Day 14 Another dip into the apocrypha these next couple days. It makes sense to look at the books of Esdras as they are closely linked, in name, to Ezra and Nehemiah. First Esdras is pretty much a word for word copy of Ezra and parts of Second Chronicles. Something felt incredibly familiar reading it […]
Day 13 I can see why these books, originally together, were separated in Christian bibles. Ezra is a gloomy sort while Nehemiah is joyful at what’s to come — even the difficult parts. I resonated with this contrast, though. At first, after reading Ezra, I was afraid of what was lurking around the corner with […]
Day 12 I was about ready to throw in the towel with 1 & 2 Kings. They were bleak, labored, and exhausting books. The author was excruciating as they detailed the sins of Israel, Judah, and the many many Kings. Even the “good Kings” would incur punishment from God on Israel or Judah. I described […]
Day 11 I had a lot of emotions with this book. What came to mind when I was reading this was: “This is like reading biblical tabloids.” And it really is. You’ve got Elijah comin’ on down with miracles followed by Elisha, all of these other gods creeping into Israel and Judah, a !@#$load of […]
Day 10 I was looking forward to this book as it’s where Solomon is made King. However, a quick realization settled in. The legendary wisdom of Solomon comes much later and these books deal with deeds and history. I was hoping for a couple additional proverbs sprinkled in here, but, to no avail. It was […]
Day 9 The books of Samuel were a delight. There was a lot of warfare, but woven throughout there was great intrigue. Love, betrayal, redemption, anguish, and — as with so much of the Bible, raw humanity. Second Samuel didn’t disappoint. I found myself reading the stories differently. I let go of a lot of […]
Day 8 This book isn’t really about Samuel that much. Here we find the story of the first king of Israel, Saul, followed by the preferred first king, David. This book gets a lot of attention in queer circles and I can completely see why now. Jonathan and David were very close. The text says […]
Day 7 Judges: Honestly, all I am feeling after reading Judges is that it was like a fever dream. Sure, there’s a regular pattern to the stories. Israel falls from grace, they’re oppressed for their sin, and a “judge” rescues them or leads them to victory every time. But what the @#$%? There’s some great […]
Day 6 I loved this book. I really did. It has everything you’d want from an epic myth: war, shifty bargaining, deities throwing rocks, deep longing, and real estate. Joshua was the culmination of so much waiting and wandering from the Torah, I certainly felt a sense of satisfaction in the Israelites finally conquering their […]
Day 5 Well, it felt like it took something like 40 days to read the Torah, but here I am, at the end. Deuteronomy emphasized that feeling. The book really is a summary of the story of Moses, the Exodus, the covenant, and the law. If you just have time for one book of the […]