Hey guys, this image may be small, but it's from last week on September 15th, of myself, along with my fellow Sunday school class from Grace Church.
It was really fun; and I just can't wait to go again, today!
What's on your mind?
TEXT
POLL
Hey guys, this image may be small, but it's from last week on September 15th, of myself, along with my fellow Sunday school class from Grace Church.
It was really fun; and I just can't wait to go again, today!
✝️ - Christianity
✡️ - Judaism
☪️ - Islam
🕉 - Hinduism
☸️ - Buddhism
We pick our monthly Bible study program back up with the Book of Joshua for June 2017, after a month break in May. We now switch to a new era in the history of Israel, no longer is Israel just a refuge nation but it is on the path to establishing its own territory. The main highlight of the book is Israel's conquest of the Land of Canaan, which God had promised centuries before to Abraham.
Joshua picks up shortly after the end of Deuteronomy, where Moses dies; placing Joshua as the new leader of Israel (and a new kind of leader, Joshua is not like Moses but is before the period of the Judges). After conquering important Canaanite city-states and regions like Jericho, Hebron and Bethel each of the tribes, except for Levi and Joseph (instead through Ephraim and Manasseh are allocated portions of the land.
The books ends with the death of Joshua and a semi-allusory/prophetic reminder (via a renewal of God's covenant with israel at Shechem) for Israel to stay faithful to God or suffer the consequences. This can be seen as a foreshadowing to the Book of Judges where Israel constantly disobeys.
That being said, the Nevi'im (or History, containing Joshua-[[Second Book of Chronicles|Second Chronicles) goes through the history of Israel at a much faster pace then the Pentateuch. The Book of Ruth for example is only four chapters, mainly about one woman (Ruth) and her family, so it will be much harder to document all the content; unless we go at it on a very slow pace. Sadly, the productivity of the Administrators have died down and so has editing activity once again. The Admins are experimenting with some exciting new projects behind the scenes. Please be in prayer for growth, for our new projects and that our focus remains on delivering truth found in the Holy Scriptures of our Lord.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator and Bureaucrat 20:19, May 29, 2017 (UTC)
For April 2017 we will be going through the Book of Deuteronomy. Amazingly we have been reading/focusing on Pentateuch era content for 8 months (concluding this month)! We have been through Genesis, Job (which is not in the Pentateuch, but takes place chronologically before Exodus), Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers (several were split into two months based on length).
At the same time it is a bit disappointing that there hasn't been significantly more content development on that era. Progress has been made on several articles though. We will evaluate after this month the future of the Bible Study program.
Deuteronomy contains 34 chapters (about one chapter a day). Deuteronomy is mainly a recount of everything that has happened in Israel (mainly from Leviticus and Numbers) with many other details and insights alongside it. Compared to the other books of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy is written in first-person by Moses. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers were written by Moses in third-person, with many elements written by a secretary. Deuteronomy also has many new historical details (like Moses death) and obedience to specific commandments. Deuteronomy is mostly a speech at the end of Moses's life. Moses recounts the events that already happened and he makes many spiritual and typological conclusions, many which are reasons or purposes behind things happening. As a prophet Moses had direct insight from God that the other Israelites did not have.
While this book is repetitive in the historical narrative, it is certainly its own work. It contains many indirect allusions, explanations for previous events, added historical detail and most importantly specific reflections on God's work in Israel. When reading this book do not treat it as if you already know the events. Rather take time to appreciate the reflections the book makes and the context of Moses's speech. Deuteronomy certainly offers a lot that the other books in the Pentateuch do not.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator and Bureaucrat 19:14, April 1, 2017 (UTC)
For March 2017 the next book of the Bible on the list is the Book of Numbers! Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch. The first five chapters of the book is a census of Israel by the tribes (hence the book of Numbers). The census shows just how massive Israel really was at the time. It also gives insight into what was considered the legal adult age (age twenty), early provisions for tribal territotories (a precusor to Joshua 's split as we will see later) and the special roles for each tribes. Signfigiantly God decreed the census Himself.
Numebers 5-10:10 contains additional laws to Leviticus, such as how to test a wife accused of adultery and Nazirites.
10:11- Ch 31 includes history of Israel. This covers a lot of signfigiant information, mostly rebellions of the people against Moses and God, Israel being senteced to forty years of nomadity, Balaam and morality with Moab. Included in these chapters are several additional chapters of laws.
Ch 33-36 includes records about Israelite tribes, from divisions of territories, to the path taken on The Exodus to more.
For Feburary 2017 we will be reading the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus is the primary place where the laws for the Hebrews. This means that for the most part, Leviticus is not a historical narrative, but a regulatory/legal book. While this is the case all of the laws presented in the book are actually given as being dialouge direct from God. Moses is the recorder and he refers to himself in third person to say "the LORD said to Moses", followed by the regulations which are God's exact words transcribed. This is helpful to keep in mind in understanding the proper context of which Leviticus was written: several one-on-one sessions between Moses and God where God provides the exact wording of the rules.
There are several chapters of historical narrative in Leviticus, many of which are "repeats" of the law. Certain portions contain the dialouge of the laws themselves where some chapters describe how the laws were initially followed by each regulation command. Lev 8-10 and Lev 24:10-23 are the only narratives in the book.
Many historians consider Moses one of the "great lawgivers" of history, but it would be more correct to say Moses was a great law scribe. The laws in Leviticus were not the entire set of rules for Israel as many are also in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and even Genesis. Leviticus is not the typical legal manual that governments have today. Leviticus is a recording of oral transmission of many laws and a few cases of them followed.
The laws that come out of God's own mouth are very clear and make sure to settle any and every "what-if" scenario (like if someone cannot afford a certain sacrifice), but unless those are given the laws are assumed to be orders. There are many cases like the Fellowship offering were it is not a legal mandate, rather rules for someone who chooses to do something in special honor for God.
For the first month of January we will be completing the Book of Exodus picking up from Exo 20 and finishing the book (Ch 40). In total there will be twenty chapters of reading this month so the book can be finished in one day. Exodus 20-23:19 are all laws given to Israel . I would encourage that you take the time to read these instead of skipping over them. Having an understanding can give invaluable insight to the laws roots in morality and sense into Hebrew culture. Ch 23:19-25 are ourely historical accounts that are about the Israelites insistuting their new laws and affirming covenants God has made. Ch 25-27 are specifications for the construction of the Tabernacle, Ark of the Covenant and other objects to be used for sacrificing.
Ch 28-30 contains regulations for priests and special preparations and fees to accompany sacrifices. Ch 31-40 contain a mixture of both historical accounts and regulations. Several of the chapters are historical accounts about regulations being followed, which contain the requirements. Keep in mind that few times (if ever) does Scripture give laws in a direct legal format. Instead laws and regulations are contained in long quotations of God. This is particuarly done by Moses in the Pentateuch in order to attribute the laws to God. While much of the content is regulatory, its is technically a historical account.
Until Deuternomy is finished we will continue reading and encouraging that content efforts focus around the Pentateuch. While the rest of Exodus is primairly regulatory the content should be studied and can be written about in respective articles.
Arrticles to work on specifically for Exo 20-40:
Also much work is needed on articles applying to the Pentateuch as a whole. You can get ideas on what to write about by using Random Page, reading Scripture or asking an Admin or other community member
Remember why we study the Bible , to look at the examples of history[1] and have the knowledge for Salvation[2] all from the mouth of God.
Now that we have (or hopefully have) completed the Book of Genesis we are going to move on to the Book of Exodus. This month we are going to read Exodus 1 (Hebrews opressed in Egypt) through Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments ). The rest of Exodus will be completed the next month.
There are a few important things to keep in mind : Hebrew enslavement in Egypt was prophesied, Jacob and his family moved to Egypt during a famine, the Pharoah was not the same when Moses returned from Midian.
Articles that need expansion for Exodus 1-20:
For the month of November we pick back up on the Book of Genesis and we will read the second half from Genesis 25:19 through the end. Last month we read the Book of Job as to read the books of the Bible chronologically and to dissect Genesis. Right now our content focus is concerned around the very early world and the ancient origins of Israel . We would like to encourage our community to focus their writing efforts on content from around that time, particularly Genesis 25:19 through the end of Genesis.
The second half of Genesis covers the lives of several patriarchs that are descendants of Abraham and early ancestors to Israel. Gen 25:19- Ch 35 covers the life of Jacob and some of Isaac and Esau.Gen 37-50 covers the life of Joseph and his reign in Egypt. It's important to remember that Genesis was written to be a record of accounts of the early ancestors of the Nation of Israel and etiologies for world events. It explains how the world came to be, why certain events happened and explains some cultural customs of Israel. What we will see in the second half is the steps that had to occur to place Israel in Egypt where we find in them in Exodus. The promise of "many" nations is also seen fulfilled through nations like the Edomites who descended from Esau. We also see how the lineage is traced through Abraham to the chosen nation Israel.
There's a lot of history here. A lot of accounts of various interactions with certain people that tell the earliest accounts of some nations that rise to be great powers. There is a lot information to absorb. While it is interesting and intellectually helpful to memorize all of the knowledge, do not become overwhelmed. Instead focus your heart on the content to shows God's hand throughout all of history even from the beginning
This month we will be reading the Book of Job. Compared to the other books we have read so far, Job is almost entirely poetry excluding Chapters 1, 2 and portions of 32 and 42. The Book however does express a historical narrative throughout reading. This work has 42 chapters so it suggested to read 1-2 chapters a day based on the speaker. Job will go back and forth between speakers so it is suggested to read one speaker's dialogue in one setting before it switches to another one. This rule is not always uniform, but it is helpful to have the context of previous dialogue fresh in your mind.
Interestingly, the Book of Job was the first book of the Bible to be written. The events of the book may predate Hebrew writing and so its very possible it was actually repeated through oral tradition. Then it could've been written generations later or even a short time after the dialogue if writing occurred.
The work likely poeticized the dialogue and conversation of the people in the book so it could be easily memorized and passed through oral tradition or elsewhere. The dialogue would be either exact or paraphrased. Nevertheless it is a narrative of actual events and experiences of the people in the book. The poetic style is similar to that of many other contemporary ancient languages and it uses literary techniques, such as epithets (that denote their ancestry) for speakers. It switches between each person in the book as a "speaker", even God Himself has a share of speech in the role of speaker.
Relevant articles for the Book of Job are
Alright. Though this is not chronological, we are going to wrap back around to the Book of Genesis and from there go on chronologically as long as possible.
This month we will be reading Genesis 1-25:18. Due to the length of the book and each of its chapters we have divided the book into two month. We won't be reading the second part of Genesis until November as we will read the Book of Job in October (because it takes place before Gen 25:19). This will also give us a large amount of time to cover all the major topics (along with content from the Liturgical Calendar) through Genesis and Job. The first four chapters of the Bible cover nearly one-thousand years of history alone (though we have only have such more info on that time).
The portion of Genesis for this month ends after the death of Abraham and the second part of Genesis will cover the time of Jacob and Esau all the way to Joseph and his family living in Egypt.
Major Content that needs writing and/or expansion this month:
This is of course a simple list, but any content from the beginning of Creation to Abraham's death is encouraged.
Also please post your comments,thoughts and annotation of your reading below on the comments. Genesis's history was written as an example[1], thus its very important to study.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator & Bureaucrat
This month things will be a bit different. Rather than continuing on with 2 Chronicles we are going to take a slight break. Instead we wil be reading the Book of Proverbs. Now many of you have not read any of the books previously, so this month can be used as time to catch up. You can read one of the previous books(1 Sam, 2 Sam, 1 Chr and 1 Kings) or you can use our outline to read certain portions of each:
In correspondence with our reading here are articles that we need work on this month:
Post your insights and thoughts about your reading this month. We encourage everyone to use this program if they don't already read their Bible and don't know where to start. Proverbs has 31 days so one Proverb a day starting August 1st can be read. Proverbs provide great daily wisdom and even provide interesting details on the authors. Most importantly we want your spiritual knowledge of grow out studying the Word, but also we want to increase comfortability reading the Bible, intellectual (factual knowledge) and to be able to use all of the above to write content.
For the month of July we will be reading the First Book of Kings, which takes place directly after the chronology in Second Samuel and First Chronicles. First Kings has twenty-two chapters, so one chapter can be read a day starting July 1st (with over a week leftover). The Book of First Kings covers a much larger amount of time than Second Samuel and First Chronicles, which only covered the reign of King David. The first half of this book covers the entire reign of Solomon (the succesor to David), including the construction of the Temple and the great wealth and prosperity under his rule. The second half of the book covers a very large period, including the reigns of Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Abijah, Asa, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri and Ahab. This book also covers the split of Israel into two kingdoms. Out of the kings after Solomon, the reign of Ahab is documented in the most detail.
In terms of the quality/quantity of information from Second Samuel and First Chronicles, efforts have fallen behind. So while you are more than welcome to write information about the events, people and places of First Kings we still have much work to cover on the two books we read before. If you would like to write about First Kings some major articles you can work on:
As always if you have any thoughts or insights you would like to share from your study of this book please comment it on this thread. If you have any questions concerning article content, or the reading plan of this book please do not hesistate to ask.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator & Bureaucrat
For June of 2016 we will be reading the First Book of Chronicles. 1st Chronicles has 29 chapters and so one chapter can be read a day with one to two days leftover. Now you may notice the most of the content is reppetive to content in Second Samuel. That is because Chronicles was actually wrriten at a much later time, during the Exile of Israel in Babylon. Much of the content is probably based directly off Second Samuel, but may also contain many details that are not found in Second Samuel.
First Chronicles also has a lot of genealogies and records. Often it is difficult to understand the relevance of these genealogies and records. From these records and genealogies can we gain many insights and details not found anywhere else, for example we can find the names of all of David's siblings in the second chapter[1]. I would encourage you to at least try to read them as the author included them to help "Chronicle" the events of Israel. Appreciate the signifigance of these being some of the only surviving records of entire families and the jobs everyone had. This goes to demonstrate how deep God's love is for each and every single person who is written in those genealogies. The entire first 9 chapters are solely records and then they are spread out throughout the rest of the book. The amount of records and other details that are not in 2nd Samuel go to show the historicity of both. The books are both in perfect agreement with the facts they share, and with the facts that can overlap into each other's accounts
The books of Chronicles were written as a reminder of hope to Israelites in exile about to return home. First Chronicles doesn't document the curse that David experienced on his family[2] but rather focuses on how God would be glorified through his family. The book gives many original details on the construction of the Temple and the operational structure of the government of Israel through its preist and regulation system. This is important in showing how the law bound Israel and showed them their sins[3]. Chronicles helps give the authencity of people by showing us their duties and their relationships.
Please note that next month we will not be reading 2 Chronicles. We will be reading 1 and then 2 Kings before moving on to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles is similar in it contains many of the same details of 1 and 2 Kings. Since Chronicles were written as reminders and not the original source documents the Kings will be read before 2 Chronicles.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator & Bureaucrat
Last month for April we had the First Book of Samuel read and so this month we will be reading the Second Book of Samuel. The Second Book of Samuel contains 24 chapters and so if read one chapter a day reading will be complete before the month is over. Second Samuel and First Samuel were originally one book but split into two seperate ones after canonization of the Bible. Second Samuel is a direct sequel to First Samuel and so this is unique in it allows a timeline of understanding.
In order to engage with more specifics we would like those reading to give us their comments on the following questions:
Specific articles you can edit and read:
Most of all we provide this program to allow people to become more familiar with their Bibles, which is compared to bread, as a need in the Bible. If anything we hope people are at least reading the book we assign in a month. This is done for the benefit of those Christians who are not biblically literate and for those who are to be able to continue study,
This month we will be reading the First Book of Samuel. The First Book of Samuel was authored by the Prophet Samuel , whom it is named for. The book covers early history of the nation of Israel under a monarchy and the end of the period of judges. The book gives the account of the life of Samuel and covers early kings of Israel, including Saul and David. Not only does this book talk about some of the early logistics of the Ark of the Covenant and the war with the Philistines.
There are 31 chapters in this book, and is sequeled by Second Samuel. Due to this, one chapter can be read each day in order to read the entire book in April (one day will require 3 chapters to be read in order to catch up for the lost day). This is a great book of history and contains the accounts of some of the Bible's most renowned people and kings. I hope by reading this not only can further literacy in the Bible grow but content can be relevantly written about it.
Here are some relevant articles you can write about when studying the book:
As always please, please post your questions and comments on the book. If you find something historically interesting, or even something that happened that was humorous, please post it here!
So for the remainder of March into the beginning of April we will now be reading the Book of Ruth.. Since Ruth is such a short book (4 chapters) we would like to encourage to continue reading Esther (10 chapters) and continue contributing. Sadly we haven't seen many people write about content of Esther, but hopefully since Ruth is much shorter it can be written about a lot more. Even if you are not writing and discussing the book you are reading I hope and pray that because of this you are beginning to read your Bible. The time to read this will be until the last day of March plenty of time to read this book. In April we will need to start on the first day of the month in order to get the program on track.
Here is the reccomended reading (and writing) scheldue for the Book of Ruth:
Again since I haven't seen any activity relating Esther I would encourage to continue reading and writing about it if you hadn't finished. I also would like there to be a nice discussion about this book as it documents the life of one family on a very micro scale. This gives a unique historical perspective in it not always being on a macro national level, but we also need to connect this book to the macro level.
Here are reccomended articles to contribute on about the Book of Ruth:
Hello everyone. For the first month of our Bible Study program we have selected the Book of Esther to read. The Book of Esther should be read throughout the course of Feburary through March. Then post your questions, comments and convictions here on the forums in order to engage with other believers. Take the time to read and comprehend what you are reading. Pray and ask God for understanding, as He will grant it [1][2].
The goal of this is to help you as a viewer and editor be able to comprehend the Bible even more, but also be able to write content for Bible Wiki. Out of your reading we also want you to share what you have learned, as this will allow you to study and understand while sharing at the same time. Here are some recommended articles to add on:
I hope this is not a burden. Reading of the Bible is one of the most important investments you can ever make, and sharing that information on this wiki will also help us become a comprehensive study tool for Christians, and a method to share the Gospel with those unsaved.
Attention members of the Bible Wiki Community (and any Christian or anyone who wants to read the Bible!). We would like introduce our brand new Bible Study Forum. We have created this forum to be able to host monthly book discussions on books of the Bible chosen by Admins (of course suggestions are welcome). The goal of this is to increase interaction as a community of Christians, but most of all to help people in trying to read the Bible and becoming comfortable with it. Sadly many do not read their Bibles, or many find it difficult. Reading one's Bible is a very critical part of furthering your faith, and is highly commended by the Bible itself[1] (that's a lot of verses).
Also since this community is lacking of people who understand and are willing to read the Bible, we cannot have a collaborative bible study tool, nor can the Gospel be shared very well[2]. So it is in the best interests of everyone that we begin this program. Jesus Himself speaks of how those who read their Bible will be rewarded[3]. We also have lack of content for the amount within the Bible, and do not have the rich Bible study enviroment we are looking for.
This is how the program will work: a semi-random book of the Bible selected by the Admins will be picked to read. Then viewers should particapte by reading that book of the Bible on a daily basis until the reading is complete. Along the way questions, thoughts, or convictions can be shared on the appropiate thread. Then while or after reading content relevant to the book should be created. The books that will be chosen will primairly be historical accounts, as they are often more clear, have an easier context, and are easier to read. We also want you to encourage to dive into reading outside of this program but this is help people become acquainted with the Scripture. In the end it is through the Holy Spirit understanding of the Bible is obtained[4]. I hope and pray everyone who sees this thread is willing to join in with us on the monthly reading. I hope that you carve out the time each day to make one of the most important investments you will ever make in your life, biblical literacy. The world is lacking of biblical literacy and without the Gospel cannot be effectively shared and the goal of our ministry will be that much harder.
In Christ,
Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator and Bureaucrat