Exegetical Project Essay 1

Exegetical Project Essay

Denise Burrell

Grand Canyon University

[Insert course name and title]

Professor ​[insert prof’s name]

July 14, 2018

Exegetical Project Essay

If good can come from evil, then is evil good? God forbid! He is sovereign and allows

evil to happen. So ultimately, He is responsible for all that happens in his world; however, the

gun, so to speak, will never be found in the Lord’s hand. God does not cause evil. He did not

inflict evil. God’s hands are always clean. He is good, and he can only do good. One must not

call that which is evil good. Nor should one call that which is good evil. However, God is

sovereign. He can use all things for his glory. For “all things God works for the good of those

who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also

predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many

brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified;

those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom 8:28-30). God is not man that he should lie. Therefore,

he will keep his promises (Phil 1:6). Though he allows evil for his glory, even is not good; good

not evil, and God uses both to accomplish his will. For example, suffering is as natural to this

world as gravity as a result of sin (Gen 3). Suffering, however, is not an end to itself. In

Scripture, suffering is often read as a consequence for punishment or a result of God’s wrath.

That may be true in a few, isolated stories in Scripture, but a fresh pair of eyes will see that

suffering is a vehicle God uses to develop and transform his people. Suffering becomes an

opportunity for God to show the magnificent riches of his grace and mercy. This paper will argue

that David’s Psalm 34 explains how God uses suffering to produce faith, hope, and

transformation in those who believe in him.

David’s Psalm 34 rests in the context of 1 Sam 21. David was running away from King

Saul. On his journey, he fell into the hands of King Abimelech (or Achish). This is where the
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psalm comes in. King David pretends to be insane and is delivered. David sings this song of

thanksgiving to God his deliverance. David’s situation was troubling. He was on the run,

suffering at the hands of other kings, including his son. David, however, sees the hand of God,

and praises him for delivering him from his enemies. This trial taught David to trust God, even

when his life it at risk.

This psalm from David is an acrostic psalm and one of thanksgiving. The poem contains

an “antithetical parallelism” (Richards, 175). As wisdom literature, he is teaching a lesson about

fearing the Lord to his sons. This psalm is not only didactic, but it is also inspiring. The poetic

device add emotion, another level of interpretation to understand David, and largely the human

experience, in times of suffering. There is something about the nature of suffering that presses

and squeezes one into trusting God. Suffering teaches. Rather, God teaches through suffering

how to trust him as David did. Many commentaries agree about most things concerning this

psalm. Here are a few things they agree on: this is an acrostic psalm; David is offering praise of

thanksgiving and gratitude; and David is teaching his “sons” the importance of fearing God

(Ross, 1985; Anstey, 606).

The First Epistle of Peter has many parallels to the song of David, including “suffering is

followed by eventual deliverance” (Greaux, 608). This juxtaposition of terms suggests

typological connection to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Peter is writing his

epistle, he is reflecting on Scripture (Psalm 34) as he writes about afflicted, suffering Christ who

rose from the dead physically with a glorious body. That was the hope of David, and that is the

hope of every one who believes in the Seed of Abraham. The New Testament writers, including

Peter, knew the biblical story. Paul knew the biblical story very well too. He was trained in the
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synagogues. Paul was a self-proclaimed, “hebrew of hebrews” (Phil 3:8). The New Testament is

very consistent with the Old Testament: they both display a God who full of compassion and

mercy, abounding in love and faithfulness. This the character of God because he graces people

with the opportunity to see who he is. The God of the Bible does not wallow in suffering, but he

uses suffering to meet people where they are. He uses suffering to encourage faith and transform

people in the bible. For “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).

The theme of suffering is a big part the psalm. Suffering seems to be inevitable or a part

of God’s sovereign plan. This parallel is always drawn in the NT, specifically the 1 Peter 3

passage. Even more, consistently Scripture has occasioned deliverance, life, and glory after

suffering and affliction. We to continue this tradition of hope: there is joy, glory, life, and love

before, through, and after the suffering. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross” (Heb

12:2). Our hope is in Jesus to deliver us from our suffering lives. To love like he loved because

we are the salt and light of the world. Christ Jesus gave us life to give to others. Christ gave us

love to give to others. And because we are to trust and lean on his strength and power and his

understanding, there is always enough strength, courage, grace, whatever you need to do the task

ahead of you, the task of loving the Lord God and love others.

Fearing God is significant because the other fears the cloud our human experience seem

less significant, even not at all. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I think fear is

the beginning, not the end. “Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity,

tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change

your heart and life?” (Rom 2:4). Fear might be the beginning, but one’s relationship with God

should not continue or end in fear because “perfect love casts out fear.” It’s his love that teaches
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me, his love that changes me. If it wasn’t for the Father’s love to offer his only Son as a sacrifice

for our sins and raise from the dead, we would not have life. This life I live I live for him. It is no

longer I, but Christ in me. Christ shares his life with us when we love another. You can’t grow

by yourself. Growth happens in community. The “love one another” commands cannot be done

alone. So the question is, “Who are you loving?” Even when it hurts the most, when Jesus says,

“Don’t love like the world loves. They love those who love them, but I tell you to love even your

enemies.” When we trust God and his love makes us bold to go in the places that need his love

the most. And those people might not be what society considers worthy of one’s consideration. A

lover, one who loves like Jesus, may experience contempt from one’s own people. But Jesus

loved the anyhow. And because he was obedient unto death, obedient to love God and love

others, what he did changed the world for ever. The world will never be the same. That’s our

hope: that our love, the love that comes from God through us, leads to transformation. Therefore,

we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice every day because it’s only one’s connection to the

death (suffering) and resurrection (life) of Jesus Christ can they have and experience his eternal

life.
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REFERENCES

Anstey, Matthew. (2009). Psalm 34. ​The Expository Times​, 120(12), 606–608.

Eder, Sigrid. (2016). “Broken Hearted” and “Crushed in Spirit”: Metaphors and Emotions in

Psalm 34,19. ​Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament​, 30(1), 1–15.

Greaux, E. J. (2009). The Lord Delivers Us: An Examination of the Function of Psalm 34 in 1

Peter.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). ​The teacher’s commentary​. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Richards, K. H. (1986). Psalm 34. ​Interpretation​, ​40​(2), 175-180.

Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), ​The Bible Knowledge

Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures​. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). ​Psalms​ (Vol. 1). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls

Company.