The Psalms

Psalms is a collection of poetry and songs known as the sefer Tehillim in Hebrew. It is quoted 81 times by nearly every New Testament writers except James and Jude, more than any other Old Testament books!

What makes it stand out from the rest of the Bible is its literary style that engages the whole range of human emotions, and the consistent theme of praise and prayer that runs through its variety of authorships. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, was the major contributor and collector of these songs, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, and two Ezrahites—Heman and Ethan. 47 psalms are by unknown authors.

Psalms is organized into five books, each ending in a doxology. While the topics vary widely, from instructional to ethical, from adoration to supplication, history and imprecatory, suffering and thanksgiving, ascent to acrostic, the center focus of each book is the fear of God as the Judge of the whole earth. Godly fear forms the breath that gives vitality to praise, and lends expression to man's relationship with God in every emotion of the human experience.

Some psalms contain superscriptions pointing to the historical background in which they were written; those employed in temple worship usually carry the phrase 'To the chief musician' and are sometimes accompanied by special musical terms such as 'alamoth', 'gittith', 'higgiaon', 'sheminith', etc. which likely refer to certain familiar tunes or some kind of instrument.

Christ is also prophesized in messianic psalms that spoke of his life and ministry, most notably Psalms 22 and 110 which are fulfilled, and Psalms 96-99 which awaits future fulfillment just as surely as He proclaimed:

40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me…

OUTLINE OF PSALMS

1. The Book of the Messiah (1-41)

a. Mainly Davidic except four (1, 2, 10, 33)

b. Psalms about the Messiah

His Sonship (2)

His dominion (8)

His resurrection (16)

His suffering and death (22)

c. The Shepherd psalm (23)

d. Begins with 'Blessed is the man…' (1)

e. Ends with 'Blessed is the LORD…' (41)

2. The Book of Desire (42-72)

a. Half of these psalms are personal in nature

b. Eight psalms with historical background (51-52, 54, 56-57, 59-60, 63)

c. David's famous penitent psalm (51)

d. Begins with a deep longing for God (42)

e. Ends with the glory of God (72)

3. The Book of Israel (73-89)

a. God's dealing with Israel (74, 77-81, 83, 85, 87, 89)

b. Begins with 'Truly God is good to Israel…' (73)

c. Ends with 'Remember, LORD, the reproach of Your servants…' (89)

4. The Book of God's Reign (90-106)

a. Six great enthronement psalms (93, 95-99)

b. God's rule over our lives (90), the wicked (94), our frailty (103),

creation (104), Israel, her deliverance (105-106)

5. The Book of Praise (107-150)

a. Passover praise (hillel) psalms (113-118)

b. Greatness of God's Word (119)

c. Songs of degrees or ascent (120-134)

d. Son of David messianic psalm (110)

 

The Wisdom Books

The wisdom or poetical books, as is commonly known, are the most loved and read among the Old Testament books of the Bible, notably Psalms and Proverbs.

Jewish poetry generally exhibits four distinct features, namely, rhythmic structures, figures of speech, vivid imageries, and intense emotional expressions. The most common form uses what is known as parallelism—a pair of statements or verses that emphasize or reinforce an idea. Figures, on the other hand, convey indirect meanings and can include symbols, metaphors, similes, metonyms, sarcasm, irony, etc. Imageries provide rich expression of thoughts that stimulate the reader's mental sensory experiences. The full spectrum of human emotions—joy and sorrow, love and hate, praise and desperation—not only lend voice to our deepest beings but also challenge us to bring ourselves into submission to the Scriptures.

On a superficial level, wisdom is gained through essential life skills by means of observations and human experiences and encompasses both natural and social relationships. Beyond that, wisdom is rooted in God's created order which makes one wise with godly understanding through divine insights and inspiration. The process of acquiring wisdom, however, cannot be divorced from religious commitments, as evident from the many references made to the Scriptures to arrive at a right interpretation of life's experiences. And while we are limited in our ability to fully discern the wisdom and ways of God in the midst of life's perplexing anomalies, the wisest thing we can and should do is maintain a constant reverential fear of God in humble dependence.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

 

Tanakh: The Hebrew Old Testament

 

OT: The Writings

To

THE ANCIENT OF DAYS

Whose going forth

is from everlasting to everlasting

and Whose glorious praise

is ever upon the lips of angels and mortals.

To

The PRIESTHOOD of BELIEVERS

elected and redeemed

to worship in the beauty of holiness

sanctified and made holy

to serve in His heavenly Presence.

 

Preface to Volume 3

Following the Law and the Prophets, the third major division of the Old Testament is known as the Writings, or Ketuvim in Hebrew, from the root word katav, meaning 'to write.'

The Writings, beginning with Psalms, comprises twelve books arranged into three parts:

• The wisdom books—Psalms, Proverbs and Job.
• The five scrolls—Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther.
• The historical books—Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles.

Notice that the arrangements and categorization of books are very different in the Hebrew canon compared to that found in the English Bible. For example, the latter grouped Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon along with Psalms, Proverbs and Job under the wisdom or poetical books but the former included only the last three.

The book of Daniel, considered a major prophet in the English Bible, is oddly stashed in the historical books of the Writings instead of the prophetical books in the Prophets collection.* It serves to reveal a disparity in the Jewish and Gentile mindsets —which is not surprising. Perhaps that could possibly explain why many Christians arrive at different interpretations when it comes to reading the prophetical books of the Bible!

Another curious deviation is how the English Bible considers Ezra and Nehemiah as separate books, whereas the Hebrew OT lumped both into one single scroll. The former attributes such division based on authorship; the latter, however, views both as a coherent continuity that recorded the Jews' return from captivity and their restoration.

These few distinctions alone should make it sufficiently clear that we need to read the Old Testament in light of its original cultural background and settings, not according to our modern perception and understanding. Jesus and His disciples were well acquainted with the Hebrew scripture in its organization, and so were the Jewish Christians and New Testament writers that followed years after. Reading the Writings based on the order prescribed by the Jewish scribes may possibly offer a fresh look and better appreciation of the ancient text.

As you embark on this enriching journey of 87 days through the Writings of the Old Testament, may you rediscover the awe and beauty of Hebrew poetry, prose and prophecy, walk with the saints and psalmists of old in their trials and triumphs of faith, and come face to face with the Author Who faithfully preserved His writings for posterity to experience Him in their own generation.

Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:7-8)

* Most of these prophets focused mainly on Israel and Judah, with three peripheral references to two other nations (Assyria and Edom) that directly or indirectly affected God's people. Daniel, however, is basically concerned with Gentile kingdoms in the grand scheme of human history under the time-table of God's sovereign rule.

Malachi

Malachi ministered in the days of Nehemiah and directed his message to a nation plagued with corrupt priests and practices, and a people that had lapsed into a false sense of security in their privileged relationship with God.

Using a question-and-answer approach, the prophet revealed deep underlying problems of superficial devotion and worship, self-centered lifestyle, blatant mixed marriages and divorces, and a prevailing arrogance of self-conceit in the leaders and people. The nation as a whole had sunk so low that God's Word no longer had any effect on them. As a result, no prophetic voice was heard for four hundred years after Malachi—until John the baptist appeared.

What had caused the returned Jews to degenerate to such a sad spiritual state? It seems that the people were impatient to wait for the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah to be fulfilled, and had become disillusioned and doubtful their faith gave way to cynicism. Like many Christians today, the Jews wondered if it's worth fearing and serving God, while outwardly they carried on a meaningless empty ritual fraught with insincerity and irreverence. They offered God blind and lame sacrifices, short-changed God on tithes and offerings, and exhibited temerity against Malachi's protest on their callous attitude: "Oh, come on, it's not that bad!"

When our view of God grows dim, materialism and externalism invariably supplant true devotion, and we end up with either ritualism or rationalism. Obligations and duties soon replace our love for God and devotion becomes a drudgery instead of delight. No wonder Malachi ended his message with the bitter word 'curse' as the final word in the Old Testament!

OUTLINE OF MALACHI

1. God the Prosecutor (1:1-2:9)

a. Against the Priests who despise God's Name

b. The Priests are cursed

2. Malachi the Prosecutor (2:10-3:15)

a. Against the People

Idolatry | Divorce | Rob God | Doubt God

b. God will judge the People at His coming

3. Commendation of the Righteous (3:16-4:4)

a. The Righteous are heard

b. A distinction will be made

c. The Day of the LORD shall come

d. The Righteous shall prosper

e. Remember the Law of Moses

4. Coming of the LORD's Messenger (4:5-6)

a. Elijah shall come

b. He shall bring restoration