Tag Archives: Read the Bible in a year

June 11, 2021 Bible Study Job Asks For A Mediator Between Man And God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 6-10.

There is really a lot in what Job says in today’s passage.  I do not think I will cover all of it.  I will start with Job’s expression of his feelings.  He told his friends that he was in so much misery that he wanted to die.  He felt like he had no more strength to endure the pain.  He just wanted the pain to end.  Instead of giving him words of encouragement, Bildad accused him of sin, told him that all of his suffering was because he had sinned.  Job replies by expressing how great God is, that a mere human cannot hope to confront God, cannot even understand God’s perspective well enough to make a case for being innocent before Him.  Job then says one of the most important things in this book.  He asks for a mediator between himself and God, for someone who he, a mere mortal, could comprehend whom a mortal could trust to understand the concerns of a mortal and convey them to God.  I have worded that poorly, but Job was asking for Jesus.  Jesus is the mediator for whom Job yearned.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 10, 2021 Bible Study Praising God In Both The Good Times And The Bad Times

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 1-5.

When Job learned that all of his wealth was gone he said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.; may the name of the Lord be praised.”  The passage comments on Job’s reaction by telling us that he did not charge God with wrongdoing.  Then when Job begins to suffer physically the passage seems to say that he still did not accuse God of wrongdoing.  It is important to remember this as we read through Job’s dialogue with his friends in the rest of the book: Job did not accuse God of wrongdoing. However, for today I want to focus on the fact that Job willingly accepted the good and trouble from God.  When God gave him wealth, Job used it to praise God and bring glory to His name.  When God took all of his material possessions away from him, Job continued to praise God.  When God took his health from him, Job refused to blame God or condemn Him.  Like Job, we should be prepared to praise God in the good times and the bad.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 9, 2021 Bible Study Mordecai Establishes The Feast Of Purim

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 8-10.

So, Haman had issued an edict in the king’s name and with the king’s seal (which made the edict official) that the Jews should be killed and their property plundered on a specific date. Under Persian law, such edicts could not be revoked.  After it was revealed to the king that Esther was a Jew, and thus subject to that edict, the king gave Mordecai his signet and told him to issue whatever edict he could devise to counter that edict.  The edict which Mordecai issued in the king’s name granted the Jews the right to assemble and do to those who attacked them what Haman’s edict had ordered be done to the Jews.  Mordecai’s edict turned the tables on those who had planned to use Haman’s edict to wipe them out.  Afterwards Mordecai sent out a letter instructing the Jews to annually celebrate their success in defeating Haman’s plot against them, a celebration which the Jews carry out to this day.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 8, 2021 Bible Study God Has Placed Us Where We Can Do His Will

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 4-7. When Mordecai sent word through Esther’s emissary about what Haman had initiated, she replied with her concern about approaching the king.  Mordecai’s response is perhaps one of the most important lessons any one of us can learn.  Mordecai told Esther that “keeping her head down” would not save her from the coming genocide.  More importantly, the reason she had been blessed with her position was likely just so that she could act against this coming atrocity.  When we see something happening, or about to happen, that we are uniquely positioned to be able to stop, we should consider that God likely put us into that position in order to do so.  Actually, it is not just atrocities which we should see this way.  When we find ourselves in a position to help someone, we should consider that God likely put us in that position for a reason.  This entire passage shows us how God’s providence works.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 7, 2021 Bible Study Not Every One Who Serves God Needs To Advertise Their Faith

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 1-3.

There are a lot of different things which we can focus on here, but I am going to write about a few things which I never noticed before (or, implications of them which I never noticed before).  The Book of Esther starts out with the story of King Xerxes divorcing Queen Vashti. One can look at it and learn some lessons about marriage and about respecting one’s spouse.  However, I realized today that the story is here for two reasons.  The first is obvious: it explains how and why Esther could become Queen.  The second is more easily missed.  I realized that I missed it because I have always read the Book of Esther in parts.  Perhaps someone who was studying the Book of Esther would more quickly recognize this reason.  What happened to Queen Vashti explains Esther’s trepidation about approaching King Xerxes later in the book.  It also explains why she does not just come right out and confront Xerxes with the fate he has allowed Haman to decree for her people.

Another point of interest is the fact that God is not directly referred to anywhere in the Book of Esther.  It is the only book in the Bible where this holds true.  However, we indirectly learn that Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman because he was a Jew.

Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

Clearly the implication here is that Mordecai told them he was a Jew as a means to explain why he would not bow down to Haman.  Further the implication of that is that he would only bow down before God. This is not the only place in the book where Mordecai’s faith in God is implied without being mentioned outright.  Mordecai neither advertised his faith in God, nor did he hide it.  Some of us are called to live in a similar manner.  Yet, when the time came Mordecai stood up and served God.  The same is true of Esther, who initially hid her faith because Mordecai instructed her to do so.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 6, 2021 Bible Study Being Willing To Call People To Faithfulness

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 11-13.

I know what I want to write about from today’s passage, but I am not sure I am going to be able to make the point I felt as I read it.  The way the passage is phrased I am not quite sure what happened when here.  However, it looks like between the time Nehemiah returned to the king of Persia and when he once more was in Jerusalem the Returned Exiles became lax in their adherence to God’s Law.  Some of them began to intermarry with the people of the land and others began to follow the local example of doing business on the Sabbath.  Some went so far as to allow those who did worshiped other gods to do business out of the Temple.  The reaction when Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem and put his foot down about these practices shows us that the majority objected to these actions, but lacked the authority to do anything about it. We need to not be afraid to live faithfully, even if it appears that no one else around us is.  Also, we should not be afraid to step up and call people back to being faithful to God if we feel He is leading us to do so, perhaps there are more people who share our understanding of how the people of God should live than we realize.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 5, 2021 Bible Study Separating Ourselves From Those Who Will Not Give Up Unclean Practices

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 9-10.

When Ezra read the Law to the people during the Feast of Shelters discussed in yesterday’s passage, the people initially began to mourn how badly they had violated God’s Laws.  However, because that assembly had been called to celebrate God’s providence in allowing them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the leaders encouraged them to put aside their mourning and celebrate.  That occasion was a time for celebrating God’s goodness.  However, a short time later the people assembled once more to fast and mourn their sins and those of their ancestors.  They entered into an agreement with each other and with God to separate themselves from the people of the land and to keep God’s Laws.  One could easily interpret this passage to mean that the Israelites living in the land excluded those of other descent from joining in their worship of God and that this was how they were supposed to behave.  However, I believe that the passage I highlighted a few days ago from Ezra 6:21 applied here as well.  Certainly, I believe that God’s will was for that to apply. They were to accept into their numbers “all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices…”  And yet, we will see in tomorrow’s passage the difficulty in allowing outsiders to join us in worshiping God while maintaining separation from unclean practices.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 4, 2021 Bible Study Celebrating Hearing God’s Word

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 7-8.

So, perhaps I am reading this wrong, but it seems to me that the assembly which Nehemiah called in chapter seven was likely the same assembly as discussed in chapter 8.  In any case, when the people had assembled it was arranged for Ezra to read the Law to them.  I am always interested to see how they arranged things so that all of the people could hear the Law being read, and explained.  However, today I want to focus on the fact that the people wept when they heard the Law being read.  Standing in rebuilt Jerusalem, hearing the words of God’s Law, and realizing how badly they, and their ancestors, had failed to keep God’s covenant caused the people to weep in regret.  But their leaders told them not to weep, because this was a time for celebration and feasting.  The people followed their leaders’ instructions.  Those who had much shared with those who had little, so that no one was left out of the celebration.

There is one other point I want to touch on.  The idea that the people should go out and build temporary shelters came from the people when they heard the Law read.  It was not something imposed on them by their leaders. It reminds me of an event held each year by an organization of which I am part.  Actually, as I thought about it some more, it reminds me of events held by many organizations of which I am aware.  Gathering away from our homes in “temporary” shelters (even if those temporary shelters are hotels) can be a bounding experience, and if done correctly should bring us closer to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 3, 2021 Bible Study Keeping Spirits Up In The Face Of Opposition

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 4-6.

I see a connection between what was going on with the attempts by outsiders to intimidate the Returned Exiles into giving up on rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and the exploitation of the poorer Returned Exiles by those who were wealthier.  The outsiders were discouraging the work on the wall on purpose, but the wealthy Returned Exiles were doing so because they thought more about their self-interest than the interest of the people as a whole.  At least some of the wealthy had not realized the impact their actions were having on their countrymen.   Even Nehemiah had been doing so, but when he realized the effect his actions were having on those less fortunate than himself he acted to change things and to recompense those whom he had previously exploited.  The willingness of Nehemiah, and others like him, to expend their resources to make the project come to fruition gave heart to those who only had their physical efforts to contribute.

I hope those of you reading this can see the spiritual lesson which I got from this passage and tried to convey in the above words.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

June 2, 2021 Bible Study Seeking God’s Guidance Through Prayer and Fasting While We Plan To Do His Will

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 1-3.

This passage contains a model we should follow when we plan a major undertaking, whether that undertaking is a mission or a business, or some other sort.  First, when Nehemiah learned of the need (but it might be us learning of an opportunity), his first reaction was to fast and pray.  Some time during his fasting and praying, Nehemiah conceived a course of action which he could take.  Then he planned for what he would need to accomplish this plan.  Finally, he approached someone (the king) who could provide him with the resources he would need to carry out his plan.  And throughout this whole process, Nehemiah prayed to God for guidance and support.  We also see that Nehemiah recognized that he would need to do more detailed planning once he had gotten his support lined up.

Now I want to look at the parts of what Nehemiah did which are specific to a mission.  He recognized that the problems he sought to address were the result of sin.  This recognition meant that the problems would only be fixed by repentance and doing God’s will.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.