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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 295

Oct22

Day 295 – Reading – Matthew 18

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 18.

While looking right at Jesus, the disciples dare to ask, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” (The KING, or course!)  But I’m sure they were looking among themselves and wondering, is it Peter, our spokesman, or maybe John who is always close to Jesus and hears his revelations first? Which of us?

Jesus surprised them by calling over a little child and putting him on His lap. “Truly, unless YOU turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Whoever humbles himself  like this child here, is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.”

Well, the disciples weren’t expecting THAT.  And Jesus continues, hoping they get what He’s saying, “Whoever receives one such a child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin … it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be thrown in the depth of the sea.”

Whoa!

And then more shocking statements.  “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It’s better to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. The same with your eye, if it causes you to sin.

Looking again at the child on his lap, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven.”  “It is not the will of my Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

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As the child settles back into Jesus’ arms and perhaps closes his eyes, Peter comes up with another question. “Lord, how often shall my brother (did he glance at Andrew here?) sin against me and I forgive him?  Seven times?

Jesus had just been telling them how to resolve issues between themselves. It was to go to that brother and talk to him.  If that didn’t work, they were to take 2-3 others along and try to resolve the problem.  And if that didn’t resolve the issue, they were to bring the man before the whole congregation. And if that failed, he was to be kicked out.   

So now Peter was asking HOW MANY TIMES did he have to forgive his  brother for sinning against him.

“Seventy times seven times. Forgive him 490 times!”   Yeow! That’s a lot!!!

Then after maybe gently caressing the child on his lap,  Jesus gave the disciples a parable to show how much the Father in Heaven is willing to forgive THEIR sins.

“There was a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed him 10,000 talents (a huge amount).  The servant no way could pay back that amount to his master. So the king ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all he  had, and payment be made.”

Probably all who were listening, nodded their heads in agreement. That was fair.

Jesus continued. “The servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything!”

“Yeah, right!” and “No way!” the disciples said.

“Out of pity the master released him and forgave his debt.” said Jesus.

The people listening were shocked. “What??” “How could he?” 

Jesus continued the story, the “lesson” hadn’t be learned yet – the one about forgiving your brother 490 times.

“But then that (forgiven) servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denari.  He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying ‘Pay what you owe me!” 

The fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, just as the first servant had pleaded to the king, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  But the forgiven servant (who was also greedy and mean) refused.  He put his fellow servant in prison until he should pay the debt.

The disciples and crowd were agitated.  How could the one who’d been forgiven so much not forgive his fellow servant?  That’s disgusting! What a bad guy!

But Jesus was not finished. Gently he set the little child down and watched as he ran to his mother, then continued.  “When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master what had happened.  The king called in that forgiven servant and said, ‘You wicked servant!  I forgave you ALL that debt because you pleaded with me.  You should have had mercy on YOUR fellow servant, as I had on you.’  And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.”

Yay! they all cried, hi-fiving each other. Good reddens! Serves him right!

Jesus held up a hand and they quieted. Then Jesus looked slowly around at each face and ended on Peter’s. “So also my heavenly Father will do to everyone of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Silence, while they pondered. Who did they need to go and forgive?

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(Lord, thank you for this reminder. God has forgive me so much!  I should also forgive others.  It’s hard, but God’s example encourages me to obey. Thank You!)

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 294

Oct21

Day 294 – Reading – Matthew 17 and Mark 9

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 17 and Mark 9,

After telling His disciples about His soon-to-arrive suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus says something hard to understand. “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not see death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Our first thought may be, well, WE are here, 2000 years later, and WE haven’t seen Jesus coming into His Kingdom.  But consider a few other thoughts. Jesus could have been referring to His resurrection.  Or, perhaps the coming of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost was in His mind. 

But most likely, Jesus was referring to His “transfiguration” when Peter, James, and John saw Jesus glorified.  In both Matthew and Mark (and Luke), it’s the very next thing that happened after those words.

Jesus and the disciples were still in northern Galilee around Caesarea Philippi. Mt. Hermon (9,000 ft.) is nearby. Jesus took the “inner-circle” disciples, Peter, James, and John, up into this “high mountain.”

Jesus was “transfigured” before them.  And these three disciples saw Him, in some of His ‘Eternal Glory.’

  • Peter says in his account – 2 Peter 1:16b-18. “…we (3) were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

Matthew: “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.”

Mark: “His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”

(Luke: “The appearance of His face was altered and His clothes became dazzling white.”)

Can you imagine?

And THEN, as if this vision was not enough, the revered Old Testament heroes, MOSES and ELIJAH (representing the Law and Prophets), appeared with Jesus.  These two men, whose own deaths are a mystery, were discussing Jesus’ own upcoming “departure,” which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem in just a few months. 

  • What do you think they were saying to Jesus?  How were they encouraging Him, do you think?
  • I believe they were calling to His remembrance all the Old Testament scriptures that pointed to Him – beginning at Genesis 3:15 (which Moses wrote) about the “seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent.”
  • Did Moses remind Jesus of the “Passover Lamb” whose blood on the doors saved a nation from the death angel? Now He would provide salvation to ALL who believed.
  • Perhaps Elijah brought the prophecy of Isaiah 53 to Jesus’ remembrance, reviewing His upcoming suffering, but also the final reward He would have in the Redeemed Saints He would take to Glory. 
  • Maybe Elijah, thinking of the chariot of fire that took him to heaven, encouraged Jesus that He too would return to His Father by being “lifted up to the sky,” while his disciples watched.

We don’t know. My thoughts are just speculation. But in some way, these Old Testament powerhouses strengthened Jesus for the road ahead, and the “cup” he would drink.

And then…

Peter’s words penetrated all that sweet communion. “Lord. It is good that WE are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah…!”

But the Father interrupted him, covering the scene with a bright cloud and saying in majesty, “THIS is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, LISTEN TO HIM.”

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. Perhaps they even fainted, because it took Jesus coming to them, touching them, and saying, “Rise, and have no fear” for them to see that the vision had gone.

On the way down the mountain, Jesus commanded the three, “You are to tell NO ONE about the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”   They kept the matter among themselves, but they didn’t really understand what Jesus meant by ‘rising from the dead.’

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When they came back to the rest of the disciples, they saw a crowd with them, some Jewish officials, a man, and a very distressed boy.  There was loud arguing by the Jewish scribes, and a great deal of distress in the crowd.

“What’s going on here? What are you arguing about?” Jesus wanted to know.

A man from the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to You, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.  So….I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

Jesus sighed. “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?  Bring him to me.”

They brought the boy to Jesus, and when it saw Him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.  

Jesus turned to the father, “How long has this been happening to him?

“From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him.” answered the man. “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 

Jesus, to the man, “If YOU can.  All things are possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Jesus, seeing the crowd amassing around them, said, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come of of him and never enter him again.”

And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that some said he was actually dead.  But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him up. And he arose.  And all were astonished at the majesty of God. 

Later, in the house, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they could not cast the spirit out.  Jesus confided in them that “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”  

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A little later, back in Galilee, Jesus was trying to keep His disciples isolated, for He was teaching them. “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days He will rise.”

The disciples were greatly distressed and did not understand what He was saying. And they were afraid to ask Him.  Jesus would keep reminding then of what MUST happen to Him, clear up to the night of His arrest. But they didn’t understand and wouldn’t accept it.   

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How sweet it must have been to talk with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. They affirmed what was going to happen to Him. And they encouraged Him that indeed, He WOULD rise from the dead, to the glory of God. The plan of salvation, decided on before creation, would be accomplished. Jesus would conquer death and the devil and save His people from their sins.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 289

Oct16

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 289 – Reading – Matthew 10

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 10.

Chapter ten focuses on Jesus’ disciples (learners), whom He named apostles (messengers).

The order in the list fascinates me. Jesus seems to put them into pairs.  Was this the “two by two” order they went out? How did these men work together? Or challenge each other? Did their personalities clash? What if the tax collector and the Zealot had been together!! (whoa!)

  • First, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew,
  • James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John,
  • Philip and Bartholomew (or Nathaniel)
  • Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector,
  • James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus (or Judas, the son of James)
  • Simon the Cananaean (or Zealot)  and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Jesus gave these men authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out, and authority to heal every disease and every affliction. (He had been demonstrating these very things to them so far in His own ministry.) 

Jesus told them to AVOID Gentiles and Samaritans, and to go only to “the lost sheep of Israel.”  (Paul did this in the New Testament, although he was called to go to the Gentiles.  “To the Jew first,” was his mantra. Later, after Pentecost, the disciples would go “to the uttermost parts of the world.”)

Jesus gave His disciples the “message” to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Then they were to heal the sick, raise the dead (wow!), cleanse lepers, and cast out demons.

They were to take no pay, only accepting meals and lodging in “worthy” homes. And they were to take no luggage, trusting God would supply their needs, either by making the clothing/sandals sufficient or by donations.

Jesus warned them to expect persecution. They would be like sheep among wolves, so they were to be WISE as serpents and INNOCENT as doves.  They might be arrested and taken to court, Jewish leaders from the synagogues might flog them, and they might even be dragged before governors and kings for Jesus’ sake. If so, they could trust the Holy Spirit to speak through them when the time came to testify.

They would be hated for Jesus’ sake, but “endure to the end” for they WOULD be saved!  They were to go fearlessly, not being afraid to die for His sake. Instead, they should fear God, who determines their eternal destiny.  But HE cares for them; He knows even the number of hairs on their heads.  So, Jesus says, acknowledge Me before men, and I will acknowledge YOU before My Father in Heaven.

He reminded them to expect enemies of the kingdom in their own families, and to remember that whoever loves father, mother, son, or daughter MORE than Jesus is not worthy of Him.  And, pointedly, “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is NOT WORTHY of me.”   Whoever “finds” his life will lose it, and whoever “loses” his life for Jesus’ sake, will find it.

Jesus then reminds them that they are His “ambassadors.”  The way that people treat them (well or poorly) is also how they treat Him. (Remember Jesus’ words to Paul on the road to Damascus? See Acts 9:4-5)  So anyone who even gives them a cool cup of water in His name won’t miss out on his reward.”

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These words of Jesus could well be taken by us today as we seek to serve Him and tell others about His Kingdom, and the precious salvation He “bought” for those who believe. 

(LORD, Help me not be shocked if I am persecuted for Your sake (even by loved ones), but show me how to depend on You to act the way YOU did when men despised You and treated You wickedly. 

And help me not to expect praise or to seek money, but only desire to serve You humbly, trusting that You will care for me.  Help me to always look forward to my unperishable reward in Heaven.

Oh LORD, may we be “worthy of You” in all we do.”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 282

Oct9

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 282 – Reading – Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 6

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 12, Mark 3, Luke 6

SABBATH ARGUMENTS AND TRICKS

As in John 5 (yesterday’s study), the Sabbath Laws and healing on the Sabbath are addressed again in these chapters. Jesus never broke the commands God gave Israel about the Sabbath.  He did, however, seem to flaunt disobedience to the “traditions of man,” those extra laws that the Pharisees added to “protect” God’s Word. (As if He needed help!)

Jesus’ disciples were caught eating grain from a field they were passing.

(Did the Religious Leaders follow them everywhere??  Were they always looking for opportunities to “catch” Jesus in some “sin?”  Yes, they were!) 

But, this practice of picking a few heads of grain, rolling it in your hands to remove the husks, then crunching on the grain inside, WAS LEGAL.  In fact, it was a law that helped provide for the poor. Farmers were instructed not to harvest the edges and corners of their fields, leaving those for the needy to glean. 

THAT wasn’t the problem. The day of the week was.  Sabbath. The simple act of plucking and eating a few kernels was considered WORK.  Say what?  Well, plucking was “harvesting.”  Rolling the grain in your hands and blowing the chaff away was “winnowing.”

“YOU ARE WORKING ON THE SABBATH!” They accused.

Jesus, who knew the Scriptures FAR BETTER than the teachers of the Law, reminded them of a time when David and a few of his men were desperately hungry. They asked the priest to give them the previous day’s bread that had been in the Tabernacle on the Table of Showbread.  The priest gave it to them as an act of mercy and kindness. (This bread was usually eaten by the priests.)

Then Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 for them. “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Then Jesus added, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” HE had the right to rule over, not only THEIR rules, but also the Sabbath itself, for it was designed to worship God.  (This was another claim to deity by Jesus.)

Right after that, Jesus went to the nearby synagogue.  OF COURSE, there was a man who desperately needed healing.  (Did those rulers put the man there on purpose???)

Jesus immediately SAW the man and KNEW what they were thinking. They asked Him, “the” question, “Is it lawful TO HEAL on the Sabbath?”  They needed something to accuse him.

And again Jesus speaks of MERCY above sacrifice.  “Would you save one of your sheep who’d fallen into a pit on the Sabbath? (yes, of course)  How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?”

Then Jesus re-asks their question, slightly different, “Is it lawful to DO GOOD on the Sabbath?”

And just like that, Jesus healed the man.

And the Pharisees fumed. They went outside and conspired on how to DESTROY Jesus.

And Jesus, aware of this, went out from them. Many followed, and HE HEALED THEM ALL!”  Ha!

  • (Matthew then quotes from Isaiah about Jesus. “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench…”  Mercy, kindness, and justice for the needy, Jesus was an example to all.)

 

.THE TWELVE APPOINTED

Jesus slipped away for some quiet time with his followers.  He called twelve of them to be His appointed apostles (messengers). He would later send them out to preach on their own (as practice for later).

He called Simon Peter; James, and John (the sons of Zebedee, which Jesus named “Sons of Thunder”);  He called Peter’s brother, Andrew; and Philip; Bartholomew (Nathaniel); and Matthew (Levi); and Thomas (the melancholy one; another James who was the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus (another Judas, the son of James); Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

A motley crew, indeed. I wonder how the Zealot and the ex-tax collector got along. How did Judas “Iscariot” (meaning “a man of the city”) get along with all those fishermen? Was his “city” background why they appointed him group treasurer?  Jesus knew all their hearts and their potential.

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DEMONS AND DEVILS VS THE HOLY SPIRIT

Some in the crowds of people Jesus healed were filled with unclean spirits (demons).  When Jesus forced them out by His command, those devils often cried out, “You are the Son of God!”  Jesus silenced them. He did NOT want the testimony of the agents of Satan.

But some of the people who saw and heard picked up on this and asked, “CAN this be the Son of David (Messiah)?

When the Scribes and Pharisees heard what they were saying, they rushed to refute it. 

“It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this Man casts out demons.” 

(Gasp!  Clutch your heart!!)

Jesus responded. “Now that is downright foolish.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against HIMSELF. How will his kingdom stand?  But I cast out demons by THE SPIRIT OF GOD, so the Kingdom of God has come upon you. WHOEVER is not with Me and does not gather with Me… scatters. 

And then Jesus defends the precious Spirit of God, the third person of the Holy Trinity.

  • “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but not the blasphemy against the Spirit. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

“Either make the tree good so the fruit is good, or make the tree bad, so it produces bad fruit. THE TREE IS KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT.   You brood of vipers!  How can you speak good, when you are evil???

And then the portion that we often recite.

  • Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  • The good person, out of his good treasure, brings forth good.
  • The evil person, out of his evil treasure, speaks forth evil.
  • On Judgment Day, people will give account for EVERY CARELESS WORD they speak.
  • By your WORDS you will be justified, and by your WORDS you will be condemned.

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A SIGN FROM JONAH

Not afraid of Jesus’ fiery answer, the Scribes and Pharisees come back at Jesus, asking Him to do some “wondrous” sign.”  They want to see a sign, a miracle, a wonder.

“No sign will be given to YOU, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

  • Three days and nights Jonah was in the belly of the great fish.
  • So the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

“Those men of Nineveh (who repented at Jonah’s words) will rise up on Judgment Day and CONDEMN this generation ….. for someone greater than Jonah is here.”

“The queen of Sheba will ALSO rise up in judgment with this generation and CONDEMN it.  She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ….. and something greater than Solomon is here.”

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A MOM IS WORRIED

When Jesus’ family saw and heard Jesus speaking, and saw the crowds pressing in on Him, and watched the angry religious leaders threatening Him, they tried to rescue Jesus.  They may have tried to excuse His exuberance by saying, “He’s out of his mind.”

The crowds around Him noticed the distraught mom with her other sons, and, while He was still speaking, said to Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You.”

Looking around Him at the crowd who was sitting around him, Jesus said with outspread arms, “HERE are my mother and my brothers! For whosoever does the will of God, he is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Jesus was not “dissing” his earthly family. He was emphasizing the importance of SPIRITUAL relationships.  After all, his own family needed Him as Savior. (See John 7:5)  And besides that, even in His intense physical pain on the cross a few years later, Jesus carefully put His mother into the hands of His beloved disciple, John. (See John 19:26-27)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 273

Sep30

Day 273 – Reading –  Malachi  1 – 4

Malachi is the last prophetic word from God until John the Baptist comes to announce the “Lamb of God/Messiah”; a long 400 years. (Although in the earlier Jewish Bible, Nehemiah was the last book, as it finishes Israel’s history.) 

Malachi’s prophecy was most likely written during the time Nehemiah temporarily returned to Persia after completing and dedicating the wall of Jerusalem.  Remember how angry the cupbearer was when he heard all the ways the Jews had slipped back into their old ways? (Nehemiah 13).

He hurried back to Jerusalem to try and correct the corrupt priests, the failure to support the Temple work by tithing, their working and selling on the Sabbath, and their intermarriage with pagans, even among the priests. Also, their earlier injustice towards the poor.

Malachi also addresses these sins.

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Malachi 1.

“The word of the LORD  to Israel.” And n insightful conversation with them.

The LORD: “I have loved you.”

People: “How have you loved us?”

The LORD: “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother, and I hated Esau.”  See all the ways I have judged and destroyed Esau’s people. I will be angry with THEM forever. But you, O Jacob, I have loved, even in judgment.

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Then God zooms down on the corrupt PRIESTS.

The LORD: “Where is My honor, My fear, O priests who despise My name?”

Priests: “How have we despised Your name?”

The LORD: “By offering polluted food on My altar.”

Priests: “How have we polluted you?”

The LORD: “When you offer blind animals as sacrifice. You offer the lame and sick. I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept the offering from your hand.  My Name will be great among the NATIONS, and in every place incense and a pure offering will be offered in My Name.”

Priests: “Snort! What a weariness this is.”

The LORD: “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”

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Malachi 2.

MORE judgment comes onto the corrupt priests. God gives these men (who are supposed to represent God to the people) a choice – Listen and obey, OR “I will send the curse upon you and will curse your blessings.  I will rebuke your offspring. I will spread dung on your faces and on your offerings. (WHOA!) “And you will be taken away as the waste of the sacrifices is carried outside the camp and burned.”

Originally, God’s covenant with the Levite priests was “one of life and peace.”  As they feared God and stood in awe of His Name, “true instruction was in their mouths.”  They “walked with God in peace and uprightness, and they turned many from iniquities.“

(This is what our church leaders should do today as well.)

Then the LORD blasts those corrupt priests again.  “But YOU have turned aside from the way. YOU have caused many to stumble by your instruction. YOU have corrupted the covenant of Levi.  And so, I will make YOU despised and abased before the people.”

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Then the people of Judah get into the conversation again. It’s about the foreign women again.

People: “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us all? Then why do You say we are faithless and profane the covenant of our fathers?

The LORD: “You have been faithless, and abomination has been committed. You have profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which I love, and have married the daughter of a foreign god.  May any descendant of Jacob who does this be cut off from my people.”

People: “Why don’t you regard our offerings or accept them? Don’t you see our weeping and groaning?

The LORD: “Because I see the wives of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.  Did I not make you ONE, with a portion of the Spirit in your union?  I desired godly offspring.  The man who does not love his wife but divorces her (and marries a pagan woman), covers his garment with violence. GUARD YOURSELVES IN YOUR SPIRIT AND DO NOT BE FAITHLESS.”

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And then it seems God has had enough.

The LORD: “You have wearied the LORD with your words.”

People and priests: “How have we wearied Him?

Answer:  “By saying that, everyone who does evil (inferior offerings, pagan wives), is ‘good’ in the sight of the LORD because He ‘delights’ in them.”

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Malachi 3.

Then, one of the familiar passages in the book, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple;  and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, Behold, He is coming, says the LORD of Hosts.

He is like a refiner’s FIRE and like fullers’ SOAP. He will refine and purify the sons of Levi as silver and gold, so they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD.”

Notice the TWO MESSENGERS that God promises to send. 

  1. The messenger who will prepare the way…. (John the Baptist).
  2.  The Messenger of the Covenant will suddenly come to his temple. He will refine and purify… (Jesus, in both his first and second comings, refining the remnant).

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Then comes more of their rebellious conversation with God.

The LORD: “I, the LORD, do not change, therefore YOU, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.  As of old, you have not kept my statutes.  RETURN TO ME, AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU.  But you will ask how to return.  Will a man rob God?  YOU are robbing me!

The people:  “How have we robbed you? 

The LORD: “In your tithes and contributions. The whole nation of you are ROBBING ME!

Again, another very familiar passage of God telling them (and us) that we can “test Him” on this. 

The LORD: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. PUT ME TO THE TEST, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

(I have done this – I have tested the Lord by giving a regular, full tithe.  And He proved more than faithful and delightful in His blessings to me. You won’t believe how he can stretch the amount that is left from the tithe!  We couldn’t see how it happened, but it did.  God was faithful.  He delighted in proving Himself in this test.  PRAISE HIM!)

Next, the whining people of the God of Israel bring up another point.  They say that “God is not fair. We serve Him by walking in His laws, and we are chastised, whereas evildoers do what they want and prosper.  They defy God and escape. It’s not fair!”

Malachi now mentions the “book of remembrance,” to counter the people’s complaint that the evildoers always prosper.  In that book are all the names of those who fear the LORD and esteem His Name. 

“THEY are mine!” says the LORD. “In the day of judgment, I will spare them. And you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does NOT serve Him.”

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Malachi 4.

Malachi continues the thought of the differences between the evildoer and the faithful.

  1. “The day of the LORD is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, set ablaze till nothing is left. 
  2. “But for those who fear God’s name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  They will walk all over the wicked for they will be ashes under their feet.

So, God’s final word to the arguing, complaining people of His Name?  “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and the rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.”

(Israel was still obligated to keep the Law……. until their Messiah came as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for their sin (fulfilling the Law).   

  • That time was coming! 
  • The saving Messiah was coming. 
  • Watch out for the herald who will announce Him! 
  • Watch and be ready!

 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers …………. lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

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John the Baptist was a “type” of Elijah, “preparing the way” of Jesus, in His first coming.

Elijah and Moses both appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Maybe it is Elijah and Moses as the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation.

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Okay, now.  It will be 400 years before they again hear the voice of God.  It comes in the form of Gabriel the angel, speaking to the priest Zacharias. 

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, AND GO BEFORE HIM IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH … to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

WOW.  Tomorrow’s study will be 400 years later than todays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 270

Sep27

Day 270 – Reading –  Nehemiah  6 – 7

Nehemiah 6. 

THIRD OPPOSITION:  When those three conspirators – Sanballat, Tobiah, the Ammonite, and Geshem, the Arab – saw that the wall was built (but still had no gates), they invited Nehemiah to lunch.  HA!  Our boy knew they meant to harm him and declined. “I’m working and can’t stop.”

FOUR TIMES they sent him this invite and four times he declined. (Seems they should have gotten the message.)

Next, Sanballat sent an open letter via his servant accusing Nehemiah and the Jews of rebellion, saying they planned to make him King, in opposition to the one in Persia.  Then Artaxerxes will come and make war. 

Nehemiah’s response was stinging. “Seriously?? You are inventing things to frighten us, thinking we will drop the work and not finish!  Go you way, I’m not frightened!” 

Nehemiah didn’t stew about this threat, he prayed. “But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”

FOURTH OPPOSITION: Next they hired a false prophet, to try and lure Nehemiah into the Temple and escape a murder threat. “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the Temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you by night.”

Nehemiah held up his hand to halt the fellow. “Should such a man as I run away?  And what man such as I (not a priest) could go into the temple and live? i will NOT go in.”  With that, Nehemiah understood that this was not a prophet of God, but a man from Tobiah and Sanballat. 

And again Nehemiah prayed, “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to theses things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.” (Ezekiel 13:17-18)

And so, despite all the opposition, the wall was finished.  It took 52 days under Nehemiah’s stead leadership and resistance to opposition … and prayer.   “And when all our enemies heard of it, all nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”

However, Tobiah continued to send letters to try to make Nehemiah afraid.  (What a jerk!)

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Nehemiah 7.

When Nehemiah had finally finished the doors, and the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites had been appointed, he gave his brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the governor of the castle,** charge over Jerusalem, for the governor was “a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.” 

**The “castle” was the “Tower of Hananel” set on the NW corner of the wall.  It was used as protection for the Temple. (See the map of gates in yesterday’s post.) When Herod rebuilt the temple area, he made this “fortress,” the Antonia, where the Roman guard was housed in Jesus’ time.

Nehemiah’s instructions to Hananiah and his brother were to “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors.”   Nehemiah called for this to prevent looting and sabotage by their enemies, for “Jerusalem was wide and large, but the people within it were few. None of the houses had been rebuilt.”  (Such a smart leader!)

Then God put it in Nehemiah’s heart to enroll the nobles, officials, and people by genealogy.  He found the original book of the people who had returned in the first wave under Zerubbabel.  In that book, it was written,

“These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua…. etc.”

Nehemiah updated this record.

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 267

Sep24

Day 267 – Reading – Esther 6 – 10

Yesterday, we began the story of Queen Esther. 

A lot of intrigue and emotions have happened. (Read it HERE if you haven’t already.)  We left off after Esther invited the King and Haman to a second banquet.  Haman felt on top of the world UNTIL he passed by Mordecai sitting at the gate. The old Jew did not acknowledge the Prime Minister in any way, and that really infuriated Haman.  At home, he told his friends about the second invite and about Mordecai.  They suggested he get rid of Mordecai so he could enjoy the Queen’s party.  The master villain quickly built a 75-foot-tall gallows.

The next day, Haman would get the King to okay THE JEW’S HANGING!  Then he could go to the Queen’s party as a happy man. Haman went to bed and slept soundly.

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Esther 6.

But … that night, the king could not sleep.  He ordered some chronicles of the kingdom to be read and put him to sleep. The servant brought him the records from many months earlier. A passage recounted the incident where Mordecai had saved the King’s life by exposing an assassination plot.

“Was this man ever rewarded for saving my life?” the king wanted to know.

“No, my lord.“

At that moment, the king heard the determined footfalls of a man approaching across the marble tiles. “Who is in the court?” he asked.

When the King heard it was his Prime Minister, he called him to approach.  “Haman, what should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?”

Thinking the king was speaking about honoring HIM, Haman gazed into the distance and said, “Let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials.  Let them dress the man and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” 

(Me thinks Haman had visions of becoming king himself!)

While Haman was in that dreamland, the king said, “Hurry, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”

MORDECAI???  (Gag, choke)

Haman obeyed the king’s orders, cringing and fuming all the way.  Afterward, he hurried home with his head covered and told what had happened. This time, his friends shook their heads at the “karma” and said, “If this Mordecai – before whom you have begun to fall – is a Jew, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”

At that moment, the king’s coach came for Haman to take him to Esther’s banquet. 

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Esther 7.

Maybe by the third round of wine, Haman began to forget the humiliation of the day.  The food was great, and the Queen was beautiful. Perhaps it would work out… 

While they were sitting around, the King again asked Esther, “What is your wish? What is your request?  It shall be granted to you. Even to half my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”

“If I have found favor in your sight, O king,” began Queen Esther, “and if it please the king, (a strengthening breath), let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been SOLD, I and my people, “to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.”  (the very words of the decree)

WHAT!!  “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?  roared the king. 

The Queen turns to Haman.  “A foe and enemy!” she says, and points. “This wicked Haman!”

The Agagite is horror-stricken and speechless!

The enraged and half-drunk king charges out into the palace garden for air.

Haman stays to beg for his life, trips and falls onto Queen Esther on the couch.

The king returns and sees Haman on top of his wife and roars, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house??”

The attending eunuchs step forward and cover Haman’s face.  Before leading him away, the eunuch named Harbona says, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai — whose word saved the king — is standing at Haman’s house.”

“HANG HIM ON THAT,” decreed the king.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.  And on that day, King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. 

 

King Saul, a Benjamite, failed to annihilate the Amalekites, and their King Agag and his family, as God commanded. 

Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Centuries later, a descendant of that evil king, Haman, the Agagite, coerced a Persian King into signing a decree to kill, destroy, and annihilate all the Jews.

Queen Esther, a woman also from the line of Benjamin, succeeded in obeying God’s command. 

Who knows if the beautiful Hadassah had not been placed into the kingdom, for just that purpose?

 

King Ahasuerus also made Mordecai his new Prime Minister and gave him the royal signet ring.  He had work to do.  Something had to be done to save all the Jews!

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Esther 8.

Again, Queen Esther braved the King’s courtroom and received the raised golden scepter.   “If it please the king and I have found favor in his sight… and if the thing seems right before the king… and I am pleasing to  his eyes… let an order be written to revoke the letters sent to destroy the Jews in all the provinces!”

The King answered her (and Mordecai too). “It can’t be done. A king’s decree in Persia cannot be revoked.  BUT…. you may write anything you wish – in my name using my seal – to the provinces about the Jews.”

So Mordecai wrote an edict (translated into Persian by the king’s scribes) to the 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, and sent it by swift, mounted couriers in the king’s service.

It said that the king allowed the Jews to gather and defend their lives… and to kill, destroy, and annihilate any armed force of any people that might attack them … and to plunder THEIR goods. This could happen on ONE day (which Haman had chosen for the attack by using lots (Purim). 

Mordecai went out – in fine royal robes and a crown – to announce it to the Jews in Susa.  And the city rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor, a feast and a holiday.

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Esther 9.

The day came, and the Jews defended their lives, families, and homes.  A strange fear of them came upon all the people who would have been killing and plundering them.  

“The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them.  In Susa alone, they killed 500 men, plus the ten sons of Haman, the enemy of the Jews.  But they did NOT plunder them.

Mordecai recorded these things and ordered that the month and days be kept as a holiday, a day of feasting and gladness and sending gifts of food to one another and to the poor.  And they called these days Purim, after the casting of Pur (cast lots).  And Queen Esther confirmed the practices of Purim. 

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Esther 10.

Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers… for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

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NOTE: Purim became one of the two festivals given “outside the Mosaic law”  to be celebrated in Israel. (Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, is the other. see John 10:22) 

 

(****LORD, thank You, for Your sovereignty and providence in the lives of Your people. We KNOW you are at work in all things, for our good, and for Your glory. We honor and praise You!)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 262

Sep19

Day 262 – Reading – Haggai 1 – 2

Read the Scriptures first. What catches your attention?  

Haggai 1.

(Remember back in Ezra, when the Samaritan adversaries had caused the rebuilding of the Temple to be stopped for many years? Ezra said God sent two prophets to encourage them.  We’ll study them today and over the weekend.  (“Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high priest arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.” Ezra 5:1-2)  Today we’ll read Haggai’s message.)

During the time when they were “forbidden” to work on the Temple, the people had begun building and remodeling their own houses, and planting crops and weaving material for new clothes.  But… the harvests were nothing, and the people were hungry and cold.  There was no money to furnish their homes.  WHY?

The prophet Haggai said why.  Because the Temple lay unfinished, with only the foundation built.  Now that Darius had given the green light, they were to “go up to the hills and bring wood and build the House, that I (God) may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified.”

Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high priest, with all the remnant of people feared the Lord and obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet.

“I am with you,” declared the LORD.

And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God. 

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Haggai 2.

As the people worked on the rebuilding, they couldn’t help but see (or remember hearing of) the difference between what they were doing, and the great Temple that Solomon build. 

“Who of you saw this House in its former glory?” asked Haggai. “How do you see it now?  Is it not as nothing in your eyes?  But be strong O Zerubbabel and O Jeshua.  Be strong, all you people of the land, for the LORD says,

  • ‘Work, for I am with you. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.  I will shake the heavens and the earth, the see and dry land, and all the nations, so the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH MY GLORY.  THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER.  AND IN THIS PLACE I WILL GIVE PEACE.'”

(NOTE: God, of course was referring to the glorious Millennial Kingdom and Temple.  The Jews viewed the Temple as one continual building, existing in different forms at different times.  Solomon’s until now. And then Herod’s great renovated one in Jesus’ time which would be again destroyed.  And then, perhaps a rebuilt one in time of Antichrist, but then … the final one in which God would dwell among them for 1,000 years.)

Haggai reminds the people how nothing went right for them when the neglected the rebuilding. But now, since they had begun, God promises to bless them.

 Then, Haggai was spoke God’s words to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, about the future of the nations.  And “I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, and make you like a signet ring, for I HAVE CHOSEN YOU.”

Zerubbabel was in the royal line of King David.  He was also in the line of both Joseph (Jesus’s step father) and Mary (Jesus’s own flesh & blood mother). See Matthew 1:12-13 and Luke 3:27.

A signet ring was a symbol of honor, authority and power.  It responded to a king’s scepter.  Zerubbabel represents the Davidic dynasty and resumes the Messianic line disrupted by the exile.

(Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin, who gave himself up to Nebuchadnezzar in the second deportation, and years later was brought from prison and honored all the rest of his life by a later king of Babylon.)

(God is so faithful to accomplish all He promises. Hallelujah!  I can trust Him explicitly to do as He says. Thank YOU!!)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 261

Sep18

Day 260 – Reading – Ezra 4 – 6,  Psalm 137.

Read the Scriptures first. 

Again, a little background reading would be helpful.  Who are the people living in the land of Israel who were adversaries of the newly returned Jews?  Read 2 Kings 17:24-41 for background. 

When the Assyrians deported the people of the northern kingdom, whose capital was Samaria, they brought back people from all their other conquered nations to mix and marry with the remaining “low” Jews who were left and keep the land. These people brought their own worship of pagan gods, and God sent lions among them. Then the Assyrian king sent a Jewish priest back to teach (also) the ways of the LORD.  And so the people who settled there had a religion made up of worship of the LORD plus all the other despicable pagan gods. They became known as the Samaritans, whom, still in Jesus’ time, the Jews hated.

Now these “Samaritans” were objecting to the influx of thousands of pure Jews who were settling in the land and rebuilding the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.

Ezra 4

These Samaritans approached the heads of the Jews and offered to “help” them rebuild the Temple, since they’d been worshiping this God too, since King Esarhaddon (Assyria) brought them there. 

Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the high priest, said, “No way!  We alone are building a house for OUR God, as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.” (They could throw around a royal name, too!)

So the Samaritans resorted to discouraging and threatening the Jews, and bribing the contractors to slow the work.  They did this for SIXTEEN YEARS, through three Persian kings, until the time of King Darius! 

Whoa! 

During the reign of King Ahasuerus (after Cyrus), these Samaritans wrote an accusation against the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. (No response, maybe because the king was busy with his new Queen Esther, Mordecai, and his wicked prime minister, Haman.)

Then, during the reign of King Artaxerxes, they wrote another letter against Jerusalem. The exact letter is shown in Ezra 4:11-16. It ends with a threat, “…if the city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have NO possession in the province beyond the river!”  The Samaritans asked him to search the records and see if this city is not as rebellious and seditious as they claim!

This king listened to the Samaritans this time and sent a decree that all the work in Jerusalem was to “cease and desist.”   And so “the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem STOPPED and it CEASED until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.”

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Ezra 5.

After the prophets of God, Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the LORD, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the high priest, were encouraged and arose to begin rebuilding the Temple of the Lord. 

Once again, the opposition arose. The governor of the province and his associates came to them, demanding to see any new decree that allowed them to start building again.  They also demanded the names of all the workers.  (Sounds like Communism!)  The Jews ignored them… until a report could be sent to King Darius, and an answer returned.

Again, a copy of the letter the Governor sent to King Darius is included in Ezra 5:5b-17.  This letter is humorous to read because the Samaritans quote Zerubbabel, who explained how they were obeying the God of heaven and earth. They also quote him saying that King Cyrus had commanded them to rebuild it and had sent much money to make sure it was done.  

The Samaritans again ask the Persian king to “search the royal archives of Babylon” to see if such a decree WAS issued by Cyrus.   

(They had requested this of Artaxerxes, but he’d just given the decree WITHOUT searching the records!  But this king was actually going to do it.)

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Ezra 6.

King Darius DID make a search of the archives, and a scroll was found on which was written a decree by Cyrus, the king.  “Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height and breadth shall be 60 cubits each, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. LET THE COST BE PAID FROM THE ROYAL TREASURY. And let the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar took be brought back to the temple of God.”

Ha!  Well, that serves those Samaritans right.  But wait!  King Darius continues,

  • “Now, therefore, let the Governor and his associates keep away and let the work on the house of God alone.  Let the Jews rebuild the house of God on its site. 
  • MOREOVER … I make a decree that the cost of rebuilding the house of the God of the Jews IS TO BE PAID IN FULL AND WITHOUT DELAY from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province (Samaritans).
  • AND, whatever is needed — bulls, rams, sheep for the burn offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, or oil as the priests at Jerusalem require — let that be given to them day by day WITHOUT FAIL, that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven (and pray for the life of the king and his sons.)
  • ALSO, I decree that anyone who alters this edict, that a beam shall be pulled out of his house and he be impaled on it, and the house be made a dunghill.  WHOA!!
  • May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem.
  • I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence!  (And I imagine a swirling signature… or maybe the imprint of the royal ring in the clay.)

And according to the word sent by Darius, the Governor and his associates did with all diligence what the king ordered.  The Jews finished their building by decree  of the God of Israel, and by decree of Cyrus and Darius of Persia.  It had been 20 years since the foundation was laid.

The priests, Levites, and the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.  And they set up everything as it was written in the Book of Moses.

Then the returned exiles kept the Passover.  And the kept the feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, with joy for the LORD had made them joyful.  

And so ended the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

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(Praise God!  He always keeps his promises.  He supplies, encourages, protects and helps those who obey Him.  Thank You, LORD, for doing those things for us today as well.  YOU are the God we serve, and love, and obey. You gave us salvation through Jesus… an even greater gift than the rebuilt temple. Thank You!)

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 260

Sep17

Day 260 – Reading – Ezra 1 – 3

Read the Scriptures listed.

Read 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 first. (It’s the book just before Ezra.)  Also read Isaiah 44:8 and 45:1-4,  Jeremiah 29:10-15, and Daniel 9:2.

This stirring up of Cyrus, king of Persia, was not just a random thing, but had been foretold by the prophets in detail.  Seventy years. Cyrus, king of Persia.  Return to rebuild the “House of the LORD”

Ezra 1.

The way the LORD changes people’s minds is by stirring up their spirits.  Perhaps Daniel, his prime minister, showed him his own name – Cyrus – in the ancient Hebrew prophet of Isaiah. Regardless, Cyrus proclaimed throughout his kingdom that the LORD, God of heaven, had charged him to rebuild HIS house at Jerusalem.  Then an open invitation.  “Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, AND LET HIM GO UP TO JERUSALEM AND REBUILD THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL.”

The beginning of the returned Israel must begin with their God, and His house of worship.  Then they can see to themselves.  It’s like our own lives.  If God is honored at the center, then the rest will fall into place.

Cyrus also called for the people who remained (Jew or Babylonian) to assist those who were going by giving them silver, gold, goods, and beasts, and freewill offerings for the new Temple.  (Does this remind you of the night of Passover in Egypt?  The Egyptians then had loaded the Israelites with goods and beautiful ornaments, jewelry, vessels, and clothing. 

And so the priests, Levites, and the “leaders” of Judah and Benjamin rose up and made ready to go the 800 miles back to Judah and Jerusalem to rebuild the House of the LORD in Jerusalem. Cyrus brought out the gold and silver vessels from Solomon’s Temple (that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen, and Belshazzar had wickedly used). There were 5,400 articles!! WOW!   Cyrus gave them to Sheshbazzar, the treasurer, for safekeeping as they traveled and while the Temple building progressed. 

(There is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant with them.)

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Ezra 2.

This chapter lists by name and family those who returned in the first wave.  They returned each to his own town.

(Wow, what a sight it must have been! How many changes had there been in 70 years, with the crops, orchards, and vineyards barely kept going by the unskilled farmers who had been left behind?  Did the returnees “itch” to get things in order and fix up or rebuild their houses and barns?  BUT, the Temple was first.)

Those who led this group of 50,000 were Zerubbabel (in the line of Christ, see Matthew 1:13), Jeshua/Joshua (the high priest of the first return, in the line of Aaron), Nehemiah (not the same as the Book), Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai (not Esther’s uncle), Belshan, Mispar, Bigval, Rehum, Baanah, and the king’s appointed treasurer, Sheshbazzar.  Twelve men.  

The returnees were divided into these categories: The (general) people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants (singers, gatekeepers, etc.), the sons of Solomon’s servants, and those who could not prove (lost their lineage) that they belonged to Israel.  (They were only excluded from the priesthood.)

Some of the heads of families donated thousands of gold and silver coins to the project. They also gave 100 priests’ garments! 

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Ezra 3.

The returnees actually took seven months to fix up their own dwellings.  Then they built the altar of the God of Israel and sacrificed burnt offerings on it as was written in the Law of Moses. Morning and evening, they offered burnt offerings on it. There were also freewill offerings, offerings at the new moon, and at the feasts.  The first they kept was the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

Then they got to work on the foundation of the new temple.  They hired (with the money King Cyrus gave) Sidonians and Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon via the sea to Joppa.

Seven months later. Zerubbabel and the others made a beginning. Jeshua, the priests, and the Levites supervised the work and the workmen.  When the foundation was laid, the priests in their vestments came out blowing trumpets and praising the LORD, according to the directions of David, the king of Israel.  And they sang the songs he had written and thanked the LORD.

  • “For He is good, His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

All the people shouted and praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. Many shouted for joy, but there were those–old men–who had seen the former Temple.  They wept with equally loud voices.

And the sound of rejoicing and weeping was heard far away.  (Ah-oh!)

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(How wonderful that the Temple was the first thing to be built. It would be the place where their God would live among them, as before. Yet it wasn’t exactly like before.   Things were not so lavish in gold. There was no palace or king. And for the most part, the city and the great walls were rubble.  But the Temple would stand again!!

O LORD, help me to make sure YOU are at the center of my heart and my life.  May I not stray from worship, praise and thanksgiving to You, oh, precious Lord.)