Micah 5 - 1:06 . Micah 6 - 4:11 . Micah 7 - 8:46 . Psalm 135 - 13:50 . Psalm 136 - 16:29 . As we finish out the second half of the book of Micah, we’ll immediately see another crystal clear prophecy; this one predicts that the coming Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, a small town that was unlikely to have anything significant take place within it. God promises that one day he will remove those earthly and idolatrous occupations which keep his people from worshipping him rightly, asserting that ...
Aug 21, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 156
Micah 1 - 1:06 . Micah 2 - 4:27 . Micah 3 - 8:20 . Micah 4 - 10:58 . Psalm 134 - 14:35 . Psalm 135 - 15:01 . Given the time frame established by the prophet himself, Micah’s prophecies are astoundingly clear and accurate, as he clearly pronounces the fall of Samaria, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming captivity in Babylon. The people had grown comfortable in religious activity but they were excusing sin and denying the possibility of judgment. He urges God’s people to consider the natu...
Aug 18, 2023•18 min•Season 3Ep. 155
2 Chronicles 27 - 1:06 . Isaiah 9 - 2:55 . Isaiah 10 - 7:44 . Isaiah 11 - 15:05 . Isaiah 12 - 18:34 . Psalm 133 - 19:58 . We begin today’s reading with a brief historical account from the book of 2 Chronicles covering the reign of Uzziah’s son, King Jotham of Judah, before jumping back into Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9 begins a prophecy about the birth of the Prince of Peace, a passage that many of us read in our church services during Advent or Christmas. In stark contrast, Isaiah moves on to consi...
Aug 17, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 154
Amos 6 - 1:06 . Amos 7 - 3:58 . Amos 8 - 8:19 . Amos 9 - 11:08 . Psalm 131 - 14:51 . Psalm 132 - 15:32 . Recall from our last episode that Amos is a blue collar guy who was sent from Judah to prophesy against Israel. During a time of wealth, the rich had grown greedy, proud, and complacent, assuming that no harm could befall them. In their pride, they failed to consider the Lord, righteous conduct, or just dealings, opting instead to oppress those of lower status and lounge in luxury. Through Am...
Aug 16, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 153
Amos 1 - 1:03 . Amos 2 - 4:11 . Amos 3 - 7:21 . Amos 4 - 11:09 . Amos 5 - 14:07 . Psalm 130 - 19:13 . Amos was a prophet from Judah who travelled away from his homeland to prophesy against Israel. As his introduction states, Amos was a shepherd by trade, but he received instruction from the Lord to go north to Samaria around 760 BC. It was a time of great prosperity for Israel, but many farmers had been reduced to poverty. The wealthy gave them loans that they could not repay, forcing these debt...
Aug 15, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 152
Isaiah 6 - 1:06 . Isaiah 7 - 4:16 . Isaiah 8 - 9:44 . Psalm 128 - 14:10 . Psalm 129 - 15:00 . The signs, visions, and prophecies included into today’s reading span from the death of King Uzziah into the beginning of Ahaz’s reign, who continues the lineage of Davidic kings. In chapter 6 we get an awe-inspiring sneak peek into the throne room of God. Isaiah senses that he is unfit to be in God’s presence, but an angel approaches to cleanse him in a unique way. After this, the Lord God commissions ...
Aug 14, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 151
Isaiah 3 - 1:05 . Isaiah 4 - 5:14 . Isaiah 5 - 7:21 . Psalm 126 - 14:02 . Psalm 127 - 15:00 . Judah has made the mistake of trusting in the armies of men, rather than trusting in God. As such is the case, the Lord God of armies will be removing every kind of security from Judah, which includes some securities which would be considered blessings from God, and some securities which would have been sinful and earthly. The righteous will eat the fruit of their labor, but the wick will only harvest j...
Aug 11, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 150
2 Chronicles 26 - 1:06 . Isaiah 1 - 8:07 . Isaiah 2 - 15:16 . Psalm 124 - 19:34 . Psalm 125 - 20:27 . So far in our chronological reading we’ve read two of the minor prophets, those being Obadiah and Jonah, and in today’s episode we’ll begin to read from our first major prophet, the prophet Isaiah. If you’re familiar with the overall arch of Israel, Judah, and the prophets, you know that there were prophets before, during, and after the exile to Babylon. Starting with this episode, the majority ...
Aug 10, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 149
Jonah 1 - 1:06 . Jonah 2 - 4:55 . Jonah 3 - 6:51 . Jonah 4 - 8:54 . 2 Kings 15 - 11:29 . Psalm 122 - 18:53 . Psalm 123 - 20:00 . You might have missed it, but in our last episode, the writer of 2 Kings mentioned the fulfillment of prophecy through the prophet Jonah back in chapter 14. We have every reason to conclude that this prophet is the same Jonah sent to Ninevah in the minor prophet book by the same name. Instead of obeying the Lord, Jonah turns to go in the completely opposite direction. ...
Aug 09, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 148
2 Chronicles 25 - 1:07 . 2 Kings 14 - 8:35 . Psalm 120 - 14:42 . Psalm 121 - 15:29 . In our last episode, we considered the life of King Joash, the baby heir to the throne who was rescued from a maniacal monarch, raised in the temple, and brought to kingship by Jehoiada the priest. Joash began by rebuilding the Lord’s temple, then he abandons both the Lord’s temple and the Lord. The Lord therefore abandons him and he is later assassinated. Amaziah begins well, but surprisingly turns to worship t...
Aug 08, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 147
2 Chronicles 24 - 1:08 . 2 Kings 12 - 7:27 . 2 Kings 13 - 12:34 . Psalm 119:161-176 - 18:47 . Interestingly, we saw a few foreshadows of Jesus in our last episode, as a child who was meant to be king was swept away from a murderous monarch only to emerge victorious later. Today we’ll examine the rule and reign of Joash, that child who became king of Judah. It seems that early in his reign he sought to repair the temple, and no wonder! He grew up in the temple from infancy into early childhood. W...
Aug 07, 2023•21 min•Season 3Ep. 146
2 Kings 9:30 - 1:08 . 2 Kings 10 - 2:49 . 2 Kings 11 - 11:36 . Psalm 119:145-160 - 16:26 In our last episode, the military commander, Jehu, was anointed as king. He and his men set out immediately to put an end to the house of Ahab, and in the process, he also killed the king of Judah, the evil king Ahaziah. Today, Jehu continues his conquest with a number of cunning strategies, killing Ahab’s wife Jezebel, overthrowing the house of Ahab, destroying the prophets of a Baal, and avenging the blood...
Aug 04, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 145
2 Kings 7 - 1:08 . 2 Kings 8 - 6:32 . 2 Kings 9 - 13:18 . Psalm 119:129-144 - 20:17 . When we last left our reading covering the kingdom of Israel, the Arameans had laid siege against Samaria, Israel’s capital city. This means that they were blocking people from going in or out so that the people might starve. The king of Israel, most likely Joram, son of Ahab, sends a messenger to Elisha, threatening him with violence. Today, Elisha predicts that they will soon be so flooded with food and grain...
Aug 03, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 144
2 Kings 5 - 1:05 . 2 Kings 6 - 8:54 . Psalm 119:113-128 - 16:03 . Today’s episode contains some particularly gruesome imagery for children; parental discretion is advised. The kings and kingdoms of the land are growing increasingly chaotic and tumultuous, but in the midst of the chaos, the Lord continues to work and speak through his prophet, Elisha. An Aramean army commander comes to Elisha to be healed, but when Elisha doesn’t give him the respect he thinks he deserves, he almost rejects the o...
Aug 02, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 143
2 Kings 3 - 1:06 . 2 Kings 4 - 7:13 . Psalm 119:97-112 - 16:17 . We’ve been going back and forth between the books of 1 & 2 Kings and the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles, because each of these books contains a history of kings in Judah and Israel. However, as some of you already know the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles are focused on the kings of Judah, while 1 & 2 Kings cover a broader history including those kings from Judah as well as those from Israel, with large portions devoted to the ...
Aug 01, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 142
Obadiah - 1:03 . 2 Kings 1 - 6:10 . 2 Kings 2 - 11:43 . Psalm 119:81 - 17:31 . When we read from 2 Chronicles in our last episode, we covered Edom’s rebellion against Judah during Jehoram’s reign, wherein they separated from Judah and established their own king. Obadiah rebukes this nation for their rebellion in our first reading. A return to the book of Kings, now in the second part, means a little backtracking: in short, Jehoshaphat is king and Jehoram has not yet taken the throne. Ahab’s son ...
Jul 31, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 141
2 Chronicles 21 - 1:01 . 2 Chronicles 22 - 5:32 . 2 Chronicles 23 - 9:16 . In our last episode we covered the life of King Jehoshaphat who was faithful to the Lord, but in today’s episode we witness the beginning of the end for the kings of Judah. Jehoshaphat’s son, King Jehoram is straight-up Je-horrible and when he dies from a horrific intestinal disease, Scripture records that he “died to no one’s regret.” Ouch. His son, Jehoahaz, whom we should note is mainly called Ahaziah, takes the throne...
Jul 28, 2023•15 min•Season 3Ep. 140
1 Chronicles 18 - 1:01 . 1 Chronicles 19 - 9:20 . 1 Chronicles 20 - 11:59 . When we last read from the book of 2 Chronicles we were introduced to Asa’s son, King Jehoshaphat, and as we’ve read from 1 Kings, we’ve heard an account of his partnership with King Ahab of Israel. We’ll hear some parallels from the 1 Kings account today, but we’ll hear more about King Jehoshaphat then Ahab. Remember that Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father, failed to call upon the name of the Lord when there was threat of war, b...
Jul 27, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 139
1 Kings 21 - 1:06 . 1 Kings 22 - 8:00 . Psalm 119:65 - 19:20 . In our last episode, Ahab struck a deal with Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram instead of destroying him, but because the Lord had set him apart for destruction, an unnamed prophet pronounced judgment on Ahab. Some time passes, and Ahab sets his sights on a field that belongs to another man. After he refuses to sell it, Ahab pouts in his room until Jezebel hatches a scheme to murder him and take his land. Elijah appears to prophecy his dem...
Jul 26, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 138
1 Kings 19 - 1:06 . 1 Kings 20 - 6:29 . Psalm 119:49 - 17:45 . After experiencing the power and authority of the God of Israel on top of Mount Carmel, where fire fell from heaven to consume Elijah’s sacrifice, the prophet runs to Jezreel ahead of King Ahab. Upon hearing Jezebel’s threats to execute him, Elijah then flees in despair to a distant mountaintop. Later, King Ahab of Israel goes to battle with Ben-Hadad of Aram. The Lord sends an unnamed prophet to alert Ahab that the Lord will win the...
Jul 25, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 137
1 Kings 17 - 1:06 . 1 Kings 18 - 10:18 . Psalm 119:33 - 17:12 . The line of kings in Israel began with Jeroboam who built golden calves for a more convenient worship experience. After him came Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri, all of whom were evil in the Lord’s sight. This brings us to King Ahab, who should be worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, but instead he marries a Baal worshiper, turns to serve Baal himself, then builds a temple t...
Jul 24, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 136
1 Kings 16 - 1:07 . 2 Chronicles 16 - 8:13 . 2 Chronicles 17 - 11:13 . Psalm 119:17 - 14:36 . In our last reading, we left off with two kings, King Baasha, who has just become king over Israel, and king Asa, who has ruled over Judah for three years at the time of Baasha’s ascension to the throne. Baasha became king by force, killing Jeroboam’s son Nadab as well as the rest of Jeroboam’s family. Take note of the rotating door of kings who rule over Israel, leading up to King Ahab, who is incredib...
Jul 21, 2023•17 min•Season 3Ep. 135
1 Kings 15 - 1:07 . 2 Chronicles 13 - 7:28 . 2 Chronicles 14 - 13:03 . 2 Chronicles 15 - 16:15 . Psalm 119:1 - 20:03 . Our readings today examine the lives of two descendants of David who each reigned as king over Israel. First, there’s Abijah (or Abijam), who reigned for only 3 years, but who makes an impassioned speech against Israel’s king Jeroboam, warning him that he should not wage war against the Lord and those who serve Him. Abijah’s son Asa takes the throne after him, and Asa devotes hi...
Jul 20, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 134
2 Chronicles 10 - 1:08 . 2 Chronicles 11 - 5:04 . 2 Chronicles 12 - 9:21 . 1 Kings 14 - 13:01 . Psalm 118 - 20:04 . Our episode begins with a retelling of the insulting manner in which Rehoboam addresses Jeroboam, only this time the account is from 2 Chronicles rather than 1 Kings. Recall that it was the prophet Ahijah who tore a new robe into 12 pieces and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the number of tribes he would rule over. After Jeroboam leads a revolt, he became king over those 10...
Jul 19, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 133
1 Kings 11:26 - 1:10 . 1 Kings 12 - 5:05 . 1 Kings 13 - 13:04 . Psalm 116 - 20:36 . Psalm 117 - 22:51 . In marrying wives from surrounding nations, he has disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and fallen into idolatry. As such is the case, the Lord vowed to take the kingdom away from Solomon’s family after he is gone. Sadly, the wisdom that Solomon had passed on to his sons doesn’t take root, and the foolishness of his son Rehoboam causes a revolt and a division in the nation of Israel. Today...
Jul 18, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 132
2 Chronicles 9 - 1:07 . 1 Kings 10 - 7:22 . 1 Kings 11 - 14:00 . Psalm 115 - 19:25 . Solomon is not only a king, he is a king among kings, whose wisdom and splendor became well known. As such, the queen of Sheba pays him a visit to see his kingdom. Not only that, but the text tells us that “all the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.” The 2 Chronicles passage concludes with Solomon’s death, but 1 Kings gives us other details about the e...
Jul 17, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 131
Ecclesiastes 8 - 1:03 . Ecclesiastes 9 - 4:36 . Ecclesiastes 10 - 9:44 . Ecclesiastes 11 - 12:31 . Ecclesiastes 12 - 14:17 . Psalm 114 - 17:15 . We’re concluding the book of Ecclesiastes today which was written by King Solomon. Keep in mind that we are reading the Old Testament chronologically, and when we’ve finished this book, we’ll be back in 2 Chronicles and 1 Kings, covering the rest of Solomon’s life. As you may have already heard, two major themes of the book of Ecclesiastes are the ideas...
Jul 14, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 130
Ecclesiastes 3 - 1:04 . Ecclesiastes 4 - 4:32 . Ecclesiastes 5 - 7:24 . Ecclesiastes 6 - 12:21 . Ecclesiastes 7 - 14:49 . Psalm 113 - 19:41 . As we continue our chronological reading of the Old Testament, we’re spending some time in the book of Ecclesiastes which was written by King Solomon. With all of his wealth, fame and wisdom, Solomon discerned that these things could not ultimately extend one’s life or even necessarily make it better. No matter what a person may accomplish, one day he will...
Jul 13, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 129
2 Chronicles 8 - 1:07 . 1 Kings 9 - 4:44 . Ecclesiastes 1 - 10:47 . Ecclesiastes 2 - 13:40 . Psalm 112 - 19:19 . Today, we’re going to be in four different books of the Old Testament, which makes this episode the record-holder in number of places. Don’t worry, though: it’s not any longer than the average episode. In 2 Chronicles and 1 Kings we’ll cover Solomon’s imposition of forced labor over non-Israelites and the initial institution of worship in the Lord’s temple. From there, we’ll transitio...
Jul 12, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 128
2 Chronicles 6 - 1:03 . 2 Chronicles 7 - 10:48 . Psalm 111 - 17:00 . Solomon has finished the work of building the temple and the ark of the covenant is now in the newly constructed room known as the most holy place. The priests have consecrated themselves and will worship the Lord through music. Solomon prays to the Lord before the nation of Israel, asking God to hear their prayers, reminding the people through his prayer that God resides in heaven, and is not confined to the walls of the templ...
Jul 11, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 127
