Chapter a Day

Genesis 1 (day 1) 1-5: Earth is pictured as a formless, empty, dark mass in the midst of a great ocean. God is hovering over it, God’s breath stirring the surface. Then God speaks, and light comes to be. Darkness is not destroyed, however, but only separated from the light. The first day is complete. … Read more

Exodus 1 (day 51)             1-7: A review. Jacob (Israel) came to Egypt with eleven of his sons and their families (Joseph was already in Egypt). They flourished and multiplied but were never assimilated, making them a threat to the Egyptian government.             8-14: Egypt’s primary rival in the world of the time is to … Read more

Leviticus 1 (day 91)             1-2: But the Israelites won’t actually leave Mt. Sinai until the 12th chapter of the book of Numbers. There are lots more rules to cover and lots more arrangement to be made before they are ready to continue their journey. The book of Leviticus is that book of rules. The … Read more

Day 118: Numbers 1             Welcome to the exciting book of Numbers!             In the first chapter the tribes are numbered by census. That is, all the men available for battle (age 20-60) are counted. Why count only those who are able to bear arms? God is preparing them to conquer the land promised to … Read more

Day 154: Deuteronomy 1             Welcome to Deuteronomy!             Deuteronomy tells again the story of Israel’s 40 years of wandering. It represents another source of information than what we have in Leviticus and Numbers. One clue that we are looking at another source of information is that most of Deuteronomy is told in the first … Read more

Day 188: Joshua 1 — July 7             1-9: God speaks directly to Joshua, as with Moses before him, but this will turn out more and more to be a rare phenomenon. In any case it is remembered here that, as far as Joshua is concerned, the gift of the land includes everything from the … Read more

Day 212: Judges 1             1-7: Judges takes up where Joshua left off (but the death of Joshua will be reported again in chapter 2). However, Judges relies on different source material, and there will be a number of scenes presented a bit differently from what we have previously seen. We are told that after … Read more

          Day 233: Ruth 1             1-5: We are taken back to the time of judges. The setting is once again Bethlehem, but this time the story will be easier to read. A famine causes economic hardship, and a man named Elimelech immigrates to Moab with his wife Naomi and their two boys, Mahlon and … Read more

Day 237: 1 Samuel 1             1-2: We meet Elkanah and his wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah is barren. We have seen this scenario many times: God chooses a barren woman through whom to bring into the world some character the world just could not do without. Hannah is in a long and honorable line, … Read more

Day 268: 2 Samuel 1             1-10: At Ziklag David receives word that Saul and Jonathan are dead. The messenger who brings the news claims to have killed Saul himself as an act of mercy. We know that is not what happened, but then the man produces Saul’s crown and armlet, so he must have … Read more

Day 292: 1 Kings 1             1-4: When we left 2 Samuel David did not seem to be slowing down with age, but now we have moved rather suddenly to find David as an old man who is always cold. So they provide a young girl to take care of him; day and night of … Read more

Day 314: 2 Kings 1 (for 11/10/10             1: The chapter begins by telling us that Ahab’s death results in Moab’s rebellion. Apparently Moab is controlled by Israel during Ahab’s reign.             2-4: Now we return to the account of Ahaziah’s rule. He rules only two years over Israel, then has an accident, falling through … Read more

Day 339: 1 Chronicles 1             Some notes before you begin:             Scholars generally agree that the Chronicles were compiled later than Samuel and Kings. Although in Chronicles we retrace much of the history we have already read in the earlier books, there are significant differences which we will encounter throughout. These two books are … Read more

2 Chronicles 1 (Day 368)             1: Solomon’s reign begins. God is with him and he prospers.             2-6: He assembles the leaders of the nation at Gibeon where the tabernacle is located. Remarkably, even the altar that Bezalel had made in the time of Moses is still in use, but the ark of the … Read more

Day 404: Ezra 1             1-4: The first 4 verses of Ezra repeat the last 2 verses of 2 Chronicles with the added information that Cyrus’ decree also charges the neighbors of whoever wants to return to Judah with providing financial assistance for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.             5-11: Many of the … Read more