Theological Daze

After the book of Nehemiah the rest of the Old Testament falls under the headings "The Writings" and "The prophets". These form a fairly eclectic mix of sayings and pronouncements with some real gems which people go back to and savour time and again. But these gems are indeed that - gems. And gems are usually located after hard work mining away deep underground or maybe long searching in difficult terrain. Reading the Bible can feel a bit like that when ploughing through Chronicles or Isaiah. The prophetic books follow their own paths. WIthin them there are some random verses which Christians take as referring to Jesus. I am convinces that those who wrote them did not think of most of these sayings as having a Messianic aspect, but that does not detract from their value to today's reader. Prophecy was mostly shrewd discernment of the near future and comment on the behaviour of the nation, or its ruling classes. It is important to read the Old Testament as a...

The books of the Bible which really focus in on the history of God's people from the time they colonise the promised land start from Joshua and go on to Nehemia. The first of these books, the book of Joshua, follows the exploits of Joshua as he leads the people across the river Jordan and into the country we know now as Israel and Palestine. It contains the story of the fall of Jericho (probably it's best known story) and the destruction of its walls so that the army could enter and take it. It details the parcelling out of the land to the various tribes and various other stories of conquest ending with a closing speech from Joshual to the leaders, and a renewal of their covanant with God. The history continues in the book of the Judges, named after the system of government in the time of settlement in the land. There was no monarchy and it seems that those who had leadership roles simply gained these roles by being leaders or by giving leadership when it was required. The j...