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November 16, Sunday
Reading A320 — Psalm 106 — History of Unfaithfulness Audio: Psalm 106 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
Always Living Righteously — This is one of several historical psalms that remembers God’s faithfulness to sinful Israel. It is a call to remember God’s past forgiveness, and to thank and praise Him for it. It begins and ends with the command to “Praise the LORD!” (Hebrew: halleluyah; vv. 1, 48). A great contrast is repeatedly given between God’s faithfulness versus Israel’s sin. His people admitted, “Both we and our fathers have sinned … Our fathers … did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled …” (vv. 6-7). The main section of the psalm (vv. 6-46) lists past examples of the people’s sin, which was followed by God’s judgment and restoring forgiveness. It happened when they feared at the Red Sea (vv. 7-8), when they craved for meat (vv. 13-15), when priests rebelled against Moses (vv. 16-18), when they made the golden calf (vv. 19-23), when they refused to enter the Promised Land because of the spies’ fearful report (vv. 24-27), when they worshiped the Baal of Peor in Moab (vv. 28-31), when they complained about the lack of water at Meribah (vv. 32-33), when they mixed with the Canaanites instead of destroying them (vv. 34-39), and when they were repeatedly rebellious in the land and were punished by enemies (vv. 40-46). What should God’s people do? The answer is given at the beginning: “Who can … declare all his praise? … they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times” (vv. 1-2). We cannot genuinely give praise to God when we are stuck in sinful habits; we must make it our aim and practice to always live righteously.
November 17, Monday
Reading A321 — Psalm 133, 107 — Giving Thanks Audio: Psa. 133, 107
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
His Steadfast Love — The important Hebrew word hesed is used over 250 times in the OT. It appeared three times in yesterday’s reading of Psalm 106 and is featured in today’s Psalm 107 in six different verses. It is a difficult word to translate because it contains the ideas of goodness, kindness, and faithfulness. The ESV translates it “steadfast love,” and the NASB calls it “lovingkindness.” Psalm 107 ties it closely with giving thanks: “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (v. 1). In four verses, the following repeated statement is used for people who have wandered without a place to live (vv. 4-7), for those in darkness because they have rebelled against God (vv. 10-11), for people who are stuck in sinful habits (v. 17), and for those who survive a stormy sea (vv. 23-30): “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). God cares deeply for us in our painful circumstances of life. His goodness and kindness faithfully reach out to correct and rescue us. Most of us don’t thank God enough because we don’t recognize how intensely involved He is in guiding and blessing us. When we recognize it, we should thank Him for it, and we should let others know about it also: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble” (v. 2).
November 18, Tuesday
Reading A322 — 2 Samuel 5 — Taking Jerusalem Audio: 2 Samuel 5 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
Seeing God’s Hand — There are several indications in this chapter that show God’s hand working in David’s early reign. First, when all the tribal leaders came to anoint David as king, they based their acceptance on God’s earlier promise to David: “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel…” (v. 2). Some of them may have still desired to have one of Saul’s sons be king, but they decided to go the way God had directed. Second, when Hiram voluntarily helped David build a palace in newly conquered Jerusalem, “David knew that the LORD had established him king” (v. 12). David saw that God had moved the heart of a neighboring king to acknowledge him as Israel’s good and rightful ruler. Third, when the Philistines were begging for war with Israel, twice it says that “David inquired of the LORD …” for direction (vv. 19, 23). Both times, Israel defeated the Philistines because God told David what to do. Are you wanting evidence of God working in your life to direct, provide, and protect you? Look for it and thank Him for it! Paul reminded us that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
November 19, Wednesday
Reading A323 — 2 Samuel 6 — Returning the Ark Audio: 2 Samuel 6 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
Costly Mistakes — There is evidence in this chapter regarding several significant mistakes made by individuals. The first one was committed by David. He brought up the ark of God “on a new cart” (v. 3). Perhaps David assumed that, since the ark had been returned by the Philistines on a new cart (1 Sam. 6:7), he could use the same method for bringing it to Jerusalem. Big mistake. God excused the Philistine’s action because they were not held accountable to the Lord’s command to His own people that the ark should be transported only by certain Levites, being carried with poles that were inserted through the loops of the ark. David’s immediate reaction was that of anger, which was followed by being “afraid of the LORD” (v. 9). Apparently, during the following three months, David remembered or was informed about God’s requirements for transporting the ark, and he tried it again, this time in the proper way, with “those who bore the ark” (v. 13). The sad penalty Uzzah suffered for taking hold of the ark when the oxen stumbled would not have happened if David had provided proper transportation at the beginning. It was a somewhat innocent mistake, but it was costly. This should be a reminder for us that we have a responsibility for knowing what God’s Word says to be His will. The third mistake was made by Michal, when she wrongly despised and criticized her husband, the king. Her penalty was that she “had no child to the day of her death” (v. 23).
November 20, Thursday
Reading A324 — 1 Chron. 13 — Returning the Ark II Audio: 1 Chron. 13 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
The Importance of How and Why — This summary chapter in 1 Chronicles was written much later about the events we read about yesterday, and it concentrates primarily on the first attempt to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. One thing this summary adds that is not mentioned in 2 Samuel 6:1, however, is how David “gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.” The “how” is very important in this story because David wanted to know that it was “from the LORD our God” (1 Chron. 13:2). In today’s reading, we learn that David began with the leaders of his army, asking for their approval for assembling representative Israelites from “Egypt to Lebo-hamath” (v. 5), i.e., from the far southwest to the far northeast, which included “the priests and Levites” (v. 2). There was not only an important “how” question in this story, but there was also an important “why” question. Why didn’t David and the accompanying priests know that carrying the ark on a cart was going against God’s stated will? Yesterday, we read that fearful David asked, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” (2 Sam. 6:9). They were apparently not familiar enough with the method God had clearly specified in the Pentateuch. Does reading God’s Word sometimes seem burdensome and unimportant to you? One reason we are reading it every day this year is to acquaint ourselves with God’s requirements. We want to know Him better, and we want to know what He wants.
November 21, Friday
Reading A325 — 1 Chron. 14 — Defeating Philistines Audio: 1 Chron. 14 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
The Value of Comparing — I had a question when I read earlier that in David’s first defeat of the Philistines, “…the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away” (2 Sam. 5:21). My question was, “Wasn’t that a sin?” God had repeatedly warned earlier through Moses about rejecting the idols of worship in the Promised Land. That question was answered in today’s reading: “And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned” (1 Chron. 14:12). So, they carried them away in order to burn them. When we come to these parallel stories in our readings, we should read them carefully because they have subtle differences that shed light on the broader truth. There is also a difference in the chronology of these events in 1 Chronicles 14 versus 2 Samuel because the focus in Chronicles is on the fact of God’s blessings to David more than on the timing of when they happened. The books of Chronicles were a summary by priests many years later in Ezra’s time, using other existing documents to emphasize the importance of following God wholeheartedly. It is a valuable exercise to compare the books of Samuel, Chronicles, and Kings. The same is true with the four Gospels.
November 22, Saturday
Reading A326 — 1 Chron. 15 — Obedient Transportation Audio: 1 Chron. 15 (ESV)
An audio recording of the following comments is available below:
Special Assignments — Some of you may have been a bit confused in today’s reading regarding who was allowed to carry the ark of God. If we go back to the time of Jacob, we see that one of his sons was Levi. His descendants were Levites, but one of his sons, Kohath, was a special Levite for two reasons. First, all priests were descendants of Kohath through Aaron. Second, the descendants of Kohath were also special because they were the only ones allowed to carry the ark and other holy furnishings from the tent of meeting (Num. 4:15; 7:9). So, when today’s text says, “no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God” (v. 2), it is referring to only the Levitical Kohathites. You probably also noticed in today’s reading that music was emphasized. For the first time in Israel’s history, a structured musical ministry was formally introduced by David, which was to be led by the Levites. Two things struck me about this music. One was that it was to be loud. Have you ever complained about the loud music in your church? David appointed the Levites “who should play loudly on musical instruments … to raise sounds of joy” (v. 16; cf. v. 28). The second impression about this music is that it involved giftedness. David appointed Chenaniah as the director of music because “he understood it” (v. 22). The musicians and singers at your church were chosen because of their special musical ability, too. They are not only good at it, but they are also gifted at it. Sing loudly with them!
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