How To Use the Bible (Part III)

Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures

by Brandon Jubar

Imagine someone walked up to you and said, "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline." You probably wouldn't know what to think. Because you don't know the context in which this phrase was spoken, it's hard to really understand what it's speaking to. Well, reading the Old Testament -- or Hebrew Scriptures -- is just about the same. We have to know a little about the context in order to appreciate the message.

A Promise, A Covenant

The first thing we need to understand is the main theme of the Hebrew Scriptures. Generally speaking it is a story of God's covenant with the Hebrew people, and it shows how their knowledge and understanding of Yahweh grew and changed over the centuries.

The Old Testament is made up of many different styles of writing -- including fictional stories used to convey a message -- but the books tend to focus on the things that happened to the Hebrews on their journey. If we understand that (and a few other important points) then we are well on our way towards understanding the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.

Major Events in Hebrew History

The story of God's covenant with the Hebrews begins with Abraham, but the major events affecting the people really begin with their slavery in Egypt. They didn't start out as slaves, however, as they were welcomed for about the first 150 years. Eventually the rulers of Egypt did enslave the Hebrews... for several hundred years! But finally, God helped Moses lead the people out of bondage to and into the book of Exodus.

The covenant was still quite new to the Hebrews, so God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Additionally, much of the rest of the law is described in Leviticus and Numbers, which basically explain the details of the covenant.

When the Hebrews finally reached the Promised Land, there came a time when great heroes were needed to defend it. Unlike the ones in our courts today, the Judges where those heroes, and they fought to defend the Hebrew people from their enemies.

After the Judges, the Kings came along to unite the people and bring some semblance of order. However, this era ended with a series of weak kings who lead the Hebrew nation towards destruction.

Thus it was that God sent prophets to call people back to the covenant. Even then, the exile warned of by the great prophets (Ezekiel, Isaiah, Micah and Jeremiah) came to pass, and the Hebrew people found themselves enslaved by Babylon. The book of Lamentations chronicles their despair.

But through it all, the scattered remains of the Hebrew people survived. Many of these people were known as the Remnant, but rather than carrying the name Hebrews, they become known as Jews (from Judaism). These remaining children of Israel returned to the Promised Land -- but once again under foreign rule -- and spent the next 150 years rebuilding the Temple.

The Hebrew Scriptures end with the people in the same predicament as when they started -- longing for a messiah -- a savior -- to lead them to freedom.

Quote in Context

And what of the quote I used in the first paragraph? "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."

Well, it was taken from the "I Have A Dream" speech, by Martin Luther King Jr. He was explaining how violent protests were not the answer. Taken out of context, the meaning is unclear. But when read with the context in mind, the message becomes quite profound.

The same holds true for the Bible.

Life Applications:

What is your favorite Old Testament story? Why?
What is the covenant God made with the Hebrews?
How does understanding the history help in understanding God's message?

Copyright 2003 by Brandon Jubar
All rights reserved.