Basic Bible Commentary: Genesis

 I started to read the Basic Bible Commentary series published by Abingdon Press. This is an older series from the late 1980’s that I have been wanting to read for a while. I started with Genesis which was wrote by Linda B. Hinton. She has a Masters of Theological Studies from Emory University. She wrote a few other commentary books in this series as well.

The first thing that caught me off guard was her explanation of Genesis 1, verses 26-27. (26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.)

On page 18 the author states, “The plural our may refer to God alone as an indication of divine majesty. Our may also refer to a heavenly council or court with which God talks over this significant part of the creation process."

Interesting. I am not sure where she is going with the heavenly council or court discussion, but all of the commentaries I have read refer to "our" as the trinity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I understood this to be the case even before reading any commentaries.

The next thing that really stopped me in my tracks was on page 24. This is in reference to Genesis 3:1-13. (1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”).

The author states, "The serpent is not Satan or a symbol of evil or of death." Really? Let's jump ahead to Revelation 12:9,  "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."

So the author claims the serpent is not Satan, but in God's own word it refers to the serpent as the devil or Satan. 

Again in Revelation 20:2,  "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years." Once again, God's word refers to the serpent as the devil or Satan.

I am not sure how valuable a commentary series will be if they can't even get the facts correct directly from the Bible. The author was clearly not comparing Scripture with Scripture in this instance.

Still reading here at Doe Valley.

Thru the Bible with Dr. J Vernon McGee

I finished listening to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's five year thru the bible radio program last week.

The format of the program is simply McGee talking about, explaining, and giving his thoughts about the entire bible. This program is an expansion of his two year thru the bible radio program.

I started the program with Genesis 1 and went the entire way to Revelation 22. This is not how they air on the radio. At first, I found Mcgee's comments interesting and often times insightful. However, by the end o the program I found him to be rather annoying.

He seemed to tell the same stories/illustrations over and over again. I also found his pronunciation of several words annoying as well. For example, the word humble. Most people pronounce it with the 'h' as in hum-bull, but it is also acceptable to leave the 'h' silent and pronounce it um-bull. But not Dr. McGee, he liked to emphasize the silent 'h' so it sounded more like uuuummm-bull. After a while it became annoying.

Another aspect I found annoying was his constant mention that he uses his translation for many portions of Scripture, but he doesn't recommend it for others to use. It was as if his ego was creeping out each time he mentioned his translation.

When explaining certain verses he would often times say something like "many fine scholars believe it means this ..., but here is what it really means ... so you can go along with the other folk, but if you want to be right then you'll agree with me." I am sure he meant this to be humorous, but it just didn't work for him. In fact, he attempted to use humor throughout the five year program, but in my opinion in never really worked for him.

Overall, I would recommend skipping this program, simply because it wasn't very insightful. There are many other better programs to listen to. If however, you are just studying a book or passage, then you may want to listen to what McGee has to say.

McGee probably has about two years worth of material in this five year program. The rest is just banter and him blathering on about nothing in particular. This is just my opinion though.

Book Review

Matthew 16-23: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary

MacArthur provides thorough Scriptural commentary throughout this book.

MacArthur's commentaries are mainly expository. Meaning, he takes scripture and explains it with other scripture. His expository style, however, is easy to read and understand. He does digress into other scripture or theological topics at times, but I believe he does this so anyone reading this commentary would be able to understand the other scriptural passages that he references.

I would highly recommend The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series to anyone looking for an in-depth Biblical explanation of Scripture.





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Book Review

2 Corinthians: Finding Strength in Weakness (Life Guide Bible Studies)

The lifeguide series is a great series for group Bible study.

This study guide presents Paul's second (biblical) letter to the Corinthians in eleven group sessions. The questions are easy to understand and provide a lot of opportunity for discussion, not just simple one word or yes/no type questions. Each chapter usually had our group of 10-15 in discussion for about an hour.

I highly recommend this book and series to anyone wanting to start a Bible study group.





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Book Review

John MacArthur Bible Study Guide: James

This study guide series is one of the best I have ever used. Macarthur gives an introduction to the book of James regarding the authorship, the background and setting, along with historical and theological themes. He also mentions some interpretive challenges that may arise from the Scripture.

MacArthur starts each chapter with some opening questions and then provides some background information to the passage of scripture. There is room in the study guide for you to answer the questions. The scripture is then read (which is included in the study guide) along with some of MacArthur’s notes about the passage.

There are then several questions to help you understand the passage better. MacArthur provides a cross-reference Scripture passage to further explore the meaning of the original passage from James. There are, of course, additional questions to ponder or discuss.

Finally, MacArthur sums up the passage and lists a few more questions to help you reflect on the text and what you have learned.

I highly recommend this study guide series for either your own personal study or a group discussion. Each chapter can take about an hour during a group Bible Study meeting.

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Bible Study

Chapter #9 - Becoming Whole
James 5:12-20

Throughout this letter, James describes several aspects of a Christian's life.

• staying faithful during trials and temptations
• living out their faith
• selfless love
• controlling their words
• being humble
• trusting in God rather than themselves or their riches
• having patience

Finally, James concludes his letter by discussing prayer. Whatever situation you are in, it is a good idea to pray. Pray if you are happy or sad. Pray for healing or pray for continued good health.

Passionate prayers can accomplish so much. James presents Elijah as an example of powerful prayer from the Old Testament. It seems that prayer like Elijah is lacking these days. Many people are no longer passionate in their prayers and rather simple routine. Make it a goal of yours to be more passionate and pray with a purpose.

This concludes our study of James.

Bible Study

Chapter 8 – What Awaits
James 5:1-11

James continues his tests of faith in Chapter 5. Now James focuses on money and the believers view of money.

James condemns the people who profess to be Christians, but really worship money. He tells them to look at their hearts once again.

James then looks at the poor who were persecuted by the rich. He tells the poor to be patient during their trials. This too shows where they place their trust.

Wealth can be a blessing or a curse. It simply depends on the persons relationship with God. A right relationship produced blessing whereas a wrong relationship will be a curse.

Are you bless or cursed?


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Bible Study

Getting Perspective
James 4:11-17

Doing the will of God is another test of a Christian’s faith. A Christian should want to carry out the will of God with all their heart.

Those people who do not submit to God’s will are saying that they rule their own life and are essentially rejecting God’s salvation plan.

James uses the example of a businessman planning his day. This example doe not condemn planning, rather it demonstrates the significance of making God’s plans a part of your plan.

There is nothing better to show the character of a true believer than his desire to do the will of God. Being a Christian and living a Christian life is not just avoiding the evils or the wrongs things in life. Rather, it focuses on doing the right things as well.


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Bible Study

Chapter 6: Makers and Breakers of Peace
James 3:13-4:10

James tells where the sources of disagreement come from and where the source of peace comes from. Wisdom is not simply “smarts” or knowledge. Wisdom is the effective application of the truths you know.

Wisdom is yet another test of a believers faith. There is man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. The wisdom of man seeks his own and has no saving relationship with God.

Being a friend of the world is the same as being hostile to God. Christian living involves separation from the contaminants of this world. Christians need to live in this world but not be of it.

Are you a maker or a breaker of peace? Do you apply God’s wisdom in your life or are you more focused on the wisdom of this world?

Bible Study

Chapter 5: On Preventing Forest Fires
James 3:1-12

James moves on to yet another test of a geniune believer: the tongue. A person's speach tells a lot about their heart. The tongue is probably the easiest way to sin.

The tongue can condem, control, and corrupt, but it also can praise, bless, and encourage. The tongue brings faith and works together. If you heart is obediant to God, your words will show it natually. You won't have to force yourself to say nice things and remember not to say mean things.

James also finds inconsistancy in the tongue. It blesses and curses. It builds up and tears down. James asks how can this be> Alan Greenspan would probably call it a conundrum.

We need to remember only God can completely control the tongue. When our life is in submission to Him, then will the tongue be in control.

Bible Study

Chapter 4: Just Works
James 2:14-26

To recap: we’ve seen several “tests” of faith so far in James.

• Response to trials
• Response to temptations
• Reaction to the Word of God
• Impartiality

James continues his series of tests by introducing the test of works or behavior that obeys God.

Remember a person is not saved by their works, but their works can be evidence of their salvation. The Bible basically tells us that what we do shows the world who we really are.

The genuineness of a believers claim that Christ is their Lord and Master is shown more by what they do as opposed to what they claim.

James provides several examples of this. Abraham and Rahab as examples from the Old Testament and the human body as a physical example. Both Abraham and Rahab trusted God and demonstrated this with their actions. They passed the test! Do You?

All Christians sin, but all also obey God. Sin is present in the life of a believer, but it is not the main characteristic of their life.

Bible Study

Chapter 3 – Who’s the Judge
James 2:1-13

So far in James we have seen three tests of faith:

• Response to trials
• Response to temptations
• Reaction to the Word of God

The fourth test is that of partiality or favoritism. In particular James mentions social and economic status as an example of showing favoritism or discrimination.

God is impartial in His dealings with people. This is not usually an attribute we normally associate with God, at least not the first descriptive term we think of, but it is true.

We need to remember to be impartial in dealing with others. Christians will all be equal in Heaven for eternity. We will be surrounded by God and His love for us.

Of course, we also need to use biblical discernment, but without being prejudice.

Bible Study

Chapter 2: Words, Words, Words
James 1:19-27

Last week we read about two tests James gives us regarding a true believer. The first test was of their response to trials. The second test was of their response to temptations.

Last night we looked at a third test of a true believer. James tells us you can know a true believer by their response to the Word of God.

When a true believer hears God's word they want to hear more of it while at the same time they desire to obey it. This is the natural reaction of a true believer. Like a baby’s desire for milk, a believer desires the Word.

The believer must be careful not to have a simple intellectual interest in the gospel (ie learning more of it), but a heart that desires to obey it. This is not a one-time feeling, rather it is a life-long pursuit.

How about you? How well do you handle these three tests of a true believer? Evaluate your response to trials, temptations, and your reception and reaction to the Word of God.

Bible Study

Last night was our first bible study at the Strongstown Church for the fall. We started a 9-week study on the book of James. We are using the lifeguide series as our study guide.

James is an interesting epistle. Some church leaders have practically rejected it's teachings, most notably is Martin Luther. However, James is a letter that basically says if you say you are a follow of Christ, then your life should show it.

There are only a few men named James mentioned in the Bible. The early Church fathers have affirmed that the human author of this letter is James, the half-brother of Christ. It is interesting to note early in Christ's ministry that His family basically rejected what He was doing. Some time later, however, they were converted to His followers, probably after His death or resurrection.

The first study looked at chapter 1 verses 1-18.

These portions of scripture deal with perseverance, trials, and temptations and the Christians reaction to them. We discussed the fact that even the world can often notice the difference between genuine Christians and those who simply claim to be a christian.

God is not responsible for our temptations. Nor is God responsible for people giving in to sin. The true christian perseveres through trials and temptations. In fact, they are drawn closer to God.

What do you do when faced with a trial or temptation? Are you drawn closer to God or do you give in to the temptation?

Next week will be Chapter 2 in the study guide which covers Chapter 1:19-27 of James.