Today's reading: 1 Kings 22:1-53Here we see that Ahab, king of Israel (the northern 10 tribes) and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (the southern 2 tribes) agree to join together to fight the Syrians. But Jehoshaphat first wants to hear from a prophet of the Lord. Ahab is only willing to listen to the four hundred "prophets" who always told him what he wanted to hear. But Jehoshaphat insisted that they ...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-29The account in this chapter reminds me a lot of Genesis 3. Even though Ahab didn't kill Naboth himself, he certainly had to have been aware that Jezebel had done that when he took possession of the vineyard. That seems to be confirmed by the fact that God pronounces judgment on Ahab.The one encouraging note in this chapter is that Ahab actually repents, which was ce...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 20:1-43Even though the Israelites are outnumbered greatly by the Syrian army, they miraculously defeat them twice, just as God promised. However, King Ahab refused to obey God fully and he showed mercy to the king of Syria, even though God had commanded him not to do so. As a result of his disobedience, Ahab was sentenced to die.Fortunately, God does not kill us every time...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-21There are a lot of principles that we could take away from this short chapter. But what strikes me the most is Elijah's fear that causes him to run from Jezebel. Elijah had just witnessed God do a tremendous miracle that caused the people, at least temporarily, to recognize YHWH as the one true God. Yet he is afraid of what Jezebel might do to him. There seem to be ...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 18:1-46This is undoubtedly the most well known event in the life of Elijah. Elijah essentially challenges the prophets of Baal to a "duel" in order to prove that the Lord - YHWH - is the only true God. And when the Lord proves His superiority over Baal, the people acknowledge that He is God. But as we often see in the life of Israel that belief will prove to be short-lived...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:1-24For the next several days we will be reading the account of the prophet Elijah and King Ahab. Ahab was the seventh king of Israel (the northern 10 tribes). He reigned for 22 years and "did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him." (1Kings 16:30). In the last part of this chapter, Elijah performs a miracle that foreshadows the resurrection of...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 13:1-34This is a very interesting chapter, especially the account of the "man of God". Although God uses him to confront Jeroboam, he is later deceived by another prophet from Bethel. And because he chooses to listen to the lies of that prophet rather than the word of God, He is killed by a lion on his way home. My initial reaction was that this seems unfair. The man of Go...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 12:1-28This is such a heartbreaking account. As the son of Solomon, Rehoboam should have been the rightful heir to the throne when Solomon died. But because he refused to listen to the counsel of the elders in the community and chose instead to listen to the young men who agreed with him, 10 of the 12 tribes rebelled against him and the kingdom was split in two.Jeroboam, w...  Read More

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 11:1-43Today we begin a new section in our reading plan. After Solomon, the monarchy splits into the Northern Kingdom (10 tribes, "Israel"/"Ephraim," based in Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom (2 tribes, "Judah," based in Jerusalem) and spirals into sin. Personally I can't imagine having 700 wives and 300 concubines. I'd be lucky to even remember a few of their names. God ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Song of Solomon 1:1-17Because of the sensuality present throughout the book, many have claimed that this is merely a metaphor or allegory that describes God's love for His people. However, in my opinion, the Faithlife Study Bible more accurately describes the nature and purpose of the book:"Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, is a group of poems celebrating romantic love between a ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14I've always maintained that the best way to understand the book of Ecclesiastes is to begin by reading the last two verses of the book:The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.It is indeed vanity to ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18From the Faithlife Study Bible:"Ecclesiastes addresses the times when life doesn’t make sense—when it seems that wisdom cannot offer any satisfactory answers. The author takes an honest, unflinching look at wealth and labor, pleasure and wisdom. The speaker finally decides that they are ultimately meaningless in themselves. But the book also concludes that reali...  Read More