One Year Bible Readings

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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.

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March 2010

Congratulations, you’ve finished two months!

This month you will read portions of three books of the Pentateuch (pen-ta- tewk), also known as the books of Moses, or the Torah (contrary to popular belief, the whole Hebrew Bible is not referred to as the Torah, only the first five books. You can use this knowledge to impress your Jewish friends!).

Numbers

NUmbersbegins with God telling Moses to take a census. That’s how the book gets its name, Numbers. While there are definitely lots of lists in Numbers, there are also some great stories. Like: how the Israelites complain that they are bored with manna and the way God provides meat for them; the sending of spies to check out the promised land; why you should never lead a rebellion against God; why Moses doesn’t get allowed to enter the promised land; and everybody’s favorite, Balaam and the talking donkey.

Deuteronomy

The name Deuteronomy (do – ter – on – uh – me) comes from two Greek words, deutero meaning second and nomy meaning law. It means the second giving of the law. Deuteronomy is the last book of the Torah, it is the last book of Moses. It contains Moses’ final address to the people of God. In it, Moses reminds them of where they have come from and where they are going. It’s a fascinating book as it recounts God’s work on behalf of his people and what God expects of them. At the end of the book you will find the death of Moses and the commissioning of Joshua as the new leader of the people.

Learning Moment on Deuteronomy: Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy more than any other book in the Hebrew Bible. The book of Deuteronomy contains the quintessential verse of Judaism, the Shema Dt. 6:4 (note that the Shema traditionally includes Dt. 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Num: 15:37-41.) It is called the Shema because the first word is shema, which means hear. Thus “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” The meaning of shema has more to do with listen and obey than it does hear, which is why some translations have “Listen!” It is similar to saying to your kids “Hear me!” Your intent is for them not to just hear your words, but to do what you have told them. So the intent of the Shema is to listen and obey what you are about to hear. The word Lord is with small capital letters in most Bibles. That is because it stands for the name of God that was not spoken in the time of Jesus, YHWH. Because of the Hebrew construction this verse can be translated several ways:

Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord is one.
Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.
Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord alone.
Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is God alone.

The most notable difference above is that YHWH is either one or God alone and both are true! However, a comment must be made regarding the word “one.” It is not necessarily one as in the number one, but particularly in the aspect of unity. So YHWH is God alone and in the Godhead there is unity. As Christians, we may point to this and quickly come to the conclusion that this implies the Trinity, however, be cautious here as this is not necessarily the intent. Nonetheless, the unity of the Godhead is expressed.

Notice that the next verse, Dt. 6:5 is what we call the greatest commandment “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” This is what we are to listen to and obey. We could go into this at length, but a retranslation is sufficient: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind, and with all your self, that is all that you are, and with all your strength and all that you have.” The Shema is the first verse taught to young Jewish children. It is recited at least twice a day, in the morning and in the evening (try it sometime) and traditionally the last words spoken at the end of one’s life. It is likely that the Shema was the last words that Jesus, a devout Jew, recited.

This month you will finish the Gospel of Mark. I wrote about Mark last month, but I didn’t tell you about the ending. You will probably find a note in your Bible that Mark 16:9-20 are not in the earliest manuscripts. In the earliest manuscripts, the book ends at verse 8. Don’t let this throw you. There is nothing there that isn’t characteristic of Jesus. All of the material is contained or alluded to in other places in the New Testament. So, whether this was the originally the ending of the gospel or it was added later, the material that is contained there is still trustworthy.

The Gospel of Luke is the third gospel and is the first section of a two-part work. The second section of the work is the book of Acts. Luke dedicates his writing to Theophilus. While there are lots of guesses, nobody knows who Theophilus was. But Luke writes to him to explain Christianity. Luke writes as a historian, or perhaps a biographer. He has a great attention to detail. Luke is also more highly educated than the other gospel writers. Luke’s theme is the movement of Jesus toward Jerusalem. Luke contains the very familiar birth accounts of Jesus (Remember he was a historian!) and the canticles or songs of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon.

 

Download the Daily Reading Guide HERE