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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 101

Apr11
Day 101.  Reading 1 Samuel 12 – 14
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do you see God’s faithfulness today?

1 Samuel 13.

Chapter 13 begins with “number confusion” about Saul’s age and how long he’d reigned over Israel at this point. Possibly he was 31 when he began to reign, and here, he most likely has been king for about two years? 

Regardless, at this point, King Saul calls 3K men to fight the battle with the Philistines who were camped in the plains in Benjamin’s territory.  2K Hebrew men were with Saul at Michmash, and 1K men were with his son Jonathon at Gibeah. Jonathon defeated the garrison of Philistines. Saul blew a trumpet and said “Saul” had defeated the garrison. (Well, I guess Jonathon was part of Saul’s army.)

Now the Hebrews were a “stench” to the Philistines, and they mustered to fight with Israel. They had 3K chariots and 6K horsemen and troops (against Saul’s 3K men). The Israelites “saw they were in trouble” and began hiding in caves, holes, and tombs, and even running away across the Jordan River. Those who stayed with Saul trembled in their sandals.

It seems that old Samuel told Saul to wait 7 days before acting. He would offer a sacrifice to God and seek God’s direction when he got there.  However, when Saul saw his men scattering and no sign of Samuel, HE offered the burnt and peace offerings himself.  (Oh, No!)  Right then Samuel appeared.  (IF only Saul had waited an hour more!!!)

“What have you done?” said Samuel.

“When I saw that the people were leaving and YOU had not come, and the Philistines were mustered at Michmash … I thought, the Philistines are coming and I have not sought the favor of the LORD …. so, I “forced myself” to offer the burnt offering,” Saul said lamely.

“You have done foolishly and not kept the commandment of the LORD,” Samuel said to Saul. “The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever!  But … now your kingdom shall NOT continue. The LORD has sought out a man after His own heart and commanded HIM to be prince over His people.”

Then Samuel left.

Saul numbered the people with him – about 600 men.  They camped at Geba, but the Philistines camped at Michmash and sent raiders in three companies to harass them. 

Now there was no blacksmith in Israel. The Philistines had seen to that.  The Israelites had to go to the Philistines to have their farm implements sharpened.  So Israel had no weapons.  ONLY THE KING AND HIS SON, JONATHAN HAD SWORDS!!!  So Israel had 2 swords and 600 men against the hoards of Philistines with thousands of chariots and armed men.  (Shaking my head.)

1 Samuel 14.

One day, while Saul and his few men were staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under an arching pomegranate tree at Mignon, Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come on. Let’s go over to the Philistine garrison.”  So off they went, not telling anyone, including Saul.

(Saul also had Ahijah the priest with him. He was the great-grandson of that old priest Eli who had died. Ahijah wore an ephod.)

Jonathan said to his man, “Let’s go nearer to the uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

“Whatever you say,” said the armor-bearer. “I’m with you heart and soul.”

“Okay, we will show ourselves to them, and if they say ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand.” And the two stepped out into view.

The Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they were hiding. Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.”

Jonathan looked at his man, grinned, and said, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”

They climbed up to the ridge on their hands and feet … and the Philistines fell before Jonathan as he killed about 20 of them.  The whole garrison was thrown into a great panic and fled, the ground shaking under their feet. 

Haha!!

Back at Saul’s camp, they saw the Philistines running and discovered Jonathan and his man missing. Saul called for Ahijah and the ephod (presumably to discover what to do with the Ermin and Thummin in it. “Withdraw your hand,” Saul ordered  (Did that mean Ahijah pulled out those “lots” that showed Saul was to pursue?)

Anyway, Saul and all the men went into battle.  Then, all the others hiding in caves and holes heard the ruckus and came out to fight too.  SO, THE LORD SAVED ISRAEL THAT DAY!

But… during the battle, Saul had made a terrible command.  “CURSED be the man who eats any food until evening and we’ve defeated them.”   Stupid, for the men were tired and weak.

And Jonathan, who had not heard his father’s curse, found some honey and ate it, feeling ever so much stronger.  Some of the men were aghast and told him what Saul had said.  He was disturbed by that news. “My father has troubled the land. How much better if the people had eaten freely of the spoil they found.”

Nevertheless, they struck the Philistines away from Michmach, but the people were very weak. This caused them to sin against God’s command.  They grabbed any animal they saw, killed it, and began eating the meat, without draining the blood away.

When Saul heard, he ordered them to stop. He built an altar to the LORD and had them bring the animals there. 

After they’d gorged themselves, Saul got the great idea to keep fighting the Philistines through the night, but Ahijah the priest said to first inquire of the LORD and brought out the lots. God revealed nothing.  Saul thought it must have been because someone ATE after his curse.  Sure enough, Jonathan confessed to eating the honey and offered to be killed.

But the people would not allow it and ransomed Jonathan.  So the fighting ended that day.

Then a bit of a summery. It tells how Saul fought and won against his enemies – Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.  He had another son besides Jonathan and two daughters, Merab and Michal.  The commander of his army was Abner, Saul’s uncle.  And whenever he saw any strong or valiant man, he made him part of his army.

  • LORD, so often I do things in my own strength, not waiting for Your direction. Forgive me. Help me to wait on You and trust You. 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 96 & 97

Apr7
Day 96 and 97.  Reading Judges 19 – 21 and Ruth 1 – 4
 

Read today’s scripture.

How are you encouraged in the book of Judges?

How is God shown as faithful in the book of Ruth?

DAY 96.

Judges 19.

Wow, today, we finish Judges.  I’m glad we do. This section is really horrible.  It shows so clearly what happens when people turn from God and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

This is a story about a despicable Levite (not the same one who traveled north with the Danites).  This one lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He took a concubine (servant with benefits) from the tribe of Judah. She was unfaithful to him and ran home. The Levite went there to get her and was kind to her, but the woman’s father kept him staying day after day and night after night eating and drinking. Finally the Levite got tired of that and left with the woman.

In another town in the land of Benjamin, they were forced to spend the night in the town square until a nice old man said it wasn’t safe and invited them to stay with him.  So they were eating and drinking and making merry.

And then….  (Replay Sodom at Lot’s house.)  Men from the city came seeking the Levite. These aberrant men lusted after him. The old man went out to calm them down and offered his two daughter for them to “use.”  But their lust was not satisfied and demanded the man.  Then the Levite threw  out his concubine forcibly. The men abused her all night until she died.

Next morning, the Levite saw her lying at his doorstep. “C’mon let’s go.” But she didn’t move. He three her body on his donkey and took her home.  THERE, HE TOOK A KNIFE LAND CUT HER UP INTO PIECES!!!!!  THEN HE SENT ONE OF EACH OF THE TWELVE PIECES THROUGHOUT ISRAEL TO THE TRIBES.”

Judges 20.

Well, all the men of Israel came out – from Dan to Beersheba (far north to far south) – over 400K men.

“This is what happened when I stayed in a town in Benjamin.” the Levite said.

After a lot of palaver, talking, and deciding, including inquiring the High Priest about what to do, Israel gathered together and fought against Benjamin, destroying over 25K of the men of valor. Then they struck the cities, and men and beasts with the edge of their swords. And finally set all the towns on fire.

Judges 21.

Then when the remaining Benjamite people wept, saying, “O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?”

“What shall we do?”  Their great idea was to go up to an area that had not sent men to fight, kill all the men and wives, and bring back the virgins to the remaining men of Benjamin.  They did, and brought back 400 virgins.  Peace was proclaimed and the women were given to the tribe of Benjamin.  And, oh my, there was still not enough. So the army went and captured 200 more virgins from Shiloh and gave them to fill the quota.

The people of Benjamin took the wives, returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.  And the army of tribes went back home and did likewise.

There was no king.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

(NO ONE thought to inquire of the LORD, turn to Him, seek His face…. or even read His Law.)

I am so glad this is the last of the book of Judges.

Tomorrow we’ll begin a book of HOPE after DISPAIR … a godly woman meets a godly man, and the royal line is established. Praise God!

###

DAY 97.

Ruth 1.

“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.”  The text doesn’t say exactly, but figuring backward, the story could have happened during the judgeship of Tola (23 years) and Jair (22 years) from Judges 10: 1-5. 

A (local?) famine was in the land, and a man, Elimelech (my God is king). his wife, Naomi (pleasant), and their two grown sons, Mahlon (sick) and Chillion (pining) from the tribe of Judah (important) living in Bethlehem decided to migrate to Moab until the famine was over.  Sadly, Elimelech died there.  Naomi’s sons married Moabite women, Orpah (stubborn) and Ruth (friendship), but it doesn’t seem any children were born from these unions.  Finally, the two sons also died.

Three widows. In a pagan land.

It’s been ten years. Naomi decides to go home.  She sends her daughters-in-law back to their homes in hopes they can remarry and have good lives. Orpah hugs her and leaves. But Ruth refuses, even when Naomi insists and tells her the bleak story of what their lives would be like in Israel as widows.

Nope. Ruth remains firm. “Do not urge me to leave you, or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you die, I will die and there be buried.  May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

WOW. How many young women love their mothers-in-law like that today?

Naomi gives in and the two make their way back to Bethlehem. Naomi tells the women of the town to call her “Mara” (bitter) “for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full and the LORD has brought me back empty.”

It was near the end of April, the time of barley harvest (the famine had ended!).

Ruth 2.

A close relative of Naomi’s husband (important), whose name was Boaz (strength) was someone she could “maybe” go to for help. He was “a man of valor” (like Gideon and Jephthah) and could manage and protect his property. He’d never married, or maybe was a widower too.

Naomi sent Ruth to his barley fields to “glean.” God’s law said that farmers were to leave the corners of their fields, and any grain that dropped, for the poor to pick up. (See Leviticus 19:10-11, 23:22)  Ruth labored long and well in Boaz’s field.  Later he happened to pass by and saw her. He asked his men who she was and learned her story, 

Boaz went to Ruth and told her to stay and work in his fields only. His men would not interfere, and if she got thirsty, she was to go to the water the young men had drawn and drink. 

Ruth bowed deeply and asked why he was so kind. He told her he’d heard about her faithfulness to Naomi. “The LORD repay you and may a full reward be given you by the LORD under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

At the noon break, he invited her to eat bread, roasted grain, and wine with the reapers. When she returned to work, Boaz told his workers, “Let her work among the sheaves too, and do not reproach her. Also, pull out some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up.”

After gleaning all day (back-breaking work) she went to the threshing floor and beat out the grain. This she took to Naomi (about 30-40 pounds!).  Naomi was astounded at the amount and told her to stay in his field. So Ruth worked there until the end of the barley harvest.

Meanwhile, Naomi’s heart lifted. Boaz was a near redeemer in her family. That meant he could rescue them. He could marry Ruth, and their firstborn would be accounted to Abimelech’s line, like a grandchild to Naomi, so her husband’s name wouldn’t be lost in Israel. After that, the children would be for Boaz.

Ruth 3.

Naomi tells Ruth about Boaz as their redeemer and explains what she should do to let him know that she is available and willing for him to redeem. 

He was willing and gave her a pledge of 6 measures of barley.  He explained that there was one glitch (a closer redeemer) that he had to take care of first. She should be patient.

Ruth 4.

Boaz went to the gate of the city – where business was transacted – and approached the man who was a closer redeemer. He told the man about Ruth and Naomi and asked if HE wanted to be the redeemer.

At first, the man was willing, but when he learned there was no offspring from Elimelech, and he would need to provide one, he turned down the offer.  He had children of his own, and didn’t want to split up their inheritance for the dead man’s offspring.

Boaz was formal, but inside he was rejoicing. Ruth could be his. And sure enough, soon they were married.  And the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Naomi was once again blessed by the LORD, and when she held the baby boy, her own grandson, she rejoiced.

They named him Obed.  He was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who would become KING in Israel (and ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus).

  • Wow, what a wonderful ending, after those horrid accounts in the book of Judges.  During all that sin and forsaking of the law, God had His eye on one family, descended from Judah through Perez, Salmon (with Rahab), Boaz, and on to David, a “man after God’s own heart” and eventually to the “Son of David,” to the Savior, His only begotten Son, Jesus. PRAISE HIM!

Yay! We’ve now finished the  8th and 9th books of the Bible, in our Chronological Reading!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 95

Apr5
Day 95.  Reading Judges 16 – 17 
 

Read today’s scripture.

Is there anything that encourages you from the book of Judges?

Judges 16.

Oh, Samson. Your lustful eyes and arrogant pride will be your downfall. (Literally.)

Samson goes down to Gaza, the southernmost Philistine city, and there he sees and uses a prostitute. When the people learn their arch-enemy is in town, they surround the house, thinking they will kill him at dawn. But Samson wakes at midnight, goes to the gates of the town (which are closed/locked for the night), pulls up the posts, and carries them and the gates to the top of a nearby hill.  So much for locking him in!

Then, in another place, Samson sees and falls for Delilah. Instead of trying to “take” Samson at dawn, as the people of Gaza, these Philistines offered to pay Delilah $35K to discover the “trick” to his strength.

She woos him, plays on his pride, and using her feminine wiles, has him “confess” three times the key to his strength. She calls the men, but Samson breaks the bindings like wax. She is peeved (seeing that cash melt away) and eventually tricks Samson into telling the true source of his strength – his Nazarite Vow, which forbids him cutting his hair.

Samson sleeps, Delilah calls a barber then the Philistines. Yep, he’s as weak as a babe.  The last thing Samson sees before losing his eyes is Delilah counting her money.  Betrayed!!!  Such glee among the Philistines! They make him “perform” and then put him to work like an ox, grinding grain at the mill in prison.

(Was Jesus thinking of Samson when He said, “If your eye offends you, gouge it out.”? (See Matthew 5:27-29)

But Samson’s hair begins to grow.  And perhaps repentance and submission to God too.

Years later at a great feast for their god, Dagon, who has the head of a man and the body of a fish, the great crowd gets bored and calls for some entertainment. Samson.  The blind man, with a head of hair to his shoulders (DIDN’T THEY SEE THAT???) is brought in to perform and be mocked.  They laugh and cheer and guzzle their wine.

“Young man,” Samson whispers, “let me feel the pillars with my hands so I may rest.“

The boy places Samson’s hands on the two center columns.

He pretends to sag with exhaustion.

“O LORD God,” he prays silently, “please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.”

God hears him. 

Samson grasps the pillars with his hands and leans forward.

“Let me die with the Philistines!” He prays.

And he pulled with all this strength … and the house fell down.

“The dead whom Samson killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.“

His brothers buried him in the tomb of his father, Manoah. He was a national hero who died for his God and country. 

DID YOU KNOW? Samson is on the list of the heroes of the Faith in Hebrews 11:32, along with Gideon, Barak, and Jephthah.

Judges 17.

This story is evidence that the people of Israel had NOT been reading the Law of God annually.  They had no idea about His commands, statutes, rules, and laws.

Micah, a man from the tribe of Ephraim was a thief to begin with.  He stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother but returned it. She was so happy that she dedicated some of it to make a silver image. An idol!! She put it in her son’s house along with the ephod he made and a bunch of other household idols. This inspired Micah to ordain his son as a priest. (MAN!!! How far can they go from the LAW OF THE LORD??)

“There was no king in Israel in those days. (So) Everyone did what was right in his OWN EYES.

Then a true Levite living in Judah’s land journeyed to the land of Ephraim. When Micah saw him, he thought, “Wow, here is a real priest!!” He invited the man to stay with him. The smug Micah then thought to himself, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me because I have a Levite as a priest.” SERIOUSLY??

Judges 18.

Dan, the tribe from which Samson came, “was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then, no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them?”

(WHAT??  What about that small area on the coast including Joppa? Judges 1:34 tells us that they were indeed given that land, but THEY HAD FAILED TO SECURE IT and let the Amorites press them up into the hill country.)

Anyway, now this very small tribe was looking for some land they could easily take. Spies left Zorah (Samson’s town) and came to Micah’s house. They asked the wayward Levite priest living there for God’s direction. “Oh, all is cool,” said the Levite. “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

So the five spies went waaaayyyyyyy north into the land of the Sidonians (not the land that God had given to Israel).  The people there were isolated and quiet. Cool. No problem.  They returned to their fellow Danites and said, “Let’s go up against this people, for we’ve seen the land and it is very good. Don’t be slow to go and possess the land.  The people are unsuspecting. The land is spacious. We will lack nothing there.” 

So 600 Danites, armed with weapons of war went up and arrived at the house of Micah. The 600 men went into his house and took the ephod, the household gods, and the carved silver image.

“What are you doing?” asked the Levite.

“Keep quiet. Come with us. You can be a priest of a whole tribe in Israel, and not just one man. “

“Cool!” said the priest. He took the artifacts and went with the Danite troops.

Micah, of course, was not happy.  “Why are you taking my priest and my gods?“

The Danites told him to be quiet or else he’d “lose his life.”

The Danites then went up to the people of Laish, a quiet and unsuspecting people, and struck them with the sword and burned their city.  There was no deliverer for them since Sidon was so far away. 

The Danites rebuilt the city and named it Dan. They set up the carved image and had the priests as their own. And so they remained until the day of the captivity of the land. 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 93

Apr3
Day 93.  Reading Judges 10 – 12 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What encourages you from the book of Judges?

Before I go on to today’s reading, I want to share this children’s church song.  I hadn’t ever remembered reading about that 1-verse judge, Shamgar (Judges 3:31) who fought the Philistines for Israel. (We studied him three days ago.)

And then I came across this song while looking for something else.  I wonder how many kids singing this, KNOW about this Canaanite Judge for Israel!! I just had to add it here!

 

Amazing, huh?

Judges 10.

Six more mostly short-term judges follow Gideon’s family and fill in before Samson.  After God fulfilled the curse Jotham made on Abimelech and the people of Shechem, the judge Tola arose to save Israel.  He was a man of Issachar but he lived in Ephraim.  He judged Israel for twenty-three years.

After him, Jair from Gilead (East Manasseh) judged Israel for twenty-two years. (He was known for his thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and ruled thirty cities.

Then … the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served Baals and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They forsook the LORD and did not serve Him, so His anger was kindled against them.  And … God gave them over to the Philistines and Ammonites who “crushed and oppressed them for eighteen years.”

The Ammonites crossed the Jordan River to fight against Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim. And Israel (surprise, surprise) called out to the LORD.  “We have sinned against you because we have forsaken our God and served Baals.”

But God was tired of rescuing them. He said, “I will save you no more.  Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

That was a serious blow, and Israel got serious. “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to You. Only please deliver us this day.” (And they put away the foreign gods from among them.)

Judges 11.

And once again God raised up a judge for His people (Oh, the depths of His mercy and grace!)  Jephthah was a Gileadite (East Manasseh) and a mighty warrior.  After a time the Ammonites made war with Israel and they fetched Jephthah (after some bargaining) to help. 

Jephthah sent a long message to the kings of Moab and the Amorites, explaining how it came about that Israel took their land in the time of Moses … 300 years earlier!  But they would NOT LISTEN to reason.  So Jephthah decided to go to war.  He made a VOW that when he returned victorious, the first thing that came out of his house would be a sacrifice to the LORD.

Yikes!

Well, the LORD caused him victory in his battles and he defeated twenty cities of the Ammonites with a great blow.  He came home, and out walked – not a chicken, a cow, or a sheep – but his one and only offspring, his daughter.  GULP!!!

Now, Jephthah “could have gotten out of that foolish vow had he known the law of the LORD, which gives account for such thing.  He could have admitted sin and made a sacrifice for it, and saved his only child.”  But alas, he did NOT KNOW the law and after giving his daughter two months of solitary introspection out in the country to mourn her virginity…………… he sacrificed her. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Jephthah judged Israel for six years.

Judges 12.

Next there was a bit of intra-tribal fighting.  Soldiers of Ephraim were again miffed that Jephthah hadn’t called them to fight the Ammonites with him. They vowed to burn him and his house with fire.  What??? He tried to explain, but they got into a tussle fighting each other and 42K Ephraimites ended up being killed!!! 

(I guess none of the other tribes ever called them for help because they were such poor fighters!)

After that came Ibzan of Bethlehem. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He judged Israel seven years.

Then, Elon from Zebulun. He had judged Israel ten years. 

Next up was Abdon the son of Hillel from Ephraim.  He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. 

Yes, I know. I’m tired keeping track of all the one-term judges.  Tomorrow we’ll start the study of Samson, the worst judge yet, albeit, the most well-known.

  • O LORD, help me to learn more about You, and hide more of Your Word in my heart, so I don’t sin against You.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 91

Apr1
Day 91.  Reading Judges 6 – 7. 
 

BEGINNING THE MONTH OF APRIL

Continuing with the judges of Israel and the repeating cycles of sin.

What truth can help you TODAY?

Judges 6.

Oh, no! It’s happening again!

“The people did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”

And the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. (Those people who had corrupted Israel by the hand of Balaam when Moses was alive. Israel had declared a holy war against them and defeated them soundly, killing all except the young girls. Now they were back to repay Israel.)

The Midianites overpowered them. Israel hid in caves and dens. The Midianites stole and destroyed all their crops and produce, so food was scarce. Midian came like locusts with their camels (not chariots) and laid waste to the land. 

Israel was brought VERY LOW. 

And the cried out for help to the LORD.

The LORD sent a prophet saying, “I led you up out of Egypt and drove out all in this land and gave it to you. I said I am the LORD your God, you shall not fear the gods in the land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice.”

Nevertheless, God raised up another judge, one fearful little man who was threshing his meager grain at night so as not to be seen.

The Angel of the LORD: “The LORD be with you, O mighty man of valor!“

Gideon: “Huh? If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened?  Where are all God’s wonderful deeds that our fathers talked about? The LORD brought us out of Egypt, but now He has forsaken us,” 

The Angel of the LORD: “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from Midian. I’m sending YOU.”

Gideon: “Seriously??? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am least in my father’s house!”

The Angel of the LORD: “I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Gideon. “Show me a sign! Oh, wait, if it’s really you, stay here and I’ll bring you a present.”

The Angel of the LORD: “I will stay till you return.”

This was an extraordinary conversation!  But amazingly, the Angel remained till Gideon brought back some food. The Angel zapped the meat and broth and unleavened bread that Gideon brought with His staff and consumed it. 

“Whoa! Now I know I’ve seen the Angel of the LORD!“

The LORD gave Gideon the task of destroying the local alters of Baal and Asheroth that night, and Gideon obeyed. The whole town was angry and wanted to kill Gideon, but his father mocked.  “Do YOU defend the gods? Why don’t they defend themselves?”

Then the Midianites came. And the Amalekites. And the people of the East. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the plain of Jezreel. And all Israel quaked.

BUT… not Gideon because the Spirit of the LORD clothed him.  He sent messages to his tribe of Manasseh, and to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to meet him and they did, all 30K of them.  Then Gideon got the shakes. 

“God, if you will save Israel by my hand – as you have said – behold I’m laying a fleece of wool on the floor. If there is dew on it and not the surrounding area in the morning, I WILL KNOW YOU WILL SAVE US.

It happened as Gideon asked.

But he was still shaking.  “God, this time, let the fleece be dry and the surrounding floor be wet.”  Yep. It happened.  

Convinced yet, Gideon?  

Judges 7.

And so, Gideon and his 30K set themselves in array camped by a spring, ready for battle.

The LORD:  “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me saying, ‘My OWN HAND HAS DONE IT.’  So, tell all who are afraid to go home.”

And 22,000 left Gideon!!!

“Still too many, Gideon.  Give them the water lapping test.”  

Gideon did, and there were but 300 men left to fight the hoard of Midianites.

“With the 300 men I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand.”

And it seems that Gideon believed God.

Later that night God sent him to spy out the Midianite camp, and he heard one of the soldiers recounting a dream he’d had about a simple disaster.  But the other soldier declared, “It’s none other than the sword of Gideon, a man of Israel. God has given us into his hand, the whole camp.”

Whoa!  Prophecy from the mouth of the enemy, no less. And Gideon worshiped God.

“Get up, men, the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand!”

And so, Gideon and the 300, with only empty jars with torches inside and their trumpets, attacked at the sound of Gideon’s trumpet. “THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND GIDEON,”  they shouted and blew their horns.

And all of Midian fell into chaos, turning, spinning, falling, killing their own. Gideon called the other tribes to chase and capture them before they got to the Jordan River.  They did and also captured the two princes of Midian and killed them.  

Whew.

  • LORD, encourage my little faith as you did with Gideon. Help me to remember that YOU are a majority. YOU have the power to defeat any enemy in my life. O may I trust you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 82 & 83 (PART 1)

Mar24
Day 82 – 83.  Reading Joshua 1-4 and 5-8. (PART 1)
 

We are diving into the History of Israel – post-Moses. 

Will the new leadership change the Nation?

What did you learn today about God’s faithfulness?

 

Joshua 1.

Immediately God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ “assistant.”

“Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all “this people” into the land that I am giving them.  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.  NO MAN SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND BEFORE YOU all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you.”

“Be strong and very courageous.  This book of the LAW shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. so you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it…for then your way will be prosperous and you will have good success.? 

“Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

And so Joshua took the leadership.  1) “Prepare your provisions,” he said to the people, “for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD YOUR God is giving you.”

And to the 2.5 tribes with land already on the East of the Jordan, he said, 2) “Remember the word that Moses commanded you.  All the men of valor among you shall pass over armed BEFORE your brothers, and YOU shall help them until the LORD gives rest to your brothers.”

Joshua 2.

Next Joshua (once a spy of the land himself) sent two men ahead. 3)  “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

They did and came upon the house of one Rahab, a prostitute. It was built between the two massive walls of Jericho.  

They must not have been very secretive because it was soon told to the King that they were there. He sent men to Rahab and demanded she turn them over.  Through God’s sovereign plan and work on her heart, Rahab had hidden them under some stalks of flax on her roof.

“I don’t know where those men went,” she lied to the King’s men. “Pursue them quickly for you will overtake them.”  They pursued all the way to the Jordan River but did not find them.

Meanwhile, Rahab went up on her roof and made a deal with the spies. “I know that your God has given you this land.  All the people are terrified of you. We heard how your God dried up the Red Sea so your people could escape out of Egypt.  And now, we’ve heard how you decimated Sihon and Og.”

“Wow,” thought the spies.

“I know that the LORD your God is God of the heavens above and on the earth below.  Now… please swear to me, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a SURE SIGN that you will save us alive and deliver us from death.”

The spies answered in the affirmative. “If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land … we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

And they made a pack, with the “sure sign” being a crimson rope to be hung out her window to mark the place that the army of Israel was to save.  Only those in the house with the blood-red rope would be saved alive.   (WOW!  Doesn’t this remind you of the Lamb’s blood on the Jew’s doorposts in Egypt preserving them from the Angel of Death??)

The spies returned and reported it all to Joshua, ending with, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of this land WILL MELT AWAY before us.”

Joshua 3.

Israel led the people early the next morning to the brink of the Jordan River and camped there for three days. Then Joshua sent elders to the people to say, 4) “As soon as you see the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out and follow it (about 1,000 yards behind it).”

Then Joshua said, 5) “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”  And then to the Priests, 6) “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and pass on before the people.”

God said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with YOU.  Now, when the priests step into the river, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”

And so, when the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched the water …. the water stopped its flow from above and stood “in a heap. And ALL OF ISRAEL quickly crossed the Jordan on dry land, just as the older generation crossed the Red Sea on dry land.

Joshua 4.

But one more thing was needed. Joshua called the twelve men that he had appointed, a man from each tribe, and said, 7) “Each of you, take up a stone on his shoulder for each tribe of Israel.” They were for a memorial. Later, before the waters returned, Joshua set them up in the Jordan Riverbed where the priests had stood. 

“When your children ask in the time to come, ‘What do those stones mean?’ you are to tell them of how the LORD stopped the water so they could cross into the Promised Land, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and you may fear the LORD your God forever.

Then the Ark and the priests came up out of the Jordan, and when the soles of their feed were on the dry land of Canaan, the waters of the Jordan returned and overflowed their banks as before. 

And on that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

And so, the people camped at Gilgal, on the border of Jericho. 

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To be continued in PART TWO. Joshua 5-8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 81

Mar22
Day 81.  Reading Deuteronomy 32 – 34, Psalm 91. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 32.

Today, there is singing (psalms). 

The first is a history lesson in song that Moses wrote and taught to the assembly of Israel. He’s quite a songwriter. (see Exodus 15). I wonder how long it took them to memorize what is 43 verses in our Bibles. The melody must have been very catchy.  

The song he wrote is God’s words to Israel, telling them who He is, what He’s done for them, the ways they will fail Him, and how much He actually loves them. 

Moses tells them to praise God. “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!  The Rock, His work is perfect, all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, without iniquity, just and upright is He.”

But of Israel, “They have dealt corruptly with Him; they are no longer His children because they are blemished, a crooked and twisted generation.”

But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob, His allotted heritage.   He —

  • found him in a desert land and a howling waste of wilderness,
  • encircled him, cared for him
  • kept him as the apple of His eye.
  • made him ride on the high places of the land
  • suckled him with honey out of the rock, fed him curds and milk from the flock, fat of lambs, the finest of wheat, and wine from the blood of grapes.

But “Jeshurun” (a name for Israel meaning “upright” but said sarcastically) grew fat and kicked and forsook the God who made him. He scoffed at the Rock of his salvation, and stirred Him to jealousy with strange gods, abominations, and sacrificing to demons. 

“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.”

And so the LORD saw it and spurned them and hid His face from them.  And God vowed —

  • I will make them jealous of those who are no people; 
  • I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
  • I will heap disasters upon them
  • I will spend my arrows on them
  • They will be wasted with hunger, devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence
  • I will send the teeth of beasts against them with the venom of snakes.

And God said he would have done more against his people, but the enemies would misunderstand and think that THEIR hand had been triumphant and not the LORD at all. 

But – and thank You, LORD – He vows, “I will vindicate my people and have compassion on my servants, when I see that their power is gone. and there is none remaining, bond or free.”     

“Rejoice with Him O heavens; bow down to Him, all gods, for He avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on His adversaries. He repays those who hate him, and cleanses His people’s land.”

And so Moses ended the song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua.  He told them to “take all the words to heart and teach them to your children.

And THAT VERY DAY, God told Moses, “It’s time.”  “Go up this mountain, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho and VIEW the land I’m giving to Israel.  And die on the mountain, as your brother died on Mount Hor.  You shall SEE the land before you, but you shall NOT GO THERE.”

Deuteronomy 33.

Then, before Moses went up to die, he blessed the tribes of Israel, much like Jacob/Israel had done before he died.

  • Reuben, shall not die, but will be few.
  • Judah,  LORD bring him in, with Your hands contend for him, be a help against his adversaries.
  • Levi, LORD, give to Levi your Thummin and Urim, who denied his father and mother and brothers and children, but observed YOUR Word and kept YOUR covenant. They will teach Jacob Your rules and law, and worship and sacrifice to You.  Bless, O LORD, his substance and accept the work of his hands. Crush his adversaries.
  • Benjamin. The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long.
  • Joseph, Blessed by the LORD be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, etc. A first-born bull — he has majesty. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
  • Zebulun & Issachar, rejoice in your going out and in your tents. They draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.
  • Gad, Blessed be he who enlarges him. He crouches like a vicious lion. He chose the best of the land for himself, for THERE, a commander’s portion was reserved. With Israel he executed the justice of the LORD and his judgments for Israel.
  • Dan, is a lion’s cub.
  • Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of the LORD, posses the lake and the south.
  • Asher, Most blessed be sons of Asher, the favorite of his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. As your days, so shall your strength be.

There is none like God, O Israel, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people save by the LORD!

Deuteronomy 34.

Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. And the LORD showed him all the land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western sea, the Negev, and the Plain, the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees.

“This is the land I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.  I will let your see it, but your shall not go over.” 

So Moses died there. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, but no one knows the place.  Moses was 120 years old. His eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated. 

And Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, so the people obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

“An there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to the land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of Israel.” 

(A postscript by Joshua)

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Psalm 91.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
 will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress, 
my God in whom I trust. (vss. 1-2)

"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation." (vss.14-16)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 80

Mar21
Day 80.  Reading Deuteronomy 30 – 31. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 30.

This chapter brings good news. 

IF Israel sins against the LORD by not loving and obeying Him, and afterwards returns to Him and obeys Him with all their heart and soul, THEN the LORD will restore their fortunes, and have compassion on them and again gather them from the people where the LORD scattered them.

The LORD will also “circumcise their hearts” so they will love him totally. He will make them prosperous and delight in them again. And He will put all the curses on their enemies.

Then Moses encouraged them. “This commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither too far off. The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and your heart, so you can do it.”

Then Moses challenged them. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. IF you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, by loving  Him, walking in His ways, and keeping his commandments and statutes and rules, THEN you shall live and multiply and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curs.  CHOOSE LIFE!  So you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for HE is your life and length of days.

Deuteronomy 31.

Moses then reminded the people that he was now 120 years old and he could not enter the Land with them.  But that the LORD Himself will go in with them. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Then Moses brought Joshua before them and commissioned him. “Be strong and courageous, for YOU shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.”

Then Moses gave the whole law, which he had written at God’s command, to the priests. He commanded them to read it every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles when all Israel came to appear before the LORD. They were to read it before all Israel, men, women, children, and stranger in their towns… that all may hear and learn to fear the LORD they God and be careful to obey all the words.

Then God told Moses. “It’s time for you to die.  Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting that I may commission him.” 

God told Moses that after he died, the people would turn and whore after foreign gods in the land and that His anger would be kindled against them.  AND SO, Moses was to write a song and teach it to the people. He was to put it in their mouths, that it would be a witness for God against them..”

So Moses wrote the song the same day and taught it to the people. (We will read it tomorrow in chapter 32.)

Then the LORD commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun. “Be strong and courageous, for you SHALL bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

Then Moses gave the entire book of the Law to the Levite priests, who were to put it beside the Ark of the Covenant. It was a witness against them. (For God knew how rebellious and stubborn they were.)

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 75 & 76

Mar17
Sunday/Monday’s Posts are published on Monday.
Day 75 – 76.  Reading Deuteronomy 14-16 and 17-20. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 14.

  Moses reviews the clean and unclean food rules and the tithing of all their flocks and herds. And also the REASON Israel is to live so differently from other peoples.

  • “You are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Deuteronomy 15.

Moses reminds them of the reasons and details of the Sabbatical years, specifically about the release of the borrowers or the indentured from the previous six years.  The lenders are not to harden their hearts concerning the poor but to open their hands to him and lend him sufficient for his needs.

“There shall be no “unworthy” thoughts or begrudging when the 7th year comes. You shall open wide your hand to your brother, the needy, and the poor in your land.  For the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and all that you undertake.”

“And for the indentured, when you let him go free from you, you shall NOT let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock, threshing floor, and winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.”

“It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired servant, he has served you six years!”

Deuteronomy 16.

Moses reviews the three most important Festivals they are to observe. (These are when all the men of Israel must journey to the place God appoints (Jerusalem, later) every year. God promised that if they were faithful to do this, he would allow no one to invade their homes and land while they were away or even desire to do it.  Exodus 34:23-24)  

  • Passover, to remember how God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
  • Feast of Weeks – at the first cutting of the spring harvest, to thank God for all His provision.
  • Feast of Booths – at the fall harvest, to remember how God cared for them in the wilderness. 

They were also to appoint righteous judges and officers in all their towns who would judge the people with righteous judgments. None of them should ever accept a bribe. 

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Deuteronomy 17.

Moses strongly cautioned them NOT to do anything in any way to worship falsely as the pagan nations did. The death penalty was to be evoked in that case.

If there are cases of criminal offenses that they can’t decide on their own, they are to take the matter to the priests (at Jerusalem, later), who will decide. THEN, they must obey that verdict.

About kings:  Even before Israel entered the land, God knew that they would desire, no, demand, a king. So here are some basic laws concerning them.  They are allowed to set a king over themselves – but one that the LORD chooses.

  • The king must be from their own people (no foreigners). 
  • He must not acquire many horses (an army to depend on instead of his God) and especially not go to Egypt to get them. NEVER shall they go to Egypt again.
  • And the king must not acquire many wives for himself (a sign of “deals” sealed with other nations). 
  • He shall also not acquire excessive silver and gold for himself.  (Yikes! These are just what King Solomon did!!)
  • And when he sits on the throne, he must write a book for himself, a copy of the Law.
  • He shall read from that Law book all the days of his life so that:
  • 1) he will keep the words and statutes of the Law,
  • 2) his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers,
  • 3) he will not turn aside from the commandments to the right or left,

Deuteronomy 18.

Moses reminds them that the Levites have no inheritance in the Promised Land; only cities with a bit of pastureland on which to live.  And so, Israel is to support them with their offerings and gifts.

Israel must NOT, EVER, learn and follow the “abominable practices” of the pagan nations.  And anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter, practices divination, fortune-telling, or is a sorcerer, a charmer, a medium, or a necromancer shall be killed.  Israel must be blameless before the LORD their God.

Then, that wonderful prophecy!  God will one day raise up a “Prophet” like Moses from among them, and Israel is to listen to Him.  God will put His words in His mouth and He will speak to them all God commands Him. “And whoever will not listen to My words that He shall speak in my name, I, Myself will require it of him.”   (Refer to Acts 3:22-23, 7:37 and John 1:21, 25, 43-45, 6:14 and 7:40)

Deuteronomy 19.

Moses then reviews the importance and use of the Cities of Refuge in the land. Initially, there would be three, but three more would be added as their conquest expanded.  These were escape cities for ones guilty of accidental manslaughter and not premeditated murder.

The people were always to be aware of and to respect their neighbor’s property lines.

In cases of criminal activity, there must be two or three witnesses to the deed. (One will not suffice.) And where two parties are malicious towards each other, then both parties shall appear before the priests and judges.  And they shall not pity in these cases. “It shall be a life for a life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Deuteronomy 20.

When Israel prepares to fight their enemies, they are not to be afraid, because the LORD their God is with them.  “For it is the LORD your God  who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.“

God gives exemptions to some for NOT going out to war:

  • any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it,
  • any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed the fruit from it,
  • any man who has betrothed a wife and has not consummated the marriage,
  • and any man who is fearful and fainthearted (lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.)

After defeating their enemies who live far off, they are to “enjoy the spoil which the LORD their God has given to them.”

But to the cities that the LORD has given them for an inheritance, they shall utterly destroy them and any spoil, that “they may not teach you all their abominable practices.”

Curiously, when they besiege a city for a long time, they are NOT to destroy its fruit trees by cutting them down for ramparts, etc. (God asks, “Are they human that they should be besieged by you?”) They must spare them, but they can eat from them.  Only non-food trees may be used for siege works against the city. 

**** LORD, thank you for being concerned with every aspect of our lives and for showing us how to live holy in your sight.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 73

Mar14
Day 73.  Reading Deuteronomy 8 – 10. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 8.

In yesterday’s reading, God, through Moses, left the people of Israel with a solemn warning of how He viewed the images and idols of the Canaanites.  THEY should utterly detest and abhor them, as HE did.

Today, Moses tells them that those idols would be the ultimate test of their love towards God. He tested them in the wilderness, “to know what was in their hearts.” He humbled them and let them hunger “to let them know that man does not live by bread alone.”

Now, in giving them the “good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which they will eat brad without scarcity, in which they will lack nothing” God was giving them another test.

“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes.  LEST, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied…. YOU FORGET the LORD your God who brought you up out of Egypt.”

“BEWARE lest you say in their heart ‘MY power and the might of MY hand has gotten me this wealth.’  You shall REMEMBER the LORD your God, for it is HE how gives you power to get wealth.

“And IF you FORGET the LORD their God and go after gods to serve and worship them … YOU shall perish like the nations before you.”

Deuteronomy 9.

Moses continues to encourage, scold, and warn the people of Israel.  When they conquer the Promised Land, they are not to think that THEY did it, that THEIR righteousness got them the land.  No, it was God — who is a consuming fire — that went before them and destroyed their enemies.

It certainly was NOT their righteousness that caused them to possess the land, but the wickedness of those peoples, and because of the promise God made to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  No, the Israelites were a STUBBORN, not righteous people who had severely provoked the LORD in the wilderness.

Moses reminds them of that horrible time when he was 40 days with God, that they build and worshiped the golden calf.  He reminded them how God wanted to destroy them all, and how he — in anger — had thrown down the tablets of stone.  He reminded them how he returned another 40 days before the LORD and laid prostrate on his face before God, pleading for them, for his brother, Aaron, and for God’s reputation and Name.   

Deuteronomy 10.

Moses continues the story, how the LORD relented because of Moses’ intercession, gave him two replacement stone tablets with the LAW engraved on them, and how he put them in the Ark of the Covenant as a remembrance.   He reminded them how God set apart the tribe of Levi because of their ZEAL for Him. They were to care for the Tabernacle and the Holy Things.

“And now, Israel, WHAT DOES THE LORD YOUR GOD REQUIRE OF YOU?  To fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and will all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statues of the LORD ….. for your good. 

“Remember, the LORD your God — to whom belons the heavens and all that is in the earth — has set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring, YOU above all peoples, as you are this day.  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your HEART and no longer be stubborn, 

“For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God.”

“YOU shall fear the LORD your God. YOU shall serve Him and hold fast to him, and by His Name you shall swear. HE is your praise. HE is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 

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****O Lord, may I also never forget who You are, all the great and mighty things you have done for me, though I too am stubborn, sinful and not righteous at all … except for the righteousness You have given me through Your Son, Jesus.