bb_baptist
New Member
Bump for new year
-
Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
January - Reading 1
- Thread starter bb_baptist
- Start date
Blow thre dust off the covers, gang. We begin tomorrow.
Last year I picked up the habit of posting a brief over view of each Book we began as presented by mainline, conservative, contemporary scholars. I will attempt to continue that tradition this year to fill in the gaps as it were.
Genesis
Genesis as its name implies is the Book of beginnings. It delves into the origin of the heavens and the celestial spheres, the sea and the earth, man and his sinful inheritence. Traditionally Jews and Christians alike have attributed the writings to Moses and this is confirmed in the New Testament in Acts 15:1: "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." Circumcision is actually introduced in Genesis 17, thus we deduce that the author of Acts views Genesis to be a Book written by Moses. Support for other theories will emerge within the text as we continue our reading.
If we follow this traditional view, we can place the time of the writing of Genesis to the time of the wandering of the Jews in the desert. In 1Kings we are told that the fourth year of Solomons reign was the four hundred and eightieth year since the Exodus. Solomons fourth year would be 966BC, therefore the 40 year period would be 1446 to 1406BC. It is likely that this is the time that Moses compiled this work.
Genesis is the first of the Pentateuch, or, the Books of Law. It can be divided into ten different sections each beginning with the term "account." The first five sections (1:1 - 11:26) cover the period of history between Adam and Abraham and can be referred to as "primeval history." The last five sections are often referred to as "patriarchal history" and follow the history from Abraham to Joseph. A theme will present itself that despite Jewish tradition of the oldest son being the recepient of blessing, it will be the younger sons in Genesis that rise to the top.
The theology of Genesis sets the stage for the entire remainder of the Bible. It is monotheistic (one God), that God is totally sovereign, that human relationships have changed little in all the millenia.
Psalm
The Book of Psal takes its name from the Greek Septuagint interpretation of "stringed instrument." The original Hebrew is the word tehillim meaning "praises." The Book itself is a compilation begun traditionally by David in the pre-temple days of Jewish history and completed in the post exilic period probably around the third century BC. It was used as a prayer book for Zerubabbel's and Herod's Temples.The Book is divided into five sections, possibly reflecting the five Books of Law.
The Book is from beginning to end poetry. In Psalm, God is the Great King who will not allow dominance of Him nor His servant by any enemy. The psalster puts God at the center of of history and creation as the maker and maintainer of such. God is the Great Executor of Justice and the faithful Lord of His chosen people.
Matthew
Thogh the position is sometimes attacked, we believe that Matthew the Apostle was the author of this Book which bears his name. This disciple will be introduced to us in 9:9-13. He was a tax collector who left his work to follow Christ. In Mark and Luke he is known as Levi.
Scxholars believe that this Writing is dated after the Book of Mark placing the date of finishing it at about 70 AD. The audience was obviously Jewish in that the author concentrates on the fulfillment of Old Testament Scriptures, traces the geneaology of Christ to Abraham, fails to explain certain Jewish cusyoms as Mark and Luke do, and uses much Jewish terminology.
Like Psalm, it is possible that Matthew is divided into five distinct sections to reflect the Pentateuch. Each section revolves around a discourse: (1) chapters 5-7; (2) chapter 10; (3) chapter 13; (4) chapter 18; and (5) chapters 24-25. Each discourse ends with the phrase "when Jesus had finished saying these things..." or some similar wording. The narratives all lead up to these discourses. This seperation may reflect that Christ was the "new Moses."
Acts
The Book of Acts is a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles. Though the author does not name himself it is likely that he is Luke, the author of the fourth Synoptic Gospel. There are many internal clues that point us to this conclusion.
There is much debate over the time of the Writing. Those that contend for an earlier writing point to the fact that the outcome of Paul's trial is not revealed. There is also no account of Peter's martyrdom, the burning of Rome nor the persecution of Christians in that city. These proponents point to a date of 63 AD or sooner.
Those that hold to a later writing of 70 AD or later say that these events were not pertinent to Luke's purpose as stated in 1:8.
The Book of Acts shows the triumph of Christianity against overwhelming odds. Luke, an educated man gives us splendid detail in his narration and often refers to himself in the first person in the latter part of the Book. It is almopst a disappointment when we turn the final page.
Genesis
Genesis as its name implies is the Book of beginnings. It delves into the origin of the heavens and the celestial spheres, the sea and the earth, man and his sinful inheritence. Traditionally Jews and Christians alike have attributed the writings to Moses and this is confirmed in the New Testament in Acts 15:1: "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." Circumcision is actually introduced in Genesis 17, thus we deduce that the author of Acts views Genesis to be a Book written by Moses. Support for other theories will emerge within the text as we continue our reading.
If we follow this traditional view, we can place the time of the writing of Genesis to the time of the wandering of the Jews in the desert. In 1Kings we are told that the fourth year of Solomons reign was the four hundred and eightieth year since the Exodus. Solomons fourth year would be 966BC, therefore the 40 year period would be 1446 to 1406BC. It is likely that this is the time that Moses compiled this work.
Genesis is the first of the Pentateuch, or, the Books of Law. It can be divided into ten different sections each beginning with the term "account." The first five sections (1:1 - 11:26) cover the period of history between Adam and Abraham and can be referred to as "primeval history." The last five sections are often referred to as "patriarchal history" and follow the history from Abraham to Joseph. A theme will present itself that despite Jewish tradition of the oldest son being the recepient of blessing, it will be the younger sons in Genesis that rise to the top.
The theology of Genesis sets the stage for the entire remainder of the Bible. It is monotheistic (one God), that God is totally sovereign, that human relationships have changed little in all the millenia.
Psalm
The Book of Psal takes its name from the Greek Septuagint interpretation of "stringed instrument." The original Hebrew is the word tehillim meaning "praises." The Book itself is a compilation begun traditionally by David in the pre-temple days of Jewish history and completed in the post exilic period probably around the third century BC. It was used as a prayer book for Zerubabbel's and Herod's Temples.The Book is divided into five sections, possibly reflecting the five Books of Law.
The Book is from beginning to end poetry. In Psalm, God is the Great King who will not allow dominance of Him nor His servant by any enemy. The psalster puts God at the center of of history and creation as the maker and maintainer of such. God is the Great Executor of Justice and the faithful Lord of His chosen people.
Matthew
Thogh the position is sometimes attacked, we believe that Matthew the Apostle was the author of this Book which bears his name. This disciple will be introduced to us in 9:9-13. He was a tax collector who left his work to follow Christ. In Mark and Luke he is known as Levi.
Scxholars believe that this Writing is dated after the Book of Mark placing the date of finishing it at about 70 AD. The audience was obviously Jewish in that the author concentrates on the fulfillment of Old Testament Scriptures, traces the geneaology of Christ to Abraham, fails to explain certain Jewish cusyoms as Mark and Luke do, and uses much Jewish terminology.
Like Psalm, it is possible that Matthew is divided into five distinct sections to reflect the Pentateuch. Each section revolves around a discourse: (1) chapters 5-7; (2) chapter 10; (3) chapter 13; (4) chapter 18; and (5) chapters 24-25. Each discourse ends with the phrase "when Jesus had finished saying these things..." or some similar wording. The narratives all lead up to these discourses. This seperation may reflect that Christ was the "new Moses."
Acts
The Book of Acts is a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles. Though the author does not name himself it is likely that he is Luke, the author of the fourth Synoptic Gospel. There are many internal clues that point us to this conclusion.
There is much debate over the time of the Writing. Those that contend for an earlier writing point to the fact that the outcome of Paul's trial is not revealed. There is also no account of Peter's martyrdom, the burning of Rome nor the persecution of Christians in that city. These proponents point to a date of 63 AD or sooner.
Those that hold to a later writing of 70 AD or later say that these events were not pertinent to Luke's purpose as stated in 1:8.
The Book of Acts shows the triumph of Christianity against overwhelming odds. Luke, an educated man gives us splendid detail in his narration and often refers to himself in the first person in the latter part of the Book. It is almopst a disappointment when we turn the final page.
I'm reading from the New English Bible by our friends at Oxford Press this time around.
The verse divisions are not so obvious in this translation as the translators attempted to be faithful more to the thought divisions than the verse divisions. The verse numbers are not in the text, but in the margin.
So, somewhere in Acts 1:7-8 Christ said to the Apostles, "...You will bear witness for me in Jerusalem, and all over Judaea and Samaria, and away to the ends of the earth."
The thought hit me as I was doing this reading. They actually are bearing witness "to the ends fo the earth," for I was holding in my hands the testimonies of these very men.
[ January 01, 2003, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: Aaron ]
The verse divisions are not so obvious in this translation as the translators attempted to be faithful more to the thought divisions than the verse divisions. The verse numbers are not in the text, but in the margin.
So, somewhere in Acts 1:7-8 Christ said to the Apostles, "...You will bear witness for me in Jerusalem, and all over Judaea and Samaria, and away to the ends of the earth."
The thought hit me as I was doing this reading. They actually are bearing witness "to the ends fo the earth," for I was holding in my hands the testimonies of these very men.
[ January 01, 2003, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: Aaron ]
Sunday School lecture 12/21/03
Matthew 1:1-25
Matthew is, of course, the first of the four Gospels. The word Gospel means "good news" or "joyful message." In the context of the Four Gospels of the Bible, the word refers to the text that records that message.
Among scholars it is generally accepted that the original manuscript of this Gospel was written by Matthew, or Levi (same man), in his native tongue, the language of 1st century Palestine. This was not a purely Hebrew language but was a mixture of Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syraic commonly known as "Aramaean." The pure Yiddish of the day had been adulterated by the strong influence of the Greeks when Alexander the Great had conquered the world in the 4th century BC.
Matthew was written to the Jews of the time and with this in mind there is much to be gleaned from the first chapter of the Book.
The Book of the Genealogy is the proper title of the chapter. (Read ESV text 1:1) The phrasing of verse 1 is quite similar to other genealogical tables in the Bible such as Genesis 5:1 or Genesis 6:9. The author here, however, has inserted that Jesus was the Christ and that he was the son of both Abraham and David. All three of these statements would be important to the Jewish audience.
The term Christos is the Greek for "anointed." The Hebrew equivalent for this term is "Messiah." Therefore Matthew is telling us that Jesus was the Anointed One, that is to say, one who was set apart or consecrated to fill an office. In the case of Christ, He was set apart to fill the role of King, High Priest and Prophet. As kings in the Old Testament were anointed with oil as a symbolic representation of being influenced by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was given the Spirit far beyond measure.
That Christ was the "Son of David" carried great significance for the Jews. In 2Samuel 7:16 the promise is made to David that his house would be established forever. Bear in mind now, that some 1000 years after that promise, the Jews had fallen into the hands of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, The Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans. God's anointed would be the Messiah, the new King from the house of David that would reestablish the throne of Israel. To the Jewish mind, this would be of benefit to the nation of Israel. Little did they know that the coming King would be Divine and Savior for Jews and Gentiles alike!
Likewise, Abraham had also been given the promise that all families of the earth would be blessed through him in Genesis 12:3. Abraham was by far the most revered and illustrious ancestor of the Jewish people. It was important to the theology of the Jews that these two important figures be a part of the Christ's lineage.
The Genealogy
(Read ESV text 2-17) Let us first address the problems with this list of names. Perhaps the most striking aspect of these 15 verses is that they do not coincide with the parallel genealogy found in Luke 3:23-38. We also find that Luke in his genealogical table between David and Christ lists 42 names while Matthew lists only 27. Throughout the centuries Christian scholars have sought to explain the difference in names in various ways. While none of the explanations are completely satisfactory, a review of the leading theories may reduce the complexity somewhat.
1. Some say that one or both of the genealogies may be flawed due to the similarity of certain ancient names and similar circumstances. This would allow errors to creep in as the centuries passed.
2. Some have assumed that Matthew is following the lineage of Joseph as he was the assumed father of Jesus and that Luke is following the line of Mary. This assumption is drawn from the view that since Joseph was not the father it had to be proven that Mary was also from the lineage of David. While this may be plausible, and perhaps even true, it is not provable that this was the intention of Luke.
3. A solution offered by the early church fathers suggests that Joseph was the legal son of Heli but the biological son of Jacob. This theory, while not entirely satisfactory, is probably the most acceptable. In Jewish culture, if a brother died before his wife had children, it was the duty of the brother to marry the widow and attempt to carry on his brother's house by impregnating the woman. The child would still carry the original husband's name and be his legal heir. Therefore in this theory, Matthan (a descendant of Solmon) in verse 15 married and had a son named Jacob. After Matthan died, Matthat (Luke 3:24) being of the same tribe but a different lineage (that of Nathan) married the widow and she conceived and bore Heli. Jacob then married a woman and died before she became pregnant. Heli, his half brother then stepped in to fulfill his duty and the woman conceived Joseph, making him the legal heir of Jacob. Thus the two lines converged in Joseph.
As for the number of names in the two genealogies, there is little over which to be concerned. In the Jewish way of keeping records, it was common to divide the names into even numbers of columns and omit those that were of less importance historically. To make the number "14" work for these columns, we must count David as 14th in the first column and 1st in the second. Likewise, we count Josias as last in the second column and 1st in the third.
Now that we have wrestled with some of the difficulties, let's proceed with the "Good News."
For me, the next striking feature of the genealogical record in Matthew is that there are four women mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah whom we know to be Bathsheba. Typically, Jewish genealogies omitted all women and indeed the author passed over notable possibilities such as Sarah, but he included three who were guilty of shameful acts and/or were outside of Israel. Tamar in genesis 38 posed as a whore and tricked her father-in-law Judah into fathering her twin sons. Rahab was the prostitute of Jericho who brought her family into the community by assisting the invading army of Joshua. Ruth was a Moabite, a descendant of Lot's daughter's incestuous union with her father. Bathsheba commited adultery with David when Uriah was off at war.
That Jesus was descendant of such stock may have discredited Him with some of Matthew's audience but the message is sent loud and clear that all facets of mankind were included in God's great plan of salvation. Not only were the highly esteemed Abraham and David listed here, but the sinful representatives of the past also were present. Salvation is an act stemming from the Grace of God, not a man or woman's merit. Through this genealogy we see Christ related not only to the Jews and the chosen, but to all of mankind.
Matthew 1:1-25
Matthew is, of course, the first of the four Gospels. The word Gospel means "good news" or "joyful message." In the context of the Four Gospels of the Bible, the word refers to the text that records that message.
Among scholars it is generally accepted that the original manuscript of this Gospel was written by Matthew, or Levi (same man), in his native tongue, the language of 1st century Palestine. This was not a purely Hebrew language but was a mixture of Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syraic commonly known as "Aramaean." The pure Yiddish of the day had been adulterated by the strong influence of the Greeks when Alexander the Great had conquered the world in the 4th century BC.
Matthew was written to the Jews of the time and with this in mind there is much to be gleaned from the first chapter of the Book.
The Book of the Genealogy is the proper title of the chapter. (Read ESV text 1:1) The phrasing of verse 1 is quite similar to other genealogical tables in the Bible such as Genesis 5:1 or Genesis 6:9. The author here, however, has inserted that Jesus was the Christ and that he was the son of both Abraham and David. All three of these statements would be important to the Jewish audience.
The term Christos is the Greek for "anointed." The Hebrew equivalent for this term is "Messiah." Therefore Matthew is telling us that Jesus was the Anointed One, that is to say, one who was set apart or consecrated to fill an office. In the case of Christ, He was set apart to fill the role of King, High Priest and Prophet. As kings in the Old Testament were anointed with oil as a symbolic representation of being influenced by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was given the Spirit far beyond measure.
That Christ was the "Son of David" carried great significance for the Jews. In 2Samuel 7:16 the promise is made to David that his house would be established forever. Bear in mind now, that some 1000 years after that promise, the Jews had fallen into the hands of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, The Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans. God's anointed would be the Messiah, the new King from the house of David that would reestablish the throne of Israel. To the Jewish mind, this would be of benefit to the nation of Israel. Little did they know that the coming King would be Divine and Savior for Jews and Gentiles alike!
Likewise, Abraham had also been given the promise that all families of the earth would be blessed through him in Genesis 12:3. Abraham was by far the most revered and illustrious ancestor of the Jewish people. It was important to the theology of the Jews that these two important figures be a part of the Christ's lineage.
The Genealogy
(Read ESV text 2-17) Let us first address the problems with this list of names. Perhaps the most striking aspect of these 15 verses is that they do not coincide with the parallel genealogy found in Luke 3:23-38. We also find that Luke in his genealogical table between David and Christ lists 42 names while Matthew lists only 27. Throughout the centuries Christian scholars have sought to explain the difference in names in various ways. While none of the explanations are completely satisfactory, a review of the leading theories may reduce the complexity somewhat.
1. Some say that one or both of the genealogies may be flawed due to the similarity of certain ancient names and similar circumstances. This would allow errors to creep in as the centuries passed.
2. Some have assumed that Matthew is following the lineage of Joseph as he was the assumed father of Jesus and that Luke is following the line of Mary. This assumption is drawn from the view that since Joseph was not the father it had to be proven that Mary was also from the lineage of David. While this may be plausible, and perhaps even true, it is not provable that this was the intention of Luke.
3. A solution offered by the early church fathers suggests that Joseph was the legal son of Heli but the biological son of Jacob. This theory, while not entirely satisfactory, is probably the most acceptable. In Jewish culture, if a brother died before his wife had children, it was the duty of the brother to marry the widow and attempt to carry on his brother's house by impregnating the woman. The child would still carry the original husband's name and be his legal heir. Therefore in this theory, Matthan (a descendant of Solmon) in verse 15 married and had a son named Jacob. After Matthan died, Matthat (Luke 3:24) being of the same tribe but a different lineage (that of Nathan) married the widow and she conceived and bore Heli. Jacob then married a woman and died before she became pregnant. Heli, his half brother then stepped in to fulfill his duty and the woman conceived Joseph, making him the legal heir of Jacob. Thus the two lines converged in Joseph.
As for the number of names in the two genealogies, there is little over which to be concerned. In the Jewish way of keeping records, it was common to divide the names into even numbers of columns and omit those that were of less importance historically. To make the number "14" work for these columns, we must count David as 14th in the first column and 1st in the second. Likewise, we count Josias as last in the second column and 1st in the third.
Now that we have wrestled with some of the difficulties, let's proceed with the "Good News."
For me, the next striking feature of the genealogical record in Matthew is that there are four women mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah whom we know to be Bathsheba. Typically, Jewish genealogies omitted all women and indeed the author passed over notable possibilities such as Sarah, but he included three who were guilty of shameful acts and/or were outside of Israel. Tamar in genesis 38 posed as a whore and tricked her father-in-law Judah into fathering her twin sons. Rahab was the prostitute of Jericho who brought her family into the community by assisting the invading army of Joshua. Ruth was a Moabite, a descendant of Lot's daughter's incestuous union with her father. Bathsheba commited adultery with David when Uriah was off at war.
That Jesus was descendant of such stock may have discredited Him with some of Matthew's audience but the message is sent loud and clear that all facets of mankind were included in God's great plan of salvation. Not only were the highly esteemed Abraham and David listed here, but the sinful representatives of the past also were present. Salvation is an act stemming from the Grace of God, not a man or woman's merit. Through this genealogy we see Christ related not only to the Jews and the chosen, but to all of mankind.
D
dianetavegia
Guest
Wish we had 36 point fonts available!
AMEN!
AMEN!
Nice to have you with us, CoachC!
jilphn1022
New Member
Clint, thanks for making it easier for all of us who want ...
to read the entire Bible in one year!
Trust there will be more posters who want to read the Bible in one year too!
to read the entire Bible in one year!
Trust there will be more posters who want to read the Bible in one year too!
I am going to do this for 2010! Haven't done it in like 3 or 4 years.
Question regarding Genesis:
In Genesis 1:27, it says that God created male and female, but then it doesn't actually talk about God creating Adam until 2:7 and then not Eve until 2:22.
So, what did God exactly do in Gen 1:27?
First time I really noticed this and was confused by it.
I still have so much to learn and understand.
Thanks for doing this again.
Who is onboard on here for 2010?
Question regarding Genesis:
In Genesis 1:27, it says that God created male and female, but then it doesn't actually talk about God creating Adam until 2:7 and then not Eve until 2:22.
So, what did God exactly do in Gen 1:27?
First time I really noticed this and was confused by it.
I still have so much to learn and understand.
Thanks for doing this again.
Who is onboard on here for 2010?