Paradigm shift (#2)

I just love the professors who stretch our thinking... 

One of my professors, Dr. Lubeck, is continuously encouraging us to search for the author's intended meaning as we read and study our Bibles... But then I come up with questions like...

In Ephesians 4, Paul quotes/references to Psalm 68... And then Paul provides an interpretation of what "he ascended" means.  Yet, this interpretation does not line up with the psalmist's intended meaning.  So how do we reconcile this?

I wasn't the only one with questions.  How do we explain foreshadowing in the Old Testament?  For example, Abraham's sacrificing of Isaac is often seen as a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice...  Can we honestly say that was Abraham's intent?  And here is where things get exciting...

Who is the author of Genesis?  Its not Abraham.  So we're not after Abraham's intended meaning (his thoughts), but the author's.  And the author was Moses (this is debatable by some, but that is not central to this argument...).

So what was Moses' intended meaning?

Genesis is not only a recording of historical facts, it is much more.  Genesis opens with "In the beginning"or in the very first days and concludes with "in the days to come" (Genesis 49, NASB) or at the very end.  So Moses understands that what he is recording is both history and prophecy.

But Genesis is just one book of a much larger book.  And when we look at the Bible in its entirety, we discover in Hebrews that Abraham believed that God could raise his son from the dead.  And if he believed that God could raise Isaac his son from the dead, is not possible that he could have believed that God could raise one of his sons from the dead?

As we study, the intended meaning of the author becomes more and more clear...

(This is a very rough description, so if it doesn't make sense... comment with your questions and I'll do my best to explain better!)

Clean

Rain pours
Thunder rolls
I am washed
I hear Your voice
'Cry out to Me
Cry your fears
Your deep pain
Be free'

feeling love

I've forgotten how to feel
My emotions are numb
My heart remains untouched
What's it going to take
For me to feel love again?
I won't feel love
Until I feel loved
Thank You for loving me