The One Year Bible

When I was in college I worked at Arrowhead Lutheran Camp for many summers as a counselor. Right out of college I was hired to be the program director at the camp. I was just a young kid but I had quite a bit of experience at working with children. As a counselor I always struggled with finding ways to get my campers to go to sleep. Some other counselors told ghost stories or scary tales but those freaked me out too much. Quite by accident one night I began to read stories from the book of Judges. I started with Gideon. That took about two nights then I went to Ehud, Samson, Deborah and others. My young boys really enjoyed the blood and guts stories that weren’t too scary. I liked them because they also taught that God was in control. Some people have a tough time with the book of Judges because of its violent nature and that is fine, but if you look at the stories through the eyes of a 10 year old boy you might get some understanding. The key thing to remember is that God has mercy on his people and shows his love to them by sending a judge. Not a judge that comes to condemn, but one that comes to save. Sounds kind of like Jesus doesn’t it? On to the study for this week……

Vicar Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
As I have alluded to in the opening the book of Judges is all about God’s mercy. It seems like it is about his wrath with some blood and guts thrown in for good measure but when you really look at it you see a familiar pattern emerge with all the judges. We see this same pattern when Jesus is sent as the final Judge. Why was it necessary for the Judges to come anyway? Didn’t the people promise that they would be faithful to God? What happened to the promises they made? In the first part of the book we get the answer. “The LORD was with the people of Judah and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains who had iron chariots.” (Judges 1:19 NLT) The story was the same with the other tribes. Reading a bit further, “The tribe of Manasseah failed to drive out the people….” Then the tribe of Ephraim failed, then Zebulen failed, then Asher failed, then Naphtali. Then Yahweh (LORD in all caps) sent his angel (some think this may be the pre-incarnate Christ) to talk to the people. Judgment was to be upon the people. “So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.” (Judges 2:3 NLT) This sums up the problems that the people will encounter the rest of the Old Testament. The people living in the land and their gods will cause major problems for the people. Remember this as we read the rest of the story this year. But the LORD (Yahweh) in his infinite mercy shows love to the people and sends help. The account of each Judge has a similar pattern. It usually begins with, The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, He turned them over to their enemies for so many years. Then the LORD raised up a Judge. The people followed this Judge and were saved. The land had peace for so many years. The Judge dies and the people return to their old ways and do evil in the eyes of the LORD. Get familiar with this pattern. This is some foreshadowing of the New Testament story of Jesus. We don’t have time to discuss each Judge (we will spend more time with Gideon next week) in detail so let me give you some highlights. Ehud is my favorite. He is left-handed. Why does the writer of Judges tell us this? He was able to smuggle his dagger into the presence of the king because, being left handed he drew it from his right side. Most people carry their dagger or sword on the left side because they are right handed. Ehud was able to get close to the king and kill him because he was left handed. You see, God uses all things for his good purposes. I also think it is funny that Ehud escapes through the outhouse in the kings chambers and the attendants are so embarrassed to disturb the king when he is in the bathroom. Some commentators even suggest that the king was actually sitting on “the throne” (the one in the bathroom) when Ehud stabs him (you see why young boys like this story?). The account of Deborah is good to show that God works through women as well. God raised her up as a Judge and she led the people in battle. In the story it was another woman, Jael, who took care of the evil Sisera. Talk about girl power (both the boys and some of the girls like this story). The story of Gideon is a bit longer and has some interesting insights for us. We will talk about him next week.

The New Testament
In this weeks readings we began the story of the Passion of Jesus. Luke does a good job keeping the action moving in the story but there are some rather significant things to see when you dig a bit deeper. One thing that caught my attention this week came from the scene where Jesus is before the High Priest. When Jesus is asked point blank if he is the son of God he says, “I am”. OK you say? No big deal? But, the words Jesus used are very important. When he says “I am” not only is he answering in the affirmative, he also is using the name God used when talking to Moses in the burning bush. Remember that God said his name was, “I am”. No wonder the High Priest and the others wanted Jesus dead after he had said this. Jesus goes in there and uses the name of God that the Jews to this day will not even use. Jesus was saying in no uncertain terms that he was the Christ, the promised Messiah. When we get to the Gospel of John we will see seven big “I am” statements from Jesus. Remember them when you read and pour into them the Old Testament meanings.

The other scene that stands out is Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross. In Arthur Just’s commentary on Luke he says this, “The dying King of the Jews who saved others says, ‘Truly to you I say, today with me you will be in paradise’. This is the second word from the cross in Luke, and it continues the theme of the first word: Jesus, crucified, is the source of forgiveness for all—even the worst, the least, and the last. With these words, Jesus invites the man to participate in this forgiveness forever. Jesus’ words serve to incorporate the man into the body of believers in Christ and to invite him to the ongoing feast of heaven. Here the Pauline language of Baptism is most powerfully illustrated: this sinner is truly united with Jesus in a death like his, and according to Jesus’ promise, he shall certianly be united with him in a resurrection like his when he with him will be in paradise (see Romans 6:5).”

The Psalms
The readings from Psalm for April 26th contained Psalm 95. For those of you who remember the old 1941 Lutheran hymnal the first seven verses from this Psalm are part of The Venite from the service of Matins. I couldn’t help but sing that Psalm as I was reading it. You might have too.

Bits and Pieces

We will finish the Gospel of Luke this week and we will start the Gospel of John. As a quick note, the first four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are grouped together and are referred to as the synoptic Gospels. The basically have the same form and tell the same story. They probably leaned on one another for source material. John is its own animal all together. John is the only Gospel that mentions three different Passover celebrations which is where we get the three year ministry of Jesus. John does not have a standard birth story. John begins with creation, but more on all this next week. John also makes heavy use of metaphor. We will see Jesus referred to as the door, the lamb, the good shepherd, the gate, the way the truth the life, and others. Here are the vital stats for the book of John:

Purpose: To prove conclusively that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in him will have eternal life.

Author: It is never actually mentioned but most agree that it is John the apostle, son of Zebedee, brother of James, called a “Son of Thunder”

To Whom Written: New Christians and searching Non-Christians
Date Written: Probably between A.D. 85-90

Setting: Written after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and before John’s exile to the island of Patmos

Key Verses: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

Key People: Jesus, John the Baptist, the disciples, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Jesus’ mother, Pilate, Mary Magdalene

Key Places: Judean countryside, Samaria, Galilee, Bethany, Jerusalem

Special Features: of the eight miracles recorded, six are unique (among the Gospels) to John, as is the “Upper Room Discourse” (chs. 14-17). Over 90 percent of John is unique to his Gospel. John does not contain a genealogy or any record of Jesus’ birth, childhood, temptation, transfiguration, appointment of the disciples, nor any account of Jesus’ parables, ascension, or Great Commission.

Have a wonderful week!!!

The One Year Bible- April 20th

I have an inspirational cardholder on my desk. It contains a number of pictures of landscapes and scenery with Bible verses on each one. Often times this small item goes unnoticed for weeks or even months at a time. I picked it up today to change the card and I was comforted by the image and God’s word. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). That is just what I needed to hear today. I have a ton of homework to do let alone church work and things going on all weekend and I have been feeling swamped. So this morning I stopped, gave my worries to God and I know that I will get everything done. Each day I am amazed by the love and care God gives to us. One way I get to experience it is by being in the Word daily. I hope you feel the caring, loving arms of God as you read your Bible daily. On to the study...

Vicar Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
This weeks readings left the narrative story behind and we received a geography lesson. I you are like me it did not make much sense since the geography of the Holy Land is a bit of a mystery to me. The list of landmarks did not help me much. Please don’t get frustrated at this. The best thing to do is go to a map. I found this one on the Internet that shows how the land was divided. You may have one in the back of your Bible as well. For me this visually shows what we have been reading this week. Click on the picture to see a larger version.


The geography of the Promised Land will be important later in the story. Eventually this land will become a kingdom under the rule of Saul. Things go well for a while but eventually the land is divided in two. The Northern Kingdom will have ten tribes, and the Southern Kingdom will have the other two (Judah, and Benjamin). Simeon will go with the North. This will be important later because the Northern Kingdom will be taken into exile, never to return. A few years later the South will also be taken but some will return. This story points to Christ in so many ways but we don’t have the time to discuss this now. Trust me, we will discuss it later this year. One other note, the tribe of Dan will complain about their land and they will move out and head north to a city known as Dan. This is important because the city of Dan is in the far north of the kingdom and is part of a phrase we will see a number of times. When an Old Testament writer uses the phrase, “From Dan to Beersheba” they mean the entire land, since Dan is in the north and Beersheba is the city furthest south. Both places are on the map.

The New Testament
Jesus seems to talk a lot about money in this weeks readings. To Jesus, money is something that can be used for good but it can also be used as something to be worshiped. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate (remember our discussion of hate from last week) one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13 NLT) This was a direct attack on the Pharisees who loved money. The point is that God wants us to be faithful with the monetary blessings that we have been given but they are not to rule us and in reality become an idol that we worship. When Jesus talks to the rich young ruler, money is again an issue. Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. This man was not ready to give up his money. We all struggle with money. How much should we give away. How much is too much etc. Many of us are afraid if we do not save money we will not be able to survive. We sometimes forget the wonderful words of Jesus, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27 NLT) God will take care of us, we should not have to worry about money because we can focus on money and it will rule us if we are not careful. In our readings for today we begin the story of the Passion. Luke makes an interesting comment about all the praise that Jesus is receiving on Palm Sunday. Some of the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to stop the celebration and Jesus says, “If they keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (Luke 19:40) This is an amazing statement. We have read in the Psalms that all creation praises the Lord, but here is proof that it can happen. Can you imagine if no one would praise God and then the rocks start to cry out? What a sight that would be!

Bits and Pieces

We will finish up the book of Joshua this week and begin the book of Judges. Here are the vital stats on the book of Judges:

Purpose: To show the God’s judgment against sin is certain, and his forgiveness of sin and restoration to relationship is just as certain for those who repent

Author: Possibly Samuel

Setting: The land of Canaan, later called Israel. God had helped the Israelites conquer Canaan. which had been inhabited by a host of wicked nations. But they were in danger of losing this Promised Land because they compromised their convictions and disobeyed God.

Key Verse: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (17:6)

Key People: Othniel, Ehud (my favorite Judge), Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, Delilah

Special Feature: Records Israel’s first civil war

Have a wonderful week!!!

The One Year Bible

When I was in second grade our class was scheduled to sing in church. The song we sang was called “Everywhere I Go.” Why do I remember such a thing? Well, this song had a big impact on my life. It has a catchy tune and great words and I latched on to this song and sang it everywhere I went. I started singing this song every time I was scared or though I was in trouble. I sang it a lot while riding my bike. This song gave me comfort and security because even as I child I knew that God was there with me. This song came to my mind this week while reading the story of God’s people as they entered the Promised Land. I am sure many of them were scared and fearful of the future. But Moses and Joshua reminded the people that God was with them everywhere they would go, and to be strong and courageous. As we begin today, don’t forget that the same God is with you as well. We begin with the words of that song:

Everywhere I go the Lord is near me

If I call upon Him He will hear me

Never will I fear, for the Lord is near

Everywhere I go.

Everywhere God is there

Tending all in loving care

He is with me everywhere I go

On to the study...

Vicar Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
Let me set the stage for you once again. The people are on the edge of the Promised Land. Moses has gathered the people together to give them a pep talk and remind them of the promises of God and his continued faithfulness. Moses will not be joining the people because of his own disobedience but he is still God’s prophet. At the end of the pep talk he breaks out into song. This last bit of instruction for the people served as a reminder and a comfort for them. Just before Moses gets a glimpse of the Promised Land, he introduces Joshua as the new leader. We see in just a few short verses the phrase, “Be strong and courageous”. This is an important phrase as the people will be doing some difficult things in the next few years. Moses as well as the Lord tells Joshua and the people to, “Be strong and courageous” at least six times. Indeed the Lord will be with them; and indeed he was. The Lord caused the Jordan river to stop as the people crossed it. The Lord delivered the fortified city of Jericho into their hands. The Lord blessed them, but as we have seen and will see again, the people disobey. After Jericho was destroyed someone took some of the plunder that was to be devoted to the Lord. This caused a military defeat of the people and doubt started to creep in. It was just one small action that had big consequences. It seems that is what happens in our lives as well. Just one seemingly small sin causes us big problems. Even after the pep talk from Moses, the people disobey. This will be a theme we will see over and over again. When we look at the world today we see the same theme. We have heard what we should do, we know the right things be we find ourselves doing the opposite or not even listening to God. For the people of Israel this caused problems. Later we will see how sin begins to spiral out of control and eventually the people will be lead off to exile. We are in the exile of sin as well and we are in need of rescue. God sent his son Jesus to rescue us from our sin. Because we could not do it, Jesus did it all for us. Jesus fulfills the requirements of God and we get all the benefits. The Old Testament once again points us to Christ the author and perfector of our faith.

The New Testament
A few things jumped out at me as I read through the readings from Luke this week. After our readings in the Old Testament about washings, the section at the end of chapter 11 (readings for April 6th) where Jesus really blasts the Pharisees makes more sense to me. Jesus really lets them have it for only worrying about the outside things. He tells them in no uncertain terms that God looks at the inside as well and they need to get their act straight. In Luke 7 Jesus says some hard things. Jesus tells us that if we want to be his disciple we need to hate other things. I have always struggled with this statement. In one of my seminary classes we talked about the word “hate” and how it is used in the New Testament. This is another word that we translate the Greek literally but it has some Hebrew meaning. In Hebrew the word we translate as “hate” means that we prefer one thing over the other but not necessarily at the expense of the other. In the Old Testament we read that Jacob “hated” his wife Leah, but he still cared for her, he had children with her and he provided for her. This does not sound like the “hate” we think of. Now it is true that Jacob preferred Rebekah, but he did not “hate” Leah as we see it. I hope this sheds some light on this passage for you. We are to prefer following Jesus over all others. We will still need to carry our cross and count the cost and that will only be possible with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms
One quick comment from one of our readings this week: In Psalm 78:41 (April 7th) a reference to the “Holy One of Israel” is found. We will see this term often when we get into Isaiah and some of the other prophets. This term refers to the promised Messiah and when you see it you can be certain that this is talking about the coming of Christ.

Have a great week and remember that God is with you everywhere you go!!

The One Year Bible

Lets be honest folks. Holy Week is a busy week for us in the church biz and needless to say for those of us in school at the same time hours can be hard to find. Which brings me to the honesty portion of this post. I am woefully behind in my readings for this week I am on April 1^st right now and there is no way I will finish before the end of the day, with family coming to town, two services for Good Friday and a desire to see my family. Today’s post is taken from last year’s study so it may be familiar to some of you. I apologize for not having anything new and I will endevor to be up to date next week.

Vicar Seth's Thoughts

The Old Testament
A few things caught my attention this week and I wanted to make mention of them. Remember the scene here. Moses is giving a pep talk and history lesson to the people on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The people are about to enter the land of the promise under the leadership of Joshua. Moses cannot enter because of his actions in the wilderness. The dietary restrictions of the people serve a two-fold purpose. First of all, God was setting these people apart to be special in doing so he has selected their diet. This was a health thing. Many of the foods that were unclean were also potential health hazards. These animals carried diseases and God was making sure the people were healthy. Secondly, these restrictions served as a way for the people to be obedient to God. They could show their willingness to follow by adhering to the dietary restrictions. Most Jews still practice many of these laws and they have been expanded and interpreted in many ways. You can find kosher foods in most stores now days. If you look for the kosher label (a circle with a K inside) you can be sure that this product is made under the strict standards of modern Jewish law. The question remains, why don’t we all follow these guidelines? The answer is complex on the one hand but the simple answer is that we have freedom in Christ. We live under the new covenant of Grace and we no longer are subject to all the rules and regulations of the law, of which part is dietary restrictions. Does this mean we can do whatever we want? Well, yes, and no. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “Everything is permissible for me—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me—but I will not be mastered by anything.” More about this when we get to that section of the New Testament. The other thing that jumped out at me was this: What is God’s deal with blood? He seems to have a fascination with blood. In our society and culture blood has become taboo. It carries disease and it reminds us of death and many get squeamish around it. I think this was probably the case for many back in the Old Testament as well. For the Israelites, blood means life. In fact the word for blood is sometimes used as a synonym for life. The life of the organism is in its blood. Blood was a key part of the sacrifice. God required punishment for sins and he accepted the life (i.e. blood) of an animal in our place. This concept gets further expanded when the blood of Jesus is shed for us. His life (and blood) were given for us for our forgiveness. Now in communion his blood (i.e. life) is offered for the forgiveness of sins. So the blood thing my gross you out but it is vitally important to understand the sacrificial system and how Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.

The New Testament
A few books could be written regarding our reading for the past week in Luke. Just two things I want to touch on today.. In Luke 9, right after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus takes some time out with his disciples. They get away from the crowds and pray. This is just a short interlude, a mini-retreat if you will. But in this time we have some very profound events. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say I am?” In the moment Peter gives a wonderful confession of faith, “You are the Messiah”. This was a big step for most Jews. They were waiting for the Messiah to come and when Peter gives this profession of faith he is saying that he now believes that the Messiah has come and that he is right in front of him. Jesus goes on to describe his mission on the earth, to suffer, be rejected, and to be killed, but be raised again. This was not at all the kind of Messiah the Jews were expecting. The key here is the profession of faith by Peter. The other passage that I found interesting this week is in Chapter 11. Jesus talks about the sign of Jonah. What is Jonah doing here in the New Testament? Matthew records that Jesus talked about Jonah as well. You remember the story. Jonah was the prophet who was sent to Nineveh but he didn’t want to go. God made sure he got there by sending a storm and then a big fish swallowed up Jonah. Jesus uses this common story to describe his ministry. “But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son Of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.” Jonah is seen as a “type” of Christ. And his three days in the belly of the fish parallel the three days that Jesus will be in the belly of the earth. Very interesting stuff indeed.

Bits and Pieces

We will finish the book of Deuteronomy this week and start the book Joshua. Here are the vital stats for the book of Joshua:

Purpose: To give the history of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land

Author: Joshua, except for the ending, which may have been written by the high priest Phinehas, an eyewitness to the events recounted there

Setting: Canaan, also called the Promised Land, which occupied the same general geographical territory of modern-day Israel

Key Verse: “Go through the camp and tell the people. ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’” (1:11)

Key People: Joshua, Rahab, Achan, Phinehas, Eleazar

Key Places: Jericho, Ai, Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim, Gebeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Shechem

Special Feature: Out of over a million people, Joshua and Caleb were the only two who left Egypt and entered the Promised Land

Have a blessed Easter!!! Let me know if you have any questions.