It's been a couple of years since I shared the Life of David game with you, a board game I made up and used with my children, my young Bible students, and now my grandsons.  That's not the only one I made.  This past spring my grandsons had their first time playing the Major Prophets game.
            First, let me explain this:  this is not about the five books we call the Major Prophets, Isaiah through Daniel.  This is a game about the four major literary prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel—and three of the major nonliterary prophets—Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha.
            Second, this is not a wind around the trail start to finish game.  This one is built along the lines of Monopoly, a repetitive rectangle with squares all around the perimeter.  You play for a certain amount of time or until someone reaches a certain point total, however you wish to do it.  My grandsons and I play for a half hour, after which the one with the most points wins.  And, when we hit the half hour mark, we finish a round so that each person has the same number of turns.  Each square around the board contains one prophet's name or a place that is important in one of their lives, scattered at intervals.  Only the names are repeated here and there; the places are not.
            Third, unlike the David game, you do not have to know much to start playing.  You learn as you play, as long as you keep control and don't let them try to rush from one person's turn to another's.  You have to explain the stories as they come up, and the children must listen as you go, so YOU need to know your prophets' lives even if they do not.
            In the center of the board are places to put stacks of card (each the size of one-third of an index card) for each of the prophets.  On these cards are events in the prophets' lives or events they prophesied.  For example, in the stack of Nathan cards you will find, "Go to Jerusalem.  Tell David the story of the ewe lamb, 10 points," and when a child draws that card it is up to you to tell that story.  Or you might find in the Elisha stack, "Go to Shunem.  A wealthy woman there has built a room onto her house for you to stay in when you travel through.  10 points."  Or you might find in the Jeremiah stack, "Go to Jerusalem.  King Jehoiakim burns your book.  Lose 10 points."  Each time you tell a story or explain an event, go over pertinent details carefully, and repeat them at least once.
            Also in the center of the board is a stack of questions.  If they have listened carefully to all the cards, which they will eventually hear again and again, they will be able to answer them when they land on a "?" square, several of which are also scattered around the perimeter of the board.
            And finally, you will find in the middle of the board the really bad places they might have to go should they pick up that particular card:  the Lion's Den, the Miry Pit, Prison, and the Cave of Mt Horeb.  At any time you might draw a card from the Daniel or Jeremiah or Elijah stacks and be sent to one of those places.  The only way to get out is to answer a question correctly.  Instead of rolling, they will choose one from the question stack.  If they get the right answer, then they come out one square (three squares lead out from each place), receive the points on the card, and the next turn they roll as usual, finding their way back to the outside perimeter trail.
            Just as with the David game, this is not rocket science.  And it must be painfully obvious that I am not any kind of artist at all, but it has never bothered any of the children who played these games.  You can do this yourself.  This one does require more work for you than the David game did.  Not only do you have to know your prophets, but then you have to make the cards for each prophet and the question cards, besides drawing the board itself.  Click on the gallery in the left sidebar to see what it looks like, but you can use and adapt  this idea for any number of things you wish to teach your children or your Bible class.  You will have also taught them that Bible study can be fun and interesting as well. 
 
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him (Deut 18:18).
 
You can find the article on the David game in the book Two Little Boys or the July 2018 archives at July 12.  Also a picture in the gallery at left.

Dene Ward

Last winter we had a whole flock of turkeys come out of the woods to visit our property.  I assumed they would find their way to the bird feeders as a couple of lone turkeys had done a few years ago, but for some reason they did not.  We watched them strut down the fence line from the southwest one morning, then one by one hop/fly over the fence.  They headed straight for our fallow garden, but found precious little in the plowed ground, so they continued east toward the old pigpen where at least a few weeds might have offered them some dried seeds.  After about a half hour they started back again, just as slowly as before, did that one-hop/fly over the fence, and strutted back to the woods.
            A day or two later, I headed toward the firepit on the east side of the property, just fifteen feet or so this side of the eastern fence.  I never saw a thing until 13 turkeys suddenly flew out of the oak trees on the other side.  We are talking thirty pound birds up in the trees, big blobs of brown and I never saw them until they flew in a racket like a dozen sheets flapping on a clothesline in a stiff breeze.  How had I not seen those great big birds in winter-bare trees not a stone's throw away?  I'll tell you how—I never expected to see such a thing.  Turkeys avoid flying if they can at all for one thing, and I certainly never saw one that high up, not to mention thirteen of them!
            Which goes to show, I suppose, that we see what we expect to see, and miss what we don't expect.  Everyone does.  Jesus was certainly not the Messiah the Jews expected nor his kingdom either.  Even his apostles had trouble with that.  It can happen to us as well.  We don't see the real Jesus because society has painted such a prevalent picture of a weak, namby-pamby, accept-everyone-as-they-are picture of him.  I actually heard someone say recently, "Jesus never offended anyone."  Are they reading the same Bible I am?
            And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Know thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit (Matt 15:10-14).  And that is just one of many examples.  Jesus had no problem at all saying what needed to be said whether others liked it or not.
            Then I heard someone say, "Jesus will accept me the way I am."  Well, yes, at the beginning, but he expects change and commitment.  "Go your way and sin no more," he told the adulterous woman in John 8:11.  And what did he say to a few who wanted to follow him?  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God. And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house. But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:59-62).
            And do you realize that, "O ye of little faith," was always spoken to his disciples?  Not just interested people, but people who had left all to follow him.  Kind of drill-sergeant tough, don't you think?
            Do you know why we miss those things?  Because we don't expect to hear them from Jesus, and worse, we don't want to hear them.  When the crowds of disciples turned and left after the hard sermon in John 6, Jesus did not chase them down, saying, "Wait!  I didn't mean to be so harsh.  Come back and let me try again."  No, he turned to the Twelve and said, "Are you going to leave too?"
            I pray we all have the faith Peter did at that moment and can say even to a Jesus who is not always what everyone expects to see in the Scriptures, "To whom shall we go Lord?  You have the words of Eternal Life.  And we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" John 6:66-69.
 
…blessed is the one who is not offended by me (Matt 11:6).
 
Dene Ward

Back when we used to have church get-togethers or potlucks or socials or whatever you want to call them, I noticed something that bothered me a lot.  If the gathering was at a home, usually the group split into two rooms—the living room or den, where most of the men gathered, and the kitchen, where most of the women gathered.  When you walked into the kitchen the talk was always of children, recipes, childbirth, or operations.  When you walked into the living room, you heard the Bible talk, and if you sat there long enough you sometimes got lost in the deep waters.
            Well, a woman's life centers on her home and family, you say, so that's what she talks about.  But tell me what a man's life centers around?  His job and family, yet still they were talking Bible, and not just Bible facts and stories and verses, but theology as well.  Still, I don't believe this was all the women's fault.  Somehow or other, we have all been raised to believe that theology is a man's field.  Women not only wouldn't be interested, they can't handle the depth, we were told, if not in words, then in attitudes.  "All that Bible stuff is men's business."
            Nonsense!  Lydia McGrew comes to mind immediately.  Look her up if you don't know the name.  Another thing is that everywhere I have lived, women have come to my classes—classes that are not your usual home and family women's classes.  I have given them things to learn that will leave a few men in the dust.  Some women leave my classes because of it, but the ones that stay can give the men in the church a run for their money when it comes to understanding theological concepts.  I am so proud of them all I could burst!  Just the other day we discussed paroimias in one class and imputation in the other. 
            Ladies!  God expects us to be good wives, homemakers, and mothers, yes, but he also expects us to, as good stewards, use our brains for the deeper things of his Word.  Remember all those verses that say, "Examine," "Search," "Reason," and "Learn?"  Those are not meant just for the men; they are for you, too.  And let's be honest about this--even if it should not be, it is often the women who are the spiritual leaders in the home, the ones who get the children ready to go to church, who schedule other things around the assembly rather than missing it, who help the kids with their Bible lessons, who read their own lessons while their husbands watch ball games or go fishing.  If that is the case in your home, it is more imperative than ever that you learn more than the standard prooftexts and slogans.  It is up to you to dig deeper in the Word.
            You can do the deep stuff, and it's not only interesting, it's fun!   You can be the example your children need, even if they get no other.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
 
The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes (Neh 10:28-29).
Dene Ward

The first time I saw a red letter edition of the Bible, I was a child and thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.  Imagine!  All the words of Jesus in red!  But as I grew older I began to see the problem with that.  Too many of my friends thought those were the only words in the Bible that counted.  If Paul or Peter or John or James said it, they didn't have to listen.  The only words that mattered were Jesus' words.  So they wouldn't listen to Acts 2:38, or 22:16.  They wouldn't look at Acts 20:7 or Col 3:16.  And forget about Ephesians 4:4-6.
Sometimes I think I have a few brethren like that, too.  While they hang on to the words of the Lord, they will regularly "argue" with the men who wrote about him.  So let me give you a verse or two to consider this morning. 

Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to develop a genuine understanding with a reminder, so that you can remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles (2Pet 3:1-2).  Yes, I fully admit to taking this out of context, but even so, Peter is not only talking about the words he is writing in his two letters, but those of the other apostles as well.  Not only that, he puts the words of the "holy prophets" on the same plain as the Lord's.  What he is saying is, Scripture is Scripture, folks.

We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us.  From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception (1John 4:6).  In this one, John is not talking about just this epistle, or even all of his epistles, but all the writing of the inspired men.  If you don't listen to them, you are "not from God."  Can't be much plainer, can he?

But all this just avoids the real issue.  For many people, it doesn't matter who said it at all if they don't want to hear it.  The kind of Bible they really want is a MY letter edition, whichever parts they like and want to hear.  And what does Peter have to say about that?

"If any man speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God…" (1 Pet 4:11).  Which is to say, let him speak only the truth, understanding the incredible responsibility involved in speaking the Word of God.  Whether he likes it or not.
 
Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God — as you are doing — do so even more. For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus  (1Thess 4:1-2).
 
Dene Ward

It’s been over fifty years since Rudolf Flesch wrote Why Johnny Can’t Read.  Someone had finally been brave enough to say out loud, “Modern education methods are not working.”
            There was a sudden push in the universities for all teachers in every subject to be able to teach reading as well.  Even in music education, I was required to come up with methods to teach word reading while at the same time teaching music reading—a bit like trying to teach English and Math simultaneously.  I haven’t noticed that is has helped.  We have a newspaper columnist who keeps track of the English, spelling, and word choice errors in his own paper.  His list never seems to shorten. 
            The other day, I heard a sportscaster, who was speculating about a certain team’s future in the season ahead, say, “Of course, I realize we are living in the speculum here.”  As I recall, the last time I heard that word a doctor used it.  That same day another sportscaster said he was “efforting” to give us an unbiased view of things.  Then there are the want-ads:  we recently noticed a “12 gage shotgun” for sale, along with a “chester drawers.”
            So in many cases, Johnny still can’t read, but I think in the case of many Christians it is more a matter of “Johnny won’t read.” 
            In nearly every overseas mission I have heard of, the biggest need is for Bibles in that particular language.  Those people, to whom Bibles are rare and precious, crave them the most and read them the most.  Most of us have several Bibles in our homes, gathering dust, spending more time in the car seat traveling back and forth to the meetinghouse than being read.
            How do I know?  The same way I know that sportscaster made a low score on the vocabulary portion of his SAT.  When I hear that Jacob had to wait fourteen years before he could marry Rachel, that David saw Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, and that the wise men showed up at the stable the night Jesus was born, I know someone is not reading.  When I hear people say, “Money is the root of all evil,” and “Pride goes before a fall,” thinking they are quoting scripture, I know they are not reading those scriptures they claim to live by.
            And here is an excellent point—many do know their scriptures backwards and forwards, inside and out, yet they don’t allow them to penetrate their hearts.  But how can they ever reach our hearts, if we never read them in the first place?
            I look at a cookbook four or five times a week to feed my family well.  What and how often am I reading so I can feed their souls even better?
 
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel…And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, (for he was above all the people); and when he opened it, all the people stood up…and they read in the book, the Law of God, distinctly, and they gave the sense so that they understood the reading. Neh 8:1,5,8.
Till I come, give heed to reading, 1 Tim 4:13.
 
Dene Ward

I discovered this book several years ago and there is probably not another I pick up so often.  Alfred Edersheim was born in Vienna in 1825 to Jewish parents.  He was well-educated in both secular subjects and the Talmudic traditions of his parents.  As a young man he was converted and became a Presbyterian minister, then a missionary to Romanian Jews, and finally a vicar for the Church of England in Loders, Dorset.   Since he was a scholar in both Jewish and Christian tradition, including all the Biblical languages and life in first century Judea, he was in a unique position to shed light on the scriptures.
 
As usual with a book written by a man, I rely on him mainly for background: history, geography, and social and religious customs.  He does have some peculiar beliefs, such as the absolute conviction that Jesus was born on December 25, but the information he gives on the Jewish lifestyle totally outweighs such problems.  Keep your eyes open and you will be fine using it.  Just being able to put these people in the context of their beliefs and customs has changed completely how I view some of the events of the gospels.  I feel like I really comprehend what was happening—the tension and even danger in the air at times. 
 
One caveat:  this book was written in the 19th century so the language can be daunting.  Sometimes you will read several long, almost tedious, paragraphs to get to a nugget of gold, but it is worth it.  In the back of the book is a scripture index.  Rather than having to wade through interminable text, simply look up the passage you are interested in and you will find the page(s) you need to read. 

This book is considered such a classic that even more than 100 years later, you will find reprints.  (Of course, this also means that some of the material is dated.  You might want to read it alongside a more recent volume, e.g., Tenney’s New Testament Times or even more recent, Ferguson's Backgrounds of Early Christianity, to make sure that later archaeological discoveries have not changed scholars’ understanding of a certain custom.)  The latest reprint, a big blue one-volume affair, unfortunately has several typos in it.  However, I have never had any problem figuring out what it was supposed to say, and occasionally, after a long period of hard study, you will find some comic relief.  Take for example, the mention of Martha in Luke 10, preparing for the visit of the “Great Rabbit.”  Someone relied a little too much on their Spell Check!

I also have three other of Edersheim’s works which I use not as often, but enough to justify their expense:  The Temple: Its Ministry and Service; Sketches of Jewish Social Life; and Old Testament History.  All of these books can be found on Amazon.com for as little as $7 each, depending upon how much you care to spend and the condition of the book.  Christian Book Distributors (if you are a member) has the four-pack for a reduced price.  It is worth the membership dues.  In fact, I pay the membership price and then order for friends, which is perfectly acceptable.

Two other Edersheim books I do not have, but have just recently heard of are Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah, and History of the Jewish Nation After the Destruction of the Temple Under Titus.  Since I have never used them I cannot give a recommendation, but based upon my experiences with the others, they might be worth checking out.
 
Dene Ward

The other day I was talking with a friend who loves to cook as much as I do.  We both spoke of how much more fun it is to cook for people who were not picky eaters.  When all that effort sits in the bowls and platters on the table with scarcely a dent made in them because this one prefers this and that one prefers that, it is hard not to be offended.  The very fact that I know so many more picky eaters these days than I did as a child emphasizes how wealthy this society has become.  Hungry people are not picky eaters.
            Real hunger is not a concept we understand.  We eat by the clock instead of by our stomachs, which may be the biggest reason so many of us are overweight.  If we only ate when we were truly hungry, would we eat too much on a regular basis?  A celebratory feast, which used to happen only once or twice or year, has become a weekly, if not daily, occurrence for many.
            And because we do not understand true physical hunger, we cannot understand Jesus’ blessing upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  We think being willing to sit through one sermon a week makes us worthy, when that is probably the shallowest application of that beatitude.  We don’t want a spiritual feast.  We want something light, with fewer calories, requiring little effort to eat.  In fact, sometimes we want to be fed too.  Spiritual eating has become too much trouble.
            How many of us skip Bible classes?  How many daydream during the sermons, plan the afternoon ahead, even text message each other?  If more than one adult class is offered on Sunday mornings, how many choose the one that requires more study or deeper thinking?  When extra classes are offered during the week, what percentage of the church actually chooses to attend?  How many of us are actively pursuing our own studies at home, studies beyond that needed for the Sunday morning class?  If we won’t even eat the meals especially prepared for us by others, how in the world will be seek righteousness on our own and how will we ever progress past simple Bible study in satisfying our spiritual hunger?
            Picky eaters suddenly become omnivores when they really need to eat.  For some reason we think we can fast from spiritual food and still survive.  Amazing how we can deceive ourselves so easily. 
            So, what’s on your menu today, or have you even planned one?
 
Oh how love I your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers; for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word. I have not turned aside from your ordinances; for You have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste! sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:97-104.
 
Dene Ward

I have to admit it—I seldom look at Bible dictionaries.  They scare me a little.  I cannot read a word of Hebrew or Greek so how can I check out what these guys are saying?  At some point I just have to trust them.  That’s why I love it when the Bible itself tells us what a word means.  Sometimes you have to read carefully or you will miss it, usually because you have read past it all your life and can’t seem to stop that bad habit.  At least that’s my problem.  You have to pay attention when you read God’s Word, like every time you read it is the first time.
            And by doing just that I found a new, obvious definition.  Read Ezekiel with me.
            If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul, Ezek 3:18-21.
            Did you catch it?  God tells Ezekiel exactly what a righteous man is—someone who warns (and delivers his soul) or someone who listens to the warning and repents.  But what about the “righteous man” who commits injustice, you ask?  He has “turned from his righteousness” and “none of his righteous deeds are remembered,” which means he is no longer righteous.  The only two righteous people in that whole paragraph are the one who warns and the one who repents.
            Notice, God says nothing about the way he is warned.  If you have not read the book of Ezekiel you need to.  Ezekiel preached hard sermons.  He preached plain sermons.  Yet God still demanded that those people repent.  Getting their feelings hurt did not make them “righteous.”  Getting angry about the way they were spoken to did not make them “righteous.”  The only thing that made them “righteous” was heeding the warning and repenting. 
            Think about that Syrophenician mother who came asking Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter.  At first Jesus ignored her.   Then he insulted her.  If she had left with her feelings hurt, her daughter would never have been healed.  She understood that something was more important than her feelings.  And Jesus called that attitude “faith.”  Ah!  Another Bible definition.
            When I hear the warning, if I want to be counted righteous, I must stop blaming others and recognize my responsibility to listen and act.  The failures of others will not save me.
 
Take heed how you hear…Luke 18:8.
 
Dene Ward