Reading for October 8th

 Read Joshua 2.15-24. In 2.15-24: The spies renegotiate. In verse 15: it is difficult to reconcile the location of Rahab's house with the collapse of Jericho's wall in Jos 6. In verse 16: She is still in charge. These three days are difficult to correlate with the three days of 1.11 and 3,2. In verses 17-20: Once they are safely out of Rahab's trap, the spies seek to clarify their obligations in order to avoid violating them unintentionally. They must insist on a conspicuous means of identification, strict concentration of Rahab's family in one place, and that their secret be kept. In verse 24; The spies report only what Rahab has told (vv. 9, 11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 7th

 Read Joshua 2.1-14. In 2.1-14: Rahab outsmarts the spies. In verse 1: Rahab is a legally independent woman with her own house, where the presence of strangers would not be questioned. The spies apparently think this is a good place to gather information. In verse 3: Come to you (also v. 4) has a double meaning. Understood as as "come into you" it can imply sexual intercourse. In verses 6-7: Although she saves them from the king, they find themselves  trapped on her roof with the city gate shut. Their situation gives her leverage to negotiate an agreement. The pursuers block their route back, deepening their predicament. In verse 8: Rahab take the initiative in the negotiations. In verses 9-11: She provides the content of the spies' eventual report (v. 24) and confesses that the Lord is the universal God (Echoing Deut 4.39). Sihon and Og were utterly destroyed (v. 10), that is devoted to destruction in holy war. This is the fate Rahab seeks to avoid. In verses 12-14: She suggests a pact of reciprocal protection, and the spies agree. She has dealt kindly (v. 12) by showing faithfulness to the relationship between host and guest. In return they are to deal kindly by honoring an agreement to protect her extended family. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 6th

 Read Joshua 1.10-18. In 1.10-18: Joshua commands the people. In verse 11: These three days are concluded by 3.2. In verses 12-15: These tribes have already occupied land east of the Jordan. The command of Moses is reported in Deut 3.18-20. Rest (vv. 13, 15) is security in the land established by defeat of the enemy (21.44;23.1), In verses 17-18: The eastern tribes agree with enthusiasm, but their double use of only introduces some tension into the plot. Will the Lord be with Joshua? Will Joshua be strong and courageous. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 5th

 Read Joshua 1.1-9. In 1.1-9: The Lord commissions Joshua. Joshua is to move westward across the river in  order to give Israel possession of the land (v. 6), In verse 3: To walk over land was a way of legally claiming it. In verse 4: The idea that the land of promise extends to the river Euphrates reflects Deut 11,24 and royal ideology (Ps 72.8. In verse 5: The Lord as divine warrior promises Joshua military success (see v. 3) and a supportive presence (v. 9). In verses 7-8: The theology reflects Deuteronomy: Undeviating obedience to the book of the law produces prosperity and success. Joshua is to be like the ideal king of Deut 17.18-20. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 4th

 Read Philemon verses 17-25. In verses 17-25: Request and closing. The letter opened in both private and public spheres and closes in the same way, with the greetings in vv. 24 and 25. In verse 17: So, a transitional word marking the start of the final section. In verse 19: My own hand, Paul probably dictated his letters to a scribe (1 Cor 16.2; Gal 6.11) but here he writes himself. In verse 20: Benefit; Greek "onaimen," similar to Onesimus. In verse 21: More that I say, perhaps "more than I say obliquely"; Philemon must decide freely. In verses 23-24: Epaphras, see Col 1.7; 4.12. The others are mentioned in Col 4.1--17, which includes Jesus Justus as well. In verse 25: A similar benediction is found in Phil 4.23; Gal 6.18 Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 3rd

 Read Philemon 8-16. In verse 8-16: Paul's appeal. In verse 8: For this reason, a transition marks a new section. In verse 9: Old man could mean "ambassador,' but likely refers to Paul's age. In verse 10: My child, a metaphor for a convert. See 1 Cor 4.14, 17; Gal 4.19. In verse 11: Useless ... useful, see introduction and not 1. In verse 15: he was separated, is a passive form, possibly suggesting God as the cause, underlining the point that the delay was benefical. Comments or Question...

Reading for October 2nd

 Read Philemon verse 1-7. In verses 1-7: Opening and thanksgiving. Paul praises Philemon but does not mention Onesimus. He wants Philemon to act out of good will, so he establishes Philemon's good will at the start. Because he wants Philemon to accept Onesimus, Paul very heart (v.12), he praises Philemon's love. In verse 1: Timothy, see 1 Thess 3.1-6; 1 Cor 4.17; Phil.= 2.29-24. Dear, the Greek is the same as "beloved," used for Onesimus in vv. 5, 7, 9, 16. In verse 2: Apphia or sister, in the Lord. Archippus, see Col 4.17. Fellow soldier, see Phil 2.25. Church in your house, early Christians worshipped in private homes (Rom 16.5;1 Cor 16.19; Col 4.15). In verse 5: Love for all the saints, extravagant praise so the Philemon will love the new saint, Onesimus, In verse 6: The good, see Rom 10.15; Phil 1.6; 1 Thess 5.15; Gal 6,10. On verse 7: Hearts, literally "inward parts." Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 1st

 Read Titus 3.12-15. In 3.12-15: Epistolary closing. In verse 12: Artemas, Tychicus, those coming top Crete to replace Titus, see Acts 20.4, Eph 6.21; Col 4.7-9; 2 Tim 4.2. Necropolis possibly a city in Epirus on the western coast of Greece. In verse 13; Apollos, see Acts 18.24-28; 19.1; 1 Cor 1.12; 3.4-9; 4.6; 6.12. In verse 15: Though the letter is addressed to Titus, its use of the second person plural form (all of you) here suggests that it was intended for a wider audience. Comments or Questions.

Reading for September 30th

 Read Titus 3.1-11. In 3.1-11: Public behavior. An explanation of expected behavior toward the authorities and other outsiders, its motivation, and a more extended reminder of Titus' authority. In verse 1: Be subject to see 2.5, 9, where the word (or a related term) is translated "be submissive." See 1 Tim 2.11; 3.4. Authorities, see Rom 13. 1-7; 1 Pet 2.13-17. In verse 8: The saying is sure, see 1 Tim 1.15; 3.1; 4.9; 2 Tim 2.11. In verse 10: Divisions, Greek "hairetikon," the word from which we get "heretic," is perhaps only a reference to 1.11, not to an unorthodox group as in later church history. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 29th

 Read Titus 2..1-15. In 2.1-3.11: teachings on appropriate behavior. In verse 15: Private behavior. The letter explains appropriate behavior and its motivation and gives a general reminder of Titus' authority. In verses 2-10: A domestic code: admonitions to older men (v. 2), older women (v. 3), younger women (vv. 4-5), younger men, including Titus (vv. 6-8), and slave (vv. 9-10). Absent is any admonition to masters. In verse 2: Prudent is related linguistically to words that are translated self-controlled in vv. 5, 6, 12. In verse 12: Worldly passions, see 3.3. In verse 13: The writer speaks not about the "coming" of Jesus but about his manifestation or "appearing," words used to describe the appearance of an earthly ruler. In verse 15: Let no one look down on you (perhaps because of age, vv. 6, 7), see 1 Tim 4.12. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 28th

 Read Titus 1.5-16. In 1.5-16: The instruction on church order. The letter contrasts the elders and the false teachers: The false teachers are motivated by sordid gain (v. 11); the elders must not be greedy for gain (v. 7). The false teachers upset whole families (v. 11); the elders must be able to control their own families (v. 6). In verse 5: Paul, while captive, spent time at Crete (Acts 27.7-15), but neither Acts nor his own letters says he started a mission there. Furthermore, after Crete Paul is taken on to Malta, not Nicopolos (Acts 28.1). In verses 5-7: Elders and bishops seem to be the same. In verse 9: The determination of ops seem to be the same. In verse 9: The determination of sound (healthy or correct) doctrine is based on the reasoning of a community; see 1.13; 2.1, 2, 8: 1 Tim 1.10; 6.3; 2 Tim 1.13; 4.3, In verse 12: A stereotype attributed by some early christens (Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom, and Jerome) to Epimenides, a Cretan poet from the sixth century BCE. In verse 16: Work, (see 1.16; 2.7, 14; 3.1, 8).Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 27th

 Read  Titus 1.1-4. In 1.1-4: Epistolary opening. The longest opening in the Pastoral names the writer, the recipient, and God as agents of truth, preparing for the attack on the false teachers (1.12-14). In verse 1; Servant, literally "slave" of God, form the roots of his expression in the Hebrew Scriptures, see 2 Sam 7.5; Jer 7.25. In the undisputed letters Paul uses "servant of Christ" (Rom 1.1; Gal 1.10; Phil 1.1).  In verse 3; Command, literally "order upon." The Greek word is related to other terms in the letter: "directed" (v.15); "submissive (2.5, 9); "authority" (2.15); "subjected" (3.1). Savior, see 1.1;2.10, 13, 3.4, 6; see also 2.11; 1 Tim 2.3; 4.10. In verse 4; Loyal, child, see 1 Time 1.2; 2 Tim 1.2; 2.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 26th

 Read Exodus 40.34--38. In 40.34-38; The glory and cloud of God's presence fill the tabernacle. In verses 34-35: The presence of God in the form of the Lord's "glory" and the "cloud" had "covered" and "settled on" Mount Sinai in 24.15-18. The same divine glory and cloud covered and settled upon the tent of meeting and the tabernacle. In verse 36: Each stage of their journey looks forward to Israel's continuing trek though the wilderness toward the land of Canaan. The departure from Mount Sinai will actually begin in Num 10.11-36. In verse 38: On the cloud by day and the fire by night, see comment on 13.21. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 25th

 Read Exodus 40.1-33. In 40.1-33: Moses completes the work by erecting the tabernacle and arranging its furnishings. In verse 2: The establishment of the tabernacle on the first day of the first month marks the beginning of the rhythms, seasons, and festivals of the new cultic year. The construction of the universe (Gen 1.1-24) had provided order and structure out of chaos that enabled the beginning of time and of life. In a similar way, Israel's construction of time and of life. In a similar way, Israel's construction of the tabernacle out of the chaos of the golden calf (ch 32) provides order and structure for the beginning of Israel's worship and cultic life as it journeys through the wilderness. The text again brings together the tent meeting (39.32, 40; 40.6, 22, 24, 29, 35): see comment in 33.7. In verse 17: Israel has arrived at Mont Sinai in third month of the first year after going out of Egypt (10.1). Moses sets up the tabernacle nine months later in the first month in the second year. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for September 24th

 Read Exodus 39.32-43. No Comments...

Reading for September 23rd

 Read Exodus 39.1-31. This section recounts the making of Aaron's priestly vestments or clothing. The refrain as the Lord had commanded Moses recurs seven times throughout the chapter (vv. 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31), This sevenfold refrain mirrors the sevenfold refrain and structure of the seven days of creation in Gen 1.-2.4. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 22nd

 Read Exodus 38.1-31. In verse 26: The census and its total count of 603,550 men reflects the results of the census in Num 1.45-46. The law concerning payment during a census occurs in 30.12-14. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 21st

 Read Exodus 37.1-29. No Comments...

Reading for September 20th

 Read Exodus 36.8-38. No Comments..

Reading for September 19th

Read Exodus 36.1-7. In 36.5-7 Pharaoh's oppressive complaint about the laziness of Israelite slaves workers at the beginning of the book (5.4-9) contrasts sharply with Israel's eagerness and enthusiasm in working on the tabernacle here at the end of the book. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for September 18th

 Moses prepares to construct the tabernacle. In 35.1-36.7: This section begins an extensive unit dealing with the actual construction of the tabernacle (chs. 35-40). The tabernacle is the tangible and mobile sign of God's presence in the midst of the Israelites as they leave Mount Sinai and travel through the wilderness of Canaan. The instruction for building the tabernacle were first given in chs. 25-31. The golden calf crisis (ch 32) had endangered the tabernacle project. However, the resolution and the new covenant is  chs. 33-34 enabled the tabernacle construction to move forward. The construction obediently follows the instructions that were previously given. The detailed nature of the instructions and process for building the tabernacle resembles the detailed account of the building of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 6-8) and the detailed character of Ezekiel's promise of a new Temple in Jerusalem (Ezek 40-43). 

Read 35/1-35. In verse 2-3; Just as the sabbath law had concluded the instructions for building the tabernacle (31.12-17). The sabbath law now introduces the actual work of construction. In verses 22-29: he people offer willingly what they have for the tabernacle. Presumably some of it included the gold, silver, and clothing that the Egyptians gave to them when they fled Egypt (12.35-36). In verses 35-36: The passage about Bezalel and Oholiah elaborates 31.1-5, the divine spirit gives them knowledge in every kind of craft (v. 31) as in 31.3. Additionally, the spirit of the God inspired them to teach others their skills (v. 34). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 17th

 Read Exodus 34.17-35. In verses 19-20: On redeeming the firstborn, see comment on 13.13. In verse 24: To covet refers to the inner yearning and strong desire to take something that rightfully belongs to others, especially the poor and less powerful. In verse 29: Moses' unique and close relationship with God caused some of God's divine radiance or light to pass onto Moses. Thus, the skin of his face shone. In verse 33: Just as the cloud veiled the deity's fiery radiance or glory (24.15-18), so Moses put a veil on his face to shield the people from his own shinning radiance. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 16th

God reveals the divine character and makes a new covenant. In 34.1-35: This chapter represents a significant turning point in Exodus. Worship of the golden calf threatened Israel's relationship with God. However, Moses urges God to provide a deeper revelation of God's character. This deeper revelation (vv. 6-7) enabled a new covenant to be restored (vv. 10-11, 27-28). The new covenant repeats a number of laws given earlier in Exodus with an emphasis on not worshipping other gods and laws relating to the Exodus and the sabbath (vv. 12-26). 

 Read Exodus  34.1-16. In verse 4: Moses had broken the former tablets of stone when Israel worshipped the idol of the golden calf. Their idolatry threatened to destroy their relationship with God (32.19). In verses 6-7: These verses reflect important differences in the description of God's character when compared to a similar description in 20.5-6. The changes place more emphasis on God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness while still retaining the element of God's punishment for disobedience. In verse 13: Pillars of stone and sacred poles ("asherim") of wood were used in native Canaanite fertility religion in worshipping the god Baal and Asherah (Judg 6.25). . Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 15th

 Read Exodus 33.1-23. In 33.1-23: Moses seeks assurance of God's presence with Israel.  In verses 2-3: The Lord promises to send an angel, a subordinate divine messenger. However, God's own presence cannot go with Israel lest God's own holiness come in contact with and consume the stiff-necked people of Israel. In verses 5-6: The stripping of Israel's ornaments involves letting go of the jewelry Israel had stripped from the Egyptians (12.35-36). In verse 7: The tent of meeting reflects an older tradition of a tent or shrine in which the deity delivers oracles. Although the tent of meeting probably preceded the tabernacle tradition, the two came to be associated with one another (27.19-21). Moses pitches the tent of meeting far off from the camp rather than at its center in this interim time while God decides what to do with Israel (v. 5).The tent will eventually be located in the middle of the Israelite camp (Num 2.2). In verse14: God's words in Hebrew are literally "My presence will go" (not "with you"). God will go to Canaan but not "with" or "in the midst of" Israel because of its sin. In verse 16: Moses asks that God not only go to Canaan (v. 14), but Moses insists that God go with us or "in our midst." In v. 17, God relents and agrees to Moses' request. In verse 19: On the divine name Lord, see comment on 3.13-15. This verse and God's character revealed to Moses in 34.6-7 add new dimensions by accenting God's compassion and mercy. In 3.13-15, The Lord's name is "I will be who I will be." Here the name is I will be gracious to who I will be be gracious. In verses 20-23: A human could not look directly into the deity's face, for it would cause death (v. 20; see 3.6; Isa 6.5). However, Moses will see more of God than before, he will see God's back ((v.23). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 14th

 Read Exodus 32.15-35. In verse 15: On the two tablets of the covenant, see comment on 31.18. In verse 17: Joshua is Moses' young assistant (23.13). In verse 19: Moses broke the stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments (vv. 15-16). The act dramatized Israel's severe disobedience, which broke the formal relationship between God and the people. In verses 21-23; In contrasts to Moses, who takes responsibility and pleads with God on behalf of the people, Aaron blames the  people in order to escape his own responsibility for the rebellion. In verse 24: Aaron's version of the story suggests that the golden calf emerged by itself miraculously out of the fire. The earlier account clearly tells the real story: Aaron himself was the one responsible for making the golden calf (v. 4; see vv. 25, 35). In verses 26-29: the members of the tribe of Levi obey Moses. Thus Moses ordained or set them apart for the service of the Lord as priests. The ordination of the Levites occurs in Num 8. Numbers 16-18 suggests that the Levites will be subordinate to Aaron and the priests in his line. In verse 34: The Lord promises to send my angel, a subordinate divine messenger and commander, to lead Israel to Canaan (23.20, 23). This question will become whether, in addition to the angel, God's own divine presence will go in the midst of Israel to lead them (33.2-3). Comments or  Questions..

Reading for September 13th

 Israel worships a golden calf . In 32.1-35: Israel makes an idol in the form of a golden calf and worships it. This indeed violates the important prohibition in the Ten Commandments against worshipping other gods and making idols (20.3-4). The story has a parallel in a later account about King Jeroboam, who sets up golden calves at two worship sites in northern Israel (1 Kings 12.25-33). 

Read Exodus 32.1-14. In verses 2-3 The gulden rings presumably come from their gold jewelry given to the Israelites by the Egyptians when they fled Egypt (12.35-36). In verse 4: The calf of young bull was a common image for certain Canaanite gods. In verse 7: The Lord tells Moses that now the Israelites are your people. They are no longer God's people. In verse 10: The Lord plans to consume or completely destroy the Israelites for their disobedience. The Lord with then take Moses alone and make of him a great nation. That is the same promise God first made to Abraham (Gen 12.2). In verses 13-14: Moses pleads with God on behalf of the Israelites. Moses reminds God that they are your people (vv. 11, 12; see 33.13). To destroy Israel would to do harm to the Lord's international reputation (v. 12). it would also violate God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 13; see 6.2-8). God swore or made a promise to each of the ancestors in Genesis: Abraham (Gen 13.14-15), Isaac (Gen 26.3), and Jacob/Israel (Gen 28.13). Remarkably, Moses succeeds. The Lord changed his mind about destroying Israel. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 12th

 Read Exodus 31.12-18. In 31.12-18: God gives a concluding reminder of the sabbath commandment. Reference to the work on the tabernacle in the preceding section (31.1-11) occasions the reminder about the regular need to rest from work on the sabbath day (20.8-11). Like the tabernacle that sets apart a sacred time in the community, the sabbath sets apart sacred time in the ongoing life of the community. In verse 18: This action fulfills the promise God made to Moses in 24.12. The two tablets of stone will figure prominently in the next story of the golden calf. They will become signs of the breaking of the old covenant (32.15-16, 19) and the making of a new covenant (34.1, 4). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 11th

 Read Exodus 30.1-31.11. In 30.1-31.11: The Lord gives instructions for other matters related to the priests and the worship sanctuary. In 30.10: Once a year would be the day of Atonement as specified in greater detail in Lev 16. In verses 11-13: The act of taking a census or counting the people for military or administrative purposes was believed to arouse the deity's anger, there by bringing on a plague (2 Sam 24.10). Thus each person had to pay a ransom or fee of half shekel in order to ward off the plague. Numbers 1.17-47records the first census taken of the Israelites in the wilderness In 31.2-6: The divine spirit (v. 3) fills the two skilled workers, Bezalel (v. 2) and Oholiab (v. 6), with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in their particular skills of artistry and construction. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 10th

 Instructions for the ordination of priests. In 29.1-46: These instructions for ordination are carried out when Aaron and his sons are formally set apart as priests in Lev 8-9. Blood is considered a sacred substance with power to purify and make holy (Lev 17.11) Thus, blood plays an important role in purifying the priests and altar throughout this section.

Read Exodus 29.1-46. In verses 33-37: To consecrate the priests means to set them apart in a formal ceremony for special service. In verse 40: A measure is an ephah, which is equivalent to about 20 liters. A hin is one-sixth of an ephah about 3 liters. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 9th

 Read Exodus 28.1-43. In 28.1-43: The Lord gives guidelines for making the priestly garments. In verse 6: The ephod is a long priestly robe; it was sometimes used to obtain an oracle or message from the deity (1 Sam 23.9-12). In verses 15-30: The breast piece of judgment as a means to obtain divine messages and guidance . It was a pouch containing the Urim and Thummim, light and dark stones used to determine the deity's will in a given situation (v. 30). Comments or Questions...