I bought the One Year Chronological Bible (NLT) a week or two after the new year and the Moses just led the Israelites out of Egypt. I have a few thoughts on what I've read so far.
In more ways than one, Genesis is like the shows on TV. (Clearly, I'm making and stretching an analogy here, please bear with me.) The first twelve chapters are obviously something out of sci-fi or other over-the-top genre; the rest are like a soap or reality show: a tangled mess of relationships and humans doing human things. There were many times where I had to stop and ask myself, "Did that really just happen?" On stories I've read and known about for ages, none-the-less!
Job was... confusing. After reading it, I'm not entirely sure if it is perfectly historical. (In the same sense that we have "Based on a True Story" stories today.) I am also confused about how the characters acted. Until God rebuts Job, I got the feeling that Job was being... I'm not sure how to express it. Not modest and highly presumptuous, perhaps? His friends were definitely preaching the prosperity gospel, but I have read some commentary stating material goods was part of the old covenant—not sure about that, though.
I've heard it commonly said that Job is a good book to read to understand loss and sorrow. While the question of suffering is clearly prominent, God's response doesn't seem to even touch the question. Job challenges God about justice, God responds with, "Why are you questioning me? I'm God." There is clearly other issues at play here. I'm reminded of how Jesus mentioned people dying in a tower that fell (Luke 13:1-5). He didn't address the issue of why they died or why there was suffering, simply, "Repent!".
Also, I don't know how much better of a description of a classic, fire-breathing, reptilian, monster-sized, DRAGON we could ask for from Bible. The leviathan fits each of those categories and more! The only issue I saw was that the leviathan is stated to be a sea creature, not a land creature.
If God can't stand evil in his presence, how does the Accuser enter his court?
Reading through the plagues of Egypt, I'm wondering God means when he says he has "hardened the heart of Pharaoh." I know it's an old question, and one that many people have asked before (and continue to do so); yet, I have yet to find an answer for it (admittedly, I haven't done much research).
