Troy Manning

What did I do during the day this week?  STUDY!  Ever since I arrived in Lansdale, PA, on Monday, I have been studying.  I arranged my schedule so that I would be studying this last week on the road in preparation for the Haitian Creole workshop next week.  I decided to save it for this week because I knew I would be able to use the Calvary Baptist Seminary library the whole week.  I spoke at the church on Wed and in the chapel on Thurs, so I needed to be here anyway.  I’m thankful for how well the two speaking times went, and I’m also thankful for the resources here at the library.  I definitely needed them! 

I had the task of working through the entire book of The Song of Songs.  I had never worked through it in Hebrew, so I knew it would be difficult for that reason.  Plus, I knew the Hebrew was complicated and I also was fully aware of how complex the interpretation of the book is.  I was definitely not mistaken about these issues!  It seemed that almost every verse had at least one extremely complex issue, and many verses had more than one.  For one verse, the Handbook on the Song of Songs strongly recommended adding a footnote to the effect that the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.  I probably could have done that for a number of items in the book.  But thankfully, I was able to work through the entire book, finishing only 20 minutes before library closing on Friday afternoon.

Though the exact meaning of many items in the book are difficult to determine, the overall theme of the book is very easy to grasp.  I was confronted over and over again with the joys and delights of an exclusive marriage relationship.  These are the rewards that God offers to those who are committed to saving themselves for “the right one.”  Interpreters try to justify the book’s place in the canon by drawing parallels between Christ’s relationship with the church.  Regardless of whether or not this is an acceptable approach, it is clear that the literal message of the book is needed in today’s society that praises “bread eaten in secret” and being “ravished with a strange woman.” 

Today I had the privilege of developing a sermon the cross.  My text was Luke 23:34 where Christ’s cry for forgiveness is recorded.  I look forward to preaching it in Philadelphia tomorrow for the first time. 

After Sunday dinner I begin heading back to Michigan.  I’ll be staying the night in Findlay, OH, on Sunday night and then driving the rest of the way to Grand Rapids on Monday morning.  Please pray for safe travels. 

Pray also for the Lord to do a great work tomorrow as I magnify His forgiveness!  And pray for the workshop to be very productive next week and the following.  The Haitian translator is flying up to the US this time so that we don’t have to spend money for two tickets (one for me and one for Dr. Bernard).  I’m also very thankful for this arrangement, because I wasn’t looking forward to going to Haiti during this hotter time of the year and with my back brace.