Lecture 32.docx

All right, just one final point, interpretive discussion as far as the book of Judges is concerned before we turn to Samuel. And this is the most debated passage in the text of Judges itself. Obviously our first two interpretive issues that we looked at last time. relate more to the overall perspect...

All right, just one final point, interpretive discussion as far as the book of Judges is concerned before we turn to Samuel. And this is the most debated passage in the text of Judges itself. Obviously our first two interpretive issues that we looked at last time. relate more to the overall perspective of the book. What's its purpose? How does it fit within the Old Testament canon? And how do we understand the chronological scheme that underlies what we read in the book of Judges? But within the text itself, we come to Judges 11. And more ink has been spilt on this issue of Jephthah's vow, and whether he fulfilled his vow by offering his daughter as a perpetual virgin at the tabernacle, or whether he offered up his daughter as a burnt offering. And it's very, very interesting that throughout the history of Christian interpretation, reflecting the rabbinical tradition that more traditionally position A has been held. From the Church Fathers on, this was the basic position that God did not allow Jephthah to the tabernacle. to offer his daughter as a burnt offering, but allowed her, particularly, now you've read in Samuel and realize that the Israelites arose when Saul wanted to fulfill a curse that he had given upon anyone who would eat before sunset and how the Israelites refused to allow him to fulfill that vow that he gave in 1 Samuel 14. And that is usually placed them back onto this experience. And of course the people, and God, would not allow. Jephthah to fulfill his vow. But obviously some things had changed. You've got to realize that between Jephthah and Saul we've had the ministry of Samuel that we're going to look at in a few minutes as we come to Samuel. And the attitude of Israel certainly was different as we get to. to Samuel's ministry and then Samuel obviously was still alive when the events that are recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 14 take place. And so we're going to talk about the radical difference that Samuel brought as far as the nation was concerned. But going back to Judges chapter 11 and you can see. that now the majority of the contemporary commentators and I wouldn't say take the text at face value. Obviously I believe position A sought to take it as well but emphasized different points. But now as far as the narrative and again realizing narrative doesn't say what should have taken place. it only describes what did take place. And so I too take position B, and this is again one of the ways in which the Spirit of God is showing that even though the judges were raised up by God as Jephthah and were deliverers for Israel that these were obviously men who were not necessarily paradigms of virtue and certainly with Jephthah at this point we would have to question somewhat his, as he was dealing obviously with Torah, of emphasizing the fact that vows should be fulfilled rather than they should not practice human sacrifice like the Canaanites around them did. Well, the text begins in 1129 as Jephthah prepares for battle against the Ammonites. The Ammonites had rejected his diplomatic overtures. And so in verse 29, now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and that's of course one of the things that's emphasized by position A, that he is under the control of the Spirit of God. And so the job would not allow him to do something. That was contrary to the will of God. But we'll take a look at the Spirit of the Lord coming upon individuals, not only here in Judges, but also Samuel, the interpretation there. And we're going to conclude that this is not in any way a salvific or sanctifying ministry of the Spirit of God. It's an enablement to fulfill the task that God has set for us. had called the individual to. It's the fact that theocratic representatives were empowered by the Spirit of God to fulfill the will of God, and particularly in this context, to give Jephthah victory in battle. So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and then he passed through Mispah of Gilead, and from Mispah of Gilead he went to the sons of Ammon. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my end, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord's. And here comes a major exegetical issue. My... 1971 translation where the majority of those who did judge his obvious position a translate the valve here as or I I will when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon it shall be the Lord's or I will offer it up as a burnt offering all right I'm going to dedicate it to the Lord. going to offer it as a burnt offering now even though at times the valve can be disjunctive in that way giving a contrast usually the valve in narrative the majority of the times deals with just consecutive it shall be the Lord's and I will offer it up as a burnt offering. In other words, it's going to be dedicated to the Lord and the dedication of the Lord is going to be fulfilled by my offering as a burnt offering. And I believe the update actually reverses, the New American update reverses, so that in the main text it is and and now the footnote to the side is or just exactly reversed of what. took place in the 1971 translation. So I think it is better here to see it as and, not or. Consecutive, not a contrast. It's either going to be dedicated or it will be a burnt offering. And so Jephthah crosses over and the Lord gave the Ammonites into his hand, verse 32. He struck them with great slaughter. And he returns in verse 34, when Jephthah came to his house at Miss Bubbehold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Verse 31 has said, whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me will be dedicated to the Lord, devoted to the Lord, given to the Lord. As a burnt offering, I believe is the best way to take that verse. And here we read historically the first one to meet him was his daughter. And the text emphasizes that she was his only child. He had neither son nor daughter beyond this daughter. And it came about when he saw her that he tore her clothes and said, Alas, my daughter, you have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me, for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot take it back." By the way, this is one of those points where, you know, it's your fault you came out first. Not that I made a vow. But you have humbled me my coming out. Now, obviously, she had done nothing wrong. She had come out to meet him, rejoicing, obviously, in the great victory that had been won. But notice, I vowed, I've given my word to the Lord. I cannot take it back. And in fact, she said to him, my father, you've given your word. Do to me as you have said since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies the sons of Ammon But then she asked him verse 37 Let me alone for two months that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity I and my companions So she's allowed to do so And interestingly verse 39 only tells us you that at the end of two months he returned to a father who did to her according to the vow which he had made. So verse 31 becomes very very important whether you understand the fact that the vow meant either dedication or burnt offering or whether they are one and the same. So he did to her according to the vow and she had no relations, she knew no man. Now she either died as a virgin or she continued to live until she ultimately died as a virgin. Thus it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly and very interestingly again they translated us here in the Old American Standard to commemorate, to remember, to recount. Though there is a textual tradition that they went to lament. Now it's much different to go and recount and remember. You know the dedication of Jephthah's daughter Other than lamenting what happened to Jephthah's daughter I would say here probably the better indication is the fact that this is a lamentation rather than just simply a remembrance of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileite four days in each year so I've gone through the passage to try to help you with what is emphasized by those who take position a and What is emphasized by those who take position B and As you can see and as I've already stated I would I think just a straightforward reading of the text and particularly in verse 31 taking the words there in their normal Means their normal meaning the valve within that statement That I would see the vow of a Jephthah being the fact that he offered Jeff that his daughter as an offering to the Lord he fulfilled the vow that that he made to see how way and again this is emphasizing the the point that we made last week that as the the society and the response of Israel was cycling down in their response to the Lord then that cycle was also seen in the judges themselves. That themselves became less and less models of faithfulness to Yahweh but the only thing that is vital and important is that they were used by Yahweh and had a greater sensitivity to Yahweh than many of their peers. They were the best of the lot in that generation. that God could raise up and use. So the famous Jephthah's vowel, you're going to have to study it through and you're going to have to make your decision before you preach the text. And you should be aware that if any have ever heard any teaching or preaching on this passage, and this might be one place where you'll be able to have a satisfaction that they probably have not received a whole lot of instruction in what is in Judges, one of the least preached books of the Bible within our tradition. But if they have heard anything it is probably more A than B. So if you take position B be ready for some defense of your position. But I believe it is what the text teaches and again that's the way I would see it fitting into the overall context of movement as far as the book of judges is concerned. Well let me make a statement and again you can ask questions a little later on but that does lead us into preaching judges. And chapter 11 that we just looked at just is a reminder that judges is not an easy book to preach. That our contemporary culture and even our contemporary evangelical culture that wants to be reminded of God's God's love and God's compassion and God's mercy has a hard time dealing with God's discipline. And Judges is really a book of God's discipline as we have seen. That he tested Israel because of their waywardness and because of their turning to idolatry. And God has to test and God has to judge God has to discipline and as we saw last week the only thing that That led to Israel's survival during this period is God's faithfulness to the Abrahamic Covenant Because Israel again again showed their covenant disloyalty That is to the covenant that God have made with them at Sinai again and again again. So God had every right to intensify the curses and bring the ultimate curse against the nation, which was not just the military defeats that they suffered and the famines and the distresses that he brought upon them, but ultimately losing the land and being scattered among the nations. And this is not in God's timetable at this point to have that take place. That's going to happen at the end of the former prophets as we come to the end of kings. But nevertheless, this is a book where we see, if we might put it this way, if the Bible teaches us both the kindness and severity of God, to use Paul's terminology in Romans chapter 11, judges is a book that emphasizes his severity. So obviously the fact that he Braised up these deliverers and gave them for a time victory over and rest from their enemies is a reminder of God's kindness, but it is always against the backdrop of his severity as he deals with Israel. And as we've seen, the text is very, very blunt in pointing out Israel's failures. And I go along with Dan Block that this is a book that needs to be preached in evangelical churches today. We live in a culture too where it has invaded the church where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. We live in the day of consumer religion. The day when... You know, people, this whole movement back, you know, spiritually as well, I'll take a little bit from here, a little bit from there. I'll kind of put together my own, you know, spiritual journey. I will put together my own religious persuasion. And most of the times it doesn't deal with the righteousness, the holiness, and the severity of God as he deals with sinners and their sin. And judges is a reminder of that aspect, that character of God. that certainly his kindness, his compassion, his mercy is seen, his faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant, but against, and it shines brighter because it's against this backdrop of the abject failure of Israel during the time of the Judges and even the failure of the Judges themselves to be models of the kind of godly leadership. That God wanted for the nation and of course that's part of God's judgment is that their leaders were less than stellar examples of godliness themselves. God gives us many times, gives his people the leaders they deserve. And... That's what is seen in the book of Judges. As I said, that many times these men are, yes, servants of Yahweh, but reflection of their own generations as well. As seen in Jephthah, and then the blast of the judges in the book of Judges, who is Samson. And this then continues on into the early chapters of Samuel. So my encouragement is learn judges, preach judges, and be ready for some fallout as your preach judges. Some people aren't going to be happy with some of the points being made applicationally. But the record, the historical record of the judges isn't completed until you finish the first seven chapters of 1 Samuel. The significant way we have. Again, a wayward judge in Eli in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. And then the final judge that really brings us back to the standard set by Othniel as the first of the judges in Judges 1 and 3. And the revival and the ultimate repentance through the renewal of the Word of God and example of godliness and following the Torah that was in the person of Samuel. So let's turn from Judges and come to Samuel and recognize the division in the first and second Samuel as artificial. Um. We believe that sometime between the ending of the Old Testament canon in around 400 BC to the time when we start to have the Septuagintal tradition that we see a division that as the Old Testament is made available for the synagogues of the Diaspora. that scrolls could become very very unwieldy as they were long and particularly where divisions could be made they were and so later artificial division was made dividing the one book into first and second Samuel and so you see that in the title, the Hebrew just refers to this as Samuel, views it as one book. It's in the Septuagint where we see our first indication of the division and referred in the Septuagint, referred to 1 and 2 Samuel as 1 and 2 kingdoms and the Vulgate as 1 and 2 kings. And of course when we get to kings we'll see that that tradition will be. third and fourth, kingdoms and kings. They will look at Samuel and kings more holistically in one sense and yet also show us the divisions that arose within the tradition. Now once we view Samuel and obviously kings as one book and I know that I've given you the chart previously that plotted the former prophets as though they were one but we do need to realize this is not Torah they are not one literary unit they they are four different literary units that have come together as one division of the the Hebrew text and when we When we see that there are these literary units, we recognize that Samuel as a unit plays a central role in the former prophets. Now even though Joshua unjudges two separate books, it's interesting that when we put them together we have in our traditions approximately 45 chapters. And we have seen that they basically cover the period from 1406 BC to somewhere around with the death of Samson. We can put that as late actually as around 1055 BC, 1060 BC, that approximately... 350 years are covered. Now we've seen that obviously Joshua deals with those those first years. Probably the narrative in Joshua doesn't cover more than about 30 to 40 years. Whereas judges then has a much longer period. But together they recount about the first 350 years. Israel in the land and about 45 chapters. When we get to Kings, it's going to be very, very interesting the 47 chapters are going to be devoted to this time period that also is approximately 350 years. So, so in a way Kings balances Joshua and Judges together, although we'll see the tone, and the ultimate judgment of God is more like Judges, although obviously the beginning of Kings will begin with the reign of Solomon, which is brighter, and somewhat is like Judges, where God gives great victory. And more of blessing, and then we see where we have more of the curse as we get into the latter part of Joshua and into Judges, same thing is going to take place as we get into the kings. And in the midst is Samuel. And it's interesting that Samuel is longer than Joshua Judges, even Joshua Judges combined. And is also a little longer than Kings. And so this is a way for the Holy Spirit to say, alright, slow down. Read slower. And also to recognize that in Samuel, now again when I put the 140 years here, I realized there's an overlap with the... latter years that are covered in in judges Because you're going to add up and say web it doesn't add up to 820 you said they're in the land You know approximately 820 years. Yeah 1406 to 586 BC while you're going back on that no no no remember what we talked about last week on the chronology of judges There's overlap and that overlap continues on into the narrative of the first seven chapters of Samuel as well. We fit that into the latter part of what was covered in the book of Judges. So yes, I realize that when you add the years up, it's a little longer than the actual chronology, but again, the overlap. But Samuel covers right around 140 years. Slow down. All right? More material is given to less time. And of course, as we get into Samuel, we find out the narrative really slows when it gets to David and when it gets to David's life. And about the last 55 or so years of that life becomes the major focus of the book of Samuel It's called Samuel, but the book is really about David so You know again if we were if we were giving the the titles the major human character in The the book just as Joshua judges and Kings relates the major human characters of those time periods. Well if we get to Samuel it really should have been named David. And let me just introduce David before we get to David himself. David is the most extensively used name in the Old Testament. And more narrative is given to David in the Old Testament than to Abraham and Moses. In fact even to Abraham, Israel and Moses. Remember how that lengthens up in the Torah, lengthens out in the Torah. That we have about 13 chapters devoted to Abraham. 25 chapters that encompass the birth to the death of Abraham. of Jacob, Israel, and then of course we have the tremendous amount of material given to Moses from his birth in Exodus chapter 2 to his death in Deuteronomy chapter 34. But even all of that pales in comparison to the emphasis that is given to David in the Old Testament. Samuel. Bible. And of course he doesn't die until the beginning of Kings. We're going to see the Chronicles. It's basically about David and the Davidic house. And you add the Davidic house to it and those who came after David in David's line. And you can see the tremendous emphasis on the Old Testament of David. It's interesting when we get to Matthew 1, 1 we'll talk about this in 6.01. Matthew's Gospel begins by saying that Jesus Christ was the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. The David is actually mentioned first in the New Testament as we get to Matthew, Son of David, Son of Abraham. So the aspect of David becomes very, very important. Well, as I've said, we can get the date of events from the birth of Jesus Christ. Samuel will place that in about a 1010 1110 BC get it right here it's right it's right on your notes all right and believing that he was relieved of his judgeship right around 60 years of age goes into retirement but not retirement from ministry as we say until he finally dies narrated in first Samuel chapter 25 and that comes all the way to the last words of David just before his death in approximately 970 BC so that's where we get the fact that we have about 140 years and again it's like the other former prophets speaks of events that have impact to this day again reminding us that that whatever sources were used by the prophet that they go back to eye and ear witness accounts. The history of interpretation has concentrated on David that both for Israel and for the church that commentators, interpreters, preachers have read the book of Samuel in the context of David, and I think rightfully so. That David is the ultimate choice of the Lord to be Israel's king. God enters into covenant with him, and we're going to see that even though David does not come before us by name in the text until 1 Samuel, chapter 16, we're going to see that in chapter 16. he is certainly alluded to and prepared for, beginning actually with Hannah's song in chapter 2, and continually we are being prepared for the coming of David, that really this is a book that centers around and finds its focus in the person of David, and that has been recognized. And in the early Church Fathers, as they looked at Samuel, and through the medieval period, whenever Samuel was discussed, it was basically discussed as the fact that David, and what David went through historically, was a prefiguring of the greater David, Jesus Christ. And so the typological, from about the 4th century on, to the Reformation, although again Calvin was the one who brought, if we might put it this way, more of a historical context. Not that he was denying that David was a type of Christ, but David is a type of Christ, flows out of the historical context, and we have to understand the history and in Calvin's own preaching on Samuel, first and foremost. Samuel became an instruction for and lesson for the church in godliness and he brought righteous examples before the people as he preached through Samuel and of course them would also indicate that how David and David's life pointed forward to Jesus Christ. which, by the way, is the way we should preach it. And so with Calvin and with the post-Reformation era, until we get to the Enlightenment, there is a renewal of historical understanding of how this fit into the context of Israel's history in the Old Testament as a foundation to understanding how it applies to believers pointing to Jesus Christ and pointing to... They are the lifestyle that those who who are under the authority of the greater David should should exhibit now beginning with the Enlightenment and Just like the other parts of the Old Testament you get into 19th and 20th century criticism and they're looking for the sources that underlie Samuel and you can read Merrill's contribution that in the world and the word as he talks about the different sources that have been isolated and yet we are now coming back in the last generation or two to a more holistic study of the book of Samuel and once again no matter what sources might have been used and I don't necessarily deny that whoever the prophet used by the Holy Spirit had before him some And I think again that continual statement to this day that is found here just as it was previously in Joshua Judges and Kings and that allows us to realize as I've said it goes back to eyewitness accounts that we believe probably had been written down. Remember the book of Jasher? And by the time we get to the Chronicle, the Chronicle is going to the Book of Chronicles, he's going to use and identify different historical sources that he used, though again we can't figure out what comes from what as far as the book is concerned. Well the same thing is true about Samuel. So we're not saying that the prophet didn't through the Holy Spirit have things before him that he can incorporate. Ultimately. This is all brought together under the Holy Spirit through this author who was relaying from beginning to end basically the theological lessons that emerged out of this era of Israel's history just as we have seen in the book of of Judges. So this introduces us to Samuel and the importance of Samuel interestingly in the last generation. If any book of the former prophets is preached in evangelical churches it tends to be Samuel. There's been a a renewal of preaching from Samuel in other words as as has been a renewal of preaching from historical narratives in the Old Testament and I think rightfully so because of the impact of David. both in Israel's history and of course also theologically as a foundation to understanding the New Testament, why Samuel has become a main focus of a return to preaching from Old Testament narrative that significantly as I've talked to even our own graduates, if they have preached anything in the Old Testament. of historical narrative. It will be either Genesis or Samuel. I mean these are the, even the men who sat where he has sat and heard me say the things I've said for the last 22 years are out there and they're either preaching Genesis or Samuel. And I would say from the men I've talked to, Samuel has the upper hand even over Genesis. So, gentlemen you're going to be a TMS graduate. So if you want to join in the great tradition of TMS preachers and TMS preachers if you're going to preach historical narratives, it seems as though Samuel is where you're going to begin. So why that trend? I don't know, but it's also a trend in greater evangelicalism as well. So there's been a renewal of interest in this part of the former prophets. I would say my own analysis is why do men read through the Old Testament and feel drawn to preach from Samuel? Because of the importance that we've already looked at that Samuel plays as far as the former prophets and as far as the Old Testament is concerned. And if you're going to preach any character from the Old Testament. If you want to bring before your people any major individual that is in the Old Testament narrative, you're going to be drawn to David. And particularly because of then how David is mentioned, not only in the Old Testament, much more often than Moses and Abraham, but even in the New Testament, you're going to see a Davidic emphasis that at times overshadows Abraham and Moses. So... So we worship and our Savior is the Son of David, as far as His humanity is concerned. And so I think that is what puts upon our hearts a longing to learn more about the David of whom this Messiah is the Son of. So that would be my analysis, my... anecdotal unscientific analysis of why Samuel has has has a resurgence among evangelical preachers and TMS alumni you know for the last 20 years or so.