The Daily Bible Blog

Hello, and welcome to The Daily Bible Blog. It is my intention to (1) daily post certain bible passages which, over the course of 2006, will complete the entire bible, and (2) write thoughts and thought-provoking commentary on those verses. This is an attempt to fulfill certain goals such as read the bible in a year and create an active weblog discussing philosophical/theological matters. The daily posts will be based on this schedule. Each day will include 2-3 Old Testament chapters, 1-2 New Testament Chapters, a Psalm, and a verse from proverbs. (Each Psalm will be posted twice this years.) All Bible verses will be from the New King James Version (NKJV). If you have trouble sticking to a daily reading schedule, but are always able to check your favorite weblogs daily, then this is the site for you. The comment section will be open for whatever the Spirit inspires you to write.

Saturday, December 31, 2005

January 1:
Gen 1:1-2:25, Matt 1:1-2:12, Psa 1:1-6, Prov1:1-6

Genesis 1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that [it was] good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry [land] appear"; and it was so.
10 And God called the dry [land] Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that [it was] good.
11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb [that] yields seed, [and] the fruit tree [that] yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed [is] in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb [that] yields seed according to its kind, and the tree [that] yields fruit, whose seed [is] in itself according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good.
13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
15 "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.
16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. [He made] the stars also.
17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that [it was] good.
19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."
21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, [each] according to its kind"; and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good.
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His [own] image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb [that] yields seed which [is] on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for food"; and it was so.
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed [it was] very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
4 This [is] the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and [there was] no man to till the ground;
6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life [was] also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
11 The name of the first [is] Pishon; it [is] the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold.
12 And the gold of that land [is] good. Bdellium and the onyx stone [are] there.
13 The name of the second river [is] Gihon; it [is] the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river [is] Hiddekel; it [is] the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river [is] the Euphrates.
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
18 And the LORD God said, "[It is] not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought [them] to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that [was] its name.
20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said: "This [is] now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Matthew 1

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.
4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her [who had been the wife] of Uriah.
7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.
8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.
9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.
11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.
14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.
15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.
16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon [are] fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ [are] fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man,] and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

Matthew 2

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard [this,] he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, [in] the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found [Him,] bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Psalms 1

1 Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Proverbs 1

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion --
5 A wise [man] will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

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We start the Bible from the beginning. The very beginning. I'd rather not discuss Young-Earth Creationism vs. Old-Earth Creationism vs. Evolution vs. Intelligent Design vs. Whatever. An interpretation of Genesis 1 is correct; I don't care which one. The question in no way affects the fact of God's existence and sovereignty over the universe, confirmed with other conclusive evidence.

However, two things intrigue me surrounding this debate. First, the theory of Gap Creationism, that a long period of biological and geological time may have passed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:3, or during Humanity's beginning in the Garden of Eden. A perfectly reasonable hypothesis for one who believes in true science and true scripture. Second, is that evolution isn't the fundamental, unquestionable truth it use to be. Today, I was reading this book, which had some of the most reasoned criticism of Evolution I've heard yet: that "survival of the fittest" is an untestable truism, that describing the process of natural selection of organism doesn't explain the origin of those organism, that Darwin had no microscopic technology to know how complex simple organisms were, and that evolution has it's origins in the ill-thought out cutthroat economic theories of Thomas Malthus. It's worth reading.

But the true miracle of Genesis is not in describing the origins of life/universe/everything, but it stating that it had an origin. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This is humanity's first, and still most convincing, attempt at cosmogony--how the universe began (cf. eschatology--how the universe will end.) The creation scenario differs from an atheistic version espoused by Objectivism or Naturalism: "existence exists" is the fundamental axiom, something creating everything is a contradiction in terms, and you're misguided for even asking "where did the universe come from" or "Is there a God?". In rebuttal, the Judeo-Christian model confirms our natural observances about the universe: (1) nature is structured, planned, and follows set laws, (2) that Someone did the structuring and planning, and (3) that immaterial ideas underly material existence. I've argued the issue more specifically with some Objectivists/Atheists here.

___________

Matthew 1 goes through a genealogy of Jesus. It traces His claim to the Throne of David. Compare this genealogy to the one in Luke's gospel, which traces his genealogy back through Aaron and Jesus' claim to the Chief Priesthood.

We also see the Christmas story. Note that it doesn't say that there were three wise men, but only that there were three types of gifts. There could've been a dozen of them visiting Jesus.

Note also that it says "Bethlehem, [in] the land of Judah". This is to distinguish the location from the larger Bethlehem in Ephratah. More information here. Note that Bethlehem in Ephratah is very close to Nazareth.

__________

1 Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.


Keep in mind that David had no Psalms to read, nor any prophets, nor any New Testament, let alone books by C.S. Lewis or Rick Warren or Joyce Meyer. His only medium of God's grace was the Torah, the five law books of Moses. Yet these meticulous rules of dos and don'ts, and the benefit they bestowed upon those who kept them, gave him cause to worship. Keep that in mind around February when we're reading through Leviticus.