Second Bible Read Thread

Day 150: July 8

1 Kings 5 and 6
2 Chronicles 2 and 3

Day 151: July 9

1 Kings 7
2 Chronicles 4

Swords&Sunflowers said:

Wow
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Literally a billionaire, Solomon was. O_O

Day 152: July 10

1 Kings 8
2 Chronicles 5

Sorry I am later on this one than normal.

Day 153: July 11

2 Chronicles 6 and 7
Psalms 136

Swords&Sunflowers said:

The best for the King of Kings...wow, Solomon really gave 100% on this project...it made me ponder on how Royal and awesome God really is

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A house made from literally tons of silver and gold still wouldn't be worthy enough of Him, I would say, Miss S&S.

Swords&Sunflowers said:

I'm guilty of this, in such, as there are days I give him my scrap/spare time, instead of making Him number one, and even times, I've set other things as idols. And yet, there He is, the One who can truly satisfy all these emptiness, that I try to fill up with temporary pleasures.

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But do you mean in other's eyes you have not made Him priority, or in your heart? There is a difference. Some, more "fundamentalist"-types might look down on you as not "giving God your best" if they don't see you physically talking about Him 24-7, listening to nothing but "Christian" music, or reading the Bible for two hours a day. But the Lord knows the heart.

Not saying I know you better than you or God know yourself, Miss S&S. Just something to keep in mind, that you don't always have to be doing the typical motions like those I mentioned above in order to be truly placing God at the head of your life and person and giving Him due love and reverence.

Day 154: July 12

Psalms 134
Psalms 146
Psalms 147
Psalms 148
Psalms 149
Psalms 150

Day 155: July 13

1 Kings 9
2 Chronicles 8

Can't really think of anything specific to say, just that, Solomon's speech to Israel and prayer to God sort of happening at the same time towards the end of 1 Kings 8, and the subsequent celebrations that apparently things are finally going to be at peace in Israel for a while, like this is when they truly reached the end of their journey through "the wilderness", and not just generations before when they simply reached the Promised Land and stopped physically wandering.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.

15 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David thy father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

18 But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart: 19 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

20 And Jehovah hath established his word that he spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and have built the house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

21 And there have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and lovingkindness with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart; 24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day.

25 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day; 29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before thine altar in this house; 32 then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house: 34 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them: 36 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting [or] mildew, locust [or] caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, [or] by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men) 40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake 42 (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thine outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by my name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto Jehovah toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name; 45 then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47 yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly; 48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: 49 then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause; 50 and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron); 52 that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

54 And it was so, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 Blessed be Jehovah, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.

57 Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us; 58 that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh unto Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require; 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah, he is God; there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Jehovah.

63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto Jehovah, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too little to receive the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David his servant, and to Israel his people.

Day 156: July 14

Proverbs 25 and 26

Day 157: July 15

Proverbs 27 through 29

Day 158: July 16

... Well, we get to a bit of a depressing book with today's reading, I'm afraid. ... But knowing the life we are given by God can end at any time, any place, and the seeming ultimate futility of it all, should make us all that much more grateful that through Christ we once again can live some day, in a new heavens and a new earth, and that time there will be no more fear of life coming to an end.

Ecclesiastes 1 through 6

Hmm ... and on that note. I never noticed before that in some translations Solomon is referred to as "the Preacher" here in this book until just now. At least in the very first verse. Perhaps he was good at the profession of preaching, so much so that it made him a good king at the same time for Israel despite his own mistakes.

Here is the MEV summary for Ecclesiastes (also says "or, The Preacher" after the book title):

The book of Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature and consists of hundreds of wise thoughts and sayings. The book was likely written in about 935 BC. Jewish tradition recognizes Solomon as the author. Its theme is main's reasoning concerning one's life on earth, and it represents the worldview of a Judean king who had the advantage of every opportunity and every pleasure. The writings are a series of reflections by the "Teacher" or "Preacher" on his life, which was lived in the ancient kingdom of Israel. Throughout the book the writer presents a multitude of examples showing humanity's fruitless pursuit of contentment. The book concludes with the truth that meaning in life is only found in right relationship with God and in appreciating God's earthly blessings of good food and drink and a wife and children.

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It seems Ecclesiastes is one of those things where I can think of too much to say and yet not how to put it to the printed word.

I'll just try to convey it by listing the passages so far that had particularly stood out to me (copied from CF's online ESV Bible).

In Ecclesiastes 2:
I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.

2 I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?

3 I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding [me] with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their life.

The futility of selfish pleasures, indeed. I do know of this, sadly, ever since I came to this city I now live in. But I determined, at least, not to compound the error by blaming or judging someone other than myself. And I think that, if I am understanding Solomon's intent here correctly, I actually laid hold of the selfishness all the while knowing better in my heart - or thinking that I knew better - just to see what was good for me to do or pursue in life and what was not, much like I am assuming Solomon meant to say that he did in wine. If the selfish pleasure was indeed selfish, perhaps, and would only work to my detriment instead of benefit. To prove it to myself and my personal satisfaction that it was folly to spend so much of my time in.

I am probably making little sense to anyone with these words, but, I just want to get them out to someone, if that is okay.


In Ecclesiastes 3:
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?

10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live.

13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him.

15 That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.

16 And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.

17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

18 I said in my heart, [It is] because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts.

19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity.

20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

21 Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?

22 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him [back] to see what shall be after him?


And of course, everyone knows and can take comfort in Ecclesiastes 4:12, where "a cord of three strands is not easily broken".


I will say that I noticed that the MEV puts a different word in Ecclesiastes 3:11 than eternity. It instead says "He has also put obscurity in their hearts so that no one comes to know the work that God has done from the beginning to the end."

At first I thought it was one of those perhaps deliberate misleads in translations, but, see the immediately context in just the rest of the verse, and the overall theme of the entire book. .... "Obscurity", vaguely being an antonym of "eternity" actually fits way better here. If we were to have any sense of the eternality of God in our hearts or minds ... wouldn't it then make more sense that we could grasp God's works from beginning to end? Certainly better than we do now as mortals. We can't. That's practically the point in a nutshell that Solomon seems to even be trying to make with this book. We are not anywhere on God's level, and our mortal lives before Him in His immortality and omnipotence and omniscience is like a speck in the span of the entire cosmos ... if that. The word "obscurity" here seems to make much more sense, implying that He Himself has made it in our hearts that we cannot grasp His works. It is all so vague to us, such a mystery. We can ponder on it all we like, but our mortal minds and hearts will not grasp it. God is not subject to death; we are. God is not subject to infirmities; we are. God is not subject to the same weaknesses to evil that we are. God cannot be corrupted and fade away to dust; we can, and will, just like the beasts of the earth.

.... All the more to thank God for salvation and the promise of eternal life to come afterward. Without Christ having experienced death and suffering only to be raised again from the dead, we would not have hope in either of these things (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). Without a God to care and a God to conquer death by rising again, then Ecclesiastes would have all the more reason to be depressing, Because not only is our life now on Earth futile and vain before a living God anyway, since we will one day die, without a God as I said above - without a Christ to impart forgiveness of sins - this life would truly be all there is, for everyone, both rich and poor, wise and foolish, gentle and violent. But even if we may find futility now in the present, through faith in Jesus Christ, there will be something more to come after death. Whenever that time that we are raised in the same way Christ arose from the grave, comes.

I thought to myself as I wrote all of these thoughts that perhaps part of what I should glean from Ecclesiastes so far is that even the finer, simpler things in life that seem more invaluable than material things - family, friends, charity, love - are ultimately in vain. .... But in a way, no. It is all about God, but think of the precious treasures I mentioned above. They too are gifts from God. All of us here in this community? Our friendships and abilities to lean upon one another in times of sorrow, struggle, and trouble? Our families and our precious moments with them? All from God. No thing that is good will ultimately come from anyone but the Lord. So, yes, we can count all of these as blessings without putting our hopes into they themselves but the God who made them even in a life of vanity.

Solomon learned all of these things the hard way, I suppose, as did we in our own paths through life.