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2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 261

Sep17

    Day 261—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history.

    Day 261 – Ezra 4 – 6, Psalm 137  (Lots of push-back from the residents about the temple building.  a wistful song remembering Jerusalem)

Ezra 4. The temple foundation is finished, sacrifices have been started, the people are rejoicing (or weeping).  Then, all of a sudden, opposition to the Temple building project arises from the locals. They have been living in the area for over 70 years…it’s THEIR property now….who are these Jews from Babylon who are taking over “their” land?

It begins with an offer to “help” them build. At first this seems nice. But the Jews remember what happened with they let “non-Jews” invade their plans before.  Nope, no more being “unequally yoked!” We’ve learned our lesson!  But they allowed the opposition discourage them and made them fearful of continuing the building.

The people of the land wrote letters to Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes (rulers after King Cyrus who had originally given the Jews the permission) complaining about them, saying the Jews were rebels and once the building was finished they wouldn’t pay the king tribute or toll. 

One letter was very insistent, urging King Artaxerxes to search the records to see how the Jews resisted and fought them.  It’s why the city was destroyed in the first place.  The king read the letter and started a search of the records, but meanwhile, he sent a decree to Jerusalem that the work cease immediately.  And work on the Temple stopped.

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Ezra 5. Then God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. And with their support, Zerubbabel started up the building project again. The locals protested. “Who said you could build again?”  And they sent another letter to the new King Darius.  “This house of God is being built with huge stones and timber and is prospering.  We asked the names of the builders, but all they said was that they are “the servants of the God of heaven and earth.” They say they got permission from Cyrus to build. Please check this out to see IF they really did.”

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Ezra 6.  It was King Darius who made a thorough search of the stored documents in the house of archives and the scroll WAS found from the first year of Cyrus.  And the good King Darius wrote a biting letter back to the local protestors.

“Keep away.  Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the Jews rebuild it on its site.  MOREOVER… I decree that you shall do everything to assist them.  YOU pay the workers in full and without delay.  And whatever is needed for their offerings, YOU supply… day by day, with out fail.   And….. if you alter this letter in any way, a beam shall be pulled out of your house and impale you on it, and your house shall be made a dunghill.  I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.“

(WHOA!! Yay Darius. Halleluia to the God of heaven and earth. )

And so… the governor and his associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered.  And the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.  They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 

And the returned people of Israel, the priests and Levites celebrated the dedication of the house of God with JOY.  Then they celebrated the Passover for the first time back in their land.

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Psalm 137:1-6
"By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
"Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

How shall we sing the LORD's song
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!"

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 259 & 260

Sep16

    Days 259 & 260—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history, DANIEL’s prophecy, and beginning of EZRA.

NOTE: Sunday and Monday studies are posted on Monday.

    Day 259 – Daniel 10 – 12 (more prophecy of Daniel’s and our future)

The visions, with the angels, battles, the rise & fall of kings & kingdoms, and the final time of the end, are very hard to understand, even for Daniel, who had angels to help him. Several times, he had to be strengthened by the messengers. He says, “I heard, but I did not understand.”  Me too, Daniel!

Daniel 10. Daniel is still staggering from the first set of visions. He is mourning and eating minimally when he sees another angel described with a face like lightning, eyes like flaming torches, arms and legs gleaming like polished bronze, and a voice like the sounds of multitudes. Without strength, Daniel falls to the ground, face down, in deep sleep. Then, a hand touches him and sets him on his hands and knees.  “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright, for I have been sent to you.”

The angel continues that from the first day (21 days earlier) that Daniel humbled himself before God, he was heard, and the angel was sent. However, spiritual warfare hindered him until the archangel Michael came to help, and he was released to go to Daniel. 

Again, Daniel became weak, and the angel had to strengthen him.  “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.”  The angel then says he will tell Daniel “what is inscribed in the book of truth,” but then he must return to fight that spiritual battle with Michael (assuring that the king fulfills his purpose in decreeing Israel’s return.)

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Daniel 11.  This prophecy goes from the history of spiritual conflict in Israel to the tribulation when Michael aids in fully delivering Israel (12:1) and looks ahead to the final Antichrist. (whew!)   

Verses 2-35 show the fulfillment of the Persian kingdom (the fourth king is Xerxes or Ahasuerus from the book of Esther) and the reign of Greece (Alexander the Great and 4 generals) through Antiochus Epiphanes. 

The king of the south (the Ptolemies of Egypt) and the king of the north (the Seleucids of Syria) fought for almost 200 years.  Antiochus IV’s armies crisscrossed the holy land in battle with Egypt several times and, on the way murdered Jews, took slaves, and desecrated the temple at one point by sacrificing a pig. (verses 28, 31)  Some Jews who “know their God” (verse 32) stood against him and took action, prevailed for a while, with some help from Rome, and then suffered intense persecution (verses 33-35). 

Verses 36-45 show the fulfillment of God’s prophetic plan of “Daniel’s 70th week” and the transition from Antiochus to Antichrist.  These verses show the character and activities of the Antichrist in the future time of the end.  Verse 45 says, “he shall come to his end, with none to help him” (Rev. 19:20).  (See all of this in Revelation 12, 13, 17, 20, and 21)

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Daniel 12.   Verse 1 flashes back to when the Antichrist rages during the Tribulation years. Again, the Archangel Michael protects Israel.  And there will be deliverance for Daniel’s people, “whose name is written down in the book (of the saved). Of those who have died, some will wake to everlasting life and shine like the brightness of the sky, and some will awake to shame and everlasting contempt.

At that point, Daniel is instructed to “seal the book until the time of the end.”  Then, Daniel saw another vision where a man asked how long it would be until the end. And the angel said that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. (the final 3.5 years of Daniel’s 70th week)

When Daniel asks what the outcome will be, he is told to “Go your way, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”  But he IS told that MANY will be purified.  

“Go your way till the end. And you shall rest (soon die) and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of days.” (The Resurrection)

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(What a faithful, well-loved servant of God, taken as a young teen from his country to live and serve many pagan kings, speaking for God, never wavering, interceding for his people, and finally writing this end times prophecy that rivals The Revelation by John.)

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    Day 260 – Ezra 1 – 3 (The first of 3 waves of exiles returning, genealogies to prove their places and the priesthood)

As there were three waves of deportation FROM Israel, so there are three waves of return TO Jerusalem.  The book of Ezra chronicles the first (with Zerubbabel) and second (with Ezra himself). (Nehemiah later leads the third wave.)

Ezra 1.  In confirmation of Jeremiah’s prophecy and with the LORD stirring his spirit, King Cyrus of Persia proclaimed throughout his kingdom (even put it into writing) that the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem was to be rebuilt.  And whoever of the people of Israel who wanted to should go to rebuild it. He also told the neighbors around the returnees to assist them with silver, gold, goods, beasts, and freewill offerings.  (This kind of reminds me of when the Jews left Egypt.)

So, God stirred up the people, including the heads of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites, to go “up” to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the LORD, aided by all the goods their neighbors gave them. King Cyrus also brought out all the vessels from the Temple that King Nebuchadnezzar had stolen to be returned, putting the treasurer and the prince of Judah in charge of them.

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Ezra 2. And so Zerubbabel led out the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried captive to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. The whole three-wave assembly, including the priests and Levites, as well as servants, singers, and those from Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s time and other tribes of Israel (10,777) who also returned (counted from the lists in Ezra 8 and Nehemiah 6), amounted to 50,000. 

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Ezra 3. After the people arrived, they were occupied with their own dwellings.  After that, they turned to build the altar of burnt offerings as per the Law of Moses. They offered burnt offerings to the LORD morning and evening “for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands.”  They kept the Feast of Booths and offered monthly and daily (morning and evening) offerings to the Lord. 

Then they paid masons and carpenters and sent goods to the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea and to Joppa (according to the grant they had from King Cyrus).  The Levites who had returned supervised the work.  And they laid the foundation of the Temple. 

And they sang the songs of Thanksgiving ordered by King David and written by Asaph.  “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

The people sang and praised the LORD loudly because the foundation was built, but the old timers who remembered the glory of Solomon’s temple wept in equally loud voices, so no one could distinguish the sounds of joyful shouts from the people’s loud weeping.  “And the sound was heard far away.”

 

 

 

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2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 244

Aug31

Day 244—We are in the eighth month (AND 2/3 THE WAY THROUGH) of our Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 244 – Ezekiel 18 – 20 (sin=death, lament of 3 kings, survey of Israel’s sin)

Ezekiel 18, This chapter is about the stated truth: “The soul who sins, it shall die.”  verses 4, 20

A proverb was repeated in Israel that children will pay for their father’s sins. “If the fathers have eaten sour grapes, the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

God says that is not true.  The one who sins is the one who will pay for his sin with death.  (Romans 6:23a) 

Example 1. If a person is righteous and does what is just and proper, walks in God’s statutes, and keeps His rules faithfully….he is righteous and shall live.

Example 2. If a son of a righteous man is violent, oppresses the poor, robs, worships idols, commits adultery….he will surely die, and his blood is on HIMSELF.

Example 3. If a sinful man fathers a son who is righteous and walks in God’s ways….he shall not die for his father’s iniquity. He shall surely live.

Example 4. If a wicked person turns away (repents) from all his sins and keeps God’s statutes and what is just and right, he shall live and not die. None of his transgressions will be remembered against him.

Example 5. If a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does abominations that the wicked person does, he shall die.  None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he’s committed.

God’s final call through Ezekiel on this matter is, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!**  Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so TURN and LIVE.”

** See Psalm 51:10

Ezekiel 19  is a poetic lament for the last three kings of Judah – Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.  

Judah is the lioness (vs. 2) with her cubs (kings), as well as the vine (vs. 10) with its fruit (kings).

Verses 3-4 talk about Jehoahaz, who ruled and was then taken to Egypt.

Verse 9 speaks of Jehoiachin, who was carried to Babylon, kept in prison for 37 years, then released at age 55 to sit at the king’s table. 

The fate of the “vine” in 10-14 tells of the strength of Judah’s ruling scepters, but then their being plucked up as a vine, cast down, withering, and consumed by fire, so there is no scepter ruling left.

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Ezekiel 20 tells about the elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel and asking him to “inquire of the LORD” for them. The LORD basically says, “no” because when they inquired of Me in the past, and I told them truth, they did not listen to me and turned away.  So I will not answer them now.

Then God gives a historical survey of Israel’s past, about their sin, His mercy, their further sin, His grace, their greater and abominable sins, and the end of His patience.  “O house of Israel, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired by you.”

Then God reveals to Ezekiel further judgments on the rebellious Israel because “they determine to keep on in their wicked ways.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 243

Aug30

Day 243—We are in the eighth month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 243 – Ezekiel 16 – 17 (Metaphors/parables about God and Israel)

Ezekiel 16. The longest chapter in Ezekiel is a sad metaphor for God’s love for Israel, her horrible abuse of that love, the consequences of her sin, and God’s eventual restoration… “that you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Again, Ezekiel is to speak to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Judah) about her “abominations.”  She is seen as an abandoned child God finds, rescues, loves, and showers with good things. In the metaphor of a loved child and woman, the chapter covers the history of Israel from her conception, the time of the Exodus, to David’s time and the glories of Solomon’s reign. (through verse 14)

The following section pictures Israel in spiritual harlotry, copying increasingly the pagan religious practices of the Canaanites.  All God gives her, she uses to worship idols, even to sacrifice the children God gives her. The pagan countries around Israel influence her to more and more sin.  Unlike the regular payments prostitutes were paid, Israel solicits and pays for her idol “lovers.” (through verse 34)

Then comes the public shame of God’s beloved…at His own hands. Their defeat by Assyria earlier and now the coming of the Babylonian destruction reveals God’s wrath. God compares Judah to the wicked cities of Samaria and Sodom, whose judgment was great.  Judah, He says, is more corrupt than they! Now Judah and Jerusalem will “bear the penalty of her lewdness and abominations.” (through verse 59)

Verse 60 begins the glorious hope of God’s restoration, His remembering the oath/covenant he made with them. (How gracious is our God!)  He will restore Israel, not because of the good things they do, but because of His grace alone. The New Covenant is unconditional, saving, and everlasting. When He establishes this covenant with them, they will “know that I am the LORD.”  And the fact that God will “atone for you for all that you have done” speaks of the coming Messiah, and His work on the cross, by which God’s wrath on sin is satisfied.  

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Ezekiel 17. This chapter speaks about the time two years before the destruction of Jerusalem.  We’ve studied it more in detail in 2 Kings 24, 2 Chronicles 36, and Jeremiah 36, 37, and 52.  It’s a parable about the final kings who rule in Jerusalem.

The “great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors” in verse 3 is Babylon, who will take royal captives and others, “the topmost of the cedar’s young twigs,” and carry them to a land of trade and a city of merchants.”  Some “the seed of the land” (Zedekiah etc.) he left there to be a tributary (pay tribute to Babylon).

Egypt is the other “great eagle with great wings and much plumage” who flew by.  Zedekiah turned to Egypt to help him revolt against Babylon. But it didn’t work, and the king of Babylon came and took him away. (and defeated Egypt too)

Then, the LORD Himself promises to “take a spring from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it on a high and lofty mountain of Israel.”  It will bear branches, produce fruit, and become a noble cedar.  “Under it will dwell every kind of bird. In the shade of its branches, birds of every sort will nest.” 

Here, God is speaking of the Messiah and His eventual Messianic Kingdom, where even Gentiles will live.

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 242

Aug29

Day 242—We are in the eighth month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 242 – Ezekiel 13 – 15 (false prophets, evil elders, divining women, a doomed Jerusalem)

Ezekiel 13.  The LORD tells Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets, who SAY “Thus declares the LORD” when He has not sent or spoken to them.  They are seeing FALSE visions and LYING divinations.

They prophesy “Peace!” when there is no peace, deceiving the people that God’s wrath is not coming on Jerusalem.  “They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel is also to “set his face against” the women who prophesy ‘out of their own thoughts.”  Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists (as talismans)… in the hunt for souls.”     “I am against your magic bands with which you hunt souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms…”     “And you will know that I am the LORD.”

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Ezekiel 14. God instructs Ezekiel on how to deal with the elders of Israel, “who take idols into their hearts and set out stumbling blocks.”  He is to say that God tells them to “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations…. or I will set my face against him… and cut him off from the midst of my people.”

Then God tells Ezekiel that the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem is sure. “EVEN if these three men,  Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver ONLY THEIR OWN LIVES by their righteousness.  Even if these three men were in the city, they could “neither deliver son or daughter, but their OWN LIVES ONLY.”

And yet, God encourages Ezekiel by telling him that amidst “the four disastrous acts of judgment (sword, famine, wild beasts, pestilence) He will leave some survivors…a remnant, brought as captives to join him in Babylon.”

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Ezekiel 15. Jerusalem is compared to the wood of a vine.  Is a branch from it useful?  Can you make anything from it? Can people make a “peg” from it to hang a vessel on? The vine is useful only as fuel in a fire.  So, the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The fire of judgment will consume them.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 241

Aug28

Day 241—We are in the eighth month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 241 – Ezekiel 9 – 12 (Ezekiel’s visions and harsh prophecies continue)

Ezekiel 9.  In this chapter, we see (with Ezekiel) God calling the “executioners” to Jerusalem for the inhabitants’ “exceedingly great guilt.” Six “killers” arrive with their weapons, along with a single man clothed in linen with writing instruments. God gives him instructions.

“Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”

To the executioners, God says to follow the man in linen and strike without pity. 

“Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women… BUT touch NO ONE on whom is the mark.  BEGIN AT MY SANCTUARY.”

Ezekiel is shocked and falls to the ground. “Ah, Lord God!  Will you destroy ALL the remnant in Israel in your wrath?”   The LORD reminds him of Israel & Judah’s “exceeding great guilt.” Then, as a reminder of God’s mercy, the man in linen reports that he is finished marking the just ones.

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Ezekiel 10. In this chapter, we see the “Glory of the LORD” on His cherubim-powered, wheeled throne leaving the temple. (It’s described in more detail than in chapter one.)  As it lifts, the man in linen is told to reach underneath it, between the four cherubim, and fill his hands with burning coals that he finds there. He is then to scatter the coals over the city. 

From the inner court to the threshold, a cloud of brightness and smoke engulfed the moving Glory of God.  Then the wings of the cherubim lifted, and the glorious throne rose up from the earth.  It moved to the east gate of the temple and lingered briefly.

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Ezekiel 11.  The Spirit also lifted Ezekiel to the east gate and showed him a view of 25 men giving wicked counsel in the city. The LORD then tells His prophet to prophesy against them, the city, and the people in it.  “The city is a cauldron, and the ones slain are the meat, but these shall be brought out to be judged.”

And again. Ezekiel falls face to the ground, mourning the end of Israel.

Then, God reveals a glorious promise to him.

“I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.  And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.  And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone… and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” 

Then the cherubim lifted the Glory of the God of Israel over the city. Then it moved eastward to the mountain. And the Spirit lifted Ezekiel, along with the vision of the Glory of God, and brought him again to the exiles in Chaldea/Babylon.

Ezekiel 12. The next illustration Ezekiel was to give to the Jews in Chaldea was the picture of an exiled Jew leaving his house with only a back pack. Every day, he was to pack his bag (in their sight) and every evening, he was to dig through a wall with his pack, put it on his shoulder and carry it until dusk.

When they asked him what he was doing, he was to say, “I am a sign for you; as I have done, so shall it be done to them.” God even tells of the “prince” (King Zedekiah) who shall go out through a hole in the wall but will be captured and taken and also brought to Babylon, although he would not “see” it, and would die there. (Zedekiah escaped Jerusalem but was captured. His eyes were put out before being brought to Babylon in chains.)

God then tells him to remind the Jews that the time is NEAR, not far away, as the false prophets say and as they believe. Near and now.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 143

May22

   Day 143—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading, and today, we finish our ELEVENTH Book (2 Samuel).   Are you loving God more each day? What are you learning about Him?  Share in the comments section.

   Day 143 –  2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21 – 22, Psalm 30. (Census, judgment, alter/temple, joy)

What exactly incited King David to call for a census of all his military men?  2 Samuel seems to say that the LORD (in His anger) did, while 1 Chronicles says that Satan did. Both instances began with Israel’s sin, which is important when the consequences fall. 

Perhaps God, in His anger against Israel, allowed Satan to put the need to see how big his army was in David’s mind. Israel and her king needed to trust ONLY in the LORD  for victory in battle and not in the amount of military power that had.

Interestingly enough, Commander Joab confronted the king and said a census was NOT a good idea. But David, who didn’t like Joab anyway, ignored his advice and sent him throughout Israel with an abacus.

The tally numbers also seem to conflict. 2 Samuel‘s number could be the amount of standing army soldiers, and 1 Chronicles could also include all men of military age, whether seasoned or not. 

Also, 1 Chronicles mentioned that Joab hadn’t gotten to the tribes of Benjamin and Levi when God stopped the process.  (The Levites wouldn’t stand in battle, but only in defense of the Tabernacle and its contents.) 

In either case, the whole thing displeased God, and he sent His Seer, Gad, to David to give him three choices as to the consequences of showing this lack of trust in Him.  (And NO, this is not like having a Genie in a bottle.)  For one thing, the choices were horrific.  1) 3 years of famine, 2) 3 months of devastation by their enemies, and 3) 3 days of pestilence/plague.  What a choice!!

David chose #3 for the shorter duration and because he would rather trust himself in the hands of God than the hands of the Philistines, etc. And the Angel of the LORD killed 70,000 men in Israel. (soldiers?) But the Angel stopped when He came to Jerusalem and allowed the king to offer burnt (sin) offerings on the threshing floor of a Jebusite (People who held Jerusalem before David conquered it.) 

After seeing the Angel of the Lord, the Jebusite and his sons ran and hid, but then he fearfully approached the King and offered his threshing area, his oxen, and all the wooden implements to use in his offerings.  But David refused the offer and insisted on buying everything. “I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel – 50 shekels for the oxen and implements & 1 Chronicles – 600 for the land)

It reminds me of Abraham, who was looking for a burial place for his wife, Sarah. He did not accept the land as a gift but insisted on paying for it. Both that land and the area David bought became a permanent possession.

This purchased area would become the site of Solomon’s magnificent Temple. (Currently, the Dome of the Rock (“threshing floor”) sits on top of it.)

2 Chronicles.  This chapter flows from the previous verses about that area in Jerusalem, which would become the place where Solomon would build a House for the LORD. David was not allowed to build it because he was a man of war and bloodshed, while Solomon, who was a man of peace, could.  Meanwhile, God allowed David to make the plans and collect all the materials needed, from great stones and cedar trees to the iron nails for the doors, clamps, etc.

King David even called his young son and charged him with the task, telling him that the LORD would be with him and 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 you 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…..  Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. With great pains, I have provided for the house of the LORD.”

Psalm 30. “O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from the grave.; 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 with the morning.”   “O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 140 & 141

May20

    Day 140 & 141—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   What insights have you gained about God and yourself through reading so far?  Share in the comments section.

(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)

    Day 140 – Psalms 5. 38. 41. 42. – (Psalms of David in a tumultuous time)

Psalm 5. “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth…”     

“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, and those who love your name may exult in you. FOR YOU BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS, O LORD; You cover him with favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 38. “I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.”     “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.”    “Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.”

Psalm 41. “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble, the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness, you restore him to full health.”     “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

Psalm 42. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

“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.  My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember you…”     “By day, the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night, His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” 

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    Day 141 – 2 Samuel 22 – 23, Psalm57 – (Songs of David & a recount of all his mighty men)

2 Samuel 22 is a song of David praising God for deliverance. Notice all the nouns he uses.

“The LORD is my ROCK and my FORTRESS and my DELIVERER, my GOD, my rock in whom I take refuge, my SHIELD, and the HORN of my salvation, my STRONGHOLD and my REFUGE, my SAVIOR, you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.”

“In my distress, I called upon the LORD; to my God, I called. From His temple, HEARD my voice, and my cry came to His ears.”     “He SENT from on high, He TOOK me; He DREW me out of many waters. He RESCUED me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too  mighty for me.”   “He BROUGHT me out into a broad place; He RESCUED me because He DELIGHTED in me.”

“This God–His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.”

“You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your GENTLENESS made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip…”     “You delivered me from strife with my people; You kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.”

“The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.”    “Great salvation he brings to His king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.”

2 Samuel 23 opens with these words: “Now these are the last words of David; the oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel.”  The following words (praise to God for choosing him and these people) are not David’s final oral speech but his final literary legacy to Israel.

The last part of this chapter is a repeat recalling of David’s mighty men and some of their actions of greatness. The last one mentioned is “Uriah the Hittite…”

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 109

Apr18

    Day 109 —  We have been reading the Bible daily for almost a third of the year. What have you learned about God? About yourself?

   Day 109 – 1 Samuel 28 – 31, Psalm 18 (Ending 1 Samuel, King Saul, and David’s persecution. David’s song)

 1 Samuel 28 tells of the Philistines gathering to war against Israel and Saul in a panic. Since his failure to kill the Amalekite king and God “tearing” the kingdom from him (and no repentance) Saul has been like King Ludwig – mad.  Now, faced with a huge attack, he tries everything he can to learn what he should do.  But God is silent.

Compounding sin on sin, Saul meets with a Medium (witch) at Endor. (Israel was supposed to have killed all of them, but again, they didn’t complete that order.) He tells her to call up Samuel so he can get “some word from the LORD.”  She obeys, but instead of the regular evil spirit she is used to, Samuel actually does appear and she screams in terror.

Saul asks what he should do. Samuel basically tells the king that it is too late. He and all his sons are to die that very day, and Israel will go into the hands of the Philistines.  He is terrified and later goes away into the night.

1 Samuel 29 tells of King Achish preparing to battle Israel and enlisting his “favorite Israelite bodyguard,” David, to help him in battle. But his commanders refuse to take a “spy” with them, so David and his 600 men are set back to Ziklag.

1 Samuel 30 tells of David’s shock when he and his men arrive “home” to find that the Amalekites (whom Saul was supposed to have killed) had come, burned the city, looted, and taken all their wives and kids captive. His men are about to mutiny, but David “strengthens himself in the LORD his God.” He goes to the priest to inquire what he should do and is told to pursue and overtake the marauders.  Two hundred of his men are too exhausted to fight, so they stay “with the baggage.” 

David finds an Egyptian lying by the roadside who had served the Amalekites, but been left behind. He promises to lead David to him if he spares his life.  And so David and his 400 men defeat the Amalekites, take back their families, their own things, and lots of other loot.  There is a squabble about the “baggage men” also getting loot, but David quashes that and says everyone shares in the spoils of war. 

1 Samuel 31, the last chapter, tells about Saul going to battle, taking heavy losses from the Philistines, and how all three of his sons – including Jonathan – are killed. King Saul is cornered and an arrow badly wounds him.  He begs his armor bearer to finish him off, but the fellow refuses, so Saul kills himself. Then the armor bearer, no doubt fearing he will be blamed for killing the king, also kills himself. 

Later, the Philistines find their bodies and take them as trophies of the battle, putting Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon, their god, and hanging all the bodies on the wall. But some valiant Israelite men came at night, took down the bodies, burned them, and buried the bones.

What a sad ending to Israel’s first king, and the nation as a whole. 

Psalm 18 is a psalm of praise for God’s love, care, protection, and reward.

 

Verse 1-3: 
I love you, O LORD, my strength. 
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.
And I am saved from my enemies. 

Verse 6:
In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry to Him reached his ears.

Verse 17: 
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.

Verse 28: 
For it is you who light my lamp;
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

Verse 30: 
This God - His way is perfect:
The word of the LORD proves true;
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.

Verse 46: 
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 108

Apr17

    Day 108 —  We have been reading the Bible daily for almost a third of the year. What have you learned about God? About yourself?

   Day 108 – Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63. (More psalms by David when being persecuted by Saul)

In Psalm 17, David petitions the LORD as many as SEVENTEEN times for protection. It’s a harrowing time for him, with Saul and his army always after him, and spies tattle-telling where he is hiding. 

“He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!” Verse 12-13a 

“Keep me as the apple of your eye, hid me in the shadow of your wings.”  Verse 8

.

Psalm 35 calls for justice against David’s enemy and alludes to other foreign powers and even to all of God’s enemies.

Verse 17-18: “How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng, I will praise you. “

Verse 19: “Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those “wink the eye” who hate me without a cause.”

Verse 17: “Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, ‘Great is the LORD who delights in the welfare of his servant!'” 

..

In Psalm 54, again, the Ziphites went to Saul and told him of David’s whereabouts.  “O God, save me by your name and vindicate me by our might. O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Behold, God is my helper, the Lord is the upholder of my life.” Verses 1-4.

..

Psalm 64 is wonderful. Be sure to read all the verses. It’s almost entirely praise God.

See him in the wilderness – “O God, you are my God earnestly I seek you, MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR YOU; AS IN A DRY AND WEARY LAND WHERE THERE IS NO WATER.” Verse 1

“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name, I will lift up my hands.” Verses 3-4

“…and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when i remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Verses 5b-8