Reading for October 8th

 Read Romans 7.14-25. In verses 14-20: The struggle to do good. I am of the flesh; Paul maybe speaking of his own moral  struggle or using "I" to express everyone's experience. Sin that dwells within me (vv. 17, 20) suggests as alien presence wreaking havoc in an unwilling host. In verses 21-25: The war within us. In verse 21: a law here means "a rule". In verse 22:The law of God may be the Mosaic law (vv. 14, 16). In verse 23: Elsewhere the opposition is between flesh and Spirit (Gal 5.17). In verse 25: As before, sin and God are enemies (6.22). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 7th

 Read Romans 7.1- 13. In verses 1-3: Marriage and the law. Whether the Jewish law (ex 20.14; Deut 5.18) or Roman law is in view is not clear. The same principle holds for both: Laws governing marriage presuppose two living partners. The death of one partner (here the husband), invalidates the law, leaving the other partner (the wife) free to marry. In verses 4-6: Christ's death and the Law. The law of Moses is the first husband, the risen Christ the second husband. Paul's readers are the wife now discharged from the obligations of the old written code. Newly married to Christ, they belong to another and enjoy the new life of the Spirit. Generally, the analogy makes sense, but seems forced. V. 4 is difficult. In verses 7-13: The value of the law. In verse 7: V. 5 seems to support the objection. By naming the sin, the law raises the sinner's consciousness. To covet is to want something that belongs to someone else (Ex 20.17; Deut 5.21). In verses 8-11: Sin takes on personal qualities, having power to seize and manipulate people and laws. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 6th

 Read Romans 6.15-23. In verses 15-19: Choosing whom to obey. In verse 15: For Paul's critics, exchanging law for grace encourages sin (3.8). In verses 16-19: The widespread practice of slavery in antiquity inform Paul's discussion: Living as slaves meant obedient submission (Eph 6.5-9; Col 3.22-4.1). In verses 20-23: Thinking long-term. In verse 20: To be free is to be without obligation to righteousness. In verse 21: Sin can cause physical death and ultimate separation from God. (8.6, 13). In verse 22: With changed loyalties comes a purer life, sanctification (1 Thess 4.3), and eventually eternal life with God (5.21). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 5th

 Read Romans 6.5-14. In verses 5-11: Dying and living with Christ. In verse 5-8: With him: Believers "enter" Christ's experience as co-participants (Gal.19-20). In verse 10: He died to sin; In dying, Christ yielded to sin's power to kill. Christ's death occurred once; his new life with God is ongoing: He lives to God. In verse 11: Sin and God represent opposing realities and loyalties. In verses 12-14: Shifting loyalties. Sin may be an impersonal force, but it seriously competes with God for dominion over mortal bodies. In verse 13: Those ... brought from death to life have relived Christ's experience (v. 8). In verse 14: Christ's death also represents a shift from law to grace. (Jn 1.17). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 4th

 Read Romans 6.1-4. In 6.1-4: Dying to Sin. In verse 1: Paul now answers his critics more fully (3.8). In verse 3-4: Through baptism, believers ritually reenact Jesus' death and resurrection, experiencing the radical shift from death to life as moral renewal: death to sin and newness of life (Col 2.11-12). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 3rd

 Read Romans 5.12-21. In verses 12-14: Sin, death, and law. Tracing sin and death to one man, Adam, is based upon Gen 3. Universal sin brings universal death (Rom 3.9). In verse 13-14: Adam's sin preceded the Mosaic law chronologically, but law makes sin and its consequences specific, thus easier to deal with. Adam is seen as a type (a figure with important similarities) of Christ, the one who was to come (1 Cor 15.45-47). In verses 15-17: Adam and Christ. Free gift translate different Greek words ("charisama," vv. 15a, 16b; "dora," vv. 15, 17; "dorema," v16), but they all refer to God's free gift of Christ, which is events are alike because they show how one person can affect many people. But they have very different effects, Adam's trespass brought condemnation (v.16) and death (v. 17), where as God's free gift of Christ brought justification (v.16) and life (v. 17) In verses 18-21: Law and grace. In verses 18-19: These verses summarize and extend the contrast of the previous section. In verse 20-21; The Mosaic law came in and made sin and its consequences clear (4.15). Trespasses multiplied because awareness of sin increased. Yet, the lethal effects of sin were exceeded by God's grace shown through Jesus Christ our Lord. this event revealed God's righteousness by proving God reliable and making real the prospect of eternal life (6.23). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 2nd

 Read Romans 5.1-11. In verses 1-5: Peace with God through Christ. In verse 1; Gal 2.16. Peace results where justice and righteousness prevail (Isa 32.16-18). In verse 2: To experience salvation as gift, not reward, it to stand in God's grace (1 Pet 5.12; Rom 4.4-5). In verse 2-3: Boast is used positively here, meaning "take pride in" (Rom 3.27; 1 Cor 1.29). In verse 3-4: Suffering is properly understood within the larger perspective of resurrection hope. In verse 5: God's past activities provide the basis for hope (Ps 22.3-5). The Holy Spirit given to believers is the tangible expression of God's love (Titus 3.6). In verses 6-11: Christ died for sinners. In verse 6: The ungodly live against God (Rom 4.5). In verse 7: It is hard enough to die for a generous, good-hearted person. In verse 8: Christ's death for sinners who are neither good not righteous shows God's unusual love (Jn 3.16; 1 Jn 4.10). In verse 9: His blood: Jesus' death is understood as atoning sacrifice (Rom 3.25). In verses 10-11: Those yielding to the power of sin become enemies of God (Rom 3/9-18). Christ's death reconciles sinful humanity with God (2 Cor 5.18-19; Col 1.21-22), through his resurrection life, believers experience similar hope of being saved. In verse 11: God now becomes the proper object of pride (1 Cor1.31). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 1st

 Read Romans 4.16-25. In 4.16-25: Abraham's ability to trust. In verse 16: The promise of God's blessing is given in grace and received in faith to all his descendants, both Jews (adherents of the law) and gentiles (those who share the faith of Abraham). In verses 17-19: God's creative power is shown by giving life to Abraham's "dead" body and Sarah's barren womb. In verse 17: Gen 17.5. In verse 18; Gen 15.5. In verse 19: hundred years old, Gen 17.17. In verses 20-21: Unwavering trust characterizes the faith of Abraham (v.16). In verse 22: Gen 15.6. In verses 24-25: To believe that God raised Jesus ... from the dead requires faith like that of Abraham and Sarah. For them, receiving God's righteousness meant experiencing God as utterly reliable., as someone whose promises come true. God can similarly experienced by those who believe that God gave life to the crucified Jesus. The language handed over and raised suggests a two-part confession. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 30th

Read Romans 4.1-15. In verses 1-8: The example of Abraham. In verse 3: Gen 15.6. In verses 4-5: Righteousness may be seen as an earned wage given to one who works or as a gift freely bestowed to the one who trusts in God who accepts sinners. In verses 7-8 Ps 32.1-2. In verses 9-12; When Abraham received God's blessing. The sequence of events in Genesis is critical to Paul's argument. which was the more defining moment for Abraham? Faith (Gen 15.6) or circumcision (Gen 17.1-14)? Faith since it came first. Thus, Abraham is better seen as the ancestor of all who believe (Jews and gentiles) rather than the ancestor of the circumcised (Jews only). In verses 13-15: God's promise through faith, not Mosaic law. In verse 13: The promise of many descendants through Isaac experienced through the righteousness of faith is given in Genesis (15.1-6; 18.18; 22.15-18). It did not come through the law of Moses, which came much later. Since the promise is linked more closely to faith than it is to the law, it is best experienced not by adherents of the law but by those living in faith. In verse 15: Without law, there is no sense of violation (Gal 3.19). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 29th

Read Romans 3.21-31. In verses 21-26: Experiencing God's righteousness through Christ.  In verse 21: The righteousness of God: God's integrity and ability to set things right. In verses 22, 26: To have faith in Jesus Christ means Christ is the object of faith: believers regard him as God's agent of redemption (v. 24). To have faith of Jesus Christ means Christ is the example of faith: His fidelity reveals God's integrity and displays the type of faith for which believers should strive (Gal 2.16, 20; 3.20). In verses 27-31: Faith and Law. In verse 27: Boasting: putting confidence in human achievement instead of divine power (1 Cor 1.29, 31). In verse 28: This verse compactly summarizes Paul's position (Gal 2.16). In verses 28-30: Two ways of being religious or relating to God, are contrasted through works of the Law (Moses) and the law (principle) of faith. Paul insists that Jews (the circumcised) and gentiles (the uncircumcised) relate to God the same way: through ... faith (v. 30). In verse 31: Overthrow the law probably expresses the views of Paul's critics. his claim to uphold the law is developed in ch. 4. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for September 28th

 Read Romans 3.1-20. In verses 1-8: Answering Jewish objections. In verse 2: Scripture contains the oracles of God, what God has spoken to Israel (Deut 4.7-8; Ps 147.15, 188-20). In verses 3-7: God's reliability is variously described as faithfulness, justice, truthfulness. In verse 4; One psalm finds humans unreliable (Ps 116.11), another regards God as an honest judge (Ps 51.4). In verse 8: This criticism is answered more fully in ch. 6. In verses 9-20: No one has the moral advantage. In verse 9: Jews and Greeks include everyone (1.16). In verses 10-18, Various biblical quotations are grouped together to show that all ... are under the power of sin. In verses 10-12: Eccl 7.20; Ps 14.1-3. In verses 13: Ps 5.9; 140.3. In verse 14: Ps 10.7. In verses 15-17Isa 59.7-8; Prov 1.16. In verse 18: Ps 36.1. In verse 20: Ps 143,2: Gal 2.16. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 27th

 Read Romans 2.17-29. In 2.17-24: Inconsistent behavior condemned. In verses 17-18: Jewish identity is closely linked to Torah observance. In verse 19: Isa 42.6-7. In verses 21-23: These rhetorical questions directly indict those who boast in the law yet flagrantly violate its teachings. Stealing and committing adultery are forbidden in the Decalogue (Ex 20.1-17; Deut 5.1-2). In verse 24: The quotation is based on the Greek version of Isa 52.5. See Ezek 36.20. In verses 25-29: What really defines a person. Gen 17.1-14 required male circumcision as the sign of God's covenant with Israel. It is indicated willingness to observe Torah (Gal 5.3). Uncircumcised gentiles who fulfill the moral requirements of Torah are, in a spiritual sense, circumcised and more commendable than Jews who violate Torah. Circumcision  ... of the heart suggests an obedient spirit (Deut 10.16; 30.6). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 26th

 Read Romans 2.1-16. In 1.1-11: God's wrath against religious people. The language shifts to direct address, from they and them in 1.18-32 to you. Whoever you are (vv. 1, 3), literally, "Oman!" is an open-ended charge against religious people who do the very things they condemn in others. Such people think God's kindness gives them slack rather than reason to change their lives (repentance, v. 4). Like those whom they condemn (1.18), they too will experience God's wrath and fury (v. 8; see 5.9; 12.19). day of wrath, see Zeph 1.14-16; Rev 6.17. At the final judgment, God will render impartial judgment. Verse 6 quotes Ps 62.12; see Prov 24.12. Good and evil cut across ethnic lines (vv. 9-10). In verses 12-16: Doing what the law requires. In verse 12: Experiencing the harsh effects of sin and developing a sense of moral accountability before God do not derive exclusively from the law of Moses. This is something all people experience, both gentiles who live apart from the law and Jews who live under the law. In verse 16: The day of judgement, 2 Cor 1.14; Phil 1.6, 10. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 25th

 Read Romans 1.18-32. In 1.18-8.39: God's purpose and character revealed in Christ. In 1.18-32: God's wrath against sinful humanity. Gentiles are not mentioned specifically  in 1.18-32, but they appear to be in view (see 1.30, God-haters; 2.14; 3.9). Paul thinks humanity can know God through creation. yet rather than honoring God properly as creator, people devised inappropriate forms of worship: images of humans and animals (v. 23). Such worship is misguided because it gives honor to mortal things rather than exclusive honor to the immortal God (v. 23). Worshiping creatures instead of of the Creator is here seen as the ultimate lie. Closely associated with idol worship were sexual practices regarded by Jews as impure and degrading to the body (vv. 24-25). Failure to acknowledge God leads to debased thinking and immoral behavior. the sins listed in vv. 29-31, mainly describe behavior that destroys meaningful relationships among friends and family., leading to chaos within society (1 Cor 6.10-11; Gal 5.19-21). Paul repeatedly emphasizes that God gave them up  ... (vv. 24, 26, 28), suggesting God's disgust with such arrogant, socially destructive behavior. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 24th

 Read Romans 1.1-17. In 1.1-15: Greetings and prayer of thanksgiving. In verses 1-7: Greeting. The writer Paul identifies himself and his mission as they relate to Christ and God. Grace and peace combine standard forms of gentile and Jewish address. This greeting is longer than most because Paul is writing to a church he has not yet visited and he wants to align himself with early Christian belief (vv. 2-6). In verses 8-15; Prayer of Thanksgiving. Opening thanksgivings in the Pauline letters often set the mood for the rest of the letter and signal key themes. Paul's mission to the Gentiles reflects a central concern of the letter (v. 13). there is no hint that he will reach Rome as a prisoner, as Acts depicts (Acts 28). In verses 16-17: Purpose. These verses, which actually conclude the prayer of thanksgiving, summarize the main themes of the letter. I am not ashamed means "I have confidence in." The gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, tells a story about God's saving activity. it stems from God and expresses God's power to transform human lives. It also reveals the righteousness of God, either God's character as one who sets things right. The proper response to God's action in Christ is faith, which is both the means (through faith) and the end (for faith) of life before God. The Older Testament quotation is a distinctive Pauline rendering based on Hab 2.4. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 23rd

 Read Hosea 14.4-9. In 14.4-9: A second promise of restoration. In the spirit of 11.8-11, God promises to restore Israel to faithfulness and well being. In verse 5: The forests of Lebanon were legendary for their magnificence (Ps 104.16). In verse 9: The concluding verse in Hosea shares the vocabulary and perspective of the book of Proverbs (10.29) and is likely a conclusion added by Israel's sages. Comments or Questions..

Reading for Sepember 22nd

 Read Hosea 14.1-3. In 14.1-3: A call for repentance. Hosea urges Israel to turn from reliance on other nations to reliance on its God. In verse 3: To ride upon horses is to trust military strength more than God's protection. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 21st

 Read Hosea 12.10-13.16. In 12.11: For Hosea's view of Gilead and Gilgal compare 4.15; 6.8. In verse 12: The Land of Aram was the territory to which Israel's ancestor Jacob fled from his brother Esau's anger (Gen 27.41-45; 29.1-30). In verse 13: The prophet to whom Hosea refers is Moses, who led Israel out of Egypt (Deut 34.10-12). In 13.4: Hosea's idea that Israel learned to know its God in Egypt appears to be based on the tradition that the name of God was revealed to Israel there (Ex 3.13-15). In verse 5-6: After delivering Israel from Egypt, God fed them manna in  the wilderness (Num 11.7-9). In verse 11: Hosea may share  the viewpoint of the author of 1 Sam 8.6-8, who saw Israel's request for a king as a rejection of God's rule. In verse 14: Sheol was a shadowy realm inhabited by the dead (Ps 6.5). In verse 16: Hosea anticipates Israel's end with a vivid image of the fall of its capital, Samaria. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 20th

Read Hosea 11.12- 12.9. In 11.12-12.9: The history of a rebellious people. Hosea recalls major events in Israel's past to illustrate God's acts of salvation and Israel's acts of rebellion. In 12.3a Hosea describes the birth of Israel's ancestor Jacob (later renamed Israel) who struggled with his brother Esau in their mother's womb (Gen 25.21-26). In verses 3b-4a: Israel's ancestor Jacob strove with God at the Jabbok River when he returned home to meet Esau (Gen 32.22-32) In verse 4b: God appeared to Israel's ancestor Jacob at Bethel in a dream (Gen 28.10-22). In verse 9; Hosea recalls Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt and its journey through the wilderness. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 19th

 Read Hosea 11.8--11. In 11.8-11: A promise of restoration. The tone shifts from judgment to salvation. God shows compassion for Israel and promises to return its people to their homes. In verse 8; Admah and Zeboiim are cities which, like Sodom and Gomorrah, symbolize wickedness (Deut 29.23). In verse 10: This image of Israel returning trembling from the west assumes an exilic context and suggests that vv. 10-11 may have been added by a later Judean editor. Comments or Question..

Reading for September 18th

 Read Hosea 11.1-7. In 11.1-7: Israel is compared to a son who, though loved and raised with kindness, is stubborn and rebellious. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 17th

 Read Hosea 10.9-15.  Israel is compared to a female calf (v.11), once obedient but now plowing wickedness. In verse 9: For Hosea's criticism of Gibeah, see 9.9. In verse 14: Neither Salman nor Beth-arbel can be positively identified, though some have suggested that Shalman is a shortened form of Shalmaneser V, who imprisoned Israel's last king, Hoshea and laid siege to Samaria (2 Kings 17.3-5). In verse 15: Bethel was, one of Israel's major religious sanctuaries. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 16th

 Read Hosea 10.1-8. The comparison of Israel to a vine begins with images of bountiful fruit (v. 1) and concludes with images of thorns and thistles (v. 8). In verses 1-2: Pillars were common installation in Israelite sanctuaries (Gen 28.18-22). In verse 3: The people's words, "We have no king could anticipate the end of Israel and its kingship; or they could mean that Israel has rejected the rule of God, the divine king (1 Sam 8.4-8), as the following line seems to indicate. In verse 5: For Hosea's view of Israel's calves, compare 13.2 and 8.5-6 (see comment at 8.5-6). In verse 8: The high place of Aven (literally, "worthlessness) are the sites of Israel's false worship (4.13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 15th

 Read Hosea 9.10-17. In 9.10-11.7: Images of a rebellious people. With a series of images taken from Israel's agricultural and family context-grapes and figs, a young palm tree, a vine, a female calf, a son-Hosea highlights Israel's past protentional and present waywardness. In 9.10-12: The comparison of Israel to grapes and figs begins with images of fertility and new harvest and concludes with infertility and bareness. In verse 10: Baal-peor is a site east of the Jordan where the Israelites once worshipped Baal (Num 25.1-5). In verses 13-17: Israel is compared to a young palm with great potential (v. 13) whose roots dry up and whose fruit falls (v. 16). In verse 15: Gilgal, the site where Israel entered Canaan (Josh 4.19-20), is criticized by Hosea for its false worship (4.15). In verse 17: Hosea refers here and elsewhere (5.13-14;10.14) to Israelites deported by conquering countries, a practice of the Assyrians describes also by Israel's historian (2 Kings 15.29; 17.6). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 14th

 Read Hosea 9.5-9. Memphis is a prominent Egyptian city known for its pyramids, tombs, and burial grounds. In verse 9: Hosea's reference here and in 10.9 to the corruption in Gibeah may refer to the intertribal conflict and the crimes that led to it (Judg 19-21). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 13th

 Read Hosea 8.7-9.4. In 8.13: When Hosea describes Israel's punishment as a return to Egypt, he reverses the Exodus (2.15; 9.3; Ex 1-5), in which God delivered Israel from slavery. In 9.1: Since threshing floors are sites for worship (2 Sam 24.24-25). Hosea denounces Israel's worship of Baal there. The prostitute's pay to which he refers is likely the grain harvest Israel attributed to Baal rather than to God (2.8). In verse 4: Mourners' bread maybe translated literally in two ways: either "bread of sorrow," referring to bread eaten in exile (9.3), or "bread of idolatry," referring to Israel's sacrifices that God has rejected. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 12th

 Read Hosea 8.1-6. In 8.1-9.9: Israel's crimes. Hosea criticizes Israel's religious practices, blaming Israel for worshipping images (8.4-6), participating in empty rituals (8.13), following other gods (9.1), and persecuting the prophets ((9.7-8). In 8.4: By accusing Israel of making kings without God's knowledge, Hosea may refer to the installation of kings through violent palace uprisings rather than through proper religious and prophetic legitimation (7.1-17). I verses 5-6: The calf was a prominent religious image in Israel from its beginnings when the first king, Jeroboam I, set up calves in the religious sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan (1Kings 12.38-30). They may have been considered pedestals or throne images for Go, as were the cherubim in Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 6.23-28; 8.10-11), rather than images of God or idols. Both Hosea and Israel's historian (1 Kings 12.28) regard these calves as idols. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 11th

 Read Hosea 7.8-16. In verse 11: Israel's foreign policy appears to have vacillated between alliances with Egypt and Assyria, the two greats super powers in whose sphere of influence Israel found itself. The history of Israel in 2 Kings mentions Israel's cooperation with Assyria (as explained in the comment on 5.13) and with Egypt (2 Kings 17.4) during Hosea's career. In verse 14: Gashing the body appears to be associated with earnest appeals to a deity, whether to Israel's God (Jer 41.5) or to Baal (1 Kings 18.28). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 10th

 Read Hosea 7.1-7. In 7.1-16: Israel's political crimes. This speech focuses on the corruption of Israel's ruling elite by criticizing political intrigue at home (vv. 1-7) and alliances abroad (vv. 8-16). In verse 1: Samaria was Israel's capital through most of its history. In verses 4-7: Employing the image of a blazing oven, Hosea denounces the court officials responsible for numerous assassinations in Samaria. Four of the last six kings of Israel were killed in office. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 9th

 Read Hosea 6.4-11. In 6.4-11: Israel's disloyalty. God emphasizes Israel's lack of covenant loyalty (v. 7), concluding with the image of prostitution (v. 10) that runs through the book. In verse 6: Steadfast love translates the Hebrew word "hesed" which describes loyalty to a relationship. Hosea's emphasis on right behavior rather than empty ritual is characteristic of prophetic thought (Am 5.21-24). In verses 7-10: The violent crime described here cannot be identified.  Adam may refer to a city near the Jordan River, was the home of a band of men who assassinated Israel's king, Pekahiah (2 Kings 15.25). Shechem, Israel's first capital was one of its most important cities. Comments or Questions..