Why We Should Question the Bible

Should Christians question the Bible? Absolutely. But in a way that is not typically meant by "questioning". Often unsaved people or new Christians question the historicity of the Bible, or question where it's authorship is human or divine, or if the miracles recorded actually happened, or if the moral commandments are still relevant for this modern day. This type of questioning can diminish the authority of scripture in somebody's mind. Some people ask these questions in good conscience with sincerity, but others use such questions like a jackhammer, taken to the foundation and column supports of the Word of God in a deliberate effort to undermine.

But a Christian can use questioning as a chisel and tool for Bible study that brings depth, texture and richness to the Bible while preserving it's mantle of authority in our lives.

I'll use Exodus 34:4-5 as an example and share my questioning of the Bible today. This builds off Some thought about the same passage in The Knife Edge of the Name of the Lord. Here are the verses:

So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.

In questioning the text, sometimes there are answers, sometimes there aren't. Here's how I've been questioning this text.

What was Moses' state of mind as he chiseled the tablets? Was he still angry because of the golden calf? Was he ashamed because he smashed the first two tablets after seeing the people worship the golden calf? Did Moses use a different type of rock for the second set of tablets than the first? What is the geology of Mt. Sinai?

OK, I'm a geologist so I can't leave that question unanswered. Excuse me while I do a long, exhausting google search [insert sound of clock ticking off all of 14 seconds...] Alright, I'm back. Mt. Sinai is a combination of granite, volcanic rocks, and some metamorphic rocks. Here's a picture courtesy of Wikipedia:














Since Moses was able to smash the first set of tablets containing the ten commandments, did he use a weaker rock on the first set? Did he select the rock for the first tablets based on how easy it would be to chisel? Were the first commandments made of a weathered volcanic rock, chosen by Moses because he could easily knock out the chiseling job in an afternoon while munching some mana chips? Did God instruct Moses to use the much stronger granite for the second set of tablets? Or did Moses make that decision himself? When Moses wandered the arid foothills of Mt. Sinai, did God issue a little cough when Moses looked at an outcrop of rock that was too weak? Because God is sovereign and all knowing and he knew the very rock that would be chosen by Moses, when that rock was being formed millions of years prior in the depths of the earth, did God point that rock out to and angel in heaven and say, "There it is, watch that piece. Someday it's going to be raised to the surface and exposed and I will write my law on it a second time."?

When Moses finally found suitable rock, was it laying loosely on the ground, or did he have to pry it from a nearly impenetrable slab on the mountain side. Did it require the help of Aaron? How long did it take Moses to chisel the stone? What became of the chisel that Moses used? Was it handed down to his son? Were there calluses formed on his hands in the process? Did the hands of Moses bleed when chiseling, because he labored so hard against a brutally strong granite? When Jesus worked his carpentry in the early days did his hands bleed in the same place as Moses?

[Here's where my questioning took an unexpected turn.]

Who else got calluses and blisters in the Bible? Did the Koathites get blisters on their shoulders from the poles when they carried the ark in the desert? Did the Levitical priests get blisters from swinging the blade that killed millions of animals to atone for sin? Did Peter have calluses from working his fishing nets? And when he was called to serve Jesus and leave his nets was he glad or sad when he lost the calluses? Did the man who carried the cross of Jesus get blisters on his shoulders? Was there a rookie roman soldier among those who flogged Jesus, who then went home and complained to his wife because the blisters on his hands really hurt bad? Were there blisters and calluses on the hands of the one who carved the stone that was rolled in front of Jesus' tomb. Did the Father and Son also watch that rock form in the bowels of the earth and then get exposed and mined at the surface? Did Jesus keep an eye on that stone for thousands or millions of years, knowing it would guard him in death and be the first thing he saw at his resurrection?

Yes, we should question the Bible. Often and in great detail. Questions bring out marvels and richness to an amazing, miraculous book that records God's very Word.

The Knife Edge of the Name of the Lord

Near the top of Mt. Everest, 28,000 feet high in the "death zone", there is a narrow ridge only a few feet wide that drops 10,000 feet down to one side and 8,000 feet to the other. This is a place where exhaustion is literally consuming, brain cells are killed at a rapid rate and neurological damage is certain within a very short period. And also in this place, there is little room for errors, and a misstep has huge consequences.














GK Chesterton said that theology is like walking a knife edge ridge with sheer drop offs on either side. The error of legalism falls to the right, and lawlessness to the left. If we neglect the love of God we err, if we neglect His justice we err. Both missteps can have a huge impact in our lives.

Exodus 34:5-7 walks this narrow course and makes clear that the name of the Lord encompasses both justice and love. This passage has been like the John 3:16 to Jewish people through the ages:

Vs 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with [Moses] and proclaimed his name, the Lord.

Vs 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Vs 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Recently I made a personal discovery about the name of the Lord. The "Name of the Lord" rings throughout scripture like a deep bell, sounding and echoing and resounding throughout the entire book. Yet I didn't notice that until just a few days ago. Some things are too big to see.

In light of this, the passage in Exodus is a real gem for me, where God steps out before Moses and proclaims His own name: Jehovah, Lord. The name that is at the same time love, mercy and forgiveness along with justice, righteousness and judgement.

If we deny an attribute of God, say his mercy and love, then we fall into the abyss of legalism. God becomes a cruel school master to fear lest we have sloppy hand writing and get a rap on the knuckles with the almighty ruler. Or if we deny his righteousness and justice, then sin has no consequence, we tread on his creation and creatures with ever increasing cruelty, without regard to judgement from a righteous judge.

Either error is a form of blasphemy because we are denying the full, complete name of the Lord.

Application
The response of Moses in Exodus 34:8 to God proclaiming His name is awesome and should also be our response when we consider the Name of the Lord:

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

What was that like for Moses when the Lord proclaimed His name? Was the voice deafening, the sound of thunder and a rushing wind? Was it a still, small voice? Did Moses feel the voice booming inside him? When he went to bed for the next weeks and months, did the proclamation of the Lord haunt Moses, make him yearn deeply for heaven? Could Moses still hear that voice and freshly recall the Name of the Lord on his death bed as he overlooked the promised land from the east side of the Jordan river? Did Moses grit his teeth or want to haul off and knock somebody's head off when he heard that Name blasphemed?

When Moses himself sinned, was the shame and sorrow in his heart amplified because he knew the Name of the Lord included punishment for the guilty? After Moses was cleansed for his sins in the tabernacle rituals, was the joy and thankfulness in his heart magnified because he knew that mercy and loving forgiveness are part of the name of the Lord?

The details are speculative, but the result and application for our lives are clear: the Lord inspires worship, even by his name alone.

The Name Above All Names

Some things are too big too see. In a crowded downtown, walking past a sky scraper you might not realize its massive size or even acknowledge it is there. Some things are so numerous and pervasive that they escape notice. Being a geologist I know that no matter where you go, there are rocks in some form: the cement in concrete comes from limestone, the gold on your ring was once ore in a mine, the asphalt in the road has aggregate, the magnet holding up the picture of baby Huey on your fridge came from the ground. Rocks are everywhere but seldom seen.

This morning I realized that "The Name of the Lord" is the same way in scripture. "The Name of the Lord" is utterly shot through and through all scripture, the hinge for key doctrines, the motive for the drive of nations, the root of blessings and curses, the basis for the covenants, the foundation of prayer, among the top tier and varsity starting squad of the 10 commandments. The Name has been too big for me to see. Today, I just walked by an enormous, towing skyscraper, an edifice that pierces the clouds and spans whole city blocks. And I looked up and saw it for the first time.

This is what I was reading in 1 Kings 5:3-5,

“You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’ (1 Kings 5:3-5 NIV84)

Three times in three verses The Name is mentioned. Not only had I not fully noticed this in 1 Kings, but also the hundreds of other occurrences throughout the Bible. Somethings are too big to see. But once seen, too important to ignore.

Here's a brief survey of the Name of the Lord in scripture, by no means exhaustive:

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Deuteronomy 5:11)

After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. (2 Samuel 6:18)

Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. (2 Chronicles 2:1)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem (Psalm 102:21)

Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. (Psalm 113:2)

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:5)

“Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder. (Zephaniah 3:9)

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name'"(Matthew 6:9)

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13, Joel 3:32)

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

In the name of the Lord I was saved and am to live a life of worship. The name of the Lord is my protection, blessing, and drive for service. Is there a facet of our spiritual lives that doesn't fall under the umbrella of His name? The Colossians passage pretty well covers it: EVERYTHING should be done in the name of Jesus.

How many prayers have I scotch taped "in the name of Jesus" to the end like it was a pretty ribbon placed on a wrapped package? Not realizing that the name of Jesus isn't an add on, but the very underpinning of each action and word?

Solomon built the temple for the name of the Lord, a huge task requiring the labor of thousands for years. God wants me to build my life for His Name.

I wonder if I even know what this means at all. I'm sitting in a tiny Yugo in the basement garage of a 150 story sky scraper, not realizing what hangs above me. I haven't even been to the lobby, or ground floor. It has been too big for me to see, and now I feel almost too small to dare to lift my eyes.

Some people wonder if eternity will be boring because it is so long, I wonder if it will be too short to understand the Name of the Lord. Just His name, let alone the majesty of His full person and being.

But for now, may I worship Jesus, the God whose name is above all names.

"He Rescued Me because He Delighted in Me " 2 Samuel 22:20

In 2 Samuel 22:20 King David captures the very heart of the gospel of Jesus. David is singing a song of praise to God for the deliverance from his enemies and establishing his throne in Israel. This follows a lifetime of wars, battles, conspiracy and intense conflict, both from within and outside the tribes of Israel.

And verse 20 is an amazing anthem that could be sung by the Christian for a lifetime:

He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.

A Spacious Place
I think that spacious places probably hold more meaning to David than the average Joe. Most of us have opportunity to walk a beach carefree, or hike an alpine trail high in the mountains, or spread a blanket in the park on a lazy Sunday. And most likely the great value of these normal, same-old-same-old, routine, everyday, vanilla blessings is often lost on us.

But David spent much of his life as a soldier, a warrior. And to the soldier, "normal" is a highly desired commodity. During the earlier days of the Iraq war, I corresponded with an army chaplain who said that the soldiers have given up the mundane blessings by serving in the army: choosing what clothes to wear intend of body armor, sleeping without the sound of incoming mortars and warning klaxons, driving a road that won't explode beneath them without warning. Anything that we have in abundance looses value, until it is lost and then it becomes the deepest desire of our hearts. We have "normal every day life" in abundance, but a soldier is deprived of just that.

Why was David so grateful for spacious places? For weeks or possibly months at a time he had to hide in caves to escape enemies that sought his life (1 Sam 23:14). After God removed His blessing from David's royal predecessor King Saul (1 Sam 15:26) and anointed David as the next king (1 Sam 16:1-13), Saul tried numerous times to kill David. 1 Sam 16:14 is a horrifying passage that shows the torment Saul had which led to the persecution of David.

Eventually David fled from Saul and had to hide in caves. Imagine that you have been anointed king, but you're very young and have the most powerful man in the nation seeking your death. What were the long nights like in the dark, cramped caves? I imagine that if there were places that qualify as "hell holes" this would be it. The caves probably reeked with the sweat and filth of David's fellow soldiers. There was probably no stories told, but a strict silence enforced. Each man fearing for his life, missing their families with a deep ache. They probably ate cold food and considered fire too risky.
Any noise from outside might just be the wind, or could be their death. They'd be trapped like vermin if discovered. How many times did David dream of the carefree days of his youth as a shepherd? On the spacious hills, the vast open spaces?

He Rescued Me
And God miraculously delivered David. With a mighty hand He defeated David's enemies and brought him to spacious places. From the blackest cave to a royal throne. This is the gospel. God does this for everybody He saves. He brings us from a place of darkness into a place of light. A spacious place.

CS Lewis depicts this in a very interesting way in his book "The Great Divorce". In that book hell is very small, recedingly small, vanishingly small. In fact the entirety of hell fits into a minute crack in the enormous, spacious land in heaven.

The saving work of Jesus rescues us from darkness, from the pit. From that small, tight space of suffering. One of the ironies in The Great Divorce is that those in hell, in that minute, tiny space experience a dreadful loneliness and far distant separation from each other and from God. Because separation from God ultimately means separation from others, from love, from goodness, from friendship. People whom have yet to be rescued by God are living in a small space, but still far from each other compared to His original design. When God rescues us the whole situation is inverted: He brings us into a spacious place but also into close relationship with Himself and others. He rescues us and makes us part of the church, the Body of Christ, the Bride. We go from being unsaved and alone in a cramped dark space, to being rescued and brought into tight union and fellowship in a spacious place.

He Delighted in Me
I think that the last part of the 2 Samuel 22:20 passage is the best, but also the most difficult to fully understand. Why did God rescue David? Because he delighted in him! Why does God rescue us? Because He delights in us!! God delights in people who are fallen, lost, wallowing in sin, filthy with the stench of their rebellion. This world of people who countless times have spit in the eye of God-- this world!-- He rescues because He delights in us.

I have difficulty accepting this at times. God delights in me? Me? One who has sinned more times than I can count? One who is vanishingly small compared to the Creator of the universe? One who would fit easily and comfortably inside a micro-fracture of the kingdom of heaven? How does He even know that I exist? Let alone know my name? Let alone delight in me? Take great joy in me? Dance and sing over me? Desire a relationship with me?

Yes! He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because He delighted in me.

This is the gospel. This is good news.

Promises, Promises (2 Samuel 7)

When I was a crumb-cruncher about 5 years old my family went to Disneyland. At the end of a very long day at the happiest (?) place on earth, us kids asked when we could come back. Off handedly, my dad said we might come back when we are teenagers. What was probably intended by my Dad as a vague possibility along the lines of "maybe someday", we took it as a guarantee, a locked tight contract, signed with blood. Dad promised!!! And we remembered that promise, counting off the years until we could go again to Disneyland. Every few years, the kids would remind mom and dad, check in because maybe they had bought tickets, or made airplane reservations. And when our teen years came and went with no ride on the Matterhorn or Space Mountain there was, shall we say, a bit of a let down.

In 2 Samuel 7, God the Father makes a promise to his child David that his throne and kingdom would be established forever. Vs 11b-16 captures the promise:

The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

The Least to the Greatest
I love that God chose David to establish an eternal throne. David was the youngest brother in the puny tribe of Judah. He was a scrawny shepherd, picked on and mocked by his family, not the typical training ground for a dynastic ruler. But God anointed the least to be the greatest among men. In vs 8 God makes this point clear:

Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.

Sheep are numbered among the weakest and dumbest animals on the planet (in fact Team Sheep recently got edged out by both Team Mollusks and Team Slugs in a chess tournament). So having "shepherd for 15 years" on David's resume is not a bonus for his royal career track. But the power of God, exercised by countless miracles and acts of divine sovereignty, elevated this flea-bitten sheep boy to head of an eternal royal dynasty.


A Broken Promise?
Except one thing, doesn't it seem like the whole "kingdom enduring forever" part got dropped? I mean, I don't want to get all technical but I don't see a King ruling in Jerusalem today. And with the destruction of the the Hebrew tribal lineage records in 70 AD along with the temple, even if there were a king on a throne today, we could not be assured that he was the offspring of David. Again, at the risk of being nit-picky, God did promise a throne "forever". Which, I know, is a pretty long time but....ummm.... (cough cough isn't cough happening cough cough)

I imagine David looking down from heaven throughout the course of history and trying to remind God about his promise, like I prodded my parents about Disneyland. David strolls into throne room of heaven, fist bumps the seraphim, sings some choruses of "Holy, Holy, Holy" then takes Jehovah aside and points down to Jerusalem, the City of David. "So, umm, Almighty Lord... I don't want to be a pest, and I know you're fairly busy with a few things on your plate, as you sovereignly guiding the destiny of every atom in the universe. But, well, how about, you know, that "throne forever" thing?"

And a few hundred years later when the Babylonians over ran the Holy Land, David might have slipped a note on God's dinner plate:





Then when the Romans reigned in terror in the City of David, crucified Jesus the Messiah who David thought was to fulfill the promise, and destroyed the temple, David might have glanced across to God and tapped his rolex watch.

As millions of Jews were being fed into gas chambers in WWII did David look to the Heavenly Father with tears streaming down his face?

A Promise Fulfilled (Already, Not Yet)
Yet God is faithful, His word is sure, His promises are not void. The promise to David is one that is fulfilled already and not yet.

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one who was born in the Tribe of Judah, in the line of David (Matthew 1:2-16). When he walked on earth, he said "The Kingdom of God is near" because he is the King of Kings.

The Old Testament records that the Messiah would sit on David's throne and establish an eternal kingdom. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum wrote an amazing book called "The Footsteps of the Messiah" that carefully establishes throughout all of scripture the reign of the Messiah past, present and future. Dr. Fruchtenbaum notes two keys passages that help us understand the fulfillment of the promises of God to David. The first is Isaiah 9:6-7:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

The second passage is from Jeremiah 23:5-6:

The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."

When God promised David an eternal throne, David did not realize that the occupant of that throne would be Mighty God himself! The throne is eternal because the occupant is eternal.

Yet, if we are honest, there is still something of a disappointment that it doesn't seem like Jesus is reigning on earth. The Prince of this World, the devil, often seems to have more rule than Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

In the study of Eschatology, things of the end times, Dr. Gordon Fee of Regents College talks about the "already and not yet" of the kingdom of God. Jesus, the King of Kings, has already been born to this world and came to Jerusalem. But his throne is not yet completely established. He still allows nations and peoples to bring wreckage and ruin. The Messiah has already come in partial fulfillment to the Davidic promises, but has not yet returned a second time for the completion of that fulfillment.

The "already and not yet" of the reign of Jesus is also a reality in the lives of individual Christians. Jesus already has saved me and declared me righteous (justification) but I'm not yet completely made righteous, I still sin. So the Holy Spirit is working in me and is in the process of finishing the salvation (sanctification).

For every frustration and disappointment of sin and rebellion both in this world and in our own lives, we can rest on a great hope that God's promise to David will ultimately be fulfilled, and that is sure.

Luke 1:30-33 is an excellent reminder of the promises that are already and not yet:

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

So get your bags packed people, we're going to Disneyland!!!!!!!!!