Read the Bible Together 2025–2026

Job

Christopher Powell — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:33:50 -0500

Overview:

Prologue (1–2)
Job's Friends Arrive (3)
Three Cycles of Discourse (4–31)
Elihu Arrives (32–37)
God Speaks to Job (38–41)
Job Answers God (42:1–6)
Epilogue (42:7–14)

Job 1

We covered Esther's end last night so I'm focusing on Job this morning. Robert Gordis writes, “The ubiquity of evil and its apparent triumph everywhere give particular urgency to the most agonizing riddle of human existence, the problem of evil, which is the crucial issue in biblical faith.” He calls the book of Job “the most profound and—if such an epithet may be allowed—the most beautiful discussion of the theme,” more relevant than ever, “in this, the most brutal of centuries."

Christopher Ash's commentary begins by encouraging us to look at Job not as "armchair" theologians but "wheelchair" ones. In other words not detached from the text but as living human beings that are experiencing our own suffering.

Two things he calls us to note:

Job is a long book because what the Bible has to say about suffering "doesn't fit on a postcard"
Job is a book of poetry (about 95%) so we need to read it differently and pay attention to words. "Job is to be lived in and not just studied. So during this study let us read the book of Job itself, read it out loud, mull it over, absorb it, wonder, be unsettled, and meditate"

Job 1:1–3 tell us 5 things about Job that help us before anything bad happens: His place, his name, his godliness his greatness, and his anxiety (for his children's spiritual state).

The rest of the chapter is as unsettling as it is interesting. In Job 1, God allows Satan—his subordinate yet adversarial servant—to test Job, not because Job is wicked, but to reveal before everyone that genuine godliness can exist apart from prosperity, pointing ultimately to Christ who relinquished greatness for God’s glory. This is in many ways the "anti-prosperity" gospel.

The rest of the chapter is all about the shock after shock after shock that happens. Ash encourages us to get used to them. They are meant to disrupt us and our cozy situation.
Job is disrupted here in terrible loss. But what Ash notes is that contrary to Satan's predictions, Job doesn't curse God, he goes to God. It is his first recourse, not his last.

Ultimately this must be true for us too CBC. We need to be like the disciples who were at a loss following Jesus. What did they do? They still followed Jesus as they put it: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” — John 6:68. May you and I go to Jesus today for everything we need.

Job 2–5

In addition about the benefits of silence in the context of suffering, so much could be said here. My dad did a sermon series through the book of Job that I remember being profitable (probably 35 years ago!). If you want to listen to it, contact Michael Harvey⁩.

So many memorable passages here that are quoted some well (like Job's anguish in chapter 3 - reflecting Solomon's stillborn birth passage we looked at on Sunday) and some terribly badly. One thing has to be established with any quote from Job and that is "who said it?" because 3 of the 4 friend are rebuked by God for having terrible worldviews! That said some of things that they say are not wrong. False teaching is almost always mixed with truth. So statements that are beautifully evocative by Job's friends can contain a mixture of truth and error. For example, Elphaz is completely wrong when he says: "“Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.” (Job 4:7-8) This is so so wrong in that it assumes that all suffering is a direct cause of a person's sin - bad things only happen to bad people. This doesn't hold true biblically (what did Able do to deserve being murdered?!). At the same time he says things that are beautiful and evocative poetically like Job 5:7 "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."

The "heavenly court" encounter with Satan under God's sovereignty reveals a supernaturalism that we often lack in the modern church. Although I believe that this has been perhaps overemphasized in the last 10 years in some theological circles, there is a reality here that we must grapple with. Ultimately our war is not against flesh, as Paul says but against these very "principalities and powers" that truly exist as spiritual beings.

It's also suprising in many ways as we see God giving permission to Satan. Ash comments: "Shockingly (and it is truly shocking) the Lord agrees. Having rebuked the Satan for inciting him against Job without valid reason, the Lord says to the Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life” (v. 6). But the Satan is frustrated in his desire to see Job swallowed up and utterly destroyed—he is not allowed to kill him.

Nevertheless, we must think hard about this second permission or instruction. Had we been writing the story, we would have had the Lord say to the Satan, “Enough is enough. The man has suffered more than any human being in one day. He has been taken from riches to bankruptcy, from greatness to destitution, from a happy family to utter bereavement. That is enough, surely, to establish that his piety is genuine. The man worships me because he knows I am worthy of worship. End of trial.” That is what we would have said.

That the Lord disagrees with us must teach us something very deep. The glory of God really is more important than your or my comfort. When all that Job has is taken from him, we may get an approximate or provisional demonstration that God is worthy of worship. But an approximate or provisional demonstration is not sufficient for the ultimate glory of God. In the end it is necessary and right that this man should suffer personal and intimate attack upon himself, so that we see absolutely and without doubt that God is worthy of worship. It is necessary for this man to demonstrate a full and deep obedience to the glory of God."

May God give us a genuine understanding of suffering and our circumstances and His sovereign power and control and may this fuel our prayers and our pursuit of Him even as we fight against temptations and evil powers in our world that seek to distract or divert us from relationship with Him.

Job 6–8

A couple verses stand out for me in the reading today. They capture the suffering that Job is feeling in a graphic and visceral way (especially considering the attacks on his body):
"Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? "
"My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh."

These are hard to read. A believer suffering under the assault of Satan desperately crying out to God. But faithful.
Ash says this:

"...We see this again and again in church life when there is a cost to follow Christ. A Christian wants to marry a non-Christian, knowing it will be a union in which at the deepest level they will pull in opposite directions. It will cost to break the relationship off and worship God wholeheartedly. That is when true worship is revealed. It costs to be a Christian openly at school or college or in the office. Perhaps there will be a loss of face, a loss of prestige or reputation. It is loss that reveals the true worshipper and separates the fair-weather Christian from the true worshipper.

We are going to see in Job’s speeches a true worshipper revealed. And we may be surprised by the hallmarks that mark him out as the real thing. To the visible eye Job is alone, scratching at his agonized skin, sitting on the rubbish dump outside the city gate (2:8). He has no status, no job, no family, and no hope. And yet we will see here, despised and rejected, outside the city wall, the pure gold of a real believer. In Shakespeare’s words:

Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
We are going to see the precious jewel of real worship in the midst of ugliness and venom. And as we see this precious jewel unveiled, we will remember a later believer hanging naked outside the city wall, despised, rejected, and yet precious beyond compare"

May God use our challenges to refine our inner souls and characters to display real beauty to His glory.

Job 9–12

What anguish Job faced. Imagine having your "comforters" laugh at your grappling to understand why something is happening to you - worse than that imagine having Zophar as your 'buddy' saying you deserve worse!
A couple verses stood out:
Chapter 12 "I am a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who called to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock."
And this one from Chapter 9- that just cries out for Jesus - the true arbiter between God and man. "there is no arbiter between us" - Job feels unjustly dealt with.
I appreciate Ash's commentary on Job's wrestling:
"IT IS POSSIBLE to be wrong and to be right at the same time. God will say that Job has spoken rightly about him (42:7). And yet Job says a great many things about God that are not right. How are we to reconcile this apparent contradiction? When we listen to Job’s speeches, we need to bear in mind the distinction between Job’s perception and Job’s heart. His heart is the heart of a believer, which is why the Lord commends and affirms him at the end. But his perceptions are partial and flawed. We hear in these speeches the honest grapplings of a real believer with a heart for God as he sees what he thought was a secure worldview crumble around him. This is why we will hear Job say some things that are plain wrong, and yet we hear him say them from a heart that is deeply right.

One of the big questions that begins to surface in Job’s speeches is, can Job discern the character of God from the actions of God? Job sees and experiences the actions of God. He believes in the sovereignty of God. He therefore believes that when something happens, it happens because God makes it happen. The natural but, as we shall see, flawed conclusion is that because Job sees unfair things happen, God in his character is unjust.
So the question is, when bad things happen, who does them? This question of causation and agency takes us right back to the heavenly council chamber of chapters 1, 2. We gained there an insight into the true model for understanding the government of the world. This is neither polytheism nor a kind of divine tyrannical monism but rather a Sovereign God who governs the world through the intermediate agency of a number of supernatural forces (“the sons of God”), some of whom are evil. He uses evil to work out his purpose ultimately to defeat evil."
The commentary is so good you just want to keep reading. After this he goes into the whole "David's sin in the census" issue that we addressed in CG a few weeks before. Excellent stuff. This commentary would make a great stocking stuffer. There's a Crossway e-sale around Christmas where all their ebooks go on sale for $3-$4 US each. Ash's commentary would be a nice little edition - maybe go back and read it after we finish next year!

Job 13–15

The brutal honesty of Job is hard to read sometimes as it exposes his depression and anguish: "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble." To read the glib replies of his friends just helps sensitize us to how we need to be "quick to listen, slow to speak" as we seek to help one another. Job here is rejecting the religious system that his comforters subscribe to of "God helps those who help themselves and "you must have done something bad to have such bad Providence." He realizes he must take it to God as his friends have horribly distorted and misrepresented God as he puts it "you whitewash lies"

To keep track of the flow - here is Ash's summary of chapters 12-14 (which our reading comes into the middle of today): Summary of Job 12–14

"Job 12–14 is by far the longest of all Job’s speeches to his comforters. It brings to a close the first cycle of speeches. In it we shall see Job make significant progress. He speaks first to his friends (12:1–13:19) and then to God (13:20 onward).
To his friends he clarifies in his own mind that The System of thought that he and they have shared in the past does not work. It is cruel (12:1–6), shallow (12:7–12), tame (12:13–25), and deceitful (13:1–12). As a result, Job resolves that he must take his case to God himself (13:13–19).
And so he does. He expresses his deep longing to deal with God (13:20–22) but recognizes that the problem of sin (13:23–27), with consequent mortality (13:28–14:6) and death (14:7–12), must be overcome by resurrection (14:13–17) if his search is not to end in despair (14:18–22)."

Ash also notes something about what Job is doing. It's dangerous to question God but he is in a crisis.

"Job is about to do something hugely significant. It is worth pausing to ask why. After all, he knows it is dangerous. The System of his friends tells him he must be a secret sinner because he is suffering. He knows this is not true. The evidence of his eyes tells him that God is dangerous, random, and unpredictable. The faith in his heart tells him that God is righteous and that he, Job, is a believer who is in the right before God. Knowing The System is not true, and despite the evidence of randomness and danger, Job’s decision goes with Job’s faith. This is why he appeals to God."

May we have faith to take our struggles before God - to believe his promises and "cast our cares on Him for He cares for us"

Job 16–19

So much here. In Job 16 Job's deep longing both to receive and even give comfort (16:5) is heartbreaking. Job's suffering here is on every level and it anticipates Christ's suffering.
Ash comments:

"In three parallel statements of climactic intensity, Job says God has “worn me out” (that is, debilitated me), “made desolate all my company” (v. 7; that is, my social world, from my wider reputation in the community to my intimate family), and “shriveled me up” (v. 8) into “a pathetic wrinkled wretch.” Chapters 1–3 have used the idea of a skin or “hedge” around Job, first a protective hedge (1:10, “a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side”) and then an imprisoning hedge (3:23, “whom God has hedged in”). Every human being has not only a physical skin to protect a healthy body, but wider skins or hedges of intimate relationships of hearth and home and wider family and a place in society. God has invaded each of these until all that is left is this pathetic, wrinkled, miserable apology of a man.

We see this so vividly in the Lord Jesus. In his incarnation the protective hedge of Heaven is taken away, he lives with nowhere to lay his head, his natural family does not believe in him, and even when he accumulates a large band of disciples, these too are whittled down so that most leave him (John 6:66), and even those who remain desert him at the end, and on the cross he hangs deeply alone, his skin shriveled."

It is deeply felt because Job cannot understand the reason for it as he has not turned from God -" My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness, although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure." (vv. 15–17)

But he's not without hope as we come to chapter 19:25 " For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth." Throughout this time we have seen him longing for a witness, for an interaction with God.

Ash comments:

AS WE HAVE LISTENED TO JOB, we have seen some paradoxical marks of a true worshipper. One of these is that he experiences deeply the pain of seeing a world he knows ought to be righteous but has become deeply unfair. Another is that in spite of this pain he does not become ultimately cynical but longs passionately for the God who is—or ought to be—running this troubled world. These two marks together, paradoxical as they are, issue in a life deeply marked by pain and by prayer. At the heart of the pain is the tension between the “god” who seems to be running this world and the God we hope and trust is actually doing so. The character of the one seems so puzzlingly at odds with the perfection of the other.

In a way the deepest question Job faces is, is God for me or against me? Ultimately nothing else matters. If God be for me, on my side, then ultimately nothing and no one can do me lasting harm, and I will come through it as more than a conqueror (Psalm 56:9; Romans 8:31–39). But if God is against me, then my despair is well grounded in objective reality.

This question lies beneath the question “Why?” that echoes in the book of Job (from 3:20, 23 onward) and on through the history of believers in pain.

And on v.25 Ash comments:

What does Job “know” (v. 25)? By faith he knows three wonderful truths: he has a living Redeemer, this Redeemer will stand upon the earth, and Job will see him with his own eyes.
This is our Redeemer - Jesus lives, He did stand on the earth and our eyes "at last shall see Him."

As you go to work today may your eyes be fixed on our Redeemer the author and perfector of our faith through the crooks in our lot.

Job 20–22

Notice the mixture of truth into the overall incorrect speeches of Job's friends. Like Zophar in chapter 20:4-5 "Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?" (sounds a lot like hevel doesn't it?)

Ash comments that Job's friends paint a "portrait of hell" in their speeches as they expect a level of righteousness that is unattainable by humans. How horrible to tell a suffering person it's their fault and they just need to "do better." Yet this is what most religions of the world do!! Job's friends own frustrations with the situation and Job becomes evident in their speech.

Which is instructive. Maybe sometimes our frustrations with each other don't always emanate from their failures but perhaps our own lack of grace or failure to understand the situation. A little self-doubt when it comes to evaluating others is a Christian attitude as Jesus explains in the sermon on the mount: in Matthew 7:3-5.

Job 28–30

Chapter 28 is an interesting chapter - kind of a standalone one. A selection of Ash's commentary help us reflect on the substance of the poem that is chapter 28 and prepares us for Job's final speech which comes in 29-31.

"Who Speaks in Chapter 28?
Who is speaking in chapter 28? This is a very different chapter from all that has gone before and all that follows. It is a unique chapter in the book. It has no smooth literary connection with the immediate contexts before or after; it is not explicitly addressed to any of the participants; it contains no accusations, no complaints, and no responses to anything said previously. And it has a reflective tone, which contrasts with the passionate arguments on either side. Here is a tranquil, contemplative pause for thought. If Job were read aloud, this chapter would be read in a quieter tone of voice. In a Greek tragedy it might be read by a chorus standing at the back of the stage."
....
"What is the poet doing? He is giving us pause for thought. We have been caught up in an awesome and terrible human tension. Job longs to know why. Is he right to long to understand? Yes, he is, for to understand this would be to understand the radical structure of the universe, and no greater goal can be possible for the human mind. Yes, he is right to search. But is his search doomed to failure? Yes, it is. He must seek and yet he will never find wisdom"
...
"What has this wonderful poem achieved? More than anything else it has made us stop and think. We must pause when we read this. Why this curious and seemingly irrelevant poem interrupting the passionate ebb and flow of debate? Answer: we must ponder and consider again the biggest issues of the book. What are the really big questions? And where have we arrived in unraveling them? Not far!
Indeed Job 28 may be seen as implicit criticism of the sterile arguments of Job’s three friends, whose speeches have achieved so little. In this respect (and some others) Job 28 anticipates the speeches of God at the end of the book.
But why have we not made more progress? It is not only because Job’s friends are foolish. At a deeper level this poem teaches that although the questions Job asks are big and significant (wisdom is indeed of priceless value), the search for wisdom as an object in itself is doomed. The seeking required of us is not ultimately the seeking for philosophical answers or even for practical wisdom; it is seeking after God himself. This is, we remember, one of the great marks we have noted of Job the believer. While he cannot make head or tail of his perplexities, in his heart and with his voice he longs passionately for God. And in so doing, in continuing to fear God and turn from evil, he is precisely on the right track. Job 28:28 gives divine affirmation to Job (and to us) that we need no secret of the higher life, no mysterious spiritual law to raise us to a deeper level of spirituality or godliness, no answers achieved only by some spiritual elite. We are called, as was Job, to begin our lives of discipleship with the fear of God and repentance from evil and to continue our walk with God exactly the way we started it (cf. Colossians 2:6)."

Finally he sets up Job's final speech (which we almost finish today): this way:

"In chapters 29–31 Job sums up his case before God in three parts. In chapter 29 he longs for the wonderful old days before his sufferings. In chapter 30 he laments the misery of his present sufferings. And in chapter 31 he protests before God his innocence. The shape of this final speech is like that of the Psalms of lament."

This quote from C.S. Lewis is a good reflection of the longing expressed by Job in chapter 29:

"Most people would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy.… There was something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in the reality"

Job 31–33

We have a fascinating final speech from Job in Chapter 31 (it ends with his " the word sof Job are ended" that seems (and is) about self-righteousness which is easy to dismiss until you come to the end of the book and God commends Job. And then what do you make of Elihu who rebukes the other three and then Job? Ash believes that Elihu is a faithful prophetic voice who is holding Job accountable. So what's going on here what do we make of . I found this a helpful section (it's long) from Ash but I've bolded sections that help:

What Are We to Make of This Final Speech?

And so “the words of Job are ended.” But what are we to make of him and of this final speech? Sure, it is very fine and bold, but is it true? And if it is true, how can it be true for a sinner to say these things? This is the critical question, and it can only be answered by reading this speech in the light of the doctrines of justification and of union with Christ from the rest of Scripture.

First, we note that, as so often in the book, Job is a foreshadowing of a man who will fulfill these things perfectly. There will come a man whose perfect obedience will extend both to his single-hearted worship and love for his Father and to his perfectly sinless and utterly good treatment of all his fellow human beings. When we read these protestations of innocence as the words of this sinless man, we can read them with no awkwardness, for he fulfills the innocence of Job in the perfection of his obedient life.

But this still leaves the question of how the historical man Job can say these things and expect God to take him seriously. And clearly he does expect God to take him seriously, and we shall see that God does indeed take him seriously and will—in chapter 42—affirm Job as his faithful covenant servant. But how can a sinner—and Job is a sinner—claim such innocence without opening himself to the accusation of pharisaical cant? And how can he conclude his list of sins precisely by denying the sin of hypocrisy, which was the trademark pharisaical sin?
Essentially this question is the same, doctrinally, as the puzzle of how the adulterer and murderer David can so often claim innocence in the Psalms. Psalm 17 is a paramount example, where David claims not just innocence in one particular matter but a deep and wide innocence: “You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing” (Psalm 17:3). For David the answer is given explicitly in Romans 4. David has appropriated “the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6). A righteousness from God, an alien righteousness (as Luther called it), is counted, imputed, or reckoned to him, so that when his steps are “counted” they are counted righteous. David in his faith foreshadows all who are righteous by faith in Christ today. And so does Job.

Job is a man—a remarkable man, for he has so little revelation—who in his heart of trust in the Almighty is credited with a righteousness not his own. But it is more than that; like all men and women who are truly justified today, Job’s justification has life-changing consequences. This is why his actual life begins to conform to the righteousness credited to him by grace. This is why he walks with a clear conscience. This is why, when he sins, he offers sacrifice, as we saw him do for his children in chapter 1. The innocence Job claims in chapter 31 is an innocence reckoned to him perfectly by grace, through the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is an innocence beginning to be worked in his actual life, also by grace, in an anticipatory working of the Holy Spirit in his heart. Job 31 is true by grace, both in Job’s status and in Job’s life. He is, as the Apostle John would later put it, a man who is “walk[ing] in the light” (1 John 1:7).

And yet he is about to be rebuked, first by Elihu and then, climactically and twice, by the Lord himself! The end of chapter 31 is the high point of Job’s positive portrayal in the book, but it is not the end of the book. Before the book can be concluded, there is more to be said about Job, and it will begin with sustained rebuke."

One thing Job's interaction with his three friends has taught me is that "well-meaning" friends may often give unhelpful advice.

Comment:

How often have we heard from non believing friends empty words of comfort! "The universe will send you positive energy" or "what goes around comes around". These are relatively easy to deal with.

What is often harder is hearing wisdom from believers with the wrong theology or correct theology with the wrong application! A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Proverbs 25:11

We feel the pressure of an uncomfortable silence in a way that makes us say things without fully thinking them through. Job’s friends weren’t doing a bad job as friends when they were just listening with their mouths closed,

Job 38-40

Comment: What impressed me was Job 38 where God condescended to talk with the same tone of voice as job's friends, but with the correct rebuke.

As our brother said, this is where we see God directly addressing Job. And it's a helpful corrective but the plain fact is that it doesn't answer Job's questions directly. The basic response of the Lord is to redirect the question back at Job and clearly draw the Creator/Creature distinction between them - in other words "Who are you Job to question your Creator?" This is similar to how Jesus responds to the disciples questions about God's actions in Luke 13:1-5.
----
Christopher Ash comments:

"Elihu has begun the answers to Job. He has spoken, in my view prophetically, of the justice, loving mercy, and kindness of the God who speaks and governs and whose presence is as awesome as a massive thunderstorm. No one interrupts Elihu or questions his words. The three comforters are silent and Job is quiet as Elihu reaches the end of his fourth and final speech....

What happens next is astonishing. It is what Job has both desired most passionately and feared most deeply. God speaks, and speaks directly and personally, to Job himself. Back in chapter 9 Job has cried out, “If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. For he crushes me with a tempest … he will not let me get my breath …” (9:16–18). The prospect of an audience with God is terrifying. And yet it is this for which Job longs most urgently. “Oh, that I knew where I might find him,” he has cried (23:3). “Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!),” he has called out in his final speech (31:35). Eliphaz thinks this is unimaginable. “Call now,” he has mocked, “is there anyone who will answer you?” (5:1). Even the prophet Elihu cannot imagine this: “The Almighty—we cannot find him” (37:23). And yet now it happens. Job does not find the Almighty, but the Almighty finds and speaks to him. We do not know by what physical or psychological mechanism Job heard the voice of God or whether this was an audible voice or a voice heard inwardly. The narrative simply records that God spoke to him.

Four things at least mark this speech as significant. The first is that this is recorded as unmediated speech, like God’s speech to Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1, 19) in later years. If my understanding is correct, God has begun speaking to Job by the mouth of Elihu the prophet in chapters 32–37, but now he speaks directly. Just as the Ten Commandments, spoken immediately from God to Israel, are thereby designated as of great importance, so it is with these divine speeches spoken directly to Job. We need to listen to them with rapt attention....

The second marker of significance is the use of the covenant name “the Lord” (Yahweh) for the first time since chapters 1, 2...

The third feature is that God speaks directly and personally to one man. In 28:28 we have read a general word of God to humankind, but this now is a word to Job himself.

Finally God speaks “out of the whirlwind,” the awesome storm described by Elihu in chapters 36, 37, the storm that speaks of the scary and sovereign power of God, the storm that Job’s own life has become. We meet this stormy God also at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19) and in Psalm 18. Elijah was translated into Heaven in such a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Many centuries later Ezekiel in Babylon will see “a stormy wind … out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually …” (Ezekiel 1:4; cf. Ezekiel 13:11, 13) and meet with God. Zechariah prophesies that “the Lord God … will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south” (Zechariah 9:14). This great God speaks when and to whom he chooses. He “neither hurried nor humbled himself to do what Job demanded.” Such a manner of speaking humbled Job, and humbles us. In the midst of the storms of Job’s life, God speaks to him."

Esther

Christopher Powell — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:30:57 -0500

Overview:

Feat of Xerves (1–2)
Esther's Banquet and Events (3–7)
The first Feat of Purim (8–10)

Esther 6–8

How is your reading of Esther going? We will be looking at the book tonight in our community group. It's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" books in the Old Testament but deeply insightful into the nature of God's Providential workings in history. While Zerubbabel and company are rebuilding the temple and beginning on the city, Mordecai and Esther are God's instruments to protect Israel from hostile attacks in the Persian capital.

Pay attention to the timing today. The kings sleeplessness causes him to read the book of "memorable deeds (v1)"and then Haman enters the court just as the king has reviewed Mordecai's deeds (v.4). This is not an accident. Neither is anything you will face today in your life. Psalm 139:16 states: "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

Esther is a beautiful study in God's Providence and timing. Trust His timing brothers and sisters. Keep doing what you know is right. Our God is at work to bring glory and purpose even in our adversities (which we will look at this Sunday!) in such a wondrous way.

Ezra—Nehemiah

Christopher Powell — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:23:05 -0500

Overview:

Ezra

Zerubbabel leads first return (Ezra 1–6)
Ezra leads second return of exiles (Ezra 7–10)

Nehemiah

Nehemiahs first visit to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1–12)
Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13)

Ezra 1–2

The Book of Ezra has two major parts and actually Ezra himself doesn’t show up until part two. But there are two main parts – chapters 1-6 which detail the return of the exiles and rebuilding of Jerusalem from 539-520 BC. And then almost 80
years later (in between is the book of Esther) on chapters 7-10 we see Ezra finally coming to complete the process a
number of years later followed by Nehemiah in the reign of Artaxerxes to rebuild
the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

Two things to think about from our reading in chapter 1 today:

The sovereignty of God over history. Cyrus the king referenced here was named like we heard last night over 100 years before he was born in the book of Isaiah 44. Even before someone is born God has sovereignly ordained purpose - and Cyrus was to be his instrument to bring the Jews back from exile.
God is a God of sovereign details. That’s what all the dishes are about at the end of this chapter. The detailed “dish inventory” is meant to convey to us that God is serious about restoration and is sovereign over the mundane details of our lives. The return of these dishes is all about the beginning of Daniel (Chapter 1 and again in Chapter 5) when they were stolen from the temple and then desecrated in the first place. God is sovereign and keeps a record. He cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. He keeps an inventory of dishes. And he will make all things right for us who trust in Him. Take comfort this is the God that’s watching over you today!

Ezra 6-7

A thought for today is the wonderful extravagance of God's provision. It sounds cheesy when I say "I'm the richest man in the world", but, no matter what car you drive or what you own or don't own in this world, if you're a Christian it's actually true. You are the son or daughter of the King of Kings. And just look at verse 16 - look at how God for His people.

Ezra -6:9:
(9) And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail.

God used a pagan king Cyrus and all his resources to pave the way for the exiles to return and rebuild the temple and Jerusalem and give them all the things necessary including the very animals, spices and food to celebrate! Classic Yahweh - what a God we serve!

There's also an interesting pattern here in v.14 too that is worthy of our noting.
Ezr 6:14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Do you see that? By the decree of God and then secondarily the decree of Cyrus. God is providentially directing the "top man" in the world to accomplish His purposes reminding His people through the Word guiding them by His prophets.

As you labour this week, remember your God is at work behind the scenes to direct His providence and the circumstances of your life for His glory.

May we all rest in His sovereignty and submit our lives and our concerns to Him in prayer and seek His help and direction remembering the principles that Jesus and James told us about God the Father our provider in James 4:2 (you don't have because you don't ask) and Matthew 7:9–11 (how our Father is willing to give what we need).

Ezra 8

Yep, another genealogy. What's up with this one... well, if you blink you might miss another encouragement. God keeps his promises... how? Hattush! Who is he?

Dale Ralph Davis:
The flicker of hope (Ezra 8:2) Note Hattush of the sons of David (see the listing of Davidic/royal descendantsin 1 Chron. 3:17-24). If you scrutinize that list carefully, it seems, as Fenshamsays, that the main thread of the list is: Jehoiachin, Pedaiah, Zerubbabel,Hananiah, Shecaniah, Shemaiah, Hattush. Hattush is then the fourth generationafter Zerubbabel. If Zerubbabel was born ca. 560 B.C., and if one allotsapproximately 25 years per generation, then Hattush appears here about 458B.C., which fits the traditional date of Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem.Note that the writer does not go ballistic over the presence of a Davidicdescendant here — the emphasis is muted (McConville); but hedoes mentionit/him. “Of the sons of David, Hattush.”

Does this not somewhat parallel Matthew1:12-16, where, during the exilic and post-exilic years, when the sky is often grey and the prospect drab, it is nevertheless clear that the Davidic covenant line keeps going and going? None of them reigns, yet the line continues until it surfaces in Jesus, the son of Mary. So here in Ezra 8, does not the mere mention of Hattush, a son of David, hint that the Davidic covenant, though presently eclipsed, is not dead and buried?

Bottom Line: God no matter how grey and bleak (and wet and snowy) life seems, God hasn't forgotten His promises to His beloved and He is at work to accomplish them. Press on CBC family!

Ezra 9–10

Today we face a challenging and troubling passage that we will confront similarly in Nehemiah "the putting away of foreign wives." I will perhaps touch on this a bit tonight in the study, but, if you're trying to get your head around this you're not alone. This article by Ligonier offers some helpful thoughts but no definitive understanding.

Bottom line: Sin is awful. Whom you marry really really matters. Marrying unbelievers opens up too many problems. Pray for our single folks to make good decisions and to find godly partners. Pray for our married couples to find ways to support and encourage each other's spiritual growth. Husbands, take your wife out on a date and talk with her about her soul and your soul and how you can assist each other in serving the Lord better together and as a family. Wives (and husbands) look for ways to build up your family spiritually through love and service.

Nehemiah 1–3

As we begin "Ezra pt.2" something to observe and act upon in our devotions today:
Just like in Ezra where prayers of repentance were accompanied by active repentance, here we have Nehemiah receiving sad news in chapter 1 but he is not immobilized by his grief. In fact he is mobilized by it to pray and to plan, so that when he gets permission from the king he's ready with his "home depot" orders to get moving. This asks us the question - do our circumstances motivate us to prayer and to preparatory action. We will only do these things if we believe that God will answer our prayers. May God increase and give us faith to pray and to act even in the face of jeering opponents like Sanballat and Tobias (chapter 3).

Nehemiah 8

This is one of those simple beautiful passages that tell us what role the Word of God has in the life of believers. Here as the exiles restore worship, they return to the basic "Sola Scriptura" concept - returning to the Word of God to live and direct their life by. So Israel gathers to hear the Word read. But note that it's not a ritual reading of the word of God, but, an engagement with it's meaning and teaching. The Levites here model what today we call "expository preaching" in that they "give the sense" of the text and not just read it so that people can understand v.8 "They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading." This speaks to the purpose of reading the Bible. As Pastor Leigh used to say over and over "Why do we read the Bible? We read the Bible for a change" As we go through this reading plan together my prayer for us all is that it will by the power of the Holy Spirit change us as He applies it to our conscience. And if there are ways I can help you understand it better, feel free to ask, it is my joy to help if I can and find out with you together if I don't already know. And if there's something in the preaching that you have questions about - please ask. This is how we help each other grow. Sanctification is a corporate church wide project and it begins with "kononia" fellowship around the Word of God. Have a lovely day everyone and may the Lord give you encouragement and hope in His Word.

It was also encouraging to see that there’s a foot note in this passage on the word “clearly” that translates to “with interpretation or paragraph by paragraph”.

We are blessed to have preachers that stick to expository preaching just like Ezra and the Levites who helped the people understand the Law!

Nehemiah 9-10

One thing struck me today as I read the passage. There was no. holding. back. in their acknowledgment of sin. Do you notice how defensive we often are when we acknowledge sin? I don't know about you but when it comes to acknowledging my sin I'm a pretty good lawyer and I'm sadly decent at sinfully spinning things my way. There is none of that here. Nehemiah 9 is a sad chapter, but, it's also beautiful in its painful honesty. Because it shows what repentance looks like. A full accounting of sin without leaving anything out and an exoneration of God as judge. How quick we are to judge God's judgment, when it's clear by the evidence in our lives that we are so sinful. But here the Israelites are repentant. At least in the moment. The sad thing is we still have Nehemiah 13 and even Nehemiah 13:15 where the last thing the people commit to in the last verse of chapter 10 is exactly what they don't do.

What do we make of this? Well, first, know the perniciousness of your sin. That you can actually sin in your confession of sin! I.e. by attempting to deceive. Of course it's foolish, God sees the heart, He knows. But you can repent and still return to the broken cistern. How stupid sin is and how stupid we can be. May God have mercy on us. May we learn to hate sin and to make it our enemy and draw closer to Christ and godly friends. Thank God for His amazing grace!

1–2 Chronicles

Christopher Powell — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:01:47 -0400

Overview:

Intro: Genealogies from Adam to Saul (1 Chronicles 1–10)
Davids' Reign (1 Chronicles 11–29)
Solomon's Reign (2 Chronicles 1–9)
The Divided Kingdom to the Return from Babylonian Exile (2 Chronicles 10–36)

1 Chronicles 1–2

So the history of the Bible in names begins! If you want a little more background, this article about what is important in 1-2 Chronicles (and why it's different than Samuel or Kings) is helpful: https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/3-things-chronicles

But one of the keys to understandng the helpfulness and emphasis of the book is what is and is not included. For example the Chronicler starts with Adam (i.e. indicating that this is not just Israel's history but all the world) but excludes Cain (the focus is on the line of redemption). The expansion of Judah's line highlights the focus on the covenant promise of God being fulfilled.

Another example is the inclusion of poor Tamar. What a tragic story we read back in Genesis 38 but now she is part of the redeemed line. This hints strongly at the grace of God throughout history. We've read the expanded history of redemption (and we've still got more to go) but here's the compressed list - a bunch of names. But each name has a story/history behind it. Just like Ron Santos and Misaki Suzuki have things that come to mind about their lives and personalities when you hear their names. How does your life fit into God's story of redemption? What is He doing in you? What is He challenging you to be and do with your life to bring glory to His plan?

1 Chronicles 3–4

So a name might have jumped out at you from this morning's reading Jabez. Several years ago a book was published called "The Prayer of Jabez" based on v.10 "Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked."

The book was a bestseller (sadly) and it was largely outlining a materialistic "prosperity gospel" strategy for prayer. It was like secular "manifesting" before "manifesting" became a thing. But Jabez's prayer is worthy of note for a couple of reasons:

God is the source of blessing and Jabez is utterly dependent upon "God's hand" being with him. And this descriptive (not prescriptive) prayer is one of faithful dependence on Him. In this way it's worthy of our imitation.
His prayer for "enlarged borders" is tied to the covenants with Abraham (and reiterated under Moses and Joshua). It wasn't that he wanted personal wealth, power and influence that came with land ownership, it's more a prayer that God would fulfill His covenant promises of protection and abundant provision for the people of Israel. In the same way we might pray for the Lord's Kingdom to come and for His provision and protection and salvation.

May we take God at His Word and covenant promises and pray for the things He's promised. Our physical needs - but also spiritual transformation of us and the unbelievers around us.

1 Chronicles 4–5

An interesting contrast today between the descendants of Manasseh and those of Aaron and Levi. Aaron and Levi’s descendants are all over the narratives - mostly (but not exclusively) serving the Lord and bringing the Word of God and worship to Israel.

But the opposite is true of Manasseh at the end of chapter 5. And the evidence is clear that our holy God is not indifferent to faithlessness.

“But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.”
1 Chronicles 5:25-26 ESV

May the Lord deal mercifully with us and increase our faith and our desire for obedience to the only true God and that we may hate and address the idols of our heart and this world.

1 Chronicles 7

For those reading ahead to Monday (when this is scheduled) it's sometimes hard to pick out things to think about in application when it's just a list of names that aren't repeated elsewhere which as we've discussed is significant because it proves that it's real history and real people and that God is relational. But all of these names also point to the fact that the parts of the body of Christ are important (much like we see in Paul's teaching in 1 Cor. 12 about the parts of the body of Christ needing each other, hands, feet neck etc.)

An interesting one to pick out from today is Sheerah. She is described this way: His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 1 Chronicles 7:24.

Interesting that a woman is listed as a builder of towns in Israel. A woman who clearly does not fit stereotypes ancient or modern. All of us have ways that we contribute to the kingdom and we are significant because we are His people, the sheep of His pasture labouring for His glory. May God encourage you with that no matter what your corner of the Kingdom is today. You matter and what you do matters because you are in Him. Praise God!

1 Chronicles 8–9

We come to the end of the genealogies in these chapters. And I probably won’t be posting as frequently as we move into the rest of the book (but you never know I get excited pretty easily about these things), but I hope that you found some encouragement you might not have. From today’s reading, notice a couple things. First, the tribe of Benjamin gets quite a bit of detail, which is interesting because it is Saul’s lineage. And despite Saul’s wreckage of a kingship we see God‘s commitment and Covenant care. And I think the application to our lives is pretty clear. Even in our weakness, God is faithful.

This is extended as we see the beginning of chapter 9 which has this simple statement about the exile and the reason for it:
“So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith.” 1 Chronicles 9:1 ESV

You can’t get more factual than that! But again notice the juxtaposition. Verse two begins with the return from exile. We have a gracious God. He is not to be mocked or ignored and sin against him will result in consequences. But his mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness!

1 Chronicles 10–11

Saul's epithet just makes me sad: "13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. 14 He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse."
**realizing the difference between us and Saul is important (he was the divinely appointed King of Israel and we are not

1 Chronicles 20–21

So, the more I read this book, I am tempted to preach on it. But that’s nothing new. The Bible is full of new joys and discoveries and I’m personally delighting in Chronicles like I haven’t in the past. I say that so that you all know that I am loving going through this together with you. The mercies of God are new every morning, great is His faithfulness to restore and renew.

To the text! Sooo much here in these chapters. Couple of points here:

1 Chronicles 20:1 is the only reference to David’s sin in Chronicles. It selectively focuses on his kingship as an idealization of kingship ultimately fulfilled in Christ. To the Israelites of the day they would well know the sins of David recorded in the writings of Samuel, this was designed to point them beyond to Christ.
[2025-10-07, 10:18:33] Chris Powell: •⁠ ⁠Notice that there is an arc here in these two chapters that is different and powerful. In the Samuel-Kings narrative, we have sin, judgment/confrontation, confession and forgiveness. Here David’s sin is numbering the troops, for which he seeks atonement (prompted by the angel of the Lord - often a euphemism in the OT for the second ) in worship which is signalled by the fire from heaven. This is propitiation. In the New Covenant this is what Jesus does - He is the sacrifice for sins.

⁠⁠Notice too here a stunning statement in 21:1 where it says that Satan stood against Israel and incited David in the census. This is a new detail not in the Samuel-Kings narrative. It speaks to the Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of man. David is still responsible for his sin, and he is engaged (as we are in a daily battle against sin and Satan’s influences) but God also uses Satan’s sin to establish the altar on Ornan’s threshing floor

⁠ok, and this is so neat - this is the same location that Abraham had the incident with sacrifice and Isaac (remember God provided a ram in his place - substitutionary atonement) - it was Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:2), where Abraham and Isaac got mercy that is the same place where David here receives mercy (1 Chron 21) for his census sin, AND it is the future site (2 Chronicles 3:1) of Solomon’s temple!

Ok, I’ll stop as this is starting to become a sermon but what an illustrative picture of God’s amazing grace. Though we seem out of control in our sinfulness, we are never out of God’s sovereign control to take evil and transform it for good. Take heart brothers and sisters today that God’s sovereign plan continues and that there is nothing that He cannot and will not accomplish with weak, needy people like you and me. We need His grace every day but He is not frustrated or reluctant to provide. He desires us to see His redemptive power everywhere and in all history! Praise God!

Fighter Verses I introduced some suggested verses to consider memorizing to add to our enjoyment of our Bible overview. I will add a verse or two to each book we study to help us remember the theme/edifying content long term:
For 1 Chronicles - 1 Chronicles 16:11 was one of them this week: "Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually".

I also walked us through the Fighter Verses App as a Scripture memorization tool that will take any verse and help you to memorize it by 1) Creating games (fill in the blanks, fill in the first letter) with any Bible verse or passage, 2) Creating attractive lock screens for your phone that help with memorizing the text 3) suggest other texts to learn together with your family (Foundation Verses - pictures for young kids) and the original fighter verses that John Piper designed. There are both online and offline tools available here: https://www.fighterverses.com/

1 Chronicles 25–28

But also note that David here warns Solomon at the end of the book to pursue God with a whole heart. The events described in these chapters give us insight into what that looks like. There is no separation between "sacred and secular" the military, the Temple, the organization of the vineyards and oil reserves - all of it is in God's sovereign plan. All of our lives are to be lived "whole heartedly" which is what David warns Solomon about: "know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind" (1 Chron. 28:9).

May God help us to do likewise to "know...God... and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind."

2 Chronicles 7

One verse stood out to me in our reading today after our discussion at prayer meeting last night (it was a prayer meeting not our regular RTBT study)
Verse 7: “And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.”

So much of what we offer God is often the leftovers not the best part. This verse is an image of overflowing worship. A worship that pushes beyond the ritual sacrifices and bare minimum. An excess or an overflow that reflects God's own "largess" (something that Solomon meditated on in his prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you" In simple terms God's glory is just that or too big!

Here it's signified and mirrored by an offering by Solomon on behalf of Israel that was bigger than the altar. It was so big that Solomon had to consecrate a larger "court" of the temple as the offering overflowed the physical altar.

May God help us to reorient our hearts and lives more and more to seek satisfaction and delight in His worship and His glory. In a hard, disappointing and often empty world tainted by the curse, it's good to remember that there is much fulness to be had and overflowing by seeking the presence of God through worship. John Piper's quote may be slightly overstating things - but it is a good thought to enter your day: "God is most* glorified when we are most satisfied in Him."
(I'm not sure about the "most" but God certainly is glorified in our seeking satisfaction in Him).

2 Chronicles 10–12

A few simple things to think about Reheboams reign.

He tried to use God not serve God. “When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.” 2 Chronicles 12:1
Despite his wickedness, the Lord dealt with him and the people of Israel with great grace. “Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”” 2 Chronicles 12:5-8
abandoning the Lord accomplished the opposite of his goals. He wanted to be great, but his arrogance led to a diminishing of glory. (Consider “So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.” 2 Chronicles 12:9-10

2 Chronicles 13–15

Just a quick one today - had you noticed "Covenant of Salt" before? This is what Abijah called the Davidic Covenant when speaking with the rebellious king of the North, Jereboam. It was meant to convey the permanence of God's promises to the descendents of David. Because salt doesn't easily decay or lose it's saltiness it was a symbol of permanence and incorruptibility. When I looked it up today it was interesting to note that back in Leviticus 2:13, they included salt in the grain offerings as seasoning that conveyed the permanence of relationship between God and His covenant people.

2 Chronicles 29

It's been a busy season and there's lots that could be said about these glorious chapters of 2 Chronicles (I'm tempted to preach now through these books!). If you have questions don't forget to post them here if you would like some answers on what you're reading

1–2 Kings

Christopher Powell — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:50:07 -0400

Outline:

The United Kingdom under Solomon (1 Kings 1–11)

The Divided Kingdom (1 Kings 12–2 Kings 17)

The Remaining Kingdom (2 Kings 18-25)

1 Kings 7

One fascinating thing that I noticed today was something I hadn’t thought about before which was how in Exodus the tabernacle furnishings were done entirely by Jews enabled by the Holy Spirit (Bezalel and Oholiab) and how here in Kings Solomon used Hiram (in Chronicles he’s also called Huram) a half Gentile whose father was from Tyre here.

An interesting thought is could the emphasis in the design of Solomon’s Temple being more imperial and regal reflecting his own dwelling house versus the simplicity of the original Tabernacle (back in Exodus), which was designed and built empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Interestingly I didn’t see any reference here in the text to the Spirits enabling the worker (Hiram) like we see in Exodos 31. It’s not perhaps a major point to make, but it’s possibly signalling the dangers of spiritual drift and an early indicator that things were shifting in Solomons kingdom towards personal excess leading ultimately to the sad period of idolatry at the end of his reign.

Which is something for us to ponder and pray about in our own lives. How does spiritual drift away from the Lord manifest in your life? Do we prioritize our comfort over His worship? Our hearts are subtle and we can easily be deceived by them (Jeremiah 17:9). Let’s pray today ask the Lord to alert us to any spiritual wandering in our hearts and keep us close to him. Cathedrals and Temples may be impressive to the human eye but never forget that to God what matters is where our hearts are focussed.

I also love this ending illustration in Dale Ralph Davis’ commentary on 1 Kings which counterbalances my previous point a bit as there is also an important beauty in the detail of the construction (Davis is commenting on the great detail in this chapter that tends to bore the modern Western reader of it):

“Ronald Allen and Gordon Borror pass on the story of a European craftsman who traveled to America to give his life to some of the most intricate work in one of its grandest places of worship. A tourist was viewing the edifice one day and noticed this craftsman doing meticulous work high up near the ceiling, focusing his skill on some symbol all but invisible from the floor. In fact, he was occupied with a detail that faced the ceiling, out of view of any worshiper. So the sightseer asked, ‘Why are you being so exact; no one can even see the detail you are creating from this distance?’ The busy artist shot back, ‘God can!’
Is that not the position of the writer of 1 Kings 7? Is he not suggesting that intricate, carefully wrought beauty is most fitting for the God of the Bible? Is he not implying that nothing can be too good, too lavish, too well done for such a marvelous God? We must never offer slop to him. Who would have thought that the Holy Spirit might use 1 Kings 7 to convict us of the flippant and casual procedures we sometimes call ‘worship’?”

1 Kings 8

Interesting isn't it that Solomon prays for foreigners (v.41-43). The Temple was always meant to be missional, not just for the Jews. A place for forgiveness atonement for all who would believe. Christ is that fulfillment for us. In His Temple we are forgiven and healed.

Only he [the king] must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. (Deuteronomy 17:16–17, ESV)

1 Kings 17

Simple encouragement for our uncertain economic times from the beginning of Elijah’s ministry. Despite famine, worldly hostility and persecution, God provided for his faithful people often through surprising means. While ravens may not bring you bread and meat, the Lord is not indifferent to your daily needs for food, shelter, companionship and work and He is still faithfully and ingeniously at work for those who love Him and have been called to His purpose. Don’t forget to pray and ask for what you need and pursue life faithfully. Yahweh yireh, the Lord will provide.

1 Kings 20

Lots could be said about this fascinating chapter, but, the main takeaway here is that it is not human righteousness that drives God's sovereign purposes. That is tremendously good news for sinners like you and me. Ahab was a wicked king and yet the Lord mercifully gave him victory so that all would know that He is Yahweh.

Likewise our salvation is not meritorious, but, according to God's will.
What this practically means is that we are called to recognize and submit to God when we see His mercy and remember our covenant of salvation with Him unlike Ahab, who did not respond to mercy with repentance (instead flattering and making covenant with God's defeated enemies). God' mercy and patience are truly "awe" and worship inspiring. But if we withhold worship from Him and worship other things we will eventually face his judgment and wrath (as Ahab did).

1 Kings 22 and 2 Kings 1

Isn’t the Bible truly fascinating? It reveals our character and points to our need and the solution in Prophet Priest and King Jesus. We are seeing the decline of the kingship in Israel and the clear need for a Saviour. But God allows us to experience the consequences of sin - truly a warning. The interaction with Micaiah is puzzling though. On the one hand he promises only to speak the truth v.14, but, in v.16 when he’s asked about it, he speaks a “lying spirit” from the presence of God. (By the fascinating way this raises the multidimensional issue of the Divine Council of God - which we’ll see later in Job, Zechariah and Psalms and gives us a picture of heaven before the final casting out of Satan described in Rev. 12 after the resurrection of Jesus). When he’s pressed, later by Ahab who doubts his initial prophecy, Micaiah tells the truth. There’s so much to unpack about prophecy, heaven etc., we will have to take a look at it together when we gather together again.

But in brief, Micaiah’s prophecy in v.16 seems to be an apparent contradiction with what he faithfully affirms in v.14 although he corrects it when pressed by Ahab in v.19. So what’s going on here? I (and commentators like Davis agree) that in v.16 Micaiah is speaking a holy sarcasm. He’s imitating the sycophants in Ahab’s court. Ahab has no love for Micaiah but knows he speaks truth (note his reluctant admission of his faithfulness back in v.7). He also knows when Micaiah is speaking sarcastically, which he calls out in v.16. After which Micaiah speaks the full prophetic vision of heaven revealing the lying spirit. So what does this point to:

Ahab’s court was corrupt and truth had to be cajoled out of Micaiah because he was a wicked and unjust king. The heavenly court is pure and “lying” is completely exposed and ultimately submissive to the secret will of God.
Even lies (like Josephs brother told back in Genesis or here) are under God’s sovereign power. We should not fear the apparent triumph of the wicked. They like Ahab will be defeated.

Remember ultimately, the promise of God - the truth shall set you free! Turn away from sin and lies and tell the truth as it has been told you in love. Though it may cost you much here on earth it gives you inner peace and a clean conscience before God which is better than all the pleasures of an earthly king’s court, and it anticipates a glorious eternity with Him in peace, truth and justice.

2 Kings 2–3

The focus here in these chapters is really on the Word of God. The continuity between Elisha and Elijah is the continuity of God’s word. The three kings despite their military might are nothing without the “life-giving” word (bringing the necessary water of life to men) that comes only when they seek it. It’s God’s word that matters and the message is life without it is very problematic. It’s not Elisha’s grumpiness that is the problem with the bear attack, it’s the seriousness of denigrating the prophet of the Lord who is the mouthpiece. So the point of application today I took away was not neglecting or depreciating the value of access to and acceptance of God’s word.

Additionally, and this is more of an aside, I was struck by Elisha twice telling people to be quiet as Elijah’s “chariots of fire” were to come to take him home. He obviously knew that Elijah’s ministry was ending. The question I have is was his grief and emotion driving the call to be quiet or the seriousness of what was happening? The commentators are divided. I suspect it’s probably a case of both/and not either/or. We are humans created to love one another and to respect our fathers in faith and to revere the work of the Lord. I might be getting too personal here, but, I feel a (and this is entirely subjective so take it for what you will) connection to Elisha here even as I reflect on those that have been a blessing to and who have discipled me in the Lord.

2 Kings 8–9

One of the more serious themes of the books of the Kings is the judgment of God. 2 Kings 8-9 is filled with political assassinations – Hazael murdering Ben-Hadad (k/o Syria), Jehu killing Joram (s/o Ahab, k/o Israel) and Ahaziah (s/o Jehoram, k/o Judah), and then returning to incite the murder of Jezebel (Ahab’s wife). The graphic portrayal of these killings is not pleasant, but neither is the judgment of God.

Jehu’s swift flight on horseback was symbolic of the sudden arrival of Yahweh’s judgment – certain, unavoidable and with pinpoint accuracy. “Is it peace?” were the strange (almost comical) cries of wicked Joram and Jezebel, only to realize that the word of God did not bring Shalom to them.

Perhaps the imprecatory prayers of David make sense. David certainly had a better perspective of God’s judgment upon the wicked – he glorified God for it. Do we praise God for His judgment upon the wicked?

A more palatable (but difficult) message would be the call to repent, while today yet exists. The fate of Ben-Hadad, Joram, Ahaziah and Jezebel might have been ours, but for the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

An excellent reflection on the importance of the imprecatory psalms from a former Camp Shalom Speaker (2019) Pastor Jim Adams

2 Kings 10

It's important to think as we read through these historical kings. Jehu is an interesting example. He has all the zeal in the fulfillment of the judgment prophecy against the house of Ahab (see v.10). But, Jehu is not a "good" king - his reformation is partial (he destroys Baal worship but leaves the golden calf idols instead of returning people to the worship of God and goes and brutally kills Ahaziah's family without God's instruction). It does show that God carries out His plans and His word no matter what even through messy human choices (this is situation is what theologians call the complexity of human agency in Divine Providence). All of this shows the wisdom of God and the inevitability of His Divine plan. God's purposes won't be deterred by man's sinfulness. That is a true comfort to us who constantly struggle with sin. But the consequences of sin are also in view here - Ahab's sin is felt generationally.
Here's a short devotional that explores these themes a bit from Ligonier:
https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/jehu-destroys-ahabs-line

2 Kings 13–14

As we see the decline of Israel's kings after David and Solomon it is instructive and encouraging to see that God still hears the cries of Israel despite only partial (at best) obedience. His grace is greater than their sin and partial obediences. This is the grace of our God. Despite Jehoahaz’s evil reign, God shows compassion when he cries out under oppression (13:4–5). Also during the reign of Jeroboam II, God “saved them by the hand of Jeroboam” because He saw Israel’s bitter affliction: "26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash."

God is gracious to you too Christian. And there is so much more help is available. The bones of Elisha give life foreshadowing the resurrection power of Jesus Christ that we have. Go to work (or Shalom) today in the confidence of God's grace to you. Despite your partial obediences, He is kind and His mercies are new every morning. But also imagine the joy that a heart fully committed to Him enjoys and as our catechism puts it even after sin we... "endeavour after a new obedience"

2 Kings 18

What a fascinating chapter. Every time I read the Bible through there’s something new I come across. I don’t know how I missed this before, but, what jumped out in my reading was the fact that Israel kept the bronze snake used as a means of God’s salvation from a plague in Numbers 21:8 “And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it shall live.” The bronze snake was meant to be a type of Christ in that it’s the same imagery about Christ in John 3:14-15 “And as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

Israel not only kept the snake (v.4) in our passage, they gave it a name Neshutan (which means “bronzy thing”!) and worshipped (!) it. Now this is so typical of us isn’t it? We can even take good things like this symbol and worship it! We can see this in our culture too as folks idolatrously venerate objects like we see in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. But this can also happen just as easily to us when we let anything (physical or not) take the place of the true Yahweh God as primary in our hearts and lives. Let’s pray today that God would reveal the idols in our hearts and like good king Hezekiah, we would be enabled to destroy them.

2 Kings 23

In light of recent talk of revival in the news, I thought this little article on biblical revival based on Josiah's reforms in 2 Kings 22-23 might be a good grounding for examining what true revival looks like. May God give it to us again by His Holy Spirit even as we seek to live by these biblical principles.
https://reformedbaptistblog.com/2020/04/23/marks-of-genuine-revival-in-the-life-of-josiah-2-kings-22-23/

2 Kings 24–25

One of the comforts of God is his justice. We see that sin cannot be ignored and that God acts eventually and finally in his timing and justice as we see the Israelites taken into exile. It’s a sober moment.

“Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon.”
2 Kings 24:3-4 ESV

But it is also not the final moment in these books of Kings. In the last chapter 25 we are left on a note of Hope and mercy as King Jehoiachin is released from captivity - anticipating the return of all Israel. This is our God. A God of mercy and justice. In His justice, he does not forget mercy. Praise God for his kindness to sinners like us.

2 Samuel

Christopher Powell — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:33:06 -0400

Outline of 2 Samuel - David, a man after God's own heart

His early successes Chapters 1–10

His grievous sin Chapters 11–12

His genuine sorrow Chapters 13–24

2 Samuel 5-6

Sooo much that could be said about these chapters here. A couple of quick points of thought here:
It's always intrigued me that for all of Saul's kingship, Jerusalem was unconquered and led by the Jebusites and only now in David's kingship is the covenant promise fully realized of a united and conquered Israel. The Jebusites arrogantly asserted that they could defend it with "the lame and the blind" but David was God's man and he conquered it. And he establishes it as the temple capital because it becomes the new "tabernacling" place of God - Jerusalem became the place of God's dwelling for as 5:10 puts it "the Lord the God of hosts was with him."

Today in the New Covenant we have a God who continues to dwell in us by grace. You don't have to pray towards Jerusalem, you have a God who "never leaves and never forsakes you" and that "you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16). Give thanks for God's abiding presence in you today and for His Holy Spirit's help and care. May God help us not to grieve the Spirit of God but to delight in His presence even as David delighted in the presence of the Lord in the Ark's arrival in Jerusalem.

There's also the incident of Uzzah and the ark in chapter 6. This rather shocking incident is one of the biblical bases for our understanding of the so-called "regulative principle of worship" which is why our worship at CBC is so simple. In simple terms the regulative principle means that "we only do what the Bible commands" vs. the normative principle that is standard in most evangelical churches of "only doing what the Bible doesn't forbid." Since God was particular about the way that He is worshipped and that "good intentions" aren't enough, we seek to follow this "regulating principle" only doing what God commands in our New Covenant worship.

About 15 years ago shortly into my ministry, our membership class was something like 22 sessions (I know!! this Pastor Chris guy is crazy!!) until the present day which is now 4 sessions. Here's the class notes that I pulled out of the archives of my hard drive on the Regulative Principle if you want to do a deeper dive into the doctrine:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hudinf9zf7bldopc0n0ng/CBC-Membership-Part-10-Regulative-Principle-of-Worship.pdfrlkey=m0ug8igfahn4aq0x746k8zxr6&dl=0

But more than this, may God help us to anticipate the day of worship this Sunday. I'd appreciate your prayers for my last sermons before vacation.

2 Samuel 9

The Lord’s Supper made me love what Mephibosheth says in 2 Sam 9:8: What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” We echo the same to the King of Glory.

Spurgeon’s devotional on this passage:

Mephibosheth was not an attractive guest at the royal table; yet he had an open invitation because King David could see in his face the features of the beloved Jonathan. Like Mephibosheth, we may exclaim to the King of Glory, “What is Your servant, that You should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” But still the Lord invites us to share intimately with Him, because He sees in our countenances the remembrance of His dearly-beloved Jesus.

It is on account of Jesus that the Lord’s people are dear to God. Such is the love that the Father bears to His only begotten that for His sake He raises His lowly brothers and sisters from poverty and exile to enjoy the king’s court, noble rank, and royal provision. Their deformity shall not rob them of their privileges. Lameness is no bar to sonship; the disabled is as much the heir as if he could run like a gazelle.

Our ability to enter may be impaired but not our right of entry. A king’s table is a noble hiding-place for lame legs, and at the gospel feast we learn to rejoice in infirmities because the power of Christ rests upon us. Yet serious disability may spoil the journey of the best-loved saints. Here is one feasted by David, and yet so lame in both his feet that he could not go up with the king when he fled from the city and was therefore maligned and injured by his servant.

Saints whose faith is weak and whose knowledge is limited are great losers; they are exposed to many enemies and cannot follow the king wherever he goes. This disease is frequently the result of a fall. Bad nursing in their spiritual infancy often causes converts to fall into a despondency from which they never recover, and sin in other cases brings broken bones. Lord, help the lame to leap like the hart, and satisfy all Your people with the bread of Your table!

Like the hymn goes:
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure!
That He should give His only Son,
To make a wretch His treasure.

2 Samuel 10–11

Really interesting to consider the contrast between Joabs plan and reliance on Providence and David’s lack of diligence leading to sin.

First Joab models a good approach to work. You do your best to plan a faithful course and but ultimately you know and rely on the Lords Providence:

“When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.””
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Contrast that with chapter 11 when David is not doing his job and is left to idle away at home

“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This lazing around home instead of faithful engagement led David to get distracted by a sinful temptation and to expend the rest of his time in the chapter planning his sin and then more sin to cover up his other sin.

What are you planning for to do with your time today? May God help us to use our “breath” this day and every one for what is faithful and good. Even if it’s mundane or insignificant in the big picture, let’s plan to do what is good and trust that the Lord will work out the details in His good Providence.

2 Samuel 12

Find, treasure, love and keep people in your life who are willing to tell you "You are the man!" (v.7) when you are "the man" or "the woman" They are true friends. Give thanks for them if you have them and tell them if you haven't before.

2 Samuel 13–14

When I preached chapter 13 I called the it the chapter we hate and need. The Bible addresses hard topics, like rape head on to help us see the ugliness of sin. Dale Ralph Davis has a few more insights from these chapters:

Lust is not love - genuine affection does not do harm nor is it deceptive or just focused on sex. True love nurtures and cares for the partner and is not exploitative.
Sin breeds passivity and cowardice - Why didn't David enact justice to prevent the murder of Amnon? Was it because of the guilt over his own sin. Often we are unwilling to hold others accountable when we should because of our own sinful weakness
Manipulation vs. Genuine Repentance - Joab is clever in using the woman of Tekoa, but, the consequence is that there is no real healing. David acquiesces to Joab's manipulation but doesn't actually restore Absalom.
Sentimentality is not the same as justice - David is moved by the story told by the woman of Tekoa, but, emotional parenting does not substitute for dealing in righteousness and justice between his children. Which leads to the last one:
Reconciliation is not just allowing someone back into your life. The proximity of Absalom (bringing him back) didn't actually deal with the sin and so the situation was more of a "cold war" which leads to more disaster.

As Christians, God has given us a means for real reconciliation in Jesus Christ. There may be ways that appear easier to avoid dealing with sin but it almost always ultimately comes back in more intensity. May God help us to deal with sin in our lives head on and to reconcile truly and not superficially. We are sinners, but, we have a gracious Saviour and the only reputation that matters is the one we have with Him.

2 Samuel 19–20

If you ever wondered about why Israel split the way it did (10 northern tribes “Israel/Samaria” and 2 southern “Judah”) this verse lays the foundation:
“And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭19‬:‭43‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is borne out in chapter 20 when Sheba (Benajaminite) leads a rebellion further fracturing the tribes. Folks are more interested in tribalism and political power than in true unity. What’s sad in this situation is that David is largely silent and inactive to bring about unity and shepherd his people. Joab is an example of ruthless human power and solutions but he is not a Shepherd king

Again underlining the limits of human leadership and our need for a true Shepherd King Jesus.

Interestingly chapter 20 also highlights the value of ordinary people speaking wisely in difficult times (especially in the context of David’s failure to intervene) that have a significant redemptive effect like the woman that called out to Joab from the ramparts of the city of Abel of Beth-Maacha. She challenges the ruthless authority of Joab and limits bloodshed. This is important for us to see that growth in wisdom blesses everyone and that corporate sanctification (a broad movement in all of us being more holy, godly and wise) is fundamental to the wellbeing of the church and by extension our society. In other words we all need to strive after godliness for our mutual benefit!

May the congregation of CBC be blessed with many such men and women in the mould of the anonymous woman of Abel of Beth-Maacah

2 Samuel 22 - 23

Beautiful to see the relationship here between history and psalmody. Here at the end of his reign David reflects on Gods role in His life leading into his final words in chapter 23 (which also channel other Psalms but not so closely). An excellent thing for us to do in prayer and as we approach worship this Sunday. This chapter is essentially Psalm 18 (which according to commentators is a more liturgical form).

How has God been a rock, fortress and deliverer to you? You might profit by structuring your prayer of response to this reading around recalling and rehearsing Gods past grace to you even as you seek it for today, tomorrow and the days to come.

This is Jonathan Leeman on good authority:

King David, who knew a few things about the topic, offered this description of authority in a section described as “the last words of David” (2 Sam. 23:1):

When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. (2 Sam. 23:3–4)

These verses offer a lovely scenic view for parking the car and beholding. You see a sherbet morning sky. The sun rises, changing it to blue. Its light warms the earth, giving life and vitality to everything and everyone scurrying about. Then the rain comes. Each droplet trickles into the dirt, soaking roots and strengthening leaf and blade, so that moist grass glows green under the returning sun.

This is what good authority does.

Good authority strengthens and grows. It authors and creates. It’s the teacher teaching, the coach coaching, the mother mothering. It’s the rules for a game, the lines on a road, a covenant for lovers, the lessons for a child, the chance to grow and expand and eventually take dominion ourselves.

One of history’s greatest secrets, hidden by the blindfold that Satan and sin places over our eyes, is that God means his authority to grow and expand us, not to shrink and snuff us out. God means for us to be like him—conformed to his image—rulers and authors and builders who create for the praise of his beauty and grace. Yet Satan uses our appetites (as well as the bad examples of authority figures failing us) to convince us that God will fail us.

1 Samuel

Christopher Powell — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:06:15 -0400

Outline of 1 Samuel:

Samuel the last Judge: (Ch. 1–7)

Saul the first King: (Ch. 9–15)

David (Ch. 16–30)

Question

In Hannah's prayer what is the significance of the word "horn" in 1 Samuel 2 vs 1& 10?

Answer

Good question Rumbi. In the bible, the horn is typically a defensive weapon that represents power (it represents an animal's strength) and often a regal strength like that of a king. In the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (a great reference tool) it says this:

"In general, horn represents power or status in a social context. In Deuteronomy 33:17 Moses compares the tribes of Joseph to “a firstborn bull, [whose] horns are the horns of a wild ox” because Ephraim and Manasseh were large and powerful. Therefore, “lifting up the horn” of someone means bestowing power, joy, health and prestige (Ps 92:10; 1 Sam 2:1). Conversely, “cutting off the horn” is the removal of one’s power or influence (Ps 75:10; Jer 48:25). Since God is the source of strength to those who trust in him, David declares, “The LORD is … the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps 18:2 NIV par. 2 Sam 22:3). In Revelation 5:6 the lamb has seven horns-his kingly power is perfect."

The Got Questions website which often has some helpful insights addresses the Hannah context more directly. Her prayer is full of reversals and the horn is representative of hers:

"Hannah’s barrenness had caused her humiliation and shame, but God has delivered her from all that. Notice that Hannah’s rejoicing is in the Lord, not in Samuel; in other words, she praises the Giver as more important than the gift. “My horn is lifted up” is an expression that refers to the renewal of strength. Hannah declares that her strength, her worth, her dignity, and her rightful place as a fruitful wife have been restored. She has been delivered from her shame. Hannah acknowledges God’s greatness, uniqueness, steadfastness, and holiness."

See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Hannahs-prayer.html

1 Samuel 6–8

There's a lot going on in these chapters from the return of the Ark to the establishment of the monarchy. I think one of the key things to pick out here is what the significance of Israel wanting the monarchy signifies a rejection of God. What began as a good "putting away" of their idols in the return of the Ark is negated by their political idolatry of the kingship. This article on Ligonier is a helpful guide to seeing the "sin" in rejecting God as king:

This is the key quote from the article:

"But why was the Israelites’ demand for a king a sin? After all, Deuteronomy 17:14–20 told Israel that if they wanted a king, they could have a king, provided that they choose an Israelite for a ruler, that he not trust in his own might, and that he be careful to know and do the law. In other words, the Lord’s intent was for Israel to have a king, but not a king of the same kind that the pagan nations had. The people of Israel erred in the days of Samuel because they wanted the type of kingship evident among the gentiles, not merely because they sought a monarchy."

How often do we want to be "just like the others" and not pursue God's way of living. May He help us humble ourselves to walk in the Light of His way and word.

1 Samuel 9

I think the interesting thing about this is the “hum drum” routineness of this. Many of us lead pretty inconsequential (in the grand scheme of things) lives. But we must never forget that God is “in” the mundane details, working them out for His glory. So our daily lives are meant for a purpose to glorify Him.

This is what Dale Ralph Davis says about Saul of Kish and the mundane details:

“However, we might ask: Does Yahweh’s providence only operate in the affairs of major figures in salvation history (Saul in this case) or does his (mostly) invisible wisdom follow my path as well? Does Yahweh direct only major episodes in his kingdom or does his sway extend to the individual lives of his subjects? Surely the latter. Wisdom testifies to it: “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9); and “A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord; how then can man understand his way?” (Prov. 20:24, rsv). So Yahweh’s strange and baffling providence is not the exclusive privilege of some kingdom elite; it extends to each of his people no matter how apparently common. However, unlike 1 Samuel 9, he may not let you in on the secret. You may see traces of what he has been doing much later as you look back, but in the present you may be just as much in the dark as Saul was. If so, you must simply go on looking for the lost asses—or whatever task God has given you to do.”

Question

As we’re currently reading through 1 Samuel (we’re at chapter 9 today), I’ve been reflecting on some of the passages we’ve read over the past few weeks especially in Joshua, Judges, and earlier.

There have been many accounts of the Israelites conquering lands, killing entire cities men, women, and children and taking over territories, often because the land was good or because God had given it to them. These events are described without any indication that they were wrong, yet God had already given the commandment, “You shall not kill.”

I know God doesn’t change, and that now we live under the grace of Christ, where love, mercy, and forgiveness are central. So I’ve been trying to understand how to reconcile these parts of Scripture with the character of God we see revealed in Jesus.

It’s not always clear if the people being killed had done anything wrong to Israel. Were these killings wrong only in certain contexts? Were non-Israelite lives viewed differently? I’m not questioning God’s authority, but I’m genuinely trying to make sense of how all of this aligns with the commandments and with God’s heart.

This is coming from a sincere and pure place I just want to grow in understanding and appreciate the Word of God more fully.

Answer

Great question, I totally understand the sincere inquiry and I'm happy to try and help,

What you describe is a common experience of reading the Old Testament and it's important to grapple with these things. As you rightly note God is immutable (He doesn't change) so we can't dismiss it as some liberal scholars do pitting "the God of the Old Testament" who they see as 'primitive' and 'wrathful' vs. the "God of the New Testament" who is 'gracious.' No, Yahweh God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We talked about this issue in much greater depth in the Community Group meetings when we were looking together at the book of Joshua in particular. We discussed some of those aspects here - particularly understanding the killing of the Canaanites in the time of the conquest. Particularly the discussion came around this slide (that I shared in the chat earlier - just click on the top of this post to see that slide) where I share some biblical reasons (that need some fleshing out, but, hopefully you can see where I was going). In addition, I also recently came across this helpful analogy about these killings from Michael Kruger about the killings that happened in the Conquest.

"An example might help. Imagine a scenario in which one human injects another human with a deadly toxin, causing that person to die. Is that murder? Well, it depends. If this were done by a criminal who wanted to knock off a rival, then the answer would be yes. But if this were done by an official at a federal prison who was authorized by the state to administer lethal injection, then the answer would be no. On the surface, the two acts might look the same. But everything comes down to whether the taking of life is properly authorized. The issue is not whether a life is taken but how and why it is taken.

Let me try to draw this all together. If every human deserves judgment (and we do), and if God is justified in taking a life whenever he decides to execute that judgment (and he is), and if God uses various instruments for that judgment (including human armies), then there is nothing immoral about the Canaanite conquest. Indeed, to object to the conquest would require us to object to all God’s acts of judgment. Do we also object to Noah’s flood or to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or to the plagues on Egypt?...."

You can read the whole thing here: https://reformedreader.wordpress.com/2021/06/29/genocide-and-the-ot-conquest-of-canaan-kruger

As for what the Canaanites had done, not all of it is immediately clear, but, we have glimpses of it throughout Deuteronomy and Joshua. They were wicked societies with child sacrifice and other sinful acts and idolatries. The fact is that God often delayed punishing them and used Israel as his instrument.

God waited for example hundreds of years until 1 Samuel 15 (which we'll see soon) to punish the Amalekites through Saul. Their crimes were documented in Exodus 17:8-15 and remembered again in Deuteronomy 25:17-19. God delayed the removal of the Amalekites because going all the way back to Gen. 15:16 where God commanded: "And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” And God's patience with us is because of HIs grace. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

But God "is not mocked" and His patience is great, but, His justice is pure. When we see it, it can be terrifying and because of our sinfulness it should give us pause. The real question which we confront in the depths of our own sinfulness is often times is less "why does God save this group and not that one?" and more "why does God save anyone at all" if "all have fallen short and no one is righteous" (Rom. 3:10ff).

Hope that helps, happy to answer any follow-ups

Finally, if you want to read through the struggles of another believer (now an army chaplain) on this issue, you can read them here:
https://www.modernreformation.org/resources/articles/what-changed-my-mind-about-the-old-testament-conquest-narratives

A flavour of his point of view:

"A man who binds his son with the intent to sacrifice him is normally insane. But if this son is miraculously conceived in exceedingly old age, and if this father births a nation and a biblical tradition, and if this act prefigures how God so loved the world in a grand metanarrative thousands of years later, we have substantial reasons to take notice.

It is similar with the conquest. The divine command was not issued by a disembodied or transcendental idea of God, nor by a private and personal deity, but by a truly living and demonstrably gracious God who is both infinite and interested in us. He may be measured against that demonstration. This is ultimately what separates Moses and Joshua from others who claim divine sanction. If the rest of the biblical witness is trustworthy and coherent, these features can be brought to bear on the conquest narratives and other passages detailing war to give God the benefit of the doubt."

1 Samuel 10

Just a quick one as I reflect ahead this week on 1 Samuel 10 ahead of time. Some may question about Saul's salvation when in v.9 Samuel talks about God giving Saul "another heart." But note the term is not a "new" heart but "another" (Hebrew "aher") heart. The consensus of most reformed commentators on the passage is that this is not a regenerated heart (as Saul's other behaviour appears in line with unbelief) but "another" heart which is for governing the people when he was reluctant before in Chapter 9.

1 Samuel 13

After some initial victories, Saul gets one of the first tests of faith whereby his heart is revealed. He is told to wait until Samuel comes to offer sacrifices (as Samuel is the only authorized priest in the situation). But facing imminent attack in the heat of the situation, Saul's obedience to God's law is tested and he fails and decides to intervene himself and he offers a sacrifice when he was not authorized to do so because he feared Israel's enemies rather than Israel's God.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Notice the emphasis on the heart of Saul. There's a dynamic here that's helpful for us to think about that comes up time and again. Similar to Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees on Sunday night for their lack of heart (Mt. 12:7" ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,) it's not the outward appearance it's the heart that matters.

Years ago the CCEF (Christian Counseling Education Foundation) developed this helpful chart based on Jeremiah 17:8 to illustrate our heart's righteous and sinful responses to the the "heat" of our circumstances. The more we are "rooted in Christ" the better equipped we are to handle hardship and stress. May we all seek to continue to "water" our souls and ground them deep in our salvation in Jesus Christ as we face the "heat" of our situations today and the rest of this week.

1 Samuel 17

The David and Goliath interaction helps us to understand some basics about how we are to share the Gospel as Christians in this world.
1.⁠ ⁠V.45 gives us the motive" for fighting (the honour of the God who made and sustains us). God is worthy to be shared.
2.⁠ ⁠V. 46 and 47 give us purpose for evangelism "that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." God has appointed us as heralds of His truth.
3.⁠ ⁠v.47 gives the weapons we use - "not with a sword and spear" i.e. not the power of men. The "victory" is in the vindication of God working through the apparently weak to bring down the strength of the world.

1 Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

1 Samuel 20-21

A couple of short thoughts on today's reading.
First notice the covenant loyalty between David and Jonathan that brings division between Jonathan and his father Saul. We're familiar with the idea of "blood being thicker than water" but the Bible tells us that our love for God and His truth is higher even than that of our loyalty to our own blood. This anticipates Christ's instruction in Luke 14:26 that God is our highest loyalty. May we pray for our families and act faithfully in and towards them.
Second, in 1 Samuel 21 is a passage mentioned recently in our exposition of Matthew in our Sunday evening series that Jesus mentions in Matthew 12:3-4. Ahimelech here realizes that he had a higher duty to meet a basic human need - especially that of the annointed of God - than to fulfill a ceremonial law. The ultimate inward purpose of the law is not to bind us in mindless regulations but to exercise love towards God and Neighbour. How much more when Jesus Himself, the King of Kings is present (which is his argument against the Pharisees in Matthew 12:3-4).
May God help us to prioritize His love and His purposes in our relationships with one another and may we keep the "big picture" in mind as we seek to be obedient to the law that is designed to grant freedom and help.

1 Samuel 22-23

The cave of Adullam where David hid was likely where David composed Psalm 142 at a time of real desperation. Psalm 142 is a help to us to see what it's like to cling to and cry out to God when our circumstances don't match our desires or expectations. It might be worth meditating on for you today if you're struggling. For me I found particular encouragement in the line: "When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!"

If you want to see the Adullam you can take a peek here: https://biblical-archaeology.org/en/locations/%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9D/ The exact location of the specific cave is not known for certain, but, it's believed to be about 13 KM west of Bethlehem in a series of natural limestone caves and it's near Elah (where David fought Goliath). Today it's a natural park in Israel called the Adullam Grove Nature Reserve. This page has a Google satellite view of the area (it may just be me, but, it's both a little weird and a little comforting to see cars in the same place that David and his men were).

1 Samuel 24-26

I started to write a reflection yesterday that I didn't complete, so I'll roll it into today's readings as well. There is a false teaching in modern Christian circles that is based on David's saying of "touch not the Lord's annointed" (1 Sam. 24:6) when he refused to kill Saul (actually twice in these 3 chapters) because Saul was annointed by God as King. This has been used by some ministers in modern times to excuse them from accountability for sin or scrutiny from fellow believers. That is not the proper intent or application of this text. What these affirmations by David are saying is that his actions are restrained by a specific covenantal-historical context. Saul was the annointed King by God over Israel. In the New Covenant all Christians are anointed by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:21-22) and leaders are to be held to higher moral standards (James 3:1).

But more helpfully, the restraint that David shows in these chapters is exemplary to us in that, though his context is different, he is acting in his life and situation by faith in the promises of God even when presented with opportunities to "shortcut" to get his desires pragmatically. He responds with faith in the situations and listens with restraint to Abigail's counsel (what a lovely name that is truly a Father's delight!). Speaking of Abigail, she is a model of peacemaking to all of us in that she doesn't excuse sin, even in her husband, but, intercedes with courage truth and trust.

May we pray that we would likewise trust God despite the circumstances and do what we know is right from His counsel in His word no matter what we face and may we have a boldness to address sin with wisdom and clarity in a Christlike way.

1 Samuel 28–29

A quick one for today that I meant to post earlier, but Saul’s encounter with the witch/medium of Endor is a challenging text. Recently, a portion of Calvin’s commentary on 1 Samuel (which until recently was only available in his maternal tongue of French) was translated on a forum that I came across. The pastor that translated and summarized it is Pastor Bruce Buchannan (Presbyterian) and this is what he summarizes of Calvin’s view:

“The medium did not see the "ghost" of Samuel, but gave out either a demon's counsel, or her own, though it was indeed prophetical by the will of God. Calvin reasons: God had withheld his prophetic word from Saul by legitimate means, that is through Samuel; how unlike him now to reveal it (through Samuel, no less) and especially by means he had expressly forbidden!”

This is the relevant section from Dale Ralph Davis commentary which offers another perspective:

“Was this episode a piece of fakery? I don’t think so; I don’t think the text intends to suggest that. Some argue that since the woman screamed when she saw Samuel (v. 12a), she herself must have not expected his appearance; therefore, her usual practice must have been imposture and duplicity. One cannot be sure. The sight of Samuel (v. 12a) may not be the sole explanation for her scream. Verse 12b may help explain the scream, that is, the sight of Samuel brought the sudden insight that only Saul would have such a passion to consult Samuel. Hence her client was Saul—and she was doomed (v. 3b). The story carries the stamp of realism, from the central and sobering prophetic message of Samuel (vv. 16–19) to the obvious reticence to answer all our curious questions, along with its (intended?) failure to provide any how-to information for budding necromancers. In any case, we must remember that Scripture describes such practices not as futile but as pagan. Yahweh forbids Israel to use these means not because they do not work but because they are wicked.

How then does one explain this piece of necromancy? I suppose by the power and permission of God. For his own reasons God must have permitted Samuel to “come up” in order to speak his word of truth and doom to Saul. Yahweh’s word was spoken even if it came via an illegitimate method.
Doesn’t this case of effective necromancy open the way for justifying the practice of consulting the dead? No, because Deuteronomy 18 has already stated the doctrinal position. Moreover, this case (1 Sam. 28) is simply the exception that proves the rule. That is, it is as if 1 Samuel 28 is saying, “Now can you see why this sort of hoky-poky is prohibited in Israel? Look at Saul—it only incapacitates and destroys.”

1 Samuel 30-31

Today I saw a redemptive historical connections I'd never thought of before (or perhaps I forgot it - I'll have to look up my sermon on it!) that shows that David is a true Old Covenant "type" and shadow of the New Covenant Christ and Messiah:

As I was reading of the equal rewarding of his men (especially the ones who were tired and stayed behind) and then made it a statute and a rule for his kingdom (v.25) it made me think of Jesus' parable in Matthew 20 about the Labourers in the Vineyard who are all given the same wage, no matter how much work or how many hours they had worked. This is the glorious scandal of God God's grace - we receive what we do not earn or deserve! That's what heaven is - the greatest gift from the hand of God! David's kingdom where blessings came because of covenantal inclusion and not merit is a picture of heaven itself.

So, as you go out to "earn your keep" today (or perhaps especially when you can't go because you're unemployed or under-employed), remember with joy and relief, heaven is your gift because God gives it to you freely by grace through the work of Jesus Christ, not because you've earned it simply because He loves you! May that fuel your attiitude to your boss, your co-workers if you have them and your family and friends and neighbours today. Truly free grace in Jesus Christ. It changes the whole equation and "math" of life. As you're freely given, so you too can freely give not expecting anything in return. Rejoice and eejoy your hebel day! There's an eternity of grace that flows from the throne in heaven!

And if you want to sing about it with me, you can sing this great old hymn:

Ruth

Christopher Powell — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 07:55:48 -0400

Outline:

Naomi's Family Loss - Chapters 1–4:12

Naomi's Family Gain - Chapter 4:13–22

Ruth 1–3

As we've read it recently and did it already in CG you might be struggling to think about it today as you've already thought about it and you might be tempted to skip (to be honest I frankly was). Resist the temptation! Here's some of the aspects we discussed a couple of weeks ago. Refresh and reflect on our discussion and let me tempt you to go deeper! Here's a start:
Think about choice. How are you making choices. This was one of the things we discussed.
First Elimelech's decision-making

vs. Ruth's decision making.

How will you make decisions in your work and life today and this weekend?

Judges

Christopher Powell — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:01:45 -0400

Overview:

Israel Forsakes God (chapters 1–2)

The Outward Result: Oppression (chapters 3–16)

The Inward Result: Corruption (chapters 17–21)

Judges 6

A simple insight from this passage is that often what impedes our progress is the idols we have raised and served. Before we can experience blessing in following after the true God we must eliminate the false "idols" of our hearts. Maybe spend some time in prayer today confessing the things that you worship instead of the true God.

Judges 7–8

I love this incident of Bible History because in the defeat of Midian we see God’s heart and His help for us. Basically he reduces Israel’s army to a ridiculous remnant and then uses a dream of a honey bun barley cake to defeat their enemies! This makes it clear that is God who fights for His people. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be one of the 300 and to go against an army of over 100,000 men. Imagine the growth of your faith in God after that! Maybe spend some time reflecting today on how God has intervened to help you and perhaps use this incident as fuel for prayer for the challenges you may be addressing in your own heart and life that in answering your prayers God may likewise increase your faith in Him.

“The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.””
‭‭Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭2‬, ‭9‬, ‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Judges 9

It's insightful in terms of understanding leadership from a biblical perspective. Effective leadership isn't the real qualification for being a leader. Just because someone wants to lead doesn't mean that they should (similar to 1 Timothy 3 which begins with a person's desire but follows with a long list of qualifications that are character based and evaluated by the congregation not the individual's aspirations). A few quotes from Davis are relevant to understanding the chapter:

On Jotham's parable:
"I hold that the climax (vv. 14–15), and not the preliminary scenes, carries the heaviest freight; the main concerns are the stupidity of the trees (v. 14) and the uselessness (except for bringing disaster!) of the bramble (v. 15). The fable does not stress the worthlessness of kingship but the worthlessness of Abimelech; the concern is not that the worthy candidates depreciate the offer of kingship but that a bramble accepts it. The problem is not kingship but the character of the king and his cronies, as Jotham makes clear in verses 16–20. Jotham’s theme is the foolishness and peril of accepting clearly unequaliﬁed leadership. Brambles make good fuel but poor kings; they burn better than they reign."

On the chapter itself:
"Judges 9 teaches us something very important: there is no fellowship in evil; evil has no lasting cohesion; it does not care for its own (it only uses its own). You can see this in living color in Revelation 17:16–17, which depicts how the Antichrist and his cronies will hate and consume the very anti-God culture they had nourished."

"Judges 9 shows Israel that destruction can come from within as well as from without, from Israel as well as Midian. Yet even Judges 9 preaches a word of hope to Israel: God does not abandon his people to their Abimelechs but keeps his people from utter destruction."

Question:

Judges 10

Hey, I was just wondering about the idea of God always keeping His word/never bearing false witness, because in this chapter, it says "And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more." This quote seems to show a detachment from the promises made to Abraham, and from later in the chapter when it says, "So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel." which implies the idea of God changing His mind/not keeping his word that He had previously said.

So to sum it up, how can God keep His promises when these verses seem to implicate some idea of changing His mind/making a false statement to the people of Israel?

Answer

Good question, I nearly wrote on this passage earlier today (but about something else)

Joshua

Christopher Powell — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:52:54 -0400

1. Entering the Land – (1-4)
2. Taking the Land – (5-12)
3. Possessing the Land – (13-21)
4. Retaining the Land – (22-24)

Joshua 1–2

To stimulate further engagement with the Word this weekend, let me share a bit of personal history. When I was struggling as a young Christian teen to read my bible regularly, my dad who loved redemptive history (particularly how we see Christ all over the Old Testament), recommended I read this book along with my studies. My first thought was "Dad come on this is the OLD Testament, all the action is in the New!" but knowing he was smarter than I was, and feeling a dullness in my soul, I picked it up and read it "tolle lege!" and was I ever encouraged and edified and it began a lifelong appreciation of this obscure Southern Presbyterian preacher Dale Ralph Davis who has now written many books and commentaries and is the former professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte.

If you create a free account on the Internet Archive (which gives you access to lots of great books!), you can actually borrow the ENTIRE book electronically here: No falling words : expositions of the book of Joshua by Davis, Dale Ralph

If you're the "podcast" type, this interview with Davis may give you a flavour.

Joshua 4–5

Just a simple observation today. It’s hard to imagine succeeding a very successful leader. Moses was considered one of the greatest leaders in all of Israel’s history. The question is why. Was he such a great man? He certainly failed and was not allowed to enter the promised land because of his sin. I think the answer is found today in our text. Moses’s shoes were big ones to fill but, it was God that qualified Joshua to fill them. And He did:

“On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.4.14.ESV

No leader is irreplaceable except God. He is the true Shepherd of His people. He will provide the leaders we need to accomplish His purposes. CBC let’s pray for the men we are discipling and for the next pastor(s) of Covenant Baptist Church whomever they may be that they would be godly and faithful men and that God would raise them up for His glory

Question: Deuteronomy 32:8-9 then 32:12. Could you enlighten me on these verses?

Answer: What you touch on is actually a large (and beautiful) subject of Covenant Theology. A good reference would be "The Mystery of Christ: His Covenant and His Kingdom" by Sam Renihan. But briefly:

In Dt. 32:8-9 and Dt. 32:12 We need to see Israel through the lens of redemptive history. They are a "typological covenant people" that point forward to the New Covenant people (i.e. the Church), but they are not the substance. In other words, they are a type and shadow of the fullness of the church. So "Jacob is his allotted heritage" refers to national Israel in the Old Covenant and is not yet the fulfillment of God's redemptive promise that we see in the New Covenant. They have a unique, set apartness in that at this point in history, they are directly governed by God (something newer political entities like the modern nation state of Israel are not). National theocratic Israel at this stage in Bible history is directly governed by God (they have no king, they are led only by prophets (Moses and Joshua at the time) as they prepare to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant which is to be a blessing to all nations through the coming of the Messiah (promised in Gal. 3:16). This does not mean that Israel in Dt. was the church but they as an Old Covenant people typologically point forward to the fullness of God's covenant rescue plan which is the New Covenant church that Christ establishes in the New Testament which includes believing Jews and Gentiles. In other words, they are a prototype, or precursor. The New Covenant church is something greater than the New Covenant, which supersedes the Old (Jeremiah 31-32).

Another helpful book would be "The Israel of God" by O Palmer Robertson, but as it's Presbyterian, there would be some differences.

Joshua 7–8

It is important for us to see that sin affects the whole of the body of Christ, and this is why it is important (as we heard on Sunday morning from our series in James 5:19-20) to be our brothers and sisters' keepers. The Israelites expected a great victory after Jericho, only to be defeated at Ai. But they were defeated before the battle, as they were spiritually compromised. Here's a little devotional article from Ligonier on today's text: Achan’s Sin at Ai

Joshua 10–11

The conquest must have been truly something to be seen. Imagine that you are in an army fighting, and you see the enemy getting away. Too often, we think that way in terms of the bad guys winning. Look at how they are living - but just as Asaph in Psalm 73 discerns, they cannot escape God. The God of all righteousness will do right. We don't need to get bent out of shape and become avengers of justice, because the justice of God is so complete. Imagine seeing your escaping enemies getting away, and all of a sudden, rocks come down and destroy them from heaven. There's no escape from the God of all the earth. What power! He is no namby-pamby God that can be ignored and rebelled against. He is the true justice warrior. Slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, but also to be properly seen as a consuming fire of justice.

Do you sometimes struggle with all the details in these chapters? Dale Ralph Davis has a little helpful thought for you on 11:1–5:

Think carefully about verses 1–5 for a moment and then come at them again. Have you ever wondered why the writer spills so much ink and wanders into such particular detail? Why does he take up so much of your time to specify various kings, to identify locations, to indicate ethnic groups opposing Israel? Why does he dwell on the massing of their numbers and their armaments? Why didn’t the writer give you a break and make your Bible lighter and study brevity by saying, ‘King Jabin summoned his confederates and their armies in order to make a massive assault on Israel’? But then the text would lose its punch. You see, it is precisely in reading this extended, detailed, particularising description of Israel’s opposition that you begin to feel how overwhelming the enemy is, to sense in line upon line fashion the almost hopeless situation Israel faces. (More often than we know the Bible wants to impress our imaginations rather than merely inform our brains).

Want to read more? You can always borrow the book electronically this weekend to reflect some more on this book. As posted before:
If you create a free account on the Internet Archive (which gives you access to lots of great books!), you can actually borrow the ENTIRE book electronically here.

Joshua 14–15

Just a quick note today. God keeps His word. That's it. Joshua 14 is a fulfillment to Caleb of God's promise way back in Numbers 14:24. Take that with you today. God keeps His word. Trust Him. Follow Him

Joshua 16–17

Following yesterday's readings, we see again God's faithfulness to Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim and promises made way back in Genesis 49, but it takes into account the sin of Reuben, and because of this, Manasseh and Ephraim get more of an inheritance. (For more on Joseph's sons and why exactly they got what they got - which is always exactly right, merciful and just in God's Providence see this short devotional from Ligonier: The Sons of Joseph

But there's also an important contrast in these chapters that is worth noting - God keeps his promises to the letter and more (!), but the Israelites do not do their part to clear the land and follow God's instructions (possibly because they coveted slave labour). They also complain about the size of their inheritance (which was a pure gift). Wholeheartedness is a biblical theme, and we would do well ourselves to be wholehearted in our pursuit of the Lord and His promises in our own lives, grateful for His merciful provision.

Also, notice a cool detail: that the women are always provided for, no matter what their cultural or societal status - God provides for their care in Joshua 17:3 as Zelophehad's daughters get their share even though Zelophehad had no sons. Being a daughter of the King of Kings is just as valuable and important as being a son.

Tonight's Session on Joshua

We did the whole book of Joshua tonight and covered a bunch of things. It was a joy once again to engage in it with you all and to have a good discussion. To those who weren't able to attend (some who love the charts, here were the slides that generated the most discussion and interaction. The first is the outline of the book as we traced the geography of the book and its movement through the Promised Land. The second slide is another way of organizing the book through the "visual bible" that Joshua gave the people in the memorial stones erected throughout the conquest. The third slide formed a large part of the discussion tonight on "Defending the conquest biblically" to talk about how God used Israel as a judicial instrument among the nations and to preserve it. We looked specifically at biblical texts that explained this use of Israel by God as we thought through the conquest itself.

I also shared this video on the archaeology of the city of Jericho and how it matches the Biblical account: Amazing Evidence of The Walls of Jericho Found!

Question:

What do passages such as Joshua 5:1 mean when they say that when the other Kings and people heard of the Lord’s actions for Israel “their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them?”

Answer:

1) The heart's melting is a fulfillment of God's prophecy in Deut. 2:25 "This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you."
2) The collapse described in the melting heart is a result of what it's like to oppose God. It's an utter and complete defeat. That may yield ultimate victory, like it did in Rahab's case, where she conceded the greatness of God and followed him in obedience, or defeat, in the Canaanites who remained in their idolatrous ways
3) It is felt by ALL who oppose God, even at times God's people - Israel, "melted" after the sin of Achan as discussed in Joshua 7:5

The way to avoid melting is to submit to God like Rahab did and not like her fellow city citizens did. Fear God as your God, keep His commandments and do not oppose Him by sinful action. Instead, submit, worship and delight in Him that you may also know all the benefits of His steadfast love, mercy and true justice in Jesus Christ.

Joshua 21-22

Joshua 21:43-45 is the theological climax of the book - "not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made...had failed, all came to pass..."
For us: Don't doubt God's word. Trust it. Live by it. Unlike everything else in life doesn't end or fail.
The Levites have no land given to them as the priests of the nation. They are distributed among the tribes, and their cities are places of refuge. Worship was to be everywhere, and Israel's spiritual leadership was integral to its establishment as a nation.
For us: We would do well to pray that the Lord would help us raise up more spiritual leadership in the church and across our nation. Our greatest need for human flourishing in our nation of Canada is actually spiritual assets, not material ones.
The potential for disunity in the church is great, as demonstrated by the questions over the establishment of the altar by the Eastern tribes. Clear communication and an emphasis on gracious response are always needed when there is a misunderstanding.
For us: In humility, think best of others (channelling Phil. 2:5 ff.) before attacking. Seek a fair-minded clarification. This applies not only in the church but in the working world, politics etc. Don't just feed a narrative. Examine and be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
But also, the zeal of the Israelites for pure worship is important too. Be spiritually alert, biblically informed and willing to stand for truth if it is needed (after clarification and gracious engagement).

Joshua 23

Remember today with God, “not one word has failed of all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you.” (V. 14)

In the New Covenant, He has also promised us (you and me - ingrafted Gentiles) something far better than Palestine of old, which was just a type and a shadow of “…[a] city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” Heb. 11:10.

Look forward to your inheritance this week, even as you meaningfully strive to glorify God in your activity and work this week, serving Him, the people He has put under your responsibility and His church.

Question:

I came across Joshua 24:19–21 and wondered how to interpret it based on the belief that even in the Old Testament, we are saved by faith and not by works.

Answer:

This is a pastoral type warning, not a statement on the means of salvation. Joshua is exposing their self-confidence, not denying grace. Essentially saying: "Do you get this - He will not take this lightly." This is similar to Jesus in Luke 14:25-33. He's pressing them to treat God's covenant blessings and curses seriously.
This passage reflects Old Covenant theology and not works-based salvation. Dt. 28 has blessings and curses for obedience/disobedience.
Faith here is expressed in obedience - failure to obey demonstrates a lack of covenant faith.
V.19 is a warning, conditional and not absolute. See Heb.10:26-27 - "if we go on sinning..."
Faith and works go together, but salvation is always by faith through grace. Faith leads to obedience.