June 26, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 7-12. Background: Ezekiel 1-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 Prophecy of the Lord’s wrath: Chapter seven opens with a message from the Lord to the land of Israel: the wrath of the Lord has come upon you. The people of God had been judged for their abominations and the…
Proverbs 8-9: The blessing of wisdom.
June 25, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 8-9. Background: Proverbs 7. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 The blessing of wisdom: Here in chapter eight we find wisdom calling once again, just as she did at the opening of the book (see Proverbs 1:20-33). Wisdom seeks to be found, seeks to be sought. She calls to the…
Psalm 72-74: Speaking to the Lord.
June 24, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 72-74. Background: Psalm 69-71. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 72 Justice for the king: This psalm which is attributed to Solomon (the final verse of this chapter is likely in reference to the ending of the second book of the psalms, which houses many of David’s psalms) is one that…
I Kings 14-18: Kings of Israel and Judah.
June 23, 2015. Daily Reading: I Kings 14-18. Background: I Kings 10-13. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 14 1. The fall of Jeroboam: Some time after the man of God was sent to Jeroboam to cry agains the altar in the previous chapter, Jeroboam’s son became ill and he wanted to inquire of the Lord to…
Leviticus 4-6: Sin and guilt offerings.
June 22, 2015. Daily Reading: Leviticus 4-6. Background: Leviticus 1-3. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 4 Unintentional sin offerings: This chapter outlines the instructions that were to be carried out for sins that were committed unintentionally and then realized later. The Lord addresses different grounds in turn, giving instruction of what He commanded concerning sin offerings. Then…
Philippians 3-4: Victory in Christ.
June 21, 2015. Daily Reading: Philippians 3-4. Background: Philippians 1-2. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 3 1. Counting everything as loss: Here Paul talks to the Philippians about the bigger picture in life. Before Paul became a Christian, he tried to base his righteousness on works that he had done. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees,…
Luke 11-12: Teachings of Christ.
June 20, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 11-12. Background: Luke 9-10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 1. Prayer: The opening of this chapter deals with Jesus’ teaching on prayer, as His disciples came and asked Him directly to teach them how to pray, just as John taught His disciples. Here Luke records the Lord’s prayer (see…
Ezekiel 1-6: Visual prophecy.
June 19, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 1-6. Background: Ezekiel was a priest who was called to be a prophet of the Lord as an exile of Babylon. Judah, just as her sister Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians years before, had fallen into the hand of the Babylonians under the rule of King…
Proverbs 7: Beware of the adulteress.
June 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 7. Background: Proverbs 5-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 The adulteress: Once again, Solomon returns to warning his sons about the adulteress who ensnares the foolish in her seduction. This is a very prevalent topic throughout the first proverbs and it seems to be near to the authors heart,…
Psalm 69-71: Cries of despair and praise.
June 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 69-71. Background: Psalm 66-68. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 69 “Save me, O God!”: This psalm attributed to David is a cry of despair to the Lord when he was being afflicted by enemies that seemed to surround him at all times. The psalm itself could be split into three…
I Kings 10-13: From golden age to division.
June 16, 2015. Daily Reading: I Kings 10-13. Background: I Kings 5-9. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 10 1. The Queen of Sheba: As Solomon’s fame spread throughout the nations that were around Israel, word came to a woman we know as the Queen of Sheba, and she was interested to see if the reports of…
Leviticus 1-3: Laws for offerings.
June 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Leviticus 1-3. Background: Exodus 37-40. Leviticus details the instructions that God gave Moses to tell the children of Israel, teaching them about the temple worship that He wanted for them, that they might stand before Him as holy, consecrated for Him. The book lies between the completion of the tabernacle,…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 