The Book of the Twelve - Christian & Jewish Interpretations

6/10/2014

Hey everyone,

So this past Sunday School we found ourselves in the Book of the Twelve, learning through the eyes of a Christian and a Jew. On behalf of your groups, please post your interpretations in the comment section below and keep the dialogue going!

My group was Richardson, Scott, and me (Jon) and we went though Hosea and Joel.

Hosea
Christian interpretation
- Hosea is a Christ-like figure, bride is like the church
- God brings in Gentiles as well, not just the Jews
- Pre-exile
- How God is viewed in Hosea; the relentlessness of God and the stubbornness of Israel; marriage relationship
- 4:6 - perceived lack of knowledge of the Torah
- fail to be a priest of God because of the lack of knowledge of God's Word
- lack of knowledge = lack of service because priests serve with knowledge
- spirit of whoredom - 4:12
- sin condition in prostitution, immorality? - how we wrestle with idolatry, selling out and settling for quicker pleasures
- Ch.5 addresses priests; again service without knowledge
- importance of spiritual knowledge
- Christians know they are Christians
- speech and content that informs our views
- Do we dishonour the context of Hosea if we interpret something Hosea did not mean or intend to say?
- Typically spiritualize interpretations because spiritually-descended from Abraham

Jewish Interpretation
- Care that Ephraim is mentioned
- 1:11 - particularity of names is a direct reference to Abraham
- Typically Historical-ize interpretation - historical importance/significance
- Ephraim and Mannaseh (meaning "forgotten?")
- Ephraim received blessing from Joseph

Joel
Summary - meaning we were not too sure which to put this, Christian or Jewish interpretations
- warning of locusts
- foreshadow Day of the Lord
- judge nations and rescue Israel to former glory
- plagues to Pharoah
- God will not only punish the nations but Israel too - 2:18
- 1:14 and 2:14 brought Jonah and the people of Nineveh to mind

Christian interpretation
- judgement is restoration; Jew and Gentile
- Day of the Lord - when Christ comes again
- imagery of Christ's ministry; 1:7 with the fig tree brought up the story of Christ cursing the fig tree (Mark 11)
- 2:28 - pouring out of the Spirit linked with Pentecost in Acts 2

Jewish Interpretation
- judgement is revenge on the nations - when Christ comes for the first time
- 2:13 connected with Exodus 34:6-7 - but may not be brought to mind, continuing the theme of biblical illiteracy/lack of knowledge of God's Word
- 1:14 - Fast - brought up Esther declaring a fast (Esther 4:16)
- 2:4-5 - Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6
- Tyre, Sidon, and regions of Philistia - Sabeans? - neighbouring nations around Israel
- Egypt and Edom; exile and out of exile; something about possibly not being able to pass through Edom was brought up in our discussion (Numbers 20)
- The Lord and Zion - The Lord dwells in Zion
- 3:18 - hills flowing with milk brought up images of the promised land

6 Comments

Teresa Phil and Sherie

6/10/2014 04:59:00 pm

Zephaniah
Jewish
• This is during the days when Josiah was ruling and he was one of the better Kings. Israel had hoped that Josiah would be bring back Israel’s former glory like King David
• This is pre-exile; therefore, Israel (Judah) is still right with God
• Vs 1:2-4 would remind Jews of Noah and the flood that swept the land and killed all living things (except those protected in the arch)
• God chooses to punish Judah’s enemies/oppressors and specifically names Sodom and Gomorrah as nations that are similar to Judah’s enemies (vs2:9). The Jewish would recognize these places as corrupt and nations full of sin. Therefore God is choosing Israel over the other nations

Christians
• The day of the LORD is described and we hear that there will be a sacrifice by God and on that day, officials and kings will be punished. Christians would allude that to Jesus’ death on the cross
• Vs 1:7-18 about the day of the LORD would remind us of Revelation. There is mention of trumpets being blown, lamps, devastation, and wrath.
• Also, the day of the Lord would cause Christians to think of the second coming of Christ whereas for Jews they would be hopeful of the first coming of the Messiah
• Restoration is promised to Israel
• We know that it is Jesus who takes our punishment and judgement
• We hear that Israel will be restored and the other nations condemned – we (Canada) may think that we are Israel as the favoured ones and that the other nations (North Korea, Afghanistan, etc.) will be condemned.
o We can also use the comparison of Christians vs non-Christians in a similar fashion

Haggai
Jewish
• Israel is currently in exile from Persia and they are looking to rebuild the temple
• The Israelites believed that the temple was where God met them – so if the temple is rebuilt, God’s presence would be with them once again and God would take them out of exile
• The temple needs to be bigger and better than the former glory
• There are a lot of dates mentioned – for Israelites, dates were important
• The Jewish know the Levitical laws and would attribute defiling to physical uncleanliness (actual sanitation reasons)

Christians
• We would compare the church building to the temple – the bigger/better, the greater the works of the church. We can draw more people to God with a bigger and established building
• We don’t think of defilement as physical uncleanness, we would allude it to sins and the need to confess our sins.

Alison, Aaron, Rowena

6/11/2014 04:02:11 pm

NAHUM:

Christian View:
- We're prone to decontextualizing; thinking that the text is talking about vengeance on our individual enemies
- We feel embarrassed to read about the violence of God and to hear the destructive nature of our God

Jewish View:
- Glad for the destruction of their enemies; the book of Nahum is a declaration of victory over the enemies of the Jewish nation (not just an individual)
- The Jews would have had a better understanding of God's judgment
- The God revealed here is a God of salvation

HABBAKUK:

Christian View:
- We see it as a prayer for our personal distresses

Jewish View:
- Understood the story in the context of the Israelite story -- they were in exile

Jessica, Lindsay, Jacky

6/11/2014 04:33:05 pm

We went through Jonah and Micah.
(I only have the notes from Micah)

Christian interpretation:
Those who are disobedient will be judged and punished, but those who wait on the Lord will be saved. God is faithful to his people.

Jewish interpretation:
Hearing that God will send conquerors to the cities and places they had conquered in the past when entering the promised land would be heard as them losing the promised land, and the loss of the temple would also be heard as them losing their identity. The judgement that they will experience from falling away from God's law is that they will experience exile and loss of the land. But yet, there is hope because God is faithful and hearing the God is the God of Abraham and Jacob would be reminders of the promise that God will keep a people for Himself. Even though judgement will come, the hope and promise that God will deliver those who are faithful to Him can still be heard, and God's love for His people is still seen in this.

6/12/2014 01:07:38 pm

For Jonah,
Christian interpretation:
It is a call to forgive our enemies and to realize that God has mercy on all, even non-believers. There may be a call to evangelize to the big secularized cities vs the christian rural.

Jewish interpretation:
This was a shocking piece for God to tell the Israelites (Jonah) that he has mercy on the "enemies of God" in the capital city of the Philistines. More intent on the localized glory of God in the temple of Jerusalem.

Josh, Dwayne, Matthew

6/13/2014 01:18:39 pm

MALACHI

God has been faithful to Israel, but the priesthood has been corrupt and offerings were polluted (Chapter 1)
 Jews would understand this historically in the time where they were giving sacrifices that had been offered to Baal/Molech
 As Christians, we might see ourselves as the priests and the corrupt offerings as our own sinful acts in life
The priesthood is being rebuked, and mentions Judah being faithless (Chapter 2)
 Jews would read priests as priests, and Judah as God’s people as a whole
 Christians could see themselves as a part of both, the priesthood and the people of God
The messenger preparing the way for the Lord (Chapter 3)
 Jews and Christians would both see this as a proclamation of the Lord’s coming (John the Baptist/Jesus)
The day of destruction that is coming (Chapter 4)
 Jews would see this as when the Messiah would come as a conqueror to judge the wicked (or other nations) and restore them into a great empire.
 Christians would view this as Christ’s coming (or returning) and restoring the people

Alex, Wong, Dennis

6/13/2014 05:07:31 pm

AMOS:

Jewish Interpretation
- Terrified and offended at first because of the judgement, punishment, mourning, destruction, etc. prophesied
- They do not believe in Jesus, hence continues to live in fear
- Still awaiting destruction and restoration

Christian interpretation
- Terrified and offended at first because of Jewish background/roots
- Difference is: We believe in Jesus, thus we are able to live at peace and not in fear
- Restoration has already arrived because of Jesus' resurrection

OBADIAH:
Jewish interpretation
- Rejoice because Edom will be destroyed
- The day of the Lord will be upon the rest of the nations, but not them
- They will be the only one saved

Christian interpretation
- Rejoice not because Edom will be destroyed, but because there is salvation for Edom
- Jesus brings salvation for all the nations, and everyone will be saved

The Book of the Twelve - Christian & Jewish Interpretations

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