Tag Archive | bible-study

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 278 & 279

Oct6

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 278 – Reading – Matthew 4 and Luke 4 – 5

Day 279 – Reading – John 2 – 4

Read and believe in Jesus!

Day 278 – Sunday’s Matthew 4 and Luke 4.

After Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit (just recently coming down on him like a dove) led Him into the desert “to be tempted by the devil.” (A specific reason)  The testing would last for 40 days. (Like Israel was “baptized in the Red Sea, then was tested in the wilderness for 40 years.  THEY failed. Jesus did not.)

  • FIRST TEMPTATION: I’m sure Jesus spent the beginning of those days communing with His Father.  Then, towards the end, when He was pretty hungry, Satan came to Him slyly (as the serpent in Eden ) with the suggestion, “IF You are the Son of God … command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Jesus was hungry. Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus, who created those stones in the beginning, could very easily have turned them into bread. OR, created bread from nothing!  But, He would not sin and INDULGE Himself.  He answered Satan with the only thing that could make him run away: the Word of God. “IT IS WRITTEN, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3)

  • SECOND TEMPTATION: Then the devil took Jesus (in body, or in His mind) to a very tall mountain, and let him see all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, down through time. “All these I will give to you (for they have been given to me) IF You would fall down and worship me.”  

But Jesus knew that  He would one day rule all the Kingdoms of the earth for eternity. He would not sin and ACQUIRE them now by worshiping that Serpent.  Jesus again quoted scripture (Deut. 6:13), “It is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.'”

  • THIRD TEMPTATION: As a last resort, Satan took Jesus (in body or mind) to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem, a portion of the portico roof that extended beyond the wall over the Kidron Valley, a drop of perhaps 450 feet.  “IF you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ….for it is written;…. ‘He will command the angels concerning you to guard you. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot on a stone…'”  (And people will KNOW you are the Messiah!)

(Whoa, is Satan tricky, using the very Word of God to tempt. BEWARE!)

Jesus resisted this temptation to IMPRESS others, and in a strong, forceful voice, said, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” (Deut. 6:16)  And the devil left him – for a time – and angels came and ministered to Jesus. 

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LOOK AT those three temptations in the light of 1 John 2:15-17, because Satan tempts all believers in Christ the SAME way!  “LOVE NOT the world nor the things in it.” Then John gives the three areas of temptation, as Jesus experienced, that reveal loving the world.

  1. the lust of the flesh (a desire to INDULGE our bodily cravings of all kinds)
  2. the lust of the eyes  (a desire to ACQUIRE for ourselves the things our eyes see)
  3. the pride of life/possessions (a desire to IMPRESS others with our own glory)

And how are believers to fight these loves of the world?  Same as Jesus. 1 John 2:14b, ‘because the WORD of God abides in you and you are strong.’  Read, meditate on, and memorize God’s word.  IT’S A SWORD in the hand and heart of the believer.

Satan always tempts us in these three areas. 

Look at the very first time he appeared with Eve and tempted her to disobey God’s WORD.  Genesis 3:6 says, “So when the woman saw the tree WAS GOOD FOR FOOD, and that it was a DELIGHT TO THE EYES, and that it was to be desired TO MAKE ONCE WISE (like God) ... she TOOK its fruit and ate it.”  

Unlike Jesus, she YIELDED. She did not simply repeat God’s Word to Satan, “God said, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat.”  Period.

  • (Oh, LORD, please help me to learn from this. Help me to be aware of the ways Satan would get me to sin. And Help me to use Your Word as a Sword, to defeat his wiles.  LORD, please help me to see HOW IMPORTANT reading and memorizing your word is, and do it!)

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Read the other parts of today’s scripture (the rest of Matthew 4 and Luke 5.

After his baptism and temptations, Jesus began His ministry. 

  1. He began choosing His disciples (Luke includes Levi)
  2. traveling throughout all Galilee, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
  3. healing every disease and affliction.

In Jesus’ own synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 61:1-2, and announced that this scripture was speaking about HIM.  He got mixed reactions:  first, they marveled at his gracious words, then they were so full of jealousy and wrath that they drove him out of town.

But demons listened to and obeyed Him, and fled from their victims “post haste.”

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Monday’s reading – Day 279 – John 2.

Jesus’ first “sign” miracle was turning large jugs of water into wine at a family wedding feast.  The host ran out of wine!!! (a huge, embarrassing no-no) Jesus’ mother came to Him with the problem and left the results entirely in His hands. 

(By the way, this is a good example of how to pray for our needs. Tell the Lord about your needs, worries, and emergencies … then leave the results up to Him, trusting He will answer in a way that is good for you and will bring glory to Him.)

Jesus acted quickly and quietly, behind the scenes.

What were the results of this first sign-miracle?  The host was vastly relieved.  The guests and newlyweds were happy. The servants who SAW the miracle firsthand were amazed. 

And Jesus’ disciples believed in Him.  (The exact reason John wrote this Gospel. See John 20:31)

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John 3.

Another very familiar chapter, with the MOST WELL-KNOWN VERSE in the Bible.

Jesus met up with one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, late one night. 

I always picture it in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus and His disciples often went to “chill out” while in Judea.  But the Bible does not say where they met. It might have been in the house where Jesus was staying.  “Probably,” John was quietly in the background, for he recorded their conversation word for word. 

Nicodemus was trying to ascertain for sure if Jesus was sent from God.  Was He the Messiah?

But Jesus, who came to die for the sins of Nicodemus and others, pointed the Pharisee to the more important issue.  He needed to be born again, born from above, born of the Spirit.  There was no way he could get into the Messiah’s Kingdom without a heart change.

Nicodemus should have known this; he WAS a teacher of the Law, after all.  For the very prophets he studied spoke over and over, that when the Messiah came, He would “take out their stony hearts and give them a heart of flesh.”

 But Nicodemus got hung up on the “born again” part.  Huh?  Go back into his mom’s womb…..??

“These are not physical things, but SPIRITUAL things that they were talking about. Faith, trust, belief.

Jesus compares himself to the serpent form that Moses held up in the wilderness. Those who looked on it in faith were healed.  HE would be lifted up, too. (on a cross)  “Whoever believes in Him will live eternally.”

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“Because God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son (Jesus gesturing to himself), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.

“This is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil.

“Whoever does what is true comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

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“Think about this, Nicodemus!” Jesus might have said, while shaking his hand. “You are not so very far from the Messiah’s Kingdom.”

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John 4.

This is that glorious story where Jesus, a Jewish man and teacher, sits down at a well and has a conversation with 1) a woman, 2) alone, 3) who is a “hated” Samaritan, and reveals that He is the Christ she’s been looking for, and offers her the water of Life.  

(Samaritans were hated because of long ago. when the Assyrians conquered Israel and deported most of the Jews to other lands, they brought back foreigners to run the business and agriculture of the land.  These pagan, idol-worshipers intermarried with the Jews that were left, mixing the pure religion of Jehovah with idolatry. They are called Samaritans because they settled around the old Northern Kingdom’s capital of Samaria.)

But Jesus sees hearts, and this woman’s heart was crying out for help, and love, and life.

Jesus offered it to her, and after confessing her sins, she believed and received it.  She also became an ardent missionary, running immediately to tell the whole town that she was saved, and that the Savior – the Man who revealed to her about her whole life – was there, in Samaria.  “Come and see!!”

MANY Samaritans believed that day.

Jesus said to the astonished disciples, “Look and see the fields! They are white for harvest! Pray for more workers!”

Back north in Galilee, past Cana (Yes, where the water to wine happened) to Capernaum, an official came running to Jesus, panicked about his son who was deathly ill. 

Man: “Sir, please come down before my son dies!”

Jesus: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. (Was Jesus thinking about the faith of the Samaritan woman?) “Go, your son will live.”

The man BELIEVED the word Jesus spoke!

And Lo, and Behold, when he arrived home, his son was completely well – ever since the time when Jesus spoke!

And THEN, he truly believed, and all his household.  

John calls this the SECOND sign that Jesus was the Son of God.  He healed a person who was at the brink of death.

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 277

Oct4

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 277 – Reading – Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW

Matthew’s other name was Levi.  Before following Jesus, he was a hated, but wealthy, Tax Collector (or Publican). The Jews did not like him, but he had a lot going for him. He had to collect a certain amount for the Romans, but anything else was his. Tax Collectors often added exorbitant amounts to the required fees, making themselves very rich (think of Zacchaeus). 

When Jesus called Matthew, he immediately got up and left it all behind. (Including his Tax booth, from which looters probably made a good haul.)

Matthew’s Gospel was the first written, about 20 years before Jerusalem was destroyed. He presents Jesus as the “Messiah, King of the Jews,” so many scriptures tie Jesus to the Old Testament. The phrase, “the Kingdom of Heaven,” occurs 32 times.  The main body of his Gospel is divided into five sections, each with an important teaching.  Some have paralleled these with the 5 books of Moses.

The rejection of Israel’s Messiah is a constant theme, more than in the other Gospels.  He shows the most attacks on Jesus himself, from Herod’s murder of the babies in Bethlehem, to the vivid scene at the cross.

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MARK

Mark is the shortest Gospel. It moves quickly. (Notice how often he uses the word “immediately.”) It’s like that old Dragnet show, “Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.”  Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mark pictures Jesus as “the Servant.” His audience seems to be Roman (or Gentile) believers.

Mark (or John Mark) was a young cousin of Barnabas.  He started out with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.  But when they got to Perga, Mark found the work too hard, gave up, and sailed back home “to Mama.”

When P & B were planning their second missionary journey, to check on the churches they’d established, Barnabas (the encourager) wanted Mark to try again, but Paul said an emphatic “No!”  They quarreled a bit, and Barnabas ended up taking Mark and going on their own. Paul, meanwhile, enlisted Silas.  TWO missionary teams were now on the scene.

However, later, Paul had to change his mind about the young man.  Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:11 to “get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” 

(Don’t give up, you who are struggling and making mistakes each day!! God is not done with you yet.)

Simon Peter also had a good influence on young Mark. In 1 Peter 5:13, he called him, “Mark, my son.” Peter was always the quickest to act among Jesus’ disciples, and the one who made the lion’s share of mistakes, so it is likely he identified with Mark and was the source of information for Mark’s Gospel. Several personal accounts of Peter’s life can be found in it.

 

Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3 – John the Baptist.

All three of these Gospels present John as the “forerunner” to Jesus. All three of them quote either Isaiah 40 or Malachi 5 about John being “a voice crying in the wilderness; ‘prepare the way of the Lord.’” and “God’s messenger, who will prepare the way,”

Instead of becoming a priest like his father, Zechariah, John spent his years “in the wilderness,” dressed in clothes that would endure the elements, camel’s hair and leather.  He existed on bugs (or maybe pods from the Locust tree) and honey.  Truly, the picture of a prophet. Then, at age 30, the call came and he began preparing the way for the Messiah.

How?  By calling Israel to repentance.  By condemning their sin and telling them how to change. And by baptizing them to show outwardly the cleansing they sought.  Hearts remorseful about their sin and eager for change were the kind of people the Messiah sought. John addressed the crowds, the religious leaders, the tax collectors, and the soldiers about their sin and how to bear the fruits of righteousness.

And always John pointed to the soon coming One, who was greater, mightier, more worthy, and who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Lamb of God.

And then, there He was, asking to be baptized.  At first, John refused, but when Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for this it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” he agreed.  Jesus wanted to thoroughly be identified with the people He had come to save, though He personally had NO SIN to repent of.

Then John witnessed “the sign” that proved to him who this man, Jesus, was.  As Jesus came up from the water, “the heavens werre opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  

It was the sign that God had previously given to John, that indeed Jesus was the One.  It was a sign to Jesus that His time of ministry, for which He had come to earth, had begun.  And God was very pleased with Him.

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LUKE takes a moment here to review Jesus’ genealogy for his friend, Theophilus.  Since he’s presenting Jesus as “Man,” he traces the line all the way back to Adam and to God.  

NOTE: Luke begins with Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, saying he was the “son” of Heli. But this was Mary’s father, so in fact, Joseph was his “son-in-law.”  Mary (through her father) could trace her line back to King David, too, except it was through his son, Nathan, and not Solomon.

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All three of these Gospel accounts show the Holy Spirit “driving” Jesus into the wilderness to be “tempted by Satan for forty days.” Matthew and Luke do it in the next chapters.  Mark does it quickly here, in verses 12-13, then rushes on to tell about Jesus’ ministry:

  • Jesus proclaims the Gospel of God, saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.”
  • Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, saying, “Follow me.”
  • Jesus also calls James and John, who also left their nets and followed Jesus.
  • Jesus teaches “with authority” in the synagogue at Capernaum.
  • Jesus casts out a demon, amazing the congregation.
  • Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, and then heals ALL in the crowds of sick people or those oppressed by demons.
  • Jesus touches and heals a leper, who then went everywhere telling about his miraculous cleansing.

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(LORD, thank you for John the Baptist and his brave proclamation about Jesus. Please help me to be bold in telling others about sin, and Jesus’ so great a salvation.)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 275

Oct2

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 275 – Reading – Matthew 1 and Luke 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW.

Yes! Read the genealogy!  (Don’t worry about pronunciation.) 

If you’ve been with me in the Old Testament study, you will recognize some names. (Most recently, Jechoniah/Jehoiachin [the king who surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and was later honored] and Zerubbabel.)  Also, there are FOUR women mentioned, three by name. (Can you find them?)  THIS genealogy is the history of Joseph, Mary’s husband, and the stepfather of Jesus.  It traces the ROYAL line and places Jesus firmly in the kingly heritage of King David, as God promised this “man after His heart.”

(Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’ lineage through another son of King David, Nathan (not the prophet), down to Mary, which avoids the curse on the later kings of Judah). 

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Matthew 1.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham down, through King Solomon to Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph.  

Matthew also gives us a glimpse of the man, Joseph, who is called a “just man.”  When he learned/SAW that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant and knew the baby was NOT his, Joseph had the right by Jewish Law to either have her “stoned to death” or divorce her.  He loved Mary, so he decided to divorce her quietly. 

Had Mary told him the story of Gabriel’s announcement? Did he not believe her? Was it too outlandish?

But before he could start proceedings, the angel of the Lord (Gabriel?) appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph! son of David! Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Savior), for He will save His people from their sins.

This fulfilled what the LORD had spoken to the prophet Isaiah, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), and “they will call Him Immanuel, or ‘God with us.'” (Isaiah 8:8, 10)

So, the “just, but obedient” man, Joseph, did as the angel commanded and married the pregnant Mary.  But they stayed apart, intimately, until after she gave birth. 

Oh, and they did call the baby JESUS, as the angel told Joseph.

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Luke 2.

This is the most familiar account of the birth of Jesus, with portions of it printed on many Christmas cards each year.  So often is it read in December that many of us could recite the 20 verses by heart. (Our son, a 6th grader at the time, did just that for Bible reading at our church one Christmas Sunday.).

Old Caesar Augustus thought it a good idea to “register” everyone in the Roman Empire. He commanded “all the world” to go to their ancestral town and be counted. It was primarily to register young Roman men for the draft.  Formerly, Israel had been exempt from a census because Jewish men did not serve in the Roman army. But this census (to be repeated every 14 years) would also enable Augustus to levy poll taxes on everyone.

So, as we’ve seen in the genealogies, Joseph was in the line of David, so he had to travel the 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, David’s ancestral home. The same with Mary.

But … Mary’s due date was only days away!  Nevertheless, they traveled with a large family group to Bethlehem.  (Of course, we KNOW this was to fulfill prophecy about where the Messiah would be born. (Micah 5:2).  

They walked (or rode) and arrived in a completely packed town. Mary started having contractions.  The only private place was where they kept the animals, so Joseph booked it. Mary started labor as the animals looked on.

In hours, Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was pushed out into a hostile world which would, in a mere 33 years, horrifically kill Him. But for now, He was held safely in warm swaddling cloths, close to Mary’s breast. Later, he was placed in a straw-filled, stone feed trough while Mary slept.

So many prophecies fulfilled.  So many more to be fulfilled. God’s plan of salvation had begun.

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Meanwhile, those shepherds outside Bethlehem got a FIVE-STAR show in the midnight sky.  First,  an angel appeared in lightning brightness with a heavenly birth announcement.

“FEAR NOT! For behold, I bring you Good News of great joy for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ (Messiah), the Lord.” 

The angel went on to tell the shepherds HOW they would recognize this Savior-Messiah. “You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger …. YES, a manger.”

Then that glorious, brilliant, light and song of a million angels began. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.”

Then a silence and blackness.  It took the shepherds a few minutes for their hearts to slow, their vision and hearing to return.  They looked at each other. “Did you…?” “Yes!” “The Messiah…?”  “I KNOW!”  And then, the agreed, “Let’s go!”   And forsaking their sheep (sleeping through it all, no doubt), and ran as one towards Bethlehem.  The star – Yes, THAT star – pointed to the stable.  AND THEY FOUND HIM just as they’d been told. 

When the excitement ended, and the now-awake Jesus was shown around, the shepherds told the young family about the angels, the announcement, and the glorious singing.  Mary, eyes large as saucers, “treasured up all these things in her heart.”

Eventually, the shepherds left, but they weren’t finished.  They went back glorifying and praising God, and sharing all they had heard and seen with everyone they met.

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Eight days later, as per the Law of Moses, baby Jesus was circumcised as a sign he was a Son of the Covenant (a Jew). At that time, He also officially got his name, Jesus. 

Forty days after his birthday, Mary and Joseph, again according to the Law of Moses, went to the temple to present (and redeem) Jesus, and to offer the sacrifice of 2 doves to show that the purification of Mary had been completed.  (Only then could her marriage to Joseph be consummated.)

While they were there, they met two elderly senior citizens: the righteous and devout Simeon, and the godly, widowed praying prophetess, Anna.  Both had been waiting a lifetime for that day….. the day they would see the Messiah of Israel. 

Simeon took the baby in his arms and prophesied over him.

“My eyes, Lord, have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon handed back Jesus and said with a sweet sigh, “Now I can depart in peace.”

After seeing Jesus, Anna began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

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(Luke here omits the visit from the Eastern Kings, and the family’s hurried trip to and stay in Egypt.) 

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He tells of them going back to Nazareth, and Jesus growing strong and filled with wisdom. His parents also saw God’s favor on Him.

Luke then fast-forwards to when Jesus was twelve and the family made the annual trip to Jerusalem for Passover.  After the feast days, they returned, but later discovered that Jesus was nowhere to be found.  His parents hurried back to Jerusalem and searched high and low for the boy. 

Yes, they found him and were both relieved and angry. 

He was at the Temple conversing with the Teachers of the Law (scribes and Pharisees). He was asking and answering questions about the Law, and these learned men were amazed at His wisdom.

Mary scolded Him (hopefully not in front of the Teachers, for at 12, He was considered a man).

Jesus answered that He was in His Father’s House.  Whoa, a slight that Joseph, whom He obeyed and respected, was NOT His true Father.

“What….?” they answered. (More stuff for Mary to ponder in her heart.)

But Jesus obediently returned to Nazareth with them.  And He continued to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man  (….for 18 more years).

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 273

Sep30

Day 273 – Reading –  Malachi  1 – 4

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

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

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

Malachi also addresses these sins.

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Malachi 1.

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

The LORD: “I have loved you.”

People: “How have you loved us?”

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

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Then God zooms down on the corrupt PRIESTS.

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

Priests: “How have we despised Your name?”

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

Priests: “How have we polluted you?”

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

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

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

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Malachi 2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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And then it seems God has had enough.

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

People and priests: “How have we wearied Him?

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

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Malachi 3.

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

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

Notice the TWO MESSENGERS that God promises to send. 

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

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Then comes more of their rebellious conversation with God.

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

The people:  “How have we robbed you? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Malachi 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 271 & 272

Sep29

Day 271 – Reading – Nehemiah  8 – 10

Day 272 – Reading Nehemiah 11 – 13, and Psalm 126

Today’s reading tells of the people weeping, experiencing “the joy of the LORD,” celebrating and rejoicing, and a deep and long confession of their sin and the sins of their ancestors, ending in a solemn commitment in writing to obey God.  All this … because they heard God’s Word read and explained.

(****Oh, LORD, may my reading and study of Your word elicit weeping, confession of sin, then joy & celebration with a commitment to love and obey You…from my heart.)

Day 271 – Nehemiah 8.

It was the first of the seventh month, usually when the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated.  The people gathered as one to hear the Law of Moses read.  A wooden platform was built to elevate Ezra and 14 other priests who would help to read and explain the law. This was set up in the large area facing the Water Gate, south of the Temple Mount. 

Ezra opened the scroll, and all the people stood.  He blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people said, “Amen, amen.” 

While the people stood in their places, they read from the book of The Law of God, clearly, and gave the sense (meaning) so the people understood.  They read from early morning until midday, about six hours or more…. all standing.  And all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

Nehemiah and Ezra said to the people. “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  They told the people to go their way, eat and drink sweet wine, and send food to those who had nothing ready. It was a holy day to the LORD.  So there was great rejoicing.

The next day, all the heads of fathers’ houses, with the priests and Levites, came together to Ezra to study the words of the Law. They found it written that the people should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should publish it in the surrounding area. “Go out to the hills and bring branches and make booths.” 

So they obeyed and set up booths everywhere, living in them for the week. And day by day, they read from the Book of the Law of God.  They celebrated for seven days, and on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

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Nehemiah 9.

And so, in the spirit of the solemn Day of Atonement, the people of Israel assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and earth thrown on their heads (a sign of deep contrition). 

They STOOD and CONFESSED their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 

They stood and read the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of a day. For another quarter of the day, they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.

On the stairs, the high priest Jeshua and other priests cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.

Then Jeshua and the others told the people to stand up and bless the LORD their God.

“From everlasting to everlasting, Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. YOU are the LORD, YOU alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve all of them, and the host of heaven worships You. You are the LORD, the God who chose Abraham….  And You have kept Your promise, for You are righteous.

And throughout the day, they recited the history of how God dealt with His chosen people, Israel.

  • “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love … and you did not forsake them….. even when they made a golden calf…
  • “You in your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness…”
  • “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold your manna…. and gave them water… sustaining them for forty years.
  • “You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner.”
  • “You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven…”
  • “So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.”

They confessed the sin and rebellion of their fathers.

  • “But they were disobedient and rebelled and cast your law behind them….
  • “You gave them to their enemies who made them suffer…
  • “But when they cried out to You, You heard from heaven and sent saviors….
  • “Yet they turned again away from You and did evil… so You sent their enemies again.
  • “Many times You delivered them according to Your mercies.
  • “Many years You bore with them and warned them, yet they would not listen.
  • “Nevertheless, in Your great mercies, You did not make an end of them or forsake them, for YOU are a gracious and merciful God.

Now, they confess their own sins, and acknowledge that where they are, is because of their sin. 

  • “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, You have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
  • “Our kings, princes, priests and fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to Your commandments and warnings, they did not serve You or turn from their wicked ways…..
  • And now, behold, WE ARE SLAVES THIS DAY, in this land You gave our fathers to enjoy.  WE ARE SLAVES, and the land’s rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins.  They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in distress.

And so they wrote and signed a “firm covenant” to obey God and not repeat the sins of their fathers. 

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Nehemiah 10.

The people who signed the Covenant are listed in detail at the top of this chapter. Nehemiah, the Governor, is first. Then, all the leaders and nobles, priests, Levites, temple workers, and of the laity, those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the land to the Law of God, with their wives and children. They enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses, and to do all the commandments of the LORD.   They also pledged to give the yearly Temple tax to support the religious workers, and the regular required offerings. 

“We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and of all fruit trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD.  Also, the firstborn of our sons, our cattle, herds, and flocks.”

“We will not neglect the house of our God.”

(These are bold and righteous commitments.  Can they keep them? (If they were like me and the people today, probably not, sadly.)

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Day 272 – Nehemiah 11

The leaders of the people lived INSIDE Jerusalem, while the rest of the people lived outside the walls in their towns and villages.   So the people cast lots to bring ONE OUT OF TEN to live inside the city walls.  Nehemiah did this to hurry up the reestablishment of homes and businesses in Jerusalem.  Names of people and places are listed in this chapter.

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Nehemiah 12.

Before the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, there were 24 courses of priests, each course serving in the temple for a period of two weeks per year. (King David set up the schedule.)

Sadly, only FOUR of the 24 courses returned from Babylon.  These were now divided into 24 courses. 

  • (Only 22 are mentioned here, perhaps because these priestly families died out with no sons to follow at the time Zerubbabel originally named them.)

Next, the finished wall around Jerusalem was dedicated.   All the Levites were called in to celebrate the dedications with GLADNESS, THANKSGIVINGS, and SINGING.

The Priests and Levites first purified themselves, and then they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

Then Nehemiah brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two “great choirs” to give thanks.  One half went all the way south along the wall, and the other went to the north to meet them, all surrounding the House of the LORD.

They sang, offered sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. “And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away!   For long ago in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” 

(Thank you, David.  And thanks to all our own music directors and leaders who lead congregations in praise in churches around the world!)

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Psalm 126.

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them”

The LORD has done great things for us;

We are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like streams in the Negev!

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home wit shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.

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Nehemiah 13.

Now in the 32nd year of King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah returned to Persia as he said he would.  He’d organized and led the people to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and they’d done it with God’s help and protection. The wall had been dedicated.  

But while he was back in Persia, bad things were happening again.  He (obviously) got news of it and asked permission from the king to return.

Problem #1. While they were reading from the Law of Moses each day in the annual cycle, they came on the portion (Deut. 23:3-6) that said “No Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the Assembly of God because of that event with Balaam cursing them as they approached the Promised Land.”

As soon as they heard that law, the people separated out those of foreign descent from the temple workers, but…..  before the reading and the doing of this law, something awful had happened.  One of the priests – Eliashib, whom Nehemiah had caught siding with the enemy earlier (Neh. 2:10) – had smuggled Tobiah into one of the storage rooms of the temple, and he was LIVING THERE!   THE NERVE!

(You remember Tobiah, right?  He and Sanballat were two of the main hindrances to Nehemiah’s wall work.)

SO…………  when Nehemiah got back, he was VERY ANGRY!  He threw out Tobiah and all his household furniture from the chamber. Then he gave orders for the chamber to be cleansed, and for the vessels of the House of God to be brought back in.

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Problem #2. And while he was at it, Nehemiah found that the portions of support had not been given to the Levites, so they had gone home to work in their fields. 

Nehemiah confronted the officials, gathered the Levites back to their stations, and got after the people until they brought their tithes of grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. He then appointed a reliable priest, a scribe, a Levite, and his assistant to fairly distribute to the Levites. 

Then Nehemiah prayed, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for His service.”

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Problem #3. Then our eagle-eyed Nehemiah spotted people working on the Sabbath. They were treading grapes in the winepresses, and bringing in heaps of grain and fruit and fish which they loaded and brought into Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath!!!   

Nehemiah confronted the leaders about this broken law. “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?  Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city??? You are bringing MORE wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

Nehemiah began closing all the gates in the walls of Jerusalem as it started to get dark before the Sabbath.  He gave orders for them not to be opened until AFTER the Sabbath.  And he stationed his guards to make sure it happened. 

Problem #4. Sooo… the merchants simply unloaded all their stuff outside the wall and held a “market” there.  But Nehemiah got after them as well.  “If you do this again, I will lay hands on you!”

He then told the Levites that THEY should purify themselves and come guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day HOLY.

And Nehemiah prayed, “Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.”

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Problem #5. And….. AGAIN…… Nehemiah saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod (Philistia), Ammon, and Moab.  And half their children couldn’t even speak Hebrew.

Nehemiah confronted them.  And cursed them.   And beat some of them.  And pulled out their hair!

(I’d say he was pretty angry and zealous for the LORD!!)

And Nehemiah made them swear an oath NOT to give their daughters or take daughters to foreigners.

“Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women???  Among the nations, there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel……. nevertheless, FOREIGN WOMEN made even him to sin!  Shall YOU now act treacherously against our God?

Nehemiah noticed that one of the sons of the high priest had married one of Sanballat’s daughters!!!  Nehemiah CHASED HIM AWAY!

And Nehemiah prayed, “Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Problems #6+. Then Nehemiah cleansed them from everything foreign … and he established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work … and he provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for first fruits.

Wow.

And he prayed, “Remember me, O my God, for good.”

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(What a man and what a leader Nehemiah was!  He was strong and hard on sin.  He did not get distracted from his work. He honored his word.  He was honest and giving.  It seems he knew MORE of the law than even the priests and Levites knew.  He led the people in righteousness. And he prayed … again and again.

O LORD, for men in leadership like this today!  And I ask that some of Nehemiah’s “straight path” ways would be evident in me too.)

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 270

Sep27

Day 270 – Reading –  Nehemiah  6 – 7

Nehemiah 6. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Nehemiah 7.

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

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

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

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

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

Nehemiah updated this record.

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 269

Sep26

Day 269 – Reading – Nehemiah  1 – 5

Next in the 3rd book of the exile history is Nehemiah.

It begins in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes’ reign in the Persian capital of Susa. Nehemiah, born into Jewish exile, was neither a prophet, priest, nor descendant in the royal line. He was a working man in a high and trusted position of “cup-bearer” to the king.

It was his duty to personally serve the King’s wine, even to first swallow some if there was a concern about poison.  It was a lucrative position.  Nehemiah had gained personal wealth as mentioned in Neh. 8:5, 10, 14, & 17.

Nehemiah was also a man of prayer. This book records TWELVE of his prayers. Several of them are very short, “arrow” prayers, showing that Nehemiah knew God, had a close relationship with Him, and could send brief, urgent requests as the need arose, confident that the LORD  would hear and answer.

The book of Nehemiah was written by Ezra.

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Nehemiah 1.

One day, Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, visited him, having just arrived from Judah. Nehemiah quizzed him about what was happening, and the brother spoke of bad news. The remnant there was in “great trouble and shame.” The walls and gates of Jerusalem, which King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed and burned nearly 200 years before, were still in a state of rubble.  The Holy City, the Temple, and the people were defenseless. 

This broke Nehemiah’s heart, and he began fasting and praying to the God of Heaven. (1:5-11) 

  1. He acknowledged that the people of Israel had sinned greatly in God’s sight. 
  2. He confessed that this is the reason they were scattered among the nations. 
  3. He reminded God of his promise to gather them back to the land … which He had.
  4. Then Nehemiah asked that God would give him good success when he put a request before the king that day.

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Nehemiah 2.

The scene is now in the dinner hall of the palace. Nehemiah is waiting upon the king. He pours a wine glass and gives it to Artaxerxes.

The king looks up into Nehemiah’s face, expecting to see a calm, assured smile. (It was against the law to have a sad or mad face in the presence of royalty.)

“Why is your face sad?“ he asked. “You’re not sick, are you?“ (e.g. Did you drink poison???)  Then the king looks closer, sits back, and says to his butler knowingly, “This is nothing but sadness of the heart.”

Nehemiah gulps and says, “Let the king live forever! But why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

Putting his fingertips together and raising an eyebrow, Artaxerxes asks, “What are you requesting?”

Here is one of Nehemiah’s “arrow” prayers.  All that’s said is, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.”  Then he states his request. 

“If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight … that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s graves, that I may rebuild it.

The king glances at the queen, who is sitting beside him, then asks, “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?”   (It would be 12 years before his return. see Neh. 5:14)

Boldly, Nehemiah asked the king for letters, 1.) to the governors of the “province Beyond the River” that would let him pass through, 2.) to the keepers of the forest to get timber for the gates and the house he would live in.  The king granted him all … “because the good hand of my God was upon me.”

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Nehemiah arrived and was there three days before anyone knew it.  He wanted to see the situation with his own eyes, so at night he tried to ride around the city. He looked at the rubble, especially the destroyed gates, making plans as he went, until he reached a point that was impassable, and returned. (The Valley Gate, Dung Gate, Fountain Gate, and the King’s Pool.)

Then he approached the city officials and the people, and told them how God had been with him, and how the king had okayed the project. “Let us rise up and build!”

FIRST OPPOSITION:  When the neighboring governors (Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab) heard it, they jeered and protested. “What?? Are you rebelling against the king?”  they cried.

“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you, YOU, have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem!” responded Nehemiah.

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Nehemiah 3.

Read this chapter as you follow the map. It lists the Gates and portions of the wall that each group worked on, starting at the top.

Beginning with the High Priest and other priests at the Sheep Gate, the Tower of the Hundred, and the Tower of Hananel, these worked nearest to the Temple of God.   

Another group of priests worked on the Fish Gate and the Gate of Yeshanah.

Others worked all the way down the western side to the Dung Gate, the King’s Garden, and the Pool. 

More workers repaired on the ascent, or Eastern side at the Water Gate, Horse Gate,  Muster Gate, and the Corner Tower and Gate of the Guard. They closed the gap at the Sheep Gate again.  

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Nehemiah 4.

SECOND OPPOSITION:  Sanballat came again, angry and jeering. He said in the presence of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing?  Will they restore it for themselves?  Will they sacrifice?  Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish?”

Tobiah, beside him, said, “Yes, they are building.  But if a fox goes upon it, he will break down their stone wall.”

Nehemiah doesn’t fight with shouts and fist-waving.  He prays to God,  “Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked You to anger in the presence of the builders.”

When Sanballat and Tobiah, along with the Arabs and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls was going well, and the breaches were getting closed, they were VERY ANGRY.  They all plotted together to come, and fight, and cause confusion.

But what did Nehemiah do?  And we prayed to our God and set a guard day and night.”

But a quiet unease began to spread among the workers.

  • “Our strength is failing.
  • There is too much rubble. 
  • By ourselves, we won’t be able to rebuild the wall. 
  • Our families are telling us to come home.
  • Our enemies said they would come in and kill us.”

So, Nehemiah, in the lowest parts of the wall, stationed the people by clans with swords, spears, and bows. 

And he encouraged them with, “Do not be afraid of them, Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

And from that day on, half of his servants worked on the construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.  And the laborers worked with one hand on a tool and one hand on a weapon.  And he told everyone, if they heard the sound of a trumpet, they were to rally to the spot and help.

All of Nehemiah’s own brothers, servants, and guards did not take off their clothes, but stayed inside the wall all night, with a weapon in hand.

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Nehemiah 5.

Another problem arose about the lack of food and supplies, and families going hungry.  Just like in Jerusalem in the days before the fall, the wealthier people were mistreating the poor.  Sons and daughters were being sold as laborers/slaves to pay for food. Vineyards, fields, and houses were being taken for taxes.

“WHAT IS THIS??” An angry Nehemiah wanted to know. He was very angry, and as governor, he brought charges against the nobles and officials. “You ought to walk in the fear of our God.   My brothers and I are lending them grain and money. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.  Return this very day, their fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses.  AND return the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you took!

Meekly, the elders and officials said, “We will restore and require nothing further. We will do as you say.”  And the people DID as they said.  (WOW!)

Nehemiah adds that in all the 12 years he and his brothers were there, they did NOT TAKE THE GOVERNOR’S ALLOWANCE.   Also, he bought no land and fed many at his own expense.  He and his servants were there to work… to the glory of his God.

And he prayed, “Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people”

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 268

Sep25

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).

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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.

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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.)

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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:

  1. Confess your sin to the LORD your God, and
  2. 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.)  

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**** 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.

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Esther 6.

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

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

“No, my lord.“

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

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

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

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

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

MORDECAI???  (Gag, choke)

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

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

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Esther 7.

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

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

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

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

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

The Agagite is horror-stricken and speechless!

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

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

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

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

“HANG HIM ON THAT,” decreed the king.

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

 

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

Deuteronomy 25:17-19

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

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

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

 

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

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Esther 8.

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

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

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

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

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

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Esther 9.

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

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

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

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Esther 10.

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 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.

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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.)

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.  Can you wait?