U. I’ve heard the Bible described as a good book, but it’s still just a collection of myths. Are you going to tell me that these myths are connected into one story?
B. First, let me clarify that I don’t think the Bible is just a good book full of myths. I wouldn’t call a book good if it is written by liars, would you?
U. Well no, but why do you say it was written by liars?
B. Don’t forget the word if. The writers weren’t liars, but they did claim in many places that what they wrote is the word of God. If it is the word of God, then it must be true. If it is false, it can’t be the word of God and therefore is not a good book and is written by liars.
U. OK, I see your argument. But why should I think it is true, just because some of the writers thought that?
B. Fair question. Here are a few reasons.
· Consistent
· Tells one story
· Promises that someone is coming
· Gives us many identifying characteristics of the one who is coming.
· Eventually tells us who came, what he did and why.
· No historic or scientific facts have been demonstrated to conflict with the Bible.
So that’s a summary of why I think it is true. What do you think?
U. If it’s true, but I’m not convinced just because you say it is. How could 40 men write a consistent story over such a time frame?
B. The writers tell us. Beginning with Moses who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and continuing to the man who wrote the last book of the New Testament, the authors consistently claim that they are writing the words given by God. Look at what Moses said in Deuteronomy 5:5
U. At that time I stood between the LORD and you to show you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. So Moses told the people what God said.
B. Right, now read Revelation 22:16
U. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things for the churches. So, if God spoke to these people how did he do it? Does he still speak to people today?
B. First question first. Moses, the writer of the first five books tells us that God spoke to certain people, but the indication is that he did not speak to everyone. How God spoke to the people differs according to the time and circumstance. Sometimes he spoke directly and sometimes in visions, and sometimes we don’t know just how.
Each of the books has its own purpose, some are history, some are laws, some are poetic, and some warn his people to stop worshipping idols and return to worshipping only him or else they will be punished. God gave Moses rules and commands for the Hebrews to obey. These laws were in effect throughout the Old Testament times. After the Hebrews had a nation and kings, they often turned away from worshipping God. That’s when God sent word to his people through his prophets.
U. What’s a prophet?
B. They’re people God sent to relay warnings to the Hebrew nation also called Israelites that if they continue to worship idols, their earthy kingdom will be destroyed. Interestingly, all of the prophets credited God as the author of the commandments and warnings they proclaimed. We don’t need to look at every reference to the word of the Lord, but, let’s look at a few so you can get an idea of how important the prophets felt about the people knowing they were hearing God’s word.”
U. Yeah. That’s a lot of redundancy. Why list so many?
B. I wanted you to appreciate how many times the Bible claims the word of the Lord came to people. We could have looked at others, but that’s enough to prove the point.
U. Agreed. So, are you saying that the consistency of the Old Testament is due to the writers’ faithfulness in proclaiming what the Lord said and being sure to write what actually happened?”
B. That’s exactly what I mean. There is no middle ground. The Bible is either the word of God or those writers lied. The Bible indicates that God took an active role in the Hebrew’s life, government, and religion.
U. Is he still doing that in our lives today?
To be continued.
B. First, let me clarify that I don’t think the Bible is just a good book full of myths. I wouldn’t call a book good if it is written by liars, would you?
U. Well no, but why do you say it was written by liars?
B. Don’t forget the word if. The writers weren’t liars, but they did claim in many places that what they wrote is the word of God. If it is the word of God, then it must be true. If it is false, it can’t be the word of God and therefore is not a good book and is written by liars.
U. OK, I see your argument. But why should I think it is true, just because some of the writers thought that?
B. Fair question. Here are a few reasons.
· Consistent
· Tells one story
· Promises that someone is coming
· Gives us many identifying characteristics of the one who is coming.
· Eventually tells us who came, what he did and why.
· No historic or scientific facts have been demonstrated to conflict with the Bible.
So that’s a summary of why I think it is true. What do you think?
U. If it’s true, but I’m not convinced just because you say it is. How could 40 men write a consistent story over such a time frame?
B. The writers tell us. Beginning with Moses who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and continuing to the man who wrote the last book of the New Testament, the authors consistently claim that they are writing the words given by God. Look at what Moses said in Deuteronomy 5:5
U. At that time I stood between the LORD and you to show you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. So Moses told the people what God said.
B. Right, now read Revelation 22:16
U. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things for the churches. So, if God spoke to these people how did he do it? Does he still speak to people today?
B. First question first. Moses, the writer of the first five books tells us that God spoke to certain people, but the indication is that he did not speak to everyone. How God spoke to the people differs according to the time and circumstance. Sometimes he spoke directly and sometimes in visions, and sometimes we don’t know just how.
Each of the books has its own purpose, some are history, some are laws, some are poetic, and some warn his people to stop worshipping idols and return to worshipping only him or else they will be punished. God gave Moses rules and commands for the Hebrews to obey. These laws were in effect throughout the Old Testament times. After the Hebrews had a nation and kings, they often turned away from worshipping God. That’s when God sent word to his people through his prophets.
U. What’s a prophet?
B. They’re people God sent to relay warnings to the Hebrew nation also called Israelites that if they continue to worship idols, their earthy kingdom will be destroyed. Interestingly, all of the prophets credited God as the author of the commandments and warnings they proclaimed. We don’t need to look at every reference to the word of the Lord, but, let’s look at a few so you can get an idea of how important the prophets felt about the people knowing they were hearing God’s word.”
- First Kings 6: 1 The word of the LORD came to Solomon,
- First Kings 12: 22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah,
- First Kings 13:1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came,
- First Kings 16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu,
- First Kings 17:2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah,
- First Kings 22:19 Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord,
- Second Kings 20:16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord,
- Isaiah. 1:2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken,
- Ezekiel 1:3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest,
- Hosea 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea,
- Joel 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel,
- Amos 3:1 Hear this word the LORD has spoken,
- Jonah 1:1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah,
- Micah 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah,
- Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah,
- Haggai 1:1 the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai,
- Zechariah 1:1 the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah,
- Malachi 1:1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi,.”
U. Yeah. That’s a lot of redundancy. Why list so many?
B. I wanted you to appreciate how many times the Bible claims the word of the Lord came to people. We could have looked at others, but that’s enough to prove the point.
U. Agreed. So, are you saying that the consistency of the Old Testament is due to the writers’ faithfulness in proclaiming what the Lord said and being sure to write what actually happened?”
B. That’s exactly what I mean. There is no middle ground. The Bible is either the word of God or those writers lied. The Bible indicates that God took an active role in the Hebrew’s life, government, and religion.
U. Is he still doing that in our lives today?
To be continued.