The One Year Bible- August 17th
When I was in fourth grade I was in a
school musical called “Esther and the King of Persia”. Now I was only in the
chorus, but I had a ball. It was my first time on stage and the first time I
remember hearing about the story of Esther. I remember an eighth grader named
Johnny, who played to part of the king was awesome and I was scared of the guy
who played Hamen. Since that day I have loved the story of Esther. I can still
recall many of the songs we sang and some of the hand motions too. This week we
will read the entire book of Esther! This will happen again when we get into some
of the smaller books of the Old and New Testaments as well. On to the study...
Seth’s Thoughts
The Old Testament
Like I mentioned last week, the events in
the book of Esther take place before Nehemiah. This book was hotly contested
when it was time to determine what books were in and out of the scriptures. In
about 200 BC, Esther was almost taken out of the scriptures by Jewish theologians.
There is no mention of YAHWEH or overt mention of God at all. Many believed it
to be a secular historical account of the beginnings of the festival of Purim.
One of the big things in the book of Esther for me is the idea that God is
moving in history. By His guidance, both Esther and Mordecai were in the right
place at the right time. They were used by God to bring about the deliverance
of the chosen people and made for sure that the remnant would return. This took
place so that prophecy about the Messiah would be fulfilled. Esther gives us
insight into how God continues to act in this world for His will to be done. A
lasting event from the story of Esther is the celebration of Purim. I found
this on Wikipedia:
Purim (Hebrew:
פורים Pûrîm) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the
deliverance of Persian Jews from the plot
of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of
Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, giving
mutual gifts of food and drink, giving charity to the poor, and a celebratory
meal (Esther 9:22); other customs include drinking alcohol, wearing of masks
and costumes, and public celebration. Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th
of the Hebrew month of Adar. As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at
sundown on the previous secular day.
We will start the book of Job this week as
well. I will spend more time in the coming weeks on this book. The one thing I
want you to watch out for is you need to know who is speaking. At times it is
Job but other times it is his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar or others. Make
sure you know who is speaking while you read. We did read about why Job is the
way he is. He was a rich man with a big family and a good life. In one day all
of that is taken away. This was not by chance, but by a character named Satan
(the accuser). Satan talks with God and gets the O.K. to test Job. In Job
9:33-35, I wonder if Job is thinking of Jesus. Read it and let me know what you
think. I don’t want to give away too much today but pay attention to how Job
reacts at the beginning and how he reacts towards the end of the book.
The New Testament
In our readings from 1 Corinthians, Paul
addressed some big issues. Paul warns the church about the divisions that are
in it. He mentions that the meal that they share together (called the Lord
Supper here) is causing divisions. It is unclear if this was a full-blown meal
that the believers shared or if it was just communion. It seems as if Paul
thinks it is a full meal. Paul tries to set them straight by reminding them
what the Lord’s Supper is all about. He tells of its importance and it is not
something to be done lightly. Paul then continues on answering the questions that
the church has brought to him. Paul then spends a lot of time talking about
spiritual gifts. I think the key comes in when Paul writes, “Now to each one
the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1
Corinthians 12:7 NIV). That is indeed what they are for. They are not to show
that one believer is better than another. They are all useful. To show his
point, Paul uses the analogy of the human body. This would have worked well for
the Greek thinkers in the Church. Like the parts of the body, we all have our
place, our unique function within the whole. But most importantly, we need to
have love. 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most famous passages in the New
Testament because of its content. Love is the key to how we live our lives. It was
what drove Jesus to the cross, and what motivates us today. Two more things
Paul addresses: speaking in tongues and the resurrection of the dead. It seems
like the Corinthians had some sort of obsession with the gift of tongues (some
in the church today to as well). In one of the best one-liners in the New
Testament, Paul lays out his belief on the subject, “But in the church I
would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand
words in a tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:19 NIV). Way to go Paul!! I can’t
agree more. On to the resurrection of the dead; it seems that there was some
influence from either the Sadducees or some Greek thinkers who do not believe
in the resurrection of the dead. Paul tackles this issue with some good logic. “If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And
if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have
testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise
him if in fact the dead are not raised.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-15 NIV). Good
point Paul.
Bits and Pieces
The New Testament
We will finish off the book of 1
Corinthians and move on the 2 Corinthians. Here are the vital stats for the
book:
PURPOSE: To affirm Paul’s ministry, defend
his authority as an apostle, and refute the false teachers in Corinth.
AUTHOR: Paul
TO WHOM WRITTEN: The church in Corinth,
and Christians everywhere
DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 55-57, from
Macedonia
SETTING: Paul had already written three
letters to the Corinthians (two are now lost). In 1 Corinthians (the second of
these letters), he used strong words to correct and teach. Most of the church
had responded in the right spirit; there were, however, those who were denying
Paul’s authority and questioning his motives.
LAW THEMES: Divisions in congregations;
false apostles; human frailty; poverty in sin; generosity; suffering;
self-examination.
GOSPEL THEMES: Comfort in Christ;
restoration through forgiveness; reconciliation; wealth in Christ; God’s
sufficient grace.
KEY VERSE: “We are therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on
Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20)
KEY PEOPLE: Paul, Timothy, Titus, false
teachers
KEY PLACES: Corinth, Jerusalem
SPECIAL FEATURES: This is an intensely
personal and autobiographical letter.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home