OTHCC Chapter 81: items 1601 - 1620

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

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Most scholars find a consistent pattern in Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, a pattern that is reinforced by the teaching of Deuteronomy: the LORD

a.   approaches his people, they turn from him, and the people suffer.
b.   makes promises to Israel which he never expects to fulfill.
c.   rejects the people of Israel, in spite of their continual faithfulness.

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Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy || >> Joshua << Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings || 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah || Tobit* Judith* Esther 1 Maccabees* 2 Maccabees* Job

Psalms

Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Wisdom* Sirach* || Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch* Ezekiel Daniel || Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

The Old Testament books with a star * are not any more or less important than the others. The star indicates that the Catholic Church definitively professes and knows these books to be part of the sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120], but that they are specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called ''apocryphal'' (of doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

Roughly the first half of Joshua

a.   describes the conquest of Canaan.
b.   is a census of the people of Israel.
c.   restates the laws given to Moses.

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Most of the last half of Joshua describes in detail a division of the promised land to the tribes of Israel. Some scholars believe that this was done

a.   as a way of maintaining peace by providing highly reliable records of land settlements.
b.   in order to reinforce the king and maintain the power and prestige of the house of David.
c.   to teach that God kept his promise to Moses and gave the whole land to his people.

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The last two chapters of Joshua

a.   are Joshua's last words to the people, which are a collection of wise sayings from ancient times.
b.   prepare the people for the change to governance by a royal family, with David as the beginning.
c.   restate and renew the covenant of the LORD and urge faithful obedience by the people.

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Probably the two most famous stories in Joshua are of Rahab the harlot (prostitute), and the defeat of Jericho (where ''the walls came a'tumblin' down,'' as a well-known spiritual puts it). Read Josh 2, the setup to the story continued in Josh 6.

Now read Ruth 4:18-22 and look for the name 'Salmon.' A tradition developed that Rahab married the man Salmon mentioned in Ruth 4:18-22, and thus was the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. Why is that of interest? Read Mathew
1:1-5.

Joshua records that the inhabitants of Canaan, those (unlike Rahab) not devoted to the LORD, were wiped out from the land. Ancient warfare could be that bloody, but most modern scholars (and the book of Judges) say that the record of total extermination recounted in Joshua is not historically accurate. Most scholars say that the story of conquest in Joshua is told in this way to emphasize that the LORD really does ask total faithfulness. The foreign gods of the surrounding peoples are not to be worshiped under any conditions. Now read Josh 6 for the story of Jericho. <<

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According to the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him [CCC 129], the full meaning of the Old Testament

a.   has already been determined.
b.   is inexhaustible.
c.   will never be known.

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Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy || Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings || 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah || Tobit* Judith* Esther 1 Maccabees* 2 Maccabees* Job

Psalms

Proverbs Ecclesiastes >> Song of Songs << Wisdom* Sirach* || Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch* Ezekiel Daniel || Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

The Old Testament books with a star * are not any more or less important than the others. The star indicates that the Catholic Church definitively professes and knows these books to be part of the sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120], but that they are specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called ''apocryphal'' (of doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

''Song of Songs'' means ''the greatest Song.'' Most scholars say it is a loosely-organized assemblage of love poems. Many modern scholars confess that they have no absolutely convincing argument for how old the Song of Songs is, how old the love poems in it are (they might be really old), how they came to be together in the Song, and most importantly, how in the world the Song of Songs got in the Bible without even mentioning God once.

A ''seal'' was an identifying mark, almost the presence of the person, worn as a pendant around the neck, set in wax on a document, etc. Read Song 8:6-7, which many scholars say is ''obviously'' the culmination of the book: love is strong (some suggest ''relentless'') as death.

However, over the centuries, the Song of Songs has had many different ''obvious'' meanings. For many centuries, Catholic commentators were absolutely convinced that the Song of Songs ''obviously'' made no references at all to physical love (St. Bernard, for one, ''proved'' this). >>

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Picking up on long Jewish tradition which had identified the bride and groom as the LORD and Israel, Catholic commentators said that the Song of Songs ''obviously'' was a very elaborate allegory regarding the union of Christ and his Church. Still later, the woman in the poems came to be thought of as the Virgin Mary. Some of these passages in the Song of Songs have become part of the liturgy of the Church on feasts in honor of Mary.

Some modern scholars have (shall we say) disagreed with St. Bernard: the Song of Songs is no allegory but celebrates erotic love and desire. They are convinced that the lovers plainly are having full sexual relations. They even remark that the lovers have been identified as bride and groom only by tradition - the text itself does not say that they are actually married.

However, other scholars note the repetition of passages like Song 3:5 in the Song of Songs. Read Song 3:4-5. She's definitely leading him into the bedroom - but then she's stopped. It's not the right time. >>

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In the revision of the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council, the Church assembled passages from the Song of Songs into a reading that may be chosen for the First Reading of a nuptial Mass. Since whatever else marriage is, it is about what you do when you make babies, this new reading may not have been selected if the Holy Father and the bishops had been convinced that St. Bernard had spoken the definitive last word on the complete meaning of the Song of Songs.

On the other hand, the context of these words of erotic passion and desire (read in church!) is a nuptial Mass in which the couple swears to be true to each other until death and to accept children lovingly from God.

Here, the Catholic Church stands forever in the way of anyone who would say that sex is ''really'' just a momentary experience of pleasure. Instead, she teaches plainly, to anyone who would listen, that erotic passion is very, very important, so important that the only context in which it has its true meaning is the context of a man and a woman (not two men or two women) who make solemn vows to be true to each other for life and to accept children from God with love. Anything less moves you farther from Christ. >>

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Anything less - anything less - does not express the real meaning of erotic passion, and moves you farther from Christ. The Catholic Church has been completely clear about this point for a very, very long time. Our Lord himself taught this to her to help all men move closer to him.

The passages that make up this option for the First Reading come mainly from Song 2: verses 8-10, 14, and 16, and then conclude with Song 8:6-7, as above. Read Song 2 now.

You should also remember that the Song of Songs also still is read by the Church as referring to Mary, and also as referring to the union of Christ and his Church. The different meanings add to each other, and do not cancel each other out. Marriage, as St. Paul noted, is a sign that refers to the covenantal union between Christ and his Church.

Scholars continue to study the Song of Songs, just as they do every book in the Bible, and as is usual for scholars, they have many elaborate theories about what it means. Some of them may even be right.

We know that as man continues to study the Bible and find more of its true meaning, Jesus himself, with love infinitely stronger than death for his one and only Bride and Body, his Catholic Church, continues by the power of the Holy Spirit to protect the true meaning of the Bible through the sacrament of Holy Orders. <<

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Suppose there is an idea about the Bible. If the Church has formed no firm judgment, then we

a.   have to use our own best judgment, and sincere people can disagree about the matter, with no threat to their salvation.
b.   have to use our own best judgment, but if it turns out that we made a mistake, then our salvation is at risk.
c.   should avoid thinking about the matter unless and until the Church makes a definitive judgment.

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Suppose there is an idea about the Bible. Suppose you've thought about it, and agree with it. Now suppose the Church forms a firm judgment, and rejects your idea. Then, through the successors of his apostles, Catholic bishops in union with the Pope, Christ himself is teaching us how to remain close to him,

a.   and you risk everything if you move toward an idea that Christ says will take you farther from him.
b.   but your idea is still OK as long as you sincerely do not understand why the Church's position is correct.
c.   but you would be wrong to change your own mind just because the Church said that your idea was harmful.

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If someone has an idea that plainly disagrees with what the Catholic Church teaches and hands on, we should

a.   continue to profess the truth of Catholic teaching.
b.   throw him in jail until he sees the truth.
c.   wonder if Catholic teaching is really true.

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In the fourth century AD, many Catholic bishops agreed with the Catholic priest Arius, and taught that, since there is only one God, then Jesus, God's Son, has been made a sort of honorary God, but is not actually God. The fact that many Catholic bishops at the time taught incredibly serious heresy means that

a.   Holy Orders is not really a sacrament. Bishops are not protected from error, even when they decide something important.
b.   the Catholic Church became corrupt a long time ago, and has failed to preserve the true meaning of Christianity.
c.   we have to pay close attention to whether particular bishops are teaching in union with the bishop of Rome, the Pope.

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How can we be certain that we are not moving away from Christ when we choose between various ideas about what the Bible means?

a.   Due to the fact that all truly intelligent people agree about what the Bible means, we know that a committee of very smart people with university degrees will find the true meaning of the Bible every time.
b.   Even though history shows that we do not necessarily find the true meaning of the Bible on our own, Christ himself continues to give man what he needs to study the truth of the Bible through the sacrament of Holy Orders.
c.   Since people have been disagreeing about what the Bible means for thousands of years, we can't ever really be certain who is right when people disagree about the true meaning of the Bible.

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What is the awesome truth about the relationship between man and God?

a.   Each man has been created in freedom so vast that he can, if he wishes, walk away from God himself.
b.   God's love guarantees that a man can never do anything so terrible, that he would become separated from God.
c.   No matter what a man thinks or does, he is always moving toward a closer union with God.

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The Holy Father and the bishops teach in CCC 1093 that:

''the Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her own:''

''notably, reading the Old Testament; praying the Psalms; above all, recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return).'' <<

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According to the Catechism [CCC 203], the ''name'' of a person in biblical times

a.   expresses his essence and identity and the meaning of his life.
b.   is given by his family as a way to indicate his status in society.
c.   says little about his eventual role in God's plans for man.

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The Hebrew name ''Jesus'' means

a.   ''Holy is God.''
b.   ''God is near.''
c.   ''God saves.''

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Sin is ''rejection of God and opposition to him.'' [CCC 386] In other words, the reality of sin means that

a.   God is real and man has actual freedom to move toward him or away from him.
b.   God is real but man has no actual ability to reject God and move away from him.
c.   ''sin'' is an outdated name for flaws, weakness, mistakes, unjust structures, etc.

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