Bible Read Thread

[Goodbook]

I had just finished my psalm reading 5 psalms a day when you started this! Good timing.

Psalm 1 is a good reminder not to walk amongst the ungodly as following them will lead you away from the Lord. Its like how Jesus said, the blind leading the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

Psalm 2 reminds me of Jesus, who is Gods beloved only begotten son.

 

[TheGirlOnFire]

I read I basically took from it a warning if we don't follow God we will become part of the evil ones

 

[Swan7]

Psalms 1 - The Godly and the Ungodly: Law vs Lawlessness: The Two paths​

This depicts that there are only two paths to walk: the path that leads to life and the path that leads to destruction, and eventually death. Thus, the saved should be wise not to seek the advice of those that do evil.

Verse 2: Just as it said in Joshua 1:8, yesterday's chapter, to meditate day and night on His Word. Doing this we will bear fruit, whilst those that are wicked are blown away and eventually will perish... I can't help but feel sad here, but then again, it was their choice to make.

Verse 5: This seems to speak about the future and that the righteous and the unjust will no longer be among each other.

Rivers seem to be talked about a lot in the Bible, I'm wondering if that is symbolism to living water?

Psalms 2 - God's Son Shall Reign​

The opening to Psalms is of a warning, a message to the world leaders (I do believe) that if they continue this waltz of rebellion against God the Father and His Son, they face His wrath and there is no escaping this fate. That is a scary short message, He even laughs at them!
There is also proof that God is a person, not some force in everything or in the cosmos that is just present - and so much more than "consciousness", but is in fact a person. This is also foreshadowing the future; His wrath to come.

 

[Goodbook]

There is a river that flowed east from the Garden of Eden remember? It watered the garden.

In book of Revelation, the tree of life is there and there will be a crystal clear river.

I find myself thinking of the 'vain imaginations' (see psalm 2, verse 1) I used to have as a heathen. In this day and age most 'vain imaginations' are spoonfed to us through television.

We are to cast down vain imaginations and take every thought captive to Christ.

 

[Swan7]

There is a river that flowed east from the Garden of Eden remember? It watered the garden.

In book of Revelation, the tree of life is there and there will be a crystal clear river.

I find myself thinking of the 'vain imaginations' (see psalm 2, verse 1) I used to have as a heathen. In this day and age most 'vain imaginations' are spoonfed to us through television.

We are to cast down vain imaginations and take every thought captive to Christ.

Yep, I do remember

And yes, definitely used to have "vain imaginations" as well. It kinda scares me just how much we are influenced and by how much we allow it.

 

[Travelers.Soul]

Sorry, everyone hopefully tomorrow I will be back in but yesterday and today have been pretty busy. I think it's already been alluded to but Psalm 1 is basically a parallel between the righteous and the wicked. I love verse 3 and it's imagery. A tree planted (not growing wild) by streams of water...it's leaf does not whither (it's evergreen).

 

[SarahsKnight]

Rivers seem to be talked about a lot in the Bible, I'm wondering if that is symbolism to living water?

It makes you wonder, actually, especially after Miss Book mentioned yesterday that Jesus was also baptized near the Jordan river.

 

[SarahsKnight]

According to this reading plan we will be reading from books of Poetry on each Thursday, so today, we begin with:

Job chapters 1 through 2

 

[SarahsKnight]

This is another section of the Bible that seems to at least mildly amaze me every time I read it, almost as though I am reading it for the first time ever as a new believer who still has that sense of wonder about his newly amended relationship with God and Christ.

Job is considered even by God Himself (who, remember, as Jesus Christ said in the Gospels there is no one good - certainly no mortal man, I think it can easily be implied - but God) to be a blameless and upright man of integrity. Job was apparently very rich in both material things and in having many loved ones. A family with a wife and ten children. And when Satan proposes to see if Job would still revere God even if he were to have great calamity befall him and be made to believe God was the one smiting him, I believe God let it be done because He knew that Job's faith would endure. I have heard it said in my Bible class back in high school that we shouldn't be led to believe that God merely had some petty bet going with Satan (also known as "the adversary" in my NASB) here, in which He did not really care about what happened to His faithful servant Job, and I believe that was right. The calamity that happened to Job - losing all of his children and livestock - did not come from God but Satan. Satan seemed eager to prove that Job - perhaps representing all humankind here in any situation in which a man has encountered ill fortune of some degree - only revered God when living in safety and comfort as he had before this disaster befell him, and that Job would surely curse God and believe that He had turned on Job the moment that security and comfort was taken away. Job mourned his losses, of course, especially since it would appear he particularly loved and looked out for his seven sons and three daughters, but he refused to believe God was against him.

I am also touched by the illustration of Job's three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar coming from afar simply to be there for him in what was no doubt excruciating pain and loneliness for Job (Job's wife wasn't much help in this situation, unfortunately, as we can see from Job 2). And it even says in Job 2:12 that they did not say an actual word to Job, but simply sat with him as he suffered on the ground, in silence. Still, sometimes not even a word needs to be spoken in order to comfort someone and simply let them know that you are there for them.

One new thing I have considered here in Job 1:5 is where Job repeatedly makes burnt offerings each morning for each of his children, thinking they might have sinned. I am not sure why, as the Bible does not give indication of this actually happening, but does Job suspect or actually know that his own sons and daughters did something that is, shall we say, taboo for people of shared blood to do with each other during all of these evenings in which the sons would invite their sisters to dine with them? The Bible simply refers to what they do as "days of feasting", so nothing here in itself implies sin. But perhaps when "eating and drinking" or "feasting" is referred to in Scripture, it is understood to mean that some measure of unruliness was occurring along with the simple act of people sharing a meal and a glass of alcohol together. Anyone have insight on this that I do not?

 

[Goodbook]

Well, Job was overly religious. He didnt need to do that..i dont know how old his sons and daughters were though, but they must be at least adults if each son had his own place and each day of the week they had a feast at each house. If they were circumcised like the israelites were, they were then responisble for their own sacrifices if they had sinned, tradtion in judaism is that once a boy reaches puberty at around age 13, he has a bar mitsvah and is responisible and considered a man, so his parents are no longer looking after everything in case they do sin. So you could say Job was like one of those cotton wool parents if there was any fault with him, he was over protective.

It does mention they drank wine. So it could be, but again we dont know if the wine was bad wine or good wine..in the bible mixed wine is the one that is intoxicating.

I think the book of Job is one that christians turn to the most when things are all going wrong. We are aware, although Job wasnt, that we DO have an adversary. I have found though, many christians, or maybe churchgoing people seem ready to blame God when things go wrong instead of considering that satan is behind it all, and that it is a test or trial of faith.

Not all christians have the good life that Job had though, sounds pretty luxurious and grand I mean I dont know anyone with three thousand camels. I have met christians that have more than ten children though!

 

[Goodbook]

They had a farm with hundreds of stock calves though. Come to think of it, the farmer was kind of like Job. A man of integrity, and he was one of those what you would call 'fundamental' type christians, and he didnt believe in speaking in tongues, he was very strict. He had 10 daughters and one son, and all his daughters dressed modestly.

 

[Travelers.Soul]

So, here are some thoughts and such after reading Job 1-2.

I was interested to know exactly what the words blameless and upright (I think the KJV renders it as perfect and upright) meant in this context and in the Hebrew so I looked them up in the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon. Sorry I can't attach the exact Hebrew words that are rendered as "blameless and upright". So because of that I am only including the explanation/definition. This is what it had to say about the words they translated into blameless or perfect and upright from the Hebrew.

The word they translated into blameless or perfect- Perfect, complete. One who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc. Sound, wholesome. An ordinary quiet person. Complete, morally innocent, having integrity. One who is morally and ethically pure.

The word they translated into upright- Straight, level. Right, pleasing, correct. Straightforward, just, upright, fitting, proper. Uprightness, righteous, upright. That which is upright.

I think the author of the book of Job points out these aspects of Job's character so that no one could say that the suffering Job endured was brought about as punishment or discipline or that he had done anything to deserve what was going to happen to him. Job 1:1 is a declaration, if you will, that Job was blameless but not in the new testament sense. (Job was not sinless.) Job is portrayed as a man who was devote, he respected God and obeyed his laws.

You see that Job was a wealthy man both in terms of his family and his possessions. It is also clear that Job cared about the spiritual state of his family in that he would consecrate his children and offer burnt offerings to God in case his children sinned and cursed God. It appears that this was done in conjunction with the feasts that his children held.

It would take too long to give thoughts on the whole rest of the chapter....after all you don't need a book. Notice the Lord allowed the accuser, Satan to attack Job. The Lord is not the one who stretched out his hand against Job and that he gave Satan perimeters. I find Job's response to the first blow of his suffering absolutely breathtaking. As Job lost everything he had, his possessions and his children, the response of his broken and grief stricken heart was, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
I find the end of chapter one to be equally as beautiful... "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong."

Chapter 2... I'm not going to say a lot about this chapter except to mention Job's wife and his friends. Job's wife was foolish and we would all be wise to hold our tongues rather than to speak foolishness in the face of someone else's suffering. Job must really have been something to see because when his friends arrived to comfort him they didn't even recognize him. They were horrified, they wept, sprinkled dust on their heads, and sat in silence for 7 days and nights not saying a word to him. Perhaps it would have been better, for at least two of them, if they had remained silent.

 

[Goodbook]

Does the Ash Wednesday observance have anything to do with Job's story?
Some churches have this. They sprinkle ashes on people's foreheads as a sign of repentence or sorrow.

 

[Swan7]

Job 1​

The opening was interesting, an opening to telling a story. A man that God saw as perfect, righteous and avoiding evil.
Verse 3: Again, mention of the East.

Verse 5: There is an explanation of the 7th day, after the feasting, that Job makes sacrifices for his 7 sons. He feared that they might have sinned and felt responsible for their sin. This was a regular practise he did.

From Verse 6-12 This shows that Satan goes before the Lord to give his counsel concerning Job, God's servant. This almost sounds like a bet and brings to mind a movie called Constantine, but it's not like that. It's more about God proving Satan wrong in anything he tells Him. The Lord tells Satan that he has power to cause discord in Job's life, but is restrained from killing him. If God didn't do that, Satan would have killed him without cause - not to mention causing said discord is already uncalled for. However, God knew that Job wouldn't flinch in faith and trust in Him.

Verse 16 & 19: Fire came from heaven and burnt up Job's substance, and the winds from the wilderness smote the four corners of the house and crushed his children.
Verse 20-22: In his utter dismay, Job still worshiped God even in repentance. Not once did he ask "why". This phrase popped into my head: your parents brought you into the world and they can take you out of it! Instead, he persevered in faith even when it hurt the most.

Job 2​

Verse 9-10: Job's wife was harsh and not at all loving - she tells him to die!
I'm not really sure on Job's response however. I think he means, if we are to recieve the goodness of God, then we are to also receive evil that doesn't come from God, due to the fact we believe in Him...?

Verse 11-13: 3 friends and 7 days and nights, Job's friends repented and mourned with him even without knowing what had happened as they saw Job's grief was heavy. Sounds like something friends would do for one another.

 

[SarahsKnight]

From Verse 6-12 This shows that Satan goes before the Lord to give his counsel concerning Job, God's servant. This almost sounds like a bet and brings to mind a movie called Constantine, but it's not like that. It's more about God proving Satan wrong in anything he tells Him. The Lord tells Satan that he has power to cause discord in Job's life, but is restrained from killing him. If God didn't do that, Satan would have killed him without cause - not to mention causing said discord is already uncalled for. However, God knew that Job wouldn't flinch in faith and trust in Him.

You may be right on this, Sheena. God knew Job would persevere. And Job was wise not to accuse God of doing the evil to him. At least, I don't think he was. When Job said this, in response to his wife's telling him to just curse God and let himself die (not that Job did not already make it obvious enough that he is well aware of his own mortality in Job 1:21):"shall we accept only good from God and not adversity?" I don't think Job meant to say that he thought for sure God actively did this to him, the burning up of his livestock and the slaying of his children, but rather, more what you said, Sheena. That the adversity from those forces that are against God in nature - Satan most of all, I am sure - is what came to him, but God allowed it. Even though God Himself was not against Job. (If the Lord is merciful even to the most wretched of sinners, then why should we interpret Scripture here to mean that God had it out for a man whom He Himself calls a blameless and upright servant, that the calamity came directly from God, right?)

 

[Swan7]

"shall we accept only good from God and not adversity?" I don't think Job meant to say that he thought for sure God actively did this to him, the burning up of his livestock and the slaying of his children, but rather, more what you said, Sheena. That the adversity from those forces that are against God in nature - Satan most of all, I am sure - is what came to him, but God allowed it. Even though God Himself was not against Job.

Yeah, that's what I thought, I just wasn't sure

(If the Lord is merciful even to the most wretched of sinners, then why should we interpret Scripture here to mean that God had it out for a man whom He Himself calls a blameless and upright servant, that the calamity came directly from God, right?)

Yes, otherwise His Word wouldn't be inerrant, besides, if one's eyes aren't blind we'd easily see that God doesn't have it out for us as a punching bag. Sounds an awful lot like Satan lol!

 

[Goodbook]

People who interpret scripture that way, just have this false idea that christians don't have to go through any trials and tribulations. That being upright and blameless, or pious is means that we automatically get all the blessings. Well, no, its not so simple.

The real test was to see if Job truly loved God, and KNEW Him and didn't just worship him for his blessings. Being religious does not impress God, and Job was as religious as any orthodox Jew would be. Of course God knew that Job would come through once this trial was over. It was satan daring that he wouldn't. And why wouldn't God win out in the end? He's God! and satan isn't.

Jobs story, his patience, and his faith through suffering illustrates this scripture from Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

[Swan7]

People who interpret scripture that way, just have this false idea that christians don't have to go through any trials and tribulations. That being upright and blameless, or pious is means that we automatically get all the blessings. Well, no, its not so simple.

I agree, Jesus did say that we'd be persecuted. Matthew 10:22

 

[SarahsKnight]

Fridays involve books of Prophecy, so today we will be reading Isaiah chapters 1 through 6.

 

[SarahsKnight]

I agree, Jesus did say that we'd be persecuted.

Unfortunately sometimes we see Christians take this verse a little too far and create a complex out of persecution. In the Epistles we see that our enemies are not other people, but "principalities and powers".