Question: How was God involved in producing the Bible?
Answer:
a) Unaware involvement by men
It is clear from the Scriptures that God can inspire people to do things without their awareness that this is happening
Example: the king of Assyria as noted in Isa 10:5-
Thus it is probable that, similarly, there were scribes who recorded the activities of Israel who were not specifically aware of divine prompting, although it could be there.
b) God wrote Himself
This is exactly the opposite extreme. This was unusual and was limited to the production of the Ten Commandments:
“The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (Ex 32:16)
and
“The LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.” (Ex 34:1)
c) God Instructed men
The next activity, nearest to that extreme above, was God instructing people to write:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it ” (Ex 17:14)
the opposition to and vanquishing of the Amalakites recorded.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” (Ex 34:27)
the basic laws of the covenant given on Mount Sinai recorded.
“Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness.” (Isa 30:8)
instruction to Isaiah to record the prophecy.
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel , says: `Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” (Jer 30:1,2)
similar instruction to Jeremiah.
“Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.” (Ezek 43:11)
similar instruction to Ezekiel.
“Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets” (Hab 2:2)
ditto Habakkuk.
d) God inspired men by the Holy Spirit
Much of the time in the Bible it is assumed that God’s Spirit inspired the writers to write as they did.
For those who are not Christians and who do not know the experience of being inspired by God, the nearest you might come to is a poet or author being inspired to write poetry or a story because of moving circumstances that they have experienced.
In the case of the Bible, it is not merely moving circumstances, but the moving of the person of the Holy Spirit. Occasionally that is expressly recorded:
“The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: `When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God ” (2 Sam 23:2,3)
David’s awareness.
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:20,21)
Peter spoke about it as a regular experience.
“David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit , declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand” ‘ (Mk 12:36 where Jesus quotes David in Psa 110:1)
Jesus himself cited David saying he was being inspired by the Holy Spirit.
e) Unaware involvement – again
Which takes us back to our starting point again. Thus we may read, for example:
“Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.” (Ex 24:4)
Here Moses was not instructed but it appeared a ‘natural’ response, a thing it was sensible to do.
Daniel makes an interesting comment:
“in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (Dan 9:2)
i.e. Daniel already had Jeremiah’s writings and considered them part of holy Scripture, the word of God which he could rely upon.
In Nehemiah we find the practice of Israel indicating their attitude towards the Scriptures:
“They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God ” (Neh 9:2)
and they prayed:
For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets” (Neh 9:30 )
and also:
“all these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the LORD our Lord.” (Neh 10:29)
thus they clearly believed the Law they had written down had come from God.
In the New Testament we find the classic example:
“since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you.” (Lk 1:3)
The nature of the writing presupposes that he was in fact being inspired or prompted by God to do this writing.
