1CHRONICLES 6: Yesterday we heard details about the leaders of three tribes, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. PROVERBS 16a: Today’s collection of proverbs contains a famous one: Pro. 16:3 NLT Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Re-reading EPHESIANS 5: Although today’s chapter does not contain an instance of the theme words “joined with Christ”, this chapter contains the highest example and explanation of that oneness. NLT Translation notes: Eph. 5:28 In the ...
Aug 26, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 239
1CHRONICLES 5: In yesterday’s reading, we heard of important ancestors of the tribes of Judah and Simeon. In Ezra’s time, I can imagine that it was important to figure out who was who and what their relationship was, as this would determine the redistribution of land to the exiles who were returning. PROVERBS 15b: I wish I was more like this proverb: 23 Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (NLT) EPHESIANS 5: There is no topic change at the fi...
Aug 25, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 238
1CHRONICLES 4: In yesterday’s reading we started with David’s sons, then for the descendants of King Solomon, only the kings were listed. So we jumped up to the period of the exile to Babylon. PROVERBS 15a: Here is a favorite verse from today’s group of proverbs: Pro. 15 NLT 17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate. Re-reading EPHESIANS 4: This chapter has only one instance of the words I translate as ‘joined as one with Christ’, but the chapter is...
Aug 24, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 237
1CHRONICLES 3: So far we have traced Jakob/Israel’s descendants into the time of David, and today’s reading picks up with David himself. PROVERBS 14b: Here is a quote from today’s group of proverbs: Pro. 3:20 NLT The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.” EPHESIANS 4: Paul’s letters are usually divided into two parts, with the ethereal and theological part first, followed by the practical part. Yesterday we concluded the ethereal and theological part with ...
Aug 23, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 236
1CHRONICLES 2: Yesterday we traced from Adam to Noah, and the genealogy to Abraham. Then we heard of Abraham’s two other families, those descending from Keturah and the sons and rulers descended from Esau. So now we take up Jacob’s descendants, but in this book he is frequently called by his other name, Israel. (GNT has used ‘Jacob’ instead in this chapter, as it is more understandable for modern readers.) PROVERBS 14a: This chapter has one of my all-time favorite proverbs: 4 NLT Without oxen a ...
Aug 22, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 235
1 CHRONICLES 1: Jewish and Christian traditions hold that Jeremiah was the author of 1&2 Kings, which were originally one book. And that Ezra, the priest, wrote 1&2 Chronicles, which are also one book in the Hebrew. It may be that Ezra wrote these books after his return to Jerusalem. The Greek Septuagint names this book Paraleipomena, which means ‘things left over’. This book does supplement things not found in other books. Compared to the books of Samuel and Kings, Chronicles focuses mo...
Aug 21, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 234
LAMENTATIONS 4-5: In yesterday's reading, the sun pierced the dark clouds with this glorious section: Lam. 3:22 NLT The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” 25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. Those are only the most frequently quoted verses. There are many other precious verses in ...
Aug 20, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 233
LAMENTATIONS 3: A warning for the modern times is here in chapter 2: Lam. 2:14 NLT Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope. The last so poignant line from yesterday’s reading was, 22 … “The enemy has killed all the children whom I carried and raised.” Today Jeremiah again speaks in the first person. PROVERBS 12b: A favorite verse to introduce to...
Aug 19, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 232
LAMENTATIONS 1-2: In the early chapters of his book, Jeremiah spoke several times of his tears. Lamentations will help us to understand how this ‘weeping prophet’ felt, and how God mourned also. This book has been a comfort to many who mourn. Light breaks through in the middle— in chapter 3, with words that are used in one of our greatest hymns. The book ends with poignant questions to God. PROVERBS 12a: A favorite verse to introduce today’s proverbs: 12 NLT Thieves are jealous of each other’s l...
Aug 18, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 231
JEREMIAH 52: We come to the addendum to Jeremiah— seemingly written by someone else, perhaps Baruch. I commented yesterday how chapter 51 foreshadows Revelation 18. Jeremiah was prophesying the downfall of the real city of Babylon.What he foretold happened around 70 years later. His prophecy includes details about the enemies being from Media, about the drunkenness of the Babylon’s leaders, and God proclaims more than once that Babylon will become a desert for all time to come. The famous hangin...
Aug 17, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 230
JEREMIAH 51: Today the Lord continues the long prophecy against Babylon. This chapter foreshadows what will happen to the figurative Babylon in Revelation 18. PROVERBS 11a: An important thing I didn’t mention before is that these proverbs represent principles, not promises. This particularly needs to be remembered for verses that talk about prosperity. There will be times, such as what Jeremiah experienced, when no amount of Godly living will bring us wealth. However, the principles hold true. 1...
Aug 16, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 229
JEREMIAH 50: Finally after hearing messages prophesying against so many nations, always telling or implying that the Babylonians would be God’s instrument to punish them, now this long chapter tells how Babylon will finally be judged as well, and God will return to take pity on Israel. PROVERBS 10b: Here is an example of Hebrew parallelism from today’s 2nd half of Proverbs 10: Pro. 10:23 NLT Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible. ‘Fool’ and ‘the sensibl...
Aug 15, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 228
JEREMIAH 49: Having heard bad news about Egypt, Philistia, and Moab, we now hear the bad news for the nations of Ammon and Edom, the city of Damascus, and the nations of Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. PROVERBS 10a: From here on in Proverbs we’ll go a bit slower, by half chapters, because each verse is a separate gem of wisdom. Almost all of these verses are examples of Hebrew parallelism. This means that the two lines of a couplet mutually comment on each other. Let’s take verse 2 as an example: Pro. 1...
Aug 14, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 227
JEREMIAH 48: In yesterday’s reading, the Lord began giving oracles about different nations, with one chapter concerning Egypt and the next one about Philistia. Today we’ll hear about Moab. PROVERBS 9: Today’s chapter is the last of the thematic chapters at the beginning of this book. Lady Wisdom speaks, and we find that she is opposed by Lady [Folly/Stupidity]. 1JOHN 2: John continues to address us as his dear children, and tells us things that we must know in order to be on guard and remain in ...
Aug 13, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 226
JEREMIAH 46-47: After finally being able to give a comforting message (“Stay here in Judah and don't go to Egypt. The Lord will take care of you”), the people not only ran off to Egypt but took Jeremiah with them. (Or did he go along willingly?) Perhaps he thought that in Egypt the Lord's message to stop worshiping idols would have some traction. But again, alas... No. Then yesterday we heard the short special message to the official Baruch, Jeremiah’s faithful secretary. In today’s reading, the...
Aug 12, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 225
JEREMIAH 44-45: After all Jeremiah's messages of doom, he was able to give a comforting message to the Judeans who had been through so much. He might have thought, “At last I get to preach good news.” The Lord said through him, “I feel sorry for all you have had to suffer. Stay here. I will make the king of Babylon take pity on you. Don't fear the Babylonians.” That's the very thing the people had longed to hear for years. But even at this point, they break their promise and don’t listen to Jere...
Aug 11, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 224
JEREMIAH 42-43: I have always found it fascinating what Jeremiah experienced in the aftermath of the fall of Judah's kingdom to the king of Babylon. It is interesting to me that he was led away in chains along with everyone else captured. But the king of Babylon had heard of him and left instructions about him. And it is a shame what happened to Gedaliah. Evidently Jeremiah was not around at that point to warn him. PROVERBS 7: The father instructing his son continues from yesterday’s reading. Th...
Aug 10, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 223
JEREMIAH 40-41: Yesterday we heard of Jeremiah being put in a dry but muddy well, and being rescued by the faithful official, Ebed-melech. And we heard the terrible and painful result of Zedekiah's cowardly failure to do as repeatedly instructed by the Lord. Ezekiel— who was about 20 years younger than Jeremiah, prophesied about Zedekiah: Ezek 12:12 NLT “Even Zedekiah will leave Jerusalem at night through a hole in the wall, taking only what he can carry with him. He will cover his face, and his...
Aug 09, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 222
Day 4 THEME: Buckle up the belt of truth about RESISTING SATAN. All of the Buckling the belt episodes are scattered throughout the Bible reading calendar. This episode will be folded in at episode 219. You can find this and all the other Buckling the belt episodes by searching for the word ‘buckling’ at dailybiblereading.info. Searching for that word might also work in your podcast app. After searching for answers in the Bible and reading a few books that talked about the topics we read about in...
Aug 08, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 219
JEREMIAH 38-39: Yesterday we heard of persecution against Jeremiah, his being imprisoned so that he had his secretary, Baruch convey his messages, and then his being imprisoned in the dungeon at Jonathan’s house. And today he is put in a muddy cistern. PROVERBS 5: Today’s chapter of Proverbs has a clear theme. Here is a verse from the middle that typifies that theme: Prov. 5:15 NLT Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. 1CORINTHIANS 14: This chapter gives Paul’s con...
Aug 08, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 221
JEREMIAH 36-37: In yesterday's reading in Jeremiah, he gave more specific warnings to King Zedekiah. And then we heard of the inspiring example of the Recabites. PROVERBS 4b: Yesterday in the first half of chapter 4, we heard again about Lady Wisdom. I highlight these important words: Prov. 4:7 GNT Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. 10 Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life. 11 I have tau...
Aug 07, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 220
JEREMIAH 34-35: In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah bought a field according to the Lord’s instructions. Under the circumstances, that seemed a futile thing to do. He prayed, and the Lord used the situation as a backdrop for wonderful promises to the nation of Israel. In chapter 33:3 we heard a frequently quoted verse which says, Jer. 33:3 NLT Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. Please do NOT rip a verse like this out of context and then boast that yo...
Aug 06, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 219
JEREMIAH 32-33: In yesterday’s reading we heard some of Jeremiah’s most important words: Jer. 31:33-34 NLT … this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. … I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” When you think about it, what God has always wanted is rather simple: He would like t...
Aug 05, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 218
JEREMIAH 30-31: Yesterday we heard more of Jeremiah’s struggle against false prophets. And now so many centuries later, in our day, the false message is what people desire to hear, even though the truth is actually better for us and much better for our preparation. There is an often quoted verse from yesterday’s reading. I think it is good to bear in mind that this was NOT spoken to the Jews left behind in Israel's land, but was part of the letter to the exiles in Babylon. Jer. 29:11 NLT For I k...
Aug 04, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 217
JEREMIAH 28-29: In yesterday's reading we moved from more poetic content to the story of Jeremiah being opposed by priests, other prophets, and royal officials. Remember that God has promised that he will protect Jeremiah in the face of opposition, and this certainly was put to the test. At the end of yesterday's reading, we heard how Jeremiah prophesied that more valuable articles would be taken away from the Temple, and that they would be brought back eventually. When we read the book of Ezra,...
Aug 03, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 216
JEREMIAH 26-27: In yesterday’s reading, some important points were revealed: The people the Lord was about to send into exile to the North would return to Him wholeheartedly and God would bring them back to their land. God would put it into their hearts to return to him! Those remaining in the land at the point of exile and their king would be scattered, cursed, and vanish. The exiles would come back after 70 years, and afterward Babylon would have its turn to be punished and would remain a ruin...
Aug 02, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 215
JEREMIAH 24-25: A stunning prophecy was given in yesterday's reading: Jer. 23:5-6 NLT “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant* from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’* In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. How amazing it is that this identity of ‘The Lord Our Salvation/Righteousness’ ...
Aug 01, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 214
JEREMIAH 23: In yesterday's reading, we heard how king Zedekiah sent two men to Jeremiah to ask him for help to pray for a miracle. And God made it ever so clear that no miracle of deliverance would be given. Jeremiah repeatedly tells the king what he needs to do, but Zedekiah just couldn’t bring himself to do it. The area of giving justice was especially prominent in yesterday's readings. PSALM 149: We old saints should not despise all of the new songs of the young saints. Yet I totally underst...
Jul 31, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 213
JEREMIAH 21-22: These verses from Jeremiah 20 have been often quoted as a reason for memorizing Scripture: Jer. 20:9 NLT But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! Remember the priest Pashur who put Jeremiah in stocks. The Passhur that time was the son of Immer. Today it is evidently a different Passhur who visits Jeremiah, the son of Malchiah. PSALM 148: T...
Jul 30, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 212
JEREMIAH 19-20: In yesterday’s reading, we again heard some often-quoted verses. These verses come just after verses in chapter 17 where the Lord himself beautifully paraphrased Psalm 1: Jer. 17:9 NLT “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Then in chapter 18, we also heard the famous...
Jul 29, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 211
