St. Paul Biblical Theology Bible Study

B. Capitalizing Jerusalem
-As a shepherd and King, David is a great spiritual and military leader.
-He routes the Jebusites to establish his capital at Jerusalem.
-Possibly because Jerusalem was the city of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-23).
-Moses had commanded God's sanctuary be built in God's dwelling place.
-Rabbinic lore held that the city of God's name was the city that Melchizedek would rule.
-See Deuteronomy 12:4-5,11 and Psalm 76:3.
-After capturing Jerusalem, David recaptures the Ark of the covenant.
-Note, David witnesses that the Ark was not visited during the time of Saul.
-See 1Chronicles 13:3.

The Lord's Return
-David leads all Israel in celebration of the Ark's return.
-See 2Samuel 6:13-19 and 1Chronicles 15:25-29.
-David, who was obedient and righteous, offers sacrifices where Saul could not.
-Finally, the Lord dwells again in Jerusalem, and David restores the priesthood.
-The sons of Aaran are given honour in the re-established priesthood.
-See 1Chronicles 24:3,5,19 and 1Chronicles 16:4, 23:25-32.

The Book of Chronicles
-Chronicles should be read alongside the books of Samuel and Kings.
-The Chronicler gives a liturgical history, from Adam to David.
-Chronicles describes David as leading the perfect culture, mixing sacred and secular, law and worship, religion and culture.

C. The Everlasting Covenant [IMPORTANT LESSON]
-God's final covenant of the Old Testament is with David.
-He promises David a kingdom with an everlasting throne and that David's heir would be his son.
-Read 2Samuel 7:8-16 and 1Chronicles 17:7-14.
-This covenant will shape the rest of the Bible.
-See Revelation 22:16.
-This covenant is later referred to as the eternal covenant and David's covenant.
-See 2Samuel 23:5, Psalm 89:4-29 and Psalm 132:12.
-Jesus will come to fulfill this covenant.

Next lesson we'll dive into the eternal covenant with greater detail. God Bless you.

Continuation of previous lesson...

A Closer Look at the Everlasting Covenant with David.
1. "The Lord will establish a house for you..."
A House means a royal dynasty.

2. "The Lord will raise up your heir... and make his kingdom firm..."
David's son will inherit his Father's kingdom.

3. "He shall build a house for my name..."
David's son will build a temple.

4. "I will be father to him and he shall be a son to me..."
David's son will be adopted by God. This is the first time in the Bible the term "Son of God" is used.

5. "If he does wrong, I will correct him... but will not withdraw my favor..."
God will never disown David's son like he did Saul.

6. "Your house and kingdom shall endure forever..."
There will always be an heir seated on the throne of David.

Reference: 2Samuel 7:13-16 and 1Chronicles 17:11-15.

How to understand the Davidic, the Mosaic and the Abrahamic covenants
-David's is the final in a line of covenants that fulfill God's promise to Abraham.
-Review the promises of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:4-8 and 22:15-18).
-The Mosaic covenant marked the first stage of fulfillment (deliverance).
-See Exodus 33:1, Numbers 32:11, Deuteronomy 1:8, 9:5, 30:20.
-The Davidic covenant fulfills the second stage (a dynasty/making the world children of Abraham.)
-See Romans 4:16-18 and Galatians 3:7.
-David's vow of allegiance echoes the words of Moses' covenant.
-See Exodus 15:11-13, 16-17, Deuteronomy 4:7, 34, 7:6, 26:17, 29:12.
-Moses delivering the Israelites follows Abraham's covenant.
-see Exodus 2:24 NS 6:5.
-These covenants are not for the individual blessed; they establish Israel.
-See 2Samuel 7:8, 10, 11.

[Foundational Lesson: The Davidic and Mosaic covenants are a fulfillment of the Abrahamic, see 1Chronicles 16:14-18.]

My soul my saviour has redeemed! God Bless you on this Sabbath day.

Covering some lost ground from yesterday and diving into the heritage of Solomon.


V. Entering the Kingdom
-Under David's son, King Solomon, we see the character of God's family.
-The monarchy is ruled by God's son.
-See Psalm 2:7.
-The King is a priest as well as King.
-See Psalm 110:1, 4
-At the King's right hand, his mother and Queen intercedes for his people.
-See 1Kings 2:19-20; Proverbs 31.
-The daily affairs of the kingdom are ran by a superintendent [foreshadows Pope].
-See 1Kings 18:3, 2Kings 15:5, 2Kings 18:18, 37, Isaiah 22:22.
-The Kingdom stretches to all the Earth.
-See Psalm 2:8, 72:8-11.
-The Kingdom is lead by God who dwells always in the Ark and Temple.

Further Parallels of Solomon and Christ's kingdom
-Solomon builds a temple on Mt. Moriah where Abraham was sent to sacrifice Isaac.
-See 2Chronicles 3:1 and Genesis 22:2.
-Calvary is a hill in Mt. Moriah, where Jesus was sacrificed and rebuilt the temple.
-God dwells in Solomon's temple; In us, God dwells as temples.
-See 1Kings 9:3 and 2Corinthians 6:16.
-Prayer becomes a personal encounter rather than purely sacrificial.
-Compare Psalm 43:3-5 with 1Chronicles 16:4, 7-37.
-In the kingdom of Solomon, God receives the type of prayer he desires.
-See Psalm 51:16-17 and Psalm 40:7-9.

I encourage you to delve into the scripture quoted here and around these quoted. These are all important.

The Book of Psalms and Wisdom (David and Solomon)

"Look for this spirit of self-offering and thanksgiving as you read the Book of Psalms."

-David wrote many of the Psalms, which reflect his heart, which reflect's God's.
-See 1Samuel 13:14.
-The Psalms were meant to be prayed daily, to instil David's heart in Israel.
-The Psalms teach about praise, thanks, petition and faithfulness.
-The Psalms teach of salvation and covenant plan.
-See Psalms 78, 105-106, 135-136.
-The underlying lesson was to gain a sense of God's ways and laws.
-See Psalm 16:11.

The Books of Wisdom (Solomon's Wisdom to David's Heart)
-The Bibles wisdom literature is Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom and Sirach.
-Wisdom literature was authored by Solomon.
-The Wisdom was a gift from heaven to help Solomon rule all Israel.
-By choosing a virtuous gift, God is pleased and provides Solomon with lesser gifts.
-See 2Chronicles 1:7-12.
-Solomon's wisdom attracted all the world to him.
-See 1Kings 10:1-13, 24-25.

-Read Wisdom as Solomon imparting his wisdom to the queen of Sheba.
-Read the Book of Proverbs as the wisdom of a Father to son.
-(Except Proverb 31, which is as Queen Mother to Son.)
-Note how passages in the books of wisdom apply all "man".
-The books of wisdom are a charter from Solomon, emphasizing God's wishes for all the Earth.
-See 2Samuel 7:19.
-[Foundational Lesson: Wisdom literature reflects the universality of God's family. Remember he wishes wisdom for all the Earth, it is important in the next bit.]

What Wisdom Is
-Wisdom is the fear of God.
-See Sirach 19:17 and Proverbs 9:10.
-Fear is not cowering, but reverence, awe and obedience as a child.
-[Foundational Lesson: Solomon's wisdom was a product of God's ideal, it calls all man to universal obedience through fear of Him.]
-Note, sometimes wisdom is depicted as a person.
-See Sirach 1:7-8 and Proverbs 8.

God Bless you, G'nite.

The Sacred Page is a good site on biblical scholarship

Eucharisted said:

The Sacred Page is a good site on biblical scholarship

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Thanks Eucharisted, that site looks great. I only keep like 6 bookmarks, but I'll be saving this one. It's kind of funny, that site has a link back to Scott Hahn's page, so I think we're in good hands here. I'm always amazed how our Catholic Tradition unlocks and exemplifies Holy Scripture. G'nite and God Bless.

The Israelites also rise up and "revel", which means to engage in orgies.

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Revel means merriment, play.

Eucharisted said:

Revel means merriment, play.

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No, Eucharisted. Hebrew is a language of inflection, inference and precedent, and the language here is used in a religious sense. Similarly, house means family; seeing your father's nakedness is committing incest etc etc. The Hebrews were not criticized for playing. Please send any more concerns or responses via PM to keep the thread nice and clear. Thanks!

Short lesson because I want to go read my Bible tonight. I'm a selfish person!

VI. Two Nations Under God
-Solomon's dark side ultimately destroys Israel.
-Solomon has an appetite for wealth, power and women.
-Solomon overtaxed the Israelite tribes.
-See 1Kings 9, 12:3.
-He took 666 gold talents a year.
-666 is the number of the beast, and the Bible says we'll require wisdom to understand it.
-See 1Kings 10:14 and revelation 13:17-18.
-Solomon's weakness for women was alike to his father's.
-2Samuel 11-12:25.
-Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines and committed idolatry.
-See 1Kings 11:1-3.
-Solomon's son continued taxing the Israelites; as a result, 10 tribes rebelled.

The Fracturing of the Davidic Kingdom
-From here on, "Israel" is understood as the 10 Northern tribes.
-Northern Israel is sometimes called Ephraim, Samaria or Joseph.
-Judah and Benjamin are the southern kingdom and "House of David".
-"All Israel" (see reference below) refers to the united, intended kingdom.
-See 1Kings 12:1, 1Chronicles 13:6, 8, 15:3.
-Jeroboam's schism severed the 10 tribes from the covenant of David.
-See 2Chronicles 10:19, 1Kings 12:19.

Solomon Forewarned
-David had warned Solomon that he had to be obedient to the covenant.
-See 1Kings 2:2-4, 8:25, 9:4-5, Psalm 132:12.
-Note that Solomon's son was punished, but David's seat was not wiped out.
-See 2Samuel 7:15-17.
-[Foundational Lesson: God keeps his word always, even to punish, 1Kings 11:31-39.]
-The Northern tribes fell into apostasy immediately upon rebelling.
-Jeroboam built pagan altars and reenacted the golden calf incident.
-See 1Kings 12:28-29 and Exodus 32:4.

God Bless you!

Alright, we've been doing a lot of historical, old Testament stuff. I'm looking forward to getting it done and moving into the New Testament. So expect a big lesson after this one tomorrow. That one will take us through the rest of the big themes of the Old, then we finally get to the New Testament!

B. Raising Prophets
-The rest of the Old Testament is a complex succession of kings.
-Focus instead on the pattern of sin, punishment and reform.
-David still is and always will be the measure of Kings.
-See 2Kings 16:2, 22:2.
-Focus also on how God still tries to 'Father' his family.
-The period of divided monarchy is where God raises up prophets.
-The prophets strengthen Judah and call Israel to repentance.

Hosea, Amos and Elijah
-Elijah mostly admonishes the wicked king Ahab and his wife.
-He also puts down the worship of Baal through great works of God.
-See 1Kings 17:22, 2Kings 1:16.
-Elisha acts as his successor in a crusade against idolatry (2Kings 2-13).

-Hosea condemns the calf of Samaria (idolatry), temple prostitution and the cult of Baal.
-See Hosea 4:14, 8:4-6, 10:5-6, 13:1-2.
-The Book, Hosea, is located far from Kings in the Bible, but is in the same time period.
-See 2Kings 14:23-29 under the reign of Jeroboam II.

-Amos decries the infidelities and economic injustices of Israel and all nations..
-See Amos 1:3-2:3.
-[Foundational Lesson: Amos reminds us that God still desires to be a Father in our time of disobedience, Amos 3:1].

The Destruction of Israel
-The northern kingdom is destroyed in 722 BC.
-Nearly 30,000 Israelites are deported.
-The Bible tells us specifically why this occurs.
-See 2Kings 17:7-18.
-The remnant of David, the Southern Kingdom, remains.

Good Kings and Bad Kings
-During Israel's fall, Judah experiences peace and fidelity to God.
-Judah is ministered by the prophets Isaiah and Micah and King Hezekiah.
-See Jeremiah 26:17-19.
-The sins of the North spread south.
-Under King Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, pagan altars are worshipped and innocent people killed.
-See 2Kings 21:1-9 and 2Kings 16:3, 17:17.
-God promises punishment for the sins of Israel under Manasseh.
-This promise is confirmed by the prophet Zephaniah.
-See 2Kings 21:12 and Zephaniah 1:4-6.

The Righteousness of Josiah
-After Manasseh, the good King, Josiah, reigned.
-Under Josiah, the high priest rediscovered the book of the covenant.
-See 2Kings 22:8 and 2Kings 23.
-The prophet, Jeremiah, praises King Josiah.
-The Book of Nahum is written at this time.
-See Jeremiah 1:1-6:30.
-Jeremiah's son, Jehoiakim, turns back to doing evil.
-See 2Kings 23:37.

The Punishment of Babylon
-In 597, King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem for the sins of Manasseh.
-See 2Kings 24:3-4.
-The invasion was prophesied by Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:6, 3:1,4.)
-10 years later, the Israelites attempted rebellion.
-The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the temple and take thousands hostage.
-The prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant.
-The Book of Lamentations was written at this time by Jeremiah.
-Jeremiah's secretary, Baruch, was taken hostage by the Babylonians.
-Baruch and Ezekiel taken both to Babylon.
-Baruch comforts the exiles (Baruch 4:30-5:9).

The Books of Exile
-The Book of Daniel was written 350 years after the exile.
-The prophecy it tells takes place in the past, during the Babylonian exile.
-Chapters 1-6 are similar to the Books of Tobit, Judith and Esther.
-These four Books tell of the preservation of Israel outside the Holy Land.
-Notice, each book centres around regular Israelites.
-See Daniel 13:3-5.

After the Exile
-In 538, King Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon and sends the Israelites home.
-Cyrus funds the rebuilding of the temple.
-See Ezra 1:2-4, 6:3-5, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 45:1-3, 13.
-The remnant of Israel that returns to Jerusalem is corrupt and impious.
-The story of their return is told in Ezra and Nehemiah.
-To reconstruct the story, read: Ezra 1-6, Nehemiah 1-7, 11-13, Ezra 7-10, Nehemiah 8-10.

Rebuilding the Temple
-The Israelites immediately begin building the second temple.
-This period is associated with the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
-See Ezra 5:1-2, Haggai 2:1-9, Zechariah 1:16.
-Upon its completion, Ezra leads the people in renewing their covenant with God.
-See Nehemiah 8;10.
-Ezra recounts God's covenant love with Israel.
-See Nehemiah 9:31-33 and Ezra 9:6-10:1.
-Afterwards, Israel prospers.
-This time of renewal is associated with the prophets Obadiah, Joel and Jonah.

B. Persecution and Revolt
-In 331 BC, the Greeks destroyed the Persians.
-Foreign kings persecuted the Israelites as recorded in Maccabees.
-Throughout Maccabees, Israel is saved only by returning to its faith.
-The worst king was Antiochus "Epiphanes" (God-manifest).
-Antiochus claimed to want to erase all religion.
-He desecrates the temple with Greek statues and prostitutes.
-He burned the Jewish books of law, forbade the Sabbath and sacrificed unclean animals.
-See 1Maccabees 1:41-50, 57, 61-62, 2Maccabees 7:1-11.
-Some Israelites remain faithful to their law, but some do not.
-Thus, the new definition of Israel is "the people who remain faithful".
-See 1Maccabees 1:52 and Romans 9:6-8.

C. Hasmoean Times
-Judas Maccabeus was a warrior and a pious man who inspired a revolt.
-He ousted the foreign powers and purified the temple.
-See 2Maccabees 10:1-8, 12:38-46.
-Israel enters into a period of independence, lead by the high priest John Hyrcanus.
-See 1Maccabees 16.
-This period lasts 100 years and is named after Judas Maccabeus' great grandfather.

What Happened to David's Throne?
-The Hasmonean dynasty was not a kingship.
-The Hasmoneans had not descended from David or the tribe of Judah.
-They weren't even descended from Aaron, as of the priesthood.
-During the time, the Sadducees and Pharisees gained power.
-The Israelites waited for a prophet to come remedy Israel.
-See 1Maccabees 14:41.
-This prophet would be like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).
-He would also be a Davidic King (See John 1L21, 7:40-42).
-Expectation grew after the Roman, Pompey, invaded in 62 BC.

D. The End of the Old Testament - Prophecies of Christ
-The people expected the recoming of David, anointed in oil and spirit.
-See 1Samuel 16:13, Isaiah 2:2-3 and Amos 9:11
-The Prophet Micah predicted a King would be born in Bethlehem.
-See Micah 5:1-4.
-Daniel prophesied a Davidic son with an everlasting dominion.
-See Daniel 7:14.
-Isaiah made numerous prophecies concerning the Prince of Peace.
-See Isaiah 9:1-7, 7:14, 11:1-5, 10, Jeremiah 23: 5-6.
-Ezekiel prophesied the same, and Jeremiah prophesied an eternal covenant of peace.
-See Ezekiel 34: 24-30, 37:23-28, 16: 59-65.
-Hosea predicted the Messiah would come as a groom.
-See Hosea 2:18-25, Isaiah 5:1-7, 54:4-9, Song of Songs 3:2, 11, Ezekiel 16:23.


WHOO!! {done :]}