Reading the Bible Through

Psalms 16 – 18   The Lord has shown me the way.  David calls upon God to vindicate him.  With the Lord, David conquers his enemies. 

Psalms 13 – 15   One of the things that I really appreciate about the Psalms is David's ability to own his emotions and share them with God. David doesn't try to hide them. 

Psalms 10 - 12   I think you just have to read the Psalms. 

Psalms 5-9   And now my readings are caught up!!  The Psalms are just beautiful! From Psalm 8: How Majestic Is Your Name

Psalms 2 – 4   I must have been counting my days behind incorrectly. Now I'm only 1 day behind. The Psalms are beautiful!! Psalm 2, to me, speaks clearly of the Messiah. However, it says his wrath is quickly kindled. I think we see far more of an angry God in the Old Testament than we do in Jesus. Still, as I type this, I recall that Jesus was very angry with the moneychangers. 

Job 41 - Psalms 1   Now I'm 3 days behind. We shall finish up Job and began the Psalms.  Job Here in the end of Job, his fortunes are restored. Job's friends,  Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite  must bring a burnt offering and have Job pray for them because they had not spoken of God what is right. Interestingly, Elihu isn't mentioned. This brings to mind: the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Psalm 1 This is one of my favorite psalms. Just now it seems a fitting ending to Job. 

 Job 38 - 40 Now I'm 4 days behind. Still in Job, but coming to the end. Here the Lord replies to Job. That makes me curious who wrote the book of Job. That person would be credited with writing down the very words of God. I found this article on who wrote the book of Job interesting.  As I see it, in essence, God says that a mere man cannot understand God's ways. This is true, but why then do we have the beginning of the book explaining that Satan was behind Job's calamities. Satan was behind them, but God was in control. No Dualism here. 

Job 35 - 37   I'm still behind, but hoping to get back on track today. Currently, I'm 5 days behind.  Still in Job. I don't understand his friends. It strikes me how much of Job we miss when they tell us the story part as kids. This leaves out the majority of the book. Here Elihu speaks of the greatness of God. It reminds me of the hymn, "How Great Thou Art." 

Job 32 - 34   I've gotten so many days behind, it's a bit hard to count. Today is Saturday, but my reading was supposed to be on Tuesday. So I guess that's about 4 days behind.  Now Elihu speaks. He has waited because he is the youngest. I still don't understand the differences in what Job's friends are saying. 

Job 29 - 31   I'm still 3 days behind.  What is abaddon? Wikipedia says:  Hebrew Bible [ edit ] The term  abaddon  appears six times in the  Masoretic text  of the Hebrew Bible;  abaddon  means destruction or "place of destruction", or the realm of the dead, and is accompanied by  Sheol .

Job 24 - 28   I am still 3 days behind in the Bible Readings. I'm still in the conversations in the middle of Job which I find hard to understand. The way they are written, it seem like it might be poetry which could make it harder to understand but easier to remember for an illiterate people.  And  God said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,      and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Job 21 - 23   Now I'm 3 days behind. How did this happen? Well, I like to have a different schedule on the weekends. Sometimes I forget. On Monday, yesterday, I just plain and simply forgot. And I thought I had established these readings as, at least a weekday, habit. The middle parts of Job are difficult for me to understand. I wonder if that plays into my missing several days.  I think Job is saying that bad things happen to good people, but Eliphaz disputes that saying that Job must have done something sinful/wrong. 

Job 18 - 20   I'm still a day behind. The book of Job, his friends' replies continue to puzzle me. 

Job 15 - 17   I'm still a day behind.  I have been listening to today's reading as I often do. I am struck by how Job's words seem a lament. 

Job 13 – 15   I'm still a day behind.  I find the conversation between Job and his friends hard to follow. 

 I am still a day behind.   Job 10 - 12 Today, this discussion reminds me of deep conversations late at night in college. The thing I take away is that God is in charge. 

Job 7 - 9   I am still a day behind.  As we read the "inner" part of Job, the part between the halves of the stories, I think I might be missing the best piece. I have trouble following these conversations, yet they are here for a reason. I do see Job saying how God is far above us in all God's ways. 

Job 2 - 6   Once again, I am a day behind.  Job's 3 friends sit in silence with him 7 days. Wow! Who would have time for that now?  Then they began to speak. I have a terrible time understanding what each friend is trying to say. 

Esther 9 - Job 1   Today we complete the book of Esther. As we are reading the Protestant bible, God is never mentioned in the book of Esther.  We begin the book of Job.  What is this assembly before God? What is Satan's role?  Job's life crashes before him, but Job responds with worship!! Amazing!!

Esther 6 - 8   Poetic justice here, it seems to me. Haman plans to have Mordecai executed, but ends up honoring Mordecai throughout the area.  Just after this, the text says that if Mordecai is of the Jewish people, Haman will not overcome him. Haman's wise men tell him this.  Then Haman gets hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. More poetic justice. 

Esther 3 - 5   Mordecai honored God, not Haman. Haman then tries to kill all the Jews, not just Mordecai.  Esther risks her life to ask the King and Haman to a meal. It's clearly a culture I don't understand. Why can Esther not tell the king her concern more quickly? Also, Mordecai tells Esther that she will not be spared. Was that really Esther's thinking? She doesn't seem that kind of person to me. She does seem to have been born for such a time as this. Am I born for such a time as I am in? Probably, I think. 

Nehemiah 13 - Esther 2   This cleansing of foreigners from Israel sounds like ethnic cleansing to me. Creepy.  What kind of culture has eunuchs?  Why did Queen Vashti not come to the king when summoned?  I do find it sadly amusing that the advisors didn't want word of this to get about lest women not obey their husbands.  What a foreign culture with harems and concubines, summoning young women, and seemingly using them as the King pleased. Also, 1 year of beauty treatments prior--Wow!!

Nehemiah 10 - 12   Names, names, names, moving back into Jerusalem and beginning to set things right as far as I can tell. 

Nehemiah 7 - 9   I was on YouTube looking for a virtual tour of the 2nd temple. Instead, I found this explanation  of the books of Ezra & Nehemiah which were originally one book. Today, many names and a call to repentance. I find it interesting that here it says that God sent many saviors. I think of Jesus as the only Savior. I believe the saviors this passage refers to are precursors to the One Savior, Jesus! 

Nehemiah 2 - 6   Working together gets things moving forward here. Also, Nehemiah's faith is inspiring, especially when enemies come against him and try to stop him. 

Ezra 9 – Nehemiah 1   Naming the Israelite men who had married foreign wives reminds me of the teacher writing your name on the chalk board for misbehaving. Weird, I know.  I am also touched by the prayer of Nehemiah as he longs for the wellbeing of Jerusalem. 

Ezra 6 - 8   The beginning of rebuilding the temple continues.  Names, names, names. This does help me to see why Paul later says not to argue about genealogies.  I am struck by the part in which Ezra prays and fasts for protection rather than ask the king for an escort because Ezra has said God would be with them. Faith and trust. 

Ezra 3 - 5   It seems to me that we just read of the building of the temple, now some exiles return to repair the temple.  Sending letters got results for the returned exiles. 

2 Chronicles 36 – Ezra 2   For  Jehoahaz it doesn't say if he did good or evil. Interesting.  Some Israelites return to Jerusalem.  Names, names, names. I am glad that God knows my name. 

2 Chronicles 33 - 35   Manasseh's repentance. He did all these evil things worshipping other gods, but, when he turned to the Lord, the Lord heard him. How wonderful!! The turning of the heart!

2 Chronicles 30 -32   Sennacherib thinks that Hezekiah has angered the God of Israel by taking down the high places of false gods. Different perspectives came be really interesting. In this case, really wrong.