Good morning everyone! We continue to have a great discussion on Zoom on the last Thursday of the month as we recall our readings. We are all being reminded of God’s love and faithfulness as the people, while in the promise land, continue to wander in their hearts and devotion to God. Here is the readings for this next week, with Day 1 for today, March 26.

Are you still reading? What are you finding enjoyable? challenging? Here is what the Bible Project shared this week in their email as we prepare to enter into another week of reading:

stay safe and be well!

from the Bible Project Reading email: This week we finish 1 Samuel and dive into 2 Samuel 1-18!

Hey reading community, You’re probably beginning to see connections between Hannah’s prayer (1 Samuel 2) and the character traits embodied in Saul and David. Saul lacks integrity and is dishonest, prideful, and incapable of escaping his own self-deception. As promised in her prayer, God brings low the prideful (Saul’s progressive downfall) and exalts the lowly and faithful (David’s rise to king). David is a shepherd. He is small in stature and status but righteous because of his radical trust in Yahweh. David becomes the anointed king of Israel (1 Samuel 16), but he suffers and is persecuted by Saul. During this same time, Saul’s jealousy and madness grows, and in the first few days of this week’s reading, you’ll see it culminate in Saul’s grisly demise. This is again contrasted with David’s final enthronement and major moral and social progress in the kingdom of Israel. BibleProject P.S. David is more than a good king. He becomes a symbol of something far greater in Israel’s story. We look at David’s life and reign in this week’s blog post, David: What’s the Big Deal?

Day 1: Read 1 Samuel 25-27, Psalm 85.  Day 2: Read 1 Samuel 28-31, Psalm 86.  Day 3: Read 2 Samuel 1-3, Psalm 87.Watch 2 Samuel.  Day 4: Read 2 Samuel 4-8, Psalm 88. Day 5: Read 2 Samuel 9-12, Psalm 89.  Day 6: Read 2 Samuel 13-15, Psalm 90. Day 7: Read 2 Samuel 16-18, Psalm 91.