September 30: Malachi 1-4

September 30, Malachi 1-4

Today is the last of the readings for the Old Testament - Malachi. 

He was a prophet who was speaking to the Jews about how they have backslid and fallen away from who they were called to be. 

Malachi 1 God lets His people know that He has loved them but they didn't see it. They couldn't see it…

They brought God bad offerings our of obligation but not love, which is why God was not accepting their offerings of blind animals, lame animals and sick ones - they were not bringing God their best. This is just your basic lip service… but their hearts were not in it. They were cheating God and He wasn't about to take it. 

Malachi 2 History just continued to repeat itself. Again, the priests - the leaders - were corrupt and God was rebuking them and done with it.  God was tired of their disobedience. Malachi pleads with them to just love God. The priests had led people astray instead of building them up and helping them to pursue holiness. Malachi implores with them to just love God - they are the ones that were unfaithful, not God. They were sexually immoral and have gone backwards… it is high time they turn it around. 

Malachi 3 God will be sending a messenger, John the Baptist (we will learn more about him very soon!), to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Jesus will purify all their sins and do all kinds of amazing things. 

They have been robbing God by not giving to him. God told them to test Him and just give and see how God works it all out and takes care of them by opening the storehouse of heaven and pour down on them blessing. Do not bless the arrogant who live like they don't need God. God will spare the righteous but the wicked will be dealt with by God. 

Malachi 4 The evil dowers will die because of their arrogance. God will send John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus.

How does the Old Testament end? “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” That is from God…

To sum it all up: 

• Do we give God our crap? Everything we have from God is a gift and He deserves our best, not our leftovers. 

September 29: Nehemiah 11-13, Psalm 126

September 29, Nehemiah 11-13, Psalm 126

Nehemiah continued…

Nehemiah 11 It seemed as thought the intent here was to repopulate Jerusalem. All the leaders lived there and so they cast lots for other people to come live there and some came voluntarily and were blessed because of it. 

Then we read a list of the chiefs that lived in Jerusalem, along with the Benjaminites, Levites, Priests, gatekeepers and overseers.  

Nehemiah 12 This is another list of Priests and Levites who came up to Jerusalem at that time.

Then it was time to dedicate the wall that they rebuilt. This was to be a huge celebration of a time of thankfulness as they dedicated the temple with singers and musicians. Nehemiah made sure that the priests were purified and the people too. 

The people came to the city and then we learn about 2 choirs that were put together to give thanks to God. The choirs went to both sides of the city and they rejoiced together and made great offerings and sacrifices to God with great joy. Just like in the time of King David, there was music before the Lord with leadership.

Nehemiah 13 That same day they read from the Book of Moses and learned that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly and so they sent all the foreigners away. Before this happened, Eliashib the priest - who was in charge of the chambers of house of God - prepared a place for his relative Tobiah (an enemy of the Jews). All of this was happening when Nehemiah wasn't there because he was visiting his old King Artaxerxes. When Nehemiah returned and saw the evil that was done - that Tobiah had a place in the Lord’s house - he took all his furniture and threw it out. What else happened when Nehemiah had been away? The Levites were not getting their fair share of the portions, the Jews were not obeying the Sabbath, the outsiders are selling things to the Jews on the Sabbath, Jews married foreigners… What was the results? Nehemiah appointed treasurers to make sure the Levites got their share.Nehemiah kicked out the the sellers on the Sabbath. He was so angry because these were the things that led to the fall of the Jews. With the intermarrying, “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.” They were being outright disobedient and needed to be reminded of the covenant that they just made that they just broke. Nehemiah prayed numerous times that God would not hold their sins against him but that God would remember Nehemiah’s good deeds. Nehemiah did his best to cleanse all the idols and foreign gods. 

Psalm 126 This is a community lament. God is the one who restores and saves. God had been made known among the nations for how He blessed and took care of His people. Joy will be the overarching emotion. 

To sum it all up: 

• How quickly we can (like the Jews) forget the promises we make when things become ‘normal’ or when the leader that motivated everyone is gone. We have to stop this. Our convictions need to be ours - not an emotion but a life change. 
• We must strive with every effort to be obedient to God and not go back to our old ways. Eradicate the sins that send you back to who you once were…

September 28: Nehemiah 8-10

September 28, Nehemiah 8-10

Nehemiah continued…

Nehemiah 8 All the people gathered together - united - to wholeheartedly listen to God’s Word as Ezra read the Law of Moses to them. This took about 1/2 a day to do! Ezra stood up on a podium that they had made for just the occasion. The people joined Ezra in blessing the Lord. The people recognize their guilt as they hear what was expected of them and how they had fallen so short of what God had called them to. “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” That is how it should be… They people were overwhelmed and Ezra and Nehemiah reminded them to not mourn any longer but to celebrate and rejoice in God. They discovered that they were supposed to be celebrating the Feast of booths (in essence, it is temporarily living in ‘booths’ that were located outside their houses. They had learned this as they read about the law) - so they obeyed and went and found branches to build booths to live in order to obey. This had not been observed for many years, so this is a big deal. Ezra kept on teaching them during the 7 day festival. 

Nehemiah 9 All the people were fasting and mourning and praying in assembly. “And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.” This entire chapter is about remembering what God had done for them and also how sinful their fathers were - but they owned the sins too, they didn't blame shift. It is a great summary chapter of the journey that God had brought them on. Still, even though they sinned continuously and were idolatrous, God never abandoned or forgot them. They made a covenant promising to be obedient this time around and had all the leaders and priests and officials sign it. 

Nehemiah 10 This chapter starts out with a long list of the officials that signed the covenant. The covenant promised to obey God’s laws, including sacrifices, offerings, and not intermarrying with foreigners. Remember this: “join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.” They were so serious that they said they would be cursed if they did not obey. That is true commitment to faith. 

To sum it all up: 

• Faith. Is your faith being lived out or just sometimes talked about? Do you mourn over your sins when God reveals them to you?
• We serve a Holy God who is not ‘playing’ around when it comes to sin against Him.
• Today would be a great time to put your faith in action…

September 27: Nehemiah 6-7

September 27, Nehemiah 6-7

Nehemiah continued…

Nehemiah 6 Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were some of Nehemiah and Israel’s enemies. When they heard that the wall was rebuilt, they requested a meeting with Nehemiah. He refused because they intended to do him harm. They requested a meeting 4 times and 4 times he refused. The 5th time, Sanballat sent a servant with a letter that was full of lies and deceit against Nehemiah & Israel - basically saying that the Jews intended to rebel and other lies. Nehemiah saw right through it and told them he would not stop working to come to them and he prayed for strength from God to keep going. 

Nehemiah then goes and meets with a guy named Shemaiah. This guy wanted to meet at the temple so that Nehemiah could lock himself in there and hide because his enemies wanted to kill him. Nehemiah saw right through this as well. Only the prophets were allowed to go in the temple and he recognized that his enemies were behind this false prophecy. He asked God not to forget what Shemaiah had done (against him…)
The wall was finished in 52 days - this was obvious to all around that God was with them because that is near impossible to complete that fast, unless of course God is on your side! This caused all the enemies to fear them. Some nobles tried to convince Nehemiah that Tobiah was a good guy, even though at the same time Tobiah is sending letters to make Nehemiah afraid. Yeah, a good guy!

Nehemiah 7 After the wall was finished, Nehemiah put his brother Hanani and another guy named Hannaniah as governor over Jerusalem. His brother was a righteous man and more faithful than many. Nehemiah realized that the city was large and the people in it were few.

God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to look at the genealogy of all those accounted for in Jerusalem. It is basically an identical list to that of Ezra 2. It is speculated that part of the reason for doing the count again was the concern on repopulating God’s people. 

To sum it all up: 

• When you are being obedient to God and you are passionate about what God is passionate about, you will be attacked by the Enemy. He will use every tactic to get you discouraged and off track.
• Don’t fall for it. See it for what it is and pray against it and keep going. 
• We have a great example in Nehemiah to keep going. Stay faithful. Be obedient. Serve God and ask Him for continued strength.

September 26: Nehemiah 1-5

September 26, Nehemiah 1-5

Nehemiah is basically a continuation of Ezra. Think about it more like a sequel to the first. This book is all about God protecting his people and the requirements that they need to remain faithful to Him, and his laws. Remember, back in Jewish days, this was considered one book – Ezra/Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah 1 this book was written by Nehemiah. He got word that the remnant in Jerusalem in trouble and Shane because the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down. Upon hearing this news, Nehemiah wept and mourned for days. He fasted and prayed before God. He confessed the sins of his people and admitted to their corrupt ways and not keeping God's Commandments. They knew the that warning that if they did not obey God would scatter them and he did so. At the end of the chapter we learn that he was the cupbearer to the King–a prominent place and obviously a close relationship to the king.

Nehemiah 2 nehemiah was serving wine to King Artaxerxes and the king realized that Nehemiah was sad. He had never seen this before with him. The king asked him what he was requesting. Before he responded, he asked God for direction. Then, Nehemiah lead his request be known for the King– he wanted to go back to his people and help rebuild the city. The king granted everything that he asked because God was with nehemiah. The king wrote letters for Nehemiah to send out basically saying that the king had granted him permission, protection, and whatever else he needed to accomplish the task at hand. So, Nehemiah was on his way to Jerusalem and he went with officers of the Army at Horseman for protection given to him by the king. Nehemiah, When he arrived to Jerusalem, went on a scouting mission to see what was really going on without telling anybody what God had spoken to him or commanded him to do. After that, Nehemiah addressed all the people in Jerusalem that God was with him for the good of people and the king also backed them up. That being said, there was opponents in the crowd that made fun of him and were against what he was doing. Nehemiah basically told them that God will prosper them regardless of their opposition and that they had no rights to anything in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 3 this chapter is basically a lineage/genealogy of all of the groups that helped rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. As you know, Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon 586 BC now it is up to Nehemiah to rebuild the wall to protect them. To summarize this chapter, you can look at all the hard-working men and women that help to rebuild what God has done in this chapter.

Nehemiah 4 enter in the opposition. When the opposition came, Nehemiah did not defend them but prayed that God would have his way with them, since they provoked him to anger. The enemies did their best to plot evil against people but by prayer and intercession, Nehemiah did a great job of setting protection for his people day and night. This is great leadership. It takes prayer and action. Nehemiah had decided to put people by their clans together with their spears and shovels - to protect each other and also to get the work done. God reminded them to not be afraid because he is grading awesome. They were to protect their brothers and sisters and their homes. Did a fantastic job of frustrating the plans of the enemy and all the Jews continued to work. They work with a spear in one hand defined off the enemy and a shovel in the other hand to continue on God’s work. They didn't even change their clothes are wash their clothes in between shifts– they kept working.

Nehemiah 5 this chapter is when we see the pastor side of Nehemiah. People are complaining that they had mortgaged all their fields and possessions just to put the table– To their fellow brethren. They had borrowed money to pay their taxes from their fellow Jews. Nehemiah was outrage when he had heard this. He brought together the big wigs and the officials… he basically called them out. He told then no more collecting interest from your fellow brothers and we have been sold before so how is it now that we're selling our fellow brothers? What they were doing was not good. Instead what they should be doing is walking in the fear of God. Nehemiah commanded that they give back the land and no longer charged interest to the fellow Jews. The crazy thing is, they have made. Nehemiah was now appointed Governor over the land of Judah. He did not take any thing from the governor but he lead by example because he feared God and gave all that he had to the Kingdom.

To sum it all up: 

• what we should be doing is walking in the fear of God.
• Our obedience is shown through the lives that we live. Lip service is not enough. That leads to pathetic Christianity that does not lead to life change.
• Let me ask you something, does your life reflect the love and passion that Christ had? If it does not, it is time for you to change things up and live your life according to his glorious majesty and stop living for yourself.
• Isn't it about time that you got over your self and fell crazy in love with Jesus Christ? Today is the day of your salvation… Live every moment to its fullest because we do not know when we will have another moment!

September 25: Ezra 7-10

September 25, Ezra 7-10

Nehemiah is basically a continuation of Ezra. Think about it more like a sequel to the first. This book is all about God protecting his people and the requirements that they need to remain faithful to Him, and his laws. Remember, back in Jewish days, this was considered one book – Ezra/Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah 1 this book was written by Nehemiah. He got word that the remnant in Jerusalem in trouble and Shane because the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down. Upon hearing this news, Nehemiah wept and mourned for days. He fasted and prayed before God. He confessed the sins of his people and admitted to their corrupt ways and not keeping God's Commandments. They knew the that warning that if they did not obey God would scatter them and he did so. At the end of the chapter we learn that he was the cupbearer to the King–a prominent place and obviously a close relationship to the king.

Nehemiah 2 nehemiah was serving wine to King Artaxerxes and the king realized that Nehemiah was sad. He had never seen this before with him. The king asked him what he was requesting. Before he responded, he asked God for direction. Then, Nehemiah lead his request be known for the King– he wanted to go back to his people and help rebuild the city. The king granted everything that he asked because God was with nehemiah. The king wrote letters for Nehemiah to send out basically saying that the king had granted him permission, protection, and whatever else he needed to accomplish the task at hand. So, Nehemiah was on his way to Jerusalem and he went with officers of the Army at Horseman for protection given to him by the king. Nehemiah, When he arrived to Jerusalem, went on a scouting mission to see what was really going on without telling anybody what God had spoken to him or commanded him to do. After that, Nehemiah addressed all the people in Jerusalem that God was with him for the good of people and the king also backed them up. That being said, there was opponents in the crowd that made fun of him and were against what he was doing. Nehemiah basically told them that God will prosper them regardless of their opposition and that they had no rights to anything in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 3 this chapter is basically a lineage/genealogy of all of the groups that helped rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. As you know, Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon 586 BC now it is up to Nehemiah to rebuild the wall to protect them. To summarize this chapter, you can look at all the hard-working men and women that help to rebuild what God has done in this chapter.

Nehemiah 4 enter in the opposition. When the opposition came, Nehemiah did not defend them but prayed that God would have his way with them, since they provoked him to anger. The enemies did their best to plot evil against people but by prayer and intercession, Nehemiah did a great job of setting protection for his people day and night. This is great leadership. It takes prayer and action. Nehemiah had decided to put people by their clans together with their spears and shovels - to protect each other and also to get the work done. God reminded them to not be afraid because he is grading awesome. They were to protect their brothers and sisters and their homes. Did a fantastic job of frustrating the plans of the enemy and all the Jews continued to work. They work with a spear in one hand defined off the enemy and a shovel in the other hand to continue on God’s work. They didn't even change their clothes are wash their clothes in between shifts– they kept working.

Nehemiah 5 this chapter is when we see the pastor side of Nehemiah. People are complaining that they had mortgaged all their fields and possessions just to put the table– To their fellow brethren. They had borrowed money to pay their taxes from their fellow Jews. Nehemiah was outrage when he had heard this. He brought together the big wigs and the officials… he basically called them out. He told then no more collecting interest from your fellow brothers and we have been sold before so how is it now that we're selling our fellow brothers? What they were doing was not good. Instead what they should be doing is walking in the fear of God. Nehemiah commanded that they give back the land and no longer charged interest to the fellow Jews. The crazy thing is, they have made. Nehemiah was now appointed Governor over the land of Judah. He did not take any thing from the governor but he lead by example because he feared God and gave all that he had to the Kingdom.

To sum it all up: 

• what we should be doing is walking in the fear of God.
• Our obedience is shown through the lives that we live. Lip service is not enough. That leads to pathetic Christianity that does not lead to life change.
• Let me ask you something, does your life reflect the love and passion that Christ had? If it does not, it is time for you to change things up and live your life according to his glorious majesty and stop living for yourself.
• Isn't it about time that you got over your self and fell crazy in love with Jesus Christ? Today is the day of your salvation… Live every moment to its fullest because we do not know when we will have another moment!a

September 25: Ezra 7-10

September 25, Ezra 7-10

Ezra continued…

Ezra 7 We are now introduced to Ezra. He was a scribe and skilled in the Law of Moses. His lineage goes all the way back to Aaron! He was granted favor by the king because God’s favor was upon him. He went up to Jerusalem with a bunch of others and it took them about 5 months to get there. They sought God for protection against their enemies and God protected them the whole way. King Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter basically saying that permits any other Jew to go with Ezra to Jerusalem and he commissions Ezra to govern the people of Judah. In addition, the king gave Ezra a bunch of money to be used for the sacrifices to God and whatever else was needed. If that wasn't enough, Ezra was given permission to utilize any money that was in the treasury to do whatever he felt that God needed him to do. He told Ezra to appoint judges and leaders and that if people did not submit to what God was doing, he had the permission to deal with them however seemed right. Ezra couldn't help but praise God for the blessing and working through the king in such a mighty way.

Ezra 8 begins with a genealogy of those who travelled with him to Jerusalem. While they were on their journey to Jerusalem, Ezra realized that they didn't have any Levites with them! They needed Levites to run the temple… How did God respond? “And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion…” God always works it out for His purpose! Ezra declared a fast there to gain God’s protection for the rest of the journey, and God honored it and protected them. God was testing their faith a bit…

They arrived safely with all possessions in Jerusalem. They offered a bunch of offerings to God in Jerusalem! What a celebration...

Ezra 9 After the offerings, some officials approached Ezra and told him that not all all the Israelites and priests and Levites have separated themselves from the people of abominations (neighbors) and have intermarried - it was the leaders that led the way for this sin. Ezra was devastated and tore his clothes and mourned. Other obedient Israelites joined his mourning. Ezra fasted till evening and repented to God for the sins of the people and recognized all their sins. But God did leave a remnant of His people because He didn't forsake them or abandon them, but showed His steadfast love. 

What was the resolve? They realized they couldn't get this all wrong again and decided it would be best to not have intermarriages (that were against God’s laws because it led to sin and idolatry). God had punished them less than what their sins deserved. 

Ezra 10 Ezra was a godly leader. He came before the people and wept bitterly to the Lord and made confession of their sins. Shecaniah suggested that they mage a conveant to God to put away all the foreign wives and kids out of obedience and tremble at the commandment of God. They banned the foreigners and all the people recognized how severe their sins were. Ezra proclaimed again their sins and exhorted the people to make their own confessions and to separate themselves. They obeyed. 

The priests were the greatest offenders and they too repented.  

To sum it all up: 

• Short story - don’t mess with God! He will have His way!! 
• God is calling us to holy living and nothing less. Get rid of the things in your life that God has clearly spoken against and pursue Him while there is still time. 

September 24: Esther 6-10

September 24, Esther 6-10

Esther continued…

Esther 6 It was late at night and God gave insomnia to the king - he couldn't sleep. He gave orders to have the memorable deeds, the chronicles, brought in and read to him. He learned about what Mordecai had done for him - by saving his life when there were threats against his life - and he figured out that nothing had been done to honor him or thank him. God’s timing is impeccable… The king is looking for one of his advisors. Who was around? Haman was in the palace (he was waiting like Esther did to enter into his chambers and tell the king his plan on killing Mordecai). The king said to bring Haman in. The king asked Haman what he should do to honor somebody (Haman thought the king was referring to him)? Haman gives an elaborate answer about wearing the kings clothes, a crown and being shown off in the town square as one honored by the king (something he wanted…). The king told him to go grab Mordecai and do just as Haman had said! So, Haman had to walk Mordecai through town shouting that this is what is done to those the king wants to honor - how awesome for Mordecai and humiliating for Haman. 

Haman goes home literally mourning and his wife and his friends got the run down about what just happened. The wife and friends said, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” Mordecai’s God is too powerful and you can’t beat him. It is obvious that there is power in Mordecai’s God!

Esther 7 It is now time for Esther’s second feast for Haman and the king. After eating, they are kicking back drinking some wine and Esther finally reveals her wish to the king/ “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman! She was bold, respectful direct, and obedient. Haman was obviously terrified. The king was outraged and left his wine and went for a walk in the garden. Haman was pleading for his life to the king and was falling over her on the couch - and in walks the king to see Haman in a bad position. “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” The rage continued. What did the king do? He had Haman hung on the gallows made for Mordecai outside his own house!

Esther 8 Queen Esther got the house of Haman. The king gave Mordecai the signet ring that was given to Haman and Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Esther went in to the king again and he held out the scepter (she was safe) and pleaded the he revoke the letters of Haman to kill all the Jews. The king agreed and let Mordecai write whatever he wanted to all the 127 provinces and seal it with the signet ring. What did the new decree say: “…saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods…” The harm that was to be done to the Jews was now to be done to the enemies of the Jews. The fear of the Jews was now upon the people.

Esther 9 The enemies were afraid of the Jews now. Mordecai was great in the kings house and famous throughout the land. The Jews were given permission to strike down all their enemies. They ended up killing about 75,000 enemies but didn't end up taking any of their plunder. They hung Haman’s 10 sons. 

The Feast of Purim - to honor the day, Esther and Mordecai issued a decree that the Jews should celebrate annually what was done for them - “as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” This festival was to be remembered through each generation. 

Esther 10 Mordecai became great and powerful. Second in power to the king in 127 provinces! This actually paved the way for Ezra & Nehemiah to begin the work of rebuilding the Temple

To sum it all up: 

• Do people see how powerful our God is by watching your life?
• God will have His way… Do you see that?
• Often times, hardships are for our growth and God’s Glory. Don’t fight it - embrace where God has you and see it as an opportunity to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. 

September 23: Esther 1-5

September 23, Esther 1-5

Esther. The author is unknown. A very interesting thing about this book - it does not explicitly mention the name of God, yet the entire book is about God working things out for His people and His purpose. This is a book about courage, hardship and faith.

Historically, this book is very important. As you will read, there were great threats that the Jews were to be annihilated after they were exiled to Babylon. This in and of itself sets this book apart as historically important. 

Esther 1 The king of 127 provinces, Ahasuerus, threw a great feast. He showed off all his wealth by impressing his friends for almost 1/2 a year. They drank much wine out of golden cups and they drank to excess. At the same time, the Queen - Vashti, threw a banquet for the women in one of the palaces. The king was fairly drunk and he though it would be a good idea to bring his wife to his party, wearing nothing but her crown, to show her off to his buddies. She declined. Back in that day, nobody refused the queen without consequence. The king was furious and after receiving some advice from his counsellors, he banned her from being queen and ever seeing him again. The counsellors reasoning was that if she didn't submit to the king, there was no hope for any of the other wives to submit and they would treat their husbands with contempt. The king sent out a letter to all people that the men were to be the leaders of their household - both the high and the low families. Ironic, that the king was going to force it on others as his home didn't reflect his desires. 

Esther 2 After this happened, the king decreed that he wanted all the beautiful young virgins to be found and brought to him. They were to be trained in the ways of palace living and the goal was to find a queen to replace Queen Vashti. 

Now enter the narrative two people, Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai was a Jew who was exiled with the others when Nebuchadnezzar took over. Mordecai had raised Esther, he was related to her, because she had not mom and dad. She was young and beautiful (meeting the criteria of the king), so she was brought into the palace for the king. After 12 months of palace training, she had won the favor of all around her. She went into the kings palace and the king loved her more than all the other women. He set the crown on her head and made her Queen instead of Vashti and he threw a party.

Esther 3 Enter another character to the story, Haman. The king promoted Haman and advanced him above all the other rulers (beside himself). All people were to bow down in his presence, but Mordecai refused to. This infuriated Haman and it made him want to destroy the Jews because of Haman. Haman schemed on this and figured out a way to convince the King to kill all the Jews, and Haman would even put his own money in to make it happen. His spin was that they didn't keep all the kings rules, and the king agreed. They wrote up the decree that all the Jews in all the provinces were to be plundered and destroyed, and the king sealed the decree (irrevocable). 

Esther 4 Mordecai learned what was decreed and he tour his clothes and mourned and wept aloud in the city. Every Jew was mourning. Esther heard about Mordecai and she was distressed. The option was for Esther to go to the king and see what she could do - however here is the caveat: if she goes to the king without him asking to see her, it would mean sudden death to her, unless of course the king approved of her visit by holding out his golden scepter. Mordecai gave her a nice challenge and told her that she would not be spared either, as she was a Jew - not public information as of yet. “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, buy you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” I love that line - only God knows why He has us when and where He has us. They agreed to all fast for 3 days and she would go in and see the king. 

Esther 5 On the third day, Esther went in to meet the king - she hadn't been called by him for 30 days at this point - and he held out his scepter and accepted her to be in his presence. He asked her what she wanted, even up to 1/2 of his kingdom! She said she wanted to hold a feast for him and Haman. Granted. She held a feast for them, and after they were done he asked her what her request was, and she replied that she would tell him if she could hold him an additional feast the next day .He agreed. 

Haman was full of joy and happiness, that is until he saw the Jew Mordecai not bowing down to him. His was instantly furious and went and gathered his wife and friends for some advice as to what he should do about it. His wife came up with the idea for him to build a huge allow (hanging contraption) and get the king to allow him to hang Mordecai on it. He like date idea and the construction of the death gallows began…

To sum it all up: 

• Do you see how God is working everything out?
• Even when things seem completely horrible - know that God is in control and will work it out. I know that sounds trite and easier said than done… but believe you me - if God isn't in control of everything - we are severely screwed. There is no such thing as chance.
• God has you where He wants you - now be obedient and do what He is calling you to do. God has put people in your life for a reason. Now be obedient and pursue holiness in every relationship. Live intentional. 

September 22: Zechariah 8-14

September 22, Zechariah 8-14

Zechariah continued…

Zechariah 8 is actually tied in a bit with chapter 7, but still can stand alone. God is jealous for His people and wants to renew His presence with them. This would give them hope and renewing of their purpose in Him. God was bringing them home and back into the fold! They are not to fear the surrounding nations. They were called and are called to: “Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.” God is making it clear that He is calling them to a life that is a pursuit of holiness and wholeness - making sure that they are bring who God has called them to be. 

Zechariah 9 God will be bringing judgment upon those who have or do oppose His people. God will protect His people.

Then we have another Messianic Prophecy about Jesus, the King, that will come riding in on a donkey. John 12:15 quotes this Scripture in the New Testament, fulfilling this prophecy because it came to pass.
God will save His people through this Jesus Christ. “On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty…” God is so good. 

Zechariah 10 The restoration of God’s people… God is the one who controls the weather and it is God who provides. God wants to be rid of all worthless idols and lying shepherds. Poor leadership has brought the people of Judah & Israel to where they are at and God had enough of it. 

God will rebuild His people and strengthen them and save them through His compassion. He will answer them when He calls. 

Zechariah 11 This chapter is about the unfaithful being doomed to slaughter. Greed. Self. No pity from God. God is the true shepherd of His people.

Then we have a direct reference to Jesus’ betrayer, Judas Iscariot. This is also fulfilled in Matthew 27:9-10. Jesus was to be betrayed for this same amount, 30 pieces of silver, as prophesied hundred of years before it actually occurred. 

Zechariah 12 God is the one who brings Salvation. God will strengthen Israel, so that if anyone comes against her, they will be destroyed by God. God will strengthen His people! Even the weakest of them will be strong like David. 

Here we also encounter another Messianic prophecy that proves the validity of Jesus Christ. He was pierced. From John 19, “33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” What God says will happen will happen! Just like He said it would. And from Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” I love how only God Almighty could orchestrate such amazing details. 

 God will be getting rid of the names of the idols of their land. False prophets will be done away with as well 

Then we have yet another Messianic prophecy! From verse 7, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.” This occurred in Matthew 26:31, “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.” Just like God said would happen - it happened. God will have His people call to Him and He will answer them. 

Zechariah 14 Judah will have a future struggle with other nations & the battle will be fierce.We then get a picture of a Day of the Lord and Jerusalem will still stand… It is God’s victory for God’s purposes. There will come a day when none are against the Lord. 

To sum it all up: 

• Where do we go from here?
• We praise God that He is a Man of His Word! What God says will happen will happen. 
• Even though sometimes it seemed as though Zechariah had some crazy wild visions, we see now what God meant through all of it - it was preparation for His Son coming to save the world from their sins and have an opportunity to live eternally with Him. 
• What is our responsibility? To humbly pursue a life of holiness that reflects our love for His Son, Jesus Christ. Now go do it!

September 21: Zechariah 1-7

September 21, Zechariah 1-7

Today we jump into another minor prophet, Zechariah. He was a priest and part of a royal family who returned to Jerusalem from the exile. He was writing to a discouraged people and was revealing to them a future hope. There are numerous Messianic prophesies in his book. He was a contemporary of Haggai and obedient to share what God spoke to him about!

Zechariah 1 The Word of the Lord came to Zechariah with a warning to the people to not act like their fathers did and consequently got them into the mess that they are currently recovering from. Their fathers were evil and eventually repented. Their fathers did not come to God and He therefore did not come to them. 

Zechariah had numerous visions from God. The first of many are of him seeing horses of different colors that God had sent to roam the earth and report back to God what they had seen. They had seen a complacent people on earth, God’s enemies. God was jealous for Jerusalem & Zion, and angry with all the nations that were against His people. The people returned to God and God returned to His people. God’s people would experience great blessing because of it. 

He then saw a vision of four horns - those were the 4 nations against Judah and the four craftsmen he saw were coming to take out the enemies. Stay with me…!

Zechariah 2 Is another vision of God’s people and Jerusalem - the basic thrust of these chapters is that God’s people would be numerous and that if anyone goes against God’s people they will be going against God Himself. 

Zechariah 3 There is another vision and this one is blatantly Messianic in nature. Joshua was standing before the Lord and Satan was there to accuse him - & the Lord flat out rebuked Satan and declared that Jerusalem was chosen for God. Joshua the High Priest is in nasty dirty garments and they were to be cleaned - this is a word picture for God taking away our sins through Jesus Christ, our High Priest. The warning - if we walk in God’s ways through Christ God will remove our iniquities. This is more than just a suggestions but this is God declaring it. 

Zechariah 4 More visions… Golden Lamp stand, a bowl, seven lamps, seven lips on top, two olive trees… This vision was for Zerubbabel (who was helping build the temple) and also a future reference for God’s future house (heaven with us). The basic push of this is to take courage with small successes and keep our focus on the end goal - being with God forever in His home. 

Zechariah 5 The vision of the Flying Scroll is used to wipe out the sins of sinners. 

Zechariah has another vision  about a basket and a woman - again this is about the removal of sin (Christ will do that and did that!).

Zechariah 6 Zechariah now sees 4 chariots between bronze mountains. These are God’s messengers - a basic expansion from Chapter 1... 

Again, our attention is brought to the future hope of Jesus. The ‘Branch’ is a symbolic name of Jesus. God will gather His people through Jesus. 

Zechariah 7 During King Darius’s reign, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah again. People were asking if they should continue fasting like they had been doing. Zechariah reminds them that their fasting was less than genuine and their hearts were not in it. They were selfishly doing what they wanted and when they wanted, but now that they were going to have a temple again, what were they to do? God called them to be truthful and to do what He has commanded them to do - take care of people and be obedient servants of Yahweh. 

To sum it all up: 

• Wow - what a study of crazy ideas, word pictures and instruction. What can we take from this? A basic application is simply to make sure that your heart is for Christ alone and that you are living for His glory and not your own. Only you can answer that with the Lord’s revelation to you. 
• Where is your heart? Are you ready for the return of Christ? Today is the day of Salvation for many of you. Trust in Christ!

September 20: Haggai 1-2

September 20, Haggai 1-2

Haggai is one of the 12 minor prophets. Background real quick - 50,000 Jews have just returned to Jerusalem from exile. They started to build the temple and were stopped for about 15 years because of oposition. King Darius is now in charge and God is working through him to accomplish His will. Haggai encourages the Jews on their hearts and labor. Haggai is very much about the Sovereignty of God. The term, ‘Lord of Hosts’ occurs 14 times in this short 2 chapter book. Haggai is a prophet of the Lord for just the right time…

Haggai 1 The command and the work on the temple begins/continues. God spoke to Haggai and the thrust of his prophetic message was that God was not blessing His people because they were not building Him a Temple. They were building their own places and doing their own thing, but they were not for God. “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm…” They have lost sight of what is most important - God. They are to go to God first, as are we. God brought a drought on the land to remind them. If they people had opened their eyes, they would have seen that God is not blessing them. Very soon after that, the people obeyed and got back to work as God stirred in them and their leadership.

Haggai 2 The Messianic Vision! God told Haggai to go and talk to the governor, the high priest and the remnant. He tells them that the reconstructed Temple will be greater than the first temple and he encouraged them by reminding them that God’s Spirit was with them, and they should have no fear. God’s Glory will be present in this Temple. Haggai’s mind was on the Temple in front of them, but the Lord’s mind was on the future Temple. Haggai is clearly referring to a future Temple where it will be about souls not stones. “Haggai closes with a vision of Zerubbabel’s crowning day. Zerubbabel represented David’s Family.” Halley’s Bible Handbook. What God has promised will come to pass. 

To sum it all up: 

• An interesting note from chapter 1 - when the people feared the Lord they obeyed Him. Fear the Lord = obedience to His Word & Will
• The future Temple - will you be with me there? No sin. All of God’s Glory. Do what you need to do to prepare now for your eternal destination. Repent and return to God and show the world that you are for Him and not against Him. 

September 19: Ezra 4-6 & Psalm 137

September 19, Ezra 4-6 & Psalm 137

Ezra continued… & then Psalm 137!

Ezra 4 We learn about the opposition to God and His people doing the Lord’s work. So, what is going on? Basically, there was some adversaries who heard that the Jews were back in town, so they took the fictitious friendly approach. They asked if they could help them build the temple and they went so far as to say that they too worship God (yeah right). Jeshua and the boys declined their offer and they said that they were going to do it to their God by themselves, since that what God and King Cyrus said for them to do. Their enemies did not like this, so they schemed and bribed the other people and counsellors to go against them and screw with their plans and Cyrus… they succeeded temporarily. They wrote a letter to Emperor Artaxerxes (pronounced artazerkseas) in Aramaic against Jerusalem with a bunch of lies in it and urging Artaxerxes to stop the building of the temple. They based this on their lies that they are wicked, and were wicked, and also that if they were to continue to build they would stop revenue for the royal city. They challenge Artaxerxes to look in the old records and he would see how wicked these people were. He bought their lies and stopped the building and it didn't continue for about 15 years…

Ezra 5 The rebuilding of the Temple begins again. We will learn about this tomorrow, but we are told here that Haggai & Zechariah were prophesying in the name of God. Haggai was basically stating that the people were where they were at because they lost sight of who God was, as well as encouraging them! We learn about Tattenai, the governor of the province of Beyond the River and some other guys came and spoke to them. They obviously had no idea of what Cyrus had decreed, so they questioned them on who gave them the right to build the Temple. It was also obvious that God was watching over his people. The Jews gave an honest account of their sin and shortcomings and a quick history as to why they were where they were at. After that, Tattenai writes a letter to Darius the king on behalf of his associates urging that the Temple rebuilding continues. Tattenai asked Darius to look in the records to verify if Cyrus had actually decreed that they were able to build. 

Ezra 6 King Darius issued a decree, as he did find the decree of Cyrus, that the work of God’s Temple should continue. In Cyrus’s decree, he detailed out the size of the temple and some details and some other stipulations. Darius also insisted that the money needed to finish the project would come from the royal treasuries. What should happen to the person(s) who went against this new decree? “if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill.” That guy is not playing around! Truth is - if God is for you and wants His plans to be accomplished, nothing can stand against Him. All the adversaries back off at this point…

They finished building the Temple and the elders all got together and prospered. The dedicated the Temple to God and celebrated with offerings and joy. They held the Passover and the exiles were now back home with a Temple to worship Yahweh. God worked it all out!

Psalm 137 is an interesting Psalm as it is written around the time that Babylon was conquered and the people were returning from exile. It is about lament and vengeance. It is a prayer for God’s justice when they were oppressed and they do not want to forget what God has done and who He is. The later part of the Psalm is rather full of vengeance and they wished vengeance upon their enemies. 

To sum it all up: 

• We cannot thwart God’s plans. He will have His way. 
• His prophecies will happen & He will win. 
• Are you an adversary or an advocate for God’s work? Which team are you on? There are only 2 teams in this life, those for God and those against Him. There is no middle ground…