Is the Bible the truly God's Word? Christians say yes. The question we must ask ourselves is how can we know that the Bible is the Word of God and not just a good book? What is unique about the Bible that sets it apart from all other religious books ever written? Is there any evidence that the Bible is truly God’s Word? These types of questions must be seriously examined if we are to determine the validity of the Bible’s claim to be the very Word of God, divinely inspired, and totally sufficient for all matters of faith and practice. The Church of Divine Guidance Adult Bible Study Group is doing a study to address and answer these questions.
Review
All this is evidence that the Bible is true and as it says in
2 Timothy 3:16 (HCSB)16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
Psalm 119:160 (HCSB)160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.
One final evidence that the Bible is true is found in the testimony of those who have believed it. Multitudes of people, past and present, have found from personal experience that its promises are true, its counsel is sound, its commands and restrictions are wise, and its wonderful message of salvation meets every need for both time and eternity.
The Bible is an awe-inspiring book. However, we don't want merely to admire it; we need to understand it. In fact, the majority of people who have an opinion about the Bible--either positive or negative--don't understand what it says. Such understanding is crucial because the Bible is the Word of God, a fact that becomes especially apparent as you study it. So we need to know how to study the Bible. That encompasses four things: reading it, interpreting it, meditating on it, and teaching it.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, a comparatively simple language to understand. It isn't a theoretical or philosophical language with a lot of abstraction. It is very concrete. The Old Testament is broken up into 3 major sections; history, poetry, and prophecy.
The Historical Books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
These first 17 books of the Bible trace the history of man from creation through the inception and destruction of the nation of Israel. In the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), Israel is chosen, redeemed, and prepared to enter a promised homeland. The remaining 12 historical books record the conquest of that land, a transition period in which judges ruled over the nation, the formation of the kingdom, and the division of that kingdom into northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms, and finally the destruction and captivity of both kingdoms. They record the history of the Jewish nation from its inception through its days of glory and deportation, and finally, to its days of survival as a small, insignificant nation surrounded by enemies intent on destroying it.
The Poetic Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Now comes a different set of books, which are known as the poetic books of the Bible: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. They don't relate historical experiences. Rather they relate the experiences of the human heart. They do not advance the story of the nation of Israel. Instead, through the use of Hebrew poetry, they delve into the questions of suffering, wisdom, life, love, and most importantly, the character and nature of God. The Psalms do however have some prophecies about the coming Messiah.
For Psalms the Hebrew Bible uses the designation Tehillîm, which means "Praises."
All but thirty-four of the psalms bear some type of title. Among the titled psalms, seventy-three use the inscription "A Psalm of David". The Hebrew usage may indicate "belonging to David," "connected with David," "concerning David," "for David," "dedicated to David," "in the style of David," or "by David." It doesn’t necessarily mean that David was the author. In addition to the seventy-three referred to David, twelve are connected with Asaph, who is mentioned in the bible as being assigned by David as a worship leader
1 Chronicles 6:31-32, 39 (HCSB)31 These are the men David put in charge of the music in the LORD’s temple after the ark came to rest there.32 They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the LORD’s temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations ⌊given⌋ to them. 39 Heman’s relative was Asaph, who stood at his right hand: Asaph son of Berechiah, son of Shimea,
2 Chronicles 29:30 (HCSB)30 Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with rejoicing and bowed down and worshiped.
Twelve with the inscription Sons of Korah
The fact that the Sons of Korah are authors of some of the Psalms is quite interesting and is a real testament to the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God. Remember the occasion of the revolt against Moses and Aaron when the nation of Israel was in the wilderness?
Numbers 16:1-2, 23-24, 31-35 (HCSB)1 Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. 23 The LORD replied to Moses,24 “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”31 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open.32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all ⌊their⌋ possessions.33 They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.34 At their cries, all ⌊the people of Israel⌋ who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!”35 Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.
Korah died but his sons didn’t
Numbers 26:9-11 (HCSB)9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. (It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the community, who fought against Moses and Aaron; they and Korah’s followers fought against the LORD.10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, when his followers died and the fire consumed 250 men. They ⌊serve as⌋ a warning sign.11 The sons of Korah, however, did not die.)
The prophet Samuel came from the line of Korah
Samuel’s Levitical heritage comes through his father Elkanah, who was a descendant of Korah
1 Chronicles 6:22-27 (HCSB)22 Kohath’s sons: his son Amminadab, his son Korah, his son Assir,23 his son Elkanah, his son Ebiasaph, his son Assir,24 his son Tahath, his son Uriel, his son Uzziah, and his son Shaul.25 Elkanah’s sons: Amasai and Ahimoth,26 his son Elkanah, his son Zophai, his son Nahath,27 his son Eliab, his son Jeroham, and his son Elkanah.
1 Samuel 1:1 (HCSB)1 There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
The Korahites became doorkeepers and custodians for the tabernacle
1 Chronicles 9:19 (HCSB)19 Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah and his relatives from his ancestral household, the Korahites, were assigned to guard the thresholds of the tent. Their ancestors had been assigned to the LORD’s camp as guardians of the entrance.
During the time of King David, they became the great leaders in choral and orchestral music in the tabernacle.
1 Chronicles 6:31-38 (HCSB)31 These are the men David put in charge of the music in the LORD’s temple after the ark came to rest there.32 They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the LORD’s temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations ⌊given⌋ to them.33 These are the men who served with their sons. From the Kohathites: Heman the singer, son of Joel, son of Samuel,34 son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah,35 son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai,36 son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah,37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah,38 son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel.
Two Psalms ascribed to with Solomon, one to Ethan,
This may be the Ethan who wrote the Psalm
1 Chronicles 15:19 (HCSB)19 The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;
And one to Moses.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
The essence of the Book of Proverbs is the teaching of moral and ethical principles.
The book of Ecclesiastes gets its name from the Greek version, which has the title ekklēsiastēs, "assembly." The name in Hebrew is literally qōhelet, "one who assembles." This has been taken to mean either "one who collects" wise sayings or "one who addresses an assembly," that is, a preacher or speaker, the implication being that one assembles a group for the purpose of addressing it. It is a narrative written by what some translations say is the Preacher others the Teacher.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 (HCSB)1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 (NKJV)1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
According to rabbinic tradition, Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age.
The Book of Ecclesiastes does not directly identify its author. There are quite a few verses that imply Solomon wrote this book. There are some clues in the context that may suggest a different person wrote the book after Solomon’s death, possibly several hundred years later. Still, the conventional belief is that the author is indeed Solomon.
The primary aim of the author is to show from personal experience that all earthly goals and blessings, when pursued as ends in themselves, lead to dissatisfaction and emptiness. The highest good in life lies in reverencing and obeying God, and in enjoying life while one can. Thus the author was a man of faith; he was skeptical only of human wisdom and endeavor.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
The Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon is obviously a poem of love. The difficulty is how to interpret it. Some view it as;
1. Allegorical. This was the interpretation common among the Jews from ancient times, and from them it has passed over into the Christian Church. The Jews regarded the Song as expressing the love relationship between God and his chosen people. The Christian Church saw in it reflected love between Christ and the Church.
2. The dramatic view. The essence of this view is that the Song is a drama representing Solomon as having fallen in love with a rustic girl, the Shulamite, whom he takes to his royal palace in Jerusalem.
3. The typical view. This view, too, holds that in the Song there is portrayed the great love between Christ and the Church, King Solomon being regarded as a type of Christ, and the bride as representing the Church.
4. The natural or literal view. The basic tenet of this view is that the Song is a poem extolling human love. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
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