PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

The story of Naomi, and it is much more about Naomi than it is about Ruth, is one of my favorites. Keep in mind that Ruth becomes someone who is mentioned in the line of Jesus as his ancestor. That is a big deal. Jesus has a lot of people, specifically women, who are foreigners and who are not Israelites in his blood. Some of them were prostitutes, Rahab, and others simply were women who did not follow the God of Israel growing up. We know that for the most part the faith of the child is passed down through the mother, so this could raise some intersting thoughts about Jesus. He and his family were definitely influenced by foreign thougths. King David was also someone who would have known his grandmother was from Moab, and not an Israelite.

As we make our way through the Psalms and also Proverbs 31 we find in this Proverb a favorite of many. It describes a good wife. Notice that almost entirely the good wife is at the service of the family and the husband. I’m guessing that a 21st century Proverb would probably look different.

Remember that this book of the Bible is a portrayal of those whom God had chosen to rule over Israel as judges. Samsom is on that list and we read about his marriage to Delilah and his ensuing death. It does seem interesting that Delilah received 1,100 coins of silver for her betrayal of Samson, and then we pick up in chapter 17 with a woman who had the same amount taken from her by her son Micah. Micah turns out to hire a priest and make a place of worship which then becomes central to the worship of the Israelites as they begin their fledgling nation. But notice that this is an idol, it is not something the Lord would ever want, but they continue along and do what was not pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

From there we get the story of the concubine who is given to the citizens of Gibeah to be raped, and she is and dies. Notice the story rings very familiar. It sounds a lot like the story of Soddom and Gomorrah and the angels who visit Lot and the citizens who want to have their way with these angels. As a result of the death of the concubine of Levite we see war break out within Israel. The Benjaminites, who were from Gibeah, are killed and their city is destroyed. No one is allowe to marry a Benjaminite going forward because of what they did. That is unless they are kidnapped and forced to marry a Benjaminite. It is hard to justify how this all fits into God’s plan. But we only see the tip of the iceberg and don’t understand how God works in the world. It can be confusing, but we must trust that God is at work.

We begin with Jepthah and this starts a Game or Thrones type sequence where he is cast out and then he wins battles and is brought back in. A lot of intrigue and drama which ends up with Jepthah eventually judging Israel. We have to assume that the judges are placed there by God, even if they arrive at their “throne” by slaughter. Or should I say especially if they arrive at their rule by slaughter. His reign begins ignominously with him giving his daughter over as a human sacrifice. Don’t ask, it’s a long tragic story. Her acceptance of it seems to tell a story as well. What a mess. Notice she isn’t even mentioned by name.

From there we begin the great story of the great Samsom. Even here his life as judge begins in a less than ideal fashion. His father in law and his estranged wife are burned by his enemies as an act of revenge. That act of revenge really comes as a result of his actions so at the root of it Samson is pretty much to be blamed. But we do read consistently that the presence of the Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit resides upon him. That much we know.

Psalm 43 really encapsulates the readings that we have in Judges. The Psalm is a cry for help in the time of trouble and we see trouble, and I don’t mean good trouble, it is simply bad trouble, that is besetting the Israelites. Judges takes us on a journey that repeates itself time and time again. After a good judge rises up then the people of the Lord get restless and begin to worship other gods. Gideon is a man of God and the people want to make him king but he says no, there is only one king and that is the Lord. The same cannot be said of his son Abimelech.

By the way, what is up with Gideon, that is Zerubbaal, having 70 sons? The man was busy, but to no avail because it only took one of them to wipe all of them out. Abimelech does take over Israel then but he never is portrayed as a faithful judge. That is a bit different because all of the other judges seem to follow along in God’s desires and have direct communication with Him. But Abimelech, although he is powerful, does not ever serve the Lord. As a result his fate is one that is met by a rock to the head. This is some pretty messy Scripture that has a man of God trample his enemy with thorns, which is suspect at best.

We begin the book of Judges which is one of my favorites simply because one of my favorite characters in the Bible is in Judges. You find Deborah in chapter 4 and 5 and you read how her general, Barak, did not trust her and did not believe in her unless she was willing to lead the troops herself. She did and they conquered and Barak became her greatest soldier and confidant. They even sing a song together in chapter 5. We cannot underestimate the impact that Deborah, a full judge in full standing, as well as a prophet, has on Scripture as a woman of faith that God uses in a completely similar way as God would use any other man. Deborah is not defined as the wife of Lapidoth first and foremost, she is defined as a judge, a prophet, as one who did the will of God. There is nothing more important than that for her and for us as well. We are not defined by our spouses, or by our work, or by our interests. We are defined as stewards of God’s gifts which He has given us and equipped us for His kingdom.

But notice the refrain that begins in Judges and repeats itself over and over again. Look at Judges 2:11 where we read: “Then Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” That refrain repeats itself consistently in Judges. Every time a judge would die then the people would forget who God was and do what was evil in his sight. Is there any other stronger testimony for the need of godly leaders than this refrain. When godly people who are leading us no longer are in our midst, then we will do evil in the sight of the Lord.

Psalm 3 is pretty raw and pretty stark. There is a prayer for protection which is highlighted by a prayer to break the teeth of our enemies. That’s pretty vivid, but things get even more vivid in Judges as we go along.

We close out Acts with Paul still in prison and taken to Rome on a bit of a wild goose chase. He appeals to the emperor and the rulers that be realize that they can get him out of their hair by sending him on to Rome to meet with the emperor. I love the dialogue that takes place that is supposed to be behind closed doors where they say to each other, supposedly with no one else hearing: “If he hadn’t appealed to the emperor we could have just let him go.” But the converse is also true, if he had not appealed to the emperor then there was nothing preventing then from turning him over to the Jews where he certainly would have been killed.

The voyage to Rome is very eventful, to say the least. They are shipwrecked on Malta, but Paul is able to heal the father of the ruler of Malta, and thereby winning his favor. He gets to Rome and is really not in a dank prison cell, but is allowed to host people and entertain. He does so and preaches the Gospel consistently. We don’t hear about the death of Paul, but we assume that he dies while he is in Rome.

The Psalm and the chapter in Proverbs reminds us of the Providence of God. We consistently make our plans that often have no bearing on the reality that God wants in our life. That is a constant reminder to us that we have to go before the Lord to ask for his guidance and direction before we try to move forward with whatever plans we may have.

We come to the end of the life of Joshua, but not before a little controversy arises. The two and a half tribes that were given permission to settle on the western side of the Jordan built an altar on the eastern side which looked a lot like the replica of the altar that God commanded the Israelites to build for him. So it seemed as if they were building a fake to offer sacrifices which would have been a serious breach of trust in the Lord. Israel gathers up their troops to start a civil war against the two and a half tribes but things get sorted out. It wasn’t meant for a sacrifice, it was meant for a reminder. Whew, all is good.

Joshua then requires the Israelites to renew their covenant and they do and so he dies. Not a bad run for Joshua.

In Acts Paul is in prison and preaches to the high priest and those who had arrested him. He is about to be flogged to see what else they could get out of him when he appeals to Rome since he is a Roman citizen. So, back then if you were a Roman citizen you could not be mistreated until you were proven guilty of something. Kinda like today where if you are an immigrant trying to get into this country your rights are very, very limited as opposed to a citizen of this country who can’t be deported and enjoys certain priviledges which folks who are not citizens simply don’t have.

I noticed that the son of Paul’s sister makes an appearance. I had never noticed before that it was he who heard that there was a plot to kill Paul and he is able to save Paul as a result. I knew that Paul was saved, but had missed the detail that it was his nephew who saved him. It is obvious, and Paul says as much, that this was Paul’s hometown. Paul knew the people of Jerusalem and they knew him. He then meets before a bunch of high level officials and never hesitates to preach the Gospel to them. We leave him languishing in jail, similar to the Israelites once Joseph dies. The story goes on.

We come to the conclusion of the dispersement of the land in Joshua. But we still have a few chapters to bring everything to a close. But look at the final words of Joshua 21 where we read that all of the promises that the Lord made to the people of Israel came to fruition. There is nothing in God’s Word that does not come to fruition, it all happens as God has said.

When we get to Acts we read again about Paul’s journeys with his companions and we read a few times where Paul is captured and beaten with rods, stoned, and dragged out into the marketplace to be attacked. He certainly is a lightning rod with the Jews not wanting him anywhere near a synagogue because of his teachings. Paul becomes a clear persona non grata to the Jewish community because of how he is drawing people to Christ through his words and through his logic.

We get to a bit of a climax in chapter 21 where is Paul is beaten, and then arrested, and then asks to be able to address the crowds. He doesn’t address the crowds until chapter 22. But here we find the beginning of the end for Paul as he is about to make his journey to Rome once he declares himself a Roman citizen. But that comes later.

The continuing diving up of the land takes place and Israelites continue to take the land, but slowly. Joshua seems to be getting a little impatient because 7 of the tribes have not acted to take the land that the Lord has handed on to them. He even has scribes sent out to chart out the land and to arrange so that the remaining seven would get the land as the Lord had commanded. The settling of the land is taking place, but it is slow and that seems to be noticed by Joshua.

In Acts we have a number of visits by Paul and Silas to a number of different cities. There are too many to account here, but the visit to Athens bears repeating. My first Bible Study that I ever did was when I was a freshman in college and part of a Christian group that had small groups that would meet. They asked me one time to do a Bible study and I chose this Scripture of Paul visiting Athens as the Scripture that we would look at. The context in college was similar. Swarthmore was, and is, a place where faith is not encouraged and it is highly intellectual. To some degree it does seem that people spend time thinking and discussing those thoughts which are new.

I remember after the Bible Study thinking that it did not go well at all, fortunately those who attended were friends of mine and were generous and kind. Paul reminds the people of Athens that they themselves allowed room for an unknown and unnamed God, whom he identifies as Jesus. Some believed, which is stunning in and of itself.

In Joshua we see the dividing of the land, again, and the Levites who have not received land because the sacrifices to the Lord are considered the offering that they will receive. We see Caleb asking Joshua for more land because he was faithful and gave an accurate report of the land when his companion did not and Moses promised him that he would receive the land upon which his foot had trod. Did you see the mention of Gaza? Yes, the name remains the same and the location pretty much as well. There is a strong Zionist thought today that Israel still has rights to that land because God gave it to them here in these verses. This thinking leads people to violence and war because of a past promise which has been rendered null with the coming of Christ.

In Acts we find the travels of Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas is one of my favorite people. His name means the encourager. Chapter 15 is probably the most significant and historical events that takes place in the early church. It is there that the church decides that those who come to know Jesus and are not of Jewish origin, and so not circumcised, do not need to follow the Jewish customs to be Christian. To be a disciple of Jesus of Christ is a matter of faith and not a matter of following the law. This was a hugely contested point but one that eventually wins out. The same could be seen today. What laws, or what cultural requirements do we put on people before we may consider them to be Christian? Being a disciple of Christ is about being a follower and not about being right in the eyes of the church.