Tuesday, June 24, 2008
"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38, NIV).
IDEA: No one, not even biblical writers, can be free from their own history.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the significance of the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments.
At least one historian believes that the founding of Jamestown was one of the most important events in history. Certainly it's important in the history of the United States.
When did it take place?
What do we know about it?
But then suppose the historian picked up the story of the USA 400 years later, omitting the history between Jamestown and now. Do you think that author could sell his book as a complete history of the United States?
I. What would that kind of history lack?
The whole concept of the United States of America was unknown to the people of Jamestown.
The concept of our government, congress, president, supreme court, political parties, etc. that we take for granted in 2008 never even occurred to people 400 years ago.
II. The New Testament, which could be called the Second Testament, was written 400 years after the First Testament or the Old Testament was finished.
What assumptions might we make about the New Testament writers and readers that we should not make in the light of the 400-year period?
The writer to the Hebrews 11:36-38 tells us this: "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground."
We have difficulty locating all of these events in the Old Testament. What did the writer of the letter to the Hebrews know that we may not know that would have informed those words?
Do you think all the people who were tortured lived in Old Testament days?
If today we were talking about Christians who were tortured, what would come to your mind? You would immediately think of people who lived in our own century.
III. Even a sketchy knowledge of what happened in that period between the Old Testament and the New Testament can help us identify with the biblical writers and biblical readers.