Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

Everlasting Father,

All time belongs to you, and all the ages. In signs, in songs, in words of promise, you reassured your chosen ones, “I am with you; fear not.” You taught them through the prophets to trust that your saving deeds were not limited to the past.

When Jesus came, he fulfilled “all that was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

The Church has found him everywhere in these same holy books.

Help me to find Jesus in my reading today, to listen to him, and to follow him with all my heart.

Amen.

Today's chapters are Amos 7-9 and Obadiah. 

I added a "chapter" today because Obadiah is only 22 verses long. Reading this, the shortest book in the Old Testament, will allow us to read the entire Book of Jonah tomorrow (another four chapter day; please forgive me!).

Amos tells the story of his prophetic call, underlining the divine initiative and the divine authority of his message to the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos repeats all his dire warnings, again reminding the people that it is not their failure to offer sacrifices that is bringing judgment down on them, but their treatment of the poor, "buying the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals" (8:6). And even so, God will, one day, "raise up the fallen hut of David.... and restore the fortunes of Israel" (9:11,14).

Obadiah (the name means Servant of the LORD) is associated in Jewish tradition with the royal steward of King Ahaziah, and was considered to have been a disciple of Elijah. There are elements of the book that may indeed date back even before Amos, though most scholars assume that Obadiah is closer to Jeremiah and witnessed the fall of Jerusalem. The oracle against Edom works in either dating scenario: Edomites invaded Judah around the time of Elisha (2 Kings 8:20) and we just read Ezekiel's oracle against Edom for their participation in the destruction of Jerusalem (25:12). Like the other prophets, Obadiah promises ultimate victory, even though defeat will be truly devastating.

Start reading Amos here and Obadiah here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.