Tag Archive | prayer

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 258.

Sep15

Day 258 – Reading – Daniel 7 – 9

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

Day 258.  Daniel 7.

In the following three (6) giantchapters are the prophetic visions that Daniel had of the near and distant future. They are hard to understand, but with some help, we can gain a little knowledge.

This prophetic vision backtracks to the time of Belshazzar, the Babylonian king.  This time, Daniel had a dream, and in the morning, he wrote down the dream and the “sum” of it.

He saw four huge beasts emerge from the sea. 

  • One was like a lion with wings.  The wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up to stand on two feet. It was given the mind of a man.
  • The second beast was like a bear. It had three ribs in its mouth.  It was told to go and devour much flesh.
  • The third beast was like a leopard with four wings on its back.  It also had four heads. Dominion was given to it.
  • Then, Daniel saw a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong.  It had great iron teeth, and it devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet.  It had ten horns. Then a little horn grew up and plucked out three of the horns by the roots.  And this little horn had the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Whoa!

These four beasts represent the same empires that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream-statue portrayed. The “sea” that they emerged from is the Mediterranean Sea (area).

  • The lion with wings represents Babylon. (Images of these were carved into the city gates.)
  • The bear is Medo-Persia, with the ribs representing all its vanquished nations.
  • The leopard represents Greece. The four heads represent the four generals who divided the kingdom after Alexander the Great died. (Macedonia, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt)
  • The fourth beast represents the Roman Empire. Its dominion fell apart, but it will be revived and returned to greatness near Christ’s second coming. It will consist of 10 parts ruled by 10 kings, then a final 11th king who will be Antichrist.

Daniel’s vision then goes forward to when the Ancient of Days will give judgment on him, and Christ will destroy him.  And glory and dominion will then be given to the King of Kings.

More details are then given about these end times, including the 3.5 years of great tribulation.

And Daniel?  Whoa. His thoughts greatly alarmed him, he paled, but he kept the matter in his heart.

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Daniel 8.

The next dream that Daniel had was while Belshazzar was still king. 

He saw a ram on the bank of a Canal. It had two tall horns, but one was taller.  He charged westward, northward, and southward. No beast could stand before him. He did as he pleased and became great.

Then a male goat came from the west across the face of the earth, without touching the ground.  It had a prominent horn between its eyes.  It came to the ram on the bank of the canal and ran at it.  The goat struck and broke the ram’s two horns, so it had no more power. The goat trampled the ram, and it died.  The goat then became exceedingly great.

But when it was great, the big horn was broken, and there came up four smaller horns facing the four winds. ONE of the horns grew really great, even to the stars. It faced “the Glorious Land.” And the burnt offerings and sanctuary were given to him for 2,300 days.

Okay, whoa again.

Then he heard a voice from heaven. “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”  And Gabriel told Daniel that this vision was for the time of the End, and Daniel was told to “seal it up.” 

First came the ram (Persia) and the goat (Greece) and the divided parts, one of whose leaders became Antiochus Epiphanes, who was then mirrored in the Antichrist, who would be in power for 6 1/3 years: the tribulation and Great Tribulation.

 “I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision, and did not understand it.”   (We didn’t either, Daniel!)

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Daniel 9.

Now we jump forward until after the defeat of Babylon, in the first year that Darius is reigning as king over the Chaldeans.

Daniel was reading in the books of Israel, and read in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, that 70 years would pass after the destruction of Jerusalem for Judah to be in exile.  The end of those 70 years was near, so Daniel began to pray.

Such a long, heart-felt prayer of confession, and adoration, and petition!!  (Oh, read the whole prayer several times!)

O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keeps His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from Your commandments and rules.

We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name …  To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame … because of the treachery that they have committed against you.  To us, O LORD belongs open shame … because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. 

And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us… by bringing about this great calamity.

Yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our god. We have not turned from our iniquities and gained insight by your truth. We have not obeyed… We have sinned, we have done wickedly.

O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your Holy hill, because, for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers. Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us!

Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for Your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by Your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive, O Lord, pay attention and act.

Delay not, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.

And while he was praying, confessing his sin and the sin of his people Israel, and presenting his plea before the LORD for the holy hill of God… while he was speaking, the man, Gabriel came to him. 

“O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you (for you are greatly loved) understanding of the vision.

It was not just 70 years, but 470 years about the people and the holy city, when God would put an end to sin and atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. 

And he gives Danial more specific amounts of time until “the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

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(WOW. What a prayer. Oh, to pray that way for myself and others, my fellow believers and the unsaved!!)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 165

Jun14

Day 165.  Reading 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
*What truth about God stays in your mind?
 
Today’s reading is similar to yesterday’s verses in 1 Kings, about Solomon’s blessing the people of Israel and his prayer of dedication of the Temple.

2 Chronicles 6 and 2 Chronicles 7a.

Verses of note:

  • “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David, my father.”
  • “Now the LORD has fulfilled His promise that He made.”

God’s word is ever true, and we can be sure He will “fulfill what he promises.”

  • “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to Your servants who walk before you with all their hearts.”
  • “Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house that I have built.”

Then Solomon prays for all the “if-then” times when Israel will fail and sin, and God will bring disaster on them … that if they turn, repent, and pray, that God will indeed HEAR and FORGIVE.

  • “…then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart You know, according to all his ways, for You, You only, know the hearts of the children of mankind.”

Even when Israel is taken into captivity for their sin, perversion, and wickedness (wow, prophecy for sure!), but they REPENT with all their mind and with all their heart and pray toward their land and this house…. Solomon prays that God would HEAR and FORGIVE.

And when Solomon’s prayer was finished, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burn offering and the sacrifices ... and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.  And everyone – Solomon, the priests, and the people – bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and WORSHIPPED and GAVE THANKS to the LORD, saying, “for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

King Solomon offered sacrifice before the LORD = 22K oxen and 120K sheep (wow!).  The Levites stood at their posts with instruments playing music to the LORD that King David had written for giving thanks, “for His steadfast love endures forever.”

Psalm 136.

David wrote: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.”  “Give thanks to the God of gods.”  “Give thanks to the Lord of lords.”  “For His Steadfast Love (mercy) endures forever.”  

In this psalm, David repeats that concluding phrase after every element of praise he states about the awesome God of Israel…. 25 TIMES!   For His Steadfast Love endures forever.  

Read all those praise phrases!  If you ever find your heart stingy and grumpy.  Read all these beginning praise praises. How awesome is our God. He does such wonderous things for His own people. He is strong and mighty.  He is tender and kind. 

SERIOUSLY!! Read them and praise Him.  

WHY is He so good to His own people???  For (because) his everlasting love and mercy towards us …. endures…. forever!  (FOREVER!  THINK ON THAT.)

(And then, after you read those praise phrases in Psalm 136, make a list of your own.  I’ll start…

  • Lord, You searched me out and found me – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You saved me and gave me new life – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You help me walk in righteousness – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You forgive and restore me when I sin and repent – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You supply all I need – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You give me joy in sorrow and suffering – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • Your presence is with me, even in death – Why? Your love endures forever.
  • You have promised me eternal life with YOU – Why? Your love endures forever. 

And on, and on, and on…….

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2 Chronicles 7b.

After all the celebration, glory, and praise, God appeared to Solomon in the cool, dark, silence of the night.

  • “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.”  “My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”

And then that verse we know so well, and often maybe mistakenly pray for our own countries.  God says about Israel, 

  • “If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
  • “If you (Solomon) will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and rules, then I will establish your throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.”

Such glorious promises!!

But there is a dire warning as well.  Sadly, this one comes to pass…. 

  • “BUT IF…. you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, THEN….I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and THIS HOUSE THAT I HAVE CONSECRATED FOR MY NAME, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
  • “And THIS HOUSE, WHICH WAS EXALTED, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’
  • “Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on OTHER gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore He has brought all this disaster on them”

Solomon’s dream/vision turned into a nightmare of warning.  Will it keep his heart wholly for the LORD???

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*As for the truth(s) about God that stays in my mind after this reading?  It is His utter, enduring, amazing grace and love that He has for His people …. until they raise a fist in His face, turn their backs on Him, and seek to fulfill their own sinful and prideful cravings away from Him.  EVEN THEN, He is willing to forgive and restore if they repent and return to Him.  SUCH MERCY and STEADFAST LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 214

Aug1

    Day 214—We are beginning the EIGHTH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy.

    Day 214 – 2 Kings 20 – 21 (A repeat of Hezekiah’s sickness & foolishness, Manasseh & Amon)

Chapter 20 retells (from Isaiah 38) the latter years of King Hezekiah, how he became deathly ill, prayed, and was given 15 more years to live. He used those years foolishly, boasting to the visiting Babylonian well-wishers about all that he owned. Isaiah scolded him and foretold of when the Babylonians would ruthlessly attack and take it all away. Hezekiah was not concerned, however, because “at least it won’t happen in my days.”

Chapter 21 tells of his very wicked son, Manasseh becoming king at 12 years old. (He was born in Hezekiah’s last “foolish” 15 years!!). This guy was worse than any of the kings of the northern kingdom. Manasseh “did what was evil in the site of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.”

He rebuilt the high places. He erected alters for Baal. He made Asherah poles. He worshiped all the host of heaven. He built altars to them IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. He burned his son as an offering. He used fortune telling and omens. He dealt with mediums and necromancers. He carved an image of Asherah and set in the house of the LORD. He led Israel astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

And BECAUSE of this…..  The LORD vowed to bring “such disaster on Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.”

After many years of utter evil (2 Chronicles 33 tomorrow will tell of his repentance after a terrifying incident!!), Manasseh dies and his evil son, Amon reigns for two years.  Manasseh’s legacy continues in the son, as he served and worshipped idols. “He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 

After two years, his servants killed him and made Josiah (at 8 years old) the new king.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 138

May17

    Day 138—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   Are you loving God more each day? Are you reciting, praying, and singing the Psalms we’ve been reading?  Share in the comments section.

    Day 138 – Psalms 26, 40, 58, 61, 62, 64. – (Psalms of David during and after the calamity with Absalom)

Psalm 26. “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.”

Psalm 40. “I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”

“For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!”    “As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.”

Psalm 58. David proclaims judgment on the wicked but contrasts the righteous. “Mankind will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges the earth!”

Psalm 61.  “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”

Psalm 62. “For God ALONE, my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He ONLY is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken.     “For God ALONE, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”     “Trust in Him at ALL times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

Psalm 64.  “Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers…”     “Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him! Let all the upright in heart exult!,,”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 136

May15

    Day 136—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   Are you loving God more each day? Are you reciting, praying, and singing the Psalms we’ve been reading?  Share in the comments section.

    Day 136 – Psalms 3, 4, 12, 13, 28, 55.. – (Psalms of David in exile)

Psalm 3 specifically describes David’s anguish as he flees from Absalom. “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.”    

But as always, his heart turns to God. “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of my head.”    “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.  I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

Psalm 4. “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress.”    “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone O LORD make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 12 (maybe speaking of how Absalom wooed the people from David with his “silver tongue.”  “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart the speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us?'”    “The words of the LOD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.”

Psalm 13.  “How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?

“How long will you hide your face from me?

“How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

“How long shall my enemy be exalted?

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.”

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 28. “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.”     “Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.”

“Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to Him. The LORD is the strength of his people, He is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

Psalm 55 describes David’s anguished and grieving heart.  “…I am restless in my complaint, and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.”  “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.

“And I say, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”   

“For it is not an enemy who taunts me–then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me–then I could hide from him. But it is YOU, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together within God’s house we walked in the throng.”

“My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords!”

“But You, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days.”

“But I will trust in You.”

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 123

May2

    Day 123—As we begin our FIFTH month of Bible reading, pause and reflect.   What insights have you gained about God and yourself through reading so far?

Day 123 – Psalm 106 – 107 – (Praising God despite His people’s unfaithfulness.  Thanking God for His faithfulness in His people’s sins.)
These are two wonderful psalms that I recommend you read several times today and later. They mirror our failings as believers who sin often and our merciful, loving, forgiving GOD who disciplines but never breaks His promises to us.
Psalm 106 begins by calling Israel (and us) to praise and thanksgiving, and it tells us why: because the LORD is good and because His love and mercy toward them (and us) are forever. Wow.
Over and over, the psalmist confesses their sin.
Verse 5: “Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.”
Verses 14-15: “…they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert.”
Verses 20-21: “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their savior…”
Verses 24-25: “Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in His promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.”
Verse 28-29: “Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and at sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds…”
Verses 32, 34, 37-39:  “They angered Him at the waters of Meribah…”   “They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD commanded…”   “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.”   “…they became unclean by their acts and played the whore in their deeds.”
****The details are different, but we, too, have sinned, disobeyed, and flaunted God’s loving commands.
But… over and over, the psalmist (almost in amazement) records how God forgave and saved them. Verse 8: “,…for His name’s sake, that He might make know His mighty power.”   And verses 44-45: “He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry. For their sake, he remembered His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say; “Amen!” Praise the LORD!” Verse 48
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Psalm 107 begins with a call to thank the LORD and gives reasons.  “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”  “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble…”
Verses 4 – 32 contain four sections describing four types of people or situations. They show how God helped these people when they cried to Him and what their response should be. These sections begin with the word “some…”
Verses 4-9.  “Some wandered in desert wastes…” “…hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.” 
“They cried to the LORD… and He delivered them from their distress…”
“Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness and mercy to the children of man!”
“For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry souls he fills with good things.”
Verses 10-16.  “Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons…” 
  “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them in their distress.”
“Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness and mercy to the children of man!”
“For He shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.”
Verses 17-22.  “Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters.”   “(He) commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted UP to heaven; they went DOWN to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they REELED and STAGGERED like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.”  
“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.”
“He made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed….”   “… He brought them to their desired haven.”
“Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness and mercy to the children of man!”
In verses 33-42, the psalmists list more of the LORD’s mercies and His care for His own and end with this:
“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.”
****Oh, may you and I do that every day of our lives, for it is only by his love and mercy that we exist!  Thanks be to our God.

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 41

Feb10

    Day 41 —  We are in the second month! We’ve been reading for over a 1/12 of a year! Praise God! I hope that it’s become a GOOD habit that will continue.

   Day 41 – Exodus 33 – 35  (Intimate intercession, Covenant renewed, generous donations.)

Chapter 32 left us with broken laws, idolatry, and retribution.  And Moses beginning to intercede for the people and for his brother, Aaron.

Now in chapter 33 he pleads for God to continue His presence WITH them. And he asks God an impossible favor – to SEE God’s face. But God is Spirit, so no person can see His face, nor can they see His glory without vaporizing! However, God allows his friend Moses to see a bit of His fading glory (His goodness) after he passes by. Moses is safe in a cleft of rock with God’s “hand” covering the entrance.

In chapter 34, God “passes before Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and faithfulness, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but…. Who will by no means clear the guilty…”  And Moses falls on his face and worships God, and once more pleads that HE will pardon the sin of the people and take them for His inheritance.

God promises (covenants) to be their God, only they are to have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM (for He is a jealous God) nor to MAKE FOR THEMSELVES ANY GODS OF CAST METAL. (These are the first two of the TEN commandments, and the ones that the people had already broken with that golden calf.)

God also reminds Moses that they must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover – to remember and celebrate how He freed them from Egypt – and to obey the laws of the Sabbath. He re-wrote the Ten Words on the stone tablets and sent Moses back down the mountain.

And Moses’ face glowed so brightly from the presence of God that the people were terrified. After he spoke to them all that God had told him, Moses veiled his face. (After that. he set up a special tent outside the camp where he would go and meet the LORD. This wasn’t the Tabernacle which was to be set up in the middle of the camp.)

In chapter 35, Moses tells the people about building the Tabernacle, a place where their God would dwell among them and make His presence known to them. He told them all that was required for the tent, the furniture, and all the priests clothing. “Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution.”

And the people, both men and women, began to generously give their freewill offerings of jewelry and gold, silver, bronze, and linen and yarns. And both men and women volunteered their skills to help in the construction, led by Bezalel ben Hur and Oholiab ben Ahisamach.

And so it seems a catastrophe was averted by a man’s intercession before a Most Holy God. Oh, that WE would pray like this!.