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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 19 & 20 — PART TWO

Jan20

Days 19 & 20. Reading in Genesis 25-26. (Posted on Monday)

I accidentally posted Day 19 yesterday, so today will be part TWO of my usually combined weekend posts, Day 20.

 

Genesis 25.

After his wife Sarah died, Abraham took another wife named Keturah. She had six sons. But regardless of these boys and Ishmael, Abraham made it quite clear that it was Isaac, whom Sarah bore, who was the son of his inheritance, receiving not only his own things but all the promises of God for blessing, descendants, land, and ultimately the One who would bless all peoples, the Messiah.

Abraham died at age 175. (This is actually 15 years after Isaac and Rebekah had their twin boys, Esau and Jacob. So they were able to know and learn from their grandfather.)  Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave of Machpelah with his wife, Sarah. Ishmael returned to Arabia, and God blessed Isaac, who settled further south to the well of Beer-lahairoi (where God first met the runaway, Hagar).

Backtracking a little, the story of Isaac and Rebekah continues. Like Sarah, Rebekah was barren. Isaac prayed for her, and 20 years later the LORD granted his prayer. She conceived twins, and even pre-birth they seemed to be warring inside her.  SHE prayed to the LORD about it and He told her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Eventually, she gave birth. The firstborn was red and hairy, and they named him Esau (meaning red). Second to be born was a boy with his hand clinging to the heel of Esau. They named him Jacob, meaning “grabber.”  (He’s going to grab more than just Esau’s heel!)

Esau was a skillful hunter, a man’s man, and his father Isaac loved him best, especially for the wild venison he brought the old man (now in his 70s) to eat.  Jacob was a quiet guy. He liked home and hearth, and probably looking after the farm animals. He learned to cook quite well.  In fact, his lentil stew was so good he could tempt his twin brother into selling him the birthright with it. 

Esau came in one day, “starving,” saw/smelled the stew Jacob was stirring, and craved it.  Wiley Jacob traded that yummy bowl and a slab of fresh-baked bread for the double portion of their father’s inheritance. WHOA!

  • NOTE: The first-born son always got a double portion. When Isaac died, his possessions would be divided into three parts. The oldest boy would get two parts, the younger, only one. Jacob’s bargain changed that.

Genesis 26

Okay, now comes the dumbest thing Isaac ever does.  He had moved his family back to Gerar in Philistine territory, and he – yes, Isaac, not Abraham – told everyone that beautiful Rebekah was his….SISTER!!  WHAT?  She was not even his HALF sister (second cousins at most). This was a flat-out lie.  Why did he do it?  Same as his father. He feared that other men would want her and KILL HIM to get her.  What a bunch of wimps these Hebrew men were!  Ever heard of fighting for your woman?

One day, Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac and Rebekah frolicking. (The Hebrew may suggest an intimate relation.)  He called in Isaac, infuriated.  “She is your WIFE!  How could you say she was your sister? What have you done to us? One of us might have slept with her, and YOU would have brought guilt on us all!!“

Abimelech (maybe the same man who had taken Sarah when Abraham was there) proclaimed to all in his kingdom that “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death!”  I’m thinking that Abimelech is a more honorable man than Isaac (or Abe). 

After that, Isaac and the king’s men had more trouble digging wells and falsely claiming them (like with Abraham)  Finally, the king told him to “Go away from us.” 

So Isaac and his family moved up to Beersheba. And there, the LORD appeared to him, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”  

Was this the first time God had appeared to him and gave him the Abrahamic blessing?  Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD.

  • God is so good to His children. Even when we blow it and sin, He is gracious to come to us with fresh blessings. Great is His faithfulness!

And then – wonder of wonders – Abimelech came to Isaac, saying, “We’ve seen how God is blessing you. Let’s get along. (And maybe some of that blessing will fall off on us too).  Let’s live together in harmony.”  So they had a big feast… and they all got along happily ever after.

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When Esau was forty years old (Isaac’s age at marriage), he took two Hittite women to be his wives.  TWO?  “And they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.”

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 18

Jan18

Day 18. Reading in Genesis 19 – 21. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

 

Genesis 19.

I wonder if Abraham kept praying for his nephew Lot after plea-bargaining with God for Sodom and then going home.

When the two angels with the Lord at Abraham’s tent went down to Sodom, they found Lot sitting at the gate.  He’d gone from camping “near” Sodom to living “in” the city to now being an important man sitting as a judge “of” the city. 

Lot immediately knew the problem these two handsome angels would face in his wicked, immoral city. He begged them to stay at his house instead of in the town square. (He had to press them hard before they finally agreed.)

After dinner, a loud banging was heard at Lot’s door. The homosexual men of the town “wanted” the two men (angels) who were inside.  They were about to break the door down when Lot went out and offered them his two virgin daughters instead.  In their wicked lust, they refused and began forcing the door. One of the angels blinded the men and pulled Lot inside. BUT STILL, these blind homosexual men struggled to break the door down.

The angels urged Lot, his wife, and two daughters to evacuate the city, saying, “We are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and He’s sent us to destroy it.”

At dawn, the family still refused to go, so the angels grabbed the four of them and brought them outside the city. “Escape for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere in this valley. Escape to the hills unless you are swept away!!”

Lot dared to argue with them, saying he couldn’t reach the hills (too citified or too out of shape?) and begged to go to the next little town. The angels agreed to spare that city, but Lot had to get there quickly.  They ran (waddled?) toward Zoar, but Lot’s wife turned longingly for one last look at her beloved city.  

At that moment, the LORD rained down sulfur and fire from heaven and overthrew the inhabitants of the cities, all the valley, and all that grew on the ground.  And Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

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Abraham awoke to a towering plume of black smoke (as from a furnace) billowing up from the valley. 

Whether Abraham ever saw Lot again, we don’t know. His nephew’s life spiraled down him from there. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. He became a drunkard. His daughters became pregnant through incest with him. Their descendants became the Moabites and Ammonites.  All because of his choice to go to the rich, green, luscious Sodom.

  • Oh, Father, keep me attuned to Your will. Keep me from horrible choices in my life. Thank you for the ones in my past that you’ve forgiven. Help me to remember this story.

Genesis 20.

And lest we think Abraham is immune to temptation, we see him and Sarah journeying southward again. He stops in Gerar, the territory of King Abimelech, a Philistine.

“She’s my sister,” Abraham casually says, even though Sarah might already be carrying the embryo of Isaac in her womb!! 

Abimelech took Sarah as Abraham expected. BUT GOD came to him in a dream. “YOU ARE A DEAD MAN if you touch her. She is another man’s wife!”  God kept him from sinning and the king immediately gave Sarah back to Abraham.

“What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you did this to us?” the king demanded of Abraham.

“I-I did it because I thought you would kill me because of my wife since there is no fear of God here,” Abraham weaseled. “BESIDES, she IS my sister, well, my half-sister.”

Abimelech gives Abraham a lot of stuff, then says to Sarah, “I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver as a sign of YOUR innocence in the eyes of all with you. Before everyone, YOU are vindicated.”

A good thing!  Some might have thought later that Abimelech was the father of Sarah’s baby.  OH, ABRAHAM, HOW YOU MIGHT HAVE MESSED THINGS UP!!!  Praise God for looking out for His stupid children!

  • Yes, yes. I have done some pretty foolish, thoughtless things, too. Thank You, thank You, Father, for protecting me!  You are so good! And I am so undeserving.

Genesis 21.

At last! At last! “Laughter” is born!! 

On the baby’s eighth day, Abraham officially named him Isaac and circumcised him.  And Sarah said (perhaps even sang), “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have born him a son in his old age.”  Abraham was 100 years old. 

Several years later, at Isaac’s “official” weaning (3 years), Sarah catches Hagar’s son Ishmael LAUGHING at her son. (Ridiculing him)

“Get rid of this slave woman and her son. He will NOT be heir with my son, Isaac,” she demanded of her husband.

Abraham was grieved because he loved Ishmael, too. But God backed Sarah.  And, giving Hagar and the 17-year-old Ishmael food and water, he sent them away.  (What a shock to the former prince, Ishmael.)

God met with Hagar again when they ran out of water. He showed her another well and promised to bless her son into a great nation. Ishmael grew up to be an expert with the bow and arrow. They lived in the wilderness of Paran (Arabia today), and his mom got a wife for him from Egypt. 

(Seventy years later, when Abraham died, Ishmael returned briefly, and the two half-brothers buried their father in a cave near Hebron.  Genesis 25:8-9)

  • And so, from Adam and Eve, through Noah and Shem, and now through Abraham and Isaac, God clears the way and establishes the “seed line” for the promised One who will defeat death and the devil forever.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 3

Jan3

Day 3. Beginning with the five books of Moses, the Torah, in Genesis 8-11. 

I’m reading through God’s Word again this year, but I’ll TRY to write/blog about it differently. Instead of an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal.  (But old habits die hard!)

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

Genesis 8.

Today, in these chapters, I see God’s SOVEREIGNTY (His power and authority over the Earth and every living creature in it). “He’s got the whole world” and every single living thing (including ME) “in His hands.”

  • Yesterday, I mentioned that the flood did not destroy the fish and sea creatures.  Why?  In my mind** it’s because they were needed to be the “garbage disposals” of all that rotting flesh from those who died in the flood (people, animals, birds, reptiles, etc.) God’s clean-up operation via the fish and sea creatures took a year to complete.  (**only my opinion)

 

Imagine the earth from space, with NO LAND visible and covered by at least 22.5 feet of water. Picture a large but tiny wooden boat, sealed shut, floating on that planet of blue. It had no sail, rudder, or windows. It went where the water, wind, and the LORD God took it. And the eight people inside had to trust God completely.

Torrential rain had pelted it continually for almost six weeks. Then silence.  (Except for the animals, it was good that they had so many animals to care for daily.) FIVE MONTHS after Noah entered the ark, it came to rest on the mountain of Ararat. Can you imagine that bump, scrape, and then… no more swaying?

THREE MONTHS later, the tops of the mountains poked through the water, but Noah couldn’t see them. SIX WEEKS later, Noah opened a window at the very top. Only the sky could be seen. Over the next THREE WEEKS, Noah sent out a series of birds to see if the land had dried enough. But Noah waited FIVE MORE MONTHS before uncovering the ark and looking out to see “the new world.”

TWO MONTHS later, one year and ten days after entering the ark, God told Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives with you. Bring out every living thing with you, that they may swarm on the earth, and (you all) be fruitful and multiply.” And Noah obeyed.

The first thing Noah did was to offer burnt offerings to the LORD from the “extra” sacrificial animals he’d taken into the ark. 

The first thing God did was promise them never to destroy the Earth with floods of water. (Next time, fire, as told in Revelation.)

Wow. Imagine ONLY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY alive on earth. It’s fresh and clean. There are no buildings, no roads, no maps, no footprints. No farms, markets, or cousins living a few miles away. You are alone.

Genesis 9.

The Sovereign God gives this tiny family commands and promises. 

  • Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.
  • Every animal, bird, reptile, and fish will be afraid of you. I have given them all to you for food, plus the green plants.
  • Don’t eat an animal with blood in it (alive).
  • The lifeblood of every human and animal is sacred. It’s the “life” of a thing.  (Ever wonder why, when the EMTs come to an accident, the first thing they do is “stop the bleeding?”)
  • Every human or animal must be punished by death for killing a person.
  • I’m establishing a Covenant (Promise) with you and all creatures. I will never flood the earth again. The sign (proof) of that promise is My Rainbow. (Remember in Revelation that there is a complete “bow” around God’s throne. He’s taking some of this and putting it in the clouds as a sign that THIS RAIN that you see falling will not destroy the whole earth. 

Oh yeah, lest I think Noah and family are as perfect as Adam and Eve were in the beginning, they sin too in that new and fresh world. And Noah curses his second son. His descendants are the wicked Canaanites.

Genesis 10 & 11.

Genealogies. This one traces the LINE OF CHRIST, which began with Adam and Seth, through Noah and Shem, to Abraham.  Notice how life expectancy goes from 900+ years to 100 or less. 

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And right in the middle is the story of the TOWER OF BABEL. Yes, sin is growing again. And it is disobedience and pride –  the same sins I deal with every day.  

Sure, the post-flood people were fruitful and multiplied. But they did NOT disperse throughout the earth.  (Many believe that the LAND MASS OF EARTH WAS ONE WHOLE UNIT that separated into continents later, during the time of Peleg. (See Genesis 10:25 and 11:17-18)  If that’s true, dispersing themselves worldwide would have been comparatively easy.

Not only disobedient, but in their PRIDE, they proposed building a city, a TOWER with its top in the heavens, and a “name” for themselves.  Was this tower to worship their own strength and supremacy? Was it to reach so tall that no flood could ever cover it?  

Regardless.  God said NO.

Until then, everyone spoke Noah’s (Adam’s language).  There was no need for “Google Translate” or an interpreter.  EVERYONE understood, “Hand me that brick.”

Until they couldn’t.

God “confused” their language. He made some to “speak” in German, Russian, Swahili, Korean, Spanish, Greek, Arabic, Scandinavian, Italian, Hebrew, and English (?).   “Hand me that brick” would now be “Gib mir den Ziegel” in German.

CHAOS REIGNED until the groups of similar languages found each other and began to move away. And the tower was left unfinished.  Babel became Babylon.  In Revelation, there is REJOICING when that “Great Babylon” falls forever.  That symbol of sin, pride, defiance, and disobedience.

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And then, from 200 miles south of Babylon, from the great city of Ur, a man named Terah took his sons, Abram and Nahor, their wives, and his grandson, Lot, and traveled the great “crescent” route north and west to Haran, then stopped there for a long time.

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Meanwhile, way south in the land of Uz (not Oz), there lived a man named Job, his wife, and ten children.

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 1

Jan1

Day 1. Beginning with the five books of Moses, the Torah, in Genesis 1 – 3. 

I’m reading through God’s Word again this year, but I’ll write/blog about it differently. Instead of an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

Genesis 1.

I keep thinking about how the Book of Revelation ended, with God living among His redeemed people on a new, pure earth without sin or sorrow.  It began that way in Genesis 1. I’m so glad it ends that way in Revelation 21 because this journey I’m starting to read today will involve some pretty ugly, sinful things.

  • O God of creation, create in me a new heart and restore a right spirit within me. (Psalm 31:10) 

Genesis 2.

After creating a perfect place for mankind to live, God created Adam and then Eve. They were made in His triune image with three parts, body, living soul, and spirit. Adam was made from elements of God’s good earth and received God’s breath/spirit of life.  Eve also, but with a rib taken from Adam’s side.  That left an empty space in him that only she could fill.  

“This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” he said of Eve.

The garden God put them into was beautiful and perfect, with fruit-bearing trees and a river of water flowing out of it.  Revelation says that the new Jerusalem will also have the River of Life flowing from it and the Tree of Life growing along its banks, bearing a different fruit each month.

But there was one tree in Eden that is not in the new heaven and earth because “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9). The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was in the garden to test Adam and Eve, to see if they would “love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, and minds.” 

Genesis 3.

I don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in Eden before the serpent tempted Eve. It must have been a while because they were used to walking with God in the cool of the day.

But it appeared, accused God of lying, of not loving them, and of withholding some good thing from them. Eve believed him and disobeyed God. And then Adam did too.

  • Oh, how often I believe the lies the “world” spins for me.  “Money makes you happy. Be proud of what you accomplish. Have fun and do whatever you like because God is love, and He won’t mind. Reading the Bible is a waste of time. 

O God, sometimes I believe those lies. I sin. Forgive me as you promised, for Jesus’ sake. (1 John 1:9)

God does not lie. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, death began its ugly takeover of their lives. Accusations, shame, fear, quarrels, hardship, and expulsion from the garden.

BUT!!!  God said that He would send “The Seed of the Woman,” who would crush the seed of the serpent (Satan). He would be injured in the process but would ultimately prevail. 

Jesus, God with us, our Savior, came in the flesh to die in our place and end sin and death. Then, as Revelation promised, He will rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And that serpent will spend forever and ever in the lake of fire.

  • O God Almighty, You made us, loved us, saved us, and promised we will be with You forever. Hallelujah! I love You!

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 326

Nov22

    Day 326—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying The ACTS of the Apostles with the LETTERS of the Apostles.

Day 326 – James 1 – 5 (Faith, wisdom, the Word, works, the tongue, worldliness, prayer)

James, the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church, writes to believing Jews living outside of Israel. His letter is rich in practical ways to live a life of faith.

James 1.

Be joyful when you experience trials, for they strengthen your faith. Ask God for the wisdom you need, and He will give it. Temptation is not from God but from your own sinful desires. Don’t just hear the teaching of the word, but work it out as well. Watch your tongue! True “religion” is shown by visiting orphans and widows and keeping yourself unstained by worldly things.

James 2.

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ show no partiality to the rich. Even if you are “righteous” in all other ways, this is lawbreaking.  Mercy triumphs over judgment. Faith without actions is dead faith. Yes, it is great that you believe, but even demons do that. Show your inner faith by how you live.  Check out the actions and faith of Abraham and Rahab in the Old Testament.

James 3.

Teachers, beware, for you will be judged with greater strictness.  “Be careful little tongue, what you say!”  Bits in horses’ mouths and rudders on ships control them.  YOU must control your speech.  What you say can be a scorching fire from hell, a world of unrighteousness, a restless evil full of deadly poison. Watch your tongue!  Remember, true wisdom is from God. It is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  Your good conduct will show you have this wisdom.

James 4.

Control your passions!  They will cause fights, quarrels, dissatisfactions, and even murders.  They make your prayers foolish, desiring things to lavish on yourself.   God gives grace to the humble, so submit yourselves to God.  Resist the devil and his ways…and he will flee from you. Draw near instead to God, who will respond.  Again, humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.  Don’t boast about tomorrow. Who knows anything about tomorrow?  Commit it all to the Lord.  And it’s a sin if you know the right thing to do, and you don’t do it.

James 5.

Don’t boast or have confidence in riches. They won’t help you on judgment day.  Be patient in your work for the Lord.  You know He is coming; work patiently till then and don’t grumble.  Let all your praying be done by faith. Whether praying for the sick or a sinning brother, your prayer of faith accomplishes much. Remember how Elijah prayed, and there was NO rain. Then he prayed again, and there was an abundance of rain.  If any one of you strays from the truth, bring him back. His soul will be saved and his sins covered.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 314

Nov10

     Days 314—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

NOTE:  THIS WEEK, the Sunday and Monday studies will be posted separately because they are lengthy.

Day 314 – Luke 22, John 13. (Judas’ betrayal, Passover/Lord’s Supper, Jesus foretells Peter’s denial, Gethsemane, Arrest and trial, Peter’s denial)

Luke’s passage is similar to yesterday’s Matthew and Mark but has a few other details. Verse 3 mentions that Satan entered into Judas. Verse 8 reveals that it was Peter and John who acquired the room for the Passover meal. Verses 24-29 show that the disciples are STILL vying for the chief spots in the Kingdom. Jesus tells them they must be servants first, and that He and the Father have indeed assigned them to sit at His table and on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

John describes how Jesus illustrates how to be a servant. He removes his robe, kneels, and does the job of the lowest slave: He washes their feet.  Peter objects at first but then tells Jesus He may wash his whole body. Jesus tells the eleven they are “clean” already and just need the dust of the world removed.  Judas, however, is NOT included in this “clean” group.

John also reveals how, when Jesus says one of them will betray Him, Peter signals to John across the table to find out from Jesus who it is, as John is sitting next to Him.  Jesus tells John – and Peter, who is watching – that the next person He gives a portion to is the one. Jesus hands it to Judas. Then, Jesus dismisses the traitor from the group to “do what he must.”

Before Peter can get puffed up, Jesus tells him that HE will deny his Lord that very evening. Peter violently objects, but Jesus tells him He has prayed for Peter, but, before the rooster crows, he WILL deny Jesus THREE TIMES.

(John 14 – 17 recounts the intimate time of teaching and prayer Jesus has with the eleven in the upper room, which we’ll read tomorrow.) 

Then, the company goes to the Mount of Olives – as was Jesus’ custom – to the Garden of Gethsemane. While the disciples sleep, Jesus prays three times that “the Cup” He is meant to drink to the dregs might be removed, But three times, he acquiesces to the Father’s will.

It is Jesus’ human body that shrinks from the coming torture and bearing the sin of the world. His divine nature willingly accepts the plan of salvation that He and the Father planned before the world was created.

Afterward, while his three close disciples joined the others in a post-meal/wine nap, God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus, whose sweat had become bloody with stress and agony.

Then…. it begins. The traitor, Judas, leads a pack of 600+ men/soldiers to the customary place where he knows Jesus will be.  Confirming the sign he’d planned with the Jewish leaders, Judas goes to Jesus and gives Him a welcoming kiss. Jesus calls him “friend.”

Impetuous Peter, perhaps thinking to dispel Jesus’ prediction that he will deny Him, grabs his short sword and attacks the chief priest’s servant, Malchus. He misses the man’s throat and slices off an ear.  Jesus, probably loving Peter even with his misled and violent ways, says to stop. Then He calmly replaces the ear back on Malchus’ head.

Jesus tells Peter that if He chose to, He could ask His Father for 10,000 angels to rescue Him (who could in a single night kill the entire world’s population!).  But how would all be fulfilled? (How would salvation be bought?)

Jesus, knowing what was happening, then asks the crowd WHOM they seek. He is protecting his disciples from arrest, even as they are poised to flee. He wants the mob to state clearly the only person they want. The answer comes, “We seek Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I AM He,” Jesus says, stating His Sovereign-God name. The crowd falls to the ground at its power and awesomeness.  Scrambling to their feet again, Jesus repeats that He is Jesus of Nazareth and willingly surrenders to them, stating that He had been daily in the Temple. They didn’t need to make this midnight raid to arrest Him. (He and they both know that they would NOT have arrested Him during the daylight because they feared what the crowds would do.  Cowards!!)

As they lead Jesus away, the eleven vanish into the trees. One young man (perhaps Mark) is caught by his tunic, which comes off and makes him flee away naked!  It seems John followed the mob at a distance to see what would happen to Jesus.  Peter followed him at a greater distance.  Both men observe the horrendous ordeal that begins for their Master in Caiaphas’s palace….the accusations, spitting, slapping, verbal and physical abuse to which Jesus says not a word. (Only that He IS the Son of God, which causes them to nail down the verdict — guilty of blasphemy.)

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Peter watches in horror and anguish.

“This man was also with him,” says a servant girl, pointing at Peter. “Woman, I do not know Him.”

“You also are of them,” said another a little later. “Man, I am NOT!”

“Certainly, this man also was with Him, for he too is a Galilean,” accused a third.  “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” (Mark tells us that Peter begins to invoke a curse on himself and to swear he isn’t a follower of this Jesus.)

AND IMMEDIATELY, WHILE PETER WAS STILL SPEAKING, THE ROOSTER CROWED.

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. (Oh, what a look!!)  And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord.  And he went out and wept bitterly. 

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(We will backtrack a little tomorrow to read about Jesus’ teaching & priestly prayer before they all leave the upper room.)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 154 & 155

Jun3

    Day 154 & 155—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading. Praise God! Today, we are also reading in the 16th book in the Bible: Proverbs. 

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

    Day 154 – Proverbs 1 – 3 (Solomon’s proverbs, many written by him or in his style, but all perhaps “compiled” by him.)

The purpose of Proverbs: 1. To KNOW wisdom and instruction, 2. to UNDERSTAND words of insight, 3. to RECEIVE instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, 4. to GIVE prudence to the simple, and knowledge and discretion to the youth.

The theme of Proverbs is “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” (Verse 1:7, and also concluding the book in verse 31:30)  “Wisdom” is more about practical skills in living well in the fear (reverence and awe) of God in a way that honors both Him and others.

There are several speeches from a father to his son in these chapters. 

1:6. “Hear, my son, your father’s instructions, and forsake not your mother’s teaching….”

1:10. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”

2:1. “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you…”

3:1. “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.” 

3:11. “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of His reproof…”

3:21. “My son, do not lose sight of these – keep sound wisdom and discretion and they will be life for your soul…”

In several sections, “wisdom” speaks as a person, sounding very much like God. (See 1 Corinthians 1:30).

1:23. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”

1:28-29. “Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD…..”

1:22. “But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

A favorite and often repeated wisdom is in 3:5-6. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

I all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

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    Day 148 – Proverbs 4 – 6 (These chapters continue with a father’s warnings and instructions to his son.)

Chapter 4.  The father urges his son to “Get wisdom; get insight…”  “Keep hold of instruction; do not let her go; guard her, for she is your life….”    “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”   “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

Chapter 5.  Here, the father begins to warn and caution his son about adultery and the temptress.  “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death…..”

He advises his son to be true to his own wife. “Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.”   “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe.”

Chapter 6. Now, the father offers practical warnings and advice about co-signing for someone, about working hard for your own needs, and not being lazy, for then, poverty will surely come. 

A list of SEVEN things that the LORD hates is given. Consider what the opposite would be: WHAT GOD LOVES.

  1. Haughty eyes — HUMILITY
  2. A lying tongue — TRUTH-TELLING
  3. Hands that shed innocent blood — COMPASSION
  4. A heart that devises wicked plans — GOODNESS
  5. feet that make haste to run to evil — EAGERNESS TO HELP
  6. a false witness who breaths out lies — HONESTY
  7. One who sows discord among brothers — UNITY.

The father again urges his son to keep his commandments and mother’s teachings. “Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. when you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”   “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light.” (See Psalm 119:105)

And, for a third time, the father warns his son about the evil woman, this time another man’s wife… and, in the end, the rightfully jealous husband.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 83

Mar23

    Day 83—  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the THIRD month so far! Praise God!

   Day 83 – Joshua 5 – 8  (Circumcision & Passover, Jericho, Achan, Ai, Sin)

Joshua 5 tells of the beginnings of the conquest of Canaan. But first first things, first. There were a few steps of preparation.  Not sharpening of swords, but of HEARTS.

God first puts fear into the hearts of the kings of Canaan because of Israel. Then He commands all of Israel to renew their Covenant with Him by circumcising all the males. (It seems that during the wilderness wanderings, that had not been done. Why?  Maybe the “old guard” who knew they would not be entering the Promised Land rebelled and didn’t circumcise their baby boys.  Who knows?)

Next, Israel celebrated the Passover, the first in the new Land.  And they ate of the produce of the land… so the Manna stopped. Lots of changes, lots of preparation.  Even Joshua’s heart had to be prepared, so God met him in much the same way as Moses before he began his work in Egypt. God, claiming to be the “Commander of the army of the LORD,” accepted Joshua’s worship, and reminded him to take off his sandals for he was on “holy ground.”

Thus prepared, Chapter 6 tells of the unusual conquest of Jericho.  Around the city, the Ark, the priests, and the army would walk once, silent except for the blowing of ram’s horns for six days, then seven times around on the seventh day. Then at their SHOUT as the LORD commanded, the walls all fell down. The army went in and completely destroyed the city and all in it – EXCEPT for Rahab and her household, whom the two spies took to safety outside their camp. ALL was destroyed accept for the silver, gold, bronze and iron vessels. Those would go into Israel’s treasury.

And Joshua curses the rebuilding of Jericho forever. (see later in 1 Kings 16:34, when the curse happened.)

Chapter 7 tells of the victorious Israel going on to the next city, Ai. (NOT Artificial Intelligence! haha). A small town, easily won, and yet Israel is soundly defeated and runs with their tails between their legs!  What’s up???  What has happened to the mighty Israeli army led by their mighty Commander?

Sin.  That’s what happened. When Joshua falls before the LORD, virtually blaming HIM for not helping them, God tells him to stand up, for there is SIN IN THE CAMP.  By process of elimination, the finger of God points to Achan of the tribe of Judah.  He coveted some of the wealth he saw in Jericho, stole it (from God’s destruction), hid it in his tent (with his family’s knowledge) and told no one.  But God saw and knew.

Achan and his family (after his confession of sin) were stoned to death, and all he had and stole were burned with fire.  And so Israel was cleansed… and learned an important lesson.

In Chapter 8, in their second attempt, the now cleansed Israel soundly defeated Ai, killed the inhabitants and took much loot (if only Achan would have waited!). Had they learned their lesson. One hopes.

And afterwards, Joshua built an alter to the LORD of uncut stones and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. And all the people stood on opposite sides of the Ark carried by the Levitical Priests, half on Mt. Ebal and half on Mt Gerizim while Joshua read the blessings and curses of obedience to the Law of the LORD. In fact, he read ALL the law to them, men, women, and little ones.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 80

Mar20

    Day 80 —  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the THIRD month so far! Praise God!

   Day 80 – Deuteronomy 30 – 31 (Repentance & hope, Choose life, Joshua commissioned, Command to read, a song written)

Moses’s life is winding down. He’s “mopping up” his leadership and readying himself and Joshua to pass the baton. Moses has been with these millions of people for over 40 years. He’s all the leader that some of them have ever know. What will it be like without him?

At 120 years old, Moses is ready to brush his hands of this people and “go home.”

In chapter 30, he tells the people he knows they will fail in all the commands and love toward God. He knows they will experience the really hard discipline of God, but  if/when they repent, return to the LORD, and obey his voice with all their heart and soul…. the gracious, long-suffering, and merciful LORD their God will have compassion on them and restore them.  And at that time, He will “circumcise their HEARTS so they will love him with heart and soul and LIVE.

Moses challenges them, saying, “But the word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so you CAN do it!”  Moses sets before them life and death, blessing and curse. “Choose life, that you and your offspring may LIVE, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice, and holding fast to him…..for He IS your life.”

In Chapter 31, Moses calls aside Joshua and encourages him, “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 or forsake you.” He then sets Joshua before the people and says the same thing.  This is your leader now. God will go before you and be with you and not forsake you.  Before all the people Moses officially commissions Joshua with the job, and the LORD, in a pillar of cloud, affirms it.

Moses finishes writing the words of the law in a book “to the very end.”  He commands that the Levites put it by the side of the ark of the covenant, and read the whole thing to the people every SEVEN YEARS, in the “year of release” when they all gather in the fall for the Festival of Booths/Harvest.

Then Moses (at God’s word) writes a song to teach to Israel, as a witness for God.  He wrote it in one day and taught it to the people of Israel.

(The song will be in tomorrow’s reading.)

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 79

Mar19

    Day 79 —  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the THIRD month so far! Praise God!

   Day 79 – Deuteronomy 28 – 29 (Blessings, More curses, God’s glorious Name, Admonitions, Willful sin, Secret things.)

What a joy it is to read the “Blessings” God will shower on faithful people in Chapter 28.  “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.” 

(Yes, he is speaking of Israel, but it sounds a little like what America was in the beginning. Why have we forsaken the God of our forefathers?)

  • God promised Israel fruitfulness of the womb, in the fields, vineyards, and barns.
  • He promised to bless all their goings and comings, their fights against enemies, and in all they would undertake.
  • He promised He would establish them as a people, holy (separated) unto Himself. 
  • All nations would see this, and fear them.
  • They would abound in prosperity. 
  • They would get good rain in season, and have such an abundance that they would lend to other nations and never have to borrow.  WOW!

If only they would obey Him and not go after other gods to serve them.

BUT…..if they would NOT obey Him and keep His commands…. then all these horrific and terrible curses would assail them.

  • They would experience the plagues of Egypt that they had earlier escaped. 
  • There would be drought and their soil would turn to iron and powdery dust.
  • Their enemies would easily defeat them and their dead bodies would become the food of the birds and beasts of the earth. 
  • They would experience deadly, despicable, and painful, physical disease.
  • They would become captives, their children taken as slaves, and they’d be driven mad by the things their eyes would see happen.
  • They would eat their own children out of intense hunger, even the most refined and tender men and women would do this.
  • Extraordinary, severe, grievous and lasting diseases would cling to them and not be cured. 
  • Trembling hearts, failing eyes, languishing souls. Day and night they will be in dread of their life.

All because they were not careful to 1) do all the words of God’s law, and 2) they did not fear this glorious and awesome name, the “LORD your God.” (28:58) 

In Chapter 29, Moses reviewed the covenant the that LORD made with them at Mt. Sinai, and how He miraculously took care of them.  He reminded them that Israel was standing that day on the brink of their destiny, on the edge of the Promised Land, and that ALL the people of Israel were to join into this Covenant with their God.

“Beware,” he warned, “lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, on the one, when he hears good words of the sworn covenant, that he… “blesses himself in his heart saying, ‘“I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.”   

Oh, this is presuming on Almighty God, and even today we do this! Beware…. “the LORD will not be willing to forgive him… but will blot out his name before heaven.“

29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law. “

Could those “secret things” that God will carry out in the future be the completion of His so great a salvation for sinners in the work of salvation through Jesus, the Messiah?