Tag: bible study

It is 10:51 pm and I have just finished the book of Isaiah. Today was busier than I had anticipated and I honestly didn’t think that I was going to make it.

As I look back on my notes from this book there are several things that jumped out at me:

1. God hates idolatry. It seems like we all know this but the book of Isaiah makes it so obvious. Over and over again it comes up in prophecies, conversations and declarations from the Lord. He even makes fun of those who make idols, saying how silly it is that they would cut down a tree and use a portion of the wood for fire yet worship the other potion they fashion into and idol. God also points out that these idols have never made a prediction that came true- and then gives examples where He has done so.

2. “The Lord of Heavens Armies”- this term is used to describe God a lot. When I initially read it I was a bit surprised- it’s not a name that generally connect with God. So I switched over to my NIV (I’m reading the NLT translation) and found that there they have it recorded and the “Lord Almighty”. This struck me as odd- the two phrases seem very different. Once indicates a role or position and the other seems to indicate a level of power. I didn’t finish the reading in time to do any further research, but I did make it down for further study.

3. Widows, Orphans and Justice- I also noticed that taking care of widows and orphans justly came up quite a bit. Several times Isaiah mentioned that people were cheating the poor or the widows, or just outright not providing for them. God demands that his people do better in this area or else they will face judgment themselves.

Additionally there were a ton of references to Jesus’ coming! There are some beautiful passages and I’ve made a point to mark them- I can’t wait to see what connections appear when I start reading the gospels.

Tomorrow I had considered tackling the Psalms. But I’m also learning from today- I hate coming in so close to the wire. Psalms is a big book and my day tomorrow is pretty full as well. So for the next 3 days I will be doing 1, 2 & 3 John. Thanks for following along with me!

In Christ,

Karen

Today I was in a book of Jude. Like Obadiah it is a very short book- only one chapter. It is a quick read and I really enjoyed it! In fact, I may have found a new favorite verse!

The letter opens with Jude introducing himself to his audience. As he does he says in verse 2:

“May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.”

There a plenty of blessings in Scripture, but this is first time I remember reading this one. It struck me as something we all need in our lives- ever increasing mercy, peace and love.

As I went on I discovered that Jude wasn’t actually planning on writing a letter about the topic he addresses. He tells the people that he was eagerly planning to write about the salvation we share- but instead urged them to defend their faith.

I automatically thought that he meant from forces outside the church- stay strong and don’t let the world sway you or something. But that isn’t the case here. In this brief letter Jude begins the urge the people to live holy lives- not to surrender to the idea that grace allows us to live immoral lives. He gives several examples from the Old Testament and from the fellowship they already have with local believers, and one clear idea emerges.

In verse 19 he states:

“These people are the ones creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because the do not have God’s Spirit in them.”

To me it really highlighted that our own human instincts are flawed. I’ve read over and over where scripture has encourage me to put aside worldly desires but I don’t remember it saying so clearly that many times our instinctive desire, action or thought is the wrong one. Most of the letter gives examples of what this type of living looks like- and to avoid it, defend against it.

Then in the final few verses, Jude circles back to what he desired for the people in verse 2- mercy. He encourages the believes to show mercy to those who are struggling, to rescue those in danger of judgment and again to show mercy to others!

Tomorrow I will be tackling Isaiah- and hopefully on Tuesday I’ll be able to read the Psalms. So far this has been a great study- though I am marking down quite a bit of things down for further study later. Thanks for reading!

In Christ,

Karen

Welcome to Day Two! Today I tackled the book of Obadiah. If you’re just tuning in, the challenge I have set for myself is to read an entire book of the Bible each day for the next 66 days. Before I began the challenge I set up a pattern, a long book followed by a shorter book. The only time this changes is when I start getting into books that have multiple parts- then I’ll read both sections back to back. Or if I know that I have a busy or slow day coming- then I can swap for a short or longer book as my schedule allows.

Yesterday I started with Jeremiah because it is the longest book and I wanted to start strong. So today that lead me to the book of Obadiah. At first glance it’s a pretty straightforward book. God is proclaiming judgment on the nation of Edom as a result of their treatment of Israel. He accuses them of plundering the land, rejoicing at the fall of Israel and even killing those who were trying to escape.

But one phrase stuck out to me. The end of verse 5 says this:

“Those who harvest grapes
    always leave a few for the poor.
    But your enemies will wipe you out completely!”

I read it a few times and it sounded familiar. So I went back to Jeremiah and started flipping through the verses I had highlighted yesterday. When I did I found Jeremiah 49:9- which has the EXACT same phrase! As I compared the two chapters there are some remarkable similarities. Both reference Edom’s pride, how they have soared “high like eagles” and how the Lord will bring them crashing down.

Both Jeremiah and Obadiah were prophets of God, and while scholars aren’t entirely sure which Obadiah wrote the book ( there are several listed in Scripture) seeing the clear connection between the two books was awesome.

When I thought about attempting this read through one of my hopes was that I would see connections in Scripture that I had never seen before- and to see my first to books connecting in such a clear way is really exciting! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Since Sunday’s are a very full day, and it’s Father’s Day I’ll be swapping Psalms (which is incredibly intimidating) to the Book of Jude. See you tomorrow!

In Christ,

Karen

Day one is completed! If you’re just tuning into this blog, my goal for the next 66 days is to read a full book of the Bible each day. I compiled a list of all the books, rotating between long books and shorter books. After looking at the list I decided to start with the book of Jeremiah. While Psalms has the most chapters, the book of Jeremiah has the largest word count, and I wanted the biggest book out of the way first!

So throughout today I made a point to sit and read the 54 chapters and frankly it was harder than I expected. Jeremiah was a tough read for several reasons:

First, the book jumps around a lot. It goes from conversations between Jeremiah and God, to a historical account of what happened, to prophecies, and then to how the people responded. It was a constant back and forth.

Second, it mentions quite a few people. Kings, priests and even other prophets. I REALLY wanted to skip over to Kings and Chronicles to get some more details, but kept reminding myself that this study will take me there in time. I did make several notes on specific people to check out later or look at closer when I get to those books, just so I don’t forget.

Finally, the hardest part was the content. This whole book is full of God pleading, demanding and accusing His people. Begging them to truly repent- not just act like it so He will intervene. Demanding they give an account for their actions. Accusing them of being unfaithful at every turn. And poor Jeremiah is threatened, beaten and imprisoned simply for telling the people what God says.

But if you look at the book as a whole, the big thing I started to see is how merciful God is with his people. From the beginning he warns them that judgement is coming- over and over and over. Up until the armies are at the gates of Jerusalem God is giving them the chance to repent. And when they don’t He uses Jeremiah to tell them that this is not the end– there will be a remnant that will return to rebuild in 70 years.

Sprinkled in with all of that were clear references to Jesus’s coming- a promise that God was going to set up a Kingdom that would never end. So while I totally see why they call Jeremiah the Weeping Prophet, overall this book shows a beautiful picture of God’s mercy!

Thanks for following along with me- check back tomorrow as I tackle the book of Obadiah!

In Christ,

Karen