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Bible reading for December 29 -- 31 Dec 29 -- Malachi 2 and John 19 Dec 30 -- Malachi 3 and John 20 Dec 31 -- Malachi 4 and John 21 ================ "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall."  (Malachi 4:2)  DOING ALL THINGS POORLY (Mal 2-3). As we draw near the end of the Mosaic covenant period, we see that even when the remnant of Israel is spared and returned to the land, they still do not continue in faithfulness and zeal. The Jews have lost their sense of God's greatness and their religion is half-hearted at best. The Lord himself will come to them: "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" (3:1). God's Son, Jesus, would himself stand in the temple courts in Jerusa...

Bible reading for December 27 -- 28 Dec 27 -- Zechariah 14 and John 17 Dec 28 -- Malachi 1 and John 18 ================ "For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 1:11)  WITH BELLS ON (Zech 14). Like most of the prophets of the Bible, Zechariah does not leave us with the bad news, but gives us the good news, the promise of a glorious future. After judgment -- if we learn from it -- comes blessing. And it's a beautiful world (see my previous post, "With Bells On").  TIRED OF GOD (Mal 1). The first two books of the Bible open with the glory of God, seen first in creation (Genesis), and then in redeeming his people from Egypt (Exodus). In the last book of the OT we find a people who are tired of God. They have lost the sense of his greatness. Regarding the worship of ...

  Bible reading for December 22 -- 26 Dec 22 -- Zechariah 9 and John 12 Dec 23 -- Zechariah 10 and John 13 Dec 24 -- Zechariah 11 and John 14 Dec 25 -- Zechariah 12 and John 15 Dec 26 -- Zechariah 13 and John 16 We are in the Christmas holiday season, and so, I'm combining several days' readings. Next week we will be finishing the 2021 Bible reading schedule! Congratulations to those of you who have been reading along with us. Thanks for your kind and helpful notes along the way. And may you and yours have a blessed Christmas! --Sandy ================ "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)  THREE REMARKABLE PROPHECIES (Zech 9-12) . The prophet Isaiah gave us many wonderful descriptions of the Messiah-to-come, including his miraculous birth. Daniel gave us a sketch of the Messian...

  Bible reading for weekend December 20 -- 21  Dec 20 -- Zechariah 7 and John 10 Dec 21 -- Zechariah 8 and John 11 ================ "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets." (Zechariah 8:5)  WHAT'S THE USE (ch 7)? These two chapters go together, as seen by the opening question regarding fast days (7:3), and the Lord's reference to these same fasts (8:19). The opening question may be seen as a kind of complaint, i.e., does it really do any good to observe the appointed fasts? The people have a kind of formalistic view of their relationship with God. They are ticking the boxes of ceremonial observation and nothing much has changed in their post-exilic life back in Jerusalem (vv 1-3). The Lord answers, questioning their motives (vv 5-7). They are using religion as a way to improve their own lot in life. They are not seeking the Lord for himself. So, they need to make real changes, that is, to observe justice and to not harden ...

Bible reading for weekend December 17 -- 19  Dec 17 -- Zechariah 4 and John 7 Dec 18 -- Zechariah 5 and John 8 Dec 19 -- Zechariah 6 and John 9 ================ "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)  THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS (ch 4). We are reading the visions which the prophet Zechariah received. God is giving encouragement to the post-exilic Jews to continue their work in rebuilding the temple and the nation. Many of the images in these chapters recall those symbols portrayed in Christ's Revelation to the Apostle John in the last book of the Bible. The near events of rebuilding the temple (and the purging of evil) point ahead to more distant future events. An abiding principle both in the OT and NT is that the Lord himself will do the work through his Spirit and through his anointed servants. The two servants in view here are Joshua (the high priest) and Zerubbabel (the governo...

Bible reading for December 15 -- 16  Dec 15 -- Zechariah 2 and John 5 Dec 16 -- Zechariah 3 and John 6 ================   "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people." (Zechariah 2:10)  THE CITY RESTORED (ch 2). Zechariah and Haggai spoke to the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. The people needed encouragement to rebuild the city and the temple. They needed hope for the future. Zechariah prophesies of the time of future glory and security for Jerusalem, which will also become an international gathering place for God's people from many nations. The restoration of the city, the priesthood, and the people takes place in historical stages. The earthly Jerusalem and the mount upon which the temple stood, Zion, is a shadow (or type) of God's heavenly city (Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22-24). The city was r...

Bible reading for December 13 -- 14  Dec 13 -- Haggai 2 and John 3 Dec 14 -- Zechariah 1 and John 4 ================ "Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts..." (Haggai 2:4) THE LATTER GLORY (Haggai 2). The Jews, having returned from Babylonian exile, must get to work and finish rebuilding the temple. For this reason, the post-exilic period is called the "second temple" period. King Herod would later enlarge and add many embellishments to the site. But the beginnings in Haggai are so modest compared to the temple originally built by Solomon, and the people were discouraged. The Lord asks, "Is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (v 3) He tells them that they are to be strong and to keep working, for he is with them, no matter how humble the project may seem. This principle applies to us, as well (Matt 28:20; Eph 6:10). We should not become disheartened at the smallness of the return on our...

  Bible reading for weekend December 10 -- 12  Dec 10 -- Zephaniah 2 and Luke 24 Dec 11 -- Zephaniah 3 and John 1 Dec 12 -- Haggai 2 and John 2 ================ "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)  ZEPHANIAH (ch 2-3). The God of justice is also the God who joyfully sings over his people (3:17). The purpose of his judgment is not simply to bring justice to his creation, but also to purify a people for himself (3:9-13). In the NT we read that our Lord Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). One specific area of purification noted by Zephaniah is that of language: "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of th...

Bible reading for March 31 -- Leviticus 2-3; John 21.  "If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."  (Leviticus 3:1) Types of offerings.  Offerings could be from the livestock (or doves), and some offerings could be of grain or other produce.  There were three general categories of sacrifices :  a) sin and guilt, b) whole burnt, and c) peace.  Sin offerings (guilt offerings added restitution) were burnt on the altar but part of the meat would be apportioned for the priests as their support.  Whole burnt ("holocaust") sacrifices were burned in their entirety and therefore symbolized complete dedication to the Lord.  Peace (or thank) offerings were given to the Lord and also shared as a meal with family, friends, and priests, as a celebration of God restoring the person to life and fellowship.     No blemishes....

Bible reading for Mar 30 -- Leviticus 1; John 20  "And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD." (Leviticus 1:17)  It is common for people who decide to read the entire Bible to begin in Genesis, make it successfully through Exodus, and then collapse and die in the book of Leviticus.  Many do not make it beyond that point!  Leviticus is as inspired as every other portion of the Bible (2 Tim 3:16) but it may not be as immediately relevant to a modern reader.  In fact it may seem very strange -- it's a book about sacrifices and offerings. Following the giving of the Law and the building of the Tabernacle in Exodus this is the instruction manual for the Israelite priests (descendants of Aaron) on the sacrificial offerings in worship .  There are a lot of details, and blood.  These sacrifices would take place during the millennium and a half...

Bible reading for March 18: Exodus 29; John 8.  " ...you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet..." (Exodus 29:20) Ordination of Aaron and sons. There are many details here regarding the ordination of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood for Israel.  They are consecrated (set apart, made holy)(29:1ff), cleansed (4), clothed (5-6), anointed (7), make sacrifices and offerings (10-18; 23-28), are themselves sprinkled with sacrificial blood (20-21), and finally, they share in the food from the sacrifices (32-33). The verse above, about the sacrificial blood being placed on the tip of the ear (= hearing), and on the thumbs (= doing), and on the toes (= walking), highlights the fact that God's mediator must be wholly committed to the Lord in every aspect of life .   The history of I...

Bible reading for March 16: Exodus 27; John 6.  The tabernacle and what it means.   Let's connect the OT book of Exodus with Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of John... After Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt, God gave his people a plan to make a place of worship , which was a special tent and courtyard, whereby they could approach him and he might manifest his presence among them.  The tabernacle (and later the temple ) had to be built exactly to the pattern God gave (Ex 25:8-9).  There were also furnishings that God directed them to construct and place there, each having a special purpose, that is, to show us how we might come to know and approach God.  In the opening chapters of the gospel of John , the author calls attention to Jesus "tabernacling" among us (John 1:14).  The Greek word means to "spread a tent; dwell" and is used in the Greek version of the OT (LXX) for the Tabernacle (Ex 25:9).  And Jesus, while standing in the c...

Bible reading for the weekend March 14-15:  Exodus 25-26; John 4-5. "And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain." (Exodus 25:40)  The tabernacle.   It was at the same time a place of worship, a place where God revealed his presence and the way to approach him, and a kind of a map to the new creation. It had to be built exactly according to the pattern God revealed.   The author of Hebrews said it was "...a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Heb 8:5) . As we move further through the book of Exodus I'll write more about the symbolism of the layout of the tabernacle  and its objects.  Also, as we are reading the Gospel of John we will see that John's portrait of Christ is laid out remarkably in accordance with the very pattern of the tabernacle itself.   ================   "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. ...