PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

You find in the first chapter that we are reading, 6, is the shema starting in vs.4 which is one of the most famous Scriptures in all of the Old Testament.  It provides the basis for the passing down of the law from one generation to the next and underscores the importance of that generational passing down of the faith and the commandments.  In the Old Testament the faith was able to be passed down from generation to generation.  In the New Covenant with Jesus the faith has to be claimed by the individual and cannot be passed down through inheritance.

Chapter 7 gives a recount of God reminding the people that they were chosen specifically and that God has given them the victory because of his might and not because of their righteousness.  That theme is continued in 8 and then 9 gives us the recount of God giving the 10 commandments to Moses while the people below the mountain offered up sacrifices to the golden calf.  From there God wanted to destroy the people but Moses, like both Elijah and Jesus after him, fasts for 40 days and nights to avert the anger of the Lord from falling on the people.

God gives Moses new tablets and from there re-establishes the fact that God is the one whom the people have to serve with all of their heart and soul and might.  Their responsibility is to keep the commandments, for if they are not kept then God will answer appropriately, which is not what we want.

The one chapter in Mark gives us another story of the feeding of the people but this time it is with 7 loaves and only 4 thousand people.  In spite of these repeated life lessons the disciples continue to not understand what Jesus is doing and the lessons that he is teaching and how to incorporate them into their daily lives.  

It gets to the point where the disciples are able to answer correctly, but then Peter tries to protect Jesus from having to go through what he has to go through and Jesus calls him Satan as a response.  Not something one would want Jesus to call you.

We find ourselves in Deuteronomy 5 where God gives to Moses the 10 Commandments.  We find these commandments also given in Exodus 20 as well.  In this chapter the people of Israel are an integral part of the story where they recognize the voice of God and understand their place before God.  You don’t often see that.

From that we transition to the Gospel of Mark with a plethora of Bible stories that will be hard to cover all of them.  In chapter 3 we see Jesus choosing the 12 disciples after he heals on the Sabbath and gets on the bad side of the Herodians.  We also read about Jesus’ family pursuing him because they think he has lost his mind, but he says that those who do his will are really his family.  It is here where we see the names of his brothers and understand that he had sisters as well. In 4 we see the parable of the seed which is classic and ought to be understood well because each of us has found ourselves walking on the path, or on the rocks, or on the weeks, and sometimes, sometimes I say, on the good soil.  

Chapter 5 we find the man with the demon legion who was cast out and put into the pigs who ran into the sea and died.  When we were in Egypt we saw the place where they think this took place.  It is in the middle of what is now a mine field.  A bit entertaining thinking of the pigs dodging, or not, the mines.  We see the woman with an issue of blood healed as well as the Talitha, the daughter of the rabbi, raised from the dead.

Chapter 6 we see the death of John the Baptist because Herod, who was fascinated by John and liked to hear what he had to say, was seduced by the daughter of his wife.  In this chapter we also see the feeding of the 5,000 without the little boy providing the fish and the loaves, they just seem to appear.  Jesus is becoming quite a thing by the end of this chapter.  Everyone wanted to have a piece of him.

Chapter 7 we see Jesus chastising the religious leaders for their insistence on tradition at the expense of mercy.  We also see the healing of the daughter of the Phoenician woman, which contains a great back and forth dialogue with Jesus and her.  I actually see this woman as a bit of a model for faith and dialogue.  He finishes the chapter with the unorthodox, but effective, healing of a deaf and mute man.

We begin two new books of the Bible in Deuteronomy and Luke.  We see an interesting side of Moses in chapter 3:25 where he asks God: “Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan.”  But God had said no previously.  We aren’t used to seeing Moses asking God to change his mind so that he can enter the promised land even though God had said that Moses and all those who had disobeyed would not enter, only their children would enter.  Joshua is once again mentioned as the one who will be taking the people into the promised land.  

We do see that they begin to take over some lands that God had promised they would, and God starts to fight on their side.  There are some nation states that God tells them not to bother because God had already given them that land, but then there are others that God tells them to conquer and that it is the beginning of the people seeing the might of the Lord through the Israelites.  

Moses does give a warning to the people that a time will come when the generations will forget the commandments of the Lord and will turn to worshiping idols.  Even in the midst of their unfaithfulness, Moses states, that God will not forget them and will turn them back to his presence over time.  

In the Gospel of Mark we find him starting the life of Christ not with his birth, but with his baptism and eventual time in the wilderness.  After this he calls his disciples including Simon and Andrew when he states that he will make them fishers of men.  What a great verse.  Notice that Capernaum is considered the town of Jesus, if you look at 2:1 it is called his “home”.  From Bethlehem to Nazareth and now Capernaum.  Some great Bible stories are contained in these first two chapters of Mark.  But we do need to look at 2:27 where Jesus states that “the sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the sabbath.”  Great verse.

We finish up I Corinthians by beginning in chapter 12 which addresses spiritual gifts.  We are looking at spiritual gifts in our Sunday School class.  Paul addresses them a number of times in these last chapters, but chapter 12 contains the image of the body and the importance of each body part in the working of the body.  This is an image that is used consistently to describe the church, and it is an important one.  All parts of the body need to work together in order for the body to work well.  If one part is in pain, the whole body feels it.

Chapter 13 is the love chapter and it gives us a beautiful description of the love that we ought to have for one another.  Normally the entire chapter is read at weddings.  Chapter 14 continues with the gifts and focuses on speaking in tongues and prophecy.  Within the Presbyterian Church there is no strong movement for those who consider speaking in tongues an important spiritual gift.  My personal stance is that since it is mentioned in Scripture then it is still a spiritual gift, I just don’t have it.  Paul makes it very clear how that gift is to be used and it is in a very limited fashion.  It is important to follow Scripture in all things, including this one.

Chapter 15 is a crucial chapter in understanding the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead.  We believe in the resurrection of the body, for without that belief then our testimony is in vain.  It is a vital part of what we believe and something that we cannot just gloss over.  We have to understand that our Christian faith has to include the belief in the resurrection of the dead.  The final chapter contains greetings from Paul and an encouragement to the people of the church to continue giving financially to the cause of the poor and to Paul’s work as well.  There is a minor theme throughout Paul’s letters where he encourages his churches to continue in their giving to his work.

Psalm 44 contains a number of musically rich content.  In the title it states that it is for the director of music and it has the term Selah in the midst of it, which basically means a break or a chorus in the Psalm.  Remember these were written to be sung to stringed instruments and other types of instruments.  It wasn’t meant to be spoken.

You can find an image of the region where we find chapter 32 describing what is happening in the life of the Israelites.  You see a number of Israelite tribes who had cattle and wanted to remain on the others side of the Jordan instead of crossing it.  Moses said they could do that only if they promised to lead the charge as the entire nation of Israel went into the promised land.  Technically the opposite side of the Jordan, the eastern side, was not in the promised land.  We also see in Psalm 22 the bulls of Bashan, and you can see that region in the north.

Chapter 33 gives us the step by step process of how the Israelites left Egypt and then made their way to where they found themselves now.  It is fun to look at an ancient map and see the route that the people took.  Chapter 34 lays out the territories and the boundaries of the promised land.  Chapter 35 gives us a layout of the cities of refuge where people could flee if they killed someone by mistake.  Interesting that it is included as something of importance as we find ourselves on the cusp of entering the promised land. 

The final chapter gives us another take on the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad where they were promised land, but now they are told that they must marry within their father’s family or else that land would not remain their’s but rather stay within the family unit.  You can’t marry outside of your family and then the land go to the family in which you  married.  It must stay within the family of origin.

I Corinthians 11 gives us a rundown on making sure that the Lord’s Supper is taken in a way that is honoring to God, and not just for the sake of gluttony and drunkenness.  There are also a number of verses related to the relationship between husband and wife and the wearing of head coverings or not depending on whether you are a man or a woman.  

We continue our journey through Numbers.  We see whole series of commandments on what the sacrifices ought to look like and when they need to be made.  Chapter 29 continues that thought and puts it in the perspective of Moses merely repeating what the Lord had commanded him, he passes on to those around him.  Chapter 30 we see the directives geared to women who make vows for fasting or other situations and when they are able to be upheld.  If the husband, or the father for an unmarried woman, hears of her vows he can acknowledge them in silence.  If he speaks up and objects at the time that the vow is made then it is null and void.  Basically, you can’t object down the road if you figure out it is harming you.  You knew she had made the vow and said nothing about it, now you have to live with it.

Chapter 31 takes us to God reaping vengeance against the Midianites and sending his troops into a victory against them.  He is not thrilled that after their victory they only killed the men and kept all of the women alive.  He attributes the following after false gods to the men being with the pagan women and they influencing them to follow false gods.  Remember when we talked about the marriages in Italy to non-Protestants and how that weakened the faith lines.  So, as a result, God commands that all of the married Midianite women be put to death.  Now, not a solution that I would have chosen, but then again I am not God, so we have that…

We jump to Corinthians and here Paul makes a case for offerings going to cover the work of those who are proclaiming the Gospel.  He spends quite a bit of time defending himself and laying out his resume in regards to his faithfulness and how he has worked so hard for the sake of the Gospel.  When we get to chapter 10 we see repeated the very important line in vs.23 where we read: “All things are lawful but not all things are beneficial.  All things are lawful but not all things build up.”  

I will leave you with the verse that is also very powerful in this Scripture that can be our calling card in all times of our life.  Look at vs.31:  So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

We have a variety of events that take place in these four chapters in Numbers, and then a pretty significant Scripture in I Corinthians that is used for a variety of reasons, so let’s start in Numbers.  We begin in 24 with a continuation of the life of Balaam, a prophet of the Lord, who was hired by the enemies of Israel, Balak, to prophesy negatively against Israel.  Instead, we see in chapter 24 that he gives a blessing upon the troops which absolutely infuriates the king of Midian.  As a result Balaam prophesies against the Midianites and the two men separate on probably less than favorable terms.  

Chapter 25 gives us an insight into what is God’s worst nightmare, which is that His people would turn from him and worship other gods.  This happens within the context of Israelites marrying the women of Moab and then turning to the gods of Moab as a result.  When we served in Italy it was very important for the very small Protestant community that their children would marry other Protestants.  This didn’t always happen and so as a result the community would decrease in size because when their children married outside of the faith in which they were raised it inevitably led to the decline of that faith being passed on from generation to generation.  Moses had a solution for that, a spear through both the man and the woman who had disobeyed God.  

Chapter 26 contains a census of the men who were of fighting age and chapter 27 has a great story of the daughters of a man who died and so they were not on the books to receive land like the rest of the Israelites.  They appealed to Moses and actually won the appeal.  From then on even if there were no sons in a family, upon the death of the father the daughter was able to inherit the land.  This was quite a shift from previously laws which only recognized the male as one being able to inherit land.

I Corinthians speaks about the need to marry for the sole purpose of making sure that our passions are not out of control.  Not normally why we say a couple should marry, which is for the sake of love.  Paul is a pragmatist to the end, realizing that Jesus was coming soon so it is better not to get bogged down in the world.  Notice he makes it very clear that it is not a sin to be married, just that it is better for a person to spend their time concerned about the matter of God rather than the matters of family life.  When I started seminary I was convinced that God has called me to a life of celibacy.  Well, that didn’t last long, as soon as I met Stacy, which was during orientation and even before classes had started, I realized that I had heard God’s command wrong.  

Paul also gives recommendations in regards to divorce and the eating of food sacrificed to other gods.  I go back to that verse that we read earlier, all things are allowed, but not all things are beneficial.

In the previous chapters we see that the people disobeyed God and so he commands that they would be forced to wander the wilderness for 40 years, but Aaron and Moses are still on track to enter the promised land with that new generation of Israelites who would enter as the clock expired on 40 years.  Well, chapter 20 removes that possibility as God tells Moses to speak to the rock so that water would come out but Moses, never one to miss an opportunity for drama, strikes the rock as if he were the one in whom the power resides to bring water from a rock.  Not good, beyond not good.  

We then find Israel’s wandering is filled with crossing borders of nation states that are inherently hostile and simply do not want the Israelites either in their back yard or on their front porch.  God spares Israel a number of times and even destroys a number of their enemies.  Then we get the interesting and amusing story of Balaam, who is able to hear the voice of God and speaks on behalf of God.  

One of the kings, the king of Moab at the time, summons Balaam for the sole purpose of cursing the Israelites which would result in giving the battle over to the Moabites.  Balaam refuses to go because God tells him that the Israelites are his people and he is always on their side.  He tells the king no, the king sends another entourage to have Balaam come and curse the Israelites, this time God tells him to go but to only speak the words that God commands him to speak.

He gets on his donkey to go and God sends an angel to kill him because he went, even though God told him to go.  The donkey takes different paths in order to avoid the angel, which apparently Balaam never sees, until he crushes Balaam foot and leg and then falls over on him.  Then of all things the donkey speaks to Balaam and extols his own faithfulness.  Then the angel of the Lord speaks to Balaam and says that you are lucky you have that donkey because I was about to kill you but the donkey took a separate path and it saved your life.  Now go to the king, but only speak the words I give you.

He makes it to the king and three times he blesses the people of Israel instead of cursing them, just as God commands him to.  As you can imagine, King Balak was not happy.  

Then we get to Corinthians and a description of the sin that is present within the congregation is that a man is sleeping with his father’s wife.  He tells the church in Corinth that it is better that the man is kicked out of the church rather than he influence anyone in the church, a little yeast makes the whole bread rise, which is not what you want in regards to sin.  

I think the most memorable verse for me in this Scripture is 6:12 where Paul states: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.”  This is a great principle by which to live.  God does not set up a barrier of rules and regulations in our lives.  We are given the task to discern, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that which is beneficial to us in our lives.  We can do all things, there is nothing that is unclean for us, but not all things are helpful to us.  We ought to seek out those things that are helpful to us and to our relationships with God and with each other.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Three of the main families of the Levitical branch approach Moses and Aaron and let them know that they are not happy that only Moses and Aaron can approach the tabernacle and the innermost sanctum where the Lord resides.  The Levites, except for Moses and Aaron’s family, were given the gopher tasks and asked to do things that did not involve direct contact with the Lord or with those things that were considered the holiest of things.  You would think that when they see God speaking to Moses face to face that they would understand that maybe, just maybe, this was what God wanted.  But they complain and say that they should also have a part in serving God in this most intimate of ways.

Moses establishes a way in which to discern whom the Lord has chosen but the families refuse to take part in it.  As a result Moses and Aaron call upon the Lord and they perform the discernment ritual that they had said that they were going to do and the families which spoke out against Moses and Aaron were swallowed whole and alive by the ground and the others were consumed by fire.  But not to worry, their censors were kept in order for people to be reminded of the power of the Lord.  Then one more discerning act was done with the staff of Aaron and the staves of the others where Aaron’s staff buds and grows flowers and has tasty almonds on it.

The last two chapters of our readings this morning contain more rules and regulations that were to be followed especially in relationship to cleansing the unclean and the importance of making sure that if anyone or anything comes into contact with a dead body that they go through what they must go through in order to be cleansed.  

We then move to chapters 3 and 4 of I Corinthians and we find here Paul admonishing the Corinthian community to ensure that they do not choose sides between him and Apollos or any other laborer in the Lord’s field, because God and God alone is the foundation.  It is in these verses where we read that we are God’s temple.  Think about that for a minute or longer, what does it mean when you hear that you are God’s temple?  How precious are you in the sight of God that He would make you His temple?  That’s pretty significant and something that must turn our understanding of ourselves from being without value, to being precious in the sight of God.  

Paul’s reprobation of the church centers on those within the church who boast on their positions of power within the community and trust in those positions as if they will save them and provide them with all that they need.  Paul uses himself as a foil against them and states that he has shown the way in which we ought to interact with those around us: when reviled, we bless, when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we speak kindly.  This is quite the opposite of what we see happening around us, so this is a good measuring stick for us to see if we are able to hold up to the standards that Paul sets for us.

We enter into the territory of the people of God complaining constantly about the state in which they find themselves, namely, non-meat eaters.  The meat eaters of the group, they were called those with a strong craving, continued to complain even when God sends a fire to quash their dissent.  It is interesting to see that Moses even gets caught up with the complaining and makes the statement that he did not bear all of these people on his own, so can he get a little help from God?  God helps and sends His Holy Spirit upon 70 other folks so that Moses can get some help and he also sends the quail to appease them and we move on from there.  

Chapter 12 contains a story that obviously was not written in the times of democracy.  The brother and sister of Moses, Aaron and Miriam, complain to the people that Moses married a foreigner.  As a result God calls the three of them into his tent of meeting and strikes Miriam down with leprosy and she is kicked out of the camp for 7 days.  Don’t talk against God’s anointed one because it is like talking against God Himself.  Chapter 13 we have the spies going out into the land to see what it was like.  It was pretty amazing, and this is where they call the land one that is flowing with milk and honey.  But there is a problem, it is going to take a little bit of work to conquer this land, so let’s kind of tell the people that it isn’t all that it is cracked up to be, and probably not worth the effort.

Up to this point God has promised that the people would enter the promised land.  But as a result of this unfaithfulness God gets so angry that he tells the people that only Caleb and Joshua will be able to enter this land flowing with milk and honey and the rest of the population over 20 will die in the wilderness.  This is where we get God’s punishment that creates the reality of the people of Israel having to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, because they refused to obey God by giving a true report, but preferred to not say to truth in order to protect themselves and not trust that God would give them the victory.  Kind of an important chapter here.

Chapter 14 we see the people trying to appoint someone other than Moses to be their captain so that they could return to Egypt where they had things so much better.  So it is actually a combination of both chapter 13 and 14 where you see God’s decision to make them wander.  He first wanted to destroy all of them there and then, but Moses and Aaron talked him out of it by saying, how do you think the Egyptians would take that?  You would be a laughing stock.  Good point and point well taken by God.  He makes them wander for 40 years instead.  

We then get to Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Remember, this is a church that he founded and that he loves, even though, as we shall see, they are not completely obedient to the Word of God.  He begins with an appeal to unity wrapped around the topic of baptism.  Baptism is not in any person’s name, but rather in God’s name.  That is where we find our unity, not in who baptized us, but rather in whose name we are baptized.  

This theme of God using  that which is weak and lowly as the basis for his kingdom is powerful, especially in a church that values education so much, we must be sure that our reliance on education for our pastors does not take the place of our reliance on a relationship with Jesus Christ as being the primary factor to serving God powerfully.