KNOWING YOUR BIBLE
May 14, 2023: Dear Friends, Welcome to this blog on learning and knowing the Bible. In this series started 5 weeks ago, several topics have been discussed that are part of the foundation that is needed to learn and know the Bible. Go to keeganbooks.com and review the previous 5 blogs to be updated on what has previously been written. The focus of these blogs include learning the names and locations of the books of the Bible, how the books of the Bible are organized, how to search for Bible verses to be read, and learning the timeline of when the books were written or when the events in the books took place. Our focus in this blog will be to learn how the books of the Bible are related to each other. This is an area that most would agree to be confusing. One might be reading from the book of Philippians in the New Testament, and then go to the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament to read a scriptural passage from that book. What do the two books have in common? What commonality would the two books have so as to be placed in the Bible anyway? Discussion in this blog and the next blog or two will help one to better understand how the Bible books are related. The books of the Bible are related by specific words and ideas that are written that transverse through many books of the Bible. In 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verses 16-17 is written as follows: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” The words of the Bible were inspired by God with the same words being found in several books of the Bible. Another way that the books are related is through geographic sites that transverse through the many Bible books. Also, a few of the Bible books are related by the book’s authors who are family kin. Bible verses will be listed below that will follow a geographic site through the Bible. Other sites will be written about in the blogs to follow: MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK! GEOGRAPHIC SITE: Bethlehem: Old Testament: Genesis, chapter 35, verses 16-21; Ruth, chapter 1: verses 1-2; verses 6–7; and verse 22; Look back to the blog that listed the timeframe of when the books were written. The Genesis’ mention of Bethlehem occurred in the 1800′s-1700′s BCE. The Ruth mention of Bethlehem occurred in the ll50 BCE, approximately 600 years after the Genesis event took place. Yet Bethlehem was still there. The written word let’s its readers know that there was a famine in Bethlehem in Ruth’s time. Bethlehem was mentioned in 1st Samuel, chapter 16, verses 1-13 (David being chosen as the King of Isarel around 1050 BCE, approx 100 years after the story of Ruth. Ruth was David’s great, grandmother.) Micah, chapter 5. verses 2-4 (Micah wrote the book of Micah in the 757 BCE time frame, 300 to 400 years after Ruth and David. New Testament: Matthew, chapter 1, verses-18 through chapter 2, verse 23; and Luke, chapter 2, verses 1-24 ( both book’s events happened in 6BCE, 1800-1700 years after the Genesis event, 1150-1000 BCE after Ruth, 1st Samuel events, and 750 years after the Micah, scriptural passage was written.