Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day, Aaron is to address the people, offering up a calf (hattat-sin) and a ram (holocaust–offering up) and encouraging the people also to offer up like offerings (he-goat sin offering, calf yearling and lamb yearling holocaust, an ox and ram for peace, and cereal offerings) “for today, YHWH will make-himself-seen by you!” (9:4)

When Moses and Aaron come out of the meeting tent at the end, “then the glory of the Lord was revealed to…

Exodus 6 – God assures Moses that He will punish Pharaoh. He repeats to Moses the essence of his promises: that through his appearances to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He established a covenant which He is now acting upon – He will rescue His people from their slavery; He will take them as His own.  And the people “will know that I, the Lord am [their] God when I free [them] from the labor of the Egyptians and bring [them] into the land which I swore [to give their ancestors]”…

Psalm 66 – “Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people. He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot . . . For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance” (66:5-7).

“Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling” (66:9).

“You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. Then you put a…

Ezekiel 23 – Now comes an allegorical history of Jerusalem and Samaria. They are described as two women, “Daughters of the same mother” (23:2) who became prostitutes in Egypt. Their names were “Oholah” (Samaria) and Oholibah (Judah).

Oholah played the whore and God has handed her over to “her lovers, to those Assyrians for whom she lusted” (23:9-10). Though the sister – Judah – saw her reduced to shame, she too lusted for her neighbors – for the Assyrians with their…

Tobit 11 – Raphael and Tobias decide to go ahead of Sarah and the rest so as to greet Tobit and put the “gall” from the fish on his eyes so he will be cured. They do and of course both Tobit and his wife are overjoyed to see their son. Tobias applies the gall and Tobit’s sight is restored. They praise God and go off to the gates of Nineveh to greet Sarah.

Tobit 12 – Tobit tells Tobias they need to reward Azariah [Raphael] for all his help. Tobias thinks half of…

Introduction to 2 Kings: The original scrolls of what we call 1 and 2 Kings did not make any division. Together, they tell the story of the kingdom’s division after Solomon’s death, around 931 BC, and the series of kings who ruled over the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). 2 Kings picks up the story around 853 BC with the rule of Ahaziah in the north and the continued rule of Jehoshaphat in the south. It will take us to the final…