Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16. It's the perfect time to talk about how sins were forgiven before the Messiah Jesus came, and how they can still be forgiven today. Stay with me. We'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line with doctor Michael Melnick. That's me. Moody Radio's Bible study across America. As I said my Name Michael Ray Melnick, academic, dean and professor of Jewish Studies
and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. And I'm so glad to be with you, sitting around the radio kitchen table and taking your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If you have a question and you'd like to call the phone number here (877) 548-3675. Let me give it to you again. Maybe a little slower. You can write it down. (877) 548-3675. And usually when people ask me when can I get my call through? It's hard to
get through. I know it's hard to get through. But the best time to call at the beginning of the program. So if you've been wondering about a particular question, now's the time to call before everyone else does. Again (877) 548-3675. Thanks to Tricia McMillan, she's in the producer's chair. Chris Seeger is our tech guy today, and tiara is answering the phones. Again, phone number (877) 548-3675. Go get yourself a cup of coffee. Open your Bible. Because we're about to
study the scriptures together. Here's a common question asked of me during the Old Testament. During those times, how did the Jewish people experience forgiveness. It's a good question because the Messiah, Jesus, had not yet come and hadn't provided atonement with his death and resurrection. It's especially significant during the fall High Holy Days with Rosh Hashanah a week and a half ago and Yom Kippur today. So the simple answer is that people have experienced God's forgiveness the
same way always. We've always been forgiven by grace through faith in the revealed will of God. That's it. Let me say it again by grace through faith in the revealed will of God, it says in Genesis 15 six, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him or reckoned to him as righteousness. When the nation of Israel lived under the laws described in the book of Leviticus, which is where we see the Day of Atonement, what
was the revealed will of God? Of them they were called upon to believe that the sacrifices they offered would provide atonement. They were also to trust that one day the Messiah would come and provide. Atonement. So what was Yom Kippur about? On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would first offer a bull for himself and his family and then offer a goat for the sins of the people of Israel. Leviticus 1615 reads, The high priest is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat
and in front of it. Then these two sacrifices, the bull and the goat, provided ritual cleansing. Not not actual cleansing, but ritual cleansing for the whole tent of meeting, the holy place and the altar. Additionally, Leviticus 1617 says, they made. And here's the key word atonement, a word that means wipe away or to cover. It would make atonement for the sins of the priest, his family, and the people
of Israel. These sacrifices, in a sense, provided a covering for the sins of Israel until the Messiah Jesus would come, and then he would die for sin and be raised again. And with his death and resurrection, the Messiah Jesus actually became the ultimate sacrifice for sin, taking away sin completely, which the blood of these bulls and goats never could do. It worked like this. I might buy stuff with a credit card and then when the bill comes due, I think, ah,
I can't pay it. So I pay the minimum monthly payment at the due date. And this keeps the bank at bay for another month. My debt is paid, but when I increase my debt the next month because I keep using that credit card, more interest is added. And the next month when the bill comes, I again only pay the minimum amount and I never deal with the principal. That's how the sacrifices were. They covered the debt from Yom Kippur to Yom Kippur, but they never paid the
principle debt to God. When the Messiah Jesus came, his death atoned for all sin. He paid the principal and the interest for all past debts and even future ones. His resurrection proved he did that. And that's why we're forgiven by grace, through faith in the Messiah, Jesus, and through him alone. God has provided and revealed forgiveness through
Jesus the Messiah. Hebrews 911 says of the Lord Jesus our High priest, he entered the Most Holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 1012 says of Jesus the Messiah, that after offering one sacrifice for sins for ever, he sat down at the right hand of God, showing that the work of atonement was complete. the Yom Kippur sacrifices. In fact, all the torahs.
The Law of Moses animal sacrifices pointed forward to the Messiah's ultimate sacrifice. Jesus, the Messiah's offering of himself was that ultimate sacrifice. Today, we don't trust in bulls and goats to give us a covering for sin. Rather, we believe in the Lord Jesus, and all our debt to God is removed forever and ever. Contemporary Jewish people observe Yom Kippur without sacrifices because the Romans destroyed the temple in A.D. 70. All over the world, Jewish people today
are praying sorrowful penitential prayers. Jewish people make sure to reconcile with those whom they may have hurt. They fast from food to show their sorrow from sin for sin. But for the most part, most Jewish people don't believe in the Messiah Jesus and don't have any assurance of forgiveness.
That's why messianic congregations across the globe are so significant, messianic Jews come together to observe Yom Kippur, not to plead for forgiveness, but to celebrate the true forgiveness available only by faith in the Messiah, Jesus, and to proclaim this good news of Jesus to all people, especially their Jewish friends and family. When I was in college, I typed papers for my profs and if there was an error, I used a little wite-out to correct them. A little
liquid paper, something like that. It provided a covering but didn't take away the errors. When I went to seminary, I would type my papers on an IBM Selectric typewriter and it would suck the errors right off the page, but still leave an imprint. You could know that I made a mistake there, that there was an error, and then I would type over those those imprints. But when I did my doctoral dissertation, I used a computer. Now with a computer, I could delete a line, I could
delete a whole file. I could delete everything, the whole hard drive, and they would be gone forever. It was possible to format that hard drive. Couldn't find anything again. Well, that's a picture of what the Messiah Jesus atonement did for us. He wiped the hard drive of our guilt before God so that our sins would never be held against us again. And that's the ultimate and true forgiveness that we can now celebrate and proclaim every day, and
especially today, on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a solemn day, and normally we wouldn't say Happy Yom Kippur, but if we know Messiah Jesus, it's a celebration of atonement, not a plea for it. And that's what I would encourage everyone. Remember that Trust in Jesus and never, ever fear losing that. A relationship with God, the forgiveness that he provides. Well, we're going to go right to the phones now. Carol in Illinois is listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Carol. How can I help you today?
Oh. Thank you. Good morning. Um, so I told the call answerer, I have been a Christian my whole life. And then lately, um, it's like it doesn't make sense to me. And here's the thought that I came up with yesterday. God, if I may be blasphemous, is the problem. He wanted sin to be accounted for and paid for, and he didn't care who did it. I always thought, well, how can Jesus die for me? I'm the one being the sinner, but it was the wrong way of looking at it. It just needed to be taken care of.
And God found somebody and it was taken care of. Is that the right way to understand that I'm.
I got you right up to God. Found a way. Just found Jesus. Like, randomly. Is that what we're talking about?
Well, he must have had some thought about it and said, I will find, I think, to use Bible terms servant, and this Messiah is going to do it. And of course, he had foreknowledge way thousands of years ago. But yeah, kind of.
Yeah. Well, you know, the Bible calls, uh, the Lord Jesus, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
Mhm.
Uh, the, uh, Jesus is the God man. He existed eternally as God the Son, uh, was incarnate as a fully human being. But the intention of God the Father was always to offer up his son. Uh, so I don't think it was a random selection. Oh, here's a good guy. Let's let's let's do this. I think that's a wrong way of looking at this. Uh, and it says, uh, I'm going to read you a verse. It's first Peter 119 that we were redeemed, not with perishable things like
silver or gold. Here's verse 19, but with the precious blood of Messiah, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was chosen before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for you, uh, through him are believers in God. So I don't think it was just a random selection. I think it was an intentional plan of God. We often think of God looking down at Adam and Eve in the garden going, oh no, what am I going to do? Not the way it worked, the way it worked was God the
father always had a plan. He knew exactly what would happen. Did God intend for humanity to sin? I don't believe that he gave people a genuine choice, but he knew that they were going to choose poorly. Uh, the whole plan of God is sovereign. So how do we balance the freedom of Adam and Eve in the garden, along with the sovereign plan of God? I have no idea. But I believe it's both. Both are true. And. And God always knew that he would provide atonement through only
one the God man, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. It was always part of his plan. So no, I don't think we should think of it as just sort of random selection. Oh, this is a good guy. Let's make him the atonement. But rather the only one. He is the only one. He's the one that lived the perfect life so he could be our righteous, pure and spotless lamb for us. Just as Isaiah 53 foretold that all we have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord laid on him the
righteous one, the iniquity of us all. I hope that helps a little bit. Carol does it.
It sure does.
Oh, good. Good. Well, we're going to we're going to take a little break here. I've got a special guest coming in in a moment. Uh, so glad you're with me this morning. This is open line with Michael Radonich. We're going to talk about studying the Bible with Jim Coakley in just a moment. So stay with us. This is really important program. It'll change your life if you start reading the Bible in this very special way. We're coming right back at you with our special guest. So
don't go away. And we're back. Welcome back. I'm so glad to talk with you this morning. We're having a great time around the world already. You know, the Bible is much more than just a collection of ancient texts. It's it's God's masterpiece. And it's his gift to us and to help us claim it for all it's worth. We'd like to send you a resource called 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. It's a really helpful book.
It was written by my friend and moody Professor Jim Coakley, and it reveals how the same techniques used by modern authors were also employed by biblical writers long ago. And it gives us a fresh way to look at the scriptures. Readers will. If you read this book, it will give you practical strategies to engage the word, and it will really help you get a fresh way of reading the Bible. And it's fairly simple to understand and to read and to put into practice. And so I really want to
encourage you to get this book and it's yours. If you give a gift of any size to open line, we want to send it to you as a way of saying thank you. It's our current resource. So if you'd like to get a copy of 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. The best thing to do is go to our website openline radio.org or call (888) 644-7122. And when you give a gift of any size, remember to ask for 14 fresh ways to enjoy the Bible. We'd love to send you a copy of this book and
especially fun today for me. Joining me right now is the author of that book. As I mentioned, my friend Jim Coakley. I've taught here at Moody with Jim for seems like forever, 25 years, 25 years. There we go. I beat you by about six years. But that's all.
Right. I'll. I'll bow to superior knowledge.
Oh, there we go. Anyway, my friend Jim Coakley is right here with me. And thank you so much for writing this book. And thank you for joining us this morning. Oh, it's.
Great to be with you, Michael, and the Open Line listeners. And it's really I mean, it's really a joy to get to promote this book because it really gives people a tool to use for Bible reading. And that's what really excites me the most is that to, again, not just give people a fish, but to teach people how to fish. And this book will teach you how to fish as you read the Bible.
So I know you must have heard me tell. I tell students all the time. Write down the first law of biblical interpretation. It's in order to understand the Bible, we must read it. Let's read it. And that's. That's what the first law is. The second is, if we didn't understand it the first time, read it again. And and so that's really what I, I believe. But sometimes
people just read it sort of carelessly. And I think what I noticed about this book is it, it's a way of, of teaching people to read the Bible with intentionality. Is that what you're saying?
Yes. I mean, we talk about the three principles, so to speak, of Bible interpretation, observation, interpretation, application. But what I have found over the years, and that's why I really was motivated to write this book, is that we really don't help people with the observation stage. And so this book is really geared to say, what should you start observing in the text? First, let's start with the things that we know the biblical authors are using. And
then we can go deeper with that. But sometimes people are just kind of whiteboarding, looking at the scriptures, and they don't know what to look at. But here it gives them a lane that they can start to drive in and I think get some low hanging fruit right away.
I know that one of the things that you talk about, I think it's in chapter 11, you can say that again. It's repetition, right? Right. So one of the things I've noticed is that people will notice repetitions if they well, if they're careful, they'll start reading and say, oh, that phrase is used again, or that idea is being repeated or, you know, they'll notice that, but they'll never ask the question, why is this being repeated? And that's what you would
encourage them to do, right? Not just to notice the repetition. Right.
What I basically am trying to train people to do is have a series of questions that they always are kind of, in a sense, dialoguing with the biblical author. Now, of course, we're not going to get clear audible answers back, or at least I don't. But these are the types of questions. Why is this passage here? Why is this phrase or this word repeated so often? Why is this next to this other account? Why are we hearing this
character speak? All those questions are always running through my mind now as I'm reading the Bible, and I get productive observations as I ask those kind of basic questions.
Okay, so you have 14 ways to observe the Bible, which I think this is just a really terrific tool and it's a great way to do it. Okay. Tell me, what do you think is the most important of these 14 or are they all equal?
Well, it all depends really on really the type of literature that you're reading. A lot of these do have more incense payback when you look at narrative texts, because these are narrative storytelling techniques that are used. But repetition is clearly very important because it's used in all genres. It's used by all biblical authors. And so that one
is really high up on. but I mean, for me, the one that was probably the one that really kind of set me kind of on this trajectory was, in a sense, step up to the mic like we're doing here, is paying attention to when the biblical author yields the microphone over to a character in the story and lets us hear that character's own voice. And so, because I read the Bible for many, many years, like it was
all God's Word, everything is inspired. And it is. But I never nuance a difference between a narrator who's controlling the, so to speak, the script with the allowing the character to speak. And oftentimes, as we say, you know, out of the mouth comes the issues of the heart. And so we get to hear characterization. But oftentimes what we find is that the big idea, or the main theme of this passage is found on the lips of one
of the characters. Exactly. That is huge. When you're trying to find out what the Bible is trying to teach you. If you pay attention to that quotation marks, pay attention to quotation marks. Nobody ever taught me that in basic Bible interpretation. Yeah.
So one of my Favorite passages that show this is first Samuel 25. Yeah, it's when with David and Abigail and Nabal. I don't know if listeners remember that story. It's a story about Nabal being selfish and not really paying what he ought to have paid David for protection and security. And Abigail comes and intervenes, because David wants to go kill Nabal for his horrible, foolish attitude. And, uh, what you notice is the characters start speaking. The narrator
doesn't tell us what the message of the story is. Yeah. He gives up the microphone and she says, uh, the Lord who? Well, she tells him to keep from vengeance. Uh, pay no attention to Nabal. She says, uh, I, your servant, didn't see my Lord's young men whom you sent. Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, it is the Lord who kept you from participating in bloodshed and avenging yourself by your own hand.
And she goes on to repeat that let there be no remorse or troubled conscience for my Lord because of needless bloodshed. And then David says to her, today, you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself. Wait, what's the point of this passage? Right.
Avoiding bloodshed.
Yeah. Avoiding vengeance. Right.
Personal vengeance. That's not the way forward. Yeah.
And so what I think is so interesting is I once heard a world famous preacher preached this passage, and he preached about wives submission to their husbands. Yeah. And I thought he wasn't listening to the characters. He was applying his own, trying to look for an application point. And what I think is so interesting about that is that you think that we could apply the lesson of not.
Seeking vengeance.
Seeking vengeance. I mean, I've talked to a lot of people when I was a pastor who wanted to get back at someone else, a spouse, a neighbor, or, you know, and so what I love about your book is. It's a little known, but greatly used concept. Yes. Yeah. And so, uh, is there a passage that you think of where the, the voice of the character comes out?
You think of, you know, the centurion at the foot of the cross? Yeah. You know, the whole gospel writer has been talking about the life and ministry and the death of Christ, but all of a sudden, you know who gets it? Who puts it all together first, a pagan. It's a pagan Roman centurion who says, surely this was the Son of God. And if we, the readers, are reading the gospel correctly, we need to come to that same conclusion. That's a great that's a great lesson.
That's so it's not just Old Testament story, not just Old Testament.
It's in the.
Gospel. So it's a principle of narrative. I think that that is vital. So, uh, you know, we're going to take some questions and if you're listening, now's the time. Give us a call. There's a couple of lines open. We're going to take just plain Bible questions. But if you have a question particularly about Bible study, you can call right now. Our number is (877) 548-3675. Now's a good
time to call. Okay, so what do you think? If you were to give this to someone to help them, disciple them, mentor them, and reading the Bible, how would you use this book?
Boy, I've had two. Within the last two weeks. I've had two small groups tell me they're using this very profitably in a small group study. To me, that's the best way to study in community and kind of share your observations. Know these basic techniques, have some of these handles like step up to the mic. And all of a sudden now there's a church in Virginia and I know there's a high school out in the suburbs. Cisco
told me that the Cisco Cotto. Yeah. Cisco, one of our professors, she said that the teachers using it for his junior high, high school students to train them how to study and read the Bible.
I think that's just wonderful to be in a group and practice this. And I think what you could do, you know, I know there's some adult Bible fellowships, adult Sunday school classes. You could go through one a week or home groups. Yes, go through one a week. And and you give enough examples from the Bible that you could actually study those passages. Right. Where you show where
the principles are. And I think that that will enhance by practicing it with those passages, you'll start to learn to use it with other passages.
As this is Pastor's Appreciation Month, this would be a great gift to give your pastor, because he might know a lot of these techniques, but sometimes you need a little spark. I give plenty of examples that will put into that will kind of get their juices flowing, so you can really equip your pastor stronger by giving him this book and letting him know that you appreciate him.
Yeah, I think that that's a great thing. And also Sunday school leaders and, uh, Bible study, uh, facilitators and all the people that are doing this, it's it's a great tool and that's why we're using it as our current resource. So, you know, remember give a gift of any size. And as a result, if you give a gift of any size. Call (888) 644-7122. I shouldn't be doing that so much, but I would love people to get this in their hands. And it's a great way to do it by giving a gift to open line. And
that would be something that's really, really helpful. Uh, now I know this won an award and let another man praise you, but tell me exactly what award this book won.
Yeah, Christianity Today this year gave it for 2020 for book of the year award in the category of Bible and Devotional. I mean, and I was again in, in the running with other well-known Christian authors, and it was really humbling to realize that they honored me with this reward. And so it's it's really a special a special benefit that I've been able to receive.
I was thrilled when I heard about that award, because so often books that are awarded are, are kind of, uh, very, very geared for what's going on in the world right now and things like that, and rightly so. Right? But the Bible is always relevant, right? And it's always going to change our lives. Amen. As we read it. And so this is a book that will make us all better Bible readers, we're going to come right back with more of Jim Coakley. We're going to take your questions.
So don't go away. This is open line with my guest, Jim Coakley, and me, Michael Radonich.
Be right back.
Welcome back to Open Line. My name is Michael Radonich. Joining me today, Jim Coakley for this hour. And also Tricia McMillan is in here with the mailbag. I am so grateful that we get to do, uh, the mailbag, because Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with Open Line to bring you the weekly ABC mailbag. It's a terrific organization. It brings the good news to people via media and also personal engagement. Check out the Febc podcast called Until All Have Heard. All you have to do is go
to febc. Org that's f e b c.org and check out their their podcast. They're featuring Ed Cannon and uh, you know, I just I'm standing here at Moody Radio and I've got my I just got a great team of people that I'm part of and I'm so grateful for. Uh, uh, Chris is at the control board there, and Merl is helping him out, and Tricia is here. She's producing everything, it seems like, at Moody Radio and Jim Coakley, my colleague in the classroom, I love the teamwork that comes
with Moody Radio and Moody Bible Institute. And I appreciate that. There are team members, People who actually listen to Open Line every week and feel like it's helping them take their next step in their walk with the Lord Jesus. I'm so grateful for that. And then also, I'm so grateful that there are people who listen regularly, who think that they want to be part of the team, and an even more expansive way by becoming kitchen table partners. What they do is they give monthly so that we
can be on the air weekly. We so appreciate that. And the best way to become a kitchen table partner is by going either to our our website, open Line radio.org or calling (888) 644-7122. And one of the things that we do, Tricia, is we produce the Bible study moment and we're finishing up one right now. It's a it's a little Bible study designed exclusively for our kitchen table partners. They listen to it. What's it about now that we're just finishing a series.
That we're finishing up? We're on the the last one. We'll go out, I think, next week about the covenants, the five biblical covenants and what they are and then how they're fulfilled.
Yeah, it was a lot of fun to do, wasn't it?
Yeah we did. We recorded them all in the. The last one goes out next week. Yeah.
I'm so I'm so glad for that. And we're going to start a new series that you don't even know what it is about it, but I do. I've already picked it out. And because you.
Write these, these aren't you know, we don't have these other writers doing this and.
Sometimes even joins me. We talk through them like we did with the covenants. So I've got I can't wait to tell you about it, but I'm not going to say what it is now.
But that's called a tease. Yeah.
But anyway, again, if you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, we'd so appreciate you considering doing that. Uh, the number again. (888) 644-7122 or go to open line radio.org. Okay, Tricia, you've got some mailbag questions.
I do. Lori in Florida listens to R&;B and says a friend of a different faith is wanting to read and study the Bible. What is a good study Bible to help someone read for themselves for the first time? She says, I have several study Bibles, but I'm not sure how easily understood the notes are for folks stepping through it on their own for the first time.
Okay, so let's start with my guest, Jim Coakley. Jim.
Yeah, there's a number of study Bibles, as you mentioned, Lori. And so, you know, which one is there? You kind of have to know who you're talking to or about in terms of what level that they're at. But there's some really good basic ones. I mean, the Ryrie Study Bible has been around. Moody publishers has produced that. It's a good all around kind of basically answer the typical
questions that readers have. It's fairly accessible, not too overly complicated, and it's a good all around study Bible that I would really recommend. One of my.
Favorite things about the Ryrie Bible is that you can carry it. It's not so big. Yeah. And then the other thing about it is, uh, that he's got this survey of doctrine and outline form in the back, and he's got an outline of church history and all the he's got a section on how he got the Bible. So some of the appendices, I think are tremendously helpful. It's like a.
Mini Bible college education.
Yeah, right. It's great. And, you know, of course, he he was my professor at Dallas Seminary when he would sometimes say, okay, I'll give you the exam early, but you have to promise on a Bible that you're going to come to class for the last few weeks if I give you a promise.
On a Bible.
Yeah. And so he'd have to take out our Bible.
Yeah. And, you know.
He said, get out your Bible. Then he'd say you need a proper Bible. Joking with us a revival. It was pretty fun. And Jim's copy of the Ryrie Bible is signed, but mine was not, because, you know, it was so normal for me to see him in class. I didn't think to get it signed. Yeah.
So he spoke at my baccalaureate for graduation from Calvary Bible College.
Yeah. So there you should have should have gotten it. Let me just mention a couple of others. There's the ESV study Bible. Very good study Bible. The problem with it is it's so big you have to have it on your desk at home, not carry it around with you. It's just way too big. The NIV Study Bible same issue. You can get it to carry around, but the print is so small to get it to be the size that you can carry. I can't even read it anymore.
And then the Holman Study Bible also. I contributed to that. Daniel notes on that. It's a really good study Bible. Um, but I would say the problem is what I like about Ryrie is that it was just done by one person, so it's consistent. Uh, the Holman Study Bible was edited by a couple of people to try and make it consistent. But some of the books, there's one whole book that I think is extremely messianic in the Old Testament, and
the author didn't cite one messianic prophecy. Yeah. And so it has an inconsistency, but generally very good.
Okay. So a quick clarification. The study Bible. So you're talking about the Ryrie Study Bible? He did not, um, translate the Bible? No. Right. So so there's two different questions then that that she will need to find the Bible for. There's the translation. So that's the ESV or the Holman Christian Standard Bible or the the I guess Ryrie comes in a couple of different translations, I think. I think it's the American standard, American King James. Yes. And there's an and it was.
Done based on the new American standard.
Okay. How does that how does how does that change it? Like, like if I pick up an NIV study Bible versus the versus the Ryrie NASB study Bible that you're holding, what's what, what will be? Well, are the scriptures different?
No, the.
The.
The text of the Bible is different, but because that's the.
Translation, if.
You have an ESV rivalry, which I don't even know if they make anymore, but there was an ESV Ryrie uh, if there was a different translation and he's noting a word, it'll say the word in the ESV. They edited it to do that, and then it'll say in the new American Standard it was, and then it will discuss it that way. Okay. So and the same thing with the old NIV Bible, which I don't know. I don't know what which they keep changing the translations based on what's
the popular translation right now. Right.
But what they're doing is taking if I take a non study Bible and just hold it an ESV Bible and I pick up an ESV study Bible. The only difference is the notes that have been added that kind of help shed the light on this is the word that they translated, or this is some background to this book or verse.
Kind of thing. There's an intro to the book. There's a annotations or explanations at the bottom of the page. Those are the notes. And then at the back, uh, there's usually some appendices of like in the Rye, Rye. I mentioned the Survey of Doctrine and different things like that. I think I think they're a great tool and and they don't necessarily have to be what you carry around with you. They're like a good resource, like the Moody Bible Commentary, which you would keep on your desk and
turn to. But one of the things that I this is okay, now, this is going to sound weird. I encourage people to use it as a resource, but not as their regular, not their Bible. Yeah. Or what they read every morning. Right. Why would why would I say that?
Because there's a difference between just reading for kind of allowing the Word of God to wash over you versus then going down deep into study. And we need both kind of readings. Mhm. And that's also true regarding the translation depending on their kind of ability in English, like people who will come from overseas or English as their second or third language, like the NIV is written to an eighth grade level. And New American standard I think
is written to like an 11th grade level. So again, depending on their English skills, that might be a factor as well in which study Bible you use. Okay.
Yeah. Okay.
So that's it. And so I really want people not. I found myself when I first got a study Bible. The very first one I ever had is I found myself reading the notes, not the word. Yes. And I realized I've got to get a Bible without notes and read that. And then what happens is, as I find I have questions, then I might grab a study Bible. And that's where I would begin, by looking at the annotation to see what did Doctor Ryrie have to say about this, or what did the, uh, back in the
day it was what did, uh, psi psi psi psi. Scofield.
That was my first study Bible, actually. Me, too. That was the only one that was around for ages.
Now, I gotta say this. People are going to be shocked about this. They have a new American standard. Scofield. It was done for the King James, right? And my wife picked it up and she said, you know, this is a pretty good study Bible. So I found that interesting that the old Scofield Study Bible is still pretty good.
Except that in the book of Ecclesiastes is an agreement that he said that these are the words of a man? Uh, what? Basically, it was like these are the inspired record of man's words. Huh.
So he doesn't agree.
With he doesn't believe that there's challenges, of course, with Ecclesiastes. Now what?
The Ecclesiastes tough book. But in the end, what the whole thing is, it's I think there's I understand Ecclesiastes not to scare people, but it's Solomon evaluating all the different philosophies of life and finding them faulty. And at the end he says, here's what it comes down to fear God.
Keep his commandments.
That's right. That's it. So anyway, well, we're going to take a break here. Yes we are. That was a long discussion, but it was really helpful.
It was, it was.
So when we come back, we're going to take some of your Bible questions with my guest, Jim Coakley. He's not just my guest. He's my good friend. Really appreciate him. He's a great expert on Bible lands and all sorts of things like that. Uh, and Bible reading. Thanks, Tricia, for bringing the questions in. We'll be right back with more of your questions right here on Open Line. Welcome back to Open Line. Let me tell you about the current Chosen People resource. Many think of the Torah. What's
the Torah? It's the five books of Moses. It's the Pentateuch. Many people think of those first five books of the Bible as terribly intimidating, that they may even be outdated or irrelevant. But I think we need the Torah to understand the New Testament and the Pentateuch. It's another name, for it explains important concepts like what does it say about Israel's future? What does it say about the tabernacle and the heavenly tabernacle? Even the need for an atoning sacrifice,
ultimately by the Messiah, Jesus. We find that all in the Pentateuch. And that's why Chosen People Ministries, one of our ministry partners, is offering a small book called The Portion. It's a weekly devotional based on the Torah portion, read by Jewish people around the world. And as you read this encouraging devotional, you'll discover how the Torah lays the foundation for the rest of Scripture. And I think it will even show us how we can get guidance from
it for today. If you'd like a free copy, all you have to do is go to our website. That's Open Line radio.org. Scroll down, click on the link that says A Free gift from Chosen People Ministries. When you click on that, it will take you to a page where you can sign up for your own free copy of the portion. And we're going to take a couple
of calls. Is that okay, Jim? Sounds good. Yeah, I'm here with Jim Coakley, my friend and colleague here at Moody Bible Institute, and we're going to talk to Shirley in Florida listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line, Shirley. How can we help you today?
Hi. Good morning. Um, I have a question about, um, the Garden of Eden. And I was wondering about the snake is in the Bible. Do they say that the snake is just representative of the devil? Devil? Or was it actually a snake that talked? And if it was a snake that talked? Um. I'm wondering, was all the animals talking or why didn't they get freaked out about a snake talking and run? Yeah.
Well, yeah.
I mean, I think a couple of things we can say kind of to get the conversation started. One, this is so early on that they probably wouldn't know the difference between talking and non talking animals right from the start. But you're right, I think it would be strange to have them hear an animal speak. Now we do have other.
Although they may have been shocked. Yeah, but the Bible doesn't say.
The Bible doesn't say. Yeah, but we do have other talking animals. We have balaam's donkey that talks. And so that's a shocking word that did not surprise Balaam. Yeah. It's like this is of course, he may.
Have been surprised.
He may have been surprised, but he blew right past it.
Yeah, the Bible doesn't address it. You know, whether they're surprised or not. And that's really an important thing. Sometimes we we think, oh, this is what should be included. But the author thought, nah, that's not important. He's going to just put in what is important. So but now I happen to think it was a snake that talked.
Yes, I agree with you.
And and the thing is, when you look at Balaam's donkey, it was supernatural power. God opened the mouth right of that animal. Uh, it wasn't Narnia. It was. And the same thing in the Garden of Eden. It was a supernatural power that opened the mouth of that snake. And what makes us know that it's not God?
Well, you think of the telling people to disobey the commandments. And that's where I go back to. And since my one of the techniques in my book is first impressions. Yeah. So we think of again the serpent, the snake in the garden. First thing we see him doing is, of course, he's using cunning words. Lying. Uh, and so one of the things that we see about, again, the first impression. A very, very common technique is that even the New Testament writers say that Satan is the father of lies,
and we see that right from the beginning. So, again, from a literary standpoint, the focus is not so much on why did this animal speak, but in what he says, and basically get the Adam and Eve to disobey. But we see that Satan's main, not his only tool that he has, is to get people to believe lies.
And and one of the things that that he does there is he gets them to believe a lie. He he takes over the power of the serpent's speech and is able to talk about it. And there's a lot more to be said about that. But here's the thing to remember in Isaiah 14. Now, I don't know where Jim is lands on this, but I happen to believe when there's a judgment on the king of Babylon, and then it talks about the power behind the king of Babylon, and it's clearly Satan. So you have that in Isaiah 14.
The five I wills there. About him standing against God and us, you know, sending higher and then in. Ezekiel 28, there's a judgment of the king of tyre, and then it starts talking about, you were in Eden. You were an anointed cherub, a kind of angel. Obviously the king of Tyre wasn't. And it's talking about the power behind the king of tyre.
And it's that seed of the woman, seed of the serpent. And we see that beginning battle right in the garden and continuing into Ezekiel and to even in the Book of Revelation. So and it's part of that stream.
Yeah. And so what I think is happening is that there's. Yeah, serpent for sure, but he's been taken over by the enemy, and the enemy is is controlling its speech. So in verse 14, you've sort of got a judgment of the animal to be a perpetual symbol of defeat. It says in Isaiah uh, 63, I think it is, or 64 it talks about how the animals will no longer in the kingdom when the Messiah is reigning. The lions going to no longer be a predatory animal, and the wolf
won't be predatory. They'll lie down with the lamb and all this, but the serpent will still eat dust, so a perpetual symbol of defeat. And then, of course, what comes is the next. The next verse. Verse 15. The ultimate, eternal defeat of of the enemy, that his head will be crushed by the Messiah. I think also.
Too, the imagery, the metaphor of a snake. Again, just think from the ancient standpoint that snake comes out of the ground. They have, you know, typically they come out of holes. And so anything that kind of deals with two realms is kind of that, what's the engaging power that's happening? And so it's coming from below, so to speak. And yet it operates above. And so there's that kind of I think that's one of the reasons why the snake was the selected animal?
Yeah, I think so. I think so. Does that help at all, Shirley?
Yeah, that's really good. And I was thinking too, as you were saying, there were so intrigued with the snake talking, and that's why they were paying attention to it. Yeah.
And, you know, they should have just said, get thee behind me, snake. But they didn't. So anyway. Hey, thanks. Thanks so much for your call.
Blessings to all of our Florida listeners.
Yeah. That's right. And we're going to talk to Steven in Michigan listening to Wndb. Welcome to Open Line, Steven.
Hello.
Well, hello, Steven. How old are you?
Seven.
You're seven years old. And what grade are you in?
Second.
You're in second grade. And do you know how to read yet?
Yeah.
You can read a little or a lot.
A lot.
Good. Do you like reading the Bible?
Yeah.
Okay, listen, you know, we're running out of time, so go ahead with your question.
And, uh, if if Adam and Eve were perfect and God and God said they were perfect, and God doesn't lie, how did they sin?
Well, let me just say quickly they weren't perfect. They had untested holiness, you might say. They were. They were not perfect in the sense. Perfection only comes when tested and they pass the test, but they it's sort of like, uh, when you're in school, uh, you may think I'm perfect, but you have to take the test first before you actually achieve the perfect score. Right. And so they were just untested. They hadn't sinned. They hadn't obeyed yet. They
were just untested. And when the test came, they failed. But they weren't called perfect until later.
And they had the capacity to choose. right. And yet they also had the capacity to choose wrong. And sadly, they chose the wrong path.
Yeah, yeah. I hope that helps. Steven, thanks so much for calling. Thanks for listening, everyone. And that's it for the first hour. Thanks for coming in, Jim. I really appreciate it. That was Jim Coakley. The name of the book is 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. Remember, it's our current resource. Don't miss out on that book. Uh, just for a gift of any size, we'll send it to you. Keep listening. The second hour is coming up. In just a moment. We're going to talk about more
of your Bible questions. More of your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. Our Bible study across America will continue in the second hour, so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. We'll be back soon, so don't go away.