It's almost embarrassing...

It's almost embarrassing to pick up a blog after not having posted anything for months and months.  But I'm going for it.

As I stated in my last post, way back in December, I got sucked into a vortex during my research for Map the Bible.  As I read back over that post, I thought of Acts 26:24, "You are beside yourself!  Much learning is driving you mad!"  So, I'll lighten things up a bit.

In the spring, I took a Bible Atlas class through Louisiana Baptist University, as well as a training class to use my new, amazing Bible software, Logos.  (I also took American History, but that was a waste of unaccredited time; don't get me started.)  So, I've taken the summer off to completely reorganize Map the Bible, and I have made some measurable progress on the actual writing.  But I've come to the conclusion that a series isn't necessary.  It's just going to be a one-year Bible History and Geography curriculum for upper middle to high school, and I get to use it right away in our new coop, starting in September!  I plan to continue publishing bits and pieces of it on the Map the Bible blog, but I've had to revise the intro a bit, so I'm going to delete the previous posts and start from scratch...with a new mappy layout, even.

I have applied for a year-long online GIS (Geographical Information Systems) program to become a certified, glorified digital map maker.  It begins in January and then, Lord willing, I will publish the (tested!) curriculum with all my own super techie maps.

So, that's the PLAN...which I think must be an acronym for Pursue Life Amending as Necessary.

See you in the new first episode of Map the Bible!  Check it out here!

The Greatest Thing Since Alexander: The Septuagint

Many months have passed since I last posted anything about Map the Bible. My procrastination has stemmed partly from the exploration of other subjects, but mostly from the unbelievable complexity of textual criticism, and the need to humbly acknowledge my ineptitude with the historical data. Further, it is safe to say that the foundations of my faith have been shaken and tested during my silence, and I cannot find adequate words to communicate the frustration I have experienced while trying to communicate my findings. Just know that many obstacles, including multiple accidental deletions and re-writings, have been part of the process. (Dramatic pause to save this document.)  My apologies for the weird formatting, but if I try to fix it, something is bound to go awry, and it will be another month before I publish this.

I am now making my way back to lay the groundwork for Map the Bible, but not with ease, as I must first dust the cobwebs off of the points I had hoped to make (one of which deals with how we got our Bible, hence this exploration).  Reacquainting myself with my sources feels a little like reinventing the bicycle: not all the way back to the wheel, but a definite departure from progress. And yet, the insight gained along the way has proven invaluable, and may lead to other future endeavors.

In my last post, Essential Rabbit Trails, I dropped the bomb that the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament, abbreviated LXX) "provides a complete, accurate rendering of the Hebrew scriptures."  I would like to apologize for making such a sweeping statement; it was a gross oversimplification.  To clarify, its oldest extant form is comprised of mere fragments.  Papyrus Rylands 458 is dated to the mid-second-century, B.C., and probably contains about a paragraph's worth of material. The oldest, nearly complete manuscripts, dated from the fourth century, A.D., are the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Alexandrinus.  Codex Sinaiticus, dated to the 3rd century, A.D., contains only about half of the Old Testament, and none of them completely agree, but all of them, together, provide a pretty solid view of the text, and they still predate the Masoretic Text by 500-600 years.  So I would like to amend my previous error, saying instead, "The Septuagint is our oldest, nearly complete rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures (and apocryphal books), and provides insight into the original message of the Old Testament."  I fully intend to weigh my words more carefully, in the future.

But wait.  There's more.

While these facts might seem to render the Septuagint of questionable value, critical, scholarly compilations comparing the most reliable texts have been assembled over the centuries and translated into various languages.  Most notably, the German Gottingen Septuagint is probably the most thorough published attempt to restore the Septuagint to its original intent.  The New English Translation of the Septuagint may be its best English counterpart.  I have an interlinear version, called the Apostolic Bible Polyglot, which shows the Greek and the English together, and utilizes a modified AB-Strong's numbering system.  This makes it easy to study each word meaning, and to move back and forth between the Old and New Testaments.  It is one of my favorite study Bibles.  There are a few other notable English translations, such as Brenton's Septuagint, with an Elizabethan flair, and others preferred by the Greek Orthodox Church, such as the newly released Orthodox Study Bible.  On the very sharpest edge of the issue (as opposed to the well-chiseled view that God spoke Elizabethan English), there is an ever-changing online version, called the 2001 Translation, which is subject to constant revision, as further clarity is gained through the ongoing research of contributing editors.  But I digress.

Why would I want to read the Septuagint, anyway?  According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "its chief value lies in the fact that it is a version of a Hebrew text [translated into Greek] earlier by about a millennium than the earliest dated Hebrew manuscript [the Masoretic Text] extant (916 A.D.)...[Additionally,] it was the Bible of most writers of the New Testament. Not only are the majority of their express citations from Scripture borrowed from it, but their writings contain numerous reminiscences of its language." (See International Standard Bible Encyclopedia link above) It is partly because of the Septuagint's association with the apostolic church that the Jews rejected it, replacing overtly Messianic themes with wording that could be described as more Israel-centric.  I initially discovered a change in the Masoretic Text, rather by accident, when a certain phrase in Deuteronomy 32:8 jumped out at me one night, as I was listening to the ESV Bible on my YouVersion app.

Notice the following differences:

ESV:  "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God."

KJV:  "When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel."

I happened to notice the phrase, "sons of God," because I had recently studied this phrase in another context, and didn't remember it being in this particular passage.  I found myself inspired to compile a list of this particular verse in over 30 different English translations, to see which Bibles rendered this verse along the lines of the "children of Israel," and which ones favored the "sons of God" interpretation (some of which just say "angels").  I checked each one against the Septuagint and Masoretic texts, and each translation falls neatly under one source text or the other, for this particular verse.  The Masoretic text uses the phrase, "children of Israel."  Not incidentally, nowhere in the Old Testament does God refer to Israel as the "sons of God," so this is a rather presumptuous interpretation, in my opinion.

Throughout the Old Testament, the phrase, "sons of God" is used to refer to angels, which are direct creations of God, as in Job 38:4-7 and elsewhere.  In the New Testament, it refers to Jesus and to those who have faith in Him, who are also the direct creations of God, having been born of the Spirit.  Let the implications fall where they will.  Sons of God.  Old Testament?  Angels.  New Testament?  Jesus and His followers.  Not the nation of Israel.  Why, Masoretes?  Why?

I am indebted to scholar, author and translator, Dr. William Welty, who graciously allowed me an interview during a conference in Idaho this past October, for his recommendation of Prof. Peter Flint as a resource.  Welty himself provided some insightful commentary on the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, as well, but the subject matter we discussed doesn't fit very neatly into this present discussion.  However, I rejoiced to discover a lecture by Flint, an expert on the Dead Sea scrolls (which also render Deut. 32:8 as "the sons of God"), and a respected contributor (with Welty) to the forthcoming International Standard Version (ISV) Bible (accessible free online, here), which incorporates the scriptural passages found in the Dead Sea scrolls into its text.  (If you don't know about the incredible discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, you can watch a short video about them here; they are the object of my next obsession.) Flint provides specific examples of how the authorized Hebrew text was changed in ways indicative of an anti-Christian agenda.  I have included one such example, here, where he speaks of Psalm 22, as it appears in the King James Version.  I have transcribed his words almost verbatim, so that you can catch his enthusiasm.

This is a very famous psalm: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," quoted by Jesus on the cross.  If you go to verse 16, it says this: "Dogs have surrounded me, a pack of evil ones close in on me.  They have pierced my hands and feet."  Now, for Christians or Messianic Jews, this is clear.  This is a Messianic psalm; this refers to crucifixion or dying by being pierced, right?  No contest.  However, if you went to the Hebrew Bible, used by Christians and Jews today, you'd be rather shocked to discover it doesn't say that.  If you go to the Hebrew Bible, the Masoretic Text used by Jews and Christians, this is what it says: "Dogs surrounded me, a pack of evil ones closes in on me; like a lion are my hands and feet."  If you asked a rabbi about this, he would say that Christians changed the word of God to make it Messianic.  Now, my friends, we believe in a God of truth.  If it says, "like a lion," how dare they put "they have pierced my hands and feet?"  So, this is a very serious issue.  Does it say "like a lion" or "they have pierced?"  Why does the King James even do that?  Well, the answer is that they (the King James translators) were using the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation (for this particular verse).  However, let's have a look at the Hebrew.  Is there a Hebrew (Dead Sea) scroll?  What does the earliest Hebrew say?  There is only one scroll that preserves this verse.  It's called the Nahal Hever Psalms scroll...I have worked with this scroll...Sometimes the scrolls are fragmentary and sometimes the missing part is not there.  In this case, it was there.  Hallelujah, it was there!  The missing part was there.  And there it is, in glorious black and white; I've transcribed it for you, but you can see it very clearly... "They have pierced my hands and my feet."  I have just shared with you dynamite.  I have just shared with you what scholars and others have said was a deliberate change by people trying to put Jesus in the text.  I've just shown you:  No, it was in the original text, in the Hebrew, in the Psalms scrolls. *

Again, we see that the Masoretic Text was changed!  As I've already stated, the Septuagint has its share of issues, but in terms of my intellectual and emotional response, I am less annoyed that I can't take the Septuagint at face value than I am that the Hebrew text was deliberately manipulated.  Even so, this discovery has not reduced my faith in scripture, nor should it do so to yours.  If we are now learning to study it more deeply to see how the Old and New Testaments agree, then perhaps we are entering the age spoken of in Daniel 12:4 (ESV) when "knowledge shall increase.”  I want to reiterate that the accuracy of the Old Testament doesn't affect the message of the New Testament Gospel.  I fully trust that God has preserved His word as best fits the needs of His people during the times in which they live.  May we rise to the challenge to "Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who has nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of truth with precision." (2 Tim. 2:15, ISV)

The "reflections" that I share here in the "Map the Bible Research" blog are of a more personal nature than I plan to make the text of Map the Bible.  I created this separate venue to chronicle my personal journey through the research and writing process. My next post (on the "Map the Bible" blog) will be an addition to the text of "Where in the World Was the Garden of Eden?", discussing how we got our Bible, and will provide the historical background and other evidences for the reliability of the scriptures.  Although the history of the Septuagint and the Masoretic texts play a significant part in that section, I only plan to provide a brief summary, which will be appropriate for students from a middle school level.  If I get bogged down in the research again, I may have to post here to vent before I can get back to the text.  Your patience and encouragement are always appreciated!

   *  *Flint, Peter. "2013 SP Conference Workshop 6: The Authenticity of the Scriptures." Koinonia Institute. Koinonia Institute, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Links from previous post (as promised):

James Strong, author of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Strong_(theologian)

King James, the KJV Bible and the Geneva Bible

http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/king-james.html

http://greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/index.html (Concise wealth of info on history of English bibles - excellent read)

http://www.bible.ca/b-kjv-only.htm

http://www.bible-researcher.com/kjvhist.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_England

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version

http://www.reformedreader.org/gbn/igb.htm

The Council of Jamnia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Jamnia

http://www.bible.ca/b-canon-council-of-jamnia.htm

http://www.ibri.org/RRs/RR013/13jamnia.html

Dead Sea Scrolls

http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=16&sub=102&cat_name=Ancient+Documents&subcat_name=Dead+Sea+Scrolls

Septuagint and Masoretic Text

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_text

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/jps1917.htm

http://www.kitrust.org/pay-per-view/vod-package/how-we-got-our-bible

http://biblehub.com/interlinear/apostolic/genesis/1.htm

Essential Rabbit Trails

It's been way too long since I posted an addition to Map the Bible.  However, rather than allow you to assume that I have given up on my little project or fallen entirely off the planet, I thought I should share why I haven't been making much visible progress.

KJV-only advocates, pretty please suspend your objections until you read all the way to the end.

As I explained in an earlier post, the inspiration for this work came during a fast last fall. Certain passages of scripture jumped out at me regarding the location of the Garden of Eden, but I didn't just want to throw it out there in a spoon.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to encourage others to really dig into their Bibles and find out for themselves where Eden was, by following the same clues I did.  But there has been so much background research to wade through, it's taking a lot longer than I thought it would just to lay the groundwork, and the extensive network of rabbit trails has brought me to a significant discovery, which has some rather far-reaching implications.

I wanted to encourage students to be able to use a Strong's Concordance to look up words in the scripture so they could see how those words were used in the source languages (Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek in the New Testament). For example, in Gen. 2:11, it says that the Pishon River went around the land of Havilah, so we should look up the word Havilah to see who or what it is, and where else it appears in scripture, to discover more clues about its location.  But before students can look something up in the Strong's Concordance, they need to know what it is.

So...I was doing a little background on the theologian, James Strong, who used the King James version of the Bible to catalog all the Hebrew and Greek words from which the English is derived, and this exercise led me to dig into the history of the King James Bible, which brought me to some very startling discoveries.  I will try to encapsulate them here by saying that King James was a narcissistic snake who apparently had some rather nasty motives for allowing the Bible to be printed and distributed. ("Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will...whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." [Phil. 1:15,18, ESV])  His authorized version was essentially the Geneva Bible, stripped of its insightful and (he thought) inciting margin notes which emphasized the sovereignty of God (to Whom the king himself was subject), and which were not at all favorable to the idea of the king being the head of the church, as King James took it upon himself to be.

So...I began to research the source documents for the King James Bible and its Geneva predecessor, and discovered that despite claims to the contrary, they relied quite heavily on the Masoretic text.  So, what is that?

Well, to oversimplify it, once upon a time, the Jews had a temple, but it was destroyed in 70 A.D., as were many of their documents, including their scriptures, which some speculate were recodified during the Council of Jamnia around 85 A.D. However, the earliest extant text of the Hebrew scriptures (prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls) dates from about 900 A.D.  The Masoretic Jews set about compiling, from many varied manuscripts, an authorized version of the Old Testament, which was completed sometime during the 9th century, A.D. Were it not for the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we would still be wondering if they got it right.  Turns out, they did a great job with what they had to work with but the truth is, their source texts varied significantly from the Septuagint (and from each other).  So, where are we going with all of this?

The word "Septuagint" is a Greek word meaning "seventy," and refers to the 70 or so (some say 72) Jewish scholars commissioned by the Greek king of Egypt, Ptolemy II, to translate the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) into Koine Greek, the common language of that time, about 285 B.C.  Since Greek is such a precise language, this mandate crystallized the scriptures into very clearly defined concepts, in contrast to the more flexible and poetic Hebrew. It is the Septuagint that the New Testament writers quoted from (This alone might be enough to authenticate it.). It is the oldest complete, extant version of the Old Testament.

There is no Hebrew equivalent!  The Masoretic text has literally THOUSANDS of changes, and as mentioned previously, it was compiled just over 1000 years ago.  English translators have only begun to recognize the value of the Septuagint within the last century, so older versions (the KJV) and those derived from them (such as the NKJV) don't lean very heavily on the Septuagint when there are translation differences. You may see it mentioned in footnotes occasionally, if one translation was chosen over another, but as I'm discovering, digging into the original language DOES NOT mean looking up the Hebrew!  Only the Greek Old Testament provides a complete, accurate rendering of the Hebrew scriptures.  Counterintuitive, I know.  And the implications are monumental!  Stay tuned to find out why, and what we can do about it.  And then maybe I'll get back to Map the Bible.  And I'll provide all the links so you can check up on me.

One more thing: I just want to clarify that if you've been relying on the KJV or any other version of the Bible that doesn't line up with the Septuagint, that DOES NOT mean you got the wrong Gospel message.  This information does not affect the integrity of the New Testament!  So please don't think I threw the baby out with the bath water!  Check back to find out more about the amazing way God is working to preserve His Word!

Shalom in Christos!

What is our treasure in heaven?

Having recently submitted the post on Map the Bible about how the Kingdom of heaven is compared in scripture to great treasure (Click here to read it), I wanted to take that idea a little further, here.

The word treasure, in the worldly sense, conjures images of pirates and sunken ships. I think of things that have been stolen and hidden. Who knows how many heinous crimes have been committed in the name of Wealth? Money is power. Gold and diamonds have an alluring beauty. Many have killed or died for want of a beautiful jewel...but I think our appreciation for jewelry originates from somewhere even deeper than selfish gain.

Biblically, treasure is not usually a reference to ill-gotten gain, but to something of great value. Without condoning materialism, God must at least empathize with the value we place on precious metals and jewels, because He uses them throughout scripture as a basis for comparison, to illustrate and define what is important to Him. So, what does Jesus really mean when He says, "You will have treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:21, ESV)?

According to Revelation chapter 21, the city we'll live in--the place we call heaven--the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God--is a gigantic piece of jewelry spanning a square that would reach from Florida to Michigan, and from Kansas to the Atlantic Ocean. Add nearly 1400 miles straight up, to form a perfect cube. Gold, precious stones and pearls for miles and miles and miles. Unfathomable riches. Take a moment to read the passage for yourself. You can use this handy link, if you'd like.  (Handy link)

Can you even begin to imagine such an elaborately designed city wall? I know, I know. How un-spiritual of me. What heaven is made of isn't what it's really all about. Shouldn't we content ourselves with the hope of an ethereal state of ultimate peace and joy? Isn't that all heaven really is? I mean, we're just going to be spirit beings there, right? Like ghosts or something?

I don't think so. For one thing, we'll be there after we're resurrected bodily (based on Rev. 20:4-5,11-13). I don't want to belabor this point, but if God made the universe out of nothing, and formed Adam from the dust of the ground, I'm sure He'll have no trouble reassembling our bodies. What Revelation 21 tells me is that heaven is a real place where the purest gold will be so abundant and of so little consequence, we'll be thoughtlessly walking all over it. Jesus will be the main attraction in heaven, undoubtedly the only reason we're even there, and I do not mean to diminish that. But I'd like us to consider for a moment the fact that God created us; He wired us to appreciate beauty, and even to respond to it physiologically. Could our temporal fascination with shiny rocks be based on a knowledge we have, on some higher level, of the spectacular light of God we'll see shining through the jewels of heaven? Could this be the treasure in heaven Jesus wants us to strive for? Or could there be even more inside the city walls: rewards for our faithfulness furnishing the dwellings which Jesus is preparing for us, a la John 14:2 ("In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." -NKJV)?

I think it's fitting to share part of a dream I had about a year ago. I entered a huge house, looking for some item I can't remember now, maybe it was just a short-cut. (I'm inclined to look for the easy way out- Can we call it an appreciation for efficiency?) Anyway, as I wandered through the halls, I saw rooms that were unbelievably ornate, but they were closed off by glass, as though showcased in a museum. One room in particular was furnished with plum colored velvet (I love this color) and elaborately carved, rich, warm wood, and I was impressed with the beauty of it, but I sensed that even though it seemed to be made for me, it was being withheld from me by the glass. As I made my way through the house, passing a rather garish chandelier, I began to sense that I had entered this place through the back door, and so now I was looking for the front door; and I expected it to be at least as magnificent as the furniture I had just seen. Instead, it was a brushed steel, industrial-style swinging kitchen door. While there was more to the dream, I awoke with the unmistakable feeling that I had just had a glimpse of treasure in heaven that wouldn't be mine because of a very bad decision I had made, and that it was going to take an attitude of servant-hood to get me where I want to go - hence, the kitchen door.

Our entrance into heaven is based solely on the completed work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It is our relationship with Christ that determines where we spend eternity. But it is our works that determine our rewards when we get there. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (ESV) says:

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

This is both comforting and terrifying. I have full assurance of my salvation, and I praise the Lord for His great mercy to me, but how much of my life is going to go up in flames? Only the gold, silver and precious stones will remain. Only what I have invested in God's kingdom will be there for me when I get there. What will I have to show for my time here? How much treasure will I have in heaven? And will I have to wash dishes when I get there?

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is my treasure? Is my heart in the right place?

The Fruit of Fasting: Broken Yokes and The Conception of Map the Bible

That's yokes, not yolks.  And conception?  No pun intended.

After my ten-day Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur fast, I took a week or so just to decompress, but I knew I had more work to do.  A call to some form of ministry has nagged my husband and me for years, but there are some obstacles in the way.  I felt I needed to dig in deeper and to broaden the scope of my prayer focus, so a 21-day Daniel fast seemed ideal.

I should probably take this opportunity to express that I don't believe prayer is a way to twist God's arm.  Nor do I believe that fasting is a magic potion that makes God answer prayer.  Prayer is simply communion with God, and although bringing our petitions to Him is certainly part of that, the goal is to strengthen our relationship with Him, to "acknowledge Him in all our ways." (Prov. 3:6)  We shouldn't be the ones doing all the talking, though; we need to listen, too.  Hearing God requires knowing His word, through which His Spirit sometimes whispers (sometimes yells) the truth He wants us to apply.  Sometimes that happens while we're studying the Bible, and a verse just jumps out and grabs us in a way we've never experienced before; sometimes our hearts are pierced with conviction by the very thing we didn't want to hear from a loved one.

When my prayer life has suffered due to busy-ness and distractions, God seems to think 4 am is a good time to talk.  Not audibly. Just by nudging my conscience in a particular direction.  Usually rather uncomfortably.  So... fasting.

Fasting is not us manipulating God; it's a reminder to US that we need to seek God more earnestly.  Every unfulfilled craving serves as a cue to acknowledge Him more readily during the hours we're normally awake, though that doesn't necessarily quell the 4 am chats.  It is a tool with which we have been equipped: a magnifying glass, which enables us to see Him and His will for us more clearly, and to focus His light on a particular problem with powerful results (You're picturing fried ants, aren't you?).  It is a tool which often lies on the mantle, collecting dust.  To many Christians of our day, fasting is a completely foreign concept.  That was me just two years ago.  It seems very few churches ever even mention it, much less advocate its use.  True, it is nowhere required of Gentiles in the Bible, but countless examples of its benefits are given throughout scripture.  There are many excellent resources on fasting, so I won't belabor the particulars, but as I mentioned in my previous post, the book of Daniel lays a foundational example of a partial fast in chapters 1 and 10.  I used the books: Fasting, by Jentezen Franklin (Charisma House), as preliminary inspiration, and The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast, by Kristen Feola (Zondervan) as my daily guide, devotional, and cookbook.  Both are filled with practical examples and testimonies, and really helped to get me started and to keep me going.

On the first few days of the fast, I tried to make a concession for my coffee.  I like a little coffee with my cream and sugar, so the prospect of drinking it black was worse than going without, but I was very reluctant to part with the caffeine, so I allowed myself one cup each morning with agave nectar and coconut milk.  On day 3, my conscience still wasn't appeased, so I let go of the coffee altogether...and the sweetener.  On the last day of the fast, I broke the fast early to celebrate my dad's birthday with some cake.  However, I felt a nagging sense that there was still an unswept corner to address, so I decided to take the weekend off and then fast for five more days (which made up for the days I "cheated").

Isaiah 58 is the recipe for a fast that God honors. Verse 6 says, "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?" Fasting breaks spiritual bondage.

At the end of those last five days, my prayer burden subsided, and my husband later announced to me that he had quit using tobacco.  He hasn't used it since.  I  just have to praise God for that, because it was one of those glaring obstacles between us and effective ministry.

My course of Bible study for the fast and afterward was to read methodically, a chapter or more a day, beginning with Genesis.  As I was reading through Genesis chapter 2, about the rivers in Eden, I pulled out a map of Iraq that I had photocopied and scribbled on several years ago.  My note had indicated that Eden was probably near modern-day Baghdad, because that's about where the Tigris (in some versions referred to as the Hiddekel) and Euphrates rivers were closest together, and both of those rivers are cited as running through Eden.  I read the passage about the rivers out loud to my children, "Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads." (Gen. 2:10, NKJV)  Now, I don't know how many times I've read that verse, but it wasn't new to me.  Yet, as I looked again, I realized my map was wrong; the Tigris and Euphrates should BEGIN in Eden, not just run through it.  Thus began the journey to find the true location of Eden...with all the rabbit trails you could ever want, including the search for the other two rivers.

Throughout the fast, I prayed for God to show me what to do with the discoveries I made as I continued to search the scriptures.  I thought just jotting down the passages I found wouldn't really make for a very exciting read, and I lack a stack of degrees behind my name to render my opinion of much value to the general population, Christian or otherwise.  However, as a veteran homeschool mom with a desire to impart study skills, rather than just head knowledge, I felt confident that, with God's direction, I could put together a treasure hunt that would serve as a curriculum for studying the Bible in its geographical and historical context, and the students would discover the location for themselves.  Voila!  Map the Bible was conceived!  Oh, but birth is still a long way off.

So many rabbit trails, so little time.

Mapping the Journey - The Fast

As I look back to the beginning of this journey into the writing of "Map the Bible," I feel compelled to share the learning process, which has already led to greater discoveries than I intended to communicate in the curriculum, mainly because of the very controversial nature of much of the subject matter.  I am providing background for the sake of context and in hopes of remaining transparent about what won't be covered in the Map the Bible series...and why.  Consider this a look behind the scenes...and into my heart.

This journey began in early September of this year (2013) with a "Daniel Fast," a diet restriction based on chapters 1 and 10 in the book of Daniel, with the purpose of seeking God and His direction more wholeheartedly than would be otherwise possible.  I was not aware at the time that I would be writing a book; I just wanted to get my heart right toward God.  He had been showing me some things I needed to address that were affecting my ability to mature in my walk with Him, and I was losing sleep over them.  I felt compelled to begin a tempered fast (I didn't feel ready to stop eating altogether), and chose a date to begin.  This choice was unrelated to my later acknowledgment that Rosh Hashanah was upon us, the Jewish New Year, a call to repentance and a new beginning.

I am not Jewish, but I see the need to try to understand the Bible in its historical context.  Years ago, I attended a Messianic synagogue for a few months in an effort to reach a Jewish friend with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  (It is difficult enough to convince a Jew that Jesus is the Messiah; harder still when he doesn't believe that even the Hebrew scripture, the Old Testament, is inspired by God. Faith truly is a work of the Spirit.)  Since that time, I've learned a modicum about the Biblical feasts, and have fumbled through a couple of attempts to celebrate Passover with my family in an effort to appreciate the profound spiritual symbolism the feast conveys. As Gentile Christians, it feels like a stretch for us to borrow Jewish culture, and yet, I have felt many tugs at my heart to observe the other biblical feasts, as well.  So, when I realized that the day I had chosen to begin my fast coincided with Rosh Hashanah, I couldn't dismiss it as coincidence.  As I began to read about how it is traditionally observed, I discovered that there are ten "Days of Awe" between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and that these days are a time of introspection and spiritual preparation in anticipation of that most holy day on the Jewish calendar.  It seemed obvious to me, then, that my tempered fast should take place over these ten days, leading to a full fast on the Day of Atonement, as the biblical mandate requires.

I want to clarify that I did not have the impression that observing these feasts would make me more holy, or win me favor with God.  I was not attempting to overthrow Grace by observing the Law; I simply felt that this was God's perfect timing for me to focus more wholly on Him, and I could not ignore the urge to dig more deeply into the significance of the holiday, so I attended a Kol Nidre ("Annulment of Vows") service at a Messianic synagogue, in which the total fast begins and broken promises are forgiven.

I had never before gone an entire day without food or water.  I had assumed I would be miserable on the (night and) Day of Atonement, but it seemed to be the perfect culmination of the previous days' efforts, and I experienced a grace I hadn't known before, drawing me closer to Jesus, who endured much greater suffering to atone for my sin.  At sundown, after 24 hours of fasting, I attended a Neilah ("Closing of the Gate") service, which includes a final appeal to God to write our names in the Book of Life, an acknowledgement that He is the one true God, the blowing of the Shofar, and a joyous cry, "Next year in Jerusalem!" At this point, tears came to my eyes, and a longing to be in Israel swept over me.  This was completely unexpected.  After all the introspection and inner wrestling, it surprised me that this, of all things, moved my heart to tears.  I continue to embrace the idea that I might actually go to Israel next year, should the Lord allow.

At last, the fast was broken with a delicious meal of fellowship, and I rejoiced to quench my thirst.  One of my young sons had attended the services with me, but he had not fasted with me and did not fully understand the significance of the occasion.  Nor did I feel equipped to properly communicate my sentiments to my family about this supernatural fresh start.  Truly, our relationship with God is deeply personal, but that should not prevent us from trying to share it with others.

As I write this in a quiet moment on our secular New Year's Eve, I rejoice in another new beginning.  In fact, each day, each moment, we are afforded the opportunity to honor God with our lives, as long as He grants us breath.  But we never know when that last breath will be, so it isn't wise to delay.   "For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." -2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV).

May this New Year be a fresh start for you, and may the Holy Spirit guide you into a closer relationship with Jesus, and a fulfilling life of service to God. Shana tova! (Have a good year!)

~Jenni