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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...