Lisa notes

• Does the Bible make complete sense to you?
• When you read the Old Testament, do you grasp all the Messianic references to Jesus?
• Do the interpretation of Hebrew and Greek words hinder your understanding of the text?

As a modern reader, there’s more that we don’t understand about ancient Middle Eastern culture than what we do understand.

And it can affect what we believe and how we believe.

Author Lois Tverberg, a Christ-believer, writes books that help us understand the Jewish background of Christianity. The first two books, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, educate us about the Jewish religious customs during the time of Jesus’s ministry on earth. I learned much from both of them.

“I don’t think a day has gone by that some insight from the biblical world hasn’t made my reading more flavorful. Studying this way takes more time, of course. Not everyone has time to learn ancient languages, historical details, and cultural ideas, but you’ll be surprised how every little bit of learning is helpful.”

Now Lois has written an excellent third book in this genre, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding. Here she takes an expansive look at the cultural issues that hinder our understanding of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.

“My goal is not to make you feel you need to adopt the lifestyle of the biblical world but to help you be willing to view life through its lens for just a little while.”

The three parts of the book are:

1. Repacking Our Mental Bags: Tools for the Journey
2. How the Bible Thinks: Big Picture Ideas that You Need to Understand
3. Reading about the Messiah: Seeing Him through Hebrew Eyes

Each main section is broken down into small sections with a focus on one particular aspect, such as the broad color and brushstrokes of the Hebrew language, insights from a communal perspective, and learning to “think small.”

“Hebrew words often shed new light on difficult sayings in the Bible and can even challenge our theology. They also employ delightful imagery to illustrate their meaning, because very few abstract words exist in the language. As a result, Hebrew is firmly rooted in the real world of the physical senses.”

~ * ~

“Hebrew also contains a smaller set of “pigments” than English—about eight thousand words, in comparison to one hundred thousand or more in our English language.”

~ * ~

“The more I study the Bible, however, the more I’m realizing the many ways that an individualistic approach misunderstands the text. . . .

When we look for the “gospel” in the Gospels we search for an individual message of salvation. Instead, Jesus was speaking in terms of redeeming a whole people.”

At the end of each chapter, Lois includes a section called, “Tools and Reflection.” Here she gives us additional Bible texts to read and questions to ponder, as well as thoughts and resources for going deeper.

Put together, this information helps us know God more clearly.

And don’t we also want more understanding of our own role in the Kingdom? How can we do this?

“By seriously engaging with the Old Testament for itself and not just to mine for proof texts and predictions of Christ. By loving the family of our Lord by opening our ears to hear their epic story, and then joyfully listening to its echoes in the New Testament.”

I also enjoyed Appendix B in this book: Thirty Useful Hebrew Words for Bible Study. It includes this paragraph on Law:

“Law (torah—H8451) The “Law” to many Christians is an onerous obligation, a joyless taskmaster. But the Hebrew word actually means “instruction” or “guidance.” For instance, the noble wife of Proverbs 31 has a torah of hesed (teaching of kindness) on her tongue (Prov. 31:26; see also 13:14). Biblically, we should see God as a father lovingly teaching us how to live rather than a heartless lawmaker. This is one of the most misunderstood words in church tradition.”

* * *

Read more from Lois at her website, Our Rabbi Jesus: His Jewish Life and Teaching.

Also, see this Q & A for a great synopsis of Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus.

Do you like to understand more context of the scriptures you read? Do you have a favorite resource you can share? Please let us know in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley
for the review copy of this book

“We are at a point where it’s fair to ask whether stepping back would be an improvement over our negative impact. Is no influence better than negative influence.”
– Ed Cyzewski

Not everyone will think this is a necessary book. But many will. And all would do well to hear it out.

The book is The Great Evangelical Retreat: Finding Hope in Surrender by Ed Cyzewski. Ed is an avid Christ-follower and a thinker for Christianity in our culture. I’ve read most of his books and I follow his blog here.

One intended audience for this short book? Anybody disillusioned with evangelicalism, but not quite ready to give up on it.

Many of us have had moments of embarrassment over the evangelical community the past couple of years. From leaders’ actions. From political gaffes. From our own improper responses.

So should we just walk away from evangelicalism? 

Ed posits an alternate solution. Because where Christ is, there is always hope for better.

He doesn’t suggest we give up altogether, but he does suggest we walk away for a minute to regroup.

Ed suggests a retreat to the wilderness—not to get away from “the world” or to save our “Christian culture,” but to seek God anew. To be filled with the Spirit, not with our dogmas and institutions.

“By seeking God in solitude and silence, we can retreat from our failures, misconceptions, and misdirections. We can regain our footing on solid ground and seek a path that is grounded in God’s love for all.”

By journeying away for a time of reflection (and what better time than Lent?), we can let go of any opposition against perceived attacks, we can look more objectively at what has been happening, and we can better listen to what is actually being said.

“If evangelicals can step back for a moment from our defensive positions where we want to assert the goodness of our movement, perhaps we will have eyes to see and ears to hear. We need to see reality and the damage we have done. We need to listen to the pain and confusion we have caused.”

We can learn ways to reconnect with the good fruit of the movement and let go of the rotten pieces.

“Each evangelical group needs to prove its value through its vitality and fruit, not simply arguing for its existence by virtue of holding onto the accomplishments of the past or maintaining external signs of influence and power.”

We can then better confess what we’ve gotten wrong. Repent of it. Find ways to restore. And redirect our efforts.

“This isn’t a public relations, political correctness, or liberal media issue. This is on us. Occasional moral failures here and there can be understood. These are deeper failures to approach the world with mercy, compassion, and love.”

By the grace of God, we can do this. We can recenter on God. Then proceed with more love for him and more love for others.

The last paragraph of The Great Evangelical Retreat includes these words of encouragement:

“The good news is that those who desire God will find God. Those who seek will find. Those who ask shall receive. . . . We may not find God in the ways that we’re expecting. We may not experience the revival we’ve been promised. We will find a God who has been restoring and leading women and men through the wilderness and in solitude for generations.”

* * *

The book is only 46 pages. That’s another thing I love about Ed’s writings: he doesn’t fluff out a message to fill a standard 240-page book. He says what he has to say, then is done with it.

There will eventually be 7 more books in this series, Evangelicals After the Shipwreck: Toward a Loving and Transformed Church. Book 2, Why Evangelicals Need the Wilderness, is already available here.

For a short daily retreat, read a chapter in the gospels of Mark and John during 40 days of Lent. Get the reading plan from Do Not Depart, #40DaysWithJesus, and join the Facebook community for daily conversations.

Are you fasting or feasting on anything during Lent to retreat in Jesus? Please share in the comments.