The Bible Reading Challenge Presented by VCY

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 20:14-21:22
  Acts 1:1-26
  Psalm 121:1-8
  Proverbs 16:18

View of Tell Abil el-Qameḥ (Israel)

2 Samuel 20:15 — Abel of Beth-maachah is located on the present-day border of Israel and Lebanon, about four miles from where the Tel Dan Stele was found. Sheba fled to the farthest northern reach of the kingdom.

2 Samuel 20:21 — While Israel was forbidden from multiplying chariots, in their geographically dangerous spot that is the cross-section of Assyria, Egypt, Philistines, and who knows who else coming between Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in their agriculturally precarious position of being greatly dependent on the rainfall, God did allow them to have walled cities (Leviticus 25:29, Joshua 19:35-38, 2 Chronicles 11:5-12). During the Divided Kingdom, Jezebel would be thrown down off the wall (2 Kings 9:33).

2 Samuel 21:1 — Many commentators say that this event did not directly follow the preceding chapter. The Believer’s Bible Commentary says:

The remainder of 2 Samuel is really an appendix highlighting various incidents in the reign of David, though not in chronological order. (The chronological order continues again in 1 Kings 1.)

William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 345.

It is interesting that it took 3 years for David to recognize a supernatural cause of the famine. We see from many other places that famine was sent as a judgment (Nave’s Topical Index).

By the way, remember the Gibeonites from Joshua 9:15? This was roughly 400 years ago, yet God still was allowing the consequences of a rash vow from 400 years ago to cause a famine.

David was hoping for a lesser sentence than that prescribed under the previous Noahic Dispensation of Government (Genesis 9:6). The Noahic Covenant demanded bloodshed as did the current Mosaic Dispensation of Law (Leviticus 24:17). God had previously stated that sin was punished to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:6-7, Deuteronomy 5:9, Numbers 14:18, Leviticus 26:39). But how do we reconcile that with Deuteronomy 24:16 which says children shall not be put to death because of their father’s sin? John Piper says that “the sins of the fathers are punished in the children through becoming the sins of the children.” But why did God bless Israel (2 Samuel 21:14) for giving seven sons to be slain for a foolish oath taken 400 years ago?

Now what does the history of Israel demonstrate? It demonstrates that when God deals with Israel, He deals with them as a nation. When the fathers, the ones in control, the adults are bad, everybody gets the punishment.

From Stand to Reason (www.str.org)

The mother who abuses her body with cocaine may give birth to a “crack baby,” who will suffer its entire life for the sin of the mother. Sons may suffer like Saul’s sons did. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren may experience the hurt from an ancestor’s sin. The whole world is suffering from Adam’s sin. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20)!

It took the death of seven sons to assuage (not propitiate) the wrath of God for the sins of one man. Saul did not die for this sin even though he should have, he died for the witch’s sin that he took upon himself. One thousand years later, one sinless Son would die to propitiate the wrath of God for the sins of the whole world!

2 Samuel 21:21 — We read about Jonathan’s subtle (shrewd or crafty) brother Jonadab (2 Samuel 13:3, 2 Samuel 13:32), but now we have the complete opposite – an honorable nephew of David carrying on the family legacy of slaying giants!

Acts 1:8 — From Earl Martin:

Acts 1:22 — In addition to the twelve apostles, there were at least two other witnesses from the baptism of John to the ascension of Christ who were constant companions. Yes, indeed there are “many infallible proofs” of the resurrection of Jesus.

Psalm 121:1-8 — The song “My Help” is based virtually word for word from this Psalm:

Proverbs 16:18 — One of the most misquoted verses of the Bible. Pride does not go before a fall … pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit goes before a fall.

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: Tel Abel Beth Maacah Excavations, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 19:11-20:13
  John 21:1-25
  Psalm 120:1-7
  Proverbs 16:16-17

2 Samuel 19:13 — David invites Absalom’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Amasa, to join him. David was interested in a speedy reconciliation, not a vindictive punishment. It was similar to Abraham Lincoln’s vision for a post-Civil War America.

2 Samuel 19:15 — Gilgal … where Joshua built a monument (Joshua 4:20), where the Angel of the LORD started in Judges 2:1, where Samuel had a circuit stop (1 Samuel 7:16), where Saul was made King (1 Samuel 11:14), where Elisha and Elijah worked (2 Kings 2:1, 4:38).

2 Samuel 19:23 — David followed the teaching of Proverbs 19:11 in order to spare Shimei. He “split the baby” so to say between Ziba and Mephibosheth and rewarded his true friend (Barzillai). David would not forget Barzillai’s kindness (1 Kings 2:7), and Barzillai is even recorded in the post-exilic records (Ezra 2:61, Nehemiah 7:63).

2 Samuel 19:37 — Barzillai wanted the king to bless Chimham instead. The king agreed (2 Samuel 19:38), and brought Chimham with him (2 Samuel 19:40). From Easton’s Bible Dictionary:

… probably the youngest son of Barzillai the Gileadite (2 Samuel 19:37-40). The “habitation of Chimham” (Jeremiah 41:17) was probably an inn or khan, which is the proper meaning of the Hebrew “geruth”, rendered “habitation”, established in later times in his possession at Bethlehem, which David gave to him as a reward for his loyalty in accompanying him to Jerusalem after the defeat of Absalom (1 Kings 2:7). It has been supposed that, considering the stationary character of Eastern institutions, it was in the stable of this inn or caravanserai that our Savior was born (Luke 2:7).

2 Samuel 20:5 — Was David worried that Amasa was disloyal? From John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible:

(W)hether this was owing to the remissness of Amasa, or the unwillingness of the people to serve under him, who had been Absalom’s general in the late rebellion, or not having time sufficient allowed him, is not certain.

Either way, Amasa met a bloody end (2 Samuel 20:12).

John 21:3 — From the Pulpit Commentary:

According to some writers, Peter felt a presentiment of the coming of his Lord under scenes identical with those of his first call (Luke 5:1-11). According to others, Peter exhibited some of the heart-sickness of deferred hope. On either supposition we see a new illustration of, and testimony to, the character of the man who was so conspicuous an initiator.

John 21:17-19 — Peter, who so boldly said he would die for the LORD (Matthew 26:35, Mark 14:31, John 13:37) but denied Him three times (John 18:17, 25, 26), is now distraught as Jesus questions his love. But Jesus says, “I have a plan for you: feed my sheep … follow me.” And someday, this same Peter who wanted to die for his LORD, would die glorifying the Lord!

John 21:25 — From Earl Martin:

Psalm 120:1 — A great promise! “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me.”

Proverbs 16:16 — Television ads are filled with people hawking gold and silver. Usually, they can afford their marketing budget because they sell it at a 50% markup (yes, if you buy gold at a 50% markup, that means that even if gold jumps 50%, you have now officially broken even). Solomon, 3,000 years ago, realized that the demand for gold and silver was just as obsessive as it is today. But better than gold is wisdom. Better than silver is understanding. Interesting that Solomon’s father David uses the same analogy – Psalm 119:127 – the commandments of God are better than gold, and the Law of God is better than thousands of gold and silver pieces (Psalm 119:72).

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.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 18:1-19:10
  John 20:1-31
  Psalm 119:153-176
  Proverbs 16:14-15

Welcome to June! We’re on the verge of the halfway mark!

2 Samuel 18:2 — Notice that David paid attention to the loyalty of Ittai the Gittite. Now he’s a four-star general.

2 Samuel 18:8 — This is a curious phrase. Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible helps:

… and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured; … there were more slain in it the in the field of battle, what by one thing or another; as by falling into pits and on stumps of trees, and being entangled in the bushes, and could make but little haste, and so were overtaken by David’s men, and slain; insomuch that, as Josephus observes, there were more slain fleeing than fighting, and perhaps some might perish by wild beasts; so the Targum,

“and the beasts of the wood slew more of the people than were slain by the sword;”

and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render the words to the same purpose.

2 Samuel 18:9 — Speaking of the wood, the urbane Absalom got stuck in a tree.

2 Samuel 18:12 — The certain man learned the lesson of the Amalekite (2 Samuel 1:10) – don’t kill anyone that the king wants to protect!

2 Samuel 18:32-33 — “Is the young man Absalom safe?” David is moved by emotion for Absalom, but does he have a right to? David married many wives and even had more concubines (2 Samuel 5:13), clearly disobeying Deuteronomy 17:17. At the grave of the famous evangelist Billy Sunday, his sons are marked on his family memorial. The death years for his sons is close to Sunday’s, and some are before that of Billy himself. A biographer for D. L. Moody made a brief mention that all of D. L. Moody’s kids turned out okay as opposed to those of Sunday. Sunday’s three sons had nine marriages between them. From BereanWife.net:

George Marquis Sunday was born in 1892, William Ashley Sunday, Jr. in 1901, and Paul Thompson Sunday in 1907. These three sons were the source of untold grief and despair for their parents. They were drunkards, while their parents fought for Prohibition. They lived wild, riotous lives and embarrassed their parents. All three died before the age of 40 in tragic violent deaths. The oldest son committed suicide after being arrested for drunkenness and auto theft, one died while driving home drunk from a party, and the other crashed an airplane.

Like Billy Sunday, David accomplished much for the LORD but both regretted how their sons turned out. Is the young man Absalom safe? No, but he hasn’t been safe for a while.

2 Samuel 19:7 — While Joab wasn’t ethical, he was very practical. Thus, the moral danger of pragmatism. If pragmatism didn’t work, nobody would be enticed by it.

John 20:1 — ”Christ the LORD is risen today!“

John 20:9 — How many times had Jesus told them He would rise again? Matthew 20:19, Matthew 27:63, Mark 8:31, Mark 10:34, Luke 18:33, Luke 24:7, etc.

John 20:23 — Did the Apostles have special power to forgive sins? No!

The key to understanding the meaning of John 20:23 lies in the previous two verses: “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” He sent them, as He is sending us, to bring the good news of the way to salvation and heaven to the whole world. Jesus was leaving the earth physically but promised God would be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit living in them. As they proclaimed the gospel, they could honestly tell people who believed in that message that their sins were forgiven, and they could honestly tell people that did not believe in the message that their sins were not forgiven and that they stand condemned in God’s eyes. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).

www.gotquestions.org/John-20-23.html

John 20:31 — The Gospel of John is not a collection of tales, inspirational stories, or morality plays. It is written that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God!

Psalm 119:153 — How much of God’s Law do you have memorized? It’s a source of promises (Psalm 119:154), a treasury of mercy (Psalm 119:156), an eternal anchor (Psalm 119:160), awe-inspiring (Psalm 119:161), and the cause for rejoicing (Psalm 119:162)!

Psalm 119:165 — Need peace? Love the law!

Proverbs 16:14 — How do we pacify the wrathful King of Kings? Psalm 2:12 – submit to His Son!

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.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  2 Samuel 17:1-29
  John 19:23-42
  Psalm 119:129-152
  Proverbs 16:12-13

2 Samuel 17:23 — Why was Ahithophel so bitter against David? From the American Tract Society (ATS):

Ahithophel seems to have been the grandfather of Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 23:34, compared with 2 Samuel 11:3.

2 Samuel 17:27 — When David felt like everyone abandoned him, it was so good to be refreshed by true friends. A friend in need is a friend indeed!

John 19:39 — Nicodemus is only mentioned in the Gospel of John. He met with Jesus at night in John 3, and he urged caution among the chief priests and Pharisees in John 7. Now he brings about 70 pounds of myrrh and aloe. From If714.org:

This teaching Nicodemus learned coming in the secrecy of the night would greatly transform his life. In John 19 we see a very different Nicodemus, who was once afraid to come to Jesus in the day. Here he brought a mixture of aloes and myrrh to Jesus’s grave. Nicodemus was no longer afraid of what others thought of him or his reputation as a Pharisee. Jesus’ grave was under heavy guard following His death. The Pharisees wanted to make sure the disciples did not try to steal Jesus’s body and claim that He resurrected. It would have been well known that Nicodemus went to His grave. That day Nicodemus was bold in his faith of Christ. He denied his own rights to a reputation and submitted everything to Christ.

Psalm 119:136 — Many a parent has wept over their children’s sins after it was too late to redirect them. In today’s reading, the psalmist is weeping not just over other’s sins but also crying to the LORD because of his own sins (Psalm 119:145).

Psalm 119:147-148 — Where do you start and end your day?

Proverbs 16:12-13 — Do these verses only apply to royalty like King Charles? We are told that we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). We shall reign as kings and priests one day (Revelation 5:10). Let us act like the “princes in training” that we are, for our Father is the King of Kings!

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.

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)