Showing results by narrator "Bill Creasy" in All Categories

We’ve all heard the story of David and Bathsheba, but never like this: There is no great love affair between David and Bathsheba; adultery is not David’s great sin; and although God forgives David for what he does, there are far reaching consequences that shake the kingdom and bring David to his knees. This is one of the greatest stories in all of world literature, dazzling in its brilliance, stunning in its nuance and profound in its understanding of human nature.

As we move through the Bible, we encounter both oral and writing prophets. Elijah and Elisha, for example, are oral prophets, neither one writes anything that we know of. We simply have their stories in 1 & 2 Kings, stories about what they said and did. Writing prophets, on the other hand, write books. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve Minor Prophets commit what they have to say to writing, sometimes in long books like Isaiah (66 chapters), and other times in short books like Obadiah (1 chapter).

Seventy-three of the 150 psalms are traditionally ascribed to David. As we read the "Davidic Psalms," we see deeply into David's heart as he struggles with God, with others and with himself. These psalms are deeply moving and often, brutally honest.

As David’s star rises, Saul becomes ever more paranoid, sinking into a morass of delusion and despair, finally ordering David’s assassination. Informed of Saul’s plan, David runs, becoming a wanted felon and an outlaw. For ten years David works as a mercenary for Israel’s enemies, the Philistines, gathering around him a band of very tough characters that becomes his inner circle. The action culminates at Mt. Gilboa, where Saul and his sons are killed and the Philistines thunderously defeat Israel.

After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph soon becomes “prime minister” of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. The boy is handsome, smart and he always lands on his feet!

When Cyrus the Great king of Persia allows the Jews to return home and rebuild Jerusalem, only 42,360 do (Ezra 2: 64), about 10% of the population. The rest stay behind in Assyria, Babylon and Persia. After all, it had been nearly 200 years since the Northern kingdom had been taken captive into Assyria and almost 70 years since the Southern kingdom had been taken captive to Babylon. The Jews had built homes, started businesses and settled into their new lives.

If Isaiah is the Thundering Prophet and Jeremiah is the Weeping Prophet, Ezekiel is the Weird Prophet! Ezekiel is taken captive to Babylon after its second attack on Jerusalem, 597 B.C. Ezekiel’s book is set in Babylon and it consists of thirteen separate “visions” that span twenty years. And they are very strange visions, indeed!

In 1 Kings 4: 32, we read that Solomon’s songs “numbered a thousand and five”: The Song of Songs is #1 on the Hit Parade. A frankly erotic love poem, the Song of Songs speaks of fiery romantic love and crushing loss. As an allegory, it may also speak of God’s love for Israel and of Christ’s love for the Church.

The Book of Job explores “why bad things happen to good people.” Job is indeed a righteous man, so why are terrible things happening to him? We find our answer in these chapters.

At the end of Judges (c. 1000-1050 B.C.) we read: “In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21: 25). It was a time of moral, political and economic chaos. As we move into 1 Samuel, things get worse. Although Samuel strives mightily to bring the Israelites back to God, the priesthood and the people continue their downward spiral.

Although not the first of Paul’s epistles, his Epistle to the Church in Rome (or simply, Romans) takes the place of first importance. Written from Ephesus in A.D. 57, Paul crafts a formal argument in Romans, employing the structure of a “scholastic diatribe,” stating and defending his theses that we are “saved by grace through faith.” Romans is a brilliant work, and it is foundational for understanding the all that Paul has written.

In Isaiah Part 2, we enter the historical interlude. We learn in Isaiah 1: 1 that Isaiah functions as a prophet during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah: That is, from 740 – 686 B.C. During that time, two major historical events occur: 1) Assyria’s attack on the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and 2) Assyria’s attack on Jerusalem in 701 B.C., while Hezekiah is king and Isaiah is prophet.

That attack in 701 B.C.—and God miraculously saving Jerusalem—foreshadows greater events to come.

With the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam, ascends the throne. All twelve tribes gather at Shechem to anoint him king—but they demand two concessions: 1) lower the taxes and 2) end conscripted labor. Rehoboam refuses, triggering a civil war. In 930 B.C., the united monarchy splits, ten of the twelve tribes forming the northern kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria, and two of the twelve tribes forming the southern kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem.

God continues prescribing rules and regulations for his people, including sexual and priestly behavior, and a comprehensive cycle of annual festivals, many of which are still observed today.

After staging on the Plains of Jericho, the Israelites cross the Jordan River and attack Jericho. It is springtime; the Jordan River is at flood stage; the Israelites approach a heavily fortified city across five miles of open territory; and they attack a city on a plateau, moving up hill. How in the world do the Israelites accomplish this daunting task?

As the Davidic psalms take us inside the heart of David, so do Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs take us inside the heart of Solomon. In 1 Kings 4: 32 we read that Solomon “spoke three thousand proverbs.” In the book of Proverbs we have 375 of them. In the classical genre of “advice to a son” literature, Proverbs offers sound advice for a young person going out into the world for the first time.

With the Law in hand and the Tabernacle functioning, Moses organizes the Israelites by tribe, clan and family. A head count numbers 603,550 men, ages 20-50. The march to the Promised Land begins!

In Ezra 7, we jump ahead to Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem, August 4, 458 B.C. Meanwhile, Nehemiah, an official in the court of the Persian king, Artaxerxes (465-424 B.C.), returns to Jerusalem shortly after Passover 445 B.C. Working together, Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the layman rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and much of the city itself.

We continue our story of Paul as he begins his 2nd missionary journey, A.D. 50 – 52, leaving Syrian Antioch and making his way across Asia Minor, into Macedonia and finally arriving in Greece, where he spends 18 months at Corinth. Then it’s on to his third missionary journey to Ephesus, A.D. 54 – 57, and finally he is caught in a thicket of legal problems that take him to Rome and an audience before Caesar himself.

Jewish Bibles classify Daniel among the “Writings,” not the “Prophets”; Christian Bibles elevate Daniel to the position of a major prophet. Daniel is taken captive to Babylon after its first attack on Jerusalem in 605 B.C. Daniel’s book is set in Babylon and spans the years 605 – 539 B.C.