July 19, 2015. Daily Reading: I Thessalonians 4-5. Background: I Thessalonians 1-3. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 4 1. A life pleasing to God: As Paul begins to finish his letter to the Thessalonians, he calls them here to live a life that is pleasing to God, noting two things in particular that the Thessalonians should pay…
Author: Walt, Ph.D.
Luke 19-20: Jesus in Jerusalem.
July 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 19-20. Background: Luke 17-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 1. Zacchaeus and the parable of ten minas: In the first half of this chapter, Jesus teaches two lessons in the house of Zacchaeus, a short man who was a rich, tax collector. Tax collectors in this day were considered to…
Ezekiel 25-30: Oracles against the nations.
July 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 25-30. Background: Ezekiel 19-24. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 Oracles against the nations: In this chapter, the Lord tells Ezekiel to speak oracles concerning several of the nations that were around Israel, each of the coming destruction that the Lord was about to send on thjum. The first nation…
Proverbs 13: More proverbs.
July 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 13 Background: Proverbs 11-12. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 13 Proverbs: Chapter 13 continues in like fashion of the previous few chapters, laying out wisdom in proverbs of couplets. Here we find some themes that are beginning to reoccur throughout the proverbs. These themes include listening to a father’s wisdom,…
Psalm 81-83: God and His people.
July 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 81-83. Background: Psalm 78-80. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 81 “Oh that My people would listen to Me”: After the opening stanza as a call for the people of God to sing and praise the Lord, the rest of this psalm is written from the perspective of God admonishing His…
II Kings 6-10: Elisha, Syria and Jehu.
July 14, 2015. Daily Reading: II Kings 6-10. Background: II Kings 1-5. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 6 1. Signs and wonders: The majority of this chapter deals directly with signs and wonders that accompanied Elisha as he served as a prophet to Israel. The first sign was the recovery of a axe head that had…
Leviticus 13-15: Laws concerning leprosy and bodily discharges.
July 13, 2015. Daily Reading: Leviticus 13-15. Background: Leviticus 10-12. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 13 Leprosy laws: Chapter 13 and 14 of Leviticus deal with the disease of leprosy, which unlike what we know as leprosy today, referred to various diseases of the skin, hair of the beard and head, clothing made of linen or…
I Thessalonians 1-3: Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians.
July 12, 2015. Daily Reading: I Thessalonians 1-3. Background: The first letter that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians is believed to be one of his earliest letters, probably written before 52 AD, and as such, it is one of the first books in the New Testament. The church in Thessalonica was founded in Acts 17:1-19 on…
Luke 17-18: Jesus and the people.
July 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 17-18. Background: Luke 15-16. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 17 1. Forgiveness, faith and humility: At the opening of this chapter, Jesus teaches thee core concepts in our relationship with Him and with others around us. First, He warns that temptations to sin are sure to come, but condemns out…
Ezekiel 19-24: Oracles against Jerusalem.
July 10, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 19-24. Background: Ezekiel 13-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 Lamentation for the princes of Israel: In this chapter, we are given a lament over the princes of Israel for the people to hear and lament the fall of the house of David into captivity. The house of David is…
Proverbs 11-12: The righteous and the unrighteous.
July 9, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 11-12. Background: Proverbs 10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 Proverbs of the righteous and unrighteous: As we move into the bulk of the proverbs of Solomon, it will become difficult to see an overview of a full chapter as each couplet can be autonomous, though many of them are…
Psalm 78-80: Learning from the past and pleading for deliverance.
July 8, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 78-80. Background: Psalm 75-77. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 78 Learning from the past: Psalm 78, of Asaph, is a psalm of remembrance and teaching of things that had transpired throughout Israel’s history that they should look to an learn from. History was often passed down through oral tradition, and…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 