Category: Psalms

January 21: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

John 14:1-14 records the events of the hour after the Passover meal before they all depart to Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples he is going away to prepare a mansion, more precisely a dwelling place for them. Thomas, always questioning him, asked him “How can we know the way?” And Philip added “Show us the Father“. Jesus answer? “Believe in me“.

Genesis 40 deals with dreams. Joseph’s two fellow cellmates in prison each had a dream, Joseph interpreted the dreams that the cup-bearer would be released and restored to his former position, while the baker would be hanged on a tree.

In Genesis 41  Pharaoh himself had a dream, and Joseph was released from prison to interpret the dream. It dealt with seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Joseph interpreted the dream so well that Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all affairs of Egypt. The seven years of plenty came and good harvests filled the storehouses. Then came the seven years of famine.

Psalm 8 has been set to music many times. Even I have sung it many times, both as a choir number, and the first verse as an introit. Looking for the music I found a far better, very free rendition of the Psalm, this one by Marty Goetz.

January 20: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

John 13 begins the last 24 hours before the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet before the Passover meal, a task normally performed by the lowest servant. During the meal he announced his betrayal, and then he gave the disciples a new commandment “love one another”. He also predicted Simon Peter’s denial.

Genesis 38 tells  the story of Judah and Tamar. One of the rules of the Old Testament is that if a man dies without producing an heir it was the duty of his brother to try to produce an offspring to his widow. Onan shirked this responsibility, and that was the sin of Onan. Tamar was thus still barren, so she tricked Judah into committing adultery. You can read it for yourself. Judah finally confessed: She is more righteous than I.

Genesis 39 then picks up the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. The story is a classic, and for doing the right thing, Joseph is falsely accused and thrown in jail.

Psalm 7 is a shiggaion, a dithyrambic ode of David. I would love to hear what the music to this Psalm sounded like.

January 16: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

John 11:1-44 describes how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (on the fourth day no less).

Jacob arrived in Paddan Aram in Genesis 29, fell in love with Rachel, worked seven years to be allowed to marry her, but her father Laban tricked Jacob, so he got Leah instead. Then he worked another “seven years for Rachel”. But it was Leah that gave him his first four children, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.

Genesis 30 records the remaining children born to Jacob (except Benjamin, who will be born later). It also tells a story about Rachel, desperate to get a child of her own was bargaining with Leah for Reuben’s mandrakes. After Joseph was born, Jacob wanted to leave and go back to the promised land, but Laban bargained with him to stay and make them even more prosperous. Through selective breeding Jacob acquired the majority of the flocks, and became wealthy.

Psalm 6 is a prayer, this time of a humble David asking for mercy, but also asking God to humiliate David’s enemies.

January 15: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

In John 10:22-42 Jesus claimed to be one with his Father. This is of course blasphemy unless it is true, so for that the Jews wanted to stone him.

In Genesis 27 Jacob deceived Isaac to get the blessing of the firstborn instead of Esau. Esau got one too, but just the regular blessing, so to avoid more trouble Jacob fled to Laban.

In Genesis 28, Jacob went to Paddan Aram to get a wife. On the way he had a dream, commonly known as “Jacob’s Ladder”. Meanwhile, Esau took yet another wife, the daughter of Ishmael. The promise of Jacob’s dream was that God was to give the land to Jacob’s descendants. Jacob made a vow to God and named the place Bethel.

Psalm 5 is a prayer extolling the joy of praising God and praying towards Jerusalem, but is also an urgent prayer to do away with and destroy all wickedness and wicked people.

January 8: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

John 6:1-24. Jesus performed miracles 4 and 5 recorded by the Apostle John, feeding 5000 (plus women and children) and walking on water.

Genesis 11 tells about the Tower of Babel, and how different languages arose, all by being disobedient to God.

Psalm 3 is a Psalm of David from when he fled from his son Absalom.

 

January 6: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

John 5:1-30, describes how Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath, which offended the Jews. In addition Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father, for which the Jews sought to kill him, but Jesus defended His testimony.

Genesis 7 tells of Noah, having completed the ark, took with him seven (pairs) of clean animals and two of unclean animals, and also birds. The aquatic life did just fine. After the animals had entered God shut the door and the rain started forty days and forty nights.

Genesis 8. The water receded and Noah sent out a raven and later a dove, returning empty. The second time the dove was sent out, it returned with an olive branch in its beak. This has now become the universal peace symbol. After exiting the ark Noah built an altar and sacrificed from the clean animals. God made a promise to Noah: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Psalm 2 tells of what happens when “the heathen rage” and this psalm speaks of what is going on today.

January 3: Read through the Holy Bible in a year.

Today we read in John 2, that Jesus turned water into wine, cleansed the Temple, and when the Jews demanded a sign he gave them just one sign (which they of course did not understand).

Genesis 2 left us with the idyllic Eden, no diseases existed yet. But God created us with free will, and the fall is then described in Genesis 3 . The problem is, after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, (not an apple tree) and in doing so we think we can do better without fellowship with God.

The question to ponder is: Why did God create us with a free will? He knew the result from the beginning, and knew He would have to send His Son to redeem us back to Himself. In fact He knew it from before the beginning: “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8, NIV)

Answer: We are created in God’s image, male and female, not so much physical, but spiritual, and free will is part of the package. Without free will there is no fellowship with God, only puppetry.

Psalm 1 is a beautiful poem about righteous living, and only one person could fulfill all the conditions mentioned, the exception to ” There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3: 10)

December 8, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

In between the letter of Jude and Revelation we read two Psalms and three champers of Micah.

December 8: Psalm 149, Psalm 150, Micah 1, Micah 2, Micah 3 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 149. Praise the LORD and sing a new song. With the two-edged sword (of the spirit?) the saints will execute judgement on the nations.

Psalm 150. Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD!

Micah 1. The prophet told of the coming judgment on Israel with mourning for Israel and Judah.

Micah 2. The prophet proclaimed woe to evildoers and lying prophets. After that Israel will be restored.

Micah 3. There was wicked rulers and wicked prophets. Micah still had full confidence in God.

December 2, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

Today we read two Psalms, the second letter of the Apostle John and the last chapter of Joel.

December 2: Psalm 147, Psalm 148, 2 John, Joel 3  (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 147 is a great Psalm of praising God for His protection and creation, for His care and power, for His provisions, wisdom and His word. It ends with praise to the LORD for His special attention to Israel.

Psalm 148: Let all creation praise the LORD!

2 John is a very short letter, greeting the elect lady with joy that she and some of her children walk in Christ’s commandments, but also warning her to beware of Antichrist deceivers.

Joel 3. In this final chapter God judges the nations, bringing war to the valley of Jehoshaphat: “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” And afterwards God will bless His people.

November 18, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

In between the first and second letter of the Apostle Peter we read two Psalms and the third chapter of Daniel.

November 18: Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Daniel 3 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 145, a Psalm of Praise, of David. In an acrostic fashion David praised God for his fame, glory and for His  goodness; for his kingdom and His providence, and most of all for his saving mercy.

Psalm 146 begins the five final songs in the Book of Psalms, known as the Hallelujah Psalms. This one gives praise to the Lord for creation, for what He is doing and will do forever.

Daniel 3 tells about the image of gold that all had to worship, and the fiery furnace prepared for the three Hebrews that refused. From Sunday School we all know how that went.