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What makes wisdom literature unique in the OT? a. poetic style b. personal perspective What is the message this literature communicates? how we should worship God in the messiness of life What is the purpose and message of the first Psalm? How does it set the stage for the rest of the Psalms? a. to contrast the righteous and the wicked- those who follow God are blessed, those who don't are cursed b. many of the psalms follow this pattern What are the conversational skills taught through the patterns of the Psalms? There is a full spectrum of feelings- anger, praise, etc Why is "praying the Psalms" a good idea? They were written as prayers and show full spectrum of emotion What is the most familiar type of Psalm? What is the basic structure of such Psalms? a. Hymn or praise psalm b. Invitation to praise God, followed by the reason(s) for praise, ending with another call to praise God What is the most common type of Psalm? What is the most instructive elements of these Psalms? What does this mean to us about our relationship with God? a. The lament b. The honesty of the psalmists c. Tells us that we can and should be transparent with God What are the "imprecatory psalms?" According to class discussion, why are they important to us? a. Psalmist is angry b. We have to be honest with God; this includes anger What are proverbs and what purpose do they serve? Are they intended to be absolute statements of truth? Why or why not? a. Statements of wisdom that point to the importance of fearing God, respecting wisdom and loving the Lord b. No c. Nature of truth is conveyed in proverbial form. Life's complexity makes it difficult to comprehensively convey a truth by a proverb. They aren't maxims, just wisdom. What is at the heart of biblical wisdom? What does this mean? a. The fear of God b. All-inspiring, all-knowing one With what do Job and Ecclesiastes grapple? a. the complexities of life that confound the person who seeks to walk in God's ways. Not a mathematical formula due to God's complexity Be familiar with the basic story in Job. What is God's response to Job's dilemma? a. "Get over yourself. I'm God and you're not." What is the vital principle which Job affirms? a. the ultimate and only adequate goal for pursuing a relationship with God is God himself What is the Hebrew term for Ecclesiastes and what does it mean? a. Qoheleth, which basically means "one who assembles." What is the repeated thought in Ecclesiastes? What does it mean? What can we ultimately learn from this work? a. Everything is "vanity"; it is fleeting b. What the present fallen world has to offer cannot ultimately satisfy and it is fleeting c. How we live in the present, facing both dimensions (sin's impact on Creation and God's presence with and purpose for humanity) of this reality, demonstrates our belief and participation in God's redemption. Of what does the Song of Songs (Solomon) speak frankly? a. the emotional and physical aspects of romantic love What has led many to attempt to allegorize the Song of Songs? a. They cannot accept that Song of Songs is about romantic love between a man and a woman. To what analogy does Song of Songs contribute? a. marriage and the divine-human relationship What is the role of Israel's prophets? What is their primary calling? a. mediators of the nation's covenant relationship with God b. to look back to the fundamental nature of the covenant relationship and to keep Israel on track with their relationship with God How was Isaiah called to his work as a prophet? a. in the form of a vision of God on his heavenly throne What does God inform Isaiah will be the result of Isaiah's speaking to Judah for God? What does this tell us about God's work for us? a. You will prophesy and the world will fall apart before your eyes; remain faithful b. Preach truth because we are to preach truth, not because we are in pursuit of great results Who is "the servant of the Lord" who is pictured in Isaiah? What is his role in God's story? a. Israel b. to faithfully but gently accomplish God's purpose for his people to reach the nations For what is Jeremiah, as a prophet, known? a. Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" and known for suffering with and at the hands of his people and not losing hope. What is the heart of the problem of Judah as identified by Jeremiah? a. They have sinful hearts and sinful unrepentant actions. How does Jeremiah respond to the difficulties he is called to face as God's prophet? Why might this be important to us? a. In response to his difficult circumstances, Jeremiah offers a number of honest and bitter laments to God (cf. Jeremiah 15:15-21; 20:7-18). He feels that God has deceived and betrayed him, yet he feels compelled to deliver God's message. b. Through all our suffering, God will make things right; in whatever circumstances we're in, be faithful Where is Ezekiel as he prophesies for God? a. He is with the exiles in Babylon. What does the phrase "son of man" emphasize? a. Reminder of his human frailty; and the son of man will demonstrate what humanity should be To what is God's covenant with his people compared? a. A marriage covenant; unfaithfulness is adultery Why did God establish a new covenant with humanity? For whose sake? (Ez. 36:19-24) a. God's new covenant is so he can achieve his purposes through humanity b. For his name's sake Why are the prophets following Ezekiel called "minor prophets"? a. Shorter length of work, not due to lesser importance What is the story in Hosea? What can we learn from him? Why should Hosea 6:6 be central to our understanding of God? a. God tells him to marry a prostitute, and he kept pursuing her to preserver the relationship. b. In so doing the prophet manifests God's willingness to restore his sinful people if they will turn back to him. Hosea later makes use of the parent-child analogy to refer to God's devotion to his wayward people that will not allow him to give up on them (Hosea 11). c. He wants our hearts, not our actions. With what does Joel deal? Why is this relevant to us? a. God's judgement on his people; the locust plague b. Reminds us to keep our hope and trust in the only one we can trust in How does Amos 5:10-15 represent his concerns as a prophet? Why did God hate the people's worship? What is the solution? a. I can't be quiet b. They held corrupt business practices; lived unfaithfully while going through the motions of worship c. Turn back to the Lord; love righteousness How does Amos identify himself? As a prophet? (7:14) Why is this significant? a. A shepherd and farmer b. Humility; the message is sent through a "simple" person Of whose destruction does Obadiah prophecy? a. Edom What does the book of Jonah tell us about God's concern for all nations? a. He doesn't play favorites with the nations Why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? What might we learn from Jonah about God's concerns for the lost? a. It was the capital of the powerful and ruthless enemy of Israel, Assyria b. He will find a way to reach them, regardless of nationality What does Micah tell us of God's role for his people? a. To teach God's law to the nations What does Micah tell us concerning the little village of Bethlehem? a. Bethlehem is a place of messianic anticipation; where the messiah will be born What does Micah 6:8 tell us about God's will for his people? a. Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God What is Habakkuk's attitude about God and his work in the world? a. He complains that God is ignoring them and doesn't understand why he is using even more unrighteous nations to bring judgement on the nations When Habakkuk teaches that the Lord is in his holy temple - to what is He being contrasted? a. The wooden and stone idols of other nations What is Habakkuk's ultimate decision? a. Even though the situation looks bleak, he will rejoice and trust in the Lord. Who are the three prophets whose work is accomplished after the exile? a. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi What is Haggai's concern? a. That people leave the temple in ruins while attending to their own business What does Zechariah 8:20-23 tell us about God's will for his people? a. His people will lead others to him by example What does Malachi accuse the people of doing to God? a. Robbing him of his tithes What will happen on the Day of the Lord, according to Malachi? a. "All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and on that day that is coming will set them on fire" To what identity are we called in 1 Peter 1 and 2 which reminds us of the relevant message of Daniel? a. They were exiles; applies the concept of what it means to be a faithful exile b. Living out the truth in a foreign land Where are the children of Israel living as Daniel and Esther are written? a. Babylon Why was Israel in exile? Were they warned of this possibility? a. They rebelled against God b. Yes Who were Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? a. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; among the first group deported from Judah in 605 B.C. Upon what does Daniel and his friends make a stand? Why? a. They refuse to eat the king's food; violates God's law What two important truths does Daniel's stand demonstrate? a. God has not abandoned his people if they will be faithful to him b. God is not like the pagan notion of regional gods; he is sovereign over all nations and capable of demonstrating his power anywhere How did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego get into trouble and what was the outcome? a. They refused to bow down to a golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar b. God delivers them from the furnace, which causes the king to honor God and issue a decree protecting those who worship God and to promote the three who took a stand From what biblical episode does the saying Athe handwriting is on the wall@ come? Who was involved? What was the message? a. Belshazzar's feast, including golden artifacts from the temple. b. Belshazzar, Daniel c. Belshazzar's days are numbered, he has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom will be divided among the Medes and Persians How did Daniel end up in a lion's den? What was the king's response? a. He prayed to God, which defied a decree the king was flattered into signing b. He puts his hope in Daniel's God To what do Daniel's visions point? a. A succession of kingdoms of lesser value then the kingdom of God that will destroy them all and last forever Who was Esther? Mordecai? Ahasuerus? Haman? a. Ahasuerus - King Xerxes b. Esther- queen of King Xerxes- assisted Mordecai c. Haman- appointed as prince and ordered all Jews to be killed for not bowing before him- ended up dying d. Mordecai- refused to bow before Haman and became prime minister What do Daniel and Esther have in common? How do they differ? a. They both stand up for their beliefs under persecution and the fear of death to further God's purposes b. God is not mentioned in Esther Why do some think the name of God is not used in the telling of the story of Esther? a. It speaks to others in later generations that find themselves in a similar situation, without divine revelation. What story do the books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell? a. Challenging experience of those who participate in the fulfillment of God's promised restoration from exile How did Cyrus differ from the Assyrians and Babylonians in the treatment of captive peoples? For what did this allow(for the exiled Israelites)? a. Instead of pillaging the land of its wealth and people, he wanted to send them back to their homeland and tax them Why did the Jews refuse the help of the Samaritans in rebuilding of the temple? Were they justified for doing this? a. The Samaritans were attempting to destroy the work b. Yes What was the main challenge Ezra had to confront as he arrived in Jerusalem? a. the intermarriages between the returning exiles and the neighboring nations Who was Nehemiah and what was his mission? a. A trusted servant of the Persian king who is moved to give up his high position because of the ongoing troubles in the rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem b. The rebuilding of Jerusalem How quickly was the wall rebuilt? What did Nehemiah do to facilitate such a feat? a. 52 days b. He was involved in the labor, refused rights of governor, distributed equally all resources What caused the people to weep as they celebrated the rebuilding of the wall? Why? a. The reading and explanation of the Law by the Levites b. They are reminded of their sins; What can the prayers of Ezra 9 and Nehemiah 9 help us in our prayers to God? a. It leads us to an admission of our sin and guilt, thanks God for delivering us and asks for guidance into the future. What is the purpose of the Chronicles? Upon what of God does it focus? a. Encourage Israel after the exile b. God's selection of David as king What is the first "commentary" on Scripture? a. Chronicles What are the major emphases in Chronicles? Why would these be important to post-exile Israel? a. God's covenant with Israel; Construction of the temple as a dwelling place for God; seeking God b. Points out that God has always been faithful? What does it mean to "live in the song of creation?" Live seeking God's purposes and living them out. Live within the context of his purposes. What was the main cause of Israel's failure to live according to the purposes of God? They chose a counter-narrative, another story to define their lives rather than the purposes of God; idolatry What does it mean to "live in the biblical narrative?" See it as a story that really shapes our lives for his purposes. How is Jesus and "the cross event" the solution for the Old Testament narrative? Jesus demonstrates the perfect embodiment of God's purposes; the ten commandments lived out faithfully