Bible Blitz Msgr Ed Thompson And Deacon Norm Kazyk With Technical Assistance Ray Hosler

1 st Maccabees Story: Attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in 2 nd century B.C. Purpose: To record the salvation of the Jews as worked out by God through the Maccabees. 100 B.C.: Hebrew-Greek: Palestinian Jew

Herres: Mattathias – Judas, Jonathan, Simon, Eleasar... John Hyrcanus Judas Maccabee - The Hammer

Events (1) Antiochus – Jerusalem – Persecution (2) Mattathias and his sons – Fight back (3-8) Judas Macabee starts to fight

Events (1) Antiochus – Jerusalem – Persecution (2) Mattathias and his sons – Fight back (3-8) Judas Macabee starts to fight (9-12) Jonathan succeeds Judas (13-16) Peace under Simon

2 nd Maccabbees Not a sequel to 1 st Macabbees Abridgement of five volumes of history of Jason of Cyrene 1 st Macabees – 175 B.C – 134 B.C. 2 nd Macabees B.C. – 161 B.C. Purpose: To give a theological interpretation of the period.

Theology of 2 nd Maccabees 1.The resurrection of the just on the last day (7, 9, 11, 14, 23) 2.The intercession of the saints in heaven for those living on earth (15:11-16) 3.The power of the living to offer prayers and sacrifices for the dead (12:39-46)

Special Events 1.Two letters to Jews in Egypt (1-7), Feast of the Purification of the Temple 2.Judas gathers an Army (8-10) 3.Judas prays for the dead (12) 4.The saints pray for the living (15)

Understanding and Interpreting the BIBLE Through 16 centuries the primary way of understanding the Bible was that it should be literally interpreted.

Understanding and Interpreting the BIBLE In the 17 th century, Richard Simon, a Catholic began a whole new way of looking at the Bible by questioning the traditional understanding that Moses was the author of the entire Pentateuch. The result led to a revolutionary growth in scholarship and knowledge of the Bible.

The Book of Job A literary masterpiece that deals with the problem of the suffering of the innocent and retribution. “Why does the just man suffer?” ”Why do bad things happen to good people?”

The purpose is didactic: it teaches that even the just suffer in this life which is a test of their fidelity to God, and will be rewarded. It is a theological watershed leading to a deeper understanding of life after death.

Ch 1:1-5 Introducing Job Ch 1:6-12 Yahweh depicted as a monarch. Satan is among his advisors and servants. Ch 1:8-12 Yahweh is challenged by Satan. Ch 1:12-12 All of Job’s possessions are taken away from him.

Ch 2 Satan extends the challenge to include Job’s health and Job is joined by three friends who sympathize with him. Ch 3 Job curses his condition, wishes he were dead, but does not sin. Ch 4 A cycle of speeches begins by friends. Eliphaz insists that his condition is because of some sin Job has committed.

Ch 6-7 Job is not convinced. Ch 8-9 Another friend, Bildad, raps Job for what he considers Job’s unfair judgment about God’s way of conducting the world. Suggests the cause may be due to the sins of Job’s children. Suggests that Job pray to have his prosperity restored.

Ch 10; Job replies to Bildad and questions the notion of God as one who would punish the innocent. Ch 10:18-22 Sheol is described. Ch 11; First speech of Zophar calling for Job to repent for his sin though Job is unaware of having sinned.

Ch 12-14; Job is unable to convince his friends that he is innocent and challenges God to make his sin known to him. He reflects that if there were a happy life after death, suffering would be bearable; but no such hope exists for him.

Ch These chapters contain the second and third cycles of the speeches and responses mentioned earlier. Ch 29-31; Job recalls his past life accepting the theology that if he had sinned he could understand the punishment he has received.

Ch 32-37; The speeches of a fourth man confronting Job, Elihu. He turns his anger on Job for his considering himself righteous and on the friends for how inept they were in handling the problem.

Ch 38-42:6; Yahweh addresses Job out of a whirlwind and accuses him of a vast ignorance. Since Job is willing to live with all the mysteries that surround him in life, he should be willing to live with the mystery of God’s way with him.

Job becomes aware of something that he can repent of: He is now conscious of God’s mysterious governing of his life. He does not admit of sin, but only to this new vision.

Ch 42:7-17; God restores Job’s wealth and even gives him double what he had before. He lives to an age of 147 years, double the life expectancy.