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Bible reading for weekend Nov 5 -- 7  Nov 5 -- Hosea 11 and Psalms 132-134 Nov 6 -- Hosea 12 and Psalms 135-136 Nov 7 -- Hosea 13 and Psalms 137-138 ================ "I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them." (Hosea 11:4)  GOD'S TENDERNESS (ch 11). What beautiful pictures of God's care we see here! Israel is a beloved child, and a son (v 1). Jesus -- God's beloved Son (Matt 3:17) -- in his own life recapitulates the history of Israel, going to Egypt (Matt 2:15) and being tried for a period of forty days in the wilderness (Matt 4:2). God is the Father who taught Israel to walk, and he is the one who held them and healed them, though they did not know it (v 3). Like a kind farmer he cared for them as a cherished animal (v 4). He does not rejoice to bring judgment upon them (vv 7-8), for God's holiness is not merely manifest in judgment but also ...

Bible reading for weekend Nov 3 -- 4  Nov 3 -- Hosea 9 and Psalms 126-128 Nov 4 -- Hosea 10 and Psalms 129-131 ================ "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)  GOOD-BYE, GOOD TIMES (ch 9). "The days of recompense have come" (v 7). All the good things in life that Israel pursued apart from God will be taken from them. There is a glory for humanity, but it is the glory of knowing God as Maker, Redeemer, and Provider of every good thing. What glory Israel had at that time would "fly away like a bird" (v 11). The city of Gilgal (v 15) was party-central for the nation's idolatrous activity (cf 4:13-15). The principle here is that if you pursue happiness apart from God you will ultimately lose both happiness and God, too. Consider these two quotes from C. S. Lewis: “God cannot give us a happiness and pea...

  Bible reading for weekend Nov 1 -- 2 Nov 1 -- Hosea 7 and Psalms 120-122 Nov 2 -- Hosea 8 and Psalms 123-125 ================   "Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12) THE RESULTS OF SIN (ch 7-8). Notice the words and metaphors to describe Israel's sinful condition: they are surrounded with, and proud of, their evil (7:1-3); like adulterers in the heat of passion (7:4-5); their anger is like a hot oven (7:6-7); they are like a half-cooked (one side only) cake (7:8); their strength is gone (7:9); they are like silly doves easily trapped (7:11-12); they are undependable like a warped bow (7:16). In spite of all of this they are so proud of themselves! (We might say they have a strong self-esteem.) They have spurned what is good (8:3); they sow to the wind and have no real fruit (8:7); they are a useless vessel (8:8) and a wild donkey wandering alone (8:9); they regard God's law as a strange thing...

Bible reading for July 8.  Joshua 10. "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.'" (Joshua 10:8)  THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. Israel does not need to take the offensive in Canaan at this time because the Canaanite kings unite to attack the cities of Gibeon which had made a covenant with Israel. And so Joshua comes to their aid (vv 1-10). What follows is all-out war which rapidly involves all of the southern city-states. It must be remembered that the Israelites were desert nomads, with no chariots, no armor, and greatly outnumbered (cf Josh 11:4). The Lord intervened miraculously on their behalf with widespread panic among the enemies, a supernaturally lengthened day, and hailstones that killed thousands (v 10-14, cf Exodus 9). In a way this battle mirrored the plagues that God sent upon Egypt. The "Book of Jashar" (v 13) was apparently another record of these events...

Bible reading for July 1.  Joshua 3. "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan." (Joshua 3:11)  CROSSING THE JORDAN. This chapter records a miracle like that of crossing the Red Sea. Most of the miracles in the Bible take place during these three periods: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus and the Apostles. Miracles, even in the Bible, do not happen all the time.  "A miracle is an event in the external world that is wrought by the immediate power of God" (J. Gresham Machen).  They are meant to be believed, not deconstructed by science (as if). The inheritance and settling of the promised land will involve the use of ordinary means: marching, fighting, destroying idols, dividing the land, settling, planting, etc. But as they passed through the Jordan (at flood stage), just like passing through the Red Sea leaving Egypt, they were to realize that their redemption was an extraordinary...

Bible reading for June 30.  Joshua 2. "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign..." (Joshua 2:12)  SPY MISSION. The Israeli Mossad agents slipped across the border into enemy territory... No, wait, that was a movie... But this is a little like that: two Israelites on a mission to reconnoiter the land before Israel crosses the Jordan into the promised land. Jericho was on the eastern border, not a large city, but heavily fortified. The spies find shelter at Rahab's house, probably an inn. She is described as a prostitute (inns also served as brothels in that day). Her confession to them is remarkable: the Canaanites are very frightened of the Israelites. She hides the two men from the authorities and asks from them kindness (Heb., hesed ) in return for their lives. It is clear she now believed that the Lord (Heb., Yahweh ) is God and seeks shelter ...

Bible reading for June 29.  Joshua 1. "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you." (Joshua 1:5)  THEN YOU WILL HAVE SUCCESS. If we look for one word to summarize the book of Joshua it might be "conquest," or better, as Prof Hendricks suggested, "success". The tribes of Israel finally enter the land promised to them by God. This has been a long-awaited event. It was nearly 500 years earlier that God said to Abram, "To your offspring I will give this land" (Gen 12:7) . The Lord was patient toward the previous inhabitants (Gen 15:16). Joshua rather than Moses now becomes the central figure in Israel's history. We hear the call to be strong and courageous, since all the odds, naturally speaking, are against them (vv 6, 7, 9, 18). And again, courage and strength would be related to their thinking, talking about, and doing God...