Daily Readings in the Bible 1 Kings 14-16

Israel split into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, known as Israel, consisted of ten of the twelve tribes. The southern kingdom, known as Judah, consisted of Judah and what was left of Benjamin. Israel’s capital became Samaria, and Judah’s capital became Jerusalem. This will be important information moving forward in our reading of the Old […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Judges 3-5

Mesopotamia was the place that God had called Abraham to leave (Gen. 12:1-4). Now after several centuries, the people of Israel were under the oppression of the Mesopotamians, on account that Israel had gone back into idolatry. They began worshiping false gods, and started to intermarry with the Canaanites (Jud. 3:6-7). Mesopotamia, like Egypt, represents […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 23-24

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem for one final address. He began by recounting God’s redemptive acts in Israel’s short history. Joshua wanted to make sure the people understood their history, their present, and their future. Had God not revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; worked mightily through Moses to bring […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 19-22

You might remember from our reading in Numbers how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and a portion of Manasseh requested to settle in the land east of the Jordan River (Num. 32:1-42). Moses granted their request as long as they fought with the others tribes during the Canaan conquest. After the death of Moses, they […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 16-18

In today’s reading we have an account of the inheritance of Joseph divided between his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim’s allotment was a beautiful and fertile area. Howbeit, the difficulty of possessing the land included clearing out additional hill country and removing the Canaanites from the land. There was just one issue: “And they drave […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 12-15

Only two men believed Israel could take possession of Canaan the first time Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land. Joshua and Caleb were those two men. And they were the only two men from that generation that were able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:24,30,38). Understand that Caleb was born as […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 7-11

Israel had finally crossed over from their wilderness wanderings and were laying claim to God’s promises. Joshua led the armies of Israel on their first mission and conquered Jericho. The Lord gave the command that the entire city was to be devoted to the Lord (Josh. 6:17-18). The gold, silver, vessels of bronze and iron […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 2-6

Moses was laid to rest on Nebo’s lonely mountain. Israel’s new leader, Joshua, stood on top of the mountain and looked toward Canaan. Israel’s time to take possession of the Promised Land had come. Moses had previously sent twelve men to spy out Canaan (Num. 13:1-3). Out of the twelve men, only Joshua and Caleb […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Joshua 1

Joshua is one of the great characters of the Old Testament. His original name was Hoshea, which means “salvation,” but Moses changed it to Joshua, which means “Jehovah is salvation” (Num. 13:8,16). We might add that the Greek form of Joshua is Jesus (Matt. 1:21). This is significant in the drama of redemption. Moses, representative […]

Daily Readings in the Bible Deuteronomy 27-29

The day when Israel took possession of the Promised Land quickly approached. Moses commanded that Israel be gathered at Shechem’s valley between Mount Ebal and Gerizim when that day finally came. At Mount Ebal the people were to set up large stones, coat them with plaster, and inscribe the entire Law upon them (Deut. 27:2-4). […]