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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.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 259

Sep16

Day 259 – Reading – Daniel 10 – 12

Read the Scriptures.  

Daniel 10.

Here is another of the “end-time” prophesies that is hard to understand.  At least it seemed that Daniel understood some of it.

“In the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia, a word was REVEALED to Daniel.  And the word was true, and it was a great conflict.  And he UNDERSTOOD the word and had understanding of the vision.”

(This is now two years after the first decree was made to let Israel return to their land.)  Daniel had been mourning and waiting for three weeks concerning the visions he’d already seen. He was on the beach of the Tigris River when he saw a man (a vision?)  He describes this man much the way John described the risen/exalted Jesus in Revelation 1:13-14. Could this have been a Pre-Christ “Christophany?”  Also, Daniel’s reaction (He fell to the ground with no strength) was like John’s. Rev. 1:17.

(HOWEVER, many believe this “being” was again the angel Gabriel.)

A hand touched Daniel and “set him trembling on his hands and knees,” and the being said the sweetest words. “O Daniel, man much loved…”  Daniel stood, still trembling to hear the words, “From the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of them.”

Then the holy being explained a bit of invisible warfare that you and I are mostly unaware of. “The prince (demonic ruler) of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.”

He now tells Daniel why he is there.  He has come to “make Daniel understand what is to happen to Israel in the latter days.”  At this, the being had to once again strengthen Daniel,

“O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage. 

I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth.”

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Daniel 11.

The being first confirms that Darius has been tasked to show kindness towards Israel in helping them return to their land.

Then, as in chapter 8:3-26, “a great huge chunk” of future events is retold. There will be conflict among the world nations, which will follow each other in conquest and power up to Antiochus Epiphanes and the desecration of the Temple. (Only a preview of what will happen later with the Antichrist. see Dan. 11:36) 

(This account is so accurate in history that critics think that it was written 400 years AFTER Daniel.  But, hey, we know that GOD knows all things from eternity past to eternity future, and He simply let Daniel in on a few items.)

The account continues with great persecution for the Jews until the “time of the end.”  The evil antichrist will reign until the Lord Jesus Christ returns in power and defeats him once and for all.  “He shall come to his end, with none to help him.”

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Daniel 12.

Encouragement is now given to Daniel and Daniel’s people, Israel. When that great evil antichrist is in power, the archangel Michael (keeper of Israel) will arise to help.

“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people (Israel) SHALL BE DELIVERED, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.  MANY of those who sleep … shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.  And THOSE who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.  THOSE who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.”

Then, Daniel is told to “shut of the words and seal the book” until the time of the end, when many will run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.  (WOW, DOESN’T THAT SEEM LIKE THESE DAYS, TODAY?)

Then Daniel looked and heard someone call out, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?”

And the being (Christ?) who was above the waters of the stream (Tigris) raised both hands to heaven, and swore, cryptically … “It will be for a time…times…and half a time. When the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end … all these things will be FINISHED.

Daniel: “I heard, but I did not understand.”  (You are not alone, Daniel.)

The being said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and “the abomination” that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.  Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.”

Then He assures Daniel that he will “rest” (die) and “shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”   

(Oh, YES!  In eternity, Daniel will be there in his allotted place, and we will get to meet him.)

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(LORD, I surely do not understand much of this.  Like Daniel I have many questions. But I will trust YOU to put me where I’m to be, and at Your perfect time.  Oh, help me to be faithful!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 232

Aug20

Day 232 – Reading – Habakkuk 1 – 3

Read today’s Scriptures … ANYWHERE you find yourself this summer. Stay in the WORD!

Habakkuk 1.

This guy prophesied just before the coming of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army.  Good King Josiah had just died, and the prophet was seeing evil seep back into Judah through kings Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim and the wealthy. And now… the rumors of the approaching Babylonian army!

Habakkuk doesn’t speak “TO” the growing-more-wicked people & leaders of Judah, but his statements and complaints are laments TO GOD.  WHY hasn’t He punished these kings and the people???  Why will He let these cruel pagans devour His own people?

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Have you ever ranted against God for His seeming to ignore the injustice around you? Especially if it’s against YOU or a LOVED ONE?  Habakkuk does.

  • O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to You, “violence!” and you will not save?
  • Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
  • So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous: so justice goes forth perverted.”

God answers Habakkuk’s rant. He was sending … NOT REVIVAL … but the dreaded and fearsome judgment.

  • “Behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.
  • They are dreaded and fearsome….  They all come for violence….. They gather captives like sand.
  • They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on…. their own might is their god!

Habakkuk is aghast!  NO!, he cries.

  • “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my HOLY One? 
  • You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, WHY do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he??

Pretty brave, is our prophet, Habakkuk!

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Habakkuk 2.

Habakkuk really wants to know the answer to his “why?”.  He says he will – like Ezekiel (3:33) will go up on the wall of Jerusalem, and be as a watchman.  Habakkuk will wait and “see what He will say to me … and what I will answer.”

Habakkuk was to write down on a tablet the VISION God was going to give to him. But He cautions Habakkuk, “If it seems slow in coming, wait for it; it will surely come and not delay.” Then he speaks of the Chaldeans, and their fall to the Medes & Persians.

  • “HIS SOUL is puffed up, it is not upright within him, (but the righteous shall live by his faith.) 
  • Wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. 
  • His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death, he has never enough. He gathers FOR HIMSELF all nations and collects AS HIS OWN all peoples.
  • Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own…. 
  • Will not YOUR debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble?  Then YOU will be spoil for THEM… 
  • Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house …
  • Woe to him who builds a town with blood…
  • Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink and get drunk — in order to gaze at their nakedness…
  • Woe to him who says to a wooded think, Awake! and to a silent stone, Arise!…

And then God’s slight reprimand…  “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!

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Habakkuk 3.

Our prophet seems rebuked.  His tone has changed. Now he switches from judgment on his fellow Judahites, to … mercy for them.

  • O LORD, I have heard the report of You, and Your work, O LORD, do I fear.  In wrath … remember MERCY.

He recalls all the mighty works God has done, and then, it seems the TRUTH hits him.  Whatever comes at HIS HAND, will for His people’s good, and His glory. They must experience judgment at the hands of evil men, but God will “take care” of them one day.

  • “Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

And this glorious statement of TRUST, no matter what the circumstances.

  • “Though the fig tree should not blossom, 
  • nor fruit be on the vines,
  • the produce of the olive fall
  • and the fields yield no food,
  • the flock be cut off from the fold
  • and there be no heard in the stalls.
  • YET…
  • I will rejoice in the LORD,
  • I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 
  • God, the LORD, is my strength;
  • He makes my feet like the deer’s,
  • He makes me tread on my high places.”

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WOW. This is a reminder to me.  Though the politics of my time, and the wonton actions of the people of this country make me want to plead for judgment …  I am thankful for God’s mercy and patience.  And I pray that as I wait for His Coming, I will be able to pray, or sing, this last refrain of Habakkuk’s. “Though the worst may happen, I will rejoice in the LORD.  He is my strength.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 231

Aug19

Day 231 – Reading – 2 Kings 24 – 25 and 2 Chronicles 36

Read today’s Scriptures … ANYWHERE you find yourself this summer. Stay in the WORD!

2 Kings 24.

The chapters cover Israel’s history during the final days of Judah and Jerusalem.

This chapter begins when King Jehoiakim (first after good King Josiah) reigned.  It also tells of the FIRST of three invasions that King Nebuchadnezzar accomplished against Judah.  Jehoiakim rebelled (stopped paying tribute) and that’s why the Chaldeans came in person (other armies were used against Juda as well).

Nebuchadnezzar bound Jehoiakim in chains, took him, as well as other captives (INCLUDING 14-year-old Daniel, his fiends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) back to Babylon to serve the king. He also ransacked the temple and too part of the vessels of the house of the LORD.  

Jehoiachin (also called Coniah) was king in his place. He reigned three months when Nebuchadnezzar came for the second time to Jerusalem.  Jehoiachin surrendered himself and his family to the Babylonian king who took him back to Babylon captive. 

Nebuchadnezzar also carried off the rest of the treasures in the Temple and the king’s palace which Solomon had made, plus all the officials and mighty men of valor and craftsmen and smiths, 10,000 in all.  The prophet Ezekiel and his wife went to Babylon at this time too. 

Nebuchadnezzar made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, changing his name to Zedekiah. 

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2 Kings 25. 

As we learned yesterday, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar in his third year of reign, causing the Babylonian king to come with all his army and lay siege to Jerusalem.

On the 9th day of the 4th month of the 11th year of Zedekiah’s reign, the great city of Jerusalem fell to the Chaldeans, who burned and destroyed, taking away the rest of the people of any value. The left only the poorest to tend to the fields and vineyards.  

This chapter gives details of the treasures of gold, silver, and bronze that were taken from the Temple to Babylon, including those great, huge pillars of bronze that Solomon had made. They had to cut them into pieces to be able to carry them.

Did they take the Ark of the Covenant?  It is not mentioned specifically.  Some historians say that Jeremiah had hidden it before the final invasion. 

The Babylonian Captain took the priests as well, city council members, and King Zedekiah (who had tried to escape but was captured.  The king and his sons were killed by Nebuchadnezzar at his headquarters.

Nebuchadnezzar named a former secretary named Gedaliah as “Governor,” not king, to oversee Judah.  But later, some dissidents killed Gedaliah, along with his cohorts. 

Then … all the people and the captains of the forces got up and went to … Egypt, because they were afraid of the Chaldean.  (We learn later, that Jeremiah went too, to comfort the people.)

And then a STRANG HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE:  In the 37th year of the exile, the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah was brought out of confinement by the then king of Babylon, Evil-merodach.  He “graciously freed him, spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in  Babylon. 

“So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments and every day of his life dined regularly at the king’s table. And he was given a regular allowance according to his needs as long as he lived. (!!)

This man, who had surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar like Jeremiah encouraged the kings & people to do, was rewarded.  He is also the king through whom the line of David would pass … right down to Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather.  

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2 Chronicles 36.

This chapter covers most of the above, sometimes in greater detail, with two additional notations.

  1.  The captivity lasted 70 years for a purpose.  It was to give the land rest, for the 70 Sabbath years that the people had refused to give to it … out of greed. 
  1.  Cyrus, the king of Persia – way after Babylon – was spoken by Jeremiah to be the one who would allow and send the captives back to Judah and Jerusalem, by decree.  Anyone who wanted to go, could return.  He said, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may the LORD His God be with him.  Let him go up!”

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WOW.. Those three statements are hugely encouraging. God does NOT forget His promises or His people.  David’s line would continue until the Messiah came  The Jews would be in captivity 70 years.  And they would return (be sent back, and with help!) seventy years later, to rebuild the wall and the Temple.

God is a faithful God.  He means what He says and performs it to the letter.  We can count on that IN OUR OWN TIME.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 228

Aug16

Day 228 – Reading – Jeremiah 32 – 34

Read today’s Scriptures … ANYWHERE you find yourself this summer. Stay in the WORD!

 

Jeremiah 32.

The first three verses give the setting of this chapter. (Remember, the pieces of the book of Jeremiah jump around a bit – probably the way Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, put them together.)  It was …. 

  • During the 10th year of Zedekiah’s 11-year reign
  • During the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule
  • During Nebuchadnezzar’s 30-month siege of Jerusalem, about a year before his final takeover
  • While Jeremiah was shut up in prison for “preaching treason” (prophecy of the final siege & exile). 

In the prison cell, Jeremiah received a word from the LORD, saying his cousin Hanamel was going to ask him to buy his field at Anathoth (Jeremiah’s town, about 3 miles north of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin; a Levite city). Jeremiah was the closest relative to Hanamel and had the right to buy the field until Jubilee, when he would return it. It was a way to help out a family member in financial trouble.

And just like that, the man arrived with the offer, so Jeremiah knew it was from God and bought the field. (Yes, from prison, and yes, Jeremiah had the money to do so.)  Seeing it was only one year before Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people taken to Babylon, wouldn’t this seem like an unwise purchase?  Yes. But think of what Jeremiah knew.  The LORD would be returning the people to this land in 70 years.  This dispersion was not to be forever.

Baruch took the deed to the property in the presence of all who were around in the court who witnessed the purchase, and put them in an earthenware jug for safekeeping.  Jeremiah said aloud, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall AGAIN be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah then openly prayed to God.  First, he praised the “great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, and listed the wonderful things He had done for His unworthy people. Then he got to the point.

“Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans. What You spoke has come to pass, and You see it. YET, You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses,” though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans!

And God confirmed it. “Yes, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and he shall capture it. They shall come and set this city on fire and burn it.  This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight … because of all the evil the children of Israel and Judah have done. 

“But I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger … and bring them back to this place. They shall be my people and I will be their God.   

Behold, just as I have brought all this great disaster … so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.  FIELDS SHALL BE BOUGHT FOR MONEY AND DEEDS SHALL BE SIGNED AND SEALED AND WITNESSED in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Negev.  I will restore their fortunes,” declares the LORD.

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Jeremiah 33.

The LORD continues to declare His promises of good to the people (after the capture and exile).  Jeremiah is still in prison, the enemy is still at the gates, all the houses of the people of Jerusalem have been taken apart and stacked as defense against the enemy … and yet God’s word of hope comes to his prophet.

  • “Call to me and i will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil,  BU…
  • I will bring health and healing,
  • I will heal them and reveal an abundance of prosperity and security.
  • I will restore their fortunes,
  • I will rebuild them as they were,
  • I will cleans them from all the guilt of their sin against me,
  • I  will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me,
  • This city shall be to me a NAME OF JOY, A PRAISE, AND A GLORY before all the nations,
  • There again shall be heard the voice of mirth and gladness…
  • the voices of those who sing as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD.
  • I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
  • A righteous branch shall spring up for David and he shall execute justice and righteousness,
  • Judah will be saved; Jerusalem will dwell securely, being called “The LORD is Our Righteousness.”

And God swears to Jeremiah in two more visions, that He WILL DO what He has promised.

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Jeremiah 34.

In this chapter, Jeremiah goes directly to King Zedekiah with a direct word of God, outlining his future. 

  1. God is giving the city to the king of Babylon,
  2. He will burn it with fire.
  3. You, Zedekiah, shall not escape but be captured.
  4. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and face to face and speak to him.
  5. You will surely go to Babylon and die there.

Perhaps because of this (that he would die in peace), Zedekiah, all of a sudden, proclaimed that all the people of Jerusalem should let their Jewish slaves GO FREE. This was part of God’s law that had been neglected. They could only enslave a fellow Jew for six years, and on the 7th year, they must let them go.

Everyone obeyed. All the slaves were set free.  But before they could hardly get their belongings packed, the King reversed his decision.  All the slaves were subjected again to their masters.  HUH??

(This may have been when the Egyptian army approached and the forces of Babylon withdrew from Jerusalem temporarily, and the people of Jerusalem believed that the danger had passed. But this angered the LORD, and He brought the Babylonian army back to the city.  This time to stay till they conquered it.)

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(God is so good to His wayward children. Yes, He must discipline them (and us), but there is always His love present, and when the time is past, he will joyfully welcome them (us) back into the protection and joy of His arms.  Thank You, LORD, for your grace and mercy and the promises you give to us in Your Word!)

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 227

Aug15

Day 227 – Reading – Jeremiah 30 – 31

Read today’s Scriptures … ANYWHERE you find yourself this summer. Stay in the WORD!

 

Jeremiah 30.

This chapter begins with a wonderful promise to the exiled Jews, and Jeremiah is to write it in a book so it will not be lost or forgotten.

  • “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will restore the fortunes of my people – Israel and Judah,” says the LORD, “and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

This verse is a brief summary of chapters 30-33. It is a double explanation of both Israel’s return from exile and their final restoration to the land for the Messiah’s Kingdom Rule for 1,000 years. It is meant to encourage.

  • They shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
  • Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make hm draw near…
  • In the latter days, you will understand this.

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Jeremiah 31.

Still speaking of Messiah’s Kingdom, 

  • At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of ALL THE CLANS of Israel and they shall be MY PEOPLE.
  • I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.
  • Again, I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel:
  • Again, you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merry makers.
  • Again, you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit.
  • Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations, proclaim, give praise…
  • He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. 
  • For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
  • They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the GOODNESS OF THE LORD.
  • I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow … and my people shall be satisfied WITH MY GOODNESS.
  • For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.
  • Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, NOT like the covenant that I made with their fathers. 
  • But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. I will put my law within them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And they shall ALL know me, from the least to the greatest.
  • I will forget their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.  

What a glorious message Jeremiah was writing in his book for the people of God. It would encourage them and give them hope.  We too have a book from God that tells of His GOODNESS,  His love, His comfort, and His promise that He has forgotten our iniquity and does remember our sin NO MORE.  It’s because of Jesus.  PRAISE HIM!

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 226

Aug14

Day 226 – Reading – Jeremiah 26 – 29

Read today’s Scriptures … ANYWHERE you find yourself this summer. Stay in the WORD!

Jeremiah 26.

Okay, here’s where the chronological timeline gets a bit confused. (The notes and prophesies of Jeremiah were assembled by Baruch, Jeremiah’s assistant, whom we’ll learn about later. They are sometimes out of order.)

The happenings and words of THIS chapter would have been earlier than chapter 25  and way before chapter 24 (Babylon’s first and second deportations of Judeans).   This is when Jeremiah said that God would send for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, against Judah and Jerusalem.

Here, Jeremiah is speaking to them urgently, that Jerusalem WILL become ruins and a curse.   But the religious leaders “poo-pooed” his words and said that Jeremiah should be killed as a false prophet. 

At that time, the LORD still held out a hope, saying that IF the people would repent and obey His Voice … He would relent of the disaster coming.  

The priests and prophets didn’t like what they heard and decided to kill Jeremiah.  BUT … the leading officials of the city came to his rescue, stating that a former prophet had told of Jerusalem’s destruction in the past, and King Hezekiah had not killed him.  Ahikam, a civil leader under Josiah, used his position to free Jeremiah..

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Jeremiah 27.

This chapter is after Nebuchadnezzar’s second deportation of Judeans.  Zedekiah, the final son and king of Judah, is on the throne.  His nephew, Jehoiachin, who had reigned before him, had surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and been taken into captivity in the second deportation. (He will be the only one of King Josiah’s sons (David’s line) to survive, and later prosper there.)

(NOTE: Daniel was taken in the first deportation to Babylon; Ezekiel went in the second deportation along with Jehoiachin.)

God again tells Jeremiah to give the people an OBJECT LESSON.   He is to take a yoke (used by oxen to pull plows and carts) with the straps, and put them on HIMSELF.  He is to send word to Zedekiah, as well as the kings of the surrounding nations under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, to come to Jerusalem for his message from God.

The message? 

  • “I, by My great power and outstretched arm, have made the earth, with the men and animals on it, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.  NOW, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, “my servant.”  All of (you) nations shall serve HIM, HIS SON, and HIS GRANDSON, until the time of his end.
  • “But if any nation will NOT serve this Nebuchadnezzar, and put its neck under the yoke of this king … I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and pestilence.. So don’t listen to the “false voices” that say not to serve him.  IT IS A LIE!
  • And to King Zedekiah of Judah, specifically, ‘Bring your neck under the yoke of this king of Babylon and serve him and his people … AND LIVE.

Then Jeremiah spoke to the priests and people.  “Do not listen to the words of your false prophets who say the vessels of the LORD’s house will shortly be returned.  It’s a lie! Do not listen to THEM.  Serve the king of Babylon … and LIVE.  As for the taken vessels … the rest will be taken by Babylon, there to remain until I (the LORD) bring them back and restore them to this place.”

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(WOW. Those are amazing words. Serve your evil captors.  Why?  Because, for a specific time, they are “servants of God,” designated for your discipline. Submit to the will of the LORD for a time, and LIVE. 

So… why don’t I also obey and submit to the hard times that God uses to discipline ME, and learn from them, and live?  In His time, God will make all things good.)

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Jeremiah 28.

In that same year that Jeremiah did the “yoke” object lesson, there arose a FALSE PROPHET, named Hananiah.  THIS prophet (speaking falsely for God) said, “The yoke” of Babylon would be broken in two years (instead of 70), and the vessels taken would be brought back to the Temple. AND … King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) and all the exiles who went to Babylon would also be brought back.”

Jeremiah answered facetiously. “Amen! May the LORD do so. May the LORD make the words you prophesied come true!”  HA! 

Then Jeremiah called him a false prophet along with all prophets who said PEACE, when there was NO PEACE.

But Hananiah took the yoke from around Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.  “Thus will the LORD break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations … IN TWO YEARS!”  Then he left.

WHOA!  A battle of the prophets!

God told Jeremiah to go to Hananiah and tell him he MAY have broken the wooden yoke, but God is putting an IRON YOKE on the nations, and he will not break that.  And because Hananiah made the people trust in his false words and made the people rebel against the LORD … “This year you shall die.”

In that same year … Hananiah died. 

WHOA. So there, you false prophet!

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Jeremiah 29.

Then Jeremiah sent a letter to all the surviving elders of the exiles and the priests, prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon (in the second deportation).  It said…

  • “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile:  Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 
  • “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.
  • “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you My promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes, and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you… and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you in exile.

 

 

 

 

     

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 212

Jul31

Day 212 – Reading – Isaiah 59 – 63.

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah 59.

A little good news.

  • Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear…

A lot of bad news.

  • But YOUR iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and YOUR sins have hidden His face from you so He does not hear.
  • YOUR hands are defiled with blood, YOUR fingers with iniquity; YOUR lips have spoken lies; YOUR tongue mutters wickedness. 
  • Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.  Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and their is no justice in their paths.
  • Our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities; transgressing and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God.

Israel (and we) cannot save ourselves.  So God took it upon Himself to step in.

  • The LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was NO ONE TO INTERCEDE.
  • Then HIS OWN ARM brought Him salvation, and HIS righteousness upheld him.
  • AND A REDEEMER WILL COME to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the LORD.

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Isaiah 60.

The future glories of Israel in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

  • Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

Isaiah continues to list all the glories that will come to the restored Zion and Israel in those 1,000 years.

  • And… Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?  For the coastlands (Gentile nations) shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first TO BRING YOUR CHILDREN FROM AFAR,  their silver and gold with them for the name of the LORD your God, and for the HOLY ONE of Israel, BECAUSE He has made you beautiful!
  • Whereas you (Jerusalem), have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. They shall call you the City of the LORD, and Zion, the Holy One of Israel.  And you shall KNOW that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer…”  “you shall call your walls, Salvation, and your gates, Praise.
  • I AM the LORD; in its time I will  hasten it.

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Isaiah 61.

And here is the section of scripture (verses 1-2) that Jesus read and identified with in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry. (Luke 4:18-19)  He did NOT read the rest of the chapter, for that speaks of his SECOND COMING.

  • “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound….”

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Isaiah 62.

These are more promises of God for Jerusalem’s glory and the salvation and restoration of His people, Israel.

  • Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”  And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you (Jerusalem) shall be called Sought Out, a City NOT Forsaken.

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Isaiah 63.

The LORD is depicted as an avenging conqueror of Israel’s enemies, with clothes red and resembling having been drenched with wine. 

  • I have trodden the winepress alone… I trod them in My anger, and trampled them in My wrath.  For the day of vengeance was in My heart.  I trampled down the peoples (represented by Edom) in My anger; I made them drunk in My wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

Um… wow!

Isaiah then prays for Israel, confessing sin and praying for restoration.

  • “I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that He has granted them according to His compassion, according to the abundance of His steadfast love…”
  • “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned to be their enemy and Himself fought against them. 
  • “LOOK DOWN from heaven and see; from your holy and beautiful habitation.
  • “O LORD, why do you make us wander from Your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not:  RETURN for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.
  • “Oh that You would rend the heavens and COME DOWN….

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O LORD, these passages go back and forth from joyful pictures of glory, back to sin and sorrow and judgment. We confess we are sinners. And You sent your Savior-Redeemer to rescue us. Now, my heart pleads, like Isaiah, for you to RETURN, to rend the heavens and COME DOWN!