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!!!