Jan/104
Timeline
Timeline of Old Testament History
Toward the end of last semester's Old Testament History class, which covered Joshua through 2 Chronicles, I made this timeline as a way to get a quick glimpse of not only the chronological sequence of Israel's history, but also the spiritual state of the nation and it's leaders.
While any attempt at this has to be somewhat subjective, there are many explicit statements throughout the Old Testament that provide valuable hints, i.e. "the king did what was required by the Lord, but he did not remove the high places," or "never before or after was there a king that did more evil in the sight of the Lord and caused Israel to sin against the Lord." The timeline is my estimation of the effect of those statements.
Here's how to read it: the nation in general is represented by the gray line, which varies in width and height above or below the date line. Along with the nation, Israel's leaders from Moses to the 400 years of silence are shown as they walk with God and rise above the date line, or walk in the flesh and drop below it. Generally, it seems that as the leader goes, the nation goes, though there are obvious exceptions as well.
For the full timeline, click on the picture above, or click here. And be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.
Sep/090
Biblical Foundations
Cafe Terrace at Night, Vincent Van Gogh
Last winter Rachel and I decided to do a jigsaw puzzle together. We had done a puzzle as a dating couple, which was fun and partly responsible for Rachel's lapse in judgment in agreeing to marry me (whatever it takes, guys), so we thought we'd get a hard one with a billion (or so) pieces to do over the Christmas break. Someone thought it would be a good idea to make a 1500 piece puzzle of Van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night. I might disagree.
While we worked on that puzzle, a simple truth became very evident. If you want to make any progress, you have to look at the picture on the box. If you are going to solve a puzzle which is made up of thousands of tiny pieces, you have to know the big picture. When you can see the big picture, you can see how the pieces fit together. You don't waste your time forcing matches that aren't there.
If we didn't have that box, we'd still be in College Station working on that puzzle.
The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John Cross
I recently finished reading the textbook for one of the first courses you take here, Biblical Foundations. As you might have guessed from the name, the focus is on the big picture of the Bible by which we can understand how all the stories within fit together.
The book is called The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John Cross. Just as Jesus walked with those two disciples away from Jerusalem, beginning with "Moses and all the Prophets" and explaining to them "what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27), Cross begins his book at the beginning and walks chronologically through the key events of the Bible. It would be quite difficult to finish this book and not have a clear understanding of who you are, who God is, and why He's the best thing you could ever hope for.
Armed with a proper understand of the big picture, we can dive into the Bible with greater clarity than ever before. I can't wait.