Good morning! Today in 1 Chronicles 10-12 we return to something more resembling narratives, though because this is Chronicles many of the narratives are also composed of lists. All the vignettes we read today are familiar because we’ve heard them previously in Samuel or Kings.
Category: Daily Bible
1 Chronicles 8-9
Good morning! Today’s reading of 1 Chronicles 8-9 gets us through more of the “flyover country” in the middle of the Hebrew Scriptures. Again we have a list of tribal descendants, this time from Benjamin on down, including Saul and Jonathan. Chapter 9 sounds at first like it lists the people who returned to Judah after the exile, the “first to live again in their possessions”. But it also catalogues the Levites who did this or that for the tabernacle, in the time of David before there ever was a temple. The portion of this chapter describing the various areas of tabernacle service is slightly more interesting that genealogical lists, because it helps us appreciate all that went into tabernacle and temple service: gatekeepers, utensil monitors, bakers, and singers, to name a few. Happy reading!
Please join discussion of this passage at the Daily Bible Facebook group, or comment below. The passage for tomorrow is 1 Chronicles 10-12. Thanks for reading!
1 Chronicles 6-7
Good morning! Today is another good day for those who want unique baby-name suggestions! 1 Chronicles 6-7 continue the lists of descendants from the various tribes of Israel. Among the Levites, notice Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, plus a host of other characters we heard about in the Pentateuch. In the list of which musicians and other Levites served in the tabernacle, the writer emphasizes again that only Aaron and his descendants make offerings on the tabernacle altars, underscoring the separation of duties we learned earlier. Among those in Benjamin’s tribe, Saul is curiously not listed (though there’s a different list in chapter 8 that includes him). I also wonder why the Naphtali list is so short, and Bilhah his mother is uniquely listed as their ancestor also. Surely, there must be a story there! The same is true of the daughter of Ephraim (or Beriah), who in 7:24 is described as building “both Lower and Upper Beth-horon” plus some other places. Unfortunately, we don’t get the stories here, so are left to wonder and speculate.
1 Chronicles 3-5
Good morning! Today in 1 Chronicles 3-5 we continue with genealogical lists, grouped according to the tribes of Israel. In chapter 3, we’re already up to David, Solomon, and their further descendants. You’ll recognize here the names of those who ruled as kings of Judah, as well as all their siblings. Many saints and sinners comprise these lists, but the names are passed over without comment for now. This same thorough cataloging of ancestors continues in chapters 4 and 5 with the descendants of Judah, Simeon, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Some years ago, the “Prayer of Jabez” was common in certain Christian circles, a righteous example of praying for prosperity that could be emulated. This is proof that even in genealogical lists, there is occasional gold to be discovered or contrived. Happy reading!
Please join discussion of this passage at the Daily Bible Facebook group, or comment below. The passage for tomorrow is 1 Chronicles 6-7. Thanks for reading!
1 Chronicles 1-2
Good morning, and welcome to the month of May! Today we start reading a final “chunk” of historical texts (Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah) before the wisdom and later prophetic parts of the Hebrew Scriptures. The books of Chronicles trace and summarize the same biblical narratives we have been reading since January 1st. Chronicles begins with the first ancestors, traces the action of God in history of God through the call to Hebrew people, then to the founding of the united monarchy, its dissolution, and then the divinely-sanctioned lineage of King David in the kingdom of Judah. While we cover much of the same ground as the books of Samuel and Kings, “the Chronicler” focuses more on Judah rather than northern Israel. Until the stories of Saul, David and Solomon, Chronicles consists mainly of genealogical lists, which will challenge us to find meaning in dry texts. My Old Testament professor once said that Chronicles really should have been left on the cutting room floor when our versions of the Bible were assembled, but perhaps this repeat will remind us how many stories and people we have already encountered in the past four months. We may also give ourselves permission to do a bit more scanning than in-depth reading for a few days.
2 Kings 24-25
Good morning! With this reading, we are 1/3rd of the way through the entire Bible! I know it’s a long slog sometimes, but together we are accomplishing something that most people never do, and those of us who have read through before are picking up so much more this time because of our communal insights. I certainly am! Whether you are able to read all or only part, whether you comment or simply observe, thank you for your dedication to this effort. We’ll get all the way through—one day at a time! 🙂
2 Kings 21-23
Good morning! Today in 2 Kings 21-23 we trace several generations more in the lineage of kings of Judah. Yesterday King Hezekiah heard portents of destruction from Babylon against Judah within the next generation. While this doesn’t come to pass in the time frame described, Hezekiah’s descendants vacillate from great wickedness to great righteousness and back again, facing a growing threat from Egypt and other surrounding powers.
2 Kings 18-20
Good morning! Though we’ve been cruising through various kings, and bouncing between Judah and Israel multiple times in a chapter, today’s passage (2 Kings 18-20) slows down to focus on Hezekiah, the king in Judah at the time that Israel falls, who then fends off an assault by the same Assyrians on Jerusalem.
2 Kings 15-17
Good morning! For the last week or so we have seen why this section of Hebrew history is called “Kings”. One monarch follows another—sometimes peacefully and sometimes with violence, but none of whom make the sort of impact that Saul, David or Solomon had. That pattern continues today in 2 Kings 15-17, perhaps at an even faster pace, but we reach the final breaking point for northern Israel. The foreign power of Assyria gains more and more influence over Israel in these chapters, and then conquers Israel outright in chapter 17.
2 Kings 11-14
Good morning! Today’s passage (2 Kings 11-14) will please Game of Thrones fans and those who fancy royal succession history, but the rest of us might feel lost in a forest of palace intrigue, rivalries and near-identical names. These four chapters track the highs and lows of leaders in both Judah and Israel, as well as describe the passing of Elisha, the prophet who has been so influential in this book. As we read, consider how the southern kings are almost always described as more righteous than the northern kings? I take this as a sign of the writers’ allegiance to David’s lineage, and further vilification of those who sit on the rival throne created by Jeroboam son of Nebat (still blamed for the split with Rehoboam after Solomon’s death).
Pastor Oby Ballinger 