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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 133

May13

Day 133. Reading 2 Samuel 11-12, and 1 Chronicles 20

Read Today’s Scriptures. A sad day for King David

2 Samuel 11.

(Well, I’ve dallied long enough. I need to read this disheartening story of my favorite character in the Bible, after Jesus.  He sinned – grossly – as I have.  Oh, why do we take our eyes off God and His Word and indulge our sinful flesh?  God is so merciful and forgiving, but, the consequences of sin must come!)

David’s steps down:

In the springtime of the year…

When KINGS go out to battle…

David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel.

(1.) But David remained in Jerusalem.

Bored and restless, the king got up from his couch (while all Israel was fighting!), and went up to the rooftop to look at his “golden” city in the late afternoon light. His eyes fell upon a woman bathing on  HER rooftop. (This was her ritual cleansing after her monthly period, so she was very fertile.)

(2.) As David’s eyes lingered, he saw that she was very beautiful. 

(3.) Continuing to watch her, David called one of his servants. “Who is that woman?”

“She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the WIFE of Uriah, the Hittite (one of YOUR mighty men).”

(4.) He decides. “Bring her here.”

(5.) Regardless of David’s many wives, he committed adultery and lay with Bathsheba, knowing she was the wife of another man. Then he sent her home.

A couple months later David gets a message from the lovely lady. “I’m pregnant.” (All her neighbors and family knew that Uriah was away in the army. If they saw she was pregnant, they would accuse her (rightly) of adultery.  She could be stoned.) It was now David’s problem.

(6.) David racked his brain for a solution and came up with a devious one. He sent a message to Commander Joab to send Uriah home. (Surely he will sleep with his wife, and everyone will think the baby is his.)

But David’s mighty (and loyal) man was more virtuous than the king.  While all his fellow soldiers were out fighting, he would NOT go and enjoy the pleasures of “hearth and home.” He slept down with David’s servants.  Even when David “wined and dined” him, getting him drunk, Uriah refused to go home.

(7.) So David devised murder in his heart.  He sent Uriah back to the front with a message to Joab. “Put Uriah in the forefront of the fighting, then draw back, so that he is killed.”

Joab, with barely a raised eyebrow, obeyed.  And so it happened that Uriah was murdered. Then Joab sent a message to the king about the war and added a PS, that Uriah was dead.

The messenger returned to Joab with David’s, “Sorry to hear that but don’t let it bother you. Soldier on!”

Ah, problem handled! 

After a short but “decent” time of mourning, David sent for the widow, Bathsheba and made her HIS wife. In time, she gave birth to a son.

“But the thing that David had done DISPLEASED the LORD.”

 

2 Samuel 12.

Sin has a way of finding you out.

God sent the prophet Nathan to David (the former shepherd boy) with a story about two men and a lamb.

  • “There was a rich man who had many flocks of sheep. And there was a poor man with but ONE little ewe lamb, which he’d raised much like a member of his family. The little lamb would drink from his cup, and lie in his arms, like a little daughter.
  • “Then someone came to visit the rich man. He wanted to be a good host, but he did NOT want to serve him a lamb from his own flock. So, he took the poor man’s only little pet, killed it, carved it up, and roasted and served the tender meat to his guest.”

DAVID:  “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!! And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Silence for a moment… then,

NATHAN:  “YOU are the man!

And David listened on in horror to what God said in accusation of HIM.

NATHAN:  Thus says the LORD, “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.  Why have you despised the WORD of the LORD to do what is evil in his sight?  

Then the indictment…

“You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have KILLED HIM with the sword of the Ammonites. 

And the consequences…

Now, therefore, the sword SHALL NEVER DEPART FROM YOUR HOUSE, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Behold, I will raise up evil against you OUT OF YOUR OWN HOUSE. I will take YOUR WIVES before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. For YOU did it secretly, but I WILL do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.”

(I can so picture David’s shocked face at his sin being discovered, and his body crumbling to the floor as the LORD his God questioned him and reminded him of all the LORD had done for him, and then, told him the horrible dark consequences of his sinful actions.)

DAVID;  I have sinned against the LORD!

(Can you imagine how David’s heart was breaking in anguish, sorrow, and repentance?  How could he have so sinned against the LORD his God, whom he loved with all his heart?)

I am totally amazed and blown away, at God’s GRACE, and the immediacy of His response to David’s admission of sin.

NATHAN:  “The LORD also has put away your sin; YOU shall not die.” (WHAT MERCY!!)  “Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you SHALL die.”

And Nathan left.

Bathsheba’s baby got sick. Very sick.  David fasted and prayed for the boy, and laid on his face all night. For a week he did not rise nor eat.

On the seventh day, the baby died.

When he was told, David got up, washed himself, and changed his clothes. He went to the House of the LORD and worshipped God.  Then he went home and ate the food put before him.

The servants:  You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when he died, you arose and ate. What is this?

DAVID:  “While the child still lived, I fasted and wept, for I thought “Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child will live?”  But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? No. I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

In time, Bathsheba had another son and they named him, Solomon.  “And the LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet to call him “Jedidiah,” or “beloved of the LORD.

(I think this was a comfort to David, who “could have” thought that any child of this union might have been cursed by God.)

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The rest of 2 Samuel 12, tells about Joab fighting and coming near to defeating Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites.  He sent a message to David to gather some men and camp against the city to take it, so that KING DAVID and not JOAB would get the credit.

David does this, and when the huge golden crown (with a precious stone in it) was brought from the Ammonite king, it was placed on David’s head.  David also brought out the spoils and made the people slaves to work at the brick kilns. Then the king returned to Jerusalem.

Joab did a good job “covering” for David (who should have been fighting all along), and making him “look good for the people”.  But Joab KNEW about Uriah and surmised about Bathsheba. 

(Just another reason why David hated Joab, his nephew and commander of his army.)

 

1 Chronicles 20.

This chapter only briefly mentions “David staying in Jerusalem in the Spring, when kings went out to battle, and Joab defeating the Ammonites, then David getting the crown.“

But it tells also of successful wars with the Philistines where a bunch of giants (one with 6 fingers on his hands and 6 toes on his feet) were struck down by the hand of David’s men.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 110 & 111

Apr21
(I post Sunday’s and Monday’s studies together.)
 
Day 110.  Reading Psalms 121, 123, 124, 125, 128, 129 & 130
Day 111. Reading 2 Samuel 1 – 4.
 

Read today’s scripture passages.

What specific thing encourages you in these Psalms?

EASTER SUNDAY.  What a wonderful way to begin this day – with Psalms of praise – what good timing.

Psalm 121.

  • I lift up my eyes to the hills.
  • From where does my help come from? 
  • My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 123.

  • To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 124.

  • If it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive…
  • Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
  • Our help is in the Name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125.

  • Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.
  • Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 128.

  • Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways!
  • May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129.

  • The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD.

Psalm 130.

  • O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
  • If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
  • But with You there is forgiveness that you may be feared.
  • I wait for the LORD, my soul waits and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than the watchman for the morning.
  • O Israel, hope I the LORD. For with the LORD, there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.
  • And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

.

###

Day 111.

To set the scene for what has happened thus far —

  1. The Philistines planned to march on Israel, focusing on Saul’s hometown.
  2. The Philistine commanders refused to let David and his men accompany them.
  3. David returns home only to find his town burned and all the families kidnapped.
  4. An abandoned slave tells them about the Amalekites and shows David where they are.
  5. David & men defeat them all and bring back their families.
  6. Meanwhile Saul is quaking in his sandals and hears no word from God about what to do. He goes to a witch, who calls up the dead Samuel.
  7. Samuel asks WHAT SAUL IS DOING and says he and his sons will all die the next day.
  8. The Philistines attack. Jonathan and Saul’s other two sons die. He finally dies too at his own hand after being badly wounded.
  9. All the rest of Israel run away and the Philistines live in their towns.

2 Samuel 1.

Two days after David returns home to Ziklag, a messenger, a young Amalekite (Israel’s enemy!), comes from Saul’s camp. He falls to the ground in homage (a hint of the news to follow) and tells David, that the people have fled from the battle and many of them died.

“Saul and his son, Jonathan are dead.”

“How do you know that Saul and his son, Jonathan are dead??”

Here the Amalekite fabricates, saying he found Saul mortally injured. The king asked him to kill him “for anguish has seized me and yet my life lingers.”

“So I killed him because I was sure he was going to die anyway.  Oh, and by the way!  Here are his crown and amulet.  I have brought them here to m’lord.”  (You can bet he was expecting a reward.)

David tore his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, and Jonathan, and Israel.

Then he called back the young Amalekite. “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” Then, David called one of his own men, “Go, execute him!“

And so the enemy liar paid with his own blood for killing the LORD’s anointed.

Then David wrote a lamentation over Saul and Jonathan and said it should be taught to the people of Judah. Here it is in part.

  • Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen! 
  • Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice.
  • You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you nor your fields of offerings.
  • For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul.
  • From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, the sword of Saul returned not empty.
  • Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.
  • How the mighty have fallen; and the weapons of war perished!

2 Samuel 2.

David inquired of the LORD.  And the LORD told him to go up to Hebron. So David and his two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam, plus all his men and their families lived in the towns of Hebron.  The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David King over the house of Judah.

When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who had buried Saul, David sent messages of blessing to them, praying that the LORD would show mercy and faithfulness to them. He too would show them goodness as King of Judah.

However…..

Abner, the commander of Saul’s Army, took Ish-bosheth, another son of Saul, and made HIM king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. He reigned two years.

Soon there was a clash between Abner and Joab, commander of the army of David. Abner and Joab sat down on either side of a pool. Abner suggested a contest between some of his men and some of Joab’s men to decide the conflict – instead of the whole army fighting.  Joab agreed.

However, the two sides were so closely matched, they killed each other, and nothing was settled.  And so… a battle royal ensued.  A younger brother of Joab chased Abner. As they ran, Abner told him three times to turn aside, but young Asahel persisted. Abner finally turned and killed the young man. (Joab would never forget this!!!) 

Abner made it home and the Benjaminites surrounded him.  He called to Joab. “Shall the sword devour forever? The end will be bitter! How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?”

Joab thought it over, then blew the trumpet for his men to stop. They did not fight Israel anymore that time.

2 Samuel 3.

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David grew stronger.  Meanwhile, sons were born to David from his now six wives. (Remember Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.)

And there was a fight between Ish-Bosheth and Abner because Saul’s son accused the loyal Abner of treason.  Fed up, Abner said he was defecting to David and sent messages to the King of Judah.  Abner told David he could bring all Israel to David.

David agreed with one provision, that Abner bring Michel, Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife to him. (Saul had given her to another man.)  Abner agreed.  The new husband tagged along after Michel, weeping for his wife until Abner told him to go back. 

So David made a feast for Abner with his twenty men. Abner said he’d go and bring all Israel to David. They left each other in peace.

Just then Commander Joab and his men arrived with loot from a raid they’d come from. He was angry with David for making a deal with Abner. “Don’t you know Abner came to deceive you???” 

Joab sent men to bring Abner back on some pretense, and when Abner was back in Hebron, Joab killed him.  “For his brother, Asahel,” and NOT out of concern for David. 

David was furious and full of guilt. He cursed the house of Joab.

And David made Joab and all the people put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner. David wept and lamented Abner, saying,

  • “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
  • Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered, 
  • As one falls before the wicked you have fallen.”

And David fasted till the sun went down.  And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had NOT been the king’s will to put to death Abner.

2 Samuel 4.

Ish-Bosheth’s courage failed.  Two of Saul’s men came into his house in pretense and killed him. They beheaded him and brought the head to David at Hebron!  Well, you know what happened —- the same thing as what happened to the Amalekite who brought news of Saul’s death.  Yep. They were killed. David buried the head of Ish-Bosheth. 

David wanted NO BLOOD on his hands from the house of Saul.  It was God who had chosen him King.  David would not “take” the throne from any of the LORD’s anointed.  Period.

David did not know it yet, but there was one descendant of Saul left, a son of Jonathan named Mephibosheth.  Back when Saul was killed, the little boy’s nurse grabbed him and rushed him to safety from the Philistines.  HOWEVER…. the little guy fell in her haste and became lame from then on. 

(Stay tuned about this guy.)

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 109

Apr19
Day 109.  Reading 1 Samuel 28-31 and Psalms 18.
 

Read today’s scripture.

Did anything in these chapters bother you, cause you to question, or give you closure?

1 Samuel 28.

Remember how we ended yesterday? The Philistine King Achish said, “David shall always be my servant.” Well God has other plans for David, and here’s how He brings them about.

David had been going out and fighting Israel’s enemies while letting Achish think he was fighting against Israel. So when the big push against Israel came, the king signed up David as his bodyguard and his 600 men as part of the Philistine army.

(Pause here while we see what is happening in Israel’s King Saul’s camp.) 

Saul gathered all of Israel at Gilboa (his hometown) to fight the Philistines. But when he SAW their army, he was afraid. His heart trembled greatly. (No David to fight for him this time. In fact, if he’d looked, he might have seen David in the hoard. Don’t worry, God’s going to take care of that.)

Saul tries to “inquire of the LORD,” but the LORD does not answer him, either by a dream, or by the Urim, or by prophets. (Remember Samuel died.) Who else was there?  Who could tell him GOD’s will?  Oh! A witch! A necromancer who could bring up the dead!  NOT!!!

(Read what God says about witches, necromancers, mediums, charmers, sorcerers, fortune tellers, diviners, or omen interpreters in Deut. 18:10-11, Lev. 19:31 and 20:27, Exodus 22:18)  “Don’t go to them! Remove them from Israel! Kill them all!”)

It’s pretty clear that this is a huge no-no, but Saul is at his disobedient end. He has nowhere to turn except repentance to God, and he does not choose that option.  “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium that I may inquire of her.”

It’s interesting, his servants know right where one is, in En-dor. (Even this witch knows that Saul had “cut off the mediums and necromancers from the land.”  Obviously, he’d missed one.)

Saul disguises himself, goes to her, and tells her to bring up the spirit of someone he tells her.  She’s no dummy and is reluctant, but Saul swears “by the LORD” not to punish her.  Oh boy!!!  

“Bring up Samuel.”  And the witch is terrified when Samuel actually appears.  She’s used to her demons impersonating people.  She screams and accuses Saul. But the hapless king reassures her.

SAMUEL: Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?

SAUL: I am in great distress for the Philistines are warring against me and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or dreams. TELL ME WHAT I SHALL DO!

SAMUEL:  Why do you ask ME since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy?  The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to David…BECAUSE YOU DID NOT OBEY HIM and carry out his wrath against Amalek.  The LORD will give Israel to the Philistines tomorrow. You and your sons will “soon be with ME.” 

Not what Saul wanted to hear! He collapses.

1 Samuel 29.

Meanwhile, in the Philistines’ camp, the commanders object to “those Hebrews” being among them. 

King Achish said “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel who has been with me these years since he deserted. I have found no fault in him.”

But the commanders insisted the king send them back from the battle “lest he become an adversary to us. Is this not David of whom they sing and dance, “David has struck his ten thousands (of us!)”

(This is how God was protecting David from having to fight his own people.)

Achish relented, apologized to David, and sent him back, so as not to displease his commanders.  “Arise before dawn and depart as soon as you have light.”

So David did.  (Thank You, LORD!)

1 Samuel 30.

When David and his men returned to their home in Ziklag, they discovered the town burned and all their goods and families taken away. (No one had be killed – see the hand of the LORD!)  But his men were so distraught that they spoke of stoning David!!!

David “strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”  Then he asked Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech (remember, he was the only one to escape when Saul had Doeg kill all the priests for helping David),  “Bring the ephod and inquire of the LORD. Shall I pursue this band?  Shall I overtake them?”

The LORD answered, Yes. So they set out, David and the 600.  At Besor, 200 of the men were left behind “with the baggage” because they were too exhausted to go on.   And (wow!) they found an Egyptian man in the open country, dying of hunger and thirst.  It seems he was a slave to one of the Amalekites, who’d left him behind to die.  When David promised not to desert him, he said he would lead them to the Amalekite camp.

He did. They were spread out in the valley, eating and drinking and dancing.

David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except a few who got on camels and rode off.  All the loot (and people) they had taken from David was there, including his two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam. 

So the 400 and David took it all back, plus loot from the Amalekites.  David told the 400 to share the loot with the 200 who’d stayed behind, but they were reluctant to at first. David insisted, saying that all who fought AND all who protected the baggage would share alike. (It actually became a statute for Israel from that day on.)

When they got back to Ziklag (I assumed they rebuilt it), David sent presents of the spoil to the elders of Judah for all the places he and his men had looted while in the service of the Philistines (more than 13).  WOW.

1 Samuel 31.

Meanwhile, north of Ziklag, the Philistines fought Israel. The men of Israel fell slain on Mount Gilboa. They overtook Saul and his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishu, and killed them. They pressed hard against Saul and he was seriously wounded by Philistine archers. 

Saul pled with his armor-bearer to kill him, so the Philistines would not “mistreat him.”  But the man refused to kill the king. Saul committed suicide. Then the armor-bearer did likewise. 

“Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day.” just as God had said through Samuel.  (God never let any of Samuel’s words fall to the ground, even after his death!)

When the men on the other side of the valley saw their leader dead, they abandoned their cities and ran away. The Philistines came and lived in them.

The next day the Philistines found the body of Saul, cut off his head, and put it and his armor in the house of their idols, then hung his body on the wall. 

(Can you imagine if David had been there??? Praise God, He had removed him from SEEING Saul and Jonathan dead and mistreated.)

Later the people of Jabesh-Gilead, whom Saul had helped at the beginning of his reign, came by night, took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, and burned them. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

And so ignominiously ends the rule of Israel’s first king, and his line.

Why? Because he had twice disobeyed God’s specific word through Samuel, and then continuously refused to repent.  (We will see David grievously sin against God too, but he repents. He suffers the consequences, but always turns back to his God.)

  • O LORD, let Saul’s life be a warning to us, and to me. When I sin, even grievously, cause me to remember to turn to you, confess, repent, then walk in obedience.

Psalm 18.

  • David:  “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. 
  • 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.
  • He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
  • For it is You who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by You, I can run against a troop, and by my God, I can leap over a wall.
  • 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.
  • The LORD lives, and blessed by my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation.
  • For this I will praise you O LORD, among the nations, and sing to Your Name. Great salvation He brings to His king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 102

Apr12
Day 102.  Reading 1 Samuel 15 – 17
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do you see God’s faithfulness, despite man’s failures, today?

1 Samuel 15.

Chapter 14 ended with the summary, “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul” (and Israel’s army has yet to encounter Goliath).  But Saul needs to deal with another people whom God had vowed to destroy – the Amalekites.

Why?  The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. Esau and Jacob/Israel were twin brothers, but there was no family love between the original men and none between their descendants.  When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and they were still untried and weak, the Amalekites attacked them. God helped Israel to push back the attack with Joshua and a rag-tag, quickly-assembled army, and Moses holding up his staff over the scene (with the help of Aaron and Hur). But God cursed them.

  • Deuteronomy 25:17-19. (Moses speaking) “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt., how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your “tail,” those who were lagging behind, and he did not fear God. THEREFORE when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that [He} is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”

The time had come. Israel’s first king is charged with the task.

Samuel told Saul, “Go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction ALL that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”  

So Saul took 210K men and defeated the Amalekites in nearly all of their territory.  YAY!!

“And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites ALIVE and devoted to destruction of all the people with the edge of the sword. And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fattened calves, lambs….and all that was good, AND DID NOT UTTERLY DESTROY THEM (the Amalekites).” 

Wait, Saul didn’t kill the king?  (And he missed a few hundred others, according to later incidents.)

Samuel heard about it and he was mad. “I regret that I have made Saul king.”  He cried to God all night, then arose in the morning and went to Saul’s camp at Gilgal.

  • Saul: “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”
  • Samuel: “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen I hear?
  • Saul:  “They brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen … to sacrifice to the LORD your God.“
  • Samuel:  “STOP! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.”
  • Saul: “Speak.“
  • Samuel: “The LORD anointed you king over Israel. The LORD sent you on a mission.  Why then did you NOT OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD. Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was EVIL in the sight of the LORD?”
  • Saul: “I HAVE obeyed. I HAVE gone on the mission. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek and devoted the rest to destruction.  BUT THE PEOPLE took spoil to sacrifice to the LORD your God.”
  • Samuel: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, AS IN OBEYING?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.  Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected YOU from being king.”
  • Saul: “I have sinned and transgressed the commandment of the LORD … because I feared the people.  Now, please pardon my sin.“
  • Samuel: You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king.” Then, when Saul ripped a piece of Samuel’s robe in trying to get him to stay,
  • Samuel said: “The LORD has torn the kingdom from you this day and given it to another, one better than you.”

After that, Samuel called for King Agag and hacked him to pieces. (Yes, that old man had the strength and will to do what Saul had not.)  Then Samuel left.  He did not see King Saul until the day of his death. (But, Samuel grieved over Saul … his “beautiful, tall and handsome man” the one HE had anointed prince of Israel….)

1 Samuel 16.

God remonstrated His prophet.

“How long will you grieve over Saul.  I will send you to Bethlehem to Jesse, for I’ve chosen a king for myself from his sons.  Take a heifer and tell him you’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.  Then anoint FOR ME the one I show you.”

Samuel obeyed.

At the sacrifice celebration, Samuel looked at Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab. Perhaps he was tall and handsome too, for God spoke sharply to His prophet. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on  the heart.”

And so it happened to all of Jesse’s son brought to Samuel from the oldest downward.  God rejected all seven.

Samuel was confused. He was SURE this was the family.  He was SURE God had rejected all the sons. Hmm.

“Are ALL your sons here, Jesse?” 

“Well, there remains only the youngest, but behold he’s a lad and he out tending the sheep.”

“Send and get him,” charged Samuel and they did.  This boy was ruddy (rosy-cheeked), had beautiful eyes, and was handsome (with blond curls, the Jews say). (Not like Saul at all.)

“This is the one. Anoint him,” said the LORD.

So Samuel anointed the lad in the presence of his family. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed onto David from that day forward.  After the sacrifice, Samuel got up and went home.

MEANWHILE, back at Gilgal, the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.   His servants began looking for a musician who could play soft music on a lyre to calm him.

One of them mentioned that he’d seen such a man, the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who was skilled at playing the lyre.  He was also a man of valor, prudent in speech, a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.

Saul sent messengers to Jesse to get David from watching the sheep.  So David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.  Whenever the harmful spirit was upon Saul, David came, took up the lyre, and played.

So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. (temporarily)

1 Samuel 17.

You know it, right? The story of David and Goliath?

The Philistines were back (after that awful defeat begun by young Jonathan).  They were back in Judah. And Saul gathered his army in line of battle against the Philistines.  But the invaders had brought a secret weapon: one of their giants from their city of Gath.  Goliath was 9.5 feet tall.  He was clothed in armor weighing more than 150#.  And he stood arrogant and shouted to the army of Israel.

“Am I not a Philistine and are not you servants of Saul? Choose a man and let him fight me. If he can kill ME, we will be your servants. (hahaha)  But if “I” kill him, YOU shall be OUR servants.  I DEFY THE RANKS OF ISRAEL THIS DAY.  GIVE ME A MAN THAT WE MAY FIGHT.”

Okay, you guessed it. The army of Saul was terrified. (Hopefully, by then they had more than two swords among them!!)  For forty days, the giant came forward and took his stand, morning till evening. And Israel stood frozen in their lines. (Forty days is significant. Forty = testing.)  Saul promised his beautiful youngest daughter to the man who would come out and defeat the giant.  But no one stepped up.

Meanwhile, back in Bethlehem, old Jesse was worried about his sons in the army.  He sent David with a donkey loaded with goodies, to check on them.  He arrived at the camp just as Goliath was shouting his challenge. 

David asked, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach of Israel?”  The soldiers told David about King Saul’s offer of his daughter.  Maybe David was familiar with the beautiful girl from the times he was called to court to play the lyre for the king.

His brothers scolded David, saying he’d only come to gawk at the giant. But David responded, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

News of this got back to King Saul and he sent for David. (Saul didn’t recognize him as the lyre player.) 

David:  “Don’t be afraid. I will go and fight with this Philistine.”

Saul: “You are not able for you are but a youth.”

David:  “I used to keep sheep for my father. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and saved the lamb.  I’ve struck down both lions and bears, and this Philistine shall be like one of them … for he has defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the bear and the lion will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.”

Saul:  “Go, and the LORD be with you.”  (Saul tried to make David wear his armor, but it was way too big and clumsy. And David had never moved about in armor before.  He took it off.)

You know the story.

The challenge. The one stone of five into the sling. The fall of the giant. The final coup de gras with the giant’s head rolling and David holding the giant’s heavy sword high.

And it all happened, “that the earth may KNOW that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may KNOW that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s and He will give you [enemies] into our hand.”

Of course, then, the men of Israel rose and pursued the Philistines all the way to Gath and the gates of Ekron.

Saul, seeing it all, asked his commander, Abner, “Whose son is that?’

Abner: “I don’t know.”

Saul: “Well, find out!’

When David returned from killing the giant, Abner brought him to the king.

“Whose son are you?”

“I‘m the son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.” (The one who has been coming to play the lyre for you when you go crazy!  But he probably didn’t say that.)

(Sounds to me like Saul was conscripting David into his army.)

—

(Hey, didn’t David’s daring-do, and his confidence in God remind you of Jonathan in yesterday’s reading? Jonathan had said, “the LORD is able to deliver by many or by a few. Let’s go!”  These two young believers in the LORD and His strength will meet in tomorrow’s reading.  And a godly, tight bond will form.)

  • O LORD, that I might trust in You so completely that all fear is gone.  I also pray that I will be obedient in all you ask.  You are a great God!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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, 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 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, 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)

.

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 79

Mar20
Day 79.  Reading Deuteronomy 28 – 29. 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 28.

Moses offers blessings and more curses to Israel, depending on their heart for God.

“If you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall be upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

Blessings for them and their families anywhere they live, and in whatever they do, with the defeat of all their enemies are promised.

“The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you.”   ” All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.”

Prosperity, rain in season, so much wealth that they will loan to other nations, all promised for their faithfulness.

BUT IF…. they turn aside from God…curses in the form of the OPPOSITE of all the above will come on them.  No prosperity, no protection from enemies, and every pestilence and disease will come. The heavens above will be BRONZE, the earth below IRON  with “rains” of powder and dust for them.

And not only that, but the boils, tumors, scabs and itch from Egypt will come. And madness, blindness, confusion of mind will descend on them. They will be continually oppressed and robbed. They will become a “horror, a proverb, and a byword among the nations.”

“All because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God…. because they did not serve the LORD their God with joyfulness and gladness of heart.”

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that is written in this book that you may fear THIS GLORIOUS AND AWESOME NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring EXTRAORDINARY afflictions, severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.”

Deuteronomy 29.

Whew!

“These were the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant He made with them at Horeb.”

Moses described how God took care of them in the wilderness.  But so far He has not given them a HEART to understand, or EYES to see, or EARS to hear.

NOW, ALL of them, from the heads of tribes to the one who draws water and chops wood, ALL are there to ENTER INTO THE SWORN COVENANT OF THE LORD THEIR GOD that He is making with them that day.

BEWARE lest there be any among you whose heart is turning away from the LORD to serve other gods.

BEWARE lest the be any among you, who says “I will be safe though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.” 

NO. The LORD will not be willing to forgive him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

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Serious stuff, this!

But it gets wonderful in the next chapter tomorrow.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 74

Mar15
Day 74.  Reading Deuteronomy 11 – 13. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about NEW God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 11.

Again, Moses pounds home the promises and warnings of Israel’s God, “Love the LORD your God and keep His charge, His statutes, His rules, and His commandments always … that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land, and that you may live long in the land.” 

“That land drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. His eyes are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. He will give rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later raid, that you may gather in your grain, wine, and oil. He will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.”

“So love the LORD your God, and serve Him with all your heart and soul.”  “And if you are careful to do all the commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all His ways, and holding fast to him … then the LORD will drive out all those nations before you, nations greater and mightier than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. NO ONE will stand against you. The fear of you and the dread of you the LORD will put on all the land.”

“But if you do not… a curse.

Deuteronomy 12.

Their main task in conquering the land is to “destroy all the places where the nations serve their gods, on mountains, hills and under every green tree. They are to tear down, dash into pieces, burn, chop into pieces, and utterly destroy any images and idols. They are to NOT, NOT, NOT worship them, in any way, place, shape or form.  AND, they shall worship and sacrifice ONLY at the place where the LORD chooses to put His name and home. And ONLY in the manner He has taught them.

But… they CAN eat any clean meat now, whenever they wish, as much as they wish, of their flocks and herds and of gazelles or deer.  Only the animals pledged for sacrifice, offerings, and vows they shall only eat in God’s presence.

Deuteronomy 12.

WARNING:  If anyone – a dreamer of dreams or “prophet” tells you to go after other gods to serve them -DO NOT LISTEN!  That person shall be put to death, and so you shall purge evil from your midst. 

EVEN if your own brother, mother, or friend entices you to serve other gods, DO NOT YIELD or LISTEN to them. You shall not pity, conceal, or spare him.  You shall kill him. (stone him) YOU, YOURSELF shall cast the first stone!

AND if any worthless men in another city try to draw away the inhabitants to serve other gods, you shall (first) inquire, make search, and ask diligently.  If it is so, then you shall destroy the inhabitants of that city with the sword – all who are in that city, even its cattle, and burn everything else.  WOW. GOD IS SERIOUS!

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****O LORD, if only WE were as diligent in destroying the things in our lives that distract us from your Word, or prayer or in serving You in any way. Help us to deny ourselves, give them up, throw them away, ask others to help us in our addictive ways … and repent to serve and love YOU ONLY!