Esther

Wow... I looked something up last night, and one of the verses on the subject came from Esther. So I went to Esther to get the context of the verse. Sheesh, Esther was SO interesting! I couldn't quit reading it! I wound up reading 7 or 8 chapters, when I had only intended to read a few verses.

People have told me that whatever your reading interests, there's something in the Bible that you would enjoy. I've found a few places that I enjoyed, but nothing that held my interest like Esther did last night.... a love story, with intrigue. And to think it actually happened! Wow..... I'm going to have to go back and read the rest of Esther some time soon. It makes me wonder what else I've missed. I mean, I didn't learn anything new as far as principles to live by, although it reinforced some principles I already knew. But it was a GREAT story! And the fact that it's a true story just makes it that much better! :)

Relationship Between a Husband and Wife

Ephesians 5:22-32 - instructions to husbands and wives
Colossians 3:18-25 - Rules for Christian Households
1 Peter 3:1-7 - instructions to husbands and wives
Hebrews 13:17 - the context gives me the impression that it is telling the members of the congregation to obey their church leaders (e.g. elders); but I wonder, if the church is to obey the elders, should a wife not obey her own husband even more so?
Titus 2:3-5 - older women teach the younger women to be submissive to their own husbands
Genesis 2:24 - leave parents and become one flesh
Genesis 3:16 - Eve's punishment for eating the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 12:11-20 ; Genesis 20 - Sarai obeyed Abram, even when instructed to tell a half truth.
Genesis 16 - Abram and Sarai loved each other very much. They each wanted the other to be happy, even if it meant giving up something they considered to be their's.


So far I've looked up various forms of obey, submit, subject, and rule.
Other words to look up:
wife
wives
husband
husbands
authority
specific examples: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca

Sidetracked

I've gotten sidetracked today into a study on the relationship between a husband and wife. So I'm giong to go with that today, and I'll get back to my WBS lesson later. But my interest is here today, and I need to follow it. I'm going to make a post with my notes on that subject, but I probably won't really organize them right away. So don't be surprised if they appear to be random.

Study Tips

Pray before starting each study session.
Be consistent - do at least a few minutes every day.
Complete each lesson.
Test the teachings.
Be honest - always search for the truth.

Time Line Information

Creation Genesis 1 & 2

1. Light and establishment of what constitutes a day
2. Heavens
3. Gathered the water into one place, so that the dry land appeared; plants
4. Sun, moon, and stars
5. Water creatures and birds
6. Land creatures and man; established what constituted food for both men and animals

The Fall - eating the forbidden fruit Genesis 3

Cain slays Abel Genesis 4

Noah and the Flood Genesis 6 - 9

ESV Information

I spoke with Mark, our preacher, about the ESV Bible. He said he'd been studying it for about a year and a half, and in his opinion, it's the best English translation available today, for both accuracy and modern english. That verifies what I've been finding in my own studies. I've been using both the ESV and the ASV for my Bible studies, so that I could compare them. And so far the ESV seems to be at least as accurate as the ASV, if not more so. Which has really surprised me, because I really didn't think we'd ever have one that was more accurate than the ASV. So many people in today's world want to rewrite the Bible, changing it to "fit modern times." I pity the person, or persons, who actually try to do it. I don't believe God will be kind or merciful to them come judgement day.