Questions for Thought
- How much do I know about the Bible?
- How much do the women and children with whom I associate know about the Bible?
- How can I help other women and children gain a better knowledge of God’s word?
- What is my role in sharing God’s word?
Recently, I have read several articles and heard several different people talking about how little the people know about the Bible. According to research by LifeWay, 11% of Americans have read the whole Bible once and only 9% have read it more than once. That leaves 80% of the American population who have missed some very important accounts recorded in the scriptures.
If you happen to be one of those who have not read the whole Bible, then you will be sure to learn valuable information from these posts. Even if you have read the Bible, you may still gain knowledge from these summaries of great accounts given in the scriptures. Then you can use this knowledge to guide your own life and to help others learn what God has provided for mankind. Over the course of the next few weeks, I can promise you if you read the posts and study the scripture references provided, you will come out with a much better knowledge of the greatest book of all times, the Bible.
If you are not very familiar with the Bible, there are a few pointers that will help you get started. The Bible is divided into major sections called testaments. The Old Testament has 39 smaller sections called books. The Old Testament begins with the book of Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. The first five books of the Old Testament are commonly referred to as the Books of Moses. They include accounts (I use the term accounts instead of stories) from the beginning of God’s creation through Moses leading the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. The next section of twelve books from Joshua through Esther is called history and this section provides the history of the Israelites from their taking of the promised land through their fall. Next there are five books often called the books of poetry beginning with Job and ending with the Song of Solomon. Then there are five books considered as the major prophets going from Isaiah through Daniel and twelve considered as minor prophets going from Hosea through Malachi. The difference in the minor and major prophets pertains to their length and not their content.
In the New Testament there are again five sections. The first four books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are concerned with the life of Jesus. The book of Acts is known as the history of the early church. The third section is knows as Paul’s letters or epistles and Hebrews. Paul wrote some of his letters to churches and some to individuals. Many people believe Paul also wrote the book of Hebrews. The fourth section of the New Testament consists of seven books called general epistles going from James through Jude. The final book is the book of prophecy known as Revelation.
If you are not familiar with these books, you might benefit from starting to memorize their names and practice looking up passages in these books. When I refer to a passage such as John 3:16, you would go to the New Testament and find the book of John. Then you would go to the third chapter of John and find verse 16. If I suggest you read Genesis 1-5 that would mean you go to the Old Testament, find the first book, Genesis, and read the first five chapters. Chapters and verses were added to the Bible in the 16th century, years after the Bible was written, to make it easier to locate passages.
Future posts in this section will help readers gain valuable knowledge to share with other women and with children. From the Old Testament, I will include the accounts of: creation and the fall of mankind, God’s chosen people and the promised seed, God’s people united under judges and kings, God’s people divided, and the fall of God’s people. Then we will look at God’s prophecies and their fulfillment leading us to the teachings and miracles of Jesus, events in the early church, God’s plan of salvation, the work and organization of the church, Christian living, and the final judgment. Throughout the Old Testament, I will try to go in chronological order although the books in our Bibles are not necessarily in that order. In the New Testament, I will generally group passages by the topic. Along with each section will be several thought questions you can use for your own study or as you study with others. Much of the information I am sharing here can be found in my book Christian Women’s Responsibility In Sharing God’s Word available at Amazon.
Let’s start with the need to share God’s word. In later posts, I will be writing about Moses, the man God chose to lead His chosen people Israel out of Egypt, but for this post all you need to know is that Moses was trying to hear every problem the Israelites had and then make decisions for them based upon God’s word. It was an impossible task as there were many people who had issues to be resolved. Moses’ father-in-law saw the problem and he told Moses he needed to teach the laws of God to the people and then choose men from among the tribes to judge the lesser cases based upon those laws.
Not long after Moses decided to try out his father-in-law’s suggestion, God called Moses to go up into a mountain and receive the law and commands to be obeyed by the people. God told Moses in Exodus 24:12, He would give him this law and Moses was to teach it to the people. In Deuteronomy Chapters 4-7, as Israel was preparing to take possession of land God had given them, the need to teach the Lord’s law to the children was again stressed. In Deuteronomy 6:7, Moses told the people they were to diligently teach their children the law of the Lord.
In addition to Moses frequently reminding the people of the need to teach their children, the Psalmist who wrote Psalms 78 reminded the people of this same need. He said in verses 4-7, “We will not hide them (the sayings they had learned from their fathers) from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children. 6. That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:” Oh, how important it is for parents to know and teach their children so the next generation does not grow up ignorant of God as some who we will study later did in the Old Testament.
Too often today, parents expect the church to do all the teaching of the children. Some parents will even drop the kids off at Bible class and come back to pick them up having not even gone to class themselves. To diligently teach the law of the Lord to the children, such practices must be stopped. We must begin with developing our own knowledge of the law through persistent and deep study. Then we can develop a schedule for teaching our own children and stick to it as faithfully as we stick to their schedule for ball practice, or band practice, or any other practice they may have. After all, it is only by obeying the word of God we are going to win any eternal blessings and if earthly trophies are worth the diligent practice we give for them, then surely eternal life is worth the diligent study required.
So what is the Christian woman’s role in sharing God’s word? As women, we have specific commands and examples and even an inference recorded in the Bible to help us answer this question. While God does not allow women to speak out in worship ( 1 Corinthians 14:34) or to teach men in a public worship service (1 Timothy 2:11-12), we do have a specific command in Titus 2:3-5 where Paul said for the older women to teach the younger women. We have an example of Priscilla helping her husband teach Apollos privately in Acts 18:26. Then we have two passages in 1 Timothy 3:15 and 2 Timothy 1:5 which when put together provide us with an inference indicating Timothy was taught by his mother and grandmother. When looking at all of the passages concerning our role in sharing God’s word, it should be clear that if we stay within the bounds of scripture, we will not try to take on the responsibility given by God to the men, but we will willingly accept that responsibility given by God to us.
By the way, anything I write concerning the laws or rules of God we must keep will always be backed up with scripture giving the command or an example or providing an inference. If we are sure to only do what God has specifically commanded us to do or that for which He has provided examples or that which we can infer to be necessary or allowed from the commands and examples given, then we will always be sure that we are not going beyond God’s commands. We do not want to go beyond His commands because that is adding to His word and as we will see later, God has condemned such practice both in the Old and New Testaments. When you read something I have written that doesn’t agree with what you believe, then find a scripture that authorizes your practice and send it to me. If you do not find a supporting scripture for a practice, then should you continue it?
So in the next post we will be ready to begin our venture into the Bible. We will start at the beginning with the beginning of all. If you want to read ahead, it would be good to pick up a Bible and read from the very first book in the Bible, Genesis. You might like to read Genesis 1-5.
Christian Women's Responsibility in Sharing God's Word 