Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge
5 May
2014 to 28th November 2014
Week 01: Bible Reading Plan and Discussion
Starters
|
Welcome to The Salvation Army's Challenge to read
150 popular chapters from the Old Testament within 7 months,
reading
just 5 chapters per week.
Monday, May 05, 2014
--- Genesis 01 – ‘In the beginning…’
- v1, If God did not created everything, then who or what did?
- Would it take more faith to believe that God created everything, or to
believe that nothing created everything?
- If God is the Creator of the universe, then does it make sense to
challenge (as opposed to study) His account of how creation began?
- v14, if time is measured using night and day, the rotation of the Earth,
moon and Sun, then is it fair to reason that the creator of time and space is
not subject to them, and can be infinite?
- v20-25, the phrase ‘according to their kinds’ is frequently mentioned in
the creation of the animals, do you think one ‘kind’ evolved into a different
‘kind’ over many millions of years, or that God created the animals originally
within their specific animal groups? Do we see examples of millions of
transitional forms (one kind of animal being evolved into another kind) today?
- From a biblical perspective, is there a problem with believing in the
theory of evolution?
- From a contemporary and secular perspective, is there are problem with
believing in the biblical account?
- v27, in what way were we made in the image of God?
- v2, why did God rest on the seventh day?
- v7, what did God form from the dust?...and was this creation a man before
God breathed life into it, or was it an animal?
- V15, even in the paradise of Eden, man had a job/responsibility/work to
do…what can this tell us about God’s will for our lives, and perhaps even
suggest about our eternity in heaven?
- V16-17, why do you think God placed the tree of knowledge of good and
evil in the garden if its fruit was forbidden?
- V22, At this point the curse of death has not been introduced, and so
reproduction for the sake of continuity was not necessary….and so, why do you
think God only made one companion for Adam at this time?...and why now make a
woman instead of another man? Does this tell us anything about God’s will and
design for human relationships?
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
--- Genesis 03 – The fall, the curse, and the
banishment from Eden
- V1, a talking snake!...our logic and reasoning is often based on what is
considered ‘natural’, but when the ‘supernatural’ is involved is there any
reason why this shouldn’t be taken at face value?
- V1-4, The serpent challenges God’s command (found in ch2v16-17) by first
of all casting doubt (“Did God really say…”) and then distorting His words (in
this case exaggerating), before finally dismissing God’s words as untrue. Is
this the way the devil still tempts us, challenges God’s will and distorts His
Gospel today?
- V6-19, the result of the first human sin was immense, and explains why
there is so much hardship today as a consequence. But the eating of the forbidden
fruit was the product of doubting God’s goodness, wanting more than is
provided, and believing the lie there is no consequence for breaking God’s law.
Although it would be easy to pin the blame on Adam and Eve, would it also be
true to say that each one of us has committed a similar sin of doubt, greed,
and breaking God’s 10 commandments?
- V21, despite their doubt, greed, and disobedience, this verse shows that
God still loved them and would continue to help protect them.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
--- Genesis 04 – Adam and Eve start having children
- V1-6, Cain evidently knew that killing Abel was a bad thing, as he lied
about knowing his brothers whereabouts. Isn’t it amazing how so soon after the
dramatic events of the expulsion from Eden we have someone who commits murder
and lies to God? What can this tell us about our individual need to be in close
relationship with God, and of the need to take seriously our responsibility to
introduce Him to our children?
- V17, Where did Cain’s wife come from?...Was it his sister?...was such a
marriage prohibited by this time?...would there be a genetic problem with
interbreeding or did that come later through the effects of the sin’s curse,
leading to the prohibition of incest?
Friday, May 09, 2014
--- Genesis 05 – A genealogy from Adam to Noah
- V5, Adam lived 930 years. Although this may seem unlikely by today’s age
limits, there are good reasons to believe the biblical record. Start by
trusting the Bible, and consider some reasons why the ages of people found
within this chapter are not so incredible after all…
- V23-24, what happened to Enoch?...while others are recorded to have
died, is this an instance of someone being Raptured (similar to Elijah, Paul, John,
Moses, Angels)?
- Up until Noah entered the Ark, this list of Patriarchs would have either
been contemporaries of Adam, the first created human…or else they would have
known someone who was his contemporary. No doubt throughout his long life the
creation story was told many times to all who would listen, and yet, as we
shall discover in the next chapter, this eye-witness to Eden’s paradise and the
consequence of sin, was not enough to stop the population from moving further
away from God. What does this tell us about human nature and the often
mentioned request for evidence of God’s existence?
- What questions would you have had if you were alive at the same time as
Adam?
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