Day 1

Psalm 84

For the music leader. According to the Gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

84 How lovely is your dwelling place,

    Lord of heavenly forces!

2 My very being longs, even yearns,

    for the Lord’s courtyards.

My heart and my body

    will rejoice out loud to the living God!

3 Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there;

    the swallow has found herself a nest

    where she can lay her young beside your altars,

    Lord of heavenly forces, my king, my God!

4 Those who live in your house are truly happy;

    they praise you constantly. Selah

5 Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;

    pilgrimage is in their hearts.

6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,

    they make it a spring of water.

    Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.

7 They go from strength to strength,

    until they see the supreme God in Zion.

8 Lord God of heavenly forces,

    hear my prayer;

    listen closely, Jacob’s God! Selah

9 Look at our shield, God;

    pay close attention to the face of your anointed one!

10 Better is a single day in your courtyards

    than a thousand days anywhere else!

I would prefer to stand outside the entrance of my God’s house

    than live comfortably in the tents of the wicked!

11 The Lord is a sun and shield;

    God is favor and glory.

The Lord gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things

    to those who walk with integrity.

12 Lord of heavenly forces,

    those who trust in you are truly happy!

1 Chronicles 22

 

22 Then David said, “This is where the Lord God’s temple will be, along with Israel’s altar for entirely burned offerings.”

David prepares to build the temple

2 David gave orders to gather the immigrants living in the land of Israel, and he appointed masons who would cut stones for building God’s temple. 3 David also provided a huge amount of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for the braces, so much bronze that it couldn’t be weighed, 4 and innumerable cedar logs from the Sidonians and the Tyrians, who gave them to David. 5 David thought, My son Solomon is too inexperienced to build the Lord’s temple. It must be great beyond compare in order to win fame and glory throughout all lands, so I myself will prepare things for him. So David made extensive preparations before his death.

Instructions to Solomon

6 David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord told me: You’ve shed much blood and waged great wars. You won’t build a temple for my name because you’ve spilled so much blood on the ground before me. 9 A son has just been born to you. He’ll be a man of peace, and I’ll give him peace with all his surrounding enemies. In fact, his name will be Solomon, and I’ll give Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He will be the one to build a temple for my name. He’ll become my son, and I’ll become his father, and I’ll establish his royal throne over Israel forever.

11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you so that you may successfully build the temple of the Lord your God, as he promised you. 12 May the Lord be sure to give you insight and understanding so that when he appoints you over Israel, you will observe the Instruction from the Lord your God. 13 Then, if you carefully follow the regulations and case laws that the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel, you’ll prosper. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid or lose heart!14 With great effort I’ve now provided for the Lord’s temple one hundred thousand kikkars of gold, one million kikkars of silver, and so much bronze and iron that it can’t be weighed, as well as wood and stone, though you may add to these.15 You also have innumerable people to do the work: stonecutters, masons, and carpenters with every skill required for any task, 16 whether in gold, silver, bronze, or iron. So get to work, and may the Lord be with you.”

Instructions to Israel’s leaders

17 Then David ordered all of Israel’s leaders to help his son Solomon: 18 “The Lord your God is with you! He’s given you peace on every side. He’s placed under my power the land’s people, so that the land is under the control of the Lord and his people. 19 Now then, dedicate yourselves to seeking the Lord your God. Get to work and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the chest containing the Lord’s covenant together with God’s holy equipment may be brought into the temple built for the Lord’s name.”

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

1 Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 You must have no other gods before me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. 6 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. 11 Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 Do not kill.

14 Do not commit adultery.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

17 Do not desire your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don’t sin.” 21 The people stood at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness in which God was present.

Instructions about worship

22 The Lord said to Moses: “Say this to the Israelites: You saw for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven.23 Don’t make alongside me gods of silver or gold for yourselves. 24 Make for me an altar from fertile soil on which to sacrifice your entirely burned offerings, your well-being sacrifices, your sheep, and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I make sure my name is remembered. 25 But if you do make for me an altar from stones, don’t build it with chiseled stone since using your chisel on the stone will make it impure. 26 Don’t climb onto my altar using steps: then your genitals won’t be exposed by doing so.”

Each of the sections had their own style. 1 Chronicles 22, read like a narrative. I enjoyed the story telling aspect.