Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 120: Genealogy of David

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Chronicles 1-2.

It's a genealogical list from Adam.

Now, that's not exactly boring, but it's not riveting either.

So, rather than detail everything, I just want to mention something I thought was interesting, and then I'm going to detail David's genealogical line.

So, something I found interesting was that the sons of Ham, Noah's son, included Canaan and Cush, whose descendants would become the Canaanites and the Cushites, who would fight the Israelites.

Now for the line of David:

• David
• Jesse
• Obed
• Boaz
• Salma
• Nashon
• Amminadab
• Ram
• Hezron
• Perez
• Judah
• Jacob (Israel)
• Isaac
• Abraham
• Joktan
• Eber
• Shelah
• Arpachshad
• Shem
• Noah
• Lamech
• Methuselah
• Enoch
• Jared
• Mahalel
• Kenan
• Enosh
• Seth
• Adam

What I find most interesting is that not only is David a descendant of Israel, he's a descendant of Israel through Judah.

This is important for when Jesus is born into the line of David. Also why he is called the Lion of Judah.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Chronicles 3-5.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 119: Jerusalem Captured

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 23-25.

Josiah makes a covenant to serve God all of his life. He does this in front of all the elders of Judah, and they also swear.

They remove all the foreign gods, altars, high places and foreign priests from Judah, and restore God's temple. Completely.

He also reinstates the Passover, which the people have not observed for a long time.

But God's anger was still kindled against the people, as He said it would be.

Soon, Josiah dies - quickly in battle - and a new king takes his place. This new king, Jehoaz, his son, does evil in the sight of God.

Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, who killed King Josiah, takes Jehoaz to Egypt and enslaves him there, making his son king instead. Pharaoh demands gold and silver from Judah, and Jehoakim taxes the people in order to make it happen. He also does evil in the sight of God.

And so God allows Babylon to overtake them.

King Nebuchadnezzar comes and makes Jehoakim, king of Judah, his servant, but Jehoakim rebels. Judah gets sacked, and the people are deported to Babylon as captives, even the king. And King Nebuchadnezzar made his uncle king of Judah, in Jerusalem.

And the temple of God is raided, and its treasures are taken.

God allowed this to happen because of the continued disobedience of the people. Continued disobedience.

I'll be honest, it makes my skin crawl to think of God's temple being raided. But God needs no earthly treasure. He created all things, and all things belong to Him alone, no matter who claims it temporarily here on earth.

But wait and see what happens later, when the people are in Babylon.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Chronicles 1-2.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 118: God's Favored Kings

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 20-22.

In today's reading, King Hezekiah (who did good in the sight of God) is very ill, and God sends word through Isaiah, the prophet, that Hezekiah will die.

Hezekiah listens to the words of Isaiah, and prays, asking God to remember him and how he walked in God's ways.

So God hears his prayer and sands Isaiah back to tell Hezekiah that he will live another fifteen years.

God warns, however, that soon Babylon will capture the kingdom of Judah.

When Hezekiah dies, his son succeeds him, and he does evil in the sight of God.

His son also does evil in the sight of God.

However, after them, Josiah becomes king, like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him.

He was eight years old when he became king, and he did what was right in the sight of God. After reigning for eighteen years, the priests find a book, and when he reads it, he is greatly distressed. He inquires of God, who tells him that everything in the book will come to pass, because the people had rejected God.

But God promises to let Josiah die before His judgment begins, so that he may die in peace.

So, God favored Hezekiah and Josiah, who did what was right in His sight. He let Hezekiah live and reign for another fifteen years, and He promised to let Josiah die in peace before He allowed the calamities to come upon Judah.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 23-25.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 117: A King Mocks God

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 18-19.

Hezekiah becomes king of Judah. Remember, Israel have been captured by Assyria because they sinned against God without repentance.

But Hezekiah does what is right in the sight of God, and wherever he went, God was with him and prospered him.

Now, the Assyrian king decides to conquer Judah just like he conquered other nations. However, Hezekiah has taken down the false gods and altars and is serving God with all his heart, as David did.

So, when the king of Assyria comes, and taunts Hezekiah, threatening to take Judah just as he had taken all the kingdoms around them, he also declares that their God cannot save them, because none of the other gods had been able to.

Hezekiah does the right thing. Though he is dismayed, he goes to the house of God to pray, and he sends for the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah sends word not to be afraid. God has heard how the king of Assyria blasphemed Him, and He will take care of it.

But the king of Assyria writes a letter to Hezekiah, once again speaking against God.

So Hezekiah took the letter to the temple, and placed it before God.

2 Kings 19:15-19 - Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God."

And so God answered Hezekiah. While the Assyrians were camped, God struck 185,000 of them and they died in their sleep. When the camp awoke the next morning and found them dead, they returned to their home.

After returning, when the king was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, two men killed him.

Make no mistake. It is both foolish and dangerous to mock God. But God takes care of those who love and serve Him.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 20-22.

First Thoughtful Thursday: The Need to Do More

Hello again everyone!

Today I'm going to do the first in a series of posts I'm calling "Thoughtful Thursday," where I talk about topics that make me think.

As you can tell from the title, these will always be posted on Thursdays, but I won't post them every week. I'm working on several series that will be posted different days of the week so that you get a variety. Stay tuned.

I'm planning to start most of these after I finish my RBY challenge, but a few may sneak in sometimes.

So, my thought for today is: I need to do more.

Sometimes I am struck by the feeling that I'm not doing enough, or that what I am doing is inadequate.

The unfortunate thing about it is that I'm not sure how to fix it. I get stuck and don't know how to proceed.

So, it's been my goal recently to take a moment when I get stuck to think "What can I do now, right now?"

Example 1: My blog.

I'm really enjoying writing every day about my RBY challenge. But sometimes I have a topic I want to research and then share with you, but I don't have time to share it too. And so, I took a moment to figure out what I could do right now, and I came up with ideas for a weekly post schedule (of which Thoughtful Thursday is one). Now, I feel like my blog has direction, whereas before I just sort of posted arbitrarily.

And that's actually something my RBY challenge has helped with, too. It's given me more discipline about writing, and made me realize that if I don't post regularly when I'm done, my blog will suffer, and I won't be doing something God has called me to do.

Example 2: I believe conservation is important. As a Christian, I know that this world won't last forever, but I also know that it is a gift from God and that humans have, unfortunately, misused that gift over the years. Usually because of greed. Sometimes because of ignorance. When God gives us a gift, I believe we should treasure it, and so I want to do more to treasure the gift of the earthly home He has given me while I'm here. But I felt held back, even like there was nothing I could do. Until God told me to take a deep breath, and consider what I could do now.

So, having recently learned that less than 10% of plastic is recycled properly and that much of it ends up in our oceans, especially plastic drinking straws, I purchased reusable bamboo drinking straws. At restaurants, my family and I will decline plastic drinking straws and instead use the bamboo ones.

I know it will seem a little strange at first, but if someone asks, this is also a chance to explain why we're doing this.

These seem like small things, but for me, they're huge!

I still feel like there's more I could do, but I've taken the first step. And one step always leads to another.

I still have a list of questions: 

How can I get more involved in my community? What everyday things can I do to treasure the world God has given us? How can I help the people around me and teach them about God's love and His son, Jesus?

I'm still working on answers to these questions, but at least now I am actively seeking the answers, rather than just feeling completely stuck on "I don't know."

I hope my Thoughtful Thursday made you think too. If you have any thoughts on this post, or other everyday things that you do, either to help the environment or to help people around your community, I'd love to hear them!

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 116: Israel Captured

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 15-17. 

Something I find interesting is the length of the reigns of the different kings.

Usually, it goes like this:

"But he did evil in the sight of God, and reigned two years." "But he did evil in the sight of God, and reigned six months."

"And he did good in the sight of God, and he reigned  thirty years." "And he did what was good in the sight of God, and he reigned forty years."

Very interesting.

So, the other thing that happened in today's reading was that Israel got captured again by the king of Assyria. They forgot the Lord, and did not fear Him, just as they had learned from their fathers. It had been many generations in Israel since the king or anyone had completely served God with all their hearts, and removed all the false gods.

Not since David. Even Solomon, with all his wisdom, eventually succumbed to the influence of his wives and their gods.

So, God gives the Israelites into captivity. Only Judah remains as a remnant, because David served God with all his heart.

When we sin, and continue to do so, it separates us from God. At this point in Israel, sin had been separating them from God for many generations, and no one truly feared, respected, or served God.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 18-19.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 115: Elisha's Death

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 12-14.

Several things happened in today's reading, but I didn't understand all of it, so I don't feel like I can talk about most of it.

I will, however, detail a couple of the events that happened:

1. Jehoash becomes king, and declares that the Temple of the Lord will be repaired. However, the priests collected the money from the people, but did not repair the temple. Jehoash commands them not to take any more money, but to use what has been taken for the temple. They used the money to pay the laborers, but did not use it to replace the fine cups and dishes and silver that was to be in the house of the Lord.
2. Elisha dies. They buried his body, but while they were burying another man also, the Moabites attacked, and they dropped the other man into Elisha's grave. The man touched the bones of Elisha and he "revived and stood up on his feet" (2 Kings 13:21).

Now, to me, that last part means that the man came back to life after he touched Elisha's bones.

I think that some of Elisha's spiritual power from God was still on his bones. I don't fully understand it though, mostly because the verses today just skimmed over it as though it wasn't important.

It's possible that there is more detail in the Chronicles of the kings, which we'll get to later.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 15-17.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 114: Jezebel's Death

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 9-11.

And in today's reading, Jezebel meets the end God foretold.

Jehu became king and got rid of the family of Ahab, Jezebel too. When he sent people to bury her, because she was a king's daughter, they couldn't find much to bury. And so it came to pass as God foretold, that the dogs would eat her in Jezreel, which was the place where Naaman's vineyard was located.

Then Jehu destroyed all the temples and priests of Baal. But he left the golden calves. And so he did not completely walk in the ways of God.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 12-14.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 113: The God of Angel Armies

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 6-8.

And some interesting things happened!

First, the sons of the prophets wanted to go and make their own place, because it was becoming too crowded. Elisha agreed and he went with them.

While they were building their houses, one man dropped his axe head in the river, and it was borrowed, so he was very upset. Elisha threw a stick in the river, and the stick sank and the axe head floated.

Awesome!

Now, next is something I think is totally awesome! More awesome than awesome.

The king of Aram waged war against Israel, and Elisha kept warning the king of Israel so that the king of Aram could not kill him.

The king of Aram was very angry and sought to kill Elisha. One morning, Elisha's servant awoke and the armies of the king of Aram had them surrounded!

He woke Elisha in a panic. Elisha calmly replied:

"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 2 Kings 6:16

And he prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant so he could see what was going on. Spiritually.

And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17

God's army. God's angel army literally surrounded Elisha to protect him.

Now, Elisha could have said "Get them, Lord." But he didn't.

Instead, Elisha prayed that God would blind all of them, and when God did so, Elisha told them they were in the wrong place and led them to Samaria, where they were taken captive by the king of Israel. Elisha even told the king not to kill his captives.

Amazing! Ah-may-zing!

It reminds me of a song too, so I'm going to share that today.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 9-11.

Here is the song. I hope you enjoy it!

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 112: The Leper and the Liar

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 4-5. 

A widow lived with her young son, but they could not pay their debts. She asked Elisha for help. He told her to gather jars from her neighbors and to begin pouring the oil from the little she had. It filled all the jars, and when there were no more jars to fill, the oil stopped. So the widow was able to sell the oil and pay her debts so she could keep her house.

And so Elisha continued to walk in God's favor and Elijah's spirit.

Later, Naaman, a great warrior, but also a leper, heard of Elisha and the God of Israel. He went to Elisha to ask for healing from his leprosy. Elisha did not go to him directly, but sent his servant to tell him to go wash in the Jordan. The leper scoffed, and began to leave. However, the leper's servants convinced him to do as Elisha had said.

He washed in the Jordan seven times. And he was healed of his leprosy.

Now, Elisha's servant, Gehazi was upset that Elisha had not taken payment for this, but had instead simply sent Naaman on his way with a pardon for when Naaman had to take his master to bow before his master's god.

So Gehazi went after Naaman and lied, convincing him to give a change of fine clothes and two talents of silver.

Gehazi returned to Elisha but lied when Elisha asked where he had gone.

And so, for his deceit, Gehazi became a leper, and all his descendants also were cursed with leprosy.

The moral? Don't lie. Especially to a man of God, to whom God will reveal the truth.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 6-8!

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 111: Elijah and Elisha

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Kings 1-3.

In today's reading,  King Ahaziah fell from his upper chamber and hurt himself. He sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron if he would get well.

God sent Elijah to meet the messengers, chastise the king, and tell him that because of his rebellion against God, he would not get well, but die.

The king did not like Elijah's message and sent soldiers to get him. Three times.

Now, here's why he sent them three times.

The first group of soldiers demanded that Elijah come out in the name of the king.

2 Kings 1:10 - Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.

And it did.

Another group of fifty soldiers was sent. And they summoned Elijah in the same disrespectful manner. 

Elijah had the same reply, and they too, were consumed by fire.

The next group had a wiser captain. He entreated Elijah to spare their lives, acknowledged what God had done to the other soldiers. He did not command Elijah to come with them. So, God told him to go with them. God's message for King Ahaziah was the same, and he died.

Remember to always be respectful to God's prophets.

Now comes the really interesting bit.

Elijah and Elisha were traveling together, as far as the Jordan. When they arrived, they wanted to cross.

2 Kings 2:8-11 Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." He said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

That's awesome! Elijah didn't die. God just took him up to heaven. And then Elisha became God's prophet, and a double portion of Elijah's spirit was upon him, because God allowed him to see Elijah taken up.

And people came to Elisha to inquire of him as the prophet of God. And God performed miracles through him just as he had Elijah.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow as I read 2 Kings 4-5.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 110: Ahab

Good morning everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 21-22. And a lot happened in today's reading, but I'm only going to focus on one.

Ahab steals a vineyard.

Now, who is Ahab? He is a king over Israel. He's the very wicked king who married Jezebel. Heard of her? We'll learn more about them when we get to the Chronicles.

But today, I want to talk about Ahab and this vineyard.

So, Ahab is returning from a battle that he lost (because he's wicked and God does not fight for him) and he passes the vineyard of Naboth. He stops to ask Naboth to sell or give him his vineyard. Naboth refuses.

Now, Naboth refused because God commanded that they were never to sell or give away the inheritance of their fathers. A law that Ahab knew.

Jezebel did not know the law, but she was more wicked than Ahab, serving many gods and idols.

So, Ahab doesn't get the vineyard, and he goes home to pout about it, refusing sleep and food.

Jezebel demands to know what's wrong, and when he tells her that Naboth wouldn't give him his vineyard (cleverly leaving out God's law), she declares that she will get the vineyard for him.

So she writes to the elders of Naboth's city and tells them to appoint him to a high position during a fast and have two men speak against him, that he cursed God and the king.

Now, a man could not be put to death on the word of only one witness, but two or more, he could be.

So they speak against Naboth and he is stoned to death.

Ahab gets the vineyard.

Wicked, wicked people.

Now, God speaks to Elijah and sends him to speak with Ahab.

God declares through Elijah that the dogs will lick the blood of Ahab and the dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel (Naboth's home) and Ahab's household will be utterly destroyed.

1 Kings 21:25 - Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

Ahab did many other wicked things and he provoked God to anger continually.

However, after the word of God came to him through Elijah, he put on sackcloth and mourned and humbled himself and repented.

Thus, God postpones bringing down Ahab's house until the days of his son's rule. Isn't that amazing? After all the wicked things Ahab did, when he repented and humbled himself, God did not visit the calamity on Ahab's house in Ahab's day.

Had Ahab repented of every evil deed and checked Jezebel's behavior, and turned from wickedness, God would have forgiven him. As it was, God did not send calamity on Ahab's house during his reign when he repented of taking Naboth's vineyard.

No matter what we've done, God is faithful to forgive us when we sincerely repent and humble ourselves and turn from our sin.

We'll learn more about Ahab and Jezebel in the Chronicles, though I'm sure you know a lot of their story already.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 1-3.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 109: Elijah's Challenge

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 18-20.

And today I'll be talking about my favorite part of Elijah's story: Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal and Asherah.

So, Elijah goes to King Ahab (who was a very wicked man; married to Jezebel), from whom he had fled so as not to lose his life. And then Elijah issues a challenge. Bring 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah.

1 Kings 18:22-24 Then Elijah said to the people [of Israel] "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said "That is a good idea."


So Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first. They cut up the ox, placed it on the wood, and lit no fire. Then they called upon their gods, leaped and danced around their altar. For hours. From morning until noon, they did so.


But nothing happened.

Now, this part makes me laugh.

1 Kings 18:27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened."

And the prophets of Baal heard him and cried even louder, in case their god could not hear them.

Now, this makes me laugh for a couple reasons. First, these are the prophets who serve Jezebel, who wanted to put Elijah to death just for serving God. But God delivered him. And the second reason is because God, the Living God, never sleeps, needs rest, or goes anywhere like the gods people have created. See, when people create a god, they make them human so they can understand them better.

We may not always understand everything about God, but He never sleeps, never falters, and never fails.

So, Elijah mocks them a little and they redouble their efforts.

But still, nothing happens.

Then, it is Elijah's turn.

1 Kings 18:31-35 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel...So with the twelve stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time.," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

So, the prophets of Baal could not even get their god to light a fire on dry wood.

But watch what happens when Elijah prays to the one true God.

1 Kings 18:36-39 At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God."

So, not only did God send fire down, God's holy fire consumed a wet offering, wet wood, wet stones, and all the water in the trench.


Did you catch that part? God's fire consumed everything on that altar.

How powerful is that? How mighty is our God?

This is my favorite part of Elijah's story. And it's not even really about Elijah. But isn't that the best kind of story? On the surface, it's about a prophet, but underneath, it's all about God, and how mighty He is.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 21-22.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 108: Elijah

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 15-17.

And I'm going to skip over the wicked kings, and go straight to Elijah's story.

When Elijah's story begins, his prayers stop the rain. And there is a drought in Israel for 3 years.

Why? Because of the wickedness of Israel.

God sends Elijah away and he lives by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. He lives on bread and meat brought to him by ravens, according to the word of the Lord.

After a time, God sends him somewhere else, where He has chosen a widow to provide for Elijah. She was also chosen so that God would be glorified through miracles.

When Elijah arrives and asks her for bread, she explains that she has no bread, and only a little flour and oil to make some with. Elijah tells her that if she will feed him first, she will have enough left over for herself and her son.

More than that, however, her bowls of flour and oil will not run dry until God sends the rain after the drought that Elijah prayed for.

And so it happens.

Now, while Elijah lodges there, the woman's son dies, and she gets angry at Elijah, blaming him. Elijah takes the child, and lays him on his own bed, praying and beseeching God that He will restore life to the child.

Now for miracle two: God restores life to the boy. And the woman knows that Elijah is truly a man of God.

Oh! I'm so excited! I love the stories of Elijah. Just wait. We'll get to my favorite one soon, and I'll tell you when we do.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 18-20.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 107: Choices

Good afternoon, everyone.

Today I read 1 Kings 12-14.

Solomon died. And it came to pass as God said. His son, Rehoboam, is king over only Judah. But thr rest of the tribes of Israel follow Jeroboam. Further details of their reigns are recorded in the Chronicles, which we will get to.

But for today, I only want to discuss a few brief details.

Both kings were wicked, and did evil in the sight of God, including serving other gods and setting up altars for them.

Jeroboam even made two golden calves, and declared that the people should worship the gods who delivered them from Egypt.

Each time, I think that the Israelites should know better. But each time, a new generation grows up, and has their own opportunity to either serve God, or not.

And it's the same today. Each generation has a choice, to listen to the teachings of the generations before or not, to serve God or not.

We all have a choice.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 15-17.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 106: Solomon's Great Sin

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 10-11.

First, Solomon met the Queen of Sheba. She heard of his wisdom, and wanted to meet him to test it for herself. So, she arrived carrying bounty for another ruler: camels, spices, gold, and precious stones.

She tested Solomon with many questions, and because of his wisdom, he was able to answer all of them. She was very impressed and she blessed the Lord God of Israel for the wisdom He had given to Solomon.

When Solomon followed God's commandments, even other nations heard of the Lord, and His greatness. Even other nations feared King Solomon and Israel because of their mighty God.

But Solomon turned away from God. See, Solomon loved women. And he took many wives from many nations, including nations God had instructed the Israelites not to mingle with.

So, in addition to the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon married first, he had 700 wives and princesses, and 300 concubines. And they were all from foreign nations. So, they turned his heart from God and convinced him to serve and worship other gods.

And God was displeased, because He had spoken directly with Solomon and given him great wisdom. This is also the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods besides me.

So, God spoke to Solomon and told him that because of this wicked thing he had done, God would take the kingdom from his descendants. God would allow Solomon to continue his rule because of the faithfulness of his father David.

Now, as we know, David sinned to. We all have. But when David was confronted with his sin, he fell on his face and repented, begging God's forgiveness. He never served other gods, because he was "a man after God's own heart." Even when he sinned.

So, the kingdom will be taken from Solomon's son, all except one tribe, for the sake of David.

Sometimes we mess up. But it's important to seek God's forgiveness earnestly and sincerely. Like David.

It's easy to look at this part of Solomon's story and pass judgment. "I would never serve other gods like that!"

But something I've been learning is that anything can be made into a god. Anything that takes your time away from God, anything that you value more than your time with God, or anything that you place higher than God can become an idol.

This can be a hobby, sports, celebrities, family, friends, activities. Anything can become an idol if we aren't careful.

Today, I encourage you to sit down with God and ask Him to reveal hidden idols in your life. If there are any, do you need to remove them completely, or can He help you to scale back the time you spend with them, replacing that time with time spent with Him and in His Word, so that whatever it is will no longer be more important to you than Him.

I've already had to do this in my own life, and I was really surprised at what God revealed to me. So, as an example: I love to read. It is my favorite hobby. Sometimes I can read for hours, and there are times when there is nothing I want more than to sit and read my book. Even in the morning, when I'm supposed to be spending time with God. I'm still working on that, but it's a lot better than it was.

But some things I used to read did not glorify God, or edify me. So, I've had to cut them out completely.

Now, let me clarify something: I still read a lot of books, but before, I didn't care so much what I read. If I could read it, I would. Romance novels, for example. I can't believe some of the thoughts I still have sometimes because I opened my mind up to what's in those books.

Now, I don't only read Christian non-fiction books. I still read fiction books, but I have to be careful about the kinds of books I read and how much time I pour into that. Even Christian books can become idols if we aren't careful.

So, that's my story.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 12-14.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 105: Solomon Brings the Ark

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 8-9.

And today, Solomon brings the Ark back into God's temple. He places it between the two cherubim. The poles on the Ark were so long that they spanned the length of the room, but did not reach outside.

And Solomon addresses the people, charging them with keeping God's commandments, declaring that as long as they do, God will be with them and take care of them, as He always had. But that if they were disobedient, He would give them into the hands of their enemies, as He had before.

Then Solomon made sacrifices. And God promised the kingdom to Solomon and his descendants for a long time as long as he and his sons kept God's commandments.

And that's what I read today.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 10-11.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 104: Solomon Builds the Temple

Hello everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 6-7.

In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon begins building God's temple.

Now, I'm not going to talk a lot about this topic today, because it's a big one, and I could probably do several posts on it. Which I might, in future.

Today, however, I want to barely scrape the surface.

To start, let's look at the size of the temple.

1 Kings 6:2-6 - As for the house which King Solomon began to build for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits. The porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits in length, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth along the front of the house was ten cubits. Also for the house he made windows with artistic frames. Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the inner sanctuary; thus he made side chambers all around. The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the  outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around in  order that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.

Now, I know you might look as confused as I did. That's because I had no idea how big a cubit was.

So, let's break this down.

1 cubit = 1.5 feet

So, the temple's length was 60 cubits. 60 cubits = 90 feet.

The temple's width was 20 cubits. 20 cubits = 30 feet.

The temple's height was 30 cubits. 30 cubits = 45 feet.

So, the temple was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

Wow.

But that's not all!

The porch of the temple was 20 cubits long. 20 cubits = 30 feet. It was 10 cubits deep. 10 cubits = 15 feet.

The porch was 30 feet long and 15 feet deep.

Wow.

But wait! There's more!

Solomon built stories around the house he built for the Lord.

The lowest story was 5 cubits wide, which is 7.5 feet. The middle was 6 cubits wide, or 9 feet. And the third story was 7 cubits wide, or 10.5 feet.

So, the temple that Solomon built for God was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had a porch that was 30 feet long and 15 feet deep. And the side chambers that Solomon built to encompass the porch and the inner sanctuary were 7.5, 9, and 10.5 feet wide.

Take a moment to look at a ruler. That's 12 inches, or 1 foot. How many rulers would it take to encompass this temple?

Isn't that amazing.

And do you know how Solomon built it? Stone by stone.

That's right. No hammer, axe, or any iron tool helped to build the temple. It was laid carefully, stone by stone.

And Solomon put a lot of effort into this. He used cedar and gold. He overlaid the entire sanctuary with gold. Pure gold. Real gold.

Do you know how big the sanctuary was?

20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. How many feet is that? 30 feet. 30 feet long, wide, and high. Overlaid with real, pure gold. He used pure gold chains in the front of the inner sanctuary.

He placed cherubim made of olive wood in the inner sanctuary. Each was 10 cubits, or 15 feet high. One wing was five cubits, or 7.5 feet. He placed them so that one wing was touching a wall, and the other touched the other cherub.

Imagine that for a second.

7.5 feet is taller than all of the tall men I know. My brother is about 6 feet tall. One wing of each cherub was taller than a person!

Wow.......

I just spaced out trying to imagine that. No. Really. Try to picture that. Isn't that great?

And then he engraved the walls of the whole house.

Now, if you noticed in your reading, Solomon used cedar, cypress, and olive wood to build the temple in addition to the stone and the gold.

If you remember from Exodus, the tabernacle was built of different materials. The altar was bronze, and they used acacia wood. Acacia wood is light, but strong, and hard. So it was a good choice for the portable tabernacle.

But Solomon was building God's permanent dwelling, now that His people were stationary. Cedar is strong and can last a long time.

This is what Solomon is known for. Wisdom like no other king, and building God's temple.

Well, that's all for today.

I hope you enjoyed this brief look at the temple.

Tomorrow I'll be reading 1 Kings 8-9. I hope you'll join me again.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 103: Solomon's Wisdom

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 3-5.

In today's reading, Solomon's kingdom is established, and he makes an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt by marrying his daughter. There is peace on every side. He loves God, and serves him in everything he does.

Because of this, God comes to Solomon and asks what Solomon wants God to give to him.

Solomon asks for just one thing: wisdom, so that he can judge Israel.

God is very pleased with this answer, and in addition to the godly wisdom, He also gives Solomon great riches and honor.

1 Kings 3:12-13 - behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.

That's amazing!

When we seek God truly, with our whole hearts, walk in His righteousness, and keep His commandments, He will give us what we ask, as long as it is in accordance with His will and Word. And sometimes He will give us more than we could imagine.

So, Solomon has been given great wisdom from God.

Now, two women come to him, each fighting over a child. Both claim that the other accidentally lay on her baby in her sleep, and switched the dead child for the living. Both claim that the living child is there.

One is lying. The other is not. How will Solomon discern the truth?

This is one of my favorite stories of Solomon's wisdom.

Seated on his throne, judging this case, his voice echoes across the chamber. "Bring me a sword."

The women look at each other and look around. The baby fusses. The soldiers look at one another, frowning, but dutifully, one brings his sword forward.

Solomon's voice rings out once more. "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other" (1 Kings 3:25).

One of the women grins. "Sure. That works for me."

The other woman begins to wail. "No, please! Give her the child, only don't kill him."

Solomon smiles gently. "Give the child to the woman who would spare him. Do not kill the child. She is his mother."

Okay, so I embellished a little, but I kept the main points in tact.

Solomon's wisdom was known from that day onward, and the people feared him, for they knew God was with him.

There is so much more I could talk about from these chapters, but I'll save some for tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 6-7, when Solomon actually begins construction of God's temple. Basically, Solomon began gathering materials in these chapters. I may include some of it tomorrow, because it's impressive.

Until then! I hope you have a blessed day!

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 102: Solomon Cleans House

Good morning, everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 1-2. 

So, David is old, and dying. And his son Adonijah jumps the gun, and declares himself king. His father isn't dead yet, mind you.

Well, Nathan the prophet learns of this and goes to tell Bathsheba, whom David had promised that Solomon would be king. Nathan instructs her to go tell David what Adonijah has done, and hold him to his promise.

So, Bathsheba goes and tells David, and then Nathan comes in to confirm her story.

David instructs Nathan and Zadok the priest to go and anoint Solomon king in front of all Israel. And all Israel rejoices, saying "Long live King Solomon!"

They do so, and when Adonijah and his followers hear of it, they are afraid, and scatter. Adonijah himself runs to the altar of the Lord and takes hold of the horns of the altar.

Solomon commands him to come out, and Adonijah replies "Only if you won't kill me." (I'm paraphrasing a bit.)

But Solomon, already wise, does not make a foolish promise. Solomon said, "If he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die" (1 Kings 1:52).

David charges Solomon to mete out the punishments for the men who betrayed him, the kingdom, and, by plotting against God's anointed, God himself so long ago.

So, that's where I got the title. Essentially, Solomon cleans house. He removes those who betrayed his father, and his kingdom is established.

First of all, Adonijah makes a request of Solomon, possibly just to test him. But it doesn't go well for Adonijah. He loses his life.

Next, Solomon sends Abiathar the priest away to his own household, saying that though he deserves death, he won't kill him yet because of his father David. 

Now, before you ask why on this one, it was to fulfill God's word concerning the house of Eli the priest. Remember? God declared that his household would not continue as priests because of the wickedness of his sons, and the fact that Eli did nothing about it.

Next, Solomon metes out punishment to Joab, who had followed Adonijah when he declared himself king, and killed people he shouldn't have. So Joab loses his life.

Finally, Solomon puts Shimei under house arrest, because he called out a curse upon David when he had to flee his son Absalom, who had usurped his throne. However, after three years, Shimei forgets, or thinks King Solomon didn't mean it. When two of his servants run away, he seeks them far beyond where Solomon had told him he could go, thus breaking the vow he had made to Solomon, promising to stay where Solomon had said. Thus, Shimei is executed.

So, all of these men who betrayed the house of David in one way or another, were put to death.

Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon. - 1 Kings 2:46b

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 3-5, as I continue to learn about Solomon.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 101: God Our Refuge

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Samuel 22-24.

And today I just want to share part of David's psalm of deliverance when God delivered him from Saul.

2 Samuel 22:2-4 - "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies..."

I love the Psalms. I love how pretty they are. But I also love how they (especially David's) speak of God's deliverance and help.

God is always there with us. Even when we are beset by enemies (physical or otherwise) He is always there to help us. All we need to do is cry out to Him. And remember, just like with David, God may not always remove the problem. But He will help us through it. David praised God through the good times and the bad, because He remembered that his help came from God.

And for me, that's a wonderful reminder.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Kings 1-2.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 100: David Mourns

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read 2 Samuel 19-21.

I don't have a big reflection or anything today.

I felt a bit sorry for David, though. His son Absalom tried to kill him, and when he was delivered, through his son's death, he still mourns his son because he was his son.

But Joab, who had a lot of opinions about everything, rebuked David for mourning. In a way, he had a point, because the people were getting restless and David needed to wash his face and let them see him victorious.

But he wasn't very nice about it.

So, I felt pretty bad for David. His household was divided. He lost not one, but two sons. And one of them tried to kill him and usurp his throne.

So, David just wanted a little time to mourn. But he didn't get it, because he was the king, and he had a duty to his people.

So, today I could truly see the full burden on David's shoulders.

I can't imagine anyone wanting that kind of responsibility. In some ways it would be a thankless job. No matter how the people loved them, or how many things they had, the burden that would fall on that person's shoulders would be very heavy.

David succeeded as king only because he had God on his side, and sought His counsel. I can't imagine doing a job like that without God's counsel or approval.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 22-24.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 99: Repentance

Hello, everyone!

Today I read 2 Samuel 16-18.

In today's reading, Absalom is pursuing his father in order to kill him. Remember, Absalom has usurped his father's throne.

But Absalom is not God's anointed king. That is still David.

And no man can change what God has ordained. If God places someone in charge, no man can remove them until God removes his anointing.

God has not removed his anointing from David. Even though David sinned, and God declared that his family would have strife (and that's certainly true now), God has not taken the kingdom from David or his descendants, as he did to Saul.

Why?

Because David repented.

Saul did all these things, from sacrificing without Samuel to making foolish vows, and yet he never repented. Not once did he fall on his face and repent the way David did.

And that's the point. It doesn't matter what you've done in your past. It doesn't matter how big or small you think it was. If you ask sincerely, God will forgive you and wipe your slate clean.

Now, David had to deal with turmoil in his family because of what he had done. But, honestly, I still think that if he had nipped Amnon's behavior in the bud, Absalom wouldn't have felt the need to usurp his father's authority.

Nevertheless, David made his own choices. He sinned, and he begged God's forgiveness. God gave it, but this was before Jesus died for our sins, so the rules were a bit different then. So, David's household is cast into turmoil because of his sin, even though God forgave him and he would not die because of it.

I'm so glad we have Jesus to be our mediator in Heaven with the Father, so that our slates can be wiped clean, and we can have a fresh start.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 19-21.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 98: David Does Nothing

Good afternoon, everyone.

Today I read 2 Samuel 13-15.

Now, today's post is going to deal with a difficult topic, so if you're squeamish, you didn't do the reading beforehand and have no idea what I'm talking about, you might want to exercise caution. I'm going to do my best to give just enough information but not too much, and then I'll move quickly into my point today.

Okay.

So, David has a lot of children.

And his son Amnon is in love with his half-sister, Tamar.

At his friend's suggestion, he tricks her into coming to his bedroom where he takes advantage of her. And then he gets angry with her and sends her away.

Her full-brother Absalom finds out, instructs her not to say anything, and not to let it bother her.

But it clearly bothers him. His anger is now kindled against his half-brother. And he later kills him, and takes the throne from David, just as God had said David's kingdom would be divided because of his sin with Bathsheba.

Now, my point:

This is the part where David should have done something. Saul was God's anointed king, yet he tried to kill David. He still had the man who claimed to have killed Saul put to death.

But for David's daughter, he does nothing. He sees how badly she is hurt. He sees the anger of his son Absalom. He sees the division in his family.

And he does nothing.

Now, before we all pass judgment like we want to, let me ask this question:

How many times have you and I seen an injustice and done nothing?

"Oh, but those weren't as big as this was!"

Well, is that true? Certainly, what happened to Tamar was a big deal. An awful thing. And I'm not trying to downplay it.

But how often do we see injustice in our world and do nothing?

How often do we see a problem in our families and do nothing?

How often do we think it will all blow over? How often do we think "Someone else will take care of it." or that there's nothing we can do?

David did nothing.

But sometimes, we do nothing too.

It's not exactly the same. Or is it? I'll let you decide what you think about that.

My point today is that we can't pass judgment on David, even when we want to, because no one is perfect. It's easy to look back at history and think "I would have done this differently." And yet, so often in our lives, we do nothing.

I am guilty of this too.

And I don't know about you, but I'm tired of doing nothing. It's time for God's people to stand. To move. To stop doing nothing, and to start doing what God has told us to do.

Love your neighbor (everybody).

Even the really gross one across the street.

Feed the hungry.

Physical and spiritual.

Take care of the poor.

Those who have fallen on hard times.

Preach God's Word.

To all people. Not just the ones who smell nice, or are free to go to church.

Steward God's earth.

Take care of what God has given us.

Serve God.

Do what He has called us to do.

Okay. That was a heavy point today, so I'll stop there.

I have been feeling like this lately, as though there's more I need to be doing.

I haven't quite figured out where God wants me yet, but I'm actively searching for new ways to serve Him.

I hope this post inspires you to search out new ways to serve God, or even to re-double your efforts to serve Him where He has placed you now. 

Just don't do nothing.

Tomorrow, I'll be reading 2 Samuel 16-18. I hope you'll still be with me then.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 97: David's Temptation

Good afternoon, everyone!

There is a lot I could talk about from my reading of 2 Samuel 8-12.

However, I want to focus on one part today.

David and Bathsheba.

Now, you may have heard teachings on this, and what I say may not be new (nor is it a teaching, come to that). Still, I hope you get something out of my reflections today.

2 Samuel 11:1 - Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

Now, I want to pause here. Notice the last sentence? David stayed at Jerusalem. This was the time when all the kings went out to battle. And we've already established that David was a great warrior. He fought many battles, and God was always with him.

David wasn't where he was supposed to be.

It is my belief (belief only) that if David had gone out to battle with his men, then this great sin would never have happened.

But, despite people's choices, God's plan can still prevail.

So, David stayed at home while his men went out to war. And he was on his roof one evening when he saw Bathsheba bathing.

Now, why was she bathing in full view of the king's roof?

I'll let you draw your own conclusion there.

And David knew she was married, but he had a weakness for beautiful women. So he sent for her, and lay with her, and she conceived a child.

So, David sent for her husband to try to cover it up. But her husband was honorable. He would not go home to his wife while his brothers were out fighting. David tried to get him drunk and send him home, but Uriah's honor won.

So David did something really dishonorable. He sent Uriah back to Joab with a letter. In the letter, David told Joab to send Uriah to the front in a place where he would surely die.

Uriah delivered his own death sentence.

Oh, David. What have you done?

Once Uriah died, and Bathsheba's period of mourning was over, David sent for her and made her his wife.

Now, I'm not hating on David. It seems like he did part of this in order to save Bathsheba from being found out. Remember, in those days, a woman who had committed adultery was put to death. 

I'm also not condoning what he did either.

And neither did God.

Even though David was a man after God's own hear, even though he was God's anointed king, he was still accountable to God.

And God was angry.

In chapter 12, Nathan the prophet rebuked David through a hypothetical situation.

When David passed sentence on the hypothetical situation, Nathan revealed that David was the guilty man. And he revealed God's punishment.

Well, first of all, David's household would no longer be peaceful, but full of strife. 

And David fell on his face and admitted his guilt.

And I believe that is what saved him.

That's what saves all of us. When we admit our guilt, confess our sins, and ask for forgiveness earnestly and sincerely, God will forgive us, and we will not die the eternal death.

Such is the case with David, though I think Nathan meant it a little more literally and immediately.

Nathan assured David that he would not die, but that the child he conceived with Bathsheba would.

Later, Bathsheba and David had another son: Solomon.

I bet you've heard of him. We'll get into his story later.

For now, I want to conclude with what I learned from today's reading, or the verse I began with.


2 Samuel 11:1 - Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.


Temptation is not impossible to resist, even though it is difficult sometimes. But I know from experience that if we are somewhere we aren't supposed to be, if we have ignored something we are supposed to do, or if we entertain sinful thoughts too long, temptation becomes harder to overcome.

I know because that was me for a long time. When I was in the wrong place, doing something I knew I wasn't supposed to, or just thought about things I knew weren't of God, temptation came upon me so strongly that I felt I couldn't escape its grip. And too often, I gave in.

One day I'll share the full story with you. But for today, know that this is not a rebuke, nor am I condemning you. 

I don't know your story. But I know this:

Jesus wants to save you the way He saved me. Only Jesus saves, but we have the choice to let Him. The more we let Him into our lives, the less room there is for sin to dwell.

And remember, sometimes we make mistakes. Just ask forgiveness earnestly and sincerely, and let Jesus into your life a little bit more. Soon, you won't even think about the thing that tempted you so badly. You won't even have the urge to do it anymore.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 13-15.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 96: David Danced

Good evening, everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful day. Or night, depending on where you are in the world.

Today I read 2 Samuel 4-7.

Several things happen in today's reading.

First, Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, is murdered. And the ones who did it, went to David, bragging about it, and declaring the kingdom his. David is just as angry about this as he was about the man who claimed to have killed Saul. And the men lost their lives.

So now, David is king over Judah and Israel. He is now 30 years old. He was 15 when God anointed him king. He had to wait 15 years for God's promise to be fulfilled. And his enemies fought him the whole way. Or, rather, I should say his Enemy. Now, I don't believe we can use "The devil made me do it," as an excuse. Because we all have free will and can make our own choices. But the Enemy does try to influence us.

So, all those people who came against David, God's anointed? Yep. Under the Influence.

But no one can stop God's plan for those who serve Him. So, David becomes king over both Israel and Judah.

The Philistines make war again, and David goes up to fight them, and God gives them into his hand.

And then David decides that the Ark of the Covenant needs to be back where it belongs. So he sends men to get it. They load it on a cart.

Uh oh.

Can anyone tell me why this is already wrong?

If not, that's okay. Just wait.

So, the Ark is loaded on a cart pulled by oxen. The Ark is underway when it is nearly knocked off the cart.

Uh oh.

And a man named Uzzah reaches out and grabs the Ark to steady it.

Uh oh.

See what's wrong with this part?

Keep reading.

Uzzah dies. God's anger was so kindled because Uzzah touched the Ark that he was struck down immediately. For irreverance.

Okay. I'll back up a minute and explain in case you didn't catch that.

Back when God was giving Moses laws, He had specific ones for how the Ark was to be handled: respectfully, with reverence. It was to be carried on two poles. Not placed in a cart to have a bumpy ride across terrible roads.

And no one was supposed to touch it directly.

I'm sure David knew this. And yet he still sent for it in such a disrespectful way.

Let me repeat that.

David sent for the Ark of God.

But his heart was in the right place. "Let me return it to its proper place."

So, after Uzzah's death, the Ark remains in the house of Obed-edom for three months, and his whole household was blessed.

So, three months later, David decides to get the Ark.

He goes personally, men are bearing the Ark on their shoulders properly, and David offers sacrifices to God along the way. Trumpets play and there is great shouting.

Much more respectful already, isn't it?

But one more interesting thing happens.

This is where David danced.

If you haven't heard that story, please go read it.

It's great.

I'll just give you the highlights.

David danced mightily before the Lord, in worship, as the Ark traveled along. He danced so hard that he danced his clothes off. Literally.

Now, his wife Michal saw it, and chastised him. David chastised her for her harsh words, but God made her barren all the rest of her days.

So that's the conclusion of this part. But let me get back to David's dancing.

David loved God so much that he wasn't ashamed to show it. He was so respectful the second time around but he wasn't afraid of messing up. He sacrificed along the way. The trumpets played. The people shouted. And David danced before the Lord.

David's focus was completely on worshiping and praising God. And he danced with complete abandon. So much that he danced his clothes off.

Can you imagine that?

Wait. Don't focus too much.

Sadly, I can't imagine it. I can imagine how it must feel to just be completely focused on God. But I can't imagine focusing with such abandon that I forget everything and everyone around me.

But one day I hope to. I want to worship God with such abandon that nothing and no one else around me matters.

How wonderful that would be.

And if my clothes come off because I dance too hard, fine.

Don't imagine that either. Please.

So, I hope you enjoyed this musing today, and that you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Samuel 8-12.