Two year Bible reading program.

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 29:2 Understanding to grow in A key way devotin to God is expressed is in giving generously to him. One thinks of the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume worth a year's wages (Jn 12v5). So David and the people give "freely and wholeheartedly" to God by giving to the building of his house. It's a model of how we give to the building up of the church as the place he now resides on earth. David's song affirms how worthy of this the Lord is. His geatness makes him worthy, but also the fact that everything is his anyway, and by his hand we have not only been given much but brought to be his people. Moreover, David affirms how our lives are brief. It makes no sense then to hang on t...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 29:1 Understanding to grow in The entire book of 1 Chronicles has built up to the building of the temple. It tells us that God's presence coming to live amongst his people is our greatest need and priviledge. It is what was in Eden (Gen 3v8) and will be in eternity (Rev 21v3). So David repeats his heartfelt concern to build “a house” as “a place of rest” for “the ark” – signifying God’s presence, but is clear that God cannot truly dwell in a building. He then notes God’s rejection of him as builder (see notes ch. 22), but marvels that he has chosen him to be king and his son to sit on the throne, build the temple, and have an everlasting kingdom “if” he continues to be unswerving in obeying ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:28 Understanding to grow in In Israel as in the church, God's people were to serve in different roles according to his will and gifting. There were to be 4000 gatekeepers (23v5). The lists seem to be only of the “chief men” or supervisors (26v12). Their gates were assigned by lot showing God's governance, and they oversaw the temple treasuries and the wealth dedicated to God's use after battle. There’s a sense in which gospel ministers are now gatekeepers, guarding access to the temple that is the church, and to the valuable truths of the kingdom (Matt 16v16-20, Matt 13v52). However, the New Jerusalem has no gatekeepers. Its gates will always be open, as there will be no danger of its ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:27 Understanding to grow in To be “old and full of years” is a mark of honour and blessing (Job 42v17). It was then that David made Solomon king, and gathered Israel’s leaders, priests and Levites in readiness for the temple being built. The Levites were divided according to branches of Levi’s family tree, but in three groups according to his three sons. The note on Jeush and Beriah being counted as one family because they didn’t have many sons shows a concern that workload was evenly spread. Under Aaron, whose descendents were set-apart as priests, we have a summary of the priestly role (23v13). In describing his descendents as having this role “for ever,” the author effectively means generat...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:26 Understanding to grow in 21v1 portrays “Satan” (lit. “adversary”) as God’s means of inciting David to take his census (compare 2 Sam 24v1 and notes). David’s sin is not to trust God to fight for him. What is added to 2 Samuel 24 is his decision that “the house of the LORD” be built on the site where the angel ceased his judgement (22v1). What is particularly striking is that this was on a site owned by a God-fearing Canaanite (21v18), again, showing God’s concern with the nations coming to worship him. Indeed, both Araunah and his four sons were priveledged with seeing the angel. David sacrificed burnt and fellowship offerings (stressing devotion and peace with God), but in calling on ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:25 Understanding to grow in The events with the Ammonites are probably included to demonstrate the size of victory David could have by God’s hand (see the size of the enemy in 19v6-7). Key is the result: Hadadezer’s vassal kings ended up subject instead to David, and at peace with him. Moreover, the Arameans were then unwilling to assist his enemies. It is through the gospel that Christ brings those whose allegiance is to Satan, false gods or simply their own desires, into subjection and peace with him (2 Cor 10v3-6). Indeed, this Son of David will wrest the entire creation from these false rulers and make it his own. It's something to rejoice in. Joab’s attack on the Ammonites is the context ...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:24 Understanding to grow in God is a God of grace. So although David wants to build him a temple, God wants to bless David. And so he enters into the Davidic covenant. His desire is to make David’s name like that of the greatest men of the earth, and provide a place of security and peace for Israel. To this end he promises a “house” (ie. dynasty) for David. David’s response is to be overwhealmed, humbly marvelling that God would do this for him, and praising God for displaying his supremacy in redeeming Israel for himself. He then prays God would fulfil his promise so that people would not only know how great a God he is, but that he is Israel’s God. Reflecting his strong faith, David the...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:23 Understanding to grow in With the ark settled, burnt offerings (expressing devotion) and fellowship offerings (expressing peace with God) were made. And, acting as priest, David blessed the people. The bread and cakes given the people highlighted the fellowship they enjoyed with God. We then read of Levites appointed to pray, give thanks and praise God “before the ark;” and of a song David committed to them. It shows he saw his kingdom as universal in scope. Calling people to sing God’s praise, it also called them to tell of his acts to the nations. They are to always seek God and remember his judgements that “are in all the earth” in the sense that his redemption and protection of Isr...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:22 Understanding to grow in Chapter 14 displays what it means for God to be for his anointed king? First, it means they receive tribute from the nations. Just as the king of Tyre gave to David, those of all nations do to Christ. Second, God blesses him with a dynasty (14v4-7). We are those who reign with Jesus. Third, because God fights for his king he will defeat his enemies according to his word (14v8-11). And so all that opposes Christ will be put under his feet and judged, with the final enemy defeated being death (1 Cor 15v25-26). Finally, all will come to fear him (14v17). Chapter 15 displays what it means for the king to be for God? David isn't perfect. Surely he should have prioritised...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:21 Understanding to grow in The Spirit-inspired declaration of 12v18 is key to the whole section. Like those joining David, we align with Christ for God is with him and will establish his rule. We are now “the army of God” (12v22), doing battle with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. As David's coronation approaches, men from every tribe come over to him. Noteable are those who had remained loyal to Saul until then, and those who “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” The picture is of the kingdom united: Those from every tribe are “one of mind” in making David king, and so feast with him. Similarly, to understand our times is to transfer our allegiance...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:20 Understanding to grow in The history begins with a tale of two kings. Saul died because of unfaithfulness in not keeping God's word. David succeeded in taking Jerusalem because the Lord was with him and acting according to his promises. It all stress the importance of the word of God - a reminder for us to keep it and trust it too. But God's king's kingdom was established not just by him, but through his mighty men. They showed courage and devotion to the point of risking their lives. For this reason David honoured them and gave them responsibility. The message is that we should choose God's chosen king Jesus. And in doing so. And one cannot but think of how he uses his people t...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:19 Understanding to grow in You can tell why the books are named Chronicles. More genealogies! Two things are noticeable about those that remain. First is the stress on the amount of fighting men each had, with a note of those who were outstanding (see also 5v18), to inspire us to great deeds for the Lord as it would have the orginal readers. The second thing to stand out is the lack of the tribes of Dan or Zebulun. It may be that records were lost, stressing how absolute the exile of the northern kingdom by Assyria was in the eighth century BC. We should remember Joseph’s line was split into the two tribes of Ephraim and Mannasseh (7v29), of which the former became the key tribe of the n...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:18 Understanding to grow in The spiritual concern that should mark God’s people is highlighted by Jabez’s prayer. Just as he was “more honourable” than his brothers, so we should seek to be set-apart by a godly concern. And God will hear us when we pray an equivalent prayer for him to bless, expand, be with and protect us or his church. The inclusion of Gentiles in the lists is not just a symptom of the people’s compromise in not remaining pure, but also a sign of God’s readiness for anyone to join his people - as if by adoption (4v18). Another noticeable detail is the stress on creativity (4v14, 21, 23), pointing to how ours is to be used in service of Christ and his church. The sma...

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 28:17 Understanding to grow in 1 and 2 Chronicles was orginally just one book. It retells Israel's history with a focus on the southern kingdom of Judah. We don't know who wrote it - some think Ezra. The books begin by setting Israel’s history in its wider context. Israel’s history is about world history. We read how the people are descended from Adam and Abraham with a stress on David’s line. This reminds us that through Abraham’s royal seed, God is going to bring blessing to the whole earth, cursed as it is in Adam. It looks the church therefore to its mission to bring that blessing to others by sharing the gospel of Christ (Gal 3v6-14). Father can mean any male ancestor and son any male d...