doing this for a friend.
to all book-lovers (bibliaphiloi) like me, i have 4 copies of thomas mann's deuteronomy in the westminister bible companion series (paperback). US price is expensive but these are available for rm 20.00 only. first come first serve.
Product description:
Deuteronomy is more than a relic of ancient history. It is a living document that deals with issues relevant to the modern-day reader. They include justice and the vision of the Great Society; individual responsibility versus the importance of community; and the nature of loyalty to God and to the world. By examining these and other issues in this ancient work, readers will find striking parallels between the world of Israel several millennia ago and ours today. This absorbing and readable commentary will stimulate discussion about the Deuteronomistic prescriptions for a healthy society and their applicability to contemporary life and society.
194 pages, published in 1995.of coruse, i have a copy and a copy of daniel and ezekiel in the same series.
p.s. the books are calling for pearlie!!!
Comments
Haha!! no wonder the moment I stepped into my parents house, the computer was already beckoning me to turn it on. Thanks!!!
Steven Sim
So that means you won't sell my books already....wah wah wah....
I would love to buy the book on parables which has got the 'radical' slant. Selling it?
will keep them till nov. i expect to be seeing the 3 of you at the TEE class.
for steven, if he can wait, i can pass the book thro evelyn sim/cheng hin at the trac conference in mid nov.
or just pass to anyone coming to Penang. I heard that NT guy is brewing about coming here...
;)
Steven Sim
:( I had planned to take it but I don't think I can manage or muster the strength to do it this end of the year. But I am planning to do Isaiah next year ;) I can do that as elective right?
re Nov class - love to, want to, planned to!
However, I have issue, so Sarah will need to speak to you later.
this module will be slightly different. am still thinking through the format which will involve pre-class reading assignments, discussion groups, group projects in class, etc.
Wold just like to share my initial reaction to the product description of this book. It's basically a "cut and paste" from a comment I made on someone's recommendation of Exum's book about the Song of Songs.
I have been thinking about interpreting the OT recently and that would of course include the Song of Songs (and Deuteronomy).
In John 5:39-40 and 5:46, Jesus rebukes some Jews and their leaders for not understanding the OT despite studying it diligently. And they do not understand it because they do not and refuse to come to (or arrive at) Him who is Life:
"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me."
So if the Song of Songs (in this case Deuteronomy) is Scripture, then it is about Jesus. And here is what makes me uncomfortable - if Jesus Himself says that the OT is about Him (see also John 1:45, Luke 24:26-27, Luke 24:44-47) then for us to say that it is not about Him, means contradicting Him. Paul also says, more specifically about Deuteronomy, that the word of faith preached by Moses is "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
But there might be a more serious implication, and please bear in mind that this is simply my humble fledgling thoughts. Jesus is the only Word of God, the only radiance of the Father, the only revelation of God. It is through Him and Him alone that anyone can know anything about God. In other words, God has not spoken anything other than His eternal Word. So it is important that Jesus says the Scriptures testify about Him. The Spirit-inspired Scripture, as it witnesses to Jesus and testifies about Him, brings us to Him and through Him, we hear the Father and know the Father.
So could this mean that whenever we read the Song of Songs (or the OT) un-Christologically, no matter how excited we get, we haven't really heard God Himself speak to us? Which is of course what Jesus rebukes the unbelieving Jews for, but on the other hand, Andrew is commended when he says, "we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law!"
Jesus is the word of God, the ONLY word of god as you would have it. If this is the case, the eternal word can still speak to us regardless of scripture (biblios - the book, the written word).
And your suggestion of reading the scripture christologically may end up with the Church reading christology into scripture. Then we force the Eternal Word to speak to us through the Written Word. Are we policing god now? :D
I think rather than reading christologically (if that can be possible), we should interact with scripture as such that allows it to tell us about christology, if it is intended this direction. Let us allow god to speak to us tru feeble human words and not force him to do so. :D
My humble fledging thought as well..
Steven Sim
I guess you have articulated the point better than I did. Definitely don't want to read "christology" into the OT. What I'm saying is that the plain and intended meaning of the OT (i.e. through prayerful, careful and faithful exegesis) should be christological.
I guess my concern is that more and more people seem to want to read and study the OT without reference to Christ, and argue that people in the OT did not have a personal relationship with Jesus, didn't know the Trinity, and indeed did not know what to expect of their Messiah.
Take this question example - "What would a Jew in AD30 be expecting or praying for?" The answer put forward by some, with many more nodding their heads, is along the lines of - "Yeah! They were expecting a Messiah. But they were looking for someone who was going to liberate them from Rome. A glorious King. But of course they never expected a Suffering Servant." Why do many assume this of the Jews? It is as if they only read the "glorious" bits about the Messiah...
After all, in 1 Peter 1:11, the Spirit-inspired prophets knew they were writing about a suffering and only then then glorious Messiah. And in Hebrews 11, Moses has explicit faith in Christ. In John 12:41, Isaiah wrote what he wrote because he saw Jesus' glory.
Sorry if it's a bit blur. Not sure how to articulate it in a few sentences.
while it is generally true that the scriptures (i.e. OT) point to Jesus as their fulfilment, i don't think every verse in the OT needs to do that. if so, then we are forced to find in every OT verse a christological fulfilment which may not be there in the first place.
as steven pointed out, jesus as the eternal Word can 'speak' directly without even through the 'written' word. it is a caution that we do not attempt to impose something external onto scripture and try to limit what it has to say to us.
thus, the song of songs is basically a love song (to me). any attempt to interpret the Song christologically is only the 2nd level of interpretation but the first level is still crucial. unfortunately, the church has followed the jews here in treating the Song as an allegory of God's (Christ's) love for his people (the Church) and nothing else. first criterion in interpreting scripture is the literal sense and here both the jews and christians prefer to ignore this principle (which they would heartily employ elsewhere). consistency is required in the task of interpretation.