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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 182

Jul1

A NEW MONTH! We are halfway through the year!

Day 182 – Reading – Obadiah 1 and Psalms 82 & 83

Read today’s Scriptures.  Do you see connections?

Obadiah 1.

Did the appearance here of this minor prophet surprise you? It did me. 

We are still reading about the divided nation = Israel vs Judah, both still living in the land God gave them.  So why the prophet Obadiah??

Obadiah is probably a contemporary of Elijah and Elisha, who prophesied mostly to the northern kingdom of Israel. Obadiah spoke only to the southern kingdom of Judah.

Now remember when Edom (Esau) along with Ammon and Moab came around the southern end of the Dead Sea to attack Judah?  (2 Chronicles 20). The Bible calls them “a great multitude” and “a horde.”  The people (and Jehoshaphat the king) were terrified of them.   Then, remember Jehoshaphat’s wonderful prayer to the LORD, reminding and claiming His promises of help?

  • “If disaster comes upon us, we will stand before this House and before You, and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.  Execute judgment on them now, for we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.“

And remember the LORD’s reply.

  • “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle.  Stand firm, hold your position, and SEE the SALVATION of the LORD on your behalf. 

And Jehoshaphat appointed singers to sing to the LORD, and to praise Him as they went. And as they began to sing and praise Him, the LORD set an ambush, so that Ammon, Moab, and MOUNT SEIR were routed, so that none escaped alive.

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Obadiah is now prophesying against this Edom (Esau, Mt. Seir)  for the ill treatment of God’s beloved Judah.  He says,

  • “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?”  Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars …. from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.
  • Your mighty men shall be dismayed … so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.

Obadiah prophesies of the time when Judah will be carried off into captivity by Babylon.  At that time Edom helps their captors, by catching runaways, and killing them!  God roughly calls them out.

  • “Do not GLOAT over the day of your brother, in the day of his misfortune; do not REJOICE over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not BOAST in the day of distress. 
  • “Do not ENTER THE GATE of my people in the day of their calamity; do not GLOAT over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not LOOT his wealth in the day of his calamity.
  • “Do not stand at the crossroads to CUT OFF HIS FUGITIVES; do not HAND OVER his survivors in the day of distress.”

But in that day, that’s just what Edom did, and God punished them for it.  “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.  There shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,” for the LORD has spoken. 

(Hey, you don’t mess with God’s chosen people! HE may discipline them, but not YOU!)

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Psalm 82.

This psalm speaks NOT of persecuting the helpless, but RESCUING them. (It’s almost like this is sent ahead to Edom!)

  • “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

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Psalm 83.

This psalm is also very like Obadiah’s message to Edom (and to all who would persecute His Chosen… even TODAY)

  • “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.

 

  • “They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.

 

  • “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

(Have you heard this mentioned about Israel today in the news???)

 

  • “For they conspire with one accord; against You they make a covenant, the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the in habitants of Tyre; Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

(Yes, Israel is surrounded to day by those who hate them and want to destroy them!)

 

  • “O my God, make them like whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may You pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your hurricane!

 

  • “Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that YOU ALONE, whose name is the LORD are the Most High over the  earth.”

 

Oh, my goodness.

This SO reminds me of recent affairs in the Middle East.

And the hate threats towards Israel.

(Oh, God!)

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 114

Apr24
Day 114.  Reading Psalms 43, 44, 45, 49, 84, 85, 87.
 

Read today’s scripture.

Did you find comfort or hope in these Psalms?

Psalm 43.

David preaches to himself in this psalm. It feels to him that God has rejected him and is ignoring him. It’s a good pattern for us when times are hard.

  • Vindicate me, O God, defend my cause
  • Why have You rejected me?
  • Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
  • Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, MY God.
  • Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, MY SALVATION AND MY GOD.

Psalm 44.

  • O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds YOU performed in their days, in the days of old; YOU with Your own hand drove out the nations, but them You planted; YOU afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;  for not by their own sword did they win the land, and did their own arm save them, BUT YOUR RIGHT HAND AND YOUR ARM, AND THE LIGHT OF YOUR FACE, for you delighted in them.

Remember here Deuteronomy 8:17-18. “Beware lest you say in your heart, “MY power and the might of MY hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is HE who gives you power to get wealth.”

  • YOU are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through YOU we push down our foes; through YOUR name we tread down those who rise up against us.
  • For not in MY bow do I trust, nor can MY sword save me.
  • But YOU have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us.
  • in God we have boasted continually, and w will give thanks to YOUR NAME forever.

Psalm 45.

A corporate song to be sung by the whole congregation.

  • My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

The psalm praises the aspects of the earthly king of Israel in gorgeous phrases of glory.  Then in the middle a verse about the KING OF KINGS:

  • Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness,  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Psalm 49.

This psalm is quite whimsical, although it speaks about death as inevitable to all men. DO READ IT!  It begins……

  • HEAR this, all peoples!
  • GIVE EAR, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together.
  • MY MOUTH SHALL SPEAK WISDOM; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
  • I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 

It ends….

  • Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 84.

This one is such a beauty. It praises God, and the psalmist longs to be with the LORD, in His temple.

  • How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
  • My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
  • Even a sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at Your altars, O LORD of hosts.
  • Blessed are those who dwell in Your house: ever singing Your praise.
  • For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
  • I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
  • For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. 
  • NO GOOD THING does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
  • O LORD of hosts, BLESSED is the one who trusts in You!

Psalm 85.

  • LORD, You were favorable to Your land; You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
  • You forgave the iniquity of Your people, You covered all their sin.
  • You withdrew all your wrath; You turned from Your hot anger.
  • Restore us again, O God of our salvation.
  • Will You be angry with us forever?
  • Will You prolong your anger to all generations?
  • Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?

Psalm 87.

This psalm shows God’s love for the holy Mount Zion on which His temple stands. Jerusalem of gold!  Later in our study, we will see how God actually put the “symbol” of His Name on Mt Zion and Jerusalem.  And one day, King Jesus will rule there.

  • On the holy mount stands the city He founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
  • Glorious things of you are spoken O city of God. 

One day, in the Messianic Kingdom, Israel will sit gloriously in the city. And Egypt, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush, all gentile nations and ancient enemies will one day worship the LORD with Israel in the Holy Mount.

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 311

Nov7

     Day 311—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 311 – Matthew 24 (more on the destruction of the temple, end-time warnings, antichrists, His coming)

This chapter covers what we’ve looked at in the last two days, with different details.  The conversation begins with the disciples admiring the temple building and ends with the Lord’s second coming.

The disciples naturally want to know the details, and Jesus proceeds to teach about short-term, long-term, and unknown-term happenings. I’m not sure the disciples understood any more after Jesus was finished. I don’t!

Jesus talks about false messiahs, wars, and catastrophes near and worldwide. They are not to fear but remain faithful.  Jesus says many will grow cold, and fall away, and betray each other, and that lawlessness will increase. They are to endure to the end.  And they are to consistently proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world. When that is complete, the end will come.

Further, in the end times, the abomination of desolation will appear that was foretold by Daniel. False Christs and prophets will perform great signs and wonders and try to lead even God’s elect astray.  DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!

Terrifying occurrences in the heavens will happen, and then the Son of Man will appear in clouds with power and great glory. And “all the tribes of the earth will mourn.”  When the disciples of that day see these things happening, they will KNOW the time of the end is near.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Jesus is and speaks the truth. We can always trust in what He says.

He compares the end times to those days of Noah. People will be eating and drinking as they normally do every day. They will marry and attend weddings until the DAY of judgment comes when they will be swept away.

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming.  Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do NOT expect.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 198

Jul16

    Day 198—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading and continuing in Isaiah.

    Day 198 – Isaiah 18 – 22. (the oracles against the nations and cities continue, with messages of HOPE between dire destruction)

Cush is probably Ethiopia.

“Ah, the land of whirring wings (perhaps a fleet of sailing ships) that is beyond the rivers of Cush, which sends ambassadors by the sea in vessels of papyrus on the waters!  Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far.” Judgment was coming, but also grace. 

Egypt. “Behold the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them”. But also grace. “In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts.  In that day, there will be an altar to the LORD amid the land of Egypt.”

Babylon. The vision is of her fall. “A stern vision is told to me; a traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.”  Babylon will fall to the Medes and Persians in 200 years. 

Dumah and Arabia do not escape; their glory will end.

And an Oracle Concerning Jerusalem. “Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.  For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains…”   “Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. He has taken away the covering of Judah.

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 144

May23

   Day 144—We are still in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   Are you loving God more each day? What are you learning about Him?  Share in the comments section.

   Day 144 – Psalm 108 – 109 – 110. (Psalms of David)

Psalm 108 repeats some of Psalms 57 and 60.  “Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the PEOPLES; I will sing praises to you among the NATIONS.”     “Be exalted, O God, above the HEAVENS!  Let your glory be over all the EARTH!”

“Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the SALVATION OF MAN!  With GOD WE DO VALIENTLY; it is HE who will tread down our foes.”

Psalm 109 is a prayer for God’s help against the wicked of his day.  “Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.”   “In return for my love, they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” 

Many of the following complaints refer to the time when David was being persecuted by Saul. It’s as if David is petitioning God, as a judge in a courtroom, to rule against his persecutors.  “Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!”    “With my mouth, I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For HE STANDS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE NEEDY ONE, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.”

Psalm 110 contains great prophetic sections, showing Jesus as both king and high priest. It is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament.

“The LORD says to my Lord; ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ (Matthew 23:43-44) (Hebrews 10:12)

“The LORD has said and will not change His mind. Yo are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Genesis 14:17-20, Hebrews 5:6, 7: 1-28)