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Jul 10, 2023 06:00am

The Bible Recap: Days 113-119

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(The following are reflections from the writer’s personal journey through The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble – a Bible reading plan to read the Bible chronologically in one year. To learn more about The Bible Recap, visit thebiblerecap.com. Find more posts from this series at lifeword.org/thebiblerecap.)

Day 113: Read 1 Chronicles Chapters 1-2

My Takeaways:

Today was recap day! It was a day we glanced back at who we have learned about—those families we have been following for awhile now. Tara-Leigh recaps a few of those people to give some extra insight. If you were like me, I skimmed this day looking for familiar faces!

A few things I did notice:

Abraham had 5 sons with his concubine Keturah. I don’t remember reading about any! We hear much about Isaac and Ishmael, but I feel like this place, in 1 Chronicles, is the only place they get a mention. Abraham was such a giant of faith and gets a good amount of Scripture, but these boys get a mention. I wonder if it’s because they aren’t from Sarah? I wonder if they had faith like their dad and continued his legacy?

Much of 1 Chronicles 1 is spent on Adam’s bloodline to Noah and Noah’s 3 sons’ lineages. The world was wiped out after the flood and basically it was on Shem, Ham, and Japeth’s shoulders to people this world! Between these guys, they fathered 20 sons! And after that, things really got going. Within a few generations, this family exploded! After another generation, the world was divided whether it was by language (Tower of Babel) or land (continental drift theory). Either way, God started shifting these people into separate groups.

My God Shot was this: details matter to God! God cares about His people’s ancestry. Stories are great—they teach us much! But, so is the linage of God’s people—so are historical records. They show where God’s people have been. I would think this was very important information to the Israelites in connecting with their tribes.

Day 114: Read Psalm Chapters 43-45, 49, 84-85, & 87

My Takeaways:

We had another big group of psalms to read today. When we have batches of psalms, I try to see themes or verses that stand out to me. I felt like Tara-Leigh did a great job giving us insight on each one individually, so I have just a few thoughts to share!

“Send your light and truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy mountain.”
Psalm 43:3

Light casts out all darkness. Light permeates through the dirt and sin. Light breaks through facades and reveals all. God’s light opens our eyes to Him and His truth, His Word. In a world where people live by their own rules, I love this. We need not just light, but God’s light and God’s truth to lead us. And, we are called to walk in the light each day through godly living.

“Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Psalm 42:11

The psalmist needed the Lord to show up. He was struggling, his soul was in turmoil. He felt dejected. These are all feelings we can experience everyday! And yet, he doesn’t turn away from God—in fact, he tells himself to put his hope in God. He preaches to himself—his feelings can lie but God doesn’t. He is hope. And I love how he praises God at the end of this Psalm—his situation hasn’t changed….yet, maybe his perspective has.

At the end of Psalm 87, we have the point of this whole Bible study:

“My whole source of joy is in you.”
Psalm 87:7

That’s it. That’s the beauty of this study. We learn about God. We learn about His character. He see how He interacted with His children. When we see that when they turned to God and surrendered to Him, there was joy. There’s something so special and powerful about the joy of God.

The world needs joy. It thrives off of happiness, yet happiness is temporary. Everyone is looking for it, and the author of creation says to stop looking around and start looking up to Him.

He can give us what our hearts need. It’s not money. It’s not possessions. It’s not status. It’s Him.

He’s where the joy is.

Always.

I hope you have experienced more joy in this study, friends! I hope you have had more hope, too. Only God can do the impossible in our lives and give us the desires of our hearts.

Day 115: Read 1 Chronicles Chapters 3-5

My Takeaways:

Genealogies.

Not the most fun, right?

As I skimmed through these records, there are a few highlighted on their actions.

Like David and all his sons.

Like Jabez crying out to God asking for more land and protection…and God said “yes”!

Like Reuben sleeping with his father’s concubines.

Like Judah becoming strong with a ruler coming from him but his birthright was given to Joseph.

Like the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh who cried out to God when they went to war against their enemies and He said “yes” to them all because they trusted in Him! In fact, the Bible said “it was God’s battle”!!

I wonder….what would our genealogy say about us? My grandpa had traced his family roots for several generations and put it all in a book. I remember reading it, shocked at my family’s roots! It was scandalous! Not only were there some bad apples, but the actions I read about left me wondering how God was in all of this!

But, you know, that’s God. Somewhere in the middle of murder and scandals, He was stirring up hearts every generation that would lead to a change in the genealogy records.

Looking at them today reminds me that God is in the details, even amid family stories of much dysfunction and drama. He is there, stirring hearts, looking for those after His own heart. Good came from much bad and I love that about Him! He never gives up. He is faithful.

And He loves when we trust in Him.

Years from now, what would you want your descendants to remember about you? What do you hope you will pass on?

Oh, mine is simple: She loves the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. And she walked with Him.

I fail every day, but He is my heart’s delight. And every time I stumble off of my path, He is faithful to pick me back up and lead me back to Him.

Day 116: Read Psalm Chapters 73 & 77-78

My Takeaways:

I loved these psalms. There’s something powerful when the psalmist, a man whose life is dedicated to praising God, struggles with his faith. He shares his struggles…and then he does something we many times fail to do: he turns to God with those feelings.

You see, feelings lie to us all the time—they don’t represent the truth. So, he looks to God and finds his truth:

He remembers what God has done in the past.

He meditates on God’s Word.

He draws closer to God.

And his heart grows confident—not in himself, but in God.

Because sometimes, God’s way is through the sea. Through the vast water. And though we can’t see God’s footprints, He is there leading us.

And he doesn’t leave it there…he calls us all to not just have faith in God during these times, but we are called to share our faith—to rise up and tell our children, to teach the future generation about God so that they too can put their faith in God.

Because it’s when we take our eyes off of God, and put them on those around us, that we forget what He has done in the past, and we doubt what He can do for us in the present. And like the Israelites, we struggle to believe in God and His promises.

Asaph reminds himself and all of us to seek the Lord when our heart is troubled, when our enemies appear to have the upper hand, or when we doubt God’s presence. Recounting what God has done for us in the past and remembering His character in His word, can give us all hope that He will do it again, in our lives. That we too will experience God in mighty ways, like our Israelite friends.

Fixing our eyes upon Jesus can make all the difference, friends. He is bigger than any of our strong emotions, our uncertain circumstances, and our enemies… He can do the impossible in our lives!

Day 117: Read 1 Chronicles Chapter 6

My Takeaways:

Welp. It’s another day of genealogies, and I am going to be real honest: I don’t have much to say.

But, Tara-Leigh does and she said it best in her God Shot: “The fact that this chapter exists at all, tells us something about God and His character. He intentionally put this here to help re-establish people in the land that He gave them that they will someday give up that He’ll eventually bring them back to. It not only shows us His forethought, but it shows His passion for restoration and redemption. He’s so patient and generous with them, even when they break His heart….it’s a testament to His abundant kindness and His plan for restoration in redemption. He’s where the joy is!”

Day 118: Read Psalm Chapters 81, 88, & 92-93

My Takeaways:

We had another round of psalms today! Which one spoke to you?

Psalm 81 grabbed my heart. God speaks to the psalmist in this psalm and He reminds him (and the Israelites):

“You called out in distress, and I rescued you I answered you from the thundercloud…”
Psalm 81:7

God reminds them that that He is faithful, even when they struggle to obey Him. He gave them tests of obedience in the desert to show them that this is a problem! He tells them that He is the only one who can satisfy them-that if they look to him for food—literal or spiritual—that all they need to do is “open their mouths” and he will fill them. (This reminds me so much of this verse: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”)

He continues this analogy of hunger and food by ending the Psalm this:

“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”

God would do the impossible—like providing honey from a rock—just to provide for his people if they looked to him and him alone for sustenance.

And you know what? He promises us this today. We all hunger. We all have deep desires in life. And so many times, we look to others to satisfy those needs, instead of God. Like the Israelites, we want satisfaction now! Waiting can take our eyes off of God and onto other things to feast on.

But many times, God delays our prayers, our wants, our desires to test our hearts and see if we are still willing to obey him….even when it’s hard. If we are willing to look to him in our hunger and feast upon his food. It’s the only thing that can truly satisfy us.

I love the Message’s translation of Psalm 81:16:

“Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now? Israel, will you follow my map? I’ll make short work of your enemies, give your foes the back of my hand. I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs, never to be heard from again. You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

It’s the best kind of food out there, friends, if we are willing to turn to God with our struggles and unmet desires.

Day 119: Read 1 Chronicles Chapters 7-10

My Takeaways:

Unfaithfulness. And, the blessing of faithfulness.

That is what I keyed in on for today’s reading. Chapter 10 highlighted Saul’s ending in life…and it ended on unfaithfulness. He was God’s man, a chosen leader for his people, but he didn’t keep God’s Word. He used witchcraft to hear from God instead of going to God with a repentant heart. He didn’t seek the Lord with all his heart and soul.

So, God ended his time on earth. It was now time for a godly man to take over, a man after God’s own heart. We knew it was coming but it’s never fun or enjoyable to read it. It’s hard.

Because we can kinda get it— faith is hard because life is hard, and many times, it just doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to understand why bad things happen to us. It’s hard to understand God’s heart amid the trials of life. It’s hard to trust God when it hurts.

And yet, God promises that if we do, if we remain faithful, He blesses that. He promises to bring good out of the bad (Romans 8:28). He promises to strengthen us to face these hard times (Philippians 4:13). He promises us that He will hold us up with His righteous right hand as we go through these deep waters (Isaiah 41:10). He calls us to not be afraid or discouraged, but to trust that He is with us and He can turn this curse into a blessing (Genesis 50:20).

You guys, even though it feels like He isn’t there, He is. He is faithful. And He wants His kids to be faithful to turn to Him and to trust His heart. Remember that our feelings can lie to us all the time and if we can stay faithful to Him, we will experience it. He has a plan for us and for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

A plan of love, redemption, and the impossible. It’s what He does for His kids.

Saul didn’t trust Him or His plan. May we be men and women who stay the course and experience His faithfulness time and time again. May we experience God being our rock, our refuge, our God in whom we trust.

I have referenced these lines before, but they are so beautiful that sometimes, we just need to hear them again:

“I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.”
Psalm 18:1-3

May this be the song of our heats when we want to turn take our eyes off of Him and onto our troubles. He is worthy of any leap of faith we take in life.

David is about to experience this. May we continue to as well.