Bible Origins

Intro

Reading the Bible & praying are essential to our walk with the LORD

Bible = gum = chewing on his word to let it penetrate and change us. Process takes time.

Why is the Bible so important? Where does its authority come from?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

There is a Bible for for every flavor.

What is the Bible?

A rule book for how to be a Christian.

A letter of love from up above.

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

A unified story that leads to Jesus

The Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus

The Power of Story

Stories are more than just a fun way to escape the real world like:

Percy Jackson

Twilight

Hunger Games

Humans have been using the stories to

communicate facts or ideas

make connections (on a date)

identify one another (which joe?)

Acts 7:32 ESV

‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

When the LORD attaches Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to himself, he attaches all the stories related to them as a way for others to identify Him and his authority.

Joshua 2:9–10 (ESV)

and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt...

With just a story, the LORD’s people are protected and saved.

ex- people being afraid to mess with someone because of what they have heard about them.

Israel’s story is our story and it all leads to Jesus

Scripture Reading

Luke 24:25-27 (ESV)

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44 (ESV)

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

The Bible is a group project

The scriptures/books/scrolls/bible were created by a partnership between YHWH and man, not as something that had to bypass human involvement to keep its divine power/status.

Golden tablets from heaven view - they are only important because they come directly from the heavens.

breathed out by God = spiritual trance

Exodus 17:8–14 (ESV)

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

Exodus 24:3–4 (ESV)

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:24–26 (ESV)

When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.

God developed the story WITH humans in the process

messy? yes

less valuable? no

These three examples show us why the Bible came into existence

Exodus 17: To tell the story of how God has rescued and formed a people

Exodus 24: To invite those rescued people into a covenant partnership so that they can represent him to the rest of the world.

Deuteronomy 31-32: To accuse the covenant partners of their failure and rebellion, and to offer hope for the future of God’s people and his world.

The LORD always has our participation in mind, not because we are so capable, but because He is faithful to fulfill the purpose He designed us for: His partner (more on this coming soon).

The Bible is a physical representation of His deep desire to keep us involved with Him.

Why it Matters

How you consider the bible defines how you interact with it

just a book = casual reading

holy tablets = bed side reverence

a personal possession = something to cherish and interact with

Challenge

Find a story and READ it!

Moses

David

Jonah

Daniel

Jesus

Change up the translation to something like the message to follow along easier.

Have the Bible app read the story to you! (tutorial coming soon!)

Next Week

Back face-to-face with Magda continuing the series!