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Bible reading for weekend April 16 -- 18 Apr 16 -- Ecclesiastes 3 and 1 Timothy 5 Apr 17 -- Ecclesiastes 4 and 1 Timothy 6 Apr 18 -- Ecclesiastes 5 and 2 Timothy 1 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) SEASONS. Last night I received word that a beloved friend and fellow pastor had gone to be with the Lord. His destination is sure and glorious. In the words of Tolkien, our brother left the Grey Havens bound for Valinor, the land of immortality. The juxtaposition of our loss with the beauty of spring all around us should not be missed. Maybe the older you become the more you see it: "a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die..." (vv 1-2). In his wisdom Solomon is telling us about the seasons and the cycles of life under the sun. Life is full of limitations -- in our understanding,...

Bible reading for April 14 -- 15 Apr 14 -- Ecclesiastes 1 and 1 Timothy 3 Apr 15 -- Ecclesiastes 2 and 1 Timothy 4 "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)  VANITY OF VANITIES. Ecclesiastes was the first book of the Bible I ever read! As a non-Christian college student in the tumultous years around 1970, I vacillated between Marxism and eastern mysticism as my worldview. Like many I was hoping for "the age of Aquarius", but what I saw in the world was strife, selfishness, divorce, drug problems, political corruption, riots at home, and wars abroad. A Christian friend challenged me to read Ecclesiastes and so I bought my first Bible. Turning to Ecclesiastes, I resonated deeply with that phrase, "vanity of vanities." This little book of wisdom was the door that eventually led me to read and understand the gospel, and soon to put my tru...

Bible reading for April 12 -- 13 Apr 12 -- Proverbs 30 and 1 Timothy 1 Apr 13 -- Proverbs 31 and 1 Timothy 2 "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." (Proverbs 30:5)  OBSERVING CREATION (ch 30). This chapter records the words of Agur son of Jakeh. Nothing is really known of his identity (see the NET Bible notes on this chapter). The first section (vv 1-6) highlights Agur's dependence upon God's revelation. Here is a wise man stating his ignorance. The first step to knowing is to know that we do not know, and the more we know, the more we should realize that we do not know (though it doesn't always work that way). A philosopher once said that at best we humans are afloat on a raft of our knowledge upon a sea of our ignorance. We are dependent upon God's revelation to us, both in nature and Scripture, to know what is true, right, and wise. Agur introduces some of his sayings with numbers, such as, "there are 'n...

Bible reading for October 28.  2 Kings 9. "And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD." (2 Kings 9:7)  IS IT PEACE?   Two kings and one queen will die in this chapter. "Is it peace?" is asked twice (vv 22, 31). Jehu answers, "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?" (v 22) It's a brutal and grisly ending to their reigns. The irony is that Jezebel, hearing that Jehu was on his way, had just finished putting on her make-up (v 30) when she is thrown down and eaten by dogs. Jezebel has become a symbol of seduction, immorality, and idolatry (Rev 2:20). She is a kind of foreshadowing of the great prostitute in Revelation 17. She apparently used her beauty (and influence) to manipulate, deceive, and lead a nation astray. She murdered God's prophets, and led Ahab (a...

Bible reading for October 27.  2 Kings 8. "Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever." (2 Kings 8:19)   GOD'S TIMING AND PURPOSE. The Shunammite woman left her land for a season, but returns and receives her property back in a remarkable, providential timing (vv 1-6). Then the sad story of Elisha, Ben-Hadad, and Hazael (vv 7-15).  Jehoram becomes a wicked ruler over Judah, much like the kings of Israel. Edom rebels against Judah and Jehoram dies after an eight-year reign. Ahaziah becomes king in Judah (the south), ruling only one year. And Joram (the north) gets injured in battle with Syria. For all their alliances and military power, the two nations, Judah and Israel, are not faring well. We catch a glimpse of God's purpose in preserving Judah: it is for the sake of King David, to give a lamp to his lineage until the Light of the world would come. This Lamp, of co...

Bible reading for October 26.  2 Kings 7. "Then they said to one another, 'We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.'" (2 Kings 7:9)  DAY OF GOOD NEWS. This chapter concludes the story begun in the previous chapter. Samaria has become desperate by the famine caused by the siege of the Syrian army. The unnamed king, likely Joram (cf 8:16), is wearing sackcloth (to symbolize repentance) but is also blaming Elisha for the situation. Elisha proclaims God's word that conditions will completely reverse overnight (v 1). A second pronouncement is made to the captain who said it would be impossible (v 2). (His unbelief reminds me of 2 Peter 3:3-10.) God's word comes to pass just as it was pronounced (vv 16-17). This is a reminder that God's pronouncement regarding the future is not merely foresight of "...

Bible reading for weekend October 24-25.  2 Kings 5-6. "So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." (2 Kings 5:14)  NAAMAN'S HEALING (ch 5). Leprosy was a dreaded and chronic skin disease that rendered a person defiled in the eyes of their community. In Israel lepers had to live  away from their towns and families, practicing social distance, literally. They were considered by many to be the living dead. Jesus not only spoke healing to, but also touched the lepers (Luke 5:13). Naaman, a gentile official from a pagan nation, comes to Elisha and humbles himself to obey a simple command. He is miraculously and instantly healed. Gehazi, though he served Elisha, seeks to enrich himself from this healing, and tries to deceive both Naaman and Elisha. The gift of healing was just that, a gift, and not a commodity for sale. Those who preach th...

Bible reading for October 23.  2 Kings 4. "So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.' And he said to her, 'There is not another.' Then the oil stopped flowing." (2 Kings 4:5-6) SUPERNATURAL SUPPLY . We read of four remarkable miracles in this chapter. The "sons of the prophets" (v 1) were the disciples who followed and studied under the prophets (v 38). These miracles are similar, but not exactly, to Elijah's in 1 Kings 17. And these look forward to (foreshadow), even more amplified, the miracles of our Lord in feeding the multitudes, raising the dead, and giving children back to parents. He said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). These miracles also teach us of God's continued, ongoing care for us. He provides what his people need, and more. The p...