All Articles For Bible Study Guide

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. The title of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, is derived from the opening word, Bereshith, which translated means, beginning. Hence, it sets forth the keynote of the whole book, the beginning of all things. This is further expanded by the Septuagint Bible which uses the Latin word, geneseos, origin, generations, and applies it to the generations mentioned in subsequent chapters. The Significance of the Book In a real sense, the approach we take to this first book of the Bible will determine how we read the entire...

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. We continue with the outline of the book of Genesis. 5. The generations of the sons of Noah (Gen. 10:1-11:9). Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen. 10:1). The generations of Japheth are listed (Gen. 10:2-5). This is followed by the generations of Ham, including Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord (Gen. 10:6-20), and the generations of Shem (Gen. 10:21-32). The whole earth was one language and dwelt in the plain of Shinar (Gen. 11:1, 2). They began to build a tower of brick...

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. In our outline of the book of Genesis, we have yet to complete the last two “generations.” 10. The generations of Esau (Gen. 36:1-37:1). Esau’s name is given as “Edom.” He took his three wives and five sons which are mentioned by name and his daughters with all his substance and moved to Mount Seir because there was not enough room to dwell in the land alongside Jacob (Gen. 36:1-8). His generations are then listed by sons and dukes (Gen. 36:9-30, 40-44). The kings that reigned in...

This letter of James is placed within the category of “catholic epistles,” designated as such because they were written to the children of God without mentioning a specific church. They are, in this sense, universal-catholic. The author was burdened by the threat of dead orthodoxy in the churches, so he challenged them, “Show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works.” We do well to heed this warning in our day.

As we take up the task of outlining the letter of James, we notice the difficulty that confronts us. It appears at first reading that James is dealing with so many subjects that it lacks cohesion. To put it bluntly, it seems as if he is rambling. The words of Hendriksen in his Bible Survey are worth quoting.

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. 7. Holiness expressed in the keeping of specific feasts (Lev. 23:1-24:23). The first one mentioned is the Sabbath, no work is allowed on the seventh day in order that they may gather before the Lord (Lev. 23:1-3). Then we have the Feast of the Passover mentioned, the fourteenth day of the first month (Lev. 23:4, 5), the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the fifteenth day of the same month for seven days, no work is to be performed during this time, the beginning and ending of the feast is to include...

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. The Torah designates this second book of the Pentateuch as Shamoth, “names,” taken from the opening word of the book itself. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, changed the name to Exodos, which in turn was taken over by the Latin Vulgate as Exodus, meaning “going out.” Authorship Details of the author of the first five books of the Bible have been presented in former articles and need not be repeated here. A few additional observations as they apply to the book of Exodus follow. First,...

Having shown in his first epistle the significance of love as a power for true fellowship in Christ Jesus, John deals in his other letters with the application of this guideline to two specific instances. In this second epistle he emphasizes the need to hold to the truth and refuse hospitality to heretics who deny the true knowledge of Christ, but to extend it to all who walk in the truth. In his third epistle he commends Gaius for his hospitality in the gospel, but reprimands Diotrephes for his failure.

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. We continue with our outline of the book of Exodus. 5. Preparation for and the deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 4:29-13:16). Moses and Aaron inform the congregation the deliverance is near (Ex. 4:29-31). They also go to Pharaoh and demand, in the name of the Lord, that he free Israel to worship in the wilderness. Pharaoh reveals his hardness of heart not only by refusing to allow this, but he increases Israel’s burden by insisting that the people get their own straw for bricks (Ex. 5:1-19). Israel expresses...

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. The people of Israel spent a little less than a year at Mt. Sinai. During this time they received the ten commandments, the details of the Levitical laws, the instructions on the construction of the temple. Toward the end of this time they built the tabernacle which was to accompany them through the wilderness sojourn. It is at this point that the Book of Numbers takes up the historical account of these events, an account encompassing the forty year stay in the wilderness and the eventual arrival...