For today, One Year Bible Online links here. We are approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Let us seek to serve God in all that we do in the New Year.

    The writer calls on us to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. If we want our society to prosper we must speak up for the poor and the helpless. We must seek to ensure that they receive justice. Any society which does not ensure that those who cannot speak for themselves receive justice will find itself in decline.

    This psalm calls on everyone and everything to praise God. Not for any particular reason except that God is our creator. Reading this psalm brings to mind one of my favorite songs. I know that song as Hymn 606 because it was number 606 in the Mennonite Hymnal I grew up with. I would encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with this hymn to search for “Mennonite Hymn number 606” on Youtube and watch a few different videos of it. Being part of a group singing that song in four part harmony, even if not very well, can lift your spirit in much the manner intended by this psalm.

    Next in John’s vision Satan is bound for a thousand years. During that thousand years Satan is unable to deceive the people of the world. During that thousand years those who had died for resisting the beast were raised from the dead and ruled over the earth. When the thousand years comes to an end Satan will be released. He will immediately proceed to deceive the people of the world once more. He will gather the nations to make war on God’s people but the vast army will be struck down by fire.
    This battle will be followed by the coming of God’s judgement on the living and the dead. Everyone will be judged according to what they have done. Anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. What strikes me as I read this is that a casual reading seems to indicate that some will avoid the lake of fire because they lived exemplary lives. However, only those whose name is written in the Book of Life will avoid the lake of fire. It is not spelled out here, but elsewhere in the New Testament it is made clear that we do not earn our way into the Book of Life by our good behavior. Rather, we exhibit good behavior because our name is written in the Book of Life.

    Zechariah’s prophecy here resembles part of John’s vision in the book of Revelation, but it is not quite the same. If this prophecy is referring to the same events as the similar prophecy in Revelation there are enough differences that it is clear there is a different lesson here for us. In this vision we learn that Israel’s enemies will strike Jerusalem and defeat its armies taking many captive. Yet as soon as that has happened God will enter the battle on Israel’s behalf. His first act will be to provide them with a miraculous path to flee the destruction.
    God will come and rule over the world and no one will worship any other gods. A plague will come upon those who refuse to worship God and nations which do not worship Him will experience famine. As I read this passage it reminds me to redouble my prayers for my friends who do not yet know the Lord. Zechariah tells us that the day will come when everyone will realize who God truly is and worship His name. The suffering experienced by those few who refuse to worship Him will be obvious to all.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. We are approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Let us seek to serve God in all that we do in the New Year.

    The writer warns against wasting one’s strength on women. It is worth noting the use of the plural here. If one spends one strength and money on multiple women one is wasting it and it will lead to their ruin (the same can be said of women dealing with men as well). He then goes on to warn against allowing alcohol to impair our judgement. Those who are in circumstances where nothing they can do can make things better, or worse, are encouraged to drink in order to forget their pain, but it is worth noting that the writer is suggesting it only for those for whom things can get no worse.

    There is joy in singing praises to God and it is fitting to do so. The psalmist gives us many reasons why we should do so, but the first is the one that I will highlight today:

    In John’s vision he heard great rejoicing in Heaven after the fall of “Babylon”. The rejoicing was because of the pain and suffering which “Babylon” had inflicted on the poor and destitute throughout the world. Over the last few days I realized something I had never noticed before, John points out that immorality (sexual and otherwise) leads to the oppression of the poor. All too often, Christians (and others) are accused of focusing too much on sexual immorality and not enough on injustice and greed. There is unfortunately some truth to that accusation. However, all too many people who focus on injustice and greed overlook the ways in which sexual immorality plays a role in creating social injustice.

    Zechariah prophesies that a day will come when the nations around Israel will attack Jerusalem. They will gather a great force to attack, but the only result will be loss for those who joined in the attack. I do not know if this prophecy refers to what has been going on in the Middle East over the last 60 years, but there is a similarity between what Zechariah says here and what has been going on. I think that what Zechariah is talking about is something else, but the similarities make me wonder.
    Zechariah tells us that a fountain will be opened to cleanse people of all of their sins and impurity. As the waters from that fountain wash over the land all idolatry will cease and people will reject all forms of idol worship. I believe that Jesus is the source of the fountain to which Zechariah refers. As evidence for that I will point out all of the times in history when faith in Jesus spread through a land causing idol worship to be washed away as in an overwhelming flood.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Today is Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!

    Just because someone struts about and acts as if he is powerful does not mean that he is someone to be admired. However, those who do so should be treated with caution since they can be dangerous.

    If we trust in God, He will train us to fight the battles He wishes us to fight. Let us remember to take refuge in God and only fight the battles He directs us to fight. Let us trust Him to fight any other battle which may come our way. We are such little things in this large Universe, yet God sent His Son to save us. I will praise God for all that He has done for me.

    In John’s vision the seven angels pour out the plagues upon the earth one by one and things go from bad to worse. But, instead of repenting of their sins and turning to God the people cursed God and blamed Him for their suffering. As things got worse the leaders of the people of the world joined forces to make war on God. As I read this passage it reminds me of many people today. When things go wrong, they blame God (even while claiming that they do not believe that He exists). Rather than change the behaviors which led to their problems, they blame those who point out that God warned them of those consequences. In their minds, it is God who is evil for telling them that if they continue to sin bad things will happen, things they will not like.
    Today as we celebrate Christ’s birth let us remember that God offered His Son to suffer those consequences with us and show us that if we are willing to turn from our sin, good can come out of our suffering.

    Zechariah receives another message as a follow up to the one he gave in response to those asking if they should continue to fast and mourn in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah’s new message is that the fasts and mourning they had been practicing should now turn to celebrations. God was determined to bless Jerusalem. This blessing is going to happen. However, in order to experience this blessing the Jewish people need to do some things. When the people of any nation act similarly, they will receive similar blessings.
    Here is the key for any nation to experience God’s blessing. The people of that nation must speak the truth. Their courts must render true and sound judgments. They must not scheme against each other, no more seeking to gain advantage by cheating/misleading others. They must stop thinking it demonstrates cleverness to swear that a lie is the truth. I will state that I believe that a nation whose people follow these instructions will find themselves on the path to economic prosperity. Running counter to these instructions leads to an economic collapse.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Today is Christmas Eve. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

    The writer gives us four examples of things that are small and weak, yet can make a large impact on their surroundings by wisely using what strengths they have. Let us learn to follow their example.

    When things look bad, let us turn to the Lord for rescue. I will put my trust in the Lord at all times.

    John describes how in his vision he saw seven angels holding the final seven plagues. As he saw the seven angels he saw those who had been victorious over the beast (as in, they had refused to worship it). They were standing before God singing His praises. They sang God’s praises with joy despite the suffering they experienced, or maybe because of it. The passage tells us that the time will come when God will tolerate the sins of mankind no more and punish all of those who will not turn from those sins one final time.

    Zechariah sees a vision of four chariots, each chariot pulled by horses of a different color. We are told that the four chariots are the four spirits who stand before the Lord and who are going out to do His work. It is interesting to me that we are only told where three of the four chariots are going. I was curious as to the meaning of the different colors of the horses, but found little commentary on it that did not try to connect these to the four horsemen in Revelation. I do not think we miss the true meaning of this vision when we attempt to tie it to Revelation. However, I found one which pointed out the four colors indicate that each of these chariots/spirits is a different category of mission.
    Later in this passage, some of the people asked Zechariah if they should continue to maintain their tradition of mourning the destruction of the Temple (since the Temple had since bee rebuilt). Zechariah tells them that when they fasted and mourned, and when they celebrate, they are not doing so for God. Rather they have made these periods of mourning and religious celebration about themselves. We do not need to keep particular fasts, or feasts, on particular Holy Days in order to please God. No matter what we celebrate, or mourn, no matter what rituals and traditions we keep, what pleases God is that we do not oppress those without the power to resist (widows, orphans, foreigners, the poor, etc) and that we do not scheme about how to take advantage of each other. If we treat others with justice and respect, God will be pleased with us.