Help Me Understand the Bible

By Clarence Whetstone

We approach the Bible with American eyes and therefore completely miss or misunderstand so much of it. It is an old Middle Eastern book. To really understand it, we must try to understand their culture, theology, language, and thinking.

A good translation is just the first step in understanding the Bible. Figures of speech that are second-nature to native speakersbut often bizarre to othersare especially difficult. When these are further clouded by differences in customs, grasping the original meaning can be very difficult.

What most of us fail to realize is that we do not think the same way the writers of the Bible thought. The logic we find so easy and familiar did not yet exist when most of the Bible was written. Without considering those differences, we try to impose on Hebrew word-pictures our Greek logic patterns. Sometimes it works, and at other times the results are disastrous. No wonder we have loud conflict and seething separation within the church today, in direct violation of Jesus prayer for unity within his body.

This book is the result of years of answering questions from students and friends. It can be understood by anyone who can read a newspaper. The Bible is the record of Gods intervention in human affairs, and where he draws a lost and hurting world to himself. Despite the critics shrill cries, the Bible can be understood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490827186

Clarence Whetstone

Clarence Whetstone was born in Maryland and reared in parsonages in Pennsylvania. His formal education spanned Houghton College, Franklin and Marshall University, Mansfield University, Drew University Seminary, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He started training for the ministry and was a student pastor for three years. After one year of seminary he changed direction. He taught English for three years, then changed course again. He found his niche for service in speech/language pathology. His passion has always been to make clear the message of the Bible. He has been a speaker/teacher in over one hundred different settings in central Pennsylvania. Across the years many Sunday school and small group participants added to his list of questions about the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-2719-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2720-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2718-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903500

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/16/2014

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright (c) by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

To Eileen, my wife of many years, my life partner,

my best friend, my love

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I.   Reading the Bible

1   How Do I Approach the Bible?

2   Where Do I Start Reading?

Part II.   Problems Understanding Hebrew Culture

3   Who Is This Woman at the Well?

4   Why Should I Care about Mary and Martha?

5   Would Jesus Talk to the Enemy?

6   Would Jesus Approve a Collaborator?

7   Was It Punishment or Terrorism?

8   Was Human Life That Cheap?

9   Who Cares about a Little Coin?

10   Why Bother with Her?

11   How Can I Tell These Guys Apart?

Part III.   Problems Understanding Hebrew Theology

12   How Can a Samaritan Be Good?

13   What Do You Mean by Demons?

14   Who Are You Most Afraid Of?

15   Is There a Law against Doing Good?

16   Is the Law Ever Wrong?

17   Can It Be Bad to Be Good?

18   Did Jesus Teach without Words?

Part IV.   Problems with the Hebrew Language

19   Why Is Their Writing So Sparse?

20   What Was Omitted or Changed?

21   Are These Things in Order or Not?

22   Don’t These Words Mean What They Say?

23   What Does This Symbol Mean?

24   Can This Mean What It Sounds Like?

Part V.   Problems Understanding Hebrew Thinking

25   How Can I Deal with Their Pictures?

26   How Can I Deal with Their Stories?

27   Is the Bible Logical or Not?

28   Why Are These Words So Different?

29   Why Do They Repeat Themselves So Much?

30   Why Isn’t the Bible Scientific?

31   Where Is the Conclusion of This Parable?

32   What Was the Hebrew Mind-Set?

Part VI.   Understanding the Bible

33   Do All Parts of the Bible Apply to Us Now?

34   Is There Any More Evidence of Progression of Revelation?

35   Are All Parts of the Bible Interchangeable?

36   Where Can I Find Certain People in the Bible?

37   Which Translation Is Best?

38   What Is the Bible All About?

39   What Is the Hinge-Point of History?

40   What Does Salvation Mean?

41   What Does Grace Mean?

42   What Did Jesus Preach/Teach about Most?

43   What Is the Kingdom of God?

44   What Is My Kingdom?

45   What Does God’s Kingdom Mean to Me?

46   Is Revelation Confusion or Coronation?

47   Conclusion

Notes

Sources

Abbreviations

About the Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and most important, I must offer reverence to the Father God who called me to himself many years ago, to the Christ who died for my sins, and to the Holy Spirit who guides and comforts me: one God.

I offer my deep appreciation to my parents, the Rev. Clarence Sr. and Helen Koontz Whetstone. They created a home of love and security. They taught me to worship, pray, and revere the Bible as the Word of God.

The Rev. Dr. Ross Whetstone, my only blood brother, deserves my deep appreciation. He has been my spiritual mentor since the time I decided to follow Jesus. I have spent countless hours discussing the things of the Lord with him.

I credit the many individuals and classes I have led in Bible study with forcing me to find answers to the questions they have posed. Their struggle and mine to understand the Bible have motivated this writing. Later, the Holy Spirit pushed me to complete this work.

Edward Ned Frear, retired newspaper editor and publisher, graciously offered to critique my efforts. His suggestions were especially valuable.

I must also give deep appreciation to those who read the manuscript and offered their unique criticisms. Nancy Casteel was my target reader. She found many typos and made important suggestions. Michael Kreiner was selected because he has the unusual viewpoint of a conservative Jew who has accepted Jesus as his Messiah. Cdr. Clay Thomas, US Navy (Ret.), leads a Christian retreat center for US military members. Dr. David Crandall, MD, surgeon and US Army commander (retired) gave valuable medical insights. The Rev. Robert Robertson, active pastor of the First Christian Church, Everett, Pennsylvania, gave me strong encouragement. Finally, Jesse Topper, the executive minister of the Bedford United Methodist Church, gave his unique insights. I offer my sincere thanks to all.

The editorial department of WestBow Press gave me excellent support and encouragement. They are all deeply appreciated.

INTRODUCTION

The primary thrust of this material is the comparison of the Hebrew way versus the Greek way to understand the Bible. Most of us are unaware that we are totally Greek in our thinking. Recognized or not, we look at the world through Greek eyes. We reason the Greek way.

The Greeks developed logic. They loved to define, to sequence, to think in very controlled patterns, and to arrive at conclusions that could not be refuted. We expect to be presented Greek material. When presented with anything else, we try to make Greek out of it. The Greek way of thinking is the only way most of us know. But the Bible is not Greek. It is almost entirely Hebrew.

Many people feel that because the Bible has been translated into their language, all of its problems have been solved. In reality, that is just the first step. There are huge problems with understanding the culture of Bible times. We have big problems understanding the theology of those times. Often, the language of the Bible does not really mean what we expect. Beyond that, ancient thinking patterns are very different from ours.

If I were to present you with a corroded bolt and ask you to remove it with a screwdriver, you would probably tell me that the screwdriver was the wrong tool, and you would be correct. We need a wrench to remove a bolt. In the same way, to solve Hebrew problems we need the correct tools—i.e., Hebrew tools. The Greek tools we know how to use are the wrong ones for Hebrew material, and yet Greek tools are what we almost always use. Most people are not even aware that there is a difference.

The Hebrew Scriptures were written before Greek logic was invented, and yet we expect them to be logical. All the Bible was written before science existed as an academic discipline, and yet we expect the views expressed in the Bible to be scientific. That doesn’t make any sense. We need to approach the Bible with the same mind-set as those who wrote it, not with our own, which is so radically different.

Vast problems are created by our not understanding the Hebrew culture and its values. Problems are created by our presuming that we understand their theology. Language presents unique problems. For example, we naturally presume the meaning we know for a word to be the author’s intended meaning, when in fact, it often was very different.

My goals are to highlight these problems and suggest solutions for understanding the Bible. We will be considering life’s deepest meanings while we are entangled with our patterns of thinking and our often unexamined prejudices. I approach this tangled knot with great humility and with the strongly held belief that Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his body on earth, i.e., the Christian church, must be given much higher priority than I have observed during my lifetime. His prayer in John 17 stresses his desire for unity in his church no fewer than four times. If Jesus is our Lord, we should want what he wants.

I am writing for the average reader. Every effort has been made to avoid technical theological terms. Where they are necessary, definitions will be supplied in everyday language.

The sections that make up this book progress from the most understandable to the most difficult material: the topic of Hebrew thought. This last material will require the greatest effort on the part of the reader. However, once understood, I believe it will be of the greatest value.

Why do I feel qualified to wrestle with this material? I was immersed in the Bible from my mother’s knee. I grew up in a parsonage family and was required to attend Sunday school, worship, Bible studies, Bible conferences, etc., all my life. The Bible has been my primary source of study for all of my adult life. Being expected to become a pastor, I started to train for it. I was licensed as a local pastor and led three small congregations for three years while in college. One year of theological seminary followed before I left the ministerial training track.

During a total of nine and a half years of higher education, I amassed four majors of thirty-plus hours each: English, theology, psychology, and speech therapy. For at least the past thirty years, I have been writing my own Sunday school material for both youth and adults.

Finally, I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to write this material. I share it, expecting that there are others who have had the same questions that I wrestled with for so many years. Let’s take a journey together, thinking through this problem of understanding the Bible.

PART I

READING THE BIBLE

CHAPTER 1

HOW DO I APPROACH THE BIBLE?

Do you know anyone who doesn’t believe the Bible? Jody asked.

Oh, sure. Lots of guys at school make fun of it, Phil replied.

"But, do you believe it? Jody continued.

Yes, I’ve been taught to believe it. But, there sure is a lot I don’t understand, Phil answered.

When I was a teenager, I knew of an old German butcher who read his Bible more than most Christians. But he did not read it devotionally. He was a nonbeliever and felt that believers were stupid to believe it. He read his Bible so he could argue with his customers and try to prove them wrong. To him, the Bible was a closed book. He simply could not understand it.

Practically everyone approaches the Bible with an idea of what it is:

a dusty old book

the mythology of the early Christians

the manual for seed faith

a source of division within modern society

the manual for claiming God’s promises

illogical ramblings of the past

the written Word of God

Can we see that the position we take before we open the Bible will affect what we find in it? People tend to find what they are looking for! Dallas Willard wrote: Our preexisting ideas and assumptions are precisely what we can see, hear or otherwise observe.¹ If we discount the Bible even before we begin to read it, we are not apt to see the truth there. Satan has won the battle, for our Christian source material has been neutralized!

If we think of the Bible as irrelevant, out of date, or divisive, we will pay little attention to it. Many who ignore the Bible do not really know what’s there! R. C. Sproul wrote: Isn’t it amazing that almost everyone living in the West has an opinion to offer about the Bible, and yet so few have really studied it?² Other things are more important—getting to work, the morning paper, that trip we want to take, or even a cup of coffee.

On the other hand, if we really believe the Bible to be the written Word of God, it is the source of information about our Creator and what he wants from us. Only our response to God could be as important!

Let’s suppose that I have been infected with the philosophical virus very common in our culture—the one that says the Bible does not relate to our modern times. What can I do?

First, I must become aware of my mind-set. Television psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw often says that we cannot change what we do not acknowledge. Okay, then what is my mind-set toward the Bible? Am I viewing it as the written Word of God or in some other way?

Second, I need to ask God to open my mind to his truth. If I think I have all the answers, why would I need to look any further? Martin Luther wrote in the 1400–1500s: Where the Spirit does not open the scripture, the scripture is not understood, even though it is read.³ A. W. Tozer wrote: The unbelieving mind would not be convinced by any proof, and the worshipping heart needs none.⁴ To be aware of God, love God, and serve God, I need to be open to his truth.

Third, I need to learn to know Jesus as the firsthand teacher sent from God to show us what God is like. So I need to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) over and over, until I know Jesus extremely well—as well as I know my brother or sister.

Fourth, I must honestly consider the claims that Jesus lays on my life. Is he who he says he is? Did he really come from heaven? Did he really come to save me from my sins? Am I willing to accept him as my Savior and Lord of my life? If I say yes to Jesus, the Bible will suddenly change from being irrelevant to being the most important information I can find. It will become for me the written Word of God.

Most people seem to feel that their problems understanding the Bible come from within the Bible. This chapter stresses that at least part of the problem lies within us! The doubting brain ignores inconvenient truth—even God’s truth!

One more step will make the Bible even more relevant to us than it is now. We must learn to read the Bible through Hebrew eyes. Why? The Bible was written from their culture and in their time. By approaching the Bible with American or Western eyes, we miss so much. We miss its beauty. We miss its life-shattering power. And we often misinterpret the words of Jesus and the prophets.

It never occurs to most of us that the Bible is in many respects a foreign book. We get along with it quite well—we think. After all, in the Bible we meet the God of creation and discover that he is a God who loves us. We meet Jesus as the carpenter/teacher who reached out to the poor and needy—and we like him. Then we hear that Jesus died so that our sins can be forgiven. Whoopee! We hear about the Holy Spirit who will enable us to live lives beyond our own abilities–and we like that too. What more do we need?

I think it is nothing short of amazing that we can take material like the Bible, transplant it to another radically different culture, and find that it still works! Lives are still changed. Sin and bitterness are still lifted. Forgiveness and healing still flow from its pages. Hope for a better day is instilled. And love at a sacrificial level is demonstrated.

But the Bible is a foreign book. It did not come from the pen of Plato or Socrates. It is not the product of the thinking of Western philosophers. Freud and other psychologists had nothing to do with its writing. As great as Shakespeare was as a writer, nothing in his work can compare. Even Mark Twain’s wit and philosophy doesn’t make the grade. These heroes of the West were great thinkers who, here and there, were given bits