Sun, 24 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 29:25-30

²⁵ And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. ³⁰ And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

Hezekiah has dedicated himself to purifying the worship of Judah. His father, Ahaz, had been a wicked king, leading Israel into all sorts of idolatry. So there was much work for Hezekiah to do to correct the temple worship. This chapter describes how he had the priests clean out the temple, and how they began to do the rituals that had commanded.

After a careful study of what God had commanded (this was done according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets), Hezekiah appointed priests to play musical instruments as part of their worship. The instruments were begin playing when the burnt offering began, and they continued until the burnt offering was finished. When the sacrifice was done, the priests sang psalms unaccompanied.

What do we learn from this?

This is one of the clearest passages that explain what God had commanded for music as part of the sacrificial worship in the Old Testament. The instruments were only to be used during the slaughter and burning of the animal. Once the sacrifice was complete, they were to sing the psalms unaccompanied. That is God’s command for worship.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The sacrificial system has been completely fulfilled by Jesus Christ. He came and as the spotless lamb lived a sinless life. He then died on the cross as the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of His people. He died in the place of all who come to Him in faith. This fulfilled all sacrifice, and there is now no more acceptable sacrifice. Remember, the temple veil was torn in half at Christ’s death. The way to God was fully opened and the sacrificial system was ended.

Thus, there is no more sacrifice. The burnt offering is now finished, and so the use of instruments in worship is also finished. There is no New Testament command to use instruments in worship (there are New Testament commands to sing psalms), and the only Old Testament authorization for the use of instruments has been removed. This is the reason that churches who hold to the regulative principle (we can only do in worship that which God has explicitly commanded) have traditionally held to singing only psalms and singing them without accompaniment. Most regulative principle churches have fallen away from exclusive, a capella psalmody, but they have not done so because they suddenly found a New Testament authorization to do so.

Sat, 23 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

John 13:1

¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

John begins to tell us about Jesus washing the disciples feet at the last supper with this interesting statement: he loved them to the end.

What do we learn from this?

Jesus loved the disciples. He cared deeply for them, and was concerned for them as He would be leaving them. But His loving wasn’t just mushy sentimentality. It wasn’t emotion. Jesus’ love for His disciples was action. He loved them by washing their feet. He served them. We willingly took did the menial task for them that they all avoided. He did this to teach them a lesson about love.

Love is an action. Love is how we treat each other. The feeling is beside the point, and hopefully will align with our actions. But true love will always act in service, regardless of whether we have the feeling or not.

This is really important to our commitments to each other. If we think that love is a feeling, then we will end our marriages when the feeling wears off. We will break off relations with family and friends when something happens to change our feelings.

But if we understand that love is an action, not a feeling, then we will stay together through the difficult times. We will be committed to treating each other in a loving way, even if we don’t feel like it. And over time, as we keep acting in a loving way, the feeling will return.

Where is Christ in this passage?

When we think that Jesus loved those who were His own right to the end of His time on earth, we realize that His death on the cross was an act of love. He was serving His people by bearing their sins upon Himself. He was paying a debt He did not owe so that His people could be free from the penalty of sin.

It was His love, displayed as an action of saving His people, that caused Him to go to the cross the very next day.

Fri, 22 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Zechariah 9:9

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.

In a chapter filled with the promise of God saving His people, we have this promise of the coming of the King to Jerusalem.

What do we learn from this?

Zechariah tells Israel how they can recognize their great King who is to come. He is righteous (sinless) and He has salvation. He will be the salvation of His people. But unexpectedly, he will come humbly. He will come to Jerusalem riding on a young donkey.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Who is this great King?

That’s easy for us since we know the New Testament. Zechariah is describing Jesus’ Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday. Jesus fulfilled this when He very purposefully entered Jerusalem, riding on the young donkey. He knew who He was. He knew He was the sinless one who was coming to Jerusalem to win the salvation of His people. He was not coming to rule, as most expected. But instead, He came humbly, to die for the sins of His people.

Thu, 21 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 12:7-12

⁷ Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, ⁸ but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. ¹¹ And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. ¹² Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

In his vision, John sees Satan thrown out of heaven, and he sees this as a confirmation of the salvation won for God’s people.

What do we learn from this?

Satan, the accuser of the God’s people, no longer can bring charges against them. He does not have access to come before God like we see him doing in the book of Job. He can not make accusations against us.

This great victory comes about as Satan is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Because of the work of Jesus Christ, Satan can no longer bring charges against God’s people. They are in right standing with God. All the charges that would have stood against them are now null and void. Therefore, Satan has been defeated, and he is thrown out.

But there are consequences. Satan is thrown out of heaven, but that means that now he comes to vent his wrath against God’s people on earth. He will try to cause as much trouble as he can in the time remaining. But he has lost the battle and his doom is already sealed. He has failed in stopping the salvation of God’s people, and all he can do now is to stir things up as much as possible before he is thrown into the pit for eternity.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The blood of the Lamb wins the crucial victory that defeats Satan. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He bore the sins of all His people. These sins have all been punished on Jesus Christ on the cross. And His perfect righteousness is credited to His people. So everyone who comes to God through faith in Jesus Christ is in perfect standing with God. Satan can’t bring a charge. Justice has been satisfied, and God has declared them to be perfectly righteous, because of the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

Wed, 20 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 24:4-14

⁴ After this Joash decided to restore the house of the LORD. ⁵ And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the congregation of Israel for the tent of testimony?” ⁷ For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also used all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.

⁸ So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the LORD. ⁹ And proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ And whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king’s secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance. ¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work of the house of the LORD, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD. ¹³ So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. ¹⁴ And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made utensils for the house of the LORD, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD regularly all the days of Jehoiada.

The temple is a mess. Athaliah had plundered it, so it needed to be refurnished. There are repairs that need to be made. All this would cost a significant amount of money. So Joash entrusts the Levites to begin raising the money. That doesn’t go very well, and so Joash instructs them to place collection boxes at the temple. Once the people understand the need and how they can help, they begin to give toward the repairs of the temple. They willingly paid their temple tax and rejoiced to do so, for they were giving to the restoration of God’s house.

What do we learn from this?

This is an example of God’s people rejoicing to give to God’s work. Giving to God is not a burden, but for the true child of God, it is a joy.

God has given us the opportunity to contribute to the furthering of His kingdom by giving to our local churches. This giving should be a source of joy to us, and not something that we do grudgingly. When we realize that everything we have has been given to us by God, and that after all He has done for us, we have the opportunity to give something back to Him, giving should be a chance for us to rejoice.

Where is Christ in this passage?

When we consider all that God has done for us, we realize that the greatest gift He has given to us is salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to die on our behalf, so that we could be right with God. He paid the debt we could never pay. Now we have the opportunity to give back to Him a portion of the material possessions He has given us in addition to eternal life. May we be able to rejoice as we give to God.

Tue, 19 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

John 9:1-6

¹ As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The disciples saw a man who was born blind, and they are puzzled. They thought that all suffering is a direct result of sin. So, there must have been some terrible sin to cause God to strike this man with blindness. But how could a child sin that badly before birth? Maybe the sin was by one of the parents. And so they ask Jesus to settle this mystery. They ask Him, Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

But Jesus doesn’t accept their premise that all sin is a direct result of someone’s sin, and so He tells them the man’s blindness is not due to the parents sin, nor the man’s sin. Instead, the man’s blindness is so that God’s work could be displayed to the world.

What do we learn from this?

Not all suffering is the consequence of sin. We can’t assume every time something bad happens to a person, that is the sign that the person is guilty of some sin. This faulty idea is not unique to the disciples. Job’s friends also believed the same thing, and I dare say that quite a few people today believe the same thing.

But the really surprising thing here is that God sometimes allows suffering so that He might show forth His own glory. God can take situations of pain and evil and use them for His own glory (and, according to Romans 8:28, to the good of His people).

Where is Christ in this passage?

This man’s blindness was intended for God’s glory as Jesus Christ would heal him. And even today we know about the power of God as displayed by Jesus Christ in the healing of this blind man.

Mon, 18 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Zechariah 5:1-4

¹ Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. ⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”

Zechariah is a difficult and highly symbolic book with many strange and confusing pictures. In this chapter we have a flying scroll and a woman in a basket. Very interesting, and for some, quite an opportunity to launch into speculative interpretations.

We’ll try to keep it simple. This is a picture of the covenant with its stipulations of what we need to do, and consequences if we don’t obey.

God has told us what He requires of us. It is summarized in the moral law of the Ten Commandments. In today’s chapter, the flying scroll brings judgment to those who have violated the eighth (stealing) and ninth (false testimony) commandments. Obviously these are just to example sins that will be brought into judgment. God will also judge violations of the other commandments. But we see that God sends out the covenant lawsuit to the house of the covenant lawbreakers.

What do we learn from this?

God judges sin. He will bring people into judgment for their violation of His commands. Be sure that your sin will find you out. Eventually the flying scroll will find you out and you will face the judgment sent by God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Since we have all sinned, we all face God’s flying scroll that spells out the punishment we must face because of our sin. All sin must be punished.

Our only hope is if Someone else takes that punishment on our behalf.

Jesus Christ, as the God-Man, came to earth to live the perfect life and to bear the punishment for the sins of everyone who comes to Him in faith. He takes the punishment for the sins of His people upon Himself on the cross. The punishment stipulated by this symbolic flying scroll is placed upon Jesus Christ, and all His people do not have to bear the punishment for their violations of the law. They are accepted by God as perfectly righteous, and are spared the eternal punishment for their sins, all because of the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

Sun, 17 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 8:6-13

⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

In response to the prayers of the saints, God begins to meet out judgment against those who are rebelling against Him on the earth. In our chapter for today, we have four of seven trumpets of judgment sounded.

The judgments are severe, as one third of the earth, trees, grass, sea, ships, rivers, sprints, sun, moon, and stars are struck. But it isn’t a final, complete judgment. Two thirds are spared.

What do we learn from this?

As people continue in their rebellion against God, He will eventually bring judgment upon them. A society that continues to reject God will face His just condemnation. But as we see in this case, God, even in His judgment in time, grants opportunities for people to repent and turn to Him. God does not completely destroy everyone and everything. He spares some, giving them further opportunity to repent and find forgiveness.

God could instantly usher all who are in rebellion against Him into eternal punishment. But instead He has mercy upon us, giving us the opportunity to repent and turn to Him.

Where is Christ in this passage?

In our chapter today, one third are ushered into eternity due to God’s judgment against their sin. But two thirds are granted the opportunity to repent of their sins and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

As long as we have life, we have the opportunity to repent. But once we die, our fate is sealed. What we did with Jesus Christ during our lifetime here on earth decides where we spend eternity.

So we are again encouraged to turn to God in faith, trusting in Jesus Christ as the substitute for our sins. He is the only way we can avoid God’s eternal punishment against our sins.

Sat, 16 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 18:1-3

¹ Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ² After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

Jehoshaphat is a godly king. The previous chapter tells us that “The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David.” He does many things well and is pleasing to God in many ways. But, inexplicably, Jehoshaphat makes a disastrous alliance with the ungodly king Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jehoshaphat has his son marry the daughter of Ahab. The end result is that Ahab’s wicked daughter will years later (in Chapter 22) seize the throne and murder all but one heir to the throne of Judah. Jehoshaphat’s line is almost extinguished, and Judah has to suffer under this wicked woman’s rule because of this alliance.

What do we learn from this?

Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 6:14: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Jehoshaphat needed to learn this lesson, for had he heeded it, he would not have arranged the marriage of his son to wicked Athaliah.

We must be careful who we have intimate contact with. We should not just be friends with Christians. But our most intimate relationships have a profound influence upon our attitudes and behaviours. A believer should not marry an unbeliever.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jehoshaphat is a godly man who is praised in scripture for doing what was right. But even Jehoshaphat made bad decisions and choices. He violated God’s law, and he needed a Savour just like the rest of us. That Savour will be the Messiah to come from the line of David: Jesus Christ.

Athaliah will try to destroy that line, effectively trying to keep the Messiah from coming. But by God’s grace, she will fail, and Jehoshaphat’s Savour (and ours) will be born in due time. Jesus Christ will come from the line of David, to bear the sins of all of His people.

Fri, 15 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

John 5:1-18

¹ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids–blind, lame, and paralyzed. ⁵ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ⁹ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” ¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. ¹⁶ And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

¹⁸ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

According to most people, Jesus was a good teacher. Nothing more. We can learn from Him. He is a great example for us to follow. But that is all. They do not believe that He is God in human flesh. According to them, He was just a man and He never claimed anything more for Himself.

The people of Jesus’ day knew better than to say He was just a good teacher. In our text today, they were ready to kill Him for His claim to be God.

What do we learn from this?

Jesus clearly claimed to be equal with God the Father. As C.S. Lewis has pointed out, Jesus was either right or wrong about being God. If He was wrong, He could have been insane, believing Himself to be God when in fact He was not. Or He could have known He was not God and He was the worst of manipulative people. Or He was God. He can’t be just a good teacher. For if He is not God, He is crazy or evil. And if He is God, He is far more than just a good teacher.

We can’t ignore Jesus’ claims about Himself. We can reject them and say He isn’t God, or we accept them as the truth. But we can’t pretend He never made them. He claimed that He was equal with God the Father.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is the eternal Second Person of the Trinity. In our reading today, He proves the truth of His claim by healing the invalid. He is who He says He is.