My new Bible, the Bible I've been wanting for months and months, actually almost a year, finally, FINALLY came. The reason it took me so long to get it is because I wanted a leather-bound ESV Study Bible, and they cost about $60, and I could never come up with the money. My intention is to use it as my Everything Bible--my Bible for, well... EVERYTHING! Over the years I've purchased a LOT of Bibles, and I do mean a LOT. I probably have in excess of twenty Bibles, and I don't use most of them. I've come to realize that I'm wasting a lot of perfectly good Bibles that people who don't have even one Bible would be able to use and treasure. So I've decided that I'm going to gather together all the Bibles I own and figure out which ones I do use, and then give away the rest to people who can use them. I haven't yet figured out how to locate these needy people. I guess I'll let God be my guide on that part, or maybe I'll talk to my pastor.
Anyway, this new Bible is SOOO cool. It has all kinds of features that I've never had in any of my Bibles before. It has forty different full color illustrations, some of them full-page spreads (covering two pages). There's one that's an illustration of Aaron's priestly garments at the end of the Book of Exodus that's really cool. I've always wondered what they looked like, and now, at the very least, I have a really good idea.
It has a concordance in the back, as well as a complete set of maps. In addition there are full-color maps scattered throughout the text of the Bible in appropriate places. There are a whole bunch of articles on subjects such as "Biblical Ethics: An Overview", "Reliability of Bible Manuscripts", and "How The New Testament Quotes And Interprets The Old Testament", to name a few. It also has a daily reading plan that has readings from Old and New Testaments, as well as Psalms and Proverbs. It also has a list of Old Testament scriptures quoted in the New Testament, something I'm sure I'll find to be extremely valuable. And probably the coolest thing of all is that, because I purchased a hardcopy of this Bible I get a free key-code which gives me access to the ESV Study Bible online. That includes the complete text of the Bible itself, as well as all the articles and maps. But it also has something else that I've never seen before, and that's the ability for me to make my own personal notes about what I read. That probably exists in other online Bible websites, but I haven't seen it.
So that's my cool new Bible. Now I have to start using it. About all I've done thus far is to underline a few of my favorite verses, mostly because I need to get a Bible cover and some marking pens. The last time I had a study Bible that I really used (my KJV Thompson Chain Reference), I had a set of colored marking pens. I had a system of underlining where I used different colors for different Bible subjects. I no longer have those marking pens, haven't had for years, and I need a Bible cover whether I have the marking pens or not.
The upshot of it all is that I finally got the Bible that I'd been wanting and desiring, even lusting after, if you can say that about something like a Bible, for almost a year. There were times that I despaired of ever holding it in my hands, but God is good, and now I have it. I've been playing with it (playing??) and looking at all the cool features and illustrations and articles. Yes, playing. And feasting, and rejoicing, and praising, and... and...
"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD God of hosts."~~Jeremiah 15:16, ESV
I LOVE God's Word!!!
