It’s hip and cool for bloggers to post their top 10 posts of the year. And we want to be hip and cool. Our hearts tell us to do it, and the Bible says to “walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes” (Eccl 11:9). So here goes.
Last week, we gave you the top 10 posts from those written in 2020. Now, we list the top 10 posts from the full KW archive. If lots of other people are reading these posts, you probably should be, too.
For the first time since we’ve been tracking and posting these top 10 lists, this year’s list has no posts that were written this year. So there is no crossover with last week’s top 10 list. Our archives have been working extra hard for the increasing numbers of visitors to our site.
10. How to Recognize Sowers of Discord
Moving down from the #5 slot last year, this post outlines from Proverbs 6:12-15 a few signs to help recognize divisive people. This post comes from my 2013 series of studies through the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.
9. Context Matters: You Have Heard That it was Said…But I Say to You
This year-and-a-half-old post makes its first appearance on any of our top 10 lists. It examines the series of contrasts in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to determine, from the context, what Jesus was arguing against. Hint: It wasn’t the Old Testament Law.
8. 4 Bible Studies for Advent
This post is up slightly from #9 last year, a companion piece to Ryan’s 4 Bible studies for Lent. Advent is a great time to study the Bible, and here are four 4-week studies you could consider for that season. Be forewarned, however: These are not your typical you-can-only-trust-the-experts, fill-in-blank sort of Bible studies some people are used to.
7. Details of the OIA Method
This post serves as a table of contents to my series on how to study the Bible. It pretty much explains why this blog exists, so we’re glad it gets a lot of pageviews, even though it’s down from #4 on this list last year.
6. Top 10 OT Books Quoted in NT
This post was also in the #6 slot last year. Even though my series analyzes not only books but also chapters and verses, this list of most-quoted books always seems to be the most popular.
5. Summary of the OIA Method
See post #7, unless you want less of a detailed explanation and more of a summary. Then see this post instead. This is down from #3 last year.
4. Context Matters: A Bruised Reed
This used to be the most-viewed “context matters” post on the blog, until it was surpassed by #2 below. But it’s still being viewed more than it used to be, since it is up from #7 on last year’s list. This is one of my most controversial posts, as I challenge an interpretation as common as oxygen. Yet it is incredibly difficult to find an argument for the traditional interpretation. Instead it is universally assumed and asserted. Check it out, and study the text for yourself.
3. 10 Reasons to Avoid Sexual Immorality
This was the most-viewed post in 2014, but then it dropped off the list until resurfacing as #8 in 2017 and #2 in 2018 and 2019. I’m delighted to see a continued interest in such an important topic. Find whatever motivates you to avoid sexual immorality, and glum onto God’s grace in providing that motivation!
2. Context Matters: God Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart
A year ago, this was the second-most viewed “context matters” post (and #10 on last year’s top 10 list). But this year, it had about one-third more views than the one about the “bruised reed” (#4 on this list), and more than twice as many views as the “you have heard that it was said” post (#9 on this list). In this post, Ryan takes a close look at what Psalm 34 really means by this clause, which unsurprisingly is not that a person can get whatever he or she wants.
1. Why Elihu is So Mysterious
The popularity of this 2015 post continues to surprise us. We really cannot explain why it has been so popular, but if you haven’t read it, you must really be missing out! Elihu is that mysterious 4th friend in the book of Job. If you even knew he existed, chances are you’ve skipped his speeches entirely. This post is my attempt to explain Elihu’s role in the drama of the play of Job. This post was #3 in 2017, but it has now held the #1 slot for three years running. And the competition is not even close. The #2 post was viewed about 25,000 times this year, and this one was viewed more than 32,000 times.
Previous years’ lists: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
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