BR-06 Chronological Bible Read (February 5-11)

About now, people start thinking, “I can’t keep doing this daily Bible reading thing.” The reasons are as individual as the people thinking them.

One of the main reasons people quit: they fall behind.

So, here’s a pro tip: unless you have tons of time on your hands, just pick up with the current week. Don’t worry about what you missed. It’s not like you can’t go back and pick it up some other time. But that’s not even the point. Give yourself the year to read the Bible. It’s about spending the year in scripture, not any given day or week.

Pro Tip #2: if you’re too busy or just can’t get to it (for any reason), use my notes to guide you to key matters. That’s the fast way to make sure you don’t miss the important stuff while moving on to the next week’s reading.

Blessings,
Steve

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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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THIS WEEK: I am continually surprised at how much "ground" we cover in one short week! Look at this list:
1. Pharaoh finally expels the Israelites from Egypt
2. Israelites cross through the Red Sea on dry ground
3. Pharaoh's army drowned
4. Quail and Manna feed Israelites in the Wilderness
5. Water from the rock Moses struck
6. Jethro's advice on setting up a layered judicial system
7. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
8. The plans for the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, and sacrifices
9. Sabbath Instructions
10. The golden calf worshipped while Moses is on the mountain with God
11. Moses convinces God not to destroy the entire Israelite nation (more than once!)

WHEW! That's a lot! Let me know if you have any questions.

Some thoughts for this week’s reading:
1. Fans of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning will note the first appearance of "bells and pomegranates" in this week's reading (As long as Aaron wore them on his priestly robe while in God's presence, he would not die!).

2. Dull as it is to read them, the Tabernacle instructions were VERY important: God promised that He would live among the Israelites if they followed his Tabernacle instructions.

3. Over and over, God tells Moses He (God) will send an Angel ahead of them to clear the way through the Promised Land; to drive out the people who live there.

4. Aaron lied to Moses about the golden calf, claiming he just threw the gold into the fire "and out came this calf!"

5. Moses was so angered by the people worshipping the golden calf that he threw God's hand-written tablets down, breaking them on the ground. God later replaced them.

BR-05 Chronological Bible Read (January 29-February 4)

I hope your week is going well and I hope you've been blessed by your daily reading. A lot is happening this week in the Bible; wrapping up the Book of Job and starting the long, nation-building trek of Jacob’s Children.

“When we open the Bible and begin to read slowly and listen for God, the Spirit illumines our mind and gives us a direct word from God.”
—THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD (James Bryan Smith)

WALK [away] LIKE AN EGYPTIAN
We start the Exodus this week with lots of plagues and hard-heartedness. I say, "start,” because there is a lot more Exodus-ing to go.

Most important part of this week's Exodus reading: Passover. This event sets the theological stage for Jesus to become the final Passover lamb for the sins of the world and the end of death. Stay tuned.

Received a question about Elihu.
I took a stab at answering it, below.

Write me if you want to discuss any of this. Questions and comments always welcome.

Blessings,
Steve

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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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The Question: Who is Elihu?
The 3 friends were introduced early on, then reprimanded by God at the end of the book, but nothing is said about Elihu. Is he someone of importance?

My Answer:
Eliihu is introduced as the son of Barakel from the Land of Buz, a neighboring country to Uz. Interestingly, Elihu means “My God is He” and Barakel means “God Blesses.” We have no idea how many people have been observing the exchanges between Job and his “comforters.” But we do know at least one other, Elihu, has heard every word. He is a younger man who, though stirred to anger by what he has been hearing, has remained patient and respectful of Job and his “comforters,” all older men.

Elihu is allotted five straight chapters to speak his peace. That, in itself, is significant. It is also significant that God does not include Elihu in His condemnation of Job’s three “comforters.” In fact, a careful review of Elihu’s message reveals it goes hand-in-glove with what God eventually says.

And that’s most likely why Elihu is there: to deliver, as informed by the Spirit, God’s wisdom. Job makes a spiritual journey over the course of his afflictions (see journey milestones listed below). Elihu’s message then affirms Job’s improved understanding of God and encourages Job to embrace that new understanding. It is no stretch to say that Elihu was the “warm-up” for when God confronts Job at the end of the book.

Job’s spiritual journey: a growing understanding of God
1. First 8 chapters: Job is afflicted by Satan (& his so-called friends, his ”comforters”).
2. Chapter 9: “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us.”
3. Chapter 16: “Even now my witness is in Heaven; my advocate is on high.”
4. Chapter 19: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the Earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”
5. Chapter 23: “But He [God] knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

I hope this helps illuminate the person and purpose of Elihu in the Book of Job. Please let me know if you would like more.

This week’s notes:
1. What do you think of Elihu’s attempt to “defend God” in Job chapters 35, 36, and 37? ... does God need defending? And if so, is a human the best choice for an advocate?

2. Why is Job in the Bible?
That's the question I often hear from folk who read the book of Job and come away scratching their heads. I could give you a long and complex answer, but the essence is this: It's there so we can learn how we should and should not think about God. Job, himself, starts out speaking of God correctly. He complains of his situation, but does not blame God for it. As he continues to suffer, he eventually comes to blame God. For this he is called to account by God.

3. Each of Job's three "friends," in turn, get it wrong. If you want to understand how NOT to think about how God interacts with humans, just go back and read what Job's friends had to say. God condemned those “friends” for their faulty thinking and only forgave them when Job interceded for them. Sadly, you hear a lot of people, today, who say the same kinds of things.

4. Eventually, we get to the final chapters where God asserts His sovereigny: the right of God to do as He pleases, without explanation, because all of this belongs to Him already.

I think Job chapters 38, 39, and 40 are stunning, thought-provoking, even mind-bending ... and, perhaps, the most revealing chapters in the Bible when it comes to helping us understand God. Absolutely worth reading through two or three times.

5. In Exodus (and later) don’t get hung up on the long lists of genealogies. I will work at tipping you to important names that crop up. Some are obvious and don’t need pointing out, while a few others are truly worth pausing to consider.

BR-04 Chronological Bible Read (January 22-28)

Well, Chronos, we are deep into the Book of Job, this week. We pick up at Chapter 12 and continue through Chapter 34 (almost to the end; we’re saving the big finale for next week).

Are you starting to see why just quoting the Bible is not necessarily a dependable enterprise? What if someone quotes one of Job’s “friends” to support their point? Food for thought.

Want to read more about Job?
I recommend Ray C. Stedman’s excellent little book, LET GOD BE GOD. If you just want a quick dip, then I recommend his chapters 1, 12, and 13.

Blessings,
Steve
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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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A lot of words have been flying back and forth in Job!

1. January 22nd through 27th - Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar (Job’s so-called “friends”) have similar messages for Job. My summarization: "You must have done something wrong! God only treats people the way He has treated you because they have done something bad. What bad thing did you do?!!"

What do you think? Is Job justified in his complaints? Do you agree with Job or with the three “friends?”

2. KEY VERSE: On January 24th, (Job 19:25), Job declares “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the Earth at last.” This is in reference to the Messiah (Jesus). Perhaps you’ve sung this in a hymn?

3. January 28th: Job 32 - And what about Elihu? He has been silently biding his time until the “old folk” have had their say. It has been suggested that he waited out of respect for his seniors. Perhaps. He certainly has a somewhat different take on the events. (A) Does God need Elihu to defend Him? (B) Does God appreciate someone defending Him? (There’s more of Elihu next week.)

How's it going for you in Job?
I would love to hear from you on Job. The book is fascinating to contemplate. We finish Job on January 31st.

Coming up - Egypt!!
We slip back into the timestream, next week, picking up after the deaths of Jacob and Joseph. We get a peek into how Jacob’s descendants fare in the Land of Goshen.

BR-03 Chronological Bible Read (January 15-21)

More history, Chrononauts, as we continue to time-travel along the lifelines of one particular family. Next, a side trip into one of the most fascinating books in the Bible: Job

Blessings,
Steve
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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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Endings and beginnings
This week, we end our story of Jacob and Joseph and extended family (for now).

1. January 15th: Genesis 41 (verse 45) - Despite what the NLT footnote says, The Complete Jewish Study Bible says Pharaoh’s new name for Joseph was “Code Breaker!” (Reflecting his ability to interpret dreams).

2. January 17th: Genesis 47 - Pharaoh tells Joseph to have his father and brothers settle “...the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen.” Remember this when we revisit them in the time of Moses.

3. January 18th: Genesis 50 - I thought it was interesting the great respect shown Jacob by the Egyptian officials at his burial ... a stunning endorsement of the value they all placed on Joseph.

We'll be back to follow this family in February.
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January 19-21: Job, Chapters 1 through 11 - As for now, we begin the story of Job. I find this book fascinating!

1. January 19th: Job Chapters 1 and 2 - Interesting take on Satan, hmmm? He is presented as a malevolent prosecutor; not just an accuser, but always an accuser of humans.

2. As you have noticed, except for the brief introductory section and the heavenly interludes (all at the beginning), this book is composed of alternating speeches. It helps to think of it as a stage play: Job complains. One of his friends shoots Job down. ... Rinse. Repeat. ... Rinse. Repeat.

This goes on for a few days of our reading.

3. Eventually (next week), God will weigh in. I recommend you pay attention to who says what ... because God certainly did, and then tailored His responses to what each person said.

That's it for this week. Email me any questions or comments.

BR-02 Chronological Bible Read (January 8-14)

Welcome to week Two. A question has been raised to which, luckily, I already have the answer. I’ll address it below. Plus: when should we read the Book of Job?

Pro Tip: Don’t get hung up in all the genealogies. It’s important to scholars; less so to us.

A lot of fascinating stuff happening in these 7 reading days! Drop me a line if you have any questions or want to discuss.

NOTE: The version we are reading is also available on the Kindle and in audio format from Audible. Many have found these more portable reading forms to be helpful. Print versions are available from all the usual sources.

Blessings,
Steve
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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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Before we dive in, let’s take a quick look back at Noah. How do you recall that story? One of our readers recalled that Noah’s neighbor’s were openly disparaging of Noah’s building of the ark, made fun of him for preaching that God intended to send a flood to destroy the wicked, resisted Noah’s entreaty for them to repent.

None of that appears in the Genesis account of Noah and the flood.

Which makes me wonder: where did we get these ideas? Likely Sunday school. But where did they get them? A little something for which we need to keep watch as we read through, this year; how the “story” sometimes differs from the actual scripture.

This week's highlights:
Another sweep of history. But things have slowed down considerably. Most of this week is about Jacob; his stealing of his twin's blessing, fleeing to live with distant relatives, marrying Leah and Rachel, and fathering the twelve sons who will (mostly) become the tribes of Israel. The week wraps up with the opening scenes of Joseph's life: slavery and imprisonment.

1. January 8th: Genesis 25 - If you’re keeping score, Abraham had one son by Sarah, One son by Hagar, and six sons by Keturah. That’s eight sons we know of; daughters are also likely, but were not identified.

2. January 10th: Genesis 28 - God repeats for Jacob the promise He made to Abraham that “all the families of the Earth will be blessed” by their descendants. Consider reading The Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill for just an inkling of how this has come true. Here is a link you can copy and paste if you want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Jews-Changed-Everyone-History/dp/0385482493/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1546384993&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gift+of+the+jews+by+thomas+cahill

3. January 14th: Genesis 38 - There is one side-tour into the life of Jacob's son, Judah, and his relationship with his daughter-in-law, Tamar. And it is definitely worth your consideration since Tamar is one of only five women listed in the genealogy of Jesus!

About Job
A lot of you have questions about the book of Job. The big one: "When should we read it, chronologically?" No one knows when Job occurred. Some argue it is a pre-flood story. Others think it falls into the exile years (that's a lot later in our reading).

In the version we are using, Job is placed right after the death of Joseph; which means we will be reading it from January 19 through 31. There are good reasons to believe Job occurred sometime before the establishment of the nation of Israel —names used, locations referenced, the way wealth is recognized, the making of sacrifices by Job, daughters participating equally in Job's wealth, etc. All seem to point to this period just prior to or during the Egyptian captivity of Jacob's descendants.

If you are unfamiliar with the book, you might find it useful to read the brief summary located at this website (copy and paste): http://biblehub.com/summary/job/1.htm.

QUESTION & ANSWERS
A question arose about Cain's wife; mainly, "Where did she come from?" Some scholars take the position that the earlier scripture in Genesis that says God created man, male and female, implies he created a group of people to populate what we now call "the fertile crescent" (the area along the Mediterranean Sea currently occupied by Egypt, Israel, and nearby countries — you can Google this to see a map of the area). These scholars believe the creation of Adam and Eve was a special situation; that God created Adam later for the specific purpose of maintaining the Garden of Eden, and that Eve was created to be his mate and partner in this. The idea is that being ousted from the Garden forced Adam and Eve out into the populated world. If that speculation is true, then Cain's wife would have come from this other group of humans.

On the other hand, there are scholars that believe Adam and Eve were the very first humans and that all humans descended from them. In that scenario, we would have to believe that the Bible only records the births of Cain, Abel, and Seth while ignoring the birth of other children who grew up, moved off, and started their own families. There is plenty of evidence for this approach. The Bible does, in fact, often leave out the births (and entire lives) of people who are not central to the story being told: in this case, the story of Adam, Cain, and Cain's descendants. Secondly, these people lived very long lives, hundreds of years. It would be no problem for Adam & Eve to have had several other children who grew to adulthood, married, had children of their own, and formed entire communities away from Adam & Eve. So, it's not crazy to think that everyone alive at the time of Cain's expulsion were his relatives.

Either of these theories works to explain how Cain could move away, take a wife, and have children. Since the Bible is silent on the matter, and since there is no other record to research, we are left with a mystery.

BR-01 Chronological Bible Read (January 1-7)

[ Before we dive in, I want to share with you a free resource that I have found useful in my reading of the Bible: FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR STUDYING THE BIBLE. It and some other useful resources are offered free of charge by Christianbook.com. There are also some free resources for children, as well. They are all available for download. Enjoy!
CLICK HERE or You can copy and paste this link: https://www.christianbook.com/page/promotion/social-promotion/most-popular-free-resources?p=1210450&emid=Y3hueF9lbWlkX21mXzIwMTRfY3hueEtpcEhydUdpWHFnQkJrSm5za0hrSFEyQ1JTUUoU2FsdGVkX19gGDy8rYc_CVcfdtJFZQA8T6UDTmVFNtxlSTG3rhYsRDgEG2F_QFEt&utm_source=EPMS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200419_1210450&utm_term=Free%20Resources%20You%20Can%20Download%20Now&utm_content=gmail.com ]

Here we go! Our first week of daily Bible reads.

I love reading Genesis:
1. the first Sabbath (God rested on the 7th day),
2. the first church (people having a relationship with God),
3. the first Tabernacle (God communed with humans in the Garden),
4. the first covering of sin (God made garments for Adam & Eve),
5. the first Messianic prophecy (the serpent’s head to be crushed by Eve’s descendant),
6. the first salvation from sin (Noah & family),
7. the first covenant (the rainbow; with Noah, for all humankind).

Our focus this year is on reading the scripture. There is enormous power in just reading it. These first few weeks, since they are history, won’t generate a lot of notes from me. And yet, I want to address whatever concerns you have. So, please do contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you over the coming weeks.

My prayer is that you find this reading approach very spiritually nourishing.

Blessings,
Steve
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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, Copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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This week's highlights:
What an interesting week! And, wow, we cover a lot of ground. Our reading takes us from creation to the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. Some highlights include Adam & Eve, leaving the Garden, early cultures, Noah & the flood, the call of Abraham, the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, the almost-sacrifice of Isaac.

1. Why were their 7 pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals?
(Genesis 7) The explanation given is that the extra pairs of "clean" animals were to serve as both food for the Noah family and for sacrifices to God. God worshippers had been making animal sacrifices to God from almost the very beginning (look back at Cain & Abel). So, it should probably not be shocking that God made provision for Noah to continue this activity.

My>2. Why did Noah live so long? Was it to build the Ark?
(Genesis 9) Noah lived a long life because that was the norm. Of course, we don't know the ages of everyone who ever lived. But in the case of this particular strand of the Adam family, scripture tells us they were very long-lived, with lifespans stretching well into the hundreds of years. Noah's grand-father, Methuselah, had the longest life on record at 969 years. On the other hand, there is no indication that the other humans living in Noah's time had any shorter lifespans. The likely answer is that everyone just lived hundreds of years. It was only after the flood that God began to limit the lifespans of humans.

Here is a link to a timeline that compares the lifespans of Abraham's ancestors. This is not an endorsement of the website. I know nothing about them; I just like the graphic they have constructed showing the lifespans from Adam to Noah. --SCO
Copy and paste: http://www.new2torah.com/PDF/Age_Chart.pdf

3. Hagar “names” God
(Genesis 16) In the very first chapter of Genesis, we encounter our first name for God: Elohim. It means “majesty, greatness, high dignity, excellence.” In Jewish scripture, especially in reference to God, a name is not just an identifier. It is about revealing the very essence of a person. Usually, God tells someone the name to use in referencing Him. In this case, we diverge from the norm: Hagar calls God El Roi, “God Who Sees Me.” It is a very personal name, and one which should encourage us all.