{"feedTitle":"D.A. Carson Posts Archive","channelLink":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/","todayKey":"2026-10-22","selectedIndex":0,"count":8,"items":[{"title":"2 Kings 3; 2 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 7; Psalms 114–115","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-115/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-115/","published":"2026-10-22T06:45:07.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-22","bodyTag":"description","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["2 Kings 3; 2 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 7; Psalms 114–115 THE PASSAGE IN 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 is unique in the New Testament. Nowhere else do we find so many lines devoted to the sin of idleness. Certainly it is possible to transform work itself, or the rewards that stem from work, into an idol. That is often what people have in mind when they speak disparagingly of the “Protestant work ethic.” Still, one must insist that the proper response to the sin of making work an idol is not leisure: that may simply make leisure and hedonism an idol. The..."]},{"title":"2 Kings 2; 2 Thessalonians 2; Daniel 6; Psalms 112–113","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-2-2-thessalonians-2-daniel-6-psalms-112-113/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-2-2-thessalonians-2-daniel-6-psalms-112-113/","published":"2026-10-21T06:45:03.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-21","bodyTag":"description","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["2 Kings 2; 2 Thessalonians 2; Daniel 6; Psalms 112–113 IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN EASY to get things wrong about the return of Jesus. Sometimes this springs from ignorance, sometimes from a distorted emphasis. Judging from 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, such dangers have been present since the early church. We maintain plenty of our own skewed interpretations about these matters today. For example, because in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Paul writes, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” many contemporary scholars hold..."]},{"title":"2 Kings 1; 2 Thessalonians 1; Daniel 5; Psalms 110–111","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-1-2-thessalonians-1-daniel-5-psalms-110-111/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-1-2-thessalonians-1-daniel-5-psalms-110-111/","published":"2026-10-20T06:45:05.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-20","bodyTag":"description","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["2 Kings 1; 2 Thessalonians 1; Daniel 5; Psalms 110–111 I ONCE HEARD A PASTOR PREACH THROUGH 2 Thessalonians 1 under the following outline: A good church going through a rough time (2 Thess. 1:3–4) A good God waiting for the right time (2 Thess. 1:5–10) A good man praying in the meantime (2 Thess. 1:11–12) Today I wish to reflect a little on the second point. (1) Paul can speak of the Thessalonians being “worthy” of the kingdom of God that will come in consummated power when Jesus returns (2 Thess. 1:5, 11). The context shows that Paul is..."]},{"title":"1 Kings 22; 1 Thessalonians 5; Daniel 4; Psalms 108–109","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/1-kings-22-1-thessalonians-5-daniel-4-psalms-108-109/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/1-kings-22-1-thessalonians-5-daniel-4-psalms-108-109/","published":"2026-10-19T06:45:02.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-19","bodyTag":"content:encoded","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["The last chapter of 1 Kings, 1 Kings 22, many believers find troubling. For here God himself is presented as sending out “a lying spirit” (1 Kings 22:22) who will deceive King Ahab and lead him to his destruction. Does God approve of liars?","The setting is instructive. For once, the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel are pulling together against the king of Aram, instead of tearing at each other’s throats. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, comes across as a good man who is largely desirous of adhering to the covenant and being loyal to God, yet is a bit of a wimp. He treats the prospective military expedition as if it were an adventure, but he does want Ahab, king of Israel, to “seek the counsel of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:5). After the false prophets have finished, Jehoshaphat has sufficient smarts to ask if there is some other prophet of the Lord, and Micaiah surfaces. Yet despite Micaiah’s warnings, he goes off with Ahab, and even agrees to retain his royal robes while Ahab’s identity is masked.","But the heart of the issue turns on Micaiah. Observe:","(1) Implicitly, Ahab has surrounded himself with religious yes-men who will tell him what he wants to hear. The reason he hates Micaiah is because what Micaiah says about him is bad. Like all leaders who surround themselves with yes-men, Ahab sets himself up to be deceived.","(2) When Micaiah begins with a sarcastic positive prognostication (1 Kings 22:15), Ahab instantly recognizes that Micaiah is not telling the truth (1 Kings 22:16). This hints at a conscience more than a little troubled. After all, God had previously told Ahab that because of his guilt in the matter of Naboth, dogs would one day lick up his blood (1 Kings 21:19). He thus expected bad news someday, and at a deep level of his being could not really trust the happy forecasts of his domesticated “prophets.”","(3) When Micaiah tells him of impending disaster, he also provides a dramatic reason for the coherence and unanimity of the false prophets: God himself had sanctioned a deceitful spirit. Ahab’s time has come: he will be destroyed. God’s sovereignty extends even over the means to send Ahab’s tame prophets a “strong delusion” (compare 2 Thess. 2:11–12). Yet the fact that Ahab is told all this demonstrates that God is still graciously providing him with access to the truth. But Ahab is so far gone that he cannot stomach the truth. In a ridiculous response, he believes enough of the truth to hide his own identity in the hordes of common soldiers, but not enough to stay away from Ramoth Gilead. So he dies: God’s sovereign judgment is enacted, not least because Ahab, hearing both the truth and the lie, preferred the lie."]},{"title":"1 Kings 21; 1 Thessalonians 4; Daniel 3; Psalm 107","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/1-kings-21-1-thessalonians-4-daniel-3-psalm-107/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/1-kings-21-1-thessalonians-4-daniel-3-psalm-107/","published":"2026-10-18T06:45:03.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-18","bodyTag":"description","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["1 Kings 21; 1 Thessalonians 4; Daniel 3; Psalm 107 IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4, Paul once again provides explicit instruction to his converts on how to live (see meditation for October 4). Although his time with the Thessalonians was brief, Paul can look back on those few weeks and comment, “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living” (1 Thess. 4:1). In what follows in this chapter, there are four areas of such instruction (and still more in the next chapter, though we shall not pursue them here). The..."]},{"title":"1 Kings 20; 1 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 2; Psalm 106","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/1-kings-20-1-thessalonians-3-daniel-2-psalm-106/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/1-kings-20-1-thessalonians-3-daniel-2-psalm-106/","published":"2026-10-17T06:45:05.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-17","bodyTag":"description","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["1 Kings 20; 1 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 2; Psalm 106 THE INTENSITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP between Paul and his converts surfaces again and again. There is never a trace of mere professionalism in Paul. For all that he is prepared on occasion to stand on his apostolic authority, his stance toward churches he has founded is never one of distant superiority. When Paul found himself unable to visit the Thessalonian believers to find out how they were getting on—and in this case he was especially concerned since his entire ministry in Thessalonica lasted only about a month, so that these..."]},{"title":"1 Kings 19; 1 Thessalonians 2; Daniel 1; Psalm 105","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/1-kings-19-1-thessalonians-2-daniel-1-psalm-105/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/1-kings-19-1-thessalonians-2-daniel-1-psalm-105/","published":"2026-10-16T06:45:21.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-16","bodyTag":"content:encoded","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["Doubtless Elijah expected that, after the triumphant confrontation on Mount Carmel, Israel would turn back to the living God (1 Kings 19). As he had executed the false prophets, so Queen Jezebel herself would be eliminated—by the popular demand of an outraged populace determined to be faithful and loyal to the covenant. Perhaps even King Ahab would repent and come on board.","It doesn’t work out that way. King Ahab reports everything that has happened to Jezebel, and Jezebel lets Elijah know that he is as good as dead (1 Kings 19:2). The people are nowhere to be seen. “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (1 Kings 19:3), we are told. In fact, a textual variant (which may be original) reads “Elijah saw, and ran for his life”—i.e., he now saw the dimensions of the whole problem, and ran. He heads south to Beersheba on the southern edge of the kingdom of Judah, drops off his servant, and keeps on going. Eventually he arrives at Mount Horeb, the site of the giving of the Law. He is so deeply depressed he wants to die (1 Kings 19:4). Worse, he succumbs to not a little self-pity: everybody else has rejected God, all the Israelites have broken the covenant, all the prophets except Elijah have been put to death—“I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10).","One can sympathize with Elijah’s despair. In part, it is grounded in unfulfilled expectations. He thought that all that had taken place would trigger massive renewal. Now he feels not only isolated, but betrayed. And yet:","(1) He has his facts wrong. He knows that at least a hundred of the Lord’s prophets are still alive, even if they are in hiding (1 Kings 18:13).","(2) He is not in a fit state to judge the hearts of all the Israelites. Some may be loyal to Yahweh, but terrified of Jezebel, and therefore keeping their heads down. After all, isn’t that what he himself is doing?","(3) God himself assures Elijah that he has “reserved” for himself seven thousand people who have never bowed to Baal and never kissed him (1 Kings 19:18). Here is the beginning of a major biblical theme—the doctrine of the remnant. The covenant community as a whole may become apostate, but God Almighty still “reserves” for himself a faithful remnant—which in the fullness of time will become the nucleus of the fledgling New Testament church.","(4) God sometimes works and speaks in quiet ways, not in massive confrontation (1 Kings 19:11–13).","(5) Sooner or later even the strongest leaders, especially the strongest leaders, need a younger apprentice and helper to come alongside, shoulder part of the burden, and finally take over the work (1 Kings 19:19–21)."]},{"title":"1 Kings 18; 1 Thessalonians 1; Ezekiel 48; Psalm 104","url":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/1-kings-18-1-thessalonians-1-ezekiel-48-psalm-104/","urlSource":"item-link","guid":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/1-kings-18-1-thessalonians-1-ezekiel-48-psalm-104/","published":"2026-10-15T06:45:05.000Z","publishedDateKey":"2026-10-15","bodyTag":"content:encoded","audioUrl":"","paragraphs":["It is tempting to comment further on the Pauline triad found in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (see meditation on October 11), but the confrontation on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18) beckons.","The most shocking thing about that confrontation is that it was needed. These are the covenant people of God. It is not as if God has never disclosed himself to them. The corporate mind of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom has all but abandoned its heritage. When Elijah challenges the people with the words, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21), the people say nothing.","Yet before we indulge in too many self-righteous musings, we need to reflect on how often the church has moved away from her moorings. The Great Awakening was a powerful movement of the Spirit of God, yet a century later many of the churches that had been filled with fresh converts, robust theology, and godly living had degenerated into Unitarianism. Who would have guessed that the land of Luther and the Reformation would have given us Hitler and the Holocaust? Why is it that twentieth-century evangelicalism, as it mushroomed between, say, 1930 and 1960, soon bred varieties of self-designated evangelicals whom no evangelical leader of the earlier period would have recognized as such? The sad reality is that human memory is short, selective, and self-serving. Moreover, each new generation begins with a slightly different baseline. Since all its members need conversion, the church is never more than a generation or two from extinction. If we forget this simple point, it becomes all too easy to rest on our laurels when we are comfortable, and somehow lose sight of our mission, not to say of our Maker and Redeemer.","The setup on Mount Carmel was spectacular: one prophet against 850, Yahweh against Baal—and Baal was often thought of as the god of fire. It is as if Elijah has set up the contest on Baal’s turf. His mocking words whip up the false prophets into an orgy of self-flagellation (1 Kings 18:28). By God’s instruction (1 Kings 18:36), Elijah increases the odds by soaking the sacrifice he is preparing. Then, in the evening, his own brief prayer brings down explosive fire from heaven, and the people cry, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!” (1 Kings 18:39). And in response to Elijah’s intercessory prayer, the rain comes again to the parched land.","Something deep in the hearts of many Christians cries, “Do it again!”—not, of course, exactly the same thing, but a focused confrontation that elicits decisive and massive confession of the living God.","But did even this change Israel? Why or why not?"]}],"fetchedAt":"2026-10-23T02:20:52.316Z","source":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/feed/","probe":[{"title":{"present":true,"length":54,"sample":"2 Kings 3; 2 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 7; Psalms 114–115"},"link":{"present":true,"length":114,"sample":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-"},"guid":{"present":true,"length":94,"sample":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-"},"pubDate":{"present":true,"length":31,"sample":"Thu, 22 Oct 2026 06:45:07 +0000"},"description":{"present":true,"length":552,"sample":"2 Kings 3; 2 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 7; Psalms 114–115 THE PASSAGE IN 2 Thessalonians 3:6–"},"content:encoded":{"present":false},"itunes:summary":{"present":false},"enclosure":{"present":false}},{"title":{"present":true,"length":54,"sample":"2 Kings 2; 2 Thessalonians 2; Daniel 6; Psalms 112–113"},"link":{"present":true,"length":114,"sample":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-2-2-thessalonians-2-"},"guid":{"present":true,"length":94,"sample":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-2-2-thessalonians-2-daniel-6-psalms-112-"},"pubDate":{"present":true,"length":31,"sample":"Wed, 21 Oct 2026 06:45:03 +0000"},"description":{"present":true,"length":596,"sample":"2 Kings 2; 2 Thessalonians 2; Daniel 6; Psalms 112–113 IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN EASY to get thin"},"content:encoded":{"present":false},"itunes:summary":{"present":false},"enclosure":{"present":false}},{"title":{"present":true,"length":54,"sample":"2 Kings 1; 2 Thessalonians 1; Daniel 5; Psalms 110–111"},"link":{"present":true,"length":114,"sample":"https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-1-2-thessalonians-1-"},"guid":{"present":true,"length":94,"sample":"http://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-1-2-thessalonians-1-daniel-5-psalms-110-"},"pubDate":{"present":true,"length":31,"sample":"Tue, 20 Oct 2026 06:45:05 +0000"},"description":{"present":true,"length":546,"sample":"2 Kings 1; 2 Thessalonians 1; Daniel 5; Psalms 110–111 I ONCE HEARD A PASTOR PREACH THROUG"},"content:encoded":{"present":false},"itunes:summary":{"present":false},"enclosure":{"present":false}}],"raw":"\n\t\n\t\tD.A. Carson Posts Archive\n\t\t\n\t\thttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/\n\t\tThe Gospel Coalition\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThu, 22 Oct 2026 23:28:40 +0000\t\t\n\t\ten-US\n\t\t\n\t\t\thourly\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t1\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2 Kings 3; 2 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 7; Psalms 114–115\n\t\t\t\thttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-115/\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org/devotionals/read-the-bible/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-115/#respond\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThu, 22 Oct 2026 06:45:07 +0000\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thttp://tgcstaging.wpengine.com/d-a-carson/2-kings-3-2-thessalonians-3-daniel-7-psalms-114-115/\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t