JERUSALEM, Israel – Jews and Christians are coming together this week to unite over something they both hold very dear – the Bible.
For the first time ever, on Wednesday, July 14, the National Bible Reading Marathon is making its way to Israel. The annual event was founded in Iowa by Dianne Bentley in 2018 to give Midwesterners the chance to study the Bible. It eventually spread across the United States and officially went global in 2019. According to Bentley, 57 nations participated in 2020.
Now, Israelis will get the chance to join more than 70 other nations expected to participate this year with the help of the Genesis 123 Foundation, which seeks to build bridges between Christians and Jews.
This year, participants will each read a chapter from Isaiah, who prophesied about Babylon’s destruction and the restoration of the Jews to their land after exile.
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The participants will read their assigned chapter at 7:14 a.m. in their respective time zones on Wednesday. The organizers chose 7:14 because it corresponds with 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, “If My people, upon whom My name is called, humble themselves and pray and seek My presence and repent of their evil ways, I shall hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”
In Israel, the chapters will be read in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Amharic, and other languages.
Jonathan Feldstein, who founded the Genesis 123 Foundation, explained why it is so important for Jews and Christians to read the Bible together.
“Jews and Christians have so much in common that begins with God and His Word. Just by reading and studying that, we exalt God,” he told CBN News. “But when we do so together, each from our own tradition, we add value, meaning and [form] the ability to understand how much we do indeed share together.”
For more information about participating in the event, click here.
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