This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews1 were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 The brothers2 immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,3 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;4
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’5
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
[1] 17:5
[2] 17:10
[3] 17:24
[4] 17:28
[5] 17:28
(ESV)
It was a Mensa Select prizewinner in 1999, although I'm not quite sure why since the game is not particularly challenging. It was also named the "Party Game of the Year" by Games magazine and has received the seal of approval of the National Parenting Center. The game is Apples to Apples.
Apples to Apples is the ultimate exercise in loose - and I mean very loose - associations. Each player draws seven red apple cards, each of which has a noun such as "Canada," or "Spanish Inquisition," or "National Park" on it. One player then draws a single green apple card, containing an adjective such as "patriotic," or "repelling," or "frightening" on it. Every player then chooses a red apple card to the give to the player holding the green apple card, trying to associate their nouns on the red apple cards with the adjective on the green apple card. And some of these associations can be quite hilarious, if not downright ridiculous. For example, a player once drew a green apple card with the adjective "greasy" on it. I couldn't resist. I gave them my red apple card with "Tom Arnold" on it. I won that round.
In our reading for today from Acts 17, Paul encounters what is perhaps the most strident opposition so far to his preaching of the gospel. While in Thessalonica, some jealous Jews form a riotous mob to protest Paul's preaching (cf. verse 5). Paul is thus forced to move to Berea, only to have these same shady characters follow him there (cf. verse 13), once again prompting him to move, this time to Athens. While in Athens, Paul again encounters resistance to his message: "A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, 'What is this babbler trying to say'" (verse 18)? The Greek word for "babbler" is spermologos, a word describing someone who pecks at and picks up ideas and then spits them out again without fully digesting and synthesizing their meaning, much like a bird picks up seed only to drop it again. These philosophers, then, are accusing Paul of having a rudimentary rhetoric, not suitable for or persuasive to the more enlightened and educated likes of them. Paul's theological associations, these philosophers would say, are too loose. It's like he's playing a game of Apples to Apples with theological ideas, none of which fit together tightly enough to impress these elitists.
Theological arguments are of a unique sort. No matter how reasoned, intelligent, and cohesive they may be, there always will be some who will look on them with utter disdain. They will always demand just one more attestation of God's existence, just one more existential loophole closed. Indeed, this is precisely the kind of demand that Jesus himself encounters while on the cross. Even after a multitude of miracles, signs, and wonders, many still refuse to believe in him. They say to him, "He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him" (Matthew 27:42). These passers-by promise to believe if only Jesus will just once more verify his identity with a miracle. But be assured, even if Jesus would have wrenched himself away from the cross, these people still wouldn't have believed, as Matthew clues us into when he describes their request of Jesus as "mocking" (cf. Matthew 27:41). In other words, these people were not honestly seeking truth. Instead, they were sardonically scorning Jesus.
So it is with Paul at Athens. Make no mistake, Paul intelligently and forcefully argued for the truth of the gospel. Yet there were some, no matter how cogent Paul's argument may have been, who simply refused to believe and instead chose to disdainfully mock Paul's mental faculties. They called him "spermologos." And yet Paul, undaunted and undeterred by their ad hominem attacks, pressed forward in his proclamation of the gospel. For Paul was willing to be derided as a babbler for Jesus.
How about you? Are you willing to be a babbler for Jesus? Some will call you "foolish." Some will call you "inept." Some will even call you "extreme." But even as the Psalmist exclaims, "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10), so also should we rather be a babbler for Jesus than wise in the eyes of the world. For though this world may rage against the Christian message, it cannot conquer it. For the Christian message is the very message of salvation. And that's enough to make me a babbler for Jesus any day.
I hope you've enjoyed my babble for today. More babble to come tomorrow.
34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
5:1 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father1 had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared2 to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
10 The queen,3 because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.4 In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
[1] 5:2
[2] 5:7
[3] 5:10
[4] 5:11
(ESV)
Following the LORD's appointed period of exile in madness, Nebuchadnezzar was restored to his throne, in all his majesty and splendor, and once again he praised and honored the God of Heaven. He recognized God's ultimate dominion, saying, "None can stay his hand." Although Nebuchadnezzar admitted that the LORD was able to humble those who walked in pride, unfortunately, his grandson Belshazzar did not learn his forefather's lesson. Belshazzar was about to see the hand of the LORD at work in his own life. Hosting a feast for thousands, the king ordered that the sacred vessels, which had been taken from the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, be used for drinking by his courtiers, wives and concubines. This sacrilegious act in which they drank libations to their false gods from the temple vessels aroused God's anger. A human hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall (whence comes the phrase, "the handwriting is on the wall"). Collapsing in abject terror with his knees knocking, King Belshazzar summoned his wise men to interpret the handwriting, offering them great rewards and a position of third in command over Babylon. Once again, the Chaldean wise men were helpless to explain the meaning of the inscription. It was Belshazzar's grandmother, the queen, (the widow of Nebuchadnezzar and mother of Nabonidus, Belshazzar's father, with whom he was coregent) who then reminded him of Daniel, whom his father had made chief of the wise men. She suggested that he be called to solve the riddle. Incidentally, although Nebuchadnezzar was called Belshazzar's "father," he was actually his grandfather. This was the usual practice in Scripture, and among all ancient cultures.
7 And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated1 always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?2
21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he ponders3 all his paths.
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.
[1] 5:19
[2] 5:20
[3] 5:21
(ESV)