Isaiah 32
I thought the ending of this chapter was absolutely beautiful: “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be.” (vs 16-20)
Psalm 91
I read a blog online some time back that, frankly, made me a little sick. The author wrote about how he and his wife—in an effort to spice things up in their marriage—pursued a trail of endless drugs and multiple sexual partners… only to be left empty, loveless, and divorced. So sad! The author concluded by saying that while his wife often said that “More is more,” it didn’t turn out to be true when it came to sex.
Psalm 46
This psalm contains one of my favorite texts in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (vs 10) This, after a vivid picture of utter chaos: “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (vs 2-3)
Photo © Unsplash/Anton Darius | @theSollers
How is it
that in our
overworked
underpaid
hyperstressed
neverhushed
go go go go
culture
we aren't
running full tilt
to the God
whose covenant sign
is rest
the God
whose binding contract
stipulates that
we were
first and foremost
created to know
peace?
2 Chronicles 22
And once again, we find ourselves back to a familiar story from the time of the kings in Israel: "When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehosheba... took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom... [Jehosheba] hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land." (vs 10-12)
2 Chronicles 21
Over the last several chapters of 2 Chronicles, I’ve noticed an interesting trend. See if you can spot it in this passage from today’s chapter: "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors." (vs 5-6, 8, 10)
2 Chronicles 16
I’m sure you’ve heard this famous saying: God helps those who help themselves. A popular idea, but is it true? King Asa’s experience in 2 Chronicles 16 would seem to contradict the idea. For what was Asa doing, but helping himself? "In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 'Let there be a treaty between me and you,' he said, 'as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.'" (vs 1-3)
2 Chronicles 14
I loved this verse from chapter 14: "Let us build up these towns," [Asa] said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." (vs 7) The Israelites in Judah had not yet forsaken what they had learned in Egyptian captivity—that God is the very best King there is.
1 Chronicles 24
In this chapter, we encounter once again the Hebrew practice of casting lots. This time, it was used to create the divisions of priests who would work in the temple: "A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. They divided them impartially by casting lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar." (vs 4-5)
2 Kings 23
One of the things about God that confounds me is how He can know the future yet leave us free to make choices. This is a subject I’ve gone back and forth on in the past, and I still don’t feel "settled" into a position (and I may never). On the one hand, it is very clear that God knows specific details about the future, including people and events. On the other hand, the Bible is also clear that God gives us freedom to make choices, and I sympathize with people who argue that if a choice is made freely, how can it be known ahead of time?
2 Kings 16
As I read this chapter, I felt so bad for Ahaz, didn’t you? "Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree." (vs 2-4)
1 SAMUEL 9
I can honestly say that in all the times I’ve read the Bible through, I don’t remember ever reading this story before. I mean, I know I must have, but it was apparently one of those things that got filed away in one of my more dusty brain corners. But boy, did it ever get my attention today!
RUTH 2
I really saw a picture of God in this chapter, coming through in the tenderhearted nature of Boaz. From the text, it’s clear that Boaz was a man of the Lord—and at a time when the majority of Israel was heading down the wrong path. When Boaz arrives at his fields, he greets all of the harvesters with a blessing from the Lord. (vs 4) Later, he praises Ruth for her commitment to Naomi and calls upon God to bless her because of it. (vs 12)
JOSHUA 18
Here’s how Joshua 18 begins: "The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there." (vs 1) Finally, the Tabernacle of the Lord was assembled in the Promised Land—at Shiloh. It remained there for more than 200 years, until the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines.
