Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings. Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all. Whatever works for you and your schedule! It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.
This week, we finish another book (Exodus), and begin Leviticus on Easter Sunday. Leviticus, a guide for the priests and Levites of ancient Israel, mentions holiness more times than any book in the Bible, and continually reminds us of how high God’s standards are, even though with the events of Easter we no longer need to follow most of those Levitical practices.
Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings. Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all. Whatever works for you and your schedule! It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.
This week we finish 2 Kings and begin 1 Chronicles. After the 2 Chronicles books, we move to Ezra and Nehemiah, then on to the New Testament, starting with the gospel of Matthew.
Psalm 71 was likely written by an old man, looking back over his life and the many instances of God’s faithfulness. Looking back over a lifetime of walking with God strengthens his current faith, and he writes to strengthen ours. Although some might expect a testimony of God’s faithfulness to talk about uninterrupted good fortune and all the good times the Psalmist has had, in verse 20, they write:
“You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.”
This man’s life, like most people’s lives, was filled with “many troubles and calamities,” yet these only strengthen his faith because God has rescued him every time in the past. Without allowing us to experience trouble, how could God develop a track record of rescuing us? John Calvin comments on this verse that:
“Had he always enjoyed a uniform course of prosperity, he would no doubt have had good reason to rejoice; but in that case he would not have experienced what it is to be delivered from destruction by the stupendous power of God. We must be brought down even to the gates of death before God can be seen to be our deliverer.”
God is always faithful, but we experience it especially in bad times.
Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings. Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all. Whatever works for you and your schedule! It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.
Last week I fell behind a bit on both Exodus and 2 Kings – it happens – but I’m catching up.
Do you ever just feel like complaining about the bad things and people in this world? While we might hold back complaining to God, thinking He prefers ACTS prayers – focused on Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication – He is infinitely and steadfastly loving and patient, and will listen to whatever we have to say. David shared Psalm 64 with us as an example.
Read how David begins the Psalm:
“Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.”
Basically, David begins this Psalm by letting God know what’s coming: a series of complaints. In the next verses, David complains about evil plots against him happening in secret, and those who can’t wait to ambush him. David complains about how good evildoers are at what they do. He writes:
“Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, ‘Who can see them?’ They search out injustice, saying, ‘We have accomplished a diligent search.’ For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.”
By “diligent search” they have found every method available and used every skill they have to attack David, and the evildoers are impressed with their ability to be unjust and to attack “the blameless”, “shooting at him suddenly and without fear.” A lot of time and effort has been put into these secret plots.
The blog’s mascot: Ebenezer, the “But God” squirrel.
How will David stand against such attacks? He won’t, but God[1] will, as David continues in verses 7 through 9:
“But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.”
The wicked, after much “diligent search,” gathered their “swords” and “arrows,” the words they would use to attack David and God’s people. But because we have God, when we complain in prayer we don’t stop once our complaints have been aired – we continue with the “but God” part of the prayer, which comes with these three main implications:
First, that we need not respond in kind, because God needs only one arrow to bring them “suddenly” to ruin. We are saved by His strength.
Second, we need not respond in degree – If our enemies are extraordinarily diligent or skilled in their plots, we do not need to match their effort, because it is God who takes care of us. All the time and effort put in by the wicked in brought to nothing in a moment, and in that moment, “all mankind fears.” We need not be intimidated.
And finally, any success of God’s enemies is temporary. Someday He will resolve every complaint of injustice and silence every accusation against His people.
Therefore, as the Psalm ends:
“Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!”
