The Bible by David Alley

In this video listen to Joshua 13 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 13 the land began to be divided, despite the fact that it was not totally conquered. This is also the Lord’s method for us. He doesn’t just give us what we want without having to work for it, but rather we inherit through working and serving. Just as some famous billionaires do not hand their children...

In this video listen to Joshua 12 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 12 it lists all the defeated king. It lists 31 kings west of the Jordan, but there were the two (Sihon and Og) east of the Jordan too making it 33 in total. This list is a tally of the victories of Joshua which took at least about 7 years to complete, based on an understanding of Joshua 14:10. There a...

In this video listen to Joshua 11 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 11 there is now a battle with the northern cities. Jabin (a title) king of Hazor was the leader. Hazor was the third city that the bible verifies was burnt by fire, and the archaeology verifies this showing a burn layer. In Judges 5 is another King Jabin - which some thought was confusing because they...

In this video listen to Joshua 10 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 10 the sun stands still during the famous battle at Gibeon. Joshua marches his army about 30 kilometres through the night for a surprise attack against an alliance of five kings. Unlike Rahab and the Gibeonites who chose humility, nobody else does, and this southern alliance is defeated here at Gibeon...

In this video listen to Joshua 9 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 9 we find the third of the mistakes made by the Israelites. First was the taking of the dedicated thing at Jericho, second was presumption in the battle at Ai, and now is the failing to enquire of the Lord, resulting in the deception of the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites are close to Joshua, yet send a del...

In this video listen to Joshua 8 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 8 Ai is conquered and the city destroyed. The city of Ai is one of three cities destroyed by fire in the Canaanite conquest. The first Jericho, and the last Hazor. Many of the other cities were probably not destroyed but preserved for use as is the normal way in battle. Joshua hid a second force in the...

In this video listen to Joshua 7 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 7 we consider some of the spiritual lessons of the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua teaches us about the importance of overcoming in our own lives. We are called to be overcomers, and there are strongholds in each of us that must be torn down. The last chapter contained the first major stronghold in...

In this video listen to Joshua 6 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 6 the first siege in the conquest happens, at Jericho. Twentieth century excavations of Tell es Sultan (Tel Jericho) show us that Jericho was well fortified. Multiple cities were built on top of each other, and the city of the Joshua period is called city 4. It had an outer wall of stone, with a wall o...

In this video listen to Joshua 5 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 5 describes how the Amorites melted in fear in the face of the impending invasion. As Hitler swept across Europe in WW2 the people in the nations before him were afraid. They sensed the inevitability of what was ahead, and so too the Amorites. So why continue to resist? This is sadly what people do, co...

In this video listen to Joshua 4 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 4 After they had crossed over, the water still hadn’t gone back yet, they were able to go in and take twelve big stones and build a monument. Once the blockage upstream was removed it would have still taken a significant time for the water to flow down, giving them ample time to collect the stones. And...

In this video listen to Joshua 3 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 3 they spend the last three days on the banks of the Jordan, which at this point was swollen due to being Spring. The river was impassable by normal methods at this time of year, for people with cattle, and goods. The spies in the previous chapter would have swum across, but this wasn’t possible for 2...

In this video listen to Joshua 2 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Joshua 2 the military campaign begins with spies visiting the house of a prostitute. This was not just them jumping at human opportunity to be immoral, but a military smart move to gather information. A prostitute was the ideal person for the spies to visit, because she was someone who was connected with many...

In this video listen to Joshua 1 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. The title of the book is none other than the name of the Lord, Jesus. Only two books in the Bible have such clearly defined qualities in the self-descriptions as to be all about the Lord. First here is this book named after the Lord, and second is the Revelation in the NT, which describes itself as a revelation...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 34 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 34 is the last of the chapters in the Law. Although the first five books are written by Moses, this last chapter is probably written by Joshua, who also wrote the next book of Joshua. Moses died on Mt Nebo, and the Lord buried Moses. In Jude 1:9 there is an interesting additional piece of in...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 33 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 33 contains the benediction of Moses. It is the last words of a very great man. In the ancient near east it was customary on a death bed for patriarchs to say important things, just as we saw with Jacob in Genesis 49. This death bed blessing however doesn’t have some of the obvious nasty “bl...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 32 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 32 contains the song of Moses, which the Lord gave him in the previous chapter, just days before his death. According to Coffman’s commentary there are three divisions in this song: the faithfulness of God and the faithlessness of Israel, verses 4-18. The punishment and the need of its execu...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 31 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 31 Moses is probably just a few days from death, and Joshua who has been hugely faithful (a picture of Christ in name and life) is about to lead them. The language in this chapter has changed and no longer sounds like a speech. It's back to narrative like in the earlier books. In verse 2 Mos...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 30 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 30 the speech of Moses is starting to wind down, even though there are still 4 chapters after this one. It now continues prophetically as the last few chapters have been. In verse 1-3 Moses talks about a future moment when in captivity, their thoughts turn back to God. Much later the people...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 29 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 29 Moses makes a distinction between the law given at Horeb and the law here on the plains of Moab. There are not two laws, but one. The naming of the book Deutero Nomah in greek doesn’t mean there were two laws, but rather the second time the law was reiterated. Here the people have agreed...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 28 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 28 we now come to the second longest chapter in the Bible, and the longest chapter (just) in the Pentateuch, the five books of the law. Here the specifics of the curses and the blessings of the covenant are going to be outlined. God seems to think long-term, so while the first generation may...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 27 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 27 we now come to the sanctions of the covenant, and one of the saddest sections of the entire bible. Briefly Moses is now talking about himself in the third person. This isn’t a problem as some think, but done this way because of the formality of the covenant terms and sanctions in line wit...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 26 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 26 we have a key turning point in Moses' speech. The entire thing is a suzerainty treaty and we transition from the end of the terms, to the beginning of the outcomes for obedience/disobedience. Before the transition it refers to Abraham as “a wandering syrian” or in other translations “a wo...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 25 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 25 we find an interesting verse about oxen that is quoted several times by Paul in the NT. This was a verse Paul quoted in 1 Timothy 5:18 and in 1 Corinthians 9 which he used to say that a preacher should get paid for his work, and not be expected to work without being fed. People wouldn't t...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 23 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 23 there are various laws, concerning eunuchs, illegitimate children, foreigners and more. Concerning Eunuchs, it sounds here like God doesn’t approve of eunuchs. Eunuchs were typically men who removed their testicles through either of the above methods, often for the purpose of serving a ki...

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 23 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 23 there are various laws, concerning eunuchs, illegitimate children, foreigners and more. Concerning Eunuchs, it sounds here like God doesn’t approve of eunuchs. Eunuchs were typically men who removed their testicles through either of the above methods, often for the purpose of serving a ki...