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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 Oct 8 -- 10 Oct 8 -- Ezekiel 41 and Psalms 92-93 Oct 9 -- Ezekiel 42 and Psalm 94 Oct 10 -- Ezekiel 43 and Psalms 95-96 ================   "And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across the nave. And he said to me, 'This is the Most Holy Place.'" (Ezekiel 41:4) THE NEW TEMPLE, INTERIOR AND COURTS (ch 41-42). We are continuing to read of Ezekiel's vision of God's temple. Notice that the most holy place (Holy of Holies) is laid out as a square, just as in the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple previously, and in the future city, the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:16). There's great attention to measurements and architectural detail, and there are a few differences between this design and the earlier ones. THE GLORY RETURNS (ch 43) . In his vision Ezekiel sees the glory of God, which departed in chapter 11, now returning to the temple. God will not abandon his work -- or his people --but will...

  Bible reading for Oct 6 -- 7 Oct 6 -- Ezekiel 39 and Psalm 90 Oct 7 -- Ezekiel 40 and Psalm 91 ================   "Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 39:28-29) ISRAEL REGATHERED, GOG DESTROYED (ch 39). The Gog / Magogite alliance fails in their attack upon Israel. One of our readers asked if the re-establishment of Israel as a nation following World War 2 (in 1948) was the fulfillment of Israel's regathering seen in Ezekiel 37? Here's what I wrote back... "I take it that the return from Babylon was one stage in the return to the land, but not long afterwards the Jews rejected the Messiah who came to inaugurate the new covenant. There was a hardening upon Israel...

Bible reading for Dec 7.  2 Chronicles 7. "And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's house.  When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.'" (7:2-3) GLORY! Sometime we are brought to see the reality of something much bigger, or greater, or more beautiful than we could possibly have imagined. We may fall to our knees like the worshipers in today's reading. The revelation of God's glory (his infinite power, goodness, excellence) is overwhelming to us in the flesh. The temple was now completed under Solomon's leadership (about  960 BC), and the priests are driven back as God's glory fills the temple. Earlier in Israel's history God had shown the light of his glory in deli...

Bible reading for weekend of Dec 5-6.  2 Chronicles 5-6. "But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!  Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house..." (6:18-20)  THE TEMPLE FINISHED. The construction of the temple is completed (ch 5), and as the people sing, the glory of God is revealed: "...when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,' the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God" (5:13-14).  Solomon recognizes God's choice of Jerusale...

Bible reading for Dec 4.  2 Chronicles 3-4. "He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz." (3:17)  BUILDING THE TEMPLE . These two chapters describe the structure and furnishings of the temple Solomon builds. It's the same basic plan as the Tabernacle that Moses constructed. Notice the imagery in the temple which recalls both the early chapters of Genesis (e.g., cherubim, fruit trees, etc.) and the later chapters of Revelation (e.g., gold, precious materials, the cubical layout of the most holy place, etc.). All of these images reveal the unity of Scripture and tie together the story of redemption. Christ himself is the sacrifice, the sea of cleansing, the light and bread of life, our priest, and the one who brings us into the presence of God. He restores the garden we lost and constructs a city of eternal glory.    REFLECT. I find it interesting that the two b...

Bible reading for Dec 3.  2 Chronicles 2. "The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.  But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?" (2:5-6)  THE WORK BEGINS. The temple that Solomon would build was not to be some kind of container for God, but rather a place to meet with God and to worship him. It would be a beautiful structure, built with precious materials and fine craftsmanship. Most of the labor was provided by resident aliens who were drafted for the work and compensated as indentured servants. Hiram, the king of Tyre and friend of King David, recognized the excellence of Solomon's leadership: "Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them" (v 11).   ===============   1 John 2. "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will o...

Bible reading for October 30.  2 Kings 12. "Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD..." (2 Kings 12:11)  HIGH PLACES. As we proceed through 2 Kings the accounts will alternate back and forth between the southern kingdom (Judah; capital: Jerusalem) and the northern kingdom (Israel; capital: Samaria). The "high places" (v 3) were regional places of worship, scattered throughout the land. These locations might be on the high point of a hill, or under a grove of trees, or at some convenient place where people could come and give offerings without having to travel to Jerusalem. It decentralized worship, making it easier, and thus detracted from worship at the temple in Jerusalem. It also opened the door for the introduction of idolatry on those sites, making the high places a sort of one-sto...

Bible reading for October 5.  1 Kings 8. "...that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place." (1 Kings 8:29)  HIS NAME DWELLS THERE. What does it mean that the temple was God's house, or dwelling place? First, it does not mean that the building somehow contained God, as if he were closed up inside the house (vv 27-30). Solomon is clear about God's omnipresence -- even the highest heaven could not contain God (cf Ps 139:7-16; Jer 23:24; Acts 7:49). Secondly, and this will be seen later in Israel's history, the temple was not a good-luck token for the nation even while they were unfaithful. So, what did it mean that God would dwell among them in this house? At least two things can be seen: 1) It was the place where God's presence, name, and glory would be revealed (vv 9-10, 17, 21, 29, 60). That is, it wou...

Bible reading for weekend October 3-4.  1 Kings 6-7. "Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD." (1 Kings 7:51) BUILDING THE TEMPLE. Construction begins 480 years after the Exodus from Egypt (under Amenhotep II), which gives a start date of 967/66 BC. Measurements and details are given (chapter 6). Work at the temple site itself was relatively quiet (6:7). God said the temple would be a place where he would manifest his presence to, and fellowship with, his people: "And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel" (6:13; Lev 26:11-12; Ezek 37:27). This has ever been God's purpose -- to restore humankind to himself that he might dwell with us (Gen 3:8; Rev 21:3). Solomon's temple was stunning in its beauty, and certainl...

Bible reading for October 2.  1 Kings 4-5. "For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon." (1 Kings 4:24-25)  SOLOMON'S DOMINION (ch 4). We are given a list of Solomon's key officials (vv 1-20), and a glimpse into his large organization. Abiathar the priest apparently served a little longer before being removed (v 4; cf 2:27). Azariah, the son of Zadok, became high priest. The material needs were immense, but so was the blessing upon the land and people (vv 21-28). There was peace and plenty. Solomon is again noted for his wisdom (vv 29-34). Such growth of power and government, however, should remind us of the warnings the prophet Samuel gave in 1 Samuel 8:10-17.  PLANS FOR THE TEMPLE (ch 5). So far Solomon...

Bible reading for May 29.  Deuteronomy 2.  "And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished." (Deuteronomy 2:14-15)  MOVING AHEAD. Moses continues his review of Israel's wilderness travels and their recent victories. This travelogue should remind us that the life of God's people has a direction, a progression, and a goal. Our life has purpose, as determined by the Lord. Christians can answer the ultimate questions: who am I? where did I come from? And, where am I going?  Note also that Israel's inheritance was not unqualified. There were boundaries and exceptions: they were not to possess the lands of Edom, Moab, or Ammon. Israel's advance was not to be in the form of imperialism or ...