Bible Readings for December 22nd 2 Chronicles 26 | Revelation 13 | Zechariah 9 | John 12 Uzziah, the king we read about in 2 Chronicles 26, also goes by the variant name Azariah in the record of his reign in 2 Kings 15:1–7. His mention in 2 Kings 15 is fairly brief, mixed in between all the accounts of Israel’s kings, but there we find this stateme…

Bible Readings for December 21st 2 Chronicles 25 | Revelation 12 | Zechariah 8 | John 11 Amaziah, like Joash his father, is a godly king who does not end his life as faithfully as he begins it. So, the summary of Amaziah’s reign goes like this: “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart” (2 Chron. 25:2). Amaziah,…

Bible Readings for December 20th 2 Chronicles 24 | Revelation 11 | Zechariah 7 | John 10 The reign of Joash is a tragedy that begins on the best note possible but that eventually takes a sinister turn away from faithful obedience to Yahweh and toward the false worship and idolatry that has plagued the people of Yahweh throughout their story. The un…

Bible Readings for December 19th 2 Chronicles 22–23 | Revelation 10 | Zechariah 6 | John 9 The stories in 2 Chronicles 22–23 narrate the bloody history by which Judah emerges from chaos, wickedness, and violence in the aftermath of Jehoram’s reign. Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, picks up in Judah where his father left off, walking “in the ways of the…

Bible Readings for December 18th 2 Chronicles 21 | Revelation 9 | Zechariah 5 | John 8 Jehoshaphat, as we discovered over the last three days, reigned with a mixture of good and evil. Tragically, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram follows only in the evil footsteps of his father, even going so far as to ally himself with King Ahab by marrying one of the dau…

Bible Readings for December 17th 2 Chronicles 19–20 | Revelation 8 | Zechariah 4 | John 7 As we have discussed over the previous two meditations, the reign of Jehoshaphat was a mixed bag. Sometimes he obeyed Yahweh, and sometimes he did not. So, while he had appointed the priests and the Levites to teach the law in 2 Chronicles 17, he also foolishl…

Bible Readings for December 16th 2 Chronicles 18 | Revelation 7 | Zechariah 3 | John 6 When we read the story of the alliance between King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Ahab of Israel back in 1 Kings 22, we didn’t learn much about Jehoshaphat. There, King Ahab was the main character, with Jehoshaphat entering the scene to play a supporting role in …

Bible Readings for December 15th 2 Chronicles 17 | Revelation 6 | Zechariah 2 | John 5 Chronologically, when we read about the reign of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17, we have reached the point in history where the book of 1 Kings began to spend a significant amount of time discussing the prophetic ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha,…

Bible Readings for December 14th 2 Chronicles 16 | Revelation 5 | Zechariah 1 | John 4 Yesterday, in 2 Chronicles 14–15, we looked at the positive aspects of King Asa’s reign over the nation of Judah, which were given in far greater detail than what we had seen in the account of Asa in 1 Kings 15. But where we have typically seen the books of Chron…

Bible Readings for December 13th 2 Chronicles 14–15 | Revelation 4 | Haggai 2 | John 3 Like Abijah, the godly King Asa received a fairly short treatment in 1 Kings 15:9–24. In the book of 2 Chronicles, however, the story of King Asa is significantly expanded, with three times as many verses that stretch across three whole chapters. In today’s readi…

Bible Readings for December 12th 2 Chronicles 13 | Revelation 3 | Haggai 1 | John 2 King Abijah received a very short treatment in 1 Kings 15. There, where his name is spelled Abijam, we read three simple details. First, he walked in the sins of Rehoboam, his father (1 Kgs. 15:3). Second, Yahweh preserved Abijah’s offspring for the sake of David (1…

Bible Readings for December 11th 2 Chronicles 11–12 | Revelation 2 | Zephaniah 3 | John 1 As we began to discuss yesterday, the accounts we will find in 2 Chronicles from this point forward will focus exclusively on the perspective of the southern nation of Judah, ignoring the northern nation of Israel almost entirely. But, while we lose informatio…

Bible Readings for December 10th 2 Chronicles 10 | Revelation 1 | Zephaniah 2 | Luke 24 The narrative in 2 Chronicles 10 tells how the ten tribes of Israel rebel from the house of David. The version we find in 2 Chronicles for the most part retells the same story of Rehoboam’s foolishness in ignoring the counsel of the elders who advised him to tre…

Bible Readings for December 9th 2 Chronicles 9 | Jude 1 | Zephaniah 1 | Luke 23 The material we find in 2 Chronicles 9 is, in almost every respect, identical to the material we read in 1 Kings 10. So, the account we read of the visit of the queen of Sheba is virtually verbatim what we read, and the catalog of Solomon’s great wealth and wisdom in th…

Bible Readings for December 8th 2 Chronicles 8 | 3 John 1 | Habakkuk 3 | Luke 22 In our meditations on 1 Chronicles, we looked at the ways in which the Chronicler depicts David without many of his flaws recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel. In the same way, we also find that the Chronicler depicts Solomon here in 2 Chronicles without his flaws, so that the d…

Bible Readings for December 7th 2 Chronicles 7 | 2 John 1 | Habakkuk 2 | Luke 21 Once again, it is instructive to compare the account of Yahweh’s appearance to Solomon as recorded in 1 Kings 9 with the account we find in our reading from today in 2 Chronicles 7. In 1 Kings 9, Yahweh swore that he had consecrated the temple by putting his name there…

Bible Readings for December 6th 2 Chronicles 6 | 1 John 5 | Habakkuk 1 | Luke 20 In 2 Chronicles 6, the narrator preserves for us the prayer of Solomon, and it is recorded nearly identically to the dedication prayer that we read in 1 Kings 8. Up to the end, we find significant overlap for Solomon’s three main prayers: thanking Yahweh for keeping co…

Bible Readings for December 5th 2 Chronicles 5 | 1 John 4 | Nahum 3 | Luke 19 Bringing the ark into the temple is the final step before consecrating the temple for the worship of Yahweh, and the account we read here in 2 Chronicles 5 is largely the same as what we read in the corresponding account in 1 Kings 8. The major difference, though, is that…

Bible Readings for December 4th 2 Chronicles 3–4 | 1 John 3 | Nahum 2 | Luke 18 In a previous meditation, we looked at the only story in 1 Chronicles that recorded David’s sin: the story of the census that he took.1 As we discussed, one of the reasons that story was included is to provide the backstory of how David purchased the threshing floor of …

Bible Readings for December 3rd 2 Chronicles 2 | 1 John 2 | Nahum 1 | Luke 17 Although the narratives of Solomon in the books of Chronicles undercut any idea that Solomon represents the pinnacle of Yahweh’s kingdom on earth, we still read that Solomon does important work in building the temple. Solomon’s reign was certainly important, but everythin…

Bible Readings for December 2nd 2 Chronicles 1 | 1 John 1 | Micah 7 | Luke 16 As we studied 1 Chronicles, we noticed all the ways that the Chronicler put David front and center in the story of Israel. We might think, then, that we will find a similar expansion of Solomon’s role, since he is the immediate son of David; however, in 2 Chronicles, we f…

Bible Readings for December 1st 1 Chronicles 29 | 2 Peter 3 | Micah 6 | Luke 15 We looked yesterday at ways these final chapters in 1 Chronicles portray David as a new Moses, and here in 1 Chronicles 29:6–9, we find yet one more story along those lines in the freewill offering of the Israelites to contribute materials for the building of the temple…

Bible Readings for November 30th 1 Chronicles 28 | 2 Peter 2 | Micah 5 | Luke 14 As we come to the end of David’s life in 1 Chronicles, there is one question we have not yet addressed: Was David right to take such an active role in reshaping the worship in Israel in the way that he did? We need to avoid bringing in the baggage of our own culture’s …

Bible Readings for November 29th 1 Chronicles 26–27 | 2 Peter 1 | Micah 4 | Luke 13 David assigns a group of the non-priestly Levites who were not called to the ministry of music to serve instead as gatekeepers in 1 Chronicles 26 (cf. 1 Chron. 9:17–32). While some of these gatekeepers were Merarites (1 Chron. 26:19), the primary group are called th…

Bible Readings for November 28th 1 Chronicles 24–25 | 1 Peter 5 | Micah 3 | Luke 12 In 1 Chronicles 25, David directs and organizes a division of the non-priestly Levites to serve as musicians in the house of God. As we discussed in the meditation from 1 Chronicles 16, David appoints three leaders of the musicians, one from each clan of the tribe o…

Bible Readings for November 27th 1 Chronicles 23 | 1 Peter 4 | Micah 2 | Luke 11 In 1 Chronicles 23, David actively reshapes the worship of Israel by redefining the roles of the Levites in temple service. The rationale for all of what David does is found in 1 Chronicles 23:25–26: “For David said, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his …

Bible Readings for November 26th 1 Chronicles 22 | 1 Peter 3 | Micah 1 | Luke 10 A new section begins with our reading today from 1 Chronicles 22, where we will start reading even more explicitly about the reforms David makes to Israel’s worship. Over the next few chapters, David will organize the Levites, the priests, the musicians, and the gateke…

Bible Readings for November 25th 1 Chronicles 21 | 1 Peter 2 | Jonah 4 | Luke 9 In today’s reading from 1 Chronicles 21, we find the major exception to the way that the Chronicles avoid mentioning David’s sin. And yet, even here we find two key differences from what we read in 2 Samuel 24 in the way this story is told. Most significantly, we read i…

Bible Readings for November 24th 1 Chronicles 19–20 | 1 Peter 1 | Jonah 3 | Luke 8 As we have seen in our reading from 1 Chronicles, sometimes the significant factor of a story is not so much in the included details as in the excluded ones. In 1 Chronicles 17, we saw how the Chronicler left out the statement about disciplining the son of David with…

Bible Readings for November 23rd 1 Chronicles 18 | James 5 | Jonah 2 | Luke 7 In many ways, Yahweh’s covenant with David that we read about yesterday in 1 Chronicles 17 is the heart of the theology of the books of Chronicles, but not only because Yahweh swears in this covenant to establish David’s kingdom forever. Additionally, it is David’s desire…

Bible Readings for November 22nd 1 Chronicles 17 | James 4 | Jonah 1 | Luke 6 As we have seen already in our study of the Chronicles, this retelling of Israel’s history centers on the person of David. The heavy emphasis on David does not suggest that David himself is the high point in the history of Israel, so that everything following David’s life…

Bible Readings for November 21st 1 Chronicles 16 | James 3 | Obadiah 1 | Luke 5 As the festivities in worship grow during the settling of the ark of the covenant in the city of Jerusalem, we learn more about Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, three men whose names we find prominently featured in another book of the Bible: the Psalms. So, who are these men, w…

Bible Readings for November 20th 1 Chronicles 15 | James 2 | Amos 9 | Luke 4 As we start getting deeper into 1 Chronicles, we begin to see the ways that the Chronicler writes about the events from the books of Samuel and Kings from a different perspective and with a different goal. In 1 Chronicles 15, we see our first major retelling of a story—the…

Bible Readings for November 19th 1 Chronicles 13–14 | James 1 | Amos 8 | Luke 3 Thus far, the author of 1 Chronicles has not only reviewed the entire history of the people of Israel, but he has also reshaped it around the person of David—not to exalt David himself, but to point forward to the coming of a new David. We looked yesterday at the way th…

Bible Readings for November 18th 1 Chronicles 11–12 | Hebrews 13 | Amos 7 | Luke 2 In today’s reading from 1 Chronicles 11 and 12, we arrive at the story of David himself. Everything up to this point has revisited the story leading up to David or has looked beyond him, but here we come at last to the main attraction: the great King David. In many w…

Bible Readings for November 17th 1 Chronicles 9–10 | Hebrews 12 | Amos 6 | Luke 1:39–80 While the bulk of 1 Chronicles will follow the story of David, the first ten chapters look back to the days far before David as well as look forward to the days long after his death. In 1 Chronicles 9 and 10, then, we read the genealogy of the exiles of Judah wh…

Bible Readings for November 16th 1 Chronicles 7–8 | Hebrews 11 | Amos 5 | Luke 1:1–38 As 1 Chronicles lays out the genealogies of each tribe of Israel one by one, we see Judah and Simeon (the southernmost tribes) in 1 Chronicles 4; Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (the easternmost tribes) in 1 Chronicles 5; Levi in 1 Chronicles 6; and then Issachar, Benja…

Bible Readings for November 15th 1 Chronicles 5–6 | Hebrews 10 | Amos 4 | Psalms 148, 149 & 150 A central focal point of the books of Chronicles is the reestablishment of true worship in Israel. So, where most of the tribes of Israel get only a handful of verses to recount their genealogies, the tribe of Levi receives an entire chapter to recount i…

Bible Readings for November 14th 1 Chronicles 3–4 | Hebrews 9 | Amos 3 | Psalms 146–147 Because 1 Chronicles represents a re-telling of the story of the people of God up to this point, David plays a critical, central role right from the very beginning. After one chapter to sum up the genealogy from Adam to Abraham, and then from Abraham to Jacob, t…

Bible Readings for November 13th 1 Chronicles 1–2 | Hebrews 8 | Amos 2 | Psalm 145 The books of Chronicles are very similar to the books of Samuel and Kings, so that we will read many of the same stories we just finished reading over again during the next few weeks. And yet, the books of Chronicles are doing something very different than what we sa…

Bible Readings for November 12th 2 Kings 25 | Hebrews 7 | Amos 1 | Psalm 144 In 2 Kings 24, we read about the beginning of the captivity of Judah to the Babylonians. Ominously, that chapter ended with this sentence: “And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” (2 Kgs. 24:20)—that is, he refused to pay tribute to Babylon any longer. In today’…

Bible Readings for November 11th 2 Kings 24 | Hebrews 6 | Joel 3 | Psalm 143 Once Josiah dies, Yahweh lifts his temporary restraint and sends his people off into exile because of their sins (2 Kgs. 24:3–4). During the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon makes Judah his servant—that is, he forces them to pay him tribute i…

Bible Readings for November 10th 2 Kings 23 | Hebrews 5 | Joel 2 | Psalm 142 In 2 Kings 23, we read a detailed account of the main reforms Josiah implemented in Judah. This chapter documents the sheer greatness of Josiah as king that we began to talk about in yesterday’s meditation, but it also shows the limitations of one of Judah’s greatest kings…

Bible Readings for November 9th 2 Kings 22 | Hebrews 4 | Joel 1 | Psalms 140–141 Josiah is the final great king of Judah. Despite being the grandson of Manasseh, who was Judah’s most wicked king, Josiah’s heart is inclined to Yahweh all the days of his life. Josiah even goes so far as to remove the high places in Judah (2 Kgs. 23:5, 8, 13, 15, 19, …

Bible Readings for November 8th 2 Kings 21 | Hebrews 3 | Hosea 14 | Psalm 139 The reign of Manasseh is the anvil that breaks the camel’s back. While Judah has enjoyed several good kings along the way—including Manasseh’s own father, Hezekiah, who sought Yahweh’s deliverance from the threat of the Assyrians—the southern kingdom has also experienced …

Bible Readings for November 7th 2 Kings 20 | Hebrews 2 | Hosea 13 | Psalms 137–138 In 2 Kings 20, we see Hezekiah displaying two contradictory attitudes toward prayer—on the one hand, he prays fervently for God to save him, but on the other hand, he doesn’t even try to pray for the salvation of his descendants after him. First, God again here relen…

Bible Readings for November 6th 2 Kings 19 | Hebrews 1 | Hosea 12 | Psalms 135–136 In 2 Kings 19, Hezekiah responds to the threats of the Assyrians at the doorstep of Jerusalem in two ways. First, he immediately seeks out guidance from the prophet Isaiah about whether Yahweh will come to Judah’s aid. Second, he spreads out the letter recorded from …

Bible Readings for November 5th 2 Kings 18 | Philemon 1 | Hosea 11 | Psalms 132, 133 & 134 The words of the Rabshakeh of Assyria (the great commander of Assyria’s army) in 2 Kings 18 offer a masterclass in Satan’s strategies to lead us to doubt Yahweh’s goodness toward us. To start, he twists Hezekiah’s obedience in removing the high places by sugg…

Bible Readings for November 4th 2 Kings 17 | Titus 3 | Hosea 10 | Psalms 129, 130 & 131 The dark day finally arrives. In 2 Kings 17, we read of the doom of the northern ten tribes of Israel, whom Yahweh sends off into exile at the hands of the Assyrians. The relatively mild wickedness (2 Kgs. 17:2) of Israel’s final king, Hoshea, becomes the straw …

Bible Readings for November 3rd 2 Kings 16 | Titus 2 | Hosea 9 | Psalms 126, 127 & 128 Although Judah has experienced wicked kings before this point, King Ahaz leads the southern nation of Judah into unprecedented evil. Ahaz’s father, Jotham, was a godly king who did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh (apart from leaving the high places in Judah;…