Cover to Cover Challenge 2017 (Day 1)

Last night we began the 2017 cover to cover challenge.  After dinner, our family gathered in the living room with our Bibles.  Everyone, Benny age 3, Anna age 5, Mary age 7, and Stephen age 7, David age 13, Zach age 9, Joshua age 11, Jeremiah age 13, and Rebekah age 16, Brenden age 17, Lydia age 18, and Tyler Ann age 20, along with Jer and I.  We took out our Bibles and opened them to Genesis chapter 1.

Starting right at 7 pm, we took turns reading out loud, as everyone else followed along in their Bible.  We finished at 7:28 pm.  We read all of chapters 1-8 of Genesis.  Everyone did a great job of sitting and listening.  A few people got a little sleepy after about 20 minutes of reading.  So they stood up and moved around a little to refocus.  After we finished reading we discussed for about ten minutes some thoughts and observations.

One question that Stephen (age 7) had was why didn’t Adam and Eve die immediately after eating the forbidden fruit.  He pointed out that in the version of the Bible we were reading from (NASB), it said in Genesis chapter two verse seventeen that “in that day” you will surely die.  This was an excellent question and we took a couple minutes and looked into it.  We found that the Hebrew word for, “in that day,”  does not always mean on that exact day.  It can be translated as, “in that age,” “in a lifetime,” or “in time,” etc.  As we looked at other scriptures quickly with this same word, it became very clear that Adam and Eve were meant to live forever, but after eating the forbidden fruit they died Spiritually and their bodies would one day die physically as well.  YHVH God in His love and compassion could not just let His prize creation die and be separated from Him for all eternity.  Therefore, He promised a way of redemption and hope in a future offspring, the Messiah.

I hope you will consider taking the Bible cover to cover challenge with us.  It isn’t too late to start.  Get your Bible out and read for 30 minutes, or read chapters 1-8 of Genesis.

I would encourage you to choose a Bible to use each time as you read and stick with it.  Also, before you get started read all the introduction pages in the front of your Bible to best understand your translation.

May YHVH God bless and keep you.

Written by ktmom15