Por Jacob D. Gerber

Bible Readings for October 8th 1 Kings 11 | Philippians 2 | Ezekiel 41 | Psalms 92–93 As Israel’s king, Solomon reaches extraordinary heights during Israel’s golden age. Lavish wealth, rich cultural achievements, and wide-ranging justice characterize this era to a degree that Israel has never seen before or since. But, precisely because Solomon enj…

Bible Readings for October 7th 1 Kings 10 | Philippians 1 | Ezekiel 40 | Psalm 91 Solomon’s glory as king of Israel reaches its pinnacle in 1 Kings 10. We read an initial report of Solomon’s great wisdom, wealth, and fame in 1 Kings 4, but we find a fuller inventory here in this chapter. Chiefly, these descriptions of Israel’s golden age under Solo…

Bible Readings for October 6th 1 Kings 9 | Ephesians 6 | Ezekiel 39 | Psalm 90 In 1 Kings 9, Yahweh accepts Solomon’s prayer from 1 Kings 8, saying, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all t…

Bible Readings for October 5th 1 Kings 8 | Ephesians 5 | Ezekiel 38 | Psalm 89 As Solomon prays to dedicate the temple in today’s reading from 1 Kings 8, his prayers provide important theological distinctions for understanding what it means for Yahweh to dwell in a physical location like this temple. First, Solomon is clear that no temple can conta…

Bible Readings for October 4th 1 Kings 7 | Ephesians 4 | Ezekiel 37 | Psalms 87–88 As we began to review yesterday, the construction of Solomon’s temple is not a brand new idea at this stage in the story of God’s people. It is not as though Yahweh has been working on various plans for awhile and then he suddenly decides to build a temple to try som…

Bible Readings for October 3rd 1 Kings 6 | Ephesians 3 | Ezekiel 36 | Psalm 86 In the beginning, God dwelt with his people in the temple of his creation—that is, in the perfection of the Garden of Eden. There, Yahweh walked among his people, who dwelt with their God without guilt and shame, in perfect intimacy and communion with him. Yahweh made hi…

Bible Readings for October 2nd 1 Kings 4–5 | Ephesians 2 | Ezekiel 35 | Psalm 85 The description of Solomon’s kingdom in 1 Kings 4 is overwhelming, with unending officials (1 Kgs. 4:1–19), wealth (1 Kgs. 4:20–28), and cultural achievements (1 Kgs. 4:29–34). It is staggering to imagine living in such a golden age of human flourishing, with seemingly…

Bible Readings for October 1st 1 Kings 3 | Ephesians 1 | Ezekiel 34 | Psalms 83–84 Solomon’s kingdom rises to great heights primarily through the events in the story from today’s reading in 1 Kings 3. Solomon is not an ordinary king—although, as we discussed yesterday, he will also not be the ultimate messianic king who will completely save God’s p…

Bible Readings for September 30th 1 Kings 2 | Galatians 6 | Ezekiel 33 | Psalms 81–82 In yesterday’s reading, we reflected on David’s greatest failure in life: his passive unwillingness to discipline or to set boundaries for those around him. In today’s reading, we see a further contrast between David and his son Solomon in David’s final words to h…

Bible Readings for September 29th 1 Kings 1 | Galatians 5 | Ezekiel 32 | Psalm 80 As we come to the end of David’s life, the stories we read not only prepare us for the transferring of the kingdom to David’s son Solomon, but they also give us deeper insight into David’s limitations as king. In today’s reading from 1 Kings 1, we see two specific fai…

Bible Readings for September 28th 2 Samuel 24 | Galatians 4 | Ezekiel 31 | Psalm 79 David sins at the end of his life by ordering a census of Israel. This sin is less well known than his adultery with Bathsheba, but that does not mean that it was less serious. In fact, in many ways, the people of Israel faced harsher consequences here in 2 Samuel 2…

Bible Readings for September 27th 2 Samuel 23 | Galatians 3 | Ezekiel 30 | Psalm 78:38–72 David’s last words in 2 Samuel 23:1–7 are brief, but they are worthy of careful study. In this short speech, David gives us a summary of his reflections on his kingship—or, more precisely, Yahweh’s reflections on leadership that David prophetically speaks. In …

Bible Readings for September 26th 2 Samuel 22 | Galatians 2 | Ezekiel 29 | Psalm 78:1–37 The song David composes in 2 Samuel 22 reflects on the story we read yesterday at the end of 2 Samuel 21. There, David had gone out to battle with the Philistines, but as the battle stretched on, “David grew weary” (2 Sam. 21:15), and Ishbi-benob, a descendent …

Bible Readings for September 25th 2 Samuel 21 | Galatians 1 | Ezekiel 28 | Psalm 77 Back in Joshua 9, the people of Israel entered into a covenant with the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites had lied to Israel, claiming to have arrived from far off. In fact, they were among the peoples whom Yahweh had instructed Israel to drive out of the land of Canaan, b…

Bible Readings for September 24th 2 Samuel 20 | 2 Corinthians 13 | Ezekiel 27 | Psalms 75–76 As we read yesterday in 2 Samuel 19, David replaced Joab as his commander with Amasa because Joab had ignored David’s command not to harm his son Absalom. This demotion does not sit well with Joab, who finds an opportunity to murder Amasa in the middle of p…

Bible Readings for September 23rd 2 Samuel 19 | 2 Corinthians 12 | Ezekiel 26 | Psalm 74 During the uprising of Absalom, Israel’s previously unwavering loyalty to David fell apart. Now that Absalom is dead, David must sort through what to do with the people who supported him, the people who betrayed him, and the people who did both. Today, we will …

Bible Readings for September 22nd 2 Samuel 18 | 2 Corinthians 11 | Ezekiel 25 | Psalm 73 There is a tragic irony to the way Absalom dies in 2 Samuel 18. Certainly, one of the core components to Absalom’s winsomeness as he stole the hearts of Israel (2 Sam. 15:6) was his physical appearance—including the five pounds (two hundred shekels) of hair tha…

Bible Readings for September 21st 2 Samuel 17 | 2 Corinthians 10 | Ezekiel 24 | Psalm 72 Back in 2 Samuel 15, David’s friend Hushai wanted to flee Jerusalem with David. Instead, David instructed Hushai to stay and pretend to join Absalom. In this way, Hushai could help David from inside Absalom’s inner circle to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel (2 …

Bible Readings for September 20th 2 Samuel 16 | 2 Corinthians 9 | Ezekiel 23 | Psalms 70–71 If we began to see the suffering of David at the hand of Absalom in 2 Samuel 15, each of the three scenes in 2 Samuel 16 ratchets up David’s suffering even further, one misery at a time. These scenes are important not only to underscore the treachery of Absa…

Bible Readings for September 19th 2 Samuel 15 | 2 Corinthians 8 | Ezekiel 22 | Psalm 69 The unresolved problems arising from David’s reluctance to discipline those around him—whether in his capacity as a king or as a father—combine to create a dangerous situation in 2 Samuel 15, where we find Absalom conspiring to steal the throne of Israel from hi…

Bible Readings for September 18th 2 Samuel 14 | 2 Corinthians 7 | Ezekiel 21 | Psalm 68 By allowing Absalom to return to Jerusalem, David, as we will see, is making a catastrophic mistake—a mistake so serious that it will eventually bring David’s entire kingdom and even his life into jeopardy. The problem isn’t so much that Absalom comes back but t…

Bible Readings for September 17th 2 Samuel 13 | 2 Corinthians 6 | Ezekiel 20 | Psalms 66–67 Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba by declaring this prophetic word from Yahweh, “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (2 Sam.…

Bible Readings for September 16th 2 Samuel 12 | 2 Corinthians 5 | Ezekiel 19 | Psalms 64–65 In 2 Samuel 12, we see the beginning of the aftermath of David’s sin with Bathsheba. In some ways, this sin will negatively affect the course of the rest of David’s reign. There are, however, some great principles to learn from this passage, both in the way …

Bible Readings for September 15th 2 Samuel 11 | 2 Corinthians 4 | Ezekiel 18 | Psalms 62–63 The events of 2 Samuel 11 are difficult to read. David, the king after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), commits a series of wicked acts that could not be further from what God desires. This is the summary we read in the last verse of the chapter: “But the thi…

Bible Readings for September 14th 2 Samuel 10 | 2 Corinthians 3 | Ezekiel 17 | Psalms 60–61 Reading through the Old Testament can be difficult for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the greatest difficulty arises as we try to make sense of the frequent violence we encounter there. Why did the conquest of the land of Canaan require so much bloodshed?…

Bible Readings for September 13th 2 Samuel 8–9 | 2 Corinthians 2 | Ezekiel 16 | Psalms 58–59 One of the most touching storylines from the life of David is the kindness he extends to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. David and Jonathan swore covenants together (1 Sam. 18:3, 20:16, 23:18), with Jonathan promising to protect David from Saul and with …

Bible Readings for September 12th 2 Samuel 7 | 2 Corinthians 1 | Ezekiel 15 | Psalms 56–57 In 2 Samuel 7, David asks Nathan about whether he should build a permanent temple for Yahweh. David points to his own house built with solid cedar and contrasts it with the impermanent dwelling place of Yahweh in the tent of the tabernacle (2 Sam. 7:1–2). Yah…

Bible 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 hi…

Bible 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 th…

Bible 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 Solomo…

Bible 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. Tomorro…

Bible 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 be…

Bible 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, …

Bible 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 …

Bible 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 …

Bible 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 …

Bible 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 …

Bible 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, how…

Bible 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). A…

Bible 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 …

Bible 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 Presenc…

Bible 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 …

Bible 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…

Bible 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 an…

Bible 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 battlefi…

Bible 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…

Bible 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…

Bible 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 …

Bible 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 a…