...................................................................LET US LEARN TOGETHER WHAT IS GOOD. Job 34:4b(NIV)................................................................Some people see the Bible as a long and boring book filled with incidents and events from the lives of ancient people who probably never existed. The biblical stories are seen as fables. In this blog, many of the situations and conversations found in the divinely inspired Holy Scriptures have been placed in categories that correspond to expressive sayings and phrases. Reference information, background information and links connecting the people and places are given to help you find a place to begin reading the Bible for yourself.

Monday, December 18, 2017

For His Oath's Sake and for Their Sakes

And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.-Mark 6:21-29***Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel. Before 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt, the country wherein Joseph was second-in-command, he made Joseph promise on oath to bury his body in Canaan, in the same cave that the bodies of Jacob's parents Isaac and Rebekah, and Isaac's parents Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), and Jacob's 1st wife Leah were buried. Thus, Joseph and his brothers, accompanied by a host of mourners, took Jacob's body to Hebron (Kirjath Arba) in Canaan for burial. Before 110-year-old Joseph died, he told his survivors to take his bones with them when they were brought out of Egypt. Sometime thereafter, Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were Israelites from the tribe of Levi, descended from Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, the Lord God sent them to speak to the Israelite elders and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, and Moses was carrying Joseph's bones. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land,  Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died and was buried. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Sometime thereafter, the Israelites buried Joseph's bones in Shechem. Over 400 years after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Rehoboam, the son born to King Solomon and Naamah, became the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Less than 210 years after Jeroboam's son Nadab became the 2nd king to rule the northern nation of Israel, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reiogn, the Babylonians, conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born Judah, the tribe of Solomon and all of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, the Roman Empire was ruling the land whereupon the kingdoms of the Israelites previously stood.  Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist, from the tribe of Levi. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. Meanwhile, after John the Baptist proclaimed certain words to Herod Antipas the tetrarch, ruler of Galilee for the Roman Empire, Herod commanded that John the Baptist be locked in prison. During Herod's birthday celebration, the daughter of Herodias, Herod's wife, earned a favor from Herod. After her favor was granted and John the Baptist was beheaded, the disciples of John the Baptist retrieved the body. Less than 3 1/2 years after Jesus was baptized, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the disciple and apostle. Jesus was arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and returned to heaven. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire continued ruling the land.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26

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