Read the Bible in a Year

Beginning in January 2021, I've been following the Good News Translation's "Read the Bible in a Year" schedule. This Bible is published by the Canadian Bible Society.

It has been a number of years since I've read the Bible in one year-so I thought it would be an edifying discipline to do so again this year. If you haven't done so before; or if it's been some time since you've done so; I encourage you to undertake this commitment. 

So far, I've read through the Book of Genesis, and the first eleven chapters of Exodus. When one reads larger portions of the Bible in one sitting, one discovers a greater appreciation for the context of events in many of the stories that one might miss or forget in a briefer reading. Since the Bible is a Living Word of God, one notices certain things that were perhaps overlooked in previous readings of the text. Here are a few notes from my reading so far.

In the first creation story, human beings are created as male and female in God's image, which implies God is both male and female, and, of course, more than the two genders as well. At the end of the the sixth day: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)

Even after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit (nowhere does it identify the fruit as an apple or any other fruit) God, in an act of grace, made clothes for them. 

In the story of Cain's and Abel's offerings, no reason is explicitly given for God favouring Abel's offering and not Cain's. However, in observing Cain's anger, God warns him to "master it," or it will lead him into sin. (Genesis 4:1-7) Another mystery with regards to Cain is his wife: we are not told where she came from, and she remains nameless in the story. (Genesis 4:17)

Throughout the Book of Genesis the names of far too many wives and daughters are rarely given--reflecting the patriarchal society out of which Genesis originated. For example, in Genesis 5:4, the writer mentions Adam (not Eve) having a son named Seth and other sons and daughters who are not named. The same is true of Seth, 5:6, he had a son named Enosh, his wife remains nameless, and he had other sons and daughters who remain nameless. 

In Genesis 19:30-38, an account is provided of the incestuous origins of the Moabites and Ammonites. Lot, after drinking wine, had sexual intercourse with his two daughters, who are also nameless. Centuries later, God chose Ruth, a Moabite, to be the ancestor of David and Jesus. Although there are certainly good reasons to avoid incestuous sexual relations, (it is not promoted in the Bible as being a normal sexual practice) perhaps one of the lessons from this story is that God's ways are not our ways.  

Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel are all barren and eventually able to give birth with implicit or explicit divine intervention. For example: "Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived." (Genesis 25:21) Indeed, the main purpose of women in the Book of Genesis is giving birth to children. There is little or no room in Genesis for women to choose occupations beyond domestic ones. Most of the stories in Genesis focus on the patriarchs rather than the matriarchs.

In the Book of Exodus, the political, economic and social status of the Israelites has changed radically--they are now reduced to slaves in Egypt. 

The story of Moses reveals how God is at work through Pharaoh's daughter to save Moses. She has compassion on him, spares his life as an act of disobeying her Pharaoh-dad, and with the help of Moses' sister and mother, he is cared for until Pharaoh's daughter adopts him and raises him. 

Moses' humanity is revealed when he is hesitant to accept God's call to him to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. I hazard to guess that many a pastor down through the ages have identified with Moses' hesitation to accept God's call-I know I have! 

The divine drama in Exodus is portrayed by God hardening Pharaoh's heart, and Moses and Aaron confronting him to release the Israelites. As God's servants and spokespersons, Moses and Aaron are given the capacity to assist the LORD by announcing divinely orchestrated events that threaten Pharaoh and the Egyptians, causing hardships and suffering. The plagues serve to heighten the drama; revealing God's power over Pharaoh and his unsuccessful resistance.