You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

Throughout the Old Testament we’ve listened intently for the word of the LORD: what does God think about what’s going on?   This is important because the LORD is the primary character of this Bible; He is the subject.  At times He’s spoken directly; at others, He’s communicated through prophets; at still others He delivers signs that confirm His power and expectations.  In today’s first episode, we get all three. 

Jesus leads Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  On that mountain, Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light…Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him.  There was a bright cloud, and for the second time in this Gospel, there was a voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

The signs, the prophets, the voice of God…all at once focused on Jesus.  Any questions about whether Jesus’ truly fulfills the Law and the Prophets, for Matthew, are settled.  The disciples’ terror is matched by Jesus’ reassuring echo of the LORD’s words to Joshua: “Rise, and have no fear.” 

The remainder of the chapter moves quickly.  Descending the mountain, Jesus finds His disciples’ miniscule faith unable to displace a demon.  This episode is sandwiched between two reminders of Jesus’ impending suffering.  And it concludes with Jesus agreeing to pay the Temple tax – but not because He has to. 

Chapter 18 is driven by two questions: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”… and, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?”  Notice that the bridge between these two discussions is teaching about how a disciple should handle it “If your brother sins against you…”  While we often hear this passage as isolated instruction for confronting sin, it’s important to see that it’s within a context: between humbling oneself like a child, and forgiving your brother from your heart. 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 17 and 18.  Now let’s read it!

As with the 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings can be considered a single unit, separated only by the amount of words that could be fit on a scroll.  They continue the story of the nation of Israel, inheriting the united kingdom that had existed for almost eighty years under Saul and David. 

As the first book of Kings opens, David is only nominally on the throne, and we’re immediately plunged into a succession intrigue. The featured actors are David’s oldest remaining son, Adonijah, and Solomon, the son of Bathsheba.  When Adonijah exalted himself, saying, “I will be king,” and attracts Joab and Abiathar to his side, two crises emerge:  First, that David is weak and seemingly out of touch with his kingdom; and second, that the king of Israel has to this point been anointed by a prophet.  Anyone who has taken the crown for himself – Abimelech, Absalom, Sheba – has been doomed. 

So much is hinted at in these first chapters that the imagination can run.  The observation about David’s relationship with Abishag might be highlighting David’s virtue or his feebleness.  The author makes sure we know that Adonijah is so handsome – which in Samuel and Kings is the kiss of death.  He sheds light on David’s parenting, his grievances, and on his steady gratitude to the LORD, “who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.” 

Chapter 2 is a pivot to a clean slate.   The story of David, as well as those of Adonijah, Abiathar, Shimei, and even Joab are brought to a close.  The kingdom is established in the hand of Solomon, who, it is observed, loved the LORD, walking in the ways of David his father, [however] he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.  This crescendo reaches a peak when in chapter 3 the LORD comes to Solomon in a dream, and invites him to “Ask what I shall give to you.”   The rest of the chapter, and the rest of Solomon’s life, will bear witness to his response. 

It seems fitting to close today with this epitaph: Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.  And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years.  He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.  So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. 

Our verse for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Kings 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it!

Each of these chapters opens with religious leaders coming to test Jesus, and since they’re becoming more prominent in Matthew’s Gospel, it might be helpful to review what these groups were about. 

The Sadducees were centered in Jerusalem and were predominantly upper-class.  They accepted only the Torah – the five books of Moses – as authoritative, and pretty much governed life and worship in Jerusalem.  Pharisees, on the other hand, were found throughout Judea and Galilee and trusted the authority of the prophets, historical writings, and oral tradition, in addition to Moses.  Sadducees were generally unpopular, while Pharisees were held in high esteem.  The Sadducees were compliant with Roman occupation and accepting of the influence of Greek thought; the Pharisees wanted no parts of either.  

The scribes were not a formal group at all, but as the official copyists of scripture and recorders of legal proceedings, they were acknowledged as experts in the law.  They were often found among the priesthood and many of them may have been Levitical.  At a time when most people were illiterate, the Scribes were well-regarded and wielded considerable influence.   

These groups found common ground in the problem of Jesus.  He was challenging their monopoly on interpretation and teaching, and His hold over the crowds incited jealousy.  Today Jesus calls the Pharisees “blind guides” who “break the commandment of God for the sake of [their] tradition.”  He later warns the disciples to “Watch and beware of the leaven…the teaching… of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

For all this and more, Jesus has compassion on the crowds.  Today He heals their sick and feeds them, in and around Galilee.  He gives His disciples a lesson on the faith that leads to perception.  And in the middle of chapter 16, He calls them to commit: “…Who do you say that I am?”  Peter answers, and is given a promise. 

And from that moment Matthew noticed a change.  “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”  Furthermore, His suffering will be shared, for “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me….” 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 15 and 16.  Now let’s read it!

Characters such as Jacob, Moses and Joshua have received the honor of having their “last words” recorded.  Jacob addresses his sons with a mix of observation, promise, and warning.  Moses and Joshua each recount the favor of the LORD on the children of Israel and remind Israel to honor their covenant with Him. 

In our first chapter today, David speaks the word of The Spirit of the LORD, reminding the next generation that, “when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, He dawns on them like the morning light…”  This oracle is followed by a register of David’s mighty men, recounting their importance in protecting David and securing the kingdom. 

The final chapter of Samuel once again visits an earlier episode in David’s reign.  The basic synopsis is this: the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, so He incited David against them.  David calls for a census; Joab protests, sensing something is amiss, but David overrides him.  God then uses this to inflict punishment on Israel, the instrument of which David has to choose.  The angel of death sweeps Israel, stopping just short of Jerusalem, and David worships.

Everybody got that?

Don’t read this story without absorbing the first line, that the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He incited David against them… Everything that happens next is secondary to this premise.  There don’t appear to be hidden meanings or arrangements here, and no amount of linguistic gymnastics avoids the assertion that the LORD caused David to sin in order to have a reason to punish Israel. 

This is not unprecedented.  The LORD demonstrated His supremacy over Pharaoh by grabbing Pharaoh’s heart and compelling him to recklessness.  It is not impossible that the moments when Moses intervened between the LORD’s anger and Israel in the wilderness tests similar to this moment with David.  This could plausibly fit the author’s story arc showing the ability and integrity David had lost after his sin with Bathsheba. 

Also of interest is the reason for which the plague was halted: When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.”  This could perhaps be a primary lesson for the author, showing the LORD’s continued favor for David’s capital and presenting hope for protection for future generations. 

But this is all speculation.  As I’ve said many times, the primary character of this book is the LORD, and we have to add this event to our map of the LORD’s character.  Read it slowly and carefully. 

Our verse for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2 Samuel 23 and 24.  Now let’s read it!