Dave Miller's 2025 Bible Reading Challenge

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 11-16 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     As the cycle continued, Israel's judges became less noble and more flawed. Today, we focus on two flawed leaders - Jephthah and Samson. The biggest question in today's reading is what happened to Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11). There are two schools of thought, and each time I have taught this book, I've changed my mind. Jephthah's daughter was sacrificed - put to death - in fulfillment of the vow.  The sacrifice was not death, but that she was never allowed to marry or...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 6-10 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Today, we read the story of Gideon, the nobody whom God made a judge. It is a story of God's power to transform and accomplish great things with the weakest of vessels who submit to his use. Daily Devotional:   Mighty Warrior Judges 6:12 is one of those great moments in history. Gideon was hiding in the winepress, threshing his grain and keeping his head down. The most unlikely of heroes, he was the insignificant son of an insignificant family in the large, but largely in...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Judges 1-5 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Having divided up the tribal land, Israel failed to drive out the inhabitants as they were commanded to, and the result was a terrible cycle of spiritual drift, catastrophe, revival, and renewed drift. Chapter 2 explains the cycle, and the rest of the book covers the stories of the judges who led Israel back to God. There are 12 judges, but the book focuses on 7. Throughout the duration of this book, there is a downward moral spiral that results in Israel's lowest point in its ...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Joshua 19-24 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     As the inheritance is distributed to each tribe, we begin to see the fact that the tribes are failing to drive out the inhabitants from their areas. They may subdue them, but they do not drive them out. Those inhabitants would eventually come back to haunt them. The book of Joshua ends with a powerful covenant renewal, in which Joshua leads the people to recommit themselves to faithful obedience to God. Daily Devotional:   Why Can't I Do As I Please Why can't I just do w...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Joshua 13-18 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     We begin, in today's reading, the division of the land among the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The boundaries can be fairly dry reading - I'd encourage you to keep a map beside you as you read. The most interesting part of this to me is Caleb's request in chapter 14 to have a hill to conquer in his old age. May his tribe increase. Daily Devotional:   A Hill to Conquer Inerrancy requires that I believe that Scripture accurately records what Caleb says in Joshua 14:10-11, but I...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Joshua 9-12 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     There are three major thrusts in the Conquest of Canaan. First, there is the Southern Campaign. After Jericho and Ai, Israel fought the Battle of the Five Kings, recorded in today's reading, famous for the sun standing still. Then there was the Northern Campaign, recorded in chapters 11-12, along with a summary. The third section, which takes up most of the rest of the book, is what I call "Divide and Conquer." Each of the tribes is given a section of land to conquer. It is he...