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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 173 & 174

Jun23

Sundays and Mondays studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 173. Reading Proverbs 30 – 31

Day 174.  Reading 1 Kings 12

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What challenge, insight, or comfort do you find?

Day 173 – Proverbs 30.

“Words of Agur, son of Jakeh.”

Who in the world is Agur?

He is an unknown sage or oracle, possibly a student of wisdom at the time of Solomon.  1 Kings 4:30-31 mentions other “wise men” of the time from the East (Mesopotamia) and from Egypt, like Ethan, Heman, Calcol, And Darda.  (Who knew?)

Agur seems more humble than Solomon, with a heart towards God.  He confesses to “stupidity” and no “learned wisdom.” He confesses no knowledge of “the Holy one,” and yet he describes God well.

  • “Who has ascended to heaven and come down?  Who has gathered the wind in His fists?  Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth?  What is His Name, and what is His Son’s name?  Surely you know!”
  • And, “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuged in Him. Do not add to His Words, lest He rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

Agur writes an interesting series of “four things” that he’s grouped together in wonder.  1) Things never satisfied,  2) amazing things to ponder, 3) things the earth trembles at, and 4) things that are stately in their stride.

And he includes this prayer, “Two things I ask of You; deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches.  Feed me the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the Name of my God.”

I would pray such a prayer as well.

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Proverbs 31.

The Words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him.  Who in the world is King Lemuel? And who is his mother?

Jewish tradition identifies King Lemuel as King Solomon himself.  And his “godly mother” must be none other than Bathsheba.  She taught him about being a wise king (verses 2-9) and what an “excellent wife” looks like (verses 10-31).  (Too bad he didn’t stick with one such wife.)

Wow, does she ever scold the king!  I can almost see her grabbing his ear and pulling him away.

  • “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? DO NOT GIVE YOUR STRENGTH TO WOMEN, YOUR WAYS TO THOSE WHO DESTROY KINGS!”
  • And “It is NOT FOR KINGS, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all.
  • “Give strong drink to the perishing, wine to those in distress. 
  • But “Open YOUR mouth for the mute…  Open YOUR mouth to judge righteously and defend the rights of the poor and needy.

And then the grown-wise mother tells her son the RIGHT kind of woman to marry.  Did she come to him too late?  Was he already involved in politics and power-machinations when he took Pharaoh’s daughter as his first wife?  Did her words fall on deaf ears?

“An excellent wife who can find?  She is far more precious than jewels……”

Read these verses slowly.

Some aspects are rooted in the agrarian culture of that day (perhaps you can transfer them to duties of a present-day wife/woman), but consider the ATTITUDES this woman displays. Surely her heart is full of the LORD.

  • She does her husband good all the days of her life.
  • She opens her hand to the poor; she reaches out her hands to the needy.
  • She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
  • A woman who fears the LORD….

Truly, her children and husband should rise up and praise her, calling her blessed.

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Day 174 – 1 Kings 12.

And so the Kingdom of David’s Israel rips apart, from pride and arrogance, and the decree of God.

North and South; “Israel” and “Judah.” King Jeroboam (the “Jerk”), son of a servant, friend of Pharaoh, and King Rehoboam (the “Royal”), son of Solomon, grandson of King David.  Both kingdoms start down a slippery slope of sin and idolatry.  It takes Judah longer (God is faithful to David), but both will end up in captivity; one will remain permanently there.

Oh, Solomon!  Why did you let your heart become divided with the glory, gold, and girls of the world, and forsake the Living God who gave you everything???

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After his father died, Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king of all Israel.  Jeroboam rushed from Egypt to Shechem as well (on standby).  The people stood between the two kingly candidates and presented an ultimatum to Solomon’s son.

  • “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.”

And what did Rehoboam say?  “Um, I’ll get back to you in three days.”  WHAT???  Grab the kingdom, you worthless fool!

But Crown Prince Rehoboam wanted to “take an opinion poll.”

He asked his father’s advisors, old men, what he should do.

  • “Speak good words to them when you answer them, and they will be your servants forever.”

Then he asked counsel of the young men who had grown up with him (and probably hoped to be appointed to good positions).

  • “Tell them you will ADD to the heavy yoke of your father, and discipline them not with whips, but with ‘scorpions!’  (He liked their advice best.)

He returned and told the people all this. They rebelled and deserted Rehoboam. “We have no part in David, no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel!”  

  • “This was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that He might fulfill His Word, which He spoke by the prophet to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.”

Rehoboam sent his chief tax collector and head of forced labor to the north, but all Israel stoned him to death.  And Rehoboam got into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.  When they heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they called him and made him KING over all Israel.

Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. (And Benjamin, next to them.)

So, Rehoboam rallied 180K chosen warriors to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to the son of Solomon.

  • BUT God sent his prophet Shemaiah to say, “Thus says the LORD. You shall NOT go up or fight against your relatives, the people of Israel. Every man, return to his home, for this thing is from ME.”

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And so, the end begins for the Northern Kingdom.  Jeroboam (the Jerk) built up Shechem and lived there. Then, fearful that the people would go back to the king of Judah when they went to Jerusalem to worship, he decided to build worship centers in Bethel and Dan.

And… having just come from Egypt… he built two GOLDEN CALVES and put one each in Bethel and Dan. He made temples for them and appointed priests to serve them.

“Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

And the people of Israel went up to the altars to make offerings.  And sealed their fate.

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 172

Jun21

Day 172.  Reading 1 Kings 10 – 11 and 2 Chronicles 9

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What can we apply to our lives from reading about King Solomon?
 

1 Kings 10-11.

The queen of Sheba.

She heard about Solomon’s wisdom from far off Sheba (modern Ethiopia or Yemen), and came to “TEST him with hard questions. 

Solomon ANSWERED all her questions. There was nothing he could not explain to her. Wow.

“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.”

She said, “I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report.”  “BLESSED be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel.”

“And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba ALL that she desired, whatever she asked beside what was give her by the bounty of King Solomon.”  And she went back home.

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***** Before reading the rest of 10 and 11, Let’s read something that God said about any king that would reign over Israel, from Deuteronomy 17:14-20, and Deuteronomy 7:1-5

“You may indeed set a king over you, whom the LORD your God will choose.

  1. “He must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt to buy horses.
  2. “He shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away.
  3. “He shall not acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 
  4. (Foreign nations) “You shall not intermarry with them… for they would turn you away from following God to serve other Gods.

Sadly, we will see that Solomon disobeyed God in all four points (unlike King David, his father).

  1. 1 Kings 10:14-15, 21.  “The weight of GOLD that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold (25 tons). Beside that which came from the explorers and from the business of merchants.  And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone.
  2. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots, 4,000 horses, and 12,000 horsemen.  And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt….”
  3. 1 Kings 11:1-8.  “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations the LORD had said you should not marry. Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. 
  4.  And his wives turned away his heart after other gods.  His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.  And Solomon went after Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and Molech.  He did what was EVIL in the sight of the LORD. He made offerings and sacrificed to these gods.

And (suitably!) the LORD was angry with Solomon.

He said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, I will surely TEAR THE KINGDOM FROM YOU AND GIVE IT TO YOUR SERVANT.

Wow!

A servant, Jeroboam, was very industrious in Solomon’s building projects, and Solomon gave him charge over all the forced labor in the house of Joseph (Ephraim)  One day, a prophet stopped Jeroboam in the open country, and prophesied that the LORD God of Israel was about to “tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give ten tribes to Jeroboam.”   (God would leave two tribes and Jerusalem in the line of David.)  Jeroboam would be king over the Ten northern tribes of Israel.

Solomon got wind of this and sought to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to … yep, you got it… he fled to Egypt and was there until Solomon died.  (Oh, what pagan worship he learned there!)

Solomon reigned over Israel forty years and died. He was buried in the city of David.  Rehoboam, his son reigned in his place.

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2 Chronicles 9.

This chapter basically covers what is in 1 Kings 10-11.  It does mention another building wonder, that glorified Solomon, of course.

“The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of the step on the six steps. NOTHING like it was ever made for any kingdom.  Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

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And he died, just like he said everybody would, in his words of Ecclesiastes.

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( O, LORD, we are all sinners. Solomon sinned in disobedience, and so do we. He did not wholly follow and love You, and often we do not also.  Please take my heart and make it totally yours. Man I seek Your glory only and not my own.  And I may I use the gifts you give me for your glory alone. You are worthy!)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 171

Jun21

Day 171  Reading Ecclesiastes 7 – 12

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?

Ecclesiastes 7.

Solomon reverts back to the style of his Proverbs in this chapter.

It’s interesting in verse 20 that he states a truth that Paul repeats in Romans 3:10-23.  Solomon says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” 

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Ecclesiastes 8.

Verse 15. “I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.”

This makes me think of Nehemiah 8:10, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

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Ecclesiastes 9. 

Solomon here comes to the conclusion that we all do at some point. “This is an evil in all that is done under the son, that the same even happens to all …” death. Verse 3.

And so, he decides, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”  “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life … .”   “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…. for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in the grave to which you are going.”  Verses 7-10

He continues with his sad refrain … “Again I saw under the sun that the race is NOT to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”  Verse 11.

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Ecclesiastes 10.

Again with more Proverbs, with a rye, humorous twist.

“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.”

“Bread is for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.”

“Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.”

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Ecclesiastes 11.

Verse 5. “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the woman with child, so you do not know the word of God who makes everything.” 

(Yes, the formation of a child, out of cells from a man and a woman, with bones, organs, skin, and a mind … and a living soul … is indeed unfathomable.  Only God can create such.)

11:9 “REJOICE, O YOUNG MAN, IN YOUR YOUTH, AND LET YOUR HEART CHEER YOU IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH.”

Ecclesiastes 12.

12:1 “REMEMBER ALSO YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH…”

And then Solomon writes a section of humorous but sad allegory, a vivid picture of the aging process, if you will take the time to read carefully and consider. (verses 12:1b -7

If you are still young, perhaps these word pictures won’t have much meaning, but for those in their 80’s and 90’s, they will ring very true.

Verse 7 – pictures final death. “and dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

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And so what does Solomon get from all his testing and trying everything under the sun and have considered everything via his great wisdom?  He sums it all up in verses 12-14 – pointing back to God.

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

And there you have it.  What have you gained from reading Solomon’s proverbs and speeches as the Preacher?  Me?  He has too much time and money and “stuff.”  A warning about accumulating things.  But he does point to God as creator and controller (sovereign) of all things.  Thank You, God, for you ultimate perfect wisdom!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 170

Jun19

Day 170.  Reading Ecclesiastes 1 – 6

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?
 

Ecclesiastes 1.

Written by wise King Solomon in his latter years, perhaps after trying everything to find peace and happiness.  He had enough wealth to buy anything, but did it satisfy? And it seems his wisdom failed him, too, because he strayed from the Law of God. 

“Ecclesiastes” means the “Preacher,” or one who gathers a group or congregation of people together to hear a message. Older Solomon here is passing down what he’d learned about “life” to the younger generation.  And what has he discovered? Everything in human life is “vanity,” “vapor & smoke.”  It is all “meaningless.” 

A downer, right?

  • Verse 2. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 

He says, “I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.  It is an unhappy business.”

He continues, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom … and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is a “striving after the wind.”  In much wisdom is much vexation…”

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Ecclesiastes 2.

First, Solomon, the Preacher, decides to test “pleasure and enjoyment.”  (And he had the wealth to buy anything he desired.)

  • First, he searched for ways to cheer his body with wine.
  • Then, he made great works, built houses, planted vineyards for himself, made gardens, and parks, and orchards.
  • He made pools of water for himself.
  • He acquired a multitude of slaves to serve him.
  • He gathered for himself silver and gold, the treasure of kings and provinces.
  • He got male and female singers to entertain him.
  • He acquired many concubines (women) to “serve” him.
  • He became great and surpassed all who were before him.
  • Whatever his eyes desired, he did not keep from them.  He held back no pleasure from his heart.

And what did all this get him?  “Behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Next, Solomon tested wisdom, and… MADNESS AND FOLLY. What??  He discovered being wise is better, but in the end … both the fool and the wise man experience tragedy.  And both are eventually forgotten.

He thought about all the works he had done … and hated them.  Why?  Because another would enjoy them after he was gone.  Whether a wise man or fool, HE would enjoy the things Solomon left behind, not having worked a minute for it!!  “Vanity and a great evil!“

And so  what did Solomon decide?  “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.”  (This is a simple, family man with a job…better off that a wealthy, wise king.)

BUT … he DOES ACKNOWLEDG GOD.  “But this is also from God. Apart from Him, who can eat or have enjoyment?  For the one who pleases Him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy….”

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Ecclesiastes 3.

This chapter gives a familiar list of opposite things for which there is a “season” or time. 

  • birth, death
  • planting, harvesting 
  • killing, healing
  • breaking down, building up
  • weeping, laughing
  • mourning, dancing
  • cast away stones, gathering stones
  • embracing, not embracing
  • seeking, losing
  • keeping, throwing away
  • tearing, sewing
  • silence, speaking
  • love, hate
  • war, peace.

“God has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart….”

And, “All (man and beasts) are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

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Ecclesiastes 4.

Solomon also writes of the evil and oppression that he has seen “under the sun.”

The lonely, vulnerable person who has no one, no family or friend, is worse off.  For TWO can help each other if one falls, TWO can keep warm together, and TWO can stand against an attacker.

Better to be a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

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Ecclesiastes 5.

And then a caution:  “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.”  “Be not rash with your mouth, no let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. Let your words be few.  God is the One you must fear.”

Next, Solomon (the wealthiest man alive then) talks about MONEY.  “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.”

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Ecclesiastes 6.

This statement is truly sad, for it shows Solomon’s dissatisfied heart.  “If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things …I say that a stillborn child is better off than he!”  EVEN IF THIS MAN LIVES 2,000 YEARS, he still has to die and go to the grave like everyone else. (Oh, boo-hoo, Solomon!)

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(I think, like sometimes Solomon does, that uber wisdom and wealth are NOT a blessing. The person who lives a simple life with a job and a family is WAY better off. 

THANK YOU, LORD, for the simple life you have given me. YOU are wise, and good.)

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 169

Jun18

Day 169.  Reading Proverbs 27 – 29

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God in the Proverbs stays in your mind?
 

Proverb 27.

Friends 

  • Verse 6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…
  • Verse 9 – “Oil and perfume make the heart gland, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
  • Verse 10. “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend…
  • Verse  17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

A quarrelsome wife

  • Verses 15-16 – “A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.

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Proverb 28.

Various kinds of people

  • Verse 3 – “A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.
  • Verse 5 – “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
  • Verse 6 – “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
  • Verse 11 – “A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
  • Verse 20 – “A faithful man will about with blessings, but whosoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
  • Verse 22 – “A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
  • Verse 25 – “A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

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Proverb 29.

Warnings…

  • Verse 1 – “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
  • Verse 9 – “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
  • Verse 12 – “If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.
  • Verse 16 – “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
  • Verse 20 – “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more home for a fool than for him.
  • Verse 21 – “Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his HEIR (and not a faithful servant). 

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Solomon still ponders the good, the bad, the ugly, the humorous, and the serious in his proverbs. He’s learned a lot in his dealings with the people of his kingdom. How much will he apply to his own life?  Will he die a wise man?

(LORD, help me to learn from Your Word about wisdom, righteousness, humility, and kindness to others, and how to apply these to my life.)

  • Psalm 90:12 – “Teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom.
  • James 1:5 – “If any lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all with out reproach.
  • James 3:17 – “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 168

Jun17

Day 168.  Reading Proverbs 25-26

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?
 

Proverbs 25.

The following four chapters of Proverbs (137 in all) are by Solomon, but the caption says that they were copied into the book by “the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.  This would be 200 years later!  It was during a time of revival in Judah.

Solomon’s wise advice in verses 6-7 about not putting yourself forward in the king’s presence reminds me of Jesus’ words in Luke 14:8-10 and James’s words in James 4:6b and 10.

  • Solomon: “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
  • Jesus: “Do not sit down in a place of honor, let someone more distinguished than you be invited, and he who invited you both will say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and you will begin with shame to take the lower place.  Instead, go and sit in the lowest place. so when your host comes, he may say, ‘Friend, move up higher.’  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
  • James: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Solomon’s admonition to “Argue your case with your neighbor himself,” is expanded by Jesus in Matthew 18:15. “If your brother has anything against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him.”

Solomon’s words about being kind to your enemies, feeding them, and giving them water are “seconded” by Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48.  And, the king’s words about the kindness of feeding and giving drink to enemies as “heaping coals on your enemies head, and the Lord rewarding you,” are picked up by Paul in Romans 12:20.

It looks like Jesus, James, and Paul did some reading in the Proverbs now and then.  We should, too!

Don’t you love good news from people you haven’t heard from in a while? 

  • “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.”
  • “Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”

What was the last good news you got from a distant relative or friend?

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Proverbs 26,

Verses 4 and 5 are a conundrum!  Think about Solomon’s words.  What do YOU think he’s trying to say?

  • “ANSWER NOT A FOOL ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY, lest you be like him yourself.”
  • “ANSWER A FOOL ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

Then, in verses 6-12, Solomon continues on and on comparing what awful things are like the mouth, or words, of a fool!  (actually, some of them are funny)

After fools, he rants on sluggards, or the lazy. (Verses 13-16)

Then, busy-bodies, jokesters, gossipers, and liars.  Whew!  Get it all out, Solomon!!

And he’s fair:

  • “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”
  • “As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.”

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(From the example of Jesus and the writers of the NT letters, I find I need to take some of the wisdom from Proverbs for myself – think on them, and ask the Holy Spirit to apply them to my life and my heart.)

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 164

Jun13

Day 164.  Reading 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5

Read Today’s Scriptures.

What truth about God stays in your mind?

1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5.

The Temple that King David had imagined, planned, and provided for, and that King Solomon had built … was finished.  A fantastic monument for the LORD GOD of Heaven, glorious and magnificent, only awaiting the breath of God Himself!

Solomon gathered all of Israel for the dedication. The priests were consecrated and sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted. Then, they brought up the Ark of the Covenant from Zion, the City of David. They placed it in the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the cherubim.

And when they came out … a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not minister, for the GLORY of the LORD filled the house of the LORD!

King Solomon then blesses the LORD God of Heaven.

  • Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what He promised with His mouth to David, my father, saying… ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that My Name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people, Israel.’  Now it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. (But the LORD said, you shall not build the house, but your son shall build the house for my name.)  NOW, THE LORD HAS FULFILLED HIS PROMISE.”

Then Solomon spread out his hands toward heaven and prayed a lengthy prayer to the LORD, filled with praise, humility, contrition, and confidence in God.

  • “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.”  “Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David, my father (that he would not lack a man to sit before you on the throne of Israel). 

Solomon pleads that God when He hears prayer offered from that place, would hear it and forgive.

  • If a person sins against his neighbor and comes before the altar…
  • When the people of Israel are defeated because they have sinned…
  • When there is no rain because the people have sinned…
  • If there is a famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locus, or enemy at the gates because they have sinned and they come before this place with repentance…
  • When a foreigner comes to pray before this place…
  • If your people go to battle and pray for help…
  • If they sin against You, and you send enemies to take them captive, and they turn to you….
  • If your people repent with all their mind and hearts…

“Then, O God, hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their plea and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and for all their transgressions that they have committed against You, grant them compassion.”

Then Solomon got up from his prayer and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice:

  • “The LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers, may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Him to walk in all his ways and to keep His commandments, statutes, and rules he commanded our fathers.  Let your heart, therefore, be wholly true to the LORD our God.”

After that, there were tons more sacrifices and offerings.  After eight days, the people went home to their houses, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, his servant, and to Israel, his people.

(More tomorrow on Solomon’s prayer and dedication and God’s well-known promise of forgiveness and healing. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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(Oh, the mountain-top experiences! How we all wish we could stay there. Filled with the joy of the LORD, praises, goodwill, and full tummies. 

There will be more good things about Solomon, but eventually, as he goes against the laws for a king, we will see him falter. God is faithful, but sin will show its ugly head in his own son’s reign. 

Message to me?  Stay alert, be on guard, for my heart tends to sin, pride, greed, and wishes for glory.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 161

Jun10

Day 161.  Reading Proverbs 22 – 24.

Read Today’s Scriptures.

WHAT truths have you learned about God, His Word, everyday living, or God’s Sovereignty from Solomon’s proverbs so far?

Proverbs 22.

Insights to ponder—

  • Your good name is better than getting rich.
  • God makes both the rich AND the poor.
  • One who borrows is a slave to the one who lends (so watch out about too much debt on your credit card!)
  • Don’t be friends with an angry person because you’ll learn to be angry, too. (The same goes for one who swears, tells off-color jokes, is malicious, rude, or mean, etc.)
  • (Humor) An excuse for not going to work for the lazy person is, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the street!”
  • Train your kids in God’s ways and His Word.
  • Don’t be afraid to spank your kids when they act foolishly.

Then Solomon says, “I’ve written for you 30 sayings (chapters) of counsel and knowledge.”  Why did he write this book? “So your trust will be in the LORD.”

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Proverbs 23.

There are some interesting pieces of advice from King Solomon in this chapter about dining with wealthy, powerful, or influential people. 

  • Use restraint in eating their delicacies (they may be trying to bribe you).
  • Don’t assume they are “treating” you because they like you, for they are probably inwardly calculating how to trap/use you.
  • “Eat and drink!” your host may say, but desist. You’ll end up vomiting if you eat/drink too much (and how will that look?).

Solomon also expands on the relationship between parents and children.

  • Don’t be afraid to spank your children as a part of their discipline.  They won’t die, though their yells may sound like it.
  • Children should listen to and respect their fathers and mothers when they are old.
  • Children, be wise and righteous so your parents will be glad and rejoice over you.

Then Solomon writes seven vivid (humorous if it weren’t so sad) verses about what happens to a person when they get DRUNK.  (Do we really want to look, act, and feel that way???)

  • Wounds without cause, red eyes, it’s smooth going down but with a serpent’s sting at the end.
  • Seeing strange things, speaking vile words, staggering, dizzy, numb.
  • And when they awake? Proof of addiction.  “I must have another drink!

(I wonder if Solomon observed this or experienced it.)

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Proverbs 24.

Solomon built his own palace and the Temple of God. He watched, read the plans his father drew up, and organized the building materials. (TOMORROW, WE WILL SEGUAY TO 1 KINGS AND 2 CHRONICLES FOR A FEW DAYS TO READ ABOUT THAT GREAT WORK.)

Meanwhile, in this chapter, he speaks of other building projects.

  • Verse 27.  He advises getting your fields in order (fences, plowing, and planting) first and then building your house.
  • Verses 3-4.  Solomon compares spiritual education to building your house.  “Wisdom is a house built, and by understanding, it is established; and by knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”  
  • Knowledge = the facts of God’s truth,
  • Understanding = the meaning of the truth,
  • Wisdom = the application of the truth.

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I love verses 13-14. “Eat honey, for it is good. The drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Wisdom is like honey to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future and a hope.”

This reminds me of the words of Solomon’s father, David, in Psalm 19, speaking of the wisdom (all the law) of the Lord. “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

(Do I seek for that sweetness of God’s Word and truth?

Do I desire His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge like a taste of honey? 

LORD, oh, help me to long for Your word and to “devour” it constantly.)

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Solomon also writes about our responsibility to help others in physical or spiritual distress.

  • Proverbs 24:11-12.  “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay man according to his work?”

Many prophets in the Old Testament warn about the responsibility of being a watchman and telling others about approaching disaster.  Jesus’ brother, Jude, urges this too.

  • Jude 22-23, “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

Salvation should not mean complacency. Love for our Lord and others (friend or enemy) should always guide us.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 159 & 160

Jun9

Sunday and Monday studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 159. Reading Proverbs 16 – 18.

Day 160.  Reading Proverbs 19 – 21

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What insight or joy do you receive?
 
Day 159 – Proverbs 16.

God is sovereign in all things. Did you see that in this chapter?

  • Verse 1. “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”
  • Verse 4. “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” (Think Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, or Cyrus) 
  • Verse 9. “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
  • Verse 33. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.’

I can trust God’s perfect will and way for my good and His glory!

And a few proverbs that you’ve probably heard quoted:

  • Verse 7. “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
  • Verse 18. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  

(Has that ever happened to you?  I’m guilty of pride, and often, I find myself on the ground with muck on my face!!)

  • Verse 24. “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” 

(Try this today when you want to lash out and see the joy it brings to the other person AND yourself!)

  • Verse 31. (I love this one!) “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”

(My life is only righteous through the Lord Jesus Christ, but I’m glad that even Solomon did not find grey hair disgusting!)

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Proverbs 17.

  • Here’s another of the “better” proverbs. Verse 1. “BETTER is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” (also 15:17)
  • I love this one, being a great-grandma of six. Verse 6. “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”
  • A proverb against GOSSIP!  Verse 9. “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”

(Oh, LORD, gossip is so tempting, so self-exulting, so delicious, and we can hide its malicious intent by saying we are “sharing a prayer need.”  Father, keep me from such heinous foolishness today!!)

  • Verse 17. “A friend loves at ALL times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

(I’ve always wondered what the second part of this proverb meant.  Well, you can lean on a friend through thick and thin, but it is a brother, a relative, who will stand with you in true trouble.  “Blood is thicker than water,” they say.  I’m so thankful that Jesus is both a friend AND brother to the believer.)

  • Want to seem wise?  According to verse 28, just keep your mouth closed. 

Yes, it can be difficult at times. But why open it and prove your foolishness?  (Me?  Yep, I have deeply regretted a word (or many more) spoken when I should have kept silent.)

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Proverbs 18.

This chapter has many of the points (truths) from the previous chapters. (Don’t you wish Solomon would have grouped all the similar ones together?  Ah, but then, would we search the verses so carefully?)

A FOOL AND HIS MOUTH

  • Verse 6-7 “A fool’s LIPS walk into a fight, and his MOUTH invites a beating.”  “A fools’ MOUTH is his ruin, and his LIPS are a snare to his soul.” 

GOSSIP

  • Verse 8. “The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels, they go down into the inner parts of the body.”

PRIDE

  • Verse 12.  “Before destruction, a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”

FRIENDS/BROTHERS

  • Verse 24. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” 

This reminds me again of our Lord Jesus Christ’s words in John 15:12-17. 

  • “This is my commandment, that you love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. YOU ARE MY FRIENDS if you do what I command you (love one another). No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.   You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.  These things I command you will love one another.”

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Day 160 – Proverbs 19-21.
 

Lots more wisdom in these three chapters, many repeated with a few different words. 

  • Verse 3. “When A MAN’s (own) folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against THE LORD!” 

 Have you ever seen this?  Have you ever blamed God for your own foolishness?  I can recall this in my own life, oh, fool that I am!

Wives, who wants them? Who can do without them?

  • Verse 13b. “a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.” Yikes!!
  • Verse 21:9. “It is BETTER to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife!”
  • Verse 21:19. “It is BETTER to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.”

However…

  • Verse 19:14, “House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.”  YAY!

And, on the OTHER hand…

  • Verse 20:6, “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a FAITHFUL MAN who can find?”

On keeping silent…

  • Verse 21:23. “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”  Amen!

God’s Sovereignty…

  • Verse 19:21. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”
  • Verses 21:30-31. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. The horse is made ready for battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.”

The lazy sluggard …

  • Verse 19:15. “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”
  • Verse 19:24. “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.”
  • Verse 20:4. “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
  • Verse 20:13. “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.”
  • Verse 21:15. “The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hand refuses to labor.”

Then, there are several proverbs concerning “a king.”  I wonder if Solomon is describing himself and his own rule…

  • Verse 19:12. “A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
  • Verse 20:2. “The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.”
  • Verse 20:8.  “A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.”
  • Verse 20:26. “A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them.”  OH MY!!
  • Verse 20:28.  “Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love, his throne is upheld.”
  • Vere 21:1. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 158

Jun7

Day 158.  Reading Proverbs 13 – 15

Read Today’s chapters.

Pithy, sharp, and true truths, which stood out to you?

Proverbs 13.

Four times in this chapter, Solomon says that when “whoever” (not the righteous or wise and not the foolish) but whoever does a particular thing (good or bad), that person experiences a matching result. Then, in the second part of the verse, the opposite is shown.

Check out Verses 3, 13, 20, and the familiar, 24

  • verse 3 – WHOEVER guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
  • verse 13 – WHOEVER despises the Word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
  • verse 20 – WHOEVER walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
  • verse 24 – WHOEVER spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

ANY OF SOLOMON’S READERS, then and now, can fall into these traps of 1) not guarding our speech, 2) despising (being offended by) the Word, 3) congregating with fools, and 4) not disciplining our children.

I am a “whoever,” and you are a “whoever,” too.   May we heed Solomon’s wise warnings.

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Proverbs 14.

There are several familiar quotations in Chapter 14.

When my husband and I ran a horse-boarding business, verse 4 became a humorous, oft-quoted saying between us.  Twice daily, we had to clean out and carry away the muck of nine horse stalls.  We would remind ourselves…

  • “Where there are no oxen (horses), the manger is clean, but abundant crops (our earnings) come by the strength of oxen (boarding horses).”  In essence, “dirty” stalls equaled money.

And verse 12 is often quoted when we share the Gospel of Christ with people who think they don’t need the Lord Jesus to get to heaven. They can manage okay on their own good works…

  • “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

And in patriotic meetings or on holidays, we quote verse 34.

  • “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

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Proverbs 15.

  • “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  and  “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”

Have you seen this happen?  Have you ever heeded this good advice of a ‘soft answer’ and being ‘slow to anger’ in a situation?  What happened?

LORD, help me remember these “better” truths when I wish I had more “stuff.”

  • “BETTER is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.”  and  “BETTER is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it. 

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LORD, I love how these pithy and even humorous proverbs convict us when we let the truths sink in. YOUR WORD, is truly “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”