Blog – Read Through the Bible

August 15/ I Chronicles 15:1-16:6

Dear RTB’ers,

I posted a few days ago that the Chronicles books cover much of the same history as the Samuel and Kings books. Many passages are identical, but the Chronicler often goes beyond the other books in telling Israel’s history. Today’s reading is one of those passages where the Chronicler adds more than what we read elsewhere. Today’s verses 15:3-24 are not covered in the II Samuel 6 account of David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. The Chronicler tends to have a stronger focus on the Levites and priests while the Samuel and Kings books look more at the kings and their history. We see that clearly today.

However, there is one area where II Samuel tells us more than Chronicles. David’s wife, Michal is mentioned today in only one verse, And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart. (v. 15:29) These are almost exactly the same words that we find in II Samuel 6:16. However, II Sameul tells us more in later verses. Here is an entire section that is part of II Samuel, but that is not included today: And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. (II Samuel 6:20-23) Michal, no child… Maybe the Chronicler wanted to present David in a more positive light? Chronological Bibles tend to keep Chronicles passages together alongside Samuel and Kings readings, so the differences are more visible.

And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. (v. 16:1) A better closing than yesterday’s reading!

Blessings.

Fred

August 14 / I Chronicles 13-14

I Chronicles 13-14

Dear RTB’ers,

The incident of Uzzah and the Ark offers a timely lesson for us. As the Ark is being transported on a cart, the oxen stumble and Uzzah reaches out his hand to steady the Ark. Sounds like a reasonable reaction – except that his action violated God’s rules concerning these holy things: And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. … the sons of Kohath … were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder. (Numbers 4:15, 7:9) The lesson for us – no matter how well-intentioned our plans and activities, if they violate God’s law or His clear will for us, we are wrong to go off in those directions. In truth, Uzzah was set up for failure – the Ark never should have been on a cart; it should have been carried on Levites’ shoulders.

And David inquired of God… And when David again inquired of God… (vv. 14:10a, 14a). David twice inquiring of God is another good lesson for us. Just yesterday I was in a meeting with a group of men and the topic of “praying before doing” came up. Part of this discussion came to the issue of praying for the “little things” as well as the “big things”, whatever those little or big things are in each person’s eyes. But our bottom line was that we surely should be praying more often in (and before) everything that we do! Even in the “little things”. Granted, David’s battles with the Philistines were big things, but his seeking God is another good lesson for us.

Blessings.

See also: April 5 (2023) / I Chronicles 12-15 (beyond the first paragraph).

August 13/ I Chronicles 12

I Chronicles 12

Dear RTB’ers,

Another list, this time the numbers and some names of men who came to support David at Ziklag. We read the setting of this story in the final chapters of I Samuel. Ziklag was a small city (exact location unknown) probably some 40-50 miles southwest of Jerusalem and relatively close to the leading Philistine cities (Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza). Here’s a brief Internet source:

Ziklag was … gifted to David by King Achish of Gath during David’s flight from King Saul. … David raided the towns of the northern Negev, suffered attacks from the Amalekites, and restored great wealth to the people of Judah (1 Samuel 27–30).
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/locating_ziklag/

The numbers are suspicious. Adding them up we find more than 340,000 men counted – a third of a million coming to a small Philistine city to support David and party for three days. Biblical scholars find reasons to deflate those numbers, but that’s not our issue. What is important is that All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king. (v. 38) The Chronicler simply wanted the post-Exile people to know that David had tremendous military and popular support from all twelve tribes when he became king.

Blessings.

See also: April 5 (2023) / I Chronicles 12-15 (first paragraph).

August 12/ I Chronicles 10-11

I Chronicles 10-11

Dear RTB’ers,

The Chronicler now moves on to history (albeit an abbreviated and edited history), with a focus on Judah and the Southern Kingdom, almost to the exclusion of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. But the author continues to build lists (much of today’s second chapter), mostly of people and who they are and what they do. One name among David’s “mighty men” in chapter 11 stands out, Uriah the Hittite (v. 11:41), the husband of Bathsheba, whom David had killed after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.

Blessings.

August 11/ I Chronicles 6-9

I Chronicles 6-9

Dear RTB’ers,

After listing David’s and Solomon’s sons yesterday, we saw the author of Chronicles covering Jacob’s sons geographically. He began in the fourth chapter with Judah (wherein Jerusalem is located) and Simeon, with its cities inside Judah’s borders.

Then in the fifth chapter he covered the land of Gilead, those tribes living in the Transjordan – Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He even added a bit of history there, with the Assyrians taking them all into exile.

Today in the sixth chapter the author inserts Levi’s lineage into his pattern of covering Jacob’s sons geographically. You’ll recall that the Levites were dispersed throughout the Promised Land, with 48 cities and pasturelands across all twelve tribes. The Chronicles author also details these Levitical settlements and duties alongside their lineages.

In the seventh chapter the author returns to his geographical genealogy by covering those tribes nearest Judah to the north: Benjamin, Ephraim, and the other half-tribe of Manasseh, with Issachar, Naphtali, and Asher also included. Two tribes did not have their genealogies included – Dan and Zebulun.

Finally, in today’s last two chapters the Chronicles author covers Saul’s lineage (chapter 8 and the end of chapter 9) and a genealogy of those exiles who returned from Babylon, with a particular focus on the Levites the priests, and the temple servants (and their duties).

So, what to make of all these names in these nine chapters? Clearly someone took the time to put it all together, no doubt with substantial support from leaders of all the tribes. Each of these people, only names in ancient history to us, were known to God and made up His people, His kingdom on earth. And their descendants have continued through the years, the Jewish people, still in their Promised Land, and still being constantly challenged by their nearby enemies.

Blessings.

August 10 / I Chronicles 1-5

I Chronicles 1-5

Dear RTB’ers,

For today and tomorrow we have two very long readings – at least in terms of the number of verses covered (nearly seven times our daily average of verses read). Our companion book, Search the Scriptures does a very good job introducing these nine chapters, so I suggest that you read their introduction before reading the assigned readings. Also, please note that these two days RTB assigned readings are all covered on only one day in STS.

Among the more interesting verses… One set of verse from the first chapter: Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. (vv. 1:13-15) The Promised Land became known as Canaan and its inhabitants, the Canaanites. Specific tribes in this list are also known to us, for example, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, and the Hivites were among those “seven nations” that lived in Canaan prior to Joshua’s arrival. In fact, the Jebusites were the inhabitants of Jerusalem when David conquered the city.

A second set of verses of interest to me came in the second half of the third chapter, the sons of Solomon. Therein the author lists the kings of Judah, in order. In particular, I Chronicles 3:16 and following is the time frame of the Babylonians conquering Jerusalem, with names from the history and prophecy books that we just read. Familiar names include Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, Zedekiah, Shealtiel, and Zerubbabel.

Many other names and cities are familiar to us.

Blessings.

August 9 / James 5

James 5

Dear RTB’ers,

James takes on the rich again. (Go back to James 1:9–11 and James 2:1–7.) But here he is challenging them for their wrongdoings. I make that distinction because all of us are “rich” in comparison to the rest of the world. But I daresay that we are not withholding wages or living in excessive luxury or self-indulgence. True, all of us could probably do more to help relieve suffering, both worldwide and in our own country. So I’m not giving us a big “pass” on these charges. We need to be good stewards of what we have. Many of us are probably familiar with John Wesley’s guidance:

Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
John Wesley, Sermon: “The Use of Money”

Earn. Save. Give. Good wisdom.

One other item… As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (v. 10) This sentence now has greater understanding for us, for in the past year we have read Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, plus most of the minor prophets. Yes, they suffered and endured.

Finally, You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (v. 8) What was true for James two millennia ago is still true for us today. Be patient.

Blessings.

August 8 / James 4

James 4

Dear RTB’ers,

Two sentences, one right after the other: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. (vv. 7b-8a) Resist and draw near. James suggests that simply resisting the devil is not enough. Fighting him without the Lord’s help is ill-advised; he is a strong enemy. But drawing near to God – there’s no better place to be!

Making plans… So often I hear someone planning an activity or doing this or that and adding, “Lord willing…”. Is that just an add-on phrase, or do we mean it when we say something like “Your will be done.” The former phrase seems less serious, the latter more intentional. James speaks specifically to these two phrases: …yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. … Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (vv. 14a, 15) Yes, always, “Your will be done…” Or more emphatically, Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done. (Luke 22:42b)

Blessings.

August 7 / James 3

James 3

Dear RTB’ers,

The tongue. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. (v. 10a) Years ago I was working with my dad, a concrete contractor. I recall my dad calling out a truck driver who was delivering a load of concrete to us and who was speaking a mouthful of profanity. My dad asked him, “Are you going to eat with the same mouth that you are talking with?” From the same mouth — profanity out, food in??!! Dad then went on to explain to the man hat he meant and the man took it to heart. He apologized and was forever changed from that moment on whenever he showed up at our job site.

Some time ago I remember thinking that once those misguided words escape the protective barrier of my mouth, it may take thousands and thousands of words to get them back. Indeed, How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! (v. 5b)

Blessings.

August 6 / James 2:14-26

James 2:14-26

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we are reading that section in James which many people either embrace or shun – faith and works. You can often hear it said that Martin Luther wanted the book of James eliminated from Scripture. With a quick Internet search I found that he did not want it eliminated, but he did include it in his translation along with other books that he considered less important, that he referred to James as an “epistle of straw”. According to one writer, “it does not possess God’s gospel word with the purity that other NT writings possess.”

So, faith and works… Here are two key verses: So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (vv. 17, 26) Both John and I have commented on this topic in earlier posts (e.g., from 2023 and 2020). My Study Bible also says it about as clearly as anything that I have ever read: “James means only that righteous action is evidence of genuine faith—not that it saves…”

Faith and works… Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (v. 18b)

Blessings.