October - Reading 13

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptures for today are:

John 4:27-42

1 Peter 1:1-9

Ecclesiastes 10

Jeremiah 32-34

May God bless the reading of His Word.

 

Good evening -

Today in Jeremiah we read a very significant passage: that of Jeremiah purchasing the field from his Uncle, Hanamel. One thing I find interesting in this passage is that Jeremiah does this with no further instruction from the Lord than "do it." It is not until the latter part of the chapter that the explanation is given for the purchase. It signified that there would come a time when the Jews returned to the Promised Land and re-established their nation. The prophet's action signified a ray of hope in Jerusalem's darkest moment.
It should also be noted that the deed was entrusted to Baruch. This individual was Jeremiah's personal secretary and we probably owe the extensive recordings of this fifty year ministry to this individual. The sealed deed stored in a jar of clay has anthropological evidence to back the action in that such documents believed to be more than 2000 years old have been recovered in Elephantine and Qumran in the last century. For any of you interested in modernb archaeology reaching back into the Bible there are a myriad of sites on the net. Here's a couple to get you going:

http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~scribe/digest19983.htm

http://alvidk.homestead.com/archaeology.html

Our schedule moved into the second of the General Letters tonight, 1Peter. There is very little doubt that the author of this Book was the Disciple/Apostle Peter. There has also never been a time that the authority of this Book has been questioned. It was recognized from the earliest churches and leaders that we can confirm. Some have attempted to cast doubt on the Letter by pointing to the highly adept use of the Greek language in especially the first Letter, but there is also a school of thought that point to Silas as a secretary for Peter who may have been well versed in this common language. The date of the writing puts it in the time of Nero's rule and it is likely that this is the oppressing force to which he refers.
The place of the writing is not as clear as the authorship. Peter claims to be in "Babylon." This may be a symbolic representation of the author's abode as it is in Revelation which would point possibly to Rome. There was also an Egyptian military post at the time that went by this name. There was also a Mesopotamian city that went by the same name.
The doctrine in this very short Letter is very broad and covers much ground so it is hard to pin it down as having an exact purpose. Our opening passage today deals with suffering and hope and glory.
Peter urges his audience to take the mindset of hope in the face of their persecution. He encourages their faith and reassures them of the Glory and honor they will receive upon finally seeing Christ.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Hi Mark -

We can only speculate on the actual geographic location of the Garden of Eden as the Bible does not specify. Most critiques I have read place it in present day Iraq, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Here is the Easton's Bible Encyclopedia commentary on the matter:

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia adds much more speculation at this link:

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2882

Hope this helps.

[ October 14, 2003, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Glad to have you with us, lexinonomous!

 

Our Scriptures for 10/14 are:

John 4:43-54

1 Peter 1:10-16

Ecclesiastes 11

Jeremiah 35-38

 

Our Scriptures for 10/14 are:

John 4:43-54

1 Peter 1:10-16

Ecclesiastes 11

Jeremiah 35-38

 

Our Scriptures for 10/14 are:

John 4:43-54

1 Peter 1:10-16

Ecclesiastes 11

Jeremiah 35-38

 

Our Scriptures for 10/14 are:

John 4:43-54

1 Peter 1:10-16

Ecclesiastes 11

Jeremiah 35-38

 

Our Scriptures for 10/14 are:

John 4:43-54

1 Peter 1:10-16

Ecclesiastes 11

Jeremiah 35-38