One thing I've tried to do through my Word project is to train myself to re-imagine Bible stories as I read them. What if David and Goliath was a boxing match in the 1930s? What if Song of Solomon was a romance novel? What if Meshach did a hand plant in the fiery furnace? This time I wondered, what if the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho was a Blue Note album from the 1950s?
Read MoreStill spending my time on getting prints available (I'm close!), so this week I have some more Word leftovers. This time it's prophets, teenagers and bears, oh my! You may remember that the prophet Elisha did some cool stuff like cleansing nasty water with salt, but he's also part of (in my opinion) one of the craziest, straight-out-of-an-action-movie passages in the Bible.
Read MoreAre you the sort of person who likes daytime soap operas, but just wishes that they would incorporate more palace intrigue and attempted genocide into the storyline? If you're like me, the answer is an emphatic "yes!" Welcome to Esther. So in Persia, there's a king named Ahasuerus (we'll call him the "Big A") and his queen is named Vashti. As any egocentric powermad crazed leader would do, Big A has a 180 day party to celebrate how awesome he is.
Read MoreThe book of Nehemiah covers the same time period as the book of Ezra. The Israelites just got the get-out-of-jail-free card from their Babylonian captors and head back to Jerusalem to rebuild their life. As we saw in Ezra, they are coming back to Jerusalem tired and battered. While Ezra seemed to emphasize the journey back, Nehemiah focuses rebuilding their city and community.
Read MoreLast we heard of the Israelites in 2 Chronicles, God finally let them do their own thing and they were either gettin' killed or captured. If the Israelites were an alcoholic or addict, this would be their rock bottom. They used to be on top. They used to have the creator of the universe on their side. As the book of Ezra opens, they had gone cold turkey and were starting to make their way back home.
Read MoreLast week, we found out that 1 Chronicles was a rerun of 1 Samuel. Logically, it seems like 2 Chronicles would be a rerun of 2 Samuel, right? Think again. 2 Chronicles actually covers a some of the same material as 1 and 2 Kings. Confused yet? Welcome to the Old Testament. 2 Chronicles starts with the reign of David's son, King Solomon (more on him in a bit) and ends on a bit of a downer – the Babylonian captivity.
Read MoreFrom the first verse of 1 Chronicles, I knew I was in for a really exciting book.... "Adam, Seth, Enosh," – 1 Chronicles 1:1. If any Bible verse personifies the word "action," that has to be it. "Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared," – 1 Chronicles 1:2. No way, Bible! Three more dude's names?! And did you say "Mahalalel?" That guy is crazy! I can't imagine what comes next!
Read MoreYou may remember from last week that Elijah was pretty much the coolest prophet in the world. He did all sorts of miracles and other cool stuff. Well at the beginning of 2 Kings, Elijah is just finishing up his ministry and by chapter two, he's suddenly on a chariot of fire and horses on his way to heaven. That may sound crazy, but you gotta remember, that's pretty much how Elijah rolled.
Read MoreSpoiler Alert! 1 Kings is about a bunch of kings. King David dies. David's son Solomon takes the throne. God is all Beastie Boys with King Solomon and is like "So what, so what, so whatcha want?" Solomon says, "I want to be wise." Solomon is very wise. He builds the temple. God is happy. He has 700 wives and 300 concubines. God? Not so happy.
Read MoreDavid and Jesus are a story of similarities and differences. One of the most interesting similarities is that they share the label of "king." You could consider David THE King of the Old Testament while Jesus is THE king of the New Testament. But what the word "king" means when applied to them couldn't be more different.
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