come up against a difficult passage. Instead of yielding to the temptation to skip or ignore it, he encourages us to see how God might use it. He offers the following list of “Three Good Things About Difficult Bible Passages”:

  1. We learn about veracity of the Bible.
  2. We learn about our church’s relationship to the Bible.
  3. We learn about our own biases.

See his article for an explanation of these points, which I find rather compelling and motivating.

Check it out!

Context Matters: The Man of Lawlessness

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Perhaps you’ve heard of the Man of Lawlessness, otherwise known as the lawless one, who “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:4). Sometimes connected with the Beast of Revelation and the Antichrist of John’s letters, this mysterious figure appears in a rather difficult passage, which is certainly to be numbered among those writings of Paul which are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16). Yet the figure has become something of a staple in Christian fiction and end-times theology. What are we to make of him?

We always need to pay attention to the context of our favorite verses and phrases. When we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not just as a code to crack—we may find it has a deeper or different meaning than we’ve assumed.

Image by 8470024 from Pixabay

The Immediate Context

Notice how Paul explicitly introduces this character to his readers:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself…

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Please take a close look once again: “Now concerning the coming of … Jesus … and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed…”

So we may have great confidence that Paul is writing about the coming of Jesus and our being gathered together to him. There is much disagreement over what exactly those things mean, along with when and how they take place. But there ought to be no disagreement whatsoever regarding why Paul is writing about these events. That is, he wants to prevent his readers from being shaken or alarmed. He wants to correct the deception that abounds in Christian teaching and writing regarding these events. He wants to make sure his audience, the church at Thessalonica, knows what to look for before the coming of Jesus or gathering of the saints can take place. And this foreknowledge, when truthfully presented, will neither shake them up nor alarm them.

Therefore we can confidently conclude that, sadly, this passage has been used for centuries, contrary to its stated purpose, to create alarm among those who love the Lord Jesus. Whatever conclusions we may draw about the identity or timing of this Man of Lawlessness and his rebellion, any use of this text that provokes shaken minds or alarmed spirits among Christian brothers and sisters is a deception and a misuse of the text in direct violation of its context.

Let us ensure that the sensational but unclear parts of this text do not overshadow the abundantly clear comfort being offered to believers in Christ through it.

The Broader Context

And the broader context points in precisely the same direction.

Paul’s first letter begins with thanks to God for the people’s “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:2-3). This triple theme of faith, love, and hope can be traced through the letter as Paul’s chief focus. You are doing well in these three areas; now excel still more. (See my upcoming interpretive overview of 1 Thessalonians for more detail.)

But by the time he writes his second letter, only a few months later, something is missing. The object of his thanks is now that their “faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one” of them for one another is increasing (2 Thess 1:3). Some commentators have tried to identify the presence of hope in the following sentence (“Therefore we ourselves boast … about your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions” – 2 Thess 1:4), but it is telling that Paul now links their steadfastness not with hope—which was so prominent in the first letter—but with faith. Instead, Paul seems to remind them of the hope which was once theirs and could be yet again:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

In many ways, the brief letter of 2 Thessalonians is about regaining hope, receiving its comfort through grace. The church was once characterized by faith, love, and hope. They have continued abounding in the first two; they now need to regain the comfort of the third.

And Paul’s teaching on the Man of Lawlessness is delivered with this purpose in mind. Not to shake them up or alarm them, but to deliver to them eternal comfort and good hope through grace that they might be established in every good work and word.

Conclusion

We ought to be careful not to be seduced by sensational topics, lest we miss the express purpose for which the Lord has revealed such things to us. As Paul had said while he was with them (2 Thess 2:5): Yes, the man of lawlessness and his rebellion must come before the day of the Lord. This is not to alarm you but to comfort you, so you know you haven’t missed it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

How to Read Genesis 1-3

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I have benefitted much from the scholarship of Vern Poythress over the years. And in this article, he provides an excellent overview of the key issues that shape the way we ought to read the Bible’s opening chapters.

In my Wednesday posts, I usually link to articles much shorter than this one. But despite its length, Poythress’s article is effectively aimed at non-scholars in plain language. He addresses matters such as who God is, who wrote the book of Genesis, what genre Genesis 1-3 is, and how Genesis 1-3 compares with other ancient literature. Here is the abstract, summarizing the entire piece.

ABSTRACT: The beginning of the book of Genesis is not, as some claim, a mythical or poetic account of creation. It is historical narrative, telling the same story that unfolds in the patriarchs, the exodus, and the establishment of Israel. And, being from God, it speaks truly. Modern readers may not learn everything they would like to know about creation from Genesis 1–3, but they will find everything they most need to know. They also will find an account of creation unlike anything outside the Bible. Compared to the creation myths of Israel’s neighbors, Genesis stands majestically alone.

If that piques your interest, this piece is well worth a good look. Check it out!

Sometimes We Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Apply Scripture

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Pierce Taylor Hibbs has a really helpful piece entitled “Christian, Here’s When You’re Allowed to Apply Scripture.” In it, he laments the way too many of us too often use the Scripture.

Much of the time, we’re pigeons grabbing bread crumbs of information and entertainment. And that crumb-picking habit carries over into our understanding and application of Scripture. We’re not asking questions of a text, working through context in widening circles, or even using our God-given reason to reach understanding. Instead, we’re crumb-picking. We grab a friend’s complaint here, a Facebook comment there, and a Scripture passage we found through a Google search, and boom: we’ve got an “argument,” an arrow to shoot in conversation. And because we’re quoting Scripture, it appears to be biblical. But let’s be clear: Quoting a Bible verse doesn’t mean you’ve made a biblical argument.

He then proposes that what authorizes someone to make use of the Scripture in application is that they have first done the hard work of observing it in its original context and interpreting it in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He then walks through a 3-step process, showing how to do this difficult work, with the example of an easy-to-misuse verse: “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7).

This article is well worth your time. Check it out!

Hebrews: God has Spoken by his Son Whose Work is Finished

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Hebrews appears to have been a sermon that was transcribed and then circulated in letter form. This theory explains not only the strange opening—with no greeting or identification of the sender—but also the regular alternation between exposition and application, and the label “word of exhortation” used in the appended postscript (Heb 13:22, phrase also occurs in Acts 13:15). Depending on your pace, you can read the whole book out loud in 45 to 60 minutes, which is a reasonable duration for a sermon. Reading the book with a view toward its live, public delivery helps us to grasp its organization and intentions.

Photo by Kristina Paparo on Unsplash

Literary Markers

While it’s not difficult to recognize large cohesive blocks within Hebrews, it is notoriously difficult to nail down the precise beginnings and endings of the sections. I believe this is because of the nature of spoken communication. When a discourse is meant more for the ear than the eye, the transitions will naturally be more audible than visible. They won’t appear in sharp pronouncements, but will normally sound quite transitional. That makes it difficult to know whether those transitional statements belong with the previous section or the following section, as they serve as bridges between both.*

To give a few examples:

  • Heb 1:4 transitions from the prologue by introducing the first topic of Jesus’ more excellent name making him superior to angels. But it is only the final clause in the run-on sentence that begins at Heb 1:1, so Heb 1:1-4 naturally gets put together when we outline the book.
  • Heb 2:17-18 both concludes the previous section (“therefore”) and introduces the idea the Jesus has become a merciful and faithful high priest, which becomes the topic of the next section.
  • Heb 5:9-10 again concludes the previous section, while simultaneously introducing the next topic, broken into three parts: Jesus is perfect, the source of eternal salvation, and a Melchizedekan high priest.

I’ll explain the sermon’s flow of thought further in the walkthrough below, but the remaining transitional statements are found in Heb 10:36-39 and Heb 12:12-13. When the book is read out loud, it is easier to hear how those transitional statements are woven right into the conclusion of the previous section, while also introducing new ideas that get explained further in the following section.

Heb 13:20-21 then concludes the sermon, and Heb 13:22-25 serves as a written note to accompany the transcription.

Thesis

Like any good public lecture, the main thesis comes right at the beginning (Heb 1:1-4). Stripping all the dependent clauses away yields the following as the sentence’s essential grammar: “…God has spoken to us by his Son…who…sat down.” There have been many ways God has spoken before now. But now he has spoken by his radiant, appointed, powerful, and purifying Son. And that Son has now sat down at God’s right hand to rule, as the rest of his work is done. God has spoken. Through this Son. Whose first phase of work is now complete.

That is the big idea of this sermon. There are many reasons to listen to this Son. There are many competing voices that may tempt you to listen to them. But his work is finished in a way that the work of the other voices can never be. Implicitly: Do not reject him who is speaking to you.

Walkthrough

The argument of this sermon is both extraordinary and extraordinarily complex, so I wish to do it justice but will only have the space to use the broadest of strokes. The main thing we ought to see (or hear, if you can read it aloud) is how the transitional statements introduce the main topics. The following exposition then takes up those topics, nearly every time, in reverse order.

Having stated the thesis (that God has spoken to us by his Son who sat down), the preacher’s first explanatory point is that Jesus has become superior to the angels because he’s inherited a more excellent name. In this first point, he does us the kindness of taking his two matters in order. First, Jesus is superior to the angels (Heb 1:5-14). Second, his name is more excellent than theirs (Heb 2:5-18). Between those two expositions is the first point of application: Pay closer attention (Heb 2:1-4)!

The next transitional statement (Heb 2:17-18) takes things in a new direction: Jesus had to become a merciful and faithful high priest. Now the preacher begins his pattern of addressing the subpoints in reverse order. First, Jesus is a faithful high priest, greater than Moses and Joshua (Heb 3:1-4:14). Second, Jesus is a merciful high priest, very much like the Aaronic high priests (Heb 4:15-5:10).

Next transition (Heb 5:9-10): Being made perfect, he became a source of eternal salvation, being designated a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Before he can really tackle this material, though, he must offer the second application: You have stopped hearing and doing (Heb 5:11-6:20). But then he explains his ideas in reverse order. First, Jesus’ priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:1-28); he is a better priest. Second, Jesus’ priesthood brings eternal savation (Heb 8:1-9:28); he offers a better covenant in a better tabernacle. Third, Jesus’ priesthood is perfect (Heb 10:1-18); he offers a better sacrifice. This section closes with the third application: Keep helping one another to both hear and do (Heb 10:19-39, this application was previewed in Heb 3:12-13).

Next transition (Heb 10:36-39): You have need of endurance, and we are of those who have faith. He now goes into great detail showing us what faith looks like (Heb 11:1-40) and calling us to run with endurance as we consider the one who endured on our behalf (Heb 12:1-13).

Transition to sermon’s last main section (Heb 12:12-13), which is all application: Straighten that which has grown crooked or lame. Do this first in your walk with God (Heb 12:14-29). Understand how your vertical perspective affects your horizontal relationships (Heb 13:1-6). Then you can straighten out your walk with other people (Heb 13:7-19).

In the sermon’s conclusion (Heb 13:20-21), the preacher return’s to his opening thesis to drive it home. God has spoken in his Son by raising him from the dead. Because the first phase of his work is finished, he may now equip you with everything good that you may do his will. Those who listen to him will be pleasing in God’s sight.

Finally, a personal note has been appended to the sermon, giving a brief update on Timothy’s status and sending greetings from and for the brethren.

Conclusion

Though the argument of Hebrews may appear to meander at times according to the preacher’s stream of consciousness, the transitional statements, and the repetition of key words from those statements in the following section, do illuminate the path he wishes us to follow. Amid the exquisite detail and theology of this masterpiece, let us pay much closer attention to the one who is speaking, that we might keep helping one another to believe and do his word. For the long haul. Forever.

Interpretive Outline

Thesis: God spoke in a Son who sat down – Heb 1:1-4

  1. The Son is superior to angels on account of his more excellent name – Heb 1:4-2:18
    • Transition – Heb 1:4
    • Superior to angels – Heb 1:5-14
      • Application: Pay closer attention! – Heb 2:1-4
    • More excellent name – Heb 2:5-18
  2. The Son is a merciful and faithful high priest – Heb 2:17-5:10
    • Transition – Heb 2:17-18
    • Faithful high priest – Heb 3:1-4:14
    • Merciful high priest – Heb 4:15-5:10
  3. The perfect, Melchizedekan Son brings eternal salvation – Heb 5:9-10:39
    • Transition – Heb 5:9-10
    • Application: You have stopped hearing and doing – Heb 5:11-6:20
      • Melchizedekan priesthood – Heb 7:1-28
      • Eternal salvation – Heb 8:1-9:28
      • Perfection – Heb 10:1-18
    • Application: Keep helping one another to hear and do – Heb 10:19-39
  4. The Son calls us to endurance and faith – Heb 10:36-12:13
    • Transition – Heb 10:36-39
    • Faith – Heb 11:1-40
    • Endurance – Heb 12:1-13
  5. Application: Straighten your walks with God and with people – Heb 12:12-13:19
    1. Transition – Heb 12:12-13
    2. Walk with God – Heb 12:14-29
    3. Connection between walks with God and with people – Heb 13:1-6
    4. Walk with people – Heb 13:7-19

Conclusion: May the one who spoke through his Son now equip you to please him – Heb 13:20-21

Postscript: Bear with this word of exhortation! – Heb 13:22-25

*This insight, and therefore much of my outline of Hebrews, is indebted to the keen observations of Albert Vanhoye in his Structure and Message of the Epistle to the Hebrews (affiliate link).

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Reading the Bible Today Without Losing the Benefits of Reading Like the Ancients

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I haven’t read Reading the New Testament as Christian Scripture, but I appreciated this interview with its authors. In it, they speak of some of the differences between how we read the Bible today and how the ancients used to read it. We’ve certainly made many great gains in our understanding. But there remain some strengths of yesteryear we ought to be careful not to lose.

Every culture and age has particular insights and blind spots. This applies to biblical interpretation as well. In the West we’re a few hundred years into particular modes and habits of reading the Bible, what we can call modernist hermeneutics. Modernist hermeneutics serve us well in providing a depth of historical background, insights from literary analysis, and a focus on hearing the human author’s intent. But modern approaches to interpreting the Bible often fail to read theologically, canonically, and tropologically (for moral formation). Believing interpreters will also seek to interpret the Bible in these latter ways, but the modern hermeneutical commitments are ironically contrary to these good reading habits.

Premodern interpreters operated with different priorities and sensibilities when reading Scripture. Theological, moral formative, intra-canonical, devotional, and homiletical interpretations were seen as primary and ultimate because this is why God has given Scripture to his people—to shape us to be like him, to be holy as he is holy.

Check it out!

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