Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 268

Day 268 – Reading – Ezra 7 – 10

We are picking up the book of Ezra after studying the book of Esther in the Bible’s chronological order. Now, in Ezra 7, it is about 60 years later than Ezra 6. The current Persian king is Artaxerxes, who is Ahasuerus’s son and Esther’s stepson. (Perhaps the x-queen Vashti was his mother.)

The Temple of God has been finished under Zerubbabel’s leadership, and a second wave of exiles is about to return under the leadership of a 22-year-old Torah scholar (scribe), Ezra. This young man traces his line back through a group of notable priests, including Zadok (in David’s time), Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron. But Ezra is not a priest (at least not yet, not yet 30).

Ezra 7.

Ezra had “set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel.” King Artaxerxes had given him all he asked for, for the task (people and any funds or supplies he needed), “for the hand of the LORD his God was upon Ezra.”

This great crowd of Israelites, with some priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, departed from Babylon with literally tons of money and supplies. Four months later, they entered Jerusalem, having walked nearly 1,000 miles.

Ezra carried a letter from the king, verifying their journey, with all the people, and all the money. (If they required anything else, it was available through his treasury.) Artaxerxes wanted to be sure the God of the Jews, “who lived in Jerusalem,” would be pleased with the king and his sons. Ezra was also commissioned to appoint magistrates and judges to keep the law in this “province Beyond the River.”

Ezra praised God in all this, for he could see “the hand of the LORD his God” working for him.

Ezra 8.

Again, we find a list of genealogies of the Jewish heads of houses with Ezra. If women and children are included, this wave of exiles numbered 7,000-8,000. (Still, so many Jews remained in Babylon. There would be one more wave returning under Nehemiah.)

Before Ezra set out with all these people, he proclaimed a fast, “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and our goods.”

Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect them on the way, since he had told the king that “the hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him.” (Now, Ezra really had to trust God, and God listened to his prayer and “delivered them from ambushes on the way”.)

Ezra divided all the valuables among the priests to guard and keep them on the journey. On arrival, all was safe, and the new returnees joined those who had rebuilt the temple and offered offerings to the God of Israel..

Ezra 9.

All joy and thanksgiving… then Ezra gets the bad news. The officials (leaders) came to him and said,

“The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have NOT separated themselves from the people of the lands and their abominations. They have taken some of their daughters to be their wives and their sons’ wives … so that the “holy race” has mixed itself with the pagan.“

(You are kidding, right??)

When Ezra heard this, “he tore his garment and his cloak and pulled hair from his head and beard and sat appalled.” (This is how it all started! This was the root of why they were exiled!!) Others, who “trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of this FAITHLESSNESS, sat with Ezra, appalled until the evening sacrifice.. Then Ezra fell to his knees, spread out his arms to God, and interceded.

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”
From the days of our fathers to this day, we have been in GREAT GUILT.
For our INIQUITIES, we have gone to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame.

Now, for a brief moment, favor has been shown us by the LORD our God. … to leave us a remnant and to give us a “secure hold” within His holy place.
We are slaves. But our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but extended to us His Steadfast Love before the kings of Persia to return us to this place.

AND NOW, O OUR GOD, WHAT SHALL WE SAY AFTER THIS?
For we have forsaken your commandments.
After all that has come upon us, You, our God, have not punished us less than our iniquities deserved.

Shall we break Your commandments again???
Would You not be angry with us until you consumed us?
O LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, YOU ARE JUST. WE STAND BEFORE YOU IN OUR GUILT….”

(Wow, what a prayer. It reminds me of the prayer of confession of sin that Daniel prayed.)

Ezra 10.

While Ezra wept bitterly before the LORD, a great assembly of men, women, and children gathered around him and also wept bitterly.

Then a representative confessed, “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women. But even now, there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children according to the counsel of the commandment of our God, according to the Law.”

Ezra arose and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said. Then he withdrew from before the Temple and spent the night fasting and mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles.

Then a proclamation went out that ALL the returning exiles should assemble at Jerusalem within three days. If they didn’t, they would lose their property and be banned from the congregation.

WHOA!

All the men of Judah and Benjamin complied. All the people sat down in the square before the House of God. They TREMBLED because of this matter.

(and because it was raining hard)

Ezra is now called a priest, although he has not yet been initiated. He has interceded for them before God and been recognized as the chief spiritual leader.

Ezra gave them the two essential parts of repentance:

Confess your sin to the LORD your God, and
Do His will. (Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, from foreign wives.)

It was recognized that the task was huge (and it was raining), so it was agreed that the priests would set up court dates for each unlawful marriage, when the participants would come and formally “be separated” and offer their sin offering.

It took THREE MONTHS, but it was done.

Think of the heartbreaks involved. (Husbands who loved their wives; children who needed their daddies.) Sin always has nasty, horrible results that can taint us for a lifetime.

(Appropriate provision was probably made for the divorced wives and any children.)

**** O LORD, there is so much to learn from Ezra. His absolute trust and dependence on God. His desire to be a spiritual teacher and leader. His intercessory prayer for the people and confession of sin. His determination to get rid of any sin “in the camp.”

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 266

Sep23

Day 266 – Reading – Esther 1 – 5

Have you ever read the book of Esther straight through?

Jews read it (and sometimes play-act it) every spring on the holiday of Purim. There are costumes, cheering and “booing,” ironic twists, and high drama. And special yummy foods to munch while you listen or watch. Read it, and you will see why it’s a fun, but important, celebration. And notice… the mention of God is no where seen in the pages. Hmmm.

Esther 1.

This Book takes place in Susa, the winter capital of Persia, sometime after Cyrus said the Jews could return to Israel to rebuild their Temple. Thousands returned, but many did not. They continued to live in the 127 provinces.

This story takes place during the time of King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes in Greek) who followed King Cyrus.

The first section tells about his great party – 180 days long!!! (That’s six months!) He showed off all his riches, royal glory, splendor, and pomp of his greatness.

Take a look at the furnishings of the palace: white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of purple to silver rods. There were marble pillars, couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. Drinks were served in golden vessels of many kinds, although no one was required to drink. (Huh!)

One thing remained for the king to show off – his uber beautiful Queen Vashti in her royal crown (and nothing else?). She was giving a party for the women, and for probably many reasons she did not want to visit the king’s celebration. She said, “no.”

WHAT!! No one said “no” to the king of Persia. After talking to the men (who now feared all their wives would begin to say “no” to them), it was decided that Vashti would be “fired” as Queen. That would teach her, right?

But now, King Ahasuerus…. missed her.

Esther 2.

So… he held a beauty contest. He gathered all the beautiful young virgins to his harem in Susa. He had them prepared with treatments (diets?), and beauty agents FOR A YEAR! Then he would “try them out” to see which one pleased him most. That one would become the next Queen.

Now in Susa, there was a Benjamite Jew named Mordecai, who had been carried away captive from Jerusalem in the second deportation (same as Ezekiel) and he had an orphan niece he was caring for. Her name was Hadassah, and she was beautiful. She was taken in the king’s “cattle call” for lovely young virgins. Mordecai told his niece to “keep secret” the fact that she was Jewish. No use having one strike against her.

The man in charge of the women took a liking to Esther (her Persian name) and gave her special treatments and instructions. And so, when it was time for her to “see the king,” Ahasuerus was “wowed” by her and took her as his next Queen.

He gave another great feast, and even gave a remission of taxes, so all the people would be sure to rejoice with him over his new queen. (He did not make a mistake of inviting Esther to make an appearance in only her crown!)

Oh, and as an aside, there was a small incident where two of the king’s eunuchs became angry with the king (wanted more pay or recognition??), and attempted to assassinate him. Mordecai heard of it, and warned the king. The two were caught and hung. The incident was recorded in “the book of the chronicles of Persia” in the presence of the king. And then forgotten.

(Put a pin in that incident.)

Esther 3.

Things settle down, and Esther gets used to living in the harem and only occasionally seeing the king. Meanwhile, we meet a man in the court that the king liked. He promoted him to second highest in the kingdom. (Think of Joseph with Pharaoh, or even Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar.) He was a pompous, egotistical man. His name was Haman (Boo-o-o-o!). He was an Agagite. (So what? you say, but oh, there is a reason his heritage is mentioned.)

You see, way back in the history of Israel when Saul was king, God gave him the task of KILLING ALL the Amalekites. (The reason why, is told way back when the Israelites were still in the wilderness. Check it out in Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Saul’s army killed most of them, but he “kept” King Agag”(and probably some of the royal family) as a “prize for the LORD.”

The prophet Samuel was furious with him, and ended up hacking King Agag to pieces himself. And the kingdom was torn from Saul’s lineage. HAMAN (Boo-o-o) was a descendant of that Agag. So, the serious problem the Jews were going to have now in Persia – a chance to be wiped out – was because of Saul’s disobedience.

ANYWAY, when Haman (Boo-o-o) walked or rode through the streets of Susa, old Mordecai, who sat by the gate, in case any news came from Esther, sat on his bottom as he passed. Mordecai (a Benjamite like King Saul) refused to acknowledge the Agagite. This made Haman FURIOUS. He decided to kill NOT ONLY Mordecai, but ALL his people – the Jews – as well.

Haman (Boo-o-o) drew lots to determine the day it would happen (“pur” means one lot, “purim” means lots). Then he went to the king and set it all up, even offering to put 10,000 talents of his own silver in the King’s coffer to pay for the “destroying, killing and annihilating” of all Jews, young and old, women and children …. and plundering of all their goods.

Wow. This sounds like those plans to kill Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego, as well as Daniel by decree because jealous provincial governors hated them.

WELL, as you might expect, the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. The king and Haman? Well, they sat back with a drink and waited.

Esther 4.

Mordecai, with his ear always to the news of Susa, heard the king’s decree. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes (a sign of great distress and mourning). He joined all the Jews in every province with loud and bitter cries.

Deep in the palace, Esther’s young servants and the eunuchs told her about Mordecai. She sent clothes for him so he could take off the sackcloth and ashes. He would not. Then she sent one of the eunuchs to go to Mordecai and find out why he was doing this.

Mordecai told the eunuch what had happened and the exact amount of money that Haman (Boo-o-o) had promised the king for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai also gave the eunuch a copy of the decree to take back to Esther. And he commanded Esther to go to the king and beg his favor on behalf of the Jews.

The eunuch reported what Mordecai said and showed her the edict.

“Oh!” she cried and sent back this message. “All the king’s servants and people in the provinces KNOW that no one goes before the king without being called, except the one to whom the king holds out his golden scepter. Or else… that person will DIE. And as for me… he has not called me to come in the last 30 days!”

Mordecai sternly told Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows WHETHER YOU HAVE NOT COME TO THE KINGDOM FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.”

Esther sent back a message for Mordecai to gather all the Jews in Susa. “Hold a fast on my behalf for three days (I and my servants will too). Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Mordecai did all she asked.

Esther 5.

After three days, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while he was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance.

She stood silent. The king raised his eyes. And …. he smiled. He raised the scepter that was in his hand. Esther went close and touched the tip of the scepter.

“What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you, even to half my kingdom.”

“It it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”

“Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.”

Wow.

So, the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”

Esther answered, “My wish and my request is…. if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king, let the King and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king said. (reveal her wish).”

So it was arranged.

And Haman (Boo-o-o) went out “joyful and glad of heart.”

BUT… when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, neither rising nor trembling before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. But… he restrained himself, thinking of the Queen’s private party that night, and another the next night. At home, he bragged about it to all his friends.

But his friends saw the bitter cloud over him. “Grrr, yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Then his wife and friends suggested he play “hangman.”

“Build a gallows 50 cubits high (75 feet), and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then you can go to the Queen’s feast without a worry.”

Haman (Boo-o-o) had the gallows made.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW. Can you wait?

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 263

Sep20

Day 263 – Reading – Zechariah 1 – 4.

Read the Scriptures first. Do you like reading prophetic visions?

Today begins three days in the book of Zechariah. Remember in Ezra 5:1-2, God sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to get the Jews off their recliners and back to work to finish rebuilding the Temple. He was in a priestly line, born in Babylon and raised by his priest-grandfather, Iddo. He’s described as a “young man” in Zechariah 2:4, so he was probably younger than Haggai and hadn’t begun his priestly duties (age 30). According to Matthew 23:35, he was murdered between the temple and the altar!

Not only did Zechariah challenge the Jews to complete the Temple rebuild, but he went on to encourage them concerning their Messiah and His glorious kingdom and new Temple in the future.

In each of his three main prophesies, Zechariah begins with the present situation in Judah and goes forward to the exaltation of the Messiah’s reign. It is sometimes called “the apocalypse of the Old Testament.”

God used Zechariah to bring an outburst of promise for the future to sustain the faithful remnant through the coming 400 “silent years” when no word from God was heard until John the Baptist’s words announcing “the Lamb of God.”

(I think it’s cool that Israel was in Egypt for 400 years, until they killed the Passover Lamb. And soon there would be another 400 dark years until they heard the announcement of (and killed) Jesus, “the Lamb of God.” See Mark 1:1-11)

Zechariah 1.

“‘Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the LORD.” were Zechariah’s first words. And the people repented. Then Zechariah gave these two visions for the comfort of the exiles.

1.) In the night, Zechariah “saw” a Man/angel among the myrtle trees, and 3 other riders of colored horses. These men on horses patrolled the earth, and discovered all the nations (Gentiles) were at ease/rest, while Jerusalem & Zion lay in disaster.
The Man/angel then told Zechariah and the Jews these gracious and comforting words from the LORD.
“I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem (the walls were finished 75 years later). My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again “choose Jerusalem.” (during the Millennial Kingdom.)

2.) Next, Zechariah “saw” four horns! He asked what they represented.
The angel said they were “the horns (or powers) that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” (Maybe the four who attacked Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, but most likely the four world empires of Daniel 2:7: Babylon, Persia, Greece & Rome.)
Then Zechariah “saw” four craftsmen (“hammers”), and asked the angel/man what these were coming to do.
The angel said, “These have come to terrify the “horns” that scattered Judah. The craftsmen will terrify them and cast them down.“

Zechariah 2.

3.) Next, the prophet “sees” a man with a measuring line, and he asks the man where he’s going and what he’s planning to do.
“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and length.” The angel/man then sends a runner after the measuring man to tell him that the future Jerusalem will have NO WALL. The LORD will be a “wall of fire” all around the city, AND He will also be the Glory in her midst.

Then Zechariah comes back to the present with a message to the Jews still remaining in Babylon. “Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon, who plundered you. For he who touches you touches the apple of His (God’s) eye. I will shake my hand over them, and they (captors) shall become the plunder for those who served them.”

Then Zechariah again resorts to the distant future when the LORD will dwell in Zion, and many nations shall join themselves to the LORD and also be His people. He will dwell in their midst, in “the holy land.” He will again “choose Jerusalem.” So, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion!”

Zechariah 3.

This next vision reveals the need for Israel’s cleansing and restoration as a priestly nation.

4.) The LORD showed Zechariah the High Priest Jeshua, standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand (God’s or Jeshua’s?) to ACCUSE HIM. This is symbolic. Jeshua stands in for Israel as a whole. Will he be rejected or accepted?
The LORD rebukes Satan for his accusation. He tells the enemy that He has snatched him (Jeshua/Israel) out of the fire of destruction/exile, like a stick about to burn.
Satan fires back, pointing out Jeshua’s filthy garments (Israel’s sin).
The LORD commands that the filthy garments be removed from Jeshua. Then He says to the priest representing all of Israel, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

(This is righteousness imputed, as God does to those who believe in Jesus, the Christ. Nothing that they/we do can make us clean. God changes our filthiness to purity and glory, and the ability now to serve Him.)

Then, Zechariah joins the scene and reminds them to put a clean turban on Jeshua’s head. The priestly turban, inscribed “Holy to the LORD,” is placed on Jeshua’s head.
The LORD of Hosts then charges Jeshua, “If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access with those who stand here.” (Access to God’s throne room through offerings and prayer.) “And behold, I will bring my servant, “the Branch.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6) I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. “

Zechariah 4.

5.) The angel/man came again to Zechariah and showed him a lampstand, all of gold. It had a bowl on top and seven lamps. There were two olive trees by it, on the right and left, which supplied a continual flow of oil to burn.
Then the angel/man gave a message from the LORD to Zerubbabel. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” He was speaking of the task of finishing the rebuilding of the Temple.
“Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the “top stone” (finishing stone of the temple) amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall complete it!”

(And it WAS completed 6 years later.)

Zechariah asked about the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand with pipes to pour in the oil.
“Do you know what these represent?” asked the angel/man.
“No, my lord,” said Zechariah.
“These are the “anointed ones” who stand by the LORD of the whole earth.”

Who were anointed to serve in Israel? The king and the priest. Representing these two offices (for the returned exiles) through which the blessing of God would flow were Zerubbabel, descended from the royal line, and Jeshua, from the priestly line. Both together foreshadowed the Messiah, as priest and king.

****LORD, thank you for all the imagery in this section, especially the courtroom scene where Jeshua stood before You, clothed in filthy garments. This is like all the people of the world, sinners in need of cleansing. Then YOU took off the dirty clothes and put on clean ones. YOU, not Jeshua. And you gave him access to YOU!

This is such a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for all who believe in Him. Just like 2 Corinthians 5:21 says. “For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.” Thank you, oh, thank 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.

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 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.)

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!

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!)

(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.”

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.”

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.)

(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 256

Sep13

Day 256 – Reading – Daniel 1 – 3.

Read Today’s Scriptures. What do you see in Daniel that is new?

Daniel.

The book of Daniel covers the life of the prophet, from a teenager to an old man, and bridges the entire 70 years of captivity. Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem (along with his three friends) in Nebuchadnezzar’s first deportation. (Ezekiel went in the second.) (Ezekiel calls Daniel both righteous and wise.) He was a prophet of God through two world empires. (Babylon, Medo-Persia)

God, through Daniel, revealed to kings the meaning of their visions and dreams, even showing world powers way beyond their years. What Revelation is to the New Testament, Daniel is to the Old Testament.

Daniel 1.

Daniel is taken to Babylon (the land of Shinar) along with “SOME of the vessels of the Temple.” (Do you remember King Hezekiah showing off all the treasures of the Temple to emissaries from Babylon, in Isaiah 39:1-6? Nebuchadnezzar will take all of them in his second siege, and will even melt the precious metal from the Temple to take away in the final siege.) These golden vessels were placed in the temple treasury of the Babylonian god, Bel, or Marduk.

Next, Nebuchadnezzar designated some young men of the royal and noble Jewish families to be trained to work in his courts. He sent the chief of the eunuchs** to train them in the wisdom and learning of Babylon, deportment in royal ways, informed of the literature and language of the Chaldeans. They must also be without blemish, handsome, and healthy looking.

Among the ones chosen were Daniel and his three friends. The chief of the eunuchs** was tasked to train them for three years. First, he changed their Jewish names to Babylonian ones.

**Does this mean Daniel and the others were made eunuchs?

Daniel resolved to keep himself from being defiled by pagan foods. He requested of the chief of the eunuch to be able to eat only Kosher food. The man gave him (and his friends) ten days. At the end, they were more healthy-looking than all the others, so he allowed them to continue with that diet.

God also gave them extra learning and skill in literature and wisdom. And Daniel had special understanding of all visions and dreams. (He reminds me of Joseph, in Genesis.)

At then end of the 3-year training, they all were brought before Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel and his friends were shown to be the “top of the class.,” better even than the older court magicians and enchanters!

(God honors those who honor Him!)

Daniel 2.

Then came a test. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. (No, not like Martin Luther King Jr.) It bothered him terribly. He called all his magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers to TELL him his dream and then INTERPRET his dream.

Of course none of those imposters could tell the King what he dreamed. They were used to HIM telling THEM the dream, and they’d make up an interpretation.

Wise men: We can’t tell you YOUR dream, O King. Tell it to us and we’ll tell you what it means.
King Neb.: NO! You must tell me my dream, or…or… or you are imposters!! And if so, you are dead men!
Wise men: But, we can’t!
King Neb.: GRRRRRRR!! LET ALL THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON BE DESTROYED!!

Wise men, Daniel and his friends, heard the decree to kill all of them. He went to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, and inquired with prudence and discretion what the hoop-la was about. After he was told, Daniel requested an appointment with the King, that HE might show the King HIS dream.

THEN, Daniel (wise man that he was) asked his three friends to pray with him all night that God would show him the mystery of the king’s dream.

AND THE MYSTERY WAS REVEALED TO DANIEL IN A VISION.

Next morning, Daniel went to King Nebuchadnezzar and calmly told him the dream and the interpretation, after first telling the pagan king that it was the JEWISH GOD who’d revealed it to him.

You saw a great image and it was scary.
From top to bottom, it was made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron mixed with clay.
A stone struck the image on its feet and broke them to pieces, then the whole thing fell and the wind carried it all away.
The stone became an unstoppable Kingdom forever.

Yes, cried the king. That’s right. What does it mean?

And Daniel prophetically told him of the coming world empires after Babylon, represented by the golden head: silver chest and arms = Medo-Persian, bronze middle and thighs = Greece, iron legs = Rome, and mixed iron and clay = revived Rome. And the stone? Christ destroying the fourth empire and establishing the Millennian.

King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed by Daniel’s God telling the future. And he gave Daniel gifts and made him ruler over the whole province, and became chief prefect over all the king’s men. He also placed Daniel’s three friends in high places.

Daniel 3.

Perhaps the king got so enamored with himself as the “head of gold,” that he had a huge 90-foot golden statue made in his likeness. Not just the head, but the whole thing was gold. He had a dedication party where he invited everybody who was somebody to it. When the music began to play, they all would fall down and worship the image.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Um, no. As obedient Jews, they would not worship the king’s golden statue. (Their ancestors had worshiped a few golden calves, and see what happened. Other idols in Jerusalem had caused the fall of that great city and the ruin of the magnificent Temple of God! Bow to a golden statue? NO WAY!)

The jealous ministers tattled on them.
Nebuchadnezzar gave them a second chance, and started up the music.
The three stood firm shaking their heads.
Then the infuriated king threw the miscreants into the blazing, hot furnace. So there!
But wait.
The three walked around in the furnace as if it were a Yogurt Land. Their ropes were gone. And… a fourth person was with them looking very much like “the Son of God.”

Nebuchadnezzar ordered them out, and quizzed them. After all not a thread or hair was scorched, and they didn’t even smell of smoke.

“Our faithful God kept us.”

Now it was the king to stand in awe. “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has delivered his servants, who trusted Him and disobeyed the king’s command, and yielded up their lives rather than worship him.

So King Nebuchadnezzar made a NEW law than anyone who speaks against their God, would be killed and their houses ruined. And once again, the three were promoted.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 255

Sep12

Day 255 – Reading – Joel 1 – 3

Read the Scriptures. Meditate on what the prophet JOEL is saying.

Joel 1.

Joel’s message is timeless and applicable to any age. God judges sin, no matter what kind, or when. Joel calls for repentance, as in “rend your hearts and not your garments.” Joel refers often to “the Day of the LORD.” which speaks of God’s wrath and judgment on sin anywhere and in any time.

In this chapter, it’s probably wise to see the invasion of locusts as ACTUAL locusts, rather than invading armies. And drought is another calamity Israel is facing. Not only do these affect the people personally, but there there is no grain for the Priests to offer. Both vines and fig trees are affected – the very last things that locusts will eat.

Joel calls for a fast to the LORD. This horrendous agricultural devastation is just a hint of the “Day of the LORD” to come in the future.

Joel 2.

Joel uses the locust plague and the drought as a metaphor of the coming invasion of Judah, and even farther, the future Day of the LORD.

“…the day of the LORD is coming: it is near. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been seen, nor will be again…”

God is so gracious! Even in the coming invasion, He gives Judah (and us) a chance to repent!

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your HEARTS and not your garments.”

“Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster. WHO KNOWS? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him.”

(No, the people did not repent, and yes, the LORD did send destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. But after the time He designated, God wanted to “restore” them.)

“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given the early rain for you vindication; He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.”

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter. My great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.”

Then, he gives a marvelous prophecy that Peter later picks up in his sermon at Pentecost.

“And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. EVEN on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit.”

“And it shall come to pass that EVERYONE who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Joel 3.

Joel writes of the time when the nation of Israel will be regathered to the Land. And He will gather the other nations to a final confrontation at the battle of Armageddon. God will judge the nations.

“Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plows into sword, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I AM A WARRIOR.”

“Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. (See Rev. 14:20) The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LRD is near in the valley of decision.”

“The LORD ROARS from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake.

“But the LORD is a refuge to His people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.

“And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; AND A FOUNTAIN SHALL COME FORTH FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AND WATER THE VALLEY OF SHITTIM.” (See Ezekiel 47)

“Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations.”

Amen!

(Thank You, LORD, for Joel, and the promises of restoration that reach even to our day: the time of the Gentiles. And, O, may MY heart repent of my sins, and be softened toward You.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 254

Sep11

Day 254 – Reading – EZEKIEL 46 – 48

Read the Scriptures. Meditate on what the prophet is saying.

EZEKIEL 46.

New/old rules for worship and offerings are covered here. The priest will offer the sacrifices and grain offering to the LORD as always, but the prince will have a part too (such as supplying some of the offerings). He shall enter the vestibule (inner court) in front of the Temple, do his thing, and leave by the same way. All the others who come to worship will enter one gate and leave by another.

Ezekiel 47.

Ezekiel, in his vision, is now brought to the door of the temple. He sees water leaking from below the threshold, south of the altar. (???) Ezekiel is led out of the NORTH gate and is walked around the outside of the Temple compound to the SOUTH side. There, flowing eastward, he sees the trickling water.

The measuring man measures out 1,000 cubits (approx. 1,500 feet), and the water is “ankle deep.” Another 1,000 cubits, and the water flowing out is now “knee deep.” And 1,000 cubits more, and the water is “waist-deep.” After 1,000 more cubits, it was a river he could not walk though and deep enough to swim in. (Can you picture that?)

Then amazing words from the measuring man, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah (ravine), and enters the sea (Dead Sea): when the water flows into the sea, the water will become FRESH! And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be many fish! And fishermen will cast nets! (But there will be marshes for salt.) Fruit trees will grow there! The fruit will be for food, and the leaves for healing! WOW!

Then the man gives the boundaries of the Millennial Israel. Damascus, the East side of the Sea, the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea (Mediterranean). See the map below.

Ezekiel 48.

A Map of how the tribal lands will be divided during the Millennial Kingdom.

Seven of the tribes will be located in the north, followed by the “holy portion” in the middle with the Temple. Finally, the five remaining tribes will have their land in the south.

On the walls of the CITY in the middle (not the Temple compound), there will be three gates facing north with the names of 3 tribes (Reuben, Judah, and Levi).

On the east side of the city, the three gates are named Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.

The three south-facing gates of the city will be named Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.

And on the west side of the city, the gates are named Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.

NOTE: All the unconditional promises that God had made to Israel in 1) the Abrahamic Covenant; 2) the Priestly Covenant, 3) the Davidic Covenant, and 4) the New Covenant have here been fulfilled

The departed glory has returned, and God is dwelling again in the midst of His people. And the name of THIS city, from that time on, shall be YHWH Shammah, “The LORD is there.”