Week One Reading Assignment:
Genesis 1 - Genesis 23

"O give me that book!  At any price, give me the book of God!  I have it: Here is knowledge enough for me.  Let me be a man of one book.  Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men.  I sit down alone: only God is here.  In His presence I open, I read His book -- for this end, to find the way to heaven."
 
(John Wesley)

this week's videos

introducing the bible

The Table of Contents

A Word About The Old Testament

Good Book Review:
​Book of Beginnings

The book’s title, its placement in the table of contents, and its opening line all tell us the same thing: this is a book of beginnings.  

Learning the Bible may be like learning a foreign language.  The knowledge and understanding are cumulative, and the first few lessons are truly foundational.  The Book of Genesis offers those first, foundational lessons in our effort to learn the Bible.  

We will meet characters in this book that will continue to be referenced throughout Scripture:  Adam, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, and Jacob, to name a few.  

We will see in Genesis the beginnings, not just of the Universe in general, but of so many significant specifics: the beginning of sin and of salvation, of sacrifices and offerings, of tithing, of covenants, and of the Sabbath.    

In Noah’s sons, we find the beginnings of the nations and peoples of the earth.  In Abraham, we have the beginning of a chosen people.  And in Jacob, we have the beginning of the nation of Israel.  

Read Genesis carefully, for Genesis is where it all begins.  If we learn this particular book well, we will be in a good position to recognize, understand, and learn all that follows.  

What Shall We Call These People?

Over the course of this year of Bible reading, we will find ourselves using a variety of different terms for referring to the same basic group of people.  During our first two weeks of reading, we'll be introduced to a collection of men and stories that provide us with the etymological background for the terms that we will use.

The sons of Noah become the ancestors of all the people on Earth.  Noah had three sons -- Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  Shem is the one whose story we follow, and his name gives rise to the term "Semites" or "Semitic."  The descendants of Shem, then, are the Semitic peoples.

Fast forward through the genealogy that follows Shem, and you'll briefly read of a man named Eber.  We don't know anything about him, but his name evidently gives rise to the term "Hebrews," by which the people of God are known early in Old Testament history.

Continue to follow the family line, and eventually you come to the patriarch named Jacob.  As Jacob's story unfolds, he has an encounter with God that results in his name being changed to "Israel."  His descendants, then, are literally "the children of Israel," or the "Israelites."

Finally, one of the sons of Jacob, Judah, eventually becomes the ancestor of the largest tribe in the nation of Israel.  By the end of Old Testament history, Judah is the name of a kingdom, a nation all its own.  And the nation of Judah is the one that survives the calamities of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. As a result, by the end of the Old Testament, and carrying into the New, the remaining people of God are primarily referred to as "Jews." 

In the end, then, we will use four different words to refer to the Old Testament people of God, and this is the background behind those terms:

Shem -- Semites
Eber -- Hebrews
Jacob (Israel) -- Israelites
Judah -- Jews

What to Watch For This Month

As you read the materials assigned for the month of January, here are some important themes to observe.

List the stories and occasions in which blood plays an important role.  Identify the role it plays.

What covenants do you see established between God and human beings?  Are they between God and individuals or God and groups?  Are they initiated by God or by the human beings involved?

List, in chronological order, God's responses to Adam and Eve's sin.  What do His responses reveal about Him?  How else might He have responded?  In the reading that follows, what recurring patterns do you see in how God responds to human sinfulness?

Track the changing responses of Pharaoh's magicians to the acts of God.  How do the magicians differ from Pharaoh himself?  How do they differ from Moses?

Based on the stories and instructions found in Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, what would you say makes worship pleasing and acceptable to God?

When your reading brings you to Exodus 20, consider each of the Ten Commandments individually.  From the stories you have read thus far in Genesis and Exodus, can you think of instances of each law being broken?

At the end of each day's reading, it may be helpful to ask, "If I didn't know anything about God except for what I read today, what would I know about Him?"

Where is Christ in All of This?

During this week's reading, we will meet a number of characters who continue to be important throughout the pages of Scripture.  Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac. 

In all of these cases, the characters represent part of an ongoing story. We don't just meet Adam and Eve and then drop them.  No, we learn about their descendants, and we have a sense for their continuing importance and relevance.  Likewise with Noah, and also with Abraham. 

But one character will cross our stage this week who is different from the rest. He appears out of nowhere, with no story or genealogy preceding him.  And then he disappears just as suddenly, with no story or descendants following him.  

So it is that we might easily dismiss Melchizedek as a minor, unimportant character, and then forget about him.

But keep Melchizedek in mind, for just as abruptly as he appears in Genesis he also appears in Psalms.  "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek'" (Psalm 110:4 NIV).  The reference is just as sudden and unexplained as the original episode in Genesis 14.  

But then, a thousand years later, the New Testament writer of the letter to the Hebrews comes along and finds great signficance in these two Old Testament references to Melchizedek.  For Melchizedek is identified as a priest of God and the king of Salem (perhaps "peace" and/or "Jerusalem"), and his name means "king of righteousness."  He comes with bread and wine, and  Abraham gives him a tithe.  And the Psalmist credits him with an eternal priesthood that is of a different, higher order.  

On Easter Sunday, Jesus "explained to (His disciples) what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27 NIV).  Perhaps Melchizedek was one of the characters that Jesus spoke of, for Hebrews sees in Melchizedek a foreshadowing of Christ.  

In Defense of Genealogies

One of the frequent laments of folks as they read the Bible is the tedium of reading genealogies.  Accordingly, let's say a word or two in defense of that particular genre within Scripture.

First, a genealogy is the Bible's version of fast-forwarding.  Even though it feels like slow reading, the fact is that a geneaology helps move the story forward quickly through several generations. 

Second, the genealogies bear witness to the carefulness of Scripture and the people who wrote it.  Given the importance that we place on the Bible, it is reassuring to know that it is not a careless or haphazard record.  Rather, it is careful in its detail, and that is a testimony to its larger reliability.

Third, the genealogies remind us that the work of God is ultimately rooted in people.  The Bible is a well-populated book, for people are the special creation, love, and instrument of God. 

Finally, the genealogies often rise above a mere record of generations.  From time to time, they give us a glimpse into something deeper -- like the juxtaposition of Enoch and Methuselah, or the four women deliberately included in Matthew's record of the genealogy of Jesus. 

Where Is Christ in All of This?

Zoom in close enough to see the picture close up, and you will recognize the details of the scene. 

There is the father, Abraham.  He is full of grief and love, yet determined to do what is necessary.  Behind him is his son, Issac.  Together they climb the hill, where Abraham will sacrifice his son -- the one that the Lord referrred to as "your son, your only son, whom you love." 

At one point in that painful journey, the sons asks the father a poignant question:  "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  And the father, broken-hearted yet faithful, responds, "God Himself will provide the sacrifice."

Then pull back the lens a bit.  Zoom out so that you don't see the faces and details, but are able to see the bigger picture.  The only son carries up the hill the wood on which he himself will be sacrificed, and the promise is expressed that God Himself will provide the lamb. 

On Easter Sunday, Jesus "explained to (His disciples) what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27 NIV).  Perhaps Issac was one of the characters that Jesus spoke of, for what Abraham was willing to do God Himself did:  He offered His only Son. 

Learning the Bible

"All through my own life my experience has been that, the more I knew about the Bible, the greater the Bible became."
(William Barclay)
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