Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

My God, I adore and thank your loving and wise Providence, manifested on every page of Sacred Scripture. You have always been close to sinful and erring humanity, and have indicated the way and given hope. Amid the shadows of error and corruption, you kindled the light of your truth; amid universal corruption, you are the Just One; amid so much idolatry, humanity in every corner of the earth has cultivated a sincere worship of you.
Let my reading today increase my trust in your goodness, your mercy, and your unfailing faithfulness.

Today's chapters are 2 Chronicles 3-5 and Psalm 74.    

Once again, we read the details of the building and dedication of the Temple. It is a fitting reading for Holy Thursday, when we celebrate the fulfillment of what the rites in the Temple proclaimed and pointed to. On that dedication day, Solomon "sacrificed sheep and oxen too many to number or count," but Jesus, our High Priest, offered one sacrifice for sin, and now he sits at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). 

Psalm 74 makes a poignant pairing to the reading: it is a psalm of lament over the destruction of the Temple. In its verses, you can hear the cries of the eye-witness as he appeals to God: "Your foes roared triumphantly in the place of your assembly.... They hacked away like a forester gathering boughs, swinging his ax.... How long, O God, will the enemy jeer?"

Start reading 2 Chronicles here and Psalm 74 here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.