September 25, 2016. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the…
Tag: idolatry
II Chronicles 25-28: Kings of Judah.
November 17, 2015. Daily Reading: II Chronicles 25-28. Background: II Chronicles 21-24. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 Amaziah: After Joash is assassinated, his son Amaziah is set up to be king. Amaziah had a strong start in doing what was right in the sight of the Lord, even adhering to the Law when delving out…
Ezekiel 13-18: The fallen people of God.
July 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 13-18. Background: Ezekiel 7-12. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 13 Speaking for God when He did not speak: Ezekiel is sent by the Lord with an oracle against the prophets of Isreal in this chapter, because the prophets were speaking lies, telling of false visions. They would said “Declares the…
Ezekiel 7-12: Oracles of destruction.
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…
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…
Jeremiah 42-46: Further disobedience and judgment.
May 29, 2015 Daily Reading: Jeremiah 42-46. Background: Jeremiah 37-41. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 42 God’s warning: At the beginning of this chapter, there is a sense that the children of Israel, or at least the remnant that was left in the land of Judah, were finally starting to come around and realize that the words…
Jeremiah 7-11: No balm in Gilead.
April 10, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 7-11. Background: Jeremiah 1-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 1. False hope: In this chapter, Jeremiah beings a discourse that would last through the end of chapter 10, proclaiming the judgment and lament of God on His people for the transgressions they were committing against Him. It is not…
I Corinthians 9-10: Reality check.
March 15, 2015. Daily Reading: I Corinthians 9-10. Background: I Corinthians 7-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. Paul’s defense to the Corinthians: In this chapter, Paul defends his apostleship and talks about his and Barnabas’ rights in the Lord in comparison to the rest of the body of Christ. Two things may have been at…
Isaiah 40-44: The Holy One of Israel.
February 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 40-44. Background: Isaiah 34-39. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 40 1. A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Comfort was coming for the people of Israel, which is likely an immediate reference to the Babylonians (who had taken Judah captive) being defeated by the Medes and Persians. As chapter 40…
Who do you worship?
December 23, 2014. There is a popular song out there today that I love the music of and the way it is written, but its message is so bad that I do not like to listen to it. As you might guess from the name and the opening sentence, “Take me to church” by Hozier…
Lessons from a weeping prophet.
October 3, 2014. “What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 