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2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 136

May15

    Day 136—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   Are you loving God more each day? Are you reciting, praying, and singing the Psalms we’ve been reading?  Share in the comments section.

    Day 136 – Psalms 3, 4, 12, 13, 28, 55.. – (Psalms of David in exile)

Psalm 3 specifically describes David’s anguish as he flees from Absalom. “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 as always, his heart turns to God. “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of my head.”    “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.”

Psalm 4. “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress.”    “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone O LORD make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 12 (maybe speaking of how Absalom wooed the people from David with his “silver tongue.”  “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart the speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us?'”    “The words of the LOD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.”

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 the day?

“How long shall my enemy be exalted?

“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 your 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.”     “Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.”

“Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to Him. The LORD is the strength of his people, He is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

Psalm 55 describes David’s anguished and grieving heart.  “…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.”  “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.”   

“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 is 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 trust in You.”

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 115

Apr24

    Day 115—We have been reading the Bible daily for a third of the year.   What have you learned about God? About yourself?

Day 115 – 1 Chronicles 3 – 5. (Genealogies in David’s line, Judah, Simeon, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.)

1 Chronicles 3 chronicles King David’s line until the Babylonian captivity. We see the sons and the daughter whose actions will cause David severe problems. Solomon, David’s tenth son, is mentioned as well.

1 Chronicles 4 chronicles the line of Judah, the Messianic line, and the diminishing tribe of Simeon, which is eventually swallowed up in Judah’s territory.

1 Chronicles 5 chronicles the line of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn who forfeited the birthright. The double-portion birthright then passed to the firstborn of Israel’s other wife, Rachael, Joseph. This chapter also gives the lineage of the Gadites and the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh which settled east of the Jordan River.

In both chapters 4 and 5, we see God answering prayer. In 4:9-10, Jabez “called upon the God of Israel, asking for more land, blessings, and safety for himself. And “God granted what he asked.”

In 5:18-20, the East Jordan tribes waged war against several pagan nations. Even though there were less than half the enemy’s number, when they “cried out to God in the battle, He granted their urgent plea, because they trusted Him.”

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 110

Apr19

    Day 110 —  We have been reading the Bible daily for almost a third of the year. What have you learned about God? About yourself?

   Day 110 – Psalms 121, 123, 124, 125, 128, 129, 130. (More psalms by David, mostly praising God)

Psalm 121 “I will life up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.” (Plus more praising God for all He is and does.)

Psalm 123 “To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!”

Psalm 124 “Our help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 125 “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore.”

Psalm 128 “Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways!” “The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel.”

Psalm 129 “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

Psalm 130 “If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen (wait) for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD, there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 107

Apr16

    Day 107 —  We have been reading the Bible daily for almost a third of the year. What have you learned about God? About yourself?

Day 107 – 1 Samuel 25 – 27 (Samuel dies, Nabal/Abigail, David/Saul, David/Philistines)

Away from those lovely Psalms and back to history.

The first thing we read in Chapter 25, is that the prophet, Samuel dies and is mourned.  It’s another end of an era, where Israel will have kings alone to lead them. (Yes, there will be prophets, but not a prophet/priest like Samuel.)

David is still running from Saul, hiding wherever he and his 600 men can find. In this story, they protect a very wealthy man’s livestock for a season. No animal or human predator had harmed a single one of them. So when the thousand sheep are brought in to be sheered, David sends men to Nabal to collect food for his men as payment for their service.

But the “foolish” Nabal, holds tight to his pennies and refuses to give a single fig. Angered by his refusal to compensate, David gathers 400 of his men to pay back the ingrate. (Kill every last one of them.) But Abigail, Nabal’s wise wife, hears and immediately remedies the situation by loading multiple donkeys with enough food to feed David and his army. Plus, she runs ahead and bows before the kingly commander and begs his forgiveness.  David admires her for her peacemaking, accepts the loot, and praises God for using her to keep him from sin.  And… after her husband, the fool, dies, David takes Abigail as his wife. Whoa! Fairy tale story!

A short note at the end of the chapter tells us that David took a third wife, Ahinoam.  and that his first wife, Saul’s daughter, Michal, had been taken from him (while he was on the run) and given to another man.

Chapter 26 shows David again running from the mad King Saul (and 3,000 of his men) after the people of Ziph tattle about his whereabouts. David again spares Saul’s life when he could easily have taken it. While the king and his soldiers slept a “deep sleep from the LORD,” David crept down to within a foot of where Saul snored.  He took his spear and water bottle and left.

Then, on a hill with a “great deal of space” between him and Saul, David calls out and chides Abner, his captain for not protecting his lord. When Abner and the groggy king see David waving the spear and water bottle, they recognize that God kept David from killing him. Saul apologizes, packs up, and goes home, with even a blessing for David.

Chapter 27 shows that Saul’s change of heart doesn’t last and that he soon pursues David again. And David AGAIN escapes to the land of the Philistines. Achish, the king of Gath, allows him to stay, believing wrongly that David and his men are warring against their own people. In reality, David is attacking smaller Gershurites, Girzites, and Amalekites towns, killing all so there are no witnesses, and bringing the loot back to Achish.

While God commanded Israel to do this when they first conquered the land, David’s deception was wrong.  However, the king of Gath was happy and even gave David and his men the town of Ziklag, which became David’s official “fort.”

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 100

Apr9

    Day 100 —  YAY! ONE HUNDRED days! We have been reading the Bible daily for over a quarter of the year. Praise God! What have you learned about God? About yourself?

   Day 100 – 1 Samuel 9 – 12 (a king for Israel, Saul)

So, a tall, dark, and handsome Benjaminite is chosen as Israel’s King.  We see in Chapter 9 how God orchestrates it all, from the loss of a few donkeys to the search and finding of a holy man to having a silver shekel available to give him as a gift, to the event of a sacrifice and feast, in which a special portion of meat had been reserved for a special guest, to God’s specific indication that the man, Saul, was to be anointed “prince over Israel.”

In Chapter 10, Samuel privately anoints Saul to be Israel’s prince, telling him that he will reign over them and save them from their surrounding enemies.  He then tells Saul of a few things that will happen to confirm this fact. Two men will meet him who will do certain things, plus a group of prophets who will also preclude the coming of God’s Spirit upon Saul. Then Saul was to go to Gilgal and wait there for Samuel for seven days.

Of course, all this comes to pass, and when the people are all gathered together, Samuel proclaims Saul King of Israel, reminding them that they have rejected the LORD as their King, and telling them again all the “bad” things about having a human king. Nevertheless, the people rejoice, shouting, “Long live the king!”

Chapter 11 tells of Saul’s first victory over their enemies, the Ammonites, who have been causing terror and submission by gouging out the eyes of the men of Israel. Saul summons 30,000 men from all of Israel and attacks, gaining victory.  At this point, Samuel calls Saul and all the people for a sacrifice and to “officially” make Saul their king before the LORD.

Chapter 12 tells of Samuel’s farewell as their leader, reminds them of the king they now have and what that will mean, and then challenges them to always “obey the voice of the LORD.” “Do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve him with all your heart, for you are God’s chosen people.” He promises to always pray for them and to instruct them in the good and right way.

It’s a good start. And Saul will do well for…. half a chapter.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 89

Mar29

    Day 89 —  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So, CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the third month so far! Praise God!  TODAY, we begin the eighth book in our Bible reading!

   Day 89 – Judges 1 – 2 (Mopping up, but failing. idol worship and judgment, pleas and rescue)

Chapter 1 begins where Joshua left off, although it is written by a different author. The large tribe of Judah wants to obey God and drive out all the Canaanites in their land. They enlist the tribe of Simeon—living in the middle of Judah territory—and go to war. God gives them victory, even in Jerusalem (but they soon lose that city again). Then, the Judahites help Simeon fight the Canaanites still in their section of land.

All the other tribes fight the pagans in their areas, but every time (except for Issachar), they put the enemy to “forced labor” but are unable to drive them out ultimately.

Because of this, in Chapter 2, God tells them He will not continue to drive out their enemies. Instead, the people they allowed to remain will become “thorns in your sides,” and they will go further beyond toleration to actually serve them.” These useless gods will become “snares” to them.

There is a brief review of the end of Joshua’s life. and the sad proclamation that a new generation rose up “who did not know the LORD or the work He had done for Israel.”  This shows that fathers in the families disobeyed God at the very core of their lives, for they were instructed to teach their children the law of their God, speaking about it when they rose up, went out, ate, and slept. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

But Israel went farther, beyond toleration, to actually serving those idols. They abandoned the LORD their God and went after other gods. And the LORD was angry and let them be plundered by surrounding enemies to the point that they could no longer stand.

Then, out of mercy, God raised up “military leaders” (judges) who temporarily saved them out of the hands of the plunderers.  Safe again, Israel went right back to their old sinful ways. God let their enemies afflict them until they cried out to him again.

The book of Judges records SEVEN such cycles of sin.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 88

Mar28

    Day 88 —  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So, CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the third month so far! Praise God!  TODAY, we finish the 7th book in our Bible reading!

   Day 88 – Joshua 22 – 24 (Eastern tribes, an alter, Joshua’s charge & challenge, Joshua’s death)

In Chapter 22, with the land settled and divided, it’s time for the armies of the Eastern two-and-a-half tribes to return to their lands and settle down.  Joshua charges them with the basis of the Covenant, to “love the LORD their God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to cling to Him, and to serve Him with all their heart and soul.”

These tribes received Joshua’s challenge and blessing and headed East, stopping at the border to erect a massive altar.  WHAT??  Rightly, the other ten tribes, plus the High Priest, come and confront them. They fear that God will judge them ALL if these eastern tribes are already worshiping at a place other than where God signifies.  But the eastern tribe allay their fears, saying the alter is NOT a place to worship, but only a memorial to reinforce that the eastern tribes are a part of the whole of Israel.  All outcry is calmed with this explanation.

In Chapter 23, Joshua—well advanced in years at 110—tells how faithful God has been to ALL his promises, even though Israel repeatedly fails Him. He says, “You know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you.”

  • Therefore, be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses.
  • Don’t turn aside from it to the right or left.
  • Don’t mix with the nations remaining among you or even mention the names of their gods.
  • Don’t swear to their gods, serve them, or bow down to them.
  • Cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day.
  • Be careful to love the LORD your God.

In Chapter 24, Joshua reviews Israel’s history from Abraham’s first call to this day in detail, and concludes with these thoughts.

  • Now therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness
  • Choose this day whom you will serve.
  • As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

And the people answered, “we also will serve the LORD, for He is our God. Joshua contradicts them, saying they are NOT able to serve the Lord, but they double-vow that they will.

Then Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 yeas old.  They buried him in his own inheritance.  And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD had done. Finally Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the High Priest dies too, and his son, the righteous Phinehas becomes High Priest.

Then the chapter and the book close with a rightful conclusion to Genesis 50.  The bones that Joseph made his brothers promise they would carry out of Egypt and bury in the promised land are finally buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor. (Near the very place Joseph’s brothers kidnapped him and sold him to slavery in Egypt.)

God is faithful always and honors those who serve him.

END of Joshua. And a new, spiraling down period of Israel’s history – JUDGES.

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

Mar20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mar19

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

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

What a joy it is to read the “Blessings” God will shower on faithful people in Chapter 28.  “If you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 77 & 78

Mar18

    Day 77 & 78—  Now that we’ve passed Day 66, we have established a “habit.” So CELEBRATE our habit of daily Bible reading! We are in the THIRD month so far! Praise God!  (Note: SUNDAY’s reading is combined with MONDAY’s)

   Day 77 – Deuteronomy 21 – 23 (Unsolved murders, Captives, Firstborns, Rebellious sons, Hangings, Neighborliness, Exclusions, Andy Gump,  )

Wow! Moses gives a list of eclectic rules and laws for community life in Israel in the Promised land (like tying up loose ends). Chapter 21 tells how to atone for an unsolved murder, the kindnesses required in marrying captive women, the undeniable birthright (double portion) of the firstborn son, no matter from loved or unloved wives, and then how to deal (very harshly) with a rebellious, unrepentant son – by stoning.

Lastly in this chapter, Moses mentions putting a criminal to death and then hanging him on a tree as a public display of the consequences of sin. Hanging on a tree is considered “a curse” by God, and their body cannot stay there over night.   Paul mentions this in regard to the death of Jesus in Galatians 3:13. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a cruse for us, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

Chapter 22, list the sorts of things that are “neighborly” – helping someone out, finding a animal or possession and returning or keeping it safe for a neighbor, building a parapet around your roof so no one falls off.  He also mentions unequally yoked animals together (ox & donkey) for they would just go round in circles, with the ox pulling hardest.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:14 urges believers in Jesus, “do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has light with darkness.”

Chapter 23 looks at some hard things, such as the exclusion from gathering before the presence of the Lord to worship Him, and participation in the religious rites at the Tabernacle and later the Temple. They were to exclude those with crushed testicles or cut off male organs, any man born of a forbidden union, no Ammonite or Moabite. Why?  Often frenzied pagan worship rituals would involve male mutilations. And Moses explained that these two nations did not help Israel, but instead hired Balaam to CURSE them.

And finally, he told Israel that the LORD “walked in the midst of their camp to deliver them,” so the camp must be holy and “decent.”  Therefore they were to go outside the camp, take a trowel, and dig a hole for their “poop” and cover it up when they were done. God is so practical!

 

Day 78 – Deuteronomy 24 -27  (More miscellaneous laws, Levite marriage, offerings, and the curses from Mt. Ebal)

In Chapter 24, Moses gives more eclectic laws that show the goodness and kindness of God and also His holiness and  justice. There is protection for a woman divorced, leniency for a newlywed man, mercy for poor debtors, and safety for the parents of a murderous son. God, through Moses’ words, promotes generosity for the “sojourner, the fatherless and the widow, and even a prodding ox.

In Chapter 25, he lays out the special rules for marriage among the Levites, the rightness of fair weights, and a sworn duty to annihilate the Amalekites.

In Chapter 26, Moses reviews the required offerings and tithes, and ends with a glorious promise for Israel if they will be faithful. “And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for His treasured possession, as He has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God as he promised.”

Chapter 27 begins the explanation and command of the dual pledge of God and Israel together once they cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He names half of the Twelve tribes that are to go up on Mt. Ebal and then names the other half that will go up on Mt. Gerizim, with the Levites standing between and calling out curses and blessings.  All the tribes, first on the North, then those on the South are to respond with “AMEN” (so be it).  In this chapter, Moses lists TWELVE curses that are to be called out.  TWELVE “Amens” are to be the answers.