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Bible Hunt

Monday, June 20, 2011

There is such a flood of choice in Bibles these days. We’re thoroughly spoilt as a generation of Christians where literature is concerned. But sometimes, having too much of a choice is as bad as no choice at all because of the confusion that is generated. I was at my church camp a few weeks ago, and during one session, we were split into small groups for discussion. As it happened, the passages we had to look at were from Ephesians (!), which I happen to be glued to at the moment because I’m teaching it in my Sunday class. Anyway, in my group was a bunch of teens with their handphones. When we opened our Bibles, they scrolled their phones to fish out the passages. I was reading from the NIV, someone else had the NKJV. But these young chaps (two of them) were laboriously reading (from their phones) the American Standard Bible. I say laboriously because they read it badly, probably without understanding any word other than “the” and “and”! The reason was obvious … they told me that the download for the ASB was free … Ahh pragmatism …

Sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot. When it comes to the Bible, we seem to set ourselves up so that every occasion to read or study it will fail! And fail abysmally! Anyway, I love collecting Bibles in their different versions–which again underscores how spoilt we are as a generation … I have quite a few, and my one regret is that I didn’t keep my very first Bible, which was an RSV I bought for myself for a mere RM12. It had a garish orange-red cover and very small print. But I loved it so much and practically every sentence was underlined and highlighted. Those were the days when “commentary” was not yet a word in my vocabulary, and all I had to help me with the Bible were my eyes and a brain. Anyway, the day came when I decided to give it away … Today I wish I hadn’t. But the subsequent Bibles I bought gave me the same buzz that this one did.

I try to get new Bible translations when I can. Far from discouraging me, these different versions and translations are interesting to me for the different aspects they highlight, and the insights that surface. Some Bibles I like more than others. The one I use now, which I find most practical, for study and teaching purposes, is the NIV Study Bible. I’ve been thinking of making a change to the ESV, but I’m not decided yet. Anyway, here’s a list of Bibles I think are good.

RSV (Revised Standard Version)

Published in the 20th century and is the authorised revision of the American Standard Version of 1901. It was meant to be a readable and clear translation in modern English, and for its time, gave the KJV a run for its money. Eventually, even the RSV’s language became a tad too “difficult” for readers.

In 1989, there was a revision of the RSV, resulting in the New Revised Standard Version. Heavily criticised for a couple of things, like gender-neutral language. Eg., Isaiah 7: 14: “virgin” was translated “young woman” (which may or may not mean the same thing as “virgin”). But I like the NRSV too. It’s very readable, and has less of the ponderous and plodding prose that the NIV is sometimes guilty of.

ESV (English Standard Version)

As an alternative to the NRSV, in 2001, Crossway Publishers published the ESV, which is a revision of the 1971 RSV. It’s a very evangelical Bible indeed. J.I. Packer served as its General Editor, and it is gaining popularity among evangelical scholars and theologians. As a translation, it is more literal than the NIV, for instance, and less so than the New American Standard Bible (heavy and painfully picky …).

I have a copy, but I don’t know what it is … maybe it’s the font … maybe it’s the over-touted evangelicalism … I haven’t quite taken to it yet.

Good News Bible

Published by the American Bible Society as an English Language Bible in 1976. I remember that the New Testament was called Good News for Modern Man. One of our Malay translations is based on this (Berita Baik). This is a Bible that is really good for non-native English speakers and child learners. In fact, this Bible came about out of requests from Africa and Asia for an easily-understood English Language translation. Totally “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation. iPhone app available.

NLT (New Living Translation)

Started out as a revision of The Living Bible, but evolved into a new translation, using Hebrew and Greek texts. Definitely a good choice for younger readers and non-native speakers of English. Idiomatic, easily understood. There’s even an NLT Study Bible, but frankly, to me, anything that is too dynamic equivalent isn’t a good study bible choice, unless your grasp of English is problematic.

NIV (New International Version)

I’m still using the 1984 version. I like the NIV because it really is a team effort, involving more than 100 evangelical scholars from different disciplines. The translation is between word-for-word and thought-for-thought. In 2011, the revision was released. 95% of the stuff remains the same as the previous version. The NIV goes through pretty thorough reviews and revisions, and keeps updated on the latest findings about biblical languages. The number of manuscripts used for the NIV is also impressive.

TNIV (2001) received a lot of criticisms for its gender-inclusive language. The 2011 version takes both the 1984 and the 2001 versions into consideration. So it probably strikes a very good balance between the two.

I think I’ll be getting the 2011 version soon.

And the holiest of them all … the KJV (King James Version, 1611)!

I once had an elder who pronounced (many times over) that the KJV, being the AUTHORISED VERSION, came straight from God as nothing else ever could, and THEREFORE, was the ONLY Bible that could be called “Bible”! Don’t sully the pulpit with any other inferior chapbook ”translation”!

My comments? Wonderful literature if you want to read how Shakespeare wrote and spoke. Great for the poetry too. The KJV is always going to be beloved by all, and respected by all. iPad download is free. Translation-wise, though I think we all know there were mistakes and mistranslations … Hence,

NKJV (New King James Version)

An updated and modernised KJV, but keeps to its classic style and poetic beauty. I like this version to read, but can’t use it for my Bible Study. For that, something more prosaic like the NIV or ESV suits me better.

What I don’t particularly like are “one-man” jobs, like the J.B. Phillips Bible, and Eugene Peterson’s The Message. These are paraphrases, and the thoughts of one writer. The limitations are obvious. That’s why I like the NIV.

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Reduced

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. (2 Kings 10: 32)

The story of King Jehu is one that started in stellar fashion and ended in disappointment. Anointed by Elisha’s trusty attendant (one of the “company of prophets”), the ranking army commander of Israel, Jehu, became the next king of Israel after King Jehoram (2 Kg. 9: 1). Jehu’s divine commission was twofold: he was to annihilate the house of Ahab and avenge those of God’s faithful ones who had been martyred by Jezebel (9: 7).

Jehu went into action immediately, and initiated a coup d’etat. He killed Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jezebel, and then went on to eliminate the rest of the house of Ahab (10: 1-14). Next, he proceeded to rid Israel of Jezebel’s Baalism (10: 18-27). His contempt was most evident in his turning the site of the shrine of Baal into a public lavatory. The Lord commended Jehu on this: “The LORD said to Jehu, ‘Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.’ ” (10: 30).

One would imagine that the zeal of the Lord had possessed Jehu indeed. However, that was not really the case. Jehu’s political savvy had told him that ridding Israel of the hated Jezebel also meant ridding Israel of her god, Baal. It was expedient that he should wipe out all memory of the previous dynasty from the minds and history of the people. Scripture records that he was not as deeply concerned for the God who had anointed him as he was for his own political power and position: “Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit” (10: 31). While he assiduously destroyed the worship of Baal, he nevertheless was careless concerning God’s law, and perpetuated the sins of King Jeroboam, the first king after Israel broke away from Davidic rule and Judah: “However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan” (10: 29). Doubtless, this was a politically-motivated move too. What a disappointment he turned out to be!

We see from Jehu’s reign what happens to the careless and double-minded. Instead of consolidation and expansion of his power, we read the ominous verse 32, ringing out in its shortness and terseness the will of a righteous and indignant God: “In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel.” God allowed the plundering Arameans (Syrians), ruled by Hazael, to overpower the Israelites. They lost the transjordan territories: “Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan” (vv. 32-33).

Jehu reigned for twenty-eight years (v. 36). In that time, had he demonstrated the single-minded devotion that God was looking for, reduction, judgment and defeat would not have befallen Israel. Scripture states plainly the cause for Israel’s plunder by the Arameans to be God: ” … the LORD began to reduce …” (v. 29). God was cutting Israel and her king down to size, quite literally. They had forgotten his warning in Deuteronomy, that if they should sin, he would ultimately remove them from the Promised Land. This was just the beginning.

Our situations are no different from Jehu’s. If our field of influence begins to shrink and shrivel, the question must arise: Have we done anything wrong? There should be some honesty in this inquiry, some internal ruthlessness too as we deal with ourselves. Could it be that we have not been as devoted to and single-minded for God as we should? Might it be that what areas of success or influence we built were really for ourselves and our ambitions than for God? It’s easy enough to say that God is testing our faith. Perhaps it is true. Perhaps he is.

Or perhaps he is sounding the warning bells which will gradually get louder and louder till we hear him. After Jehu came his son, Jehoahaz, who “did evil in the eyes of the LORD by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them” (13: 2). So troublesome and afflicting was Hazael and the Arameans that at one time, Jehoahaz found his army reduced and cut down to ”fifty horses, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry” (13: 7). In fact, Hazael was a constant thorn in Jehoahaz’ side for much of his seventeen-year reign.

Only when he was reduced and humbled did Jehoahaz repent: “Then Jehoahaz sought the LORD’S favor, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel” (13: 4). Significantly, it was at the king’s repentance that Israel enjoyed some relief from the marauding Arameans.

We don’t need to look too far to see where sin led Israel. Despite Jehoahaz’ grandson, Jeroboam II’s reign of prosperity, the spiritual life of the people degenerated. In each of the mentions of the succeeding kings of Israel, we find this refrain, “he did evil in the eyes of the LORD” right up to the time of Hoshea, during whose reign the Assyrians sacked Samaria and sent Israel into exile.

It is a fearful thing to fall into God’s hands. But it is those same hands of judgment that will welcome our erring selves when we repent. If we find ourselves greatly reduced today, the only safe place is still the hands of the living God.

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KISS*

Sunday, June 5, 2011

* Keep It Simple, Stupid (Oh, and what did you think I meant?)

I don’t really get it when people say that reading the Bible is gruelling work. I get it even less when they say that it doesn’t “apply” to them and that it is just a whole load of concepts. Reason being, the Bible is full of stories of human beings and human communities relating (or not relating) to this Other Person called God. If the Bible doesn’t “apply”, I wonder what does. Frankly, you don’t get a whole lot of high-falutin’ philosophy in the Bible. You will probably be swamped with Theology, true … but it’s applied too!

The thing is, we’re used to bite-size things as per reading, and an overload of visuals via TV and the movies that we’ve become rather lazy about studying the Bible. I have been teaching Ephesians for the last 8 weeks to my very patient and longsuffering class. We are now at chapter 4, and beginning to see how the doctrines and theological thoughts of chapters 1-3 are actually given legs in chapters 4-6. I think my class is starting to sense what I believe–that the Bible is nothing if not “applied”. I’m grateful for Paul and Ephesians, because the way that the letter was written clearly spells out that without doctrine, our Christian walk is an iffy thing, and without our walk (demonstrable life in Christ), doctrine remains cold and distant, without a context anchored in life.

The driving force in my life is teaching. It’s just something I enjoy, and it fulfils me in ways that nothing else can. I also believe that anyone can be taught. Certainly, when it comes to Bible Study (or that onerous word, “Theology”) I am a firm believer that a bad Christian is an ignorant or badly taught one. I like going for the kill–mostly metaphorical, this–so a Bible Study class for me means good old exegesis. I don’t usually like the more “emotional” sort of lesson that overdoes the tugging heart bit. What works for me is Scripture explained as it is and working on the conscience of the learner. The emotional parts come with the individual’s growing insight and realisation. It’s more rewarding to see a student’s eureka! moment when something finally hits home than for me to engineer that moment of clarity and conviction.

Exegesis doesn’t seem popular though. I think many of us would rather the thinking be done for us. But I know that learning to chew and digest for ourselves is infinitely more meaningful in the long run than swwallowing pre-digested food. It sounds like hard work, reading and understanding the passage for ourselves. But what I get from it is really mine.

What I have been doing in class with Ephesians is to encourage a holy curiosity in the Bible. I try to keep things to the basics and to make Bible reading and interpretation simple. We read the block of verses for that day out loud, and then cut it into smaller sections. From those small sections, we then go verse by verse, trying to flush out meaning by focusing on certain key words. I stop often to ask “applied” questions, picking up thoughts from a word or a phrase that to me is utterly significant. (There is so-o-o much to talk about in Christian living!) We talk about our personal experiences and learning moments in our own lives, and in the process, we begin to weave in the verses we have just read into the fabric of our souls. Sometimes, our observations are hilarious. Other times, we get to some pretty good places. Hopefully, Scripture and experience will become integrated over time.

The important thing is for my class to realise just how essential the Bible is to their lives today, and how much it has to say to them that is true and clarifying. I want to take Scripture, and by a plain and simple (as in essential) exegesis of its meaning, get across spiritual truth to my class. I’m not talking about dumbing down, or diluting the richness and depth of the Bible so that people are fed a thin gruel of “scriplets” (shudder!) week after week. That would not be “simple”. That would be “simplistic”.

For me, as a teacher, the “formula” I need to bring to bear in my classes is KISS — keep it simple, stupid! Ah so, new motto. (I admit old motto was: Grind it in.) There’s no better way to go.

PS. Have a look at this link:

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/simple-steps-to-solid-scripture-study-1295702.html?p=2

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