As most everyone knows, I work for a Church (Dickson First Assembly or DFA as well call it).  I’m the Media / Networking / Sound / Lighting / whatever else guy, which makes for a very busy but very interesting and rewarding job.  But that’s for another post.  So I try to read the Bible at least a little bit 5 days out of the week . . . I do work for a Church after all.

I have a traditional print Bible that I read from, but usually I use e-Sword (a Bible program that’s free to download HERE !)  Think of e-Sword as kind of like a personal electronic journal where you read the Bible and can keep your own study notes in a side margin.  You can also download several different translations of the Bible (some are free, some are not).  I like reading the same passage from several different translations to get a better more rounded idea of the original.  

You can also download commentaries that other scholars (or just people) have written to read along with the Bible (they usually comment on a particular verse(s) so you read the verse, then the commentary for their thoughts on it).  A few of them are free (like some of the much older ones, from 50 or 200 years ago lol !) which are good . . . though clearly are from a different era.  Not only can they be a bit difficult to read because of the differences in vocabulary, sometimes they reference cultural things that . . . just aren’t the same anymore. 

I guess the point to the post is this . . . I didn’t pay much head to what other people though about the Bible.  I mean it was cool to read their thoughts, but since I just got the free commentaries (read old ones) they just seamed out of touch.

Well I decided to get the Courson commentary (on a friends recommendation).  It wasn’t free (I think it was like $15 for the electronic version to install in e-Sword) but I got it anyways.

Let me just say WOW.  It’s just the New Testament that you can download at the moment, so I started in Mathew 1:1 and I’ve gotten to second Chapter of Mathew and am just blown away by how much I’ve learned. 

Not that I ever, even for a second, considered myself a Biblical scholar . . . but I was unprepared for how much this guy was going to explain just about the genealogy of Jesus and how important some of the people were in there and how interesting I would find all of it.  I mean, it’s a list of names . . . but he showed how they were important to the Jews and why each name is important. 

Let me give you an example . . . here is one verse (about the Magi or Wise Men talking to King Herod about looking for Jesus) that is informative, but I usually just kind of read right over it . . .

Mat 2:2  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

And here is Courson commentary on it . . .

“Mat 2:2  Regardless of how many Christmas movies you’ve seen, or how many Nativity scenes you might have, there is no reason to believe there were only three wise men. There may have been three hundred. There’s no way to know for sure. We do know, however, they came from the East. We know these magi were astrologers, studying the stars to determine the future. They were also interpreters of dreams. They were likely to have been residing in the area of Babylon when they saw a star and followed it, believing it to be the sign of the coming King of the Jews. What made them think this to be true? I suggest it was due to another man who resided in Babylon five hundred years prior to this who was also an interpreter of dreams.

His name? Daniel.

In the seventh chapter of the book that bears his name, Daniel wrote that “One would come, called the Ancient of Days, to rule and reign upon the earth; and that He would have everlasting dominion.” In fact, Daniel gave the very date this One would ride into Jerusalem. So these wise men, these magi, were most likely very familiar with Daniel’s writings, prophecies, and teachings. And no doubt they were watching for the Ancient of Days to appear.

Isn’t it great the way the Lord appears to people wherever they’re at? The magi studied the stars, and the Lord said, “Okay, I’ll speak to them in the stars and reveal to them the true Star, the Star of Jacob, as Balaam declared Him to be in Num_24:17. Because the magi were into astrology, God used the stars to draw them to the Son.

Notice the magi weren’t coming to get something from Jesus. After all, He was only a baby, a toddler there in Bethlehem. Nor were they coming because of what He had done for them; for at that point, He had done nothing. They came to worship Him solely because of who He was.

Do you ever come to church saying, “Lord, I’m going to worship You because I’ve got this business deal coming down next week, and I need Your help,” or, “I’m feeling depressed, and I know if I worship, I’ll get high emotionally and spiritually”?

There are, indeed, blessings to be found in worship, but they shouldn’t be our motivation to worship. Why should we worship the Lord? Because He is the King of kings, the Creator of all things, the reason for life, the destiny of life. He is the smitten Rock, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lily of the Valley, the Fairest of Ten Thousand, the Bright and Morning Star. An understanding of who Jesus is should be motivation enough for us to worship Him. For truly, “Thou art worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power” (Rev_4:11).”

 All that from a verse that, honestly, when I read it I think ‘Oh, yah, that’s nice’ but this guy just starts connecting all the dots as to why that verse is important and then extra goodness to just round out our knowledge of the Bible. 

Like a juicy steak, I’m going to have to digest this read through Mathew slowly. 

Mmmm.