Could use your thoughts on this.....

[Scarlett O.]

My Sunday School class is doing the Chronological Bible this year and also a few others in other classes and I send the scriptures to read each week along with some study notes via email.

We are starting the second section of Exodus this week. We've done Genesis, Job, and a little of 1 Chronicles.

Here's my dilemma. I am going to tell them in the study notes that starting in this section, it's going to be easy to get "bogged down" a little. All those endless descriptions of Tabernacle objects, construction, and priestly garments. Now, I, myself, LOVE that stuff. My dad taught me to LOVE the Old Testament But some reading with us are new to Bible study and I don't want them to get discouraged and it's not even Valentine's Day yet.

What can I say in the study notes to encourage in sticking to it and not getting bogged down in the reading of God's Word. I'm sending this out tomorrow night, so I could used a quick answer. Sorry for posting on the day before!

 

[Deacon]

I walked an adult group through those early books - Leviticus is a difficult book no matter what strategy you use.

Plod through it - suffer long
Race through it - gather no moss

I suggest reading large portions at a time, following the literary structure.
Chapters 1-7 The Primary Sacrifices
Chapters 8-10 Priestly Instructions
Chapters 11-15 Purity
Chapter 16 Atonement
Chapters 17-20 Holiness
Chapters 21-22 Priestly Instructions
Chapters 23-27 The Festival Sacrifices and Laws

Don't get blogged down in trying to understand it - focus on ORDER amid an early mixed, Israelite society.
Consider the book as Guiding Instructions (like rules given to children).
The book provided guidance (wisdom) and order, as Israel began to mature.
IMO, many modern applications of the book tend to be forced - look at big picture applications.

One of the major problems I have with Chronological Bible reading concerns reading the book(s) of Chronicles.
It is placed last in the Hebrew Scriptures and was sort of a 're-write' of the Torah, borrowing in some places, adapting in others.
It applied the earlier written Scriptures to a more mature population of Israelites - people with far different problems than that of the original audience.

Rob

 

[Deacon]

... lol... "don't get blogged down". ...how did that get there?

 

[Van]

I see I am too late to contribute anything helpful to resolve the OP "dilemma" but Deacon's typo or Freudian slip, struck a nerve.

Don't get "blogged down" when engaged in "bible study." Don't get sidetracked with the endless opinions that can be found concerning the meaning of a word, phrase, verse or passage. We need to be careful in our choice of "mentors." We should not simply walk in the furrows of other people, but we should learn to engage in our own study. When baffled by a text, I resort to reading less literal translations to find out what others made of the text. Two of my favorites are the NLT, and the NIV.

And when learning to do bible studies, I would recommend starting with a short NT book. It takes years to go from learning to crawl to learning to pole vault. And many of us never reach that height .

 

[atpollard]

We are Christians. For us, EVERYTHING points to Christ.

So for Exodus and the Tabernacle, either:

Brush over it as just a contrast of the LAW vs GRACE,
or
Focus on the symbolism and lessons for Christ and the Church.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Focus on the symbolism and lessons for Christ and the Church.

Have to be careful even with that, since many go to fanciful imaginings and allegories with the Tabernacle and Levitical offerings.

I'm working in the Canticles present study (Song of Solomon 1-8) and amazed at what some claim as teaching for us there.

 

[Scarlett O.]

We are Christians. For us, EVERYTHING points to Christ.

So for Exodus and the Tabernacle, either:

Brush over it as just a contrast of the LAW vs GRACE,
or
Focus on the symbolism and lessons for Christ and the Church.

Well, I can't brush over it. There are too many questions from those unfamiliar with a lot of the Old Testament. Just yesterday, a question was raised about slavery. I had to explain that it wasn't the slavery of our Amercian history books or the slavery of today - like labor trafficking or sex trafficking.

I had to stop and teach Exodus 21:15 and 1 Timothy 1:10 that shows what we think of as slavery wasn't what the Bible was talking about in the Law.

I agree that everything points to Christ, but one has to also be careful with "symbolism".

 

[JesusFan]

Have to be careful even with that, since many go to fanciful imaginings and allegories with the Tabernacle and Levitical offerings.

I'm working in the Canticles present study (Song of Solomon 1-8) and amazed at what some claim as teaching for us there.

Studying the tabernacle and all of the feasts would seem to require to also be used at same time a good primer book on what that all meant in regards to how we are to see that all pointing towards the Cross of Calvary and how to see jesus in all of those things, but it i still easy to go off a a very wilderness tangent! And much as this would cause KJVO brethren to get very upset, would recommend anything but Kjv when plowing thru those OT books, as would get more from nas/esv/nkjv etc if newly saved and/or never reads from kjv

 

[atpollard]

What I observe is that EVERY person listening to Jesus over the age of about 10 KNEW the first 5 books (like by memory) while most in Church today would struggle to just name them in the correct order. So when Jesus responds to “what is the Greatest Commandment”, almost all Christians are clueless that Jesus is quoting two verses and what the context is that surrounds those verses. EVERYONE that was listening to Jesus knew EXACTLY what he was quoting and most understood the significance of quoting THOSE VERSES together.

That is the sort of information on the Tabernacle that a modern Christian reading Exodus should probably know. What is the significance of each of the parts and who could and could not go there? So when the Tabernacle becomes a Temple and Jesus is standing in it teaching, or overturning tables, or a curtain is torn from top to bottom … we have a clue WHY.

 

[Reynolds]

My Sunday School class is doing the Chronological Bible this year and also a few others in other classes and I send the scriptures to read each week along with some study notes via email.

We are starting the second section of Exodus this week. We've done Genesis, Job, and a little of 1 Chronicles.

Here's my dilemma. I am going to tell them in the study notes that starting in this section, it's going to be easy to get "bogged down" a little. All those endless descriptions of Tabernacle objects, construction, and priestly garments. Now, I, myself, LOVE that stuff. My dad taught me to LOVE the Old Testament But some reading with us are new to Bible study and I don't want them to get discouraged and it's not even Valentine's Day yet.

What can I say in the study notes to encourage in sticking to it and not getting bogged down in the reading of God's Word. I'm sending this out tomorrow night, so I could used a quick answer. Sorry for posting on the day before!

Don't know. You are indeed entering the area of The Bible that derails a lot of yearly reading plans.