Exodus 35:21, 22, and 29 — We see “willing” used 4 times in this passage. As 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
Matthew 27:51 — We read in Exodus about the elaborate preparations for the Tabernacle, including the coverings and curtains designed to keep people and the elements out. When Jesus was crucified, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom signifying that mankind could once again personally and without a mediator connect with his Maker.
Christ Crucified by Diego Velázquez
Matthew 27:57 — Jesus, crucified between two thieves (vs. 38) who probably targeted rich men, was buried in the tomb of a rich man (vs. 60) in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9.
Psalm 34:3 — J. W. Pepper has an arrangement of “O Magnify the Lord” (based on this verse), complemented with “All Creatures of Our God and King.”
Psalm 34:6 — A well-known Christian leader would write this verse under his autograph. I always appreciated the humility of this leader – recognizing that he was merely a poor man saved by the Lord.
Proverbs 9:8 — When rebuked, do you hate or love the one bringing the rebuke? That tells us if you are wise or foolish.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Exodus 34:1 and 27 — After Aaron’s sin in Exodus 32:2, we see the 8th and 9th time the phrase “And the LORD” followed by “said” or “spoke”. We saw yesterday that the LORD used Aaron’s name 40 times before he sinned, but the LORD has yet to mention Aaron’s name since, and He will not do so until the 10th time. Sin breaks fellowship with God.
Exodus 34:7 — The LORD God will punish the great-grandchildren of sinners for the sins of their parents. Sin has consequences that can last for generations. Fetal alcohol syndrome describes consequences for someone other than the drinker. The LORD is repeating a warning He made earlier in Exodus 20:5, but lest we think the Old Testament deity is merely vengeful, both times He contrasts 3-4 generations of judgment with (Exodus 20:6, Exodus 34:7) thousands of generations of “hesed” for His people. Hesed (חֶ֖סֶד), shows up in the KJV as kindness (Genesis 24:12), mercy (Exodus 20:6), goodness (Exodus 34:6), and lovingkindness (Psalm 103:4).
Exodus 34:12 and 15 — Remember these verses when we get to Joshua 9:15.
Biblical illustration of the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 27
Matthew 27:1 — This “morning trial” was the third Jewish trial of Jesus, done to give a semblance of compliance to the requirement that judgment in a capital trial cannot occur the same day as the trial.
Matthew 27:16 — The Unusual Films production Wine of Morning (1955) is based on what the life of Barabbas could have been.
Psalm 33:12 — Lloyd Larson based his choral work “Blessed Is the Nation” on this verse.
Proverbs 9:4 — Let us turn into the house of wisdom and feast on the provisions set before us!
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God prohibiting Moses from making graven images (Exodus 20:4)
Moses telling this to Aaron and the people (Exodus 24:3)
The people pledging to obey (Exodus 24:3)
Moses writing it down (Exodus 24:4)
Moses reading it aloud (Exodus 24:7)
The people publicly claiming again to obey (Exodus 24:7)
The people making a blood covenant (Exodus 24:8)
Aaron given the special privilege of being invited (Exodus 24:1)
Moses and the others going up to the LORD (Exodus 24:9)
Moses and the others seeing the LORD in His glory (Exodus 24:10)
Moses and the others eating with the LORD (Exodus 24:11)
Aaron and Hur being delegated responsibility over the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:14)
Not only were the people and Aaron aware of the Law, and not only was Aaron incredibly privileged by the LORD, but the LORD used Aaron’s name and preserved it in the Bible 40 times in the next 5 chapters (Exodus 27:21-31:10).
In spite of this close relationship between Aaron and the LORD, Aaron leads the people in breaking the Law (specifically the Second Commandment that was still fresh in their hearing) and personally making (32:4) a molten calf, declaring it to be the god of Israel.
Ten Commandments Dedication
Exodus 32:22-24 — In the 1956 film “The Ten Commandments”, Aaron is portrayed squeamishly saying “The people made me do it.” The movie inspired the Fraternal Order of Eagles to present a monument of the Ten Commandments to the City of Milwaukee. It was placed at the Zeidler Municipal Building in 1957 and dedicated by Yul Brynner, who played Ramses in the movie. The movie has several biblical inaccuracies, including the fact that the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) identifies the Pharaoh of the Exodus as Amenhotep II, not Ramses. That’s why we should go to our Bibles and not to Hollywood for the truth!
Exodus 32:28 — A casual reader would wonder why God would be so angry to kill 3,000 people. But having looked at the context we saw earlier, the people had entered a blood covenant with the LORD to obey His command against idolatry.
Exodus 32:32 — Just like Paul in Romans 9:3, Moses loved his people; both were willing to go to hell for their people.
Matthew 27:1 — We have a formal trial of Jesus (in contrast to the illegal night examination of Jesus) when it was morning. They found Him guilty and delivered Him to Pilate for sentencing (Matthew 27:2). However, under the Mishna this was illegal – capital cases cannot be done at night nor finish on the same day of conviction.
Psalm 33 — Notice the use of the synonymous parallelism of Hebrew poetry: in verse 1 the first phrase starts with “Rejoice,” while the second phrase uses the similar word “Praise.” The first phrase ends with “righteous,” the second phrase ends with the synonym “upright.” Throughout this psalm we see the thought of the first phrase repeated with different words in the second phrase.
Proverbs 8:35-36 — Unlike the synonymous parallelism of Psalm 33, we see the use of contrasts. Find wisdom, find life. Hate wisdom, hate life.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
_____ Image Credit: Ten Commandments Dedication – Picture courtesy Fraternal Order of Eagles
Exodus 30:12 — Remember David and the census? 1 Chronicles 21:12 will point back to the warning of a plague if there is a census without ransom. What’s the story behind the census tax? Pastor Rodney’s Blog says taking a census is a “violation of ownership” – a king cannot take inventory of God’s property. Nathan Albright’s blog estimates the cost of the tax at two days’ wages – “equal payment … for God is not a respecter of persons.” Robert Fugate claims this was the only civil tax endorsed by God, while others say this was clearly not a civil tax but a religious tax to atone for a civil sin. How much was the tax (that presumably became the temple tax of Nehemiah 10:32 and Matthew 17:24-27)? Roughly $5 of today’s money.
Exodus 31:2 — Bezaleel – the man with the funny name – is one of the few people to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon people and could leave at any time (Judges 16:20 – Samson, 1 Samuel 16:14 – Saul).
Exodus 31:18 — Wouldn’t it be great to hold in your hands the two stone tables? Or even just a copy of them? Would you treasure them and study them often? We have the full revelation of the LORD in our hands! Congratulations on being committed to studying God’s Word! Take some time to appreciate that! Just like God preserved His Words for Moses, He preserved His Words for you (Mark 13:31)!
Psalm 32:8 — Sally Atari has recorded a song “Be Glad” of which the first stanza is based on this verse, and the chorus is based on vs. 11. The second verse is based on Psalm 78:1-2, and the third verse is based on Psalm 37:3-4.
Proverbs 8:27 — We have an abrupt start! Who is the “I?” Wisdom. In a way similar to love – God is love, but love is not God; here God is wisdom, but wisdom is not God (vs. 30).
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Exodus 29:12 — Blood is found 363 times in the Old Testament. We’ll read about blood sacrifices quite regularly. Hebrews 9:22 tells us “without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Exodus 30:9 — In a few days, we’ll see how seriously God took a violation of this command (Leviticus 10:1).
Matthew 26:14 — Who is Judas? Chafer Theological Seminary published a helpful overview of the life of Judas Iscariot. By the way, a good friend of mine did an interview with the new president of Chafer – keep our seminaries and Bible colleges in prayer. Pray that they hold faithful to the Word of God!
The Last Supper by Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli
Matthew 26:28 — As you read through this passage, feel free to underline this verse. Jesus’ blood was shed for the remission of our sins.
Psalm 31:24 — Sixteen times in the Old Testament we see “good courage.” What are the conditions? Hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:24), wait on the Lord (Psalm 27:14), finish all the work for the Lord (1 Chronicles 28:20), and fulfill the statutes of the LORD (1 Chronicles 22:13).
Proverbs 8:22 — From John MacArthur: “As long as there has been God, there has been wisdom.” While Jehovah’s Witnesses claim this refers to Jesus, Stand to Reason shows why this doesn’t refer to Jesus but a personification of wisdom.
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
_____ Image Credit: The Last Supper, ca. 1520, by Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, Giampietrino, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Welcome to the 2024 Bible Reading Challenge, presented by VCY America. Join believers around the world as we together read through the entire Bible in 2024. Many people start a Bible reading plan but get lost in the genealogies, lack an easy to use reading plan, or just need friendly encouragement to keep going. We’ve provided the tools to help you succeed in your 2024 Bible Reading Challenge!
Three easy to use tools (print “daily reading” Bible, online mobile app Bible plan, or a booklet with the passages for each day) to help you track each day in the Word.
Joining our email team – we’ll encourage you each day to stay faithful. We’ll share observations, testimonies, and ways to get the most out of the Bible.
I was researching some figures in Church History and came across James H. Brookes, a Presbyterian minister who led the Niagara Bible Conferences – an interdenominational meeting committed to the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. From Chapter 12 of his memoirs:
Many and many a time Dr. Brookes has been asked: “How did you obtain
your mastery of the Scriptures?” His answer was to the point: “By studying it.”
His idea of Bible study, however, was very different from that of most men. So familiar was he with the Scriptures, that it has been said in all seriousness by admirers: “If all the Bibles were destroyed, Dr. Brookes could produce one from memory.”
On one occasion, while preaching at a conference in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the editor of a New York semi-religious publication was present. He had heard of Dr. Brookes’ marvellous power of quoting the Scriptures, and he determined to test it.
On a note book, during the sermon, he jotted down every verse quoted. Utterly amazed, the man went to Dr. Brookes after the sermon, and pointed out that he had quoted verbatim, almost a hundred separate Bible texts; giving not only the words, but the chapter and verse.
From his earliest youth Dr. Brookes was a Bible student.
As a child he had been expected to learn and quote much Scripture; and his mother was scrupulously careful that the quotation was faultlessly exact. She held that to misquote in the slightest degree was something almost a sin. It was God’s Word, she said, and must be studied, and repeated exactly, or not at all.
(Alas, how would her soul be torn if she heard some of the wretched misquoting of the Scriptures — where any is quoted at all — in many pulpits, even Presbyterian pulpits, today! A sermon was heard by the writer in a St. Louis Presbyterian church, in 1897, in which the Savior was “quoted” as saying certain words which no man, even with a magnifying glass, can find in any portion of the New Testament.)
The influence of that training was marked throughout Dr. Brookes’ career. The Bible was his vade mecum (a handbook or guide that is kept constantly at hand for consultation). He pored over it. He, so to speak, absorbed it. He knew it, and he knew everything worth knowing that had been written about it.
He kept himself thoroughly posted, too, as to the work of the destructive German critics (and their servile American “Men Fridays”) whose hope of recognition and worldly success, in the former country — and to a growing extent in our own— lies in their power to win notoriety, and gather about them a following.
There have been certain deluded men who have ignorantly implied that Dr. Brookes knew little but the English Bible.
It would not be charitable, though doubtless true, to say that he could have taught them Hebrew, Greek and Latin. But it is only a simple fact to state that he was an expert scholar in ancient languages. While in German and French he laid no claims to a profound study, as in the ancient tongues, yet he could easily read both those languages. He studied the German theological professors’ “sensation”-seeking utterances in the original, something which (let it be said under the rose) it is to be doubted if many of their subservient followers in American seminaries can do, with all their I’m-holier-than-thou air of philologic eruditeness.
This acknowledged champion of the Plain People’s English Bible knew all that they did concerning the Bible in the original [languages], and a great deal more, in numerous instances. Having delved deeply into the roots of words, and the textual study of men and times, he was fully equipped to battle with the destructive Biblical critics in their own camp. He saw through the pretensions of many alleged great textual scholars, and despised their lofty and exclusive assumption of sacred learning….
On blank pages of his Bibles, and on the margins of the printed pages, in small, perfect penmanship, he wrote down with the utmost care the rich results of his life-long labors. Only a photograph can adequately describe those marvellous “notes,” and only the multitudes who “heard him gladly,” and the greater multitudes who have read his books in many languages, know the value of them.
To make himself certain as to the use of any one word, he thought nothing of reading the entire Bible through for that particular purpose. If the word appeared three times that fact he established for himself. He believed in being his own concordance. (It should be added here, that he was urged scores of times to
write a concordance.)
It was often his custom to read the Bible through three or four times during a summer vacation.
When he wished to fortify himself as to any doctrine from the Bible, he, of course, read the Bible through with such especial end in view. The passages were carefully marked.
When he reached the end of Revelations, every text bearing on the topic was at his tongue’s end. He had gone to the court of last resort, and all was settled.
The results of that tremendous labor would then be written down, briefly and beautifully, in a portion of his Bible. Dr. Brookes was constantly urging men
to study first the Bible itself, and then the books about the Bible.
He believed too many preachers, young and old, held the books “about the Bible” to be far too important.
Yet he was a great bookman, and his library was a “thing of beauty.” The four walls of his large study were crowded with theological lore, and to the day of his last illness he kept close watch on new works, and secured all the worthy ones.
Williams, David Riddle. James H. Brookes: A Memoir. St. Louis: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1897.
Date: December 6, 2017 Host: Jim Schneider Listen: MP3 | Order Jim began with a question for Randy: How is our Bible IQ as a nation and as a church are we reading our Bibles?
Randy’s response my sound shocking but it’s true. He indicated that many people aren’t reading anything. A recent study found that one out of four adults haven’t opened up any book in the last year.
Randy quoted the following statistics from Al Mohler:
–Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels.
–Many Christians can’t identify more than 2 or 3 of the disciples.
According to data from the Barna Research Group:
–60% of Americans can’t name even 5 of the 10 Commandments.
–82% of Americans believe ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is in the Bible.
–The majority of adults believe the Bible teaches that the most important purpose
in life is taking care of one’s family.
–Over 50% of graduating high school seniors thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were
husband and wife.
–A considerable number of respondents thought the Sermon on the Mount was
preached by Billy Graham.
Obviously this shows a great lack of biblical literacy. This shouldn’t surprise us when you consider that only 45% of those who regularly attend a church read the Bible more than once a week. 1 out of 5 people who attend church regularly never read the Bible at all. And the most scary statistic Randy found? 80% of Americans have never read the Bible through even once.
On the flip side, Back to the Bible’s Center for Bible Engagement did a study of those who read the Bible just 4 days a week. Here’s what they found:
–You’re 57% less likely to get drunk.
–You’re 68% less likely to have sex outside of marriage.
–You’re 61% less likely to engage in pornography.
–You’re 74% less likely to engage in gambling.
–You’re 228% more likely to share your faith with others.
–You’re 231% more likely to disciple others.
–You’re 407% more likely to memorize Scripture.
The key is to have a plan and a way to get started. One way to do that is through the 2018 Bible Reading Challenge that was presented on this edition of Crosstalk. It involves use of The One Year Bible published by Tyndale. This King James Version paperback is divided into 365 portions. Each day (15 minutes per day) you’ll read a portion from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs.
More Information:
To obtain your KJV paperback edition of The One Year Bible for a donation of just $15 or more (price includes shipping) call 1-800-729-9829 or go to www.2018bible.org
