In today’s blog I would like to focus on Psalms 95 and 96. They are both a call to worship the LORD, but they have 2 different audiences in mind. In Psalm 95, the people addressed are the Israelites, God’s covenant people. They are urged to sing aloud to the LORD (Yahweh), to the Rock […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
One of the Psalms that has been greatly appreciated in the history of the Church is Psalm 72. It is a wonderful description of a truly great king. It is a portrait which differs from how most kings have carried out their kingship including Solomon who seems to have wrote it. Solomon had a great […]
Several of the Psalms we first encounter in our reading today exalt the excellencies of Jerusalem and the Temple in the midst of her. We can understand the reason for this. The LORD had centralized the worship of His people there. The surrounding peoples believed in many ‘gods’ and worshiped their idols in many different […]
In reading through the Bible in 90 days, I find it most difficult to read 12 pages of Psalms each day. The Psalms are self-contained laments, praises or prayers to the LORD. I am used to reading 3 or 4 Psalms at one time. Psalms are wonderful passages to use in our devotional time with […]
In our reading today we begin our journey through the hymn book of God’s people – the Book of Psalms. Hymns to pagan gods have been preserved in the literature, but they are much different than the Psalms. Hymns to the gods and demi-gods in Greece are written in very flattering tones which are meant […]
In yesterday’s reading, we saw how Job’s 3 friends came to console him and ended up condemning him. They were guilty of a simplistic view of how life works. They see Job’s great suffering, therefore he must be guilty of great sin which he is too proud to confess. We know from Job 1&2 that […]
Some Bible scholars think that the Book of Job is the oldest part of the Biblical record. In fact, it may be the oldest book in the world. It is certainly one of the most profound treatments in exploring the mystery of suffering, especially in the life of the godly. The Book is an extended […]
The Book of Esther is right in the middle of our reading today. This Book has 10 chapters but not once is the name of God mentioned. The careful reader, however, will not be misled by this. In the story of Esther and her older cousin Mordecai, the LORD is very much involved in what […]
Nehemiah is one of my favorite characters form the Old Testament. He expresses a great devotion to the LORD (Neh.1:4-11;2:4), a great sensitivity to dealing justly with the poor (Neh. 5:1-19) and a great capability to organize God’s people to do a great work for God (Neh. 2,4,6). Under his leadership, the Israelites are able […]
At the end of 2Chronicles, the southern kingdom of Judah finds itself in Babylonian exile for covenantal unfaithfulness. In Chronicles 36:15-17b, we read these words: “The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But […]