The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation

Our task is to decipher the meaning of the historical-theological text in biblical narrative, not to reconstruct the original event.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). Yet Paul could say, “Christ is the end of the law” (Rom 10:4); “you also died to the law through the body of Christ” (Rom 7:4); and “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Gal 3:25). Hebrews states, “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” (Heb 8:13), and “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming” (Heb 10:1). The Matthew text is the key one, for Jesus is asserting that the Torah has not been abrogated and in fact is intact in him.

They have been fulfilled in Christ, so we must determine their theological purposes and apply them to current situations. We need holiness and a proper relationship with God just as they did, and the legal regulations properly understood can help us center on those critical areas of the Christian life.

what if we spent as much time and money on Bible study as we do our hobbies?

Imprecatory psalms. Imprecatory psalms (Ps 12; 35; 52; 57—59; 69; 70; 83; 109; 137; 140) are usually lament psalms where the writer’s bitterness and desire for vindication are especially predominant. This leads to such statements as Psalm 137:8- 9, “[Happy is] he who seizes your infants / and dashes them against the rocks.” Such statements are shocking to modern sensitivities and cause many to wonder at the ethical standards of the biblical writers. However, several points must be made. The writer is actually pouring out his complaint to God regarding the exile, as in Psalm 137. He is also heeding the divine command of Deuteronomy 32:35 (Rom 12:19), “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” Finally, as Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart note, the author is calling for judgment on the basis of the covenant curses (Deut 28:53-57; 32:25), which make provision for the complete annihilation of the transgressors, even family members (2003:221). The hyperbolic language is common in such emotional passages. In short, these do not really contradict the New Testament teaching to love our enemies. When we can pour out our animosity to God, that very act opens the door to acts of kindness akin to Romans 12:20 (Prov 25:21-22). In fact, meditation on and application of these psalms could be therapeutic to those who have suffered traumatic hurt (such as child abuse). By pouring out one’s natural bitterness to God, the victim could be freed to “love the unlovely.” We must remember that the same David who penned all the above except for Psalm 83 and Psalm 137 showed great mercy and love to Saul. When you have called out for justice after being deeply wounded (like the martyred saints in Rev 6:9-11), Romans 12:19 is actually being fulfilled because the vengeance is truly left with God, freeing you to forgive your enemy.

God’s justice transcends human frailty, and our duty is to await his answers. Rather than assume the right to determine the laws of God’s created order (Crenshaw calls this “Titanism”), we must humbly submit to God’s greater wisdom.

Indeed, the Bible has been cast adrift from its moorings and left to float on a sea of modern relativity. The “play” of meanings in the stories is seen to be open-ended, and modern readers must construct their own interpretation. Rhoads and Michie thus call Mark “a literary creation with an autonomous integrity” existing independently from any resemblance to the actual person and life of Jesus. It is a “closed and self-sufficient world,” and its portrayals, “rather than being a representation of historical events, refer to people, places and events in the story” (1982:3-4).21

God created the world in the way that he saw fit, and humans should not question the divinely appointed order. All wisdom literature, not just Job, develops this theme (e.g., Is 40:28- 29). Human beings must take their proper place in the cosmos, find their appointed life and make the most of it.