Thu, 14 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Zechariah 1:1-6

¹ In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ² “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. ⁴ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.”

It is the end of the Babylonian captivity. Israel’s period of chastening is ending and they are returning to the land. But God warns them not to be like their fathers and listen to God’s call to turn back to Him.

What do we learn from this?

The scriptures are full of God’s call to return to Him. He was speaking to the people in the past, but those words are still applicable to us. The words to their fathers were applicable to the people of Zechariah’s day, and His words to Zechariah are still applicable to us.

When we read God’s word, warning to turn from sin, to repent, we should listen. Take heed. Turn back to God. We have the clear warning of what happened to the people in scripture who rejected God’s warnings and continued in their sin and went through God’s severe discipline. Don’t be like them.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Return to God. Israel of Zechariah’s day understood this. They knew that to return to God would involve sacrifice for their sins, for their must be blood shed to atone for their sin. But this blood from the animal sacrifices could not atone for sin. Animals can’t pay the price for a human’s sin. These animal sacrifices only point to the sacrifice that was to come. They pointed to Jesus Christ.

When we repent of our sins and turn to God, we are accepted by God because of the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

Wed, 13 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 4:9-11

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

In John’s vision of heaven, he sees the living creatures and twenty-four elders worshiping God.

What do we learn from this?

God is worthy to be worshiped. He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. But why? For you created all things and by your will they existed and were created.

God is worthy to be worshiped be cause of creation. He made us. We would not exist if He had not made us. He made us collectively (mankind is His creation), and He made us individually. We are His creation, and I am His creation. I owe my existence (and my continuing existence) to Him.

Therefore I should worship Him. I belong to God by creation, and it is my due to glorify God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

We know that Jesus Christ is involved in creation. John 1:3 tells us that All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. Therefore Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship.

We shall see in the next chapter of Revelation that God, through Jesus Christ is doubly worthy of our worship. He has created us and He has redeemed us from our sins.

Tue, 12 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 13:13-18

¹³ Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Abijah, Solomon’s grandson, is ruling the southern kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam, who lead the successful revolt against Solomon’s son, is still the king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The conflict between the two kingdoms continues, and in a major battle, Abijah chastises Israel for rejecting the rightful king, the descendant of David (Abijah) and for rejecting the temple and the Levitical priesthood.

Jeroboam, instead of listening to this litany of his sins, uses the time to set an ambush for Abijah’s outnumbered men. But Abijah trusts in God and cries out for God’s assistance. God hears and delivers Israel and Jeroboam into Abijah’s hands. The author leaves us in no doubt how outnumbered Judah could win the battle. It was because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

What do we learn from this?

The battle isn’t always to the largest army. The victory doesn’t always go to the smartest or the strongest. God gives victory to those whom He chooses. That doesn’t mean that the godly will always win, for according to His perfect will, God has His people lose sometimes, but always for a purpose. He brings pain and suffering into our lives, but for a goal of bettering us or increasing His own glory.

But we also see there are times when God gives the victory to those who by every human standard have no possibility of winning. He does that to gain the glory, and to humble the proud.

In the example of our text, we see that God uses the weaker Judah to punish stronger Israel for their willful rejection of God. Judah had humbled themselves, and were trusting in God and not in their own military power. Therefore God acted on their behalf and fought for them. God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. It was the work of God on the behalf of His people who had humbled themselves.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Abijah asks why Israel had rebelled against God’s anointed king? They can not prosper fighting against the descendant of David, for God had promised to have a son on the throne forever. When they were rebelling against the descendant of David, they were rejecting the Messiah who was to come from the line of David. They were rejecting the great King Jesus Christ who was yet to come.

Mon, 11 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

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.

John begins his gospel with this great statement of the eternal nature of Jesus Christ.

What do we learn from this?

The Word existed before time began, since the Word was present with God at the beginning. The Word is not a created being, since the Word was present before creation and in fact is the agent of creation. The Word is separate from God, since the Word is with God at the beginning. And then we come to the amazing statement that the Word was God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

As we read John’s first chapter, it is clear that the Word is Jesus Christ. He is God, but He is a separate person than the Father (or the Spirit). John is telling us about the Trinity as He is informing us about the Second Person of the Trinity taking on human flesh and being born as Jesus Christ. He is God incarnate.

Sun, 10 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Zephaniah 2:1-3

¹ Gather together, yes, gather,
O shameless nation,
² before the decree takes effect
–before the day passes away like chaff–
before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the LORD,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the LORD.
³ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Zephaniah is about to declare God’s judgment upon the nations surrounding Judah. He calls for a convocation of the people of God, that they might understand the coming judgment, repent, humble themselves and escape judgment themselves.

What do we learn from this?

When God brings judgment upon the wicked, it is a time for us to consider our own sin. We should not gloat when others are being punished for their sin. We should not think we are superior to those who are suffering. Rather, we should realize that we too are sinners. We too have offended God and deserve punishment.

It is still possible for the righteous to be caught in the punishment of the wicked. There were righteous people in Judah when it was captured by Babylon (see the books of Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel for further details). They suffered along with the wicked. But we have also seen God work in mighty ways to spare the righteous from the judgment of the wicked (Noah and Lot for example). If we repent of our sins and humble ourselves before God in the face of His judgment on others, perhaps we might be spared the judgment that is to fall upon our own sinful nation. We might be part of a national repentance that causes God to withdraw His hand of judgment, or we might be personally spared. Who knows? In any case, it is a good thing for us to repent and get right with God, especially in the light of coming judgment.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Zephaniah is speaking of the temporal judgment coming upon the nations around Judah, and the coming judgment of the Babylonians carrying Judah into captivity. The lives of righteous people were spared, and they were taken alive into captivity.

But ultimately, we know that everyone who is trusting in Jesus Christ is spared the judgment of the last day. There is no uncertainty about it. We do not have to say that “perhaps” those who seek God through Jesus Christ may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. We know they will. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. They will be spared on the great day of the anger of the Lord, when eternal punishment is poured out upon all those who have not come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ.

Sat, 9 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Jude 1:3-4

³ Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude, Jesus’ brother, was concerned that his readers were being deceived by false teachers. He had wanted to write about their salvation, but found that he needed to warn them to contend for the faith.

What do we learn from this?

Doctrine is important. False teachers will undermine the crucial doctrines of the faith, and we need to fight to maintain the doctrinal purity of the church.

We need to believe. Belief is vitally important to a Christian. But we must believe the right things. Thus when there are people teaching wrong thing, things that are heretical, we must contend with them.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jude tells us that the false teachers who are undermining the doctrine of the church ultimately deny Jesus Christ. They teach that Jesus Christ less than God. This is a damnable heresy, for if Jesus Christ is not fully God, He can’t bear our sins. And if He is not fully man, He can’t represent us as our substitute, the second Adam. In taking away from Christ, they are denying the salvation that is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.

Fri, 8 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 8:12-15

¹² Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD that he had built before the vestibule, ¹³ as the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual feasts–the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. ¹⁴ According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their offices of praise and ministry before the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David the man of God had commanded. ¹⁵ And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

Solomon has finished building the temple. He now establishes the worship at the temple. There are specific duties that must be fulfilled daily, monthly, and yearly. There are particular actions that must be done at specific times. Solomon appointed the people to do these required tasks each day, and he is commended for it.

What do we learn from this?

God cares about what we do in our worship. There are tasks that we are commanded to do. We must do these. We are not free to do more, and we can not do less. This is called the regulative principle of worship.

We must not turn aside from God’s commands to us in what we do as part of our worship. We must not get creative and go beyond His commands. He has told us in His word what He wants from us.

Where is Christ in this passage?

All of our worship is to point to Jesus Christ. God has given us commands on what He wants us to do. If we add to or take away from these commands, we are adding to or taking away from that which points to Christ. We are adding to or displacing divinely inspired elements that reveal Jesus Christ with man made, fallible elements. We are giving an inaccurate picture of Jesus Christ, for we are not doing what God has commanded.

We must do the duty of each day required in our worship. No more and no less.

Thu, 7 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Luke 21:1-4

¹ Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ³ And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Jesus and the disciples are watching people putting money into the temple offering box. Some are putting in vast sums. Others are putting in less. One woman puts in two coins.

Who put in the most? We would answer that the rich clearly put in most. But that is not Jesus’ answer. He tells us that the poor widow’s two coins are more than anything anyone else gave.

What do we learn from this?

We often don’t have the correct perspective on what is significant. We look around us and think we can judge how much people are doing for God. I am an officer in the church and an usher. You are just a member. I am doing more for God. But the pastor is doing more than both of us. He is doing more for God.

This is the wrong way to look at these things. We are each responsible to serve God with what He has given us. Some have been given more, and so more is expected of them. Some have been given less. Often those who have been given less are doing far more for God than those who have been more richly blessed.

We must be careful about judging ourselves against others and ranking ourselves in the kingdom of God. I am not greater than others just because I have been enabled by God to do things that are more visible. Everyone is needed in the kingdom of God, and all have an important role to play.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ Himself is the one praising the widow for her service to the kingdom of God. She has served to the utmost of her ability, and this does not go unnoticed by our Lord. He honors her in our text as He will someday honor all those who have gone unnoticed but have done so much for the kingdom of heaven.

Wed, 6 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Habakkuk 1:1-4

¹ The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

² O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
³ Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
⁴ So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.

Habakkuk complains of the loss of the presence of God. O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?

What do we learn from this?

This is a familiar cry to the people of God. We pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but there seems to be no change. To all appearances, things continue to get worse. Lord, why don’t you hear my cry?

In times of despair, as we fight to understand how things can be the way they are if God is really in control, we can lose our sense of God’s presence. It seems that our prayers go no higher than the ceiling.

How about you? Have you felt that way? I am all alone. No one knows what I am facing. There are no answers to my prayers. The wicked continue to thrive, and the godly are repressed.

Job in his despair, cried out, “If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice. He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths.” Job 19:7-8. Job understood this feeling.

Sometimes, we can feel like God has left us. In times of great stress, we can lose the sense of God’s presence. In those desperate times, what promises can we cling to?

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (5 negatives in Hebrew) (Quoted in Heb 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”)

Ultimately, in our times of feeling deserted, we need to take our cares and concerns to God. That is what Habakkuk does. Even in his times of feeling that God does not hear his prayers, what does he do? He prays to God! So should we.

Where is Christ in this passage?

There might be times when we feel that God has abandoned us, but it is not true. He has promised to never leave us. He has promised that because of Jesus Christ, we will never be abandoned by God.

Romans 8:18-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?…. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Tue, 5 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

1 John 4:7-8

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

We are very familiar with the statement, God is love. That is a great comfort to us, knowing that God is loving and merciful. But John brings this up to teach a specific point: We should love each other.

What do we learn from this?

Beloved, let us love one another. The Greek is very striking: “agapehtoi, agapomen”. Both come from the root word, “agapeh” Self-less love. The first is a noun “Beloved, Dear, Worthy of love”. It signifies the object of another’s love. The second is a verb. It is present tense subjunctive. Present tense – continue to love. Subjunctive – it is an exhortation. John is telling us what we should be doing on a continual basis. Placed together, we see: We are the objects of God’s love, and we should continue to love each other.

In verse 7, John gets in another dig against the false teachers he has been combating throughout the book. These false teachers claim to have a secret knowledge of God. John tells us we are loved by God and that all love is from God. If you love, you have been born of God. So if you love in this way, you know God. This is in contrast to the false teachers who claim a knowledge of God but don’t love the brothers. Our love for the brothers will prove the validity of our claim to know God. This disproves the false teachers claim that they know God, for they do not continually love others.

In verse 8, John turns this around and states the same thing negatively. Anyone who does not love does not know God. This is saying the same thing as verse 7. Our loving others will prove the validity of our claim to know God. Does someone tell you about their great knowledge of God? If it is real, it will show in their actions. (If they have to tell you about about their great knowledge of God, it probably isn’t real.)

So we have here the command to love fellow Christians.

Where is Christ in this passage?

God is love, and we show we know God by loving our fellow believers. John will go on to show that God ultimately showed His love for us by sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. This is the perfect example of loving our fellow believers.