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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 203

Jul22

Day 203 – Reading – Isaiah 28 – 30.

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah 28.

In these three chapters, there are four “ah’s.”  No, they are not like loosening your tie or waistband and sitting back in an easy chair with your feet up. They’re not like looking at a cute little baby.  These words here are sharper, dark … more like Woe!

Ah…   The first is a reminder about the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) whose capital city, Samaria, like a proud crown above a rich valley of vineyards, fell to the Assyrians.  Its inhabitants were all drunkards, easily trodden down by the enemy army.  The prophet describes the last days of Samaria. 

  • “These reel with wine and stagger with strong drink, the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in VISION, they stumble in giving JUDGMENT.  For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left.

Disgusting.

The LORD calls the scoffing rulers of Jerusalem to attention. You think YOU are safe?  You think Egypt will rescue YOU? 

THEY are not your refuge and shelter!  I AM, says the Lord God.

  • “Behold, I AM the one who has laid a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.  Whoever believes will not be in haste (put to shame). (A clear prophesy of the Messiah.)

No, during the persistent attacks by the Assyrians (“morning by morning, day by night”) those you’ve made a deal with won’t be able to help.  Why does Jerusalem continue to refuse God’s guidance?

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Isaiah 29.

Ah… The second, is toward Jerusalem. They too will be invaded because of their unbelief. 

  • “Ariel, Ariel (Lion of God), the city where David encamped!  I will distress Ariel… there will be moaning and lamentation… you will be brought low… 

Isaiah accuses the people of incomprehension. They don’t understand that a foreign power cannot help them. They’ve become blind. And so the Lord gives them up.

  • “Astonish yourselves, and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind.  For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).”  And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed.

Ah…  Again the third one is to Jerusalem. They’ve made a deal with Egypt to combat the Assyrians, but they know God disapproves, so the HIDE their plans.

  • Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, who say, ‘Who sees us? Who knows us?”
  • “You turn things upside down!  Shall the POTTER be regarded as the CLAY?”

But in the future, things will be rightly reversed.

  • “The deaf shall hear the words of a book,
  • “Out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
  • “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD.
  • “The poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel

Therefore, thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob…

  • “Jacob shall no more be ashamed… they will sanctify my Name, the Holy One of Jacob… and stand in awe of the God of Israel… and those who murmur will accept instruction.

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Isaiah 30.

Ah…  This is against the leaders of Judah who urged Hezekiah to turn to Egypt, not God, for help against the Assyrians.   

  • “Stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of PHARAOH and to seek shelter in the shadow of EGYPT!”  

Isaiah warns them that it will turn to their shame and humiliation. (“Egypt’s help is worthless and empty.)

Then God tells Isaiah to write it all down in a book, as a witness forever (of their stupidity!)

  • For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right — speak to us SMOOTH things, prophesy ILLUSIONS, leave the way, turn aside from the path,  LET US HEAR NO MORE ABOUT THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.'”

Oh, wow!

And the LORD responds, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them…. therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall…. collapse… whose breaking comes in an instant. 

But out God is so gracious to His people!  (How can He love them so???)

“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

“Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” 

“He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, he answers you.”

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 

And as for the Assyrians, they will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when He strikes with His rod.  And every stroke of the appointed staff that the LORD lays on them will be … to the sound of tambourines and lyres. (Jerusalem celebrating)

 

(Oh, Lord God, what a heart you have for your children, even when we are arrogant and sinning.  How can You love us so? Yes you discipline – You LOVE us.  But your grace and mercy are astounding to me!  It’s because of Jesus, and His work on the cross. He is that rock, that tested stone, the cornerstone on which we can stand confident! )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 200 (wow)

Jul19

Day 200 – Reading – 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 29 – 31, and Psalm 48

Do you see connections?

2 Kings 18:1-8 and 2 Chronicles 29

First, we learn that in the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea’s nine-year-reign, Hezekiah began his 29-year reign in the southern kingdom of Judah.  HE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD.  Praise God!  (In all the sons that King Ahaz’s burned on that pagan altar … God kept Hezekiah safe.) Praise God!

Hezekiah “trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. He held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following Him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him.”

And King Hezekiah began to “clean up Judah.” In the first year of his reign,

          2 Kings:

  • he REMOVED the high places, BROKE the pillars, and CUT DOWN the Asherah.
  • he BROKE IN PIECES THE BRONZE SERPENT that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it. (WHAT??)  (See Numbers 21:4-9)

           2 Chronicles 29:

  • he OPENED the doors of the House of the Lord, that his father, King Ahaz had permanently shut (See 28:22-25). 
  • he CALLED BACK the priests and Levites and charged them to consecrate themselves and the House of the LORD.  (Take out the filth that was in the Holy Place!!)
  • he REMINDED them that the LORD had chosen THEM to stand in His presence and to minister to Him.

And the three clans of Levites consecrated themselves went into the inner part of the House of the LORD to cleanse it. They brought out all the uncleanness they found in the court and the Temple. For EIGHT DAYS they consecrated it. Then they told the king it was done.

And Hezekiah rose early and had sacrificed to the LORD many sin offerings and burnt offerings … to make atonement for Israel.  And with musical instruments, they sang to the LORD, and worshiped Him.  They sang the praises of David and Asaph, with gladness. They bowed down and worshiped! 

WOW. Halleluia!

And so the service of the House of the LORD was restored.

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2 Chronicles 30.

Then Hezekiah sent letters to ALL of Israel AND Judah, that they should come to the House of the LORD at Jerusalem to “keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.”  It was going to be a month late, because of the time it took to cleanse the Temple, but the plan seemed right to the king and the assembly.

So the proclamation went out – from Beersheba to Dan. (ALL the country of the united Israel from the southern tip to the most northern boarder.) “Come to Jerusalem. Come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

“O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may turn again to you. The LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him.”

WOW, what a message!!!  PREACH IT, Hezekiah!!

But …………………………… they laughed the messengers to scorn and mocked them.

However, some of the men of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. And many from Ephraim and Issachar came.  They had not cleansed themselves, yet they came to eat the Passover lamb. 

  • FOR HEZEKIAH HAD PRAYED FOR THEM SAYING, “May the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the rules of cleanness.”
  • And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.  And the people of ISRAEL who were present kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with GREAT GLADNESS.
  • And the Levites and priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might to the LORD.

And the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah… REJOICED.  So there was GREAT JOY in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 

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2 Chronicles 31.

And when it was finished, Judah, and their brothers from Israel went out into the cities of Judah and Benjamin, and ….

  • broke in pieces the pillars
  • cut down the Asherim poles
  • broke down the high places and altars
  • … until they had destroyed them all.

Then Hezekiah commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and Levites … that THEY could give themselves to the Law of the LORD.

And people begin to bring in their offerings IN ABUNDANCE. And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities brought in the tithe too.  And the priests reported, that since the contributions began, “we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed the people.”

“Thus Hezekiah DID throughout all Judah, and he did WHAT WAS GOOD AND RIGHT AND FAITHFUL before the LORD his God.  And every work he undertook in the service of the house of God, seeking his God, HE DID WITH ALL HIS HEART, and prospered.”

……………………………………………………

2 Kings 18:9-12

Meanwhile … In the 4th year of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, and the 7th year of King Hoshea’s reign in the north, Shalmaneser, King of Assyria came up to Samaria (northern capital) and besieged it for three years. 

In the 9th year of King Hoshea of Israel, SAMARIA WAS TAKEN and the Israelites (who had not gone to Judah) were carried away to Assyria and put into cities of the Medes …….. BECAUSE they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant.  They neither listened or obeyed the LORD’s commandments.

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What a contrast between Israel and Judah with the godly King Hezekiah!

O LORD, may I always set my heart to SEEK YOU. May I hear and obey Your Word!

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 199

Jul18

Day 199 – Reading – Isaiah 23 – 27

Read today’s Scriptures.  (Yes, they are hard to understand!)

Isaiah 23.

This “oracle” is directed at Tyre and Sidon (modern-day Lebanon). They were famous for their ships and shipping industry, as far west as Tarshish (modern-day Spain). The King of this country assisted Solomon in supplying building materials for his palace and the Temple of the LORD.  Later, relations were broken.

Now Isaiah predicts doom for these proud people. “The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.”

“In that day, Trye will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king.”   

“At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre…. Her merchandise and wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.”   Tyre’s sinful gain was to support Judah when they returned.

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Isaiah 24.

The horrific judgments in this chapter, against the WHOLE WORLD, reflect the tribulations as described in Revelation 6+.  The LORD God is to deal with the whole earth MORE SEVERELY than He did at the Tower of Babel and Noah’s Flood!

  • “Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
  • “The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.
  • “The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.
  • The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut.

And the PEOPLE of the earth languish. The inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.  WHY??

  • Because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the EVERLASTING COVENANT.

What is “the everlasting covenant?”  See Genesis 17:7, 13, & 19 and 1 Chronicles 16:15-17.

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Isaiah 25.

Isaiah now praises the LORD for the wonderful things He’s planned (judgment and future restoration).

  • “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His People He will take away from all the earth.”
  • “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us.  This is the LORD, we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'”

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Isaiah 26.

The prophet continues praise for that day of final restoration.

  • “In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. ‘Open the gates, that the righteous nation that KEEPS faith may enter in.”
  • “You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
  • “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”
  • “The path of the righteous is level; You make level the way of the righteous.
  • “O LORD, You will ordain peace for us, for You have indeed done for us all our works. (“It is finished,” said Jesus.)

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Isaiah 27.

And then that great promise of the final destruction of that Great Serpent, Satan…

  • “In that day, the LORD, with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the DRAGON that is in the sea.

And then there is ANOTHER VINEYARD SONG.  How different this one is from the sad tale of a wasted one in Isaiah 5:1-7.  This one is called “a pleasant vineyard.”

  • “In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.”  (In Messiah’s kingdom)
  • “In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel.  (Matthew 24:31)
  • “In that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem”

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(Promises of the horrors of Revelation, and the promises of the beautiful restoration of Israel in the Millennian Kingdom.  God can be trusted to fulfill each … in detail.  I believe the “beginning of sorrows”
has, or is about to start.   LORD, Thank you for your word that tells us to PERSEVERE to the end… the glorious end.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 194 & 195

Jul14

NOTE: Sunday’s and Monday’s studies are posted together on MONDAY.

Day 194 – Reading – 2 Chronicles 27 and Isaiah 9 – 12

Day 195 – Reading – Micah 1- 7

Read today’s Scriptures.  Do you see connections?

Day 194 – 2 Chronicles 27.

We step back from the prophets for a chapter in history, looking at the southern kingdom of Judah.  Uzziah has died, and his son Jotham, who has been managing things for his father since God gave Uzziah leprosy and they put him in isolation.  Now, Jotham becomes king in his own right. He was 25 and he reigned until he was 41.  He did what was RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, as Uzziah had done in the early part of his reign. 

Jotham did a lot of building and fortifying of cities. He warred and won with the Ammonites and so received a lot of tribute from them for Judah.   Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.  

Jotham was buried in the City of David, and his son Ahaz reigned. Ahaz was a nasty, idol worshiping man, who even sacrificed his son to a pagan god.

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Isaiah 9.

These chapters in Isaiah alternate from predictions of TERROR by invasion, destruction, exile, and death … and the HOPE of the coming Messianic Kingdom.

So much is familiar here about the birth, ministry, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • Verses 9:1-2 are quoted in Matthew 4:12-16, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali is where Jesus’ primary ministry took place.
  • The people who walked in great darkness have seen a great light. John 3:19-21 and 8:12 reveal that Jesus is the light of the world. Follow Him and you’ll not walk in darkness.  However, some will HATE the light, while others love it.
  • Verse 9:6 are very familiar words to us at Christmas time.  “For unto us a child is born.” See Luke 2:11-12.  “…Unto us a Son is given.”  See John 3:16.  And then those beautiful titles for Jesus: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  He was and IS all of these, THANK YOU, Jesus!

Isaiah’s prophecy foretells Jesus’ glorious reign on earth: with no end… on the throne of David… with justice and righteousness, and forevermore. 

No wonder the Jews and the disciples of Jesus’ earthly ministry expected him (If he was really the Messiah) to rise up in rebellion against Rome and rule on a throne.  From OUR view, we know there is a great “time valley” between the two “mountains” of his comings..  And this glorious kingdom is YET TO COME. 

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Isaiah 10.

The LORD continues with Woes to the arrogant and proud people of Israel, naming specific groups or sins, in the last part of chapter 9, 10, and into 11.  His response?  “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.”

Then Isaiah predicts a horrific judgment on the arrogant Assyria (who had repented for a short time under Jonah).  They turned back to even MORE wicked ways only a generation later.  They were known for their barbaric cruelty.

BUT FIRST, God will use this cruel nation to judge Syria, Israel, and then Judah. 

THEN, “When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.”

The Assyrian Empire was massive. No wonder Israel felt so small and HOPELESS.  Here’s a map of the approx. 200 years of their rule.

Then Isaiah turns once again to HOPE. He prophesies of the “Remnant of Israel” and her survivors.  

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Isaiah 11.

Isaiah writes of the Righteous Reign of the BRANCH (or root of David). 

  • And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.   These are the qualifications that will enable Jesus the Messiah to rule justly.  (Also compare Revelations 1:4.)
  • Then Isaiah writes of the Idyllic  Millennium Reign, when: wolf & lamb, leopard & young goat, lion and calf, and cow & bear shall all graze together and lie down together in safety.  AND A LITTLE CHILD WILL LEAD THEM.   In fact, a nursing child will play with a cobra, a weaned child with an adder. (both deadly snakes) and they shall not be hurt.
  • Instead of a scarcity of the Word of God, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the water covers the sea.
  • “In that day the Lord will extend His hand yet a second time to recover the REMNANT that remains of His people, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath and from the Coastlands of the sea.”
  • “And he … will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Oh, my, what a dream the people of God had to hide deep in their hearts, and collectively remember in that Day.

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Isaiah 12

And then the beautiful Psalm-like chapter. Can you hear Isaiah singing…..

"You will say in that day;
I will give thanks to You, O LORD,
for though You were angry with me,
Your anger turned away,
that You might comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water 
from the wells of salvation.
And in that day, you will say;
Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon His name,
make know his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that His Name is exalted.

Sing praises to the LORD, 
for He has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."


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Day 195 – Micah 

Micah (Who is like God?) was a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, but he prophesied mainly to the southern kingdom of Judah. (The northern kingdom was about to fall to Assyria.)  God used him in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Like Amos, he was a “country” man from a small town near the Philistine border. 

His message was primarily to the princes and people of Jerusalem, condemning the social injustice and religious corruption he saw there. When Israel fell, northern refugees flooded into Judah, bringing their idol worship (Baals) with them. Micah  addresses this briefly, especially since King Ahaz was a part of it.

Like Isaiah, Micah prophesied horrific doom to Judah from the Assyrians and then the Babylonians.  But he alternates his dark messages with passages of HOPE for the coming Messiah-King and a restored Israel in the Millennial Kingdom.

 

 Micah 1 – 3.

Micah calls the world to witness what God is going to do in Israel and Judah.

Samaria (capital of Israel) will be made into “a heap.”  Then he bewails that Israel’s idolatry has come to Judah.  Now, “disaster has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.”

Micah condemns those who devise wickedness “on their beds” and then perform it in the morning … because it’s in their power to do so.  These rich and powerful “covet” fields and “seize” them (a reminder of King Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth?). They covet houses and take away a man’s house and “his inheritance,”  which was forbidden in the Law.

Micah tells them that it will happen TO THEM TOO in the time of disaster, when the LORD will “allot OUR fields to an apostate.”

Micah, in God’s name, rails against the heads and rulers of Jacob, for hating good and loving evil, committing horrendous injustice against the poor, which he pictures as butchering animals!

He also condemns the false prophets for misleading the people and prophesying “Peace.” They are led by greed, saying anything pleasing … for money.  God promises THEY will be struck blind for “blinding” the people with their lies.

  • Rulers detest justice and make crooked that which is straight.
  • Heads of the house of Jacob give judgment for a bribe.
  • Priests teach for a price
  • Prophets practice divination for money.

Therefore, Zion (Jerusalem) will be plowed as a field with nothing left but a heap of stones.

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Micah 4 – 5.

Micah also prophesies HOPE about what will come to pass “in the latter days.”

God will establish the “mountain of the House of the LORD, and people will flow to it and say …

  • “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
  • “They will beat swords into plows… neither shall they learn war anymore.
  • “They will sit every man under his vine and his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid....”

Then the prophecy that is still TWO HUNDRED YEARS OFF —

  • “Writhe and groan, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for NOW you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to BABYLON.  THERE you shall be rescued, THERE the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!”

And then that prophecy we know so well….

  • “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from YOU shall come forth for me One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”    (See Matthew 2:6)
  • “And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God. And He shall be their peace.“

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Micah 6 – 7

Another courtroom scene, with the LORD, the people, and the prophet speaking as the lawyer for God.

The LORD’s appeal.

  • “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!

The LORD reminds them of all the good things He has done for them, from deliverance from Egypt to help in conquering the Land.

MICAH, speaking for the people.

  • With what shall we come before the LORD?  With calves? Rams? Rivers of oil? Our firstborn?

MICAH speaking for God.

  • “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

And because they did NOT do the above, God would send judgment to them as punishment.  All the terrors that fell on their sister nation of Israel would be coming to them as well.  As they walked in the wicked ways of Omri and Ahab, so God will make them a desolation, a hissing, and a scorn.

The MICAH, sounding a bit like Isaiah here, cries, “WOE IS ME!”  for all the evil he sees in Judah.  But he gives his own testimony, “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Then the PEOPLE confess their sin and their faith in the LORD. 

They acknowledge the justice of God’s punishment.

And they look forward to His restoration. 

Then MICAH pleads to God.

  • “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.

Then the repentant PEOPLE praise the LORD’s grace and mercy.

  • “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?
  • “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love (mercy).  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot.
  • “YOU will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea, You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”

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(**** O LORD, I love this prayer and confession of the people. They know they have sinned, and finally, after Your chastisement, they acknowledge their sin.  They turn to you, confess, and trust in your faithfulness and the promises in Your Word.  LORD, let this be our story too)

 

 

 

 

 







			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 180 & 181


					
Jun30
			


	

		


Sundays and Mondays studies are posted together on Mondays


Day 180. Reading 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 18




Day 181.  Reading 2 Chronicles 19 – 23








Read Today’s Scriptures.


What insight or comfort do you receive?


 


Day 180 – 1 Kings 22.


After that ill-advised truce between King Ahab’s Israel (north) and King Ben-Hadad’s Syria (farther north), there were three years without war. Each country was trading in the other’s bazaars.  


But, there was a sore spot between the two kings. It was the town of Ramoth-Gilead.  Officially, it was in Israel’s territory, way east, across the Jordan River and right up next to Syria. (See map on yesterday’s post.) Syria was gradually “taking” the town, and Ahab didn’t like it.


So… when King Jehoshaphat of Judah (south) came to visit Ahab, Ahab asked him if he would go with him and battle for it and try to settle the dispute with Syria.


“Sure,” Jehoshaphat said. “My people are yours and my horses are yours. But … hey, let’s inquire of the the LORD first.”


King Ahab gathered his 400 prophets and inquired if they should go up against Syria at Ramoth-Gilead.


They ALL said, “Go up, for the LORD will give it into your hand.”


This seemed a little fishy to King Jehoshaphat, and he asked if there was ANOTHER prophet of the LORD that they could ask.


King Ahab grumbled, but finally said, yes, there was ONE, but Ahab didn’t like him because he ALWAYS prophesied against him.  Jehoshaphat pressed him, and Micaiah was called.  After a bit of messing around this real prophet of God said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.“


“SEE!!! I told you.  He never says anything nice about me!” bemoaned Ahab.  And Ahab promptly put Micaiah in prison with meager food rations.


But, the Word of the LORD which Micaiah spoke came true.  The two Jewish kings went up to battle with the king of Syria, who had told his men to “fight with neither small or great, but with the King of Israel (Ahab) only.”


King Jehoshaphat (Judah) rode out in his chariot in regal clothing and a crown on his head.  But wily King Ahab disguised himself as a lowly soldier.  The Syrians of course, went after Jehoshaphat, who cried out to the LORD for help.  When the Syrian captains saw that he was not King Ahab they turned away.  


Then ,,, a random soldier drew his bow and randomly shot an arrow into the air.  “Oops!” That deadly missile flew right to the disguised King Ahab and entered his body through the crack separating his breastplate from his chain mail.  A scream.  And, “TURN AROUND AND CARRY ME OUT OF THE BATTLE FOR … I … AM … WOUNDED!  And troops fled every man to his city.


In the evening, King Ahab died.  His blood flowed into the bottom of the chariot. His body was brought to Samaria and buried.  


“And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs liked up his blood.”  Just as Elijah had prophesied.


Ahaziah, his son reigned in his place. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, King Ahab, and in the way of his mother, Queen Jezebel. He served Baal and worshiped the pagan gods. He provoked the LORD, the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father did.


.


Meanwhile, in the south, King Jehoshaphat continued to reign over Judah. (We’ll learn some good things about him tomorrow from 2 Chronicles 19-23.  He continued to clean up the pagan worship that his father King Asa had begun.)


Jehoshaphat eventually died and HIS son, Jehoram reigned in his place. Jehoram was exceedingly wicked, and you will find out why (below) and how (tomorrow’s reading).  


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2 Chronicles 18.


Here are a few interesting details on the story above about King Ahab in the north, and King Jehoshaphat in the south going to battle together for Ramoth-Gilead.


Jehoshaphat had GREAT RICHES and honor.  He – STUPIDLY!!! – made a marriage alliance with king Ahab.  (Ah ha! … now we see why the southern king was willing to go to war with Ahab against the Syrians.)  Jehoshaphat had arranged for his son, Jehoram, to marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab & Jezebel.


And the fall out of this union nearly wiped out the godly line of David through whom the Messiah Jesus would come!!! We’ll see that tomorrow.


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###


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Day 181 – 2 Chronicles 19.


When King Jehoshaphat returned to Judah after that narrow escape with the Syrians and the death of Ahab, he was met by Hanani, a prophet of God, for a thorough scolding. 


“Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?”  (Yes, it did seem strange that he would help the wicked King Ahab fight the Syrians … until we learned that his son had married Ahab’s daughter.  There was a political obligation there.)


Hanani told the king of Judah that he SHOULD be punished … but that, “some” good had been found in him. He’d gotten rid of the pagan Asherah poles, and … MORE IMPORTANTLY, Jehoshaphat had “set his heart to seek the LORD.”  After that …


    

  • He went out to the people in his land and “brought them back to the LORD, the God of their Fathers”.
    • 

  • He appointed judges in all the fortified cities and reminded them that the LORD was watching them. They should make sure there was no injustice or bribery.
    • 

  • He appointed special Levites in Jerusalem to decide disputed cases.
    • 



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2 Chronicles 20.


And then, a threat of war came to Judah (south). The descendants of Israel’s old relatives: (Moab & Ammon, both from Abraham’s nephew Lot) and Edom (descended from Jacob’s twin, Esau) joined together. They came around the south end of the Dead Sea, with the plan to de-throne Jehoshaphat.


Thankfully, the king did not call on the wicked kings in the north to help him, but “set his face to seek the LORD.” He proclaimed a fast for all his people. And prayed this prayer;


    

  • “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven?  You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You.  Did You not, our God, drive out the in habitants of this land before Your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, Your friend?
    • 

  • “And they have lived in it, and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying, “If disaster comes upon us (the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine), we will stand before this house and before You (for Your Name is in this house) and cry out to you in our affliction, You will hear and save!
    • 

  • “And now behold, the men of AMMON, MOAB, and MOUNT SEIR, whom Your would not let Israel invade when we came up from Egypt – Behold, they “reward us” by coming to drive us out of Your possession.
    • 

  • “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them?  For WE ARE POWERLESS AGAINST THIS GREAT HORDE that is coming against us. “WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!  But our eyes are on You.”
    • 



**** (Oh, my goodness, what a prayer!  What if WE should pray this way, with such dependence on God!  What if modern Israel would pray this way, in total dependance on the LORD, their God! How would YOU respond, O LORD our God?)


As all Israel, with the little children and women, stood before the LORD, the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahazel, a descendent of Asaph, the Levite. And he said,


    

  • “LISTEN, all Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the LORD. “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S.”
    • 

  • “Tomorrow go down against them.  YOU WILL NOT NEED TO FIGHT IN THIS BATTLE.  Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD, on YOUR behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.
    • 

  • “DO NOT BE AFRAID AND DO NOT BE DISMAYED.  Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you!”
    • 



Jehoshaphat, all Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping Him. They praised the LORD, the God of Israel with a very loud voice.


And they arose early in the morning and went out to meet the horde. Jehoshaphat stood and encouraged them. “Hear me, Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, an you will be established. Believe the prophet and you will succeed.


AND THEN … Jehoshaphat appointed singers to sing and praise the LORD, as the went before the army.


“Give thanks to the LORD, FOR His steadfast love endures forever.”


And when they BEGAN to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, so that they were routed.  They each destroyed one another!!!!!  Dead bodies all around. None escaped.


WOW!


Jehoshaphat and the people came to take the spoil and found GREAT NUMBERS of goods, clothing, precious things – which they took for themselves until they could carry no more.


They returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 


And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.  So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet … for his God gave him rest all around.


.


At the end of his life, King Jehoshaphat joined in a venture to build a shipping fleet to Tarshish – with Israel’s wicked King Ahaziah (north).  But God destroyed all the ships because of this ungodly alignment.


Eventually Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the City of David (the southern part of Jerusalem, below the Temple Mount and palace).


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2 Chronicles 21.


Jehoshaphat’s first-born son, Jehoram (the one he’d arranged a marriage with wicked Ahab/Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah), ascended the throne.  HE WAS NOTHING LIKE HIS GODLY FATHER!  Immediately, he killed all his brothers, six in all, plus some of the princes of Israel (north), to assure his place in the kingdom.  (These men, were the lineage of “the house of David” through whom God had promised the reigning Messiah. Jehoram killed them all!) 


And yet God did not destroy him, even though he did what was totally evil in His sight, for God was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the Covenant He’d made with David. God had promised “a lamp to him and to his sons forever.”  But what about this totally evil man of darkness???


Do not fear. God is Sovereign over all.


But meanwhile Jehoram grew worse. He made high places for pagan worship. He led Judah into whoredom and made them go astray.


Elijah the prophet sent him a letter from the north. “Because you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel (north) and have enticed Judah into whoredom, and killed your brothers, I, the LORD, will bring a great plague on your people, children, wives, possessions and YOU YOURSELF will have a severe sickness of your bowels, until them come out of your body.”


WHOA! (Leave it to Elijah to terrify!)


God stirred up the Philistines against Jehoram, and the Arabians, and they came and invaded Judah and carried away Jehoram’s possessions, his sons, and his wives. (Only Jehoahaz, his youngest son remained.)


Then God struck him with that dreaded bowel disease, an incurable disease.  In two years’ time all his bowels came out and Jehoram died IN GREAT AGONY. 


No one regretted his departure. He was buried in the city of David, BUT NOT IN THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS.


.


2 Chronicles 22.


So, Ahaziah/Jehoahaz, Jehoram’s youngest son reigned. He walked in the ways of his grandfather, King Ahab (north), for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedness. 


God ordained his downfall through His appointed Jehu, whom God had appointed to destroy the house of Ahab. (Remember, that was one responsibility the old prophet, Elijah had, to anoint Jehu.)  And Jehu did that – he killed Ahaziah/Jehoahaz and all the remaining princes of Ahab.


Now, there was no one able to rule the Kingdom of Judah.  


Why?  Because the wicked mother (daughter of Ahab) destroyed all the royal family of Judah. She proclaimed herself queen – but nobody took her reign seriously.


WAS JUDAH WIPED OUT?


WAS THERE TO BE NO SEED OF DAVID LEFT TO COME AS MESSIAH?


WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PROMISES?


But … there was a woman named Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, and the wife of the priest, Jehoiada.  She went into the “nursery” and carried away the very youngest son of the king, less than 1-year-old Josiah, AND HID HIM FROM HIS WICKED GRANDMOTHER. 


Josiah, the SEED OF DAVID, the “lamp of Israel,” lay hidden in a cradle. He stayed with the godly couple for six years, while Athaliah “reigned” over the land.   


****(Doesn’t this remind you of how God kept the baby Jesus safe from King Herod when he sent Joseph and Mary to Egypt?)


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2 Chronicles 23.


Finally the time had come.


Josiah was seven years old.


He’d been trained by the priest, who now took courage.


Jehoida gathered the commanders of the army. They went through Judah and gathered the Levites from all their cities, as well as the fathers of the houses of Israel.


Jehoida showed them the boy-king, Josiah and said, “Behold, the king’s son! Let him reign as the LORD spoke concerning the sons of David.”


Then Jehoida revealed his carefully-though-out plan.  All the Levites and priests who had come off duty were divided into thirds and placed around the House of the Lord at the gates. “NO ONE MAY ENTER EXCEPT THE MINISTERING PRIESTS.” 


“Surround the king, each with his weapon in his hand.  Anyone approaching shall be killed.  Be with the king at all times.”


THEN, he brought out Josiah, the king’s son and placed the crown on his head.  “Long live the king!”


.


YIKES!  When Queen Athaliah heard the noise, she went to see what was happening and saw the young king. 


She tore her clothes and cried, “TREASON! TREASON!”


Jehoida commanded the captains to seize her. “Take her out of the court of the House of the Lord, and kill her!”  They led her through the horse gate of the king’s house and… did the deed.  The end of that wicked Ahab/Jezebel line … except for Josiah, whom the LORD had chosen to carry David’s seed.  WHEW!


.


Jehoida made a covenant between himself, the people, and the young king, that they ‘should be the LORD’s people.   He saw to it that the altars and images of Baal were destroyed. He reinstituted the sacrifices and offerings that Moses wrote about in the LAW.


Then he took the young boy king from the house of the LORD to the king’s house.  They set him on the ROYAL THRONE.  All the people rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed.


.


****(WOW. What a long tale of evil and good.  God is ALWAYS in control. HE is sovereign. He will fight for His people.  He will see that not a word of his prophecy EVER fails. His covenants are sure. HE IS GOD, and KING, and the LORD of Hosts forever and ever. Glory be to His name!)


 




 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 176


					
Jun25
			


	

		
Day 175.  Reading 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 13 – 16








 


Read Today’s Scriptures.


We now begin to read through the history of the reigning kings of the North and South. It can be confusing. Here are two helps.


1.) Check out (and maybe print) the list I posted yesterday of the kings and when they reigned.


2.) If you mark in your Bible, use a colored highlighter to mark the kings of the North, and a different color for the Southern kings.


1 Kings 15.


In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam (north), King Abijah/Abijam began to reign over Judah (south).  He reigned for three years. He walked in the sins of his father before him – his heart was not wholly true to the LORD, as the heart of David.


    

  • “Nevertheless, for David’s sake, the LORD gave him a ‘lamp’ in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”  (I love this promise!)
    • 



.


2 Chronicles 13.


Now there was war between Abijah (south) and Jeroboam (north). Abijah, with 400K soldiers VS Jeroboam with 800K (who were positioned in front and behind Judah in an ambush stance.


But, although Abijah was not a good king, he had some good words to the Northern army that day.


    

  • “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel. Ought you not to KNOW that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons? Yet Jeroboam – a servant of Solomon – rebelled and, because Rehoboam was young and irresolute, took the northern tribes to reign over them. 
    • 

  • “And NOW you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David?  Because you are more in number and have golden calves???   AS FOR US, the LORD is OUR God, and we have not forsaken Him. We have priests ministering to Him, the sons of Aaron, and the Temple of God.
    • 

  • “Behold, God is with us at our head.  O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, because you cannot succeed.”
    • 



A bold proclamation, for sure, but then Judah noticed the 400K soldiers in front of them and the 400K behind them, ready to ambush. They “cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets, and the men of Judah raised the battle shout.”  And when Judah shouted, GOD defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and all Judah!  WHOA! And the men of Israel fled before Judah, who struck down 500K of Israel.


Why this massive victory?  “Because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.”


Jeroboam (north) did not recover his power in the days of Abijah (south). And the LORD struck him down, and he died.  But Abijah (south) grew mighty.


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2 Chronicles 14.


Abijah (south) died and was buried in the City of David. His son, Asa, reigned in his place, and the land had rest for ten years.  “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God,”  taking away the foreign altars, the high places, and the Asherim pillars. He also commanded the people of Judah to “seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and keep the law and commands.”


The kingdom had rest under him. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace.


But then…


    

  • “Zerah, the Ethiopian, came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots!  WHOA!
    • 

  • And Asa cried to the LORD his God.  “O LORD, there is none like You to help between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your Name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.”
    • 

  • So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah. And they fled.  Asa and Judah pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell … until NONE remained alive. (a million!!!)  And Judah carried MUCH PLUNDER back to Jerusalem.
    • 



.


2 Chronicles 15.


Then the Spirit of God came on the prophet Azariah, and he took a message from God to King Asa (south), to Judah, and to Benjamin.


    

  • “The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”  “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
    • 



And what was the “work” they had to do?  Clean out the land of all the detestable idols.  And as soon as Asa heard the prophet’s message, he took courage and put away the idols from Judah and Benjamin.


He also gathered those people from the northern tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel (north) when they saw that the LORD was with him.


All these, and Judah entered into a covenant to seek the LORD the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.  They rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire … and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.


And King Asa removed his mother, Maacah, from being queen mother, because she had made a detestable image for Asherah.   The heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. 


And there was no more war …. until the thirty-fifth year of his reign.


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2 Chronicles 16.


In the 36th year of Asa’s reign (south), the (northern) king Basha went up against Judah.  He built a fort so no more of his people could leave him and go to King Asa. 


NOTE: Instead of crying to the LORD his God, King Asa took money (gold and stuff from the treasuries of the LORD) to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria in Damascus, and paid him to fight King Basha (north) so he would withdraw from King Asa (south).


Ben-Hadad agreed and sent commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel (north), and they conquered Dan, other cities, and all the territory of Naphtali. The northern king Basha heard of it and withdrew from building the fort against Judah. 


But…


This was NOT what King Asa should have done. The prophet Hanani said to him,


    

  • “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of Syria has escaped you. (He could have battled them and won!)  
    • 

  • Were not the million Ethiopians a huge army, yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.  
    • 

  • YOU HAVE DONE FOOLISHLY IN THIS. From now on, you will have wars.
    • 



Well, that did not make King Asa (south) happy.  In a furious rage, he took Hanani and put him in stocks in the prison!


“Did that help, Asa???  I think not.  Accept your sin! Repent! Ask forgiveness!!  But he didn’t. In fact, “he inflicted cruelties on some of the people at the same time!”


Three years later, “King Asa (south) was diseased in his feet (did he think about those prison stocks??) and his disease became severe. EVEN THEN, he did not seek the LORD, but went to doctors.  Sheesh!


He died two years later and was buried in a tomb that he’d cut for himself in the city of David.  Curiously, the people filled his casket with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer’s art.  (YIKES, did his feet smell THAT bad???)  They made a very great fire in his honor.


(17:1 – And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his place.)





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 171


					
Jun21
			


	

		
Day 171  Reading Ecclesiastes 7 – 12










Read Today’s Scriptures.


What truth about God stays in your mind?




Ecclesiastes 7.


Solomon reverts back to the style of his Proverbs in this chapter.


It’s interesting in verse 20 that he states a truth that Paul repeats in Romans 3:10-23.  Solomon says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” 


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Ecclesiastes 8.


Verse 15. “I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.”


This makes me think of Nehemiah 8:10, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”


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Ecclesiastes 9. 


Solomon here comes to the conclusion that we all do at some point. “This is an evil in all that is done under the son, that the same even happens to all …” death. Verse 3.


And so, he decides, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”  “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life … .”   “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…. for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in the grave to which you are going.”  Verses 7-10


He continues with his sad refrain … “Again I saw under the sun that the race is NOT to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”  Verse 11.


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Ecclesiastes 10.


Again with more Proverbs, with a rye, humorous twist.


“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.”


“Bread is for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.”


“Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.”


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Ecclesiastes 11.


Verse 5. “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the woman with child, so you do not know the word of God who makes everything.” 


(Yes, the formation of a child, out of cells from a man and a woman, with bones, organs, skin, and a mind … and a living soul … is indeed unfathomable.  Only God can create such.)


11:9 “REJOICE, O YOUNG MAN, IN YOUR YOUTH, AND LET YOUR HEART CHEER YOU IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH.”


Ecclesiastes 12.


12:1 “REMEMBER ALSO YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH…”


And then Solomon writes a section of humorous but sad allegory, a vivid picture of the aging process, if you will take the time to read carefully and consider. (verses 12:1b -7


If you are still young, perhaps these word pictures won’t have much meaning, but for those in their 80’s and 90’s, they will ring very true.


Verse 7 – pictures final death. “and dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”


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And so what does Solomon get from all his testing and trying everything under the sun and have considered everything via his great wisdom?  He sums it all up in verses 12-14 – pointing back to God.


“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”


And there you have it.  What have you gained from reading Solomon’s proverbs and speeches as the Preacher?  Me?  He has too much time and money and “stuff.”  A warning about accumulating things.  But he does point to God as creator and controller (sovereign) of all things.  Thank You, God, for you ultimate perfect wisdom!















			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 152 & 153


					
Jun2
			


	

		
Sunday and Monday studies are posted together on Mondays.
Day 152. Reading 2 Chronicles 1 and Psalm 72.


Day 153.  Reading Song of Solomon 1 – 8.








A NEW MONTH!


Read Today’s Scriptures.


What truth about God stays in your mind?


 


 


 


Day 152 – 2 Chronicles 1.


This chapter repeats much of what we read in 1 Kings 3-4. 


King Solomon and “all” Israel went to Gibeon, where the old Tabernacle that Moses built still stood.  David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem to dwell in a tent he made for it.  But the bronze altar was still at Gibeon, and at this time, King Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings on it. 


That night, God appeared to him, saying, “Ask what I shall give you.”


After some thought, Solomon said, “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, for who can govern this people of Yours, which is so great?”


God was pleased. “Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you.  I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor such as none of the kings had who were before you or shall be after you.”


And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone.”


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Psalm 72. 


A psalm of Solomon.


    

  • “Give the king Your justice, O God, and Your righteousness to the royal son!  May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your poor with justice.
    • 

  • “May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!”
    • 

  • “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound till the moon be no more.
    • 

  • “Long may he live; may the gold of Sheba be given to him!  May prayer be made for him continually and blessings invoked for him all the day.
    • 



And then,


    

  • “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be His glorious Name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory!  Amen and Amen!
    • 



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Day 153 – Song of Solomon 1-8.


Also titled the Song of Songs, meaning that this song is the best among Solomon’s 1,005 musical works.  It is a true-life love song.  Solomon appears as “the beloved.”  The woman is called “the Shulamite Maiden.”  She is probably Solomon’s first wife (Ecclesiastes 9:9) before he sinned by adding 699 other wives and 300 concubines. (1 Kings 11:3).  Solomon’s Song exalts the purity of marital affection and romance. 


Some strained interpretations use the allegory of God and Israel or Christ and the Church, but that’s misleading.  It’s a story of Solomon and the love of his youth.  It’s very picturesque and names several places that existed at the time.


Read it and “say or sing” portions of it to your own true love!  And praise God that He put this in His Word.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 143


					
May23
			


	

		


Day 143.  Reading 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22, Psalm30








Read Today’s Scriptures.




2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21


Okay, David… sigh.


You “blew it” before, you had to run for your life, and you lost two, no three sons, why would you now do something else foolish?


1 Chron 21:1 says, “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” 


God sovereignly used Satan in this matter. And for some reason — perhaps a fear of an attack by enemies, perhaps pride, or maybe ambition, or some other unknown sin of Israel — David yielded to the temptation of Satan, and CHOSE to go against God’s will and NUMBER ISRAEL to see how many men were fit for the army.


DAVID:  “Joab, Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba (top to bottom), and number the people that I may KNOW the number of people…and bring me a report.”


Well, old Joab surprised me here. He actually cautions the king.


JOAB:  “May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord delight in this thing? Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants?  Why then should my lord require this?  Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?”


But David insisted. So Joab and his men went throughout Israel and came back to Jerusalem nine and a half months later with the numbers.


NOTE:  There is a seeming discrepancy between the totals between the 2 Samuel and the 1 Chronicles accounts. Never fear. You can trust the word.  2 Samuel reports a different way of numbering: all the men, plus from Judah, including the ones already in his army. 1 Chronicles says Joab stopped the counting before he included Benjamin (or Levi) because it abhorred him.  David also stopped the counting at some point because of God’s conviction.


David’s heart struck him. “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”


(NOTE: A census is not wrong in itself. God called for them in Numbers 1 and 28.  But they were for reasons the LORD mentioned, and not to puff up a sinful king.)


And so God sent the prophet Gad to David (as he had done with Nathan).  Gad was to give David THREE OPTIONS of judgment, as the result of his sin. And ALL the options meant pain and suffering for ISRAEL


    

  1. three years of famine on the land
    2. 

  2. three months of fleeing from a pursuing enemy
    3. 

  3. three days of plague on the land.
    4. 



David was in great distress.  “Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercy is great, but let us not fall into the hand of man.”


And so, the LORD sent a plague on Israel.  From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men died. But when the Angel of Death put out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, THE LORD RELENTED FROM THE CALAMITY and said to the angel, “It is enough.”


David was distraught. “I have sinned and done wickedly.  But these sheep (the people of Israel), what have they done. Please let your hand be against me and my father’s house.”


The LORD told him to raise an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah/Ornan, the Jebusite. When David went there, the man said he would give the place (and the oxen to sacrifice) to the king FOR FREE. But David said he would not offer to the LORD that which had not cost him anything.  He paid the price asked, built an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.


And the LORD stopped the plague on the people of Israel (“The Angel of the LORD put his sword back into its sheath”}.


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Psalm 30.


Joy comes in the morning…


    

  • O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and you have healed me.
    • 

  • O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
    • 

  • Sing praises to the LORD, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy Name.
    • 

  • For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.
    • 

  • Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
    • 

  • You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God I will give thanks to you forever.
    • 



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And David said, “HERE shall be the house of the LORD God and HERE the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”  This is where the Jerusalem temple was to be built by Solomon.


1 Chronicles 22.


And so, David prepares for the Temple building.


David set stonecutters to prepare the great stones for building the House of God.  He provided great quantities of iron for nails and clamps, as well as bronze in quantities BEYOND WEIGHING, and cedar timbers without number from the kings of Tyre and Sidon. (Lebanon)


DAVID:  “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout the lands.” 


So David said to Solomon….


    

  • “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the Name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying….
    • 

  • “You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my Name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. Behold a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies.  For his name shall be Solomon (peace), and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.  HE shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.”
    • 

  • Now, my son, the LORD be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as He has spoken concerning you. Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel.  Be strong and courageous. Fear not do not be dismayed.  Arise and work!  The LORD be with you!”
    • 



David also commended all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon.  “Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the Name of the LORD.











			


	



			
				


	

		
Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 140


					
May20
			


	

		


Day 135.  Reading Psalm 5, 38, 41, 42.


 






 


Read Today’s Scriptures.


 


Psalm 5.


King David is back home, but he’s been through a lot. His sin, his being found out, and the drastic consequences of that sin, including losing another beloved son still weigh him down.  His kingship was threatened, and people forsook him and showed their displeasure with him. He felt cast off; set adrift. 


    

  • “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray. O LORD, in the morning, hear my voice…  Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me. 
    • 



Psalm 38.


David is still reeling under the dire results of his sin.  He talks about his sin, his iniquities, and his foolishness. He writes about God’s indignation like a heavy burden, like wounds festering, like a tumult in his heart.


Then David turns to the horrible treatment he’s received from his friends and companions. They seek his harm and his very life. 


    

  • I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.  Do not forsake me, O LORD!  O, my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord of my salvation.
    • 



Psalm 41.


    

  • As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”  My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?”
    • 

  • But YOU, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up….  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
    • 



Psalm 42.


David here writes from a place of sadness because he feels far from God. He remembers the sweet times of joy and praise and longs for them to return.  He feels God has abandoned him.  Then, it’s like he sits up straight, straightens his clothes and asks himself, his soul a question….. Then reprimands his soul…


    

  • As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my food day and night….
    • 

  • These things I remember, as I pour out my soul…..  how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival…..  My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan… and of Hermon… from Mount Mizar….
    • 

  • I say to God, my rock; “Why have you forgotten me?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
    • 

  • Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  HOPE IN GOD; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.
    •