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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 205

Jul24

Day 205 – Reading – Isaiah 35 – 36.

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah 35.

This is a glorious chapter of the ultimate restoration of Israel in the Messiah’s Kingdom. (Parts may have been fulfilled partially during Christ’s ministry on earth, and even today.) 

The Wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus.
It shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knew.
Say to those who have an anxious heart, 
'Be strong, fear not! 

Behold your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.

The  the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon the heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy;
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 36.

NOTE: These next four chapters show a section of Israel’s history, and are almost word-for-word the same as 2 Kings 18:13 – 20:19, and 2 Chronicles 32:1-23. These chapters also separate the chapters on Judah’s deliverance from the Assyrians (1-35) and a preview of the Babylonian captivity (40-66). 

Hezekiah has been king fourteen years when the new king of Assyria, Sennacherib, came against the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

(Remember, Assyria already had control of all the northern kingdom of Israel, and the border  was a mere ten miles from Jerusalem.)

Sennacherib sent his Commander Rabshakeh to Jerusalem with a great army. Eliakim, the spokesman for King Hezekiah went out to meet him.  Rabshakeh began his taunting speech.

  • Rabshakeh:  “Tell King Hezekiah that the “great king of Assyria” asks WHOM you trust to save you, that you have rebelled against me?  Is it that “broken reed” Pharaoh of Egypt?  Let’s make a wager:  We will give you 2,000 horses… IF you are able to set riders on them.  You trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?  Where are they??
  • “OR… are you trusting in the LORD your God?  Hey, didn’t you remove all His high places? (Won’t He be mad at you?)  Oh, and by the way… the LORD said to me, ‘Go up against the land and destroy it!'”  (This is actually true!!  See Isaiah 8:7-8 and 10:5-6. And Judah knew it.)

 

  • Eliakim:  “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it.  Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

 

  • Rabshakeh:  “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, WHO ARE DOOMED WITH YOU TO EAT THEIR OWN DUNG AND DRINK THEIR OWN URINE??”
  • “Hey, YOU, people of Judah! Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you.  Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely delivers us. This city will not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria.’
  • DO NOT LISTEN TO KING HEZEKIAH. For thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and “keep your vine and fig tree and cistern…. until I come and take you away to a “land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards…..”
  • BEWARE LEST HEZEKIAH MISLEAD YOU, saying ‘The LORD will deliver us.’  Has any other of the gods delivered their lands out of the hand of Assyria?   Did the gods of Samaria save them???   Ha! that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand!”

But, they were all silent and answered him not a word, at King Hezekiah’s command.  Then Eliakim came to Hezekiah with his clothes torn, and TOLD HIM THE WORDS OF RABSHAKEH……..

To be continued tomorrow……

.

What do you think will happen?  Will the LORD save Judah?  Will He do a miracle?  Or will He give his sinning children over to the wicked, brutal Assyrians from Nineveh as he did with Israel?  

God has a plan for his children today too. Salvation through His Son, yes, but salvation from persecution and suffering now?  Perhaps.  Or maybe not.  But we can trust in His perfect will for us. And remember chapter 35!!

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 178

Jun27

Day 178.  Reading 1 Kings 17-19

Read the Scripture chapters.
The mighty prophet, Elijah: How does he illustrate trust in God?
 

1 Kings 17.

Here’s a refresher on this wicked king.

Yesterday, we learned a little about King Ahab (north) and his wife Queen Jezebel.  Ahab did EVIL in the sight of the LORD, MORE THAN ALL WHO WERE BEFORE HIM. He took Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king (and priest of Baal) in Sidon. Ahab served Baal and worshiped him, and erected an altar for him in Samaria. AHAB DID MORE TO PROVOKE THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, TO ANGER THAN ALL THE KINGS OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIM. 

And today…

Enter the prophet Elijah, from Tishbe.  Boldly, he approached the evil king, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Not good news. 

“Get out of town, now,” is basically what God said to Elijah.  Where? “Depart from here (Samaria) and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.”  (about 25 miles away)  Elijah would have water from the brook (until it dried up), and the Ravens would feed him bread and meat each morning and evening.

(Ever wonder what kind of bread? Or meat? A raven might bring?  I just read a story about a Raven in England that became a pest to tourists, for it would snatch food from their hands, pacifiers from babies’ mouths, or grab toys, iPhones, small cameras, or golf balls and fly off with them.  Imagine now some pita-type bread cooling on a ledge, dried fish in a basket, fried locusts on a plate….  NOTHING non-Kosher, of course.)

Anyway, Elijah hid and ate these gifts as the rest of Israel began to swelter and thirst.  Crops withered, ponds and drinking holes dried up. Cattle & sheep began to die.   AHAB IS GETTING VERY ANGRY!

Meanwhile, the Cherith Brook also dried up, and God sent Elijah north to the Mediterranean coast to the town of Zarephath, right near (get this) Sidon, Jezebel’s own family territory.  God led him to a Gentile widow living there with her son, and possibly some household staff. 

He asked her to bring him some water. (Reminds me of Jesus and the woman at the well.)   She agreed, and as she was going, Elijah called after her, “Oh, and bring me a morsel of bread to eat as well.”

Can you imagine her look as she turned back to him?  “Are you kidding?  I have only a mere handful of flour and a drop of oil in this jug.  I was going to make a tiny morsel for my son and me to eat, and THEN WE ARE GOING TO DIE!”

Elijah: “Don’t be afraid. FIRST, make me a little cake to eat, THEN something for your son and yourself.   (There’s a lesson here. Do you see it? Did she?)  I imagine the woman standing there with her mouth agape.

And Elijah continues, “For thus says the LORD, the God of ISRAEL. “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”   I imagine the woman still standing a minute longer, taking in his words, perhaps glancing at the bag and jar.  Then, turning and doing what Elijah asked.  And she and her household ate for MANY days.  WOW!

Faith and obedience work miracles, even for a Gentile woman living in a pagan land.  And can you imagine her testimony?  AND, the MIRACLE that was soon to happen?  

****(Jesus mentions this woman and her story to the men in the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4:24-26. (Read it!)

Oh, the miracle?  The widow’s son got sick and died.  She brought his body down to Elijah and asked (much like we would), “Is this what I get for believing your words of Israel’s God and taking care of you?  My son has died!”

But Elijah – the prophet of that great God – took the boy, earnestly prayed for him, and life returned to his body!! Joy again was in that household!

James 5:16. “Confess your sins to one another and PRAY for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power and is working.”

And the thrilled, relieved, thankful widow said, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is true.”

.

1 Kings 18.

A new message from God, three years into the drought.  “Elijah, Go, show yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”

Elijah obeyed.

Meanwhile, Ahab was very angry at Elijah. His wife, Jezebel, was killing all the prophets of God in an attempt to get Elijah.  A godly man in their household, one Obadiah, took 100 of the prophets and hid them in caves.  He fed them bread and water (from the king’s house??)

Ahab and Obadiah went out on a search for some springs and grass for the king’s horses and mules, one each way.  As Obadiah went, Elijah met him. 

“Is that YOU, my lord?” Obadiah asked.

“It is I.” said Elijah. “Go tell your lord, ‘Behold Elijah is here.”

“WHAT???  Do you want me dead??  There has been no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you, to no avail.  And NOW, you say, Go tell him that Elijah is here.  As soon as I go, the Spirit of the LORD will whisk you away, and he will kill me!”

“Calm down, brother,” Elijah said. “I will surely show myself to him today.”

Obadiah found and told Ahab.

Ahab met Elijah. “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

“I HAVE NOT TROUBLED ISRAEL, BUT YOU HAVE…BECAUSE YOU HAVE ABANDONED THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD AND FOLLOWED BAALS” answered Elijah in Godly anger.

“Now, send and gather all of Israel to me at Mount Carmel… AND the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets at Asherah, who sit at Jezebel’s table.”

(And Ahad did.)

Elijah to the people:  HOW long will halt between God and Baal.  Follow God, or follow Baal. 

Silence from the people.

Elijah: “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but you have 450 men of Baal.  Let’s have a contest.  And the God who answers with FIRE, He is God.” 

“Good idea,” said the people. 

And so the contest ensues. You know the details, two bulls were prepared on the altars. The prophets of Baal wailed and wept and called and prayed and cut themselves for hours and hours. (Perhaps he was going to the bathroom and couldn’t hear! haha)

NOTHING.

When it was Elijah’s turn, he drenched the bull and wood with four jars of water, THREE TIMES. (This, in a time of scarcity of water!)   

Then, no shouting or cutting himself, or dancing around. Just a prayer for God’s glory. “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that YOU are God in Israel.”  

THEN THE FIRE OF THE LORD FELL and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water in the trench. 

And the people fell on their faces, “The LORD, he is God!”

Then ….. Elijah had them seize all the prophets of Baal, and he slaughtered them, down by the brook Kishon.   Jezebel had killed the prophets of God (Verse 13), now Elijah killed her prophets.

Then, “Hey, Ahab, you better go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rushing rain.  Get home before it hits full force!”  THEN ELIJAH PRAYED FOR RAIN.

James 5:17-18. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three and a half years it did not rain on the earth.  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”

Ahab drove his chariot furiously to Jezreel. (before the wheels could get mired in mud).

The hand of the LORD was on Elijah and he out ran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

.

1 Kings 19.

And, oh boy, was Jezebel mad!!  “I will kill Elijah by tomorrow, or may the gods kill me!”

And… our mighty, fearless, Elijah … WAS AFRAID!  What?  He got up and ran for his life, all the way to Beersheba. (about 100 miles!!!!)  And then a day’s journey into the wilderness. 

He prayed that God would kill him. 

He slept, then and angel woke him and fed him some food and water.

Then he fell back to sleep.

Later the angel woke him and fed him more food and water.  (On the strength of THAT food, Elijah went forty days and nights, all the way to Mt. Horeb (Sinai), the Mount of God.)  SERIOUSLY??

And God spoke to him, encouraged him. A fierce wind, a rough earthquake, and a fire came, “but God was not in them.  INSTEAD, God spoked to Elijah with a low whisper.  BUT ELIJAH HEARD IT.

(Another lesson here, if we could find it.)

God encouraged him by saying he wasn’t alone – there 7,000 more in God’s service in Israel.

God encouraged him by giving him more work to do.

  • He had to anoint Hazael in Damascus as king over Syria.
  • He had to anoint Jehu as king over Israel.
  • He had to take on Elisha as his apprentice to take over when he was gone.

Encouraged, refreshed, and empowered, Elijah left there and found Elisha.  Elijah threw his cloak on Elisha, and after offering sacrifices, Elisha arose, went with Elijah, and assisted him.

A new life for Elijah.

  • At first hidden away, ministering to a single woman
  • Then a great, grand exhibition of God’s power over evil.
  • And the execution of hundreds of false prophets
  • A fast run, a terrified run, and a very long walk to meet God at Sinai
  • Refreshment, newly commissioned
  • Ready to serve again.

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****(Yes, I wrote this out in story form. It’s longer, but I hope you, like me, got to know Elijah more deeply.  And I pray we have learned the lessons that he, and those around him, did.)

 

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 106

Apr16
Day 106.  Reading Psalms 56, 120, 140. 141, 142

Read today’s scripture.

How do you relate to these Psalms of David?

Psalm 56.

Hear how David lays out his prayer needs and then focuses his hope and trust on God alone.

  • Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me: all day long an attacker oppresses me; many attack me proudly.
  • When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
  • In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust;  I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
  • All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
  • They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.  For their crime, will they escape?
  • You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?
  • This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 120.

Hear David’s frustration and exhaustion in this Psalm.

  • Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
  • Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!

Psalm 140.

We cringe, but here, David seems vengeful.  Hiding in caves around the Dead Sea, perhaps he can see the sulfurous tar pits and remember Sodom. God hears our hearts. In the end, David leaves it to God’s justice.

  • Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their hearts and stir up wars continually.
  • They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps.
  • Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
  • I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
  • O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation…..
  • Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked…..
  • Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into the fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
  • I KNOW that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.

Psalm 141. 

David is far from the “house of the LORD.  He can’t go there to call on Him, burn incense, or offer the evening sacrifice.  He can only call on the name of the LORD, pray, and lift up his voice and his hands where he is.

  • Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips, do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds.
  • Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
  • But my eyes are toward You, O GOD, my Lord; in You I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless. Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers.
  • Let the wicked fall into their own nets … while I pass by safely.

Psalm 142.

David is feeling pretty low in this psalm. He’s hiding in a cave, he feels alone and unnoticed, uncared for.

  • With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice, I plead for mercy to the LORD.
  • I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell my trouble before Him. 
  • When my spirit faints within me, YOU know my way!
  • Look to the right and see: there is NONE who takes notice of me; no refuge remains for me; NO ONE CARES FOR MY SOUL!
  • I cry to YOU, O LORD;  I say, YOU ARE MY REFUGE, MY PORTION IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.
  • Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!
  • Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your Name!

Have you ever felt such anguish and depression?  Have you cried out to God in your dark prison of the soul?  (I have.)

But remember, the line in David’s other psalm. Psalm 23:4. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of DEATH … I will fear no evil, for YOU are with me;” 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 98

Apr8
Day 98.  Reading 1 Samuel 1 – 3
 

Read today’s scripture.

How was God faithful to Israel in these chapters?

1 Samuel 1.

A sweet and sad love story. 

Hannah was deeply loved by her husband Elkanah (a member of the Kohathite clan of the tribe of Levi), but she had no children. He married a second wife, Peninnah, to produce an inheritance, but he loved Hannah and treated her very well. 

Each year they would go to Shiloh where the Tabernacle was, to worship God as all men were required to. (This was probably the Feast of Tabernacles.)  This year, Hannah went to the gate of the Tabernacle and silently poured out her heart to the LORD. She promised that if God would give her a son, she would give him back to the LORD all the days of his life. 

Eli (a corrupt priest, with corrupt sons, as we shall see), thought she was drunk, and rebuked her.  Hannah said she was praying, and Eli probably felt rebuked himself and blessed her, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition.”

Back at home, she conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, which means “heard of God.”

(So far, this kind of sounds like Samson’s story. Samuel would also “judge Israel” all his life, but how differently!)

For three years Hannah and baby Samuel stayed home when the others went to Shiloh. (Elkanah agreed with her vow to give the boy to the LORD. As her husband, he “could” have annulled it.)  I know that she prayed for her son and filled him with songs and truths about God as he grew, and perhaps of his destiny in the service of God.  At 3 years old, after she weaned him, she took him to Shiloh when the family went to worship.  

And she fulfilled her promise to give him to the LORD.  It must have been doubly hard because the priest, Eli was so lax in raising and disciplining his own sons. But she left Samuel there, as she had vowed.  Did her heart break???

1 Samuel 2.

Hannah’s prayer is nothing but praise to God!

  • My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD…
  • I rejoice in Your salvation.
  • There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.
  • He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
  • The pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them, He has set the world. 

Elkanah and Hanna went back home.  And the boy, Samuel, ministered to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest.   But the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. They stole the LORD’s portion. They extorted meat from the worshippers, treating the LORD’s offering with contempt for their own gratification.

But the boy Samuel ministered before the LORD, wearing a tiny linen ephod.  Hannah made and brought him a new robe each year when they came for the yearly sacrifice. And Eli would bless her and Elkanah.

And, indeed the LORD blessed them. Hannah conceived and bore THREE more sons and TWO daughters!!

The young man Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.

But the very old Eli did nothing to stop his own priest-sons from grossly sinning. They even had sex with the women ministering at the gate of the Tabernacle.  Eli did scold them, but they didn’t listen.

HOWEVER, the young man, Samuel, continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and man. (It truly must have been a miracle of God for him to do this, living in such corruption of the priesthood.)  

One day a prophet of God came to Eli and told him the LORD’s will. “Why do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel??”  “Behold the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.”  “And Hopni and Phinehas, your two sons, shall both die on the same day.”

1 Samuel 3.

Meanwhile, Samuel ministered to the LORD under Eli, whose eyesight was fading.  It seems that Samuel was sleeping in the Holy place of the Tabernacle (??) where the Golden Candlestick burned, in front of the veil which hid the Ark of the Covenant.

“Samuel!” the young man heard and ran to Eli. 

“Here I am, for you called me.”  

“I didn’t call you, go lie down.”

“Samuel!” the LORD called again. Samuel went to Eli.

“Here I am, for you called me.”

“I did not call you, my son, lie down again.”

“Samuel!” the LORD called a third time, and off Samuel went to Eli.

“Here I am, for you called me.” 

Hmm, though Eli. Could it be?  “Go, lie down, and if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears’.”

And God did call Samuel again. “Samuel! Samuel!”

“Speak, for your servant hears.” 

Then the LORD gave him a message that was very hard to hear. “I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Wow. 

Samuel lay there until morning.  He was afraid to tell the vision to Eli, but the old priest said, “What was it that He told you?  Do not hide it from me.”

So Samuel told him everything.  (Like a prophet has to do, speaking the hard things of the LORD to a people who need to hear them.)

“It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him,” said Eli.

After that, the LORD was with Samuel and let none of his words “fall to the ground.”  From Dan to Beersheba, all Israel knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.

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

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

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 14.

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

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

Deuteronomy 15.

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

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

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

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

Deuteronomy 16.

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

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

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

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Deuteronomy 17.

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

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

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

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

Deuteronomy 18.

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

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

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

Deuteronomy 19.

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

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

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

Deuteronomy 20.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 72

Mar13
Day 72.  Reading Deuteronomy 5 – 7. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Deuteronomy 5.

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them,

“Hear O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today,

and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.”

To the new generation, Moses carefully reviews the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20. “I AM the LORD your God…..

  • You shall have NO other gods before me
  • You shall NOT make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything…. YOu shall now bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God
  • You shall NOT take the name of the LORD your God in vain
  • You SHALL observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God
  • You SHALL honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and it shall go well with you in the Land your God is giving you
  • You shall NOT murder
  • You shall NOT commit adultery
  • You shall NOT steal
  • You shall NOT covet … anything that is your neighbor’s.

You shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you.

You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 

You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you,

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Deuteronomy 6.

Moses continues,

“HEAR, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is ONE.

You shall love the LORD your God

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

(God’s very Words should be in the CENTER of all areas of their (our) lives!)

It is the LORD your God you shall fear.

HIM you shall serve.

By His name you shall swear.

You shall NOT go after other gods.

You shall NOT put the LORD your God to the test.

You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD that it may go well with you.

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Deuteronomy 7.

As for the seven nations (more numerous and mightier than them),

  • Israel was to drive out of the Land.
  • defeat them and devote them to complete destruction.
  • make NO covenant with them and show no mercy to them.
  • not intermarry with them, give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for you sons.
  • break down their alters, dash in pieces their pillars, chop down their Asherim, and burn their carven images with fire.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has CHOSEN you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all the peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers.”

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments … to a thousand generations.”

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Wow.  And now the LORD has said He’s chosen and loves all those who believe in His Son, Jesus, and will give them life and an eternal home with Him. Praise His Name! 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 66

Mar7
Day 66.  Reading Numbers 28-30. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Numbers 28-29.

The LORD has Moses review some important things for this new generation as they are poised to enter the Promised Land. The first thing is the offerings He requires daily, weekly (on Sabbath), and annually, as well as those on the special holy days. Why so many, you might ask. Doesn’t this deplete their herds and flocks?  

First, remember that these offerings, except for the sin and guilt offerings that were burned totally, were for the priests and Levites.  Their total service was to the Lord. They would not have their own flocks and herds.  This is the way Israel would support them and at the same time, acknowledge their thanksgiving and worship to God.

Numbers 30.

This section on men and women and making vows may seem patronizing, but it actually protects women who are usually (but not always) more emotional.  First, when a man makes a vow to God, it is binding. Period.  But, if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, binding herself by a pledge, her father (if she is single) or her husband (when married) can nullify that vow. 

The LORD – knowing women very well – sometimes calls these vows “thoughtless utterances of her lips.”  (We might say, frivolous, and you know exactly what He means. Women are women and sometimes nasty!)  In such a case, the man in her life could cancel those vows, and she would not be held to them before the LORD. (And I might say, to her relief most of the time!). But a husband or father, seeing an earnest heart, may also NOT void her vow.   

I think of Hannah, years later, who had no children. She went to the Tabernacle and VOWED that if the LORD would give her a son, she would give him back for all of his life.  Her husband, Elkanah, learned of her pledge and did not cancel it.  The LORD heard Hannah, saw her heart, and gave her a son whom she named Samuel. When he was weaned, she took him to the Tabernacle and gave him up for his lifetime.  God honored her vow and fulfillment by giving her other children. (1 Samuel 1 and 2)

(Of course, men make foolish vows too, often in the heat of battle or boasting!  See Judges 11:29-40, Jephthah’s tragic vow, and  1 Samuel 14:24-48 King Saul’s rash vow.)  (I bet these men wished someone had stopped their vows!!)

  • LORD, help me to never begrudge the offerings I give to You, in whatever ways you use them.   May my heart and hand be always “open.”
  • And LORD, may I always think before I speak. Help me to consider your Word and ways before I say something foolish. And when I do spout something I regret, lead me to confession and your forgiveness.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 31

Jan31

Day 31. Reading in Exodus 4 – 6. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

Exodus 4.

From the burning bush, God told Moses that He was sending him back to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel OUT OF EGYPT.

By now, Moses has twice told the LORD that he is “unable” to do it.  God has assured Moses that He would be with him all the way. God gave Moses His sacred Name by which he could persuade the people and even told him HOW He would rescue them. (Many times, Pharaoh would refuse, but God would plague Egypt until he agreed. )

“But the people won’t believe me,” Moses counters now.

Then, God gave Moses three signs to convince the people.  First, his staff turned into a snake and then back into a staff.  Next, his hand turned leprous, then back to clean. Finally, when Moses poured a little Nile River water onto the ground, it would turn to blood.  WOW!

“Oh, my Lord,” whines Moses, “I am not eloquent. I’m slow of speech and tongue.” (He’s spent the last 40 years with only sheep to talk to.)

God assures Moses that HE is God. He makes mouths (and ears and eyes with their deficiencies).  Moses is not to worry about that, but to “Go! I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

“Oh, my Lord. Send someone else.”

Okay, that is enough!  God is angry.  “Ok, Moses, but this is the last concession. Your brother is coming to see you. Tell and show him all I’ve revealed.  He will be your spokesman.  I’ll tell you what to say, and you can whisper it in his ear.” 

  • Wow.  Indeed, God has been exasperated with me like this many times as I make excuses not to obey Him.  Oh, the patience and kindness of our God!  Forgive me!  What a wonderful example I have in Jesus when it was time for Him to become human and die for my sins. No hesitation. And God said of Him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Moses asks permission from his father-in-law to go and is graciously relieved of his shepherding duties.  He packs up his wife and son on a donkey. At a rest stop, God threatens Moses’ life. Why? Because he did NOT follow through with the covenant commandment of circumcision, which he should have done to his son when he was 8 days old.  Does Moses want to be part of God’s family or not?

While Moses lies dying, Zipporah circumcises their son and flaunts the foreskin. “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” she says.  

God relents, and Zipporah is left alone with the boy until he heals before they return home. Moses leaves on foot to meet Aaron at the Mountain of God. He tells his brother everything God said, and together, the two men go to the elders of the people of Israel in Egypt and do the signs.  The people believe, and there is great rejoicing and worship of the LORD. 

Exodus 5.

Buoyed up by this reaction, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness‘.”

“Um, no!” answers Pharaoh. “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know him. I will not let Israel go.”

“Please let us go three days into the wilderness to worship our God, or He may send a pestilence on us.”

“No!  Get back to work!  You have too much idle time on your hands. Now you will have to find the straw for the bricks for yourselves instead of me supplying it.  AND YOUR QUOTA IS THE SAME!”

The elders of Israel go to Moses and complain. “You have made us stink in the eyes of Pharaoh! Things are worse than they were before!!!”

Moses goes to God. “Lord, why have You done evil to this people?  Why did You ever send me?  I have not delivered the people at all!”

Exodus 6.

“NOW, you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,” the LORD says. “For with a strong hand, he will send them out, and with a strong hand, he will DRIVE them out of his land.” (Just you wait and see!)

God speaks to Moses. “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan. 

  • 1) I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians HOLD AS SLAVES. 
  • 2) I have remembered my covenant. 
  • 3) Say to the people, “I am the LORD, and I will DELIVER you from slavery, I will REDEEM you with an outstretched arm with GREAT ACTS OF JUDGMENT. 
  • 4) I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.
  • 5) I will bring you into the land I swore to give to your fathers, and give it to you as a possession. I AM THE LORD.”

“Now, Moses, go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go out of his land!” 

And so the contest begins. In the end, Israel will be free and wealthy. Egypt will be broken and without an army, a leader, or a son to take his place.

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As the writer of this book, Moses takes a moment to give us his and Aaron’s genealogy.  Jacob’s third son, Levi, had three sons (important regarding the duties of the Tabernacle and Temple worship). They are Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  Moses and Aaron are descended from the line of Kohath through Amram and his wife, Jochebed.  (Levi lived 137 years, Kohath lived 133 years, and Amram lived 137 years.  At this time, Moses is 80, and Aaron is 83. Their sister Miriam is somewhere between 87-92 (sources differ).

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 25

Jan25

Day 25. Reading in Genesis 38 – 40. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

 

Genesis 38.

What a chapter. It shows that God can use the vilest of us for His glory when He changes our hearts. 

Judah, Jacob’s fourth son to his wife Leah, is the next in line for inheritance. (We’ll learn that Rueben, Simeon, and Levi were all disqualified through their actions. See Genesis 49:3-8) 

Judah takes a wife and has three sons. When they grow up, he gets a wife for the eldest, but Er is wicked, and God kills him before he can father children.  As customary in those days, Judah gives his second son to Tamar to fulfill his duty and make an inheritance for his dead brother. Onan is wicked as well and does NOT do his duty, so God kills him. Judah’s third son is still a boy. (And besides, Judah doesn’t want HIM to die too.)

Widow Tamar goes back home to wait for Shelah to grow up.  He does, but no word is sent. So she takes things into her own hands, plays a prostitute, and lures Judah into her tent (his own wife has died). He leaves his signet with the cord, and his staff for surety for the goat he promises to send her. But she disappears back home, keeping the three items. 

When it’s discovered, and Judah is told that she’s pregnant, he is outraged and says she should be burned. (Seriously, Judah?? Who’s at fault here?) Anyway, when she produces HIS three identifying items, he gulps, admits she is “more righteous than he,” rescinds the death sentence, and never touches her again.  But, his seed line, through the youngest of their twin sons, later produces King David and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 39.

This chapter contrasts sharply with the previous one. Against Judah and his family’s immorality, we see Joseph’s righteousness. 

He has become a man of importance in Potiphar’s household. The Captain has given Joseph control of his entire estate. He trusts his Hebrew slave completely, and Joseph honors God by being trustworthy. However, Potiphar’s wife is NOT so inclined. Spoiled and bored, she lusts after the handsome Hebrew slave. While her husband is away, she tries to seduce him, but Joseph wants no part of it.

One day, when no one is around, she grabs him and demands he sleep with her.  Joseph does what we all should do when tempted. He flees the scene as quick as lightning.  The problem is the shunned woman keeps hold of his garment. A woman scorned is a horrible thing, and soon the whole household hears her screams, “Rape! He tried to rape me!”

When Potiphar comes home, looking forward to his pipe and a chair by the fire, he’s confronted by his wife’s accusations. “This is what YOUR Hebrew slave tried to do to me … and here’s the proof.”

Of course, Potiphar had to act. He sent Joseph to the prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.  But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him His steadfast love and mercy.  He gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the keeper.  Soon, Joseph was in charge of all the prisoners. Like Potiphar had been, the keeper now laid back and let Joseph do his managing thing. 

Meanwhile, Potiphar had to go back to running his own estate.  Grrrr.

Genesis 40.

Joseph the young dreamer becomes a more mature interpreter of dreams. God gives him this gift, much like He will give to His man, Daniel one day in Babylon. 

The cupbearer and the baker in the king of Egypt’s palace both came into disfavor and were cast into “Joseph’s prison.”  Of the two, the cupbearer (butler) had the more crucial job. He tasted whatever was served in the king’s cup FIRST, to make sure it held no poison. Every time the king drank something, this cupbearer put his life on the line.

Anyway, there they sat in a jail cell.  Joseph comes by on his rounds, sees these important men and “attends to them.”  After a while he sees they are very troubled. He asks and discovers that they both have had very scary dreams. They are sure they mean something, but don’t know what.

Joseph pulls up a stool and asks that they tell him the dreams.  They do, and God gives Joseph understanding.  One is good news, the other foretells very bad news.  The cupbearer will be soon reinstated to his former position, but the baker will be soon executed.  And it happens as God showed Joseph. As the cupbearer is leaving the prison, Joseph pleads with the man to mention him when he goes back to the king, to get him out of prison.

The baker dies, and the cupbearer forgets Joseph … for two whole years.

  • God is faithful to His Word and to His own servants. There is no shadow of turning with Him. As I live my life day by day, His eye and hand are on me, whether I feel it or not. He sees my sin and hears my confession. He sees both mistreatment and honor and how I deal with each. He has a plan for me – maybe a far, far reaching plan – and nothing changes it. Thank You, Lord.