Bible in a Year: Ending the Old and into the New Testament

The last few weeks I’ve been reading the many shorter books and then ventured into the book of John, starting the new testament!

Joshua

Joshua, the son of Nun, took over as the leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death. He led them across the Jordan river into the promised land and into the land but it wasn’t easy. The book was filled with battles and victories to take over lands like in Jericho and Ai with the final battle of the Canaanite groups and their kings.

After conquering all the lands and dividing it among each tribe, Joshua gave a speech recounting God’s faithfulness and encouraging obedience and renewed faith in the one god and no other. A strong line in his speech:

15 If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Such a strong statement. The book ends with the death of Joshua at the age of 110.

My favorite line is Joshua 1:9

"The Lord your God is with you wherever you go"

The next few books weren’t as entertaining but still provided many lessons and takeaways.

Judges

After the death of Joshua there was a 300 year downward spiral of people of mixed faith and idolatry, oppression and the rescue of 12+ “flawed” judges. Judges acted as warriors (not like one with a gavel in modern days)

The people were not lead by any real leader, no king, and they did whatever they felt was right which demonstrated brokeness.

"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." — Judges 21:25

One familiar story was the one of the Judge Samson and Delilah. It was about love, betrayal and supernatural strength. Samson had a super power in his uncut hair and Delilah tricked him to tell her what his super power was. She deceived him and told the Philistines who then cut his hair in his sleep and imprisoned him. Over time his hair grew back, his powers revived and he he gained final vengeance by pulling down the pillars of the Philistine temple of Dagon.

Ruth

The book of Ruth was short and sweet. Ruth was a Moabite woman who married the son of Naomi. When grief struck the family with the death of Naomi’s husband and both sons, it left Ruth pledging her life to remain by Naomi’s side.

Naomi identifies Boaz, a prosperous relative, as a "kinsman-redeemer" with the legal standing to preserve their family lineage. While Ruth is out gathering leftover grain in his fields, Boaz is impressed by her integrity and offers his protection. Following Naomi's guidance, Ruth approaches him to request marriage and security.

Boaz then agrees to marry Ruth which would restore Naomi’s family. Their union produces a son who becomes the grandfather of King David, Ruth, a foreigner, is in direct lineage of the Messiah.

Samuel

Samuel sleeps at the base of the arc of the Covenant as a spiritual man When God calls to him. God tells him that the house of Eli will fall and the arc will be stolen. When Israel is defeated by the Philistines The Ark of the Covenant is captured, and Hophni and Phinehas are killed. Upon hearing this, Eli falls and dies. just as God told Samuel who is now considered a prophet.

The Philistines place the Ark in the temple of their god Dagon, which leads to Dagon being broken and Plagues breakout in the Philistine cities. This scene is so powerful showing God can take care of his own battles. The Philistines didn’t want the arc anymore and sent it back to the israelites.

JOHN

What a change of tone to read! Jesus is finally here in the pages and the light it shines simply to read is joyous and powerful. John describes the "Word becoming flesh", poetically showing the importance of the Messiah arriving. Jesus was sent to earth to gather the "lost sheep of Israel, the Jewish people.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Now I understand where some hymns come from I sang throughout church over the years via this verse:

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Some interesting notes about the Book of John to call out. Jesus calls himself many things in “I am” statements.

I am the bread of life (John 6:35): as he provides spiritual nourishment and sustenance.
I am the light of the world (John 8:12): Jesus offers guidance and truth in a world of darkness.
I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7): Jesus is the only way to salvation and protection.
I am the good shepherd (John 10:11): Jesus protects and lays down his life for his followers.
I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25): Jesus offers eternal life and victory over death.
I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6): Jesus is the only path to the Father.
I am the true vine (John 15:1): Jesus is the source of life, enabling believers to bear fruit

So many powerful stories unveiled in the book of John. It’s also filled with Many Miracles Jesus performed:

Changing water into wine (2:1–11)
Healing a royal official’s son (4:46–54)
Healing a paralytic at Bethesda (5:1–15)
Feeding the 5,000 (6:1–14)
Walking on water (6:16–21)
Healing a man born blind (9:1–7)
Raising Lazarus from the dead (11:1–44)

At the same time as listenign to the Book of John, I watched season 1 of “The Chosen” and really enjoyed the interactions with Nicodemus. Coincidentally one of the most famous verses of the Bible is that of when Jesus is explaining salvation to Nicodemus in the verse John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

So powerful. What a moment!

Jesus loves to say the words “Truly, Truly” and in fact says it 25 times in the book of john. Notable times are:

John 3:3"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again..."

John 6:47"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life."

John 14:12"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do..."

After all of Jesus’ teachings and leading his disciples thruughout the book of John, it ends in a betrayal. Jesus revealed that one of them (Judas) would betray him and that Peter would deny him three times before the next morning (John 13:21-30).

The Crucifiction

Pontious Pilate takes jesus in to be questioned and to avoid riots charges him to death. Jesus carries his own cross to Golgotha and is crucified between two others. Pilate writes "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek for everyone to read.

Soldiers take Jesus’ garments which are seamless which signifies he is a priest, fulfilling prophecy.

At the end, Jesus says "It is finished," fulfilling scripture, and gives up his spirit. He is the true lamb of God, the sacrifice of all sacrifices to erase the sins of the world.

Post-Resurrection Moments

Jesus appeared outside the tomb to Mary Magdalene instructing her to tell the disciples he is risen.
A few times to his disciples and to ensure James’ faith
Another meaningful story was the one of Simon and Peter fishing and Jesus creating a miracle of filling their boat with 153 fish. Not only because of the abundance but coincidentally in the Hebrew language, alphabetical letters had a numerical value to them. “I Am God” has a numerical value of 153. I guess this is where the icon of a fish and christianity collide.