Daily Bible Readings and Musings

 Daily Bible Readings and Musings

For a number of years on Facebook, I have posted daily bible readings and musings.  I'm not sure how I want to do that on this platform.  I usually do the Facebook posts from my phone which may or may not be as easy to do with a Blog. Right now, I am using my computer to blog, rather than a phone.

I think, what I will do is start the process with this one then use the comment section as a way to proceed to the next day.  That may be easier to do on the phone.  We'll see.

For those of you who are following on FB, this will be the same readings.  The advantage here, will be the enduring nature of it and the ability for me to make my words in a different font from the Bible quotations. 

For those of you who are new to following my Bible readings, this year I have a theme of questions.  With each reading, I try to formulate questions related to the reading.  Sometimes it is an enlightenment question, sometimes it is rhetorical, sometimes it is a curiosity that we may never know, sometimes it is designed to provoke thought...and sometimes I can't think of a question, so it is just a comment.

I repost only a portion of the reading but the question or comment may be associated with portions of the reading that I didn't repost.

The July 5th reading is: 2 Kings 12-13

I notice some of the recordings in this section are out of chronological order. Joash dies and then we have this portion where he is with Elisha.

Question: How would Josah had known how many times to strike the ground? Did he do it half-heartedly as well? Was that a greater part of the problem?

14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

22 Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.