Wed, 3 January, 2007: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezra 3:1-7

¹ When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. ² Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. ⁴ And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, ⁵ and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. ⁷ So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

The people have come back from the Babylonian captivity. They returned with a specific commission from king Cyrus:

Ezra 1:2-3

² “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem.”

The people are beginning to do things. They have established an altar, restarted the sacrificial system, and have begun to observe the commanded feasts. They are searching the scriptures to find what God has commanded them to do. But they have not started to do the big work of rebuilding the temple, the thing they ostensibly returned to Jerusalem to do.

What do we learn from this?

It is possible to be doing many small things well in our spiritual lives but to be messing up in the one big way. Sometimes, we are completely blind to these omissions or violations. It might be something we never thought of, but one day we have that head slapping moment when we realize there is this huge, obvious, glaring flaw in our spiritual lives. Sometimes it is something we know about but are suppressing or ignoring. In the back of our minds, we know we need to deal with this problem, but for now we are pretending it doesn’t exist.

We will see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that it takes some forceful leaders to clearly see the problems and motivate the people to build the temple and repair the walls of Jerusalem. The people who can see the problem need to point it out to others and encourage everyone to deal with the problem rather than pretend that it does not exist.

Where is Christ in this passage?

We are not saved by our perfect obedience to God’s commands. Thank God for that, since none of us are perfect. We are saved by Jesus Christ’s perfect obedience, and His death on our behalf. But we should desire to be perfect in our obedience to God’s commands. Not because of what we hope to earn by our obedience, but out of gratitude for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. He has saved us. We should desire to obey Him.

Tue, 2 January, 2007: Today’s Bible readings.

Matthew 2:13-15

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

The Magi have just left from there visit to the baby Jesus. They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they go back directly to their own land without divulging the location of the one born king of the Jews.

Herod, when he realized that he was tricked by the Magi, does what he can to try to eliminate this threat to his rule: he kills all the male babies two years old and younger in the area of Bethlehem.

But God protects the baby Jesus from Herod’s slaughter by warning Joseph in a dream and sending the young family to Egypt.

What do we learn from this?

God is firmly in control what what happens. As we read through the gospels, we see that God has a plan, and everything comes to pass exactly according to this divine plan. Matthew makes the point over and over again when he points out the history he is relating was all in fulfilment of scripture: This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet…. It was no surprise to God, for He had foretold it long ago.

Where is Christ in this passage?

As we read through the gospels, we are reading the culmination of redemption in history. This is the great act of God saving a people for Himself. Jesus Christ is living the perfect life. He is being challenged and threatened by the religious and political leaders of the day. We see they attempt to kill Him numerous times, but are unable because it was not God’s time. Finally, they succeed in their desire to kill Jesus Christ, but in so doing fulfill God’s ultimate purpose in redemption. They crucify Jesus Christ, who dies in the place of His people, bearing the penalty of their sins upon Himself.

This is God’s plan in the life of Jesus. God is in control of all these events, and Herod is not going to cut God’s plans for redemption short by killing the baby Jesus Christ.

Mon, 1 January, 2007: Today’s Bible readings.

Genesis 1:1

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

As we come to the new year, let’s start at the very beginning. (A very good place to start.) Genesis 1:1 tells us of the beginning of the world we live in.

What do we learn from this?

God created the universe. He created the heavens and the earth. This is fundamental, and if we don’t comprehend this, we will go wrong on many other things as well. The universe didn’t just one day leap into existence out of a quantum singularity. It did not create itself. The universe was created. We are all creatures, created by God. We owe everything to Him, including our worship and service, for we belong to Him by creation. We belong to Him, for He made us, as well as everything else.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The apostle John makes an allusion to Genesis 1:1 in the beginning of his gospel.

John 1:1-3

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The second person of the Trinity, who became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, was there at the creation of the world. He is the agent of creation, as the Word, used to speak the universe into creation.

Sun, 31 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

John 21:25

²⁵ Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John doesn’t pretend to have written a full documentary of everything Jesus did. He was very selective of what He has chosen, for John was working with a specific purpose.

John 20:30-31

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

What do we learn from this?

John’s desire for us, as we come to the end of this book (and the end of the year) is for us to believe in Jesus Christ and gain eternal life. The things we have read in his account of Jesus’ life were selected, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to explain who Jesus is, and how we should come to Him in faith for eternal life.

Where is Christ in this passage?

There are many other things that John could have written, but these are selected for the purpose of teaching us what we need to come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Sat, 30 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Malachi 3:1-4

¹ “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. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. ⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.”

We are winding up the Old Testament with the book of Malachi. With this book, the Old Testament canon was closed and there was 400 years of silence. People were waiting for the promised Messiah. But they should have realized that this Messiah would be more than just a man. He would be God Himself.

What do we learn from this?

Malachi tells us there will be a messenger before the Messiah. We know this is John the Baptist. But the amazing thing here is that the one they are waiting for will be the Lord.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The Messiah they were waiting for was Jesus Christ, the God-Man. He is fully man and fully God. One person with two natures. The people did not recognize Him for who He is, so although there were miraculous things that accompanied His birth, Jesus Christ as an adult was an unknown. When He began His public ministry, He just suddenly appeared on the scene. John the Baptist came first and points to Jesus. The messenger prepares the way and Jesus Christ suddenly appears.

Fri, 29 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 20:11-15

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

We are coming to the end of the book of Revelation. We have just been through the Millennium, and now time comes to an end, as everyone stands before God in judgment.

What do we learn from this?

Everyone will appear before God to be judged. The book of our lives will be opened, and we will be judged by what is written there. Have we perfectly kept God’s law? No. No one has. If we are to be judged by our actions, we will all be condemned, because we have all sinned. Our final destination will be the lake of fire, because we have violated God’s holy law.

Where is Christ in this passage?

There is a second book at the final judgment. This is called the book of life. In that book, it is written the names of all those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ. We have violated God’s law, but Jesus Christ has paid the price for those sins. He has given His people the righteousness they require, so that they can be accepted by God. This book of life testifies to the fact that God has justified them. God has declared them to be in right standing with Him because of the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

So the question is, has your name been written in the book of life? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? Has He taken the penalty of your sin and given you His righteousness? Or on the last day will you be judged by the book of your life that has recorded all your sins?

Thu, 28 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 33:10-17

¹⁰ The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹ Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. ¹² And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

¹⁴ Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. ¹⁵ And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. ¹⁶ He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

Manasseh was a wicked king. In the beginning of this chapter, we have a recitation of the evils he did as king of Judah. Manasseh even offered his sons as sacrifices and was so bad that he led Judah to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

But late in his life, Manasseh repented and was restored.

What do we learn from this?

Although Manasseh did terrible things, he could still repent and find forgiveness. We have so much hope from this story of Manasseh. No one has done so much evil their sins would keep God from greeting them forgiveness if they would but turn to God in repentance and faith. We can’t disqualify ourselves from God’s grace by our actions in the past. Salvation is not an issue of refraining from sinning the “big” sins that would close the door to us. Salvation is about repenting and turning to God in faith, regardless of the sins we have sinned.

Manasseh sinned the “big” sins, but he found forgiveness when he repented and turned to God in faith.

Where is Christ in this passage?

I expect we will see Manasseh in heaven. And if so, he will be there for the same reason we are there: because the sins we have committed have been imputed to Jesus Christ and paid for on the cross. We are saved as we trust in the substitute God has provided for our salvation. All who are saved, Manasseh included, are saved by the work of Jesus Christ.

Wed, 27 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

John 17:1

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you….”

John 17 is Jesus Christ’s High Priestly prayer. He is praying after the Last Supper, and just before He is arrested, tried, and crucified. Here at the beginning of the prayer, Jesus prays that the hour has come.

What do we learn from this?

The hour is the climactic hour of our salvation. Everything He had done on earth was building to this point. The hour of which Jesus speaks is the hour that He will bear the sins of all of His people from all of time. As such, it is longer than 60 minutes. It starts in the Garden of Gethsemane and goes through His trial and crucifixion.

This hour is the climactic event of all history, because our eternal destiny is determined by this event. It is the turning point of all prophecy as the Old Testament looks forward to it, the Gospels tell of it, and the Epistles look back to it to tell us what it means. We celebrate it every Sunday, and in a special way at the Lord’s Table. That is the hour of which Jesus speaks.

In John 17, Jesus is coming to the crucial hour of all history. This is the hour that our Triune God had planned from all eternity for the salvation of His people. It was completely in His control, and none of the events took Him by surprise.

Where is Christ in this passage?

This hour was the turning point of history, as Satan was given control and allowed to crucify Jesus Christ. The only Sinless One was given to Satan and the powers of darkness. In that hour, God the Father would pour on Jesus Christ His wrath against all the sins of all those who will come to Him in faith. And in that act, God will break the power of Satan and of sin over His people, ultimately freeing us from their tyranny. It is the moment of judgment, as the penalty for sins is paid.

Tue, 26 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Zechariah 13:7-9

⁷ “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the LORD of hosts.

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸ In the whole land, declares the LORD,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
⁹ And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Zechariah tells us that God will strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep, but out of this will come the formation of the people of God.

What do we learn from this?

We see it all over in the scriptures. God allows evil to happen in this world. Since He is God and He is omnipotent, He could stop every evil in this world. But for His own purposes, He allows bad things to happen. However, they always happen for a reason. They bring about a greater good. Every thing, even the evil that occurs, is for God’s glory and for the good of His people.

In our passage today we see that the shepherd is struck and the sheep are scattered, but the end result is that people will call upon God’s. They will claim the Lord as their God, and God will accept them. They are my people, will be His reply.

A great evil will occur, but the result is a greater good: People will become the people of God and will be accepted by God.

God works in the midst of evil to bring about His glory and the good of His people.

Where is Christ in this passage?

On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, He tells us that He is the shepherd who was struck, and His disciples are the sheep who were scattered.

Matthew 26:31-32

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Mon, 25 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 16:8-10

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

In chapter 16, John sees the angels pour out the seven bowl judgments upon the inhabitants of the earth. We see that God is just and righteous to bring these judgments, and that they are what the people deserve.

But we also see that in the face of judgment, the people continue to rebel against God. They do not repent and turn to Him, but instead curse Him and remain in their rebellion.

What do we learn from this?

Difficult times will come into our lives. I dare say most of us will never face anything like these bowl judgments in this chapter, but we will see pain, suffering, and death. How we react to it shows a lot about our relationship with God.

The true child of God can wonder why God would allow such things to happen to them. They can question God. Sometimes they will even be angry at God for the things they must endure. But they will come to the point where they will submit to God and trust Him in the face of their pain and suffering. They will repent of their sin (including their sinful reactions to the suffering) and give glory to God for all that He does, even the hardships that He brings into our lives.

The person who is not a child of God will curse God and be strengthened in his rebellion against God. He will not learn the lesson, and heed God’s call to repent, but will instead be hardened in his unbelief and flee from God even further.

Since we all will face hardships, we should set it in our minds firmly that we will not rebel against God in the hard times. We will not withdraw from attending church. We will not curse God and hate Him for allowing such things to happen to us. We will, to the best of our ability, God giving us the power, submit to His will, and seek Him in our times of trouble. We will repent of our sin and trust Him to bring us through the difficulties He brings into our lives.

Where is Christ in this passage?

In these bowl judgments, God is pouring out His wrath against the sins of the rebellious followers of the beast. They will suffer for the way they have rejected God.

God does vent His anger against sin, and all sin must be punished. As the angel says in this chapter, Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. God is just and He will punish all sin. He will punish every sin that you and I commit.

The good news is that Jesus Christ has taken the punishment for all those who come to Him in faith. For all His people, He has borne the punishment due to them. On the cross, He suffered in their place, so that they would be found righteous in the Father’s sight.

Jesus Christ willingly took the full brunt of the wrath of God against sin, so that we do not have to bear it ourselves for eternity in hell.