I finished reading Job today. There are a lot of great passages to comment on, but here is just one of my favorites. Job receives news in Chapter 1 that all of his children and possession had been destroyed. And what was his response?

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked ( Read more... )

One of my favorite magazines is Alaska, which I have subscribed to for at least 20 years...with the hopes of one day visiting what I now can only afford to read about! At the end of every issue are a couple of pages that list about 20 residents of Alaska who have died "who have achieved pioneer status through many years in the North, or have made ( Read more... )

The nation of Israel was plagued with king after king that chose to do evil in the sight of God, but one of the kings to be commended was Josiah. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.(II Kings 22:2) In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign ( Read more... )

II Samuel records the 40 year reign of King David. It not only recounts his great successes leading the children of Israel, but also his personal failures. Of course, the greatest of these failures was with Bathsheba. David, "at the time when kings go off to war" sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army, "but David remained ( Read more... )

While David is chosen to replace Saul as King of Israel in Chapter 16, he still has not taken up that position by the end of I Samuel. The Lord told Samuel to go to Bethlehem to select one of Jesse's sons. When he arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by ( Read more... )

While it is usually easier to look back at our lives and see God at work, it is often difficult to understand His plan while we are going through trying circumstances. Naomi was forced to leave her homeland because of a famine and while in Moab her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons die. I can understand why she told people when she returned to ( Read more... )

Two of Israel's best known judges are covered in these chapters...Gideon and Samson. Gideon viewed himself as weak and "the least in his entire family", but God said, "Go with the strength you have." He was hesitant and asked the Lord for proof of His desire to use him, but he eventually did what God wanted and the Midianites were defeated ( Read more... )

The book of Deuteronomy reviews the 40 year period the nation of Israel spent in the wilderness and what they are to do when they move into the promised land. There is too much in these chapters to comment on here, so I will just mention a couple of things. I think I may have to stop recording what I've read weekly, and record my thoughts on ( Read more... )

After giving the Law, Leviticus 26 contrasts what God's response will be if the people obey His commands or if they disobey them. With obedience was to come seasonal rains, abundant crops, all you want to eat, and security and peace in the land.(vs.3-11). "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." (v. 12 ( Read more... )

This week's reading included the last of the 10 plagues the Lord brought on the Egyptians, the Exodus of the people from the land, the giving of the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai, and the instructions for making the Tabernacle and all of its furniture. While there were many great things in these chapters, the one I wanted to comment on was the ( Read more... )