September 1
Ezekiel
32:17-33:20
Jeremiah
52:28-30
Psalm
137
1
Chronicles
The
vivid message to Egypt should have been very convicting because it appealed so
rationally to history and I think it should have caused anyone who is thinking
clearly to recognize the prophecy as inevitable. In other words,
The
message of the watchman’s responsibility and accountability is the most
sobering message in the Bible to preachers and teachers. It actually should concern all Christians
because we should all feel driven to deliver the Gospel to the lost. But the real problem is how indicted I
feel. I wonder how many in my lifetime
have been neglected by my silence. May
God grant me knowledge, wisdom, courage, and gentleness in presenting the
message of His salvation to man.
And
finally, the genealogies of Chronicles begin, reminding us of how the course of
all the world is changed by both man’s foolishness and
man’s faithfulness.
September 2
1
Chronicles 5:18-26
1
Chronicles 6:3b, 49, 4-15
1
Chronicles 7:1-8:28
It
looks like we are getting into the famous genealogies of 1 Chronicles. To most people, these are tedious
reading. If one were to study them
carefully, I am sure it would be fascinating, but to just read through is not
very appealing. I observed 2 things as I
read through. First,
it seemed peculiar that the genealogy of Benjamin was listed twice, apparently
emphasizing different descendants in each one. Of course, for someone just reading through,
I suppose this would be of minor interest.
The other thing I noted was the reference in each listing of how many
men were available for military service.
This strikes me because it makes me think of when the physical kingdom
of Christ is established and it also makes me think of heaven. The reason it makes me think of such things
is because military service is only needed in a sinful environment, which means
that soon it will no longer be needed!
September 3
1
Chronicles 8:29-9:1a
Daniel
4:1-37
Ezekiel
40:1-37
The
genealogies are completed with the family of Saul. The message of Daniel 4 is serious and
important. But it is also notable that
there appears to be a sense of humor here.
You just can’t read about Nebuchadnezzar without some surprise at his
passion, his hard heart, his foolishness, and his fickledness. This account of how he was turned into a
crazy person who lived and acted like an animal should tell us that if we
persist in living as if God did not exist, He will eventually just turn us over
to the animal conduct that our flesh gravitates to. God’s mercy is also reflected in this story
as we see Nebuchadnezzar restored and praising God. Amazing grace!
The
dimensions of the new Temple area are given to Ezekiel in a vision. These types of passages are always
interesting to me because of the detail.
God shares with us that He is orderly and organized and concerned with
precision. We do well to avoid
sloppiness and pursue excellence.
September 4
Ezekiel
40:38-43:27
I
have tried to “catch a vision of this vision of this vision” of Ezekiel. He writes such detail and his vision is so
filled with maneuvering and noting of what the man measures. It seems the vision is much more than just a
dream-like state of mind. It is like
Ezekiel was transported physically.
Theologians
say the Temple is a type or picture of Christ.
I would agree, but we are told in the New Testament that our bodies are
the temple of the Holy Spirit. And we
are to be holy. We understand that
practically we continue to fall short of absolute holiness, but positionally (in Christ) we are holy. And so the analogy of Christ as the Temple
seems the more powerful, because it is only through Him that we gain an imputed
righteousness by which we gain access to God.
He is holy, the Temple is holy – Oh God, may we be holy!
September 5
Ezekiel
44:1-46:24
The
prince, the priesthood, the land, offerings, celebrations, the kitchens,
holiness, separation, gateways – closed, east – glory of the Lord. Just reading through with loose attention, it
could all appear so disjointed, but when you pull back a little in review and
see the bigger picture, it all begins to show a pattern.
Overriding
everything is the glory of the Lord. It
is all (and only) for His glory. But
then quickly and painfully emerging is the sinfulness of man. And yet man was made for worshipping the Lord
– for lifting His glory. Obviously we
have a conflict – a seemingly unsolvable crisis. Nothing sinful can access God’s direct
presence. He is holy. He is separate from His creation. We need a Savior, a
Hero Who can bridge the impassible gulf.
And God has provided His only Son, Jesus Christ, Who made intimacy with
God possible for sinners. He has
justified the unjust by the blood of Him Who knew no sin and became sin for us
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him!
Come
to God. Bring the sacrifice. Bring Jesus.
Believe in Him, Who is already with the Father waiting.
September 6
Ezekiel
47:1-48:35
Ezekiel
29:17-30:19
2
Kings 25:27-30
Jeremiah
52:31:34
I
was not sure how literal to take this River of Healing in Ezekiel 47. Most of it seemed metaphorical to me, but the
language concerning the Dead Sea had a literal sense about it. But mainly we must see it as metaphorical
because we find ourselves with similarities to both Genesis and
Revelation. Genesis
with all “the trees with fruit good for food.” And Revelation with “the
leaves for healing.”
My
first thought when I read the division of the land was, “Why?” I thought all this land was divided long
ago. I do not remember the particulars
but it seemed like the dividing was different before, maybe because of the
tribes in the Trans-Jordan. There does
not appear to be any of that here. The
dividing is very clean, clear, and equal.
It seems to me this can be for one purpose only – for when the Lord’s
kingdom comes physically to earth, which should make us all more attentive to
Israel.
September 7
Daniel
7:1-8:27
Daniel
5:1-31
Daniel’s
vision regarding the end times was exhausting and terrifying (7:28), as well as
sickening (8:27). I wish Daniel’s vision
and its message with all the implications would affect Christians today
similarly. The skeptics dismiss it as
having been written later or after the events that are prophesied because they
do not believe such things could have been known with such detail in advance of
them happening. Of course, the first
vision has already been partially fulfilled as far as the succession of world
empires – Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and
Roman. Such knowledge as this should
change everything for the hearer, but amazingly one who prefers a life of sin
and self-indulgence cannot be persuaded by truth. Take Belshazzar for instance. He knew what his grandfather had gone through
before he acknowledged God, but he still did not repent; preferring to live a
life of debauchery and blasphemy.
September 8
Daniel
6:1-28
Daniel
9:1-27
2
Chronicles 36:22-23
Ezra
1:1-11
1
Chronicles 3:17-19a
While
Daniel in the Lion’s Den is a great
object lesson regarding the difficulties we face in this life and how God keeps
us through those difficulties, I think it is a mistake to consign it strictly
to allegory. Unless clearly directed
otherwise, we should accept it as literal, historical truth. It is obviously not as other sections of
Daniel in which the prophet himself had to inquire about the meaning. This miraculous delivery appears to have led
to the conversion of Darius and probably to many more because of Darius’ decree
throughout the kingdom.
Gabriel
brings the message of Israel’s future to Daniel and we see both Israel’s future
in the First Coming of the Messiah and in the Second Coming of the Messiah,
along with the End Time. I like the way
the reading today is arranged because right after this prophecy is the
fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah regarding Cyrus and the rebuilding of the
Temple.
September 9
Ezra
2:1-4:5
1
Chronicles 3:19b-24
I
think the record keeping of Israeli families was more diligent than families of
most other nations. We can see, like
other nations, there were some Israelites who either did not pay diligent
attention to it or lost control during the fall of Jerusalem and the Dispersion. But mostly these records were impressive and
I think because of the coming Messiah, God insured that this lineage was
carefully recorded and preserved.
The
people returned and began to rebuild the Temple and when they finished the
foundation they celebrated. But the
old-timers wept because they could remember the previous Temple in its former
glory. Before all this, however, the
people built the altar and made offerings to the Lord, as well as observed the
festivals as prescribed by Moses. Hey, at
least we aren’t reading about golden calves anymore. It seems a truly repentant Israel has
returned from captivity.
September 10
Daniel
10:1-12:13
Ezra
4:24-5:1
Haggai
1:1-15
I
have already written much about the power of the prophecies of the Bible. This section joins others as one of the most
powerful. But on another subject in
Daniel 10 and 11, we are given a window to look through into the spirit world
and the perpetual warfare that goes on continually around us. Our physical eyes cannot see this, but if
they could, we would probably be very frightened. The trials, the challenges, the problems are
all going on for reasons. We should
always remember that “He Who is within us is greater
than he who is within the world.” Daniel
12:11-12 reminds us of the staggering precision of Bible prophecy. It’s perfect.
But
not all prophecy has to do with foretelling the future. As is in the case of Haggai and Zechariah,
often prophets are sent by God to exhort the people to be revived in their work
and their commitment. In this case God
called the people of Israel to finish building the Temple.
September 11
Haggai
2:1-9
Zechariah
1:1-6
Haggai
2:10-19
Ezra
5:2
Haggai
2:20-23
Zechariah
1:7-5:11
More
prophecy of the near future and the far future is presented here. And a rich presentation of God’s heart is
revealed in His expressions of love for His people. His care and shepherding are wonderful to
observe. God is careful to warn the
people to be repentant and committed to Him and then He takes no chances with
the people’s understanding regarding His coming blessing. He says to them to mark the day, December 18,
while the seed is still in the barn and the crops are yet unproduced or unharvested. God
wanted them to be able to clearly identify when, and then why, He was blessing
them.
One
verse that was very interesting to me was Zechariah 1:15, “I was only a little
angry with my people, but the nations punished them far beyond my
intentions. What an educational
(firestorm) debate this verse sparks regarding God’s foreknowledge and His
decrees as they relate to His intentions!
We see His desires and consents are often different.
September 12
Zechariah
6:1-15
Ezra
5:3-6:14a
Zechariah
7:1-8:23
The
vision of the four chariots is a window into heavenly places and into the
language of God. I suppose it could be
argued that God is speaking in anthropomorphisms (deliberate condescension to
human terms) so that we would understand better, but I am not sure that is really
necessary here. And it could certainly
be argued that much of what we see in the physical realm has parallels in the
spiritual, only without the fallen condition.
This vision basically illustrates to us that God, operating from what we
might call “the East” (simply because He sends out to the other three
directions), is also operating (through His Spirit) throughout His creation.
The
situation with Tattenai and his cohorts should teach
us all to pay attention to our own business rather than the business of others,
or at least to consider all the possibilities before we barrel forth. There are many other notes in my heart
regarding this section, but I have to stop with the neat photograph of the
crowning of Jeshua.
It speaks so wonderfully without any help from me.
September 13
Zechariah
9:1-14:21
So
much of this section concerns Israel (as a land and as a people) in the last
days. I still think it is wrong to
permanently replace Israel with the Church.
I think the prophecy in this section brings out with some clarity that a
portion of those Israelis living at the Day of the Lord will see Jesus as He
really is and will mourn greatly over their mistake. They will of course convert, but I do not
think there has ever been or will ever be such mourning as that. We should all mourn over our sins but the
greatest mourning is always when one has recognized his rejection of the Son of
God, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world.
May such rejection be repented of before eternity.
It
is interesting to read that the conditions in the millennium reign will
apparently include some rebellion and foolish behavior toward the Lord, but in
that day people will see the consequences of such behavior right away.
September 14
Ezra
6:14b-22
Ezra
4:6
Esther
1:1-4:17
The
Temple was finally completed and the celebration was understandably great. There was joy throughout the land. It is interesting that the author chose to
call Xerxes, the king of Assyria. Of
course, that is true, but he is generally known as the king of Persia which
conquered Assyria. Assyria is merely one
of the several conquered kingdoms under Persia.
I
was a little surprised that Mordecai had told the palace officials at the gate
that he was a Jew, since he had continued to instruct Esther to not tell anyone
that she was. But this was all
orchestrated by God. I suppose I was
just a little humored that after all that counsel to Esther, it is his blabber
mouth that nearly causes the Jews to be wiped out.
This
Haman fellow was a pistol, but he doesn’t seem too smart, or else he just let
his ego run away from good sense.
Nevertheless, Esther met the challenge.
September 15
Esther
5:1-10:3
The
surface lessons contained in this section are numerous and it tends to have a
“Hollywood potential” about it. The
characters are developed strongly in a very short space like is done in
movies. It really seems like a
screenplay.
Much
has been made of the fact that God is never mentioned even once in the book of
Esther, but it has also been well-noted that the Divine hand of Providence
toward His chosen people is seen everywhere in the book.
Again,
this reads like a movie, because early on several things happen that seem
insignificant but you just know they are going to resurface later in the story
as critical to the whole story line. We
are brought to the edge of our seats as the wicked Haman develops his evil
plan, and the clear intervention of God in Xerxes’ inability to sleep. It is a powerful lesson in trusting God as
you move forward – into the storm.
September 16
Ezra
4:7-23
Ezra
7:1-8:36
The
first thing that comes to mind after reading this is what about the lost
years? I mean the years between Artaxerxes stopping the Temple work and then “many years
later” commissioning Ezra to resume and complete the work. What a strong story those “many years” must
tell. And actually we get a few hints
about those years in our text. We are
told that Ezra committed himself to studying and obeying God’s Law. We also know by the words in Artaxerxes’ decree that he was very impressed with Ezra and
his vocation. This decree clearly proves
that Artaxerxes believed in “the God of
Jerusalem.” Now whether or not that
constituted a genuine conversion is not known but the text at least indicates a
strong possibility. What a powerful
ministry Ezra must have had. How could
he gain such a captive audience before the king that way? He must have ministered to great crowds.
The
answer (of course) is the sovereign grace of God.
September 17
Ezra
9:1-10:44
Nehemiah
1:1-2:20
This
section could be entitled “Two Prayers.”
The reason – contained here are two of the most important prayers to a
Christian’s devotional studies in the entire Bible. One prayer is spoken by Ezra and recorded in
Ezra 9. The other is spoken by Nehemiah
and recorded in Nehemiah chapter one.
The
most striking element in both prayers is the words of repentance. They are first person plural for the most
part, although at certain points become even more personal. We see the essence of the Beatitudes in these
prayers. The broken, impoverished
spirit, the mournfulness for sin, the meekness in approaching God for change,
the conversion into hunger for righteousness, the emergence into a merciful
inclination, purity, and evangelistic fervor.
And in both cases we see that persecution is an inevitable result. For those who struggle with how to pray, they
would do well to study and emulate the style of these two prayers.
September 18
Nehemiah
3:1-7:3
The
rebuilding of the wall seems like such a wonderful miracle to me. The hand of God is so evident even to the
enemies who watched with anger. But what
was so wonderful about it?
The
wonder was the way God worked in the hearts of people. God could have dropped the rocks into place
without anyone, but He doesn’t usually operate that way. He simply gave Nehemiah faith to believe and
to act, to accomplish what any sane person would have concluded was impossible
and crazy. And Nehemiah chose to employ
that gift of faith. This faith is a
wonderful and amazing energy because its Object of belief is our wonderful,
glorious God. It is just so obviously
miraculous how the people began to believe and build. It all starts with the first stone moved –
the first moment worked. From the Sheep
Gate and around the wall back to the Sheep Gate, the testimony of the Name of
the Lord shined in the trust of the hardworking people. Father, please help me get this message. Amen.
September 19
Nehemiah
7:4-8:12
People
who read the Bible often wonder “why” regarding the listings of people such as
we find here. They wonder why that would
be important to them to read or at least to ponder. I have been one of those people. But I have come to understand that it is
important to consider because God inspired it to be written. And I believe He wants me to read it. But there are other reasons “why” that we can
consider?
When
God stirred the hearts of the captives in
September 20
Nehemiah
8:13-10:39
Nehemiah
and the Priests and Levites have succeeded in bringing the people
together. I love the verse 8:14, “As
they studied the Law, they discovered…”
That is what always happens when the Word of God is studied with
diligence, prayerfully, and with heart opened.
The people discovered an interesting thing about the Feast of
Tabernacles, and then they dared to believe they could duplicate it! God blessed them, and they did observe the
celebration, and they were filled with joy.
At
the end of the month they had a solemn observation in which they read God’s
Word for 3 hours and then confessed their sins and repented for another 3
hours. We find recorded
here what is possibly the most powerful prayer of confession, repentance, and
covenant in the entire Bible.
Careful study and responsive prayer of this section could solve a lot of
problems.
September 21
Nehemiah
11:1-12:26
1 Chronicles
9:1b-34
We
have mostly genealogies and listings of assignments in this section. There are several observations. Judah and Benjamin always seem to be treated
as one unit even in previous verses. I
was also wondering if the people who agreed to move into
There
was careful attention in the case of the singers to follow the format laid out
by King David and they were careful to not give any other duties to the singers
because of the relentless nature of their duties and the need to assure the
perception of their importance never lessens.
September 22
Nehemiah
12:27-13:6
Nehemiah
5:14-19
Nehemiah
13:7-31
Malachi
1:1-2:9
Nehemiah
was a clear and simple thinker. He did
not consider any other way. He did not
compromise nor tolerate it from others.
He could clearly see: entertainment from little sins always leads to
enslavement from big sins. When you see
what went on with Eliashib and Tobiah
while Nehemiah was out of town, doesn’t it just make you want to shout at the
pages! – “Whoa boys!
Big mistake! The boss ain’t gonna like this one
bit! And you ain’t
gonna like what he does to you! Get a clue!”
The
final verse of this section (Malachi 2:9) speaks of those who show partiality
in the interpretation of the Law. (This
reminds me of our courts today.)
Nehemiah showed no partiality. He
would gather offenders, beat them, pull out their hair, and call down curses on
them. It makes you wonder how he
survived. But he was blessed by God,
sanctioned by Artaxerxes, and surrounded by devoted
leadership (150). Not to mention, he was
supported by powerful God-ordained preachers like Malachi.
September 23
Malachi
2:10-4:6
Joel
1:1-3:21
Today
I finish the Old Testament.
And
it seems somehow appropriate to mention that last night a terrible storm raged
furiously for hours, but this morning the sun shines brightly and peacefully
through the East window.
Some
say that the Old Testament ends with a curse, and if they mean that it ends
with those two words, “a curse,” they are correct. But if they mean that it ends with the
issuance of a curse, they are quite wrong.
On the contrary it ends with both the promise of a blessing and the
warning of a curse. But the warning is
only issued to those who might reject the blessing. And ironically, this all refers to the family
unit.
Besides,
if it is as suggested by this chronological (NLT) Bible that I am reading, then the Bible should actually end with the book of Joel,
which by the way, ends with one of the most powerful blessings promised
anywhere; and
September 24
Mark
1:1
Luke
1:1-4
John
1:1-18
Matthew
1:1-17
Luke
3:23b-38
Luke
1:5-38
Who
could imagine what these two ladies must have felt? Perhaps Sarah or Rebecca could. Mary must have had a special grace from God
just so her mind would not short-circuit from the unimaginable news.
All
of this section represents what Mark called “the beginning of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.” We have the deeply
mystical (but somehow apprehensible) introduction by John, explaining the
entrance of God into humanity. We have
the genealogies reflecting divine promises, curses, miracles, and graces; but
mostly reflecting the entrance of God into human history and into human
flesh. Gabriel tells Mary of her Son’s
name, His kingdom, His throne, etc.
But
what is most amazing to me is that all this is recorded knowing the outcome to
be death by crucifixion and resurrection.
This is just the first of many examples that we have found the one religion
that man could never invent.
September 25
Luke
1:39-80
Matthew
1:18-25
Luke
2:1-40
It
seems that Jesus even filled people with the Holy Spirit when He was in the
womb. Perhaps that stretches these
verses just a bit – but perhaps not.
Mary’s
beautiful exclamation of praise is wonderfully poetic and brilliantly revealing
of God’s attributes. It has been labeled
The Magnificat.
In this section, there are 2 more “songs of praise” that could have been
labeled with an equally dramatic title.
The first common feature of all three that jumps out is how they all
begin with praise. The second – all
three refer to the Savior. And a third
note is that they all are more or less prophetic; referring to God in the past,
present, and future.
I
love how evangelistic the 84-year-old Anna became when she heard and saw the
praising from Simeon, and then the Savior lifted up. It is interesting that there was such an
intense watching for the coming of the Messiah, when most of the nation of
September 26
Matthew
2:1-23
Luke
2:41-52
Mark
1:2-8
Matthew
3:1-12
Luke
3:1-18
Mark
1:9-11
Matthew
3:13-17
Luke
3:21-22
Taking
all this in, in one setting, is impossible enough; but to think I could do any justice
to it on a single small page is just silly.
It seems that dreams were used by God in those days to communicate to
people. And the people were apparently
tuned in to that fact.
I
was struck by John the Baptist’s message of repentance. It seems it was very popular in those days to
say “I have repented, I am a Jew,” but John challenged that. He told them that words mean nothing without
actions to prove the words. This should
be our message today in
September 27
Mark
1:12-13
Matthew
4:1-11
Luke
4:1-15
John
1:19-2:25
We
begin here with the temptation of Jesus.
I am inclined here to the verse after the temptation that says the devil
left Him until the next opportunity came.
We need only read the book of Job to understand that such opportunity
comes only through the allowance of God.
We know God is not the author of evil and yet we know He is Sovereign
over all. And we know that everything
that God allows into the lives of His children is intended for their ultimate
good. God is faithful. He will not put more on us than we can bear,
and with every temptation, there is a way to escape. Father, help me grasp this when I feel
overwhelmed. May this truth be Your means of loving deliverance to me.
While
the Gospels are somewhat abbreviated and busy, we should take care to notice
the verses (i.e., John
September 28
John
3:1-4:45
Luke
3:19-20
In
this section there are two meetings with Jesus with two breaks to note the
closing of John the Baptist’s ministry.
One meeting was with Nicodemus and one with a Samaritan woman. The contrast is astonishing. Jesus testifies to both and the evidence
indicates this led both to conversion.
The text does not show that Nicodemus responded with a decision to
believe in Christ, but later verses do.
The testimony of Jesus takes a different approach but the heart of each
message is the same. We need the Holy
Spirit to reveal to us the Word of Christ.
If we believe His Word, we will discover that God is true. I think the essence of this statement is
found in the fact that the villagers believed in Jesus because of what the woman
said, but when they heard the message of Jesus, they believed because of what
He said. This tells us that to really
insure a new convert becomes rooted in the Gospel of Christ,
we must lead him into the Word.
September 29
Mark
1:14-15
Matthew
4:12-17
Luke
3:23a
John
4:46-54
Luke
4:16-30
Mark
1:16-20
Matthew
4:18-22
Mark
1:21-28
Luke
4:31-37
Mark
1:29-34
Matthew
8:14-17
Luke
4:38-41
Mark
1:35-39
Luke
4:42-44
Matthew
4:23-25
We
start with the nutshell of the preaching message of Jesus Christ.
1)
The time has come.
2)
The
3)
Repent.
4)
Believe the Gospel.
John
the Baptist preached that Jesus was coming soon and that people should repent
and be baptized. We also should preach
that Jesus is coming soon and that people should repent and be baptized.
Everywhere
Jesus went He preached the Gospel and healed people. People were drawn to the healing more than to
the message. Ironically though, it was
the message that would ultimately keep the serious followers, and it was the
message that the pretenders used as their excuse to leave. But when Jesus finished delivering the
message in a particular town, it did not matter if there were people still
needing healed, He left anyway because His primary goal was to preach. While compassionate motivation for healing
was genuine, the eternal needs always took priority. Healing was a validation of the authority of
the Lord’s message (His claims). While
in certain areas today Jesus may still validate His message with healing, in
general it is not needed, because today we have the validation of proven
prophecy, archaeology, and the Holy Spirit.
Nevertheless, genuine healing miracles within God’s compassionate plan
continue to occur today in the context of faith.
September 30
Luke
5:1-11
Mark
1:40-45
Matthew
8:1-4
Luke
5:12-16
Mark
2:1-12
Matthew
9:1-8
Luke
5:17-26
Mark
2:13-17
Matthew
9:9-13
Luke
5:27-32
Mark
2:18-22
Matthew
9:14-17
Luke
5:33-39
The
illustration that this section concludes with (re: new patch on old cloth; new wine
in old wineskin) was the philosophy of Jesus’ ministry. That was to start from scratch – deprogram
the secular thought before flooding with the deeper knowledge of God.
Jesus
teaches the fisherman how to fish for men and he teaches the tax collector how
to collect souls. He calls Simon, James,
and John, who all were apparent business associates and whose business was
apparently suffering before Jesus arrived.
Jesus
heals a leper, not because the leper was willing, but because Jesus was
willing. Is Jesus always willing? Not necessarily in this life. His focus was on spiritual well being. He makes that clear with the account of the healing
of the paralytic who was lowered through the ceiling. The only reason Jesus healed him physically
was to show His authority to
heal spiritually (to forgive
sins), and that was His focus. Thank
God!
Ó 2004 C. E. Briggs