Sharp lays out three areas of inquiry in her introductory chapter (Historical, t

Sharp lays out three areas of inquiry in her introductory chapter (Historical, theological, and hermeneutical, pages 7-15). Choose a text, approximately 2-3 verses, from the Biblical texts assigned for this week and use Sharp’s discussion as a guide to interpret this text. Please pay attention to all three facets of the text. While you should focus on 2-3 verses, the context of your passage will certainly impact the interpretation of the passage, so do not ignore the surrounding text. Sharp has resources for determining historical context, but you may also use the books of Kings and Chronicles to find out what is happening in the background historically. Here are a few EXAMPLES of things to discuss from Amos 3:1-2. Historical: Amos ministers during the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel (See 2 Kings 14). Israel was experiencing relative peace and prosperity. Amos refers to God bringing the people out of Egypt (See Exodus 12-15). Theological: God’s relationship with Israel (bringing Israel from Egypt) indicates that God pays special attention to ethical standards of Israel (See Amos 2 for a delineation of the sins of Israel). Hermeneutical: Claiming a special relationship to God never excuses the practices of injustice and oppression. The people of God should maintain higher standards of justice and ethics flowing from the nature of God.