THE SEQUENCING OF THE EVENTS MAKING THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE PART 1

A Guide To Making Sense in Reading the Bible

Rev. Fianko Larbi

GENESIS details creation, the Fall of Humanity into sin, God’s scattering of people over the fa

ce of the earth, His choice of Abraham as the Father of Faith through whom He chose the Nation Israel as a sample group of people to whom He will reveal Himself. Genesis ends with Israel actually ending up in slavery in Egypt. Before or around the time of Abraham, JOB lived and God uses his life as a case study to illustrate the harsh realities of life. EXODUS details how God chose Moses to bring the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt to the Land He Promised to their forefather Abraham. After leaving Egypt, crossing the Red Sea and coming to the Desert, God gave out His Laws and Terms to His Nation Israel. It was like Laws passed in parliament to guide a nation. Exodus joins into LEVITICUS where the Lord gives out instruction, among others, on how to atone for the sins of people who per chance break any of the laws given. 

NUMBERS is about numbering the people in the Nation of Israel.

 It was a census. Still wandering on the Desert, the Lord told Moses he will not enter the Promise Land. New children had also been born. Some old people had also died. To prepare the new generation to cross River Jordan and enter the Promised Land, Moses gives an account of all that had happened since they left Egypt and re-read the laws God gave them. And that is why the next book is called DEUTERONOMY- meaning “Second Reading of the Law”. We move to the Book of JOSHUA who took over from Moses and led the Israelites to cross River Jordan to enter the Promised Land. The Book of Joshua also details the sharing of the Land among the tribes of Israel and related issues. The Book ends with the departure message of Joshua telling them to obey the Lord adding that “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”. Since Joshua left no leader, God occasionally raised up JUDGES for the people to settle cases and deliver them from their enemies. Example of such judges were Samson, Gideon, Deborah etc. The Bible then give focus to the live of RUTH, a Moabite who came to live on the Promised Land through Naomi. The last judge was SAMUEL. 1st and 2nd SAMUEL details how the Israelites rejected the concept of temporal judges at the time of Samuel, called for a king and the issues that followed. God gave them King Saul followed by David. During the time of King David, he wrote a chunck of the Book of PSALMS. David was followed by King Solomon who wrote the Books of PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES and SONGS OF SOLOMON. After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was divided into Northern (with capital Samaria) and Southern (with capital Jerusalem). 1st and 2nd KINGS give special focus to the lives, policies and actions of the Kings who ruled these two Kingdoms. 1st and 2nd Chronicles, like Deutetonomy, give overview of the life of the Israelites from their ancestry, times of the kingships to the time of their captivity into exile. 

While on the Promised Land, people still lived in disobedience so God sent Prophets to warn and encourage them and also to their enemies to warn them of their coming judgement. These included Prophets ISAIAH, HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, and ZEPHANIAH. Eventually as a judgment for their disobedience, God allow them to be taken captive into exile. Northern Kingdom was taken into exile in Assyria and scattered around by Assyrian King Shalmanesar; these became the “Diaspora”. The Southern Kingdom was taken into exile in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. JEREMIAH was the last to prophesy to the people before they went into exile. When they were captured Jeremiah wept a lot leading to the writing on LAMENTATION (meaning mourning). By the Rivers of Babylon where the captives sat and wept and remembered Zion, the Lord sent Prophet EZEKIEL with a visionary message of hope to them. While in Babylonian Exile the Bible focussed on individual stories of some of the exiled such as ESTHER and Prophet DANIEL. After 70 years of captivity, exiles from Babylon came back to the Promised Land as prophesied by Jeremiah. It was EZRA and NEHEMIAH who led them back to rebuild their nation; so the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah is after the captivity. After the exile, God still sent Prophets HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH and MALACHI to call the people to obedience. After this, God did not speak to them again for 400 years until He spoke through John the Baptist who was “the voice of one calling in the desert making straight the Way for the coming of Jesus Christ”. Part II will continue from here and take the Journey from Matthew to Revelation.

Yours truly
SK Fianko-Larbi
(22.07.2016 @05:42GMT)

Seth Kwame Fianko-Larbi is a Full-time Minister of the Gospel in the Church of Pentecost, an international Pentecostal Church with presence in over 91 countries and still counting. Currently Seth, with the support of his family, serves as the Resident Missionary and National Head of the Church of Pentecost in the Republic of Seychelles Islands.

Seth, a Commonwealth Scholar, holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana, a Master of Science degree in Public Health from University of London and a number of qualifications

Seth likes to read and write. He also likes to counsel and mentor young people. His greatest passion is to see the Name of Jesus publish everywhere through the unceasing preaching of the Gospel Message on every platform possible- physical and virtual.   Married to Dr. Theresah Fianko-Larbi,  an optometrist, their union is blessed with three kids: Don-Petros, Zoe-Petra and Tessa-Tina

PRE-MARITAL SEX – NOT A BIG DEAL? PT. 3

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor 6:18-20 NIV)

Rev. Benedict Eghan

Dr. Wyatt Fisher, a licensed psychologist in Denver, founder of the “Colorado Marriage Refresh” in his understanding of the effects of pre-marital sex likened sex to a river. This is what he had to say in his article “Sexual Boundaries”:

“Sex is like a river. Within the banks of a river, the water can flow and be beautiful and passionate. However, if the water runs over the banks, the same river can cause great damage, such as destruction of trees, habitats, etc. Similarly, sex within marriage can be a joyous, safe, and wonderful experience; however, sex outside of marriage can cause great harm. Some of the obvious examples are sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and emotional wounds.” 

In this same article he said, when sex is permitted in dating relationships, “it often becomes the central focus, severely stunting the healthy development of emotional, social, and spiritual intimacy, which drastically reduces the possibility of creating a successful long-term relationship.” This is what I call “missing out on the progressive ladder to maturity in relationships”. So sad to know that, many rush into physical intimacy (sexual intimacy), before they even start the process of knowing each other – thereby reducing what should have been a sacred act into a mere recreational or biological act.  What a sorry state of today’s world.

But the Christian youth must not in anyway bow to the intense pressure to engage in an act that will end up bringing pain and sorrow; an act that has the propensity to derail our relationship with God. “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”  (1 Corinthians 6:18 NIV). In many of my “youth talks”, I have always stressed on the fact that, the Christian youth should never take a decision or engage in anything at the expense of his or her relationship with God. Though many of our brethren have fallen victims, there is still hope; and that will be the focus on the part four of this article.

As a continuation of my second article on pre-marital (pre-marital sex – not a big deal? pt 2), I in this article seek to address three additional implications that come with pre-marital sex or sex outside the confines of marriage – physical, trust and spiritual implications.

Physical implications:

Here, my focus is the vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) that comes with pre-marital sex.  This applies to both sexes. However for a female teenager, it is said that since her reproductive system is still immature, she is very susceptible to these STDs. Reading through Harvard School of Public Health website (http://www.diseaseriskindex.harvard.edu/update/hccpquiz.pl%3Flang%3Denglish%26func%3Dshow%26quiz%3Dcervical%26page%3Drisk_list), on “Disease Risk Index” (for Cervical cancer), I came by this very important and alarming information. The site indicated that, “Women who have sex for the first time at an early age have a higher risk of cervical cancer. This may be because human papillomavirus (HPV) can more easily infect a young woman's cervix because the cells in the cervix are still immature. HPV is an infection that can be sexually transmitted, and some types of HPV can cause cells in the cervix to become cancerous.”  So young ladies on the path towards marriage, can you be a little cautious? Not forgetting abortions and its related complications; and the health effects of extreme use of contraceptives. I have personally heard stories where the womb of very young and promising High School Students had to be altered at health facilities because of unsafe abortions they had earlier resorted to.  As I said these dangers to STDs are also applicable to the males. Again, the pressure and the emotional implications that come with unplanned pregnancies are in many cases also applicable to the male counterparts.

My advice to young men: never be part of a lady’s painful or sad story.

Another side of this is the extensive use of aphrodisiac by unmarried young men today who are obsessed with sexual performance; leading to worrying complications at their prime age in marriage.

Implications on Trust:

Young people who feel used or betrayed after the break-up of a sexual relationship may experience difficulty trusting in future relationships. Again in many instances couples who engage themselves in pre-marital sex often struggle with trust after the relationship has progressed into marriage. I met a Christian brother who told me how he and the wife had been battling with trust for ten years in their marriage. All because according to him, prior to his conversion, he had many girl friends and the wife he was married to, was one of the girl friends. How sad! Do we have to go through all these? Pre-marital sex often lays a foundation of distrust and lack of respect in marriage.

Implications on our Spirituality:

Sexual sin, like any other sin cuts us off from God, and this is the most serious consequence of premarital sex. As we seek to gratify the desires of the flesh, we grow spiritually weak and our relationship with God gradually gets destroyed. Our testimony is interfered with and we lose our confidence.

After one engaging in pre-marital sex, he or she is clouded with guilt that weighs him or her down.  What this means is that our bodies, our hearts, our souls and eventually our relationships are not made for premarital sex. We are made for enduring love; and such love is devoid of sin as its foundation.

Continue reading: Pre-Marital Sex – Not a Big Deal? Pt.4

By: Rev. Benedict Eghan

PRE-MARITAL SEX – NOT A BIG DEAL? Pt. 2

 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor 6:18-20 NIV)

Sex is a good thing because it was created by God, but as we discussed in the part one of this series, it is only ideal within the confines of marriage. God did create sex to be beautiful and enjoyable expression of love, but only between a man and a wife (Genesis 2:24; Proverbs. 5:18-19, 1 Corinthians 7:2&3).

In his book Money, Sex and Power, Richard Foster spelt out that sexual intercourse involves something far more than just the physical, more than even the emotions and psyche. It touches deep into the spirit of each person and produces a profound union that the bible calls it one flesh. To this effect, sexual intercourse is a life-uniting act. Genital sex outside marriage is wrong because unmarried people thereby engage in a life-uniting act without a life-uniting intent.  Intercourse signs and seals a life-union; and life union means marriage.

As a continuation to my first article on pre-marital sex, I would be addressing two other implications that come with pre-marital sex or sex outside the confines of marriage.

Implications on self worth:

Consider how premarital sex can affect people’s self worth in a statement put up by one high school girl:  

“I am sixteen and have already lost my virginity. I truly regret that my first time was with a guy that I didn’t care that much about. Since that first night he expects sex on every date. When I don’t feel like it, we end up in an argument. I don’t think this guy is in love with me, and I know deep down that I am not in love with him either. This makes me feel cheap. I realize now that this is a very big step in a girl’s life. After you have done it, things are never the same. It changes everything.”¹

Another young person said,  

“I slept with many, many people trying to find love, to find self-worth. And the more people I slept with, the less self-worth I had.”²

Engaging in pre-marital sex with a number of guys gives a young promising lady a new label – “easy catch”, “loose girl”, “sure bet” etc. Ironically, such labels are given by the same guys who take advantage of these young ladies. They are thus in such circumstances denied of the dignity that they are entitled to. Sadly, I have personally met beautiful young ladies who have boldly confessed to me that, “they were not worth any man”; simply because they felt overly used by different men. Unfortunately, this is the sad situation of many young girls.

Sometimes the loss of self-esteem after uncommitted sex can also  lead a person into further casual sex, leading to further loss of self-esteem in an oppressive cycle from which it may be hard to break free.

Emotional Implications:

Sexual intimacy has potentially powerful emotional consequences. These emotional side effects of premarital sex are also very damaging. Staying away from pre-marital sex renders one to be emotionally healthier. This has got to do with baggage or what I call emotional filth that come with past sexual expereinces. We can easily carry this filth into our marriage which may include  memories from the past, emotional scars and unwanted mental images which  can go to the extent of defiling our thoughts and making the  marriage bed less pure. Certainly, God can forgive the past, but that doesn’t mean we are free from the baggage that can linger in our minds.

It is also a well established fact, that one of the most common consequences of pre-marital sex is depression. Sex outside of marriage almost always ends with a broken heart. It is of a truth, that once one experiences a “broken heart”, his or her outlook on life and love changes. Many instead of love are filled with bitterness because of past sexual experiences.  The bible tells us to, “guard our hearts with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) When we fail to guard our hearts we open ourselves to be deeply wounded by those who are only interested in their own sexual pleasure.  

Unfortunately, many young women search for meaning only in relationships with guys, instead of with God. It is not uncommon for a girl to have sex in order to make a guy like her more or to encourage him to stay with her. She may compromise her standards because she is afraid of never being loved. Once he leaves her, though, an emotional divorce takes place. A person’s heart is not made to be that close to a person and then separated. 

It always pays to wait.

By: Rev. Benedict Eghan

References:

¹Thomas Lickona, “Sex, Love, and Character: It’s Our Decision” (address given to assembly of students at Seton Catholic High School, Binghamton, N.Y., January 8, 1999), 10.

²All About Cohabiting Before Marriage, “Myths About Cohabitation,”  http://www.leaderu.com/critical/cohabitation-myths.html.

³A. B. Moscicki, et al., “Differences in Biologic Maturation, Sexual Behavior, and Sexually Transmitted Disease Between Adolescents with and without Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia,” Journal of Pediatrics 115:3 (September 1989), 487–493; M. L. Shew, et al.

Continue Reading - Pre-Marital Sex –Not A Big Deal? Pt. 3