Comparable to him II: Understanding the times

“The sons of Issachar had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).  A one size fits all understanding of how to interpret the Bible just does not work. If we insist that everything should be interpreted at face value,  for example, then we would need to hate our parents (Luke 14:26).  It is called hyperbole, exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.  Not every admonition is for all time and in all circumstances. De we insist that women wear hats in church (1 Corinthians 11:10). Some will insist on it because, by the slippery slope argument, if you let one thing go,  you will eventually let everything go, and in any case how on earth do you distinguish between what is relevant for today and what is not?  

We need to love the Lord with our mind (Mark 12:30),  and stop making overly simplistic rules that help us to avoid thinking, and wrestling with the issues.  In the past slavery was a thorny issue, today the woman's issue is thorny.  Slaves are commanded to submit to their masters, even when they are harsh (1 Peter 2:18). Does this mean God approves of slavery? It is a mistake to see something as God's perfect will just because it's in Scripture. I mean Judas went out and hung himself (Matthew 27:5)!  Many things exist as result of the fall. We pray and work for the Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. You can be sure that there's neither slavery nor patriarchy in heaven.  It was William Wilberforce's Christian values that cause him to devote his entire life to the abolition of slavery. The Kingdom will not be brought to earth in a day.  And there is a timing,  a process and a Kingdom way of facilitating change in things that need to change (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

In terms of understanding the times, we need to distinguish carefully between moral and non - moral commandments.  Moral commands don't change, non - moral commands may need to change with the times.  As society changed from Biblical times, so did male-female roles. In Bible times women were not even taught to read and write. And in light of this, Paul's rule that women not be allowed to teach (1 Timothy 2:12) was totally appropriate. I see this in the same way that I see the command not to promote a novice (1 Timothy 3:6).  Paul's rule was not about morality, at the time it was simply common sense.

I like to think of Wilberforce working from the command that we are to love justice and do kindness  (Micah 6:8). The same principle was surely needed to be at work a hundred years ago in the movement to give women the right to vote. You may have noticed that women can read these days!

Father, if we are to love justice and to do kindness, we must operate out of Kingdom principles and attitudes. When we see that something needs to change there is a strong tendency to go too far, throwing the baby out with the bath water. When we do this what replaces it can be as bad or worse than what needed to be changed. Today we see the formerly oppressed becoming the oppressors. It is not true, as some would have it, that masculinity is toxic in and of its self. Help us Lord to operate with love, justice and courage in a world gone mad,  in Jesus Name Amen