Monthly Archives: September 2021

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2021 Bible Study — When We Reject God’s Favor Disunity Follows

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

The first thing which struck me concerned the prophecy about breaking the staff called “Union”, which symbolized the breaking of the family bond between Judah and Israel.  Zechariah prophesied after the Return from Exile, so theoretically after the split between Israel and Judah had become moot.  However, this come just before God told Zechariah that He was going to raise up a worthless shepherd over the land, a shepherd who would not care for the lost, nor seek  the young, nor heal the injured.  This shepherd would divide the members of the flock against one another (this is me interpreting what I am reading here).  This prophecy of abandonment comes after Zechariah had prophesied that the oppressed of the flock had rejected God as their shepherd.   This gave this whole passage a meaning I had never seen before.  God has promised to protect the weak, the powerless, and the oppressed, but when those who fall into those categories reject His protection He will allow “leaders” to arise who will show them their folly.  When those whom God has vowed to protect reject His protection He will allow leaders to arise who divide them against one another and take advantage of them for the benefit of the leader.  Look around and I think you will see how that is happening today.

All of the above being said, Zechariah follows that with a prophecy of promise.  God promises that the day will come when He will pour out His Spirit on people and they will mourn for what they have done.  Then He will purify them as silver is purified by fire and they will burn like a fire in straw, purifying the world around them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2021 Bible Study — Our Worship Rituals Should Remind Us To Show Compassion To Each Other

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

When some of the Returned Exiles came and asked if they should continue to fast and mourn the destruction of the Temple now that the Temple was being rebuilt (that last part is my understanding of the unstated context of the question), Zechariah asked them if that fasting and mourning was really for God?  Or was it more for themselves?  Zechariah’s answer from God tells us that God did not establish the feasts and fasts for the sake of those events.  Those events were established to remind us to show mercy and compassion to each other and to administer justice.  All of our worship rituals should serve that purpose.  If we start to view them as ends in themselves, they have become idols and we have become idolaters.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 29, 2021 Bible Study — Cleansed, Not By Might, Nor By Power, But By The Spirit Of The Lord

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

Zechariah begins by reminding the people of how their ancestors sin had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.  He then tells them that restoration took place when those same ancestors repented of their sins and accepted the punishment which God had meted out to them.  God had scattered the people if Israel to all parts of the earth.  Now He was calling them back to gather in Jerusalem once more.  But as part of this, God will be calling people of many nations to become part of His people.

Zechariah proceeds to give a message for both the High Priest and the Governor over the Returned Exiles in Jerusalem, a separate message for each, both of these message have relevance for us today.  Zechariah’s message to Joshua, the High Priest, was that Satan would accuse him before God of sin.  The accusation would have merit, but God would strip him (Joshua) of his sin and dress him in righteousness. It is only after cleansing him of his sin and dressing him in robes of righteousness that God asks Joshua to walk according to His requirements.  Something similar happens to us.  Satan, the adversary, brings us before God and accuses us of the sins which we have committed.  Often times, he is that little voice in our head which tells us that we are no good and worthless.  God neither dismisses our sins as meaningless, nor does He pretend they do not exist.  Instead, He removes them from us and washes away the filth they have placed upon our bodies and souls.  Then He dresses us in the finest clothes of righteous behavior and tells us, “Look, this is what you were made to be.”

Which brings us to Zechariah’s message to Zerubbabel, the governor.  God has given Zerubbabel a difficult task, to rebuild His Temple.  Zechariah tells Zerubbabel that he will not accomplish this task by might, nor by power.  No, he will only accomplish the tasks he has been set by the Spirit of the Living God.  In the same way, we will only live up to the beauty and righteousness of which God has shown us to be capable by His Spirit.  We will not do so by our strength, nor by our will, but only by the Spirit of the Lord.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 28, 2021 Bible Study — Do God’s Will First And He Will Sort Everything Else Out For You

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zephaniah and Haggai.

Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, who implemented religious reform and tried to turn the people of Jerusalem back to God.  Some references I found suggested that Zephaniah prophesied before Josiah began his reforms, but this reads to me as directed at those who paid lip service to Josiah’s reforms while worshiping idols in secret.  More than that Zephaniah also seems to prophesy against those who are indifferent to the idolatry and corruption going on around them.  Zephaniah calls the people of Jerusalem and Judah to seek the Lord with humility.

Haggai prophesied to the Returned Exiles.  The Returned Exiles had not begun rebuilding the Temple because they wanted to get themselves solidly established in the land before doing so.  They believed that they should make sure that they had enough to survive before they began spending resources on building the Temple.  There is merit to such an attitude: one should not starve oneself or one’s children in order to have a more pleasant place to worship.  However, the problem with that attitude is that there is always more one must do before one’s own survival is assured.  Haggai actually tells us another reason to not take that approach.  If we truly put our faith in God then we will trust Him to provide us with enough to do His will and to survive.  Haggai’s message was, “Don’t wait to get your affairs in order before doing God’s will.  Do God’s will first, and He will sort that all out for you.”

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 27, 2021 Bible Study — God Will Bring To An End Those Who Plot Against Him

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nahum and Habakkuk.

Both of these books were written about the same time and contain prophesies foretelling the same events.  Nahum describes how Nineveh will fall because its people opposed God, While Habakkuk writes about Babylon suddenly rising and destroying the Assyrian Empire.  Nahum asks if Nineveh is any better than Thebes, a clear reference to when the King of Assyria had sacked Thebes a generation earlier.  As I said, Habakkuk speaks of the sudden rise of Babylon, which had been soundly defeated by that same King of Assyria.

Nahum tells us that God will bring down Nineveh because of the cruelty of the Assyrians.  Habakkuk writes that Assyria’s power was built on stolen goods and unjust gain. Both prophets speak of how the fall of Assyria will be good news to those who seek the Lord.  I really meant to spend more time writing about how these passages applies to us but I got caught up in the weeds about the prophetic nature of them. Nahum reminds us that God is a refuge in times of trouble and cares for those who trust in Him.  Habakkuk tells us to rejoice in the Lord because He will bring down the violent and cause justice to prevail.  Both prophets speak a message which tells us to put our trust in God during times of turmoil.  We may not see how it can happen, but God has plans to bring the powerful to justice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 26, 2021 Bible Study — Walk Humbly With God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Micah 3-7.

To a greater extent than other prophets, Micah holds the leaders to blame for the sins of Israel.  He condemns the leaders who use their position to benefit at the expense of those over whom they hold power.  He accuses them of hating good and loving evil.  Political leaders offer to rule in favor of those who bribe them, religious teachers only teach when paid, and those who offer people guidance for their lives only do so for money.  Because they do not embrace justice, God’s destruction is coming.  When it comes, they will cry out to God, but He will not answer.

Yet for all of the “doom and gloom” in Micah’s prophesies, this promise is contained within them as well:

“He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

God has promised the above to us and Micah tells us what we must do to get to that promise.  We must act justly and love mercy, but most important, and most difficult, we must walk humbly with God.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 25, 2021 Bible Study — While Jonah Was Running From God, God Still Revealed Himself Through Him

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2.

Usually when I read the book of Jonah I focus on Jonah and God’s message to us through Jonah, but today something else caught my eye.  Let’s look at this, God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and prophesy against it, sdo something and he didn’t want to do it. So, he went the opposite direction, because Jonah knew that if he went anywhere near Nineveh God would use him to accomplish His purposes.  There are some things in there that deserve a little attention, but I am not going to go there today.  What I want to focus on is what happened on the ship, and not the part we normally look at.  So, after the sailors threw Jonah overboard and the storm abated, they worshiped God and vowed to serve Him going forward.  Think about that, Jonah did not intentionally witness to those men.  He was not there because God sent him there.  Jonah was there running away from God, and God was STILL able to use him to reveal Himself to those who did not know Him.  Think about it: God can, and will, use us to make the world a better place, even when we are resisting Him.

In many ways the Book of Jonah is an excellent precursor to the opening of Micah.  When Jonah preached in Nineveh that God was about to bring judgement on that city, the people of that city repented of their sins in sackcloth.  They mourned their sinfulness and turned to God. When Micah prophesied about the judgement coming against Samaria and Jerusalem, the people of those cities told him not to say such things.  Then he says something I think we should take to heart: those who do what is right find his words comforting.  Think about that.  In the middle of his fire and brimstone message about the doom and disaster which are looming over the nation, Micah tells us that those who do right are comforted by his words, why?  Because his words mean that those who abuse others, who oppress the poor, who perform various wicked acts, will suffer for the suffering they have caused.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 24, 2021 Bible Study — We Pay A Price When We Profit From The Suffering Of Others

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 6-9 and Obadiah.

Amos continues his prophecy against the Northern Kingdom of Israel in today’s passage.  I was going to start with the prophecy about the plumb line, but as I composed my thoughts I realized I was not sure what I understood it to say reflected what it was intended to say.  So, I decided to speak about Amos goes on to condemn those who joyously sing worship songs while eagerly awaiting the end of the service so that they can get back to cheating others.  Those who live such lives and do not turn to God will bring terrible destruction upon themselves. And yet, for all of the doom and gloom which Amos preached, he ended on a note of hope.  A time of destruction is coming to those who refuse to turn from their sins, but God will bring a time of plenty for those who turn to Him.

Now let us turn our attention to the short book of Obadiah.  I believe that Obadiah is the only Old Testament prophet who prophesied entirely against nations other than Israel or Judah.  He primarily prophesied against Edom, but there is a small bit against the Philistines.  Obadiah condemns the people for two things, pride and epicaricacy (or taking joy in the misfortune of others).  He tells them that they will suffer because they proudly thought that they could take advantage of the people of Israel (or Judah) when they were overrun.  They took joy when their neighbors suffered and they profited from that suffering in ways which increased the suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 23, 2021 Bible Study — Seek The Lord And Live

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Amos 1-5.

Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife.  I have been married to a lovely woman for 21 years. I am so grateful that she has been with me all of this time.

Amos prophesied primarily against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, but before getting into the meat of the prophecy which God had given him, he also had warnings for the surrounding nations, including Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  He makes it clear that even though God has given him a message condemning the people of Israel that does not mean that they are worse than their neighbors.

Amos writes that God had sent them prophets to call them back to Him, and those who lived righteous lives to inspire them to return, but that they had told the prophets to be quiet and had compelled the righteous to violate their conscience.  God had caused disasters to happen as a warning to bring them back to Him, yet they refused to return to God.  Do we see the ways in which this applies to us, and to the people around us?  (and if you think it applies to you because you are one of the prophets or one of the righteous you have missed the message of the Bible)  The people of Israel loved to do things which made themselves look righteous without actually making the sacrifices to be righteous.  They turned justice into injustice and hated those who upheld justice in court.  They oppressed the innocent and taxed the poor so as to build mansions.   The prudent kept quiet to avoid becoming targets.  Amos told them that the day of the Lord was coming and it would be a day of darkness.  However, he also told them that if they sought the Lord, they would live.  God would be with those who sought and did good rather than evil.  Let us seek to maintain justice, not the appearance of justice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2021 Bible Study — The Day Of The Lord Is Near

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joel 1-3.

The prophet Joel describes a terrible plague of locusts which came upon the land of Israel.  He says that this disaster warns that the day of the Lord is near, a day of gloom and darkness.  However, Joel also says that God calls us to return to Him with all of our heart.  If we respond to the dark times by turning to God, by gathering together and confessing our sins, He will relent and lift the judgement He was preparing to pour out upon us.  Instead of pouring out death and destruction upon us, God will pour out His Spirit.  The day of the Lord will still come, we will see the death and destruction, but those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I am convinced that we live in a time when Joel’s message should ring fresh in our ears.  Look at what is happening around us.  Gather and pray, fast and mourn, the day of the Lord is near.  We can either call on His name and be saved, or suffer the dire things which He has in store for those who refuse to heed His warnings.  But God will pour out His Spirit upon those who turn to Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.