29. Shema, Blessings, and Curses
30. A Bronze Snake and Balaam’s Ass
31. The “Voice of God”
Unit Two: Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan, the Dark Period of the Judges, and the Call of Samuel
32. Canaan as a Symbolic Abstraction
33. Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan
34. The Period of the Judges
35. Canaanite Religion and Biblical Interpretation
36. Gideon, Jephthah, and Shibboleth
37. Samson the Antihero
38. Ruth and the Stages of Israel’s Life
39. Job, the Man from Uz
40. Job’s Three (Four) Friends
41.God Answers Job
42. The Call of Samuel
43. The Philistines
SECTION THREE
UNITED MONARCHY, DIVIDED MONARCHY, THE PROPHETS
Unit One: The Rise and Fall of Saul, the Rise and Fall of David
44. Israel Demands a King
45. Things Fall Apart
46. God Anoints David
47. Saul Chases after David
48. David Rises to the Throne
49. David Builds Unity
50. David and Bathsheba
51. David’s House Falls Apart
52. The Parents Eat Sour Grapes: Three-Fold Interpretation
53. Biblical Inspiration
Unit Two: The Reign of Solomon, the Temple, the Divided Kingdom, and the Prophets
54. Abishag the Shunammite
55. Wisdom
56. Downfall of Solomon
57. Fertility Religions and the Prophet Elijah
58. Elisha the Miracle Worker
59. Assyria Attacks from the North: Isaiah, Hosea, Amos
60. The Babylonian Conquest: Jeremiah the Weeping Prophet
61. Ezekiel the Street Artist and Daniel the Slave
62. The Valley of Dry Bones and Daniel, Part 2
63. Freedom from Persia: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
64. The Chronicles and the Stages of Israel, Part 2
SECTION FOUR
CHRISTIANITY EMERGES OUT OF JUDAISM
Unit One: Messiah, Healer, Teacher, Divinity
65. The Chronicles
66. Messianic Expectations
67. John the Baptizer
68. Jesus the Healer, Part 1
69. Jesus the Healer, Part 2
70. The Divinity of Jesus: God and Human
71. Divinity Continued
72. Jesus the Rabbi
73. Temple Sacrifice and Synagogue Teaching
74. The Parables of Jesus
75. The Practice of Abstraction
Unit Two: The Passion, Atonement, Resurrection, The Church, and Apostles
76. The Passion and Resurrection of Christ
77. Atonement of the Cross
78. Blood and Nonblood Atonements
79. Jonah and Blessed to Bless
80. Jesus and the Canaanite Woman
81. The Great Commission and Acts of the Apostles
82. The Conversion of Paul for the Gentiles
83. Disciples and Apostles
84. The Twelve Apostles: Go Give God to Everybody
85. Paul Continued
86. The Epistles and The Revelation to John
Epilogue: Jesus is the Way of Love
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: Bible Vocabulary Concepts
Appendix B: Books of the Bible Songs
“. . . all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.” (Gen. 12:3)
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Look, I myself with be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (Matt. 28:19–20)
Many people revere and respect the Bible, but very few people have actually read it. This is because the Bible can be very intimidating. It’s a gargantuan collection of books, written long ago by over forty different authors. People disagree about how it should be read and what the stories mean. Blessed to Bless is a basic introduction to the Bible and those complexities.
What you read here is the result of an invitation given to the parents of fifth through eighth graders at Casady School in Oklahoma City, a pre-K through twelfth grade Episcopal preparatory day school. Middle school students at Casady move through a four-year survey of the Bible, studying the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christians call the Old Testament) in the first three years and then they do an introduction of the Christian Scriptures (or the New Testament) in the fourth year. Parents are invited to read through the Bible during the school year following the same pace as their child. When we began, I expected fifteen or so to be interested. I was surprised when over ninety parents showed interest! A website was set up in which I posted the same reading assignments the students were given in class along with commentary. These have become the chapters of this book.
I often tell my students that religion (and in this case the Bible) is like baseball. It can be as complicated as you want it to be (with all the variables of pitcher and batter statistics, superstitions, and the like) or it can be simple (a bunch of folks playing catch). This introduction tries to be simple and basic, but at times will point out the potential complexities of certain stories and ideas within the Bible. It is far from a comprehensive explanation of the Bible, but it will serve you as a foundation for deeper study.
Does this book have a religious agenda? Yes and no. Casady School, like many Episcopal day schools, has students from a wide range of religious backgrounds. The school’s population is comprised of Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian families, as well as Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist families. We also have a number of nonreligious families, including intentionally science-driven secular families. Our school loves and respects these families; we do not aggressively attempt to proselytize our students.