BR-40 Chronological Bible Read (October 1-7)

We’re three-Fourths complete, Chronos!

I hope all is well with you. Did you find many interesting links between these Gospel readings and our Old Testament readings? Side note: there is just too much in the NT that calls for comment; I can't possibly address it all. So, I am depending on you to ask me if you have questions.

SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP IN READING THE GOSPELS: 

From time to time, Jesus refers to Himself in the third person as "the Son of Man." This has confused some because, in a very real sense, we are all children of mankind. Plus, just to keep things confusing, God and His messengers often called Ezekiel "son of man" when addressing him. What could Jesus mean by this phrase ... and in a way that distinguishes Him from the rest of us? And from Ezekiel? 

The reference is to one of Daniel's visions (Daniel 7) where Daniel sees "one like the son of man," a personage that is pretty much universally considered to be the Messiah. There is always a bit of drift in a language (unless it’s a dead language like Latin ... or a language tightly controlled by the government like French), so its not such a surprise that this got shortened to "Son of Man" over the centuries between Daniel’s vision and the appearance of Jesus. There was no confusion among those who heard Jesus use the term ... they all understand the reference to the person in Daniel's vision.

See BR-36, the first September 7th comment for some more on this (Two paragraphs in length).

Blessings,

Steve

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We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, paste in this link to the daily reading schedule:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

 _________________________

This week's highlights: 

Jesus claims to be the son of God. Keeping the Sabbath. Jesus continues to break the "rules." The first twelve Apostles called and sent. Sermon on the Mount. Non-Jews start to believe in and interact with Jesus. Like Elijah and Elisha before Him, Jesus resurrects a Widow's dead son. Jesus explains how John the Baptist relates to Elijah. Jesus anointed by an immoral woman. More women follow Jesus. The parable of the seeds. The first mustard seed illustration. Pearl of great price. Jesus calms the storm. Legion! The hem of His garment. Talitha Koum. 

October 1st - John 5:6-7 - "Would you like to get well?" Jesus asked. "I can't, sir," the sick man said, "for I have no one to put me into the pool ...." Seems to me that conversation sums up many that we have with the Lord. He offers a new way to do things and we respond that the old way isn't working out for us. Missed opportunities.

October 1st - John 5:24 - "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life."

October 2nd - Point of clarity: Thaddaeus in Mark 3:18 and Judas (son of James) in Luke 6:16 are the same person.

October 2nd - Matthew 5: 3-12; Luke 6:17-23 - Interesting translation of the "beatitudes." I like it because it makes plain something that most translations leave as confusing: regardless of their state of being  —poor, mourning, humbled, needing justice, are merciful, hearts are pure, peacemakers, persecuted (for doing right), mocked, maligned—  God has already blessed them all ... and continues to. None of them exist outside of God's blessings ... even if they are experiencing negative circumstances in their lives, God is already blessing them. Their circumstance, good or bad, does not drive how God regards them. In other words, instead of “Blessed are the ...” we should read it, “Already blessed are the ....”

October 2nd - Matthew 5:13-16 - The salt and light passage is actually Jesus upbraiding the Jewish people for not being what God intended for them to be: salt and light. They have lost their flavor and have hidden their light under a basket. Yes, we, too, should strive to be salt and light; but this passage was never about us.

October 2nd - Matthew 5:38-42 - "Anything beyond [a simple declaration of 'yes' or 'no' regarding our commitments] is from the evil one."

October 2nd - Matthew 5:44-45 - "Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." Makes you think about how God views those who persecute Him (Saul, for instance, before he became Paul). 

October 3rd - Matthew 7:12 - "This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets."

October 4th - Matthew 8:5-13 - The faith of the Roman officer provides an excellent opportunity for Jesus to underscore what the religious leaders should have already known from their studies of scripture: God's plan was always that Gentiles would be included in His blessing because of their faith, and that many Jews would be excluded because they lacked faith. 

October 4th - Matthew 11:10-14 - Jesus makes clear that John is the Elijah everyone has been waiting for. How can that be? We christians usually reject reincarnation. Your thoughts?

October 4th - Luke 7:47 - "and they are many" ... there is no limit to how much God can forgive. 

October 5th - Luke 8:1-3 - Jesus took with him: "some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases" on a tour of towns and villages to preach and announce the Good News about the Kingdom.

October 6th - Matthew 13:38 - "The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one." Makes me think of Stephen King’s The Stand.

October 6th - Mark 4:36 - "although other boats followed"

October 7th - The demoniac Jesus encounters in the Mark 5 and Luke 8 readings possesses incredible strength. Chains and shackles that would have held other people could not hold the one possessed by Legion!:"...he simply broke them ...."(!)

Next week: 

More healing. Jesus rejected in His hometown. Jesus had sisters! The sending out of the twelve. Death of John the Baptist. Feeding the 5000+ & the 4000+. Jesus walks on water. Many disciples desert Jesus. Scraps from the Master's table. "Who do you say that I am?" The Transfiguration. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom? Parable of the lost sheep. Parable of the unforgiving debtor. Openly teaching in the Temple. A woman caught in adultery (somehow just by herself). 

BR-39 Chronological Bible Read (September 24-30)

Doing the happy dance, Chronos! (New Testament, New Testament, New Testament!!)

Key thought of the week: As we start the New Testament (NT), it is a good idea to keep an eye toward what has come before. As you read along, watch for references to and connections with the Old Testament (OT) readings we have already done. I've noted a couple examples in the This Week's Highlights (below - one obvious, and one not so obvious), but better: you find some and tell me. I'll share them with the group.

Of course, as you have questions, send them to me. We'll track down answers ... hopefully, ones that provide a better understanding for us all.

Blessings,

Steve

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We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, paste in this link to the daily reading schedule:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

 _________________________

From last week - Just a reminder as we pivot into the New Testament: it was Nehemiah (8:9-12) who assured us ”the JOY of the Lord is your strength!"

This week's highlights: 

What a packed week! We start Matthew, Mark, and Luke ... witness the Ave Maria ... we’re present for the birth and childhood of Jesus ... encounter John the Baptist executing his ministry of reconciliation ... experience the temptation of Jesus by the adversary. We hear the calling of the first disciples ... can almost taste the new wine at the Cana wedding reception ... cringe a bit when Jesus clears the "money changers" from the Temple ... watch as Nicodemus makes a visit to Jesus under the cloak of night ... are shocked that Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman(!) ... hear the sermons ... we're astounded by the miracles. 

And that's just the first week of New Testament reading!

September 24th - THE OBVIOUS OT CONNECTIONS - The genealogies of Jesus are packed full of people we’ve read about over the past 38 weeks. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Tamar(!), Salmon (one of the two Jericho spies), Rahab the Harlot(!), Boaz & Ruth, Jesse, King David-Bathsheba-Uriah, King Solomon, King Uzziah ("In the year Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and lifted up...."), King Jehoiachin (start of the Babylonian exile), Zerubbabel (returned to start rebuilding the Temple). One of the values of reading genealogies is that you can more easily see that the entire Bible is actually one story.

September 28th - THE NOT SO OBVIOUS OT CONNECTION -  When Jesus holds His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (and later when He tells the parable of the Good Samaritan), he does something incredibly shocking! Granted, it doesn't seem all that shocking to us. But we have to keep in mind that the Samaritans were not just a people despised by the Jews. They had earned the enmity they received! Remember the people (bullies) who (A) opposed the rebuilding of the Altar and the resumption of the sacrifices to God, (B) later opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, and then (C) even later opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem? Those were the ancestors of the Samaritans! Jesus knows just how shocking he is being when he interacts with  —and dares to suggest one of them might actually be better than a Jew—  Samaritans. He is setting the expectation that God has opened a way of reconciliation for all people. And no one needed to learn that lesson more than the Jews: God's chosen people.

So ... which ones did you find?

Next week: 

Jesus claims to be the son of God. Keeping the Sabbath. Jesus continues to break the "rules." The first twelve Apostles called and sent. Sermon on the Mount. Non-Jews start to believe in and interact with Jesus. Like Elijah and Elisha before Him, Jesus resurrects a Widow's dead son. Jesus explains about John the Baptist and Elijah. Jesus anointed by an immoral woman. More women follow Jesus. The parable of the seeds. The first mustard seed illustration. Pearl of great price. Jesus calms the storm. Legion! The hem of His garment. Talitha Koum. 

BR-38 Chronological Bible Read (September 17-23)

BROAD SWEEP OF HISTORY: 

Nehemiah stays in Jerusalem for 12 years and then goes back to his day job serving King Artaxerexes (the ruler of Persia and conqueror of Babylon). After an absence of one short year, he returns to the Promised Land to find everything in shambles ... Temple, Sabbath, intermarriage (again!). He works to correct the problems. Meanwhile, God sends two prophets, (Malachi followed later by Joel) to underscore his anger at their apostasy and to provide instruction, again, on how to live rightly.

 

Key thought: "Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi‬ ‭3:7b‬) Compare to similar language in James. 

The end of the Old Testament! 

Blessings,

Steve

_________________________

We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

 _________________________

This week's highlights: 

Ezra weighs in on "Inter-marriage." Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem ("watch and pray"). For the first time in decades, the Law is read aloud to the people. The Prophet Malachi. The Prophet Joel (and the promise of the Holy Spirit!). 

September 17th - Ezra 9:1-2 - It was not the intermarriage, by itself, that was the problem. If they had been able to marry the non-Jews and those non-jewish spouses had adopted the Jewish religion and rejected their previous religious practices, God would have accepted the situation. The problem was  —as God predicted—  these intermarriages resulted in just the opposite: God's people adopting the “detestable practices" of the non-Jewish people they married. 

September 17th (Nehemiah 1:5-2:5) First, he prays ... then he acts.

September 18th - Watch and Pray!  - Nehemiah 4:1-23 (especially “But we prayed to our God and appointed guards to watch for them day and night.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭4:9‬). The famous song based (partly) on this passage was originally penned by clergyman Philip Doddridge in 1755. Listen to how the Edwin Hawkins Singers updated it over two centuries later!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGDvDGE7zk&app=desktop

September 19th - Nehemiah 8:9-12 - "Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" They are weeping after hearing the words of the Law for the first time in a long time, possibly ever. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the priests encourage them to, instead, celebrate! And to "... share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared." And they did just that!

September 20th - God sent His Spirit to instruct them and warn them! (Nehemiah 9:20 and 30)  

 

September 21st - Lists of those who returned, where they settled, and their jobs.

September 22nd - Nehemiah 13:4-31 - After an absence of 12 years, Nehemiah returns to his real job, Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes at Susa. But after only a year, he asks permission to journey, once again, to Jerusalem to check on things. 

Smart guy ... things definitely needed checking on!

September 22nd (Malachi 1:1 - 2:9) on the heels of the apostasy that set in during Nehemiah's absence (see above), God sends the Prophet Malachi with some warnings to the religious leaders and some reminders to the people. They profaned the Temple, violated the Sabbath, and married foreigners (who did not worship God)! 

Nehemiah was only gone for one year!

September 23rd - Famous scripture, often quoted out of context - “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi‬ ‭3:10‬)

September 23rd - JOHN THE BAPTIST! (x-ref Matthew 11:11-15) - “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” (‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4:5-6‬)

September 23rd - PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT! (x-ref Acts 2:14-26 Peter's sermon at Pentecost) - “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.” ‭‭(Joel‬ ‭2:28-32‬)

September 23rd - God's call to war in the last days includes: “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”” (‭Joel‬ ‭3:10‬)

Contrast the above scripture to Isaiah Chapter 2:  “In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” (Isaiah‬ ‭2:2-5‬)

What do you think God is doing with this prophecy in Joel?

From last week - Fun with Esther:

Haman was the villain of the Esther story. For centuries, now, Jewish people have been celebrating Purim in honor of Esther's victory over the evil Haman. The main food for that festival is the Hamantashen, a triangular pastry supposedly shaped like the villain's hat. Here is a photo of some we found in the Granville Island Market in Vancouver, British: 

Next week: 

A packed week! Mark! Matthew! Luke! The birth and childhood of Jesus. John the Baptist. Temptation of Jesus. Calling of the first disciples. Wedding reception at Cana. Jesus clears the Temple! Nicodemus makes a night move. Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus teaching and preaching. Miracles: healings, demons cast out. The calling of Matthew. What about fasting?

BR-37 Chronological Bible Read (September 10-16)

We’re over 2/3 of the way through, Chronos!

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””

‭‭Esther‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

There's a lot to like about the book of Esther ... and a lot to dislike. If interested, see my thoughts at the bottom. 

BROAD SWEEP OF HISTORY: In this week, we get more of The Return (from 70 years of exile). First, the altar is rebuilt and the Temple foundation laid. Next, some people return and rebuild the Temple. Finally (next week), some more returnees rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. But not without some resistance ...

Blessings,

Steve

_________________________

We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

 _________________________

This week's highlights: 

Daniel's visions of the End Times. Both Haggai and Zechariah prophesy the imminent return of the exiles and call for the (physical) rebuilding of the Temple. Darius (successor to Persian Conqueror Cyrus) confirms the Temple is to be rebuilt. The Temple is rededicated in the book of Ezra. Esther wins a beauty contest and becomes a queen. Ezra and the exiles start their journey back to the Promised Land.

September 10th - Daniel chapters 10, 11, and 12 - "Sometimes they fight ...." An unnamed angel comes to bring God's message to Daniel. I love this section because it is one of the very few times we get a glimpse into what the spiritual realm is doing while we "physical realm" folk are going about our lives. You see a bit in Job, of course, and in Zechariah (the horse riders). Elisha gives us a peek into that world, as well. This one is especially interesting because it reveals conflicts between spiritual beings that we cannot see ... and they affect how (and when!) God's messengers deliver their assigned messages. Here's a link to Amy Grant singing about them (with printed lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUKcUxnvHEw&app=desktop

September 11th - “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (‭‭Haggai‬ ‭2:8‬) ... kind of puts everything in perspective, you know?

September 11th - “Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’” (Zechariah‬ ‭1:3‬) ... couldn't be simpler. This may be what James is referencing when he writes “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

September 11th - Another glimpse into the activity of spiritual beings in our world. Zechariah has a vision: he sees riders and horses. In answer to his query, he is told: “They are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth.” Then the other riders reported to the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the whole earth is at peace.”” (Zechariah‬ ‭1:8-11‬)

September 11th - Zechariah 4:6-10 - Two messages sent by God to Zerubbabel to encourage him in rebuilding the temple. First, God addresses power, and then He addresses process. Two great lessons for us, as well. (A) The power to do great things comes from God's spirit (The Maranatha Singers set it to music, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyStz6BXWH0&app=desktop

Next (B), great things take time so, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin(!). There's a companion verse about process at Zechariah 8:9: "Be strong and finish the task!" Get started, be happy with having started, then continue until its done ... full process (Beginning, middle, and end).

September 12th - From Ezra 5:3 through 6:14a - God shows us how he uses those in power to deal with bullies!

September 12th - Zechariah 7:8-13 - This is why God was so angry with them: "Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress windows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other."

September 12th - Zechariah is such a rich book! It's hard to not comment on what's in here. Last one from the 12th: Zechariah 8:16-17 "Stop your love of telling lies ...."

September 13th - Zechariah 9:9-10 - JESUS (x-ref Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15)

September 13th - Zechariah 11:4 through 13: 1 - JESUS (30 pieces of silver & the Potter, whom they have pierced, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins, the GOOD SHEPHERD)

September 14th & 15th - All about Esther

September 16th - Ezra 4:7-23 - Misled by the bullies, King Artaxerxes shuts down the rebuilding of Jerusalem. However, by Chapter 7, the King has been swayed by Ezra to reverse the original declaration. How? Once decreed, the King's rules must remain. The key is in all the language about law and order. All of the King's new order reference "lawful subjects." Another example of how God turns the hearts of those in positions of power. 

Next week: 

Ezra weighs in on "Inter-marriage." Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem ("watch and pray"). For the first time in decades, the Law is read aloud to the people. The Prophet Malachi. The Prophet Joel (and the promise of the Holy Spirit!). 

All About Esther

My grandmother was named Esther. Her other name was Ruth. I can't recall the time I didn't know she was named after two Biblical women. Knowing that led to an early interest in those two women in particular. 

As I wrote, above: there's a lot to like about the book of Esther ... and a lot to dislike:

(1) The King's disrespect for Queen Vashti ("Come meet my friends. Wear your crown ... Just your crown.") and the general disrespect for all women is disgusting. 

(2) And then there's Haman's antisemitism ("So he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes."). It was a harsh system set within a culture of opulence ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....")

A lot of people have noticed that "God" does not appear anywhere in the book of Esther. 

I think we are better served that God's presence was not obvious. He was there ... watching. The exile period was the time for the Israelites to show to God that they had changed, repented of their intransigence. 

This period was about faith. In the midst of the exile (God's discipline, the consequence of their actions), would the Jews demonstrate their faith by conforming to God's commands? Or would they, once again, act as if God was not a real part of their lives?

It was bound to happen at some point; a person in authority decides to destroy the Jews, a group with no power and no power of redress before the monarchy. Without the protection of God (which had been withdrawn), they were ideal targets for the kind of bully who must destroy others to feed his own ego. So, here was the "perfect" opportunity for those who called themselves "God's people" to prove their faith. 

Not that it feels that way when you're the one experiencing that "perfect" opportunity. It feels pretty awful, actually. I don't doubt for a second that Esther felt the same despair as Mordecai and all the other Jews. But I think she may have felt an even heavier weight. The destruction of the Jews was scheduled for a date almost a year in the future. Esther's death would come a lot sooner if she provoked the King. 

I think it must have taken great courage to say, "If I perish, I perish," knowing her immediate actions could lead to her immediate death. 

Are we to think Esther is a special case? No. There is alway someone who has "come to the kingdom for such a time as this." 

Who knows? It might be you.