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Genesis 1:1-2:25 ~ Matthew 1:1-2:12 ~ Psalm 1:1-6 ~ Proverbs 1:1-6
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Old Testament - Happy New Year! Welcome to the beginning of our One Year Bible journey in 2016! Today we begin with the book of Genesis!
~Genesis~
Author: Moses
Date: 1420 or 1220 B.C.
Content: The book of Genesis was written to explain how everything began; in fact, the very title Genesis means “origin” or “beginning”. It explains that God created the universe, how man was created and placed in a perfect environment, how sin began, and how God provided salvation for lost man. The beginning of human history is described, the beginning of arts and crafts, how human languages began, and where the various nations came from. The focus then shifts to the beginning of the Hebrew people with Abraham, followed by the histories of Isaac, Jacob and his sons, and the book ends with Joseph in Egypt.
Theme: The main idea that runs through the book is that although God made everything good, man’s sin has spoiled it. God has not given up, but is now in search of man to save him. The overall control of God is stressed, and special attention is given to how God directs history for the good of his people and their salvation. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 1) A wonderful commentary on the book of Genesis by Bob Deffinbaugh is at this link. Below is more art from Michelangelo - this is a marble statue of Moses, the author of Genesis, made in the year 1515 in Italy:
Moses is the author/compiler of the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch, or the books of the Law. It is believed that these five books were written by Moses during Israel's 40 years in the desert after the exodus from Egypt - which was likely between 1446 B.C. and 1406 B.C. The book of Genesis is foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible. It is a book of relationships - between God and his creation; between God and humans; and between humans themselves. In Genesis, God pledges his love and faithfulness to humans through covenants. It is a narrative that continually demonstrates faith.
In today's Genesis readings we read about the Creation account and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. There is so much happening in today's readings, that this daily blog will not do it all justice... (I do hope you have the One Year Bible Companion book or another commentary to dive deeper in to today's readings - I'd type more but this post is already a bit long as you'll see below... :) A series of links with a great overview of the 6 literal 24 hour days of creation is at AnswersInGenesis.org at this link. Check out some great information on the Creation account in our Genesis readings today at bible.org at this link. Below is a wonderful piece of art from Pat Marvenko Smith titled "The Creation" - you'll note this piece shows all 6 days of creation and what was created on each day, going from the left to the right:
To order prints visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site.
Today we read this incredibly powerful verse in Genesis chapter 1 verse 27: "So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." Do you believe that you are made in the image of God? Is this a powerful thing to reflect upon? What might this mean for your life in this new year, knowing that you are made in the image of God? Does this give you a sense of possibility for your life? A sense that you are made for a great purpose in this life?
Chapter 2 verse 3 is beautiful: "And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation." A day of rest. One day a week. If God did this, think we should too? :) 6 days of work and play and 1 day each week of resting in God. I confess I like the concept a lot more than I actually put it into practice. Perhaps this year can be a year of new beginnings where a Sabbath day of rest enters our lives each week? How are you doing on taking a Sabbath? I love this image below of God resting on the 7th day:
One quick note from our readings today about the location of the Garden of Eden. It is believed to have been near where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet, in what is now southern Iraq. Below is a very high level map:
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 titled "The Meaning of Man: His Duty and His Delight" is at this link.
New Testament - Today we begin the gospel of Matthew! Below is Northern Renaissance painter Jan Sanders van Hemessen's "Jesus Summons Matthew to Leave the Tax Office" from the year 1536:
~Matthew~
Author: Matthew
Place: Perhaps Antioch
Date: A.D. 60-70
Content: Matthew was a tax collector, called by Jesus to follow him early in his public ministry; hence, he was an eyewitness of most of the events he describes. He begins with a detailed account of Jesus’ birth of the virgin Mary, his baptism, and temptation in the wilderness. Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, entrance into which meant eternal life. One entered by repentance and faith. Matthew blocks the teaching of Jesus together into five discourses in which may be seen the ethics, the proclamation, the parables, the fellowship, and the consummation of the kingdom. Jesus’ death and resurrection end the Gospel with the command to go into all the world with the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ.
Theme: Matthew’s main purpose in writing his Gospel is to show that Jesus fulfills the promise of God in the Old Testament. For this reason Jesus is introduced as a “descendant of King David and of Abraham,” and Matthew makes use of numerous Old Testament prophecies and quotations to explain Jesus’ life. Jesus came to be the Savior of the Jews, the Gentiles, and ultimately the world. The ethics required by members of God’s kingdom are found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) where the world’s values are rejected and the Kingdom of God and his righteousness become supreme. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 21) A wonderful commentary on the book of Matthew by Daniel Wallace is at this link. Below is a painting (I absolutely love this painting!) titled "The Inspiration of St. Matthew" by the Baroque Italian artist Caravaggio, circa 1602:
In today's Matthew readings, we read the genealogy of Jesus. I know that genealogy's can sometimes seem a bit boring to read, but this one in Matthew is phenomenal! If you just finished reading the One Year Bible this past year, you will recognize many of these names. Or - let me encourage you to come back and read this genealogy again on January 1st of next year, if you are going through the entire Bible for your first time this year. This genealogy will amaze you. One of the interesting things to note in this genealogy is the mention of 5 women - Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. It was not the norm in the 1st century to list women in genealogies - only men were typically listed. At least 3 of these women were Gentiles (not Jewish) - Tamara, Rahab, and Ruth. Matthew was potentially trying to indicate to his Jewish readers that God's work in this world is not limited to the people of Israel - nor was God's work limited to men. The genealogy in Matthew is sometimes illustrated by a "Jesse Tree" showing the lineage of Jesus from Jesse, father of King David:
Chapter 1 verse 23 is certainly a huge prophecy from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah being fulfilled through the birth of Jesus: "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us)." Jesus is God and came to literally be with us. To experience our human sufferings and temptations - and joys and triumphs. The importance of this birth of Immanuel cannot be overstated. God came to be with us in flesh and blood.
Chapter 2 verse 6 is very powerful in that last year's One Year Bible crew recently read about the prophet Micah's prophesying of Jesus being born in Bethlehem: "O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel." Here again you can see Matthew writing for his Jewish audience - quoting an Old Testament prophet and also focusing in on the town of "Bethlehem of Judah" - the City of David. This was to demonstrate again that Jesus was from the lineage of King David.
Verse 10 is a brief verse showing us the reaction of the magi in being led to Jesus: "When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!" The magi were also Gentiles and likely astrologers - following a star might lead one to think this... :) But no matter where they were from and what they believed prior, they were filled with joy at being led to the Messiah, Jesus. And they gave him gifts and worshipped him. And for us today - are we filled with joy in reading about the birth of Jesus? Do we realize what this meant back then - and still means today? That Immanuel was born - that God came to be with us. (Note that some Biblical scholars say that contrary to popular tradition, it is believed that the magi did not visit Jesus at the manger on the night of his birth, as did the shepherds, but that the magi came months later and visited him as "child" in his "house" - see verse 11.)
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Matthew titled "The Birth of Jesus" is at this link and "The Visit of the Wise Men" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 1 today begins the 150 Psalms of the Psalter! You'll note that in the One Year Bible we actually read through the Psalms twice during the course of the year. I think this is good because the Psalms have taken some time to really sink in for me personally. Once they sink in, they are phenomenal. I have a great friend who has shared with me that she "Prays the Psalms" every morning. I pray that during the course of this year you will have the experience of Praying the Psalms as you go through the One Year Bible. I do believe praying the Psalms can indeed renew our passion for God:
It is often said that in 65 of the books of the Bible God speaks to us, but in the Psalter, the book of Psalms, we have the opportunity to speak to God. And in all kinds of ways and with all kinds of emotions. The Psalms can help you learn to express in pray everything to God – what you are happy about and what is troubling you. The Psalms are religious poetry. The 150 Psalms are comprised of Laments, Confessions, Crys, Petitions, Praise, Reflection, Reports, History, Blessings, and Wisdom. The author of many of the Psalms was King David. The Psalms were compiled over centuries and reached this final form in approximately the third century B.C. The Psalms were prayed in the temple and have been prayed in churches for the past two thousand years. The Psalms were quoted by Jesus, including Psalm 22:1 when Jesus was on the cross: ""My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"" (see Matthew 27:46) It is thought that the book of Psalms is one of the two books of the Old Testament most frequently quotes in the New Testament – along with the book of Isaiah. See more commentary of the Psalms online at bible.org at this link. Martin Luther said this about the book of Psalms: "The Psalter is the favorite book of all the saints. Each person, whatever his circumstances may be, finds in the book psalms and words which are appropriate to the circumstances in which he finds himself and meet his needs as adequately as if they were composed exclusively for his sake, and in such a way that he himself could not improve on them nor find or desire any better psalms or words."
Today we read this reflection on the godly in Psalm 1 verse 2: "But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law." How well does this verse ring true with your life today? Do you delight in being obedient to God? Do you think about God's Word, the Bible, day and night? Should you? In this new year, will you?
Bible.org's commentary on Psalm 1 is at this link.
Proverbs - The author of the majority of the Proverbs was King Solomon, the son of King David. This means that most of the Proverbs were written in the 10th century B.C. when Israel was a united kingdom. It may be that the Proverbs were not officially compiled together as a book until the 6th century B.C. Agur son of Jakeh, King Lemuel, and "wisemen" were the other authors of the Proverbs. Bob Deffinbaugh, Th.M., with bible.org has a wonderful Introduction to Proverbs at this link. Below is an image of King Solomon dictating his wise maxims, the Proverbs:
Today we read in Proverbs chapter 1 verses 2 through 4 a great overview of why we should read and study the Proverbs: "The purpose of these proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings. Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will make the simpleminded clever. They will give knowledge and purpose to young people." Do you want wisdom? Do you want discipline in your life? Do you want to do what is right, just and fair? Do you want purpose for your life? Do you believe this journey through the Bible this year will move you forward in these areas? Will you cling to the wisdom of the Proverbs this year?
Worship God - I typically post up a worship video that relates to our daily readings on this section of the blog. Today, reading about God's creation of our world in Genesis reminded me of Chris Tomlin's song "Our God" (filmed live at Red Rocks in 2013) which I think ties in nicely our Matthew readings today as well. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to Worship God right now along with this video! (Note that if any Vevo Ads come up while this video plays you can close the ads by clicking on the X in upper corner of ad.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJpt1hSYf2o
Do you personally know our Great God? Click here to meet Him!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27 NLT
Prayer Point: Based on Genesis 1:27 above, will you pray today for your family, co-workers/students, and others in your community that you will see the image of God in each of them them? Also, will you pray for those you know who are made in the image of God, and yet are not in a saving personal relationship with Jesus? Will you pray that they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior this year?
Comments from You and Question of the Day: As today is our first day together on the One Year Bible journey in 2016, I thought I'd post up a One Year Bible "roll-call." This is an opportunity for each of us to click on the "Comments" link below and let everyone know a few things about ourselves, as we'll be journeying through the Word together over the coming year. So here's the roll-call questions: 1. Have you read the entire Bible before? 2. What are you looking forward to about reading the entire Bible in 2016? 3. What's your favorite book or verse in the Bible? 4. What's a fun or interesting fact about yourself? 5. City and/or country you live in? (if you're comfortable sharing this - you don't need to.) 6. Do you have a blog or website link that you want to share with everyone? Thanks for participating in the roll-call! :) Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
p.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!
Wisdom or money can get you almost anything, but it's important to know that only wisdom can save your life. Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don't fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?
Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life. (Ecclesiastes 7:12-14)
A New Year that brings with it a New Beginning. Today we set out to begin the daunting task of reading through the entire Bible. For some this will be the first time and will bring with it tons of questions and probably comments like, “What does this all mean?” Some stories will be exciting and better than the entire series of The Godfather or more spectacular than Star Wars. There will also be plenty when you will think of giving up with a statement saying, “God, this is boring and besides, this makes no sense.”
From a veteran Read through the Bible Reader, may I encourage you to stay focused and read even when it seems like you are chewing wood. I began reading through the Word in 1987 and some of the “What in the world does this mean?” have just begun to be answered. Each and every time I go through I get a deeper understanding of the things I grasped at first and at each succeeding reading though and an a simple understanding of things I just had no clue about.
Genesis is the Book of Beginnings so let us come to this book leaving behind our preconceived understandings and ideas, our denominational glasses suspending our disbelief and unbelief believing that God’s Word will explain itself to us in the daylight of His Word.
Whom will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people
(Isaiah 28:9-11-NKJV)
In the Beginning is our chance to study God’s Principals and Patterns so that we can apply those patterns and principals to our lives.
Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don't fight the ways of God
Grace and peace to all in the New Year,
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona | December 31, 2015 at 08:39 PM
Happy and blessed new year 2016! Thank you Mike for the contribution to oneyear blog which made me to complete successfully reading of the bible reading for the first time and will continue to read this year also!
Posted by: Eugene Moses | December 31, 2015 at 11:42 PM
Mike just curious this is my third year reading through! I love it! What a blessing it's been. I also love all the aspects you add to it! Do you rewrite every day every new year?
Posted by: Jane seaman | January 01, 2016 at 06:18 AM
Matthew 1-2:12
Was an avowed atheist until 48. Hated Christians and the concept of God. Finally, decided I had had enough and was going to prove the Bible wrong (find significant errors). After a few futile months of cross referencing articles from atheists and Christians, woke up one night, and talked out loud. "If you exist and are the Creator, then I just want to know the truth." It was never the same after that, and a few weeks later on a Palm Sunday of 2004, sobbing and prostrate on the floor, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. The instant change in me that night was amazing, and it has been a wonderful growth journey ever since that night. It has been 11+ years, and only wish the time frame was longer. Usually write a lot of commentary. However, think it is better to bring up salient points and let people do their own research. Believe the Bible is the most wonderfully interconnected read EVER, and hope to emphasize that in my posts.
Matthew written for the Jewish nation and theme is Jesus as King.
Lineage:
Think the purpose of lineage was not about David. The Jeconiah curse would have precluded Jesus from the kingly line from his adopted father (Joseph). Believe it was about Abraham (first name listed) and God's promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham. Side note: Mary's lineage (Luke) went through David by way of Nathan, this avoiding Jeconiah curse. While the Jewish people might say Kingship could not come through Mary. Find no place where that is stated in Bible, and would make sense if Mary was only child. Certainly King lines in England have come through the Queen.
Not consummating the marriage until after the birth of Jesus, kept Jesus (eldest) first in Line for Kingship in case of siblings existing in the family.
He was to be named - Jesus. Translation: Jehovah is Salvation. There is no other way - not by birth, not by ritual, not by man. Salvation is only available though God. A cult once asked me why his name was not Immanuel. That was an Old Testament prophecy. The prophecy is in first part of phrase, and then it says "they" called him Immanuel. In the Bible Jesus is called many things - Son of God, Son of Man, Prince of Peace, etc. The important thing is Jesus would be born via Virgin birth, and the reference title given is that "God is with us"(Immanuel). How great is that - for centuries God had been silent towards the Jews, and now here He is in the flesh.
Want to do some research: why did Jesus have to be fully God and Fully man from birth? The answer is in one of the roles of Jesus - the Kinsman Redeemer (OT). There are four rules to be eligible as Kinsman Redeemer. Those rules mandate that Jesus be fully God and fully Man from the get go.
Magi:
Is this from left field or what? Not really. In the OT Daniel was made head of the Magi. You think he shared his faith and the prophecies of a redeemer - king with his fellow Magi. You think some were believers? I do.
Magi were important, and believe they traveled in an armed caravan. Nothing says the Magi went to Bethlehem. It says the magi went where the star led them. Certainly that could have been Nazareth (80 miles from Bethlehem), and would make sense given the term young child (in the Greek) could reference a toddler or a young babe. We will see next that the star probably appeared two years earlier, so even if at conception would make Jesus between 1 and 2.
The gifts: subscribe to the version that the gifts were symbolic. Gold for a king, frankincense for The priestly role of Jesus, and myrrh (embalming anointment) as a prefiguring of the death of Christ.
May God Bless you and yours.
Posted by: Mitch | January 01, 2016 at 07:08 AM
Genesis:
Many people get hung up on creation. Very few give credit to the many dozens of statements in the Bible that are science related - written many thousands of years ago, that are true, AND can not possibly have been known until recently (last few hundred years). Do you know why the 8th day for circumcision was the optimal day (especially in ancient times) to perform the act? Do you think Moses pulled that number out of a hat, or that he was acting on God's instructions?
Cosmology is a science based on hypotheses. The beginning of the universe can not be replicated. In my time as a Christian, have seen the age of universe, and the size of universe changed based on data. What's next? If you do not believe in God nor Creation, than all your reasoning for how Universe came into being can not have anything to do with God. As for me, having a personal relationship with God, if the bible says he created than He created. It will always be a disagreement, but one I completely understand. However, if you understand the Bible as True, than an all-powerful God is certainly capable of creating the Universe.
Man:
Have seen theories change from hot primordial soup, to cool, to volcano source, to bottom of ocean. Argument over odds of random binding of cells. The odds are still pretty high, but the other side will say given time anything can happen. So was it one creature evolved, and laid eggs, or was it two that came into existence - male and female in the same area at same time? If eggs, at what point did procreation turn to present form. Seems like a lot of faith (belief) is required to go down these paths.
Recent Genetic studies have pointed to a source man and a source woman. By the accompanying statements it is secular work. Here is one link, and you can "search" other articles from there. http://www.livescience.com/38613-genetic-adam-and-eve-uncovered.html. The point being: there are indications that man did not just pop up all over the place and start reproducing.
Side note: you can take the families from the Ark, and assume average children and life spans and extrapolate to now and get pretty close to the world's present population.
As for me, if Bible says God created Man, then I am good with that view. In His "image" is interesting. We have His qualities and attributes. Yes, they are broken, and not perfect since the "Fall". The interesting thing to me is our makeup precludes being created by a monotheistic God. We communicate, we love, we have a desire for relationships. Who did a monotheistic God talk to, love, or have a relationship with before the creation. To me, this is a reason to believe the Trinity is true. In the Trinity God communicated, loved and had perfect relationship. One being, three persons. We have one person in our being. Can an infinite being contain three persons? Can not really go down a previous creation that was wrapped up and scrapped, because that had to also be created at some point in time. BUT, God's attributes never change, so he had to love, communicate, and know relationships before ANY creation. To me, it really can only (again) be explained by the Trinity.
Wrote more than I thought today. Will address some concepts in Proverbs and Psalms tomorrow.
Posted by: Mitch | January 01, 2016 at 08:01 AM
Link in above post did not seem to work. Try this one:
http://www.livescience.com/38613-genetic-adam-and-eve-uncovered.html
Forgot this. Not proof of anything. Just like to think it is God reminding us of something. After all, artists or creators of art often have a signature or distinctive mark that exists in their work. :)
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1992/17/image/a/
Posted by: Mitch | January 01, 2016 at 08:16 AM
Love it Mitch, and am going to love listening to and reading your commentaries! So cool. That is awesome testimony that you went from non believer to believer and the peace that surpasses all understanding flowed. Awesome! Love reading Ramona's posts each year. Goodness, Mike I have been on again and off again of your site for years. Love the bible, love the reading! I stray from time to time, love coming back year after year. Its incredible. I delve in and find new truth and revelation both through our Pastor and through your commentary and from reading the Word and seeking His truth. I love all verses. One book that is one of my faves is Ruth! Love reading that one with my daughter. Wow, the first time I started this was 8 or 9 years ago and my kids were so little, I have two teenagers now, teaching 5 year olds for 10 years, my how time has flown. Well, I can't wait to dive in this year. I am from Georgia. Love reading and blogging. Have a blessed and thoughtful day!
Posted by: Dee Dee | January 01, 2016 at 08:38 AM
Happy New Year to all!!
Posted by: Ron | January 01, 2016 at 10:43 AM
Great..a big help for me..God bless you
Posted by: Carmela M. Romero | January 01, 2016 at 12:43 PM