A 1189 Day Journey Through the Bible

I am writing from my hotel in Strasburg, PA. 1 Chronicles 15: David gets a ton of people together and brings the ark to Jerusalem.  I'm not sure what the plan is here.  Trying to recreate the past it seems. Everybody celebrated with some music and then some of your standard sacrifices.

I am writing from my hotel in Strasburg, PA. 1 Chronicles 14: This one opens with us being reminded that David is king, and he gets more wives and more kids. The Philistines heard about David being anointed and all that, so they set out after him.  With God's council, he destroyed the Philistines; and God made sure that everyone was afraid of David.

I am writing from my hotel in (Amish Country) Strasburg, PA. 1 Chronicles 13: So David gets all the Israelites together and decides to bring back the ark.  One dude touched and God killed him.  That is about it.

I am writing from my hotel in King of Prussia, PA. 1 Chronicles 12: This chapter is about a BUNCH of warriors who join David, though not much actually happens.

I am writing from my hotel in King of Prussia, PA. 1 Chronicles 11: David becomes the new king of Israel and takes over Jerusalem.  Because God was on his side, he became more and more powerful. There's a list of David's mighty warriors and their kill counts.  Those are only the special ones I suppose, as the chapter ends with a list of a bunch of warriors; no kill count listed, though.

I am writing from my Airbnb in Philadelphia, PA. 1 Chronicles 10: FINALLY!  Something is happening. The Philistines were fighting against Israel and ending up wounding Saul and killing some of his sons.  He didn't want to be tortured so he asked his armor bearer to finish him off.  The armor bearer declined so he fell on his own sword.  Well, that is a rough way to go.  The armor bearer then killed himself too. The Philistines end up showing off Saul's head, but the Israelites got his body back and buried his bones. We are told that Saul died because he was not faithful to God, and therefore God put him to death.  People like to blame God for a lot, don't they? That hasn't really changed.

I am writing from my Airbnb in Philadelphia, PA. 1 Chronicles 9: Okay well this is more genealogy, and then some bookkeeping about who was taking care of the house of God, and then finished off with more genealogy.

I am writing from my desk in Seattle, WA. 1 Chronicles 8: This chapter is only the genealogy of Saul the Benjaminite.  That is all.

I am writing from my desk in Seattle, WA. 1 Chronicles 7: No.  The answer is no, Chronicles apparently does not want to tell us a story. This is just more names and genealogy and SONS SONS AND MORE SONS. What about the daughters?!

I am writing from my desk in Seattle, WA. 1 Chronicles 6: SO MANY NAMES. Will Chronicles ever tell us a story?

I am writing from my desk in Seattle, WA. 1 Chronicles 5: More names.  Some fights.  God liked some people.  God didn't like some people.  Not much going on here.

I am writing from the lounge in the Vienna airport. 1 Chronicles 4: This chapter is almost all genealogy, though it concludes by telling us that the people mentioned had killed the Hamites, Meunites and Amalekites. So basically: Here’s a list of dudes and here’s who they murdered.

I am writing from my hotel in Berlin, Germany. 1 Chronicles 3: Well wouldn't you know it, another chapter of genealogy.  Stay tuned for hopefully a story soon.

I am writing from my hotel in Berlin, Germany. 1 Chronicles 2: This is just another chapter of genealogy.

I am writing from the train between Hannover and Berlin. 1 Chronicles 1: A new book! Though this first chapter is just genealogy. You would only read it for reference.

I am writing from the train between Hannover and Berlin. 2 Kings 25: Jerusalem was sieged by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians; and Zedekiah was captured. They killed his sons and removed his eyes. Then they broke down the walls and burned the temple. Nebuchadnezzar also had some people executed. Basically coming into the city and laying waste. At this point, the rest of Judah had fled. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to be an official over the people left behind from Judah, but they ended up executing him so it didn’t work out so well. Then the leftover people there fled to Egypt because they were afraid of the Babylonians. Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, and decided to release Jehoiachin (previous king is Judah) from prison. And that’s the end of Kings!

I am writing from 15E on KLM flight 1978 between Budapest and Hannover. 2 Kings 24: I think that in the Bible we have to ask ourselves what is God and what is not. Think about today. So many people are saying, “well God said this,” or “God said that.” Often, these things are in conflict. Is it possible that the prophets in antiquity were not always correct? This would of course leave us with records of God doing or saying things that seem inconsistent with love. In this chapter, Jehoiakim was invaded by Nebuchadnezzar and made his servant for three years. Jehoiakim turned against him and rebelled, but God sent a bunch of people against Judah. This was because of the sins of Manasseh, which (we are told) God was not willing to forgive. Spoiler alert, but dying on the cross, Jesus pleads forgiveness over the men who are executing him. This is inconsistent with what we read in 2 Kings; which leads me to believe that the writer has a biased view of what God is doing. Digressing. Jehoiakim ...

I am writing from my Airbnb in Budapest, Hungary. 2 Kings 23: Josiah brings all his people to the temple to renew the covenant; remember that we just found the book of the law!  We are told that everyone is there, from the least to the greatest.  I think that is an important part of this story.  Then everyone pledged themselves to the covenant (agreeing to follow the Lord); so they are all on board. Josiah then had the priests remove and destroy all of the idols and false god stuff (which takes up most of this chapter), essentially torching the pieces of their past that held them captive. He wasn't all good though, because he did slaughter some priests who were in the shrines near Samaria that God didn't like. Josiah ended up dying in battle, and his son Jehoahaz took over. Jehoahaz was evil and was taken as a slave so he couldn't be king.  His brother Jehoiakim took over as king of Judah.

I am writing from the train between Vienna and Budapest, on the Hungarian side!  This is my first time in Hungary. 2 Kings 22: Josiah becomes king at the age of eight, and does all the right stuff. Almost twenty years later, Josiah's secretary finds the book of the law.  Josiah hears and wants him and his people to learn more. A prophet tells them that another disaster will be brought upon their land and their people.  But because Josiah genuinely wanted to learn, he will be in peace and won't be affected by the disaster.

I am writing from the train between Vienna and Budapest. 2 Kings 21: Manasseh takes over for Hezekiah as king, at the ripe old age of twelve.  He did a bunch of evil stuff, including sacrificing his son in a fire, which God was not thrilled about.  Manasseh led his people astray, and caused them to do evil too. Because of this, the prophets (speaking on behalf of God) said that God will basically lay waste to Jerusalem and Judah. Then he died and his son Amon took over. He was pretty much just like his pops.  His officials conspired against him and murdered him; then his son Josiah took over as king of Judah.

I am writing from the train between Vienna and Budapest. 2 Kings 20: Hezekiah is gravely ill, and will soon be dead. Plot twist:  Hezekiah is told he will be healed and given an extra fifteen years to live. Then some people from Babylon came to the palace and Hezekiah showed them all of his treasures.  The prophet Isaiah said that they will eventually have most of his stuff.  Then Hezekiah died.

I am writing from the train between Graz and Vienna. 2 Kings 19: More bickering back and forth. My god is cool and yours sucks. Your god won’t help you, etc. Hezekiah at this point is asking God for some serious help, basically to be saved from the enemies. Then Isaiah gave a long prophecy that was poetic in parts, and said that God would hook him up. Frankly I’m having a hard time following a lot of this because it is just so boringly written. Anyway. That evening, an angel of the Lord killed one hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrians.  No one does genocide like God lol. Then the king of Assyria’s sons killed him.

I am writing from the train between Graz and Vienna. 2 Kings 18: So Hoshea did all the right stuff, and because of that, God was a big fan. Then some more war stuff, capturing of lands and whatnot. Back and forth and back and forth.  Nothing new. Then there’s a part about eating poop and drinking pee. Seriously. Read it. Honestly, this chapter is very boring. There’s this battle between who to follow.

I am writing from my hotel in Graz, Austria. 2 Kings 17: So Hoshea becomes king of Israel, and he's evil, but not as evil as those who came before him. The king of Assyria found out that Hoshea was a traitor, so he was overthrown and Samaria was overtaken. Apparently all this took place because Israel were sinners.  Or was it that their bad choices led them to this result? You can think of it this way:  Since they sinned against God, they were punished.  This makes God into a weird dictator. Or:  Since they chose paths of destruction, they chose their own fate.  God didn't force them to make bad decisions, they did it on their own. We are told that God rejected the people of Israel.  It sounds to me like they dug their own graves. So the king of Assyria brings people to settle in Samaria, replacing all of the Israelites.  Since they weren't worshipping the correct god, some of them got killed by lions. They tried to convince them but ...

I am writing from my hotel in Graz, Austria. 2 Kings 16: This chapter is about Ahaz, the king of Judah at this time. He did a bunch of dumb stuff, including offering his son as sacrifice, which God frowned upon. At one point, Aram and Israel tried to fight against Ahaz, but weren't able to overtake him. Ahaz did reach out to the king of Assyria for help, and complied by taking Damascus. Ahaz saw an altar he really liked in Damascus, so he had one built.  Then he died, and his son Hezekiah took over. And that is about it for this chapter.

I am writing from my Airbnb in Salzburg, Austria, 2 Kings 15: Azariah takes over as king of Judah.  He was nice but God gave him leprosy anyway. This chapter is just a lineage of kings, and how they were related.  There's not much going on.  If you're extra curious, give it a read, but it is pretty devoid of interesting content.

I am writing from my Airbnb in Salzburg, Austria. 2 Kings 14: God liked Amaziah, king of Judah. Jehoash (king of Israel) goes to war with Amaziah (king of Judah).  Jehoash tries to reason with him, but Amaziah doesn't listen, so Jehoash attacks.  Amaziah ends up getting himself killed. Back to Jeroboam II.  He apparently wasn't too important.  He died and Zechariah took over.

I am writing from my Airbnb in Salzburg, Austria. 2 Kings 13: So Jehoahaz was king during this time, but sucked so God was mad at him.  Apparently the king of Aram had destroyed most of Jehoahaz's army.  Jehoahaz died and his son Jehoash took over as king of Israel. He was evil too.  We don't have many details, but a new Jeroboam succeeded him as king. As Elisha is dying, he tells Jehoash (still king, as it appears we've gone back in time a bit) to open the window and fire arrows at Aram, to destroy the Arameans.  We are told that Elisha said to strike five or six times so he could completely destroy Arah, but Jehoash only struck three times. How many times do we quit too early? Elisha died.  Interestingly, some people threw a dead body into Elisha's tomb and it came back to life once it touched Elisha's bones.  Hmm. Then some more battles in minimal detail.