Category Archives: Uncategorized

As the genealogies continue here in 1 Chronicles, we come to several tribes that are only given brief mentions. The extreme is Naphtali, which only gets one verse with four names of his descendants. The other here, with the exception of Benjamin, don’t get much more. Compared to Judah and Levi, these tribes seem toContinue reading “September 15: 1 Chronicles 7-8”

The nation of Israel consisted of twelve tribes, each of which had their own territory when the land was divided after the Conquest under Joshua. All the tribes were conquered by foreign empires, first the northern tribes by Assyria then the southern tribes by Babylon. When Cyrus decreed the return of the Jews to theirContinue reading “September 14: 1 Chronicles 6”

As my wife has done research into our family tree, she has managed to produce page after page after page of names, dates, and relationships that show the roots of our family. We have ancestors who come from many countries, some who lived centuries ago, and all kinds of branches that show our distant relatives.Continue reading “September 13: 1 Chronicles 3-5”

Reading through the Bible can be a challenging task. The sheer length of the Bible as a whole can be intimidating. The mix of literary genres can be hard to follow the first time you read through it (or the first few times, for that matter). The names of people and places are sometimes difficultContinue reading “September 12: 1 Chronicles 1-2”

Many times, when we finish an important task, we have a tendency to just relax and take it easy for a while. We’ve accomplished our main objective, everyone has been focused on that task to the exclusion of other work, and we may just plain be tired. We may feel that we have earned aContinue reading “September 11: Nehemiah 12-13”

In yesterday’s reading, we saw how we can learn to set aside our sorrow and find the joy in our circumstances. The experience of the Jews at the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem reminds us that dwelling on our grief can interfere with other aspects of our lives. Yet it is also true thatContinue reading “September 10: Nehemiah 9-11”

Coming back from a shameful incident in our lives can be hard to face, and even harder to deal with emotionally. Our temptation may be to hide away from those we have wronged and just pretend nothing has happened. However, we can’t get back to living our life until we deal with the aftermath ofContinue reading “September 9: Nehemiah 7-8”

When you are doing the Lord’s work, you can expect opposition. Having the Holy Spirit empower us for service gives us a source on confidence as we serve, but the world will not want to see us succeed. Whether they are motivated by their own selfish desires or goaded by Satan, opponents will do allContinue reading “September 8: Nehemiah 4-6”

Christians should be prepared to do whatever task God sets before us. We may have dreams of doing to an exotic mission field or being called to a high-profile ministry, but the Holy Spirit may call us to a place that is routine for us, and to a task that may not get a lotContinue reading “September 7: Nehemiah 1-3”

It is easy to state our theological convictions when we’re asked what we believe. We may rattle off a creed or statement of faith, express our beliefs in a discussion, or argue them in an online chat. Our theology may be very good and extremely orthodox on paper. The real challenge to what we believeContinue reading “September 6: Ezra 8-10”