Amos 7:1-9:15; 2 Kings 14:28-29, 15:8-29, 15:6-7; 2 Chronicles 26:22-23; Isaiah 6:1-13 Context is critical to understanding the Bible. We need to know when it was written, who wrote it, and who the audience was. In the Chronological One Year Bible, the books of the prophets are inserted directly into Israel and Judah’s timeline of events so we can understand more fully their meaning and context. F...  Read More

Amos 1:1-6:14 We live in a culture that is passionate about justice. Yet most want others to get what they deserve for their sin rather than receiving consequences for their own wrong actions. At the beginning of Amos, we see this same mentality when he pronounces judgment upon the enemies of Israel and Judah. It is not hard to imagine much delight that their enemies are finally going to receive t...  Read More

2 Kings 14:1-14; 2 Chronicles 25:1-24; 2 Kings 13:12-13, 14:15-16, 14:23-27; 2 Chronicles 25:25-28; 2 Kings 14:17- 22, 15:1-5; 2 Chronicles 26:1-21; Jonah 1:1-4:11 Jeroboam II had restored the boundaries of Israel according to God’s word as “spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher” (2 Kings 14:25). Jonah, a prophet in Israel? That sure slipped by me as a child...  Read More

2 Kings 13:1-11, 12:17-21; 2 Chronicles 24:23-27; 2 Kings 13:14-25 Elisha's ministry carried on beyond his death. We are told that a dead body touched Elisha’s bones, and it came back to life. This may seem like a strange story, but we are told again and again in Scripture that God has power over everything─including life and death. For instance, Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from th...  Read More

2 Kings 11:1-3; 2 Chronicles 22:10-12; 2 Kings 11:4-12; 2 Chronicles 23:1-11; 2 Kings 11:13-16; 2 Chronicles 23:12-15; 2 Kings 11:17-21; 2 Chronicles 23:16-21; 2 Kings 12:1-16; 2 Chronicles 24:1-22; 2 Kings 10:32-36 Even before social media, people were influenced by others. In 1 and 2 Kings, nearly every king's reign begins by stating the mother’s name. This speaks to a primary influence in their...  Read More

2 Chronicles 21:8-20; 2 Kings 8:23-29; 2 Chronicles 22:1-7; 2 Kings 9:1-10:17; 2 Chronicles 22:8-9; 2 Kings 10:18-31 Have you ever felt like you were getting a fresh start? This may have occurred when you were a child and moved to a different city, or when you went off to college, got married, acquired a new job, or retired. In today's reading, we see this fresh start for the nations of Israel and...  Read More

2 Kings 5:1-8:15 What does it mean to love your enemy? We may think of this idea as something only spoken of by Jesus, when it is modeled for us even in the Old Testament. In 2 Kings 5, an unnamed, kidnapped Israelite girl tells her mistress healing is available to her master in Israel. She tells the man, who is responsible for separating her from her family, culture, and land, he can be healed fr...  Read More

2 Kings 2:1-25, 4:1-44 The ministries of Elisha and Elijah were filled with miracles. In reading the Bible, we may feel like miracles are common occurrences, and wonder why we do not see them as often today. Yet, if we really study the miracles of the Bible, many of them are clustered around a few distinct periods of history. One such period is the current one we are reading; in many ways, this pe...  Read More

2 Kings 1:1-18, 3:1-27; 1 Kings 22:41-49; 2 Chronicles 20:31-37; 1 Kings 22:50; 2 Chronicles 21:1-4; 2 Kings 8:16-22; 2 Chronicles 21:5-7 There is a common adage that “the only constant in life is change.” For followers of Christ, this applies only to the external circumstances of life, as God is always constant and true. Israel's throne transitions from Ahab to Ahaziah and then quickly to Joram/J...  Read More

1 Kings 22:10-28; 2 Chronicles 18:9-27; 1 Kings 22:29-35; 2 Chronicles 18:28-34; 1 Kings 22:36-40, 22:51-53; 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:30 We hear lots of voices every day, but how well do we pay attention to them? We can hear, but not actually listen. In our reading today, we see two different communications from God through prophets─one that is heeded and one that is not. First, Micaiah tells Ahab and...  Read More

1 Kings 20:23-22:9; 2 Chronicles 18:1-8 There was a popular worship song with the line, "Break my heart for what breaks yours." These words express the desire that our hearts would align with God's in the things we love and hate. As we continue with the life of Ahab, we discover what breaks his heart is not what breaks God's heart. The primary thing over which Ahab’s heart breaks is his inability ...  Read More

1 Kings 17:8-20:22 After a focus on the kings of Israel and Judah, the spotlight moves to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. As we read about their lives, we will see that being a spokesperson for God does not mean comfort and ease. God uses Elijah to remind the people of God's power against the inability of Baal and idols. The climactic victory at Mt. Carmel with fire coming from Heaven led to the s...  Read More