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Feed Yourself Lesson Seven

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Context: Social

"Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one." Gen. 29:26

The first, and most important, context is Scriptural context. The second type of context, as we saw last week, is Historical context. The final aspect of context we want to consider is the social context.

Social context is looking at what the society or culture was like when the portion of Scripture we are reading/studying was written. It asks questions such as: What were the customs of the people? What were their beliefs? What did they wear? What were their houses like? What were their families and other relationships like? What was it really like living at that time in history? When you find out the answers, use your imagination to put yourself into the story. What would it have been like to be David fleeing from Saul? What do you think Adam thought when he first saw Eve? How would you have felt if you were Paul tossed on a ship in a violent storm? What do you see, hear, feel, and think? Have fun with it. Bible study isn’t boring, unless you make it that way!

In Western Civilization, we tend to read the Bible from our own point of view. However, the Bible was written in Eastern Civilization. Even within the Bible, there are two major social conditions. The Old Testament was written from a Hebrew point of view, while most of the New Testament was written mainly by Jews with a significant Greek influence.

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Hebrew is a language that is constantly drawing pictures - The Lord is my shepherd - green pastures, still waters. It works through illustrations, stories and poetry - the trees clap their hands, God rides the chariot of the wind. This does not mean that historical stories are figurative. History is history, but the Hebrews thought and communicated more in pictures. The Greeks were more concrete and exact. They thought in terms of science and facts. God used both languages to convey Who He is and the good news of the gospel.

To correctly understand many verses, stories, and events, we must "get inside" the minds of those who lived them. We must set aside our own way of looking at them and understand how the people who first heard or read the words would have understood them. A crucial question to ask in Bible Study is: What did this mean to the people who first heard it? Many misunderstandings about the Book of Revelation, for example, would be avoided if we first asked this question.

Let's take an example. Read Luke 11:5-8. From a Western point of view, we read this story and say, "That wasn't a very nice friend." From the point of view of the listeners of Jesus, the reaction would be one of total disbelief and horror. In their society, hospitality was a sacred duty. Even today, missionaries to poor Eastern countries can testify that when they are out preaching, their hosts will save and go without food just so they can provide a meal for their guests. Here is a person who has a friend come in from a long journey. He would gladly have gone hungry himself to feed this visitor, but he had no food in the house at this late hour. Without refrigeration, most food was eaten the day it was prepared. He needed help. He knew a friend who always has extra food, so he goes to him, calling on a covenant relationship - “friend” is a covenant term. In Jewish society, no man in his right mind would refuse such a request. It would be a high honour to be included in blessing this traveller. To respond as this man did, he would have to be lower than dirt.

What is the context of this story? Prayer. Is Jesus saying that God is unwilling to answer the requests of His people? Of course not. This is similar to the parable of the Unjust Judge. Jesus is vividly making the point that we do not receive from God just because we are covenant friends. We must ask, seek, and knock. We must be specific - three loaves. Our covenant friendship with God is the basis on which we ask, but if we don't ask - and be persistent - nothing happens. If we are unaware of the social context, we miss the depth of the story.

Just as with Historical context, we can often understand much of the social context by studying the Scriptures. In the above example, a knowledge of Old Testament laws and practices would have shown the social context without any need for outside help. In other cases, our knowledge of social conditions can be enriched by reading Bible helps. Archeology and other sciences have much to teach us about the lifestyles of ancient people.

In the beginning Scripture, Jacob was deceived by Laban because he did not understand the customs or society of Laban. He blundered in and ended up marrying two women due to his own ignorance. I am sure he wished he had known his social context! In the same way, many verses are misunderstood, misapplied, and sometimes even represented as saying the opposite of what they really mean due to our ignorance of the social context. Always try to understand a portion of Scripture from the point of view of the original hearers before making modern-day applications.

Practice looking for social context with Luke 1. Ask questions: What did the priests do? Were the priests always on duty, or did they take turns? From what line of descendants were they expecting the Messiah to come from? When did they name a child?

WEEK SEVEN PROJECT

1. Read the Book of Ruth. Make notes on all that you learn from the Book itself [do not use outside help] on the society and culture in which Ruth lived. Also, keep an eye out for any historical details you may see.

Day One: Read the Book of Ruth out loud.

Day Two: Read chapter one and mark down all the social and historical details you see.

Day Three: Read chapter two and mark down all the social and historical details you see.

Day Four: Read chapter three and mark down all the social and historical details you see.

Day Five: Read chapter four and mark down all the social and historical details you see.

Days Six and Seven: Reread the Book of Ruth each day and mark down any additional social or historical details you see.

2. Continue with your daily reading program.

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Reference Works Used In This Course:

Bible Study Methods by Mrs. Shirley Davis

The International Inductive Study Bible by Harvest House Publishers

Effective Bible Study by Howard F. Vos, Zondervan

How To Understand Your Bible by T. Norton Sterrett, IVP

How To Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur, Harvest House

Independent Bible Study by Irving L. Jensen, Moody

How To Study The Bible For Yourself by Tim LaHaye, Harvest House

Return to Feed Yourself Lessons.

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