July 7-11
[M] 1 Kings 12; 2 Chr 10-11; Titus 1
[T] 1 Kings 13-14; 2 Chr 12; Ps 47; Titus 2
[W] 1 Kings 15; 2 Chr 13-14; Titus 3
[T] 2 Chr 15-16; 1 Kings 16; Philemon 1
[F] 1 Kings 17-18; Ps 119; Jude 1
Dwell Plan Day 136-140 | CSB | Digital PDF | Printable PDF
Notes from Jon & Chris
Monday
1 Kings 12:1-15 | I’ve always looked down on Rehoboam—as if he was a fool and I would’ve done better. But the truth is, I’m just like him. He ignored the wisdom of seasoned voices and went straight to his friends, who told him exactly what he wanted to hear. I take cues from culture, friends, and my own pride more often than I’d like to admit. But the gospel frees me from that cycle—because Jesus, the true and better King, doesn’t just give advice; He is wisdom, and He invites fools like me to come and be made wise.
1 Kings 12:33 | Jeroboam “devised from his own heart” how to worship God. He just made it up. Despite the fact that God had blessed him, he set up two golden calves to worship. Did he never even read his Bible? The first five books were done by this point. (Some modern scholars will tell you things that they have also “devised in their own hearts” about the Bible being written later. They’re just guessing and making it up. They don’t know. We trust the Bible isn’t a bunch of lies, so we accept what it says. Moses did a lot of writing!) So Jeroboam, like many people, imagines that he can serve and worship God as he pleases. God’s judgment is announced immediately. Too bad, because he could’ve been a good guy. The prophet had told him that too. Worship God and serve Him in the ways He shows us in our Scriptures, don’t make it up in your head.
Tuesday
1 Kings 13 | This is a bizarre prophetic story. The prophet is punished for disobeying God because he gets tricked by an old prophet who lies to him. The prophet, like Jeroboam, doesn’t listen to God’s direct words. He shouldn’t have been tricked—remember, God never contradicts Himself, that’s absurd. But the prophet’s mistake is so understandable to us, it’s a bit shocking. Especially the weird lion that kills him and just stands there. This is certainly God’s judgment on him, and the old lying prophet (he must’ve not really believed it was God’s word until this very moment) realizes that God really has spoken. God is proved true, despite disobedience and lies. They don’t stop His will or the truth of His words. God gets His glory despite all of this nonsense. Praise and fear Him, because that’s the point.
2 Chronicles 12:1 | This verse shows a tragically common pattern: when Rehoboam was established and strong, he abandoned the Lord. It’s a sobering reminder that prosperity often dulls our dependence on God. So when trials come, they aren’t a sign of God’s absence, but His care, lovingly shaking us awake from spiritual drift. A hard life that clings to Christ is far better than a comfortable one that forgets Him. Sometimes, the storms we resent are the very gifts that anchor our souls.
Psalm 47:1-2 | This psalm is jarring at first: how can shouts of joy come from the fear of a terrifying God? Verse 2 says He is awesome, literally fear-inducing, the kind of holiness that made Isaiah cry out, “Woe is me,” and made John fall on his face as though dead. Joy doesn’t come in spite of that fear, it comes because this overwhelming all-powerful God has chosen to love us. The hands that could crush the world instead have chosen to hold us. In Christ, this fearful God becomes family—our Father, not our enemy; our refuge, not our ruin. The joy is not that He is less scary than we thought, but that He is for us.
Wednesday
Titus 3:5 | This is one of many reminders that we are not saved by our own goodness but by God’s mercy. The New Testament repeats this truth because we’re quick to forget it; we drift into thinking we’ve earned God’s favor. But salvation isn’t a reward for the righteous, it’s a rescue for the ruined. The gospel humbles our pride and lifts our eyes to the One who saved us because He is good, not because we are.
Thursday
2 Chronicles 15:2-4 | This text offers deep comfort to those who’ve wandered from Christ: If you seek Him, He will be found by you. These verses don’t describe a God who sulks or seethes when we stray, but one who waits—ready to be found. Like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God isn’t standing at the door with crossed arms, He’s running down the road with tears in His eyes. His discipline may wake us up, but His heart is always love. No matter how far you’ve gone or how long you’ve been gone, He wants you back. And when you turn around, you’ll find He was already on His way to meet you.
I Kings 16:21-28 | Omri gets seven verses. The funny thing is, Omri is referred to in archaeological finds more than any of the other ancient kings of Israel, and he was known for being very powerful and famous in his time. Internationally famous and his biblical bio is seven verses, with the little postscript that he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So in God’s history, he’s just a footnote and a blurb. What God thinks is important and what humans think is important are completely different. Folks sometimes talk about “being on the right side of history.” That’s mostly a load of hogwash—people playing a guessing game about what’s going to be important to future generations. But we can see it and say it as God’s children: the only right side of history is knowing and loving and serving Him.
Philemon | This book is a master class on leadership and discipleship. Paul wants his friend Philemon to release his runaway slave Onesimus, but communicates that desire without ordering him or forcing Philemon to do anything he doesn’t want to do. There’s love, respect, and exhortation all wrapped up into one package. It’s truly beautiful and meant to instruct us in how to confront friends in sticky situations with a sense of spiritual nuance.
Friday
1 Kings 17:17–24 | This text tells the story of Elijah raising the widow’s son, a breathtaking moment where death is reversed. But this isn’t the only time it happens. Elisha later raises the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4), Jesus raises the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7), the synagogue official’s daughter (Mark 5), and of course, Lazarus (John 11). After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter raises Tabitha (Acts 9), and Paul brings Eutychus back to life after a tragic fall (Acts 20). These stories are miraculous, but they all have one thing in common: each person brought back eventually died again.
They were resuscitations, not true resurrections. Each one was a gracious glimpse of God’s power over death, a signpost pointing forward to something greater. That greater reality is the resurrection of Jesus: the only person in history who was raised never to die again. His resurrection was not just a return to life, but a triumph over death itself. And the incredible news is that His resurrection is the “firstfruits”—the beginning of the full harvest—guaranteeing that all who belong to Him will one day rise in the same way. These stories stir our hope, but Jesus secures it.
1 Kings 18:27 | This is one of the most sarcastic and honestly hilarious verses in the Bible. Elijah, standing alone against hundreds of prophets of Baal, starts taunting them: “Maybe your god is deep in thought… or busy… or traveling… or sleeping.” But the Hebrew behind “busy” can literally mean relieving himself—so Elijah is basically saying, “Maybe your god is on the toilet.” It’s funny, but it also makes a serious point: false gods are powerless, distracted, and absent. In contrast, the true God isn’t just present, He answers with fire.
Psalm 119 | This psalm is an acrostic poem, meaning it’s structured around the Hebrew alphabet. Each section contains eight verses that all begin with the same Hebrew letter, moving in order from Aleph to Tav. This structure highlights the beauty, order, and completeness of God’s word, fitting for a psalm entirely devoted to delighting in His law.
Psalm 119 | This text is filled with passion for God’s word, but one of the most striking themes repeated throughout is delight. In verse 47, the psalmist says, I delight in your commands because I love them. Verse 103 adds, How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! These are not cold, legalistic responses to a list of rules—they’re the heartfelt reactions of someone who has discovered life and joy in the voice of God. Verse 143 says that even when trouble and distress come, God’s commands are still a delight, and verse 174 sums it up beautifully: I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight.
This is what we’re after in our reading plan—not just checking boxes (although, let’s be real, checking those boxes feels amazing) but cultivating a real love for God’s voice. The Bible isn’t just a book of ancient wisdom; it’s the living word of the God who loves us, rescues us, and speaks to us. We’re soaking in words that bring hope in suffering, joy in sorrow, and clarity in confusion; words that point us over and over again to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we read together, let’s pray that this becomes less about duty and more about delight. Because when God speaks, His children rejoice.
Jude | Can we all just admit this book is super weird? You should make sure to watch the Bible project video to help you with what’s going on here.
Jude 1 | Jude was Jesus’ little brother, and yet he doesn’t call himself family, but a servant of Christ. That’s stunning, because no one naturally worships their sibling as Lord. The only explanation is that Jude saw his brother risen from the dead, and it changed everything.