BibleStudyTogether DailyReadings
A 2-Year Chronological & Thematic Journey through God's Word
with Daily Comments from Dr. Del Tackett.
Sept 30
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 273 (9/30) – Joshua 16:1-17:18; Mark 9:33-37; Matthew 17:24-27
Here we again have the statement that the tribe of Manasseh did not drive the Canaanites out. I found it interesting that Jesus spoke of the sons of the kings of the earth as “free” because they were not taxed. That would raise hackles today! You might have a lively discussion among yourselves on this. (By the way, at the bottom of the reading, you will see “IMAGES”. Click on it and you will get a small image, but if you then right click on that image and select “open image in new tab” then you will get a larger image that you can zoom in on.
Sept 29
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 272 (9/29) – Joshua 15:20-63; Mark 9:30-32; Matthew 17:22-23
“But the Jebusites…” leaves us with something to ponder today. As the shadow of the spiritual reality, does this inability of Israel to remove the Jebusites provoke something within us? Are there persistent sins in our own lives that we have failed to deal with? This will continue to plague Israel as it does us. Notice, too, how the disciples were unable or unwilling to accept the truth that Jesus was telling them about his death and resurrection.
Sept 28
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 271 (9/28) – Joshua 14:6-15:19; Luke 9:37-45
The map is useful as we look at the way the land was divided up. In our earlier passages regarding Jesus healing the boy with the unclean spirit, I hope you noticed that Jesus told His disciples, when they wondered why they couldn’t cast out the demon, that “these only come out by prayer”. Isn’t it amazing how God has granted to His people the privilege to ask for His hand to move, such that when we don’t ask, it may not move! Remember Jesus saying, “You have not, because you ask not?” Amazing and convicting.
Sept 27
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 270 (9/27) – Joshua 13:8-14:5; Matthew 17:14-21
Have you noticed how often the Scripture tells us that the priests were not allotted any land? I think that is because we, the Royal Priesthood, aren’t to conquer lands, but to conquer evil and fulfill our role as priests in our cultures. Did you notice yesterday that Jesus said the only way the boy could be healed was through prayer? Are you praying diligently for your neighbors by name?
Sept 26
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 269 (9/26) – Joshua 12:1-13:7; Mark 9:14-29
I am struck today how God had given the Promised Land to His people, but they were required to do the long work of possessing it. We often don’t realize how many years this process took. In 13:1, we read that Joshua had become old and advanced in years throughout this conquest. So too, are many of us becoming old and advanced in years. But this is our task, to see the leaven of the Kingdom reach every nook and corner. Too see people who are taken captive by the devil to do his will be granted repentance by God, come to their senses and escape (2 Timothy 2:25-26).
Sept 25
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 268 (9/25) – Joshua 10:28-11:23
It might be valuable for you to go back and review the overview video of Joshua (Day 258) as you read through all of the conquests. Note the repeated acknowledgement that it was the Lord that was giving them the victories. Also note the defeat of the Anakim. Remember it was the giant Anakim that had brought fear into hearts of 10 of the 12 spies. This resulted in Israel returning to 40 more years in the desert.
Sept 24
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 267 (9/24) – Joshua 10:1-27
Today we read of the sun and moon standing still. The Scripture says “There has been no day like it before or since…” I imagine so! For the Amorites, who worshiped the sun and the moon, it would have been a great “in your face”. Many have tried to account for this miracle through some sort of natural phenomenon or turn the text into something other than historical narrative. But God, who has sovereign control over every molecule in the universe, can halt the rotation of the earth without consequence. Isn’t it interesting that we can make movies in which time freezes but we can’t envision God doing the same to the earth?
Sept 23
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 266 (9/23) – Joshua 9:1-27; Luke 9:28-36
Our passage concerning the Gibeonites is quite rich. The Isrealites failed to consult with God on this but God held them to the covenant that they made with the Gibeonites, even to eventually holding Israel accountable many years later because of King Saul breaking that covenant. There is much to learn for us concerning promises/agreements/covenants we make too hastily without seeking the Lord’s direction.
Sept 22
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 265 (9/22) – Joshua 8:1-35; Matthew 17:1-13
Can you imagine what it would have been like to see Moses and Elijah return to be with Jesus? I suspect I would have said blabbering stuff too, just like Peter.
Sept 21
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 264 (9/21) – Joshua 7:1-26; Psalm 108:1-13; Mark 9:2-13
The event at Ai is sobering. Our rebellion against God can have consequences well beyond ourselves. Thirty-six men died as the result of Achan’s sin. God is holy. It is worth spending some time meditating upon that fact today.
Sept 20
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 263 (9/20) – Joshua 6:15-27; Psalm 66:1-20; Mark 8:31-9:1​
I was struck today by the reality of God’s mighty deeds, that have been displayed so clearly and yet “the rebellious exalt themselves”. How foolish man is!
Sept 19
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 262 (9/19) – Joshua 6:1-14; Psalm 49:1-20; Matthew 16:21-28
It would be of great value to discuss these passages today. How much do we live in a culture that trusts in temporal things? How much do we get caught up in it? “...what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Sept 18
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 261 (9/18) – Joshua 5:1-15; Psalm 114:1-8
I love these verses in Psalms, “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord…” as we read of how the Lord dried up the Jordan. Then we see Joshua fall on his face as he comes face to face with the Commander, on holy ground. Would that we would see Him as holy in our own day and times. We could use a little more “tremble” in His presence.
Sept 17
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 260 (9/17) – Joshua 3:1-4:24
God gives a clear sign to His people as they crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land just as He had when they crossed the Red Sea. The memorial stones were to be a reminder so they would never forget the mighty and gracious hand of the Lord. I suppose you have memorial stones in your life as well as I do. They should be remembered and taught to your children and to your grandchildren.
Sept 16
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 259 (9/16) – Joshua 2:1-24; Luke 9:21-27
Keep in mind that Rahab is listed in the lineage of Jesus. Oh, the providential hand of God! The words of Jesus, that we are to deny ourselves, are so radically foreign in a land of deep self-centeredness–of homo deus–for we are deceived in believing that life is found by pursuing our own inner desires. How foolish.
Sept 15
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 258 (9/15) – Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Joshua 1:1-18; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-20
We pass a milestone in our reading today. We finish the five books of Moses, Moses dies, the leadership is passed on to Joshua, and the people are finally ready to enter the Promised Land. All of this is part of the larger story that eventually leads us to the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah. I hope the Lord is blessing you deeply as we walk through His Word together. The video overview of Joshua is really good.
Sept 14
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 257 (9/14) – Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:12-30
I was struck today wondering if the warning of Jesus was not just as relevant to us now as it was when He spoke these words “beware of the leaven”. The declaration of Peter that Jesus was the Messiah is one of the greatest passages we have. The video is good.
Sept 13
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 256 (9/13) – Deuteronomy 32:19-52; Mark 8:11-21
More sad passages for a people in which “...there is no understanding…” Jesus rebukes His disciples for not understanding as well. Oh, that the Lord might grant to us a mind and a heart that truly “understands the times in which we live”.
Sept 12
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 255 (9/12) – Deuteronomy 31:14-32:18; Matthew 15:32-16:4
Imagine, as you read today, what this must have been like for Moses and Joshua, to hear the Lord tell them that the people of Israel were going to go into the Promised Land, but they would forsake God and break the Covenant and God would declare them “...no longer his children…”. How utterly sad.
Sept 11
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 254 (9/11) – Deuteronomy 30:1-31:13
The video is well placed today, for loving God with all of our heart is at the heart of God saying that He lays before us “life and death”. Certainly, this “word is very near” us today. It seems as if we can hear God say to us, here in our culture, “choose life” rather than death.
Sept 10
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 253 (9/10) – Deuteronomy 29:1-29
How often does God help us connect the dots, speaking beforehand of the consequences that are connected to the actions. He does this so that “we may do all the words” of the Lord. May God grant us eyes to see and ears to hear, for we seem to follow the same pattern in the warning we read about in today’s passage.
Sept 9
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 252 (9/9) – Deuteronomy 28:49-68; Mark 8:1-10
It is sad to read the consequences that come to a people, whom God has once so richly blessed, but now reap horror because of their turning away from Him. It is very hard not to look at ourselves here.
Sept 8
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 251 (9/8) – Deuteronomy 28:15-48; Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31-37
How very sobering is this passage in Deuteronomy. When a people turn their back on God, the consequences are grievous. Contrast this with the healing that comes from the Lord. Oh, that we might turn again to Him.
Sept 7
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 250 (9/7) – Deuteronomy 13:1-18; 28:1-14; Romans 16:17-27
Today causes me to shiver as we are constantly enticed to “go and serve other gods” as we deify the human heart and its proclamations. The curses to a nation that does so are sobering. Paul’s warning against those who cause divisions is also so very relevant in our day. (As a note, archaeologists have uncovered proof of “Eratus, the city treasurer”)
Sept 6
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 249 (9/6) – Deuteronomy 18:9-22; 26:1-19; Romans 16:1-16
I’m struck today by this phrase in God’s warning “you shall not learn the abominable practices”. In our world of “homo deus”, where we believe the individual is divine, with a heart that declares divine things, and that nothing it speaks is abominable, we should tremble at these verses today, for there are abominable things in the sight of the One and only True God. We get a wonderful glimpse into Paul’s heart as he greets the house churches in Rome and beloved people by name.
Sept 5
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 248 (9/5) – Deuteronomy 14-15:23; Romans 15:23-33
Deuteronomy 14:26 is a verse you will probably never hear in a sermon on tithing!! Notice also God’s compassion for the poor and the call for God’s people, not the state, to be generous with them.
Sept 4
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 247 (9/4) – Deuteronomy 27:1-26
Our text today begins the section where Israel is clearly told the blessings and the curses that will come upon them if they choose to follow or rebel against God and His Word. To a great extent, this is played out all over the world. A people who walk morally before God will find their culture blessed; a people who rebel against God will find their culture cursed. Pray that our culture will turn in repentance to Him.
Sept 3
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 246 (9/3) – Deuteronomy 17:14-18:8; 20:1-20
What struck me today was God’s design for the state. Because the king was put in such a powerful position, it was critical that he understand that he is subject to God and His laws. That is why one of the most important books to the founders was “Rex Lex” by Samuel Rutherford. The title was radical in the pre-American world, that the “Law was King” not the “King is Law”. Would that our nation’s leaders followed Him today!
Sept 2
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 245 (9/2) – Psalms 117:1-2; Deuteronomy 16:9-17:13; Romans 15:1-23
There is a strong link between the feasts and the plan of God as we see it fulfilled in Christ. I marvel at God’s great orchestration of all of this. Note as well today the emphasis again on “justice”. We find it over and over again and God’s provisions for it and His truth about it. So do not “show partiality” and the requirement for “two or three witnesses” are important for us. You may want to discuss how we do or do not follow the Lord’s commands concerning this. You may also want to think about how God is Just.
Sept 1
Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment
Day 244 (9/1) – Deuteronomy 14:1-21; 16:1-8; Romans 14:1-23
We have numerous texts like this in Romans that help us understand the radical changes that occurred under the New Covenant. Paul is convinced that “nothing is unclean in itself”. This is so very different from what we read that was given to Israel under the Old Covenant. But the warning to us is clear that we are not to judge over these particular things and not do anything that causes our fellow believers to stumble.
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