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Ecclesiastes 10-12
In general, I really enjoy the New Living Translation for the poetic books and wisdom literature. There are many idioms used in these books and the NLT’s thought-for-thought translation really excels with those. But – I take issue with the choice of word for translating the Hebrew word hebel. It’s often translated as “vanity.” The…
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Ecclesiastes 7-9
If Solomon could watch the Pixar film Inside Out, he would definitely be on “Team Sadness.” “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.”Ecclesiastes 7:2-3 NLT In my…
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Ecclesiastes 4-6
Solomon, had he lived today, might’ve been a YouTube “influencer.” Since I don’t have tv of any kind and almost never go to a movie, my main form of screen-entertainment is YouTube. (I’m currently on a kick of watching people turn vans into campers.) 🌳🌳……🚐….🌳 Some channels seem to specialize in “what’s wrong” in politics,…
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Ecclesiastes 2-3
Chapter 2 outlines the 3 “tests” of Solomon. These must have taken him years to accomplish. TEST 1 – POSSESSIONS & PLEASURE (v1-11) It can be rather tempting to think, “If I just had as much money as I could want, life would be better.” “If I could just have more fun, more excitement…” “If…
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Proverbs 28-29 & Ecclesiastes 1
Many of the proverbs in these chapters are about a person’s relationship to money. We see 2 kinds of people who have plenty: We also see 2 kinds of poor: The financial coach Dave Ramsey says that money is like an amplifier. It doesn’t change the nature of a person. It just exposes and amplifies…
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Proverbs 25-27
Imagine if someone found a previously unknown cache of documents by one of America’s Founding Fathers; like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. It would cause quite a stir! About 200 years after Solomon, court officials under King Hezekiah compiled this collection of additional proverbs by Solomon. 📜 It’s possible they were “lost” in the royal…
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1st Kings 9, 2nd Chronicles 8
These parallel chapters give us a summary of Solomon’s infrastructure development. There are a few obscure terms and odd bits that stood out to me. THE OMINOUS WARNING The 1 Kings 9 passage feels very intentional toward the exiled Jews. Remember that the book of Kings was written after Jerusalem and the temple had been…
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Psalms: 134, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
This set of Psalms is focused on Yahweh as Creator. 146-150 are the final psalms in the book though not the final psalms we will read. We have a few that we skipped that will pop up from time to time. PSALM 134 When I was a kid we sang a little chorus based on…
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2nd Chronicles 7, Psalm 136
Without a doubt the most famous verse in all of the Chronicles is… “…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal…
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2nd Chronicles 6
🤔 Is it just me, or does this chapter feel like déjà vu? It’s a parallel account to the one we just read in 1st Kings 8. 🤔 So why is the same story in the Bible twice? Isn’t once enough? Scholars generally agree that the book of Kings was written first. And it was…
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2nd Chronicles 5
This chapter highlights the role of the Levitical musicians and singers in the dedication of the temple. Everything about the Temple is HUGE. The temple is huge. The brazen altar is huge. The herds of animals for sacrifice are huge. And the band is huge. One hundred and twenty trumpets – is a lot of…
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1st Kings 8
This is the “Reader’s Digest” version of the completion of the temple and the dedication. We will unpack it more in the next couple posts. For now… Did you notice this? “So they brought up the ark of Yahweh and the tent of assembly and all of the holy vessels that were in the tent;…
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