Today’s read includes Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1:18-25. We are given many details surrounding the birth of two babies: John the Baptist, and Jesus. Their mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, were relatives, though we don’t know how closely they were related. Both babies were born under unusual circumstances, and their destinies would be intertwined. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s …
Author: sheilaalewine
Read-Through-The-Bible [10.19.19]
Today I read two genealogies. One begins with Abraham and traces Joseph’s line to Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17). The other begins with God, who made Adam, and traces Mary’s line to Jesus (Luke 3:23-38). Why are these lists important? The gospel writers are presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of hundreds of O.T. prophecies. …
Read-Through-The-Bible [10.18.19]
Today we begin the New Testament! The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) will be intertwined chronologically (as much as they can be). Skeptics will point to the differences in these four accounts as evidence that the Bible is not reliable; I disagree. If four people witness a traffic accident, they will give four …
Read-Through-The-Bible [10.17.19]
Summarizing 400 years of political and religious history in a few paragraphs is not easy. Remember how much information you had to study in high school for American History? And we’re a relatively young nation, just 243 years old! (Ummm….I remember the bicentennial celebrations. I feel old!) I’m sharing information from the commentary in my …
Read-Through-The-Bible [10.16.19]
Have you ever heard of the word “diaspora?” It’s often used specifically to refer to Jewish people, but it means simply the dispersion of any people from their original homeland. We’ve seen that many Jews returned to Palestine with Ezra and Nehemiah, but what about those who decided not to? For the next four hundred …
The Way Of The Word 