Summer Reading 2019: Ruth, Esther, Daniel







This summer we will be reading from 3 shorter books of Hebrew scripture: Ruth, Esther, and Daniel. Each of these is a story about keeping faith while living in exile, a stranger in a foreign land. Each is a portrait of faithfulness in crisis that defies reason, with God ever-present although never a character in the stories. These three books are considered “Writings” in Jewish tradition—poetry, prayer, philosophy, short stories—which do not claim to be divinely inspired. (Christian tradition names Daniel as one of the prophets, but because of its apocalyptic nature, it is included in the Writings rather than the Prophets in Jewish scripture.) Ruth and Esther are short stories about faithful women who are committed to God and to the covenant. Daniel contains stories like the lion’s den and the fiery furnace, as well as visions and dreams.

Please read these books according to the schedule below, as they will be the preaching texts each week. Occasional reflections and Bible study elements about these books will be here on the blog. If you have a study Bible, the introductory page for each book is helpful background material.

Bible study on Sunday mornings, 11am in the library:

June 16, Ruth
July 14, Esther
July 28, Daniel

6-16
Ruth 1-4
6-23
Esther 1-2
6-30
Esther 3-5
7-7
Esther 6-7
7-14
Esther 8-10
7-21
Daniel 1-2
7-28
Daniel 3-4
8-4
Daniel 5-6
8-11
Daniel 7-8
8-18
Daniel 9-10
8-25
Daniel 11-12

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon: Daniel 7-8 August 11, 2019

Image
Daniel is different from other prophetic books— less messenger and more fortune teller, predicting future events based on the visions from God. In the first half, Daniel interpreted dreams of the king; now he is having the dreams himself, and we’ve jumped ahead about 500 years. The visions point to a time when four kingdoms will rise, then be overthrown: Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece— but  then God will enter history and establish God’s kingdom forever.  This is what makes Daniel apocalyptic literature, stories about the end times: the world as we know it will be completely destroyed, and God will usher in a new reality through “spectacular divine intervention”. Why is apocalyptic literature in the Bible so confusing, and so intriguing?   It seems to be a secret code, describing events we can’t decipher. I mean, life is pretty good for us, white, middle-class Christians living in the US--we don’t need our reality repl...
Read more

Bible Study: Mark 1

Image
Mark 1             5-27-18 Although the gospel of Mark is noticeably short, the first chapter is pretty long, and a lot happens here! The story begins in the Judean wilderness (the south) where John baptizes, but Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee (the north). Why would Mark begin with a quote from Isaiah/Malachi? What is the significance of Jesus being baptized? Hold on to verses 9-11; you’ll notice they’re a motif that will come again in this gospel. Notice Jesus’s places and times. He goes to various cities and locations in those cities, and “on the Sabbath” marks the time. Why does that matter? Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee Jordan River in the Judean wilderness  Synagogue at Capernaum How many different “hooks” can you find, something that assumes you know something more than is stated in the story, or that calls to mind another event or story? Being 2000 years removed from this sto...
Read more

Bible Study: Acts 11-12

Image
After Peter’s retelling of his interaction with the centurion Cornelius, chapter 11 shifts to remind us how far and wide the apostles are now traveling to preach, teach, and heal. Remember that after Stephen was executed, the infamous Saul began a persecution that caused the apostles to scatter for their safety (8:1). Now we have an update about where they traveled. They are beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, deep into foreign territory. While they begin their ministry among other Jews (11:19), after spending a year in Antioch, a community is established which is called “Christian”, probably indicating that it is far enough removed from Jewish identity--perhaps because of distance, maybe because of practice—that this group of believers needs its own name. [1] Chapter 12 describes a miraculous rescue from prison. Note that the Herod in this story is the grandson of the Herod who reigned when Jesus was born. Herod the Great was a powerful ruler of the Roma...
Read more