PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2025-2026

Happy Valentine’s Day, although you aren’t going to find anything in the Bible about this particular day, it is a fun day nevertheless. But here we see in the beginning of this new book of the Bible for us, II Chronicles, that Solomon takes over for his father David as King of Israel. In this reading we see a peaceful transition, one that takes place between father and son as it should be, at least as far as kings go. The first thing that we read that this king does is go to God to give thanks for the current position in which he finds himself. God then asks him: name one thing that you want. It is kinda like a genie in a bottle scene, but we can’t avoid that. Solomon asks for wisdom in order to rule Israel correctly.

God is so impressed with his answer that he gives him wisdom, but then gives him all those other things that he didn’t ask for, that someone who was selfish and didn’t have the people first on their mind might ask for: wealth, riches, peace, long life. We see Solomon begin to build the temple and those nations around him immediately recognize his wisdom. Psalm 72 is a perfect psalm which is a prayer and a psalm for a king who takes power. All those things that the psalm asks for, God promises to Solomon. One might thing that it was written for king Solomon.

Maybe we will start backwards and work our way back. How can we not address the Proverbs Scripture which tells us that if we spare the rod we spoil the child. I remember being spanked, even with a belt at times, and it was very deliberate and not in any sense a reaction. That is probably the most healthy way, while at the same time recognizing that some parenting is a reaction and actions that take place out of emotion and anger. That is not what is talked about here. We know that disobedience leads to consequences and those consequences can be varied. A child understands that as well.

Psalm 32 provides us with a beautiful reminder of the joy of forgiveness. There is nothing that matches a recognition of forgiveness and the ensuing joy, honestly the ensuing life, that comes from that deep understanding of what it means to be forgiven. Our being forgiven provides us with a clear path to a life of guilt free celebration in life.

The closing chapters of I Chronicles clearly lays out two things: David is not going to build the temple and why he is not going to build the temple. Solomon will become, and does become, king after David. This clear succession is crucial to understanding that who comes next often dictates the health of the nation. When that is muddied lives are lost and rulers are doubted. Not a great recipe for prosperity.

This is a bit of a mashup, or Cliff Notes, of the life of David and the building of the temple, and those involved in the building of the temple. We see David preparing his son, Solomon, to build the temple by getting the material and the artisans ready for when he dies so that Solomon can start right in. It almost seems like Solomon is already starting while David is still alive. We also read in these verses the very specific reason for why David was not allowed to build the temple, even though he wanted to. He had shed too much blood. He was not a man of peace, but a man of war. Solomon is the man of peace and his reign was going to be marked by peace.

It is fitting that the Psalm that we look at has those verses that are very well known: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labor in vain.” This is true for the physical house, but it is also true for the temple, the body, that God has to have ownership over. God has to be the one who builds us up for his kingdom.

The ark of the covenant finally finds a home and makes its way into that home safe and sound. David continues his exploits and conquers all those territories that surround him, and even more. Chapter 20 begins in a the same way that the account of Bathsheba begins: In the spring time when kings go out to war, David decided to remain in Jerusalem. But the account of Bathsheba in 20 does not follow, just another conquest with David involved. We see the mention a few times of the people who were descendants of the giants, but they are all defeated, including the 24 digit monster. It does read a bit like fiction, but God prevails with David’s rule, that’s the point.

We have a repeat accounting of the death of Saul in the previous chapters, and here we have David’s rise to power and taking over the throne. The details that are different with this accounting is that we have the names, all of them, of the warriors who helped David, and how many warriors are from each household who came to be on David’s side. It is clear that the presence of the Lord is with David, he even suggests it as he asks for warriors but tells them that if they do not think that God is on his side, then it is better to not come and help.

We hear again the story of the ark of the covenant that makes its way into Jerusalem, and as it does the carriers get clumsy and one of them touches it and he is truck dead. David is a bit more cautious and later demands that only the Levites are allowed to carry the ark, they understand the holiness of it, and the danger of it.

Psalm 28 is an inspirational Psalm which contains a plea for help and an accounting of joy once the resolution is reached. We see this so often in these Psalms of help or lament. The beginning of the Psalm finds the ask, and the end finds the thank you.

We could dwell on the genealogies that take us through Saul and into David, but we pretty much know what they say. There are some interesting tidbits that we can gather from them: the singers of the choirs in the temple, those who made the temple and prepared that which was to go into it. But for the most part I would love to spend most of my time in Psalm 27. It is probably one of my favorite Psalms and one that I use the most in my ministry. There is a real sense of deliverance and protection in Psalm 27, along with the very real encouragement to “wait on the Lord”. This command, of waiting on the Lord, is probably the most ignored commandment that we face. We struggle to wait, especially in our culture of being told that we can have whatever we want, whenever we want, and however we want it. As the Psalmist says: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! This is a great way to start your day!

Here we go! So we begin that part of the Bible where if you were reading right through it, then this section becomes quite of a slog because of the names. But I don’t actually mind the genealogies. It reminds me of who went before and the order of things. It is good to be reminded of the ancestors of Abraham, and that after him came Isaac with Ishmael and who came through Ishmael, even though we don’t trace our faith lineage through him. I do hope that you are aware that those who follow Islam trace their religious heritage through Ishmael and not through Isaac. It does us good to see from whence we come, even though it can be understood as a bit of a slog. Don’t get bogged down, enjoy the names and pay attention when you recognize a name and see who surrounds it.

A couple things in Titus that caught my attention. The first were the qualifications of an elder, which when put together one has to ask the question, well then who can serve? No one can fulfill all of the qualifications that are listed there. But it does show how high the bar is raised by Paul in regards to whom he wants serving the church. People within the cities who are well respected and have a way of life which is commendable, can we leave it at that, are those who are called to serve. That sets the bar a little lower, but high enough that those who are serving are considered pillars of the community.

Later in this letter written by Paul, he speaks about our salvation as coming about not because of our works, but rather as a direct result of God’s mercy. This is a key operating theme in our own lives. We have been saved by grace, through God’s mercy, and not because of our own decision or our own works or our own way of life.

The Book of Esther comes to a close with a lot of redundancy. Queen Esther and Mordecai save their people and the Lord establishes the celebration of this salvation as the a day of celebration in perpetuity. It still happens to this day that Jews celebrate Purim on a yearly basis. I have never been but I hear it is quite the celebration and party and Haman is vilified as he should be.

Psalm 15 is a well known Psalm and one that asks the question: who shall (read who is worthy) to enter into the sanctuary of the Lord? It is a roadmap to personal righteousness that leans heavily on moral teaching as the means to righteousness. I would have wished that the more common theme of helping those in need would have been uplifted, but as it is the focus tends to be more on doing the right thing in general.

Who doesn’t love the book of Esther and its lessons that carry throughout the generations? I can’t help but think of how Haman so closely reflects the actions that were taken by Nazi Germany as they tried to carry out the orders that were put out there across the kingdom of the King Ahasuerus. I have always believed that the more we forget history, the more we are condemned to repeat it, especially, if not only, the evil things that have been committed. That is true today as well. We are condemned to repeat the evils of history as individuals, as a nation, even as a church, if we forget how God has called for righteousness to be pursued. We simply do not pursue righteousness, and as a result we will be doomed to make the same mistakes that those who went before us made.

The line that Mordecai tells Esther that is often repeated, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” This is a line that we can take and apply to our own lives. We are not able to escape from what is required from us, but God is fully capable of using someone else in our place to carry out God’s plans and purposes.