Summary of the Bible in 52 Weeks: Beginnings

I'm starting a new weekly series summarising the Bible. The Bible, as you probably know is a library of 66 books. I've condensed this series down to 52 weeks, so clearly, not every Biblical book is covered (I've merged some adjacent and similar books like Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).

This is by no means an exhaustive summary, it's really just to whet your appetite.

We start, logically, at the beginning, in Genesis, the first book of the Bible

'I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'

Genesis 12:3 NIV

This verse is God blessing Abram (who he later renamed more famously as Abraham). Abraham is known as the father of faith. Jews and Muslims claim him as their own, not just Christians.

Ethnically, Jews are descended from Abraham via Isaac; and many Muslims via Ishmael. Yet Biblical faith isn't about ethnicity; it's about believing God, and having God credit that faith to us as righteousness.

This verse is part of God's unfolding revelation that he was going to send his Son, descended from Abraham via David etc. and eventually Mary, to bless the world. We might question how all peoples on earth are blessed by Abraham's Descendant Jesus. Most Jews and no Muslims believe in him as their Messiah/Saviour.

Jesus is the reason God hasn't destroyed us all yet as we deserve. If we trust in him and his sacrifice on our behalf, we don't need to be destroyed at all as we deserve. We can be eternally blessed, through faith in Abraham's Descendant Christ the Lord.

'Lord God Almighty, please give us the faith we need in your Son, and bless us we pray, in his name, amen'.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave...
Read more

Confession

 Ezra 10:2 ESV And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.  God's people were at a low ebb. Although they were restored to the promised land, they were still in thrall to their Persian occupiers. Instead of committing to God, they had adulterated themselves with the unbelieving people around them. We might wonder what this has to do with us. Even in the new covenant era, we're commanded not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. In other words, it's wrong for a Christian to marry a pagan. Ezra had led his people in a powerful prayer of repentance. It seemed to have had the desired effect. The people reacted well, as this verse begins to reveal. The people confessed their sin, but they didn't wallow in it. They don't nurse the hurt and indulge the misery. They were hopeful God would have mer...
Read more

Praise

  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.15.ESV King David had been guilty of adultery and murder. Understandably, he felt muted. He didn't feel he could praise God publicly without coming across as a massive fraud. Yet David is described as a man after God's own heart. Yes, he fell deeply into sin. Yet this Psalm is a heartfelt prayer to God to restore Him. David knew that if God forgave him, he'd have a great testimony. There's hope for the worst of sinners! So he longed to open up his mouth in praises to God. Thankfully, God positively did answer his prayer. He did go on to praise God and write many more Psalms of worship to Him. Whatever we've done, there's hope for us yet, in the blood of Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, please help us to praise and worship You wholeheartedly, whatever our pasts may be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'
Read more