Time with a Treasure

A few Sundays ago I spoke on how we got our Bible. I walked through not only the formation of the canon in the first few centuries of the Church but also the progression of the English translation of the Bible (You can see my article on the progression of English Bible translations here). I love teaching this stuff! It both humbles and excites me to see how God preserved his word for us today. After one of the services a friend of mine approached me and offered to let me borrow a Bible he had been given as a wedding gift from his mother-in-law years ago. What Bible was it? The Geneva Bible. This was a Bible produced in Switzerland in 1560 by Puritan refugees fleeing persecution from Queen Mary. This was the household Bible of English-speaking Protestants due to being smaller and more affordable. It contained “study notes” for commentary on biblical text (the first Study Bible?). It was also the first complete English Bible to use chapter breaks and numbered verses. It was the Bible Shakespeare used and the Bible brought over to America by the pilgrims on the Mayflower.

The copy my friend had was created in 1602! Not too shabby. Needless to say, I accepted his invitation. Yesterday he dropped it off and I’ve been shaking my head ever since. I mean, I’m holding a book that is older than our nation! This is the Bible my heroes of the Church Historical, the Puritans, used.  I’ve spent a lot of time carefully thumbing through this incredibly sturdy book, amazed that I am touching a piece of history. I wanted to include some pics of some popluar passages for your enjoyment. See if you can tell where these passages are from…