Bible in 90 days - week 1 update

Last week I started the Bible in 90 Days reading again.  This is my second time to try it; the first I made it to Isaiah 13 before giving up (and even that was well after the 90 days was over).   So when I signed up again, it was with a bit of hesitation.  Could I do this?  I'm still struggling to get and keep caught up with my Ministry of Motherhood book study.  Getting up at 5am for the Hello Mornings challenge has been proving a difficult enough task the past few weeks.  How could I possibly take on more, especially something that would require such a significant time commitment as a 90 day Bible reading plan?  I prayed.  I listened.  I really felt that God was telling me that I needed to do this.  And so I am.

Until now, I've strictly been a NIV/NLT girl, but last weekend I realized that my easy-to-read NLT actually left out key scriptures (only including them as a footnote) and that the NASB is the most literal word-for-word translation available to me.  Knowing those two things, I decided I was going to read the NLT since "I was only reading and not studying, ya know" but He had other plans for me.  He put a conviction on my heart so deep that I understand there is no such thing as "just reading" the Bible.  You are always studying it, even if it's not purposefully, and therefore I needed to properly know what He was telling me.   

Today is day 7 of 90, and I'm on target.  I've read all of Genesis and Exodus in 7 days following the NASB version.  There's been some days where I didn't get the entire day's reading done, but I pushed on and kept reading.  I've had some interesting discussions with other #B90Days readers, and I've seen some interesting things on my own.

Genesis 8:6  Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;

This verse made me wonder about the biblical significance of the number 40.  We always hear about 3 and 7 being God's numbers, but what about 40?    This thought kept coming to mind throughout the week of reading: it rained for 40 days/nights, the Israelites ate manna for 40 years, Moses spent 2 rounds of 40 days/nights alone with God, and he was 80 years old when he led them out of Egypt.  Looking much further ahead into the Bible, we know Jesus spent 40 days/nights fasting in prayer.  Without getting deeply involved in biblical numerology, several websites I researched were in agreement that 40 is the number of probation and trial.  I think I need to remember this the next time I feel I'm facing a trial. Maybe it only only last 40 days?

Exodus 34:14  --for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--

Exodus 23:13  "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor letthem be heard from your mouth. 

God tells us so many times and in so many ways that we are not to have another God, we aren't to make idols, that we are to worship Him and Him alone.  Yet we continually do this.  In today's culture, a relationship with God is not something people is important to have, and if you do feel it's important, you're probably tagged as one of those "crazy Christian people".   It's nice to know we aren't alone though. Even the Israelites waited less than 40 days before they were demanding of Aaron make them a new god.

Exodus 32:1   Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

A new online friend and fellow reader, @ImaBLeever, made a great point on this matter: When you see that God says He is a Jealous God, remember too this means that He will NOT share His people with Satan, as well. 

Genesis 5:24  Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Exodus 33:11  Thus the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. 

These two verses fill me with joy at the same time that they sadden my soul.   How awesome it must have been for Enoch and Moses to have such a close relationship with God.  I don't even think "close" describes it accurately enough, but I don't have any better word to use.  ;)    Today though, I doubt there are many people that could truly say they have the same kind of relationship with God.  Certainly we may walk in His Will for our lives, but probably not to the degree that Enoch did.  And certainly we are not honored enough to have Him speak to us face to face as friends, or to go with us by cloud or fire day or night.  Granted, we have the Holy Spirit to do something similar in His place and it gives us something to look forward to when we do finally get to meet Him in person.  I can tell you that I truly hope to be blessed enough to chat with Enoch!

Here's another thing that @ImaBLeever mentioned as a find during her reading time that really stood strong with me: At the giving of the law, 3000 people lost their lives and souls. On the day of Pentecost, the beginning of Grace, 3000 were saved.   Somehow I don't think that's a coincidence.  ;)

One other thing I really liked about this week's reading is the chance to share my discoveries with my hubby.  We've had a few interesting talks, especially about the concept of firstborns and first fruits, but I'll share those later when I've done more research.  

Tomorrow I delve into Levi again, and I'm not worried about it this time.  Having successfully read through these next 3 books makes it so much easier to do it again. Besides, it's only 8 days and those will fly by. Hopefully I'll be able to take better notes to share in next week's update.

Happy reading,