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  Bible reading for weekend December 20 -- 21  Dec 20 -- Zechariah 7 and John 10 Dec 21 -- Zechariah 8 and John 11 ================ "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets." (Zechariah 8:5)  WHAT'S THE USE (ch 7)? These two chapters go together, as seen by the opening question regarding fast days (7:3), and the Lord's reference to these same fasts (8:19). The opening question may be seen as a kind of complaint, i.e., does it really do any good to observe the appointed fasts? The people have a kind of formalistic view of their relationship with God. They are ticking the boxes of ceremonial observation and nothing much has changed in their post-exilic life back in Jerusalem (vv 1-3). The Lord answers, questioning their motives (vv 5-7). They are using religion as a way to improve their own lot in life. They are not seeking the Lord for himself. So, they need to make real changes, that is, to observe justice and to not harden ...

Bible reading for December 6 -- 7  Dec 6 -- Habakkuk 1 and Luke 20 Dec 7 -- Habakkuk 2 and Luke 21 ================   "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)  THE COMPLAINT (ch 1). The prophet Habakkuk wrote late in the 7th century BC, during same time as Jeremiah's ministry in Jerusalem. The first Babylonian subjugation of Israel would come in 605 BC. The prophet complains of the widespread immorality and injustice of the Jews, and why doesn't God do something about it? God answers by saying he will in fact deal with it by raising up the Chaldeans (another name for the Babylonians) to invade the land. This shocks Habakkuk. How could the Lord deliver over his people to an empire even more evil than themselves? How could God seemingly approve, and even promote, such a wicked and pagan nation? The answer is that God is so sovereign he can use evil for a good purpose, namely, for humbling h...

  Bible reading for weekend Aug 27 -- 29 Aug 27 -- Lamentations 4 and Psalm 35 Aug 28 -- Lamentations 5 and Psalm 36 Aug 29 -- Ezekiel 1 and Psalm 37 ================   "But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations." (Lamentations 5:19) THE FALLEN CROWN (Lam 4-5). This weekend we read the last two chapters of Lamentations, continuing the sorrowful song of the fallen nation. Notice where we get our common phrase, "worth its weight in gold" (4:2). Though God's people are precious like gold, here they have been devalued among the nations like common clay. The anointed king, Zedekiah, sought to flee Jerusalem but was captured (4:20). The Edomites are singled out for judgment, too, since they gave no aid to the fleeing Jews (4:21-22). The last chapter recounts their suffering, and closes with a prayer for restoration: "But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsa...

  Bible reading for July 21 -- 22 July 21 -- Jeremiah 17 and Mark 3 July 22 -- Jeremiah 18 and Mark 4 ================    "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." (Jeremiah 17:13-14) THE FOUNTAIN (ch 17). Twice in this chapter the Lord is compared to a stream of water (vv 8, 13). In one image, recalling Psalm 1, he is the stream that continually supplies life-giving refreshment to nearby plants. In the other, he is called the fountain (or spring) of living water (cf 2:13). Living water was moving, fresh water, like a clear mountain stream. The metaphor points us to the Lord as the ever-flowing source of life. To seek life and welfare apart from him is to be under a curse, having turned back to the dry wilderness of death. Thos...

Bible reading for April 19 -- 20 Apr 19 -- Ecclesiastes 6 and 2 Timothy 2 Apr 20 -- Ecclesiastes 7 and 2 Timothy 3 "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." (Ecclesiastes 7:2)  CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION (ch 6). Augustine wrote in his Confessions , "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” King Solomon, as well, highlights the vanity of having good things in life but not being able to enjoy them properly nor to find rest in the Giver of those good gifts (vv 1-6). There are many good things in life, but these are not the ultimate good that one finds in life. Rather, it is to find rest (v 5) and enjoyment in God and what he provides for us. We are all headed to the "one place", by which Solomon means the grave (v 6; he is not here speaking of eternal destinies). We all have a "shelf life...

"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63 ESV)  So, why do I read the Bible daily? Why is it important for my life and growth in the Lord? Why are we Christians to be "people of the Book"?   Here's the short answer : God created the universe by his spoken word, and by his word he sustains it. He created us to know and relate to him through language. God reveals his mind and will to us through words. This revelation is used by the Spirit to enlighten, give life, produce faith, revive, and purify his people. Jesus, God's Son, is called the Word, and he came into the world to give us life. He spoke words of eternal life. His word is living and active.  God's people are sustained by his word.  God's word -- heard and understood, believed and applied, trusted and acted upon -- brings sanctifying life to us. At the end of earth's history he will speak the new creation into existence by his word. Our salvation, our sanctific...

Bible reading for February 3 -- 4 Feb 3 -- Job 2 and Romans 6 Feb 4 -- Job 3 and Romans 7 "After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth." (Job 3:1)  WISDOM IN SUFFERING. Though we don't know many of the details about where and when Job lived, we know that he was a real person in history (Ezek 14:14, 20; James 5:11). The book of Job may be the oldest of the books in Scripture, and is first in the lineup of the wisdom books. Wisdom literature is written, usually in poetic form, to address the big mysteries of life, as well as those practical matters in life that require discernment. Job deals with pain and suffering, specifically, the suffering of the righteous. The Song of Solomon deals with pleasure, specifically, the pleasures of courtship, sex, and marriage. In between, Proverbs gives wisdom for successfully navigating the problems of life, and Ecclesiastes teaches the limitations both of our lives and of what we can know. One thing we learn up front...

Bible reading for October 29.  2 Kings 10-11. "Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel." (2 Kings 10:28)  STRAIGHT LINES, CROOKED STICKS. There's a lot of bloodshed in these two chapters, primarily of the royal sons in both Israel and Judah. Jehu cleans house in the northern kingdom, destroying all the priests and loyal worshipers of Baal. In the south, Athaliah (a sort of "Jezebel of Judah") kills the royal line in Jerusalem, except one. The young heir, Jehoash (short form: Joash), is rescued and hidden. After six years, Jehoiada, the priest loyal to the Lord and the king, installs Joash on the throne. (Btw, the Carites [or, Cherithites] in 11:4, 19 were a contingent of bodyguards organized by King David and loyal to his family line.) Queen Athaliah, the fake monarch, is killed. There is a renewal in Judah of worship to the Lord: "And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people, that they should be the LORD's people, and also betwee...

Bible reading for July 6.  Joshua 8. "And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written." (Joshua 8:32)  ESTABLISHING GOD'S RULE. The second city to fall, one larger than Jericho, was Ai. Joshua used tactics that built upon their previous failure. Afterwards the inhabitants are put to death but the livestock spared.*  Joshua builds an altar, sacrifices are made, and God's law is copied on stone and read to the people. This signified that the pagan land, full of idols, was now to be guided by the law of God. It was the formal establishment of God's visible reign over that land. Some have felt that a good summary of the Bible story-line is that God in stages is re-establishing his visible and glorious rule over creation which was lost in the fall of man. This re-establishment of his kingdom will be consummated at the return of Christ. This is, of course, why we pray, "Our Father...

Bible reading for June 25.  Deuteronomy 30. "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil."  (Deuteronomy 30:14-15)  RETURN, BE RESTORED. Judgment will eventually follow apostasy, but the Lord is quick to receive and to bless those who turn back to him (vv 1-10). He delights in prospering his people. The Mosaic covenant, though it revealed the weakness and sinfulness of people, nonetheless was not a performance-based relationship, though some teachers down through history sought to turn it into such.  At the heart was God's desire for his people to trust him, love him, and be faithful to him.  It was relational not meritorious. So, later, when Paul quotes this passage (vv 11-14) in his letter to the Romans (Rom 10:5-10) he compares the giving of the Law to the giving of God's Son, who came from heaven, died, and rose from the dead on our beha...

Bible reading for June 16.  Deuteronomy 21. "And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance."  (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)  CIVIL LAW. In this chapter there are continued instructions concerning justice: regarding unsolved murders, female captives, inheritance of the firstborn, and judgment of rebellious sons (vv 1-21). These judicial decisions reflect the underlying value that God places upon human life (created in the image of God), and upon authority within the family. (See the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, especially those relating to life and family.) However, these particular judgments were part of the civil code of Israel, and regulated their national life under the Mosaic covenant. Believer...

Bible reading for March 11:  Exodus 22; John 1. "If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate."  (Exodus 22:26-27)  Response and restitution (Ex 22).   We are continuing to read of the case laws in God's covenant with Israel.  These are the particular applications of the Ten Commandments to actual life situations.  For example, the laws dealing with theft are the outworking of the eighth commandment, "You shall not steal" (Ex 20:15).  The law considers the circumstances of our reactions, as well .  The qualification regarding striking a thief at night or in the daytime (22:2-3) is meant to prevent victims from killing those who are seen stealing, which would be excessive, as opposed to the situation at night, striking out in the...

Bible reading for Feb 18:  Exodus 1; Luke 4. "But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them..." (Ex 1:17)  Pro-life midwives.   About two hundred years later, the book of Exodus opens with a much different situation than Genesis closed with. The tribes of Israel have grown in numbers and power. But the Egyptian authorities felt threatened and subjugated the Israelites as slaves .  The command went forth for the Hebrew midwives to destroy the male babies. The two women, Shiphrah and Puah, go down in sacred history along with Peter and the apostles, who believed, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).   So, before we meet Moses, we meet these two courageous women.   The fear of God.   It is possible to say that you love God (in some sense) without fearing him. But God, who is the only true and righteous God, is worthy of all reverence.  This is not the same thing as being afraid of God (1 Joh...