A Layman's Commentary is a writing project dedicated to using the normal analytical skills involved in understanding any text to seek the meaning of the biblical text. I have never been to seminary, but I believe that the bible is fully understandable if approached with intentional, thoughtful reading that seeks the authors' intent. The only added complication to this process is the assumption that I make about the dual authorship of scripture.
Exploring the idea of the human writers as author of the individual writings with God as the author of the entire meta-narrative of scripture provides the possibility that two separate, but un-conflicting intentions for a text may be present. Usually the two intentions come in the form of 'now, but not yet.' The human author is concerned with situations that are taking place during the time of the writing, and his intention is to comment on that time. God as author of the meta-narrative is concerned with that time and place as well as what is coming up in the larger story. There are grand themes that sweep through the entirety of scripture that supersede the intentions of the individual human authors.
One clear example of this sort of theme in scripture is the sabbath and rest. The creation story tells of God's resting on the seventh day. Then the law prescribed a sabbath for the people (one day out of seven), a sabbath for the farm land (one year out of seven), and a sabbath for the economic system which included total redistribution of resources (every 49 years). The nation of Israel didn't keep the sabbath very well, and when God put them into exile, the length of that exile was directly related to how many sabbaths (for the farm land) they had ignored. The new testament continues this theme by claiming that the law was a mere shadow of the truth of God's plan. The sabbath was for the benefit of the nation, but it only foreshadowed an even better rest. The idea of an eternal rest made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate representation of that theme.
This one example of the meta-narrative of scripture shows that the individual biblical authors who lived and wrote throughout this history did not know the fullness of what was to come. They only saw their small part of the picture and wrote according to their unique point of view. The themes that build throughout the bible in an astonishingly literary fashion (foreshadowing, metaphor, euphemism, symbolism, imagery, juxtaposition) are explained by this idea of dual authorship and dual intent. The author of scripture is fully God and fully man, just as Jesus Christ, scripture incarnate, is fully God and fully man. The literary ecstasy of it is overwhelming.
Dear Reader,
Now that I have totally betrayed any facade of academic detachment I might have hidden behind, I will end this introduction. I hope you enjoy this commentary. It is not perfect, just as its author is imperfect (contrast that with the metaphor above). In that sense, I am glad for the blog as a medium. I am open to being challenged on my commentary and, more importantly, I am open to being wrong. With this admission I reserve the right to edit, change, or delete anything I have posted if I am convinced it is incorrect. Interpreting the bible can be a messy business, so feel free to get your hands dirty and comment on any post. The best part of commenting here is that I can't wave any fancy credentials at you in argument. I don't have any. We will use our best reasoning and go from there. I hope to hear from you soon and often.
Most Sincerely,
John Guidry
