On Tuesday morning (at 8am - which is VERY early for college students), I had 50 minutes to present an overview of both Ruth and Esther. It was fast and furious, but I enjoyed the opportunity to view the books from a "30,000ft level" perspective. Some of the highlights from the Book of Ruth that we discussed were:
- the fact that the narrative serves to present a bright spot amidst the perilous time of the judges,
- it illustrates the compassion that was at the heart of the old Law (gleaning, levirate, kinsman-redeemer),
- of primary Jewish concern, the legitimacy of David... and ultimately Jesus,
- and most beautifully, the providence of God ... for Ruth/Naomi as well as for the establishment of the kingdom.
Some things we focused on from the Book of Esther were:
- the historical setting of the narrative (why were there Jews living in Persia?),
- God's ability to work in spite of evil people/motives,
- and once again, the providence of God for Esther/Mordecai, the Jewish nation, and ultimately the Messiah/kingdom.
On Thursday morning, I had the equally complicated task of giving an overview of the entire book of Isaiah in only 45 minutes (a quiz over the assigned reading took a few minutes of class time). Because of time constraints, I was forced to take an outline approach to the book, which I hope proved to be helpful.
So much of our understanding the writings of the prophets depends upon the historical context of Israel/Judah, so we spent some time recalling what was happening in both the North and the South during Isaiah's time of prophecy (invasions, foreign alliances, etc). We then looked at his unique "calling" from chapter 6. I think chapter 1 is especially valuable in setting the tone for the entire book, because it gives a glimpse at the real problem Judah/Jerusalem was facing: a very poor spiritual condition. They continued to go through the "right" motions, but their hearts were woefully far from God. From there, we considered:
So much of our understanding the writings of the prophets depends upon the historical context of Israel/Judah, so we spent some time recalling what was happening in both the North and the South during Isaiah's time of prophecy (invasions, foreign alliances, etc). We then looked at his unique "calling" from chapter 6. I think chapter 1 is especially valuable in setting the tone for the entire book, because it gives a glimpse at the real problem Judah/Jerusalem was facing: a very poor spiritual condition. They continued to go through the "right" motions, but their hearts were woefully far from God. From there, we considered:
- the fact that Jehovah is a universal God and is in total control,
- the 6 woes,
- judgment/redemption terminology,
- an interesting historical interlude (ch.36-39) regarding Hezekiah and Assyria, as well as the introduction of Babylon,
- and finally, Christ, Redemption, and Consummation (with an emphasis on Messianic prophecies).
Isaiah's writings are very deep and sometimes hard to understand, but I remain in awe of how God used him to communicate His enduring love and devotion to His people and His cause. What an awesome God we serve!
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