3:17, etc.) ? Are the years of the judges’ rule simply round num bers as some claim or were they accurate listings? What does one do with the many problems in numbers about reigns during the king’s period? In what year was our Lord bom, and in what year did He die? Was He crucified on Wednesday, Thursday, or Fri day? What was the apostolic se quence in which the dates of New Testament books fall ? What is the chronology of the Book of Reve lation? But even that is only an infini tesimal part of the study. Consider the rich study of manners and customs in Bible lands. What light this throws upon the life o f a shepherd and his sheep (Ps. 23, Jn. 10, etc.). How it opens insights into wed dings (Mt. 25), introduces vivid detail about sowing seed (Mt. 13), transports one to the excite^ ment o f the Isthmian games (I Cor. 9:24-27; Heb. 12, etc.), and puts him in the throng welcoming back a Roman general leading his hosts in a pageant of triumph (II Cor. 2.). Another part of Bible study, and a big area in itself, is the careful investigation o f alleged discrepancies, o b je c t ion s , and special problem passages. John Haley wrote 473 pages in an at tempt to set so-called contradic tions side by side and suggest possible solutions, and others like R. A. Torrey and Wm. Arndt have also labored. What about Cain’s wife? Jonah a n d the whale? Joshua’s long day? The psalms which wish calamities up on the wicked? The tensions be tween science a n d the Bible? Then there is the matter o f sim ply trying to understand certain difficult passages. Who were the “ sons of God” in Genesis 6— an gels or men? What is the mean ing of the passage about saints coming out of their graves in the context of our Lord’s death (Mt. 27:52-53) ? Who are the “ spirits in prison,” and when and what did the Lord preach to them (I
MA S T E R E D . . b y t h e W o r d
by James E. Rosscup, Th.D. P rof, o f English Bible, Talbot Theological Seminary
Beginning with this issue, THE KING’S BUSINESS will present a series o f monthly features on the subject “ Christians Need to Read.” Our desire is to acquaint you with books which are avail able on various areas o f the Bible. This month’s subject is English Bible. Dr. James E. Rosscup, Pro fessor of English Bible at Talbot Theological Seminary, introduces the series with an article on the vastness of the Bible. I T WAS TESTIMONY TIME in my college-town church. I got out o f my seat to share one of the burning desires o f my life. “ I am going to seminary,” I said confidently, “ to master the Word of God.” That was after graduation, and after a rich ex perience in the church youth pro gram, the Navigators’ Topical Memory System, and Campus Crusade for Christ. Now I felt that I simply must learn all o f the Bible. I soon began to discover realistically, however, that one does not and indeed cannot “mas ter” the whole o f Scripture. God’s Word is like a great ocean. Even a life-time of devoted exploration and meditation will leave portions inadequately studied and depths not yet considered or even imag ined. By the grace o f Christ, I still desire to know the Book bet ter. But there is an even more
consuming aim. It is to be mas tered by the Word o f God and to live life out to the hilt to please the Lord of life. What is so vast about the Bible? As new vistas of truth opened to me, I discovered with awe that the Bible embraces all the fields of life that formed a context for the eternal God to disclose Himself to men. It in volves history as a backdrop, and this introduced me to specialized areas no man can fully master— to Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, the Hittites and many other peoples, as well as the later empires of Greece and Rome. Then there is geography with its involvement in matters like places, terrain of Palestine and related lands, bodies o f water and climates. Add to this Bible chronology from Genesis to Revelation. Was there a gap o f long ages between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? How long were the six days of Genesis 1? Do the genealogies listed in Gene sis 5 and 11 give complete and ab solute chronology, or do they al low gaps so that more time may have actually elapsed? How does one relate the references to Abra ham’s age in Genesis 11 and 12 with the statement in Acts 7:4? Was the Israelite sojourn in Egypt only 215 years as some say, or 430 years (cf. Gen. 15:16; Exod. 12:40-47; Acts 7 :6 ; Gal.
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