In cases where a literal lamp is involved, it is most frequently a small saucer or bowl-like holder for oil and a wick that is being discussed (Job 18:62, 2 Kings 4:10), though the large and elaborate seven-branched menorah lamp that illuminated the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 25:31-37) is simply called a “lamp” in many instances. But we also find a number of figurative or symbolic uses of the word, especially in the Old Testament, as we see in the following scriptures:

Inner Illumination:  “The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being” (Proverbs 20:27).

Instruction: “For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23).

These two meanings are fairly obvious ones, but sometimes the connotation of “lamp” is not so obvious unless we look closely at the context in which it appears. For example:

Protection: “How I long for the … days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:2-3).

Life:  “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning” (Job 18:5).

Once we think about them, it is not difficult to see how “lamp” is being used in these examples, although the connection between the word and its intended meaning may sometimes be even more symbolic: 

Descendants:  “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong” (1 Kings 15:4).

Hope:  “But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished” (2 Samuel 21:17).

Once we become aware of these different meanings of “lamp” in the Scriptures, we begin to see that the meaning of the word is often not what it first appears to be. Take for example a passage we find in 1 Samuel: “The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was” (1 Samuel 3:3). We might naturally presume that this verse is speaking of the menorah light in the tabernacle, but the Law of Moses made it clear that that lamp was never to be allowed to burn out and that it had to be kept burning all night  from twilight to the light of the following day (Exodus 27:21, Leviticus 24:3-4). So if this verse is not speaking of a literal lamp, what is the “lamp of God” to which it refers? 

When we look at the possible meanings given above, the answer is that “lamp” in 1 Samuel 3:3 most probably refers figuratively to Israel’s “hope” in God.  Similar expressions are used in 2 Samuel 21:17 (the lamp of Israel), 1 Kings 11:36 (the lamp of David), and 2 Kings 8: 19 (the lamp of David and his descendants). The meaning of “hope” is made even more likely when we look at the immediate context of 1 Samuel 3:3, which tells us:

“One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel” (1 Samuel 3:2-3).

In this case, “lamp” seems to refer to the fact that, despite Eli’s decline, hope was present regarding the boy Samuel whom God was about to call.   Similarly, when Samuel records the words of David: “You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light” (2 Samuel 22:29), it is hope, not literal light, that is in mind.

These are small examples, but in many cases in the Old Testament we should pause to think a moment when we read the word “lamp.”  While context may make it clear that a literal lamp is involved, on the other hand, it may sometimes show that another, more symbolic, meaning is intended. 

​Chances are, like most of us who know and love Paul’s epistles, you would take a deep breath and launch into a somewhat complicated explanation of the nature of salvation, faith, law, grace, and a number of other core Christian doctrines.

But was Paul really just a “theologian’s theologian,” a “super-scholar” who concentrated on doctrine and the theory of Christianity above all else?  The answer, of course, is not at all. There are plenty of life experiences behind a great deal of what Paul tells us.  We only have to look, for example, at his first letter to the Corinthian church.  Paul has a great deal of practical guidance for Christians dealing with some of the problems and challenges of life.  But we can go further than that. There is actually a practical side to most of what Paul wrote – we just don’t always see it.  

When we look at Paul’s epistles closely, we find that he frequently divides his material so that the first half of his letter stresses theological issues and the second half of the letter stresses their practical application. We can see this quite clearly in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians, but the principle applies to most of his epistles.   In Ephesians, for example, the doctrinal portion of the letter (chapters 1-3) is followed by an ethical or Christian living section (chapters 4-6), and the whole epistle is structured around this balance.

But that’s not all.  When we focus in on almost any section of the apostle’s writings, we find that he utilizes this balanced form of teaching continually.  We just have to learn to see the pattern.  In one half of his statements Paul often presents a theological fact, and in the other half we are given the application of that fact.  Usually, it is first the doctrine, then the practice.  In fact, at a technical level, Paul actually often balances two different forms of the same verb – first the “indicative” form stressing a fact, then the “imperative” form telling us what we must do about that fact.  But the overall pattern of fact plus application of the fact is very clear when we look for it.  Consider a few examples where the indicative factual statement is italicized and the imperative command is bolded:

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).

Sometimes we have to continue reading for several verses to get to the practical application of a point, as in this example:

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature… ” (Colossians 3:3-5).

And sometimes Paul reverses the order – placing the practical application before the doctrinal fact – but if we keep the pattern in mind, we will see the balance is still there:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

Whatever order he uses, once we see this pattern in Paul, every epistle becomes a clearly linked series of thoughts about what God has done and what we must do as a result.  But it is not just a way of teaching what we must do.  The “indicative-imperative dynamic,” as theologians call it, is just as much about helping us understand why we should do the things we need to do.

The balanced structure of teaching we see in these verses is certainly not something that was new to Paul – we find it occasionally in formally structured sections of instruction throughout the Bible. To take only two examples:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me …” (Exodus 20:2-3).

“… Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy” (Matthew 6:9 HSB).
​
But Paul uses this structure more consistently than any other biblical writer.  If we look for it, we will find there is invariably a connection between what he tells us about what we should believe and the way we should live – between theology and morality, orthodoxy and orthopraxy, belief and practice, doctrine and living.

As we study his epistles, we should continually ask “What is the fact Paul is stating?” and “What is he saying we should do as a result of that fact?”  If we do this consistently, we will often see the point he is making far more clearly – and not miss the guidance he gives us.  Keeping this simple principle in mind can help us to navigate through Paul’s sometimes dense and even difficult writing (2 Peter 3:16) by better keeping up with his arguments and the significance of what he is telling us.

Paul wasn’t just about theology, and focusing on the practical side of his letters can often help us to better understand much of what he wrote. After all, it was Paul himself who said “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9).

The Bible Gateway website currently offers a total of 28 translations of the Old Testament, New Testament, or the whole Bible in 13 languages. This means, of course, that there are multiple translations in some languages such as Chinese and Arabic, for both of which there are two audio versions available, and English, for which there are 14 audio versions.

If you want to try one of these audio Bible versions, it’s as simple as clicking on the red speaker icon next to the translation name whenever you pull up a scripture verse or chapter on BibleGateway.com. Alternately, you can click “Audio Bibles” in the drop down menu under the “Bible” tab at the top left hand side of any Bible Gateway page.
  
For non-English speakers, or those trying to learn the Scriptures in a second language, the range of non-English audio Bibles is not as extensive as the “printed” versions Bible Gateway has available, however, and there are some odd gaps. There is a Platdeutsch (Low German) version, but no Hochdeutsch (High German) version that perhaps more German speakers would utilize.  But Bible Gateway may well face licensing and availability issues with many audio foreign language versions, and the ones that are given are appreciated.

If you are using English, going to the Audio Bible page allows you to choose among the different versions available such as straight reading or dramatized versions.   It’s worth spending a few minutes to try the available versions to see which one works best for you. We particularly like the readings by Max McLean, but your auditory preferences/mileage may differ.

One thing is certain, even if you like to read the Bible on the printed page, listening to the words being read out can be extremely profitable.  After all, that’s how the biblical books were originally intended to be experienced – as the spoken word – but simply hearing the words rather than reading them can often help you “hear” things in the text that you had not noticed in reading.  Sometimes it’s a matter of the stress evident in the spoken word or the effect of getting the message in a different way, as though someone is speaking directly to us, but it can be profitable as well as relaxing to hear the Bible through speakers or headphones.

In addition to the audio Bibles they have available, Bible Gateway also offers several audio devotionals and the short audio resource “Sound Bites” from The Book – a one-minute radio program done in partnership with the Museum of the Bible that features unusual stories, news items and interesting facts about the Scriptures.

Bible Gateway offers a good number of resources to help you in your study of the Bible.  If you are a regular visitor to the TacticalChristianity.org and LivingWithFaith.org websites, you know that we have several articles pointing out the advantages of utilizing some of these aids (click on the Bible Study category on the right margin of this page to see those articles).  The BibleGateway audio Bible page is no exception.  If you haven’t used it yet, be sure to try it –  you may be surprised how often physically hearing the Bible can help us in our quest to spiritually hear it. 

Zylstra’s article then quotes BibleGateway.com statistics showing that Psalms was the most popular book of the Bible last year, and that almost a quarter of the 100 most popular Bible verses searched for online in 2015 came from that book.  Additionally, about a quarter of Americans have a favorite scripture, and for a quarter of those people that favorite scripture came from the Psalms – far more than from any other book.  

Conversely, however, the article also highlighted another important recent finding on Psalms. Data compiled from social media show that the Book of Psalms also contains half of the least-popular Bible verses circulated on Twitter, with 13 of them receiving only a single tweet in 2015. Psalms that seem to speak of vengeance and violence are just not as popular.  

Psalms is the book of the Old Testament most quoted by Jesus, and it was one of the most important books in the Bible for the early Church.  It is enduringly important even today and has a tremendous ongoing impact on people in every walk of life.  Yet Psalms is a book which many people do not know well – or only know parts of it well.  We tend to know the comforting parts and often avoid, misunderstand, or miss the point of other parts.

If you would like to better know this important biblical book – including the “hard” parts – download our new, free e-book Spotlight on the Psalms.  By providing insights into all the major categories of psalms, this book shows how even difficult psalms, such as those apparently promoting violence, can be better understood, as well as shedding light on the better known and well-loved psalms.

Spotlight on the Psalms is available in three formats (including PDF which can be read on any computer) and if you have not already done so, you can download your free copy here.  You already know the importance of the psalms; why not get to know and understand them much better?