Archive | June 2025

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 169

Jun18

Day 169.  Reading Proverbs 27 – 29

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God in the Proverbs stays in your mind?
 

Proverb 27.

Friends 

  • Verse 6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…
  • Verse 9 – “Oil and perfume make the heart gland, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
  • Verse 10. “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend…
  • Verse  17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

A quarrelsome wife

  • Verses 15-16 – “A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.

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Proverb 28.

Various kinds of people

  • Verse 3 – “A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.
  • Verse 5 – “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
  • Verse 6 – “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
  • Verse 11 – “A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
  • Verse 20 – “A faithful man will about with blessings, but whosoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
  • Verse 22 – “A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
  • Verse 25 – “A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

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Proverb 29.

Warnings…

  • Verse 1 – “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
  • Verse 9 – “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
  • Verse 12 – “If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.
  • Verse 16 – “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
  • Verse 20 – “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more home for a fool than for him.
  • Verse 21 – “Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his HEIR (and not a faithful servant). 

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Solomon still ponders the good, the bad, the ugly, the humorous, and the serious in his proverbs. He’s learned a lot in his dealings with the people of his kingdom. How much will he apply to his own life?  Will he die a wise man?

(LORD, help me to learn from Your Word about wisdom, righteousness, humility, and kindness to others, and how to apply these to my life.)

  • Psalm 90:12 – “Teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom.
  • James 1:5 – “If any lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all with out reproach.
  • James 3:17 – “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 168

Jun17

Day 168.  Reading Proverbs 25-26

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?
 

Proverbs 25.

The following four chapters of Proverbs (137 in all) are by Solomon, but the caption says that they were copied into the book by “the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.  This would be 200 years later!  It was during a time of revival in Judah.

Solomon’s wise advice in verses 6-7 about not putting yourself forward in the king’s presence reminds me of Jesus’ words in Luke 14:8-10 and James’s words in James 4:6b and 10.

  • Solomon: “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
  • Jesus: “Do not sit down in a place of honor, let someone more distinguished than you be invited, and he who invited you both will say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and you will begin with shame to take the lower place.  Instead, go and sit in the lowest place. so when your host comes, he may say, ‘Friend, move up higher.’  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
  • James: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Solomon’s admonition to “Argue your case with your neighbor himself,” is expanded by Jesus in Matthew 18:15. “If your brother has anything against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him.”

Solomon’s words about being kind to your enemies, feeding them, and giving them water are “seconded” by Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48.  And, the king’s words about the kindness of feeding and giving drink to enemies as “heaping coals on your enemies head, and the Lord rewarding you,” are picked up by Paul in Romans 12:20.

It looks like Jesus, James, and Paul did some reading in the Proverbs now and then.  We should, too!

Don’t you love good news from people you haven’t heard from in a while? 

  • “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.”
  • “Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”

What was the last good news you got from a distant relative or friend?

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Proverbs 26,

Verses 4 and 5 are a conundrum!  Think about Solomon’s words.  What do YOU think he’s trying to say?

  • “ANSWER NOT A FOOL ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY, lest you be like him yourself.”
  • “ANSWER A FOOL ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

Then, in verses 6-12, Solomon continues on and on comparing what awful things are like the mouth, or words, of a fool!  (actually, some of them are funny)

After fools, he rants on sluggards, or the lazy. (Verses 13-16)

Then, busy-bodies, jokesters, gossipers, and liars.  Whew!  Get it all out, Solomon!!

And he’s fair:

  • “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”
  • “As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.”

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(From the example of Jesus and the writers of the NT letters, I find I need to take some of the wisdom from Proverbs for myself – think on them, and ask the Holy Spirit to apply them to my life and my heart.)

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 166 & 167

Jun16

Sundays and Mondays studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 166. Reading Psalm 134, 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150.

Day 167.  Reading 1 Kings 9,  2 Chronicles 8

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What insight or comfort do you receive?
 

Day 166 – Psalm 134 – 150.

What a wonderful psalm to remind us of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple.

  • Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
  • Life up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!
  • May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!

Oh, DO READ the rest of these Psalms to 150.  These are the songs the people sang as they “sent up to Jerusalem” for the feasts of the Lord. They are psalms of praise!

Here’s just a verse or two from each.

  • Psalm 146.  “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.”
  • Psalm 147. “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.”  “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving, made melody to our God on the lyre.”
  • Psalm 148. “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise Him in the heights! Praise Him all his angels, praise Him, all His hosts!  Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars! Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.”
  • Psalm 149. “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly!”
  • Psalm 150. “Praise the LORD!”   “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!”

 

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Day 167 – 1 Kings 9a.

The first part of this chapter repeats God’s “If-Then” blessings and warnings to Solomon and Israel.

IF Solomon will walk in the ways of David with integrity of heart and uprightness, keeping God’s statutes and rules … THEN God will establish his royal throne over Israel forever.

But IF Solomon and Israel do NOT keep God’s commandments and statutes but serve other gods and worship them … THEN God will cut off Israel from the land and make it a byword and a proverb among the peoples. And the “house” (Temple) will become a pile of ruins.

Dire warnings, indeed!

1 Kings 9b and 2 Chronicles 8.

It took Solomon twenty years to build the Temple, his own palace, and the palace of his queen. The queen’s “house” was outside Jerusalem, away from the temple, because she was the daughter of Pharaoh, a pagan, and Solomon did not want her living near the Ark of the Covenant.  

(You wonder why Solomon’s first wife (of Song of Solomon?) was a pagan Egyptian, the very people from whom God had rescued Israel. It was breaking God’s specific law about a King’s marrying.  Yes, it was a political deal, and Pharaoh had killed a bunch of Canaanites and given a city to Solomon as part of the dowery for his daughter, but still …  

  • Deuteronomy 7:3-4. “You shall not intermarry with them (pagans) giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods…”
  • 1 Kings 11:1-4. “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh …. “Solomon clung to these in love …. “And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God as was the heart of David, his father.” 

There go God’s promises.

But meanwhile, Solomon got busy building cities.  He gave twenty of them in Galilee to King Hiram in appreciation for all the help and material he had supplied. But Hiram didn’t like them and gave them back. (What??)

Solomon used forced labor (slaves) for all his building projects, much like his father-in-law, the Pharaoh, had done.  But since God’s law forbade any Jewish people from being enslaved, Solomon used the Canaanites, which they had captured, to do the work and oversee the projects.

Solomon filled in the land depression between the city of David and the temple/palace, built the wall of Jerusalem, and the military outposts of Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, and others, as well as grain storage cities (also like Pharaoh), and cities for stabling his horses and chariots.  He also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-Geber on the shore of the Red Sea for international trading. (Gold from Ophir, etc.) (King Hiram sent ship-builders and seamen to teach Solomon’s workers the trade.)

“And whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion, he built.”

It’s interesting that in Ecclesiastes, Solomon bemoans all this grandeur and wealth as “vanity,” worthless to his soul. (We’ll get there soon.)

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  • 1 Timothy 6:6-10.  “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these, we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is the root of all evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith…”

 

  • Hebrews 13:5.  “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Oh, Father, keep me from greed and a desire for riches and the abundance of “things.”  Help me see the so much greater value of knowing YOU. Help me to be content with what I have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 165

Jun14

Day 165.  Reading 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
*What truth about God stays in your mind?
 
Today’s reading is similar to yesterday’s verses in 1 Kings, about Solomon’s blessing the people of Israel and his prayer of dedication of the Temple.

2 Chronicles 6 and 2 Chronicles 7a.

Verses of note:

  • “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David, my father.”
  • “Now the LORD has fulfilled His promise that He made.”

God’s word is ever true, and we can be sure He will “fulfill what he promises.”

  • “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to Your servants who walk before you with all their hearts.”
  • “Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house that I have built.”

Then Solomon prays for all the “if-then” times when Israel will fail and sin, and God will bring disaster on them … that if they turn, repent, and pray, that God will indeed HEAR and FORGIVE.

  • “…then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart You know, according to all his ways, for You, You only, know the hearts of the children of mankind.”

Even when Israel is taken into captivity for their sin, perversion, and wickedness (wow, prophecy for sure!), but they REPENT with all their mind and with all their heart and pray toward their land and this house…. Solomon prays that God would HEAR and FORGIVE.

And when Solomon’s prayer was finished, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burn offering and the sacrifices ... and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.  And everyone – Solomon, the priests, and the people – bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and WORSHIPPED and GAVE THANKS to the LORD, saying, “for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

King Solomon offered sacrifice before the LORD = 22K oxen and 120K sheep (wow!).  The Levites stood at their posts with instruments playing music to the LORD that King David had written for giving thanks, “for His steadfast love endures forever.”

Psalm 136.

David wrote: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.”  “Give thanks to the God of gods.”  “Give thanks to the Lord of lords.”  “For His Steadfast Love (mercy) endures forever.”  

In this psalm, David repeats that concluding phrase after every element of praise he states about the awesome God of Israel…. 25 TIMES!   For His Steadfast Love endures forever.  

Read all those praise phrases!  If you ever find your heart stingy and grumpy.  Read all these beginning praise praises. How awesome is our God. He does such wonderous things for His own people. He is strong and mighty.  He is tender and kind. 

SERIOUSLY!! Read them and praise Him.  

WHY is He so good to His own people???  For (because) his everlasting love and mercy towards us …. endures…. forever!  (FOREVER!  THINK ON THAT.)

(And then, after you read those praise phrases in Psalm 136, make a list of your own.  I’ll start…

  • Lord, You searched me out and found me – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You saved me and gave me new life – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You help me walk in righteousness – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You forgive and restore me when I sin and repent – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You supply all I need – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You give me joy in sorrow and suffering – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • Your presence is with me, even in death – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You have promised me eternal life with YOU – Why? Your love endures forever. 

And on, and on, and on…….

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2 Chronicles 7b.

After all the celebration, glory, and praise, God appeared to Solomon in the cool, dark, silence of the night.

  • “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.”  “My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”

And then that verse we know so well, and often maybe mistakenly pray for our own countries.  God says about Israel, 

  • “If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
  • “If you (Solomon) will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and rules, then I will establish your throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.”

Such glorious promises!!

But there is a dire warning as well.  Sadly, this one comes to pass…. 

  • “BUT IF…. you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, THEN….I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and THIS HOUSE THAT I HAVE CONSECRATED FOR MY NAME, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
  • “And THIS HOUSE, WHICH WAS EXALTED, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’
  • “Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on OTHER gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore He has brought all this disaster on them”

Solomon’s dream/vision turned into a nightmare of warning.  Will it keep his heart wholly for the LORD???

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*As for the truth(s) about God that stays in my mind after this reading?  It is His utter, enduring, amazing grace and love that He has for His people …. until they raise a fist in His face, turn their backs on Him, and seek to fulfill their own sinful and prideful cravings away from Him.  EVEN THEN, He is willing to forgive and restore if they repent and return to Him.  SUCH MERCY and STEADFAST LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 164

Jun13

Day 164.  Reading 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5

Read Today’s Scriptures.

What truth about God stays in your mind?

1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5.

The Temple that King David had imagined, planned, and provided for, and that King Solomon had built … was finished.  A fantastic monument for the LORD GOD of Heaven, glorious and magnificent, only awaiting the breath of God Himself!

Solomon gathered all of Israel for the dedication. The priests were consecrated and sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted. Then, they brought up the Ark of the Covenant from Zion, the City of David. They placed it in the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the cherubim.

And when they came out … a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not minister, for the GLORY of the LORD filled the house of the LORD!

King Solomon then blesses the LORD God of Heaven.

  • Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what He promised with His mouth to David, my father, saying… ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that My Name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people, Israel.’  Now it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. (But the LORD said, you shall not build the house, but your son shall build the house for my name.)  NOW, THE LORD HAS FULFILLED HIS PROMISE.”

Then Solomon spread out his hands toward heaven and prayed a lengthy prayer to the LORD, filled with praise, humility, contrition, and confidence in God.

  • “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.”  “Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David, my father (that he would not lack a man to sit before you on the throne of Israel). 

Solomon pleads that God when He hears prayer offered from that place, would hear it and forgive.

  • If a person sins against his neighbor and comes before the altar…
  • When the people of Israel are defeated because they have sinned…
  • When there is no rain because the people have sinned…
  • If there is a famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locus, or enemy at the gates because they have sinned and they come before this place with repentance…
  • When a foreigner comes to pray before this place…
  • If your people go to battle and pray for help…
  • If they sin against You, and you send enemies to take them captive, and they turn to you….
  • If your people repent with all their mind and hearts…

“Then, O God, hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their plea and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and for all their transgressions that they have committed against You, grant them compassion.”

Then Solomon got up from his prayer and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice:

  • “The LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers, may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Him to walk in all his ways and to keep His commandments, statutes, and rules he commanded our fathers.  Let your heart, therefore, be wholly true to the LORD our God.”

After that, there were tons more sacrifices and offerings.  After eight days, the people went home to their houses, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, his servant, and to Israel, his people.

(More tomorrow on Solomon’s prayer and dedication and God’s well-known promise of forgiveness and healing. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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(Oh, the mountain-top experiences! How we all wish we could stay there. Filled with the joy of the LORD, praises, goodwill, and full tummies. 

There will be more good things about Solomon, but eventually, as he goes against the laws for a king, we will see him falter. God is faithful, but sin will show its ugly head in his own son’s reign. 

Message to me?  Stay alert, be on guard, for my heart tends to sin, pride, greed, and wishes for glory.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 163

Jun12

Day 163.  Reading 1 Kings 7, 2 Chronicles 4

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?
(We are on a break from Proverbs for a few days to catch up on Solomon and his building and dedication of the Temple of God.)

1 Kings 7 and 2 Chronicles 4.

SOLOMON’S PALACE

In a few verses (7:1-12), the description of Solomon’s own palace is given.  (It was larger than the Temple and stood just south of it.) It took the king thirteen years to build it.

Solomon called his palace “The House of the Forest of Lebanon” for the many cedar pillars, beams, ceilings, floors, and paneling. (Can you imagine the lovely cedar fragrance he breathed in each day?)

Some of the rooms were named “The Hall of Pillars,” “The Hall of the Throne,” and “The Hall of Judgment.” Connected to the palace were several halls for his personal living space and for that of his queen, the daughter of Pharoah. The foundations and walls were made of massive stones, 12-15 feet in length.

TEMPLE FURNISHINGS

Oh my!  Everything Solomon had made to furnish the Temple was larger, grander, and more numerous. The “sea,” which replaced the “basin” that had stood directly in front of the Tabernacle, was now 15 feet across, 7.5 feet high, and held 12,000 gallons of water. Ten movable carts with basins were made to transport water to this mini “swimming pool” used for washing priests and sacrificial animals. To support this massive basin were 12 bronze oxen underneath, three facing in each direction.  WOW!

Inside the Holy Place, instead of one lampstand, there now stood ten, half on either side, plus all that was necessary to keep them burning.  Ten tables for the shewbread were made, equally divided, north and south, but only one golden altar of incense. It stood before the Most Holy Place.

Only the Ark of the Covenant was not remade.

The Holy Place and The Most Holy Place were both lined with pure gold.  In the Most Holy Place stood the two golden cherubim that Solomon made, wings spread out to touch each other and the sides of the room. They both faced the Holy Place, though The Veil separated the rooms.  (The Ark of God would be set between them).

Outside the Temple, holding up the wide porch, were two massive bronze pillars, 27 feet high (plus the capitals, which added another 7.5 feet) and 18 feet in circumference. Solomon named them Jachin and Boaz, which meant, “He shall establish” and “In it is strength.”  They would remind the people and the king of the stability and strength of God’s promises of a “forever” Kingdom of David.

Solomon also had made all the vessels that would be used in the Temple worship. King Hiram’s man, Huram-abi led in the design and construction of them all.

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Tomorrow…. the Ark of God is brought in.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 162

Jun11

Day 162.  Reading 1 Kings 5-6, 2 Chronicles 2-3

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What amazes you about Solomon’s Temple?
(We are taking a break from Proverbs for a few days to catch up on Solomon and his building and dedication of the Temple of God.)

1 Kings 5 and 2 Chronicles 2.

PREPARATION & SUPPLIES

Time to build the Temple, for “the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune.”

Solomon’s father, King David, had known and had good relations with King Hiram of Tyre. (“Hiram had always loved David.”)  So when Solomon sent to him for cedar wood to build the Temple, Hiram was more than willing.

He had woodsmen cut the great logs, carry them to the sea, and raft them down to Joppa, where Solomon took them up to Jerusalem. Hiram also sent cypress and algum (sandalwood) timber.

Interestingly, Solomon also asked Hiram for “a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained in engraving, to work with Solomon’s skilled workers.”  (This reminds me of Bezalel, whom God chose to do the same for the building of the original Tabernacle.) Hiram’s man was Huram-abi, whose mother was a Jew from Dan.

Hiram gladly complied with Solomon’s requests, asking only for food to be sent, which Solomon did yearly.  Solomon then counted all the “resident aliens” (people they had conquered in the land but whom God did not command to kill) and found over 150K to use as laborers to carry materials, quarry stone, and oversee the workers.

1 Kings 6 and 2 Chronicles 3.

THE BUILDING BEGINS & FINISHES

In the 4th year of Solomon’s reign, after he had gathered the materials, the king began the construction of the Temple.

  • This was 480 years after the people of Israel came out of Egypt.  THAT’S A LONG TIME.  If we were to think back from today (2025), it would be 1545, and King Henry VIII would be reigning in England!
  • I wonder how the Tabernacle tent was enduring by that time. While King David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, the Tabernacle itself, with the bronze altar for sacrifices and all the other holy items, was still in Gibeon, where the people went to worship God.

Solomon built the Temple on Mount Moriah, the very place where Abraham had been willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, until the Angel of the LORD stopped him, saying, “I will provide a sacrifice,” and indicated a ram caught in the thorn bush.  Mount Moriah is also the place where God provided “THE Sacrifice,” His only begotten Son, Jesus, who died there on the cross.

While Solomon was building the Temple, the LORD came to him and spoke this promise, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David, your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

The materials and measurements, the details of decorations, and the beauty and majesty of the Temple are almost beyond conceiving. The actual building process took seven years to complete. (the perfect number)

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(The following chapters describe the furnishings Solomon made for the Temple, similar to the Tabernacle but more majestic and large. Unlike the Tabernacle furnishings, they didn’t need to be portable.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 161

Jun10

Day 161.  Reading Proverbs 22 – 24.

Read Today’s Scriptures.

WHAT truths have you learned about God, His Word, everyday living, or God’s Sovereignty from Solomon’s proverbs so far?

Proverbs 22.

Insights to ponder—

  • Your good name is better than getting rich.
  • God makes both the rich AND the poor.
  • One who borrows is a slave to the one who lends (so watch out about too much debt on your credit card!)
  • Don’t be friends with an angry person because you’ll learn to be angry, too. (The same goes for one who swears, tells off-color jokes, is malicious, rude, or mean, etc.)
  • (Humor) An excuse for not going to work for the lazy person is, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the street!”
  • Train your kids in God’s ways and His Word.
  • Don’t be afraid to spank your kids when they act foolishly.

Then Solomon says, “I’ve written for you 30 sayings (chapters) of counsel and knowledge.”  Why did he write this book? “So your trust will be in the LORD.”

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Proverbs 23.

There are some interesting pieces of advice from King Solomon in this chapter about dining with wealthy, powerful, or influential people. 

  • Use restraint in eating their delicacies (they may be trying to bribe you).
  • Don’t assume they are “treating” you because they like you, for they are probably inwardly calculating how to trap/use you.
  • “Eat and drink!” your host may say, but desist. You’ll end up vomiting if you eat/drink too much (and how will that look?).

Solomon also expands on the relationship between parents and children.

  • Don’t be afraid to spank your children as a part of their discipline.  They won’t die, though their yells may sound like it.
  • Children should listen to and respect their fathers and mothers when they are old.
  • Children, be wise and righteous so your parents will be glad and rejoice over you.

Then Solomon writes seven vivid (humorous if it weren’t so sad) verses about what happens to a person when they get DRUNK.  (Do we really want to look, act, and feel that way???)

  • Wounds without cause, red eyes, it’s smooth going down but with a serpent’s sting at the end.
  • Seeing strange things, speaking vile words, staggering, dizzy, numb.
  • And when they awake? Proof of addiction.  “I must have another drink!

(I wonder if Solomon observed this or experienced it.)

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Proverbs 24.

Solomon built his own palace and the Temple of God. He watched, read the plans his father drew up, and organized the building materials. (TOMORROW, WE WILL SEGUAY TO 1 KINGS AND 2 CHRONICLES FOR A FEW DAYS TO READ ABOUT THAT GREAT WORK.)

Meanwhile, in this chapter, he speaks of other building projects.

  • Verse 27.  He advises getting your fields in order (fences, plowing, and planting) first and then building your house.
  • Verses 3-4.  Solomon compares spiritual education to building your house.  “Wisdom is a house built, and by understanding, it is established; and by knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”  
  • Knowledge = the facts of God’s truth,
  • Understanding = the meaning of the truth,
  • Wisdom = the application of the truth.

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I love verses 13-14. “Eat honey, for it is good. The drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Wisdom is like honey to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future and a hope.”

This reminds me of the words of Solomon’s father, David, in Psalm 19, speaking of the wisdom (all the law) of the Lord. “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

(Do I seek for that sweetness of God’s Word and truth?

Do I desire His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge like a taste of honey? 

LORD, oh, help me to long for Your word and to “devour” it constantly.)

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Solomon also writes about our responsibility to help others in physical or spiritual distress.

  • Proverbs 24:11-12.  “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay man according to his work?”

Many prophets in the Old Testament warn about the responsibility of being a watchman and telling others about approaching disaster.  Jesus’ brother, Jude, urges this too.

  • Jude 22-23, “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

Salvation should not mean complacency. Love for our Lord and others (friend or enemy) should always guide us.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 159 & 160

Jun9

Sunday and Monday studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 159. Reading Proverbs 16 – 18.

Day 160.  Reading Proverbs 19 – 21

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What insight or joy do you receive?
 
Day 159 – Proverbs 16.

God is sovereign in all things. Did you see that in this chapter?

  • Verse 1. “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”
  • Verse 4. “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” (Think Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, or Cyrus) 
  • Verse 9. “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
  • Verse 33. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.’

I can trust God’s perfect will and way for my good and His glory!

And a few proverbs that you’ve probably heard quoted:

  • Verse 7. “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
  • Verse 18. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  

(Has that ever happened to you?  I’m guilty of pride, and often, I find myself on the ground with muck on my face!!)

  • Verse 24. “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” 

(Try this today when you want to lash out and see the joy it brings to the other person AND yourself!)

  • Verse 31. (I love this one!) “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”

(My life is only righteous through the Lord Jesus Christ, but I’m glad that even Solomon did not find grey hair disgusting!)

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Proverbs 17.

  • Here’s another of the “better” proverbs. Verse 1. “BETTER is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” (also 15:17)
  • I love this one, being a great-grandma of six. Verse 6. “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”
  • A proverb against GOSSIP!  Verse 9. “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”

(Oh, LORD, gossip is so tempting, so self-exulting, so delicious, and we can hide its malicious intent by saying we are “sharing a prayer need.”  Father, keep me from such heinous foolishness today!!)

  • Verse 17. “A friend loves at ALL times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

(I’ve always wondered what the second part of this proverb meant.  Well, you can lean on a friend through thick and thin, but it is a brother, a relative, who will stand with you in true trouble.  “Blood is thicker than water,” they say.  I’m so thankful that Jesus is both a friend AND brother to the believer.)

  • Want to seem wise?  According to verse 28, just keep your mouth closed. 

Yes, it can be difficult at times. But why open it and prove your foolishness?  (Me?  Yep, I have deeply regretted a word (or many more) spoken when I should have kept silent.)

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Proverbs 18.

This chapter has many of the points (truths) from the previous chapters. (Don’t you wish Solomon would have grouped all the similar ones together?  Ah, but then, would we search the verses so carefully?)

A FOOL AND HIS MOUTH

  • Verse 6-7 “A fool’s LIPS walk into a fight, and his MOUTH invites a beating.”  “A fools’ MOUTH is his ruin, and his LIPS are a snare to his soul.” 

GOSSIP

  • Verse 8. “The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels, they go down into the inner parts of the body.”

PRIDE

  • Verse 12.  “Before destruction, a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”

FRIENDS/BROTHERS

  • Verse 24. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” 

This reminds me again of our Lord Jesus Christ’s words in John 15:12-17. 

  • “This is my commandment, that you love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. YOU ARE MY FRIENDS if you do what I command you (love one another). No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.   You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.  These things I command you will love one another.”

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Day 160 – Proverbs 19-21.
 

Lots more wisdom in these three chapters, many repeated with a few different words. 

  • Verse 3. “When A MAN’s (own) folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against THE LORD!” 

 Have you ever seen this?  Have you ever blamed God for your own foolishness?  I can recall this in my own life, oh, fool that I am!

Wives, who wants them? Who can do without them?

  • Verse 13b. “a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.” Yikes!!
  • Verse 21:9. “It is BETTER to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife!”
  • Verse 21:19. “It is BETTER to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.”

However…

  • Verse 19:14, “House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.”  YAY!

And, on the OTHER hand…

  • Verse 20:6, “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a FAITHFUL MAN who can find?”

On keeping silent…

  • Verse 21:23. “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”  Amen!

God’s Sovereignty…

  • Verse 19:21. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
  • Verses 21:30-31. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. The horse is made ready for battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.”

The lazy sluggard …

  • Verse 19:15. “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”
  • Verse 19:24. “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.”
  • Verse 20:4. “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
  • Verse 20:13. “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.”
  • Verse 21:15. “The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hand refuses to labor.”

Then, there are several proverbs concerning “a king.”  I wonder if Solomon is describing himself and his own rule…

  • Verse 19:12. “A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
  • Verse 20:2. “The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.”
  • Verse 20:8.  “A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.”
  • Verse 20:26. “A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them.”  OH MY!!
  • Verse 20:28.  “Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love, his throne is upheld.”
  • Vere 21:1. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 158

Jun7

Day 158.  Reading Proverbs 13 – 15

Read Today’s chapters.

Pithy, sharp, and true truths, which stood out to you?

Proverbs 13.

Four times in this chapter, Solomon says that when “whoever” (not the righteous or wise and not the foolish) but whoever does a particular thing (good or bad), that person experiences a matching result. Then, in the second part of the verse, the opposite is shown.

Check out Verses 3, 13, 20, and the familiar, 24

  • verse 3 – WHOEVER guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
  • verse 13 – WHOEVER despises the Word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
  • verse 20 – WHOEVER walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
  • verse 24 – WHOEVER spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

ANY OF SOLOMON’S READERS, then and now, can fall into these traps of 1) not guarding our speech, 2) despising (being offended by) the Word, 3) congregating with fools, and 4) not disciplining our children.

I am a “whoever,” and you are a “whoever,” too.   May we heed Solomon’s wise warnings.

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Proverbs 14.

There are several familiar quotations in Chapter 14.

When my husband and I ran a horse-boarding business, verse 4 became a humorous, oft-quoted saying between us.  Twice daily, we had to clean out and carry away the muck of nine horse stalls.  We would remind ourselves…

  • “Where there are no oxen (horses), the manger is clean, but abundant crops (our earnings) come by the strength of oxen (boarding horses).”  In essence, “dirty” stalls equaled money.

And verse 12 is often quoted when we share the Gospel of Christ with people who think they don’t need the Lord Jesus to get to heaven. They can manage okay on their own good works…

  • “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

And in patriotic meetings or on holidays, we quote verse 34.

  • “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

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Proverbs 15.

  • “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  and  “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”

Have you seen this happen?  Have you ever heeded this good advice of a ‘soft answer’ and being ‘slow to anger’ in a situation?  What happened?

LORD, help me remember these “better” truths when I wish I had more “stuff.”

  • “BETTER is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.”  and  “BETTER is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it. 

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LORD, I love how these pithy and even humorous proverbs convict us when we let the truths sink in. YOUR WORD, is truly “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”