23rd Psalm God leads me beside still waters.
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Day 128 (May 8): God remembers, always cares, Earth is God’s, Pure enjoy blessings, I am His, Reveal your ways, Forgive me, Be gracious, Dwell in your glory

Jan van ‘t Hoff/Gospelimages.com

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— Psalms 22-26
(979 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (Psalm 22): I can feel the fear in David’s words.  It’s an intense, gripping fear that grows as he writes.  He is battling with the knowledge of God that his ancestors have taught him and the enemies that are closing in on him as he lies in pain.  What keeps him going is that he trusts in his ancestors’ teachings to trust in God and he will deliver.  Then, he says he will be that same soldier of God for future generations.  Rob, is this an accurate depiction of this Psalm?

A. I think there is the type of struggle you mention, but this Psalm is mostly about a man who is being unjustly persecuted by evil men.  He knows that God will deliver him, and he will, as you suggest, be a witness to the power of God when God delivers him.  It is certainly a powerful psalm, and the first line (22:1) is what Jesus cried from the cross during his crucifixion (Matthew 27:45-46).  In an era without names for these Psalms (there was no such thing as Psalm 22 in those days), this would be like singing the first line of a well-known song today (like if I sang “Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light).  By saying these words, Jesus was connecting with the spirit of this Psalm, and everyone at the crucifixion would have understood that Jesus was proclaiming his innocence before God.

Q. (23): This is probably the most recited Scripture at funerals.  I have a Bible that a pastor left at my grandma’s bedside when she passed.  He had it tagged with the 23rd Psalm.  It is so beautiful and gives such serenity to how God cares for us now and forever.  Comments, Rob?

A. One of my favorite Max Lucado books is written on the 23rd Psalm, called Traveling Light.  I would highly recommend it.

Q. (24:1-2): I am often awestruck by God’s magnificent artistry — those words don’t give Him justice — yet I have never thought about the fact that everything in the universe does belong to God.  How far away that is from standard thinking that everything belongs to someone — another amazing fact to contemplate!  Vs. 3-6 make me want to teach God to my kids … and for that fact, as many people as possible!  In Vs. 7-10, I imagine the crowd going wild as God is carried into a stadium filled with praising Christians.  Wouldn’t you say, that it’s also the other way around, that God is there to support us?

A. Part of the beauty of the Trinity doctrine is that we are allowed to have more than one understanding of God.  God is the magnificent artistic Creator, AND the God/man who walked the earth and knew all of our pains (including rejection and loneliness as we discussed in Psalm 22), And He is the very Spirit of life in each of us that brings us closer to our heavenly home.

Q. (25): What’s the deal with the note at the beginning of this Psalm?

A. The editor is letting us know that this Psalm, along with several others, is an acrostic, in Hebrew of course.  Each line of the poem begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  There are 22 letters in Hebrew, and so we will see a number of Psalms with 22 lines for this reason.  We will see this appear in other places in Scripture as well, such as Lamentations and Proverbs.  Something to watch for, but it is almost a shame that we miss out on the poetry of the use of Hebrew letters.

Q. (25:11-15): I would say that David is describing God’s handing out of wisdom to His followers.

A. I think it is saying that God is faithful to His people, and provides for their every need, whether it is knowledge, rescue, or anything else.

For further reading: Using acrostic poetry was an easy way to help memorize Psalms, https://truthonlybible.com/2015/06/02/biblical-acrostics/

Shop: In Philippians 4:8, God tells us to think only about good things. https://livinlight.org/product/all-good-thoughts/

Tomorrow’s reading: Psalms 27-32

Shelter David communicating with God
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Day 127 (May 7): Shelter, Trust, Evildoers, Dwell, Goodness, Protection, Rock, Rescuer, Praiseworthy, Perfect, Pleasing Him, Remembers followers, King support

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— Psalms 12-17
— Psalms 19-21
(979 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (Psalm 12): In our readings of David so far, I only remember him talking about enemies lurking and also about praising God.  But here, David talks of how the people are succumbing to evil.  In a recent reading, I do remember when given three choices of punishment to choose, he chose the one with the smallest duration.  So, that shows his compassion to others — that others are on his mind.  But, it seems that David’s biggest concern has been gaining and keeping the throne.

A. That is not the way I would read this Psalm.  David here appears to express concern that the people of his generation are becoming increasingly corrupt and falling away from God.  We will see how this plays out horribly when we return to Kings.

Q. (13): Is it correct to say that God may not answer some of our prayers right away as a test to see if we will continue to be faithful when God seems far away?  But then, when he hears us cry out in anguish, he will honor the loyalty by answering the prayer?

A. I once heard a pastor say that there were three answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait.  Ultimately, if we trust that God knows what is best for us even better than we do, we can hopefully accept that sometimes we do not know which answer God is giving us.

Q. (14): This reminds me of Noah and the Ark — everyone is evil again except one family.  We don’t know at what time in David’s life that he wrote this song, right?  So, we don’t know what he was going through at this time.  Can you explain verse 7?  Who is David referring to when he says someone will come from Mt. Zion?  And, why bring Jacob into the picture?

A. We do not have dates for any of the Psalms, no.  I don’t think verse 7 refers to a particular person, but rather a request for God to provide deliverance personally.  While the title of “Jacob” is not commonly used, it is the same name as Israel, so that likely is the significance.  It’s probably there to make a particular rhyme in the Hebrew.

Q. This is a sideline question that I just thought of when I was writing the previous question.  Can we draw any correlation between Noah’s “Ark” and the “Ark” of the Covenant?

A. Sure.  Both represent God’s provision for His people at different times: the Ark (boat) made a way for Noah in Genesis, and the Ark of the Covenant made continuous provision for God’s people throughout its existence.

Q. (15): This psalm mentions something many have issues with — talking about others.  What defines gossip to God?

A. The usual line I take on gossip is: anytime you are discussing a less than stellar aspect of another person without their knowledge just for the purpose of sharing, you are flirting with gossip.  If you are talking to someone for your benefit at the expense of someone else’s reputation, you’re in danger.  And obviously it is not gossip if you are talking to the person about the issue you have with them, as Jesus directed us (Matthew 18:15-18).

Q. (16:11): It sounds like David knows something of the afterlife here.

A. I think David has great faith in God’s ability to preserve him forever.  David is one of the first writers to speak of this concept clearly in the OT.

O. (17:13-15): I don’t have anything to say about this except that I love the words and thoughts that David uses to praise God here.

Q. (19:12-13): I relate to these verses.  I often see things that I think are glaring faults in someone, but I wonder what faults I have in myself that I don’t see.  When do we know what to change and what should be left alone, both in ourselves and in others?

A. By praying.  I know ministers who use these verses and Psalm 139:23 as a part of their walk with God.  They say, “God, I am open to anything that you desire to reveal in me and want me to be working on, and I desire for the Spirit to be working on my heart” or something like that.  Do that for a while, and I think you will find that God is eager to reveal in us what He desires for us to change.

O. (19:14): Our pastor says this verse every Sunday before he preaches.  I love it!  (Note from Rob: this is one of the most well known prayers of pastors, and it has been used for centuries.)

O. (20:7): I like this underscore about boasting.  I do like that we can boast about our Lord, who provides all we need, as David says here.  Boasting of ourselves has no place in this world.

Q. (21:7): I like this.  At times, when I am feeling troubled or challenged, I remember that as long as I trust in God, I will not falter.  It sounds pretty easy.  But, as we know, it’s easy to falter.  We know Jesus was the only perfect man.  Would you say it’s impossible to be perfect?  And that one reason sin surrounds us is to check our faithfulness to God to see if we turn to him to keep us out of sin or redeem us if we have already sinned?

A. One of the goals that the Bible describes in our walk with God is called sanctification.  That it, the process, day by day, that the Spirit is at work in our hearts, if we let Him, to make us more and more like Christ.  There is some degree of debate as to whether it is possible to be perfect, but ultimately, perfection for the sake of perfection is not the goal.  The goal is to be more like Jesus, and let God take care of the rest.  As you said, if we put our faith in God, and act out of the best desires of our hearts, we will be in good shape.  Now having said that, let me hasten to add that it should be the goal of all Christians, not to be perfect — tricky indeed — but rather to be MORE perfect today than yesterday.  If our goal is to truly follow after God, then we can see how taking steps of obedience to what He desires will be something we desire.

Book: If you’d like to read more on being holy, Christian perfection, and sanctification, I recommend a book entitled, “Called to be Holy” by John Oswald.  It’s a great look at how holiness is attained in both the Old and New Testaments.  https://www.christianbook.com/called-to-be-holy-biblical-perspective/john-oswalt/9781593175450/pd/55921

Shop: Christian shirts get noticed.  Check out these conversation starters: https://livinlight.org/shop/

Tomorrow’s reading
— Psalms 22-26

David Psalms When David died he was buried in Jerusalem (also known as the city of David).
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 126 (May 6): David’s last words to Solomon, stands against sin, pleads for redemption, marvels at God’s creation, heralds God, David dies, God judges

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s reading
— 1 Kings 2:1-9
— 2 Samuel 23:1-7
— 1 Kings 2:10-12
— 1 Chronicles 29:26-30
— Psalms 4-6
— Psalms 8-9
— Psalm 11
(970-979 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

We are getting heavy into the Psalms of David.  For background information on Psalms, check out http://biblesummary.org/psalms/1.htm

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Kings 2:5): So, we finally see that King David has a bit more punishment for Joab.  Maybe since David is honoring God in the previous verses, David has God’s blessing to order Solomon to punish Joab?

A. Joab has continuously lived by the sword (in assassinating rivals to further his own career), and because of that, he will die by it.

Q. (2:8-9): So David promised not to kill Shimei, but he’s almost ordering his son to, and it sounds like he wants him to brutally murder him.

A. It is not David’s best moment, but cursing a ruler (as Shimei did) was against the Law (Exodus 22:28) and such behavior was rightly punished by death.  In his wisdom, Solomon will not take his father’s advice, and will offer Shimei a way out similar to the city of refuge.  You’ll see what happens whenever the reading picks up in Kings again.

Q. (2 Samuel 23:2-4): I am confused here if the verses are describing David or the Lord.  If it’s David, he’s getting a little arrogant on his deathbed.  Am I reading this wrong?

A. Actually, its neither David, strictly speaking, or God.  These verses are about the idealized king of Israel, which will be seen as Jesus Christ, who rules through the righteousness of God.  David is not speaking of himself here, but rather casting a vision of what those who follow after him — beginning with his son Solomon — should seek to match.

Q. (Psalm 4:2): Do you have any idea of whom David is saying is ruining his reputation?

A. No one specific, just his enemies, of which David has plenty all of his life.

Q. (Psalm 4:6-8): This is an interesting set of verses.  From our readings thus far, I don’t think we have seen where God has shown his anger and caused hard times unless the people were disobeying/dishonoring God, except for Job and even then, Job had to battle with his ego a bit.  I think it’s safe to say that humans cause their own bad times.  But, what I get from this verse is that, regardless if you are in good or bad times, the only peace you can find is in God.

A. I think that is a very fair reading of the verses.

Q. (Psalm 5:1-6): To me in 1-3, David is telling God to “wake up and look at me.”  This sounds selfish and disrespectful to me.  Of course, God is listening.  In verses 4-6, David is telling God what he is like.  I think God would know himself pretty well.  Verses 7-8 sound to me like they would be more pleasing to God.  In verses 9-10, David sounds like he is judging and asking God for his blessing.  Verses 11-12 are awesome.  So, why does David change his delivery so much?  This was an earlier Psalm, maybe he’ll become more reverent as we go?

A. Don’t count on reverence as we go.  The Psalms jump through all kinds of emotions all over the place.  Also, the poems are compiled into five different books (something that frankly will be difficult for us to see in this particular breakdown, obviously), and we don’t know exactly who did the editing or why.  So, there is no reason to assume that they are assembled chronologically: we cannot assume that just because the Psalms are listed 8, 9, 10, that this was the order they were written in.  Do not assume that the order the Psalms are placed in has any bearing on their “age.”

As to the irreverent content of the Psalm, all people go through frustrating periods where we feel that things are not going well, and it is human nature to blame God when things are not necessarily going right.  So when the writer says, “why aren’t you watching,” perhaps he really means, “why aren’t you doing what I asked you to, God?”  As I said, don’t expect that to stop here.  The Psalms are filled with human emotion at its most raw, and in places like that, God is rarely treated with the full reverence he deserves.

Q. All of these psalms tell what instruments are supposed to accompany them.  I guess this gives us a picture of the Levites who were assigned to music?  So, these songs would be sung/performed in the temple for a congregation to hear?

A. They were probably used for worship of some sort, but it is hard to tell exactly what these poems were used for in the ancient world.  It seems likely to me that David and other kings had these songs/poems performed in his court as part of his public acts of worship.

Q. (Psalm 6): This describes how David’s faith in the Lord is strong.  But David is sorrowful because he doesn’t feel God’s involvement in his life.  Rob, can you talk about this?  Why do we feel such a strong pull toward God at times or like he is giving us clear direction and other times he seems so far?

A. We all go through periods of life when God feels closer or more distant.  Some of that, frankly, has to do with how we are choosing God over our sins, and walking closely with Him, but having a good handle in the sin in our lives (hahahaha) is no guarantee that God will feel close.

In his book The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis has a very insightful passage about God feeling close or distant.  He notes that the ultimate goal of God’s relationship with human beings is to have them as faithful children, not infants.  If you know anything about the process of helping an infant or toddler grow into being a child, there are a number of often-painful steps in the process.  A toddler must learn how to walk, and the only way for that to happen is for the parent to withdraw their hand.  Many times the toddler will fall at first, but if the parent never lets go, the child never learns to walk on his own.  Our spiritual walk, Lewis says, can be seen in the same way.  When we first commit to God, we often feel very close to God, but eventually, that emotional relationship must change, as all relationships do.  And God must begin to “withdraw His hand,” if you will, in order for us to “walk.”  It is the ultimate test of a believer in Christ to be getting radio silence from God, to not feel Him at all, and still obey what God commands.  That is the surest sign of a faithful follower.  I hope that helps.

O. (Psalm 8): It is amazing that God cares for humans so much.  There are so many more things that seem much more majestic than us: mountains, stars, oceans, baby animals (!).  And, yet, he chose us to share his kingdom with.

Q. (Psalm 9:8): We have talked of fairness before.  In many of the Bible stories thus far, it seems to me that God’s wrath was not always fair.  The more I read, the more I  understand — or accept — God’s actions.  But, to say He is fair.  I don’t think God ever said He was fair.  I thought we talked about fairness being something of a modern term.  I guess they did have judges back then to hear cases.  But, would you consider God fair?  I’m not saying He has to be, He’s God.  He can do whatever He wants.  I envision when our judgment day happens, we will be judged with fairness.

A. To be judged fairly was one of the earliest questions of God by a man (Abraham to be specific, see Genesis 18), and Abraham’s conclusion is that we will be judged rightly by the ultimate Judge.  Is God fair?  That depends on whom you ask, I suppose.  It is perfectly reasonable to expect God to be fair to us, but ultimately, God does not answer to us, we answer to Him.

Q. (Psalm 10:18): The American version of “poor.”  We are definitely not poor.  We have food, shelter, some savings.  What we don’t have much of is disposable income.  So, every month we go through our small budget fast and have to shift some money around and pray for some work — we do that a lot and yes, the work comes!  I pray for enough money so we don’t have to scramble and we can focus on other things, like this blog and having the time — not working, relying solely on my husband’s job — to develop it into something more, what God is telling me to do with it.  And, I think when we past the lottery billboards — the last one I saw said it was up to $191 million — that if I won that, we could give a huge chunk of money to our kid’s school, enough for them to build a new school and give money for more scholarships.  Then, I would pay for all the mortgages of my family and close friends and totally give, give, give to charities.  But, God hasn’t given me the winning six numbers.  When He does, I’m making a bee-line to buy a ticket.  But, as I have seen on TV, big sums of money are often the root of huge sorrow.  So, I guess we’ll just keep on asking God for guidance.  Then, when I see all the starving nations, it makes me feel super selfish!  Like our pastor recently said, God gives you what you need when you need it.

A. Feel free to ask God for whatever you like.  Nothing wrong with that.  Just be careful about what God might expect of you in return!  While we are free to seek out financial peace via the lottery or other wishful thinking (sorry!), it is ultimately our responsibility to be faithful to WHATEVER God gives to us.  This means being generous to everyone, especially those who need it — whether they are poor or not — supporting ministries and churches that you feel God leading you to support, and being a good steward of what God has provided.  That, ultimately, is what God desires of us when it comes to spending: Be a good steward, and to trust Him to take care of the rest.

Q. (Psalm 11): These first verses remind me of my questions about when David fled from enemies.  I was wondering why God wouldn’t protect him and defeat the enemies at all times.  But, I guess we just need to keep in tune with God and do what he tells us.  If he tells us to hold down, stay, if he tells us to flee, run.

A. Sometimes there is great wisdom in fleeing as we saw with David. And sometimes, we must act on what we believe is God’s order to stand our ground.  As with all of these issues we’ve been looking at today, we must trust that God will make the matter clear enough for us to act wisely, but I would say if God tells you to run, get going!

For more interest: How do you know if God is at work in your life? https://p2c.com/students/articles/how-to-know-if-god-is-working-in-your-life/

Shop: With God at your wheel, you will have a Good Life indeed! https://livinlight.org/product/overflow-t-shirt-2/

Tomorrow’s reading
— Psalms 12-17
— Psalms 19-21

Solomon's title threatened. Adonijah attempted to take the throne from Solomon.
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 125 (May 5): David’s belongings help build temple, Solomon anointed king, his brother tries to claim throne, David quickly plans to king Solomon

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Chronicles 29:1-22
— 1 Kings 1
(970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Chronicles 29:1-22): As we read this story, should we keep in mind that it is 1 Chronicles, where the author may have glorified the actual happenings to paint a prettier picture of King David’s rule?

A. That is always something to have in mind at this point.  We certainly get a “rosy” vision of David, but I would also say that there is not much going on here that is outside of the established character of David: He is willing to make great sacrifices on behalf of his God, and this is just one more instance of it.  It is quite clear why David is held up as an OT example for others to follow, even with his obvious shortcomings.

Q. (1 King 1:1-4): What?  I guess this is a “give the king his last dying wish?”  Whatever the reason is, I’m sure it’s not that important — as I have learned.  But, why include it here?  From the text, we never see David spending much time with his sons.  Maybe this is why they are so at odds.  The brothers didn’t have a strong family nucleus with their father or each other?

A. The historian Josephus mentions the “medical” practice of using a healthy person to keep the elderly warm, so it appears that this was an accepted practice in this day.  It appears to be part of the process of making David as comfortable as possible in his final days.  Verse 6 would seem to indicate that David was quite lax in his discipline of his boys, even where it was quite clear what he desired — for Solomon, not any of his other sons, to be king.  David excelled at many things, but it appears that being father of the year was not one of them — and just one more place where the king’s polygamy created unnecessary tension.

Q. (1:5-6): These people seem to be so fickle.  If there was such a huge celebration for Solomon to become king, then why is there an opposing side thinking that they can defeat the named king?

A. Both Solomon and his brother are powerful men, so it is most likely that many who joined Adonijah are hedging their bets as to who will be the “true” king.  They want to be in the good graces of such a powerful monarch, and one of the best ways was to be on his side and cheering for him, right up until the moment someone else prevails.  Fickle is right.

Q. (1:7): Joab sure is a hard one to figure out.  He has always stood beside King David, though he definitely wasn’t completely obedient.  But, if King David named Solomon the next king, then I would think Joab would support Solomon.  On a side note, Joab has to be getting very old too!

A. He is, and this decision to not follow Solomon will be a costly one for him.  Technically, Adonijah is probably, by society’s standards, the right choice for king. He was most likely the oldest surviving son, and the logical choice to be king.  So it is not surprising that Joab followed him.  But as with David, man’s choice for king was not God’s choice.

Q. (1:31): This is a sideline question.  People bow before the king.  Is this OK with God?  I am not sure how God views bowing to anyone except him.  Some people around the world greet one another with a bow, showing a sign of respect.  This came up once when President Obama bowed to a foreign leader.  I was taking a martial arts class with my daughter and we were supposed to bow when you entered the dojo and when we left, I believe, as a sign of respect to the master.  I did not like this one bit.  I have never met the master who is in another part of the world.  I bow my head to God when I pray, but rarely a full-body bow.  I definitely don’t feel like bowing to someone that I don’t know, or moreover, someone who isn’t God.

A. I think there is a fine line between bowing in respect for a leader or another person, and “bowing your heart” to an idol.  Bowing your heart to anything other than God is obviously not what God desires, but I don’t see a particular problem with showing respect for others, as long as it is not worship.

Q. (1:34): Solomon has already been anointed.

A. Anointing is a public ceremony, so I’m not surprised that Solomon is anointed many times.  There wouldn’t have been any CNN covering the ceremony, so the repeated anointing might have had something to do with different people being involved in the process.  Part of the reason for this particular ceremony is David’s desire to publicly make it crystal clear who the king is going to be.

Q. (1:50): Adonijah was afraid of Solomon because he had David and the Lord backing him?  I would think that Adonijah would die from grabbing the horns of the altar.  Maybe he has learned from observing the Lord’s power and will be obedient to Solomon?

A. The horns of the altar are not the same as the Ark, which is what was not to be touched.  The horns of the alter were the place where sacrifices were made, and would have been seen as a place of mercy and surrender.  This is most likely what Adonijah is attempting to convey: I have sinned against the true king, my brother, and need his forgiveness and mercy.

For further reading: David had a big family!  Here’s the list — of sons, anyway, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/sons-of-david.html

Shop: Christian shirts get noticed.  Check out these conversation starters: https://livinlight.org/shop/

Tomorrow’s reading
— 1 Kings 2:1-9
— 2 Samuel 23:1-7
— 1 Kings 2:10-12
— 1 Chronicles 29:26-30
— Psalms 4-6, 8-9, 11

David instructs Solomon on plans for the temple and encourages to seek God
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 124 (May 4): Gatekeeper duties, treasurers, military commanders, military divisions, tribal leaders, officials, David instructs Solomon

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Chronicles 26-28
(979-970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Chronicles 27:25-31): Why does the king have so many possessions?  I just thought kings were there to rule and have a fancy place to live with fancy things in it and nice clothes.  Why olive oil, sheep, goats, donkeys, etc.?

A. Well, it is clear from this text that he had a lot of people in his “employment,” so that is probably part of your answer.  From what I understand, being a king involved regular work as the ambassador of your nation to those around you.  We will see more of this type of activity under Solomon than we did with David.  In order to make an impact, I suspect part of what a king would do would be to share the goods that they had stockpiled in order to make a good impression.  It would be a great way to “grease the wheels” of diplomacy.  The other thing I could see is the king’s court could serve as a kind of storehouse for the nation, so that since the king controlled these things like food, he could distribute them to those who had need.  I have no idea if David actually did this or not, but it sounds like something God would desire out of a king.

For curiosity’s sake: Proof that King David existed, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 1 Chronicles 29:1-22
— 1 Kings 1

David names his son king over Israel.
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Day 123 (May 3): David names Solomon King of Israel, Levites cast lots to assign temple duties

Moody Publishers / FreeBibleimages.org

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Chronicles 23-25
(979 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Chronicles 23:25): What does it mean when David said that The Lord will always live in Jerusalem?

A. When the temple that David has been planning for is built by his son Solomon, it will become the final location for the Ark and therefore God’s presence.

Q. (1 Chronicles 24:6): What does “casting lots” mean?

A. It’s the same thing we’ve been looking at before: the use of the Urim and Thummim to determine God’s will.  They were “cast” or thrown as a kind of “yes” or “no” answer.

Q. (1 Chronicles 23-25): Today’s reading is primarily for record-keeping?  One thought that comes to mind is why is there so much work in the temple?  Of course, I am judging this in today’s standards where you go to church with 30-10,000 people depending on the size of the building.  But, when you have hundreds of thousands of worshippers, the duties would be multiplied.  And, this is no basic church, it is where the Ark rests.

A. Yes, it is pointing out two important aspects of ministry for the various priests: care for the temple and ministries of worship on behalf of the king and royal family.  Those tasks would have required plenty of labor, so it is not really a surprise to me that there were a lot of priestly families involved.

For further reading: How did the tribe of Levi become the tribe of priests? https://www.christianlearning.com/how-the-tribe-of-levi-became-the-tribe-of-priests/

Shop: Today, it’s our duty to show God’s love, https://livinlight.org/product/deepest-love-t-shirt/ and by showing our love, and when we do that, we share the truth — https://livinlight.org/product/truth/ — with others and, in turn, find favor with the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Chronicles 26-28

Unauthorized census David starts collecting building materials to for temple construction
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Day 122 (May 2): David’s census angers God, Plague is served as punishment, David builds altar the right way, David makes preparations for temple

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

We are now 1/3 of the way through the Bible. Congrats! And, look how much we have learned. There is a lot more to come!  If you are new to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives, Welcome! Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 2 Samuel 24:1-9
— 1 Chronicles 21:1-6
— 2 Samuel 24:10-17
— 1 Chronicles 21:7-17
— 2 Samuel 24:18-25
— 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:19
(979-970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (2 Samuel 24:1,9: 1 Chronicles 21:1, 5): The 2 Samuel version says that David ordered the census.  1 Chronicles says it was Satan.  There is also a difference in the census numbers between the two books.  Why would God’s anger against Israel make David want to take a census?  And, why was God angry anyway?

A. It is interesting to me the way that this version of the reading so clearly identifies variations in the text.  You could say that both Satan and David were involved in the sin because Satan could have easily tempted David to do it, but David is ultimately responsible.  This is also, to me, just one more way the author of Chronicles portrays David in a more positive light: rather than the census being just “his” idea, Chronicles tells us that the devil put the idea in his head.  I do not know why the numbers are different in the two versions of the census.

Regarding God’s anger, we also don’t know what it is about Israel’s actions that prompted God’s wrath.  But what appears to have made God angry about the census itself is a bit easier to understand.  The census was a military one: David is measuring the size of his army.  This is a customary action of a king who is preparing to go to war.  So that’s one possibility about what angered God: that David was planning to march his armies in (presumed) defiance of God’s command to be at peace.  Another possibility is that this is a vanity/pride move for David: He wants to know how many troops he has so that he can brag about it.  A third possibility is that the census revealed that David was trusting a bit too much in his armies, and not in God.  That’s about all we’ve got here.

Q. (2 Samuel 24:10-17, 1 Chronicles 21:1-17): I like the 1 Chronicles version better.  It is more descriptive.  Three years is a long time.  I think I would have chosen Door #3 also, but if I would have realized that it would cost 70,000 lives, I may have chosen another option.  David probably didn’t realize the plague would cause so much death?

A. A famine could have killed many more: three years of poor crop growth can cripple a nation TODAY!  And who knows what they would have lost (perhaps Jerusalem itself) if he chose losing to his enemies.  I suspect David took what he knew to be the more immediately painful path, and just “have it done with.”

Q. (2 Samuel 24:24): It’s interesting that David respected God when building an altar to Him to stop the plague.  Usually, free is good.  Araunah obviously wanted to give it as a gift.

A. He did, but as we studied in the Law, God desired not what we get for free or cheap, but rather for us to sacrifice the best of what we have for Him.  This is a big part of the reason that lame or otherwise affected animals were not acceptable as sacrifices: it was the cheap and easy way out, and missed the point of what God desired.

Q. (1 Chronicles 22:14-16): I’m just trying to picture how they moved so much building materials around then, especially the cedar.  Also, it would be interesting to know how someone back then became skilled at something, like the goldsmiths, silversmiths, carpenters and stonemasons.

A. There are a variety of answers to movement of massive material in the ancient world.  We know that the Egyptians used flat sleds or logs — with lots of slave labor — to move things like massive stones around for building the base of the pyramids.  Materials could also be transported by caravan using burden animals like horses and donkeys, which could probably drag a considerable amount of weight behind it.

But there’s other ways too: the nations that supplied the cedar were north of Israel, so it is possible they could have used the waterways like the Jordan river or even the Mediterranean Sea to move massive trees around — wood like cedar almost always floats.  The Phoenicians and Greeks were building massive ships in this era (maybe a little later) called Triremes that were massive and could have clearly carried a lot of people or other things as well (read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme).  I think that gives you and idea of how it was done.  It was most likely a combination of many factors.

Like almost all professions in the ancient world, craftsmanship was handed down from generation to generation in family lines.  If your family fished for a living — as several of the apostles — you learned to fish.  If your family worked with bronze or, later, steel, or jewels or other crafting materials, you would have most likely learned from them.  In this era, there was no currency, so survival would have depended upon people’s ability to barter goods and services to meet their needs.  You can think of this as “pressure” to be good at your family craft: If someone else in your village was better at making jewelry than you were, you were in trouble.  But the family who was the best at it would have likely passed important trade skills down to the next generation.  Additionally, there were no formal schools in this part of the world at this time — though there was what we would call “Bible” education in Jesus’ era, we’ll talk about that in due time — so you very likely could not count on anyone but your community to provide you with a “trade.”

For further explanation: There is a lot of undertones to this census, https://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/why-was-davids-census-a-great-sin/

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Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Chronicles 23-25

David praises God. King Saul hunted for David, but came up empty-handed. David praised God for protecting him.
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Day 121 (May 1): David praises God’s power and his protection

Moody Publishers / FreeBibleimages.org

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 2 Samuel 22
— Psalm 18
(979-970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (2 Samuel 22:1-51, Psalm 18): This is a beautiful song.  I wondered why it isn’t solely in Psalms like the other songs.  Also, it seems that God is on David’s mind 24/7.  Is this how we are supposed to think and act, with God on our mind ALWAYS?  When I first thought about this a while back, it seemed daunting.  How could I think of God all the time?  I didn’t see why it was necessary or how I could actually do it.  I thought it was overkill.  But, I must say, that I do do it a lot more of the time, dare I say most of the time.  And, I’m normally a happier person.  Even when I’m frustrated or angry, I talk to God to try to get me out of it because I know it’s not doing me or Him any good when I’m in a bad mood.

A. One of Jesus’ more famous commands was for us to love God, among other things, with all of our mind (Mark 12:30, among other places).  To me, that means making God our daily focus, and doing our best to keep Him in mind, moment by moment.  Actually, one of the ways that this is best accomplished — drumroll — by reading our Bible every day!  (Pat yourself on the back!)  That is, if we are constantly immersing ourselves in the Word of God, then the Spirit can use these words to bring our mind into focus on God.  I’m glad to hear that you have seen your focus on God increase a bit, and I am certainly suspicious that part of the reason for this is the project that we are undertaking.

One of the hardest things to do in life is to focus on God, not just in moments of peace and silent reverence, but when life is frustrating or things don’t go our way.  Can we focus on God when we are stuck in traffic, or behind that pokey person in the grocery store line?  Can we trust in the truth of God’s word when someone is attacking us?  Do we truly believe that it is better to trade love for hate?  To put our trust in God and not our own finances or plans?  The answer to these questions, quite honestly, is “no” for a lot of Christians.  But the beauty of grace is that God is always at work on us, and over time, you just might find patience and peace in the midst of turmoil that you would have never thought possible in your past.  That, I suspect, will be the moment when you have truly made God, and not the things of this world, your moment-by-moment focus.

Q. (22:21-25): David is saying he is blameless before God.  This isn’t true though.  He slept with Bathsheba, he forgot God in his battle plans at least once.  So, why does he say he is blameless?

A. Beginning at chapter 21, my notes indicate that these chapters, including 22, are a collection or appendix of sorts to 2 Samuel, and they are not necessarily listed chronologically.  Note the date of the poem: the verses tell us that David is praising God for His deliverance from his enemies and Saul.  Now, Saul has been dead a long time at this point chronologically, so it is not a stretch to say that this section was composed at a much earlier, pre-Bathsheba, time in David’s life.  If you want an alternative explanation, you could also argue that David made his repentance and sin offerings for his sins, so he could have seen himself as innocent in God’s eyes because he had taken the legal steps to purify himself of the stain of sin.  I could see either one of these as good explanations.

Q. I always thought the entire Bible was dictated from God.  But, the Psalms are praising God, not from God.

A. Nope.  What you are describing is a caricature of the most commonly understood concept of Biblical inspiration.  What the Bible tells us, in 2 Timothy 3:16 among other places, is that the words of Scripture are God-breathed.  That is, God-inspired, but did not “dictate” if you will, the words that He desired to have been written down.  And in this regard, this makes sense.  If God “dictated” the words of the Bible — as He did in the Quran according to devout Muslims for example — then we would expect to hear only one “voice” in the text.  But the Bible claims to be something very different from a “cosmic typewriter:” it claims to be the recordings of many people, men and women, who encountered the Living God and wrote down their experiences.  Sometimes, they are writing down words for God directly (we will see this in the Prophets section coming up, and we already saw it in the Law section), but other times, we see it contains words that people like David and many others record describing their relationships with God.  Frankly, Psalms is a great example of the free expression we see in Scripture: many of the words that it contains are borderline blasphemous, but they are the real words that people use to talk to God in the midst of their trials and anger or disappointment with Him.  You will see no other book that captures this spirit of recording encounters with God better than the Psalms.  Don’t think of the Bible as something God handed down to us, think of it as an inspired recording of more than 1500 years of encounters with this incredible Being as He moved amongst His chosen people to save the entire world.

Q. (Psalm 18:35): David made reference to God’s right hand here.  Is that of any significance?

A. There’s a few meanings that would be relevant for us.  First, a warrior would, most likely, carry a weapon such as a spear or sword with his right hand, so the image is symbolic of a person fighting for David’s cause. (Note: the weapon on the right hand comes after the image of the shield, most often worn on the left hand).  Also, the image of God’s right hand will continue to evolve and become associated with the imagery of the Messiah.  This comes from the double meaning of “right hand”: the first, as we mentioned, was weapons-bearing; but it also meant, secondly, a close advisor in a king’s court — the person seated at the right hand would have been the most important person next to the king.  It would have been the person’s chosen advisor or warrior, which is exactly the image that we want in the concepts of Messiah, God’s chosen or anointed one.

For further reading: The right hand is mentioned over 160 times in the Bible, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/06/13/what-does-the-right-hand-symbolize-or-mean-in-the-bible/

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 2 Samuel 24:1-9
— 1 Chronicles 21:1-6
— 2 Samuel 24:10-17
— 1 Chronicles 21:7-17
— 2 Samuel 24:18-25
— 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:19

Good King David Psalm 7
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 120 (April 30): Barzillai honors David, argument over king, Sheba’s revolt, Sheba’s head, song against evil, Gibeonites satisfied, giant wars

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 2 Samuel 19:31-20:26
— Psalm 7
— 2 Samuel 21
— 1 Chronicles 20:4-8
(972-970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (2 Samuel 20:10): So, Amasa was stabbed because he took more than 3 days to notify Judah?  What’s the big deal?  His slowness stalled their plans or they may think he was up to something besides notifying Judah?

A. No, David had no knowledge about Joab’s plans: Joab killed Amasa to ensure that he remained commander of David’s army.

Q. (20:16-22): What?  This woman’s actions do not follow protocol.  This is quite a little story.  She is quite wise and how did she get Sheba’s head?

A. It is quite a story.  She was apparently a town elder who had great influence.  Sheba and his men were likely under the protection of the city (they probably agreed to terms before Sheba’s men came into the city).  This woman apparently was able to convince the townspeople that they had gotten a bad deal — there was no way Sheba was going to stop Joab — and they turned on him.

Q. (21:1-14): I don’t see a correlation between Saul and his family murdering the Gibeonites and a famine.  I thought God had little concern for Saul and the Gibeonites are not Israelites.  So, why a focus on this conflict?  This story is confusing to me.  I thought a while back, David had asked if any of Saul’s descendants were still living.  I thought Mephibosheth was the only one.  And, he came to live with David … or eat at his table anyway.  So, where did all of these other children come from?  So, Saul had both a son and a grandson with the name Mephibosheth?

A. Let’s untangle this: we do not know about where these other sons of Saul came from — the Chronicler doesn’t mention any other descendants — so I don’t have a good answer for that.  They may have been more distant relatives of his or the children of slaves/concubines and therefore “lesser” children (I know that sounds horrible).  Regarding the famine, back in Joshua 9 (from Day 83), the Gibeonites were the clever tribe who tricked the Israelites into signing a treaty of protection, which the people swore in God’s name.  Saul’s efforts to eliminate them violated this vow, and God was apparently not pleased.

Q. (21:15-22): Why are the giants important?  Are the four that were killed here the last of them?  It’s interesting that the Israelites would battle with Goliath’s brother.

A. The significance of their story is really about their defeat by David’s men.  The writer is saying, like their king who killed Goliath, David’s men were so fearsome in battle that they could kill giants too.

For further reflection: God chose David because his heart was in the right place, https://realchristianity.com/the-faithfulness-of-king-david/

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Tomorrow’s reading
2 Samuel 22
Psalm 18

David received word that Absalom had been defeated. He began wailing over his son's death.
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Day 119 (April 29): Psalm of protection, Absalom’s defeat, David mourns son’s death, David returns to Jerusalem, spares Shimei, believes Mephibosheth

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 2 Samuel 17:15-29
— Psalm 3
— Psalm 63
— 2 Samuel 18-19:30
(979-972 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (2 Samuel 18:14-15): Joab should have learned his lesson the first time. The king said to take it easy on his son.  He probably wanted to talk to him.

A. He didn’t seem to learn his lesson, but he was right that it was a great insult to Joab’s men that David mourned Absalom’s death in the midst of their great victory.  It was surely a bitter sweet moment for David.

O. (18:33): King David has sinned, but here we can see how wonderful of a person he is.  His son was plotting to kill him, but he did not want his son killed and grieved immensely for him.

Q. (19:5-7): I take it that Joab is a key figure here and we’ll see some payback from David?  David does not know that Joab ordered Absalom to be killed, right?

A. He remains a key figure through the rest of David’s life.  You’ll see how it goes down.

Q. (19:10): I don’t remember any mention of Absalom being anointed.  Did this happen in Hebron when Absalom was supposedly sacrificing?

A. The word “anointed” just means “chosen” or “selected”.  We’re not talking about a formal ceremony with a priest here, though some form of oil may have been used.  The people are commenting about the leader they chose.

Q. (19:11-13): Is David trying to rally some loyalty here?

A. Yes, among his own tribe.

Q. (19:26-28): It’s hard to say who is telling the truth here.  I would say that it’s Mephibosheth?

A. I guess in the end it doesn’t matter: David believed Mephibosheth.

Q. Rob, this is a edge-of-your-seat story with a lot of details and deceit.  I guess the big message is that if we have the Lord on our side, anything is possible?  And, that jealousy, rage, greed, envy and lust can only lead to destruction?

A. I think the big lesson here is that sin always has consequences, even for the most godly of men.  David’s abuse of his throne has come back to haunt him, and cost him a dearly beloved son.  That doesn’t mean God loved him any less, but it is an important lesson for Christians to understand: even if God spares us the ETERNAL consequences of our sins — thank God for that! — we must still deal with the temporal consequences of our decisions.  No one, not even the great King David, is immune to the power of sin and the consequences that follow it.

For further reading: Though he showed his weakness toward Bathsheba, David is heralded as having the heart of God, https://onlinecoursesblog.hillsdale.edu/a-message-of-reconciliation-the-love-of-a-father-and-the-birth-of-christ/

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 2 Samuel 19:31-20:26
— Psalm 7
— 2 Samuel 21:1-22
— 1 Chronicles 20:4-8