Originally posted by Living4Him:
Of these books, neither Jesus Christ nor the Apostles referenced:
Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Judges, 1Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Lamentatations, and Nahum.
Does this make these books any less canonical simply because they were not referenced by them?
They are in the Canon of Scripture because God inspired them and put them there. It is obvious that they are the inspired Word of God, and that the Apocrypha is not. Can you answer each and every objection put forth above, and not just pick out this one. However to give you an answer to this one, here it is:
Song of Solomon:
The Song of Solomon falls into the category of the poetical books. It was written by Solomon, and indeed Solomon himself is mentioned many times in the New Testament, unlike many of the Apocryphal books where the author is not even known.
The Song of Solomon is a love story when taken literally, as it should be. But it is also an allegory of Christ and his Church, and thus is very much found in the New Testament. Here is what some commentaries say about it:
”Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament the relationship of the Lord’s people to the Lord is illustrated under the figure of marriage. Israel is the wife of Jehovah (Hos.2:19-23), in her sin and unbelief now divorced, but yet to be restored (Isa.45:5; Jer.3:1; Hos.1-3) in most wonderful grace and glory, which we believe is the aspect of the mutual love that is highlighted in the book. On the other hand, the Christian church is presented as a virgin espoused to Christ (2Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-32; Rev.19:6-8), and is also typically reflected as a part of the redeemed.
This view is not posited on a merely assumed higher spiritual meaning of the poem, but on an innate Spirit-inspired and Spirit-inwrought purpose providentially concealed from the unspiritual mind. Matthew Henry aptly says of the book: ‘It is a parable, which makes divine things more difficult to those who do not love them, but more plain and pleasant to those who do (Mat.13:14,16). Experienced Christians here find a counterpart of their experiences, and to them it is intelligible, while those neither understand it nor relish it who have no part or lot in the matter.’”(Commentary on the Whole Bible, e: 1053).
(Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. I. Merrill F. Unger. )
The entire poem speaks of Christ coming for his bride or church. There are many verses that point out these things. It speaks allegorically of these things. But as Matthew Henry says, those that are not spiritually minded will never understand these things.
Thus is the Song of Solomon.
Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes is also written by Solomon, the same Solomon who is mentioned many times in the New Testament.
Ecclesiastes is never quoted in the NT directly, but Rom.8:20, speaking of creation subject to vanity, may have Solomon’s theme as background; and our Lord’s parable of the rich fool (Lk.12:16-21) is like the final sentence (Eccl.12:14).
(Wycliffe Bible Encyclopaedia.)
Esther:
“Esther is not quoted in the NT directly, however, the book has wonderful lessons on the faithfulness of God even when His people are disobedient.” (Wycliffe)
The book itself is a reminder that “God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew” (Rom.11:2) but will preserve a remnant of them to realize His covenant and promises made to them (cf. Rom. 9:4-5). As such, the book is a powerful attestation of God’s sovereignty as well as His covenant faithfulness to His own in all ages. (Unger)
Obadiah:
Verses 5-9 describe the destruction of Edom. In the NT, Edom is known as Idumea. Ruined economically by the Arabs, and later conquered by the Romans, the Edomites disappeared from the pages of history about A.D. 70. Thus the NT and history shows the prophecy of this book to be accurate and true. It is the inspired Word of God. Apocryphal books are not so.
Zephaniah:
Being a book of judgement as well as a book of promise of restoration, there is much in the New Testament about the contents of Zephaniah. One just has to look for it. For example:
In chapter 1:14-18, “The warning given to Judah and Jerusalem of the approaching destruction by the Chaldeans. It is the ‘great day of the Lord,’ a kind of doom’s-day, as the last destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is represented to be in our Saviour’s prediction concerning it, Mat.24:27.” (Matthew Henry)
Judges:
Haven’t you read Hebrews chapter 11?
Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
I Chronicles:
Surely you jest. This book is a record, a genealogy from Adam to the reign of David, and many of the people and events are mentioned in the New Testament. Here are a couple of the more specific ones:
1. God’s promise to David (17:14)……..Luke 1:33
2. Pilgrims and sojourners on the earth (29:15)…………….Heb.11:13
Ezra:
Ezra is a continuation of the second book of Chronicles, and the opening statements are a repetition of the closing announcement of that book.
Ezra 10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
--This action corresponds to the command given by Paul in 2Cor.6:14-18, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
In chapter 3, the Hebrew name Yeshua, is translated as Jesus.
Nehemiah:
The Book of Nehemiah is the sequel to the narrative begun in the Book of Ezra. The two books are properly considered as one. It is Volume II.
Nehemiah was a man of God, a reformer of his day.
There were not many copies of the Law in that day, and moreover, many of the people were incapable of understanding it in the language in which it was written. They had been living for years under Babylonian conditions and their speech had become that of the country.
Their Bible became a new book to them when Ezra read it “and gave the sense” in terms of the dialect then in use. As we have seen, it had a profound effect upon the minds of the people; they were powerfully moved by the Divine utterances to the nation. It brought them to tears and to holy resolves. It brings to mind a similar scene back in the days of Josiah when the lost Book of the Law was found in the Temple. The king was stirred to the depths by what he read and it came with reviving power to the nation.
When rightly explained, when it gets into the mind and then into the heart, the Word of God never fails to cause serious reflection, to bring us to self-examination to a sense of sin and a consciousness of our need of God. The great need of today is a revival of a true understanding of the Bible. The great mass of the people know very little about it.
(Dixon Analytical Bible). And they certainly don’t learn it in the Catholic churches.
Lamentations:
This is an addition by Jeremiah.
“In addition to being the words of Jeremiah, the book may also be thought of as expressing:
1. The sorrow of the Jewish remnant, for whom Jeremiah was a spokesman, as they witnessed the Babylonian invasion.
2. The anguish of the Messiah when He came to suffer, bleed, and die on the cross of Calvary (ex. 1:12)
3. The sorrow of the Jewish remnant in a future day when they will be called upon to go through the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” (William MacDonald).
Nahum:
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
--Jonah had been to Nineveh over 100 years before. This is the second time God had sent a prophet to this heathen nation telling it to repent.
Nahum 1:15 Behold upon the mountains
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
--Paul quotes from this passage in Romans 10:15
Here are the facts to consider. Every one of these books speak of Christ in one way or another. They are all written before 400 B.C. They are all written in the Hebrew language. They differ greatly from the fairy tale books of the Apocrypha, such as “Bel and the Dragon.” The Apocrypha and its fairy-tales have no place among the 66 inspired books that make up the canon of Scripture that we now have. These truths are self-evident.
DHK
