Principles of Interpretation (Part 3)

Preached by Ps Jude Blayney

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His word is excellent. When Herod's soldiers went to arrest Jesus and they came back empty handed, their bosses said "We sent you to arrest Him.", and they said "No man spoke like this man."

His words are weighty. His words are ones of excellence.

We don't want to raise a bunch of theologians. When Jesus was born, there was a bunch of 'political' theologians, who were there for the money and prestige. They are not interested in knowing God. This book will open up for any one who is hungry and thirsty.

You don't have to be eloquent to study the bible. God gives weight to what you are sharing through His word.

These theologians knew where to find Jesus because of scriptures like Micah 2. "unto you oh Bethlehem".

These men used the bible against Christ. They were operating out of the spirit of anti-Christ. There are plenty of people who use the Bible to speak against healing, or tongues, or prosperity, or drinking, or anything. But every time someone uses the Bible to speak against something which God has accomplished through Jesus Christ, the spirit of anti-Christ is in operation.

Scriptures testify of Jesus. We are meant to teach people about Jesus.

ALL SCRIPTURE MUST POINT TO Jesus.

When you see Jesus, healing comes. When you hear about Jesus, the prosperity. When the blind man heard that Jesus was walking past, he got healed. Just talking about the blessings won't do us any good.
Luke 24 Jesus walked with two disciples. Emmaus.

Problems church has today are like the problems Jesus spoke to. Foolishness, and slow of heart.

Foolishness = lack of knowledge/wisdom

Slow of heart to believe = unbelief, lack of faith

He did not say this to condemn them, but to show us a solution to this. And beginning He showed them.

God spared us, but not His own Son.

We need to revere the Bible. What you do prospers when we read the Bible. Every time we hear preaching or reading the word we are eating God's word. We need to learn to digest or chew the word of God. You take like a sweet on in the tip of your tongue and you turn it around the whole day.

All these things we are more than conquerors. When things go wrong we are a still pondering the word of God and by the end of the day you will not be down because your thoughts will be on the Word of God.

Psalms1 Like a tree planted by rivers of waters and what ever he does prospers. So love the word of God. Memorise one verse.

Use the Manna principle. Those who gathered a lot did not have any left over and those who gathered a little enough for their needs had enough for their needs.

Why the Bible is so precious

66 books written by over 40 secretaries, God is the one author.

We need to know how God is being addressed.

Aside from the many different names of God that are represented through the Old Testament, E.g. El Shaddai, El Eleyon, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom, there are two foundational names that help us understand to whom a passage is being written.

Elohim (El – oh – him) = Translated God. It means the God of creation and power. The Strong and mighty one. This is the name we use when we call God great, mighty.

This name speaks of a knowledge of God without revelation. This is the name that is used by non Christians. When people use the saying "It is an act of God." "God only knows." "I wish to God." " We just hope to God that everything will be alright."

Yahweh (Yah-way) Written by the Hebrews as YHWH because the Jews did not want to fully write the name of God out of disrespect. It is translated LORD.
It literally means the covenant keeping God. It is the name used by God's people. It is the name of God's grace.

Lets have a look at some scriptures.

Genesis 1:1 "In the Beginning God created..." No mention of Lord in this chapter. So Genesis One portrays Elohim. Why? Because we see the God of might and power creating the world.

When did he become Lord? In chapter two we have a different phasing here.

Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

Why is God no longer just God but Lord God? because there was a covenant to keep. That covenant was to be with Man. Back in verse four of chapter two we see the first instance of Lord God. It refers to the earth. Why do we have a reference here about a covenant keeping God? Because God made a covenant, an agreement that God made creation for man, not man for creation. This whole passage is about the creation of man. That's why we see Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) not just God (Elohim).

So God wanted to introduce His name to Man as a covenant keeping God. If there is no man there is no covenant to keep. Since God is covenant keeping, this name shows us His grace towards us. He desires to keep His end of the bargain and even helps us with ours. The grace of God is related to the name of Yahweh.

Genesis four.

If man wrote the Bible, he would probably scatter words like God instead of Lord God. When an offering, an animal was killed and its blood was shed, and applied at the altar we always see the name of God being LORD not God. Why? Because every time the people sacrificed, they were lining themselves up with the covenant keeping God.

Genesis 4:4
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering.

Both children were sinners. God had ordained that if you come to Him you come by blood. Why? Because it would signify His son. Notice here it is the Lord, not Lord God. Yahweh comes in His full glory when there is an offering of His blood. He is a covenant keeping God.

Cain offered the work of His hands.

Remembering that all world religions teach you about the works of your hands. Christianity says you can not be saved, accepted, approved, by what you do but you can only be saved, approved by what Christ has done. One is the way of Cain, one is the way of Abel. One relates to the way man attempts to connect with God and one relates to how God connects with man.

Chapter 6:13
And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."

Chapter 7:1
Then the Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation".

Firstly it was God, the creator and supreme commander speaking when the command came to build the ark. Now it is the Lord, the covenant keeping God who is saying to get into the ark. The place of refuge, just like Jesus. The ark is a symbol of Jesus.

Genesis 7:16
So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Elohim brought the flood. Yahweh shut Noah and his family in the vessel of mercy. Lord means your covenant friend. Noah's covenant friend shut him in the place of refuge.

Man would have written this scripture a bit different. Probably so those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and He shut him in.

Another example

1 Samuel 17 Story of David and Goliath

Verse 46
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel.

The people of the world know God as Elohim not as Yahweh. The world doesn't know God as Lord. They do not know him as a covenant friend. He wants to enter a covenant relationship with you.

Then David changes again and says in verse 47 "then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear..."

The Lord saves. God commands. You could compare this with how we would write this passage. It would be all God. Not Lord. Why would the scripture differentiate between 'all the earth' and 'this assembly'? The Holy Spirit has a purpose. That purpose is to show the world how God treats His people.

2 Chronicles 18 Story of Jehoshaphat, a bit of background re Israel and the split. Judah was the good side most of the time and Israel was the bad side as they worshipped false Gods.

King of Israel is Ahab. King of Judah is Jehoshaphat.