Read The Bible
Religion & Spirituality
About
Read the Bible features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 1) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan. This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible).
Episodes
- Numbers 29; Psalm 73; Isaiah 21; 2 Peter 2
Few psalms have provided greater succor to the people who are troubled by the frequent, transparent prosperity of the wicked than Psalm 73 . Asaph begins with a provocative pair of lines: “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pur…
- Numbers 28; Psalm 72; Isaiah 19-20; 2 Peter 1
One of the features of the psalms that describe the enthronement of a Davidic king, or the reign of a Davidic king, is how often the language goes “over the top.” This feature combines with the built-in Davidic typology to give these psalm…
- Numbers 27; Psalms 70-71; Isaiah 17-18; 1 Peter 5
Most Christians have listened to testimonies that relate how some man or woman lived a life of fruitlessness and open degradation, or at least of quiet desperation, before becoming a Christian. Genuine faith in the Lord Christ brought abou…
- Numbers 26; Psalm 69; Isaiah 16; 1 Peter 4
At one level, Psalm 69 finds David pouring his heart out to God, begging for help as he faces extraordinary pressures and opponents. We may not be able to reconstruct all the circumstances that are presented here in poetic form, but David…
- Numbers 25; Psalm 68; Isaiah 15; 1 Peter 3
This episode examines the biblical text of Numbers 25, exploring a narrative where Moabite women entice Israelite men into sexual immorality and idolatry, leading to divine wrath and a devastating plague. The passage also touches upon the…
- Numbers 24; Psalms 66-67; Isaiah 14; 1 Peter 2
This episode of Read The Bible focuses on Psalm 66, discussing themes of praising God for deliverance from hardship and the importance of righteousness in prayer. It contrasts contemporary praise with elements found in the psalm, such as a…
- Numbers 23; Psalms 64-65; Isaiah 13; 1 Peter 1
The episode discusses Balaam's recognition that he cannot control divine oracles, as seen in Numbers 23. The text highlights that God
- Numbers 22; Psalms 62-63; Isaiah 11-12; James 5
The episode covers biblical passages including Numbers 22, Psalms 62-63, Isaiah 11-12, and James 5. A central theme is the narrative of Balaam from Numbers 22, emphasizing the risks of compromising integrity for financial reward, and the n…
- Numbers 21; Psalms 60-61; Isaiah 10:5-34; James 4
This episode examines the biblical account of the bronze snake in Numbers 21, highlighting its connection to Jesus's crucifixion as explained in John 3. It discusses the parallel between looking at the bronze snake for healing and believin…
- Numbers 20; Psalms 58-59; Isaiah 9:8-10:4; James 3
There are few passages in the Pentateuch which on first reading are more discouraging than the outcome of Numbers 20:1–13 . Yet the account carries some subtle complexities. It begins with more of the usual griping. The need of the people…
- Numbers 19; Psalms 56–57; Isaiah 8:1–9:7; James 2
American coins have the words “In God we trust.” In our pluralistic age, it is not unreasonable to respond, “Which God?” Even if the answer to that were unambiguously the God of the Bible, most people, I suspect, would think of this trust…
- Numbers 17–18; Psalm 55; Isaiah 7; James 1
At one level, the brief account in Numbers 17 wraps up the report of the rebellions in the previous chapter. God wishes to rid himself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites as they challenge Aaron’s priestly authority (17:5). So the…
- Numbers 16; Psalms 52-54; Isaiah 6; Hebrews 13
Two more wretched episodes of rebellion now blemish the history of the Israelites in the wilderness ( Num. 16 ). The first is the plot engineered by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They stir up trouble not among the riffraff, but among a sizabl…
- Numbers 15; Psalm 51; Isaiah 5; Hebrews 12
Guilt. What a horrendous burden. Sometimes people carry a tremendous weight of subjective guilt — i.e., of felt guilt — when they are not really guilty. Far worse is the situation where they carry a tremendous weight of objective guilt — i…
- Numbers 14; Psalm 50; Isaiah 3–4; Hebrews 11
Another day thinking about rebellion — this time the rebellion displayed by the people at Kedesh Barnea, when they forfeited the opportunity to enter the Promised Land because of their sin ( Num. 14 ). (1) Just as in the previous chapter t…
- Numbers 12-13; Psalm 49; Isaiah 2; Hebrews 10
Rebellion has many faces. Numbers 12-13 reports two quite different and complex forms of rebellion. The first finds Aaron and Miriam bad-mouthing their brother Moses. The presenting problem is that because the Lord has spoken through them…
- Numbers 11; Psalm 48; Isaiah 1; Hebrews 9
One of the ways God talks about the future is . . . well, by simply talking about the future. There are places in the Bible where God predicts, in words, what will happen: he talks about the future. But he also provides pictures, patterns,…
- Numbers 10; Psalms 46–47; Song of Songs 8; Hebrews 8
A common theme of Psalms 46 and 47 is the sovereign authority of God over all the nations. He is not some mere tribal deity. He is the Most High (46:4). Nations may be in an uproar; kingdoms rise and fall. But God needs only to lift his vo…
- Numbers 9; Psalm 45; Song of Songs 7; Hebrews 7
Two themes control Numbers 9 . The second is the descent of the pillar of cloud and fire onto the tabernacle, the “Tent of the Testimony,” the first day it was set up (9:15-23). This pillar had guided and protected the people from the time…
- Numbers 8; Psalm 44; Song of Songs 6; Hebrews 6
Before they began their duties for the first time, the Levites were set apart by a ritual God himself established to “make them ceremonially clean” ( Num. 8:5-14 ). The details need not concern us here. What we shall reflect on is the theo…
- Numbers 7; Psalms 42-43; Song of Songs 5; Hebrews 5
Millions of Christians have sung the words as a chorus. Millions more have meditated on them in their own quiet reading of Scripture: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” ( Ps. 42:1 ). It is a haunting…
- Numbers 6; Psalms 40-41; Song of Songs 4; Hebrews 4
The Nazirite Vow ( Num. 6 ) could be taken by any man or woman (i.e., not just a Levite) and was entirely voluntary. It was normally undertaken for an extended period of time, and culminated in certain prescribed offerings and sacrifices (…
- Numbers 5; Psalm 39; Song of Songs 3; Hebrews 3
Self-discipline is normally a good thing. Indeed, Christians believe that God has given them “a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). But certain forms of self-discipline are ignoble, even dangerous. For example, t…
- Numbers 4; Psalm 38; Song of Songs 2; Hebrews 2
One of the most attractive features of David is his candor. At his best he is transparently honest. That means, among other things, that when there is an array of things going wrong in his life he does not collapse them into a single probl…
- Numbers 3; Psalm 37; Song of Songs 1; Hebrews 1
From Sinai on, the Levites are treated differently from the other tribes: they alone handle the tabernacle and its accoutrements, from them come the priests, they are not given a separate allotment of land but are dispersed throughout the…
- Numbers 2; Psalm 36; Ecclesiastes 12; Philemon
Among the insights the Psalms convey, some of the most penetrating deal with the nature of wickedness and of wicked people. Rarely are these put into abstract categories. They are almost always functional and relational. What lies at the h…
- Numbers 1; Psalm 35; Ecclesiastes 11; Titus 3
Psalm 35 is one of the psalms given over to the theme of vindication (see also the meditation of April 10). They make many Christians uncomfortable. The line between vindication and vindictiveness sometimes seems a little thin. How can the…
- Leviticus 27; Psalm 34; Ecclesiastes 10; Titus 2
One of the inevitable characteristics of those who genuinely praise the Lord is that they want others to join with them in their praise. They recognize that if God is the sort of God their praises say he is, then he ought to be recognized…
- Leviticus 26; Psalm 33; Ecclesiastes 9; Titus 1
One of the common features of ancient suzerainty treaties — treaties between some regional superpower and a vassal state (see March 13 ) — was some section near the end that spelled out the advantages of compliance and the dangers of nonco…
- Leviticus 25; Psalm 32; Ecclesiastes 8; 2 Timothy 4
Blessed is he transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Ps. 32:1–2). In a theistic universe where God keeps the books, it is dif…
- Leviticus 24; Psalm 31; Ecclesiastes 7; 2 Timothy 3
David was in deep trouble. The exact circumstances may be obscure to us, as we who live three thousand years later probe the details. But we do know that David was shut up in a besieged city ( Ps. 31:21 ) and felt trapped. He was so threat…
- Leviticus 23; Psalm 30; Ecclesiastes 6; 2 Timothy 2
Leviticus 23 provides a description of the principal “appointed feasts” (23:2). These include the Sabbath, which of course could not be observed by taking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The remaining feasts mentioned, however, are bound up wit…
- Leviticus 22; Psalms 28-29; Ecclesiastes 5; 2 Timothy 1
The opening verses of Psalm 29 suggest that a great part of what it means to “worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” is to ascribe to him the praise that is his due: ascribe to him glory and strength, “the glory due his name” (2…
- Leviticus 21; Psalms 26–27; Ecclesiastes 4; 1 Timothy 6
“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” ( Ps. 27:4 ). This glorious stance finds parallels els…
- Leviticus 20; Psalm 25; Ecclesiastes 3; 1 Timothy 5
One of the startling features of Psalm 25 is the diversity of needs David asks the Lord to address. David is in danger of being overwhelmed by enemies and thereby put to shame (Ps. 25:2). He wishes to learn the ways and paths of God, to be…
- Leviticus 19; Psalms 23-24; Eccl. 2; 1 Timothy 4
Perhaps the most striking feature of Leviticus 19 is the repeated clause, “I am the LORD.” In each case, it provides the reason why the Israelites are to obey the particular command. Each must respect his mother and father, and must obey G…
- Leviticus 18; Psalm 22; Ecclesiastes 1; 1 Timothy 3
The beginning of the so-called “holiness code” ( Lev. 18 ) is full of interest. We should take note of at least four things: (1) Just because this is the first time that some prohibitions have been articulated in the Bible does not necessa…