1 Kings 15-20 - Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!

The readings - days 108 and 109 - 1 Kings15-20

Kings continues with a few chapters the various lines of succession in the two kingdoms (Israel and Judah), and descriptions of the various nefarious characters that take over the thrones.

Well... the nefarious characters that take over one of the thrones, anyway. A good general rule of thumb seems to be that Israel sucks, while Judah tends to be alright. Time and time again, the kings of Israel fall in with idols, false gods, bad business of all kinds, and generally prove to be quite an irritant for God.  Down in Judah, however, things seem to trend towards God, rather than away from Him.

Pop quiz! Anyone remember which kingdom David's line continued in? Anyone? Anyone?

Gen. 43-45 - "I love them, I love them not..."

The readings - Day 15 - Genesis 43-45.

I've got two sons, and they're currently 3 years old and 4 months old. I wouldn't say that I necessarily lose track of them, but then again, I wouldn't say that I have a particularly large family either.

I can, however, see how letting kids outnumber parents is a risky endeavour at best, and that chaos can't help but ensue at some level, particularly when you get into the double digits.

Jacob had 12 sons. Sons. Daughters didn't count for as much back then, but they definitely would have been there... All this is to say that I have no doubt that the household of Jacob was likely incredibly complex and chaotic, with people running here and there, descendants and ancestors everywhere you look, and I'm sure that  if I were in his position, I'd have a lot of trouble keeping everything straight, too.

However...

Gen. 38-40 - "Ask not, er, ah, what you can do for your daughter-in-law..."

The readings - Day 14 - Genesis 38-40.

To anyone who is reading this who doesn't know me personally, I have a disclaimer. I'm technically 30 years old, but I'm 76% sure that I'm still 17.

That said, I have a challenge for you.

First, look at this picture: