Biblical Themes

By Rev. Dr. James K. Stewart

A BIBLE STUDY RESOURSE
Dr. Stewart takes a bold new approach to Bible Study in his new book BIBLICAL THEMES. While most studies engage in the reinforcing of Christian dogma, Biblical Themes will give the reader a deeper understanding of Gods plan for the nation of Israel. You will learn just what Jesus meant and how the Pharisees understood the statement if these [the crowd] should hold their peace these stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:40). This was not an off hand, meaningless statement. It was a declaration. In the Old Testament God set stones apart as a witness heap. You will learn the real reason why Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac and why God commanded him not to kill his son thereby abolishing human sacrifice.

Dr. Stewart has chosen a wide variety of topics, people and places for you to explore thereby enriching your Biblical knowledge. In order to make for a lively Bible Study, a series of questions follow each topic. This is not a resource for the faint of heart as it deals with subject matter clergy prefer to ignore. Dr. Stewarts eye for detail sheds light on Gods never-ending love for creation and overwhelming desire to one day reign over a kingdom built on love.

As in his first book, The Bible According to Jim, all exegetical work is done in Hebrew and Greek and not a series of English translations. If you want to enjoy a work that will truly engage you then this is the resource for you. You will also be engaged by the questions that follow each topic. Dr. Stewart guarantees they will make for a lively Bible Study.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524618216

Rev. Dr. James K. Stewart

The Rev. Dr. James K. Stewart In 1976 Dr. Stewart read the whole Bible for the first time and became fascinated with God’s relationship with creation throughout humanity’s turbulent history. At McMaster University he majored in ancient history and never ceased to be amazed at how secular history and Biblical accounts not only intersected but supported one another. Dr. Stewart chose to study the Hebrew language at Knox College/Seminary. It was a choice he has never regretted and its benefits will be evident in his work. His exegetical work is taken directly from Biblical Hebrew and Greek. This ability has helped him understand how ancient male bias has been promoted by the church in all ages. As a student of the Bible he has come to see how the women’s voice has often been suppressed. He has also come to appreciate that, when it is not suppressed, the beauty of God’s word shines forth. Knowledge of scripture, from the Hebrew perspective, allowed him to discover how the male voice can make a positive statement at the beginning of a story and then go on to contradict that very statement by describing the negative actions which followed. Dr. Stewart lives in Milverton, Ontario with his wife Marjorie of 45 years; they enjoy visiting their 2 children and 5 grandchildren. Retirement has given him the opportunity to research, write and play golf. His latest endeavour is a screenplay entitled Native Revenge. Ordained as an Elder in Chedoke Presbyterian Church in 1981 Undergrad Requirements - McMaster University, Hamilton Diploma in Theology - Knox College, Toronto Master of Divinity Degree - University of Toronto Certificate in Conflict Management – Conrad Grebel, Waterloo Doctor of Ministry - Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio

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© 2016 Rev. Dr. James K. Stewart. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/14/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1822-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1820-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1821-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016911203

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

KJV

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Biblical Hebrew and Greek translations were done with the aid of Bible Works 7.

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROLOGUE

TERMINOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE

STONES

• Stone Heaps

• Facing Esau

• Temple or Grave

• Foreign gods

• Witness

CHAPTER TWO

GOD VS GODS

• Bethel

• Battle of the gods

• Building Churches

• Priestly Breastplate

• Stoning

CHAPTER THREE

SACRIFICE

• Abram Chosen

• Decision Time

• A dialogue

• Jephthah

• Power

• Witches

CHAPTER FOUR

SHEPERD OR KING

• Hammurabi

• King

• House

• Never Kill the King

• Divine Kingship

• Jesus is King

• Oak Tree

• Redemption

• Jubilee

• Punishment:

CHAPTER FIVE

TEACHING

• A New Teaching

• Tongues

• Bias

• Emmanuel

• Death

• Messiah

• Destruction

• Cause and Effect

• Blame

• Weakest to Strongest

CHAPTER SIX

FORGIVENESS

• Context

• Trespass

• Barrenness – Women

• Biblical Terminology and Meaning

• Who can be saved?

CHAPTER SEVEN

IF AND MIGHT

• Book of James

• Poor

• Blame

• Statement of faith

• Divorce

• Taxes

• Kingdom of God

• Mercy

• To be a people

• Melting pot

• Promised Land

• Places is scripture

• Corn Wine Oil

• The Bible

• Biblical Themes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank all who made my first book The Bible According to Jim a success. Once again I would like to thank the following friends for their support, encouragement and editorial assistance.

PROLOGUE

In my first book I examined a variety of Biblical stories and the several dynamics at play within those stories. Examining scripture in a new light has never been a problem for scholars as new insights continue to reveal God’s never-ending love for humanity. Problems arise when people or groups forcefully adapt a singular understanding or meaning from scripture without regard for the overall context. In doing so, religion has left a foul taste in the mouths of former believers and non-believers alike. The practice of taking a verse out of its scriptural context and then building a theology around that verse has forever distorted the beauty of Israel’s relationship with God. A prime example is the churches practice of teaching that all sin will be forgiven by confessing Christ. While I cannot deny God’s omniscient ability to judge creation impartially, the Bible states there are two types of sin. The first is redeemable sin – the reason/necessity for Christ. The second is sin unto death. 1 John 5:16-17 states that there is a sin unto death, and a sin not unto death. The Bible also states that a father shall not be put to death for the sin of his children and that children shall not be put to death for the sin of their father, but every man shall be put to death for his own sin (1 Kings 14:6). At times, it seems as if sin is the biggest theme in the Bible but it is not; it was the continual return to Baal worship.

Biblical themes have an important function as they thread their way through scripture connecting the reader to the past. The Hebrew people understood their connection to the past through the links themes provide. Themes help keep analogies in their proper context. As my first book was an attempt to enlighten the reader with a deeper understanding of the Bible in the Hebrew context, this work will trace word meaning and significance back to the time of Abram. You will see how the theme of stones is consistently held in contrast to the crafting of repulsive altars, monuments and images. Any graven image of a deity is an idol. The empty cross is not an idol but a reminder that death has lost its power over God’s creation. Christians do not worship a cross as the empty cross is but a symbol that death has lost its power over creation.

Opening your eyes to Biblical themes will give the reader a richer understanding of the implications of phrases such as they were as sheep without a shepherd and the stone the builders rejected. As time passes, the connotation of words used in an agrarian society loses their significance for people who struggle to etch out a life for their families in an industrial urban world. For instance, you will come to understand how the simplicity of the word shepherd has a far deeper meaning which is difficult for a modern society to comprehend. Rulers in every age and in every society have chosen to ignore the implications of shepherd; Jesus did not. Themes allow Biblical students to see beyond the wars and punishment which befell Israel to the love that compelled God to make provision for the redeemable in society to find forgiveness in the Saviour Christ Jesus.

- Themes can be seen as foundational to Biblical understanding.

- Themes can be representational, allegorical or symbolical.

- Themes contribute to our understanding of Christ’s teachings.

TERMINOLOGY

Upper case LORD:

• YHVH is the Tetragrammaton, the four consonant name of God.

• YHVH is also called the Shemhamphorash meaning the ineffable name.

• YHVH means the existing one and is usually pronounced Yehovah.

• As the proper pronunciation of YHVH has been lost, Yehovah is only a guess.

• Moses first learned the name (YHVH) in Exodus 6:1. Until that time God had only been known by the ancient name of El singular or Eloheem plural.

• The Old Testament English designation for YHVH is LORD.

The letter J

Notice that I refrain from using the name Jehovah as the letter J does not appear in Hebrew, Greek or Latin. All proper Biblical names that begin with the letter J are a translation corruption. Jehovah is a corruption of YHVH or Yehovah.

• Josiah should be written Yo`shiyah (whom Yehovah heals).

• Jonathan should be written Yon aw thawn (Yehovah has given).

• Joshua should be written Yeshua (Yehovah is salvation - Jesus).

• Jesus is the New Testament name of our Saviour. It is derived from Ee ay sooce the Greek name for Yeshua (Joshua). Ee ay sooce means Yehovah is salvation. St. Jerome (347-420) during the reign of Pope Damasus changed the Hebrew name of Yeshua to a corruption of Ee ay sooce and we have called his name Jesus ever since.

Lord: – Ad o nai

Lord is defined as one to whom a person or a thing belongs. The word Lord is a human display of reverence. In the dialogue concerning Sodom and Gomorrah the Bible records Abraham using both LORD (YHVH) Genesis 18:26 and Lord (Adonai) 18:27. The upper case use of LORD denotes speech with Yehovah and Lord denotes speech with angels. The word Lord is still a British word for royalty.

lord: – aw done

It means firm, strong or master. Abraham was referred to as lord by the sons of Heth in Genesis 23:6. By looking at the text in Hebrew one can determine just what Lord is being used. The New Testament uses the word Lord exclusively or 706 times. The only occurrences of LORD in the New Testament are found in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42 and Acts 2:34. In each occurrence the phrase is identical, The LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand as per Psalm 110:1. Revelations 19:16, KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS is a translation error. Jesus is never called LORD (meaning God) in the New Testament!

God or god

Both terms come from the Hebrew Elohiym (El o heem). Hebrew grammar denotes God or god as plural; i.e. rulers, judges, divine ones. The suffix (eem) makes a word plural. Face (peh) becomes faces (pehneem). The ancient name of God (El) becomes plural in (Eloheem). The first creation story (Genesis 1:1 - 2:3) states that Eloheem created the grand design of heaven and earth. This creation story is termed an Elohists story taken from the Elohists tradition. Genesis 2:4 to 3:23 is the Yahwist version of creation. The Bible is a collection of stories from many Hebrew traditions.

Ronald Regan said of the USA that,

we abandon the grand design at our own peril.

CHAPTER ONE

STONES

If you are familiar with the Common Lectionary readings for year A you will have read that Joshua is about to lead Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. When the crossing was complete, instruction was given to gather twelve river stones where the feet of the priests had stood and build an altar of uncut stone on the other side (Joshua 4:3). Israel was to offer up a burnt offering upon this altar. After this historic crossing, Joshua also commanded each of the twelve tribes to gather one stone each and build a mound on the dry ground in the middle of the stopped up river where the feet of the priests had stood (Joshua 4:9). These stones remain there to this day. Bear in mind that it was not until Exodus 3:18, that killing or slaughter entered into Israel’s definition of sacrifice (zaw bakh). As an aside, it is true that words lose their meaning in a translation. To know the kind of sacrifice being offered you need to know if it is zaw bakh (burnt sacrifice) or if it is zeh bakh (corn, wine and oil.

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The building of rough stone altars began with Noah (Genesis 8:20). Abraham continued this practice of building altars unto God to mark a place or an occasion. When Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering (olah) unto God, he first built a stone altar. Offering (olah) and sacrifice (zaw bakh) are two different Hebrew words). From the very beginning, the simplicity of uncut stones became a symbolic witness of the chosen peoples’ encounters with God. It is worth noting that every other tribe and nation aspired to build magnificent structures to their god. Abram’s God abhorred this practice. Christianity began as a Jewish sect worshipping in synagogues.

Synagogue means, to gather people together. Later, early Christians met in homes, they gathered as an ekklesia (a group of people called out of their homes to a public gathering), they worshiped in homes, meadows and woodlands. It must be remembered that in Luke 6:2 Jesus walked out of the synagogue, never to return. He went among the people.

After the Constantinian turn in the later part of the 4th century, Christian vanity would succumb to the Solomon complex of building beautiful cut stone places of worship, symbols of human achievement. Cut stones are a symbol of man’s narcissism. The God you will come to know in the Old Testament never wanted the children of creation to build anything representative of the creator. Make careful note of God’s desire to live in the hearts of the chosen people. Later, when human words say that God wants this or God wants that, simply use your power of reasoning to evaluate what it is that God wanted and what it was the people wanted.

Questions:

• Where does God desire to live?

• What does God think of images? (Isaiah 45:9)

• Our God is the one true living God, not a god made of stone. Why would hand made idols be detestable to God?

• Discuss how the business of the hundreds of thousands of relics from the Holy Land Crusades and modern day religious gift shops are any different than Paul’s condemnation of idols/images made by Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus in Acts 19:24-26.

Stone Heaps

After Rebekah forced Jacob to steal Esau’s blessing the frightened Jacob fled in fear for his life. Tired and afraid, Jacob gathered a few stones upon which to lay his head and sleep. Genesis 28:11 recounts Jacob’s dream/vision of a ladder with angels ascending and descending from heaven to earth. At the top of the ladder stood God who spoke to Jacob telling him of all the land his children would one day inherit (Genesis 28:13). When Jacob awoke he took the stone he used for a pillow, set it up as an altar and poured wine and oil over the top of it. He called the place Bethel (house of El) saying, surely this is the gate to heaven (Genesis 28:17). At this juncture, stones became witnesses. They also become a monument to remember how God has helped the people. Ebenezer is a compound name denoting stones (eben) of help (azar). Samuel erected such a monument saying the LORD has helped us (1 Samuel 7:12). These heaps of stones, as the Bible calls them, became places where people would make a binding pledge, or swear an oath before God. Stones signify that God is witness to the oath. The oath was done by standing in front of the altar; not by putting your hand on it (Joshua 24:27). It is right for people to stand before an altar dedicated to God or in front of God’s Holy Word to make a pledge with God as a witness. It is wrong to put your hand on it or on a Bible to make that pledge as your word must of necessity be your word. It is with this understanding that Jesus tells us how to perform an oath (Matthew 5:33-37).

When Jacob (supplanter) found his uncle Laban’s (white) encampment he saw Rachel (ewe) for the first time and fell head over heels in love. Jacob had nothing. In order to marry Rachel he agreed to work for 7 years as the bride price. On the wedding night Laban pulled the ole switcheroo and sent his older daughter Leah (weary) in to sleep with Jacob. I rather suspect that Jacob would not have passed a modern day breathalyzer test. In the morning he found that he had been tricked. Laban said,