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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 141

May21

Day 135.  Reading 2 Samuel 22 – 23, Psalm 57.

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
 

(We are still in the book’s epilogue, and review of David’s past history, glory, and praise.)

2 Samuel 22.

This chapter contains a PSALM!  

The chapter begins by telling us this psalm was spoken to God on the day He delivered David from the hand of Saul.  So we know this was before he was King, before his sin, and before Absalom’s disastrous coup.

Look at all the things that David says God is like to him — “my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior!”  In this way, David “called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.”

  • In my distress, I called upon the LORD; to my God, I called.   From His temple, He heard my voice, and my cry came to His ears.

Then comes an amazing picturesque description of God – showing in David’s imagination – the power and fury (as a mama bear?) as he comes to David’s defense. (Verses 8-16) Read it!!!

  • He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy; from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.  They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.”
  • This God – His way is perfect; the Word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.  The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation!

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2 Samuel 23.

This chapter has the heading, “the last words of David.”  But it is not actually his LAST words.  This is the last literary “oracle” and final song-speech.  (We’ll read more of David in 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles.)

Note the ways he identifies himself and the honor he gives to God.

  • The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the “sweet psalmist of Israel.”  
  • The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; His word is on my tongue.  The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, He dawns on them like the mourning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.“
  • For does not MY HOUSE stand so with God?  For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will HE not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

Then Samuel reviews the names of David’s mighty men and their deeds. (It is pretty much the same as 1 Chronicles 11:10-41.)  These are the men who helped David to become king.  Interestingly, the very last one mentioned is … Uriah the Hittite.

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Psalm 57.

As with 2 Samuel 22, this psalm was written when he fled from Saul in the cave.

  • Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by. 
  • My soul is in the midst of lions, I lie down amid fiery beasts – the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way….. but……. they have fallen into it themselves!

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  • Awake my glory! 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. For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let You glory be over all the earth!

Amen, LORD!!

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Hey! Today is my 80th birthday. God has been so faithful to me. Praise Him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 136

May16

Day 136.  Psalms 3, 4, 12, 13, 28, 55.

Read Today’s Scriptures.
Psalm 3.

A psalm David wrote when he fled Absalom his son.

  • O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me:
  • Many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.
  • But You, O LORD are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
  • I cried aloud to the LORD, and He answered me from His holy hill.
  • I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
  • I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
  • Arise, O LORD. Save me, O my God!

Psalm 4.

  • Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
  • In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD make me to swell in safety. 

Psalm 12.

  • Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of men.
  • Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
  • The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
  • You, O LORD, will keep them; You will guard us from this generation forever.

Psalm 13.

  • How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
  • Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
  • But I have trusted in You steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 28.

  • To You, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest if You be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. HEAR the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help, when I life up my hands toward Your most holy sanctuary.
  • Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy!

Psalm 55.

  • Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked.  For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
  • My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.   And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; Yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
  • Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and strife in the city; Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
  • For it is not an enemy who taunts me — then I could bear it;  it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me — then I could hide from him.  BUT IT WAS YOU, A MAN, MY EQUAL, MY COMPANION, MY FAMILIAR FRIEND.   We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house, we walked in the throng…..
  • My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. His speech was smooth as butter, yet WAR WAS IN HIS HEART; his words were softer than oil, yet they were DRAWN SWORDS. 
  • But You, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days.  But I will put trust in You. 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 135

May15

Day 135.  Reading 2 Samuel 13-15

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.  Consequences.
 

       And now the trouble begins. God forgave David of his gross sins because he truly repented and confessed. But remember how David raged at the rich man in Nathan’s story, and said he owed the poor man four-fold of what he’d stolen?  Now, God tells David FOUR consequences of his sin. (2 Samuel 12:5-6 and 10-14)

  1. The “sword will not depart from his house; death and division in his family.
  2. His wives will be taken away in a humiliating way.
  3. Enemies will rise against him in his own household.
  4. His baby with Bathsheba will die.

We’ve seen ONE of them fulfilled already. (the baby died)  And now the next one – death and division in his own family.

 

2 Samuel 13.

David’s FIRST son, Amnon inherited some bad traits of his father. (Perhaps he watched all that his father hand done, and saw that no punishment was meted out. He WAS king, after all.) 

Amnon lusted for a woman too, his 1/2 sister, Tamar. He called for his cousin Jonadab, who gave him evil advice on how to lure Tamar and take her. Amnon followed that, and although Tamar cried “NO!” he raped her, ruining any prospects she might have had. Then he cast her out.  

Now Tamar was a full sister to Absalom, David’s third-born (but second living) son. (His mother was the daughter of the Syrian king, Talmai.)  Tamar ran to her brother and stayed in his house for the rest of her life.

David heard about the incident and got angry, but it doesn’t seem he did anything about it.  (Was he seeing himself in his son, hating and feeling guilty for what his own sin had caused, and paralyzed to respond?)

Absalom hated his brother Amnon and would not talk to him. Instead, he plotted a slow-burning revenge that would end Amnon’s life at a party Absalom held two years later for all his half-brothers.  (Absalom had also invited his father. Did he plan to kill HIM as well?  But David declined.)

At first, David thought the gruesome news was that ALL his sons were dead, but his slimy nephew, Jonadab came to him and said “Let not m’lord suppose that they have killed ALL the king’s sons, for Amnon ALONE is dead.  Absalom determined this from the day he violated his sister Tamar. (A pause, perhaps?) Don’t take it to heart. Only Amnon is dead.”  (David had said a similar thing to Joab after Uriah’s death.)

Soon all the other sons of David who were at the party appeared, weeping and wailing for Amnon. (“See, I told you,” said Jonadab.)  And David also wept bitterly for Amnon.  REALLY!!

And Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai, in Geshur, in the territory of Syria.  Maybe Tamar went along since he was her grandfather as well. They stayed for three years.

Having committed pre-meditated MURDER, the “avenger of blood” (another son? the king?)  had the right to stalk and kill Absalom if he stayed in Israel. (Numbers 35:21).

 

2 Samuel 14.

(The spirit of King David longed to go to Absalom, but he did not.)

Action-man, Commander Joab thought it time to do something about the breach in the house of David.  He devised a plan (Boy, David’s nephews were always planning sneaky things!)  Joab paid a woman to tell a story to the king – much like Nathan had, but not a story from God.

She was to say SHE, a widow and had two sons. One had killed the other and now the first son was being chased by the avenger of blood.  She didn’t want to lose BOTH her sons. (She’d be a helpless widow.) “Please, let the king invoke the LORD your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son is not destroyed.”

David falls for the story. “As the LORD  lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.” (A king’s pardon.)

Then like Nathan, she tells the true story, about Absalom. “The king convicts himself since he does not bring his banished son home.”

Again David catches on. “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”

“It was your servant Joab who commanded me. It was he who put all these words in my mouth.”

Then David told Joab to bring Absalom home. Thrilled, Joab went to Geshur and brought back Absalom, but….. David said, “Let him live in his own house. He is not to come into my presence.”

Absalom simmered at this treatment, and he began plotting (for two years again).  He sent for Joab TWO TIMES, but the Commander wouldn’t respond.  So he told his servant, “Go, set Joab’s barley field on fire.”  And of course, Joab now shows up, burning up himself.  “WHY???”

“Go ask the king why he brought me from Geshur if I am to be so treated.  I want an audience with him.  Make it happen!“

Joab did.

Absalom went.

David kissed Absalom.

(Another son NOT judged for his wrong. Did David blame himself?)

 

2 Samuel 15.

David did as he’d answered in the woman’s false story.  Not one hair** on Absalom’s head fell to the ground….he was not punished in any way for murdering Amnon!!!   There was now a murderer in the court. He’d done it once, he could do it again.

(** Whoa! did Absalom HAVE HAIR!!  He cut it every year, and it weighed TWO POUNDS! And Absalom was vain about his hair.)

Absalom now began the process to de-throne his father, King David. 

  1. He got himself a chariot, horses, and 50 men to run before him.
  2. He rose early and stood at the gate of the city diverting people who came with problems to solve, FROM going to the King, and TO himself, saying he was on THEIR side.
  3. Whenever a man would come near to pay homage to him, Absalom would raise him up and kiss him. And so he STOLE the hearts of the men of Israel.
  4. He asked permission and got it from David, to go pay a “vow to the LORD” in Hebron, meaning to stage a coup there. He even enlisted David’s prime advisor, Ahithophel.
  5. He enticed 200 men to go with him and sent messages to all Israel saying that when they heard the sound of the trumpet, they were to say, “Absalom is king at Hebron!  (Where David started out.)

Well, finally a messenger comes to David saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.”

Did David, call for Joab?

Did he raise an army to quell this uprising?

Did he even enquire of the LORD??

No.  He gathered all his servants and said, “Arise and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom.  Go quickly!”

BUT THE KING LEFT TEN CONCUBINES TO KEEP THE HOUSE. (These were considered his wives … remember the #2 consequence (above) that God spoke of because of his sin? The fulfillment is coming.)

The king’s bodyguard filed out with him (the Cherethites and Pelethites, led by Benaiah). Also, came 600 armed Gittites from Gath (Philistines) led by Ittai, who had sworn allegiance to David. For his faithful service, David later made Ittai commander of a third of his army. And the king passed the brook Kidron towards the wilderness.

  • (Can you picture this? David is in Jerusalem, the capital city, where the Tent and the Ark of God are. He and the crowd in front and following him leave through the Eastern Gate, and cross the Kidron Brook and Valley and up the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus entered on Palm Sunday, from Bethany, riding on a donkey. David might have passed a young olive orchard and olive press (Gethsemane) on his way.)

Abiathar and Zadok the priest, and the Levites came after, bearing the Ark of God on their shoulders!  But David told them to take the Ark back into the city.  “If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place.  But, if not, behold here I am, let Him do to me what seems good to Him.”

David is remembering and accepting the consequences of his great sin, weeping as he goes.

  • David also sets up a spy link with Zadok and his two sons to send him news of what is happening in the city. 
  • Then he hears about his chief counselor going over to Absalom!  He prays that God would “turn his counsel into foolishness.” 
  • Then David sends Hushai, his second counselor back to the city,  pretending to be another helper to Absalom, to “defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.”  Hushai is to send any news to David, via Zadok’s sons.  

So Hushai, David’s friend, came into Jerusalem, just as Absalom was entering……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 131 & 132

May12

(Sundays and Mondays studies are both posted on Monday.)

Day 131. Reading 2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19, and Psalm 20

Day 132.  Reading Psalms 65, 66, 67, 69, 70

Read Today’s Scriptures.

Day 131.

2 Samuel 10 and 1 Chronicles 19  (These two chapters tell the same story with very few differences.)

It started with a good deed. The friendly king of the Ammonites died, and David wanted to show his loyalty to the new king, Hanun, so he sent a company of his servants to console him.  Like many young and pompous advisors to new youthful kings, Hanun’s guys filled his mind with suspicion about David’s servants. They whispered in Hanun’s ear that King David had sent them to search the city, spy on it, and overthrow it. 

Really?  With bouquets of lilies?

The young (and foolish king – he reminds me of Solomon’s son Rehoboam & his foolish advisors – took David’s servants and humiliated them.  Half their beards (a symbol of manhood) were shaved off, and their robes were cut off at hip level, leaving them exposed.  They were greatly ashamed!

David heard about it, sent men to meet them (presumably with decent clothes), and told them to remain in Jericho until their beards grew out.

Young King Hanun, sensing he’d made a mistake and seeing how he now “stunk” in the eyes of Israel, got together an army, added some neighboring soldiers then fanned out for war. (second mistake)

David sent Joab and the host of his mighty men. (The empire strikes back!)

Joab and his co-commander brother Abishai spit up to fight the Syrians and Ammonites. Joab encouraged his brother and men with a great declaration.

  • Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him.

Way to go, Joab!

The Syrians fled.  When the Ammonites saw them running away, they fled too.  HA!  Joab and Abishai and their men returned to Jerusalem. 

Now the Syrians were embarrassed and returned with a new, powerful commander to fight again. (third mistake.)  This time DAVID himself, gathered all Israel together, led them across the Jordan River, and fought them.

The Syrians fled again. This time David and the company went after them, killing many thousands. And also, that great commander died too.  When the Syrians saw they were defeated they surrendered and became subject to Israel.

So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore.  (Let that be a lesson learned!)

Psalm 20.

This psalm is titled, “Trust in the Name of the LORD our God.” It’s a song most often sung before going out to battle.

That’s just what Joab and Abishai, and then King David did, and they won the day. All glory to God.

  • May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the Name of the God of Jacob protect you!
  • May He send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!
  • May He remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!
  • May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!
  • May WE shout for joy over your salvation, and in the Name of our God set up our banners!
  • May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!
  • Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving might of His right hand. 
  • SOME trust in chariots and SOME in horses, but WE trust in the Name of the LORD our God!

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Day 132. (5 more psalms)

Psalm 65.

This psalm is a PRAISE psalm (to the MAX).  It’s hopeful, confident, and enthusiastic in response to God’s goodness.  It’s a celebration at the Tabernacle, probably at one of Israel’s Feasts.

  • Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion
  • O YOU WHO HEAR PRAYER, to You shall all flesh come.
  • Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with your goodness and holiness.
  • By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation.
  • You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
  • You crown the year with Your bounty; Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance!

Psalm 66.

Another psalm of praise titled “How Awesome Are Your Deeds”

  • Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His Name; give to Him glorious praise!  Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!”  So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.
  • Come and see what God has done; He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.
  • Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

And then, a personal testimony;

  • Come and hear all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for my soul.
  • I cried to Him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.
  • If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened. 
  • But truly God HAS listened, He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
  • BLESSED be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!

Psalm 67.

This psalm shows that God’s desire is to save and bless ALL nations of the earth as they come to Him and fear him! But first a “benediction.”

  • May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us.…..
  • that Your way may be known on the earth, Your saving power among all NATIONS.
  • Let the PEOPLES praise You, O God: let all the PEOPLES praise you!
  • Let the NATIONS  be glad and sing for joy; for You judge the PEOPLES with equity and guide the NATIONS upon the earth.
  • Let the PEOPLES praise You, O God; let all the PEOPLES praise you. 
  • …let all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psalm 69.

This psalm is a prayer of desperation, titled “Save Me, O God.”   In it David realizes that he might be shortly killed. He begs for rescue.

This psalm also has inferences concerning the coming Messianic kingdom when God’s enemies are dealt with.  Much of it was applied to Christ in the New Testament – you will catch those parts as you read.  But any believer being ridiculed will identify too.

Read the whole thing.  It shows David’s intimacy with God that he can pray such personal prayers.  It shows US that we can cry out to God, no matter what our heartache or need.  No matter how desperate we are or what sin we have done.   

Psalm 70.

A short psalm, almost identical to Psalm 40.  David prays against his enemies, asking God to turn them back and be brought to shame.

But then he prays that ALL who WILL turn and seek God might be saved!

  • May ALL who seek You rejoice and be glad in You!  May those who LOVE YOUR SALVATION say evermore, “God is Great!”

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Tomorrow, sadly, we will see the great king fall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 130

May10

Day 130.  Reading Psalms 50, 53, 60, and 75

 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures. Psalms, songs, prayers to read and savor.
 

Psalm 50.

This psalm is quite different. It quotes God Himself throughout. And so, it’s like a prophetic writing or an oracle. It tells the difference between true and false worship. First, God is introduced, then the different kinds of false worship are shown, and finally, the very last verse reveals true worship

1-6 – Who God is.

  • The Mighty One, God the LORD, the perfection of beauty, before Him a devouring fire, around Him a mighty tempest …
  • The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge.

7-15 – Ritualism as worship, no!

  • Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
  • (But it’s for their attitude in sacrificing. As if they were giving to God what HE needs.) I will not accept your bulls … your goats.  EVERY BEAST of the forest (already) is MINE. 
  • I own the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is MINE.
  • If I were hungry, I would not tell YOU, for the world and its fullness are MINE. 
  • NO!  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, perform your vows, and call on Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

16-21 – Rebellion as worship, no!  To the wicked —

  • What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
  • You hate discipline. You cast My Words behind you. You are pleased with thieves. You keep company with adulterers. 
  • You give your mouth free rein for evil. Your tongue frames deceit. You speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son. 
  • You’ve done these things, and I’ve been silent. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22-23 – Right approach to God.

  • The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God!”

 

Psalm 53.

This psalm is very much like Psalm 14, which we’ve already read. 

  • The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

 

Psalm 60.

Now this is unusual. David actually tells when he wrote this psalm. Remember yesterday, when we read of all the ways God helped him to defeat his enemies?  Zorbah, plus the thousands of Edom in the Valley of Salt? 

David here seems discouraged before God gives him victory in both the extreme North (Syria) and South (Edom) of Israel.  Then, David sees the victories.  

  • O God, You have rejected us, broken our defenses; You have been angry; oh, restore us!
  • God has spoken in his holiness, “Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom, I cast my shoe; over Philistia, I shout in triumph!”  (Talk about God getting into the fray enthusiastically!)
  • And David, “With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.”

Don’t you love reading these psalms in their proper places in Israel’s history?

 

Psalm 75.

Note, that the writer, Asaph, says this psalm is to be sung to the tune of “Do not destroy” as he wrote on Psalm 57.  Don’t you wonder what that tune sounded like?

  • “We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, for Your Name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

If you have read through the Book of The Revelation recently, much of this psalm sounds similar.

  • At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
  • When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.
  • For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

WOW!

  • But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
  • All the horns (power) of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns (strength) of the righteous shall be lifted up. 

Yea, and amen!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 129

May9
Day 129.  Reading 2 Samuel 8-9 and 1 Chronicles 18
 
 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures. Rejoice in all God does for David and for us.
 
2 Samuel 8.

We are still in “the glory days of David’s rule” when he sought God and depended on Him alone.  (I dread next Tuesday – Day 133 – which tells of his great fall and the beginning of all the destruction that came later. Sigh.)

  • So… David defeated the Philistines and subdued them.
  • And he defeated Moab.

NOTE:  That business of measuring the captives, killing some, and setting some free, could have been one of two scenarios. 1) He killed 2 out of every 3 enemy soldiers, or 2) He saved 1/3 of the captives because they were young (coming up to just the first line), destroying only the adults. (Think of those signs with measuring lines on Disneyland rides, showing that only those taller can ride.)

  • David also defeated the king of Zobah, and many Syrian soldiers who tried to help him and set up a garrison at Damascus.  He brought back shields of gold and very much bronze.
  • A nearby king, glad to see the king of Zobah defeated, brought to David articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.

NOTE:  Verse 11 says, “King David dedicated to the LORD the silver, gold, and bronze from the nations he subdued.”  Later, all this wealth in the LORD’s treasury would be used by Solomon to make the bronze vessels for the Temple. (1 Kings 7:15)

  • David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18K Edomites in the Valley of Salt. All of Edom became his servants.
  • And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.  
  • David reigned over all of Israel. He administered justice and equity to all his people. His officers are as follows:
  • Joab was the commander of the army.
  • Jehoshaphat was the recorder.
  • Zakok and Ahimelech were the priests.
  • Seraiah was the secretary.
  • Benaiah was in charge of his bodyguard, with the Cherethites and Pelethites. (Benaiah later became the commander of Solomon’s army after he killed Joab, at David’s request.)

1 Chronicles 18.

This chapter repeats 2 Samuel 8, with this addition from verse 8, read with 1 Kings 7:15, 23.

  • With the massive amounts of bronze that David collected and dedicated to the LORD, Solomon made 1) the two 27-foot (18 feet around) bronze pillars at the front of the Temple, 2) a huge bronze “sea” (compared to the Laver for the Tabernacle) which held 12,000 gallons of water to wash the priests and the sacrifices), and 3) the bronze vessels used in the Temple.

2 Samuel 9.

David and Mephibosheth:  How it all came about.

DAVID:  “Is there still any more left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

ZIBA, a servant of the house of Saul:  “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”

DAVID: “Where is he?”

ZIBA: “He is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”

(The king sent and brought him. Mephibosheth fell on his face before David. He probably thought he would be killed off as the others in Saul’s family had died.)
DAVID:  “Mephibosheth!”

MEPHIBOSHETH: “Behold I am your servant.”

DAVID: “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”

MEPHIBOSHETH:  “What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” (Meaning, wow, I don’t deserve that, but thanks!)

DAVID (to Ziba):  “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons (15) and your servants (20) shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have “bread to eat” (meaning his own wealth). But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.”

ZIBA: “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.”

And so, Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. He lived in Jerusalem. Also, he had a young son named Mica.  He was lame in both feet.

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This is a glorious picture of what God has done for us. WE, deformed by sin, did not deserve to be His children, have all our needs taken care of, and one day to sit at His table in heaven.  WE deserved death, as Mephibosheth would have under any other ruling king.  But David had promised Jonathan, whom he loved, to be kind to all his descendants, and we, for Jesus’s sake (like Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake), are now granted this royal “kindness” of salvation and a position in God’s kingdom because we trust in God’s promise (John 3:16),  Praise God!

 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 121

May1
Day 121.  Reading 2 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 11-12.

Beginning a new MONTH.

Read Today’s Scriptures about Israel’s new King.

(Did you know that David is the only king mentioned in Hebrew 11’s list of mighty men?

  • (As we study both 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles (and Kings), there will be overlaps.  Chronicles, written 500 years later, will contain things not included in the present-day text of 2 Samuel.)

2 Samuel 5.

Finally, all the northern tribes come together and take David as the King of all Israel.  They said, “When Saul was king over us, it was YOU who led out and brought in Israel. The LORD said to you, ‘You shall be Shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be Prince over Israel.'”

So all the elders came to the king at Hebron and King David made a covenant with them before the LORD, and they anointed him king.  David was 30 years old. (15 years after old Samuel had anointed him.)

David had had his eye on Jerusalem for a long time, so now he fought against the Jebusites to take the city.  They laughed and said, “Oh, the blind and the lame could ward you off!”

HA!

They didn’t know that the LORD also had HIS eye on Jerusalem, that He had loved it from of old (Psalm 87:1-3).  It would be the place where He would set His NAME, and where He would dwell among His people.  It would be the place where the greater Son of David would walk and teach, and eventually be crucified outside its walls.  And then be resurrected.

Jerusalem, the City of God, the City of David. 

And so David sent his best soldiers up the water channel into the city and beat all those “blind and lame” Jebusites.

He lived in the stronghold (fortress) of the city and built it up all around.

“And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.”  The king of Tyre, Hiram, sent cedar trees, carpenters, and masons to David so he could build his house in the “City of God.”

The philistines.

When the Philistines (who thought David was with THEM) heard that he’d become King of Israel, they spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, ready for war.

David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I fight? Will you give them into our hands?”  And the LORD said, “Yes” to both.”   And so it happened.

Then the Philistines come up again and spread themselves out for war in the same valley.

David inquired again of the LORD.  “Shall I fight? Will you give them into our hands?”  But this time the LORD said, “No. You shall go behind them. When I cause the leaves of the balsam trees to rustle, THEN, go from behind and strike them down.”  And so it happened.  The Philistines went running.

  • Here, I have to confess, that I WISH my prayers for direction would be answered as quickly and in such detail as David’s were in these verses.  But I know the Holy Spirit dwells in believers today, and that His voice is quiet. We have to ask in faith, and then listen, and search His word.

1 Chronicles 11.

(Chapter 10 ends with, “Therefore the LORD … turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”)

In this passage, the people of all Israel who want David to be their king, say, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh,” aligning themselves as one to him. David made the covenant, and they anointed him king over Israel …. “according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.”

And then the taking of the City of Jerusalem.  The man who was David’s commander went up first, becoming chief of his men … Joab.

David’s Mighty Men

These men gave the new king, strong support in his kingdom. There were 300, thirty of which were super-duper mighty men. Three were the Most Mighty, two of them killing 300 at one time, each!

Another, named Benaiah, went down and killed a lion in a pit … on a day when the snow had fallen(???), and also killed a 7.5-foot Egyptian giant, yanking his beam-like spear out of the giant’s hand and killing him with it. (David set this mighty man as head of his bodyguard detail.)

One day, when David was still hiding in the cave of Adullam, with the Philistines below, he mentioned how sweet he remembered the cool water from a well in his hometown of Bethlehem.  Unbeknownst to him, three of the chief men in his army went down, through the Philistines, to the well at Bethlehem, got a flask of the water, and brought it back to their Commander-in-chief.  (Oh, wow!)

David was so astounded and humbled, that he would not drink it and poured out the water before the LORD.  “Far be it for me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men?  For at the risk of their own lives, they brought it.”  

This is why his army loved him so much.

The list of mighty men goes on.  One name should stand out to us, sadly.  In verse 41, Uriah the Hittite, is listed. He was the righteous man whom David had killed after committing adultery with his wife who turned up pregnant.  Ah, David! How could you fall so low with one of these faithful men?

1 Chronicles 12.

This chapter describes more about David’s mighty men, telling how they came with him when he was still being pursued by Saul.  They were bowmen who could shoot arrows and sling stones – either with their right or left hands from the tribe of Benjamin.

Men from the tribe of Gad also joined with David when he was in the wilderness.  They were experienced warriors, experts with the shield and spear, “swift as gazelles on the mountains”.  They became officers in the army.

Then the Spirit “clothed Amasai,” chief of the thirty who said this blessing, “We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.”

Some from the tribe of Manasseh came and helped David against the Philistine raiders.  Also, some came to David from other tribes after Saul died, Simeonites, Ephraimites, those from Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Dan, Asher, and from the east side, Reuben, and Manasseh: 120,000 men armed with weapons of war.

(Also, the relatives of the soldiers came from the tribes, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, for a big celebration, “for there was joy in Israel.“)

  • I love this portion of scripture, when David is at his height, honoring and seeking God with all his might, loyal to a fault to his men, with a heart to please and serve the LORD.  I’ll “savor” these chapters because I know David falls, and, though forgiven by God, his life and his kingdom are ruined.
  • Maybe I dislike it so much because I see how we, ourselves, sin and ruin our lives, although our God loves and forgives us.
Read today’s scriptures.  How are you challenged by these passages today?

2 Samuel 5.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 120

Apr30
Day 120.  Reading Psalms 102, 103, 104.
 

Read today’s scripture.

  • Don’t you LOVE these Psalms? 
  • What verses will YOU memorize and remember?
  • Or make into a song? 
  • Or pray back to the LORD?

Psalm 102.

(This psalm is “a prayer of one afflicted when he is faint. He pours out his complaint before the LORD”.)

It reminds me of the songwriter/singer that David chose, named Heman, with His dark Psalm 88. But this psalm has sections of praise and joy too. 

  • “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you!  Don’t hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!  Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! 

(Wow, he seems desperate!)

  • (He is in really bad shape.) His days pass like smoke. His heart is struck down.  He forgets to eat. He feels lonely and persecuted. He “eats ashes like bread.”  (Contrition and repentance.) 
  • He says God’s indignation and anger have thrown him down, crushed him

Perhaps he’s feeling God’s discipline and is repenting. (Boy, do I ever know THAT feeling.)

  • THEN, he spends a bit of space praising the LORD, eternal, compassionate, strong, and glorious. And he speaks of God, reminding/preaching to himself, “The LORD … regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.  From heaven the LORD looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die….“
  • “O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days –You whose years endure throughout all generations.”

Psalm 103.

Here David is praising the LORD in glorious and familiar words!

  • Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!
  • Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not His benefits,
  • Who forgives all your iniquity,
  • Who heals all your diseases,
  • Who redeems your life from the pit,
  • Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
  • Who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles!”

Wow! Praise God!  But there’s more! (He quotes Exodus 34:6-7)

  • The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
  • He will not always chide, nor will He keep his anger forever.
  • He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repays us according to our iniquities.
  • For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
  • As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 
  • As a father shows compassion to His children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

And his mighty conclusion. (This reminds me of the choirs in heaven praising God.)

  • Bless the LORD, O you his angels, his mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word!
  • Bless the LORD all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will!
  • Bless the LORD, all His works, in all places of His dominion.
  • Bless the LORD, O MY SOUL!

Psalm 104.

Another fantastic Psalm of praise.  Look for all the “creation” references too.

  • O LORD my God, You are very great!
  • YOU are clothed with splendor and majesty …covering yourself with light as a garment … stretching out the heavens like a tent.
  • He makes clouds His chariot; He rides on the wings of the wind; He makes His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire.
  • He set the earth on its foundations … He covered it with the deep as with a garment … the mountains rose, the valleys sank down … You set a boundary that they may not pass.
  • You make springs gush forth … they give drink to every beast of the field. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.
  • You cause the grass to grow for the livestock … and plants for man to cultivate … food … wine … oil … bread.
  • He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.  YOU make darkness, and it is night when the wild beasts creep out.  When the sun rises, they lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening. 
  • O LORD, HOW MANIFOLD ARE YOUR WORKS!  IN WISDOM YOU HAVE MADE THEM ALL, THE EARTH IS FULL OF YOUR CREATURES!
  • Here is the sea, great in wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.
  • There go ships … and Leviathan, which You formed to play in it.
  • These all look to You to give them their food in due season.
  • MAY THE GLORY OF THE LORD ENDURE FOREVER.

I will sing to the LORD, as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD!

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 119

Apr29
Day 119.  Reading 1 Chronicles 7-10
 

Read today’s scripture.

Yes, genealogies again. Persevere!

1 Chronicles 7.

  • More genealogies, but remember their importance.  1 & 2 Chronicles was written around 500 BC, that’s about 500 years AFTER the time of David which we’ve been studying.  And the returning exiles to Israel, needed these lineages to track their own portions of land, the places and duties of the priests, and most importantly, to track the Davidic line towards the Messiah.  So bite the bullet and read with enthusiasm!! AND we will finish with them today!

Here we see the descendants of the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher.  (WOW, Naphtali doesn’t get much!!)  Except for Benjamin, these were the “northern” tribes.

We see that Issachar was a fighting tribe with 87,000 “mighty warriors.”

Benjamin is also listed as a tribe of mighty warriors (over 57,000), which is pretty good because that tribe was nearly decimated at one time in Judges. 

All that’s said of Naphtali is that he was a son of Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah, and he had for sons. Hmmm.

The tribe of Manasseh mentioned here is the western half. Interesting in this genealogy is the mention of several sisters, a concubine, and wives. 

Ephraim is mentioned next. Two of his descendants, brothers, were killed by the men (giants?) of Gath and were mourned for many days.  There was also, a daughter, Sheerah, who was really something!  She built both Upper and Lower Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah! WOW!  The famous leader, Joshua, was from this tribe, which was also known as the tribe of the sons of Joseph.

The last tribe in this chapter is Asher. They were “approved, mighty warriors, and chiefs of the princes.”  They had 26,000 men ready for war.

1 Chronicles 8.

This chapter tracks the genealogy of King Saul.  Let’s see what we can find interesting here. 

  • FIRST, this is the enlargement of the section on Benjamin in 7:6-12. 
  • SECOND, many names are included but the mention of Saul and Jonathan are only in verses 33-34.
  • THIRD, many of the Benjaminites lived in Jerusalem and were closely associated with Judah, and so went with them into Babylonian captivity.

1 Chronicles 9.

Verse 1 says that “all Israel” was recorded in the genealogies of returning exiles.  Although the northern 10 tribes were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and never returned to the Promised Land,  MANY people from those tribes had already migrated south into Judah when the nation split under King Rehoboam.

The returnees were in three genealogies – 1) the Israelites, 2) the priests, and 3) the Levites. Actually modern Jews are also divided into these three categories (Israel, Kohan (priests), and Levi) today.   Another category is listed in verse 2 as well – the temple servants. 

  • NOTE:  These “temple servants” could possibly be the descendants of the Gibeonites.  Remember them?  After defeating Jericho and eventually Ai under the leadership of Joshua, Israel was tricked by the Gibeonites.  A few of them came to Joshua acting as if they came from a city a long, long way away. In doing this, they hoped to escape annihilation, as God had instructed Israel to destroy all the peoples in the Promised Land. 
  • Joshua did NOT check with God on this and made a deal with them, later discovering WHO they were. But for an Israeli, an oath is an oath.  Joshua wouldn’t wipe them out but said the Gibeonites would always be woodcutters and water bearers “for the congregation and for the altar” as long as Israel was there.  Soooooo, it’s likely these “temple servants” were Gibeonites who had gone to Babylon, and then returned with Judah.

Also mentioned in this chapter are the Levite gatekeepers. They were guards on the four sides of the Tabernacle, and then the temple.  The four CHIEF gatekeepers were in charge of the chambers and treasures of the House of God. They lived around the House of God. They watched (protected) and also opened the gates each morning. 

Verse 22 says that David and Samuel established this office of trust.   Remember in Psalm 84:10, David said, “I’d rather be a doorkeeper (gatekeeper) in the House of my God than dwell in tents of wickedness.”

This chapter also mentions the “singers” David appointed. They were free from other services for they were on duty day and night. (Hey, sometimes even today, the best composing comes in the wee hours.)

And finally, at the end of this chapter, there is a more concise genealogy of Saul, which leads us to………….

1 Chronicles 10. 

A repeat and detailed account of the death of King Saul and his sons. This account said that the victorious Philistines took Saul’s head and placed it in the temple of their gods, perhaps even fastening it to their idol Dagon.  UGH!

Verse 13-14. “So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.  He did not seek guidance from the LORD.  THEREFORE the LORD put him to death……and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

 

  • LORD, thank you for this bit of history and truth. Help me remember it as I go about my duties.
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 117 & 118

Apr28
(I post Sunday’s and Monday’s studies together.)
 
Day 117.  Reading 1 Chronicles 6
Day 118. Reading Psalms 81, 88, 92 & 93
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about the tribe of Levi and singing in Chronicles?

What encourages you in these Psalms?

Day 117.

1 Chronicles 6.

Remember these genealogies of the tribes, were needed, after they all went into captivity, and then RETURNED. They people who hadn’t been in the Promised Land for 70 or more years had no idea where they were to live.  PLUS!!!  Those from the tribes of Levi were the priests who would serve Israel and eventually work again in the temple when it was re built.

Today’s reading is all on that priestly tribe of Levi, and his three sons, Kohath (Aaron the priest), Gershon, and Merari. 

There are many, many priests listed in the sub-tribe of Kohath, all descended from Aaron. These were the priests in charge of the Tabernacle/Temple and all the Holy things.  This chapter lists them down to Jehozadak, who went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

The sub-tribe of Gershon has a smaller list of names, and the sub-tribe of Merari has even fewer.

Then this chapter (verses 31-48), shows a new group of priests (from each of the sub-tribes) to fulfill another task in the Tabernacle/Temple.  Since David was a singer (psalms), he wanted music to be a part of the service in the house of the LORD, after the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, both in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple that Solomon built. 

Of the Kohathites, Heman, the singer, was chosen. 

Of the Gershonites, Asaph was also chosen. Many of the songs in Psalms were composed by Asaph.

Of the Merarites, Ethan was chosen.

The duties of the High Priests are listed here too. They were to make offerings on the altar of burnt offerings and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place and to make atonement for Israel. After Aaron, was Eleazar, then Phinehas, his son, and so on. 

Then the cities and pasturelands are recorded that belonged to each of the sub-tribes of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari.  All are listed, so their post-exile descendants would know where their inheritances lay. 

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Day 118.

Psalm 81.

(So here is an example of a psalm written by Asaph).

Wow, can you hear the joy and worship in this congregation?  Asaph calls the people of God to SING aloud, SHOUT for joy, RAISE a song, and SOUND the music of the tambourine, lyre, harp, and shofar (trumpet). 

Then his song tells of how God rescued them from slavery, answered their prayers (and grumbles), and tested them.

They his song says. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.   WOW!  But, Israel didn’t do it.

Then you hear God’s plea, “Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.” 

And God’s promise if they did listen.  “He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalm 88.

This psalm was written by Heman and is very dark. It was sung to the music of a reed, a mournful instrument.) Sometimes my prayers echo his depression and despair.

  • O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.
  • Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
  • For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol (the grave).
  • I am counted among those who go down to the pit;  I am a man who has NO STRENGTH, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave….. like one whom You remember no more.

Then he continues with harsh anger toward the LORD. (Yep, I’ve prayed this way too!)

  • YOU have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions of dark and deep.
  • YOUR wrath lies heavy upon me, and YOU overwhelm me with all your waves.
  • YOU have caused my companions to shun me; YOU have made me a horror to them.

Yikes!  Yes, you CAN pray to God like this when your heart is broken and in torment!

  • But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before You.
  • O LORD, why do YOU cast my soul away?
  • Why do YOU hide Your face from me?
  • Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer YOUR terrors; I am helpless.
  • YOUR wrath has swept over me; YOUR dreadful assaults destroy me.
  • YOU have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; 
  • My companions have become darkness…………………………………… 

Heman bemoans God’s failure to hear his prayer for GOOD HEALTH.  (Have You done this? I have.)  He assumes God is angry with him, but, LIKE JOB, he knows of no cause for that anger. But, his crying out to “the LORD, the God of his salvation,” proves that he has an underlying trust; it just seems invisible in this horrible, dark time. 

Psalm 92.

(Now, a glad, bright psalm for the Sabbath!  But don’t let it mock Heman’s desperate prayer, above.)

  • It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
  • For YOU, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy

Hear the joy in serving the LORD even into old age!

  • The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
  • They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, To declare that the LORD is upright.
  • He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him!

Psalm 93.

Another glorious song of praise!

  • The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt.
  • Yes, the world is established, it shall never be moved.
  • Your throne is established from of old; YOU are from everlasting.
  • Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.

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No matter how our heart feels or the circumstances we are in, we can always go to our God and pour out our pain or praise.  He listens. He knows, like He did in Job’s suffering. Sometimes, He allows us to endure for a while, for our good and His glory.