Bible Reading Challenge Blog

We close out Acts with Paul still in prison and taken to Rome on a bit of a wild goose chase. He appeals to the emperor and the rulers that be realize that they can get him out of their hair by sending him on to Rome to meet with the emperor. I love the dialogue that takes place that is supposed to be behind closed doors where they say to each other, supposedly with no one else hearing: “If he hadn’t appealed to the emperor we could have just let him go.” But the converse is also true, if he had not appealed to the emperor then there was nothing preventing then from turning him over to the Jews where he certainly would have been killed.

The voyage to Rome is very eventful, to say the least. They are shipwrecked on Malta, but Paul is able to heal the father of the ruler of Malta, and thereby winning his favor. He gets to Rome and is really not in a dank prison cell, but is allowed to host people and entertain. He does so and preaches the Gospel consistently. We don’t hear about the death of Paul, but we assume that he dies while he is in Rome.

The Psalm and the chapter in Proverbs reminds us of the Providence of God. We consistently make our plans that often have no bearing on the reality that God wants in our life. That is a constant reminder to us that we have to go before the Lord to ask for his guidance and direction before we try to move forward with whatever plans we may have.

We come to the end of the life of Joshua, but not before a little controversy arises. The two and a half tribes that were given permission to settle on the western side of the Jordan built an altar on the eastern side which looked a lot like the replica of the altar that God commanded the Israelites to build for him. So it seemed as if they were building a fake to offer sacrifices which would have been a serious breach of trust in the Lord. Israel gathers up their troops to start a civil war against the two and a half tribes but things get sorted out. It wasn’t meant for a sacrifice, it was meant for a reminder. Whew, all is good.

Joshua then requires the Israelites to renew their covenant and they do and so he dies. Not a bad run for Joshua.

In Acts Paul is in prison and preaches to the high priest and those who had arrested him. He is about to be flogged to see what else they could get out of him when he appeals to Rome since he is a Roman citizen. So, back then if you were a Roman citizen you could not be mistreated until you were proven guilty of something. Kinda like today where if you are an immigrant trying to get into this country your rights are very, very limited as opposed to a citizen of this country who can’t be deported and enjoys certain priviledges which folks who are not citizens simply don’t have.

I noticed that the son of Paul’s sister makes an appearance. I had never noticed before that it was he who heard that there was a plot to kill Paul and he is able to save Paul as a result. I knew that Paul was saved, but had missed the detail that it was his nephew who saved him. It is obvious, and Paul says as much, that this was Paul’s hometown. Paul knew the people of Jerusalem and they knew him. He then meets before a bunch of high level officials and never hesitates to preach the Gospel to them. We leave him languishing in jail, similar to the Israelites once Joseph dies. The story goes on.

We come to the conclusion of the dispersement of the land in Joshua. But we still have a few chapters to bring everything to a close. But look at the final words of Joshua 21 where we read that all of the promises that the Lord made to the people of Israel came to fruition. There is nothing in God’s Word that does not come to fruition, it all happens as God has said.

When we get to Acts we read again about Paul’s journeys with his companions and we read a few times where Paul is captured and beaten with rods, stoned, and dragged out into the marketplace to be attacked. He certainly is a lightning rod with the Jews not wanting him anywhere near a synagogue because of his teachings. Paul becomes a clear persona non grata to the Jewish community because of how he is drawing people to Christ through his words and through his logic.

We get to a bit of a climax in chapter 21 where is Paul is beaten, and then arrested, and then asks to be able to address the crowds. He doesn’t address the crowds until chapter 22. But here we find the beginning of the end for Paul as he is about to make his journey to Rome once he declares himself a Roman citizen. But that comes later.

The continuing diving up of the land takes place and Israelites continue to take the land, but slowly. Joshua seems to be getting a little impatient because 7 of the tribes have not acted to take the land that the Lord has handed on to them. He even has scribes sent out to chart out the land and to arrange so that the remaining seven would get the land as the Lord had commanded. The settling of the land is taking place, but it is slow and that seems to be noticed by Joshua.

In Acts we have a number of visits by Paul and Silas to a number of different cities. There are too many to account here, but the visit to Athens bears repeating. My first Bible Study that I ever did was when I was a freshman in college and part of a Christian group that had small groups that would meet. They asked me one time to do a Bible study and I chose this Scripture of Paul visiting Athens as the Scripture that we would look at. The context in college was similar. Swarthmore was, and is, a place where faith is not encouraged and it is highly intellectual. To some degree it does seem that people spend time thinking and discussing those thoughts which are new.

I remember after the Bible Study thinking that it did not go well at all, fortunately those who attended were friends of mine and were generous and kind. Paul reminds the people of Athens that they themselves allowed room for an unknown and unnamed God, whom he identifies as Jesus. Some believed, which is stunning in and of itself.

In Joshua we see the dividing of the land, again, and the Levites who have not received land because the sacrifices to the Lord are considered the offering that they will receive. We see Caleb asking Joshua for more land because he was faithful and gave an accurate report of the land when his companion did not and Moses promised him that he would receive the land upon which his foot had trod. Did you see the mention of Gaza? Yes, the name remains the same and the location pretty much as well. There is a strong Zionist thought today that Israel still has rights to that land because God gave it to them here in these verses. This thinking leads people to violence and war because of a past promise which has been rendered null with the coming of Christ.

In Acts we find the travels of Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas is one of my favorite people. His name means the encourager. Chapter 15 is probably the most significant and historical events that takes place in the early church. It is there that the church decides that those who come to know Jesus and are not of Jewish origin, and so not circumcised, do not need to follow the Jewish customs to be Christian. To be a disciple of Jesus of Christ is a matter of faith and not a matter of following the law. This was a hugely contested point but one that eventually wins out. The same could be seen today. What laws, or what cultural requirements do we put on people before we may consider them to be Christian? Being a disciple of Christ is about being a follower and not about being right in the eyes of the church.

I hope you don’t mind bloodshed, but we find ourselves with the Gideonites who had made a treaty with Israel and now were being ganged up on. Isreal comes to the rescue and with that momentum keeps going and completely annihilates anyone in their path. Thirty one kings are destroyed by Israel and their lands are taken and their people wiped out. This allows Isreal to inhabit the land without any problem. That is basically what happens in these chapters. Israels settles in the land as a result of God giving them their enemies before them and telling them to destroy them completely. This was done.

We find the Scripture that I call pigs in a blanket. Peter is given a vision that seems to apply to the animals that have been considered to be unclean up to now, because Leviticus told us so, but God tells Peter that what God has made cannot be called unclean. But it is actually about people, those who are not Jewish which Scripture calls the gentiles. We are the gentiles. Before the kingdom of God was relegated to the people of God, but no longer. We see the Holy Spirit descends upon Cornelius and his entire household which tells us that all people are able to inherit the kingdom of God. That is a complete game changer.

We find Israel sinning against God by a single individual who kept the gods of the countries that they had overtaken. This resulted in him and his family and all of his possessions being taken and burned and a pile of stones heaped upon them. Yeah, they weren’t going to do that again. The next chapter we see Israel taking over the territory of Ai through a brilliant military maneuver, and they also weren’t spared. The city was burned, the people were killed, and the people of God enjoyed a massive military victory.

We then see that the power and the might of Israel was increasing to the point where the nations surrounding them were terrified of them, to the point that Gideon is able to squeeze out a treaty from them for safety through deception. I guess whatever it takes, but it does result in the Gideonites being slaves and water bearers for the Israelites for the rest of their generations. I guess that is better than genocide. A lot of that happening in these chapters

In Acts we see the first Christian martyr, our friend Stephen who was chosen to be a deacon back in chapter 6. But his martyrdom doesn’t happen before he is able to give the full Gospel message of how Jesus came to save all of humanity through the people of Israel and how Jesus is logically the Messiah. The listeners weren’t crazy about being called stiff-necked, among other things, and so they stoned him to death. He was able to ask God to take his Spirit and to ask God not to hold this act against them. Very Christlike as he reflects similar words to what Jesus mentioned in his death on the cross.

Simon the magician makes an appearance and it becomes clear to him that the Holy Spirit is not something you can buy. Then Philip, who along with Stephen and a few others became deacons back in chapter 6, is reintroduced in one of my favorite Gospel sharing passages in all of Scripture. If you look at Philip’s strategy on how he gives the Gospel to the Ethiopian Eunuch, for me it is the model for how we are to share the Gospel. You make yourself present to people, you respond to their question, you give the Gospel based upon their need, and you baptize as they request. You minister to people to the extent that they ask to be ministered. Not more, not less.

Saul is introduced to us in chapter 8 as he approved of Stephen’s killing, and now in 9 he is approached by Jesus in a vision who throws him off his proverbial horse. Paul is blinded and becomes Saul and the rest is history. We’ll see more of him later, but for now let’s see this image from my favorite painter of all time, Caravaggio.

There are less notable Scriptures in these chapters than the previous ones. But we do see the nation of Israel advancing forward to take on Jericho. The battle is curious, it is composed of a marching band that is able to bring the walls down which opens the way for the military to swoop in and take over the city. Did you notice that the Israelites had to be circumcised because those who were getting ready for battle were born in the wilderness and had never been circumcised. That is fascinating to me that the sign of the covenant had been interrupted and even stopped while they were wandering the wilderness.

In Acts we find ourselves with the Apostles once again and they are getting into trouble. I love the figure of Gamaliel in chapter 5 who tells the religious leaders who are threatened by the disciples to wait and see for it will become obvious if the work of these individuals is from God or not. You can tell by whether it lasts or not. That’s powerful. Don’t forget the story of Annanias and Sapphira who lead the charge in the “give or die” stewardship campaign. Yeah, they didn’t get the memo like Barnabas did.

There are some days that there is so much to say about the Scripture that you wonder how it is all going to fit into a single blog, today is one of those days. We have the iconic Scripture in chapter 1 of Joshua where God tells him to be strong and courageous. God has equipped him, just as he has equipped us, to do all of God’s work that he has set before us. It is time for the Israelites to enter into the land that God has promised them. Joshua is going to lead them since Moses has died. Joshua has all that he needs, and the people of God have all that they need, in order to enter that land.

The story of Rahab is always a bit disconcerting for me. I believe that God will only act in ways that reflect righteousness, so when Rahab lies and is rewarded, it concerns me. But I do love how Rahab, a simple prostitute, hosts the two spies, no explanation is given as to why the spies find themselves in the house of a prostitute overnight but we can assume. Rahab then is found again in the lineage of Jesus, a foreign prostitute who makes up Jesus’ blood lines. I love that.

Finally, the ark of the covenant goes before the soldiers into battle. But notice what the priests have to do in order for the people to cross into the promised land. They have to stand in the Jordan which was chilly and cold and was overflowing its banks, before the people can cross over. This image of taking an incredible risk before God is going to act is one that repeats itself in Scripture and also repeats itself in our own lives. We will not see the glory of God unless we are willing to give ourselves completely to God.

Then you have the three chapters in Acts with the ascension of Jesus and the choosing of Matthias as the twelfth disciple. You have the day of Pentecost that comes and gives the power of the Holy Spirit to the entire church. You have the disciples at the end of chapter 2 living together in a communal style where they share all things. The final chapter that we read we have Peter who heals a man but gives the credit to Jesus as a reminder that the disciples of Jesus, even after Jesus is no longer around, still have the power of the Holy Spirit which heals and which brings about signs and wonders. Whew, that is a lot.

Even up to the end of his days Moses has not forgotten his responsibility to lead the people of Israel closer to God. The blessings that he gives out to the people seem a little more like castigations than like blessings. At least that is true for the song of Moses in chapter 32. He sings of the disobedience of the Israelites even while the entire the time God is portrayed as a Rock. That is followed up by a blessing upon the Israelites family by family which is much more traditional.

The death of Moses, as Jeff Marsh mentions, is peaceful. It is almost as if God said: Well done good and faithful servant, come and enter into the joy of your master. We see this in Matthew 25, but the parable falls short because God then gives that servant more responsibility than what he had before. But not so Moses. Moses is given true, final rest. I do find it interesting that Moses dies while he is still full of energy and his eyesight was unimpeded. He was 120 and so had lived a long productive life.

Psalm 1 provides us with the guide to why we read Scripture. Because it does help us to distinguish between the way of God and the way of…, well, not God.