Exploring the Scriptures Together
Psalm 60; I Chronicles 18:14-21:30; II Samuel 24 Today our readings in I Chronicles 18-20 replay what we’ve already seen in II Samuel, telling us lots of positive things about David and his reign. But Chronicles completely avoids any mention of David’s sin with Bathsheba and Absalom’s subsequent rebellion. Interesting. Then we get to I …
Continue reading “April 18 / Psalm 60; I Chronicles 18:14-21:30; II Samuel 24”
II Samuel 22-23; I Chronicles 18:1-13 II Samuel 22 is nearly identical to Psalm 18, which we read on April 1. With the merciful you show yourself merciful;with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;with the purified you deal purely,and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. II Samuel 22:26-27 (cf. Psalm 18:25-26) God …
Continue reading “April 17 / II Samuel 22-23; I Chronicles 18:1-13”
II Samuel 21 Remember the Gibeonites? They are the people who escaped the violent conquest of the Promised Land by dressing up in old rags and claiming to be from a far off country, tricking Joshua and the people of Israel into agreeing to spare them. (If you need a refresher, see Joshua 9 and …
II Samuel 16:15-20:26 So what are we to make of Joab? On the one hand, Joab supports David as king more strongly than David himself. After all, it is Joab who eliminates Absalom as a threat to David’s kingdom, and it is Joab who rebukes David’s mourning of Absalom as a devaluation of his loyal …
II Samuel 15; Psalm 3; II Samuel 16:1-14; Psalm 7 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place. But if He says, ‘I …
Continue reading “April 14 / II Samuel 15:1-16:14; Psalms 3, 7”
II Samuel 12:15b-14:33 Today we begin to see the disastrous consequences of David’s sin with Bathsheba. The first immediate consequence is the death of the son that is the product of David’s adultery. The longer term consequences, which play out over years, are the troubles within his family: the rape of his daughter Tamar by …
I Chronicles 17; II Samuel 8-12:15a; Psalm 51 In case you missed II Samuel 7 (and the April 3 post), I Chronicles 17 offers the replay, nearly quoting the Samuel passage. (But not quite — I’ll let you find the differences.) We then move back to II Samuel to pick up where we left off. …
Continue reading “April 12 / I Chronicles 17; II Samuel 8-12:15a; Psalm 51”
Psalms 80-83, 88 Following The Chronological Study Bible, we won’t read the Book of Job until August and September, so here is a very quick plot summary: a man named Job suffers — a lot. One might well read Psalm 88 from Job’s perspective, crying out to God in the midst of anguish while feeling …
Psalms 77-79 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.I will ponder all Your work,and meditate on Your mighty deeds.Your way, O God, is holy.What god is great like our God?You are the God Who works wonders;You have made known Your might among the peoples. Psalm 77:11-14 We …
Psalms 39, 62, 50, 73-76 All the cries of our hearts, voiced in the psalms, all our longings for deliverance and salvation, all our pleas for both justice and mercy are met in these words: He is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! May you have a blessed, glorious, and joyful Resurrection Sunday! See also: