December 2, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 129-131. Background: Psalm 126-128. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 129 Enduring affliction: Another psalm in the series of the songs of ascents (see psalm 120), this psalm recounts affliction that the people of Israel had endured from the people who oppressed them even from the beginning. As Israel was becoming a nation…
Tag: Israel
Zephaniah 1-3: Judgment and restoration.
November 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Zephaniah 1-3. Background: Zephaniah’s ministry was during the reign of King Josiah in Jerusalem which lasted from 641-610 B.C. This date would make Zephaniah a contemporary of Jeremiah and probably a very influential prophet for King Josiah’s religious reform. Zephaniah’s message is a oracle of judgment against Judah and the…
Hosea 1-7: The prophet who’s life was an allegory.
September 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Hosea 1-7. Background: The book of Hosea is one of the 12 prophets in the Hebrew scriptures, and is the first of the minor prophets in the Old Testament (unless you make an argument that Daniel is a minor prophet, however Daniel’s prophecies are much different in nature and they…
I Chronicles 5-9: Genealogies of the sons of Jacob.
September 8, 2015. Daily Reading: I Chronicles 5-9. Background: I Chronicles 1-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 Descendants of Ruben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh: Chapter five begins the series of lineages of each of the patriarchs of Israel, the sons of Jacob, starting with Ruben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These genealogies…
Ezekiel 37-42: Prophecy and measurement.
August 22, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 37-42. Background: Ezekiel 31-36. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 37 1. The valley of dry bones: Ezekiel vision of the valley of dry bones has been on of the most famous encounters with God throughout the years, though the actual meaning behind the vision is not as well circulated. Here we find…
II Kings 16-20: Israel goes into captivity and Hezekiah reigns in Judah.
August 18, 2015. Daily Reading: II Kings 16-20. Background: II Kings 11-15. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 16 Ahaz in Judah: After Jotham died, his son Ahaz took the throne in his stead and would reign for 16 years. As so many of the succession of kings of Israel that came before him, Ahaz did what…
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…
Jeremiah 1-6: The word of the Lord through Jeremiah.
April 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 1-6. Background: The book of Jeremiah is a compilation of the word of the Lord though the prophet Jeremiah that spans almost the full time of the prophet’s life. Jeremiah is called as a youth to be a prophet of the Lord, delivering a very unappealing message to the people….
Genesis 48-50: Blessings.
March 30, 2015. Daily Reading: Genesis 48-50. Background: Genesis 44-47. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 48 The blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh: As Jacob nears the end of his life and becomes ill, Joseph takes his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to his father so that he can bless his grandsons. Typically, the greater blessing would be…
I Samuel 7-10: Israel demands a king.
March 24, 2015. Daily Reading: I Samuel 7-10. Background: I Samuel 1-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 Fear and obedience: In the previous chapter, the ark of the covenant was returned to Israel from the Philistines due to the hand of the Lord being heavy on the Philistine cities that kept the ark. Though there was…
Genesis 40-43: The tide turns for Joseph.
March 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Genesis 40-43. Background: Genesis 36-39. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 40 Joseph’s interpretation of dreams: As Joseph is in the prison that he was sent to because Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of trying to lay with her, we learned from the last chapter that the Lord was with Joseph and the…
4 Lessons from the story of Naaman and Elisha.
October 21, 2014. “Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 