Jim Wyatt’s Topics for July 5 and July 12
Sunday, July 5
Catastrophe????? or God’s Call!
Have you ever wondered what happened to the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?” Or, the other Biblical neighbors of the Jews – the Canaanites, Moabites, Ammorites, Jebusites, et al?
Why did those religious and ethnic groups completely disappear from history while the Jews of Judah continued to exist in spite of many defeats in wars, exile to a foreign land – Babylonia – for about 70 years and , finally, being forcibly expelled from their land by the Romans who also destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, the center of their worship? After all these catastrophes, how did they, alone, manage to maintain such a vigorous religious and ethnic identity through the next 2,000 years of persecutions, pogroms and the Nazi “Final Solution” that they were able to finally regain the land of Israel and are a force in the area today?
We will look at how these Old Testament catastrophes defined and shaped Jews and Judaism – forever! We will also consider how these events and their lessons learned helped to define and shape Christianity.
- The Fall of the United Monarchy at the death of King Solomon. (Readings: 1 Kings 11:26 – 36 & 40; and 1Kings 12:1 -17)
- The Fall of Israel (the northern kingdom) to the Assyrians and that exile (Readings: II Kings 17: 1 – 6)
- The Fall of Judah to the Babylonians and that exile (Readings: II Kings 24:10 – 19)
- The two rebellions against the Romans (1st century A.D. – 60s – 70s and 2nd century – 130s), the destruction of the temple and total exile from Israel.
Sunday, July 12
THE BIBLE – a Modest Proposal on HOW to READ and HEAR the messages of the Bible. We will consider what may be some new thoughts for you about the presentation of biblical passages/documents for both private and public devotions. (Readings: Amos 5:21 – 24; Micah 6:6-8; Hosea 6:6; Psalm 23 – one of the most meaningful passages in the Old Testament - read all of it; Psalm 137: 1 -6; and Matthew 5:1 – 12)
REMEMBER: You are not limited to the passages of scripture listed – you may wish to read more to get a broader perspective – feel free to read as much as you can!