Closer Day By Day

History - 2 Chronicles 25-28

I was a lousy history student.  Somehow the idea of dates, past events, drama etc never excited me. But history was written for a purpose… so that we might learn from the past… and hopefully not commit the mistakes of the past but repeat the successes - although history (pun fully intended) has shown us otherwise. (: However, the History books of the Bible are different.  Cause although...

History - 2 Chronicles 21-24

I think no one has mentioned this before - Chronicles emphasises more on the religious and spiritual aspects of Israel’s history, as opposed to the political, prophetic and moral emphasis of 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Most believed that the Chronicles was written after the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile - so we can see that the records are written to help the...

History - 2 Chronicles 16-20

Some of the kings in Old Testament times had very interesting lives … and very instructive lives too! The Lord had peculiar dealings with some of them, and they have become memorials of the Lord’s grace. In today’s passage, we continue reading about the final days of Asa (continued from last week).  We also read about another king - Jehoshaphat and as you explore some the things of his...

History - 2 Chronicles 11-15

After the breakaway of the northern tribes, Rehoboam was faced with a period of consolidation.  Interestingly, despite comprising of only 2 out of the 12 tribes of Israel, Judah remained the stronger kingdom - definitely because God was with them. Not only that, we also see the Levites coming from all over the land to dwell together in Judah and not in the northern kingdom. Besides Rehoboam, we also...

History - 2 Chronicles 6-10

Glory one moment… and the next moment - the despair over the division of a nation. In just 5 short chapters, we experience the extreme swing of emotions.   The stories may be familiar but let us see what we can learn together today… Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 6-10 A Building, More or Less I have been blessed to be able to witness 2 church dedications and 1 church rededication (maybe...

History - 2 Chronicles 1-5

How do you feel when you are reading the Chronicles?  After all, you have just read the Kings and the stories of the kings are still fresh in mind.  And now we have to read about them again?  What else can we learn about them that we have not known before? There’s always something new we can learn each time we read the Bible - even if we have read the same passage over and over and over again. ...

History - 1 Chronicles 25-29

In our final instalment of 1 Chronicles, we read the closing chapters from 25 to 29. We’ll read the chapters today. Bible Passage:  1 Chronicles 25-29 What started off as a chronicling of the lineage of David, tracing itself to Adam, has gone a full circle and we end up with a chronicling of the important tasks and scope of duties that were in the hands of King David. We carry on from last...

History - 1 Chronicles 20-24

We briefly mentioned some weeks ago that 1 Chronicles should be seen as a parallel documentation of 1st and 2nd Samuel. This speaks for itself when we read of similar incidents concerning one of the pivotal characters of both books - David. What was David like as a warrior, leader, and king? What was David like as… a man? We get glimpses into his love for God and Israel, as well as the human...

History - 1 Chronicles 15-19

Dear Bro/Sis GST CREDITS - HAPPY NEWS FOR ALL 1. History has taught us that when a country is doing well in all aspects, the ruling government will usually transfer some of that goodness over to its citizens. It seems most natural and the only right thing to do since the common-folk form the basis of one of the three criteria for a nation: People. 2. This continues to play out in our modern times....

History - 1 Chronicles 10-14

Today’s reading is from… Bible Passage:  1 Chronicles 10-14 Here’s a story adapted from 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 They went through the entire strategic plan once again. It was going to be a hit and run event. This incursion into the enemy territory was fraught with danger, as it would always have been. Yet, this was inconsequential. What mattered most was their leader, their country,...