A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath
Mauvine found this introduction to the bible, which we hope will be
interesting to the older as well as to the younger readers – Hopefully we
will have a reading each month:
Preparing to Depart
When I was young, before the war, I used to pay
visits to my relations and friends. In nearly every home you would find a
large Family Bible. These Bibles were often very interesting as many of
them had details of the family history in the end-papers. The Bibles
actually were read. My grandfather always read a portion of scripture to
his family before they ate the principal meal of the day. Gradually the
habit of Bible reading in the home died out. If it hadn’t been thrown
away, the Family Bible lay neglected on a small table, covered with a
cloth on which there was a vase of flowers. What a loss this has been!
Our Bible contains all we need to know about God; its teaching, if
followed, also enables us to live a fulfilling human and spiritual life. The
Old Testament encapsulates much of the elements of the Jewish religion
and in the Old and New Testament people are found who are also
honoured in the religion of Islam. In an attempt to persuade you, my dear
readers, to return to a study of the Bible, I invite you to come with me on
a journey which will last for about five years as we travel through the
Bible’s sixty-six books. We shall visit many countries and peoples. The
whole drama of life will surround us. Where else can you find an ass that
speaks to her master, or food being lowered from heaven in a sheet? You
will hear of a famous king who had the husband of a beautiful woman
killed so that he could possess her. There are many stories of high
adventure and, if the weather is getting you down, you will find
instructions for building a boat.
Ladies, if you wish to cook like the ancients there are recipes. Most
important of all we shall learn how God sent His only Son into our world
to teach us how to live our lives. By His death we shall discover how He
paid for our sins and by His resurrection offered us the prospect of
eternal life. In the latter stages of our journey we shall meet St. Paul and
begin to see the formation of what is now a great world-wide Church.
We set off next month through the book of Genesis.
The nom-de-plume I am using is one of the names of a Middle-Eastern king —
Tiglath-Pileser. It is also the name of a camel I brought back from North
Africa! I hope we will enjoy our journey together.