2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 210 & 111

Jul29

    Days 210 & 211—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading, continuing in the book of Isaiah.

(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)

    Day 210 – Isaiah 49 – 53. (This section contains the glorious chapter about the Messiah/Servant and His work of salvation on the cross. Some Jewish leaders even forbid chapter 53 to be read in their synagogues.) 

Chapter 49 begins the section on “the suffering servant” and shows the Lamb of God who was slain to redeem god’s elect.  (“Coastlands and peoples from afar” generally refer to all the gentile nations of the world.) These are called to recognize that the Messiah/Servant will be both human-born and virgin-born.  “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

God also promises the restoration of his chosen people, Israel. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even THESE may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Chapter 50 tells of Israel’s iniquities and transgressions against God and the utter obedience of the Messiah/Servant.  “The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.  But the LORD GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint…”

.Chapter 51 offers hope and comfort to the wandering Jews. “Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.”    “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;  everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and signing shall flee away. I, I am he who comforts you;”  

Chapter 52. The LORD’s coming salvation is announced in surprising ways. “For thus says the LORD: ‘You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.”  “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to ion, ‘Your God reigns.”

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you–his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind–so shall he sprinkle many nations…

And Chapter 53. Those glorious but terrible words about the atrocities and suffering of Jesus the Messiah that bought our so great a salvation when we were lost and bound for hell because of our sin.

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely, he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes, we are healed.

All we, like sheep, have gone astray;
we have turned, everyone to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, 
so he opened not his mouth."

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him,
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; 
he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

Out of the anguish of his soul shall he see
and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one,
my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities."

Halleluia!




   Day 211 – Isaiah 54 – 58. (More comfort & encouragement for Israel, God’s compassion & salvation, contrite hearts & true fasting)


Chapter 54. To Israel in exile, God says, “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married, says the LORD. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitation be stretched out.“


“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in jewels, and lay your foundations with sapphires.”


“In righteousness, you will be established…


Chapter 55 reveals God’s compassion.


“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”


“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”


“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”


Chapter 56 speaks of salvation to foreigners and the outcasts.


“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants, EVERYONE who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant — these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…..for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”


Chapter 57. 




"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry."




Chapter 58. Good and bad fasting.


“Why have we fasted, and you see it not?  Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?


Behold, in the day of your fast you see your own pleasure and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like YOURS this day will not make your voice heard on high.


“Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?


“Is not THIS the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh.


THEN shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.


THEN you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry and He will say, Here I am. 


If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted…


THEN shall your light rise in darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.  


If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, and from doing YOUR pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable;


If you honor it, not going YOUR OWN ways, or seeking YOUR OWN pleasure, or talking idly,


THEN you shall take delight in the LORD and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.”


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 209


					
Jul27
			


	

		
    Day 209—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading. We’re continuing in the history of Israel.


    Day 209 – 2 Kings 19, Psalm 46, 80, 135. (A recounting of the siege of Jerusalem by the Rabshakeh and Sennacherib, Hezekiah’s desperate prayer, and God’s answer when His angel killed 185K Assyrians in a night. And glorious psalms of God.)


Whenever I read this story about the death of the Assyrian army, I think of Jesus’ answer to Peter’s drawing the sword in the garden when Jesus is arrested.


(Matthew 26:53-54) “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”  


If ONE of God’s angels can wipe out an Assyrian army in a night, 12,000 of His angels could eliminate the entire population of the world. (Do the math!)  Instead, Jesus obeyed His Father and gave His life as an atonement for the sin of all who would believe. Praise God.




Psalm 46:1-3, 6-7, 9-11.  
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
He utters His voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the chariots with fire.

Be still, and know that I am God.
I WILL be exalted among the nations,
I WILL be exalted in the earth!
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

Psalm 80:1-3.
Give ear, O Shephard of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim shine forth.

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
Stir up your might and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 135:19-21.
O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD.

			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 208


					
Jul26
			


	

		
    Day 208—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading. We’re continuing in Isaiah.


    Day 208 – Isaiah 44 – 48. (More comfort for Israel after exile, Cyrus, the idols & fall of Babylon)


Chapter 44 tells about God’s heart for His chosen people. 


“Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun (an honored name) whom I have chosen.”  “I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.”


“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”   “The LORD has redeemed Jacob and will be glorified in Israel.”


God says of Himself, “I am the first and the last; besides Me, there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”


And because of this, the making and worshiping of stone, wood, or metal idols is super stupid! 


“All who fashion idols are nothing.”   


“A carpenter… “cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong in the forest. Then, it becomes fuel for a man. He takes part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread.  Also, he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.  


Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat, he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm. I have seen the fire.”   And the rest of it, he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”


Ah, the futility!


 


In the last part of 44 and chapter 45,  Isaiah tells about the still unborn and unknown Cyrus, the future king of Persia who will orchestrate the downfall of Babylon and, according to God’s word through Isaiah, will make it possible for the Jews to return to their land, and rebuild the city and the Temple.


God calls him “my shepherd,” who shall fulfill all my purpose concerning Jerusalem and the temple.


He calls Cyrus “my anointed,” who will subdue nations before him, to level exalted places, break in pieces the doors of bronze, and cut through the bars of iron.


“For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name (Cyrus), though you do not know me.  I am the LORD, and there is no other besides me there is not God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know….that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.”


 


In the rest of chapter 45, Isaiah exalts and praises the one and only, true, mighty, Savior, LORD, and God. 


“Turn to me and be saved,


all the ends of the earth!


For I am God, and there is no other.


By myself I have sworn;


from my mouth has gone out in righteousness


a word that shall not return;


To me, every knee shall bow,


every tongue shall swear allegiance.


“Only in the LORD,” it shall be said of me,


“are righteousness and strength.”


 


Chapter 46 contrasts the idols of Babylon and the One True God, who loves them.


He has borne them from before their birth, “carried you from the womb; even to their old age, I am he, and to your gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”


 




Chapter 47  tells in imagery of the upcoming humiliation and destruction of Babylon because of their treatment of His people.  “I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. 










And finally, chapter 48 tells how God “refined” his beloved, chosen people.  “….because I know you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,“





But He also foretells new things, hidden things, that they have never known that He will do for them. “For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. “





“Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains.





“Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”













			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 207


					
Jul25
			


	

		
    Day 207—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading. We’re continuing in Isaiah.


    Day 207 – Isaiah 40 – 43. (The majesty, greatness, & glory of God vs idols, Israel, His choice and love)


This is a glorious section of Isaiah to read. It will swell your heart and make you love Him more.


Chapter 40 begins a new section of Isaiah’s prophecies. The first 39 chapters spoke of Judah during Isaiah’s own time about the coming of exile in Babylon.


The following 26 chapters seem to tell a time during the captivity and beyond, even as to the Messiah’s reign.


This chapter (40) seems to tell of a time when Israel will return to their land. It is also a familiar passage quoted in the gospels about John the Baptist’s ministry of preparing the way for Jesus and His kingdom.  God’s word “stands forever.”


To Judah, Isaiah cries, “Behold your God” – a mighty ruler, a tender shepherd, the great Creator, the wise Judge.


“Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is HE who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”


“All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as LESS than nothing and emptiness.”


But to Israel… “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength.”


“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”


Chapter 41.  “Listen to me in silence, O coastlands…” The coastlands around the Mediterranean Sea and the islands represent the nations.  “One from the East” speaks of the Persian king, Cyrus, who defeats Babylon and releases some of the Israelite captives to return.


God confirms his choice and calling of, and love for Israel. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  And God promises them, “Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.”


Oh, what promises!!


Isaiah’s prophecy then addresses the glorious abundance that will return to the LAND of Israel – rivers, fountains, and pools in the wilderness, springs of water, trees of all kinds growing.


Then Isaiah sets forth the case that the LORD has against futile idols that man makes and expects to help them…. instead of HIM, God, the almighty creator of everything. “Behold they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.”


Chapter 42 begins to tell of God’s chosen “Servant” in whom He delights (the Messiah).


“I have put my Spirit upon him… He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice… a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.  He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands (nations) wait for His law. 


And the great promises —


“I, I am the LORD, and besides me, there is no savior.”


“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”


These remind me of the similar promises of Psalm 103:8-12.

			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 206


					
Jul24
			


	

		
    Day 206—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading. We’re continuing in Isaiah.


    Day 206 – Isaiah 37 – 39, Psalm 76. (Hezekiah’s strengths and weaknesses, God’s gracious help)


Chapter 37 covers the incidents in 2 Chronicles 32, where Hezekiah in Jerusalem is confronted by the strength of Assyria, first with the king’s commander, Rabshakeh (who ridiculed the God of Israel), then King Sennacherib.  Hezekiah sends his servants to Isaiah about the terrible situation and asks him to pray to the LORD.


Isaiah sends hope back to the king, saying Rabshakeh will be recalled to Assyria and killed with the sword. The very thing happens. 


Next, the King of Assyria sends a message to Hezekiah, saying he has no hope of victory, for Assyria has defeated every nation around them. “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria.”


Hezekiah takes the letter, reads it, and immediately goes to the house of the LORD, where he SPREADS IT BEFORE THE LORD. He acknowledges God’s glory and strength and asks that He hear the words of Sennacherib and “save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that YOU alone are the LORD.” 


God sends a beautiful promise of Israel’s future through the prophet Isaiah and the news that the king of Assyria would not even send an arrow into the city but would return home. “For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”


That night, the angel of the LORD went through the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrians.  When the people of Jerusalem awoke, they saw all the dead bodies. And Sennacherib departed and returned to Nineveh, where two of his sons killed him as he was worshiping his pagan god. 


Chapter 38 tells about Hezekiah getting sick and coming to the point of death.  Isaiah recounted God’s words that he should get his house in order.  But Hezekiah turned to the wall and earnestly prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.


Surprisingly, Isaiah returns with another word from the LORD, saying He heard Hezekiah’s prayer and that he would have 15 additional years to live.  He even gives Hezekiah a sign – He will make the shadow on the sundial go back 10 steps. (Reversing time?) The two-fold miracle happens, the sun retreats, and Hezekiah recovers.  Hezekiah’s song of praise follows. 


Chapter 39.  Weirdly, Merodach-baladan, the king of Babylon, hears of his miraculous recovery and sends the king a gift. Hezekiah welcomes them to Jerusalem and shows them all his treasure, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory…all that was found in his storehouses.  


WHAT??? Are you crazy, Hezekiah??


Isaiah was astonished too, and told Hezekiah that ALL he showed the Babylonians would be carried away to Babylon. Some of his own sons would also be taken and made eunuchs. 


Hezekiah shrugs and shows his new arrogance.  “Oh, well, at least it won’t happen in my own day.”  


Psalm 76 shows that God is willing to use His power for his people (as He did for Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s time).


“There, He broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Glorious are You, more majestic than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.”





			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 205


					
Jul23
			


	

		
    Day 205—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading. Praise God! Today, we continue to read in Isaiah.


    Day 205 – Isaiah 35 – 36. (A beautiful song pointing to the eventual return of the remnant of God’s people, also the story of an Assyrian captain and his army versus the LORD and Hezekiah begins)


Chapter 35. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Be strong; fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”


“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,


and the ears of the deaf unstopped;


then shall the lame man leap like a dear, 


and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.


For waters break forth in the wilderness


and streams in the desert;


the burning sand shall become a pool,


and the thirsty ground springs of water.”


“And a highway shall be there,


and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;


It shall belong to those who walk on the Way;


even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.


But the redeemed shall walk there,


And the ransomed of the LORD shall return


and come to Zion with singing;


everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;


they shall obtain gladness and joy,


and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”


.


Chapter 36. tells the story again of 2 Kings 18:13-39 (last Thursday’s read). 


The Rabshakeh (commander of the army) of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came to Jerusalem to “trash talk” against the people closed up by fear in the city. He refused to speak in Aramaic but in Hebrew so all the people on the walls could hear his taunts against King Hezekiah and the LORD.  He challenged the king and his God to try to fight him. He even said he’d make a bet that Assyria would win. 


“Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, saying the LORD will deliver us!  He won’t!  He can’t!  No god can deliver Jerusalem out of my hand!” 


The people were silent as King Hezekiah commanded them.


.


(But wait until tomorrow and see Hezekiah’s faith and God’s absolutely amazing response to it in saving Jerusalem. You will hardly believe it!!!)


 


 





			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 203 & 204


					
Jul22
			


	

		
    Day 203 & 204—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading, continuing in Israel’s history and Isaiah’s prophecies.


(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)


    Day 203 – Isaiah 28 – 30. (Isaiah preaches judgment and shows God’s mercy and another glimpse of the messiah)


Both Ephraim and Judah are indicted here by Isaiah for their drunkenness. (They stagger and reel, and their tables are full of vomit. Yuck.)


Here is a familiar passage about the messiah that Peter quotes in 1 Peter 2:4-6. ‘Behold I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.”


There are three “woes” in these chapters. They begin with the word “Ah,”  28:1 suggests impending disaster for Ephraim.  29:1 suggests distress and moaning for Ariel (Lion of God), pointing to the supposed “strength of Jerusalem.”  And 30:1 shows things turned upside down for Judah for their plans to seek help from Egypt instead of the LORD their God.


“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’  But you were unwilling, and you said, ‘No! We will flee away;”


And to such as these (and to Us), the LORD will be gracious.  “He will be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.”    “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.'”


.


    Day 204 – Isaiah 31 – 34. (Isaiah continues with words from the Lord to various peoples, both in judgment and hope)


The “Woe” in chapter 31 is actually toward Judah for going to Egypt for help against the Assyrians, when their God is so much more powerful.  “The Egyptians are man and not GOD, and their horses are flesh, and not SPIRIT. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper (Egypt) will stumble, and he who is helped (Judah) will fall, and they will all perish together.”


Turn to Him…O children of Israel.  And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, NOT OF MAN; and a sword, NOT OF MAN, shall devour him.


Chapter 32 again speaks of the KING WHO WILL REIGN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (the Messiah).


Then condemnation and judgment on FOOLS and SCOUNDRELS and COMPLACENT WOMEN.


Chapter 33 begins with another “Ah” woe  to the “destroyer.” It’s probably Assyria, but it could also refer to any power that sets itself against Israel.


“The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.” 33:5-6


Chapter 34 is full of judgment on all nations and peoples and then, particularly on Edom. Its ground will be saturated with their blood, and wild animals of every kind will make their homes there.

			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 202


					
Jul20
			


	

		
    Day 202—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading. Praise God! Today, we read in another of the “minor prophets.”


    Day 202 – Hosea 8 – 14. (words of doom, but in the middle, God’s wooing them to return to Him)


Hosea continues to send bad news to Ephraim (the northern kingdom), describing to them (and us) how truly far they have strayed from the LORD, their God.


“They made kings, but not through me (God). They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold, they made idols for their own destruction.  I have spurned your (golden) calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them.”   “For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is NOT GOD. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”


With poignance, God remembers their beginning…


“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt, I called my son.”   “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.”


But what is their response to this love?


“They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king because they have refused to return to ME.”  ” My people are bent on turning away from me…”


God’s grieving heart.


“How can I give you up, O Ephraim? 


How can I hand you over, O Israel? 


How can I make you like Adama? 


How can I treat you like Zeboiim?  


My heart recoils within me; 


my compassion grows warm and tender. 


I will not execute my burning anger; 


I will not again destroy Ephraim;


 for I am God and not a man, 


the Holy One in your midst, 


and I will not come in wrath.”


“….but Judah still walks with God, and is faithful to the Holy One.” (Although later, the judgment also comes on the southern kingdom.)


Hosea ends with a plea to RETURN TO THE LORD.


“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take up your words and return to the LORD, say to him, ‘Take away all iniquity…”  “We will say no more, “our God” to the work of our hands. In YOU, the orphan finds mercy.”

			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 201


					
Jul19
			


	

		
    Day 201—We are in the SEVENTH month of Bible reading. Praise God! Today, we read in another of the “minor prophets.”


    Day 201 – Hosea 1 – 7. (the prophet of God to the northern kingdom of Israel, during King Jeroboam 2nd)


Hosea calls the northern kingdom “Ephraim” for the largest tribe, like the southern kingdom is called Judah.


“Ephraim” is enjoying a time of peace and prosperity under Jeroboam 2nd, but also moral corruption and religious idolatry. His prophesies cover the last six kings in quick succession until the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians.


In this book, Hosea’s married life is a picture of the relationship between the LORD and Israel. Hosea was to take a prostitute wife and have children with her. He married Gomer, and she bore him a son, whom he named “Jezreel,” signifying the God would soon punish and put an end to the house of Israel, whose winter capital was Jezreel.


Gomer conceived again and bore Hosea a daughter. God said to call her “No Mercy” for he would have no mercy on the house of Israel.


After that, Gomer bore another son, whom Hosea was to name “Not My People” because Israel was now not his people and He was not their God.


Yet even in these sad names, Hosea prophesied that one day the children of Judah and the children of Israel would be gathered together and be called “Children of the living God.


In poems, Hosea tells of the adulteries of Israel, wild and elaborate, and God’s faithful seeking her home, giving her, at that time, Mercy, and calling her My People again.


In Chapter 3, God tells Hosea to go find his wife, who has gone back into prostitution, to pay her bills and bring her home. Like the children of Israel will return and seek their God.


In Chapter 4’s poems, Hosea shows how the LORD accuses Israel of her lack of faithfulness and knowledge of God. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected it.”   


“My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles.  For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.”


“Hear this, O priests!  Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you. “


A scary, sad picture that Hosea paints in chapter 4 is God saying, “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face and in their distress, earnestly seek me.”


And, “They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds for grain and wine…..”


 

			


	



			
				


	

		
2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 200


					
Jul18
			


	

		
    Day 200—We are in the seventh month of Bible reading. Praise God!


    Day 200 –2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 29 – 31, Psalm 48. (Godly Hezekiah restores worship and Passover in Judah, then Sennacherib attacks)


The chapters in 2 Chronicles tell of the new King Hezekiah in Judah and how he “did right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.” 


Hezekiah removed the high places of idol worship and broke the pillars and Asherah. He even destroyed the bronze serpent Moses had made in the wilderness because the people had started to worship it. 


Hezekiah “trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there were none like him among all the kings of Judah after him or before him. He held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following Him but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. And THE LORD WAS WITH HIM. WHEREVER HE WENT OUT, HE PROSPERED.”


Right away, King Hezekiah gets the temple, the priests, and the Levites cleansed & concentrated so true worship of the LORD could be restored. The holy men responded and began the cleansing. They brought out the “filth from the Holy Place” and all uncleanness and dumped it in the Kidron valley.  For eight more days they consecrated the house of the LORD, putting back all the utensils used in the temple.


Then, with as many of the consecrated priests, they began the sin offerings to make atonement for all Israel. The Levites stood with instruments and encouraged the people to sing and worship the LORD. They sang the words of David and Asaph. They sang the songs with gladness, bowed down, and worshiped.


Psalm 48  


‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised,


in the city of our God!


His holy mountain,


beautiful in elevation,


is the joy of all the earth,


Mount Zion in the north,


the city of the great King.


We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,


in the midst of your temple.


As your name, O God,


so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.


Your right hand is filled with righteousness.


Let Mount Zion be glad!”


Then King Hezekiah invited any who were left in the northern kingdom of Israel to come and join Judah in the Passover celebration, so long neglected. He got jeers and mocking, but some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.


Hezekiah knew there wouldn’t be time for them to consecrate themselves and encouraged them with, “The LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you if you return to Him.”   When they arrived, he prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”  And the LORD HEARD Hezekiah. 


And there was such a joyous celebration of Passover! They stayed for the seven days of Unleavened Bread and extended it another seven days. The Levites and priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might to the LORD.  So they ate the food of the festival, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.


“There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David King of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.”  And the prayers of blessing by the priests and Levites arose and came to His holy habitation in heaven.


.


Then, as it always happens, after “mountain top experiences” come the “dark valleys.”


“After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib, King of Assyria, came and invaded Judah and encamped against them.”


And the Rabshakeh (commander and spokesman for Sennacherib) taunted the king and people of Jerusalem. “On what do you rest this trust of yours?   In whom do you now trust?  Egypt? They are nothing. If you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed???  


And to the people on the wall, he called, “DO NOT let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand.  DO NOT let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, the LORD will surely deliver us.  DO NOT listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you.  Has any of the gods of the nations EVER delivered his land out of the land of the king of Assyria???  Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that THE LORD SHOULD DELIVER JERUSALEM OUT OF MY HAND??”


However, the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.”  But the king’s chief of staff came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. 


And we’ll see what the godly Hezekiah does in the next chapter (2 Kings 19) in nine days. Meanwhile, Isaiah.