Bible in 90 Days - Checking in!

Day 36 and still going strong! The weekend has left me a bit behind - I have about 8 pages from yesterday's reading, plus today's reading - but it's nothing I can't handle. I should be all caught up by tonight!

Amy has asked us to include in our check-in post where we usually read. I get a majority of my reading done on my train rides into/home from work. I take a commuter train twice daily at just over an hour each way. Because most of the other folks on my train are also going into/coming home from work when I am, the trains are actually pretty quiet. (I'm one of the few people who keeps their eyes open the entire ride!) I love that, before I get into the craziness of New York City, I have an hour to spend with His Word, and I'm thankful that I can spend more time with His Word before spending an exciting (and usually tiring) evening with my adorable toddler.

This past week, I've finished 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and will finish Nehemiah today. I have to admit that I found it difficult to read Chronicles, especially since much of the information in these two books is repetitive when read immediately after 1 and 2 Kings. I tried to remind myself that there is a reason why He inspired these Words, so I kept trying to see why God would want me to read the information again, especially so soon after reading the stories in Kings. I'm still not sure that I have the answer to that, but it seems to me that it is very important to understand that the people in Israel and Judah were wicked - they had turned away from God and done what was evil in His sight. While there were righteous kings in Judah at times, there were also evil Kings in Judah at times. This wickedness caused God to turn His eyes and ears away from His chosen people and allow them to be taken to Babylon. However, in Ezra and Nehemiah, we see the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem - we see Ezra and Nehemiah trying to lead the people back to their God. So, while I don't have any answers to why Kings and Chronicles detail the same information in such similar detail, I do believe that it's very important to understand why God allowed for the diaspora and how, in His infinite mercy and love, He helped His people to return and rebuild. After the way that the Israelites had behaved, there was no reason why God should have allowed them to return and showed them His favor. And yet He did. Because He is compassionate. And merciful. And loving. And frankly, that's a message that I really can't hear enough of. :-)

I hope that everyone else in the program is doing well! Stop by Amy's blog to read some of the other updates posted by my fellow participants!