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Mary and Sarah: A Study in Contrasts

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Martin (2011), public domain

As we become more familiar with the Bible, we see connections and allusions all around. Far-flung passages are related in surprising and exciting ways, and the major themes of Scripture flash everywhere we look.

This has implications for the ways we interpret and apply the Bible, but today I’ll focus on observation. We will look at a well-known story in the New Testament in light of relevant Old Testament background. At this time of year, what better place to turn than to the birth of Jesus?

Mary is Unique

Children and descendants are essential to the Bible’s portrayal of God, covenant, and promises. Mary plays a prominent role herself, but how does she fit into the larger story?

Mary is different. Many of the details of her story are unique, and they don’t match up with much else in the Bible.

However, Mary invites discussion alongside Sarah—by way of contrast, not comparison. And further, Mary herself brings up Sarah when she praises God for his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever (Luke 1:54–55). Those descendants came through Sarah, after all.

So what’s the link between Mary and Sarah?

Sarah the Barren

From the very beginning, Sarah is defined by her barrenness. After her name, the first detail we read of Sarah is that “she had no child” (Gen 11:30).

This barrenness is surprising when, just a few verses later (Gen 12:2) God promises Sarah’s husband (Abraham), “I will make of you a great nation.” Over the next verses and chapters, God’s design is to give Abraham a biological son (and thus millions of descendants) through Sarah.

Though God makes his covenant with Abraham, Sarah is not an afterthought. When God changes Sarah’s name, he speaks to Abraham and says, “I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (Gen 17:15–16). God says that just as “kings shall come from” Abraham (Gen 17:6), kings of peoples shall come from Sarah.

All of this is hard for Sarah to swallow. After all, she and Abraham were quite old. How exactly was God going to keep his promise to multiply Abraham greatly (Gen 17:2)? When Sarah overheard a prophecy that she would have a son in less than a year, she laughed. She referred to Abraham as “old” and herself as “worn out” (Gen 18:12).

But this doubt and questioning did not deter God. “The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised” (Gen 21:1). Sarah acknowledged that God turned her doubtful laughter around—“everyone who hears will laugh over me” (Gen 21:6).

Two Opposites

In many ways, Mary is Sarah’s opposite. Instead of being old and barren, Mary is young and unmarried. Instead of facing ridicule for not having a child (which Sarah may have experienced), Mary risked shame for a pregnancy outside of marriage (Matt 1:19).

And Mary doesn’t just stand as an opposite to Sarah. The barren female character occurs again and again in the Bible. We are also told that Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah’s wife (Samson’s mother), Hannah, and Michal (David’s wife) were painfully childless at times in their lives. These women struggled for years without a child they wanted; Mary had one before she expected. Luke highlights this contrast by writing about Mary and her barren relative Elizabeth together. The angel uses Elizabeth’s recent pregnancy as evidence that “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:36–37).

Mary responds to the angel’s announcement in her famous, faithful way: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). This stands in stark contrast to Sarah’s laugh.

The contrast we see between these women makes it clear that God is doing a new thing in the birth of Jesus. God is turning the world upside down.

A New and Old Thing

But not everything is new. Not everything is different. There are a number of similarities between Mary and Sarah.

Both Sarah and Mary were visited by angels for the birth announcements. Both were promised royalty. Both questioned how God could bring about his promise (see Luke 1:34 and Gen 18:12). God worked miraculously for both women’s pregnancies.

And both women saw God’s mercy and his promise-keeping in their pregnancy (see Heb 11:11 and Luke 1:54–55). Sarah saw directly how God would keep his promise to multiply Abraham greatly. But Mary saw herself in this same line. She saw her own pregnancy as evidence of help given to Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, in line with the covenant kept with Abraham (Luke 1:54–55).

So the new thing God was doing was really an old thing done in a new way.

How to Understand the Exodus Plague Narratives

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Exodus 5:22-7:7 is like the pre-bout buildup to a championship prize-fight. Moses has his doubts, but his trainer, God, is right at his side. This trainer massages Moses’ shoulders, squirts water into his mouth, and gets in his face with one pep talk after another. By passage’s end, Moses has his gloves tied, his robe draped, and his shoes tightened. He’s hopping from foot to foot, pumped and ready to rumble. He trots down the aisle up to the ring, he enters between the ropes, and the announcer proclaims his presence to the watching world.

The fight of the century is about to take place: Moses v. Pharaoh. Really, it’s Yahweh v. the Egyptian pantheon. Beginning with Ex 7:8, we’re made privy to every round of this legendary collision, and we don’t even have to rent it on pay-per-view.

Peter Gordon (2011), Creative Commons

Peter Gordon (2011), Creative Commons

Common Approaches to the Plague Narratives

Even the most casual reader of the plague narratives in Exodus can’t avoid a basic interpretive question: Why are these narratives so long? And if we treat Passover as a separate section, we’ve got almost 4 chapters of text to ‘rassle. In the ESV, the 9 plagues on Egypt go on for more than 3,200 words. How should we understand and study such an epic narrative?

Some readers take the children’s story Bible approach: Abridge the thing down to a manageable size and land on only the fundamental truths. God is powerful. Egypt got hit hard. Pharaoh would not relent. There is value in this approach, as long as we don’t fall into the trap of ignoring the details. Every detail is inspired by God and there for a reason!

Other readers take the statistician’s approach: Map out the plagues in a large table or spreadsheet, showing all the fine comparisons and contrasts among the 9 plagues. When is Aaron’s staff used vs. Moses’ staff? When does Pharaoh harden his heart vs. God hardening it? How much is Pharaoh willing to grant the Israelites after each plague? Which plagues can the Egyptian magicians duplicate? There is value in this approach, as long as we don’t fall into the trap of ignoring the big picture. Not every detail has deeply symbolic or spiritual meaning; the story as a whole was intended to have a certain emotional impact. Let’s not lose that impact to a statistical analysis.

How I Approach the Plague Narratives

Without demeaning either of the two approaches mentioned above—both have value and provide complementary insights—I’ve found a third approach to better highlight the author’s main ideas and do justice to why the story is given this much space. That approach is to follow the 3 cycles.

The narrator masterfully employs setting to help his readers receive his message. Observe:

  • In plagues 1, 4, and 7, God commands Moses to confront Pharaoh early in the morning (Ex 7:15, 8:20, 9:13).
  • In plagues 2, 5, and 8, God commands Moses simply to “Go in to Pharaoh…” (Ex 8:1, 9:1, 10:1).
  • In plagues 3, 6, and 9, there is no confrontation with Pharaoh. God commands Moses to perform some symbolic gesture and bring the plague unheralded. And these three plagues all have a reasonably short narrative (Ex 8:16-19, 9:8-12, 10:21-29).

What is the point of these observations? The narrative organizes the plagues into three 3 cycles of 3 plagues each. Plagues 1-3 have 3 different settings. Plagues 4-6 repeat the 3 settings in the same order. Plagues 7-9 repeat the settings once more.

This structure is reinforced by the fact that each cycle has a unique and climactic ending:

  • Cycle #1 ends with the Egyptian magicians being unable to replicate the plague and admitting it must be the finger of God (Ex 8:18-19).
  • Cycle #2 ends with the Egyptian magicians being unable to stand before Moses (Ex 9:11-12).
  • Cycle #3 ends with Moses being driven from Pharaoh’s presence (Ex 10:28-29).

This structure has a simple beauty about it, while also serving an interpretive purpose. With each new “Rise up early in the morning,” we hear a fresh start, a new round in the boxing match. And each cycle/round serves as a discrete unit with a particular point to make.

So over the next 3 Exodus posts, I will address the plague narratives in their three cycles. For each cycle, I will ask, what is the author’s main point in this cycle? This approach enables us to hear all the details and consider how they contribute to the unique main point of each cycle. And this approach also helps us not to drown in the details without collating them into a bigger picture.

Preliminary Round

But what should we make of the scene with the staffs and serpents in Ex 7:8-13? This episode stands outside the three cycles by introducing them.

This scene introduces the key players: Moses, Aaron, and Yahweh on one side; Pharaoh, his magicians, and their secret arts on the other.

This scene introduces the key conflict: “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle…'” Pharaoh will get his wish, and in a big way. If he won’t release these slaves without proof of the requesting party’s power, he’ll sure get it.

This scene foreshadows the inevitable outcome: “But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs” (Ex 7:12). Pharaoh and his champions will not win this fight.

This scene also introduces the theme of the vindication of God’s word: “Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said” (Ex 7:13). Let God be proved true, and every man a liar. God’s glory is at stake in the economic status of his people Israel. His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be fulfilled. Therefore God’s glory and faithfulness must be vindicated. Game on, Pharaoh. Ding. Ding.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

How to Study a Psalm

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At the Logos Talk blog, Mark Ward has an excellent piece walking through the observation phase of a study of Psalm 44.

The psalms are a favorite book for God’s people, in part because the study is easier. The meaning of the psalms often, at least, feels plain and practical—even if the application is simply “praise God.” But there is always greater depth in the Bible, and if you want to dig down there you’ll need tools.

I work for a Bible study tool company, but the first tool you should pick up is not necessarily Logos Bible Software. First grab your conceptual tools: observation, interpretation, and application.

We’ll do that in a series of three posts. Today: observation. Next week: interpretation. The next week: application.

Later in the post:

At this stage of the observation process, I don’t want to get bogged down with questions about the meanings of difficult words or phrases—unless they seem necessary for grasping the overall thought-flow of the psalm. Probably the only example of such a phrase in this psalm is “Ordain salvation for Jacob!” in verse 4. This is where Bible background knowledge is likely to be needed. If you’ve read the Old Testament, you probably know that “Jacob” is often a stand-in for the nation of “Israel.” Otherwise this psalm uses fairly simple and straightforward wording. The riches in this psalm are found not so much at the word level but at the structural level. How can I describe such a wrenching shift from praise to despair?

Ward models observation well. Check it out!

Logos Bible Software, Part 2: Does It Help With Bible Study?

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Last week, I wrote about Logos Bible Software’s unlimited power to search resources and give historical background on the Scriptures. This week, I would like to ask, “How well does it assist observation, interpretation, and application in Bible study?”

Discipline Required

ICBM

Please use me responsibly

I must confess, Logos has so much power that using it can sometimes feel like bringing an ICBM to a game of darts. Will I hit the bullseye? Without a doubt. But what else might I hit in the process?

What I mean is this: My task in Bible study is to know God through understanding the text, and Logos helps tremendously with understanding the text. But it’s way too easy for me to let Logos help by taking me away from the text to other resources and expert opinions. For example, I’m glad to know what ancient Jewish rabbis and modern scholars have to say about Exodus 1; I must consider such things. But first, I must know what Exodus 1 itself says. And with a powerful tool like Logos I might trick myself into thinking I’ve learned Exodus 1, when in fact I’ve learned more about what others have said about it.

The potential problem here, of course, is not with the software but with the person using it. I’ve written about mistakes we can make with commentaries and the curses of study Bibles. Every one of these cautions applies to a tool such as Logos. For example, word studies and topic studies can do a lot of damage when they take you away from the context of specific passages. And Logos makes it easier than ever to move away from the contexts of specific passages.

OIA in Action

With those cautions out of the way, how does Logos help with observing, interpreting, and applying (OIA) the Bible?

1. Notes & Highlights

I’ve never seen anything like Logos’s ability to take notes and highlight text. I can customize formatting, colors, shapes, and styles. I can go free-form text or copy and paste. I can attach notes to one verse or to many. I can link ideas together. And I can keep it all easily filed and searchable for later use.

2. Reading Plans

I couldn’t be more impressed with Logos’s approach to reading plans. If I want to read the Bible, Logos is going to be where I turn. I can customize a reading plan any way I want. Start and end dates. Defined passage limits and breakdowns. Schedule it every day or just certain days each week or each month. I will use Logos for my annual read-through, as I no longer will have to squish a full-year digital schedule into my speed-reading approach.

Here’s another example. My church’s preaching team is scheduled to meet on August 6 to overview the book of Exodus for our next sermon series. I would like to prepare by reading Exodus 5 times. So I had Logos create a reading plan as follows: “Read Exodus, Exodus, Exodus, Exodus, Exodus every day, in the ESV, divided by story units, beginning today and ending on August 5.” It spit out a schedule with check boxes and breakdowns. Each day, Logos’s home screen (either desktop or mobile, doesn’t matter) presents a link to open that day’s reading. Easy peasy. If I miss a day, I can adjust the rest of the schedule with a few clicks. I can also adjust the translation manually each time I start the book over.

3. Typography

Logos can turn any Bible translation into a reader’s version, with no headings, chapter or verse numbers, or footnotes. Or I can turn those features back on. I can do one verse per line or paragraphs. Basically, I can make the text look any way I want it to look. Whatever will assist my study is there.

4. Quotes and Illustrations

Once I’ve done my own observing and interpreting, I can then turn to my library of commentaries and resources. I can find quotable quotes or illustration ideas to stimulate application. All is easily searchable and well packaged.

OIA on the Horizon

The features I’ve mentioned so far are available in any Logos base package. Logos also has a subscription package (called Logos Now) that gives you access to beta features that will show up in the next version of the software. If you want them now, you can have them for $8.99/month. [August 2016 Update: These features are now built right into Logos 7.]

1. Repeated words

With a Logos base package, I can see a word cloud of repeated words. But I have to guess from the font sizes which ones occur more frequently than others. If I simply want a list of repeated words and their frequency, Logos Now gives me access to the “concordance tool.” And this tool offers much more than a typical concordance. I can get repeated words for a single book or chapter (or any defined text range). I can search within the list for similar concepts. I can print, rearrange, or save the list for later.

2. Auto highlighting

Logos Now has a “corresponding words” tool that will automatically highlight those repeated words for me.

3. Old Testament logical outlines

Logos base packages give you logical outlines for every New Testament passage. These are extremely helpful for tracing the flow of thought within a passage. But to get such outlines for the Old Testament you must subscribe to Logos Now or wait for the new version.

Recommendations

In conclusion, if you have the discipline not to jump away from the text or into a useless sort of word study, you’ll find powerful assistance here for your Bible study.

If your interest in the Bible comes as an academic or theologian, Logos will be indispensable to you. I bet you couldn’t find a better research tool.

If you are a pastor, missionary, or Bible study leader, you may at first find Logos’s price tag prohibitive. However, think of Logos not as luxury software but as your library. If you take what you’ve spent on books and save it up for a year or two, I bet you’ll be able to afford a decently sized package. You’ll likely also want to make future book purchases through Logos. The larger your library, the more power you give to your research assistant.

If you’re an average person studying the Bible without a sizable book budget, Logos may not be for you. You can still do excellent OIA Bible study without it. However, if the search functions and reading options intrigue you, you may want to consider trying the Logos core engine, which is free. You won’t get much of a library with it, but you’ll have access to the biblical text and primary software features. If you like it, you can always grow your library later.

Also, I must say Logos has a steep learning curve. I had to watch 2-3 hours of training videos before I felt like I could control the beast and unleash it in my study. But I am convinced it was worth it. I can’t wait to continue building my library and getting new features.

Use this link or the coupon code KNOWABLE6 to get 10% off a Logos base package. Disclaimer: If you buy Logos with the code or links above, this blog will receive a commission. Thanks for supporting this work so we can help ordinary people learn to study the Bible!

Some Bible Outlines are More Helpful Than Others

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mkorsakov (2014), Creative Commons

mkorsakov (2014), Creative Commons

Bible outlines help us simplify and organize the author’s message. That’s why expository sermons outline passages and study Bibles outline books. I can’t remember the last time I read an introduction to a book of the Bible that didn’t propose an outline for the book.

But some outlines are less helpful than others.

Take, for example, this outline of Job 4-14 from the NIV Zondervan Study Bible:

  1. First Exchange: Eliphaz (4:1-5:27)
  2. Job’s Response to Eliphaz (6:1-7:21)
  3. Second Exchange: Bildad (8:1-22)
  4. Job’s Response to Bildad (9:1-10:22)
  5. Third Exchange: Zophar (11:1-20)
  6. Job’s Response to Zophar (12:1-14:22)

This outline succeeds at observing Job’s structure, but it does little to help us understand Job’s message. Many outlines stop short of significant usefulness when they state all the “what” but little of the “why.” In other words, they outline content but not meaning. They outline observation but not interpretation. They give us summaries but not main points.

What’s usually more helpful is to outline the logic of the passage. Figure out how the main points of each section flow into and out of one another, constructing a theme or message that the author wants to communicate to his readers. When an outline packages the building blocks of the book’s argument, readers are more likely to benefit from it quickly.

For example, consider this outline of Job 4-14 from The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible:

  1. Eliphaz: You Strengthened Others but Now Are Fainting (4:1-5:27)
  2. Job: You Do Not Know the Weight of My Grief (6:1-7:21)
  3. Bildad: All Agree that God is Just (8:1-22)
  4. Job: But How Can Man Be Just Before God? (9:1-10:22)
  5. Zophar: Does Your Talk Justify You? (11:1-20)
  6. Job: I Know that I Shall Be Justified (12:1-14:22)

I might argue that the last statement should be broadened to better capture the main point of Job’s entire speech in chapters 12-14—I would state it as “My Dangerously Unpredictable God is More Trustworthy Than My Clearly Logical Friends”—but that would be a minor quibble. The point is that the editors of The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible give us more than the order of speeches; they attempt to state concisely the message of each speech. In doing so, they help us get farther down the road in our study of the book. And for this I applaud them.

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Top 10 Curses of Study Bibles

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I’m facing a parental dilemma. The young man renting our spare bedroom offered to take a few of my children to a shooting range to teach them to handle firearms. This fellow is training to be an officer in the United States Navy, and he’s responsible and trustworthy—but still!

Should I allow it or not? I’m no curmudgeon when it comes to risk; I practically taught my children to climb trees before they could walk. But might they still be a shade too young and immature for this responsibility? We already tend ample wounds from plastic swords, light sabers, and Nerf weaponry; can these children handle a Marlin .22 caliber rifle or a Sig Sauer Mosquito handgun?

Sig Sauer Mosquito HandgunI’m mildly consoled by the fact that our resident midshipman has no interest in a joyride. On his watch, nobody can touch a gun without memorizing four rules:

Never point a gun at anything you don’t want to shoot.

Treat every gun as if it were loaded.

Keep your gun on safety until you are ready to fire.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.

Regardless of where you stand on pacifism or gun control, I’m sure you’d agree that guns are dangerous and require extreme caution. In this way, guns are just like study Bibles. We should have rules about how to use them safely.

Last week, I wrote about the 10 blessings of study Bibles. I also consider it my duty to caution you about their 10 curses. Some of these curses are inherent in the “study Bible” genre; other curses are common but not insuperable weaknesses. Thus, some study Bibles avoid some of the curses.

Physical Size

1. They are big and bulky—Rarely will you catch somebody carrying one in a backpack. To be fair, though, the ESV Study Bible has a compact version and convenient online access. Others offer similar options.

They draw your attention away from the biblical text

2. Not much text per page—Especially in the New Testament, and especially in Paul’s epistles. When study notes abound, there’s less incentive to read passages in the context of the chapter, section, or book (one must do a lot of flipping).

3. Cross-references receive greater attention—Not only do you get the usual center-column cross-references, but every 2 or 3 study notes highlight even more cross-references. But cross-references are way overrated. Along with word studies and harmonization, they are one of the most common distractions from rich, contextual Bible study. You’ll do better to ignore them, at least until you understand the passage at hand. Get the main point; then correlate with other texts.

They can be strong at “what” but weak on “why”

4. Study notes that miss the mark—They usually have only enough space to do one of two things: 1) observe the text well but leave no room for interpretation, or 2) provide interpretation that rings hollow because it’s not supported through explicit observation.

5. Book introductions that answer questions you aren’t asking—Some book intros are superb; others get bogged down with too many details. Often the difference lies in whether the intro clearly presents the book’s logic (train of thought), or whether it delves into topics like the exact dating of Mark’s Gospel and whether Mark was written before or after Matthew.

6. Outlines that summarize but don’t explain—Most outlines focus on observation (summarizing content), not on interpretation or logic (following trains of thought). This helps you find certain episodes within a book, but it doesn’t do much to help you understand their placement. In addition, many study Bible outlines treat Bible books like stream-of-consciousness term papers: I, II, III.A., III.B., IV., etc. I just saw one that went from I to XVI with no further subdivisions! I always check out Dorsey’s Literary Structure of the Old Testament when I study an OT book. I wish there were a comparable volume for NT books.

7. Lack of clear main points—You’ll find pages of word analysis and historical background. And many study Bibles have summaries of content. But a summary is different from a main point. Only the most courageous editors take the risk of stating “the main point (or the main theme) of this book is ____________.” Even better is when they give you main points for not only each book, but also for each chapter.

They can hinder discovery

8. They train you to micro-analyze the text—Words often get more attention than sentences, which get more attention than paragraphs, which get more attention than chapters, etc. Study Bibles sometimes train our senses accordingly, like the young pastoral candidate I once interviewed who thought he’d attain maturity in his sermons when he could preach on a single verse.

9. They train you to observe (and observe small) but go no farther in the study process—This point follows from points 4-8 above. Some folks think they’ve studied the Bible because they’ve read the notes and looked up the cross-references. But have they learned to ask questions and answer them? Can they figure out (and fight for) the main points? Have they learned to apply the same truth to different groups of people?

10. They lead you to believe you can’t study the text on your own—If I locked you in a room with nothing but a pencil and a clean text (no study notes or cross-references), would you know what to do with it? Would you even think it possible you could know what to do with it?

Study Bibles deliver amazing blessings, but please use them with extreme caution.

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Two-Word Summaries of Every Bible Chapter

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In DiscipleMakers, we train our collegiate missionaries to both master and be mastered by the Scriptures. One exercise we use involves chapter summaries. Within their first three years, new missionaries are expected to read the entire Bible and create a list of summaries for every chapter. Though there’s a difference between a summary and a main point, we need to master the “what” of Scripture before we can be mastered by its “why.”

In 2014, Pastor Gregg Peter Farah blogged his way through every chapter of the Bible, summarizing each chapter in one or two words. You can find the results on his blog.

Along with the two-word summary, he included a one-sentence “big idea” and a brief “next step” attempting to apply the chapter. While Farah’s extreme brevity occasionally misses the mark, I think much of the time he absolutely nails it. For example:

Ephesians 2
SUMMARY
Incomparable riches

BIG IDEA
The more we grow in our faith the more we will see and understand God’s outrageous love for us.

NEXT STEP
Keep growing and going with Jesus. Have a hunger to know him more and be ready to be overwhelmed by his blessings.

Remember, he is summarizing (observing), not interpreting. So his Old Testament summaries don’t say much about Christ or the gospel. This often leads his application to be not as rich as it could be. But for brief, clear statements of what each chapter says, Farah does well.

The blog format can be difficult to follow, requiring much scrolling to find particular chapters. But if you use his search bar (upper right) to find “Bible summary [name of Bible book]”, you’ll make it easier.

Check it out!

P.S. For DiscipleMakers staff: No plagiarizing these great summaries!

HT: Jeffrey Kranz

 

Blessed be God – In Praise of Grammar Awareness

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The Apostle Paul sometimes gets a bad rap for his grammar skillz, especially when he gets excited about something. Ephesians 1 happens to be one of those places.

Many remark on the fact that Ephesians 1:3-14 is a single run-on sentence in the original Greek. And the finest English translations do little to make the passage any easier for us. Paul piles on clause after clause after clause, traipsing his way through a maze of ideas, tying history and eternity up in knots, modifying, subordinating, and prepositioning his way to glory. “My high school English teacher would never let me get away with a sentence like that,” says one preacher. And eyewitnesses of Paul’s rhetoric have long been known to suggest that his letters have “some things in them that are hard to understand” (2 Pet 3:16).

Molly Steenson (2008), Creative Commons

Molly Steenson (2008), Creative Commons

But please let’s be fair. Sure, Paul is excited. Of course he goes too long between one inhale and the next. But he couldn’t have been any more clear about his sentence’s main idea.

Blessed be (the) God.

If we take a deep breath and condense the run-on sentence down to its essential components—subject and verb—we’ll have no trouble seeing what we should get out of it. Blessed be God.

The main verb of the entire sentence is the verb “be.” The subject of the verb is “God.” And since “be” is a verb of being (not a verb of action), it functions like an equals sign. It does no good without the other side of the equation. God = blessed. God is blessed. Or with more artistry, “Blessed be God.”

Paul’s main idea here is not what God does but who God is. God is a blessed God. Not like Artemis of the Ephesians, whose “greatness” drove her fan boys to bellow insanely for hours on end (Acts 19:34). The truly blessed God is not just any god; he is “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3). Blessed be this God.

Of course, this God is blessed because of what he does. The loping clauses that follow unravel the deep mysteries of this blessed God who lavishly blesses. Blessed be the God who has blessed us in Christ.

But please don’t lose focus. Paul’s main idea is not how blessed we are for knowing God. His driving point is not that we are so well off (though, of course, we are—if we believe). Paul’s main idea is that this God who blesses is himself blessed. He is worth knowing. He is worthy of adoration. He deserves to be spoken of highly. Blessed be God.

Paul’s syntax may be more convoluted than that found in a Supreme Court ruling, but the Apostle keeps our focus on his main idea with periodic reminders: “to the praise of his glorious grace…to the praise of his glory…to the praise of his glory.” Blessed be God.

If your Bible study starts sinking in a swamp of words, grab this rope and don’t let go: Observe the grammar. Blessed be God.

3 Tips for Bad Bible Study, Part 1

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Has your time in the Word been too powerful lately? Want to get rid of that nagging feeling of peace you get when you trust the God you encounter in the Scriptures? If so, you need to make some adjustments to your approach to the Bible. In this brief series of posts we’ll consider three surefire ways to make Bible reading boring and irrelevant again. Today we’ll cover tip #1:

1. Assume you already know what the text says.

This is a tip you can put into practice in your very next Bible study meeting or quiet time. It’s all about your attitude. If you sit down with a heart attitude that says, “I need to hear what God has to say to me today,” then your efforts toward making Bible study an empty ritual will go right down the drain.

Instead, begin by congratulating yourself for what you already know about the particular text in front of you. If you’ve actually read the text before, you’re golden. Doesn’t matter how long ago you read it. Just take whatever you happen to remember about it as proof that all you need is a quick refresher rather than the full experience of diving into the text.

If it’s your first time reading the text, don’t give up yet. There are many other sources of knowledge you might draw on: sermons you’ve heard, Sunday school stories, VeggieTales episodes, etc. Any of these provides a sufficient centerpiece for your expertise. If you’re in a group and others seem to doubt the profundity of what you’re saying, just talk louder and wave your hands more.

If it turns out that you truly know nothing about the text, then it must be an obscure chapter that nobody really cares about anyway, right?

No matter what you do, don’t read the text the way you would a book that contains vital truth addressing your greatest needs and desires. Don’t let yourself start looking for details or ideas in the text which you haven’t considered before. Remember, you don’t need to look because you already know it. Keep assuming you know it, and you’ll find that before long your Bible reading will be as bland and ineffective as you could ever want.

Samson and the Prostitute of Gaza

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Miles Van Pelt has an intriguing article about Samson and the prostitute of Gaza in Judges 16:1-3. He observes the text carefully, drawing out allusions to Sisera with Jael and the Hebrew spies with Rahab. He shows how Samson prepares the way for David, as John the Baptist does for Jesus.

In the end, he concludes that Samson was not pursuing immorality but God-ordained conquest of the Philistines by staying with the prostitute. I can’t say I fully agree yet without further consideration, but Van Pelt magnificently piqued my curiosity and drove me further into the text. That makes his article well worth reading.

Check it out!