When is scripture directed toward the reader?

[Lejx11]

I couldn’t find what I was looking for in the search, so forgive me if this is a repeat.

I recently found out that Jeremiah 29:11 was not directed at us in general, but to a specific group of people, the exiles. This verse is passed around a lot to give hope. To lift our spirits.

Now that I know this, what Bible study do you recommend that will help me understand what is written for us now, and what was written for someone else? Am I making sense? I guess I don’t want false hope. People have good intentions, but I am tired of things being taken out of context. I just want the truth, even if it hurts.

Also, is there a list of verses that do give hope to us today? I’m going through a very rough time and I need help. I feel abandoned. I know in my mind that’s not true, but I would like some scripture to read that talks to us.

 

[ShowersofRoses]

Don’t be discouraged and think that you can’t take comfort from Jer 29:11. All of Scripture is profitable for us. It is all written for our encouragement and edification.

Look at the psalms…we are far removed from the time of King David, but the psalms were written for people of all times. They speak of common human feelings and situations.

Scripture has many layers to it. The first layer could be the people and context it was written in. The second layer could be additional prophetic fulfillment. The third layer could be how it applies to us personally. The fourth layer could be how it explains some aspect of God and His Church, and on and on.

Just because the verse was written to the exiles doesn’t mean we can’t take encouragement that God also has a plan for us right now. He’s holding you in the palm of His hand…believe me, He has a plan for your life and is making all things work together for your good. We get to cooperate with that plan by continuing to try and live according to His will.

There are a lot of encouraging verses, but I’m sorry I don’t have time to post more now…have to get ready for Mass. Here’s a link I found with a quick search.

23 Comforting Bible Verses to Remember God's Care

 

[jcrichton]

Everything is written for our edification:

4 For what things soever were written, were written for our learning: that through patience and the comfort of the scriptures, we might have hope. (Romans 15)

Let’s go way back to Genesis… out of the blue there’s this narrative about Gift offerings; Abel offers to God the best of his herd while Cain offers whatever… while it is true that Cain kills Abel (end of that, right), it is not true that it was meant only to demonstrate that such event took place. It was included in Scriptures to teach us to offer to God the best of what we have; to not envy other people’s relationship with God; to emulate the good in others…

It is also there as a bridge:

10 10The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. (Genesis 4)
51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. (St. Luke 11)
24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12)

While not all passages will be clear cut as this, we know from the context and content when some passages apply to a direct time and place and when it applies to a future (as a prophecy) and when it applies to each Believer till the Parousia.

It takes practice, patience and Guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Maran atha!

Angel
PS: Consider the passage:

11 For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of affliction, to give you an end and patience.

Do you not see how this also applies to all Believers? God wants us to live in His Peace (St. John 14;27).

 

[stpurl]

Just because Jeremiah was speaking specifically to the captive exiles doesn’t mean the words aren’t as applicable to people today.

Surely the Lord is not and was not planning good things 'just for those people and no other?"

We have to remember context, true, but not so that we think, “Well, God said this ONLY to the ancient Egyptians, or ONLY to the Israelites under Moses, or ONLY to the Pharisees”.

 

[Seagull]

To me - all scripture is applicable-
in someway -
My ears are always open - at mass -
My eyes always open when reading scripture -
If it’s not directed towards you - who else ?
Never just scan over scripture.

I was reading the Philokalia -
and was reminded - how many things were directly written -
for our spiritual help and health -
And they were written - for a reason.
They - lived it out - lived it and breathed it -
So have respect towards - the lines.

 

[fhansen]

I couldn’t find what I was looking for in the search, so forgive me if this is a repeat.

I recently found out that Jeremiah 29:11 was not directed at us in general, but to a specific group of people, the exiles. This verse is passed around a lot to give hope. To lift our spirits.

Now that I know this, what Bible study do you recommend that will help me understand what is written for us now, and what was written for someone else? Am I making sense? I guess I don’t want false hope. People have good intentions, but I am tired of things being taken out of context. I just want the truth, even if it hurts.

Also, is there a list of verses that do give hope to us today? I’m going through a very rough time and I need help. I feel abandoned. I know in my mind that’s not true, but I would like some scripture to read that talks to us.

The bible lays down basic principles, regarding man and his relationship to God. We’re all exiles.

 

[ziapueblo]

Greetings @Lejx11,

When you look at Scriptures, the authors were writing to specific groups of people. For example, St. Matthew wrote his Gospel to a Jewish audience. Of course, in a sense, it was written to use also, so we must always read the Scripture in the context of who the original audience was.

You can find some great Bible study sessions at the Institute of Catholic Culture. If you are not a member, join! Its free and they have over 700 hours of archived videos on Catholic theology, Scripture study, philosophy, the Saints. The list goes on and on. Click on their library link and you can filter out what type of category that suits you. You can also check out their YouTube page. They have a great Sunday Gospel Reflection that comes out either Thursday or Friday. Great resource in preparation for the Liturgy!

The founder and executive director, Melkite Catholic Priest Father Hezekias Carnazzo, is a cradle Catholic who left the Church in his teenage years and came back in early adulthood. Great resource. Check it out!

ZP

 

[ZMystiCat]

As others have already hinted at, Scripture being directed at an audience and Scripture being directed at us are not mutually exclusive. The Jeremiah passage, for instance, teaches us about how God loves for and takes care of His people, which is certainly applicable to the Christian today. Even the New Testament has similar passages like Romans 8:28.

There’s also a danger in trying to separate the two. Practically all of Scripture was directed at a certain group of people at a certain point in time. Even the letters of Paul are him writing to a person, group, or church in the first century. Even the Gospels were each written for a target audience. No matter what, we cannot escape the fact that the original intent of these works, at least from the author’s perspective, was for people in times that we’re far removed from. So if we’re trying to create a hard divide, all of Scripture will effectively become a cold, distant set of works with little to no application to our lives today. This is, perhaps, one of the issues liberal Protestants are facing.

Of course, we can’t just ignore the fact that these were written to specific people in specific times, and that can give us a major insight to the environment and what sparked the conversation in the first place. Is there anything we can determine from God’s continued plans of prosperity for His people despite the fact that He had them in exile? What can that teach us about times when God is disciplining us? The historical context can really help us delve deeper into what God might be telling us now.

One of my favorite ways of thinking about this came when I was being taught about Lectio Divina during Mystagogy. The lector said something along the lines of, “The great mystics of the Church often realized that God continued speaking to them through His Word.” So while you shouldn’t ignore historical context, do try to think about how God continues to use His Word to speak to you, even in statements that were, in history, directed at someone else.

 

[margaret42]

The Sunday readings up to now have always included an Old Testament reading, that can apply to us; eg the patience of Job. Or with the story of Abraham about to offer up his son Isaac; teaching us how dedicated we need to be with God. and the parables used by Jesus in the NT, are meant for us also, as this was part of his Church.

 

[Reuben_J]

The Bible is a compilation of inspired writings about God’s historical encounters with His people and there are also teachings as well.

The teachings, like Sermon on the Mounts, the Beatitudes, are speaking directly to us, and the historical encounters/episodes are to help us to understand the attributes of God and to learn from the prophets what was right and wrong.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

In a broad sense, all scripture is directed towards all people.
At the same time, different books were written with different purposes.

But good advice is good advice, no matter who it’s directed to. If you overheard somebody’s conversation where they advised the other person not to run up a bunch of debt, it’s still good advice for you, even if you have no debt…

 

[jcrichton]

at least from the author’s perspective

Yet, it is arguable since Jesus is the one Who sets the tone:

17 Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; 21 That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me. (St. John 17)
30 Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name. (St. John 20)
1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a narration of the things that have been accomplished among us; 2 According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word: 3 It seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mayest know the verity of those words in which thou hast been instructed. (St. Luke 1)
15 But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you. 16 But with modesty and fear, having a good conscience: that whereas they speak evil of you, they may be ashamed who falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. (1 St. Peter 3)
11 And this is the testimony, that God hath given to us eternal life. And this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son, hath life. He that hath not the Son, hath not life. 13 These things I write to you, that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God. (1 St. John 5)

There is that expectation that the Faith must be passed to the next generations of Believers (converts).

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[ZMystiCat]

I was more referencing the fact that we often know the original audience. For instance, Luke wrote his gospel for someone named Theophilus (Luke 1:3). Obviously, he hoped Theophilus would accept the account and pass on the story of Jesus’ life, but he may not have thought that what he was writing was Scripture. It was just a letter to someone he knew. The same could be said of Paul’s letters to Timothy, Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth, or John’s letter to the unnamed woman.

This isn’t to detract from the letters. They are, after all, still Scripture. It’s also not to detract from the authors’ desire for the message to be shared. That was clearly a drive of their’s. It’s just to keep in perspective the very historical grounding God frequently uses.

 

[jcrichton]

This isn’t to detract from the letters. They are, after all, still Scripture. It’s also not to detract from the authors’ desire for the message to be shared. That was clearly a drive of their’s. It’s just to keep in perspective the very historical grounding God frequently uses.

Scriptures are not Scriptures because of the immediacy or the source or the means of making them known. Scriptures are Scriptures because they are God’s Revelation.

While it is true that letters are letters, we can find right from St. Peter’s that the issue goes far from simple communication between two parties:

14 Wherefore, dearly beloved, waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found before him unspotted and blameless in peace. 15 And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation; as also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 St. Peter 3)

This passage clearly demonstrates that there were people dismissing the Apostolic Writings and St. Peter addressed this by asserting that Apostolic Writing (Epistles and Gospels) are Sacred Scriptures.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[otrrl]

Jeremiah 29:11ff as well as other forward-looking OT verses were put there to prove to us that God is faithful to his promises. That’s what God said through the prophet and we are called to observe and verify that God has fulfilled that promise.

If it’s not his episcopal motto, our bishop uses these verses (“a future full of hope”) to provide some lift because of all the parish closings and consolidations that our diocese has gone through.