October 17, 2015. Daily Reading: John 19-21. Background: John 16-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 The crucifixion and burial: As we enter the final stage of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, we find a man who seems to be deeply conflicted, torn between the fear of the Jews and the fear of Jesus. Pilate has Jesus…
Tag: dailydevotion
Amos 5-9: Woe to those who are at ease in Zion.
October 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Amos 5-9. Background: Amos 1-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 1. Seek the Lord and live: Though the Lord is in the middle of rebuke and Amos’ message has been one of destruction, an ever present characteristic of God is found here as He offers reconciliation to His people. Though…
Proverbs 28-29: The final proverbs of Solomon.
October 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 28-29. Background: Proverbs 26-27. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 28 Couplets of wisdom: As we enter the final two chapters that record the proverbs of Solomon, we find that the writing style has gone back to couplets that give much wisdom in few words which span a range of topics…
Psalm 111-113: Praise the Lord.
October 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 111-113. Background: Psalm 108-110. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 111 Great are the works of the Lord: This psalm is an acrostic, meaning that each line in Hebrew beings with the successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and a psalm of praise to the Lord for His great works. Note…
II Chronicles 1-5: Building the house of the Lord.
October 13, 2015. Daily Reading: II Chronicles 1-5. Background: The book of II Chronicles is a continuation of the first book. See the background information for I Chronicles. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 1 Solomon’s prayer and wealth: After the death of David, his son Solomon takes the throne as he had been appointed, and the…
Numbers 21-24: Balak and Balaam.
October 12, 2015. Daily Reading: Numbers 21-24. Background: Numbers17-20. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 21 Enemies on the journey: After finishing the days of mourning for Aaron in the previous chapter, the children of Israel set out on their journey once again towards the promised land in this chapter. Their path is detailed here, along with…
Hebrews 1-8: Jesus, the High Priest of a better covenant.
October 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Hebrews 1-8. Background: The book of Hebrews has often been praised as one of the most beautiful and theological books of the New Testament. The author of the book is unknown, and there have been many suggestions as to who wrote the book, ranging from Barnabas, Luke, or Apollos to even…
John 16-18: Jesus’ final days.
October 10, 2015. Daily Reading: John 16-18. Background: John 13-15. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 16 A final discourse with the disciples: As we near the passion narrative as presented by John, he gives us one of the final discussions that Jesus has with His disciples before He is taken to trial and the cross, followed…
Amos 1-4: For thee transgressions, and for four.
October 9, 2015. Daily Reading: Amos 1-4. Background: Though the book of Amos is third among the 12 minor prophets, his ministry was likely one of the first of the minor prophets. Amos dates his ministry during the reign of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel, which places his ministry around 767-753 BC,…
Proverbs 26-27: The fool, sluggard and gossip.
October 8, 2015. Daily Reading: Proverbs 26-27. Background: Proverbs 25. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 26 The fool, sluggard and gossip: This chapter returns back mostly to the style in which we have seen the proverbs written in for most of the book, couplets of wisdom. However, it seems that the couplets are organized more by…
Psalm 108-110: Deliverance and the Messiah.
October 7, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 108-110. Background: Psalm 105-107. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 108 Deliverance over the foe: This psalm is ascribed to David and deals with the Lord’s power and loyalty to bring His people out victorious over their enemies. This psalm seems to be a combination of two other psalms of David,…
I Chronicles 25-29: David’s farewell.
October 6, 2015. Daily Reading: I Chronicles 25-29. Background: I Chronicles 20-24. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 David organizes the musicians: Continuing on as we have seen in the previous two chapters, here we find David organizing the musicians for their service in the house of the Lord. These musicians were set up in their…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 