TCR EDITORIAL – IT’S TIME FOR THOSE OF US WHO ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE OF READING THE BIBLE FROM COVER TO COVER TO GET STARTED: Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III The 20th Editor of The Christian Recorder This is a modified issue of The Christian Recorder Online. I am excited by the number of persons who shared that they plan to accept the challenge of reading the Bible from cover to cover. I am excited because I believe the Bible is a wonderful treasure for people to explore and the challenge of reading it from cover to cover is an exhilarating and fulfilling experience! Reading the Bible from cover to cover is not an easy task. It takes discipline, commitment and patience. If you accept the challenge, you must not allow yourself to become discouraged because some of the passages are tedious. Some biblical passages will be a “piece of cake” and other biblical passages will be difficult. You must keep yourself encouraged. If you are planning to follow the 360 day reading plan, you should plan for about 10-11 minutes a day. If you plan to follow the 180 day reading plan, you should plan to spend about 20 -22 minutes a day. If you plan to follow the 90 day reading plan, you should plan to spend about 45 - 50 minutes a day. You will need to set aside and plan the time needed for the reading plan you have chosen. I plan to follow the 90 day reading schedule and got started this morning (12/31/14). Genesis, Chapter 5 was a challenge. I suspect that some people get to Genesis, Chapter 5 and get discouraged, but after Chapter 5, it is “smooth sailing” beginning with Noah and the follow-on passages about the Patriarchs. The Bible gets exciting with the stories about the Abraham and his descendants. Leviticus and Numbers can be slow reading, but Deuteronomy can be read at a fast pace. I find that if I am engaged in reading exciting passages and it’s moving quickly for me, I keep reading beyond the daily reading schedule. Joshua, Judges and Ruth are straightforward books and should not be difficult. You will need to “keep plowing on” when you get to I and II Samuel and I and II Kings and when you get beyond them, the hard part is behind you. I and II Samuel are interesting accounts of Saul and David and both books are pretty straightforward. The accounts of David, especially his relationship with Saul are exciting. A note about I and II Kings - When you get to this point, you should keep in mind that a major event is the division of the tribes of Israel. Ten of the Israelite tribes separated from Solomons son Rehoboam and chose Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim, as their King and the northern region began to be called Israel and Samaria became its capital. Two tribes in the south, Judah and Benjamin, formed the Southern Kingdom called Judah with the city of Jerusalem as its capital. You will also see that Israel, because of the peoples disobedience, was conquered by Assyria and the kingdom was decimated. Some of the prophets tried to warn Judah that they would suffer the same fate as Israel. Assyria tried to conquer Judah, but failed. Judah was eventually conquered by Babylon. The books of I and II Chronicles are what I call the “good news” passages of the books of Samuel and Kings, because it seems that much of the “bad stuff” has been edited out in the restatement passages in Chronicles. The books of poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon go fast and you can get ahead; or caught up if you have fallen behind. You will need to “keep plowing on” when you get to Isaiah and Jeremiah. When you get to the books of prophecy, it would be good to have some understanding of the pre-Exilic, Exilic and post –Exilic eras and the passages related to each period. You should have been reading the introduction to each biblical book from the beginning, but it is extremely important to understand which period and audience the prophets are addressing if you are going to clearly understand the books of prophecy. For instance, it’s helpful to know that Isaiah is addressing pre-Exilic Israelites in Chapters 1 – 39 and in Chapters 40 – 55 the writer is addressing the weary exiles and reminding them that God had not forgotten them. Isaiah 56- 66 is directed to the Jews who had returned from the Babylonia exile. Ezekiel is difficult and in antiquity, the rabbis forbade people from reading Ezekiel because of its difficulty. And in like manner the Song of Solomon was forbidden because the rabbis thought the book to be too risqué. When you get to the Minor Prophets, you will have the Old Testament almost behind you. You can read a couple of the shorter books in one sitting. When you get to Matthew and the other Gospels, it’s “all over but the shouting.” Acts is a “piece of cake” as are the Pauline epistles. The New Testament is easy reading compared to the Old Testament. Some of the epistles can be read together and the chapters in the book of Hebrews are short. Hebrews can be read in one sitting. And finally, Revelation is difficult, but after struggling through the Old Testament, particularly Ezekiel; Revelation is a “hiccup” and can be read in one or two sittings, but it is a difficult book. A couple of tips I strongly recommend that you mark off your Bibles ahead of time with “Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. You might want to consider listening to some of the tough passages on an audio Bible. An audio Bible can help those who have busy schedules to keep up. I found a great website for each reading schedule, which can be adjusted to a slower or faster pace. howlongdoesittaketoreadthebible/ Let all of us complete this challenge to the “Glory of God!” Reminder Christmas is not over for those of us who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Yes, the hoopla of Christmas shopping is over, but that’s not what we celebrate. The Birth of Jesus deserves more than a one-day celebration and a sigh of relief that the stress of shopping is behind us. Christmas day is the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas, which goes to Epiphany – January 6. And, yes Christmas carols are appropriate to sing this Sunday. Watch Night Service did not begin in 1862; it began long before President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation order that was to take place on January 1, 1863. Also remember that the emancipation was just for the slaves in the Southern States that were in rebellion. If did not affect the slaves in the States that were not in rebellion.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:44:56 +0000
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