Day 5: Job 1, 2

(Q's and A's to come later)

The thing that struck me most about these two chapters was the very end of chapter 2 when Job's friends, Eliphaz and Bildad, came to comfort him.  The men ended up sitting with Job on the ground for seven days and nights in complete silence.  Not a word!  I just try to picture this awful situation, Job's sorrow, and the deep meditation that he sunk into because everything else had been stripped away.  That isn't really the main idea of Job's story, but I can't get this out of my head.

Day 4: Psalms 1, 2

1.  How does the Psalm 1 encourage daily reading and reflection on Scripture?

A lot of our readings thus far focus on knowing and following the law.  Psalm 1 says that those who reflect upon the law instead of searching out wicked company or advice will be righteous.  The wicked who do not meditate are "like chaff that the wind blows away;"  they have nothing to anchor them.

2.  What does Psalm 2 reveal about Jesus the Christ?

Psalm 2 reveals that Christ, the Anointed One, is one who should be revered by earthly kings and all those who scorn the Lord.

Day 3: Joshua 1-5

1. The book of Joshua is history from a prophetic point of view.  What would you expect to find in such a book?

I expect to follow (in some chronological fashion) Joshua's period of leadership of the Israelites, but that to be intermixed with prophesy and allusion to future events.

2. How does the Lord encourage Joshua in the difficult task of replacing a legend like Moses?

Even just reading through Moses' lifetime and then beginning with Joshua's leadership is kind of epic . . . I'm sure that achieving legitimacy at that level with a large group of people was difficult, but God didn't leave Joshua to figure things out for himself.  He spoke to Joshua and told him what he needed to do and what was to come.  There was no guess-work.

3.  Why would the Lord instruct Joshua to circumcise the Israelites at this point?

The circumcision would set the men of Israel apart from those in Jericho, but this would also have been a requirement for taking new territory in the Lord's name and for the observation of Passover.  There is a reference in my Bible to Exodus 4:24-26 regarding consecration prior to war, and then Exodus 12:48 discusses preparations for the Passover feast.

Day 2: Genesis 1-3

1. Respond, using Genesis 1, to the person who says "The 'days' of Genesis refer to the long periods of time it took for life to evolve."

I take the same viewpoint as Andrew with regards to this question . . . I think that the question of creation vs. evolution is a highly sensitive topic to a lot of people and would deserve it's own posting and study altogether, if we decided to do so.  I will say that the Creation of the world, which I cannot comprehend, is a miracle, and whichever way God chose to do it is an awe-inspiring thing.

2. What's the main difference between Genesis 1 and 2?

I would like to respond to Andrew's observation.  I agree, it is odd because in Genesis 1: 27, we have "So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them," etc.  Furthermore, in 2:2, "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so in the seventh day he rested and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done."

When I read this and then go through Chapter 2, I think at first that Chapter 2 is sort of like a more detailed, zoomed-in account of the creation of man (within the 7 days of creation).  It always seemed to me, though, that Adam went through a period of time by himself before God saw fit to make him an ezer kenegdo for him . . . (I highly recommend reading more about the Hebrew behind the word "helper" and "help meet" in this context.  I first encountered this discussion in Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge.)  In verse 19, we see that God brought the land animals and birds to him to be named, which would seem to be an event which would take longer than a day.  The actual time frame of Adam's existence without Eve isn't entirely clear.

3. How does Satan use the same tactics to tempt us as he used to tempt Adam and Eve?

I think the thing that almost everyone is convinced of is our ability to understand everything and take care of everything ourselves.  Why should we wait for God's guidance?  We can run our own lives, right?  Satan convinces us that we can make our own choices, at which point we have no trouble in convincing ourselves that what we want (which may not be in our best interests) is really causing no harm at all.

Day 1: Romans 1, 2

1. What was Paul's purpose and theme in writing this letter to the Christians in Rome?

Paul's purpose, from the first verse, is to fulfill his purpose as ordained by God.  He has heard of the faith of the Roman Christians and he is alerting them to his future visit which will involve preaching to them but also to all Romans (1:4).

2. Paul first condemns godless believers.  For what?

The godless are living their lives as though they belong only to themselves; they are not eternal-minded people.  "The righteous will live by faith," (1: 17c) but the godless refuse to see God's creation as ample evidence of his existence.  "Men are without excuse." (1:20)

3. Paul does not excuse the Jews, but condemns them as well.  For what?

Paul condemns their hypocrisy regarding the Law.  They know the law well and preach it to others, but do not follow it as they should.  "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." (2:13)  A lot of this is very indicative of the "Sunday morning face" that we all wear at some point or another in our culture.  We isolate our behaviors in life instead of living the Law!

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I found most interesting the section in which Paul discusses man's conscience as evidence of the Law.  This, coupled with Creation as evidence of God, is a very powerful thing.  I remember a lot of discussion in confirmation class many years ago regarding people who have never read a Bible or been exposed to Christianity and the fairness of their judgement, but Paul explains that "Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law [...]." (2:14)