8 Aug (Nehemiah 5-13)

Nehemiah 5

(v.14) Like Daniel, Nehemiah refused to eat of the Persian cuisine. Instead, he grew and provided for himself. Even though we have grocery stores today, it's wise for all of us to have gardens where we can eat vegetables and fruits of our own.

Nehemiah 6

(v.9) When we are feeling weak or doubtful, we need to call upon God to carry our burden. Matt 11:28

(v.12) It doesn't say why, but Nehemiah sensed that he was being lied to. We have a fail-safe way to know if we are being deceived...the Word of God! Compare it to what you're being taught (especially from here) and make sure it's true. Acts 17:11

(v.16) Often, when great things are accomplished, it was because of God. The speed and efficiency of the wall being built was a tribute to the people's faith, and God's provision.

Nehemiah 7

We often skim over the genealogies, but they are there for a reason...God put those people there to document His work and His people in history. We hear today that the Jews "stole" the land from the Arabs and Palestinians...when they weren't there until after the Jews were spread out to all the nations.

Nehemiah 8

(v.6) For Christians, it's common to bow our heads when in corporate prayer. But it's not common to raise hands during song, or to get on our knees in public. I personally am doing more of that, not to gain attention, but to show God my stature to Him...lowly. Worship should come from the heart, and if one is moved to raise hands, then that is good. However, one shouldn't make such a commotion to draw attention to himself, for that is not the reason for worship...it should be all directed to God.

(v.17) I make a point to show my kids that the Jews had forgotten to celebrate the Feasts. This was mandated by God, yet all it took was one generation to not pass this along to their children, and the Feasts were forgotten.

Nehemiah 9

(v.3) We have it so easy nowadays...we go to church for a couple of hours on Sunday, and we think we're giving God a great amount of time! Here we see that they worshiped God for 8 hours!

After repenting, confessing their sins, and hearing the Word of God, the people were really growing in the LORD. This is what we must do. We don't have to spend 8 hours on Sunday, but we should try to pray more, read His Word daily, and sing to Him numerous times during the week. After all, He gave us life, so we should spend a substantial part of our day acknowledging what God has done for us!

Nehemiah 10

(v.28) We keep seeing the phrase, everyone with knowledge and understanding...these are people who have repented and are studying the Word. When we make the effort to seek Him, He rewards us with wisdom and blessings. Acts 17:27

(v.36) The concept of the first fruits is crucial. This goes with tithing, and in the case of children, we are to consecrate the firstborn son of the family to be dedicated to the LORD. I have daughters, but all three of them are learning God's Word, and I expect them to give their lives to God. My oldest has already been baptized at the age of seven, and I expect when she is a teenager, she will do it again...to proclaim her dedication to the LORD.

Nehemiah 11

The Jews welcomed and blessed the foreigners who wished to dwell with them...this is following God's commandments.

Nehemiah 12

(v.43) I have felt such great joy when around others who love and worship God! When we get together and when we collectively worship God, we can feel God's presence there!

Nehemiah 13

(v.2) God turns curses and trials into blessings. The outcome may not appear a blessing at the time, but we're always better off, and in a better state to be used by God because of them. James 1:2

(v.19) On Sundays, after we've gone to church, my family either spends the day with other families who are believers, or we stay at home to be together. During the week, our kids and ourselves are mixed among the secular world, at school and at work, so it's important to have a day where you spend time with only believers.

Mar 3 (1 Sam 20)

1st Samuel 20

This is a great chapter to read about friendship. I teach my kids that even though we love our siblings, we choose our friends. Our siblings were born into the same family, but our friends share our same experiences and interests. When we befriend someone, we look for similar values and interests. We are usually the same age, and we usually like the same songs and movies.

True friends will speak honestly with you. If you are making a mistake, they will tell you so without bias like a parent or sibling might do.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (Prov 27:6 NKJV)

True friends will be there for you for support and encouragement. Jonathan was a true friend to David. Jonathan gave up any hope for being king because he knew that the Lord wanted David to be king. Jonathan stood up for his friend to his father, who was also the king! Jonathan stood up for righteousness in the face of evil. We all can learn from Jonathan's example!

(vv.19-23) I marvel at the scheme Jonathan devises to let David know the status of Saul's anger. Instead of sending a letter or word to David, Jonathan doesn't want anyone to know of their plan. At first glance, this looks like a lack of faith, but in reality, Jonathan was wise to prevent anyone to be under Saul's wrath if he found out!

Again, I reiterate with my kids that it's not right to keep secrets from our parents. But in this case, where Saul was obviously acting in an evil way, Jonathan stood up for righteousness instead of for his own gain.

Feb 27 (1 Sam 15-16)

1st Samuel 15

This is an important chapter for many reasons. First of all, God directed Saul to kill every man, woman, child and all livestock of the Amalekites because they fought against Moses and God's people when they were leaving Egypt (Deut 25:17-19).

Also, they had remnants of the giants with them, and God wanted those satanic hybrids to be destroyed. This is the main reason for killing all the people, instead of just the men. There was an evil culture in those people, both in their blood, and in their customs. They were pagan and satanic, and God didn't want them to influence His people away from Him. My kids ask, "Couldn't God control that?" I tell them He would've, but He did give us free will, so in order for the Jews to truly follow Him, they needed to obey and strive to be holy.

God has His reasons and purposes, and if we look into this, we catch a glimpse of why God wanted Agag and his people destroyed. We will see later, that the Amalekites took credit for the death of Saul, and during the time of Esther, Haman was a descendant of Agag. Haman killed many Jews and wanted to kill all of them.

(v.11) Much like in Gen 6:6, God was saddened by His people. He so wanted them (and wants us now) to love and follow Him. Samuel was sad as well, and we see here that Samuel actually loved Saul.

(v.13) Saul digs his own grave by building a monument for himself, and telling Samuel that the reason he got the livestock, was to offer to God!

(vv.15,21) I take notice with my kids that Saul, when speaking to Samuel, referred to God as Samuel's God...not "our God." This is quite telling of Saul's spirit. He went along with things, but he truly didn't believe in God. We can all think of friends and family who are like Saul. They may go to church, but there is no intimacy with God and passion that comes from one who is born-again.

(v.22) This is very telling to all of us...God wants us to live for Him by His commandments, than rather live a worldly life and go through the confessions and rituals without repentance. God forgives if we repent...He doesn't forgive before we repent.

This is another opportunity to teach my kids the meaning of repentance. It doesn't mean that you feel bad, and ask for forgiveness. It is a literal turning your back on your worldly actions of the past, and facing God again. Repentance is returning to God.

If there is a lifestyle or sin that keeps us stumbling, then we just can't feel bad and do it again thinking that God will forgive. He will forgive, but only if we change and turn away from that sinful lifestyle or deed.

I remind my kids that we all stumble back into our old ways now and again, but it will happen less frequently, and will not control us if we have His Spirit in us.

(v.33) This is how bad it got...a priest, Samuel, had to do the job king Saul should have done. Samuel shows an example of righteous anger here, and obeys God.

1st Samuel 16

(v.1) Samuel mourned for Saul, but God tells him that He has a true king to rule over His people. Jesse is a grandson of Boaz, and a descendant of Judah. As Jacob prophesied in Gen 49:10, the kings shall rule from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is to be in this line of kings.

(v.4) Along with Micah 5:2, we see that Bethlehem is the little town that would produce two kings...the first David, and then the King of Kings, Jesus!

Once again, God uses the little things and little people for big purposes! The firstborn status was given to the youngest of the sons, David. Like Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses...God uses the least likely sons to do great things.

I love how both Moses and David were shepherds...they both are types of Christ...our Great Shepherd.

(v.14) Here we see that God's Spirit left Saul...what a tragic thing to read! In the OT, God had not sent His Spirit to indwell amongst believers, but to come upon them. His Spirit was done with Saul, and never again came upon him...how sad and tragic.

(v.21) David knew that God was going to make him king, but he still showed respect and love for Saul...the current king. This is a great example to us today...we may have a boss, a politician or some other authority that we don't like, but we are still to respect and obey all that God puts into authority.

Jan 24 (Exodus 9-11)

Exodus 9

The fifth, sixth and seventh plagues fall upon the people of Egypt, but not upon the people of Israel. This is an example of what God does for those who follow Him...He protects them from His wrath upon man. God allows disasters and trials in our lives, but He doesn't instigate them. As we read in Job, God ALLOWS Satan to torment us, but only to a point. God wants us to grow and rely upon Him, and trials are usually the best and only way to break us down and have us rely upon Him.

I tell this story to my kids about this concept:

There was this man, who only prayed when life was hard on him...but when he prayed, he prayed fervently. After many trials and years of tragedies, the man finally asked God the question, "I pray so hard to you, and yet, there so many tragedies in my life...why?" And God replied back, "Only when you're in trouble do you talk with me. I love you and want to have fellowship with you, so you leave me no other choice!"

Exodus 10

The eighth and ninth plagues befall Egypt, and Pharaoh does a very interesting thing...he confesses his sins to God. Some people think that if we just say the sinner's prayer (that we're sinners and need a Savior), then we're automatically saved. It's like there is some magic phrase or chant that allows us salvation.

It's not that easy, and it can't be that easy! We can't say or do anything to earn our salvation. Only God Himself can do that for us, and many years after Moses, God Himself became flesh and died in our stead. If one says the sinner's prayer, and their heart is true, then God will justify us before Him, and we are saved. However, if this happens and the Holy Spirit enters our lives, then there HAS TO BE a change in us. We don't do good works to get saved, we do good works BECAUSE we are saved!!!

This is what separates born-again Christianity from all other faiths...even denominational faiths that require works prayers to mortals, reliance upon men and indulgences to assure salvation.

Exodus 11

The tenth plague will do the trick, and Pharaoh will ultimately allow the Jews to leave Egypt. One thing to note about all ten plagues...they represent 10 of many gods that the Egyptians worshipped. God was showing the Egyptians that He is the true God, and their fake gods were being schooled by the Master!!!

God warns Pharaoh that all the firstborn children and livestock will die, which is also a prophecy that He will Himself offer His Firstborn Son. Jesus is our Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world as John the Baptist proclaimed in (John 1:29, 36).

Jan 23 (Exodus 8)

Exodus 8

Moses and Aaron plead with Pharaoh to let their people go to the desert to worship God, but as we'll see many times in this event, Pharaoh won't ablige until the death of his firstborn son. There is some great typology going on here:

~ Egypt is a type of the world...of the flesh and bondage to sin

~ Moses is like Christ, taking His people away from sin and into peace

~ Pharaoh is like Satan...fighting God and trying to compromise

~ The Red Sea is a type of water baptism

~ The Promised Land is a type for heaven

NOTE: The Promised Land has been compared to heaven, and the time of believers on earth. Good scholars on both opinions are valid. The important thing to teach our kids, is that God provided the way of salvation...all we need to do is believe and obey.

(v.19) The magicians don't say that another god did this like theirs (Satan), but they give credit where credit is due...they tell Pharaoh that God brought the lice forth. Again, Satan can imitate God very well up to a point, so we must be careful to know our Bible and His warnings (Lk 21:8, 1 Cor 6:9, Gal 6:7 and James 1:16) so we aren't led astray by the enemy.

Jan 18 (Genesis 46-50)

Genesis 46

After 22 years, Jacob and Joseph are reunited! I don't know about you, but if I'm 22 hours away from my kids, I go batty...I can't imagine the magnitude of emotions that went through both of these men when they hugged for the first time in over two decades.

Genesis 47

Joseph had the people give a fifth of their profits to Pharaoh as a tax...that is 20%. Wouldn't we be much better off if our taxes were that low again?!?

I use this example to teach my kids that heavy taxes enslaves people to the government. No matter what your political slant, the more money you have to invest and give, the better for everyone! Government never allocates goods and services near as well as private citizens do!!!

Genesis 48

This is another occasion where the younger brother is given the firstborn status. Joseph tried to correct his father, but Jacob showed that he knew what he was doing...it was God leading him.

You would think that Joseph would've understood, since he was given the same blessing and favoritism by his father many years ago!!!

Genesis 49

Jacob prophesies over his twelve sons...here is a synopsis of what to look for and remember in the rest of the Bible:

REUBEN ~ He was the first born, but he gave up his firstborn status by allowing the rest of his brothers to sell Joseph. Later, it was the tribe of Reuben who was involved in the rebellion in the wilderness (Num 16:1)

LEVI ~ Although Levi and Simeon avenged their sister is such brutal fashion, Levi was the most zealous about ridding the people from idolatry...this may be why God had the Levites be the priests of the people.

SIMEON ~ this tribe loses it's validity over time and is not a big factor in the rest of the Bible compared to his brothers. As a matter of fact, Moses didn't give his blessing to this tribe before he died.

JUDAH ~ This tribe means "praised" and is designated to be the line of kings. Jesus would be a direct descendant from Judah.

ZEBULUN ~ This tribe became seamen, and were highly involved in sea trade over the coming centuries. It is believed most of this tribe was around the areas where Jesus taught in the early years.

ISSACHAR ~ this name translates to "bony ass" and they would live a life of hard labor and near enslavement, since their land was constantly between warring factions.

DAN ~ This tribe gets snubbed by the Holy Spirit quite a few times in the Bible, when naming the twelve tribes...they are not listed numerous times! It is believed that the reason for this, is that the tribe of Dan allowed the first act of idolatry into the people of Israel, and they never recovered.

GAD ~ Like Issachar, this tribe was in land that was used for war. This tribe became known for it's fierceness in war.

ASHER ~ This tribe was blessed to live in fertile ground, and they were very productive.

NAPHTALI ~ These people were nomadic and roamed around mostly in the mountain regions.

JOSEPH ~ This tribe also has two sub-tribes in them...Ephraim and Manasseh.

EPHRAIM ~ Joshua, Deborah and Samuel were from this tribe.

MANASSEH ~ Gideon and Jephthah in the book of Judges were from this tribe and were noted for their valor.

Genesis 50

I skip chapter 49 for its own discussion, and since the death of Joseph is linked to the previous chapters. Joseph led an interesting life, and the similarities of him and Jesus are striking...here are some of the parallels:

~ Both were betrayed by their brothers

~ Both were given great power, but didn't abuse it

~ Both were tempted by the flesh, but didn't give in.

~ Both were imprisoned unjustly.

~ Both were silent in their defense

~ Both had other inmates come to him for guidance

~ Both were with two other criminals, one lived and the other died

~ Both forgave their brothers who treated them so harshly

~ Both were reunited with their father...one on earth, and the other in heaven

It's fun to see the kids think of other similarities and have fun connecting topics from other parts of the Bible!!!

Jan 10 (Genesis 27-28)

Genesis 27

What a difference between the two sons of Isaac! Esau was the older brother, who was manly and very good at hunting. And then there was Jacob, who seemed to be a "Momma's boy" and cooked. It's worth mentioning the trickery that Rebekah and Jacob played on Isaac, but I also like to point out that it wouldn't have been necessary, if Isaac had obeyed God and blessed Jacob in the first place...Jacob was the son to whom God's covenant was to go through...not Esau.

Isaac was not obeying God, and in fact, showing favoritism by trying to give the firstborn blessing to Esau. I like to point out that if we try to move away from God's plans for us, He will often get us back in line, and it's more than likely going to be painful. If we just stay in tune with God and obey when He leads us to something, we won't have as many trials in this life.

In verse 40, we see a repeat of what God told Abraham about Ishmael's descendants serving Isaac's descendants...Esau's will serve Jacob's.

Jacob had to flee, and this was the price that he and Rebekah had to pay for their deceit...they would never see each other again.

Genesis 28

Jacob travels to his uncle Laban's house, and has a vision of heaven. He also sees and talks with Jesus...another theophany!

Jacob names this place, Bethel, which in Hebrew means "House of God." Jacob vows the Christian vow...to follow the Lord and trust that He will provide for him and never forsake him!

Jan 9 (Genesis 25-26)

Genesis 25

(vv.7-8) This chapter starts out with the death and burial of Abraham. We notice that Abraham and Sarah are buried in a foreign place, not where their ancestors lived. Since only Sarah preceded Abraham in death, it's interesting that the Scripture says that Abraham was "gathered to his people." This is a reference to "Abraham's Bosom" that Jesus spoke about in Luke 16:19-31. This is important to remember when our kids ask us where all the Old Testament faithful went to until the Christ frees them and takes them with Him to heaven.

(v.23) God is telling us early on, that the Jews would have a continuous enemy on earth...the descendents of Ishmael and Esau. God blessed them and made them strong in number, but they are to be subservient to the descendents of Isaac and Jacob, their younger brothers. Also, the Edomites (sons of Esau) served under King David.

I like to tie in current events to make this stick with my kids, and I show them that even today, the sons of Esau and the sons of Jacob are at odds. And all this goes back to the battle between Satan and God.

(vv.29-34) Esau didn't value his birthright as the oldest son to head the family. His emotions and pride were influencing him. We could also say that Jacob was quite cunning to take advantage of this, but I believe that God had orchestrated this from the start.

The firstborn status is significant and honorable. Jesus is called the Firstborn of all creation. Most of the time, the oldest son born to a family would have that status, but God's ways are not always man's ways. The term, firstborn is a status, not a lineage or order of birth. The Hebrew word used is arche, which we get our word, "architect" from.

My kids like to find all the examples of the firstborn status going to a younger brother:

Seth instead of Cain
Shem instead of Japheth
Isaac instead of Ishmael
Jacob instead of Esau
Judah and Joseph instead of Reuben
Moses instead of Aaron
David instead of all his brothers

Genesis 26

I like to point out two things in this chapter:

Isaac follows in the footsteps of Abraham by not telling the complete truth about his wife, and saying she is his sister. I point out that even though Isaac is sinning like Abraham did, God still uses him for great purposes.

Also, when Isaac was finally obedient and went to Beersheba like God told him to, Isaac started hearing from God again. It's like that with us...when we are walking with Him in obedience, we are in tune with Him, but when we get offtrack, we don't hear God so well.