My 'One Year Bible' Journey

Today I read from the following books;

JUDGES 11:1 - 12:15
JOHN 1:1-28
PSALM 101:1-8
PROVERBS 14:13-14

Today in Judges it talks about a man named Jephthah from Gilead who was sent away from his family and his community because he was born from another mother than his high class brothers and sisters. He went to a town called Tob and lived there with a group of adventurers. Later the elders of Gilead came to him and asked him to come and be their leader. They asked him to come lead their army against the Ammonites who had waged war with Israel.

At first Jephthah was upset, he questioned them (for good reason) since they had sent away due to his status and now they were calling on him to be their leader, but eventually he went with them back to Gilead.

Right before battle Jephthah talked to God and said, that if God allows him to win the battle, that he will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his home to greet him when he comes home in victory. God gave the enemy to him and the Gilead army was victorious. He went home after the battle and his daughter was the first to come out of the door. He ripped his clothes and cried out that he had made a promise that he could not break. His daughter understood but asked for 2 months to go off with her friends and cry due to the fact that she was a virgin and would never be married. He granted her 2 months, when she returned he sacrificed her as a burnt offering to the lord.

- This is amazing! I can't imagine this situation, I also have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that God allowed this or wanted this sacrifice to happen. I can see offering your first calf or lamb but daughter? Was this "pleasing" to the lord? I will have to do more studying to understand this one I guess. -

It then talks about the leaders of Israel after Jephthah.

Today we start a new 'New Testament' book: John. The book of John is written in a way that is totally different than the other books so far. Its kind of confusing and the wording is very different. An example of this would be: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."

- As you can see this is written different than the other books. It would be interesting to see when the book of John was written and to know more about this book. Maybe in the days of reading to come we will learn more about it. -

It was a short passage about John being questioned by some Pharisees regarding his status. They ask him if he is claiming to be to the son of God, or a Prophet, or "Elijah", he answers no to all of them but says that he baptises in the name of the Lord. He describes himself to the elders as "I am the voice of one calling in the desert" I'm not sure what that means right now...

The Proverbs for today is; PROVERBS 14:13-14 "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief. The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his.

Labels: daily readings, Gilead, Jephthah, John, Judges, Proverbs, Psalms