First, congratulations for taking on this challenge! You’ll find it to be challenging, rich and rewarding. Reading the Bible isn’t like reading a text book or a novel. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out and some days you’ll probably find it kind of boring. You’ll have “ah, ha!” moments as you realize that some phrase or story you’ve heard all your life is in the Bible. There will also be moments where you are shocked – “I had no idea the Bible had stuff like that in there!” You’ll also discover that God’s Word is alive and active because many days it will speak directly to you. You’ll be amazed that words that were written two or three thousands years ago are so contemporary and relevant. It is our prayer that you’ll come to a deeper love of God and His Word as you spend the year reading the Bible.
Each month we’ll publish these notes that you can use as a companion to help you understand what you are reading. If you are following the reading schedule or have the NIV one year Bible, these notes will match with what you are reading for the month. If you are on another schedule, they’ll still be helpful when you come to these passages of Scripture.
July 2010
In July we will encounter three new books, 1 and 2 Chronicles and Romans. We begin a
second reading of the Psalms.
1 AND 2 CHRONICLES
At first glance, it looks like Chronicles is simply a rehash of the books of Samuel and Kings. While there certainly are similarities – the writings cover the same period – there are also important differences.Chronicles is written later. Many scholars feel that it was originally part of a larger book Ezra/Nehemiah/Chronicles. It thus falls into the time of the return after the exile.
Chronicles is written to help those who have returned from the exile to have a sense of who they are. Thus he focuses on the religious history of Israel. He is concerned primarily with the Temple and the Davidic line of kings. Chronicles has sometimes been thought of as a history of Israel from the viewpoint of the priests.
Extra Credit: Look for a small but important comment about the "Sons of Issachar." How might the comment about them be a good thing for us also?
ROMANS
The theme of the book is justification by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. See Romans 1:16,17
Paul writes for several reasons, to prepare the believers is Rome for his first visit, to strengthen their faith and to raise financial support for his mission to Spain.
However the main reason he writes is his fear of a schism in the church between Gentile-Christians and Jewish-Christians. In Rome, the emperor Claudius had banished all Jews, including Jewish-Christians. Hence the churches were filled with and run by Gentile-Christians. As the Jewish-Christians returned, Paul wants to promote Christian unity. This is the same message that he is bringing to Jerusalem when he comes with the moneyhe has been collecting for them.
The book of Romans is a philosophical argument. By reading the book in large chunks you will have the opportunity to see and follow Paul's train of thought.
PSALMS
Why are we reading the psalms twice? Primarily because the psalms have been the devotional/prayer literature of the people of God since the earliest times.
