Archives

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 247

Sep4

Day 247 – Reading – EZEKIEL 25 – 27

Read the Scriptures.  Meditate on what the prophets were saying.

EZEKIEL 25.

With the total judgment and destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel now proclaims judgment on seven other nations in the following eight chapters (like Jeremiah 46-51).  Chapter 25 covers four of them, known for their jealousy and vindictive hate of Israel.  

Ammonites.  (Distantly related to Israel [along with Moab] through Abraham’s nephew Lot.)  They are judged especially because of their glee at the destruction of God’s temple and the exile of God’s people to Babylon.   The LORD  tells them through this prophecy that they will be conquered and assimilated into “the people of the East” (the Arabian people). 

“Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel … therefore, I have stretched out My hand against you, and will hand you over to the nations.  THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”

Moabites. (Descended from Lot.) They are also judged for saying Judah was not chosen by God, but a people like all peoples. They are also to be absorbed into the Arabian tribes.

Edomites. (Descendants of Israel’s brother Esau.) Edom was south of Ammon, Moab, and the Dead Sea. David had almost annihilated them. Their revenge was hostility to Israel… constantly. They cheered the Babylonians when Israel was defeated and exiled.  Much later, the Jewish forces under Judas Maccabeus fully conquered Edom.  They also were absorbed into the Arab peoples.

Philistines.  Because the Philistines acted revengefully “with malice of soul” to destroy Israel in never-ending enmity, God was going to destroy them (as well as the Cretons who joined them on the coast) via the Babylonians.

.

Ezekiel 26.

The prophet again announces the day Jerusalem was captured. On the eleventh year, first day (of Jehoiachin’s captivity) (and Ezekiel’s).

Tyre. It was situated north of Israel on a well-fortified island. Known for fishing, it became a “world power” in shipping and trading throughout the Mediterranean.  It was King Hiram who helped David and Solomon with Cedar wood and supplies for building the Temple and the King’s Palace.  Later, they were guilty of selling Jews into slavery. 

God would use several nations (in waves) to destroy this power: the Babylonians, Alexander the Great, and finally, the Greeks in a devastating attack.   It takes three chapters for Ezekiel to write out the judgment on them.  

When Jerusalem was conquered, Tyre said, “Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to ME. I shall be replenished now that she is laid waste.”

And so God said, “I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as a sea brings up its waves.  They will destroy the WALLS of Tyre and break down her TOWERS, and I will SCRAPE HER SOIL and make her a BARE ROCK, and she will never be rebuilt.  And her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. 

Then they will KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”

“(First) I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon… and he will kill with the sword.” 

.

Ezekiel 27.

This whole chapter is a lamentation for Tyre, as a great ship destroyed on the high seas.   

Verses 3-9 describe the building of that ship. 

Verses 10-25 describe the merchants who did business with Tyre.

Verses 26-27 describe the shipwreck.

Verses 28-35 describes the merchants bemoaning the loss of her commerce.

“The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

.

(Although God judges [disciplines] Judah and Jerusalem, His heart is still wholly on them.  And when surrounding nations jump and clap with glee, and plan how they will ransack her for their own benefit, God turns his wrathful judgment on THEM.

This reminds me of a protecting shepherd, who runs with vengeance upon any animal that taunts or attacks his sheep.  Thank you for caring for me so much, even when I foolishly wander off.  Thank you for “walking with me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”  Thank You for the promise of eternity with YOU!)

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 225

Aug13

Day 225 – Reading – Jeremiah 23 – 25

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

Jeremiah 23.

“The LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want (have any needs).  (Think of the following words in David’s Psalm 23, describing the Lord Jesus Christ.) He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still (peaceful) waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Even though I (will) walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

And now, in Jeremiah 23, see what God says about the “shepherds” who were supposed to look after and care for the “sheep” of Israel, but didn’t.

  • “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!
  • You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.  Behold, I will attend to YOU for your evil deeds,” declares the LORD.

The “bad” shepherds were the false leaders in Israel who failed in their duty to take care/protect/teach the flock of God.  They included the kings, prophets and priests.  

  • “Then I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them.  
  • I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
  • I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall ANY be missing,” declares the LORD.

After the exile, God will bring Judah back from Babylon to their homeland.  Men like Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah will be like good shepherds caring for them.

In a fuller sense, in the end times, the Great Shepherd, Jesus, will restore all His people to their land. This has yet to happen.

  • “The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In His days, JUDAH WILL BE SAVED, and ISRAEL WILL DWELL SECURELY.

Meanwhile, God’s heart is broken in him … for the land is full of adulterers, and the (formerly green) pastures of the wilderness are dried up.  Both prophet and priest are UNGODLY.  “EVEN IN MY HOUSE I HAVE FOUND EVIL!”  “And from the prophets of Jerusalem UNGODLINESS has gone out into all the land.”

  • “BEHOLD, the storm of the LORD! Wrath had gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.”
  • Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?  Do I not fill heaven and earth? 
  • “You false prophets and seers (evil shepherds) … “I will surely lift you up and cast you away from My presence, you and the city that I have given to you and your fathers.  I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.”

.

Jeremiah 24.

Jeremiah received a vision, then a word from the LORD explaining the vision. This happened AFTER King Nebuchadnezzar’s second attack, and his carrying King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin, Coniah – this king had several names!), back to Babylon (alive) along with his mother, officials, craftsmen, and metal workers.  

Jeremiah’s vision showed TWO BASKETS OF FIGS in front of the Temple.  One basket had VERY GOOD FIGS; the other had VERY BAD (rotten) FIGS.

The LORD:  “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

Jeremiah: Figs; very good figs and very bad figs.

The LORD: “I will regard as “the good figs” the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place. I will set my eyes on them for good, and build them up, and plant them, and give them a heart to know that I am the Lord. They shall be my people and I will be their God. For they will return to me with their whole heart.”

The LORD continues.  “But I will treat Zedekiah, king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem, who remain, and those who fled to Egypt … “as the very bad, rotten figs.”   I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places I shall drive them.  I will send sword, famine, and pestilence on them until they are utterly destroyed.”

WOW.  This reminds me of Jesus separating the sheep and goats on the Last Day, one to eternal life, and the other one to eternal punishment. Matthew 25:31-46

.

Jeremiah 25.

This chapter takes a few steps backward, to the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim in Judah, and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon.  For 23 years, Jeremiah had been predicting this, but the people had not listened, nor turned from their evil ways.

And so … as prophesied … the Lord was going to send for Nebuchadnezzar “His servant” against all this land.  “I will devote it to destruction, and make it a horror, a hissing, a desolation.   This whole land will become a ruin and a waste, and you will serve the King of Babylon SEVENTY YEARS.”

There it is! 

But … “After seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their iniquity.“

Then figuratively, God gave to Jeremiah His “cup of wrath.”  He was to go to all the nations to which God would send him and MAKE THEY DRINK FROM THE CUP. 

So, Jeremiah took the cup and went …

  • to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, 
  • to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all the mixed tribes there, 
  • to all the land of Uz and the Philistines, 
  • to Edom, Moab, and Ammon,
  • to Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema and Buz, 
  • to the kings of Arabia and the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert, Zimri, Elam, Media, 
  • and to ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD on the face of the earth. 
  • And finally,  to the King of Babylon who SHALL drink. 

And the LORD said, “I begin to work disaster at the city THAT IS CALLED BY MY NAME, and shall you, Babylon, go unpunished? No, for I am summoning a sword against ALL the inhabitants of the earth … ALL FLESH.”

And a special disaster for the false shepherds and lords of the flocks. No refuge. No escape.

WOW.  The LORD is really raging.  Just think how it will be AT THE END OF THE AGE, when Jesus comes, and the world goes into the Great Tribulation before the final Day of the Lord, the destruction of evil!  PRAISE GOD!

*

(LORD, Thank you for the promise of Eternal Life through Jesus, the great Shepherd and the eternal King. Keep my heart turned wholly towards YOU. Help me to be obedient to your Word and to those who speak Your Words.)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 116

Apr26
Day 116.  Reading Psalms 73, 77, 78.
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do these Psalms about trouble, heartache, and persecution speak to you?

Psalm 73.

Have you ever felt like this?

  • Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

Then the Psalmist continues to describe the “arrogant and wicked” in verses 4-12. (See if you recognize them as you read those verses.)

  • All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.
  • But when I thought HOW to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, UNTIL I WENT INTO THE SANCTUARY OF GOD; then I discerned their end.

And his glorious ending thoughts!

  • YOU hold my right hand. YOU guide me with your counsel, and afterward, YOU will receive me to glory.
  • Whom have I in heaven but YOU?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides YOU.
  • My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. 

.

Psalm 77.

Have you done or felt these things when you are suffering in some way?

  • I cry aloud to God, and he will hear me.

This is the Psalmist’s hope, but he admits to the opposite. 

  • In the day of my trouble I seek the LORD.
  • In the night my hand is stretched out without wearing, and my soul refuses to be comforted. 
  • When I remember God, I moan: when I meditate, my spirit faints. 
  • You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
  • I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” 
  • Then my spirit made a diligent search…..

Here, the Psalmist turns to his knowledge of His Lord and asks questions that have a resounding “NO!” answer.

  1. Will the Lord spurn forever and never again be favorable?
  2. Has His steadfast love forever ceased?
  3. Are His promises at an end for all time?
  4. Has God forgotten to be gracious?
  5. Has He in anger shut up his compassion?

And those “No” questions gave him hope and comfort.  Hear him “preach to himself!”  USE THESE TO PREACH TO YOURSELF TOO!!

  • I WILL REMEMBER the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
  • I WILL ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
  • YOUR WAY, O God, is holy.
  • WHAT GOD is great like our God?
  • YOU are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 
  • YOU with Your arm redeemed your people…

.

Psalm 78.

(A good LONG psalm, looking forward to the next generation.)

  • Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

The hope of this Psalm.

  • I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, things that our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from our children but tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that he has done……..which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, who will rise and tell them to THEIR children, so that they should SET THEIR HOPE IN GOD, and not forget His works, but keep His commandments.

The Psalm goes on to tell how the Israelites of old, SINNED against God, REBELLED, TESTED, and SPOKE AGAINST God until He was full of wrath against them. 

  • And their main sin:  “They did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.“

This is a huge “beware” to us today!!!

  • AND YET HE FED them grain from Heaven and water from the Rock (both pictures of Jesus Christ).  YET, HE, BEING COMPASSIONATE, ATONED for their iniquity and did not destroy them;
  • He restrained His anger often and did not stir up ALL his wrath.
  • He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes…

The psalm goes on to tell how Israel tested God again and again, provoked Him, and did not remember His power, They turned away, acted treacherously, twisted like a bow strong, and rebelled against the Most High God…..  And He rejected Israel, the tent of Joseph, and the tribe of Ephraim.

So sad, but so like us sometimes.   But then…..

  • He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loves. He built his sanctuary like the high heavens…
  • He chose David, His servant. He took him from the sheepfolds and brought him to shepherd Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance. 
  • With an upright heart he (David) shepherded them and guided them with a skillful hand.

 

.

In a few days, we will get back to the story of King David. 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 30

Jan30

Day 30. Reading in Exodus 1 – 3. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What do you learn about God?

Exodus 1.

.And … the eleven sons of Jacob-Israel are named again (Joseph already has been in Egypt). They and all that generation die. And the children of Israel greatly increase, multiply, and grow strong so that the land is FILLED with them. 100 years after, the number of men, women and children had grown to TWO MILLION. They had become a nation, just as God had told Abraham.

Several Pharaohs had reigned since the one who elevated Joseph. The current king was ruthless and evil. He looked at the mass of strong Israelites, and fear gripped his heart. “If” war broke out, these “foreigners” might join the enemy army. So he gradually turned them into slaves with taskmasters to build store cities for him. When that didn’t slow the population growth, he worked them harder in the fields and in making bricks.

Then, this diabolical king (probably Thutmose 1) told the midwives to kill all boys being born to the Israelite women.  They refused and lied to him, so he made it a “national” law that everyone, seeing a Jewish baby boy, was to grab him and throw him into the Nile River to drown or to be food for the crocodiles.

How many were killed, we don’t know, but before we judge this wicked man, think of the hundreds of thousands of abortions our country has allowed (promoted) over the years.

Exodus 2.

During these atrocities, two descendants of Levi (Amram and Jochebed) marry and begin a family. They have a daughter (Miriam), then a son, a beautiful, healthy baby.  The mother keeps him as long as she can, but his cries will soon bring vengeful neighbors to take him to the Nile.  So, she does it herself, except her baby is wrapped up and placed into a watertight basket before going into the river. A gentle push and the baby’s amazing voyage begins. He is carefully watched by his older sister.

The baby floats into the reeds near the pool where Pharaoh’s daughter (and her ladies-in-waiting) are bathing. THEN it starts to cry. The ladies bring her the basket, and immediately, her heart goes out to the beautiful infant. She smiles and perhaps tickles the little one until it stops crying, then she takes it into her arms and cuddles it close. She opens the blankets and discovers that the baby is a boy … an Israelite boy. (He is circumcised.) But she already wants him for her own. 

Right then, Miriam steps up, bowing, and offers a wet nurse to feed the baby. Pharaoh’s daughter is not fooled, but she wants the boy and sees the practicality of having “his mother” feed him.  She promises to pay this “wet nurse” and expects the boy to be brought to her as soon as he is weaned. And so, for three to four years, Amram and Jochebed sing and speak the stories of their God and His promises to the little boy.

“God has chosen them. God is with them. God has promised to rescue them and bring them to their own land. God always keeps His promises.”  A lullaby and alphabet lesson of faith.

The time comes. and Jochebed presents her son to Pharaoh’s daughter. She’s done all she can to instill in the boy his Hebrew heritage. Now, she entrusts him to God. 

Your name is Moses (drawn out) because I drew you out of the water. “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” (Acts 7:21)

At forty, Moses was a man of stature, education, and importance. Raised an Egyptian, he nevertheless remembered that “his people” were Israel.  One day, as he watched how they were being treated, he saw a taskmaster mercilessly beating a Hebrew. Fury rose in him, and he struck the Egyptian down dead. Quickly, he buried him in the sand. (not a ‘smart’ move, as the wind would soon uncover the body).  

Moses felt good (if a bit scared) about his actions.  Surely, his people would recognize him as “their savior.”

NOT SO!  The next day, when he tried to break up a fight between two Hebrews, they reminded him of what he’d done to the Egyptian. “Who made you PRINCE and judge over us?”

Ah-oh!

Suddenly, Moses was afraid. Pharaoh would kill him if the stern man learned he’d murdered an Egyptian. So Moses ran.  He ran and ran, all the way across the desert he would one day lead God’s people.  He ran to Midian. (Midian was a descendant of Abraham by his second wife, Keturah.) 

At a well (where it seems all Hebrew men meet their wives), Moses met seven daughters of a priest of Midian.  When the man learned that a handsome, strong Egyptian had helped his daughters, he invited Moses to dinner.  The rest is history. Moses married Zipporah and they had a couple sons.

And he became a shepherd of sheep.  (This began the second 40-year phase of his education.  How do you lead, feed, run after, and care for a bunch of unruly, dumb sheep? Or people.)

Meanwhile, Pharaoh died. The slavery of Israel got tougher.  They groaned and cried out for help.  God heard the groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (For 400 years they’d serve another nation, then He’d bring them back to the land.)

“God saw the people of Israel, and God knew.”

Exodus 3.

One day, the 80-year old-shepherd Moses, was out with his sheep on the west side of the desert near Horeb (Sinai), the “mountain of God.” He was watching the white wooly backs serenely, when suddenly the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush, that didn’t itself burn. 

“Whoa. What’s going on here?”

“Moses, Moses!”

“What?  Here I am.”

“Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.”

And Moses quickly untied and took off his sandals.

“I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look AT GOD.

“I have SEEN the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have HEARD their cry because of their taskmasters. I KNOW their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up to that good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey.

“Come,  I will send YOU to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

“WHAT??? I can’t do that!! Who am I to deliver Israel out of Egypt???”

“I will be with you, and this is a sign for you, that I’ve sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God ON THIS VERY MOUNTAIN.”

“Who shall I tell the people sent me? (A bush?)

“I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel. The LORD the God of your fathers… has send me. This is His name forever. Go, Moses, gather the elders of Israel and say that the LORD, the God of their fathers has appeared to you and promised to bring them up out of affliction.

Then, go to the king and ask that the people go a three-day journey into the desert to sacrifice to their God. He won’t let you go, so I will strike Egypt with plagues, and then he WILL let you go. And when you ask them, all the Egyptians will give you silver and gold jewelry, and clothing. AND YOU WILL PLUNDER THE EGYPTIANS!

.

Tomorrow, we will see Moses’ response.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 28

Jan28

Day 28. Reading in Genesis 46 – 47. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

Genesis 46.

So Jacob-Israel, with hope in his heart to see his beloved Joseph again after so many years, gathers all his “stuff” and his family and begins the trek south. They stop in Beersheba and he worships God. God meets him there in visions, telling him not to be afraid to go to Egypt.

God promises to 1) make a great nation of them in Egypt, 2) go down with them, 3) bring them all back to the promised land, and 4) Joseph would be there with him until he dies.

Sixty-six of Jacob’s direct family journeyed to Egypt. (with Joseph and his family, that made seventy “Jews” in Egypt. Vs. 27) Their genealogy is listed in this chapter.

Judah is sent ahead to locate and lead them to Goshen. After they arrive, Joseph comes to them in his chariot. He “presents himself” to his father, and they fall into a long-lasting hug with much weeping. 

Joseph tells them he’s going to inform the Pharaoh that they’ve arrived and warns them when they see the king, they are to tell him that they are “keepers of livestock.”  The Egyptians hate shepherds and in this way, Joseph assured them of a good, fertile place to live by themselves.  God directed this, for He didn’t want them assimilated into the Egyptian culture of multi-gods.

Genesis 47.

After he announced to Pharaoh that his family had arrived, Joseph took five of his brothers to see the “lord of the land.”  They said they were shepherds as Joseph had instructed and needed a place to pasture their flocks. Would Goshen be okay?  The king agreed, and then asked Joseph if he could find able men in his family to be put in charge of the royal livestock.  

Then Joseph, with quiet grandeur, brought in his father to meet the Pharaoh.  This Pharaoh could have been younger than Joseph (see Genesis 45:8), so the 130-year-old, weathered and robed, long, white-bearded Jacob must have been truly impressive. Solemnly, Jacob blesses Pharaoh. 

In Goshen, Jacob and his family and flocks are well provided for by Joseph as the famine continues. 

Joseph continued his high-power position in Egypt, meting out and selling the stored grain to the people of Egypt and surrounding nations.  He took a fifth of all the people had for Pharaoh and he made Egypt rich.

Meanwhile, the family of Israel settled in Goshen, gained possessions, became fruitful, and multiplied greatly. Jacob lived 17 more years (12 after the famine ended) in the land.  When he knew his time to die was getting near he made Joseph promise NOT to bury him in Egypt, but to carry his body out and bury it in the family tomb in the promised land.  And although Joseph was Vice-king of all Egypt, he was still a son.  He promised his father to “do as you have said.”  “Swear to me!” Jacob said, and Joseph took the oath.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 356-357

Dec23

   Day 356-357—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.  NOTE: Sunday’s and Monday’s studies will be posted on MONDAY,

Day 356 – Hebrews 7 – 10 (Melchizedek, Better Covenant, Redemption, Sacrifice, Faith)

Read a quick review of Melchizedek and Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20.

Hebrews 7.

The author discusses Melchizedek, king of Salem (peace), king of righteousness (zedek) and a priest of the Most High God. He tells how Abraham, coming home from rescuing his nephew Lot from an invading army, gave this priestly/kingly man a tithe (10th) of the loot. And Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

This was WAY before Israel’s priesthood was set up on Mt. Sinai, with Aaron, the Levite, as High Priest.  In a way (the author of Hebrews says), Aaron, the High Priest, paid tribute to Melchizedek, “being still in Abraham’s loins.” (He had no children at that point.)

Melchizedek is also said to have had “no beginning of days nor end of life” as a priest forever. He was a priest not based on the law (like Aaron) but on the power of an “indestructible” life. The author compares Jesus to this mysterious man, without beginning or end of days, but HIS ministry is much more excellent.  

The first covenant of law could make nothing perfect, so a new one was needed, allowing us to draw near to God. “Consequently, Jesus can save to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through HIM since He always lives to make intercession for them. 

Jesus is a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  HE HAS NO NEED TO OFFER SACRIFICES DAILY like other priests, first for their own sins, then the people.  Jesus did this ONCE FOR ALL when he offered up HIMSELF.

Hebrews 8.

Jesus, as High Priest, is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a more excellent ministry than the old one.  He can mediate better because the new covenant has better promises and is faultless. In this new covenant, God says He will put His Law on their hearts and minds, not stone tablets, and His people will know Him.

He will be merciful toward their iniquities and will remember their sins no more!

Hebrews 9.

The author then reminds readers how the old covenant worked, with the Holy and Most Holy places in the “tent of worship.”  Behind the second curtain was the ark of the covenant and God’s presence.  No one could go into this place except for the High Priest, and that only once per year… carrying the blood of the sacrifice. 

But Christ, as high priest, entered ONCE FOR ALL into the most holy place through HIS OWN BLOOD. Doing this, he obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION.  He appeared ONCE FOR ALL to put away sin by sacrificing himself. 

Hebrews 10.

Under the old covenant, the sacrifices were a reminder of sins every year. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”  Now, we have been sanctified (made clean, holy) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.

When Christ had offered FOR ALL TIME A SINGLE SACRIFICE FOR SINS, He sat down at the right hand of God. “For by A SINGLE OFFERING, He has perfected FOR ALL TIME, those who are being sanctified.”

Jesus. the perfect, sinless High Priest, offered Himself a spotless sacrifice and opened the new and living way for us through the curtain so that we can now “draw near (to God) with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” 

.

Day 357 – Hebrews 11 – 13 (the FAITH chapter & heroes of the faith, witnesses for us to endure too, discipline as sons, acceptable worship, final instructions)

Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11 is called the “Faith Chapter” or the “Saint’s Hall of Fame.” In it, the author defines faith and how it’s to be used. He lists heroes of faith from the Old Testament, sixteen by name (including women), and many others by deeds or means of death. These all have served and glorified God.

DEFINITION: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (verse 1)

WHAT IT INVOLVES: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (verse 6)

From righteous Abel to the prophet Samuel, men and women have lived and died for God, loved and obeyed Him, trusted and spoke for Him without shame or fear, and many paid for it with their lives. 

These heroes “conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong through weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to fight, and some women received back their dead by resurrection!! 

(I can think of some names that come to mind here, can you?”

Others were tortured for their faith, suffered mocking and flogging, even chains and imprisonments, stoning, beheading (killed by the sword), and even being sawn in two!  They were destitute, afflicted, mistreated, and lived in deserts, mountains, dens, and caves.  OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY!

And YET, they did not “see” the promised Messiah they spoke about and waited for like WE HAVE!  (How totally blessed we are!)

Hebrews 12.

“Therefore, SINCE we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those heroes listed above), let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith.  He, for the JOY that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus, as God’s Son, endured much hostility against Him. And so we, as God’s children, must endure “discipline” too.  God disciplines us (through suffering/persecution) for OUR GOOD, so we may share His holiness.  It doesn’t seem pleasant at the moment, but later, it “yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” to those trained by it. 

So…. lift your drooping hands….strengthen your weak knees….and make straight paths for your feet.   And “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (by persecution or death), and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 13.

The author encourages readers to continue in brotherly love, hospitality to strangers, and prayer and support for those imprisoned for their faith.  They are to be faithful in marriage, not love money but be content with what they have.

They are to “remember their leaders (in prayer and financially), the ones who first spoke the Word of God to them.”  They are to consider the fruit of those men’s ministry and imitate their faith.  They are to pray and support their leaders and also to submit to and obey them (for THOSE MEN will have to give an account one day).

He ends with a doxology. ‘Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant….equip you with everything good, that you may do His will.

To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen”

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 28 & 29

Jan29

 Day 28 & 29 — (I combine Sunday and Monday reads.)  Won’t you read the Bible with me this year?   It only takes a few minutes.  (You can also listen to an audio recording.)

   Day 28 – Genesis 46-47  (Jacob settles in Egypt, Joseph manages the famine)

Chapter 46 sees the old man, Jacob/Israel packing up his family and goods and beginning the trek south. He stops briefly in Beersheba and sacrifices to God. God assures him it’s the right ting to do. “Jacob, Jacob, I am the God of your Father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you…”  

There were 66 family members in all in the caravan (70 persons in his “house” counting Joseph, his wife and sons). Before the Hebrews return, there will be 600,000 men, not counting women and kids.  God’s promise told to the Patriarch’s would begin to come true – they’d be as numerous as the sand, dust, and stars.

After 22 years thinking his fave son was dead, Jacob finally meets Joseph, the Vice-Pharoah in Egypt. What a scene! Lots of hugging and weeping.  Then Joseph settles them in the “prime” land of Goshen, away from the capital. He tells them what to say when he introduces them to the Big Man. They were to say they are “shepherds.” Egyptians do not like sheep, so Goshen is perfect.  At the meeting, Jacob blesses Pharoah, not the other way around.

In chapter 47, we see Joseph, relieved to have his family nearby, back to the seriousness of running the economy of Egypt in the remaining 5 years of famine. It looks like he is draining the hungry people dry, but they seem pleased to give up their money, land, and themselves to receive grain to eat and plant.

Jacob/Israel is coming to the end of his days. He’s lived in Egypt near his favorite son for 17 years.  He’s 147 now, and he calls Joseph to extract a promise from him.

“…promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.  PROMISE!”  And Joseph swears it. (He will make a similar request before he dies).

Day 29 – Genesis 48-50 (the last chapters) – (Blessings & Promises)

In chapter 48, Jacob/Israel, knowing he will die soon, begins to gather his sons together for the Patriarchal Blessings. Joseph brings his two sons to his father (Manassah & Ephraim) to be blessed. Jacob “adopts” them as his own sons, giving them equal portions with the other 11 brothers. Remember three things here:

  1. Jacob considers Rachael as his “wife”
  2. Jacob considers Rachael’s first born, Joseph. as the one who gets the Birthright (double portion of his inheritance)
  3. In adopting Joseph’s sons and giving them equal portions with his own sons, he carries out this “double portion” in heritance for Joseph.

Again, as in all the sons of the Patriarchs, Joseph’s second son gets the greater honor – Ephraim over Manassah. And they are considered part of the 12 Tribes of Israel. When the united kingdom spits after Solomon dies, the Northern half is often called “Ephraim.”  (Judah is the name as the Southern half).

And finally, in chapter 49, Jacob gives his Blessing to all the sons, revealing both their character and the portions of the Promised Land that will be theirs. As before, he passes up Reuben, Simeon, and Levi (because of their wickedness) and proclaims Judah as the progenitor of the One who will bless all the nations on the earth, the Eternal King, the Lion of Judah (Jesus, the Messiah).

Then the old Patriarch dies.

Chapter 50 covers two amazing things. One, Jacob/Israel is embalmed as per the custom of the Egyptians. He is mourned for 70 days, then, as per his desires, he is transported to the Promised Land, and buried in the cave of Machpelah, where his grandfather/grandmother, father/mother, and Leah are buried. The Canaanite inhabitants are astonished at the great complany of Egyptians that attend the burial.

Two, after ALL THESE YEARS, still obviously feeling guilt, Joseph’s brothers come to him with a story (true or made up??) that before he died Jacob told Joseph to forgive them for selling him into slavery.

Joseph is astonished and cries out in grief.  He has long since forgiven them (even before they first came to Egypt).  He assures them AGAIN, that even if THEY meant it for harm, GOD meant it for good, in order to save all of them alive (and fulfill His promises to Abraham).

Do they finally believe him?  I hope so.

And then the time comes for Joseph to die (110). He extracts a promise from his brothers (and families) to “carry his bones” with them when they return to the land God promised them. (Joseph totally believed God’s words to Abraham that after 400 years, God would bring Israel back to the Promised Land.)

Then Joseph dies, his body is embalmed and placed in a coffin….”resting” in Egypt for 400 years.

.

NOTES: 1) Exodus 13:19 tells how Moses made sure to collect Joseph’s bones before the “Children of Israel” left Egypt.

2) Joshua 24:32 tells how Joshua buried Joseph’s bones in the portion of land that Jacob had bought from Hamar in Shechem.

Baa-baa FAT sheep!

Oct27

Sheep leaningReading Ezekiel 34:1-31 this morning (Yeah, strange, huh? But that’s where the reading list sent me.)

First the Lord condemns BAD SHEPHERDS of Israel: those who reap the wool, milk/curds, and meat of their flocks for themselves, not caring for the animals – neither the good ones nor the sick and weak ones, not looking for the lost lambs, letting the wolves get them.

Next the chapter talks about BAD SHEEP. Yep, you heard me. The verses describe them as “fat” sheep (as opposed to the “lean” ones).

~~~They eat their fill of green pastures, then tramp the rest of the grass down so nothing is left for the others.
~~~They drink their fill from cool, clear, still waters, then walk all through it to muddy it for the other sheep.
~~~They push and shove and butt each other to get the best for themselves.

MEAN, huh? Surely there can’t be any of those in the Lord’s congregation!

The last third of the chapter speaks of the Sovereign Lord himself as the GOOD SHEPHERD taking care of the sheep, feeding them and letting them lie down in green pastures beside cool still water, binding up the weak and lame, searching for the lost ones and bringing them home.

Reminds me of Psalm 23 (shepherd & sheep)

And of Jesus in John 10:7-16  (the Good Shepherd)

And, on third thought, also of  1 Corinthians 11:17-22 and 33-34 (bad sheep)

DO SOME READING IN THE BIBLE TODAY  about sheep and their caretakers – you will be blessed indeed. (click on the above references)

Baaaaa.