Archives

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.

.

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.

.

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.” 

.

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.”

.

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.

.

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.”

.

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.”

.

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.”

.

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!

.

###

.

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. three months of fleeing from a pursuing enemy
  3. three days of plague on the land.

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”}.

.

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.

.

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.

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 136

May16

Day 136.  Psalms 3, 4, 12, 13, 28, 55.

Read Today’s Scriptures.
Psalm 3.

A psalm David wrote when he fled Absalom his son.

  • O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me:
  • Many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.
  • But You, O LORD are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
  • I cried aloud to the LORD, and He answered me from His holy hill.
  • I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
  • I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
  • Arise, O LORD. Save me, O my God!

Psalm 4.

  • Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
  • In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD make me to swell in safety. 

Psalm 12.

  • Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of men.
  • Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
  • The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
  • You, O LORD, will keep them; You will guard us from this generation forever.

Psalm 13.

  • How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
  • Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
  • But I have trusted in You steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 28.

  • To You, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest if You be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. HEAR the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help, when I life up my hands toward Your most holy sanctuary.
  • Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy!

Psalm 55.

  • Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked.  For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
  • My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.   And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; Yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
  • Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and strife in the city; Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
  • For it is not an enemy who taunts me — then I could bear it;  it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me — then I could hide from him.  BUT IT WAS YOU, A MAN, MY EQUAL, MY COMPANION, MY FAMILIAR FRIEND.   We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house, we walked in the throng…..
  • My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. His speech was smooth as butter, yet WAR WAS IN HIS HEART; his words were softer than oil, yet they were DRAWN SWORDS. 
  • But You, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days.  But I will put trust in You. 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 131 & 132

May12

(Sundays and Mondays studies are both posted on Monday.)

Day 131. Reading 2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19, and Psalm 20

Day 132.  Reading Psalms 65, 66, 67, 69, 70

Read Today’s Scriptures.

Day 131.

2 Samuel 10 and 1 Chronicles 19  (These two chapters tell the same story with very few differences.)

It started with a good deed. The friendly king of the Ammonites died, and David wanted to show his loyalty to the new king, Hanun, so he sent a company of his servants to console him.  Like many young and pompous advisors to new youthful kings, Hanun’s guys filled his mind with suspicion about David’s servants. They whispered in Hanun’s ear that King David had sent them to search the city, spy on it, and overthrow it. 

Really?  With bouquets of lilies?

The young (and foolish king – he reminds me of Solomon’s son Rehoboam & his foolish advisors – took David’s servants and humiliated them.  Half their beards (a symbol of manhood) were shaved off, and their robes were cut off at hip level, leaving them exposed.  They were greatly ashamed!

David heard about it, sent men to meet them (presumably with decent clothes), and told them to remain in Jericho until their beards grew out.

Young King Hanun, sensing he’d made a mistake and seeing how he now “stunk” in the eyes of Israel, got together an army, added some neighboring soldiers then fanned out for war. (second mistake)

David sent Joab and the host of his mighty men. (The empire strikes back!)

Joab and his co-commander brother Abishai spit up to fight the Syrians and Ammonites. Joab encouraged his brother and men with a great declaration.

  • Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him.

Way to go, Joab!

The Syrians fled.  When the Ammonites saw them running away, they fled too.  HA!  Joab and Abishai and their men returned to Jerusalem. 

Now the Syrians were embarrassed and returned with a new, powerful commander to fight again. (third mistake.)  This time DAVID himself, gathered all Israel together, led them across the Jordan River, and fought them.

The Syrians fled again. This time David and the company went after them, killing many thousands. And also, that great commander died too.  When the Syrians saw they were defeated they surrendered and became subject to Israel.

So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore.  (Let that be a lesson learned!)

Psalm 20.

This psalm is titled, “Trust in the Name of the LORD our God.” It’s a song most often sung before going out to battle.

That’s just what Joab and Abishai, and then King David did, and they won the day. All glory to God.

  • May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the Name of the God of Jacob protect you!
  • May He send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!
  • May He remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!
  • May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!
  • May WE shout for joy over your salvation, and in the Name of our God set up our banners!
  • May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!
  • Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving might of His right hand. 
  • SOME trust in chariots and SOME in horses, but WE trust in the Name of the LORD our God!

###

 

Day 132. (5 more psalms)

Psalm 65.

This psalm is a PRAISE psalm (to the MAX).  It’s hopeful, confident, and enthusiastic in response to God’s goodness.  It’s a celebration at the Tabernacle, probably at one of Israel’s Feasts.

  • Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion
  • O YOU WHO HEAR PRAYER, to You shall all flesh come.
  • Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with your goodness and holiness.
  • By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation.
  • You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
  • You crown the year with Your bounty; Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance!

Psalm 66.

Another psalm of praise titled “How Awesome Are Your Deeds”

  • Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His Name; give to Him glorious praise!  Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!”  So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.
  • Come and see what God has done; He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.
  • Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

And then, a personal testimony;

  • Come and hear all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for my soul.
  • I cried to Him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.
  • If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened. 
  • But truly God HAS listened, He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
  • BLESSED be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!

Psalm 67.

This psalm shows that God’s desire is to save and bless ALL nations of the earth as they come to Him and fear him! But first a “benediction.”

  • May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us.…..
  • that Your way may be known on the earth, Your saving power among all NATIONS.
  • Let the PEOPLES praise You, O God: let all the PEOPLES praise you!
  • Let the NATIONS  be glad and sing for joy; for You judge the PEOPLES with equity and guide the NATIONS upon the earth.
  • Let the PEOPLES praise You, O God; let all the PEOPLES praise you. 
  • …let all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psalm 69.

This psalm is a prayer of desperation, titled “Save Me, O God.”   In it David realizes that he might be shortly killed. He begs for rescue.

This psalm also has inferences concerning the coming Messianic kingdom when God’s enemies are dealt with.  Much of it was applied to Christ in the New Testament – you will catch those parts as you read.  But any believer being ridiculed will identify too.

Read the whole thing.  It shows David’s intimacy with God that he can pray such personal prayers.  It shows US that we can cry out to God, no matter what our heartache or need.  No matter how desperate we are or what sin we have done.   

Psalm 70.

A short psalm, almost identical to Psalm 40.  David prays against his enemies, asking God to turn them back and be brought to shame.

But then he prays that ALL who WILL turn and seek God might be saved!

  • May ALL who seek You rejoice and be glad in You!  May those who LOVE YOUR SALVATION say evermore, “God is Great!”

.

Tomorrow, sadly, we will see the great king fall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 130

May10

Day 130.  Reading Psalms 50, 53, 60, and 75

 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures. Psalms, songs, prayers to read and savor.
 

Psalm 50.

This psalm is quite different. It quotes God Himself throughout. And so, it’s like a prophetic writing or an oracle. It tells the difference between true and false worship. First, God is introduced, then the different kinds of false worship are shown, and finally, the very last verse reveals true worship

1-6 – Who God is.

  • The Mighty One, God the LORD, the perfection of beauty, before Him a devouring fire, around Him a mighty tempest …
  • The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge.

7-15 – Ritualism as worship, no!

  • Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
  • (But it’s for their attitude in sacrificing. As if they were giving to God what HE needs.) I will not accept your bulls … your goats.  EVERY BEAST of the forest (already) is MINE. 
  • I own the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is MINE.
  • If I were hungry, I would not tell YOU, for the world and its fullness are MINE. 
  • NO!  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, perform your vows, and call on Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

16-21 – Rebellion as worship, no!  To the wicked —

  • What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
  • You hate discipline. You cast My Words behind you. You are pleased with thieves. You keep company with adulterers. 
  • You give your mouth free rein for evil. Your tongue frames deceit. You speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son. 
  • You’ve done these things, and I’ve been silent. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22-23 – Right approach to God.

  • The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God!”

 

Psalm 53.

This psalm is very much like Psalm 14, which we’ve already read. 

  • The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

 

Psalm 60.

Now this is unusual. David actually tells when he wrote this psalm. Remember yesterday, when we read of all the ways God helped him to defeat his enemies?  Zorbah, plus the thousands of Edom in the Valley of Salt? 

David here seems discouraged before God gives him victory in both the extreme North (Syria) and South (Edom) of Israel.  Then, David sees the victories.  

  • O God, You have rejected us, broken our defenses; You have been angry; oh, restore us!
  • God has spoken in his holiness, “Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom, I cast my shoe; over Philistia, I shout in triumph!”  (Talk about God getting into the fray enthusiastically!)
  • And David, “With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.”

Don’t you love reading these psalms in their proper places in Israel’s history?

 

Psalm 75.

Note, that the writer, Asaph, says this psalm is to be sung to the tune of “Do not destroy” as he wrote on Psalm 57.  Don’t you wonder what that tune sounded like?

  • “We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, for Your Name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

If you have read through the Book of The Revelation recently, much of this psalm sounds similar.

  • At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
  • When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.
  • For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

WOW!

  • But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
  • All the horns (power) of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns (strength) of the righteous shall be lifted up. 

Yea, and amen!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 123

May3
Day 123.  Reading Psalm 106, 107.
 
 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
 
Psalm 106.

(This Psalm reviews God’s mercy on Israel despite their sinfulness. This history of Israel was most likely sung when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chron. 16.)

“Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love (mercy) endures forever!”

ONE

  • Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.” 
  • “Yet He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make known His mighty power.”  “He saved them from the land of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.” 
  • “Then they believed His words; they sang his praise.”

TWO

  • “But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test.”  “They exchanged the GLORY OF GOD for the image of an ox that eats grass!”   “They forgot God their savior.
  • “He said He would destroy them — had not Moses stood in the breach before Him to turn Him away from His wrath.”

THREE

  • “They despised the pleasant land, had no faith in His promise. They murmured…. they did not obey…. Therefore He swore to them that He would make them fall in the wilderness.”
  • They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They provoked the LORD to anger, and a plague broke out among them.
  • Then Phinehas stood up and intervened and the plague was stayed.  That was counted to him for righteousness.

FOUR

  • They angered Him at the waters of Meribah, and it WENT ILL WITH MOSES on their account, for they made His spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
  • They disobeyed and did not destroy the people as the LORD commanded. They mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.  They served idols. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.”  “Thus they became unclean by their acts and played the whore.
  • Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people and He abhorred His heritage. He gave them into the hands of the nations.  Their enemies oppressed them.
  • Nevertheless … He looked upon their distress, He heard their cry, He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.

“BLESSED BE THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, from everlasting to everlasting. “Amen. Praise the LORD.”

  • What mercy and forgiveness we see in our God. These verses remind me of 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” How I thank and praise Him. 

.

Psalm 107.

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for his steadfast love (mercy) endures forever.”  “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north and from the west.

SOME wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty.

  • “But they cried to the LORD in their trouble and He delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
  • “He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.

SOME sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons. 

  • “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
  • He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

SOME were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities, suffered affliction. They loathed food and drew near to the gates of death.

  • “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
  • He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

SOME went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.

  • “He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
  • They mounted up to heaven; then went down to the depts; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
  • Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
  • He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. He brought them to their desired haven.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

 

This is a great thing to consider and think on today!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 120

Apr30
Day 120.  Reading Psalms 102, 103, 104.
 

Read today’s scripture.

  • Don’t you LOVE these Psalms? 
  • What verses will YOU memorize and remember?
  • Or make into a song? 
  • Or pray back to the LORD?

Psalm 102.

(This psalm is “a prayer of one afflicted when he is faint. He pours out his complaint before the LORD”.)

It reminds me of the songwriter/singer that David chose, named Heman, with His dark Psalm 88. But this psalm has sections of praise and joy too. 

  • “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you!  Don’t hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!  Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! 

(Wow, he seems desperate!)

  • (He is in really bad shape.) His days pass like smoke. His heart is struck down.  He forgets to eat. He feels lonely and persecuted. He “eats ashes like bread.”  (Contrition and repentance.) 
  • He says God’s indignation and anger have thrown him down, crushed him

Perhaps he’s feeling God’s discipline and is repenting. (Boy, do I ever know THAT feeling.)

  • THEN, he spends a bit of space praising the LORD, eternal, compassionate, strong, and glorious. And he speaks of God, reminding/preaching to himself, “The LORD … regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.  From heaven the LORD looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die….“
  • “O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days –You whose years endure throughout all generations.”

Psalm 103.

Here David is praising the LORD in glorious and familiar words!

  • Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!
  • Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not His benefits,
  • Who forgives all your iniquity,
  • Who heals all your diseases,
  • Who redeems your life from the pit,
  • Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
  • Who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles!”

Wow! Praise God!  But there’s more! (He quotes Exodus 34:6-7)

  • The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
  • He will not always chide, nor will He keep his anger forever.
  • He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repays us according to our iniquities.
  • For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
  • As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 
  • As a father shows compassion to His children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

And his mighty conclusion. (This reminds me of the choirs in heaven praising God.)

  • Bless the LORD, O you his angels, his mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word!
  • Bless the LORD all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will!
  • Bless the LORD, all His works, in all places of His dominion.
  • Bless the LORD, O MY SOUL!

Psalm 104.

Another fantastic Psalm of praise.  Look for all the “creation” references too.

  • O LORD my God, You are very great!
  • YOU are clothed with splendor and majesty …covering yourself with light as a garment … stretching out the heavens like a tent.
  • He makes clouds His chariot; He rides on the wings of the wind; He makes His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire.
  • He set the earth on its foundations … He covered it with the deep as with a garment … the mountains rose, the valleys sank down … You set a boundary that they may not pass.
  • You make springs gush forth … they give drink to every beast of the field. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.
  • You cause the grass to grow for the livestock … and plants for man to cultivate … food … wine … oil … bread.
  • He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.  YOU make darkness, and it is night when the wild beasts creep out.  When the sun rises, they lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening. 
  • O LORD, HOW MANIFOLD ARE YOUR WORKS!  IN WISDOM YOU HAVE MADE THEM ALL, THE EARTH IS FULL OF YOUR CREATURES!
  • Here is the sea, great in wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.
  • There go ships … and Leviathan, which You formed to play in it.
  • These all look to You to give them their food in due season.
  • MAY THE GLORY OF THE LORD ENDURE FOREVER.

I will sing to the LORD, as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD!