Daily Bible Reading Podcast

JOSHUA 16-17: Yesterday Caleb received his special portion within Judah's allotment of land, and then we heard the detailed list of Judah's boundaries and towns. Chapter 15 may be the most challenging passage in all the Old Testament to read out loud! PSALM 74: Could this psalm really have been written by Asaph?! If so, Asaph was a prophet as he seems to describe events that happened hundreds of y...

JOSHUA 14-15: Yesterday in Joshua we heard an inventory of the kings conquered so far and details about the allotments of land for the 2 1/2 tribes east of the Jordan. PSALM 73: This is one of my favorite psalms because it speaks to an intellectual problem that so often bothers me. The turning point is verse 17 in this poem by Asaph. ACTS 23b: Paul before the council cried out words that divided t...

JOSHUA 12-13: As we heard yesterday, God fought for Israel, even causing the sun and moon to stand still. Basically the main central body of land was conquered in only two campaigns. It is important to remember that the total destruction of the people groups listed was commanded by God because of their disgusting pagan and idolatrous practices. Joshua 10:40 "… This was what the Lord God of Israel...

JOSHUA 10-11: The king of Ai trusted in appearances, and was defeated. And the leaders of Israel trusted in appearances and failed to ask God for guidance, leading to a problem that would later cause more pain. PSALM 71: This is a poem written by an senior citizen with examples for our prayers that are appropriate for 'youth' of all ages. ACTS 22: In the last part of Acts 21, people from the Roman...

JOSHUA 8-9: Yesterday the walls of Jericho "came a-tumbling down" after some skillful trumpet playing while marching around the city for 7 days. The city was devoted to destruction, meaning that this was God's judgement upon them, and that everything was to be destroyed. Right after this amazing victory, Israel learned through a man named Achan that keeping treasures devoted to destruction makes o...

JOSHUA 6-7: In yesterday's reading, Joshua lead the people across the Jordan on dry ground, and they set up 12 stones in two places to be memorial reminders for the people of this miracle. All the men were circumcised, and the angel who is the commander of God's army revealed himself to Joshua. PSALM 69: In yesterday's reading, I appreciated that the writer appealed to God based on the Lord's 'con...

JOSHUA 4-5: In yesterday's reading, Joshua sent out two spies. Rahab, who was a prostitute and later became an outstanding example of God's grace, protected them and eventually became a full member of Israel. The people of Israel crossed the Jordan miraculously on dry ground— even though the river was in flood stage, as Joshua leads following God's instructions. PSALM 69: This poem contains words...

JOSHUA 2-3: Yesterday we started the book of Joshua, named after the man God chose as Moses' successor. In this book we will see the victory of the Chosen People in conquering the Promised Land (chapters 1-12) and then the occupation of the Promised Land (chapters 13-24). Three times i n Deuteronomy 31, we heard the charge, "Be determined and confident," and that command was repeated three more ti...

JOSHUA 1: Yesterday we read the conclusion of Deuteronomy with Moses blessing eleven  of the twelve tribes with a prophetic blessing. And then Moses died and the Lord buried him in an unknown location in Moab. Now we turn to Joshua, the book named after the man God chose as Moses' successor. In this book we see the victory of the Chosen People in conquering the Promised Land (chapters 1-12) and th...

DEUTERONOMY 33-34: In yesterday's reading, Moses showed Israel that the leadership was given to Joshua, and he gave the command that this book of Deuteronomy be kept near the Arc of the Covenant. Then God gave Moses a long song to teach people, to help them remember. In this song, God described some future events as happening in the past tense. This is a feature many prophetic writings. Here is on...

DEUTERONOMY 31-32: Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses reviewed the covenant and again stressed that the choice is between life and death, and between experiencing blessings or curses. Be aware that in the poem dictated to Moses by the Lord, the Lord speaks of things that were in Israel's future as if they had already taken place. This is called propleptic past tense, and is a feature of prophetic writ...

DEUTERONOMY 29-30: Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses ratcheted up the fear index to the red level. And the scary thing about the threats he used to motivate the people to obedience is that they later all came true, as we will see in books like Judges and 2 Kings. PSALM 65: Today's Psalm is a hymn of joy and mighty praise. ACTS 17: Yesterday we heard of how Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail....

DEUTERONOMY 28: Yesterday we read of the ceremony that Moses commanded the people to perform when they entered the promised land. The Levites were to loudly proclaim curses from Mount Ebal over anyone who violates the laws. PSALM 64: If you feel that people are looking for opportunities to slander you, this psalm is for you. ACTS 16b: Yesterday in in this chapter— via the change of pronouns, we un...

DEUTERONOMY 27: Yesterday in Deuteronomy, Moses continued with miscellaneous regulations. One repeated in the New Testament is to not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating when it is treading out grain. Paul used that as a metaphor for something else. PSALM 63: This is another poem of David, including beautiful imagery. Pray like David, if you want to be blessed like David or need protection as Davi...

DEUTERONOMY 25-26: Yesterday we read some laws for what kind of people could not enter into the congregation of Israel, and how long before their descendants could enter into the congregation of Israel. And we heard laws about cleanliness based on the fact that God was living with the Israelites. And, God wanted his people to be kind, fair, and thoughtful of the needs of the poor. PSALM 62: Here i...

DEUTERONOMY 23-24: Yesterday we read an odd collection of regulations: Cleansing the land from unsolved murder, marrying a captive woman after a war, rights of a first-born son when a man has more than one wife, the responsibility of helping neighbors, and various problems concerning adultery. PSALM 61: This is one I love to sing. ACTS 15a: In Acts 14, we heard of the incredible turn of events for...

DEUTERONOMY 21-22: Yesterday we heard an explanation of why cities of refuge were needed. And we heard interesting rules concerning war. In the war and conquest of Canaan that we will read about in Joshua, I urge us to remember that God spoke repeatedly about the wickedness of the Canaanite nations that Israel would conquer (beginning with what He said to Jacob way back in Genesis 15:16). Included...

DEUTERONOMY 19-20: In yesterday's reading we heard that the duties of the king included having a copy of the Law made, or perhaps making it himself (the Hebrew is unclear on that point). This is something we never hear of happening. (I don't think what was given to King Josiah at his inauguration qualifies.) Then Deuteronomy 18 is very import in its prohibition against all kinds of witchcraft and...

DEUTERONOMY 17-18: In yesterday's reading we heard about the release of debts and slaves in the Jubilee Year (also called the year of restoration), and a reminder about 100% participation for the males in three festivals. PSALM 58: This poem celebrates that God will indeed give justice to His people, even though many times it seems to us that there is no justice on earth. ACTS 13a: In yesterday's...

DEUTERONOMY 15-16: Yesterday's reading included Moses' warning about being led astray by anyone, including false prophets or even close family members. No one who proposed idolatry was to be allowed to live. Then we heard a repetition of the laws about which animals were to be treated as clean/edible and those unclean/detestable. Psalm 57: This Psalm is beautiful and often quoted. It again is from...

DEUTERONOMY 13-14: In yesterday's reading Moses continued to stress the need for faithfulness to God and all his commands. It is clear that Moses loves the people and is marshaling every argument possible to convince them to keep on obeying God. PSALM 56: This is another psalm from the experiences of David. This is a good psalm for us to pray when we feel that our lives are out of control and that...

DEUTERONOMY 11-12: In yesterday's reading, Moses continued to hammer on the people not to think that they have been favored by God because they are such good people. Moses gave his first hand account of being in God's presence for 40 days and 40 nights on two occasions, one right after the other. He also again models in his prayer for Israel the way to effectively pray for people— which is to base...

DEUTERONOMY 9-10: In yesterday's reading, Moses continued his stern lecture. I note particularly that Moses did all he could to stress that the Israelites must not get proud or think they're great people based on their own merits. The reading also included the famous words, "people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." PSALM 54: This poem...

DEUTERONOMY 7-8: Yesterday in Deuteronomy we heard Moses repeating the 10 Commandments and pleading with the people that they remain faithful in obeying all the commands and regulations the Lord gave. The reading ended with an important statement to remember when considering the difference between the old and new covenants: NLT: 6:25 "For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the comman...

DEUTERONOMY 5-6: Yesterday we heard Moses expound on the most important  command to never worship any idol or any god other than the Lord. He based this on the Israelite's experience of hearing God's voice and not seeing his form. Moses was realistic and knew that Israel would eventually leave God, and that God would judge them. He gave them this amazing promise: "from there (where you have been e...