bible reading weekend dec 19

Bible reading for weekend Dec 19-20.

2 Chronicles 22-24.

"And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, 'Behold, the king's son! Let him reign, as the LORD spoke concerning the sons of David.'" (23:3)

KINGS AND QUEENS, PRIESTS AND PROPHETS. These chapters give account of the fascinating history also recorded in 2 Kings 11 and following: the brief reign of Ahaziah; the murderous rampage of wicked Queen Athaliah; the faithful priest Jehoiada tutoring young King Joash; and the latter years of Joash, departing from the faith and killing a prophet, the son of his faithful master Jehoiada. After I wrote this I thought, hey, this sounds like a plot from Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, and then I remember that this story came first. The biblical dramas with their stories of power and betrayal, murder and secrecy, loyalty and courage, echo down through history. These themes are timeless. As you read these epic accounts, ask God to help you see them with fresh eyes. (Btw, the prophet Zechariah who was killed in this account is not the same as the post-exilic prophet Zechariah who wrote the book by the same name.)

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Revelation 10-11.

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (11:15)

THE COMING KINGDOM. Amidst the global judgments the gospel is still being proclaimed (chapter 10). The scroll, containing the words to be announced, recalls Ezekiel 2:7 -- 3:7. God's word -- and the unchanging, everlasting gospel -- contains both sweet comfort (for those who believe and repent) and bitter judgment (for those who turn away from God and persist in sin). In chapter 11 the two witnesses exercise their faithful ministry for three-and-a-half years and are martyred. Some have suggested that these two witnesses, written about in Zechariah 4:1-4, are Elijah and Enoch, since these two were both removed from the earth before experiencing death. The goal toward which these Revelation judgments are moving is the restoration of the kingdom of this world (all of earth) to be under the visible and glorious reign of Christ (v 15; cf Dan 2:35; Hab 2:14). The book of Revelation brings to fulfillment many themes and images from the Old Testament, especially from Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. This book demonstrates the continuity and consistency of all the Scriptures. The sixty-six books that became our Bible were written by dozens of human authors over 1500 years. And yet, it is one Book, a divinely inspired book, and its author is God (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21).

Image credit. Photo of the Virgin and Child mosaic in the apse of the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul), built in the sixth century. We are following the Robert Murray M'Cheyne (RMM) two-year reading schedule, as arranged by D. A. Carson. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. One recommended resource is NETBible.org, a ministry of bible.org.

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

sword and trowel

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

my burg

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