Daily Bible Reading Podcast

JEREMIAH 24-25: A stunning prophecy was given in yesterday's reading: Jer. 23:5-6 NLT "For the time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up a righteous descendant* from King David's line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this will be his name: 'The Lord Is Our Righteousness.'* In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel...

JEREMIAH 23: In yesterday's reading, we heard how king Zedekiah sent two men to Jeremiah to ask him for help to pray for a miracle. And God made it ever so clear that no miracle of deliverance would be given. Jeremiah repeatedly tells the king what he needs to do, but Zedekiah just couldn't bring himself to do it. The area of giving justice was especially prominent in yesterday's readings. PSALM 1...

JEREMIAH 21-22: These verses from Jeremiah 20 have been often quoted as a reason for memorizing Scripture: Jer. 20:9 NLT But if I say I'll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can't do it! Remember the priest Pashur who put Jeremiah in stocks. The Passhur that time was the son of Imm...

JEREMIAH 19-20: In yesterday's reading, we again heard some often-quoted verses. These verses come just after verses in chapter 17 where the Lord himself beautifully paraphrased Psalm 1: Jer. 17:9 NLT "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,     and desperately wicked.     Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts     and examine secret motives. I give all...

JEREMIAH 17-18: One catches so clearly how trapped Jeremiah was in the time of God's judgment, and how hot God's anger was against Judah. Jeremiah's audience would not have appreciated him telling them where the Lord said they could 'go'! No wonder he so often weeps and cries out in despair. God's verdict in 15:2, which shows his sovereign choices, is repeated in Revelation:   Jer. 15:1 Then the L...

JEREMIAH 15-16: Yesterday the dialog between the Lord and Jeremiah continued. We heard of the drought. And the Lord forbid Jeremiah to pray for the people of Judah. PSALM 145: This is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, and it gives us a great place to start when praising God. 1CORINTHIANS 1:18—2: Let's not allow the chapter division here to interrupt what Paul teaches us about God's wisdom! So let's sta...

JEREMIAH 13-14: In yesterday's reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord, 12:1 "Lord, if I argued my case with you, you would [be shown//prove] to be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed? And the Lord replied in an answer that bears reading in context and needs some thinking about, "Jeremiah, if you get tired raci...

JEREMIAH 11-12: Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once:   "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD … PSALM 143: It seems that prayer is very neglected thes...

JEREMIAH 9-10: Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him, "Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond." We'll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time. PSALM 142: When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray! JOHN 20: There are so many fulfillments of Scripture...

JEREMIAH 7-8: In this and several other prophetic books, it is important to observe where quotes begin and end, and who is speaking. The section headings are also very helpful to our understanding. Modern translators and editors use the heading to help modern readers understand such things as ancient poetic imagery. Yesterday's reading had this ironic statement spoken by the Lord: 5:19 When they a...

JEREMIAH 5-6: God, speaking through the prophets, frequently says how he feels about idolatry. He considers it just like the faithlessness of a wayward wife. It is moving that Jeremiah could so clearly see what would happen— the anguish of the people when his prophecies are fulfilled and they will be attacked by armies from the north.   PSALM 140: This is a prayer for anyone who fears the imminent...

JEREMIAH 3-4: In yesterday's reading there was a play on words in Jer. 1:11-12, where the Hebrew word for 'almond tree' sounds like the word for 'watching': 11 Then the Lord said to me, "Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?" And I replied, "I see a branch from an almond tree ." 12 And the Lord said, "That's right, and it means that I am watching ,* and I will certainly carry out all my plans." *footno...

JEREMIAH 1-2: The book of Jeremiah was written between 627 and 580 BC. Counting the number of verses, Jeremiah is longer than all other books of the Old Testament except Genesis and Psalms. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Ha...

JONAH 3-4: Running from God didn't work for Jonah. When saved from the ocean, Jonah grudgingly obeys God. For most of my life I have been fooled by Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, and I am not alone, because others have called it, "One of the great prayers in the Bible." For most of the prayer, Jonah simply borrowed verses from the Psalms. And there is nothing wrong with that! However, if you look cl...

JONAH 1-2: For quite a few years when I was just reading the Bible without a set reading plan, I enjoyed a break from reading the books of history after Second Kings, moving to the prophets. And our first is Jonah, who was mentioned back in 2 Kings 14.   Note that the little story of Jonah is masterfully written. Little details poke out everywhere. Jonah has a downward journey. He goes down from J...

2KINGS 24-25: In yesterday's reading, we heard of Josiah's reforms, leading the people to renew the covenant with God. That chapter had this telling comment about the Passover: 2Kings 23:22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. Many times I think people make the naive assump...

2KINGS 23: Hilkiah found the book of the Law in the temple while repairs were being carried out as ordered by king Josiah. When Josiah heard the book of the Law, he instituted reforms. And God again is glorified in fulfilling a prophecy we heard in 1 Kings. PSALM 134: I would like to have been one of the Levitical temple musicians who had the duty of singing praises to God at night. This is the la...

2KINGS 21-22: The Assyrian king mocked the God of Israel at the end of chapter 18. We heard God's answer yesterday in chapter 19, and we were introduced to the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah asked to live for a longer time, and his request was granted. I have heard that there is actually scientific proof of the long day miracle that was given to Hezekiah. What a shame that he did not ask God not to send...

2KINGS 19-20: The writer of 1 & 2 Kings was very brief about the sins of the people of Israel (in both kingdoms) until what we heard yesterday. He seems to have saved the moral of the story until chapter 17. And then we have the wonderful contrast with Hezekiah in chapter 18. Then the Asyrian king mocked the God of Israel at the end of chapter 18. We hear God's answer today. PSALM 132: It would ap...

2KINGS 17-18: Yesterday we again heard quite a few names of kings, especially on the Israel/Northern side. And this culminated with Tiglath-pileser of Assyria deporting the people of Israel. Because of a heavy bribe, Judah avoided this by becoming a vassal state of Assyria. Actually, this was probably wise on king Ahaz's part. Judah was not always so wise in interpreting the signs of the time. PSA...

2KINGS 15-16: Readers and listeners are frequently confused by the names of the kings in yesterday's reading in 2nd Kings.  Judah' king, Joash, died at the end of chapter 12. Then on the Israel (10 tribes) side, we heard of Jehoahaz's reign, and then the reign of his son, Johoash. He was helped by Elisha's final prophecy. Also in yesterday's reading we heard about of the reign of  Joash's son, Ama...

2KINGS 13-14: Yesterday we heard of Athaliah's seven year reign over Judah, of how Joash was saved from being killed, and of Jehoida's successful plot to end Athaliah's reign. Joash turned out to be sorta good, but disappointing at the end of his reign. And it is interesting to note that the people who worked on restoring the temple evidently had more integrity than the priests. PSALM 129: This is...

2KINGS 11-12: Yesterday's story was of Jehu, anointed on Elisha's orders, and who executed the Lord's vengeance on Ahab and his whole family, and even his friends and the worshipers of Baal. However, after that, he still didn't follow the Lord, but continued the idolatry of Israel. PSALM 128: Today's Song of Ascent has a similar theme about the Lord's blessings for families as yesterday's psalm. U...

2KINGS 9-10: Yesterday we heard one of my favorite Old Testament stories: The one about the three lepers and the famine in Samaria. Elisha's prophecy was so dramatically fulfilled, and the scoffing officer could be a parable for modern times. Then we heard how the woman from Shunem returned and was blessed a second time. The narrative switched briefly to the kingdom of Judah and Ahaziah's reign. P...

2KINGS 7-8: Yesterday we heard two more chapters containing fascinating miracles performed by Elisha. The story about Gahazi getting the gifts from Naaman, and the vision about the chariots of fire both have interesting spiritual significance to ponder. We come back to the story from chapter 7 where the Aramean army is surrounding Samaria. The famine is severe. The king has sent an executioner to...