Contemplative Bible Reading

Job 6:6 (New Living Translation) Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg? This is Job talking. He is attempting to justify his complaining to God about his circumstances. Please note, Job is in some bad circumstances. And then Job throws in this phrase: Does anyone want the […]

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Exodus 23:14 (New Living Translation) “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor…” Consider this one: God commanded His people to celebrate three festivals each year. Imagine that, being commanded to celebrate three times a year. And these were big celebrations, not a little birthday party for a child. Some of these celebrations […]

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Proverbs 15:27 (New Living Translation) Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live. These Proverbs were written several thousand years ago or last weekend. Sometimes I confuse the two time periods. This proverb tells me that greed can ruin a family or a community or a nation. How did […]

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Proverbs 15:15 (New Living Translation) For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. Can we describe life any simpler than this? I don’t know how. Then again, I wasn’t sure of the definition of despondent. Let’s look at this definition: Adjective: In low spirits from loss of hope […]

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Joshua 24:14-15 (New International Version 2011) 14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, […]

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Genesis 43:17-18 (New International Version 2011) 17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He […]

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Jonah 3:5 (New International Version 2011) 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The […]

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Genesis 25:28 (New Living Translation) Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. The (hi)story of Isaac and Rebekah and their twin sons Esau and Jacob is a fascinating one. These are patriarchs of the Israel, and they have a lot of bad attributes. The verse […]

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Daniel 10:12-14 (Common English Bible) 12 Then the man said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, because from the day you first set your mind to understand things and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I’ve come because of your words! 13 For twenty-one days the leader of the Persian kingdom […]

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2 Kings 11:12 (New International Version 2011) Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!” Jehoiada the priest has brought out Joash (or […]

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