Showing results by narrator "Dr. Bill Creasy" in All Categories

Revelation is the easiest book in the Bible to read and to teach—providing you have read all the books in the Bible that precede it! We noted at the very start of our study together that the Bible—in its final, finished form—is a unified literary work: The curtain rises in Genesis and it falls in Revelation. In between we have a linear narrative: God is the main character; sin is the conflict; redemption is the theme. Thus, reading Revelation is like reading the final chapter in a 2,000-page novel.

At Mt. Sinai, God gives his covenant people their greatest gift: The Law, ten principles by which a covenant people is to live with God and one another.

With Saul and his sons dead, the door opens for David to become king (1010-970 B.C.). But it’s not easy. Kingship rests with the tribe of Benjamin, while David is from the tribe of Judah; Saul still has a surviving son and grandchildren; Saul’s commanding general, Abner, has rallied ten of the twelve tribes to the house of Saul; and David has been an outlaw for a decade, working for Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. Although we read that God gave the kingship to David, it is another matter entirely to convince the people that David should be king.

By the end of Joshua, the Israelites have a foothold in the land of Canaan, but the conquest raises several critical issues: 1) strategically, how do the Israelites conquer a much stronger and more numerous enemy; 2) can a land conquered so brutally result in a peaceful and blessed life for the conquerors; and 3) what about the moral and ethical issues involved in such a conquest? Joshua is a deeply disturbing story on several levels.

Jesus’ entire public ministry leads to his death, burial and resurrection. Indeed, Jesus tells us himself that he came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20: 28). We often are given the impression that Jesus was the innocent victim of corrupt religious authority and political intrigue. That is wrong. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he left Galilee for Jerusalem on Passover in the third year of his ministry.

Totally exhausted and spent, God assigns Elijah three more tasks to accomplish to complete his job: 1) on the international stage, “anoint Hazael king over Aram [Syria]”; 2) on the domestic stage, “anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel”; and 3) on the personal front, “anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet” (1 Kings 19: 15-16). Meanwhile, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (869-848 B.C.), arranges a tentative peace between Israel and Judah.

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.

Jesus launches his public ministry when he is “about thirty years old” (Luke 3: 23); it lasts three years. During that time “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4: 23). In this session we sample his teaching, preaching and healing.

Jesus resurrection is the single most important event in human history. In last week’s lesson, we followed Jesus through his death, burial and resurrection; this week we shall delve deeply into the resurrection, understanding it’s full impact on both Jesus...and on us.

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!

Saul of Tarsus was one of the most brilliant young men of his generation. He was being groomed for leadership in the Jewish community, and he was destined for greatness. With the birth of the Church and its rapid growth, Saul saw the threat posed by this emerging, radical sect of Judaism, and he took it upon himself to lead a fierce persecution against it.

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.

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.

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.

As Saul crumbles under the weight of kingship, a young man rises to take his place: David. As Jonathan Kirsch observes in King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel (New York: Ballantine Books, 2000), the story of David is “a work of genius that anticipates the romantic lyricism and tragic grandeur of Shakespeare, the political wile of Machiavelli, and the modern psychological insight of Freud." David is one of the greatest characters in world literature; he is also my favorite character in the Bible.

After an epic battle with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and into what he later calls “that vast and dreadful wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1: 19). Are the Israelites moving from slavery into freedom, or from slavery into death? We shall see...

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.

With Samuel an old man and his sons corrupt, the people demand a king to lead them, like all the other nations have. God tells Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8: 7). So the people choose Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin to be their king (1050-1010 B.C.). Although Saul looks like a king, he lacks the heart of a king, and very quickly the weight of kingship begins to crush him.

Isaac survives, and our story continues with tales of Isaac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau.

The march to the Promised Land takes 40 years. But the Israelites do not wander aimlessly in the wilderness during that time. (Recall the old explanation that Moses, like most men, was too stubborn to stop and ask for directions!) Refused passage through Edom on the King’s Highway, Moses diverts northwest to Kadesh Barnea, a large oasis, where the Israelites spend nearly 37 of the 40 years, finally entering the Promised Land through Moab, by a remote and very dangerous desert route.