Author: biblereadingchallenge

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 15:23-16:23
  John 18:25-19:22
  Psalm 119:113-128
  Proverbs 16:10-11

2 Samuel 15:25 — From Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

David is very careful for the safety of the ark. It is right to be more concerned for the church’s prosperity than our own; to prefer the success of the gospel above our own wealth, credit, ease, and safety. Observe with what satisfaction and submission David speaks of the Divine disposal. It is our interest, as well as our duty, cheerfully to acquiesce in the will of God, whatever befalls us. Let us see God’s hand in all events; and that we may not be afraid of what shall be, let us see all events in God’s hand.

2 Samuel 15:30 — Almost 1,000 years later someone else went up Mount Olivet, sweating drops of blood. David and Jesus both prayed to God on that mountain.

2 Samuel 16:4-5 — “Fog of War” is a phrase that applies. Ziba seems to be a devout follower of David, but then we read Mephibosheth’s account in 2 Samuel 19:24-30. Interestingly, it is difficult to tell what really happened. We hear Ziba’s account here and Mephibosheth’s account later. David doesn’t seem too sure either and just tells them to split the land (2 Samuel 19:29), but Mephibosheth foreshadows the wisdom of Solomon and tells David that Ziba can take it all. Or is Mephibosheth just glad to be alive? Either way David made a good call on the important issues (sending the Ark back, not killing anyone rashly, and building an informer network in Jerusalem).

Meanwhile, when Shimei bashes David, David spares him. We’ll see Shimei along with Mephibosheth later (2 Samuel 19:16).

2 Samuel 16:22 — This action with the concubines of David is seen as a political statement, and quite possibly what the Islamic term “zina” refers to. Zina (adultery punished by stoning) requires four witnesses, and depending on the school of thought, the witnesses must be witnesses to the very act. Very rarely does one have 4 witnesses to a generally private act, so possibly Mohammed was referring to the political implications of such an act, seeking to prevent one of his sons from rebelling like Absalom did against David.

John 18:30 — Not exactly a clear charge that the prosecutors have before the judge, Pilate.

John 18:33 — In John’s account, he does not record the Jews accusing Jesus of claiming to be the King of the Jews.

John 18:36 — Jesus challenges Pilate’s jurisdiction. Pilate is only worried about territorial threats to Roman domination, and Jesus is not an earthly threat.

John 18:40 — A great movie on Barabbas was produced by Unusual Films called Wine of Morning.

John 19:7 — Just a week earlier they shouted Hosanna. Now they have rejected His claim to be the Son of God. They rejected Him six separate times (John 18:40, John 19:6, John 19:7, John 19:12, John 19:15).

Psalm 119:113 — The Law is my love (Psalm 119:119, Psalm 119:127), my hope (Psalm 119:114), my safety (Psalm 119:117), and my instruction (Psalm 119:124).

Albany County Department of Consumer Affairs Sticker in Colonie, N.Y.

Proverbs 16:11 — Don’t tell the Freedom from Religion Foundation, but virtually every state has government officials on government payroll doing the work of the LORD, a very religious task!

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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Image Credit: Copyright Capital Newspapers, a division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 14:1-15:22
  John 18:1-24
  Psalm 119:97-112
  Proverbs 16:8-9

2 Samuel 14:3 — Interesting contrast between God’s words that Nathan conveyed to David and Joab’s words to the woman of Tekoah.

2 Samuel 14:5 — Because of today’s Secret Service protection, we’re not used to commoners having direct access to a high ranking government official. Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, was directly accessible by anyone who wanted to talk to him:

One aspect of White House life that made family life particularly difficult for the Lincolns was the mansion’s open-door policy to the public, war notwithstanding. Virtually from Lincoln’s first day in office, a crush of visitors besieged the White House stairways and corridors, climbed through windows at levees, and camped outside Lincoln’s office door “on all conceivable errands, for all imaginable purposes.”

Neither custom nor security precautions shielded the president from his voraciously demanding public. Office-seekers were the biggest drain on the presidents time and energy—among them, his wife’s own relatives—crowding the hallways all the way down the front stairs in an endless effort to importune him for lucrative government appointments.

2 Samuel 15:6 — Today, it’s hard to imagine such intense intra-family feuds that Absalom would seek to steal the hearts of Israelites away from his father. We don’t see Prince William trying to take the crown of his grandmother from King Charles. But as recently as World War I, we saw close relatives at war:

And at the center of this stage stood three cousins, King George V of Great Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, whose complicated family relationships partly fueled the international animosity that led to the horrors of The Great War.

http://theworcesterjournal.com/2014/08/22/family-feud-the-three-cousins-who-led-europe-into-the-first-world-war/

2 Samuel 15:8 — Ever notice how cavalier the leadership was to invoke God’s name in an act of subterfuge? Not just a generic term like El (God), but His covenant name YHWH (LORD). Saul swore by the LORD to the witch (1 Samuel 28:10), and David swore by the LORD to kill the rich man who took the poor man’s lamb (2 Samuel 12:5). Several of these may fall under violations of the Third Commandment.

2 Samuel 15:21 — Interesting that Ittai the Gittite was more loyal to David than David’s own son and his trusted counselor Ahithophel. Why? Thanks to Dexter Penwell for pointing this out:

“Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite …”

2 Samuel 23:34

Eliam is the son of Ahithophel … and Eliam had a daughter:

And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

2 Samuel 11:3

John 18:1 — Much of Jesus’ special times were east of Jerusalem in the area of the Mount of Olives.

Arrest of Jesus (The Pictorial Bible and Commentator)

John 18:15 — The Gospel writers hint at many of the political connections of the group. Even though John was part of Jesus’ inner circle, he may have still had connections/access to the palace of the high priest. John was the one who had access enough to get Peter into the courtyard. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (JFB) discusses the issue with Acts 4:13.

John 18:21 — Jesus was invoking His “5th Amendment” right – the rabbinic right against self-incrimination obviously pre-dated the US Constitution by a few thousand years!

Psalm 119:97 — A great song based on this verse and this section of Psalm 119 is “Lord, How I Love Thy Law.”

Psalm 119:105 — This is the classic verse on the guidance of Scripture. Too often we keep the lamp on the shelf and walk in darkness.

Memorize this verse with Earl Martin:

Psalm 119:112 — Have you inclined your heart this way?

Proverbs 16:9 — The phrase “Protestant Wind” brings to mind some of the miraculous protections of England that occurred in her history. But on this side of the pond, we have our own version of the “Protestant Wind”. Consider the amazing protection of George Washington from Captain Patrick Ferguson, or when Washington was found with four bullet holes in his coat, and that was after he had two horses shot out from under him. Man proposes, but God disposes.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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Image Credit: Cobbin, Ingram, 1777-1851;March, Daniel, 1816-1909;Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893;Stretton, Hesba, 1832-1911, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 13:1-39
  John 17:1-26
  Psalm 119:81-96
  Proverbs 16:6-7

2 Samuel 13:3 — Shimeah (Shammah in 1 Samuel 16:9) was passed over by the LORD. His son, Absalom, Tamar, and Amnon’s evil cousin (Jonadab) had shifting loyalties. Jonadab ended up helping Amnon rape his half-sister, Tamar, but then appears to side with Absalom in 2 Samuel 13:32.

Rape of Tamar by Alessandro Tiarini

2 Samuel 13:15 — So much of what passes for “love” is just “lust” that doesn’t bring people together.

2 Samuel 13:29 — Nathan warned David that the sword shall not depart from his house (2 Samuel 12:10). Once sin begins in a family, it can often spread.

John 17 — This chapter is known as the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus”. John MacArthur did an eight-part series on this prayer.

In this passage He prayed for three things: Himself, His disciples, and believers in Him. How amazing is that? If you are a believer in Jesus, He prayed for you!

We’ll learn that the mission of Jesus our High Priest is to glorify God in His life, His ministry, His sacrifice, His resurrection, and His ascension. All that Christ did was designed to glorify God. As Jesus prays for His disciples we’ll learn that He prayed for their safety. That they would not stray from what was about to come. He is praying that they too, just like He prayed for Himself, would glorify God in all they do.

John 17:21 — I recently heard a message on unity. The speaker didn’t go into detail on what we were united in, just that we were all together. That wasn’t unity in doctrine, rather unity in mere proximity. We must be united in the truth (John 17:17). Sometimes people will separate from us because of their love for the world (2 Timothy 4:10). Sometimes we are commanded to separate from others (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Psalm 119:81 — How much do you desire God’s Word? Does your soul yearn for it? Do your eyes look for it (Psalm 119:82)? Do you delight in it (Psalm 119:92)? Do you seek it (Psalm 119:94)?

Psalm 119:89 — The center verse of the 176 verses in Psalm 119 emphasizes the eternal settled nature of the Word of the LORD. That is the same Word given to us – will we read it and heed it?

Proverbs 16:7 — You can have peace with everyone if you have peace with the most important One first!

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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Image Credit: Alessandro Tiarini, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 12:1-31
  John 16:1-33
  Psalm 119:65-80
  Proverbs 16:4-5

Nathan Advises King David by Matthias Scheits

2 Samuel 12:7 — “Thou art the man!” This is the only time this phrase is found in the Bible. What was the great sin David had done? “Thou hast despised me” (2 Samuel 12:10). What David had done in secret would soon be made known publicly (2 Samuel 12:12, Luke 8:17) because “the enemies of the LORD [have occasion] to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14).

2 Samuel 12:24 — ”… and the LORD loved him.” God chastens, but God forgives.

2 Samuel 12:28 — The king that stayed home in days of battle now gathered the people for battle. Joab, not always known for his ethics, was loyal to David though.

John 16:2 — One of the people Jesus is talking about is Saul of Tarsus.

John 16:8 — The three duties of the Holy Spirit: conviction of sin (the greatest sin is not loving the LORD Jesus), conviction of righteousness (the One whose righteousness can pay the penalty of sin), and the conviction of coming judgment.

John 16:33 — We can rejoice because Jesus has overcome the world!

Psalm 119:72 — Would you rather have thousands of gold and silver pieces or the Law of God?

Proverbs 16:5 — Pride is an abomination to the LORD. Is it an abomination to us?

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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Image Credit: Matthias Scheits, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 9:1-11:27
  John 15:1-27
  Psalm 119:49-64
  Proverbs 16:1-3

2 Samuel 9:1 — Vows are important (Deuteronomy 23:21-23). David made a covenant with Saul before the LORD (1 Samuel 24:21), and with Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:3, 1 Samuel 20:42).

2 Samuel 10:5 — The esteem of the nation of Israel was in how the other nations treated the ambassadors from Israel. By treating them shamefully, they declared war on Israel. David was loyal to his servants and protected their reputation and that of the nation they served.

2 Samuel 11:1 — We have seen many great victories of David, now we see the words “But David …” When he should have been at work, he tarried. When one warned him (2 Samuel 11:3), he disregarded it. While he acted in an unethical military manner as an absentee king, he had a loyal soldier who acted ethically (2 Samuel 11:11). But David’s actions were plainly understood by the unethical Joab (2 Samuel 11:19).

King David Handing the Letter to Uriah by Pieter Lastman

2 Samuel 11:27 — The chapter that starts “But David …” ends with “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

John 15:2 — The last lines of Ron Hamilton’s song “Rejoice in the LORD” echo this verse:

God strengthens His children, and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging, more fruit I will bear.

Ron Hamilton

John 15:5 — Some change the verse to say, “Without me ye can’t do everything.” Nope … it literally says, “You can do nothing without Jesus.” The challenge in ministry is that one can get caught up in doing things for Jesus, as opposed to doing things by Jesus. The scary admonition is what happens when we try to do things without Jesus … “they are burned” (John 15:6).

John 15: 7, 12, 13 — From Earl Martin (If Ye Abide in Me):

John 15:14 — Again, Jesus reiterates the connection between love, fellowship, and obedience.

Psalm 119:49 — What is the root of our hope? The Word of God in us. The memory of His judgments (Psalm 119:52). The melody of His statutes (Psalm 119:54). The motivation of His judgments (Psalm 119:62).

Proverbs 16:3 — How can we know what our thoughts should be? By giving our agenda to the LORD.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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Image Credit: Pieter Lastman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons