A few months
ago, I decided that I would start at the beginning of the Bible and read
through to the end. I’d done this once before when I was younger, but I skimmed
through it so quickly that I really didn’t get much from it. I was reading it,
but not really taking time to understand and meditate on it. So, this time I am
taking notes as I go along, and re-reading some chapters along the way. I’m
almost done with the book of Numbers now, but I thought it would be a great
idea to blog about what I’ve read and found “note-worthy”. I just thought, why do this just for me, when someone else
may be able to get something out of this too? Also, if anyone is interested
in taking this journey with me, and sharing anything you find “note-worthy”
along the way, please, please, please join in with me! (P.S. I’m reading from
the NIV version of the Bible, you do not have to follow this translation. It’s
just easier for me to understand.)
So, with all
that being said, let’s get started! Being the underdog that I am, I have been taking notes on
the less common Bible stories or scriptures. We all know the story, “In the beginning, God
created the heavens, and the earth, and said, ‘Let there be light’, he rested
on the seventh day,” etc., so forth, and so on. But, the first thing that
really caught my attention was Genesis 2:18, which says: “The Lord God said,
‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for
him.’”
To me, this
verse is a great scripture of hope for all who are single out there, maybe
searching or praying for a mate. This verse, to me, shows that God cares about
our lives, he cares about our relationships, and he doesn’t want us to be
lonely. I confess, I have actually proclaimed this verse over my own life,
during a little “relational-crisis”, and the outcome was great! So, if you’re
in that situation, where you are searching for a mate, praying for reconciliation
in a relationship, or whatever your case may be, I encourage you to pray this
over your own life. Your prayer may go something like this: “Dear
Heavenly Father, I know you care about me, and my life, and my relationships.
Your word says, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper
suitable for him.’ Lord, you know it is not good for me to be alone. So,
Father, I am standing on your word today, believing that you will send the
helper you created for me into my life.”
You don’t have to follow that
verbatim, I’m merely suggesting a guideline that helped me during a tough and
lonely time in my own life. I believe a great way to get God's attention is to repeat what God's word says about a particular situation, and proclaim it over our lives. It's a great testament of faith, even Moses did this...but, we'll get to that passage later!
To finish up
this session, I decided to make an outline of the curse that was brought upon
man, woman, and snake in the Garden of Eden, when they ate the forbidden fruit.
I found this “note-worthy”, because, frankly, there’s been a lot of blame placed
over the years on Eve for menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, and bloating. If
you’ve never heard a woman groan that it’s all Eve’s fault during her monthly
visitation, I can assure you, I have! But, all I see in this passage is that
woman will have painful childbirth, is that linked to all our other lady
problems? It’s debatable, I suppose.
*God
cursed the snake:
·
above all livestock and wild animals
·
to crawl on his belly and eat dust all the
days of his life
·
God put enmity between the snake and the
woman, and between the snake’s offspring and hers; “he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (< So, this is why I hate snakes so
much!)
* God
cursed the woman:
·
God said, “I will make your pains in
childbearing very severe.”
·
“Your desire will be for your husband, (< Wow, that’s spot on with the way
some of us ladies act. Think about it,
how many times have you said, “I just want you to spend time with me”)
·
and he will rule over you.” (< Suppose this is where the whole “Women
submit to your husbands” thing came in?)
* God
cursed the man:
·
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through
painful toil you will eat food from it.”
·
“It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will
eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were
taken.” (< So, that explains
why it always seems like a paycheck is spent before you get it, and you have to
work so hard for anything you want out of life!)
So, that concludes today’s Bible study, maybe not the eye-opening
revelation you were hoping for…but, stay tuned! It gets better! Some of the
things I’ve read have really touched me, and ministered to me, and I don’t want
you to miss out! I challenge you to read along, take this Bible reading challenge
with me, and share your notes or comments also! Thanks for reading, be blessed
today.
