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Free Daily Bible Study PodcastNovember 29th: Bible Meditation for 1 Chronicles 26–27Bible Readings for November 29th
1 Chronicles 26–27 | 2 Peter 1 | Micah 4 | Luke 13
David assigns a group of the non-priestly Levites who were not called to the ministry of music to serve instead as gatekeepers in 1 Chronicles 26 (cf. 1 Chron. 9:17–32). While some of these gatekeepers were Merarites (1 Chron. 26:19), the primary group are called the Korahites (1 Chron. 26:1)—that is, the sons of Korah, who was the Kohathite who led the rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16. Though their ancestor Korah had sinned grievously against Yahweh, they are nevertheless called near to a particular place of privilege to serve as gatekeepers of the house...
2025-11-2904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastNovember 14th: Bible Meditation for 1 Chronicles 3–4Bible Readings for November 14th
1 Chronicles 3–4 | Hebrews 9 | Amos 3 | Psalms 146–147
Because 1 Chronicles represents a re-telling of the story of the people of God up to this point, David plays a critical, central role right from the very beginning. After one chapter to sum up the genealogy from Adam to Abraham, and then from Abraham to Jacob, the author of 1 Chronicles shifts immediately to the genealogy leading up to David in 1 Chronicles 2. In today’s reading from 1 Chronicles 3, then, the narrator lists out the descendants from David. Then, in 1 Chronicles 4, the tribe of Judah becomes the first tribe...
2025-11-1403 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastNovember 13th: Bible Meditation for 1 Chronicles 1–2Bible Readings for November 13th
1 Chronicles 1–2 | Hebrews 8 | Amos 2 | Psalm 145
The books of Chronicles are very similar to the books of Samuel and Kings, so that we will read many of the same stories we just finished reading over again during the next few weeks. And yet, the books of Chronicles are doing something very different than what we saw in the previous four books of the Bible. We are not merely reading a second-hand retelling of the same stories. Rather, we are looking at the same stories from a fresh vantage point: where everything that we...
2025-11-1303 min
La Parole Commentée · RCF AlsaceJacob rêve la porte du ciel parmi nousSi dans les anciennes civilisations, la porte du ciel est représentée par le sanctuaire, le temple, il en va autrement pour Jacob : son Dieu est avec lui où qu’il aille, et lui promet la bénédiction pour tous les peuples.Le lieu de mémoire que Jacob marque d’une pierre levée, Bethel, « maison de Dieu », n’a qu’une importance intermédiaire. Pour leschrétiens, la porte du ciel, c’est Jésus-Christ, Dieu qui s’engage sur la terre en éternité.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-conf...
2025-09-2114 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 11th: Bible Meditation for 2 Samuel 6Bible Readings for September 11th
2 Samuel 6 | 1 Corinthians 16 | Ezekiel 14 | Psalm 55
In 2 Samuel 6, we read one of the first stories explicitly describing the worship of Yahweh since Deuteronomy. David, the anointed king after God’s own heart who reigns over Israel, here brings the ark of God into Jerusalem. When Israel left Egypt, Yahweh led his people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and then, once the tabernacle was built, Yahweh dwelt in the midst of his people in the tabernacle. Now, however, Yahweh’s dwelling place with his peop...
2025-09-1104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 10th: Bible Meditation for 2 Samuel 4–5Bible Readings for September 10th
2 Samuel 4–5 | 1 Corinthians 15 | Ezekiel 13 | Psalms 52, 53 & 54
Harry Emerson Fosdick once famously said, “Nobody except the preacher comes to church desperately anxious to discover what happened to the Jebusites.” Now, if Fosdick was describing situations where pastors primarily obsess about Bible trivia with their congregations, he was certainly right. But from another angle, Fosdick could not have been more wrong, since it was from the Jebusites that David captures the exceedingly important city of Jerusalem, as we discover in 2 Samuel 5.
Although we have had limited interactions with Jerusalem thus far in the st...
2025-09-1004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 9th: Bible Meditation for 2 Samuel 3Bible Readings for September 9th
2 Samuel 3 | 1 Corinthians 14 | Ezekiel 12 | Psalm 51
Sadly, we have only just begun to read here in 2 Samuel 3 about the murders Joab commits. In fact, Joab will be a thorn in David’s side throughout his reign, so that David will instruct his son Solomon to execute Joab as one of his first official acts when Solomon becomes the next king of Israel (1 Kgs. 2:5–6). Joab’s first murder here in 2 Samuel 3, though, establishes the besetting patterns that Joab—and David—will fall into again and again.
Joab had been one of David’s mo...
2025-09-0904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 8th: Bible Meditation for 2 Samuel 2Bible Readings for September 8th
2 Samuel 2 | 1 Corinthians 13 | Ezekiel 11 | Psalm 50
When Samuel anointed David as the next king of Israel in 1 Samuel 16, the anointing happened in secret. It is perhaps not surprising, then, to read that Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, makes Saul’s son Ish-bosheth king over Israel in 2 Samuel 2:8–11. Tomorrow, we will evaluate the actions of Abner, Joab, and Ish-bosheth. Today, however, let us consider the way this story in 2 Samuel 2 foreshadows the disputed reign of another true king—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though Yahweh anointed David as his king, Ya...
2025-09-0804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 7th: Bible Meditation for 2 Samuel 1Bible Readings for September 7th
2 Samuel 1 | 1 Corinthians 12 | Ezekiel 10 | Psalm 49
In the opening of 2 Samuel, David learns about the deaths of Saul and Jonathan—a scene that teaches us important principles about the nature of Yahweh’s anointing of his kings. In 1 Samuel 31, we read that Saul had fallen on his own sword to end his life after being wounded (1 Sam. 31:4–6), but here in 2 Samuel 1, we learn a bit more of the story.
Apparently, Saul’s attempt at suicide was not successful, so he pleaded with an Amalekite to finish him. The Amalekite judged that Sau...
2025-09-0704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 6th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 31Bible Readings for September 6th
1 Samuel 31 | 1 Corinthians 11 | Ezekiel 9 | Psalm 48
In 1 Samuel 31, we read about the death of Saul, Israel’s first king. While Saul was troubled from almost the very beginning of his reign, this passage is not written to demonize Saul but to underscore the tragedy of his life. Saul had so much promise initially, but his heart did not follow after Yahweh’s, causing him to rebel against Yahweh with deliberate disobedience—and ultimately, causing Yahweh to rip away the kingdom of Israel from him.
To begin, we should acknowledge the touchi...
2025-09-0603 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 5th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 29–30Bible Readings for September 5th
1 Samuel 29–30 | 1 Corinthians 10 | Ezekiel 8 | Psalms 46–47
The narrative of 1 Samuel 30 describes to us the final trial David must undergo as the leader of an underground movement before he becomes the king of Israel. Although Saul has wanted to kill David for quite some time, David has never before faced threats to his life from those around him. But in 1 Samuel 30, David faces persecution even from those who had sought his protection in the wilderness.
In 1 Samuel 29, David is expelled from the Philistines, who had given David refuge in his exile from...
2025-09-0504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 4th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 28Bible Readings for September 4th
1 Samuel 28 | 1 Corinthians 9 | Ezekiel 7 | Psalm 45
In 1 Samuel 28, we find one of the most vivid scenes from all the Bible. Saul, at the end of his rope, visits a medium to get advice on how to salvage his kingdom. Specifically, he asks the medium to call up Samuel from the dead in hopes that the prophet can give him some piece of useful knowledge from beyond the grave.
One of the main questions surrounding this passage is whether we are actually seeing Samuel or whether this is a demon impersonating...
2025-09-0404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 3rd: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 27Bible Readings for September 3rd
1 Samuel 27 | 1 Corinthians 8 | Ezekiel 6 | Psalm 44
David’s stay with the Philistines from 1 Samuel 21 until now is one of the stranger storylines in the narrative of 1 Samuel. It is strange that the Philistines would have even allowed David to stay in their midst at all—and remember that David had pretended to be insane in order to seek asylum among them (1 Sam. 21:13)—but it is stranger still that the anointed king after Yahweh’s own heart must spend all this time among the uncircumcised Philistines. Nevertheless, we learn two important principles from this sto...
2025-09-0304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 2nd: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 26Bible Readings for September 2nd
1 Samuel 26 | 1 Corinthians 7 | Ezekiel 5 | Psalms 42–43
In 1 Samuel 24, David had his first opportunity to strike down Saul when Saul relieved himself in the cave where David had been hiding. There, David refused to reach out his hand against Saul, since Saul was Yahweh’s anointed king (1 Sam. 24:6). Here again in 1 Samuel 26, David does not take the opportunity to strike down Saul while Saul and his men are under a deep sleep from Yahweh (1 Sam. 26:12). In today’s meditation, we will consider these stories not from David’s perspective but from Saul’s.
Fir...
2025-09-0204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastSeptember 1st: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 25Bible Readings for September 1st
1 Samuel 25 | 1 Corinthians 6 | Ezekiel 4 | Psalms 40–41
At the beginning of 1 Samuel 25, the great prophet Samuel dies, an event the biblical author records with characteristic understatement, using just one verse (1 Sam. 25:1). Once again, God buries a workman and carries on his work. The death of Samuel also, however, provides a backdrop to the story of Nabal, Abigail, and David in the rest of 1 Samuel 25. The interesting correlation of these stories arises in that just as Israel’s last judge dies, we meet a man named Nabal, who perfectly represents the foolishness of Israel duri...
2025-09-0104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 31st: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 24Bible Readings for August 31st
1 Samuel 24 | 1 Corinthians 5 | Ezekiel 3 | Psalm 39
David has two opportunities to strike down Saul stealthily, and in 1 Samuel 24, we read about the first of those two opportunities. Here, Saul enters a cave to relieve himself, but he chooses the very cave where David and his men are hiding from him (1 Sam. 24:3). As Saul does his business, David’s men prompt him to kill Saul, but David refuses to do as they say, and David’s actions here are helpful as we strategize how to fight our own temptations to sin.
Most...
2025-08-3104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 30th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 23Bible Readings for August 30th
1 Samuel 23 | 1 Corinthians 4 | Ezekiel 2 | Psalm 38
In the interactions of David, Saul, and Jonathan, 1 Samuel 23 teaches us much about the nature of true kingship. We learn here what God’s true king should look like—and what it would look like for us to identify with that king covenantally.
David, for his part, has committed himself to protecting the people of Israel from their enemies, regardless of the cost to himself. When David hears that the Philistines have attacked the people of the city of Keilah, he urgently inquires of Yahw...
2025-08-3004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 29th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 21–22Bible Readings for August 29
1 Samuel 21–22 | 1 Corinthians 3 | Ezekiel 1 | Psalm 37
In 1 Samuel 21–22, David is at the center of three major ethical dilemmas. First, David lies to the priests at Nob (1 Sam. 21:2), and second, David lies to Achish the king of Gath by pretending to be insane (1 Sam. 21:13). Third, David eats the bread of the Presence, which is forbidden for non-priests (1 Sam. 21:4–6). As it happens, Jesus himself specifically addresses the third dilemma, and by studying Jesus’ words, we find help for evaluating the first and second dilemmas.
Intriguingly, Jesus commends David for eating the bread of the Pres...
2025-08-2904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 28th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 20Bible Readings for August 28th
1 Samuel 20 | 1 Corinthians 2 | Lamentations 5 | Psalm 36
Although the story of Saul is tragic, narrating the slow descent of a man who seemed to start off his reign so well, Saul’s legacy nevertheless includes one very bright point: his son Jonathan. Jonathan’s life, however, also involves tragedy, since the sins of Jonathan’s father, Saul, have meant that Jonathan himself would never become king over Israel. Nevertheless, Jonathan’s deep humility and integrity leads him to pledge eagerly to David all the support he can offer here in 1 Samuel 20.
The crit...
2025-08-2804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 27th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 19Bible Readings for August 27th
1 Samuel 19 | 1 Corinthians 1 | Lamentations 4 | Psalm 35
Saul’s desperation to kill David grows in 1 Samuel 19, fueled in no small part by the fact that both Saul’s son Jonathan and his daughter Michal help David to escape Saul. The storyline of 1 Samuel traces carefully the slow, agonizing descent of Saul deeper and deeper into sin, madness, and torment as he seeks to kill David.
The overall downward trajectory of Saul’s life from this point on is not a direct path but is rather characterized by awkward lurches forward and backwa...
2025-08-2704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 26th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 18Bible Readings for August 26th
1 Samuel 18 | Romans 16 | Lamentations 3 | Psalm 34
It was not Yahweh’s intention for David to wait passively for the throne of Israel, hidden from the public eye, until the day Saul died. Rather, Yahweh sovereignly orchestrated that the lives of the two anointed kings should begin intersecting immediately upon the anointing of David. David first encountered Saul when he played the harp for Saul (1 Sam. 16), and later when he joined Israel’s battle against Goliath (1 Sam. 17). In today’s reading, David becomes best friends with Saul’s son Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:1–5), and he marries Sa...
2025-08-2604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 25th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 17Bible Readings for August 25th
1 Samuel 17 | Romans 15 | Lamentations 2 | Psalm 33
The story of David and Goliath is one of the more well known stories of the Bible, and with good reason. While the entire nation of Israel was quivering before the booming taunts of the giant Philistine named Goliath, the youngest son of Jesse arrives at the battlefield and quickly volunteers to fight as Israel’s champion. David faces opposition from his brother (1 Sam. 17:28), from Saul (1 Sam. 17:33), and especially from Goliath (1 Sam. 17:43), but ultimately David ends up victorious. This story has much to teach us about th...
2025-08-2504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 24th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 16Bible Readings for August 24th
1 Samuel 16 | Romans 14 | Lamentations 1 | Psalm 32
The introduction of David in 1 Samuel 16 is a giant leap forward in the unfolding story of the Bible, even if the story starts with a small step as Samuel travels to Bethlehem to anoint the youngest son of Jesse. Before we get to the long-term implications of David’s kingship, there are two critical issues we first must notice in this passage.
First, Yahweh implicitly contrasts the physical appearance of Saul with the physical appearance of David. Yahweh explains to Samuel that he has no...
2025-08-2404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 23rd: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 15Bible Readings for August 23rd
1 Samuel 15 | Romans 13 | Jeremiah 52 | Psalm 31
A major issue in biblical theology arises in 1 Samuel 15: What does it mean to read that Yahweh “regrets” decisions he has made? When Yahweh commands Saul to devote everything among the Amalekites to destruction, Saul obeys only insofar as it is convenient for him: “All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction” (1 Sam. 15:9). And when obedience to Yahweh proves inconvenient, Saul disobeys, choosing to spare the lives of King Agag and the Amalekites’ livestock. After Saul disregards Yahweh’s command, the word of Yahweh comes to Sam...
2025-08-2304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 22nd: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 14Bible Readings for August 22nd
1 Samuel 14 | Romans 12 | Jeremiah 51 | Psalm 30
The story of salvation history in the Bible does not progress in nice, straight, neat lines. This is a comforting thought, since spiritual growth in our own lives moves forward not with perfect, unbroken progress but rather in fits and starts as we awkwardly advance in the grace of the gospel. In today’s reading, we see Israel simultaneously taking steps forward and backward in a few interesting ways.
Importantly, 1 Samuel 14 is where we first meet Jonathan, the single greatest figure outside of Samuel an...
2025-08-2204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 21st: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 13Bible Readings for August 21st
1 Samuel 13 | Romans 11 | Jeremiah 50 | Psalms 28–29
Saul’s sacrifice in 1 Samuel 13 was a serious sin—so serious, in fact, that Yahweh tore the kingdom away from Saul for it (1 Sam. 13:13–14). In essence, Saul had usurped the priesthood, since Yahweh had appointed only the offspring of Aaron to serve him as priests and Saul was descended from Benjamin. Saul did not qualify as a priest, and to highjack priestly ministry was blasphemous. There is an irony to this story, however. Samuel, who was supposed to offer the sacrifice, did not actually himself qualify to be a...
2025-08-2104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 20th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 12Bible Readings for August 20th
1 Samuel 12 | Romans 10 | Jeremiah 49 | Psalms 26–27
There are some striking similarities between the farewell address of Samuel in 1 Samuel 12 and the speech of Paul to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Like Samuel, Paul also insists that he had not defrauded anything from the Ephesians while he was in their midst (Acts 20:33–34; cf. 1 Sam. 12:3–4), and, like Samuel, Paul also urges the Ephesians to continue to walk faithfully in the gospel after his departure (Acts 20:29–32; cf. 1 Sam. 12:20–25). By studying these two passages together, we learn two significant principles about faithful ministry.
First, faithful m...
2025-08-2004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 19th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 11Bible Readings for August 19th
1 Samuel 11 | Romans 9 | Jeremiah 48 | Psalm 25
At the end of 1 Samuel 10, the narrator gave us a new, critical detail about Saul: “Saul also went to his home at Gibeah…” (1 Sam. 10:26). We knew that Saul was a Benjaminite, and we knew that Saul claimed to be from the humblest clan of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Sam. 9:21), but now we discover what Saul meant: Israel’s first king descends from the clan who lived in Gibeah, where the brutal rape and murder of the Levite’s concubine had happened in Judges 19. The narrator has withheld t...
2025-08-1904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 18th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 10Bible Readings for August 18
1 Samuel 10 | Romans 8 | Jeremiah 47 | Psalms 23–24
The introduction of a king in 1 Samuel 10 marks uncharted territory for everyone, raising all kinds of questions. How would Yahweh set apart his king, and what resources would Yahweh give to him to help him serve Israel well? How should the king himself act, and how should the people of Israel respond to their new ruler?
First, Samuel anoints Saul as king with oil (1 Sam. 10:1). The oil, however, was merely a sign that pointed to the greater gift that Yahweh would provide: his Holy Spirit. As...
2025-08-1804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 17th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 9Bible Readings for August 17th
1 Samuel 9 | Romans 7 | Jeremiah 46 | Psalm 22
At last, Yahweh chooses a king to reign over his people. Nevertheless, we ought to read 1 Samuel 9 with some concern, since Israel’s demand for a king stems from the fact that they have rejected Yahweh from reigning as king over them (1 Sam. 8:7). What kind of a king will Yahweh give to his rebellious people? In 1 Samuel 9, we read three important principles to explain the selection of Saul as the first king over Israel.
First, Yahweh chooses a humble man as king, even despite th...
2025-08-1704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 16th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 7–8Bible Readings for August 16th
1 Samuel 7–8 | Romans 6 | Jeremiah 44–45 | Psalms 20–21
In 1 Samuel 7, we see the last iteration of the cycle of Israel’s judges: Israel sins, Yahweh delivers Israel to their enemies, Israel cries for deliverance, and Yahweh sends a judge to reform Israel. In 1 Samuel 7:3, Samuel instructs the people to reform their worship in order to regain the blessings of Yahweh: “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he wil...
2025-08-1604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 15th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 5–6Bible Readings for August 15th
1 Samuel 5–6 | Romans 5 | Jeremiah 43 | Psalm 19
If the Israelites had treated Yahweh’s glory with contempt in 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines do so much more in 1 Samuel 5. When the Philistines capture the ark of the covenant in battle, they set it next to their god Dagon as a trophy of war (1 Sam. 5:2)—a situation that does not please Yahweh.
This whole story is written humorously, so we should feel free to laugh as we read about Dagon twice falling facedown before the ark of Yahweh in the night (1 Sam. 5:3–5)—even the false gods...
2025-08-1504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 14th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 4Bible Readings for August 14th
1 Samuel 4 | Romans 4 | Jeremiah 42 | Psalm 18
In 1 Samuel 4, Yahweh brings three major forms of judgment against the people of Israel. First, when the Israelites bring the ark of the covenant out in battle with them against the Philistines, Yahweh hands them over to defeat, and the Philistines capture the ark (1 Sam. 4:11). Second, Hophni and Phinehas are put to death in battle just as Yahweh had promised in 1 Samuel 2 and 3 (1 Sam. 4:11). Third, when Eli hears the news of these first two judgments, he falls backward from the gate where he was sitting, breaks...
2025-08-1404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 13th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 3Bible Readings for August 13th
1 Samuel 3 | Romans 3 | Jeremiah 41 | Psalm 17
Sometimes we imagine that the people living in the Old Testament were constantly surrounded by great signs and wonders—a parted sea here, a prophetic vision there—but that wasn’t the case. Here in 1 Samuel 3:1, we read specifically that “the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” The reason God communicated so infrequently with his people is obvious if we remember the stories we have been reading since the book of Judges: Israel has abandoned Yahweh again and again, and...
2025-08-1304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 12th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 2Bible Readings for August 12th
1 Samuel 2 | Romans 2 | Jeremiah 40 | Psalms 15–16
If Hannah is put forward as a model for godly parenting, the second half of 1 Samuel 2 reveals the priest Eli as a model for negligent parenting. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are worthless men who do not know Yahweh (1 Sam. 2:12). They steal for themselves the choicest parts of the sacrifices that people bring to the tabernacle (1 Sam. 2:13–17), and they abuse their priestly authority by seducing the women who serve at the entrance of the tabernacle (1 Sam. 2:22).
Certainly, Eli tries to stop his sons from t...
2025-08-1204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 11th: Bible Meditation for 1 Samuel 1Bible Readings for August 11th
1 Samuel 1 | Romans 1 | Jeremiah 39 | Psalms 13–14
Quietly, through a poor, widowed Moabite woman—the most unlikely person possible—God put into motion a plan in the book of Ruth for raising up a king. This king would shepherd God’s people away from doing what was right in their own eyes and instead toward obeying God by doing everything that was right in his eyes. And in 1 Samuel, God finally anoints his chosen king to the throne of Israel—but not right away. Instead, 1 Samuel opens in the way that many of the best s...
2025-08-1104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 10th: Bible Meditation for Ruth 3–4Bible Readings for August 10th
Ruth 3–4 | Acts 28 | Jeremiah 38 | Psalms 11–12
In Ruth 3–4, the other sandal drops. We discover here that there is another, closer kinsman-redeemer to the family of Elimelech who would have priority in choosing to marry Ruth (Ruth 3:12–13) and that redeeming Ruth would put that man’s inheritance at risk (Ruth 4:6). Under the Mosaic law, a surviving brother would marry his dead brother’s widow in a Levirate marriage. When the woman bore a son, that son would be considered the legal heir not of the living brother but of the dead brother (Deut. 25:7), which is exa...
2025-08-1004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 9th: Bible Meditation for Ruth 2Bible Readings for August 9th
Ruth 2 | Acts 27 | Jeremiah 37 | Psalm 10
In Ruth 2, we meet the third major figure in this story, a man named Boaz. Ruth, eager to keep the covenant vows she had made to Naomi, sought to provide for her anguished mother-in-law by gleaning in fields, and as she set out, “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3). In Ruth 2, we learn two important details about Boaz that shape the story of Ruth, and ultimately, the story of the rest of t...
2025-08-0904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 8th: Bible Meditation for Ruth 1Bible Readings for August 8th
Ruth 1 | Acts 26 | Jeremiah 36 | Psalm 9
In the book of Judges, Israel descended deeper and deeper into sinfulness, idolatry, and rebellion. The opening verse of the book of Ruth, then, is ominous: “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land…” (Ruth 1:1). Will the story of the book of Ruth be another story like what we just read—a story culminating in the crimes of Gibeah?
Certainly, every sign at the beginning of Ruth suggests that something terrible is about to happen, beginning with the famine t...
2025-08-0804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 7th: Bible Meditation for Judges 21Bible Readings for August 7th
Judges 21 | Acts 25 | Jeremiah 35 | Psalms 7–8
In Judges 21, we learn that the eleven tribes of Israel had sworn an oath among themselves, saying, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin” (Judg. 21:18). Quickly, however, Israel recognizes that their rash vow created a terrible problem—without wives, an entire tribe would be blotted out from among Israel. In the last chapter of Judges, we see Israel leveraging their own wisdom to create their own solutions once again—with the result that they are merely compounding their problems rather than solving them (once again).
2025-08-0704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 6th: Bible Meditation for Judges 20Bible Readings for August 6th
Judges 20 | Acts 24 | Jeremiah 34 | Psalms 5–6
When all Israel arrives to inquire into what has happened in Gibeah, neither the Levite nor the tribe of Benjamin comes off looking good. Conveniently, the Levite leaves out the fact that he had pushed his concubine out the door to face the violence of the men of Gibeah: “They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead” (Judg. 20:5). But even worse, the Benjaminites shockingly refuse to give up the criminals in their midst (Judg. 20:13), and because of their refusal, the rest o...
2025-08-0604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 5th: Bible Meditation for Judges 19Bible Readings for August 5th
Judges 19 | Acts 23 | Jeremiah 33 | Psalms 3–4
In Judges 19:1, we read that a “certain Levite” took a wife from Bethlehem in Judah. The author of the book of Judges is careful to state, once again, that this all happened “in those days, when there was no king in Israel” (Judg. 19:1), underscoring the wickedness that we are about to read. Now, the text doesn’t absolutely identify this “certain Levite” sojourning in the hill country of Ephraim as Jonathan, the Levite priest who served Micah (Judg. 17) and then the tribe of Dan (Judg. 18). Nevertheless, we know that Mic...
2025-08-0504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 4th: Bible Meditation for Judges 18Bible Readings for August 4th
Judges 18 | Acts 22 | Jeremiah 32 | Psalms 1–2
Judges 18 opens with a repetition of the first half of the theme verse of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel” (Judg. 18:1). Little by little, bit by bit, Israel is descending further into sin, idolatry, and rebellion as they forsake Yahweh to do whatever is right in their own eyes. In Judges 18, that downward slide increases in speed.
Now, it is important to understand that the Danites are doing the right thing in seeking their inheritance (Judg. 18:1). Joshua had originally assigned to the...
2025-08-0404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 3rd: Bible Meditation for Judges 17Bible Readings for August 3rd
Judges 17 | Acts 21 | Jeremiah 30–31 | Mark 16
After the death of Samson in Judges 16, the book of Judges turns to narrate the final storyline we will read in this dark section of Israel’s history. This last, ugly narrative begins abruptly with a woman cursing whoever it is who had stolen 1,100 pieces of her silver (Judg. 17:2). Now, 1,100 pieces of silver is the exact amount the Philistines had promised to Delilah for betraying Samson in Judges 16:5, raising the question of the identity of this woman. Are we meant to think that this woman is Deli...
2025-08-0304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 2nd: Bible Meditation for Judges 16Bible Readings for August 2nd
Judges 16 | Acts 20 | Jeremiah 29 | Mark 15
Samson’s end in Judges 16 comes as a tragedy but not as a surprise. As in Judges 14, we find Samson’s weakness for women getting the best of him here in Judges 16, first in a Philistine prostitute in Judges 16:1–3 and then in Delilah, a Philistine woman who loved her people more than she ever loved Samson. Also, just as the Philistines had used Samson’s wife in Judges 14 to learn the secret of Samson’s riddle, the Philistines here use Delilah to learn the secret of Samson’s s...
2025-08-0203 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastAugust 1st: Bible Meditation for Judges 15Bible Readings for August 1st
Judges 15 | Acts 19 | Jeremiah 28 | Mark 14
The last two days, we have been meditating on the ways the life of Samson foreshadows the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We will return to that theme tomorrow, but for today, we should spend some time thinking about the tragedy of Samson’s life. Certainly, God accomplished his plans through Samson, but Samson stands as a warning not to waste the gifts God has given to us, since God gives us gifts for his purposes, not for ours.
In Judges 15, we find Sa...
2025-08-0104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 31st: Bible Meditation for Judges 14Bible Readings for July 31st
Judges 14 | Acts 18 | Jeremiah 27 | Mark 13
Through Samson, God was not merely saving his people by raising up one more judge, as we began to discuss yesterday. Through Samson, God was also uniquely foreshadowing the life and ministry of his own Son, Jesus Christ. Today, we get a few more clues about what the coming Messiah would look like.
First, Samson chooses a wife who would eventually bring disaster upon him, but we are told explicitly that Samson’s desire to marry a Philistine came from Yahweh, “for [Yahweh] was seek...
2025-07-3104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 30th: Bible Meditation for Judges 13Bible Readings for July 30th
Judges 13 | Acts 17 | Jeremiah 26 | Mark 12
In Judges 13, we read the beginning of the story of one of the more prominent figures in the book of Judges: Samson. Most importantly, the story of Samson foreshadows the story of Jesus in significant ways—very similar to how the story of Joseph foreshadows the story of Christ.1 Samson, however, is not a righteous figure as Joseph was but rather a deeply flawed person whose failures, more than his successes, cast light on Christ’s glory. In Judges 13, we see the first of two major hint...
2025-07-3004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 29th: Bible Meditation for Judges 12Bible Readings for July 29th
Judges 12 | Acts 16 | Jeremiah 25 | Mark 11
At this point, it is already obvious that the book of Judges is an extremely low point in the Bible. Because there is no king in Israel, every man does what is right in his own eyes. Here in Judges 12, we see another step down the long, deep stairway into the dungeon of Israel’s apostasy. This time, Israel destroys itself not with idolatry but with petty, deadly bickering among themselves.
Immediately on the heels of a great victory against the Ammonites, men of th...
2025-07-2904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 28th: Bible Meditation for Judges 11Bible Readings for July 28th
Judges 11 | Acts 15 | Jeremiah 24 | Mark 10
In yesterday’s reading, Yahweh tested Israel by promising not to save them after the latest round of rebellion and idolatry. To their credit, Israel repents for seemingly the thousandth time, putting away the foreign gods and returning to serve Yahweh. In response, we read that Yahweh “became impatient over the misery of Israel” (Judg. 10:16)—that is, he was moved compassionately to save his people. To accomplish this salvation, Yahweh raised up a judge named Jephthah who not only saved Israel but also accomplished something far more sig...
2025-07-2804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 27th: Bible Meditation for Judges 10Bible Readings for July 27th
Judges 10 | Acts 14 | Jeremiah 23 | Mark 9
After the leadership of two more judges, Tola and Jair, Israel descends deeper into their rebellion and idolatry, forsaking Yahweh once again. So Yahweh again hands his people over to their enemies to oppress them because of their idolatries (Judg. 10:7–9). And—exactly according to the pattern—Israel cries out for Yahweh to save them from their enemies, confessing that they had sinned.
But this time, as if recognizing that Israel had begun to treat his grace cheaply, Yahweh refuses Israel’s request. In Judges 10:11–14, Yahweh rec...
2025-07-2704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 26th: Bible Meditation for Judges 9Bible Readings for July 26th
Judges 9 | Acts 13 | Jeremiah 22 | Mark 8
With each chapter, the story of Israel during the period of the judges descends lower and lower—from the godly elders who served with Joshua in Judges 1, we now come to the story of the wicked Abimelech. Oddly, Abimelech’s name means “my father is king,” even though Abimelech’s father, Gideon (also called Jerubbaal; cf. Judg. 6:32), had refused Israel’s offer to make him king in Judges 8:22–23. It is possible that Abimelech changed his own name to legitimize his claims to the throne, but regardless, he clearly wan...
2025-07-2604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 25th: Bible Meditation for Judges 8Bible Readings for July 25th
Judges 8 | Acts 12 | Jeremiah 21 | Mark 7
In Judges 6–7, we might have developed high hopes for Gideon’s potential. Here was a man who began his service to Yahweh in extreme humility, insisting that he was the least man in the weakest clan in all Israel (Judg. 6:15). Still, Yahweh gave him signs to confirm his call at every step of the way. If there was anyone who should have understood his own frailty and Yahweh’s power, it was Gideon. But here in Judges 8, we read two stories about how Gideon’s life tragical...
2025-07-2504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 24th: Bible Meditation for Judges 7Bible Readings for July 24th
Judges 7 | Acts 11 | Jeremiah 20 | Mark 6
In our meditation for Deuteronomy 20, we looked at three of the possible exceptions that would allow an Israelite to opt out of going to war. If a man had just gained a new house or a new vineyard or a new wife, that man was exempt from the requirement of going to battle (Deut. 20:5–7). There was a fourth reason that a man could cite for not going to war, however: if a man was fearful, he could opt out, “lest he make the heart of his fell...
2025-07-2404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 23rd: Bible Meditation for Judges 6Bible Readings for July 23rd
Judges 6 | Acts 10 | Jeremiah 19 | Mark 5
After Israel had been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years (Judg. 6:1), God raises up a leader to save his people—not a valiant warrior-judge, but a weak, fearful man named Gideon. And because Gideon is weak and fearful, he has much to teach us about following Jesus in spite of our fears and unbelief.
To begin, Gideon does not take his call to judge Israel with vain overconfidence but with humility—and even with great fear. In fact, he humbly asks, “Please, Lord, how ca...
2025-07-2304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 22nd: Bible Meditation for Judges 5Bible Readings for July 22nd
Judges 5 | Acts 9 | Jeremiah 18 | Mark 4
Judges 4 narrates the story of how Yahweh saved his people from the oppression of Jabin, king of Canaan. The prophetess-judge Deborah sent Barak, the commander of the army of Naphtali and Zebulun into battle against the army of Jabin’s general, Sisera (Judg. 4:4–10). During the battle, the Canaanite army and chariots were defeated, so that Sisera fled from the battlefield and sought refuge and rest in the tent of a non-Israelite Kenite woman named Jael (Judg. 4:17–18). But as soon as Sisera fell asleep, Jael killed Sisera by dri...
2025-07-2204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 21st: Bible Meditation for Judges 4Bible Readings for July 21st
Judges 4 | Acts 8 | Jeremiah 17 | Mark 3
In Judges 3–4, we read short descriptions of the ministries of four of Israel’s judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah. As a preface to the stories of three of these judges (Shamgar’s one-verse story being the only exception), we read that the people of Israel sin by serving the false gods of the surrounding nations, provoking Yahweh to anger, and Yahweh then hands Israel over to oppression from their enemies (Judg. 3:7–9, 12, 4:1-3). In these stories, we see that the spiritual condition in Israel is rapidly deterior...
2025-07-2104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 20th: Bible Meditation for Judges 3Bible Readings for July 20th
Judges 3 | Acts 7 | Jeremiah 16 | Mark 2
In Judges 3:4, we read that Yahweh allowed Canaanites and Philistines to remain in the land “for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” This does not mean that Yahweh didn’t know which direction Israel would go (we will look at two factors that tell us this). In fact, this passage has much to say to help us understand better the significance of Yahweh’s tests for those of us li...
2025-07-2004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 19th: Bible Meditation for Judges 2Bible Readings for July 19th
Judges 2 | Acts 6 | Jeremiah 15 | Mark 1
Judges 2:16–23 explicitly describes the pattern that we will encounter again and again through this book: Israel will sin, and, as a result, Yahweh will hand his people over to judgment. But, when the people cry out to Yahweh to rescue them, Yahweh will raise up a judge for them, since he is “moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them” (Judg. 2:18). Yahweh will give victory to the judge, and the judge will reform the worship of Israel for the duration of his...
2025-07-1904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 18th: Bible Meditation for Judges 1Bible Readings for July 18th
Judges 1 | Acts 5 | Jeremiah 14 | Matthew 28
The positive beginning to the book of Judges is entirely misleading. Joshua’s death leaves Israel without a clear leader for the first time since Yahweh called Moses to shepherd Israel. The question, then, is this: Will Israel continue to follow Yahweh or not? And at first, things seem to go well. In Judges 1:1, we find the people of Israel inquiring of Yahweh to ask about how they should proceed with their battle plans. Then, in Judges 1:2–26, Yahweh gives Judah, Simeon, and Joseph clear marching orders, and...
2025-07-1804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 17th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 24Bible Readings for July 17th
Joshua 24 | Acts 4 | Jeremiah 13 | Matthew 27
In Joshua 24, we find God burying another one of his mighty workmen, Joshua. But before Joshua goes to his grave, he renews Israel’s covenant with Yahweh. We should not miss that the covenant renewal process begins, once again, with the story of Yahweh’s grace toward Israel in Joshua 24:1–13. Just as in Deuteronomy 1–3, and then again in Deuteronomy 29 when Moses renewed the covenant in the land of Moab, the story of Yahweh’s redemption precedes Israel’s recommitment to obey Yahweh’s law. In this way, Yahweh co...
2025-07-1704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 16th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 23Bible Readings for July 16th
Joshua 23 | Acts 3 | Jeremiah 12 | Matthew 26
Joshua’s leadership of Israel seems to have passed surprisingly quickly. Where we followed Moses through four long books of the Pentateuch, from Exodus through Deuteronomy, we find the ministry of Joshua winding down here in Joshua 23. In this final charge to Israel, Joshua reminds us about the true nature of spiritual leadership.
Now, even though the book of Joshua takes up much less text than what we saw of Moses’s ministry, remember that Joshua served Israel for a long time. Joshua 23:1 tells us t...
2025-07-1604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 15th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 22Bible Readings for July 15th
Joshua 22 | Acts 2 | Jeremiah 11 | Matthew 25
At the end of Joshua 21, we read an assurance that all of Yahweh’s promises had finally been fulfilled: “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Josh. 21:45). This remarkable summary of Israel’s conquest carries two important implications.
First, this passage teaches that, technically speaking, the covenant promises Yahweh had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning the land of Canaan are here fulfilled in totality. Yahweh has offi...
2025-07-1504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 14th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 20–21Bible Readings for July 14th
Joshua 20–21 | Acts 1 | Jeremiah 10 | Matthew 24
In Joshua 20–21, we read about the dwelling places assigned to the tribe of Levi. Importantly, six of the forty-eight cities that the Levites would inhabit served as cities of refuge for the manslayer who had killed a person unintentionally: Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan (Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:1–13; Josh. 20:7–8, 21:41). But beyond the cities of refuge, these chapters illustrate two important theological principles. First, the Levites lived in cities from the inheritance given to the other Israelite tribes. These forty-eight cities were technically not the inheritance of the Levite...
2025-07-1404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 13th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 18–19Bible Readings for July 13th
Joshua 18–19 | Psalm 149–150 | Jeremiah 9 | Matthew 23
For the seven remaining tribes who had yet to receive their inheritance (Josh. 18:1–7), Joshua does not divide up the land unilaterally. Instead, Joshua puts the responsibility of claiming the rest of the land on the remaining seven tribes themselves. Oddly, it sounds as though those seven tribes were not eagerly waiting to receive their inheritance but perhaps had been apathetic about it. Joshua presses them, saying, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fat...
2025-07-1304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 12th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 16–17Bible Readings for July 12th
Joshua 16–17 | Psalm 148 | Jeremiah 8 | Matthew 22
In Joshua 16–17, the apportionment of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel continues. In Joshua 15, Judah had received their inheritance, and now in Joshua 16–17, we read about the inheritance of the two half-tribes descended from Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. While all of the other tribes are named after the direct descendants of Jacob, the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim are named after Jacob’s grandchildren. As you may recall, Jacob had adopted Joseph’s two sons as his own in order for Manasseh and Ephraim to each re...
2025-07-1203 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 11th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 14–15Bible Readings for July 11th
Joshua 14–15 | Psalm 146–147 | Jeremiah 7 | Matthew 21
The allotment of the inheritance in the land west of the Jordan begins, rightfully, with Caleb. Caleb and Joshua had been the only two spies to enter the Promised Land and return with a good report. At that point, forty-five years ago when Caleb had been only forty years old (Josh. 14:7, 10), Caleb pleaded with the people to enter into the land. Because of Caleb’s whole-hearted obedience to Yahweh, he receives the land of Hebron (Josh. 14:13–15).
Now, Caleb is from the tribe of Judah, and afte...
2025-07-1104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 10th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 12–13Bible Readings for July 10th
Joshua 12–13 | Psalm 145 | Jeremiah 6 | Matthew 20
The end of Joshua 11 marked the final warfare under the leadership of Joshua. In Joshua 11:23, we read this summary of the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land: “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses.” Now, it’s important to understand that this does not mean Israel had actually taken every last bit of the Promised Land. Yahweh makes this clear in Joshua 13:1, saying this to Joshua: “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much...
2025-07-1004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 9th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 11Bible Readings for July 9th
Joshua 11 | Psalm 144 | Jeremiah 5 | Matthew 19
In Joshua 11, we learn two important principles about Israel’s conquest of the land of Canaan as we read about the final warfare that Israel undertakes under the leadership of Joshua. First, Joshua gives us this insight into the interplay between Yahweh’s sovereignty and the Canaanites’ sin in Joshua 11:20: “For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as th...
2025-07-0904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 8th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 10Bible Readings for July 8th
Joshua 10 | Psalms 142–143 | Jeremiah 4 | Matthew 18
In Joshua 9, Israel fails to ask God before entering into a covenant with the Gibeonites. This is a serious breach in their obedience to Yahweh’s commandments, and in today’s reading, we find that Israel’s actions bring severe consequences—but that Yahweh nevertheless redeems Israel’s sin for his own glory.
In the geopolitical landscape of Joshua’s day, Israel does not yet possess the city of Jerusalem. In fact, Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, identifies Israel as his enemy. When Adoni-zedek discovers that...
2025-07-0804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 7th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 9Bible Readings for July 7th
Joshua 9 | Psalms 140–141 | Jeremiah 3 | Matthew 17
Joshua is one of the high points in all the Bible. While Moses’s ministry was plagued by unbelief and rebellion among the Israelites, and while Israel will sink into idolatry again during the days after Joshua dies in the period of the judges, Israel’s time under the leadership of Joshua is largely characterized by covenantal faithfulness to Yahweh.
But only largely. The main exception is in Joshua 9, when Israel uncharacteristically fails to inquire of Yahweh about the Gibeonites who came seeking to make a...
2025-07-0704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 6th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 8Bible Readings for July 6th
Joshua 8 | Psalm 139 | Jeremiah 2 | Matthew 16
In Joshua 8, two critical events take place. First, Israel goes into battle once more against Ai. Second, Israel renews their covenant with Yahweh on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Both of these stories are important, since in yesterday’s reading Yahweh had threatened to abandon Israel if they did not purge the evil from their midst (Josh. 7:12).
Israel, for their part, did everything in accordance with the word of Yahweh. They devoted to destruction Achan and his family (along with the devoted things that he...
2025-07-0604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 5th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 7Bible Readings for July 5th
Joshua 7 | Psalms 137–138 | Jeremiah 1 | Matthew 15
I’ve never forgotten a short rhyme one of my Sunday School teachers taught us during my elementary years: “Achan stole the bacon.” It’s a silly phrase, but that light-hearted line is perfect to help children remember basic biblical content. I would not be the man I am today without those foundational building blocks that my Sunday School teachers worked hard to put in place.
So if any of my many former Sunday School teachers and youth leaders are reading this, please accept my great g...
2025-07-0504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 4th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 6Bible Readings for July 4th
Joshua 6 | Psalms 135–136 | Isaiah 66 | Matthew 14
At the end of Joshua 5, Joshua meets a mysterious man with a drawn sword. The fact that Joshua meets him near Jericho (Josh. 5:13) both suggests that Joshua had been spying on the city and also explains why Joshua would tensely ask the man to identify whether he was for Israel or for Israel’s adversaries. The mysterious man flatly denies the idea that he is a mere soldier fighting for one side or the other. Instead, he explains that his role is far greater than that: “No; bu...
2025-07-0404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 3rd: Bible Meditation for Joshua 5Bible Readings for July 3rd
Joshua 5 | Psalms 132, 133 & 134 | Isaiah 65 | Matthew 13
Before Yahweh takes Israel into the land of Canaan to receive the inheritance he had promised to them for generations through their forefather Abraham, he requires that all the men be circumcised. This is the first time we learn that the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised, and the story raises several red flags.
At a strategic level, circumcising all the men at the same time was a tactical nightmare. In Genesis 34, we read the story about how the sons of...
2025-07-0304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 2nd: Bible Meditation for Joshua 4Bible Readings for July 2nd
Joshua 4 | Psalms 129, 130 & 131 | Isaiah 64 | Matthew 12
The story of how Israel crossed the Jordan in Joshua is more important than simply a record of the route they took to enter the Promised Land. Rather, this event marks a decisive turning point in God’s history of saving his people and bringing them into their inheritance.
The first main part of this story surrounds the twelve stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, that Israel collected out of the riverbed of the Jordan to build a memorial of the event (Josh. 4:3). Cr...
2025-07-0204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJuly 1st: Bible Meditation for Joshua 3Bible Readings for July 1st
Joshua 3 | Psalms 126, 127 & 128 | Isaiah 63 | Matthew 11
Perhaps the chief difficulty of the Christian life is that we are not always given clear directions about where to go, and even when we know what we are supposed to do, it is not always clear what the consequences will be if we obey. The situation was the same for the Israelites in Joshua 3, where the reward of the Promised Land stood before them, but the risks also loomed large.
First, Israel needs to know where they should go, since they “have not pa...
2025-07-0103 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 30th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 2Bible Readings for June 30th
Joshua 2 | Psalms 123, 124 & 125 | Isaiah 62 | Matthew 10
When Joshua sends two spies into the city of Jericho, the men lodge in the house of Rahab, who was a prostitute (Josh. 2:1), likely in an attempt to stay under the radar of Jericho’s officials. The people of Jericho discover that Israelites have come into their city, but when the king sends a messenger to Rahab, asking her about the location of the spies, she lies to them, telling the king’s officials that they had recently left the city altogether (Josh. 2:3–5). In fact, Rahab had hi...
2025-06-3004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 29th: Bible Meditation for Joshua 1Bible Readings for June 29th
Joshua 1 | Psalms 120, 121 & 122 | Isaiah 61 | Matthew 9
In Joshua 1, we see one of the most extreme transitions in the whole Bible—for the first time since Exodus 1, Israel is without Moses. But at the same time, this first chapter carefully connects the leadership of Joshua back to the leadership of Moses, providing a glimpse into the path Joshua will eventually take to complete the work that God began under Moses.
First, Yahweh transfers the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua bluntly in Joshua 1:2: “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore aris...
2025-06-2904 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 28th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 33–34Bible Readings for June 28th
Deuteronomy 33–34 | Psalm 119:145–176 | Isaiah 60 | Matthew 8
The shadow of Moses’s impending death hangs over the entire book of Deuteronomy. But, as the people move on into the Promised Land after the death of Moses (which we finally read about here in Deuteronomy 34), it will not only be Joshua who will lead the people. Additionally, the priests and the Levites will also begin to take a more prominent role in the spiritual leadership of Israel. Therefore, in Deuteronomy 33:8–11, Moses lays out the three primary duties that the tribe of Levi will take up.1...
2025-06-2804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 27th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 32Bible Readings for June 27th
Deuteronomy 32 | Psalm 119:121–144 | Isaiah 59 | Matthew 7
Moses has given the entire law to the people of Israel, but in Deuteronomy 32, he takes a different approach to impress upon his people the necessity of obeying Yahweh: he sings to them a song. In this song, Moses acts out the story of Israel’s history with Yahweh and then he warns them of the dangers of departing from their covenant.
To begin, Moses calls heaven and earth to give ear to the words of his mouth (Deut. 32:1)—possibly to bear witness against Israel...
2025-06-2704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 26th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 31Bible Readings for June 26th
Deuteronomy 31 | Psalm 119:97–120 | Isaiah 58 | Matthew 6
There is an engraved marble memorial at Westminster Abbey in London dedicated to John and Charles Wesley, the great leaders of the Methodist movement in the eighteenth century. At the base of the monument are the words of Charles: “God buries his workmen, but carries on his work.” In Deuteronomy 31, we are rapidly approaching the burial of one of God’s greatest workmen, Moses, and we begin to see how God will carry on his work.
Moses, because of his failure at Meribah to uphold Y...
2025-06-2603 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 25th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 30Bible Readings for June 25th
Deuteronomy 30 | Psalm 119:73–96 | Isaiah 57 | Matthew 5
Back in Deuteronomy 10:16, Moses had commanded the people of Israel to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts, and here in Deuteronomy 30, heart circumcision appears again as the key to unlocking the meaning of the entire Mosaic covenant.
Moses first instructs Israel about what they should do after they are scattered among the nations for disobeying the covenant (Deut. 30:1–10). If Israel begins to obey Yahweh’s commandments, then Yahweh will restore his people. But when Yahweh brings his people back after their exile, things would be dif...
2025-06-2504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 24th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 29Bible Readings for June 24th
Deuteronomy 29 | Psalm 119:49–72 | Isaiah 56 | Matthew 4
In Deuteronomy 29–30, Moses renews Israel’s covenant with Yahweh one final time before his death. First, just as he had done at the beginning of Deuteronomy, Moses recounts the gracious provisions of Yahweh through Israel’s history in Deuteronomy 29:2–9. This historical prologue sets the context of Yahweh’s covenant by reminding Israel once again that grace—not law—came first.
Second, Moses points out the fullness of the congregation standing before him: “You are standing today all of you before the LORD your God: the heads of your...
2025-06-2404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 23rd: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 28Bible Readings for June 23rd
Deuteronomy 28 | Psalm 119:25–48 | Isaiah 55 | Matthew 3
Deuteronomy 28 is at the same time an inspiring and a horrific chapter in the Bible, laying out Yahweh’s covenant blessings and his covenant curses. These two lists were so important that they would be used again later in a larger ceremony that would come after Moses’s death. Just as Moses had mentioned briefly back in Deuteronomy 11:26–32, Israel was to remind one another of these blessings and curses after they took possession of the land of Canaan.
In that ceremony, six of the tribes w...
2025-06-2304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 22nd: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 27Bible Readings for June 22nd
Deuteronomy 27 | Psalm 119:1–24 | Isaiah 54 | Matthew 2
At the end of Deuteronomy 26, Moses concludes his second giving of the law. Through the entire book of Deuteronomy, Moses had been giving an extended sermon to exhort Israel to abide in God’s law. But after proclaiming the whole law to Israel, Moses now—before he dies—explains to Israel the covenant renewal process in which they would partake as they entered into the Promised Land.
So, Moses first insists that, after the people have entered into the land, they should write the law on l...
2025-06-2204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 21st: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 26Bible Readings for June 21st
Deuteronomy 26 | Psalms 117–118 | Isaiah 53 | Matthew 1
For the people of God, giving is never meant to be a burdensome task. Deuteronomy 26 teaches us why we ought to give, using two events that were to happen when Israel took possession of the Promised Land: the offering of the firstfruits (Deut. 26:1–11) and the third-year tithe (Deut. 26:12–15).1
First, upon moving into the land—a land that came prepopulated with vineyards and olive trees that Israel did not plant (Deut. 6:11)—Yahweh commanded Israel not to eat of the first year’s crop that they would harves...
2025-06-2104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 20th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 25Bible Readings for June 20th
Deuteronomy 25 | Psalm 116 | Isaiah 52 | Revelation 22
From Deuteronomy 25, we can make an observation that will help us overcome a major cultural barrier we have in reading and understanding the Bible. To put it simply, our own culture has an obsession with sex that the people we read about in the Bible did not necessarily share. This isn’t to say that lust was never a problem for the biblical figures. We can read many stories in the Bible where lust was the driving force behind sin that had devastating consequences for the pe...
2025-06-2004 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 19th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 24Bible Readings for June 19th
Deuteronomy 24 | Psalms 114–115 | Isaiah 51 | Revelation 21
Deuteronomy 24 contains several laws that the section headings in the ESV classify as “miscellaneous.” Quite a few of these laws (though not all in this section) regulate how Israel should treat the poor in their midst. We would classify these laws as civil laws (see the meditation on Deuteronomy 22), governing the day-to-day living of Israel. So, while Christians aren’t bound to the letter of these laws, we nevertheless see in them a picture of what kind of “general equity” we should seek in our own societies. T...
2025-06-1903 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 18th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 23Bible Readings for June 18th
Deuteronomy 23 | Psalms 112–113 | Isaiah 50 | Revelation 20
Several of the prohibitions in Deuteronomy 23 almost make it seem as though Yahweh is squeamish about the human body. For example, we read that anyone with his testicles crushed or male organ cut off cannot enter into the assembly to worship in the tabernacle of Yahweh (Deut. 23:1). Then, we read that any man with a nocturnal emission must stay outside the camp until evening comes and he bathes with water (Deut. 23:10–11) and that the Israelites were required to bury their excrement outside the camp (Deut. 23:12–14).
We...
2025-06-1804 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 17th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 22Bible Readings for June 17th
Deuteronomy 22 | Psalms 110–111 | Isaiah 49 | Revelation 19
As we read through the laws given to Israel that governed what to do with a lost ox (Deut. 22:1–4) or what specifications were required for building a roof on your house (Deut. 22:8), it would be helpful for us to talk about how Christians have traditionally approached Old Testament law. It’s clear that different laws had different purposes, and while some of those laws are still fully applicable today, others are not.
Christians have historically divided the Old Testament laws into three categories: moral, civil...
2025-06-1704 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 16th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 21Bible Readings for June 16th
Deuteronomy 21 | Psalms 108–109 | Isaiah 48 | Revelation 18
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 contains critical background information for understanding Jesus’ crucifixion. Here, we see that the cross was not a last-minute mistake but that Yahweh had been preparing to execute his own Son on a tree from the beginning. Deuteronomy 21 helps us better understand the crucifixion of Christ in three ways.
First, hanging on a tree was only for the most heinous of crimes. It is clear from these verses that not all death penalties required hanging on a tree—only those who had committed an unusuall...
2025-06-1604 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 15th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 20Bible Readings for June 15th
Deuteronomy 20 | Psalm 107 | Isaiah 47 | Revelation 17
In Luke 14:15–24, Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet. In the story, a man prepares a great feast and invites many to come. Strangely, when the man’s servant personally delivers the invitations, each person has a different excuse about why he can’t come. One bought a new field (Luke 14:18), another bought five yoke of oxen (Luke 14:19), and a third recently married a new wife (Luke 14:20). Each of them declines the invitation, one after another, and naturally, the host is furious: “For I tell you, non...
2025-06-1504 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 14th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 19Bible Readings for June 14th
Deuteronomy 19 | Psalm 106 | Isaiah 46 | Revelation 16
In Deuteronomy 19, Moses turns his attention to the civil laws that were written to govern daily life in Israel. The three laws in Deuteronomy 19 underscore three important principles for understanding God’s idea of civil justice.
The first law, regarding the cities of refuge, demonstrates the need for fair treatment of the accused. The people who could flee to the cities of refuge were those who had actually done something that caused the death of someone else. The specific example given in Deuteronomy 19:5—an axe...
2025-06-1404 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 13th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 18Bible Readings for June 13th
Deuteronomy 18 | Psalm 105 | Isaiah 45 | Revelation 15
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are filled with regulations for the Levitical priests in Israel, and in yesterday’s reading from Deuteronomy 17, Moses laid out the requirements for the kings of Israel. In Deuteronomy 18, Moses gives instruction for the last of the three major Old Testament offices: the prophets. There are two important provisions in this passage that we will look at today.
First, Yahweh gave objective criteria by which Israel could evaluate their prophets: under no circumstances should a prophet ever speak in th...
2025-06-1304 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 12th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 17Bible Readings for June 12th
Deuteronomy 17 | Psalm 104 | Isaiah 44 | Revelation 14
Deuteronomy 17 serves as the standard against which we should judge the kings of Israel and Judah as we read about them in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. In this passage, we find three details that set up the storylines of what the kings of Israel and Judah will eventually become.
First, it seems it had always been Yahweh’s plan to give Israel a king. When Israel eventually demands a king, they do so by virtually quoting Deuteronomy 17:14, saying to the prophet Sa...
2025-06-1204 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 11th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 16Bible Readings for June 11th
Deuteronomy 16 | Psalm 103 | Isaiah 43 | Revelation 13
In Deuteronomy 16, Moses names the three festivals that all Israelite males were expected to attend: Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Booths. As we saw in our meditation on Deuteronomy 14, the people who lived too far away to travel to the place where Yahweh chose were granted an exception, but for the most part traveling to the three festivals was a regular part of what it meant to be a part of Yahweh’s covenant people.
Technically, these aren’t the...
2025-06-1104 minFree Daily Bible Study PodcastJune 5th: Bible Meditation for Deuteronomy 9Bible Readings for June 5th
Deuteronomy 9 | Psalms 92–93 | Isaiah 37 | Revelation 7
In Deuteronomy 9, Moses shatters the final false belief that Israel might hold onto about why Yahweh was removing the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in order to give Israel the land as a possession. This has nothing to do, Moses assures Israel, with their righteousness. So, Moses warns them, “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is becau...
2025-06-0504 min
Gifts and GracesJacob D. Gerber | Parliamentary Procedures for Presbyters: An IntroductionOn this episode of Gifts and Graces we get to hear from Jacob D. Gerber on the biblical foundations and basic principles of parliamentary procedure. Jacob D. Gerber is a senior pastor at Harvest Community Church. This episode was originally recorded as a seminar delivered at the 2024 General Assembly. Let’s listen to Jacob as he shows us how to engage more confidently in the courts of Christ’s church.
2024-08-1957 min
A Media OperatorScott Gerber on What Goes Into a Great Professional CommunityScott Gerber is the co-founder and CEO of Community.co, which partners with media companies to create high-priced professional communities. In this conversation, we discussed what goes into making a great community, why it has become such a big buzzword in the market today, and how people should think about growing.
2022-04-1147 min