Transcript The Books of Poetry © John Stevenson, 2009 Book Problem God as… Man as… Job Pain & suffering On his face before God Sovereign Psalms Prayer & Worship Holy Proverbs Conduct All-wise Meaning & Ecclesiastes significance Song of Solomon Love Creator Before the throne.

The Books of Poetry
© John Stevenson, 2009
Book
Problem
God as… Man as…
Job
Pain &
suffering
On his face
before God
Sovereign
Psalms
Prayer &
Worship
Holy
Proverbs
Conduct
All-wise
Meaning &
Ecclesiastes significance
Song of
Solomon
Love
Creator
Before the
throne of
God
Receiving
instruction
Under the
sun
Lover of His In a love
people
relationship
Poetic
Literature
Wisdom
Literature
Psalms
Song of Solomon
Job
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Poetic
Literature
Wisdom
Literature
Narrator is viewed
as a normal man
Narrator is viewed
as the wise voice of
experience
Touch the mind
Touch the heart
Focus on human
emotion
Love for God and
for others
Focus on wisdom
Living before God
and with others
The Book of Suffering
Setting for the
Story
Uz
The Story
•
•
•
•
•
The Heavenly Challenge
Job’s Calamities
Satan’s Second Accusation
Job’s Continuing Endurance
Job’s Three Friends
The Cast of Characters
•
•
•
•
•
Job
Mrs. Job
God
Satan
Three Friends
– Eliphaz
– Bildad
– Zophar
• Elihu
Chapters Chapters Chapters Chapters
1-2
3-31
33-37
38-41
Historical
prologue:
Job
Tested
Job’s
three
friends
Elihu’s
speeches
God
speaks
Dialogue & Discourse
Chapter
42
Historical
epilogue:
Job
Restored
Prose Section
Poetry Section
Plain language
Written in pure
Hebrew
Highly ornate
Contains many expressions
characteristic of Chaldaean
When God Finally Speaks...
• He does not give Job any answers to
his questions
• He does not give Job any comfort in
his situation
Job 38:1-3
Then the LORD answered Job out
of the whirlwind and said,
"Who is this that darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
Now gird up your loins like a man,
and I will ask you, and you instruct
Me!
Job 38:4-7
"Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
who set its measurements, since you
know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone, when the
morning stars sang together, and all
the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Job 40:1
Then the LORD said to Job, "Will the
faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who reproves God answer it."
Job 42:1-2
Then Job answered the LORD,
and said, “I know that Thou canst do
all things, And that no purpose of
Thine can be thwarted.”
Job 42:5-6
"I have heard of Thee by the
hearing of the ear; but now my eye
sees Thee; therefore I retract, and I
repent in dust and ashes."
Job 42:7
And it came about after the LORD
had spoken these words to Job, that
the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
"My wrath is kindled against you and
against your two friends, because you
have not spoken of Me what is right as
My servant Job has.
Job 42:8-9
“Now therefore, take for yourselves
seven bulls and seven rams, and go to
My servant Job, and offer up a burnt
offering for yourselves, and My servant
Job will pray for you. For I will accept him
so that I may not do with you according to
your folly, because you have not spoken
of Me what is right, as My servant Job
has.”
Lessons from Job
• God is both all-loving and allpowerful
• There are no simple answers
• Expression of grief & trouble is
appropriate, but not to pass
judgment on God
• God is in control, even when it is not
obvious to our eyes
• God has a purpose in what he allows,
even if we do not know what it is
Lessons from Job
• Tragedy can serve as a wake-up call
• God has not remained distant from us
in our pain
• Job is about God’s condemnation
Will you really annul My judgment?
Will you condemn Me that you may be
justified? (Job 40:8).
God was condemned in Christ.
The Hymnbook of God
Characteristics of the Psalms
•
•
•
•
•
A thousand years of history
Musical instruments
Quoted in New Testament
Relates our response to God
A “sensory” book
What are the different types of
Psalms?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Praise Psalms
Songs of Thanksgiving
Royal Psalms
Wisdom Psalms
Psalms of Remembrance
Psalms of Lament
Imprecatory Psalms
Book 1
Chapters
1-41
Book 2
Chapters
42-72
Mostly written by
David
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Chapters
73-89
Chapters 90106
Chapters
107-150
Mostly by
Asaph
Mostly
anonymous
Mostly by
David
Psalm 1
How blessed is the man
not...
Walk...
In the
counsel...
Stand... In the path...
Sit...
In the seat...
who does
Of the
wicked
Of sinners
Of scoffers
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:3
He will be like a tree firmly planted by
streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever
he does, he
prospers.
Psalm 2:1-2
Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed.
Psalm 2:6-7
But as for Me, I have installed My
King Upon Zion,
My holy mountain."
7 I will surely tell of the decree of the
LORD:
He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son,
Today I have begotten Thee.
6
Psalm 2:8-9
'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the
nations as Thine inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Thy
possession.
9 'Thou shalt break them with a rod of
iron,
Thou shalt shatter them like
earthenware.'"
8
Book 1
Chapters
1-41
Book 2
Chapters
42-72
Mostly written by
David
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Chapters
73-89
Chapters 90106
Chapters
107-150
Mostly by
Asaph
Mostly
anonymous
Mostly by
David
The title Elohim is used much more
than is the name Yahweh
Psalm 42:1-3
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for Thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living
God;
When shall I come and appear before
God?
3 My tears have been my food day and
night,
While they say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
1
Psalm 42:4
These things I remember, and I pour out
my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng
and lead them in procession to the
house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a
multitude keeping festival.
• You cannot rest on yesterday’s experiences
• Mutual support & encouragement
Psalm 42:5
Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed
within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
Psalm 45:1
For the choir director; according to the
Shoshannim.
A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
A Song of Love.
My heart overflows with a good theme;
I address my verses to the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Psalm 45:7-8
Thou hast loved righteousness, and
hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed
Thee With the oil of joy above Thy
fellows.
8 All Thy garments are fragrant with
myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed
instruments have made Thee glad.
7
Book 1
Chapters
1-41
Book 2
Chapters
42-72
Mostly written by
David
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Chapters
73-89
Chapters 90106
Chapters
107-150
Mostly by
Asaph
Mostly
anonymous
Mostly by
David
Focus upon Israel, Jerusalem and
the Temple
Psalm 89:1-2
Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the
LORD forever;
To all generations I will make known
Your faithfulness with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “Lovingkindness will
be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your
faithfulness.”
Psalm 89:3-4
I have made a covenant with My
chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,
4 I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all
generations.
Selah.
Book 1
Chapters
1-41
Book 2
Chapters
42-72
Mostly written by
David
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Chapters
73-89
Chapters 90106
Chapters
107-150
Mostly by
Asaph
Mostly
anonymous
Mostly by
David
An exclusive use of Yahweh
Psalm 100:1-3
Psalm for Thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the
earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we
ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of
His pasture.
1
Psalm 100:4-5
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.
4
Book 1
Chapters
1-41
Book 2
Chapters
42-72
Mostly written by
David
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Chapters
73-89
Chapters 90106
Chapters
107-150
Mostly by
Asaph
Mostly
anonymous
Mostly by
David
Psalm 110:1
A Psalm of David.
The LORD says to
my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Thine
enemies a footstool
for Thy feet.”
The Psalms of Praise
Psalms 113-118
(Sung at Passover)
Psalm 118:21-23
I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou
hast answered me;
And Thou hast become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
21
Psalm 120:1-2
A Song of Ascents, of David.
I Was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2 Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
1
Psalm 120:3-4
Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
4 To which the tribes go up, even the
tribes of the LORD-An ordinance for Israel-To give thanks to the name of the
LORD.
3
Psalm 134:1-3
A Song of Ascents.
Behold, bless the LORD, all servants
of the LORD,
Who serve by night in the house of the
LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary,
And bless the LORD.
3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
He who made heaven and earth.
1
The Value of the Psalms
• A Commentary of the Old
Testament
• Liturgy for Worship
• A Pattern for Prayer
• Wisdom for Living
The Book of Wisdom
Title of the book
The proverbs of Solomon the
son of David, king of Israel
(Proverbs 1:1).
From the
root word
lv;m'
Proverbs 1:2-4
To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of
understanding,
3 To receive instruction in wise
behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;
4 To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and
discretion,
2
Proverbs 1:5-6
A wise man will hear and increase in
learning,
And a man of understanding will
acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a
figure,
The words of the wise and their
riddles.
5
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and
instruction.
• A Fear that Drives Away
• A Fear that brings Wonder
Psalms
Proverbs
Book of Worship
Book of Wisdom
Speaks to our Spirit
Speaks to our
Intellect
Life out in the street
Life in the prayer
closet
Teach us how to be
holy before God
Love the Lord with all
your heart, soul, and
mind
Teach us how to
practice holiness
before men
Love your neighbor
as yourself
1:1-6
1:7
10:1
21:1
Prologue Appeal to
One-verse maxims
Wisdom
Purpose Wisdom
Proverbs of Proverbs of
of the
Personified Solomon
Hezekiah
Proverbs
30:1
31:1
Larger
Couplets
Words of
Agur
Good
Woman
Words
of King
Lemuel
Lessons from the Proverbs
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Universal need for Wisdom
The Universal Arena of Wisdom
What is Wise is also what is Good
Principles rather than Promises
A real view of the real world
Christians are called to be street-smart
ECCLESIASTES
The Question of Life
Song of
Solomon
Passover
Nisan 14
April 17
Ruth
Lamentations Ecclesiastes
Shabuot
Fall of
Sukkot
(Pentecost)
Jerusalem
(Tabernacles)
Sivan 8
Ab 9
Tishri 15
June 9
August 8
Esther
Purim
Adar 14
September 24 March 19
Note: English equivalent dates are only close
approximations
Solomon’s Diary
1-2
3
4-5
6-9
10-12
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Sermon Sermon Sermon Sermon Sermon
All of life is
emptiness,
but man
ought to
enjoy
goodness
because it
is from God
There is
Instead of
Man sees
profit in
being
life as a
seeing God
fearful,
struggle,
as the giver enjoy life
but God
of all of the while it lasts gave life to
seasons of because it be enjoyed
life
is a gift
from God
Because of
the
emptiness
of this life,
man ought
to fear the
Lord and
follow His
word
Remember the Lord because…
• You aren’t getting any Younger.
• God has designed you to the Empty
without Him.
• Now is the Time to Prepare for Eternity.
SONG OF SONGS
The Love Song of the
Scriptures
Interpretations of the Book
• Allegorical Interpretation: Entire book
is seen as an allegory of the Lord’s love
for His people Israel.
• Cultic Interpretation: Poems for use
in marriage ritual.
• Shepherd Interpretation: Views
Solomon as the villain.
• Typical Interpretation: Type of the
church
• Natural or Literal Interpretation
Cast of Characters
• Solomon: Shelomoh “Peaceful”
• Shulamith: Feminine of Shelomoh
Romance &
Honeymoon
(Chapters 1-4)
Happily ever
after
(Chapters 7-8)
Marital Problems
(Chapters 5-6)
Lessons from the Song of
Songs
• God is concerned with all of life
• God is concerned with our sexuality
• All of life reflects our relationship with
God
• The Scriptures contain love songs
• We are a part of a sacred romance
The Prophets
© John Stevenson, 2009
Pentateuch
Historical
Books
Poetic
Books
Prophetic
Books
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2
Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles,
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
What is a Prophet?
• They functioned as Preachers
• They functioned as Predictors
• Prophet versus Priest
The Pre-Exilic Prophets
Northern Kingdom Ends !
740
Uzziah
Jotham
735
716
Ahaz
697
Hezekiah
687
Manassah
Ministry of Isaiah
Amos
Ministry of Micah
Ministry of Hosea
Nahum
Isaiah 1:4
Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Literally “Seed
Offspring of evildoers,
of Evil Ones.”
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One
of Israel,
They have turned away from Him.
Isaiah 1:10
Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
Isaiah 1:11
"What are your multiplied sacrifices to
Me?” says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings
of rams,
And the fat of fed cattle.
And I take no pleasure in the blood of
bulls, lambs, or goats.
Isaiah 1:21
How the faithful city has become a
harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
Isaiah 1:26-27
Then I will restore your judges as
at the first,
And your counselors as at the
beginning;
After that you will be called the city
of righteousness, A faithful city."
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with
righteousness.
26
Hosea 1-3
Hosea’s
Marriage
Gomer’s…
• Unfaithfulness
• Discipline
• Restoration
Hosea 4-13
Hosea 14
Hosea’s Message
The case of God’s
covenant lawsuit is
set forth, showing
how Israel has been
the unfaithful bride
Ultimate
restoration
Amos 3:1-2
Hear this word which the
LORD has spoken against you,
sons of Israel, against the entire
family which He brought up
from the land of Egypt, 2 you
only have I chosen among all
the families of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for
all your iniquities."
The Lord God has
sworn by His
holiness,
"Behold, the days
are coming upon
you
When they will
take you away
with meat hooks,
And the last of
you with fish
hooks.” (Amos
4:2).
Micah 6:6-7
With what shall I come to the LORD
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the LORD take delight in
thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my first-born for my
rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?
6
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
620
610
600
Jehoahaz
580
Zedekiah
Obadiah?
Fall of
Nineveh
560
Babylonian Captivity
Jerusalem &
Temple
Destroyed
Jeremiah
Habakkuk
570
Jehoiachin
Josiah
Amos
Joel?
590
Daniel
Ezekiel
Jeremiah 31:31-32
“Behold, days are coming,”
declares the LORD, “when I will make
a new covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah, 32
not like the covenant which I made
with their fathers in the day I took
them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, My covenant which
they broke, although I was a husband
to them,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the covenant which I
will make with the house of Israel after
those days," declares the LORD, “I will
put My law within them, and on their
heart I will write it; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah 31:34
And they shall not teach again,
each man his neighbor and each man
his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
for they shall all know Me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them,”
declares the LORD, “for I will forgive
their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more.”
Old
Covenant
Jerusalem
Let us go up to
the house of the
Lord
New
Covenant
Church
Go unto all the
world and make
disciples of the
nations
The Glory of the Lord
• Ezekiel sees the glory of the presence of the
Lord within His temple (8:4).
• The glory of God is seen at the doorway to
the temple (9:3).
• It next leaves the doorway and moves out to
the Eastern Gate (10:18).
• It moves completely out of the city of
Jerusalem: And the glory of the LORD went
up from the midst of the city, and stood over
the mountain which is east of the city
(Ezekiel 11:23).
Ezekiel’s Vision
A Temple within the City
John’s Revelation
The New Jerusalem
• Ezekiel is taken in this
vision to a very high
mountain (40:2)
• John is carried in the
Spirit to a great and high
mountain (21:10)
• A man uses a rod to
measure the
dimensions of the
temple (40:5-ff)
• An angel measures the
city with a rod (21:15-17)
• The entire temple area
is a perfect square
(42:15-20)
• The entire city is a
perfect cube (21:16)
Ezekiel’s Vision
A Temple within the City
John’s Revelation
The New Jerusalem
• The presence of the
• No need of sun or moon
glory of the Lord enters
because the Lord
the temple (43:3-4)
illumines His city (22:5)
• No foreigner is
admitted into the
temple (44:9)
• Nothing unclean and no
unbeliever is allowed into
the city (21:8, 27)
• A river of water flows
out of the temple
(47:1)
• A river of the water of life
comes from the throne of
God (22:1)
Ezekiel’s Vision
A Temple within the City
John’s Revelation
The New Jerusalem
• There are a total of 12
gates around the city
(48:30-34)
• There are 12 gates to the
city (21:21)
• The name of the city
shall be: “The Lord is
there” (48:35).
• The throne of God shall
be there (22:3)
Ezekiel 43:4-5
And the glory of the LORD came
into the house by the way of the gate
facing toward the east. 5 And the Spirit
lifted me up and brought me into the
inner court; and behold, the glory of the
LORD filled the house.
1:1
8:1
Written in the Third Person
Written in the First
Person
Seven Historical
Narratives
Four Prophetic
Visions
Written in
Aramaic
Written in Hebrew
Hebrew
Prophetic
Prophetic History
Prologue History relating
relating to the Jews
to the Gentiles
Seleucus
•Antiochus IV
•Hostage in Rome
•Escape
•Appointments in
Judah
Ptolemy
Antiochus Epiphanes
• Comes on the heels of Alexander’s
generals
• Magnifies itself against the Jews and
against their God
• He puts a stop to the sacrificial system
and makes alterations to the Law
• He attempts to overturn the truth of the
Scriptures
• He has power over the nation of Israel
Antiochus Epiphanes
• His sway over the Temple endures for
approximately 3 and a half years (2300
mornings and evenings).
• Then the holy place is ultimately properly
restored
Daniel 11:31
And forces from him will arise,
desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and
do away with the regular sacrifice. And
they will set up the abomination of
desolation.
Haggai & Zechariah
Malachi 3:1
"Behold, I am going to send My
messenger, and he will clear the way
before Me. And the Lord, whom you
seek, will suddenly come to His
temple; and the messenger of the
covenant, in whom you delight,
behold, He is coming," says the
LORD of hosts
Malachi 4:2
But for you who fear My name
the sun of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings; and you will go
forth and skip about like calves from
the stall.