Tag: Psalms

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10/7 Reading (1 Samuel 4-6; Psalms 41-44)

1 Samuel 4: This is the beginning of a troubling time for Israel. They lose in a massive battle to the Philistines. Remembering that bringing the Ark of the Covenant along to a battle worked in the past, Israel did this again. However, they lost and actually lost the Ark to the Philistines. Eli’s sons are both killed in battle and Eli falls out of his chair and breaks his neck upon learning of the death of his sons and the loss of the Ark.

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9/30 Reading (Judges 10-12; Psalms 38-40)

Judges 10: Some more information about other judges who helped the Israelites. After two judges, Tola and Jair, led the people for 45 years total, the Israelites fell back into their routine of worshipping other gods. The initial difference this time is when they called out to God for help after many years of living under the rule of the Philistines and the Ammonites, God says he doesn’t want to help them because they keep doing the same thing over and over again. Eventually God relented and provided a ruler who could defeat the Ammonites.

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9/23 Reading (Joshua 16-18; Psalms 36-37)

Joshua 16: Chapter focuses on the land given to the tribe of Joseph, specifically Ephraim. 

Joshua 17: Chapter focuses on the land given to another part of the tribe of Joseph, specifically Manasseh. Actually, the land described here is given to the half of this group who didn’t get land on the other side of the Jordan river by Moses. 

Joshua 18: Chapter begins with discussion of representatives from the seven remaining tribes to pretty much do a survey of the land that is still available and do a report for Joshua. The remaining of the chapter focuses on what was given to Benjamin. 

Psalm 36: This psalm is a prayer for help from the wicked. The psalmist asks God to help them. 

Psalm 37: According to the notes from the CEB study bible, this psalm is “usually identified as a wisdom psalm, and may have been what we might call today a teaching sermon” (CEB Study Bible, p. 879 OT). We learn about the importance of not getting angry or upset when wicked people appear to prosper. I find this challenging since this seems to happen all the time. We are supposed to trust in God that all will be ok in the end. This is definitely tough and something that I want to discuss further with others. 

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9/16 Reading (Deuteronomy 34; Psalm 35)

I had very little to say today.

Deuteronomy 34: Moses dies in this chapter. I think he got a raw deal. God had him go on top of a mountain to look at the land that he was forbidden to enter. Moses was an impressive leader.

Psalm 35: This psalm is a prayer for deliverance from enemies. The Fee and Stuart book says this psalm is an appeal to “Yahweh as Divine Warrior against malicious slanderers.” It is an interesting read. I did find myself wanting to add up all the psalms that ask for God to attack the psalmist’s enemies.

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9/9 Reading (Deuteronomy 16-18; Psalms 32-34)

Deuteronomy 16: Three festivals: feast of Passover and unleavened bread, feast of weeks, and feast of booths. Pretty interesting note from the CEB study bible on the first one:

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9/2 Reading (Numbers 36; Psalms 28-31)

NOTE: I’m still having a hard time with the Psalms. I can’t really explain why and I’m not really sure what to do. 

Numbers 36: Back to Zelophehad’s daughters. I was happy with the decision made to give them land in chapter 27. Definitely pretty cool. Then…we get to this chapter. Other elders worry that if they marry into a different tribe, their land will go to their husbands and that tribe instead of staying with their ancestral tribe. Moses and God agree this is a problem, God rules that their land must stay with their ancestral tribe. So…if they want to keep the land, they have to marry within their tribe. The women agree and marry first cousins.

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8/26 Reading (Numbers 18-20; Psalms 25-27)

Numbers is tedious. Lots of rules and regulations to follow.

Numbers 18: Learn about the priests’ and Levites’ duties, the priests’ compensation, and the Levites’ compensation.

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8/19 Reading (Numbers 1-3; Psalms 22-24)

Reading this introduction made me think about how much I’m writing during this process. I’m noticing that during times when I’m busy with other things I start to feel bad or guilty when I don’t write much. It becomes a burden, and it shouldn’t be that way. I will continue to write about what I read and sometimes it will be just a summary of what I read that day. But I think it will help me continue through this journey. Because this is tough stuff.

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8/12 Reading (Leviticus 13-15; Psalms 19-21)

NOTE: I still struggle with the psalms. I’m really having a hard time reading these. First, I’ve always had trouble reading poetry and these are written in that format. Second, I need some help reading these. I’m not sure if I’m overthinking this or what, but these are really challenging to me.

Leviticus 13: A full chapter on how to treat people who may or may not have leprosy. No wonder why people were so fearful of people with leprosy. Based of the notes what was referred to as leprosy is not the same as modern day leprosy. I do wonder if this type of affliction was common during this time frame?

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8/5 Reading (Exodus 37-39; Psalm 18)

This was a long day and I was really tired when I read this. I didn’t have much to say on these readings.

Exodus 37: The construction of all interior furnishings of the tabernacle occur in this chapter. This is pretty much a repeat of when God described everything to Moses.

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