Read the whole Bible in one year

Week 16, April 23, 2011:  “Wives and Widows”

This week's Reading:  April 16 to April 22

Old Testament:  Joshua 13:1 - 24:1-33
New Testament:  Luke 18:1 - 21:1-28
Psalms:  Psalm 85:1 - 89:52
Proverbs:  Proverbs 13:7 - 13:23

Next week's Reading:  April 23 to 29

Old Testament:  Judges 1:1 - 10:18
New Testament:  Luke 21:29 - 24:53
Psalms:  Psalm 90:1 - 100:5
Proverbs:  Proverbs 13:24 - 14:12

Old Testament

God warned the Israelites to not intermarry with the foreigners in the lands they conquered.  What was the purpose of this rule?  Does the rule have anything to do with who Christians should marry?

Joshua 23:11-13 (NIV) – [11] So be very careful to love the LORD your God.  [12] “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, [13] then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.


New Testament

Jesus praised the widow who gave a small amount.  So why do we usually only praise people who give large amounts?

Luke 21:1-4 (The Message).  Just then [Jesus] looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, "The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all!"