Category: Psalms

March 20, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are five chapters to read.

March 20: Psalm 19, Psalm 20, Deuteronomy19, Deuteronomy 20, Deuteronomy 21 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 19, of David. “This Psalm reflects, more than any other, the beauty and splendor of the Hebrew poetry found in the Psalter. C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.’” (VanGemeren)

Psalm 20, of David. The people’s prayer for the King is heard by the LORD. Most quoted part: “7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” The Lord saves, we pray for the King.

Deuteronomy 19, set aside three Cities of Refuge, maybe three more as the land expands. Do not change property boundaries. There must be two or three witnesses for a conviction in court.  From this chapter comes “an eye for an eye”.

Deuteronomy 20. Rules for warfare:  The Lord fights the battle for you. If you are too chicken or are building a house or are pledged to marry, you may be excused. For the rest of you, show no mercy unless they surrender, but above all, save the fruit trees.

Deuteronomy 21 deals with what to do with unsolved murders. Can you marry a female taken captive?  What are the rights of the firstborn? What to do with a rebellious Son? A man punished to death and hung on a tree, he must be buried the same day. From this we get “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree”.

 

March 18, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are only two chapters to read.

March 18: Psalm 18, Deuteronomy 16 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 18, the fourth longest psalm,  of David. To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: (Read it, ponder and enjoy it.)

Deuteronomy 16, how to celebrate the Passover, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. Bring an offering, no one can go empty handed. Appoint Judges so justice can be properly administered. Do not worship any Asherah poles ever

March 17, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters to read.

March 17: Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Deuteronomy 14, Deuteronomy 15 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 16, of David. A wonderful psalm of confidence in the LORD even in times of trouble, and a prophetic psalm pointing to Jesus resurrection quoted in the New Testament.

Psalm 17 demonstrates David’s total trust in God and not in self in spite of David’s best efforts. it can be summarized: “Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings” with regard to the threats from his enemies.

Deuteronomy 14, do not do as the heathen do with improper mourning, eat only clean meat and do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. Observe tithing, and every three years give an extra tithing for the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows.

Deuteronomy 15. Debts are to be canceled after seven years, show generosity to the poor, lend freely but do not borrow,  free your slaves after seven years and give them opportunity to continue on their own. Set apart every firstborn animal.

 

February 28, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters to read.

February 28: Psalm 15, Numbers 14,Numbers 15, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 15 is only 5 verses long. I have added 5 references from the New Testament.

In Numbers 14 the people rebel and refuse to go in to the promised land. As a punishment the people will go for forty years in the desert until that generation has passed away. Meanwhile the people try to take on the Amalekites in their own strength, but fail.

Numbers 15 deals with Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings, Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin, Laws concerning Presumptuous Sin, Penalty for Violating the Sabbath, and specifies how to make Tassels on Garments.

February 27, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters to read.

February 27: Psalm 13, Psalm 14, Numbers 12, Numbers 13, (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 13 is only 6 verses, but there is a moving Anglican Chant written and sung. Enjoy.

Psalm 14 is also short. It begins “The fool has said in his heart, there is NO GOD.”

In Numbers 12 Miriam and Aaron oppose Moses and Miriam suffers the consequences.

In Numbers 13 God prepares His people to take the land He has promised them, so they are sending out scouts to survey the land and how best to take it. They come back with a discouraging report; it is a good land flowing with milk and honey, but the people are too strong for them, they felt like grasshoppers in their sight. Only Caleb dissented. (Joshua joined Caleb in the next chapter)

 

 

February 25, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are five chapters to read, but they are all short.

February 25: Psalm 11, Psalm 12, Numbers 7, Numbers 8, Numbers 9 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 11 has the phrase “flee as a bird to the mountain”, which bring back memories of songs we used to sing.

Psalm 12 is especially valid for today with all its double speak.

Numbers 7 has 89 verses, but the chapter only seems long since the same offerings for the dedication of the tabernacle are repeated for each of the twelve tribes.

Numbers 8 deals with setting the Levites apart for their duties.

Numbers 9 defines how the Passover shall be celebrated from that time on. It also describes the cloud over the tabernacle, if it lifted they moved on, if it stayed, they stayed.

 

 

 

February 24, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters to read.

February 24: Psalm 9, Psalm 10, Numbers 5, Numbers 6 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 may belong together as they do in the Septuagint. They speak of God’s faithfulness and the only temporary victories of the wicked one.

Numbers 5 deals with purity, how to deal with leprosy or dead bodies, restitution for wrongdoings and how to deal with marital unfaithfulness, especially for women.

Numbers 6 tells of the vow of the Nazarite, how he (or she!) must separate themselves totally to the LORD, not shave the hair, not eat anything from the grape, not even the dry skin, not touch any dead bodies and so on. When the separation is over an offering must be given. The chapter ends with the priestly blessing.

 

Take heart. Take care of your heart.

Being an engineer I have always tried to understand what makes us tick. The heart is a wonderful piece of engineering and it keeps on ticking no matter what, faster when anxious or exercising, then going back to resting pace when the challenge is over. It worked fine for the first 75 years of my life, but then I noticed a gradual change. Well, this is part of normal aging I thought, so I shrugged it off and went on with my life as best I could. One very early morning I woke up with a cold sweat and pain in my chest and both arms, so I stood up and started to walk it off. I burped and burped and after a couple of minutes it went away and I felt a good warmth in my chest and that was it, so I went back to sleep. Checking my stamina later I found it had gone down by at east a factor of two. This fall I had a congestive cold and found that I could not do the trick that always worked before, whenever I found myself short of breath with a slight pain in my chest I hyper ventilated until it went away. That does nor work well in a coughing spell. Anyhow, I decided to wait until my yearly physical checkout. That is when my doctor discovered I had anemia as well. Sudden anemia is usually a sign of internal bleeding, so first I was in for a complete plumbing checkout. But I insisted that I better see a cardiologist asap, and there was a cancellation, so I could go in the day after the colonoscopy. I failed the stress test miserably, and they found blockages. Off to catheterization. It revealed that my Left Anterior Descending artery (yes, that is the so called widowmaker) was more than 90% blocked. But it also revealed that another artery was 100% blocked, and the heart had connected that artery with another artery, it had provided its own bypass. Isn’t it wonderful how God in the 750 Megabyte DNA information provided in every cell He also provided us with a very good repair kit. However,  the widowmaker artery is alone, so when it goes altogether, that’s the end. For me, it was not too late, so they put in a stent, and already when I was wheeled out of the operating room I felt like a new man. (Yes, you are awake during the procedure, they tell you to hold your breath so they can take yet another x-ray as they poke around.) Poking around they found a third, partially blocked artery, but it may be fixed with medication.

I am thankful to God for modern medicine. They can do all these things just by going in through the artery in the wrist, look around and put in a stent. When I grew up, if you got a heart attack, that was it. But most of all I stand in awe at the wonders of God

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

January 26, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters.

January 26: Psalm 7, Psalm 8, Exodus 3, Exodus 4 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

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

Psalm 8 on the other hand has been set many times to music. 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 rendition of the Psalm, this one by Marty Goetz.

Exodus 3 is where God reveals himself to Moses in the form of a burning bush and declares “I am that I am”. Jesus makes a similar declaration in John 8:58 “Before Abraham, I am”.

In Exodus 4 God gives Moses his call. At first Moses comes up with one objection after another, but God persuades him with signs that he must go back to Egypt, face Pharaoh  and lead his people.

 

January 24, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters.

January 24: Psalm 5, Psalm 6, Genesis 49, Genesis 50 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

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.

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

In Genesis 49 Jacob blesses all his sons with a very different blessing for each of them

And finally in Genesis 50 Jacob is buried back in Canaan near Mamre where Sarah also was buried. Joseph forgave his brothers; “Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good”. Finally even Joseph dies, and he wills that his bones will be carried out when they depart  and enter into the promised land.