Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Unvoided Word (and our void understanding of it)

 

Anyone who's had even the most basic training in Bible study knows that studying the context is rule number one for understanding any passage. But following this rule seems to be much easier said than done for many of us. The fact is that from time to time all of us proof-text, using a verse in a way which would make the author of the passage scratch his head. One of the clearest examples of this involves a very well-known verse amongst Bible-believing Christians, one that pastors often repeat from the pulpit.

Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)
This verse is often used as an encouragement to believers who share the Word with others. From this passage, pastors and well meaning Christians challenge believers not to be discouraged when others reject what they share from the Bible. Supposedly, this verse encourages us that God is nonethless at work and will eventually do something wonderful in the hearts of those who hear the Word.

While this is an extremely common use of this verse, there are real problems with understanding it this way. The context is not about believers spreading the Word but about believers needing to believe God's promise. In this context the phrase "My word" refers not to the Bible in general but to God's promises in particular. More specifically, God's promises in this passage are that God will restore His people Israel, return them to their land, and renew their hearts.

Isaiah wrote chapters 40-66 of his book largely for the benefit of generations after his time, particularly the generation that would live in the Babylonian exile. In this second half of his book, he foresees that in time God would bring the Jews back to their land and back to their God. God also promised that He would eventually redeem them from their greatest captivity--the bondage of their own sin. These promises of Hebrew salvation and restoration are the essence of the phrase "My word" in Isaiah 55:11. Though the fulfillment of that promise might be a long time in coming, Isaiah urges his listeners to wait on the Lord  and trust Him to fulfill His good word.

Many Christians understand the verse as if it says this: "So shall My word be which goes forth out of YOUR mouth; it shall not return to Me void...." But this idea is foreign to the passage. The verse says nothing about believers repeating God's word to others (something we should do, or course). No, in this passage the focus is on the fact the GOD has promised to keep his promises, that what He has said will come to pass.  But this is not a promise that if we repeat His Word to others that it will do something in their hearts. It may very well do so, and we should pray that is does, but that's not the point in this verse.

The misuse of this verse is deeply engrained in many Bible believing Christians. In one sense, that's representative of something good: a high view of Scripture and a firm belief in the power of God's Word. But it's also representative of a problem that we have with the way we use the Bible, something I call "innocent proof-texting." When we hear a verse used in a certain way over and over again by people we trust, we assume that that understanding of the verse has been properly vetted. But the example above illustrates how very careful we need to be with context. As the old saying goes, "A text used out of context is a pretext."

* Though I've argued that many Christians innocently misuse this passage, I'm convinced that it is very relevant for believers today. And it's real relevance is right in line with what Isaiah originally meant. As New Covenant believers, we are awaiting the Second Coming of our Redeemer who will redeem not only His people Israel but also resurrect our bodies and renew the world, bringing to completion the fullness of our salvation. That's one promise among many others that will never be voided for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Unpardonable Sin, Shin, or Samech?



One of the more intriguing stories in the Old Testament involves an inter-tribal battle in the days of the Judges. Judges 12 records how the tribe of Ephraim (west of the Jordan) picked a fight with the Gileadites (east of the Jordan). Under Jephthah's able leadership, the Gileadites routed the Ephraimites and took control of the river fords. Whenever Ephraimites tried to cross the river, the border guards asked their identity. Of course, they each denied being an Ephraimite, so the guards put them to the test: pronounce the term shibboleth (which means “ear of grain”). Unfortunately for the Ephraimites, their Hebrew dialect did not allow them to make the "sh" sound. They were only able to say sibboleth, and, thus, their accent led to their early demise.

Hebrew has several different "s" letters (sibilants). One of them has two different pronunciations. When this letter has an “s” sound, it is labeled as sin (pronounced “seen”). When it has an “sh” sound, it is labeled as shin (pronounced "sheen"). Writers of Hebrew in the days of the Bible had no alphabetic way to distinguish these two letters. It wasn't until the 6th century AD that Hebrew scholars added diacritical marks to distinguish them. Until then, native Hebrew speakers were expected to intuitively know which way to pronounce the letter based on its context. In our passage, the author of Judges has avoided this potential confusion by spelling out the Ephraimite pronunciation with a different letter altogether, the letter samech. This letter can only be pronounced as an "s," so it avoids the potential confusion of sin and shin.

How would the Ephraimites have spelled the word? Might they have written it with a sin instead of a samech? We can only surmise. But if they did, we might have before us a perfect illustration of—pardon my pun—the unpardonable sin.